Our blogs have moved! Keep up with the newest updates and changes to the Hopkins Interactive blogs at our new blog central: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/guest/.
February 04, 2010
Something for Everyone
Name: Natalie Berkman
Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Major: Writing Seminars and Mathematics, minor in French Literature
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Since I always say, “I used to be indecisive, but now I’m not so sure…”, when I was looking for a college, I tried to pick one that was a reasonable size. I had no idea what my major would be, or what I’d eventually want to do when I graduated, so it seemed like it would be a good idea to have lots of options. However, I’m from a little town outside Buffalo and I was used to that sort of life. That’s why I also wanted a college that wasn’t too big. As paradoxical as this seemed, this line of reasoning eventually led me to Hopkins, which is a city school with lots of options, but still has a reasonably secluded campus.
There are more majors than anyone could ever want, but if nothing appeals, you can always make your own. Still, I couldn’t decide (being indecisive and all…), so I’m a Writing Seminars and math double major who will hopefully get a French literature minor too. And honestly, it doesn’t seem like you can go wrong in choosing a major – every department at Hopkins seems to be one of the top in the country. For me, the math program is highly respected, the Writing Seminars department is generally considered one of the top in the country, and the French classes are all run by the French!
Aside from schoolwork, being at Hopkins has other benefits that make it a dream college for the indecisive people like me. For example, I play flute and I didn’t want to stop just because I was going to a different school in a different state. So, I take lessons at Peabody, a world class conservatory which is actually part of Hopkins! Even without lessons, though, it’s definitely worth a trip: there are millions of concerts, Peabody has the most gorgeous library, and the area is really nice. My roommate has an internship at the Johns Hopkins hospital, which is also an advantage of going to Hopkins – if you get sick, the number one hospital in the country is right there! The proximity to Washington D.C. is also useful. When I had to get a visa to study abroad in Paris this semester, being only 40 minutes away by train made the whole process much easier than if I had been in Buffalo (about seven hours from New York City, which is where the consulate is in New York). And the Baltimore Museum of Art is right next store to Hopkins, if that appeals.
There are also plenty of clubs to join, adding more options. I write for the Newsletter every week. They sometimes get me free tickets to concerts or musicals to see and review, so I get to learn a little more about Baltimore. I’m also in the band and the orchestra, so I can play for fun outside of my lessons. There are two clubs for tutoring little kids as far as I know – I’m in Refugee Action Project and we tutor Turkish refugees. And there are plenty more – I learned to twirl fire in Entertainer’s Club, I learned about Caribbean Culture with CCS, and I even saw the belly dancers club, Egyptian Sun!
Right now, I’m taking advantage of another great option that Hopkins offers: I’m studying abroad. I’ve been in Paris for a few days now, and the ability to be completely immersed in French culture is hard, but certainly worth doing (as I’m sure it would be for any culture). I feel as though my French has already improved a lot, and I’m living with a host family, which means I get to see how a French family lives up close. Soon, I’ll start taking classes at French universities, but right now, it’s orientation. Right now, what I’m most excited for is the l’OuLiPo meeting on Thursday. L’OuLiPo is an organization of French writers/mathematicians who write while imposing constraints on themselves (more
troubled individuals who can’t make up their minds…). For example, Georges Perec wrote a book called “La disparition” (“A Void” is the English title) entirely without the letter E. Every month, they have an open meeting at La Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and luckily, my host family is practically next door!
Basically, I’m a completely different person now than I was when I applied to colleges. Back then, I was looking for a university with a lot of options so I could learn the most, and I definitely found one! The reason I’m so different now is because of all that I’ve learned. I never thought I would ever feel comfortable writing about math in French, not that I ever knew that I’d want to do that. Through taking all of these different classes and participating in a variety of activities, I was able to learn that none of them are really separate. There’s a way to combine everything, and the creativity to do so is really encouraged at Hopkins from what I can see. L’OuLiPo combines math and writing in French; there are so many French mathematicians who developed new theorems in all branches of the subject; French literature is some of the best writing in the world. I think the education I’m receiving at Hopkins is incredible, even if the only thing I’ll be able to do when I graduate is write math textbooks in French.
