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Senior Fall: In Full Swing

October 8, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | Permalink

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately. I can’t seem to kick this cough! However, the weather in Cambridge is beautiful today so I’m trying to look on the bright side–no pun intended 😉 The past few days have been overcast with a few drizzles of rain showers so seeing the sun is really refreshing. The unpredictable weather here is both a blessing and curse because you get so much variety but you never know when it’s going to rain, even if it’s beautiful and sunny!

I can’t believe it’s already October. Where did September go? Senior fall is definitely in full swing. Schoolwork is picking up and we’ve already entered midterm season. Luckily, I don’t have any midterms that overlap in the same week, whereas I know several people who have two or three exams over the span of just as many days. I don’t know which is better. On one hand, having every midterm in the same week gets them over with, but on the other end of that argument, it’s not as stressful to take them one at a time. I’m taking an engineering course called “Innovation in Science and Engineering” (ES139) this semester, and there are no exams. My midterm was making a video that depicts how a successful person went about “Problem Selection.” My friend Min and I chose to profile Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com. We basically made a montage of pictures and video clips with our voices narrating Jeff’s story. It was a pretty untraditional midterm assignment. I’ve never done anything like it for a class at Harvard before, but we had a lot of fun with it. I’m definitely not a huge fan of exams, so I thought it was a cool way to assess what we’ve learned so far.

Min

Me and Min!

I’ve been getting a lot of meals with people I’ve lost touch with since freshman year. These are people who, for whatever reason, I didn’t spend too much time with as a sophomore or junior. It’s actually really nice to catch up with old friends, especially to see what their Harvard experience has been like compared to mine. It’s also really nice to reminisce about things that I might not be able to talk about with friends I met in later years (i.e. my pre-orientation experience with Dorm Crew or my freshman year entryway). One topic I’m still getting used to is “the future.” It has come up in every single meal or conversation I’ve had with someone who is also a senior and I haven’t seen for a while. I’ve heard everything from medical school to investment banking to graduate school at Oxford. It’s both scary and exciting–but I’m trying to keep a healthy distance away from the future and live in the present. I try to remind people we still have a year left: a whole quarter of our Harvard experience!

It’s a short week for me. Today is Columbus Day in the States, and therefore I don’t have any classes. I also don’t have any classes on Fridays this semester (the first time this has ever happened). I wish I wasn’t feeling under the weather, or else I’d be outside enjoying the sun. I’ll probably venture out into the Square anyway for tea or Starbucks with one of my friends later this afternoon. Quickly going back to this idea of memory lane–I suspect many of you who are high school seniors are also having similar conversations about the future. Make sure you take some time to enjoy senior year! It’s probably a mix of a whole lot of emotions but I encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity you can!

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YOSYO (You Only Senior Year Once)

September 22, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 6 comments

It’s such a strange feeling being a senior. The start to the semester has been incredibly busy, and I echo Caroline’s sentiments about senior year being a completely different experience than any of the others. I’ve also been putting myself out there in the job search, trying to get my foot in the door somewhere. I’ve been learning a lot about different industries and trying to see where I feel like my skills could have the most impact. It’s a pretty daunting idea–the thought of entering the working world scares me a lot. I love school and have found a home in Harvard that I don’t want to leave.

Before the job search, I was able to have fun with the Crimson Key Society (CKS), which is a service organization Caroline, Kemie, and myself are a part of. CKS is essentially Harvard’s welcoming committee, and we give campus tours and run Freshman Week (what we call first-year student orientation). Some highlights include the First Chance Dance, the Freshman Talent Show, as well as our annual showing of Love Story. We all dress up in 70’s gear and dance outside the Science Center to songs by music groups like The Jackson 5 and The Bee Gees before the showing of the movie, which is always a lot of fun!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

