Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

Anybody familiar with the weather, which I sincerely hope is everyone, knows that a storm can come sneak up at a moments notice and disappear just as quickly.  Many things in life follow along with this pattern, and because of that it is vital that we become accustomed to rapid changes in our lifestyle, then rapidly being switched back.  For example, when I was moving into camp, not much time was given to become accustomed to life there, and as soon as you grew to a regular routine, it was time to go home and suddenly you were back to the lifestyle you had before leaving.

The view of Newport, RI from the upper boat deck.

Going to school is surprisingly similar.  The first semester comes as a bit of a shock to the system.  There are countless new faces around you, a new room, different rules from home, more freedom and independence.  By the time second semester rolls around, you’ve made your friends, you have a group you are comfortable with, know the routine and know what to do and when.   But second semester does not last forever, and eventually the time will come to move back.

That being said, from my experiences, I’d like to pass down a few words of wisdom to help out when dealing with these rapid moves.  First, don’t let them sneak up on you.  When you are getting everything ready to leave for school, don’t wait until the last minute to start thinking of what to pack, only to realize that you still need to shop or that you get there and forgot something important.  Start a list early, and add to it as you go about your planning.  This will help when you finally move in, and can be confident that you don’t need to be doing any last minute shopping and can know that you have all you’ll need.  The same applies for when you are ready to leave–when you determine you no longer need something until you go home, pack it.  That way when move out day comes, you’ll be able to say your goodbyes without having to worry about packing and such.

Second, I’d recommend you keep an open mind towards meeting people.  Everywhere you go will come with a different group, whether it be school, camp, home, etc.  Don’t go in with that attitude of immediately missing your home friends.  By the time you experience your new place and meet new people, you’ll be comfortable enough without them.  Be accepting to people and keep in mind that many of them are in the same situation as you are, new and confused.  Bond over what you have in common; explore together or learn from their experiences.

Finally, if you find something you enjoy, make a mental note of it but continue to try new things.  One thing which I do regret about freshman year is that I stuck pretty much to the same three or four places for eating and such and only towards the end of the year did I begin to branch out more.  I liked the places I went to, but never got to experience other enjoyable places until the end.  Once you’ve tried a variety of places, you can determine which are the ones you’ll continue to frequent and this will lead to a diverse and fun experience.

I hope this was helpful, and that you’ll keep some of these tips in mind for the next time a storm shows up on your radar (wow, that was really cheesy…sorry).

Thanks for reading,

Nick

Current track: H*A*M by Jay-Z and Kanye West

P.S. This will be my final post in the Class of 2014 Freshman Blog, seeing as how I am entering into my Sophomore year.  Thus, all my future posts will be in my own blog, http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/nick/. Enjoy!

For the past 5 weeks, I’ve been in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania working at a camp teaching leadership training to Jewish teens between the ages of 15 and 17.  It is a program which I attended before my junior year in high school, and it has been an honor to come back as a staff member.  Through this experience, I have grown in several ways and have had my experiences at Hopkins come in handy several times.

The McOcho

1. Late nights during finals week are nothing.  Yeah, you may stay up late a few nights a semester before a big exam, but when you are the sole staff member in charge of 25 teenage boys in a bunk for 5 weeks, its like having a calc final every morning and pulling an all nighter for it every night.  They are exhausting.  They stay up until 3, knowing perfectly well that they have to be up at 7:45, but complain every morning anyway.  You’d think that by week two they would catch on, but no, they did not.

2. People seem to have a very, very difficult time setting up projectors.  As a future computer scientist, I was always the go-to guy for projector set up.  It really is astonishing how people can’t figure out where the one cord on the projector plugs in to the computer.  It doesn’t take a degree to figure that one out.

3. Campus food  > camp food.  Don’t complain about dining hall food at Hopkins, it is exponentially superior to camp food in every way.  If you’ve ever read my blogs, you know I love food, and its been difficult here to get proper nourishment (see the McOcho picture, taken on my day-off trip to McDonalds).

Chillin in the kiddie pool

4. Kiddie pools make everything more fun.  This is true both at Hopkins and at camp…hence the purchase of a $20 blow up pool for next year.

5. 3G is your best friend.  You never truly appreciate something as simple as 3G service until it becomes like a unicorn, you’ve heard it exists around camp but you’ve never actually seen it.

It may seem like I don’t like it here, but don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it.  The people are fantastic and the experience has been amazing.  The negative aspects of the camp are things we can bond over and crack jokes about.  It overall has been a growing experience, and many things I have gained from here will help me as I move into my sophomore year at Hopkins.

