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From the White House to Harvard, I’m oh so glad to be BACK!

February 28, 2013 by ineshapremaratne | 1 comment

Hi there! My name is Inesha and I’m excited to join this awesome group of Harvard bloggers. My hope is that through me you’ll get a better sense of what Harvard life is like, the opportunities we have open to us, the places we often stumble upon, and the chance encounters this place makes happen. When I came here my friends back home would joke that I was going to “Hogwarts,” not Harvard. I used to laugh them off. Yes, our freshmen dining hall does have a little bit of a Harry Potter feel to it, but let me tell you… this place? It’s pretty magical. And to show you how it is so magical, I figured I’d have to start by telling you what it was like leaving Harvard for a semester… and coming back. Because only then did I really appreciate just how amazing this place is!

That time during the fall semester that I randomly got on a bus and went all the way to Ohio…one of the best weekends of my life. #2012

This past September, I wasn’t back at Harvard but standing instead on Harvard Street in Washington, D.C. wishing so badly that I was. I was starting an internship at the White House in the Office of the First Lady and the timing meant that I saw an election, a Christmas season, and a full-fledged fiscal crisis right in front of my eyes. I got to staff the Congressional Ball and I got to go halfway across the country to Ohio to knock on doors and ride down random streets in a minivan, car doors wide open (I’m pretty sure this is not legal but alas…) asking people to go and vote. I went to my first political rally. With the President and Jay-Z and Bruce Springstein. I backtracked to the White House on November 7^thin relief and joy. We had won ourselves a second term.

I sat in on speaker series with the Vice President, the President’s Press Secretary, the Head of Legislative Affairs. I sat at a table with Ben Rhodes and Samantha Power. And I got to meet the First Lady. The First Lady. And all the while, I got to hear stories from the American people. People from Hawaii and California, Kansas and Virginia. I got to push my eyes and ears up against the walls of the White House, so grateful for the chance and the opportunity to maybe impact those who stood at those black iron gates just a few hundred feet from where I got to stand. And all the while, I was pushed and challenged and sometimes made so tired that it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other. I made incredible friends. I learned some hard lessons. I met people who inspired me. And I grew to understand just how big and grand and truly diverse this country is.

The day the President stopped by our offices…

The White House can be one magical place, especially during the holiday season. This is one of my favorite shots from my entire internship…a rare moment of peace in the hallway!

I can’t say that I didn’t miss Harvard—or my sophomore fall. I did. A lot. There were days when I would look up from my desk at the White House and yearn so much to be sitting at the dining hall in Mather with my friends, or wrapped up in a conversation at Burdicks, or sitting at the top of the Science Center gazing at the stars and all of campus passing by. I would look at my emails and lament all of the incredible speakers I was missing—I mean, I was at the White House and I swear at times it felt that Harvard students were getting more exposure to incredible White House officials than me. From David Axelrod to Jim Messina to Thomas Donilon—only at Harvard and the White House could you fill up entire weeks with speaker series with these people.

This realization itself taught me to appreciate so much more the school I get to go to. Now that I’m back at Harvard, I can’t help but think that all of those days and months in DC…. they were so worth it. Because now I’m back where I can take all of the “real world experiences” I’ve had and let them be too a part of the story I’m writing at Harvard. It’s a really long story and I realized at the White House that it will probably never end the way I think (or yes, even hope) it might. This story is filled with huge lessons and incredible nights, times of struggle-busing (maybe it’s just a Harvard word, but you get the picture,) and weeks that stretch into months and years with incredible friends. And all the while, I’ll be blogging right here, hoping to give you as much of a view into the life of a Harvard student. I’m so glad you’re here—please check back soon… there’s still so much I want to share with you!

Perhaps the biggest lesson in public service that I learned during my internship…

Changing Habits with the Seasons

July 7, 2012 by Scott Yim | 1 comment

I hope everyone in the States had a relaxing Fourth of July! I skipped out on the fireworks this year because of the potential rain in Boston. Regardless, Boston fireworks are pretty amazing–the Boston Pops Orchestra as well as many famous people come to perform (this year, Jennifer Hudson and the Dropkick Murphys were just two of the several featured acts). I’m almost certain that the whole event is nationally televised. A few friends of mine went to see the fireworks and told me that it had only rained for about 10 minutes, so I might have missed out, but that’s alright with me. There’s always next year!

Harvard Summer School is in full swing and the Yard is bustling with people. Annenberg Hall (which is exclusively for first-year students during the regular semester) is the only dining hall that’s open during the summer session. From experience, I’ve found that during the summer it becomes extremely crowded past 5:30 pm, so a group of us proctors have shifted our summer dining schedules. We eat dinner at 4:30 pm (i.e. as soon as Annenberg opens). We’re usually the first ones in, and often out by 5 pm. But no one has called us crazy just yet…

It isn’t just my eating habits that change over the summer–I also like studying in different settings. I’m usually in my room or in a library during the school year, but one of my favorite parts about being on campus during the summer is that I can really spend as much time as I would like studying in other places. I’ve been doing work in my favorite tea shop, Tealuxe, as well as in Starbucks (there are so many in Harvard Square, all within walking distance of each other). I love studying in cafes because it feels much more relaxed than a library. I also love people watching. However, I wouldn’t recommend studying in a coffee shop if you’re scrambling to get work done for a deadline that’s coming up. I find that the relaxed environment is most conducive to getting work done when you aren’t stressed out. Personally, I like to read in cafes, but to each his/her own, right?

