Visit Tulane!

Hey guys,

I'm writing to those of you freshmen who religiously follow my blog (yeah, right ;p) and are excited about coming to Tulane to visit in the coming months. This year, I will be directly involved that process.

As the President of the Science and Engineering Honor Society, I have a lot of responsibility over something entitled Honors Weekend. We help the Admissions Office sort out our incoming geniuses and throw a big party for you guys with nachos, snow cones, and inflatable fun. This year, we are giving out t shirts and possibly pins as well.

The Science and Engineering Honor Society has one major task in the coming years-- to help give the School of Science and Engineering a new identity. So basically everything we do, we're trying to do it BIG. For example, our t shirts (design shown above) are brightly colored and easily identified, we're planning on hosting a speaker next fall, and we work closely with the Dean's Office to make sure current and incoming students know what we (as representatives of the School of Science and Engineering administration) can do.

Whether or not you're an honors student, the coming months have tons of fun in store here at Tulane. The Admissions Office and plenty of other campus bodies, including student organizations, work really hard to make sure you guys have a good time. And for those of you that are emailing me with questions, keep those emails coming to me and the other bloggers. We truly are happy to welcome you guys.

So the purpose of this post is really to encourage my incoming freshmen readers to take advantage of any opportunities you have to visit Tulane. As a senior at Friendswood High School, I certainly remember the awe Tulane's ivy-covered Gibson Hall inspired when I first set foot on this campus. I was overwhelmed with the lush greenery, the friendly students, and how excited everyone seemed, even President Cowen, who was the only actual university president I met when visiting colleges. Four years later, I still remember that feeling.

In New Orleans, we have a saying, "Let the good times roll." If you visit Tulane this spring, you will certainly see how much we believe that!

Welcome, guys! We're excited to meet you!


-AJ

ajambhek@tulane.edu

Parade Fun

So here are some pictures of my Mardi Gras-- these are of Endymion and Bacchus. The girl with me in most of them is Asha, my Office of Multicultural Affairs. The other girl is Rachel, a sister in my sorority and the current Membership Chair. Below are some pictures of our experiences-- how we wormed our way up to the front of the police barricades, how we fought people on the ladders for beads, and how we were triumphant in the end!

Here I am chastising Asha for picking up beads from the ground though I will admit she got some awesome ones in this effort!
Below are some pictures of us in between floats during Bacchus (L) and Endymion (R)

Mardi Gras

So it is now the weekend after Mardi Gras and I am spending some time recovering from all the fun and digesting the fact that I'm about to turn 21, I can't party like I used to, and that I am about to legally be an adult in every way.

Last year during Mardi Gras I went down to Bourbon Street almost every night (except for the one night I was on Frenchman) and had a ridiculously good time. I partied hard, especially on my twentieth birthday, which fell on Mardi Gras day itself. It was a very exciting time of the year and it was the first and only Mardi Gras where I partied like that. It probably will be the only Mardi Gras I'll celebrate like that.

This year, I took it easy. I showed off the parades to my Office of Multicultural Affairs little sister Asha and shared all my beads with her. I picked up the cool beads and we actually cut two strands of them and made really neat bracelets out of them. My Mardi Gras this year was a lot more low key and a LOT more relaxing. I realized for the first time since coming to college that I am getting too old to want to spend every night fighting crowds in the French Quarter for a good time.

It makes me sad to think that I only have one Mardi Gras left. It's ten days shy of my 21st birthday and I also realize that though next year's birthday falls the Friday before Mardi Gras, its still not going to be as monumental as this birthday.

But even though I'm getting older, New Orleans has plenty to offer. I think this is a great place to continue having fun while I'm in college. When I saw all ages of people at the parades it made me feel like while I'm here, I still fit in just fine.

Sophia Lauren once said, "There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age."

This Mardi Gras, I have learned that the parade goers and the people who still have fun no matter what their age are the ones who have learned this secret.