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Finding Theta

February 1, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | 1 comment

Sorry I’m not going to provide mathematical evidence supporting String Theory; instead, I’m going to scandalously skim the social scene at Harvard College.

There’s an enormous misconception that Harvard is awkwardly social, if not antisocial. Personally, I strongly disagree, unless my own idiosyncrasies have blurred my perception of what is socially acceptable. I shamelessly admit, however, that before arriving at Harvard, I worried that students wouldn’t be able to distinguish the fun concomitant to studying/learning with the fun concomitant to all things non-academic. I feared that all my conversations would revolve around academia and that my needs for discussing the Kardashians would never be satisfied. But let it be known that my experiences at Harvard have not only exceeded my expectations academically, but also have satiated my celebrity gossiping desires. (Most of the time) we’re just normal people who love to dive into books as much as social events – and this even applies to those who live(d) in Massachusetts Hall where only a handful of hand-picked freshmen live, rumored to be the best of the best and the creamiest of the cream of the crop!

I’ll defend the claim that some of the best things are simply stumbled upon – that’s how I found Theta (Kappa Alpha Theta), the first Greek-letter fraternity for women (and at Harvard!). Some of my pre-college friends were surprised that I was rushing Greek life freshman spring semester, but it made perfect sense to me! During the later years of my high school career, I became actively involved with the scholarship program Distinguished Young Women of America (formerly known as America’s Junior Miss) and I quickly became obsessed with this community of beautiful, driven girls. A paralleling community was definitely lacking my first semester of college, especially after coxswaining for the men’s heavyweight crew team. I was definitely in need of a community where I could more closely relate (and boy bash) with, which drove me into rushing the Greek scene.

 

Finding Theta, Thinking Theta & Loving Theta

 

There are three sororities as Harvard (although Harvard doesn’t technically acknowledge single gender groups): Kappa Alpha Theta (Theta), Delta Gamma (DG), and Kappa Kappa Gamma (Kappa). After a hectic and crazy fun week of rush, I pledged loyalty to Theta and have never looked back!! I’m obsessed with these girls because I can rely on them for everything from wisdom and support to humor and dance choreography! Granted sisterhood is a part of every sorority, I chose Theta because I specifically felt that Thetas weren’t only involved all around campus and the Boston community, but they were leaders in the activities they were involved in – leading Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) volunteer programs, Women’s Leadership Conferences, and so SO much more!! Joining Theta has made me feel more connected to both a new community of strong, young women and the Harvard community itself because by staying up to date with their lives, I’m more informed of Harvard’s plethora of opportunities. Theta is what catalyzed my interests in my secondary of Global Health and Health Policy as well as pushed me to race in my first (and definitely not last) half marathon!! My sorority sisters definitely have an extremely influential role in my major life decisions and I hope that it stays this way because with their guidance, I’m more comfortable with taking risks and challenging myself. Don’t take this post as an enormous shameless plug for Greek life at Harvard or any other university because it may not be your personal cup of tea – I guess what I’m trying to say is that your interests and activities in high school may translate into unexpected ones in college so don’t be too weary of giving a chance to things you were once opposed to.

Some girls who have Thought Theta

This week is Rush Week for the sororities so it’s my first time on the “other” side of rush. I’m having an absolute BLAST getting to know my sisters better and I’m so excited for our new members to become a part of this family as well!

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My Weekend…WAS AMAZING!

November 17, 2011 in Reid's Blog by Reid | 7 comments

Normally, I have pretty good weekends. Sometimes it rains, which I like (but not whilst parading around Cambridge); sometimes I have a huge exam at 8:30 AM on Monday (cough cough…LPSA); and frequently there are fun fiestas to be attended. However, this was the best weekend I have had in a long time. Why, you may ask? Read on!

 

Thursday Night:

We didn’t have school on Friday, due to Veteran’s Day. So, I didn’t have to wake up for my 9 AM class!  (Fun fact: you may think waking up at 8 is fantastic in high school, as I did, but in college it seems that nobody goes to bed until 3 and everyone wakes up at 10 and I am cursed. Though most people [my roommates] do follow that schedule [as I do on Tues/Thurs mornings], I am pretty lucky to wake up at 9 so I’ll stop whining.) Also, it was FACULTY DINNER, which is an incredible experience. Da ‘Berg is officially transformed into The Great Hall and HUDS prepares an extravagant meal to impress our profs, TAs, proctors, and the like. Although I like Annenberg a lot, I hold no deep feelings of love for it except for during Faculty Dinner! My lab partner and I invited our lab TF, Greg, and dressed to impress before gorging ourselves on mushroom ravioli, some meat thing (is it obvious that I’m a vegetarian?), roasted root veggies, and cake. Carrot cake, chocolate raspberry cake, cheese cake…. Yummmm. Knowing the food would never again be this exquisite, I ate way too much and stumbled out of Memorial Hall with a rather large stomach. It was worth it, by the way.

