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  • Our Top 5 Favorite Experiences at UGA

    Our Top 5 Favorite Experiences at UGA

    We are officially exactly at the two-week post-graduation time point, which means we have had plenty of time to reflect on our college experiences! So, we thought it would be fun to write a post about our top 5 favorite experiences during our time at UGA. Since we’ve raved about study abroad in past posts, we decided not to include study abroad in this list. Each of us had unique college experiences, so we decided to do 5 experiences each. Yes, the title is misleading because you will actually be reading about 10 experiences. Nonetheless, you may notice some overlap. Hopefully, this can encourage you to make the most of your UGA/college experience. If you have graduated, we encourage you to reflect back on your time and think of what would be your top 5 experiences (academic, personal, professional, extracurricular, or social). With that being said, keep scrolling to see what each of us chose.

    Saanvikha

    This list is in no particular order of importance because, honestly, it would be impossible to rank it based on importance (I could barely narrow it down to 5). Overall, when I think about my college experience and what motivated me each day, these 5 definitely pop into my mind immediately. 

    • The Backpack Project of Athens: I started volunteering with The Backpack Project of Athens (TBP/ATH), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Athens, GA that aims to ease the burden of homelessness, the fall of my freshman year through another incredible organization, the Arch Policy Institute. My biggest takeaway from TBP/ATH is the ability to form meaningful relationships with the Athens community and serve a group that is often neglected. I have been able to build friendships with people experiencing homelessness, bond over experiences in the United Kingdom, and be a friendly ear to hear their concerns and requests. TBP/ATH also taught me how to be an effective leader, create a just cause for a team, and how to work on a team of students to advance operational and organizational efforts. We were constantly looking for ways to grow and serve our clients in a more intentional manner, and I learned skills and built relationships that I will carry forward for a long time. I met some INCREDIBLE people along the way who continue to inspire me daily. 
    • Institute for Leadership Advancement (ILA): I joined ILA my junior year after hearing incredible things from Dawson. Prior to ILA in the Terry College of Business, I never saw myself venturing into anything related to business. Regardless, ILA is not designed to teach you how to pursue a career in business, but it is rather geared towards training the future leaders of our society to be successful and intentional servant-leaders. Besides the tangible leadership skills I learned in these courses, I also value the personal journey it forced me to undertake. I learned more about myself, my values, and why I wanted to pursue my future career path. I also found some of my favorite mentors with the professors through this program, and I would not have been able to achieve some of my goals without this support system. 
    • Undergraduate Research: I know I can complain about undergraduate research sometimes, but I truly cannot imagine college without it. Research is meant to be challenging, frustrating, time-consuming, and draining. However, it is also stimulating, thought-provoking, and motivating, which is what I have come to find. I could not imagine my sophomore year without going into the lab at 10 PM on a Friday or spending weekends counting parasites in the Lionheart microscope. Despite the occasional Chagas scares (iykyk) and inability to properly use a drill, I truly enjoyed the work I did, the relationships I built with those who worked in the lab, and the opportunities my work gave me (aka traveling to Boston and Palo Alto!).
    • Policy Writing: I lumped together a lot of my experiences into policy writing, which, I know, is lowkey cheating. But, I simply couldn’t pick one amongst them all. Getting involved with policy through the Arch Policy Institute (API) defined most of my extracurricular involvement going forward. Through the Frye Fellowship, API, and the Archway Partnership, I learned to critically analyze existing issues in our healthcare system, rural development programs, or local government. I developed a proactive mindset to look for solutions for these problems through policy, which is work I could see myself doing in the future. Besides being able to publish in our yearly journal or having our group’s bill pass the Georgia House and Senate this year, policy writing was an outlet for me to hone in my skills and explore an interest that was outside of my major and what I studied in college. 
    • GNYHA Internship: If you personally know me, you know I can’t stop talking about how incredible it was to spend my summer at the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA). I could write a whole post on this in the future, but I’ll keep it short for now. This internship solidified my interest in healthcare law. However, it also connected me with Ms. Waltman, one of my favorite people to talk to, gave me the confidence to be able to navigate a big, new city all alone. Truly, I love New York City and really want to live there one day even if it’s a short stint. I grew so much personally and also explored a professional passion. My biggest recommendation to all of you is to never be afraid to take risks if it is what you truly WANT and go after/apply to those big internships/scholarships because you never know what could happen. 

