As with any experience, good or bad, there are some lessons to be learned. I’ve learned (perhaps in some unfortunate circumstances) to buy a car charger for your cell phone, always carry a little cash, speed limits are actually enforced in most parts of the country, Chicago is the best pizza city in the country (sorry New Yorkers), accurately project the time it takes to get from rental car drop-off to airport security in most major US airports (believe me, very important).

If you are a high school student reading this you might be saying… “Ok, so what does this have to do with me?” Well most of the activity in which admissions representatives revolve around college fairs. Sometimes these events can be attended by hundreds of colleges and thousands of students…. getting a bit overwhelming. I want to pass some things that I’ve learned along to you to help avoid the awkward conversations that might arise without a little preparation.

Disclaimer: What follows is a reflection of my opinion. Other admissions representatives (even those at Purdue) might think differently.

• Ask specific questions – It’s ok not to know what you want to do for the next 50 years of your life. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know what your major will be. However asking something like “What is Purdue about?” might not get to the heart of what you want to know. I could talk for 5 min on that question and not get to anything that you care about. If you asked something like, “Talk to me about campus and the surrounding area.” or “What makes this institution unique?” or “How can this school help me to discover and develop my academic interests and passions?” that might help you better understand how you would fit.
• Everybody has Pre-Med- One of the most common questions that I get is ”Do you guys have Pre-Med?” I answer yes. NEWSFLASH: Every institution has pre-med, and pre-law for that matter. Pre-med and other similar professional programs are preparatory in nature. The competitiveness of your admission into medical school is based on, amongst many other things, performance in requisite classes. These classes you can take at most any college in the country.  
• Don’t be afraid to be original – We hear the same questions all the time… Do you have (insert major here)? What’s your average GPA? What SAT/ACT do you need to get admitted? Are you Division I? What are your scholarships? If you have an interest in joining a fraternity, ask about Greek life. If you enjoy healthy eating, ask about campus food options. If you are a member of a historical minority, ask about support services and the history of any tension on the campus.
• It’s ok to browse- If you don’t know anything about a school, picking up a brochure and browsing the list of majors, student body size, and GPA/ACT/SAT scores are perfectly fine. If things look great and you want to ask some specific questions, do so. Otherwise, just signing up to join a mailing list is appropriate, as well.
• Don’t let mom or dad control the conversation – This is YOUR education and YOUR experience. You should take advantage or the college fair to learn about things that you care about. Your parents may be more concerned with things like job placement, financial aid, and campus safety. Those things are all important to where you should attend. But perhaps you are more interested in major exploration, intramural sports, student government, dorm life, and school spirit. Those interests might not get answered if the student is not driving the conversation. This is your time to tell mom and dad to stand back and let you talk (very politely, might I add).

My rant is over (for now). There are some things that I didn’t cover. Not to fear, Rafael Figueroa (from The Gatekeepers  fame) put together some Do’s and Don’t’s videos for those attending a college fair. It’s a good watch for both those attending an event for the first time or the college fair veteran. Here’s the link.

See you next fall!

Five finals in one week is certainly one way to send a senior out, though I’m sure most would prefer to be sent out with none! At least the one that required the most studying was on Monday, I’m not sure I could’ve kept studying like that for another whole week. It was the entomology class and studying paid off as I got high B’s on the two halves (professor split it into two sections and two grades out of 100). Eventually I finished all of them and then headed for home on Friday to bring back yet more stuff. As my younger cousin’s parents learned this year, it’s amazing how stuff multiples over the year at college.

Since this concludes my final semester of study as an undergrad, I thought I’d also include a brief run-down of semesters for both incoming Purdue students (Welcome to the Boilermaker Family!) and anyone else who comes across this.

Obviously, semesters are the only thing I know, but if I’m to compare them to something, I’d call it a marathon. It’s longer than a quarter, so you can’t just whip through it, you do have to pace yourself. That said, time management is the biggest part of making it through a semester. One of the best things I ever did was make a list of all assignments in order of due date and then highlight them when completed. Any form of calender or planner is a lifesaver.

A lot of people will ask me about grades during a semester, because it’s long, are there a lot of grades? Yes and no. It really depends on the class and the professor. I have had some classes where there were only three grades and other classes had more than 30 graded assignments. The temptation with grades and semesters is that assignments seem to be further out, but they always come up faster than you think.

