Dinner with a famous person

Veterinary Science Graduate Certificate from UofI
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TheHumongous

TheHumongous

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The Tufts application asks:
If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be? What would you hope to learn from the conversation?
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I was thinking of writing about this guy called Bob Dylan? Any comments/ideas?

:cool::confused::sleep:
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I think you need to choose somebody who affected you and your life, made an impression on you, etc. I have to confess I have no idea who Bob Dylan is.

Personally, I'd choose Alf Wight, Stefan Adelsteinsson, or maybe Robert Bakewell. All are people who affected me in some way, even though I've never met any of them.

This is very much like your personal statement- you have to make it personal.
 
When they say historical, does that mean they can't be alive anymore? How do you decide who's a historical figure?
 
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TheHumongous said:
The Tufts application asks:


I was thinking of writing about this guy called Bob Dylan? Any comments/ideas?

:cool::confused::sleep:
Click to expand...

I also think it'd be cool to have dinner with Bob Dylan. What you'd want to learn from the conversation is really personal to you, but I would think about that before deciding for sure to go ahead with him as your answer. I think the "what would you hope to learn" is the really important part of that question.
 
Next year in vet school applications:

"If you were stuck on a desert island and you could only bring three things and one person you hated . . ."

:laugh:

I'm sorry. That wasn't helpful. The question is just funny to me because I am so very juvenile.
 
PetPony said:
When they say historical, does that mean they can't be alive anymore? How do you decide who's a historical figure?
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I don't think so. Barack Obama is an historical figure--history will remember him, so to speak. I think one gets to be an historic figure by making an impact in government, culture and/or the arts. I think Bob Dylan counts, especially for the 1960s.
 
What about Temple Grandin. She really changed how I think about some things and she's the reason I'm going into FA medicine.
 
TheHumongous said:
The Tufts application asks:


I was thinking of writing about this guy called Bob Dylan? Any comments/ideas?

:cool::confused::sleep:
Click to expand...

Cool question. Dylan seems like a unique guy to eat with, but you might have better luck with Wallace Shawn. He knows how to eat food and have good conversation at the same time (here and here).

If it means anything, I would eat with Genghis Kahn. We would have the best mongolian bbq (so as to not upset him), and I would hope to learn from him how to have better relations with my peers...and the ladies.:cool:

Good luck!
 
I would pick either David Attenborough or Neil Degrasse Tyson. Maybe I should take the chance to resurrect someone from the dead for it, since that seems to be an implied option, but I don't really want to have dinner with Abraham Lincoln or whatever (unless he really WAS a vampire hunter).
 
I wrote about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the author of Wind, Sand, and Stars and the Little Prince. Had absolutely nothing to do with vet med, and little to do with my life, although I talked about how inspiring a person he was.

Tufts seemed to like it... so don't limit yourself.
 
TheHumongous said:
The Tufts application asks:


I was thinking of writing about this guy called Bob Dylan? Any comments/ideas?

:cool::confused::sleep:
Click to expand...
I think Bob Dylan sounds like a great idea!
Weird question though.
 
StartingoverVet said:
I wrote about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry the author of Wind, Sand, and Stars and the Little Prince. Had absolutely nothing to do with vet med, and little to do with my life, although I talked about how inspiring a person he was.

Tufts seemed to like it... so don't limit yourself.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Personally I think you would stand out more if it *wasn't* a huge veterinary figure. Someone who affected your life in a different way. Hundreds of applicants are going to write about Wight/Herriot, etc.....making yourself stand out in a crowd is very important.

I guess if I had to make a choice (and this may be too controversial for a vet application, and she isn't really "historical", but you get my drift) it would be Marya Hornbacher. Her writing was so instrumental in helping me get past my (pretty severe) eating disorders when I was younger. I learned a lot about how to fight against the mental odds from her.
 
TheHumongous said:
The Tufts application asks:


I was thinking of writing about this guy called Bob Dylan? Any comments/ideas?

:cool::confused::sleep:
Click to expand...
i dont't believe there is a right or wrong answer, as long as you can articulate what you would hope to learn i think you will be fine. Agree with SOV that it doesn't need to be about vet school. Think they are looking for what inspires you or intersts you.
 
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They had that same prompt a few years ago. I wrote about Galileo in mine, and they did actually end up asking me about it during my interview. So definitely be able to back that up if asked in person!
 
Finnsheep said:
I have to confess I have no idea who Bob Dylan is.
Click to expand...

ewZb4.gif
 
GhostBusterBill said:
Honestly, I don't even know who Alf Wight, Stefan Adelsteinsson, or Robert Bakewell were/are. But I do know who Dylan is so, yea, good enough for me!:cool:
Click to expand...
Alf Wight is the real James Herriot, Stefan Adelsteinsson is an Icelandic geneticist who did an amazing amount of work with the color genetics of Nordic short-tailed sheep breeds and discovered relationships between color and fertility, and Robert Bakewell was a British sheep farmer and developed a number of fantastic sheep breeds including the Leicester Longwool, and played a big part in revolutionizing the British wool industry, utilizing inbreeding to fix outstanding traits firmly in family lines. Random, I know!

I did Google Bob Dylan after I responded to this thread, okay?
 
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I'd say as long as you can write a good reason why you want to have dinner with Bob Dylan---go for it! I'd imagine they Tuft's wants to see your personality and writing skills.

Hmm...makes me wonder who I would pick. Probably Nelson Mandela.
 
Please do say though while having dinner with Bob Dylan, you would like to sing a duet. :)
 
I would eat dinner with myself because I'm Bill "Ghost-ass-bustin" Murray.

