Sewanee: The University of the South
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Economics
Minor: Business
Student Self Identifies as: White Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m a student-athlete.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private school in Daytona Beach, FL with a graduating class of about 150 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Economics
Minor: Business
Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete.
What impact has being an athlete had on your experience so far?
It’s made the whole impact of my Sewanee career because that’s where most of my friends come from and that’s where most of my time is spent at school besides studying for classes.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For Economics, it’s mostly problem sets and readings and for Business, there are a few more papers. For both Economics and Business, exams make up the majority of our grades.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I think the professors teach the material very well and do a good job of explaining the concepts behind it. What I think they do poorly is they don’t offer enough classes so it’s tough to get your spot in the class that you need because there are so many Economics students trying to get into them. It’s especially difficult to get into the classes that everybody needs to take for their major because there are only two sections per semester that can fit 25 students. [For the Class of 2017, Economics was the most popular major with 60 students graduating with degrees.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s very collaborative and then it gets more competitive later on in the major. When you’re a freshman and sophomore, everybody’s in the same boat and trying to figure out college. But, once you get going and get a handle on college, it becomes more competitive because people want to do better than each other – not because the classes are graded on a curve – and are applying to the same internships and that sort of thing.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re extremely accessible. They make as much time available as they can for you.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
Yes. Everyone here comes from a different background. Sewanee’s also a pretty accepting campus so you can express how you feel and not be openly judged for it. There are people from Florida, Tennessee, and all over the place and this is definitely a place where people can voice their opinions. [The most popular states for students to come from in 2019 are Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, and Alabama.]
What has been your favorite part of Sewanee so far academically?
The relationships with professors that I’ve made. They’re really great people. At Sewanee, the mask of being a professor is taken off and you can really get to know the people that you are learning from.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I think the thing that made me choose my major was looking at the job market and thinking about what I want to do in the future. I want to go to law school for corporate law and I felt like the major would help me. I’m very happy with my major selection because of the relationships I’ve made with my classmates and my professors.
How do you like the academic dress code? How has it impacted your experience?
I like it. I think it definitely has an impact just because when you’re trying to learn in an environment where people don’t care, it makes a difference. When you show up to class and everyone’s dressed nicely, it sets the standard. It makes it clear that the reason we’re there is for us to learn.
Reasons to Attend
1) The education you get here is far above many other places.
2) The friendships that you make here. The guys I’ve made friends with here are going to be friends of mine for the rest of my life.
3) The professors and faculty are the best teachers I’ve ever had. I will also try to stay in touch with them after I graduate.
Reasons Not to Attend
I can’t think of any besides the weather.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Courts Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Trezevant Hall in a single first semester and I had a roommate second semester
Junior: Smith Hall with one roommate
Senior: Gorgas Hall in a single
What has been your favorite living situation?
Gorgas just because after my past living situations I was ready to have my own place and transition to living like I’m in the real world.
How was transitioning from Daytona Beach, FL to Sewanee, TN?
Going to the mountains was a bit of a culture shock just because I went from the sun to the trees and fog. It was hard, but once I got here and got the proper clothes, it was easy.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s completely different for me because, being a guy walking around campus, I feel like I can protect myself. But, I feel like the safety for women on this campus is a little bit low just because there isn’t much lighting and it can be a spooky place when it’s not light out because it’s so dark. I also feel that there should be more cameras on campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I like going to parties at fraternity houses. That’s a great way to meet people on campus, especially a lot of different people that I may not have met because of class schedules and things like that. I go out probably Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It’s almost all of it. But, Sewanee’s a very inclusive campus. It’s very open and everyone wants to have a good time, talk, and hang out. It’s not exclusive at all, so, as a guy not in Greek life, I have no problem going anywhere. [In Fall 2018, about 56% of men are in fraternities and 64% are in sororities. This does not include freshmen because they rush in the spring. The Sewanee Purple cites the number as being 78% of all undergraduates.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
We have The Caverns, which is this really cool underground amphitheater that has a lot of bands play there. You’re also in the woods so you can go camping. The school also does a good job of providing other opportunities like movie nights and other kinds of events.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Sewanee? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I wish there was more variation. I wish there was a little bit more nightlife that we can go to. But, being in a secluded area like Sewanee, you can’t do something else, so it can get repetitive.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through sports.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Sewanee?
It’s inclusive. It can be over the top sometimes because the culture of binge drinking can be overplayed here, but not to the point where it’s a problem. Sometimes you see people who overindulge a bit too much. [See The Sewanee Purple article, “Does Greek Life Foster Alcohol Abuse?”]
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Probably less than you would hope for. I would say that people of color tend to stick to their own groups and have their own tight-knit community within Sewanee. It’s completely accepted to have diverse groups of friends, I just think people want to have their own groups and socialize with each other. People are also very accepting here. [The undergraduate population is about 80% White, 6% Hispanic, and 5% Black.]
How do you like the size of Sewanee in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 1,700] students?
The school being so small is nice because you get to know a lot of people. But, at the same time, I think it would be nice for it to be a bit bigger just so there is more variation. Overall, I think the size of the school is great because the class sizes are so small. [The average class size is about 15 students.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Quite a lot. I’m not in a fraternity but I often go to fraternity houses and socialize with people. A lot of sports teams don’t allow freshmen to rush their freshman year, but the freshmen are still 100% welcome to go out to the houses and hang out with everyone in the houses.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Sewanee by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Sewanee?
There are people who have really enjoyed the Sewanee experience and have done Sewanee how they wanted to do it. Then, there are people who wish they’d gone to a bigger state school because that’s where most of their friends have gone from home wish they had that experience.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I did all of my internships on my own and did not look through Sewanee.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They’re great. They have helped me with my resume and helped me by talking with me about what kind of internships I should be looking for. They helped me in the sense that they taught me how to look for the right things in an internship.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
Excel is very big in what we’ve been doing with Economics.