A semester is long and sometimes you don’t realize just how long until your friend in class goes “It’s Week 4!” and Week hasn’t even gotten you to Fall Break. But, before the same friend will hopefully go “It’s Week 10!” and you’ll wonder where the 10 weeks went. Now, hopefully you put them to good use

I do graduate this week and I will actually be back on campus tomorrow packing up and enjoying a little of Senior Week, which so far will include doing graduation pictures with friend Shelby and also meeting up with some other friends. My church on campus, St. Thomas Aquinas, will be having a Baccalaureate Mass Friday afternoon which my family will be coming in time for. With my cousin graduating with his engineering degree Friday as well, I imagine there will be lots of pictures taken! I will definitely fill you in on it for a final post!

Boiler Up!

A few weeks ago I went to a place in West Lafayette called All Fired Up. I highly recommend a visit. You get to pick out a piece of pottery and paint it, then they fire it and your pottery becomes beautiful. I painted a cappuccino mug, and it turned out pretty well for my first piece I think. I already have plans for a bowl next year. The workers are really friendly and helpful, and the shop is bright and colorful. It’s just a really fun atmosphere. Go during Midnight Madness, when the studio fee is waived.

At the end of Grand Prix week, Cary Quad had a punk rock concert. The bands were Flatfoot 56 and Anberlin. I had never heard of either of them, and I’m not sure I’d ever even listened to punk rock. But I went anyway, and it was a lot of fun. There was a decent turnout, probably a couple hundred students were there. It was a free event. Purdue has lots of free events to offer, you just have to find them.

Well I am going to get back to studying. Three exams to go, then I’ll be home for the summer. I begin working at Pearson my first week home. I can’t wait to start my marketing internship. This post is my last for this semester. When I write my next post, I will be a senior in college. Hard to believe how quickly it’s going.

Have a great summer!

That’s precisely why I didn’t even put “step foot on Keady Court” on my Purdue Senior Bucket List, even though I really wanted to. I thought “the only way I get on the court is a) Participate in a halftime challenge where I humiliate myself in front of 14,000 people or b) Somehow participate in Senior Night festivities (Come up with your own theories on this, but student manager sounds most practical). However, this unwritten bucket list item can now have an invisible check mark. Heck, I out-did it. I played on Keady Court tonight!

I don’t know the inner-workings, but Hilltop Council put on a program meant to be a study break where we basically had two hours of open gym at Mackey Arena. I was all over this when they announced it, as you can imagine given my love for Purdue basketball.

As a fan, of course I think our home court is a special place, but after playing on it, I can see it from another way, too. Standing in the tunnel where the teams come out, I see how our players get excited coming out to that crowd, and I see what the opponents mean when some say Mackey is a tough place to play! I like to think I always play to my best (which in reality is nothing special, but I try), but something about playing in Mackey made me play a little harder, run down the court a little quicker. Everyone else who has played on that floor put their all into it, I might as well do the same even if for one night only. Besides, by the clock above th tunnel it says ‘Time to Play Hard’.

We had to be out by 10, because the lights were going right at 10. They did. And we weren’t quite out. While I always thought I’d cry my eyes out the last time I stepped out of Mackey as a student, I looked back down at the dark court and smiled. Something about staying out and playing ball til it’s lights-out makes me smile. Then, as I walked out of the arena, the bell tower was chiming the 10 o’clock hour. I smiled, laughed at the timing and thought “Hail Purdue.”

 I think it was the most appropriate ending my basketball “career” as a student could have.

And finals week is approaching extremely fast. This finals week should go okay. My first semester of college, my finals all fell in the first two days of the week, and I was home Tuesday night. Ever since, I’ve had finals through Friday or Saturday. Next week I have one exam Monday, one on Thursday, then two on Friday. Not too bad.

I just can’t believe how quickly this semester has gone by. My internship with Purdue Marketing and Media will be ending soon. This semester I was a writing intern, and I got to help write advertisements, brochures, posters, and different Purdue publications. Something I wrote should be up around campus next year. I’m not sure if I can talk about it since it isn’t published yet… but I’ll show it to you in August! And after finals week, I’ll be a senior. It’s hard to believe! (And I’ll probably have more time for blogging too, since I’m only having class Tuesdays and Thursdays! 16 credit hours in two days though won’t be a walk in the park. )

I considered the options: garden chicken, chicken with green bean, chicken with black bean sauce, chicken with eggplant.  Nope.  Pork?  Garden pork, pork with green bean, pork with mushroom.  Nah.  Beef?  No thanks.  I kept scouring when something jumped out at me.  Jellyfish!  Why would I want to have jellyfish for lunch? I thought.  But then, just as I started to read more of the menu, I said “what the heck” and became excited at the thought of eating something totally new to me.

