Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Major: Philosophy
My freshman year I came to Seattle Pacific University without even knowing philosophy was a major. I started in literature, but all the books I read at the time happened to be philosophical. It took one of my friends, who was studying philosophy, to encourage and point out to me that I needed to make the switch. It excited me to realize there was an entire major based on the reading I had enjoyed for fun.
When searching for colleges to attend, I knew I wanted to be in Seattle, but I did not want to attend a large university. If it were not for a family friend who taught at the University while I was in the application process, I may not have even considered the option thoroughly. SPU seemed like a good fit for someone like me.
Dr. McDonald is an incredible educator. I feel lucky to have taken a class with him and watch how he interacted with students. When you are around him, you learn how to be a better person. His level of engagement would make it difficult for someone to take a class with him and not end up interested in the discipline of philosophy.
Dr. Rice is always deeply insightful when speaking with students — inside or outside of the classroom. She engaged with philosophy on an intuitive level. Her responses were informed, immediate, and consistent.
Often, I reflect on Dr. Layman’s logic class. I wish I could take that course again. I never realized it at the time, but there was an entire universe of experience and knowledge in the way he walked us through even the simplest proof.
I took an ancient philosophy course with Phil Goggans — it was one of the last classes he taught at SPU. The goodbye speech he gave us at the end of our final quarter made me cry — in a good way. It was so evident that he loved his teaching, his students, and the material he taught. He was one of the best professors I had.
I loved my time at Seattle Pacific. I do not think I would have fallen in love with philosophy if it had not been for the wit, candor, and charm I encountered among the philosophy faculty. Everything I have done since graduating from SPU draws on what they taught me in some meaningful way.
Philosophy is excellent training for interaction design and UX writing. Today I work in software design as a UX writer at Apple.