Northwestern University Alumni

Transcript:

[MUSIC PLAYING] HELEN KIM: Welcome to a new season of Northwestern Intersections podcast where we talk to alumni about how key experiences and intersections propel them in their life's work. I'm your host, Helen Kim, with the Northwestern Alumni Association. This month is October, which means schools have been back in session for about a couple of weeks now. So, the Northwestern Intersections team is kicking off our latest season with the four-part back-to-school miniseries where we'll speak with Wildcats at the intersection of education and the pandemic. Discussing how they are approaching their work in our ever changing virtual world. 

Today's a very special episode because, one, we have two Northwestern students, Shreya Sriram and Florencia Son as our guest for the first time ever on our show, and two, the producer of Northwestern Intersections and the genius behind all the editing, Allison Ledwon as co-host of our episode. And fun fact, Alison is also own Northwestern Alum, so we have four Northwestern women on this episode. So we would just really like to hear a little bit about you. And so Shreya, do you want to go first? 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Yeah, of course. So, hi everyone. My name is Shreya Sriram and I'm a third year at Northwestern right now. I'm double majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Economics. On the premed track, and believe or not, I might even attack on a third one. But that's what I'm on right now. I am very involved with extracurriculars at Northwestern. I'm a big student group kind of girl. I really love the number of opportunities we as at Northwestern has, so I try to take advantage of those. And, I'm also the president of Arch Society, which also makes me a student director on the Northwestern Alumni Association's Board of Directors. So yeah, that's all about me. 

HELEN KIM: Awesome, thank you. And then Florencia, do you want to go? 

FLORENCIA SON: Yeah, my name is Florencia. I'm a third year graduate student in the chemistry department, and I am the current president for the Graduate Student Association, and I work alongside with Austria as a student director in the Northwestern Alumni Association. For my undergraduate degree, I attended Georgetown University where I majored in chemistry and I minored in math, and I'm originally from Northern Virginia 

HELEN KIM: And then last but definitely not least, Allison do you want to go? 

ALLISON LEDWON: Thanks for having me on today, Helen. This is so different. I'm usually behind the scenes listening to all of this in, post. So it's really exciting to be on today and speak with three incredible Northwestern women. So, I am the editor and producer for Northwestern Intersections, and I also serve as a program assistant for the NAA's Career Advancement and Alumni team, and I am a class of 2019 alumni. So lots of Northwestern women power happening in this call today. I love it. So, this episode is happening in the end of October, and you all have both been back on campus since the beginning of September. How are you guys feeling? How was campus different than it has been for your previous two years on campus? 

FLORENCIA SON: So for me, fall quarter really hasn't been too different and that's only because as a third year student, I already finished all of my classes during the first year of my program. I finished all of my TA requirements, so my main focus right now is just research, which is something I've been working back on campus since June. So, we've been working with a reduced capacity so I've been consistently going into lab from 8 AM to 2 PM every day. So, I've been doing this for a few months it's really become the norm for me now. I'm quite fortunate in that I don't really have to handle having to take classes online or switch to teaching in a virtual format. But I definitely applaud everyone that has been able to navigate through working in a virtual platform. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: That's definitely really true, Florencia. it's been a very quick transition for all professors, students, and everyone involved. So, it's really fascinating how easily we've all adapted. But my fall quarter-- I feel like every quarter in Northwestern has just been a marathon. It's a marathon and a sprint somehow at the same time. But it has so far been, I'd say quite definitely very different to my previous quarters at Northwestern. I am an RA so I have to live in a dorm on campus, which has been completely-- the structure of the entire program has been remodeled to accommodate for corona. 

And overall, I think it's been a weird balance between being on campus but then also being online. I think the hybrid space is a very unique one to be in because people just tend to assume that you are always going to be online. You're going to be accessible for Zoom meetings and stuff. But then, I also do research on campus but then I also have to manage my interests and commitments. And so in a way, it's almost like I'm busier because I still want to do some of my interest and activities, but then we also have the flexibility to do like a Zoom call from four to five, and then immediately five to six. Because people are like, well, you don't have to go anywhere. You just have to open a new tab. So, it's definitely been a very interesting time in terms of how my responsibilities are being managed and just the amount of work that I have to do, but it's always like that. 

ALLISON LEDWON: You both touched on this a little bit but can you walk us through the average day during a COVID quarter? What does that look like for you both? 

SHREYA SRIRAM: I can maybe start off. For me, as an undergrad living in an on campus dorm right now, I try to wake up pretty early in the morning. Our gym is open so you have to make a reservation beforehand and then you only get 50 minutes in the actual space, and so I have to be speedy if I do want to go work out. I'll come back to my room and take online classes pretty much for a few hours, mostly in the morning. And once that's over, I'll have club meetings and that's just all on Zoom, try to grab a quick lunch at the dining hall in the middle of the day. 

You see how that works is, we go, they give us a box with like a plastic box, and you have to show them your symptom tracker. And so, we walk around and we hold our box out to the dining hall workers and they put food on our plate. It's actually been quite interesting because I didn't realize I eat that many satchels of food, because I'll hold my plate out and I just keep holding it. So, I guess it was a surprise on both ends. But yeah, I'm going to grab a quick lunch, come back to do more of the meetings. 

Some days of the week I'll go to lab, so I'll either grab the entry campus and go downtown to find Bird or I go to a lab on campus. And so, those are all modified to accommodate for social distancing, and you have to sign up for slots beforehand to make sure that there's limited occupancy. And then, come back, more Zoom meetings. Maybe socially, distantly grab dinner in Evanston with a friend. Most of my friends live off campus because we are upperclassmen, so I get a nice walk in there to come back, study duties, and homework. Yeah, repeat. So, kind of a very homebody type of day I would say. 

FLORENCIA SON: Yeah, so my experience is a little bit different. So, I currently live in Lake View down in Chicago. So every morning, I wake up and I commute about half an hour to school. I have a car, so I'm fortunate enough to be able to drive to school every day. So, I've been working back in lab but we have been operating with a reduced capacity, meaning that our lab only has around 50% of its people working at a given time. So, that means that everyone has to work in shifts. So, my personnel shift is 8 AM to 2 PM, and then other people work from 2 to 8 PM. 

So I go to school. I have a plan in place because we do have a limited amount of time, trying to be really efficient with what experiments I want to carry out, what sort of measurements I wanted to do. So I go to school, go into the lab, get everything I need done while I'm physically on campus. But once I do wrap that up, I typically get home around 2 or 3 PM, and at that point I have a late lunch. And then, take a short break and then I will start doing other tasks like data analysis or I'll start writing. And typically in the afternoon is when I have majority of my Zoom calls. Definitely not as many as Shreya has to deal with, but a good amount of Zoom calls and Zoom meetings. And beyond that, every couple of weeks, we have our GSA board meeting. So, that's when we talk about our agenda and go over the events that we're hosting for the next couple of weeks. And then I just repeat that more or less every single day. 

ALLISON LEDWON: So I wanted to ask you both questions about your social life. So some of the most formative experiences of going to University is the social aspect. And now, that's even harder than ever. So how have you two been connecting with your friends and classmates? 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Man, that kind of hit me hard because as an undergrad, so much of my experience the past two years has been so incredibly social. Like meeting people all the time and having a good time with your friend when you have some downtime. And it's been pretty isolating to have to sit in my room pretty much the whole day. Because even if I had class or if I had meetings the whole day last year, I would still see people in person, like walking across campus. You say hi to people. So, having none of those extraneous interaction has definitely been really jolting, and you feel it after a while. It really has since then. And also, I guess some people made the argument like, well, if we're just getting dinner we can still do dinner during COVID 19 times, as long as we're socially distanced and safe. But then, there's also a little bit of hesitancy if you want to make sure you are being super safe and you are being responsible. 

So even if we do go out and we do get dinner or go for a walk, it's always in the back of your mind. So you almost feel bad doing it. So, it's often been hard as an undergrad. I don't know what it's like for you Florencia, because I know, I just have a bit more condensed option, just kind of doing your own thing. But as an undergrad, I think that group thing kind of-- group dynamics are really important to getting the most out of your college experience. And I really feel especially for the first year who are missing out on a really great introductory fall quarter to what should be like the best four years of their life. So, I feel more for them than I do for myself. But it's still definitely pretty difficult, big change. 

FLORENCIA SON: Yeah, I agree with Shreya. I was recently talking to some first year graduate students, because I-- I was telling them, you know I'm kind of concerned that you guys don't have the full experience. Are you making friends? Is everything OK? So they've said that they're shifting everything to a virtual platform, so it's been OK in terms of meeting your friends. But yeah, since I am higher up in my program, I already have friends and groups already in place. So for me, it's been a bit easier. So in terms of my personal life, I have a quarantine bubble where I hang out with a very small group of friends and we only really hang out with each other. So in terms of safety, there is that peace of mind, in terms of knowing who we're interacting with. 

In terms of research, we every once in a while, more so when it was warmer, we would hang out off campus at a park socially distanced, just have chats outside of the workplace. And it was just nice seeing my labmates not in a research-related sort of environment. And then in terms of the Graduate Student Association, and one of the main things that we do is host a lot of social and service events. And a lot of that is typically done in person. However, because of the pandemic, we've had to shift to a virtual platform. So we wanted to maintain continuing on with doing our programming. 

So over the spring, we shifted more to virtual events. So we've had things like Zoom concerts where we hire artists from the Chicago area to perform for our students. We've had Zoom socials. We did a Zoom speed friending event. And we also did things such as-- our previous service chairs we're able to host an incredible book club where we're able to distribute books to around 100 graduate students. And eventually, after a couple of months, we all got together and chatted about this incredible book that we read. So we've done a lot of things, and have been flexible with regards to trying to find additional ways to continue socializing. But again, doing in a really safe manner while we can still social distance and predominately focusing on virtual formats. 

ALLISON LEDWON: And then, Shreya, I meant to ask you earlier, or meant to ask both of you earlier, that you two are the student directors of the NAA board. And on top of that, Shreya you are the president of Arch Society. Florencia, you are also part of the Grad Student Association. So you shared a little bit about what you all have been doing with virtual programming. But Shreya, how have you been keeping that spirit up? And, how have you as a president of our society have been navigating through this time? 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Wow, that's a really valid, loud, question, and I'm very proud that I have actual responses for that, because over quarantine, as I was transitioning into the Arch Society president position, and as Florencia really had that summer board meeting with the NAA, it became clear to me that Arch Society had a really large potential to make a difference in the undergrad crowd. But we haven't built up the momentum yet to get there. But I felt like since everyone was going to be at home on quarantine, people are on their phones a lot. I thought it was pretty crucial for Arch Society to start improving their social media engagement. So, we started a social media NPR committee. 

And so now, we're on all forms of social media and we're posting information about NAA events. We're posting information on how undergrads specifically can get more involved with the programs that they offer, like dinner with [INAUDIBLE]. That was still happening, the mentor circle. The podcasts, were right now actually, we're encouraging undergrads to listen to the other Northwestern Intersection's amazing episodes. So, we have been really trying to emphasize that aspect of it. I also had the honor for-- it was absolute honor to host a few NAA-sponsored trivia nights with the University archivist Kevin Leonard. And so, what this was was just-- I would open a cahoot and I would share my screen, and we would open it to literally anyone in the Northwestern community. So alumni, faculty, staff, student, and they could just join and play Cahoot with me and Kevin, and learn more about Northwestern. 

So, we did that a few times and we even got that out for the freshmen just [INAUDIBLE] on. One of the biggest things actually that we've recently just finished was Wildcat Warm-up week. So everyone knows the longstanding Northwestern tradition of homecoming. But with the football season being delayed, I mean, the original [INAUDIBLE] brought back. And of course, with COVID 19 concerns, we just couldn't. It wouldn't be proper to do homecoming in the fall, not do it to its full extent that it deserved. So we did a virtual week of school spirit. That went amazingly, engaged over 1,000 undergrads through our Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites. 

And so, we had a week of programming in conjunction with the NAA. And then, we also did social media competition posting. We gave up prizes and we really just emphasized proper pride in a time when we really need to talk about it more, so that the incoming freshmen and sophomores and even upperclassmen on campus still feel a part of the Northwestern community regardless of wherever they are in the world. And so, I would say that was a smashing success, and it really definitely improved relations on campus to Northwestern, and feeling like in my freshman student, and just feeling having that college experience again. So that was a few of the things that I'm very proud that our society has put together this past year. It's an amazing club an amazing team. So really. it's thanks to everyone and their hard work in the club, definitely. 

ALLISON LEDWON: I went to one of the trivia nights. Girl, you were on fire. Oh my God. You are one of the best moderators I've ever seen. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Oh that's too kind. No, I don't know what happens when I do those trivia nights. Something takes over me and I just-- 

ALLISON LEDWON: Turn into like a mix of Alex Trebek and like a late night show co-host, or someone. It's just fantastic. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. 

ALLISON LEDWON: And seeing you interact with Kevin is just adorable, because Kevin's like the cutest human on the face of the planet, and he just is so knowledgeable that it's just so wild. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Yeah, yeah I know. He knows so much about Northwestern. Just like off the top of his hat. I swear he is like a computer system in his head watching the archives. It was a very unlikely pairing for sure like went through issues. Like yeah, [INAUDIBLE], our amazing faculty advisor for Arch Society, he's fantastic. Shout out to him. But when [? Trish ?] had paired me and Kevin, I was like, oh my gosh how is this going to go? What's the dynamic going to be like? And we just immediately hit it off, I'm so grateful that had happened. 

ALLISON LEDWON: I just want to say I am so thoroughly impressed by both of you. You both occupy such unique spaces on campus, just like community leaders and community builders on campus, and that's so essential to the Northwestern experience. As an alumni, I'm so proud of the ingenuity that you all are injecting into our community, to make sure that people still have that same awesome purple experience that alumni all around the world know that is possible on this campus. So on behalf of all of us, thank you for implementing that for all of our students currently on campus, both grad undergrad. 

FLORENCIA SON: Thank you. I really appreciate those kind words. 

ALLISON LEDWON: We're kind of going off of that. Obviously, you guys are doing what you can to build community on campus, but how have you interacted with the larger Northwestern community, as in alumni interactions? Or can you talk a little bit about your experience with the board? 

FLORENCIA SON: Yes, so we've only really just begun our roles as student directors on the board, but just having met them from these few meetings I've had, I already can tell you that these are an incredible group of people that are so bright and incredibly motivated. So, I'm really excited to continue working with them throughout the year. But beyond working with the board, I've had the opportunity to work with Jaclyn Hugg from the NAA, ICOA, and [INAUDIBLE]. I think it was called the Great Purple Bread Bake Off where we brought in a Northwestern alumna and he essentially taught us how to bake a purple potato bread, which is really exciting. But it's been really great seeing the alumni network that is present and how everyone is still really enthusiastic about Northwestern and how there is such a great community still out there, even after you graduate. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: To echo everything that Florencia said, the meetings that we had with the board over the summer were just very thought-provoking. And I thought that they came in a really apt time as well, and we were discussing a lot of really salient and topics such as race racial injustice that have been observed over just the entire course of this University, in this nation, and we were having a really good discussion about it. And I thought that the openness and the culture that Larry, the NAA president, was able to cultivate within us was just so awe-inspiring. Because he was so quick and he's just so good at I think reading the crowd and getting us to understand what his goals are, believe in his vision. 

