Name: Katherine
Current Year: Junior
Major: Journalism
CFS Program: Field Studies in Humanities

I liked the combination of the class with the internship–it both expanded my knowledge of the city and its institutions and provided me the time and space to reflect on the work I was doing during the week…My adviser was very helpful in helping me with my internship search. When I ran into a road bump with a site I was planning to commit to, she was very understanding and patient, and helped me confirm a different site in a very short amount of time. Overall, I felt that the staff was professional and helpful….[My teacher] was absolutely wonderful as an instructor this summer. She was able to lead deep, thoughtful discussions on our readings in a way that was natural and organic. She also made sure to give everyone equal speaking time, with opportunities to share stories about our internship experiences. In addition to being a wonderful and engaging professor, she was a very thoughtful and compassionate person to know, and always made herself available to talk outside of class to better get to know each one of us. I couldn’t have asked for a better class experience…I liked the diverse mixture of students–we had no overlaps in majors or internship site industries. It proved a dynamic mix of individuals who brought very different perspectives to the table. It truly was the kind of stimulating, discussion-driven classroom experience I wanted to be a part of during my college years. The readings were also very interesting supplements to the field experience.

At Northwestern we often agonize over the question, “Where do I see myself after graduation?” Chicago Field Studies brought me one step closer to being able to answer that–my internship experience as a working member of the city coupled with thoughtful discussions with my peers and instructor every week allowed me to engage with the city in a richer, more meaningful way than anything I could have possibly done solo. I realized the importance of time and space to reflect with others asking themselves very similar questions to my own. CFS understands the kinds of crossroads students like myself face, and through its fusion of work with the classroom experience made room for invaluable conversation that will undoubtedly inform the bigger decisions I make post-grad.