COM Ambassador Blog

Donald: Best New Music of 2016 (So Far)

Although we’re only three months into 2016, some amazing albums have already been released by my favorite bands. Since we’re quickly approaching project and exam period, I figured I’d share some of my favorite album releases so far so you can find some new jams to study to. From punk to electronic, there’s bound to be an album on this list that you’ll love (and probably sing along to in the shower if you’re like me).

Porches – “Pool”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhG83uHDMkI
- Although Porches’ old music verges along the indie/punk genres, their latest album takes a strong electronic turn. With catchy drum beats, heart-wrenching lyrics, and even some exploration into autotune, this album is great to play in your room and dance along to.

The Frights – “You Are Going to Hate This”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e_mhn4VN7U
- Despite the title of the album, I’m sure you’ll love this new record by The Frights (who’s drummer is COM Alumni Marc Finn)! The west coasters provide some great angsty surf punk tunes, which are great to study to if you’re in a time crunch and need a push to work a little faster.

Bent Shapes – “Wolves of Want”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AshIe3g4GHI
- Boston natives Bent Shapes have just released their first new album in three years, and I can guarantee that the wait was definitely worth it. The indie rock band frequently plays shows in Boston, so if you haven’t had a chance to see them yet, definitely check out their upcoming tour dates.

Frankie Cosmos – “Next Thing”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQnOjZ5SKAg
- Frankie Cosmos is one of my favorite twee bands in existence. Her lastest album, full of 1 or 2 minute songs, is impossible to turn off once it’s on. The heartfelt and powerful lyrics, the beautiful voice of lead singer Greta Kline, and the cute and innocent sound of the album makes it fun to listen to over and over again.

Jawbreaker Reunion – “Haha and Then What ;)”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U4Uw3lKY7U
- If you’re going through a break-up, or are just generally have one person in mind that you’re really pissed at, the newest Jawbreaker Reunion album is perfect for you. The all-female band delivers empowering music that can make even a broken heart sound fun.

Caroline: BUTV10 Productions

I woke up at 5am Saturday morning for a 6am call time. The sun was no where in sight as my roommate and I walked from West Campus to Late Night Kitchen. Why might you ask? BUTV10!

BUTV10 Productions teamed up with The Hungry Terrier to produce BU's version of Chopped, The 2nd Annual Chowdown! After months of collaboration between BUTV10's production coordinator, The Hungry Terrier's producers, and BU Dining Service. Between writing scripts, securing sponsors, auditioning contestants, devising the secret ingredients, organizing crew and equipment, or designing graphics, everyone had a hand in making the Chowdown AWESOME!

So we arrived on set at 6am and completely transformed Late Night Kitchen into a staged cooking show set.

We fought through our tiredness to produce one crazy episode of live-to-tape television. We filmed each segment separately, with the most difficult being the actual cooking. The three contestants, all BU students, had 45 minutes to transform chicken, apples, broccolini, and the secret ingredient salsa verde into incredible dishes!

The kitchen was hot and the ladies definitely handled the heat! There was a play on Waldorf salad, a Mexican staple, and a savory chicken and waffles spinoff. I was personally very impressed with the contestants and their ability to overcome difficulties and beat the clock.

The crew worked tirelessly to cover all of the action. There were two camera operators in the kitchen as well as a stage manager and host. There was an unmanned, rigged camera over the prep station and a camera on the floor with the judges and other host. To manage all of the camera feeds we used a TriCaster with a director and technical director. Although the we tried to cut the show as much as we could live, the Hungry Terrier crew will be editing everything in post production.

The judges were from Mei Mei's in South Campus, Sargent Choice Nutrition Center, and Fomu in Allston. All great women from the Boston food scene. They had a tough decision to make, find out who won when the episode airs on butv10.com on April 29th! You can see all of the action I described as well as some KILLER graphics from our amazing graphics coordinator. He has been working on an animated opening sequence as well as cool logos for more than three months!

Christy: Opportunities arise when you least expect it

Every Monday at 11 a.m., I give my weekly tour of the College of Communication. We have all experienced a rough Monday morning following a fun, but hectic, weekend packed with friends, homework and extracurriculars — this past Monday was that Monday.

I woke up later than I wanted to, and walked in the pouring rain from my apartment in West Campus to COM. With the trajectory of the morning so far, I anticipated that I would have make the rainy trek to COM to find out that no one showed up to tour COM. Thankfully that was not the case and I pushed aside my Monday-morning struggles and give a tour of my favorite school.

