Weekend Before Finals Recap

Sorry this is so late. I've had this post waiting to be published but hadn't put the final "Hailley touches" on it. So here it is, better late than never! :)

My last weekend on campus was a memorable one. I had planned on spending Friday night catching up on some homework and it started out that way until I got a text from my friend Joe. He wanted to know if I was interested in co-hosting Blindspot (our talent show on campus) with my other friend Reid. Joe usually hosts but was feeling a little under the weather.

I decided I couldn't pass up a chance to host Blindspot so said yes and 30 minutes later, I was standing in the Dows Theater with Reid discussing our intro. It was a lot of fun and I did well! After Blindspot, I hung out with Reid and his friends and we played a version of Apples to Apples. Again, more fun and a great way to celebrate a week of hard work.

Saturday was spent doing homework and prepping for finals. After a full day of school work, it was time for Coe Monologues.

Coe Monologues was a brand new event this year hosted by our chapter of V-Day, an organization trying to end violence against women. Usually V-Day is active in the spring but this year they wanted to do events in the fall as well. In October, you could submit your own personal monologue and then it could be read anonymously in December. The subject was being a woman, sex, sexuality, and relationships specifically on Coe's campus. I wrote a monologue about my mom and the idea of being strong. I decided to read my own monologue on Saturday. Some people knew it was me and other thoughts I was just reading what someone else had submitted.

Of course, Saturday wasn't my first day reading my monologue. There were 14 readers and 21 monologues that were read in a two-act performance. We had four practices and then our performance. People who came on Saturday were asked for a $3 donation to Waypoint which supports children, women, and families in the Cedar Rapids area. We were able to raise over $350 that night!

It was a fantastic performance. The people there were great audience members and the readers definitely fed off of them well. I am so thankful in being able to read my monologue and be a part of something so fantastic. After the show, I got flowers from the wonderful Alison W. and then went out to dinner with Whitney, Chelsea, and Chelsea's mom.

Sunday was more studying, (what's new?), as well as the final Writing Center dinner. It's weekends like these that remind me why I love Coe so much.

FINALS. Completed.

Hello readers!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Finals definitely consumed my life and I finished up my last one last Friday. I then spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday packing and cleaning up. My dad, brother, and sister arrived on Sunday and we moved my things out of Coe and back to Wisconsin! Hard to believe I won't be coming back to campus in January but instead, heading to New York City. Can't wait.

So now I'm at home, relaxing after a difficult but rewarding semester and gearing up for my next adventure. I'll post a recap on my last weekend before finals because a lot of great stuff happened as well as a post revealing what my internship will be this spring. Then I'll probably be absent for a while as I enjoy the holidays with my family and friends. Expect a post in early January recapping 2012 and then I'll start back up once I head to NYC and begin my spring semester.

Lots to look forward to. Happy holidays!

Last Day of Classes!

If you can believe it, yesterday was my last day of classes. Today is Reading Day, a day devoted to students studying before final exams start on Wednesday.

I seriously cannot believe this semester is almost over. I have one clarinet jury, two finals, and one final paper to complete between now and Friday. Then I'll pack up everything and move back to Wisconsin since I'll be in New York this January. So so so crazy.

Even though it's Reading Day, I still have a full plate of things to do. They include:

• Practicing my clarinet for my jury on Wednesday.
• Mail the recently printed The Coe Reviews to poets not on Coe's campus. 
• Support my friend Courtney as the play she wrote in her advanced playwriting class is performed. 
• Lunch with my friend Alexis.
• Help host the publication release event for The Coe Review.
• Work in the Writing Center.
• And OF COURSE, study for my finals and work on my final paper.

Never a dull moment right? Because I'll be busy with school, I've queued a few posts to entertain you until I'm all done with finals! Enjoy! :)

B&F Day: Another One in the Books

So, if you haven't heard, I'm completing my second semester as Student Senate Treasurer. It's one of my favorite club positions to hold on campus because it's a great way for me to interact with clubs and see all the great things they are doing.

One of my responsibilities is to hold Budget and Finance Day, a grand old day where every club on campus that would like money for the next semester presents in front of the committee. The committee has the right to approve or deny aspects of the budget. It's a long day (we start at 8 AM) but it's worth it.

So on snowless December 1st, I woke up and drove to Bruegger's to get bagels for the committee. My committee started showing up around 7:50 AM and we started the budget presentations shortly after 8 AM. We went until lunch and then took a break for Panchero's. Then we went back to budgets.

L to R: Hailley, Alexis, Peter, and Ashley

Overall, it was a great day. It was nice because I had run the day before so I knew what to expect. I'm glad it went well but I'm also glad it's done.

Post B&F, I came back to my apartment, did a little homework, and then had a few friends over to unwind after a full day. It was nice to have people over, recapping the day, or just talking about finals, Winter Break plans, and our lives in general. Perfect example of my kohawk family.

Chocolate gold coins were being thrown at us because we're GOLDEN! :)

New York Term Update

New York is so close. I can almost feel it. While I'm mentally preparing for this adventure, I'm also still working on securing an internship.

I've applied at several places and now I'm scheduling interviews. It's exciting because I know all my hard work over the past two years in the classroom and in clubs on campus is really paying off. I am a qualified candidate!

