Author Archives: Afterword

Keeping up with the Catamounts

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Here on Afterword we like to keep you connected to other Catamounts, whether it’s through check in posts with your 2016 classmates, My First Year Out, or Get Off the Pile.

Our friends at UVM Continuing Education also do a great job of highlighting UVM alums on their blog, UVM Outreach. They recently profiled 2009 alum, Elliot Kennedy, and his work as the Senior Advisor for LGBT health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You can read the full story here.

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Check out the UVM Outreach blog for alumni stories, career advice and more.

DIY UVM Halloween Treats!

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My favorite thing about any holiday is the food, and Halloween is no exception.

So, in honor of the spookiest holiday of the year, I present you with two UVM-themed Halloween treats. They’re simple, easy and perfect to bring to a Halloween party with UVM friends.

First up, Catamount Crispies. This twist on the traditional rice krispie treat is so easy, you don’t even need an oven. Check out the video below to see how I whipped these up in the office kitchen with just a microwave.

Catamount Cripies
I adapted the recipe right off the back of a box of Rice Krispies.

You’ll need:

  • 6 cups Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 package (10 oz) of marshmallows or 4 cups miniature marshmallows
  • Green food dye
  • Frosting for decorating

Here’s how you do it:

Stove top directions:
1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add 10-15 drops of green food coloring.

2. Add cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

Microwave Directions:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

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No dessert is complete without an accompanying beverage.

Enter my Ghost of Ira Allen Punch. It glows green and plays well with other spirits, if you know what I mean…

Ghost of Ira Allen Punch
Recipe borrowed from Pillsbury.

You’ll need:

  • 1 quart lime sherbet, slightly softened
  • 1 container (12 oz) frozen limeade, thawed
  • 1 bottle (1 liter) ginger ale
  • Gummy worm candies
  • Lime slices (or lemon for that Green & Gold flair)

Here’s how to do it:

1. In punch bowl or pitcher, mix sherbet, limeade and ginger ale.

2. Pour into glasses. Garnish each glass with candy and lime slices. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

— Ryan

Money Talks: 6 Personal Finance Tips

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One of the challenges of the proverbial “real world” is learning how to manage your money. Expenses mount, loan payments loom, and you’re just trying to get by without doing any major damage. I get it. I’ve been there — heck I am there.

So I put together a few basic personal finance tips from around the internet for you. Most of these are common sense but they’re worth repeating because they work.

Obviously, I’m not a financial adviser and everyone’s situation is different so take this list for what it is — a friendly reminder to look at your own habits and figure what works for you. If these articles and pieces of advice can help you get there, all the better.

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1. Set up a budget and track it — Knowing where your money is going is crucial in plugging holes and maximizing spending/savings. Mint.com is a great way to create and track a budget. They walk you through the set up process and do all of the tracking for you — piece of cake!

2. Prep for paying loans — Thinking about student loans can be intimidating, but a little prep can go a long way. Knowing how much you owe, understanding your payment schedule, budgeting for your monthly payment, and making early payments when possible, will make your life much easier and get you out of debt faster.

3. Sign up for a retirement plan  — if you landed a job and haven’t signed up for the 401(k), 403(b), or retirement savings plan offered, hustle down to HR right now to find out how. This article explains how a 401(k) works, why it’s important to think about retirement now, and how you can benefit from your company’s match. (If you’re not working or your company’s plan isn’t right for you,opening your own Roth IRA may be a great option.)

4. Build your own credit — You hear warnings about “bad credit”, but what you may not know is that sometimes having no credit can be just as challenging. Start building your credit now. Opening a credit card (and paying it off in full each month), paying your student loans on time and having your name on other bills (electric, water, cable), are all ways to build credit.

5. Start a rainy day fund — We covered retirement savings in #3, but you also want to build a fund for emergencies like unexpected medical expenses, a layoff, car repairs, etc… Your savings account can also be used to save for big purchases like a vacation, attending and giving gifts at weddings, a new car, etc… This article gives you 9 easy steps for building up your savings account like setting a goal, automating deposits to your savings account, and making worthy sacrifices.

