Stevens Admissions: Jillian

Getting Down to Crunch Time

This is the last full week of classes!  Although that statement is made mostly with gratification and anticipation of sandy beaches and clear skies, there is a certain level of dread because we must complete the impending finals period in order to be rewarded with summer break. Finals aren’t all that bad. Honestly, it usually boils down to one or two tests each day with a couple of days between them, which are convenient when it comes down to scheduling study time. 

Until those days come, we spend long and hard hours in the library with highlighters and multiple bottles of water. This week is usually one when the term papers and final presentations are given. I have been very lucky this semester to have been on top of these said term projects. My groups and I have met the deadlines throughout the weeks, and these last couple of days we have not had to pull any all-nighters or cram sessions.  (When it comes to classes with main term projects or papers planning ahead and being proactive is highly recommended). You learn from prior classes, but the common mistake people make is thinking that there will always be enough time in the semester to get to the paper later…THAT IS NEVER THE CASE!  Best advice I can give is to always work on it throughout the semester.

With this low-demand week, I had an odd desire to make some treats in my apartment.  Looking around at what I had on hand, I saw that I would be able to make rice krispie treats and chocolate covered strawberries! I know what you are thinking: Wow, this girl is talented. But I can’t leave you with that false image of me. I have my troubles in the kitchen. For example, my first attempt at melting marshmallows somehow managed to set off the dorm fire alarm. After a quick investigation from the Stevens Police, they deduced it was ok to go back into the building and that I would require some supervision while being crafty in the kitchen. With my new chaperone in place, my roommate Molly, the more experienced rice crisper by far, we attempted batch number two with great success! 

To tackle the chocolate-covered strawberries, my roommate, Lauren, was the practiced hand in that craft.  She explained the simple, yet safe, way to melt chocolate kisses in a pot and dip and lay out the strawberries. We placed the tray in the freezer to expedite the solidification process, and minutes later the apartment had tons of goodies to accompany us into our week of tests, studying, sweatpants and coffee cups!  

Unity Carnival

 

Stevens’ campus has some great events, especially in the spring. One of my favorites is Unity week’s carnival. It takes place during the class block on Wednesday on Schafer lawn and there is always tons of different food there! Unity is a week when the different cultural clubs of Stevens hold different events and shows to perform or teach students about their cultures. This Wednesday, the clubs set up brightly colored tents and tables with food and games from their cultures.

My roommates and I walked around to taste some delicious croqueta, platanos, pirogues, egg rolls, mac and cheese, and ziti. We were all able to get Unity T-shirts and tie dye them so that they could be cool colors. We stopped at the FAST, Filipino Association of Stevens Tech, table to play a hackie sack game; I made all three hackies into the cardboard cut-out to win two mango jelly cups! We took some funny photo booth pictures, got air brush tattoos, and I indulged in my favorite vice, cotton candy!!!! 

On Friday, there was the Unity show, which showcased numerous cultural clubs, as well as a couple of fraternities and sororities. The dances were so well planned and entertaining, some of them even had stories or funny sketches. Unity week is a fun time on campus to try different foods and witness a different type of entertainment.

Super Fan of the Day

This week was so lovely outside, the weather was beautiful from Monday to Friday and it set up the students and campus for an even more beautiful Saturday, which was Spring Sports Day. The athletic department picks a weekend that there are multiple home games for the spring teams and do a bunch of free giveaways and host a day-long barbeque.

To go along with this Spring Sports Day, they also added the Super Fan of the Day giveaway! The grand prize was a brand new Kindle Touch! In order to be able to win, you needed to go to all four home games and get a ticket stamped at each one, then turn it in to be picked before the 5^th inning of the baseball game. My roommate, Ellie, and I both love to read and knew a Kindle Touch would be an awesome thing to win! We got a schedule of when all the home games started, and Friday night we set out a plan of how we would make it to all the games and watch them before going to the next event. 

We started our day off with some morning yoga and breakfast at Pierce Dining Hall. With the first game being men’s lax starting at noon, we had enough time to do some window shopping on Washington St. before game time. At twelve, we got our first stamp and sat in the sun to enjoy the close-scoring game which resulted in a hard-won Stevens victory! Next, we headed to the softball field in neighboring Weehawken. It's close enough that we decided to run, to fit some cardio into our jam-packed day. The river field has an amazing view of the NYC skyline, and I always think of how lucky the team is to play in such a nice place.

