As you might know, summers in DC can be quite humid and hot,
reaching the upper 90s and lows 100s at times. And personally, my perfect
temperature is the 70s range, otherwise I get hot. My motto is that if its
above 80 degrees and I am outside, I need to be within reach of a pool. Although
I do enjoy swimming in cooler temperatures as well (hey, I'm from Wisconsin, I
can handle a little cold). My friends often call me crazy because I can
comfortably go to the pool and tan when it is only 65 degrees outside (which is
what I did over Christmas break in Florida this past December), but that has
not been the case this summer in DC. In fact, these last few months, the
temperature has rarely dropped below 85 degrees! So, in the beginning of the
summer, on the weekends when I had free time (since I intern and have class
during the week), I frequently hit up the Mount Vernon campus pool. Unfortunately,
since then I haven’t had much free time to go and work on my tan. The pool is free for GW students and members of the
community can pay for a membership. All others must purchase a membership. And
let me tell you, every time I've gone, it has been crowded. Everyone has had the
same idea as me to escape the summer heat. After all, it is a very nice, quite
large pool, supervised by lifeguards, so why wouldn't people al flock towards
it? It was a godsend for me since I am used to spending countless summer days
around my pool back home. It was funny, the first time I went this summer, my friends
and I all had on our suits, sunglasses, and were carrying our towels and some tourists
walking through campus passed us and asked "where's the beach? or even the
pool?" Little did they know that all you have to do is take the Vern
Shuttle to the other campus and don't forget your towel and sunscreen!
Feel free to email me with any questions!
cbgraf@gwmail.gwu,edu -Christie
People always ask "What does the typical GW student do on the weekend?"
I usually answer that with 10,000 kids it's difficult to summarize all the unique options we have as an school located in downtown Washington, DC. Between the National Mall, the Museums and Zoo, the restaurants and professional sport optionsit may seem as if students are rarely on campus. And while our lack of a football team is often cited as a lack of school spirit I believe that we more than make up for it through student organized events. Below are 9 events you won't want to miss this coming year:
1- Holi
An Indian festival marked by throwing color pellets at others March 2- Capital Funk Showcase G Dub's very own hip hop team brings together other crews to perform April 3- Bake Sales in Ivory Tower Sooner or later (probably sooner) you'll walk past a bake sale in Ivory. You should donate. EVERY night. 4- Raas Chaos Indian dance group Raas holds an an annual competition of teams from schools in the region November 5- Greek Life Recruitment Learn about the sororities and fraternities on campus from the brothers and sisters! Throughout the fall
This past Sunday it was another round of "Guess who's on campus?!?!". This time it was a bit different in that GW hosted the Team USA Men's Basketball team!
Turns out Coach K didn't want to practice in the Verizon Center where they would later play Brazil, so they decided to come over to the Smith Center on campus. One of my roommates and I went with our leftover US flags from our July 4th celebration to the arena to catch a glimpse of the NBA's best.
Out strolled Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, and Kobe Bryant. It was a pretty impressive crew but do they make it into the top 5 people I've seen on campus or in DC? I've interacted with Olympians, Presidents, Secretary of Sates, Emmy winners, and World Cup winners.
Here is the full list of famous/interesting people I've either met or seen in my first three years:
Barack Obama (shook his hand)
Michelle Obama (shook her hand)
Brazilian National Soccer Team (Neymar, Thiago Silva, Pato, and Hulk signed my shirt)
Bill Clinton
Jon Stewart
Team USA Men's Basketball
Usher
Madeline Albright
Hilary Clinton
Robert Gates
Stephen Colbert
Michael Bloomberg
This isn't a full list of people who have come to campus, it's only my list. When you come to GW, you know it'll be a fun filled four years, but not just for the normal college reasons.
Coming soon will be the 9 Student Organized Events You Should Attend
Unlike his GPS, your GPS at GW will lead you in the right direction.
Lesson #011: Your GPS will "guide" you through.
