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That Other Building on South College

October 1, 2013 / / Comments Off on That Other Building on South College

This semester, while staying as involved as I can at 186 South College (the Honors Program, obviously), I have also increased my involvement with 210 South College, aka the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and absolutely love it.  As I have said before, I am a Blue Hen Ambassador with Admissions, meaning I give tours to prospective students and their families.  On top of that, BHAs are also given the opportunity to work in the office, through answering and maintaining Admissions phones, emails, chats, etc., and I finally took advantage of this opportunity and decided to start this semester.

I absolutely love working in the office, not just because I am able to learn even more about this fine university, but also because I can get in contact prospective families and help them see just why the University of Delaware is so great.  It is one thing to give them a tour and tell them all there is to know about UD and all the history and information, but it is another thing to help them along the way during the application process.  As I quickly began to realize early on this semester, working in Admissions is no easy task; there is always something changing about our application process, and with the addition of many new admissions officers, the office is changing a lot, too, and I am excited to be able to experience this firsthand.

This past week, the office was teeming with new prospects, and not just new prospective students to the University of Delaware, but new prospective BHAs, as our pool for new tour guides was interviewing all last week.  Fortunately, I was on the Selection Committee and helped interview the BHA applicants for the position, which I absolutely loved.  I’ll admit it: I can be a somewhat judgmental person at times, so this committee was right up my ally!  In conducting many interviews, I realized just how lucky I am to show my love for my school through this program.  As such, I want to make sure these applicants are exactly the same way.  So, I always tried to get them to tell me their favorite thing about UD.  The vast array of answers made me realize again just how great of a school we go to because every applicant had such a different answer; there are just so many great things about UD!

Clearly, working in Admissions has definitely been such a great experience so far.  Being able to showcase my love for my school makes me love UD even more each day.  I can’t wait to welcome the new BHAs in just a few short days! Although I will miss being the “newbie” class, I can’t wait to be a part of a new class’ experience and help the newbies see just how awesome being in the Admissions Office is and how it helps you love UD even more! If you can, I would highly suggest applying to be a BHA or to work in the Admissions Office in some other way at least for part of your UD career; you will not regret it!

~Hannah Tattersall  

My roommate, Cece, and I are both in Biweekly. She's posing with my Biweekly shirt.

Seeing a “Package” Through

October 1, 2013 / / Comments Off on Seeing a “Package” Through

My week was filled with Disney princesses, cameras, costumes, and emails. I am an actor, writer, producer, technical director, and one-time editor for the Biweekly Show.

A little background on Biweekly: We are a UD student-run TV show that airs on the Student Television Network (STN49) on campus. Every other week we get together, create, and run a 30 minute show. There are many technical terms behind a tv show but for the sake of discussion, I’ll define one. A “package” is a pre-recorded piece of material.

 This week, I was the producer for a package titled “True Hollywood Story: Disney Princesses, Where Are They Now?” We had Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, and Sleeping Beauty all share where they are now. It’s funny, unique, and interesting. It was also a lot of hard work.

My roommate, Cece, and I are both in Biweekly. She’s posing with my Biweekly shirt.

 

Here are some of the steps from creation to completion of an idea as told through Disney Princesses.

 

1.     Idea: My friend Alana pitched the idea of a Disney Princess follow up.

 

2.     Selection: The Executive Producers selected which ideas will be used for the show. They pick the writer, director, editor, and producer. Often times these roles cross-over. I was chosen for producer.

 

3.     Organizing: I emailed everyone (multiple times) to find a time we could shoot their scenes. This is the hardest part- no one is ever available together. People often need to be re-cast by the writer. This one worked out well.

 

4.     Scenes and costumes: I chose where to shoot as the day came. I had to coordinate with the director, Alisa, who would get the equipment. I also had to somewhat pick costumes. It’s actually extremely difficult to dress as a modern day princess!

 

5.     Acting: I dressed up as homeless woman for the Belle shoot. I got a lot of stares walking out of my building in costume. I also was Snow White. Organizing that outfit was a challenge. Who has a yellow skirt laying around? Luckily I had a yellow pillow case. Dirtying my clean apartment for a scene was easy. Cleaning it up after was not.

