Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

Hello everyone!

Over the next several days, each student blogger here at Hopkins Interactive will be writing a short entry about who we are and where we come from, as well as the main things we like about being here at Hopkins.  Because, as the title implies, I’m kind of a big deal, here is my background.

Background Info

1. Hometown: Woodbridge, Ct (a suburb of New Haven)

2. Major: Computer Science and Economics

3. When I grow up, I want to…do something. I really don’t know yet. But it’ll be something, I can tell you that much.  Something will be done. Eventually.

4. Favorite place to eat in Baltimore: Paper Moon Diner.  The first time I went to Paper Moon was with my dad when he dropped me off after Christmas break.  Then I went back when my grandparents came to visit.  Then again when my mom came to visit. And again when my neighbors came.  Basically, whenever I have visitors to take to a meal, we always go to Paper Moon.

On Halloween with JHU_Lucie and JHU_Marina. We have fun at Hopkins! I promise!

5. Favorite spot on the Homewood campus: It really depends on what I’m doing, but I really like the beach, especially on really nice days.

6. Favorite TV show: Either South Park of Entourage

7. Favorite color: Blue

8. Favorite sports team: New York Yankees

My Hopkins Experience:

1. When did you know Hopkins was right for you?

I literally knew that I was going to apply ED sitting in Mason Hall waiting for my tour to begin the first time I came to campus.  Originally I intended my Hopkins visit to be an excuse to skip school for a day, but as I sat in Mason and read all the pamphlets on the table I instantly fell in love with Hopkins, and the tour and info session immediately confirmed that it was the place for me.

2. What is one thing that would surprise your friends/family about Hopkins?

There are people here who aren’t scientists or pre-meds…a lot of people are actually surprised to hear that we have a good number of humanities students, and that they actually can be found around campus.

3. If you were the University President, what is the first thing you would do or change?

I would make the FFC open 24/7 instead of closing on midnight. Getting there at 12:05 AM is a total buzz kill when all you want is some French fries.

4.  If you could go back and choose your college again, would you pick Hopkins? Why?

Of course I would! I have friends a tons of other schools, and they all love them, but Hopkins is clearly my right fit.  It offers everything (and more!) that I could want.  I’ve made some amazing friends here, people who I know I’ll stay in touch with for the rest of my life, and love experiencing everything on the Homewood campus and around Baltimore.

5. What was your perception about Hopkins before enrolling and how has it changed since then?

Before I really got to know much about Hopkins, all I really knew that it had a really good med school and lacrosse team.  Now that I’m actually here, I’ve seen how much more there is to the school, from research opportunities, to awesome people, a beautiful campus and plenty of social activities on and around campus.

6. What is/was your favorite class?

Learning to treat an impaled object in the stomach in the intersession EMT class.

Although I didn’t get actual credit for it, I had an amazing time doing the HERU (Hopkins Emergency Response Unit) EMT class over intersession.  We had three weeks to log around 200 hours of training, so we were together for over 8 hours a day for 3 weeks.  The whole class became pretty close with each other, and our instructor from the city of Baltimore was pretty awesome.  At the end, we had a 100% passing rate for the Maryland EMT test, which is a pretty spectacular result!

7. Describe your funniest memory of experience at Hopkins:

Nothing that funny really happens to me.  Although yesterday I was giving a tour with JHU_Kate and was walking backwards and ended up walking right into her…that was kind of embarrassing.

8. How would your college experience be different if you hadn’t chosen Hopkins?

As much of a cop-out answer as it sounds, I have no idea.  All I can say is that there is a very good chance I would not have been able to participate in some of the activities and student groups I’ve become involved in, either due to entrance to said groups being more “exclusive” or due to their lack of existence to begin with.

9. What is your greatest contribution been during your time at Hopkins, or what do you hope to accomplish before graduation?

Something I think would be pretty cool to accomplish before I graduate would be to get some form of original research published.  My roommate has already been published for some work he did in a lab over the summer, and I think that its really awesome that Hopkins students have the resources available to do research at the level we do.

10. What advice would you give to a high school senior choosing their college?

Everyone is different!!! My idea of good food is completely different from JHU_Marina’s (for example).  When a book or anonymous website bashes something, keep in mind that that is one person’s view.  You could evaluate it for yourself and come out thinking the exact opposite.  You don’t know until you try, so when you visit, be sure to eat the food, look in the dorms, talk to the people, and look up the FACTS, not just what you’ve heard about a school.

Hope you’ve all enjoyed!

-Nick

Current track: Feel Good Inc (Stanton Warrior Remix) by Gorillaz