Claudia: Dear COM

Dear COM, 

Well, I’ve already cried just thinking about writing this. So let’s bring on the water works. As I’m writing this, it’s 47 days until graduation and I’m a grateful, happy, yet nervous ball of stress. I really don’t know if I can put into words how important COM is to me and how it has shaped my college experience. I would not be the woman (BU Boss Lady, perhaps) I am today without the friendships, love, and support from within my school. COM is my home and will hold a very special place in my heart. 

I walked into BU knowing I wanted to double major in Film and Television and Advertising. And now I am so close to finishing that dream. There have been changes to that dream along the way. I came in knowing I wanted to be a producer, but I rediscovered my love for production and found a new confidence behind the camera. Confidence and new skills that have opened so many doors in Boston, Chicago, New York, London and Los Angeles. 

I used to joke that I spent more time in 640 Comm Ave than in my own dorm. And while that’s an exaggerated truth, COM has really been my home. From the late night editing sessions to the early morning radio shows, my heart swells when I think of this wonderful building full of storytellers. You’ve brought me so much joy and the best experiences and friendships a girl could ask for. And now as my story is changing, I have to say thank you. 

To my lifelong friends:

From the day one friendships to the London clique, I could not be more lucky to have such amazing, creative, and powerful friends. These are people who not only make me laugh and smile, but they inspire me with their creativity and non-stop hard work. These are the people that will not only be my friends for life, but on my board of directors one day. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for each and everyone of you. And I know it will be amazing! 

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To WTBU: 

Thank you for being the strongest group of people I know. You’ve taught me how to bounce back and have given me life long friendships. You’ve been here for me through the 6am show tunes, pop culture fan girling, and even 2am half yawn half smiles. You truly are the Beat of Boston University and I can’t thank you enough for providing a platform for so many voices. 

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To the BU Boss Ladies: 

That was a wild ride and boy I am I so lucky to have worked alongside all of you. You are the most incredible group and I am amazed by how you create such a balance with professionalism and passion. 

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To COM Undergraduate Affairs: 

Thank you for always being a source of happiness in my life. I have never once dreaded going to work. Instead, I looked forward to laughing so hard I’d fall out of my chair and gaining the inside scoop on my beloved school. Thank you for also being there during the highs and the lows. You are the best support system. 

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To the COM Ambassador program: 

I don’t know what to say. Thank you for being my outlet and for giving me a family. I never thought I’d find such a passionate group of people who love COM so much, but you all make me fall in love with this school and you every day. 

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So, thank you COM for everything. I love you with all of my heart. 

claudia com

 

Claudia: My Boston Bucket List

The semester has started and school is back in session, which means… I’m a second semester senior. As I’m writing this, there are 104 days 16 hours and 13 minutes (give or take) until I am a Boston University graduate. Crazy, right? BU (COM especially) has been my home over the past three and a half years and it’s weird to think in a little over 4 months, I could be in a completely different city. So here it is (a classic senior move), my Boston Bucket List, BUT with a twist. Here are some of my favorite things of the past three and a half years that I hope will make it on your Boston Bucket List!

The Boston Classics:

Go to the movies at Coolidge Corner Theatre: The Coolidge Corner Theatre may be my favorite place in all of Boston. I’ve seen some pretty great movies in this beautiful picture house, but the Midnight Movie series is a highlight of my college experience. I rang in my 19th birthday at a screening of Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.

Mike’s Vs. Modern Cannoli Taste Test:  My personal favorite – Modern Pastry

Have a picnic on the Commons: My sophomore year roommates surprised me with a beautiful picnic on the Boston Commons for my 20th birthday.

Cheer on the Red Sox: No BU Bucket List is complete without going to a Red Sox game.

Eat a delicious pasta dinner in the North End 

Go to the Cape: You can take the express Cape Cod Flyer from South Station to Hyannis!

Eat plenty of lobster rolls: The Barking Crab is a personal favorite

Go to Salem on Halloween: SPOOPY!

Go to Boston Calling: LORDE. CHILDISH GAMBINO. BLEACHERS, ALT-J. HOZIER. WALK THE MOON. Enough said. 

