Thursday, November 10, 2011

Career search tools.... AND it's almost snowing!

Well this semester has been a complete whirlwind. I can't believe that it's been so long since I last posted and I can't believe I only have 5 weeks left as a college student! This last semester has been jam-packed full of projects, meetings, papers, and the job search. AND it's almost snowing! I cannot wait.
Career Services has been amazing about connecting me with quality contacts during my job search. While many of their contacts are in the general Northeastern Indiana area, they work hard to find alum or other connections closer to where you want to be. Currently, I am trying to find a job in the greater Kalamazoo/Battle Creek/Grand Rapids area because that is closer to my hometown and my fiance is still in school there and has a great job there already. While we have discussed the possibility of my getting an amazing job opportunity elsewhere, I am still looking in that area, since it will be the easiest for him and makes generally the most sense. Like I said, Career Services is doing their best to help me find a job. They've gone over my resume with me, worked on interviewing skills, and helped me with my networking skills. It is one of the most helpful places on campus.
Hopefully I can find an amazing position, and I wish all my fellow seniors the best of luck,
~Til next time
Sarah

Friday, September 30, 2011

Hohohomecoming!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's quite possibly the best time of year to be a Thunder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the feel of campus during homecoming. This year the school incorporated a spirit week competition between the schools on campus. It's a great time to show off your Thunder gear and be proud of your school. I think sometimes school spirit gets overlooked at a small school, but I'd have to say that it's extremely prevalent on our campus. We have so many student athletes and they have so many friends that everyone knows everyone and supports everyone. It's pretty fantastic.
It's definitely bittersweet that this is my last homecoming here, but I'm sure it will be just as amazing, if not more. Campus just keeps getting bigger, the community keeps getting more excited and involved, and our football team is still amazing. Also, in addition to our Thunder Cheer team, Trine recently started a Trine Dance Team and tomorrow's game is their big premier. It will be exciting to see what great talent we have on campus.
And Homecoming at Trine isn't just a football game. There are multiple other athletic games going on and there are a ton of non-athletic events as well. Trine has a Tour de Trine every year, where student organizations can make teams to run a road course on these super tiny little tricycles. It's always a great thing to watch. There's the annual spaghetti dinner and desserts du jour, where parents and community members make their best desserts and have students and anyone else who comes for dinner rate their desserts. And these desserts aren't just your average brownie. They're pretty extreme.
All my tests and papers are done for this week, but I know I have a few that I have to work on for next week, and classes to attend, so...
~Til next time
Sarah

Monday, September 19, 2011

And the Thunder rolls on

Well I would have to say that the weeks leading up to homecoming are some of the busiest around campus, probably with the only exception being finals week and the week before, which are crazy.
Homecoming is next weekend, so campus will be filled with enthusiastic alums, students, and community members, all coming out to celebrate Trine. The homecoming game is always a big draw.
This year Eric Watt, Trine class of '11, will be honored during the halftime show. Watt won the Gagliardi Trophy last year, which is the D-III equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. It was an honor for him, our football program, and the school.

Speaking of football, we're off to a perfect 3-0 season! Looks like this could be another perfect season, though I don't want to jinx it.

But campus is much busier than just football right now. It's much busier than just sports even. There are enlightening speakers and events on campus every week. Soon, we're having a Burmese soldier come to speak about his journey to resettlement in America. Also, the Multicultural Student Organization is having their annual Amish Dinner, where students can go and actually eat a traditional Amish dinner with an Amish family. There are lots of different speakers from various backgrounds and fields who come to speak about how to be successful, how to live a good life, and how to get started. They can be extremely helpful for students who are trying to find their niche.

Also, Trine recently climbed in the ratings of the Princeton Review's best Midwestern private schools, now sitting at 32nd. This is quite an honor and a testament to the constant improvements that are being made all over campus.

