This is part two of my interview with Gwyneth (make sure you’ve checked out part 1), where we discuss the amazing dorms of Georgetown, how Georgetown Cupcakes are not all that great, and how Gwyneth simultaneously has four internships.
Part 1 is here.
Transcription
Kamila
Hey college kids. This is part two of my interview with granite. So if you’ve not checked out part one, make sure to do so subscribe and check out my blog college reality check COMM For more college related content, but other than that, enjoy
so you’re in Georgetown. Let’s see, what do you do? Did you do anything before actually starting classes? Was there any orientation? You did? Did you? I don’t know. Some campuses do a thing where you can sleep at the dorms for like a day. Weekend. So did you do anything like that before you actually started college?
Gwyneth
Yeah, so there was in the, in the spring, there was like a welcome student thing, like right after you were accepted like a convocation type thing. And that was an amazing day, actually, I had the flu. But besides that, it was amazing. Like, the weather was perfect. I walked onto campus, and there was like a vegan cookie truck. And I’m vegan. And I was like, wow, this is a sign. And then I walked a little further onto campus to eat my cookie. And there was a wedding proposal that was occurring, like in the middle of the in front of the chapel, like it was amazing. I was like, this is the school for me like, and so I really recommend going to all the new students stuff, there was also a like, a lot of schools will do location based, like meet new students and meet alumni events. So DC had one and that was for Northern Virginia, like Maryland DC residents, I went to that I met alumni and made new friends. And that was all like before school started. So anything like that I recommend going to, because it just gets you excited about what you have coming up, which is awesome. And then the other thing was like the new student orientation, which happened the week before school starts. And obviously, it wasn’t a big move for me, you know, I was coming from close by, I did have a few issues in terms of like starting school because the university like last minute didn’t think I was capable of going to school, they’re like, they thought that because I was disabled, I wasn’t going to be independent enough to like live on campus. Um, so we had a debate for about four months, and then it worked out in the end. You know, sometimes you just got to threaten a lawyer and move things around, and they’ll they’ll let you go. Um, but yeah, aside from that, it went very smoothly. And I had my new student orientation. And my, one of my closest friends was still like from that new student orientation group. So it was a good intro to the university.
Kamila
So I want to move on to like the fun stuff about Georgetown. I don’t we can put academics on for later but, and I’ve been to Georgetown and I remember stuff on the walking tour in the middle of the walking tour, the info sessions like info, right, but the walking, they share all the fun little things about their university. So I’m going to be asking you like random questions here and there if stuff I remember. So number one, let’s go to dorms first, tell us about the dorms at Georgetown. And also, I remember there were these like nice, nice apartments. Yeah, for like older, like upperclassmen. And then Georgetown also has these colorful houses. Yes, because it’s in a beautiful, beautiful area. So tell us about the living situation. I George so I love
Gwyneth
Georgetown housing. And I’ll say like the worst housing I ever had, has now been renovated fully. And the other worst housing building has also been renovated. They renovated like five residential buildings during COVID. So the housing is like unmatched now at Georgetown. And you can find that on YouTube. They just posted a video of all their new wrestling hall so it’s easily accessible. But I lived in VZW my freshman year I lived in a single dorm and it had a bathroom. Even people who do not have singles. If you live in PCW you have your own bathroom with just your roommate, which is amazing like so underrated like people do not realize the the life changing experience it is to have your own bathroom.
Kamila
Um, don’t most people just have like a hall and then they just
Gwyneth
huddle and dance. Yeah, and sometimes you hear weird things in there that you do not want to hear. So I really was grateful to have my own bathroom. And everyone in that building like loved having your own bathroom. So there’s that amazing dorm but then there’s other freshmen dorms that even though they don’t have their own bathroom, the dorms are massive, like so much space. And like I said, like it’s all been renovated. So the freshmen dorms are in much better shape than they were when I went there. In terms of like the cooler housing though. When you are starting sophomore year, actually, you don’t even have to be a junior. You can apply to the other like cooler dorms. So there’s one called VLA and it has like huge rooftops you may remember it if you took it. Yeah. Or it was a really steep staircase. Yeah, it’s like it goes like this, like down the hill kind of with the big stairs. Yeah. So that you can apply for and get as a sophomore. And it is full apartments, like there’s a downstairs and upstairs full kitchen, you have your own balcony. It’s amazing. And that’s on campus to super convenient. Then there’s one the building right next to it, which is apartment style. There’s no balcony. But there is a massive like play space with pool tables and like fireplaces and all this awesome stuff. So that’s all on campus. And then if you go off campus directly outside the gates, there’s row houses, and these are like themed houses. So there’s black house, which is for black students. There’s Casa Latina, which is for Latin X students, there is the women’s house, which is obviously for female identifying students. So yeah, there’s really really great housing options there. And that’s a full house that you have to yourself, only like five to six people live in each one. So you have your own washer dryer, your own backyard, your own kitchen, living room, like huge bedroom, stairs, everything, just for like three rooms of people, which is amazing. You know, obviously, if you were to purchase that house in Georgetown, seeing as it’s Georgetown, it would be $2 million. So you’re getting to live in as a student and you’re paying, you know, regular housing prices. You know, and then if you go a little bit further down, there’s the housing that I’ll be living in this upcoming year, which is there’s Ville B and there’s Henley, I’m sorry, not Henley. Nevels, I’ll be living in Nevels. I previewed my apartment like a few days ago. And it is the most amazing apartment I’ve ever been in, in my entire life. Like it is massive. It has its own balcony. It has a loft. So it’s like there’s a kitchen and then a bedroom. And then a loft above the bedroom that’s got like beautiful windows all around it. And the housing is just amazing. So that’s my summary of the housing. But starting as young as a sophomore, you can get access to that kind of housing.