My fellow COM Ambassador Tyler and I gave a great tour to three prospective students and their parents. At the conclusion of the tour, a mother of a prospective student approached me and asked if I had a summer internship yet. Thinking she asked to gage what kind of internships COM students interview for and are offered, I told her a few of my possible summer plans and upcoming interviews. Little did I know she was the director of communications for a large company in New York City. She handed me her card and said if I was interested, email her my resume and she would forward it directly to several contacts in the city.

She told me she was very impressed with COM, me and the tour Tyler and I gave. I was so taken aback by her kindness and was not expecting that kind of response. Suddenly, my dreary day took a major turn for the better.

I know that the education I receive at COM will prepare me for whatever waits for me after graduation. But, little did I know that the physical COM building would provide me with internship opportunities.

Monday, I learned that not only do opportunities come when you least expect it, but having a positive outlook on each new aspect of your day can work wonders. If I let my rough Mondaymorning define my attitude during my tour, and potentially the rest of my day, this mother may not have given me her card.

So who knows, maybe flashing a smile to or crossing paths with the right person can open a brand new door of opportunity.

Geena: Midterm and Finals Week Survival Guide!

Getting through midterms and finals is one of the most stressful times on a college campus. Now that my midterm cloud has passed I’m going to give you some fool-proof methods for surviving midterms and finals!

1. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.

Whether you like it or not, setting time out to exercise is one of the biggest tips I could give for exam success. Even if it’s just walking around, doing some push-ups and squats for 30 minutes, a little goes a long way. Exercising is proven to keep you more alert, it clears your mind and allows you to retain the information better and it can be a great stress relief. The biggest benefit I find from exercise is that when I discipline myself to do a quick hour of working out, I feel a lot more motivated and disciplined to sit and study for hours. It’s as if the discipline from working out spills over into my work.

2. Avoid drinking more caffeine than you usually drink.

We all need our caffeine fix in the mornings and around midday when we start to get groggy. But one of the more important tips to remember is to not over-do your caffeine intake. Drinking excess coffee, energy drinks and the like can make you jittery, can cause extreme crashes in energy and can cause you to have a hard time falling asleep after all the work is done. When studying it’s super important to stick to your regular routine so you don’t shock your body too much.

3. Get no less than 7 hours of sleep.

Sleep is vital to learning and memorizing new information. It helps all the hard work that you did to stick in your minds, it helps to stabilize your mood and it prevent those study time mood swings. Most importantly, your body needs sleep to perform its functions, so never neglect your sleep cycle for an extra hour of studying.

4.. Make a study schedule and stick to it.

Finally, it’s extremely important to make a study schedule. First figure out all the free time that you have before the exam date. Then calculate how many hours you will need to study for each course. Print out or write up your schedule and look at it right before you start your work every day— this will help to remind you that you do not have any time to waste. Remember, that we often take more time that we expect to complete readings so account for the extra time that we’ll need. Also remember to leave time to make up for inevitable distractions along the way.

That being said! These are the study tips that have helped me get though my midterms! I hope they’ll help those of you who still have midterms and for the finals week that is only five weeks away!

Jen: Stories Get Told Here, at the Midnight Movies

There are a plethora of things to do in Boston that suits everyone’s interests. Do you like to run? The esplanade provides a great trail with beautiful views. Do you like modern art? The Institute of Contemporary Art can help you get your fix. Do you like going to a movie theater at 12am and watching some of the funniest, scariest and weirdest films that you’ll ever see in your life? Well I have just the place for you.

The Coolidge Corner Theater hosts midnight movies every weekend, and each month has a different theme. One month it is road-action-thrillers, another it’s teen comedies of the early 2000s. Tons of film fanatics buy their tickets hours in advance and then wait in line for an half an hour before, in any kind of weather (rain, snow, wind speeds that feel like 100mph, etc.). After they are called to come into the theater, they sit down with their midnight snacks consisting of popcorn and birch beer soda. It’s 11:59pm. The projectionist announces that the movie is ready to begin and then, the theater goes black. For around two hours, the audience is immersed is pure magic. Whether it is the magic of Romy and Michelle trying to impress their old high school rivals with knowledge of how they invented the Post-It note, or Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez’ world of vampires, it is a feeling that brings you onto a ride that you won’t want to escape.

