Vermont is one of the most friendly states in the US and Saint Michael’s College is part of it. People are friendly and honest, it’s so easy to make friends here. That reminds me of my home country Timor. It’s a small state with breathtaking views. It is so green in the summer, so white in the winter, and so colorful in the fall. We have great alumni such as: U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph F. Dunford J, Loung Ung ’93, a bestselling author, activist, and co-writer of a Netflix Original Movie directed by Angelina Jolie based on Ung’s memoir, First They Killed My Father, Brian Lacey ’72, president of Lacey Entertainment in New York etc.
My college campus size is also very small with approximately 1500 students. That makes it easier for me to approach the teachers and ask questions for clarification. I have favorite classes and least favorite classes. My favorite class would be everything that is related to politics and my least favorite would be technology. One of my favorite classes is Transition to Democracy with Professor Mike Bosia who’s also a founding member of the LGBTQA Caucus of the International Studies Association. I learned a lot of democratic transition cases in this class and some of which I can relate to my country. My least favorite class is digital art, the reason it is my least favorite because it has to do with MAC, Photoshop, and after effect program. I’ve never owned a MAC laptop in my whole life and barely know how to work with it. So it is very challenging when I have to use it for higher purposes such as piecing together pictures to create moving images. I believe through practice I will overcome it.
Taking advantage of Vermont’s amazing landscape I joined the wilderness program to balance my classes’ challenges. Hiking is one of the activities that the wilderness program offers for students. So far with this program, I hiked 2 separate peaks; Camel’s Hump (the second highest mountain in Vermont), and Sterling pond. I have really enjoyed my experiences here so far and can’t wait for more to come.