Michelle Schmitz

Class: 2011
From: New York, NY/Singapore
Academic Interests: Biology

Professors/classes that have challenged you most: In the last quarter that I've been here, the two classes that have challenged me the most are Honors General Chemistry and (surprise!) German 10100. Honors Chemistry was surprising in that it went into concepts of general chemistry - mostly quantum mechanics - at a deeper depth and a faster pace than what I was used to in high school chemistry. German 10100 was hard for me in that I had to learn unfamiliar grammatical structures on my own. (I took Mandarin Chinese in high school, which has a much laxer grammatical system.) Because of the pace of the quarter system, it was impossible to learn these structures in class. Still, despite the challenge of these courses, I felt that I became a better student and a better thinker overall.

What do you think about the Core?

Be prepared to be challenged. The Core was a major influence for me to matriculate at Chicago, as I love the sciences and the humanities. I was able to become well-rounded and have a intense knowledge of a variety of different subjects - enough to create puns on them. I know of people that have floundered in unfamiliar subjects and thus hated the Core. However, these same people have eventually learned to love the Core - it teaches one to quickly think on their feet. A friend once said that the Core helps you to get to know a lot of subjects in depth, enough to be able to intelligently converse about these subjects with professionals without sounding like an idiot. I couldn't agree more with this description.

What do you do for fun?

I'm a normal college student - I like to lie around and sleep, explore the city of Chicago, hang out in my friends' rooms, go to the extracurricular activities I love and hit the party scene. =)

What were your very first impressions when you got here?

My first impressions were drawn when I came to do a campus tour. It was one of those disgusting overcast, cloudy, cool days

What do you want prospective students to know about Chicago? What advice would you give them?

I never expected that . . . I would be able to pun on a variety of academic subjects! (I sound really nerdy saying that.)

Describe some of the "great conversations" you have had here:

I have heard of people discuss about the merits of atheism and the superstring theory while completely drunk. I have also heard ridiculously bad academic jokes, but very, very insightful comments into what could have otherwise spun into mundane chatter. (This thought usually gets punctuated by a "Welcome to the University of Chicago!" comment. To all UoCers - we don't have to acknowledge these comments though!)

What do you miss most about home?

If you're talking about Singapore, I miss the Asian food and the weather! I had an interesting time adjusting back to my "home country" of the USA - for a long time, the slang that I spoke in was unfamiliar to my classmates. That was such a frustration for me to adjust back into American speech. However, upon coming back to Singapore and Manila during winter break, I realized that there was a depth of Asian food here that was lacking in America. I also realized that I was used to 80/90-degree-Fahrenheit (26-30 degrees C) weather a lot more than the freezing winters of Chicago. Do you know how frustrating that is? I'll have to readjust to the weather there!

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

I'm involved of a bunch of activities here! I am a current member of the Singapore and Malaysian Students Union (SAMSU), the South Asian Students Association (SASA), the local folk arts organization and the Model United Nations team. (I'm also on the mailing lists for a load of other organizations, which I may or may not join depending on my time commitments.)
Out of all my organizations though, I easily spend the most time working on Model UN. I've not only travelled to UPenn in the last quarter for a conference (and had a blast in it), but I'm also chairing/staffing the two local conferences that UChicago hosts - the MUNUC (Model UN at the University of Chicago - the high school conference) and CHOMUN (Collegiate MUN). It's a LOT of work to do these two conferences (writing background guides, researching for four different topics and spending two weekends out of school is a huge time commitment, as far as I'm concerned), but I'm sure it'll all be worth it! :)

"If I had to be describe my friends here..."

A combination of smartness, masochism, sleep-deprivation, workaholicism and an innate party animal psyche.

Do you venture out into the city? Where/why/how/how often?

I go out into the city about twice a month during the weekends, usually. (I have the craziest weekday schedule of anyone I know, which keeps me on campus for most of the time.) I try to go to either the MagMile or Chinatown, but I'm always open to exploring more of Chicago's neighborhoods.

Favorite neighborhoods?

Currently, I love Hyde Park itself. As the former abode of Chicago's rich and famous, it has a college-town culture all to its own. However, as I've been wandering more around Chicago, I like the MagMile and the Millenium Park in terms of sheer decadence. I enjoy going to the Indian neighborhood of Devon and Chinatown to fulfill my cravings for Asian culture, and I like going to Belmont for the eclectic culture.

Favorite things to do?

When the weather is warm, I like to sit outside and relax/chill out with my books and my music player. I'd go out for a game of Frisbee or cricket or midnight football, if I felt athletic. Otherwise, during winter, I like to cozy up on the couch and watch TV in the house lounge. I like to play the piano, dance around in the snow (if it's snowing, that is) and laze about indoors.

Current reading list: Robert Alter's Genesis, The Complete Plays of Aristophanes, In The Grips of Disease: Studies in the Greek Imagination, The New Killer Diseases

How cold is it really?

Don't kid yourself - it's cold. When it's not windy, even -14 degrees Celsius may seem quite warm. (It usually is pleasant weather when it's not windy.) However, factor in wind chill with the wind coming from Lake Michigan - and the temperature automatically plummets about ten to twenty degrees Fahrenheit. It is honestly unpleasant. I have heard of people walking out with wet hair and coming in with hair-cicles. Be careful of that when you go out! Other than that, it's fine.

International Student Profiles

Michelle Schmitz