Somehow, I Manage: Figuring Out Life at GW with the Help of Michael Scott

October 8, 2019January 16, 2020General News, Student Peer Advisors

Peer Advisor Michelle offers words of wisdom on managing life and college with a little help from our favorite regional manager of a Pennsylvania, mid-size paper provider, Michael Scott.

With midterm season underway, this high-stress period may induce mini-existential crises. It is around this time when students reflect on how their semester is going. Some may be satisfied and ecstatic with the progress they have made, while others might be thinking “where has the time gone and what in the world have I even done?” To help guide this reflection in a more productive direction, I recruited Michael Scott for his expertise on life. Thankfully, he has a plethora of knowledge to impart on you all. So, here are some quotes from our favorite Dunder Mifflin Regional Manager applied to the context of GW life:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and try new things! If you always remain in your comfort zone, you might miss out. Note, you might think that I am referring to internships, but I am also referring to experiences in general. The Foggy Bottom bubble is very real. So, I encourage you to gather a group of friends (or go by yourself because solo adventures are also super fun) and visit the other neighborhoods of DC. District Connections or Facebook events are a great way to start your search for the many things happening around DC. Also, asking upperclassmen or professors works too!

Sometimes I’ll start a sentence and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.

This quote is most emblematic of Honors Origins. Many of you may be intimidated by your Origins professor because they are just so intelligent, and it truly seems like every word out of their mouth is the most profound idea you’ve ever heard. It’s borderline Plato vibes. However, I promise that you will get more out of these discussion-based classes if you, wait for it, participate and discuss. All the professors are understanding and legitimately want to know what your perspective is on the topics. They won’t shoot down your ideas or call you stupid. Instead, they’ll follow up with questions to help you get a better grasp on the concepts and learn how to defend your ideas. It’s a great place to practice your speaking and analytical skills.

I am running away from my responsibilities. And it feels good.

So, I would suggest not following Michael’s lead and hopping onto a train to escape from everything. I know I went into college thinking I could do it all and flawlessly balance classes, social life, student orgs, an internship, etc. However, being busy in high school is not the same as being busy in college. I too have an issue with overcommitment and am known to run around campus from classes to meetings to events. But it is important to recognize your limitations and learn that it is okay to say no. Be intentional in your activities because putting in just enough effort isn’t fair to that commitment or yourself. You should be fully engaged in the work you do because your time is valuable and should be put towards what you care about.

I-declare-bankruptcy!

Please budget your GWorld. I know it might seem like you have a lot of money and can afford that $8 Chipotle bowl or $5 Chick-fil-a sandwich, but it will add up. At the end of the first semester my first year, I had a friend who was running low on fund and ate instant oatmeal packets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire week… To avoid running out at the end of the semester, plan and budget right now by incorporating cooking into your routine or sacrificing that Peet’s/Starbucks coffee. For example, try to utilize resources like the free coffee in the Honors Townhouse (BYOM: bring your own mug).

I understand nothing.

Ask questions! Don’t be afraid to go to a professor’s office hours when you don’t know what’s going on (but you can still go if you do know what’s happening). They might seem intimidating but they’re here to help you. You’re paying for these classes, so why not get the most bang for your buck and take advantage of that resource? Additionally, you might not even realize you’re confused until you unexpectedly get back an unfavorable grade. Sure, you might think “oh, in high school I only studied minimally,” but study habits from high school aren’t always transferrable to college work. You may have to adjust the way you study and that’s totally normal and acceptable.

And I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.

Three words: four-year plans. You’ve been tasked with mapping out your next four years here at GW and deciding what potential classes to take. It’s a lofty assignment. You might think that you need to have everything figured out, but you don’t! Sometimes we have no idea what we are doing next and that’s okay. Remember, you’ve only been here for 6 weeks and still have so much time to explore your interests. Stay open minded and take each step, one at a time.

I am dead inside.

Imagine how tired we are. Midterms are here and you’re getting minimal sleep, your body is essentially pumping coffee, and the dark bags under your eyes make you look like a panda (most likely minus the cuteness factor). Work is stacking up and fall break can’t come sooner. But, even if you think you can hang on until fall break, don’t push off self-care. Please remember to take a break because there is a limit to how much your brain and body can take. Overworking yourself will make you less productive, disorganized, and even more stressed. Plus, it’s flu season and sustained stress without healthy habits increases your likelihood of getting sick. Take time away from your work to do a face mask, go to Helwell, spend time with friends, or whatever you need to de-stress.

