Written by: Miguel Cardona, Cisneros Class of 2023
Now as I am back home in New Jersey reinventing my daily routine, I am thinking a lot about how a typical day back at GW was like. It kinda went like…
7:00 am
I wake up to the immediate sound of the construction happening behind my dorm, Madison Hall. The loud sounds wake me from my deep slumber and remind me I’m still in D.C and not wherever I dreamt I was. I try to prolong the inevitable start of the day to come.
8:30 am
My third and final alarm goes off and I decide to roll out of bed and get the day started. I go through my morning routine and walk over to my desk to look at my sticky notes filled with my daily reminders. I pack my bag and decide what I want for breakfast. Since I work at 9am, I usually bring food from my dorm, stop by the GW Deli on the way, or put something together at the Institute.
9:00 am
I work as an administrative assistant at the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute. My tasks vary from filing paperwork, to helping the director of the Institute with anything she needs for her class, to creating community events to bring Cisneros Scholars together and keep that sense of family intact. The great thing about the Institute is that it’s not only a workplace for graduate research assistants and undergraduates, but it is also an open communal space for Scholars to hang out and get that taste of home away from home. Students usually spend their time here in between classes conversing and making plans for the weekend, or getting some much needed study time in.
11:00 am
My shift is done and I text my friends to meet up before my first class of the day, International Politics, starts at 11:10am. This class covers international political theories with the goal of understanding why countries act the way they do. One of the more interesting lectures of the semester was one where we discussed the idea of hegemonic powers. This included discussion of two modern day global superpowers, the United States and China, and how their economies, international policies and beliefs influence other countries.
12:00 pm
After that lecture, I’m usually either tired, hungry, or both. I stop by a food truck and study before my 12:45pm Biology class.
12:45 pm
No matter how tired I am, this class always wakes me up! There’s just something about having almost 200 kids in a lecture hall with a vibrant professor that uses a unique style of teaching that keeps me intrigued.
2:00pm
Biology is done and I walk over with some friends to my Bio Lab at 2:20pm.
5:15pm
I stop by District to grab a quick bite to eat from either Sol or Wiseguy’s. I usually work with some friends so we either meet up in Duques, Gelman or SEH. If you have a room reserved, then Gelman is a great spot. If not, then it can get kind of daunting if you are by yourself for hours at a time.
8:00 pm
I decided to head to the daily StemWorks review sessions for Bio because it helps reinforce what I learned that day and the interactions with my peers and the Learning Assistants are always helpful in retaining the information from that chapter. Going to these has helped teach me different study methods and meet new people to study with as well.
10:00 pm
I usually have a lot of work to do, so I head back to study with friends in Duques. (This usually comes with breaks where we distract each other with memes.)
12:00 am
I get back to my dorm and unwind for the day. I take this time to take a shower and set a list of things to do for the next day whether that be assignments, meetings, tasks at work, or even to call and check up on family back home. This is the first time since the morning I see my roommate so we usually catch up on anything funny or crazy that happened throughout the day.
12:30 am
Hopefully, I’m done or pretty close to being done with homework and am setting my usual three alarms for the next morning. I have a 9:35 class that I have to be at least 10 minutes early for to hand in homework. I know I have to get some rest and be up early ready to grind out another day as a Cisneros Scholar.
Miguel Cardona is a second-year Cisneros Scholar in the GW Columbian College of Arts & Sciences. He’s studying political science, and is the founder of Boys To Leaders in his hometown of Newark, NJ. Miguel’s views are his own and not necessarily reflective of the Cisneros Institute.