Category: Emily F.

There’s a lot of advice I would give to first-year students. The first year at college can be a lot, especially at a school as big as Boston University. However, there’s one piece of advice I would give any student who asked: Step out of your comfort zone.
This is something that I learned as a first-year, and it has impacted lots of clubs and extracurriculars I do on campus. The first one of these is Stage Troupe, the drama group I’m in on campus. I love acting, so when I first started at BU I auditioned for all of the shows the drama groups were putting on, but I didn’t get cast in any. I still wanted to be involved in theater, and there were sign-ups open to do tech for the shows. The issue was, I’ve never done tech for anything before, and I was very nervous that my inexperience would be a problem. Despite this, I signed up to do tech for two shows. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions I made when I joined the club. I have since done tech for nine shows, one of which I tech directed (which meant I was in charge of all the tech going on for the show). Even though I had no experience going in, I ended up learning a lot and having a great time, and I also made some amazing friends. Now, I was recently cast in a show for BU Shakespeare Society, so I am stepping out of my new comfort zone to be on stage for a show this semester.
BUTV10 was another club that made me step out of my comfort zone. I had never done anything related to filming before, except taking pictures with my mom’s camera when I was younger. But, I really wanted to be a part of a TV show on campus. I decided to join one, and found myself incredibly nervous, but also excited. Within the first day on set, I was recording sound for a scene, and holding the boom mic. Throughout the semester, I helped in many ways during the shoots, mainly by recording sound or using the slate, which meant I read off the scene number and closed the clapboard. The next semester, I was the show’s Script Supervisor, which meant I followed the script during the shoot to take notes and make sure all the lines were hit, and the next two semesters I was the Head of Marketing, so I was in charge of social media for the show. I would not have had these amazing experiences with the show if I hadn’t put myself out there during my first semester, and I am incredibly grateful that I was able to be a part of the show.
Stepping out of my comfort zone has brought me so many amazing experiences, and my years at BU would not be the same without this.

As spring semester is starting, I find myself excited for the warmer weather. Some of my favorite activities to do in Boston are somewhat dependent on the nice weather, so I’m waiting until I am finally able to spend more time outside, and not be rushing down the street in the cold temperatures. I figured that I would write about some of these activities and share them with you! 

The Esplanade 

First off, the Esplanade- the path that runs along the Charles River, where people can be found walking, biking, or just enjoying the weather. It’s one of my favorite places when the weather is nice, and I enjoy just walking down it, listening to music or an audiobook, or walking and chatting with my friends. If you want to do something more active, you can always rent a Blue Bike and go for a bike ride down the Esplanade. It does cost money to rent, but it can be a fun way to spend some time with your friends. My friend and I rented the bikes for 30 minutes and we’re able to bike from campus down to the North End. 

The Public Gardens 

One of my favorite days from last semester was when my friends and I went to the Boston Public Gardens and spent some time reading and relaxing. It was during reading period last spring, and I needed to get out of my dorm and away from studying. My friends and I had spent the past few days studying and preparing for group projects, and we all needed to take a break. So, we made our way to the Public Gardens. We stopped at the Dunkin nearby, laid out our blanket, and all started reading. We stayed in that spot for a while, just enjoying the weather, reading, and catching up. 

Exploring the City 

Last year, my class got canceled on a Friday, and I had absolutely nothing to do. I had no assignments due to catch up on, and no club meetings to plan for. Normally, I would’ve taken this day to spend some time reading and catching up on sleep, but since it was a beautiful day out, I knew I wanted to spend some time outside. So, I took my camera, and made my way down to the North End. I spent my day looking at the city through my camera lens. I got a ton of great pictures that day, in the Boston Common, the Public Gardens, the North End, and the Boston Harbour area. I was able to take pictures for fun, and not worry about them being perfect for a class project, and for me, it was the perfect way to spend the day. 

These were some of my favorite experiences in Boston, and the best part is that they didn’t require any planning, and weren’t too expensive to achieve. It allowed me to spend some ‘quiet time’ in the city, which I think really emphasized the beauty of Boston.

