KenSAP College Access Program, Middlebury College - Assignment Example

KenSAP 2020 AssignmentFor each school, please complete the following tasks:1. Find out the school’s specific Supplemental question(s) for the official CommonApplication and write one paragraph answering each question

After an intense research, we found out that Middlebury college doesn’t require a supplementary essay. The school only requires one application essay.

2. Write one paragraph about why someone should join this specific school? (300 words) (e.g. Why Bowdoin College?)

Do you want to join a school where most classes are small as an average of 16 student per class? Then Middlebury is the best option for you. The school has 8:1 student -faculty ratio thus there is a lot of engagement and interaction between students and their teachers. If you are a kind of student who need to maintain close relationships and discussion with your professors in order to understand well, it is the best school for you. The school has rural setting thus best for those who like cool and calm study environment, its location gives a natural landscape view-Green mountain to the east and Adirondacks to the west-enhancing appreciation of nature. The school also have diverse students from different parts of the world, around 68 countries. This enables student to familiarize themselves with diverse cultures. For those who love studying foreign languages, this is also the best option. There are summer programs where 11 foreign languages are taught. The school also has outstanding co-curriculum activities such as mountain climbing, skiing, and snowboarding during winter. The school is also nationally known for programs in environmental studies.

3. List 3 interesting facts about the school and a sentence or two about why each fact is interesting to you (e.g. the greatest number of a capella groups on campus and love singing)

Interesting facts to Franklin

• The school is one of the most diverse in the states, it takes students from all over the world and it is having a balanced gender ratio. This makes it fascinating because it sounds a place of meaningful interaction between different groups and exposes students to new ideas and cultures. I would like to know much about the world and Middlebury is such a great place to gain that knowledge.
• It also offers special sports apart from my favorite-football and others such as golf and volleyball that I dream of learning one day, there is also a shooting sports club. Have you ever admired using a gun or learning how to shoot? Then go to Middlebury and learn how to shoot.
• The school is located in a rural area which is an ideal environment for studies compared to the urban’s noisy and distractive life.

Interesting facts to Abubakar

• Its natural setting in Vermont’s Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains to the East and New York’s Adirondacks to the west gives the campus its identity. Since I love nature, the position of this campus is ideal to me and this beauty of nature will be able to give me educational focus.
• Environment consciousness of the school is amazing and the school makes a lot of “green” choices apart from its rural setting. Since I love the beauty of the environment, I think it’s a nice place.
• It has special sports which I bet are not available in many colleges. There is rock climbing which is a sport I have never tried in my life. There is also skiing and snowboarding which is a sport I will also like to try. The college even has its own ski resort called the snow bowl.

4. List 2 professors and two sentences about why each professor interests you (e.g.Professor Fitts because he comes to Kenya every year and loves biking and birds...just like me!)

Two professors who interest Abubakar

• Jason Arndt- Professor of Psychology

Professor Jason is interesting to me because of his current research examining the processes that underlie human memory, including why memory errors occur, how memory errors can be limited, and how emotion influences memory. This will be of great benefit since we will be able to understand our memories better and maximumly utilize them.

• Jeanne Albert-Director of STEM Support

I am interested in this professor because she is involved in ensuring students tutors for classes are up to the task. She also has a passion in helping students learn which is fascinating.

Two professors who interest Franklin

• Antonio Losano- An associate professor of English and American Literature.

She is interesting to me in the sense that she has authored many interesting novels, and she has a love literature as I do.

• Margaret Nelson-Professor of Sociology.

She has done a number of researches on family strategies in rural areas, caregiving and parental guidance, and single motherhood. These are intriguing researches which if their results are adopted by a Kenyan society, they would have significant impacts on the social life.

5. List 3 classes and write 2 sentences about why each class interests you (e.g. filmstudies 304 "digressions in films from the 1940s"). Do not choose generic classes(e.g. Economics 101 - Introduction to Macroeconomics).

Classes interesting to Franklin

• RELIGION 0241-Ancient Egypt: Art and Religion- this class explores Egypt’s art and religion and tries to consider the impact of ancient Egypt on later civilizations. I find this interesting since I love history. Such study on the early life of societies gives an insight on how life was, what challenges the societies underwent, how they turned out later to be, and what the contemporary societies can learn from them.
• ANTHROPOLOGY 0357- Death and the body- this class managed to draw my attention since it presents a study about odd things! it is just the human limitless anxiety that draws towards such a topic. The class provides an overview of how archaeologists and anthropologists encounter and interpret death in societies worldwide. Further, this study looks at the perspective of burials and tombs, and discuss modern and ancient conceptions of souls and afterlife.
• FYSE 1477- Anti-heroes- this is another wonderful class to me. In this class, students engage in fundamental questions concerning literature’s persuasive technics, psychological effects, and social responsibilities. The basic purpose of such questions is to try to figure out how literature persuades us to undertake the difficult work of opening our closed minds and softening our hard hearts. This class thus provides such an awesome examination of literature as an important domain in any given society making it more fascinating.