After that, I went to the IRC semiformal with my roommate, Rachel, as her plus-one. She is some spiffy chair for H-MUN (Harvard Model United Nations), whereas I know nothing about this political smorgasbord. Luckily, we mostly danced. After going to the penthouse of the Cambridge Hyatt (here’s a lovely image) via taxi, we danced the night away until the wee hours of the morning. (Actually, I ended up splitting a cab with some people and leaving at 10:30, in preparation for Friday.) When I thought it couldn’t get any better, along came Friday.

 

Friday in the Lighter Hours

After parting ways with my cozy, cozy bed at 10:30 on Friday morning, I suddenly remembered that my AWESOME band (The Nostalgics) was scheduled to record our Holiday album from noon to six that day. Really, my email alerted me about this, in addition to telling me about a sweet deal at B. Good, this incredible burger joint near the Holyoke Center. UC Restaurants offers great savings on restaurants on some Fridays, so I went down and got 20% off of my mango shake and West-side veggie burger. After eating my second great meal of the weekend with three of my bandmates, I walked to the Quad and entered my favorite building on campus, the SOCH. (I’m not really sure if it’s my favorite building, but it’s very underused and underrepresented, so I have adopted it.) Some fancy event was happening, which is a rarity at this unfrequented 50,000 square feet of space, so we went up to the PentHouse where the recording studio is. Due to a recording malfunction, our recording session soon morphed into a practice session, with some fantastic originals coming together, as well as “All I Want For Christmas,” everyone’s favorite x-mas song. After figuring out some rippin’ horn lines and baller vocal backgrounds, we felt satisfied and packed up to go. Sadly, we got locked into the Emergency Stairwell, which we did not know was alarmed until we were inside. However, one guitarist had left early and saved us from a sure death, and we celebrated life at Pfoho dining hall, eating another fantastic meal, though I soon learned this was not good Chinese food. Expecting to not eat again, my chipmunk-storage complex switched on and I filled up on tofu and mini-corn. Little did I know, this was not the end of my Asian experience.

 

Friday Night

On the shuttle back to the yard, one of my band-mates asked me to go to Chinatown with him in celebration of a friend’s birthday. Although I was full and had little desire to eat, the draw of novelty appealed to me, so I immediately accepted. After taking the T to Park Street, we made our way to Hot Pot Buffet, whose two floors were, to our dismay, completely full. The walk was in vain, I feared. However, my friend was a lot more innovative, and decided we’d go to the Harvard Club of Boston. It’s really lovely, I soon found out, and is full of history, much like its namesake. In the Library, there’s a gorgeous pool table and loads of reunion books, dating back to 1900. My grandfather, whom I never had the chance to meet, went to Harvard for undergraduate and medical school (I think). I quickly (slowly) calculated his year of graduation, found the 10th anniversary book, and read about his life. My mom was just two years old when he wrote the report! This discovery really threw me for a turn, and I was flooded with thanks; perhaps a little premature, but we’re all really lucky to be studying here, and to be part of this history that, for me, binds me to my unknown ancestors.

 

Saturday Day

After again having a tearful departure from my bed, I set out on another lovely escapade. I walked down to Blodgett pool, which is across the river, and took pictures of our men’s swimming and diving team for the Crimson. My freshman class really shone, with Michael Mosca setting a school record in diving in his first meet and the freshman swimmers securing 1st place for Harvard. Here’s a photo:

Blodgett

Then, what did I do? More photo!!!! (FUN) I claimed a really amazing pitch (story) for FM, which is the Crimson’s magazine. What is this amazing pitch? Is the suspense killing you? Well, I will ruin the surprise– I GOT TO TAKE PICTURES OF GUACAMOLE!! Yes, that is right, I spent my entire afternoon sampling and photographing the delicious mush. More good food! My writer and I went to Chipotle, Qdoba, Boloco, Felipe’s, and Border Cafe. The last two were by far the best, which is good, because they are local restaurants, unlike the 3 other chains. Here’s a picture:

¡Guacamole Olé!

