Get Your Goat On...

PROJECT PRESENTATION DAY IS OVER!!!

2009-04-23T22:57:00.003-04:00

Throughout my years as an underclassmen, one of my favorite days of the year, was ALWAYS project presentation day. On this special WPI holiday, the seniors formally present their major projects to faculty, project sponsors, and other students.

The reason I loved this day as an underclassmen, the lack of classes and work for anyone not a senior, became the exact reason that this year I was dreading this day.

I speak in front of groups all the time. I have no problem talking; to anyone, anywhere. However, speaking to a group of math professors about a large math project, left me with a stomach full of butterflies. I worried I would say something incorrectly, forget a word, or worst, be asked a question I didn't know the answer to.

Luckily, Project Presentation Day is over. And I am happy to report that all of my nerves have subsided. I am sure I was at least a little pink in the face throughout our 15 minute presentation, however our project was well received and the professors were very supportive. They did throw some questions our way, but with how much time and work we had put into our project, these questions were easy to handle.

Plus, with our presentation complete, we are now one step closer being done with our Major Project FOREVER, and that is a great feeling!

Overall, I'd say Project Presentation Day, is a great WPI holiday, for any student, any year.

Warming up to D-Term

2009-04-16T18:18:00.002-04:00

D-term is my favorite term at WPI. I would guess that most people would say the same and the reason is quite simple and quite obvious, it's spring. Not only does the warm weather put everyone in better moods, but it brings life back to the quad, to the track, and to anywhere green on campus. Of course this life doesn't just include plants, it's students too.

Today I enjoyed a great run out on the track. I was in shorts and a tee shirt and was perfectly comfortable- those are the best days, not too hot nor too cold. Also while walking around campus I saw people playing frisbee, laying on the quad, studying and eating outside, and even walking a rope tied between two trees.

All in all, I'd say spring is here, and WPI is super psyched!

2009-04-12T21:42:00.002-04:00

Where did all the jelly beans go?

So today, being Easter, I wanted one thing... jelly beans. I went grocery shopping early this afternoon, and I figured I could pick up a bag at the local Shaw's. Nope, NONE. So, on my way home from the store I stopped at a Walgreen's. They had Peeps, Snickers, Cadbury Eggs, chocolate, gum, and all sorts of other candy... but still NO jelly beans.

Did I miss something? Are jelly beans illegal? Are they only being sold at specialty stores? Was there an outbreak in jelly beans? Did the Easter Bunny go on strike?

Sorry to ramble, this isn't at all related to WPI- but I was upset.

2009-04-09T11:57:00.002-04:00

So, yesterday you all probably read Jen's blog and heard about our traditional kegs on the quad, simmer down everyone these are rootbeer kegs :-)

Today is a continuation of fun WPI events. Today is Traditions Day, a day dedicated to educating the WPI population about WPI traditions, and of course having fun!!! Today's events will include Rivalry Events and the always popular Alma Mater contest, ( Please note Jen, another WPI blogger, is participating in this event with a group of friends, and if I had to guess who was going to win, I'd bet on her). Below is some information about Traditions Day, how it began and what events it now encompasses.

Traditions Day

This community event was first held on April 16, 1991. Its primary objective was to educate faculty, staff, and students about the history and traditions of WPI. The students enjoyed such activities as a Pie Eating Contest and a Dunk Tank (to dunk their "favorite" faculty or staff member). Higgins House was temporarily transformed into a museum with original drawings and artifacts. The grand finale of the day’s events, which were sponsored by the Student Alumni Society, was a campus-wide candle lighting ceremony that began on the Quad and ended in Institute Park.

Traditions Day is now held on the second Thursday of April. It’s a time to reflect on WPI’s history and traditions. On the evening before, a Candlewalk around campus is done while singing the Alma Mater. On this day, SAS members host three Freshman-Sophomore Rivalry events: Pennant Rush, Cage Ball, and WPI Jeopardy. The class to win two out of three events wins the rivalry point for the day. During the intermission of Jeopardy, there is an Alma Mater contest, in which various groups on campus enter and present original renditions of the WPI Alma Mater. The contest is open to all groups who want to be creative with the Alma Mater and put on a good show for the students and judges.

Information provided by WPI's Website: http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/Archives/TechBible/newtraditions.html

SUMO EVENT

2009-03-26T21:01:00.005-04:00

There are 13 colleges in the Worcester area. This allows all of the students to not only cross register at any other school for classes, but it also allows students to particpate on many events at any campus. To give an example, as I have previously written about, I am part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program here in Worcester, and tonight I was at The College of the Holy Cross for a BBBS fundraiser.

There were students from many of the college in Worcester, all of whom were Big Brothers or Big Sisters and we participated in a Sumo Wrestling Tournamant. Other students bought tickets and raised money, and of course cheered us on while we blundered around in sumo suits.

Included are a bunch of my pictures, I hope you enjoy!

home sweet home

2009-03-23T16:05:00.002-04:00

So a big part of senior year is planning for the years to come. Most of this planning WPI can and will help you with. Things like job searches, interviews, plans for paying off loans, etc. However, one of the biggest plans one needs to make is finding a home, and this is something you are on your own for...

So today, with the help of my parents, I went for round 1 of apartment searching. I saw 5 or 6 apartment complexes and now I have some serious questions to answer:

Do I want a roomate? or to live alone? Do I want big windows? spacious rooms? high ceilings? closet space? Do I want to be able to walk to work? or ride the bus each day? Do I want pets? a cat? a dog? Do I want a fitness center? a pool? Do I want to spend more or save more?

these are a few of my favorite things...

