Housing Search, Final Semester Blog Post

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I can’t believe that it has already reached the end of the semester!  As I finish up this wonderful semester abroad and complete my final essays, I’m looking forward to a wonderful summer working at both Activision/Blizzard Studios and Lionsgate Entertainment.  Moving on from the internship search process to the LA housing search presents its own challenges but they are welcome ones.

Search Engines:

Search sites like Easy Roommate, Craigslist, ext. can be really beneficial for finding people looking for renters in any given area.  I found my summer housing through one of these types of sites and it ended up working out very well.

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Find a Roommate:

Its always a little less intimidating to try and find summer housing when looking with someone else.

Look near universities:

Colleges sometimes will rent out their dorm space over the summer to students doing internships.  If not, there are ususally apartment complexes around colleges that cater to students.  Many are often looking to find sub letters to take over their leases over the summer and these can be a great option.

Tell Everyone!

Tell people you know that you are looking for accommodation.  You never know what people have heard about and someone might know a relative that you could stay with in the area.

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It has been an absolute pleasure to Blog for CP&R again over this past semester and I hope that you all have a wonderful summer!  Will certainly miss the Class of 2018 but we can’t wait to see what they do in the future!

Four Pieces of Advice for First-Years

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It is difficult to believe that I only have 2 weeks left of my first-year of college. I feel like it was just last month that I was anxiously registering for my first semester classes. Despite a few bumps in the road, I have accomplished much more this year than I could have imagined. Based on my experience, here is my advice for incoming Scripps first-years:

  1. Keep Your Options Open

I had no idea what I wanted to study when I started at Scripps, which is perfectly normally. I also felt pressure to choose my major as many people around me seemed to have it all figured out. I tried out some potential majors this year through taking introductory courses in Economics and Psychology. I realized that I’m not really crazy about either, which is ok! Next semester, I want to explore Anthropology and Media Studies. The beginning of college is all about figuring out what you like and don’t like, so definitely take advantage of this time to explore before you have to start fulfilling major requirements.

  1. Find a Mentor

Mentors have been a great help to me this year with finding an internship, expanding my skills, and choosing classes. My older sister has generously helped me with my internship search, by prepping for interviews with me and looking over cover letters. Virginia, my boss at the Office of Parent Engagement, has patiently taught me to navigate the Thank Q CRM and taught me how use many other tools such as Canva, iMoudles, and Hootsuite. This year, I realized that the whole Scripps community is your mentor. Specifically, the Scripps College Current Student Facebook page is a great place to ask questions about classes or professors.

  1. Take Advantage of the Resources at Scripps

Scripps has an abundance of resources that students don’t always take advantage of. If you’re bored on a Friday night, you can purchase discounted movie tickets from the Office of Student Engagement. If you’re stuck on where to start your resume, you can set up an appointment with CP&R. If you are having trouble in a class, you can request a tutor through Scripps’ Tutoring Program.

  1. Get Involved

Through getting involved at Scripps and the 5Cs this semester, I have discovered many new interests and met people I wouldn’t have otherwise. Through working as a Development Manager for The Student Life, I have created connections in the journalism community at the 5Cs and discovered my interest in creating partnerships. Through blogging for CP&R I have confirmed my love of writing, which played a large role in my ability to earn my summer internship where I will be blogging as well. I have been amazed by how opportunities, if you take advantage of them, lead to other opportunities.

While the first-year of college can be daunting, be confident that you will learn so much in the upcoming year, meet many interesting people, and eventually find your place at Scripps.

There’s No Rest for Career-Seekers

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Summer is quickly approaching.

As we enter the 3 months away from classes, each student is trying to figure out what they are going to do next. Since you are away from school, how do you keep the momentum of developing your career?

This summer, I intend to be in Claremont planning the SOAR trips for the incoming class of 2022.  I want to learn as much as I can about planning large events while giving back to the Scripps community. Pursuing any opportunity that you feel good about is something worth doing. As students, we learn from every job and internship we get during our undergraduate years to help us shape whatever we want to do in the future.