Pop quiz, readers! Ding! Corny game-show host voice:
“WHAT is a GPS? Is it…
a. A global positioning system device used to prevent you
from getting lost on the road.
b. The stock symbol for The Gap, Inc.
c. German Potato Salad
d. Your Guide to Personal Success!"
… The correct answer is D! At GW, GPS is short for Guide to
Personal Success (@GWUGPS) and there are dozens of them with the goal of
smoothing your transition to GW your freshman year. Basically, they are students
and staff who, kind of like a GPS in your car, want to help you navigate your
way through campus life and the GW community, in regard to any needs at all,
whether personal or professional.
With the rest of the Office of Parent Services and beside my freshman year GPS guide Rodney Johnson! In the Fall of sophomore year, I began working in his office, after getting to know him and the rest of the staff.
My GPS guide freshman year was Rodney Johnson, the Executive
Director of the Office of Parent Services. He was there for me freshman year
and reached out to me, even as I sought help in locating the resources I had
available to me. One of my friends, Liz (who is an awesome GW STAR tour guide during the academic year!), has President Steven Knapp as her GPS and,
not too long ago, I had the chance to interact with Danielle Toglia, the Regional
Director for GW Admissions in New Jersey. All are incredible mentors and aid
you in getting the most out of your experience at GDub.
As I just found out yesterday, I have the honor of being a
GPS guide for the 2012-2013 academic year. It’s truly important to me to lend
to someone else the help I had getting to this point at GW. I’ve had help along
the way from various staff members and administrators, whether in big ways or
small ways, so it is important to me to pass that on. I’d guess that a lot of
GPS guides feel the same way. We’re here to help however we can, especially
since we’ve received that help along the way and are looking to give back—so that
the legacy of extending a helping hand lives on. After all, we all need
somebody to lean on, at least once in a while.
Coming to GW (or any university, really) can feel like going
from a tiny fishbowl to a big pond. You get there and, immediately, surrounded
by all of the novelty, try to take it all in. It takes a while to adapt and see
that it really isn’t all that big. GPS guides aid you in finding the path
through that transition. Anyone can use one.
To request a GPS guide, visit http://ci.gwu.edu/LifeatGW/GWGPS/
to learn more and email gps@gwu.edu. Who
knows, Class of 2016? Your guide can very well be me, a former Cabinet member,
a rad staff member, or an exciting new mentor! The possibilities are endless.
Be sure to sign-up and let your GPS lead the way.
So yeah, I know it is like two weeks late, but here are the accounts of my 4th of July experience in DC.
Amy and I on Constitution Avenue watching the 4th of July parade
I was very excited to spend my 4th of July in DC because although the fireworks are pretty cool over the Austin skyline, nothing can match the firework show I saw over Washington. The day started with Amy, her boyfriend Kyle and I watching the 4th parade. Amy and I were thrilled with the high school bands (since we were both in marching band in high school) and found high schools representing our home states (Wisconsin and Texas). Although it was a little warm, we found our spot in the shade along Constitution Avenue and watched the parade in relative comfort.
After a lunch and rehydrating back on campus, we split into different spots to see the fireworks. I chose to face the crowds at the National Mall to get a glimpse of the performances and, more importantly, witness the fireworks over the monuments. The experience was breathtaking and totally worth facing the crowds for. Although I have no pictures of the fireworks because my phone died, I could not have asked for a better "Boy do I love GW" moment.
This summer has been amazing and I am sorry I haven't blogged as much as I'd like to. As always, feel free to reach out to me as I am here working for the Admissions office all summer. I hope to see even more happy perspective students in August and please feel free to reach out to me with any question/concern/praise :)
Last week before the heat wave hit all of us here in DC, I took a Wednesday off and escaped to the wilderness for a bit. A friend and I traveled about 2 and a half hours south of the city to go hiking at Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley. We arrived at 10 am and were happy to find only a few parked cars. I've hiked a couple times before but had no idea what to expect from Old Rag. I very quickly realized however, that our day was not going to be a walk in the park.