February 01, 2010
From a New Freshman
Name: Martin Kelly
Year: Class of 2013
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Major: Computer Science
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Like most freshmen, I came to Hopkins with a mixture of emotions. Although I was excited – I had been looking forward to college for as long as I could remember – I was also very nervous. In fact, the very things that made me excited also made me nervous. Although I was eager to choose what I studied rather than having it dictated to me, I also wasn't sure what my classes would be like or how hard they would be. Although I was eager to live in a new city very different from my own, I had lived in Eugene my whole life and didn't really know what Baltimore would be like. Although I was eager to meet new friends from all over the country, I started out all alone on campus desperate to make friends like I had in high school. In short, like most other freshmen, I could sense that my life at Hopkins would be very different than my previous 18 years, and whether that difference was good or bad would depend entirely upon myself. Although this freedom was exhilarating, it was also profoundly terrifying.
Luckily, like most freshmen, this new world of Hopkins is turning out to be much more exhilarating
than terrifying. Although my courses have been challenging, they have also been very rewarding. Unlike in high school, when I work hard here, I nearly always feel like I'm learning something valuable rather than completing busy work for a grade. And although it can be frustrating when professors have high standards – I've had to rewrite several essays in order to improve my thesis – I think my classes are teaching critical thinking much better than high school did. For example, in my philosophy class here, my teacher forces us to find holes in our own arguments; if we fail to do so, he will find them for us. In contrast, high school teachers usually gave me a good grade as long as I could understand and regurgitate the material.
I have also been getting used to Baltimore and adjusting to a big city. Before Hopkins, I lived in a town of 150,000, so moving to a big city on the east coast was obviously a big adjustment for me. That said, I've become comfortable with Baltimore and had some fun in it. My friends and I have been on some adventures in the city, and these trips often uncover a new restaurant or a part of
the city we had never seen. Although they're not Eugene, Hopkins and Baltimore are starting to feel more like second homes.
Finally, I've also been happy with social life here. Contrary to the Hopkins reputation, the people I've met here are not the cutthroat pre-meds that supposedly fill this school. Instead, it's been really easy finding nice people, and I now have many good friends who make my college experience a lot more than four years of intense studying. We like to watch movies, cook, or just hang out. Because of them, finals week was actually one of the most fun all semester. Although we had lots of studying to do, we took a break most nights. One night during Hanukkah, we cooked latkes. Most of our hall helped us eat them as they followed the smell downstairs to the kitchen!
Obviously, not every day at Hopkins is perfect, but all in all, I'm quite happy here. My freshman worries turned out to be ill-founded, and I'm really happy I decided to come here.
Year: Class of 2013
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Major: Computer Science
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Like most freshmen, I came to Hopkins with a mixture of emotions. Although I was excited – I had been looking forward to college for as long as I could remember – I was also very nervous. In fact, the very things that made me excited also made me nervous. Although I was eager to choose what I studied rather than having it dictated to me, I also wasn't sure what my classes would be like or how hard they would be. Although I was eager to live in a new city very different from my own, I had lived in Eugene my whole life and didn't really know what Baltimore would be like. Although I was eager to meet new friends from all over the country, I started out all alone on campus desperate to make friends like I had in high school. In short, like most other freshmen, I could sense that my life at Hopkins would be very different than my previous 18 years, and whether that difference was good or bad would depend entirely upon myself. Although this freedom was exhilarating, it was also profoundly terrifying.
Luckily, like most freshmen, this new world of Hopkins is turning out to be much more exhilarating
than terrifying. Although my courses have been challenging, they have also been very rewarding. Unlike in high school, when I work hard here, I nearly always feel like I'm learning something valuable rather than completing busy work for a grade. And although it can be frustrating when professors have high standards – I've had to rewrite several essays in order to improve my thesis – I think my classes are teaching critical thinking much better than high school did. For example, in my philosophy class here, my teacher forces us to find holes in our own arguments; if we fail to do so, he will find them for us. In contrast, high school teachers usually gave me a good grade as long as I could understand and regurgitate the material.
I have also been getting used to Baltimore and adjusting to a big city. Before Hopkins, I lived in a town of 150,000, so moving to a big city on the east coast was obviously a big adjustment for me. That said, I've become comfortable with Baltimore and had some fun in it. My friends and I have been on some adventures in the city, and these trips often uncover a new restaurant or a part of
Finally, I've also been happy with social life here. Contrary to the Hopkins reputation, the people I've met here are not the cutthroat pre-meds that supposedly fill this school. Instead, it's been really easy finding nice people, and I now have many good friends who make my college experience a lot more than four years of intense studying. We like to watch movies, cook, or just hang out. Because of them, finals week was actually one of the most fun all semester. Although we had lots of studying to do, we took a break most nights. One night during Hanukkah, we cooked latkes. Most of our hall helped us eat them as they followed the smell downstairs to the kitchen!
