Naila Jahan '15

Hometown: New York, NY

Major: Environmental Studies w/ Economics

Activities: Wonnacott Commons Council Tri-Chair, Wonnacott SGA Senator, Quidditch Club, Quiz Bowl, Debate Society

What is the one thing that Middlebury Students should NOT graduate without doing?

Climbing up to the roof of something. I lived in Battell Hall my freshman year and it was a big thing to climb up on the Battell roof and get to our cupola. Though I was a little too scared to do that, I’ll definitely be reaching the top of some building at one point or another (or maybe I already have).

Design a J-Term class or workshop. 

"Social Media for Social Change" We will invite inspiring guest lecturers like Annie Leonard from the Story of Stuff Project, and learn how to produce works like the Girl Effect videos and 350.org campaigns. It would be interdepartmental and would cover information from the Environmental Studies, Film & Media Culture Studies, International Studies, Political Science, and Sociology/Anthropology departments. 

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 what Dean Matt Longman of Wonnacott Commons’ life is like during J-term. Since he is a Dean, he only teaches a class during J-term and he fittingly teaches it on higher education. I think it would be really neat to see how he works as both a professor but also as a Dean because then he gets to see many different facets of students and how they work.

How would you spend a beautiful day at Middlebury?

I would go down to Otter Creek and spend my time in the sunlight on the riverbank, with my feet in the cold water. Or if I had the means to get a little farther away, I would go to Lake Dunmore or Lake Champlain to do some kayaking, which I discovered to be my favorite outdoor activity this past summer.

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

If I had taken a Febmester, I would have travelled through Western Europe and the Mediterranean, preferably via train and visited a body of water in each of the countries I visited. Even though I’m not the best swimmer (read: I can’t really swim), I love being near water and the views in Europe would be breathtaking, I’m sure, all the way from the Thames River and the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea.