NYU Life Hacks from a Senior

I remember being told this very piece of advice by a graduating senior when I was a sophomore and man, did it change SO much for me.

From just checking emails from my residence hall I saw the opportunity to run for the Director of Service on my Resident Hall Council. I ended up winning the vote to be on hall council and I got to organize events and outings for fellow residents with the rest of my council members.

I even made a connection with my Resident Hall Director who helped me write my job application to be an Admissions Ambassador!! So… all that from checking my email guys, seriously do it.

Along with finding fun opportunities and events happening at your residence hall, your inbox is also full of fun and FREE programs at NYU.

Scholastix is one of the coolest resources you’re offered as a student as you’re offered student discounts, entries into lotteries and occasionally FREE tickets to shows, concerts and sports games around the city. I have never paid full price to any show I’ve seen in the city while being a student. Soooo check your emails for those deals!!

If you’re someone that needs to always be one step ahead, especially regarding your career – NYU’s career development emails will become your BEST friend.

There are career development events, resume and cover letter clinics as well as networking events happening every single week. I’ve found out about pretty much every single job and internship I’ve applied for from an NYU email!

There are also always panels and workshops with notable alums, entrepreneurs, big companies and much much more every single week. Just last week Tisch had a workshop with Audible on how to prepare for audiobook auditions and as an actor interested in voiceover work, this was immensely helpful.

Or next week, I am registered for Puppy Yoga hosted by the Global Center for Spiritual Life – something that’s been on my bucket list for years!! There is truly LOTS to find perusing through your many emails from NYU, so don’t be so quick to move it into the trash!

This is not only advice to help form good habits and discipline, but it is also a gateway into forming fruitful and impactful connections with your professors. One of the many reasons I chose NYU was for the faculty. I was so excited to hear that majority of the professors teaching at NYU were actively working in the industry. Every professor I’ve had has shown a great commitment to training us seriously and exposing us to the industry as it is NOW.

During a Drama and Therapy course I took over a summer semester, I connected super well with my professor! The course brought together my two fields of study: drama and my minor psychology – so I knew I’d come out of the course enlightened. My professor connected me with ways to learn more about drama therapy and even helped me find an internship where I’d get to immerse myself in the field firsthand.

This is something I need to take my own advice on haha. But seriously, I highly recommend journaling or documenting these next four years in whatever way works for you. Whether that is through vlogging, photographing or writing, the amount of memories you’re going to want to take snapshots of are limitless. They’re also SO incredibly fun to look back on. I vlogged most of my sophomore year and I know I will be watching those vlogs for the rest of my life.

It is such a fun way to simply romanticize your life and exercise your creativity on a daily basis. By archiving your years in college, you’re also subconsciously feeling gratitude for each moment. Which in my opinion, gratitude is the key to happiness – so why not take a couple fun pictures or write a couple of sentences every week?

It wasn’t until my sophomore year living in Lafayette Hall that I started exploring more of the city. Lafayette was in the lower east side, around Chinatown, so I was walking down streets and seeing areas I’d never seen my freshman year. Campus was a good 20 minute walk away from my residence hall, but me, being a huge lover of walking – absolutely LOVED the walk.

I found so many more shops, cafe’s and buildings to gawk at on that 20 minute walk. But quickly, the walk extended 20 minutes as I fell in love with picking new streets to walk down to get to my residence hall. This not only exposed me to so many new spots, but also helped me feel more comfortable and familiar with my neighborhood. It really started to feel like home the more I recognized the street names or by having my own preferred walking routes.

Ok.. this one may be a bit time consuming but I highly suggest it. It may just be because I know I will very soon lose access to a lot of the NYU buildings and their views of the city – but I think it is worth it to explore every nook and cranny while you have access. You may find the best new top secret study spot!! Or… the alleged NYU “nap” room – which I still haven’t managed to find!! But as much as you explore the city by going down new streets, also go through all the buildings. It’ll only continue to deepen your comfortability and familiarity with our unique open campus.

I used to hate the idea of a library. They seemed boring, overwhelming and confusing. I remember getting so lost in the stacks of Bobst library the first time I went. I didn’t even know where to start. I mean, there are over 5 million resources in our library system, so getting overwhelmed is completely valid.

But not to fear… here’s a quick run down of how to best use it to your advantage:

First, I suggest using the Ask A Librarian database. You have access to our 33 research librarians who specialize in one field of research. I’ve gone on the database a couple of times when I’m struggling to find an article or book chapter to back up my research papers. There are librarians ready to help you 24/7, so if you’re a procrastinator like me, they’ll still be there to help you navigate the right source material.

I also need new sheet music every single week for my vocal performance classes or even just auditions I am going in for and our library system has all these materials for FREE. On the 6th floor of Bobst we have the Avery Fisher Media Center which is the second largest media center in the US! So, if you need sheet music, artist biographies, videos or audio tapes by all means- spend hours on the 6th floor!!