Hey Hawkeyes and Future Hawkeyes! Are you looking for something fun to get involved in on-campus but don’t want to commit to weekly meetings or pay membership fees? Look no further and learn about the Campus Activities Board!

The Campus Activities Board, or CAB, is a student-run organization that produces events other students can attend. Events are aimed to engage, cultivate communication, and provide an alcohol-free environment for students to participate in. You can attend as many or as few CAB events as you choose, and they are often first come, first served style events.

I recently attended Succulent Pot Painting and had a blast! There were cookies, stickers, and of course, lots of succulents to choose from. Here is a picture of me and my friend with our painted pots!

Other events I have attended in the past include Grocery Bingo, Fall-fest, and Breakfast at Night. CAB really does have an event for everyone. Grocery Bingo has been my favorite so far. The event is competitive, and engaging, and comes with the chance of taking some sort of bulk snack or food item home as a prize. Check out what opportunities you may be interested in on their calendar here.

As a student organization, CAB also has great opportunities to be a leader. Leadership members help plan and execute events, help cultivate a safe and engaging community space, and can work towards earning an event planning certificate. If you are interested in CAB leadership, check it out here!

Continue Reading →

Hi, potential, future, and current Hawkeyes! I am a senior student who often gets asked how I manage my schedule because I’m involved in a lot, so I thought I would take you through my average day!

Things to note:

• This semester, I am in 5 separate classes (15sh), research, a residential assistant position (as work), the honors program, a fellowship, and a multitude of student organizations.
• Every day is different. My weekly class schedule is the same but varies by weekday depending on what student organizations of mine are meeting, if I work and if friends are available to hang out or study.
• It is important to stay organized as a college student, everyone has a busy schedule of some sort! I use the calendar app on my Apple devices (synced to all devices) to keep track of my obligations.
• Exams will throw you off schedule. If you have an exam coming up, sometimes rearranging time to hang out with friends and missing a student organization meeting is okay. As a student, you have to stay on top of your grades even with a crazy schedule.
• Office hours are always a good addition to your schedule. Whether it is to get to know a professor more or to get some focused study time in, you can’t go wrong with adding these to your calendar.
• My schedule is not really that typical (I get up earlier and am more involved than an average student), but I am sharing just so you can get a feel for how diverse your experience can be at the University of Iowa!

And for what you’ve been waiting for, my typical schedule:

5am: Wake up, get ready for the day, and head to the gym or outside for a run

• I will say, I only know 2 other people directly who get up this early daily. For me, it is because I have an early and busy schedule, to begin with, but I also prioritize getting some exercise in for the day since I am training for a marathon.
• It is perfectly normal (depending on how late your classes start) to sleep in all the way until 9 or even 10am, I know lots of people who do!

7am: End workout, shower, get ready for the rest of the day, get breakfast, and start walking to lab

• This is probably my most rushed hour of the day, which is alright because I have yet to meet someone on a college campus who has not mastered the art of getting ready to run out the door in 5 minutes. Obviously, I do a little more in this hour, but it is definitely not a time I sit down for some peace and quiet. Most of the time, I even take my breakfast to go and eat it as I walk to my lab (I don’t advise that, but you have to do what you have to do sometimes).

8am: Start work at my research lab

• My research lab likes me to come in during the early morning just to get a head start on miscellaneous tasks or begin getting a bacterial culture growing for an experiment later. Because of this, most of my classes I scheduled to begin in the afternoon. I would say most students get this sort of creative freedom in their schedule in their later years at Iowa, just because a lot of Gen-Ed classes are strictly scheduled in the mornings and that’s what you take mostly as a freshman.
• Working in my research lab is not continuous work. Often it is waiting for things to thaw out, grow, or set, so I have plenty of time here to check my email, GroupMe, student organization calendars, text messages, and social media for the day, or even do some class readings and assignments.
• Most students in a research lab have a flipped schedule compared to mine. They go to class in the mornings and stop in their research lab mid-day or at the end of their academic day.

11am: Class

• Depending on the day, I have anywhere from 2-4 classes which means my academic day varies from ending anywhere from around noon to 5pm.
• My classes are spread out all over campus, the east, west, and sometimes downtown area, so I also had to account for a decent amount of time in between classes to walk, bike, or catch a campus bus. Once I get to the building or area my class is in, I like to study or grab a coffee. One of my favorite things about Iowa is that there are coffee shops everywhere, and Dunkin is only a couple blocks from where my dorm is on campus.