We also had a meeting a few weeks ago, which gave me more details about our stay. Steven, the director of the program (and also a theater professor on campus) has lots of friendly tips and pieces of advice. I've also been talking to past Coe students who have been on the term to gain their insight. It's slowly setting in that this is finally happening. It's exciting.

That's all I can really say. Over and over again. I'm pumped.

Papers, papers, papers

School work is truly taking over my life. This is what happens when I take four writing emphasis classes in one semester. Whoops. Oh well, you should know by now that I love to write.

I'm currently knee deep in research for two ten page papers. The first is for my Honors class. It is about novels about the Vietnam War by Vietnamese authors. It's a fascinating topic. I've read two pretty influential novels by the so called "victors" and then have read lots of criticism about American fiction on the Vietnam War as well as criticism on Vietnamese fiction. This paper will be my final project and assignment in this class. I completed a rough draft before Thanksgiving Break and now am working on the revisions. Next week, I have to give a short presentation to my class about how I conducted my research and what I learned. It will be pretty informal but it will be nice to share everything I've been learning about to my peers.

My second paper is for my 18th century literature class. It's on a short story by Eliza Haywood called Fantomina. It's a great story and if you haven't read it, you probably should. A quick and fun read, I promise you. But I'm taking about disguise and gender roles of the time. I've just started researching; I've read a lot but now I need to start fine tuning this research and turning it into a paper.

So needless to say, I'm keeping busy. But I enjoy it, I promise. I feel that I've evolved as a writer since I was a freshman. Both these topics interest me and I know that I wil turn in fantastic papers. Might get a little stress in the next three weeks but hey, it will be okay.

Three weeks left!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. For me, it was nice to go home and see my family. I of course ate too much food and chose to sleep instead of braving the Black Friday crowds.

But that doesn't mean I didn't do any homework over break, believe me, I was busy with readings and other various assignments.

Because I have three weeks left. Two weeks of class and then finals week. Really, really, really hard to believe. Then it will be Winter Break and then in January I will not head west but instead, east for NEW YORK CITY.

Woah.

Yeah. So everyone on campus is feeling the daunting approach of finals. We are buckling down and ready to go!

Thanksgiving Break!

It's break here on campus and I'm getting ready to head back to Wisconsin. Can't wait to take a little breather before finals!

I'll write more later, but just wanted to check in!

XY Unlimited Adventure!

If you've been a faithful reader for a while, you might remember this past March I made a trip up to Minnesota. I went to NACA, a conference were student activity committees got together to network and also to book events for the upcoming school year. As treasurer, I got the opportunity to go along and see what SAC does. It was a fantastic experience, I learned a lot, and saw some amazing performers.

My favorite performance though was probably the band XY Unlimited. They were adorable and just fantastic. They were the roving band which meant they spent one day just bopping around, serenading people with their music. Whitney and I spent a fair amount of time at their booth, chatting them up. We ended up booking them and they performed on Wednesday.

Needless to say, I was pumped. Real pumped. After Senate, I met Whitney and the band in the PUB and we headed to Panchero's for pre-show dinner. It was nice to see them again and chat with them. They are four great guys doing what they love, playing music.

After dinner and a quick detour to Best Buy and the Guitar Center, it was back to campus for their performance.

And they did not disappoint.
Four part, beautiful vocal harmony.

Ahhh life.

So the video I just posted is definitely one of my favorite songs they sang. This was not recorded at Coe, but I needed to post something so you could hear how awesome they are! 

Post concert, they were swamped with brand new fans. Once everyone cleared out, Whitney and I got our required picture. I've posted both pictures, the one from NACA and then the one from now! :) What a perfect way to end my Wednesday.

JUNIOR YEAR

NACA 

A slow start, but a good day

Happy Tuesday!

Thanksgiving Break is within reach, but much will need to be done before I can head back to Wisconsin for a nice little break.

Today was a little bit of a slow start. I've had to stay up pretty late the past couple of nights working on outlines and plans for two research papers (Honors and 18th century literature) and so sleep has not been a consistant thing. Because of this, mornings have been a little slow to get going.

When I woke up, a little later than expected, I knew I better get going. I had lunch with my fellow junior clarinetist, Elise, at Zio Johno's, which is right across First Avenue. It was delicious and so nice to catch up with Elise! Just like me, she has been extremely busy with her music education major classes and other musical activities.

After lunch, I received an email to set up my first potential interview for New York this spring. It's at a literary magazine called A Public Space and I'm quite excited. I've been working hard at applying to a variety of companies on top of homework, work, and club involvement. Nice to see one starting to move forward!

Then it was homework time until my weekly Budget and Finance committee meeting. We are currently gearing up for Budget and Finance Day (December 1st). I'm excited but also will be glad once it's over (that means I gain A LOT of time back in my life). But in all seriousness, I love being the Student Senate Treasurer. It allows me to work with so many great clubs and help them do amazing things. I also like to think I help to empower clubs by making the whole receiving money part less stressful!

It wouldn't be a day without a little coffee and so I hit up Starbucks with two fellow English majors, Millie and Ashley. We have a short explication on the novel we are working with for our final paper due tomorrow, so we drank coffee, gave each other conferences, and finished our papers.

Now, I'm back in the library, hard at work at blogging and other various homework. Shouldn't be too late of a night; my body clearly needs some rest!