 

 

 

Saturday Night:

I continued in the spirit of photography as the sun set, presenting my photo essay to other compers (comp=competitor, but it’s no longer competitive, just an anachronism) at The Crimson.

Then, I sprinted to Holden Chapel, which is a beautiful and tiny space hidden in the Yard. The Speak Out Loud club was hosting a Poetry Slam, which is basically a spoken-word competition. (Think rap battle minus the hip-hop tracks, plus scores.) Eleven poets slammed their AMAZING poems, and I was lucky enough to compete against them. The place was totally humming with energy, as the crowd really participates in poetry through pounding their feet, clapping, and encouraging the poets as they perform. The first round, we slammed a 3 minute poem each, and mine was a story about a cabin I love in Vermont. The next round was the lightning round, where we’d slam a 1 minute poem, and I slammed about my love for poetry. Our scores were added up, and the top 8 moved on to the final round after a brief intermission. My jaw dropped as I found out I’d moved on; I thought those incredible poets had me beat for sure. We had another 3 minutes to get the highest score we could (which is a 30); the top 5 scoring poets became Harvard’s Poetry Slam Team! I slammed about coffee (as a metaphor for something else), and LOVED it, because the packed audience was awesome. At the end, we all lined up and five names were read. I’ll be competing in April at CUPSI along with my four other team-mates! More updates on this soon, and if you want to know more about poetry slams, here’s a great link. (To hear some awesome slam, here’s another.)

I went out and celebrated with my friends afterwards, and caught up on all my work on Sunday.

 

This weekend, I’m not going to Harvard-Yale; instead, I’m going to visit my grandparents and have a pre-Thanksgiving with them! Then, I’m covering the Tail of the Charles (men’s crew invitational) on Saturday, so I’m really excited to see what this new weekend brings!

 

All the best,

-Reid

 

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Reflections

August 30, 2011 in Kate's Blog by Kate Meakem | 3 comments

Hey everybody!  As summer is coming to an end, and a new school year is on the verge of beginning, I thought I would take this time to reflect on my freshman year and the new sophomore year to come.

So to start, freshman year… wow.  That’s really the word that sums it up the best: wow.  Going into the year, I honestly had no idea what to expect.  I mean, sure, I thought maybe I would get some cool roommates, make some new friends, take some fun courses, learn some stuff, but I never could have foreseen the nine months ahead.

During my first year at Harvard, I met some of the most talented, hard-working, charismatic, brilliant, and interesting people I have ever encountered.  There were kids who already had patents under their names, kids who had made speeches in front of thousands of people, kids who had organized huge charity events that raised thousands of dollars, kids (*cough, cough* my roommate) who could wake up at three in the morning with only six hours before a paper was due and speed write twelve pages that still earned them A’s.

I know you’re probably thinking, well, what do you expect?  It IS Harvard, after all.  And I suppose you’d be right.  But the thing that struck me was how down to earth everyone was.  I arrived on campus knowing that I would meet extraordinary students with extraordinary talents and achievements, and feeling pretty inadequate.  I mean, the thing I was most proud of was being the Editor-in-Chief of my high school yearbook.  But the cool thing about going to a school with a less than 6% acceptance rate is that there is a level of respect, especially among freshmen, for even getting in.  Everyone’s reasoning is that if you got into Harvard, then there must be something truly special about you.  And it was really awesome to spend long nights my freshman year in Annenberg dining hall listening to people’s stories and learning about what makes them who they are.

Me loving my freshman year at Harvard!

Beyond that, I never expected to make some of the best friends of my life, join a sorority, head a volunteer organization, write a blog on my life that people actually want to read, and all of the other things I’ve gotten myself into.  Freshman year blew my expectations out of the water, and I hope sophomore year will do the same.   To answer a commenter’s question from a few months ago – how have I best utilized the amazing school I go to and made sure to not take for granted the amazing opportunities I’ve been given – I’d have to say that I have tried to get to know a new person everyday, to learn something new about the people I already know, and to find a new way to care about those who surround me.  This world is made up of the people in it.  Each person has a story.  Each person is the way he/she is because of a sequence of events that have been linked together to form the chain of his/ her life.  And I think it is important to listen to and care about the people we meet, whether they are on or off of Harvard’s campus.  It is through listening to other people that I learn the most about the world and life in it.  Everyone deserves to be heard.  And that is what I hope to continue to do as I start my sophomore year!

