Short Feature with Women's Basketball Rising Sophomore Elle Schaefer
Rising sophomore Elle Schaefer, a business major from Burr Ridge, Illinois, answers a few questions about student life at Carnegie Mellon, her internship and summer plans, why she chose her major, and what she likes about Pittsburgh.
1. What do you enjoy about campus life?
I appreciate how our campus is so connected and everyone in the community supports each other. We get to meet people from all different backgrounds and learn from each other every day. I also enjoy that our campus has a relatively small population because I have been able to get to know people really well and form strong connections with my peers.
2. What do you get involved in outside of basketball?
Outside of basketball, I am involved in Scottie Ventures, a student venture capitalist club at Carnegie Mellon. My mentors from this club have helped me to improve my communication, leadership, and professional skills and learn the fundamentals of venture capital.
3. Talk about your internship experience.
This summer I have an internship at a law firm in Chicago. Every day I am lucky enough to work along side one of the attorneys at the firm. The work I did in the office included research and case work. A few times this summer I was able to sit in on depositions and shadow the attorneys in court. For the depositions, I took notes and advised the attorney throughout the sitting.
4. What are your summer plans?
This summer I will spend my time with summer workouts, time abroad, and an internship. I'll intern at a law firm from May until August. During this time, I took a month off in June for an intensive German language study in Mannheim, Germany. While I was in a single class for five hours a day strictly learning German, I still had time to travel around Germany and experience the culture there. I balanced study, travel, and work with preparing for the upcoming season by working out and doing our team's summer workout plan. I am really looking forward to our team's season!
5. What are you excited about next semester?
I am excited to begin our fall workouts and open gyms and see our team together again this upcoming year. I am also looking forward to my studies. It will be interesting to take a different set of courses and get deeper into my major and studies outside my major.
6. Why did you select your course of study?
I chose to study business administration because I like the concepts this study encompasses overall. As an undergraduate business student, my study focuses on networking, teamwork, problem solving, and communication among others aspects. These concepts are not only important for business but also for professional careers and life after college. I have enjoyed all of my classes so far, but my German language courses and my microeconomics course have been my favorite.
7. What class has been recommended by your teammates (or past teammates) or friends as a MUST TAKE class at CMU?
I have heard that "Acting for Business" is a must-take class at CMU. While I am not one for theater or acting, I plan to take this course before graduation to broaden my knowledge and to try learning in a different way.
8. What have you enjoyed about living in Pittsburgh?
I really like the layout of Pittsburgh and the people in it. It also has great sports teams. The people here have so much pride for their city, whether they are from here originally or live here now. That is something I really appreciate. I have so many good memories in this city and I am very excited to continue here for the next three years.
9. What has been a memorable moment so far on the team?
My most memorable moment so far during my time on the team was the first time I ever played in a collegiate game. It was our first game and Coach Jacquie called me over during the first few minutes of the game and told me to go in. I remember being "little kid" excited. This was something I had looked forward to for a long time and I was completely overjoyed and just excited to get out there and play my hardest.