Moravian College :: Blog

Where did the semester go?!

2006-04-20T16:30:00.000-04:00

I really did not mean to go this long without writing; I just turned around one day and realized that it had been overtwo months since last I checked in. The few months since we came back to school after winter break have flown by and been very busy - but very fun, too.

South campus res life again brought us great activities and entertainment. The weekly wednesday night Coffeehouse in the basement of Main Hall twice became host to auctions - a "Man Auction," and a "Woman Auction." These yearly events are always eagerly awaited by south campusers and north campusers alike. Moravian ladies and gents are invited to offer a "G-rated service" to be auctioned off to benefit south campus res life. Winning bidders took away massages, free movies, free dinners, and musical serenades. South Campus's Clewell Dining Hall became a dance floor for a night for an "Ardi-May As-Gray dance" (that's Mardi Gras in pig latin, by the way!) Complete with snacks, beads, a live DJ, and a night of dancing. A "Thai Night" was also held, in which my RA made some fantastic thai food and we watched 'Anna & the King.'

Life in the music department has been interesting as always. The choirs went on tour to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, over spring break. And for two weeks in March I do believe I was stuck in the Renaissance! The Choir and Orchestra's performance of Purcell's Fairy Queen was an interesting experience - especially since everyone was in costume! Everyone in the choir were dressed as fairies (yes, wings included), and the orchestra dressed like miscelaneous Renaissance characters, like peasants and court musicians. Much to my dismay, however, I have no pictures from the event. The following weekend was the thirtieth anniversary concert of Collegium. It was a day-long affair, complete with a luncheon and post-concert pot-luck. In celebration of the group's anniversary, all of Collegium's alumni were invited back to perform in the concert, and the "Kollegium Kids" - children, nieces, nephews, and younger siblings of Collegium members and alums - also got a chance in the spotlight! I'm really enjoying playing gamba; it's an experience that I likely would never have gotten except here.

One thing that I have found very quickly in my time here is that college is not only about the classes you take and the material you learn. What has been most influential to me in these past months have been the wealth of experiences that I never could have gotten anywhere else. Just one year at college has made me much more aware of the world we live in, more aware of other peoples and cultures, more aware and appreciative of various kinds of music...and the list goes on.

And now, somehow, there is only a week of classes left, and then a week of finals, and the year is over! I'm looking forward to a break from school work, but a part of me is sad to leave what has become a "home away from home" and the great friends I have made. So, until September - happy summer vacation! (almost...)

Almost Done!!

2006-04-17T21:28:00.000-04:00

Wow!! We have less than two weeks left of classes and then it's finals! This school year has gone by so fast. I registered for classes for the Fall '06 semester as a rising junior. To know that I will be a junior next year is unbelievable. Sometimes it feels like I just entered college. Instead, I am almost halfway done! It really is bittersweet; in one aspect, I can't wait to finish and am excited to start a whole new part of my life, but I also want to remain in school, with less worries and not grow up so fast. I know the next two years will go by quickly. Friends of mine that are now seniors cannot believe that they will be graduating in less than a month. My older brother (he attends Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA) is also a senior, and to me, it seems like we just dropped him off at college for his first year. Starting this summer, he won't be living with my family and will have a full-time, everyday job. For him, he is really excited to be on his own, but at the same time, he loved college so much, he doesn't want to leave! I know that is how I will feel; I love being in the college atmosphere. Moravian is a great place to experience this part of your life and I know I'll never forget the people I have met here. I have made great relationships with many people and appreciate each one of them.

Spring time is here, and it's been so nice outside. Recently, Moravian has been having Blue and Grey Days, days where students that have been accepted (and may or may not have chosen to come here yet) are invited to come to the school once again, to get a better grasp on what they might encounter if they were to come in the fall. It is a really great way for students to make their final decisions about schools, if they are undecided. On these days, Moravian really shows how great we are. I attended a Blue and Grey Day when I was a senior, and I fell even more in love with Moravian. I knew that I had wanted to attend (I had done Early Decision), but I wanted another excuse to come and see the school again before moving in when the fall rolled around. In a way, it was a kind of transition between high school and college because I experienced the life I would have in a few months. I was able to sit in on a few classes and talked with some students that went here. If you are thinking about applying to Moravian and are accepted, in the spring, be on the look out for an invitation to the Blue and Grey Days. It is a really great opportunity to come and see Moravian one last time if you are undecided.

2006-02-28T17:08:00.000-05:00

Wow!! It has been a busy semester so far! Personally, I think spring semester is much more harder and busier. My classes are more difficult than last semester and my extra-curricular activities never seem to end!!

Mid-term is coming upon everyone, so the library has been the place to be. Luckily for me, I only have two midterms, and one is after spring break ends, so I have adequate time to prepare and study. As I have mentioned before, I am a member of the dance company on campus. On March 31 (Friday) and April 1 (Saturday), we have our annual dance recital. I will perform in three different numbers in the recital. We have been practicing the dance routines since the beginning of the semester, and one of my dances is completely finished. The other two are close, so all that is left to do is cleaning up the moves. It's exciting because this is our last week before spring break, and once we come back, we start rehearsing in the performance hall. We only have about 2 1/2 weeks left before the recitals, so we will really crack down, starting the night we return from break. I am anxious because 2 1/2 weeks is not a lot, considering you have rehearsal once a week, but I am also very excited to perform. I love performing in front of audiences. I was not in MC Dancers last year, but attended their performance and it was very entertaining. The dances this year are a lot of fun, too, so if you are interested in dance, you might want to check it out! The performances are at 8:00 in Foy Hall on both days.

I have jabbered on enough, and must do work! Bye for now!

Mentoring Fun!

2006-02-28T16:57:00.000-05:00

My Mentee and Me!

This is my mentee and me at one of our weekly TLC meetings. Today we played a mathematics game with multiplication and division (which she completely won!) and then we colored and wrote notes to each other. I also meant to write about our last Saturday event where the mentees and mentors had a workshop about bullying and being bullied and how to deal with the pressures of bullies, which was interesting. Our next event is at the end of March and we are all going to the Da Vinci Discovery Center, which is supposed to be really cool ! I'm really excited, but I will talk more about that later, after I've actually gone there!

This Friday is SPRING BREAK which lasts a week; I am just going home, but several of my friends are going to one of the Habitat of Humanity trips. There are two this year because so many people volunteer; what happens is that these groups of students (who volunteer their spring break) go to different locations (I know that one is in South Carolina, but I do not know the other location) and they work with Habitat for Humanity members and build a house in a community for those who need the shelter. I have been told it is a really cool experience and very fulfilling!

Right now in classes, midterms and projects are ending the first half of this spring semester so things are hectic around campus! In fact, I have to go study for a huge test... talk with you later!

Seocond Semester Insanity

2006-02-14T17:45:00.000-05:00

It's about five weeks into second semester, and things are going great! I'm enjoying all of my classes and have some excellent professors. One of my favorites is Education. A component of all Education classes is field study - that is, actually going out into schools to observe and get involved in classrooms. We spend four hours a week in an assigned classroom at a local school with a co-op teacher. Today was my first day of Early Field Experience. I was placed in a music class at Broughal Middle School (which is convenient since I hope to teach secondary music). My co-op is great, and I will be teaching a lesson later this week already! I'm very much looking forward to working with the classes and my co-op; I know it will be a very rewarding experience. Another class that is a lot of fun this semester is ice skating! Yes, I am taking ice skating as a gym class. We meet on fridays at the Bethlehem ice rink and receive lessons from an Olympic skater!

This semester, the orchestra and choir are working towards a collaborative performance of Purcell's Fairy Queen. And to add some extra fun, everyone will be in constume! Another new experience for me this semester is playing gamba in the musical ensemble Collegium, a group that performs Renaissance-period music. The group consists of period-appropriate instruments including recorders, viols, krum horns, and a lute.

This past weekend I accompanied some of my friends to a common event at a local church - contra dancing. It is similar to square dancing, but is done in long lines. It is definitely something that I reccommend to anyone who likes dancing, or wants to learn something new in a casual setting. Personally, it was the first time that I had ever danced, and it has quickly become one of my favorite things to do!

And, since we received close to a foot of snow over the weekend, it was time to break out the sleds for some snowy fun on the hill behind the HUB!

Keri and Chris contra dancing!!

TLC Mentoring

2006-01-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

Nikki and I

Here is my mentee and I at one of the TLC (The Learning Connection) Mentoring Events! Last night, we met at Moravian College where all the mentors and mentees had dinner together and then we went to the theatre at Lehigh University where we saw the first part of "Bach Comes to Call". Apparently there are three parts to it and we saw the first part which was being taped and then it is going to become a video for all to see. It was really cool to be there for the first part of something so big! It was an orchestra and choir that played Bach's music and then there was an acting part where Bach comes to modern times to talk about his life, which was really cool that they basically put history and his music together!

Just to remind you, TLC Mentoring is a community service organization at Moravian College , run by Phyllis Walsh, where students volunteer to mentor a child at a neighboring elementary school (either 4th and 5th grade). For example, Nikki and I meet once a week at her elementary school where she is in 5th grade and then all mentors and mentees meet once a month for a three hour (about) event, like last night's. This is her last year with this program but if she really wanted to she could ask to become a part of TLC Too, which is only 6th graders who were once in the TLC program; TLC Too mentors do not meet with their mentees weekly. They will get together with each other whenever they both have the time and then there are monthly events as well. One of the major differences between TLC and TLC Too is that TLC Too is run by students of Moravian College!

Both programs are amazing and the students really enjoy all their time with their mentees and vice versa!!!

"Pink Out"

2006-01-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of picture and for taking so long to catch up!!! Well, as you know, school is back in session and classes are at full force!

For the past week, organizations throughout campus have been selling pink shirts with the Breast Cancer Ribbon on them in order to have our "Pink Out" Day which was yesterday, January 25th. What this meant was that all day yesterday students, faculty and staff wore these pink shirts (or any kind of pink shirt they may have had); the money for the pink shirts with the ribbons went to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research. We had our "Pink Out" Day in reference to those who are struggling, lost their battle or survived their battle with Breast Cancer.

Last night, both our Women's and Men's Basketball teams played against Messiah and many people wore their pink shirts in order to commemorate the day; it was really cool to see the majority of the fans and even the teams wearing pink to show their dedication to Breast Cancer Awareness and their support for those who have dealt and who are dealing with cancer.

Seeing everyone's support throughout the day and at the games was amazing! I also believe that before the games even started they had raised about $5,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which was more than I could imagine! It truly was an exciting day!

2006-01-23T20:54:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice holiday! As I have said in previous blogs, I am a Resident Advisor here at Moravian. For those who may not be sure what that is, it is the person responsible for the people in a certain living area or specific floor. Resident Advisors are to help create a community among their residents by getting to know them and getting them to know each other. They plan floor and building-wide programs, all of which fit into one of our seven categories: Educational, Academic, Social, Late Night, Diversity, Hot Topic, and Community Service. They are the person residents can go to if they are having a problem, or just want a question answered concerning something on campus, or off.
This is my first year being a Resident Advisor. Of course, you are not eligible to apply for this position until your sophomore year, for obvious reasons. Right now, students who are interested in being an RA next year can apply. It is a fun job, because you get to meet so many new people and make more friends, but it is also a big responsibility. You are overseeing a group of students, setting a good example. While you can be friends with your residents, you must also be capable of writing people up if they do not obey the rules. It can be hard, because you might have to write a report for someone you are good friends with. However, if they are breaking the rules, it is your job to notice and take care of it.
I really enjoy being a Resident Advisor. Just this past semester, I have met so many new friends through my floor and within the Resident Life Staff. We have over 40 members in the staff, and that is counting Resident Advisors and Resident Directors. Resident Directors are the higher person above the Resident Advisor. They are who the RA reports to. There is one RD to every building, except for Bernhard/Wilhem; there are two RD's.
In order to be part of the Resident Life Staff, you must participate in the training periods that take place throughout the year. There is one before school begins in the fall semester, one at the end of winter break, and one at the end of the spring semester, after school lets out. We recently came back from Stony Acres, a retreat in the Poconos (near my house!), where we spent two days of our fall training at, and two days for the past training. At Stony Acres, the staff partakes in a number of activities that are both passive and active. We have discussions that involve situations we may encounter and how to deal with them, we learn how to write effective incident reports (which are the reports you write when someone has disobeyed a rule), and other things that might be useful to us throughout our time as part of the Resident Life Staff.

