Hi everyone!
I’m back again, and this time I have some real content—an interview! The person I chose to interview was Don Hill, who is the chair of the drama department here at UCI. More importantly, however, he teaches my University Studies 3: How to be a Star class that I’ve loved this entire quarter. In this class, I learned how to value myself, how to prepare for the future, and most importantly, how to enjoy my time at UCI. When tasked with choosing an interview candidate, I thought, who better than Professor Hill?
Considering my audience of undeclared freshmen and incoming freshmen, I asked Professor Hill a few questions regarding his time in college and the idea of being “undeclared.” One of the questions asked was, “What are some things that you wish you had known when you were still in college?” His response? “I wished I knew that it was all going to be possible.” He then talked about young students are “scared about not making it” or “feeling that they’re not good enough.” Personally, I agree with his statements. Self-validation is incredibly important, and I have always found things are easier to do when I am confident. In Professor Hill’s insightful words, “There’s enough for everybody, there’s plenty of opportunity, and it’s a matter of creating that opportunity for yourself.”
When I asked about undeclared students finding a career to pursue, Professor Hill’s advice surprised me. His advice was to explore meditation. Although I was confused, at first, his explanations brought me to understand the depth of his advice. In essence, meditation would allow a person to “get clarity.” Rather than think about meeting unwanted expectations, clarity would allow said person to answer the question, “What do I really want to do?” While there is merit to pursuing a set career path with minimal risk, Professor Hill advises students to “give themselves personal permission to make the choices they want to make.” The most important part of a field of work should be enjoyment, not money.
Lastly, since he is the Chair of UCI’s Drama Department, I asked Professor Hill about his program, and what makes it so special. In response, he talked about how the brilliance of their undergraduate musical theater, BA, and BFA program acted as the “calling card” for the UCI drama program. He also talked about the network of graduates from the School of the Arts: “I mean, any given night on Broadway, for 10 years now, except for COVID. We’ve had somebody on a Broadway stage from UCI, whether they’re there as a performer or an understudy or in the booth calling the show.” And aside from the quality education, Professor Hill notes: “We’re in California, and we’re close to the beach. How bad can it be?
If you’ve made it down here, thanks for taking the time to read this! I really enjoyed my interview, and one more shoutout to Professor Don Hill, who took the time out of his day to be my interviewee. If you ever get the chance, I recommend taking his class, Uni Studies 3: How to be a Star. Anyways, that’s it from me, and I hope everyone has a great rest of the quarter! I’ll see y’all one last time, so bye for now!
Zot Zot Zot,
Ian