NYC for the Day!

Last week, I had the pleasure of going on a trip to New York City to represent the Undergraduate Engineering School through the School of Engineering and Applied Science Student Peer Advisory Network (SEASSPAN). SEASSPAN is that mentor program I had previously mentioned I am apart of-- definitely one of my favorite on-campus commitments. 

So, the mentor program president and myself went up to NYC to attend a dinner with an undergraduate admission office and a professor from the engineering department. We attended a dinner at Atlantic Grill in Manhattan for students who had been admitted into the engineering school. And then I got to stay in this cute little bed and breakfast style hotel about 10 block uptown. 

Atlantic Grill- The yummy restaurant we ate at

Working in the undergraduate office for the engineering school and being a mentor has really showed me I love talking to students and their parents about GW and SEAS so I had a great time on the trip. It was obviously also nice to have a fabulous three course dinner and stay in a hotel on a “school night”, for free.

The trip ultimately showed me the beauty of living in DC though because as a GW student, we do have the option of getting away to New York for the day when ever we feel like it. Although the train can often be rather expensive, the bus is dirt cheap and sometimes only  $1 when you book it in advance. And the buses are SO nice! They have wireless internet, comfortable, nice seating, and you can sit on the top floor of the bus with all the nice windows. To top it all off-- the bus stop is right at Union Station which is easily metro accessible. Life is good as a GDub student! 

Until next time: if you have any questions, comments or just want to chat-- always remember I am only an email away! anstone@gwmail.gwu.edu

Stay classy future Colonials,

Alyse

Field Trip!

Today, my Modern Iranian Media & Culture class went to Moby Dick's kabob house in Dupont.  It was our way of celebrating the completion of our midterm, and an excellent excuse to go eat some delicious Persian food in great company!

Not really sure why it's called "Moby Dick"... but it's good kabob.

I love that class, and all the students get along really well together, so it was fun to see them all outside of class (though still kinda in class, since it was when we usually met and all).  My professor is all about immersing us in Iranian culture both inside and out of the classroom, so Iranian students and those with absolutely no previous knowledge of the country all profit from the experience.  I'm hoping to get into her Iranian Cinema class next semester (it's under the Classical Studies--Special Topics section of GWeb, if you're interested in registering!).  I just have to make sure it fits in my schedule.  Fingers crossed!

I'm glad GW's opening the Middle Eastern Studies department to include more Persian language and cultural studies classes.  Goodness knows Iran is VERY relevant to all sorts of things these days--it's definitely a worthwhile topic to study!  And a very interesting one, at that.

Oh and I know I tagged this as an 'academic excursion' and it's not quite academic but more of an excursion--so, sorry?  There's no pre-made tag for field trips or playing hooky with your entire class (and professor)!

Email me!  shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Book Festival!

I never get a chance to go to the Library of Congress National Book Festival.  Except this year... but I wasn't able to stay for long.  So I STILL didn't get to see any of the cool panels or get any books signed by awesome people!!!

Two of my favorite modern authors were there: Toni Morrison (though I *did* see her like, 4 days ago when she came to campus) and Sarah Vowell, who writes books on history in a really quirky and funny manner.  You may have seen her on The Daily Show, or as the kid in The Incredibles.  Yeah, she did the voice for that--she's really cool.

But I didn't get to see either of them, because I'm an idiot and didn't budget my time!  They were both there Saturday and I went Sunday, and I only gave myself 2 hours to spend there so I didn't get to do much.  I'm a jerk.  Welcome to my self-loathing blog.

Moral of the story:  GO TO THE NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL.  But even more: FIND OUT WHO IS SPEAKING AND WHEN.  and then GO WHEN COOL PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING.  And you won't hate yourself as much as I do right now... in fact, you'll be very satisfied with your planning and time management skills.

Heed my warnings, folks.  They're real.  Coming from a true source of wisdom.

Email me and chastise me for not taking advantage of the LOC National Book Fest: shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Another Conference, Hopefully You're Not Tired of All These--I know I'm not!

I seem to be going to a conference a week for work, and it's awesome!  Today's was about Islamic Finance law and policy, and it took place in the GW law school, so I didn't have to go far, which was nice!  Also, it was catered by corner bakery, which I love!  I had to fight myself not to grab like, 18 sugar cookies.

But back to the conference:  I met a lot of fancy people, most of which traveled rather far to attend.  And I swapped business cards with people!  Yay for networking!  It would be a lot more helpful if I was actually a business-inclined person, but hey, why not?  They were all talking about finance and risk-sharing and more business jargon and so much of it went over my head.  Then they got to the Islam side and I totally knew what they were talking about--finally.

