by Cassandra L. Hernandez, College of Alameda student
The Fall Semester was quite the introduction to life as a college student. My whole life I had been told that college would be much easier than high school. Of course, all good things take a little effort to absorb. While college has been stressful, I look forward to many things, including graduation!
I am currently attending two college campuses in the Peralta District, and I’ve been having so much fun in my chemistry class over at Laney College. I have always had a love for science, and now that most of my General Education requirements are getting knocked out, I have more room for science classes. I had taken Organic Chemistry at my high school and had an excellent professor, but we were unfortunately not allowed to perform experiments. At Laney, I have done experiments every day with this new class and even have my own drawer full of experimental gadgets. Professor Eileen Clifford says we will use most of them and learn how to properly conduct them, and I look forward to doing more lively experiments.
I am also taking an Art History class with Professor Drew Burgess here at College of Alameda. So far, we have been learning about art that predates writing and civilizations such as cave wall paintings and statues made for ancient tombs. Whenever I took art classes, it was mostly studying anatomy and trying to recreate our reference picture. It is almost emotional to see statues made for people who are long gone from material that was hard to mold and carve. It has made me realize that art is what separates us from other living creatures and how deeply entangled we are with art. All the art we’ve been studying so far is “prehistory”, or from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. I am very excited to study the Greek statues and architecture and see what meaning lies behind them. Oddly enough, I am also looking forward to the warmer climates ahead of us. We have been getting quite a lot of rain, and it seems 2025 is going to have a very rainy start. Sitting in air-conditioned classrooms during these rainy days has caused me to wear two sweaters at all times, so I’m looking forward to sitting in a classroom when the days are warmer.
Overall, now that I have gone through a semester and a half (counting the intersession classes I took), I’d like to believe I know the ropes better and I have a better sense of how my classes will be. I look forward to continuing my academic journey, as well as making new connections with classmates & professors.