Café Disco: Everybody dance now!

It’s never a bad time for a dance party. When you are stressed out and can’t handle reading another word of black text on white paper, pull out your speakers, play some upbeat tunes, and just dance. Get your body moving to recharge, build up that energy, then refocus with a more positive headspace.

Only thing that could make this day better is ice cream.

Ice cream is the solution to everything. Period. (p.s. everyone should try Jeni’s ice cream)

#HonorsProblems: Graduating Early, or an Essay of Hope

September 28, 2016General News, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices1 Comment

The following blog post was written by peer advisor Eva Martin, a senior in the Elliott School studying International Affairs. You can learn more about Eva here.

Me at my most recent (high school) graduation

Graduating from high school was probably one of the happiest moments of my life – I’ve never really been one for posterity and nostalgia. So the prospect of graduating from GW in three and a half years instead of four was dazzling – I could save some money for grad school, I could enter the workforce earlier and start saving for adult things, I could travel. But in many ways, it felt like a failure. Was it normal that I didn’t want an extra semester of ~college~? Was I shortchanging myself by turning down the opportunity to take a whole semester of electives while simultaneously putting off the inevitable responsibilities of adult life? What if I don’t find a job? What if no one is hiring for entry-level positions in January? What if I end up doing something I hate because it was my only option? The what ifs are somewhat out-burning the dazzle.

In the end, it is my family whose stories have helped me come to terms with my uncertain future. My dear mother, who went to school for art and came out as a teacher, who took time off after graduating and worked in a gift shop before returning for her master’s in education. She worked as an educator – both as a teacher and as an administrator – for decades, touching the lives of thousands of parents, teachers, and of course, children. She too, was once uncertain of what was next. My dear father, who was drafted out of graduate school to serve in the military, who drifted through the Middle East before getting a PhD in classical languages, and then returned to the States to get a degree in library science. He worked for the Library of Congress for 30 years, working on the research floor, as a loaner to the House Appropriations Committee, who learned HTML before it was cool and went on to contract for the White House and Lockheed Martin, who this week leaves for France to augment his half-dozen certifications in wine (also to drink said wine). My father too took a circuitous path through the many fields that he loved. My dear fiancée, whose plan it was to serve in the active military, who was impacted by the decrease in defense spending and is now serving our country through Teach for America and the DC National Guard. His worst subject was always math, and now he teaches math to 7th graders who are categorized as having special education needs, treating them with the same respect that he was trained to give to his soldiers. His plan was interrupted by things outside his control, and so he returned to his own 7th grade dream – that of teaching.

Graduating early is scary. But graduating any time is scary too. There is so much pressure to succeed immediately, to find your niche, to contribute to society (and contribute to your alma mater). Graduating early just means that pressure comes sooner, and can be a bit more lonely, since there aren’t as many others feeling the stress alongside you. But I have found solace in the paths of my loved ones, who weren’t by any means straight to success, but have been rich and full of experience, stories, and connection with other humans. I think that is what I will strive for as my search for the next thing intensifies, as I flip flop between industries and position types and graduate school options – knowing my path probably won’t be straight, but trying to take joy from each step along the way.

#HonorsProblems: In Praise of Failure

February 24, 2016General News, Student Voices

The following blog post was written by Peer Advisor Eamonn, a heterodoxic sophomore studying philosophy and international affairs. You can find out more about Eamonn here.

In Praise of Failure: Why the Worst is [generally] for the Best

Though we’d universally prefer another contribution to such riveting themes as “The Intern Files”, “Study A-Blog” or “The World of Dressage[1]”, this week’s post is devoted to the proverbially soft and slimy underbelly of our Peer Advisor canon of wisdom: “Honors Problems”. I suppose that’s an awfully derisive characterization. Excepting snake enthusiasts, soft and slimy aren’t generally employed as honorifics[2].

