A First Year’s First Impressions

by Lucy Flack ’27

You might recognize Lucy as one of the new English student workers whom The Words introduced in September. Now that she’s gotten halfway through her first semester at Mac, the Words staff reached out to her to share her impression of Mac, and working in the English department, so far. Read her glowing review belong!

Within the first week of being at Mac, I knew that this was the right place for me. My doubts and worries were assuaged immediately after I was welcomed into this community.

I’m Lucy Flack (she/her), a first year student at Macalester, and I’m from Milwaukee, WI. I’m happy to say that my first impressions of Mac were and are overwhelmingly positive. I’m taking four classes this semester with the intention of majoring in Environmental Studies, my favorite of which is my Psychology and/of Climate Change class with Professor Christie Manning. We dive into the psychological reasoning behind climate denial and ignorance—concepts which can be applied to other social and political issues as well. I find the material invigorating, and everyone in the class is passionate and interested.

That’s one of the reasons Macalester is such an inclusive place: people here are not only passionate about their own interests but also passionate about supporting the interests of others. One event that I will remember throughout my four years here is the class of 2027 talent show, which took place during the first week of the semester. I come from a high school where the culture and social norms encouraged people to keep to themselves and prioritize self-interest. I can’t emphasize enough how much of a breath of fresh air the talent show was. Everyone was cheering the performers on and vocally encouraging them.

As for what my day-to-day looks like now, I’m blessed with a two-and-two schedule: two classes on each day, none of which are earlier than 9:40 AM nor later than 2:20 PM. I am unashamed to say that I am not an early morning person (early being classified as 8:30 AM or earlier…), so this class schedule has been really nice. My first year course is FREN-194, Health and Disease in an Age of Revolution: Medical Enlightenment and Social Reform in Eighteenth-Century France, which I thoroughly enjoy—though I had to look up the full title of the class since no one, including myself, remembers it. However, I am very grateful that all of the course material is in English, because I do not speak a lick of French. Though I have already fulfilled my language requirement, I am taking SPAN-305 this semester, and it is also one of my favorite classes so far.

I also am an office assistant in the English Department, and I am really lucky to have been hired there. Throughout my first week at Mac, I was waiting to find somewhere in the academic setting that made me feel utterly at home. For me that’s the English Department. The other student workers and the faculty have been so welcoming and warm, and it’s so nice to have some more friendly faces on campus.

Though others often look at my calendar and remark on how full my days are, I have enjoyed being busy—for the most part—and I think that adjustment is going well. From my academics, to work, to my musical commitments as a cellist, to my budding involvement with the Sunrise Movement, being a Mac student has been incredibly rewarding, and I know that I am only at the beginning.

Thanks for the beautiful article, Lucy! We’re so glad that you feel at home in the department.