Pathways Fellowship Reports, St. John's College, Annapolis: Summer 2023 by St. John's College

Pathways Fellowship Reports Summer 2023

Pathways Fellowship Reports, Summer 2023 Table of Contents

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Erin Allen ’24: University of Pittsburgh, Pymatuning Lab of Ecology,

James Bieneman ’23: Oakland University, Rochester, MI

Yiyang Cheng ’24: Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

Samantha Duckworth ’23: MIT Professional Education (partnership with Great Learning) Course: Applied Data Science Program (online)

Michael Engstrom ’24: The Ancient Language Institute, Moscow, ID Course: Beginner Latin I (online)

Cristopher Ford ’23: Middlebury Language Schools, Middlebury, VT

Audrey Fox ’24: Goethe-Institute Washington, Washington, DC

Ruiyan Gui ’25: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Yeojin Kim ’23: The Cooper Union, New York, NY

Mia Kobylski ’23: Boston University, Center for Professional Education,

Linesville, PA Course: Field Techniques in Ecology and Conservation

Course: Calculus II

Course: East Asian Studies

Course: French Immersion Program

Courses: German In Person & Germany Today Conversation

Course: Intensive Introduction to Computer Science (online) Course: Introduction to Architecture for College Students (online)

Boston, MA Course: Paralegal Studies (online)

Ketan Mampara ’25: The Sijal Institute for Arab Language and Culture,

Amman, Jordan Course: Summer Arabic Intensive: Modern Arabic Literature and Divine Geometry; An Introduction to Arabic Calligraphy

Charlotte Nicholas ’24: University of Michigan—through Coursera Course: Python Basics (online)

Dolan Polglaze ’24: European Alpine Academy, Murnau, Germany

Ezra Rosenberg ’25: Goethe-Institute, Freiburg, Germany

Course: Sustainability Course: German B2

Louis Rosenberg ’25: University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash, Blue Ash, OH Courses: Intro to Environmental Studies I and How Life Works: Introductory Biology I (both online)

Catherine Row ’24: Tallinn Summer School at Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia Course: Russian Language

Andrew Selway ’24: Salamanca University, Salamanca, Spain

Meien “Rose” Zhang ’23: Southern California University of Health Science, Whittier, CA Course: Organic Chemistry I (online)

Course: Spanish Language

Erin Allen ‘24

University of Pittsburgh Pymatuning Lab of Ecology, Linesville, PA Course: Field Techniques in Ecology and Conservation Instructor: David Janetski, PhD Duration: Three weeks Credits: 3 In order to pursue a career in environmental research science after graduating from St. John’s, this past summer I hoped to take a course to supplement my work here with a more structured introduction to hands-on field research, and to that end the University of Pittsburgh’s Pymatuning Lab of Ecology turned out to be a great fit! Throughout St. John’s laboratory curriculum I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of exploring the compounding development of scientific thought in its theory and application, and I think that continuing to keep this exploration alive is essential to doing good science; in order to start getting the other half of my education up to speed, I wanted to explore my options by gaining a broader vantage point on the different avenues environmental research can take, accumulate technical skills that I can use as a springboard to engage in future research projects, and be able to show the completion of more traditional course credits on my resume for graduate school applications. The University of Pittsburgh’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (PLE) is a field research station located on Pennsylvania’s Pymatuning Lake where students can take summer courses to study a variety of ecological and biological subjects while gaining field experience in the lake and surrounding areas. If any other St. John’s students were looking for the opportunity to engage in hands-on field research, I’d definitely recommend taking a look at PLE or other universities that offer courses in off-site field stations! The Field Techniques in Ecology and Conservation course focuses primarily on exposing students to as many field techniques as possible during its three-week duration, including trapping and other population sampling methods for fish, mammals, terrestrial and aquatic insects, amphibians, reptiles, and vegetation, and secondly on the design, operation, analysis, completion, and presentation of a group research project. I think the greatest benefit was being able to work alongside and have discussions with the professors and other students at the station, because it led to learning more about all the different subjects everyone is passionate about and becoming better acquainted with the landscape and style of modern science. (That, and the uncontestable benefit of spending a large part of my summer wading into various ponds and swamps after dark to study the interaction between frog species relative abundance and overstory canopy coverage). By taking this course I feel more grounded in the sort of career path I’d like to pursue and prepared for the steps I need to take to get there; for anyone interested in going to graduate school for a scientific degree post-St. John’s, I found it immeasurably helpful to sit down with professors actively working in the field to talk about how the application process works and what to look for in a lab and in a graduate program, how scholarships and funding works throughout graduate school, what your career options look like afterward depending on if you go for academic, non-profit, commercial, state, or federal research, and generally getting feedback and advice for how to present a degree from St. John’s to more standard institutions. 3

