Thursday, December 8, 2011

Holiday Traditions!


Holiday festivities are in full swing at Elmira College!

This past week, students enjoyed a relaxing holiday feast with their professor of choice. Dinner included turkey (which the professors were instructed to carve and definitely provided some entertainment), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, corn bread, green beans, corn, stuffing, and to finish it off, cookies and cremepuffs! The Christmas tree and Menorah were lit before dinner, and the Seniors presented Doctor Meier with a nutcracker ornament. After the dinner was finished, everyone say holiday songs and then posed for pictures. Dinner was delicious, and seeing everyone dressed up was exciting!

After the holiday dinner!

My roommate and me before the dinner!

The excitement continued the next day with the annual holiday dance. All the students put on their best dresses and dress shirts, and headed to the holiday dance to dance the night away. Needless to say, the dance provided for some entertainment too, watching everyone do their most creative dance moves. I went with a group of friends and really enjoyed myself! The next day, I am pretty sure that just about every student slept in until noon...it was a busy weekend and we were all exhausted!


My friends and me all dressed up for the holiday dance!

That same day, I went with the rest of the members of nursing club to our advisor's house to make Christmas cookies for our bake sale. After making about twelve dozen cookies, we enjoyed dinner together and of course dessert of cookies. The next day we hosted a bake sale to raise money for Adopt-a-Family, an organization that allows people to buy Christmas presents for people less fortunate, and nursing club adopted a family this year and put the proceeds from the bake sale towards presents for our family. Making cookies was fun, and knowing that the money goes towards a good cause makes it even better.

So now comes the home stretch- FINALS WEEK! Currently, students are studying and finishing last minute projects before final
s begin on Monday. Needless to say, I am going to be moving into the library, along with my fellow nursing majors. Before the Monday of finals week we have the traditional midnight breakfast where all of our professors serve us breakfast before we stop eating and sleeping to pass (just kidding, we still find time to eat haha). It is a busy weekend approaching and in just a few days, I will be home relaxing after some hard work. But until then, it is time to study, study, study. Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

November FINALLY Comes to an End!

Oh November, how you have flown by!

It has been quite a while since I have been able to update about life at EC...reason being, November is a busy. busy month! But here I am, ready to recap all of the exciting things that have recently happened.

First, Orchesis, the dance show of term I, took place and was a GREAT success. I danced in the performance, in two Orchesis sponsored dances and one outside tap duet that I successfully tried out and had selected for the show! It really was an awesome show, and it was clear that the student body definitely enjoyed it!

Steph and me before our duet!

Relaxing before the show!

November seemed like a shorter month, especially because we have Thanksgiving break. Once Thursday and Friday came and everyone finished their last classes, tests, and projects, the campus cleared and became empty, as if a plague swept through. I embarked on my 8 hour drive back to New Hampshire, and successfully made it (obviously because I am writing this blog). I am sure like the rest of the campus I enjoyed my break by spending time with my family, and of course devouring the delicious Thanksgiving food (PIES!).

Now that I have returned to campus, EC is getting in the Christmas and Holiday Cheer! My roommates and I have decorated our rooms and common room with Christmas lights and snowflakes. Many of my other friends have begun shopping for presents, and exchanging gifts already. The school has begun preparations for the annual Holiday Banquet and Ball, which take place this Friday and Saturday. It will definitely be another eventful and exciting weekend. This is a fun tradition, and eating dinner with our professors is always entertaining. The dance should be fun too, and provides for excellent photo opportunities as everyone is dressed up and the giant Christmas tree in the campus center will be dressed to impress as well. I will definitely be documenting the entire night with pictures!

The next few weeks begin the studying for finals time, with extended library hours! For every crazy student who decides studying at 1am is the most effective way to pass, this is very exciting because it means extra work time! Midnight breakfast will be kicking off finals week too, and getting served by the EC staff will hopefully encourage us to get studying. Only two-ish more weeks separate us from Holiday Break, and every student is looking forward to the well deserved break after what we know will be an intense finals week!

Speaking of finals, the studying for me as a nursing student starts now!
After the holiday festivities take place, expect a detailed account of the events as well as photo documentation!

Happy End of November, and Beginning of December!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

OAR and More!

