Mudd in the Summer Sun

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Hey guys! Today was the last day in-class for me, so I wanted to talk a bit about what my summer’s gonna be like, and what summer looks like for some other frosh here at Mudd.

I've actually still got finals, though. Let me dream.

I’ve actually still got finals, though. Let me dream.

Many upperclassmen spend summers doing research and internships, but compared to them, a larger group of frosh spend their summers at home, not necessarily doing anything hard. Mudd’s a tough school, and freshman year, and Core, can be especially difficult, at the very least as a transition from high school. It’s nice to be able to go home, relax, and not have to think about work for a while. Even though I myself am working this summer, I intentionally chose something back in Washington so I can be around my family, and in the climate I’m used to.

Look, it's Mudd!

Look, it’s Mudd!

A lot of Mudders from all classes stay at Mudd over the summer, too. There are a lot of opportunities here for research, with all of the different departments. There are paid research internships for students of all experience levels, whether it’s something higher end, where you are one of the primary researchers for the project, or something smaller, like running simulations, data entry, acting as a lab hand, something like that. These students stay in the dorms, and can form some good relationships with profs, especially if it’s research in their major.

Summer Interns for Google. We have a lot of those Android plushes at Mudd.

Summer Interns for Google. We have a lot of those Android plushes at Mudd.

A picture from Facebook U's site of some interns.

A picture from Facebook U’s site of some interns.

Beyond Mudd, there are a lot of other opportunities for students who want to work over the summer! Mudd has strong relationships with a lot of tech companies, due largely to our amazing Career Services office. For instance, Mudd has a history of sending interns to google, and there’s a sizable Mudd alum community there. Also, several people I know will be interns at Facebook University this summer, where they’ll be paid to learn about making apps, and using engineering and technology to connect the world.

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Digipen, Institute of Technology

Personally, this summer I’m going to be working as a TA at a school called Digipen! Digipen was founded in the 80’s, and was the first school in thee US dedicated solely to game design. As I said earlier, it’s in my home state of Washington, and they do workshops for high schoolers over the summer. I’ll be TA’ing a game programming class, on that I took myself a few years ago. It’s a couple hours away from my house, so I’ll be living with a family I got connected with through my mom. Working a 9 to 5, and not having food provided for me, this will really be the most independent I’ve ever been, which is scary, but exciting!

I hope all you guys are looking forward to a great summer too. Until next time!