Inspiration

Hi everyone!

I am about to go take my last final exam, Survey of International Economics (2180). This is an Elliott School requirement that can be quite difficult for those whose minds are not economically prepared!! I know a ton of students in the class from my major, and one girl sent out an email to all of us last night in order to help us all buckle down and study:


Titled: "Inspiration"
Great moments are born from great opportunity.
That's what you have here today. That's what you've earned here today.
One exam.
If we took it ten times, we might fail it nine.
But not this exam. Not today.
Today, we ace this exam.
Today, we draw graphs and determine exchange rates because we can!
Today, we are the greatest economics students in the world.
You were born to be an economics student--every one of ya.
And you were meant to be here today.This is your time.
I'm sick and tired of hearin' about what a difficult exam it will be.This is your time!
NOW GO OUT THERE AND TAKE IT.


With that in mind, she is hilarious and motivational, and I'm back to studying :)
Marisa

Hi everyone!

Finals are here and almost in full swing. I am so ready to head home for a few weeks after finals and relax.. but I can't give up my energy yet because I need to push through the next week until next Saturday when I board a plane back to the west coast.

Some classes choose to have a take home final, which they give on the last day of class (April 26 was when I got my two take-home finals so I've had plenty of time to finish them already!). This has made my finals schedule way easier than normal, because instead of 5 exams to stress over, I'm down to 2 finals left to go!

My finals schedule:

Monday April 30
- In-class exam for Public Health (last of 3 exams)

Tuesday May 8
- English take home final due by 12:20 PM
- Development Politics final 12:40-2:40 PM

Thursday May 10
- International Economics final 10:20-12:20 PM
- Geography take home final due by 2:20 PM

Since I already finished my take home exams, I'm just focusing on Development Politics and International Economics. I am ready to head home very soon!! I'll update you on my summer plans once they're more solidified :)

- Marisa

Classes for spring semester

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd share the exciting class schedule I have got going over for Spring!

Public Health 1101
Introduction to Public Health and Health Services (3)
Introduction to aspects of public health and health services, including health services administration and policy, maternal and child health, environmental health, and health promotion


Economics 2180
Survey of International Economics (3)
Basic concepts of international trade and international finance, with emphasis on policy issues.


English 3810
Selected Topics in Literature (3)
Topics announced in the Schedule of Classes; may be repeated for credit provided the topic differs. Topics may include the Bloomsbury group; southern literature; the picaresque; literature of the Holocaust; literature and politics; Freud, Dostoevsky, and Shakespeare. My class is focused on Modernism and the Lost Generation: literature from the 20s including Hemingway, Cather, and more!


Geography 2133
People, Land, and Food (3)
Domestication and dispersal of plants and animals; development of agricultural systems; spatial disparities in world food production, demand, and distribution.


Political Science 2337
Development Politics (3)
An examination of how and why political systems develop the way they do. Why do some countries develop into democracies, while others become authoritarian? How do class conflict, the nature of the elite, and the political culture affect the development of political institutions?

International Affairs

Internship for Credit (1)

I am currently interning at the American Psychological Association. To get a credit towards graduation, I have to work a minimum of 4 hours (I work 12) and write a 10 page paper. Easy!

Any questions? Let me know!

marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

Beginning My Wrap-Up

Wait, graduation applications are due on Wednesday?!

I've known people who say college goes by in the blink of eye, but for me, that hasn't been the case at all. Each one of my years here at GW--the last of which is now more than halfway done--has been unforgettable and packed with great experiences, from the time I began Colonial Inauguration to today, shortly after returning from break for my final semester as an undergraduate.

That said, what about about after graduation? How has a GW education prepared me for a viable career?
What kind of resources does GW offer, and how far can they take you throughout your undergraduate years? All of these are questions I hope to answer for prospective students, who sit where I was four years ago.

Today I'll start with the first question: is my particular GW degree, a B.A. in International Affairs, marketable?

Notwithstanding the tough conditions out there right now, I think the answer is yes. International Affairs is a major with a good number of options; some students use the degree as a stepping-stone to graduate degrees while others jump directly into the job market.