Noon or 5 (depending on the day): Miscellaneous

• The end of classes is my favorite time of day because I now get to do things on my own time like relax, study, check my email, FaceTime my family, or get dinner and hang out with friends.
• Normally I like to dedicate this extra time to other things, too. I volunteer and mentor at the on-campus hospital twice a week, am involved with student organizations that sometimes have meetings (Alpha Phi Omega, Dance Marathon, MAPS, Phi Eta Sigma, etc.), and work within the residence halls.

Weekends in college are so variable! In the fall on Saturdays, I like to go to the home football games and tailgate. If there is no game or it is away, I like to go to the farmers market, grab brunch or head downtown with friends, go to Wilson’s Orchard, or see what unique events are going on on campus or the Iowa City area. On Sundays, I like to sleep in a lot and just recharge for the rest of the week. This could be catching up on schoolwork for the week, meal-prepping, or just watching TV and hanging out with friends all day.

Your experience at Iowa is certainly what you make it. There are plenty of opportunities to regularly get involved and stay busy, but there are also so many opportunities to just do something fun or relax on a whim!

Continue Reading →

Hi all, college is full of opportunities, and your biggest regret will be missing out on one. Over my time in college, I have learned quite a bit about making the most of things, and I thought I would share it with you!

1.) Send the email

• Do you need to ask a professor for an extension you may or may not use? The worst they can say is no. Take five minutes to send the email and explain the circumstances, even if it is something as silly as you didn’t realize how soon an assignment was due. Many professors are understanding, but won’t know your circumstances unless you tell them.
• Have a question? Take five minutes to send the email. You won’t be able to learn and grow if you don’t.
• Need a letter of recommendation? Just ask! I was scared for this one as a freshman because I didn’t think my professors knew me as well as I hoped. However, I asked anyway and got a wonderful letter of recommendation because my professor was able to look at my journals I wrote for class and she felt like she got to know me.

2.) Go to office hours

• If you have a question, take a few minutes to pop into office hours. Yes, if it is a big class it might be a bit busy, but getting a one-on-one explanation is worth the wait. A professor can sit down with you and explain exactly what you need help with.
• Office hours are also a great resource to get to know staff at the university outside of class. I have found most professors are knowledgeable about other on-campus opportunities, student organizations, and employment opportunities, and again, will write a great letter of recommendation if you get to know them!

3.) Make the move

• You’re only in college once, so do what is fun too. If a fun or engaging opportunity arises, take it! Go to a concert, the state fair, the city park, anything to get out of the cycle of being a student for a bit.
• Buy season tickets to games. Even if you know you can not go to all of them, you will have a good time at the ones you can go to and you can sell the tickets for the ones you can’t go to.
• Volunteer and work. These are great opportunities to see what you like to do in a real-world application. Now is the time to experiment and find this out!

Continue Reading →

Finals are a stressful time in college, but you have to keep your head on straight by helping yourself take a mental break. At the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) there are some ways to do just that. Check out my favorite events below, or check out the full list by clicking here!

Sunday: 5-8pm Play in the Park

• All of the good food trucks from the Iowa City area are in one place! Come check out the good eats for dinner and enjoy some time outside after studying so hard

Monday: 7-11am Flipping into finals

• This is a MUST-HAVE experience. The pancake man comes to Iowa City and you must catch your breakfast pancakes on a plate before you eat. What a wake-up call!

Tuesday: 5pm-7pm Painting and Pastries

• This is always an event to look forward to as well. It is a calm environment with snacks, networking with people who care for students, and you get to paint! How relaxing!

Wednesday: 3:30-8:30pm Therapy Dogs

• What better mid-finals week pick-me-up is there than seeing a dog? This event is always a hit, and you must RSVP, see the link above.

Thursday: 1-4pm Massages

• Start wrapping up the week with a. relaxing massage with friends. You will probably not get the opportunity to have a full spa day on campus, so this is close enough! RSVP at the link above.

Friday: No events at the IMU

• Spend time packing to go home for the summer and relax. You deserve it Hawkeye!

It is also notable many other offices have so many fun, relaxing, and supportive events on campus during finals week. Email and Instagram are normally where the Honors Program, the Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence (CIAE), and the Multicultural and International Student Support and Engagement (MISSE) centers post their finals week activities or means of support. Be sure to keep an eye out for emails or give them a follow!

Continue Reading →

As a freshman, living in the dorms is a one-of-a-kind experience. It has its ups and downs of course, but it will create memories that last a lifetime. It took me a bit of trial and error to find a roommate I was comparable with, and that is okay! The university offers the possibility of switching rooms in the middle of the year if you find you and your roommate are not soulmates. As a Residential Assistant now, I can assure you Housing and Dining want to make sure you have a lovely experience here, and that includes people you enjoy being around.

So, how should you choose a roommate?