    Dawson

    Similarly, my list is also in no particular order, but I wanted to highlight some wonderful experiences from over time!

    • Winning the National Championships with the Redcoats: my freshman year I was a member of the Redcoats Marching Band! It feels SO long ago, but I was a marching brat all throughout high school and knew I wanted to do marching for at least one year in college. That year in 2021 was when we went to Indianapolis for the CFP National Championship game and I remember being hysterical there in the arena. It was one of the first true moments that I felt excited and knew that Home is Where the Arch is, and although I was only in RCB for one year, I still remain involved with UGA Music through UGA Presents events (plug but I LOVE them) and Kappa Kappa Psi (a music fraternity on campus). I met some of my closest friends through RCB, and they all graduated before me, but I had never felt so connected to the UGA community through this experience.
    • Institute for Leadership Advancement: This has already been talked about by some, but ILA was truly one of the most transformative experiences of my whole undergrad. Prior to doing this leadership certificate program, I was a staunch hater of business and doing anything with it, but through ILA, I made incredible friends and peer mentors that I stay in touch with and still look up to. It was great to learn more about my personality and strengths, but I also have a highlight of creating a company called ‘Stitch’ with 7 of my closest friends in the class where we ‘created’ a company and would talk about leadership principles and tactics. It has been fun to stay involved with the ILA faculty and the yearly ILA gala, and I feel obscenely old as I did it spring of my freshman year. But, it has been amazing to get my friends to also do the program and see their growth. ILA showed me the amazing benefits that a business perspective can provide and convinced me to pursue my Economics major.
    • KKPsi Music Recital: During my first-year, I knew I would not have time to continue with RCB, the schedule was demanding and made it difficult to do much else. So, I decided to pledge for Kappa Kappa Psi, a national honorary music fraternity, where one of my closest friends at the time, Isabella, became my big! I have made so many INCREDIBLE memories, but one of the top was our MC Recital. It is not a typical recital .. but rather a fun concert with skits and some instrumental playing. I played the Mario Underwater theme on the saxophone, did the Georgette kickline, and even did a fun Starbucks skit. Each one of us have nicknames, and my KKPsi nickname is “Starbs,” which is very on brand if you know me. But, I’m so glad I stuck with it throughout college and adore my little Carter, and everyone that has gone through it with me.
    • Brumby RA: For my sophomore and junior year I was a resident assistant in Brumby Hall and had the BEST time. I will still complain about the Brumby hill to this day, but Brumby brought me some of my closest friends in college. My residents were campus showstoppers, and one of them has now taken my UGA Digital Dawg account (shout out @uga.landon)! From social events like the yearly Thanksgiving Yule Tide Feast to Haunted Highrises to daily movie nights doing homework and making bulletin boards, it was genuinely one of the best experiences. At times it was difficult to separate personal and professional life, but I would not have changed it for anything. My freshman year I was on the Russell Community Council (the best one on campus) and served as president! This got me involved with housing and inspired me to stay involved, and I am so glad it did. Housing brought me incredible friendships and experiences that I will hold on to forever.
    • Honors TAing: Over three different semesters I was a teaching assistant for an introductory honors course where I taught 17 students each term! I loved the experience of getting to mentor and advise my students on resumes and places to study and I frequently brought in friends to talk about their experiences. This, along with many other experiences, only reinforced my interest in education. Although I could never be a full-time professor, I have a deep appreciation for our educational system. Each semester, I had a choice week where I would bring in Dunkin Donuts and would talk about the importance of LinkedIn and staying connected, and I always love when my former students reach out and tell me about their accomplishments and what they are up to!

