Author Topic: Best of...Intersession (Read 553 times)

JHU_Allysa · « **on:** February 21, 2012, 12:14 PM »

I think Intersession is one of the best things about Hopkins. For those who don't know what Intersession's about, check out the website here: http://www.jhu.edu/intersession/. You can get an idea of what kind of classes are offered (from academic to personal enrichment classes), the B'More program, and study abroad opportunities!

So what's your favorite part of Intersession? I think my favorite part is having the whole month of January off and having so much flexibility in doing what you want to do! Students can pursue internships, travel, take classes, work, etc. It's great.

JHU_KateT · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2012, 12:42 PM »

I think the best part about intersession is getting to take classes or do things that you couldn't do during the semester. Last year, I got to take all humanities classes and read Infinite Jest (which I definitely wouldn't have had time for during the semester). This year, I got to do research for longer days (and get a lot more work done).

JHU_Lucie · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2012, 12:54 PM »

The best part about Intersession is the TIME that it affords students to do what they want! About a month ago, I wrote a blog explaining what all of my friends did during Intersession. It's really interesting to see the wide range of activities that JHU students engage in. Read the blog here: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lucie/2012/01/its-about-time/

JHU_Zoe · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2012, 01:17 PM »

The best part about Intersession is having the opportunity to learn things and take classes that are completely out of your comfort zone. I did something a little bit differently this past intersession by taking a very demanding WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course. While many other people have time during intersession, I had none! We had class for 8 to 12 hours a day (!) because it is essentially a paramedics course for the wilderness.

Intersession is awesome and you can truly find any class/activity that you never thought you'd have the chance to do. I suggest using it as a free block of time that you can fill up doing anything you think you might love. Such a great opportunity!

JHU_Trisha · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2012, 05:18 PM »

My favorite part of intersession is being able to appreciate how great Hopkins is! It sounds weird, but when classes start during fall or spring term, we all get so busy, we don't realize how gorgeous campus is. It's also a great time to explore campus and the nearby area. I really liked being able to spend time with friends and take a class in something I would never otherwise be able to take: Latino Fiction! Read my blog post about Intersession! http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/trisha/2012/01/a-reely-great-time/

JHU_Erica · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2012, 06:24 PM »

Intersession is definitely one of Hopkins greatest assets! Hopkins offers a variety of opportunities including:

B'more:
B'more is a freshman program that gets students involved in the Baltimore community for a platform that interests them (such as medicine, public health, politics, economics, etc.). B'more is only the last week of intersession so there is still time to pursue other opportunities in the first two weeks!

Unique Classes:
The classes offered during intersession are specific and unlike any classes offered in the fall or spring. Some examples of past courses include The Chemistry of Baking, Food in Pre-Modern Europe, and Wine Tasting (if you're over 21).

Career Development Classes:
Career Development courses focus on an industry (whether it be finance, entertainment, public relations, etc.) and the course includes a three-day trip to New York City to network with Hopkins alumni. I participated in the Perspectives on Globalization course and it was a great opportunity to meet new people, learn about globalization, explore possible career paths, and network with successful alums in the field.

Study Abroad:
Intersession offers study abroad programs in places like Ghana, Florence, London, and more! Also some student groups, such as Global Brigades, sponsor group trips during intersession!

My first intersession experience was incredible! Check out my blog about it here: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/2015/2012/01/globalizin-in-nyc/

JHU_Joseph · « **Reply #6 on:** February 21, 2012, 08:20 PM »

Although the classes seemed incredibly interesting and unique, and I know I'll take advantage of Intersession courses next year, I opted for a longer winter break. This gave me 5+ weeks to spend a good amount of time with family, friends, travel around Missouri, and just get myself organized for the upcoming semester. I came back to Hopkins a few days early, too, just to get ready and do some fun things around the city before classes started up again. Having the option to have a longer break is something I really enjoyed.

JHU_Miranda · « **Reply #7 on:** February 21, 2012, 10:16 PM »

The best part of intersession for me is having a way to ease back into the semester, and take classes in a variety of areas. Freshman year, I came back for the last week of intersession, and I've done the whole thing for the last two years. You can read about my sophomore intersession here and my junior intersession here!