2009-03-18T13:37:00.003-04:00

So to continue with my favorite memories of WPI, I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite memories from sophomore year. Sophomore year I played rugby... for 1 game, lol.

The rugby team did very well my sophomore year and because of their success they had more games than expected. The only problem was, the games ran into fall break. Due to injuries, people leaving for break, and people doing a term abroad, the team needed players. When asked if I wanted to help out during one of the games, I quickly said yes. I attended two practices where I learned as much as I could about how the game went and what the rules were. Before these practices I had never seen anyone actually play rugby, but let me tell you, its definitely my kind of game. Any game in which you can just fall and hit people, is a-ok in my book.

Anyway, the Saturday of fall break I played in my first and last rugby game ever. It was great! If you can't tell from my picture, I'm about 6 feet tall, and the coach thought that it would be funny to put me in a small person position. Basically he thought it was funny to watch the little girls try to tackle me, and it was pretty funny. Now I will not even begin to say that I was very good at the sport, I don't think anyone can be defined as good or bad after just one week, but I will say I had an absolute blast.

I got to meet a whole new group of people at WPI and I got to see a different type of sports at WPI. Rugby is a club sport here meaning that the team still gets to go and compete with other colleges, but the practice time is much less than that of a varsity sport. I think its a great compromise for those athletes who want to play competitive sports but don't have enough time to dedicate to the varsity level.

Although I would have loved to stick with rugby, I don't have very good knees and that's where rugby players tend to get hit. So my career quickly came to an end. Anyway, that Saturday spent running and falling in the mud was one of my favorites of sophomore year.

Cterm Ends and Dterm Begins

2009-03-16T22:18:00.006-04:00

So, Cterm ended in kind of a blur for me... days full of Major Project work and finishing up classes. On top of that I left for my spring break cruise the day after finals, meaning I was also shopping, packing and planning.

I went on a 7 day cruise to Mexico, Belize, and the Bahamas. I went with 4 of my closest friends from WPI and we had a blast. We spent most of our days laying out by the pool on the top deck of the boat. At night, we attended comedy shows, bingo, karaoke bars, and obviously all of the different food options.

However we did get off a boat a few times to do things like bike, kayak, snorkel, go to beaches, and touristy shops. My personal favorite was the boat stop in Costa Maya when I went biking and kayaking. The kayaks had clear bottoms so that we could see the ocean floor. Then we played beach volleyball and laid out in some hammocks by the coast.

It was the best thing I have ever done for Spring Break. Normally, I would just drive home to NC for the week, which is fun but this was certainly a great way to begin the celebration of my senior year coming to an end. But, now its back to reality. Dterm has officially begun, and its my last 7 weeks at WPI... weird.

these are a few of my favorite things...

2009-03-02T20:12:00.006-05:00

While helping out with WPI's Winter Preview event a few weeks ago a student asked me what I thought was a great question, "what is your favorite memory from WPI?"

I honestly can't pick just one memory, however I've decided that over the next few posts I will share with you a few of my favorite memories, 4 to be exact. One for each year I've spent here.

The first memory I'd like to share is from freshmen year. As I have mentioned previously, I lived in Riley Hall, the third floor to be more exact, and it was the best first year experience possible. I shared a room with two of my favorite people at WPI, Jen and Lisa, whom I am still very close with. We hung out with a bunch of guys who became not only great friends but basically brothers. Our group, which we named FSU, did just about everything together; homework, movies, nintendo, went out, ate, etc.

Although I could pick almost any day and have a funny story, the story I want to share involves a couch. Every fall and spring our social committee rents a VERY big blow up movie screen and plays a movie on the quad at night. Everyone brings blankets, pillows, and lawn chairs, settles themselves on the quad and watches the movie under the stars. We decided to go above and beyond, we brought out one of the couches from our rooms and hung out right in the middle of the quad. We were easily the most comfortable and ridiculous group out there that night.

Graduation

2009-02-25T10:44:00.004-05:00

Now is the time of year when all of the seniors realize we are actually graduating in May. Sure, most of us have made plans for next year, graduate school or work, and sure, most of us have thought about moving to a different town, state, or country, but very few of us realize just how soon this will be happening. Yesterday, the speaker for our graduation was announced: Xerox President Ursula Burns Named WPI's 2009 Commencement Speaker (http://www.wpi.edu/News/Releases/20089/burns09.html) and this for some reason made everything much more real to me.

They say time flies when you're having fun... its going to be a very quick few months.

2009-02-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

How can you tell its almost the end of the term?

Check out the library!

The two weekends before the term ends, the library is fuller than usual. The second to last weekend is full of students doing work on projects: doing some last minute research, analyzing results, and writing their reports. The last weekend everyone has one task: prepare for finals.

This weekend the part about project work is especially true.

Many seniors are working to finish up their major projects. Since most students choose to spread their project work out over three consecutive terms, C-term (aka right now) is the final term that most of them will be working on their major projects. They are working numerous hours in order to complete their project work as best they can.

D-term (aka next term) is also one of the most popular terms to go abroad. Throughout D-term, and all of the year, WPI sends many students across the world to work on their interactive projects. In D-term alone, students go to London, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Namibia. Because of this, there are many juniors working on project proposals and project plans for their travels abroad.

Basically tonight the library is the place to be - glad I can be part of the cool crowd :-)

Senior Game

2009-02-21T16:37:00.005-05:00

At the end of every basketball season, WPI honors it's seniors with the "senior game". Basically the seniors are recognized for their 4 years of dedication and hard work. Also their parents are given flowers, the seniors from the opposing team are mentioned, all that good stuff.