Here's a picture of some of the Resident Life staff, getting ready to listen to a discussion presented by two of the Resident Advisors

2006-01-23T20:52:00.001-05:00

During our training, we had "competition" games. The staff from each housing unit were playing against other staffs. In this game, we tied balloons around our ankles, and in order to win the game, we were to try and pop the balloon of other people NOT on our staff. The last person standing would earn a point for their staff. This is Tammy in the picture. She is on my staff from Jo Smith, and her and I were the only girls left in the game. But unfortunately, the game ended without a winner because of a minor injury...

2006-01-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

...that minor injury was me! During the game, my foot was accidently stomped on. It ended up swelling up, and bruising a bit. Later that night, I found that I could still not walk on it, so I went to the hospital at 10 PM. Luckily, I live in the area of Stony Acres and my parents met me at the hospital. It turned out my foot was only sprained and bruised badly, but I had to stay off of it for at least three days and be on crutches! I had never been on crutches before, and I found out that they are not fun!

2006-01-23T20:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of me on my crutches the next day. I'm watching everyone play another "competition" game, where you have to mingle, and when a number is shouted out, you must form a group consists of that number of people. Anyone not in a group is eliminated. Of course, I could not play this game, so I just stood on the sidelines, but I was in happy spirits

2006-01-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the entire Resident Life Staff

2005-12-14T17:22:00.000-05:00

Gianna and I proudly displaying our KDP (Kappa Delta Pi) induction certificates. This past weekend, Gianna and I were inducted into the Nation Education Honor Society here at Moravian. Many parents and families were in attendance for the ceremony. KDP is just one of the many organizations here at Moravian that students get involved in. During the year this group plans and participates in numerous education related activities.

Awesome Performance

2005-12-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Last week Moravian was fortunate enough to have Step Afrika perform. Step Afrika celebrates stepping, an art form born in African American fraternities and based in African traditions. As the first professional company dedicated to stepping, Step Afrika’s intricate kicks, stomps and rhythms mixed with spoken word pound the floor and fill the air. The performers were incredible. Other than traditional step, the performance featured such aspects as comedy and gymnastics. The group performed in our aditorium and it was packed! The performers even pulled volunteers from the audience up on stage to learn certain stomping and dance techiniques! It was definately a good time and a good experience on campus! Much to my disappointment I was unable to take any photographs of the event! :(

2005-12-07T10:54:00.001-05:00

As an elementary education major, you can take an education class that includes a field experience as early as your second semester of your freshman year. A field experience is when you are assigned a class at one of the many schools in the Bethlehem area,where you spend 4 hours a week. This was my first semester doing a field experience, and I had been anxious about it. However, I got an amazing class of kindergartners who were so much fun. My co-op (the teacher who's class it is) was a great teacher who taught me a lot about teaching.
The great thing about Moravian is that students are put into the classroom very early in their years at college. This is very smart, because it gives a student the chance to find out if they will enjoy being a teacher. Also, it prepares you so far in advance for what you will be doing in the future. I have learned so much being in the classroom just this one semester. As an education major, students must fulfill a total of three field experiences, a semester of pre-student teaching, and a semester in your senior year of student teaching. It is a very intense program that we have here at Moravian for education majors. However, it really prepares you for the future.

Every week, the students are taught a new letter of the alphabet. Here, they are putting together a puzzle of a broken egg because they read "Humpty Dumpty" as part of their "H" lesson that week.

2005-12-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

Some of my students making stockings.

2005-12-07T10:53:00.000-05:00

These are my kindergartners with the ornaments I got them as "going-away/holiday" presents.

December

2005-12-05T22:44:00.000-05:00

That's right. It's December! Sorry it has taken so long to write, and also I'm sorry that there is no picture attached with this entry.

This past weekend was the first weekend of Vespers, which is this service/concert, with amazing music and at the end a candlelit ceremony. It's really awesome; my family and I have gone every year since my freshman year and it never dissapoints! This year was no exception either!

There are many activities going on, especially this week which is Winter Wonderland week! For instance, today, in the HUB (where the cafeteria, food court, information desk, and mailboxes) residents could make gel air fresheners, which were really cool because you could pick out the scent and decorate the inside gel so it looked nice. So many activities going on this week, but mostly everyone is getting ready for the end of the semester! Classes are winding down, the last day of classes is next Monday, a week from today, and then it's time for finals.

This is all of the information I have for now... I'm sure I'll catch up again during finals week!

Peace On Earth

2005-12-04T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hello folks!

First off, I must apologize for my lack of updating this blog. I have been supremely busy over the past two weeks and had barely enough time to sleep let alone write a blog entry, but I promise to make it up to you with another one later on this week. So much has happened since our last conversation. The Common concert was an absolute blast, and one of my friends actually got to interview him for the school paper. I managed to see the wonderful Bruce Springsteen, and also took a road trip down to see my friend play football against Virginia Tech, all before Thanksgiving.

During the holiday break, I did do a lot of work, but I found time to hang out with friends and family as well. The men's and women's basketball teams opened up action this week, and I'm sure they'll be providing tons of great nights this winter. This past Wednesday, our Residence Life staff organized a concert in accordance with World AIDS day, and the band The Hundred played the benefit show with donations going to AIDS outreach. If you get a chance, listen to these guys. They have a good sound unlike a lot of what is out there. Also on Friday I applied for my student visa to study abroad next semester with no snags! Fingers crossed, everything is going as planned.

As for this week, the time is shortening to get all of our work done. It's going to be a lot of work and a lot less sleep, but its all worth it for a new start after Christmas break. This really has been the fastest semester I have ever been a part of in all my years of school, and I can't wait to get all this work done and fly over to the Iberian Peninsula for new adventures.

P.S. I had some great shots of The Hundred, but my CD-ROM drives is broken and I can't install the software for uploading. I'll try to get this sorted out, but in the mean time, use your imaginations!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

2005-12-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

Christmas City! Personally, I don't think there's a better place to be at Christmas time than historic Bethlehem! Main street is all aglow with lights and Christmas Carols drift through the air. Outside my window I hear horse hooves and jingle bells as tourists get rides in horse-drawn carriages. And by the public library the huge tree is lit up with the nativity scene under it. And, to make the holiday cheer even more splendid, it snowed last night!

It is also Vespers season! Vespers is the annual Christmas concert/service held in the Central Moravian Church. I experienced Vespers with my family on friday and it was absolutely wonderful. As everyone filed into the church, the trombone choir played Christmas carols up in the bell tower - where it was very cold! Music was provided by both the Choir and Women's chorus, Vocalis, the brass ensemble, the guitar ensemble, and the Montiverdi ensemble, all of whom were excellent. At the end, the congregation, too, joined in singing carols by the light of the traditional beeswax vespers candles.

As for the orchestra benefit concert (nearly a month ago - wow, where did the time go?!) it was a success; we earned over $900 for the Family Readiness Group. The marching band season came to an end a few weeks ago, formally closed by a band dinner and the giving of awards to each member of the band. Now there's only one more week of classes before finals, and then winter break! Happy Holidays!

I finally learned how to post pictures, so here's an old one of the bell tower of Central Moravian Church - where the trombone choir and brass ensemble play during Vespers.

One more pic

2005-11-30T11:49:00.000-05:00

Continuation of my last blog....thought it was a good picture and had to post!
Moravian Football captains Steve Cline, Mike Hurden, Chris Jacoubs, Jerry Venturino, and Sal Dewalt stand proudly with the ECAC plaque.

The Christmas Season Is Upon Us!!

2005-11-22T19:25:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I'm so excited right now because I'm going home for Thanksgiving break! Also, I'm in such a Christmas mood! On Sunday afternoon, I saw an awesome Christmas jazz concert on South Campus. In case I forgot to mention this in my first blog, I used to be a Music major. However, I switched my major to history this year, but instead of wasting the music classes I took last year, I decided to minor in music.

Two days ago was the "Jazz Sounds of the Season" concert. It featured the Moravian College BIG Band and the Jazz Vocal Ensemble. I am not particularly fond of playing or singing jazz (I used to be in jazz band in high school and was in the Jazz Vocal Ensemble last semester) but I love listening to it. Our music department is really good here. This was the first Christmas oriented concert we have done here. It was so good, and definitely put me in more of a Christmas spirit, despite the warm weather we have been experiencing. The ensemble and the band did many numbers together, and performed many classic Christmas tunes such as "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas." One song in particular was my favorite. Some might not know this tune called "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but it's a really cute duet song. In high school, I was in the show choir, and this was the first song we learned. It brought back good memories.

Historic Bethlehem is starting to play the Christmas music in the trees. The traditional carols and tunes of this exciting holiday season can be heard when walking down Main Street. Vespers will be in less than two weeks! Our Concert Choir has been preparing so hard lately. We only have three more rehearsals before our first show! I'm really excited for Vespers this year because I know what to expect. Last year, I was excited, but also anxious just because it was new. If you ever get the chance to go to a Vespers Service, take it! All Moravian students get three complimentary tickets to the performance of their choice, and many choose not to take advantage. My e-mail inbox is flooded with e-mails from students in need of tickets! So if the opportunity ever comes about, don't give it up! It is definitely an experience.

Well, I'm going to leaving for home really soon! Everyone have a good Thanksgiving! Eats lots!!

2005-11-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

Moravian's offense lines up against the Muhlenberg

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't written in a while. Life has been rather busy here at Moravian. Last weekend was the huge Moravian vs. Muhlenberg rivalry football game. After a quite close game, the hounds ended victorious. Presenting a 24-19 win over the Mules of Muhlenberg. I posted a few shots from the game, hope you enjoy!

After the big win over Muhlenberg, the Moravian football team traveled to Frostburg State in Maryland. It was there that they played the ECAC Southwest bowl game. Once again the hounds returned to Bethlehem victorious after their 14-7 victory. With these last two wins the hounds finished the season 7-4.

2005-11-21T11:42:00.001-05:00

The hounds celebrate their victory!

2005-11-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

My housemate and good friend, Becky and I enjoying the game

The First Time

2005-11-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

November has arrived, and the air has gotten a little cooler, but there are still tons of big things happening at Moravian.

First off, I have to congratulate the Moravian Women's Soccer team for the historic events of the past week. They just got their first bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament in program history! The women defeated Washington Lee University in double OT on Saturday afternoon, and are currently playing a second match as I type this entry. Good luck to the Lady Greyhounds. They carry a college's hopes with them.

In my personal life, I received great news as well. I will be studying abroad in Seville, Spain for the 2006 spring semester. It was an arduous process with applications and deadlines, but I got it done, and now I've got to get my student Visa. Shout out of thanks to all the professors and faculty who made this dream a reality.

I made some good contacts with alumni at the Networking Receptions that took place this past week. Warren Hilton, head of The Career Center does a tremendous job in setting students up for a successful future after graduation. Fingers crossed, I hope I made some good impressions.

This week is going to be a fun one. The entertainment event of the semester is taking place this weekend, with the hip-hop sounds of Common and Rahzel invading Johnston Hall. If you're in the area, come check it out, and also think about purchasing Common's latest record. I heard it recently, and it's great work.

