First, I was waiting on getting pictures of my graduation before making this post . . . its always when you need something that you can't have it on time . . .

Graduation takes place at the Garden, home of the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins. Over 12,000 people in total attend.

But yes, its OVER! Graduation! Five years of waiting, struggling, sitting in the library studying Thermodynamics while everyone else was playing Frisbee. Calculus 1 thru 3, Finite Element Analysis, Heat Transfer, Computer Aided Design, Differential Equations . . . . all those easy classes, but its over. I can't believe its over but I can. It's been five years, but all well worth it. I had an amazing college career. I went on my three co-ops, I worked internationally, I made friends that I backpacked around Europe with, I was involved on campus, I really did as much as I could. I even graduated as "One of the Top 100 Most Influential Seniors of Northeastern." Top 100 out of about 2000 is pretty good.

A picture taken of me in the distance after I received my diploma.

The day of graduation was crazy. My family truly loves me. 11 of them came up, one from Florida, 10 from NY/NJ. And my Best friend from High school as well. Those ten drove in two cars, missed Thursday and Friday from school or work and had hotel stays for four nights just to see me. We're not rich but you know how much money and time that is to see one event?!?! Not including food, gas, lost wages, etc . . . nuts, but they came to see me. I love them all.

My family and I in the Curry Student Center.

And by the Husky of course.

Now all that's left is to keep moving forward. I already accepted a position after graduation with NStar, Boston Utility company and I'll be going through their Leadership Development Program for one year. Its a big step and also a bit surprising to the family that I'll be staying in Boston after graduation. We'll take it a day at a time. Since graduation, I've been staying in Jersey, catching up with old friends, spending time with family . . . in a few weeks I'm traveling to 7 cities in the US and Puerto Rico as a last second trip before full time employment in July. You have to do these things before you start, when else will you have a month off to travel? And then the real world begins . . . but since I've been one three Co-ops already, I'm not worried at all.

College was amazing and Northeastern is leaving me feeling ready. I'm not that scared, inexperienced, clueless about life person I was five years ago. I needed this, I'd have been lost without it. Sometimes I wish I could do it all over again, but not to change anything, just to relive the moments. There are so many people that will enter and exit your life in five years. But I learned to hold on to a few great friends. I do not need 1000's, just a handful that I know would take a bullet for me. So much I could say but not enough room to type it all out, I just know I'm ready and grateful for it all.

I hope you've enjoyed your time reading about my life, and its been an honor to do so. I'd also like to thank the NU Admissions Office for selecting me to be one of their first Bloggers. I wish Northeastern could become a home for everyone, because going to this school, The TRUE Boston School, was the greatest decision of my life. Take Care.

- George

Today is the last day of classes. The last day of class of my NU career. Wow. It's in a way unreal, so much so that today still feels like just another day. I have two exams left, but still, my mind has been wondering slightly. Been thinking of all the memorable moments in my five years here, what I've learned, the friends I've made and how it all happened so fast. I know I lived it to the fullest by getting involved on campus and making the most of my co-ops, but still crazy to think its over. There are so many memories to sit back and enjoy.

Graduation is May 2nd, and my family is coming up from NJ and FL to see me. There's only one catch . . . NU gives everyone six tickets for graduation, and that’s it. I need 12. Now I've been asking everyone I know if I can have their spare tickets, if any, but I'm still short. What is really unfair is that people who don't need them are selling them online and making crazy profit while some of us can't find enough. I really hope I can find some more free ones before I need to pay $50 for each ticket that's meant to be free.

Been too much going on lately but lets re-cap:

Spring Break was awesome at Puerto Vallarta, MX. I went zip-lining, repelling and horseback riding. The Mexican bus ride up the mountain for zip-lining was probably the scariest yet most adventurous aspects of the trip. Nothing like going up a mountain 30 mph and one foot to the right and the bus tumbles down the mountain . . . after awhile we were all just laughing from how unreal it was.

Getting a tan was a nice effect, but its disappearing fast without the 80 degree weather. The spring break experience made me wish I would have studied aboard but that wasn't really an option for engineers a few years ago. Now its much easier for them. Things always get better just as you leave don't they?

View of the beach

Repelling near a waterfall

Back to NU, things are winding down. Some final projects have been announced and there's only 3 weeks left of classes. I just accepted a job offer, so I'll officially be staying in the area for at least one more year, probably two. It's nice to have that out of the way. My adviser helped me out with this one because I was looking for a very specific type of job. I wanted one that had a foundation in engineering but had a strong focus in business and management. Those aren't easy to come by as an entry level, but with enough time and effort I found it. Having an adviser who can be a mentor to you is probably the best thing you can gain from your college experience. Not much left to do now but wait.

