Wish You Were Here

The Fabulous Life of:

Get to Know JHU_Lauren:

During the next few days, all of the Hopkins Interactive bloggers will be posting this survey
of personal info, favorites, and Hopkins-related questions to help you get to know them better.
Mine is below…so here we go!

That's me, bringing the tropics to Washington, DC.

1. Birthplace and current hometown:
Westmont, NJ. Philly area, represent!

2. Major(s)/Minor(s):
Writing Seminars and Film & Media Studies double major

3. When I grow up I want to…
Win an Oscar

4. Favorite place to eat in Baltimore:
Pete’s Grill or Bertha’s in Fells Point.

5. Favorite spot on the Homewood campus:
The Beach

6. Favorite TV show:
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Skins, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Anthony Bourdain

7. Favorite color:
Green and purple

8. Favorite sports team:
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!

The fraternity pledge battle, an annual occurrence on the Beach.

My Hopkins Experience:

1. When did you know Hopkins was right for you?
I stepped onto campus for a spring open house in 2007 and I just sort of knew. I was nervous to go to college in general but, for some reason, I could breathe easy on the Homewood campus. The brick buildings, the green grass, the sound of cars on the streets outside and the nice weather – it made me smile and it all felt “right.”

2. What is one thing that would surprise your friends/family about Hopkins?
We do a lot of things besides go to school, and I do a lot of things in my classes that don’t involve learning how to be a doctor. {Actually, I would only know how to write about or film a doctor…} My blog up until this point is pretty good evidence of that, I think!

3. If you were the University President, what is the first thing you would do or change?
Waffle fries would immediately be available at the Fresh Food Café. Immediately.

4. If you could go back and choose your college again, would you pick Hopkins?  Why?
Yes I would. {See #8.}

5. What was your perception about Hopkins before enrolling and how has it changed since then?
I fell into the common myth that everyone at Hopkins is pre-med, so I prepared myself to feel like a total minority. But what I didn’t know was that students here really do have diverse interests. As a humanities major, I don’t feel all alone or limited in any way.

6. What is/was your favorite class?
I’ve particularly enjoyed every one of my screenwriting classes, considering that’s my main academic focus. I also got to take a class taught by John Astin, a class about physics at the subparticle level (which I didn’t fail!), and my Intersession wine appreciation course. But saying those makes me realize I left out my film production classes, all of my fiction courses, my Intersession classes, and my film theory studies. The truth is, of all 46 classes I’ve taken at Hopkins, there are only two or three that I didn’t particularly enjoy. That’s pretty good odds, I’d say!

I do regret never taking a Russian history {since that is my favorite subject ever, believe it or not} or a traditional art history class, though.

Some of my favorites! Hard to believe we're all seniors.

7. Describe your funniest memory or experience at Hopkins:
Especially this year, I find that I am rarely unhappy – I laugh so much every day and have so many great memories of this place, so this was actually the hardest question on this list. Though this answer will probably make my parents shake their heads, one of my favorite memories was the time we had a beer pong game shut down on M-Level of the library. It was during the senior cocktail party last spring – my friend Naomi brought me as her date and wanted to do something epic and totally “college” before graduation, so we stored up cups and started playing against two of our friends on one of the study tables. It took a good 15 minutes before any security guards said anything…but we got a lot of high-fives and laughs in the meantime.

8. How would your college experience be different if you hadn’t chosen Hopkins?
I would never have been able to be a Writing Seminars and Film & Media Studies major. I would have entirely different friends. I would never have had the relationships I’ve had. I probably wouldn’t have joined Alpha Phi. I’d be in a different city, which undoubtedly would change my views on politics, art, travel, food, and what “home” actually means. My memories of college – including nights spent chatting and giggling on the Beach, smuggling food into the library, sleepovers in my friends’ apartments, sneaking onto the roofs of some buildings, and 4 hour lunches at Levering Food Court – would be filled with other landmarks, restaurants, faces, and jokes. Obviously I wouldn’t know any different but, looking at it now, it would just feel wrong to have gone anywhere else.

9. What has your greatest contribution been during your time at Hopkins, or what do you hope to accomplish before graduation?
I’m proud of a lot of things I’ve done while at Hopkins. Getting each of my jobs and internships was a thrill; learning how to use a dishwasher for the first time changed my life; completing an entire year of managing chapter events for Alpha Phi was extremely rewarding {and exhausting}; getting nearly straight A’s one semester made me feel on top of the world. I feel like my life here has been a series of amazing accomplishments, academic and professional and social. I honestly can’t choose just one. And if that makes me sound like I’m tooting my own horn…just wait til you get here. You’ll see what I mean.

