Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Here's another cool place to check out while you've got some down time in Cedar Rapids.  I got to go because Heidi had to go for an Art History assignment and I tagged along.  It's about a fifteen minute walk from campus.  And with your campus ID, admission is free.  It's a small museum but really pretty.  Heidi was checking out the Roman exhibit which corresponded perfectly with my study of Western Civilization.  Some of their other collections include a Grant Wood collection, Malvina Hoffman (Rodin's last student), Czech and Slovak collection, and Mauricio Lasansky.  Here's the link to their website: http://www.crma.org/Default.aspx  It's a really nice place and you should check it out!

Coe Question of the Week

So Heidi and I have decided we are going to do a Coe Question of the Week.  Check here each week to find a new video of fun.  This week with fall starting up it has been a bit chilly and we needed some hot beverages, aka hot chocolate.  Heidi has decided to share her special recipe with you all so enjoy!

Question number one: How does a college student make hot chocolate in a college dorm room?

Hurray the PUB is open again! PUB Grand Opening!

So along with the caf there's another food option available to the Coe students: the PUB.  It's attached to Gage Union and PUB stands for Permanent Union Building.  This summer it was being remodeled because it was a little outdated.  I hadn't really seem the PUB during my visits to Coe so I was psyched to see how it turned out.  Coe hosted a grand opening last week and I decided to check it out.  The PUB is beautiful, I love how they remodeled it.  They serve Starbucks coffee, burgers, chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwiches, salads, slushies, and cappuccinos.  There are also a wide assortment of sugary goodness like candy, snack food, soda of all kinds, and desserts of all sizes and flavors.  So pretty much anything you want the PUB will probably have.  To buy your food you can use your Coe Cash or do a meal exchange so you don't have to eat in the caf for a meal.  The PUB also hosts bands and other activities, utilizing the stage space.  Although I haven't spent a lot of time in the PUB, I get a warm, cozy feeling when I walk in and have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot time there.  They are open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM and 7:00 - 11:00 PM, Fridays from 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM and Sundays from 4:00 - 11:00 PM.        

   

BAM! Awesomeness: Fun Things to do in Cedar Rapids

All right.  As much as college is about learning and growing as a student, a good college student knows when to take a night off and relax.  The great thing about Coe is that we are surrounded by the Cedar Rapids area and there is so much to do.  I've got two things you can do: Monday Night Bowling and Kernels Game.

Monday Night Bowling: How much does it cost you to bowl one game and rent a pair of shoes?  Probably a little bit more than you'd like to spend....except on Monday nights at Westdale Bowling Center everything is only a dollar.  Yes, you read that correctly, ONE DOLLAR.  Shoes, games, and even hot dogs and soda.  Located only ten minutes (by car) from Coe it's a great study break.  My friends and I checked it out the first Monday we were here and had a blast.  Homework's been a little heavy the past few Mondays but we hope to get back to the alley soon!  

Kernels Game: Cedar Rapids also has its own Minor League Baseball team called the Cedar Rapids Kernels.  Coe and the Kernels sponsored a Coe Night at the Kernels the first week I was on campus.  For only $3 I got a ticket to the game and a free kelly green t-shirt.  The field is about a six minute drive from Coe and students had to find their own transportation (which isn't too hard to do).  It was a beautiful night and the Kernels won!  It was another nice study break because who doesn't love baseball, popcorn, peanuts and pretzels!

