Hoya Saxa, Parting Wisdom, and Other Sappy Things

[Jamie Niu]

Hey Compass Class of 2016 ! 

According to my extremely informative social media sources (hi Snapchat), you are all celebrating the last few days of your Georgetown undergraduate experience. If you're anything like me, this last week will be filled to the brim with laughter, nostalgia (did I see a VCW visit?!), and a lot of alcohol. Many conversations will start with "Remember that time when..." and end with a mixture of happy and sad emotions that it is all coming to an end. 

Realizing that I'm now officially two years out of school (wow) and reminiscing on when I was in your exact shoes, I wanted to give a few humble pieces of advice, not that you guys need it since you're all perfect geniuses.

1) Cherish the last days. Don't skip sunrise at the monuments after Senior Ball. Yes, you will be tired. Yes, you will have to stand in front of family and friends the next day (perhaps even at 8am) and pretend to be sober. But that moment is one that I promise you do not want to miss, and one that you will keep with you going forward. Chug some Red Bell and go get em. 

2) It's okay to be sad. After I got back home to my janky Prospect townhouse from the monuments for a 2 hour power nap before the SFS graduation, I bawled. Like, hard to breathe, not attractive-type crying. Senior Week is filled to the brim with activities and socializing and fun, but it's okay to take a moment to feel the full impact of leaving behind the last 4 years. 

3) Appreciate your Compass family. Even though I haven't been down to campus enough times to show it, I truly think you are a phenomenal group of people with great individual and collaborative strength. Don't lose that. Keep the group texts alive if you are going to different places. Visit each other. It is so worth maintaining relationships that are built on more than just going to the same bar or working at the same place. You have a common thread of ambition and social justice that is extremely important.

3) Continue to "think big". As you head into the next phase, whether it be consulting/banking, technology, school, or something different, I URGE you to continue to have big ideas, big dreams, and big actions. I am definitely guilty of losing this aspect after I moved to New York and started working in consulting. In the corporate world, you are challenged to think in an entirely different way that is much more minute (like, formatting Powerpoint minute) and it becomes extremely easy to lose sight of the longer term dreams you had. Only now, after two years, am I beginning to think through redirecting and refocusing my career to achieve the same goal I had when I stepped foot on Georgetown's campus for the first time -- to start a business.

4) Travel. My absolute favorite thing about the "real world" versus the Georgetown world is the ability and freedom to travel. It is liberating, eye-opening and perspective-changing. I pray that you all have some great summer travel schedules lined up, but if not - make it a priority to work it into your post-grad life. 

5) It will be different. The big shocker that hits almost every Georgetown graduate I know after graduating is that the real world is not and will never be like Georgetown. Even for those of us who move to NYC, SF, or stay in DC where the biggest contingents of Georgetown alumni go, you no longer live within the same 10-minute radius of all of your best friends, all the time. You can't go to the library and expect to see multiple tables of friends there. There will be less spontaneity in your meet-ups and bar outings. And there will be times that is tough to swallow, and I personally have gone through several periods of feeling completely lost. The trick is to know that is okay and normal, and you are certainly not alone. 

6) Pat yourself on the back. Each one of you is incredibly bright and capable. I'd like to think that even as 19 and 20 year olds, JJ, Anna Sophia, Tania, Caroline, Oliver, and I did a pretty good job selecting this particular class of Fellows. From James Gadea telling us his spirit animal was a wombat to hearing about Sona's passion for ethics during the first interviews, we knew we had picked qualified individuals but the friendships that followed were amazing to observe. 

Some of this is likely redundant advice to what you're hearing from your convocation speakers, family, friends, and relatives, but I had to give you all my two cents anyway. Seriously, good luck in all that you do going forward and I can't wait to see what everyone accomplishes. If anyone is ever in NY holler @ me. 

-J

--

Jamie Niu 

School of Foreign Service | International Economics

Georgetown University 2014 

949.910.1759 

[Sona Jain]

JAMIE WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Georgetown Compass Fellowship" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CompassFellows2...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Anna-Sophia Haub]

Ditto to Jamie's words (and Sona's)! So immensely proud of all of you. 

I am definitely looking forward to visiting everyone who will be in the Bay Area (and elsewhere). As for those of you who will be moving to New York, let's get together!

Wishing you all the best,

Anna-Sophia

--

Anna-Sophia Haub

Council on Foreign Relations

Georgetown University | 2015

Stanford SIGM | 2015

a.s....@gmail.com

[Kevin Tian]

Thank you all for the well wishes!

Sent from my iPhone

[Rachel Acree]

Jamie you have completely warmed my heart! I'm so glad I met such a wonderful group of people :) thank you for the well wishes and advice! <3

Rachel Acree

Georgetown University

School of Nursing and Health Studies, c/o 2016

[Ava Arroyo]

Wow Kk almost crying at all of this! Beautiful advice Jamie and grateful to know all of you! See you in the next 72 hours of madness I'm sure :) 

Best,

Ava J. Arroyo

Georgetown University 

Walsh School of Foreign Service

Email: aj...@georgetown.edu

Phone: 414-750-6774

[Sarah Long]

Awww... I love you guys.  It's a privilege to know you.  

Jamie, thank you for being an amazing mentor in Compass, at PwC this summer, and in life.  We will keep in touch in NYC :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah R. Long
Georgetown McDonough School of Business 2016
Operations & Information Management (OPIM)
Charlotte, NC

(704) 661-9214

[Cherie Chung]

Jamie, out of all the pieces of life advice I heard today, your email really was the most touching and insightful one. Thank you for being you and for taking the time out of your life to write this email! :)

Cherie Chung

Georgetown University

School of Foreign Service | Class of 2016

International Economics

Compass Fellowship
Secretary of National Council

Contact me at clc...@georgetown.edu

Add me on LinkedIn

[Parker Wilf]

Thanks for the fantastic advice, Jamie. More importantly, thanks for helping shape a freshman experience that really influenced my time at Georgetown (and arguably beyond). If you're ever in SF, I'd love to see you!!

Best,

Parker 

On May 19, 2016, at 1:52 PM, Jamie Niu <jn...@georgetown.edu> wrote:

--

[Tania Ryseck]

Congratulations on graduating, everyone!! I'm back in the DC area (live in East Falls Church) so if anyone is sticking around let's definitely catch up. 

[James Gadea]

Jamie!!!!!! Beautiful email!!! Thank you so much for the advice. Graduation was really special even with all the rain. I'm so grateful you guys chose me for Compass because otherwise I may have never become friends with all of these wonderful people. These past four years have been the best ones I've had so far and I'm looking forward to what God has in store. I want to visit all of you, and I'm so blessed by all of you. Thank you Jamie, and thank you guys for making Georgetown so great!

James Gadea

Georgetown University

678.951.5408

1 Corinthians 15:3-8