      Bonus! 

      Both of us agree that combined, one of our top experiences has been our Wine & Spine book club! The only regret we may have is not starting it earlier. This book club literally sprouted out of a text message in a groupchat with our close friend Alex Womack (check out his blog post here!). We all wanted to start off 2025 with the goal of reading more, so, of course, we decided to start our own book club! Although it is meant for reading and exploring different genres of literature, it is also an hour and a half each week to see 15 of our closest friends! We also include a weekly wine tasting (as the name suggests) to expand our palates. We simply can’t get enough time with our friends and need an excuse to read and chat throughout the summer, so we are continuing Wine & Spine over the summer virtually!

      Well there you have it, folks! We know this is a little bit of a change in pace from the previous posts, but we hope you got a little taste of what experiences defined our UGA experience, and if you’re still at UGA, please make the most of everything the university offers! Also, this post is a reminder that goals are more easily met when you make it enjoyable and do it with friends, and that is exactly what we did with Wine & Spine!

    1. Balancing Interests: Medical School in a PR World

      Balancing Interests: Medical School in a PR World

      Esther is one of the coolest people we know, hands-down. Dawson met Esther through the Institute for Leadership Program his freshman year in which they worked together on the Stitch team. Since then, Esther has been an incredible mentor and friend. Saanvikha met Esther through The Backpack Project of Athens, a non-profit that aims to ease the burden of homelessness in Athens, GA, and has always been inspired by her leadership, empathy, and work ethic. We have loved getting to know her professionally and personally and can’t wait for her to share her story with you. Being on the pre-med track can often feel rigid, and from our experience, it often seems as if people feel like there is a specific “check-list” to successfully get into med school. Esther challenged this notion and continues to do so, so join us in reading her story about how she balances her in becoming a physician with a Public Relations degree.

      Choosing a major seems like a life or death decision — or at least it did for me. Maybe life or death is a bit of an exaggeration; but even now, I think about how crazy it is that the world asks 18-year-olds to choose a major that will “define” the rest of their lives. Of course, your major doesn’t define who you are, but it sure seems like it does at that age. Think about it, the four things you’re usually asked freshman year are: your name, high school, major, and fun fact. My major was ever changing the first few semesters. My family and friends probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you what I was majoring in. In hindsight, I should’ve stayed undecided. 

      Now that I’m post-four months of my graduation, I feel confident in introducing myself knowing these facts won’t change. 

      My name is Esther Kim, and I went to Lanier High School. I graduated in 2024 from the University of Georgia with a degree in public relations and certificates in Personal & Organizational Leadership and New Media. Fun fact, which really isn’t that fun: I’ll be joining the class of 2029 at the Medical College of Georgia (yay!). 
      Okay, okay. I know your first question is going to be what in the world can a PR degree do for medical school? The short answer is nothing really. But the longer answer is a bit more complicated. This introduction has been my roundabout way of leading to one simple point: you should pursue what’s most authentic to who you are (and it doesn’t have to be only one thing!). For me that was both communications and medicine. Here’s three reasons why you should also just do what you want, for lack of better words.

      You won’t regret it. Instead, you’ll live to regret not doing what you wanted to do. 

      Entering college, I knew I wanted to become a physician. Except, I didn’t know how. No one around me was in healthcare. The only information I had were from YouTube videos, other pre-med students, pre-health advisors, and the internet. 

      The only problem was that everything I wanted to do went against the advice of others. I was told I should major in a science like biology. I was told I needed to volunteer; find research; gain clinical experience; have leadership; and so on. And so, I did just that my freshman year. I was a chemistry major, started volunteering with various groups I found interest in, and put in the hours so that I could show my commitment in leadership. But in the midst of all of that, I started getting involved in TEDxUGA — a decision that would more or less change the course of my college experience. 