Classes interesting to Abubakar

• NSCI 0227- Cognitive Psychology- this is the study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and thinking. This class is interesting to me because it will help me understand the mind, thinking, and knowledge. This is also an important aspect in treatment of depression which is very common.
• MATH 0100- A World of Mathematics-this class is interesting to me because it helps in exploring real-world questions such as the fairest voting system, how to harvest food and other resources sustainably by using mathematical ideas and methods which include modelling, logical analysis, discrete dynamical systems, and elementary statistics.
• PHYS 0380-General Relativity-this class is about the forces of nature, gravity which is the most familiar and the least well-understood. Therefore, what attracts me and interest me with this class is the brain behind the theory of relativity, I just have the urge to understand this theory better from the common basic knowledge.

6. List 3 interesting alumni (at least 1 must be a KenSAP/Kenyan/African) and write afew sentences about what they studied in school and what they are doing now (e.g.Wellesley- Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Jeruto, Madeline Albright) - Speak to at least oneof the KenSAP alumni who currently attends, or attended, that school

Interesting Alumni of Middlebury College

• Alexander Lucius Twilight (1995-1857)

He was an American educator, minister and politician. He was the African- American man known to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an American college or University (a degree in arts). He was also the first African-American elected as a state legislator.

• Julia Alvarez

Julia transferred from Connecticut college to Middlebury College, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree. She is currently a poet, novelist, and essayist. She rose to prominence with the novels How the Garcia lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies and Yo! Her publications as poet include Homecoming and The Woman I Kept to Myself.

• Jason Mantzoukas

He majored in Religion while studying at Middlebury. He is currently an American comedic actor, writer, and podcaster. He is best known for his recurring role as Rafi in the FX comedy series The League. He has also appeared in the famous film John Wick. He also voices the character Jay Bilzerian in the famous Netflix animated series Big Mouth.

• Smith Gakuya (2018-present)

He is majoring in Computer science but he has also been taking various classes in his first year from astrophysics to German, theater, and writing classes.

Interesting Activities

• Sports which are rare in many universities

Middlebury college offers various sporting activities including rowing and sailing which are not common in many universities. This is so captivating because students who have taste for sports are able to enjoy and nature their sporting skills. There is also rock climbing and kayaking. Students also learn snowboarding during winter which also make it unique. The college also has its own ski resort called snow bowl. There is also shooting sports club, depending on your views on gun control, you may or may not appreciate this but you can learn to safely operate firearms and bows.

Interesting facts to Abubakar

• Its natural setting in Vermont’s Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains to the East and New York’s Adirondacks to the west gives the campus its identity. Since I love nature, the position of this campus is ideal to me and this beauty of nature will be able to give me educational focus.
• Environment consciousness of the school is amazing and the school makes a lot of “green” choices apart from its rural setting. Since I love the beauty of the environment, I think it’s a nice place.
• It has special sports which I bet are not available in many colleges. There is rock climbing which is a sport I have never tried in my life. There is also skiing and snowboarding which is a sport I will also like to try. The college even has its own ski resort called the snow bowl.

4. List 2 professors and two sentences about why each professor interests you (e.g.Professor Fitts because he comes to Kenya every year and loves biking and birds...just like me!)

Two professors who interest Abubakar

• Jason Arndt- Professor of Psychology

Professor Jason is interesting to me because of his current research examining the processes that underlie human memory, including why memory errors occur, how memory errors can be limited, and how emotion influences memory. This will be of great benefit since we will be able to understand our memories better and maximumly utilize them.

• Jeanne Albert-Director of STEM Support

I am interested in this professor because she is involved in ensuring students tutors for classes are up to the task. She also has a passion in helping students learn which is fascinating.

Two professors who interest Franklin

• Antonio Losano- An associate professor of English and American Literature.

She is interesting to me in the sense that she has authored many interesting novels, and she has a love literature as I do.

• Margaret Nelson-Professor of Sociology.

She has done a number of researches on family strategies in rural areas, caregiving and parental guidance, and single motherhood. These are intriguing researches which if their results are adopted by a Kenyan society, they would have significant impacts on the social life.

5. List 3 classes and write 2 sentences about why each class interests you (e.g. filmstudies 304 "digressions in films from the 1940s"). Do not choose generic classes(e.g. Economics 101 - Introduction to Macroeconomics).

Classes interesting to Franklin

• RELIGION 0241-Ancient Egypt: Art and Religion- this class explores Egypt’s art and religion and tries to consider the impact of ancient Egypt on later civilizations. I find this interesting since I love history. Such study on the early life of societies gives an insight on how life was, what challenges the societies underwent, how they turned out later to be, and what the contemporary societies can learn from them.
• ANTHROPOLOGY 0357- Death and the body- this class managed to draw my attention since it presents a study about odd things! it is just the human limitless anxiety that draws towards such a topic. The class provides an overview of how archaeologists and anthropologists encounter and interpret death in societies worldwide. Further, this study looks at the perspective of burials and tombs, and discuss modern and ancient conceptions of souls and afterlife.
• FYSE 1477- Anti-heroes- this is another wonderful class to me. In this class, students engage in fundamental questions concerning literature’s persuasive technics, psychological effects, and social responsibilities. The basic purpose of such questions is to try to figure out how literature persuades us to undertake the difficult work of opening our closed minds and softening our hard hearts. Read More