For your first blog post, I would like you to write 250-350 words or so introducing the classmate you interviewed to the rest of our class. Take care with this short piece, for it is our first impression of you as a writer, as well as the first impression of the person you interviewed. Make it interesting, make it fun, and try to capture the person in writing and use quotes, brief stories, and any other vivid details you can discover to enrich your mini-profile.
For example, if I were to interview myself and posted the result, I might write something like:
Place matters to Professor Geoffrey Bateman, which is why his current research is so important to him.
"I think the different regions of our country shape us in important ways," he says. “As a teacher and scholar, I'm interested in studying the literature and cultural history of places, especially the American West."
Having grown up near Portland, Oregon, his interest in the West has evolved since childhood. He grew up exploring everything from the majestic Columbia River Gorge to the misty Oregon coast; he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and hung out in quirky urban spaces of Portland and Seattle.
These experiences may help explain his current research on the queer frontier. His dissertation explores the cultural representations of sexuality in the American West near the end of the 19th century.
"It's a particularly rich period for sexuality studies,” he observes. "Sexual identity was not nearly as cut and dried as it became in the mid to late 20th century. And when you consider how racialized identities and gender norms factor into this understanding, you have a veritable explosion of fascinating material."
But his interests aren’t only historical. Professor Bateman believes strongly that historical research must speak to contemporary issues, especially those that are politically charged.
“Literature and history offers us a way to rethink current problems, and for me, I think the most rewarding I can do historically is to show others how texts from the past allow us to re-imagine our lives today.”
Such engagement means that in his first-year writing courses, he tries to find meaningful ways for students to practice their writing. Ideally, he wants them to connect abstract rhetorical concepts and research methodologies with ideas and problems outside our university context.
“Ultimately,” he says, “I want students to feel confident that what they’re learning in my classroom not only prepares them for the rest of their time at DU, but also starts them on a much larger journey of being an engaged citizen for the rest of their lives.”
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Hello Writ 1133-26 my name is Austin Pollak and I have interviewed Jessica Rast.
Jessica Rast in a freshman here at the University of Denver. She is originally from Parker Colorado, which is a southern suburb approximately 30 minutes from Denver. Jessica comes from a large family. She is the youngest of four siblings. She has two older sisters and one older brother. She also has one dog and one cat, named Toto and Ruby respectively.
Jessica is currently majoring in Biology. It is for this reason that she choose to attend DU. Jessica liked the idea of attending college in her home state. Although DU does not have the best Biology program of the schools that she applied to, she felt most comfortable in the DU campus atmosphere.
In accordance with her major, Jessica is taking a daunting and impressive course load this quarter. She is enrolled in Organic Chemistry, Biology, Calculus III, Writ 1133-26, and a wellness course for her LLC (Living and Learning Community).
On a less serious note Jessica was willing to share some interesting facets of her life. One of her guilty pleasures is to quote her biology professor from last quarter, Dr. Robert Dores. She also enjoys reading and listening to music. Jessica listens to all music except for country. Aslo, Jessica's favorite book is Catch 22, which is a book about a soldier during World War II. Additionally, like almost all other DU students, Jessica enjoys frequenting the mountains to snowboard. Her favorite place to board is Copper due to vast size spreading over three mountains.
Austin Pollak is far from his home in Burr Ridge Illinois just west of Chicago. He has family here in Denver, but he is glad to be getting away from what he knows as the Midwest and to start something new and exciting.
Attending the University of Denver as a Business student, he has accomplished many things this year. He received the best grades he has ever received this past quarter and he was recently elected an officer of his fraternity Kappa Sigma. With his MBA, Austin wants to get his law degree and be a prominent member in the business world, although he is uncertain of what to do with the possibilities.
To reach those possibilities Austin is in a business class and an economics class, learning everything he can about the business world.
He can be found during the winter skiing Vail, his favorite mountain that he found after an eight-year break from the sport, “it’s hard to ski in Chicago” said Austin.
Austin is also a big fan of music. He listens to everything and anything, unable to pick a favorite genre or band.
