When and how did you choose your major?

As a High School Social Studies teacher, my mother cultivated a love of history in me from an early age. Though I always knew I wanted to major in History at UR, I found a dual major in Political Science to offer the perfect, and more analytical, compliment to the study of both history and political systems. Basically, following my passions led me down this path.

What activities were you involved in as a student and what did you gain from them?

I did everything and anything at UR: Resident Advisor, Teaching Assistant, Senior Class/Class of 2003 Council, Cabinet.  The relatively small class size at UR provides such a unique opportunity to interact with your fellow students at all class levels. Being part of my class council and in student government gave me the chance to lead and shape the needs and wants of our class, while being an RA and Teaching Assistant allowed me to feel like I was giving back by offering advice and guidance to the students who followed.

Who were your mentors while you were on campus? Have you continued those relationships?

For the first time in my life, my primary mentors were the professors who taught me, primarily Celia Applegate and Stewart Weaver in the History Department. I was fortunate enough to remain in contact with both of them through law school and the judicial clerkship process, and I hope to reconnect with them during departmental events at my upcoming 10^th year class reunion.

What did you do immediately after graduation? How did you decide to take that path?

As a Take Five student, I was fortunate to have an additional year to decide what I wanted to do after graduation and was very grateful for that.  By the time my Take Five year came, I knew I wanted the flexibility that a law degree provided, as well as a chance to continue pursuing my passion for History. As a consequence, I examined both J.D./PhD and J.D./M.A. programs, and ultimately chose Duke University/Duke University School of Law’s J.D./M.A. program.

What do you do now and why did you choose this career?

Currently, I am an Associate attorney with the law firm of Arnold & Porter, LLP in Washington, D.C., practicing litigation.  Besides the practical considerations of choosing a private law firm career in the wake of mounting law school debt (a caution to all of those looking at law school), A&P provides me the opportunity to work on both commercial and pro bono cases while building legal and professional skills necessary to eventually transition to government, public interest, or even a non-legal career down the road.

How do you balance your work and personal life?

With having such a demanding and stressful job at times, I have discovered over time that the way you find balance in your life is to practice it. In other words, while I am fortunate enough to work for a company that has very generous vacation leave, maternity/paternity leave policies etc., ultimately the onus is on the individual to actually utilize the policies. The saying has never been truer that you are in charge of both your career and life.  Prioritize balance, and then, fight for it! It will make you a more productive and happier employee.

With the “great recession” upon us, and hopefully easing, the general consensus is to look for career paths that provide one with the most certain and immediate job prospects.  However, my advice would be to follow your passions while at UR, but also, look for internships, extracurricular activities, and graduate work that will provide you the opportunity of both experience and academic knowledge to make you marketable to employers. You will likely change jobs several times after graduation, so be flexible enough to adapt wherever life takes you.

Why did you choose to attend the University of Rochester?

It was the best school that accepted my application.

When and how did you choose your major?

Senior year – I came in as a Chemistry Major but decided after the first semester of pre-med weed-out classes that if I wanted to feel fulfilled about my college learning experience, it would probably be best to avoid math and science fields (there’s something about a curve that makes a 16% an A that takes the pride of accomplished understanding away). One area I felt extremely weak about was my writing skills. Interestingly, I discovered I was one course away from an English major when I finally felt proficient enough to function in the real world. Twenty-five years later, the majority of my life-time income has resulted from my pen, so to speak. Creating copy is one of my favorite activities and a wonderful artistic outlet. I owe this discovery (and associated career opportunities) to the U of R. I also was one course away from a Political Science major (just found the courses interesting – and the way they were being taught at the time gave me ample opportunity to exercise my math muscles), so graduated with a double major.

What did you do immediately after graduation? How did you decide to take that path?

I headed to Ohio for a promised full-time job riding horses. Figured I’d better get that fever quelled before I was married or burdened with other responsibilities so I didn’t spend the rest of my life regretting not exploring my passion as a career (much to the chagrin of my parents, who helped fund my college education). It lasted three weeks (don’t recall hopping aboard a single horse during that time – but built some muscles wielding a pitch fork). Ultimately (two years later) I found myself back in Rochester working part-time for the Democrat & Chronicle and partnering with a couple of gals well known on the local television media scene with a Public Relations Firm venture. I’ve been mostly writing for a living in one form or another ever since.

What do you do now and why did you choose this career?

I own several companies, including BookConductors®, LLC (a book publishing company focused separately on the equine and entrepreneurial niches), Halcyon Acres® (a horse breeding and training facility) and am in the process of winding down Fulcrum Communications (leveraging inventive marketing solutions for small business and not-for-profits). Primary energy has been devoted to the Horse Sense and Cents™ initiative of late (under the umbrella of BookConductors®) where I’m hoping to combine my writing and horse passions under a single charge. The career path choice is largely the result of introspection with an eye toward where I want to be in 20 years (not risking my neck on young horses nor having my income directly tied to my time).