Classes at Coe

So I'm three weeks into my first year of college and I'm loving it here at Coe.  This post is dedicated to my classes at Coe.  Here you need 32 credits to graduate.  Some of these credits will be earned through your General Education requirements which are pretty much classes that contribute to your liberal arts education.  And then of course you're taking classes for your major(s) and minor(s).  "Normal" classes meet either two or three times a week and are worth 1 credit.  There are also other "small" classes, such as music lessons, music ensembles, gym, etc. that are worth fractions of a credit.  Each semester you can earn a total of 4.9 credits; any more and you'll have to petition Coe.  This semester I'm taking 4.9 credits.  Here's what I'm taking:

- African American Literature (1.0 credit)
- French 315: Conversation and Composition (1.0 credit)
- FYS (First Year Seminar): Tempestuous Season (studying the 2008 Recession and 1.0 credit)
- History of Western Civilization (1.0 credit)
- Clarinet Lessons (0.3. credit)
- Concert Band (0.3. credit)
- Topics in Composition (0.3 credit, part of being a Writing Center Consultant)

Most of my classes meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  It's definitely a new feeling of only have classes three times a week instead of five but I like it because it gives me more time to do my homework.  My classes have been really great so far; each class is pretty different from the others so I get a nice sampling of subject matter each day.

It's Your Time: Orientation 2010 Recap!

Hey hey!

So I feel I should fill you in on what happened during my Orientation Week.  It was a long week, filled with so much to do and learn.  But instead of giving you a play by play, I'm going to sum it up into the top 14 facts/details/events (in no particular order) about the week since I am part of the class of 2014! Enjoy! :)

1. Meeting my FYS (First Year Seminar Group) classmates and my CAP (College Adjustment Peer) leader.
2. Dragon Boat Racing

3. Late Night Ice Skating
4. Ringing the Bell (You get to ring the bell twice at Coe: once when you're a freshman and once when you graduate)
5. Day of Community Service
6. Target run for dorm items I had forgotten!
7. The mad rush to sign up for classes
8. Convocation
9. All Halls Ice Cream Social
10. Frederick Winters; Hypnotist.  Let me tell you some of the people who were hypnotized were CRAZY but that made it hilarious!
11. International Roommate Workshop (I got to meet a lot of the international students)
12. Eating dessert with President Phifer and touring his AMAZING house
13. Playing beach volleyball and enjoying the sun and water at Pleasant Creek State Park
14. Moving In Day Skits with our CAP groups

Hailley at Coe

Okay so I'm on campus but I'm sure you're probably wondering where I live, who my roomie is and what else I do on campus when I'm not doing homework.  Well never fear, all those questions will be answered in this post.

I live in Murray Hall and I have two roommates for the first semester.  First there is Heidi, also known as my "twin".  She is from Batavia, Illinois and she's amazing.  It's kind of a funny story of how we met because in the end we requested each other when roommate forms came out.

Our story goes like this: in February her family and my family met when we ended up going to observe the same English class.  Her dad and my dad hit it off and we did too.  We saw each other a few other times during the weekend and then we went our separate ways.  As the months rolled on I wondered, "What college did Heidi end up choosing?" We hadn't exchanged emails or phone numbers so there was no way to get in touch with her.  April came and I was back on Coe's campus for the Writing Center Competition.  When it was time to get into our groups I was looking at the other members and suddenly, there was Heidi.  She and I ended up in the same group, how crazy is that?  We connected instantly and had a great time with the Writing Center.  As the day went on I learned she too was undecided like myself but she was choosing between Purdue and Coe.  At the end of the day we exchanged emails and phone numbers and decided to keep in touch.  And we did.  We are both fans of extra long emails and we talked about everything.  In these emails we learned we have literally everything in common.  We kept telling each other that if we both ended up going to Coe we would be roommates.  One day Heidi sent me an email telling me she had decided on Coe.  But I still didn't know yet.  And then, like I told you earlier, one day I knew it was Coe.  I sent Heidi an email in all caps saying I had chosen Coe.  She flipped!  We were both so excited.  And then we knew fate had stepped in and now we must be roommates.  So we requested each other and BAM we're roommates.  People also think we are twins/sisters; we gotten so many "Are you two related?"  We joke with them and say we are because we like the same things and apparently we look alike, although our other closer friends don't really think so.

