News From DCA: The Ded-Beat Volume 4, Edition 1
Dedman College. Minds Moving The World. DCA’s TOP TEN LIST
Everything a new Mustang needs to know! 1) Orientation is a beautiful disaster. Let the awkward bonding activities happen. You will get a good story out of it and probably make a few new friends! I still talk to the people I shared a cabin with that weekend. 2) The Residential Commons each have their own distinct personalities. Each commons on campus has its own traditions, values and overall feel. My freshmen year on the second floor of McElvaney was one of the greatest parts of my college experience.
5) Reserve study rooms for finals at least two months in advance. Those suckers fill up fast. When finals week rolls around sooner than you ever wanted it to, you will find that the numerous libraries on campus have become the most populated places on the earth. Save yourself the trouble of having to find a quiet corner and reserve a study room. 6) Learn how to do your homework efficiently. Three hours of focused studying, writing and learning will benefit you more than eight hours of occasionally skimming your textbook while Facebook stalking your new friends. 7) Look up, life is the thing that happens off line. My mom said that to me this summer and it has become my go-to phrase for the year. Social media is a great and terrifying thing. Don’t let it run your life, though. Freshmen year will be over before you know it. 8) The first two weeks are kind of like the hunger games of friendship making. Everyone will be susceptible to making new friends. Take advantage of this! Sit with new people at lunch and meet friends from all over the world. Everyone is in a new environment and going through the same transition you are. It’s exciting yet nerve racking! Regardless of whether or not you stay best friends with your orientation buddy, that person will always be a comforting face and a nice “hello” as you are running to class late.
3) Everyone changes his or her major at least once. Not everyone goes into college with a set life plan. Shocking, I know. Take random classes, explore different majors and enroll in a course taught by the crazy yet lovable professor you heard about! Just following SMU’s university curriculum will open up many doors and help you experience all the great majors SMU has to offer. And if for some reason you don’t find one you click with, you can always create your own! 4) Hit the ground running. While freshmen year may seem like the perfect time to blow off grades and focus on having fun and making friends, getting that GPA back up may be difficult. It is best to start off your college career by finding your academic stride. It is easier to keep grades high from the start, rather than having to save them once they have fallen.
9) While “going out” is an option almost every night, that does not always mean you should go. College is a beautiful new world where those frat partys you always saw on TV are a real thing. Yes they are fun, and yes they are a great place to meet people and relax. However, a night in the commons catching up on sleep or just taking a night for yourself does wonders for the soul. Say “no” once in a while. 10) It flies by. If you thought high school went by fast, then get ready for a rollercoaster. Enjoy your time in college; everything is so fresh, new and exciting. Enjoy each moment, even the bad ones. Learn from those late nights crying over popcorn. It is perfectly ok to not be ok, because everything will be all right in the end. College is such a short part of your life. Make it last! - DCA Staff
Welcome to Your New Dor… ahem, Commons By A.J. Jeffries
This is the first year that 11 residential commons are open to the first years and sophomores required to live in them. Five of the buildings— Armstrong, Crum, Loyd, Kathy Crow and Ware—are big, beautiful and brand spanking new. My class, the first to experience the res-commons life, has the indescribable pleasure of being the first to make messes in these unhallowed halls, and it has been delightful. Don’t worry, though. There will be plenty of firsts left for the class of 2019 to claim when you get here.
I have the privilege of being president of Armstrong Commons, and I want to give you the presidential tour of the new system. This year, students’ unfamiliarity with the residential commons model led to confusion about the significance of the new system, and many students (as indicated by the title) do not yet recognize the difference between the “commons” and the “dorms” or “residence halls” of prior years. Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll know a bit more than your elders when you arrive on campus. The most obvious difference is the new requirement that incoming students live on campus for two years rather than the traditional one. At first, students who wanted to realize their
Friends (the show) dreams and live in an apartment with all their besties were disappointed, but by now, as the semester comes to a close, students have come to accept the extra year. An extra year means everyone has two years of more difficult rationalizations for ditching class and, more importantly, two years of buffet style dining. Another major change is the way students are assigned to their new homes. Or, more accurately, the fact that students are assigned to a commons, rather than choosing the dorm all their old friends are going to as happened in the past. SMU hopes the new model will bring together students from diverse backgrounds and with differing interests, allowing people to make friends from different cultures, schools and programs. Incoming first years can still select their roommates, or simply request a roommate from a group they are part of (sports team, University Honors Program, etc.). Now that we live in the residential commons system, we live with a far more varied group of people than in the past, forcing everyone out of their comfort zones a bit. Those two changes are obvious, but neither truly embodies what the res-commons system can mean for SMU. In every commons there is a council, a dedicated group of students working to hold events for everyone in the commons in the interest of promoting good company. I lead Armstrong’s council and attempt to keep our dreams from breaking too many school policies (no crazy bonfires, sadly). Our job is simple: make our commons a happy, “homey” place to live.
