Cody Gohl '13

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Major: English and American Literature, Creative Writing Focus

What’s the one thing that Middlebury students should NOT graduate without doing?

No Midd Kid should graduate from Middlebury without trying his or her hand (better yet, foot) at log rolling. For those not in the know, log rolling is a sport in which two competitors attempt to “out-balance” one another on a large log that is floating in a body of water. For our purposes, we offer log rolling workshops during the month of January in our Olympic-sized pool.

Design a J-Term class or workshop.

My dream J-Term class would probably be a “The Production of a Beyoncé Music Video” course taught by the single lady herself, which would cover all aspects of production: creating a song, making costumes, choreography, etc. The culminating project of the class would be a finished music video for Beyoncé’s latest song, in which the class would direct and star (alongside Beyoncé, obviously).

If you could “Freaky Friday” your way into the body of any professor on campus, who would it be and why?

I think it would be really interesting to see how the mind of Jay Parini (of the Creative Writing department) works. As a teacher, he jumps from talking about lunch dates he’s had with the late wife of TS Eliot to talking about living in Venice as a young poet to the first time he can remember eating a lobster without the assistance of someone else. He’s one of the most brilliant men I’ve ever met, but also one of the most likely to get off topic whenever the opportunity presents itself.

How would you spend a beautiful day at Middlebury?

I’d pack a bag with some goat cheese and baguette from the Middlebury Co-Op, my ukulele, whatever book I happen to be reading (currently Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence) and head off for the Organic Garden or Lake Dunmore for a relaxing day with a few friends.

What did you do on your Febmester? Regs, feel free to share what you would have done.

As a Reg, I was not fortunate enough to have a Febmester, but if I would’ve had the opportunity, these are some things that I would’ve loved to do:

• Been an apprentice to a hot air balloonist
• Traveled the entirety of Route 66
• Taught English in India
• Learned the art of tattooing
• Researched my family history and genealogy by returning to my ancestor’s roots in Germany and France
• Written a book of poetry
• Eaten my way through Italy