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 Today I had an afternoon that I never expected to have in my life. While sitting in a classroom 20 minutes before my Graphic Novels class started, I popped onto Facebook, and at the top of my news feed was an article about how Harper Lee (of To Kill a Mockingbird fame) is publishing her second book, to be released this July.
There was no other place I would have rather been to learn this than in the English department. Ecstatic, I ran out of the classroom and told a classmate who was sitting amongst the department armchairs, and when her level of enthusiasm did not match mine, I bolted to the office of Am Lit professor Dr. Regis (one of my favorite professors in the department) to share the great news! She, one of her advisees, and I promptly screamed about it for two minutes, during which time we shared celebratory hugs and learned that the book, Go Set a Watchman, will feature an adult Scout Finch.
This is what I love about the McDaniel English department. We’re enthusiastic people who get genuinely excited about good news and good books. Combine those two good things together, and even better things happen — including an office full of three women so happy about a book that they’re nearly in tears.
Each student at McDaniel is required to take at least one Jan Term as a student. Some students take more than one, but one is the minimum. I took an on-campus Jan Term last year, Nonviolent Scriptbreaking, where I became a certified nonviolence trainer. In that class, we studied Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and a variety of other nonviolence curriculum. Although I did not take a Jan Term class this January, I was back on campus for fun-filled Jan Term activities.
Before heading back to campus for Jan Term, I was able to visit my family in California for three weeks- the 80 degree weather was fantastic. I arrived at McDaniel on January 5th to start work at the Admissions Office for the duration of Jan Term. I gave many tours in the snow, spent time with friends I had not seen in seven months, moved into my new room, and played board games (Pandemic is now a favorite among my friends).
While seeing everyone at Admissions was a lot of fun, I did miss taking a course. Jan Term courses are always innovative and exciting. This year, I would walk around campus and see students crocheting for the course, “Hyperbolic Geometry” or see pictures on Facebook of students taking off-campus Jan Terms such as “Discovering Berlin.”
Regardless of your interests, you will find at least one interesting Jan Term during your four years at McDaniel. The courses alter almost every year, and the professors choose trips and classes that students want to take. Whether you have an interest in taking “Presidential Scandals,” “Coping with Stress,” or “Animating Life in Disney World,” you can be sure to learn fascinating information in your Jan Term class!
 On Friday evening, my staff of RAs and I went to the Human Services Program of Carroll County and served dinner at their cold weather shelter.
We made everything from scratch–spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and salad. For dessert, one truly amazing member of our staff made caramel apple cheesecake and chocolate pineapple upside down cake. I helped my friend with the meatballs, which turned out to be a longer venture than planned–we started on Thursday evening at 6:30 and I didn’t leave until 11! We tripled the recipe, using about six pounds of meat, and each batch took almost an hour to cook.
After we had served about twenty people, we made ourselves plates of food and got to sit and eat with the people. My favourite part was talking to them and hearing their stories. Often times I feel like people, especially myself, skip over people without homes or thing of them as less human, which is entirely untrue. I particularly enjoyed talking to one woman about her cat. She’d had the cat since it was about four weeks old, and had a really close relationship with it.
It was scary hearing about these people’s situations. A few had found full time jobs, but still didn’t have the money for a down payment to rent property–generally, one needs the first and last month’s rent in addition to a security deposit.Another couple’s house had burned down and their insurance company wasn’t willing to pay anything, leaving them without a home. A few other McDaniel students were there–apparently some social work majors volunteer there often.
It also showed me how expensive food can really be. I’ve seen this small scale–while I love pasta, which is cheap, I also love vegetables, which are crazily expensive–but hadn’t thought about how much it would cost to feed people in such a shelter. We spent about one hundred dollars simply in making a homecooked meal for thirty or so people. The meat in particular was expensive.
They seemed to really enjoy the food we cooked though. I’m really glad our area coordinator encouraged us to go and volunteer; it left me feeling heartened at their optimism and friendliness.
 Marc symbol As part of the McDaniel Plan, everyone has to do a Jan Term, and I have always wanted to use my Jan Term as a chance to travel more, so I went on the Spain Study Tour. We had about 20 McDaniel students on the trip along with Dr. Deveny and his wife Isabel. We went to three major cities: Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona. It was a great time!
Obviously, there were many great things on the trip, but one of my most memorable moments was seeing “La Sagrada Familia” (“The Holy Family”) in Barcelona. It’s this huge cathedral that is still under construction and will not be finished until 2030 if I remember correctly.
Basically, the building has three different fronts in which it depicts important moments from the Bible. The side that we entered on depicted the birth of Jesus. It was awesome because it used interesting symbols like the doves which tend to represent the Holy Spirit in art. The door on this side was also designed to look like it had ivy covering it. The other side that we saw was a cubist depiction of the crucifixion which I was not a fan of, but I can appreciate the amount of work it took.
The best part, of course, was seeing the inside of the cathedral. It was so airy and light inside. The ceiling looked like it was sparkling. There were cool symbols some of the apostles like a sphinx and a lion.
 Rainbow stained-glass windows Out of all the cathedrals we visited, “La Sagrada Familia” had the most beautiful stained-glass windows. There were some set up in a mosaic pattern (for which Gaudí, the architect, is well known) that went from cool colors to warm colors. It was like walking through water and fire. At one point, I sat down on a bench and sat in the warmth of the most beautiful rainbow light coming from the windows. It was so beautiful!
Normally, I am not one for admiring architecture, but this building made me feel comfortable, free, and happy. In Spain, I really learned the power that art can have on people. I know “La Sagrada Familia” changed me forever.
Since being back at McDaniel, I have noticed the school has been improving in many ways. Over Jan Term, we got new furniture turning Ensor Lounge into a cool study space. The furniture is vibrant and comfy. It gives you a variety of options for studying that range from relaxing reading chairs to high chairs with a long table for spreading out and using your laptop. I have seen such an increase in people using Ensor Lounge as well as an improvement in my overall happiness with McDaniel.
We had places to sit in Ensor before, but by changing the layout and the color palette, it makes the whole building feel more cohesive, and the improved feng shui (room orientation) makes for a friendlier environment. Some of the classrooms have new desk chairs in them, and there are more benches in private and public spaces. It’s just nice to feel like I can go anywhere to get my work done or to relax while in one of the main non-academic buildings.
Overall, this new semester is looking to be one filled with many surprises. I cannot wait to see what improvements come next!
 Comfy reading chairs  High chairs and long table with outlets
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