Besides getting back into the swing of things, my dorm building, Quincy House, recently had our annual Field Day and Exorcism. There are 4 teams each year: sophomores, juniors, seniors, and staff, and every team has a different colored t-shirt. While Field Day sounds like a sporting event, you actually don’t need much athletic ability at all. And yes, the entire staff of our House show up to compete, from our Housemasters, Lee and Deb, to our House administrator, Larry, to our Resident Dean, Judith, and our entire staff of Tutors and even their children! We compete against each other in balloon toss, dizzy bat races, limbo, and tug of war (to name a few), and it’s just an overall great welcome back event that gets everyone involved in some friendly competition. I was the limbo champion last fall, only to experience a bit of an upset when I got eliminated in the second to last round this year. An even bigger upset, however, was when my class (2013–the defending champions from last year), came in second behind the staff.

...seconds before an epic fail of falling in the second to last round!

…seconds before an epic fail of falling

Senior year has been quite a ride already and it’s only been a few weeks! I’ve met some amazing new people and I’m super excited for what’s to come. I’ll keep you all updated–best of luck to those students in the States who also just recently started school! #YOLO #YOSYO!

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One Last Hurrah

August 23, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | Permalink

The last day that I was on campus as a Proctor for Harvard Summer School, a few of us went to Revere Beach, which is about a 40 minute T ride from campus (the T is what we call our subway system). Fun fact: Revere Beach is America’s first public beach! Actually, about 10 of us were supposed to go, but between real world jobs and trying to wrap things up on campus, only three of us ended up making the trek out to the shore. Meghan and Chris are both rising seniors as well, and we figured we would have one last hurrah before leaving for the last few weeks of summer. And, of course, we wanted one more opportunity to get our tans on, since that’d probably be pretty difficult to do once the semester starts in September.

The T is super easy to navigate and incredibly convenient. To be honest, I don’t get to use it as often as I’d like just because it’s so busy during the school year. However, I have several friends who try to get out to different parts of Boston and Cambridge a few times a month, and that’s something I’m going to try to do for the upcoming semester–after all, I only have two left. We arrived in Revere to find out that there was a group of 15 year olds playing incredibly loud music on a stage near the beach as part of some kind of community youth event. It wasn’t exactly the peace, quiet, and relaxation we were looking for, but I think we learned to tune it out since we all ended up taking a dip in the water at one point and then eventually falling asleep as we laid on the sand.

Meghan, Chris, and I at the beach!

As we were leaving, we noticed a super conveniently located ice cream shop right next to the T stop. What’s a beach day without ice cream? We took well over 5 minutes to decide what we were all going to order, which was especially inconsiderate seeing as there were people in line behind us. However, we were so incredibly excited and our server was really accommodating and sweet. I wish I knew what the stand was called so I could give it a plug in here, but the delicious ice cream is the only thing I remember. Yikes. Either way, the ice cream shop right next to the Revere Beach T stop is delicious and you should all go if you get a chance!

Our delicious ice cream

I’m in India for the last leg of filming for the documentary I’m co-hosting and will make sure I blog and post pictures from this trip! Back to campus at the end of the week for PAF* training, and I’m really looking forward to it. Blog again soon!

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*PAF: A Peer Advising Fellow, or “PAF,” is basically an upperclassman buddy that every first-year student is assigned to based on broad academic and extracurricular interests.

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Undiscovered Gems

August 5, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 1 comment

Here I am, with less than one week remaining on campus. I leave in 6 days, and it’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end. I’ve had such a productive and “relaxed-busy” few months. I’d like to share two gems that I came across this summer. They’ve both always been around, I just never took the time to look into them.

Harvard Summer School hosts trips throughout the summer that are part of a larger series called “Discover Boston.” One of my duties as a Proctor is to chaperone several of these outings. A few weeks ago, I attended the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) for the first time. Despite growing up in Massachusetts, right on the border of New Hampshire and only a half hour driving from Boston, the MFA was one museum I had never been to. I love going to exhibits and museums. I enjoy attempting to interpret others’ art, and the quiet galleries are incredibly relaxing. I’m also usually in awe of what some people can think of. The pieces that I love the most are typically the ones that make me think or look twice…or the paintings that you just can’t help but notice because of their sheer size.

