Music in Our Schools Month

If you’re an aspiring musician, then Carolina’s got you covered. From a Music Department where students can focus on areas such as jazz and composition and participate in ensembles such as The Olympic Sport Pep Band and The Carolina Choir to student organizations such as Samaa, an a capella group that fuses the sounds of Bollywood with contemporary chart toppers, music is alive and well at Carolina. So it’s befitting in March that we celebrate Music in our Schools Month. Check out the UNC Symphony Orchestra (pictured above) serenading the crowd with a little Brahms Symphony No. 2.

There’s no doubt that Brahms is pretty amazing, but perhaps the most unique sounds you’ll hear as you stroll through campus are those of the Carolina Ukulele Ensemble (CUE), which just happens to be the world’s first collegiate ukulele ensemble. And yes, we know how extremely awesome this is. “Since we started in 2011, we’ve been playing covers of popular songs in The Pit and on the steps of Wilson Library,” said group member Ryan Aves, a junior. February was a busy month for CUE, pictured bottom right. The group performed during the UNC Dance Marathon, a benefit to raise money for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital and at the Catalyst Conference, which invites high school students to Carolina to explore issues of diversity and social justice.

And if you want more music at Carolina, visit the UNC Bands YouTube Channel to hear the sweet sounds of The Marching Tar Heels entertaining the crowd before a football game and more.

Thanks From a Carolina Alum

Happy Thursday! We know that many of you are going to have to make some tough decisions over the next several weeks, so we thought it would be helpful to get some insights on how alums view the community, faculty and learning experience they receive at Carolina. The blog post below is from Sallie, a senior in our School of Journalism and Mass Communication who will be leaving us for her first professional opportunity following her graduation in May. Visit Sallie's blog to learn more about her adventures.

 
Dear UNC J-School,

Thank you. Thank you for enhancing the lives of all the students who walk through the doors of Carroll. Thank you for mentoring. Thank you for teaching. Thank you for critiquing, pushing and strengthening. But, most of all, thank you for caring.

It’s easy to let four years slip away as we press forward with our lives constantly looking for what’s next and forgetting who helped us get there. I was reminded of this the other day, when my friend Josh asked me to speak at the J-School’s information session for Explore Carolina. Professor Napoleon Byars led the session, which included the basic facts about the school, the opportunities available, and a quick tour. As I listened to Napoleon speak, it brought back memories of my own Explore Carolina experience back on a snowy day in January 2009.

I remember listening to all the presenters confident that what they were saying was simply by the book. However, in listening to Napoleon, I began to realize that everything this school told me four years ago was true, completely true. And now, it was my turn to speak.

I started by saying that I remember what it was like to sit in their seats. It wasn’t easy making a final college decision or even transitioning from high school in general, but that the J-School was where I found I belonged. The journalism school develops students into storytellers. It develops them into entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and strategic communicators. It also allows them to get involved in a variety of clubs, take a wide range of classes, and meet some of the most interesting people on campus.

However, while I was talking, I realized the importance of what is behind the school: the professors. They care. When I first came to Carolina I worried that all my classes were going to be filled with hundreds of students where the professors do not even know my name. That is not the case here. They care. The professors care about your success in and out of the classroom. They also want to build lasting relationships with students, and as a result do not simply think of students as their PID, but as people with stories.

Thank you, Trevy McDonald for introducing me to the Journalism School. Thank you, Napoleon, for critiquing my resume for the first time. Thank you, Winston, for making me enjoy writing. Thank you, Dana, for pushing my creativity. Thank you, Brian, for your patience. Thank you, Heidi, for your enthusiasm. Thank you, Professor Sciarrino, for my worst grade in the J-School, but conversely one of my favorite, although hard, classes. Thank you also for your guidance and support during my job search this Fall. And, lastly, thank you, Gary, for your unconventional classes that have truly taught me to think differently about the world.

Thank you, all.

Traveling the World through GLOBE

Today we welcome Kristine Leary, a business major who has just returned from studying abroad through the GLOBE program. 

