Stevens Admissions: Katelyn

Senior Week!

These past few days have comprised of Senior Week events. Senior week is a celebration open to all Stevens Seniors and their guests. It is a way to relax and enjoy our last days at Stevens. So far, there was an event called "Putting on the Ritz." It was a 20's themed dinner and drinks event at a restaurant in Jersey City. Yesterday was a trip to Medieval Times, which was a lot of fun. There are also a comedian last night, Ted Alexandro, who performed for us. Tonight is the Senior Ball. I'm really excited for that. If I have the chance, I'll post some pictures. 

Senior week has been a fun way to spend time with my fellow seniors and lead up to graduation, which is in just three days! 

Graduation is Near!

Now that graduation is a week away, I am finding it impossible not to reminisce about my time at Stevens. So much has happened to me in the past five years! I have held amazing co-op jobs in New Jersey and in New York City. I have learned so much about what it means to be an engineer. I have become a member of some amazing organizations, including Theta Phi Alpha, Tau Beta Pi, and Gear and Triangle. I've met some great friends. I've had great adventures exploring Hoboken and NYC. I would not change a thing about my college experience.

My debut into the "real world" is fast approaching; it is exciting (and slightly scary) that I will be taking my cumulative knowledge and applying to a real job. There is so much out there to still learn and understand, but I know that I have created the best possible foundation for myself at  Stevens. 

The results of my Stevens education are not only to be applied to future jobs. It turns out that my engineering background can come in handy at the most unexpected of times. An example? Last week I found myself in Kentucky while helping a friend look for apartments. We decided to take a tour of one of Kentucky's famous Bourbon Distilleries. During the tour, I was in Chemical Engineering heaven! Every step of the bourbon-making process I had learned about one way or another in my Chemical Engineering classes. It was even similar to my final design project (the processes of making bioethanol and bourbon are very similar). It was so interesting seeing a different application of the technologies I have spent so much time learning about. I think I am ready for the real world!

Here's a picture of me standing next to a copper distillation column. Although the tour was really interesting, I discovered that I do not like Bourbon at all.

End-of-Year Senior Celebrations

Now that classes are over and graduation is growing near, the fun events have started! Different organizations and departments on campus all celebrate the senior class. It's awesome to enjoy my last weeks of college with the other seniors; they are the people that I've spent the past five years with. It's exciting and also very nostalgic. There is also a lot of great food involved in all these events.

I had a nice dinner at Amanda's Restaurant with my senior Theta Phi Alpha SIsters.

The Chemical Engineering Department hosted a great dinner for all of the seniors. It was very interesting to eat dinner with all of my professors (I'm used to seeing them in class in front of the white board!) The dinner was at Ruth's Chris Steak House, and it was absolutely delicious.

The Co-op Office will be hosting a "Luau" for all the Co-op Seniors soon. Senior week is coming up soon too. There are a bunch of awesome events that take place during senior week, and I can't wait! All of this will lead up to graduation, which will be a great and probably emotional day. I've had such a great time at Stevens, and have gotten such an amzing education. There is so much to be thankful for, so much to look forward to, and so much that I will miss.

The view is going to be one of the many things I wiill miss about Stevens.

2013 Stevens Innovation Expo

If you've heard of Stevens, chances are that you've also heard of Steven's Senior Design. The senior design projects are a culmination of 4-5 years of hard work and dedication. Seniors spend months working on innovative designs, products, ideas, or research.  During the Stevens Innovation Expo, all that hard work is presented. The Stevens Senior design projects exhibit years or high-quality education.

The design expo is a huge event. Not only do engineering seniors participate, but business,art, and music students partake, and professors present their research as well. There are competitions, and prizes include cash prizes. In the past, students have won national competitions with their projects, and some have even gone on to patent their work and start businesses. 

It was a very exciting day. My design team and I developed a laboratory procedure to produce and analyze biodiesel. It was fun to discuss our work with other students, professors, and alumni.

It is very relieving to be one step closer to graduation!

 

 

Favorite Band

Last weekend, I saw my favorite band of all time, Great Big Sea, live in concert in NYC. I have loved this band for as long as I can remember. They are folk-rock band from New Newfoundland, and are very popular in Canada. They do have a cult following in the US, and the theatre was packed in New York. They put on an incredible show. Their harmonies were amazing, and the music was just wonderful. They played all of their best hits. If you haven't heard of Great Big Sea, I highly reccomend giving them a listen. The subject matter of their songs varies from horses to sailing to pirates and anything else. They are just a lot of fun. 

My parents are also huge fans, and I was able to go to the concert with them. It was a great evening!

This concert doesn't have too much to do with Stevens. However, I wanted to write about it because I am so happy to be in a position to not only attend a great school like Stevens, but also do the things I love. Because of Steven's wonderful location, I can attend classes in the morning and then make it to a great concert in a great city at night. It is the best!

 

Writing Improvements

This semester I am taking two English classes in order to fulfill my literature minor requirements. One class is a writing seminar. I've written three research papers so far for that class on topic ranging from philosophy to Joan or Arc. Through writing these three papers and getting feedback on my work, I think that my writing has improved dramatically. The impact of this class showed in the grade I received on my final research paper in my other english class, Classical Mythology. I wrote my paper on the evolution of centaurs, and I got an A-, with the comment "very, very good." I am incredibly excited about this.

It is very rewarding to see myself getting better at writing.The past five years, I have gained so much knowledge and experience in math and science and engineering. It is refreshing to hone a new, but equally as important, skill.

It'

Making Noise

This weekend was again filled with great events at Stevens. Thursday night, I watched Stevens Dramatic Society's production of "Urinetown the Musical." It was awesome! It was witty, funny, and the actors were great. I have a huge respect for the Stevens Dramatic Society. My freshman and sophomore years, I was involved in two shows, one play and one musical. I experienced first-hand how much work goes into our productions. I remember my director saying "Stevens musicals are not a step above high school, they are a step below Broadway."

