KATIE O'DONOVAN '13

During the end of her freshman year, Katie O’Donovan '13 was starting to reconsider her academic plan, thinking she might like to try for a University Major, which her major in African Studies could support.  When she saw that she could take a Summer Session course with Professor Gallarotti in international Politics, she registered immediately.

Katie found, as so many students do, that the campus atmosphere in the summer supports the immersive aspects of Summer Session coursework. She had more time to read the material and reflect on it in preparation for each class meeting. Katie discovered the importance of forming a study group to help develop her ideas in the characteristic give and take.

With fewer demands on her time, combined with fewer people on campus, she was able to explore the campus in its entirety as well as the broader Middletown area. Her group of friends enjoyed grocery shopping together, sharing potluck suppers, going to the movie theater downtown, eating at local restaurants and taking trips on weekends to explore. They had good times mini-golfing across the river in Portland, visiting Gillette’s Castle, swimming and sunning at the beach, and checking out New Haven and Hartford.  They even went into New York City for the July 4th celebration, and to Six Flags Amusement Park in Massachusetts - a trip organized annually by ResLife.