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André Patterson

Cohort: 1

Where are you from?

Evanston, Illinois.

What is your favorite field of study/topic?

Sociology.

What is something you would like people to know about you as a student?

Former Provost Holloway said, “Take every opportunity to be excellent.” I’m a good student, but I’m striving to be not only the type of student but the type of man who embodies this directive toward excellence.

What does being a part of NPEP mean to you?

It means regardless of all the outside forces that seeped into my consciousness causing me to believe otherwise, I’ve always belonged here as a part of this university.

What course has had the biggest impact on you and why?

It was a tie between chemistry and math, two courses that historically I fled from in fear. I chose to fight over flight and was victorious. It was important for my self-esteem and the willpower I’m going to need for my life’s work.

What is your favorite book or article that you have read in your NPEP classes?

Gloria Anzaldúa’s “Borderlands/La Frontera.” The way she dissected the conflicts of identity spoke to my own lifelong struggle with identity. Brilliant and artful writing. The final paper I did based on this reading was a great exercise in self-analysis and discovery.

What assignment (paper, project, homework) have you found the most rewarding?

This would have to be the final oral presentation in chemistry. As a lifelong introvert, I have elaborate fantasies of being a great orator, but that’s the stage in my head. I was terrified. I poured over all the information but still didn’t feel like I had it down pact (by the way it was on polymers, shout out to Riki, Ollie, and Lee) but when I got in front of the class, it just flowed out of me and I didn’t even use the index cards! It was a step towards, potentially, my destiny.

Meet André Patterson

 

André’s Featured Work:

André’s article “The Ultimate Price,” published in Belt Magazine:

Read the article

André’s article “Whole Foods, Black Wall Street, and My 13-inch Flat Screen TV,” published in PraxisCenter:

Read the article

André’s final essay for his Border Literature class:

Border Literature Final Essay

André’s sociological autobiography:

Tale of Two Cities