My BU Favorites:

 Broadcast Live on 89.3 FM: WTBU Radio has been a wonderful community and will forever hold a special place in my heart

 Attend EVERY Lobster Night: And in Warren Towers, of course…

 Write and produce your own TV pilot: My sophomore year I co-wrote and produced a 40-minute TV pilot (you can check it out at vimeo.com/entidaled)

 Learn what it means to be a BU Boss Lady: I was lucky enough to join the HotHouse team last fall and travel to LA to film BU Boss Lady. I left the trip inspired by these boss BU alumni and eager to start the next chapter of my life

 Shut Down Warren Dining: There have been plenty of nights my friends and I have been the last people in the dining hall

 Lose your voice at the Beanpot: During my Freshman year, the Polar Vortex delayed the Beanpot, but that didn’t stop us from cheering on our winning team

 See a show at CFA: My best friend Hannah is an acting major and all I have to say is WOW.

 Study Abroad: My semester with the BU London Internship Program was life changing. Check out my adventures here

 Work with your best friends: The COM Ambassador program was not only a great platform for sharing how much I love COM, but it also strengthened the bond between me and some of my best friends.

 Staying up late in Warren Dining might not seem like a favorite moment at first, but I’ve laughed so hard in those red vinyl chairs that there’s no way my BU experience would be the same without it. All in all, enjoy your time at BU and make every second count.

Claudia: What does it mean to go to college with your best friend?

I am extremely lucky to go to college with my best friend in the whole world. My closest and dearest friend from high school, Hannah, is an acting major in the School of Theatre (over in CFA). While I applied early decision to BU, Hannah went through an audition process and didn’t commit until late April. 18-year-old Claudia had no idea she’d be this lucky. In high school, Hannah and I had a radio show called Broadwaves. We exclusively played showtunes and talked about all things theatre. When we were 16, we somehow got to interview (it still baffles me) the Editor-in-Chief of Broadway.com, Paul Wontorek. This show only strengthened our friendship and we ended up bringing Broadwaves to WTBU in 2015. 

Fast-forward to Orientation Summer 2014. Hannah and I planned it perfectly and we were in the same session and Common Ground group. Little did we know we would meet our best friends during the Liquid Fun show at Rhett’s Night Out. I was sitting next to fellow CA (and my future roommate/BFF) Jen Masi and Hannah was with her future roommate and bestie Sophie Gore. That was that beginning of some pretty strong college friendships, but also the start of the BU era of Claudia and Hannah. 

We have known each other since sophomore year of high school. For those of you who love numbers.. Our friendship started a little over six years ago back in SEPTEMBER 2011!!! That is a LONG. TIME. AGO. And here we are. Seniors in college. Getting ready to graduate. Our friendship has moved from Chicago to Boston and beyond to London and Florence. Best friendship is finding time to see each other even when you are in different countries. I got to see Hannah speak Italian in Florence and we explored Notting Hill together in London (so we are basically Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant). 

Hannah and I have never lived together (if you exclude the random month I spent in her apartment last summer). We used to joke about it being a disaster because of our opposite schedules. Even though we didn’t share a tiny double in Warren or West, we still made time for each other. Whether it was DJing on WTBU, going to lobster night, or seeing Hannah perform (or her acting in my projects), we made it work. Even as our lives got busier, and sophomore, junior and now senior year have rolled around, we were still Hannah and Claudia. Even better, we got to meet people outside our respective schools. While I love my COM bubble, I am so grateful for the friendships I have made with those SOT kids. So thank you Hannah.. to not only introducing me to some amazing people, but also helping me cast all my future films *wink*

There are a lot of things you can pull out of this friendship tale: going to college with your best friend from home is a great thing, making friends outside your school at BU is a great thing, or finding time to see your best friend even when school and life get in the way is a great thing. Reflecting back on all of this as a senior in college is telling me a lot of things, but most important is find friends who make change fun and easy. Having Hannah in my life made the transition to college a whole lot easier, but that wasn’t the only benefit. Anytime there has been a big change in either of our lives, we can always count on each other to be there. College is about those long lasting friendships and I can’t believe that my best friend from high school turned into my best friend from BU. Over the past three years, I’ve learned change never stops, but your friends will make any transition a lot easier and will always support you through those changes. 

