A Day in the Life (Senior Year)

Welcome to the final (probably) “day in the life” blog that I will write for the Carleton Admissions blog.  I have been writing this blog every year for the past four years (freshman, sophomore, junior). How far I’ve come! Each day at Carleton continues to be ever changing, filled with different challenges, new concepts to learn, and fun that comes with awesome people and community. I don’t have to get nostalgic about graduating yet, but as my last fall term starts to come to a close, I’m beginning to see the future reminiscing in the distance.

Wake up – 9:18 am

Assuming I don’t have an assignment to finish before class starts, I usually get up about 30 minutes before my 2a class starts. I don’t like to commit to 0-5s on my alarms so I typically set it to some arbitrary number in-between. Some of my housemates are also in my first class, so after we are all ready to go we usually walk to class together. As a senior I live in a single in a house on campus and it has been quite fun. We have house dinners, movie nights, and it’s nice to have a place to come back to that feels more like a home (as opposed to a dorm–though those still end up feeling homey too).

Soils – 9:50 am

My first class of the day is GEOL-358, a geology course called “Soils” with Dan Maxbauer. Soils is pretty self explanatory (let’s just say the name of the class is pretty accurate). We talk about how soil forms, what factors go into its development, how to classify it. Today we talked about a paper we read about how soil erosion impacts biogeochemical cycles in soil.

I decided to take it it to see if I would be interested in soil science for future grad school or research, and it turns out I will probably not be a soil scientist (and that’s okay). I have definitely enjoyed some aspects of the class (digging giant holes in the arboretum on campus has been a blast) but I think my greater interests perhaps lie elsewhere in structural geology, hydrogeology, or perhaps tectonics.

Constitutional Law – 11:10 am

My second class of the day is “Constitutional Law I” (POSC 271). My professor, Steve Poskanzer, was previously the president of the college and is a fantastic teacher. Despite not ending up as a political science major like I thought that I would, I still like to remain involved in politics academically and I am really enjoying this class (dare I say it is in my top 5 favorite courses at Carleton). Today we talked about strict scrutiny and the Court’s decision to essentially strike down affirmative action as a viable option in higher education admission processes.

The class focuses on how to make constitutional arguments and how to interpret the constitution, federalism and the structure of the US government, as well as how racial justice has been a constitutional issue from the founding of the United States and remains unfinished. Steven even has the class hold a moot court. I got to be one of the nine Supreme Court justices and write a decision with my fellow justices regarding a current case in the actual Supreme Court. Truly this is a fascinating course and I am so glad I decided to take it.

Lunch – 12:30 pm

After constitutional law I go back to my house for a quick lunch and to change into my field clothes for my soils lab. I usually eat leftovers or something quick with my friend and housemate Clara because I am typically pressed for time.

Print something at the library – 12:54 pm

Before lab I often have to print my groups most recent lab report in the library (aka the “Libe”) to turn in at the start of class (which starts at 1 pm). Let’s just say I’m usually cutting it pretty close when it comes to arriving to class on time.

Soils lab – 1 pm

After printing I head over to the geology classrooms in Anderson Hall. There our class quickly meets and talks about the plan for the four hour lab before heading out into the field. Today we had to fill in the soil pits that we had dug throughout the arboretum earlier in the term. The pits ranged from 1-2 meters deep, and we were able to look at the horizons (distance layers in the soil) and types of soil structures, textures, and colors. We have been using these soil pits to learn more about the type of soils in the arb, because it has had varying degrees of agriculture, tree planting, and prairie restoration in different parts of the land.

Once we had finished filling in the pits (you can’t just keep a giant pit in the ground all year long) we went back to the classroom to work on our final lab reports for the course. Our report talks about the different land uses in the Cowling Arboretum and how the current and past uses and vegetation have influenced the soil profiles that develop that beneath the surface.

Dinner – After 5 pm

Lab ends at five, so after that I head back to my house (or a friends house!) to eat dinner. Sometimes do mt own thing for dinner and sometimes I cook with other people, it kind of depends on the vibe of the evening and who is around. I am on the 5 meals a week meal plan but I don’t always use all of my meal swipes because I often buy groceries and eat at home. Dinner is one of my favorite parts of the day because I get to talk to my friends and see how everyone’s day went.

Office hours – 7:30 pm

Post dinner I have office hours for my student employment position. This term I am working as a TA (teaching assistant) for “Tectonics” (GEOL 220), another geology course involving–you guessed it–plate tectonics. This has been one of the most active work positions I have had on campus. The class has 30-something people in it and the labs and assignments for the course come with many questions from students (which is a great thing). As a TA I attend lab once a week and answer questions various questions people have throughout the lab, as well as check in and see how people are doing. In the evenings I host office hours where students can ask questions about course material etc. I took Tectonics my sophomore year, and it has been one of my favorite classes at Carleton! It has been super fun to TA a course that I have really enjoyed, and work with one of my favorite professors–Sarah Titus.

Usually students work 10 hours a week, but I am studying off campus next term in New Zealand. Since my work study is part of my financial aid, I am able to work 15 hours a week my fall and spring term this year to make up for the hours I will miss while I am abroad. Essentially this means I have a lot of office hours this term…

Homework ~after 10:30 pm ish

My office hours technically end at 10 pm on Mondays, but often I head out by 10:30 (sometimes I am a bit too chatty). I do my best to get some work done–typically in the Libe or in Anderson–before I go to bed. At some point I end up going back house where I probably talk to my housemates more than I should if I want to get hours of sleep. Luckily I don’t have class on Tuesdays so I don’t need to complete anything that will be due the next day. Tuesdays are a work day for my comps–which is a senior thesis but Carleton edition. This term I only have two classes and then my comps because the senior composition counts as 6 credits and is essentially a third class.

Go to bed

Enough said. What a busy day!

Honorary Mention

On Monday I don’t have frisbee practice but I do during other days of the week! I play for Syzygy, the D1 team on campus that plays in the women’s division. Practice is usually about two hours long in the afternoon and is a lot of fun!

Hannah is a senior majoring in Geology and minoring in Classics. As a Minnesotan she considers herself somewhat of an expert on MN winters. At Carleton, she fills her schedule with writing for the Admissions blog, doing geology research, and TAing classes. When Hannah isn’t in on the academic grind, she can be found tossing a frisbee with Syzygy, playing club soccer, crocheting, exploring the Arb, thrifting, and hanging out with her besties.