 

6.     Setting up shots: It took Alisa, my friend Dillon, and I a long time to set up a shot for the confessional-style shots in True Hollywood stories. Lighting has to be right (basically always have a spare lamp) and sound has to come out clearly. There is so much to balance in a camera shot. We spent about 10 hours or so filming this week.

 

7.     Editing: This is the coolest part of a package in my opinion. A three minute package generally takes three-four hours of editing. Every moment one recorded is sorted through and shots are picked. Working the editing program may as well be speaking a different language. Alisa is editing Disney Princesses. Otherwise, I’d be at The Other Side (STN’s office) on this fine night rather than studying in my room.

 

8.     Playing during the show: Once everything is approved by the executive producers, it is put on during the show. Describing how we get the content on during the show requires it’s own huge list for another day.

 

That’s a small taste of what I’ve done this week. It’s all done for a three-minute package that will air briefly on TV and online. The best part is hearing from people that what you’ve done is hilarious. It all pays off in the end.

~Shannon Poulsen

 

(Air of mystery: Can you guess where I'm going?)

That One Time My Week Was an Emotional Rollercoaster Ride…

September 27, 2013 / / Comments Off on That One Time My Week Was an Emotional Rollercoaster Ride…

Whew, what a whirlwind of a week! And what a difference seven days can make. I mean, just to mention the obvious example – anyone with rudimentary religious knowledge is probably sighing in acknowledgement right now – of that one time God casually made the world, and the animals, and the oceans, and the trees…and, you get the idea. Seven days. Just seven days, people.

You, arbitrary audience member, might be wondering, “Caitlyn, what exactly happened this week?” Well, curious audience member, besides extreme sleep deprivation, this past 168-hour period was filled with SO MANY EMOTIONS. As my younger sister says whenever she can’t adequately express her emotional reactions, “All the feels!” This phrase perfectly describes my week because my emotions were somewhat kaleidoscopic, a.k.a. all over the place. There was happiness, numbness, excitement, devastation, pride, hunger (especially while studying for the Nutrition 200 exam I had this past Wednesday), discomfort, nervousness, fulfillment, and of course tiredness. Unfortunately, elaborating on all of those sentiments would take forever. So, I’m just tackling the major ones.

(Air of mystery: Can you guess where I’m going?)

EXCITEMENT: At the beginning of this week, I had zero idea what I’d be doing over Winter Session. Now, I’m going to be studying abroad! It was a sort of last-minute thing, and by last-minute I mean, I-literally-filled-out-the-application-and-got-the-professor-recommendation-and-submitted-the-deposit-and-interviewed-with-the-professor-in-a-24-hour-period. No lie. As a Spanish major, I’m beyond excited to have the chance to visit a place in which I’ll be 100% immersed in the language. I can’t wait!

DEVASTATION: I care more about grades than I sometimes realize. This week, I learned the score of a test I had taken last Friday. I found out this Monday. It was 11:15 a.m. or so, after my first class, and I was on my computer when I noticed that yet another email had sailed into my inbox. The email was from the new UD Canvas site and its message was simple: “Your assignment has been graded.” I clicked on the email, was redirected the Canvas site…and devastation ensued. “What even HAPPENED? Why do I study so much for nothing? Why am I even a Spanish major? Why bother?” Ugly, irrational thoughts immediately shut out everything else. After a good cry – sometimes necessary – my solution was action. I met with the professor, and hopefully, maybe, next time I’ll do better.

HUNGER:Quite simply, nothing prepared me for the dangers of studying for Nutrition 200. I WAS READING ABOUT FOOD. NOTHING BUT FOOD.

Oh, yeah, why am I in Nutrition 200 as a senior? Don’t put off your Group Ds, kids. Then you’ll be that one senior in a sea of freshmen. Seriously though: on the first day the professor innocently instructed, “Raise your hand if you’re a freshman!” And my only thought was, “They’re everywhere!” I was so outnumbered that I decided right then and there to pretend I was a sophomore/junior. It was safer.

But back to the actual late-night study session, I could only eat so many bananas before I went straight for the cookies. Newfound knowledge be darned.

My limited wisdom? Everything can change in an instant. My week started on a sour note, and ended more sweet.

(Yes, yes I am throwing in nutrition terms purposefully.)