Campus Visit Day Recap!

Boy, did Coe have a great Saturday!

My blog cards!

First, at 9 AM, there were so many fantastic prospective students and their families on campus. It was nice to meet so many interesting students who are thinking about being Kohawks.

As always, I love Campus Visit Days. There is just that buzz in the air. When people were checking in on the main floor of the library, I was on the second floor, at the blogging table. Yes, you heard right, a blogging table. It's a great way to promote our blog and we even have a nifty business card to give students. This time, we were conveniently placed next to the Writing Center display so I got to do double duty. What I didn't realize when I was talking to prospective students was that many of them would end up being in my tour group!

But before the tour, there was a panel. I started doing panels during Iowa's Private College Week and now I can't get enough of them. It's just fun to interact with the students and their parents and it allows me to share my passion for Coe with a large group of people. This time, the panel had current students, professors, and even an alum who was here for the football game. It was a fun group and they asked a lot of really great questions. I even got to talk about New York term since I'm getting pumped up for it. Literally cannot wait for January.

Anywho, once the panel was over, it was tour time. My escort today was Jordan, who was actually one of students I worked with last fall in my role of a writing fellow. I've seen her several times on campus since I was her tutor, but it was nice to be reunited with her for a longer period of time. As I mentioned earlier, I ended up touring all English/Creative Writing/Writing/Theater students, which was perfect!

After a successful tour (it was pretty nice outside), I dropped them off for lunch and then went to do my own thing. My own thing consisted of homework and lots of it.

Other good Coe news, our football team beat Central today so we ended our regular season UNDEFEATED. Yep, true life. Selection for the NCAA DIII tournament is today so we will see where Coe is placed. Exciting, exciting.

Thursday Afternoon Poetry Reading

Dan Poppick. Courtesy of Thermos

What I love about our English department is that we enjoy having events throughout the semester to show what our peers and professors are doing. Last Thursday was one of those events.

For the longest time, our resident poet was Ann Struthers. She retired and our new poetry professor, Dan Poppick, has been having a great time on campus so far. I actually interviewed him for my journalism class. He has a fascinating story and he is also an excellent poet. I'm telling you all this because Dan gave a poetry reading on Thursday.

He read to a pretty full house. Instead of standing behind a podium, he stood in the middle and used gestures and movement to enhance his reading. At first, he was a little nervous but as he kept reading, he became quite comfortable.

It was nice Thursday afternoon study break and it was cool to hear some of his own work.

Since I've been doing so much writing this semester, I'll also include the profile I wrote for my journalism class. Hopefully that gives you a little more insight into Dan!

Dan Poppick had not planned on being a poet. He was a fiction writer as an undergraduate but often had difficulties writing short stories. In his last semester as an undergraduate at Kenyon College, Poppick took a poetry class on a whim.

It was a class that changed his life.

The class was taught by G.C. Waldrep who was a visiting professor. While in the class Poppick got over his writer’s block. “I could write again,” Poppick said. “Writing just became another thing.”   

From there, Poppick decided to escape, going to a beautiful place where he knew no one so he could just write. This mysterious place was Missoula, Montana. Poppick secured a crappy job and spent six months there. Although he faced a dreary winter, Poppick got a lot out of the adventure. “I did write,” said Poppick. “It was a very tense experience, and I came out of it a little shaken. But I got through it and it proved to me that I could make a place for writing.” 

It was this experience that helped Poppick realize he could become a poetry professor. “It’s the only job that feels like a worthy cause,” he said. 

Poppick was hired this past year as an adjunct assistant professor of English at Coe College with his emphasis being poetry. He gives off the stereotypical “poet” vibe. Embracing plaid, Poppick knows how to dress well, complimented with a well-trimmed beard. He is easy-going, speaking quietly yet speaking with a passion for poetry and teaching. Within his first month on campus, Poppick has become part of Coe’s academic culture. 

He is teaching a poetry workshop along with a topics in creative writing class. A current student said he is an engaging professor and brings unique material to read and discuss. They also said he keeps the class up to date with literary events happening in the area, encouraging his students to take advantage of these opportunities. 

A typical class with Poppick consists of one-third talking about the craft of poetry and two-thirds workshopping the student’s poems. The class starts with a conversation assigned poems. Poppick’s selections are usually by post-war poets written in the 19th and 20th century. 

Throughout the semester Poppick will adapt the assigned poems based on his students as he gets to know them. This creates a freestyle atmosphere which is exactly what Poppick wants. He has a specific emotion he wants his students to have when reading the assigned poems. “I want to move away from a poem that leaves somebody feeling warm and fuzzy,” Poppick said. “I want poetry to be a striking experience.” 

After an adequate discussion, Poppick moves into the workshop portion of the class. Two students are workshopped at a time. When asked why Poppick explained, “I like poetry that can be in a conversation.” By having two students with different styles of writing workshopped at the same time, the discussion can bring out the quirks and qualities of each set of poems.  

Poppick is enjoying his job and working with Coe students. “I’ve been most impressed that Coe students seem to be game for just about anything,” he said. “Even when my students are resistant to a poem, they are willing to talk about why they are resistant.” 

