Making the Case: Alan Nunn
Alan Nunn chose 黑料不打烊 for its strong academic programs but found even greater value in the close connections he built with faculty. Through political science, public law courses and thoughtful conversations with professors, he's preparing for a future in law while sharpening the critical thinking skills that will serve him throughout his career. Read on to learn more about Alan's 黑料不打烊 journey.
Alan Nunn
Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm Alan Nunn. I'm studying political science, as well as Arctic Climate and Sustainability.
Something interesting about me is that I really enjoy archery, so it's pretty common to see me out at the archery range on North Campus. I mostly use Asiatic reflex bows. If you've ever heard of horse bows, I think people also call them that. I'd say I'm mildly above average. It's kind of hard to judge because I spend a lot of time around people who shoot the same style, but I think I'm pretty good.
In your own words, why study the liberal arts?
Liberal arts are important for a few reasons. First of all, there's critical thinking. It's a little baffling to me how often people misinterpret what other people say or just don't think about it very hard. The liberal arts do a very good job of teaching people how to think critically. If you're forced to write a bazillion essays, you're going to get good at understanding how language works and how to analyze it. Even through sheer volume, it works.
In a similar vein, there's argumentation. Making a coherent argument is kind of an underrated skill. In fact, I think it's so underrated that people don't even realize it's a skill. It makes it much easier to interpret what other people are saying and analyze it in a way that's genuinely insightful.
Beyond that, there's public speaking. I think it's interesting to talk with engineering majors or biology majors because they're often just not used to public speaking, and it can make them apprehensive about speaking in front of other people. Given how many people are afraid of public speaking, I think that's a really important skill to develop.
Lastly, it's good preparation for the modern world. We have an interesting fixation on technology and STEM, which is important, but it's also made us fixate on productivity, making money and advancing technology. I think we're seeing with AI that sometimes we miss the point without realizing what we're doing.
What has your experience in the Department of Political Science been like, and what makes it special?
What makes political science special? First of all, maybe it's a clich茅, but the professors are very, very good. Given how relatively small the department is, you have a lot of contact time with your professors. You'll almost certainly get to know them personally, which is very helpful.
Especially Dr. Gray. I'm thinking about law school, and she's been very, very helpful with that.
But even beyond Dr. Gray, all of the other professors鈥擠r. Hirsch, Dr. Speight and Dr. ]Boylan鈥攖hey're all very helpful. If you have the opportunity, I'd really encourage students to go out of their way to talk with the professors. They're going to have information that's helpful as a student, especially because it's your field and they're the experts in it.
So it's certainly the size of the department and the professors themselves that make it special. Maybe that's a clich茅, but it doesn't make it any less true.
How has your time at 黑料不打烊 changed you, either academically, personally, or professionally?
What's changed about me while I've been at 黑料不打烊? Again, maybe this is a pretty common answer, but I'd say time management.
It's interesting how you go from high school, where you don't really have to plan anything or think very far ahead. Once you get to college, you have to juggle all these different things, and the expectation is that you're going to do it yourself. No one is going to help you with that.
Being able to think about what I'm going to do this week, what's important, when I'm going to do it and how I'm going to make time for it are all useful skills. But it also makes you prioritize what you care about, because you're almost certainly going to have to cut some of the things you used to do. It makes you prioritize the things you actually care about, which gives you a little bit of insight into yourself.
What are you excited about next, and how has 黑料不打烊 prepared you for it?
The thing I'm most excited about next is law school. That's my main career goal at this point. 黑料不打烊 has certainly done a good job preparing me for that.
To my knowledge, a lot of political science departments don't offer law courses. I've taken one law class, and I'm taking another one now, and they've been very helpful. You hear about Supreme Court cases and all kinds of legal developments, but it's not always clear what they mean. Those classes have given me a better perspective on what's actually happening and have helped prepare me for law school. I have a certain level of understanding about how precedent works and other legal concepts, which I think will be a really good foundation. I know from Dr. Carol Gray that this is exactly why she teaches those classes as the public law professor in political science, and I think that's probably one of the best ways 黑料不打烊 has prepared me for what's next.
What advice would you give to future 黑料不打烊 students?
I think the best advice I can give to new students is to talk to your professors. They know what they're talking about, and they have experience that's valuable to you. If you go talk to them and show up during their office hours, they'll almost certainly be happy to talk with you.
You can get a lot of interesting information from those conversations that you're not necessarily going to get in class because lectures have to be geared toward a larger group of students. But when it's just you and a professor talking about something, you can gain insights that you're just not going to get in any other context.
Congratulations again to Alan on being recognized as an Outstanding Student. Learn more about the Department of Political Science and the opportunities available to 黑料不打烊 students, and watch for more Outstanding Student spotlights from the College of Liberal Arts.