Name: Catie Yielding
Year: 4th
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Major: Government and Sociology

Did you visit UVA before deciding to attend?

Oh, that’s an understatement. I came to UVA at least three times to take a look at the school. Hesitant about the size of a state school, I wanted to get a better feel for the student atmosphere. Staying for a weekend is by far the best way to really understand both the academic side and the student life side to a school.

What has been your favorite class?

HIUS 316- Viewing America

In the fall of my 2nd year, I took a class in the History Department with Brian Balogh called Viewing America.  We used different forms of media to study historical events in the post-war period. Weekly, we’d watch movies, listen to tapes, and analyze photography to get a more complete look at how events we deem historical today were viewed as they happened.  For the second half of the semester, we got to do our own research with a group on a historical event of our choosing. Prof. Balogh gave us the freedom to take our classroom learning and make our own inferences about historical events.

How would you describe the students that attend UVA?

The people are the reason I came here! I’ve met some of the smartest people I’ve ever known, but everyone here is also unbelievably well-rounded.  Academics are the reason we are all here, but people at UVA see college as a much bigger experience than those hours we sit in classrooms.  People here are passionate about their academics but also about research opportunities, government policies, their friendships and our football team. 

How is college different from high school?

College is about learning balance. In high school, our lives were more or less organized for us in terms of the set school hours.  In college, we make those decisions for ourselves.  We get to schedule our own classes, so if you aren’t a morning person, don’t schedule yourself a 9am class.  College is also about learning to take the initiative in our educations.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Do what makes you happy, not what other people say you should do.

What is your favorite place to study?

The MacGregor Reading Room in the depths of Alderman Library makes me feel like I’m living in Hogwarts with Harry Potter. The oversized furniture and musky books make for a perfect study, and sometimes napping, atmosphere.

What is the last song downloaded to your iPod/iTunes?

I’m hooked on iTunes television shows now.  I downloaded a few episodes of The Office recently before going out of town. I embarrassed myself thoroughly by laughing throughout my flight, but The Office is always worth some mild humiliation.

How did you know that UVA was the right school for you?

People say you get “that feeling” when you’ve found the right school for you.  Not for a second did I think that was true. Finally at the end of my last minute visits during the April of my senior year, I came back to U.Va. for a weekend. I could suddenly see myself in the classrooms I visited and making friends with the people I met.  Gut instincts and “that feeling” shouldn’t be disregarded!