Academics
Real Stories
Perfect Pitch
- Student:
- Tom Vessella (Class of 2007)
- Major:
- Kinesiology
- Favorite Classes:
- PHIL 300: Early Chinese Philosophy; MUS 102: History of Jazz
At Whittier, there's a focus on connecting the material you learn in class with personal experience and the world around you. Here, you might take a class on Medieval literature, and subsequently find yourself "plundering" a neighboring math class as Robin Hood. You might study cognitive psychology then conduct research with the elementary students at Whittier's Broadoaks Children's School. Or you might take a philosophy course in Buddhist thought, then practice meditation with the nuns and monks who live at nearby Hsi Lai Temple.
"During my senior year, my kinesiology professor gave me a really interesting assignment. I had to do a biomechanical analysis of my own pitching motion," says Tom Vessella, a three-season southpaw pitcher for the Poet baseball team. "This project just sucked me in because the subject matter and the outcome were so personal. It told me a lot about my technique, and really made me connect what I do on the field, with what was going on in my class. I took a great deal of pride in that project."
Drafted at the end of his junior year by the Houston Astros, Vessella returned to Whittier in the off-season to complete his degree. "Of course, during my final year, I got hassled a bit by my friends because I was probably the only professional baseball player who had homework to do!"
