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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Last weekend I went on a pilgrimage to Montreal. The pilgrimage was put on by campus ministry & was led by one of my professors - Professor Patterson.
Two of my housemates - Merrill & Cait - decided to attend too. Honestly, a huge part of why I attended is because Professor Patterson is an awesome professor. I'm in his American Catholicism class right now & it's so interesting. Plus he's funny & makes the class fun & engaging. I knew that the this trip would be interesting if Professor Patterson was going to lead it.
Cait, me, & Merrill
We left for the pilgrimage on Friday afternoon & drove up to Saint Anne's Shrine - a retreat center run by the Edmundites, the sect priests who run Saint Mike's. The retreat area was beautiful - set right on the water with beautiful buildings & sleeping cabins.
Lakeside at Saint Anne's Shrine
Friday night we had dinner then had a few talks about what a pilgrimage is and what we could expect to see. We broke off for the night and had free time to chat & get to know the other students on the trip.
Cute shrub statue in Montreal
Saturday morning we got up early & set off for Montreal. We crossed over to Canada & then we spent the day looking at different churches throughout the city. We had some free time for lunch before meeting up again. We finished with a mass at Saint Patrick's Church, had dinner, and drove back to Saint Anne's Shrine for the night.
Saint Joseph's Oratory
Notre Dame de Bon Secours
Sunday was busy too. We had some more free time but then we had to pack up. We attended mass at the shrine & then got to join the Harvest Dinner. Essentially they were serving an entire Thanksgiving meal for lunch - it was delicious! Afterwards we drove back to Saint Mike's.
Outside Notre Dame
Inside Notre Dame
The weekend was really wonderful & it was interesting to learn more about Saints that we had heard of in class. Professor Patterson made sure the trip was fun & it was overall a great weekend.
A few weeks ago I got an email from my advisor. She asked if I had heard of the women's leadership conference being held in South Burlington.
I was so interested without even knowing exactly what this was about. Since I'm interested in working in politics and am particularly interested in fighting for women's rights (aka equal pay, more women in leadership positions, etc.) I thought this leadership conference sounded awesome.
My advisor invited me & a few other students to attend the conference with her. We met up at Starbucks that morning, went to the conference, & ended up having lunch together afterwards.
Our far away seats during
Jennifer Siebel Newsom's keynote
The event was put on by the Vermont Business Roundtable & featured a breakfast, keynote speaker, & a panel discussion for students. While we skipped the breakfast - we couldn't exactly afford the $1,200 per table - we got to attend the keynote & the panel. And it was awesome!
The speakers included, among others, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the filmmaker who created Miss Representation, and Madeleine Kunin, the first & only female governor of Vermont.
Quick video about Governor Kunin
The day was awesome - hearing from these women was exciting & inspiring. They've really done so much in their careers & are working to encourage & support other women so that they successful.
It was also great to visit with my advisor & with some other students & friends outside of class. My professor knows about my career goals & knows that I am interested in politics. She reached out to me about this event because she understood that it would really interest me & I am so grateful!
Trailer for the movie 'Miss Representation'
If you're interested in learning more about the Vermont Business Roundtable or about the Executive Leadership Series event that I attended, please check out this article by the VBR.
There are so many awesome events in Burlington & I'm going to more in the coming weeks! This Thursday our school is having our annual Fall concert & Foster the People are coming! Then next week I'm going to hear author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak at UVM and I'm going to an Eric Hutchinson concert at Higher Ground. I've got a busy few weeks ahead of me!
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