Internship Memories

Korrin B.

September 5, 2010 - 11:00 PM

Just the other day, I got a very exciting email. The email was from The Carter Center and contained two much anticipated photos. As I looked at the photo of me standing with President and Mrs. Carter and then looked at the one of my intern class standing with the Carters, I reflected upon a summer full of unforgettable experiences. I think that sometimes the looking back on an adventure can be one of the most important parts of the journey overall. Sometimes you can't appreciate things as much until you are out of the environment looking at it from another angle.

 

I am grateful for several things from my internship experience this summer. One is definitely the chance to work for such an organization. It is dawning on me more now that I am away from Atlanta how neat it really was to be a part of The Carter Center's work. By next year, thanks to the work of The Carter Center, Guinea Worm is set to be the second disease ever eradicated from our planet. Throughout the year, elections around the world are being observed by The Carter Center. The Center is filled with educated, strong, dedicated people who really care about the work that they are doing. I was one of the few chosen this summer to be a part of this work as well. I can say that I worked for a former president's NGO that helps to alleviate human suffering worldwide everyday. Wow. Plus, I actually got the chance to meet President and Mrs. Carter themselves! It is truly incredible to realize now the impact of what I did this summer.

 

I am further grateful for the friends that I made during my summer in Atlanta. It isn't always easy to meet people whom you can truly connect with. I definitely met a few gems this summer and we have been keeping in great touch since I left. I am so excited to see what all of them do and where all of them go in the next couple of years. I am so excited for all of them and so happy that our paths crossed and we get to be friends now for a very long time. Looking back on my summer now and remembering all of the fun memories I now share with my intern friends makes me realize even more how special that experience was. I can be even more appreciative of it now that I can look back on it and reflect.

 

My internship this summer with The Carter Center surely changed my life and I see that looking back at these two photos that I will be able to cherish forever. I highly recommend students take advantage of these types of competitive summer internships. They truly teach a student more than could be imagined.

 

 

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My Ode to College Football

Korrin B.

September 4, 2010 - 5:35 PM

I have a confession to make and I would like to make it here. I believe that this confession will help begin the healing process of the initial guilt I felt upon noting this realization. My confession: I don't love college football like my friends love college football anymore.

 

Now that my confession is out in the open, I would like to take this time to explain myself, clear up a few things, and hopefully send a poetically inspiring message out to the future generations of Ducks.

 

I will never forget the early years. Sometimes I thought that maybe I had gone crazy, like maybe this "duck fever" was a real thing. I met some of my greatest college friends waiting in snow and rain, sometimes even overnight, for the coveted football tickets. These days students have it easy with the simple click of a button online. In a way I feel sorry for them. Those lines for student football tickets created a lot of memories from college that I'll take away with me forever. Anyway, the point is, my freshman year, I was insane. Each game I attended completely ducked out from head to toe, yellow and green covering everything from my tall tube socks to the "O" tattoos on my face.

 

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that I grew up through football. Each season, I found myself a more well-seasoned college student. Each year my level of fandom changed a little, as I began to change my perspective on the various importances of receiving a higher education. Freshman and sophomore years are two years that focus on building social skills, meeting new people, and creating a sense of community in a new environment. For those two years, football acted as a perfect catalyst in forming these new relationships. I felt so connected to my campus when I first started and that has stayed with me throughout.

 

However, junior, senior, and in my case, super senior years begin to move more toward career aspirations and academic focuses. They are the years that establish the ability to state an argument as to why the football team may be bad for higher education. This past year, I was unable to look at college football the same. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't show up hours early to every game and scream and jump the entire four hours of play. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I had grown out of it and had realized that my focus was on academics and helping to secure its integrity.

 

As I said, there are different levels of fandom and my confession is not that I am no longer a Duck fan. My confession was that I am no longer a fan in the way that my friends still are. Because the raw truth of the matter is - One a Duck, always a Duck. I will forever be a fan. I will always wear my colors on game days, keep up to date on scores, and get that little tickle in my heart when I see Duck fans pouring across the Autzen foot bridge together. I will always remember the words to the fight song and how many times I have sung it, clapping, with hundreds of other Ducks. I may no longer be insane, but perhaps I am refined. I have the perfect essence of Duck fever to connect me to my University forever, but not to consume my life. I want the world to know that although I will fight for academics now over athletics any day of the week, I will also stand strong as a fan and know the importance college football can play in the social growth and learning of college students.

 

With that thought, I would like to pass my torch. The light within me burns bright and forever, but the flaming torch must move onward. This is my wish to incoming freshmen.

 

I hope one day you get to feel what it feels like to stand at 4:00am outside of Autzen waiting for College Game Day to start on ESPN. I hope you make an amazingly clever hand-painted sign for the occasion.

 

One day, I hope you get to understand the beauty of running to get the front row seats in the student section.

 

I hope you someday find yourself writing and turning in a history paper due that day at noon while using in and out internet near Autzen Stadium and sitting on the concrete. I hope you too get an A on that paper.

 

One day, I hope that you yell so loud throughout an entire game that for the next couple of days, your voice is raspy.

 

I hope you get stuck in Autzen footbridge traffic and start the entire crowd singing the Oregon fight song.

 

I hope you know what it feels like to stay in 11-degree weather for an entire night game that you know we are going to lose no matter if you stay or if you go.