Other than that, I'm pretty busy but I'm enjoying it all. Make sure you take a tour in the fall, and maybe I'll see you before I head to Spain.

Adios

2005-11-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

Wow, have I been busy!! For some reason, the past two weeks were very, very hectic, with tests, papers, and scheduling! Sorry for only posting once so far!

As I had written in my last blog, I am a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, a Greek social organization. In the fall, all the Greek organizations have Informal Rush. Each fraternity or sorority will have a night where anyone is welcome to come and see what Greek life is all about. After attending the Rush nights, the organizations decide who they are going to give bids to (bids are invitations, inviting a person to rush the sorority or fraternity). If you receive one of these, you can either choose to accept or deny it. Informal Rush is a lot less stressful than Formal Rush, which is in the spring time. Formal Rush is about a week long. If you are a girl, you must attend all the sororities rush nights, and if you are a guy, you must attend all the fraternities rush nights, granted you want to rush. It's a very long process that requires you at many events.

If you are a freshman, here at Moravian, you are not allowed to rush until your second semester. I think this is a really good thing, because your first semester at college is stressful enough on its own. I actually had no intention of joining a sorority. I had many friends in sororities, but the thought of joining didn't interest me in my freshman year. However, this year, I went to Informal Rush, and I really enjoyed myself. I received a bid, and accepted, and went through about four weeks of rushing. Each fraternity and sorority have different rush periods. Within these weeks of rush, you are required to attend certain events. There are different ceremonies that bring you closer to becoming a sister or brother of the organization. At the end of rush, you are a part of an Initiation Ceremony. That is what I had about two weeks ago. I am now a full-fledged member of Alpha Sigma Alpha and I'm loving every bit of it. But Greek life is not for everyone. Rumors are spread at colleges that if you are not part of Greek life, you don't have a social life at all. This is definitely not true. Last year, I had a blast, and I was not part of a sorority.

Okay, well I've blabbered enough. If you're coming to Moravian anytime soon, make sure to bundle up!! It's getting cold out!!

It's November Already?!

2005-11-08T22:44:00.000-05:00

Wow - I've been here at Moravian since August 21, and time has flown! It's hard to believe that it's November already!

The past few weeks have been busy, but a lot of fun. In celebration of Halloween, the residents of south campus hosted their annual Haunted House two weeks ago in Clewell, the men's dorm here on South. I had the great honor of getting to be one of the "dead" bodies in the basement. Myself and a few others were under sheets like bodies in a morgue. When victims - I mean, guests - came through, we would slowly come to life and chase them outside. It was a lot of fun, and people were really scared!

It has also been a busy time for the marching band. The day after the haunted house, we marched in the Bethlehem Halloween Parade. The parade was absolutely huge - over a mile and a half long people lining the streets and two tv cameras! There were many local bands, but I think we were the most crowd-pleasing, as the whole band was in costume! My section was characters from the Mario videogame. Other costumes included characters from the Wizard of Oz, fairies, french maids and school girls, to name a few. This past weekend was the band's last performance at a football game. It was a beautiful day for the game, and we performed a stunning show written entirely by seniors in the band. Today was band cleanup, where we organized and filed all of our music, cleaned instruments, and packed away uniforms. As tedious as waking up early on saturdays for football games has been, marching band has been a lot of fun and I will miss it this spring.

On friday, Veteran's Day, the Moravian College Orchestra is performing a benefit concert for the Family Readiness Group of the Pennsylvania National Guard's Bravo Company, 228th Forward Support Battalion. This Bethlehem-based Battalion was recently sent to Iraq, and the Family Readiness Group provides support for the families of the troops. The concert will include patriotic music, as well as selections including the theme from the movie "Saving Private Ryan." This is my first concert with the orchestra, and I'm looking forward to it!

In the meantime, registration for spring courses is already in full swing, and Thanksgiving break is just around the corner! Until next time,

Beautiful Day

2005-11-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm writing to you all at the tail end of a beautiful weekend we had here at Moravian. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous, and students were out and about playing on the Quad and throughout campus. It was a great weekend to close out a very tough academic two weeks I have had personally.

The Women's Soccer team made it all the way to the conference finals, where they played top-seeded Messiah College. I unfortunately was unable to attend the event, but the school actually organized a bus to take our loyal fans out to the game being played at Messiah. The girls lost, but they still have a chance to get into the NCAA tournament or the ECACs. Regardless of what happens, the team had a great year.

A lot of fun stuff is being planned for this week. Monday night, the residents of the Rau and Hassler Residential halls will compete floor-by-floor in a College Knowledge Bowl playoff. The winner will receive gift certificates to Best Buy, which will be clutch with all the media that will be coming out in the coming weeks (Live 8 DVD, Keane DVD, U2 DVD, etc). On Tuesday, there is the annual Career Networking Reception that connects alumni and current students to discuss future employment after leaving school. And on Wednesday, Student Athlete Mentors (SAM) will have a magician to discuss alcohol awareness. I am actually involved in all three of these activities, so I'll be pretty busy this week, not to mention my professors expect me to do work as well.

Other than that, everything has been pretty normal. This past week SAM met to discuss promotion for the magician, as well as organizing our next program: The Wing Bowl. For this event, we will be having a buffalo wing eating competition to raise money for charity. It's a great organization that proves that athletes do care about giving back to the school and the community.

Have a good week, stay strong, and I hope to see you soon. Maybe you'll have me as a tour guide if you come up to see the school. See you next time.

Walk On

2005-10-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

Well, it's hard to believe that a very long week has passed, and now it's time for Round 2 of my blog entries.

As I mentioned last entry, this week was very busy in terms of academics and athletics, and the remainder of my time was spent in one of four ways: extra-curricular activities, sleeping, eating or breathing.

This past Saturday we faced Susquehanna University on the quad, and we played to a great atmosphere of parents and fans since it was Senior Day. All of our seniors were announced over the loud speaker, and there was added incentive for a great performance because if we won, we would be guaranteed a spot in the MAC playoffs.

Unfortunately, S.U. was the better team on Saturday, and we ended up losing 3-1. It was heartbreaking, and everyone was really emotional since it was the last game we would ever see from the seniors. I'd just like to say thanks to our older brothers for the efforts they put forth all four years and the wonderful people they are both on and off the field. It won't be the same without you guys.

I felt like I got closer with my floor this week, as we prepared our hall for the annual Haunted House. It's an attraction we put together each year for the local children of Bethlehem and the other Moravian residents as well. While I was at soccer practice, the boys of Pit Rau did a great job trick-or-treating our spot out, complete with faux bloodstains, creepy music, and a dripping shower sound-effect that really put us over the top. So many people contributed to the project, and it was a great display of floor unity. Really well done.

This week will have a little more room for leisure activities, but it will still have a lot of work. I will be mailing my study abroad application in the morning, so all I can do now is knock on wood. I hope all goes well.

If you stop by Moravian around this time, you'll probably see flyers all over campus for the annual fall semester music act we always bring in. In years past, this elite list has included a vast array of musicians: Wyclef Jean, O.A.R., and Something Corporate, just to name a few. This year, Common will be set of perform. Hip-hop has a growing following here at Moravian, and it's high time that someone decided to bring in a rap act. Also performing will be Rahzel, and if you know who he is, you know that it is going to be a special evening. If you're going to be in the area, think about checking it out. Maybe Kanye West will stop by.

Speaking of rap, this past Wednesday night I was a special guest on my friend's radio show. WRMC is Moravian's radio station, and it has really been revamped in the past two years. Anyway, I showed off my freestyling abilities to his listeners, and it was pretty fun. If only I had more time, I might think about doing a show.

This Tuesday, my friend and I are waiting until midnight to drive to Wal-Mart and pick up the new Star Wars video game. We've been waiting for this once since last year, so it would be wise for me to get some of my work out of the way, because George Lucas' games have been known to consume whole hours of my time without me even noticing.

Other than that, everything is going well. A few projects, some papers, and some summer internship applications, but that's college, and I'm sure I'll miss it when I graduate. I hope all is well in your lives, and that you get a chance to stop by the school and take a tour. Keep steppin', and I'll hopefully see you around.

Boo at the Zoo

2005-10-30T16:40:00.000-05:00

Nikki in the Teepee at Boo at the Zoo

Hello!

This past Saturday, I went with the TLC Mentoring (TLC = The Learning Connection) group to our first Saturday event, called Boo at the Zoo. During this event, we went to a petting zoo, which was set up with 16 stations to trick or treat and look at the animals. It was a lot of fun! At one point there was a teepee, which you can go inside and there are replica sketches of animals, imitating what you may have found in teepees drawn on animal skins. Above is a picture of my mentee, Nikki, who is in 5th grade. Both mentors and mentees were encouraged to dress up and many did, but it was so cold Nikki and I were glad that we brought our coats!!!

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

Homecoming!

2005-10-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! This is my first post as a Moravian College Blogger, so I should introduce myself. My name is Lindsey and I'm a sophomore Elementary Education/History major with a minor in Music. I'm in 26 Points, which is the touring organization on campus, I'm a Resident Advisor in Jo Smith, a part of Phi Eta Sigma, Delta Omicron, and Alpha Sigma Alpha, and a member of the concert choir.

I recently joined Alpha Sigma Alpha, a social sorority (the other organizations are honor fraternities), and because of that, I was able to be a part of the Homecoming festivities! The weather was not so nice for us this past Saturday, but that didn't stop us! For those of you who do not know about Moravian's homecoming, there is always a parade, and all the Greek organizations and some others build floats, and ride through Bethlehem to the stadium before the game. It's a huge tradition. This year, the parade was cancelled because of the weather, but we pulled it off! My sorority went around to all the other Greek organizations and told them we were still planning to ride our float, and everyone jumped on the band wagon! Even though we could only ride through the campus, it was still a blast!! I'm so glad I enjoyed this homecoming, even though it was yucky!!

It's a very cold day today, so it's time to bundle up!! The holidays are approaching us quickly! We're already past mid-terms! It's unbelievable. Bethlehem is one of the best cities to be in during the holiday festivities, being that it is the Christmas City. The whole town lights up, and there's always something happening, one event being Vespers, a long-time tradition in Bethlehem. Being part of the concert choir on campus, I am privileged as to be a part of Vespers. An estimated 6,000 people attend each year. It's something you want to experience if you are ever in Bethlehem, granted you are able to acquire a ticket (that can be very tricky sometimes). However, if you come to Moravian, you are guaranteed 3 tickets to one of the 6 performances, so that's a definite plus!

I've rambled enough for my first post. There will definitely be more to come!

Fall is in the Air

2005-10-23T18:19:00.000-04:00

Well, as this is my first post for the MoCo Blog, I ought to introduce myself. My name is Rachel, and I am a freshman music education major, my main instrument being cello. I was born in Maryland but spent most of my life in New York, about two hours away. But as my parents were both born and raised nearby here in Pennsylvania, this is more home to me than anywhere else. As a young child, I loved coming to Bethlehem, especially at Christmas time - for anyone who hasn't seen the "Christmas City" in December, it is certainly a trip worth making! So being able to live right here in Bethlehem is like a dream come true.

One big benefit of living on South Campus as I do is being able to take advantage of the plentiful music and art events that occur here. Just recently I attended the opening performance of the Piano Masters Concert Series, with world-renowned pianist Joshua Pierce. Most concerts on campus are free to students; thus being able to see such fantastic musicians perform not only is a rare honor and opportunity, but won't break the bank!

Well, that's all for now. And be sure to bundle up; the cooler weather is upon us!

A Sort of Homecoming

2005-10-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

Well, it's just past midterms, and it is amazing to see how quickly the air has got chillier, a sign-unbelievably-that the first semester is coming to a conclusion. But before I go any further, allow myself to introduce...myself. My name is Peter C., and I'm a junior at Moravian College. I'm majoring in International Management and English Writing, and come the spring, I will (hopefully) be spending the semester abroad in Seville, Spain.

