Hi! My name is Yame Senye; I am an International Student from Botswana studying Economics and Government. I first came to the United States through an exchange program and studied in California, then did 12th grade in Ohio now I am in the state of cheese and the green bay packers!
My goodness, Junior Year has begun! The beginning of a new academic year is the time of the year when there are fresh new faces on campus, actually, more like 500 or so people I don’t know. The first day of school, I walked through campus and I literally didn’t know or recognize most of the people walking by me. This usually lasts a couple of days for me, and then everything starts to feel normal after that. Normal for me really means that I have gotten to know a handful of freshmen and met many of them through campus events, classes, dorm activities and organizations so the campus begins to feel familiar again. Of all the freshmen I have met I can honestly say that by far Helen Barton is one of the coolest people I have ever met. It’s always laughs with Helen she is a complete joker. Can you believe these pictures were taken the night we first met, and the picture on the left sure does speak for itself, a new friendship doesn’t get any closer than this.
This year is going to be one busy year for me, but then again, I feel this is so normal for a Lawrentian. I have a pretty full schedule this trimester, but I enjoy getting involved on campus. This trimester I am taking classes in my majors and they look promising: Economic Development, Politics and Human Nature, and Introduction to Political Science.
For my Economic Development class we have to write a research paper and do a presentation, one of the topics is “Botswana as a Role Model for Country Success” and of course I picked this topic as my first choice. I am so eager to get started! Introduction to Political Science is going to be a tough class. I heard, that Professor Hixon is pretty tough with his grading and what he expects from students. We are currently discussing the U.S.Constitution and furthermore the supreme court system as well as U.S. government congress. Politics and Human Nature is going to be one of the most interesting classes I have taken at Lawrence. I don’t know any other way to put it, but professor Wulf is a political machine! I don’t think there is anything he doesn’t know about politics, whether it was in the 1800s of today. Understanding how politics came about and how governments came to be constructed is interesting, all the literatures he uses are all intellectually stimulating reminders of why I love politics.
I will also be doing an independent study with my friend Adam. The independent study is using the concepts of the board game Settlers of Catan to explain how countries around the world develop and trade resources with each other. When Adam presented the independent study to me, I really wasn’t sure about doing it because I have never played any board games other than monopoly, but Settlers of Catan is amazing. It gets you really thinking and it is quite intense!
Getting into the swing of things with classes is one thing, but I also have three jobs so it sure does get overwhelming but I love all my jobs. I am a Tour Guide, Student Caller and Technical assistant. So I will have work in the afternoons and evenings. This year I am joining the Social Welfare Committee of the Lawrence University Community Council (LUCC). This committee consists of both staff members and students, and the students on the committee get to voice what the students want and need and the staff members from various areas of the campus from facility services, academics to campus life can assist and voice their concern about any concerns relating to the student body. I am super excited- I am part of LUCC! I will of course continue to be a member of Model United Nations (MUN) and the Student Organization for University Programming (SOUP).
For now I really like how the trimester is going. While I will always be busy with academics, work and activities, I will make sure to have some fun with friends.
In the mean time have a great day. Till next time, chao!