Reporter Staff Interviews

As an incoming freshman, you’re getting up early in the morning to go to Orientation, track down where your classes are and meet your fellow students that came to RIT from all across the world. Some of our writing staff have shared their opinions and experiences to give some insight into life as a student here at RIT, and also to reveal a little bit more about the shadowy people that write our articles. The following interview includes quotes from Elizabeth Sanabria, Liam Conroe and Papa Kwaku Sanaah-Faried.

What's your favorite meal on campus? 

Elizabeth: I really like the RITz pizza actually. Back when I lived in dorms, it would be Commons pizza, but I would still get up and walk all the way to RITz for pizza sometimes because it’s just better.

Liam: Probably [the visiting chef] Tandoor of India. Usually [I get] everything. The mango lassi is good, too.

Kwaku: I’d probably say either the Korean fried chicken sandwich at Brick City, or D’Mangu, the visiting chef.

What’s a favorite course you’ve taken at RIT?

Elizabeth: One of the courses I’ve enjoyed the most is Speculative Literature. Mainly [what we talk about is] how literature speculates about the future. Back in the 1920’s, they thought we would have the most epic things in the future, (we don’t). Flying cars, spaceships, and space travel were big ones.

Liam: I’ll say Community Journalism. That class was fun because the [students] got to decide how to approach the course. It was like a real newsroom setting. We would work on two articles over the semester. I was a writer for the first story and a photographer for the second. I hadn’t done photography [before] but it was nice to learn about.

Kwaku: There was a class called Codes and Ciphers, which was an elective that I took. Getting a better understanding of the security tactics that people use to encode messages, and it governs how we send emails and use the internet in general. It was really interesting.

What’s one of the best places to study for you?

Elizabeth: My dorm. There are places in the Fireside Lounge that are nice, but I like my room. 

Liam: Wallace [Library] or the SHED, it depends on the day.

Kwaku: The Wallace Library, first floor with all the tables, that’s my go-to spot.

Have you gone to any career fairs?

Elizabeth: I have. I went to the one last spring. I printed out a bunch of copies of my resume, and I wore some nice clothes, but the fair was mostly looking for engineering students.

Liam: I have. For the first semester, I took Foundations of Communications with Dr. Kari Cameron, and we had to go and talk to a certain [number] of employers. Not necessarily to get a job but to at least start networking, and get that experience. I think it’s a good experience as a first year to get involved with it.

Kwaku: I went to one this past spring, it was my first one. I didn’t really feel ready my freshman year, but it was good to go. There were a lot of employers and a lot of people going from line to line. Going and talking to different companies, and working on the elevator pitch was all pretty cool.

Have you gotten involved with any clubs or sports?

Elizabeth: I go to RWAG [Rochester Wargamer Association and Guild], the board gaming club. There are also [board gaming events] that New Media Faculty run. I believe they’re also a part of Crash Test, they make board games and have sessions on Monday where they playtest them.

Liam: This upcoming year, I’ve been thinking about doing some intramural [sports]. I worked as an usher at University Arenas, so I was at pretty much every hockey game this year. I used to play hockey, [and] I knew RIT had a good team so it was a good fit.

Kwaku: I do intramural soccer, and I’m also part of the College of Science ALANA organization. There’s a club called Black Thought Collective, so I’m going to try to be a part of this fall, as well.

Anything to Add?

Kwaku: For me, the beginning of college was definitely a lot different from my high school experience. I went to a pretty small high school and I guess something that I’ve taken away from the first two years is, you’re going to have different opportunities to branch off and try new things. Sometimes it might not work out but sometimes you might end up meeting people you’ll become good friends with.