My name is Bryce I’m from Detroit, MI so being in Wooster, OH is a big adjustment for me but I am happy I chose The College of Wooster to continue my academic as well as my athletic career. Every single student, professor and coach I have met so far has been every helpful and enthusiastic about helping me better myself. I’m excited to get deeper into this college experience and tackle the new challenges that ill face this year.
They say the liberal arts were developed to grant people freedom to allow them to grow. William Cron disagrees, saying the liberal arts were developed to enable people to gain freedom as individuals, and to function well as part of their larger communities. Most people do not actually know what this freedom means.
William Cron argues that most people do not actually know what the proposed “freedom,” means. He cites how politicized and over marketed the term now is. He speaks to us, the readers asking with what purpose the liberal arts education was designed, the evolution it has experienced since its conception in Greek universities and the changes it has undergone to come to be as politically loaded as it is today. He examines all the progress that has been made in the design of a curriculum, but also how processes and its structure remain the same taking the form of lists. He describes how although our knowledge has advanced greatly over the years, the true definition of freedom and its price is still ambiguous.
Although the spectrum of people served by liberal arts education has expanded greatly and accommodates more diverse people than it initially did- women and other segregated and minority groups, we still do not clearly understand the goals of such an education. William Cron goes onto to answer his first question of “What is the goal of a liberal arts education?” by suggesting that the goal should be measured by the individual the education produces stating among other traits that such an individual must be able to listen, read, empathize, speak persuasively and solve puzzles and problems and be humble and tolerant.
All ten of these qualities describe an individual. However, no freedom serves the individual and his community. Freedom is only sustainable in a community. Therefore, the individual must be one who can connect, with himself, his environment, and his community, and leave each of those three things better than he found them.
Communication, as both Cathy Birkenstein and Gerald Graff- authors of They Say/ I say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, and William Cronon, is one of the most central traits of a person educated in the liberal arts. A proficiency in communicating enables the individual to exercise their freedom and build and support the society and community they are a part of. I find this argument particularly persuasive. This effective communication is dependent on a person’s being able to quickly and clearly assert the purpose of his communication. This enables the conversation to be clear and constructive and for the other party in the conversation to appreciate the subject matter better. This kind of conversation is what creates connection- in William Cron’s view, the true goal of an education in the liberal arts.
Communication and its efficiency depends entirely on our ability to listen. A good conversation is only therefore possible when people listen to each other and respond to each other ideas rather than the ideas they already hold in their heads and project onto everyone else. It is such conversation that defines true freedom and a liberal art educated individual- their ability to function as part of a community and to interact with the said community efficiently. This is only possible when we take the time to actually listen to each other speak.
My name is Will and I am a first year from Granville, Ohio. Unlike most of my fellow students, I took a gap year between high school. This period in my influenced me to deeply consider my ambitions as well as my interests, and as a result, I decided to reapply for college. During the spring of my senior year in high school, I had originally decided to attend college at Wittenburg Univeristy to pursue marine biology as well as join the lacrosse team. However, after plenty of time to reconsider, I realized that I find a better academic challenge at the College of Wooster. That being said, I plan to challenge myself to be the best student I know I can be, and to branch out my connections across campus with other students as much as possible. To wrap things up, I will share a brief story about the last time a broke a bone. February of my senior year, I found myself with my friends at the top of one of Ohio’s most gnarly peaks: Mad River Mountain. It was a particularly warm day and all the snow at the slopes that day were completely frozen. During one of my runs through the terrain park, I decided to jump the very last ramp at the bottom of the hill. Everything was going smoothly, I hit the ramp and glided off without error, but immediately after my skis left the earth surface, I noticed that there was no down ramp to speak of. I then proceeded to get obliterated by the icy ground and break my collar bone. However I did not realize that anything was wrong at that moment, so I preceded to ski for another 5 minutes or so before blacking out in front of the medic tent and being told that I had snapped my collar bone. And that’s the story about the last time I broke a bone. Thanks for reading y’all!
