"Ok, this needs to be over with"

The encouraging words of Nelson Mandela “It always seems impossible until it’s done”, hung on my wall until the day of my half marathon. It was finally the time that four months of training would finally pay off.

I woke that morning with both excited and nervous butterflies in my stomach. Question after question, “Will I even finish?”, “What will my time be?”, “Will my legs cramp?”, spun through my head. I was mostly afraid I wasn’t going to finish before my goal time of two hours. To me if I couldn’t do that, then what was to show of all the hard work I had put in over these past few months?

Ten minutes before the race was about to start I was standing in my corral surrounded by 38,000 other people. Chills ran up my back. Here I was, about to accomplish something that for so long I told myself I couldn’t do, not only would I be stride in stride with an amazing friend but also 38,000 other amazing people. Everyone there was running for a cause and achieving their own goals. Once I started running it became clear to me that I could do this. During mile one I ran behind a man in the Army running with two prosthetic legs, and here I was telling myself “I hope I finish”. It was right then I knew I would finish, it no longer matter how long it took me to do it, finishing was finishing in my book. And no matter what my time was, I would be proud of myself. Up until mile eight was fairly “easy”, our pace was good and my body wasn’t tired yet. It was around mile nine when I started thinking “Ok, this needs to be over with”. It was painful to believe I still had five more miles to go. I reminded myself not to stop and to keep going. The constant encouragement of bystanders, the enthusiastic runners and those running as a St. Jude Hero were all the reasons I was able to finish the last five miles.

Crossing the finish line was a moment I will never forget. I did it. I can now say I accomplished something that at one point was something I deemed impossible.
Now, I know nothing is impossible.

Who Do You Know?

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “It’s not what you know but who you know”.
Well, what if you know a lot of people, but they don’t have any resources for you. Or they don’t know you very well. (You know the one who says “What’s your name?” EVERY TIME you two meet)

If you have no resources through the people you know, I’ve got some excellent tips for you!
• Seek out those in your field, or those who express characteristics and strengths you wish you had.
• Surround yourself with folks who think like you. Granted y'all won’t agree on all food choices or political ideas, but generally y’all will have similar goals/aspirations for each other.
• You could possibly look for a former boss, professor or orientation counselor.
• Another possibility is finding great support and opportunities through upper classmen who probably know more about the opportunities on campus. Also, your peers and coworkers may have information about something you’re completely clueless about. In my past experience, there’s always been someone in my network from work/school activities who was good at Physics or Chemistry and more than willing to help those who were struggling.

Careerealism.com has a list of the types of people you should keep in your network if you want a job. Not only will this help get your career started, but you can find great internships, part-time jobs, and a variety of opportunities you never thought possible before.
If the people you’ve met before don’t remember you well or at all, you must make yourself memorable. The first time you meet them, you could talk about something you really enjoy doing – let’s say you love to play the piano. If they don’t understand music, express why you love it so much and through your explanation they should be able to sense your passion for the piano. If you feel there’s nothing unique about your hobbies, you could tell them a story pertaining to the event you are attending or how you feel about the event. Next time they meet you, they’ll be less likely to treat it as if it’s the first time y’all have met.

The great thing about an awesome network is you’ll never feel stuck, whether you’ve got a flat on the side of the highway or you don’t know if you have a chance at the job you’ve recently interviewed for.

Auburn's WRC Woman of the Month

Zenda Davis is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering at Auburn University with plans to work in the energy industry after graduation. She is originally from St. Catherine, Jamaica and completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with minors in Physics and Computer Sciences at Wesleyan College. Zenda is President of the Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) at Auburn, former Senator of the Graduate Student Council, and a member of the Auburn Flyers cycling team. Zenda enjoys bettering herself and isn’t afraid of a challenge—In the past year, Zenda has made the switch to a Gluten-free diet and also taught herself how to swim!

1. What brought you to auburn?
Several things brought me to Auburn. Firstly, Auburn was recommended by my Chemistry Professor at Wesleyan College, Dr. Keith Peterson. Secondly, the CHEN Department has a program that enables undergraduate Chemistry majors to transition to Chemical Engineering, graduate degree. Thirdly, the first person I met here was our current Dean Dr. Roberts, his compassion and concern won me over.

2. Who do you look up to and why?
I don’t look up to a single person. I look up to people who demonstrate great qualities such as kindness, integrity, fairness, commitment, intuition, creativity, humor. I am inspired by selfless acts. It is one thing to be kind or selfless when other people are looking, but someone is on a different level when they are selfless when no one is looking and an act is performed with absolutely no expectation of recognition or reward.

