When you think of a medium, most people think of someone dressed in a cheesy plush velvet robe reeking of patchouli, holding a voo-doo doll with pins in it. But take one look or have one conversation with the adorable, sweet and down to earth Rebecca Rosen and you will immediately say, “OMG I, like, totally want to be her BFFAE!” She could easily be the girl you sit on the couch with to watch GLEE, and she most certainly could be the friend you feel comfortable enough to vent all your problems to.

But what’s different about Rebecca is that she has more than just advice. She has real answers about your future and your past.  As a professional psychic medium she communicates with spirits on a regular basis – you know, dead people. Loved ones and spirit guides who linger around to provide advice and offer relief to the living.

As a Medium, Rebecca has wowed packed houses time and again with her gift.  I had the chance to attend a reading back in 2003. Having never met Rebecca before, and in a room full of hundreds of strangers, I was astounded and admittedly a little freaked out when she hit the nail on the head with incredibly accurate details 99% of the time.  And I was in shock when I realized without a doubt that my own grandfather had came through.

Ever since that reading, I have become intrigued by her work and the spirit world. I know not everyone is a believer, but for those who want to know more about life beyond death or how to communicate with our loved ones (be it for closure or for guidance when you hit that inevitable mid-senior year ‘what do I do with my life now?’ phase),  Rebecca wants everyone to know that we all have the power to connect to our loved ones on our own. She says the only difference is that she’s mastered a skill that we haven’t developed yet. In her new book, Spirited (hits stores Feb. 2010), she teaches us how to tap into our own intuitive knowing, as well as recognize and interpret spirit energy, a support system available at to us at any time.

I was able to pick Rebecca’s brain about what exactly she does and how this gift came to be and was so intrigued that I ran way over 5 questions… Read More »

Su on the right, Su's dress on the left. Hotness.

CollegeCandy loves lots of things, but two of our favorites? Fashion Week and terrific, creative college girls.

And guess what? There’s one fabulous female who brings our two favorite things together (besides peanut butter and chocolate): student and fashion designer, the lovely Su Beyazit.

Su, who hails from North Carolina and has ties to Turkey, resides in the Lower East Side of NYC and attends the New School (oh hey, Project Runway!) studying Integrated Design. Yes, she’s sick of answering, but indeed she has met Tim Gunn and was in an elevator with Miss Klum.

“She’s tall,” Su said of the encounter with Heidi, “Really tall.”

Su’s most recent design was spotted on “As the World Turns” star, Meredith Hagner on the red carpet for the daytime Emmy awards. Twenty two years old and already designing for the red carpet? Color me impressed.

I met with Su at a vegan cafe in the Lower East Side where we discussed fashion, grafitti and Frida Kahlo over veggie burgers and handmade drawings with the crayons provided for us. Su’s effervescent personality lit up the entire cafe. She demystifies the fashion industry and her personality sits at the opposite end of the spectrum of Rachel Zoe’s; it’s all smiles and no “ba-nanas” with this curly haired pin-up doll of a person.

The Five Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Back when I lived in Wilmington North Carolina, I had this boyfriend who was wild, and my good friend Anna was a wild child too. So one day my boyfriend at the time goes, “Let’s graffiti downtown!” We didn’t have any spray paint – all we had were these cans of interior paint and these brushes – so we dressed in all black and put on those cowboy neckerchiefs and went downtown to the roof of this brand new fancy parking lot.

So there we were, in all black, painting poetry and words in other languages on this giant white wall. It was everywhere – dark interior paint on this 30 foot tall wall in the parking lot. Read More »

After watching Heidi Montag totally embarrass herself in front of billions of people at the Miss Universe pageant, I was overwhelmed by my feelings of anger. Hatred? Obvi. Annoyance? Check. Fits of giggles? You know it. But my anger surprised me. Why was I so damn mad?

And then I realized: here was a girl that has zero (zilch, nada, NOTHING) talent getting the opportunity of a lifetime while there are so many real singers out there that the world is truly missing out on.

Singers like Jesse Palter, one of the best new artists I’ve heard in a long-ass time. Jesse, who is well known and celebrated for her abilities as a Jazz singer, has a rare voice and a distinct sound that you can’t help but fall in love with. Her latest music (which I just downloaded from iTunes and is already on my most played list….) makes you feel good. Feel happy. Feel like dancing around in your undies (even with the drapes open!). And on top of all that, this girl is a major sweetheart. I’m not sure what I love more – the girl or the music – but either way you should get to know Ms. Jesse Palter:

The 5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Trouble? Who, me? I’ve never gotten into any trouble! Except for the time I dyed my hair blonde and left my eyebrows dark brown… Does that count? That was TROUBLING!

2. What are the five things you can’t live without?
1. My ipod/record player!
2. The internet – Hello. My name is Jesse and I’m an addict.
3. My Crackberry…errrr, Blackberry
4. Piano. I’d go crazy if I had all these compositional ideas in my head and no tool to help get them out.
5. Chocolate. I’ve tried. And failed. Miserably. Read More »

Sarah Merion is a “Social Media” pioneer for Gen Y. She has her own website, SarahMerion.com, where she educates on Social Media and challenges people to think about using social media to benefit their business. She has a cult following on Twitter (check her out @SarahMerion) and has even hosted multiple workshops on using Twitter and LinkedIn at her campus at Northeastern and at MIT. Her RoofUp Tweetup was the biggest in Boston and Northeastern approved a grant she wrote to finance her trip to a Social Media conference in Chicago called SOBCon.