Floor-to-ceiling painting! Cool!

Floor-to-ceiling painting! Cool!

From attending the MFA, I discovered that while the fine art is beautiful, I very much enjoy contemporary art more. The MFA has a small section specifically for contemporary art, which I just couldn’t get enough of. Any museum-goer will notice simple, cool, and clever lighted signage before entering one of the galleries (see picture below). I’d highly recommend anyone to check it out. In addition, Harvard has some fantastic museums–one of my favorites is the Museum of Natural History. I’ve been once with my parents and I couldn’t help but think what a fun place it would be to take a date! Kind of nerdy, but it might be fun, no? What about the Aquarium? I think I’d have fun at either…however, I can, indeed, see it going horribly wrong.

Lighted signage before entering the MFA's Contemporary Art exhibit!

Lighted signage before entering the MFA’s Contemporary Art exhibit!

Earlier this week, my friend Beth and I got massages over at the Wellness Center. They have special student prices and the office is conveniently located in the Holyoke Center, which is right on campus. Beth has been training all summer (she’s on the Women’s Varsity Volleyball team) and I still exercise and go to the gym despite not being on the men’s team anymore. Therefore, we put a lot of physical stress on our bodies, on top of personal or mental stresses, which all contribute to even more knots or tightness in our muscles and joints. This is definitely a luxury and something we don’t do often. Actually, it was the first real massage for the both of us! However, we wanted to treat ourselves and thought we’d give it a shot. I don’t have anything to compare my massage to, but I did very much enjoy it and would definitely go back again. I think the Wellness Center is a great resource that’s underutilized by undergrads here. On the other hand, if getting a full body massage isn’t your thing, there’s also a program on campus called Stressbusters. Stressbusters is a program that trains students to give massages as volunteers on campus. They can either be booked to give massages at meetings or events, or they also hold spontaneous massage study breaks in different Houses (dorm buildings) and libraries. My favorite part about Stressbusters is that they come to Quincy House (the dorm building I live in) and give massages during Reading Period before exams start taking place.

I’m counting down the days–the final exam for my Tissue Engineering class is on Wednesday. I’m off to go study a bit, but I hope all of you are having a great first week to August. I also hope you all get a chance to catch the Olympics! There are some incredibly talented and gifted people in this world!

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Call me “Coach”

July 27, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 1 comment

Volleyball camp ended last week and I had the opportunity to coach both sessions with several members of the Varsity Women’s team. Volleyball is my favorite sport, and I played for the Varsity Men’s team at Harvard for two years. I coached a group of young girls together with my good friend Ann, who played on the women’s team for two years–I like to joke and say we “retired” from our respective teams together. It was fun to teach younger players what I learned nearly 7 or 8 years ago, especially because the girls we were coaching were just starting out and had all the right motivation–for the love of the game. It was refreshing to teach volleyball in a setting that wasn’t competitive or about showing off; the players really just wanted to learn and get better. It was pretty awesome.

Scott and Ann with Team Black Panthers at The Volleyball Camp at Harvard

Scott and Ann with Team “Black Panthers” at The Volleyball Camp at Harvard

This week, I had a midterm presentation due for my tissue engineering class. The way that the class is structured, each student must present for 30 minutes on a topic of his or her choice that is related to the field of tissue engineering. The paper can be a study or a review of studies that’s been published within the past 3 years. I decided to present a recently published paper regarding advances in retinal tissue engineering. Specifically, the paper offered an introduction on common diseases of the eye and exactly why research within Ophthalmology is relevant and important. It reviewed several studies that looked at various polymers that different types of donor cells were delivered on when transplanted into the retinal pigment epithelial layers in the eye. The topic complements my position within Ophthalmology at the hospital I’m working at this summer, so I really enjoyed researching and finding out more about these polymers. There’s currently no cure for permanent visual loss due to retinal degeneration, so it’s definitely an exciting and worthwhile field to invest time in.