The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building

Ruby Reviews the Renovations

September 26, 2013 / / Comments Off on Ruby Reviews the Renovations

 

These freshmen don’t know how good they’ve got it…UD has unveiled some pretty amazing renovations and brand new buildings this fall. While I’m so jealous that the Class of 2017 gets four whole years to enjoy them, I do appreciate that I get one. We can all agree that the renovations are stunning improvements, but here’s my review.

Little Bob (The Carpenter Sports Building) – The gym expansion was probably the most hotly anticipated among the changes to the UD campus. I started going to the gym at the end of junior year (it’s never too late to start), and looking back on it the amount of cardio equipment available then was incredibly inadequate for a school of 16,000 undergrads. The new gym is gorgeous, with a ton of fancy new machines that I have no idea how to use and will probably never know how to use. Nevertheless, I highly endorse the elliptical machines with built-in TVs! My only complaint is that there are not enough lockers.

ISE Lab (Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Lab) –  As a Political Science major, I probably can’t fully appreciate this entirely new “194,000-square-foot facility [which] brings together students and faculty from various disciplines to teach, learn and conduct research in a collaborative environment,” as the UD ISE Lab website states it. I’ve heard that the lab classrooms are pretty amazing, though. Much of the first floor is a huge open study space with couches, tables, and of course Einstein Bagels; I think this area is perfect for studying and especially meetings.

Alison Hall – It seemed like this academic building was under renovation for years. It still looks like a high school inside, but a much nicer high school! However, I am not at all a fan of the new furniture in the classrooms. The desk-chair combos on four wheels are very unstable, and it always feels like you’re going to accidentally knock into a neighbor when you sit down.

Redding Hall – I recently visited this brand new freshman dorm, which mostly houses Honors freshmen, and it was all I thought it would be and more. This is probably the renovation I am most jealous about, because I lived in the Honors freshman dorm last year as a Russell Fellow – meaning I just missed out on a huge room in Redding by one year! Russell was already pretty nice, but from the countless spacious lounges to huge hallways to a kitchen with an island, it’s safe to say Honors definitely got a dorm upgrade with Redding. Enjoy it while you can, freshmen!

The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building

What’s your favorite UD renovation?

~Ruby Harrington

Handouts detailing the event were placed on each seat.

Attending the James R. Soles lecture with Senator Coons

September 24, 2013 / / Comments Off on Attending the James R. Soles lecture with Senator Coons

 

On Monday September 16, I attended the third annual James R. Soles lecture given by Senator Chris Coons. He gave a speech on the constitution and citizenry, two very important concepts that the late-Professor Soles cared for very much. Additionally, my public policy professor Dr. Rich announced that UD is planning to apply for community engagement classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It was a very packed and important event.

 

I borrowed a roommate’s formal dress and another’s cardigan and went on my way to the lecture. I had to give my name to check in. I recognized one person in the sea of suits and sat next to her immediately. The room soon filled with important (and old!) people.

 

My POSC300 professor, Dr. Mycoff, and I mingled. He and I mingled with my academic advisor from my summer, Dr. Wilson. The department chair for Political Science and International Relations, Dr. Gretchen Bauer was there. Dr. Rich and our doctoral student Mr. Barnes said “hi.” President Harker was there! He shook my hand and asked me how my summer was. More and more people of academic strength and university importance soon crowded around lunch. Did I mention there was free lunch?

 

Mingling led to more mingling led to more mingling. I ran into more friends- some there as guests and some there as Soles Fellows (aka scholarship receivers). I was extremely humbled by everyone in the room.

 

After meeting and greeting tons of people, it all settled into the pomp and circumstance of announcements and speeches. Senator Coons gave an amazing speech and took one of my questions at the end. That was nerve-wracking- try following up a doctoral candidate’s question about foreign committee seating with one that can impress a room. Hint: It’s pretty impossible.

 

Listening to Senator Coons, Dr. Bauer, Dr. Rich, and chatting with many more was an amazing experience. The lunch was even good. This experience would not have happened if I didn’t reach out to my professor. Which brings me to a practical piece of advice:

 

If you reach out and make connections while you’re here at the university, amazing opportunities will embrace you. The Honors Program shrinks the complex world of navigating connections into a more manageable realm, but it is not impossible to do so on your own.

 

In the end, I left an informed, and well-fed, undergraduate student. I also left with eight cookies in my backpack, but that’s just a small bonus.

~Shannon Poulsen

 

 

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