Thoughts on my sophomore year:

  • What will my concentration be???? AHHHHH!
  • Will I enjoy living all the way in the quad?
  • I need to find a job…
  • Where do I buy a bike?
  • I’m so, so, so excited to be back and to see everyone!
  • Oops!  I’d better unpack!

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That was Ghungroo 2011

March 14, 2011 in Alumni Blogs by Punit Shah | 2 comments

Managing 350 performers for four sold-out performances of four hour each? I would have said this was impossible a month ago, but my job as producer for the past couple weeks has been to provide some organization to, Ghungroo, the largest student-run production on campus.

Ghungroo is an annual cultural show held in early March by the Harvard South Asian Association. For me, the show extends far beyond the dances, skits, and music acts that make up the show. Rather, the show is the largest moment where our student organization builds the community of students excited about South Asian culture, performance, and pushing the limits of what they thought they would be able to do. Over half of the students are of non-South Asian descent and the vast majority have never danced before. After the performance, many students stay close to their peers in their dances. On the final night of the performance, nearly a hundred alumni from the show’s generation-long history return to cheer on the current performances.

Producing a show of this scale is a major feet. Apart from booking spaces, coordinating rehearsals, managing our technical and production staff with the help of our amazing directors Alethia, Jeff, and Sharmila, and selling over 1000 tickets, we’re maintaining a full course load and (ideally) still getting sleep and seeing our friends. But while we put in hundreds of hours over the month, I gained the confidence to mange people and play a critical part in creating something far larger than what I could do by myself. Harvard is great at showing its students that if they put their mind to something, it’s pretty tough to reach their limits; I have to say this definitely applies here. But as with any student activity, the best part is definitely meeting the other students and making friendships that far outlast the show.

Like any show, the most exciting day is the actual performance. Ghungroo is known for its colorful costumes, intricate set, and exorbitant energy:

The "Bollywood Oldies" dance

The "Bollywood Oldies" dance

The "Nepali" dance

The "Nepali" dance

The glow-in-the-dark moon seen on the set during a filler by a dancer wielding glow sticks.

The glow-in-the-dark moon seen on the set during a filler by a dancer wielding glow sticks.

Lastly, sorry for the my lull in writing. With Ghungroo now over, I should hopefully have more time to provide updates on the blog. Next up: an update on my spring break trip to Dubai with the Harvard College in Asia Program exchange conference.

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Part Man, Part Monkey

February 18, 2011 in Alumni Blogs by Alissa D'Gama | 1 comment

Sorry for not posting in the past few weeks! I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I’m involved with a club on campus called HUBSS – the Harvard Undergraduate Biological Sciences Society. My official role is the co-Career Coordinator, which means I am in charge of organizing events like visits from life sciences companies and career panels. However, the entire board (which is largely composed of my blocking group!) works together to organize a lot of our events, including our recent Night at the Museum: Survival of the Fittest (yes, we like science a lot). In honor of Charles Darwins’s 202nd birthday, we worked with the Harvard Museum of Natural History to create an event where undergraduates could visit the museum after hours, enjoy mochi ice cream and local froyo favorite Berryline (with fresh fruit toppings!), and participate in behind-the-scenes tours of the museum collection.

To prepare for the event, I spent an afternoon walking through the museum exhibits (Harvard undergraduates get free admission with their ID card) and writing up questions related to Darwin and evolution for the scavenger hunt undergrads could participate in for the chance for winning gift certificates to a local sandwich shop (called Darwin’s Ltd!). HMNH is just one example of the amazing resources available to students at Harvard. Without the urging of my friend Jeremy ’11, an OEB concentrator who has been able to use some of the museum specimens for class projects, I probably would never have discovered how amazing the museum is. After my thesis is turned in, I plan to spend more time looking at all the exhibits, which include everything from dinosaur fossils to exquisitely crafter glass flowers in a special humidity-controlled room.

The night of the event, John ’11, Veronica ’11, and I walked to Trader Joe’s to pick up mochi ice cream. Thanks to a grant from the Undergraduate Council, we could buy $200 of mochi ice cream, which we learned meant filling our cart with 44 boxes of mochi (11 of each flavor – mango, green tea, strawberry, and chocolate)! Not surprisingly, we got some strange looks from the Trader Joe’s employees.