Being the only poetry professor on campus is not always easy -- Coe lacks aspiring poets. “I would love if there would be a vibrant poetry community that was open to heated arguments,” Poppick said. “That’s where the magical side of learning happens. When you are arguing about something at three in the morning.”   

It is clear Poppick wants to make a difference. When asked about what he would like to accomplish in his first year, Poppick said, “If I can be here for a year and know that people are talking about poetry after the class ends, then I know I will have done my job.” 

  

What are you doing this weekend?

Yes, yes, it's only Monday but hey, the weekend is fast approaching. I know that my weekend will consist of homework (lots of paper writing) but also a fun Admission adventure. Campus visit day! If you'd like to see campus on a Saturday morning, this Saturday would be the day to do it! Sign up here!

Not only will you be able to meet a bunch of Coe students, hear from professors, take a tour, but you can even check out our last home football game. Our football team is doing fantastically this year, winning conference last weekend. We are playing Central and it should be a great game!

If you'd like to visit campus but this Saturday doesn't work, please sign up for an individual visit. Come sit in on a class, take a tour, have lunch with a student, meet with a professor, hang out with a sports team, and even stay overnight! It will be a lot of fun, I promise you! :)

On a fun and slightly unrelated note, Campus Visit Day is just as much fun as going into a mine in England's Lake District and wearing cool hard harts with lamps! See picture below for complete understanding!

A Sunny Delightful Writing Center Conference

Poster group

I work in Coe's Writing Center.

And we do some pretty amazing things.








One of the coolest things we do is attend conferences that bring together other writing centers. We meet for three days to discuss the issues our centers are facing, what triumphs and discoveries we have made, and engage in a never-ending dialogue of our job as tutors/consultants.

Chloe, myself, Ariana, and Ashley at the zoo

I've been fortunate enough to attend several writing center conferences for the past three years. I've traveled to Baltimore as a freshman, Madison as a sophomore, and now, San Diego as a junior.

Thirty-nine writing center consultants made the trek to California, leaving at various times last Wednesday. I flew in a group of six, arriving in San Diego around 8 PM. Thursday and Friday were spent at the conference and then Saturday was my adventure day!

What is neat about these conferences is that we undergraduates are rare. Most writing centers across the United States employ graduates as their tutors. If colleges with undergraduate students do attend the conference, it's usually their director and maybe a few consultants. When Coe College arrives at this conferences, people usually just smile and anxiously await their chance to talk to us and how we conduct business.

We also had the opportunity to present in a poster presentation. My group discussed our move from Stuart-Peterson to the Gage Annex. We had an hour long time slot where people came up and talked to us. It was fun to talk to new people and articulate what happened before and after our move.

On Saturday, I spent the day the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. After dinner at a Thai restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter, a small group of us headed to Pacific Beach to see the ocean. Then our time in San Diego was over and I got back to campus around dinner time on Sunday night.

Skyfari

It was a FANTASTIC trip. I got the opportunity to bond with my fellow consultants as well as have many discussions about my job as a consultant and the writing center as a whole. The Coe College Writing Center is a place to be very proud of and I'm so happy to be working here.

View from the plane

Balboa Park

 

CoeFest 2012!

Last year, Student Senate sponsored CoeFest for the very first time. It was a great success (as you can read about in my blog post from last year). This year, Senate organized the same event: an all day music concert outside on the PUB patio. We had it two Saturdays ago and it was a big success! Seven bands were brought in and students could enjoy the variety of music all day. Senate teamed up with the cafeteria to provide lunch (walking tacos) and dinner (pulled pork and vegetarian options) so students could picnic outside while the different bands played. We tried to hire bands from around the area, such as Diplomats of Solid Sound (they played when I went and saw Obama) or OSG, a funk band from Iowa City. Our closing band was Ryanhood. Although not local, Coe has brought them to campus before and they have developed a good fan base here. They were fantastic. The other neat thing about CoeFest was that it allowed Senate to pair up with E-Club. They handled all the recycling and composting that day and promoted their various programs. 

Awesome E-Club members (and my friends) Alexis and Peter

On somewhat of a tangent, E-Club is a fantastic club on campus. They are doing great things and have lots of members who are extremely passionate about the environment. I would call them dreamers and that is in a positive tone. By thinking big, they are able to be movers and shakers and motivate other students on campus about being activists for the environment.   

Whitney and I getting ready for some great music!

The other cool thing that happened this week was that my dad, brother, and sister came to vist. My brother actually plays on another IIAC soccer team and they were playing Coe! My dad and sister decided to make a trip of it and come see the both of us. So in between listening to bands, I headed over to Clark Field to watch some soccer. Once the game was over, my dad, sister, and I went back to CoeFest. I introduced them to a bunch of friends and we all listened to Ryanhood. An excellent Saturday.

Defining Moments Capital Campaign

A NOTE: The story below is an article I wrote for my journalism class and a version of this story appeared in last week's Cosmos. This event was fantastic; it was so great to see Coe doing amazing things. For another perspective, check out this article. 

Coe College students, faculty, staff, trustees, alumni, and friends filled Sinclair Auditorium on Thursday night to celebrate a successful seven-year capital campaign that raised 90 million dollars for the college.

Members of the Coe community arrived at Sinclair before the program to enjoy refreshments and to listen to the Coe College Jazz Band. Sinclair Auditorium was artfully decorated with crimson and gold colored lights as well as a backdrop of twinkling blue stars.