      Really brief context of TEDxUGA: At UGA, you can take a course with the New Media Institute to learn how to curate presentations, but more specifically TED talks. It’s like a public speaking course, but professional and on steroids. You’re then paired with a real TEDxUGA presenter and help them develop their talk as they prepare to take the stage. 

      I ended up taking this course the fall semester of freshman year, and it was the best experience I’ve ever had. It was all things that other courses couldn’t provide. It was such a different and rewarding experience that I took the class again. During the second time around, I worked with Dr. K. Paige Carmichael, who spoke about the importance of One Health and how the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health can create a more sustainable future. 

      There’s a few things that I learned here. One is that I’m a pretty good writer (though, it would be pretty embarrassing if you disagree after reading this). I always thought sciences and math were more my forte, and at that point, I actually would’ve sworn I was horrible at writing and anything to do with language arts. The second lesson I learned is (at least for me) I think the people we meet, connect with, and learn from is way more important and valuable than the content we learn from class. 

      Case A: Five years later, I still keep in contact with Dr. Carmichael, and I have learned so much from her through many one-on-one conversations than I ever could from just a class. As our relationship evolved from professor and student to mentor and mentee, we have now become colleagues, which is truly an honor. 

      TEDxUGA was an experience that I sort of stumbled into. I took it as an elective simply because I wanted to, but it became so much more. After two semesters of taking the course, I was hired to become the head curator and teaching assistant for the course. After four years of working with TEDxUGA, I have met and worked with incredible people including different deans and administrators at UGA, famous alumni, and really cool students. I grew in leadership, fundraising, event management, teaching, and so much more. All of which didn’t particularly “fit the bill” of a pre-med. 

      I had at one point thought if I had made the right decision. I worked 20 hours every week since my sophomore year, with many weeks going overtime. I sometimes sacrificed school work for editing and working on presenter’s scripts (don’t tell that to anyone though). I thought about how if I didn’t say yes to this job, which has absolutely nothing to do with medicine, would I have gotten better grades? A higher GPA and MCAT score? More time for clinical experiences or research? Or even gotten into a top medical school? Who knows. Maybe? But I don’t have any regrets. Even if it may have not been the “right” decision as a pre-med (which I don’t think there actually is any), I am extremely grateful for the experience and know I wouldn’t be who I am without it. 

      And honestly, so what? I can’t go back and change the past, but what I can do is take advantage and make the most of every opportunity that I’m in. And that’s what I did. I now use this experience to my advantage and see how skills in writing, communicating, and public speaking, all of which may be intangible, are so important as a physician. 

      When One Door Closes, Another (and dare I say more than one) Will Open. 

      And thus, I changed my major to public relations. It seems like it was a simple, obvious choice when you look at my journey. But it was far from that. It took me three semesters to convince myself (and others) that changing my major to something wholly unrelated to medicine was the right decision. 

      When we pursue our passions, it might seem like we’re giving something up or need to make sacrifices. For me, that was, as I mentioned above, time to study, time to work in a hospital or clinic, and time to partake in research. I was afraid if I went after what I wanted to study that I would have to give up medicine — a desire and calling I’ve had for a long time. I had to be honest and ask myself if I really wanted to become a doctor. Sophomore year I wasn’t 100% sure. And so, I changed my major. I knew that I didn’t have to major in science to go to medical school, and I still had that choice. But it felt like I was giving up. It felt like I was closing the door on the opportunity by taking this path (dramatic I know). 

      Soon after making this decision, doors and opportunities that I didn’t even realize existed started opening. One of which includes joining in on the first Health and Medical Journalism study abroad trip to Havana, Cuba — a niche I didn’t even realize was a complete blend of what I was passionate about. I continued studying abroad at the University of Oxford and grew so much from that experience. 

