Nicole's Northeastern

Hi Anon!

I am so sorry about the super delay! I hope it hasn’t been a trouble to you! NOw on to your questions! 

1. My involvement on campus

I am majorly involved on campus! I actually did a series of posts about my club involvement a little bit back. Those posts included a general overview of clubs, AIChE, NUDANCO, EWB, and HA! Since writing those posts my involvement has changed slightly.  While I was on co-op in the spring I didn’t participate in AIChE due to scheduling issues, but did stay involved in everything else.  With EWB I would say I’ve become more involved! I just became the next program director, which means I’ll be taking over responsibilities like organizing meetings, communicating with our community, and editing and submitting reports.  I also am on the travel team and will be flying off to Africa for about 2 weeks this upcoming August! Being involved in clubs had been a great way to meet new people and to take breaks from classwork.  I think for me, it’s also a great way to help me get out and doing things as I can be an introvert at times.  However, proceed with caution when getting involved.  To be completely honest, I wouldn’t suggest doing as much as I took on this past year.  Especially as you get further into college, to get really involved or take leadership in clubs means you’ll only probably have time for 2 maybe 3 tops.  As I approach this fall, I’m taking a hard look at what I want to do and what I have time to do, and it might call for some sacrifices.

2. FOOD

Food on campus comes in all shapes and sizes.  Your first year you are required to have a meal plan and can choose from 10, 15, or 19 meal swipes a week.  Meal swipes can be used at dining halls, of which we have three, and all you have to do is swipe in and eat as much as you want until you leave.  I’d say our dining hall food is pretty good; there is always pasta and salad bars and normally pizza too.  Stetson West Dining Hall is known for its famous stir fry station, and there is also a deli station as well as a rotating dinner station that has the classic protein, veggie, carb option at every dining hall.  International Village also features a sushi station, and how could one forget about Stetson East’s legendary cookies (literally warm from the oven).  There are always options to suit all eating styles whether you are gluten free, allergic to peanuts, lactose intolerant, vegetarian, vegan, you name it.  Stetson East actually has a whole room with food that is vegan, and I’d say its pretty good myself.  And don’t forget the soup! I kid you not, the soup at the dining hall is to die for, it is so good, which is especially nice in the cold New England weather.  

Meal swipes can also be exchanged at three other locations, where one meal swipe gets you a certain amount of food.  I used to use this everyday for lunch at Rebeccas’s my freshman year.  A meal swipe could get me a drink, sandwich, and fruit/chips, or I’d use it sometimes for their hot lunch which would have anything from mac n cheese, quesadillas, chicken dishes, burritos, lots of stuff.  Rebecca’s also serves breakfast (which you can use a meal swipe for) which features the best home fries to grace the earth.  

Your meal swipes will also be supplemented with dining dollars, which you spend like money anywhere food is sold on campus as well as some off campus locations like Whole Foods, CVS, and Panera among many other places.  I really appreciated just how many places took dining dollars because it offered a lot of variety when I was tired of dining halls and just wanted something a little different.  It was also great to use at grocery stores to by snacks for my dorm room. 

3. Off Campus Living

So I actually don’t live off campus, but lots of people do, so I will talk about both. I also did a whole post about on campus living which I will link here.  I am again living on campus this upcoming fall in a four person apartment, and I will have my own bedroom! Yay! Some perks of living on campus are the proximity to campus of course, the ability to file work requests and get stuff fixed quick, its already furnished, and the added security of proctors.  People will move off campus though, for a variety of reasons, the largest being that it tends to be less expensive to move off campus, depending on where you move to.  A lot of people will move about a mile down Huntington Avenue to Mission Hill which is generally less expensive without being too too far from campus.  Other people will move off campus and stay in the neighborhood surrounding campus.  These apartment options are normally about the same price as on campus, though sometimes more or less depending on the apartment.  Another reason people move off campus is the stability and place to call their own.  There are rules on what you can have and how you can decorate when living on campus that do not exist off campus; there are also limits on how many people you can sign into your apartment when on campus which doesn’t exist off.  People also appreciate the option of resigning a lease.  When living on campus, you’re going to move at least once a year, but some people will change apartments two or three times.  When you find somewhere off campus, you can stay there until you graduate, alleviating the pain in the butt that is moving in a city.  I have thought about moving off campus, mostly due to wanting a space to call my own, and I’d like to not have to move so often, but I wouldn’t be moving off until probably the fall of 2019.  

