One of my most fun and new experiences after starting college has been travelling. Most of this travel comes in some form or another from being a student at Hopkins: whether I’m going across the country for a hackathon or taking a quick train up to NYC for company programs. Company programs refer to fully funded exploratory programs that many companies organize for students interested in pursuing a career there.
Over the last two years, I have found myself in airports at 5 a.m., packing my bags late at night in my dorm and saying yes to opportunities I never expected. Travelling on my own has brought me many impossible-to-forget experiences over the last two years. So, let’s do a quick story time with some highlights from these events.
Last fall, I traveled on my own for the first time. I took a short 1.5-hour-long flight to Boston to attend HackMIT! I actually found out about this opportunity when a friend at Hopkins told me about it as we were leaving class. It was a 24-hour hackathon in which we could build just about anything and compete for prizes. My first step was to look for a team. So, I did something I had never done before: I put a random message on the event discord and teamed up with people from other schools who I had never met before! This turned out to be an amazing and spontaneous decision.
Once I was there, we spent so much time together ideating and building. But the weekend wasn’t just that. It also included late-night matcha runs and playing card games we made up ourselves while sitting on the floor. By the end of the experience, everyone I had met felt like partners in code.
I was so enthralled by this experience that I decided to do it all over again this spring. This time, I flew out to San Francisco for TreeHacks (Stanford’s Hackathon). My trip to SF was funded by TreeHacks (many hackathons provide travel assistance if you apply for it!). Once again, I decided to take the leap and team up with people I had never met before. This did not disappoint. The weekend wasn’t just 36 hours of non-stop building. It was filled with other experiences like watching MMA-style fighting robots, a light saber battle, and petting llamas (if you know, you know). I came back with a TreeHacks Lego toy (yes, I’m almost 20 years old. Yes, I love Lego) and keyboard key chain that is now a permanent fidget toy in my hands, but more importantly I came back with memories I’ll never forget.
Hopkins has the great benefit of being very close to a number of major cities like DC, NYC, and Boston. During winter break, I went on a short trip to NYC for another company program (specific to quantitative trading) but also got to explore the city with friends. One night, we went to an art cafe called Happy Medium and spent hours scrapbooking together. These spontaneous trips remind me that a big part of having fun in college is experiencing new things with new people.
Some of my favorite moments have come from saying yes to new experiences. In high school, I was always very hesitant to travel for competitions and other experiences. I had a lot of travel inertia (in fact, the first time I travelled alone was when my friends and parents really really encouraged me to fly out of state for a Model UN conference in high school). Now that I’m in college, I have realized how much travel can expand our worldview through novel and exciting experiences. These weekend trips feel like “speed-learning,” not just in terms of academics, but also in life. So, dear reader, consider this a sign to step out of your comfort zone, seek out fun, and explore the world.