Kamila
And I can say from like being there. Georgetown itself is a beautiful area. Tell us about Georgetown. But like I’m telling you the dorm like the one with the balcony, the first one you mentioned for, like, I guess you can apply to some of those beautiful, and you can see the Capitol and stuff you can see a bunch of DC from
Gwyneth
Yeah, so that’s part of why I ended up choosing Georgetown, obviously, DC is amazing. I actually live in DC now. So I live in Capitol Hill. Um, but you know, first of all, you have the residential area right around you. So it’s very quiet, it’s very peaceful, like, it’s a really nice area, you’re not overwhelmed by city. It’s not like going to NYU, NYU, a lot of students rate the experience of living at NYU very poorly, because you’re mixed in with the city. It’s not like that, you know, at Georgetown. It’s actually like that a lot of other DC universities. So if you’re going to look into DC, tore every single school, because many of them are just mixed into the city. It’s not like a campus. Georgetown isn’t like that at all, you know, you have the neighborhood. And then when you actually want to go out and do stuff, all you have to do is either a walk or scooter down to M Street, it takes eight minutes to walk. And you have all the shops, all the restaurants like the feeling of a city right there. But it’s separate from the university, like you’re not overwhelmed by it. And then if you want to go into like the actual real part of the city, it’s an Uber away, you know, you pay 10 bucks, and you can go to any social event in the city, anywhere, you know, DuPont Circle everything. So you have access to the entire city and you still live like in a nice, quiet, tree filled, beautiful area.
Kamila
I remember when I went with my dad to Georgetown, and we’re walking through I don’t know, they’re like all the letters. It’s like ABCDE all the way to Z Street. We were walking like there to get to Georgetown. And it is just beautiful. The town has it was a summer day it was beautiful outside. Amazing. It is expensive, but in one of those beautiful like residential areas you’ll ever see
Gwyneth
it is and you know, obviously, M Street is expensive. Like I’m not going to pop over to J Crew or Michael Kors just on a Saturday with my friends. That being said, it is still a college town. So there’s like really rich, expensive places for the people that are living there as adults. Then there’s also like college spots, you know, cheap cookies, cheap coffee, cheap shopping. So it’s not like you know, you’re stuck spending enormous amounts all the time.
Kamila
Oh, I have another question. If I remember this correctly. Is there a house dedicated to a dog?
Gwyneth
There is a there is a campus dog? Yeah, the campus dog. There’s basically you can apply it’s one of the most competitive clubs to get into But you apply to be a dog walker and you just take shifts walking the dog around campus, which is awesome. And the dog is there like all day, every day, the Bulldog back the Bulldog just walking around. And yeah, and I don’t know where he resides. But um,
Kamila
you know, the really big building, I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s like when you think of Georgetown is the building you think of assembly hall. Yeah, yeah. And then right in front of that before you enter through the gates, there’s like a house. There’s like a blue house and somebody said something about Jack the Bulldog living in there, or something like that.
Gwyneth
I can neither confirm nor deny, but I wouldn’t be surprised he gets very good treatment.
Kamila
Okay, okay. And another thing I have a question about is Georgetown cupcakes.
Gwyneth
Georgetown cupcakes. I do not recommend um, it has massive lines. The cupcakes are myth. I recommend sprinkles cupcakes. Sprinkles is fantastic. They’re like vegan option. It’s like vegan route Red Velvet is to die for. It’s amazing. And some people like some of the other cupcake shops nearby but yeah, pretty much everyone says Georgetown cupcakes is not the top spot.
Kamila
Okay, it’s it’s a new shocker. Alright, let’s go to on the topic of food. How is the food at Georgetown doesn’t live up to the dorm situation.