It has been another busy yet super exciting week at Elmira College! Halloween took over Elmira College, and needless to say, I saw a lovely assortment of "costumes" strolling around campus. Columbia, the freshmen girls dorm, put on their annual haunted house and trick or treating event and like last year when I lived there, they saw hundreds of children come through! After Halloween, all of campus had their focus shifted to the upcoming big event...


OAR!

After much anticipation by all of the student body, the big event for fall finally took place...
the OAR concert! It was awesome, and they played not only their new music but also a variety of their older songs as well! Plug in Stereo opened for OAR, and I personally liked them as well. All in all, the set up, the bands, and most importantly the music was awesome! I think I can speak for the majority of the students that attended that this was definitely one of the best big events here at EC in a while.

My friends and me at the OAR concert!

Unfortunately, now that the concert is over it is back to reality. This week Orchesis auditions took place for the fall dance/Encore performance. I tried out an advanced tap duet with one of my good friends, and to my surprise it made it into the show! I will be in a total of three dances in the upcoming Encore as well as the finale where I will do a short Michael Jackson excerpt with the rest of the 2014's! I love dance, so I am really pleased that I will be dancing a lot in the next week with tech week and practice every day and night! It should be busy, but I know the show will be great so I am really looking forward to it!

On top of dance, dance and more dance, I have some big tests coming up in Nursing, Anatomy & Physiology, and Stats...ahhhh, so much to study. But I am starting to study now that way I am super prepared for all the exams. It is going to be a busy two weeks before break but I am sure I will pull through and then enjoy some well deserved rest and relaxation at home. This week I also ordered my stethoscope, required for all nursing majors. I am excited because I am pretty sure I am the only person who ordered an orange one...I figured I'd never lose in when at clinical! Also, it has finally come the time to start registering for Term II classes. For nursing majors like myself, the schedule is essentially already set in stone. Next week, all of the students will head to the registrars office to register because after Thanksgiving break, there is only a short time left before the end of Term I, and it is packed with events, activities, studying, and of course finals. Oh, well. It is better to take the stress of college day by day. In the meantime, I am off to dance and to study! But maybe if I get enough done and need a little break, I can check out the Man Auction (Yes, this is real!) in MacKenzie's at the Campus Center to support Model UN.


Monday, October 24, 2011

A Week of Change at EC!

After just a short midterm break involving some much needed rest and relaxation, all of the EC students are back and ready to continue on with Term I. I know I enjoyed the extra sleep, but as a nursing major, I did in fact do some homework over break to stay caught up. Once I returned on Wednesday, I got back to business and studied as much as someone possibly could study in anticipation and preparation for my huge anatomy and physiology midterm I took that Friday. Then I spent my weekend prepping and studying for my upcoming nursing midterm which happens to be tomorrow and also for my anatomy and physiology lab test regarding my cat dissection and muscle identification the following day (Wednesday). Now, it may seem like a lot of work and stress, but with good time management skills, I am able to excel on all of these exams and get great grades! Nursing is challenging, but in the end I know all of my hard work will pay off and I will excel as a nurse in a busy hospital!

So, besides studying my life away, what have I been doing my sophomore year at school to have fun? Well, since Halloween is quickly approaching, my friend and I went to a local haunted house and Halloween exhibit called Tagsylvania! After screaming in fright for hours, we decided we would definitely go back again next year for a good scare before Halloween, and drag all of our other friends with us for a good laugh! Also, Elmira's Big Event Committee just announced that OAR, a popular alternative band, will be the big event at EC this year! As you can imagine, I am beyond excited as is the rest of campus! Tickets have gone on sale to the general public at this point, but I am sure every interested EC student went and got their ticket the day it was announced! Needless to say, next Wednesday will definitely be an exciting day on campus! But before everyone's focus is put onto the OAR performance, Orchesis tryouts take place the day before so I need to stay focused, as do all of the other students performing and hoping to make it into the show. I am excited to perform all of the dances that I have been working so hard on, as well as see all of the other dances that students have been perfecting. Dance is something I love, and is definitely worth the large time commitment. As you can see, the next few weeks prove to be extremely busy like always, but there is a light at the end of these exams called OAR!



OAR live performance at EC in just a little over a week!



Here is the entrance of Tagsylvania!
Definitely looks inviting...