That was a digression. Sorry. Yet I feel it was an illustrative one. Although we emphasize such laudable mantras as “don’t become overextended”, “know when to quit” and “you don’t need to do everything”, we value these words about as much as Ryan Reynolds does the Green Lantern Oath.[3]
At a university which fixates upon success, Honors students are liable to fetishize it[4]. As well we should, the forceful riposte goes. We were originally identified as possessing capacities deemed exceptional, should our current character not be deemed exemplary? To be less than exemplary is to fail. It is to deny the actuality of our vaunted virtues and sink insensibly into the frothing pit of mediocrity beneath us. That sounds awful, hopefully no one really thinks of it in those terms. I’m tempted to invoke Montaigne’s opinion that “all men are ineluctably stupid”, arguing humanity to be inherently fallible. Yet to do would be as indefensible as it distressing[5]. Failure will inevitably occur, but its effects needn’t be invariably detrimental. I could continue to pontificate upon how success conflates our hubris and conceals our still festering flaws. That sounds unbearably sanctimonious though. I think I’ll instead recount for you a period of my life riddled with failure: first semester freshman year.
As I imagined was the case for many of you, I found high school painless and accolades easy to attain. Although repeatedly warned of how onerous college could be, I was unabashedly blithe for the first month of class, spending more time as a tourist than a student. I remained that way until I received the grade for my first paper, a precis composed for an Introductory Philosophy course. Let’s just say the “C+” jaggedly scrawled across the paper was less than desirable. To my credit, I became a markedly more diligent student thereafter. To my dismay, it didn’t make a difference. No matter how I strained myself, I couldn’t eke out more than a B in either Origins or my Intro Philosophy course. These were the classes I enjoyed. For those I didn’t—Microecon foremost—my work was horrendous enough to make a DMV secretary blush.
I’d experienced setbacks before[6].Yet this was something dreadfully new. My talents were inadequate, my perspective was disoriented and my confidence had been thoroughly emasculated[7]. Every new grade I received was another dull blow to my already broken spirit. To compound what was academically unbearable, my social life was fast going awry as well. Acclimation into the mundane but essential responsibilities of independent living was a haphazard process at best[8], none of the clubs I had joined felt particularly rewarding, none of the girls I attempted to talk to particularly liked me[9] and relations with my roommates weren’t particularly comfortable either. Returning home for Thanksgiving break, I couldn’t identify a single moment of unqualified success over the preceding three months. I had, emphatically and unavoidably, failed.

Kidding, though at that point, I very much would have liked to cut my losses. In frankness, I can’t recall any ballast of stability which enabled me to persevere through the semester. My parents were supportive, my professors solicitous and the few friends I had made, caring. Conclusively though, nothing improved. Still no luck in the classroom, still no luck with the ladies. My final grade for microeconomics was so heinous my academic adviser thought I might be compelled to retake it.[10] I hardly crossed the 3.0 threshold for continuance with the Honors Program. These drear recollections aren’t intended as schadenfreude fodder (but if you need that go for it). Rather their purpose is to establish the context for the two qualities I came to find indispensable in rejuvenating myself academically and socially the next semester: humility and courage.
Humility is to recognize the possibility of failure. Courage is to resolutely persevere despite this possibility. My failures didn’t “teach” me this. They reduced me to it. All other considerations were remote or inconceivable. The will to try and the resolve to keep trying was my last elixir. So I took it. Happily, it was all I required. My mishaps didn’t disappear, though as I adjusted to the rigors of university coursework they did dissipate in frequency and magnitude. What truly changed was my response. Rather than treat failure as condemnation for my inadequacy, I approached it as the opportunity for growth. This maxim—often said and rarely followed—is practical only for those who have dismissed failure as a vice. Adopting humility and courage empowered me to deny failure its ferocity. Failure couldn’t hurt me, because failure isn’t final. Humility taught me to accommodate failure, courage taught me to progress from it.

It’s one thing to discourse on elegant, airy abstractions of virtue. How do you go about practicing “humility” and “courage”? Maybe it’s tempting to treat these traits as fatalistic. We can’t control our failures in finality, so why rebuke ourselves as responsible for them? This would be misguided though. The goal isn’t to accept failure. It’s not even to unencumber ourselves of failure’s burden. Failure should sting, it should prod us sharply, it should rouse us from complacently accepting our immediate limitations. In so doing, failure should be part of a constructive process. This process is a reflective one. It consists in candid, comprehensive self-examination, coupling success alongside failure. The former reveals what we’ve mastered, the latter recommends what ought to be mastered next. Brought to fruition this process tells us where we are, where we’d like to be, and how best to get there. As it would be remiss to write for the UHP without invoking the ancients at some point, let me belatedly harken to Socrates. Before he drank the cup and kicked the bucket, the barefoot sage pronounced to his bewildered companions in the Symposium that Love, for all its virtues, was downright hideous. How could it not be? Bereaved of Beauty, Love is compelled to seek it, to exalt it, and most of all, create it. Failure in my mind, relates similarly to success. Who knows, there’s a lot lost in translation[11]