Although there was a fan bus, Ellie and I opted to run back to campus after softball to make it to the men’s tennis match against Utica College. We watched from the courts for a few sets, and then got our tickets stamped and watched from the top of the hill. The tennis courts are at the bottom of a giant hill and from the top you can see all four courts while looking out of the Hudson River. When the single matches ended, we walked across campus to get some seats in the stands at Dobbelaar Field. With our final stamp on our tickets, Ellie and I crossed our fingers and turned them in!

The baseball game had a quick start, and by the 4^th inning the score was tied at 2. I was working on a nice sunburn. The fourth inning approached and passed, and Ellie and I got ready in our seats because we had a feeling one of us would be the winner! After what felt like an hour of anticipation and build up the commentator announced that the winner of the Kindle touch was….ELLIE KLEINHANS!!! I did not win; however I was just as excited as if I had. Maybe it was our well-scheduled day or the fact that we stuck with our plan and made it to all the events, but Ellie winning felt like a Win for me too!  

 

 

About Time for a Part Time

Being a senior comes with tons of fun events, awards dinners, and celebrations. With my final season of basketball under my belt and a ton of new free time proving as something I am unfamiliar with I headed to Washington Street to find a part time job to help fund the celebration of my first senior year and something that would put my few extra hours of free time to good use.

Lucky for me I did not have to search far. I actually only made it to the corner of 6^th and Washington (down the block from where I live on campus) and found that the newest clothing boutique in Hoboken, Ruby and Jenna, was looking for full and part time employees. Clothing being my second favorite thing in the world, second to breathing, I decided this would be a great job for me. After submitting my resume and available work hours, I was hired, and more than eager to do well at my first retail job. I was also quiet elated with my new find because the clothes are right up my alley. I couldn’t wait to get my first pay check to add some of the trendy asymmetrical skirts and cute dresses to my wardrobe. 

Now I am moving on to my fourth week of working there as well as balancing classes and clubs, and I am relieved that my time management skills have transferred over from basketball season. When my parents heard of the new job they were a bit hesitant and worried that it would affect my schoolwork, but balancing a part time job with classes, clubs and other commitments helps reinforce a student’s ability to set deadlines, make due dates and not let the quality of their work slip. Also, to my nerdy surprise, I have been able to relate my work at Ruby and Jenna to the things I am learning in my Engineering Management classes, like supply chain, throughput, and inventory!  

 

A Lovely Easter with Family and Friends

Easter break is a great time to head out of campus early and enjoy the relaxing weekend with your family and friends. The lucky girl I am, I have no classes on Fridays at all so could add this as a third day to my weekend. Thursday night, my younger sister Casey, who is a chemical engineering freshman at Manhattan College, took the 1 train from her campus in the Bronx to me in Hoboken, NJ. We went to Charritos for some delicious guacamole and quesadillas! 

I love that she goes to school so close to me.  Even though I am finishing up my fourth year, it’s a nice feeling knowing we will both be near the city for another school year. Getting to meet her in the city or have her come spend the night in Hoboken has helped keep our relationship close. Her also studying engineering helps because we have such similar schedule demands.

Early Friday morning, we headed towards the Hoboken terminal and hopped on the first train to Philadelphia. My older sister, Jaclyn, and my mom both had off from work so they picked us up, and we all headed right to the mall for some family shopping and catching up! Since my sisters and I are all living away from home now, my parents have made some changes to the house. These changes resulted in me, the middle child, spending the weekend on a lovely air mattress. Being the middle child is so hard!

The Saturday before Easter was spent mostly outdoors since the weather had finally started to warm up. In the evening, under continued clear skies, I went to my high school friend’s home to sit by the fire pit and roast marshmallows all night. Since I spent spring break in Ft. Lauderdale, I haven't seen my high school friends back home in a while. For the most part, everyone has the same break around Easter, so we were able to catch up and, most importantly, find out what the next steps we are all taking after college! Most of us are getting close to graduating.

Easter Sunday was another day filled with delicious meals made by my father. Brunch after church, a light lunch, and then a delicious dinner was enough to make me happy. I was able to see both of my grandmothers as a special addition to the day since they came by for dinner and the homemade cheesecake dessert!  

 

Women’s Recognition Dinner

On the evening of March 31^st, the Stevens community gathered in the very decorated Bissinger Dining hall to honor some of the influential women at Stevens. The semi-formal event started at 6pm on the second floor of the Howe Building, with a nice meet-and-greet, as well as some delicious hors d'oeuvres. I was accompanied by my basketball co-captain and roommate Isaura Guzman, fencing team captain Krista Sticco, and her twin sister, and softball captain, Brianna Sticco. Stevens invited all the female sports team captains and club presidents to be guests for the awards dinner.