10.  What advice would you give to a high school senior choosing their college?
If you got into Hopkins, chances are you got into other schools and now have a big choice to make. Don’t make a hasty decision, but also remember that this isn’t the end of the world. Choose the school that seems right for you and make an effort, once you get there, to get all of the fun, opportunities, social interaction, and knowledge that is possible. College is what you make of it – and, if you go into it with an open mind and a thirst for all these things, you won’t have any regrets.

I'm known to frolic in wide open fields when given the chance.

So now you know some of my favorite things and just what I think of Hopkins. Long story short, I have reveled in my time here and am so, so sad to leave this place. It took me a long semester to settle in before I realized I could handle college life {being away from home, making new friends, doing everything on my own} – and now I cannot believe how FAST it really went. The real advice here is, no matter what school you choose, make sure you take advantage of all it has to offer. Sign up for clubs, take pictures of everything, and choose fun/friends/new things over anything else {Well, most of the time – don’t forget to study!} Get out there and do it all – we know you’ve got it in you!

applying to hopkins: the interview

For the next couple of weeks, all of the Hopkins Interactive bloggers will be writing on a common theme:  our thoughts and reflections on the college application process.  We’ve all been exactly where you are now and hope that sharing our experiences will help you through this momentous (but challenging!) time in your life. This post is part 1 of 2 I’ll be writing on the topic.

As an admissions representative, I’ve gotten the chance to do something pretty cool for the past two years: I give on-campus interviews to prospective students who have either applied or are thinking of applying to Hopkins. (AdmissionsMark wrote a great blog entry about the process from an admissions point-of-view, so you should definitely read that!) Personally, I had three interviews when I was applying to colleges (not one from Hopkins though), all given by alumni from those schools in a town next to mine. The interviews were very similar in a lot of ways, the biggest being my intense anxiety before and after each one. Back then, to put it frankly…I was convinced I was going to bomb them all miserably. But now, after being able to experience the interview process with a “behind-the-scenes” perspective, I feel much more secure and better able to actually express myself in an interview setting. I obviously love giving interviews because I love meeting the next generation of off-to-college students and helping them get all their questions answered, but I’m also really grateful for the chance to have a job that has taught me such a useful lesson for the future. (It really is a good skill to have – making a good first impression is key!)

Photos on the wall of the staircase you climb on the way to the interview room!

So, in an effort to save you from a little bit of that stress, I decided to write about a few of the key things I wish prospective students would remember before, during, and after interviews. It’s sort of a combination of what I’ve learned about interviews in general (from my college interview process, copious interviews for internships, and ever-developing social skills) and what I hope to see from a student when I give an interview. There’s no way to score a guaranteed acceptance into a college from a stellar interview alone (read point #5), but remembering these points can help calm your nerves and make you feel like you have prepared as much as possible for the big day.

#1 Don’t. Stress. Out.

Part of my whole “pre-interview spiel” is dedicated to letting the student know an important piece of information: the on-campus interview is meant to be an informative discussion, not a grill session. I’m not going to ask you about your SATs or your most brilliant plan to save the world via research or how many A’s you got last year. I’m going to ask you real questions that help me get to know you and your interests: what do you do in your free time, what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned in one of your classes this year, etc. So before you come in for an interview, shake the nerves with some deep breaths and RELAX. You can tell when someone is nervous – if their eyes flit around the room instead of watching me, if their voice shakes, if they fidget. We don’t “take off points” for that, but it puts us on edge and it also is distracting for you when you’re trying to formulate your thoughts.

Another important thing to remember is that I, and all interviewers, hope that you feel comfortable to stop me at any point to ask your questions about Hopkins. Of course we want to get a sense of how well you’d “fit” here and how much you would take advantage of the opportunities available here, but the main goal is for you to leave the interview with as much information about Hopkins as possible in order to decide whether your should apply and, in the future if the chance arises, enroll.

#2 Prepare – but not too much.

Before your interview, prepare by brainstorming possible questions you could be asked. Obviously, you’re not going to be able to figure out exactly what I’m going to want to know, but you can consider your classes and extracurriculars; you can think about how people (friends, family) might describe you if they were asked to; you can reflect on your criteria during the college search, what sets Hopkins apart from the rest on your list, etc. Then, think about how you might want to answer these questions in order to say everything efficiently and coherently.

But one of the worst things is when I ask a student a question and it sounds like they are giving me a canned answer that, no doubt, has been written, rehearsed on family members, and rewritten to sound just right. It should be organic, but you should also make sure you feel comfortable talking about yourself (here, practice makes perfect!). Which leads me to my next point…

#3 Talking about yourself does not equal bragging.