Volleyball camp and my presentation took up a lot of my time these past two weeks, but time just seemed to fly by. I’m only here for two more weeks! After that, I get one day off at home and then I’m off to India to film for the documentary that I started shooting earlier this summer before I got to campus. I’ll be there for 6 days before I fly back to Harvard to start PAF and Crimson Key events. Summer went by so quickly; I can’t believe it’s almost over. Everything is happening so fast, it’s crazy. Senior year will be a lot of fun, I’m sure, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it yet. I’m definitely still in summer mode, but I guess it’s a good thing I’m a month away!

Playing Kan Jam on the MAC Quad

Playing Kan Jam on the MAC Quad

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Changing Habits with the Seasons

July 7, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 1 comment

I hope everyone in the States had a relaxing Fourth of July! I skipped out on the fireworks this year because of the potential rain in Boston. Regardless, Boston fireworks are pretty amazing–the Boston Pops Orchestra as well as many famous people come to perform (this year, Jennifer Hudson and the Dropkick Murphys were just two of the several featured acts). I’m almost certain that the whole event is nationally televised. A few friends of mine went to see the fireworks and told me that it had only rained for about 10 minutes, so I might have missed out, but that’s alright with me. There’s always next year!

Harvard Summer School is in full swing and the Yard is bustling with people. Annenberg Hall (which is exclusively for first-year students during the regular semester) is the only dining hall that’s open during the summer session. From experience, I’ve found that during the summer it becomes extremely crowded past 5:30 pm, so a group of us proctors have shifted our summer dining schedules. We eat dinner at 4:30 pm (i.e. as soon as Annenberg opens). We’re usually the first ones in, and often out by 5 pm. But no one has called us crazy just yet…

It isn’t just my eating habits that change over the summer–I also like studying in different settings. I’m usually in my room or in a library during the school year, but one of my favorite parts about being on campus during the summer is that I can really spend as much time as I would like studying in other places. I’ve been doing work in my favorite tea shop, Tealuxe, as well as in Starbucks (there are so many in Harvard Square, all within walking distance of each other). I love studying in cafes because it feels much more relaxed than a library. I also love people watching. However, I wouldn’t recommend studying in a coffee shop if you’re scrambling to get work done for a deadline that’s coming up. I find that the relaxed environment is most conducive to getting work done when you aren’t stressed out. Personally, I like to read in cafes, but to each his/her own, right?

Beth and Scott studying in Starbucks!

In addition to my gig as a Proctor, I’ve started working at a hospital in the Longwood Medical Area, which is a medical campus in Boston with several of the area’s best hospitals and medical facilities. Longwood is about a 20-30 minute bus ride from the College campus, and there’s a shuttle called the M2 that’s free for Harvard students. I just finished my first week, and I’ve learned an unbelievable amount already. The doctor that I’m working with is brilliant and one of the leading experts in his field. However accomplished he may be, he’s incredibly humble and passionate. I love meeting his patients because they all love him and thank him to no end. All of the other people I work with are also super nice and a lot of fun to be around…being in the hospital doesn’t feel like work. Just being in the clinic for this week has been quite the experience and is helping me realize that I can definitely see myself as a physician. I think that’s why interning somewhere is a crucial part of the learning experience before stepping onto any path after college. Volunteer and intern experience gives you a glimpse into what life would be like in a certain career, and allows you to see whether the profession may or may not be for you. So useful!

I’m off to enjoy my weekend, but should have a fun post coming up: I’m coaching the Harvard Volleyball camp starting tomorrow. I’ll keep you all updated!