This Saturday was Boken, our annual spring carnival event. During the day there were carnival games, food and activities all over campus. At night there was an Anberlin concert and a fireworks show. The fireworks were incredible! Watching a fireworks show with New York City as the backdrop is pretty amazing.

I couldn't help but think that for a small school, Stevens makes a lot of noise. Literally, we do so with our concerts and musicals and fireworks. We also do so figuratively, by making ourselves known for our research, career development, and so much more.

Fireworks on Castle Point!

Induction, Awards Gala, and Car Show, Oh My!

This past weekend was chock-full of Stevens events. It was really busy, but also a lot of fun!

Friday night was the induction ceremony for the Delta class of my sorority, Theta Phi Alpha. A year after establishing ourselves on the Stevens campus, we have over fifty active sisters! It is so wonderful to develop friendships with so many different women on campus. I even have two new members in my Theta Phi Alpha family tree, because my littles now have littles. Several alumnae came back to Stevens for the induction. It is always nice to spend time with my sisters.

Saturday night was the Stevens Awards Gala. The event was organized to honor 13 distinguished Stevens alumni for their outstanding achievements. The recipients were all very gracious and gave wonderful speeches reminiscing about their time at Stevens. I was asked to play in a string quartet after the dinner course. Myself and 3 other Stevens musicians played a Mozart quartet for an audience of about 350 people. It was very exciting to play onstage in front of the Stevens president, Dr. Favarin. The venue, Gotham Hall in New York City, was gorgeous. The food was incredible. It was a wonderful evening, being in the company of Stevens students and alumni. I was very lucky to have the privilege to attend the event.

Gotham Hall was amazing!

On Sunday, EC (Steven's Entertainment Committee) gave me a ticket to attend the International Auto Show at the Javits Center in NYC. I am not a crazy car person, but there is something about looking at the beautifully designed brand-new vehicles that is just really cool. Who wouldn't want to drive a half-million dollar Rolls-Royce? I had so much fun sitting in all the different types of cars. It was a good day.

Sunday also happened to be Steven's annual Anime Convention. People from all over gather to celebrate their shared love of comics, amine, and everything in between. After returning from the car show, I had a good time walking around campus and checking out all the cool costumes!

April Fools?

This has to be an April Fool's joke. I can't only have one month of classes left in my Stevens career. Or, is it possible? The time has gone so incredibly fast! This semester has flown by. This academic year has passed quickly. Actually, my college experience has gone by faster than I ever could have imagined. I think I've made the most of every day at Stevens, and that is my advice to you; make the most of your college experience. Take the classes you want, apply to the internships you want, join organizations, travel. Do whatever it is that inspires you in these few short years.

In the next two months, I have so much to look forward to! I have Senior Design Day, Senior Week, and Graduation. I am moving to a new state! It is a whirlwind of emotions. I am excited and nervous and nostalgic all at the same time.

UN Conference!

This Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend a youth conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Stevens sponsored me and about forty other students so that we could attend this international event and represent our university. It was an incredible experience. There were people from all over the world listening, speaking, and offering their insight and opinions. The headsets at each station could be used to translate the discussion into whatever language you felt comfortable with. The UN president spoke in Spanish, so I needed a translation for his speeches.

The conference was hosted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in order to bring together youths from all over the world and initiate a dialogue about important issues. The issues were discussed in three different sessions spread over the day. The subjects were 1) Women in STEM 2) Fostering Innovation, especially in developing countries, and 3) Using social media to initiate change.

During the first session, the conference had a live feed from a panel of women physicists at CERN. During the last session, Wael Ghonim, the internet activist who helped initiate the pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt, spoke from his experiences.

From the conference, I gained so much insight into how other people across the globe think and feel about important issues. Some Stevens students even participated in the dialogue! There were hundreds of people in the UN conference room, and many more following the meeting virtually. I am so lucky to have had the chance to see the place where important global leaders meet and make decisions. I am even luckier that we only had to take a 30-minute bus ride to see it!

Here are all the Stevens students that attended.

Outside the UN.

Here's the headset at every seat.

Here are the Physicists from CERN speaking.

Me sneaking a picture in the United States seat.

Weekend Road Trip

This weekend, I took a break from Hoboken and made a trip to Pennslyvania. It was a short, mid-semester reprieve from studying, essays, and everything else. It was a lot of fun!

You might be asking yourself how Gettysburg could be an exciting weekend trip destination? My answer to you is that Gettysburg is an incredible place. It is the location of a monumental battle critical to the outcome of the Civil War. You can walk in the same fields, streets, buildings, and hills that American soldiers fought and died on 150 years. It is a very sobering experience to look at the battlefield and think about the history that unfolded there.

This is the view from the top of Little Round Top (a location in the movie Gettysburg). The rock formation in the left background is Devil's Den, where the Confederates led the unsuccessful attack against Union soldiers. This was a very bloody spot during the battle. 

Besidies being an amazing historical experience, there are a lot of fun aspects. You can climb rocks, hike up hills, go shopping, or visit Gettysburg College. There happened to be an international cat show taking place this past weekend right in town, so for $3, I got to look at a collection of fancy cats. Having fun is all about being spontaneous and making the most of whatever short amount of time you have in a place.

Here's me trying to climb a rock.

Check out the cat show!

On the drive back to Hoboken, I stopped in Lancaster County. Since it was a Sunday, many of the Amish Mennonites were driving their buggies around town. It was fun to drive around and look at the farmland. I even saw an old covered bridge. I tried chicken and waffles for the first time. Yum!

A car and a buggy together!

An old covered bridge.