In just one semester at Armstrong we have held a variety of events, from simple things like gathering to watch Sunday Night Football over wings to enjoying a Mean Girls movie night on the lawn. Really, the only thing all these events have in common is food, because no one in college is crazy enough to reject free nibbles! We also try to introduce people from around the commons who haven’t met each other, bringing together folks who may merely have seen each other in the hallways without ever being introduced.
Armstrong Commons’ council tries to make some of the more difficult times in academic life a little less painful. For example, this year we brought in three massage therapists before finals to help take a little weight off people’s backs as they studied for finals (pun wholeheartedly intended). To make Armstrong feel a bit more like home, we also decorated for holidays, turning our lobby into Willy Wonka’s candy factory on Halloween and throwing up Christmas and Hanukkah decorations for the winter holidays. Every commons has different events and chooses to celebrate holidays differently, and obviously Armstrong does it best, but no matter where students are placed when they arrive at SMU one thing will be universal: first years and sophomores at SMU will have an exciting, unique place to call home during their time on campus.
Student Spotlight on Kelsey Smith - Class of 2016 Majors: History, Political Science, Philosophy Minors: Religious Studies, Law and Legal Reasoning Delta Gamma Fraternity Pre-Law Scholar & Hilltop Scholar NARA Intern at the George W. Bush Presidential Library “Being in a different country, surrounded by foreign languages, people and places, forced me to see that there is so much more to explore than my little beloved bubble of SMU.” -Kelsey, on studying abroad
Kelsey, with friends at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Just Go
By Sorsha Huff - Class of 2016 I always knew I wanted to study abroad—the travel bug bit me early on in life and since then I’ve wanted to go everywhere. Years of Spanish classes in middle and high school pointed the way to Spain, and everything finally clicked together my freshman year when I learned about SMU’s program in Madrid. Knowing where I wanted to go was easy— everything after that, slightly less so. But it’s the problems and discomfort in traveling that make you realize that you really are equipped to deal with them. Again, getting there was not easy. The wonderful people in the International Center (you’ll become quite familiar with the folks in Blanton Building, Suite 216) could only help so much. Ultimately it was up to me to order my visa (do this EARLY), pack my bags (pack light!), and buy my plane ticket (find out about scholarships on abroad.smu.edu or talk to your financial aid adviser). And spoiler alert, being there was not always a walk in the park either (though it often was, frequently quite literally). Homesickness is a force to be reckoned with, as is actual physical sickness. Language gaps turn casual requests into awkward pantomiming. And getting lost is pretty much a daily activity. Everyone encounters these problems, and I certainly was no exception (especially for the getting lost part). I missed my family and friends like crazy, but it made me really appreciate and prioritize our brief Skype dates. I learned my way around the typical Spanish pharmacy (very different from CVS). I got pretty good at that aforementioned awkward pantomiming and learned lots of useful Spanish. And the day I gave someone else directions, I felt like Carmen Sandiego and Bear Grylls mixed into one. So after a few months, I started worrying less about these inconveniences and started enjoying Madrid. Of course studying abroad anywhere would probably have been amazing, but can I just give a shout out to Spain for a second? I fear that it is severely underrated. The food is incredible—in fact, northern Spain has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin stars in the world. The capital is a gorgeous cocktail of the ultra-modern and the lavishly antiquated. The Metro system will take you anywhere you need to go, and you can get international plane tickets for under $50. It’s the little things that make great stories, that make you feel more confident and ready to take on the world. You can find yourself on a map, you can make the last-minute trip happen, you can overcome homesickness and be your own Carmen Sandiego-Bear Grylls combo. So if you can—if there’s any way at all—get out there and go for it. Because when else in your life are you going to have the opportunity to downsize your world to a backpack in exchange for the rest of the world just outside?