Heidi and Hailley :)

Our other roommate is Sabrina who's a foreign exchange student from Germany!  She is super sweet and Heidi and I are so glad she's our roommate.  We even are learning some German!  Unfortunately, she's only here for a semester so we'll be sad to see her leave.

Hailley, Sabrina and Heidi aka the proud occupants of Murray 607

Murray is a great place to live.  It's the tallest building on campus with NINE floors.  There are two elevators and each floor gets to paint their lobby area to add style and character to the floor.  Right now ours is a "lovely" picture of Bart Simpson because our floor use to be a boys floor.  Luckily we have chosen a new picture to paint over Bart and will be doing that soon, yippee!  Murray houses students from freshman to senior and also many of the international students.  It's a great place to meet lots of people.  Our basement houses a full kitchen, seven washers, eight dryers, two TVs and a pool table.

The other dorms housing our friends are Armstrong, Greene and Voorhees.  Armstrong is the all freshman coed dorm.  It's got five floors of us freshman.  No elevator but they just redid the bathrooms (which are SUPER nice).  Heidi and I enjoy chilling in Armstrong.  Greene is the all boys dorm and Voorhees is the all girls.  We don't visit Greene or Voorhees very much but as you might guess, Greene smells a lot like boys and Voorhees is a really quiet and really well kept dorm (because it houses all girls). 

I'm hoping to get some video of our room and rooms in other residence halls.  The pictures on the Coe website (http://www.coe.edu/campuslife/housing) give you a pretty good idea of what they're like but I think some video might give you an even better idea.  I'll work on it.

At Coe I'm planning on majoring in English and Creative Writing.  I'm also interested in French and History and that's one of the great things about Coe is their approach to liberal arts; I'm free to explore my other interests.  But I'll discuss my classes and whatnot in a later post.

Also I've got two jobs on campus.  The first is as a Writing Center consultant at the Writing Center.  Now I realize I better expand on what the Writing Center is.  Coe's Writing Center is one of the largest Writing Center's in the US.  Our staff is over 70 and we're the only college to employ incoming freshman like myself.  The goal of the Writing Center is to make better writers and provide a place for positive and constructive feedback for Coe students working on papers.  So whether a student is stuck on what to write about, they need help with their first draft or just want someone with fresh eyes to read their paper, the Writing Center is here to help.  Our advisor is Dr. Bob and he makes sure the Writing Center is in tip top shape.  Although I've only worked in the Writing Center a handful of times and have had only had a few conferences, I can tell I'm going to love working there.  I think it's fun when a student comes in and I'm there to help them.  My second job is a Coe Work Study and I'm working in the cafeteria.  The caf is a pretty important place because kids need their food.  So far I'm having a pretty good time.

The other big extra thing I'm doing as of right now is playing in Coe's Concert Band and taking clarinet lessons.  I've played the clarinet since sixth grade and adore it.  I'm taking lessons with Dr. Carson who is also the director of the Concert Band.  I've got a lesson once a week, a clarinet seminar with four other clarinet students and band rehearsal twice a week.  Add in practice time and I keep myself pretty busy.  All the music classes are held in Marquis Hall.    

So that's what happening with me.  Upcoming posts include a recap of the first weeks at Coe and more!  Enjoy! :)

My College Search Process

Hey everyone,

So I think it's time to tell you about how I ended up coming to Coe.  At first, I was really overwhelmed with all the colleges out there.  How on earth would I pick one, I thought to myself.  Finally when the end of my junior year came around I started to really look at colleges.  I visited some in Wisconsin such as Lawrence University and Marquette and also decided to check out colleges in Iowa.  During August the summer before my senior year I visited three private Iowa colleges as part of Iowa's Private College Week: Drake University, Cornell and Coe.  My mom, sister and I made the trek to Iowa and we had a great time.  Coe was my last stop on our trip and Coe really made an impact.  My mom always tells people that during my visit to Coe I leaned over to her and said, "Mom I can really see myself here."  And I could.  But it was still too early to tell.

