(Un)Serious Selves

Hey There! It's been a while, but I've stored up a lot of great stuff for you. Everything in this post is a reflection of the longstanding tradition at Yale SOM of taking our jobs and experiences seriously, but definitely not taking ourselves too seriously. First off, here's a picture of my house* that my friend Sarah took yesterday morning. It may look like a pretty standard winter snow day, but keep in mind that there's a 30" porch underneath that snow. Nemo hit us hard, but we had some great fun during the blizzard, there were thankfully no injuries or major property damage, and Yale has been fully on top of keeping us informed about classes, and keeping as many buildings and services open as possible. [caption id="attachment_4287" align="alignnone" width="612"] *By "my house" I really mean the house next door to mine, which Sarah couldn't tell apart from mine since everything was buried under snow. Photo by Sarah Greenwalt '14[/caption] And here's a picture of some of the aforementioned fun we had in the blizzard the night before. [caption id="attachment_4288" align="alignnone" width="300"] That's me on the right, my friend Michael '13 on the left, and Bekka SOM/FES '14 literally 10 feet in the air, (if you count the 34" of snow)!! Photo by Whitney Hampton '14[/caption] This is a cheerleading move known as a 'Flatback.' As crazy as this looks, we are actually just practicing for an upcoming routine that I really shouldn't be divulging too much information about. You see, every year we hold a school-wide talent show called 'Star Search' to raise funds for the Internship Fund (more on that in a second). And for the past few years there has been a major number towards the end of the show incorporating group students, dances, and general merriment. This year I'm one of the lucky dudes who gets to hoist ladies into the air (safely, safely) all in service of our classmates looking for their dream summer internships. My upper body strength has increased exponentially since we began. Aside from our group act, I'll also be singing a rousing power ballad, and my classmates will be showcasing their bhangra, flamenco guitar, heavy metal, saxophone, and smoky jazz singing talents. It's shaping up to be a good night. So what is this Internship Fund? It's been a longstanding part of SOM tradition to raise funds throughout the year to support our classmates who are looking to secure summer internships at non-profit organizations, in the public sector, and at certified B-Corporations. If they qualify for funding, they can receive a certain amount of money per week to supplement a lower salary from their socially-focused organization. This way, even if the organization doesn't have the budget to pay their interns anything over the summer, we can make sure that our fellow SOMers don't have to sacrifice their ability to pay rent and buy food over the summer. It's one of the things that makes me most proud when I think of the many great traditions at SOM. [caption id="attachment_4290" align="alignnone" width="278"] Notice the four cohort colors around the table, Silver, Green, Gold and Blue, two each, representing the first and second years.[/caption] Run entirely by first year leaders, this year's theme for the Internship Fund is 'All for SOM, and SOM for All,' and for quite a while we had Musketeer decorations all over the SOM campus, reminding us of what a great thing the Fund is for our community. Typically, about 20% - 25% of the class receives money through the fund, even if only about 8% end up going into the non-profit sector after graduation. We're coming up on Student Fundraising Week, and the Internship Fund Student Fundraising Committe has been putting together some amazing videos for our benefit: One from our banker friends, and one from our consulting friends. (Watch 'em both, you won't regret it.) Silly videos supporting a very serious cause. Star Search will be capping off the week, and we are very, VERY excited for it. Maybe some video of this year's routine will leak after the event... We shall see. Two other videos I think you should see: The Garstka Cup is another annual tradition (video by Chelsea Acosta '14, and first year GOALIE, with photos by our very own Alina Vorobeitchik '14). SOM Hockey is a hugely popular club, both for spectators and players, and the Cup is our opportunity to have a little bit of a friendly competition between the first and second years. (Fun fact: Our very own Director of Admissions Bruce Del Monico plays goalie for the 2nd years.) Though it's been postponed until after Nemo is cleaned up, we are looking forward to filling The Whale to capacity, and cheer on the Crocs (1st years) as they demolish the Pirates (2nd years). Go Crocs! Finally - I wanted to leave you with a great video that Q+, our Queer/Straight Alliance, recently shared with the whole school. It just speaks to the long-lasting culture of inclusion here at SOM, and it makes me feel all sorts of warm fuzzies every time I see it. SOM is such a great place to learn and be academically serious, and intensely focused on our career searches (more on that in my next post). It is because we don't take ourselves too seriously that this is possible. That is something that won't ever change.