Stevens Admissions: Jillian

From B-ball Kicks to V-ball Hits

With my last year of college I have found myself lacing up the low-top sneakers and pulling up knee pads, to trade in positing up on the block to attacking at the net trying to avoid the block. I have made the transition from four years of b-ball to using my last year to join the v-ball team, that’s right volleyball. It has been a big change and a lot to try and remember from high school! My coaches and teammates have been so helpful getting me back in the swing of things. I can’t believe the last time I played seriously was five years ago but the things I love about the sport have remained the same.

  The 13 players and two coaches all went away for four days to a volleyball complex in Denville, New Jersey to take part in the first sessions of preseason. The Stevens team has recently undergone a change in head coach, and having a new coach meant a new system and a lot to learn from scratch. As per-usual for teams at Stevens we have high expectations for the season in our Empire 8 conference and NCAA’s.

So far this season we have traveled to tournaments at NYC and Vassar College, as well as traveling to south Jersey to play Richard Stockton and New York State to play SUNY New Paltz. This weekend we finally had our first home game at our tournament, The Ducks Classic. We have been getting better with each game we play and I can’t wait to finally start conference to see how we do in the Empire 8!

It's a Girl!!!

She's having a girl!!! My cousin Karen is pregnant and has finally announced that the newest edition to our clan will be a baby girl.  She announced the general fantastic news to the family on Christmas when we were all together.  Wearing a t-shirt with the word "bambino" and an arrow pointing to her tummy, she was a little less than subtle.  The great news caused us all to hug and rejoice! My mother even burst into tears. Ever since the holidays we have been talking about different gifts we can get her and the baby and whether they would have a boy or a girl.  I really thought it would be a boy but Sunday I found out I was wrong.

Sunday afternoon my sisters, Mom and I hopped in our minivan with baskets of onesie and a brand new rocking chair and drove to Karen and Steve's long time friend’s house.  Their friends had told her that it was a barbeque party for their father, whose birthday was that same day.  My cousin Steve, her husband was the perfect accomplice as he drove to the house texting us to let us know his status.  When they parked we all got silent and when she opened the door she was completely shocked!  She had no clue that this party would in fact be her surprise baby shower.

We ate a delicious lunch then made our way to the basement for the hour plus of unwrapping adorable clothes, cute toys and two absolutely beautiful handmade baby blankets.  So that our new baby, second cousin knows just how good all her older cousins are we bought onesies from each of the colleges the six of us go to.  One from Stevens that read "Go Ducks!" on the butt, a Temple Owl's one from my cousin Allison, a mint green Manhattan College one where my little sister Casey goes, a yellow one with a stuffed animal dragon on it for Jackie who went to Drexel, and finally a white one that read "Little Explorer" from my cousins Mike and Jeff, and the new baby's grandma, my Aunt Maureen who all went to La Salle University.  My mom had a cute idea so we hung them all on a clothes line and had her pull them out of a wicker box.

The whole day was filled with happy moments and cute baby items.  I had fun watching her open all the car seats and carriers, but am truly excited for the baby to finally come!  She is due in the beginning of June so right in time for me to be moved home near the family! 

 

 

Golf Class

First the USGA testing facility and museum now an actual golf course! This semester I am enrolled in women's golf as my designated gym class.  It is put in place to help a select few of the Stevens women’s population learn the rules and social practices of the golf course.  Surprisingly there is a lot of golf involved the business world and not as many women have a chance to experience it.  

The first week we went over the basics: form, rules, dress code and equipment.  Along with all the technical stuff we talked about various cultural norms, like when to talk business on a course or how to join a foursome for a scramble tournament.  The first and second week we worked in the Athletic Training Center hitting against a net to work on aim and different distances, as well as trying all the different types of shots.  

The third week we took our talents to the driving range.  It was so much fun getting to see how far we could hit it.  Just the fact that it was finally feeling like spring and we could be playing outside was enough to make me smile.  My friends, Trinity and Ellie are in the class with me.  We got to all be in the same areas and discuss our future golf plans.  

To finish off the last two weeks we used a Stevens’ connection to get a private tour of the USGA testing facilities.  They showed us all the machinery and tools used for measuring all the standard aspects of the golf balls and different clubs separately, then the tools used for testing them together.  We got some free goodies too!  I came home with a box of florescent colored golf calls and a glittery one for putting.  On top of giving us all the free golf balls the class came out of the tour with two, brand new pink drivers.  What a girlie golf class!  We were able to try a couple drives on the USGA driving range and the lefties in the class got a couple of swings with Phil Mickelson's 9-iron.  

That part of the trip really appealed to the inner nerd of all the class members.  It was interesting to see how they tested everything.  After that we took a tour of the USGA Museum.  I saw the old clothes women used to wear when they golfed and the club that was used on the moon!  It was a really great trip because I really didn't know much history behind golf.  