Thanks for reading,

Nick

Current track: Pon De Floor by Major Lazer

So for the past 19 years of my life, I’ve pretty much had one source of income: mom and dad.  As lovely as it is to have such caring employers, at some point it becomes time to move on and join the work force, no matter how much we try to avoid it sometimes.  So, this summer I have taken on not one, but 1.5 jobs (you’ll see why the .5 part is really a .5 later).  Being that it was my first time ever having to fill our tax forms and the like, I needed a bit of help from home figuring out what to put where, but it wasn’t too difficult to figure out and I am now under the employment of two organizations, Hillel and BBYO (formerly Bnai Brith Youth Organization).  It just so happens that both of these are Jewish organizations, too.

Some fellow BBYO staff enjoying the use of the golf carts.

The first of my jobs is as a counselor and media coordinator at BBYO’s leadership training camp in Starlight, Pennsylvania (if it sounds like its in the middle of nowhere, that’s because it is).  My responsibilities there are pretty simple.  I have a bunk which I am in charge of with around 25 kids between the ages of 15 and 17, take pictures to put online for all the parents to see, keep a blog of everything going on, and run sessions on video making and editing.  Although it may seem very different from life at Hopkins, there are several skill sets that I acquired during my freshman year that have been helping me out here.  For example, blogging for Hopkins Interactive has helped me to make better blog posts on the BBYO summer blog, and all the late nights at school have gotten me used to late nights here in getting everyone to sleep despite their best efforts to stay awake after lights out. Thus far, it has been a pretty rewarding experience and one which I am certainly getting a lot out of.

My other job, which as of now I count as a .5 job, is with Hillel.  The reason I say its .5 is because it hasn’t actually started yet, and during the first week of August, I will be heading out to St. Louis for training.  The job is as an engagement intern, where it is my duty to encourage people to come and check out the events Hillel has to offer.  Although it doesn’t entail much in terms of hours, it is still something which may end up being a significant part of my college career.  So, if any of you are interested in Hillel next year, don’t hesitate to talk to me!

Thanks for reading!

-Nick

Current track: Be A Man from Mulan

P.S. Happy birthday to my amazing mom, love you!

The Boat

Everybody has been in some sort of group where they had to introduce themself, where they are from, and an interesting fact.  My answers are always the same…I’m Nick, I’m from Connecticut, and I live on a boat…sort of.  And, after several requests from my Admissions Office peers, I’m finally writing about it.

The story begins decades ago with my grandparents.  One day my grandfather on my fathers side surprised my grandma, dad, and aunt by revealing that he made the impromptu purchase of a small boat.  As many boaters know, once you get a boat the temptation to upgrade is always eminent.  Several larger boats followed, until they were spending many of their summers on it and going to places such as Montauk, Nantucket, and Block Island.

After a deep sea fishing trip in Florida

Then there is my mom’s side.  Her father, my other grandpa, worked for several years as a charter boat captain, taking people out deep sea fishing.  He had two boats, a sail boat and a powerboat, which they kept in Montauk and his family all stayed on over the summer.  One year, he was looking for a new mate to go fishing with, and my dad took the job.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward a few dozen years and you get my family.  We’ve been spending our summers on our boat ever since we got it when I was in elementary school, and it has grown to become one of the more unique things in my life.  After all, how many other people do you know that you can pretty much call at any time, ask “where you at?” and get the reply “I’m on a boat”? Very few.  We have pretty much everything you’d need, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, TV, WiFi, etc.  There really is nothing like waking up, stepping outside onto the deck and seeing the water.

Boating and fishing have long been things which define my life, and will continue to be for some time.  I sit here, working at a camp currently, wishing to be back on the water.  It has been something that I’ve been known for.  Often, over the summers, I’ll get a phone call from someone saying they’re 5 minutes down the road and asking if they can come hang out on the boat.  The answer is almost always yes, and it usually evolves and grows into a small group of people hanging out somewhere other than the usual basement or bedroom.

So there you have it, a little bit about my life, and really nothing to do with Hopkins in the slightest. But, now, JHU_Joe can stop asking when I’m going to write a boat blog.

Thanks for reading,

Nick

Current track:  The Show Goes On by Lupe Fiasco

On the set!

That’s right, people, I am officially a TV star.  I now join the ranks of Jerry Seinfeld, Gary Colman, and Homer Simpson. This past weekend, I was on MTV (don’t worry, it wasn’t on “16 And Pregnant”). How did I get my big break? Funny you should ask. Here is the story of my rise to stardom.

