Hi everyone, I hope you are well! For this week’s blog, I interviewed my friend Giulia. She is a French and Psychology double major, and I thought it could be interesting to hear her point of view as a purely humanities student, as opposed to mine, a humanities and STEM student. If you have any questions (for me or Giulia!), please email me at sgoldsmith24@amherst.edu, or Giulia at gmiottoleal24@amherst.edu.
Q: What does your day-to-day look like at Amherst?
Giulia: I usually wake up on the earlier side for a college student; I’m up by 8 AM at the latest. I have 8:30 AM classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on Tuesdays and Fridays I have a 7:30 AM shift at the post office. I enjoy my shifts because it is a fun and easy start to my morning, and I feel very productive when it is 9:30 and I’ve already worked for two hours.
I have French classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, followed by my Psych Stats class. I’m done by 3 and have the rest of the afternoon off to do work and exercise. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have my Social Psych class (which is very interesting), and in the afternoons, I have a dance class that I’m auditing. This means I don’t have to do any of the homework, and instead just get to dance. On Fridays, I tutor someone in French after my post office shift, and then I have the rest of the day off to work.
Q: What is your favorite part of Amherst?
Giulia: The staff and the faculty are my favorite part. I’ve managed to create connections with staff I interact with almost every day. There are staff all over campus who I know I can say hi to and chat with when I see them. The faculty are also great. Also, it has finally started getting warmer out, and I love seeing people outside hanging out, spending time with friends, and doing homework. The vibes outdoors are very nice. Amherst has a lot of beautiful outside spots.
Q: What is your least favorite part of Amherst?
Giulia: I would have to say how far away Amherst is from home. I think Amherst is really great: I love my friends, my teachers, and my life here. But since I’m from California, Amherst is quite far from home, and I don’t get to see my family as much as I would like. Also, I severely overestimated my ability to thrive in New England weather! It is so cold for so much of the year!
Q: What do you do in your free time?
Giulia: I like to read, and I’ve recently been inspired to get back into running by my roommate. I like to go into town, either to Share Coffee to get either coffee or peanut butter toast, or to Black Sheep to get a London fog. Recently I’ve been discovering a lot of new study spaces around campus. I went to the planetarium for the first time the other day, and it was really cool! And, of course, I like to spend time with my wonderful friends.
Q: What is your favorite Val meal?
Giulia: The beef-braised ravioli with alfredo sauce! I’ve recently discovered Grab-N-Go though, and I really like it. I also love any dessert with M&Ms.
Thank you for reading! Giulia wants to add that she finally made it on the @potatogram Instagram, which features Potato, the dog of a staff member on campus. She is very proud. Please send an email (to either me or her) if you have any questions!