      But the biggest opportunity of all was taking part in a nationwide competition for the PRWeek Awards, one of the most prestigious award programs in the PR industry. Selected as 1 of 4 UGA students, I conducted a survey, interviews, and data analysis to examine how psychological and social factors can affect environmental behavioral change. Then developed a PR campaign to emphasize the serious threat of climate change. Again, a complete blend of two things I’m passionate about. Something I didn’t realize I could do. It was honestly a pinch me, I’m going to cry moment because somehow, in some way I ended up placing first place in the competition and received the Outstanding Student award at the 2024 PRWeek Awards gala in NYC. 

      It felt like I was closing the door on medicine to pursue communications. But as time passed, not only did the door to becoming a physician open back up, but the wall between that door and the door of PR was knocked down. You never know what doors will open for you. Ones that you didn’t even know existed. Or I guess you could also just knock down the wall and do it all. 

      Who Cares? Not me (at least anymore). 

      My third point is pretty simple. For a while, I was very conscious about what people thought and how I was perceived. We let the opinions of others influence us more than we think and more than we’d like to admit. Of course, I think that’s the whole point of college. We make mistakes. We grow. And we lean into our unique identities. We realize that we don’t have to be like everyone around us and will be accepted for who we are. And if not, then honestly, I don’t think they deserve a say in your life. 

      So what if people think you’re a bit crazy and a risk taker? I’ve definitely been called that before. As I made mistakes, grew, and became the person I am today, I saw the people around me also begin to change. And I realize that it’s the people I’m currently surrounded by that accept me for who I am and support me in everything I do. 

      I could give more examples like how I took a risk and worked for a public relations agency for six months instead of at the clinic I was at, and I’m so glad that I did. Because now I know what the path in communications would’ve been like had I not pursued medicine. I am now 100% fully committed to becoming a doctor without any regrets. It’s also a major plus that I have this skill set in my toolbelt and know it will be used at some point in my career, just not sure of the specific yet. 

      If there’s something you want to do that you’ve been hesitating on, I say just go for it. You never know what will happen.

    2. Guest Writers, Incoming!

      When we came up with this blog, we knew that we wanted to talk about our own stories and experiences, but we also realize that we don’t know it all by any means and hearing other perspectives is so valuable. So, we want to officially introduce our guest writers series! 

      Guest writers are friends, colleagues, and peers that we think have a really good story or unique interest that could be helpful for you! We honestly have the most incredible, successful, high-achieving, and genuine friends in the world, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. Incorporating guest writers is a great way to highlight the experiences of other people who are going through similar transitionary periods in life and with different paths of interest (and you get a break from just listening to us talk about our lives all the time!)  Over the next few weeks and from now on, we will have guest writers that get to tell their story. Be on the lookout 👀

      As we wrap up this last semester, we want to take the time to reflect on this blog as a fun way to share our stories. Don’t worry, there are many, many more posts to come as we graduate (t-minus 4 days!) and go into post-grad life (in ATL and DC!). Thanks, as always, for tuning in. We can’t wait for everything that is to come!

    3. How to Write a Responsive Email

      We’ve been listening to you and, thus, have decided to start a soft skills professional development series. Be on the lookout for articles focused on building the soft skills necessary to have larger yields on your professional success. To start, let’s focus on the email, which is usually the first step. 

      Why do we email? We want info. Social security, zip code, credit card.. just kidding just kidding. But really, it’s because we want to (1) want to connect with someone and (2) typically learn something. Maybe you are reaching out about internship opportunities, asking a teacher about being in their research lab, or connecting with someone at your dream company to hear about their work. We want to support you and make sure you have the best odds of a response because these individuals can be critical for your success 

      We’ve all been there: sent an email to a cool person from LinkedIn and received no response. In fact, both of us were there until we learned how to write an email that got responses. We know this will seem basic, but hold on to this. You’ll never stop having to write emails, so let’s learn how to do it the right way. 