Obviously, not every day at Hopkins is perfect, but all in all, I'm quite happy here. My freshman worries turned out to be ill-founded, and I'm really happy I decided to come here.
January 26, 2010
January 18, 2010
Winter Break
Name: Chris Reis
Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: London, England
Major: International Studies, Entrepreneurship and Management Minor
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Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: London, England
Major: International Studies, Entrepreneurship and Management Minor
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Every year, there seems to be a contest between my friends as to who finishes finals first and gets to leave school before the rest of us! Come the end of the fall semester everyone has the holidays on his or her mind and finals feels like a huge burden. But believe me, the feeling of walking out of your last exam is incredible.
Excited to leave Baltimore, you may be lucky enough to get a friend to drive you to the airport and then nothing like home. Unfortunately for some, the heavy snowfall this year meant that several of my friends were grounded for a weekend as the airport struggled.
You get home and see your friends and its terrific fun and you don’t really think about school besides from your friends. However, every year seemingly, the longer the break lasts the more of a yearning you develop to get back to school. For example, I am sitting at home in London right now, looking out on perpetual snowfall and I find myself wishing that I were joining my friends back at Hopkins this Friday.
This happens during both of the big breaks, but in the summer it is only towards the end August. With winter its different. This is because the spring semester, in my mind, is a lot more fun. The days get longer and warmer, Lacrosse season starts and Greek rush is always a blast. Mixed in with all of this is reuniting with friends, starting a new bundle of classes and best of all being removed from parental nagging.
Furthermore, it seems as though every winter break the desire to return is stronger. Freshmen year, one doesn’t really know what is going to happen. Sophomore year, its fun, but unfortunately you still live on campus, and finally Junior year you are off campus and ready for the action. You might have heard it before, I definitely did, but Hopkins really does get better every year. It’s sad to see seniors leave, but they are around for four more months, so bring on the spring semester!
December 30, 2009
December 24, 2009
Multicultural Groups at Hopkins
Name: Kristine Carter
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Major: Civil Engineering
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Extracurricular activities—some do it to fill up resumes, or to help them get into grad school. I do them because they make life so much more fun and exciting! Wikipedia states that “On average, in the United States, many students participate in a minimum of one extracurricular activity throughout the course of one school year.” But that’s unacceptable for me, because I’m not average. I’ve always known that. I mean what eleven year old says they want to be a civil engineer (random right?!) My friends always say that I have more clubs than classes. Many of my activities range from committees, advisory boards, volunteer groups, dance, and multicultural student groups. Spreading multicultural awareness on campus is close to my heart, so I’ll tell you about 2 of them that were created to assist multicultural students—SSS and MAPP.
The story of me getting becoming involved in SSS and MAPP began the summer before I officially stepped foot onto campus as a freshman. That summer I received a letter asking if I wanted to sign up for two multicultural student groups, Mentoring Assistance Peer Program (known on campus as MAPP) and Student Success Series (SSS), that were intended to help me, as a minority student, have a better transition to Hopkins. Optimistically I replied that I would join both organizations because they sounded fun—and without a doubt, they were.
For SSS, we moved onto campus a few days earlier than everyone else did, then we attended a retreat where we learned about study techniques, what some typical days in the life of Hopkins students were like, and of course what college retreat would be complete without icebreakers? Soon after our retreat, the first week of freshman year began, and thanks to SSS I had already formed relationships with many other multicultural students, who were also in many of my classes as well.
By the second week of classes when I got an email inviting me to a MAPP barbecue, I’d almost forgotten I was in that club too. So what is MAPP? It’s a program aimed at giving incoming multicultural freshmen a mentor for one on one support during the usually tumultuous freshman year. Incoming freshmen sign up for the program and are assigned to a MAPP mentor based on personal interest as well as major. Each mentor is assigned about 5 freshmen, and a group of about 4 mentors and their mentees create what we call a MAPP family. So, I arrived and was introduced to my MAPP mentor, Ryan. And we sat in our MAPP families and got to know each other a bit better. We later had a “family event” where we baked cookies and played charades, our most memorable night of the year. And other MAPP events like freshmen study sessions, trips to Arundel Mills Mall, Laser tag, field day, Relay for Life and MAPP spring formal made my freshmen truly unforgettable. Not to mention I met a lot of my close friends from MAPP.