After snapping a few photos and helping ourselves to our fair share of spring rolls there at the meet-and-greet, we were directed to the elevators to join the other guests in the Bissinger dining room on the 4^th floor. Being the group of athletes that we are, however, we opted for the two flights of stairs, heels and all! When we walked into Bissinger, we could not believe the transformation. We had all been there before for various comedy shows or special meetings, but have never seen it as decked-out as it was.  There were candles on every table, mood lighting, and a DJ booth in the back corner. The four of us were able to find a table with the correct amount of seats, and before we knew it Dr. Maureen Weatherall, the evening’s MC, was at the microphone.

Women were allowed to come to Stevens as undergrads in the fall of 1971, so this year marks the 40^th year of women at Stevens. To start off the awards, two very important women were honored: Rev. Dr. Audrey J. Vincentz Leef, M.S. ’47, who earned a master's in Mathematics from Stevens, and Robert H. Seavy, M.S. ’48, who worked at Stevens for four decades, including serving as director of admissions. These two people were very active in the decision to allow women to be admitted, and it was a very surreal feeling to realize that without their courage and hard work, I wouldn’t be where I am today at Stevens. 

After these two awards, a delicious chicken and asparagus platter was served, followed by cheese cake with raspberry sauce! So delicious! Then all the current students were honored, either with The Women of Distinction Award or the Service and Leadership award. In total, 14 current students were recognized, and hearing all that they've done for the community was awesome!

The evening concluded with Dr. Weatherall announcing to the guests that no one was allowed to leave until someone danced. The DJ started up, and all the guests headed to the dance floor. 

 

From Dinos to Stars

I am originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and prior to my attendance at Stevens Institute of Technology, had been in the city of New York once, to play basketball, in Harlem…it wasn’t exactly your average tourist trip. Now that I have been in Hoboken for over 3 years, I believe that I have taken advantage of the beautiful and interesting things the great city has to offer. I’ve visited the Met, seen the Statue of Liberty, picnicked in Central Park and have attended a multitude of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. However, this week was the first time I had ventured to the Upper West Side for some good old fashion history, all kinds of history. The American Museum of Natural History is a beautiful, enormous building. The first things you see upon entering the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda are two gigantic skeletons, technically known as the Barosaurus exhibit, the world’s tallest freestanding mount of a dinosaur. Needless to say, it was overwhelming!

We planned our trip so that we could have an hour and a half to explore, then make a half-hour show in the planetarium, take a 15-minute snack break, and finish our afternoon with another hour to look at the different exhibits. We started with the dinosaur exhibit. Below I inserted some pictures of my favorites. I couldn’t believe how big they were! Then we worked our way along time to see some of the fossils found from the earliest mammals on the planet.  Eventually we made it to the various animals of the world and onto the different native tribes of the continents.

By far, my favorite part was the planetarium show, Beyond the Stars.  Planetarium shows, to me, are always so cool because the way they are shaped and filmed, you feel as if you are soaring through the sky!  It is truly an amazing experience that I recommend to everyone!  After that show, we made our way to the Hall of the Universe and looked at some interesting facts about how the Earth came to be. I also got to calculuate how much I would weigh on the Moon (24.9 pounds!)

Having the afternoon to explore the Museum was a great break from school work!  I’m happy I got to check another place off my list of NYC hotspots before my senior year.  Enjoy the pictures of the dinosaurs and etc. plus nothing like an awkward solo shot in front of a wooly mammoth skeleton!  

 

SWE Region E Conference

What a fun week of NYC adventures! Not only was I able to have my first trip to the American Museum of Natural History on Wednesday, but Saturday afternoon I spent with my fellow SWE ladies at Columbia University talking with and learning from independent women in the corporate world.

We started off our day navigating the NYC subway system, and with a minor turn around were able to find the right train.  A quick eleven stops later, we were checking in and getting our schedule for the day ironed out.  There were 4 time periods set as workshop times with ten different events to choose from, not to mention making sure we checked out the threads at SWE boutique!

The two seminars I liked the most were, "Three Keys to Maximizing Your Net Worth" and "College to Corporate." With very successful, experienced women leading the discussions, they were both very interesting, and I felt like I really learned a lot.  I like to think I've got it all together, especially when it comes to my finances, but as a college student about to end her fourth year, that's so definitely not the case.  The Three Keys workshop with Christine Parker of Parker Financial helped point out three major factors to keep in mind pertaining to getting out of debt as quickly as you can and what categories to think about when trying to make your money work for you.

