It feels nice to write again. When the summer is leaving in silence, the fall returns. Like I would always tell you, my favorite seasons, fall and winter, are just right around the corner. I appreciate the happy, sun-shiny days, but what I love the most are the colorful, leave-dancing fall and the magical, mysterious winter.
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I had been luckily involved with the International StudentOrientation a week before the school started
and got to be one of the orientation guides. Being able to meet new students from all over the
globe was the most exciting event on my summer calendar. Frankly I was not prepared for school mentally or physically after the orientation. But I kinda put myself together. So a big shout out to myself! Who am I?
Photo credit: Yannet Gudeta
I am a senior carrying 17 credits(full load) this semester, along with 3 part-time jobs on campus.
What do I do when I am free?
I interview people, create and edit video stories, and write stories for the student media (school newspaper, tv station).
I hang out with friends in the library or the coffee shop near by to
finish students' never-ending nightmare-- homework. And I am also active
in club activities.
Photo credit: Yannet Gudeta
That being said, I am a SUPER busy person!
Many friends think that I am crazy when I told them how many things I am trying to do at the same time. I get tired at times, but the truth is:
I enjoymycrazylifeverymuch.
The more activities I am involved in, the more human interactions I get,
and the more HYPER I become! And believe me, friendship is the most
valuable assets you can receive from college experience.
Ready for a quote? Here we go...
"You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your friend’s nose."― John Green, Will Grayson, Will Grayson
I don't know if you guys remember but I posted something about Campus Employment last year but I did not really talk about my job. For those of you who are interested in Campus Employment, please visit this link: http://pluinternationalstudents.blogspot.com/2013/01/working-on-campus.html
However, stay tune for 5 Things I love About My Job
Thing #1: The Golden Name Tag Can you think of a better color for a name tag? I don't think so. Even the iPhone is gold :) . At PLU, all staff, faculty members, and student employees will get their own golden name tags. We wear it with pride!
Thing #2: The $$$
Most of the positions on campus are minimum wage but did you know that minimum wage in Washington is $9.19/hr? Federal minimum wage is only $7.25/hr. And therefore, although you are making minimum wage, you still make a lot more money than a lot of other people from other states :)
The best thing about on campus employment is that if you keep the same job, they might increase your every semester. And if you are a student lead at your department, you might make more than $10/hr.
For RAs, like Loana, I know that they get paid differently than others so you might want to ask Loana more about this :) she is super friendly, she won't bite, ask her :)
Thing #3: Leadership Training In the beginning of each year, we have Student Leader Institute (SLI) that provide us with awesome leadership training where we can meet other student leaders on campus. SLI usually lasts for 3 days. It might seem short but we've learned so much from it and I am trying my best to apply it wherever I go, not only at work, but also in class and at my internship place.
I can show you one of the interesting video we watched at SLI. The video below show us to think outside of the box, to do things that we are passionate about, and to lead others.
Photo credit: SLI. Here's the group picture of Student Leaders at SLI 2013
Thing #4: Friends and even More Friends Part of my job is to talk to prospective students who are still in the process of choosing the best university for themselves. I talk to them on the phone, via email or via any other social media sites out there. It is so fun to be a part of the voice of PLU to represent who we are to the new students so they can join us.
Every year, we create many on campus events so other students around the area can come and visit. We even take our own PLU Students to local community colleges for their events so we can make new friends and learn more about each other.
Orientations are the best times of the year. We do 2 orientations/year: Fall and Spring. And as you can see, I get to hang out with a lot of cool people. Besides the important stuff that i have to present at orientation, I also drive people for shopping trips and that's when all the fun begins :)
Photo credit: SLI. Intl Students Fall 2013
Thing #5: YOU GUYS, I'M FAMOUS
Just kidding, I am not actually famous. I just like to think that I am, haha. But guess what, once in a while, I get to be on brochures and flyers that the University sends out :)
With Loana and Shunying :)
Back when I was super tan
Happy Reading
I guess what I am trying to say is that it is easy to get a job but it's hard to keep doing what you're doing if you're not passionate about what you do. Find the things you love about your job and think about them when time gets hard. I think it's the easiest way to get me motivated and I hope you can find at least 5 things you love about your job.
Summer is over and we are just getting back into the groove of things here at PLU! The second week of classes have started and the homework piling up again. C'est la vie.
I had a great summer vacation, visiting my family and friends back home, but I was definitely having serious PLU withdrawals during the three months I spent away. I missed my roommate, neighbours, wingmate, co-workers, classmates and the PLU population in general!
I also missed the PLU campus! It is so beautiful!
This year I was a part of the International Orientation process that helped me during my first year here. Orientation involves several information sessions specifically to help international students, fun activities and trips to get acquainted with the area around PLU and the available transportation.
Intl Students waiting for the bus!
We took a trip to downtown Tacoma to get the new students familiar with the surrounding area! We had put together a photo challenge for the new students. They got a map with locations where they had to get pictures of their groups! It was very fun and people got pretty competitive!
Photo: David Chen
Some of the great Orientation Guides!
It was awesome working with such wonderful people!
During orientation we took a trip to Paradise Bowl, the local bowling alley, where we knocked some pins! The new students are very good bowlers!We also took a trip to some of the local flavors of Garfield Street, Rayna`s and Ferrelli`s!
Photo: David Chen
We were mostly hanging out in the Diversity Center!
This room is filled with comfy chairs, couches, pillows and they often
have snacks. This is a place where students come to hang out, have
discussions, sleep or do homework!
A fun game of Apple's to Apple's in the Diversity Center!
Photo: David Chen
President Krise and his wife invited all the new students and staff to his house, the Gonyea House! It is such a beautiful place and they always have wonderful food and drinks! We never miss an opportunity to dress to impress and the new students looked great while having conversations with the President and mingling with other new students!
Many of the Intl students at the Gonyea House.
We had the highest number of new international students in 10 years! To make it better they are a great group of people that I was privileged to get acquainted with. It was very sad when orientation ended and we were no longer together everyday, but I meet many of them around campus and they seem to have grown accustom to the PLU way of life. I’m so proud of you guys!
With such a big group of new Scandinavian students, we have also restarted the Scandinavian Club again! We had our first meeting of Fall 2013 a few days ago and it was a great success! Many domestic students and international students gathered to get to know each other, more about the club and to join us in sharing some tasty Norwegian waffles! Yum!
Hi everyone! The first week of school just got done, and I am really excited for this semester. However, this week does not only mark the first week of classes, but also the first week at my job as an RA (Resident Assistant) at Hinderlie Hall. This means that I help out my residents who live in my wing whenever they need something like help with room mate conflicts, campus resources, etc. I'm really excited for this job not only because I have great residents, but also because the RAs whom I am working with this year are fantastic! As an RA in Hinderlie Hall, I also work a lot with the staff of Hong Hall (check out all the residence halls here! http://www.plu.edu/residential-life/residence-halls/home.php) We work a lot, but we also love having fun together!
Both first year students and returning students moved back to campus on September 5th. By 8:45 am, I already saw lines of first year students waiting outside the door and eager to check out their new home! It was really exciting for me to check students in and meet new faces. It was also nice to check in the returning students and see some familiar faces throughout the day. Though it was a long process and busy day I enjoyed every moment of it, and I know this school year will definitely be an exciting one!