Well today was WPI's senior game, and two of my closest friends at WPI are the only two seniors on the team. So, in order to demonstrate our support, a few friends and I made some stellar tee-shirts.

Playing a varsity sport for 4 years is very impressive. It not only requires a great deal of time, focus, and energy, but most importantly a lot of heart.

On a side note: WPI beat MIT with a score of 72-48. Their conference record is now: 12-1

2009-02-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

Undecided is one of the most popular major for freshmen students, whether that is undecided, engineering undecided or science undecided. The reason that I bring this up is that at WPI, that's absolutely fine. We don't ask our students to declare a major until the second half of their freshmen year, and even then a good portion of our students will change their major at least once.

Since undecided is such a popular major, our Career Development Center has developed the 'Major Exploration Series'. It's basically a seminar that meets once a week to discuss different majors. It covers the classes taken by students as well as the career opportunities after graduation.

Luckily for all the students attending the Major Exploration Series seminar tomorrow, I'll be one of the people speaking on behalf of the math department.

Get Excited!!!

2009-02-11T11:30:00.002-05:00

My college career is really ending...

So, yesterday at 3:00 pm, I took my second to last midterm EVER. Now that's a weird feeling. After 3+ years of taking classes and studying for exams it's strange to realize that soon there will be no more homework, no more midterms and no more finals. In just a few months, I will never again sit in a class room with my fellow students, take notes while a professor shares his/her knowledge, nor worry about grades of A, B or C. In just a few months I'll be working with co-workers, not fellow students, and presenting to my boss instead of a professor. My work will no longer be judged with grades, but new responsibilities and promotions.

Just a random thought...

update

2009-02-09T09:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, it's been a hectic week and this week looks just as busy. To give you an idea of what a day as me looks like, here's today's schedule: Gym, home to shower and get ready, Admissions Group Presentation, Library to work on MQP, MQP meeting with our advisor, giving blood at the on campus blood drive, back to the library to study for my midterm tomorrow, back to admissions to interview prospective tour guides, going to Lunenburg to coach my girls' game, home around 10 pm. As you can see I like to stay busy... any who to hold you over until my next riveting post here's a little math riddle for you!

3 MEN GO INTO A MOTEL. THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK SAID THE ROOM IS $30,
SO EACH MAN PAID $10 AND WENT TO THE ROOM. A WHILE LATER THE MAN BEHIND THE DESK REALIZED THE ROOM WAS ONLY $25, SO HE SENT THE BELLBOY TO THE 3 GUYS' ROOM WITH $5. ON THE WAY, THE BELLBOY COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPLIT $5 EVENLY BETWEEN 3 MEN, SO HE GAVE EACH MAN A $1 AND KEPT THE OTHER $2 FOR HIMSELF. THIS MEANT THAT THE 3 MEN EACH PAID $9 FOR THE ROOM, WHICH IS A TOTAL OF $ 27, ADD THE $2 THAT THE BELLBOY KEPT =$29. WHERE IS THE OTHER DOLLAR?

Birthday Wishes

2009-02-01T20:19:00.003-05:00

I have had some really great birthdays while at WPI. My first year here one of my friends from Riley baked and decorated a Barbie cake for me:

Also some of the girls from the basketball team made me a crown, which I still have in my room.

Sophomore year I was an RA in Riley, so as one of my social programs, I threw myself a Birthday party. This involved all of my favorite foods, including DAKA carrot cake, and a quiz to see which of my residents knew the most about me.

Junior year was a BIG birthday... 21! I wanted to enjoy some of the Worcester classics, so my drink of choice was the Boynton Bucket. The Boynton is a restaurant that is about a block away from WPI's campus, its a popular option with both students and faculty.

My senior year birthday, my last as a student at WPI, is right around the corner, like literally less than 4 hours away, and I haven't quite decided how I want to celebrate.... any suggestions?

Major Project Update

2009-01-26T10:05:00.002-05:00

So as I wrote in my previous blog, the major focus of my C-term is working on my major project. If I haven't already explained this thoroughly, my major project involves building a tool in excel that will statistically test how accurate our project sponsor's pension assumptions are. The assumptions we are checking are things like ages at which people will die and/or retire and how many people will be terminated before retirement/death.

At this point in our project we have done our background research and have begun to write our program in excel. We want our program to automatically reconcile data (based on given assumptions), summarize and organize data into each of the decrements, run the assumptions which we are testing, and then finally run our statistical tests.

Tonight, to continue our work, we are meeting with one of the statistics professors from WPI to talk about some of the assumptions we need to make. After this meeting we will finish writing our program and then its just a matter of running some sample data.

The goal is to be done by the end of C-term so keep your fingers crossed for me!

2009-01-22T10:00:00.002-05:00

This comic was sent to me by one of the admissions counselors and I thought it was too good not to share...

Grateful to be a Senior

2009-01-16T12:41:00.002-05:00

If you read both my and Jen H's blogs then you've read about the fact that C-term is typically an unpopular term. Its simply due to the cold and snow, however this C-term may be my favorite term ever.

If you've ever been to our campus, then you've probably heard about WPI's unique grading system. This includes the NR: which stands for No Record, (or students say Not Really). Basically if you are receiving a below a C in any class, this class will be completely erased from your transcript. We do this so that our students can challenge themselves without worrying about their GPA or transcript. Because of the grading system we also give our students a bit of wiggle room within their schedules. Throughout the four years a student can take up to 48 classes, however each student only needs 45 to graduate. This is basically a built in buffer system for the NR's; so that a student can NR up to 3 classes and still graduate on time.