Our class's final took us to a 9-hole par 3 course for us to put all our skills to the test.  Everyone was split into 3 teams.  I got to do some short drives, practice a lot of chipping and pitching and finally try putting on an actual green.  I finished well over par but was proud of how well I did for my first time.

It was only a six week golf class but it was a great experience.  I got my foot in the door of the golf world and now I really love it!  My cousin said he would go to a course with me once we are both done with classes, so I'll have to keep practicing to try and get better.  

 

Senior D Midterm

6 weeks and counting, 6 weeks until graduation and the end of my college career.  Classes are starting to wrap up, my two humanities classes have big research papers and I have started rough drafts and interviews for them.  They are both due the last week of class so I need to make sure to manage my time well so that I am not overwhelmed with meeting their respective deadlines.  Luckily they are both group assignments, when taking care to meet deadlines being in  group is a good motivator because someone else is counting on you to deliver as well.  

For my Sandy Studies class my group is accounting the events that occurred throughout the two major blocks, in Hoboken that had power throughout the storm.  My roommate’s fencing coach lives on Hudson St. and has a really good story about getting to know all her neighbors while sharing her power.  There are other connections through the Stevens community that we are going to pursue to get more details and information.  My metropolitan development class has our group researching a recent project in a metropolitan area to see how it was undergone and any repercussions that were caused due to it.     

The biggest project that has an end in my close sites, is my senior design project.  The week after spring break we had a big presentation to our advisors, client and teammates at the University of Alabama, Huntsville.  It went very well and we could tell from there that our biggest worries were behind us.  We have our model and system worked out to simulate our actual project and now we just have to take the final steps to get done.  Next Friday our poster board design is due so that we have something to advertise our project.  The last step is to finalize our report, we need to read through the 30 page document and make the changes suggested to us, as well as add our most recent steps.  Once this process is done all that is left is to practice our presentation and get ready for senior design day to actually present!  

March Insanity!

It is that time of year, the time all college basketball fans love, march madness!! The first couple weeks of the tournament have come and gone, leaving great matchups, nail biting final minutes and gruesome injuries behind them.  The aftermath of the first three weeks has left us approaching the weekend of the final four! This year there have been some of the biggest upsets having UFGC be the first 15 seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen, La Salle University a school from Philadelphia made me and my fellow Philadelphians proud and Michigan had a huge upset over Kansas to make it to this far. Saturday the games start at six and I am already starting to plan where to watch and what food to have ordered in time for tip off.  

Last weekend I was home for Easter and got to watch the games with my Dad and best friend from high school, Ellen.  We always gather in my basement for any big sporting events, especially all things basketball. We talked about the bleakness of our brackets after all the huge upsets, like Georgetown losing in the second round and of course our lost hopes and dreams of La Salle taking the tournament.   

For the most part, while at college a large contingency of my friends find their way to our friend, Max's room to watch major sporting games.  His gigantic, flat screen makes viewing the competition from any seat a good view.  And to be honest it is more fun to watch and cheer with a big crowd, especially with opposing sides.  Saturday ten of us will be making our way to the first floor dorm room to cheer on Syracuse, Michigan, Louisville and Wichita St.  Since no remaining teams from my personal bracket have made it this far (I know how embarrasing to admit)  I have chosen to jump on the Louisville fan bus.  They had a stellar game last weekend after their teammate broke his leg.  I really think they have the momentum and now an even bigger push motivating them through this weekend. 

Either way I love the competition this time of year and both matchups are going to result in fantastic basketball.  

Spring Break Bliss

10 days in Australia for Spring Break was more than I could have ever imagined. Everywhere we went was sunny and beautiful. Sarah lives in Bondi Junction, which is a section of Sydney not too far from downtown and the harbour, as well as only a 20 minute walk to world famous Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach has all the fame of the area but what I learned from my trip is that there are 5 other beaches not as well known but just as breathtaking. From Bondi Beach we took the coastal walk, which is a series of paths and staircases built into the rocks and pathways of the coast that connects a series of these beaches. We walked five miles and visited, Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama, Clovelly and Coogee.

It amazed me how similar the city section of Sydney reminded me of New York. There were smaller areas with tons of shops and restaurants that felt like SoHo or Chelsea. Then a few blocks away would be Darling Harbor and the Opera House. We took a ferry across the harbor to explore the smaller beach community of Manly. We were walking through blocks with skyscrapers and office buildings just five minutes away from a beach with surf boards and sand volleyball courts. The change in scenery was unreal.

