Campus Celebrity: Christine Roundtree

Meet our latest (and very impressive) Campus Celebrity, Christine Roundtree! This celeb is super active within our campus community. Whether it is helping out at the AC as a physical trainer, or being involved with amazing groups at Conn, like Umoja, Christine is be doing it with a huge smile and lots of enthusiasm! Read more to learn about this Campus Celeb’s guilty pleasure, incredible travel abroad experience, and more! She will definitely inspire you to get active and engaged at Conn!

Class Year: 2015

Hometown: Queens, New York

Major: Anthropology

Minor: Sociology

Extracurricular activities: Club Volleyball, Eclipse (DANCE!!), rollerblading, jigsaw puzzles and physical trainer.

You are super involved in the campus community, what made you want to be so involved? I think it stems from all the assistance and experience I gained when I was younger that gave me an outlook of wanting to help others, but learn while helping others, which is what I go through on a daily basis. I do not know everything or have solutions to all situations that come my way, but the positions I hold on campus have given me an opportunity to expand my knowledge and those around me. I have skills that I can offer and that can help others and I enjoy seeing smiles on people’s faces when they have achieved something with motivation or inspiration. I thrive off of other’s happiness and growth and it is my way of giving back. My father always told that work is never complete and I took in the sense of academics, but also in the sense of volunteering and assisting those who do not have the privilege I have. I feel as though I am responsible for fellow citizens and people of the world like a social contract. We can only move forward if everyone is on board in supporting human capability and sustainability.

What is your favorite club or group that you have been a part of and why: Umoja is at the peak of my list because it was one club I stuck with since my first year at Connecticut College and each year has been an enticing, motivating, eye-opening and educational club that strives to empower and enlighten students about multicultural issues at Connecticut College and around the world. Umoja’s community is one that I am very thankful of being a part of because of it’s dedication and support system. There is never a dull day and because it embodies safe space, there is never a moment where I would wish I did not say what I said. The trust in Umoja is beyond expectations.

Tell us about your travel abroad experience: I embarked on a trip to Perugia, Italy my spring 2014 semester and to be honest, it gave a mix of emotions. I wanted to maintain a financially stable position while being out there, but also wanted to travel to other countries. By doing so I ate pasta for dinner and was able to spend more on trips to the little towns outside of Perugia, Florence and Rome. I made my way out to France, Spain and Morocco and made friendships that will last a lifetime. The professors there, built a connection just like the connections that are built at Conn and I know I am on the move in saving for Summer 2016 to Italy. As an anthropology major, I took advantage of getting to know so much about the community I was in. There was a course where I had the opportunity to work on vertical gardening to strengthen the bond and connection that outside visitors could/do have with the community residents. The opportunities were endless and seeing the happiness from the residents made the experience worthwhile.

Tell us about your summer internship! I would say my time working in the Sprout Garden last summer was quite eventful. I learned so much about gardening that I never knew before which I took back to my father (since he was growing vegetables in his own little garden). I got to meet so many staff and faculty on campus who I continue to keep in contact with now. The garden became an extension of myself and I wanted it to look beautiful, but taste even better. It took a lot of patience and time from my days, but I could not have asked for a better position to be put in other than that job at that moment of my life.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? Nutella!!! Specifically Nutella from Italy.

What is your favorite thing to do on campus? I love attending the events, mainly REF events and S2D events (CAMEL Bingo) on campus and reminiscing about life out on the green during the spring, summer and beginning of fall times.

What is your dream job? Physical therapist and physical trainer.

Do you have a favorite class or professor taken at Conn? I dedicate this portion to Professor John Burton, may he rest in peace. He was the absolute, ultimate intellectual on campus who inspired me from the first day of classes. I majored in Anthropology due to having a class with him. He reminded me of my father with his corny jokes and focus on trying to push students to take leaps into learning. He was such a dedicated individual even when he was in a wheelchair and I will never forget his last moments and how happy he was being in the presence of students who were so willing to learn from his experiences and knowledge. Professor Burton you are who I inspire to be.  

How do you feel about being Campus Celebrity?  Everyone is a very important person and a celebrity in many ways than one. I just hope what I am doing on this campus resonates with people and that the push to make changes and help in any which way has the ripple effect where assisting and working together becomes a part of daily regimens.  

Anything else you’d like to share? I would just like to thank all the departments, organizations, faculty, staff, New London residents, Umbra Institute, my friends, my family and the students at Conn for all of the support and encouragement throughout the years. Every interaction with them has brought me to who I am today, how I think, what I do and how and why I do things.