Stevens Admissions: Ellyn's Blog

Trying to spread my "wisdom"

Yesterday I went back to my high school to participate in the school's first "Transition Night".
It was created for the benefit of high school seniors and their parents.

The guidance department organized this event, asking a college financial aid speaker, the school resource officers, and a panel of college students to talk about what both the students and their parents can anticipate as their college experience is about to begin. Located in the school's auditorium, there was a fairly large gathering of parents as well as parents dragging their child along for the event ha.

Right after hearing about this via email from one of my high school teachers, I jumped at the chance. There were many things I didn't expect coming into college and a lot of things I wish I had known beforehand. I think it was a great idea and am very happy I had the opportunity to participate.

The point that I stressed the most was to get involved and really take advantage of everything the school has to offer.

The Trip

Word to the wise.... be VERY cautious when driving on a road trip.

On my road trip to Texas as I mentioned in my last post... some things went awry.
Let's just say I didn't even make it to Texas. We got as far as Memphis.

I'm going to spare you the details, but I will say the trip was fun while it lasted.
Before the car broke down in Memphis, we got to see and do some pretty cool stuff!

1. We paid a visit to one of our friends in Indiana and left some artwork on his house :)

2. I was taught how to pump gas into a car.

3. I saw how flat it is as you get to the Midwest (you can see for miles!)

4. I spent some time in Memphis (& went to a BBQ Festival)

No matter where we were though... we were always DUCKS!

(this was our watchful duck on the Dashboard)

Below is a picture of our journey (both the intended one and the actual one).

Now I am back in NJ and preparing for my first week of graduate classes and my internship that starts next week!

*Fun fact- Lauren and I stick out like sore thumbs wherever we go! Almost everyone we met commented/ asked if we were twins.*

TEXAS TOMORROW!

Hello all! I am done with my finals (THANK GOODNESS!)

Now the fun begins! I am going to Texas tomorrow on a road trip with some friends.
(So you don't think I'm crazy and road trip for fun... I am going to Texas because one of my friends lives there, so we're going with her so she doesn't have to drive there alone.)

Therefore, I unfortunately can't blog in that time frame, but I will definitely take a lot of pictures to post when I return.

Midnight Breakfast & My First Final

Midnight Breakfast was WILD this semester!

To make a long story short... let's just say that I accidentally stepped on a police officer! :(
It was unintentional I swear! One of the new features of the midnight breakfast involved impairment goggles aka "beer goggles". I put on the goggles and was asked to do a variety of tasks: walk in a straight line, pick up a set of keys, balance on one leg, touch my nose, and throw a football through a hoop.
I don't remember when it was during walking in a straight line or going to pick up the keys... at some point I stepped on the officer. UGH, oops!

Attached is a picture of my sister trying to balance on one leg with the goggles on. As seen from the picture, she was quite unsuccessful.

My First Final

The reason I haven't blogged in a while is because of the hours I put into studying for my first final thsi semester. I literally spent 20 hours in the library studying for it.
The class: Mechanical Engineering Thermodynamics (sounds intense, right?!).
What we learned over the course of the semester was all about energy, work, heat transfers, and different types of systems.

OK, I'm off to study for my next final...  that's at 8am on Monday morning...

Greek Week

I have been lackluster about informing you about Greek Week! Because I was the Greek Week chair for my sorority, I helped spread the news about the events about everything going on!

If you don't know... Greek Week is a week long of events that celebrate Greek life on campus and try to promote unity between the sororities and fraternities on campus. Many schools around the country celebrate Greek Week.

Here are the list of events at Stevens:

Monday- Wing Eating Competition (yum)
Tuesday- Can Castles
Wednesday- DanceAThon
Thursday- Casino Night
Friday- Iron Chef & Chariot Races!

So many things to look forward to.... after finals ugh!

I have a lot to look forward to .... I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!

After I have taken all my finals (only 3 for me this semester), I have 2 BIG things coming up!

I just booked my flight!
The day I finish my last final, I am going to be leaving for a road trip to Texas with some friends! I CANNOT WAIT! The extent of my travels thus far have been pretty small.  Other than going to Argentina with the field hockey team this past summer, I have never been off the East Coast.  All of my family's vacations have consisted of Washington DC, Florida, Cooperstown, or the Poconos.
The fact that I will be road tripping to Texas with my sister and some friends will be a once in a lifetime experience! :)

THEN, my internship starts a week after I get back!  I have been ironing out details with my employer and I am so excited to get my feet wet and get some real work experience under my belt.

... keep in mind that all these details depend on whether or not I SURVIVE my finals! :/