October 14th, 2015 | Uncategorized
To say that’s class or first class has two completely different definitions. The first phrase refers to the Irish slang and the latter refers to their grading system. On numerous occasions my Irish friends or teammates have said that’s class, which is often used to describe a particular piece of clothing or action. My difficulty to decipher the Irish accent along with the slang is not the only thing I am having a hard time grasping. Defining the “that’s class” phrase is a lot easier to understand than the grading system here in Ireland.
American’s grade in an alphabetical format where earning A’s in classes classifies you as an exceptional student and students who earn D’s/F’s are….not so much. Ireland grades its students by class: first class are the excellent students, second class are the good students, third class are the passing/satisfactory students and anything below third class is failing.
Luckily, I have Wednesdays and Thursdays completely free thanks to my postgraduate timetable (even though my “day offs” are no longer becoming day offs). Since I am a Global Financial Information Systems postgraduate student at WIT, my WIT card gives me access to a computer lab (or pretty much library) to get work done. With that said, you can guess where I spend my day offs at if I am not coaching or playing basketball. Many of the GFIS students as well as my data modeling business group, consisting of two other postgrad students, meet there quite often to complete our on-going projects.
One great thing about attending WIT as a postgraduate student is that there are students from all different cultures and generations. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love everything about William & Mary, but looking back I wish I was exposed to more students outside of my age range. My time at WIT has taught me that I can access so much more information and knowledge from wiser, more experienced students. Paddy, a middle-aged Irish citizen with a family, is probably who I connect to the most in our group. In the little time spent in the computer lab or group meetings, he has already educated me on so much about my own country, Ireland, and thankfully the full rundown on Ireland’s grading system. After he thoroughly explained the grading system to me during one of our data modeling meetings, I say: “Well here’s to us working our tails off to earn first class on these projects”. Paddy’s response: “Why not? First class does have better drinks, seats, and food”. I’m not sure about you, but I definitely agree with Paddy’s remarks. Life is way better flying First Class as opposed to Economy…..so here’s to our attempts of earning a first class honors this semester.
Victory Scholar: Jazmen Boone
Present University: Waterford IT
US League: CAA
Club/Community Partner: Waterford Wildcats
Alma Mater: The College of William and Mary
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland
