Elon University students face their fears and try new recipes through Winter Term Burst the Bubble courses: free, student-led, non-credit sessions where students with a talent, interest or skill share their knowledge with their peers.
The summer Cal Baker ’26 turned thirteen, they started volunteering at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina. They, at first, started working within the butterfly exhibit but quickly discovered they enjoyed studying about the species that “people were more scared of than butterflies”. This experience inspired them to host a new type of Burst the Bubble session, Why Spiders are Cool as #%*$ – An Introduction to Arachnid Biology.
“Elon University, overall in my experience, is very good at helping students find opportunities to explore their interests and involve community members within that,” said Baker, a biology major.
In their class, students analyze live and dead specimens of mites, scorpions and spiders. Using stereoscopes, students study the behavior of mites when light and heat is applied, as well as observe the fluorescent natures of smaller scorpions. From there, students discuss their preconceptions of these animals and how seeing them in person has changed their perspectives.
Burst the Bubble sessions are free, non-credit sessions that aim for students with niche interests and new perspectives to have a space where they can share with others and engage with unfamiliar topics during Winter Term.
Nix Viscomi ’26 is not a biology major but does have a common fear of spiders. She observed the wet specimen of a tarantula and drew conclusions about its exoskeleton.
“I was inspired to go to this class because I don’t really like spiders, but thought you need to confront that fear and get over it or work to get over it,” Viscomi said.
Baker hosted the class during their first year and decided to bring it back their last year at Elon with all the new-found knowledge about arthropod biology, the study of invertebrates with jointed legs, for example crabs, spiders and some insects. Their number one passion is teaching, as they aspire to be a professor of arthropod biology. Baker’s Burst The Bubble class gives them a unique opportunity to practice curriculum design as well as open Elon students’ eyes to species that are misunderstood.
“Anything related to more appreciation towards these species and seeing people say ‘oh that spider is cute’ or ‘this scorpion is pretty,’ makes this class worth it to me,” Baker said.
Cooking is Melanie Rogers ’26 passion and her love language. She thought everyone, especially college students, should know how to flavor and season their own food, especially since it is common for college students to be on a tight budget.
Rogers wanted to show people that ramen and pasta does not have to stay on a base level, and seasonings, garnishes, and flavoring can spice up someone’s life. Rogers’s class, Dorm Room Gourmet: Flavors on a Dime, teaches Elon students how to add easily sourced ingredients like eggs and vegetables into their ramen, use different types of seasonings, like ginger and lemon pepper, on their pasta and design their own signature sauces to add to anything.
Students were able to cook, try new pallets, make mistakes with friends by their side and eat their creations. Rogers chose to teach about ramen, pasta and sauces specifically because they are mainstream food items that many college students will have some experience with, but not always the creativity to make something new.
Noah Raney ’27 has recently become interested in cooking, but only from following recipes. He saw the Burst the Bubble session as an opportunity to get better at cooking on his own accord and stepping away from the normal ‘boring’ meals.
“I think next time I make packaged ramen, I will put in some seasonings because it takes two seconds, and it will make me feel more adventurous when I cook,” Raney said.
Students were able to save their favorite seasoning combination in their own personal seasoning jar, where they could come up with unique names for their creations.
“People will say that you are born with the talent of seasoning or cooking, and you can not learn it later on. I want to show everyone that regardless of what area of life you are in, you can teach yourself something new and it can follow you forever,” Rogers said.
