Lowell House News Volume 32, Issue 5 Monday 13 October 2008 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT HEAD OF THE CHARLES WEEKEND: Oct 17-19 All Lowell House residents will need to *register* (in person) any guest coming to stay overnight between the days of Oct. 16 - 19 (HOC). Please check in with the Building Manager this week for details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALENDAR Tuesday, October 14: * Final Add-drop deadline for Fall term!! * Lowell House Supreme Court Trip to Washington and Meeting with Associate Justice David Souter Wednesday, October 15: * Applications for study out of residence for Spring term are due at OIP * Chinese table, 5:30-6:30pm, Dining Hall * Physics table, 9:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall * Lowell Chemistry Tables, 8:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall Thursday, October 16: * You are warmly invited to TEA, Masters' Residence, 5:00-6:00pm. * Lowell House Discussion with Toby Stock, Harvard Law School Dean of Admissions, 5:00-6:00pm, SCR * German table, 6:00pm, Dining Hall * Oktoberfest Stein, 10:00pm-12:00am, Grille Friday, October 17: Head of the Charles weekend (Register your guests) Saturday, October 18: Head of the Charles weekend (Register your guests) Sunday, October 19: Head of the Charles weekend (Register your guests) * Students leaving the College by this date are charged 1/4 tuition and SS fee Monday, October 20: *First HIGH TABLE of the year, 6:00pm, Masters' residence, 6:30pm, Dining Hall. Wednesday, October 22: * Chinese table, 5:30-6:30pm Dining Hall * Physics table, 9:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall * Chemistry table, 8:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall Thursday, October 23: * You are warmly invited to TEA, Masters' Residence, 5:00-6:00pm *********************************************************** FROM THE RESIDENT DEAN * Ryan Spoering, Allston Burr Resident Dean Room A-22, 5-2283 (lo-abrd@fas.harvard.edu) - WITHDRAW DEADLINE. The deadline to add and drop courses is this Tuesday, October 14TH. You can still withdraw from courses until MONDAY, OCTOBER 27th. Withdrawing is identical to dropping, except the course remains on your record with a "WD" notation. - DELAYED UPDATES? If you have filed Add/Drop forms with the House Office but the changes have not yet appeared on your record, don't panic— this is a busy time at the Registrar's Office and it may take a little while. Let me know if the changes take more than a week or two and I can help you correct any errors that may have occurred. - BUREAU PEER TUTORING. Feeling a little daunted by a class? Consider hiring a peer tutor through the Bureau of Study Counsel. Tutors are paid with a subsidy and the cost is very reasonable. Interested in tutoring other students taking a class that you loved? Sign up as a tutor! For more information, see the Bureau website: http://bsc.harvard.edu/tutor.html - OFFICE HOURS THIS WEEK. I will have walk-in office hours this week T 10:00-11:00am and WF 10:00am-noon. For other times, please contact Kit in the House Office (5-2283, lowell@fas) to set up an appointment with me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASK BETH, the HOUSE ADMINISTRATOR * Beth Terry, A-22, 5-2283 (lo-admin@fas.harvard.edu) Dear Beth, Someone told me that the platform in the dining hall used to be limited to only seniors. Is that true? And who are all the people who eat there sometimes? They look like alumni but they come in pretty often. Signed, New Kid on the Block Dear New Kid, No doubt the seniors would have approved of such regulations but I believe your source has been fed an embellished truth. The High Table dinner has traditionally been held once a week, or a few times a month, and yes, that dinner has been limited to seniors and faculty of Lowell House. However, during normal dining hall hours on nights when High Table is not being hosted by the masters, you (or any Lowellian) may dine on the “platform”. Yet I take issue with your vocabulary. “Platform” sounds like we exist in some construction site or outdoor theatre building. Let’s call it a “dais” so we can promote the proper ceremonial overtones, shall we? Ceremony is important as you become assimilated to the Lowell House traditions. Based upon my observations over the years, I submit to you that while you may dismiss the Bells now, look askance at High Table, ignore the calls to Tea and resent the presence of the Opera every winter, by the end of your years in this place you’ll be defending the ceremonial bell, dressing up for High Table, feeling territorial about the samosas and fondly reminiscing about the opera party. Such is the insidious nature of tradition (especially coupled with good food and Lowell House punch.) The people who come into eat lunch on Wednesdays are members of your Senior Common Room. Wednesdays are SCR meeting day. However, you should know that the reason they are associated with Lowell House is to serve as resources for you. They can mentor you in your field, provide networks for internships and jobs, or often just be an incredibly fascinating conversation. Their contact information is available in our newly minted Facebooks (get them from your Entryway Tutors) and on our searchable SCR database (located on our website). Remember: don’t leave it to chance. If you want a personal introduction to anyone in our SCR be sure to do what you just did: Ask Beth. ~Beth ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HoCo SAYS.... Hey Lowell! HoCo would like to invite all of you to OKTOBERFEST! This Thursday, 10;00pm-12:00am in the Grille! Get excited for some great drinks, amazing food and all things Oktoberfest! Lowell Love, Your HoCo ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE FELLOWSHIPS TUTORS * Josh Goldman (jdgoldm@fas.harvard.edu) * Courtney Peterson (cmpeters@fas.harvard.edu) * Susanna Mierau (susanna_mierau@post.harvard.edu) NEW LOWELL HOUSE FELLOWSHIPS WEBSITE We've redesigned the Fellowships section of the Lowell House website, featuring an all-new list of common fellowships designed to make it easy to find fellowships that will fund whatever it is that you're hoping to do. Check it out at http://lowell.harvard.edu/fellowships FALL FELLOWSHIPS MEETING Come to the Lowell House Fall Fellowships Meeting on Sunday, September 21 at 8:00 PM in the library. We will give an overview of the kinds of fellowships available and the times of year when you need to apply. Students from ALL YEARS--especially sophomores--are encouraged to attend. DESSERT will be served. LOWELL FELLOWSHIPS MAILING LIST Want to know what fellowships are out there? Want to know about them before the deadlines appear in the newsletter? Want more information on the fellowships listed below? Subscribe to the fellowships mailing list to get notices about once every week or two of upcoming deadlines and things to think about (relevant for sophomores, juniors, and seniors). To subscribe, go to http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/lowell-fellowships . OFFICE HOURS We hold office hours on Sunday evenings in the dining hall, during which we'd be happy to discuss your plans and look over your application essays. To visit us during office hours, you need to sign up at least one day in advance on the sign-up sheet next to the fellowships bulletin board, right next to the entrance to the JCR. If you have specific questions, please email us at any time. UPCOMING INFOSESSIONS - 14 October: Traveling Fellowships, 3 PM @ OCS Conference Room - 14 October, 6 PM, Littauer 682: Soros Fellowships for New Americans - 15 October: Fellowships Proposal Writing Workshop, 3 PM @ OCS Conference Room - 28 October, 7 PM, Leverett JCR: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships meeting with selection committee * * * UPCOMING FELLOWSHIPS * * * FOR GRADUATE STUDY ABROAD: - 15 October: Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Funds 1-4 years of graduate study at Cambridge in any field. Must have strong academic record. Open to citizens of any country except the U.K. - 17 October: DAAD Scholarship. Funds 1 or 2 years of study in Germany. - 24 October: St Andrew's Society Scholarships. Funds one year of graduate study in Scotland. You must have at least one Scottish ancestor. - 03 November: Ecole Normale Superieure Fellowship, Tower Fellowship, Williams-Lodge Scholarship to the Sorbonne. Funds one year of study in France. ENS and Williams-Lodge fellowships fund study at ENS and the Sorbonne, respectively; the Tower Fellowship is for any university in France. You can get the common application by emailing cgs@fas. - 13 November: Paul Williams Scholarship to Emmanuel College. Funds one year at Cambridge University in international government and public affairs (very broadly construed). - 17 November: Eben Fiske Studentship at Trinity College Cambridge. Funds multi-year advanced degrees. - 02 December: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships. Funds one year at Cambridge University. - 05 December: Mackenzie King Harvard Scholarship. Partial support for study in Canada. - 08 December: Knox/Henry/von Clemm Scholarships (common application). Funds one year of study at various universities in the U.K. - 16 December: Herchel Smith Harvard Scholarship. Funds one year at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University in experimental natural sciences, computer science, or mathematics. FOR PURPOSEFUL TRAVEL (seniors only): - 17 October: Michael C. Rockefeller Fellowship. Funds a year of purposeful travel in a foreign country. ATTENTION ROCKEFELLER APPLICANTS: Please remember that there is a special Lowell House procedure for the House evaluation form! All the details are in an email you received (or will shortly receive) on the fellowships mailing list or from Josh directly. If you haven't yet requested your House evaluation, please do so immediately. - 06 December: Gardner, Shaw, Sheldon, Trustman traveling fellowships. Funds a year-long project of your choice in a foreign country. This is a Lowell House deadline, and you must have Lowell House nomination in order to apply. FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND/OR OTHER POSTGRADUATE ACTIVITIES: - 21 October: Merage institute for the American Dream. $10,000/year for two years for study, travel, internships, etc. Must have a green card or be a naturalized citizen. - 24 October: Luce