[1] UHP approval of Dressage section currently begrudged, lack of relevance to and expertise among the student body cited. Minor setback, wait until they see the Olympics.
[2] Hail Hydra
[3] “In brightest day/in darkest night/no evil shall escape my sight/let all who worship evil’s might/beware the power of Green Lantern’s light” I’m not bitter, I just would have preferred a better movie
[4] Don’t read into that
[5] Stick to German philosophy, Descartes thought he was a ghost and Voltaire couldn’t distinguish Xenophon from Xenophanes. Cogito Ergo Done with these Amateurs
[6] One time I wasn’t elected National Honor Society president, it was devastating
[7] Don’t read into that either
[8] Apparently red shirts really do bleed into white socks in the wash
[9] Open to advice
[10] Turns out I don’t…I think
[11] For a lucidly articulated account of such discrepancies in Classical scholarship, review Alan Bloom’s translation of The Republic

#HonorsProblems: Setting Expectations for Yourself

November 18, 2015General News, Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

This post was written by Peer Advisor Michaela Stanch, a junior in SEAS studying Civil Engineering and minoring in International Affairs.

I, like many UHPers, hold myself to a certain level of excellence. In the spring of my sophomore year, I wanted to maintain this level in all aspects of my life. I had an internship, leadership positions in multiple student orgs, and I was going to take 19 credits: four engineering courses, two honors courses, and LSPA 1037, or Indoor Soccer. Due to many unexpected and traumatic circumstances, I ended up taking three incompletes, dropping two leadership positions, and missing at least five weeks of my internship. The only thing close to the standards that I had set for myself in January was the “A” I got in Indoor Soccer. By the time I finished my incompletes, my GPA for that semester was a 2.57.
In order to stay in the University Honors Program, you need to maintain the mathematical possibility of finishing with a 3.4 GPA. While yes, you can do this by keeping your GPA above a 3.4 all your semesters, that’s not required. Your overall GPA doesn’t need to be a straight line; it can (and probably will) go up and down, as long as it ends at or above a 3.4. You are in the UHP because the UHP knows you are capable of that.

I took Indoor Soccer last spring for fun. I am no Ella Masar nor Meghan Klingenberg, but I genuinely enjoy the sport. However, after our first class, I knew two things: I was bad, and everyone else in the class was good. Some days, I was really bad; I passed the ball to the other team, I kicked someone’s shins instead of the ball, and, the one time I was allowed to play goalie, the ball slowly rolled right in between my legs into the goal. Other days, I was actually decent; I blocked goals with everything besides my arms, I passed the ball to people on my own team, and I even scored a goal once.
However, my bad and good moments also didn’t really matter to my teammates nor my coach; what mattered was that we played together and were healthy and happy. When I got a mild concussion from getting hit in the head by a ball, my coach made sure I got rest and didn’t go to class. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t there on the team; my health was more important than any goals, passes, or blocks I missed. After making a comment about how bad I was in April, my coach said “You’ve really grown this semester. You’ve gotten to be a pretty good defender.” At that moment, I felt a little closer to Masar and Klingenberg.

That's more like it. — That’s more like it.

I’m pretty bad with metaphors, but by the end of that semester, I felt as if LSPA 1037 was a metaphor for me and how to approach my life. I learned that you won’t be at your level of excellence all the time, and that’s OK. It is OK to not be perfect. Your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health are far more important than being at the ridiculous level of excellence you set for yourself. You may not know all the rules, and that’s normal. That doesn’t mean that you can’t play. Most of all, I learned that it’s not about each good or bad moment; it’s about how you feel at the end. It’s about knowing that win, lose, or draw, you played your hardest in the circumstances you were given, and your team couldn’t be happier with that. It’s about knowing that you are meant to be in the position you’re in, even if you don’t believe you’re supposed to be there.
This semester, I’m taking 17 credits (two LSPA courses), focusing on fewer student organizations, and I have a fun, very casual job as an usher at Lisner on the weekends. I see a therapist every week. I could not be happier with the position I’m in, because I know that my circumstances and I have changed to where I can succeed academically without sacrificing my health. And hey, next semester I’m registered for Indoor Soccer. Maybe I’ll score two goals this time.

