Roller skating with AIChE

Posted in Extracurriculars, Out and About in LA on 11/20/2009 05:46 pm by brittany

On Tuesday night I took a break from homework and joined AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) for a social event of old-school roller skating in a local indoor rink. About twenty students, most if not all are Chemical Engineering majors, piled into cars and drove about ten minutes west of campus to get our skate on. I have gone indoor roller skating once before during college with my sorority and had a blast, so I had to take this opportunity. Plus a bunch of my friends from class were going.

Our group took over the roller rink since it was a weekday with no crowd. I put on my four-wheeled shoes and slowly made my way down the ramp onto the slick wooden floor. The rink was full of disco lights and 80’s music which set the perfect scene for a “blast from the past” experience. It took a few laps to feel comfortable on my skates and then there was no turning back. My friend and I tried some tricks, and we were even able to figure out how to Moonwalk in the skates! One of my other friends tried to teach me how to skate backwards in an S-pattern, but I fell flat on the ground with every attempt. I also found it difficult to stop or slow down using the breaks on under the ball of your foot. Surprisingly, roller skating was a good workout although I didn’t really break a sweat. Thanks to the AIChE Executive Board for planning such a fun event. It was the perfect study break, although my legs were a little sore the next day. I think that is a sign I need to work out more to get in shape for Ski Season!

Let it snow,
Brittany

 

USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra and Choir

Posted in USC-sponsored Events on 11/13/2009 10:50 pm by brittany

This evening, the USC Thornton School of Music put on a concert with their Symphony Orchestra and Choral Artists (Choir). Both of these groups are made up of USC students with a variety of majors. I attended because one of my engineering friends is in the choir. They performed Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor on the stage in the beautiful Bovard Auditorium on campus. There was a world-renowned guest conductor, Helmuth Rilling, and the main solo singers are very renowned professionals from across the country.

This was a unique experience since I have never seen such a classic, monumental work performed live. Bach finished writing this piece back in 1749! It was all in Latin, but luckily the program had an English translation to follow. Since the piece is called “Mass”, I had a pretty good idea of what was being sung. The performance was absolutely stunning, and I really enjoyed the style of Helmuth’s conducting. It was a refreshing few hours to sink back into a plush seat in Bovard and fill my ears with such harmonic melodies after a long week of school work. The Thornton School of Music is full of some incredibly talented musicians and vocalists, and I always like to support my fellow Trojan peers! Encore!

~Brittany

 

Energy Executives Visit USC

Posted in Professional/Career on 11/06/2009 06:45 pm by brittany

This week has been very productive in terms of networking in the energy industry and learning about the technologies and business plans of the top two energy companies: ExxonMobil and Chevron.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to meet with the Vice President of Chevron Gulf of Mexico, Warner Williams. He was on campus for a meeting and one of my professors arranged to have him meet with students who have interned with Chevron or who are part of USC’s CiSOFT (Center for Interactive and Smart Oilfield Technologies) program. Check out my previous blog post to learn about CiSOFT. This is my second year of involvement with CiSOFT. Some advice I got from Warner during his visit is to always work your hardest at your current job position, and the promotion or next job for you will come in time. Don’t worry about what you need to do to change jobs faster or move up quickly because if you shine in your current job, people will notice and reward you. He also emphasized the importance of lifelong learning, especially because the energy industry is extremely affected by technology and its advances. I was surprised to hear that Warner is actually taking a petroleum engineering class from one of the professors in my department at USC right now. My professor convinced him to go back to school, which was an interesting concept.

On Friday afternoon, the Executive Vice President of ExxonMobil Development Company, Jeff Woodbury, gave a presentation to a select group of students about the energy industry and some technologies ExxonMobil is developing to make production more efficient and environmentally friendly. He shared some interesting statistics about energy and the world. For example, in the year 2030 there will be 3 Billion more energy users than there are today. That’s a lot more people demanding oil, coal, or other forms of energy. He also shared with us his experiences in the industry and some of the previous positions he had before he became VP of the Develpment Company. I asked him how he maintained a work-life balance because with his demanding job, I can imagine it would be extremely hard to make time for other things. However, his answer was great in that he talked about how he blocks out time for priorities in his life, foremost family, and refuses to compromise if people try to schedule work-related events during that time. It was nice to see a different side of such a successful manager.