In addition to my gig as a Proctor, I’ve started working at a hospital in the Longwood Medical Area, which is a medical campus in Boston with several of the area’s best hospitals and medical facilities. Longwood is about a 20-30 minute bus ride from the College campus, and there’s a shuttle called the M2 that’s free for Harvard students. I just finished my first week, and I’ve learned an unbelievable amount already. The doctor that I’m working with is brilliant and one of the leading experts in his field. However accomplished he may be, he’s incredibly humble and passionate. I love meeting his patients because they all love him and thank him to no end. All of the other people I work with are also super nice and a lot of fun to be around…being in the hospital doesn’t feel like work. Just being in the clinic for this week has been quite the experience and is helping me realize that I can definitely see myself as a physician. I think that’s why interning somewhere is a crucial part of the learning experience before stepping onto any path after college. Volunteer and intern experience gives you a glimpse into what life would be like in a certain career, and allows you to see whether the profession may or may not be for you. So useful!

I’m off to enjoy my weekend, but should have a fun post coming up: I’m coaching the Harvard Volleyball camp starting tomorrow. I’ll keep you all updated!

Relay for (Greek) Life

April 25, 2012 by Jeanie Nguyen | 2 comments

There’s an overwhelmingly negative connotation associated with college Greek life, which fairly arises from the too frequently heard about news articles of hazing gone wrong. Although the behavior concomitant with such tragedies are inexcusable, it isn’t the defining factor of Greek life. The Greek system still exists nationally and I believe the reason it continues thriving lies in the fact that there are endless (literally! The alumni networks are as massive as whales!) positive influences it can have on a member’s life.

I can personally attest to these benefits – connecting to a new support group, feeling more connected to campus, and expanding study groups – and that’s why my involvement in Harvard Greek life progressively dives deeper. This semester, I’ve been transitioning into my new role of Panhellenic Council Vice President of Philanthropy! Although I hate admitting that I have a natural tendency to snap at good news, I love the new opportunities my role avails to me – like participating in Relay for Life, an incredibly inspiring and national event to support those fighting cancer.

Three male fraternities and three female sororities exist at Harvard (although not officially acknowledged due to the institution’s rule against recognizing single gender groups): Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Gamma, respectively. Over the course of these last few months, representatives from each group met with me to organize fundraising events for the annual Harvard Relay for Life. Each year the Harvard Greek Team raises thousands of dollars for the amazing cause through personal appeals as well as creative ways, some of them exemplified below:

Pie Cancer in the Face: AEPi (Alpha Epsilon Pi) held an event where people could purchase a pie to throw in a brother’s face. Who needs dignity when cancer is looming as a threat? Haha, the boys definitely took pies in the face like the manliest men I’ve ever seen and raised over $300 in the span of four hours! Bonus points for the pun too!!

Date Auction: The Cambridge Queen’s Head (a restaurant/pub) located in the basement of Annenberg (the freshman cafeteria commonly referenced to as the Great Hall from Harry Potter) graciously donated their stage to the Harvard Greek community to hold a date auction for two hours. Twenty generous and studly fraternity brothers of Harvard volunteered themselves to be auctioned. Girls across campus (even some graduate students!) came to bid for a magical hour with these men, 100% of proceeds going directly for Relay for Life. The “Date Contract” read that the men had to be at their utmost gentlemanly behavior…but we’ll just see how my two dates go before we get excited. Yes, I did buy two. Hey now, it was for charity!!

BBQ: HUDS (Harvard University Dining Services) has some of the best programs!! Check out the stellar grade HUDS (and Harvard in general) got! On weekdays from 11am-2pm, HUDS serves prepared sandwiches, hot entrees, fruit, etc. in the Cambridge Queen’s head for upperclassmen too lazy/too busy (usually the latter in our defense!) to return to their upperclassmen House (dorm) for lunch – this is colloquially termed “Fly-By.” You can also request a brown bag to be prepared from your own dining hall when you know you won’t have time in between lectures, sections, and meetings for lunch! Another way HUDS ensures students stay nourished is by providing cookout food. The philanthropy chairs of each fraternity and I wanted to hold a BBQ before and during the Relay for Life event so we gathered students’ ID numbers and submitted them into HUDS who then provided us hamburger patties, hotdogs, condiments, buns, fruit, chips, and basically everything else we could ever dream of asking for. The BBQ was a hit and people even donated money in exchange for some BBQ! Sorry for not having any pictures 🙁 I was too busy grilling … or at least supervising the grill! 🙂

Overall, the events leading up to Relay and Relay for Life itself was successful! I had a blast working behind the scenes in my first Spring Philanthropy event and can’t wait for the one in the fall, which I’m hoping to organize with Cradles to Crayons. I can only hope that my last round of midterms (yes, I did have a midterm on the last day of class), presentations, papers, and final exams go just as well!!!

Harvard Freshman Housing!

April 5, 2012 by Reid | Permalink

Hey everyone! This week’s post is different than normal; I decided to take some photos and collect some information about Freshman Housing at Harvard. It’s known around the country for being incredible, as you’ll find out while reading this post. Click on an image to enlarge it, click on a title to find out more information, and enjoy the post! If you would like another resource, click here to be redirected.