His two younger brothers Alex and Samson are still in Burr Ridge with the family’s two dogs Wednesday and Wahoo waiting to get their change to have an adventure like their brothers. When they head off to meet their future, they will no doubt listen to their brothers’ advice and his favorite quote, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re always right.”
When Marisa Rodriguez was asked what she does with her spare time, she laughed and half rolled her eyes before responding, “Free time? What free time?” As a music major in Lamont School of Music with a concentration in Trumpet performance, time is stretched thin for Marisa. “We’re expected to practice for 3 hours a day… but I try not to keep track of how much I actually practice,” she says with a laugh.
Marisa was predisposed to a love of language. Her father’s first language is Spanish, so it was only natural for her to pick it up. She will only study abroad in a country that has a culture rooted in Spanish and music.
She blushes when she was asked about her greatest fear. “It is funny that you ask that,” she responds, “But I am afraid of heights and I dreamt about it last night.”
Her passions are not limited to the arts and her heritage, she finds love in Italian food and finds pleasure in wearing the color green. No one word can describe her. She is so dynamic that she cannot name just 1 role model. “How can I be expected to have just 1?” she asks. “I have many goals: I want to be a good mother, a successful musician, and an overall good person. No one person embodies everything that I am and want to be.
With passion burning in her heart and a gleam in her eyes, Marisa is a level headed and dedicated individual with promising future lying before her.
David Olson has always had a love for the outdoors. Growing up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, he was increasingly exposed to the aesthetic values of the state's mountainous location. Now a passionate snowboarder, David first began his snow sport experiences at the young age of three.
David is not only into snowboarding; the activities that dominate his list of hobbies consists of sports. Soccer, basketball, tennis, and frisbee are just a few. "Just staying active", David states, is most important to him. He discovered how important activity was to him when he recently broke his collar bone, and couldn't move for days.
While activity occupies David's leisure time, when it comes to his career, David is considering the restaurant business. He has had years of experience as a server, and is thinking about becoming a restaurant owner. His past dreams were quite different though; when he was in high-school, he was passionate about becoming a commercial pilot. Even though accepted to a pilot school in Arizona, David ultimately decided to expand his experience and knowledge on multiple opportunities, and chose to attend DU. Happy with his college career thus far, David does which for some more intellectual stimulation at school. He tends to feel as if he is just coasting through the classes, without getting a more in depth understanding of the subjects he explores. Additionally, he is having a fun time socially, as he is in a fraternity he is happy with, and he loves the DU campus.
Some more interesting facts about David:
The all time favorite movie is Gladiator, and David's music style is primarily alternative rock. Some bands he often listens to are Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. To conclude, David, when asked his fears, came up with bees (although this was mostly when he was younger) and harsh winds... Interesting.
This is Jake’s interview with Jamie on the things that she likes
Jamie is from Washington and has lived there all her life with her family. Jamie’s older brother also still lives in Washington and goes to Washington St. University, thus making her family and Jamie a Cougar fan. One of Jamie’s greatest accomplishments was making it to Nationals and getting 7th place in gymnastics. After living in Washington and four-year high school career in gymnastics, Jamie decided to go to school at DU due to the whether, snowboarding, and size. Her favorite mountain in Colorado is currently A Basin but she is going to Vail with in a week so things might change.
Jamie’s favorite color is dark blue and her favorite food is Chicken Alfrado. As of now, Jamie is a Biology major and might want to become a veterinarian and work with larger animals. As for her life revolving around entertainment, she likes all kinds of music and if she could be on any TV show, she’d be on Fear Factor. She’s cool with the physically challenging aspects but might have to cop out if she has to eat a bucket of bugs.
Keren Friedman is a Cali girl from San Diego who decided to leave the monotonous life-style of California and come to the University of Denver. She felt that life in San Diego was too much of a fantasy world where everything is set with no unpredictability. By coming to Denver and seeing the world for herself, she hopes to find a sort of unpredictable environment to experience different situations. Her feelings on the University of Denver at this point are a bit mixed. While she feels like the University is highly respected and will help students succeed after graduation, she also feels like the education quality does not meet up to the hype. I would agree with her by saying we do not feel academically stimulated in our classes, rather we are just coasting through the courses. She feels that our undergraduate programs need to help the students better understand where our preferred majors can take us.
