alex42
Dec 6, 2018
Undergraduate / Thermodynamics class - Brown ESSAYS [2]
What do you hope to experience at Brown through the Open Curriculum, and what do you hope to contribute to the Brown community? (250-word limit)
While visiting Brown, I attended a thermodynamics class, not because of a burning desire to understand the Sackur-Tetrode equation, but because I wanted to experience my first STEM lecture taught by a woman. Through relatable analogies and jokes, Professor Palymore made a complex lecture completely understandable; the class felt like a literary analysis of thermochemical cells. Alicia, a Brown sophomore, commented on my Girls Who Code notebook and we discussed unintentional gender bias in STEM classes. She told me about her seemingly strange course load: thermodynamics, traditional Chinese medicine, public health, and a dance class. She didn't need to take those classes to fulfill a requirement-she took them because they interested her. The Open Curriculum meant Alicia didn't have to be an engineer, a dancer, or an aspiring poet - she could be all three. What will I become: an environmentalist punk rock drummer or a mathematical rock climber who dabbles in the theater? I've always reached beyond what was familiar, ending up with busted lips, a fear of pigeons, and an ability to tell which dollar tacos will give you food poisoning. As a member of the Brown community, I will be open about the challenges I have faced, and about the power we all have to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles and use them to our advantage. I will encourage others to look beyond themselves, their comfort zones, and even their own galaxies as they build their foundation for a life of exploration.
Open Curriculum at Brown
What do you hope to experience at Brown through the Open Curriculum, and what do you hope to contribute to the Brown community? (250-word limit)
While visiting Brown, I attended a thermodynamics class, not because of a burning desire to understand the Sackur-Tetrode equation, but because I wanted to experience my first STEM lecture taught by a woman. Through relatable analogies and jokes, Professor Palymore made a complex lecture completely understandable; the class felt like a literary analysis of thermochemical cells. Alicia, a Brown sophomore, commented on my Girls Who Code notebook and we discussed unintentional gender bias in STEM classes. She told me about her seemingly strange course load: thermodynamics, traditional Chinese medicine, public health, and a dance class. She didn't need to take those classes to fulfill a requirement-she took them because they interested her. The Open Curriculum meant Alicia didn't have to be an engineer, a dancer, or an aspiring poet - she could be all three. What will I become: an environmentalist punk rock drummer or a mathematical rock climber who dabbles in the theater? I've always reached beyond what was familiar, ending up with busted lips, a fear of pigeons, and an ability to tell which dollar tacos will give you food poisoning. As a member of the Brown community, I will be open about the challenges I have faced, and about the power we all have to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles and use them to our advantage. I will encourage others to look beyond themselves, their comfort zones, and even their own galaxies as they build their foundation for a life of exploration.
