Leslie's Life

The last two weeks have been very hectic to say the least. I successfully moved out of the Towers and stayed with my mom in Manhattan for a week. It was nice to get a break from school and work. On June 2nd, I drove back to Newark to move into my new apartment! Luckily, everything worked out smoothly. One of my roommates is also here, so together we have set up our rooms, cable, and internet (you know, the essentials!).

In addition to getting settled at my new home, I have started working full time! This summer, I am a Summer Blue Hen Ambassador (SBHA) which is a program of about 22 current UD students who work in all aspects of the Admissions office including processing applications, answering questions via email and phone, working the front desk, and of course giving tours. This week was primarily training and a “get to know one another” week. It’s been a blast and I’m really enjoying the job as well as my co-workers. I’m looking forward to mastering all of my skills throughout the summer! 

I know that everyone says this, but time flies. I can’t believe that I am going to be a Junior in college! I am so proud/happy/relieved/scared about all of it. This year was hectic and challenging in many ways. I got involved more around campus, worked, maintained our little apartment in the Christiana Towers, and juggled increasingly harder classes. Although it was difficult, this year was really rewarding and I’m sad to see it go. Moving out is totally crazy and as a result has me pretty stressed out. Organizing, cleaning, and transporting all of my stuff has been a long and daunting process but is soon to be over! I leave the towers on Thursday and head up to my Mom’s in Manhattan! I am staying with her for about a week and then heading back down here to start work on June 3rd. 

I think one of the most amazing aspects of my life here at UD is that it is all captured and documented right here on my blog. I can always scroll through and read my past posts and look at my old photos. It creates a personalized yearbook. I love that! 

This summer I am working as a Summer Blue Hen Ambassador so I will be on campus! I’m looking forward to working and making new friends in the process. Also, I will be returning to Chicago for the week of July 4th to see my friends and family, so that gives me something to look forward to as well. 

I’ll be blogging regularly over the summer so stay tuned! :) Thank you to everyone who made this year a memorable one! 

I remember recently my dad told me he thought UD was of good value. I know that my parents are pleased with the education that I am receiving here at Delaware. I know that they’re happy that I’m happy and discovering what I’m passionate about. It’s a pretty well known fact that college is expensive and it’s frustrating to me that because of the price tag college isn’t an option for everyone, which makes me always remember how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to be at such an amazing university like UD. So, what’s the value in college? Is it worth it? Do I feel like this university is doing everything it can to make me succeed? These are all good questions.

One aspect of UD that I do appreciate is all of the recent renovations happening on campus. I like that I will be able to utilize new buildings, resources, and amenities that my tuition helps to pay for. The new Bob Carpenter Sport’s Building, freshman residence halls, and renovations in Perkins Student Center make me feel as though the money being put into the school is being used to make our lives here as students a better place. After all, we do live here 8 months out of the year.

Not only do I enjoy the new facilities but I also appreciate all of the opportunities I have received here Delaware that I don’t think I could have found anywhere else. I’ve been so lucky and been able to get involved in the Admissions office where I’ve met amazing UD staff and students and been able to actually work and make a difference by being a blogger, application manager, and a tour guide. I’ve also met my amazing friends, especially my roommates, who are not only my support system, but my sisters, who I don’t think I could live without. Most importantly, my educational experience has been so rewarding. I have learned more than I ever imagined I could in these two short years about topics more than art history including anthropology, wildlife conservation, geography, psychology, and French. I’ve learned interview skills, improved my public speaking, learned how to cook, do weekly grocery shopping with an allotted budget, and balanced my social life with studying. These may seem like small things, but I’ve grown so much as a person since I moved away from home two years ago, I’m so proud of myself. I really do feel like a well-rounded student and that’s all thanks to UD.

I guess what I am trying to say is, yes, I do think that UD is of good value. I think the facilities are nice, the campus is clean, professors have student’s best interest in mind, the Wi-Fi really does work all over campus, and most importantly, the students here are happy. Everyone has such varying perspectives on what “value” is and what the price for it should look like, so, check out some of my fellow blogger’s thoughts on the value of college: http://udadmissions.tumblr.com/

Also, check out the University of Delaware’s “Finance my Degree” page: http://www.udel.edu/admissions/finance/

Any questions are always welcomed!  

Congratulations to the University of Delaware class of 2017! I know that acceptances went out this week and I can only imagine how excited many prospective students are. It is your time now, as the student, to start making some decisions!

What made me make my decision? What do I like best about my university? I’m here to tell you! I’ve picked three aspects of the University of Delaware that I think make it amazing, fun, beautiful, and one of a kind. 