The answer to that has so many directions, but here are 3 pieces of my advice as a former roommate and current residential assistant in the dorms:

• Put yourself out there! You may end up getting a random roommate if you don’t try to make connections with people. When I came to the University of Iowa, there was a Facebook group that was really popular in finding potential roommates, and that is how I found mine! The Facebook group is always called “The University of Iowa Class of (Graduation Year).” Here, you can put a little biography about yourself, a way others can contact you, where you want to live, and the type of person you want to live with. As always, the university has a roommate finder within the housing portal as well.
• Ask all the questions. Obviously, some questions have more value to you than others, so ask those first. However, once you get past the “What are you studying? Where is your hometown? Do you keep a clean vs. messy and loud vs. quiet room?” ask other questions. I can assure you that compatible roommates mean more than this. Some things I have found helpful as an RA to ask my roommate pairs is: “How long is your social battery around others? How much time after classes would you want the room quiet to study or rest? Would you want to join a student organization together? This (religion or political stance) means a lot to me, is that a problem for you?” There is really an endless list of questions you could ask, but make sure to get to know your potential roommate as a person before playing 20 questions with them too!
• Act quick. If you plan ahead, the odds of you finding a roommate that is most compatible with you are extremely high because there are still lots of people to talk to. The longer you wait, the more procrastinators you will be talking to and it may feel like you are getting more of a random roommate than a planned one.

Always remember, finding a desired roommate is more important than getting your desired room. Be happy with people and not places, you can make the most of wherever you are (including maybe the dorm that wasn’t your first choice). Have a great time meeting new Hawkeyes and preparing for your first year!

Continue Reading →

We are almost a month out from college decision day! I remember when I was looking at colleges, I was torn between the University of Iowa and where I thought I was going to attend college my whole life. So why did I choose Iowa? For academics and career preparedness, it was a no-brainer once I learned of the resources here.

I knew I wanted to attend medical school after college, but even if my plans changed I realized the University of Iowa could prepare me for it all! You may ask how the university can be so versatile to prepare students for all sorts of paths after a bachelor’s degree, and the answer to that is the Pomerantz Career Center.

The Pomerantz Career Center is an on-campus office that ultimately works with students so that they can become more professional and curate resumes, cover letters, personal statements, and LinkedIn profiles that demonstrate that and themselves in the most ideal light. Not only does their office do this, but they do so much more!

Looking at other college institutions, I found it hard to find anything that resembled the Pomerantz Career Center and all the services offered to students. This made me believe that the University of Iowa does not only wants their students to succeed while they are here but also after college in the job market.

Here is an example of what they do:

• As a Freshman, I was able to get guidance to make a professional appearance on LinkedIn
• As a Sophomore, I used the career center’s video guidance and template references to upgrade my resume, and I connected with campus partners and professionals I met on LinkedIn
• As a Junior, I began looking into graduate school applications. I practiced my elevator pitch, looked over how to rock an interview, and how to write a personal statement.

You may realize, you can make some good progress with the resources online. However, you would be missing out on mock interviews, actual courses to further your skills, career fairs, and my favorite: one on one guidance.

I met with a Career Coach at the Pomerantz Center recently and it was probably one of the most motivating, impactful, and informative meetings I have had at the University of Iowa. After this meeting, I actually wished I began using these in-person resources sooner than I did. We started with the idea that I needed to write a personal statement for graduate school, but we addressed I was experiencing writer’s block and wasn’t really getting anywhere. I had things I wanted to say or at least address in my personal statement, but I alone could not weave them together seamlessly or figure out what information was necessary.

In our meeting, instead of focusing directly on the essay, we transitioned into why I wanted to go down the career path I am on, what my strengths were, the kind of person I am and want to be, and more. We created a mind map of what I thought was important to include and what messages I wanted to convey to those reading my statement. This turned into my outline.

Generally, I write with ease and don’t necessarily need an outline. However, with such pressure on how much this singular personal statement met for my future career, I was having a hard time sticking to a single theme. I wanted to include all sorts of little aspects and details of my life that I thought were important, but they didn’t necessarily stick to the theme I was trying to convey.

Meeting with both my academic advisor and a career coach in the Pomerantz Center helped me stick to the theme I was trying to convey. However, those other aspects I thought were important to include in my personal statement weren’t thrown out of my application. In our meetings, we found what I wanted to convey to admissions committees, and found a better spot for this information in my application.

I genuinely think meeting with advisors and coaches in person rather than using just the online resources helped me make the best application I could for medical school that made me stand out for who I am. Without the one on one experience working through my application, I would be stuck in writer’s block, have a more general application, and probably include a lot of information that could have a maximized effect if it was included in another area.