By the time our waitress had come to take orders, I was psyched for my jellyfish.  But when I heard “Sorry, no more jellyfish” my heart sank, not knowing if I was ever going to get the chance to eat it again. Rats.

The situation made me think, though.  As my plans continue to solidify for studying abroad in either New Zealand or Australia next spring, I’ve come to realize that if I get the opportunity to go to a completely new place, to eat completely new things, to have completely new experiences, I won’t miss it.  I just can’t wait to see what’s on the menu.

Purdue and area Purdue-related businesses know how to send seniors off in the style. Yesterday was the semi-annual Senior Send-off, coordinated through the alumni association. They hold two a year, so that no matter when you graduate, you get in on free Subway, other free goodies and pictures with Purdue’s icons (or most awesomest toys as it was the train and drum). Some of the colleges were present, however ag was MIA. But, seeing how I’ve gotten about two tote bags and five ice scrapers off of them at farm shows the past few years, it’s ok. They also bought me dinner the other night & I’d rather have that than a pen I will most likely lose

Grand Prix week continues on. Wednesday was Moonlight Pancakes, which is an alternative even hosted by Ag Council. Basically, pancakes, a mechanical bull and good friends at 10 pm. Because of ACT’s very generous streak for the food drive (35 bucks in about three minutes) , president Jeanne ended up on the mechanical bull, which was pretty funny. I think I most enjoyed her singing along to Garth Brooks while she hung onto a mechanical bull!

Tomorrow is the race which I will finally be going to. I’m not the biggest race fan in the world, but I think it’s definitely worth checking out. This is also the 55th year for the race, which is pretty awesome. Also, Purdue alum, former driver and astronaut Drew Feustel will be the grand marshal, so I’ll see another Purdue astronaut.

Speaking of Purdue astronauts, for the graduate student graduation session, this year’s graduation speaker is David Wolf. Purdue actually hasn’t been bringing in ‘outside’ speakers for graduation for very long (actually Class of ‘10 was the first year I know of) but the really cool thing is they have all been Purdue-affiliated. While I’m sure there’s some cool non-Purdue people that would be good speakers, I really think it’s something special to have a Purdue person speak at Purdue graduation.

Seeing how I discovered this week that the West Lafayette Walmart carries Skyline (in a can, but still…) and since I haven’t had that in about 4 months, I’m going to go enjoy the chili, cheesy goodness that is a Cincinnati favorite!

These last few weeks I’ve felt like there hasn’t been a lot going on worth mentioning. There’s been homework, quizzes, exams, and studying. But there have been some highlights. Spring Fest was this weekend. You can read about the events here. Personally, I go to see the baby chicks. They have chicks, ducklings, and baby turkeys. I’m not sure if turkeys have a special name. But the ducklings are my personal favorite. They’re cute and soft. And I just always want to take one home. This year I was brave enough to go to the insect petting zoo. I’ve avoided this at all costs in the past, but last semester I took an entomology class. My professor handled the bugs and didn’t die, so I had a little more confidence in the petting zoo. I held a cockroach. Creepy, but it was cool. Then I held a millipede. A gigantic millipede. And it wasn’t so bad! It just sort of tickled my hands. So Spring Fest has brought me a long way in my acceptance of abnormally large insects. I will admit though, I let yet another year go by without spitting a cricket. I watched other people spit crickets. One person spit it 20 feet, on a windy day too! I’m just going to put it on my senior-year to-do list.

As Sarah mentioned, this is Grand Prix week. “The greatest spectacle in college racing.” I’ve never gone. But this week is also known as Grand Alternative week, which I do enjoy (free food!). There are campus-wide events put on every day by different student organizations giving students alcohol-free events to celebrate Grand Prix. Purdue Student Government sponsors the week with a $10,000 grant that goes to the organizations for free food and fun events. Tonight the Purdue Agricultural Council is having a moonlight pancake breakfast. From 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. they will be making pancakes for this event which usually draws 2,000 people. I’m looking forward to Friday’s “Parking Lot Luau”. Fairway Cooperative always puts on really fun, alcohol-free parties with music and dancing.

