Dear 2010 Hailley: A Letter From Your Senior Self

Dear 2010 Hailley,

Howdy. This is your senior self, just checking in with you. Three years ago, you were just starting classes at Coe. Your time at Coe seemed endless but trust me, it will go by too quickly. I remember that you are excited and jumping at the bit to get involved on campus. There's a skip in your step as you head to Hickok for your first English class at Coe but a little pause as you walk into the Writing Center, mentally trying to remember all the upperclassmens' names.

My advice to you: keep that energy. What you don't realize at the time is that you're going to do amazing things over the next three years. You will make a name for yourself on campus. You'll get involved and learn more about Coe than you thought was possible. Your love for English will grow and you'll even fall in love with poetry (I know, crazy thought, but just wait and see). Your passion will set you apart and your follow-through will help you gain responsibility.

Now, don't get me wrong. You're going to stress out. There will be days when you take on too much and you have to learn to say no. There will be days when you want to sit in your room, not doing anything. As the popular saying goes, "Keep Calm and Carry On." You'll get it all done.

Oh and Hailley, the friends you are making are lifelong friends. Don't forget that. Especially when your academic life becomes your only life. Don't be afraid to take a break. Hang out with friends. Go grab froyo at Orange Leaf (that will come to Cedar Rapids sophomore year...it's delicious but be careful, they charge by the pound).

I guess I'll end this letter with just be yourself. I don't want to give away any more spoilers. I just want you to know that everything you want to accomplish at Coe can and most likely will happen. It just takes a little patience and elbow grease.

Good luck and see you in three years!

2013 Hailley

Why I Love My Summer Jobs

I would have to say that this was the best summer I've ever had. There were many reasons that made it so great and I would say one of the biggest reasons were my two summer jobs.

Luckily for me, my two jobs overlapped each other quite nicely. These jobs, along with my previous experience on campus, allowed me to move into a more semi-professional student. I know a lot about Coe and was able to serve as a connector between different areas on campus. For me, my jobs never really stopped this summer (even when I wasn't working, I was still thinking about work!), but I actually really liked that aspect.

First, being the assistant to the First-Year Experience (FYE) Director allowed me to know the ins and outs of the FYE and develop a passion for the program. I firmly believe that Coe has a great first-year program and each year, we continue to fine-tune and improve it for our students. I liked the opportunity to work with faculty I normally wouldn't work with and I throughly enjoyed the chance of taking the lead on the summer common reading, from making the reading guide to talking to both the faculty and CAP (College Adjustment Peers) about how to lead an engaging book discussion.

Second, I love being an Admission Assistant. Despite the weird Iowa weather we had this summer, I loved going out on tour. Each student is different and I enjoy finding out their passions and letting them know how they can grow their passions at Coe. And when I'm not giving tours, I am able to work with the best group of Admission staff around. From data entry to coloring territory maps to taking out recycling, the jobs I did helped the office run more smoothly and I'm all for that! In many ways, this department became another family for me on campus. On my last full, eight hour day, they bought ice-cream and surprised me with a small "going-away" celebration. It was the sweetest thing and who doesn't love ice cream in August?

Now of course, schoolwork takes over, but I was so fortunate to have two great jobs on campus this past summer. The experience I gained is invaluable and definitely helped me see what life after college will look like.

Orientation Week Aka THE FINAL WEEK

So I knew that once last week started, it would go by fast, but little did I know it would that fast.

Seriously.

I've spent the last week both working in Admissions and helping out with our first-year orientation. It has been a lot of fun and it's been great to see familiar faces (aka students I've toured) and meeting more of our incoming class. They are great and have a ton of energy which I hope lasts the rest of the year.

The week (August 19) began with Writing Center Orientation. Since I didn't help with our competition in the spring because I was in NYC, I was looking forward to getting to know the new people we hired. We made our yearly trip to Xavier's, the pizza place on First Ave, only about a five minute walk from Coe. The pizza was delicious, per usual, and I liked interacting and getting to know our newbies. I had to work in Admissions on the second day of orientation (Tuesday), but visited them and sat in on a panel during my lunch break.

The rest of the incoming class moved in on Tuesday night and orientation "officially" began on Wednesday.

The rest of my week looked like this like: worked in Admissions during the day (so my normal eight hours), come back to my apartment, take a quick breather, and then volunteer my time with the first-year orientation. I got to sit in on our events in Dows and help out with the annual dragon boat races.

My favorite part of orientation was definitely during the weekend. On Saturday, I was in charge of loading up the buses with our first-year to head out to Palo Beach. Max, the orientation student coordinator, gave me a megaphone to use and it was quite helpful. While waiting for these buses, I did meet a pretty incredible Coe alum from the 1960s. He was a student when President McCabe led Coe (he's one incredible man and did great things for Coe) and also had Ben Peterson (an amazing professor who the science building is named after). Just another reason I love being a Kohawk.

Anyways, once all the students were loaded on the buses, it was off to Palo and the dragon boats. I spent the day in the sun and we were blessed with great weather.

Sunday was the last day of orientation and overall, pretty low-key for our first-years. I had another pretty cool job; I drove 15 passenger vans to Target so first-years could pick up those final items they needed before the first day of classes. Once again, I loved getting to know the new students and I am now extremely comfortable driving large vans.

For me, orientation week is not only a great opportunity to meet the new Kohawks, but also to reflect back on my orientation week three years ago and be able to give back.  I hope the students I met had a positive and fun week and knowing I could have been a part of their experience is very rewarding.

First Day of SENIOR YEAR and Other Miscellaneous Updates

Hello readers! Today was my first day of classes as a SENIOR.

Boy, it was a busy day. I woke up early to get in a little time at the Clark Racquet Center and even hit the Coe Natatorium! I had my only class of the day in the morning, Rhetorical Theory and Practice. From there, I ran various errands on campus, practiced the clarinet, worked in Admissions (only two hours instead of my "normal" eight), and spent some time in the Writing Center before dinner. We had our second Writing Center staff meeting of the fall semester and then it was straight to our first Coe Review meeting of the school year.

So my day "ended" around 9 PM. I trekked over to the library and was pleasantly surprised by the number of Coe students taking advantage of the study spaces in the library. I scouted out one of my favorite study spots, the long tables on the second floor, and that's where I'm currently writing this post. I did some homework, sent a few emails, and made another list of things I should do tomorrow.

I've got several blog posts in the works and I should have a post a day this week. Last week went by in a blur and gave me little time to write a post! But, last week was pretty awesome and I want to let you know how that went!

Well, per usual, Hailley is one busy bee. But that's the mode I'm most comfortable with and the mode that I do the best in!

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!