If the interviewer asks about your greatest achievement (or something along those lines), don’t downplay it in an effort to seem modest. You don’t want to be obnoxiously boastful, but you have to toot your own horn and let them know what sets you apart from the rest. I know a lot of people who have trouble with this and who will avoid talking about their positive aspects just because they don’t want to seem snooty or cocky. But one of the greatest things about the interview is it’s a candid, one-on-one way to show me why you’d be a good contribution to the school. As long as you don’t talk about them in an annoying way, your accomplishments will make you seem driven, ambitious, and mature – not braggy.

#4 Come with questions.

As we’ve said in the past, these interviews are supposed to be informative. I would love nothing more than to sit with a student for 20 minutes and answer question after question about life at Hopkins! It’s not a bad thing if you don’t have any questions to ask, but it will make you appear interested and curious, both plusses in the interview room. Even if you come with a couple questions of your own to keep the conversation going, that’s plenty! I’ve had students ask me everything, from questions about Fresh Food Café, to parties on the weekends, to sports and research and life off-campus, to even my least favorite thing about Hopkins. It’s all fair game, so think hard about what you really want to know and don’t be afraid to ask it.

#5 It’s about the whole package…no, really, it is!

I remember driving to one of my interviews, certain that I was going to say the wrong thing and immediately be denied from that school. But something I’ve learned from working with admissions is that, while the interview is important, it is most likely not going to define your shot at getting in. There are so many other things to consider: grades, teacher recommendations, your personal essay, etc. Interviews are great ways to establish a personal connection between the school and an applicant, but taking a little too long to answer a question does not automatically spell “DENY” to Hopkins. Remember that, and the whole mystical interview process seems instantly less scary.

And speaking of the whole package…that goes for your interview-day presentation too. It’s about your words, but your hair and clothes factor into the way the interviewer will interpret what you say. You don’t need to get dressed up in formal wear, but remember that the college application process is a formal one. You should wear business-casual clothes, which don’t include sweatpants, flip-flops, or dirty tee shirts. It isn’t because we’re all shallow that I mention this: it just really helps when it looks like you respect yourself, take care of yourself, and want to be as polished as possible when trying to make a good impression. It shows you care, which is the most important thing of all.

JHU_Lauren: A Few of My Favorite Things

This week, all of us at Hopkins Interactive thought we’d change it up a bit and present a common topic.  Through the blogs and message boards, we’ve loved giving you all a glimpse of our lives at Hopkins while helping also show you what might lie in store for you if you decided to become a Hopkins student as well.  One of our favorite things, though, is getting to talk about the totally random things that we love!  Just like we’ve done with the Off Topic Discussion Forum of the message boards, we’re taking a break this week from Hopkins talk and discussing our favorite things.

So here are my answers to a survey of my favorite things.  Be warned .. things are about to get REALLY random!

Who is your favorite author?
F. Scott Fitzgerald and Charles Dickens.  I’m a wordy writer and I get in trouble for it regularly, so I love seeing acclaimed writers who have embraced details, elevated language, social commentary, and intricate plots.  Their styles are similar to the style I hope to use while writing in the future, but the difference between them and myself is that they had such a handle on making that style work.  I’m still working to get to that point {that’s what education is for!}, so they’re easily two of my favorite authors and role models.  {That picture is one of my favorite books of all, This Side of Paradise.}

What is your favorite website?
Facebook and Live Journal.  It’s pretty hard not to like them!  Also, for one website you may not have heard of .. I am in love with Overheard in New York, a website where people submit funny and/or bizarre snippets of conversations that they overhear in New York City.

What is your favorite item in your bedroom?
Either my lava lamp or my neon palm tree.  I have lots of little things in my room I love — a few stuffed animals, pictures of my family and friends, my Alpha Phi welcome banner, Mardi Gras beads from Louisiana, cookies .. but I think those two items are the quirkiest and the most fun of them all!

What, in your opinion, has been the greatest invention of your time?
The remote control.  I know the Internet, cell phones, and the iPod are HUGE in terms of the advances they’ve brought to technology, but the television remote control is so useful and really groundbreaking.  It’s wireless, it involves sending a signal over space, and it makes life a whole heck of a lot easier.  My parents always laugh and tell me the horrors of actually having to get UP from the couch to change the channels and adjust the volume .. crazy!  ;)

What is your favorite news source?
Television.  I get my entertainment news from the E! ticker at the bottom of the screen, weather updates from The Weather Channel, politics and world news from CNN, and local news from the 11 o’clock nighttime news {both at home and in Baltimore, I usually watch ABC}.

What is your favorite movie series?
Of course, I have way more than just one series.  It has to be Harry Potter, Grease, Father of the Bride, or My Girl.  I love them all for different reasons — Harry Potter because it’s magical, Grease because it’s a musical {singing makes every movie better}, Father of the Bride because it’s cute, quirky, and a little bit goofy {and Kimberly Williams-Paisley is an Alpha Phi, gotta love that!}, and My Girl because it is SO down-to-earth and SO real.