Gwyneth
Yeah, so the food. As I said, I’m vegan. And I also have like, various random allergies. So food is tough for me in college. Um, the food got much better as of last year. First of all, workers are so nice. They’re like the nicest set of employees ever. There’s an upstairs which has, like, you know, you can use swipes for to get full meals. So like, there’ll be a pasta bar, a pizza bar, or whatever. And you can like go and get that kind of food. And that’s usually like where the best food is. And then in the downstairs is more like classic cafeteria style, like serve yourself, you know, and that food is still good. They have a hello station. Now, for anyone who needs Hello food, they have a like allergen station, they have American station, they have like a pasta bar where they like stir fry stuff. So they have lots of options. And then aside from that, like you can use a lot of your dining dollars and stuff like that to go to other places on campus. So we have a Starbucks, we have a Chick fil A, we have, um, you know, a bakery, like we have all kinds of other fun stuff that you can use your meal plan to buy. So you’re not stuck with just like filling up a plate of like random vegetables and whatever. I would say the only problem and this is a complaint people have during COVID Is that because of the financial loss of COVID Georgetown is being super strict about the meal plan. So normally, when you are a junior or above and you’re living in an apartment, you don’t have to go on the meal plan, right? Because you have your own kitchen, because of their financial losses and COVID. They’re like forcing everyone on the meal plan. So if you ask a Georgetown student right now about the meal plan, they’re going to rant to you and say it’s horrible, but that’s the reason why is just because they’re not letting older students often who wants to pay $3,000 for food when you have your own kitchen. Like ridiculous, but
Kamila
alright, and another thing? What was I gonna say? Oh, yeah, so this is a question that I think a lot of high schoolers, you know, obviously thinking about college should be asking current students, which is how did the Georgetown for you specifically, how did the Georgetown administration handle the COVID? situation? How was the communication the accessibility? You know, how did they handle it was a convenient for students.
Gwyneth
So Georgetown was one of the strictest universities in terms of COVID. Um, they obviously didn’t let students back, they only let students back through the vulnerability housing application, which allowed students who were extremely low income, or, you know, had an abusive household or had food insecurity or who were disabled, those students were allowed to come back, it was around like 200 students like very, very few. And that was just strictly for people who could not live at home. So that was good, you know, bare minimum, they made sure that all their students had housing, but everyone else was sent home. And that’s been true since COVID. Started. The idea is we’re going back in the fall, but who knows, we’re still going to have to be fully masked and everything like that, even though they’re requiring vaccines from all students. So yeah, it’s pretty strict. Also, I lived on campus for the last year, I was one of the students on vulnerability housing. So I got to see sort of how the university operated, everything was closed, there was no access to like any part of campus at all. You basically just lived in your apartment. You got COVID tested three times a week. And it was it was intense. Um, so yeah, I mean, in terms of like, were students happy? No, because everyone wants to be in person and nobody wants to deal with all these strict guidelines. Did they make a smart decision in terms COVID? I would say yes. Um, so it really depends on how you look at it. Like, at the end of the day, it’s soft for everyone, but it was probably the right thing to do.
Kamila
And we’re like, you’re on, you’re really clear on like updating students making sure everyone communication
Gwyneth
was not, you know, their, their communication was not good. I mean, like, I’m currently in the process of applying for a massive exemption. And I’m trying to get information about like, what the policies are going to be. And I talked to the head of Disability Services, and he doesn’t even know what’s going on. And that’s an actual administrator. Right. So I think that, you know, you can’t blame them too much, because COVID was constantly changing. So there’d be like, a glimmer of hope. And then the numbers would shoot back up. But they held town town halls, you know, so that students could ask questions. They sent out lots of emails, but I work in the Student Government at Georgetown, and we struggled to get a lot of the answers that we were looking for from the administration. But again, that being said, this is a very unique situation. So it’s like, I don’t know, what can you do?
Kamila
It? Because I mean, I was interviewing one student, I don’t know if it was Lehigh or Northwestern. But they were like, ask students about their COVID experience. Yeah. Because I think he or she didn’t have a good one at all with their school. So like, ask about that. Yeah. All right. So let’s move on to some other topics more related to Georgetown as a school. So let’s talk about what Georgetown requires academically of their students. Yeah. Many schools have a just like high school, you know, you have some general requirements, and then whatever. So with Georgetown, what are the Gen Ed requirements for all students, regardless of the school
Gwyneth
they’re in? Or their major? Yeah, so um, Georgetown has, it’s a Jesuit university. So it does have like certain requirements that are meant to like fulfill the Jesuit mission. For example, you have to take two religion classes. One is problem of God, which is an amazing class. And the second one is a class of your choice, you have to take two philosophy classes. And one is political and social thought. And then the other one is one of your choice. And the case of SFS, you have to take one science class. No math is required, which is great. It’s amazing. Like, yeah, so yeah, no math is required. It depends on the school, obviously, like, if you’re in the nursing school, I assume math is required. Same with business. They require in the SFS, some other ones they requires, you have to take map of the modern world, which is basically it’s like a one credit class, and it’s based on an exam at the end. And in the exam, you have to list every country in the entire world, like you have to write it down on a map. Um, spelling counts. So yeah, it’s tough. But the idea is that you should know the world if you’re going to try and you know, enter that kind of field. And there’s some other ones like you have to be fluent in the language by the time you graduate, if you are in the School of Foreign Service. So you have to take a fluency exam, I took mine in Spanish. And kind of think of it as any other like requirements and the
Kamila
classes that you took, because you said there was some requirements, but for some, you could choose which one What did you end up choosing for those options?