The hour-long program featured Coe alumni from five decades as they explained what the campaign was and how the money was and would be used. Between these speeches, more Coe alumni and current students were featured in musical numbers. Pictures and video footage were also displayed on the three screens above the center podium.

Coe alumnus and Fox NFL Sunday talk-show host, Curt Menefee, emceed the program. Although two teleprompters were placed at the front of the stage, Menefee was extremely comfortable, not afraid to throw in a joke or two before returning to the written script.  

The Defining Moments Campaign was Coe’s largest capital campaign, publicly kicking off in December 2008. The goal of the campaign was to raise 80 million dollars to increase the college’s endowment, to enlarge and improve the science facilities, to expand the physical size of campus, and to grow the Coe Fund.   

“This will benefit Coe students for years to come,” said Shirley Hughes, a 1967 graduate who gave a general overview of the campaign.

Once the sections of the campaign had been introduced, Gene Henderson, a 1968 graduate who was the chairman of the campaign, came to the stage to announce the final number. A drumroll began and Henderson proudly stated how much money had been raised. The audience rose to their feet while 90 million flashed on the screens and walls of Sinclair.

“This puts Coe in the strongest and most secure financial position,” said Henderson.

President Phifer made the concluding remarks of the program, saying, “Coe College is a special place on this planet.” He emphasized the transformation that occurs at Coe during a student’s four years. “In this place, lives are changed for the better,” he said.  

As the lights came on and the audience began filing out of Sinclair, there was a buzz in the air. Not only was this a celebration, but also an educational experience. “It was interesting to see [alumni] perspectives and learn about the Coe Fund and endowment,” said sophomore Peter Madsen. “I didn’t know how those worked.”

“As Joe McCabe use to tell me, ‘It’s a great day for Coe Jim, a great day for Coe’” said Phifer.

UPDATE! :)

Hello readers!

I would have to say this is the busiest semester to date. So much going on all the time. Makes it a bit hard to blog, now doesn't it? But never fear, I'm back! I've got several posts in the queue waiting for you to read them. Here's what coming up this week. Make sure to check back!

• Defining Moments Campaign Recap
• CoeFest 2012
• Writing Center Trip to San Diego

We have our 15th president!

Good news!!

It's now official, David McInally will succeed President Phifer as Coe's 15th president. The Board of Trustees met today and after a presentation by myself and the rest of the search committee, the board unanimously elected Dave as Coe's next president.

Dave and his wife, Janice, arrived on campus this morning in time to meet the board, have lunch, and then the decision was announced to the whole campus. Dave made a small speech and Max and I presented Dave and Janice with Coe College sweatshirts (the first of many Coe items).

It was exciting to finally announce the decision to campus. Everyone seems extremely happy. We are ready to celebrate President Phifer's time at Coe and also prepare for Dave to start in July 2013. To read more about this good news, check out Coe's coverage or the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Happy Fall Break!

This post is from sunny Wisconsin because it's Fall Break! We're about halfway through the first semester and have a nice four-day weekend to catch up on sleep, homework, family, and friends. On Saturday, my dad and sister picked me up and we headed two hours north to another IIAC school to watch my younger brother play soccer (he's a freshman). I got home late that night .

I spent Sunday getting some sleep, working on some paper due after break, and just relaxing. It was raining all day so it was a perfect day to spend inside.

Today I'm running around Mt. Horeb and Madison going to appointments and running a few errands. This afternoon I plan to hit the books again and keep working on that homework!

Got a busy week ahead of me; the board of trustees will be in town so I have some Presidential Search Committee obligations. Should be fun yet always busy!

Learning outside the classroom

As I'm out on tour, one statistic I love to highlight is small class size. I usually say something along the lines of, "The average class size at Coe is 16 but last semester I had a class of five and a class of six." I then launch into why I love having a class of six English majors. Let me tell you, it's a party. Of literary awesomeness. 

Not only does the small class size allow me to get to know my peers better, I also create solid relationships with my professors. Case in point would be Monday. 

My friend, Ashley, and I are Writing Fellows for our English professor, Melissa Sodeman, and her History of English Literature class. We've had her for History of English Literature, Literary Analysis, and now, 18th century literature. She emailed us and said she'd like to take us out to coffee to thank us for being her writing fellows. 

After class on Monday, the three of us, along with another classmate, Chloe, headed over to Brewed. We grabbed some coffee, sat down at a circle table and started chatting. The conversation began on our class, moved through other literary topics, and then turned down the "let's talk about our lives" path. 

It. Was. FANTASTIC.

Suddenly, an hour and a half had passed and Melissa had to go teach another class. It was such a nice break from my non-stop busyness. I was ready to conquer the rest of my Monday, inspired and hyped up on coffee.

And, not only do I know my professor better, but Ashley, Chloe, and I had a nice bonding session! It's these sorts of things that I really believe makes Coe unique and a great place to be. 

Successful Weekend!

Definitely a good weekend on campus. Saturday morning was Campus Visit Day and boy, did I have fun. Started the morning off in the library, chatting with families before heading over to Hickok for a student-faculty panel. I love being on panels; I love getting asked questions because they change for every group you talk to. And this panel definitely brought some good memories of Iowa's Private College Week back!