Nah, but you should eat with someone who you connect with on a common, personal level, where you can have a meaningful conversation which can lead to a nightcap. I love nightcaps ;)
 
How do you not know who Alf Wight is as a pre vet???:eek:

I think Bob Dylan sounds like a very unique answer. Dare to be different on your apps---it makes you stand out.
 
shortnsweet said:
How do you not know who Alf Wight is as a pre vet???:eek:

I think Bob Dylan sounds like a very unique answer. Dare to be different on your apps---it makes you stand out.
Click to expand...

I didn't know about him until I got on here. Not that popular in Germany.
 
Minnerbelle said:
Remember, not all pre-vets are animal science peeps. Some people just like puppies and kittens. (Still dunno who that is, and I'm a vet student...)
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:(

I guess it's just cuz I grew up reading All Creatures Great and Small and got hooked....
 
James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS, also known as Alf Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and ...

I think eeeeeeveryone knows who James Herriot is but not everyone knows it was a pen name. That seems reasonable.
 
twelvetigers said:
James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS, also known as Alf Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and ...

I think eeeeeeveryone knows who James Herriot is but not everyone knows it was a pen name. That seems reasonable.
Click to expand...

Yes...if they know the pen name I feel better :)
Even our libs is named James Herriot, not Alf Wight, and his son still calls him by his pen name interchangeably....Guess I am just partial to using his actual name seeing as the only reason he had a pen name is because the RCVS refused to let him publish anything under his own name if he wanted to keep his license.
 
twelvetigers said:
James Herriot was the pen name of James Alfred Wight, OBE, FRCVS, also known as Alf Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), a British veterinary surgeon and ...

I think eeeeeeveryone knows who James Herriot is but not everyone knows it was a pen name. That seems reasonable.
Click to expand...

haha, i had no idea it was a pen name. Though... I gotta say, I only know about James Harriot through conversations in passing on sdn and random lecturers at school. Maybe I'm just uber ignorant (or disinterested). Had I applied without being on sdn, I woulda been like "who dat?"
 
Random fact: Alf Wight actually chose the name James Herriot because it was a famous footballer's name that he liked.

(I'm a big enough dork to have visited The World of James Herriot in Thirsk, where his practice is based).
 
lei325 said:
Random fact: Alf Wight actually chose the name James Herriot because it was a famous footballer's name that he liked.

(I'm a big enough dork to have visited The World of James Herriot in Thirsk, where his practice is based).
Click to expand...

Haha his son told us that whole story a few weeks back. Too funny. :laugh:
 
Minnerbelle said:
haha, i had no idea it was a pen name. Though... I gotta say, I only know about James Harriot through conversations in passing on sdn and random lecturers at school. Maybe I'm just uber ignorant (or disinterested). Had I applied without being on sdn, I woulda been like "who dat?"
Click to expand...

We were surveyed on this during class, and maybe 10% or so of the people in my class didn't know/hadn't read the James Herriot books. I didn't read them until I was well on my way to applying to vet school, personally.
 
shortnsweet said:
How do you not know who Alf Wight is as a pre vet???:eek:

I think Bob Dylan sounds like a very unique answer. Dare to be different on your apps---it makes you stand out.
Click to expand...


See I must be weird, but I DONT think bob dylan is a unique answer, I actually see it as a very run of the mill one? :confused: Because I guess the way I think about the question:

"Right, gotta invite someone to dinner. They want me to prove that I'm an intelligent, free-thinking, worldly person who has interests outside of vet med. So CLEARLY I'm not going to invite someone vet-related. I need someone who is famous enough that they'll probably know him, and most likely someone in the humanities, or someone well known for being philosophical... oh *I* know, BOB DYLAN!"

Lol, maybe I think weird?
 
shortnsweet said:
How do you not know who Alf Wight is as a pre vet???:eek:
.
Click to expand...

Minnerbelle said:
Remember, not all pre-vets are animal science peeps. Some people just like puppies and kittens. (Still dunno who that is, and I'm a vet student...)
Click to expand...

And some people were just huge biochemistry nerds :laugh:

I never read any Herriot, really. But then again, I never wanted to be a general practice vet. I don't want to have to mess with the live ones and the clients - just give me biopsies, etc. :smuggrin:
 
I think it's great to read about how it was at his time, but I'm not the biggest fan either.
 
I love his books, but then again, I want to do food animal practice and sheep are my first love. I don't care how much has changed since his time, the people and the animals and the vet-client-patient interactions are exactly the same. They're timeless and he was a fantastic writer. Maybe it is because I can totally relate to someone with their hand squeezed in a ewe's birth canal on a freezing February night, but Little Women...no, not at all, despite the fact that I have a LOT of sisters.

David Henderson- I love his books and would love to meet him too. He's still around as far as I know.
 
I want to be a food animal vet, too. :D
 
I know! :) Everybody has their differences.

It's very...pastoral, I guess is the word. That's probably why I enjoy them. Also, I can't help but like an author who writes about sheep the way he does.
 
Steve Irwin.... Love that guy... Can't say anything other than he was such a crazy guy who cared more about animals than himself...
 
Prncssbuttercup said:
Steve Irwin.... Love that guy... Can't say anything other than he was such a crazy guy who cared more about animals than himself...
Click to expand...

That's probably who I would say :) I really want to go to the zoo he worked at someday!
 
Also something to consider for the people listing animal-related historical figures - Tufts emphasized keeping the topics non-animal related (only for this one 'creative writing' type essay) -

"We are interested in learning more about you in realms outside of the animal world. Please answer one of the following questions without using an animal theme. "

Just trying to be helpful for anyone considering what they might say in the future or whatever:)
 
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