Hi Olivia!

I’m so sorry that this took me a little while to respond to, as I know you have to make a decision soon.

For me, choosing Northeastern for engineering wasn’t necessarily about the engineering school itself.  As you said yourself, it’s about where you fit in.  For me, every engineering school I applied to I knew academically would be great, but choosing a college isn’t just about the academics, it’s about finding a place to call home for the next few years of your life.  Logistically, I loved the idea of co-op, as there are a broad range of careers chemical engineers can pursue, and I wanted the opportunity to “test run” them, if you will.  I have really like Northeastern’s engineering program too because I had no prior engineering experience coming in, and they were able to get everyone up to speed without boring people with a lot of engineering experience and not drowning us without any.  But I ultimately chose Northeastern, because when I stepped on campus I could picture myself here.  It was the school I was the most excited about.  I think it’s really important to feel like you belong where you’re going, rather than picking the school with the highest pedigree or because you think it should be you number one, even if it doesn’t feel like it.  Especially in your case, being accepted to multiple really great engineering programs, I’d say at this point to just follow your gut and go where you are most excited about!

Guess what. I’m officially halfway through my co-op! Can you believe it? I know me neither.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to catch you guys up real quick on what’s been going on with me.  And in the art of my new favorite Netflix binge, we’ll be doing things in The Great British Baking Show style (oh my god if you have not seen this show please watch it immediately).

So March just ended, which is the month of college spring breaking. Unfortunately, because I am on co-op I don’t get a week off for spring break. However, the career center does put on some fun events for those people staying on campus.  This year, they had things like ice cream and yoga, and then even had a trip to bodaborg for a reduced price, which is like escape the room but all day.  I didn’t take part in any of this fun, but instead decided to enjoy break from night-time commitments and clubs, and spent most of the week getting home from work every night and relaxing.  It was a really nice break from responsibilities after work, and the quietness on campus was a treat too.

The weekends have also been keeping me busy!  I went skiing a couple of weekends, and my mom came up two weekends ago to see The Boston Ballet perform Romeo and Juliet with me.  I did ballet from the time I could walk until I graduated high school, and I was really happy to finally get the chance to see The Boston Ballet.  My brother also took a trip up to Boston this past weekend, and we got the opportunity to enjoy the nice springtime weather with a walk down Newbury Street into the commons.  During downtime on the weekends in my apartment, I’ve been inspired to do some baking, making cookies a couple weeks ago and some blueberry scones (see below!) this weekend. Cooking and baking has become something I’ve really enjoyed in the last couple of months; it’s fun to find recipes you might like and experiment, and its double the fun when you end up with something delicious.  

My biggest development in the past month has been with one of the clubs I am involved in, Engineers Without Borders (EWB).  I did a post a while back on EWB, which you can see here, but I am involved in our Uganda chapter and was recently chosen to be the programs next director for the upcoming year! I am really looking forward to taking on this leadership position and delving deeper into EWB.  I also have been selected for this summer’s travel team!  About once every year we travel to our location to take any necessary data, make improvements, and touch base with our community.  The travel team normally consists of 5 students as well as our professional mentor, and this year we will be traveling to Uganda in August.  Africa is somewhere I’ve always really wanted to visit, and what better way to experience and learn about the culture than to go in order to give communities the help they need to improve their lives.  I’ve never traveled overseas, so it will be quite the adventure, and while nervous, I am really looking forward to the opportunity.  

