Photo courtesy of John Elliot
Dr. Sonia Sorrell, associate professor of Art History, will be retiring this year, effective in June. Sorrell taught for a total of 25 years at Pepperdine, reaching more than 20,000 Seaver students during her time at the university. Here are the reflections and memories of just a few of those students.
Tiffany Zhou, junior
“Sonia’s class was definitely legendary at Pepperdine. She’s one of the staples of the GE program, an icon of the humanities if you will. I will forever remember her lectures on the difference between ancient Roman columns. In fact, when I visited Athens during my year abroad, my friends and I made a shout-out video to Sonia and her Corinthian columns, which she then proceeded to send to all her current students. It was glorious. Whether it was Galla Placidia or fertility goddesses, she truly knew how to make an impression on students.”
Daniel Dugger, class of 2011
“Sonia was one of my favorite teachers at Pepperdine. Being in her Humanities 111 course instilled in me a passion for learning and discovering histories and cultures throughout the world, probably a large reason I am now in the Yunnan province of China exploring its rich cultural diversity and history. I don’t know how, but Sonia seemed to be able to always make time for her many, many students (probably due to the fact she only slept a few hours a night) you could email her at 1:30 a.m. and get a prompt reply within the hour. I loved meeting with Sonia. Hearing about all her fabulous adventures and travels throughout her life was surreal and made me want to live a similar life.”
Jason Herber, class of 2001
“I would assume that nearly every undergraduate student that set foot on Pepperdine’s campus sat in one of Dr. Sorrell’s classes in Elkins Auditorium. I am perhaps one of the rare students that sat in most, if not all, of her courses. As an art major, I found her courses captivating and inspiring. It was in one of her upper-level Art History courses that I saw a slide of Michelangelo’s Campidoglio at Capitoline Hill and made a connection between art and architecture as a design profession. This inspired me to pursue a Master’s degree along with a career in architecture. Though I have yet to create a master work worthy of Michelangelo, I remain inspired by art history and keep my Gardner’s ‘Art Through the Ages’ books in my office. Sonia Sorrell has left quite a legacy at Pepperdine and I wish her all the best with her retirement.”
Sunni Bannon, class of 1995
“One of my favorite memories was an architectural study where we studied the architecture of Los Angeles, and I was born and raised in Montana. I’d never been to California until I went to Pepperdine. And by the time I took that class, I was a college senior. It really helped me fall in love with LA, and I saw the city as a more beautiful place because I learned a lot about the architectural history from her … I’m just grateful. I hope that people realize down the road how much she taught them even if they weren’t exactly aware of it at the time.”
Lisa Hanslip, class of 1995
“I think she was an amazing professor. Her enthusiasm for what she was teaching was infectious and you always wanted to hear everything that she had to say and she always had very interesting side notes on things and the amount of detail that she knew was very evident, and I found all of her classes really enjoyable … When I think back to some of my favorite things about my time at Pepperdine, my classes with her certainly top the list.”
Isabella Connell, sophomore
“Dr. Sorrell has a loving heart. I remember one time after class a student had lost his wallet and she searched every inch of Elkins for half an hour to help him find it. They eventually found it but for her to lay on the Elkins floor to look under the chairs for one of her student’s lost possessions shows who Sonia Sorrell is as a person.”
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