Well by the time you read this, I'll be gone and in Mexico . . . Hey, I needed a vacation. This is actually my first Spring Break vacation in my 5 year career. It just worked out that way since I was always on co-op at this time period and decided to work instead. It's a balance. I missed out on some experiences but I also made/saved over $7,000. If I could do it all over again, who knows.

I'll have more details when I get back, but I have to say the week before Spring Break was hectic. I had a mid-term 3D modeling project due before leaving, and the home work was more then difficult as well. You'd think making a golf ball like this would be easier.

Or for a larger picture:
View image

But that took alot of time. Every one of those dents had to be patterned.

I really enjoyed my mid-term project. Many people did it based off their Capstone to save time but I wanted to try something a little different. I'm sure you can recognize this if you've played a video game or too recently:

Yep, a Nintendo Wii Remote. It was fun. It's really four parts, View image
but this is the assembled model showing them all as one. Its amazing what you can make with 3D Modeling programs. Part of the fun of being a Mechanical Engineer and some people make this their art in the work place.

Well anyways, yall have a good break if you're having one. Otherwise, see you when I get back!

Nothing beats five day weekends. Well back to reality. Even though its only two days of class, I have some big deadlines. I have to present my informative speech tomorrow for my public speaking class. I wanted to pick a topic that would catch people's attention while also leave them actually learning something. So I choose to talk about how people are ripped off by the funeral industry. Its pretty crazy and interesting. People spend over $15,000 for something that takes place over a day or two. And the worse part being they don't even need to spend half of that if they did it right. Its just a matter of high mark-ups and people trying to make expensive decisions while in a fragile state of mind. Talking about death is pretty taboo and I've been working on this long enough that even I felt a little depressed when I finished. I'm looking forward to presenting and putting it behind me tomorrow. And can't forget my Greek test tomorrow too.

Then I have a nice exam in sociology Thursday and the weekend is here. I have to admit, four and a half years of straight engineering was challenging, but its nice to have a lite ending to it all. Next week will probably be packed with last second assignments before Spring Break and speaking of which . . .

So I'm counting down the days to Spring break. I've actually never had a spring break. I didn't go my freshman year and the last three years I was on co-op and didn't want to take a week off from work to go on a vacation. I was in division B as its called in engineering college. Basically I always worked January to the end of June and classes for the other half. The con was I always had to work Spring break and miss out on a more likely time period to have snow days. The pro was I had my only other summer vacation (first being my freshman year) at the end of my forth year (as oppose to having it my sophomore year and then never having a vacation till I graduate). I liked it better this way. So where am I going? Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I wanted something a little different than the normal Cancun trip. It's a bit farther, but should be that much more exotic . . . and cheaper too. It's a little south of where I worked on my co-op. I'll have more details later.

First off, if you watched the Superbowl . . . wow. People around here were pretty upset, but no matter what, it was one of the closet, and in my mind, best Superbowl games in a long time. At least the Red Sox got the World Series, that's more valuable in my mind.

Houston was great a few weekends ago, I just have some major decision making to do in the next few days if I'm accepting my offer. Moving and starting a new life in Texas would be a radical change.

I saw the Celtics last week, crazy to watch a game with floor seats. Its just a shame they lost by a basket. I also started tutoring 8th graders at a local middle school. Its pretty early on, but I've really been enjoying it. I've always been wanting to, but didn't have the time. It's just a really good feeling. Now I'm in the middle of some last minute spring break planning. It's been a process . . .

For an ending note, as you get towards the end, you remember the beginning and I thought I'd share this picture from my Freshman year. It took place in Boston Common . . . and I know you'll never see this happen again. Just the craziness of the time. And we all looked so different then . . .

Being at the top of a 10 man pyramid . . . priceless

This semester has been better than other for many reasons. Smaller work load, only one engineering class, more "me" time . . . but another reason was scheduling Tuesdays and Fridays off. Its pretty nice to have class only 3 days a week but even better when you have a Monday off. Last Monday was a snow day and this week was MLK day . . . its been pretty nice to have two back to back five day weekends.

Had a good MLK weekend. Went home, saw the Lion King (completely amazing show, and I'm not always into Broadway type shows but then again its not your average show) with the girlfriend in NYC, visited Hoboken, NJ for a nice view of NYC and watched the Giants make it to the Superbowl. It was a pretty good weekend.