      First, what’s the layout of the email? Here are the 5 major parts of an email:

      • Intro/greeting: Introducing yourself and professionally greeting them
      • Body: Your goals, why you are reaching out. Essentially, the background information 
      • The request: Ask for a specific and direct request. It is helpful and clear to use a question mark, and if you are trying to set up a meeting, GIVE YOUR AVAILABILITY.
      • Wrap-up: Finish out the email formally
      • Email Signature: Adds professionalism to the email 

      That was the basic layout but let’s build this out further. Remember, the whole *point* of an email is to get a response, so your goal should be to connect with the receiver of the message and consider what in your email would get them to respond and why. 

      Intro: this is where you say hello and introduce yourself and your background

      1. Good morning/afternoon or Hi (want to maintain formality)
        • No ‘dear’ – it’s a little emotional/familial
        • “Hi” – for colleagues or people you know well
        • “Good morning/afternoon” – for professors and people you don’t know well
      2. Make sure you say their name not just the greeting word
        • Try to find their appropriate title (don’t assume all professors are “Dr.”)
        • Some people prefer to go by their first name, but don’t assume this unless you have previously talked to them or if in a response they say their first name 
      3. Introduce yourself!
        • Your name, major, brief relevant background, interests etc. 

      Body: this explains why you are reaching out to THEM and your goals in possibly connecting me with them

      1. How you know them
        • Were you connected to them?
        • Did you connect with them on Linkedin?
        • Were you on a website and found their name?
      2. Why you decided to reach out to them
        • Is there something you want to learn about?
          • Are they in a job or position you find appealing?
          • Did they do an opportunity you are considering?
        • Tip: give them something to relate to you with, a similar university organization, a connection they know, etc.
      3. Your goals of having a conversation with them
        • This is your chance to explicitly state why you want to talk to them

      Request: this is where you ask to connect with them, offer times over one or two weeks that you are available

      1. Ask: “Would you be willing to meet over the next two weeks? If so. here are times I am currently free”
        • ‘currently” is important because schedules can change depending on how long it takes for you to get a response
      2. Give literal dates: (i.e. Mon, Mar 7)
        • You want to make it as easy as possible for them to compare their calendar to yours
        • Reminder YOU are taking time out of their day, so be courteous and save an email exchange by giving times you are free
      3. Tip: Maybe ask to just talk about their background. Not even necessarily getting a job
        • At the same time, people you are talking to are busy, and they shouldn’t feel like you are wasting their time
      4. Tip: Don’t be too straight forward!! This can come off wrong
        • Don’t just say: “can you give me a referral?” or “can you connect me with a partner?” or anything out of line
        • You do not want the exchange to be or even come off as transactional

      Wrapping up: this is where you end the email

      1. Mention “thank you again!” and “please let me know if any of these times work for you”
      2. Wrap with a final greeting: “Hope you have a great afternoon!”
      3. Best, FIRST NAME
        • i.e. Best, James

      Email Signature: builds credibility and professionalism

      1. Times New Roman 11pt
      2. First line: First Last name (bolded)
      3. Second line: The University of XXX | Class of 202X
      4. Third line: Major(s) 
      5. Fourth line (optional): Minor(s); certificates
      6. Fifth line (optional): email/phone
      7. Sixth line (optional): position in relevant organizations

      Let’s take a look at some examples:

      To a prospective research mentor: This was written while looking for a research lab in biochemistry

      Good afternoon Dr. XX, 

      I am a current second-year student majoring in Biochemistry and Economics, and I am looking to get involved in research with biochemistry this upcoming semester. I was exploring the biochemistry website, and I found your research extremely interesting with Glycobiology. Through my coursework in genetics and biology, I have become familiar with sugars and the central dogma and am most interested in how your research applies outside of just studying OGN. I am currently finishing CHEM 2212, Organic Chemistry II, and I will be starting BCMB 4010 next semester as a third-year and have undertaken undergraduate research before. 