To a greater degree than some other fields, International Affairs requires students to focus their energy on developing skills. This is in part because the program offers so many choices-- even within functional and regional concentrations--that it's easy to learn a little about a lot. In today's challenging job market, employers seem to be looking for just the right person to fill a given job, so it's worthwhile to develop a focused set of skills.

It's early in my job search, but I'll keep readers apprised throughout the semester on how it's going to provide a realistic look. I tailored my class schedule over several years to give me some good background knowledge of East Asian politics and conventional military developments. In the process, I've learned some valuable research and writing skills that have opened up a number of opportunities already.






Now if you'll excuse me, I have some applications to fill out.

Adam

--
Next Time: Making the most of GW's career resources.
Questions? Comments? Send them to me at ash1290@gwmail.gwu.edu.

Putting Down the Books to Pick Up Some Pancakes

Servers wore construction hats
instead of hair nets. Cute!!!

This past Monday the GW community continued one of its longest traditions, Midnight Breakfast, to kick off the two weeks of finals for the Fall semester. For its 26th year, GW professors, coaches, administrators and staff have gotten together to serve students a nice evening breakfast before we continue to pull our all-night study sessions. Although studying may not be the most fun thing you do in college, at least at GW we get to it on a full stomach :)

GW Women's
Basketball Coach Bozeman
and President Knapp help
serve students a great breakfast

This year the theme was "Trespassing Welcome" and there were themes all around the renovations going on around campus. There were showcases of the new Aimes Academic Center on the Mount vernon Campus, plans on display about the construction of the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) near Whole Foods and sadly the closing of the Hippodrome and 5th floor Bowling Alley. President Knapp joined students as the signed a wall of the former Hippodrome before it is constructed into a new office space for student-run organizations. Some friends and I played pool for the last time in the Hippodrome before hitting the books again in Gelman Library.

The beautiful new academic space at the
Mount Vernon campus

As well as eating and looking at the projects at hand, we also had the opportunity to see various groups perform at the Midnight breakfast like Balance, GW Troubadours, Ballroom and Capitol Funk.

As always, let me know if you have any questions about anything and congratulations to all of you who joined the Colonial Community through the Early Decision I program! Your hard work has paid off and I can't wait to see you on campus

Peace, Love and Hippos!

Brandon Moore
brmoore@gwmail.gwu.edu

English Workshop Classes at GW

This semester, I have been in Introduction to Creative Writing. For those of you wanting to take English or be an English major at GW, I really recommend it! Though I am not an English major, it definitely is my first choice of electives and it has really helped me grow as a writer. I am no longer intimidated to sit down at my desk with a pen or with my computer to outline a story idea that pops into my head or the skeleton of a poem. In this class, we wrote a nonfiction short story, a fiction short story, and three poems.

In this class, the strongest and best part of it has been workshopping people's work. I have enjoyed work shopping my own work as well as the works of others. It has been an amazing transformation for me to watch people move from elementary comments (“I loved your work”) into developed and constructive criticism (“It would be helpful here to add a transition to understand the time shift”). I have enjoyed working with my peers to improve my own writing while helping them focus their thoughts on paper as well.

My biggest accomplishment this semester was feeling empowered enough to submit my work to George Washington University’s literary magazine, Wooden Teeth. Before this class, I would have never thought of trying to write anything for publication and much less even think of submitting my work for others to read. I was empowered through the workshops of my writing and positive comments or suggestions from others to change my work in ways to make it more relatable and understandable. I am ecstatic that Wooden Teeth will be publishing my poem, “Peaches,” in their spring edition. It seems unreal that this could happen so quickly but I am happy for the recognition!

As always, questions are welcome! marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

how to choose a college

As many of you are experiencing right now, choosing a college is a HUGE decision!  There are lots of ways to compare all of the schools you have been accepted to, and the pro/con list can go on forever.  Here are some great ways to look at colleges and truly see what environment you will excel in.

What is unique about the program you want to study? And what do you need to do well?-- Your admission choices may or may not have the number _________ program, but there is probably something that makes it unique.  IT can include the research opportunities, class offerings, resources, or even guest speakers.  The number one ranked program in the country may not be the place for you, and that is alright.  If you know you will thrive in smaller classes, look at the average class size for the university/college or the specific program and make sure your needs align with what is offered.