This week is busy too. I have people coming over for dinner tonight . Its sort of an "Iron Chef" cook off between a friend and I, with our friends as judges. Good for some "familia" time amongst friends. Then going to see the Celtics tomorrow! She managed to get floor seats for free! They're $150 each! Forgot how expensive those are. Row six. Its gonna be another good time, especially since they are doing great this season. Lastly, I end the week in Houston for another interview. Time flies when you're not standing still . . . now I just have to make sure I get all my work done in between.

Time just flew by! Finals went pretty well and I was pretty happy about all my grades. Winter break went well too. Saw the family, met up with old friends I can only see during break and got a lot of needed R&R. Now other things are kicking to full gear like the job hunt which has been interesting. At this point its a balance between finding something but making sure you've explored your options well too. I have an interview in Houston on the 25th which would be a nice city to work in and also the potential for San Diego. Leaves me wondering if I'll really move away or if I'll stay in this city of champions.

On another note, being this is my senior year I'm seeing faces I haven't seen since my freshman year. In the first year of engineering, everyone takes the same general courses, then people split up due to major (mechanical, industrial, etc) and division (co-op January through June or July through December). But since this is the last semester, everyone is back and no one is on co-op so its almost like living the first year all over again. I'm going to post some pictures soon just to show how crazy those times were.

Back to the books . . .

First off, Capstone went great. We nailed our presentation perfectly, couldn't have asked for anything better. And definitely had a good time hanging out with our professors afterwards. Looking forward to seeing the final grade.

Just took my marketing exam and next is Controls (a combination of every math course we've had and many mechanical courses) and not sure how it'll be. Should be the hardest final I have but just found out it'll be open book and open notes. That can either mean: a) It'll be easy with the help or b) its that much harder because we'll have the book and notes in front of us. We'll see. And then accounting on Friday.

Other than finals, things have been hectic with other aspects. Interviewed with Anheuser Busch on Thursday and have another one with Sylvania next Monday. I technically should have been in Cincinnati right now for an interview with General Electric, but things didn't work out due to conflicts with my finals. I was looking forward to that, plus enjoying the fact all expenses are covered for the interview (flight, hotel, food, limo), but everything happens for a reason.

Looking forward to some time off soon.

Hey everyone,

Lets just get into shall we?

Reality: I'm in the final week of Capstone. Capstone is a senior design project that is required to complete your engineering degree. It's where you take an idea from start to finish, literally. You choose a team up to six people, given a sponsor company whom which you are building the project for and then work on the project for one full year. Projects have ranged from building a hybrid electric/gas motorcycle to an automated bartender which mixes and matches dozens of different liquids. You design the device, perform force/stress analysis on all components prior to ordering, order the materials, assemble it, test samples . . . bottom line make it operational and prove it'll work beyond your time (all while still juggling your other 3 classes). In addition there is a 50+ page technical report, meetings every week with your adviser and sponsor and three presentations on your project in front of faculty. The third and final one includes a jury of 16+ alumni, from all different backgrounds and experience in industry. No pressure.

Every division (mechanical, electrical, industrial, etc) have their own version but I'll say the mechanical capstones are pretty impressive. My group is working with Harvard Medical School in finalizing their version of a Tissue Microarrayer (TMA).

http://www.microarraystation.com/tissue-microarray/

The link above gives a good idea of how it works, but in summary TMA's are a medical breakthrough in efficiency by being able to test thousands, as oppose to single, human tissue samples at a time. This last week is going to be one of, if not the most, stressful week of any engineer's life here at NU. It be it's own reality show if a camera was set up in the Capstone lab, as you'll see people literally sleeping there, staying down there for days, ordering in (a well known location for the popular takeouts) and running around to get everything done before the deadline. It's not that people are unprepared, it's just like everything in life: when you really need it, at the last second, life throws you curve balls. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the final designs.

Either this will spook you or intrigue you, but building something from scratch really makes you feel like you've applied what you've learned over the last four years and that $160,000+ was definitely invested well. How many other majors can you say you created a design that's used in the real world? There have been many students that have gained patents through this process and it definitely is a topic during an interview. Completing this project is a mini-graduation, you're an engineer after this, and all that's left is to walk in May. As hard as it's going to be, this is a rite a passage and years from now we'll laugh and remember this time. By the time I post again it's all over . . . till finals.