Senior Blog: Class of 2009

Goodbye Hopkins

-Posted by Laura P.

I kept putting off writing this last post, because it is just one more thing that makes graduating seem real.  In so many ways it is easy to see packing up from school this year as just another summer vacation, while in reality it's a big step in life.

The week of graduation was exceptionally hectic--my parents were visiting, there were receptions & events to attend, packing up all of my things, and then the hardest part, saying goodbye to the people  & the places that have become so important to me over the past four years.

Coming to Hopkins four years ago it was hard to imagine that Baltimore and especially the Homewood Campus would be somewhere I saw as my home. I love my home city, Seattle, and of course my friends and activities from high school. But having spent exactly two weeks at home in Seattle since I packed up and left, I find myself missing my other home--the one in Baltimore.

It's hard to even begin to reflect on my time at Hopkins. When I think about my experience it's a swirl of people--my friends, professors, co-workers--, classes, late-night conversations, Admissions meetings, making dinner with my roommates, outdoor trips, brunches with my girl-friends, coffee-dates, playing Frisbee on the beach, working at Cafe Q, climbing at the wall, study-groups & random dance parties (along with all the many other moments).

It is all of those things-- learning how to write a good opinion paper, learning how to trad climb & learning how to make the perfect flank steak--that made up my time at Hopkins, and shaped me as a person.  Hopkins is where I really grew up--made my own choices (good & bad), made mistakes, learned about myself & about the world.

While I am incredibly sad to leave my friends, (I cried for a long time about leaving my roommates) I am really excited to begin the next step of my life. Despite the bad economy & despite the fact that I am constantly warned that publishing isn't the field to go into these days (I majored in Writing Seminars), I am excited. I've embraced the fact that the face of publishing is changing, and I am excited to be part of that. I'm excited to be graduating into a time of hope and a time of change. I'm excited because I know that the rest of the people who graduated in my class are also ready to make the most of what they have. Because at this point, I think we are all ready to begin a new phase, whether that means med-school, grad-school, a new job, an internship, or an adventure.

This summer I'm co-leading a trip of high school students (from the school that I went to) on a five-week-long backpacking trip/Pilgrimage through Northern Spain.  We are doing a route called the Camino de Santiago; it is a traditional pilgrim route that's been around since the mid 12th Century. We're walking a slightly less traveled route, the Norte, or Northern Route, and then connecting up with the Via Frances, which is a more frequently traveled route before we arrive at Santiago, the end point of our journey.

After (and during) the trip, Dave, the other leader, and I are working on creating a guidebook to the Northern Route, as there isn't one that currently exists in English.

I am really excited to be leading this trip; not only is it a great summer job, but walking for 15-20 miles a day will give me a lot of really valuable time to think and reflect on my own life while I am at this intersection.  Hopefully I'll return with more ideas, and a better sense of what direction I want to take.

While there certainly lies a LOT of excitement ahead, it is so hard and sad to be leaving behind Johns Hopkins. I absolutely loved being a part of the University and I already miss my friends, my apartment, & the campus so much.

 

"As we go on, we remember all the times we had together..."

Posted by Tanmay G.

Today marks two weeks since the Class of 2009 walked across the stage at Commencement and received our diplomas, and it also marks one week until I head off for a summer research rotation in my soon-to-be home of Durham, NC. The finality of graduation still hasn't set in completely. Many of my last conversations and goodbyes ended with "see you around", followed by a quick realization that we would all be leaving Hopkins for good in a few short days. It still seems like I'm just heading home for a break, soon to head back to my home of the past four years.

My experience at Hopkins ended just as it began, with a week full of events and activities to meet (and say goodbye to) my class. Four years ago, every conversation was punctuated with questions like "Where are you from?", "Where do you live?", and "What's your major". Now, every conversation included talk of "What are you doing next year?" and "Where are you going to be living?". Four years ago, we were introduced to the MSE Library and given seminars on how to study. Now, we had a senior class party in that very same place where many students spent countless sleepless nights, complete with a bar and a cake in honor of Johns Hopkins's (the person's) birthday. Four years ago, I met my fellow freshmen biomedical engineering majors for the first time. Now, after four years of hard work and seemingly endless study sessions, we all felt bonded together as we gathered again, this time with our families, for a celebratory luncheon. Four years ago, we all competed fiercly for our dorms during Dorm Wars. Now, we did just the same, having a blast during Senior Field Day.  As we all gathered on the Upper Quad in September of 2005, standing in the shape of a "09" to take our class picture, we wondered who our friends would be and how we would get through our time at Hopkins. Now, having finished up those four years, and having had a great time along the way, we gathered to celebrate and to remember, to mingle and to reminisce.

Hopkins has changed quite a bit over the years. When we came in as a freshmen, there were two dining halls with un-edible food, only three quads, and very little housing for upperclassmen. My class has seen the renovation of campus dining, the construction of a entirely new quad and the opening of a (really nice) new student housing complex. For three years, Dr. Bill Brody served as our president, and though a new president, Mr. Ron Daniels presided over our graduation, Dr. Brody was back, this time to receive an honorary doctorate along with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, our graduation speaker.

When we all entered college, we wondered whether we would like these new people and what we would do without our high school friends. Today, those new people are the friends we are having trouble leaving behind as we move on to graduate school, or into the read world. To all the incoming freshmen and anyone else considering coming to Hopkins, I can already answer the questions that are likely lingering in the back of your heads. Yes, you'll have a good time in Baltimore. No, the workload isn't going to kill you. Yes, you are going to make good friends here, and No, the people here aren't crazy or wierd (or all pre-med!)    

Hopkins has been great to me for the past four years, and though I had the hardest time deciding where to attend college four years ago, I haven't once regretted the decision I made. I'm certainly going to be back next year to visit my underclassmen friends, and the faculty and staff that have made my experience amazing. That said,  I am looking forward to what lies in my future. In a week, I'll head to Durham, and in August, I'll start medical school at Duke Univeristy. I've visited Durham three times in the past six months, and I'm excited about moving there and continuing down the path to my future. (Granted, I'm going to have to learn to love college basketball... and I'm still rooting for the Hop when it comes to lacrosse)

I've been volunteering with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions since my first weeks on campus, first as a Student Ambassador, then as a member of the Admissions Advisory Board and as an Admissions Representative. Meeting with prospective students and talking to y'all about the place I've called home for the last four years has been something I've enjoyed and something I'll miss. I hope that the people have read my blogs over the past four years or talked to me over via Facebook, our online chats or message boards have learned a little more about what Hopkins has to offer. Like I've said many times, Hopkins (or any school for that matter), isn't the right place for everybody, and in my opinion, my role as a student representative of Hopkins has not been to "recruit" you to Hopkins, but rather to give you all the information about Hopkins and let you figure out that this is the right place for you.

To the Hopkins Class of 2013, congratulations on your graduation from high school and welcome to Hopkins. While I won't be on campus in the fall, you'll be entering a great community where you'll learn a lot, but have a blast along the way. 

(P.S. The title of the post is from a song called Graduation by Vitamin C which came out around when I graduated from middle school... wow, I feel old now)