Once the panel was done, it was time for the tour. My escort was Loxley, a sophomore art major. We had two students in our group, Autumn and Dana. Autumn was a prospective art major and Dana was a prospective English major. So a perfect combination. The tour was so much fun and Dana and I got to geek out about English things. I also made sure to set her up with information about our theatre productions, New York Term, and issues of The Coe Review. That's probably my favorite part of working with prospective students -- being able to give them things that they are interested in. Makes their experience at Coe even more enjoyable.

Slept in on Sunday to make sure I'm well rested for this week. Lots going on so I'll be on my toes. Nothing new though.

Stay tuned for more! :)

Just another crazy week

I seriously don't know where this past week has gone. It's Friday and I don't know what to do with myself. I'm just happy for the weekend where I can attempt to relax and catch up on a few things.

For some, it's no surprise I've been so busy. For others, you're probably scratching your head and thinking, "Who is this girl and what is she doing?"

Let me explain.

This week, two candidates for the next president of Coe visited campus. Since I'm on the committee, it meant a lot of running around to make sure the visits went smoothly. It definitely kept Max and I on our toes but it was totally worth it. We got some great interactions with the two candidates, from giving them a campus tour to having several meals with them. There will be one final candidate next week and then it will be up to myself and the rest of the committee to decide on who we would like to nominate as our next president to the Board of Trustees. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

But running around campus means that homework has taken a bit of a back seat this past week. I did stay up pretty late Tuesday night to attempt to catch up. I will not share how long I slept but let's just say it should not have been enough for me to function properly the next day. Somehow though, I made it through Wednesday (with a little help from caffeine of course).

Also, yesterday the First Year Experience (FYE) Committee (a committee that I'm on) hosted a FYS Faculty Workshop. I attend as the student representative from the FYE Committee and it was a lot of fun. I got to hear about how professors put together a paper prompt and what they're thinking about as they are reading our papers. Being the only student means your opinion is sought out after; it was nice to hear about the other side and attempt to explain to my professors what the students are thinking. It's awesome that I get these student-faculty interactions; it really opens my eyes to Coe as a whole from myself as the student to my professor.  

Happy Friday! I think I need to get some reading done and maybe even take a nap! I deserve it! :)

Homecoming 2012

Kohawk spirit was at an all time high this past week since it was Homecoming! There were activities during the week and campus got busy Friday and Saturday as alumni came to campus to reconnect and remember. 

Saturday morning I ventured over to the Writing Center to meet alums and show off our new space. Then it was off to the PUB for a short tour for prospective football players. And it ended up being a BEAUTIFUL day so the tour was lovely. 

I dropped the three prospective football players off at the Brat and Bev Tent, sponsored by the Alumni Office and the Student Alumni Association (SAA). I met up with some friends for food before heading into the bleachers to cheer on our Kohawks!

The football team played Buena Vista. President Phifer and his wife, Linnie, were honorary captains since it was Phifer's last Homecoming football game. The Kohawks got off to a bit of a slow start but once we got going, we didn't stop.

The final score was 51-0. We now improve to 4-0 (1-0 in conference play). 

After the game it was time to get ready for the dance. I got ready with two good friends of mine, Whitney and Chelsea. We ordered some pizza, put on some music, and just took our time getting ready. Heidi and Alison C. (my other roommates) returned and got ready. Here are just some of the photos we snapped! :)

L to R: Whitney, Alison C., Heidi, and me

The dance took place at the Clarion, a hotel about ten minutes from Coe. Transportation is provided to and from the dance so Whitney, Chelsea, and I hopped on a bus and ended up at the dance. It was nice to see people and just enjoy a Saturday night. 

The dance got over and the three of us headed back to Coe. We got to our apartment, sat down to rehash the night and fell asleep. Whitney snapped this adorable photo of me. Guess I was tired!

Going to be another busy week for me, but really, does that surprise you? Can't wait to see what next week brings! :)

I know you want to come to campus!

Today during my shift at Admission, I escorted the nicest boy to a chemistry class. He looked familiar and I found out he toured during Iowa's Private College Week. As we walked to his class, he talked about he had visited a bunch of schools over the summer and then was coming back to the ones he liked the most. So Coe made his short list! Yeah!

The reason I'm sharing this story is because I want you, yes you prospective student, to come to campus and see what Coe is all about. Find out if Coe should be on your short list (I mean, it probably should)! And, a perfect opportunity to see Coe is actually next Saturday, October 6th for our first Fall Campus Visit Day.

During your vist you can go on tour, meet current students, ask them as many questions as you can think of and start to discover Coe! Also, there is a home football game next week so if you're interested in watching some football and seeing our awesome Kohawk spirit, you have to come.

Register here! It's that simple.

Hope to see you soon! :)

Weekly Recap

 Well, this lovely photo is of your Writing Center consultant of the week! Me!

Ha. I thought I might make a weekly recap; it seems like the best way to stay on track with my busy schedule and whatnot!

So Monday marked my crowning at our Writing Center staff meeting. I was nominated because "I'm wonderful."

Aw thanks. But seriously, I love the Writing Center, symbolized by the amount of time I spend in that place. Currently, I'm using one of the Writing Center computers (it's a fancy touch screen one) to write this post. When I strolled into the WC one of my fellow consultants said, "Oh you're back?" I had seen him earlier in the day when I stopped by to do a little bit of homework between classes and meetings. My reply was, "You always come back."