Homecoming Weekend is upon us as I type. It's going to be a bit difficult for me to enjoy it all. I actually play soccer for the men's team here, and while it is a great atmosphere for us with all the old alumni coming back and watching us, our priority is to win this weekend. And what an important weekend it is! We play Scranton this Saturday afternoon with an encore conference match against rivals Elizabethtown College Monday afternoon.

The college really is immersed in school spirit, and it has been all building up from the events this past week. The school has been staging everything from t-shirt making to the Homecoming Dance, and you can feel the excitement as students and alumni walk all over campus.

This week has been pretty easy-going academically for me, although the ten days after Homecoming Weekend are going to be very challenging, and they may very well decide my grades for the semester. I also have to take into account that I need to get all my study abroad forms in, because it is getting to be crunch time. One of my friends here, who is going to Florence in the spring, just got officially accepted into her program, and she told me it is a great feeling. Hopefully, I'll be there soon.

The Moravian College Theater Company has its opening night tonight, and I hope all goes well for the entire cast and crew. I worked with them last spring, and they really are wonderfully talented people, but more importantly they are kind people. My mom has been a fan since the first show she saw last winter, so hopefully she'll get a chance to see a performance this weekend when she comes up for my game. It (the theater) really is an aspect of this college that deserves all the praise it receives.

It's hard to imagine, but I am already planning for the summer. This past summer, I interned at the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal, where I wrote and edited stories for a weekly newspaper. This summer, I'm looking to do an internship somewhere along the same lines, so the entire process of networking and cover letters has begun again. But the Career Center here has done a good job in providing me with advice and networking resources, so I'm not worried.

A wise man once told me that I should never let school get in the way of my education. I later found out that he was paraphrasing Mark Twain, but the lesson stuck regardless. While some people are satisfied with just doing the work assigned to them, I'm trying to go one step further. After soccer season, I am going to start Moravian's first (that I know of) sketch comedy group. The idea has been tinkering around in my mind for quite some time now, and I've already played around making some flyers. Some sketches have already been written, but it's really just in its early stages. More info to follow though, as the process evolves.

Other than that, all is fine from the Star City. Hopefully, if you are looking into the school, you'll get the chance to stop by during the fall before winter. I personally think that autumn is the best season for the college, both visually and communally.

Hope to see you around sometime.

Time to catch up!

2005-10-17T11:37:00.000-04:00

Oh wow! It has been forever! Sorry about that! Since school has started, many things have been happening, mostly with school and homework, but also a lot of different activities going on during the last month or so. For example, as you can see above, there is an annual festival right down the street right next to South Campus that is called Celticfest and it is a celebration of all Celtic culture and heritage. Above is a picture of one of the celtic groups which was amazing. There were also Celtic rock bands, including one called The Glengarry Bhoys, who were awesome! There were tons of stands to get food, clothes, jewelry, and other Celtic treasures. I went two out of the three nights and it just kept getting better!

What else has been happening? Tons! For the residents in the Bernhardt/Wilhelm dorm there were many activities during the first week in October because it was the same week as our midterms, which are always stressful. In order to relieve those stresses a bit, on October 3rd, we had one of the counselors at the Learning Center and Counseling Center come and talk about study skills, especially on how to improve study skills. The next night, Tuesday the 4th, the residents advisors put on a movie in the lounge, where donuts and coffee were provided in order for the residents to take a break from studying and wake up a little in order to return to studying later! Also, there was a volleyball game, on the volleyball court behind the Bernhardt/Wilhelm dorm, late at night in order to let the residents relieve their stress in a more active way.

Since midterms, we had fall break, from October 8th-October 11th, which was a nice break after midterms. Now we're back in school and the activities have started back up! This past weekend, the organization on campus called IMPACT organized a fun night called Rocktoberfest. A band from New Jersey called The Troublemakers played first, then this comedic singer named Joshua Grosvent sang and told jokes, which were hysterical!!! After Joshua Grosvent, there was a pie eating contest with some of the residents that attended Rocktoberfest and lastly, a band named Zodiac played. This band was amazing and the lead singer actually attends Moravian College. They were a really good band, and on November 6th they are actually going to be playing at Crocodile Rock which is nearby in Allentown and always has bands playing!

Well, I think that has caught us up. This week is Spirit Week and each day there are different activities like glass etching, make your own t-shirt, a spirit dinner, a discount day for the bookstore, and on Friday is our Homecoming Dance. On Saturday is Moravian's Homecoming Football game against Wilkes University, which should be a great game! I'm also excited because the IMPACT movie for this week is Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, with Johnny Depp! IMPACT puts on a different movie each week, with several of playing times, once on Wednesday, twice on Friday night, and once on Saturday afternoon; the movie is free and they are always really good, recent movies that have pretty much just left the theatres! I love being able to see movies here for free! :- )

Take care and talk to you soon!

Back to School

2005-09-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

Emmy K twirlin' away!

Well, hello there! Yes, the school year has started back up, full force! Classes and everything started back up about three weeks ago, but it's been so hectic that I haven't been able to write until now!

This picture from above is from this past weekend's football game against Susquehanna, which we won 22-10! This Emmy K, a fellow blogger, who is the Moravian Twirler and is absolutely amazing! :-)

Last night I went to a presentation with my freshmen residents, put on by IMPACT. Tom Ryan was the speaker and his goal was to talk about how to "Fight the Freshmen 15". It was an interesting presentation, which I remember from last year as well I believe. He is a very charismatic speaker and knows how to get students' attention.

What else is happening on campus? Well, everything is just starting up; there are sports events, the clubs are starting their meetings, and events are being planned for Moravian College. This coming Sunday there is a planned trip to Dorney Park for the whole day and it only cost students $10!!! What a deal!

Other than that, classes are calling, which means that I have to go do some work! Sorry for the short entry, I will keep you up-to-date with everything that is going on!

Finale of the Mexico tales...

2005-08-11T00:26:00.000-04:00

The last weekend trip, we went to Acapulco where there were no plans whatsoever, we had a three day weekend of free time, which was amazing especially since we had pretty much finished up classes and this was our last weekend together!!! My new friends and I spent the days on the beach and toured around at night, enjoying the peace, quiet, and relaxation of the weekend. The views, as everywhere else in Mexico, were gorgeous, the waves were enormous, the tide extremely strong, and the restaurants... well, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, so it wasn't exactly Mexican cuisine. However, this weekend was an amazing way to finish off my journey to Mexico. That next week, we finished up our classes, took our finals, and had a graduation ceremony, where I got a diploma from UDLA! On Friday, July 1st, after six weeks of studying abroad in Mexico, I returned home leaving behind a phenomenal experience that I will never forget with the classes, activities, weekend trips, and the amazing new friends that I returned home with!!!

Oaxaca

2005-08-10T23:58:00.000-04:00

Monte Alban (Oaxaca)

This two day trip started off with our tour group arriving in Oaxaca to visit a beautiful monastery called Saint Domingo of Guzman. There were definitely some amazing views from the monastery and also the inside had been made into a museum of some of the accomplishments and the history of the monks and the state of Oaxaca, which was really interesting. Then we visited in the surrounding town, Mitla, which was as well known for their town arts as Taxco was known for its silver. In Mitla, we visited this little hut where this old townsman showed us the art of the pottery that he made. Every piece was made by this man and his family and it was the most beautiful pottery that I have ever seen!
The next day, after spending the night in Oaxaca, we visited Monte Alban, which you can see above; the ruins of Oaxaca were gorgeous, but the view was even more beautiful. The ruins were high up in the mountains and although they were not as tall as the pyramids in Teotihuacan, the ruins were extremely detailed and beautiful.

Taxco!

2005-08-10T23:30:00.000-04:00

View of the town of Taxco

Now this town was not only gorgeous, but also was known because it was near a silver mine, therefore we were told at the beginning of the six weeks to save money for the trip to Taxco. There were jewelry stores everywhere in this town, which was located in the mountains, along hilly, cobblestone streets; above you can see the town set right in the mountains. We were able to spend a whole day shopping for gorgeous (and relatively inexpensive) jewelry! This was my favorite location I think, simply for the gorgeous views from every part of the town.

Xalapa and Veracruz

2005-08-10T23:21:00.000-04:00

Statue in the Museum of Anthropology

The second weekend trip consisted of going to both Xalapa and Veracruz. First we arrived in Xalapa, where we went to the Museum of Anthropology, which was really cool because there were a lot of statues (like the really funny one above) that had been found in ruins from around Xalapa. After checking out the museum for about an hour, we left for Veracruz, where we were able to visit an old fortress called the Fortress of San Juan, which was really historical because we got to go into old jail cells that were in use as early as the early 1800s! The only low point of this trip was that it was really hot and humid, especially during the two hours we spent at the fortress, but both the museum and the fortress were extremely cool and afterwards we were able to go swimming at the beach in Veracruz!!!

First Weekend at Teotihuacan

2005-08-10T23:06:00.000-04:00

The pyramids at Teotihuacan

So, you're probably wondering what happened on the weekends. Well, Friday through Sunday, each weekend, there was a different cultural trip to a different part of Mexico. The first weekend, I went on the weekend trip to Teotihuacan where we saw the Pyramid of the Moon (piramide de la luna) and the Pyramid of the Sun (piramide del sol). The Pyramid of the Sun, the larger of the two pyramids in the picture above, is the third largest pyramid in the world, although the tour guide informed us that it is less than half the size of the largest pyramids. When we arrived at the pyramids, we toured the other parts of the ruins nearby, including underneath the pyramids. Then we got a half an hour to climb either one of the pyramids; despite being afraid of heights, I climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, which was absolutely amazing! I really enjoyed this weekend trip, because the history of the pyramids and the ruins was fascinating, and I overcame part of my fear of heights!!!

Mexico! Part I

2005-08-09T21:43:00.000-04:00

"The Girls"

So I haven't really been keeping you up-to-date with my summer agenda, but I want to tell you all about my study abroad to Mexico!!! I went through the LVAIC study abroad program (which works with all of the Lehigh Valley universities) to the University of the Americas, or Universidad de las Americas (UDLA) located in the town of Cholula, in the state of Puebla. I lived in a suite, with a small living area with a small kitchen space, a bathroom, and four "dorm rooms". I lived with two girls from the United States (my roommate was from Moravian actually) and another girl who lives in Washington state. Then I had four roommates who were from different parts of Mexico; it was really interesting, living with that many people in the suite and dealing with cultural differences, especially always speaking spanish to them!

Mexico was an amazing experience; I took two spanish classes, so every morning Monday -Thursday I spent in class, and then we had some activity available to do every afternoon. On Mondays there were cultural talks about different parts of Mexico; Wednesdays were tours around Puebla and Cholula, including a couple of really beautiful churches. Tuesdays and Thursdays there were workshops; each workshop lasted three weeks (so each student participated in two since we were there for six weeks). For the first three weeks, I went to this orphanage where we would first do arts and crafts and then we would have free time. It was such an amazing experience because the children were so vivacious and just so excited about everything we would do together! One of the study abroad students from a different college taught some of the boys how to dance like Michael Jackson does in the music video of "Thriller". It was hysterical because the kids were completely in awe of this student! My other workshop, for the last three weeks was photography, where I was able to visit many different places around Cholula and Puebla. We concentrated mostly on taking pictures of some beautiful churches nearby; one of the tour guides said that there were more than 300 churches in Cholula alone! Needless to say there were plenty of churches to take pictures of and I have plenty of pictures!

Finals are upon us!