Some of my best memories in Boston were because of the midnight movies at Coolidge. My freshman year, I was just scrolling the internet (procrastinating, most likely) and found that this theater, which looked cool though I’ve never heard of it, holds midnight movies. Being the film major/film geek that I am, I desperately wanted to go. So, I got a bunch of my friends, and we headed over to Coolidge Corner and got tickets to see Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. Though I’ve seen the film before, I have never seen it like I had that night. Being in a room with fifty people, kind of delirious because it is 12am on a Friday night/Saturday morning, who love films and who are so immersed in those two hours of pure entertainment brings some sense of community that I sometimes don’t feel in other theaters.

Coolidge After Midnite Program has a special place in my heart. I don’t think that my college experience would be complete without it. Even though I may not be able to go all of the time, I sure try to go when I can, and when I do go, it’s magical. ( For more information visit http://www.coolidge.org/programs/aftermidnite )

Rachel: From Start to Finish: The Race to April 18th

Usually, when I say I'm from Hopkinton, MA, people stare at me with a blank look on their face until I say, "It's the start of the Boston Marathon." Hopkinton is a pretty small town, so it's a big deal when hundreds of runners, spectators, and camera crews suddenly appear on our common.

Naturally, living my entire life in this small town where nothing happens on every other day of the year, I grew up attending almost every single marathon start. Year after year I'd stand on the sidelines, watching endless waves of costumed runners, high-fiving anyone I could reach and yelling out names written on shirts. How could I not aspire to be a part of it all?

I've never been the most athletic girl. I dabbled in sports in high school, but I was no varsity star. About my junior year of high school, though, I started telling everyone I was going to run the Boston Marathon. I got a lot of "yeah, right" responses.

When I got to BU, I enrolled in the Marathon Training PDP through Fitrec (would recommend, even if you don't plan on running a marathon) in hopes that it would help me achieve my dream. That was last year, and I learned very quickly that it takes a lot more than enrolling in one class to run the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.

I set a goal to run the Boston Marathon in 2016: the 120th Boston Marathon and my 20th year on this earth. There are two basic parts of running the marathon: get a number and train. The training, I was sure I could do. The number was the tougher part. I've never run a marathon before; therefore, I couldn't get a number by qualifying. My only other option was getting a number through charity.

I ended up getting a number from the 26.2 Foundation, a charity from Hopkinton that supports health, wellness, and the sport of marathoning. I was so ecstatic when I got my number! It took a while to hit me that I was actually going to do it. I was registered to run the Boston Marathon!

There was a catch, though. When you run for a charity, you have to sign a commitment to raise a certain amount of money for them. In addition to motivating myself to train and be able to run 26.2 miles over the course of three months, I've had to motivate myself to fundraise and come up with $5,000 by April 18th.

It's now March 27th, and there are 23 days left until the marathon. Yesterday, I ran my longest run so far (21 miles!) from Hopkinton to B.C. As of today, I have $2,984 raised. Those 23 days are going to fly! I'm so excited for April 18th, but I'm also nervous. I have a lot of ground to cover and a lot of money to raise.

I've been blogging about my experience training, so if you're interested in more of the nitty gritty stuff here is the link: https://seeherun.wordpress.com

If you're interested in tracking my fundraising and reading a little more about my running experience, here is the link to my fundraising page: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rachel-mclean-1/BostonMarathon2016

Maybe you'll spot me running through Kenmore in a couple of weeks, as I run from hometown to current home. Thanks for reading!

Joe: Why you SHOULDN’T study abroad

Imagine leaving everything you know behind to live in a foreign place for four months? Well, hold on to your hats, kids, because this guy did just that and moved to this tiny little place called London. Maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t. But I’m here to tell you why you shouldn’t abandon everything you know for an experience abroad. You will hate every second of it and have so much regret, continuously counting down the days until you’re back home living with your parents.

Trust me.

First of all, London is D I S G U S T I N G. There are so many scenic landmarks to photograph that you’ll be too overwhelmed. And sometimes the sun comes out and it’s warm and it’ll make you go “WHYYYYYYY????”

Secondly, there is nothing to do here. It’s unbearable. There’s only so many times you can go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, Borough Market, Camden Market, Portobello Market, Shoreditch, SoHo, Chelsea, Oxford Circus, ride the London Eye, see Big Ben, explore the South Bank, go to Brighton Beach, etc. before you get tired of it all. The lack of things to do here makes London incredibly boring.

