Nicole Karlis

More by Nicole Karlis

How to Get in Shape for Spring Break in One Month

2/16/2013

There’s really only one week in particular that we all as collegiettes  look forward to during second semester, and that’s of course spring break. It’s seven days full of tanning in the sun, drinking daiquiris on the beach, and making memories that you and your friends will still be laughing about next February. So it’s only natural that you want to look and feel your best for what will undoubtedly be the best week of this semester, or even year, or, not to be too dramatic, but your life thus far. So as you begin counting down the days until you’re singing, TI;at a swim-up bar somewhere in Mexico, you may also be stressing about your plan for looking the best you can on the beach. But fear no more collegiettes  because Her Campus has consulted celebrity fitness trainer Michael George, (who’s trained Reese Witherspoon, among others!) to help you achieve your spring break fitness goals.

For each one, we’ll give you George’s advice on each celebrity fitness goal, your own Her Campus-suggested monthly plan, instructions for how to do the moves, and a video guide as well. Start lacing up your gym shoes!

Goal #1: Eva Longoria Arms

I’ve read that arms are the new face on the red carpet— the same could be said about on the beach, too. No matter where a little flab is lingering, if you have toned arms you’ll be looking fit and fly on the beach this spring break, and make Michelle Obama proud.

A Collegiette's™ Guide to Being a Superstar Intern

6/25/2012

I remember the first day of my first major New York City internship. I woke up about three hours before I had to be there for the big day. My outfit had been planned out weeks in advance. I wore a dress I bought with my mom on a shopping trip for the sole purpose of buying something to wear on my first day.

I landed an internship at a celebrity news and gossip website that is run by a woman who has been editor of more magazine titles than exist today. I wasn’t only nervous about working with powerful and highly influential people in the media industry; I was also nervous about my competition. In college, I served as an editor/reporter at the university’s independent newspapers and writer for various websites. I knew I was qualified for this internship. But who else was just as qualified as I was? About 12 girls who had the same experience (or more) as I did and had the same goals in mind: to make a lasting impression on this publication’s staff, to network in the industry, and to land a job after graduation. That, after all, is the purpose of internships, or so what we’ve been told, right?

Talk The Talk On Your First Day: The Terms You Need To Know Before You Start Your Summer Internship

5/24/2012

Walking into the office of your internship on the first day will inevitably be exciting, yet nerve-wracking. The office—full of busy professionals hustling around, drinking their coffee and cracking jokes—will feel nothing else but intimidating. Internships are a time for learning, but when your internship advisor asks you to pitch an evergreen story or log in into the CMS, you’re going to want to know what she’s talking about. There is going to be a lot you’ll learn throughout your first couple of days, and you don’t want to get behind because of a couple of silly words. Fortunately, you can start preparing now, collegiettes™, because Her Campus has compiled a list of terms from industries ranging from fashion to finance, to help you impress your co-workers and boss the minute you walk through those doors.  Consider this your internship dictionary.

But before we break it down by industry, here are a few business-y words that apply to almost any profession.

Annual Report: A formal presentation of a company’s accounts in the past year. These are all completed accounts and this presentation serves as a yearly review of the company’s status.

Quarterly Business Review (spoken as “Q-B-R”): A meeting that occurs every four months where business performance is discussed.

Invoice: A fancy word for a receipt of a company’s service.

Strategic Account Plans: A defined roadmap of a sales strategy that is specifically designed for each customer.

Journalism

The Digital World Of Cheating: Facebook, Gchat, Texting, Sexting

3/2/2012

Here’s a situation we can all relate to: you and your friends are out on the town for the night and a guy approaches you. You’re flirting and chatting and you even end the night with a little bit of making-out-on-the-dance-floor action. You’re totally smitten with this guy.

Later that week as you’re walking to class (and thinking about him), you receive an alert on your iPhone or Blackberry from Facebook: the guy from last weekend wants to be friends.

It’s an exciting, yet, potentially dangerous exchange.

At first, it’s how you two begin to communicate.  Every time you heard that bing-sound from Facebook chat you’d instantly hope it was him — and it usually was!

But fast forward the seven months you’ve been dating and here’s your daily routine:

You wake up, check your e-mail, eat a banana, read Her Campus, check your Facebook and read on your newsfeed that Suzie Shmoo wrote on your boyfriend’s wall at 10:32 p.m. last night.

“Suzie Shmoo. Who’s Suzie Shmoo?” You think to yourself.

Your curiosity eats away at you, and after he leaves himself signed into Facebook on your computer, you snoop. And there’s an entire message thread between your boyfriend and Suzie Shmoo.

“I’m really excited to watch The Social Network with you this Thursday night,” she wrote in the Facebook thread. “Do you like red wine or white wine better?”

You’re infuriated! He just told you tonight that he was going to a concert with his best friend Johnny on Thursday night, so you confront him. He’s angry you snooped. You’re angry he lied to you and has plans with Suzie Shmoo.

And you two break up.

Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. And if this or a similar situation hasn’t happened to you personally, Her Campus is here to help you if it ever does— or you can just read on to justify your own past snoop-like behavior.

Meet Abroad101: Your New BFF When Choosing to Study Abroad

2/8/2012

UPDATE: Check out Abroad101's amazing monthly study abroad scholarships here!