It was great to interact with these high powered executives to learn more about these companies, but more importantly to see that they are human beings too with great personalities, hobbies outside of their job and families to take care of just like anyone else. It can often be easy to view successful people who are in the spotlight as superstars or unreal humans, so I loved the opportunities this week to interact with each of them in a casual, friendly atmosphere.

Study hard and prosper,

Brittany

 

All Hallows’ Week

Posted in Extracurriculars, Out and About in LA on 10/30/2009 07:06 pm by brittany

Boo!

Since it’s the day before Halloween, I thought it would be fitting to chat about the Halloween events that I’ve attended this week. Last Sunday night, my friends and I carved pumpkins and roasted all the seeds. Check out one of the pumpkins below! On Tuesday night, I carved pumpkins again with Tau Beta Pi, a national engineering honors society in which I am involved. I collected all those seeds as well and roasted them in different seasonings. The combo with basil, oregano, and Tabasco BBQ sauce was to die for! Sometimes experimenting in the kitchen does turn out well. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) planned a trip to a haunted house in Pasadena called Old Town Haunt, so I had to join in the fun! A group drove out there on Wednesday night to find that the haunted house was located in the basement of an old bank and the props used throughout the maze are from Hollywood movie sets including Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was very well done, and I was definitely startled twice by monsters that blended into the dark wall and jumped out in front of me. The AIChE event finished off with a visit to the world famous 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt shop in Old Town Pasadena where I ordered the Pumpkin Pie flavored yogurt with brownie mix-ins. It tasted absolutely amazing! Tomorrow night I’m planning to go to some Halloween parties with my friends, but need to go figure out my costume.

There are so many choices for Halloween costumes, and I am notorious for waiting until the last minute to find one. I was curious to know which costumes are most popular and found a quiz online at Sporcle.com that tests you to see if you can name all the most common ones. Click here to take this quiz! There are a lot of other fun quizzes on this website too if you ever need a study break. After taking this quiz, I knew which Top 20 costumes to stay away from since I like to be slightly creative with my costumes. Guess I will need to do some searching and work on this tonight. Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!

~Brittany

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

 

USC Parents’ Weekend

Posted in Academics, USC Trojans Athletics on 10/23/2009 03:30 pm by brittany

Today is the start of USC Parents’ Weekend, where students’ parents visit for the weekend and attend various events on campus. The most popular are the tailgate and football game tomorrow. Even yesterday as I was walking between classes, I saw tons of parents touring campus with their students, all wearing the Trojan cardinal and gold. I think Parents’ Weekend is most popular for parents of freshmen, but my parents are still planning to come for the fourth time since I’m a senior. USC Parent’s Weekend is quite extravagant with the band playing all over campus, breakfasts hosted by the Deans of each academic school within USC, talks and presentations on a variety of topics, and opportunities for parents to go on lab tours and even attend class with their student (if their student allows them to that is). Of course, Saturday is full of all of the football festivities.

I woke up bright and early to help set up for the Viterbi Dean’s Breakfast and lead lab tours after the breakfast. I met some of my friends’ parents, which was fun. The parents I talked to during the lab tour portion were extremely friendly and although some were alumni of Oregon State, the team we are playing tomorrow, they still wore Trojan gear since it’s not game day yet. One of the labs parents visited with me is called the Gamepipe Lab. In this lab Computer Science and Computer Engineering students design video games. It was super interesting. One game students made for the iPhone is like Guitar Hero, you can play songs from your iPhone playlist in the game. Sounds awesome! Take a look!

This afternoon my sorority is having an open house for our parents to take a tour of the beautiful home we are fortunate enough to live in. As I write this post, girls in my sorority are showing their parents around our sorority house. In a few hours we are having a BBQ on our lawn with all the parents, which I’m excited for since the weather is gorgeous today! Sunny and 85 degrees in the middle of October, which is one of the reasons I love Southern California!

Game time is at 5PM tomorrow, and I can’t wait! Beat the Beavers! Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit me!

~Brittany

 

Week full of Professional Networking Events on Campus!