6. Pack your own lunch — This is my personal addition to the list. One way I’ve saved money since graduating is packing my lunch each day. Going out to lunch and/or buying your coffee instead of making it at home adds up quickly — five days a week times $10-15 per day totals to $200-300 dollars in a month. Bringing my own costs less and, as an added bonus, forces me to make healthier choices. It also makes going out to lunch a fun break from the norm instead of business as usual.

So there you have it, a few tips for getting your personal finances in tip-top shape.

Checking In with the Class of 2016

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Part of navigating this first year out is knowing that you’re not alone and no one has it all figured out yet. Your classmates are facing the same challenges and new experiences as you.

Those challenges may look different for different people (studying for the GRE, laboring over the perfect cover letter, living with a difficult roommate, winning over a new boss), but know that you’re in good company.

In that spirit, I’m rolling out a segment where we check-in with a few of your classmates and see what they are doing and how they’re navigating their first year out. Oh, and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask a few “this or that” questions about some UVM/Burlington/Vermont stuff.

Today, we’ll kick off the first check-in with Ben Kennedy, Dominique Powers, and Ali Chipouras.

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  1. What are you up to? Attempting and oftentimes failing at adulting. How many exemptions do I put on my W4? Will I go to jail if my credit card bill is a day late? How many days in a row can I forget to take the chicken out of the fridge? How do I run out of underwear and socks so fast when I have a whole drawer of them? I wonder why nothing is getting done while simultaneously watching dog videos for four hours because I’m an adult and no one can stop me.But – I sometimes do okay at adulting as I recently became the Learning Coordinator for the Tutoring Center within the Center for Academic Success at UVM, and I’m also pursuing my M.Ed. in educational leadership.
  1. What are you most excited about in the next year? What are you most scared about in the next year? I am most excited to continue to be at UVM, working on my master’s, and setting the world record for petting the most dogs in a year (if that doesn’t exist I’m going to create it). Honestly, I’m most nervous about the fact that I directly supervise over 30 students but I only graduated a hot second ago. Do they see me as an adult? Do they respect me? It’s a really interesting dynamic and learning how to draw the line between supervisor and employee, when I was just in their position a few months ago, is really hard to navigate.
  1. What has been the best thing since you graduated? The worst? I would say living a little on the outskirts of downtown is both a blessing and a curse. I lived on campus for four years as a part of ResLife staff, so I had become accustomed to living steps away from all of my involvements and having a meal plan. You realize that complaining about the food was the least of your worries, because at least someone else was cooking for you, and sometimes the lack of freedom in the reshalls was worth it for the convenience of being so close to everything you needed. However, living in a quiet house with a big backyard is worth it – even if I sweat through my dress shirt on my walk to campus every day.

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  1. What are you up to? I work in the Equipment Room at Pier 59 Studios, which is the biggest (and in my opinion best) Photography Studio in NYC. I set up and break down equipment for the shoots, which with 11 different studio spaces can be a lot!  Because the space is so large (over 100,000 sq. feet) and has such great amenities there’s a lot of big name photographers, designers, producers, and models that come through our doors.  As someone who grew up roaming the mountains it’s definitely a new environment, but an exciting one!  I also do my own work and photo retouching on the side which keeps me creatively engaged and challenged- it’s so important to do things for yourself.
  1. What are you most excited about in the next year? What are you most scared about in the next year? I think this next year will set a precedent for those to come. I have big plans and lots of goals for what I want to accomplish. I’m excited to be living and working in a city with so much opportunity and so many interesting people. I look forward to meeting others who as are as passionate about what they’re doing as I am. A big fear is that I’ll get so wrapped up in work I’ll forget about the little things I do that I find meaning in, like going to yoga once a week, reading in the park, or playing my ukulele. The mindset of the “New York hustle” is very real — to be the best here you have to be better than so many incredible people and I see how easily the grind wears people down.
  1. What has been the best thing since you graduated? The worst? There have been so many good things! Starting a career in a field that I am genuinely excited about is a big one. A super fun/crazy/exhausting thing I got to be a part of this September was New York Fashion Week. Pier 59 totally transforms for the week and instead of photo studios there are 3 different runways and a presentation space. There were anywhere from 2 to 5 runway shows every day, a few of which I was the Venue Manager for, and a few I got to shoot Behind the Scenes for Pier 59’s social media. I never thought I would be at NYFW so it was an incredible experience to be working so intimately with it.