And as a group come together to have the NAA advance to be one of the leaders in alumni associations across the nation that it should be. And I think that overall, we have a lot of work to do in terms of getting it there, especially with the recent consultation that we had, but I'm really excited to see how we can get more involved, and how we can get there, and the types of changes that we can make. And I know especially Arch Society is looking to gain a bit more autonomy in terms of the types of programs that we bring to undergrads, and how we can serve more as a representative of the NAA rather than NAA's [? farm ?] on campus, if that make sense. So it's like a little NAA not, a part of the NAA. I think it's exciting, and I think that we're getting to the point where more undergrads are feeling like they have access to the alumni community, and that's something that they can rely on, so I think it's good for there. 

FLORENCIA SON: Yeah, kind of adding a little bit more to what Shreya said, I think it's really great that the NAA board and the NAA as a whole is really open to continuing to evolve over time and progress, and just try to accommodate and serve the alumni population the best that it can. And it is really great over the summer just hearing everyone's personal stories and seeing how everyone has such diverse backgrounds. And I think everyone really comes together well to form such a unique board, such a diverse board as well, that I think will be super beneficial to help the NAA once they are just evolved to become even better than it already is. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Oh yeah, absolutely. A very, very diverse and very unique board for sure, like so many different voices and perspectives are being offered. So I think that'll just help in making it even better. 

ALLISON LEDWON: Yeah, we definitely want students to know that there is help available from the alumni network and it's not-- As soon as students step on to a campus they're already part of the alumni network. Because we want to be able to help them, and we want to build relationships, and help them form relationships with alumni. And I think one of the biggest regrets I have from going to Northwestern and not utilize the resources that were available through obviously the NCAA but also through Northwestern Career Advancement office and so many other departments that were offering these resources, I'm like, as an alumna now I'm like, why didn't I take advantage of those resources? So, we want more students to know about these programs that we have for them. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Yeah, absolutely. I agree with that completely. Before I joined the NCAA, I was like, oh, that's something I'll look at once I'm closer to graduating. I don't really understand these resources. But these different organizations are in place for us to take advantage of right now regardless of where you are in your Northwestern undergraduate or graduate career. So I think it's really great publicizing and highlighting the different resources that are available to us right now. 

FLORENCIA SON: And I found that alumni are really nice, like they really want to help. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: You really are. 

FLORENCIA SON: It's incredible, and I think it's just so moving. Like have found a bond that we have just because like we went to the same school. How willing they are to guide me and advice me throughout whatever questions I have, especially as a premed who is majoring in a bunch of different things. I'm constantly barraged with what I'm going to do next? I wonder what my next steps are? I'm like, what I can do, and it's just-- I've been able to reach out to some Northwestern alum who have gone down my health care route and they've really helped me in clarifying things. It's a really good resource to have and I'm glad that I got involved with the NAA earlier on in my undergraduate career. So I can only hope to spread that and just kind of bring more awareness to all the resources that we have on campus. 

ALLISON LEDWON: It's very apparent that you two are very involved with Northwestern and you pour out your time and energy and passion in to whatever roles you are in at Northwestern. So, we wanted to ask you this question. So, what do you think are some identities that represent who you are as a person, and how do those identities play a role in your experience in Northwestern? You can take your time thinking about the answer. It's a big question. 

SHREYA SRIRAM: I personally am an immigrant, so I moved to the US when I was around 6. So my parents were always telling me to go out and take advantage of every resource and opportunity that's out there. So, I've been doing that throughout my whole life. And then once I got to Northwestern, I was part of the chemistry department, but I felt that I was lacking in terms of being able to experience Northwestern fully. I was kind of stuck in this chemistry bubble. So I really wanted to just expand out, take advantage of everything that Northwestern has to offer and really dive into the Northwestern experience, because at the end of the day, I am here for five years and this is going to be my second home essentially. And joining the GSA, NAA really has helped me to do that, and really be more involved on campus, and really make it part of my identity. 

