Thinking Long Term (When There's Time to Hear Yourself Think)

When I was registering my classes for this quarter, the intention was for it to be "lightweight" and it didn't turn out quite as such. Don't get me wrong, every single one of the classes I'm taking is interesting and/or fun. In German Film, we have seen some seminal works of the German Cinema, discussed them in German, wrote essays etc. In Business German, I'm learning how to speak about many of the things I study here in English, including economic and marketing terminology, in German - could prove very useful. In Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy, we analyze case studies of brand strategies, disect Super Bowl commercials, and have incredible guest speakers (including the former CEO of McDonalds). Finally, in Microeconomics, we delve into topics like game theory and adverse selection in what is proving to be a much harder class than I thought it would. All in all, good schedule. What gets tiring after a while, however, is the pace of all of this in the quarter system. Especially at a time when it's necessary to start thinking ahead.

Junior year is an important milestone in the life of a U.S. college student. An internship in the summer after junior year can go a long way towards securing you a full time position after graduation, especially in the fields that are oh so popular with elite college students, such as consulting or finance. Also, if you've lived on campus until now (like I have), it's really time to plan where off campus you're going to move for senior year - unlike at some other institutions like Yale, it's really uncommon to be on campus in your last year. I will be living in an off-campus house next year, almost coincidentally also with my former roommate and good friend Roberto and a few other people. Junior year can also be, as it is in my case, your last chance to plan certain things you can only do in college. I successfully applied for a Fall study abroad program in Bolivia, a program that really sounds amazing and includes a short homestay with a Native Andean family, trips to places like Lake Titaca, and other exciting adventures. So if all goes well, that's where I'll be from the end of August until Christmas! Classes for Spring Quarter are also booked, so now all that's left to determine is what happens in the summer.

The summer internship in Chicago (or elsewhere in the U.S.) to gain some valuable experience with the U.S. working environment is what I'm devoting a considerable amount of energy besides classes now. Think career fairs, refining the resume, submitting many and many applications, and waiting to hear back or being called for an interview. Unfortunately, many marketing and advertising internships are incredibly selective, some of them accept 1 in every 100 candidates, so it's definitely going to be an uphill battle. But I'm not giving up. Northwestern-organized events like speaker keynotes on campus, including the president of the ad agency Ogilvy in NYC, dinners with alumni, and all the usual great on-campus stuff like theatre and improv keep me going. Moreover, some of the friends I made on the Qatar trip last year are now on campus for study abroad, so I get to show them things around campus, go out with them etc. Striking that work-life balance is not always easy at Northwestern, but any time you have enough time to stop, sit down, and ponder is a good time. One must keep enjoying life, no matter how hard the stable -15 degree Celsius weather tries to prevent it :)