How are you still connected with the University?

I’ve been on the planning committee for two reunions since the college instituted Meliora Weekend (which is a wonderful initiative that I shout about to all who will listen). It’s wonderful to come back to the campus for these events to gain insight from the fabulous speakers while witnessing the growth of the facilities, plus, of course, catching up with old friends. On the small world front (this had nothing to do with my alumni status at the U of R) I’ve also been a service provider for the Simon School with newspaper/magazine copy writing and other (more confidential) prose for publication and publicity. In fact, I was introduced to Mark Zupan (a gem of a hire in my opinion) while he was still in Arizona preparing to come to New York to assume the helm. The leadership of this University is so different now (much more accessible and enlightened than when I was a student), which bodes well any current and future student.

What advice do you have for current students?

Reach out to the leaders at the college. Joel Seligman, Mark Zupan and others are not only internationally celebrated for their past and current contributions to the world, but humble and accessible. Ten minutes gaining insight from them will change your life. Why not risk a no for the chance of an audience with one that may offer a life changing experience.

For the first time in the history of the University, a course has been developed purely for the purpose of exploring the visual culture surrounding Dante’s magnum opus. Offered by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, the Dante Multimedia Lab, led by Associate Professor of Italian Donatella Stocchi-Perucchio, is designed for students to engage with the text of the Comedy, study the history of the book as an object, and also to evaluate the cultural impact of the work through art.

“The reoccurring point of inspiration for me is the realization of how deep of an impact a single medieval story had on Western art, theology, and literature,” said Beau Reynolds ’12, a political science major. “Dante is so influential in Western thought that the majority of time his influence is so subtle that it goes unnoticed. We are really focusing on discovering how deep that impact goes. It is as much a study of humanity and society as it is of art and literature.”

Illustrations of the Divine Comedy date back almost to the time of its writing in the early fourteenth century. Early manuscripts featured illuminations of the text and by the 1480s the first illustration cycle done by Sandro Botticelli was printed. The tradition of illustrating the comedy continued through the centuries with such prominent artists as Alessandro Vellutello, Gustave Doré, and most recently California-based Sandow Birk. Birk actually rewrote the text of the Comedy to reflect modern jargon and to accompany his reinterpretation of Doré’s illustrations, set in a dystopian Los Angeles. Later in the semester, the class will have a video conference with Birk about his work.

The first section of the course was devoted to a classificatory exercise; the students explored the illustrators and learned about the social, geographical, and historical context in which their work was produced.  This task helps students create a “geographic and historical landscape around the Comedy,” said Stocchi-Perucchio.

All of the students in the class have taken at least one course on Dante previously and are familiar with the text of the Comedy. Only one student is an art history major. At its core, explained Stocchi-Perucchio, “this is a course that interrogates the reader of literature who watches art. And he will watch art from a different perspective than the art historian.”

As the students compare how different artists in different historical contexts represent the same scenes, they are attempting to detect the dialogue between image and text. Dante’s verse is by nature emphatically visual and this is precisely the reason it has inspired so many generations of artists. Images of and inspired by the Comedy can be narrative or symbolic; some artists aim to depict a close reading of Dante, others use the poet’s text to talk about themselves and their time.

“The format of the class is unlike any other I’ve ever participated in. It is both research and discussion intensive … Every class consists of individual presentation and discussion,” says Reynolds.  “It’s very satisfying to see individual input turn into new class objectives and material.”

Indeed the student-driven nature of the course has satisfied Stocchi-Perucchio as well. “I’ve seen the questions rising, I’ve seen the engagement, I’ve seen them excited about doing the course themselves, because I’ve not really taken stage that much so far, and I’ve seen them liking that.”

The course is part of the larger push for research in the humanities within the University.  Through their work the students are expanding the body of knowledge about a sphere of human creative production and also cataloging information for the promotion of further inquiry by others. “Research in the humanities is much less subjective than is supposed,” insisted Reynolds.  “Critical questions regarding intent and motive regarding artwork are becoming more of a natural way of thinking, as opposed to simply enjoying the aesthetics of the work.”

Article written by Maya Dukmasova, a Take 5 Scholar at the University of Rochester and an intern at University Communications. She majored in philosophy and religion and focused her Take 5 year on researching the way American media covers current events in the Muslim world. An aspiring journalist, Dukmasova has freelanced for Rochester Magazine, the Phoenix New Times, and the Daily News Egypt in Cairo. She also maintains two blogs, one devoted to culture and society in Russia (www.out-of-russia.com) and the other to photography (www.myorientalism.com).

