Jacob Claassen ’22
Syracuse, Indiana
Why did you choose Goshen?
Initially I chose Goshen College because it was close to home, but I ended up staying because of the community of Goshen College and I was really interested in the Study-Service Term (SST) program
Why did you choose your major?
I decided to pick my majors because they’re things that I like doing. I knew that by going to Goshen College I would be getting an interdisciplinary education learning about all kinds of things that are not directly related to my major, but could help me in the world either way, so why not enjoy my time. Some of the classes I have enjoyed the most at Goshen College were outside of my majors like Transforming Conflict Violence and Asian Thought.
What career are you interested in pursuing?
I am interested in pursuing a career in theater lighting design.
What is a valuable experience that you have had at Goshen?
One of the most valuable experiences I’ve had at GC came from my work study in the Theater Department as the assistant technical director. GC is a really small campus and one of the great opportunities that comes from the small campus life is that, especially in the theater, everyone gets to do a little of everything.
One of those joys I got from my work study job was that I got to teach my peers things that they might not have been interested in. I get to teach actors how to fix theater lights, or use power tools for set construction, and they get to teach me things like how character can be expressed through movement, or how to put on stage makeup. At Goshen College I have learned more about theater through hands-on experience rather than a classroom setting and I got the opportunity to practice my leadership skills while doing it.