‘W&L After Class’ Podcast Releases New Episode Featuring Matthew Loar In this month’s episode, Loar dives into the transformative power of fellowships and student research in shaping individuals.
Studying the liberal arts, it’s like turning you into a Swiss Army knife. You can do so many different things.”
~ Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research
For the 2023-2024 academic year, a record number of 57 Washington and Lee University students were awarded nationally competitive fellowships — with the university seeing its first Marshall Scholar and Knight-Hennessy Scholar as well as continuing to be a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students. In the latest episode of “W&L After Class,” associate director of Lifelong Learning Ruth Candler sat down with the person helping our students strive for new heights of excellence, Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research.
In this episode, “Learning What You Love,” Loar discusses how he entered Washington and Lee his freshman year convinced he’d study journalism and politics only to graduate in 2007 a classics major and Beinecke Scholar. And, like his own journey, he encourages undergraduates to approach research and the fellowship process as an invitation to further and explore their passions. He describes his multifaceted days filled with teaching students the power of the tricolon crescens on an application, mentoring students on unlikely pairings for the upcoming Science, Society and the Arts program and working with faculty and students to provide Summer Research Scholar opportunities. He urges students to follow their interests and to go forth unafraid of the non-linear path.
“I think there’s a tendency to think that you graduate from college, and you’re starting your career — or you need to be on a very specific path from the time you begin at Washington and Lee to the time that you end to whatever you do next — and that’s going to be the same path that you’re on forever,” Loar said. “Our paths after college are rarely linear. In fact, I think for the vast majority of people, they are not linear, and I think that exploration is part of what makes things fun in life.”
Loar’s “Learning What You Love” marks the second episode in season six of “W&L After Class.” The season launched on Jan. 14 with Holly Pickett, professor of English, on the ever-present and universal impact of William Shakespeare.
“W&L After Class” began in the spring of 2020 and is a collaborative effort of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Each episode invites listeners to experience conversations with W&L’s expert faculty, giving listeners worldwide a chance to stroll the Colonnade in the comfort of their homes. W&L faculty members discuss their teaching, research and special interests. Previous topics include chemistry, advertising, witches, AI and free speech.
Listeners in the W&L community and beyond are invited to listen to past episodes and seasons here or wherever they listen to podcasts.
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