magazine

Student Spotlight
The Student
Becomes the Teacher
26
Olivia Thomes ’16 of
Dorchester, MA, recently
embarked on an unconventional
endeavor and
followed it through successfully. When
choosing her course load for the first
semester of her senior year, she perused
descriptions of classes taught by Leland
Clarke ’75, Wheelock College associate
professor of Arts. Having taken his
classes before, the Literature major —
with minors in Communications with a
focus in Media Literacy as well as Writing
— found them to be enriching. The latest
course taught by Clarke that interested
Olivia was Rhythm and Resistance, but it
was a First-Year Seminar.
A First-Year Seminar provides freshmen
with a support system of fellow
first-year students so they can adjust to
a new environment and a new phase of
life together. It also helps them adjust to
greater demands on their time, develop a
better understanding of how they learn,
and acquire essential academic skills that
help them throughout their four years at
Wheelock. Being a senior, Olivia was not
eligible to take Rhythm and Resistance.
So, she approached Clarke and asked him
if she could co-teach the course with him.
This would not be a typical arrangement
due to the fact that independent studies
had never been focused or related to
already existing courses, as well as the
fact that undergraduates had never been
allowed to be teachers’ assistants. Much
to Olivia’s delight, however, and that
of Clarke and the students in the class,
Clarke received approval.
Not only was Olivia fortunate to
have this unlikely experience; she also
received four credits for an independent
study. In order to have this experience,
however, she had to add a new perspective
to the class, as well as do her own
research to engage the students.
Rhythm and Resistance explores the
arts and social protest from a humanistic,
interdisciplinary perspective. And it
gives students an understanding of historical
and contemporary views of social
protest by studying examples of music as
it is used within global communities to
incite social change. The students were
not aware that they would have a teacher’s
assistant for this class until it started.
They were excited by her presence, and
since this was not a common practice,
they had the privilege of participating in
the new adventure.
Olivia is passionate about reading and
writing fiction, short stories, and poetry.
Having a separate syllabus from Clarke,
she brought this passion to the classroom
with the argument that music lyrics are
their own genre of literature. This was
one new perspective she added to the
class. While Clarke taught the history
of the music, Olivia helped the students
analyze the lyrics to find metaphors and
similes, along with other techniques used
in creative writing, that help portray the
message of the song, how the message
promotes social change, and to what
social issue it relates. The music ranged
from Louis Armstrong’s version of “Black
and Blue” to “A Change Is Gonna Come”
by Sam Cooke to “If I Were a Boy” by
Beyoncé. In the classroom, students
listened to genres from old jazz and blues
to rock ’n’ roll to contemporary music.
Olivia also learned in the classroom.
For example, Clarke presented a lecture
on spirituals, which brought her new
insight into the genre. Spirituals are religious
(generally Christian) songs written
by African slaves in the U.S. Originally,
they imparted Christian values while
also describing the hardships of slavery.
Although spirituals were originally
monophonic songs — they had a single,
unaccompanied melodic line — they
are best known today in harmonized
choral arrangements.
Also a member of the Wheelock College
Student Advisor Program within
the Office of Academic Advising, Olivia
is a peer mentor who provides one-onone
advice to first-year students. She is
a role model who is available to students
for informal guidance and support. She
also helps them choose their courses for
upcoming semesters. This year, Olivia
is happy that she was the peer mentor to
the students in Rhythm and Resistance.
The students in this class were awestruck
by the fact that she was a student who
was co-teaching a course, was a student
adviser, and was working two jobs.
Olivia came to Wheelock because of
its “wholesome environment.” She also
came because its mission resonates with
her. As a writer now and in the future, she
believes the written word to be a powerful
impetus to social change. “When I
write, it comes from a place of authenticity,”
she says, meaning that whether she is
writing fiction or nonfiction, she does not
over- or underdramatize a topic, especially
when dealing with serious subjects.
Olivia has been published in the
Wheelock literary magazine every year
she has been at Wheelock.
WINTER 2016