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  1. What are you up to? I just moved to Bozeman, Montana and started a new job as a Wellness and Interpretive Manager for Delaware North Companies (a dining and hospitality company) at Yellowstone.
  1. What are you most excited about in the next year? What are you most scared about in the next year? I’m most excited to ski out west and most scared of grizzly bears.
  1. What’s the best thing since you graduated? The worst? The best thing has been moving to a new place and meeting new people, and the worst was leaving Burlington.

Grad School Tips: Applying & Surviving Your First Year

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This post is for the grad students and aspiring grad students out there.

If you are thinking about applying, in the application process right now, or surviving your first or second year of a program – this post is for you.

I caught up with three members of the Class of 2016 to get their perspective and advice.

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  1. Who did you ask for advice when thinking about grad school? I went to a professor for advice about whether or not Physical Therapy would be the right choice for me. We talked it over and came to a conclusion that I should take a job during the summer and see how working life is, then confirm whether or not I want to continue onto graduate school or not.
  2. When did you start preparing? About a month after graduating I started to build my application.
  3. What do you think will be the most difficult part of the process? The hardest part has definitely been studying for the GRE. I’m not the best test taker so I’ve been putting in most of my time to studying for this exam. It’s definitely stressful. The application essay topics are also tricky to navigate. They don’t leave a lot of room to write, so it is hard to say everything I want to say.
  4. What are you most excited about? I’m definitely excited to see where this move takes me. Provided everything runs smoothly (fingers crossed) I’ll be enrolled and enroute to a Ph.D in a field that I really have an interest in!

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  1. What are some things you wish you knew before applying to graduate school? I wish I knew that application deadlines for grad programs are different than undergrad and really depend on each individual program.
  2. Who did you ask for advice when thinking about a school or program? I asked my professors and my advisor. I didn’t know how to prepare or where I should even start. Talking to people who were interested in the same topics as me really helped. They were able to give me tips and tricks on what to look for and things to stay away from.
  3. When did you start preparing? I started preparing a little over 6 months before my application was due. This was because I was studying for the GREs and needed the extra time to reestablish my standardized testing skills. During that time, I was also looking at different programs and reaching out to different professors in those programs.
  4. What was the most difficult part of the process? The most difficult part was feeling confident about handing in my applications. I felt like I didn’t have the background or previous experience to be qualified enough for my program, but it turns out that grad programs are filled with people getting degrees in subjects completely different than their undergraduate degree.
  5. If you could go back and do something different, what would you do? I would have of told my advisor and professors about my interest in grad school sooner. I was wandering around, trying to figure out how to get ready and where I should start looking. If I told them sooner, and asked for help sooner I could have of saved myself a lot of stress.

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  1. Who did you ask for advice when thinking about a school or program? I primarily asked friends for advice, and they asked professors or mentors. I was late to the game when it came to applying, and I wasn’t very confident about getting in, so I used a lot of online resources and friends instead of professors. Looking back, I should have just been more upfront and talked professors myself. Every time I went to a faculty member they were extremely helpful and excited for me.
  2. When did you start preparing? I started prepping when I got into UVM – I made my concentration Pre-Vet and took school seriously. I didn’t think I would apply to get in to grad school immediately following undergrad, so I slacked off with getting experience. But I finally started really getting relevant animal experience in my junior year. I did the CREAM program which I think is the main reason I got in aside from my grades. CREAM was amazing and it prepared me for the large animal aspect of grad school. I did other internships throughout senior year when I was able to take a lighter class load and could spend more time getting experience.
  3. What was the most difficult part of the process? The most difficult part was getting the application out a full year ago, months and months before interviews or acceptance. It was also difficult for me to get experience to bolster my application. I was out of state and kept busy with school work the first few years of college, so by the time I tried to look for opportunities, they required previous experience or were given to people with connections.
  4. If you could go back and do something different, what would you do? I suggest they take any and every opportunity to gain experience you can get your hands on. If you don’t like something, move on, but you won’t know until you try. I didn’t know how much I would love cows until CREAM. It’s about finding your niche.  I would have started looking for more experiences early on, would have asked for more advice from mentors, and would have put more of myself into my application. When it comes to applications, don’t take yourself so seriously – let your personality and preferences come through. A lot of my application feedback was that I should have added more about myself and to not be stiff and nervous.