Harvard freshmen all live on campus around Harvard Yard, the central location of Harvard College. There are four “yards” which encompass various dorms, all of which have their perks. When you’re a sophomore, you live in a House (or the Dudley co-op, if you so choose) until you graduate, but this post is only about freshman housing…perhaps I’ll feature upperclassmen housing next year. If you’re interested in learning about how the housing process works, check this out; otherwise, keep reading!

IVY YARD:

Apley Court

Apley Court is known for huge suites, marble bathtubs, and its distinct location between the Yard and River houses.

Not a dorm, but Holden Chapel, my favorite building in the Yard

Hollis

Yay, Hollis! Suites, which are only doubles, are absolutely gigantic.

Holworthy

I personally love Holworthy, mostly because of their awesome (yet again giant) suites and their common room, which is the best on campus in my opinion.

Lionel

Lionel’s twin is Mower. I get them confused. There are only 40 residents, and each suite has a private bathroom!

Mass Hall

Mass Hall is incredible, with around 14 freshman living there, because it also houses President Faust.

Mower

Lionel’s twin, home of one of my favorite people, is both adorable and tiny.

Straus

Straus, home of my future roommate (!), is awesome. It’s in a private yard, has lovely rooms, and really cool staircases (things you notice when living in Canaday).

Stoughton

Stoughton! Home of more great people, this dorm is awesome because it looks like it is split in two. Other reasons include huge doubles and ideal location to run Primal Scream.

CRIMSON YARD:

Union Dorms!

Union dorms (Pennypacker, Greenough, and Hurlbut) are “far away;” that is, they are really close to Lamont,

and about as far as Straus to Annenberg. Also, because they’re farther away, there’s more space to have better rooms.

Hurlbut

Despite its gross name, Hurlbut is gorgeous. The suites are huge, and there are many “pod systems” comprised of luxurious singles around a big common room.

Pennypacker

Pennypacker, home of the radio station WHRB, has in-suite bathrooms in each room, a central staircase, and tons of dorm pride.

Greenough

Greenough has hardwood floors and huge suites. Enough said.

Wigglesworth

Wigg is where it’s at! This incredibly long dorm has the best practice rooms, where I spend most of my time, and has spacious suites to boot. You’re very close to all of what Harvard Square has to offer!

OAK YARD

Canaday

Canaday is my dorm! As a resident, I can honestly say that it is the ugliest dorm on campus, rivaling Mather (an upperclassmen house). The good things of Canaday include our own courtyard, proximity to everything (it takes me less than one minute to walk to class), heightened security (riot-proof building…but that’s not actually a plus to living in Canaday), and most importantly, the GIANT windows. I live in the common room, though, so that might effect how I see the world (pun).

Thayer

Thayer is awesome. I love it. It has the best interior design, with hardwood floors, crown molding, and pale green walls. The rooms are big. My future blockmate and friend since 7th grade lives there. It’s really close to Canaday!

ELM YARD

Weld

Dream of Weld. If you like huge common rooms, you’ll love Weld.

Matthews

Matthews also has incredible housing. Pattern? Yes.

Grays Hall

Grays is known as the Harvard Hilton for a reason. (Hint: best rooms.)

FEATURED ROOMS

I asked around campus in order to find some of the best freshmen dorm rooms Harvard has to offer.

To the class of ’16, you might be lucky next year and end up in one of these sweet suites!

A Weld Room

Welcome to the huge common room. Boasting dormers, a hand-made coffee table, and natural light, this common room might be the best in the yard.

Pictures from home are displayed on a clothesline in a whimsical fashion.

Check out this coffee table, complete with Crimson!

A white-board wall is a creative and artistic addition to this lovely room.

Both Weld doubles and singles are spacious and well-lit.

An Apley Room

This single in Apley Court is enormous, complete with walk-in closet and and hardwood floors.

Same room, different angle: check out that closet!

This might look like your bathroom at home, if your bathroom had a marble bathtub.

Although this room is on the 5th floor, who wouldn't want to ascend that staircase every day?

Two Hurlbut Singles

If this room had a superlative, it'd be best-dressed.

A not-so-average college dormroom is common place at Harvard!

A Grays Room

This spacious common room gets a cozy feel from the christmas lights

Same room, different angle: brick walls add a classic Harvard touch

Too Cute to Bear

A Canaday Room

This common room, although messy, is well-lit and has colorful touches. (And it's where I live!)

A Canaday single may be smaller than some, but it's cozy and guaranteed to be yours (or in this case, my roommate Helen's) for at least a semester.

Canaday rooms make you incredibly happy, as displayed by my roommate Rachel.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED GETTING TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HARVARD HOUSING!

until next time

-reid

Boston’s Pleasures

March 7, 2012 by Jeanie Nguyen | Permalink

Good thing Yale never engulfed Vassar because then I’d have to dislike (understatement) Vassar through association.

This past weekend, my two friends from Vassar kicked off their Spring Break with a Harvard visit! It was my first time hosting people sophomore year, but my itinerary hardly changed. As a freshman, I hosted a ton of prefrosh (prospective/accepted students) from random kids the Admissions Office introduced me to, all the way to close friends from science camp. In great efforts to sway them in the direction of Harvard, I showed them around campus, forced tourist pictures in front of the John Harvard Statue, and even broke out of the Harvard Bubble with a mini tour of Boston.