Main Street—Main Street is awesome. It has restaurants, bars, boutiques, coffeehouses, a post office, a pharmacy, a bowling alley, a dollar store (college student necessity), and the UD bookstore. The fact the main street is integrated with our university and easily accessible the student just makes the experience here that much better. You can find anything you may need here, which allows an amazing outlet to campus if you ever find yourself needing one. I didn’t want to feel “stuck” on campus. Main Street allows me to never feel that way.

Size—This may have been my number one reason for applying/coming to UD. It feels as though UD is one of the only mid-sized institutions around. With 16,000 undergrads you feel part of a large, influential, growing, and powerful community. Yet simultaneously, you will receive individualized attention, have small class sizes, and be able to walk everywhere on campus.

School Spirit—If you ever come and walk around campus, the amount of Blue and Gold you’ll see will bring a smile to your face. Everyone is wearing Delaware tee shirts, sweatpants, jackets, and hats. Students love it here, and for good reason! School spirit is important. You want to be in a positive environment, one where the students have pride for their school!

If anyone reading this has any questions, comments, or concerns about UD please do not hesitate to ask! Go Blue Hens! 

I just wanted to write a quick post about my experience as a new BHA (Blue Hen Ambassador). After passing my written examination, I took my evaluation tour on Friday. An evaluation tour is basically your final test to become a BHA where you give a real tour to one or more families and are evaluated on accurate information, placement, and general interaction on the tour. I was so nervous! There is so much to know about Delaware including all the buildings, departments, colleges, athletics, social life, residence life, and academics. But, thanks to studying continuously throughout the month of January, I passed! I am so relieved to have passed and now can officially give tours on my own! This whole process of being accepted into the BHA program and being a part of this wonderful group of students on campus has made me even happier to be a Blue Hen. I look forward to working Decision Days, Open Houses, Registration, and Blue and Golden Saturdays and being able to interact even more with prospective students and their families! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! 

My time in Manhattan has come to an end. It was nice doing something productive this winter break, as I chose to not stay on campus to take classes. I really enjoyed my internship. I worked with amazingly smart and funny people and learned a lot of new information and skills. Living in Manhattan with my Mom was also great, it’s just such a hub for food, diversity, and unexpected beauty.

Spring Semester is upon us! I already have a ton of meetings inputted in my planner and a new work schedule in the mailroom. I also need to complete my Blue Hen Ambassador written and evaluation exams as well as delve into my 5 new classes. I am excited though. I really do believe that I am happier and more productive when I have a regular schedule and goals to achieve. 

This semester, I am taking some interesting classes:

American Art 1865-present (ARTH231)

Art of Latin America (ARTH232)

Physical Geography: Land Processes (GEOG106)

U.S. History Since 1865 (HIST206)

Introduction to Theatre and Drama (THEA104)

I’m excited about all new classes! I am super excited about the art history classes I am taking this semester, the professors are amazing. Unfortunately, I have to take a science class, but sometimes those classes are nice to break up all the reading and writing I have to do otherwise! 

I’m looking forward to a great semester. Happy Super Bowl Weekend! 

Let’s recap on Leslie’s life this past week, shall we? I embarked on a quite a journey this past Friday. I drove my car from Chicago to Delaware, which took approximately 11.5 hours (woohoo!). The drive was not nearly as bad as I anticipated and it allowed me to have flexibility with packing and such. My car is now parked at school and will be there ready for me when spring semester begins. 

I took the Amtrak from Wilmington to New York City on Sunday and today was my first day of work! I am working as an intern at the company AudienceScience, where so far I help keep records, make shipments, and contribute in any way I can. My roommate, Caroline, is also staying here at my mom’s because she has an internship in the city as well! It’s pretty cool that I get to live and work in Big Apple for three weeks and it has already been an adventure. I plan on documenting this experience through photos and blogging (of course). Tonight, Caroline and I ventured to the East Village and ended up at a dessert bar called Spot, where we ate 3 plates of delicious cake and ice cream including this dark chocolate cake accompanied by green tea ice cream, YUM!

This is my overdue Christmas blog post! I went home to Chicago for this winter break and am staying in my Dad’s apartment in Aurora. Yes, the drive was 12 hours (sigh). This year, we actually spent the holiday downtown in Chicago. Surprisingly, it wasn’t swarming with people like I thought it would be! We did a bunch of fun things like shop around in the Water Tower Place, go out to Christmas Eve dinner at Rosebud, and then went to the Bull’s game on Christmas day! Besides the Bull’s losing miserably, my Christmas was a very happy one. It is a rarity for my family to be in the same location for any duration of time, so I try to enjoy it when I can. As usual, I took many pictures!

