All month long we’ve been sharing our UVM knowledge with you. We’ve covered some serious topics – budget, governance, controversial news.
Now it’s time for the fun stuff. Today’s UVM Trivia features 10 fun facts you may or may not know about our alma mater.
The top fives scores (or fastest times, if there’s a tie) will win sweet UVM swag from the bookstore. We have sweatshirts, shirts, coffee mugs and books up for grabs!
We’ll announce the winners next Friday.
Good luck!
Derrick & Ryan
In last week’s post we invited all of you to help us host a week of happy hours. Just a reminder, if you are interested, don’t forget to sign up.
It’s been a little while since we last attempted any of the 101 things on our list but we are back at it. This one is #73 — go to a hockey game!
Shout out to Christopher Damiani ’15 and Michelle Goldsmith ’15 who won tickets to the game on Martin St. Louis night last Friday January 8th at Gutterson Field House.
And shout to me for my awkward selfie face (where’s a selfie stick when you need one?)
Excited fans packed the “Gut” and watched as Martin St. Louis took to the ice to speak about his time at UVM, success in the NHL, and have his number 8 raised to the rafters.
It was a great moment for UVM and our alums everywhere. A great success story. An undrafted player becomes an NHL legend and is the first player to have his number retired by UVM. Very inspirational!
Oh and we won 1-0 over Dartmouth!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our hockey ticket giveaway! Follow Afterword for more events like these and don’t forget to sign up if you are interested in hosting a happy hour in your hometown!
Next time,
–Ryan
Martin St. Louis photo provided by burlingtonfreepress.com
Derrick and Ryan are still in pursuit of all 101 activities on the infamous list you may or may not have seen floating around campus the last four (or five) years!
This time we are crossing #17 off of the list: Hunt for Ghosts in the Attic of Converse on in our special Halloween edition!
I have never once set foot in Converse Hall on UVM campus. Why? Probably not enough friends in college.
But Derrick, having many friends in his day, spent a lot of time in that scary building and encouraged me to hunt for ghosts in the attic space with him on a casual Thursday afternoon in October.
There are many stories about haunted places at UVM and Vermont and you can learn about dozens of them here.
Of course, I was skeptical, but as I approached this strangely Gothic structure, I thought it might be worth a look. I mean, nothing else on campus looks as creepy as this building!
In fact, Converse has it’s very own Ghost named Henry.
Even though it was mid-day, we were a little freaked out the whole time. At the center of the top floor lies a very dated and terrifying mural suspiciously missing Old Mill.
And….*GASP* a television from the late nineties!
The temperature outside was dropping, the leaves falling, and the shadows growing, maybe it was time to go back to work…
I thought we needed flashlights but the eerie light from spooky windows like these led us to some suspicious graffiti on an old chimney.
Upon closer inspection…we noticed something wasn’t quite right…
This was very unsettling because I had just eaten potato salad for lunch. It can’t be true.
After all of the skepticism, I was starting to believe that something was truly haunted up here. At that very moment, I heard a voice tell me to go to the door down the hallway…
Scary right? I almost got pulled in by some spirit summoning me, but Derrick quickly ran down the hallway and saved me. I was in some kind of trance, but snapped out of it and we left that attic for good. Definitely haunted.
It was also really weird when Derrick said he didn’t remember going up to Converse Hall when we chatted the next day…very strange indeed.
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
The Devil Is In the Potato Salad
Thanks for joining us! Stay tuned throughout the year for more posts like these. We will attempt to:
Help pick what we do next – email us at afterwrd@uvm.edu
If you are thinking about Graduate School for next year — and we know many of you are considering it — it’s time to get serious in your planning. Application deadlines are coming up the next few months and getting organized now can mean success this Spring.
To take some of the fright out of the process, we asked a fellow 2015 graduate, Megan Meuser, for some advice. She started Grad School this Fall at Drexel University in Philly, so she’s been through the application dance.
Ryan Chartier: What are some things you wish you knew before applying to graduate school?
Megan Meuser: Just because a school seems wonderful doesn’t mean that it is the right fit for you. It is important to look at every aspect of the program you are applying for – the classes, the faculty, the curriculum, and the research opportunities available. I’m very fortunate to say that I made the right choice and love Drexel.
Ryan: Who did you ask for advice when thinking about a school or program?
Megan: I talked to pretty much anyone who would have any insight — my adviser, my professors, people who were currently in graduate school, people who have been through graduate school, other people who were also applying, and, of course, my family and friends.
Everyone had different opinions and I thought it was really important to hear about everyone’s experiences and thoughts so I could get a more rounded and balanced view.
Ryan: What was the most difficult part of the application process?
Megan: I would say that the most difficult part of the process was waiting. I am not always the most patient person and easily let my nerves get the best of me. Each school gets a lot of applications and it takes a while for them to go through every single one.
Ryan: If you could go back and do something different, what would you do?
Megan: I would have liked to moved to Philly earlier in the summer, so I had more time to adjust to a new city before I had to adjust to a new school and academic program.
If you need more advice, check out the grad school section at the UVM Career Center Blog.
OK, you’ve got some solid tips, now:
This is the second post in our series called “My First Year Out” featuring alumni just like you and their story of the 12 months (or more) after graduation.
Trevon is a Class of 2014 graduate who shares the ups an downs of his job search in Vermont.
Ryan: You just recently finished your first year out of school. What was the year like for you?
Trevon: My first year out of UVM was all over the place. It was stressful and full of unknowns.
My biggest struggle was finding a position in my field (environmental engineering), in the location where I wanted to live. My girlfriend is also a UVM alum and a year older. She had already established a job/career in her field in Vermont, so I wanted to work nearby, while doing something that furthered my career.
At first I moved home with my parents. This wasn’t my original plan — but, in trying to finish-up my last semester and say goodbye to friends, I realized I had not spent adequate time researching job prospects.
I ended up getting a telecommuting job that was not in my field. So, I spent the next 5 months at home, working this job, and researching jobs that were in my field and close to my girlfriend.
I applied to every job I could find. And for every 10 applications I put in, maybe 1 of them replied back – usually in the form of “thank you for your application, we have all the applications we need but will keep your resume on file if anything comes up.”
After months of this I ended up finding a job as a receptionist at the Trapp Family Lodge. It was definitely not in my field, but it allowed me to move back to VT and in with my girlfriend.
Right around that time, the telecommuting job let me know that it no longer had enough work for me so they let me go, which significantly impacted my income.
Then, out of the blue, one of the companies I had talked with at a job fair and applied to months ago contacted me and asked if I was interested in a job with them.
The job was in my career field and close to our apartment – I could not imagine a better outcome at this point! I accepted a job at IBM and I’m still there, though the Vermont plant is now owned by Global Foundries.
And, just after landing the job, I got engaged to my girlfriend!
You could say it was quite a year — job hunting, working a couple crummy positions, living with my parents, moving to two different apartments, starting a new job in my career field, and getting engaged.
There was no way I could predict all that could happen in one year, but I’m glad I went through it.
Ryan: Looking back, what’s one thing you wish someone told you during your first summer out?
Trevon: “Don’t give up on your dreams.”
A lot of people will tell you do this or do that or you need to find a job no matter what it is. Everyone puts a pressure on what you should do with your life.
Stick to your guns, even if you take that “crap job,” keep your eyes on your goal and keep taking strides (even if they are just baby steps) towards it and eventually you will be there.
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