Back to the books for me. Finals week is quickly approaching. I have five final exams, one of which is a take-home exam but pretty difficult, and also a term paper to write. Six pages plus graphs. Much to do.

As I mentioned last year, our gathering could easily be called a banquet or something else. But as both of our advisors encourage, we’re a family and families eat dinner, thus, this is a dinner. As I round out my time as a college student, I think back to four years ago as I was about to begin this adventure by choosing a school and attending the orientation days. After my orientation session, I thought to myself that it would be a real struggle to find friends I would see as family over the next four years. Well, four years, two universities and a lot of miles later, I realize I am leaving college with friends who are now family. Getting to this point might’ve been a struggle at times, but making those friends was at least easier than I had predicted.

Adelino’s itself is rooted in the tradition of family dinners as we were told much of the inspiration for the restaurant came from the owner’s grandfather, who was an immigrant in the early part of the 20th century and would have various neighbors over to join him and his small family for Sunday dinner. As a lover of food, family and Sunday dinners, I really loved the tale behind the restaurant.

I do want to apologize for my lack of posting lately. Partially I really haven’t had anything to say other than “Went to class. Went home. Made dinner. Studied about bugs. Watched TV” I am honestly working to find a job though, for those wondering but not asking (thank you for not asking, by the way, as “do you have a job yet” is a senior still waiting to hear about a job’s least favorite question ). Currently I am waiting to hear more from one job while still seeking out other opportunities as you should never bank on one particular job. I’d prefer to work at home, with the Purdue area being a second choice, but if there were to be incredible internships aimed at recent grads in, say, DC or New York City, I might have to give those a second look. Part of me still really just wants a couple months to live in one of those cities. If anything, my appreciation for the peace and quiet of my Central Ohio home would increase

It is Grand Prix/Grand Alternative Week! Somehow I didn’t get a schedule of the free food this year, so I’ll just have to go off of what the Purdue Twitter account mentions. Ag Council will be having Moonlight Pancakes on Wednesday, and since the ACT’ers got real generous in a really short time frame for the food drive, President Jeanne will be riding the mechanical bull!

Boiler Up!

When you arrive at college, you’ll find out that there are several aspects of the experience that you’ll like as well as dislike. You’ll appreciate the freedom, the meals, the student organizations, the diversity, the list goes on. However, if you’re anything like me, your biggest dislikes about the experience will be rules in classrooms.

The Benefits of Creativity

Yesterday, a classmate gave a presentation in my Com 315 course. He’s a pretty talented presenter and always keeps the audience entertained through his unique approach to all his presentations. This specific presentation, we had to talk about ourselves, what we’ve done in college, and why we deserved to get the (made-up) job we were applying for (the audience acted as board members).

He started off his presentation by writing “2.5″ on the chalkboard. Afterwards he said, “2.5. That’s my GPA. Let that sink in for a minute.” I was impressed, even knowing that he was going to do something very unorthodox. To keep the story short, he spoke about how his experiences outside of the classroom attributed to his leadership, programming skills, and his ability to get results. He continued by stating that the reason he had a 2.5 was because he didn’t quite like the system of how professors graded assignments. He put it best when he said that, since he’s in Engineering, he was supposed to (as an engineer) create new ways of doing things, yet his professors had strict syllabi and wanted things done a particular way. In this, he pretty much told us that he didn’t like following the rules, but there was a positive reason behind it. By setting out to complete assignments his own way, he developed his creativity, passion, and personal skills beyond that of his peers.

I mentioned this story because I believe that we share the same mindset. Prioritize your knowledge in the way you see fit. You may not always get the grade you want – you may even be punished for it – but it will benefit you more in the long run.

Think about this. Let’s say you declare your major as CGT. As a CGT student, you’ll be taking several courses that could help you gain portfolio pieces along your journey. Everything from websites, to raster and vector images could be put into your portfolio. When you begin looking for a job, what will you show employers? Your portfolio, right? Here’s the problem however, everyone of your classmates who apply for that same job will be showing nearly the same portfolio pieces. What will distinguish yours from the rest?

So remember, always be yourself and always strive to think creatively. You may believe that grades are the most important thing in college, but you’ll soon find out that certain practices can limit creativity and individual expansion, which, after graduation, is never a good thing. Free yourself from all restraints.