Senior year began and I ended up applying to five colleges: Augustana (Rock Island, IL), Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI), Drake University (Des Moines, IA), Luther College (Decorah, IA) and Coe.  I was accepted at all five but it wasn't until January did my college search process kick into high gear.  My mom, dad and I visited each of the colleges, usually during their scholarship weekend and also tried to observe some classes.  We had it down to a science: we wanted to see an English class (since I'm interested in majoring in English), a French class (because I love French) and a Psychology class (because I loved taking AP Psychology in high school).  We also met with the music professors at each college because I was interested in continuing my clarinet playing.  This is really nice because I was able to judge the colleges on a fair playing field because I looked into the same things at each college.  I meet a lot of people on my visits and learned so much about each college.  But still no choice.  As the May 1st deadline got closer people kept asking, "So Hailley where are you going next year?"  And I would always say, "I don't know but I have until May 1st you know!"  

Once April came around I was down to two colleges: Luther and Coe.  To try to make my final and biggest decision I visited Luther and Coe one final time.  I observed similar classes at each one and meet with professors in the same areas.  And suddenly one week, I knew: it was Coe.  I don't remember the exact moment I knew but one day it was just clear.  For me, Coe had everything I wanted: small campus, small class sizes, a strong English and Creative Writing programs, the Writing Center, a band I could see myself playing in, and a campus community I knew I could become a part of.  It was one of the best feelings in the world when I decided Coe.  My mom continues her story of me choosing Coe by saying that I was on cloud nine when I picked Coe.  "She was just so happy, it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders," she tells everyone.  And it was.

To talk a little bit more about my visits to Coe I made three: one in August (Iowa's Private College Week), one in February for Scholarship Weekend, one in April for the Writing Center Competition.  During Scholarship Weekend I did an overnight which was a lot of fun and gave me a chance to really see what students do on campus.  I stayed with a girl named Amber who is now a senior at Coe.  One of the things that really attracted me to Coe was knowing people and just the people I met when I was with Amber smile and wave at me when I see them around campus today.  That feeling of acceptance and acknowledgement is such a great feeling and one of Coe's strongest attributes.  I also talked to a current Coe student who happened to be a Boy Scout in the troop my dad and brother are a part of.  We had coffee and hot chocolate one night during Coe's Winter Break and he gave me the scoop on why he loves Coe.  It was nice hearing from him because he was really passionate about Coe and you could tell he was loving there.  

So my college search process was intense but it led me here.  Get ready for the next post: where I live and who I live with on campus!

Hi! I'm Hailley

Hey everyone!

Well, this is my first blog post, whoo!  My name is Hailley and I'm part of Coe's class of 2014.  I am from Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, a city of about 6,900 people.  Mt. Horeb has a deep Norwegian heritage and a love of trolls (we are the Troll Capital of the world you know) and roundabouts.  We are also about twenty minutes west of Madison, Wisconsin which is very nice.  In Mt. Horeb I live with my parents, a brother, Aaron, who's a junior in high school and a sister, Hannah, who's in eighth grade.  I attended Mt. Horeb High School, (home of the Vikings!) and my graduating class had 185 students.  Overall, my high school had a little under 800 students.  At my high school I was really active participating in Student Council, National Honor Society, forensics (public speaking), volleyball, band (played the clarinet), choir and a whole bunch of other stuff.  High school was a lot fun for me but at the same time I was psyched to go to college.  Outside of school I held a job shelving books at our public library (by the way, I ADORE books, reading and writing).  Some other stuff I like to do include, watching and or making movies, helping my little sister and her teammates play volleyball, watching my brother play soccer, riding bikes, going on walks, hanging out with my friends, ice skating, having International Dinner (making food from other countries) with my friends, and baking (especially cookies!).

So how did I, a girl from Mt. Horeb end up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa?  Well you'll just have to wait for my next post to find out!