Stevens Admissions: Katie's Blog

Surfing!

San Diego is home to the top (#1 and #2) surfing beaches in the country. But I went to neither of those my first time out. I found a quiet little cove with waves just big enough to learn on. And I loved it! It's SOOO much fun. The water is too cold in the Pacific Ocean to go in without a wetsuit, but once you have one on, you barely notice the temperature. The waves just kept coming at me - I never had to sit around and wait for the perfect chance. Instead, I was continuously jumping back on my board to try and try again. And I did succeed!  I can now officially stand up and surf! Not for very long, and not on very big waves, but I can do it :)  I look forward to many more surfing experiences while I am here on the west coast during my amazing co-op.       

ACE

I have spent the past 2 days in an ACE training session for work.  ACE is the Operating System that Hamilton Sundstrand, as well as the rest of UTC, uses.  It was so much fun.  We spend two days at a hotel running through different types of tools that the company uses to measure metrics and solve problems. 

By the time I leave my co-op job this semester, I will be fully certified as an ACE Associate, which will be GREAT once I start applying for jobs later on :)

Farmers Market

Farmers Markets are really common out here.  On Sunday I ventured out to the local Farmers Market in my neighborhood expecting to see a few tents set up with some people selling fruits and veggies.  Boy was I wrong.  There were SOOO many booths, with so many different types of foods.  The majority of them were even giving out samples!  I got try try foods that I had never even heard of before.  There was every thing from fruits, veggies, dipping sauces, homemade pastas, freshly made smoothies, vegan desserts, dried meats, etc.  It was so nice just to spend an afternoon strolling around my neighborhood sampling the local cuisine.  California sure is showing me a good time :)

 

Roller Derby

Apparently Roller Derby is a big thing out here.  This past weekend a friend took me to go see the San Diego Derby Dolls match up against a team from Los Angeles.  It was such a cool expirience.  I didn't know the rules of Roller Derby, so it took some time to get used to - but it was all very cool.  The girls on the teams looked so intense, but it looked like they were having a blast as well.  

It all boiled down to the last 'jam' which is just the last round.  It was a very close match (or as they call them, bouts) and the San Diego home team ended up losing by only a few points. 

It was such a cool expirience to learn about a sport that you rarely hear about on the east coast.  It is such a common thing out here I may just want to give it a try!

My Birthday!

My birthday was this past weekend, so my parents flew out to visit me!  It was great.  They stayed in the downtown part of San Diego, which I had yet to explore.  We walked around the Gaslamp district, a part of downtown San Diego that does in fact still have street lamps run by gas. TONS of shops, bars, resturants, etc., are in that area. It's small but densly packed, kind of like Hoboken!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also went to check out Croanado Island.  It is a small island right off the coast of San Diego and is connected by a bridge.  The island has two major points of interest:  a Naval base and the historic Hotel del Coranado, a beautiful, old hotel right along the beach.  

The last thing we did over the weekend was drive along the coast.  We went through all the little beach towns.  It was too cloudy to fully enjoy the beach - but I did buy a wetsuit!  I can't wait to try surfing!!!

Vegan Fast Food!!

So apparently in California, they have fast food places that are all natural/vegan!  I stumbled upon a fast food restaurant today (with a drive-through and all) that is strictly vegan!  I can't believe it.  They have all your expected fast food items - burgers, wraps, ice cream, even chili fries - except that everything on the menu is 100% vegan.  I am in love!

Balboa Park

 

My roomate and I just went on an 8 mile hike/walk/adventure through San Diego's Balboa Park.  It was incredible!  There were so many different changes in scenery.  First, there was a typical green grass park, then we dipped down into a drier canyon area.  We ended up in an even dryer area filled with all different types of cactus plants.  I didn't even know that some of them existed!  There were cactus trees, cactus bushes, big ones, little ones, etc.  

We ended up going through a rose garden (although all the roses are out of season) and then through the museum section of the park.  We walked behind the back of the Air and Space museum and through this museum village called the internation cottages.  These cottages are all designated countries and maintained by citizens of each coutry so they really represent how living in such countries would be.  

There was so much to learn in the park just by walking around it.  I still have so much to learn about this city!

Friends :)

I am so excited!  One of my friends from Stevens joined the Marines and is stationed about 4 hours north of me in California.  I haven't seen him in almost a year but today he is driving down to San Diego!  

I love the bonds that I have made in my time at Stevens Institute of Technology.  Attending a school of a little over 2,000 undergraduate students, you really get to know so many people.  Freshman year, I honestly felt as if I knew everyone in my class year. If not by name, I could at least recognize them around campus.  We are such a close-knit campus, and I wouldn't change that for anything. :) 

San Diego Zoo

I still can't believe how lucky I am to be working in San Diego.  I am having such an amazing time, and I have only been here for 10 days!

The San Diego Zoo has over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...and I now have a full membership!  I went to check it out this weekend, and I fell in love!  There were so many exhibits, and there were tons of birds just walking around the grounds freely.  It was amazing!  I think my pictures speak louder than anything I can describe.  Enjoy!

Parrot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Otter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hummingbird:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polar Bear:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panda:

Week 1 of Work - DONE

So I have officially been in California for 9 days - and I finished my first week of work!  I absolutlely LOVE it!  I am working as a co-op employee in the Quality department of Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems.  My boss is awesome and even likes the same football team as me!  I spent my first week going through various training modules pertaining to what I will need to know for the next 5 months.  One of the biggest projects I will be focusing on is using a quality operating system to determine the various value streams within the company, making sure we are aligning to those value streams.  By doing this, I will be able to work with professionals from various functional groups and see how each department operates, giving me a greater understanding of how the company operates as a whole.

On a different note, I am off to explore my new city! (I'm hoping to obtain a San Diego Library Card!!)

 

Happy New Year!

Thanks to all the friends I've met at Stevens Institute of Technology, I didn't have to be alone for New Years as I start my co-op placement in San Diego.  I took a train up to LA and met with a friend who attends Stevens and was home in CA for the winter break.  It was such an amazing trip! 

I took an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner up the coast to LA, and the views were incredible. I could see tons of gorgeous beaches and the few people brave enough to put on their wetsuits and search for the perfect waves.  I can't wait to try surfing!!

 Since I am a vegan, my friend had no idea what to feed me once I got to his house.  So we made rolls!  (Basically, sushi without the raw fish.)  We went out and bought plenty of fresh veggies: carrots, avocado, cucumber, jicama, etc.  We then sliced them all up and rolled them into the rice and seaweed paper.  It was such a fun, cultural experience! 

 

For New Years, we left the gorgeous 80 degree weather and drove up into the mountains to about 8,000 ft. I was totally surprised to see ski areas, people having snowball fights, and most surprisingly - a frozen lake!  We stayed in a cabin that was built completely by my friend's family.  The views were incredible, and I never would have expected to have seen that much snow in California!  

On a different note - tomorrow is my first day of work at my last co-op through Stevens!  I am so excited to discover what I'll be doing and meet all the people I'll be working with!