Honors Link

My first year here in the cozy college town of Corvallis went smoothly. But as the year marched by, my concerns began to grow. How will I keep paying for tuition? Where will I live next year? Is this minor really worth it? Oh – and eating, sleeping, and exercising… shouldn’t I be doing that every once in a while too?

I think you get the point. It was this time two years ago, during my first spring at Oregon State, when I was accepted into a study abroad program in Ecuador. My journey of double dipping had begun. Along the way, I found the key to unlocking solutions for those concerns.

Maybe it’s because I’m a twin, but I’ve always thought that two is better than one. And while this isn’t about being a twin, it is about two for the price of one. It’s about managing your most crucial resources: time, energy, and money. Here’s a list of the secrets I discovered on how I could do it best:

1. Pick a major you enjoy. Despite the ups and downs, at the heart of it your major should be about two things: getting your degree and having fun.
2. Get paid for doing something you want to do. For example, I was awarded the Deloach Work Scholarship and got paid to work on my Honors thesis. Another example: this summer, I’m doing an internship in Chile. Travelling, meeting new friends, earning money, and working in something related to your major … that’s a sure way to make the Double Dipping gods proud.
3. Have a minor. You stand out to employers and get to chase after a personal interest outside your major. Required baccalaureate core classes can satisfy many of your minor’s 27 required credits, all without wasting extra money or time.
4. Live in a co-op. You get meals, a place to live, and tons of friends all for the price of a one-room apartment, if not less.
5. Get to know your classmates. There’s nothing more miserable than four years of group projects and tedious homework with peers you dislike or, worse yet, haven’t even tried to get to know.
6. Find someone to get lunch with, go to Dixon between classes with, or embark with on a weekend road trip. Chances are, if that student three rows down shares a major with you, they share interests with you too. Get to know them, and late-night projects will be so much better.
7. Join student clubs. This might be the easiest way to combine academics with fun. For example, I had an amazing experience last summer in Nicaragua with Engineers Without Borders. Clubs are free, fun, and great for academic and leadership opportunities.
8. Study abroad during fall term. Most foreign universities are on semester system, and if you go during fall term, you get a whole semester worth of classes. In Ecuador I got twenty credits, took classes that counted towards both bacc core requirements and my Spanish minor, and traveled all over the country while taking classes twice a week.

The more things you do and the more places you go, the likelier you will be to find something to add to this list. Keep up the good work, and make Beaver Nation proud.