      I am interested in potentially obtaining an MD/PhD, and I want to build further research experience in the Biochemistry space. I have done research on Johns Hopkins and their programs as well and I would be extremely interested in hearing about your experience as a postdoc there. 

      Would you have time within the next month to talk about your research? I would greatly appreciate it and would love the opportunity. Below are some times I am currently available:

      • X, 
      • X
      • X
      • X

       Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns or what would be the best way to meet if you have time. I also have my resume attached below. Thank you so much! 

      Best, 

      Dawson 

      Dawson J. Templin (he/him)

      The University of Georgia | Class of 2025 

      A.B. Economics | B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

      Certificate: Personal and Organizational Leadership

      To an individual at a firm I was curious about: This was written to learn more about a company that I was considering applying to intern/have a full-time job at

      Hi XXX,

      I hope you are doing well!! I am planning on submitting my application within the next few days for [position] at [company] in the [city] office. If you have some time, would you be available to speak to me about your experience on XXX? I enjoyed  getting to connect with you in Athens a few months ago and would love to follow up. I would appreciate any guidance or support you can provide through the application process as well. I have listed some times that I am available next week below. I can be fairly flexible with my internship, so please let me know what works best with your schedule:

      – Mon, June 24th: before 3pm

      – Tues, June 25th: 8am-5pm

      – Wed, June 26th: before 5pm

      – Thurs, June 27: before 10am / after 12pm

      – Fri, June 28: 8am-5pm

      Do any of these times work for you? Thank you so much again, and I hope you have a great morning!

      Best,

      Saanvikha

      Saanvikha Saravanan (she/her)

      The University of Georgia | Morehead Honors College

      B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | A.B. Spanish

      Well, there you have it. I know this gave a brief template on how to write a successful cold email, but the most important thing the receiver is going to look for is genuinity. They want to see that you truly want to connect or talk with them, so make sure your email is personal and authentic. Don’t simply copy and paste the same template to each person you reach out to without taking the time to edit it based on what would be appropriate to the specific receiver. Remember, don’t write a novel, be on the briefer side (unless you reached out on Linkedin and they know you’re gonna write them). Try to form a connection with the recipient of the email (university, club, etc.) because this makes them more likely and excited to respond.
      If you have any questions, feel free to email us at [email protected] (haha get it?). But really, be on the lookout for more professional development soft skills and hope this helps you create excellent emails that get responses!

    4. How Our Restaurant Adventures Started

      How Our Restaurant Adventures Started

      Saying we love trying food and restaurants would probably be the understatement of the century. At least once a week (usually more), you can find us trying a new restaurant and dropping upwards of $40 on a meal 🙁. Oftentimes, it is an excuse for us to hang out with friends or spend quality time with others. We have found that food is an experience rather than simply eating food, but, you may be wondering how our restaurant adventures even started, and it’s a little different for both of us. 

      For Saanvikha – I quite literally grew up watching Food Network – Giada, Chopped, The Pioneer Woman, Holiday Baking Championship – you name it, and I’ve probably watched it with my mom. I loved testing new recipes, and it honestly is a little scary that I knew words like caviar, pâté, paris-brest at the age of 7. However, I didn’t really have the interest or the freedom to try restaurants until we studied abroad in Cortona. 

      Dawson’s story is a little different – I grew up the pickiest eater you’d ever meet. Coming from a military background in rural Missouri, the closest restaurant we had to modern civilization was a McDonalds. Similarly, studying in Cortona, Italy expanded my horizons, exposing me to rabbit, duck, pasta types and sauces, and I became entranced. Moreover, I spent the summer in Washington D.C. and fell in love with the food scene, often preferring to eat out than warm up some microwavable chicken. 

      Now that you have a little look into the origin of this newfound passion, let’s dive into something wonderful that came out of it – the discovery of Beli! Subtle flex, but we have introduced the app to so many people and practically forced them to download it. So, to all of our friends that now use Beli, you’re welcome for getting you into it. And to Beli, please sponsor us 🙂. For the rest of you, follow us at @dawsontemplin + @ssaravanan.