What is your favorite time of day? Why?
Early, early morning, just as the sun is rising.  It’s rare for me to actually not be sleeping at this time of day, but it makes me so happy to feel like I’m the only one awake for miles.  I love that feeling as the sun is rising and everything gets a little bit lighter, a little bit lighter, and a little bit lighter still until the day has finally arrived.  It feels so fresh and so new — it makes it hard not to feel positive that your day is going to turn out right.

Who is your favorite one-hit wonder?
According to VH1.com’s list of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” is a one-hit wonder.  I have a bunch of songs by them so I never gave it a thought .. but I LOVE that song!  And I’m a big fan of some of their others too: “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, “Mambo No. 5″ by Lou Bega, “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mixalot, etc.  That New Radicals song is a legitimately great song, but the others are just fun, and I think that’s what a one-hit wonder really should be.  Go to the list and pick your own favorites!

Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to have a cup of tea with?
Dolly Parton, Audrey Hepburn, or Helena Bonham Carter.  They are all extremely interesting women in very, very different ways — I admire each of them for certain characteristics they possess and certain life experiences they have had.  And with any of the three, I have a feeling our tea time would definitely not be boring!

What is your favorite quote?
I have two.

“My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.” — Diane Arbus

“Leave something good in every day.” — Dolly Parton

Are you a dog person? Cat person? An “other” person? Why?
I’m a dog person through and through!  Cats creep me out — they walk around and have that look in their eyes like they know something we don’t know.  They’re too independent for me, I think .. I like to be able to take care of a pet, to cuddle, to play, and to enjoy each other’s company.  With that said, the only pets I’ve ever had were hamsters, fish, and hermit crabs, and I still turn into a pouty 8 year old when I’m told there is basically no chance I’ll ever be able to bring a dog into my house, but I know I would just love the experience of having a dog.

What is your favorite game?
I don’t have one favorite — I have lots!  Scrabble, Boggle, Sorry, Monopoly, LIFE, Gin Rummy, Apples to Apples, Mad Gab, Scattegories .. the list goes on and on.  I’m a big game person!

Who is your favorite TV villain?
Okay, so after thinking for a couple days about this, I came up with one: Lucy Spiller from Dirt.  Courtney Cox-Arquette plays a great ruthless, matter-of-fact, basically bitchy tabloid magazine editor, and it is so entertaining.  So that’s who’s my favorite!

Where is the one place in the world you would want to visit?
Russia!

No, I shouldn’t answer that quickly because I have wayyy more than one place I’d want to go!  I’ve actually created a list on 43places.com {it’s a really neat website where you can create a profile and list the top places you want to go — then, when you go, you can check them off the list and replace them with others if you want}, and my top places there are Moscow, Pompeii, Tuscany, and Ireland.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
The animated series “Arthur.”  I have never, ever been a fan of cartoons, but I LOOOOOVE watching this show!  Half the time, I think some of the things are written more for adults than children anyway, lol.  It is so much fun to watch.  That, and Drake and Josh.

To finish the survey, here are some questions invented by Bernard Pebo that are asked at the end of every episode of Inside the Actor’€™s Studio by the host, James Lipton.

What is your favorite word?
I’m a fan of double-Z words, like “dazzle” or “fizzle” or “pizza.”  In terms of meaning though, my favorite is “home.”  Or “Jersey!”  :)

What is your least favorite word?
Batch, fetch, words like that.  Apparently I like a word based on sounds that are in the word, lol.  That’s something I never really noticed before!

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, or emotionally)?
Making people laugh.

What turns you off?
Laziness, or the ability to settle for less than you’re worth or less than you’re capable of.  I hate to see people devoid of any ambition or determination .. and, therefore {at least in my book}, any self-respect.

What sound or noise do you love?
Waves crashing at the seashore, with amusement rides and seagulls and chatter in the background.  And that totally contagious, uncontrollable laughter of a toddler.

What sound or noise do you hate?
CHEWING.  There isn’t anything much worse than this for me.  And really, it’s so preventable — is it that difficult to keep your mouth shut when you’re eating?

What profession would you like to attempt?
I want to be a respected novelist, America’s Next Top Model {honestly, who doesn’t want to follow in Tyra’s footsteps?}, a screenwriter, a fashion designer, and a mother, all at the same time.  Basically, super woman.  I think it’s possible.

What profession would you absolutely not like to attempt?
Anything involving science or math.  I’d end up hurting someone with my complete inability to make anything worthwhile happen involving either of those subjects, honestly.

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“Overall .. nice job.”

If you want to agree or totally dispute any of my answers, or if you just want to chat, be sure to add a reply on my personal message board thread!  And back to why we’re here for you .. if you have any Hopkins-related questions, don’t hesitate to as them there as well!