So how does this effect my C-term? Simple, I have only NR-ed one class during my four years, and I came in my freshman year with some credit. This means that I have some different options as to how I want to fill my spring semester. Basically in order to fulfill my graduation requirements I only need to take 3 more classes, but my schedule has room for 6 classes. I could work toward a minor or take classes that I don't need but interest me. However I have chosen secret option number 3, slack off.

So, this term I am taking micro-economics and continuing work on my major project. This frees up my schedule to give a lot more time to my project work and enjoy what's left of my senior year. It won't really be a slack off term, because I will end up spending much more time on my project. However, this is something that I need to do so I am thankful that the unique WPI scheduling has made this possible.

2009-01-13T10:30:00.002-05:00

From time to time I receive emails and articles from the Society of Actuaries. Today I received the following link, and I think its something I should share with you all...

Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs: Mathematicians Land Top Spot in New Ranking of Best and Worst Occupations in the U.S. This January 5 article from The Wall Street Journal reviews a CareerCast.com study that ranked the actuarial profession as second best among 200 professions. The findings were compiled by Les Krantz, author of Jobs Rated Almanac, and are based on studies from trade associations and data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123119236117055127.html?mod=rss_Careers

2009-01-13T09:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, as I was cleaning my room, I came upon a bag of stuff from my freshmen year dorm room. Included in the bag were some post-it notes from friends, a key chain, and my tech bible. I haven't looked at my tech bible in years, but freshman year I read the book cover to cover.

The Tech Bible was first published in 1897,and served as a student handbook for freshmen. Along with WPI history and rules for the freshmen, it included information about life on campus and in the Worcester community. In the early '90s, the Student Alumni Society issued it with a new purpose: to include not only WPI history, but its traditions, and the growth and flourishing of the institution. The most recent edition was published in 2003.

If you come to WPI the tech bible is one of the many things you will receive during freshmen orientation. It's an important tradition that helps introduce the new students to what WPI is all about.

Sanford Riley

2009-01-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

There are 5 freshmen residence halls: Daniels, Institute, Morgan, Riley and Stoddard.

I personally am very partial to Riley. This is where I lived my freshmen year and where I lived and worked as a Resident Advisor during my sophomore year. To the right is a picture of Riley Hall after its construction in 1927.

Riley is a bit different from most of the first year residence halls; it is made of mostly triples. The rooms are designed to be big enough for three people, so these are by no means forced triples. My roomates and I had MORE than enough room. We did not bunk any beds, and had enough floor space that we could have easily added a couch.

Riley Hall was named after Sanford Riley, class of 1896. Below is a photograph of him and a small bio about his life as a student at WPI. He was obviously a very active student, and until just a few years ago his portrait hung in the first floor common room.

I have some very fond memories of Riley, including but not limited to: my roomies, riley bugs, bringing a couch out onto the quad to watch a movie, the crazy boys who tried to build a hot tub in one of the showers - this is not something I recommend, throwing myself a birthday party, many nights of take out, too many hours of mario kart - which I always won, and of course the boy who voluntarily got duck taped to a wall.

Living in a residence hall is an awesome opportunity to meet new people and have fun. Especially during your first year, when most students are taking similar classes and experiencing new things together, this time builds a bond that is very hard to break.

Home for the Holidays

2008-12-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I drove 14 hours, from Worcester, MA to Goldsboro, NC. Now that I'm home, I thought I'd brag about one of my major advantages to living in NC- the warmer weather. While all of my New England friends are battling the snow and lack of power, I am hanging out in 60 degree weather. I just checked out the 10-day forcast and we have a forcasted low of 48 degrees and a forcasted high of 76 degrees. Don't get my wrong, I actually love snow- but for now it's a great way to make everyone wish they were hanging out with me :-)

How to...

2008-12-17T19:04:00.000-05:00

How to survive finals week at WPI:

1) Know yourself: In order to be most successful during this hectic week you need to know your strengths and weaknesses. For example, I work best in the morning: strength, however I DO NOT work well at night: weakness. I can plan my study and work schedule around when I will be most productive. In all reality this will make me happier and save me a lot of time.

2) Plan ahead: Although it is human nature to procrastinate, the more you can get done before the stress of finals sets in, the better off you will be. Most projects and papers are assigned well before they are due. Take a look at them, even if you don't fully complete them a week early, having some work done will relieve stress during crunch time.

3) Find people to study with: I have always found studying with people to be not only more fun, but actually more productive. This is really very simple, if people are meeting with you to study, you have to be there... it's an easy way to hold yourself accountable.

4) Take breaks: No one can study or do work for endless hours. We all need some time to relax and sleep. (Along this train of thought, I personally recommend self-medication with a healthy dose of chocolate)

5) Finally, complain. Finals week is never fun, so talk about it. Your friends will all understand and probably want to let out some steam as well.

Obviously a lot of hard work and time have to go into finals, however if you take a few deep breaths and worry about one deadline at a time, anything is achievable.

Secret Santa

2008-12-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

Finals time is typically a stressful period of the term. Typically students are busy studying in the library, finishing up term projects, and writing the last few pages of those big papers. However the end of C-term is a mix of emotions: the stress of finals and joy of the holidays.

To give an example: I spent a few hours today in the library preparing my notes for my open notebook final tomorrow. Organizing, summarizing, and highlighting- not necessarily fun, but certainly helpful for tomorrow. However tonight I am relaxing with the roomies. We've planned a secret santa roomie night. We don't have a fire place so we will gather around the tv, it's the Biggest Loser Finale, drink eggnog and exchange gifts.