A friend of mine who I did a summer program at NYU with a few summers ago came in to visit from Michigan, and we decided to meet up with a few other friends of ours in New York City.  We did some exploring, went on the ferris wheel in Toys-R-Us, got some chocolate at the Hershey’s store, and I got a baller M&M’s tie at the M&M’s store.  As we walked through Time Square, a young woman came up to us holding orange wristbands and asked if we wanted to be on MTV.  Obviously, we accepted.  She gave each of us a wristband and directed us to the building where everything was going on.  When we went in, they took/searched out bags and had us go through metal detectors (this is the point where they confiscated my Swiss Army Knife, which I never got back).  We were told we were going to be a part of the live studio audience for the show “The Seven”, which was filmed in the same room that TRL used to be in.  ”The Seven” is a news show where the top 7 entertainment stories are presented in front of a live studio audience.  Unfortunately, that day there were no celeb guests (I had my fingers crossed for Justin Beiber), but it was still pretty cool being in the studio.

The most epic Nerf gun of all time.

Before they made us leave our cellphones, I texted my parents to have them TIVO it so I could re live my fame over and over again.  As it turns out, I was ACTUALLY ON MTV!!! In the beginning you can see about half of my body, and for about 3 seconds 2/3 of the way into the show, I am clearly visible in a pan of the audience.  Epic? I think yes.

So what does this have to do with anything? Its simple.  Be spontaneous.  Don’t think you need a plan, you never know what kind of plans your plans can get in the way of.  Our plan for New York? Go to New York.  Come back home eventually.  So whether it’s walking around in New York City or a weekend at school, don’t think you need to have your life needs to be perfectly planned out.  The best things can happen spontaneously and without warning.  If an opportunity presents itself, take it. Take it and enjoy it.  When you come to college, one of the best things you’ll find is the lack of plans.  Want to hang out with someone? Go down the hall and knock on their door, see if they’re in.  If not, go find someone else. That’s how it works, no need to plan out who you’ll see and what you’ll be doing.  And that is probably the best part about coming to college and meeting new people: you never know who will show up and what you’ll do.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. I’ll be signing autographs next year, so come find me if you want one!

-Nick

Current track: Numb/Encore (Lincoln Park/Jay-Z)

I’m not quite sure how many people out there know this, but I do have one amazing hidden talent.  I can predict the future.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I’m psychic. And incredibly good looking.

Conquering the Hopkins Sign. I did that.

Why do I say that? Well, last August, when I was applying to be a student blogger, one of the prompts on the application was to write a blog reflecting back on our freshman year…before it started.  So, obviously, my blog included several flash backs on the year for events that had yet to happen.  Well, in an epic Nostradamus fashion, pretty much all of my predictions ended up happening.  Some of those predictions included:

-Having great professors

-Enduring a more challenging work load than in high school (writing “I don’t know, Mr. Z” is no longer an acceptable answer on a physics test)

-Running into my friend’s ex (who goes to Towson)….happened twice, actually

-Planning on going to the gym a lot, then not ever actually going

-Getting along great with my roommate

Things that didn’t end up as predicted:

-Gaining the Freshman 15

So, overall, I’m 5/6 with my predictions.  If only I could predict the stock market as well.  The best is being able to predict what people say when I see them for the first time when I’m home.  Literally, the exact same thing every time. “How was school, Nick?” “It was good, had an awesome time, met some great people.” “Oh, that’s good.”  And thats the end of that.  What else is there to say, really? I could go into vastly more detail, but that would take forever.

But so much happened this year that I never, in a million years, could have predicted.  I never would have thought that I’d be a fully certified EMT at all in my lifetime, let alone halfway through Freshman year.  I never would have through that I’d be spending my Sophomore year living with my current roommate again, a guy from Japan and another guy from Miami.  I had never really listened to Dubstep before, and now it is pretty much guaranteed to be played any time I’m in my car.

All that being said, even the best psychics, such as myself, have things happen that they didn’t see coming. The best advice I can pass along is to come in with an open mind, and leave with an even more opened mind.  Don’t be afraid to try something new, and don’t think that because you assume something is going to happen that it will.  Take a risk, take a chance, because this is the time to do so.  Don’t look back, but take the lessons you’ve learned and bring them with you into the future.

I hope you all enjoyed,

Nick

Current track: Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap (Afrojack remix)

Hello everyone,

As I sit in my room hopelessly procrastinating studying for my finals (studying gets kind of old really quickly when you have ten days from when classes end to when your first final starts).  So, in lieu of learning about what makes markets efficient or the difference between virtual and non-virtual C++ destructors, I’ve compiled (no pun intended for any computer nerds who actually get that pun) a list of things that I’ve done this year which stood out and some things which I wish I could have done.  If I did it, there is an X in the box, if I have yet to, the box is open.  Along the side you can enjoy several pictures of the more memorable moments from this past year.  Here it is:

[X] Go to the Inner Harbor

[X] Go to Washington, D.C.

