What Our Alumni Say About OCAAT
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Storm Ziegler, vocal performance and secondary vocal music education "Cornell's liberal arts focus and OCAAT calendar allowed me to experiment in a number of academic areas, including music. I was able to play leading roles in three musicals and two plays, perform two major recitals, perform in the Concert Choir and Chamber Choir, and co-direct the Cornell Women's Choir. I was able to serve as Student Senate president and sat on the strategic planning committee with faculty and administration. Cornell allows you the freedom to discover talents and interests you never knew you had, while at the same time providing you with the guidance, training, and opportunities to become proficient in whatever discipline you choose." |
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Eric Radzak, economics and business "One of the key ways Cornell equipped me for my career (and life) was to be prepared for change. I have found that I have to accept and adjust to change on almost a daily basis, such as being assigned a large project and a quick deadline. I believe that One-Course-At-A-Time gave me a head start over my colleagues in that I am able to adjust to change in the work environment better than most." |
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Hillary Murrish, psychology and politics "OCAAT taught me how to balance a heavy workload with several assignments due in a short timeframe, which is much like my current job. At GAO I work on one project, but have to complete several tasks (schedule and conduct interviews with agency officials, analyze data, draft report sections, etc.) in a short amount of time. OCAAT is much more like the 'real world' than the semester plan (which is how I did graduate school)." |
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Baron Bremner, biochemistry and molecular biology "OCAAT allowed me to plan my schedule such that I could intensely train for football and wrestling during less demanding courses in the fall and winter, and focus on Organic Chemistry, Biochemestry, etc. during blocks in which I wasn't playing a sport. In post-graduate training, I found that OCAAT was an advantage when my study habits were compared to those of my medical school peers. I was already used to immersing myself in a subject, which the rigors of medical school require." |
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Laura Arnold, English "In an always-bustling office, prioritization is the most important skill to have. OCAAT really teaches you to focus in on one thing, even in the midst of a multitude of extracurricular activities. If you have a paper due on Tuesday, an exam on Wednesday, and a presentation on Thursday, you can't work on them all at once, you have to choose what is most important at that moment. Meanwhile, the emphasis on sharp writing and a clear thought process that the English department taught me has been very beneficial in an industry where the written word is paramount." |
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Brandi Shanata, mathematics and sociology "The structure of the block plan was great preparation for the workload, pace, and concentration of graduate school. The ability to take complex problems or large sections of reading assigned in class one day and have completed the assignment as well as digested the concepts the next is a skill Cornell courses and professors helped me foster and has been invaluable as a graduate student. The block plan is an amazing way to learn! If I could have gone to graduate school on the block plan I would have." |
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April Crow, religious studies, minor in Spanish "OCAAT allowed me to create an education that challenged me and strengthened my passions in religion and spiritual care. Also, OCAAT allows for internships and special independent studies. I worked at a local hospital for one block as a chaplain." |
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Tahllee Baynard, chemistry and history "To find a true solution to difficult problems really requires you to harness all your mental enery for prolonged periods of time, and OCAAT served as an excellent platform for teaching me this much needed skill." |
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Carrie Helmond, music, French and Russian "OCAAT helped me enormously in developing my study habits. After having taken 7 subjects at once throughout high school, I found it so much more pleasant to focus on one subject at a time, especially when it was a subject I was truly interested in. Also, because of the scheduling, I was able to complete three majors. It would have been difficult to study two foreign languages at any other school, but because of the block plan, it was easy for me to compartmentalize each language." |
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Adam Evearitt, physics and math "Being a physics and mathematics major would have limited me at other universities on a more traditional schedule. Could you imagine spending ANY time on a paper-making class the same semester as Theoretical Physics, Quantum Mechanics, or Differential Equations? I was able to do it at Cornell because of the block plan, and I found interests I never knew existed. I think that this well-rounded education has increased the quality of my life." |
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Britta Gregor, psychology and secondary education "Being on Cornell's One-Course-At-A-Time calendar prepared me well for graduate school. While my classmates got nervous at the thought of only having a month to write a research paper, I knew that I would have no problem both meeting the deadline and having a quality product." |
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