Here are some pictures of me and Hannah throughout the years!

Claudia: There’s nothing like summer (internships) in the city!

Ahhh… Summer break. Long gone are the days of sitting by the pool, ice cream cones, sleep-away camp, and summer reading. Summer break for COM students means incredible internships in cities all over the world ON TOP OF all the fun quintessential summer activities. 

I spent the summer interning at DigitasLbi in their Chicago office. Not only did I get to work at a global and just plain cool agency, I got to spend my last summer (I am a senior… How did that happen?!) at home, which was the icing on the cake. 

As the New Business intern, my responsibilities included developing internal competitive analyses for potential clients, creating client repositories that focused on media headlines, assisting in creative briefs and the designing of pitch decks. My team was amazing (shout out to my manager Heather!) and they really trusted me with big time responsibilities. I was so happy that my coursework at BU had really prepared me for all the surprises this real time agency threw at me. I felt extremely prepared and felt like I fit in immediately! (Thank you Prof. Cakebread and AdLab!) 

In addition to my departmental responsibilities, the internship program at Digitas included two intern projects. The first was to our internal company life team and my group created Destination: Digitas, a study abroad type program where employees could work abroad at any of Digitas’ global offices! This was so much fun and I got to collaborate with interns from various department. 

The second was a loyalty pitch to BP. You read that right… We, the interns, got to present a full campaign to an executive team from BP! That was a crazy, but rewarding experience as I got to work on a higher stakes project and practice my professional presentation skills. And by the end of the 10-weeks Digitas trusted us enough to work with the client. That’s pretty unbelievable! 

Digitas had an incredible summer too. By the end of my second week, the agency won the Creative Data Grand Prix at the 2017 Cannes Festival for the Whirlpool Care Counts campaign (check it out here). This was a HUGE deal and the team that won was actually based in the Chicago offices, so naturally we celebrated for four weeks. 

In addition to the amazing experiences within the office, the interns got to go to a Cubs game, tour the Google Chicago offices, visit other top Chicago agencies like Leo Burnett and Ogilvy, and overall, just have a great summer of work and play! 

Thank you Digitas for a summer I will never forget! 

Next stop senior year.. And then the real world! 

Check out this sick view from Google's roof! Also my amazing boss lady friends :)
Check out this sick view from Google's roof! Also my amazing boss lady friends 🙂
Destination: Digitas also included a boarding pass and passport that had additional information on the program!
Destination: Digitas also included a boarding pass and passport that had additional information on the program!
My amazing BP Blossom team!
My amazing BP Blossom team!

Claudia: Ditch The List

Three weeks ago today I bought a last-minute ticket to Stockholm and two days later I was on a plane to Sweden. Stockholm wasn’t on my list of places to travel during Study Abroad. I had the typical Barcelona, Florence, Budapest, and Amsterdam, among others, but once I purchased that RyanAir flight, I completely threw my list out the window and boy, I couldn’t be happier!

My trip to Stockholm showed me how (in the words of Ferris Bueller) life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. I know. It’s cliche, but Ferris is RIGHT and I think that’s why we all identify with that quote. I don’t want to miss any opportunities and the semester is already whizzing by - I just finished FINALS! By the time I get back from Spring Break, I’ll be starting my next class and internship at Feref (an entertainment advertising agency). Time is moving so quickly and I want to live life adventurously - which means throwing the list out the window and exploring.

We left at around 5:15 pm and journeyed out to London Stansted via the Tube and the Stansted express. Because of our schedules we were cutting it close, so by the time we got to the airport we did the classic study abroad sprint. My dad would have shuddered. We made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare and then we hopped on our Ryan Air flight and jetted off to Stockholm!

We landed around midnight and were checked in to our hostel at around 1am. The hostel was in the perfect location and was a 2-year-old space with bustling nightlife and young travelers. We were lucky and got our own private room and crashed quickly after a long day of travel!

The next day we left the hostel at around 11:00am and started exploring the city. Stockholm is composed of small islands and each area is connected by bridge.