James Bieneman ‘23

Oakland University Rochester, MI Course: Calculus II Instructor: Tanush Shaska Duration: 6 weeks Credits: 4 I took Calculus II at Oakland University this summer as part of my plan to take undergraduate math classes in the summers and after graduation to prepare for graduate school in mathematics. Last summer I took Calculus I, and I’m continuing in the fall. The specific program and location was chosen largely out of necessity and convenience—Calculus II was simply the next step, as a prerequisite for most other math classes that I want to take in the future. Taking this class in the summer through Pathways was the best way to get it done for me, and probably will be for other Johnnies with similar plans. This class in particular starts to move farther than what is covered at St. John’s in a way a Calculus I class does not. Calculus I is spent going over the same concepts covered in fall semester Junior math with a different framing, while Calculus II marks the beginning of classes that go farther than St. John’s in terms of modern mathematics. In other words, this builds upon St. John’s, and St. John’s prepares for it, but it is a step further. As such, being able to take this class was useful for me as a transition from St. John’s to further academic goals.

Yiyang Cheng ‘24

Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan Course: Sophia Summer Session – East Asian Studies Instructor: Prof. Freedman Duration: 3 weeks Credits: 6 My interest in East Asian Studies started even before I came to St. John’s. As I was bred in this culture since childhood, I always find the culture attractive and bizarre. This is also what pushed me to St. John’s since I was curious about how the Western Canon would be different from what I learned before. Thus, as my four-year college life is nearing an end, I still find myself with a great passion for East Asian culture and history, but with more excitement about trying to look at it from different perspectives and even doing East and West comparative study in classics from both sides. Therefore, with a little uncertainty about whether I should take East Asian Studies seriously as a graduate major and a passion to learn more about it in a different way, I enrolled in the summer program provided by Sophia University. As I was expecting a different viewpoint from the things that I was used to, the program also provided a great variety of instructors. I took classes not only from professors who are in the top local universities but also the ones from the U.S., the U.K., China, and Korea. Though we were mostly having lectures, there were a lot of conversations being carried out, especially for my Japanese Theatre class. We looked into several different Noh theatres (traditional Japanese theatrical form) and analyzed them with some theatre theories, during which we discussed a lot about “what is presentation and representation?” This naturally leads me to the thought of Kant and allows me to further private conversation with the professor on how the consideration of the Japanese theater and Western philosophy is similar. This affirms to me that the learning of East Asian studies in the future with my current harvest from St. John’s is a promising and interesting path that might fulfill my imagination. Even more, the books I’ve read and the way of thinking that I have acquired in the past few years will probably allow me to go on to intriguing investigations. Besides all the valuable discussions, the professors in the program were really nice and helpful. One of the professors after hearing about my questions and concerns about applying to East Asian Studies offered me a lot of suggestions and even possible future connections. Moreover, as an in-person program that took place in Tokyo, Japan, this allowed me to personally experience the culture as well. It became specifically helpful for getting a context for my literature class and a live demonstration for my theatre class. Also, this program allowed me to create a strong bond with a lot of friends who are all interested in Japan and Japanese culture, who encouraged me in applying to East Asian studies in the future and introduced a lot of new resources and programs that I could pursuit in the future as well. In all, I really appreciated the summer experience at Sophia University and the support from Pathways. I think I am now better prepared for this field and am ready to take my passion to professional learning. 5

Samantha Duckworth ‘23

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) School of Professional Education Course: Applied Data Science Program (online) Duration: May 20 - August 13, 2023 Credits: Certificate of Completion Over the summer, I completed a 10-week applied data science certificate program through MIT. The course involved lectures and meetings with my cohort to look at case studies related to the content presented in the lectures. The course covered a variety of topics related to data science, including programming, statistics & probability, machine learning, data analysis & visualization, deep learning, and recommendation systems; the course culminated in a capstone project and presentation. I learned a lot through this program, and that it was very rewarding both personally and professionally. In addition to the content of the program, it helped me to better shape my future career goals. This course helped me to better understand what kind of data analysis I am interested in because I was able to complete so many projects related to data from a variety of fields. This helped me see that I am mainly interested in doing research, as opposed to using data science for business. I also felt that my experience in this program helped me grow as an individual. In my cohort, I worked with professionals from different backgrounds and levels of experience. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to hear their thoughts on the problems, and their ideas for solutions. I felt that my education at St. John’s greatly prepared me to take this course. There were some skills which were necessary to learn as a prerequisite to the course, such as elementary coding. However, some of the most important skills that allowed me to be successful in this course were skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and being able to know which questions to ask. This was especially important for the case studies related to the different methods of data analysis, which required creative thinking and knowing what kinds of questions would be most helpful to ask about the data. Overall, I had a very rewarding experience and I would recommend this program to any other students interested in programming, data analysis, or software development.