What do you see yourself getting involved in outside of the classroom?-- Many universities are known for their specific social cultures whether that mean Greek life, community service, politics, music, or anything else.  Make sure the university you choose offers a wide range of activities if you are unsure of what you want to be involved in, or has a strong reputation of the specifics you desire.  This will ensure you have a great experience in and out of the classroom.

Make sure you are not going somewhere to follow your friends.-- College is a huge step, and it can be scary at times to think about losing what you know.  However, no one can make this decision for you.  If you end up choosing a school where your best friend is going, GREAT! But that shouldn't be your deciding factor.  You need to decide for you, not your friends.

Follow your gut.-- Unless you can predict the future, you have no idea what will exactly happen during your four years, but you probably have a gut feeling.  It's as simple as that.

VISIT IN APRIL!!!-- Many universities, GW included, hold special days for admitted students who are in the last stages of the college admissions process.  These special visits will give you a better idea of what campus is like and the opportunities you may have by attending.
**If you would like to sign up for a GW April Visit Day please visit the Activity Center.

Good luck with your decisions, and I hope to see a lot of you on campus in the coming days!

Until next time!
Kim

GWSB Leadership Round-up and Etiquette Course

I had an opportunity yesterday to attend a Leadership Round-up and Etiquette Course sponsored by the GW School of Business' Office of Undergraduate Programs. The round-up consisted of a forum with updates on GWSB and Undergraduate Programs; it also gave student leaders an opportunity to interact have fun with each other before the semester ends. As part of the round-up, we were given an interactive lecture by Alexandra Kovach who taught us business etiquette pertaining to dinners, thank you letters, electronic communication, etc. For example, did you know that your bread plate is on your left side and drinks are on the right? Or when you must excuse yourself from the dinner table, you should leave your napkin on the chair; however, when you're permanently leaving the dinner, you leave the napkin on the table? How about when eating bread, you only break off pieces small bites at a time? These are all great tips that everyone should be learn or be aware of, particularly since so much of business is done over lunch or dinner! I also must mention that Undergraduate Programs did a fantastic job with ordering the catered food from Au Bon Pain for the event, we had delicious grilled vegetables, pasta salad, a variety of gourmet sandwiches, and even BAKED AND WIRED cupcakes for dessert! I LOVE the BUSINESS SCHOOL! -Serena

Early Mornings in Gelman

Good morning!

Since I've been sleeping in so much lately, I figured that I could wake up early this morning and get some stuff done that would be necessary to do before class this morning. Basically, if I decided not to wake up, I would arrive today empty-handed :) I got out of bed at 8 AM which is early for me these days now that I only have 9:35 AMs and came to the library to roam the shelves for a literary journal to bring to English class.

My Creative Writing class utilizes the library a lot and it's really cool to see what we have to offer. For example, did you know that we had "The Southern Review: published quarterly at Louisiana State University"? This issue I picked up is entirely about baseball, and though I mostly picked it up because of the nicely printed picture on the cover. But it turns out everything sort of has a tie to baseball without being solely about baseball and that is really neat to me.

Example of current cover

 You can look at all the cool covers here.

I'm headed to class soon but enjoy my Gelman finds and check out the 3rd floor yourself to browse all the literary magazines!
marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

GWU Law Gets Explicit

Hey everyone! In the past few weeks, GWU Law has gone viral with a YouTube video about how there is always that one person in your class with their hand up who is annoying and asks questions constantly. While their background is a slightly explicit song, I suggest you take a look at this true yet slightly immature video. There definitely are these people at GW but I don't think they overwhelm the undergrad classes- maybe the law classes get a little more heated.



Questions? marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

My Favorite Class

This semester, I have been attempting to diversify my schedule a lot and it is really been a good choice. I'm taking U.S. Diplomatic History, Intro to Global Health and Development, Chemistry, Geography of Latin America, and Intro to Creative Writing.