We went to lunch at Älskade Traditioner and ate delicious sandwiches that were on waffles.

After lunch, we explored the city and ventured into the historic Old Town and saw Stortorget, a square with colorful buildings!

We then went to the Musett Modern and the Art History student in me freaked out! I got to see the second largest Marcel Duchamp collection and lots of Andy Warhol pieces among others!

We finished the night with delicious Swedish meatballs (vegetarian ones for me) at Meatballs for the People.

Saturday was as busy as Friday! We walked through Old Town to get to a breakfast spot called The Greasy Spoon. Absolutely delicious! We then made our way to the ABBA Museum. Yes, you read that correctly. There is an entire museum dedicated to Swedish Pop sensation ABBA!

The museum documented the group’s rise to fame and was home to costumes, instruments, set pieces and much more. There was also a karaoke and dance experience! Check out my roommate Carly’s vlog if you want to see us dancing queens!

Carly’s Stockholm Vlog

We ended the day a little earlier and went out for some delicious pizza before going to bed before our 6am flight!

Stockholm was an incredible experience and I cannot believe this beautiful city was not on my list beforehand! I took a chance on Stockholm and it has shaped my study abroad experience in a way I could have never imagined.

So whether you’re debating on going to Ottos versus venturing out to the North End for some delicious ‘za, or even picking a weekend getaway, don’t be afraid to try something that wasn’t on your first list. You’ll be happy you stepped out of your bubble and explored! Classic study abroad, right? But it’s true!

Claudia: Free Fun in Boston

Ahh yes, fall semester… Coming back to BU, reuniting with friends, the changing leaves, and study abroad acceptances. The first two months of fall semester is filled with abroad acceptances followed by a funny one-liner. In COM, Junior year is definitely the most popular time to study abroad, followed by the popular second semester Senior year trip to LA. The COM specific programs are LA, DC, London, Sydney, and Dublin. Next semester I’m jetting off to London (with fellow CAs Sam and Alex) on the Advertising Internship track! My CA Steph, along with CAs Hannah, Joe, and Esra, are giving me the lowdown on all things London! I’m so excited to go and already have a working list of all the places I want to visit! The number one thing I’ve heard about study abroad is that LONDON IS EXPENSIVE!! So here are some awesome things to help you save money (whether you’re going abroad or not) on AND off-campus! 

On Campus: 

1. A Night at the Theatre:

Did you know that all of the School of Theatre shows in CFA are free AND open to BU students? This weekend I’m going to see my friend Hannah in the Femina Shakes production of Hamlet (https://www.facebook.com/events/867448430023839/

Plus a perk to being non-CFA is that you get first choice seats 🙂 

2. A Comedy Tonight! 

We have so many comedy groups on campus! There’s Liquid Fun (feat. CAs Zach and Jimmy), The Callbacks, and Slow Kids at Play! 

Liquid Fun has a FREE show THIS Friday at 7:30 pm in BU Central (https://www.facebook.com/events/1795966667349804/)

3. Music to My Ears 

So we all know that WTBU is our on-campus radio station that you can listen to 20 hours a day every day, BUT did you know that WTBU also hosts live shows? Come to BU Central on Thursday, November 3rd for the station’s first live show of the semester featuring Aurora Birch, Covey, and the Novel Ideas (Acoustic Set). And get this… IT’S FREE! https://www.facebook.com/events/217671765312216/ 

Off Campus:

  1. MUSEUMS!!!! 

Need to brush up on your art history knowledge? As BU students we get free access to the MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and the ICA!

  • The Isabella Stewart Gardner is an incredible museum INSIDE an old mansion. 13 pieces of art were stolen back in the 1990s, and the frames are still empty in the museum. The museum has a beautiful courtyard and paper and pencils for you to sketch around the museum. The museum has Third Thursdays with free music (and a cash bar for those over 21!) and late hours! 

  • The MFA is my all-time favorite museum in Boston. The special exhibits (Hokusai aka the wave emoji and Mega Cities Asia were too of my favorites) are always great and they have a new curated exhibit that is inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

  • The ICA is our resident contemporary art museum that has fun activities and performance art too! 

