JARED CROOKS: It was my first time attending High Table.
And not knowing what to expect, I thought it was
really fascinating because you had a chance to mingle and
talk with people from all over the campus.
My name is Jared Aldwin Crooks.
I was an undergraduate here last year.
In fact, I graduated in 2011 in the astrophysics
department.
And now I'm back in as a graduate student.
We had this fascinating talk by Professor Gmachl who talked
about her work through electrical engineering.
And even though I'm doing policy here at the Woodrow
Wilson School, I went because High Table really gives you
that chance to just spread your knowledge out and
collaborate with others and make collaborations.
CLAIRE GMACHL: I'm Claire Gmachl.
I'm a professor of electrical engineering here at Princeton
University.
I really enjoyed the invitation to the Princeton
graduate school High Table.
What impressed me most was the breadth of students that came.
There were not just engineering students or
science students, but students across disciplines that came
and asked interesting questions.
DAVID REDMAN: The graduate school at Princeton University
is comprised of four major academic divisions: the
humanities, the social sciences, the natural
sciences, and the School of
Engineering and Applied Science.
We have, in addition, two other professional schools,
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs and the School of Architecture.
JENNIFER HUYNH: My name is Jennifer Huynh.
I'm a PhD student in the Department of
Sociology at Princeton.
The environment here is very collegial rather than
competitive.
Students have access to multiple departments to take
courses in.
So, even though I'm a student in the sociology department,
I've taken courses in political science, economics,
the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy.
So, there's this wonderful cross-fertilization of ideas.
Professors and faculty are very open to discussing with
you your academic interests.
NICOLE SHELTON: I think just in terms of general research,
I always tell my students to think big.
This is an opportunity for you to explore whatever it is that
you want to do.
And Princeton is a great place for you to do that.
And so, I encourage them to shoot for the stars.
ROBERT KASTER: What to tell you about Princeton?
It is for people in my field, for people in the humanities,
the best working environment I have ever experienced in
higher education.
It is supportive.
It is well-endowed with resources.
And it attracts people who love what they're doing, who
in terms of the faculty love to teach.
No one comes to Princeton to teach in the humanities who
does not enjoy having contact with students.
And that, I think, is the single strongest aspect of
having your education at Princeton.
ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER: One of the things I love about
Princeton is the combination of a university that has been
here for hundreds of years with state-of-the-art
technology and education.
We have lots of traditions that we're very proud of.
One of them, for instance, for graduate students is High
Table at the graduate college where faculty members like me
go and present and then talk to students at
dinner, at High Table.
So, it's that combination of the old and the new that gives
this place its special character.
One of the most wonderful traditions is really the
hooding ceremony.
It is possible for the dean to hood every single student the
day before graduation.
So, there's a marvelous ceremony with all the friends
and family in the audience where each student in academic
gowns comes up to the stage, their name is called out.
And as dean, I would put that hood over that student's head
knowing that student and knowing something about where
he or she had come from and where they're going.
CLAIRE GMACHL: I think it's a wonderful graduate school.
I was so impressed by the depth of the questions and the
breadth of the questions that the students
asked at the High Table.
I think it's a wonderful reflection
of our student body.
JARED CROOKS: If a school doesn't have the mentors that
you need, then come to Princeton because
we have them all.
That's all I have to say on that one.