Busy, busy! Just let me be ubiquitous please!

Showing people around my favorite places in Cambridge is easy (Science Center, Annenberg, Berryline, etc.) but trying to appear as the master of Boston proved to be more difficult and included interviewing friends from the area as well as a ton of Googling! One of my favorite Harvard characteristics is how campus life feels like a harmonious mesh of urban and suburban culture. It’s a shame that most students’ hectic schedules prevent us from taking advantage of Boston, but I definitely use every hosting opportunity to exploit the city’s pleasures!

First stop: the waterfront. When I think of Boston, I never think of water. Yet, I’m surrounded by the beautiful harbor and Charles River constantly. The harbor is ~500 feet from the T (subway stop) and always calm and peaceful. My friends and I lucked out because the sky was gorgeous although it was still SO cold (California girl speaking here).

Boston Harbor at sunset

From the harbor, it’s just a short walking distance from Faneuil Hall – a great place to people-watch, shop, eat and even see local street performers!

Faneuil Hall

I like to end the tour with a big bang: Mike’s Pastries. This place is legen…wait for it…dary, LEGENDARY. They have the best cannolis I’ve ever eaten and their usual out-the-door line says enough. Even though I hype this place up so much in my head, it never disappoints!! The crispy and flaky texture of the shell which envelops a creamy, yet light ricotta cheese is unparalleled in this and any other dimension. Seriously.

Mike's Pastries in the North End of Boston

For centuries, people have been repeating one word three times: location, location, location! I’ve finally figured out the reasons behind their redundancy – the need for tremendous emphasis! Harvard and its unique and generous opportunities are beyond both phenomenal and amazing; I could type about this forever, but since I still have a pset and a midterm hanging over my head, I’ll just illuminate that one of the more admirable characteristics of Harvard University is its location. Wedged in Cambridge among other top universities as well as successful companies, Harvard fosters a delightfully diverse environment students can thrive on.

My current environment is all the Housing Day hype! Tomorrow is Housing Day!! Basically,

Pfoho's Polar Bear studiously taking notes

freshmen are getting sorted into various upperclassmen houses and as upperclassmen, it’s our duty to make it known that our respective house is the best. We strive to conquer this endeavor by wearing our house mascots everywhere – and yes, this includes lecture – as well as releasing housing day videos!

Check out Mather’s official video for Housing Day 2012, a spin off of the hit sensation taking over Harvard campus by storm: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/a-dt24CmjY0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

May all current and future freshmen win the Housing Day lottery with acceptance into Mather!

#thelittlethings

February 3, 2012 by Kemie | Permalink

Hi!

This week was a whirlwind, friends. I’ve been brainstorming and trying to remember how I spent the last seven days, but for the most part all that I can recall is a haze of class, meals, and sleep.

The first week of class after shopping period is always a bit of a slap in the face. After having a month off from school for break, it can be difficult adjusting to being back on campus. Since the last week doesn’t really form a continuous narrative in my memory, here are a couple of random moments from the past few days that stood out to me for one reason or another.

Monday, January 30, 2012:

On Monday I had to wake up early to “poster” the yard, which really just means taping flyers to bulletin boards and kiosks. Since I was already awake and out of the Quad, I enjoyed hot breakfast in Annenberg (the freshman dining hall) with some friends. It might not sound like a significant moment to you, but hot breakfast is kind of a big deal around here. Hot breakfast means eggs (any way you want them!), bacon, breakfast sandwiches, etc. as opposed to muffins and cereal. It was a superb way to jump-start my Manic Monday.

Annenberg Hall (the freshman dining hall and proud provider of hot breakfast!)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012:

I had one hour of class. I don’t think that I need to justify why this was a bright moment in my week.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012:

Wednesday afternoon I remembered that I had BoardPlus credit! BoardPlus is essentially free money. Every semester Harvard loads $65 of Board Plus on every student’s Harvard I.D. You can use BoardPlus credit in place of cash/credit at certain locations on campus. With the start of the new semester, I had $65 fresh dollars in my account, so I treated myself to a large FREE café americano at the Barker Center Café.

Thursday, February 2, 2012:

Thursday evening I had my first section meeting for my history class on the British Empire. Section is basically an hour-long session during which a small group of students meets with a Teaching Fellow (TF) to further discuss the readings/lectures for classes with larger enrollments. I don’t usually have a lot of sections because History and Literature courses tend to be offered as seminars. Seminars usually have a maximum of 15 people, so there’s no need to breakdown into sections.

That being said, I was dreading having to add an extra hour of class to my schedule. However, it turns out that section was actually a good time! The TF is young, spunky, and easygoing. She’s a History of Science grad student with a focus on madness and mental illness in Britain. How cool is that? She’s also British, which is a nice touch considering the subject of the class.

Friday, February 3, 2012:

I don’t have class on Fridays, so that’s reason enough to celebrate. I spent the entire day de-stressing and rewarding myself for surviving the first week of work. I went to Newbury Street for a hair appointment, and then I wandered up and down Newbury Street and Boylston Street to explore the shops. I cannot imagine a better way to end the week. It’s great how it’s the little things that really stick with you when everything is said and done.

An oil painting of Newbury Street by Celia Judge

Until next week!