It's true.

My week flew by with classes, homework, meetings, and other odds and ends. It's Homecoming week here so campus is a buzz with excitement.

So needless to say, I've been keeping myself busy. I try to swim once a day and on Tuesday I tried out one of the free fitness classes. It was awesome and I definitely plan to try it again. I'm active and learning a lot.

Of course, I need breaks too. Last night, post Senate, Alison W. and I had a little off campus adventure. She took me to a nature trail/spot a little ways out. It was beautiful and it was a nice night. We just sat on some blankets, talked, and relaxed. It was exactly what I needed; it slowed me down, let me figure out what I needed to do, and come back to campus reenergized.

More going on tonight; going to a fiction reader from a Coe alum and then Kohawk Rock (a talent show for the members of Homecoming court to show off their talents). Should be fun.  

Organization Conference

On Saturday, Student Senate hosted our first Organization Conference. We wanted to gather as many campus leaders as we could to spend part of a day learning about how to be an effective leader as well as passing on important information as a new semester begins. The Senate Executive Board, below, was fired up for a fun day!

L to R: Hayden (Communications), myself (Treasurer), Anna (President), Max (Vice President), and Christina (Recording Secretary)

We had a brief lunch before heading over to Cherry Auditorium (in Peterson) for our keynote speaker, Justin Jones-Fosu. He talked about how we, as leaders, need to be an ACTion H.E.R.O. He stressed the importance of making a mark in an organization yet making sure the legacy and impact of the organization lives on after you are no longer leading it. Justin was also just a fun speaker, often doing crazy things (like singing and dancing) to make the audience laugh.

After the speech, Hayden, Max, and I each had a 20 minute presentation for club leaders. Hayden discussed successful PR techniques, Max showed off our new club pages on Moodle (our online class database/resource center), and I talked about the tasks, like writing checks or filling out supplementary allocations, treasurers should know how to do during the semester. The conference ended with another presentation from Justin, where he discussed how we each have our own social styles. My style is "amiable." Basically, I usually have emotional and personal reactions to experiences and will watch out for everyone in the group. There are four social styles (amiable, analytical, driver, and expressive). We discussed the pros and cons of each and how we can work with all social styles in our organizations. It was a fun way to end the conference.

This was the first time Student Senate had ever hosted an event like this. We did a lot of things right but of course, there is always room for improvement. It was nice to get the executive board together in creating a conference. We hope the organizations that did come got a lot from it; I know the five of us sure did!

First Senate Meeting

Last Wednesday, senators convened for the first Student Senate meeting of the fall 2012 semester. Elections had happened the week before and it was nice to see some new faces in the Lynch room. Anna and Max have some big plans for the upcoming semester and I am excited to get some treasurer items rolling.

The first item of business was to elect a chairperson, the person who runs our meetings. Once we did that, the executive board introduced themselves and explained our roles. Hopefully this week my Budget and Finance Committee will be able to meet and get started on allocating some money!

The next big item on Senate's agenda is our Organization Conference on Saturday. All the campus leaders will be meeting to discuss ways to improve their clubs and keep interest going throughout the semester. We are bringing in a motivational speaker and providing lunch. It should be fun.

Glad Senate is back and I'm ready for another great semester of working with clubs and helping them do the things they want to do!

Sapolsky Visits Campus

Picture from Indiana University

Last Monday, Robert Sapolsky made his visit to campus.

Who is Sapolsky? He is a primatologist who has spent over 30 years in Africa studying baboons. Sapolsky is also the author of A Primate's Memoir, the common summer reading for first-years. He arrived early on Monday and gave a presentation to the first-years. It was then my job to take him over to the Clark Alumni House, where he had a little bit of down time, before he spoke to a class.

I didn't see Sapolsky again until Monday night when he spoke to a fairly large crowd in Sinclair Auditorium. I was there not only because I wanted to hear him speak, but also with my journalism class. One of my assignments was to write a news article about his visit. It was nice that I had the inside scoop.

The talk was entertaining; Sapolsky got the audience laughing. He was joined up on stage with John Chaimov, our professor of foreign language, who conducted an interview. John loved A Primate's Memoir and was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak to him, even if it was on stage with people in the audience.

What I loved about the talk was how passionate Sapolsky was about his research. You could so clearly see he loved his baboons and the work he has done. He described his discovery of primates as "imprinting" and that he "just wanted to live in a museum diorama." He was definitely inspiring; I hope that someday I'm doing what I love and can share my experiences with others.

After the talk, Sapolsky was out in the lobby signing books. I had brought my copy of A Primate's Memoir along and got it signed. Paging through my copy, I saw all my notes and annotations I had made. It was sort of a bittersweet moment knowing I was finished with A Primate's Memoir but it was nice to meet the author of the book I read on the committee, selected for first-years, and created a study guide for.  

A Working Weekend in Chicago

As I mentioned earlier, I'm part of the Presidential Search Committee. This past weekend, I was in Chicago helping conduct interviews.

I can't tell you much, but it was a successful weekend.