Scholarship. One-year internship in Asia (no prior experience with Asia required). - 31 October: Hertz Fellowship. Funds 5 years of graduate study in the applied physical sciences. - 01 November: Soros Fellowship. Stipend + tuition grant for graduate study of any kind (including law & medicine). Must be a naturalized citizen, have a green card, or be the children of naturalized citizens. - 03-12 November (depending on field): NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Funds 3 years of graduate study in any field of science or engineering, including economics, psychology, and history of science. - 05 November: Carnegie Fellowship. Provides a one-year fellowship at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace. FOR UNDERGRADUATES: - 28 October: Goldwater Scholarship. Prize for outstanding sophomores or juniors in science/math/engineering. Also comes with funding toward your remaining undergraduate years. - 09 November: Truman Scholarship. Money for senior year of college and graduate school (and prestige). Open to juniors who plan to go into government or public service (broadly construed). - 11 December: Beinecke Scholarship. $2,000 for senior year and $30,000 for graduate study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. FOR MORE INFORMATION: See the Lowell House fellowships website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE PRE-LAW COMMITTEE Website: http://www.lowell.harvard.edu/advising/pre-law/index.php Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu) * Jean Han (jeanhan@fas.harvard.edu) * Sandy Alexander (sandy_alexander@post.harvard.edu) * Karl Procaccini (karlprocaccini@gmail.com) I. Important Dates for Applicants *October 31 (Fri): Last day to submit application materials to Pre-Law Committee. If you wish the Pre-Law Committee to submit a Dean's Certification Letter for your applications, you must submit your application materials to the Committee by this date. Materials include: release form; questionnaire; resume; transcript and GPA; final personal statement; letters of recommendation; and list of schools. II. Lowell House Pre-Law Events *October 16 (Thur): Lowell House Discussion with Toby Stock, Harvard Law School Dean of Admissions. Dean Stock will meet with interested Lowellians to talk about HLS and the admissions process. SCR, 5:00-6:00pm *November 2 (Sun): Pre-Law Dinner with Chuck Schilke: Washington Legal Careers. Grab some dinner and join us for a discussion with Lowell House Pre-Law committee affiliate Chuck Schilke. He will discuss and answer questions about private firm, corporation, nonprofit, government agency, and academic careers, as well as options for those not going to law school immediately. Small Dining Room, 6:00-7:30pm III. Other Pre-Law Events * October 14 (Tue): Movie Screening & Discussion: "The Visitor". An unusual friendship is transformed when one man is placed in deportation proceedings. "The Visitor" is a critically acclaimed and spirited movie that puts a human face on the dark side of our immigration system. Movie screening to be followed by a discussion led by immigrant detention experts, including Laura Rotolo of the ACLU. Sponsored by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, and the Harvard Immigration Project. Harvard Law School, Austin North, 7:00-9:00pm *October 16 (Thur): Law School Visit: Georgetown. Small group one-hour evaluative sessions. 3:00-4:00pm or 4:00-5:00pm. RSVP at pnd4@law.georgetown.edu, with your name and time preference. *November 7 (Fri): Law School Visit: USC. Small group one-hour information session. OCS Conference Room, 12:00-1:00pm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR CAREER AND PRE-BUSINESS ADVISING TUTORS * Russell Miles - Resident Tutor (rmiles@oxfamamerica.org, 3-2990) * Christopher Laconi - Non-Resident Tutor (claconi@mba2009.hbs.edu) Thinking about what you will do after Harvard? It's never too early or too late to start!! As a Harvard graduate, the world truly is your oyster and there are so many options. Working in the private, government or NGO sector, further study, travel abroad!? Sadly, over 70 percent of the recruiters that come to Harvard are in Investment Banking or Consulting, so there is not a lot of diversity. However, this is great if this is the area in which you want to work and there are many resources easily available to you. The best place for resources and information is the Office of Career Services http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/students.htm. The website is fabulous with a lot of great information. The OCS office is just around the corner from Lowell House at 54 Dunster Street and there are many people there who are available to help with all of your specific needs. OCS also has a very full program of events throughout the year - from career fairs to resume clinics, interview workshops and meet-the-recruiter nights. Check out the website regularly for the latest event calendar. But consulting and banking is not necessarily the career for everyone and the General Career Adviser is here to help you think through that decision and work out what you really want out of life and your career! There are so many interesting and valuable options available to you