Category Archives: Bryn

Poonam’s Outfits and Interview

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For this week’s blog post, my friend and fellow blogger Poonam and I had a photoshoot highlighting different outfits for interviews and the workplace and talked with each other about our experiences around work attire . Our good friend Harry made a guest appearance. Enjoy!

B: Describe your outfit choices and for what situations or occasions they would be worn.

Poonam’s work party outfit

P: The black skirt/ white top combination is what I like to think of as a perfect work party outfit—I feel like there are frequently social events for staff outside of office where you have a little bit more liberty with your outfit choice. While it is a great opportunity to ditch the corporate wear momentarily, you still want to be mindful of how you present yourself. The flowy skirt in this outfit really jazzes things up and makes the outfit fun but still appropriate.

Poonam’s comfortable outfit

I really like the peach top, Capri pants, and flats combination for one huge reason: COMFORT. I know friends who have felt social pressure at work to wear heels, but personally I don’t last more than a few hours before collapsing. There are so many tiring aspects of working a long day—your outfit just shouldn’t be one of them. This example is great for jobs where you’re on the move and being seated isn’t really an option. I know this summer, when I would be overseeing and scrambling after events on campus, this type of outfit was my savior. I looked put together AND my feet were still intact at the end of the day.

“The Classic”

The last outfit (striped top, black pants, heels) is “the Classic” work outfit. Not much to say about it besides the fact that it is wonderfully appropriate in the traditional sense of work attire—classy, professional, and mature. Throwing on a black blazer completes the look and gives the entire outfit an extra edge.

B: I’m a student and don’t have a lot of money to spend on professional attire. How do I stay cost effective and cute?

P: Sales! Every article of work clothing I own is from the sale section of a department store. Just have to be a determined and persistent shopper. Places like Ross and Target are also incredible for decently priced work attire. Moreover, I have found that having two pairs of pants and a skirt is totally sufficient for many combinations of outfit bottoms—it’s all about the mixing and matching.

Poonam and me all dressed up!

B: Halloween is around the corner—what the scariest clothing mishap you’ve ever had?

P: Nothing too horrendous that I can think of; the worst was one day this summer where I tumbled down the stairs of Steele in my heels and then had to put them back on to meet a client. My ankle was throbbing and I couldn’t exactly stand straight. It was a bit embarrassing to be wobbling around– but all is well that ends well, right?

Poonam, Harry, and me in our dress robes

B: Besides getting dressed, what’s the most intimidating part of an interview?

P: The questions you didn’t see coming. I’m always afraid about the questions not really related to the position but more like “If you could go back in time and meet one person, who would it be?” I usually go into an interview feeling prepared and confident about the position itself and my qualifications, but for some reasons, questions like this that put you on the spot to be creative tend to throw me off a bit.

B: In an ideal world, what would your work attire be?

P: Relaxed and comfortable. I don’t particularly love dressing like Condoleezza Rice on a daily basis (too much effort and planning), so a work environment that embraces the contemporary business/ semi-professional look would be super ideal. I would be thrilled with a job where dark wash jeans were perfectly acceptable!

 

OWN IT.

Dear Readers, What do you think about these outfits? Would you wear them to work or to work related events? Have a great week everyone!

Networking at the Acapocalypse

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This past Saturday, my a cappella group, the After School Specials, packed up and headed south to San Diego for a regional collegiate a cappella invitational. Besides the fact that the concert was extremely fun and our group totally rocked it, the whole event was a great lesson in networking.

The event was called the Acapocalypse and was hosted by the a cappella group Pointless at Point Loma Nazarene University, which has a beautiful campus literally on the ocean. Seven groups from around Southern California performed in all, and the show also included a beat boxing battle. Here’s our beat boxer, Pomona freshman Pranay Yeturu, wowing the crowd with his 30 second piece (he won, if you were wondering). As the group’s Event Coordinator, I’ve been interested in increasing our presence off of the 5C campus. We perform on campus very often, whether for school sponsored or student run events, but haven’t spent much time touring other campuses or performing at invitationals alongside other groups from the area. In an attempt to change this, we’ve been carefully cultivating our Facebook and YoutTube page and were delighted to have been invited to the Acapocalypse, especially when the student organizing the event told us he had found out about us through Facebook and by watching our videos. Online presence and how you portray yourself in different online communities can really make a difference in how a group is perceived in the a cappella world, and I anticipate the same being true for me personally and my forthcoming career search.

