We are pleased to introduce you all to our Campus Celebrity this week: Gabby Arenge. This extraordinary senior is a psychology major with an art minor (focusing on ceramics) and is also a PICA scholar. On top of all of the responsibilities she has for class, Gabby has taken on extra duties making her a major asset to our campus. A normal week for Gabby includes working with various SGA committees, tutoring peers, helping our school reinvent our GE requirements, and mentoring younger kids with the group Big Brother Big Sister. Continue reading to see how Gabby manages it all with passion and grace while being inspired to make the most of your own time at Conn!
We’re convinced that you might be the most involved person on campus. Tell us about your responsibilities.
Yes, I tend to spread myself too thin and especially so this year. However, all of my involvements and responsibilities are interconnected, almost fluidly, so I see and experience a lot of overlap–and this overlap makes everything I do more intentional, meaningful, and relevant to my goals for our community and myself. As a student leader on campus, with a specific focus in academic affairs and policy-driven initiatives, I serve on a lot of committees and task forces dedicated to improving the Connecticut College academic experience (this year’s focus is the GE reform. Stay tuned for more information as this reform progresses!) As a student representative on these committees, I strive to engage students across campus in discussions so that I can gauge and understand the student voice. Because I’m a natural introvert, I tend to do a lot of one-on-one “research”–or outreach–to the student body. I love talking to students in more intimate settings and I am able to do so as a CELS Fellow, TA/Tutor, etc. Once I gain an understanding of how the student body perceives an idea or policy initiative, I try to represent and funnel the student voice into all relevant campus deliberations and initiatives. Along with representation, I do a lot developing, planning, and implementing new projects and programs on campus. For example, the Art Task Force I am chairing this year hopes to develop 2-3 projects that will create more creative arts galleries or free-expression spaces on campus for students, faculty, and staff.
How do you manage your time/prioritize all of your activities?
Google Calendar is a godsend. I also have a white board, 5+ notepads, a sketchbook/planner, and 10+ e-mail “drafts” to myself with ongoing To-Do lists. When I get really stressed about my day, I sit down with one of these organizational items and start listing my time and activity commitments…a sometimes nauseating, sometimes inspiring, and always therapeutic process. These days, I usually start my day around 7:00 am and do not have free time until 12:00 am the next day, so forward thinking, excessive To-Do Lists, and calendars are essential to my productivity and success. Also, I never sleep.
Favorite ways to destress?
The ceramic studio at about 12 am on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. Literally, nothing better than digging your knuckles into a mound of wet clay. Add blaring music, a few funky dance moves, and some sort of a caffeinated beverage and I’m in heaven.
How does it feel to be a senior?
I keep telling everyone that this is my “golden year” because I finally feel like I have integrated and nailed the balance among academic, social, and leadership commitments on campus… it only took four years. (Hah) But in all seriousness, as a senior, I have the experience, confidence, and ideal leadership positioning that makes it very possible to exploit every worthwhile opportunity and become an influential voice and member in our community. Additionally, I am convinced that this is the perfect year to be a senior student leader…a new Dean of Student Life has arrived, a new President is on the way, the GE reform is chugging along, the College is looking to rebrand itself…we are going through a slow, but steady, monumental shift and I am thrilled, inspired, and energized (despite the extreme sleep deprivation) by the vast uncertainty and potential growth awaiting Connecticut College and by the chance to be a part of the whole transformation.
What is your favorite memory at Conn so far?
Too many to choose from but here are a few samplers.
- The site-specific dance performance that came to campus two years ago. A visiting dance company, faculty, and students created and performed an incredible dance all across campus (there were literally students hanging in trees and yelling off of dorm balconies) in a matter of two or three days I attended, and at the end became a part of the performance as everyone (performers and audience members) danced and colored with chalk in the parking lot just behind the Library/in front of the Health Center. It was incredible.
- Hula hooping across campus in this year’s orientation lip dub. And then further cultivating my hula hooping skills throughout a cappella auditions/with the ConnChords this semester (if you ever see a group of hula hoopers just outside of Harkness, it is most likely the ConnChords). I can now maintain two spinning hula hoops around my waist while running from the bottom of Tempel green up both steep hills.
- The pre-semester SGA retreat and bonfire. We have some amazing leaders (students and staff) on campus and having a few isolated days to work with them developing goals for this year was nothing short of incredible.
Advice to underclassmen?
Get off campus and into New London or a surrounding community at least once a week (and no, going to the bar does not count). Become friends with at least one professor or staff member each year. Utilize the CELS office as much as possible. Schedule time to be alone and time to be with others. Find a mentor and be a mentor. Always take a piece of Toll House Pie to-go. And sleep.
Advice to upperclassmen about how to deal with always being asked what they’re going to do after college?
Before you can admit it to anyone else, admit to yourself that it is okay (!) to not know what you want to do or where you want to be in the next one, two, five, or ten years. Your time at CC should have hopefully shown you that a meaningful life is rarely linear and that the most exciting opportunities arrive at a moment’s notice. So, not having the (or an) answer is okay. You don’t have to know what is going to happen. Just try to cultivate a strong work-ethic, skill set, and passion for a particular idea or cause so that when an opportunity arrives, you can ‘carpe diem’ and fearlessly pursue and make the most of such opportunities. I strongly believe that once you are comfortable with the unknown, it will be easier to convince others that it is okay–actually more than okay–to be comfortable with, and even excited by, the unknown.
Speaking of life after college…any ideas about what you’ll be doing? We know it’s only September, don’t panic! “Well, I am in the process of working on plans A – Z for what happens after about 4 pm on May 18th, 2014. As of right now, I have the ideal plan A. Here’s what it looks like: Complete a Fulbright funded Masters in Education and research project on creative pedagogy at the University of Australia. After that, everything is still a little fuzzy (but remember, I am okay with that, so you should feel okay with that, too!). What I do know is that I am driven by ideals as opposed to a desire for a particular job position or salary. So my long term hope is to constantly pursue opportunities that will help me more deeply engage in creative pedagogy and educational research and policy/program design in both domestic and international settings.