"I'm very fond of walking."

Much like my peers Daniel and Danielle, I've started walking to and from the dorms to go to school. Sure I have to wake up an hour earlier to account for the extra commute time but it's worth it. Being in college is so much more work than I realized especially having teachers tell me that Stuy would prepare me for the world of college but I guess Macaulay is a whole different matter. My schedule is so busy (even without extracurriculars!) that I don't have time to get any exercise in which attributes to the proverbial freshman 15 that I'm definitely starting to feel around my wait line. So walking some 40+ blocks is a great way to start the day with some fresh air and vigorous exercise. One of my favorite things about the walk is taking a different route each time. I find myself more exposed to New York than before. I find little boutiques and cafes that are distinctly New York and would have been unknown to me if I took the 15 min. subway ride versus the hour long walk that encompasses a variety of sights and shops. Granted that walking is not a viable option when I wake up late or am feeling just plain lazy, I take the train once in a while to give my wallet a workout.

P.S. The title is a reference to one of my favorite movies "Pride and Prejudice" and applicable in this situation :)

Making Money

It's been over a month since I posted! I apologize.

Last Thursday, I too was a giant green highlighter, welcoming accepted freshman into the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter. I hope many of you decide to join us here at the best school in the city :)

Someone asked a question during one of the student panels about working. Fear not, young scholars, you are allowed to work!

The reason freshman are discouraged from working is because the transition to college can be a big, scary ordeal. You don't want to make it worse by burdening yourself with work - although there are many students perfectly capable of handling it. The overarching reason, which extends throughout your four years in college, is that you are held to a very high academic standard, and Macaulay doesn't want part-time work to get in the way of you succeeding academically,or limit your free time for taking on internships - a valuable learning experience.

Some students don't need to work, because their parents can support all their extraneous financial needs, or because they have outside scholarships. But you've gotta do what you gotta do. Which is why besides my five classes and my one-day-a-week internship, I have two part-time jobs, both of which I just recently obtained. I'm Chief Information Officer for the Public Policy Program (P-cubed) at Roosevelt House, of which I am a part. I manage the email account and the social media (FB, Twitter). And right now, I'm sitting at Knewton, an online test prep company where I do customer service one day a weekend (and have ALOT of downtime for homework).

Is it overwhelming? Yes, sometimes. Do I wish I didn't have to work? Yes, often. But it feels good to be financially independent for the most part, and to still be successful academically.

The great thing about Macaulay? They allow me to learn AND make money. I'm taking advantage of one of Macaulay's many research opportunities this summer, on a project called "Creating the Roosevelt Trail" which I'm really excited about. And the reason I can do this, instead of working another part-time job, is because I can use my opportunities fund to finance it.

Go Macaulay!

Good luck high school seniors - go to the school where you will thrive, as I have here.

-Kaitlyn
kt.ohagan@gmail.com

Pft, What Weekend?

I had first started writing this post about a week ago, but so much work has bogged me down that I only got back to finishing it right now.

First off- Spring break, where are you?! I'm proud to be a student at a college/university/institution of higher learning that actually knows the difference between spring and winter ( I mean, come on, if you have a break in the winter, just call it a winter break, not a spring break. Gets the kids without breaks all confused and even more jealous), but we're already closing in on the end of spring semester here. Can this week go any slower? I need a break, and I bet almost everyone else really wants just as week of pure bliss soon. Even though I know I should start tackling material for finals ( ughhh) and do my piled up statistics homework, I just want to be able to bum for a bit and not feel the weight of my bag bore into my shoulder with the daily amount of books and my laptop that I bring to Hunter each day.

Because of the amount of work I have been awarded for the past two weeks, I've almost been a hermit in both the Hunter library and Baruch libraries. I know I've written about them a lot before in my posts, and I bet my opinion about them has changed ( especially that concerning Hunter library- its a love-hate relationship to say the least), but I gotta say, Hunter library, 5th and 7th floors, are the best places ( at least for me) to get some real work done in quiet and in concentration. I dunno about you, but seeing other people absorbed in their work all around me makes me want to study even more. And I love the big tables where I can just spread all my stuff around to get some real work tackled. Just last week, when studying for my orgo test, I literally spent all of Tuesday after my lab class, from 10:45am till 9pm in the library. Legit. I was in the same spot from 10:45 till about 7, getting up only once to use the facilities, and then moved to another table to get a change in scenery. Most studying done ever in one day, straight on, with no distractions. A huge feat for me, and I must say, it was only possible because of the huge ample space we got here at the library. But, we really do need upgrades, especially more outlets, and bigger tables. Its pretty annoying to have to switch your table or seat each time you need an outlet, and hunting for an available one can be a real pain. Baruch library, on the other hand, has outlets galore, and is a lot prettier. But I'm a lot more comfortable at Hunter, because you can easily eat food (as long as you aren't messy) and have water, while at Baruch, they can really nag you to put your food away.

Normally, I make my own meals here at the dorms, or heat up whatever my mom has made from home, but because I've been here for a while, and because I had to concentrate on my orgo stuff, I was forced to order from out. Man, did I miss Sea King's Hot and Spicy Ginger Chicken. What's funny is how last week, delivery.com had a 50% off sale ( or somewhere around that range) for deliveries, and a couple of friends and I were craving some food at 11pm. Can you believe that Cosmos, a local diner near the dorms, actually delivers?I got my appetite fulfilled when I got my fluffy buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup delivered to the dorms. A definite for the next time that delivery.com has a promo/sale as sweet as 50% off.