[  ] Visit every building on campus

Me, JHU_Lucie and JHU_Marina on Halloween!

[X] Take a class that has literally nothing to do with my major (computers like poetry too, don’t they?)

[X] Get a long GREAT with my roommate

[X] See what the library is like at 4:00 AM

[  ] Visit the Gilman Bell tower

[  ] Learn to cook

[X] Go to a Halloween party

[X] Not completely mess up my laundry

[X] Go to a concert that people would be jealous of me for going to (done times 3)

[  ] Go to the gym often (I was there like…4 times.)

[X] Not waste all my money on Chipotle

[X] Go to a Lacrosse game and lose my voice as a result of it

[X] Sleep

[  ] Go to the Aquarium (seriously, I’ve wanted to go for the LONGEST time)

At an Orioles game

[X] Get my haircut at the Quintessential Gentleman (Google it, best haircut ever!)

[X] Ration my dining dollars

[X] Join a club that I never would have even thought I’d be interested in before coming here

[  ] Visit all the surrounding schools (I haven’t actually visited any…)

[X] Become close friends with someone from overseas

[  ] Make the Lacrosse team (the coach never called me back after I tried out…)

[X] Rush

[X] Pledge

[X] Meet president Daniels

Korean Karaoke

[X] Go to Korean karaoke

[X] Not drop out

[X] Not get kicked out

[X] Have money in my bank account at the end of the year

[X] Get a really good grade in a class, then brag about it

AEPi's Dump for Dollars guys. Basically, we made a grid in the Freshman quad, sold squares for $5 each, brought in a live bull, and if the bull defecated in the square you bought, you won $500 and the rest went to charity. Over $2,000 was raised!

[  ] Learn to sing

[   ] Get a free sub at Eddies (I only need my card punched two more times!)

[X] Add to my taste in music

[X] Maintain friendships from home

[X] Go to an Orioles game

[X] Try a new food (Chicken Bolgogie, if that’s how you spell it?)

[X] Eat at every dining hall on campus (yeah that was done in like a week)

[  ] Meet someone famous

[X] Learn to make balloon animals

[  ] Get a solid appreciation for crab cakes

[  ] See a movie on campus

[X] Find roommates for next year

[X] Learn to like coffee

[X] Have a great year!!!

Hope you all enjoyed, it has been a fantastic year!

Nick

Current Track: Loud Pipes by Rattatat (without a doubt, the best finals studying music.  No words, good beats, not too intense.)

It’s 1 A.M. on a Sunday night, I’m on call for HERU, and  am working on a paper for Intro to Business when I hear the news: celebratory rally in front of the White House, hundreds of college kids, veterans, and other people are flocking to D.C. to celebrate the end of the long and exhausting hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

The White House

My friends, there is only one logical thing to do in that situation. I scrambled to find someone to cover my shift, started responding to and sending out my own mass text messages, and making phone calls.  We were going to Washington, D.C. A group of about ten people (most were in AEPi with me) got into two cars, put 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into the GPS,  and headed south on the highway.  The song “Proud to Be an American” was cranked on the car stereo, put on repeat for the entire ride.  The roads were empty, and in about 45 minutes, the Capital building was in sight and the Washington monument was right out of the driver side window.  It was pretty obvious we were getting close–police had several streets blocked off, and we could hear all the celebrating from blocks away.  We found a parking spot, a really good one at that, right in front of the Treasury building and joined in the herds of people heading towards the White House.

The entire walk, we were joined in patriotic chants from people both going to and coming from Pennsylvania Avenue.  These cheers, however, paled in comparison to when we joined the whole crowd, gathered right in front of the gates.  Obviously, security was tight–there were gates set up keeping everyone about 20 feet from the lawn, which was full of Secret Service agents and the whole area was being patrolled by D.C. police.  But there really was nothing to worry about.  Nobody was there with malicious intent.  Everybody was celebrating. It was a peaceful uniting of patriotic citizens.  There could have been no police presence and everything would have remained in order.  It was a “peaceful riot”, if you will, where everyone had joined together to celebrate.

Talking to an Israeli news anchor!

