What my name tag should say
Aug. 20th, 2004 01:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greybetaDaniel Tu, from Ft. Smith Arkansas, attending the University of Tulsa, and a dual major in electrical engineering and history.
That would preempt ninety precent of the questions people will ask when I'm at a conference. But how exactly did I become a dual major (fyi, a dual major is two majors in different colleges, a double major is two majors in the same college)? That's a story that I haven't had the opportunity to share often.
When I first arrived on campus, I only had one major. My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, but I abhorred my high school chemistry lab so much that I wanted nothing to do with chemistry in college. My parents, being sensible people, wished for me to choose something that would make sure money. Being fairly good at math, I decided to pursue electrical engineering as my profession of choice.
I also enrolled in the honors program, which is like tacking on a bunch of English classes to your schedule. My first class involved Greek studies with Dr. Rahe, whose specialty happened to be ancient Greece. What I didn't know at the time was that Dr. Rahe was an endowed chair in the history department and a Rhode Scholar. Yeah, his class was freaking tough. But I survived with an A.
Then, during my freshman Christmas break, I received a letter in the mail from him. This can't be good. I perused through the contents of the letter. It turns out that he thought I had talents that would not be utilized in the engineering field. Only by supplementing my studies with a liberal arts major could I fully develop my talents. I went ahead and scheduled a meeting with him early that spring semester.
I pondered long and hard about it, and I decided to inform Dr. Rahe that I was just an engineer. Or at least I tried to. The one thing about Dr. Rahe is that you can't outargue the man. It just have been some Jedi mind trick or something because I walked out of his office not only a dual major, but involved in history research as well. That research on the Vietnam War has afforded me the opportunity to speak at the conference I will be attending shortly here in the nation's capital.
Still, I wonder what Dr. Rahe saw in me. I only have two years left to find out.
That would preempt ninety precent of the questions people will ask when I'm at a conference. But how exactly did I become a dual major (fyi, a dual major is two majors in different colleges, a double major is two majors in the same college)? That's a story that I haven't had the opportunity to share often.
When I first arrived on campus, I only had one major. My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, but I abhorred my high school chemistry lab so much that I wanted nothing to do with chemistry in college. My parents, being sensible people, wished for me to choose something that would make sure money. Being fairly good at math, I decided to pursue electrical engineering as my profession of choice.
I also enrolled in the honors program, which is like tacking on a bunch of English classes to your schedule. My first class involved Greek studies with Dr. Rahe, whose specialty happened to be ancient Greece. What I didn't know at the time was that Dr. Rahe was an endowed chair in the history department and a Rhode Scholar. Yeah, his class was freaking tough. But I survived with an A.
Then, during my freshman Christmas break, I received a letter in the mail from him. This can't be good. I perused through the contents of the letter. It turns out that he thought I had talents that would not be utilized in the engineering field. Only by supplementing my studies with a liberal arts major could I fully develop my talents. I went ahead and scheduled a meeting with him early that spring semester.
I pondered long and hard about it, and I decided to inform Dr. Rahe that I was just an engineer. Or at least I tried to. The one thing about Dr. Rahe is that you can't outargue the man. It just have been some Jedi mind trick or something because I walked out of his office not only a dual major, but involved in history research as well. That research on the Vietnam War has afforded me the opportunity to speak at the conference I will be attending shortly here in the nation's capital.
Still, I wonder what Dr. Rahe saw in me. I only have two years left to find out.