Gwyneth
Yeah, good question. Um, so let me think I’m here, maybe ask a different question while I pull up my canvas, because it has like all my classes.
Kamila
Right, a different question, a different question. I’m going to ask about your major, but I think that’s going to be quite a handful. How you arrive on your major?
Gwyneth
Yeah. Oh, good question. Um,
Kamila
so how did I arrive upon my major, and things you’re doing? So?
Gwyneth
Oh, except, wait. Yeah, okay. So my major is technically international politics, but I concentrate international security. So if you’re taking international politics, you can choose between international law, international foreign policy processes and international security. So I chose international security. I did a national security conference back in high school. And I noticed that there was a big problem with Islamophobia in the national security field. So that is why I’m doing the major I’m doing because it’s my goal to go into the national security field to dismantle some of the Islamophobic policies. But you know, I learned about that, partly through high school and then I took classes that sort of started to hint at that. So I took Intro to Islam, I took global terrorism and Islam like you know, a lot of classes that are looking very critically at the world. It’s not like Lovey Dovey, love this field and you know, here’s why you should enter it. It’s like here’s what What you should do to change that field? And so yeah, I learned about what some of those issues were. And then in terms of my minor, I thought to myself, like, what is a skill that an employer is going to be looking for, that I could get from a minor, but like something that I don’t want to pursue all the time. So Religion, Ethics and world affairs, like I don’t want to be a religion major, but I recognize that religion and ethics is something that plays a big role in security studies. And in like, a future job in government. So I went with that minor to kind of like supplement my, my degree. And some people do it differently. Some people do it the complete opposite, there’ll be like, I’m an econ major, and a theater minor. I don’t plan on pursuing theater at all, but I just love it. And that’s fine, too. Like, you could pick a minor because you just don’t want to stop taking classes in that subject. But for me, it was more strategic. I was like, what’s gonna lend me a job? You know, especially like, post COVID market, it’s going to be very difficult. So, yeah, so that’s what I did. Um, and, yeah, and also, I just realized a hack of how I can tell you my classes, which is I can just look at my transcript. Um, so
Kamila
you’re wanting to tell us your classes, because I have another question to ask you.
Gwyneth
Yes, yes, yes. Okay. I can No, no. Okay, go ahead. So my, my classes, so first semester, I took micro econ, that’s the thing I forgot, you have to take three econs, which was rough, but at the same time, you don’t have to take math. So it’s like kind of a trade off. So I took microeconomics, um, you have to take a Pro Seminar as a freshman, which basically is a super small class, like only 12 people. And it’s supposed to prepare you for the style of college classes that you’re going to face as a upperclassmen. So I took global history of capital, which was interesting, it was fine. Political, social thought, that’s that philosophy requirement. I took intermediate Spanish too, which was for the religion requirement, I took problem of God, which is for the sorry for the language requirement, and then that was for the religion requirement. And pretty much your freshman year is just requirements. Like there’s no fun stuff in there really, at all. Um, spring, I took macroeconomics, I took Middle East too. So that was for my history requirement. Map of the modern world, we talked about that crime and punishment was my other philosophy class, Amazing love, crime and punishment. I took Advanced Spanish that semester, and then intro to Islam, which was my other religion requirement. And then, as a sophomore, I took international trade. That’s the third economics, I took post 911 culture, which is for the health requirement, humanities, arts, literature and culture. So you get one like super fun class that’s like just about being creative. And that’s the class I took. We watched a lot of movies, which was really fun. I took international relations, which is a required class, I believe. I took Islam democracy and global terrorism, which was my first class for my major. And then I took Advanced Spanish, two. And then then as a spring semester, I took maybe yeah, this is spring semester, I took race and Empire, which is, for my major. I took comparative political systems. It’s another required class for the SFS. I took Pacific world another history class, I think you have to take three histories, quantitative methods of International Affairs, that’s for my major, terrible class. It’s terrible. Anyway, and then I took homegrown terrorism, which is again, for my for my major, and then next semester is completely different. I’m basically taking all classes for my major, so international security, Islamic world, emerging issues in Homeland Security, counter intelligence, and national security and black churches. And they’re all taught by like, super famous people that have like massive Wikipedia pages. And, you know, so things are improving. I’m on the up and up.