      We’ve absolutely loved using Beli to track all the food we’ve eaten from literally across the globe. It’s so useful to look back on and see what you’ve eaten and liked in the past, but it also is incredible for recommendations. It gives you a recommendation score for restaurants, cafes, and more based on your taste and rankings in the past for categories of (1) restaurants, (2) bars, (3) bakeries, (4) coffee & tea, and (5) ice cream & dessert. It is also great to remember when you ate at a restaurant and allows you to bookmark a place you have been wanting to try, a wonderful feature for when attempting to decide where to eat. If you follow us on Beli, you know that we give our honest thoughts and opinions about each place, but some of these highlights on Beli don’t have the full story behind everything we have tried. A lot of you have been asking for more fun stories so we will jump right in. 

      The Chase for Fine Dining

      Starting off strong, let’s head to Paris. This was during one of our weekend trips while studying abroad at Oxford University, so as you can imagine, it was chaotic and planned last-minute. We had a lot of places on our list to try, but we didn’t really account for the fact that we would need reservations for most restaurants on the fancy-ish side in Paris. So, while on the Eurostar train to Paris (which we barely made it on as Dawson had to run back to the house to get his passport), Saanvikha somehow was able to get a reservation at La Renommée for that same night. The catch was that we had about 30 minutes from the time we got to our Airbnb to make it to the restaurant but it was an hour walk away. Instead of taking the metro like normal people would, we decided to quite literally RUN to make our reservation (which we made) with time to spare. Shoutout La Renommée for introducing us to the best fries in existence. 

      The four days that Dawson visited New York over the summer were PACKED. Another restaurant is featured in the next section, but we decided to try out Le Jardinier, a French restaurant. What made this so memorable was getting to talk to a sommelier about her experiences and various alcoholic and non-alcoholic champagnes and wines. This sparked Dawson’s own interest in wine culture but also taught us to ‘appreciate wine as a food,’ a phrase we’ve heard often since Italy.

      London is famously known for its Indian cuisine, and when we got to London, we knew we wanted to try it out. Well, maybe reserve three months in advance. With our squad that pre-traveled the UK, we decided to make a reservation at Gymkhana, a 2** Michelin restaurant for Diwali, despite not knowing our class schedule or whether any of us could make it. For both of us, it is still one of our favorite meals to date.

      Unexpected Discoveries

      These three stories are ones we will probably mention a few more times, so get pumped. First, we wanted to recount our rabbit soup at Osteria del Teatro. This rabbit soup, to put it bluntly, looked extremely unappetizing. However, we were recommended to just try it, and it turned out to be the best dish out of 5 for that night. Osteria del Teatro was one of the first dining restaurants that really allowed us to expand our horizons.

      Second, comes the pesto gnocchi at Nocello, a restaurant just south of central park in New York City. To this day, this pasta is both of our number one ranked dish on Beli. When I tell you this was life changing, it literally changed our lives. Saanvikha heard of this restaurant from a mentor of hers, and we decided this restaurant out of a list of three when Dawson was in NYC the summer of 2024. Although it also looked like vomit, to put it lightly, it was a wonderfully unexpected discovery that has been a fun story to tell our friends about.

      Third, you never know what to expect when you enter a new city. While in Oxford, we took a scenic rail from Tirano, Italy to Chur, Switzerland on the way to Geneva. While waiting for the four hour train, we stopped at Leti, a local pizzeria. It was incredible pizza, it was amazing. The entire pepperoni and margherita pizzas were devoured on the trains, and it was a wonderful beginning to our scenic ride.

      Well, there you have it. We cannot share too many meals or restaurants or else you wouldn’t read anymore, and well, we still need to save stories to write about in the future. But, hope you enjoyed and possibly feel inspired to use Beli and see food as an experience and art rather than just something to consume. Be on the lookout for more food flicks to come!