In high school, I really loved to write. I took Historical Fiction and Urban Literature, trying to expand my writing horizons and learn about different authors and types of writing. Last semester, I was in Black American Literature which had a huge component of history in it. But by far, my favorite class has been Creative Writing this semester. Not only am I able to write about whatever topic I want, we write poetry, nonfiction, and fiction so there is a wide variety!

While this class is hard to get into as a freshman or sophomore, you should definitely try. There are usually at least 10 sections of the class (or more) and I snagged one of the last 9:35 AM slots on registration day. It is really laid back and relaxing to workshop poetry and prose all morning and allows me to have some creativity in what I write for school!

All together, my classes end up complimenting each other nicely. I solve problems in Chemistry, write papers in US Diplomatic History, learn about global issues in Global Health and Development, focus on the culture and people in Geography of Latin America, and then get to be creative and inventive in Creative Writing! Right now I am writing a fiction piece about the Spanish inquisition and a Jewish family who is forced to migrate across the Atlantic- and ends up traveling to Hispaniola on Christopher Columbus' boat! :)

Questions? As always, marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

GW MBA Panel

While I may have mentioned this before, I am the VP of Career Services for GW School of Business' Undergraduate Business Association. One of the iniatives that I am spearheading this Spring Semester is a monthly speaker series where I invite GW alumns to speak about various topics that are of interest to students who are pursuing a career in business. This week I moderated a panel discussion about getting into a top MBA program. 4 full-time MBA students from the GW School of Business served as panelists and we had a great turnout of approximately 20 people. We ended the evening with a bunch of free baked goods from Corner Bakery. -Serena

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

Pros/Cons of RateMyProfessors.com

So maybe you’ve just gotten into GW early decision and are jumping the gun in planning your class schedule… believe me, we’ve all been there. I am one of those overeager people who looks at the schedule of classes the day it comes out! But when there are several options of the same class to choose from, how do you pick a professor?

A lot of people I have spoken to use RateMyProfessors.com in order to get a better idea of the professors that teach at GW and their grading styles. While this can be a good thing, it also can lead you to expect a certain attitude from a professor or slack off because everyone said it was an “easy A” when in reality, it won’t be for you. I’ve compiled a few pros and cons of this website, please comment on the bottom if you have had experiences with it!

PROS:

- You can find out if the class has a midterm and a final with no other work or if it is a lot of busy work (depending on your preference, that’s important!)

- Sometimes you can find tips as to how to improve papers, as some teachers may favor students who come to office hours

- It can give you information on which teacher has taught that class the longest by looking at the dates and classes they have taught, so you can avoid taking an introductory economics class from a professor who has only taught graduate classes in the past

CONS:

- You have no idea who the people writing about these teachers are.. they could be huge slackers or enormous overachievers, and not comparable to you!

- Usually people who post there are angry about their grade, or about an interaction they had with the teacher

- A lot of the information is useless.. (“Teacher X is sooo hot!!” or “This class sucks.”) Well, that was helpful.. not.

In my opinion, the cons outweigh the pros. Instead, I spend my time googling the professor to see their GW faculty page. I’m more interested in their background and their research/books written than I am in how boring or hard the class is. Personally, I wouldn’t trust the people who review the professors online and instead I would stick to talking to your friends, or if you’re going to be a freshman, emailing us bloggers!

Questions? marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

A Not-so-typical Tuesday

Today is GW's one make up day for fall semester 2010. Unlike normal Tuesdays, I have 4 out of 5 of my classes since each of them have missed a class at some point during the semester. This is an unusual schedule for a make up day because usually the make up day comes right before a reading day, so this is strange.

Schedule
7:20 AM Wake up
8 AM-9:15 AM Comparative Politics in Monroe Hall
9:35 AM-10:50 AM Biology in the Elliott School
11 AM Break, English homework
12:45-2 PM Black American Literature in Rome Hall
2:20-3:35 PM Chemistry in Corcoran Hall
4 PM Break, Chemistry studying
5 PM Coffee with a friend from a student organization
6 PM Dinner at J Street most likely
7 PM Speed Interview Night with my professional sorority
9 PM Studying, relaxing
12 AM To bed!