Kamila
Exciting, okay. And actually, on the topic of famous people, when I was at Georgetown, vaguely remember, there was this building that we went into, and they didn’t allow us to go into the actual place, but they showed us pictures of this huge hall. And they said really famous guest people, mainly people who are like famous in government in DC would come and give like, speeches or answer questions.
Gwyneth
Yeah, that was our Yeah, it’s like our fancy library. Like it’s like a big open like Hall library thing. And yeah, and we have like, tons of important people that come to speak. We also have, like, like 10 presidents have come and spoken on our steps like we have random politicians come by our, you know, campus like Every week, so there’s constantly famous people on campus, which is so fun like, yeah, we Biden comes by Georgetown, like, constantly. So yeah, it’s a good opportunity. And like I said, like, your professors are famous all the time your professors are famous, which is so good, because those are the people that are going to write your grad school applications, your work applications, like your recommendations, you know. And if they’re famous, I’m not going to lie that does help. So,
Kamila
one more thing, if I remember correctly again, did it. Was it Who was it? President Bill Clinton? Did he sign the hands on the clock? That really taught clocktower? Somebody? Yeah, I
Gwyneth
remember that as well. There’s like a whole long history with that clock, because people always try and steal it. And it’s been sent to like a bunch of famous people. I think it was like sent to the Pope. I don’t remember. But, um, but yeah, no, there’s and we have a really good relationship with Him, obviously, because I believe he was a Georgetown grad. So yeah.
Kamila
Yeah. Okay. Okay. So one, I guess more major topic that I want to discuss college related is internships. Without a doubt, my number one concern going into college like the number one thing that’s on my mind, that’s the most important factor. And you said you’ve had four internships over the summer. So you need to explain to me what, what’s your internship situation? How does Georgetown help you get those internships? Yeah, for you, and just in general for students.
Gwyneth
So what I’ll say is like, we have a really good College and Career Center. I’ve never used it, though, but I do know people really like it. So theoretically, like, you can go there and get them to edit your resume give you constructive criticism, I do not take constructive criticism, well, I don’t like people editing my stuff, I didn’t have a single person read my college application in any capacity until after it was submitted. So I don’t like edits. Um, so anyway, I do not use their service, because I think I just be butthurt. That being said, like a lot of people use it. And it’s how they get access to their different like, applications, and whatever. The college or career center also has different diversity sub lists. So like, if you get on that email list, they’ll send you opportunities specifically for whatever your diverse identity is. And that’s obviously always a great opportunity. The thing that actually helps me and the way that Georgetown helps me is two things. One is a lot of internships are looking for you to come in person. And most organizations that matter in the world are located in DC, it’s just a fact. And so, you know, when I’m searching up, like, Oh, I’m going to look up international affairs internships, I don’t even put international affairs internships in DC, I just put international fairs, internships, and 90% of them are in DC. And so if I wasn’t here, I would have to go get housing and like, be away from my family and be away from my school, just to have an internship, you couldn’t do it during the year, you know, so, um, literally physically being located in DC is already a massive asset to your application. Um, and then the other thing is, everyone knows that Georgetown takes their extracurricular super seriously, like, there’s a huge application process, you have to go through like multiple round interviews, like it’s very competitive. And as a result, when you’re in the club, like it’s basically a fully functioning job. So if you’re able to get leadership in a club, that’s work experience, that then skyrockets your application for actual jobs, because you can be like, Hey, I did this in this. Like, for example, I’m the media director of the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, which is an actual academic journal that’s sold in like 18 countries in like hundreds of stores. So that’s something that I can say in my resume, even though it’s just a college club. Like it’s a college club, but it’s a real job. And so Georgetown gives you opportunities, unlike other schools, where you’re just a part of like, debate club, or part of whatever, these clubs are actual jobs that instantly give you job experience. And there’s not that barrier of like, if you’re trying to get an actual job. They’re like, well, where’s your work experience? I’m like, Well, this is my first job. And they’re like, Okay, come back to us when you have a job. And you’re like, Well, how am I supposed to get a job? If I’ve never had a job? That’s the constant cycle people are in it’s like, how do you break into your first job without job experience? This is how you do it. You have a university that gives you club experience that emulates a job. So yeah.
Kamila
And can you go through the internships that you have had, like whether they’re affiliated with Georgetown or not, can you go through those and I was on your LinkedIn page. So you had a few internships there. So can you talk about those?
