Sign Up Now For Scholarship Weekend!

I don't know about you, but currently, a steady snow is falling in Mt. Horeb. It's the sort of snow that reminds me of February 2010.

I know, call me crazy, but lightly falling snow reminds me of visiting Coe during Scholarship Weekend. It's a special weekend where admitted students can compete for additional scholarship money in their department of interest. Don't worry, if you interview for one area and end up coming to Coe and majoring in something else, your scholarship still stays. Woot!

For me, Scholarship Weekend was a huge part of my college search. I got to see Coe in full swing, sit in on several classes, meet with several professors, and meet so many great Coe students. I met my roommate of three years, Heidi, in a History of English Literature class with Gina, and also met Whitney when she was on a panel in the Clark Racquet Center. When we walked over to the panel, it was snowing, and the boy I was walking next to was from Texas and had never seen snow like that before.

It was crazy.

So as I continue to get sentimental about that weekend several years ago, YOU should go sign up for it. Make some memories! Learn more about Coe.

And remember, if you come, you'll get to meet me and all my other Kohawk friends.

The Final Weeks of Summer

There are only two weeks until school starts. Where on earth did this summer go? More updates because that seems to be my theme for the summer: UPDATES.

• IPCW went really well. I was able to meet a lot of great prospective students and hang out with my Coe friends. A reporter from the Cedar Rapids Gazette interviewed me and others early in the week and the article was published online and then in Thursday's paper. 
• On Friday after our last IPCW session, the student workers had a cookout and then we played a pretty intense game of beach volleyball. It was the most intense game I have played all summer. But also the most fun. 
• I spent the weekend in Wisconsin, catching up with family. My grandma threw a little "going back to college" party since out of her nine grandchildren, five of them are headed back to college in the upcoming weeks! It was nice to see my family and also take a little break from campus. 
• I returned to Coe Tuesday afternoon. More people are moving onto campus every day, which is exciting. I'll be moving to my fall apartment later this week and my fall roommates will begin moving in this weekend. Things are moving so quickly.
• Next week is ORIENTATION CENTRAL. I will be helping out with Writing Center Orientation and regular first-year orientation. It will be a crazy week, all leading up to my first day of senior year. Woot! 

What's Next?

I may not have explicitly mentioned this, but I'm officially done with my junior year. April 13th was my last day in New York City and my last day of second semester. Now, I don't say this too loudly around my Coe peers; they still have a few more weeks of classes before finals and then summer.

So what am I going to do? Excellent question. I'm currently at home in Mt. Horeb, spending some quality time with my family. It's nice to not have responses to write or tests to study for. Nevertheless, I'm still busy, preparing for a new exciting upcoming events.

In May, I'll move back to campus and begin my second May Term experience. This May I'll be traveling to Germany and Poland for 10 days to study World War II and Holocaust memorials. My instructor is Professor Bethany Keenan, who I had as a professor my freshman year in Western Civilization I. 

Once May Term is over, I'll transition back into summer 2012 mode. As in, I'll be working the same two jobs as I did a year ago. During the day, I'll be an Admission Assistant, giving tours, talking to prospective students, gearing up for Iowa's Private College Week, and helping out around the office. My "partner-in-crime" is a fellow soon-to-be senior, TJ. I have a feeling we are going to make a pretty awesome dream team.

So that's the plan! This blog will be quiet for the next couple of weeks. I've got soccer games to attend, family to see, and packing lists to create. Feel free to browse through my new pages or my old posts until I begin to regularly blog in May. 

Signed Up!

This morning I came to work early so I could register for fall classes.

Easiest registration of my life because everything was open. So many perks of being a soon-to-be-senior :)

Also, I only had to register for three classes because, assuming my thesis proposal is approved, that will be my fourth class. It will be an independent study, but I know it will be a large workload.

Good thing I'm excited about it.

Along with my thesis I'm taking an English seminar, a rhetoric class for my writing minor, and astronomy. In order to graduate I need a lab science so I figured it would be good to take it now, don't you think? I'm also hoping to find a way to squeeze French in since I only need one more class for my minor!

So it's happening, my senior year that is. I'm excited but also a little nervous. So so so hard to believe three years have gone by!

Discover the Kohawk Spirit!!

Charlie the Kohawk from Deviant Art

I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I can't help but plug Iowa's Private College Week (IPCW)! As I say on my tours, I first toured Coe during IPCW. I came with my mom and younger sister, Hannah, on a warm Friday in August. We started off on the first floor of the library, talking to current students. Then we headed up to a gallery on the second floor for a panel presentation. My now English advisor, Gina Hausknecht, spoke and I remember frantically scribbling down facts in my "college search" notebook. The large group split into tour groups and I explored campus for the first time.

So another summer is going by which means another Iowa's Private College Week is almost here. If you're a prospective student and want to see Coe, August 6-10th is the PERFECT opportunity. Sign up here, for either a morning or afternoon session. We'd love to have you on campus and I'd love to meet you and your family!