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And So It Begins — Summer 2012

June 25, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 1 comment

I am back on campus! But before I get into my hectic Harvard Summer School Proctor training schedule the past few days, I’d like to take a second and comment on Jeanie’s incredible post. I feel upstaged. You should read it…it’s filled with insider goodness. While I disagree with Wigglesworth being the best freshman dorm (I lived in Greenough my freshman year), I like to think that part of the reason why Jeanie had such a memorable experience was because I was one of her Peer Advising Fellows…she just forgot to mention me. A Peer Advising Fellow, or “PAF,” is basically an upperclassman buddy that every first-year student is assigned to based on broad academic and extracurricular interests. Each entryway of about 20-30 students within a dorm building has 3 or 4 PAFs who work with the Proctor to help with personal and academic advising. They also plan weekly study breaks that have lots of free food and are (supposed to be) a lot of fun. We try our best to be creative! I’m entering my third year as a PAF, and I miss Jeanie’s entryway in the Wigglet a lot. We had a lot of fun at all of our study breaks, which included some awesome themes, such as Super Bowl (nachos and wings, anyone?), holiday, and ice cream, to name a few! Free food is amazing in college. Sometimes, I attend events just for the free snacks. Student group information sessions and academic panels and open houses are just two of the several types of events that are notorious for providing delicious, free food: Boloco burritos, Finale cakes and desserts (cheesecake is my favorite), the super popular Pinocchio’s Pizza (“Noch’s” for short), etc. Wherever you end up in the world, find the free food. Don’t get me wrong, I love Annenberg and our dining hall food, but it’s nice to change it up once in a while. Also, click the link for Annenberg Hall — our dining hall looks straight out of a Harry Potter movie!

As far as Proctor training goes, we’ve been learning a lot the past few days. This is my second year as a Proctor so I’ve done all the training before, but it’s nice to get a refresher on so many things, from rules to what to do in an emergency. I’ll admit that it did get a bit monotonous at times, and the beautiful (but hot!) weather outside didn’t help to keep any of us focused. My students moved in this weekend, and I have a great group from all over the place. Harvard Summer School attracts people from over 100 different countries. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone. Let’s also hope I don’t have to bring down the iron fist…is that how the saying goes? Yikes!

This summer, I’ll be taking a course called “Tissue Engineering for Clinical Applications” that describes disease pathology, as well as latest advances in tissue engineering and prospective research ideas to treat those diseases. It’s right along the lines of my Biomedical Engineering concentration (major) and I’m excited to learn in a setting that’s more relaxed than during the school year. Now that I only have one class to focus on, I’ll be able to manage my time between my studies, working, and pursuing other interests that I’m not able to during the regular semester.

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Home Sweet Home

June 13, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 2 comments

I’ve only been home for a week and a half, and now I need to start packing to move back to Cambridge for the summer. Wow, time really does fly by. Before I know it, it’ll be the start of my second to last semester at Harvard. Scary!

As I’ve mentioned, I’ll be proctoring for Harvard Summer School and doing some independent research in the undergraduate labs on campus for the next seven weeks. Before all of that starts, though, I wanted to make sure I was really taking advantage of this 3-week, no commitment window. It doesn’t happen often! I was invited to speak at my community’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life, which was happening the day after I got back from my filming trip overseas (ouch, jetlag!). I’m sure many of you have (or had) things you were super involved with in high school. Two of my greatest passions are volleyball and public service, so I really structured my high school extracurriculars around them. In 2009 (senior year), my best friend, Madison, and I started the first Relay for Life in our community. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Relay, it’s an overnight event when teams of about 10-15 people camp out and walk around an indoor or outdoor track. The goal is to keep one representative from your team on the track at all times for the entire 24 hours. The premise behind this idea is that cancer is a disease that never sleeps, and therefore, the walkers don’t either. Fundraising occurs months and months before the actual event and Relay itself is filled with live music, games, food, and more. Each one that I’ve been to is unique in its own way; Harvard has its own Relay and it’s extremely different from my community’s event. However, it’s all for the same great cause, and at Harvard’s event, fraternities, sororities, and other student groups come out to fundraise, support, and walk. I think both are awesome. The reason why I flew back from my filming trip specifically for my community’s Relay is because this year was a special one. In just four years, we hit a total of $1 million raised. Unfortunately, the day was filled with wind and rain, but over 1,000 people still showed up to walk! It was almost like it was 80 and sunny outside. The event was truly unbelievable.

