After interviewing Noah for GTL, I knew I needed a second interview for the RA section of the blog. He has a way with words that it simply indescribable, and I wish I could write them in his tone of voice. Honestly, if this blog interview was a job interview, I would hire him in a heartbeat. Here are his answers to come of the questions I asked him.
What made you decide to go to GTL?
There are three main reasons. The biggest one is that I had never been out of the US before – and nothing had really driven me to. When I heard Tech had a program like GTL, I was intrigued. The second reason was talking to people that had done it before. It wasn’t a vague, “I knew people that loved it,” and I knew I didn’t have to worry about the program. The third reason is that classes were in English.
Why did you decide to be an RA?
I always enjoy getting to be a person that people can go to with questions. I am a people person. It really comes down to the fact that I can be in Europe, get my housing payed for, and be a source of info and way to help people getting acclimated. The only problem was I had never been a RA before. However, as I worked on the application I realized it was really something I wanted to do; I loved being a camp counselor over the summer. Although college students aren’t 10-year-olds, it’s still nice to be in a position where I can be a resource for people.
What is your favorite part about being an RA?
That’s a tough one. I can tell you my least favorite. Midnight duty rounds, especially with 8 am classes can be a bit nightmarish. But it is definitely worth it. My favorite part is being able to have people place their trust in me. I value that. I can use that to help others.
Are you more of a Type A or Type B person?
I’m not super organized in my room, but I do like structure and knowing the order of things in a way I can follow. I am definitely not good and sticking to a daily schedule though. Maybe I’m a Type C?
What is your favorite GTL memory so far?
My mom had planned to come visit over spring break, but she couldn’t because of an emergency. After spring break, we found out she could come for the weekend. My mom had never been out of the country before either, but when she was in high school, she hosted a foreign exchange student from Sweden named Tina. They kept in touch, and when my mom came, she was thinking about reaching out to her after 30 years. We decided to visit her.
We flew to Copenhagen, and Tina drove us to Sweden. We stayed in her beautiful, rural farm house. She had 3 amazingly obedient golden retrievers that competed in dog shows. We spent a day playing with them. Tina then took us to ride Icelandic horses. We rode through the forest. It looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. It was an amazing experience especially traveling with my mom for the first time. We learned about Sweden, went into the city and tried classic Swedish pastries and awesome Swedish fish gummies. It all really came together, and it didn’t really have an initial structure. It was a spur of the moment.