Earning My Stripes... or T-shirt.

Two blog posts in one week?!? What is this madness? I couldn’t resist though. I had such a fantastic day today that I just had to tell the world. Or the ten people that actually read this. Either way, I just have to share.

A) I finished my 150 miles!! I ran the last two this morning at 6:30 AM. I am now officially an intramural champion. And I have the t-shirt to prove it.

Champion!!

B) I received a scholarship today from Moss Adams. My fellow Junior Core peers were asked to nominate 20 students to receive these scholarships, and I was one of those. I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who thought I deserved one. Seriously, it means a lot to me, and it really helps me out.

C) So I entered a photo contest held by the Kennedy Center (the international studies center) for all study abroad students from the past year, and one of my photos was selected as a winner!! And today the photo was hung for display. So if you’re in the area, stop by the Kennedy Center and look in the southwest hallway for this photo:

Here's the original.

Such a good day, right? Thanks for letting me celebrate a little!

March Madness

Disclaimer: this post has NOTHING to do with college basketball. I’m sorry. Although, I feel I should mention BYU’s amazing comeback against Iona. I know that’s old news, but it was freaking sweet. Best game of my life.

I’ve seriously taken like half an hour to think of everything that’s happened this past month. It’s not like it’s been crazy or anything. It’s just been awhile. Remembered when I mentioned posting more often so I wouldn’t have this problem? Yeah, clearly that hasn’t happened. Maybe someday I’ll listen to my own advice. I don’t know if anyone else feels this way, but I’m REALLY good at giving advice, and seriously awful at following my own advice. Maybe it’s because as a third party it’s a lot easier to be impartial and see the entire picture. I think my life would be a lot easier if I’d just figure that out. And there’s my deep insight for the day, or month I guess.

I know this is lame, but I have to throw in a comment about the weather. Can we agree, best winter ever!?!? It’s the middle of March, and it’s 70 degrees outside. That never happens. I love that winter has decided not to stick around (I’m knocking on wood as I type that).

So, I finally got to go rock climbing again. Candice has a pass to the Quarry (the rock climbing gym down here) and you can bring a guest for free on Fridays! Yup, I still love it. And since the weather has been so nice, we can start going outside!! This summer is going to be full of rock climbing adventures, I just know it. It’s definitely challenging and my forearms hurt for like a week afterward, but the sense of accomplishment when you reach the top is fantastic. Plus the belaying part is pretty awesome too.

Probably the most exciting thing of the month was my fly out interview with PwC this past week. They put me on a plane Monday night and flew me out to San Jose for an interview the next morning. Sooooo fun. I stayed in a hotel just down the street so the next morning I could walk to the office in the lovely California sunshine. These interviews were for the summer leadership program, which usually leads to an internship, which leads to a full-time offer. So really it’s like I was starting to interview for employment with them. Anyway, there were eight BYU students there. I was the only girl. Kinda loved it. Ok, really loved it. There were a few other students from Cal Poly, USC, and Santa Clara. We were the last group of interviewees. I think they interviewed around 50 people total for this program.

This is how the day went down. They fed us breakfast. Then the recruiting team and a partner spoke to us. We each had an office “buddy” to take us around to our interviews and give us a tour in between. I was with this girl named Kacie, who was super cool. She filled me in on all the secrets of the office and the best things about San Jose. Can I just say, I cannot wait to move out there. I loved every second of it. After the interviews we all went out to lunch and then we had free time before our flights back home. So our little BYU group went to bask in the sun. Well, I got a call back the next morning asking if I wanted to do the national program in Chicago, or the market program in San Jose. Naturally, I chose San Jose. That’s where I want to be so I want to get to know that office better. I’ll be back in Cali, July 12-13! Can’t wait!

Along those lines, I’ve also been invited to attend Deloitte’s national summer leadership program in Texas. Which is July 8-11. So it looks like I’ll be flying from Texas to San Jose. I also have interviews with Ernst & Young and KPMG this next week for their programs. I need to get a sky miles number or something.