End of Classes/Reading Period

December 15, 2011 by Shaun | Permalink

Hey, everyone! We just finished with reading period, which is a week free of classes given to students to help with studying for exams. While this week encourages students to study hard, there are always events to compensate for the hard days of studying.

Last week marked the end of classes for the semester. While it was easy for me to part with a couple of my classes, there were two classes I was sad to leave. The first class was my expository writing class, what Harvard students call “Expos.” As freshmen, students are required to take an expository writing class, which is a writing-intensive course taught in sections of about 15 students. There are many different expository writing classes, such as Family Matters, Darwinian Dating, Voice of Authority, etc. I picked the class HIV/AIDS in Culture. At first, I had some contrasting opinions about the class, but as we started to progress and look deeper into the texts, I began to appreciate the different works we studied. In addition to enjoying the art and literature in the class, I’ve learned a lot from my teacher, who is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. Having been diagnosed with HIV for the past 15 years, he has played an active role in spreading awareness and fighting for public acknowledgement. My conversations with him were extremely interesting, and I feel privileged to have taken this class.

The second class I will miss is Math 1B. Similar to Expos, this class was memorable because of my professor. He has received countless awards for his research in this field, and is well-known for his work in gauge field theory. Despite being this world-renowned math mathematician, he was one of the most downto-earth and humble people I have ever met. Before coming to Harvard, I had a stereotypical idea of what Harvard professors were like, but Professor Taubes broke every misconception I had. Constantly cracking jokes about himself, and engaging in one-on-one conversations with all of his students, he was a very approachable person. On the last day of classes, he did a magic card trick that left our class speechless.

Camille, Hannah, Kelly, Professor Taubes, and me on the last day of math class.

I have been studying pretty hard for finals, but I’ve still had time to attend some social events. This week, the Harvard Varsity Club hosted the 2nd Annual Winter Charity Ball. I attended the Ball with a couple of members from the Women’s Tennis Team, and we had a great time! It was held at the Sheraton Commander Hotel, and all the proceeds went to benefit a nonprofit organization that uses coaching and sports to promote social change.

Kelly, Sylvia and me getting ready to head to the Winter Charity Ball

This week, I also had the honor of co-hosting a puja for the Dharma Club. A puja is a religious ritual performed as an offering to various deities. This prayer was for the celebration of the goddess of knowledge, music and creative art. In the puja, we said opening prayers, saraswati slokas, and sang bhajans. About thirty people attended the puja, and it was a great way to receive blessings for our upcoming exams!

Co-hosting a Puja in the Indian Prayer Space

Later in the week, the First Year Social Committee hosted “Frost Fest” in Annenberg, the freshman dining hall. At the event, students built gingerbread houses and decorated sugar cookies, and great holiday music courtesy of Harvard’s acapella groups helped to spread the holiday spirit.

Students building Gingerbread houses at Annenberg to alleviate stress

That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading this entry, and I’ll post again next week!

What I’ve Learned This Semester!

December 2, 2011 by Reid | 3 comments

Although I have yet to begin my final exams, I’ve finished the first semester as of two hours ago! Now I can dig into studying, Christmas music, and second-semester planning. Before I do that, though, there’s some reflection of the first semester that needs to happen, focusing mainly on what I’ve learned so far in my 3 months at Harvard! Check out my list below to see just what Freshman Fall has taught me, in no particular order.

1. Dorm Crew is a great pre-orientation program, but not for reasons you may think.

Cleaning bathrooms is not everyone’s top priority. However, Fall Clean Up (FCU or Dorm Crew pre-orientation) includes very little bathroom cleaning! The majority of my time was spent mopping and sweeping Leverett Towers, alongside my eight other d.crew members, from 9-5 every day. This is, by no means, ‘fun.’ What is fun is making friends, impressing other freshmen with your knowledge about campus, making money instead of paying money, and getting an upper-body workout. Having upwards of $400 dollars in my pocket before I even started school gave me a little bit of a cushion as I set out in the World of Harvard, to which I was accustomed due to the extra week on campus. Also, all dorm crew groups have a secret “theme” that you’re supposed to figure out by the end of the week. Ours was pretty obvious; all of us were going to live in Canaday! Now, I have friends in different entryways (as well as in mine) which really helps to foster dorm spirit; I also have an automatic (and lucrative) on-campus job which took care of some of my financial aid. Moral: Dorm Crew is GREAT, and you make a small group of good friends right off the bat!

2. Rent, don’t buy, Textbooks!

After researching the prices of my Chemistry, Biology, and Psychology textbooks, I wanted to either rob a bank or drop those classes. Instead, I discovered some great book-renting sites, such as e-campus and Chegg, whose rental prices prevented me from performing criminal acts in the name of Academia. I ended up paying a third as much as if I’d bought the books, and they were brand-new! (One of them even came with a Schick Razor, which was really weird but useful, I guess…hey, it was free!) Anyways, search around, because the Coop (pronounced ‘coop,’ not ‘co-op’) is MAD expensive, and there are a ton of online options that will save you precious dinero!

