COM Ambassador Blog

So this year is a little strange since Thanksgiving was so late in November. It’s weird to think I’m going to be home again in just two weeks! It’s also weird (and scary and stressful) to think of everything I have to do in those two weeks before I can go home again…

But somehow we made it. Fall semester just about done. Flew by didn’t it? Now we’re in the final stretch. And just cause it’s a short final stretch doesn’t mean you shouldn’t finish strong. It’s easy to clock out of the semester knowing the end is so near and the holidays are upon us. But if you keep your momentum going for just a little while longer, you’ll be all the more grateful on the last day.

Here are my tips to help keep you going until the end:

1. Make a schedule and stick to it.

I know. This is always the first tip I give. But I stand by it. Not only does it keep your mind organized but seeing everything spread out over two weeks and doing a little each day makes it so much easier to get it all done than procrastinating on everything until the last minute.

2. Use your free time wisely.

Sometimes when it’s cold and rainy and snowy outside, all you want to do is toss your books aside and curl up in bed with hot chocolate and a movie. This is when I employ a reward system on myself. If I have free time, I try to get just one thing done no matter how small it is before treating myself to a well-deserved break.

3. Take advantage of the Writing Center.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to go. The COM Writing Center is located in the basement and will alleviate your stress about final papers by 100%. You can go get help for any part in the writing process from a first draft to a last-minute review before you turn it in. Getting your work evaluated by someone who can look at your work both professionally and objectively will guarantee you a top grade with minimal stress.

Hope this helps guys! See you in the spring, and happy holidays!

Hi all!

I am taking a cue from my good friend, Kate Scott, and wanted to give you guys a glimpse of #myCOM, by showing you my “day in the life.” Want to survive being a COM student without sacrificing a second of what you love? That’s certainly been my mission at BU – so I’ve decided to share an average Monday in the life to see how we fit in everything all in one day!

8:30 am – Catch the BU Bus outside “Stuvi 2” – The BU Bus stops outside Stuvi 2 every 10 minutes. Perfect for the coldest days where you don’t want to freeze on your way to class…. Also for all of those days you feel lazy and don’t want to walk.

8:45 am – Grab coffee and breakfast from Pavement Coffeehouse – Pavement Coffeehouse on BU’s campus is a perfect breakfast spot for some of the best coffee and breakfast sandwiches on campus. Even the Long Islander in me is impressed by their breakfast sandwiches. It would be an understatement to say I’m a loyal customer.

9:00 am – Arrive to work at COM Student Services – I have had a work-study job in COM Student Services since my first semester at BU, and it was honestly the best decision I could have made. Small piece of advice – find a job on campus, regardless of where it is. It’ll keep your schedule on track, you’ll learn a new thing or two, and of course, get paid in the process.

12:00 pm – Sociology with Professor Stiman – An important part of your COM curriculum is its emphasis on liberal arts education – I have satisfied this part of the curriculum by taking on a minor in Sociology. This aspect has been one of my favorite parts of my college career because I can take other classes that really interest me, while satisfying my degree in Advertising all at the same time.

1:00 pm – Quick Coffee Break at Starbucks – Coffee. The most important meal of the day.

2:00 pm – AdLab – I start my afternoon by heading to AdLab: BU’s Student Run Advertising Agency. AdLab is an awesome opportunity to gain real world experience (with real client interaction) as well as gain course credit. Next semester, I will proudly be joining the Executive Board as Account Supervisor. AdLab has been awesome addition to my resume, and my growth as a young professional.

5:30 pm – Early Dinner in Warren Towers – I have been on the meal plan all four years in my time at BU and have loved every second of it.

6:30 pm-onward – Rehearsal and Meetings for “On Broadway” – Depending on the day, I always spend my evenings working on a production for On Broadway, the premier musical theater troupe at BU. This semester I got the opportunity to lighting design, produce and act – so I definitely haven’t missed a moment in the theater!

Now – when does Homework happen? Well, during all of those little breaks throughout the day. I am happy to say that I can manage all of the above without getting too stressed – so my piece of advice would be to seize every minute of your time at BU.

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are coming up SO soon! As your first real break from college as freshman, it's important to take advantage of this break.

Spend time with friends and family!

