The month of November and our Thanksgiving break have come and gone, and we now welcome the month of December. Last week’s holiday break was well deserved, as both our campuses have been bustling with academic and social activities. Here’s a sampling of what’s been going on at St. John’s College this past month:

• Don Rags. November brings the first set of St. John’s unique evaluations, in which students meet with all of their tutors (what other schools would call professors) at once for a conversation about their performance in classes across the Program. Don Rags allow students to get constructive and comprehensive feedback directly from the faculty, and also to ask questions of all their tutors at once.

• Forum on careers in Law. The Annapolis Career Services and Development offices hosted a pair of prominent alumni who spoke with students interested in the field of law. Students heard from Linda Bernstein, who worked for a legal non-profit and served as a judge, and Mark Bernstein, a former public defender and judge. Linda and Mark talked about their St. John’s education Law School experiences and legal careers, and took questions from students in attendance.

•Digital Technology study group.  As part of this ongoing study group, faculty members have been building mechanical computers by hand!

• Shakespeare on campus! The Annapolis campus was selected as the Maryland host for an original edition of the First Folio, printed in 1623 by friends of the Bard himself! The exhibit will be at St. John’s through December 4th. Shakespearian events surrounding the exhibit have included a student performance of As You Like It, one of Shakespeare’s beloved comedies. Our King William Players are an entirely student run organization, meaning that everything from directing to poster design was handled by our talented students.

•Student-run coffee shop. A recent article shone a spotlight on The Cave, a student-founded and student-run coffee shop on our Santa Fe campus that this fall celebrated its second year in business.

• November also means Veterans Day, and this month we highlighted a number of our  past and present community members who have served. Highlighted veterans include  Matthew Nicholls, who started a veterans club on the Santa Fe campus, and  Logan Zimmerman, an undergraduate student in Annapolis. St. John’s College is a proud Yellow Ribbon School.

• Clara Schumann comes to St. John’s. On the Santa Fe campus, renowned Czech pianist Karolina Syrovatkova performed as the famed Romantic era composer, on the piano and in an “autobiographical” talk about Schumann’s life. In front of a packed house, Karolina provided musical and historical insight to St. John’s students and community members.