Well, along with all the events happening outside of the classroom, it's also that time of the semeseter when the first exam occurs. I know I have one each day for the next three days, so my free time will be filled with studying. Too bad it's also the week of the premieres for all the new television shows.... but that's when time management (and late nights) come into play. Oh the life of a college student! It truly is a learning experience, and not just in the classroom.

~Til next time,
Sarah

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day Update

Well soon campus will once again fill up with all the students, returning from their long labor day weekend. I know I enjoyed visiting with my parents. It's nice that we go back two weeks before labor day. I think most Michigan schools (where I'm from) don't go back until the Tuesday after labor day, but the way Trine does it, we get to go through two weeks of classes and then take a short break. I remember how great it was when I was a freshman because I had just enough time away from home, in a new place, to get used to college, but then I could go home and talk with my parents and see my home again. It works out really well.

The fall sports season has started. The Thunder football team, which was ranked #21, defeated Manchester College 24-13 last Thursday at Manchester. Trine started off the scoring with a touchdown and extra point off an interception return. The score was 24-7 at the half and Manchester ended the scoring in the fourth quarter with a touchdown, but missed the extra point. Next Saturday, we'll take on Bluffton University for our first home game! That's always one of the most exciting times of the semester. Homecoming is at the end of the month so that will be really exciting too. Field hockey, soccer, volleyball, and cross country have all started up as well, so it will be interesting to see how their seasons start out.

Recently, career services held their part-time job fair, where students could check out all the different work study job on campus. That's a great opportunity for students to see what opportunities they have to earn a little extra money to help with their needs, like working in the library, at the newspaper or the radio station, help out with athletics, or in one of the numerous offices on campus. If you are work study eligible, Trine gives you a lot of different opportunities to get some experience on campus and also learn some valuable real world work experience.

Well, I'm off to have some lunch with my parents before I head back to campus.

~Til next time,
Sarah

Thursday, August 25, 2011

SSSSSCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

I LOVE SCHOOL!
Have you ever had one of those moments when you have to profess your love for someone (or something) from the rooftops of every building you've ever seen in your entire life?
Yeah. I love school that much.
Truthfully.

I have always loved school. Not the parts in-between classes, but the actual classes. Learning is my... not really my addiction but something that makes me irrevocably happy.
On top of the high of coming back to school, I got engaged over the summer to the most amazing man: the only other someone/something that makes me so inexplicably ecstatic that I want to shout it from the rooftops of every building I've ever seen in my entire life.

But alas, on top of all of this extreme happy, there is a bittersweet moment hidden. This week starts my last semester as an undergrad at Trine University. On December 14, 2011, I will be a Trine U graduate. Such a cluster of emotions! I will miss the beauty and comfort of this campus, the familiar buildings and faces. I will miss some of the amazing professors who have taught me more about life, business, and passion for work than anyone I have ever met. I will miss my classmates who help me make the best of the most inane assignments and who have pushed me when I was ready to quit. I will miss our newspaper, the Triangle, where I have hit my highs and my lows, where I learned how to manage, adapt, and influence. I will miss school.

But I am eager to see what will come of the future, and I am fortunate to be heading into an ever-changing field, where I know I will forever be learning new and exciting things.

I am also excited to start a career, to start my future life. And this is not the last school will see of me. I want to get my masters while I work and, eventually, get my doctorate and teach at the college level. This pathway is extremely exciting and I cannot wait to evaluate all my options.

But enough about me. Trine is booming!!!!!
We have a very aesthetically pleasing bridge connecting the UC with the new athletic stadium. If you haven't seen it, you are missing out. It's pretty amazing.
Enrollment broke the previous record this year. Again.
We continue to hire new teachers with more amazing talents and experiences. It is one of the best times to be on campus, to be a part of the Thunder.
Football is gearing up for another fantastic season.
I know I am so looking forward to delving deep into this batch of classes, my last classes here.

Welllll, I'll do my best to keep you up-to-date on the going-ons of campus for my last semester here.