This year, my two favorite parts were my class and my mock trial trip to NYC. My class was on the achievement gap, which is a topic I really care about, and love learning more about it. We had a great instructor, and my class was full of people who also cared a lot about social issues, which helped make it a great experience. I also went to NYC for mock trial (with JHU_Kevin and JHU_Jacqueline), which was a ton of fun, and a great team bonding experience.

JHU_Dominique · « **Reply #8 on:** February 22, 2012, 12:25 PM »

GOING ABROAD TO GHANA! It's a great time to go abroad if you can't do it during the year. I have a friend who went somewhere different for his freshman, soph, and junior years over Intersession--Galapagos, Paris, Spain, and Ghana...so he got different exposures to very different places. It really is advantageous!

JHU_Sydney · « **Reply #9 on:** February 23, 2012, 10:41 AM »

The best part of intersession is the opportunities. I got to shadow a cardiologist for 3 weeks at Hopkins Hospital! How cool is that?!?!?1

JHU_Kaitlyn · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2012, 11:21 AM »

Intersession, extending into late January, provides Hopkins students with a ton of different opportunities in terms of classes, study abroad experiences, and extra time to spend on whatever you might be interested in. A lot of my friends came back to Baltimore to attend a "Beyond Baltimore" class for a week, and I'd definitely recommend this for freshmen so that you can gain a little more insight into Baltimore. Personally, I opted to stay in Texas so that I could shadow a couple of doctors- ranging from a radiation oncologist to a orthopedic surgeon. Without intersession, I wouldn't have had the opportunity or the time to do this until the summer! It was also really nice to be home for such a long time (>7 weeks!) as I got to spend some quality time with my siblings, my parents, and my puppies!

JHU_Jacqueline · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2012, 12:03 PM »

I originally came back for Intersession to take a class, but opted to drop the class a day into it in order to work full time as a videographer and learn a completely new motion graphics program/save up some money for expenses during summer internships (thankfully, I got into a program where all expenses are paid!) On top of working I was able to travel an awful lot for mock trial and debate, survived -10 degree temperatures in New Hampshire, and got to visit a high school friend in NYC. I also applied to a lot of different internships for the summer, which I later found out that I didn't necessarily need to do, but it was very nice being able to learn how to format a resume and send cover letters without also having to worry about classes. I think the great thing about Intersession is that you can really do whatever you want with that month. You can even just come back to live in the dorm and hang out with your friends!

Blog: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/2015/2012/01/semester-obsession-pretending-im-steven-spielberg/

JHU_Ruthie · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2012, 12:33 PM »

For me, the best part about Intersession was the free time and the variety of classes available to me. I thought 3 weeks of break was perfect, and the 3 weeks of Intersession classes (I took US-Latino Experience with JHU_Trisha and Short Fiction of David Foster Wallace!) truly highlight the essence of learning for the sake of learning. During the semester, I find that even though I really enjoy some of my classes, the constant tests and deadlines put unnecessary pressure on absorbing the content. Intersession is great because although there are still assignments and readings, each person is in the class because it genuinely interests them (not just to fulfill a major/minor requirement) so the atmosphere overall is much more relaxed. And, with so much free time, I was able to go to class, do all of my assignments, and still have plenty of time to explore Baltimore and just hang out with my friends. Intersession is a good combination of vacation and learning.

JHU_Ian · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2012, 06:27 PM »

I remained home in Milan for the first part of intersession, but returned later for a B'more class. The best part of intersession for me was undoubtedly my B'more class. The B'more program, usually drawing about 200 freshman every intersession, is a week-long 1 credit pass/fail class that explores an academic topic and the relationship it has with Baltimore.
It was a great way for me to make new friends in my freshman class and explore the city of Baltimore. I actually took a class in the public health department called " B'more: Vaccines and child health in Baltimore". It was a fascinating exploration of epidemiology, biological vaccine development and public health policy. The coolest story we learned was how Baltimore went from having a child vaccine rate lower than that of an undeveloped country to one of the highest ones in the nation.
We took numerous field trips: one to an epidemiological museum in DC, and another one to the Maryland Health Department located here in Baltimore. We met fascinating researchers and bright governmental employees (most bearing both M.D. degrees and M.P.H. ones as well) to learn about the control of the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases and how outbreaks are managed.
It was so nice to have the relaxed intersession atmosphere, and it was also a great way to ease back into the new semester. I'm so happy I had a chance to explore a topic completely unrelated to my major because it is not necessarily easy for double-majoring engineers.

