Stevens Admissions: Molara

Semester is Done

I CANNOT believe how fast this semester has gone by! I think things really started to speed up once Spring Break was over. Right after was the  NSBE Conference in Indiana and then April came out of nowhere, which meant Unity AND Senior Design Day. And now school (well classes at least) are finally done! I feel like this panda, too lazy to do any work right now! But my first final isn't for a while, so I have some time to relax until it's time to crunch down and study.

I also can’t believe that this is the semester I’m supposed to be done with college for good, but thank goodness I’m staying an extra year because I am not ready to graduate!I’m on a pretty flexible program called Reduced Load which allows you to take fewer credits per semester and spread them out over 5 years instead of 4. And the fifth year is free! It worked out perfectly for me because I also have 2 minors.

I’ll be sad to see my some of my friends leave but am looking forward to what my next (and final year) will have in store for me!

Building Blocks of SASE

On Saturday, SASE hosted an event geared towards encouraging other chapters in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania/Connecticut area to start up their own chapters. We figured since we are new, we wanted to share how we got to where we are and tips/advice with others who may be interested in joining. We co-hosted with our sister school Stony Brook and invited Drexel University and Columbia University. We had a SASE alum speak about her experiences, our two Regional Coordinators, and even the Executive Director (National President) of SASE speak, which was awesome! We ended the evening going out to dinner. It was a nice event, especially hearing what everyone had to say and meeting new people!

NSBE Fashion Show

The National Society of Black Engineers hosted a professional fashion show called Fly Through the Seasons in collaboration with the Office of Career Development. It showcased different business and professional attires appropriate for all seasons. The categories of clothing were business casual (what you typically where on a day-to-day basis), business formal (a suit), casual (some offices have dress down days), cocktail attire, and “black tie affair” for fancy get togethers. It was really fun to watch, be in it (but only at the very end!) and get knew work clothes ideas!

Photo Credit: Nicole Lim

Senior D Day

Senior D Day is probably one of the most anticipated days for all seniors. Our projects that we’ve been working on all year are finally on display for the school to see. Everyone was happy and relieved that our hard work paid off and that we are finally done with it! It’s also still crazy to me how fast time flew. I can’t believe it was finally our turn to present after 3 years of going to see other people’s projects! 

Our project was focused on improving the Advising System at Stevens through evaluating the current system and proposing improved processes, such as implementing a software that will support an online Study Plan.

SASE's Asian Potluck Night

Melting Pot- Everyone put a sticky note saying what they love most about their culture

We had our last big event of the semester on Monday called Asian Potluck Night, which was to celebrate the diversity of Asian students at Stevens. We invited IUA (Indian Undergraduate Association), FAST (Filipino Association at Stevens Tech), CSA (Chinese Student Association), and KSA (Korean Student Association). It was pretty successful; we had about 90 people come! 

Preparations from the night before

So many people!

Accepted Students Day

Campus is always flooded with potential freshmen on Accepted Students Day. Although it was a bit chilly outside it was great to be able to talk to a few interested people and tell them about joining SASE and BSU. I also spent part of the day talking to potential STEP (Stevens Technical Enrichment Program) freshmen. It’s always nice to get them excited about coming to Stevens and telling them how beneficial, and fun, the program was for my friends and I. Overall an exciting day talking (hopefully) new freshmen! Oh and did I mention all the free food that was around? Yummy!

Unity Carnival & Show!

Carnival is always a great way to get excited for Unity! This year it was held in the Hayden Parking lot, complete with a dunk tank, photo booth, and representation from all the ESC (Ethnic Student Council) organizations. Each org prepares a booth with a fun game and yummy cultural food. This year we also had an entertaining break dancing group do some neat tricks for us. It was a great way to spend some time in the nice weather and hang out with friends! 

Unity was held two days after in the Schaefer Gym. This year’s theme was Melting Pot, so each organization had to incorporate that idea into their performances. This year BSU (Black Student Union) and LAA (Latin American Association) teamed up for the performance. We did some jazz dance, some old time pop mixed with hip hop, merengue and mambo. Tons of fun! We were on first (I was so nervous!) but it was nice to get it out of the way and be able to watch what everyone else had been practicing for weeks. Overall it was an awesome show, like it is every year! 