On top of all of that, she’s only 21 and still a student at Northeastern, studying Spanish, Management Information Systems and Finance, currently on internship in NYC doing data analysis for a mega media company. Not to mention, she’s sassy, hilarious and can we say: Coolest. Hair. Ever. When I discovered this girl, I knew I had to bag an interview, so I contacted her via YouTube to grab her attention (don’t laugh). It worked and we quickly began collaborating on this interview, on top of a few other projects in the works. Sarah Merion is an inspiration for college girls who want to be entrepreneurs while still in school and proof that maybe, just maybe, the finance world isn’t as screwed as we thought.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is your most ridiculous college memory/most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Haha, no comment. Definitely did not involve me dancing on a bar. Hoo boy.

2. What are five things you can’t live without?
1. MAC foundation.
2. iPhone! Hello Tweetdeck, I love you.
3. Pink and black Herve bag. I seriously carry it EVERY. WHERE.
4. Hanky Panky underwear
5. Classic cherry chapstick. Wait, no! Friends! The TV show. Oh also, vanilla Yoplait light yogurt. And Kashi GoLean. Kashi GoLean Crunch. Grande non fat cappuccino with one Splenda. Shoot, that’s more than five, isn’t it? Read More »

Natalie Ann Griffith is the epitome of cool. She’s a recent college grad (University of Michigan), she’s a dancer (professionally trained and all), and she just started her very own super chic line of accessories (seriously gorgeous). We kinda, sorta wanna be her. Or at least be her BFF/tester of all headbands.

We stumbled across her website while searching for the perfect headband for our birthday party and after spending an hour drooling over her work, we knew we just had to talk to her (and beg her to send us some!). Turns out, Nat is more than just a pretty face with amazing talent. She’s also incredibly inspiring and a great role model for young women everywhere. Get to know Nat and you’ll fall in love, too! Read More »

After stumbling across Caitlin Crosby’s music online, I have to give a big shout out to the boys over at Google. Had it not been for their little idea in a garage so long ago, I may never have been introduced to this talented girl and her unique sound. A sound that I seriously can’t get enough of.

Caitlin isn’t like most artists out there right now. First of all, she writes her own music. And she’s really good at it. Her songs are full of thought and ideas that you don’t normally find in an MP3. They make you happy, they make you sing, and they make you think. She also happens to be an incredible role model for all women, making it her goal to get all of us to love ourselves as we are.

I’ve pretty much fallen head over heels for this girl, so I was jumping for joy when she agreed to sit down and share her story with CollegeCandy. Get to know her a little bit, listen to her music and you’ll be playing her songs on repeat, too. Read More »

Overall, this is sad, but in a couple of weeks I’ll be getting nearly a G in tax returns.  Yeah, that’s a crapload of money.  But when I look back at all the hours I worked in 2008, it also makes me realize… I made jack sh*t.  Still, this hefty lump sum couldn’t come at a better time for me, as I’m watching my credit card debt grow, next month’s rent is looming on the horizon, and summer (aka a full-time waitressing gig) can’t come quick enough.

In reality, I’d love to take my refund check and spend it in one go at the mall, especially since warm weather means I have to chuck my so-worn-they-belong-in-the-What-Not-to-Wear-dumpster sweater boots, and I don’t have ANY cute flip flops to wear in their place.  But, since I’ve been struggling all winter, I am going to use this money wisely.  And by use “wisely,” I don’t necessarily mean put it back into the bank.  We all deserve to splurge every now and then, and here are some of the best guilty pleasures your tax refund can buy.

1.  Upgrade your phone.

Am I the only campus coed who has never known the joys of an iPhone or Blackberry?  I recently lost my cell in a drunken stupor, and, though I had been waiting for the summer to upgrade, I figured it’s now or never.  Best buy of my life.  I got a refurbished 16-gig iPhone for under $250.  And it’s not just a phone– I can check the weather without getting out of bed or waiting for Weather.com to load on my slow-ass computer, I can check my email for last minute class cancellations while on my way to a lecture, and once I figure out these apps, I’m pretty sure I can load a calorie counter onto my phone to use in the dining hall.  How did I live without this baby? Read More »

I know you’re all still swamped with the work you neglected over spring break and don’t even want to think about the fact that exams are just around the corner. That’s why I hate to break it to you, but if you’re planning on sacrificing your summer for an internship this year,  the time to start searching, applying, and interviewing was yesterday. But don’t worry – you can still start now!

Whether you’ve already pledged to yourself that an internship will be beneficial to your eventual career, or this article only just now put the idea into your head, it can be difficult to know where to look. After all, if we are going to spend the summer working for little or no pay, we want the best damn internship out there, don’t we? As a bit of an intern connoisseur (I have five under my belt), I’d like to help steer you in the right direction. Read More »

We’re halfway (kind of) through winter, which means that we’re closer to spring, closer to summer, and thus totally consumed with job and internship stress. If you’re anything like me, the prospect of sitting across from a scary Human Resources employee while interviewing for your dream job seems almost as bad as not getting Spring Break this year. What if your resume has a typo? What if you forget your cover or letter or your hangover manifests itself during the Q and A period? And, the worst possibility of all, what if you aren’t dressed right??

I have heard my fair share of interview outfit horror stories. A friend of a friend was stopped in the middle of describing her extracurricular activities and told that, in the future, she should try and wear a more “modest” top. My brother wore blue corduroys to an interview unaware of the fact that the company had a shirt and tie dress code. And I can only imagine the looks that some girls must get when they forget that American Apparel spandex do not – I repeat DOES NOT – qualify as pants. Read More »

Do people really love Valentine’s Day, or loathe it. We wanted to find out so we took to the streets.