End of Semester Plans

I'm back at Saint Mike's after a week home for Thanksgiving break. I now have two weeks of class & one week of finals before I'm home for an entire month!

As a warning, I won't be blogging much in the next few weeks. I have a pretty packed schedule & a number of assignments to complete before I can head home. Here's a taste of my hectic couple of weeks - this week alone I have a 10-page paper, several big homework assignments, an exam, and then the LSATs on Saturday. Add into that my daily schedule of classes plus mentoring on Monday, tutoring throughout the week, and various meetings.

I understand their pain - these tests are stressful!

Coming up for winter break I have fun Christmas festivities & I'm planning lots of time to visit with friends. I also need to finish up my grad school application essays & re-take the GMAT exam to boost my score. I'm planning to have all my work done by Christmas so I can spend the rest of my winter break reading, catching up on tv, & sleeping in!

Feel free to email with any questions!

Thanksgiving & Being Thankful

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving break - we had an entire week off this year & I spent almost all of it at home, relaxing & visiting with my family. I also got to see some friends from home & I toured a few grad schools in Boston.

Apologies for my bad cropping job - just love this picture!

I just thought I'd reflect on what I'm thankful for this year. Although it's been a busy & difficult semester - there are a lot of things for which I'm grateful!

Family & Friends
Seriously, this one almost goes without saying. I've had a crazy stressful semester, with lots of schoolwork but also a lot to do in applying to grad school. I'm always so pleasant when I'm stressed - sometimes I get moody. My family & my friends have been awesome. They've really supported me all semester, kept me motivated & focused, & also helped me relax & have fun when the stress was too much. Besides all that, my parents, my brother, & my housemates are some of my best friends & I don't know what I'd do without them.

Saint Mike's
A few times this semester I've felt like I've been ready to graduate. Then I remember all that I'll be leaving behind come May & I can't imagine ever being ready for that! I've loved Saint Mike's since the day I toured & I'm so lucky to be here. I've really been able to find myself & discover my passions while at Saint Mike's. Plus, my professors are incredible. Supportive, smart, funny, caring, & truly interested in how I'm doing.

Study Abroad
My semester abroad last spring was incredible. Honestly, I still can't believe it all happened. I got to live in Dublin, Ireland, study at Trinity College Dublin, & travel across Europe for 5 months. I met some awesome people & saw incredible sights. I've learned so much about the world & I have so much more confidence now that I know I can survive in a place where I do not speak the language (particularly in Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, & Poland). It was really a once in a lifetime experience.

Feel free to email with any questions!

Motivation to Finish the Semester

This semester has been a hard one for me - I've been busy with schoolwork but I've also been pretty stressed because I've been working on grad school applications all semester. Sometimes it's pretty hard to stay motivated because, let's be honest, 99% of the time I'd rather be in bed watching Gilmore Girls with my roommates than studying.

I find motivation in a bunch of things - my friends & family support me, my professors help me stay focused, my calculus tutor works though roadblocks with me. But I also love finding motivation in other things - especially on the internet & through Tumblr.

These are some of my favorite pictures & quotes-

Speaker at UVM

A few weeks ago I attended an event at UVM with my roommate (& fellow blogger) Lauren.

Lauren learned from a professor that author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was speaking at UVM in October. It turns out that she was actually supposed to have held this event last spring - when Lauren and I were both studying abroad.We were lucky &, for whatever reason, that event was rescheduled for this fall.

Lauren & I - excited before the event!

Chimamanda is an author, but I first learned about her when I heard her TED Talk titled 'We should all be feminists.' This talk is really powerful & if you haven't seen it, I suggest you check it out.

Most people are familiar with Chimamanda because part of her TED Talk is excerpted in Beyonce's song 'Flawless.'

Lauren & I were so excited to attend this event. Lauren also loves Chimamanda - she's watched several of her speeches, including one titled 'The danger of a single story.' Besides the fact that Chimamanda is an amazing speaker & author, we really dig her confidence & her powerful voice.

The event at UVM was amazing. Chimamanda spoke for a bit & read a passage from her book 'Half of a Yellow Sun.' Then she answered questions from the audience for the rest of the night.

The event was fun for so many reasons - we love Chimamanda & her work, the event was free, & everyone else there was so excited, which made the event really high energy.

Please email with any questions!

November 9th Open House

On November 9th we had our second and final open house of the semester.

Every fall we have several open houses for prospective students interested in applying to or attending Saint Mike's. The day starts with a hello from our Vice President of Enrollment. Next students split up & get to hear from professors in the major in which they're interested. Students end the day with a tour, lunch, & a visit to a club fair.

Mike the Knight welcoming prospective students

Open houses are a lot of fun because they're so high energy. I love talking to prospective students & families. It's a lot of fun to share my love of Saint Mike's & to hear from students that are really excited about the school. Families who attend open houses do so because they're already excited about the school, so they can't wait to hear about you experience at Saint Mike's.

Our open house was a success - all across campus were tours & groups of prospective families exploring campus.

Feel free to email with any questions!

First Snow!

It's a little early for snow - usually I'm still hoping for snowfall in December so we can have a white Christmas. However, we were lucky enough to have a few light snowfalls already this year!

Our first snow in Vermont wasn't especially exciting. There was just a bit of a dusting - enough to stick but not enough to really count as snow.

Last week, we had our second snow! And since then, we've had even more. With the snow finally sticking, campus looks beautiful. It's also exciting because the snow is getting me excited for winter & for Christmas.

Got questions? Email me!

Career Symposium

A few weeks ago Saint Mike's held its Sixth Annual Career Symposium. The Career Symposium is an awesome event where alumni return to SMC to talk with students about their work & to give students a chance to network within specific career fields.

Saint Mike's alumni are the best - seriously. Saint Mike's has an awesome community & it continues on with alumni. I've set up informational interviews with alumni in the past & they were so excited to chat & to help me. Alumni were just as excited to talk with students at the Career Symposium.

At the Career Symposium, students first heard from a keynote speaker, then attended round table discussions to hear advice for the working world. Next we split off to hear from industry-specific panels. I attended the government panel & the sales & marketing panel. Afterwards there was a mocktail reception & some prizes were raffled off.

Overall, the Career Symposium was great! I've attended for several years & I always love hearing from alumni. This year, I also got to meet my alumni mentor & I met two alums that really helped me to secure an internship two years ago.

Please email with any questions!