3. What challenges do you face being a woman in your field, and how do you overcome them?
Subtle misogyny. Prove them wrong, gracefully. Do whatever it is, and do it well!

4. Name one fun activity that you done outside of academia recently.
Right now, I am the only girl who races for the Auburn Flyers cycling team. When we go on the road it is just Zenda and her boys…it is fun!

7. What advice would you give to other girls in regards to them overcoming adversity in education due to race and/or gender?
Be resilient and tenacious. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, like Dory in Finding Nemo. Don’t focus on the adversity, focus on overcoming it.

8. I hear that you learned to swim last summer, what prompted you to learn to swim?
It was time to conquer my anxiety of swimming. Every so often you should do something outside your comfort zone. It was that time. Besides, how hypocritical of me to say to myself ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming’ when I couldn’t swim.

9. You have been eating gluten free for the past year or so, what prompted you to make the change and what has been the most surprising outcome?
Ever since I was a baby I have been plagued with problems. Throughout the years, it increased in intensity to a point where it engulfed my every waking moment. At first, I thought I could never exist on a gluten free diet, but there came a crucial point where the pain and discomfort superseded the pleasure of foods with gluten. As much as it pains me to admit it, the most surprising outcome is that I can exist without cake and bread. It is a sad but true fact.

10. What do you feel your greatest accomplishment has been so far?
Oh gosh, I don’t know. I will let you decide or ask the people who know me.

11. What's something interesting people probably don't know about you?
I exist in a pair. I have a twin sister.

12. Favorite quote?
I have many favorite quotes. It all depends on my mood. Today, two of my favorite quotes are:
‘Do it with intent’ and ‘Change is the only constant’.

Visiting Europe has almost become a staple on every American’s bucket list. This summer my best friend and I fulfilled every American college kids dream. For a month we studied in Barcelona and after the program ended we packed our one backpack each and traveled around to eight other countries in Europe bouncing around from city to city with nothing but a lists of things we wanted to see and a slight plan of where we were going next.

When I started to tell people that I would be living out of a backpack for a month, showering in community showers and sleeping in cabins and 16 person bunkrooms, they laughed in my face. One of my friends asked me how I was going to pack the entire salon’s worth of facial products I have in my bathroom. Another friend commented on how my suitcase for a week long spring break trip was bigger than the backpack I would be carrying a month’s worth of clothes in. As far as most things go, I’m a pretty easy going person, but I have been coined as high maintenance from time to time. Does that mean that I couldn’t be just as good of a backpacker as anyone else? Better yet, could I prove all the books and blogs and TV shows wrong and still be a well maintained, girly, but practical backpacker?

There was definitely no guide book for two sorority girls from Alabama backpacking through Europe by themselves. In fact, female backpackers were in very low numbers compared to male backpackers in general. I believe this is not because of lack of ability, but because of lack of the right guidance and motivation.
So, fear no more you girly, maybe a little prissy young woman who has been too apprehensive about the idea of not washing your clothes and the rumors of gross hostels and ill European hygiene, I’m here to tell you that you can eat your cake and have it too. Because who said backpacking was only for the makeup-less and outdoorsy types?

So here it is, how the “high maintenance” girl survived Europe and tips to help you be a sassy backpacker too.

Pick a Hair Tool

You might be like my best friend Caroline, who I traveled with, and have incredible hair that you can wash and sleep on and wake up looking like a Garnier Fructis model. I however, was not blessed with these genes. Without a blow dryer and straighter, or a curler I look like Anne Hathaway in the beginning of Princess Diaries, but I knew two to three full sized hair tools weren’t going to cut it.

Pick one! If you’re someone who would absolutely die without your straighter, bring that. Although not ideal, you can always air dry your hair and worry about straightening it after. I bought a travel-sized blow dryer that folded in half and took up about the amount of space as a water bottle. Most backpacking guides will tell you to lose the hair tools-I say why sacrifice good hair.

The Demi Bun

While studying in Barcelona Caroline and I met Demi, this gorgeous little fashion blogger from California who looked like a model and was always dressed to perfection except for one thing..she always had her hair in a messy bun. always. In class, out to dinner, at the clubs. This was such a foreign concept to us because we’ve always associated looking nice with doing our hair. Having said that, Demi could rock that messy bun.

Now I know this is contradictory to my first tip, but believe it or not there are times when we couldn’t get to a shower, stayed out all night and had to catch a train in the morning or decided to save our money staying on a camp ground with no outlets instead of an actual hostel. This is where the “Demi Bun” comes in. I love a good messy bun just as much as the next girl, but the inner diva inside me was cringing as I walked around Venice with an unwashed bun on top of my head. The point is, own it. Don’t second guess it or worry about it, whatever you missed that shower for was probably worth it. So throw a cute sundress on, plop your hair on your head and rock your bun like Demi.

