Hello from 2016 Class Presidents

Hello everyone!

Our names are Coco Wang and Chanel Williams and we’re excited that you’re visiting the Life After Bryn Mawr Blog. With graduation, and the real world, approaching, we hope that you find this blog helpful for providing tips on finding apartments, cooking, paying your bills and a lot more. There are also some comical aspects to the blog, because our transition out of Bryn Mawr should be fun, despite our concerns. We hope that you find this blog useful, and that you let us know if you have any questions that you would like to have answered, or ideas that you would like to see on the website.

We’re all in this together!

Coco Chanel

Letter from an Alumna: Cooking on a Budget

This week, we have a guest post from a 2014 graduate, Amanda Beardall! After Amanda graduated, she went on to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member in Philadelphia, PA. She writes about her experience living at a poverty line salary and how she learned to budget for food. We hope to have posts each week so please send your submissions to bmclifehacks@gmail.com if this is something you’re interested in!

Continue reading →

Postcards from Alumnae/i!

During the Volunteer Summit weekend on October 2-3, 2015, Mawrters past were asked: “What are three things you wish you knew before graduating?” We received some wonderful words of wisdom, so click here to check them out!

We invite everyone to write their own postcards!

Having handwritten notes from alumnae/i is really special and we are sure current Bryn Mawr seniors and other recent graduates will appreciate them. Here are several options for how to do this:

  1. If you are on campus, print out your own copy of the postcard (attached to this post) and then drop it off outside Rachel Heiser’s office located on the first floor of Guild.
  2. If you are not quite so close and would prefer to mail us a hard copy, print out the attached document and send it to:
    Jancy Munguia
    Canaday Library
    101 N. Merion Ave
    Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
  3. You can also print out the postcard, write on it, scan it and email it to us as a JPEG at bmclifehacks@gmail.com

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Click on the image to download and print your postcard!

 

 

 

postcard3“There are always opportunities to learn something new, even when you are starting out in a first job doing ‘grunt work’.”
“True love doesn’t feel like fireworks – it is more like finding a comfortable sweatshirt that you never want to take off!”
“Life is a marathon – not a sprint – enjoy the scenery while you run.

“How do you not get disenchanted with the real world/your job?”

“How do you make friends in a new city?”

“How do you not come back to East/West after graduating?”

postcard2“Rather than making up a budget, take really good notes about expenses in your first six months, then evaluate your capacity from there.”

“Don’t be afraid to cook larger meals than what you can eat – use your freezer to stock up!

 

“Men feel threatened by smart women and we need to LEARN how to operate in male professions.” (#1)

“The world didn’t have the honor system – ‘trust but verify’ everything.”
“The more BMC friends you learn here with, the bigger the army will be when you get in trouble because of #1 above.”

“Go to alumnae events in your town, find alumnae of all ages wherever you travel – they will always welcome you.”

“Your GPA is irrelevant, being a Bryn Mawr alumna is what you’ll be known as, embrace it for the great life it will bring you.”

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“You don’t have to love or like your first job.”
“Living with a roommate is a great way to not be lonely! Plus it’s easier to figure out bills/life.” “People who didn’t go to BMC may not understand your relationship with your alma mater. That’s okay!”
“There’s no shame in living with your parents.” <- “Real!”

 

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“Be adventurous and take risks.”
“You don’t need to have it all figured out.”
“You are brilliant and have earned an education that will serve you exceptionally well in everything you do.”

“Have internships/externships starting freshman year.
“Work first after college not grad school.”
“Companies will pay employees to go to grad school.”
“Start cultivating professional relationships beginning in freshman yr thru LinkedIn.”

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“Alumnae will go out of their way to help you – find them via any means and reach out.” Hannah Smith

 

 

 

“How much intelligence there is in the body – there’s much more than the mental plane!” Sara Synder 1986

 

 

 

 

 

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“I wish I better understood the purpose and utility of an informational interview and had done many my senior year to better understand some career paths.”

 

 

“That alums aren’t just willing, but want to talk to me about careers and help me out.”