Hey guys!
Thanksgiving break has been soo good to me. I truly needed a refresher from the routine of school, it was honestly wearing me down a lot. While this semester has been incredibly fun and memorable, senior year has come with its fair share of existential crises, really tough classes, constant caffeination, and many late nights. That being said, I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite moments that fall semester brought on.
1. I went camping with my best friends (read my post about it here!). I went on a birthday roadtrip to Pismo Beach with my roommates, and had the absolute best time. We made s’mores, slept in a tiny little tent, fell asleep by the ocean and jammed to music while driving on the 1. A perfect weekend, topped off with my 21st birthday.
2. I went to Newport Dunes to visit old colleagues from my summer internship!! This was the first weekend of school, and it was so great getting a chance to catch up with old coworkers and hang out on the beach. We watched the most beautiful sunset and danced on a makeshift dance floor with free in-n-out. All of my favorite things!!
3. I signed a job offer!! What the hECK! I’ll be working full time at Edwards Lifesciences in Irvine, CA after graduation, as part of their 2019 TDP (technical development program) class. This is a rotational program that involves 4 4-5 month rotations through various business units and locations, and I’m STOKED to get started.
4. I went to two new concert venues, and am going to another one this week! I went to the Novo theater in LA Live, and the Greek Theater up by Griffith (to see HONNE and BØRNS respectively), and will be heading to the Roxy this week to see Hablot Brown. Slowly chugging away at my LA concert venue bucket list! I also went to another Sofar Sounds in Silverlake (check out my post about my first one here). Bonus: I also went to Sony Pictures Studios to watch the strangest opera of my life, John Cage’s Europeras 1&2. Ask me about this one in person I can’t even explain how interesting this experience was.
5. My DC trip!! I sound like a broken record, but my last blog post was about this trip, and I honestly had the time of my life out there. I hope to stay involved with the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program after I graduate, because after my experience in DC, I truly see the value it has on crafting a well-rounded engineering education at the undergraduate level. Plus I got to travel by myself and get some space from campus.
6. The podcast hit 100 episodes this week! We’ve also gotten picked up by the National Science Foundation’s science360 radio, and are now on Spotify. I am so so excited about the future of Viterbi Voices: the Podcast; we even have official mugs now!
7. I watched so many good movies: Crazy Rich Asians (For free, on campus), Beautiful Boy, Fantastic Beasts 2. I’m actually taking film symposium next semester; it’s this super rad class where you watch unreleased movies and listen to a director/producer on the movie come speak. I’m so excited about it, I can’t wait to take advantage of the poppin LA movie scene.
8. I loved my senior design course this semester. Seriously,I was super worried I wouldn’t get along with my group because I didn’t know any of them beforehand, but we gelled super well and came up with a DOPE product. We’re presenting on Monday (tomorrow!) wish us luck!
9. I got to serve as VP of my service organization, Violence Intervention Volunteers. This has been ridiculously rewarding and simultaneously challenging, and frustrated me a lot this semester. Serving on e-board of a young organization is tough, and when that e-board is not always on the same page, it can get super frustrating to constantly have to be assertive and ensure shit gets done. I learned that I can thrive in that role if I figure out how to approach people, and ultimately I did– as a result, our club greatly expanded programming, planned more events and volunteering opportunities for members, and made a bigger impact on the VIP community at LAC hospital.
10. I made a lot of incredible memories with my closest friends. Whether that manifested in trying new restaurants, bars, or ice cream spots, or spontaneously going to concerts, or tailgating before a football game, or planning a party totally based off the Earth, Wind and Fire song “September,” this semester has had a ridiculous amount of positives. I’m so so grateful for it.
That’s all I got for this week y’all! Peace out, fight on.
Rhea
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