With everything going on I have been feeling a little overwhelmed with everything getting busy toward the end of the semester. I am definitely looking forward to some of my clubs wrapping up in a month or so so I can enjoy some free time hopefully in the nicer weather ahead as well as getting ready to travel this summer! For now it’ll be a bit of a balancing act, but I know I’ll figure it out: always do!

Stay tuned for some future updates, and as always please send any questions my way, or if you have anything you’d really like me bake or recommendations for my next Netflix binge, please let me know!

First off, congratulations on your acceptance! This year was one Northeastern’s most competitive application pools ever; you should be extremely proud of yourself! Now onto your question!

When I first began thinking about majoring in engineering, I was told by a lot of people that it was going to be really challenging and time consuming, and when I got to Northeastern and told people (even upperclassman in engineering) that I was planning on majoring in Chemical Engineering, I got a lot of “good lucks” and “woah, have fun” and other comments that made me feel none too confident about the quality of sleep I’d be getting throughout college.  It really made me hesitant, especially during my first semester, if ChemE was going to be right for me or if I was going to be able to handle it.  One thing a lot of my friends told me that I think is really true is that no matter how hard your classes, if you enjoy the material, you’ll be able to get through the work and probably do well.  I knew it wasn’t worth switching to a major that was “easier” that I wasn’t as interested in because my lack of interest would make it difficult.  So far I’ve taken two ChemE courses, and while challenging, I always really enjoyed when I finally understood a concept, and the projects interested me a lot.  Were they a lot of work? Sure. Did I spend a lot of time studying for them? At times, yes.  But I don’t regret my decision to pursue this major (or else I would’ve changed my major by now). I’ve managed to do well in my classes and still maintain free time for clubs and friends.  

There are also resources you can take advantage of to make ChemE classes more manageable too that I’ve found really useful.  One of which is tutoring; there are tutors assigned to the lower level ChemE classes that’ll meet twice a week outside of class to help with homework and studying which was immensely useful.  Getting involved in AIChE has been really helpful too (see my blog post about AIChE here); once, when my friends and I were struggling with a concept, we asked upperclassmen we knew from AIChE for help.  There is also a mentoring program called Omega Chi Epsilon that will pair you with upperclassman ChemE’s who can help you with building class schedules, homework, and giving you advice on certain professors classes or even co-op.  If you want mentor-ship from an older chemical engineer, we have a resource for that too.  Northeastern ChemE alumni have created a database where Northeastern students can reach out to ChemE alumni to ask for advice.  I’ve used this database and everyone I reached out to has gotten back to me really quickly and was super eager to give me help.  

In addition to what Northeastern has for help, there are also lots of things you can do for yourself that will make being a ChemE completely manageable.  For one, if you’re taking any AP/IB classes right now, really try to do well on the tests! Transferring in credit is an amazing way to help free up the load on harder semesters.  Also, I encourage you to wait on taking electives.  A lot of the Chemical Engineering classes have to be taken in a chronological order, making the curriculum not as flexible as other majors.  For me, what I have found, is that by taking electives early, a lot of the ChemE classes pile up later in your education with little room for lighter classes to sprinkle in.  I encourage you to start taking ChemE classes as soon as you can (which will be your second semester) and wait on some of the electives for later.  In conjunction with that, try to make a loose 4 or 5 year plan for you classes once you get here and go over it with a ChemE advisor or upperclassmen (or both) who understand the difficulty of classes and can help you with balancing semesters.  And lastly, I know it’s difficult (I’m personally not great at it) but try not to let what other people say get to you, because every experience is different.  To be accepted into Northeastern shows that you are smart and more importantly capable; we think you can handle the curriculum here, so just have some confidence in yourself.  Who knows, you may be a ChemE prodigy, and if you’re not, you’ll be able to gauge what you need and do what’s best for you!

