My Favorite Classes at Barnard

Hornick, Andrea. Fashionable Goose Accompanies 
Flighty Mistress For Late Afternoon Stroll. 2009.

I have shared with you experiences of gaining professional skills during college and enjoying life in Morningside Heights outside class, but those are really just the tip of the iceberg. Today I am going to crack into the ice and show you the essence of studying at Barnard: strong academics.

As you may have heard, Barnard's curriculum, the Nine Ways of Knowing, gives you a great opportunity to explore various subjects, helping you find the field(s) of study that you are truly passionate about and further supplementing your major studies. I came into Barnard not knowing what to major in. So I started with classes that would fulfill the Nine Ways of Knowing. (There are really so many options and you can even petition for a class that's not on the pre-approved list.) I ended up taking classes that are fun beyond imagination.

One of the first classes that I took at Barnard was a drawing class called Drawing in Museums. I did a lot of visual arts in high school so I wasn't expecting anything brand-spanking-new. However, the moment Professor Andrea Hornick walked into the art studio, I knew that I was committing to an unprecedented adventure. Andrea (she liked to go by her first name) is an established artist in New York City known for her adaptations of Renaissance masterpieces. She began the class by showing us her recent works in which she copied Renaissance female portraits and elegantly superimposed animals over the space around the females portrayed. "This is exactly what we are going to do in this class," said Andrea, "to copy what people have long considered masterpieces and then give them a subtle twist and make them into something completely beyond people's expectations." She continued, "It doesn't matter if you have previous experience with drawing. I am not here to teach you skills but to inspire you to think in an artistic way. I want to be a visiting professor at Barnard because I know it's the perfect place to carry out experimental projects." 

Just like Andrea said, the class turned out to be an amazing experimental journey. We visited different museums during class time every week and copied artwork. The homework to take home was the "giving it a twist" part. And then we would come to next class to present our "twisted" works and we discussed the philosophy and process behind our artistic decisions with each other. At the end of the semester, Andrea helped each of us put together a portfolio and conferenced with us individually to discuss our experiences. I still remember the last comment that she gave to me: "You may or may not pursue drawing as your life career, but I do hope that it will always be part of you and remind you from time to time to give life an elegant twist!"

Another of my favorite classes is Intermediate French with Professor Brian O'Keeffe. You would imagine a language class being full of dull grammatical exercises, but surprise, surprise! At Barnard, you get sophisticated in language classes too. The best moments in class were when Professor O'Keeffe explained the philosophy behind particular French words or grammatical structure. For example, one day we were reviewing French words related to time and "maintenant" (now) was one of them. Suddenly he stopped and asked, "Has any of you thought about how this word was formed?" Nobody responded. He continued, "Well if you look at it closely, you will see that it is made up of 'main' (meaning hand in French) and 'tenant' (a form of the verb 'to hold" in French) so 'maintenant' literally means holding hands." He went on to challenge us to think about the relationship between the temporality of the word "now" and "holding hands." I won't go into detail because the discussion lasted half an hour, but one thing is for sure--it was a mind-blowing class for me. If I hadn't taken this French class, I would probably use the word "maintenant" for the rest of my life without knowing how philosophical it could be!

These are just samples of the amazing classes offered at Barnard. II could go on and on about all the "wow" moments in almost every class that I have taken. Barnard makes you want to learn and that's the best kind of education you can ask for.

Fangdai

The Best of Morningside Heights

Riverside Park

You may have heard about all the exciting things that New York City has to offer, but you probably didn't even realize that you don’t have to get on a downtown subway to enjoy yourself. Barnard is located in one of the most amazing neighborhoods in Manhattan—Morningside Heights. It has everything that you need to make your college life a wonderful one. 

Every day, I wake up to the beautiful view of river outside my window. (Yes, the Hudson River is our neighbor!) Everyone knows that Central Park is awesome, but Riverside is no less! It is a scenic waterfront public park with an esplanade lined by honey-locusts and it is only a two minute walk from Barnard's campus. When spring is here and I've had enough of indoor work-outs, I go for a morning run in the park. The green nature refreshes my body and mind and prepares me well for another busy day of school and work. If you are a biker, don’t miss the waterfront car-free bike routes! Biking is one of my favorite spring activities, so don’t be surprised if you spot me biking down along the river on Sunday afternoons. I like the bike route in Riverside more than any of the others in the city because it literally runs along the water. Parts of the route are even built directly above the water. All my stress seems to go away when I see Hudson glowing under the sun. 

