Classes start again in just under two weeks, and I’m ready for it. I’ve had a really busy summer, between working an internship, moving multiple times, and saying goodbye to graduating senior friends, and even though I loved working (will make a future post about that) and I’ll miss the weather, it’s satisfying that it’s all about to come to an end. Now, I’m just looking forward to going back on campus.
To be honest, I still don’t know exactly what to expect with the way classes will look—I only really know that they’ll be in-person in some way. But after a year and a half of online meetings and classes, it sounds refreshing. While I did love the flexibility of learning online and being able to take classes from virtually anywhere (pun intended), it’ll be a whole new feeling to walk around campus, have random encounters with friends, and just have more reasons to leave the house in general.
I’m also really excited to resume some of my campus involvements, like club volleyball and my undergraduate research. As for volleyball, I haven’t played more than maybe a game of pepper since before COVID hit—I’m gonna be rusty and out of shape, oops. And as for my research, it’ll be interesting to finally meet the PhD student I’m working with in person. If you didn’t already know (and you can scroll through my post history for more detail), I’m doing research in for an ISE lab group, specifically in Operations Research. My coworker is doing research on optimization for vehicle routing problems, and doing really cool stuff in finding faster ways to solve these problems—the same types that DoorDash or Lyft might use to route their drivers.
Hoping being out and about so much during the day doesn’t exhaust me, but I’ll keep you posted!
P.S. Being a senior means I’m graduating soon. Scary stuff. But I’ll be graduating with both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s. Let’s hope I survive these last few classes!