Michael Engstrom ‘24

The Ancient Language Institute Moscow, ID Course: Beginner Latin I Instructor: Raphael Turrigiano Duration: 2 months Credits: Letter of Completion I had a very successful program experience this summer. Learning a new language is hard but I felt prepared because I had already studied Ancient Greek and French at St. John’s. While Latin is a different language than either Ancient Greek or French, the way we learn languages at St. John’s—where the understanding of the structure of language is important—helped me with grammatical and syntactical concepts in Latin. I remember having lengthy discussions on the difficult subjunctive mood, for example, in Freshman language; when the subjunctive mood appeared in Latin, I already had plenty of experience with it, and could focus on the language itself, not just on grammatical concepts. While there are many similarities to St. John’s language classes, there is one important difference which may or may not attract a St. John’s student. First, there is not as much time spent on grammar, syntax, and translation— most of the time, you are reading and speaking Latin. You start with very simple, intuitive Latin, then build up in difficulty. The class requires that you also answer questions in Latin based on the reading you have done. There is no translation; you are meant to understand Latin as Latin, not as symbols which need to be converted into English. So, there is much more exposure to the language as a language than at St. John’s. The result is that you end up reading Latin like you read English—understanding the meaning intuitively—so, the course is not for translators or grammarians. Latin is a very beautiful language and studying it has confirmed my conviction to keep studying it. For me, this means using it for my graduate work. Because I plan to study ancient philosophy and theology, a good knowledge of Latin is essential, and this course has started me on the journey towards Latin proficiency. But I also learned that I love Latin as a language. I like the way it sounds in my mouth and in my ear. I like the way it structures sentences, and I enjoy speaking it with other students. Also, taking this course really changed my idea of good language pedagogy, and I want to keep studying Latin and other languages in the way that this course does: reading texts with comprehensible input and slowly increasing the difficulty. I like this way of language learning. I had a fantastic experience with this program and recommend it to anyone who wants to learn languages this way.

Cristopher Ford ‘23

Middlebury College Middlebury, VT Course: Summer French Immersion Program Instructors: Florian Croisé et al. Duration: 7 weeks Credits: 9 This summer, I completed a seven-week French Immersion program at Middlebury College. At the beginning of the program, we all signed a language pledge agreeing not to speak any English throughout the seven weeks. Many language students are very capable reading and translating a language. They are lacking however in productive capacities: being able to write or speak it. It is the language pledge which forced us to make progress in speaking at all times of day: in our classes, during meals, at parties, and social outings. At St. John’s College I learned the value of asking the right questions to make my learning more efficient. During the French Program at Middlebury College, we had four classes: Francophone Culture, Communication, Phonetics and Grammar. Of all the students in my classes, I was most persistent in asking questions. For example, in Phonetics, I learned that in French there are between thirteen and sixteen vowel sounds, as opposed to only five in Spanish. It is very difficult to master French pronunciation, so in class I would ask the Professor to repeat pronunciation many times. It had another effect too. Asking many questions allowed me to communicate more complicated ideas. Our professor told us for example: “If I ask you, <<Tu as dort bien hier soir?>> do not just say <<Oui>> respond with <<Oui, j’ai dort bien hier soir>>. That was our motto in our phonetics course: <<Qui peut le plus, peut le moins>> which means “the one who can do the greatest, can do the least.” I will be leaving for Valencia, Spain in two weeks as an auxiliar de conversación for a program called NALCAP. I will be acting as an English Assistant in a primary school. Being there for only nine months, I am planning my career path for the year afterwards. With the guidance of a former SJC alum, I have decided to apply to Fulbright in Morocco as an English Teaching Assistant. Morocco has a high demand for university professors, so if accepted I will develop my own curriculum for one hundred to one hundred and fifty students. About 30% of Moroccans speak French, especially in the academic and professional sphere. So I hope that my French experience will continue to bolster my pursuits as I move forward. This program helped me to become more confident. In order to learn French, I had to speak it as often as possible. I made it a goal to have one conversation a day with a fluent speaker. I recommend this to any of you who want to become fluent in a new language. It is very good to practice with other learners like you. Sometimes, however, learners will have to speak around a term they do not know or guess at English cognates. Native speakers are more precise: they do not have to guess which words to use in which situations. I often would insert myself into conversations and would have to be confident in order to practice speaking as often as possible. 8

