Changed My Schedule for the Umpteenth Tiime!

I don't even know why I told you my schedule earlier, I should have known it would be changed AT LEAST twice since!  Well, it has.  So here goes:  I dropped Karate and Persian (at different times, of course, adding to the chaos) and added Intro to Soc. and Soc. of Terrorism.  Since I am now a Criminal Justice minor, I've had to incorporate some sociology courses into my schedule, and I figured why not get some done now?  Plus, I can take Persian as a Global Language Network course (I'll elaborate on that in a later post... I feel like I've said that already but I certainly will.)  So here's my new FINALIZED scheulde:

French 3

Intro to Sociology

Sociology of Terrorism

Intro to Logic

Macroeconomics

Taekwondo

Yoga

Fun fact:  I decided to be a Criminal Justice minor after reading fellow blogger Vickie's post on her favorite courses.  I decided I was just so interested in the topics they covered, so I decided to make a minor out of it!  

Now I promise, this is IT with changes.  I bought the books, so I'm definitely not changing now.  I had to buy so many this semester!  Ughhhh expensive.  But it was worth it!  Cause I'm really excited about my courses.  If anyone thinks they have a class with me, let me know!!!  I'd love to have study buddies.  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Lunch with Bill Clinton...

Yeah.  That happened.  TO ME!  As a part of my internship, I got to go to a luncheon with William Jefferson Clinton (and 300 other people) in honor of my congresswoman.  Unfortunately, the congresswoman couldn't be there because she had unexpected votes today for H.R. 1586, the Teacher Aid and Medicaid Payments bill.  (Which passed!  Woot!)

I work on the campaign of Congresswoman Nita Lowey from New York's 18th District, which comprises parts of Rockland and Westchester counties.  Some of you may know/remember that I interned in her Congressional office in DC last semester, and that's how I found out about the campaign opportunity.  It's been a fun ride so far, but this was certainly the highlight of the experience.

The interns (all 10 of us) weren't even sure until yesterday that we'd even be *officially* invited, so it was that much more exciting when we all arrived at the country club where the event was held--even if we did have to arrive at 8:30 to set stuff up.

While I didn't get to meet him, I was about 3 feet away, which is cool enough for me.  My one friend stuck his arm out over a bunch of people and somehow finagled a handshake from Bill, and I was super jealous.  However, after that I shook my friend's hand, so by the transitive property I shook Bill Clinton's hand.  I SHOOK BILL CLINTON'S HAND!

Someone passing over this page may just read that line in caps and be enthralled.  Haha, psych.  But he gave a rousing speech that got much applause, a lotta sincere nods, and some laughs!  He mostly talked about how the Dems aren't done yet and let's keep 'em in Congress and Nita's awesome so don't stop voting for her and IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!  Ha.  He didn't actually say that--only in my dreams.

So, I guess those were the highlights.  It was quite an event, and it's one of those things that makes unpaid interning soooooooooo worth it!

I love reader emails!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu
~~~Shireen

House Scholar

ON Tuesday I will finally return to DC to start training for my job as a House Scholar in JBKO (named for GW alumna Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis). It has been a great summer here in PA working at the Human Relations Commission and I am excited to return to the nation’s capital. Being home for a summer is a great time to hang out with old friends and spend time with family. I am grateful to have had a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and now I am really read to go to an event, listen to speeches, and network with all of the interns and employees that populate the nation’s capital.

House Scholars, Proctors, and Mentors are the different levels of House Staff that live in the dorms to help the residents (other GW students) transition into college living and academic pursuits. The job lasts one year, and has great benefits like being part of the larger GW community and free housing! House Scholars live in dorms with sophomores, Proctors with freshmen, and Mentors with juniors and seniors. I can’t wait to meet my residents and I hope that I will have a lot to show them.

I can remember as a freshman how helpful my house proctor was in helping me adjust to college life by providing support and suggesting outlets for academic advancement and extracurricular involvement. I hope that I can follow his model.

-Paul Waters

As always, if you have any comments or questions about anything GW feel free to shoot me an email at pwaters@gwmail.gwu.edu or leave a comment. I can’t wait to hear from you!!!

Schedule for Next Semester!

As part of my attempts to catch up with y'all, I originally said that I was going to elaborate on my cousin's wedding.  Thing is, now it feels like so long ago and all the drama and excitement has passed that I really don't care to write about it anymore.  (And the only wedding anyone seems to care about lately is Chelsea Clinton's, anyway!)  So now I'm back in the present, blogging about my current happenings!

Lately, I've contemplated mixing around my schedule.  Thing is, I'm going pretty light on myself course-wise this semester, because the last was such a whirlwind with demanding classes AND a demanding internship, and I wanted to kinda breeze through (while still meeting requirements and taking useful courses, mind you!)

Here are my courses!  I'm super excited:

Econ 12: Macroeconomics
Persian 3
French 3
Introduction to Logic
Yoga
Karate
Taekwondo

I know what you're thinking--THREE exercise sciences?  Yeah, it's a bit much, but I REALLY wanted to take Taekwondo, but I couldn't fit another class-class if I had that, so I figured I'd fill the rest of my credit hours with fun and challenging physical work!  No one's gonna wanna mess with me in any dark alleys!

I've been getting some absolutely lovely emails, you guys are just so nice to me!  So keep up the FABULOUS work!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Interviews

It is that time of year again in Admissions where students flood to campuses to see the area, ask their questions, and take those essential steps closer to admission into their top schools.

Through my normal routine of reading the Washington Post Metro section I came across this article about how college admission interviews are rising more than ever before.  (GW is even mentioned near the end of the article.)  So I figured this would be a perfect time to explain GW's interview process.

Interviews are not a required part of the GW application.  We have found in recent years, only about 10-15% of applicants actually attend an interview.  However, while they may not be mandatory, they are evaluative.  This means that observations from your interview will be considered with your application/recommendations/other materials while your application is being read. So if you feel like there is something about you that may not jump off a paper, or you are a people person sign up for an interview! It will be a great way for us to get to know you better!

Now there are numerous options when it comes to when/where you interview.  Of course you can come to GW's Foggy Bottom campus and have an interview.  These are often one on one meetings with a senior, such as myself, that has been chosen and trained to give interviews.  You can also request an interview in your area.  We have hundreds or parents and alumni that are helping us reach across the country and the world to interview students no matter where they are.  Often you meet at a coffee shop or somewhere similar and have a chat.  Lastly, we schedule interview weekends across the country every year.  Admissions Directors, Senior Interviews, parents and alumni all come together and perform hundreds of interviews in a very short amount of time.  We usually have these weekends in Miami, New Jersey, New York, Westchester, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and many more places.

It does not matter if you come to campus or stay near home for your interview.  All of the individuals on the other side of the table are trained and prepared in the same way.

Now that I have explained the interview options, I am sure you are wondering how you sign up for an interview.  You can log into the Activity Center  and request an interview in any of the three described places.  The Activity Center is also where you will be able to check your application status so don't lose your login/password.

If you have any questions about the interview process or GW in general please email me @ kwollner@gwu.edu!