On Thursday the skies were a little overcast so we took the hint and headed to the train station for a different activity, other than laying out on a beach. We got a train out to West Sydney to look around at the Featherdale Zoo. I saw tons of Kangaroos, jumping around freely. They weren’t in cages! We could buy an ice cream cone with feed in it and have them eat right out of our hand. I got to pet an adorable Koala Bear named Austin and learned what a wombat and Tasmanian devil looks like. They were all really cute. After the zoo we kept heading west into the Blue Mountain Range. We got off 2 hours later at Katoomba and started a couple mile hike to the Three Sisters lookout point. When we made it to the observation deck it was truly breathtaking, I had never seen or been so close to something as amazing as the Blue Mountains. It was all so green and bright! We took some pictures and walked around a little bit longer but since it was getting dark and our two hour train ride home was approaching we headed back to the town, ate some of the most delicious pizza I had ever encountered and then ventured back to the city.

My last day was spent on Bondi beach, trying to soak up as much sun as possible. We got dinner at a hibachi grill on Darling Harbor. Then walked around and visited the Opera House one last time. My flight was at 11:00 am so I pretty much just woke up and headed straight to the airport not wanting to have any trouble checking in or finding my gate. The flight back went much quicker and I didn’t have a hard time falling asleep at all. Now I am back at Stevens for my final weeks as a student. Only a couple months until graduation.

 

costal walk

Tasmanian Devil!

Wombat!

Blue Mountain Range

Katoomba Station

 

A Duck's First Flight Solo

At 22 some may find it interesting to learn that I did not own a passport until 5 months ago.  With this fact it is easy to accept the accompanying fact that in all my 22 years I haven’t left the continental US to visit any neighboring or far off countries.  I have made six or seven flights to the west coast, Florida and even Minnesota in my years, however not one has ever been alone.  Well folks, I am happy to announce this year of 2013 and the Spring Break that accompanies it I was able to fly alone!  And not just any flight, no it wasn’t just a first international flight to the Caribbean or Mexico, I didn’t fly over the tiny Atlantic Ocean.  No sir, my first international flight alone was to Sydney Australia, thats right 23 hr flight all by my onesie.  

My friend Sarah graduated from Penn State University last May with a BA in Sports Journalism, after an internship with ESPN she was able to find out about another job oppourtunity with the MLB and their project to extend major league baseball to the island of Australia.  After applying and interviewing for the six month internship she was notified of her job offer and invite to move to the other side of the planet, equator, international date line, you get the picture.  So she packed her bags, gave her parents a big hug and flew over to Sydney to live amongst the natives.

She had been living and working there since September.  Over that time we had many conversations about the idea of me going to visit her, the perks of being able to crash in her apartment the con of the expensive plane ticket.  But eventually the idea of visiting my best friend in her new home on the other side of the world was just too good to pass up on.  

After saving many paychecks and heckling my parents the plane ticket was purchased, my bags were packed and money exchanged into the colorful plastic bills that sat in my purse.  All that I needed to do was get past midterm tests, airport security and customs and I was sitting pretty on the beach.  My flight left from JFK on a very cold, windy afternoon.  Thank god I had went for the earlier flight since snow was predicted for later.

I checked my bag and with my boarding pass and passport in my hand made my way to the gate. The idea was a little overwhelming, having to navigate through a gigantic structure like the JFK international airport, but in reality it is all pretty much laid out in an organized fashion.  I found the correct gate purchased a gigantic salad and waited for my row to be announced.  

It was my first time on a 747, and man that baby was huge!  75 rows in total, and my seat number of course was 74 D so I got a tour of the whole thing.  Thank god for the isle seat and some room to stretch my legs in.  The plane was massive, the seat rows were not.  

I managed to sleep my way through the majority of the trip and the hours I spent awake were watching recently released movies like Flight (I know the irony) and Perks of Being a Wallflower or Oscar classics such as, Inglorious Basterds  and Psycho, as well as, indulging in the many meals they provided throughout the trip.  I made it to Sydney safe and sound, much to my mother’s hopes, and found Sarah in the airport no problem.  She was done with working so I knew the upcoming 10 days were going to be filled with fun activities and plans.

 

Australian Dollars

My New Future Town

A few weeks ago I got confirmation that I would be working in Verizon's West Nyack location.  Ever since I heard the news and told my parents we have been reasearching the area and its surrounding neighborhoods.  Nyack is a cute, small town.  My parents and I decided to take the 40 minute trip up the Hudson to take a look around and see about potential places I would like to live next year.  After driving down the main street and through the residential blocks I loved it!  It reminded me of Hoboken because of its central avenue with shops and restaurants on it, much like Washington Street.  Its right off the river, which is a view for most of the houses and apartments in town.  There are some highrise buildings but most of the apartments are a part of multifamily homes that include a drive way and some outside yard space.  

My office is in West Nyack, which is only a 15 minute ride.  Compared to this summer, which had a commute of over an hour, being able to leave the office and kick my feet up at home in under a half hour seems like perfection.  It was too early to seriously consider renting a place yet, so around the middle of May I will have to make another, more serious trip up to look around.  