This is very important: it is one thing to understand what someone is saying and another thing to produce. Being able to form complex phrases is a great step towards mastery. I would definitely recommend this program for St. John’s students. If you are a rising sophomore and want to read Descartes’ Discourse on Method in the original language, a junior who wants to read Montaigne, or a senior who wants to read the original Simone de Beauvoir, this is a great course for you. With adequate practice beforehand, it will be much easier for you to read these texts. And, if you are like me and want a challenge, want to speak the language, and want to take the step towards fluency, this program is also for you. There are professors from around the world (mine were from Aix en Province in France, Haiti, Quebec, and Hungary) and you will have an enormous amount of practice every day. I am confident that by the end of the course I had gone from A2 (advanced beginner) to B2 (Advanced Intermediate) fluency. To show you some of what I learned, here is my favorite quote and interpretation from Ying Chen’s Les Lettres Chinoises. <<Pourquoi renoncer à un présent et peut-être à un future à cause du passé ? Pourquoi n’essayez-vous pas d’être plus modestes dans la vie en suivant simplement votre destin ? » Le contexte c’est qu’un personnage Sassa suggère que son ami Da Li suive sa passion pour l’homme étranger bien qu’il se marie. Sassa veut que Da Li fasse le moins modeste et qu’elle oublie le passé. Il ne faut pas laisser le passé interdire ses actions dans le présent. Suit le destin ! Mais, il y a un destin dans la vie ? C’est impossible de répondre. I am looking forward to what the future may bring and for you too! Look into the summer immersion program at Middlebury College. There are scholarships available and it could open new doors for you, like it has for me. Last but not least, Vive la France!

Audrey Fox ’24

Goethe Institut Washington, D.C. Course: German In Person & Germany Today Conversation Instructor: Elizabeth Schreiber-Byers Duration: 10-Week Blended Course Credits: A2.1 German Proficiency I took German courses over the summer with two goals in mind: first to brush up on my German, and second, to start exploring German as a future academic pursuit. The funding provided to me by the Pathways Fellowship covered the cost of the courses, transportation, and some living expenses, which did not cover the whole duration of the course. The main course I took was a 10-week blended program at level A2.1 German. I also joined a Goethe-ran online conversation group that was a lightly instructed conversation group, for which I received no certification. The main benefit I gained from this course was toward the former of my goals. I brushed up on my German and got a good sense of where I need to improve. However, toward my second goal of exploring German as a career path, I did not receive much enlightenment. At the beginning of the summer, I had more energy to put into considering my grad school prospects, but as I had to work a job all summer, I did not have the time to focus on applications. I think it would have been a better move to find a program that was only a week or two long, as opposed to a drawn out 10-week course. My commute was also a total of two hours every Monday, not including walking to the Goethe Institut from the Metro station. In sum, I should have looked for a more intensive program that connected me with more people who could give more insight into academic German specifically. This was still an enriching experience, despite the numerous complications. It is interesting to observe, after three years of language learning experience at St. John’s, how much easier it is to approach German. I studied the language for seven years before coming to the college, but I was never able to pick up on grammatical structure as quickly as I can now. I hope to apply to the Goethe Institut intensive courses in Germany next summer and start getting in touch with professors who can give me more guidance.

Ruiyan Gui ‘25

Harvard University Cambridge, MA Course: Intensive Introduction to Computer Science Instructor: David Malan Duration: one and a half months Credits: 4 It would be difficult at first for people with no prior experience in computer science to accommodate themselves to this course. And I think especially so for Johnnies. One reason is that the way this course is conducted and the tempo for learning are very different than in a Johnnie classroom, for better or for worse. The course is mainly composed of three parts: lectures, tutorials, and homework. Lectures usually are two hours long and focus more on the conceptual stuff, which is very helpful for people who want to understand computers from some other point of view than a technician usually would. In these lectures, concepts such as binaries and memory that are fundamental to computer science are thoroughly explained, and the more or less “history-focused” framework also helps clarify how these technological developments interlock and mutually depend on each other. Tutorials I personally do not find the most useful, since most of them are just answering questions one might have after watching these lectures. Different from lectures, one could interact with a real person, a TA, in a virtual environment, and this might assist in clearing up some areas of confusion, yet usually the host would just repeat what is already in the lecture. Then, homework. Homework is the real core of this course. Some of the assignments could be relatively easy, but most of them are extremely challenging for starters, especially when one has to submit them before a deadline. I still recall some nights I did not spend sleeping but trying desperately to debug and crack some code. In a word, it really pushes people. I do think I gained a lot from this course, especially the conceptual stuff, since my primary intention is simply to understand how computers actually work, and I think I have found some firm foothold in this cybernetic world. As a bonus, I also learned how to program, and have an alternative path to feed myself after college (possibly).

Yeojin Kim (A23)