Travel-sized toiletries are your best friend

While we were still in the study portion of our summer Caroline and I decided to take a weekend trip to Morocco, Africa. This required us taking a very small, cheap flight where we were only allowed one carry-on bag and like any plane, we could not pack any liquids. I’m not really sure why we didn’t think about this before, but this posed a bit of a problem when we showed up to our Moroccan hotel hours out from civilization with no shampoo, soap or face wash.

Learn from our mistakes. Travel-size soaps are crucial! No, they’re not your favorite shampoo brand and they take up a little more room in your bag, but you can bring them on any plane, have them with you for any emergency situation, and unlike big soaps and shampoos, they rarely ever open and spill in your bag.

Febreze saves lives

We washed our clothes exactly two times in the month we were backpacking. Sounds a little gross right? Unfortunately there are no washers and dryers in hostels and even if there were, who has time to spend doing laundry when there’s all of Europe to explore! Laundry mats are expensive and hard to find, don’t waste precious sight-seeing on washing your clothes every week.

At the end of every day Caroline and I sprayed the clothes we wore that day with Febreze and hung them up for the night. Thanks to our great packing skills we really only wore everything 2-3 times, but Febreze saved us from smelling like a sweaty Parisian on a hot summer day.

The packing cube/military roll combo

Out of all the things I had to limit, stop using or get rid of before we left for our trip I have to say choosing a backpacks worth of clothes that I would be wearing for a month was the hardest. Guide books will tell you to pack minimal amount of necessary clothing that’s versatile and comfortable. Although I agree with that, minimal amount of clothing just wasn’t going to work for me. I wanted options and to be prepared for every situation with the right outfit.

Solution: Packing cubes and rolling the clothes. The mesh packing cubes we bought not only enabled us to organize and categorize our clothing, but the mesh kept the clothes aired out and made it easy for us to find what we needed. Instead of folding everything inside the packing cubes roll them up. This helps eliminates wrinkles and gives you at least double the amount of room to put more clothes.

The midnight shower run

Believe it or not there are things worse than a community shower in a European hostel. A dirty community shower in a European hostel that you have to wait a line for and rush/have cold water once you are in there.

I don’t want to scare you, this won’t be the case in most places you go, but just to be on the cautious side there’s an easy tactic to avoid this nightmare of a shower situation. Shower in the middle of the night. Might sound a little creepy, but you’ll get hot water and some privacy and be able to do your whole night time regiment without sharing the bathroom with a bunch of randos.

Maxi Skirts and Sundresses

A lot of places in Europe such as museums, churches and bars have dress codes. This gets a little complicated with a limited wardrobe. Caroline and I lived off of maxi skirts and sun dresses, which are stylish and versatile. They don’t take up a lot of packing room, they’re cute, they’re formal enough to get into almost everywhere and they’re comfortable.


Now is the time ladies. Take your sass and your new backpacking knowledge and go travel the world.

Carlye Poljacik
AU Senior

Spring Break Re-Do

Now that it is officially more than a week out of spring break we all are wishing we could go back. If you are anything like us then you would make some minor adjustments before planning your next trip. We all complain about how we want a longer break but in reality, one week is plenty of time. Most people can agree with me when I recall saying “By Wednesday I could’ve gone home”. You quickly become tired and drained from a constant go and your twin bed back in Auburn never sounded so good. We have learned that sometimes it is just unnecessary to be gone the whole week. You actually end up needing a break from your break…what’s the point of that? So please work in some rest days, it will help keep you sane and have a more relaxing spring break.

Our biggest trip advice would be to choose your friends wisely. Make sure you are travelling with a group of girls you get along with and that will respect you and the house, hotel, wherever it is you are staying. Each one of us returned with nightmare stories of either traveling with too many girls (in my case eighteen), travelling with girls who get into trouble or girls who are just disrespectful (leaving trash around and not cleaning up).

It is hard to admit that not all your friends are good people to vacation with but you must remind yourself of it. Our last piece of advice whether you are going on a cruise, going to Destin or flying home for the break is to make sure you keep your belongings safe. I personally recommend not even bringing any expensive jewelry, sunglasses, or purses with you. Things get lost in the mixing, people you don’t know come in and out of houses and it just is hard to keep track of all the things you brought. Especially if you are heading to the beach watch out for your pricey iPhones, getting those wet will really put a damper on your week. If you can last a week without those prized possessions leave it tucked away back in Auburn, you will thank yourself later.