JHU_Noah · « **Reply #14 on:** February 24, 2012, 07:16 AM »

For me, Intersession has been a great opportunity to add experience to my CV. I'm a Neuroscience and Biology double major, and I'm heavily involved in research. It's really great that during Intersession I can spend full days at the lab, as well as take classes like "Foreign Gene Expression Lab" and "The Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases" that provide the kind of technical and theoretical focus I can use to augment my research.

JHU_Kevin · « **Reply #15 on:** February 24, 2012, 04:58 PM »

My favorite part about intersession was the chance to try something COMPLETELY different. As a personal enrichment course i got to take Dancing Like Jane Austen, which was all about English country dances and pretending like you were at a ball in the beautiful Homewood house! I took it with some friends and it was a really fun, interesting class that opened myself up to a whole new interest i'm sure that I never otherwise would have discovered.
Also, the loads of free time was nice. (I miss that...)

I actually wrote a blog all about my intersession exploits HERE!
http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/2015/2012/01/if-not-now-when/

JHU_Sarah · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2012, 06:23 PM »

I've chosen to come back to Hopkins for the past three Intersessions, and each time I've gotten to take a class just for fun that I would have never gotten the chance to take otherwise: Fiction for Foodies, Salsa dancing, and German. After taking German over Intersession this year, I decided to add German 2 to my schedule this spring and it's one of my favorite classes of the semester for sure. As of now I'm planning to continue with Intermediate German next year, which would have never happened if I hadn't had the opportunity to take it over Intersession.

JHU_Tess · « **Reply #17 on:** February 26, 2012, 10:32 AM »

I think one of the best parts about Intersession is the Study Abroad programs that JHU offers! You can check out a full list of the trips offered this past year here: http://www.jhu.edu/intersession/study/

Intersession is a great opportunity for students who aren't able to go overseas for a full semester to get a study abroad experience.

I went to Madrid as a Freshman, and took a course called the History and Culture of Spain. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. You can read all about it here: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/tess/2011/01/mad-about-madrid/!

JHU_Nick · « **Reply #18 on:** February 28, 2012, 06:32 PM »

A friend of mine took a class on "The American Gangster in Cinema" which I thought was pretty cool...you basically watch gangster movies, like Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction and analyze their portrayal of the American mafia. It sounded pretty relaxed and interesting!

JHU_LaurenB · « **Reply #19 on:** February 28, 2012, 11:57 PM »

Everyone else has said great stuff, and I'll reiterate that the classes and freedom of intersession are the best part. The classes are quirky and interesting, a great introduction to topics you probably wouldn't otherwise learn about. It's also a total shift from the buzz of the semester. Intersession is admittedly pretty quiet (except at night) with a lot of down time to catch up with friends, try a new restaurant, watch back episodes of tv shows, and explore Baltimore. It's nice to be on campus without any of the stress of the school year.

JHU_Saznin · « **Reply #20 on:** March 01, 2012, 09:23 AM »

Intersession is a great way to adjust to being back at school while having ample time to explore Baltimore. My freshman year, I took a screenwriting class and had plenty of opportunities to participate in all the Inauguration celebrations happening around that time. This year, I spent Intersession applying to internships and getting my resume in order for the impending job search, but I was sure to spend plenty of time with my friends (and with Baltimore) to take full advantage of our last intersession together!

JHU_Cate · « **Reply #21 on:** March 05, 2012, 04:41 PM »

My favorite intersession is doing nothing at all. It's so nice to take a real break from learning every now and then.

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Author Topic: Best of...Intersession (Read 553 times)