The Face of HOL
Meet your fellow HOLers through this amazing column where each installment will bring you a new exciting interview with someone from our community. Whether you know them well or not, we are sure there will be something here you did not already know.
Prof. Maxim TrevelyanBy Silvana Mandeville
Silvana: HOLers! Welcome back to a whole new school year, and, of course, to our first issue of the year! I'm happy to bring back this column for all of you, and this time we have a special guest who just graduated from HOL last year! Let's welcome Prof. Maxim Trevelyan.
Hello, Maxim! It's nice to see you again and how are you today? Maxim: Thank you Silvana, glad to be here. I always love to read the HOwLer and your column especially. I am feeling pretty good, I have to say. There is this rush at the start of the term where I hurry to finish setting up my classes, and my real life is not giving me a break either. But, as always, I will persevere. *laughs* Silvana: Oh, thank you and I hope you are always doing great! Anyway, it's been a very long time since you found HOL, right? Tell us how you found this school. Maxim: Oh yeah, it has been ages. Even longer than I was a student, to be honest. I remember I first found HOL way before I actually signed up, though I have to admit, the exact year escapes me. While I was intrigued by the concept, it was just not the right time for me to sign up, so I left after snooping around a little. A few years later, I was searching for something Harry Potter related to show a friend. I stumbled on this site and said 'Might as well see what it is about'. And here I am, seven years later. Silvana: A very long time indeed *nods*. So, Maxim, in your earlier time here, you were a squib for a while and later you chose Ravenclaw as your new house. Why did you choose this house instead of the others? Maxim: It was the house where I felt mostly at home from all the others that remained. I also knew the most people from Ravenclaw after my fellow badgers, so I thought I would have a better chance to flourish there. That does not mean that members from other houses did not contact me. The first message I received was from Maxwell Shadow, a Slytherin, who simply asked me whether I was okay and how I was feeling. Her kind words and quiet concern meant the world to me and helped me through those first days of Squibdom. Silvana: That's good. I heard that you never became a prefect in your school years, yet you managed to become Head Student. How did you feel about that? Maxim: I was very surprised, I have to tell you! Though I was not the first to get Head Studentship that way (that honor belongs to someone else), I had no idea that you could become Head Student without being a prefect. When I squibbed, I kind of accepted the fact that I would never hold a significant staff position in my tenure as a student, and I was quite fine with that. I had a lot on my plate anyway. But then the Head Office surprised me with the offer and after taking some time to think about it, I accepted it gratefully. Silvana: I can only imagine how surprised you were. Anyway, were there any goals from your time as a student that you have achieved now? Maxim: My biggest goal was just ‘survive’. *laughs* Jokes aside, I did want to complete my NEWTs and graduate. Throughout my student years, NEWTs changed a lot and became much more difficult to complete, so I was not sure whether I would actually make it. But I did! I also wanted to become a professor and teach ‘as many classes as possible’, which means five. I was a little disappointed, because I wanted to teach all my classes (and add new ones), but such are the rules! I will make new classes and just take a leaf out of Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis’ book and rotate them through the terms. Silvana: NEWTs are kinda scary *laughs*. I guess everyone here has their own role models, right? Who are yours? Just TMI, but you are my role model here at HOL! Maxim: Aw, that is so nice to hear, Silvana, thank you. I hope to live up to your expectations as one. I think my two role models are Prof. Sky Alton and Prof. Amy Lupin. I remember seeing how active they were around HOL, and I said to myself ‘wow, I want to be like them’. I want to host activities, help out with clubs and just be someone HOL can rely on. I am not sure I quite managed that, but their dedication and love for the site and people on it helped me get through some of the snags that I hit along the way to where I am. Silvana: They are great *nods*. For seven years at HOL, I'm sure it was not a smooth journey. What were your ups and downs throughout your school years? Maxim: Oh, there definitely were a lot of both. Conflict is inescapable when you spend a lot of time in one place, and my journey is no different. There have been big and small dramas, but I, and other people involved, successfully navigated them with a lot of patience, communication and compromise. I never dwell too much on the negatives in my life, and rather focus on the positives. Some of the ups in my years as a student at HOL were definitely getting a position as a Head Student, Quidditch achievements (captaincy, MVPs, victories), being entrusted with HOLLERS and most of all, meeting so many wonderful people that helped shape me as an HOLer. Silvana: Next question, what were your favorite classes when you were still a student? Maxim: My favorite classes were any classes by two professors. No matter what the topic of the class was, canon or not, hard or not, any class taught by Prof. Sky Alton and Prof. Silmarien Szilagyi was immediately my favorite. They presented their chosen topics in an engaging way and adapted the material so that everyone could understand it. Silvana: Another favorites question: what's your favorite part of HOL and what do you like to do in your free time? Maxim: Now, as opposed to some, this is not a hard question to answer. *laughs* Classes! I love to teach classes and when I was a student, I loved to take classes. As for my free time, I admit I do not have much of it at HOL. I usually draft ideas for new classes, participate in forum games or the Book Club, or just lurk on IRC. Silvana: Sorry for those difficult questions *laughs* but this one might be hard to answer as well. What's your best memory from your school days? Maxim: Oof, that is difficult to answer, because there are so many! My earliest memories of HOL that stand out a lot are participating in HOL-wide activities with so many different people. While activities now are more individual, there were a lot of team-based ones way back, and cooperating with people that you would never have talked to otherwise was just awesome. There are also my first snitch capture, my first MVP award and of course, being offered the position of the Head Student. I also have a soft spot for the times when IRC was much more active and you had the craziest and weirdest conversations with people in the twilight hours. Silvana: I have seen your quills report, and most of the time you always passed classes with perfect scores. You are also quite busy at HOL with many responsibilities. Are there any tips for HOLers to keep good grades? Maxim: Most of the time I have no idea what I am doing. *laughs* The key is in organization, at least it was for me. I took care in taking classes according to my real life schedule. For example, if I knew I would be very busy in the coming months in the Fall Term, I only took classes that had end of term due dates. Communication is key! Do not be afraid to ask for extensions (in time) and tell your teacher if you might be late with your work. Since there are no extensions for projects, newspapers or activities, I always tried to do them first so that I had the rest of the month for classes. Then, I prepared drafts for all my assignments and started doing things as I could. Sometimes, that meant one short answer option per day, but even that is better than nothing. In short, keep an eye on due dates and have healthy communication with everyone! Silvana: Thanks for the advice. HOLers, I hope you will keep it in mind. Next one, please share a few fun facts about yourself with us! I know there are people who would love to know the answers. Maxim: At the highest count, I had five cats with all of them being either trash rescues or adopted. Or maybe it was me that was adopted five times… I have the most rodeo awards and trophies of the people in my hometown. I can bake almost anything, but my cooking leaves a lot to be desired. My methods of relaxation are yoga and needlepoint. I had more than 30 hours of tattoo work done on my body. Silvana: Now after graduating and becoming a professor, you joined Gryffindor. How did you feel about being in a new house? Maxim: Very cozy, Sky and all Gryffindor members made me feel very welcome. There is always that initial bout of wonder and awe when you see spaces that you could not as a visitor, and it is fun to explore your new home. Everyone has been so great, I am happy to be counted as a lion. My mane still needs a little time to grow, though. Silvana: It's good to hear that! Lastly, is there any message you want to say to your fellow HOLers? Maxim: Take care of yourself and do not be afraid to ask for help or advice! I am always happy to answer any questions members might have. Silvana: And then, that's all about our Maxim Trevelyan! I hope you enjoy the reading, HOLers! Have a nice day everyone! And thank you for your time, Maxim *smiles* |