Hanna Bjork

Auburn's WRC Woman of the Month

Katie Brown is a sophomore here at Auburn, originally from Wellington, AL earning a degree in Chemical Engineering. After graduation she hopes to become a doctor and serve underdeveloped communities in third world countries. Katie is Executive Chair of the Sexual Assault Awareness Task Force and in the process of planning the first ever Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) Music Fest for this April.

What brought you to auburn?
“I chose Auburn because I fell in love the second I stepped on campus. The atmosphere is friendly, the academics are competitive and it just feels like home. Auburn wins by a long shot when it comes to comparing colleges. War Eagle!”

What inspires you?
“My inspiration is those in need. I wouldn't be in my major, or involved with any of my organizations without knowing that what I am doing is benefitting/will benefit those in need.”

When and why did I get involved in SAAM?
“I was in the Women In Science and Engineering Learning Community, instructed by Bonnie Wilson. In this class, we learned about sexual assault, how it affected the victim, and what we could do to help. Immediately, I contacted Bonnie and wanted to get involved. I wanted to become a Safe Harbor advocate, which provides victims with a confidant and appropriate resources, but since I am an undergraduate this was not an option. Then she put me in contact with the advisor for SAAM, and I jumped in. I think that SAAM was the better option for me anyways, considering you can prevent a sexual assault, but you cannot take back what someone else has already done. Safe Harbor is a great, effective resource for victims, but it does not address the societal issue of why the assault happened in the first place. SAAM calls bystanders to action, because prevention is key.”

Who do you look up to and why?
“I look up to my Aunt Laura. She is a circuit judge in Calhoun County and has dedicated her life to improving other's lives. She handles domestic cases and truly sees the worst of the worst. She continues to fight the uphill battle for victims of domestic violence and for children with desperate situations. Having implemented several programs to help the victims she comes in contact with, she has established an effective system to handle the delicate situations she encounters. She keeps her work separate from her home life and loves spending time with her wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. She has found the balance between devoting her life to service by addressing serious social issues, and establishing a satisfying personal life. If I could picture my life in the future, I would hope it has the same structure and boundaries as hers. My Aunt Laura is truly an inspirational, strong woman.”

Would you have done anything differently?
“Absolutely not. I am not perfect by any means, but I have learned more from my failures than my successes, so I don't regret a thing.”

Is there any change you’d like to see on Auburns campus?
“While I love Auburn, I also see the issues that the campus, as a whole, is not addressing. Auburn students feel safe and sometimes aren't challenged to look past their own problems to see the bigger picture. There are a lot of social issues that the student body seems to be indifferent to, sexual assault included. Unless the students are impacted by the issue themselves, they tend to disregard the cause. This is a real problem. The Auburn Creed states, "I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all." Essentially, if an issue affects one member of our Auburn Family, we should all feel the need to intervene and stand up against what injustice is being done. Ideally, Auburn students would be more aware of the issues that affect the student body and would do what they could to address the issues promptly and effectively.”

Favorite quote?
"Be the change you want to see in the world."

Be sure to keep an eye out for all of the events Katie has been planning for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April including the SAAM Music Fest! Keep up the good work, Katie!

Week 4 of Training

Week four of training for my half marathon has begun. I have finally reached the six mile mark and it only goes up from here. This Saturday was a beyond beautiful day and happened to be the day I go on my long run, allowing the anticipation of running for an hour to not be as treacherous as it initially sounded. I put on some running shorts and a tank, got my country music playing and set off. Uncertainty of where to run in order to reach my goal distance resulted in me running without a plan. I explored Auburn, passing by farms, going through woods, and ended with running through campus.

Fortunately for me, these runs fall on a Saturday where I essentially have all the time in the world, to go and explore wherever I want. During the week that is not the case. The biggest struggle I have come across is finding the time during the week days. Monday through Thursday I have one thing after another, and if I do have some down time it is used studying or if I am lucky, eating lunch. Most days the only chunk of time I have to exercise is late at night. Thankfully for me the gym is open until midnight. My friends think I am crazy when they see me heading to the gym at ten o’clock at night, but I made the commitment to do this and I’m not going to back off just because of time constraints. I actually find it relaxing to have my runs at night. It gives me an opportunity to release all the stress of the day and to just think. Not thinking about tests or people I am frustrated with, but think about the things that I have to look forward to and to realize how incredibly lucky I am to be where I am and doing the things I am able to do.

Every day I have a scheduled goal of how many miles I need to complete, at times it seems impossible because let’s be honest life gets in the way, but it’s the big goal I need to remind myself to look at. Reaching miles is just a smidgen of it, it is the big goal of accomplishing something I told myself “you can’t do” that will make all this effort worth it.

Hanna Bjork
Sophomore
Auburn University