It's been quite a year for Heather Siegel '12. A French major, she was one of nine CMC Fulbright recipients who were announced in May. Come fall, Siegel will travel to Antwerp to teach English, and hone her already prodigious French language skills. But that's just part of what has been a heady experience these past months for Siegel. More recently, she added to that singular honor by being named class valedictorian, and leading the procession of her fellow students at Commencement.
We spoke to Heather about her response to the "good news," what her four years at CMC have meant to her, and why aspiring academicians should never follow the path of least resistance.
CMC: How did you react when you received word that you were named valedictorian? Heather: I had been regularly checking CMC's online portal for a couple days to see whether my semester grades had been posted, and I was frustrated not knowing my final GPA before leaving for San Diego with a group of friends. I was at our Mission Beach condo when registrar Elizabeth Morgan called me with the good news, and after I hung up the phone I jumped up and down a number of times before sitting down to just take it in. I was glad that I could immediately share the news with my closest friends, who were really excited for me. And afterward, I made sure to call my family to let them know, too.
CMC: Was being valedictorian something you aspired to? Heather: Yes. I've aspired to being valedictorian since my freshman year. I am a perfectionist, and I wanted to do my best in everything at collegein each of my classes, on every single essay that I wrote, and in my non-academic work at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, and at the Writing Center. School, and academics in particular, have always been important to me. I come from a family with four generations of teachers, and my family inspired a love of learning that will stay with me the rest of my life.
CMC: In terms of carrying that banner, what does the honor mean to you on a personal level? Heather: On a personal level, the honor was extremely moving. I've worked extremely hard for the past four years, and it meant a lot to receive such kind recognition. I was also very moved by the applause that I received from my classmates when I stood up to take my place at the head of the student procession right before Commencement. I have known for a long time that I made the right decision in choosing CMC, but at that moment, I absolutely could not imagine having gone anywhere else. At the same time, the honor was also bittersweet. My dad passed away right before I started college, and it was painful not to be able to share the special moment with him. I was thankful, though, that I could still share it with so many family members, friends, and professors. Commencement was a very special end to an exceptional four years.
CMC: How will you "put to use" the fact that you are a valedictorian and a French major? Heather: This fall I am going to Antwerp, Belgium, on a Fulbright grant to teach English for a year. Although I will be in Dutch-speaking Flanders, I hope to travel extensively to Brussels, Wallonia (southern French-speaking Belgium), and France, where I can continue to improve my French language skills. I also plan to take classes on French translation while working with the University of Antwerp's Department of Translators and Interpreters. The academic skills that enabled me to become valedictorian will help me serve as a more effective language teacher when working with Belgian college students on their English-speaking and academic writing. Once I return to the United States, I hope that my strong academic background and critical thinking skills will help me excel in law school and, subsequently, in a legal career.
CMC: What is your GPA 4.0 we're guessing? Heather: Yes, I earned a 4.0 during my four years at CMC. I would say that I aspired to a 4.0 GPA just as much as I aspired to being valedictorian.
CMC: Was it difficult to find your place at CMC among the many friends and classmates studying finance, economics and government? Heather: I think that I'm a much more typical CMCer than my French major may suggest. I actually spent a summer and three winter breaks interning at Arch Bay Capital, a finance company in Irvine, California, and I added a government major second semester of my senior year. I love that CMC is a true liberal arts college where I could explore my interest in 19th century French literature in the classroom, analyze California politics as a research assistant at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, hear powerful political figures and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors at the Athenaeum, and spend a summer interning in the Department of Defense at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. I combined my interest in French and international relations by writing my senior thesis on Nicolas Sarkozy's foreign policy, and France's role in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. On the other hand, majoring in French helped me take full advantage of the consortium, and I have many wonderful friends from Scripps and Pomona, in addition to CMC, thanks to my off-campus classes and semester in Paris.
CMC: Are there any tips you could impart to aspiring scholarson how you were able to become valedictorian any particular study habits, disciplines, etc.? Heather: Establishing positive relationships with my professors was extremely important, and attending office hours helped me excel in my most difficult classes. Talking to professors helped me figure out how to use my time more effectively by focusing on the most important elements of the class, and I established a strong support network of people who wanted to help me explore my academic interests and find a meaningful job.
I would also suggest taking interesting GE classes; when possible, take more in-depth classes instead of general introductory courses. I took Jewish-Christian Relations instead of Introduction to Western Religions for my religious studies GE, and it was one of the best classes I took at CMC. It also inspired me to take three other religious studies classes.
One other piece of advice is not to play it safe; don't avoid tough professors just because you are afraid that you will not achieve a certain grade. Earning a 4.0 GPA would have been much less rewarding if I had shied away from difficult classes, like Professor (Minxin) Pei's comparative government class, or Professor (Ananda) Ganguly's accounting class. Those classes were often the most interesting, and I really enjoyed the challenge, the satisfaction I received from working hard, and the conversations that I had with those professors inside and outside of class.
CMC: Academically speaking, what was the toughest course you took at CMC? Heather: Mr. (Christopher) Nadon's Introduction to Political Philosophy (Gov. 80) was one of the toughest courses that I took at CMC. I had never particularly enjoyed philosophical texts, but this class helped me acquire a new appreciation for the discipline of philosophy and become a more critical thinker. My senior thesis was also a tough course; even with two supportive readers, it was still a largely independent project. I had to decide how to structure my thesis, what to include and what to exclude, what sources to use, and how to frame my arguments. Writing my 110-page thesis entirely in French added an additional level of complexity, but also made the process much more rewarding.
CMC: Do you have a favorite French movie and author? Heather: My favorite French authors are Honor? de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas; I loved reading Illusions perdues in class, and I have gone on to read several of Balzac's other works from La Com?die humaine in my free time. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Dumas, meanwhile, is one of my favorite books after Gone with the Wind. My favorite French movie is probably Le Diner de Cons (The Dinner Game), which I watched for the first time back in high school.
CMC: What's your most often used conjugated French verb? Heather: Probably ?tre or avoir, although I am always looking for excuses to use my favorite French verb: tutoyer. (That's the familiar "you" for all you German majors out there.)