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Rana Rastegari ‘26 is a leader on campus, serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Bi-College Newspaper and Co-President of the Class of 2026. She also works as a Tour Guide in the Admissions Office and as a Writing Center Tutor in Canaday Library. Academically, Rana was set on majoring in English, but later decided to add Chemistry as a second major. Here, she shares how our flexible liberal arts curriculum allowed her to embrace the best of both worlds—humanities and STEM. 

Which courses helped shape your academic path?  

I knew I wanted to double major, but I was originally thinking about Biology and English; Chemistry was not a subject I had enjoyed in high school. After trying out General Chemistry with Dr. Michelle Francl in my freshman year on campus, I found the approach to learning in the department to be very refreshing. Our professor emphasized the importance of truly learning the material as opposed to memorizing it just for an exam or a quiz. After taking both semesters of Gen-Chem, I was certain that I would declare a second major in the subject.  

One of the first English courses I took was Global Cinema—I was intrigued by the course because I had no prior experience analyzing films alongside critical theory. The opportunity to discuss the readings in class and watch the films with my peers was extremely helpful. This was also my first experience reading Frantz Fanon who is now one of the writers I will be looking at for my thesis!  

"Our professor emphasized the importance of truly learning the material as opposed to memorizing it just for an exam or a quiz."

Tell us about a course that sparked your curiosity. 

My favorite English class has been Surveillance, Policing, and the U.S. Empire. In this course, we looked at different forms of literature and film to study how the act of “watching” is politicized in the context of American imperialism. I really enjoyed looking at different forms—ranging from poetry and literary theory to films. The class discussions were always interesting, and I found that a lot of the theory we looked at in the class has been very useful in my other English courses.  

My favorite chemistry course was Physical Chemistry, where we focused on quantum mechanics. Going into this class, I was very nervous because I knew it was very math heavy, however, it quickly became my favorite class of the semester. The course taught us how to describe a particle’s energy or position through various equations. By the end of the semester, I had a novel (of notes) about the life story of a particle or molecule!  

Tell us about a time you were able to put learning into action.  

Last summer, I interned at the Waltham Forest Echo, which is a local newspaper in London. I was looking specifically for local news outlets for the summer because London has a notorious shortage of local news. The internship took place during the general election, and I was able to gain first-hand experience in political reporting. My final assignment was an investigative piece looking at the building of the M11 Link Road which displaced over 500 people and destroyed 350 homes.  

What advice would you give to a first year in the process of declaring a major(s)?  

Keep an open mind! I was initially very hesitant about being a chemistry major but taking a risk ended up being one of the best decisions I could have made. Alongside exploring different academic paths, take part in as many clubs as you like! You never know which one could lead to a new interest that can overlap with your academics!