2005-05-02T17:32:00.000-04:00

That's right, we have reached finals week! Last Friday evening, after all of classes were over, the school put on this picnic and fair to help us celebrate. Last year it was outside, but since it's been so rainy lately, we had the activities and dinner inside, which was still fun. There were some fun activities, like you would find at a fair, such as a game where you pick two letters and then these alphabet dice were thrown; if one of your chosen letters came up on the die, then you received a prize. For instance, I won a cool Scooby Doo purple blown up guitar! There was also this blown up huge red chair, where you could sit with your friends and have pictures taken; it was a lot of fun so I took part in two pictures with my friends.

In a different room there was a station where you could design letters to put on shorts, and make your own shorts. In this room there was also a station where you could get charicatures drawn, which was pretty neat. The two other activities were a psychic and a money machine. The money machine consisted of pieces of green paper with a price on it, which was placed in this rectangular box; you had to go get raffle tickets and if your raffle ticket number was called, you got to stand in this box. Air would then be blown through the box, making all the green pieces of paper to fly up; as long as you didn't pick any papers off the floor, the goal was to catch as many pieces of green paper as possible for a time limit of a minute. After the minute, you went back to the raffle ticket table, where they counted up the money on your green pieces of paper and you were then awarded that money! That was a big hit in the HUB, however my friends' raffle tickets were not called.

Dinner was also fun because it was picnic food, like hamburgers, hot dogs, hoagies, and anything else you could imagine at a picnic. In the cafeteria, with the food, they had a DJ playing music too. I think that this was a lot more fun outside last year, but it still was a nice break and nice reminder that classes were done!

On Saturday, the TLC Too Mentors and Mentees got together with their families and had a last mentoring event. We ate, got to play games, were able to partake in snow cones and cotton candy, and then the mentees received awards for being in the program and for participating in the events. It was a really nice couple of hours and all of the mentors and mentees seemed to have a lot of fun!

On Sunday was the softball intramural championship, where "The Hasslers," which is the team I was on, played the first game. We played a good game, but unfortunately lost 10-9. We had a fun season, and even though we did not win a lot of games, it was worth it because of the fun we had!

Alright ... so that was the weekend. Now it is finals week and everyone is going crazy! It also doesn't help that it's raining out becuase now people are going stir crazy from sitting inside! Fortunately, tonight and tomorrow night at midnight, the school is putting on Midnight Oasis in the HUB, where the school provides breakfast food to anyone who wants to come up and take a break from studying. I think I may just go up and finish up my studying there!

I will try and write again before I leave for summer break... if not, talk to you in the summer! :-)

2005-05-02T15:17:00.000-04:00

Snuggling up with two of my favorite little twirlers, Alexa and Emily. Both of the girls had an awesome weekend at championships and will be going to Nationals in July to represent the North Atlantic.

2005-05-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

Quick picture of Jessie Megliss and I. She twirls for the University of Pittsburgh, as a PItt Golden Girl. It was great to see her!

what a weekend!

2005-05-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

Mom and I after awards, we're both looking a little tired.....long but awesome weekend!

Much to my disappointment, I didn’t get to spend the last weekend of the semester with everyone here at Moravian. Instead, I headed to Hammonton New Jersey for Regional Baton Twirling Championships. As Moravian’s feature twirler, I compete against various twirlers from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, these states make up the North Atlantic. Preliminary competition was held on Saturday during the day. The competition started at 8:00, so it was quite an early morning. After over 5 routines/performances Saturday, results were posted and I found out I made finals! Feeling quite happy about this, it was time for a good dinner and a goodnight sleep for the next day’s competition. Only the top three girls from each division qualify for finals. During finals all three girls re-twirl, this process is known as a “twirl-off”. After one more performance it was time for awards. Much to my happiness, I won!!!! Other than being Moravian’s feature twirler I’m now Miss Majorette of the North Atlantic. The title “miss majorette” was created long ago when competitive twirling first began, since then the sport has changed quite a bit but we still keep the “miss majorette” title. The last time I won this regional title was in 1999, so I was definitely due for another win. This title also qualifies me for National Championships which is held at Notre Dame University in Indiana during July. I definitely have a lot of practice ahead of me this summer. I certainly missed everyone this weekend, but if I had to miss everyone, coming home a regional champion isn’t so bad! haha!

2005-04-25T11:24:00.000-04:00

"We'll start the bidding at $5.00!" Senior Scott Silvoy hosted the auction, as he pointed out all of his fraternity brother's strong points.

Last week, one of our fraternities on campus hosted a man auction. Each brother was presented up on stage and the guys from the fraternity were auctioned off and could be purchased as dates. Next week the fraternity will host a meal where the brothers and the dates that purchased them will enjoy a spaghetti dinner. The bidding started at $5.00, with one of the brothers being auctioned off for as much as $50.00. The money from the auction is to support Youth Aids.

Weekend Update

2005-04-18T17:41:00.000-04:00

Sorry, no pictures again, but I will post some soon, I promise!

This weekend was hectic! Saturday, from 9-2, I was at the TLC Family Picnic, which we held here on campus this year (last year we went to a park that is about a mile away from North Campus). My mentee and I got to play boardgames, play outside, and we had a picnic lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs, along with the other mentors, mentees, and family members. It was a really nice event. At the end, each mentor and mentee got a gift to thank them for their participation. I still meet with my mentee twice more this Thursday and then next Thursday; since she is only in fourth grade though, she automatically returns to the TLC program again as a fifth grader, so I will get to meet with her again next year!

After my mentee left, I tried to get some homework done, which naturally, did not happen and then around 4 pm I left for Easton. 'Why go to Easton?' you may ask... Well, the professor from Muhlenburg who is going on my study abroad trip this coming May to Puebla, Mexico lives in Easton and all of the students who will be going to Mexico were meeting up for our final orientation. It was really exciting to get more information; I really cannot wait to go because I know that it will be such an amazing experience!

When I got back from that around 7, I quickly got ready to go down to South Campus, to Foy Hall, where our choir, orchestra, and three soloists performed Haydn's 'Creation'. It was a really nice performance and although I was exhausted from the long day, I really enjoyed the music.

Sunday, after sleeping for as many hours as possible, I played in another intramural softball game, which was a lot of fun. We lost again, but we still went out to Rita's afterwards for fun! I then brought a lot of stuff that I won't need for the rest of the semester home and got to eat dinner with my parents, which was nice. I cannot believe that I am bringing stuff home already! Where did the semester go?!?!

Well, I had better get working on all of the projects, papers, lesson plans, and sudying for tests that are coming up in the next two weeks! I'll catch up with you later this week!

Long Week!

2005-04-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

But only about two left! This is insane! There are merely two weeks left until finals week, which is going to be tough!

Let's see... what is new? This week has been full of tests, writing papers, etc., and some programs. On Tuesday afternoon I went to a Peace Corps Information Session because that is what I am interesting in doing, directly following college graudation. It was really awesome that I got to meet a Peace Corps volunteer and talk with her about her direct experience! On Wednesday night, I went back to Easter Seals to work with the teens there; we had a sports night and started off by playing a really fun game of tag! I know it sounds like elementary school, but it is really fun to see the joy on these teens' faces when they're simply just socializing with each other and the volunteers there.

Thursday night I had a softball game with the Hassler Intramural Team; a bunch of guys who live upstairs made up an intramural softball team for people from our dorm (Hassler) and tonight was our second game (although I missed the first one). I love softball and even though we lost tonight, it was a good game and we all had a lot of fun! Later that night Officer Malloy and several other of the Campus Safety Officers held a program in different freshmen dorm lounges to hold a program, "Identity Theft". We learned valid information about identity theft and how to do everything possible in order to prevent it from happening to us; it was interesting.

Tonight, went out with my sixth grade mentee, who I mentor through TLC Too, which is made for those students who have gone through the 4th and 5th grades as TLC mentees. TLC Too is different from the original TLC program though because it is completely mentor-run; the community service director, Phyllis Walsh, does not plan or participate in any activities other than when we invite her to join us for fun! Unlike the original TLC, in TLC Too, we do not meet weekly with our mentees at their schools, rather we meet for group events once a month and then the mentors and mentees communicate and spend time together on their own time. So earlier tonight, my mentee and I went to dinner and then went to see "Robots" in a theater about 15 minutes away from campus. "Robots" was such a cute movie and she and I had a lot of fun! This was the last time I will see her most likely through the TLC programs, but I gave her my address and phone number and I am positive that she and I will stay in touch.

Okay, well I have a busy weekend coming up, but for now I have to get some work done! I will fill you in later!

Crazyness lately...

2005-04-15T15:27:00.000-04:00

Hey guys,
Once again, I must apologize for the lack of blogging in the past week or so. Hopefully you all enjoyed the pictures from last time though. That was then, this is now

1.) Crazy amount of school work...like I have said before it's April and that is the time when all of the teacher's have to get all of their assignments in, even if they are behind. Excluding the three papers I spoke of last time, which all got finished on time and amazingly were not all that stressful to get through, I just had to make sure to manage my time wisely and get things done before the last minute. I am finally at a period of break with no schoolwork, but I know this will not last long because finally are quickly approaching. I can't wait for those long nights of studying, woohoo!!

2.) Crazy amount of touring...As mentioned in a prior blog it is that time of year again when accepted students make there finally visits to the college to make that final decision. Well, in the Admissions office we just finished off what we call Blue & Grey days this is a series of five days where accepted students come on to campus and they are treated to a tour, they sit in on a class, and they eat lunch in the cafeteria with their families and other accepted students plus current students and coaches. These days have been kind of hectic, but we just finished the last one, but it was our biggest one, we had almost 60 families show up today, that equals about 150 people on campus, plus everyone that is already here. Encompassing all of those people was a bit of situation, but we figured it all out and got things running smoothly and it all worked out fine.

3.) Initiation...Finally, it was the day that all of our pledges were looking forward to, the day that they are officially initiated as brothers. The occasion was grand, we ended up initiating all ten of the guys that we started with and they all seemed super excited after it was all over and we could call them brothers for the first time. It actually was really cool seeing all of these guys walking around in their letters for the first time. The first time I saw my little brother walking around in his letters was awesome, just hanging out with him and helping him out since the beginning of the whole process really had its rewards when I saw him in his black and red letters.

Well, that's all of the new information that I have for right now. Unfortunately, I forgot the cable I needed to post pictures up during this log, but if you check on here anytime after Monday, you will be sure to see some pictures from initiation and other events.

Later on,

B-E-A-UTIFUL!

2005-04-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

To quote from "Bruce Almighty" that is! The weather has been simply gorgeous; I think it was mid 70s on Wednesday, which was absolutely amazing! You could tell that most everyone else agreed too because students were out on the quad playing sports, laying out in the sun with books, or just spending as much time outside as possible. So amazing... Yesterday and today are gorgeous days too, and no one even minded the rain last night because it's already cleared out!!!

Another good thing about Wednesday was that we had a speaker, Margaret Wheatley, who gave a presentation on leadership. It was interesting to hear her point of view on certain issues and her stories of leaders that she has met through her travels and work. It was really cool!

Yesterday, I went to William Penn Elementary School, which is about a five minute walking distance from Moravian, where I mentor. It was a lot of fun; my mentee and I played the game "Memory" and then we had fun making friendship bracelets. We had a really good time and I cannot wait until next week.

Well, today is going to be a fun day, busy day but fun! It's already gorgeous out, around 50 degrees, and it's supposed to reach the mid 60s. Have a great day!

Zeta Formal

2005-04-03T01:42:00.000-05:00

Ginny and I at Zeta Formal

Tonight was the night of my sorority's formal, Zeta Tau Alpha. It took place at a nearby country club and it was an amazing time. This is a picture of my friend Ginny and I, who also went on Spring Break Vacation together. The formal was a lot of fun, with a good dinner and good friends, although I have to admit that I am pretty exhausted! It has been a crazy day!