Riverside Park & the Hudson River

If you aren't an outdoor sport person, that's okay too; I'm not always in a sporty mood either. There are tons of great indoor places to explore in Morningside Heights. You might hear your friends say, "Let’s grab coffee at Starbucks!" Yes…but no. Morningside Heights has something better than that! My go-to coffee shop is Oren’s Daily Roast. It is a three minute walk from Barnard. One of the aftereffects of having studied abroad in Paris is that you care how coffee smells. I do and I love Oren’s because their coffee smells so good! (This might sound a little crazy, but I feel like I can smell their coffee aroma even when I am a block away.) 

Blueberry pancakes from Community

If you're a brunch person, don’t be discouraged by the long line outside Community Food & Juice. There are various opinions about what is the best brunch place in Morningside Heights, but Community always has my vote. Their blueberry pancake is the most elegant one that I have ever had, not to mention their freshly squeezed fruit juice! 

As a student, I am never disappointed by the intellectual life in Morningside Heights, either. You will very likely hear the name “Book Culture” again and again during your first week of classes at Barnard because your professors like to order textbooks from them. But it doesn’t just sell textbooks. It is a lovely boutique bookstore with great selections of books to read for fun outside of class. Sometimes it has used book sales and you might be able to get the book that you have always wanted to read for as little as one dollar! Again, don’t be surprised if you see me standing in front of the stacks, not knowing which one to read for next weekend because Book Culture just has every book on my reading list. 

One of two Book Culture locations near campus

I could go on and on about all the amazing things that Morningside Heights has to offer, but I prefer to invite you to explore it yourself. I have no doubt that you will find your own must-go places whether they are restaurants, coffee shops, or just your own secret spots to relax. If you run into me grabbing coffee in Oren’s or taking a walk in Riverside next semester, please say hi! :)

 

Fangdai

Internships in NYC and Beyond

The office of the book agency where I interned. Check out the view!

If you haven't heard about it already, you might be curious to know that Barnard's Career Development office is among the best in the country.  The office is staffed by professional counselors who help you plan careers, draft resumes and cover letters, prepare for job interviews, etc. What’s even more amazing is that Barnard has its own job search system, where employers constantly post internship and job opportunities that are specifically targeted at Barnard students and graduates. I have personally benefited from the system hugely. 

First semester of my sophomore year, I became very interested in publishing and wanted to gain some hands-on experience in the industry. I began by going to the Career Development Office and meeting with a counselor. She taught me how to use Barnard’s job search engine, NACElink, and we found out that a boutique literary agency in NYC was recruiting summer interns from Barnard. The counselor helped me put together a resume and a cover letter and, after submitting them to the recruiter, I was offered an interview. I could not have been more nervous than when I was waiting to be interviewed. However, the interviewer greeted me warmly and told me that they had loved their former Barnard interns so much that they had even helped some of them find full-time jobs after the internship. This is also why they recruit specifically from Barnard every year. Having this connection, I became much more comfortable and the interview turned out to be an enjoyable experience! I was offered a position. 

Ready for work!

Here comes another piece of Barnard magic.

Because of the tough job market, many internships nowadays are unpaid. Barnard clearly has recognized the financial difficulties that students might encounter while exploring careers. And here is how school supports us: Barnard has a grant programs to help students take unpaid internships throughout the year. As long as you meet specific requirements for each semester, you can apply to be a grant recipient. 

Since my publishing internship was unpaid, I made sure that I did make use of this opportunity. Not only did I end up receiving enough grant money to cover daily expenses such as transportation and food, I was also offered subsidized housing on campus. I only needed to pay a small application fee to be able to live on campus throughout my internship. It took so much weight off my shoulders! I was actually able to focus on my job and enjoy the experience without having to worry about how I was going to pay for my Metro Card and dinners. The career support that Barnard provides for students who are just starting off their internship experiences is a significant one. 

Rows of books at the agency where I interned

And as always, Barnard goes global! Not only do local NYC employees come to recruit on Barnard campus, Barnard’s career connection extends to companies from different parts of the U.S. and even abroad. I was just offered a marketing intern position in a luxury retail company that comes all the way from the U.K. to recruit Barnard students every year. This summer, I will be exploring the European luxury/fashion market in a beautiful town right outside London. Where else could I have found such a unique opportunity, had I not chosen to become a Barnard student? 