~Til next time,

Sarah

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

X-MEN IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I know I just posted, but I decided I had to post about the new X-Men movie. This is the fourth in the series, but it's a prequel. This is the first time I've seen previews of a movie that WAY UNDERSOLD IT! Usually previews only show the good parts, but I thought, based on the previews, that this movie was only going to be about a bunch of pre-teen mutants. It's not. At. All. It was absolutely amazing. I adored the first movie, thought the second one was okay, and didn't think the third was all that great, but this one was AMAZING! I highly recommend it to everyone.
I'm not going to give any of it away, but the casting of a younger Charles Xavier/Dr. X (James McAvoy) and Magneto/Erik (Michael Fassbender) were impeccable. And January Jones and Kevin Bacon as the new mutant-villian pairing were fantastic. This movie far surpassed my expectations.
And while I may not be a X-Men or Marvel fanatic, my boyfriend sure is, as most of his fond childhood memories are based around the comics, and he was extremely impressed as well.
Go see it. It was fantastic. Now I just have to wait for it to come out on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack so I can put it on my iPod.

Sweet Summertime

So it's been forever and a day since I updated this blog about the college student's summer life and I offer my apologies. Luckily for you, I've had a rather boring summer so far so you haven't missed out on much :)
Last week I actually had the weekend off. It was blissful! I went with my boyfriend and a friend of ours to Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon. The weather was a beautiful 75 degrees and the sun wasn't too hot. We spent about five hours there, enjoying the rides. It was great to get out and have fun and actually enjoy part of the summer.
But I am definitely looking forward to July. I'm taking summer classes right now and as much as I love school, I am tired of studying. I leave my house at 8:30 M-Th and go to class, then work, and get home around 7, and on Fridays, I usually work from 8:30-6:30, and all day Saturdays. It's absolutely exhausting, but since I am graduating in December, the end is in sight! In July, the first summer semester will be over, and I won't be taking classes during the second semester, so I will only have work, which will free up soooo much of my days. I can't wait.
~Til next time
Sarah

Sunday, April 17, 2011

How to beat procrastination... disconnect your tv

So... here we are... two weeks of classes left. The end is in sight. Everyone is getting restless, including myself. Oh how tempting it is to watch tv and relax during all my free time. This time, I am fighting procrastination!
Next week is the week of Easter. I'm really not all that busy next week. I am being inducted into Alpha Chi, which is a national honors society that accepts only the top 10% of the junior and senior class. Other than that, I just have classes, one presentation, one quiz, and work. This weekend should have been a completely chill weekend. However. I know that I will be super busy this weekend with church and working on the Triangle. Then, the last week of school, I have two debates, three projects due, and three tests.... so, instead of relaxing this weekend, I decided to get on top of things and work, work, work. So far, I've started studying for my one quiz next week, finished my presentation, and have gotten half of all my projects done (or I will have by the end of today). I hope to finish all my projects during the coming week so that I can devote my time to studying for those two tests and prepping for my two debates. Everything gets crammed into the last two weeks of school, which can be a bit overwhelming.
Finals week is always really nice at Trine. Student life does a lot for us... including complementary massages, yoga, meditation, and my personal favorite, midnight breakfast, served by teachers and administration.
The semester is almost over.... and then summer ensues
~Til next time
Sarah

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Busy, busy week-graduation, athletics update