Old Rag Mountain is pretty distinct because it stands away from the other mountain chains in the Blue Ridge. After hiking up a steady incline and switchbacking for a solid 90 minutes, we reached the base of the rock scramble. From this point on there were boulders to climb over, crevasses to squeeze through and absolutely stunning views of the Shenandoah. On the left we looked over a valley with smaller hills, farmlands and houses. To the right was an endless chain of green mountains and a skyline that seemed to blend into all that was below it. At 3,291 ft we had climbed to the summit of Old Rag and took a hard earned break.
The entire loop is about 7 miles and was super challenging but so rewarding. It was an incredible way to spend a day away from the craziness that is DC and to just hang out in nature. If you like exploring and adventure, I would highly recommend this day hike. You could even turn it into a weekend of camping if you bring your tents! Just remember to have lots of water and some way to snap a few pictures of the scenery.
Last week I had a rather typical "THIS is why I go to GW" moment.
After a day of doing good at my marketing internship at GlobalGiving, I jumped on my bike to go play soccer with a group of guys I've been meeting up with since late May. But not until this time had we actually discussed their backgrounds. Below is the breakdown of my pick up soccer team who are all G Dub grads:
Wassim is from Lebanon and now works for the International Monetary Fund
Ante is from Serbia and now works for the World Bank
George is from Romania and now works for a financial consultant group
Gianluca is Italian and now works for an clean energy start-up
Mahmoud is Egyptian and now works for the World Bank
Ali is Turkish and has a year left at GW
Fredrick is German and works at Lufthansa
I'm a Nicaraguan who grew up in Texas and I have a year left at GW
It's powerful to think that we all come from such diverse geographic areas from across the world but that we A) share the fact that we chose GW for undergrad and B) we share a deep passion for soccer. These two drives brought us together as a group and I know that even when I'm not in classes or even on campus I still appreciate what GW has done for me.
Summer has crept up on DC at an alarming rate, with thunderstorms bringing in some cool relief from the 100 degree heat while taking out air conditioning in homes and workplaces in Virginia, Maryland, and DC. The heat index is unlike anything I've ever experienced before- I have never spent a summer outside of Oregon! My obsession with the weather also stems from the current internship position I have.
I am working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the International Affairs Division. It has been my first experience working for the federal government and I must say that I am enjoying it thus far. Every morning, I am able to watch the Daily Operations Brief on FEMA internal television- which shows the weather patterns across the United States as well as the developing emergency management issues. I have already learned a lot about fire departments, mass care, FEMA organization during a disaster, and diplomacy through the work I've helped out with.
My office is extremely dynamic, and being a paid intern really helps me feel like part of the group. I am doing work that I know is useful and that another employee would be working on without my presence. This is a really important thing to seek out when looking for internships, because at the end, you should be experienced like any one else in the office (to a slightly lower level, but still).
The only hard part about this job so far has been working 8:30am to 5pm daily. I can't believe how tired I have become!! I am slowly getting used to it, but I think working a 40 hour week is a great experience that really symbolizes what it will be like to work in the "real world," whatever that is.
We hope this blog will give you a taste of what it means to be a Colonial. Our bloggers will post periodically throughout the year, so check back often!
Feel free to comment on anything, and if you have any questions for the bloggers, you can e-mail them at blogger@gwu.edu.
Happy reading!
Click on the picture of one of the Colonial Bloggers below to read only their posts.
Matt
Jennifer
Alexa
Senior from Upper Marlboro, MD - Double Major in International Affairs and Economics
Oscar
Rising Senior from Pflugerville, TX - Majoring in Sociology
Alyse
Sophomore from Los Angeles, CA - Majoring in Mechanical Engineering
Amy
Shireen
Junior from New City, NY - Majoring in Middle Eastern Studies
Adam
Senior from Madison, NJ - Majoring in International Affairs with a focus in Conflict & Security
Christie
Junior from Waukesha, WI - Majoring in Criminal Justice
Brandon
Rising Junior from Austin, TX - Majoring in Sociology with Minors in Statistics and LGBT & Sexuality Studies
Marisa
Rising Senior from Portland, OR - Majoring in International Affairs, Global Public Health