Keren did a bit of everything growing up; playing many different sports and activities. Yet she never really focused on one sport or activity. Being from California she surfed a bit, played tennis for a year, horseback rode, and generally just stayed active. This general activeness may be the reason she says she does not really have any hobbies saying, “It’s kind of a problem,” with a kind of smile on her face. While she says she has no favorite movies I was able to gather a couple movies she likes including Gladiator and Juno. Musically, she finds the tunes of alternative rock the most appealing. Yet nothing main stream, her favorite bands would not be the kind you can tune into the radio to listen to. Some bands including Pepper, Movement Underground, Slightly Stoopid, and Dave Mathews…
Hannah Morris hails from Colorado Springs, CO, next to the majestic Pikes Peak. She has an older sister that is 26. She is a proud aunt of 3 year old twins and a seven year old. When Hannah was in high school she achieved great success starting a Hispanic dance program. It spread quickly around the Colorado Springs area. She was a part of this all four years of high school, and considers the program one of the great successes of her life so far. Hannah likes DU, and remarks that she “coexists” with her roommate.
Hannah loves the arts. Beyond Hispanic Dance, she now is trying Latin Ballroom. She also enjoys painting, listening to poetry and regularly goes to yoga. Hannah is a big burnt orange fan, and finds that much of her wardrobe reflects that. Hannah’s taste for culture extends to food, as she counts chicken enchiladas as her favorite food.
Her favorite book, America’s Dream, resembles a Lifetime original movie. When Hannah graduates, she wants to help humanity as a global social worker. She fully intends to join the Peace Corps. Hannah enjoys all music (excluding rap) but likes Soul and R&B the best. Hannah is pretty easy-going but cannot stand the overuse of “like” or when people text message incessantly.
Jake grew up right outside of New York City in Westchester. He lives with his Mom and Dad, a younger sister, and an older half-brother and half-sister.
His greatest accomplishment was when he went to Brazil the summer after his sophomore year in high school to volunteer in community service. He traveled there through an organization called Putney Travel based in Vermont. In Brazil, Jake worked on the construction of a playground. He considered this his greatest accomplishment because he had to work through the cultural barrier and he didn’t know the language. He said it felt great and it was an accomplishment to help another community out.
Adapting to Colorado and the University of Denver was easy for Jake. Although the school was smaller than he originally through it would be, he likes it. Another bonus of Colorado is the sunny days. His favorite activities are Lacrosse, golf, and tennis, and just relaxing in the nice weather.
A few favorites of Jake include the color forest/ dark green. His favorite food is Pasta with veil cutlet which has parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. His favorite movie is Blow which is acted by Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz. He likes this movie because it is an entertaining action movie. For choice of music, he isn’t very picky. He likes anything from hip-hop to rock, pretty much anything with the exception of country.
Jakes interest of study is in the business field, although not a specific field yet. Also, he might possibly pursue psychology. His ideal job he is working towards right now is in some sort of advertising. He thinks this would be a good career for him because it involves fun projects and working with companies. His role model is his brother because he has been through a lot and this shows the strength in his personality.
Megan is an eighteen year old from Pojoaque, New Mexico. She is an only child, but had an invisible younger brother in her youth to keep her company. Her mother, Audrey, and her father, Gary, are happily married and are delighted with Megan’s choice to attend the University of Denver. Her greatest accomplishment is overcoming her fear of heights when she climbed to the top of the Empire State building on her trip to New York with her cousin last summer. Her next goal is to go bungee jumping and maybe one-day sky dive. She thoroughly enjoys the Social Justice LLC she is a member of. She enjoys taking photographs, listen to music, and sleep outside of class. Her favorite color is orange, her favorite books are the Harry Potter series, and her favorite food is breakfast burritos. Her favorite movie is a French film called “Amelie”. She cannot speak French, but reads the subtitles when she watches it. She is taking Writing 1133, Concepts, a core art class, a social justice class for her LLC, economics and scenery painting. She would like to be an artist when she grows up.
