Blogs: By Author

Rethinking orientation in the COVID-19 era

How the MIT graduate orientation is reforming itself this year

July 2020
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
Orientation is the stepping stone of the graduate student life experience at MIT. Every year, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Orientation Committee (OC) organizes a series of orientation events for...

The Bright Side of Isolation

A few positive aspects of social distancing

MAY 2020
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
Being a graduate student whose work mostly takes place on a PC, the changes in MIT policies related to COVID-19 have not impacted my academic work by a large amount so far. On the other hand, the social impact of it has been much more profound. From an exponential increase in the discussions (...

Learning to Sail

A unique recreation activity offered at MIT

DEC 2019
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
As mentioned in one of my previous blogs, the trio-factors of inability to swim, belonging to a country where sailing is not common, and the presence of the Charles River, always full of sailing boats right next to the campus, instilled a...

Giving Back to Society

How I got involved in service activities at MIT

AUG 2019
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
The ultimate aim of all the jobs the world has to offer in today’s time, whether in the field of entertainment, business or research, is to ultimately serve the human civilization. While none can claim to be better than others, some have a more direct and faster impact. These include service...

Learn to Swim

One of the many free PE classes offered at MIT

JUN 2019
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
I was brought up in places far from lakes and rivers. The non-availability of swimming facilities in my high school and college led to my inability to learn to swim until I joined MIT as a graduate student. Here at MIT, however, the presence of Charles River right next to the campus inspired me to...

You Can't Run Before You Walk

Navigating the initial stressful months at MIT

APR 2019
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
After completing my undergraduate studies in 2014, I began a slow-paced government job in India. As part of the job, I got a chance to explore the depth and widths of the country, with temperatures ranging from -10oC to 50oC. Overall it was an enriching experience, it taught me a lot about the...

A Perfect Campus Tour

See most of MIT in 30 minutes

MAR 2019
by Shashank A.
Mechanical Engineering
I have been at MIT for almost two and a half years, and during this time I have repeatedly been asked to give campus tours to visiting friends and family. Though most of campus is within walking distance, extremely convoluted paths resulting from high building density and weird building numbering...