I feel like a broken record, going on and on about how busy I am. It's truly only because I'm taking seven classes, half of which are 400-level.... and I'm working on my honors project, and I have an internship. College isn't always this crazy!
Campus is starting to smell like spring again. I can already imagine the flowers springing up all over campus and the trees starting to get their leaves back. It's been really cold the last few days but since spring break, all of us are getting ready for summer break. It's bittersweet that this is my last spring as a college student.
Our spring athletics have started again. The teams seem to be doing well. Men's lacrosse is 6-0. Tennis seems to be going well (7-4 men's, 3-5 women's). Baseball's gone 3-3 since spring break. Women's lacrosse is 2-2. The softball team is 14-2.
We just signed a new head coach for our men's basketball team... Brooks Miller, who was an assistant coach for Bob Knight at Texas Tech. He seems promising. Our athletics continue to improve and grow.
Campus is busy. Everyone is registering for classes, making sure they can graduate on time, etc etc etc.
The announcement of who will be delivering the commencement speech is always highly anticipated. Last year Bob Knight spoke and he tends to be a tough act to follow. This year, Lou Holtz, the hall of fame football coach, will be speaking. Holtz coached Notre Dame's football team from 85-96. He also coached at North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, and the NFL's New York Jets. Now he commentates games for ESPN and has written numerous New York Times best sellers. It should be a very motivational speech for students emerging from the school, out into the job market.
Well... that's all I have for now.
~Til next time
Sarah

Monday, March 21, 2011

Science Fair, busy work

As we work our way into the last six weeks of the semester, procrastination starts to sneak up on students all over campus. That huge project your professor assigned in the first few weeks of the semester is suddenly almost due. It seems like just yesterday we were returning from Christmas break, bright eyed and ready for another busy semester.
I can say taking 7 classes is starting to catch up with me for sure. Some weeks I have two exams on the same day, followed by at least one more in the week, at least one project or presentation due a week, and a different paper, on top of normal reading and homework... what a crazy semester!
This past weekend, I volunteered through the Honors program to work at the local science fair Trine was hosting. At first I thought it would be pretty boring, but the kids all got really into it, with their adorable little suits and ties, talking about decomposition and solar energy and all sorts of things. They loved everything we were doing for them and we loved working with them.
My particular station was on how to make a biomass gas depressor. Using a graduated cylinder with some water in it, we added beads, to simulate organic materials. Then the kids put a "bacteria" powder into a funnel and down into a party balloon. When I helped them put the balloon over the graduated cylinder, the kids shook the "bacteria" down into the water. This resulted in a reaction that produced a lot of cool fizzing and a gas that blew up the balloon. The reactions on their faces, especially the younger ones, 1st and 2nd graders, was absolutely adorable. It was so rewarding to be able to talk to them about biomass and how through decomposition we can harvest a natural energy, in this case, the second most widely used renewable energy source.
It was a great opportunity to volunteer my time.
Now it's back to papers, tests, and projects.
~Til next time,
Sarah

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Last Spring Break ever

Well, back to school. My last spring break until I have kids of my own has come and gone. I worked 40 hours, wrote two papers, and studied for a couple tests. Oh the life of a college senior!
It's great to come back to campus and see all the huge ice mounds melted away from the sidewalks. Our beautiful campus looks alive again!
Campus is sure to get crazy busy from now until summer. The Humanities department has their free movie series running again. They show a wide range of movies, some new, some old, some foreign, some indy. It's a great opportunity to see movies for free on campus, in the lovely Fabiani Theatre.
Advising week is coming up. It's always pretty crazy, and I expect this to be the most chaotic for me ever, seeing as how it is my last advising week before I graduate. Luckily, the advisors on campus tend to be really helpful and mine, Dr. Jones, is great at helping me make sure I have everything I need to graduate on time. I've looked over the class schedule for next semester and it looks like I should be able to get all my classes needed for graduation in pretty easily.
Off to study some more!
~Til next time,
Sarah