Posted in Academics, Professional/Career on 10/16/2009 06:49 pm by brittany

This week flew by, which is pretty indicative of how my senior year is going so far. Since I am graduating next year, I feel like I am riding the line between finishing up school and starting to prepare for the real world. A few events that occurred this week really made this transition apparent.

I worked at the Viterbi Career Conference last weekend, which is a day where company representatives come to USC to hold a variety of workshops, resume reviews, and mock interviews to prepare students for the upcoming career fair. I facilitated a session called Time Management given by a representative from Lockheed Martin. It was extremely beneficial to learn tips to better use my time because this is something I often struggle with. The better you manage your time, the more free time  you have! Other workshops included Understanding Recruiters, Branding Yourself, as well as alumni and internship panels. The conference concluded with a DELICIOUS catered lunch and more interaction with the company reps.

On Monday evening I attended a CiSOFT reception and poster presentation. CiSOFT stands for the Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies which is a research partnership between USC and Chevron. As a student scholarship recipient through this program, I was invited to attend and interact with graduate students who presented their research on a variety of interesting topics, including carbon sequestration. Additionally, I interacted with industry representatives over a yummy and fancy catered meal. It was extremely helpful to get some career advice since I will be jumping into the workforce next year.

Another professional networking event hosted by Viterbi Career Services and Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honors society for which I am a board member, took place on Wednesday night. It was held at the swanky University Club on campus and set up like speed dating, which was so much fun! We had five minutes to sit down with each company representative and chat. I asked questions about the companies they work for, positions available, what the representatives do as a job, how they like working at the company, and for any career advice. It was really informal, which I liked because it allowed me to connect with the representatives, many of whom are campus recruiters, on a different level than a career fair or interview setting. I spoke to representatives from Cisco, Intel, Edwards Lifesciences, Microsoft, and Brocade.

These events were very helpful and a ton of fun. Each event further confirmed how excited I am to begin a fulltime job next year, especially when I have crazy academic work weeks like this past week. It would be so nice for once to come home at night and not have 8+ hours of homework left.

Peace out,

Brittany

 

Just Returned from New Orleans!

Posted in Academics, Extracurriculars on 10/09/2009 07:50 pm by brittany

Just got back from the ATCE (Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition) hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers International. This year it was held in New Orleans, LA, so of course I had to attend. The conference was extremely impressive, and tons of companies related to the petroleum industry had exhibits at the conference where students were able to interact and learn about the company, as well as their new products. This was a great networking experience both with companies and fellow engineering students from all over the world. I met students from Egypt, Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Nigeria. There were also several technical talks from professors at various universities who perform research relevant to the petroleum industry. The four talks I attended were way over my head in terms of content, so I preferred to wander the exhibit floor and network. This also confirmed my interest to join the workforce immediately after graduation next year, as opposed to attending graduate school right away. Another perk of the conference was that the companies all gave away cool, free stuff. Halliburton gave away portable iPod speakers!

Being in New Orleans was an experience in itself. I have never been to Louisiana, and really enjoyed exploring the French Quarter and testing out the famous Bourbon Street. I can’t imagine how crazy it must be on Mardi Gras. By suggestion from several people, I tried the famous beignets at Café du Monde. Beignets are like donuts drenched in way too much powdered sugar, but definitely a yummy treat! Also, I had to try jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish etoufee, oysters, red beans and rice, and gator sausage! Love that gumbo! Another cool aspect of this trip was that I had a mini reunion with my fellow summer interns at Chevron since they attended the conference with their universities while I was representing USC. I think about 20-30 of them were there, so it was great to hang out again and catch up after spending an entire summer working together and exploring California on the weekends.

It was interesting to jump into the professional world for a few days, and now it’s time to get back into the swing of things at USC. Missing two days of school was tough so now I am playing catch up, but the experience was definitely worth it, especially since I am entering the energy industry next year fulltime.

Until next time,

Brittany

 

Beatles Rock Band

Posted in Extracurriculars on 10/02/2009 04:47 pm by brittany

Last night I discovered the joys of Beatles Rock Band. I know this game has been out for a while, but this is the first chance I’ve had to test it out. Although I’ve played Guitar Hero and Rock Band many times before, Beatles Rock Band was especially fun since I knew all of the songs. The Beatles are one of my all-time favorite bands!