And by my spring semester I knew that I wanted to make someone else’s freshmen year just as fun and unforgettable. So I applied to be become a MAPP mentor, and after many interview processes and training sessions I’m pleased to say that I became one! And this year MAPP is even better than before with new
So if you are ever sitting at home one day and an opportunity comes your way to do something, that maybe you didn’t think you were interested in, you never know, it could be the experience of a lifetime…so try it! My interest in promoting multicultural and ethnic diversity and awareness led me to join these two groups, and I haven’t looked back since!
December 21, 2009
Boogie Down in Baltimore
Name: Julia Garrison
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Major: Sociology, Public Health (Social Sciences concentration)
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While I have thoroughly enjoyed my academic experiences at Hopkins, the one thing I look forward to most in the week is dance. Not only is it a great way to keep in shape, but its also fun and it can work to help you unwind after a tough week. Here on campus, there are tons off dance groups to choose from. It was really hard for me to decide, but I ended up settling on Ole Latin dance and Eclectics.
Through
Ole, I have not only learned tango, salsa, and meringue, but we also get to
perform our pieces around 15 times a year. We perform at the cultural block
party, opening and closing ceremonies of La Organization Latina Estudantil,
showcases of other groups, as well as a variety of campus events. The thing I
have found most rewarding about Ole dance is that we also perform at community
events. For example, as a celebration of Latino Heritage month, we went down to
a local elementary school in the Latino area of Baltimore and got to perform
for the entire school and their families. We also got to perform as a part of a
public health project in an attempt to draw more people to the community center
for vaccines and other health information. Dance has always been something
that’s made me happy, but it’s been great being able to share it with the
community as well.
Eclectics is a fusion dance group that teaches everything from hip hop to jazz, modern, tap, lyrical, and everything in between. This group has been a great outlet because it provides the opportunity to push your comfort zone and try a style you’ve never tried before. In this group, you can also choreograph. I just finished choreographing a 4 minute hip hop piece for this semester and have already begun a musical theater one for next semester. As a group, we also get to perform several times a year and we even have our very own showcase that happens every spring. Last year, we had the privilege of getting to teach dance at a local elementary school and then we invited them to perform at our showcase. We then collected donations to help their arts program at their school.
Not
only are there tons of other dance groups on campus, but there is also a lot of
dance in the greater Baltimore area! Recently, the Monsters of Hip Hop came and
taught classes at a nearby studio. There was also an event with classes taught
by Magic Mike, who appeared on America’s Best Dance Crew as a member of the
Boogie Bots.
Coupled with my love for dance is my love for music. One of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Hopkins was taught during Intersession as a part of our sociology department. It was called “Pop Music, Pop Culture, and Politics in the United States” and it was about how music was used as a form of social protest and mirrored social movement. We covered everything from punk rock, to Woodstock, hip hop to straight edge, and everything in between. It’s classes like these that make me remember why I chose to come to Hopkins. They really do a great job of providing a way to combine interests with academics and look at things in a new way. Like in this class, I’ve found all my other classes to be just as engaging. One thing that’s also unique about Hopkins classes is that while they are interesting, they also all seem to have a practical purpose. I leave classes here feeling like I can apply what I learned to real life or a possible career, which is really reassuring. Between fulfilling my artistic curiosity and providing me with a set plan and practical application for my life post-college, Hopkins has really been everything I expected it to be. It challenges me in new ways and forces me to grow and learn in ways that I hadn’t anticipated before.
Year: Class of 2012
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Major: Sociology, Public Health (Social Sciences concentration)
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While I have thoroughly enjoyed my academic experiences at Hopkins, the one thing I look forward to most in the week is dance. Not only is it a great way to keep in shape, but its also fun and it can work to help you unwind after a tough week. Here on campus, there are tons off dance groups to choose from. It was really hard for me to decide, but I ended up settling on Ole Latin dance and Eclectics.
Eclectics is a fusion dance group that teaches everything from hip hop to jazz, modern, tap, lyrical, and everything in between. This group has been a great outlet because it provides the opportunity to push your comfort zone and try a style you’ve never tried before. In this group, you can also choreograph. I just finished choreographing a 4 minute hip hop piece for this semester and have already begun a musical theater one for next semester. As a group, we also get to perform several times a year and we even have our very own showcase that happens every spring. Last year, we had the privilege of getting to teach dance at a local elementary school and then we invited them to perform at our showcase. We then collected donations to help their arts program at their school.