This is the first time that you'll have a chance to really spend some quality time with your family and friends from home since you went away for college! Make sure to balance friend time with family time. Since it's your first year in college, your parents are probably still adjusting to having you out of the house, and will want to spend as much time with you as possible. Just humor them.

Eat. A lot.

While BU is known for having exceptional dining options, you will want to eat as many home-cooked meals as you can. Because let's face it, as good as Warren Towers dining hall is, nothing compares to your mom's cooking. AND, its Thanksgiving, so why wouldn't you eat?!

Catch up on sleep

Trust me, you'll want those precious hours of sleep when you're back at school and pulling all nighters for finals in just a few short days. Sleep in. Enjoy your bed. I know I will.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful break!!

So you just successfully completed your first registration here at BU. Congratulations! Everyone deserves a pat on the back and a piece of chocolate for handling that battle with grace. Chances are, you now have a better understanding of how to tackle your requirements which makes now a better time than any to talk about studying abroad!

As someone who came into BU trying to catch up on requirements from day one (#transferproblems) I can vouch for how challenging it can be to fit in a semester abroad. And after all, there are so many opportunities to take advantage of here, why go anywhere else right? Wrong!

This is one thing the lovely people at COM student services can help you with! They are magicians when it comes to schedule planning and they can surely help you figure out how to fit studying abroad into your time here at BU. Maybe one semester you’ll overload on credits, or maybe you’re already ahead because of all those AP credits you came in with. Sometimes it helps when there is someone else there to lay it all out for you and you find out there really is plenty of time to study abroad. There are also some opportunities, depending on the program you’re interested in, that will help you tackle your requirements. I could not be more excited about studying abroad in London this spring and I will even be able to take a class to fulfill my final social science requirement that includes a trip to Brussels! If that isn’t enticing I don’t know what is.

If you’re still not convinced, why not attend one of the Study Abroad 101 info sessions? They take place every Wednesday at 3pm in the BU Study Abroad office (888 Commonwealth Avenue.) They can help give you a better overview about the programs BU offers and answer any questions you might have.

Making the time to move to a foreign country can be intimidating. You don’t know the culture and you might not even know the language but the experiences you take away from studying abroad will be invaluable. You get to learn a lot about yourself in the process and maybe you’ll even consider moving abroad after graduation.  Who knows what you’ll discover and I know I can’t wait for my own journey across the pond.

Stay tuned for my blog posts from London! Cheers!

 

If you’re anything like me, when you look at your calendar/planner/iCal for the next month – you panic a little inside. The end of the semester is ROUGH – especially around the holidays where balancing family and school work gets especially difficult – as well as making time to enjoy all of your favorite holiday movies you’ve seen at least 6 times each.

You probably have a ton of final projects, papers, and exams coming up – and it can seem a little overwhelming at first. But don’t worry – you’re not alone! Everyone is feeling the pressure.

So how should you handle it?

My #1 tip? Simplify.

- Do you have an internship downtown that you commute to? Ask if you can work from home. Technology is amazing that way.

- Do you have multiple group projects and meetings? See if you can set up a Google chat or group Skype session instead. Or try to schedule all your meetings in one location. Claim your area and don't move!

- Lots of reading to do? Prioritize your readings and then don’t try to multitask. Use those favorite holiday movies as a reward.

- A lot due in one week? Try to work ahead. If you plan right, you certainly don’t have to work over Thanksgiving break. Just make sure you get things done ahead of time.

- Do you have weekly paperwork/responses/blog posts/whatever due? Set reminders! I have multiple alarms on my phone that remind me when to submit my AdLab status reports, enter my work hours, or email meeting reminders.

- And finally – take breaks! You are certainly entitled to those holiday joys like candy canes and ugly sweater parties.

Good luck to all, and to all a goodnight! (I might be watching a Christmas movie. No shame).

 

Somehow, it’s already mid-November, which means we’re a month or so away from finals… which is a scary thought. Finals can be a daunting time full of anxiety and non-stop studying, especially for freshmen. As a first-semester senior, I’ve clearly been through my fair share of finals. From projects to tests to essays, it IS possible to survive finals, and to do it all without pulling all-nighters and going crazy. (Fun fact: I’ve never pulled an all-nighter for school-related reasons in college.) Here are some helpful tips to get through a successful finals period!