I enjoy playing the guitar mostly because my foot gets sore from pedaling when I play the drums. At the moment, I am right on the cusp of Medium level being too easy on the guitar but Hard is still a challenge for me to pass the entire song. Any suggestions? I am stuck on Medium level right now with the drums, but I think I could improve if I can find some more free time in the day, something that busy college students have to make a real effort to save for themselves. Singing on Easy is about all I can handle so far. I am always in awe when I watch two of my friends play on Expert and get 99% like it’s a walk in the park.

Go to the bottom to check out a funny comic I found that relates to Guitar Hero and Rock Band games.

Favorite songs from last night’s game: Come Together, Here Comes the Sun, Day Tripper

Rock on,

Brittany

guitar hero

 

Home Sweet Beach

Posted in Out and About in LA on 09/25/2009 04:46 pm by brittany

One of the things I love about the location of USC is its proximity to Southern California beaches. I grew up near the beach and can see the ocean from my bedroom at home and my backyard. Take a look below! It was a little tough moving “inland” when I decided to come to USC for college, but fortunately I’ve had many opportunities to continue to visit LA beaches from Malibu to Newport in the last few years. Already in the first month of school this semester, I’ve been to the beach four times, which is a healthy weekly average. I spent the day there last weekend with a group of friends, and plan to do the same this coming weekend with another group. Out of all the Southern California beaches, I would have to say Hermosa Beach is my favorite because it has great volleyball courts, nice sand, a very local feel, fun atmosphere on and near the pier, decent waves, and usually it’s not too crowded. Here’s a picture from our beach day at Hermosa last weekend.

When talking to my friends at universities on the east coast a few weeks ago, I definitely rubbed in the fact that I was soaking up the sun on a gorgeous, clear day and getting in a few games of beach volleyball while they were couped up inside doing homework with no beach or ocean in sight. Beach volleyball is a must for me every time I visit the beach. Although it is much more difficult, I prefer two-man beach volleyball as opposed to four or six players on each side of the court. However, if a lot of people want to play, then it is more fun to include everyone and make the games less competitive.

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who grows up near the beach surfs. I have been surfing once or twice with friends in high school, but am definitely still a beginner. I usually go in the ocean just to cool off after a game of volleyball. The great thing about the weather in Southern California is that you can visit the beach year round. The best weather to play volleyball in is slightly overcast, so you stay cool and the sun doesn’t prevent you from seeing the ball at certain times. Sometimes, though, nice beach volleyball weather does not equal refreshing ocean temperature. The ocean is really only pleasant to swim in during the summer months without some form of a wetsuit. Just talking about the beach is making me more and more excited about going again this weekend to celebrate my friend’s brithday. Thanks Sarah for planning a beach day and Happy Birthday!

~Brittany~

 

#15 Women of Troy Beat Portland

Posted in USC Trojans Athletics on 09/18/2009 10:19 pm by brittany

As this is my last year as a USC undergraduate, I kind of have a bucket list of things I still want to do at USC before I graduate. On Friday night, I was able to accomplish one of those things, which is to attend a Women’s Volleyball game at the Galen Center. I attended a women’s volleyball game when I was in high school, but at that time the team played in our current student gym, the Lyons Center. The Galen Center is so much more professional and impressive and our Women of Troy played strongly! They are very fun to watch and swept the Portland Pilots in three games!!!

I was also impressed by how many members of the Spirit of Troy marching band were there to support our team and instill intimidation into our opponents. Each time the Women of Troy had possession of the ball, they yelled “U” for the first contact, “S” for the second contact, and “C ya” for the third contact and kill. The band chanted, “U, S, C ya” every time we had possession of the ball without fail. At first it was clever and entertaining, but by the tenth time in a row, it was slightly irritating. I would definitely not be able to concentrate if I was on the opposing team, so I guess it works. Hey, at least they’ve got spirit!

Every sporting event I’ve attended since I’ve been a student has helped me develop such strong Trojan pride, and I hope to continue to build my Trojan pride throughout my last year here and throughout my lifetime as a USC alumnus. Fight on!

~Brittany~

Women of Troy

Women of Troy