Connecticut College’s Class of 2020 are pioneers of the new Connections curriculum. While explaining my journey in a pathway during a Her Campus meeting, a member of the Class of 2019 had no idea how the pathways functioned. While another member in the Class of 2021 mentioned how her pathways did not offer much support in terms of guidance for her senior year project. As a member of the Class of 2020 in a pathway, this article will provide my personal, real, and honest inside story of selecting, being, and in the future, completing a pathway at Connecticut College.
During the beginning of my sophomore year, I was not sure if I should apply to a Center or a Pathway. I was interested in pursuing certificates in PICA (Program in Community Action) to create a project on subsidized housing, and CISLA (Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts) to focus on my Italian major. I thought long and hard about pursuing a Center and came to terms with myself. I did not think as a triple major in Government, Italian Studies, and Sociology, I would have the time to pursue a certificate AND my triple major. I knew that if I tackled my rigorous academic schedule and a Center, I would be overwhelmed. Therefore, I decided to pursue a pathway. At that time, the only pathway that really interested me was the Global Capitalism Pathway because I would be able to hone all my academic interests into one focal point. Therefore, I did not have to sacrifice on solely focusing on one major, but in a pathway, I can integrate all three of my majors.
After I turned in a Pathway Statement of Interest form to a Moodle dropbox, I was registered for a 4-credit Thematic Inquiry course in the spring semester in the Global Capitalism Pathway. During the spring semester, my classmates and I learned the fundamental theories of viewing capitalism such as Marxism and Classical Liberalism. At first, the concepts were difficult to grasp because the course was heavily theory-based that I felt frustrated and questioned if I even wanted to be in this pathway. But in the middle of the semester, more specifically after our mid-term, I felt a sense of accomplishment and enlightenment. Working hard through the first half of the semester and applying these theories to real-life, I was in awe of how much I learned, and how much I liked it. After receiving my mid-terms back, I was reassured that I was actually understanding the concepts and that further solidify my immense appreciation in theories of capitalism, and now, is an area of interest that I want to pursue in my research and in grad school.
The second half of the semester was focused on developing our animating question, MOIs (modes of inquiry), and global-local engagement which we track in our E-portfolios. The animating question is a question within your pathway that: makes you curious of the world and think critically, and you might even want to take measures to fix the situation that your animating question focuses. Connecticut College’s definition of animating question, “a question meaningful to you” and “help inform and guide your intellectual journey at Conn.”
Developing my animating question was another hard task. I probably changed my animating question about 10 times, and I still continue to shift it because I am grappling new concepts and making new discoveries. Therefore, my animating question is still in the works, but today’s animating question: How should subsidized housing programs be revitalized? Again, this question might change after I discuss it with my Pathway Coordinator.
In regards to MOIs, when you part of a pathway, students can choose to complete 4 out of the 5 MOIs. MOIs are groups of academic areas. For example, there’s a Scientific Inquiry and Analysis inquiry and a student has to complete a course in the natural sciences, there’s Creative Expression inquiry in which you have to take an art or dance course, and 3 other areas: Critical Integration and Analysis, Social and Historical Inquiry, and Quantitative and Formal Reasoning. I opted out of taking a course in Quantitative and Formal Reasoning because I took a college-level mathematics course at my community college.
Finally, the global-local engagement component of the pathway. Students have to complete an internship or a study away opportunity that will enhance their animating question. I decided to pursue both. During the summer before my junior year, I interned as a Housing Research Intern in the New London Homeless Hospitality Center. This internship was an eye-opening experience. I was able to first-hand observe how individuals decide which type of housing they want to pursue, the critical and dire state of public housing in southeastern Connecticut, and more revealing discoveries. After the summer, I studied away in Florence, Italy. During my time away, I was able to expand my Italian language skills, experience the culture, and of course, expand my animating question. In Florence, I was able to develop a comparative case study between subsidized housing in Florence and back in the U.S-more specifically New London.
While I am currently finishing my junior spring semester, and will be working on my project during the summer, pathway members of the class of 2020 will take a 2-credit Senior Reflection course upon their return. This course is about meeting back with our cohort and putting all the pieces from the start of our pathway journey (spring sophomore semester) together to present our project in a Symposium for the fall semester.
Therefore, the pathway integrates all of my passions. It grounds and compliments my academic majors. As a sophomore, I was already developing research questions and interests. I was critically evaluating how my animating question illuminated in local and global contexts. Connecticut College is not known as a research school. Gaining research experience is extremely difficult in the social sciences and humanities. Therefore, I am using my pathway as a tool to conduct research independently with a cohort and Pathway Coordinator.
If you are a student that knows you need to have constant guidance in developing your skills and interests or may not be able to work alone, a pathway might not be for you. Sometimes you do feel like you are doing this alone. For example, students do not get much contact with their pathway during their junior year. I have friends in Centers and they receive a tremendous amount of support throughout their entire time in a Center. But you are not alone when pursuing your pathway, you just have to take initiative in your own work, and reach out to professors.