ExperienceVT

- - Apr 27, 2018 A student’s perspective: My last column
    It took four years of determination, mental endurance, and procrastination to make it all the way through Virginia Tech, and in a matter of weeks it’ll all be over. On May 11, I’ll have the honor of participating in Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium commencement ceremony, on May 12 I’ll receive my diplomas, and I’m terrified to think of what May 13 will mean. Graduating seniors have been at this school for the last four or five years, but we’ve all been in school since we were five years old. So come May 13, with the exception of those attending graduate or professional schools, for many of us this will be the first time that we’ve ever really been without school. As much as we’ve all undoubtedly complained about school from time to time, or more likely everyday, it’s hard to imagine that such a defining chapter of our lives is simply going to end.
- - Apr 24, 2018 The indescribable essence of being a Hokie
    Before I ever endured a sultry late-summer afternoon in Lane Stadium or watched the last of the day’s sunlight diminish over the horizon from the cool, stone perch of the Pylons, I had been told Virginia Tech was a special place. Hailing from Maryland, I grew up among Hokie alumni – including my mother – who, even well removed from their formative years, were always willing to digress into the magic of their beloved alma-mater. They spoke not so much in concrete anecdotes, but more in drawn-out descriptions of the aura, the abstract substance of the school, the town, and the people.
- - Apr 17, 2018 A Hokie’s Guide to D2 Camping
    At 7:15 a.m. on an average Wednesday morning, my alarm alerts me to the fact that I have 15 minutes to get out of bed and make my way from East AJ to D2 if I want to be first in line. Over my many years at Virginia Tech, although the day of the week might vary depending on my schedule, the concept stays the same… D2 Camping. Honestly, if I could leave any legacy at this university, I would love to go down in history as the OG D2 Camper.
- - Apr 10, 2018 An RLC reflects: Why my work matters
    Friday mornings are often the hardest day of the week for a Residential Learning Coordinator. On Monday, Fridays are the days for hopes. These hopes are nothing profound, just hoping to be able to knock out multiple things from our to-do lists; planning for next week's staff training; getting caught up on committee work; taking time to read some current literature related to higher education. Yet, almost always that free time is filled by week’s end with student follow-ups, conduct meetings, and managing student issues. Thus, Fridays are often bittersweet and exhausting.
- - Apr 02, 2018 Undergraduate research and experiential learning
    Experiential learning, to me, is stepping outside of the bounds. Way, way outside of the bounds – think, teaching kids in a village how to make water filters to model the process of water percolating through soil and sand before reaching an aquifer. Think, live-translating a conversation between an Australian expert and a Chinese treatment plant operator about water quality standards and environmental economics. Think, eating dinner with a group of professors from my future research team at Nanjing University, chatting excitedly about the group’s industrial wastewater treatment technology consulting companies and how I can get involved next year.