3. Talk with your deans, advisors (PAFs included), and proctor!

Harvard has a lot of great resources on campus. Unfortunately, they’re not readily-accessible unless you know where to search; it’s very different from high school where everyone is proactive for you, instead of you representing yourself. I found this out the hard way, which caused more than a few points to be knocked off one of my course’s final grade. You have a Peer Advising Fellow, who is a totally Harvard-savvy upperclassman to whom you can ask questions you’d rather not ask your Advisor. Go to them first! They have a big budget to take you out to coffee, which is always high on my list. Your advisor is the next up, and normally they’ve majored in a subject that you’re interested in. (If you’re considering pre-med, there are even advisors for that!) They can help you plan your schedule, work out problems with roommates (luckily, I have had none of those because my roommates are THE BEST), and decide on a plan of action if anything goes awry. However, you need to be very proactive about your problems; if there are even just the faintest sensations of difficulties, meet with your advisor! It takes only a few minutes and can save you a lot of stress in the future. Finally, if things get a little whacky, your Resident Dean is there for you; their job is to help you (along with lots of other stuff), so don’t worry about meeting with them. Also, lots of people have a hard time with courses their freshman fall (and beyond), so there’s no need to freak out if you feel like an idiot. (Because, really, you’re not.)

4. Never go to Annenberg at 6:30.

There is a slight problem with Annenberg’s hours: they are really short and really early. Annenberg opens at 4:45 (or something) and closes at 7:15, so everyone ends up going around 6:30, which means you’ll have difficulty finding a seat, getting food, and hearing the person across from you. (Exaggeration. But not really.) You don’t need a tray, either! Freshman fifteen probably exists, and if so, I have found the cure: go trayless. There are a million choices of food and lots of fun containers, which can be tempting, but with one plate of healthy food and a glass of whatever, you’re set! (Just make sure you’re eating properly…I am not a nutritionist, but there are a lot of them at Health Services.)

5. Comp the Crimson…if you’re Crazy

Okay so that might have sounded bad. But The Crimson is amazing, and everyone there is a little bit crazier than other Harvard students, which is a good thing. Especially crazy boards to comp (comping is the first step to becoming an editor, where you get to write articles or take photo/video) are FM, photo/video, and Arts. You get to hang out in the crazy basement after having waited crazy hours to get let into the crazy Crimson (no swipe access=long nights), go to crazy formals, cover crazy events, and sprint around like a crazy person while you should really be doing something else! (Post Scriptum: Other boards are also crazy, if you’re interested in crazy economics or crazy no-shave november hockey players, or like sharing your crazy opinions.)

6. Get a Mac!

No, not because you miss Steve Jobs. Harvard IT has HUGE deals on Macs, and you really need a fast computer while you’re here. Also, you get a free printer, $100 dollar iTunes Store Giftcard (or whatever Apple decides to do next season), and a great warranty. Go Apple!

7. Icing Shots are Disgusting, but Sweet is Great.

Sweet is this incredible cupcake store that makes the best cupcakes in the world, and also the most horrendous invention in the world. They sell these big trays of teeny cups full of icing. Blegh. If you don’t like frosting, don’t ever eat it.

7.b) Good food places include Flat Patties (get the grilled cheese), Crema Cafe (they have legit wraps), Burdick’s (deliciously expensive hot chocolate), Starbuck’s (…sorry…), and Cardullo’s (they have EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER DESIRE IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.)

8. PSYCHOLOGY (SLS-20)

If you take this course, you will maybe regret it. You will come away from it knowing too much about how your mind works (joke), potentially much more wealthy/exhausted (psych studies pay 15 or 10 dollars an hour!), and a weakened sense of self-esteem (everyone, except for those terrible smart people, perform poorly on the exams…they’re multiple-choice deathtraps). So…take it, or don’t. Your choice! (Or is it?)

9. You learn so much….

TOO MANY THINGS IN MY MIND TO FINISH MY SENTENCE BECAUSE*

That’s all, folks!

*this is college, where you learn things. but this is also harvard, where you learn more!

My Weekend…WAS AMAZING!

November 17, 2011 by Reid | 7 comments

Normally, I have pretty good weekends. Sometimes it rains, which I like (but not whilst parading around Cambridge); sometimes I have a huge exam at 8:30 AM on Monday (cough cough…LPSA); and frequently there are fun fiestas to be attended. However, this was the best weekend I have had in a long time. Why, you may ask? Read on!

Thursday Night:

We didn’t have school on Friday, due to Veteran’s Day. So, I didn’t have to wake up for my 9 AM class! (Fun fact: you may think waking up at 8 is fantastic in high school, as I did, but in college it seems that nobody goes to bed until 3 and everyone wakes up at 10 and I am cursed. Though most people [my roommates] do follow that schedule [as I do on Tues/Thurs mornings], I am pretty lucky to wake up at 9 so I’ll stop whining.) Also, it was FACULTY DINNER, which is an incredible experience. Da ‘Berg is officially transformed into The Great Hall and HUDS prepares an extravagant meal to impress our profs, TAs, proctors, and the like. Although I like Annenberg a lot, I hold no deep feelings of love for it except for during Faculty Dinner! My lab partner and I invited our lab TF, Greg, and dressed to impress before gorging ourselves on mushroom ravioli, some meat thing (is it obvious that I’m a vegetarian?), roasted root veggies, and cake. Carrot cake, chocolate raspberry cake, cheese cake…. Yummmm. Knowing the food would never again be this exquisite, I ate way too much and stumbled out of Memorial Hall with a rather large stomach. It was worth it, by the way.

