One of the facets of the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree at Princeton is that you are required to complete junior independent work (in addition to the famous senior thesis). Some departments require two, one for each semester, while others only require one for the academic year. As an East Asian Studies concentrator, I have to write two junior research papers, the first of which is written in conjunction with the mandatory junior seminar (EAS 300) and under the guidance of the designated faculty adviser –– the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the department –– while the second is written with any available adviser of the student’s choosing. 

For East Asian Studies, there are no set parameters for our projects for either semester, meaning that we are genuinely allowed to write about anything that interests us. The freedom is both liberating and daunting, especially since I now had to consider my certificate requirements in my independent work. Two of my certificates: Gender & Sexuality Studies and Translation & Intercultural Communication, require me to write about a topic related to my certificate for at least one of my two junior papers. I remember walking into my classroom on the first week of the semester and sitting in a semicircle with the rest of my classmates when one of the first questions our professor asked us was, “Why don’t we go around in a circle and talk about what your junior paper topic is?” My mind went completely blank. I had a vague subject matter I wanted to research, but one that was nowhere near the stage in which I could share it with other people. I blurted out that I wanted to write something about the feminist movement in Korea and then sat around nervously as my peers described (what seemed to be) well thought out ideas for their independent work. 

However, as the weeks passed, my favorite part of the seminar soon became seeing how other people’s junior paper topics changed and evolved –– and how mine did as well. Now, I am writing my junior paper about the historical legacy of the patriarchy in South Korea, comparing the government response to the Gangnam Murder Case of 2016 with that of the general public, namely women. 

Although my junior independent work is far from finished, here are a few tips I have gathered from the past semester:

• Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm! 
  • The more you brainstorm and think about your project, the easier the writing itself will become. 
• Work a little every day, whether it be 5 minutes or 5 hours. 
  • You will have accomplished more than you think by the end of a few weeks. 
• Ask questions, and ask for feedback.
  • Find a few people to bounce ideas off of and tell them to ask you questions to test gaps in your logic. 
• Don’t be scared!
  • I spent weeks putting off working on my Junior Paper (JP) because I was overwhelmed, but once I started that it really is an enriching experience once you take it one day at a time. 

Home to me is Buenos Aires, capital of (world-champion in football) Argentina. So studying abroad is, technically, nothing new to me— I’ve been “studying abroad” since the first day of Princeton’s international orientation. Yet, the summer school I did through Princeton in Italy was one of the best experiences of my life. 

During the school year, my Italian class professor, Anna Cellinese, a woman who speaks with her hands and conceives wine as religion, along side our co-instructor Luca Zipoli, began promoting the idea of taking a summer course in Italy’s Tuscany. It didn’t take long to convenience me, and soon enough I was on an airplane on my way to Pisa. 

Known for its tilting tower and vibrant youth life, Pisa’s beauty captivated my eyes immediately. The city felt lively and awake, but breathed the same slow-burnt pace of life of most Italian towns. Our home was the Scuola Normale Superiore, one of Italy’s most renowned universities, famous for its academic rigor and residential life. Our dorms were great and had stunning views to Pisa’s Piazza dei Cavalieri. My roommate, Sara, and I would wake up to a sun-kissed room of fresh air, and we’d begin our days singing, dancing and jumping from bed to bed while listening to the Mamma Mia album. 

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Residential life aside, the class was also fun and incredibly engaging. We had literary lessons about old books like Dante’s Inferno and more modern texts like Tondelli’s Altri Libertini. There were also classes about contemporary issues in Italy, where we learned about the immigration crisis, the concept of beauty and the idea of arts as an urban lung. 

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But what was the best thing about the program? The out-of-the-classroom learning experience. The course stepped beyond the university campus and onto the city's historical, cultural and gastronomical landmarks. We had a class sitting on a public park once, we went to a gallery that had a comic-centered exhibition about immigration, we interviewed figures like the city’s governor, and we even had a cooking class and a wine-tasting evening! Learning was happening through our five senses as we explored the 360-dregrees of Italy. 

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On a personal note, a meaningful takeaway from the trip were the moments I had with my bike. I got it second-hand during the first week, and I’d use it to get to the beach every day after class. It was a countryside bike path that traversed sunflower fields, the parallel-running Arno river, old castles and distant mountains. I’d sit on the rocky Mediterranean beaches for hours, with ink and notebook to my side. I ended up finding my love for journaling, writing and poetry! 

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My experience traveling abroad with the University through Princeton in Pisa couldn’t have been any more impactful. It left a trace in my hobbies, my identity, my notions about beauty, time, culture and love. 

The arguably busiest week for all Princeton undergraduate students is most adequately titled reading period (a time in between the end of classes and the day all written work is due, Dean’s Date). You will likely think that the campus has been completely abandoned, while New Jersey’s cold weather may add to this effect, it is mainly a result of the impending deadline that nears the end of the week. Most students will be scattered throughout all of Firestone Library’s six levels or at Frist Campus Center. Depending on my mood, you’ll either find me in a cubicle on the B-level of Firestone or grabbing a burrito bowl at late meal with friends. There is usually no in between because I’m either ranting about the latest movie I’ve watched or I’m writing a 10-page paper for my Zen Buddhism class. 