In the past year I have traveled to 22 countries. I have made a presentation in front of executives from one of the largest companies in Europe. I have worked on teams comprised of students from three top universities on three different continents. Most importantly, I have built a network of friends and colleagues that spans from the US to Europe to Asia and back again.

While all of this might sound like something from the life of an international businessman, it was all a part of my life as an international business student with Kenan-Flagler’s GLOBE (Global Learning Opportunities in Business Education Program). This collaboration between UNC, Copenhagen Business School, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong is one of a kind in the world of undergraduate business. Lasting three semesters, the program selects 15 students from each university to live and study first in Copenhagen, then in Hong Kong, and finally in Chapel Hill. Over the course of these 18 months, this international cohort of students learns about the unique business environment in the host country and what it is like to work on multicultural teams.

Perhaps even more important than the coursework, however, GLOBE students get the unique possibility to see the world from a new perspective through the friendships built with their international counterparts and through the travel opportunities the program affords. There are few things as transformative to a person’s point of view as international travel, and international travel with international students by your side provides an even more insightful experience.

While GLOBE is a program demanding academic excellence, the students, especially the Americans, come from all walks of life. In my group there some students who had already traveled the world when GLOBE began and for some it was the first time leaving the country. Two are international students. We have double majors ranging from philosophy to religious studies to mathematics. By any definition of the word, we are diverse. But what we have in common is the quality that is most important when applying to the GLOBE program: we all have a genuine curiosity about the world, a desire to better understand what is beyond our borders.

When I started at Carolina three years ago, I knew I wanted to study abroad, but I never dreamed that I would have the opportunity to study in both Europe and Asia. I never imagined that I would call students from Denmark and Hong Kong my best friends. I never could have known how much I would learn and how many places I would visit over the course of a year. And I never thought it would become such an integral part of shaping who I am today. So I urge any business student to whom this sounds appealing to apply for GLOBE, because you never know where it might take you.

Consider Dental Hygiene at Carolina

Today we're excited to welcome Jennifer Harmon, the president of the Dental Hygiene Class of 2013, here to tell us more about the dental hygiene program at Carolina:

Picture this: You walk through the doors of one of the most prestigious dental schools in the country for two unforgettable years. You attend courses designed specifically for dental hygiene and you get to interact first hand with world-renowned professors, dentists, and dental hygienists. You provide important preventive care to actual patients starting in your first year of the dental hygiene program. You make a difference in people’s lives because you have given your patients quality oral health care and life-changing oral health education.

This is what I have experienced and will continue to cherish during my last year in the dental hygiene program. I look back on my first year and realize how much I have grown as a student, as a person, and as a health care provider. As a dental hygiene student, I have conquered the terms of a dental hygienist and different aspects of preventive care: taking medical/dental histories, blood pressure screening, periodontal screening, home care instruction, prophylaxis, fluoride treatments, exposing and processing dental X-rays, periodontal debridement and periodontal maintenance. These terms were once foreign to me, but with the guidance of great educators and determination, they are now a part of my every-day routine.

Students in the dental hygiene program are fortunate to have such an outstanding faculty represent the profession and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are educators, leaders in their profession, mentors, and role models, each impacting our lives in different ways. The faculty and staff place an emphasis on creating well-rounded dental hygiene health care professionals who will be able to provide educational, clinical, and therapeutic services to the public through the promotion of oral health. With their effective leadership, I have no doubt that I will be ready to transition in a year from a dental hygiene student to a licensed dental hygienist!

The future role that dental hygienists may play in the health care delivery system makes our profession exciting. I look forward to creating my own path as a Registered Dental Hygienist, and can’t wait to see the results of my work wherever life may lead me. For those of you who may only have the slightest curiosity about this profession or for those of you who strongly feel that this is your calling, I encourage each of you to look deeper because it has changed my life forever…for the better!

For more information on the dental hygiene major, please visit the UNC Dental Hygiene Programs homepage, or email questions to dentalhygiene@dentistry.unc.edu. You may also consider attending one of they many informational sessions scheduled throughout the year for more information.

