A Blog on McConnell Center Life

In October, McConnell Scholars of all ages were invited to attend a 3 day conference in Washington, DC that was focused on Capitol politics. The McConnell Center hosted the trip and even covered all expenses for the McConnell Scholars who chose to take the trip. Over the course of the 3 day trip, we had the opportunity to meet and interact with some of the United States top lawmakers and their staffs. We also had the chance to take special tours that were arranged through the McConnell Center and Senator Mitch McConnell's Washington, DC staff. Among our special tours were tours of the White House and even the "Special Treasures Vault" at the National Archives. During our tour of the White House, I noticed a white stripe across the front of my suit after leaning through a doorway to see one of the rooms. I looked around trying to figure out what I had done and then I saw a piece of paper on the ground. I picked the paper up and flipped it over to see that it said "WET...

Today, I had the privilege to be a part of my second McConnell Scholars Seminar. Our topic today was " Faith, Fortune and the Founding of English America" which centered on the Jamestown settlement in colonial Virginia. Dr. Lorri Glover, an expert on colonial America, came to talk with us about Jamestown and the shipwreck that "saved" the settlement before her public lecture this evening. She recently has done extensive research on these subjects and authored a book titled: " The Shipwreck that Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America". Personally, I quite enjoyed the seminar. I found what Dr. Glover had to say on Jamestown to be interesting and, in some cases, very different from what I have learned in other places. For example, one of the central issues that we discussed was the importance of faith in the founding and success of the Jamestown colony. This is usually an aspect of Jamestown that is glossed over, and traditional t...

Those of us who attended the Jacksonian America lecture learned a little more about the nature of the very unique Andrew Jackson. Well at least I did. I knew Andrew Jackson was a bold preseident who intended to stand up for the "people" and he based his presidency around this idea. But I didn;t know the degree in which he created a strong imperial presidency. With Jackson's following emerging as the American Democracy party, as they called it, they were actually inferring they were against the aristocracy. We would formally know them as the Democratic party, I learned that this was the beginning of the idea of the vast distinction between the elite and the common person. Jackson thought he was the direct representative of the people as president, evern though that meant eligible white men who could vote, everything he did he felt like he was doing in the interest of the "people" and against the elite. Andrew Jackson would be the face of the Occupy movement going...

A few weeks ago I was elected as President of my sorority, Kappa Delta. First and foremost, I was blown away by such an honor and looked forward to leading the most honorable, beautiful, and highest woman on our campus. Once I got home I started to think about how I was going to lead my chapter to ensure that my term and our year was as successful as possible. I sat down to write a few notes on what leadership means to me and what type of leadership style I was going to use. As soon as I wrote down the word 'leadership' my mind drifted to the Spring of 2011 when I took Dr. Gregg's Political Science class on Political Leadership and I knew exactly what book I needed to consult. I dug through a few drawers and found 'The Prince' by Machiavelli. I never thought that I would be able to heed the advice of Dr. Gregg and Machiavelli and apply it to my sorority life but at that moment I was glad I had saved the book, jotted notes down in the margin, and taken the class. T...

It is rare that a story can span generations, the test of time, and still impact every person that reads it in a very unique and moving way. The story of King Arthur is the perfect example of such a literary device. King Arthur, as most of you know, is of a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances led the British to defeat the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. This whimsical coming of age story of King Arthur began to spread across Britain in the form of tales and poems that were told for entertainment. Since the story is composed of fantasy, the legitimacy of its historical relevance is often debated but its mystical and enchanting story has truly entertained generations of people. Many literary adaptations have been made of the original story. Alfred Lord Tennyson, Mark Twain, and poet William Morris have all written pieces based on the story and themes of King Arthur. Several movie adaptations both on the large and small screen have also made...

Who knew that former President Andrew Jackson could be so contradictory? Several McConnell Scholars had the opportunity to discuss the impacts and beliefs of Andrew Jackson with University of Tennessee (Knoxville) History Professor, Dr. Daniel Feller just a few weeks ago. Dr. Feller brought to the forefront several contradictions about Jackson: his belief in people, small government, and equality. Jackson's ascent into politics and the changes in rhetoric in Washington were also discussed. Andrew Jackson, a "good 'ole boy" according to most historians, was a man a firsts. His emergence into national politics began with an interesting "grass roots" campaign in Philadelphia, and he was the first president in seven to take office who wasn't a Virginian. Jackson was the first president to alter the course of rhetoric used in Washington, as exemplified by his accusations against the "too powerful" and their selfish intentions. I guess I ne...

Last Friday a little more than 20 of us spent the late afternoon learning about C.S. Lewis. We watched a one hour documentary on his life. After that Dr. Gregg led a discussion on some of his writings which we were assigned. These included his essays On Stories, his review of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the transcript of a recorded conversation between Lewis, Kingsley Amis, and Brian Aldiss about the importance of stories and myths. We wrestled with many questions and points during our discussion. What do children stories and legends do that normal stories don't? Why is it important to read a book more than once? Do movies and TV shows hurt our imagination? C.S. Lewis would answer respectively with the following. "The Value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of humanity'." "An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only." "Th...

This morning several McConnell Scholars, including myself, met with Coach Rick Pitino to discuss his ideas about leadership. From the UK Wildcats to the Boston Celtics and now the Louisville Cardinals, Coach Pitino knows a thing or two about leadership on and off the court. Coach Pitino left us with some very interesting thoughts, and I'd like to share a few of them here. One major thing that he stressed was ego. "Ego is the biggest killer of greatness," he said. "Ego stands for e dging g reatness o ut." For Coach Pitino, humility, as opposed to ego, is a key to leadership. When he left UK to go to the Celtics, he said, he claimed it was for the $50 million. But, in reality, his ego pushed him to Boston; he wanted the status of "NBA coach." He went for the wrong reasons, he said, but he ended up learning a great lesson: humility is key. Coach also stressed the importance of listening: "you should listen four times more than you speak....

On September 19, a group of McConnell Scholars had the opportunity to meet with Todd Schmiedeler and discuss The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Mr. Schmiedeler used the book as a guide to help the scholars understand not only how to become a leader in whatever field we find ourselves but also to make sure that we are the right kind of leaders. There are five laws in The Go-Giver, laws that cannot only improve the kind of leader one is but also the kind of person. They are: The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how may people you serve and how well you serve them. The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. These laws, at first ...

Recently, the McConnell Scholars welcomed Dr. Rinda Frye for a discussion on William Shakespeare's Richard III , a play which she directed at the University of Louisville.   Dr. Frye teaches acting and voice at UofL where she chairs the Theatre Department. In addition to directing at Actors Theatre of Louisville and the Utah Shakespeare Players of Salt Lake City, Dr. Frye has written numerous scholarly articles on Shakespeare and stage dialects.     During her time with the McConnell Scholars, Dr. Frye offered insight into both acting and directing.   She related how modern theatre requires directors to downsize scripts and utilize versatile actors.   Simply put, today's society has neither the patience nor the theatrical interest to completely fulfill the intent of some scripts.   However, such a trend allowed directors greater liberty in crafting their own dramatic interpretations.   Lastly, Dr. Frye commented upon the disparity between Broa...