March 16, 2015

Making the Most of Your Thesis: From Classroom to the 'Real World' (Guest Post)

March 16, 2015/ Katie Dwyer

Korrin Bishop launched her post-graduate life from the network and experience gained through writing an undergraduate thesis. She shares her thesis writing advice, as well as her perspective on leveraging research into 'real world' publication and opportunities.

This is a fabulous post for all those out there who have a thesis looming on the horizon and are wondering how to make it happen an if it really matters. Here's how to do it, and why it's worth the work.

December 29, 2014

What is College For?

December 29, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

It is easy to take things for granted—to forget to question why we make the plans we do, or why we interact with the world in certain ways. Sometimes we are so busy chasing a goal (graduation, a job, a plan, etc.) that we forget to pause for a moment and ask ourselves very real and foundational questions. For example:

WHAT IS COLLEGE FOR?

October 07, 2014

College Logistics: How Do I...

October 07, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

At every stage in the college journey, there is a plethora of shifting logistical and practical questions. Early college questions (How do I register for classes? How do I use the gym? How do I use the online homework website?) give way to mid-college questions (How do I prepare to go abroad? How do I decide if this is the right major for me? How do I move off-campus and deal with all the accompanying real-life logistics?) and finally to the questions that plague soon-to-be graduates (How do I turn in my thesis? How do I get transcripts? How am I going to make it in the real world…)

September 22, 2014

Choosing a Second Language

September 22, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

There are a seemingly infinite number of studies and reports out there on the value of a second language—everything from increased business opportunities to an enhanced ability to empathize or to think creatively. Mastery of a second language is supposed to increase potential lifetime earnings, and possibly stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s. It's also part of every Bachelor of Arts degree, and therefore a graduation requirement for many college undergraduates. So if learning a second language is part of your college future, how do you choose which one to study?

September 01, 2014

Success: Planning the Next Year for Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

September 01, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

The first week back at school is a really good time to think through what you hope for and need for the coming year, and to examine how your decisions now will impact your long-term goals and successes. I’m suspicious of New Year’s Resolutions—the middle of winter is a dreadful time to launch significant life changes and a disruptive point in the calendar to make decisions, particularly when you’re living on the school calendar. However, the start of a new school year is a great time to make some decisions about this coming academic year… and about what comes next.

June 27, 2014

Things I Had to Learn in College: Grocery Shopping

June 27, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

One of the weird things about leaving home to go to college is that there’s an awful lot you have to learn and acclimatize to all at once. Not only do you have to adapt to a new style of teaching and learning, but you also are thrown into being in charge of maintaining your own life. I grew up doing chores, but my folks did a lot of looking after me. So I arrived at college knowing how to vacuum and wash dishes, but not how to do a myriad of other “grown up” things. I had to learn on the fly… and with varying degrees of success.

April 18, 2014

Choosing a College: Gut Feelings and Pro/Con Lists

April 18, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

This decision really could be the most important one you have ever made. That being said, I am also of the opinion that most people can thrive at a whole range of colleges. I think you can happily settle into many different environments, pick from a variety of majors, and develop an active and satisfying undergraduate college experience.

February 14, 2014

Imagined Plan B Futures

February 14, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

I maintain my “Future Plan B” options with full daydreaming passion. But I also cultivate them as possible stepping-stones to the future, if my Plan A should ever change course or stop being viable.

My "Plan B" list has to do with skills to be gained and experiences to be had. They are ideas I love in the manic, dreamer side of my personality, and also satisfy my more methodical, practical self.

January 20, 2014

The Benefits of College Credits in High School

January 20, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

College-level classes will help you prepare for what you’ll be expected to learn once you arrive on campus. And the credits you earn before you arrive on campus will increase your freedom in coursework, flexibility in travel, and your overall opportunity to take advantage of the full breadth of the college experiences available to you.

January 06, 2014

Starting the Semester: The Syllabus

January 06, 2014/ Katie Dwyer

The syllabus is your friend. It tells you exactly what you need to do to be prepared for class, learn what’s valuable, and get a good grade. A well-written syllabus leaves no mysteries to course structure or requirements. It’s all there, on a piece of paper, and you will probably go through an exhaustive discussion on that first day. Pay attention.

December 27, 2013

Resolutions

December 27, 2013/ Katie Dwyer

I don’t believe in resolutions for a new year. But I do believe in setting goals, particularly goals that are on a specific timeline and that have achievable stages to completion. And, since January marks the start of a new semester for most students, it’s a good time to make some new goals for the upcoming period of time.

December 11, 2013

The Power of Manic Lists

December 11, 2013/ Katie Dwyer

Write down what your wild dreams are on some idle Thursday afternoon, and see if they match up three Tuesdays from then. Pay attention. I'm a committed advocate for writing things down, and this applies in the area of wild adventure planning as well. Let yourself dream... and then remember what you dreamed.

November 29, 2013

Thanksgiving far from home

November 29, 2013/ Katie Dwyer

When I came home for Thanksgiving my freshman year of college, it was the first time I really experienced going back home after being away. I had previously gone on family vacations, or a couple of week-long adventures of other kinds and then come home. But moving to college is moving away, and the experience of returning was a very strange one for me.

November 11, 2013

Letters of recommendation: Better know a professor

November 11, 2013/ Katie Dwyer

It is incredibly important to have several professors who know you well and can write you recommendation letters. You should to get to know the faculty for a whole range of reasons, the best of which in my mind is that they tend to be some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet.