The past week has led me to learning the following lessons:
1. Don’t leave your co-op application to the last minute. I know it’s a hard decision to make, but lean towards one side in the summer and JUST START on the application. The info session will provide the almost the same things as a simple 15-minute browse through the website, unless you want to hear from a couple of people who have done/are still doing co-op terms. The info session would be more useful for international students, I think- they provide important details for you guys.
BUT! Besides frantically rushing my boyfriend to edit my cover letter like a mad man and running around campus to print everything out, I managed to hand in my application 2 hours before the deadline! Fingers crossed that I get a call back!
2. Schmooze and mingle with men who have acted as advisors/interacted with Pierre Trudeau in any way, shape, or form. I know this video has been spammed 10000x and a half (how could it not be, amazing!cochair-of-mine!AJ made it), but let me point 0.18 seconds into the video:
That round-faced rambling girl talking about meeting the French Consul-General? That’s me. And on the same night, I got advice from Jeremy Kinsman, who has worked with Trudeau. This all happened when I attended IRSA’s Diplomacy 101 event last year. And just two days ago, I attended it again. Once again, there was a speaker who was once a special advisor to Trudeau, and he was a delightful speaker.
How easy it is to tell who my favourite Prime Minister is…
3. SIGN UP FOR POLEDANCING 101 WITH NO REGRETS. Yay, AMS Minischool! Someone join me? :D
Me: [ranting about how friend didn’t know about the new U-Pass system at ALL] So you’re telling me that you would’ve waited for your U-Pass in the mail until you realize- Friend: Yeah, I will, then I’d call you, and you’d know! You know everything! Me: [facepalm]
So you’re about to be a First Year yourself. Yes, you. EXCITING, YEAH? :DDDV I know how you feel. University > high school (well, in most aspects). You’re gonna love it. It’s gonna be a blast. Yes, even you, the commuter. I was a commuter, and I’ll remain one for the next four years. And I still loved my first year and the commute home, especially after yoga class (actually, that comment might have just made you realize I’m a freak, which I kind of am. Moving on…).
My lovely Blog Squad fellow, Binta, has posted an extensive amount of info for you guys, which I have pretty much 0_0’ed at and applaud her for. However, I notice that the Arts crowd might require guidance of their own. That’s when I come in and attempt to be useful.
While I did try quite a bit of the whole breaking out into spontaneity business, I also survived my first year of UBC with quite the planning and to-do lists. All this thanks to research, geekiness, and my brimming excitement. That, with my involvement on campus contributed to my friend’s comment above. I know where random buildings are, I know stuff about involvement (and where to ask about it), I know where to get help and where to access resources. I’ve used them a lot before, and I’m pretty sure you can make good use of them, too.
So here goes part one of my Jennine’s First Year Guide of Awesome– Useful Resources.
So. What are you procrastinating on? :P What work do you still have to do over the next week or so?
Let’s use this post to rant your heart out, sigh with relief about that one paper you finally finished, and release some of the tension from all the work you still have to do.
So this post is a bit late, but what can I say, like any student, I blame impending doom in the form of midterms.
Anyway, there’s only one word I can use to describe my experience at the Arts Career Expo: awesomesauce. I learned so many useful things, met amazing alumni, ate great food, and had a lot of fun!
Most importantly, I’m taking slow, cautious steps towards saying yes to the idea of law school. The panel was amazing, and so very informative, but in a way it was also a slap of reality to my poor, naive face. Becoming a lawyer, especially a lawyer who’s a woman, will take a lot of work. I need to toughen myself up and really make sure law is what I want to do in order to succeed in the field. However, it is a challenging and rewarding job, perfect for anyone who likes to always be thinking and helping people. Needless to say it’s starting to look like a good career choice for me.
The second panel I attended was networking, which was very lighthearted and interactive and really fun. I learned not to give a fail!handshake and other skills that helped me rock the Mix&Mingle session.
So, things I learned, in a nutshell:
1. Being a lawyer does not guarantee a lot of money, nor a glamorous job in your first year of employment. It’s a long, hard process to get to the top, but one that’s very much worth it.
2. If you want to be a lawyer in another country, go to law school in that country! (I can’t believe I never knew this).
3. Learning French can be reallyyyy awesome job-wise. (Says the FREN123 student)
4. Alumni go to networking events because they want to. Really. Stop being hesitant and maintaining a gloomy mindset- just go for it!
5. Networking is a two-way convo: don’t just ask questions- don’t be afraid to say what you think about their response, or talk a little about yourself.
