Senior moments: The Last Lecture
Ross Litman
Issue date: 2/11/10 Section: News
In recent years, the College's seniors have been exposed to a variety of celebratory and experiential moments through the Senior Year Experience. The Senior Year Experience has been responsible for providing seniors with the necessary skills and information for their transition from the College to the working world. During the week known as "Senior Week," which culminates with Commencement, one of the more memorable events consists of a final lecture to the entire senior class by a faculty member of their choosing.
The concept of the Last Lecture was made famous from the popular book entitled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was inspired to give one final lecture to the student body at Carnegie Mellon. Since the runaway success of Pausch's book, many colleges across the country have been inspired to create 'last lectures' of their own. At the College, our Last Lecture is a celebration of not only senior accomplishment, but also a chance for a faculty to impart final advice to the senior class.
In order to select a faculty member, students have been asked to nominate candidates from any and all academic departments on campus. Nominations will take place from Feb 1 - 18 and are submitted through the Senior Year Experience's website (Muhlenberg.edu/sye). After the conclusion of the nomination period, the Last Lecture Committee will vet the candidates and select a faculty member. A representative of the Last Lecture Committee will hand deliver an invitation to the faculty member selected by the senior class. When asked about the significance of the Last Lecture, Cara Murphy '10 stated, "Many friends of mine who are graduates expressed their sincere appreciation for having such an event. In particular, they expressed fondness for the inspirational nature of Dr. Teissere's talk. It appears to be a "can't-miss event". Last year's faculty speaker was none other than campus favorite, Dr. Jeremy Teissere, who is the current director of the College's neuroscience program and faculty advisor for both the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Gay-Straight Alliance. Students are asked to please come out and nominate faculty as this event is one of the cornerstones of Senior Week.
The concept of the Last Lecture was made famous from the popular book entitled The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was inspired to give one final lecture to the student body at Carnegie Mellon. Since the runaway success of Pausch's book, many colleges across the country have been inspired to create 'last lectures' of their own. At the College, our Last Lecture is a celebration of not only senior accomplishment, but also a chance for a faculty to impart final advice to the senior class.
In order to select a faculty member, students have been asked to nominate candidates from any and all academic departments on campus. Nominations will take place from Feb 1 - 18 and are submitted through the Senior Year Experience's website (Muhlenberg.edu/sye). After the conclusion of the nomination period, the Last Lecture Committee will vet the candidates and select a faculty member. A representative of the Last Lecture Committee will hand deliver an invitation to the faculty member selected by the senior class. When asked about the significance of the Last Lecture, Cara Murphy '10 stated, "Many friends of mine who are graduates expressed their sincere appreciation for having such an event. In particular, they expressed fondness for the inspirational nature of Dr. Teissere's talk. It appears to be a "can't-miss event". Last year's faculty speaker was none other than campus favorite, Dr. Jeremy Teissere, who is the current director of the College's neuroscience program and faculty advisor for both the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Gay-Straight Alliance. Students are asked to please come out and nominate faculty as this event is one of the cornerstones of Senior Week.