Playing secret santa with your roomates isn't as easy as it sounds. Yes, you know people very well, however the secret part is quite challenging. After much talk and concern of people cheating, (we are a very competetive group of people), we have made some roomies rules:

1) We must all used the same wrapping paper- b/c clearly we have seen each other wrapping other gifts for family and such.
2) We had to type our gift tags- b/c hand writing is a dead give away
3) We had to put our gifts under the tree at some random point in the night - b/c the tree is in our living room, and we couldn't be seen by others.
4) We could not discuss who we had; with anyone! - This may seem obvious, but even with people outside of the apartment it was just too risky.
5) No one can guess who their secret santa is until all gifts have been opened.
6) We each made predictions as to who had who; these have been put into a cookie tin and may not be looked at until all presents have been opened and all secret santas have been announced.

WOW.... we really are a bit TOO into this game.

12 days of WPI

2008-12-13T12:49:00.001-05:00

Just a little something to get you in the Holiday mood!

During the twelfth week of classes, WPI gave to me:

12 Donuts Dunkin
11 Holiday Parties (more free food)
10 day long vaca.'s (aka fall and spring and break)
9 Founding Fathers
8 Academic Buildings
7 Seniors Slacking
6 Figure Salaries (Hopefully!)
5 FOAM SWORD FIGHTERS
4 Terms a year
3 Finals next week
2 Towers towering
and a Goats Head in the Skull Tomb

Special Shout-out to the admissions staff for their help with this one!

Let it snow!

2008-12-07T23:19:00.001-05:00

Today was the first snow in Worcester!

Personally, I love the snow. As a kid I loved sledding, skating, snow ball fights, attempting to build an igloo, hot cocoa, skiing, and of course SNOW DAYS. As a WPI student, I love sledding with DAKA trays, the foot prints on the quad (which always form a much larger than necessary loop around the seal), the students who build snowmen and/or forts around campus, hot cocoa from Dunkins, the WPI ski team, and the hard to come by snow day.

See, WPI doesn't really do snow days. In my 3+ years here so far, I have been on campus for one snow day and one early release day. Certain professors will cancel class if they have a long commute, but more often than not, we have class. The good news is, this means classes aren't being rushed to make up material, and professors aren't assigning extra work out of class on your so called day off. It just means your calendar hasn't been cleared by the snow. Plus, it makes those few days snowed in even more special!

Senior Board

2008-12-02T18:01:00.001-05:00

Senior board is a group of WPI seniors who help to plan different senior year events. For example: senior week, a class gift, graduation, and other social events. I am on the senior week board.

We plan social events during the week before graduation. Basically its our last chance to relax, hang out, and see our friends before we become college graduates.

Some of the events we are looking into this year are:
1) Medieval Manor: this is basically dinner theatre with a medieval theme. You eat with your hands, there is a king, and his court, including a jester and knights who joust.
2) Trip into Boston (with show): Last year the seniors went to Blue Man group.
3) Winery/Brewery Tours
4) Afternoon at Kimball's: this is a local ice cream stand. They also have mini-golf, bumper boats, etc.
5) Roll-on-America: This combines rollerskating and laser tag.
6) Some sort of sporting event, maybe the Lowell Spinners, or the Paw socks.
7) A dinner cruise in the Boston Harbor.
8) There is always a dinner hosted by WPI's President, Dr. Berkey.

I personally am rooting for Medieval Manor and the Lowell Spinners game, but we will fit in as many of these events as we can.

Dunkin Donuts

2008-11-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

I don't think that I appreciate the Dunkin Donuts on campus quite enough.

For example, whenever I am tired, hungry, or just know I have a long night of studying ahead, I simply run over to DD and grab whatever it is that my heart desires. Sometimes its an iced coffee, sometimes a hot cocoa, other times I just need a donut. In any case these are all things I can readily access.

Now I say I take these things for granted because yesterday I was speaking to a friend at another college, she was complaining of lack of sleep. I mentioned that she should go grab a coffee to give her a little boost. At this comment she began laughing at me, and said "the closest good coffee is a 10 minutes drive away from campus".

Anywho, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Dunkin Donuts and all that it provides for us!

Hey Tech!

2008-11-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

So, as you read in my last post, I love basketball. And this weekend marks the beginning of the WPI Women's Basketball Season. They are competing in the Worcester City Tournament, which is comprised of WPI, Nichols, Worcester State, and Clark. Many of my good friends are on this team, and I am psyched to get the season going.

Last night WPI defeated Nichols college, 56-48, in their first home game of the season. In the second game Clark beat Worcester State College, 64-48. This means today Clark and WPI will battle for the Worcester City Tip Off Title.

Going to any WPI game is a lot of fun. Its a time to not only watch some good athletics, but see friends and support friends. Typical games also include the WPI Herd, pep-band, cheerleaders and sometimes even the dance and/or step teams.

The Herd is basically our name for the fans of WPI Athletics. They can be recognized by their cheering, their goat enhanced attire, or simply by their commitment to WPI. The pep-band season doesn't end with football, they attend almost every home basketball game (men's and women's) where they pump up the crowd during time outs and half time. Cheerleaders lead the crowd and perform routines throughout the game. Also during certain games through out the season the dance and or step teams will perform during half time, they are a great source of entertainment.

Basketball sign ups...