Shaun Snowden is currently a freshman at the University of Denver. He has lived in Denver for the past ten years. Prior to coming to Colorado, he lived in Georgia, and was born in Florida. He is pursuing a degree in business and hopes to one day manage a business. Shaun has had much experience in the business field. He began working the age of sixteen at Noodles and Company. Presently, he works at PF Chang’s.
In high school Shaun was a very active student, which has shaped him into the person he is today. Running cross-country for four years and track for two, Shaun kept himself physically active. Music has also acted as a huge part of Shaun’s life. He first began playing the violin nine years ago, when he was in the fifth grade. During high school, he played in the orchestra, sang in choir, and performed in musical productions. Two of the more popular ones were Aida and Annie.
Some fun facts about Shaun are that his favorite color is baby blue, his favorite food is sushi, and he is afraid of spiders. If he could be on a game show he would choose “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” During his time at DU, he hopes to study abroad in Barcelona. Though, if he were to choose a vacation spot, he would like to be in Italy. For fun, Shaun likes to read novels. Currently Shaun is reading Life of Pi. Also, Shaun likes to go shopping as one of his favorite hobbies. One is his guilty pleasures is chocolate. He most likes Peanut Butter truffles. Not Reeses, but a smoother, creamier chocolate, that doesn’t taste excessively greesy or oily. Shaun is a very interesting person! He is a man of many skills!
Rori is 19 and hails from Dallas, Texas. She decided to attend DU for the business school, and is currently starting to earn her degree in Economics with a focus in business, Studio art, and Spanish. So far, she really likes the small classes and the personal attention she has received here. Currently, she is taking Writing, Spanish, Personal History of Photography, and Writer’s Voice. When she grows up she’d either like to be a ballerina or more likely an architect, maybe. Living at DU is the first time she has been away from her home and she misses Texas and being able to drive around in her car. However, she considers her greatest accomplishment getting out of high school alive. Her example of the dangers she encountered while in high school with her crazy friends included a police helicopter chase and the creepy Trinity River.
When she is not enjoying eating and sleeping, she likes to play and take photos. Her favorite colors are green and purple and her favorite book is Atlas Shrugged. She likes all food, but particularly eggs, all types of eggs and her favorite candy is Ferrero Rocher chocolates. When asked about a favorite type of music, she didn’t know where to begin, too many she said, but she did say the Justice concert that she saw last Saturday was quite amazing.
BOB ETTINGER is from Edina, Minnesota. When asked about his life at home, Bob speaks fondly of his parents and his sister, Anna, who is a sophomore in high school. The family finds great entertainment and joy in their 3-month-old basset hound puppy named Sarah.
Last year, Bob chose to leave Minnesota and embark on a new stage of life at the University of Denver. He says that a lot of people from Minnesota come to DU, and he has several friends attending DU as well. So far, Bob loves the University of Denver. He says, “DU is awesome!” Bob is a finance major and he hopes to someday get involved in business on Wall Street, particularly in investment banking. The strength of the business school at DU was an important factor in Bob’s school choice. The mountains were a further draw for Bob. The passion Bob has for the mountains is apparent, and he has been snowboarding for 8 years. Now that he is in Colorado, his favorite places to snowboard are Vail and Breckenridge.
In his free time, Bob enjoys hanging with friends, playing football and lacrosse, and playing video games. Bob’s favorite foods are pizza and cookies & cream ice cream. As far as candy goes, Bob loves “anything chocolate.” When asked what he fears, Bob hesitates only momentarily before confessing his fear of snakes. His favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption and music is rap and classic rock, particularly Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones. The most recent book Bob has read was The Shining, which he enjoyed, but his all time favorite book is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bob enjoys the entire Harry Potter series. Bob does not claim any specific “role model” but says that he greatly respects Lance Armstrong and others like him who have triumphed over adversity.
Here's Bob's profile of Katie:
Katie Engquist is a freshman from Colorado Springs Colorado. Katie has a knack for Biology, who wants to be a physical therapist when she grows up. When Katie is not hitting the books she likes to hit the slopes of Keystone or shed some powder in Vail with her friends. Katie has been snowboarding for six years. To stay in shape Katie loves to cross country run. In high school she ran on her schools cross country team. To perform at her peak Katie has a strict diet of Strawberries, melons and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream! “I just can’t get enough ice cream and fruit,” Katie says! “M&M’s are also a necessity for a healthy diet,” Katie adds.