The deal with Islamic Finance, in layman's terms, is that asking for or paying interest is against Shari'a law.  It's also not kosher in Talmudic tradition and in Christian teachings.  (haha didn't even mean to pun "not kosher"... I say that a lot).  SO these companies and organizations have to find ways around loans, mortgages, and other finance stuff that doesn't deal in interest.  And that was really interesting!  Actually!  Even when they started talking dollars and cents and using business talk!

So while this isn't my principle interest in life, it definitely broadened my horizons and opened up a lot of new opportunities for me!  It's something I'd definitely like to learn more about and do some of my own research on.

Send an email with whatever you'd like!  shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu

<3 Shireen

Conference at The New American Foundation

Today at work, I was sent out to a conference at The New America Foundation.  It was entitled Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against Al-Qaeda.  The speakers were Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt, co-authors of a book sharing that title and NY Times correspondents on national security.

It was a really interesting discussion and very relevant to my studies, though not so much to my current job... it's aiight though.  I got to leave the office for a bit (and go directly across the street, haha)  But as you may have noticed in past posts of mine, I really like events with cool DC people and big wigs. 

Here's a video from the discussion:

Video streaming by Ustream

Cool, huh?  And guess who's back-of-the-head is right in the middle of the screen, there.  Mine!  So yeah.  Pretty cool indeed.

