Ever wonder about the lives of faculty outside of the classroom? Scroll down to know more about our first guest – Zoltan Miklosi, associate professor and the Head of the Political Science Department.
Please welcome our new weekly spot from our MA students Burcu Kisac and Dauren Koptleuov: interviews, in which our dear faculty and staff tell about the other part of their lives - the one you’ve always been afraid to ask for:
"Q: Tell us about your hobbies.
A: Whenever I am asked about this, I am always a bit lost. But, I guess, there is a thing that I would really like to mention, which is not work-related, that I like to do. It’s hiking. I’m a mountain person. If I could choose between beach or mountains, 10 out of 10 cases it would be mountains.
Q: If you had a chance to invite anyone to a dinner party, who would it be and why?
A: For this one, I will stick to my professional biases. I am not going to mention celebrities. I think I would invite Barack Obama. I would really appreciate a chance to talk with him about politics.
Q: Do you like to collect anything and if so, why?
A: I am really trying to think of something. That might be a shortcoming, but in general I am not really attached to objects. There are some old family photos that I really value, though.
Q: What is your favorite place in Vienna so far, if there is any?
A: There are places that I knew before that I like to visit. Museums, of course. Recently, a colleague of mine showed me a Persian restaurant, which I really liked. I can’t recall the name, unfortunately.
Q: Is there any principles in life that you are really sticking to?
A: I like to think that I make the most important decisions in my life very carefully. The less important ones - maybe not. This is one thing I am satisfied with in my life. I don’t think that my major decisions were wrong and I find it very important.
Q: What other academic sphere you could potentially see yourself in?
A: That is a very good question, one that I’ve been thinking about just recently. I don’t know about other disciplines, but perhaps I could possibly see myself as a journalist, though I am not sure whether others could see me as such.
Q: If you were applying here as a student, what would be your reasons of choosing CEU?
A: There are some obvious answers that are nonetheless, correct. One thing of many that is really special is the international atmosphere. Though I know it mostly from a teaching perspective, it’s really different to teach a class, which is relatively homogenous, and to teach a class, where students represent 10-15 different countries and sometimes 5 different continents. I think it is special from the students’ perspective as well.
Another thing is that, CEU being a small university can allow everyone to have a feeling of “ownership”, whether it’s a student, faculty or administrator. You certainly feel that you can take part in and make some difference. You are joining a unique structure, which you can shape as an individual.
Q: Do you have any words for our current students in the light of upcoming exams and deadlines?
A: Yes, here is my encouragement: you can always do more than what you think you can do. I hear from many students that around this time of the first semester they feel really overwhelmed, but in fact most of them succeed in the end. Just trust yourself and it’ll be fine.
Thank you very much for your time!"
By Burcu Kisac and Dauren Koptleuov