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Courtney Kleftis |
Extra-curriculars: |
Concert Choir, Opera *, SAI (music fraternity for women), CMENC (music education organization) |
Favorite book: |
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier |
Favorite film: |
La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) |
Favorite song, artist, or group: |
Susan Graham (lyric mezzo soprano) |
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What was the final factor that made you say "yes" to LU's offer of admission? |
I loved the idea of a conservatory of music that is part of small liberal arts college, meaning the opportunity to pursue music seriously in addition to other interests. I also loved the small size of Lawrence (small classes, not feeling like a number.) Ultimately it was the people I met when I visited, the general friendly vibe I got during the weekend I auditioned for the voice department, and an inexplicable feeling that Lawrence was where I was meant to be that led to my final decision to attend Lawrence. When I visited I initially felt awkward as a prospective student, but I felt like I was already a Lawrentian when some random students wished me luck on my audition as I was crossing the street to the conservatory. I felt the “Lawrence Difference” and I decided I really wanted to become a part of it. |
Who is your favorite professor at LU? |
My favorite professor at Lawrence is also my advisor. Her name is Julie McQuinn and she is an incredibly motivational, energetic music history professor who is also a singer. She is always cheerful and she brings her intense energy and excitement to the material that she teaches making it nearly impossible not to learn to love music history as much as she loves it. If you ever have to take an 8:30 music history class, take it with her. Not only will you not fall asleep in class, but you will be wide awake for the rest of the day. |
What is an interesting/helpful fact you learned about LU after you came here? |
Lawrence has a learning center with tutors for most, if not all subjects, and I found it helpful when I took the mandatory Freshman Studies course. I developed a good collegiate writing style with the help of the tutors from the learning center. I also utilized the help of a Spanish tutor during my sophomore year when I was taking an intermediate Spanish class and needed help editing a research paper I had written in Spanish. It was great to find out all about the great resources that are available for students taking just about any class at Lawrence. |
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Which is your favorite resident hall? |
Of the 7 dorms my favorite is Ormsby. It may be the oldest dorm on campus but it has a lot of character. People are very friendly and every year Ormsby hosts a party on the Main Hall green in front of the dorm called “Ormsby Zoo Days”. This party is essentially a lot of awesome craziness and fun. Also, the rooms in Ormsby are great because they have high ceilings which make them seem bigger than they are. They also have actual closets as opposed to little wardrobes that don’t have a lot of room for clothes. |
What is your fondest memory of your roommate from freshman year? |
My roommate during my freshman year received a huge package and after she unpacked it we took turns climbing in the box and taking pictures. I am pretty sure it was also the night before our first Freshman Studies midterm. We studied later, but the box was too much fun to pass up. |
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If you were a crayon or paint swatch, what color would you be? |
If I were a crayon color I would be neon yellow on one side and majestic purple on the other. (I decided that there are now multicolored crayons for the purpose of my answer to this question.) I would be yellow on one side because I am generally very happy and I laugh a lot. I also have a laugh that is loud, unique, and apparently highly contagious. I would also be deep majestic purple because I am very empathetic and I am also very good at expressing my emotions. I also chose a deep purple because it demonstrates that I can take life and myself seriously: I do laugh a lot, but not every aspect of life is a giant joke. I also just love the colors purple and yellow. |
What is something LU helped you learn about yourself? |
I have learned a lot about my personal limitations and how to modify my goals in order to maintain my happiness and sanity. I originally planned to do the double degree program in choral/general music education and Spanish but I decided to drop my Spanish major because I couldn’t handle all of the intense overloading that I would have had to do to complete both majors in 5 years. I also decided that my love was really in music and although I enjoyed Spanish it was not something I felt I absolutely needed to major in to be happy. Generally it is easier to do the 5 year double degree program with a music performance major rather than music education, because music education has a lot of requirements. |