It was, without a doubt, one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed.  People were crying, cheering, waving flags, climbing trees.  People of all races, religions, and backgrounds joining together in our nation’s capital.  There were Marines taking pictures behind the USMC flag, right next to college students from Hopkins, George Washington, American, Loyola, Georgetown, and several other universities in the area.  News cameras from every major station, including several foreign stations, were present.  Our group found an Israeli TV camera and began cheering in front of it.  One of the people I was with happened to speak Hebrew, and was given the microphone by the reporter and shouted, in Hebrew, “WE GOT HIM!!! REPRESENT ALL THE WAY FROM JOHNS HOPKINS”.  Similar antics ensued in front of the CBS camera, MSNBC, and some other station from the Netherlands or something like that.  Another member of our group went on an unsuccessful hunt for Geraldo Rivera, who we were never able to get actual confirmation of his presence there.

The crowd cheered, non stop, all night long.  They sang the” Star Spangled Banner”, “God Bless America”, “We Are the Champions” by Queen, and “Proud to Be an American” by Lee Greenwood.  Cheers ranged from the classic “USA! USA! USA!” to others not appropriate for this blog.  People held up cardboard signs saying “OBAMA GOT OSAMA” and “WE DID IT!”, while others huddled in circles around someone playing a guitar.  Dozens of uniformed members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines were taking pictures with the people gathered around.

AEPi goes to the Washington! If you look closely, you can actually see that I'm wearing EMS pants with trauma shears in the pocket. Didn't even change after finding shift coverage.

May 2nd, 2011 is a night that I will never forget.  I was given a once in a lifetime opportunity, which I had thanks to A. Hopkins’ location and proximity to Washington, D.C. and B. the great people who I go to school with who were just as eager as I was to head over to the rally at 1 in the morning.  Very few other schools can claim to offer such opportunities (and, from what I hear, the night of Obama’s election was just as crazy of an event).  I can’t tell you what my grandparents did when we landed on the moon in 1969, and I don’t know how my parents celebrated the 1980 “Miracle on Ice”, but I know how I celebrated the end of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Hope you all enjoyed,

Nick

Current track: Pro Nails by Kid Sister (Rusco Remix)

P.S. I apologize for the poor quality of many of these photos…it was night and a few of them were taken with camera phones.

Hello all,

I’ve recently completed the start to one of, what I can already tell, will be one of the major involvements of my life at Hopkins and beyond.  As of last Thursday, I have finished the pledging process and have become a member or the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.  Over the past several months, I’ve gotten very close with both my pledge class and the other members of AEPi at Hopkins.  They’ve been available for everything from just hanging out, watching the NCAA tournament, help with homework, and everything in between.  Although Greek life is popular at Hopkins, there are still many who opt to stay out of fraternities and sororities, and they still have good social lives, but I knew that going Greek was something I wanted to do.  That being said, I will give my experience with rushing and pledging as well as my thoughts on the process.

Even if you come to Hopkins thinking it isn’t really your thing, give it a shot.  Like Clint, you never know what you are going to like until you try it.  During Rush, each frat hosts a variety of events where you can go and get to know the local brothers.  Even if you don’t end up pledging anywhere, you’ll still meet a ton of great people and have a week of good times.

My pledge class, the "Chi" class, which is the Greek letter X

If you know for sure that you want to pledge somewhere, make sure you rush more than one.  Although, at least for the guys, it is somewhat rare to not get a bid anywhere, you should always have a backup in case a pledge class fills up quickly or there are other circumstances which may prevent you from getting your top choice.  Remember that you can recieve as many bids as you get, but can only accept one (kind of like getting into college in the first place).

Once you’ve gotten and accepted a bid, then comes pledging.  This is a period which varies from frat to frat in terms of both length of the process as well as what is done during it.  All start pledging sometime in the middle to end of February and end between mid April and early May (note: all are done before exams, and most frats do not allow fall pledging since most pledges are freshmen who cannot rush until the spring).  During this time, you’ll learn pretty much all there is to know about the frat, and get further acclimated with all of its members.

It was during the pledging process that I found out exactly what a great support group I now have at Hopkins.  Although I can think of several times when someone in AEPi has helped me in great ways, there is one which sticks out in my mind.  Several weeks ago, it became apparent that I was struggling in one of my classes and wasn’t getting the grades in it that I wanted or could be getting.  I spoke to one of the older brothers about it, and within about a day I had several AEPi members who had taken the class offering to help out in it.  Not only that, one of them is actually dating a girl who TA’d for that class, and even she offered to help.  Since then, I’ve been doing significantly better in that class, and it is great to know that in addition to office hours and such that I have a great group of guys always willing to help out.

So there you have it, the “Sparknotes” on my experience with Hopkins Greek life. Hope you enjoyed!

-Nick

Current Track: Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

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