Meet the Students of CGS: Mikayla Rumph
College of General Studies 2016
College of Arts and Sciences 2018
Major: Environmental Analysis and Policy major in the College of Arts and Sciences
What is your most memorable CGS experience?
I made a good group of friends through CGS. We became super close in London, and I still talk to them today. Another cool thing is that I realized I was really interested in the humanities. I never thought I’d be interested in philosophy, but it sort of piqued my interest in that.
Any favorite CGS professors?
Professor Joellen Masters. She is still one of my favorite professors and one of my references now, and we kept in touch. I was just really interested in the subject. I never studied that before and having her as the professor really helped.
What are some of your extra-curricular activities and which one has been the most meaningful?
So, I’ve been a member of Alphi Phi, a sorority, since I came into BU. I actually did recruitment the first weekend I was at Boston University. I’ve made a lot of good friends and made connections though that. A lot of my sorority sisters did the Boston University Study Abroad Washington D.C. program, so I learned a lot about it through them. I talked to my advisor about doing it and decided it’d be a good fit for me, so I did the program in summer 2017.
Tell us more about your time with the Washington DC internship program.
I knew DC was a hub for environmental issues, so that’s why I was encouraged to go to the DC program. I was a membership/ communications intern for the National Council for Science and the Environment. It’s a nonprofit based on environmental education so I helped build up their membership with universities by reaching out to them and telling them about the National Council for Science and the Environment and inviting them to be a part of it. After the summer, they asked me to extend my internship with them but in a different position, so I did a legislative and global affairs position. I tracked both houses of congress and informed NCSE through policy memos on the upcoming environmental legislation and if there was anything they wanted to support or attend.
How did your time at CGS impact your decision to do the DC internship program?
Definitely going to another city through the London program. It encouraged me to try different cities. It’s important to me to have diverse places where I’ve lived so I know what I like, what I don’t like, where I want to end up after I graduate. Professor Masters also wrote me a really great recommendation for the DC program.
If you could give one tip to incoming freshmen, what would it be?
Everyone says this, but makes the most of your time because it really goes by fast. My last semester of college right now has gone really fast. Make sure you’re appreciative of all the opportunities BU can give you and take them when possible. BU has a ton of study abroad programs. My professor from last semester worked with my internship in DC, so use your connections.
What value did you College of General Studies provide to your education?
It provided a good basis of knowledge, and it helped me figure out what I liked and didn’t like. I also consistently improved in CGS. It taught me to exercise a better work ethic. I think when you first get into college it’s kind of hard because you still study in that old high school way, and then you have to readdress, reevaluate, do it in a different way.
How did Capstone provide value to your education?
It definitely taught me how to work in a team and it taught me to speak up a bit, when I feel strongly about an idea or I feel like someone needs to be doing something in a different way. I guess it taught me to be like, “Okay everyone, we need to all work together to make this good.” It can’t just fall on the backs of a few people.
Tell us about your future plans!
I want to do the Peace Corps at some point. I think I’m going to apply, probably within the next couple of years, to go to a country located in Latin America. I’m pretty interested in Nicaragua – it would be an environmental education and teaching position.
What is one thing you miss about CGS?
I would say I miss the smaller community and getting to know my professors really well!