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union Course: Introduction to Architecture Online: Foundation Studies and Portfolio Development for College Students Instructors: Mersiha Veledar, James Lowder, Nader Tehrani, Elizabeth O'Donnell, and Lauren Kogod Duration: July 5 – August 2 Credits: 4 credits Thanks to the Pathways Fellowship Award, I had the chance to explore my interest in architecture, which has always intrigued me. The program was demanding, involving five hours of daily classes for a month, but it proved to be a highly informative experience. In the program, each participant selected an 'animating verb' (bundle, extend, fold, intersect, etc.) and an object (cone, cube, cylinder, torus, etc.). Over the course of a month, we honed our skills in translating concepts into three-dimensional forms and developing portfolios. My choices were 'torque' as the animating verb and 'torus' as the object. This led to a repetitive but rewarding process of figuring out how to effectively depict torque on a torus. Each class required presenting a different iteration and receiving constructive critiques. Drawing from my experience at St. John's, especially Don Rags, I was able to approach these critiques objectively, gradually enhancing my work. Daily assignments and consistent feedback from the professor allowed me to monitor the progression of my portfolio on a day-to-day basis. As a student with no prior experience in architecture-related courses, I initially had concerns about keeping pace. However, the program covered all the essential software from the ground up, and the flexibility of online classes enabled me to revisit Zoom recordings, reinforcing my understanding. I found it particularly intriguing and enjoyable to explore previously unfamiliar computer programs like Rhino, Blender, Adobe Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop. Through this course, I realized that becoming an architect could be a suitable career for me, and I gained confidence that I could excel in it. I highly recommend this course to other students interested in architecture. Here’s her portfolio link: https://indd.adobe.com/view/8e67553a-ed6c-4262bda7-4d9f79cb791a

Mia Kobylski ‘23

Boston University Center for Professional Education Instructors: Multiple, online Duration: July 5 – October 9, 2023 Credits: Certificate in Paralegal Studies For my Pathways experience, I completed an online Certificate in Paralegal Studies from Boston University’s Center for Professional Education. The course consisted of seven modules: Legal Research, Legal Writing, Legal Technologies, Real Estate, Business Law, Family and Probate Law, and Litigation. The course ran for 14 weeks, and the workload was approximately 10-15 hours a week. Each module was instructed by a different faculty member and TA/facilitator. Students had two weeks to complete each module, with synchronous “Live Classrooms” twice a week. Otherwise, the coursework was self-paced with a hard module deadline every two weeks. A Paralegal Certificate allows me to market my skills as a legal professional without a J.D. Most law firms require that their paralegals complete a certification or associate degree in Paralegal Studies. Paralegals are always in demand, and the certificate helps me to stand out in applicant pools. I currently work at a law firm full-time as a Practice Group Assistant. The certificate will open avenues within the firm for more complex tasks and the potential for future promotion. The attorneys and paralegals I work for have been very supportive of me taking the class. I have spoken to them at length about what we are learning, and they have given me real work that aligns with what I’m currently studying. My employers see the certificate as an asset to the firm and believe there is an upward path within the firm because of this experience. The paralegal course has reinforced my belief that I would like to pursue a serious career in law. I genuinely find legal work to be exciting and interesting. I signed up for the LSAT in November and have been researching law school part-time evening programs. I think the skills and technologies I have practiced will help me be a better J.D. student in the future. My education at St. John’s absolutely helped me to be successful in the class. During Live Classroom sessions, the professors employed the Socratic method. I frequently participated in the discussion and asked questions. Additionally, in the Legal Research and Legal Writing modules, we were given difficult cases to annotate and write briefs on. I knew how to approach a complex text, ask questions about it, and write my analysis for an academic audience. I don’t think I would have felt as confident engaging with the course materials and discussions without my St. John’s background. I would absolutely recommend this program to others. Because the course runs for 14 weeks, my session lasted from July-October. This timing may be difficult for undergraduate students. However, if a senior is looking to pursue a career in law but isn’t sure about law school, this certificate is a great way to start a meaningful career after graduation. Furthermore, I appreciate the condensed nature of the course. Some certificates can take over a year to complete. Boston University’s program allows students to obtain the certification quickly, therefore allowing them to enter the workforce faster. The self-paced work was another benefit of the course. I did not find myself overwhelmed with working full-time and completing the schoolwork. I could allocate class time according to my schedule, and the synchronous classes were all in the evenings or on weekends. Overall, I am very grateful for my experience with Boston University. I enjoyed engaging with faculty and other students during discussions and Live Classrooms. I recognize the benefits that this certificate will grant me, and I am excited for my future career prospects. 13

