Cal Shin

25Fulfilled

Most people don't go straight into their junior fall after spending their sophomore summer on campus taking classes. In fact, many people choose to take their junior fall off, either to spend time with family, pursue a job or internship, or travel—most of my friends included. However, I chose to be "on" for my fifth term in a row since sophomore fall. I may have been apart from my friends for several months, but staying connected was easier than I thought! We would text and call each other to catch up about things happening in a particular week, as well as any momentous occasions. One unusual occurrence on campus I experienced this term was a bonfire-less homecoming. For the first time since 2020, we did not have a homecoming bonfire because of a statewide ban on open fires. Instead, the Green was filled with strobes of colorful lasers. 

Instead of a bonfire built by the incoming class, we had lasers!

In the vein of being on campus for consecutive terms, it was only fitting that by sheer coincidence, all of my classes this term were consecutive as well. 

I started my mornings with PHIL 11: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy, satisfying one of my Philosophy major requirements. I wanted to take some time to really focus on some of the most "classic" philosophers one might think of when someone mentions philosophy. Every class was rich with discussions with 20 of my classmates on Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Categories. My favorite part of the class was writing the midterm and final paper, as we had the opportunity to connect our personal interests to the works of Plato and Aristotle, respectively. As someone passionate about the intersections between philosophy and technology, I wrote about how each of these philosophers might respond to different aspects of technology that most people take for granted. I knew I was enjoying this class when, talking to my friends about the topic I chose, they pointed out my palpable excitement. 

After my Philosophy class, I headed straight to ECON 27: Labor Economics. All Economics majors are required to take a culminating experience and its corresponding prerequisites. I've been torn between two different culminating tracks, both of which happen to have this class as a prerequisite. I loved our discussions on labor demand and supply, human capital, unemployment, and discrimination on topics ranging from major league baseball to college loans. After taking this class, I have a better sense of what culminating track I want to pursue. 

Last but not least was my final class of the day, GEOG 1.02: The Natural Environment. This class isn't for my majors. Rather, it met a distributive requirement I needed. One of my friends recommended GEOG 1.02 because he really enjoyed taking the course. For ten weeks, I learned about various Earth-system processes such as Earth-Sun geometry, the water cycle, and climate change, and how these processes are all interconnected. For our final project, we picked any spot outdoors, made scientific observations over the course of ten weeks, and analyzed how different Earth-system processes made our outdoor spot the way it is today. 

I also took a not-for-credit Philosophy Junior Honors Seminar, a prerequisite to writing a Philosophy thesis. While we only met 4-5 times that term, the depth of our back-and-forths made up for it. Before each meeting, we would write or refine a draft of a potential thesis proposal and read each other's work. During our meetings, we asked each other questions and received feedback for every proposal. The fact that our seminar was particularly small (only 4 people, including the professor) and we were all interested in ethics made for a lot of interesting back-and-forth conversations that often continued even when the seminar was over. 

Junior fall has been quite the memorable term, especially right after sophomore summer. Having been on for 5 terms in a row, I'm ready for my 6-week winter break, as well as my off-term!