Student Profiles
AJ McGauley
Physics
Class of 2011
I’ve absolutely loved the honors program. The single greatest thing it offers is the course selection. My freshman year, I was in a literature seminar with 18 other students. We were all different majors—there were maybe two English majors—so it was an incredibly diverse group. We had the same group for two semesters, so we got to know each other very well, and we would hang out and discuss things outside of class.
The program really allows you to branch out. It’s a nice balance to being a physics major, where I bond with my fellow majors because we all study the same thing. Socially, it’s a great way to meet people from all over the University. After freshman year, it allows you to challenge yourself by being the only non-major in courses designed for majors.
The best part about Arcadia, the program’s lounge, is that there are always people there—even after hours. It’s a great place to eat, email, and start a conversation. I’ve stopped there with the intention of just checking my email and literally stayed for hours talking philosophy, current events, and just about anything.
The program also facilitates many opportunities to do research. The summer after my freshman year, it provided funding for me to study laser interferometry. This involved laser work in an optics lab on campus with Professor Mike Hildreth. It was a proof of concept for a device that will be installed at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This was a standard physics experiment—a lot of programming and meticulous work with your hands.
I’m going abroad to study in Oxford next year. I will be studying physics as a full-time student. I’m very excited that I’ll be there. It will be great—not only socially and culturally, living in Europe, but also academically, learning under the famous Oxbridge tutorial system.
I’ve been talking to Professor Neil Delaney about the possibility of doing my senior thesis in the humanities. I’d like to do my research on Pascal’s Wager—statistics and probability as applied to theology. I would learn so much. That labor would open up a whole new dimension for me.
I think that a diverse liberal arts education is the whole point of coming to Notre Dame. The fact that I’m being “forced” to take other classes is the whole point of getting a bachelor of arts degree.You can specialize in graduate school, but even then, you’re going to need the flexibility and the broad base that you get from a liberal arts education.