Ketan Mampara ‘25

Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture Amman, Jordan Course: Summer Arabic Intensive Duration: June 4 – July 13 (5 Weeks, 95 Hours of Instruction) Credits: 5 Over the summer, with the help of funds from the Pathways Fellowship, I had the opportunity to study the Arabic language for six weeks at an institution in Amman, Jordan. I had studied the language for four years in high school, but my abilities had begun to decline in the intervening two years. My hope for the summer was to recoup what I had lost, both by recovering the fluidity of speech requisite for real conversation and by refamiliarizing myself with the structure of the written language and vocabulary. My hopes for more mere recovery of lost linguistic proficiency were soon superseded as I found myself learning and understanding the logic of the Arabic language in a way that would have been completely foreign to my younger self. The study of Greek at St. John’s, and the consideration of how the logic of a language can effect that languages’ timbre of meaning, and the ideas that are expressed in it provided a useful background. Having noticed how the analytical fullness and continuity of Greek, with its seemingly infinite assortment of morphological forms and enduring penchant for substantivized adjectives, is conducive to a philosophical system centering abstract reason and forms expressed as substantive adjectives, I was more prepared to learn the logic of the Arabic language in a similar way. In Arabic, nearly all words derive from triliteral roots. These roots are then put into different forms that, according to certain patterns, effect the meaning of the word. The spirit of the language, thus, is one of emanation, in which the morphological mechanisms of the language itself tell a story of so many created things emanating outward from a specific point, in a patterned way. This kind of thought is reflected in much of Arab philosophy and theology, perhaps most notably in the works of Ibn Sina, a Persian-Arab polymath, who I prepared a presentation on in Arabic for my final project of the summer course. I have always had interest in pursuing graduate work on the many Arab philosophers who connected classical Greek thought to European Christianity, but this summer certainly intensified that interest. Having the opportunity to be in the Arab world, in the Levant, at the heart of the three monotheistic traditions also sparked an interest in eventually studying Arab Christianity in particular. Going to Mount Nebo, to the baptismal site, and to mass in Arabic, was intensely personally meaningful. The coursework was rigorous but enjoyable and did not take away from my ability to experience the city of Amman, and to travel to nearby places. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Sijal institute to anybody interested in learning Arabic.

Charlotte Nicholas ‘24

University of Michigan, through Coursera Course: Python Basics Instructor: Paul Resnick Duration: 4 weeks Credits: Certificate of Completion I spent my summer working on a Python introduction course. I started out as a complete beginner in computer science and, while I am still a novice in the discipline, I was able to commit some important functions to memory and grasp the fundamentals of the coding language. I studied part-time over the course of a month, doing a self-paced course consisting of online lectures, practice questions and graded assignments at the end of each module. I found that my work at St. John’s was quickly transferable and applied well to my studies over the summer. As my course was fully remote, I found that—as is the case at St. John’s—I had almost complete control over finding the answers to my questions and managing the pace of my work. I found that the remote environment, however, did not align well with my skill set. The detailed work of constructing successful code was satisfying when my code functioned as intended, but this summer taught me that I have a deep passion for community-oriented work. I have learned from this experience that I would best thrive in an environment where I can work and talk with others in-person; I am now looking to establish my career in a field which values face-to-face conversation and service. That being said, I am grateful to have learned the basics of Python. I am in a position where I would be comfortable to continue self-studying, if this were a skill I’d need to pick up again at any point in the future. I am equipped to use the foundation I’ve developed to build up my knowledge of different elements of the coding language, if required in my career.

Dolan Polglaze ‘24

European Alpine Academy Course: EAA Summer Academy Instructor: Hans-Peter Soder Duration: 7/2 - 7/29/2023 Certificate of Completion I spent the past summer as a member of the inaugural cohort of the European Alpine Academy. When the academy was first proposed to me, I was immediately interested in its mission. Mr. Soder, an alum of St. John’s College, had the vision of establishing a new Platonic academy that would aim to gather young people in the Bavarian Alps in order to engage with new sustainable models of living and thinking. This was the Academy’s first year, and I knew going into the experience that myself and all the other young people there would be tasked with developing the Academy’s future. We arrived in the Benedictine monastery where the Academy was to take place and immediately began to feel ourselves affected by the natural landscape around us. The majesty of the mountains set the tone for the project of the Academy by inspiring in all of us a respect for the well-protected nature of the Alps. We spent the next few days living a sort of monastic existence, contemplating the theme Mr. Soder had proposed to us: “Less is more.” Throughout all our activities, we held this idea in our minds as a mooring. The next few weeks were spent hiking, learning conversational German, and meeting local artists, politicians, and startups. We were both experiencing how Bavarians respect and work alongside their natural environment while imagining how the European Alpine Academy will work in the future. For example, we spent one day meeting the mayor of the local town of Murnau, who explained to us how the town manages their eco-tourism, while the next day was spent with a local artist who taught us how his art interacts with the local landscape. It was a wholistic experience centered around the question of how we can live within our means as expressive, artistic, and conscientious beings. My St. John’s education was the prefect preparation for the work of the Academy. Mr. Soder’s vision is to build a summer Academy which itself directly builds on the principles that St. John’s is founded on: conversation and learning from the other. I am beyond excited to continue working with Mr. Soder to found this Academy, since I feel it’s mission is beyond necessary for our modern age. It will be a place where young people can gather, think, and create a future fit for human beings.