After that, I went to the IRC semiformal with my roommate, Rachel, as her plus-one. She is some spiffy chair for H-MUN (Harvard Model United Nations), whereas I know nothing about this political smorgasbord. Luckily, we mostly danced. After going to the penthouse of the Cambridge Hyatt (here’s a lovely image) via taxi, we danced the night away until the wee hours of the morning. (Actually, I ended up splitting a cab with some people and leaving at 10:30, in preparation for Friday.) When I thought it couldn’t get any better, along came Friday.

Friday in the Lighter Hours

After parting ways with my cozy, cozy bed at 10:30 on Friday morning, I suddenly remembered that my AWESOME band (The Nostalgics) was scheduled to record our Holiday album from noon to six that day. Really, my email alerted me about this, in addition to telling me about a sweet deal at B. Good, this incredible burger joint near the Holyoke Center. UC Restaurants offers great savings on restaurants on some Fridays, so I went down and got 20% off of my mango shake and West-side veggie burger. After eating my second great meal of the weekend with three of my bandmates, I walked to the Quad and entered my favorite building on campus, the SOCH. (I’m not really sure if it’s my favorite building, but it’s very underused and underrepresented, so I have adopted it.) Some fancy event was happening, which is a rarity at this unfrequented 50,000 square feet of space, so we went up to the PentHouse where the recording studio is. Due to a recording malfunction, our recording session soon morphed into a practice session, with some fantastic originals coming together, as well as “All I Want For Christmas,” everyone’s favorite x-mas song. After figuring out some rippin’ horn lines and baller vocal backgrounds, we felt satisfied and packed up to go. Sadly, we got locked into the Emergency Stairwell, which we did not know was alarmed until we were inside. However, one guitarist had left early and saved us from a sure death, and we celebrated life at Pfoho dining hall, eating another fantastic meal, though I soon learned this was not good Chinese food. Expecting to not eat again, my chipmunk-storage complex switched on and I filled up on tofu and mini-corn. Little did I know, this was not the end of my Asian experience.

Friday Night

On the shuttle back to the yard, one of my band-mates asked me to go to Chinatown with him in celebration of a friend’s birthday. Although I was full and had little desire to eat, the draw of novelty appealed to me, so I immediately accepted. After taking the T to Park Street, we made our way to Hot Pot Buffet, whose two floors were, to our dismay, completely full. The walk was in vain, I feared. However, my friend was a lot more innovative, and decided we’d go to the Harvard Club of Boston. It’s really lovely, I soon found out, and is full of history, much like its namesake. In the Library, there’s a gorgeous pool table and loads of reunion books, dating back to 1900. My grandfather, whom I never had the chance to meet, went to Harvard for undergraduate and medical school (I think). I quickly (slowly) calculated his year of graduation, found the 10th anniversary book, and read about his life. My mom was just two years old when he wrote the report! This discovery really threw me for a turn, and I was flooded with thanks; perhaps a little premature, but we’re all really lucky to be studying here, and to be part of this history that, for me, binds me to my unknown ancestors.

Saturday Day

After again having a tearful departure from my bed, I set out on another lovely escapade. I walked down to Blodgett pool, which is across the river, and took pictures of our men’s swimming and diving team for the Crimson. My freshman class really shone, with Michael Mosca setting a school record in diving in his first meet and the freshman swimmers securing 1st place for Harvard. Here’s a photo:

Blodgett

Then, what did I do? More photo!!!! (FUN) I claimed a really amazing pitch (story) for FM, which is the Crimson’s magazine. What is this amazing pitch? Is the suspense killing you? Well, I will ruin the surprise– I GOT TO TAKE PICTURES OF GUACAMOLE!! Yes, that is right, I spent my entire afternoon sampling and photographing the delicious mush. More good food! My writer and I went to Chipotle, Qdoba, Boloco, Felipe’s, and Border Cafe. The last two were by far the best, which is good, because they are local restaurants, unlike the 3 other chains. Here’s a picture:

¡Guacamole Olé!

Saturday Night:

I continued in the spirit of photography as the sun set, presenting my photo essay to other compers (comp=competitor, but it’s no longer competitive, just an anachronism) at The Crimson.

Then, I sprinted to Holden Chapel, which is a beautiful and tiny space hidden in the Yard. The Speak Out Loud club was hosting a Poetry Slam, which is basically a spoken-word competition. (Think rap battle minus the hip-hop tracks, plus scores.) Eleven poets slammed their AMAZING poems, and I was lucky enough to compete against them. The place was totally humming with energy, as the crowd really participates in poetry through pounding their feet, clapping, and encouraging the poets as they perform. The first round, we slammed a 3 minute poem each, and mine was a story about a cabin I love in Vermont. The next round was the lightning round, where we’d slam a 1 minute poem, and I slammed about my love for poetry. Our scores were added up, and the top 8 moved on to the final round after a brief intermission. My jaw dropped as I found out I’d moved on; I thought those incredible poets had me beat for sure. We had another 3 minutes to get the highest score we could (which is a 30); the top 5 scoring poets became Harvard’s Poetry Slam Team! I slammed about coffee (as a metaphor for something else), and LOVED it, because the packed audience was awesome. At the end, we all lined up and five names were read. I’ll be competing in April at CUPSI along with my four other team-mates! More updates on this soon, and if you want to know more about poetry slams, here’s a great link. (To hear some awesome slam, here’s another.)