Hello everyone, my name is Joseph. I’m from Cleveland, OH. I love playing guitar and skateboarding. One surprising thing about myself is that I was awarded an Emmy certificate for my work on a short documentary I made called Razzle Dazzle with my film class in high school. The documentary is about a program called “Razzle Dazzle” at a local arts center near my high school. Razzle Dazzle is a program that gives people with special needs the opportunity to sing, dance, and perform on stage.
I chose Wooster for a couple reasons. My mother went to Wooster and loved it, and she brought me with her when she went to her reunions. I first saw Wooster when I was 7. Because my mom used to take me with her when she went to her reunions every five years, I became accustomed to the campus and the people. By the time I was ready to start applying for colleges, Wooster already began feeling like a second home. I particularly like the campus and community of Wooster.
I’ve got a couple of big goals this semester. I’d like to improve my fluency in Spanish through my Spanish class. I would like to become a better writer, and I think a couple of my classes will help me with that. Right now, I am not entirely sure what I want to do with my life, so I would like to use college as a time for introspection and exploration to get an idea of what I’d like to do. Also, I’m very interested in getting involved in some extracurriculars here at Wooster. Lastly, I would like to work on getting more fit.
Hi, everyone. This is my first post. My name is Huzhi Li. If you find my name too hard to pronounce it. That’s fine. Just call me Martin. I am from Chengdu, China. It is the city where those most adorable pandas live. Besides of that, the food is great. I especially like the hotpot.
this is how the hotpot looks like
I am so grateful to choose Wooster as the place to continue my study. Everybody is helpful, the weather is good and the professors are nice, except for the fact that the food is not spicy. Every time when I see the pictures of the hot pot, I will literally miss that.
Nice to meet you, everyone.
Hi, my name is Brooks and a surprising thing about me would be that I used to work in my dads warehouse that supplied Wooster with the new electrical supplies for their new building. I chose Wooster because it wasn’t far from home and they offered me a chance to earn a top notch degree that would help me better myself and prepare me for my future career. Some of my biggest goals for this semester would be to do good in classes (obviously) and to also make new friends that I will remember for a lifetime.
Hey everyone, My online name is Jovi and I have decided to name myself after the most inspiring and loving person in my life. I chose to attend the college of Wooster because they provided me with such a personal experience from day one. They were so helpful with the college application process and provided me with every piece of information that I needed. I also chose Wooster because (as much as I love my big city) I wanted a small town and smaller class size experience. My goals for this semester are to maintain a positive mentality, practice self care, prioritize, and of course have a good time! I think I am full of surprises.. for example, I have a collection of turtle trinkets from all around the world that I have collected. I also have four tattoos (including one of a turtle.) In case you haven’t guessed, turtles are my favorite animal. I also love antiquing and vintage shopping and creating unique looks! I look forward to my experience here at Wooster and cannot wait to see what the year has in store for me.
Hello everyone, my name is Michael but my friends call me Fish. I like to listen to rock and metal music. I also enjoy playing video games with my friends. I found out about the College of Wooster from my college advisors who recommended I check the school out. Once I visited I knew I would be right at home here and my major was even offered (Molecualr Biology). My goal is to become more serious and study harder than I did in high school.
Hey y’all, I’m Camryn! A few facts about myself are that I really like to sing, dance and hang out with friends. Something that might be surprising is that I really enjoy getting to learn about people on a personal level. I really like to hear about people’s backgrounds, how they grew up and small things about them that might seem irrelevant in normal conversation. I originally heard about Wooster through my college counselor at my high school as well as a friend who also attends Wooster but is now a sophomore. I started researching the school more and it rose to one of my top schools. Though it did not have a forensics program like some of the other schools I was interested in, after visiting campus I enjoyed the strong sense of a community more than any other school I visited. My biggest goal for this semester is to get a feel for the college lifestyle and to balance a job with my academic studies and social life.
Hello! I am Kanishk and I am from India. I like to try new things, I tend to cultivate new hobbies and understand different stuff around me. I don’t read much but history has always enticed me! learning about the past has its own charm. Latin America has witnessed a innumerable events since the prehistoric era. I came to know about the college of Wooster when my guidance counsellor told me to apply here and the IS is one thing that pulled me here. my biggest goal is to try as many things as possible and make new friends away from home.