Congratulations to all the new husky puppies! You should be so proud of yourselves for this achievement; Northeastern is so excited to have you join our community! Now take a deep breath, you did it! I hope to see you all in the fall!

Happy Snow Day! Yes even I on co-op have a snow day today due to the Nor’easter hitting Boston right now.  Have no fear, I will be making up my hours, but I always love getting snowed in and bundled up.  And what an opportunity to dust off the cobwebs on my keyboard and write y’all a post!

At the end of high school, as you begin to get college acceptances and get closer to making a decision, and then throughout your summer before leaving, a lot of people are going to project their thoughts and feelings upon you about what college is going to be like (ironically how I do in my blog).  For some people this can be really exciting as you get pumped to leave home for the first time, but for a lot of other people (myself included), it can be very nerve racking from the anticipation of what college will and will not be, and if what you’re hearing even sounds good to you.  So how true are a lot of the things you hear about college; what’s fact and what’s fiction?  I’m going to tackle a couple of things I heard a lot upon entering college and let you know about how I think they stack up in terms of verity.

Disclaimer: I don’t think any of these things are completely fact or fiction.  One of my biggest pearls of wisdom in regards to college is that it is different for everyone; this is just what I have personally observed. Always take everything everyone says, including me, with a giant grain of salt.

College will be the best years of your life.

This one personally gives me so much anxiety.  That’s a lot of pressure.  I can’t tell you how many times I heard this in high school and even hear it now.  This is one that is not fact nor fiction; it completely depends on the person.  College is an amazing time of self discovery an exploration; you get to meet people of all walks of life, live in a new and exciting place, and discover and learn about whatever you want.  This has all the makings of an awesome time in life, but for some, college isn’t all sunshine and roses.  THAT IS OKAY.  I think what makes this saying so uncomfortable to me, is that when the going gets tough in college, it’s easy to feel like you are wasting your time, or that if you can’t love life in college, it’s only going to be so much worse when you graduate.  College life fits some people like a glove, and for others it fits like a potato sack.  I think what is important to remember, is that college is a small percentage of your life, and there are lots of good moments up ahead, being that starting a family when you’re older, or landing the job of your dreams, or even the incredible place you’re going to retire to.  Don’t put all the pressure of your happiness on college.  Always try to have fun in college and eat up every opportunity and experience, but remember that this also isn’t the be all end all of happiness; there’s a lot to come.

Beware the Freshman 15.

For me this was on the side of fact.  I didn’t gain 15 pounds, but I did gain around 7-8.  Your first year of college, for most people, is the first time you’re really responsible for getting food into your body 24/7, and all you can eat dining halls can be a killer.  It’s really hard too if you’re a picky eater and resort to pasta most nights, or if, like me, you have no control over the warm cookies sitting out (I’m looking at you Stetson East).  However, some people do actually lose weight.  I had friends that amongst their busy schedules would skip meals, and while some people stress eat, some people stress no eat.  I think the bigger thing to think about when you hear the dreaded Freshman 15 isn’t that you’re going to gain weight, but that you’re probably not going to follow good dietary habits.  If you can manage to try to eat healthy an especially eat a lot of vegetables, your body will thank you.  But don’t feel bad if you don’t, just remember you can’t eat like this forever.

You’re going to graduate in 4 years.

At Northeastern, for most people, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  I remember when I graduated high school, everyone would announce the college they were going to by saying _______ College/University; class of 20__!  I never really knew what to say.  I felt this peer pressure that I needed to graduate in 4 years like everyone else, but I knew at Northeastern, it is really common to do 5.  Since getting here I’ve realized that it’s completely okay to not graduate in 4 years.  It’s far more important to milk every experience you can out of college and feel like you’ve taken all you can from it and graduate late, than rush through college and graduate early or in 4 years.  Whether you pick up a major/minor, do three co-ops, study abroad, or anything else in between, it’s far more important to do things at your own pace and graduate when you’re ready, than to just do what everyone else is doing because you feel like you have to.