#HonorsProblems: The Official 10-Step Guide to Major Changes

October 23, 2015Student Peer Advisors, Student Voices

Your guide to finding (and losing) a second major, by Eva Martin. Eva is Vice President of the Peer Advisors, and is a junior double majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs with a concentration in Security Policy. Or is she?
Step 1: Get really excited about your second major. It’s a perfect fit, you just declared, and now you MUST be super marketable for all the jobs you want.
Step 2: Take some classes in your major. Because you love the topic, you already know a lot of the basic stuff. The classes aren’t super interesting, but you like being able to nod along and put together the pieces of what you already know. And you get to write papers about whatever you want that’s related to class, so you investigate some very specific things you’re into. Which is pretty awesome.
Step 3: Sign up for some more classes about things that you are into. They sound super relevant, and you’re excited to investigate further the things that you like.
Step 4: It’s a new year. You’re doing some leadership things, so it takes you some time to feel settled. The classes are okay. You go over some things you already know (like where the Sunni-Shia divide originated… for the seventh time), but you’re confident that soon enough things will get interesting.
Step 5: They don’t. You’re learning the same things you know. Over and over. With people who don’t know them, so they ask questions you know detailed answers to, and professors give them a quick 30 second rundown. And your papers are all on assigned topics, and it feels like high school (“Describe two challenges the Ottoman Empire faced and how the way they were resolved shaped the structure of society.”).
Step 6: Get frustrated. This isn’t why you wanted to take this major. You wanted to delve into the details and build a complex knowledge base. You wanted depth of knowledge, and instead you’re hitting some arbitrary bottom, again and again.
Step 7: Decide this major isn’t for you. You aren’t getting anything out of it. It’s frustrating. You don’t want to go to class, which being a typical Honors kid is weird. You usually LOVE class. You don’t feel like yourself, and it’s not right.
Step 8: Talk to everyone you know who you trust as an advisor. Talk to Catherine and Mary. Talk to your favorite professors. Talk to your friends, even though they have no idea what’s going on. Tell them what’s going on, tell them how you feel, tell them you want out.
Step 9: Tell your parents. It’s going to be okay. You can still get a job. Actively explore your options.
Step 10: Go to your official advisor. Fill out a form. Drop your major. Experience the freedom of saying “no (more).”

If you ever want to talk about a major not fitting, shoot me an email (evamartin@gwu.edu). I’ve been there. Dropping a major isn’t a failure. Knowing something isn’t right for you and letting go of it is a sign of personal growth. Now I can take classes I like rather than ones that fulfill requirements. I can take an internship for credit, I can dedicate more time and energy to being an RA and peer advisor, and I can maybe graduate early. It turns out major changes (get it) can be a good thing.

#HonorsProblems – Stress and Pressure (Concepts from Solids and Fluids)

September 24, 2015General News, Student Voices1 Comment

This post was written by peer advisor Lydia Gleaves, a junior in SEAS, studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in robotics.
Do you remember the year that you learned to write in cursive? They probably told you that you would always have to use cursive in the real world. Odds are, you don’t write exclusively in cursive nowadays. What about the eighth grade, when they told you that high school was going to be so much harder? For some of us, high school came just as easily as anything else ever did.
Now think about when they told you that college was the real deal, the big game you’d been training for all this time. It was going to be so stressful and so hard. But the same people telling you that also told you you’d always write in cursive and that English I was going to wreck your world freshman year of high school. So why would you believe them? Hah, nothing gets past you.
So then you’re here at GW, and you’re thinking, Wow, this is pretty easy. I know this stuff! And you do, because it’s syllabus week and everything is review. But slowly, it starts to get a little harder. And a little harder. And suddenly, you don’t even understand what the professor is saying (and not because of his accent or her handwriting – because you just can’t get it). And then maybe you find yourself in the back of a Thermodynamics classroom with tears running down your face while your friends raptly take notes from a professor who is steadfastly refusing to make eye contact with you. (That one might just be me?)
College is hard. Everyone hits a wall at some point. Maybe you failed a quiz, or maybe you cried in class, or maybe you cried during the quiz that you failed.

“If you’re not already familiar with it, you will be.”

I study mechanical engineering, which means I’m currently taking Introduction to the Mechanisms of Solids, where we’re learning about stress, and Fluid Mechanics, where we work a lot with pressure. Both stress and pressure are equal to a force over an area (P = σ = F / A). They make pretty great metaphors for the college experience. College puts you under plenty of stress and pressure, and we can use concepts from solids and fluids to learn to minimize that stress and that pressure.

“I don’t know what the metaphorical units could possibly be; just ignore those.”

