Post-Secondary Ramblings

Recently I’ve found myself a position in a research lab on campus and have been working for about 2 weeks. I was super excited for this whole experience as it was what I have always dreamed of doing, working in a genetics lab. In the past 2 weeks, I have really enjoyed going to work. I’ve used the hashtag #ilovework way too many times on Twitter lately.

A lot of my friends have been asking me how I was able to land an opportunity like this. It’s not as hard as one may think it is. The biggest tip that I can provide would be to apply to any and every position that remotely interests you. Persistence and determination is key. I probably applied to every work study posting when they came out and only had interviews for about 2 of them. But it was from one of those 2 interviews that I found out about the position that I currently hold. Your interviewers may know of other faculty members that are looking for help and are not posting it, making every interview valuable. Let your instructors know that you’re looking for a position as they may be looking for help too. Dropping by during their office hours is a great way of getting to know your professors.

Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected. It does take time. I know of a friend who sent out about 50 emails to different labs only to get 3 replies back. However, when you do land the position, the feeling is very fulfilling. Take it from me. Happy job hunting (:

Don’t you just hate that? I know I do. It’s almost always bad news. Actually, when would you use unfortunately for good news?

I’ve had to deal with rejection on more than one occasion this past week. Of course it wasn’t pleasant, but I can’t say that I felt bad about it either. I’ve been so busy with all my extracurriculars I lost my direction. I found myself applying for everything there was out there that was even remotely interesting to me. Needless to say, a lot of them didn’t turn out as great as they promised to be. That’s why when I received some rejections, I was actually glad I didn’t get the position or I’d end up burning myself out trying to balance everything that I’m involved with. Which kind of makes me wonder why I applied in the first place.

I also tried something new this time around. Instead of getting mad about the rejection email, I actually replied back. I thanked them for their time and asked them for suggestions to make my future applications stronger. I find that having the feedback would not only benefit me by knowing some of my weaker points, but it also shows that I actually cared about my application. Not only that, you kind of get to catch the people off guard, which is kind of fun (:

Carmela + Team Kaba Highlighters, if you’re reading this, this is for you :)

Picture is yet again in colour to highlight my post. Get it? Haha. Yes I know I’m lame.

In my last post I talked about a club that I joined, in this post I will talk about the UBC REC Ultimate team that I joined.

A little about my playing history, I first picked up the sport way back in Grade 7. I would play Ultimate literally every recess and lunch, rain or shine, even in the snow. I loved the sport, but unfortunately I stopped playing when I hit high school. It wasn’t until Grade 10 when I picked up the sport for real. I started to take it more intensely. I had a great season with my high school team. We didn’t have many wins, but ask anyone on the team and they will tell you we had many great memories together. I changed high schools in Grade 11, and though I did join the school team there, I was not able to find the same type of chemistry. I tried VUL Hat League, Summer League, JVUL, but I wasn’t able to find chemistry anywhere. Attending games and practices felt like a chore and I eventually decided to take a break from ultimate.

I was not involved in with the sport at all until I entered UBC and was approached by a friend from my Grade 10 team. She asked me if I was interested in playing Ultimate again. I jumped at the opportunity as I was looking to start up the sport again. I am glad to say that though I’ve only been to three practices with my new team, I feel the chemistry already. Even though my classes end at 12, and I have to stay on campus until 5 for practices, I don’t mind at all. I’m always pumped and excited for practices, and totally refreshed after sweating through an entire tshirt.

So ya,  a super warm welcome back to my life, Ultimate. I promised I won’t ditch you again…at least not for a while :)