Calling all of our adventurous, travel enthusiast collegiettes™. Sarah and Nicole here, your HC travel experts. While this may come as a shocker, we don’t know everything there is to know about studying abroad. Yes, we’re study abroad veterans, but like all collegiettes™ do in life we, too, get by with a little help from our friends. We recently came across the site Abroad101 and agreed it would only be common courtesy to share with you our great find. Abroad101 is the destination to read insider rankings on study abroad programs, rank your own program, and keep up with the latest study abroad news. Read on to find out the top Abroad101 features your HC travel experts are swooning over.

Should You Do An Internship During the Semester?

11/26/2011

Being a college student can be more difficult than having a full-time job. Between tests, papers, boyfriends/girlfriends, volunteering, extracurriculars, and doing whatever else you do, you’re constantly going full speed ahead 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But there’s one other commitment you might want to consider throwing into the mix: an internship.

Though you might think an internship is just for the summertime, more and more students are opting to take one on during the academic year. But should you jump on the semester internship bandwagon?  We talked with students, career counselors, and employers to put together a guide to help you decide if it’s worth adding an internship into next semester’s Google calendar.

What does your current resume look like?

Is that beautiful piece of paper dotted from top to bottom with all of your marvelous work-related experiences? Or do you still have “babysitting” listed under previous work experience?

Unless you are applying for a position as a full-time au pair, listing babysitting on your resume probably won’t help you nab that job or summer internship. 

This is when it may be a good idea to consider applying for a semester internship.

“If you don’t have any experience on your resume, it’s a good idea to start building it with local companies,” said Lauren Berger, the CEO of InternQueen.com.

Traveling Abroad This Summer? Become A Triptrotter Before You Go!

5/13/2011

Any well-traveled collegiette™ knows the best memories abroad come from the times you spent with the locals. Locals are inevitably your key to a complete cultural immersion. Do as the locals do, and your experience will be completely different than doing as the tourists do. Because in all honesty, you can only embrace your inner-awkward tourist for so long. Getting lost and being uncomfortably starred at because you order French fries is all fun and games the first time around, but after a couple of repeat offenders, you’ll be hoping to switch roles with the starrers in no time. Confession: I went as far as cutting bangs into my hair in an attempt to become a Sevillana woman when I studied abroad. I have curly blonde hair; it was not the best look. Save yourself the bad haircut, and any other acts of desperation to roll with the locals abroad, and sign up for Triptrotting now. 


It's  a really awesome  website that will set you up with a local in your host country, alleviating the fear of having to figure it all our on your own. This will also decrease the number of nights you’ll be wandering around aimlessly trying to find out where all the cute guys are hiding, or where the best tiramisu can be devoured on a collegiette's™  budget. 

The Must-See Movies & TV Shows of Summer 2011

5/10/2011

There’s more to look forward to this summer than just the warm weather, beach bumming, and boys in their baseball uniforms (not that we’re complaining about those!). The hottest season of the year also means girls’ nights in front of the TV watching The Bachelorette, and date nights cuddling in the movie theater next to your new summer beau. We all need something to distract us from our long days interning, or just to escape from the steamy, summer heat. While last year’s releases of Sex and the City 2 and Eclipse will be hard to beat, there’s a very good lineup to anticipate this summer. Whether your preference is living vicariously through the newest reality TV show, or wishing you were at Hogwarts, this summer has it all. Seriously, get excited collegiettes™, as we officially present to you this summer’s must-see movies and TV shows.

Summer 2011 Movies

May

Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

In theaters: May 20, 2011

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush

Be Your Own Boss With Shopify

5/2/2011

Remember when US News &World Report reported there was a three percent increase in surveyed employers that said they intended to hire more college graduates this year? I do. And have I seen that increase firsthand with my soon-to-be graduating friends? Not really.

It’s difficult for graduates to find a job immediately after receiving their diplomas these days. I think this is a blessing in disguise though, one of which many have found to be true. The poor job market has opened many doors for college graduates to be creative and launch their own ventures.

As you’ve read before, I recently launched my own non-profit organization that sells handmade hankies, jewelry, purses and more from the Mayan community in Yucatan, Mexico. The mission of my venture, MY Hankies is to alleviate poverty and raise awareness about child labor.

Often times, the crafts that are sold to tourists in the Mayan archeological sites are actually made in China and are sold by children who receive no reward in return for their sales. The products that are sold at my online store, powered by Shopify, are handmade by the Mayan women. For many of them, these crafts are the only way they can make a living and support their families. Additional funds from my sales are pledged to the foundation that sends me the crafts and provides social services to these women directly.

Study Abroad Q&A: What To Do If You Need To Get or Renew a Passport

5/2/2011

Check. Accepted into a program? Double check. Have a passport? Oh yeah, that. Stop right there, anxious adventuress. You won’t be boarding a plane anytime soon without a passport. If this is your first time traveling outside of the country chances are you don’t have one. Now, there is no need to stress out about this one. As long as you give yourself enough time to go through the process, you’ll receive a passport and its crisp, ready-to-be-stamped pages in no time.

What is a passport?
A passport is a travel document issued by the U.S. government for U.S. citizens. It acts as your identification when checking in and out of foreign countries.

How do I apply for one?
In order to receive a passport, you have to apply for one in an authorized passport office. Authorized locations range from your local post office and public library to municipal government offices. The cost of a new passport is around $100 and it’s recommended that you allow one month for your application to be processed.

What should I bring when I apply?
Before you clear your schedule to visit your local authorized passport office, there are a few prerequisites you have to accomplish first.