The “force” F in the college/life equation is anything that weighs down on you (that’s kind of a pun, I think I get half credit for that). That could be homework, studying for midterms, picking a major, any of a variety of physical or mental health issues, missing your parents, getting busy with student orgs, missing your friends, the major process that is finding who you truly are, etc.
The “area” A is your support system. If it’s just you, that’s a tiny area. If it’s you and a friend, that’s better, that’s getting bigger. Sometimes there are only a few forces weighing down, so you don’t need such a big area. Sometimes, though, there are a lot of forces on you, and you need a much larger area; in that case, someone at the University Counseling Center could help you increase your area with a workshop, a one-off appointment, or recurring visits.
So you take those forces and apply them over an area. Maybe you have five forces: parents, money, girlfriend, Foster’s econ, and CHEM 1111. If the area is one, just lil ole you, that’s still a stress or pressure of 5/1, or FIVE. That’s so high! But then we bring in a couple of friends, lean on your big brother, and learn a new way to keep track of your time (i.e. pen and paper, like we’re elderly). Suddenly, your area is five, too, and then the stress is just 5/5 equals ONE. Way more manageable.
This may be the nerdiest thing I’ve ever written, and you may be slightly embarrassed if someone catches you reading it in public, but I hope that you get the point I’m trying to make here. College is hard, but with a strong support system and some core skills for dealing with tough times, it can get a lot less stressful.

#HonorsProblems-Going Home for the Summer

April 16, 2014Uncategorized1 Comment

Today’s #HonorsProblems post is written by Kayleigh Ryherd, a senior and SPA majoring in psychology!
Summer plans got you down? Dreading returning to a dinky hometown with fewer traffic lights than Dunkins’? I, Kayleigh Ryherd, SPA Extraordinaire, have the blog post for you! However, everyone has different goals for the summer, so I’ll try to cover a few of them.
GOAL 1: I want to make a lot of money. As a college student who can only hold full-time employment for the short summer months, you may feel discouraged when applying for jobs. Lucky for you, though, with the warming weather comes a multitude of seasonal jobs. Apply for something outside – through the local Parks Department (bonus: pretend you know Leslie Knope) or at a summer camp. Often, jobs like that do a lot of cross-training, so if someone from a different but related department calls in sick, you might be able to pick up their hours.

GOAL 2: I want to do something in my major.
Email a professor. Really. I’m serious. Just because you don’t see any job listings for openings in a lab doesn’t mean that there aren’t any, especially if you’re willing to work as a volunteer. The summer after my sophomore year, I picked a random professor whose research interested me off of the UIUC website and asked to work in her lab, and it worked! And you can do this by reaching out to any professor who’s research interests you, in any field. This can help you get preliminary experience for when you are aiming for goal 3…

GOAL 3: I want to make a lot of money AND do something in my major.
Apply for an NSF REU. These programs stick you with a mentor who does research that interests you while helping you out significantly financially, across all sorts of fields of study. My REU paid for travel, room and board, GRE prep materials, and three course credits in addition to a sizable stipend. This is all because they want to invest in the promising undergraduate students – and who better than UHPers?

In short, there are always way more summer opportunities than there seem to be; a lot of the time all it takes is just to ask for them.
H.A.G.S!

#HonorsProblems–Registering for Classes Without Privileged Registration

March 21, 2014Uncategorized

Today’s #Honorsproblems post is written by Kate Kozak, a junior majoring in psychology!
As a junior who did FOFAC (Focus on Fall Abroad Community) last semester, I’m definitely getting a little anxious about my first time not having privileged registration. Getting to register before nearly everyone else on campus had two main advantages: first, getting into courses that tend to fill up really quickly, or that are near-impossible to get into as a freshman or even as a sophomore; and second, getting into the Honors Department classes I wanted before the juniors and seniors had a chance to register (excepting, of course, those upperclassmen who have privileged registration for other reasons).
While I was coming up with my potential schedules for next fall, I realized that not having priority registration really isn’t that big of a deal. Here’s what I’ve figured out that makes losing privileged registration less of an #HonorsProblem and more of an #HonorsInconvenience.