I have lived in the dorms during my five years at Stevens, so personal furinture is not something I have been accumulating.  Being able to pick out and purchase pieces of my own is a new experience I am looking forward to.  Hopefully I can find a Verizon roommate to share a place with, rent is often cheaper when two people are involved.  Even if that doesn't workout I know there are numerous new hires working in the same building in West Nyack so I will probably have some neighbors in town.  

Sandy Studies Class Trips

This semester I am taking Sandy Studies as a requirment for my economics minor.  Hurricane Sandy hugely impacted the Stevens and Hoboken community and some people are still displaced and recovering.  Over the course of the first half of the semester we have read different articles about the storm and how it affected the whole country, as well as different stories, such as The Jamestown Flood and Isaac's Storm.  These stories are about hurricanes and major flooding that  happened in America and about the poor preparation and response given.  In addition to these readings we have had different speakers come to class and have gone on a few field trips.  

Last week we ventured down Hudson Street to the Hoboken Historical Museum.  It is a small, quaint building in the uptown section of Hoboken.  We were met by the director of the museum to explain the current exhibit.  The most recent display was about the original maps of Hudson County.  It was fascinating to see how small the original section of Hoboken was.  They also had binders filled with old pictures of the buildings and area.  I even found a picture of what my dorm building looked like before it belonged to Stevens.  

This week we ventured to the Hoboken Hurricane Resource Center.  It is a new building opening next Wednesday to help assist those still in need in the community.  Right now it is currently run by one women that works for city hall, but she is expecting help from many volenteers.  Luckily for her Stevens has this Sandy Studies class for just such an occassion.  We all signed up for available hours and I'm looking forward to any help I can provide.  

The Hurricane was over 4 months ago but families and neighbors are still in need.  Volenteering and assistance was in high supply but now that life, for most people, has returned to its original schedule its not as easy to find the man power.  Since our class is so strongly related with the Hurricane Resource Center we will definitely be able to lend some help.

SWE Bowling Night

As Social chair for SWE I get to plan and organize two events each semester to help strengthen relationships between the club members.  One event is usually during the general body meetings to do ice breaker type activities; last semester another one of the social committee’s events was a dinner out at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria.  About 20 members showed up and we were able to spend the evening chatting with new people and getting to know each other.  Tonight the social committee hosted a new event, in hopes that it catches on and gains popularity in the years to come, a bowling night.  The inaugural event was just ten members but it was a good mix of girls. 

We all met in the basement of the Howe Center, where Stevens houses its very own 6-lane blowing alley.  Got our fancy shoes and setup teams on the two lanes we had to ourselves.  The group was a mix of 5 freshmen and 5 juniors and seniors (have to do better to get those sophomores involved!)  Surprising to me I learned that two of the girls there had a vast knowledge of bowling, one being on the Stevens club team and the other the daughter of a retired PBA bowler.  They shared some of their tips to success but mostly we spent the frames chatting about upcoming spring break plans and senior design projects. 

Elections are next week to elect the executive board for the next academic year so my time as social chair is winding down.  I will help transition in the new chair and lend my hand in planning the end of the year banquet dinner.  Our constitution is changing a little and we are mixing the social and campus committees into one joint one.  I approved of the amendment because the two were already so closely related, we would find ourselves having similar event ideas and trying to create details to make them different from each other!  This way there can be more people working on events and give one committee 4 or 5 things to do rather than just 2. 

The previous bowlers definitely showed up the newbies, I was proud of my ability to break 100 in the two games we played.  Hopefully the event grows in popularity in the next semesters to come!  

Sixers Game!

Fans from the lovely city of Philadelphia sometimes get a bad wrap.  We are tough to please, but once you are on our good side you are pretty much set, well, until you screw up big.  Growing up in a family home where both parents have been born and bread in the city of brotherly love I grew up thinking one way: Philadelphia is the best place in the world!  There were only a couple teams to cheer for and I was truely perplexed when I would meet a classmate that did not support the Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, Sixer, etc.

When I made the move up north to Stevens it became evident that I had ventured into a new fan base.  The common site of a Phillies hat or Eagles pendant transformed into Giants gear and Yankees pinstrips.   That was truely something to get used to. After a few years across from NYC I have made more friends with questionable sports affiliations than I can count.  On occassion have accompanied them to Mets stadium and cheered on the Knicks in the playoffs, but my one true loyalty will always be Philadelphia.  

So when my dad offered me a chance to come home for a game I hardly hesitated.  I made the trip home after work at my internship to catch the Sixers/Clippers game.  My mom, dad, older sister and I were able to grab dinner, catch up on each others big events and watch the NBA game from 13 rows away.  The game was great even though the Sixers did not win.  The Clippers are a pretty talented team and it was fun to see some of my favorite players in person.