Lilah Shorey, '22, poses with friends before watching "The Lost Boys." Shorey's group dressed up as 80s-era vampires. (Photo courtesy of Shorey)

FRESHMAN FOCUS: Lilah Shorey, ’22, explores political science at University of Washington

Lilah Shorey, ’22, is a student at University of Washington. She is majoring in pre-social science and plans to apply for a political science major.

Q: Why did you choose to go to University of Washington?

A: Honestly, the reasons I chose it weren’t very academic. I was looking more for a place where I wanted to live long-term, and Seattle was a perfect fit for me. I prefer cold weather. It’s a big city. I knew I wanted to live in a city where it was colder, and I really looked into all those kinds of aspects when choosing the school. 

I also made sure there were lots of things to do nearby like lots of restaurants and stuff so I would not get bored. 

Washington’s a good school. They have a really good program for the major I am interested in and I thought it would be a good choice. 

Q: What classes are you taking?

A: I’m taking Psych 101, Intro to American Politics and an art history class, which is like a Western survey. So it’s all Renaissance stuff. 

Q: What is your favorite class?

A: My favorite class is Psych. I’ve been really interested in psychology, but I’ve never been able to take a class. 

Q: Why did you pick your major?

A: I’m very interested in history, especially American history, but I didn’t want to be a history major. 

In political science, you need to know a lot about history, especially American history, to understand the political system that we have in place right now. I want to do some actual change in the world, and I was thinking political science was probably my best bet for getting into politics and getting to learn about subjects I’m interested in. 

Q: Are you participating in any clubs?

A: Yeah, I’m in two film clubs. One is Good Films. They have Jeopardy and fun stuff. The other one is where they only play bad movies, and so every Thursday I go and watch a terrible movie. It’s actually really fun.

Q: How do you like the college experience so far?

A: I absolutely love it. I immediately adjusted to it. I’m having the time of my life. I made friends pretty easily, and I spend most of my time hanging out with them since my classes don’t demand too much of me. I get to explore Seattle a lot and go out and hang out. It’s super fun. There’s so much to do here, and my time is never wasted.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about this college?

A: I expected the food to be a little bit better. Going in, I saw that they had tons of options for food in the dining hall, and I was super excited. I was like “Oh, I’m never going to get bored of the food options!” 

I was wrong. Everything is only open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so that’s the only window you have if you want to get food. The only thing that is consistent is a sandwich shop that has burgers and chicken strips. I live off of chicken strips, which is definitely not going to sustain me for a long time. 

Q: Do you work any part-time jobs?

A: Not yet, because I wanted to let myself ease into college, but I’m definitely thinking about it for future semesters. For the political science program, they have this opportunity to go and work in Olympia, the capital of Washington.

Q: How was the transition from Country Day to college?

A: It was really good. I think Country Day prepared me very well for college. College is actually much easier than I thought it would be, coming from Country Day. I felt really prepared overall, and it hasn’t been much of a shock or change. 

Q: Do you have any advice for the class of 2023?

A: Just make sure you’re going somewhere you want to live. Also, check where the dorms are located. That’s one of the big issues for me.

There are two sides of campus, the West Campus and the North Campus. I chose to live on West Campus, which was a big mistake because it’s really dangerous, and I don’t feel comfortable walking back to my dorm at night. I would say make sure you know where the dorm is located, especially if you have different options of where the dorms are. 

Just research and know who your roommates are beforehand because I know a bunch of people who are really unhappy with the situation now because they didn’t contact people before. 

— By Anisha Mondal

Five Star or Subpar?
Quality of Classes
Student-Teacher Interaction
Location
Food
Social Scene
Clubs
School Spirit
4.5
Print Friendly, PDF & Email