which are worth exploring. The Lowell Resident General Career Advising Tutor is Russell Miles. He can be contacted on rmiles@oxfamamerica.org or call 617-493-2990 to make an appointment. Or you can find in him J-11. Drop in times are: Weekdays 6:00pm - 10:00pm and Weekends 10:00am - 10:00pm. Christopher Laconi is a Non-Resident Tutor from the Harvard Business School and he can specifically help on Pre-Business discussions and exploring careers in banking and consulting. He may be reached at claconi@mba2009.hbs.edu or call 207-344-8923 for appointments. In addition to helping you think through your career decisions, Chris and Russell can also help get you on the path to further resources and can also help you finalize your resume and prepare for interviews. Russell is creating an e-mail list in order to send out messages about key dates and events. Please contact him if you are interested to have your name on this mailing list - rmiles@oxfamamerica.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR RESIDENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT / INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ADVISER * Russell Miles (rmiles@oxfamamerica.org, 3-2990) Interested in international relations, international aid and development? Want to discuss international issues raised in class? Need help thinking about research paper topics? Want to meet and talk with people working in the development or humanitarian sector? Interested in an international career in public service, government or private sector, or simply wanting to travel to other regions of the world? E-mail me or come and talk with me about all these questions. If you would like to make an appointment to talk for a longer period, I am available for meetings on Saturday afternoons from 2.00pm-5.00pm. We will meet in the SCR. I am creating an e-mail list in order to send out messages about key dates and events related to international development and international relations. Please contact me if you are interested to have your name on this mailing list - rmiles@oxfamamerica.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR RESIDENT STUDY ABROAD ADVISOR *Gregg Glover (gregg_glover@harvard.edu, 3-2978) Interested in spending some time abroad during a semester or summer and receiving credit for it? Need some in-house help brainstorming possibilities or talking about the process? Email me and we can find time to talk (also look for upcoming study abroad advising sessions after dinner). I can also help you connect with SCR members or Lowell House students with previous experience abroad. Spring study abroad deadline: OCTOBER 15. If you are interested in studying abroad this spring, please be aware that the application deadline to receive Harvard credit is OCTOBER 15. Information about the process and application forms can be found on the Office of International Programs’ (OIP) website (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~oip/). The Office of International Programs also has drop-in hours Monday-Friday, 2-4pm, when you can see an advisor about questions, plans, or ideas. Please note: The OIP has moved—they are now located off Massachusetts Avenue in the new building at 2 Arrow Street, 4th floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS * GERMAN TABLE Guten Tag, Join us for German Table on Thursday at 6 PM in the dining hall. All levels of German proficiency are welcome. Bis Donnerstag. Nayla and Tom * DROP IN FOR A HELPFUL CHAT UHS Mental Health Services is excited to pilot a new program in Lowell House. Each Wednesday from 5:00-7:00pm, Jennifer Strong will be available for consultation in room N-14. Stop by to introduce yourself when the door is open. Speaking with a counselor can help provide insight, workable solutions and information about resources. You are welcome to consult with Jennifer about challenges you are facing, or bring a friend you believe could use some support. * CHINESE TABLE Enjoyed watching the Olympics? Interested in chatting with Chinese native speakers on various topics? Trying to find a masterpiece Kung Fu movie? Need some help with your Chinese class? Wondering what travel/research/work opportunities are there in the greater China area? Or simply want to speak (or practice) Chinese? You don't have make the journey to Vanserg to talk with a teacher, you don't have to rely on traveling agency to find your host when you travel to China, you may even find the right person to talk to about your business ideas in Asia! COME TO THE LOWELL HOUSE CHINESE TABLE!! We're going to have weekly Chinese Tables on Wednesdays 5:30-6:30pm. We will put a sign there and we'll usually have at least two native speakers there. Thank you to Helen Tsim and Yali for offering help! * MUSIC ABOUT THE HOUSE Dear Lowell Musicians, We're looking for students to perform for upcoming Lewin Musicales and High Tables. Musicales are informal gatherings at the house Library during Milk and Cookies and High Tables are formal dinners for seniors and SCR members. If you or your musical group have pieces you'd like to share with the house community, please email the music tutors for dates and more info. Maggie Cao: cao@fas.harvard.edu Andrew Amo: andrew.aamo@yahoo.com