2008-11-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

The Lunenburg Blue Knights. Basketball is a big part of my life. I began playing when I was in 7th grade, when someone realized how tall I was. I played throughout high school, and even for a season here at WPI. Although I no longer play the sport competitively, it is something that I really enjoy. So, this year I am helping to coach a local girls' basketball team. Although the season does not begin until Dec. 1st, sign ups are today... and I couldn't be more excited.

countdown

2008-11-14T15:32:00.000-05:00

One of my friends showed me this website, and I decided I could put it to good use. My roomies and I are going on a cruise this March for spring break. Our cruise is going to Mexico, Belize and the Bahamas!!! Can you say suntan lotion?!!?!

Its just a little over 112 days away... sound far but I am sure it'll go quickly!

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month=03&day=07&year=2009&hour=12%3A00&min=00&sec=00&p0=43

college week live

2008-11-12T18:31:00.000-05:00

Hey just a quick note about more ways to connect with WPI.

For those students who cannot travel to visit WPI, or have already been, but still have lingering questions, WPI is participating in college week live. Basically it is a website: www.collegeweeklive.com where students attend a virtual college fair. Through this website you can "visit" booths. You would click on WPI and see our booth, here you can chat with WPI admissions people. There are bigger chats, where you can see other peoples' questions or comments, and there are also one-on-one chats where you could chat alone with an admissions intern/counselor.

I am helped out with this event today and will be again tomorrow. So, if you have questions and want a new way to connect check this website out!

exam tomorrow

2008-11-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I am sitting for the second actuarial exam. Three hours, thirty questions... sounds like a good time right? Although I am not looking forward to spending my Monday afternoon in a testing center, I am excited to be done. The exam being over will free up about 2 hours of each day for me! This means more time to spend on my major project, or just relaxing. Unfortunatley or fortunately, depending on your outlook, results won't be out for 8 weeks. Either way, it's 8 week with a little bit less on my plate.

Election Time

2008-11-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Today is obviously election day, I'm sure you've heard, read, and seen a lot about it. What you may not know is, it's also election time at WPI. This week students are asked to vote for their student government leaders.

Just like the presidential elections WPI holds debates, where candidates speak about the issues facing WPI. There are campaigns; mostly through emails, posters, and facebook. And in the end, only one person can win.

Here are this year's candidates:

The Big Red Umbrella

2008-11-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

I've picked a job!

As I have written about a few times; one of the major questions in a senior's life, both college and high school, is where will I be next year?

I've met with a few companies I really liked, which made the decision a harder than I would have liked. But, I got some great advice from professionals and people who know me well... and made the decision I think is best.

I think the best advice I was given was: "Think about the people and the work. The two most important things in a job is the people you have to spend all day with and what you have to do."

So, next year I will be working at Travelers in Hartford, CT.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

The first week of Bterm is over and its Halloween, aka its should be a good weekend. Today there were many opportunities to celebrate:

Haunted Higgins House- Higgings House is an old house on campus that is used by our student alumni society and each year they sponsor a haunted house. The theme this year was the 7 deadly sins. You can get involved by scaring or being scared... either way its a fun WPI tradition

Trick or Treating- Some of the Greek houses make themselves available for WPI student trick or treating. Old school fun... costumes are a must!

Halloween Party- Also on campus tonight is a Halloween Costume Party. I believe this is something new to WPI but if you have a good costume it's worth going to, there are prizes!

I'm not doing much tonight, watching some scary movies with the roomies, who are resting up for their basketball scrimmage tomorrow, but we have costumes planned and ready for a Halloween party tomorrow night. We're going as fairies, and you know you're jealous!

2008-10-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

Bterm begins tomorrow!

My classes for the term are Math Modeling, Macro-economics, and continued work on my major project. One of the great things about being a senior is class selection. I don't mind having early classes, I am actually a morning person, but I prefer to set my own morning schedule. So lucky me, my earliest class for the rest of the year is noon :-) This means tomorrow I can sleep in and enjoy my first day of classes!

2008-10-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while; we've been on fall break. Being from North Carolina I don't get to go home too often, however a nice 10 day fall break is the perfect opportunity for me to head home for some rest and relaxation. I'll soon be posting all about job decisions, Bterm classes, etc ...

Get your goat on...

2008-10-13T17:52:00.000-04:00

So, in honor of WPI and our mascot, the goat, I made a jack-o-lantern.

I'm not the only one to do this this year, one of my friends, (Nick), who also helps out at admissions made a goat pumpkin too. I was very proud of my goat- I don't consider myself an artistic person, however I thought it came out rather well, until I saw Nick's pumpkin. Turns out my goat isn't as hot as I had hoped. Oh well, I am still proud of my goat... which I have named "Billy".

Global Opportunities

2008-10-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

So, the sophomores this year are beginning their search for opportunities to go abroad and complete project work. The "search" includes a global fair, which is set up just like a college fair. Students walk from table to table and hear about different project sites, and the projects completed at each site. Then students choose the sites that interest them, and attend informational sessions. The informational sessions go into more detail about project opportunities, culture, travel, etc. After this they will rank their choices and interview.

Today I helped out by speaking at one of the information sessions for Cape Town, South Africa. This is where I went last year, to complete my interactive project. After speaking about my project and all the fun things we did in Cape Town, all I can think about is how much I want to go back. So, I have decided to at least partially relive this amazing experience by posting some of my favorite Africa pictures.

The three pictures shown are some of my favorites because they represent some amazing things we did. For example the safari we went on during Thanksgiving break, the amazing community we met while working in the informal settlements, and finally our group from the top of Table Mountain. Obviously these are only a few of my favorites... but if I were to post all my awesome pictures this post would take too long to upload.

Actuarial Exams...

2008-10-07T10:14:00.000-04:00

In the actuarial world, rather than go on to get a masters or an MBA, we take exams. Nine exams to be exact. I passed my first exam this past summer, and am currently studying for my second exam. I will be sitting for this exam in early November.

