Where to start?

It's been exactly two weeks since the last day of my internship at Johnson & Johnson this summer and it's hard to believe how much has occurred since then. Only five days after my finish I drove back up here to Ithaca from West Chester, PA, unpacked and then attended a BBQ that some of my friends were having. I was looking forward to come back up to school, but even I am slightly surprised by the overwhelming enthusiasm that I currently have for being back. It's so great to see my fellow classmates again and to hear how they liked/disliked their summer experiences. Last year I thought the then-second-years were crazy for being so happy to return to Sage Hall after a summer with evenings and weekends free to do whatever they want but now I completely get it. Nothing builds camaraderie more than working together through the core your first year and knowing that you all survived it together.

I'm also excited to be back because I'm involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities such as Admissions Ambassadors (hosting prospectives for class visits), Leadership Fellows (helping first years with core team cohesion), Career Assistants (helping with mock interviewing), and of course this blog! This is my first time blogging and I am excited by the opportunity to share my experiences with everyone.


Back to my last two weeks, the day after I got back into town I became a facilitator at our Johnson Outdoor Experience event which wraps up the first years' orientation. It was a great experience getting to know some of the first years and to lead them through the team-building and trust exercises. I was able to put my leadership skills into action in a supportive environment and I believe that everyone was able to have a great time. While it was an awesome few days, I was pretty tired after cheering my JOE-lympics team to victory (Go Blue Team!) and crashed as soon as I got home last Saturday.



Sunday brought more friends back into town and some of the gals and I went to Buttermilk Falls to enjoy the day. It was overcast and slightly cool, but that made it perfect weather for hiking near the falls. I wasn't able to make it to any of the gorges or falls last year so I especially enjoyed being able to make the time to do it now. There are so many beautiful places around Ithaca that I'm still dying to explore which was an unexpected surprise upon arriving here. Who knew that the middle of nowhere could be so gorgeous (no pun intended)? I know that plenty of people made the time to do more exploring last year and I certainly envy them for it.

Monday and Tuesday went by in a blur as I bought my books online, searched the bookstores for my course packs and made all of the necessary appointments - hair, eye, gym, etc. I also took some time to stop by Sage to socialize a bit and of course to stop by Randall Sawyer's office to say hi and see how his summer was. I've never met any Admissions Director who genuinely cares for students like Randall (and remembers so much about every single one of them), not to mention he has a great big smile which is incredibly contagious.

Yesterday the school had a community picnic where I was again able to reconnect with faculty, staff, fellow second years and meet new students as well. I love being able to interact and share my thoughts and experiences with people like Rick Sweeney, our Marketing Director for Johnson, and my operations professor Nagesh Gavirneni. I came to the Johnson School for the close-knit community and that's what I got. Having professors and staff approach you and ask about your internship and what classes you're taking this fall is something I personally appreciate. I can't imagine having the same experience at a larger school.

Well, it's now Friday evening and it's time again to socialize and meet more people. I've got a personal goal to meet each and every one of the first years and actually know them by name. I think it's a challenge, but one that I can definitely achieve. Onward and upward!