Hope that gives you an idea of my normal schedule but also that today is super crazy since I have a bunch of classes!! Hope you all are doing well. Let me know if you are curious about anything else on campus! marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

The Survival and Review of Freshman First Semester

I am happy to report that I have (just barely) survived the terror that is registration day. And, being both a freshman and having a last name in the first half of the alphabet, I'm one of the very last to endure the epic adventure we at GW love and hate so equally.

Since I have somehow gotten through the first semester unscathed (well, almost -- there's a few weeks left), I wanted to give fellow upcoming freshmen a look at what a typical first semester schedule is like here at GW, along with explaining what you can expect your class experiences to be like. Here's a look at what I've been taking:

Intermediate Italian II (Italian 4): Unless you're starting anew, all freshmen need to take a proficiency test in order to be placed in a language class. That being said, I was a little bit uneasy with my pretty high placement in Italian, as there are only two classes above mine. I was always a strong Italian student, but I felt that I hadn't really grasped the language in high school and had just gotten lucky. Coming to GW was a real turning point in the realization of what I do and do not know, Italian being no exception. Language classes here are capped at the higher levels, so I had a class with only 15 students. My teacher knows my name, my speaking ability, and where I rank roughly against others in the class. Language at this level at GW is absolutely nothing like language in high school, as my teacher spends our entire class periods without muttering one word of English and we respond and ask all questions in Italian, too. But don't get too terrified. One of the greatest things about my taking this class was the realization that I actually DO know Italian, and haven't just been studying it since 7th grade to get a nice grade added to my GPA. The class also stimulated me further in my adoration of Italian. I find myself speaking it more with friends who study it also, so my conversational skills have really been challenged. The best part is I met a boy from Bari on Facebook who doesn't speak English, and we speak everyday in Italian -- I've understood every word!

Stars, Planets and Life in the Universe (Astronomy I): If you are in any school at GW looking to fulfill a science requirement and are by NO means science-minded, do yourself a favor and TAKE THIS CLASS. My decision to take astronomy was more than hasty; I spent several nights during my summer in Greece looking up at the stars, and stupidly found myself asking my best friend just exactly what a star was. Needless to say, I figured it couldn't hurt to understand the universe a little better, and potentially take an easier science. I lucked out, because not only is astronomy not very demanding, I've found myself very intrigued by the topics. The layout of the class is a twice a week lecture with a little over 100 students and a lab period once a week with about twenty. The labs for the week relate to the lecture material, so they work like a recitation, but -- here's the great part -- they're VERY easy labs. Since Astro 01 students aren't going to be doing any astronomical physics, all the labs are very theoretical and just apply to larger astronomy concepts. The exams are straight forward memorization and grasping of the material, and all the homework assignments are online, easy to use, and really helpful to cement the concepts. It's times like these I'm happy to have a liberal arts degree, because I never would have taken the class had I not needed a science. I'm even picking up Astronomy II next semester!

General Psychology: As you might imagine, this is the bottom of the food chain for psych majors, but we all have to take it. Since I took IB Psychology in high school, a lot of the material was review for me. Regardless, I had a really great professor. The nice thing about these big lecture courses is there are often several teachers, and they all have different focuses. My professor works in the biological field of psychology, so her lectures leaned in that direction. Lucky for me, I'm very interested in that. However, she encouraged those who weren't to pick up the lecture with another professor. This was my largest class -- about 200 students -- but also my easiest, partly because I knew the material, but mostly because it is for my major and therefore what I'm interested in. If 200 scares you to tears, don't panic -- one of my best friends also took General Psych for her Social Sciences requirement on the Vern, where it was capped at 40 students. Best of both worlds, right? Totally. If you need a social science (Columbian kids!), I absolutely recommend trying psych. It's a fascinating field and not very demanding at the intro level, and you get to learn some of the reasons we work the way we do. Look for me on campus if you need some tutoring. ;)

Intro to Philosophy: As we speak, I'm currently writing my term paper for philosophy, so it's the perfect time to be reviewing it. I took this class on the Vern so that I would be in a capped class, and I found that to be the perfect setting. Philosophy requires discussion, and the small classroom allowed for that. To be honest, philosophy was something I was always interested in trying, but after this class, I've found that I liked the idea of it better than the actual study of it. Which is absolutely the point of college! I am so glad I took this course for the sole reason that it made me realize that I wasn't really that great at it. But, that's not to say I didn't enjoy my time, and made it work for me (the paper I'm currently writing is about happiness for the anti-theist, as I am myself). Even if you don't totally love a class, it's always great to try them. It'll help solidify your major choice, and also make you more well-rounded as an individual (and maybe have some deep thoughts, right?).

