Think you know the busiest girl at American University? Think again.
Meet Olivia Stitilis, a senior Communications, Law, Economics, and Government (CLEG) major in the School of Public Affairs. In addition to taking classes, Olivia works as a peer advisor in the Career Center, a communications and outreach intern at the Department of Education, the campus coordinator for Teach for America, the teaching assistant for the SPA Leadership Program and the health columnist for AU’s newspaper, The Eagle. To top it all off, she manages to juggle all of these commitments without owning a smartphone.
With all of her work and extracurricular commitments clocking in at around 50 hours a week, it’s no wonder to think that Olivia could very well be the busiest girl at AU.
“On occasion I do find time to sleep,” said Olivia when asked about if she’s able to find any time for sleeping in her packed schedule. “If not, I drink coffee. This lifestyle has managed to fuel a caffeine addiction.” (Her favorite drink at The Dav is a Vanilla Americano.)
When Olivia isn’t busy with her various commitments, she’s fantasizing about traveling. Last year, she studied abroad for a year the prestigious London School of Economics, taking classes in economics and law. While in London, she also visited cities such as Barcelona and Istanbul.
“I loved how different Istanbul was compared to any other European city I’ve been to before,” Olivia said. “I liked how it had such a Middle Eastern feel, and it was the farthest from home I’d ever been.”
Olivia has her heart set on traveling to India and Thailand next. “I have always been captivated by the exoticness of both countries. There is something about traveling to places I know will be nothing like I have ever experienced before that is really appealing to me.”
After graduation, Olivia wants to move to New York City and pursue her passion for education reform. “I think New York City is a really fast-paced city that has something for everyone,” Olivia said. “It has a really great culture to it, especially for young people.”
As for the lack of smartphone? That is a result of her experience studying abroad with just a regular phone.
“I’m somehow still surviving without a Blackberry,” Olivia said. “It was a bit challenging when I didn’t have Internet in my new apartment for six weeks, but now that I have Internet it’s not really an issue.”