Jennifer B. Harmon
UNC Dental Hygiene Class of 2013 President

Consider Philosophy at Carolina

Today, please welcome Professor Marc Lange, chair of the Philosophy Department, who is here to tell us more about studying philosophy at Carolina: 

Of the more than 150 philosophy majors at UNC, only a small handful had any acquaintance at all with philosophy before arriving in Chapel Hill. But having taken a philosophy class – perhaps on philosophy and sport, or philosophy of science, or morality and law – many students decide to take additional courses having the same level of excitement, intellectual vitality, and logical rigor that they enjoyed in their first philosophy course. Before they know it, they become philosophy majors (or minors). Then they have something in common with Steve Martin, Phil Jackson (the basketball coach), Susan Sarandon, Stephen Breyer (the Supreme Court justice), Ethan Coen, Aung San Suu Kyi (the Burmese dissident leader), George Soros (the billionaire), Alex Trebek (from TV’s Jeopardy), Bruce Lee, and Pearl Buck.

Did you know that in the past decade, the number of philosophy majors at four-year U.S. colleges and universities has grown 46 percent – a higher rate than history or psychology? Perhaps students tend to major in philosophy in uncertain times like ours. Did you know that philosophy majors are admitted to medical school at a higher rate than almost any other major (far outpacing biology majors, for instance)? That in every recent year, philosophy majors had higher average LSAT scores than political science majors? Of course, it doesn’t follow from any of these facts that you will improve your LSAT scores or your chances of admission to medical school by becoming a philosophy major. (You probably already had this thought. It involves drawing just the kind of important distinction that philosophers pounce upon!) Of course, the main reason that philosophy majors would give for majoring in philosophy is simply that they love it.

But there are other relevant considerations. UNC’s philosophy department has won more teaching awards for its size than any other UNC department. We have long been ranked as one of the top ten U.S. philosophy departments. We have lots of small classes and faculty who love to teach them. We also have an active undergraduate philosophy club, a popular minor in “PPE” (philosophy, politics, and economics), a variety of exciting courses (from “The Philosophy of Comedy” to “Reason, Religion, and Reality in the Copernican Revolution”), and the Parr Center for Ethics (which sponsors our award-winning interscholastic Ethics Bowl team) – as well as our “Take a Philosopher to Lunch” program.

I hope to see you around Caldwell Hall.

Marc Lange
Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Professor
Philosophy Department Chair

Consider Political Science at Carolina

Today, Hollie Mann from the Political Science department is here to tell us more about studying political science at Carolina.  Welcome Dr. Mann!

Hollie Mann

This is an exciting time to be a Political Science major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We are the third largest major at UNC and it’s no wonder! With a presidential election just around the corner, the recent Supreme Court ruling on health care, a North Carolina gubernatorial election that could radically reshape public education, social services, and the tax structure for years to come, more and more students are choosing to enter the field of Political Science.

There are many reasons to choose Political Science as a major. As a field of study, Political Science helps us to understand how and why we choose certain subjects to deliberate about collectively. Perhaps more importantly, it gives us a clear picture of how policy is formulated, executed, and evaluated using certain moral, economic, and pragmatic standards. In the increasingly complex political and media environments in which we live, becoming a sharp consumer of political information is absolutely critical for making informed decisions.

Some of our students go on to careers in politics, running campaigns and advising candidates, or even becoming candidates themselves and eventually holding office. Those who prefer a more behind-the-scenes career in politics often become analysts for research institutes and think-tanks. Some go into the non-profit sector, working on issues of social justice and political equality, while others choose to continue their studies by entering graduate school. Business, finance, and law are common fields for our majors, demonstrating that a Political Science degree is useful for a range of future vocations and professions. Professionally, whether it’s finance, marketing, or the academy, employers want to hire interesting and well-informed workers, people who are able to speak knowledgeably about political and social issues, and who see themselves as active citizens shaping the complex world in which we live.

The field of Political Science is divided into four subfields—American, Comparative, International Relations, and Theory—and here at UNC students have an opportunity to craft their majors in such a way that they can focus on any one of these, if they desire, while still receiving a rich and a well-rounded education in the field as a whole.