Gwyneth
Yes, yeah, definitely. So um, my gosh, so my first summer after being in college, I was an intern for like a random business, which was really just to make some money and then I was also a Foreign Policy Fellow for women for Biden, which obviously at the time was like a really important thing to do, because we’re trying to get rid of somebody. And yeah, so that’s what I did, then, and I exclusively got that because of Georgetown connections. It was like people I had done, present volunteering with that had recommended me for the job, they like, pass my name on, you know, that’s the only reason I got it. So that was great. And then that helps me get other jobs because that was a very legitimate program. So then this summer, I was able to get a job working for like a Disability Services Organization, on the young adult Council. And then the Center for Security and emergent technology, which is actually a Georgetown institution, I do data forecasting for them. I’ve actually been doing that the entire sophomore year of college, and then into the summer, I’ll be doing it my junior year of college as well. So it’s great. It’s like an internship you can do during the year. And yeah, and I data, forecasts like stuff about China and Iran. And like, I don’t know, national security stuff. Um, and then this summer exclusively, I’ve been working for the Council on American Islamic Relations, which is the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the country, and women for African women, which is the largest women’s rights organization in Afghanistan, and the largest Afghan women’s rights organization in the world. And that has been a bit hectic, I don’t know if you follow the news, but things are a bit. And there. So yeah, it’s been kind of a ridiculous experience. Like, I’ve been in charge of meeting with Congress, like, five times a week, and pitching different national security suggestions, and basically trying to save these people that are about to be beheaded. So it’s been a bit stressful. But um, yeah, I mean, I got those jobs pretty much exclusively from the positions that I held in Georgetown clubs. So
Kamila
I have a question about internships, like, obviously, right now. And this is more, I guess, for your field. Because the realm of government and politics is always changing. There are some years that are much more eventful than full will say than others. So when you are looking for jobs in the future, when you see when they see that you’ve done an internship, and you’ve done an internship at a time, that was like, really, really intense. Does that count towards anything in the job? Does
Gwyneth
I always put that so like, I think in my resume right now, it says, like, I reviewed emergency terrorist attack plans, as the tele Bond took over Afghanistan, like, you know, like, I held this internship from when the Taliban had 10% of Afghanistan when they had 80%. So, you know, that’s like a key time. So you have to put that data in your application and your resume for future internships during college. Because otherwise, they’re not going to know like, they’re not necessarily going to place Oh, I’m gonna, like go back in history and like, examine, when did she have this internship, like, just tell them tell them that this was like, you know, oh, I worked for when for Biden, in the five months leading up to, you know, him receiving the presidency. Like, that’s very different than like, something else. So, yeah, you just have to be clear. And for
Kamila
the famous professors that are going to be teaching you next year, are you hoping to get connections and internships through them?
Gwyneth
Yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. Um, I hope one of them writes my grad school recommendation, that would be great. And, you know, obviously work recommendations as well, but also like, they’ll have experiences that they can point you to. So for example, my homegrown terrorism professor, I have two professors for that class. Last semester, they preface the class by saying like, I am going to meet with every single one of you to make recommendations for where you should apply for internships and to offer career advice, like pick a time, pick a time and we’ll talk about your career. And they did that with every single student in the class. And they said, you know, as a contingency at the end of the class, like we will always write Rex for you, we will always point you to the right opportunities, just send us an email, we will slip your name into this or slip your name into that. So their goal is to further their students careers, like they want to see that their students make it far. So yeah, it’s like a massive opportunity aside from just letter writing, like they will get you the internships if you make a good impression. So I can see myself being like a suction cup to my teachers in college, like sticking to them. Alright,
Kamila
so I guess we can wrap up here. There’s one thing I do with everybody. Yeah, whoever I interview, which is advice, and I know it’s hard to condense a bunch of experiences into one piece of advice, but could you give us one for high school students? You know, it can be anything it can be something specific to high school. or it could just be life advice in high school. And then same thing for college students. No, no, no, no, never mind not advice, we have one more thing to talk about. So earlier you were saying with IB program, you had to write a bunch of essays, right? Like really long essays. And you said that really prepared you for college?