In case you were wondering, midterms went great. I think I’ve locked in another 4.0 for this semester (again, knocking on wood).

And to wrap up this post, yesterday was the annual Festival of Colors. I went with Candice and Jen this time around. We didn’t actually buy any colors (because they charged us for admission this year! I guess that’s what happens when 50,000 people start showing up for this thing), but we still got covered anyway. I think this was my last year going. It’s fun the first couple of times, but now it’s like “I have to clean up after this again?” Don’t get me wrong, it’s super fun and you should definitely experience it at least once. Just stay out of the middle when they throw the colors, unless you enjoy being suffocated by holi chalk, aka cornstarch. I guess that’s the advantage to going multiple times: you’ve already learned your lesson so you don’t repeat your mistakes.

Two of my favorite people in the whole world.

I have two, count ‘em two, weeks of school left!!! Ok, technically it’s two and a half (three and a half with finals), but the last half a week we aren’t doing anything so it doesn’t really count. Yeah, not having a spring break kinda sucks, but I love love love getting out of school so early. Only to go right back for a spring term. I’m just hoping it’s as chill as everyone says it is. I need a break.

Learning

There is no denying that I have the BEST major ever. Seriously, the accounting students are super spoiled. And I love it. I’m getting to have so many great experiences because of it. Case in point, last Saturday PwC treated us and a guest to a ski day at Sundance, so I brought little Heather up to teach her how to ski! She freaking rocked it. That girl is a natural. It must be something about that Panhandle blood (she’s from Spokane). We were born to play in the snow or something.

Obvs a natural.

Besides skiing, they served us lunch and we had time to network with some of the professionals. I made a beeline right to the San Jose table so I could chat with one of the recruiters. The more I learn about San Jose and the market there, the more excited I get about going there. It’s the tech capital of the US, if not the world, and the companies there are always growing and changing, making for some exciting and challenging work. PwC also brought in Comedy Sportz to perform for us. Basically, it’s our local version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Is that show even on still? I can remember staying up late to watch episodes of that and almost peeing my pants. I think Comedy Sportz did them justice.

So I learned three things that day: 1) I really really really really really wish I had time to be a ski instructor. I LOVE teaching people how to ski. I love seeing how excited they get when they catch on and how eager they are to learn more; 2) I’m really liking what I see at PwC. I didn’t know that much about them before, but from what I’m learning about the people that work for them and their culture, I’m definitely interested in exploring my options with them; 3) I’m still an Idaho girl, through and through. I will always swear by Idaho skiing, especially the Schweitzer variety. I mean, I guess Sundance isn’t the best place to judge the Utah skiing scene. I should probably expand those horizons. But for now, I’m all Idaho.

In other exciting news, Candice and I took Heather ring shopping yesterday! Yes, that does mean that we acted like giddy school girls. And yes, that also means that Candice and I were trying on rings. I found a lovely Neil Lane one. Now I just need to find someone to buy it for me. Anyway, Heather is approaching the day when a very lucky man will ask for her hand in marriage. And she deserves it more than anyone I know. They actually met on a blind date (I’m glad to see those working out for someone) about a month and a half ago. I know, you’re probably thinking WHOA! Isn’t that moving a little fast? Aren’t they rushing into it? And usually I would agree and be questioning the future of that relationship. But in this case, I don’t at all. They are both very sensible people. They are both at the point in life where they know what they’re looking for, and they communicate all of that to each other. I don’t know how I know, but I just know that they will make each other very happy. So I’ll be looking forward to some wedding bells this summer, and that means pictures!!!! It’s been too long since I’ve had a good photo shoot.

Well, second round of midterms start tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s already March. And that means summer is right around the corner! I can’t wait for sunshine and swimming and hiking and camping and road tripping. It’s going to be quite wonderful.