Registering on the “normal” day isn’t a problem for other students, it’s just how things work. I talked to several friends across majors and departments who said that they have literally never had a problem registering for classes. One friend even missed her initial registration day, getting into all her courses when open registration began weeks later.
Past Me was smarter than I thought, and I planned ahead pretty well. Perhaps by mistake, I set myself up pretty well for my last few semesters of undergrad at GW. The requirements I have left include a few GPAC courses and a few upper-level major credits—in other words, I’ll be competing mostly with freshmen. And let’s face it, I’m still registering days before them, so it isn’t even a competition. To any freshmen or sophomores, I don’t recommend loading up on tough classes just because you can. Nevertheless, I do think it’s a good idea to get in those UHP requirements while you have the upper-hand in registration.
Things generally work out in the end, even if you have to watch Banweb for an open spot in a class. There’s a whole army of help in the UHP between Catherine, Mark, and the SPA, so there’s always someone to bounce ideas off of or to help weigh the pros and cons of rearranging your schedule in a particular way. And my biggest pro-tip would be to wait before giving up on a high-demand class, because someone is bound to drop their spot eventually. I’ve gotten into classes that were previously full simply by checking periodically and pouncing as soon as an opening came up.
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Scheduling can be scary when we have requirements to fulfill, or when we’re generally anxious about having to make compromises because of what classes we can get into. Not having an opportunity to register early certainly makes it feel like we’ve lost a little bit of control. But we all know that things work out in the end, despite these nerve-wracking few weeks of hoping beyond hope that Registration Day is as easy as punching in the courses we’ve painstakingly chosen and going back to bed.

#Honorsproblems – Summer Internships: Who, What , When, Where, Why, How?

January 15, 2014Uncategorized

The first #Honorsproblems post of the semester is written by Kevin Frey, a senior in CCAS and SMPA majoring in journalism and mass communication.

You could be like these guys in that Internship movie.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … okay, not really, but it is the fun time when you have the opportunity to fill out and submit internship applications.
The process itself can be, admittedly, rather overwhelming. Questions arise such as:

When do I apply?
Where should I apply?
How do I write a cover letter or résumé?
Can I afford to take an internship without pay?
If I’m lucky enough to get numerous offers, which one should I accept?

This pot will try to shed some light on these more difficult questions. I’ll break down the process into the 5 W’s (and H) to help make it a little easier.
But enough exposition, let’s get started with the easiest of these questions …

Who?

You, a member of the UHP, sooooo …

What?

Apply for a summer internship

When?

As of this posting, a few application deadlines have already passed. That said, there are still plenty of organizations that have deadlines in January, February, and even as late as March. So, start looking!

Why?

There are seemingly limitless reasons why you should intern:

Build your résumé
Gain experience that cannot be taught in a classroom
Network and meet people in your field
Get early job offers
Learn more about yourself, including what work environment best suits you
Discover whether you like the field you are studying (better to learn now than after you graduate!!)

Okay, so those were the easier ones. Now it is time for the harder questions:

How?

– So you know you know you want to intern … How do you go about applying?

Finding intern opportunities:

GWork – This GW website is for more than just work-study jobs. They post intern listings as well.
Your school’s website – Many of GW’s schools and colleges list internship opportunities on their websites and in emails. For instance, the School of Media and Public Affairs has an entire section of their website devoted to internships specifically for SMPA students.
Google – Simply search for the organization you are hoping to work for and look around on their website.
Email – Email leaders at the organization, inquiring whether they have internship opportunities. Remember to use email etiquette and fully explain who you are.

Pro-Tip: Make sure to apply to many different internships, particularly in the summer when the pool of applicants is very large. Better safe than sorry!

Preparing your application:

The GW Career Center student website features a variety of tools and guides for preparing your application. For instance, they have PDFs that describe how to create a cover letter and résumé.
Pro-Tip: Create your cover letter and résumé before paying a visit to the Career Center (found in Colonial Crossroads on the fifth floor of the Marvin Center). If you write them beforehand, they can take a look at your writing samples and give suggestions of how to improve them, including what to cut out from your résumé.

Getting recommendations:

Many internships require recommendations from both professors and workplace professionals. Often these recommendations are particularly meaningful – they provide more insight than a transcript ever can.
So, who to ask? It is best to pick a professor who knows you well (it helps if you did well in their class). The more they know about you, the more in depth the recommendation will be.
When should you start asking your former professors and bosses to write you a recommendation? The answer is now – NOT later. It is best if you can ask your recommender in person, though if you must use email, be sure to be both kind and professional.
Once you have determined who is going to recommend you, send them information about each of your applications. What would you do at the internship? What skills are required for the internship? Do a little research. This will allow your recommender to write a more personalized recommendation that emphasizes what the internship is looking for. Specialized recommendations are so much more meaningful than generic clichés like, “He is hardworking.”
Pro-Tip #1: Be sure to give your recommender a deadline a week or so before the actual application due date, that way if they get behind, it will not put your application in jeopardy.
Pro-Tip #2: Be sure to check in with your recommender from time to time to see if they need additional information. (This is a subtle way of reminding them that the deadline is fast approaching.)