Now, for the BIGGEST news spreading quickly around EC: This past weekend, Doctor Thomas Meier, Elmira College's 12th President for the past 25 years, announced his retirement at the end of this academic school year! Dr. Meier is the figurehead of EC that all students love! For many, this is a sad event but one that we all knew would come. Dr. Meier has made great changes and strides for the school and has proved to be a man that every EC student truly cherishes and respects. The 2012's are a lucky class, fortunate enough to be the last class to receive their diplomas from Dr. Meier, while the rest of us will have to wait and find out who will be the next President. Needless to say, we are all going to miss Dr. Meier and his enthusiasm, but we are all looking forward to finding out who will be chosen to carry on his legacy here at EC. But, I think the biggest concern for EC students regarding Dr. Meier's retirement...What about all the Mountain Day songs?! They are all about Dr. Meier! I guess whoever the next President is will just have to change his last name to Meier...?

Dr. Thomas Meier, thank you for all of your hard work and commitment to the betterment of Elmira College! You will be missed by every EC student!

So, as you can see, this upcoming week at Elmira is going to be a busy one, and has brought about a lot of change for the campus, faculty, and students. The leaves are still falling, and the weather is starting to finally get cold. Time to get back to studying, and next blog post, I will definitely be recapping the OAR concert!

Monday, October 10, 2011

The Beginning of the Blogging...

Well, today is the first day of the blogging,
and since I have not blogged yet this year, I have a lot of things to blog about!

So, what is going on in my life at Elmira College as a sophomore?
Well, lets talk about my schedule, as I am a student who chooses to be busy just about every second of every day and this will surely give a good depiction of my life right now!
As a Nursing Major, I am currently enrolled in Anatomy and Physiology, where we are starting our cat dissections on Wednesday, as well as Intro to Nursing Science (self explanatory) and Statistics (math requirement for Nursing Majors). Also, after midterm break (which is this weekend!) I will be starting Pilates, which will fulfill my last physical fitness requirement. Top off this schedule with dance every night (including weekends), often for a few hours a night as well as choreographing for my own dances to teach, as well as working as a Freshman Writing Tutor, attending club meetings for Chem Club, Nursing Club, Tap Ensemble and Officer Meetings, and somehow finding time to eat, sleep and even breathe!? Well, trust me when I say it is possible, and it definitely keeps me busy, but overall, it enhances my college experience as a whole. Getting involved on campus keeps things fun, and is a great way to meet people and establish great friendships!

Anyways, now that we've covered my First Semester life story, there are lots of other things to talk about in regards to school. This year is already in full swing, with the Freshmen finally getting the swing of things here in the Purple Bubble! Encore is taking place and there are a few performances this week which I will be attending (add that to top off the schedule!). Also, everyone is busy cramming for midterms this week, with the library full of students studying hard to get an A! We also cannot forget about the ways in which the campus is making some changes including putting a new roof on the campus center and fixing the crosswalk connecting the two sides of campus. The staff here at Elmira is always striving to keep it looking nice, and during fall with the leaves falling from the trees, its truly is a beautiful place.

Besides that, I am enjoying being back at Elmira with all my friends from last year. This year I am living in Towers in a suite with 4 of my good friends. We are often all busy running around trying to get our work done, so we don't always get to spend time together. However, one of my suitemates is also a Nursing Major, so we spend just about every moment of the day together working on nursing (which is helpful when one of us is extremely confused with an assignment). My roommate is a varsity volleyball player and a Speech and Hearing Major, so like me, she is crazy busy. It is a good thing we live in the same room, or we would probably never see each other! Volleyball is almost over though, but with such a great record this year, the season will be sure to continue on to championship games. Whenever I get free time, I try to attend the games with friends and support my favorite sports team (although I might be biased since my roommate and suitemate are team members...). Besides that, I enjoy the weekends by dancing (obviously) and spending quality time with friends (oh, and catching up on some much needed R&R)! But, I just remind myself that being busy during the week is all worth it, because in the end, I will look back and see that I definitely got the most out of my college experience.

Anyways, that is all for now!
I luckily have no midterms this week, but still have lots of STATS homework, writing tutor meetings, and a ton of dance to get working on.
I will be enjoying my midterm break this weekend, and will be sure to recap my Anatomy and Physiology cat dissection next week for all those interested in the behind-the-scenes Nursing classes!
Off to enjoy the beautiful fall weather!