(The Picket)- Monday, Jan. 11, marks the start of the Spring 2016 semester for Shepherd University.
Students like Hayleigh McAllister, an English major, are excited to return to campus.
“I’m glad break is ending,” McAllister said, “I feel like I’ve been out of my routine for too long. I’m looking forward to being back with my roommates and studying in the library again.”
Mike Goldbeck, a mass communications major, says, like McAllister, that he is ready to return to school.
“I’m going to miss break but I’m ready to see everyone at school again,” Goldbeck said, “I think this semester will go fine especially if it snows often.”
Monday will not only be the beginning of the semester, but it will also mark the start of Shepherd’s new Appalachian studies certificate program. Under Dr. Sylvia Shurbutt’s direction, the University opened registration for a class in late November called Appalachia: Time, Place and People, according to the University’s website.
Appalachia: Time, Place and People will cover the culture, history and literature of Appalachia through lecture and viewings of films and documentaries. The class will cover the social and political systems of Appalachia, mine wars, storytelling, Appalachian literature, and environment issues, according to the site.
The new Appalachia studies course can be paired with any graduate degree, according to Shepherd’s website, and offers undergraduate credit to students. The class will be held on Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7:40.
Emilie Embrey, an elementary education major, said that she has mixed emotions about break ending.
“I’m excited to start new and exciting classes, but then again, I enjoying spending time with my family. It’s very bittersweet,” Embrey said.
Ali Wilson, a photography major, agreed with Embrey that break ending is bittersweet.
“I’m just ready to get the next semester out of the way,” Wilson said,” I think it’s going to be a busy semester with work and classes but I’ll try to make the best of it.”
Starting Wednesday, Jan. 13, auditions for “Greek Tragedies, Sophocles, Antigone and Euripides Medea” will be held in Reynolds Hall from 8 p.m. to 10.
On Thursday, Jan. 14, meet the Greeks will be held at 11 a.m. in the Student Center Ram’s Den until 1.
For more information on the Appalachian studies program or events on campus, visit shepherd.edu.
Hayley Butler is a staff writer for The Picket. She can be reached at hbutle01@rams.shepherd.edu or followed on Twitter @haybutler.