by Bella Louk, Staff Writer
As the end of the year quickly approaches, everyone is busy finalizing projects and assignments, tying up loose ends and getting ready to go out with a bang. In particular, senior Baldwin Honors students are increasingly busy completing their senior theses. As a part of the Baldwin Honors program, each senior is required to write a thesis on a topic of interest or importance to them.
Cara Anan, an English major from Woodbridge, New Jersey, is one of these seniors hard at work. Her thesis, entitled 19th Century Marriage Resistance Literature is the culmination of a mammoth amount of research and hard work surrounding the topic of Marriage Law and Literature. When asked why she chose this topic to focus on, Anan stated, “I have always wanted to be a family/divorce lawyer and looking at the progression of women’s marital rights over time really interested me and seemed to be in line with my career path.”
Naturally, such a large undertaking comes with both successes and challenges. When asked about this, Anan stated, “My favorite part so far has been learning from my failures. It is amazing to see how far my thesis has progressed over time and every time I find an article that is not relevant to my thesis, or every time I write a few pages that are off-topic, it allows me to narrow my research.” Anan then added, “I did not think it would be as challenging as it has been to narrow my topic. I started off thinking about education, then I turned to marriage law from the 17th century to the 20 century, and at first, my topic was very broad. I did not realize how long it would take to narrow it down.”
Though the usual library, internet and professors were used as resources, Anan added, “My thesis committee has been extremely instrumental in this process. Without Professor Jamieson, Professor Kolmar and Professor Lakin, my thesis would not be a success.” She described that upon completion she is planning to submit her thesis to the Drew Review.
What has surely been a long, and at times arduous process, is nearing its completion for many seniors involved in the Baldwin Honours Program. Soon enough, theses will have been completed, defended, revised and submitted, and these Senior Baldwin Honors Scholars will have finished the marathon that is college.