Madison and I speaking at my community's Relay for Life!

Madison and I speaking at my community's Relay for Life!

Attending Relay was the last thing on my agenda while at home, so it’s been nice to finally be in one place without anything to do. Since then, I’ve been bumming around, relaxing, working out, and soaking up boredom while it lasts. I think everyone needs a bit of “me” time after a period of hard work (i.e. my spring semester) in order to rejuvenate and reflect on your experiences. I can’t believe it’s almost over though! Two days ago, Madison and I went up to Mt. Sunapee, closer to northern New Hampshire (I live right on the border of MA and NH, right on the southeastern corner) and went on a (relatively) easy 2 mile hike. Hiking and being outdoors are some of my favorite things to do, so it was sweet getting away and being surrounded by nature for the entire morning and afternoon. For those of you who will be attending Harvard in the fall, you should consider the First-Year Outdoor Program (FOP) for pre-orientation! I did a different one called Dorm Crew, and don’t regret it at all because I met some of my closest friends through it, but if I could have done more than one, FOP would have been next on my list. Caroline has written a lot about the program in previous blog posts and I know a lot of amazing people who’ve loved it. By the way, it’s her 21st birthday today!

I’m traveling to New York this weekend to see a few of my blockmates (people you choose to live with in the same dorm building after your freshman year) who are all working internships there. One reason I like college summers better than high school ones is that I’ve been lucky enough to have friends in different cities, so it’s nice to see some familiar faces when you visit somewhere new. The next time I write will be from campus, and I’m sure I’ll have something about New York or being back at Harvard to write about. Until then!

At the top of Mt. Sunapee awkwardly using self-timer!

At the top of Mt. Sunapee awkwardly using self-timer!

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Junior Year Wrap Up

June 3, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 8 comments

Hi everyone! I realized I never posted a proper end of the year wrap up, and time just flew by while summer completely sneaked up on me. I write to you all from Incheon International Airport after spending three amazing weeks in China and South Korea. However, I’ll backtrack before explaining how I got here.

I left campus very abruptly–actually, my finish date was the earliest it’s ever been in my three years at Harvard. You see, everyone has a different final exam schedule at the end of every semester. Reading Period is the week after classes end and before final exams begin. It is a week when things on campus quiet down a bit and when I, personally, catch up with friends. Another great thing about Reading Period that I’ve found through my experience thus far is that it’s the perfect time to take a breather. While academic commitments (aside from studying, of course) slow down, many extracurricular club events and House formals occur right before or at the beginning of the week, so those are two things I always look forward to. Apart from the fun, what do students do academically during Reading Period? Some folks spend the week writing papers while others are studying for exams or collaborating on group projects…or it’s a combination of all three. How much fun you can have depends on what your workload is like. Some people have a heavier Reading Period, while others have a more difficult Final Exam Period.  For me, I love not having any scheduled classes and being able to structure my days around studying. Freshman fall, I had three exams and had no choice but to stay on campus until the very last day possible because that’s when my final was scheduled. However, the end of each semester does vary. This year, I was able to leave so early because I only had one final exam and the rest of my courses’ assessments were papers and projects that were due before the end of Reading Period.

After going home, I was incredibly busy. I was only able to spend five days there. Between spending time with my family and friends, as well as packing for my trip, the week definitely flew by. I mentioned in my last post that I would be spending part of the summer hosting a new documentary series about how different cultures affect education and studying. Myself and three other students from Harvard were chosen to travel to different countries, visiting schools and universities and interviewing students from various age groups. While the four of us got to move around together for a bit, we split off into pairs. We all started in Korea, moved to China together, and then Jenny (my partner) and I covered China more extensively as Bryan and Lilli (the other two Harvard students) left for Israel halfway through our trip. For the last three weeks, I visited many different places in China and Korea. Our traveling allowed us to observe studying and education from vastly different perspectives. For example, we visited some of the best universities in both countries, as well as tutoring academies, and even rural elementary and high schools, to name a few. As for now, we’re all heading off to do our own things for the summer. In August, Jenny and I will be traveling to India. We’ve also heard (and are really hoping) we might go to France. I never thought I’d be doing anything like this, but I’ve been really lucky and it’s been an incredible experience.

