With fall quarter just around the corner, many students are beginning to have their second pass times, and so beginning to scratch their heads at what classes to take.
Never fear, because The Aggie is here! Reporter Andre Lee asked fellow students what were their most fulfilling classes that they suggest other students must take before graduating. Here are their helpful suggestions and commentary, in no particular order.
1. Sociology 1 (SOC 001): Introduction to Sociology with Jonathan Mermis-Cava
“That was my first sociology class, I learned a lot about different cultures and groups. It was a two-hour lecture, but I was never bored, because he was very engaging. He asked questions, and had the class participate, he involved everyone in the class. He talked about his experiences in the Peace Corps and related it to different cultures and examples.
It was the first time I thought about culture and how it is in different places. It wasn’t just another math or science class,” said Avnish Brar, junior managerial economics and communication double major.
2. Freshman Seminar (FRS 001): Poetry by Heart with John Boe
“It was just memorizing poems and expressing what you think about those poems and then presenting to another class. I’m really shy about talking in front of people, and that made me get out of my shell. I learned some of the most famous poets … I never thought about taking a class on poetry and it was something else I got to see besides math and science. It balanced out my stress really well, the poetry helped me to de-stress, and you could really relate to some of the poems,” said Norma Arenez, junior biological systems engineering major.
3. Nutrition 10 (NST 010) with Professor Liz Applegate
“We need to take care of ourselves, and that’s what made the class most fulfilling. For a lot of classes you just drink a lot of energy drinks, but this class really helped me to better my health. The teacher was really well qualified to teach what she did,” said Chien Saeschao, sophomore electrical engineering.
4. Religious Studies 3C (RST 3C) The Ritual Dimension: Sacrifice. With Professor Wendy Terry
“It was a really interesting class that really made you think about how you see things, and how society, especially religion, is structured – how everything is structured around ritual and how rituals themselves are structured. How rituals reflect meaning in the world around them as seen by the people who use the rituals. The teacher kept me interested, and she was friendly, she was rational, more so than some religious studies and philosophy teachers. Overall I enjoyed the class a lot,” said Brian Pait, junior philosophy major.
5. MUSIC 10 (MUS 010) Introduction to Music Literature with Professor Chris Froh
“It was a subject I enjoyed, and it was a really interesting to learn about; he really engaged his students with examples. It was really cool because he would have audio examples, he would have people come in and perform, and he really knew the subject fully and so he was able to teach it to us through multiple mediums,” said Geoffrey Abram, junior philosophy major.
6. Philosophy 5 (PHI 005) Critical Reasoning with Nicholas Diehl
“It’s one of the best classes I’ve taken, and I still remember almost all of the course material. He developed a personal relationship with each and every one of his students,” said Devon Mooers, junior managerial economics major.
7. Political Science 4 (POL 004): Introduction to Political Theory with Elissa Alzate
“I thought it was most fulfilling because for my political science major, I haven’t found my niche in which emphasis I wanted to try out. I’m in love with this major, but I haven’t been a fan of the introductory classes I’ve taken. I found something I was really passionate about in political science. The material was easy to understand, and it was very straightforward. The way she helped me interpret the readings were very catchy, and I was satisfied with the fact that I was able to retain the information. It was something I could actually relate and use in my career for the future,” said Avigale de Asis, junior political science Asian-American studies double major.
8. Asian American Studies 112 (ASA 114): Asian American Women with Catherine Fung
“[Catherine Fung] really tried to establisher relationships with the student. She gave us great tips on how to write well. Also I could really relate to her class material, because I’m an Asian-American woman: it was really insightful, and it was interesting, but it also wasn’t the easiest class. It challenged you to think about the female idea on a structural level, on a society level. We studied a lot of different theories…it was a really, really great class. I think I did well because it was such a fulfilling class. [The grade] was less to do with because it was easy…it was because it was a great professor and a great topic,” said Cheri Buenaflor, senior communication and Asian-American studies double major.
ANGELA RUGGIERO contributed to this article. ANDRE LEE can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