Ezra Rosenberg ‘25

Goethe Institute Freiburg, Germany Course: B2 level German Duration: 3.5 weeks) Credits: 75 course hours As a student at St. John’s, I had to learn quickly how to hold seminar-style discussions around a table. I was able to play a suitably sized role speaking in class, because I was not very afraid of being ‘wrong’ in front of others, nor was I proud of being ‘right’ about a given fact. Instead, I could engage freely in discussion and try to do my part to guide a theme onto a more useful mode of discourse. As classes were 100% seminar based, I felt quite at home, and able to participate well. My academic goals are now a bit more ambitious than they were. Especially at St. John’s where so many of the senior texts were written in German, I feel capable of parsing out any piece of writing from Marx to Heidegger. Also, passing the German B2 examination, I am qualified to study in that country for graduate degrees. It is of key importance that Germany, unlike the U.S., does not charge tuition for higher education. The whole experience gave me a lot of self-confidence. Having to navigate the ups and downs of living in another country for a month proved helpful. The NYC subway system that used to intimidate me, is now one I feel comfortable using in my sleep. Also, thinking in another language gives me immense respect and appreciation for the people in my everyday life, who operate in a second, third, or fourth language, simply to get by. If I felt like I was bending over backwards to learn such a related language, I can only imagine how a Vietnamese speaker—for instance—must feel, while becoming proficient in English. I would highly recommend attending the Goethe Institute for anyone with a good background in German, who also wants to take their language skills to the next level. I would add that, like all activities worth doing, ‘the more you put in, the more you will get out.’ Personally, I found that committing to not speaking English helped me greatly. Had I been able, I would have spent the entire summer immersed in the language and culture, rather than just one month. I am very grateful that receiving a Pathways award made this opportunity possible for me. Thanks for reading!

Louis Rosenberg ‘25

University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash (Online) Courses: Intro Biology I & Intro Environmental Studies I Instructors: Amber Teufel; Susan Willis Duration: Full Summer Session (May 8-August 5) Credits: 6 (3 per class) This summer I enrolled in two classes as part of the Pathways Fellowship: a biology class and an environmental studies class. Both classes were taken in an online, asynchronous format through the University of Cincinnati. Except for the biology portion of Freshman Laboratory here at St. John’s, I did not have prior college-level experience in either subject. I selected these classes because I am interested in going to graduate school for (and pursuing a career in) entomology, and most of those programs expect a background in the biological sciences. I found that I particularly enjoyed the content of the environmental science class, which solidified my belief that I will enjoy further studies in ecology as it relates to entomology. These courses also provided me with many opportunities for personal growth. Though I had ample experience with online learning due to the pandemic, the asynchronous structure was largely new to me and required some time to adjust to. Still, I was able to budget my time so that I could spend sufficient time with each class’s material while not falling behind on my job or other commitments, which I believe will be a useful skill down the line. Because interaction with the professors was generally minimal, my learning was very self-directed. When I did have questions about the assignments, it was more difficult to find answers than if I had been able to attend in-person office hours and classes, but that allowed me to obtain some experience advocating for myself via email. While I had a generally positive experience with my courses, I would not recommend the specific program to most other students. I chose to take classes at the University of Cincinnati for two reasons—because it’s a larger school with many asynchronous course options (which allowed me to also stay and work in Annapolis over the summer), and because I am an Ohio resident and could get in-state tuition. I generally found the courses to be less rigorous than I was hoping for, though I do believe that they provided a good foundation for the further studies in biology and environmental science that I hope to complete in the future. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to take these courses over the summer, and I believe that the experience will serve me well as I plan for graduate education.

Catherine Row ‘24

Tallinna Ülikool / Tallinn University Tallinn, Estonia Course: Russian Language A1 Instructors: Tatjana Denistsits, Jekaterina Batrakova Duration: July 17-Aug 4 Credits: 5 ECTS Spending three weeks at Tallinn University Summer School was an experience I will not soon forget, and the reason is not one I anticipated. That is not to say that I did not receive everything that I had anticipated. I learned a tremendous amount of Russian in the three weeks I was there, and I even had the chance to practice using it while buying notebooks and groceries. I made incredible friendships in the student accommodations. Tallinn is an amazingly beautiful and beautifully preserved medieval city. There were all of the conveniences of living in a country so closely connected to the Nordic countries, and I was even able to take a day trip into Helsinki. These are all of the things that I had expected and hoped for. But what took me by surprise and what I will never forget was the reality of living in a post-Soviet country. Estonia has marketed itself as a Nordic tech startup haven. And that is not untrue. But that only tells half of the story, especially with the current war in Ukraine. Estonia is a melting pot of Eastern Europe, and the implications of learning Russian there at this time in history continue to revolve in my mind. The student accommodation was in a classic brutalist Soviet apartment block a fifteen-minute walk from the old town of the city. And while “commie blocks” are definitely out of style, one must allow the Soviets their urban planning. The building was well placed on a plot to take advantage of the beautiful Estonian summer light. Even though my apartment was on the ‘dark’ side of the building, the light was still beautiful—this was just the beginning of the contradictions I lived with in Estonia. Even though there were other courses at the summer school, the university had placed all those learning Russian in apartments with each other. Many others in my flat were studying Soviet history at university. We were all interested in Russian history in one form or another. I am studying Russian because I desperately want to read Russian literature in the original, in typical Johnnie fashion. Many have come to see Russian as the language of the aggressors in a brutal war, but the very existence of Estonia makes that assumption much more complicated. Estonia has one official language, Estonian, but it is functionally a bilingual country. Russian can be used to communicate in almost every circumstance, and often it is necessary if you are even a five-minute walk from the touristy old town and don’t know Estonian. The ethnically Russian and ethnically Estonian populations live side by side, mostly in harmony. With the current influx of Ukrainian refugees who communicate in Russian, it becomes impossible to associate Russian with just Russia and her wrongs. Estonia is a country living at two extremes, the first being its very recent Soviet past, and the second being ethnically similar to Finland. The Estonian and Finnish languages are closely linked, and they are only linked with one other 19