FLORENCIA SON: I definitely feel that. So, I also am an immigrant. I moved to the United States. Actually Coral Springs Florida, which is a fantastic place to move to. Don't know why I moved away. But we moved there when I was a year old like you know. I was very young. We've moved a lot. I've live in Chicago since I think first grade now, and so, the Windy City being cold is my identity for sure. But on a more serious note, I come from not a very diverse community. 

And so, when I came to Northwestern, I was immediately just overwhelmed, but in a good way, by how many different types of people I had just the absolute honor to meet. Even now, I have met people from all walks of life. Today I'm going to go from Switzerland. That's incredible to me. And so, I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to get to know so many different types of people who come from a lot of different parts of the world, who come from different backgrounds with me, who I found we share a lot of the same core values. We share a lot of the same ideals, the same passion to do well in our class, or give back to the community. But we come from very different backgrounds. 

And so, I think, my identity as an immigrant, as a woman, as an undergrad on campus who's a premed, huge part of my identity, but that all is just a drop in the ocean of what I think makes up a Northwestern student. I've never met people I think outside of Northwestern that I've met here. It's just such a diverse and hardworking group of peers that I'm very, very happy that I get to call my classmates. And so, I think that everyone is super involved. Everyone is very dedicated to what they want to do. And what they want to do is usually of seven different things, as I've come to find. And I'm just glad that I was able to find people who were so alike me but different in so many different ways. So it's a new experience, but I like it. 

ALLISON LEDWON: I love that both of you are finding common ground even in differences. And it's just so reassuring, I think especially as a person who's no longer on campus every day, that that love of learning and that love of new ideas and learning from one another is still present. I think that's something alumni who graduated 50 years ago can still tell you that they loved about Northwestern, is that ability to learn from one another. How do you think the Northwestern network can best support you all as students and as young adults getting ready to transition into full time work? 

SHREYA SRIRAM: Yes, so for a lot of my friends who graduated last year into an international pandemic, they were definitely feeling, I think, lost and just a little uncertain about their future naturally. But I remember that Northwestern did offer a lot, a ton of program, new chapter new neighbors. And so, I remember that was quite helpful in just kind of soothing concerns a little bit and seeing there's this entire network of Northwestern people across the nation, so wherever you go, you can always reach out to them, and just generally career advice. I think that that helped people who is graduating earlier. 

And as a current undergrad student, for example I have a junior, a lot of my friends are going through recruitment right now for internships or jobs later on, afterwards, and Northwestern definitely does a really good job of providing workshops and talks. And not just like one but in September or early October, they do a series. So if you miss one, you can go see another one. They also have one drop in advising hours, which I know those are always really helpful. So, there are a lot of different opportunities even in person, and now virtually as well. And so, I think a big part of getting the most out of those just like actively seeking to do it and putting in the effort to just attend to one. So, I think they're doing their best. 

FLORENCIA SON: Yeah, I definitely agree with Shreya. There's definitely a ton of programming already in place. The main thing is that current students just need to realize that these resources are out there and they need to go out and attend these workshops and webinars and Zoom meetings, or whatever it may be. And the alumni network is so diverse. It's just so massive that if you are interested in learning about a specific field, everyone from this alumni network is incredibly friendly and you can reach out to anyone and learn more about a specific career you're interested in pursuing. So, I think it's just a matter of publicity and students just realizing that they can reach out. Alumni are more than happy to help out. 

ALLISON LEDWON: I so thank you both for just being who you are and doing so much for Northwestern University, and all you do for your campus organizations. And you make us proud as Northwestern alums, and it's been an honor to be on here with all three of you actually as Northwestern woman just talking about our lives on Northwestern and our post-grad lives as well, at the same time. So, thank you to you both. 

HELEN KIM: Thank you for tuning into today's episode of Northwestern Intersections. For more information about our podcast, please visit northwestern.edu/intersections. Until next time, stay safe and take care of yourself and your families. 

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