2. Free Movies?!?

Join the BU Students Love Free Movies page for FREE tickets to early screenings of movies! Because who doesn’t love going to the movies for FREE!!!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1760352240877323/

3. Trident Trivia 

Ok so technically this is free, BUT you should support Trident Booksellers and Cafe and either buy some food or something (they have books under $5!) before you go to Friday night trivia. Trivia is held every Friday night at 8:30 so bring your friends! You could win awesome prizes like Trident gift cards or free books! 

This weekend there’s even a costume contest for Halloween (https://www.facebook.com/events/1437586476260870/

4. The Boston Public Library 

The BPL is ABSOLUTELY beautiful. It’s filled with books, has a gorgeous courtyard, and just opened their newest wing which features the WGBH newsroom cafe. I went a few weeks back and got to celebrate Arthur’s 20th birthday (with free cookies and I got to sign Arthur’s birthday card and meet Buster!). The new wing has a cafe and a mini news studio for WGBH, our PBS member station in Boston. 

Don’t forget - having fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card! 

Claudia: Warren Dining Will Forever Have My Heart

I LOVE Warren Towers. I’m am not afraid to share my love for the BEST dining hall on campus. Laugh all you want BaeState and West is Best fans, but Warren will forever be my home. 

Last year I lived in Kilachand which is MILLISECONDS away from Marciano Commons (affectionately known as #BaeState). But unless it was in the name of friendship or a quick smoothie before my 8am Sociology class, I NEVER went to the nationally ranked dining hall. I would always choose Warren. 

On top of Warren always being consistent, it is vegetarian friendly. Everyone is always willing to either make me a veggie burger or just give me the sides. The plates aren’t preprepared like at Bay State and there are non-meat option because you're not surrounded by athletes like in West. 

Warren breakfast is the best. They have mastered my two eggs over hard with cheese and also have BREAKFAST burritos. 

Friendships are formed in Warren dining. I have walked in to Warren for a 5pm dinner and not left until late night started at 9:30 - maybe even later. I have laughed so hard I’ve fallen out those glorious plastic chairs. I’ve cried — either from laughing or real tears — in those booths. I remember being offended walking into Warren my sophomore year and seeing the renovations, but now I cannot live without the new Asian station. 

Now that I live in South, Warren is the closest dining hall. But distance has never stopped me from going to my favorite place on campus. The phrase of the semester has been “Warren is SO good now. I understand why this is where you went last year” I look at my friends and laugh because Warren has ALWAYS been and ALWAYS will be incredible. 

Warren dining, I love you. 

Claudia: COM Ambassadors

Move over Taylor Swift’s girl gang, there’s a new squad in town — The COM Ambassadors! As a COM Ambassador, I have met some amazing, interesting, talented and overall wonderful people. Some have already graduated and others are fresh faces, but either way, I have made friends for life.

Open House is the deciding factor for a lot of admitted Terriers and each year COM kicks off the day with a fun video.

This year for Open House, a group of us got together and created a Full House parody to introduce the COM Ambassadors. The video was a blast to make as we all channelled our favorite family sitcom!

 

Want to watch the whole thing? Check out the link below!

https://youtu.be/lJm2DQW37h8

(I promise the theme song will be stuck in your head for WEEKS)

The COM Ambassador program has not only helped me adjust to life at BU, but has also introduced me to some fabulous people! So no matter who you choose as your CA (THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING PEOPLE TO CHOOSE FROM YOU LITERALLY CANNOT GO WRONG), you’ll not only have a mentor, but also an amazing new friend.

We had such a fun time meeting you guys at Open House and cannot wait for the fall! Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions throughout the summer!

Claudia: Fighting the Mid-Semester Slump

So it’s that time a year again. The mid-semester slump. We’re back from Spring Break and I have immediately jumped back into work, classes, and clubs. It’s hard not to overwork yourself during these last few weeks of the semester! So remember to take time for yourself to relax and de-stress from your busy week!

Here are a few ways I like to unwind!