language in Europe, Hungarian, and thus being an honorary Nordic country. This pull is visible everywhere in Estonia, from old town Tallinn to Narva, a city on the Russian border where the common tongue is Russian. Studying Russian as a current means of communication as opposed to a tool for translation was a shock. Intellectually I knew that Russian was not just a language of aggressors or of beautiful literature, but coming from a St. John’s classroom, this was not truly real to me and suddenly I was watching the Barbie movie with two lines of subtitles, the first Estonian, and the second, Russian, in a movie theater in the Coca-Cola Plaza. Seeing the movie with a Russian dub was also a readily available option that my friends in higher level Russian classes took advantage of. This experience changed me for all of these reasons and more. Careers in diplomacy have become much more interesting to me, and going back to Europe in general has become a priority. I have already started researching graduate programs on the continent. The teaching quality at Tallinn University was excellent, and I enjoyed the structure of classes. After three hours of class in the morning, even with homework there was still a little time and energy to explore the beauty of Estonia, from old town Tallinn to swimming in the Baltic Sea on one of Tallinn’s many public beaches. I would highly recommend Tallinn University Summer School for Russian, and I spoke with students in other courses who were also very happy with their experience.

Andrew Selway ‘24

University of Salamanca Salamanca, Spain Course: Cursos Internacionales Duration: July 3 – July 28, 2023 Credits: Certificate of Completion I used the Pathways Fellowship to study at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. The University of Salamanca is one of the oldest universities in the world and was attended by Miguel de Cervantes, author of the program novel Don Quixote. The University offers summer programs for people looking to study the Spanish language in an immersive setting. While there I took classes in Spanish grammar, Spanish speaking, and the history of contemporary Spain. One of the most significant benefits of completing this program was that I was forced to speak Spanish consistently throughout my entire day. I lived in a residency run by several nuns with whom I ate all three meals. While eating we would have small talk entirely in Spanish. Furthermore, all of my classes and the social interactions in between classes were in Spanish. This was incredibly beneficial to my Spanish knowledge and comfort in speaking. I was able to use these conversations and classes as a threshold to gauge my progress–throughout my time in Spain, I saw myself being able to say and understand more and more. During this experience, I made many friends with whom I stay in touch to this day. On the weekends, my friends and I would explore neighboring towns like Leon and Valladolid. One day my friends and I went on a horseback riding trip. Riding through the Spanish countryside gave context to the settings of the stories of Don Quixote that I spent so long reading my junior year. This experience has drastically strengthened my Spanish speaking and understanding goals. I highly recommend looking into the University of Salamanca summer programs for anyone who is interested in learning the Spanish Language.

Rose (Meien) Zhang ‘23

Southern California University of Health Sciences Whittier, CA Course: Organic Chemistry I with Lab Instructor: Ismail Hossain Duration: 5 weeks June 11-July 17, 2023 Credits: 4 Organic Chemistry I with Lab has been really helpful for me as someone who intends to pursue medicine and needs to fulfil all my prerequisites that weren’t available at St. John’s College. This course mainly reviewed some materials from inorganic chemistry, delved deep into the diversity of functional groups in regard to reactivity and mechanism, and explored stereochemistry as well. It was very fast-paced, and within five weeks the course covered everything that other colleges go over in a full semester. On top of the fast-pace of this course, one thing I really appreciated is that it allowed me to take Lab online, which not a lot of other institutions offered. The online lab, allowed me to interact with different students through Zoom as well. I would definitely recommend this course for other Johnnies who have a short amount of time but want to get credits to fulfil the pre-requisites for grad school or other careers. I was working full time while taking this course, and the time-management skills I’ve acquired through my studies and experience at St. John’s came in very handy in juggling my time for studies and work. Through taking organic chemistry, I have a greater appreciation for medicine, seeing how chemical reaction is inherent for pharmaceuticals, and I’m very excited to delve more into the field. I did struggle with the lecture part, mainly because I did not take General Chemistry and what they wanted me to know was very different from SJC, thus I lacked the foundation needed to keep up easily with the fast-paced course. But still, taking this course helped me check off a really important task for pursuing medicine and studying for the MCAT.