*Don’t actually fail your finals, please, I’m sure the real world isn’t that bad...

Get your gen-eds out of the way first.

This is one statement I personally disagree with.  I did this, and I kind of wish I hadn’t.  A lot of people will do their electives and gen-eds right at the beginning of college so they can dive into their majors or so they don’t have to worry about them, but I don’t think this is really the best idea.  Leaving gen-eds for late in your education grants you the opportunity to take a class outside of your major later on when you potentially find a topic that interest you that you want to investigate.  It also leaves you open space to add on a minor or even another major later on in your education so you have the flexibility to adjust your academic plan at any point.  Lastly, it gives you a few buffer classes for when you get into the hardest classes of your major.  If you take all of your gen-eds earlier, you may end up having all your hard classes stack up later in your academic career, a problem I have been reluctantly facing and trying to figure out, as to keep my workload manageable.  By saving gen-eds, you can sprinkle them in among your major requirements to help even out semesters so you don’t have some semesters that are crazy hard and others that are easy.  And maybe you’ll figure out a way to do your gen-eds abroad or in another cool way if you just wait a little bit to take them and work them into your schedule gracefully. Please don’t feel pressure to take them all your first year or two of college; you’ll always get them in, it’s okay to put them off a little bit.

Can you believe it’s already been a month since I started co-op? Me either.  But here we are.  I wanted to give you guys an update on how co-op is going and how my life is now that I’m a working grown up and not in classes, The Devil Wears Prada style.

In summary, I’ve found that life on co-op has been a bit different than I expected. Last semester I dreamed of the homework-less nights, and the going to bed early, and the free time, but I was warned that co-op life wouldn’t be as I imagined.  I do have the homework free nights, and I do go to bed early (though not by choice), but I’ve found working 40 hours a week (and driving at least 10) takes a lot out of me!  I will say though, the weekends have been nice.  I’ve been able to make plans and relax, and I haven’t had to worry about tests or assignments.  But during the week, you’d be surprised how quickly your free time after work goes.  It’s getting easier little by little though, and I’ve been figuring out some tricks to find time where it seems none exists.  Navigating a busy life yourself, give some of these a try!

Make lunch the night before.  This is something I began doing this summer when I was at home working, and it’s a fool proof way to save time, relieve stress, eat healthy, and save money.  It’s far easier to make lunch quickly at night when you’re a little more awake and not juggling getting dressed and making/eating breakfast, and not having to worry about making lunch in the morning takes one thing off your list to do, so you can sleep in a little later or take more time to eat breakfast.  Making lunch at night also keeps me motivated to pack lunch.  When left to the morning, it’s easy to cave and just buy lunch at work to save the hassle, which, most times, ends up being far more expensive and a lot less healthy.  

Pick out your clothes the night before. This one is similar to the last in the sense that it takes something off the list to do in the morning, leaving time for extra sleep or a more relaxed morning.  I’m someone who tends to have a hard time choosing outfits, and will waste a lot of time in the morning on it, so, I look at the weather and pick out clothes the night before right before bed, and when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is get dressed, and I feel like I’m already halfway through my morning.  

Cook dinners on the weekend.  This was something I was originally planning on doing, then didn’t end up doing, then was advised to do, then actually did, you follow?  Long story short, I’ve started preparing dinners for the weekdays by cooking them up on the weekends, or making more portions when I cook on the weekends.  This probably saves me at least an hour on weeknights not having to cook and then clean.  I just pull out some leftovers, microwave it up, and voila, dinner.  This really helps on nights I have club meetings and am already crunched for time, and like with lunch, it helps keep me eating healthy by not settling for buying dinner out or eating snacks for dinner (although let’s face it,  I will always still do that sometimes).