I had a really great first semester, with classes that allowed me the needed free time to adjust to college life, but also got some of my GCR's out of the way. Next semester I get to take classes more catered to me, now that I'm more secure in what I do and don't like. I had a good mix of lectures and small classes, so I truly did have the full freshman experience.

If you're a prospective student or even a fellow freshman and looking for some course-selecting advice or further explanation about academic life here, don't hesitate to shoot me a line at gmdepalo@gwmail.gwu.edu. I'm addicted to my Blackberry just like everyone else, I promise.

See you around campus,
Gina Michele

Blast From The Past- My Freshman Schedule Part II

Hey guys, I thought I would continue with my last post talking about my freshman year. That post includes my fall classes while this one will cover the spring! Here are the 5 classes I took in the spring semester, which again all filled requirements for the Elliott School except for the biology class:

Intro to International Affairs: The supposed dreaded class of freshman year for IAFF majors, I didn't find this class too horrible. While topics I am interested such as human rights, NGOs, and health across the globe weren't really introduced until the end of the course, it gives a great background into IAFF.

Intro to Macroeconomics: The second half of econ classes required, this focused on national economic issues such as unemployment, inflations, how money is controlled, and so on. It was really interesting to learn some background but the concepts seemed harder for me to grasp than microeconomics. Some people say the opposite.

French 10 Culture and Society II: The continuation of the 3rd year of a foreign language, this course focused on political systems in France and grammar. I enjoyed it mostly because I had a great teacher!

Africa Problems and Prospects: While this class was a bit dull at times, I loved learning the current events and it definitely helped me gain some background knowledge before I studied abroad in Botswana (see my post here). The only frustrating thing is that your grade is based off of a midterm and final, both 50%.

Biology For Science Majors: Okay, you're probably super confused now. Why the heck would I try taking this class if I don't need it/am not a science major? It's because I am thinking about being pre-med, and would rather use my elective space to fill those credits. It has been one of the best courses I've taken at GW so far, focusing on ecology, evolution, population biology, diversity, and animals.

Questions? Need help structuring a good freshman schedule? marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa

Blast From the Past- My Freshman Schedule

Hi everyone! I thought, considering registration is a hot topic right now, I would reminisce on the classes I took last year to give you all a taste of what I've been though (questions are always welcome!). When registering for classes, I wanted to take a wide range of topics within the guidelines for my International Affairs major (since I had applied to the Elliott School) and wound up with the classes below for the fall. These classes all filled requirements for my International Affairs Major!

University Writing, Topic- Latin American Sensibility: This class is how I met fellow blogger Shireen! We had expected a certain teacher for the class, who proceeded not to show up for over a week, so we were then given a substitute for the whole semester. It actually worked out great because the substitute liked to organize the writing as a portfolio, with no real grading until the end of the semester which I enjoyed.

World History, 1500-Present: Not the best option if I had to pick a history class, but this gave a wide overview of some large historical trends and events way back when. Our class did not get past the 1800s, which frustrated me because I am more interested in history in the past 100 years.

Human Geography: This may be one of my favorite classes at GW, even though I took it my first semester. What you learn in this class is so valuable, as it is the study of people across the globe and their current issues. Maps are used to show trends. It is super interesting and take it with Benton-Short, she is a great teacher.

Intro to Microeconomics: The first of two economic classes required, this was easily my favorite of the two. It covers major economic principles, institutions, and problems in daily life at the consumer and producer level.

French 9 Culture and Society: While I wanted to take Spanish here at GW, I could not get into a class so I decided to continue with French to finish my language requirement. It was an easy class with current French topics.

