This story is a part of the “My Favorite Class” series.
Today we speak to Cheyenne Smith, a senior Early Childhood Education major with a dual minor in American Studies & Africana Studies from Somerdale, NJ (Camden County). Cheyenne is a transfer student from Camden County College and commutes to campus.
What was the name of your favorite class at Rowan?
Introduction to American Studies is my favorite class.
What department was the class in?
The class is in the American Studies Department.
Who taught the class when you took it?
Professor Brian Dashefsky was my professor for Introduction to American Studies.
Tell us a little about what the class is.
In Intro to American studies, we learned about history, but in a new light. This course was an introduction to the history, the people, and the culture of America, and to encourage critical thinking and writing. In addition to this, we learned about the Vietnam war and WWII through different perspectives, in the form of a story from a different point of view and forces you to think critically and change your perspective on it. We learned about how pop culture was developed and who runs pop culture. We looked at ads from the 1950s and old commercials and compared them to today and saw not much change in the approach.
Share with us a few details on why this class was interesting.
I loved the material we talked about in class. It was a lot of critical thinking and using the critical eye to observe and reflect. You learn about pop culture and how it was born, view world history in a new light than your typical classes in the past to expand and broaden your perspective.
Is there anything else that made this class impactful?
The project that you have to do at the end of the semester is amazing! I had so much fun doing this. It was incorporating pop culture of today with what we learned over the semester and present it to the class in about a seven-minute presentation. I volunteered to go first because I was that confident in the material I was equipped with to present my project.
What makes this professor great?
Professor Dashefsky is the best professor! Has a great sense of humor, easy-going guy, has easy grades. He may give a pop quiz ONLY if the class is not participating. He likes conversation and equal participation in the class. His approach to the content of the class was unforgettable and made it easy to learn and feel great learning. It almost felt like we weren’t in a lecture but a general educated conversation for three hours! Time flies when you’re having fun with Professor Dashefsky!
How did this class help to support your academic or personal growth or your professional goals?
This class helped me realize that what I’m always taught is not always right and that there are other people in this world who also have feelings. The content and material in the class forced us to change our point of view and place ourselves in other’s shoes.
What are your professional goals?
I want to be a teacher in a public school and hopefully, eventually, work my way up to being the principal, and then get on the board of education to improve and make a change in the world one child at a time.
Like what you see?
Story by:
Rachel Rumsby, sophomore communication studies and public relations double major
Photos by:
Stephanie Batista, sophomore music industry major
Favorite faculty moment: 
works. I have the joy of actually visiting courtrooms and seeing attorneys in action in a legal setting. Though there are so many aspects to the law, being at Hoffman DiMuzio gave me options and avenues that I didn’t know existed.
Tell us about one club, organization or group of friends that make you feel like Rowan is home. 
Please tell us about your favorite moment with a faculty member or a favorite experience in one of your classes? 
spent one-on-one time with my professors. It gave me the chance to ask questions that I didn’t feel comfortable asking in class. I’ve had some pretty amazing professors!
Rowan?
What was your favorite or most meaningful personal moment at Rowan?
Working my three field placements during my time at Rowan University has assisted me in my professional development. I was able to move up to a managerial position within my agency and entered a program that I never thought I would if it wasn’t for my field placement. Working as a vocational specialist with adults with mental health has been an amazing experience. Watching my clients grow and become integrated into the community is so rewarding, I am thankfully to have been given this opportunity.
from Camden County College. 
Tell us about your favorite moment with a faculty member or a favorite experience in one of your classes?
my professional career this month working for International SOS. I will work for them in government services for at least a year and then attend law school. I would like to specifically and emphatically thank Dr. Dworkin and the 
Tell us about your favorite moment with a faculty member or a favorite experience in one of your classes. 
meet my counselor Dr. Lesley Mateo, who along my college journey became a friend.
Meet Allegra Giannini, junior 
Most of us don’t have the money as college students to invest in a fancy camera, but we can make the most of our phone cameras with a few lighting tricks. Natural light is going to be our best friend, so try to shoot during the day time when you can use minimal overhead lighting. Fluorescent lights usually don’t work well with photos, and can distort the exposure (brightness) or colors in your photos. Avoid shooting in direct sunlight, especially if there is a person in the shot, so they don’t have to squint. Typically, overcast or cloudier days are best, as they prevent overexposure of your image and distracting sun flares or glares. Wherever your light is coming from, it should illuminate the subject in your photo so that they stick out from the background. Have your subject face the light source, as opposed to having their back to the light, so they are clearly visible.
Julianne has always liked history, more specifically presidential history. “Their personal lives is the better part, because you learn so much about what they did in class but then you get to know more about them as people and that kind of makes a bigger picture.”
because she though that other students from other colleges in Pennsylvania had a better chance due to them being closer. To Julianne’s surprise, after her interview within an hour she was already signing papers to start interning there. “I wouldn’t have heard about it if it wasn’t for Dr. Janofsky, I am very thankful.” 