When I first came to BU, I was super excited to get involved in as many clubs as I could, and that’s what I did. I tried out lots of different clubs, and I’m still in some of them, but there’s one I want to highlight in this blog post: BUTV, the student operated TV channel.

I knew I wanted to be involved in a dance club and a theater group, but something I was really excited about was joining one of the shows on BUTV. There were so many to choose from, but one really stuck out to me- COED, the comedy mockumentary. So, I emailed the producers and signed up! I was assigned the role of a production assistant, more commonly known as a PA, and we started out shoots for the new season. I’ll admit, I was really nervous to get started. Even though I am a Film & TV major, I had never been involved with any type of production before. I was worried I would be too inexperienced, and have no clue what I was doing on set. I couldn’t have been more wrong. From the moment I arrived at our first shoot, I immediately felt welcomed on set. Everyone was super nice, and I instantly felt as though I had been in this club before. Within the first two weekends of shooting, I was already learning how to use the audio recording equipment, and recording scenes to be used in the final product. This meant that when I started my first film course my second semester, I already knew how to use the equipment we were talking about in class.

Something else special about this club is that it’s really easy to gain experience, and take on new roles in the show. For example, I started as a PA, and after the first semester the producers offered the role of Script Supervisor to me. This meant that at every shoot for the next season, I would take notes about the scenes to send to the editors, as well as make sure continuity was kept in every take. Then, when this next semester came around, I applied for the role of Head of
Marketing. I wasn’t sure that I would get it, but I figured I would at least try. And, I got it! Now I make fliers and run the social media page to help increase interest in our show, and it’s been such a great experience. Also, I run our Instagram account- @coedbutv. You should follow it.

The main takeaway from this is that it’s really easy to gain experience in BUTV, as well as having a bigger role on set. If you are a Film & TV major, or even just interested in working on a show, BUTV is one of the best clubs to join. It is a great opportunity, and even if you’re not sure if you’ll like it, just try it! Trust me, you’ll love it.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already the end of April, and that I’m nearing the end of my first year at Boston University. Reflecting back on these experiences, I realize how overwhelming the first year of college can be. So, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite experiences I had during my first year at BU.  

Splash!

Splash is one of the most exciting days within your first few weeks of college. All of the clubs from BU set up tables at Nickerson Field and students are able to walk around and sign up for any and all clubs they want to join. I signed up for quite a few email lists, mainly the drama clubs, as well as BU on Tap, which is the student run tap dance team. The College of Communications also has their own Splash event for just COM-specific clubs such as The Daily Free Press (our student run newspaper), COM Student Government, and BUTV10, which is our student run tv channel. I signed up for BUTV10 there, and decided to work on the show COED, which has been so much fun!

Hockey Games

BU may not have a football team, but it is true when people say that hockey replaces football here. Lots of students crowd Agganis Arena in support of our hockey team, filling up the student section, also known as the “Dog Pound”. The BU Pep Band performs at every game, dancing and playing songs, while students join in chants to cheer on our hockey team. Everyone in the Dog Pound is very welcoming, and you catch onto the chants pretty easily. Also, don’t feel worried if you don’t know much about hockey! When I went to the first few games, I didn’t really know what to expect. It was really easy to follow the game after a bit, and even if you don’t know much about hockey it’s still really fun to cheer BU on!

FY101

Another great experience I had during my first semester was being able to take a FY101 class, which is the “First Year Experience”. I was in a course specific to COM majors, and there were about 20 of us in this class. We had a Peer Mentor in this class, who we were able to talk to and ask any questions we had about classes, clubs, or life in general. Our Peer Mentor and our Professor talked about a new topic every week, including (but not limited to): best places to visit in Boston, money saving tips and student discounts, and how to use Boston transportation. I met quite a few people in this class, and we were able to go to places outside of class for assignments, like the Museum of Fine Arts. Students in First Year Experience also get to attend events put on by the course organizer, such as Red Sox games and Duck Boat Tours! 

My first year at Boston University has been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what next year brings!