Realize when you’re over extended, and then say no to some things. This is just a good tip across the board, co-op, classes, whatever.  In the context of co-op, it’s really easy to want to maintain all the clubs and extracurriculars you did in classes, but unfortunately, your schedule is a lot more structured on co-op, and it can become hard to fit things in and still actually sleep at night.  I decided this semester that I wanted to keep weekends as free as possible, so I could enjoy my days off from work, but I also didn’t want to have something going on every night of the week.  I couldn’t imagine myself getting home from work everyday to run off to a meeting or activity; it’s just too tiring.  Because of that, I decided to say no to doing three dances this semester in NUDANCO, opting for just two to help keep myself a little more free.  I’m also taking a hiatus from AIChE to make my schedule work a little bit better and maintain some free time.  

One last important thing I’ve been trying to realize, is that it’s okay I’m not doing all of the things I thought I would be doing at night or on the weekends, because sometimes my time is better spent getting some extra sleep or just watching a movie/TV.  Being on co-op, in my eyes, is an exploration of what life will be like post graduation, and this is just a test run; there’s still some settling to do, and I’ll be sure to keep you all updated!

Who says just because I live in Boston I have to root for the Pats? Okay, everyone, but I stood my ground!

Some friends of mine and my roommates and I all had a ton of fun watching the Super Bowl last night and cheering on the Eagles. We made personal pizzas too and had some delicious brownie sundaes thanks to our fly eagles fly brownies! Being on co-op has given me some time on the weekends to do stuff like this, and it’s been really fun! More to come on how co-op is going soon... very soon.

Hi there! Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! It’s been a busy week to say the least.  

First off, CONGRATULATIONS! It’s so exciting to hear you were accepted; I know you probably still have some thinking to do, but congratulations on your accomplishment thus far, and Northeastern is excited to have you.

For your question, Matt Dunn, a recent graduate of Northeastern was in CCIS and answered a question about this, so I’m going to link his reply as he is much more versed on the subject.  See his brain knowledge here.  In addition to what he said there, he also told me that popular study abroad locations for CCIS are in Budapest, Auckland, and Edinburgh because there are colleges in those locations that offer transferable CCIS classes.  Also, if it doesn’t work quite right for you to take classes for your major abroad, a lot of people fill NUPath requirements on dialogues.  NUPath is Northeastern’s core curriculum, and there are normally a couple focus areas majors won’t require, so a lot of people will go on shorter study abroad trips in the summer led by Northeastern faculty, called Dialogues of Civilizations, to fulfill these.  Dialogues are also a great way to work in minor requirements if that’s something your pursuing.  

I exclusively looked at urban schools when I did my college search because I wanted lots to do, but lately I’ve been finding myself wandering out of Boston (and not just everyday for co-op). So here I am, in this big beautiful city we call Boston, and although there is tons to do here, I’ve been finding it refreshing to escape the city noise every once in a while.  So how can you get out of Boston, and what on Earth is there to do?  

Boston’s train system is like no other, and it makes getting out of Boston simple, and relatively affordable!  The commuter rail runs all the way down to Rhode Island and out pretty far into Massachusetts as well as out to Cape Cod in warmer months, and it is a great resource to get out of Boston on the weekends. I know a lot of people who have gone up to Salem on the commuter rail, and others who have taken it out into more rural Massachusetts.  Clubs on campus also host trips outside of Boston that can make traveling into New England less expensive.  NUHOC is the University’s outdoors clubs and takes trips out of Boston for things like hiking and skiing.   We also have a ski club, called the Downhillers, that does trips almost every weekend during the winter to mountains all over New England.  A lot of clubs will also do retreats to campsites in Massachusetts near lakes and cabins which can be a lot of fun too.  

As I’ve said, I’ve found a few excuses to get out of Boston; I’ll share to give some ideas!