Okay, what else did I do? Well this past week I have just been trying to catch up with homework and also to get some things done with paperwork dealing with my study abroad program. This summer I will be travelling to Mexico through LVAIC, where I will take spanish classes and finish my spanish minor; the study abroad program also includes weekend excursions to different parts of Mexico, and also workshops through the university that I will be attending in Puebla City. I cannot wait! One of the workshops that I want to take part in, is working at an orphanage, which will be an amazing experience... the whole trip will be! Friday night I got the chance to go with my friends, Brynn and Ginny, to see the movie they were showing in Prosser Auditorium: Ocean's Twelve. I thought it was a good movie; I was really tired so I'm not sure how I would rate it compared with the first movie, but I still enjoyed it just the same.

Anyway, so yes, this week has been extremely busy! Today was no exception; a little after noon, I met up with my mentee who is in 6th grade, and therefore part of the TLC Too (continuation of the original The Learning Connection organization) and the other mentees and mentors in TLC Too. First, we had an Easter Egg Hunt in the lounge of Rau-Hassler, one of the freshmen dorms. Afterwards, we travelled to an assisted living home called Country Meadows and worked with some of the residents to make soft pretzels! It was a really fun afternoon. I got back from Country Meadows, drove my mentee home, and then it was time to get ready for the formal, which again, was amaizng!

Tomorrow I will be busy also. I will be attending a Staff Meeting for the Resident Life Staff for a couple of hours and then I will have a sorority chapter meeting in the evening.

Alright, well I really have to go to bed, because I am extremely tired, but I will write later this week. Don't forget to turn your clocks forward an hour!!! Too bad we lose an hour :-( !
Adios!

Girl's Lacrosse Action

2005-04-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Action shot from the Moravian girl's lacrosse game.

Just thought I'd post a shot from the girl's lacrosse game. This picture was taken yesterday at the girl's latest home game. Moravian hosted Wilkes on March 31st. Goals were scored by Lindsey Lustrino, Jess Cordani, Erica Spatz, and Vicky Alston. The hounds played an awesome game, posting an 18-9 victory over Wilkes!!!!

2005-03-31T14:59:00.000-05:00

Alright, last picture i promise, this is another one of my good friends, Kristen, and i really wanted to put this one up because i think it is a great pictures of us...

2005-03-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

This is a picture with another one of my good friends, Regina LaCaruba, unfortunately she is a senior and is graduating this semester...

2005-03-31T14:55:00.000-05:00

Lookin' sharp, this is my family line from my fraternity; left(my big)-Pete Coldwell, myself in the center, right (my little)-Leliveld Emeni; everyone calls him lee though

2005-03-31T14:51:00.000-05:00

My lovely date and i before the party, don't we look hot?

It's April Already?

2005-03-31T14:28:00.000-05:00

This my good friend Julia and one of the coolest kids ever, Pat Bechtel

Hey everyone,

Its has defintely been a long time since i have posted, but i have been really swamped with work lately and the upcoming future show no real end in sight for me. Let's see what can we update you on...

1.) well the pictures that you are seeing are from before and during one of the parties that my fraternity had. It was a date party, but the thing was that it had a New Year's theme to it, so that is why everyone in the pictures is dressed up very formally. It was a good time though, at just around 12 0'clock we had a tape of the ball dropping and we counted down, it was fun. I think everyone that was there said that they had a great time and i am just glad it all went off without a hitch.

2.)Well, its that time of year again here at moravian college, the newly accepted students want to come and take one finally look at the campus, make one final visit. So this is the time that the Admissions office gets a little crazy. I have been giving at least one tour per day, at leats this week and nest week i am actually hosting two overnight visits, when perspective students come to get a real student perspective on things, they meet with some professors, talk with all the other students, eat meals in the cafeteria, and even spend a night in student housing. This is pretty much living the life of a Moravian college student, minues the loads of work that we usually have.

3.) School in general is just kind of frustrating right now, because all of the teachers are getting their final projects in and that means alot of work. Next week alone, i have 3 papers due, all on wednesday, 1 ten-page, 1 five-page, and 1 three-page and if that wasn't enough i have a powerpoint presentation due the following monday. To say the least i may be having to make some late night coffee runs this week. Another thing that is going on right now is registration. Everyone has to prepare and sign-up for the classes that they will be taking next semester. This year i had a couple of hurdles to overcome in my major, but other than that my registration went smoothly, i was only at the registrar's office for about and all of my classes were open. I was pretty surprised, because i heard some people making some bad comments about registration, but i dont really know why.

P.S. hope you enjoy the pictures

Later on,

2005-03-31T14:25:00.000-05:00

my niece, Montana, who i finally got to take a picture of, i have been wanting to do it for so long, but just never got the chance, though some people might like the picture...isn't she adorable

busy week

2005-03-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't blogged for a while life has been quite busy.

Ever Since we returned from Easter Break things have been in high gear here at Moravian. All of my professors are constantly reminding my classmates and me that the end of the semester is approaching quite quickly. This means the next few weeks will be jam packed with projects, papers, exams and work.

We also started next year's housing selection process here at Moravian. The good news is we are guaranteed housing all four years that we are students here at Moravian. Unfortunately, our campus and the amount of students at Moravian is growing so quickly that housing can sometimes prove challenging.

I participated in an online chat the other night for the Moravian admissions office. This time the chat was only for accepted students. It's really interesting to chat with future Moravian students and answer questions that they have about coming to college. I answered questions about financial aid, dorms/housing, classes, and roommates. The admissions office coordinates numerous chats through out the year. I definitely suggest any prospective student to log on and chat; it's a great way to learn more about our campus.

We also had registration for fall classes this week. Registration is always a hectic time. My peers and I are busy scheduling appointments with advisors, getting signatures, and finalizing schedules with the registrar's office. After numerous appointments and signatures I am happy to say that my schedule for next semester is well in place.

What's up with the weather!?

2005-03-23T16:29:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is crazy! Today started off as a gloomy rainy day, then decided to turn into sleet, and now is snowing. You never know how the weather will turn out... it's insane! Anyway, this week has been crazy, but I wanted to fill you in on some of the fun activities that have been going on.

On Monday night there was a "presentation" of sorts in Prosser Auditorium. Dr. Christopher Kilmartin, who has many talents and occupations including comedian, social commentator, and professor (at Mary Washington University in Virginia), came to give us his presentation of "Guy Fi: The Fictions that Rule Men's Lives." This presentation took some of the stereotypes linked to the male gender and tried to open the audience to being accepting of other views of men. This was an interesting topic to say the least and Dr. Kilmartin was an entertaining speaker. About an hour after this presentation was over, the sororities got together to go to another different kind of presentation; here at Moravian we call them "Condom Parties". I know, you may be thinking right now, what kind of people put on a presentation like this and what exactly is this all about? Well, here at Moravian College, there is an organization called the Association of Peer Educators (APE for short), and this is their presentation which addresses issues dealing with sex, using the name to catch the attention of the residents; believe me, it works! This is an interactive presentation with questions, information, and activities where you learn information about STDs and other issues especially related to safe sex. It's actually really interesting and very informative while being interactive and entertaining at the same time. Overall, this evening was full of informative presentations!

Today, my sorority had a Faculty Tea at the sorority house, where we invited different professors and college staff to come and enjoy refreshments, while talking about different subjects. This is a great opportunity that we get to talk to the teachers about their lives and get to know them on a more personal level, which is one of the best parts about the size of Moravian College. I could only stay for about a half an hour, but it was fun. One reason why I had to leave the sorority house so quickly was because I had to meet with my advisors... it's time to schedule classes for next semester already! Absolutely unbelievable that I'm almost in my third year here at Moravian; I guess time does fly when you're having fun! :-)

Okay, well tomorrow is Easter Break, which we get a long week; it'll be a nice opportunity to catch up on work and relax! Have a good weekend!

Weekend Fun

2005-03-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't written for a while, but the end of last week was crazy, as was the weekend. Let's see, where to begin?

On Thursday, I went to mentor, which was a lot of fun because my mentee had made this St. Patrick's Day hat, and she gave it to me; it was so cute! It has all these shamrocks around it and is held together by an Irish Flag! Friday was a busy day for me, because I had two midterms, but they're over now, which is such a relief! Friday night was a lot of fun though, especially when my friend Ginny and I went to see the movie that the Impact organization put on: Finding Neverland. It has Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, was an amazing movie, and do you want to know the best part? It was free! I love having a different movie every week that I can go see with free admission ... just a short walk up to Prosser Auditorium!

Okay, so on Saturday I was supposed to have a TLC Mentoring Event, which would have been really interesting, but my mentee couldn't make it. My mom ended up coming to visit though, and we went shopping on Main Street, which is the mile stretch from North Campus to South Campus here at Moravian. We went into the Moravian Book Shop, which has everything you would ever need! It's a book shop and gift shop, with tons of books, Moravian Stars, and other sorts of gifts. Then we ate lunch at the Brew Works, which is also on Main Street; I have to say that their food is amazing. It's a short walk from campus, and although it would be too expensive to eat there on a regular basis, the Brew Works has amazing food and the prices aren't all too steep.

On Sunday, at 1 pm, the Greeks put on a Powderpuff Flag Football game, where the sororities played each other and the fraternities cheered for us! There was a lot of food and music playing; it was a lot of fun! ZTA and AST played together as a team against ASA and SSS, and it was a nice break from the monotony of doing work on the weekend! It was a tied score at the end of the game, and everyone went home happy!

Well, I guess that's pretty much caught me up for now! Sorry no pictures this time, but I promise to post some sometime soon! Talk to you later this week!

2005-03-19T17:23:00.000-05:00

What a group! Moravian tourguides at 9:00 AM, already for a busy day of giving tours at open house.

What a busy day! Today was Junior Open House at Moravian. Junior Open House is an event that our campus holds every spring for high school juniors who are interested in learning more about our campus.

Most of the visiting families arrived on campus between 8:15 and 8:45. As soon as I walked in the door I grabbed a muffin and threw on my name tag and was ready to begin. I helped welcome families and passed out information folders. The rest of the day consisted of numerous trips around campus and chatting with many families. After touching base with the last few families I was officially done, and called it a day around 12:30

After such a busy morning a few friends and I headed out for some lunch as a little reward for all of our hard work. We traveled down Main St. which is just a short walk. The weather made the walk even more enjoyable. There is about a mile of little shops, delis, cafes, and stores on Main St. that are great for lunch and browsing. This was just perfect for a group of girls on a Saturday afternoon.

Well I better head off to get some work done and head to the gym, maybe and outside run today to take advantage of the gorgeous weather. I’ll catch you guys later!

P.S. - If you attended Jr. Open house today, I really hope that you had a great time and enjoyed your visit to Moravian College. Good Luck with your upcoming senior year and your college search.

Long time, no blog...

2005-03-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
I know I haven’t posted in a while, but since I have been back from break my time here at Moravian has been crammed full of things from meetings to homework.

Here are some things to update on the goings-on here at Moravian college, at least what I have experienced.