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I’ve successfully completed my third reading period during my time here at Princeton and I’d like to say I’ve got a bit of a handle on it now but that would most certainly be a lie. I’d like to normalize not having everything figured out when entering a stressful time and I’m glad I’m surrounded by people who make me feel like I’m not completely insane for feeling that way. While every friend group is different, I think the community I’ve found here is truly amazing. I’ll enter a shift at work and have a long conversation about my day, even the smallest details being shared. I’ll send a long chain of texts to my friend about my worries and minute inconveniences and I’ll be met with so much motivation. I think that’s what keeps me going during a time where it feels like everything is on the line and there’s a lot of pressure. The free snacks and fidget toys handed out by our Peer Health Advisors also really help (I fell in love with a squishy stress ball). 

Most importantly, I really want to emphasize why self care is so crucial during a time like reading period. I’ve learned to not allow one week out of the 52 in the year determine my future or happiness. While future reading periods will continue to be daunting, I’ll continue to do my best and prioritize my well-being over a really difficult Neuroanatomy exam (fingers crossed that I did well).

During fall break, I had the opportunity to travel to Greece with the Humanities Sequence. After dedicating much time and energy during our first year at Princeton to the rigorous reading schedule and thought-provoking discussions of the HUM Sequence, my peers and I were ecstatic to pursue our individual research questions during our sequence sponsored fall break trip to Athens.

Upon arriving in Greece, I was struck by the extraordinary view of the Acropolis from my hotel room balcony. Our days were filled with guided tours, museum trips and excursions. While we spent most of the break in Athens, we were lucky enough to venture out to visit the Archeological Site of Delphi and to swim in the Aegean Sea at Nafplio.

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During my research day in Greece, I visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum. I came to Greece hoping to study the Parthenon Marbles and to get a sense of Greek opinion on the marbles’ ownership debate. I cannot fully describe the sense of awe that flooded me when I finally arrived at the Parthenon. As a Classics student studying Greek, I found myself trying to translate every ruin I saw. This trip held extreme significance for me, and I was moved by the museums, ruins, sites and the homes of the authors whom I have dedicated myself to studying at Princeton.

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On the flight back to campus, I remember reflecting on the entire experience. I was overwhelmed by an extreme sense of gratitude––for the opportunity to travel to Greece, for the hospitality of the Greek people and mostly for the community fostered by the HUM sequence. The HUM sequence has been a defining element of my experience at Princeton, and I highly recommend that anyone who has an interest in the humanities or literature consider it. While abroad, I grew closer to my classmates and professors. Later this week we will all come together and present our projects from the trip.

At Princeton, I've been pleased to find that there's absolutely no stigma attached to reaching out for academic help. It's well-known and accepted by the students and professors that true scholars collaborate with others and ask questions to gain the best understanding of the material. As a result, office hours, sessions held outside of regular classes with professors or AIs (assistant instructors, Princeton-speak for TAs), are incredibly popular and considered an essential part of the course experience. I go to office hours for help with problem sets, papers and exam preparation, and they're where I've met study partners and friends. Different courses have different formats and styles for their office hours, so here's a round-up of the most common types of office hours.

1. The Classic

The Classic office hours is simply the head professor in their office. These office hours are usually open for students to ask more general questions about a department or topic in addition to course-specific homework or exam questions. The Classic can be slightly intimidating at first, because it's often one-on-one with just you at the professor's desk. But once you adjust, the Classic can be incredibly helpful. I went to Professor von Handel's office hours each Monday last semester, where it was often only me and one or two other students, and I usually made significant progress on that week's problem set.

2. The Lesson

The Lesson office hours resemble a lecture or a precept, in that an AI guides a group through a homework set. They're generally held in a classroom rather than an office in order to accommodate more students. The Lesson office hours are more approachable, in that there's usually a large group, but they're less interactive. The Lesson sessions with AIs who give strong homework hints become very popular, and sometimes they become standing room only!

3. The Divide-and-Conquer

In contrast to The Lesson, where everyone is working on the same problem at once, in these office hours students are usually working in small groups of 2-3 on separate problems or assignments. In Divide-and-Conquer sessions, the AI will walk around between the different small teams and give advice and feedback as necessary. It's helpful to arrive at these office hours with a friend so that you can work with someone you know, but these sessions are also great opportunities to meet new study partners.

4. The Zoom

There are pros and cons to office hours held over Zoom. An advantage is that you can join from anywhere, but a disadvantage is that you can't show your notebook to the AI or work things out on a physical whiteboard or blackboard. Some AIs will regularly schedule weekly Zoom office hours, while other times an in-person session will be rescheduled to Zoom when a professor or AI is traveling.