Apple Picking and Corn Mazes

Fall is probably one of my favorite seasons, and being in a city has not stopped me from doing some of my favorite fall activities.  This year, Columbus Day weekend, my roommates and I took the commuter rail out of Boston to near one of my friend’s houses for a fall fananza filled with apple picking, cider donuts, and a really difficult corn maze! Getting some fresh air was awesome, and all the apple pie and crumble we made with the apples was even better.  If you don’t have a friend’s car to use getting off the commuter rail, it’s also worth looking into ZipCars; college students get a discount, and split three or four ways between friends brings the price down a lot.

My roommate and I trying desperately to escape a corn maze.

Ptown

So maybe corn isn’t quite your thing.  What about the beach!? In warmer months, there is a ferry that leaves from Boston that will take you out to the very tip of Cape Cod to a wonderful little town called Provincetown.  With lots of shore to walk along, plenty of cute shops and restaurants, and even a museum with a tower you can climb up to get an amazing view, there’s something for everyone, and it makes a great day trip.  I drove there this summer with a friend, but we walked out to the end of the dock where the Boston ferry drops off, and it’s possible to walk everywhere in town once you get there.  Oh! And don’t forget about the whale watching trips that leave from Ptown too if you’re looking to become one with nature!

Beautiful and quirky Ptown.

Skiing!

What better way to spend a New England winter than skiing.  As I said before, there are a couple of clubs on campus that host trips to mountains nearby, and you can save seriously on ski tickets by being a college student.  This year, my friends and I got the New England college ski pass, which is a season pass to three mountains: Loon, Sunday River, and Sugarloaf.  The pass is over 50 percent off a normal season pass, which in my opinion is a steal, and the Downhillers do go to these three mountains.  Luckily, I have my car on campus for co-op, so my friends and I were able to take my car.  This past weekend we went to Sunday River and stayed a night at an Airbnb; we had the best time.  

Beautiful views reflecting off my bright snow-pants at Sunday River in Maine.

To some people, the hustle and bustle of a city can be a lot, but I think it’s a saving grace that there are still tons of ways to get away from that and find some quietness when at school.  My personal story about this? This weekend, while staying at the Airbnb, we went outside at night to make a grocery store run, and when I stepped out of the house I was shocked with amazement: I could see the stars, every single one.  It was beautiful.  With the light pollution in the city, I almost forgot they were there, and it made me realize, that as wonderful as the city is, it’s amazing to get away. 

Today was the first day of classes here at Northeastern for Spring semester, but for me it was my first official day of co-op! I wrote a post a little while back about co-op (see here if you don’t remember that), and now the big day has come! I think this would be a good time to clue you all in on just what I’m doing on co-op this upcoming semester as a grown up in a job!  

I accepted my first co-op at a company a bit north of Boston called NxStage Medical.  NxStage is a medical device company, and I am in a chemical engineering roll working with the fluids team there!  I chose NxStage because of the welcoming company culture as well as the developed co-op program in existence.  I really liked the idea of structure on my first co-op, and I felt like NxStage offered me that!  

Let me give you a quick run down of my first day experience.

My day in a nutshell:

Today, I woke up bright and early for my 45 minute commute to Lawrence, MA, which is where NxStage’s headquarters are located.  The building NxStage is in is a renovated mill, but it still retained a lot of its character with brick walls and wooden ceilings; I really liked the atmosphere.  The commute was the only downside of the opportunity I could see, but for those of you scared by that commute, no worries, there are plenty of co-op opportunities a lot closer to campus.  We started the morning with an orientation (and free breakfast!) and then met our supervisors at lunch (free lunch too!), before beginning our training in the afternoon.  

Things I’m super excited about:

First off, there are keurigs, many of them, all with free coffee, which had me super pumped, and there’s a game room with ping-pong, foosball, and air hockey to use during breaks!  I also got my first ever badge ID and adult desk which had me feeling real fancy.  Beyond some more superficial things though, I’m really excited to work with my supervisors; they are extremely nice and have been so helpful and approachable since I accepted my offer, and that made my first day a lot easier.  I got to learn more about NxStage’s mission today, and I’m excited by the companies view points and work.

