Spring term is always refreshing at Carleton. After a long and cold winter, it’s impossible to take the warm weather for granted. All around campus, the last patches of snow are melting. The flowers are blossoming. The seniors are taking in their last few weeks as students of Carleton, and the sophomores are declaring their majors. These are exciting times!
What follows is a series of interviews with each of the newly declared English majors. Although they only answered four questions each, their answers reassure us that Second Laird is receiving an impressive group of students who are sure to bring with them refreshing ideas and perspectives.
Jo Berlage
Where are you from?
Decorah, IA
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
The Art of Jane Austen
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
The Fellowship of the Ring
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I would choose to be a sylph because I’d love the freedom of flying, and being invisible would be pretty fun too.
Wrenna Fine
Where are you from?
Washington, DC
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Modernism
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
A goat. How can they look that unsteady while being so nimble? Their legs are so delicate relative to their bodies, but they love to climb on things. I have to know how they do it.
Lena Stein
Where are you from?
Elon, North Carolina
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Literary Revision with Nancy Cho
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Beloved by Toni Morrison because I’m super late to the game and just read it.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I’m on the fence between something that can swim and something that can fly. I think it’d be cooler to explore the ocean though, so I’ll say octopus.
Naomi Brim
Where are you from?
Portland, Oregon
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Definitely The Art of Jane Austen with Connie this past winter! It’s all downhill from here.
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Hm, probably Persuasion by Jane Austen (which we read in “The Art of Jane Austen”). Captain Wentworth’s pen drop is indisputably the most emotionally charged moment in all of English literature.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I would be a chameleon because they look like cute little grumpy old men. I love them. Also, as a chameleon, I could change color to match my moods — uniting my form and content. ; )
Jelilat Odubayo
Where are you from?
Sagamu Nigeria and Houston, Texas
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Contemporary Playwrights of Color
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
A short-hair cat; I like the calm nature of (most) cats. They stand firmly in who they are. They make time for sleeping and staring out of windows. I admire this.
Maddie Bryant
Where are you from?
Eugene, OR
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Critical Methods
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Magical Year of Thinking by Joan Didion
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
A golden retriever because I would be given many tennis balls
Rebby Lee
Where are you from?
Atlanta, GA
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Creative Writing with Susan
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – I’ll probably hate Ruth forever
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I’d be my dog, Rosie! She sleeps all day, eats healthier than me, gets regular exercise, and my parents probably love her more than me.
Felipe Jimenez
Where are you from?
From Rochester Minnesota!!
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
The American West
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I would choose to be an eagle for a day so I could soar across the country on wings
Jordan Fues
Where are you from?
I’m from Bethesda, Maryland (right outside of D.C.)
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
My favorite English class I’ve taken at Carleton is the Art of Jane Austen with Connie!
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I’d be a hummingbird for a day because I’d love to be able to fly wherever and whenever!
Max Kerner
Where are you from?
I’m from Westchester, New York
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Murder
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I’d be a Dolphin, since spending the whole day underwater sounds like a nice change of pace from being on land. Dolphins would also be nice animals to be around.
Sam Goity
Where are you from?
I am from San Mateo, California.
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
My favorite English class I’ve taken at Carleton so far is English 187, “Murder”, with Pierre Hecker.
What’s the last book you read that you had strong feelings about?
The last book I read and had strong feelings about was Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
If I could be any animal for a day, I would be a pig, because they’re just so cute and smart!
Rajkumar Raiyani
Where are you from?
I was born in Morbi, a small town in Gujarat, India.
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
ENGL271 – Poetry Workshop
What’s the last book you read and had strong feelings about?
“Leading” by Sir Alex Ferguson. As an avid Manchester United supporter, this book provided me with an insight into Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial career and how he transformed Manchester United into one of the world’s most successful football club. This is a favourite book of mine pertaining to sports and is a must read for sport enthusiasts.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I would prefer to be a tiger. These mammals have a calm yet powerful presence that I admire.
Caroline Tsui
Where are you from?
I’m from Wellesley, MA
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Shakespeare II with Pierre Hecker
What’s the last book you read and had strong feelings about?
We just read Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser in Nancy Cho’s Cities class, and every time we got to another chapter about Hurstwood I was filled with so much rage and concern and secondhand anxiety that I wanted to punch a wall.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
A red-tailed hawk, because a) I really want to know what flying feels like, b) raptors are generally better fliers than songbirds (they’re more able to ride thermals and soar, whereas songbirds have to flap everywhere and don’t get up as high in my experience, and that just seems like a lot more effort for way less reward), and also c) Tobias is the best Animorphs character and I will die on that hill.
Kiki Perry
Where are you from?
Denver, CO
Favorite English class at Carleton?
A tie between African Literature in English & Toni Morrison: Novelist
What is the last book that you read and had strong feelings about?
The Coming by Daniel Black
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose?
A cat!
Cara Meyer
Where are you from?
Golden Valley, MN
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
Contemporary Indian Fiction
What’s the last book you read and had strong feelings about?
This is how you lose her- Junot Diaz
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
a koala- taking a nap in Australia would be pretty sweet
Gray Harrison
Where are you from?
I am from Lyme, New Hampshire.
What’s your favorite English class you’ve taken at Carleton?
My favorite English class I have taken at Carleton is Modernism.
What’s the last book you read and had strong feelings about?
The last book I read and had strong feelings about was Much Ado About Nothing.
If you could be any animal for a day, which would you choose and why?
I would like to be a wolf for a day because they are basically dogs, but more beautiful and mysterious.