On this week鈥檚 episode of Bellarmine Magazine鈥檚 podcast - - English professor Conor Picken discusses his journey to Bellarmine and his role as faculty director of the Brown Learning Community. Picken also talks about his own experiences as an undergraduate, urging students to be engaged in their college community, work hard and be realistic about their goals, both in and out of the classroom.

Picken places emphasis on encouraging students to participate in the social aspect of the collegiate community. 鈥淚 think what Bellarmine affords students the opportunity to do is engage in shared experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is no value that can be placed on doing things with people, experiencing strife, triumph. I mean, I sound clich茅, but it鈥檚 the truth. You cry with these people, you study with these people, you drink coffee with these people.鈥�

鈥淔or me, my undergraduate experience was as much about the people, not just the people who are grading my papers, but the people that I lived with, and played soccer with, and studied abroad with.鈥� 

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This article was prepared by student worker Christina Mudd.