Mat
Hometown: Middlebury, Connecticut
Major: History (American)
Minor: Political Science (Comparative Politics)
Activities on campus
Wheaton College Senior Admissions Intern, Wheaton College Conservatives, The Wheaton Wire
Internships/work experience
Litchfield Historical Society (Historical Interpreter), Chase Collegiate School Golf Camp (Assistant Coach)
What did you do in the fall before arriving at Wheaton?
I took two classes, Philosophy and Sociology, at a local community college. I got a job at the Litchfield Historical Society in Litchfield, CT. I also used to time to take tennis lessons and travel.
How was the transition as a January student?
My transition to Wheaton was exceptionally smooth. I had experienced change before reaching college, having transferred to a private high school at the start of my freshman year. Despite this I was concerned that by coming into an established class half way through the year I would be met with some kind of social stigma. When I made it to Wheaton, however, this turned out not to be the case at all! I was overwhelmed by the kindness that met me once I arrived on campus, and everywhere I went I was enthusiastically asked what I had done in the fall and how my transition was going. It seemed that after the freshman had settled into their social circles they were more than excited to see new faces and make new friends. I soon met several people in my dorm, and from there was introduced to more and more individuals, many of whom I today count among my closest friends. Therefore, not only did I have my community of fellow January Admits to rely upon, but I soon had a wide circle of friends from every Wheaton class. By the time freshman year drew to a close I had difficulty recalling who came in August, and who came in January - we were all Wheaties.
Will you graduate with your class?
I will graduate with my class. The combination of credits I received from the two courses I took in the fall, and the three half-credit courses I took at Wheaton place me merely one credit behind. I will be taking that extra course this year.
Favorite Wheaton experience
The first class session of Professor Goodman's Torts Law course. He explained the manner in which the course would be taught - in the same manner as an actual law school course. The class would be conducted through the Socratic Method, continuous questions and argument in order to comprehensively understand the material. The class text was an actual legal casebook, and the only grade in the course was a four and a half hour written exam. Sitting there as an inexperienced freshman listening to the course standards being dictated was the most frightening experience of my Wheaton career. As the course drew to a close, however, I was amazed at both the work which I had accomplished, and the self-confidence that I had gained. I'll be applying to law schools this October.