Sarah Linkletter is a proud grad of the Class of 2014! To celebrate, she let me pick her brain about her past four years at STU. Hear all about what it’s taught her, and the great things she has planned for the future!
KV: Where’s home for you? And why did you choose St. Thomas?
SL: I’m from Kensington, PEI, and I choose STU, honestly by random choice. I feel like a lot of universities are all great choices and STU happened to catch my eye more than the others. I took a tour with my parents and I was sold. Sara McDonald, a GRID teacher here at STU, also won me over with her speech.
KV: What are you studying, and how has it changed since your first year?
SL: I’m studying Psychology, Great Ideas and I have a minor in Sociology. Its amazing how you go into university thinking you’ll be interested in one thing and find that you’re interests take you somewhere completely different!
KV: Have you taken any classes that have stuck with you? Either the topic or the professor?
SL: I have taken many classes where I leave feeling overwhelmed with the powerful knowledge I have gained. Madness and Medicine with Ian Nicholson, a Women’s Seminar with Michelle LaFrance and all of my Great Ideas course with amazing professors like Andrew Moore, Richard Wilkie, Sara McDonald, Patrick Malcolmson, Christine Cornell and Tom Bateman. I know that’s a big list, but I have to say that many of the professors I have had here at STU have taught me how to critically think, and have introduced me to ideas that have altered my own ideologies beyond what I thought possible.
KV: How does it feel to be graduating this year?
SL: It feels exciting and nostalgic and a little bittersweet. I am ready to be done my four year undergrad and move on to the next chapter of my life, I really am. But there is a large [portion] of me that is saying, “Not yet,”. I like living in Fredericton and I love the small community that is St. Thomas University. I love the people I have met, the experiences and the books.
KV: Do you have any big plans after graduating?
SL: One of the main reasons I am exited to graduate is because I am going to Seattle for two months with an outward bound instructor program. I’ll learn how to teach rock climbing, sea kayaking and mountaineering. There will be lots of other lessons I am sure, like wilderness first-aid and soloing, but those are the main things. I’m nervous but excited all at once and I’ve been training for months.
I am also happy to say I got accepted into the Masters in Education program at uOttawa. I’ll be learning how to asses and evaluate students using IQ tests, psychological and personality tests along side interactive profiles. I’ve heard great things about Ottawa so I am pretty excited.
KV: Do you feel prepared for all those things?
SL: I do feel prepared. I went through a stage in my life this year where I doubted my academic abilities and myself. I had high expectations for my grades and that took a toll on how I viewed myself. Being accepted into graduate school and outward bound is the reward for all my hard work, and now I can see that my long hours at the study hall have paid off. I can honestly and proudly say, “I do deserve this and I am ready.”
KV: Do you have any advice for students who are entering their final years of university?
SL: I think some great advice would be, don’t let others tell you that your degree here at STU is not worthwhile. You get what you put in, and if you pick classes that are interesting to you and work hard during your time in that class you can learn so much more. And by more, I mean beyond a standard education of memorization and numbers. I’m talking about the interactive learning that enables you to read, express and discuss. Your ability to critically think and compare discourses is a powerful tool.
My advice would be to work hard, but enjoy what you do. If you’re not enjoying it then why do it? That doesn’t mean you should not write your final exam, no one likes those, you just got to do it!
KV: What’s your favourite drink at Starbucks?
SL: Chai lattes, I am literally and unfortunately addicted. Vanilla Bean Frappucinos are deadly as well.
KV: Anything you’re going to miss at STU or in Fredericton?
SL: I am going to miss a lot. I don’t think you realize you will miss such simple things until they are not in your life anymore… I will miss the round table on the top floor of JDH by the window. I have spent so many morning and evenings looking out at the road and the trees. I am going to miss the lighted trees in the courtyard, they made my walk home at night so much more beautiful.
I am going to miss The Cellar and Buckets, where I had the best times with friends – and the best deals on beer too. I am going to miss Big Breakfasts at the caf, the mirrored ceiling at Chatham, and the black swivel chairs in the Holy Cross classroom on the main floor.
But most importantly I am going to miss the people, I am so grateful and happy that I met such amazing friends and classmates. To my best friends, I couldn’t have done it without you!