Coupled with my love for dance is my love for music. One of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Hopkins was taught during Intersession as a part of our sociology department. It was called “Pop Music, Pop Culture, and Politics in the United States” and it was about how music was used as a form of social protest and mirrored social movement. We covered everything from punk rock, to Woodstock, hip hop to straight edge, and everything in between. It’s classes like these that make me remember why I chose to come to Hopkins. They really do a great job of providing a way to combine interests with academics and look at things in a new way. Like in this class, I’ve found all my other classes to be just as engaging. One thing that’s also unique about Hopkins classes is that while they are interesting, they also all seem to have a practical purpose. I leave classes here feeling like I can apply what I learned to real life or a possible career, which is really reassuring. Between fulfilling my artistic curiosity and providing me with a set plan and practical application for my life post-college, Hopkins has really been everything I expected it to be. It challenges me in new ways and forces me to grow and learn in ways that I hadn’t anticipated before.
December 17, 2009
Fun During Finals
Name: Tabitha Moses
Year: Class of 2011
Hometown: Oxford, England
Major: Cognitive Science, Philosophy
So, finals are over for me, and I have a blog to write. I have just got no idea what to write about. I don’t want to ramble about finals; I think there are enough regular bloggers who are telling you all about their finals and what finals are like here at Hopkins.
I am currently going through the post finals clean up and catch up. When finals come I’m sure most people would agree that cleaning (unless you’re procrastinating) and extracurricular stuff go out the window, so now I have to clean the mess out of our living room. I would like to point out that most of this mess is due to a cat who likes to knock all glasses over in an attempt to drink whatever was inside. Needless to say there is a lot of sticky, soggy paper lying around the room.
This is a picture of Oscar trying to look innocent after making a mess.
(and yes, I do like to post pictures of my cats in every blog!)
Anyway, I am glad my finals are over, and after my last final on Saturday afternoon, I came home to finds my house full of people and very good food! One of my housemates was hosting a Chanukah potluck. Everyone was invited, not just real Jews (lucky for me) and everyone brought something to eat. What was most interesting is that my housemate is vegan, so most of the food was vegan; I enjoyed seeing what sort of food people tried to make! This picture here is of everyone lighting the collection of Menorahs, a tradition that concerned me a little considering we had to leave them lit, and the food table was right next to the Menorah table, and people were very desperate for food! Luckily, no one got hurt, although a lot of people did get attacked by food if they crowded around the food table for too long: I’m not looking forward to cleaning apple sauce of the rug!
Anyway, I wanted to mention this because I was one of the few people who had finished finals, so I wanted to show you all that people still have fun during finals period! On this note, I am going out somewhere else tonight because another friend of mine is having a thanksgiving dinner. You may ask why, but I’m not entirely sure! Originally he was going to have it the Sunday after thanksgiving, but then things got busy, so now it’s tonight. I’m really looking forward to it, he’s doing all the cooking, and making real food: turkey, or eggplant parm (depending on your meat eating leanings), mashed potatoes, corn, salad, garlic bread, biscuits, and for dessert: apple pie, cherry pie, and ice cream. AND for a little bit of festivity, egg nog! For someone like me, who is far to lazy to cook, this is heaven!
Speaking of my very lazy cooking habits, there is something I have to bring up (actually, I have been told by JHU_Jackie that I have to bring it up), and that is my minor addiction to Carma’s café www.carmascafe.com. It’s right next to campus, and is, in fact, on my way home from campus, which is really the only reason I’m there every day! They really do have a great selection of everything, and it’s the only place other than my house that I can actually get any work done, which is good. Anyway, my point is, if you come visit Hopkins, Carma’s is a great place to go to if you want to grab something to eat.
It’s not just me that likes the place. In a recent article, the New York times wrote about them. Actually, if you are planning a visit to Hopkins any time soon and are wondering what you can do in the area, this is actually a very useful article. The article is about 36 hours in Baltimore, and what you can do, and they seem to agree with most of us on Hopkins Interactive that there is a lot to do around Baltimore, and that it is actually an interesting city.
Well, on that note, I’m off to go find something fun to do. I think I should probably start my Christmas shopping! Good luck to all you early decision kids out there.
Stop back at the guest blog for more from me in January when I tell you stories about my great winter break, and how awesome intersession is (not just the classes, but also fun extracurriculars you can take part in).
**Editor's Note: Be sure to check out Tabitha's previous guest blog entries!**
My Jet-Setting Summer, Classaholic, Fall Break, What's Up In Wolman 3 East and Hopkins from the International Perspective.
December 14, 2009
Guest Blog - We've Moved!
- We've Moved!Our blogs have moved! Keep up with the newest updates and changes to the Hopkins Interactive blogs at our new blog central: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/guest/.