Fangdai

International Professors at Barnard

 

Prof. Peter Connor speaking at Barnard with Indian poet Arvind Mehrotra

As an international student who grew up in different cultures and has always enjoyed being around people of diverse backgrounds, I was looking for a college community that would allow me to continue living like a global citizen. What made Barnard stand out from all the choices that I had was the exceptional presence of an international population on campus. As a comparative literature major, I have come across professors in various language and cultural studies departments and it often surprises me that many of them are from foreign countries just like I am! Barnard’s diversity is not only cultivated in the student body, but is also deeply rooted in the faculty body.

Professor Brian O’Keeffe is one of my favorite international professors at Barnard. He teaches both in the French department and the comparative literature program. The first class that I took with Professor O’Keeffe was Introduction to Comparative Literature. As he was born in Ireland and educated in England, his academic interests are focused on Irish/English literature. Since I wasn’t familiar with this particular literary tradition at all, I reached out to him, explaining that I may not have enough background knowledge for his class. However, Professor O’Keeffe responded surprisingly well to my concern! Not only did he fill me in with a brief presentation of the Irish/English history and literary tradition, he also shared many personal anecdotes that led him to his academic interests. Because he is international as well and appreciates the diversity of Barnard’s student body, Professor O’Keeffe even invited me to study the Chinese translation of an Irish literary work that he was working on at the moment. It turned out that the interactions with Professor O’Keeffe played a deciding role when I decided to major in comparative literature. Now he is my academic advisor and a mentor in every way. After hearing that I will be interning near Oxford in the UK this summer, he told me not to forget to get some good restaurant recommendations from him -- an Oxford alumnus -- before leaving. 

Another of my favorite international professors at Barnard is Professor Peter Connor. He is the Director of the Barnard’s Center for Translation and simply a walking library of language and translation related knowledge. I first met Professor Connor in his Intro to Translation Studies lecture. It is a class advocating a diverse lingual and cultural community at Barnard and probably the most international class that I have ever taken. There were about 20 languages represented just by the students in the class. Professor Connor himself is from Dublin originally and then was educated in California. Knowing that I am extremely interested in languages and am studying French and German at the moment, Professor Connor often shares with me scholarly materials related to my academic interests. He even shares his experience of learning languages with me and helps me with his knowledge of languages whenever I struggle.

At Barnard, I meet many international students and become friends with them, but the international professors complete this experience and make it a more unique one. I love embracing the international community at Barnard and being embraced by it in every possible way.

Fangdai

 

An International Student's Self-Discovery at Barnard

Name: Fangdai Chen
Year: 2015 (Junior)
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Major: Comparative Literature (Chinese, English & French)
Clubs/Organizations/Jobs: International Admissions Intern, Housing Advisory Board, Barnard Student Government Association (SGA)

I thought that coming to the U.S. on my own at the age of 15 was the biggest challenge that I could ever have in my life. I thought that after having attended a boarding school in a surburb of Boston for three years, going to college wouldn't be so different from attending another boarding school. I thought that I would just write a few more papers and meet a few more people. But I was wrong. Barnard has surprised me and gone beyond all of my expectations for this stage of life called college.

In high school, I was always the student answering questions and expressing my opinions in class. I thought that it would all be the same in college. However, on the first of class at Barnard, I walked into my first-year English seminar and realized that everyone else in the class was just as confident as I was. The professor was not there to walk us step by step through reading the text, but to inspire us to discuss and study the text with each other. This was a competely different academic dynamic from my high school experience and yet an exciting challenge and adventure. I pushed myself to work harder, to learn from my classmates and to make them learn from me. I also made full use of the professor's office hours whenever I need extra help. By the end of the semester, the professor invited us to tea time in her appartment and we were all happy that we had struggled and learned together.

This leads to another reason why I love Barnard. Having attended a small boarding school with only 300 students, I was worried that I would never have the same kind of close relationships with teachers in college. But not only did my first-year English professor invite us to have tea in her apartment, we continue to stay in touch. She introduced me to the Comparative Literature program and various academic opportunities outside Barnard. We meet regularly to discuss my progress. We even went to an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts together!

Throughout my time at Barnard, I have been well challenged and supported at the same time. I never expected myself to grow so much. But this is Barnard: it challenges you to take adventures that you would not be able to take elsewhere, it inspires you to discover what you did not know about yourself, and it helps you to become a better you.