London is so segregated from the rest of Europe that it’s almost impossible to travel beyond the UK. A 3-hour train ride just to get to Paris…seriously!?! Truthfully, I’ll settle for nothing longer than 2 hours and 59 minutes.

(P.S. The pizza in Florence is literally so gross that you'll contemplate how lucky you are to never have to see it again)

Everyone here speaks English and it’s sooooooo inconvenient. To be able to understand what everyone is saying all the time is not exactly what I had in mind when fantasizing about my time abroad. And the people are a little too friendly. It’s like they’re overcompensating for that time we dumped their tea in a certain harbor. Or their overzealous imperialism.

And lastly, it sucks because I’m further than I’d like to be from the greatest man on the planet and my real life role model, as pictured below.

So, in conclusion, it’s probably best that you just don’t come here. I’ll stay and carry this burden for the both of us.

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!

Listen to music

(I exclusively listen to Hamilton)

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)

Read a book

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

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

(You can have dessert after your dessert!)

dessert FOO

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)

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!)

Emma: Your Post-Spring Break Semester as Told by Parks and Rec

Now that spring break has come and gone, it’s crazy to believe that we only have a few weeks left of our spring semester here at BU. The remainder of the school year is time to celebrate and buckle down, with Marathon Monday and Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s to look forward to, but also final projects and midterms to tackle.

No matter what different struggles and excitements the rest of this semester has in store for each of us, the characters from Parks and Rec always have our backs. Because every day can’t always be a Leslie Knope kind of day. Sometimes, we all have to be Jerry’s.

You realize how much you appreciate your professors who made your midterms before break

We take back everything we said about you as we crammed before break

…And resent the one’s who saved them all for after·

HOW COULD YOU EXPECT US TO STUDY? WE WERE ON A BREAK!

You start to actually think about how your favorite seniors are graduating

Try to avoid plots to make them fail out of classes so they have to stay another semester

Attention to your grades becomes more important than ever

The quest for A’s is too real

5. But at least you can study outside!

Just don’t let Boston’s wind blow your study guide into the Charles

It’s finally acceptable to get super excited for summer

When all you want is to complain about it being too hot outside

But you’re still so happy to have these last few weeks with your best friends from school

Couldn't have done it without you guys

Claire: Remember to be Selfish

Full Definition of selfish

1 : concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself: seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others

This post is a reminder to be selfish.

Disclaimer: I think “without regard for others” is a little extreme - remember to love and respect your peers.

Four years is so short when compared to a lifetime. The average lifespan of an American in 2012 is 78 years. Four years is only 5 percent of the average lifetime!

However, the four years students spend at Boston University are often the most formative. College is where people learn their passions, develop their skills, make lifelong friends, and experience so many “firsts”.

Boston University is a raging sea of opportunities. It just simply seems impossible to take advantage of everything. Work, family, stress, and the inevitable need to get a job makes it so easy to say “I simply don’t have the time”.

Don’t have the time? Psst. Most of these opportunities will disappear and never be presented again. The few opportunities that remain, I promise you, will actually be impossible to take advantage of when you have a 9-5 job and a crying two-year old.

So let us be selfish during this “only 5 percent” period of our life. Let’s put our own “advantage, pleasure, or well-being” above everything else. Push all of your excuses and restrictions aside. Do everything possible to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way.

Here is my inconclusive list of opportunities to take while at BU.

Run for that leadership position
Study Abroad (twice if you want to)
Do Alternative Spring Break
Pick up that minor, and maybe the second one too
Spend the Summer in Boston
Switch your major if you hate yours
Sign up for WTBU and BUTV10
….try to make your own show or be a producer
Be a TA for a class you love
Overload
Pick up a new hobby
Sign up for a PDP or take a fitness class at FitRec
Join another club
Apply for that internship even though you don’t think you have time
Take as much free stuff as possible
Go out even though you are tired
Take a trip outside the city
Go to a Redsox game - I mean come on
Stop worrying about spending too much money
But, take advantage of student discounts…
Go to all the museums in Boston
Sign up for a graduate level course
Take out a book (for pleasure) from the BU library
Take out as much free equipment as possible from FPS
Steal fruit/desserts from the dining hall