What would you share with a future student interested in joining Women’s Ice Hockey? Joining is definitely worth it. The team is like a family. Everyone is collaborative with putting in effort, the coaches are great and helpful, and every teammate has your back on and off the ice.
Once at Rowan, something just clicked with Kristen with criminology. “It blew my mind. I could still do the writing and the research that I enjoyed, but also focus on justice.” The 
Today, Kristen is a 20-year employee of the judiciary within Mercer County. She started as an investigator, moving up to a probation officer after a year.
What is your area of expertise? 
However, I think that is not the right approach, since philosophy is rarely chosen for these ulterior reasons — students choose it for intrinsic reasons: the study of philosophy enriches one’s life and can make even the most mundane experiences redeemable via philosophical reflection. 
The advisors and faculty within the department were eager to help an interested — and experienced, as a bonus — student transition into this exciting new major. 
Kasey took classes in children’s and adolescent literature that helped her to prepare for her summer role. “I reached out to my professors and told them, ‘The books I read in your classes are in my curriculum — thank you! Your choices applied to my life in a way I was not expecting.’”
From Hackettstown, NJ (Warren County), Kasey stayed in South Jersey this summer solely to complete this internship. With she and her parents’ lacking familiarity with Camden — only knowing what they’ve seen on the news — at first Kasey’s parents had some trepidation about their daughter teaching in the city. “My dad is nervous about everything,” Kasey says. “But, the school was nice. The location was fine. I wasn’t nervous and the drive wasn’t bad at all.
Through RIPPAC, Jason applied for the Rick Rosenberg Junior Memorial Scholarship, which allows students to take unpaid political internships. Most political internships are unpaid, meaning that most students can’t afford to take these important experiences. Through the generosity of the Rosenberg family, students who are awarded the scholarship are provided with the financial cushion that will allow them to further their careers.
affordability. Although, once here Joseph quickly realized that the professors were another strength Rowan held. “The professors are all extremely accessible,” Joseph continues, “and they make themselves available beyond what I would consider their duty.”
cases involving children at risk of abuse or being cared for by unfit parents. “Through working here I have the opportunity to see the behind the scenes action; being a part of the process that most people aren’t witnesses to.” Joseph explains, “Gaining this experience further prepared me for more intense and involved work.” Through Joseph’s hard work and assistance from his professors at Rowan he gets to be a real help to children who aren’t in the best situations.
associated with cancer treatments and compare them to the cost of transitioning to more environmental-friendly methods. Overall, Joseph clearly has a mindset a strong ambition to make the world a better place for everyone to live in.
“I always knew I wanted to do something more on the creative side,” Shaylin reflects. “I’m a visual learner and I like talking to people, so I wanted to do something where I’d be in a fast pace environment and constantly meeting new people.” Becoming a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority confirmed her love of public relations, because of their philanthropic work and involvement with nonprofits. “Public relations is at the base of a lot of nonprofits, so getting involved with them really narrowed it down for me, that this is what I want to pursue.”
Around the time she discovered the article, Jo was part of a class called New Ventures Development, where students expand on an idea for a potential startup business or product, and experience the process of bringing it to life. “In that class, I came up with the concept of a personal filtration system within a water bottle, called RefresH2O,” Jo says. “Wherever you are – hiking, spending time outdoors – you can scoop up water from a nearby body of water, and it will be filtered fresh. This will alleviate our plastic usage, and make us wiser about how we source our water.” Another class, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, helped Jo finalize the marketing plan and details for her product, including the target market and purpose. “I wanted to make a product that even a three year old could use. Everyone needs clean water — it’s a human right, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that,” she explains.
Her future plans include owning her own environmentally sustainable holdings or manufacturing company, and possibly even attending graduate school for a degree in engineering management, to continue to grow. She advises freshmen coming into the field to not let the idea of ‘perfection’ interfere with your goals. “‘Good’ is good enough; just get your name and idea out in the world and continue to work on your idea as you progress,” she says. “And keep track of your commitments! Juggling school work, being on the track team and my internship, senior year has been the most challenging year yet, but planning it all out and prioritizing made it a lot better.”
programs, courtesy of the Exploratory Studies program, I decided to pursue a 
Coming in as an exploratory studies major really helped me to solidify what I wanted to do as a career.
was a high school senior I felt the pressure of this in the back of my mind. I picked the school farthest away in an environment nothing like my current one because that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. If I could go back and give myself any advice it would be to not pick a school for anyone but myself. I was too busy focusing on fitting the image, that I didn’t realize I wasn’t ready to go 8 hours from home. For some people going away is the fresh start that they need, but it wasn’t for me and that’s okay. Transferring to Rowan allowed me to grow and succeed in ways I never imagined. I’ve studied abroad in Europe, held local, state, and federal internships, and met some of my best friends. The biggest lesson to be learned is that there is no one size fits all college experience and to choose a college that best helps you grow.