 

1. Set aside time for yourself each day

The more you study, the more stressed you may get. But it’s really important to set time for yourself each day of study/finals period. Whether that means 30 minutes at the gym or going to see a movie with some friends, you need a break from studying… otherwise you may go insane. Sophomore year my roommates and I tried to coordinate a fun activity for each day during finals period. One night we went out to dinner in Cambridge, another night we went ice skating at the Frog Pond at the Boston Commons, and we did some other fun activities. It helped us take our minds off finals for a bit and definitely de-stressed us.

 

2. Make a schedule of studying

This is definitely helpful if you have more than one final. Lay out what time you’ll wake up, how much you’ll work on each assignment, when you’ll eat, when you’ll take personal time, etc. Obviously this doesn’t need to be a strict schedule but just a general idea of when you’ll work on what assignment. Last semester I had two 10-page papers and a final, and I mapped out when I would write which paper and study, and it really helped me get my work done efficiently and not have to pull all-nighters, which takes me to my next point…

3. Do not pull all-nighters

If you can avoid this throughout college, definitely do so. But of all times to avoid it, I would say finals period is the most important time to avoid it. Pulling all-nighters messes up your sleep schedule, which will make you cranky and irritable and make you want to sleep throughout the day and not want to study. It sounds silly that sleep will mess you up this much, but it’s true. Time management is key during this stressful time, and it will really help you avoid staying up all night to study or work on projects. Like I said, I’ve never pulled an all-nighter for school and I don’t plan on doing so before I graduate - being on a regular sleep schedule allows me to perform scholastically to the best of my ability, and that’s usually how it works for everyone!

4. Keep meeting with your teachers

Just because classes are finished doesn’t mean your teachers no longer exist until you submit your paper or sit down for your test. Your teachers are still accessible throughout study period and teachers or TAs might have review sessions to help you out. In those cases, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of that. Not only will your professor and/or Ta see that you’re taking initiative one last time, but you could get some really great tips for the final, which usually winds up counting for a larger percentage of your grade than anything else you’ve done in the class.

5. Use “SelfControl”

Use your own self control by using “SelfControl,” an app you can download online that blocks off any program or website on your computer for a certain amount of time. This is pretty much the only way I can get my work done when I’m using my computer, otherwise I’ll wind up straying onto BuzzFeed for hours or Facebook messaging my friends. If you’re like me and you get distracted easily, this is really the app for you. You can set it anywhere from 15 minutes to 5 hours, so the option is yours!

Hopefully these helps will lead you to a sane and somewhat relaxing finals period! Hope you all ace your finals, and enjoy the holidays!

 

This past week I got to go to two really cool pre-screenings of movies, one for Nebraska and then Inside Llewyn Davis, the new Coen brothers’ movie. (Big thanks to the Independent Film Festival of Boston for putting on both events!)

Nebraska was really unique: it was about an elderly man who gets a scam letter in the mail saying he’s a million dollar winner, and after he keeps trying to go claim the prize, his son finally caves in and goes with him to get it. It has Will Forte (of SNL fame) in his first dramatic role, and he came out to do a Q&A afterwards. He was great about answering everyone’s questions about how he got cast, what it was like to be in a drama, etc. and even took the time to pose for a picture with us!

Inside Llewyn Davis was great, and I definitely recommend going to see it when it comes out (Dec. 20^th).  It’s about a folk singer in Greenwich Village in the 60’s, and the soundtrack is amazing. Oscar Isaac, the star, also did a Q&A afterwards and told us that all the singing in the movie was done live, there was no lip-syncing. Anyone who’s into that kind of music or a fan of the Coen brothers will absolutely love it. Oscar Isaac hasn’t had many major roles up till now, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he gets plenty after this movie, his performance was great (and he was a really nice guy during the Q&A too!)

 

I’ll never forget how excited I was to go home during and after my first semester at BU. I was happy to get out of the city for a little while, to hang out with my family, but mostly, I couldn’t wait to see all of my friends.