The holidays are not over yet because the best is still to come! My 20^th birthday is quickly approaching on January 2^nd, so until then I plan to be lazy with no work or school obligations!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

It’s that time! The most stressful time of year, followed by the “most wonderful time of year.” Finals week in college is a unique experience. Everywhere you used to go to casually study is now filled with students cramming, especially the library which is now open 24 hours a day. I, luckily, have finals at the end of this week, which gives me some time to study. I also don’t believe in cramming/sleeping in the library/pulling an all nighter to study for a final because my brain won’t retain any information! For any rookies out there, make sure you: 

1. Sleep! Your body won’t be able to function without it. 

2. Eat. But eat well! Your brain need power food, not junk food. 

3. Time management. Taking breaks and doing other errands always helps me break up time. 

Those are just my tips! Good luck on finals to everyone :) 

So, this past weekend marked the training weekend for all new Blue Hen Ambassadors! It was a little intimidating at first, but everyone within the program is so unique and personable. The weekend was awesome, exhausting, rewarding, and draining all at the same time. We were split up into groups, who essentially become your family for the whole weekend, and are led by veteran BHAs called mentors. Throughout the weekend we did all kinds of things such as team building activities, informational lectures about the program, and mock tours. Essentially, I had an amazing weekend getting to know all of the truly wonderful fellow BHAs and the admissions staff. I am looking forward to giving my first tour in the spring! 

Ah, the college essay. It’s something every senior applying to colleges is expected to write. Trying to convey your character and your future goals in two pages is difficult. For my college essay I wrote about art, culture, and perspective. I wanted whoever was reading it to understand a little more about my interests and me.

I wrote about how I wanted to move away from my home in the western suburbs outside of Chicago and see new things, meet new people, interact with new cultures, and get an education. It was pretty funny reading my college essay again because I hadn’t even thought about since I wrote it about two years ago. I am proud of it. I think it conveyed my love for art, which is now a passion of mine that is becoming more important to me as I study it. 

I’ve always loved to write. It was never something I struggled with. But for those that do, keep a few things in mind when writing your personal statement. Keep it original. I could only imagine how monotonous it must be for admissions counselors to read thousands of essays on boring topics. Don’t write about something cliché that makes you blend into the crowd instead of stand out. Tell an interesting anecdote, write about what inspires you and makes you want to continue learning, and most importantly, make it specific! If I could give any advice I would say pick a particular memory, person, place, song, painting, current event, or aspiration and write why it matters to you. Make it personal! This is the one time you don’t have to write a structured five-paragraph essay, take advantage of it and have fun!  

Any questions about college essays/application process in general feel free to ask me questions!

Happy Thanksgiving to all :) 

Yesterday, I gave blood at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center (The “Big Bob”). I have never given blood before and I don’t know why! I don’t mind needles and blood doesn’t make me uneasy, so I figured I would donate. My friend Sam encouraged me to go with her, she gives blood frequently. Besides getting free snacks and a free t-shirt, I enjoyed the experience. I felt happy that I could be a part of a service that helps to save lives. I was astonished to learn that 60% of people are able to give blood and only 2% do! I’m happy that UD provides these opportunities on campus to help out the greater community. Overall, I look forward to donating again, it was a good experience! 

Check out the Delmarva Blood Bank website! 

http://www.delmarvablood.org/

Applying to college was more than stressful for me. I didn’t enjoy filling out the endless information boxes with my name and address or keeping track of the confusing ID numbers and passwords for each college I applied to. That being said, applying to college was taxing and rewarding all at the same time. It makes you think about where you want to go, what you want to study, what you want to do with your life, and how you are going to represent yourself to each university. 

The feeling of completing all of your applications for college is a bittersweet one. I, for one, knew that applying meant I wasn’t going to get into every university I had my eye on. I didn’t have all of my eggs in one basket. In fact, I had no idea where I was going to end up, I was waiting for the admissions offices to tell me. The feeling of uncertainty is one that is temporary. I was confident in the way that I represented myself and that I was going to attend the college/university that understood that and found value and promise in it. I am thankful that that university was UD! 

As soon as the waiting period passes, the decisions start to roll in. I remember the non-stop chatter of “where are you going to school?” being asked in the hallways of my high school for months. I couldn’t stand it! So much pressure! But as soon as I made the decision, everything seemed to move so quickly. Before I knew it I was at New Student Orientation, picking out my roommate, and at Bed Bath and Beyond with my mom picking out my extra long twin bed sheets.

To bring this short story to a close, the benefits/feelings of getting your college applications done is one that is enjoyable and stressful synonymously. Applying to college is such an exciting accomplishment. It marks a very important milestone in any young adult’s life. Keeping a positive and patient attitude is the key to getting the best results. The best way to combat any stress is to enjoy the time left in high school as a senior and at home with your family! College is a journey, and it all starts with the application. 

Read all of the other UD Admissions Blogs for their stories: www.udadmissions.tumblr.com/