People say that in order to pass these exams, one needs to study for approximately 300 hours. Actuarial students begin studying for these exams months in advance, for a couple hours a day. Companies that employ actuaries, actually reserve some time for students to study during their work day. It's not a bad system, and if someone is dedicated enough, the exams are passable. Plus, there are major incentives. With passed exams come bonuses, raises, and promotions.

However, since I am still in college... it is basically like taking an extra class. I spent the majority of my Sunday in the library, but rather than doing homework or study for my classes, I was studying for my actuarial exam. The exam I am studying for now, covers financial mathematics. So all of the numbers and formulas behind things like bonds, internal rates of returns, spreads, stocks, etc.

Personally, I love my major. The classes, the work, and yes, even the exams. Although the idea of taking 9 exams, is a bit daunting, I know it'll be worth it in the end.

So what do you think? Want to become an actuary?

Greek Week

2008-09-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

WATCH OUT CAMPUS... THE GREEKS HAVE TAKEN OVER!

Today while walking up to campus I saw Greek banners hanging from our bridge. This can only mean one thing... its Greek Week! About 1/3 of the students at WPI are Greek, meaning they belong to a fraternity or sorority, and the week before homecoming they participate in a week long competition and community bonding event.

This year's theme is Nickelodeon; so the events each day will revolve around this. Today's event was a talent show. Each group put together a skit, song, or another type of talent. Then a panel or faculty and students, (not affiliated with Greek life) voted on the winning group. Some of the other events are trivia, wiffleball, a cooking competition, penny wars, and of course the float parade before the homecoming football game.

I am not part of a sorority, however many of my friends are involved in Greek life. One of the nice things about WPI is that although fraternities and sororities are a big part of student life, our community isn't split into Greeks vs. non-Greeks. I can attend Greek Week events, anyone can. Greek Week is simply another expression of school spirit during the weeklong build up to Homecoming.

Professors

2008-09-28T12:43:00.000-04:00

Professors at WPI really make the experience...

Professor Abraham runs the entire actuarial program; meaning he teaches the actuarial classes, advises each actuarial student, counsels our actuarial club and he is typically the advisor for each of our major projects. So, if you are in the actuarial department this is a teacher that you spend a lot of time with. Plus, many of us go into his office on a regular basis just to chat. In particular, two of my friends and I, spend so much time with this professor that we have actually developed a nick name for him: Abes.

Spending time with professors, and getting to know them outside of the classroom is not at all uncommon at WPI. Because of the small class sizes, accessibility of the faculty, and project work, many of the students at WPI get to know their professors very well. For me this was particularly important because once I know a professor it is much easier to go to office hours and ask for help, or to even just ask a question in class.

But back to my story...

Saturday was Abe's birthday. For all you math folk, he turned "42 base 12" - he came up with that, not me. Anyway, my friends and I wanted to do something for his birthday. We have a meeting with him tomorrow at noon, and so decided we should bake him a cake, cup cakes to be more precise. Hope he likes them!

Big Sisters

2008-09-27T22:46:00.000-04:00

Monday for me is Big Sisters day. I have been part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program since freshmen year, when I joined with the entire women's basketball team. I have had 2 little sisters. Nashally - she was my little for my freshmen and sophomore year, until she moved, and Cassandra who is my little sister now.

Shes an absolute blast. I go down to spend time with her once a week. We spend the first 20 to 30 minutes doing homework; adding and subtracting, writing sentences that use the week's spelling words, and doing some reading. Then we usually move outside or to the gym. Here we run around, jump rope, or shoot hoops; whatever Cassandra's heart desires. But basically it boils down to me chasing her and she giggling while she taunts me. Finally she'll tire and we'll end our 90 minutes with a few games of Guess Who or Sorry.

Its not always easy to go down. Sometimes there is homework or studying that you know would be a more productive use of your time, but then you go, and you see their faces... their smiles. Its worth it then.

t.v.

2008-09-26T16:11:00.000-04:00

TV IS FINALLY BACK!

For those tv buffs out there, premier week has finally arrived. Just about all of my favorite dramas and comedies are back in action. Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Bones, Brothers and Sisters - returns on Sunday, and Biggest Loser are all once again a part of my life.

I'm just really excited about it :-)

interviews...

2008-09-23T13:19:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I spent the day in Waltham MA interviewing with an actuarial consulting company. I had already done a phone interview with an HR representative, so this was a round of interviews with actuaries. The process consisted of four 30 minutes interviews. These seemed short compared to the length of time I had spent speaking with other companies, but the interviews still covered a lot of information.

Luckily each of my interviewers was very personable. I always feel better when the time is spent in more of a coversational manner, rather than simply a series of questions and answers. After my interviews I was taken to lunch by two of the companies younger actuarial students. This was an opportunity for me to find out how they felt about their experiences, and get some advice about choosing a company and career path.

Finally I wrapped up the day with a quick meeting. I spoke with the "people's leader", aka the man in charge of hiring. Overall, it was a good experience, I think interviewing is always a bit nerve racking but also something that can be quite fun.

fall career fair

2008-09-18T15:26:00.001-04:00

The fall career fair has taken place over the last 2 days. We've had a lot of companies on campus looking for full time employees and summer interns. Luckily our Career Development Center does a great job, so not only are their a large number of companies on campus but you can find out a good amount of information about each company before you even set foot in the fair. You can find out where companies are located, what they are looking for, when they will be on campus, and whether or not they will be doing anything extra on campus.