What I really didn’t realize was how much things were going to change. Of course, I knew that we all made new friends, and would have tons of stories to tell, but I was quite shocked when what used to seem so perfect had gone pretty sour and even awkward.

Not only did each of us change, each of us changed a lot. Some matured a substantial amount, others changed their viewpoints on controversial subjects, a few (including me) completely altered their lifestyles.  It was actually pretty terrifying. For a little bit, I felt like a huge chunk of my childhood and young adulthood was destroyed. People who were once my closest friends would become people I would never hang out with again? I couldn’t handle that. I started to fight reality a bit and try to pretend that everything was “normal” and that none of us changed or grew up at all.  It was a very odd place to be in.

Basically, I’m writing this post to let you know that change will happen, and more often than not, change is really, really good. At BU, you’re in an environment where you’re challenged. You’re meeting students and professors who are so passionate about what they do and what they learn and what they teach. You’re having discussions that are intelligent and worthwhile, learning more about yourself and the world than you can even grasp.

Take pride in that.

Appreciate the fact that your change is progression. You’re becoming a more well-rounded human being, with worldviews and tons and tons of knowledge. Grasp on to all of this, and hold tightly to the new friends, the new memories you’re making right here, right now.

One of my good friends Abbie (also a film major) just informed me she has 1 month left of college. Even though she's graduating at the end of this semester, it got me thinking. I know it may seem early to start thinking about the end already but with a month left of this semester and then only one more to go it's time to start thinking about the future! If anything I'll use this post as a warm up to all the questions I'm going to get from family over the holidays.

Boston vs. NY vs. LA

Ideally I'd like to stay in Boston. In the last few months I've made lots of contacts around the city and been able to produce some pretty cool work in the process. I've worked on two PBS documentaries, produced a graduate thesis film and several promotional spots, and learned so much about communication field-- all right here in Boston. Of course, NY has some pretty incredible opportunities as well. I actually applied for an internship at 60 Minutes for this summer so I do have one option there if it works out. LA is pretty much out of the question. I can find enough of the non-fiction/ promotional work that I've become interested in here on the east coast. Also, I need seasons and snow. LA just doesn't have that.

TV vs. Film vs. ?

Here's where the real question lies. And frankly I'm not sure of the answer yet, nor do I think it's fair to limit myself to one specific are. Right now I'm learning more towards the ? (everything else) only because the promotional work I've been doing is where the majority of my professional work has come from. But documentary film and television work is still definitely in my radar.

What do you guys think?

Hopefully by the time I write my next post I'll have my website up so you can check out some of my work!

 

The other day I was talking with some co-workers in the Student Services office. We all were busier than ever (even though Midterm month was supposedly only in October). We joked that there weren’t enough hours in the day, but I think we were just looking at it the wrong way. There are enough hours in a day, there just aren’t enough hours well spent. It’s easy to overlook how much time we waste.

In COM 101, our introductory communications course, we tracked our media involvement over a single week. It’s safe to say a lot of us were pretty shocked by the results so of course the next three or four days we tried cutting back on the media, but now that it’s been a year I’ve noticed that the media has intercepted my free time once again. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that between phone apps, Internet, and TV, I waste hours of my time each week.

Long story short, the Self Control computer app (not all apps are bad) is in full use for me right now and I’m reassessing how I want to spend my time. Goals aren’t just for January. There’s still so much I want to get involved on campus so I’m figuring out how I can cut back on some of the unnecessary stuff, so I can spend my time wisely getting in things I’m excited about.

Goals are great! Everyone comes in to college with this laundry list of things, but it’s easy to get sidetracked. Giving tours each week constantly reminds me how much COM and Boston University have to offer. I recommend everyone take the time to dust off his or her laundry list of goals and get back on track. We’ve only got four years here and before we know it we’ll be out in the real world.

It’s also important to plan ahead. A lot of clubs and organizations that accept most of their new members in the early fall usually have more openings in January. Now is the time to reach out and see if you can get involved next semester. Plus with registration still a week away you can make extracurriculars fit with your classes.

This isn’t to say that it’s not okay to spend the occasional evening in bed watching rom-coms, ‘cause trust me, I still find a way to work that in to my schedule. It’s a balancing act. A little planning goes along way. Set your goals and hold yourself accountable.