Thursday, February 24, 2011

pre-spring break craze

Sorry it's been a little since my last post. Things always pick up just before spring break. Well we had a huge snow storm, followed by a week of the 50s, followed by an ice storm, followed by a snowstorm, followed by a thaw, followed by an ice, followed by a mini-thaw, followed by.... well they say we're supposed to get 6-8 inches tomorrow... that's weather for you. Coming from Michigan, in an area that consistently gets lake-effect snow, this is nothing new. It's always nice to go to bed thinking it will be 45-ish in the morning, and waking up to five inches of snow. Oh well! It could always be worse.
Last weekend we had another scholarship day. High school seniors interested in coming to Trine who qualify for the honors program and one of the many academic scholarships Trine offers come to campus on a Saturday. The scholarship day includes an interview, an essay on a topic assigned immediately before writing it, lunch, and a student panel. Honors students of all years and majors are chosen to answer questions from potential students and their parents. This year I was asked to be a part of the panel. It's always great to be able to give some of your real-world knowledge and advice to potential students. Even if they don't come to Trine, you hope that some of the advice you gave them will help out. We got questions anywhere from Greek involvement on campus to the food in the cafeteria to roommate issues, class schedules, and graduation outlook. It was encouraging to see so many parents interested in what their children's potential college life would be like.
One of my professors always says that students, especially seniors, never return from spring break. She's probably right. When we return from spring break, we're basically halfway done with the semester. In high school, the end of the school year is much closer to spring break than in college. This probably has something to do with it. Our brains are trained to prepare for summer post-spring break. Personally, I'm not going anywhere but back home for break. I get to work 40 hours, which will help pay some bills. I'm also attempting to save up some money for after I graduate and find a place of my own... but that's a little hard to do very often while I'm only working part time. We'll see how everything goes and how school post-spring break pans out.
~Til next time,
Sarah

Friday, February 11, 2011

Career Fair

Well it's been a pretty uneventful span of time around here. It gets that way sometimes as we settle in, full of tests and projects and presentations. Last Friday was Trine's career fair. It was ok. Career Services is still growing so we don't have as many businesses as some schools, but for a school our size we do really well. Per usual, a large majority of the employers were looking for engineering students. There were a few for marketing, a few for business, and a few for finance and accounting. However, that being said, Career Services identifies which majors (like mine) weren't represented, and since there were so many students who attended, they hope to get more businesses for a larger variety of majors in the coming years.
One of the great things about our career services is how much they want to help. I'm attending the career fair at Western Michigan University (where I'm from) next Thursday (since it got snowed out during out Snowpocolypse). Career services called to make sure it was ok if myself and some other students who are interested in working in that area attended. They also help with mock interviews, resume workshops, etc.

~Til next time,
Sarah

Thursday, February 3, 2011

work work work

So we did end up getting a snow day yesterday. I literally did nothing all day. It was extremely boring and for the first time, I didn't really want a snow day. Oh well. The clean up crews around campus have done a wonderful job keeping the sidewalks clean. I posted some pictures on my flickr stream so you'll have to check those out.
Tomorrow is the career fair. While there are going to be a lot of companies looking for engineering students, there will be a handful looking for business and other majors. Hopefully as those who come get good interns and employees from Trine, more businesses will start to come to our career fair. I'm going to use it as a practice round for a really big career fair I'm attending at Western Michigan University in a few weeks. One great thing about Trine is that they work hard to make sure students have job opportunities no matter where they hope to live.

~Til next time
Sarah

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

SNOW!

We're supposed to get around 17 inches by tomorrow night... We'll have to wait and see. So far we've only gotten a couple inches and classes aren't cancelled. If we get a ton, I'll take some pictures. Where I'm from, we get pounded by lake effect snow all the time so snow really isn't that big of a deal. 17 inches is still a lot. Everyone seems to be freaking out. My friend called it a snowpocolypse.
~Til next time
Sarah

