|
The clatter of squirrels preparing for the winter. The nighttime foraging of a family of skunks. A few deer sauntering by under the moonlight.
These are not the typical sights and sounds of native of Brooklyn, New York. In fact when Temple University Ambler freshman Carl Watson spotted his first groundhog on campus, he justifiably identified it as a cat…albeit one with stubby legs.
“I’m not used to this at all. In the city, I’m used to a lot of action, a lot of movement and noise,” the Benjamin Banneker Academy graduate said. “At night you’re used to hearing sirens. Here, it’s very quiet, which, when it comes to studying, is a good thing.”
After Freshman Orientation, Watson decided the Ambler campus would be a natural transition from his alma mater.
“Coming from a smaller environment, I like the smaller classroom sizes. It’s definitely easier to connect with people,” he said. “You see a lot of the same faces all of the time; it becomes more like a family. You become more open to meeting people.”
Of course that wasn’t exactly how Watson felt when initially arriving at Temple and making his transition to residence hall life.
“When I first came to school, I had the idea that I really didn’t want to meet people. I was happy with the friends I had back home; we were cool with each other,” he said. “It was a challenge, at first, just to get me out of my room, but the other people in the residence halls would come and knock on your door, invite you to events. You start opening up.”
Things have socially snowballed since then for Watson — a Program Board Karaoke night here, a late night cereal run to the Dining Hall there, movie watching in the residence hall basement or just talking or watching sports in a new friend’s room.
“One night we played hide-and-seek in the woods. I’m also glad the gym is open until 10 p.m. — I’ve heard about the freshman 15 and I want that 15 (pounds) to be muscle,” he said. “What I think is great about the residence halls is the diversity you find there — different people from different places with different ideas about life. It’s a great experience.”
With a month under his belt, Watson feels that he’s settling into a rhythm. An English major, he’s working his way through that initial run of core courses — a bit of math, Spanish, intellectual heritage, freshman seminar, and journalism and print media thrown in for good measure.
“My goal is to become a publications editor. Another is to become fluent in Spanish,” he said. “In 10th grade, I went to Spain and really enjoyed it. I know that having a background in Spanish will help my career and broaden my audience.”
Watson said he’s also enjoying his initial experience with Intellectual Heritage.
“It’s all about different ideas. We’re all reading the same text, but there are so many different interpretations,” he said. “Right now we’re reading the Bible; next is the Koran. It’s heavy stuff.”
So far it’s been pretty smooth sailing — high marks in his first math and Spanish tests. He’ll be getting back his first Intellectual Heritage paper, entitled “Martyr or Murder: A Thin Line,” shortly.
“That was a new experience because the topic was so open ended. It was supposed to be on what we had been reading, but we were told specifically ‘Don’t write a book report,’” he said. “There is a lot of reading, and that’s taking some getting used to. I like to read, but it’s a lot to stay on top of.”
And, of course, midterms are also on the horizon.
“I think it comes down to prioritizing. If you have to stay up late and wake up early, you do it,” Watson said. “It’s a good thing my roommate and I have the same study habits.”
This is the seond part of an “A Year in the Life” feature on Carl Watson. Carl, a native of Brooklyn, New York, was a freshman majoring in English at the time of the series.
|