Meet the Authors and Editors of The Ded-Beat
Sorsha Huff Class of 2016 Author
Kaitlin Ostling Class of 2017 Author
A.J. Jeffries Class of 2016 Author
Jaime Shim Class of 2017 Editor
Kelsey Smith Class of 2016 Author & Editor
Elishah Ramos Class of 2015 Author
Hegi Career Center
By Elishah Ramos - Class of 2015 I have had great experiences with the Hegi Career Center, and my recommendation for any incoming student is to get to know team in the Career Center as early on as possible. Ever since I met with Chelsi McClain in my junior year, a career counselor, she has essentially become my life coach. Chelsi is very easy to talk to and understanding, even when you’re not sure about what your plans are after graduation. She was willing to meet with me, help me find my strengths and weaknesses and start guiding me in the right direction. I first met Chelsi through my business writing class, a class that required us to have a mock interview for a graded assignment. Though at first I thought it would be weird and uncomfortable, but once I actually met Chelsi, I saw how natural it was to talk and work with her. After the mock interview was over she gave me some feedback and offered to help with any other upcoming projects, interviews and networking opportunities. Since first working with Chelsi, I have taken her up on her offer and have met with her several times throughout the semesters. She, and the rest of the team in the Career Center, have been very supportive of all of my endeavors and have been incredibly helpful from looking over my résumé, sharing insight on any potential job opportunities, encouraging me before and after interviews, or just when I’ve needed someone to talk to and point me in the right direction. What stands out to me the most about the work that they do it the Career Center is that the counselors truly care about the students who they work with. I have been contacted multiple times by Devon Skerritt, the Assistant Director, Chelsi and others, to let me know about different opportunities available for me because as we’ve worked together, they’ve learned about my interests and passions. For any student at SMU, I would highly encourage them to take advantage of the Career Center and the resources it has to offer. Once you’ve met with them, you become a part of their family and they will certainly take good care of you.
Dedman College P.O. Box 750235 Dallas, TX 75275-0235 smu.edu/dedman
Dedman College Ambassadors: Who We Are and What We Do Dedman College Ambassadors (DCA) is an organization that allows students in Dedman College to get involved in campus programming, prospective student events and activities across the greater Dallas area. Becoming a member is easy and allows you the opportunity to spead Dedman College pride through all of SMU. Check us out online at smu.edu/dca or on facebook at facebook.com/DedmanCollegeAmbassadors for the latest DCA updates and events or email us at dca@smu.edu. of my friends, I didn’t have to start from admission into the BS-MS program in Working the maze of Biology scratch on a new major. the spring of their sophomore year. By Kaitlin Ostling Like any good scientist, I began My advice to any student who to do research. Southern Methodist wishes to follow this path, find a The first fact of life you learn University offers many amazing professor on campus who is doing freshmen year of college: everyone majors in the sciences that cater to research ask (or beg) to work in their and their mother is pre-med. Having those who do not want to go on to lab. Once you do that they can help entered SMU as a pre-med student become doctors. They range from guide you through the process. Due to myself, I can attest to this. The second the fact that few students actually go fact of life: everyone drops. Now, I don’t environmental engineering to health and society. One particular program through with this program, the mean to say that if you go into college peaked my interest while I was flipping application process can be confusing pre-med you will inevitably switch to a through what I have dubbed “The Big at times… as in there is no form online different major. However in my Book Of Majors!” (yes, an exclamation that says “email this person if you have experience, many people realize that point is necessary). any interest.” To deal with that, finding though they loved science in high The program is a combined a professor to help is necessary! school, and pre-med seemed like the five-year BS and MS degree in most logical choice for college, they molecular and cell biology geared simply didn’t have passion or drive to towards students who hope to go on to continue in the face of an 8am work in the research field. Exciting stuff, organic chemistry class. I myself right? While I know that science is not realized during my first semester for everyone, those of you who feel any sophomore year, that as much as I sort of interest or passion for biology wanted to live out Grey’s Anatomy (and should take a look. So, for any students out there believe me, I dreamed about living in The program offered me the who have a passion for biology, yet those scrubs), I didn’t want to commit perfect solution: a future in science and don’t feel that med school is really the half of my life to schooling. This led to less time in school! I myself am still best option, I highly recommend quite a dilemma, what the can a girl do applying. The application process inchecking out this program! More details when they are knee deep in a biology volves the student, in coordination with can be found in the ‘Academic major and don’t want to go to medical a faculty member, applying to the Programs’ tab within the biology school? Luckily, I still love science, and Biology Graduate Committee for department page on the SMU website. I still love biology. So, unlike a couple