Friday, January 28, 2011

A sick, sick weekend

Well, it's official, the first round of illness for the semester is here! So far, it isn't as bad as last year, and from what I've heard it's worse back home (where of course I'm headed in a few hours to visit my family). I know a few of my friends and a few more of my classmates have come down with a tough cold, fever, aches, etc... the average yuck. Unfortunately that's what happens when there are so many of us in one region. Luckily, we're small enough that professors know when a bought of sick is going around and try to be a bit more understanding.
We're a few weeks into semester and everyone is settling in. I've already written a couple papers, have worked well into a few projects, and am getting ready for the first round of exams. Campus looks BEAUTIFUL this time of year, with all the trees frosted beautifully, the snowflakes falling like a snow globe, and the snow starting to pile up. When it's just snowy and not windy, it's my favorite time of year.
Well, headed home for the weekend to visit my family for the first time this semester. Apparently they're all sick. Since there's a job fair next week, I'm hoping I don't get stuck with something. We shall see.
Hope all is well wherever you are
~Til next time
Sarah

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Great Newspaper Kickoff!

Hello all!

Halfway through the second week of school and my schedule is starting to pick up. I've been working at my internship for a few days but right now my boss is on a business trip to Brazil. 80 degree weather sure beats all the ice we've been battling. Luckily our great groundskeepers have been able to pretty much stay on top of all the icy sidewalks.

The first issue of our school newspaper, The Triangle, is due out next Friday, meaning articles are due today! As exciting as this is, it just doubles my workload. Since we haven't yet chosen some students to start copy editing articles, it is my job as editor-in-chief to edit every article. Then I have to edit and crop any photos. After that, I have to do layout, which consists of choosing what articles go where, making sure they fit in the columns, placing pictures, making headlines, and putting captions on all the pictures. Then I have to make sure all the content lines line up. It takes hours. But it is enjoyable while I'm doing it. I'm a bit of a control freak so being able to make sure all the lines are equal is really fun.

Anyway, we just opened up our annual call out to the campus, looking for new staff writers from all over campus. The great thing about the paper is that we are open to any student. We don't care what year or major you are.

The newspaper can also be a work study job. It doesn't pay a ton but every little bit is great in college. As long as you are work study qualified, you can get the opportunity to write articles, sell ads, or take pictures for a little money.

Personally, I am not work study eligible because my parents make too much money. Unfortunately, my parents think I will value my education more and work harder if I pay my own way... so I never have money... :)  It's kind of fun though. You learn how little you need to buy and it's a great lesson as to the difference between needs and wants. You need protein, you want soda...

It has been a truly eye-opening experience and I know I will be a more successful woman because of it, though I do wish the lesson didn't come with student loans. At least Trine is great about giving out grants and scholarships. I was able to get more money here as an out-of-state student than anywhere else.

This weekend I am going to a Red Wings game. I am so excited!!!!! It's something that I have wanted to do since I was about 8 but never had the chance. Surely I'll be like an 8-year-old going Disney World for the first time. I'll make sure I take lots of pictures and post them up here when I get back.


~Til next time

Sarah

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Classes

Well, here it is, Wednesday, and now I have attended all my new classes at least once. For the first time ever in my college career, ordering my books online over break came back to bite me in the bootie. I've never had textbooks take this long to ship!!! I have homework due soon that requires that book. Luckily, there are other students in my class that were willing to share their book.
I start my new internship tomorrow. One thing that's great about living in a small area like Steuben County is that there are lots of opportunities to work at some great companies. It's just small enough that there's a homey feel about it, but not so small that companies don't want to expand here. It's a wonderful place to live.
Well, hopefully classes go well... and are interesting.
~Til next time,
Sarah

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Back to school

Well, Christmas break is over and it's back to school all over the country. Trine U students won't start classes until Tuesday but many of us are back on campus, settling in for another semester. For me, it's my second to last semester, which is both extremely exciting and terrifying at the same time.
The greatest part about being able to start a new semester is getting into all the new classes. After half a semester, the routine can get pretty tiring, so it's always exciting to meet any new professors and see who is in your class. Also, since my classes are all upper level classes, it's exciting to get a little more serious about what you will need to know to be successful, and focus on career building, something the professors at Trine are great at. I know I can't wait to see what this semester will bring.
~Til next time
Sarah