6. Sweaty palms? Wear something with a pocket to wipe your right palm with before shaking that alumni’s hand!
7. Send a thank you message to the people you talked to! This I did- I got a reply from all of them. Man, I feel like a pro-networker already. :P
Ever the boyband lover (I’m listening to Westlife right now, don’t judge me),
Jennine
I don’t know about you guys, but when I was little, I went through “phases” of career aspirations; one year I wanted to be this, then this, then do this again. It all depended on my current obsession e.g. astronomy, theatre, etc. (all of which I’m still obsessed with, ha).
See below:
Really little-first grade: Pediatrician (insert tumblr lolface here) Second grade-third grade: Astronaut Fourth grade: Archaeologist Fifth-sixth grade: Editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine Seventh-eighth grade: Broadway performer Ninth grade: Editor-in-chief of a nerdy magazine Tenth grade: Radiologist (see lolface above), then website designer, then diplomat (a very fun year- I won a website design contest in SFU, and attended my first MUN) Eleventh-twelfth grade: Foreign Services Officer
So I start as a First Year here in UBC, with aspirations of being a hotshot diplomat, with Europe being my geographic specialty.
While being determined and having a clear goal in mind is a good thing, being in a place like UBC makes it essential to keep one’s mind open. There are so many choices of things to do, and now I find myself like a little kid again. I am second-guessing my ambitious plan of a double PoliSci + IR major (well, there’s only self-esteem issues associated with that, but that’s for another entry). I find myself interested in fields such as the Science Studies Minor and European Studies. And most importantly, the idea of law school is slowly but surely becoming a goal in my mind instead of a mere possibility.
The responsibilities of being a new student these past few months has been increased by the fact that I turned 18, got a job, and well, am considered an adult by my parents. While I’m a commuter and still get to enjoy the joy of homemade food, I still found myself having to adjust to all the responsibility.
It felt weird, it still does- instead of having my mom make my dentist appointments for me and my dad always driving me to the bank, it’s up to me to get all that kind of thing handled. I had to learn my dentist’s work hours, make the trek to the Village to deposit money and even made my own tax-free savings account. All by myself. It feels rather nice, though now with the dawn of a new semester coming upon me, I have a brand new daunting-as-always list of “adult tasks” I have to accomplish- paying tuition fees and selling my textbooks and letting my boss know my new work hours. Adult tasks=managing my own money, most of the time. I’m still trying to get the hang of it, but I think I’m slowly but surely getting there.
Besides these adult tasks are still the typical student tasks, the biggest one being cleaning up for Term 2. » Read the rest of this entry «
Current Music: “Pills” by The Perishers. Beautiful, heartbreaking song.
My automatic response in job interviews (and let me assure you that I’ve had my fair share just this past summer), upon that dreaded question of “What is your weakness?” is always this: I take on too much work. Constantly I’ve had to just sit back and realize what my top priorities are, and drop and keep things from there. My planner is my constant companion, where events and due dates and most importantly, weekend to-do lists are jotted down. The past few weeks, my to-do lists have grown quite a bit.
It’s safe to say that yeah, I’ve piled a lot on my plate for the year, and I feel that once again I’m arriving at the stage where I have to realize what my values are. It’s one of the important things I learned during CLASS- really know the things you value, and make them the base for everything you do- how you spend your weekends to which clubs to join.
However, knowing this, I still have questions:
1) Values-wise, what if I’m not really sure? And, well, the key thing is to try out what works for me? I know that I want to play a key role in one of the charitable clubs/organizations in campus, but I still don’t have a clear idea of the cause I really, really want to work for. I haven’t found that certain passion yet. Right now, I’m a member of the Dollar Project, which doesn’t aim for one specific cause- just for heightened “individual social responsibility”. I love it right now, but I still feel like there’s something missing.
2) How exactly does the “get involved” mantra work if you’re a commuter student? I love being involved, but I’m striving to fit in studying time whenever I can, and it’s difficult when I barely have time to eat dinner and go to sleep on time once I’m home. People recommend reading on the bus/Skytrain, but my body doesn’t like that and instead makes my head go dizzy if I dare read on the 99.
(And you know, I believe this is quite the issue with commuter students. They just want to go home, and so involvement is not really much of an option. This makes me very, very sad, but I digress for now)
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Patchworked..
"We are all patchwork, and so shapeless and diverse in composition that each bit, each moment, plays its own game."
- Michel de Montaigne
The insanity behind the words.
My name's Jennine, I'm 18, and I'm a 2nd year UBC student. I hope to major in International Relations (or Political Science, or both) and to minor in French. I like to fangirl, I like to sing karaoke, and I like to blog, among other things. (more)