Daniel, Aleina, and I during vocal warmups for our performance at the Acapocalypse

Throughout the event and afterwards at the get together Pointless hosted few were able to mingle and get to know groups from other schools (including USC and SDSU). This was fantastic because we were able to connect with groups that we hope to host here at the 5Cs and possibly travel to perform with at their colleges or universities. Members of different groups were able to bond over a shared love of music and interest in getting to know others involved in collegiate a cappella. Just as I’ve found in situations that allow for networking related to personal career, finding commonalities and shared interests can be a great entry point to making a connection with someone who you might benefit from knowing or who might benefit from knowing you in the future. It’s great to keep your options open and make contact with as many people as possible, plus it’s just fun to meet new people and hear about their life and career experiences. I think immediately of an event in Beirut that surprised me as being a fantastic networking opportunity: a homebrew festival at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. At this event, I was able to make a connection with someone who worked in the Foreign Service over how completely adorable I found his dog, pick his brains about the Foreign Service exam and his experience working for the State Department, and get his email for further questions and help. I also made connection with the CEO of one of the top brewing companies in Lebanon (961) over the fact that I work in a brewery when I’m home in Santa Cruz who after our chat offered me a job working for him whenever I’m back in Lebanon. Moving back to Beirut is an option for after graduation, so having some possibilities already set out should that happen is fantastic.

The group got to stop at the beach on our way to sing to enjoy some sun and stick our toes in the water

Back to a cappella—the trip also reminded me of how essential to life being able to take things in stride and problem solve can be. Continue reading →

On Interviews and Business Casual

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By my next blog post, I’ll have completed the three interviews I have scheduled for next week; there are lots of mock and campus interviews in my future.

I’m guessing this is likely the last year I’ll have to differentiate actual interviews from fake ones, and I feel fortunate to have CP&R as a resource that is able to provide the mocks. If you haven’t utilized their mock interviews I would highly recommend scheduling one. In my mock Fulbright interview with Gretchen, I was able to respond to questions directly related to the Fulbright and then go over how my answers could have been stronger. While I know we are all brilliant and qualified for the fellowships, internships, and jobs we’ll be interviewing for, it only makes sense to take advantage of the practice runs that are mock interviews. Having certain responses down, e.g. a challenging situation and how you got through it and grew from it, will mean you can focus your energies during the conversation on being articulate and engaging rather than scrambling for answers. This will make a huge difference, and I can tell you this with 100% authority as someone who interviews prospective students and sits through quite a few both very well prepared for and ill prepared for interviews every week.  For your viewing pleasure, this is one of my favorite interview scenes ever. Here’s hoping nothing like this ever happens to you!

This brings me to my next and quite related subject, which is interview and job attire. In honor of CP&R’s recent professional dress fashion show, I’ll be talking a little bit about what I’ve been wearing to work interviewing prospective students with the Scripps Office of Admissions. The fact of the matter is, I kind of always thought that I would hate wearing professional dress or even business casual because it would be restricting and no fun. Instead, it turns out I adore it. The secrets to the ease in which I’ve been dressing are two: Marshalls and Forever 21. At these two stores, I found a number of very inexpensive jackets, pencil skirts and flowy pleated skirts, and blouses (sleeveless, short sleeve, and button-up) in a wide enough variety of colors and patterns that even after a month of piecing together outfits for the office, I’m able to mix things up. Throw in fun jewelry like that wooden fish necklace I picked up at a garage sale this summer and some staples, namely black straight-legged trousers from Gap and incredibly comfortable black flats from Born, and I have lots of delightful outfits to wear to work.

