Karl Mohr ‘25
Majors: French major, Biology major with an Ecology concentration
What will you miss most about being an NMU student?
The community of NMU is unparalleled. Everyone you bump into knows at least someone you know too. Connecting with people similar and different than you is so easy and so fulfilling. The cozy atmosphere makes it feel like anyone can be a big fish in a small pond.
What were your favorite moments as an LLIS student?
All the mornings I would spend with one of my best friends, preparing for our early morning French classes. We'd get a cute breakfast, often with French pastries or meals to "inspire us" as we studied or did homework together. You can build a lot of bonds working hard trying to comprehend French.
What was your favorite course that you took in the LLIS Dept?
I took a French Literature of the 20th Century course that introduced me to a lot of philosophy and new ways of thinking. It wasn't just books, but cultural and philosophical context wedged in to break apart previous worldviews while opening a fissure up for new ones to flood in. Not only was I introduced to the ways French culture shape literature and thinking, but a wider understanding of society in general. These classes are more challenging, but once you figure it out, it is certainly the most rewarding.
If you met an incoming student, what advice would you give them?
Language is both the easiest and hardest thing to learn. Our species and society functioning solely from the way we communicate. Speaking comes so easy to us once we learned as children, but branching out seems to be what is tricky for us. Language is just one of thousands of paths leading to the exact same function, and once you start making the connections between the paths, that's when learning becomes easier. Spend time finding the connections between our tongue and theirs and you will find it easier to learn language.
