As some of you may have noticed, I recently changed my Odyssey bio from "pre-Commerce" to "Commerce," which means that yes, I am now a student in the McIntire School of Commerce at UVa.

Overall I'm loving it, and I've already learned many useful and practical skills that I hope will help me in the job market going forward.

However, I can't help but chuckle at the many "oh-so-Comm" qualities I've noticed about the school that distinguish it from the rest of UVa in a slightly amusing way, and I'm not even talking about the extra tuition.

1. Rouss and Robertson are one building, but also technically two different buildings, and no one knows which is which

I believe that technically, Robertson is the addition to the Comm school that was built about 10 years ago, and Rouss is the original building in the location of the current Comm school. However, they're attached, which makes it very confusing when looking at classes online and trying to figure out where they are in Rouss vs. Robertson.

2. On any given day, there are multiple career services events happening at the exact same time in the same building

Comm students certainly have no shortage of opportunities to meet with employers and learn about prospective areas of study, but it can be hard to keep track of just how many events are constantly happening throughout the Comm school, especially in the Fall.

However, this means that if a student is well-organized, they'll never lack chances to advance their job or internship search, which is something in which the Comm school greatly prides itself.

3. Every single third year has their own mailbox, in which grades are returned in confidentially sealed envelopes

I was not aware that I'd made it to "mailbox status" as an undergrad until I rolled up to the Comm school on my first day of class and was informed that I now had a mailbox to my name. I'm always a bit amused by the white envelopes officially labeled "CONFIDENTIAL" that appear in my mailbox every week.

They always make me think irrationally that I'm being tapped for a secret society, though they're often just there to inform me of satisfactory progress.

4. The syllabus for our Fall ICE block is 45 pages long

While overwhelming, this is actually a huge blessing because it describes exactly when we're having each section of our block for the whole semester and when every assignment is due. It's basically been my bible this year, and I pray to it whenever I'm stressed hoping that a deadline will be extended.

5. I get an average of 9-10 emails a day from the Comm School alone

If I thought I received a lot of emails from UVa as a Pre-Comm student in the College, that number has at least doubled since I entered the Comm school. I don't mind this so much since these emails usually contain helpful career services updates or class reminders. McIntire prides itself on clear and thorough communication with its students, and I can say first hand that it certainly delivers on this front.

6. Many students admit that they spend more time on internship recruiting than they do on actual schoolwork

Since I'm not applying for internships in finance, consulting, or accounting, my internship recruiting process so far has been a little light, consisting mostly of visiting career fairs, doing some company research, and attending informational sessions.

However, students who are recruiting in the three areas I listed above seem to often favor recruiting work over school work. It is important to devote considerable time to internship recruiting, but Comm students discuss their recruiting schedule as if it were a class schedule.

Whether this is due to pride or anxiety, I'm not sure, but I'm wishing them well from afar while I slowly acknowledge the amount of networking I still have to do.

7. The Capital Markets Lab has a constant screen crawl of stock prices, world news, and major headlines scrolling around the entire room, 24/7

I really can't complain about this too much, because it's how I found out that Justin Timberlake would be performing the Super Bowl halftime show in 2018. Still, it can be kind of distracting to have giant letters constantly moving above my head like a reminder in a bad dream.

However, the news crawl does help keep me awake when I'm nodding off in my Quantitative Analysis class or struggling through homework late at night.

8. It has its own version of Lighting of the Lawn in the courtyard, appropriately named, "Lighting of the Courtyard"

I feel like the creative students in the Marketing and Promotions classes could come up with a slightly more original name for this festive event, but beyond that, I keep forgetting that McIntire actually has its own courtyard lighting separate from the official University event. Kidding aside though, I'm sure that this is a lovely event.

9. All third year ICE blocks compete to earn points towards the "McIntire Cup," which is eerily reminiscent of a certain other "house cup" we all know

This particular McIntire quirk reminds me so much of Harry Potter that I keep a wary eye out for Filch whenever I'm at the Comm school late at night, just in case he docks me house points for being in the halls after hours. There's even a picnic in the Spring to crown the winner of the McIntire cup, just like the end of year banquet in Harry Potter where they announce the house cup winner.

We may as well just start carrying wands to class and correcting our classmates on their pronunciation of "Leviosa."

10. Instead of just calling itself a normal "business school," McIntire gave itself a name that most people initially confuse with a Communications degree

Despite McIntire's consistently high standing among undergraduate business schools worldwide, it has an admittedly confusing name. I've on several occasions had to clarify my field of study to inquiring minds who hear "Comm" and immediately think "Communications." I suppose this fits in well with the UVa culture of having randomly nontraditional names for things.

Remember, it's not "History," but rather it's "Civics And Society From The Days Of Yore."

11. There are constantly students strutting confidently around the Comm school in business casual attire

With the sheer number of on-grounds interviews that Comm students get, not to mention the many business casual seminars that third years attend in their ICE classes, it is extremely common to see streams of students walking around in semi-professional garb. Jackets, ties, and pencil skirts, oh my!

Still, whenever I see someone randomly dressed up, I always internally wish them well on whatever business event they're rushing off to. It's never too early to practice dressing for the job you want.

The McIntire School of Commerce may have the above distinguishing factors that set it apart from other schools at UVa, but on the whole these factors emphasize how much it truly cares about the success and happiness of its students. I'm thrilled to be part of a community that is teaching me so many practical and interesting skills, and I look forward to progressing through the rest of ICE and into my 4th year electives next year.