How are other fellowship applicants feeling about the upcoming interviews? Which questions are you looking forward to answering and which are you dreading? And most importantly, should I do a work attire photo shoot for next week’s blog? Vote yes or no in the comments section. Have a great week, everyone!

The Fateful Day Has Arrived

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Hurray! I am exhausted and so ready to not look at my Fulbright and Watson applications any longer. Luckily, I handed my Watson to Claire Bridge in the Office of the President before the noon deadline yesterday, and sent my Fulbright application off somewhere into cyberspace just after that. I thought I was going to feel more of a weight off my shoulders but the thing is, it’s all just beginning! I have a mock Fulbright interview this Friday, proper interviews next week, and should the committee like my Watson proposal (cross your fingers) I’ll have an interview for that, too. Then, of course, there’s that thesis proposal due and a paper.

Here’s a cool old map of the Camino de Compostela, a pilgrimage route in northern Spain I may be trekking around this time next year should my Watson be selected. (thanks to the RetireUSA blog)

I’m not going to lie. I struggled to keep myself chugging away on both of the applications (why is writing single spaced so much more difficult than double spaced?), and there were a certain, very few, factors that kept me going when the Fulbright Embark Online Application logged me out for the 50th time.

They were:
1) The professors I asked to write my references. On the whole they were sweet and enthusiastic that the thought of just…skipping the Watson application after so many hours of research and work felt like letting them down more than letting myself down. In particular I’m thinking of one amazing Pomona religious studies professor, who will be writing a Watson reference should I be selected but not a Fulbright, and told me rather gleefully at the Religious Studies tea last week that he “couldn’t wait to write my letter” and that he “already had most of it written in his head”. Remembering that professors I respect and have learned so much from feel that way encouraged me to get back to work.

2) How much I would actually love to carry out my projects. If either of them sounded any less fascinating and up my alley, I would’ve struggled even more to complete them. Both proposals combine my love for anthropological research with an exploration of young people’s narratives of religious identity, whether to do with Islam in Jordan for the research Fulbright (titled “Perspectives on Faith: Shifting Religious Identities of Young Jordanians”) or with different religious pilgrimages for the Watson. I think the fact that I haven’t lost interest but in fact my interest is still growing is a good sign, and I look forward to testing my passion and knowledge of these subjects in interviews to come.

Here’s a cool aerial view of Amman, in the running for my new home after graduation! (thanks Wikipedia)

Really though, we should celebrate! I’m going out to Eureka Burger for dinner with a whole bunch of friends who were working on the Fulbright, Watson, or both to celebrate our accomplishment. The thing is, any experience or process that forces you to think critically about what you love to do, what you find fascinating, where else you can explore is a valuable exercise whether or not you get awarded funds. Last year in hopes of doing research in Beirut, I put together a proposal and applied for a Johnson research grant from Scripps. The application forced me to clarify a lot of things that were simply fuzzy ideas before and while when I didn’t get the grant I was disappointed,  I was grateful that I had had the chance to do this. I was able to strengthen my proposal, find an internship that also matched up with my interests, and actually get more funding when I was awarded the Conflict Management Internship grant.

So how are other fellowship applicants feeling? Relieved? Ready to sleep for about 48 hours? Congratulations to all!

Looking Back, it all Connects

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Lately, what with all the personal statements for fellowships, thesis planning, and suddenly turning into a senior and (supposedly) oldest and wisest of students, I’ve been thinking about the trajectory of my academic and career interests over the last four plus years. How did I arrive where I am today? Plans and interests will keep morphing, likely narrowing, but for now it’s pretty satisfying to look back and be able to trace a thread through my activities, interests, and classes dating relatively far back. I think this is probably true for most of us. For periods of time, I may not have seen what path I was on, but looking back it seems surprisingly coordinated. Hopefully giving you a picture of this trajectory will provide good background for future blog posts.

Growing up, I learned about practices and tenets of different faith traditions including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. My family celebrated Christmas, Hanukah, and winter and summer solstice every year, and I fully observed Ramadan in 10th grade. We have a number of  Muslim Sufis family friends who are scholars of Arabic, Arab poetry and politics, and the like. I have no doubt that all this influenced where I’ve ended up interest-wise and academically, as a Middle Eastern Studies and Religious Studies dual major taking Arabic.