Where?

Okay, so you know how to apply. So where are you going to intern? How do you sort through all of the opportunities?
For starters, consider what opportunities you will have at each organization.

Will your tasks be related to the field you hope to one day pursue?
How hands on will the internship be?
Will you simply be fetching coffee and completing secretarial duties or will you have a chance to participate in activities related to your ideal line of work?

Look at blogs and internship reviews. Talk to other UHP members and peers in your major. They may have an idea of whether the organization is ideal for you.
Aside from the organization itself, also consider where you want to live. This is both an economical and emotional question.
After nine months at GW, do you miss your family and hometown? Would you prefer to spend the summer at home and find an internship there? (Sometimes, particularly at hometown organizations with small staffs, you may have more opportunities to do hands-on work – they need all the help they can get!)
Or, do you cherish your independence and thus would rather live in a different city for the summer? Maybe you even want to avoid mom and dad by staying in DC? Of course, the question then becomes, can you find housing and can you afford it?
Which brings up another topic to think about … money!
Interns very often are unpaid. Can you afford to work 40 hours a week at an internship without pay? Should you allocate time for a part-time job?
Wrap-Up
There are so many opportunities out there – as a friend of mine once said, you have a “crisis of opportunity.” So just start looking!
Find something that interests you , then get cracking on those applications!
Best of luck and have fun!

#Honorsproblems – Buying Textbooks on the Cheap

November 22, 2013Uncategorized1 Comment

Today’s #Honorsproblems post is written by SPA Michelle Stuhlmacher, a junior majoring in geography.
We’ve all had classes that require bazillions of books and therefore result in spending a disagreeable amount of money before the semester even begins. While some students might be happy to skip buying the books at all, UHPers tend to actually do their readings thoroughly — so having the books is important. But fear no more! Here’s six pointers to help you spend less on books so you can save it for important things, like brunch.
1) Just say no
The GW bookstore is so convenient: you don’t have to prowl the web for the correct edition, wait for shipping, or stand in line at package services. But this convenience shows up in price, so choose carefully! Once in a blue moon you can find a really great deal at the bookstore, so do keep an eye out.
2) Bigwords
So what are the other options? There are magical websites like bigwords.com, booksprice.com, and bookfinder.com that will search a bunch of different online book sellers and tell you which one has the best price. I’m a dedicated Bigwords user so I’ll explain that site in a little more depth.
First figure out the ISBN number of your assigned book and type it into the search bar.

Pick the “buy or rent” option which will put the book in your bookbag. Repeat.

Once you have found all of the books click the “Start Price Comparison” button. You’ll end up with a page like this:

The side bar gives you all sorts of ways to narrow down the book type. You can rent, choose to include used/digital copies, or consider buyback value. Bigword includes coupons when analyzing prices (way awesome!) for this reason I recommend that you try to buy your books all at once so you’ll qualify for “Buy $50 and save 5%” type coupons.
Receiving the books you ordered online can take awhile so make sure you plan ahead…but we’re honors kids so planning is what we do best!
3) Renting
If you know you will never need to reference that $187 textbook again renting is a good option. Lots of online booksellers (Chegg, Amazon, Barnes and Nobel) and the GW bookstore rent books with the college semester in mind. Pro tip: read the rental agreement so you know when you have to return the book!
4) eBooks
If you don’t mind reading off screens consider buying eBooks. Digital textbooks are always cheaper than the print version. They come in a program that allows you to digitally highlight, write notes, and bookmark the page. If you have to buy novels for a class check to see if the digital version is cheaper than buying it used. If you don’t have an eReader most companies have apps that you can download that allow you to read the book on your computer.
5) Book sharing/swapping
We’re all in the honors program and take a lot of the same classes. Your UHP peers can be booksellers and buyers. Buying from other students is cheaper and you don’t have to pay shipping! If you’re not already following the UHP on Facebook and a member of the student UHP group, you might want to get on that.
6) Selling back
At the end of the semester you can go back onto Bigword and sell your books. You can also sell books back to the bookstore and to those random carts that pop up during finals week. Keep in mind that online book buybacks should always pay for your shipping by giving you a label to print and tape to the box.
Now, my book buying apprentices, I have taught you all I know. This spring will be your first test; may the force be with you.