I do need to make sure I finish my double major, so I am looking for courses to take this summer at nearby colleges. Undergrad is all about learning about yourself and I will through my major, but I want the opportunity to take interesting elective courses. Taking summer courses is a great way to free up some time during the school year and give yourself the chance to do more with the months we are on campus.

Finally, one of my professors has put me in contact with people at theaters in Pasadena. Pasadena is very close to Claremont, so on my time off from planning SOAR trips I can drive down there and learn a little bit about theater outside the college environment. The entertainment industry is very much reliant on connections, so more emphasis on the “who you know” rather than the “what you know.” I have been working on my networking skills, since coming back from the CP&R trek this spring break. I want to work on emailing individuals who have positions that intrigue me.

I forget how many careers are out there that do not fit under the classics like doctor or lawyer. Another important tool is the internet. I google everything that even slightly interests me because everything helps you learn more about yourself and what you want to do.

Dear High School Self…

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I distinctly remember pacing my dad’s home office one afternoon senior year of high school.  I was almost in tears, worried about the future.  At this point, I didn’t even know where I was going to college yet so in retrospect, it was way too early to be thinking about planning out a potential career.  It was probably the stress of applications and senior year talking but I was so potently distraught that it is almost hard to think of the memory now.

I wish I could go back to that panicking 17-year-old and tell her not to worry (not that she would have believed me).  I would tell her that things will work out how they’re supposed to.  The best piece of career advice I could give to myself then would be to take a deep breath because you can’t see what the future holds yet.

I hadn’t yet gotten to college where I would discover, through experiences and my majors, that I wanted to work in entertainment.  You can’t always plan and figure out the grand plan because you simply lack the experiences necessary to make the path clear.

It is so easy to get into a trap of worrying about what you’re going to do after graduation.  When were younger, the idea is impressed upon us that we need to “decide what we want to be when we grow up”.  After listening to many people’s stories, I have found that there really is no ultimate goal of something to be.  Your career path can be as fluid and as nuanced as you are.  People change over time, and their goals will change.  What sounds appealing now may not in a years’ time.  And that’s ok!  Work with the information you’ve got, give it your all, and things will come together like they’re supposed to.

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Three Pieces of Advice

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If I could trade back to the beginning of the fall, there are three pieces of advice I would love to give my former self. The first: use the career planning & resources office. The second: personalize your cover letters. The third: do what you want to do, not what you think you should do based on your peers’ career development.

While I did not go onto Handshake to set up an appointment with CP&R until second semester, it was the first thing I did upon returning from winter break. For the first half of the year, I had been aimlessly attempting to write a good cover letter.  I used to dread the cover letter process because it always took a really long time and I never knew if I was writing it correctly.

It was helpful to use online templates, read some of my friends’ cover letters, and have my parents give me writing tips. However, had I gone into the career planning and resources office right away, I would have saved myself hours of writing time. They offer a clear template, some example letters, and give you a straightforward explanation of what to include, what not to include, and how to organize your cover letter. To hear how to correctly write a cover letter from a professional on career advice drastically quickened my cover letter process. I now look forward to writing my cover letter for a given job application.

Even though I learned how to write a cover letter from the CP&R office, it still took me a while to figure out exactly how to impress hiring managers. My first few cover letters were professional, as they should be, but lacked a personal touch. Employers are receiving dozens of other applications from other qualified applicants. I did not realize until about half way through second semester that adding personal stories or thoughts is the best way to get my application noticed. Your personal stories are unique to you, and can help emphasize the reasons why you are best qualified for the job.

I spent a lot of time in the beginning of the year searching for internships that were similar in profession to the internships my friends were applying to. Because most of my friends are also politics majors, and I had no idea what I wanted to do, I just modeled my potential career path off of theirs. I realized that I was not excited about the jobs I was considering applying to. This was a good thing, because it made me reflect on my passions and what I wanted to do with them. I would tell my former first-semester self to just reflect on my passions from the beginning, and to not compare my career development to others.

I have grown a lot this year in terms of career development.  Blogging for CP&R helped me keep track of my ups and downs in terms of figuring out what I want to do.  Although I am only a sophomore, I have an even better idea of what I want to do going into next year, and know I will get an early start to next year’s summer applications.