I went out and celebrated with my friends afterwards, and caught up on all my work on Sunday.

This weekend, I’m not going to Harvard-Yale; instead, I’m going to visit my grandparents and have a pre-Thanksgiving with them! Then, I’m covering the Tail of the Charles (men’s crew invitational) on Saturday, so I’m really excited to see what this new weekend brings!

All the best,

-Reid

Top 10 Things To Do When Visiting Harvard as a Prospective Student

April 3, 2011 by Kate Meakem | Permalink

Hello, again! First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU WHO WERE ACCEPTED INTO THE HARVARD CLASS OF 2015!!!

I still remember all too clearly the moment I received “The Most Wonderful Email in the Entire World,” and it’s a moment that you should never take for granted, even if Harvard isn’t your #1 choice. Take a moment, jump up and down, whoop and holler, and give yourself a giant pat on the back.

But now that you’re in, you might be thinking to yourself, “Golly, what do I do now?” Well, I’ll tell you what you should do: COME VISIT HARVARD!!!!

With that in mind, I give you my promised post…

THE TOP 10 THINGS TO DO WHEN VISITING HARVARD AS A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT

1.) Tour a dorm

If you can’t work it out that you can stay in a student dorm (you should always contact the Admissions Office before you visit so that they can make it possible), definitely ask to tour one. If you have a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a parent’s friend who’s kid goes to Harvard, etc. DEFINTELY ask them if you can just take a peak into his/her room. If you can stay in a student’s room, look at another room. In total – check out as many rooms as possible, preferably freshman dorms. How can you expect to imagine yourself going here, if you can’t even imagine where you might sleep?

2.) Go to the Observatory

At the top of the Science Center there is a small observatory open to any Harvard student who has bothered to take a 45-minute instructional class. Find one of these students and ask him/her to take you up. It is honestly one of the coolest things on campus! Even if it’s a cloudy night, there is a balcony with a BEAUTIFUL view of Harvard with the Boston skyline in the background. As a freshman, this was definitely one of my biggest “Harvard moments” – where it finally sunk it that I attend this amazing school.

3.) Widener Library Stacks

Ok, so when I suggest this, people often look at my funny. Most students will tell you that the Widener Library stacks are creepy, only because they are SO VAST, and it’s easy to feel like you might venture forth, lose your way, and die without anyone ever finding you. But as a pre-frosh, my friends and I had the BEST time running around, making the automatic lights switch on and off, and trying to find the oldest book. It amazed all of us that Harvard would entrust its students with such valuable, old books and that it had so many of them! Going into Widener opened my eyes to the incredible opportunities that Harvard offered, and made me realize that as a prospective student, I could take full advantage of them.

4.) Annenberg Dining Hall

As the second-largest collection of secular stained glass in the world, Annenberg Dining Hall provides a very “Great Hall of Hogwarts” feel to freshman dining… not to mention that it is gorgeous. The food might not be the best on campus (though I will admit that by and large I think it is delicious), but the experience cannot be matched.

5.) Adams basement tunnels

Adams House is the closest upperclassman house to the Yard. While the housing lottery is now completely random, it was not always that way, and as a result, Adams has a history of having once been the “artsy house.” This means that the tunnels under the house (yes, there are tunnels under all of the houses), are decorated with really awesome artwork that students have painted over the years! It is really cool and fun to check out!

6.) Eleganza (if you’re here over Visitas Weekend)

I like to tell people that Eleganza convinced me to go to Harvard. As a prefrosh, I was really worried that Harvard students would be ALL work, and no play. I am a social person, and the idea of attending a school where everyone sat behind a textbook all the time repulsed me. Eleganza turned all of my preconceptions upside-down. It is an AWESOME fashion/dance show that will feature just how much fun Harvard students can have. GO!

7.) Go to a few classes

Drag yourself to a class or two on a topic that interests you. Don’t just go off the list the Admissions Office gives you – ask current students what their favorite classes are. Do it, and then don’t base your decision off of it. I know that sounds like silly advice, because you are, after all, going to school to go to class. In my experience, however, when you’re a second-semester senior, and you’ve just been accepted into one of the best colleges in the world, its hard to focus and not feel bored in a college class. If you happen to find the class fascinating, that is awesome. But if you don’t, don’t freak out.

8.) If the weather is nice, sit under a tree in the Yard, pat yourself on the back for getting in, and picture yourself there.

Seriously, just take some time off from running around, being super excited, and meeting new people. Sit down, and ABSORB. Watch current students walking around (I know that sounds creepy), and watch for how people get along. See a group of students laughing at some joke, or another group cramming for some midterm and try to picture yourself as one of them.

9.) Eat a ve-ri-taffle

These are the waffles they serve on Sunday morning brunches at Harvard, and they have the VE- RI- TAS emblem on them. How much more Harvard can you get?

10.) Talk to a student about social life

If you know that there is a group of people that you generally hang out with, look up that group and spend time with them. Whether you are really into religion or politics or science or cultural groups or Greek life or you want to check out what the big deal about Final Clubs is, find out what is going on on campus (there are ALWAYS things going on) and check it out. Your social life at Harvard (even if you’re not the type of person who likes to “go out”) will be an important part of your time at Harvard. You owe it to yourself to take a look.