Gwyneth
Can you tell me how the work you do in high school differs from the work you do in college? It’s really important that you understand. So the bridge because I’m coming from IB is not so massive. The bridge, if you’re coming from AP is a bit larger, just because of the format, the format is more similar to IB. But yeah, I mean, it’s very different. So the largest paper I ever wrote was my extended essay, my senior year, I spent three months on it. And it was a 4000 word paper this semester. For my final exams, I had seven finals, for five classes. And one of the Finals was a 25 page paper, which I can’t even tell you how many words that is, it’s a lot. It was a 25 page paper and I had about a week to write it. And mind you like I had a week to write it with seven other exams located in that same week. So it’s not like you actually have a week you have like two nights. So you know, there’s midterms, there’s finals, there’s constant readings I read, I was just starting the work for one of my classes in advance, like, my, my DHS class that I’m taking next semester, I started doing the homework, like last week, and just getting through the first two weeks of readings was like 3000 pages of reading. Um, so basically, my point being in terms of writing and in terms of reading, it is a big jump, you are constantly reading, constantly writing, in terms of multiple choice tests, and like lots of studying and memorization, unless you’re going into specifically like pre med or something like that. Or you’re like a math major. That’s not really what college is going to be like anymore. So it’s primarily like, I’m gonna have lots of pages to read every single week. And then halfway through the semester, I have to be able to write a paper condensing all the things that I read. And then one more time, at the end of the semester, you have to do the same thing. So um, that’s pretty much the format. And I have
Kamila
a question about the final exams. Like I understand that some exams are traditional, you go in, you have however much time like a few hours to do your exam. But are there ever exams? And I know COVID probably changed it a little bit. That’s why some schools aren’t doing it traditionally. But are there ever exams where they give you a week, just to write the whole thing, like they say, a huge essay, like you did is that like, normal, or is that just kind of more of a COVID situation thing, where the time,
Gwyneth
that’s fairly normal, I mean, there’s usually three options, you’ll in terms of like essays, which you can have an essay test, which means like, option one is you come in to sit down for an exam, you have three hours, and you have two small essay prompts and a long essay prompt. So you write your short essay, short essay, and then you spend like the last hour and a half on your long essay, and then you turn it in, done, the whole thing is done in three hours. So that’s like on the spot essay writing test. And that was a lot of my classes. That was philosophy, that was religion. And then there’s the one where it’s like, you’ll get the prompt for your final paper, the first day of class. And the idea is just that you have to remember that you have to write it. And so like whenever you want to start that start it but at some point, you’ve got to make the decision to start it because it will be due and there will be no reminders. And that’s the second type. And then the third type is you’ll get like a prompt on Monday, and by Wednesday or by Friday, you have to have submitted your essay. And so it’s timed. But it’s way more time. It’s like you have it’s open No, like you have all week. So you can’t prepare the whole semester. But you also don’t have to write it in three hours. So it’s sort of like a it’s a balance. Can you choose or is like, Oh, it’s just whatever they decide. Yeah, yeah. And then sometimes they’ll do both. They’ll do a traditional test, and you have to write a paper. And that’s how you end up with like two finals in one class.
Kamila
That’s awful. It’s awful. Enjoy high school while at last. Okay, now we can go on to advice as I was saying one piece of advice for high school students, anything, anything, you can do anything specific, or you can do general life advice. And then same for college students and maybe something more in the traditional format because hopefully fingers crossed. The next upcoming years of college will be normal. Like it’ll be a much more normal experience. So advice for that and for high school students.
Gwyneth
So I’ll do college First, and I’m actually not going to give advice about anything academic. Hopefully, that’s fine. But my advice is that like, your freshman year, you are going to feel lonely. And what’s hard about it is that it’s not a bunch of lonely people talking about how they feel lonely, because then you’d be like, Oh, well, this random person I just met also feels lonely. So I guess we’re all just lonely freshmen. It’s not like that at all. In your freshman year, everyone acts like they’re not lonely, and they’re all lonely. And so what ends up happening is like, you feel like you’re the only one that’s lonely. And everyone else has made hundreds of friends that are already in activities. They’re going out every night. Like, that’s what it looks like. And that’s just not true. I would, you know, be thinking that that’s what was happening. And then I would get calls from my friends back home, like, we went to other universities. And I had been seeing their Instagram, they were going out every night. They had, like, so many friends like all these new people. And I was like, Wow, here I am at Georgetown with, like, no friends, I’m all alone. And all these other people, my old friends and other universities are living their life. And I think I got maybe five or six, like breaking down crying calls for my friends in high school being like, I have no friends. I’m so in a room surrounded with people and I so lonely. And so like, those were the people that I envied, because I was like, Wow, they look like they’ve got it all together. So all that being said, your freshman year, just know that every single other person is feeling the exact same thing. Every single person feels like they have friends, like they have people they go out with or people they study with. But it’s not friends, like, keep in mind a lot of your high school friends you built over four years, or you built since kindergarten. You can’t build that in three months. And so people feel so lonely. And you just have to remember that that is literally every other person. No matter how many photos they’re posting online, no matter like how many people they have to sit within a class, like they’re feeling the exact same thing. And I can say that guaranteed as a fact. So
Kamila
just use through. Yeah, and for you specifically, you said that you had a I mean, obviously, you had your own bathroom, which was great freshman year, but you said you were a single room. Yeah, did that affect at all?