As always, shoot me an email at: shireens@gwmail.gwu.edu

~~~Shireen

Upcoming GW Events

Not only are there a ton of things always going on in DC, but there are also tons of events on campus to keep track of! Lisner, the Elliott School, and more locations always attract high profile speakers, performances, and lectures. Just like I did with the city, I will give you a few ideas of cool things going on around campus that should stir your interest in attending!

• Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Lisner Auditorium Feb 3
• University Orchestra Concert & University Singers Concert
• Bo Burnham and (No) Friends at Lisner Feb 26
• Film Screening of "Nuremburg: It's Lessons for Today" in Funger Jan 31
• "Lessons for Leaders: The Value of Being Wrong" with author in Duques
• "Because When God is too Busy: Haiti, Me, and the World" in Elliott Jan 28
• Moldova's European Future in Light of Parliamentary Elections in Elliott Jan 27
• The Referendum in Southern Sudan Jan 25

The roof of the Elliott School, outside the City View Room where they have speakers

All cool events happening right on our campus that we should take advantage of! We live in such a great arena for speakers and musicians and politicians- I need to inspire myself to get out more and listen to other people talk besides my professors!

marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

Upcoming DC Events

I thought I would just give an example of what is going on this week to see the breadth of activities DC always has going on! A good place to check for events is always the Washington Post, the Kennedy Center website, or other publications around the city.

• DC Restaurant Week! Fancy restaurants with lunches for $20 and dinners for $35
• American Ballet Theater at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• Capital City Showcase at the DC Arts Center with hip hop, comedians, singers, etc!
• Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia at the Smithsonian
• James Zug book event at Politics & Prose (an awesome bookstore)
• Washington Capitals (ice hockey) games at the Verizon Center
• Yo Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax at Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

The Kennedy Center.. beautiful and close to campus!

These are just a few examples of things going on THIS WEEK. It's crazy how much happens outside of the GW bubble that we rarely experience unless you really try to get out there. So go! :)

marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

International Spy Museum!

As the title suggests, I went to the International Spy Museum!  But guess what?  I went TODAY!  This is probably the soonest I've posted after an event.  That just shows how much I loved that place, I had to tell all of you!

The museum is in the Metro Center/Chinatown area, on 9th and F.  You can really get off at either stop because it's super close to both.  Admission is $18 but it's worth every penny.  (As is the Museum of Crime & Punishment!  Check that out too!!!)  Actually, I shouldn't lie--I didn't pay the full ticket price for this one.  I had a coupon so it was only ten bucks!  I'll write a separate post on coupon sites sometime soon, because I absolutely adore them and I think that everyone should subscribe.  But more on that later!

Also like the Crime & Punishment Museum, this museum is VERY interactive.  It really puts you into the realm of a spy (the cheesey Bond-esque spy with absurd gadgets and weird lighting and disembodied voices giving you directions)--but that's what's so fun about it!  You can even pick a "cover" identity and test your spy skills, being tested periodically on your alibi.  And it's one of those educational excursions you can make a day out of that is just so fun you don't even know you're learning!

I'm taking Sociology of Terrorism, and a whole lot of what I learned in class is somehow applicable to the exhibits.  This lead me to be one of those nerdy jerks who adds their own fun facts while walking through any given exhibit.  Luckily my friends didn't mind!  I hope...

The one drawback of this museum is that they don't allow photography!  Otherwise I would have taken oodles and oodles of pictures to share with y'all.  The Crime & Punishment Museum actually ENCOURAGES photos, if that sways you in favor of one or the other.

So check them out!  I've decided I'm going to be more of a museumophile this year than I previously was, so prepare for more educational yet amusing blogs!

And keep those emails coming!  ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu  I have an inflated sense of importance that NEEDS to be fed!
<3 Shireen

How things overlap at GW

I recently had an ACADEMIC EXCURSION (field trip) for my campaign reporting class.  We all got out of the classroom and went to FEC to learn how the agency works, how we can use it for our final piece, and the resources available for further research.

While this may simply sound like a class related trip, the information I learned will help me be more informed and productive at my internship.

Before I go into how this trip will help my internship, I must explain a bit about what I do.  I have been working at Berger Hirschberg Strategies since January processing, producing briefings, and making calls for different gubernatorial candidates, Congressmen, Senators, and non-profits.  I often am assigned to make a list of contributors or figure out a person's donor history.

Now how does this all relate??

At the FEC I learned how to navigate the FEC website with speed and accuracy.  This will allow me to look up contributions and disbursements of fund to many of our clients much easier than other systems.  While I will still have to use followthemoney.org and opensecrets.org (great sites) I will be able to use the FEC sets of information for our federal clients.

Also, the FEC officials provided a lot of documents to myself and my classmates.  One of this is a packet with the title PACronyms.  This is a near exhaustive list of all of the PACs (political action committees) in America.  I often have to look up a lot of PACs, but I may not know what the acronyms stand for.  While I could just do a google search, that is not always the best option.  I will be bringing this packet to my internship so I am able to find exactly what I am looking for.

This trip proves that what I am learning does have applicable lessons!  I am excited to get my research started on my final piece for this class and I will be sure to share anything interesting I come across.

Remember, please email me at kwollner@gwu.edu if you have any questions.  Declarations of intent are due May 1 and there are 2 April Visit days left including tomorrow!

Baseball

Hi everyone,
So it’s a regular Sunday afternoon here in Washington DC. It’s a bit overcast but a lovely day, though I’m sitting in my apartment, not enjoying the weather. Yesterday, however, I spent a rainy afternoon at the Nationals baseball game. I’m taking a class this semester called Baseball in American History, Culture and Film. Our professor set up a visit for us to the Nationals Stadium to watch the game, but beforehand we spoke with the Nats radio broadcaster Dave Jageler. He told us about how him and his partner on the air communicate the art of baseball by using the least amount of words. I’ve listened to baseball games on the radio before, but Mr. Jageler certainly gave me a renewed appreciation for the skill that really goes into creating an entertaining and exciting broadcast each game (especially for the Nats, who have one of the worst records in baseball). We then met with the two television broadcasters, Bob Carpenter and former Cincinatti Reds pitcher, Rob Dibble (Dibble, member of the 1990 World Series champs, is one of a few pitchers who has ever struck out 3 batters on 9 pitches). Bob and Rob told us about what they do each game and how the prepare to go on air by looking at stats for different players and making sure they have all the information they need before beginning the game. They were able to give us some really good insight as to how broadcasters are able to keep the viewers entertained by sort of enriching the images of the games with facts and statistics about teams and players.
The press box is on the 7th floor in the Stadium, making it the highest press box in Major League Baseball. But it’s also arguably the nicest. Since the stadium is only about a year old, it has some of the most spacious press accommodations in all of baseball. The new Nationals Stadium is also the greenest ballpark in baseball, with a large recycling campaign, a garden on it’s roof, and energy saving light bulbs throughout the stadium.
After our tour around the press club, with free Nats shirts in hand, myself and the members of my class sat down to enjoy the Nationals face off against the Atlanta Braves as we ate our lunch (paid for by the University!). It was an okay game (which ended embarrassingly for the Nats, who lost 11-5) and it then began to rain. I stuck it at as long as I could but without an umbrella, I felt uncomfortable and cold by the bottom of the 6th. As I left my classmates and hopped on the Metro back to Foggy Bottom, I couldn’t help but think about how lucky I was, not only to be in this class, but that I go to a University that supports and encourages the exploration of Washington DC and allows its students to take advantage of all the wonderful things this city has to offer.

Abby