Photos courtesy of Maya Dukmasova.

“It’s something that becomes part of you as you do it. I can’t really imagine life without doing it,” says the English and anthropology double major.

When she arrived at Rochester, Nielsen was happy to find a similar opportunity for community service with the student chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the group’s alternative spring break trip. During the trip, students work together with a family who agrees to contribute 400 “sweat equity” hours toward building a new home. The project includes a small, interest-free mortgage the family will have 20 years to repay.

This year, Nielsen is leading the Habitat trip to Greensboro, N.C., and is looking forward to connecting with a new community and the homeowners she will help.

“You’re physically building a house for someone, and you are putting your time, effort, sweat into it. It’s definitely rewarding, much more rewarding than just writing a check,” she says, “You get total satisfaction out of knowing, ‘Oh, their bedroom? I built that bedroom.’”

As Rochester undergraduates take a week off classes in mid-March for the academic calendar’s annual spring break, several students like Nielsen will be heading to less conventional destinations. Designed as an opportunity for travel and service, alternative spring break trips have been organized by University student groups for nearly two decades. In addition to traveling to sites across the country, several students plan to undertake service programs in Rochester, in conjunction with the University’s M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and the Rochester Center for Community Leadership. For many, the service trips are a welcome change from the stereotypical vacation- oriented spring break experience.

“The service trips in which our students participate are beneficial in at least two fundamental ways: they broaden the perspectives of our students, and they strengthen communities by building social capital,” says Glenn Cerosaletti, director of the Rochester Center for Community Leadership, which helps groups conceive and implement their service projects.

Since the trips are planned and carried out by students they provide “a transformative leadership experience,” he says. “This is about a reciprocal partnership in which students and community members get to know each other and learn from one another.” This spring, in addition to the Habitat trip to North Carolina, student groups will travel to Baltimore and Boston.

For the past 12 years, the Catholic Newman Community has traveled to Baltimore to tutor and mentor children at Holy Angels Catholic School and serve meals at the Corpus Christi food shelter. The project is the longest-running such effort on campus.

“Our goal is just to expose our students to urban poverty,” says Leah Gregorio ’12, one of the leaders of this year’s trip who has participated since her sophomore year. “Each night we have a reflection time and those always blossom into discussions of social justice and urban poverty.”

Though the students live simply and stay at a parish church, they have plenty of time to see Baltimore, and the last day is reserved for a cultural trip to Washington, D.C. Gregorio, a political science major from Wethersfield, Conn., and her fellow leaders aim to continue similar service projects in Rochester when they return, “just so our volunteers can see that these problems aren’t unique to the city of Baltimore, that they exist in our communities here at school and communities back at home.”

Newman, Habitat, Roteract, Circle K, and other service-oriented organizations can receive logistical and financial support for their projects from the Community Service Network, a student-run umbrella organization for service groups. The network partnered with Alpha Phi Omega, a coed community service fraternity, for a trip to Boston.

“Our goal is to introduce students who are participating in the trip to different types of community service,” says Mallory Laboulaye ’12 (T5), president of the network and Alpha Phi Omega.

“This is an opportunity for [students] to dedicate a whole week of service to people they don’t know and just to see that they’re not isolated individuals in society,” says Laboulaye, a neuroscience major from Horseheads, N.Y.

Whether groups venture to a different country or volunteer in Rochester, those who go on alternative spring break say the experiences prove to be fun and rewarding.

“These are students who are giving up their time, a whole week where they could be going on vacation, going home, relaxing, and they’re giving up their time to help the environment, or people, and I think it just says a lot about the Rochester students,” says Gregorio. “It’s a lot of kids who spend their spring break—when many other people are going to Cancun or doing things like that—just really being selfless.”

Article written for the March-April issue of Rochester Review by Maya Dukmasova, a Take 5 Scholar at the University of Rochester and an intern at University Communications. She majored in philosophy and religion and focused her Take 5 year on researching the way American media covers current events in the Muslim world. An aspiring journalist, Dukmasova has freelanced for Rochester Magazine, the Phoenix New Times, and the Daily News Egypt in Cairo. She also maintains two blogs, one devoted to culture and society in Russia (www.out-of-russia.com) and the other to photography (www.myorientalism.com).

In the Photo: Leah Gregorio ’12 (left) and Jessica Nielsen ’14 are helping organize alternative spring break trips, during which students work on community and service projects at sites around the country. Photo courtesy of Adam Fenster, University Communications.