For more information on the major, including affiliated centers and workshops, please visit the UNC Political Science homepage, and consider contacting our department advisor, Dr. Hollie Mann. And stay tuned for more information on our Fall Undergraduate Speaker Series on the 2012 elections!

To Be or Not to Be...a Philosophy Major!

At Carolina, our students are immersed in a liberal arts and science curriculum and select from 70 different majors. Our interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to foster curiosity, communication, and critical thinking so that students can thrive in an increasingly interconnected world, while also becoming grounded in their selected area(s) of emphasis.

Today, we're featuring Maggie Clark, an philosophy major and rising junior from Oxford, NC, as she shares her experiences in our Department of Philosophy. You can learn more about the Department online and/or follow them on Twitter at @UNCPhilOutreach. Jen Kling, Philosophy graduate student and Outreach Coordinator is also available to answer your questions here on the blog.

  

Why did you decide to study philosophy?

I decided to study philosophy because it’s not just a subject, it’s a way of thinking. Philosophy helps develop a skill set of critical thinking and analysis that can be applied to most aspects of life. You learn to think about things and look at things in a different way, and I think that’s cool.

What are the three best things about studying philosophy at UNC?

It’s hard to limit myself to only three things, but I guess I’d have to say that the faculty in the department are incredibly supportive and are not just professors but mentors. Secondly, between the faculty and the philosophy grad students there is always someone around who is willing to help explain something you don’t understand or just talk about philosophy. I also like that the work load in most of the classes is not too extreme; there’s a lot of reading but never more than you can handle.

Is there a disadvantage to studying philosophy?

One disadvantage is that it’s easy to get caught up in the philosophic discourse and forget to pull back and see how what you study applies and relates to the real world.

If there was one thing you could tell non-philosophy majors, what would it be?

Give philosophy a chance and try to come to the table without any preconceptions. We don’t all sit around at a café drinking coffee and discussing the meaning of life!

Any advice for incoming first-year students?

Philosophy is really easy to get into if it’s something you’re looking to try out; you don’t necessarily have to begin with the 101 course. See which of the 100 level courses strikes your fancy and try it; it might be for you!

Want to Be on the Air at Carolina? Consider Broadcast Journalism!

After finishing my first year, I know that choosing to study journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill was definitely the right decision. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication has impressed me not only with its faculty and curriculum, but also through the opportunities it presents to gain hands-on experience right off the bat. Within my first month of school, I began to volunteer for UNC’s student newscast, Carolina Week, and have never looked back.

Fresh out of high school and overwhelmed by all things college, I couldn't believe how easy it was to get involved in the journalism school’s news outlets. After a brief training session with Carolina Week, I began to attend both practice and live shows where I was given the opportunity to shadow students in the class. I watched and learned as my peers operated cameras, directed the control room and reported the news to the Carolina community.

Within a few weeks, I felt confident enough to run the camera and floor direct on my own. I even extended my involvement outside the studio and tagged along with reporters to help shoot interviews. Regardless of what I did, each task provided me with real life experience in my future field of work that I couldn't have gotten elsewhere. Furthermore, being part of a team of people so dedicated to the show reinforced my passion for broadcast journalism. My commitment to Carolina Week strengthened and I'm proud to say that this was recognized by my teammates, who voted me Most Valuable Volunteer at the end of the year. This achievement has paved the way for my future endeavors in the J-school and I can only hope that my remaining three years will be as prosperous.

UNC students are fortunate that taking part in activities and organizations is so easy. The J-school is a perfect example of this, because whether you're interested in television, radio or web journalism, there are opportunities to get involved. Carolina Week, Carolina Connection and Reese News are all student-run news outlets that provide the experiences and skills needed to become a successful journalist. I've certainly taken advantage of these opportunities, and the lessons I've learned and the people I've met as a result have truly shaped my time so far at UNC. I cannot imagine what my first year would have been like without the support and sense of belonging that Carolina Week provided. Getting involved was the best decision I've made during my academic career and I highly recommend incoming students do the same.

--Brenna Cukier, 2015

For more information on these programs and the broadcast journalism major, you are welcome to email Dr. Charles Tuggle, Professor of Journalism.