  1. Listen to music

(I exclusively listen to Hamilton)

  1. Watch a movie

(Fellow CA and my roommate Jen has KILLER movie suggestions like Me, Earl and the Dying Girl or What We Do in the Shadows)

  1. Read a book

(I’m currently reading Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow)

  1. Sit in the dining hall and chat with friends/procrastinate for hours

(You can have dessert after your dessert!)

dessert FOO

  1. Go out to dinner

(Treat yourself after a long week! Go to Trident on Newbury or Clover over in Central Square — or even explore somewhere new)

  1. Go on a walk on the esplanade

Grab a friend and go on a walk on the esplanade — matching tracksuits are a must!)

 

7. SLEEP!

(Take naps! Go to bed early!)

Claudia: Graduation (Friends Forever)

Senior year is filled with finishing up requirements, killing the game at your internship, going abroad to LA or DC, applying for jobs, and trying to remain calm as graduation quickly approaches. You have to perfect a few meals so you don’t starve without the dining hall and you don’t burn down your apartment. I should put out a disclaimer: I am NOT a Senior. I’m a sophomore and have another exciting two years at BU.

So then why am I freaking out about graduation? Because three of my closest friends (Matt, Kevin, and Ben) are GRADUATING.

If you had asked me at the beginning of my freshman year, I would have been shocked if you told me that some of my closest friends at BU would be two years older than me. But it’s true. So thank you WTBU, BUTV10 and COM Ambassadors for introducing me to three of my favorite people.

The beginning of this year was great. The thought of my friends “growing up” and leaving me was not a major concern. Graduation was months away. We had plenty of time to hang out, reminisce about old times in Warren (even though I was in high school when they lived there), and watch Holes. We don’t share the same A and C tower memories (either way, B Tower is where it’s at) and we aren’t the same age, but I’d like to think — since we’re very close now — we would have been friends since day one.

As the semester went on, we’d crash each other’s radio shows and spend hours in each other’s dorms (I practically lived in South last semester) watching movies and old episodes of Pop Showdown (specifically the ones with said best friends). Finals hit and then suddenly, poof, Kevin graduated and entered the real world. This has been a difficult transition (more for me than Kevin). I keep inviting Kevin to my 10 pm radio show (Pop Cultured - check it out) only to be disappointed when Kevin reminds me that he can’t because of work (at the MA Health Policy Commission) the next morning.

Ben would then jokingly (?) yell “HE’S DEAD TO US” anytime Kevin was mentioned. We would cry it out, but then listen to showtunes or talk about TV to make us feel better. Now Ben’s getting ready to enter the real world too as the law school acceptances roll in and I scream Legally Blonde references and lyrics at him.

And now Matt (AN ECON AND STATS DOUBLE MAJOR WHO IS ALSO GETTING HIS MASTERS IN ECONOMICS!!!!) is fully immersing himself into the Film and TV world as we finish producing our show (“Entidaled” coming soon) while interning at PBS and preparing for the real world.

And I just sit here (still finishing my Freshman/Sophomore requirements) in awe, so happy for these guys. They’re starting the real world and are already killing the game. And although I am a little upset that they’re “leaving me,”  I’m so excited for these last few months at BU with them and what lies ahead.

*Cue Vitamin C’s Graduation (Friends Forever)*

So long story short, I wanted to write this (super sappy) post as a thank you note of sorts, but to also remind everyone that there are so many amazing people at BU and don’t be afraid to look outside your grade for friends. You never know, some of your best friends could be rising Seniors.

And if you need any help find your own Ben, Kevin, and Matt, then I suggest watching Pop Showdown.

Here’s Ben & Kevin (http://www.butv10.com/shows/pop-showdown/#vid=114385753) and Matt (http://www.butv10.com/shows/pop-showdown/#vid=87701598) on Pop Showdown! for your viewing pleasure. 

Disclaimer: this might get very sappy.

Matt, Ben and Kevin,

Thanks for agreeing to be friends with “The Girl Who Didn’t Know You, but Added You on LinkedIn When You Were Abroad,” “The Showtune-Obsessed Girl Who Was Probably Too Intense at the First WTBU Meeting,” and “The Freshman Co-EP that You Tutored in Econ and Who Also Kept Bothering You While You Were Editing CO-ED.”  I don’t know what I would do or where I would be without you guys.