Taking promotional photos for the documentary!

Taking promotional photos for the documentary!

I’ll be home for 3 weeks before heading back to campus to proctor for Harvard Summer School and do some independent research in the undergraduate labs. I’m incredibly excited to sleep in my own bed and have some home cooked meals. Living out of a suitcase and in a hotel room for the past 3 weeks has been pretty difficult just because it’s so hard to get comfortable doing so. Next time I write, I’ll be back in the States! Also, I’ll be writing throughout the summer, so I will do my best not to bore you all!

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Summer Approaching and…the Admissions Mistake?

April 17, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 5 comments

As the semester winds down, life is getting busier, the days are growing longer, and it’s starting to look like summer a little more each day. My motivation for doing schoolwork is decreasing and I can’t believe that it’s almost the end of my third year here. The end of the spring semester brings about a whole bunch of things, including summer plans and one of my favorites–Quincy Assassins. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but long story short, we sign up in teams of up to 6 people and are assigned targets that we have to shoot with Nerf guns. The rules are 13 pages long! Caroline wrote about the most epic battle yet in Quincy courtyard the other evening. My team is all just about terminated, but the few other teams that are left are extremely intense. They stake out our dining hall and hallways on a daily basis. The game makes you incredibly paranoid, but it’s probably the most involved and dramatic game of Assassins played on campus (many other Houses run their own versions).

Quincy Assassins

Me and a few members of my Quincy Assassins team being ridiculous!

As far as summer plans go, it looks like I’ll be doing two things–proctoring on campus for Harvard Summer School and traveling the world hosting a new documentary series. While I can’t mention too much, the television show is basically about how different cultures and backgrounds affect people’s learning styles. I’ll be lucky enough to travel to Korea, China, Israel, France, and India with two other Harvard students, as well as one of my Peer Advising Fellows (PAF) from my freshman year, who has since graduated. Peer Advising Fellows are basically upperclassman buddies who are assigned to an entryway of first year students to advise them on academic, social, and personal matters. I’m currently a PAF and I love it! For those of you who will be studying here in the fall as freshmen, you’ll all have a PAF, as well. But I digress. My PAF’s name is Lilli, and she is now working for Google. Jenny is another one of the students, whom I’ve actually been very close with since freshman year, as we met through playing volleyball (she played on the Varsity Women’s Volleyball team for two years). The other student is Bryan, whom I met a few months ago, but I’m excited to get to know him better. We were all filming this past weekend and had a lot of fun together!

This coming weekend is Visitas, or as Harvard called it when I was visiting as a high school senior back in 2009, “Pre-frosh Weekend.” I think Visitas has a better ring to it. Regardless, I hope those of you who are visiting will meet as many people as possible and take advantage of all the cool opportunities on campus. One of the people I met during my visiting weekend is now one of my closest friends and blockmates (blockmates are people you pick to live in the same House with after freshman year). It’s also extremely fun to meet people and keep in touch over the summer before you get to campus. There is an activities fair where you can get a whole bunch of free swag and sign up for mailing lists to show your interest in various extracurricular clubs even before you start studying here. Also, a great majority of the student groups put on performances and special events, so be sure to check those out as well. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m the House Committee (HoCo) Co-Chair for Quincy House (each of the undergraduate upperclassmen houses have a House Committee that plans house events like formals, study breaks, and other events to foster community and make the house a fun place to live). Each HoCo has been working hard to plan your regional reception events, so be sure to check those out. Now that you got in, you may or may not be wondering one of the main questions I constantly thought about: Am I the Admissions Mistake? Absolutely not. And I hope you step on campus this weekend knowing that you deserve and have every right to be here.

 

 

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