Look out for my freshman spring schedule coming soon! I'm going to go cook some chili.. I've been in the mood for it. I've never made it before so let's hope it's a success! I'm following this recipe, except with ground turkey instead of beef. And speaking of cooking, I'll blog about that soon too!!

Questions? Want some chili? :) marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

My Current Classes

Spring registration is nearing and I thought I would give you all a taste of my current classes! In a few weeks, I'll let you all know what I end up picking for next semester too. Again, I'm an International Affairs major and a few of my current classes are fitting some requirements while others are fulfilling my pre-med track. See below:

Political Science: Comparative Politics 1

This course focuses on the principles of comparative analysis of governments and countries. It has proven to be an interesting class, though I have it at 8 AM. The class only has 40 people which helps so that we can have somewhat of a discussion at times. This class always has real life applications and I love that I can read the newspaper and come to class with an example for anything we are talking about.

English: Black American Literature 73W

This English class has reminded me of how much I love reading. I took it on a whim because it is a WID class (writing in the discipline), and I need two to graduate. We have discussed several influential African Americans in history, read slave narratives, and are moving on to civil rights and Black Power movements. I have decided to take another english class next semester because I am loving this one so much, especially because of the class size: a grand total of 10 students!

Religion: Religions of the West 1

This class is an introduction to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This class has proven to be a difficult one for me as I have it from 4:45 to 6 PM Mondays and Wednesdays. The content is somewhat evident and I don't recommend it to anyone who has a strong background in religion, but it has been a great learning experience for me. My class has 80 people in it.

Biological Sciences: Biology 11

There isn't much to say about Bio 11 except that it is a premed requirement that I need to complete- along with the other 279 students in it. I took Bio 12 last semester and loved the teacher  (Doebel) because of his great enthusiasm. Brown teaches Bio 11 and his tests are multiple choice, which is nice. I recommend taking Bio 11 before 12, but if you're bored- hold out for 12 because it's all about plants and animals and the good bio stuff.

Chemistry: Chemistry 11

Chemistry has proven to be something that I enjoy more than I expected, though it is again a premed requirement I need to complete. This class is small for Chemistry, with only 80 students, and I recommend Hilderbrandt for anyone looking to take it who don't have a strong chem background. She is a great teacher who makes sure to go out of her way to help if you are struggling (like me haha). 

Questions? Good luck to all of you applying Early Decision on the 10th! Email me at marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu

- Marisa

Cool Classes

While many of us bloggers talk about the classes we are taking for our majors, they become quite boring since they are required. But taking a step back, some of the required and elective classes that GW offers are pretty cool! As I am gearing up to register for classes for 2nd semester, I am trying to introduce some exciting topics into my daily routine of international affairs. The first class listed, PubH 185, is one I am trying to get into, and the rest are just a sample of the cool things that can be found while browsing the course catalog!

Public Health 185 Impact of Culture Upon Health: Relationships between cultural values and the development of modern health systems based on Western models of health care practice. Reliance upon traditional forms of health care. Examples of successful incorporation of traditional practices into evolving health care systems.

Exercise Science 58 Outdoor Education Facilitation: An outdoor challenge course designed to help groups have fun while coming together to build unity and address challenges such as developing trust, problem solving, goal setting, and communication.

Yiddish for Reading and Conversation: Grammatical essentials of the language, appropriate reading selections, conversational exercises for beginners.

Fine Art New Media: Digital Art: A survey of the computer as a creative art tool. Topics covered include bit-mapped and vector graphics, digital sound and imaging, basic time-based media, and digital text, integrated with fundamental design principles of concept development, composition, color theory and presentation.

English 175 Gender and Literature: Symbolic representations of culturally defined roles and assumptions in literature. Male and female gender roles as fundamental to culture; the representation of culture, in literature especially and in the arts and humanities generally. May be repeated for credit provided the topic differs.

Exercise Science 65 Introduction to Therapeutic Massage: Basic Swedish massage and deep-tissue techniques.

That last one would be a great investment for my roommates :) See the schedule of classes here!

Questions? Always feel free to email me at marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu!

- Marisa