 

I hope they bring back the old ticketing system so you can see what it is like to wait with your dorm mates in the snow for hours in hopes of getting a student ticket to the Civil War game.

 

I hope one day, you too grow up through the game and find your place and proper level in post-college fandom. I hope that one day you find yourself a lifelong fan. I hope you find yourself as a proud Duck alum who gives their donation to the University's academics because they know that is where the money truly belongs.

 

My old fandom has changed, yes, but everyone can stop giving me that shunned look because the truth will always be that I will always be a fan.

 

 

 

 

 

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One Week Later

Korrin B.

August 29, 2010 - 9:00 PM

Well, I suppose it has technically been about one week and two days now since I have been back from Atlanta. People might be thinking that I have spent this time running around, hanging out with everyone I know, and causing a general ruckus throughout the beautiful city of Eugene. However, not to disappoint, but I have mostly just spent it getting my house organized.

 

Usually when I go on one of my summer adventures, I come back just in the knick of time to take a quick week trip back home to California to visit my family and then immediately start school. It isn't the most ideal situation, as I spend the next three weeks of fall term a mess, trying to get my house cleaned up and organized and ready for the term that has already started.

 

Therefore, this summer, coming back early, I find myself in an odd state of cleaning heaven. In fact, I don't think that my house has ever been this clean and organized since I moved in. I am a firm believer in the concept that the cleanliness of my house is directly proportional to the mental clarity of my brain. Come finals week when I find myself with little time to tidy up, it just makes sense, since my mind is already a little cluttered with stress. Having this time to actually get my house all squared away before school is amazing and offers me with endless potential to start the school year!

 

Ok, I realize that this may possibly be the dorkiest and most over the top blog ever, but it is such a big difference for me. I have decided that as I plan into the future, I must keep in mind to leave myself plenty of time to wind down if at all possible.

 

With my place just how I want it to start the school year, I am ready to head home to California to spend a few weeks with my family. It is nice to have more time to go home and relax as well instead of having to make a long weekend trip. I will be prepared when I return for what seems to be looking like a pretty swell fall term 2010!

 

 

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I Hope You're Ready, Boston

Korrin B.

August 28, 2010 - 8:30 PM

This post is a dedication that will most likely fall short of explaining how wonderful the person it is dedicated to truly is. Sometimes you just have to meet someone, be in his or her presence to truly understand how extraordinary that person is. Kate Brown is one of these people. Try as words may, they will never fully capture her.

 

Who is Kate Brown? You may be asking right now. That's a good question and yet another one that I'm not sure Kate nor I could ever really answer. However, in simple terms, Kate Brown is my college BFF. We met in the luxurious Bean East dorms our freshman year and have been friends ever since, through all of the different directions we have taken. Kate was a spring 2010 graduate from the Journalism department, unlike me who decided to stick around another year. Although I believe we both made the right choices for ourselves, I sure will miss Kate next year.

 

This weekend, I drove up to Portland to spend one last night with my buddy before she boarded a plane to Boston. Kate will be attending Boston University to get her Masters in Fine Arts. It was really great to be able to see her off on her next leg of the journey.

 

Time spent with Kate is always mellow. After dinner with her family, we went downtown for one last VooDoo Donuts run. It was nice to soak up the vibrant atmosphere of downtown Portland with such a good friend. We drove around the city a bit and took a break at McMennamin's. What I enjoyed about our night was that it was just like any other, simple and fun. There were no formal "going away" rituals, no sob sessions, just a great time with a great person.

 

I think that one of the best parts about coming to college is finding those few people amongst the 20,000 other students that you can really connect with. Kate was certainly one of those people for me and I am so excited to hear about all of what she does in Boston this next two years. I can't wait to visit her and have her visit back home. I hope Boston is ready for this one! I have a hunch she'll leave a significant mark.

 

Thank you, Kate Brown, for all of the good times these past four years! You gave meaning to my college experience. Good luck in BOSTON!

 

 

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The LaRocco Family Scholarship

Korrin B.

August 22, 2010 - 2:50 PM

I am a firm believer in the fifth year. In fact, I could not have imagined my college career without it. I am ready for this final lap. I have a lot to look forward to, including writing my thesis, getting more connected with organizations in Eugene, and getting to relax a little more into the next transition of my life. The only worry I really had about my fifth year was, of course, the funding. As the price of higher education continues to rise, it is easy to feel the pressure to just get in and get out. However, because of generous donors, I am able to complete this very important year in my college experience with less stress from financial hardship.

 

For the 2010-11 academic year, I was awarded The LaRocco Family Scholarship. I got to read a little bit about the scholarship and it turns out that the LaRocco family decided to start the scholarship after their daughter had attended the UO. They are a family based out of my home state, California. I am honored to be able to represent them next year through my studies.

 

This is the first year that I have received a scholarship where I get to correspond with my donors. I am very excited with the opportunity to be able to update them on what their generous donation is allowing me to do. I will have so much to share with them this year. After working in the development department this summer with The Carter Center, I know how important these types of relationships are. Donors are more than what they give to an organization. They are a friend and a person wanting to be involved in something they feel passionately about. I want to be able to reach out to them and acknowledge them for their wonderful gift.

 

I really hope that I get the opportunity to give back some day and offer a student the same chance that the LaRocco family is offering me. I am very grateful.

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