Student and Alumni Voices
Here's a sample of what students and alumni have to say about the College of Liberal Arts.
Virat Madia
Junior, Political Science and Physiology majors
Hometown: Plymouth, MN
Vice President, Fill the Bus
Recipient of the Waller Scholarship and Harriet Thwing Holden Scholarship
Plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician
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Transcription: Mary Moga has been exceptional to me as an advisor and just as a very very nice woman. She really genuinly cares about students. And I think that's something that is inherent within CLA, is everybody I've met that's been, in one way trying to help me out, has genuinely cared about the student.
Maya Babu
Senior, Psychology and Neuroscience majors
Hometown: Eagan, MN
Glamour Magazine's 2004 Top Ten College Women
Truman Scholar
Plans to pursue both medical and law degrees in preparation for a career in mental health policy
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Transcription: I really feel like there's a passion in this college and I really feel like the faculty in CLA are very excited to be part of CLA. There's this sense of a community. My professors have been very good. Beyond the quality of courses, really top notch professors that we get a chance to interact with. You get to see people's names that you read in textbooks.
Erin Fossum
Junior, Art History major, Honors Student
Hometown: Brainerd, MN
Honors peer advisor
Plans to attend graduate school and become an art history professor
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Transcription: Being in a liberal arts college in a place like the U that's both a liberal arts college and a research university is really advantageous because you get the well rounded education that comes with a liberal arts education, but you're taking classes form professors that are constantly doing research and learning new things.
John S. Adams
Professor and Chair, Department of Geography
Alumnus: Ph.D., Urban Economic Geography, 1966; M.A., Economics, 1962
Fulbright Scholar Award
President's Award for Outstanding Service, University of Minnesota
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Transcription: What about my colleagues? They're the best. We come from all over the world and study the whole world. My colleagues are really the tops in their specialties and their work and our graduates are regularly ranked among the tops in the country. If a young person comes to CLA and takes full advantage of what the college has to offer, they really can't go wrong. This is really a great college.
Karen Gilles Larson
President and CEO, Synovis Life Technologies
Alumna: B.A., Economics, 1975
Plans to begin writing two books after she retires
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Transcription: "There's a lot of pressure on young people today to excel and it starts at a very early age and so they are funneled into narrow disciplines. And by having a liberal arts education, the young adult has the opportunity to see the landscape of things that are open to them. People truly excel if they get to be who they are."
Sarah Janecek
Founder and publisher, Politics in Minnesota: The Directory
Alumna: B.A., Journalism, B.A., Political Science, 1984; J.D., Law, 1989
Partner in government relations firm Spano & Janecek
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Transcription: "The warmth of the people here is terrific and the willingness of professors to extend themselves to help you in your career. I think it's incredible that I still receive handwritten letters from an English professor I had 20 years ago commenting on something that I've written for the Star Tribune. And to me that's an extraordinary college experience."