By Andrew Mahinay

PUC offers a broad spectrum of classes to help prepare students for their future careers upon graduation. Reading charts and bar graphs is the specialty of a business major. Reading “Le Morte d’Arthur” by Thomas Malory kindles a warm discussion amongst English majors. Throwing a Frisbee one hundred feet through the air is a class for all majors.

As my time at PUC comes to an end, I am content and happy with the many classes I took at PUC. Like me, your favorite classes might end up being a subject that has nothing to do with your major. In this post, I write about three of my favorite classes.

1. The most energizing and thrilling class I took was Ultimate Frisbee taught by Elaine Neudeck, M.A. For each class period, Professor Neudeck brought along with her energizing commentary for each game. The way she encouraged students to push their bodies to the limits and try their very best in each Ultimate Frisbee game was memorable. She was funny, witty, and most of all, she made sure students were having a great time, but also having a great workout at the same time.
2. Second on the list is Linguistics, taught by Dr. Maria Rankin-Brown. This class is fascinating. There is a process to learning a new language and I was lucky enough to learn that process at an early age. In Linguistics, you learn how the pronunciation of each word came to be. It was a class that covered the genesis of language and I am glad I took the class because language is an significant part of society.
3. Taught by Dr. Keith Neergaard, Microeconomics is a class that greatly challenged me academically. Although I am an English major, I chose to take Microeconomics as an elective. An elective is a class you choose to take for fun (Learn more about PUC’s General Education requirements). The class was exhilarating and Microeconomics challenged me as I worked to understand the many business terms. The open in-class discussions were also very helpful and I really appreciated the way Dr. Neergaard applied each term to real life scenarios, which made the class a bit more intriguing.

As a senior, I look back on these classes and am so grateful I had the chance to participate in each of them. Classes that allowed me to have a great time while breaking a sweat was pure awesomeness. My core English classes taught me the genesis of language, and how each word came to represent what they do in our current age. Challenging myself with unfamiliar material was a great way to get out of my comfort zone and learn something new.

If there is one piece of advice I can offer you, whether you are a prospective student or already attending PUC, it would be to step out of your comfort zone and take a class that not only interests you but challenges you as well. Enroll in a subject that peaks your interest and choose a class that allows your heart to beat for joy. This is all I have for you today, best of luck as you choose your next classes!