The UM App

This week was very stressful. Heavy school work, an exam, and applications made this week particularly difficult. I cried numerous times, sometimes the only coping mechanism I know to turn to when things become difficult. 

Yet it wasn’t school work that made this week difficult. Rather, my upper management application for our school newspaper, The Phillipian, flooded my mind with stress. To people outside Andover, stressing about a school newspaper application may seem petty. The thing about being on the UM of The Phillipian is that it’s like having a part-time 25-hour-per-week job. We publish a 20-page paper every week, which requires 20 pages worth of articles every week, and meetings to review the previous papers every week. 

Since the job itself is so arduous, the difficulty of the application comes as no surprise.  The most important thing I learned about from completing this 23-page application (in addition to writing two articles, using Adobe InDesign to layout a page in the paper, and performing a Web-Demo) is that applications are not just tests of what you know or who you are; they are also a gentle reminder of where you lack. 

The Phillipian app tested me in areas that even my high school applications didn’t touch. I must admit, the writing part of the app was easiest. The questions required thinking deeply but there wasn’t a right or wrong answer which made it almost enjoyable to do. While putting myself on paper was the primary part of the app (hence the 23-pager), the application also tested my digital editing and design skills. I struggled with this part. I was particularly flustered when I had to use Adobe InDesign to layout the page. This assignment was difficult because I had never used InDesign in depth. I tweaked with my layout for over 90 minutes but it still didn’t resemble the layout of the paper. 

I ended up submitting my not-so-correct layout of the paper. While I didn’t feel too good about that part of my application, I realized that if I want to be a part of The Phillipian’s UM, I would have to better my skills with InDesign. I left the computer where I had finished my Layout feeling a bit frustrated by my ineptitude with InDesign, but more so recognizing a hole in my skill set. 

So here I am now. I turned in my application at 9 AM this morning in person after having worked for an entire week on the components. Regardless of whether I get onto Phillipian UM, I have finished the process feeling like I at least know where I can improve myself. I’m grateful for having been able to participate in this opportunity.