1.) First of all just trying to get back in the swing of things with school and everything is quite, quite difficult. I mean you experience a week of just sittin’ back relaxin’, pretty much doing a whole bunch of nothing. Then, you get hurled back in the spinning vortex that is college and it just takes some time to adjust. This week has been especially hard; I can not get anything accomplished. Finally, though now that it is Thursday I have told myself that I have to get things done and things have been starting to come together, at least for right now.
2.) Well I spent my whole week working in the admissions office, a whole 36 hours, that’s a lot of time for a college student. I am just waiting for tomorrow when I see that paycheck in my mailbox, which will be one of the best moments since I have been back at school. Paychecks are always good things to college students because you never really realize how quickly you go through money at college, a couple of dollars here, five dollars to go to Wawa, and then a few more dollars there, it begins to add up very quickly and if your not careful you could be in for a big surprise when you see some of your financial statements.
3.) Away from the work side of things today is St. Patrick ’s Day and everyone is celebrating, sporting the green today, clovers and leprechauns are everyone. There are a couple of cool things going on at the school to celebrate the holiday. I believe tomorrow they are panning to have a concert with a band that plays Irish music, along with that band they will have Irish storytelling and other types of things that help to make the holiday what it is. I also think there is going to be a comedian here soon, the guy who won the last comic standing competition, Jeff Hefron. That should be something fun to see.
I wish I could share in everyone’s excitement for the holiday, but today has not started off great for me and it shouldn’t be getting much better. First off, I go to my car this morning and find that I have a parking ticket, evidentially I parked in a spot where there was a no parking sign that I didn’t see. It actually isn’t that bad because it is only a ten dollar ticket, but still its ten dollars that didn’t need to be spent. After that, I tried to post some pictures for this blog spot, but I was having trouble with the software. After I post this, I have to go for a session of extra help with my accounting professor because I do not understand some of the stuff that we are going over and we have a test on the information next Thursday. All, I can hope is that I am graced by a little luck of the Irish and my day gets better.

Once again, I am sorry for the lack of pictures and I know I promised you guys pics last time, but a had misplaced my camera for a period of time and had some trouble with the software, but I PROMISE you next post will contain some good pictures.

Later on,

Sorority Big/Little Ceremony!

2005-03-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

Big/Little Ceremony!

Yey! It's finally here! The day when I get a little sister through the sorority! Above is a picture of my "family"; on the left is my Big sister, Lenore, in the middle is Pam, my Little, and of course, on the right, well... that's me! It feels like I've known for so long, but I only found out that Pam was my little a little over a week ago.

This week has been insane! Let's see, where to begin? Monday was the Sorority Chapter's Birthday, so we got together and had cake and pizza, which was a lot of fun. Tuesday Naomi Tutu came as a guest speaker, but unfortunately with classes, homework, and studying I did not get the chance to go see her speak; however I did hear that she was interesting. On Tuesday though, I did participate in one of my favorite classes here on campus... yogalates! Haha, okay, so it's not an academic class, but I love it; Moravian got this yoga and pilates instructor to come from a nearby gym to teach this class, which is a lot of fun. Wednesday... oh! That's today! I have been studying nonstop for a midterm that I have tomorrow; I also have two other midterms on Friday. Needless to say, I've been going a little crazy, but still having fun, and that's what matters!

Tomorrow I get to see my mentee, which is going to be fun, and this Saturday there is going to be a TLC Mentoring Event; those are always fun and entertaining so I can't wait! It'll be a nice end to a hectic week! I will write later this weekend to let you know how that goes, but for now I have to get back to studying!

2005-03-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

Twirling pic....thought I'd post so you could see first hand what the twirling deal is all about!

We're back! Yup! It's official, Spring break is officially over. Much to my disappointment, my spring break wasn't to warm and spring like, but it was still some much needed time away, and certainly some good times!

Now that we are back from spring break we have less than two weeks of classes before Easter break. It is crazy how quickly the end of the semester will be here and I still feel like I have tons of things to get done before the semester comes to a close.

Before I even attended a class I found myself back on campus sitting in on a meeting. As Moravian's feature twirler, I have to attend a few preparation meetings for next fall. Music, colors, themes, practice schedules, budgets, and most importantly performances are all being discussed in preparation for next year. I love twirling for Moravian. When I auditioned for the position and got it, it was truly the "icing on the cake" and made me want to come to Moravian even more. So I guess for as much as I like to perform at halftime during the football games, twirl in parades, and do numerous other performances, I guess I can deal with sitting through an occasional long meeting or two. So as I sat through my long meeting last night I had to remind myself of all those fond memories I have.

As I was walking through the hub today, I took notice today that there are quite a few signs around campus promoting John Heffron, he was the winner on NBC's last comic standing and will be performing at Moravian on April 8th. Last year Colin Mockery from "Who's Line is it Anyway" came and performed. He definitely had a good show, and kept the audience quite entertained.

Well I'm off to the gym to run and then of course practice (twirling of course). Sorry the post was so short. Lots to do! I'll catch you guys later!

Break is over...

2005-03-13T16:33:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's right. Spring Break is over and done with, and here we are back to the grind of school days, classes, and tests!
Unlike Matt, I was one of those lucky people who went away to a beach; I went to Grand Bahama Island with three of my sorority sisters and had an amazing time! Well, of course I did... it's March, and here I was at a beach, soaking up the sun rays! I'm not going to post a picture now though, because I don't want anyone to be too jealous! ;-)

I have a busy week coming up; I got a little sister last week, but SHH, I can't say who it is yet; she won't find out until Wednesday night, which I am very excited for. I have two midterms left to take which are at the end of the week and several other activities going on that I will keep you informed about, but for now I have to get back to unpacking and getting ready for classes tomorrow!

Welcome Back Moravian!

I need a break

2005-03-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

hey guys,

It's time for an update, as you probably have read it is finally spring break time, i know everyone that i talked to was super excited for the break to come and by golly here it is. It has been a relaxing break so far, granted i am not lounging on a beach somewhere like some other people. Its nice getting to see your friends from home again, i am lucky that i have such a good group of friends back here in Catasauqua. Every break its the same people getting together and its nice to have that group to relive memories and make new ones with.

Later on.

south park

2005-03-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

one of the funniest movies ever, kept my friends and i laughing over spring break...if you haven't seen make sure to go out and rent it

Big News!

2005-03-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

So the biggest news on campus lately has been that Moravian College has signed up for FaceBook! It's a website that different colleges sign up for and students make themselves a screenname and fill out a profile in order to keep up with friends of theirs. This has been exciting and good news, but also bad news, since most of my fellow students I have talked to are so obsessed with adding friends and checking out each other's profiles, that not much school work is getting done! ;-) I guess it's a sacrifice we'll have to make, right?

Also, tonight is the night where I tenatively find out who my little sister in the sorority is going to be! I am so excited; I'm going to be a big sister!!! :-) It's an exciting time all around especially because spring break is only two days away! Midterms and the last few papers are done for the most part... and then a week off! It's going to be relaxing and fun!

So yesterday, with all the snow that we got, we had a two-hour delay in classes, which was well needed; got to sleep a bit longer, which I was extremely grateful for! Lastly, it's March! That's unbelievable! Things have been so busy and constant that I didn't realize that we're already in March! Amazing!

Okay, well sorry for the jumping around, but the brain is a jumble! Finishing this paper and then time to sleep! :-) Hasta Luego!

Snow?

2005-02-28T21:41:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is correct, we are in the middle of a winter storm watch until tomorrow morning! Does that mean cancelled classes? That is yet to be seen, but some residents are making the most of this snow and sledding outside on the quad (the soccer field that is right outside between the freshmen dorms and the HUB). However, there is more to tell of this past weekend.

Okay, so on Saturday morning I had a lot of fun at the TLC Mentoring Event. On Saturday night, one of the other freshmen dorms, Bernhardt-Wilhelm, had a Mardi Gras dance party, with food, a DJ, and some great dancing! It took place right in the lounge of the dorm and it was a lot of fun!

Sunday morning I got up relatively early to help with the Phi Eta Sigma Induction; Phi Eta Sigma is the national academic society here at Moravian College. I was inducted last spring, so as a member I felt that I should help out for this year's freshmen induction. It was really nice; every year there is a keynote speaker and this year was Professor Pimentel, one of our Spanish professors (who I happened to have last year). It was a really nice ceremony, which I enjoyed being a part of.

Today I have been trying to get everything done that is due this week because there are ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT UNTIL SPRING BREAK!!! Not that I'm excited or anything ;-) ... Tonight was supposed to be the night where I found out who my little sister is for my sorority, but due to the snow, night classes and activities were cancelled, so we rescheduled this fun night for Wednesday; I will have to fill you in then!

Well, I think that about covers everything! I have to get back to writing a paper, also known as watching the guys outside have a snowball fight while wearing shorts!

26 Point Training

2005-02-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

Emily having a GREAT time at 26 points training

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you a little bit of an update

1.) First thing as you can see from the picture we had training for the new students that woud be joining the 26 points tour guide group. The picture was just from some down time we had before the training actually started, but to learn more about the 26 points training make sure to check out Emily K.'s newest post.

2.) I am actually amazed right now that i do not have a lot of schoolwork to do, as i have mentioned before most teachers like to pile work on us just to get it in before spring break. Luckily, alot of my teachers had all of their things due last week, so this week i can just cruise on through. Talking about spring break, it is only 3 days away and i can not wait for it to come, i am excited to see all my good friends from home again, even though i have grown apart from some of them there is always a group of them that i can go back to and have a good time with, hopefully that group bond we have will never dwindle.

3.) This weekend had been crazy, just for the simple fact that i have been working alot. I have an off-campus job at a department store called the BON-TON. Funny story though, i was talking to one of my good friends and he asked where i work and i told him the BON-TON and then he proceeded to ask me,"Don't they sell surf clothes?" and i had to laugh at him while replying "No, your thinking of RON-JON." I guess you had to be there.

But back to my main thought, this weekend we had our big Moonlight Madness Sale and it was crazy, almost everything in the store was discounted to some extent from 25%-75% off some things. So i had to work everyday this weekend because they wanted to make sure that they had enough people on to encompass all of the customers they were expecting. In the end, it actually worked out that they did not have the customer turn out that they expected, but hey atleast i got some much-needed work hours.

That was kind of a long post, sorry about that one. I guess i just had alot to say. Well, until next time, this is Matt Mutarelli signing off.

later on,

TLC Mentoring Event Cont'd ...

2005-02-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

TLC Mentoring Event --

After the different projects that the mentees and mentors worked on, all of their products were displayed by the students, so that the parents could admire what they had done. It was such a great time!

TLC Mentoring Event

2005-02-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

Liz Millili and her Mentee

So this past Saturday morning I went to the TLC Mentoring Event that was held in the HUB (Haupert Union Building). My mentee actually did not come to this event, but I got the chance to help out and take pictures of what went on. First all the mentees and mentors were split up into grades; TLC Mentoring consists of grades four and five. Each grade got a different assignment, but both were an art activitiy. The fourth graders had to draw a representation of their faces and then when both the mentees and mentors were done making their self portraits, they cut their pictures in half and combined them on another piece of paper; this gave the kids a self made picture of themselves and their mentors! It was a great idea! The fifth graders were to draw a person in the middle of their paper and draw pictures of things that were important in their lives around the picture of the person. When both groups were done with their individual activities, the students all got together and drew a mural of words, pictures, and ideas that made them think of TLC Mentoring, their mentors, and/or themselves.

This was such a great project!

Big/Little Hangouts!

2005-02-24T22:59:00.000-05:00

Potential Bigs!

Okay, so tonight I did not go to see the movie of the week, because my paper is not done, but however I did get to take a break in my evening. For the sorority, since we just had Spring Rush not too long ago, we have new recruits who will receive "Big Sisters", who are girls who were initiated during previous semesters. So before the new girls get initiated, they get a "Big Sister" and us already initiated girls get a "Little Sister". Tonight was one of the nights where the potential little sisters and the potential big sisters get a chance to hang out before we get our littles/bigs to build our bond as sisters; it was a lot of fun. These girls are amazing!

Well, I should go finish that paper, but I will be writing more this weekend, don't you worry!

2005-02-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

Potential Littles!

Wowza!

2005-02-23T19:08:00.000-05:00

This past week has been extremely demanding! Midterms, papers, tests, you would think that I would have finished with this by now, but coming up next week there are still more papers, midterms, and presentations! However, Spring Break is merely 9 days away.... I can almost feel the warm sun of the Bahamas on my face! ;-)

What else have I done other than homework and projects? Well, on Monday I went to see Charlotte Danielson speak. She spoke for the workshop "Teaching as a Leader"; she has taught at all levels from Kindergarten to College, she is a member of the design team for Praxis III (Classroom Performance Assessments), and she has written four books supporting teachers and administrators. She was a very good speaker and many interesting points about how to really lead a classroom and be the most effective teacher possible. I was throughly impressed and hopefully I picked up some good tips for when I start to teach!