For the first time this year the course is included in the University curriculum and it is enjoying an enthusiastic reception.  Hanson, who has previously taught a version of the class during the summer Rochester Scholars program for area high school students, was happy to create a collegiate version of the course.

Why study Metal you may ask?  There are three principle reasons besides the novelty factor, he explained.  First, Metal is the most enduring form of rock music to date.  Musical styles such as that of the Beatles’ or other popular genres have waxed and waned over the decades.  But since the release of Black Sabbath’s first album in 1970, Metal has existed in one form or another without significant changes to its core elements.

Second, Hanson and his students confirm, the genre is rich in music theory and technical virtuosity. “These people are really talented musicians,” said sophomore Paige Iovine, a Music and Brain & Cognitive Sciences double major.  “You just see how much dedication it takes to learning that instrument.  I love Baroque music and we even discussed it in the class, how there’s a huge influence of Bach and Vivaldi.  People think of it as a very gritty, dirty kind of music, but there’s also this higher level to it…It’s a type of music that really doesn’t get as much appreciation as it should for how good it actually is,” she concluded.

Finally, the issues of censorship and public political debates over the limits to creative expression are intimately connected to the history of Metal music.  “Nowhere has there been a witch hunt in terms of ‘music’s creating problems in society, music’s creating teenage pregnancies, music’s forcing people to commit suicide,’” to the extent that is has existed in the reception of this genre, Hanson explained.  “It’s the kind of music that a lot of people put a huge taboo on for no reason that’s particularly good,” added Iovine.

Almost forty students are in the class and Hanson did not have a single one drop since the beginning of the semester.  He has tried to include more open-ended assignments, critical writing tasks, and opportunities for students to pursue their own research.  Some have contacted Metal musicians and historians for interviews and one student is making a documentary about the Metal music scene in Rochester.

What has attracted students to the class is often a personal history with the music.  Junior T.J. Davison, a double major in Political Science and Brain & Cognitive Sciences, has loved and played Metal for years.  “I’ve listened to Metal for a while, since probably like high school, and my little brother he plays the drums, I play guitar, and so it’s really fun to jam out to like Metalica or something.”

“It’s actually probably my favorite class that I’ve taken so far,” said Iovine, “My dad played in a lot of local bands and my brother plays guitar really well and he does a lot of Death Metal, like Thrash Metal kind of stuff, so that was kind of the music I grew up on.”

When asked why studying the subject is a worthwhile endeavor, Davison retorted, “There’s just as much structure and depth in Metal as there is in really any other genre of music.  Yeah, it doesn’t appeal to everyone but you know, neither does classical music, and for that matter, neither does rap music.  But I think that every form of music, especially that gets as big as all of these genres have been, should be studied for the musical elements that make us enjoy it.”

Article written by Maya Dukmasova, a Take 5 Scholar at the University of Rochester and an intern at University Communications. She majored in philosophy and religion and focused her Take 5 year on researching the way American media covers current events in the Muslim world. An aspiring journalist, Dukmasova has freelanced for Rochester Magazine, the Phoenix New Times, and the Daily News Egypt in Cairo. She also maintains two blogs, one devoted to culture and society in Russia (www.out-of-russia.com) and the other to photography (www.myorientalism.com).

Andrew Cutillo ’13, U.S. Small Business Administration
Daniel Docherty ’12, Senator Charles Schumer’s Office
Claire Maggio ’12, Council of State Governments
Conor McMahon ’12, Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s Office
Eric Meyer ’12, Jacques and Associates, Inc.
Conor Reynolds ’12, White House Communications Office
Hannah Schwager ’12, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Tiffanie Tam ’13, mCapitol Management
John Whiting ’12, Congresswoman Gwen Morre’s Office

Interning in D.C.
Internship placement, residential housing, and academic programming is provided by The Washington Center, the largest nonprofit academic internship program. The Center staff finds substantive, professional placements tailored to each student’s interests. Students share apartments either in the main Residential and Academic Facility of the Center or in other apartment buildings located proximate to the Metro.

Students work in their internships 4.5 days per week and take one evening course from a long list of politics and international relations courses offered by the Center.  The Center also provides a set of activities to enrich the practical experience and provide professional career development.  Students receive 16 credits in all for the semester.

Students need a 3.0 cumulative GPA to apply for the internship. The internship program is offered in the fall and spring semesters.  Summer internship opportunities for reduced credit also are available through the Career Center.

Want to Learn More?
The fall interest meeting for the Political Science Department’s Washington Semester Program will be Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. in the Fenno Room, Harkness 329. Student can pick up application materials from the Political Science Department Office or from Professor L. Powell.

Article courtesy of Lynda Powell, professor in the Political Science Department. Photo courtesy of The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.