Sarah J

Thoughts after first week – WTF?  Why isn’t he talking, confusion, frustration, anger.  I remember walking out of tom’s class every day complaining and pissed off.  Thanks tom!

My emotions changed a lot throughout his class.  At first I felt confused and excited.    Then powerless. Then frustrated. Then scared.  Then motivated.  Then powerful, but only once we were a team.  There were people who dropped out of my class because they couldn’t deal with the way he taught (or didn’t! so they thought…)  It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.  It shows you a lot about who you are as a person, how you deal with conflict, how you lead, how you collaborate and how you listen.

Although I was in tom’s GST capstone, the lessons I learned (that stuck with me) were less about global studies and more about teamwork, collaboration and management – all things that matter in life after college (regardless of your career path). vI talked about tom’s class in several job interviews.  You learn to deal with different personalities, how to listen, and how to take action.

As tom’s first GST capstone class there were no stories to hear through the grapevine about his teaching, even if there were I’m not sure anything could’ve prepared me!  However unconventional, I was lucky to experience tom’s class and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  There will never be another class like his.  Best class I’ve ever experienced.

I’ve been out of college for 2 years now and found myself talking about tom’s class in a bar with one of my friends (who also took the class).  That says a lot!!  Explaining tom’s class/teaching style to people who haven’t experienced it first hand is difficult.  Can’t wait for you to learn for yourself!

Side thought – it’s crazy how powerless you can feel when literally given ALL the power…if you have to choose your own grades good luck. 🙂

I can probably remember the names of about 3 of my college professors…sad, but true.  t.r. king is one of them.  He’s the only one who managed to have an impact on my life and the way that I think about almost everything now.  His class helps you open your own eyes to entirely new perspectives, which wouldn’t have been possible without his unconventional teaching style.

Just trust the process.  You’ll come out a better person.