Many courses offer multiple office hours each week covering most, if not all, of these formats. I usually attend several different office hours for each course at the beginning of the semester and find which style I prefer for that course, and then I become a weekly regular attendee. I definitely recommend going to office hours to get the most out of your courses!

I recently had the opportunity to sit in on immigration court proceedings with one of my classes. Though the majority of that day was spent speaking with the Chief Judge of Newark Immigration Court, meeting with our consulting attorney and other lawyers working to provide universal representation in asylum cases, and enjoying a lovely lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant, that single hour inside the court left the largest impact on the class.

My journey to this class is a testament to the supportive networks that exist among Princeton faculty and students. While writing a final paper on Mexican immigration policy for one of my first-year spring classes, my professor at the time suggested I reach out to Dr. Frank-Vitale, a postdoctoral research associate in the Program of Latin American Studies (PLAS) whose work had dealt greatly with the topic that I was researching. Dr. Frank-Vitale was immediately extremely accessible and happy to share her knowledge with me–a student who was not even taking her course that semester. 

During the process of meeting with her, I found out about her course, LAS 362 Central Americans and Asylum in the United States. My interest was instantly piqued, both as a daughter of two immigrants, and as somebody who is interested in pursuing a career in immigration law. Additionally, I had loved my previous experiences with courses in PLAS, and was excited to work towards a certificate in the program.

The class itself is a theoretical and practical exploration of the asylum seeking process in the United States. It has dealt with themes including the evolution of the U.S. immigration system, the ethics of international conventions pertaining to immigration, and the logistics associated with applying for asylum or refugee status. The class meets each week to discuss these topics in depth, getting to hear not only from an amazing professor, but also from twenty other brilliant undergraduates. Our semester-long project involves working with an attorney to create country conditions reports that will hopefully be useful in four real-life asylum cases.

Our trip to Newark was not only an opportunity to build community with the class outside of a seminar-style setting, but also a chance to engage with the community outside of Princeton and gain an insight into the sort of impact that our work may have. I believe this is something that is beautifully unique to Princeton, and I cannot describe the gratitude I feel for these sorts of opportunities to allow our classwork to reach beyond the classroom walls.

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I already know that LAS 362 will be one of my most memorable and formative experiences during my time at Princeton. And although I will be sad to say goodbye to this course come December, I will leave this class feeling fueled in my passion for immigration justice, seeking the next step in immigration advocacy.

Bonjour à Tous! (Hello All!)

In today’s blog post, I am sharing my experience with language learning at Princeton.

For some context, I studied French for all four years of high school. Because I didn’t have access to language classes in middle school, I had to start out with an intensive class, and I did not end up taking AP French. 

The summer before I came to Princeton, as I got a million emails about moving in and orientation and new clubs, I also got an email to take a language placement test. I sat down for an hour or so and took the French placement test, which placed me in FRE 103.

Since I intend to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree, I have to fulfill a language requirement. The requirement dictates that A.B. students must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English either through standardized tests scores, a placement exam, or completion of a language course at or above the 107 level. So, I’d only need to take FRE 103 and another French course at or above FRE 107 in order to be done with my requirement!

There are so many types of language classes offered at Princeton, from Spanish and Latin to American Sign Language and Swahili. There’s definitely something for everyone!

Last semester (Spring 2022), I completed FRE 103, so here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way to help you on your language learning journey here at Princeton:

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1. Language tables are your friend. I will say it again for the people in the back: LANGUAGE. TABLES. ARE. YOUR. FRIEND. What is a language table, you may ask? A language table is an event organized (usually by each of the different residential colleges) where native/fluent speakers and people learning a given language come together (usually over dinner in a dining hall) in order to practice. I have been to two languages tables for Spanish and French so far, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them. They are great opportunities not only to practice speaking your target language in a natural and low-stakes environment, but they’re also a great way to meet new people (read: potential FRIENDS 😍)
2. Be proactive about addressing any vocab or grammar that isn’t sticking. This is a tip I wish I had utilized more this past semester. I’ve always struggled with the different tenses in French (passé composé, impératif, imparfait, conditionnel, etc.) and when to use them. I didn’t get around to scheduling office hours with my professor for some 1:1 practice with these verb tenses until the end of the semester, and by then it was a bit too late to fully understand and commit everything to memory. DON’T be like me: start going to office hours at the beginning of the semester and build a habit of going often and regularly! Language professors often have a set time each week that they dedicate for office hours, and if that time doesn’t work for you then they can work to coordinate a different time over email or at the end of class.
3. Don’t be afraid to explore a new language! Princeton is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have access to a wide variety of renowned scholars well-versed in a plethora of languages. Why not take advantage of it? I personally want to learn a language called Yoruba, which is my parents’ native tongue. Most schools don’t offer this language, but Princeton is able to through a collaboration with Yale’s Yoruba professor. After I fulfill my language requirement through French, I want to look into taking some Yoruba classes!

What language(s) do you want to study at Princeton? Are there any new languages you want to explore?