Photo Credit: Anand Bahadur

Advice to Freshmen

Next year you are going to be a Freshman in college! But what are some things you would like to know?  I asked a few of my friends some advice they would give to an incoming freshmen. Read below and hopefully it helps!

"I wish someone told me I could make my schedule and look ahead on my study plan, instead of just following what’s on paper. Some classes don’t have specific prereqs, so I wish I could have taken some classes earlier. Also utilize your advisor; don’t want till the end of Junior year, like I did."
- Ashley 

"Invest in a good pair of rain boots and a sturdy umbrella! For the ladies: A wristlet is a MUST so you don’t lose your stuff!" 
- Christina  

"Definitely keep an open mind about college and have no expectations. Try to be yourself when you make friends. Even though it's a fresh start, you don't want to be fake to people because that's what they'll always see you as. Also don't miss classes even if it seems pointless. Balance is key."
- Harleen 

"Get involved. There are so many clubs/orgs/societies/greek life/sports available to students. Being a part of multiple clubs and gives you the opportunity to network around campus."
- Armand 

"Never give up on your dreams and make college the best time of your life. Also stay away from Facebook as much as possible, all it does is help you procrastinate."
- ShaQuill 

"Enjoy the off time, because you never get it back once you graduate. You have soo much time to have fun. The courseload isn’t that bad freshman year, so if you’re studying all the time, then you’re doing something wrong. You’ll never have as much free time as you have freshman year, so enjoy it. Meet people – they’re probably going to be your friends throughout the years. Also cultivate study habits so that you don’t need to study all the time and can have a balance because that gets harder later."
- Raphael

And finally my advice....

"Make time for things that matter, a.k.a. don’t spend all your time studying! Make the most of your college experience. Also, go to as many club meetings or events on campus as you can; you meet so many new people! It’s crazy how even in my fourth year at Stevens, I’m still meeting new people and making new friends every semester. Also, be friendly and open, and try to get out of your comfort zone."

You scream, I scream, We all scream for Ice Cream!

Ben & Jerry's handed out free ice cream yesterday, which meant a bunch of people were lined up waiting to get their free scoop. And, Free Cone Day came at the perfect timing, because Tuesday was so hot (80 degrees)! It was a great little pick me up that brightened up my long day :-)

Chocolate chip cookie dough, yummm. Sorry for the bluriness, I took the pic on the go and was too impatient to eat it to stop!

Spring Is In The Air!

Spring is FINALLY here. YAY!

Spring, at least spring weather, usually comes around the busiest time of the semester: April. So many events happen on campus in April.

Yesterday, there was the Castle Point Anime Convention (CPAC), which is the largest anime convention in the area! Tons of people from outside of Hoboken, even the New Jersey area, come to Stevens for a day of fun activities. And it's free for Stevens students!

UNITY Season is also here! The carnival, where each organization hosts a fun game and provides cultural food, is the week of the actual UNITY show. I'm super excited and can't wait! This year's theme is: Melting Pot. It'll be interesting to see what each organization does with their performance.

Right after UNITY is Accepted Students Day. Campus is packed with perspective freshmen and their parents and can get a glimpse into life at Stevens and what Stevens has to offer. The Club Fair will also happen this day. Each club and organization on campus will be present, so hopefully you can find something that interests you!

The biggest day of the month for me is April 24th: the Stevens Innovation Expo, or as we call it, Senior D(esign) Day. Starting from last semester, and some even before that, teams have been working hard on projects related to their respective majors. Some teams, however, are interdisciplinary, like the Solar Decathlon Team for example. I'm both excited and anxious about this day as all our hard work will finally pay off! I've spent the past 3 years visiting my friends Senior D Project tables and I can't believe it's my turn. Time flies!

Alicia Keys Concert!

I never would have thought I would be able to go see Alicia Keys in concert...for only $20! That's how much the tickets were that the Entertainment Committee got for Stevens students.

Words couldn't explain my excitement, especially since this was my first ever concert! There were a bunch of other guest singers too: Miguel, J. Cole, Maxwell, and Method Man. Even though our seats were super high up (yikes!) and kind of far, the concert was a great experience. Alicia played most of her hit songs, which got the whole audience singing along. So much fun!