What I can say, is that this has been an incredible opportunity. The people I've met and gotten to know through this process are fantastic and I'm lucky to have met them. The committee is composed of Coe faculty, staff, and trustees along with Max and I. To hear from the trustees, all who graduated from Coe, and what their experiences have been has been so interesting. They all have great stories to tell. This weekend has renewed my love of Coe; I was reminded once again what a fantastic college I attend and the quality of the education I am receiving.

I am so lucky to have the opportunity to take part in this experience. It's not often that a college choses a new president and to be able to proudly say I helped to chose the new president of Coe is pretty amazing.

Update! Update! Filling you in.

Well it's official, official, I've completed one week of classes being a JUNIOR. It was definitely a bit surreal the first few days since I have been on campus all summer. But I think I'm back in the groove, trying to get a good feel for how my weeks will pan out. Since I'm in major organizing mode, let me recap the last two weeks for you.


But first, a few photos. The past two weeks my freshman year memories have come up a lot. It's weird to think that two years ago, I was just a first-year, unsure of what was going to happen. Well, a lot of amazing things happened. So I found a picture of Heidi and I at dragon boats (right) that makes me smile a little bigger at the picture of the two of us taken at dragon boats last Saturday (below).

• ORIENTATION WEEK. Wednesday through Sunday. I was in charge of maintaining the Twitter page and selecting winning tweets tweeted by our first-years. The big events were most definitely the hypnotist, registering for classes, dragon boat racing, Pieces of the Puzzle (a series of short skits portraying potential scenes an incoming first-year might face on a variety of different issues), and the Presidential Brunch. Check out the sweet bracket I was in charge of (right).
• WRITING CENTER. We had our first staff meeting on Sunday night, mainly to fill out our schedules, and then our regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night. It was great to be back and to catch up with all the Writing Center Centaurs (as Dr. Bob fondly calls us). This weekend we will have our annual Labor Day retreat and I also found out that I will be going to San Diego this October for a national writing center conference! Exciting.
• ADMISSION. It is most definitely a new experience to not work eight hours. But I still get in my early morning Admission fun working Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. 
• CLASSES. Awesome. Seriously. Pretty writing intensive but hey, I'm a writer. I am taking a Journalism Social Media class, Shakespeare: Tragedies and Histories, 18th century English Literature, and Honors: Culture and Revolution on the 1960s. I think each semester I pick great classes and can't wait to dive into the material and really get going. 
• SOCIAL LIFE. What social life? Hahaha, just kidding. Things are going to really get busy in the next couple of weeks but I think I'm ready. I've already begun to mentally brace myself. Having a meal plan with the cafeteria is really nice; lets me see people and not feel like a total, independent adult living in an apartment. But I love my apartment. Having my own room and kitchen is GLORIOUS. 
• CLUBS. Will start up soon. Had our first Coe Review meeting Monday and Senate petitions are circulating. I've been trying to convince people to at least try, I want a solid Budget and Finance Committee this fall. 

Well, I see it's 12:45 and I better head to class. Time to discuss Richard III. He is one devious guy! Now that school has begun, I will be posting more. Get ready because I have so much going on, I have to talk about it all! 

Successful first day!

Today was definitely a good day. I woke up, at exactly the same time I did this summer, because I work in Admission Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the morning. It sort of felt like summer never ended. Of course, my shift was only two hours long, not eight so before I knew it, my two hours were up and it was off to my first class of my junior year!

My first class was my Journalism and Social Media workshop. The professor is Jane Nesmith, the advisor for The Pearl which I was editor for last semester. Our class was in the newly remodeled Eby Annex. Our class just discussed where we get our news from and talked about what the semester would consist of. I'm most excited for my New York Times subscription; I'm not limited to only 10 stories a month!

I had a few hour break before my other two classes of the day: Shakespeare: Tragedies and Histories and 18th Century British Literature. Having back to back English classes was a FANTASTIC life choice. Both classes once again reaffirmed my English major decision. We are starting off the semester reading Richard III in Shakespeare and Roxana in 18th century. I know I'll have my hands full with reading but it will all be worth it!

Then it was time to take care of some errands. I practiced the clarinet, got a locker to store my clarinet in Marquis, saw Jane in the business office, and got a few things ready. I had my first dinner in the caf, then a Writing Center meeting, followed by a Coe Review meeting. Then it was time for a bit of homework and now bed. Tomorrow I have one class and a few meetings. It's nice to know I can just fall right back into the school routine. I'm pumped for this semester.

Welcome Class of 2016!

I had the best intentions of posting this past week but life sure has been crazy. The incoming first-years moved in on Wednesday and Orientation ended earlier today. My days were spent working in Admissions and then at night, I volunteered for Orientation.

And let me tell you, Orientation was a blast. Sure, maybe I'm a little biased, but I think Coe does a fantastic job with Orientation. It's a great mix of fun and gives the incoming first-years the ability to settle into college life.

This week was fantastic. I'm a little tired but it was so worth it. My favorite day was most definitely Saturday, when we had dragon boat races. I was in charge of brackets, which let me tell you, is a little harder than expected. But never fear, I was a bracket master, efficiently and smoothly. Today we had a Presidential Brunch and then the volunteers got to go to Olive Garden for dinner. Not a bad deal, right?

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I will definitely post tomorrow and will write more about this past week. Sorry it's so short, so much has been going on, it's hard to write it all down!