College to Corporate was presented to the various SWE members by Karen Frank and Catherine McNally, who are the director of Business Development at The Omnicon Group and Director of Engineering at Telephonics Communication Division, respectively.  A lot of the topics they touched on were common sense among the work place or how to think and act at a first job. However, they were things that I never would have thought to focus on.  From giving good examples of how to stay in touch with potential employers to being effective in group meetings as a new employee, they were both very easy to talk to, and the experience they have from their years in the industry really helped drive home the message they wanted to give to us newbies.

Before we headed back to our side of the Hudson, we all did a check through the boutique, stopping at multiple tables and trying to stuff our various t-shirts and athletic SWE gear into our bags filled with other goodies from the day.  

 

First SWE Budget Meeting

The other day was the new Society of Women Engineers (SWE) exective board’s first budget meeting for next semester.  Since I was elected Social Chair I was in attendance with the other chair holders, ready to give ideas and help with whatever needed planning. The new president, Maggie, had to go through the plans for the club next year and decide how much money should be especially allocated to events. To help with this important task, the former president and vice president came, along with our faculty advisory, Professor Brunell, our administrative advisory, Kristie Damell, and our career development liaison, Karen Dilsizian.

This year, we were able to do a couple of great events and want to continue with them and their success. The social chair’s responsibility is to come up with events or activities that better help the club members interact. Last year, we did a lot of great ice breakers during general body meeting, and I hope that next year we can do more activities outside of meetings, such as, a cultural night where we can all sample different dishes from different restaurants in Hoboken that are off the beaten path. 

We also want to find a way to connect with female engineers from their freshman year and even maybe from their first week of orientation by hosting a lunch or dinner to inform the new students. A new thing would hopefully be a SWE carnival day with a barbeque, pie-a-SWE-member, and other fun things to do. Another goal is to find a way to reach out to and promote SWE at other universities or colleges with large engineering student populations.  

Every Voice Counts

Today the women’s basketball team took part in the Every Voice Counts competition.  Every Voice Counts is a competition to display and propose potential solutions to a political or social issue in our community.  Last year, we participated and took home first place and $800 of fundraising money.  We entered and picked a topic the week before spring break, which allowed for a good amount of free time to look into the issue and think of ways it could be aided.

This year we picked something close to home with the NCAA Division III bylaw that no student-athlete is to be eligible for athletic scholarships or grants. Stevens is a Division III participant in NCAA sports so all of my teammates and fellow athletes participate out of their love of the game.  However, in past years there have been infractions and severe consequences for other institutions that have been caught breaking the rules. 

The whole team dedicated a couple of days to compiling our research, stating our facts and creating ways to avoid the DIII infractions. We met in the library, found some floor space to throw our tri-fold board on, and start cutting and pasting the project together. Realizing that a team of eleven presenting to three judges might be overwhelming, four girls volunteered to present and ironed out what they would be saying.

Wednesday afternoon they presented, with the rest of us showing great moral support in the audience. They were amazing! There were four other teams, all with great projects. You could tell the other organizations had put in a lot of work as well. We were a little nervous as the judges counted up their scores... but we won SECOND place! It was so great to have the team put their minds to it and see the payoff in an academic competition rather than on a basketball court.

 

A Very Barrett St. Patty’s

Top o’ the Morning to you!  This Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day, and as someone who comes from a long line of Irish-Americans, it is a pretty big deal to my family.  In past years, it has always fallen during spring break, so I've spent the holiday on a beach or snowboarding in Idaho.  Luckily for my family and me, this year St. Patty's Day fell on the day before I had to return to campus from spring break, so it was spent with Grandma, Mom-mom, Mom, Dad, and my two sisters Jaclyn and Casey. 

I’ve said it a million times and will say it a million more, my father is the best cook I know.  Anything from breakfast to dinner and all the dips and deserts are absolutely delicious, and Saturday was no exception.  Whenever I am home, he finds it fun (or maybe he thinks it’s lovable) to wake me up way earlier than I had ever dreamed of waking up by tickling my feet!  This immediately sends me into shock, and if I don’t physically fall out of my bed, I am still recovering from the attack to be able to go back to bed.  The payoff of a fresh, homemade breakfast is enough to make up for it, though. 

My mother loves to play her Gaelic CD, so for the whole day we have nice festive music playing.  For dinner, Grandma Barrett and Grandma Linaugh came over in their festive green sweaters and jackets.  My Dad made traditional corn beef, cabbage and boiled potatoes, and we enjoyed some Irish potatoes after the meal too.