Blog

Listra Lubis and her husband, Sulis, and their daughter, Pembayun.

The wait begins.

Yesterday I found out that I had become victim of government beaurocracy and needed to go to DC to arrange a passport emergency.  Last minute trip = little financial flexibility. Megabus it is. Gulp.

I get to the bus stop. Trepidation. I see several tired looking people in line in front of me. One woman holds a cigarette between her hands, getting the last hit before the 6-feels-like-60 hour-long journey begins. (I can’t blame her. I find myself trying to soak up all the fresh air I can.) Another man holds a plastic bag for his travel belongings. Everyone looks so tired, just like at Duke.

Hour 1
I get seated on the Megabus. Why is it that they seem to smell like a mixture between floral soap, cigarettes, and baby powder?

No matter how “at peace” you might feel going into your senior year, you step on to campus, and boom! [Enter self-doubt and confusion.]

This semester, I have seen the cast of characters that emerge with employment prospects: the aggressive networker, the awkward small-talker, the BO guy. Like cattle, we herd ourselves into these large conference rooms to hear info session after info session—each employer pretending to be significantly different from the other. Then come the interviews. The preparation, the execution, the recovery--it makes you feel like you are supposed to know what you want to do with your life, and that you already “have” the answer. Oh, and don’t forget to smile and remember that you should enjoy every moment of it!!!

Their questions were typical of incoming graduate students: What are the best housing options on- and off-campus? Are tuition payment plans available? How successful have graduates been in pursuing careers in New York and Washington D.C.? And of course, are graduate students able to get tickets to Duke basketball games?

What made the group of admitted graduate students posing the questions different is that they were using Weibo, a popular Chinese social media channel, to connect with current graduate students and Duke staff in real time to learn more about graduate school and campus life at Duke.

Did you know one of the nation’s best live entertainment venues is right here in Durham? The Durham Performing Art Center (DPAC) presents Broadway, concert, comedy, and family shows throughout the calendar year.

I can’t tell you how many Division I student-athletes I have met who happen to mention that they “have no experience.” Some of these athletes have risen to the top of their sports and are training for the Olympics or are navigating professional sponsorship deals, while others are team captains, leading workout sessions, or simply red-shirting their first year.

Think about the best story you’ve ever heard. What were the components of it? Was it the introduction that got you interested? The center of the Tootsie Roll, where the story began to take shape? Or was it the end, when you finally saw what the author intended when setting out the share the story?

[Gearing up for the Career Fair]

9:35: I'm eating breakfast and reading The Chronicle. Kind of. Pancakes at Penn are really hitting the spot, and consequently distracting me. 

9:36: Headed to the Career Fair today. Job. Career. The Future. Watcha gonna do with your life, Elizabeth? Nerves? Nah, it's just the rest of my life starting right now, in a gym that smells like sneakers, at a table, with a stranger who can only be so excited to work yet another career fair... Piece of cake! 

9:37: Advice I read in The Chronicle from the Career Center: Know what you want to get out of the fair. Right. Obvious. Hi, I'd like an internship-that-becomes-full-time-job, please. Preferably highly paid that allows me to eat local and organic. Got one? Great. See you this summer.

“He insists on wearing that Paisley blazer,” the producer announced.