IU Bloomington Bucket List

With summer approaching, I thought that it was only appropriate to set some summer goals for myself. Many of these goals are revolving around my IU/Bloomington Bucket list—there is WAY too many great things to do on campus and in Bloomington to not have a bucket list. Have you started yours yet? If not, here is a great one to get you started: http://fye.indiana.edu/programs-events/bucket-list.cfm

Here are my top five summer goals, in no order:

1. Sail Around Lake Monroe- What better way to get a tan than to rent out a boat with a bunch of your friends? Sailing around Lake Monroe has been on my bucket list for the last two summers, but somehow this never gets done—with all the warm weather we have been experiencing in Bloomington this year, I’m not going to miss out this summer!

2. See a Movie at the Starlight Drive In Theater- I guess this one technically doesn’t count because I have already done it once—BUT, it was before my freshman year. The drive in theater is so much fun, and you can see a double feature for less than the price of a ticket at the regular theater. Also, you can bring your own food.

3. Eat at a Tibetan Restaurant- Bloomington is full of unique restaurants! Since one of my favorite things to do is eat (obvi), I have sampled quite a few different kinds of cuisines. My favorite eating place to explore is Fourth Street- some many different cultures and tasty dishes. However, Tibetan is one still on my bucket list to cross off!

4. Play Frisbee in Dunn Meadow- How is it that I have walked through Dunn Meadow millions of times, but have not yet stopped to play? I definitely need to take the time to do that this summer. I’m thinking I’ll make an afternoon out of it—picnic, Frisbee, and napping.

5. Check out the Wonder Lab- I just recently learned about the Wonder Lab here in town—it was voted one of the top 25 best Science labs in the country, and provides kids a creative way to learn about science. I’ve always loved science museums, and I’m basically a kid anyhow, so I really want to go some Saturday this summer. I may take my younger brother in order to blend in better.

Posted by Annie

Spring Break Grad School Search

This Spring Break, I spent some time researching graduate school programs, and visiting graduate schools. Ever since I started my service learning class at the middle school, I’ve been more and more interested in Educational Psychology masters programs.

I started my research by exploring the U.S News & World Report Best Graduate School Rankings online. This site shows you the top ten programs, organized by field of study (i.e. Business, Education, Medicine, Social Sciences, Law). After I got the names of some top rated programs, I visited the websites of each specific program, and read a little bit more about what each program entails.After exploring a few different schools and their programs, I began to examine their locations-- cities, states, weather, population, etc. Although this helped me narrow down programs I was interested in, I still felt that I didn’t quite have a good vision of each program.

I started to think about how I made the decision to come to IU; at the time it just made complete sense to me. The campus, community, and programs just felt like home-- I fell in love with the culture of being a Hoosier, something that you cannot quite experience from a website, or map quest-- you have to see to understand.

I think in the graduate school search, it’s really important to visit the actual school, to get a feeling for the culture. Although it is really important to be in a top ranked program, I also think that the cohort and community you are surrounded by has an equal impact. After all, those two factors are what can shape your experience. So, I have decided that my goal by the end of this summer is to visit as many schools I am interested in as possible-- stay tuned!

Posted by Anne

Importance of Social Media

As spring break comes to an end and school starts back up again, many college students find themselves unmotivated to work hard. However, this is a very busy time of the year for me! I am going to be applying to the Kelley School of Business within the next week, and that is exactly what is motivating me to do better than ever.

Lately I have begun to realize the importance of social media in the world. Social media has made up a large part of my work duties at the Career Development Center (CDC), and is also a key component of my school life. The blog I’m writing right now is being transmitted through social media, and a large part of my life is impacted by social networking. I am in the midst of a very interesting project for one of my classes involving Pinterest, a social photo sharing website, and am helping my supervisor implement an effective Pinterest for the CDC. I am enjoying the prevalence of social networking in my life, and am looking forward to finding even more ways to use it to my advantage in the future. I am having fun with it!

When the school year comes to a close, I would like to be able to say that I successfully became with more familiar with social networking (such as LinkedIN and Pinterest) and found ways to use these websites for my professional development and for marketing the CDC. As I work hard to get into Kelley, I will also be working hard to gain knowledge about social networking!

Posted by Rachel

Serendipity: A Happy Accident

I like the idea of serendipity- the whole right place, at the right time notion; the idea that the perfect person, career, or opportunity will waltz into your life at the exact perfect time. However, I’m also a critical thinker. For me, serendipity, karma, and destiny all fall into the same category—all of them are real when I take matters into my own hands. I practice something I like to call pro-active serendipity.

There is this myth that some of my peers have sometimes, that the perfect career or employer is just going to find them—serendipitously. Although this may happen for some people, I am a little bit skeptical that this should be your career exploration game plan. With Pro-active serendipity, you open yourself up to the possibility of serendipity, by taking advantage of different experiences, opportunities, or events of interest. These events may change your perspective, open you up to new ideas, or provide some sort of career clarification.

So, what are some ways you can accidently stumble upon your life calling? Here are some of my suggestions for IU students:

1.) Check out the Bloomington Volunteer Network, an online website for all different kinds of volunteer opportunities in Bloomington. There are opportunities for all kinds of interests- environment, social, etc. Some are onetime events, and others can be on-going. Explore the website: http://1.usa.gov/zEOpEw

2.) Enroll in a Service Learning Class and apply your academic knowledge into a related local service field. Service learning classes are offered across disciplines, and allow students to take a hands on approach to their education. Classes vary across semesters, so check with the Registrar before enrolling for the upcoming semester. To see more about service learning classes, check out the IU Service Learning website: http://bit.ly/w7i7WF

3.) Attend a Conference or Event on campus that sparks your interest. Whether the conference or event is through your department, or from a campus office, if you see something that looks like it might interest you, pursue it. Check the IMU bulletin board, the IU Bloomington event calendar, or the events tab on our IUCareers website (http://bit.ly/ovloqf).

Posted by Anne

Taking Things Into "Account"

I have officially finished accounting class, and now I am just awaiting the results of my final. The exam was very difficult, and I hope I did well enough to get the grade I need for the class. After studying with 3 tutors, and for hours each night alone, I am realizing the toll that all of that stress put on my body. I am very tired even after getting 10 hours of sleep last night, and I have low energy. Taking into account that this final was the determining factor for my admission to the Kelley School, I still realize that I need to find techniques to lessen my stress in these kinds of situations because I physically and mentally will not be able to handle this kind of toll every time I have an important final. If I do get into the Kelley School as I am aspiring to, I realize that I will have a lot of difficult classes that will require this kind of effort. I am going to need to put in these long hours of studying, but I am going to need to keep my stress at a low level so recovery isn’t so difficult. I will be checking back after I have gotten my results!

Posted by Rachel