Introduction to Derek the Letters Major

Hey! My name is Derek Bixler and I'm a Letters/Constitutional Studies major from Oklahoma City. I'm starting my third year here at OU, and I plan on going to law school after I graduate. My academic interests (other than law!) are religion, political science, and sociology. The best part about being a Letters major is the flexibility to take all sorts of classes in multiple academic departments and still gain credit towards my major. This really fits me, as I like to explore new ideas and am constantly fascinated by new ways of thinking. I like to read, but I typically only read non-fiction books; I'm excited to expand my tastes by reading creative works of fiction for this course! My hobbies include watching OU sports (especially football, of course), volunteering with Generation Citizen, and playing the guitar. I also enjoy going to concerts and could talk all day about my favorite bands. My favorite movie is Goodwill Hunting, and I still can't decide whether my favorite TV show is Parks and Recreation or The Office. Both are classics in my opinion! This past summer I spent six incredible weeks in Virginia as a Mount Vernon Leadership Fellow and learned a ton about the U.S. government and American history. Through the fellowship, I was able to become friends with some amazing college students from other universities across the country and explore Washington D.C. pretty thoroughly. I'm glad to be back in Norman though and ready for the semester to start. I'm hoping to study abroad this upcoming summer, so if anyone has any suggestions on where to go I'd love to hear them! So far I've considered Italy, China, and South Africa. I'm a huge fan of the Enneagram as a way to better understand people and their motivations, and I'm a type 3 with a type 2 wing. That's probably enough about me though! I'm excited to start this course and to read the other introduction posts.

A personal photo of me from the Speaker's Balcony of the U.S. Capitol this past summer