Memorable Moment:

Later this afternoon I met my cubicle neighbor, and he was really really nice! He didn’t have enough positive things to say about NxStage and seemed really happy with the company, the environment, and the work he is doing there.  It was refreshing to hear that from him, and I’m glad to feel like I made a good decision choosing NxStage.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!

I hope everyone is having a great winter break and an awesome holiday season. I’ve spent the last two and a half weeks at home enjoying this time with my family.  I’ll be headed back to Boston this weekend, and what better way to get back on the horse and start this new year right than with the final installation of Club Deep Dive, and I’ve saved a really special one for last: Husky Ambassadors!

Ever wondered how I got this gig blogging, or how I ended up as a tour guide here at Northeastern? That’s all Husky Ambassadors!  Husky Ambassadors helps with all things related to campus visits, whether it be the person who talks to you as you wait for an information session, or the student who gives you a tour, the bloggers, or all the helpful volunteers at welcome days, we are all students extremely passionate about Northeastern who want to share with you why we love it here and (hopefully) help you realize your husky within!  All the students are volunteers, and are involved because we truly do love Northeastern and Boston, meaning you can trust that the positive things we are telling you are true!  We work closely with admissions and the university to provide every visitor with a wholesome and unforgettable experience when you’re visiting to help you along in your college search as well as planning for the future.

I have been involved in Husky Ambassadors for a year now, and, in that time, I have been a mingler, a tour guide, a blogger, as well as being a member of programming committee.  There is an application process to become a Husky Ambassador that consists of an online application and a group interview; it’s simply to make sure you’ll be comfortable speaking with strangers and that you are joining our club because you care about sharing your experiences.  I applied my first semester freshman year, and unfortunately, due to a high number of applicants, was not accepted.  So, I applied my second semester and was accepted!  When you are accepted as a 1st year, you spend your first semester as a mingler, which is someone who talks to students and families in the Visitor’s Center answering questions and sharing their experiences.  Then, your second semester you are promoted to tour guide!  There are also many many many opportunities for leadership and deeper involvement too.  For example, at the end of my first semester I applied to be a student blogger, as well as to be on programming committee.  Programming Committee plans events and outings for the Husky Ambassadors to give back to the students for all their hard work.  Some events we’ve had this semester are tie dying, a trip to the planetarium, and everyone’s favorite, our specially designed escape the room called “Escape the VC”.  Our biggest event we plan occurs every spring: Gala! It’s an opportunity for everyone to get dressed up to celebrate the year together and to say goodbye to our fellow Husky graduates.  

Husky Ambassadors tie dying on West Village Quad!

I really wanted to join Husky Ambassadors because I knew from the moment I stepped on campus in my junior year of high school that I wanted to be a husky, and I attribute that a lot to the wonderful people who greeted me and talked to me, and immediately made me feel like apart of the Northeastern community.  I want to share my experiences with other people and give them that same feeling, so, if there is a future husky out there, they can realize that.  I’ve stayed, and become so involved with Husky Ambassadors, because, out of many of the clubs I’ve tried out and joined, I have definitely found the greatest sense of community within Husky Ambassadors.  Everyone is so kind an approachable, and I always have felt accepted and had ridiculous amounts of fun with everyone.  There is a huge focus on bonding an connecting, and it was a great way for me to meet upperclassman and people in different colleges and majors.  I also really love connecting with prospective students and their families and sharing my college experiences and advice, in hope to help someone else out with this process.  

If you have any questions about Husky Ambassadors, any of my clubs or anything in general, please reach out to me!

Hey there!

Early Decision 1 is out, and we are so excited to be welcoming some new husky’s to our pack! Congratulations to everyone and we can’t wait to see you on campus! To those of you who still think you want to be a husky too, the final date you can apply by is January 1st, so no worries if you haven’t applied yet!