Check out my flashback video or my flashback photo as well! I made these posts last year; they do a nice job of explaining my experience during IPCW.

Woah, Spring Break Flew By!

I can't believe it's already Friday.  It seems like just yesterday I was coming back to Wisconsin and in a little more than 48 hours I'll be leaving.  My Spring Break, although fast, was lovely.  I spent some quality time with my family and enjoyed sleeping in.  When I return to campus, there will be some changes.  The Peterson remodel is now underway and the ground around that lovely brick building will be a little torn up.  I guess I'll have to alter my tour path a bit to accommodate!  It's exciting that the remodel is underway and I can't wait to see what it will look like next fall.  The other thing that is changing is the location of the Writing Center.  During break, Physical Plant moved all our things from our home in the Peterson Tunnel to our new space in the Gage Annex.  I can't wait to see the new space although I will probably walk to downstairs to Peterson a few times before I get it into my head that I have to go to Gage instead!  I'll snap some new pictures and upload them once I get back.  

Happy Friday! :)

What to Look Forward to This Week

Hey readers!

I feel terrible my posting has been random and spontaneous; I've just been so busy recently with schoolwork, jobs, clubs, and finding some time to just relax!  But never fear, I'm back and ready to BLOG.  Here's what I'm up to this week which translate into what blog posts you might be reading!

First off, I finally put up Blindspot footage.  Check it out!  Now here's a list:

• Wednesday and or Thursday: Photo shoot for new publications.  A bunch of students will be roaming around campus and getting our pictures taken for brochures and publications we send out to prospective students.  I've volunteered to be a model so we'll see how that goes.
• The Budget and Finance Committee of Student Senate is up and running.  Whitney, our treasurer, has put together some informational meetings to help club treasurers and to refresh the B&F committee members.
• Speaking of Senate, Senate is hosting a band festival called CoeFest on October 8th.  More info on that coming soon.
• The first theatre production of the year starts on Friday.  It's Old Times and it should be a good way to start the year!  I'm an usher for a few of the performances (ushers courtesy of Off Stage Players) so not only will that be a new experience, it will be fun as well!
• I'm working the Reference Desk at the library for the first time on Sunday.  I'm excited but a little nervous; I hope I can help anyone who comes to the desk! 
• May Term options have started coming out.  I hope to make a list of options available this upcoming May as a preview to what a prospective student might see in their first May Term.  
• I also am in the process of writing two papers: one for History of English Literature and one for Barcelona.  I'm planning on doing some major revising and editing this weekend and hopefully with the help of a few of my Writing Center friends!
• And finally, in terms on new things on my blog.  I want to get a list going of classes I've taken at Coe with general overview, professor, thoughts on the class, etc.  And I want to get another page going with all my tips.  Hope to spend some time perfecting those pages and updating my other pages this weekend.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but oh well.  Back to homework but expect more posts soon!

 

Marquis Series Preview Part I

What is the Marquis Series?  Well it's where Coe brings in some amazing groups for Coe students and members of the Cedar Rapids community to see.  You may remember me talking about Frank Warren, which was part of the Marquis Series of 2010-2011.  They've published the line-up for this year, so I'll be featuring each group this week.

* All information in italics is taken from Coe's website and the Coe's News Page.

"The Coe College Marquis Series has a long tradition of bringing high quality entertainment to the Cedar Rapids community.  The 2011-2012 Coe College Marquis Series features events representing the best in diverse talent, ranging from humorous speaker and author Frioozeh Dumas and the stimulating music-theater work Spectral Sciabin to Tonic Sol-fa, one of the nation’s top vocal groups, Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” and the critically acclaimed Brentano String Quartet.

Marquis Series patrons can purchase individual tickets and reserve seats for $15 for the general public, $10 for students and seniors.  For ticket information, call the Coe College Box Office at 319-399-8600, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (summer hours).

The Coe College Lecture and Performance Series is funded in part by a gift from the estate of Sarah Marquis in honor of her father, Dr. John A. Marquis, who was president of Coe College from 1909-1920.  The purpose of the series is to bring entertainment and educational experiences to the Coe campus for the benefit of the entire community."

 The first speaker: Firoozeh Dumas - Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in Sinclair Auditorium 

"Firoozeh Dumas is the author of “Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America” and “Laughing Without an Accent.”  A native of Iran, Dumas grew up listening to her father, a former Fulbright Scholar, recount the many colorful stories of his life in both Iran and America.  She moved to southern California with her family in the 1970s, and later attended University of California - Berkeley.  In 2001, with no prior writing experience, Dumas decided to write her stories as a gift for her two children.  “Funny in Farsi” was a bestseller and a finalist for the PEN/USA Award, the Audie Award and the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor.  For the past seven years, Dumas has traveled the country reminding us that our commonalities far outweigh our differences, and does so with humor. She has spoken at conferences, schools, churches, Jewish Temples and Islamic centers.  This event is co-sponsored by the First-Year Experience and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs."

This book goes well with Persepolis.  Enjoy this video clip of Firoozeh Dumas.  Courtesy of YouTube.