Hi everyone!
I can’t believe I’ve made it to my senior year at USC. This year looks like it’ll be the best one yet. So far, I’ve been Viterbi flag bearer for Convocation, turned 21 (yay!), helped plan SWE events, and helped recruit the newest member class for my sorority, Gamma Phi Beta! Yesterday was our first USC football home game, and I had a blast tailgating with my friends and watching the game. It was a great break from the rest of my weekend, which included many study group meetings. This semester I am taking four undergraduate Civil Engineering classes and my first grad class! My fall schedule is really nice because I don’t have classes on Wednesdays or Fridays!
My grad class is probably my favorite class this semester – CE 515 Sustainable Infrastructure Systems. So far we’ve learned how to model systems, and will be working on a term project to model a sustainable system! In my other classes, I am learning about risk analysis, construction management, and strength of materials.
Outside of classes, I am the Treasurer this year for the Society of Women Engineers. We have a great line up of programs for SWE members, including a Professional Development night in a few weeks, and our members retreat at the Moonlight roller rink! I can’t wait.
As a I mentioned one of the highlights of coming back to school was being part of the New Student Academic Convocation with Brenton! I was Viterbi flag bearer and Brenton was the banner bearer. We had such a fun morning!
Getting really excited for convocation with @natralvarez @viterbistudent @ViterbiUG pic.twitter.com/GzOIViNRYG
— Brenton Caldwell (@USCBrenton) August 22, 2013
In other news, my 21st birthday was during the first week of classes! I had a great day going to the California Science Center right across the street from USC. The highlight of my visit was definitely seeing the Endeavor. At the end of my internship at Boeing I got to meet one of the astronauts that flew on the last Endeavor mission! So it was really special to be able to see the Endeavor in person. My friend and I even saw a picture of the astronaut we met, Andrew Feustel, in the Science Center! After I visited the Endeavor, my roommates surprised me with a birthday cake! Definitely a fun way to turn 21.
http://instagram.com/p/dfWHfmogTF/
Time to get back to studying. Until next time,
Natalie
