I was privileged to have the opportunity to visit the prestigious Harvard University on our trip to Boston. In the past, I never thought that I would actually one day stand on the Harvard campus. Going to Harvard meant so much more to me at this point in my life since I had recently (a year ago) dedicated my life to my education.  The feeling was similar to an aspiring soccer player who visits Spain or a taekwondo specialist from America visiting Korea! Furthermore and just like the individuals in my example, I expected to be blown away by the enthusiasm, hard work, dedication, and intellect from the students and professors. Only a portion of my desires were realized as I entered the Ivy League lecture hall.

Professor Caton was amazing. He was excellent in his teaching of Social Anthropology. You know a professor is amazing when he can say that he dedicated a portion of his life to understanding Middle Eastern Tribal customs and mannerisms through anthropological field work and in the midst of this, was captured as a prisoner of war and shot at on multiple occasions! Also, the textbook was written by him and based on this extraordinary account in the Middle East. This is what I went to Harvard to see!

Unfortunately, the students in the class were not as engaged as I thought. I would hate to generalize all Harvard students when I only had the pleasure of being in one class, but it was as if these students lacked the passion for the subject or were not taking the course seriously. The professor nicely reiterated that the students must read the assigned text, but in my mind I assumed that every student at Harvard should already know this. Why was I so wrong?

After the class, the professor stayed and answered the questions of David Pan, Raven Gomez and myself. He was blown away by our insightful creativity and even commended us on asking better questions than his current students. The professor also pointed out that Harvard was a school for professional and graduate students. He intuitively forewarned us that at Harvard, the disciplines that attract the intellectually curious and creative type are dwarfed by the larger percent of individuals coming there for career advancement.

Overall I really enjoyed myself and the experience was definitely something that you cannot fully understand by reading an article. Trips like these are very important for students in the process of choosing a college. I am especially thankful for individuals like Ramon Rootharam, Professor Ahumada, and all else who were involved in making this trip happen because they too appreciate the importance of exposure.