I highly recommend not only coming to the University of Iowa to use this great and personal resource for all your future endeavors but also to feel free to get a head start on your professional appearance by using the online resources available to you now. The best part is even after you graduate (for one whole year) you can continue to use the in-person resources that become available to you when you enroll as a student.

Continue Reading →

It is getting warm enough for some days now that I can say winter is over! Experiencing spring on campus at the University of Iowa is so exciting and I can’t wait to share some of the things I am looking forward to. Here is a list, use it as a bucket list for spring:

1. Studying outside (bonus points if you are in a hammock or bring a blanket to the Pentacrest)
2. Walking everywhere (ditch the bus because the weather is nice)
3. Walk it Out (A showcase of diversity through fashion and music, and to my knowledge the biggest multicultural group on campus!)
4. Sidewalk sales (downtown shops tend to put clearance items on the sidewalk when the weather is nice)
5. Using the parks and courts on campus for a catch, spike ball, volleyball, or basketball
6. Live music (there is always an event going on in the pedestrian mall across from campus that has some live entertainment when the weather is nice)
7. Thursdays on the Terrace (Weekly events at the Iowa Memorial Union on campus to give students a break from studying and a chance to win cool prizes)
8. Wilson’s Farm visits (a farm close to campus where you can go pick your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers)
9. Iowa City Farmers Market (the biggest farmers market I have ever been to and there is always such a great variety of vendors)
10. Hiking or biking trails (trails are short around here, but perfect for a Saturday morning wakeup call)

Continue Reading →

1.) Apply for scholarships for next year

It seems early to apply for things regarding next year, but application portals are closing left and right. Whether you are a potential, incoming, or current Hawkeye, apply for scholarships for the chance to help lift some of the burden of the cost of college. The University has some of its own opportunities, but don’t forget to check out your hometown opportunities or nationwide scholarships as well.

2.) Plan a closet cleanout

You won’t need ALL of your warm winter gear after spring break. Keep a few sweatshirts for days when the weather is gross, but pack away all of those bulky coats and sweaters before the break. If you are a current Hawkeye, you can take them home during spring break. This is what I do, and I swap them out for a bin of summer clothes to take back to Iowa City. If you are an incoming Hawkeye, this is a good time to plan what warm clothes you want to bring to college. Donate things you didn’t wear this winter, and pack things you will wear again.

3.) Plan classes ahead

You may need a backup plan for your back-up back-up plan in terms of registering for classes depending on your level of education. At Iowa, generally, seniors register first and freshman register last for classes. Get a grasp on what you want to take, and keep an eye out for the availability of your ideal schedule. Whatever you do, DO NOT get hooked on one schedule especially if you are an underclassman. You have plenty of time to take that one class that didn’t have a seat left, you have plenty of time to readjust your work schedule to accommodate the classes you have to take, and you have plenty of time to practice waking up earlier. Trust me, a schedule unlike your top pick could be flustering, but it is best to (roughly) plan ahead in registration so you are not scavenging classes the day of your registration.

4.) Give a good push

You are so close to spring break. You could be going on an insane vacation or just picking up extra hours at work, but no matter what, spring break is your time off from school (ideally). Study for those mid-terms and push through those projects. You will have the break you deserve soon.

5.) Re-evaluate goals and progress

Going into spring break is a great time to self-reflect. How is your semester going so far? Are you keeping up with the goals you set? If not, that’s okay! You have a whole week coming up where you do not have to worry about physically being in class. Use this time to set yourself up to achieve your goals. Of course, take the break you need, but towards the later half of the week, aim high. Do what you have planned on doing all semester: start waking up early, eat healthy, hit the gym, get ahead in homework, and start studying for that test.

6.) Submit your housing application

If you want to live on campus, housing applications are OPEN. This means people are already choosing their rooms. The faster you do this, the better chance you have to get a room you want on campus.

7.) Apply for opportunities!

Spring semester is the time to apply for activities in the fall. For incoming Hawkeyes, this may just be a self-reflection on what activities or clubs you want to participate in soon. However, keep an eye out for opportunities meant for freshmen specifically, there are lots! Whether this be first-year (honors student) Primetime, a course meant to transition you to campus, a course meant to help you find where you belong, or something to do with getting into research, there is a program made to make you feel valued and like you belong here. Simply do some google searches “uiowa” with what interests you and see if there is a program you can apply or sign up for right at the start of your college experience.

For current students, apply to help new students to campus feel welcome and oriented during OnIowa!, play to your strengths that make you unique and involve something you love in a research workshop (I did this one!), apply to the executive board of a student organization you love or plan to join a new one, and plan to attend the career fair after the break!

Continue Reading →

Continue Reading →