Posted on

An Update on Academics

Hi everyone!!

Today was the last day of classes before spring break!! This has been a very busy week in classes at Holy Cross; I have had a major assignment in all of my classes over the past few weeks.

In my Montserrat class this semester, we are reading and analyzing Don Quixote. We are currently giving presentations in pairs on secondary sources related to some aspect of the novel. My article is on the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the two protagonists of the novel; the presentation is after break.

Me and my friend Liza, who is my partner for the Montserrat presentation!!

In my biology class, we had an exam on evolution last week, and now we are learning about development. In lab this week, we observed the early stages of sea urchin development, which share similarities to human development. It was cool being able to observe the early stages of development!!

My Organic Chemistry class had an exam this week, so I spent a lot of time studying for that this week. My professor offered a lot of office hours, and sent a lot of problems to help us practice for it!! 

A photo of Fenwick I took last week, when it was nice enough to study outside!!

In my Philosophical Inquiries class, we had a paper due last week on one of The Dialogues of Plato. In that class, we mostly discuss the texts we read; so far we have read works by Plato, Peter Singer, Aristotle, and Boethius. I have never taken philosophy before this class, so it has been a challenge to learn how to analyze the text.

I am really looking forward to relaxing, and getting ahead on some work, over spring break this week!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
Posted on

Classes and Theatre for Semester Two

Hi everyone!

I cannot believe I have been back on campus for three weeks! It has been really exciting to start back at Holy Cross for my second semester!! Here are some of the things I have been working on now that I am back on the Hill!!

The Holy Cross campus looks beautiful after snow!!

This semester, I am taking the second semester of my Montserrat (War and Coming of Age), Organic Chemistry, Biology 162, and Philosophical Inquiries. In my Montserrat, we are reading Don Quixote, and in my biology class we are learning about genetics, which is really interesting to me! I have never taken a philosophy class before, so my class is challenging me to think in a way I have not had to before!

The program for “Legally Blonde: The Musical”!!

This past weekend, ACT, the student theatre group on campus, had their production of Legally Blonde: The Musical!! I helped with costumes backstage for some of the performances, and I got to watch the show on Sunday!! Everyone involved in the production did an amazing job performing a really fun and upbeat show!! I had never helped backstage for a show before, so it was a great experience for me to help with a show in a different way than I had before!

The set for the opening number of “Legally Blonde”!!

I was also just cast in the Theatre Department’s production of The Skin of Our Teeth! We had the first few rehearsals this week, and I am so excited to work with so many of my friends on this production!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
Posted on

Thanksgiving Break and School Since Then

Hi everyone!
I’m sorry I have not blogged recently; the past few weeks have been incredibly busy. I cannot believe my first semester is almost over! Here is just a quick update on 3 parts of my life in the past few weeks as I begin preparing for final exams/papers/projects:

  • Going home for Thanksgiving: Having a few days off for Thanksgiving was really nice; I was happy to spend time with my family and eat some delicious food! I also got together with some of my friends for a “Friendsgiving”, where we all made a dish and had dinner together!! It was a lot of fun to hang out with them, as I haven’t been able to see them often since moving to Holy Cross!!
A photo from “Friendsgiving”!!
  • Major assignments: I have spent a lot of time studying/ working on schoolwork, as I have had a paper or exam for pretty much every class. I have papers due in Psychology and my Biology lab next week, and I handed in a paper for my Montserrat class today. I’m definitely going to be working hard until the end of the semester!
The painting “Musicalité des Nymphéas, Les Deux Saules” by Gabrielle Thierry, which I am writing my final Psychology paper on!
  • One-act play rehearsals: As I mentioned in my last post, I am in two one act plays directed by Holy Cross students! “Pullman Car Hiawatha” by Thornton Wilder is directed by my friend Emily, and “The People” by Susan Glaspell is directed by my friend Ros. Both of the directors- and many of my fellow cast members- were involved in the production of Fuenteovejuna, and it has been so fun to continue working with them!

Thanks for reading!
Rebecca McSweeney
Posted on

Highlights of the Past Few Weeks

Hi everyone!
I am so sorry that I have not blogged recently; I’ve been really busy the past few weeks! The Theatre Department’s production of Fuenteovejuna opens tonight, and I am so excited to perform this show for everyone! Here are three ways I have been spending my time over the past few weeks:

  1. Rehearsals for Fuenteovejuna: Since the show opens tonight, I have been spending a lot of time at rehearsal. Our first dress rehearsal was this past Monday, and it was so exciting to begin rehearsing in our costumes! Dress rehearsals have been going really well, so hopefully the performances will be even better!

    Me in my costume for “Fuenteovejuna”!
  2. Doing schoolwork: I know I have not really mentioned what academics are like on my blog yet, but I definitely spend quite a bit of time on schoolwork!! We are just beginning the process of writing a paper on Fuenteovejuna in my Montserrat, and I also have been studying for an exam I have in Biology tomorrow!
  3. Spending time with my family: Last weekend was Family Weekend here at Holy Cross, and while scheduling conflicts prevented my whole family from coming up on Saturday, I was really excited that my mom was able to come up so we could go out to lunch! We went to British Beer Company, which was delicious, and it was really nice just to spend time with her!

    The burger I got when out to lunch with my mom!!

I am so excited to spend more time with my family in the next few weeks; my parents are coming on Saturday to see Fuenteovejuna, and then Thanksgiving break is coming up so quickly!

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca McSweeney