Jaron Gaier
Graduation year: 2012
Major: English
Minors: Philosophy, Africana studies
Activities: Farm2Fork, Global Affect, Å·ÖÞ±ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø Interfaith Understanding, Å·ÖÞ±ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø Symphony Orchestra
Post-grad plans: Farming, just outside of the Quad Cities; reading and writing
Are you where you thought you'd be four years ago?
No way ¡ª I guess I figured that I¡¯d be reading and writing, but not doing stuff outside. Not farming. But I also hoped that I¡¯d be graduating, and it looks like I am. So that¡¯s good.
What did you learn about yourself in these past four years that surprised you?
I think I'm more creative in some ways than I thought ¡ª in terms of writing and viewing the world ¡ª and much less creative than I thought in some ways ¡ª in studying, for instance, and sleep patterns. I pretty much still need the eight hours.
A peak experience?
While studying abroad in Ghana and Senegal, I had a slew of experiences that were especially momentous. I got to spend some time with great friends and faculty in a place that is amazingly different from here, learning all I could and soaking it all up.
Who helped you get to where you are now?
Professors have given me the right books to read, my friends and I have had all the right conversations, and my family has encouraged me to follow what I think is right.
What would you like to add that we didn¡¯t ask about?
Although this borders on clich¨¦ ¡ª the learning hasn¡¯t (and shouldn¡¯t have and won¡¯t) stopped outside the classroom. I¡¯m glad that I got off campus a lot, got to know the Quad Cities pretty well, and did some exploring.
Advice for this fall's incoming class (Class of 2016)?
Be curious. Look around. Ask questions. Don't hesitate.
¡°Instability precedes sure-footedness. My sense ¡ª though I may be wrong about this ¡ª is that Jaron arrived at Å·ÖÞ±ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø on somewhat wobbly knees. This isn¡¯t a criticism. He was ¡°on to something,¡± a searcher of the Walker Percy sort, when he entered the Honors program. And to be on to something means to be thrown off balance a little. So it has been fun to watch this young searcher come to himself ¡ª like Percy¡¯s characters, and like Dante before them. Jaron has achieved, by considerable effort, some real clarity ¡ª and, like all of us, he¡¯s become wobbly in new and interesting ways.¡±