MORE ABOUT SARAH
Graduation Date: June 2009
Hometown: Frankfort, Kentucky
High School: Franklin County
Awards & Achievements:
- Dean's List
- Presidential Scholarship
- Discover Chicago Quarter Mentor
Campus Involvement:
- Honors Program Community Service Chair
- Honors Program Student Mentor
- DePaul Democrats Club Member
Current Employment:
- DePaul University Steans Center
- Teach for America Campus Campaign Coordinator
Sarah Lawson
Area of Study:Political Science and Women’s Studies
I chose my major because… I’ve always been interested in history and politics. I feel that a path in political science and learning as much as I possibly can in that area is the best way for me to help people and have a positive impact on the world.
My favorite thing to do on campus is… to read on the Quad! On a nice day, it’s a more exciting place to get homework done or run into friends.
I decided to attend DePaul because… I’m from a fairly small town and was attracted to DePaul’s location in a city like Chicago. Beyond the different things to do on campus, we have the entire city to explore and experience.
The learning environment here at DePaul is… personal. All of my classes are small and most of my professors know me by name. I feel very comfortable asking questions or getting into discussions because the individual, personal attention in that environment.
The class I most enjoyed here was… the Sociology of Women. This is the class that helped me decide to become a women’s studies minor. Not only were the topics new and interesting, but they were also presented in a way that facilitated honest and insightful discussion within our class. I came out of that class with new friends and with a hunger for more knowledge about feminist theory.
When I have free time, I like to… explore the city. While I’ve lived here almost two years, there are still neighborhoods and areas in the city that I’d like to visit. All of them are unique in there own way, and it’s always exciting to experience such diversity.
My favorite thing to do off campus is… go to the movies. I’m a huge movie fan, and Chicago has so many cool, small, old movie theatres that show interesting independent films as well as more mainstream flicks.
Here, the diversity of students, faculty and staff… is perfect. DePaul has such a fantastic community of people with different ideas, backgrounds, traditions and beliefs. Not only does this make for an exciting student body, but for interesting classes, new ideas and a great environment in which one can grow as a person. And that is what college is all about!
The greatest thing about going to school in Chicago is… being able to interchange the ideas we have in the classroom with real world experiences. My Discover Chicago class, Poverty Amidst Plenty, centered on ideas about homelessness and the effect of gentrification in urban areas. As a part of the class, we actually went into different neighborhoods to see for ourselves what we were reading about in class, which allowed for a whole new level of learning.
At DePaul, service learning is… extremely important. I work at the Steans Center for Community-based Service Learning, so I see first hand the effects of service at DePaul. Service is a main component to DePaul’s mission, as is evident in all the work that numerous students do all over the Chicago area. By incorporating this service with ideals in the classroom, students at DePaul (including myself) become even more aware of the issues that cause problems like homelessness and hunger and are equipped to help fix them, post-college and for the rest of their lives.
The Honors Program at DePaul… awesome. Not only does the program provide interesting classes and learning opportunities, but it is also a smaller community within DePaul with students who share common goals and interests. Like a variety of other clubs and groups at DePaul, the Honors Program provides honors students with an opportunity to meet people who are like them, to travel the city and learn new things and to get great advising help and guidance for the rest of their college careers.
What I remember most about my first quarter at DePaul is… my Discover Chicago class. I knew absolutely no one when I first came to DePaul and was worried that it would be hard to make friends. However, after our immersion week and lots of bonding, I knew 20 new people and met my two future roommates!
After graduation, I plan to… attend law school. I want to use a law degree to advocate on behalf of the underserved, namely women and children and people in marginalized communities.
The one thing I’d like to say to students considering DePaul… if you are looking for a completely new, diverse, exciting experience, DePaul University is for you. A school as diverse as DePaul in a city like Chicago will take you out of your comfort zone, but allow you to grow and develop into a great, educated, socially aware individual who will have a positive effect on our world!
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