Jon Bosworth

One of my favorite things about being a student at Oregon State is the amazing opportunity to work closely with faculty. I feel like I am surrounded by people seeking to make my time in college as beneficial and transformative as possible. Through interactions with advisors in the College of Liberal Arts, and with my major advisor, I have formed relationships with people who want me to succeed in all of my endeavors. I feel the same way about my time in the classroom. The close emphasis on interactions between professors and students has allowed me to get to know many of my professors and further my learning.

As a Political Science major and member of the University Honors College, I am lucky to take classes with a small number of people. These small, discussion-based classes allow me to connect more directly with professors and enhance my learning. Recently I’ve connected with professors more than ever: utilizing their office hours to ask questions and clarify concepts, speaking with them after class, and starting the process of completing an undergraduate thesis where I am working with a tenured professor one-on-one. Working with a professor allows me to sharpen my research and writing skills and gives me a greater understanding of my field of study. It has been an amazing experience so far and I can’t wait to continue building the relationship with my professor.

If you are at all like me you’re reading this and thinking, “well, this is just a special case, professors don’t actually want to work with undergraduate students, they have better things to do.” That is plain wrong. I’m continually astounded by professors’ willingness to work with students and foster their knowledge. Oregon State University is passionate about creating an environment conducive to collaboration in the learning process. Working with professors and faculty so closely is an opportunity unique to Oregon State and has been one of the highlights of my time here thus far; I encourage you to take advantage of it.