After lugging the boxes of mochi to the museum, we spent the night unwrapping the boxes for the 150 undergraduates who I hope had a pretty great time. It was a lot of fun to catch up with people I hadn’t seen for a while since we’ve all been buried in our laptops writing our thesis and finishing up research. Remember, take a break every once in a while and do something fun!

Picture by Caterina Yuan ‘11 – note the awesome fossil behind John, Veronica, and me!

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White Christmas

December 23, 2010 in Alumni Blogs by Alissa D'Gama | Comments closed

Although December brings reading period, papers, and finals (which I finally finished!) it also brings many holiday socials for student groups on campus. Since a lot of student groups transition boards between December and January, the meetings serve as a way for the graduating seniors to reflect and welcome the incoming board members.

My first was the Harvard Premedical Society’s annual holiday party, where the outgoing board participates in Secret Santa and, this year, played apples to apples and ate a delicious peanut butter cake cooked by one of our board members! Since I have been on the board since my freshman year, it was really sad to see my time come to an end—I have made some of my best friends at Harvard through HPS, and I’m going to miss it next semester. Here is almost the entire 2010 board!



The next day, I headed over to the Undergraduate Admissions Council social. We are a student group on campus that serves as the student arm of the Admissions Office, so for those of you who are accepted, you will receive a call from us in the spring and we will be behind the scenes making sure Visiting Weekend is a blast! We munched on appetizers and desserts in the Lowell House Small DHall and caught up with everyone to make sure we were all on track for next semester. My co-chair Ayse ’12 and I can’t wait to meet many of you in the spring!

A few hours after that, I walked up the stairs at 14 Plympton Street to the (somewhat) annual crimson superlatives. Of all the activities that are coming to an end in December, The Crimson has probably involved the most blood, sweat, tears—and joy!—and I will miss pitching stories and editing the paper into the wee hours of the morning. All the other news execs and I have spent so many hours together since our freshman year :(

Next semester is going to be so different now that my time with so many activities has ended. I’m heading home tomorrow morning, and I hope all of you have a lovely holiday season! I’ll be back in January when I’ll be working on my thesis during J-Term.

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The Crimson’s Turkey Shoot

November 11, 2010 in Alumni Blogs by Punit Shah | Comments closed

Eighteen one-on-one interviews in five days, a 2000-word essay (written in the 18 hours before it was due), and a final 45-minute interview to — quoting a few friends — “test how well you handle pressure.” This describes my the components of my experience in The Crimson‘s Turkey Shoot, a process by which our daily newspaper chooses its president and top leaders for the upcoming calender year.

I’m shooting for “Director of Web Strategy,” a new position on the publication that aims to bring a greater emphasis on our web product and blogs to ultimately improve our online experience and expand online revenue. It’s exciting because even while in college, I can make an impact on a site that reaches tens of thousands of people a day and helps keep our community informed. But the road to it is no simple ordeal. To shoot, I wrote a statement of purpose in a surprisingly constraining 2000-words after talking to the outgoing president, managers, and editors across our building. The following week, “shooters” as students like me are known interview one-on-one with each editor who would like to deliberate on the  new office-holder through a process affectionately and humorously known as “schmoozing.” Finally, there is that final interview where each of your deliberators sit together, keeping you on your toes for 45 minutes; for positions like President or Managing Editor, there can be 25 or more for more deliberators. Upon writing, I’m currently finishing up my 18 schmoozes.

Students here throw themselves into everything they do, extracurricular activities being no exception. With a talented set of peers, getting the opportunity to lead organizations can thus be a rigorous process. The Crimson‘s is by far the most intense I’ve seen; almost every small and large organization makes do with simple elections or applications. In the middle of it, “the Shoot” as it’s commonly known can seem a bit absurd just to figure out who’s going to lead our publication. It probably is Actually, it definitely is a bit absurd of a process, but by taking a moment as an organization to critically think about our long-term vision, there emerges a consistently amazing set of  leaders who edit and mange almost every part of the publication from content to advertising to even printing (we are one of a few papers in the nation that owns our own presses).

And so while the process is intense, it shown me the possibilities that exist upon bringing together motivated students and giving them a few resources. After hearing and reading about everyone’s ideas and talents over the past week, those possibilities seem almost endless.

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