Gwyneth
Your daughter’s because yeah, like pretty much in most cases, your first friend is going to be your roommate. That’s like, true almost all the time. So I had no roommate. So you know, I arrived at school. And it was like, just me chilling in my empty room with no one knowing no one. And I didn’t have a roommate to at least be like, Hey, who do you know, can you introduce me like, whatever. Um, but that being said, your new student orientation, you’ll meet people and your clubs, you’ll meet people, your classes, you’ll meet people, randomly, you’ll meet people, and your freshman friend group is not who you’re going to end up with even one year later. So just write it out. Meet as many people as you can and enjoy their company. And don’t stress like, I’m not meeting people that are going to be my long term friends. They’re not supposed to be your freshman. Your friends are not supposed to be your long term friends, your good, like, just chill and do your best. But yeah, if you’re in a single heart out to you, it is a bit harder. And don’t tell people you live in a single because they will take advantage of that. So that’s my other piece of advice. But yeah, so that’s my college piece. Because I think so many people feel that as as freshmen, and it does go away. Like I don’t feel that anymore, ever. So definitely goes away. And then for high school, that’s hard, because there’s so many things. Um, there’s two things I’ll say the first is that, like, I know most people, almost everyone I knew had a dream school. As I said, my dream school was Princeton. I was so set on it. Um, looking back, makes no sense. Makes no sense. Like Princeton didn’t have the major that I wanted. Princeton wasn’t in a location that I liked. Princeton wasn’t even the type of people that I liked. So we get so caught up in like, what are the top schools and, you know, how pretty are they? And, you know, what do we see in movies and TV shows, and we ended up picking these dream schools. And people say, like, you’ll end up at the school you’re meant to, and I used to roll my eyes and be like, that is so dumb. Like, that is not true. Like, this is the school I meant to go to. And if I don’t get in, like my life is over. And literally me. I still think that yeah, i and i get it because I thought the exact same thing, I’d be like you you’re just an adult who didn’t get into your dream school, and now you’re trying to like, act like you’re happy with it. That’s what I thought it was. Exactly. And it’s not true. Like I have finally realized that it’s not true. Like truly, I would have been so miserable at my dream school. And you end up exactly where you’re supposed to. There is not a single friend of mine who got into school and went to a school that was not perfect for them. I really mean that. Like even people who transfer it was worth it to go to that. First, and then they end up where they’re supposed to go in the end. But like, trust me, you were at the exact right place. And you know why it’s because the administrators know, if you get a rejection, it means you were not going to be a good fit for them, for whatever reason, like they don’t want you, you would not have had fun, then if they don’t want you, you would not have been a good fit, if that’s the end of the story. Because they know what the students at their university are like. And if they don’t pick you, you’re not like them, you would not have liked it, you would not have done well. So it’s perfect. It’s like they’re handing you on a silver platter, a second option to guide you away from the mistake that you made by picking as your dream school. So um, yeah, it’s, you will end up exactly where you’re supposed to go. And then the second thing that I’ll say is like, if you do end up in some obstacle, as I did numerous times in high school, whatever it might be, like you have a loved one pass away, or you you know, have a big injury, and you were a high school athlete, and that, you know, stops your athletic career, you know, whatever it is, or you’re struggling with your disability or whatever. Um, just remember that you know, yourself the best, no school guidance counselor, No, doctor, no teacher, no parent knows you, or your academic goals, or your academic capabilities better than you do. It’s just a fact. They’ve seen a million students. And so they look at students as like data, right? Like, I’ve seen a student like you before, and so I know what you’re capable of. And that’s just not true. You’re the only person who wakes up every single day, living your life, and you know exactly what that means and what you’re capable of. So, even though it’s like, not the best thing to say, as much as you can take your own advice first before other people’s advice, because 99% of the time you’re right, and they’re wrong.
Kamila
Inspirational coach or motivational speaker, that last piece of advice. Really good there.
Gwyneth
It’s so true. It’s so true. It’s the biggest thing I learned in high school, and I have no regrets. Imagine if I had decided to drop out of high school if you have dropped half your classes like they suggested for you. I wouldn’t have even gone to Georgetown I may have never graduated. So yeah, you know yourself better than them. 100% No matter how scary and older and more powerful they seem like you know yourself the best so
Kamila
well, thank you so much credit. Yeah, of course you’re in the DC area. So we’re on the same timezone Have a good rest of your day.
Gwyneth
Thank you. I’m just headed back to my job, you know,
Kamila
not the best but whatever.
Gwyneth
Um, but yeah, thank you so much. I love this podcast ideas super helpful. So good luck with that. It’s awesome.
Kamila
Yeah. Alright, have a good one. Okay, well, that’s it for my interview with granite. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you subscribe. Again, make sure to check out my blog college reality check com for more college related content. But other than that, I hope to see you in the next one.