When I was 12 I started attending youth Vipassana meditation retreats. Six years of these and the resulting meditation practice have deeply affected  my outlook on and method of living life. In addition, I grew to delight in hearing about others’ beliefs, life philosophies, and personal thoughts on religion, especially those of people near my age. A regular fixture of the retreats were discussion groups, where we shared and and unpacked each others’ beliefs, worries, and life experiences in small groups. Since, I feel I’ve carved out an area of study that incorporates this interest in others’ relationships with religion into the more theoretical fields of anthropology, ethics, and religious studies.

Since, I’ve become a Middle Eastern Studies and Religious Studies dual major. My concentration within Religious Studies is Middle Eastern Studies, Islam being the faith I focus on most closely. Some of my favorite classes focusing on Islam include Islam versus Islam with Professor Alwishah at Pitzer and Mysticism and the Great Traditions and Islam and Democracy during my semester abroad at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London (check it out as a great possibility for those of you interested in studying abroad in the UK and focusing on regional or language studies). I took several years of fusHa, Modern Standard or media Arabic at CMC then segued into independent studies covering specific Arabic dialects. Last semester I created a class with Arabic Professor Ramadan and another friend focusing on Levantine Arabic. This semester, I meet once a week with a Lebanese CMC professor and several other students to speak and improve our Lebanese dialect specifically.

I took at CORE III called “What is Happiness?” about ethics, happiness, religion, and psychology, which led me with help from Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, and the Dalai Lama to clarify much of my personal philosophy on life. Religion, Ethics, and Social Practice junior year at Pomona brought me again to look at personal thoughts and struggles around religion and life philosophy, both mine and others’. Sharing personal stories and reflections on social justice issues got me turned on again to hearing other people’s stories. Presently I am taking Jerusalem: the Holy City in alignment with my focus on religion and the Levant area of the Middle East as well as an Anthropology seminar on Sexuality and Religion, focusing on Islam and Christianity.

This summer, I interned in Beirut and started a part of my thesis research interviewing 20 young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who had lived in Beirut for much or all of their lives. I interviewed mostly Lebanese, but also Palestinians, Syrians, Fijians, and Sudanese of all different sects about their relationships with and feelings around their sectarian and religious identities. These interviews were especially interesting for me considering the way religion is ever present and relevant in Lebanon, and what’s been going on in the Levant region for the last several years. I not only got to conduct first-hand research on a topic that fascinates me and in the region I have been specializing in and hope to work in, but also affirmed the idea that I enjoy ethnographic research and may apply for a graduate program in Religious or Middle Eastern Anthropology within the few years. Additionally, I got to work on improving my spoken Arabic (both Lebanese and Palestinian dialects). If you’re interested in learning more about different Arabic dialects, or if you’re not sure where the Levant region really is in the Middle East, check out this Wikipedia page. I like the map, but don’t forget to take it with a grain of salt.

I sort of did my thesis research backwards. As my advisor told me a few days ago, I have research but I don’t necessarily have a framework. What I’m working on now is reading scholar’s works on youth and sectarianism in the Levant and in Lebanon, as well as looking further into topics or events that were referenced by my interviewees this summer. Key topics and patterns that came up in many interviews include changing perception of the divine, the idea, even among the relatively devout, that all Abrahamic traditions essentially land you in the same place, colonization, language and religion, and hopes for the future of sectarianism and politics in Lebanon. There’s nothing I would rather study. For now, it looks like my thesis will likely be focused on shifting perception of sect and personal religious identity among young people in Beirut or the Levant, based at least in part on my interviews.

How is everyone feeling about thesis? When and how did you decide where your interests lie academically?  Can you see how your interests led you to your current point or do you feel like your path is still forming?

My friend Carly and me at Roman and Byzantine ruins in Sur, southern Lebanon. My friend Walid, who was also with us, happened to be distantly related to the soldier guarding the ruins so he gave us a very detailed private tour.