Ms. Engquist is the oldest sibling in her family, her brother Tim is a junior in high school at Air Academy high school. She also has a three year old lab named Nellie who is very good at finding some trouble. When at home or whenever Katie has time she loves to curl up and watch a good chick flick like The Notebook. Even though Katie is from the mountains she loves music from the heartland. She loves country music in particular Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts. Country music is an important part of Katie’s life but Harry Potter will always hold a special spot in her heart. “I am a nerd, I would line up the night before a new book came out so I could get a copy,” Katie admitted.
Katie loves DU! She likes how the school is close to home but still far away. She also likes the people that go there. With a Biology degree from DU the sky is the limit for young Katie Engquist as long as her raging fear of snakes doesn’t get in the way!
Laura Reinman interview by Hannah Morris:
Laura Reinman is a freshman from Gunnison Colorado. She has two older brothers, one of which named Jeff, also attends DU. So far, she thinks DU's okay, but challenging, partly because she has nothing in common with her roomate. In her spare time, she likes to show her paint horse and play vollyball and basketball. Beause of her love for animals, in the future she'dl ike to be a horse surgeon, but also is considering careers in physical therapy and psycology. Due to her many interests, her major is understandably undeclared.
When she's not taking care of her beloved horse, she's enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches dipped in ketchup, the book Tuesdays with Morey, "it's awesome!", and alternative music like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. An enganging person, she can't stand it when people wear sunglasses indoors, or anytime she's talking to them. "I like to see their eyes," she says, afterall they are windows to the soul.
Thank you all for writing such informative and interesting profiles of each other in such a short amount of time. I enjoyed reading all of these, and I am looking forward to getting to know each of you even further as we continue to work together over the next ten weeks.
Moments that were particularly striking: Shaun, I loved your attention to the small details of your conversation with Marissa--her blushes and rolling of her eyes were vivid touches. Bob, your descripition of Katie's eating habits made me laugh out loud. And Katie, the overall tone, pacing, and series of details in your profile seemed just perfect for this kind of piece.
To everyone else: I was pleased with your profiles, too, so keep up the good work. I'll try and point out effective moments in everyone's posts as we continue this project.
For now, though, let's keep writing!
Hello Writ 1133! My name is Michelle Kwan. I was not able to attend the first day of class therefore instead of interviewing myself I will just tell you a little about “ME.”
I am 27 years old. I am the youngest of three children. My parents were born and raised in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States in their early 20’s. They spoke very little English when they moved here, but through television and communication with people they were able to pick up English fairly easy.
Last year I transferred all my units from UCLA to the University of Denver. I am majoring in International Studies with a minor in Political Science. When I was attending UCLA I majored in Psychology, however I changed my major due to certain life changing events that happened in my life.
I was invited by the White House to attend the State Dinner, where his Excellency President Hu Jintao and many other Chinese delegates, government officials were invited. The purpose of the dinner was to bring diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States closer together.
I sat at the head table right next to President Bush. President Hu Jintao, Secretary Condoleeza Rice, and a few other distinguished guests were at the table. At the end of the dinner, I was able to share a few minutes with Secretary Rice. I told her that I was interested in attending the University of Denver. Her face completely lit up, she shared with me a few of her personal experiences at D.U. From her excitement I could tell that she loved it at D.U. Secretary Rice used to figure skate and being a figure skater myself we automatically fell into talking in skating jargon.
I have to say that meeting Secretary Rice made me change my major to International Studies from Psychology. Last year Secretary Rice appointed me as the first American Public Diplomacy Envoy (A.P.D.E). I have traveled to cities in Russia, China, and Argentina as an A.P.D.E.
Film, television, music, and sports are seen by public diplomacy as advocating important avenues for diverse citizens to understand each other, which states as a goal of modern public diplomacy. I feel very fortunate that I can share my experiences as an Olympic U.S. athlete to young people around the world. By sharing my personal experiences as an athlete I hope to help bridge countries and people closer together.
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