Emerson College

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Created her own major she calls Television Personality & Performance
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Straight Female

Summary

I’m a resident assistant, a tour guide, I work an off-campus job, I’m in a professional sorority, I do work with The Emerson Channel, I’m part the Emerson Recognition and Achievement (ERA) Awards, and I’m heavily involved in my Class Counsel and Student Government.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public school in San Antonio, TX with a graduating class of about 850 students. There was a culture of going to college
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Created her own major she calls Television Personality & Performance
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m a resident assistant, a tour guide, I work an off-campus job, I’m in a professional sorority, I do work with The Emerson Channel, I’m part the Emerson Recognition and Achievement (ERA) Awards, and I’m heavily involved in my Class Counsel and Student Government.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The big impact has been the class counsel or my sorority. Both of those get me excited to participate and be more involved in the school. What gets me excited about my sorority is wanting to take on a sorority position where I welcome new students into the organization and wanting to put my heart into it.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
It varies per semester. For my reporting classes, I have to create my own package every other week which takes 3-4 hours outside of class.
Is there anything you feel either of your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
What I really like is that it’s a department in itself. It’s beneficial that students have the opportunity to combine elements from different departments to create this one. I think they do a really good job of letting us build our own schedule and getting that tailored curriculum.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
A mix of both. It’s collaborative because a lot of different departments have different talents. For example, a student performance would need the marketing students to [advertise the show] and they’d also need photographers and visual media art students to be behind the camera helping film. It can also be competitive because there is so much talent and ambition toward a common goal of storytelling and different people wanting to take the stage.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re pretty accessible. There are very few I’ve ever dealt with that make it difficult.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
I’d say so. I think everybody has a different background and perspective to share in class. The one we have in common is our passion.
What was your favorite class you took for your major?
An improv comedy class. It was a lot of fun because it was performing arts and it felt close to what I wanted to do. It gave me some good experience.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m happy with my choice. At first, I came to Emerson as a Journalism major. I then changed to a Communications major, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do. After learning more about the department, I realized it would be beneficial because I’d be able to tailor it to my own career. I realized it would be super helpful because it was a better idea of doing exactly what I want to do, and not doing what I didn’t want to do.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
Academically it was a bit difficult my freshman year. I’m also an honors student at Emerson, so the honors seminar was a theory class that had a lot of work in general apart from what you’d normally take. Academically the transition was tough, but there are resources on campus like the [Writing and Academic Research Center], you can reach out for a tutor, and there is academic advising. You can get help when you reach out for it.

Reasons to Attend

1) You can get involved right away.
2) There are so many co-curriculars and organizations on campus that are major-blind, so anybody can join them.
3) Emerson has a feel to it where you feel like you have chosen your dream over a more realistic choice of study. That should be inspiring to you.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) You don’t get that college campus feel.
2) There is a lack of school spirit. I sometimes hear negativity.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Paramount with one roommate and two suitemates
Sophomore: Colonial with five suitemates with no roommates
Junior: Worked as an RA in Piano Row in a single
Senior: Paramount in a six-person suite.
How was transitioning from San Antonio to Boston in terms of location?
It was very different. I grew up in the suburbs so it was different to walk outside and being in the city. I like it and there’s a smaller community here at Emerson so if you get involved and get to know everybody it becomes a campus.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel safe at Emerson. At night, it’s good to have a friend walk you home or to be with a group of people. We have our own police department and they offer an escort service so if you need to take a walk across campus you can call them. There is also the blue light system which is nice to have as well. There’s also a tap desk policy at every building, so we know everyone that comes in is Emerson is affiliated. They need an ID or they can’t go in the building.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Emerson?
I usually spend that time hanging out with my friends or maybe going to see a show that’s in season in Boston. Last week we went to a haunted house. During the days I try to work, and weekend nights are for relaxing. Instead of eating at our dining hall we might go out to a nice restaurant and see a movie after, then head back to play board games in my room.
How has going to college in an area surrounded by non-college students impacted your weekend life?
I wouldn’t say it has had too big of an impact. It helped because we are closer to things that are accessible to us. We’re next to the Boston Opera House and the Colonial Theater, so if there’s a show it’s convenient.
To what extent do you interact with the other Boston schools socially?
We’ve done mixers through my sorority with our chapter at other schools.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Emerson? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy with it. If there’s a time I’m not doing anything specific, it’s a good time to cool off and relax.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
During my freshman year, I met them because we lived on the same floor. I met some other really good friends through co-curriculars and clubs that I did. I also studied abroad fall of sophomore year, and I met a lot of my closest friends through that experience.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
Because it’s a smaller community, a lot more people know more people and you’re bound to have mutual friends that you didn’t realize you had. If you’re trying to go to a party or if something is happening on campus, it might be more likely something is happening on a different campus since we’re so close to other Boston colleges.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
It’s diverse in sexual orientation, and it’s also on the rise for diversity and ethnicities. We have a high population of international students and they’re continuing to program for students of color. We have a free orientation program right now, so it’s trying to shift from the norm of just being a White campus. [About 56% of students are Caucasian. See Emerson Power article, “The Nuances of Racism in Theatre School” and Boston Globe article, “Emerson College Students protest administration’s ‘surface level’ progress on ending racism.”]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
A very small population of Emerson students are in fraternities or sororities, and that population doesn’t just hang out with that population. I think my immediate circle is made up of people that aren’t in my sorority.
What is the impact of Greek life on your weekend options?
It expands the opportunities because it’s more people you could hang out with and they organize programming events.
How would you describe the South Asian community? How strong is it?
It’s pretty minimal. There’s a Muslim Student Association, but I don’t think it’s very large.
How do you like the size of Emerson in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [Emerson has about 3,700 undergraduate students.]
The smaller size helps with the community. You know more people, and I like that little pond feeling. Sometimes I wish it were larger and there were more people around me at all times.
Do people generally seem happy with Emerson by senior year? Do people leave loving Emerson?
I think so. After four years, you become mature and full-circle with your studies.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
There’s something called the Emerson Mafia, which is the alumni network. They’re super helpful with jobs or internships. They’re there to provide advice and tips.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’ve looked at my resume, and I’ve used it to do a mock interview in the past. It was a good jump start to my freshman year.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be especially helpful to you professionally?
Excel and Adobe Creative Cloud Suite is very helpful and is used a lot.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
I’ve had good experiences with them, but I know that isn’t always the case for other people.