On a side note: Its kind of a weird few days; the entire quad is blocked off to give employers a place to park, peoples minds are focussed mainly on job opportunities- instead of school/classes, and everywhere you go people are dressed in suits, skirts, etc - this is NOT normal college attire.

my weekend

2008-09-16T13:37:00.000-04:00

I thought instead of rambling on about something pointless I would give you all a snapshot of my weekend.

Friday: My weekend actually began at 1:00 on Friday when I finished with classes. I spent Friday afternoon on the couch watching reruns of Project Runway with my roommates. Then we headed to the Boynton (a local restaurant- and by local I mean its a 2 minute walk from campus) for dinner. I spent Friday night watching the Bank Job with some of my friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Theres a new Redbox machine at the Price Chopper near campus- so we decided to rent a movie. I didn't love the movie but it made for an overall relaxing Friday.

Saturday: I started the day off in a productive manner- I read a chapter in my math book and took some notes. Then I studied for my next actuarial exam (I am taking the second exam: FM, in November). I spent the afternoon shopping at the Greendale Mall. Its not a very big mall but there is a GAP Outlet- which is my favorite store. Then Saturday night I went to the Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift Concert with some friends from high school. The concert was at the Comcast Center (the old Tweeter Center)- not too bad of a drive, its a straight shot down 495.

Sunday: I slept in because I didn't get home until 1:00am. Then I went down to the local laudromat, Jim Dandy, and did some laundry- always fun. I did a few hours of homework and studying, and then when I got bored I baked some cookies for my roomies. Finally I finished off the weekend with some more tv Sunday night.

Overall this is what a typical weekend of mine looks like- not the concert ofcourse but thats about how busy I am and about how much time I spend relaxing vs doing work. I am very excited because next weekend I am going apple picking with my roomates from freshmen year... I'll try to remember to take some pictures :-)

Zipcar

2008-09-10T08:49:00.000-04:00

I am currently sitting in the admissions building, and from my seat I can see a brand new silver 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid - this is one of the 2 Zipcars that have come to WPI. Personally, I think this is a great idea. Freshmen can't have cars on campus, and due to lack of parking many upperclassman choose not to bring their cars to campus either. Although there are always a variety of activities on campus, students like to go on adventures, visit friends at other colleges, and sometimes need to drive to onsite interviews. Okay, enough rambling about Zipcars... time to do some work.

the job search...

2008-09-07T16:57:00.000-04:00

With the beginning of senior year comes the worry of post graduation; where will I go, what will I do?

On top of course work and projects, we have resumes to write and update, interviews to prepare for and ace, and obviously big decisions to make. Many of my classmates face decisions between graduate school, PHD programs, or entering the work force. In my industry a further education really doesn't matter, so next year I'll be entering the 9-5 work world. Although I do not need to worry about taking the GRE's or writing essays, I still face decisions about locations and companies.

In the actuarial field, jobs are determined very early. Currently I have job offers, which I am thrilled about, however with job offers come deadlines. My earliest deadline is October 15th, which is only a little more than a month away- NOT COOL. I want to look around and see all of my options. Because I need this to happen quickly, I have to find companies I am interested in, send in resumes, interview, (probably more than once), and then wait to hear back.

Graduation may be 8 months away, but big decisions are being made now.

First MQP Meeting

2008-09-04T08:19:00.000-04:00

For me, and the majority of my classmates, MQP has officially begun. We have met with teammates and advisers, talked to companies, and for the past 3 years, taken as many related classes as possible. . . so now its time for the fun to begin.

step 1- Research

My schedule this quarter is not very time demanding. Today for example, I begin class at 9am, and finish at 10am. Although to many people this may sound like a day of rest and relaxation, my day is not yet over.

Today I will spend a few hours reading and taking notes - research for my MQP. Currently my teammates and I are researching how certain actuarial tables are developed. We are reading rules and regulations, going through case studies, and when the books arrive, we will be studying from actuarial text books as well.

Our project involves actuarial assumption setting. More specifically, that of a a certain company. We will review the tools and techniques they use, determine their effectiveness, and then propose practical improvements.

My MQP will not be quite as glamorous as those of some of my classmates. The ones working with breweries, designing buildings, or building cars for example. However, it is the kind of work I will be doing throughout my career. . . and a great addition to my resume.

the library

2008-08-30T15:27:00.000-04:00

My first weekend back at WPI... and where am I? The Library.

I currently live in an apartment off campus, which I love, however because of the arrival of so many students to the worcester area, Charter, (our cable company), is so busy that the soonest appointment we could get is for next Saturday. Its sad to admit but a lot of my life revolves around the internet, so here I am, online, and in the library.

Although I am not thrilled with the idea of spending a Saturday afternoon in the library, the library has actually become one of my favorite places on campus- yes I realize this sounds crazy. But, as I already mentioned it has internet, its airconditioned, its quiet, and within a few days, it will be filled with my friends. Just about everyone I know, comes in here to do work. Whether its homework, group work, or project work, we all spend a sizeable amount of time within these walls; doing work and catching up with friends.

Each of my two classes have officially met, and the first meeting of my MQP has been scheduled; all this really means is that I have some homework to do... and I actually am a senior in college.

Classes start tomorrow...

2008-08-27T12:10:00.000-04:00

Welcome!

My name is Paige, and starting tomorrow I will officially be a senior at WPI. I'm studying actuarial mathematics - the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in the insurance and finance industries. Having completed three years of undergraduate studies at WPI, I'd like to think I am some what of an expert on the school. To give you a better idea of what WPI is all about I'm going to be sharing my life with all of you through this blog.

Enjoy!