Another event that is happening this week is actually going on tonight, right at this very minute in fact. There is a "Careers in Banking Event" tonight where from 6:30-7:30 several CEOs from different banks are coming for a presentation and basic question and answer session. Afterwards, from 7:30-8:30, these CEOs will give students a chance to bring their resumes and talk with them on a business level, which is a great opportunity for those students wanting to go into business and banking!

I am really hoping to get all of my work done for the rest of the week so that tomorrow night I can go see one of the showings of the weekly movie that IMPACT is putting on. This week they are showing the new Bridget Jones movie... "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason". I have to admit, I love the first movie, and think it's great that a movie that just came out somewhat recently is being played for the students' enjoyment for no cost! Amazing! Luckily, the fact that this movie is playing tonight and tomorrow night gives me extra incentive to finish my work for Friday tonight! Wish me luck with that! ;-)

There is more coming up this weekend, but I will have to fill you in later!

..It just keeps going and going and going

2005-02-22T14:26:00.000-05:00

Alright time for another post:

School right now for me has been very stressful, more and more work just keeps getting added to the already humongous pile of school work. I did just get finished with one of my major projects for the semester. It was an accounting project and it was very complex and intricate. We had to go through many steps like forming an unadjusted trial balance, making up a journal, and figuring out several other transactions. Along with that we had an accounting test today, but the project was a good point to help me study for the test. The test went well though, some of the parts of the test I drew a blank on, but others I flew right through, so we will see what happens.

In other new, my fraternity just inducted our new members as formal pledges and in about a week we have big/little night. This is one night that everyone in the fraternity, especially the pledges looks forward to. On this night we decide what brother (big) chooses what pledge as their little. The big/little relationship is kind of like that of a mentor or a big brother. These are the people that will help you through the rest of your years in college as best they can. It is pretty much your strongest bon din the fraternity and the one you will keep in best contact with after your schooling at Moravian has ended. I am especially excited because this semester I am eligible to take a little. I have narrowed my decision down to two of the pledges, but I have to wait and see how the other brothers vote to make my final decision, we will see what happens.

I would write longer, but I have a meeting to attend right now.

Later on,

What a tease!

2005-02-22T12:47:00.000-05:00

Is anybody else feelin' like last week's spring-like weather was just a tease? I sure am! Last week here at Moravian it was in the mid 40s. In contrast, this week we have a few inches of snow on the ground. Crazy weather! If anyone is taking a poll, my vote is for that nice slightly warmer weather. Hehe!

I have a huge psychology test tomorrow that I'm really not looking forward to it at all! I've been putting in quite a bit of time studying, so hopefully all the hard work will pay off. My data analysis and statistics course is definitely my most challenging class. So lets all keep our fingers crossed for me on Wednesday morning.

This week the Vagina Monologues are being performed at Moravian. They are a series of plays, skits, poems etc. that are all about vaginas, but in particularly woman's rights and the appreciation of woman. They are great, I must admit when I attended last year as freshman I was little skeptical, but after attending I understood why everyone thought they were so great. They are quite humorous and are definitely a great source of entertainment, especially if you are a female. Hopefully I'll find sometime in my busy schedule to attend the Monologues this week

I also have 26 point training this weekend. The 26 pointers are a group of student ambassadors here at Moravian. (The name 26 pointers comes from the amount of points on a Moravian star) The 26 pointers provide tours and offer any other additional assistance that prospective students may need. As a current 26 pointer, I will be helping out with training quite a bit. Training consists of taking the new 26 pointers on a tour and highlighting specific areas that are important when giving a tour. We also talk about interacting with prospective students and parents and how to answer some more difficult questions.

Well I must get back to studying; it will be time for my psychology test before I know it! I'll catch you guys later!

Another crazy day at Moravian College

2005-02-18T14:45:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
This is going to have to be a quick post because I a just about to give a tour to a high school junior that is looking at the college for the first time. The weather outside is pretty rough, really windy, quite cold, so this tour should be interesting.

Away from touring things have been pretty crazy here at Moravian, at least me for anyways. I just got my first two tests back for the semester, I ended up with an A- on my management exam and a 94 on my music exam, as you an imagine I was pretty excited to see those scores.

It seems that right now all of my teachers are trying to fit in all of their assignment into one small chunk of time, so I am getting a lot of things piled on me at one time. For example, next week I have two tests and one project due. So this is going to be a pretty long weekend, filled with a whole lot of work. Also I am getting a lot of duties allotted to me from all of the clubs I am involved in, but I am gladly taking everything in stride and getting everything completed on time. All of the work keeps me busy, its keeps the day moving. Alright, time to give a tour.

Later on,

16 days left!

2005-02-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

Until Spring Break that is.... heh. I can't believe that it's half way through the semester already! Where has the time gone?!?!

I don't know, but I have had a jam-packed week. Let's see, I had a lot of tests and papers either due or that I had to get started this week. Last night I went to Easter Seals, where I work with some of my sorority sisters. We work with a program called "Hang Time" where young adults with disabilities come to have about two hours of games, activities, and snacks; it gets them out of the house and communicating with other people, which is great. I have so much fun with these kids because they are so energetic and hysterical!

Today I went to one of the nearby elementary schools for the TLC Mentoring program and met with my mentee. She had signed up for this after school program where her fourth grade teacher is teaching her class to dance Salsa, so I got to hang out with her and take this dance lessons too! Today was the last day and my mentee was pretty bummed about it, as was I. So as of next week, we're going to go back to playing board games and drawing, which is a lot of fun.

Alright, well I had better go do some homework and study for my quiz tomorrow... adios amigos!

Almost mid-term? no way!

2005-02-16T16:12:00.000-05:00

It is just a little over one week until the middle of the semester and I simply can't believe it! Where have the weeks gone? I know time flies when you're having fun but who knew it would go this quickly? As I look ahead into the days before spring break the amount of work, presentations, exams, and papers is slightly overwhelming. But the though of having a "work free week" aka spring break is well worth all the hard work now.

I had some extra time on my hands (haha hard to believe with the schedule I keep). So i got in touch with the community service office here on campus. Phyllis Walsh is in charge of community service and does and excellent job of involving moravian students with events in the community. I had heard great things about the America Reads program and thought that it would definately be a good program for me to participate in, especially because I am an education major. Ms. Walsh placed me in an elementary school in Bethlehem school district that is approximately 10 minutes from campus. My first day was Monday and I absolutely love it. I spend my time working with various students and helping/tutoring them in various areas. Working with kids is always a lot of fun.

I'm looking forward to this weekend, not just for some time away from class but for some fun too! I may be traveling home with one of my best friends from school. She lives in New Jersey and really doesn't want to complete the drive home alone. So I may need to put my co-pilot skills to work and make the trip to New Jersey. hehe! Should be fun!

Well that's about all for now, I must go finish my article summary before I head to dinner and then night class. The day just keeps going and going! catch ya later!

Ahhh, Amor...

2005-02-14T19:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, so now that that is out of the way ... heh ;-) . This past weekend was great, although it was insanely busy. The weekends just fly by way too quickly! On Saturday I took my general PRAXIS tests, writing, reading, and mathematics. Since I took them on the computer, I found out that I passed the reading and mathematics!!! I may have also passed the writing, but that takes about two weeks in order for people to read it and analyze my writing properly, so I will fill you in as soon as I know!

Later Saturday afternoon, I went to my mentoring activity, although my mentee didn't show up. :-( We went to the Skatezone which is over by Lehigh University, only about five minutes from here, where I ice skated for the first time ever! It was a lot of fun, although the mentees could skate better than most of the mentors combined! It was a pretty funny sight to see :-)

Sunday was pretty much my catch up day because as I said last time, here come midterms and papers galore! Every week the school puts on a relatively new movie in the auditorium for free (which is awesome); this week they are showing "Alfie," which I really want to get a chance to see. I guess that means I should start doing my homework now! ;-) Sorry to cut this short, but Happy Valentine's Day again!

Bet you couldn't wait for another post...

2005-02-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Yes, that’s right, you can’t get rid of me, I’m back again to post.
Well, since my last post nothing some things have come up…

1.) I had my first test of the semester in my music class. It wasn’t all that bad, I think I could have practiced a little bit more because we needed to be able to do these clapping patterns that are used in tradition Ghanian music and when it came down to actually doing the clapping for the test I definitely completely missed one of the beats. I think that was my only major flub though, I’ll have to keep my fingers crossed.

2.) I am spending my weekend in Pittsburgh for the fraternity conference that I mentioned in a previous post. It is amazing meeting people from the other chapters and being able to call them my brothers. All in all there are about 150 people at the conference, a little bit less than my previous prediction. There are chapters here from Penn State, MIT (Michigan Institute of Technology), Lehigh, Muhlenberg, Syracuse, and the University of Maine. I am learning loads and loads of new information about everything that has to do with fraternity life from rush to Arch Chapter. We are headed back to Moravian tomorrow (Sunday), but what I learned and experienced at this conference will stay with me forever.

Well sorry to cut this post a little short, but its time for another conference session.

Later on,

Fraternity things

2005-02-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
Since i have been talking about my fraternity alot in the last couple of posts, i wanted to show you all some of the things that represent our fraternity. First, there are the homecoming shirts. Each year homecoming is a major event here at Moravian, they have a parade and a football game and alot of alumni come back and there are come social gatherings. During the parade, each fraternity and sorority has there own float and each usually makes their own t-shirts. These are pretty big representations just because homecoming is such a big event every year.
Secondly, there are the greeks letters of Delta Tau Delta. These are one of the things that every fraternity and sororities hold in high honor and wear with great pride. That is pretty much how the fraternities and sororities are identified, by the letters.

Delta Homecoming shirts

2005-02-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

flag of Delta Tau Delta

Tomorrow is Friday!!!

2005-02-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

Thank goodness for that! It has been a longer week than it should have been; have you ever had one of those weeks? Anyway, I've been kept really busy this week with presentations and tests; midterms are starting for me next week, which is a scary thought. I have also kept busy with sorority events, because this semester I should be getting a "Little Sister," which I am extremely excited about! So we have little get togethers and watch "The Real World" and have lunches together in order to help all the potential "Big Sisters" and "Little Sisters" get to know each other; it's a lot of fun!

What I really want to talk about though is this documentary that I saw this afternoon, which was followed by a lecture given around 7:45 tonight in the Prosser Auditorium, here at Moravian. The speaker who came to talk to us was Keith Beauchamp, who has been working for about nine and a half years now with investigating and creating a documentary on "The Untold Story of Emmett Till," who was murdered back in 1955, when he was merely a fourteen year old boy. This documentary, lecture, and just hearing Keith Beauchamp talk about all the events in his life that led him towards this documentary and path in life was all truly inspirational. Keith Beauchamp was the man whose work led to the reopening of the Emmett Till murder case and hopefully there will be some closure on the case soon, by bringing the people involved with the murder to justice. I even got to meet Keith Beauchamp and shake his hand; it was pretty awe-inspiring to be standing next to such an influential figure in the United States. Wow! It was amazing... I could probably talk for hours ad nauseum on the subject, but I think I will leave my ranting and instead start some homework and studying that needs to be done.

I'm excited that tomorrow is Friday, although on Saturday I am taking my first three PRAXIS exams, which are the first three tests that I have to take in order to be able to student teach and eventually teach some day. Extremely exciting, although also completely nervewracking! Wish me luck!

Gorgeous Weather!

2005-02-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe the weather we have been having lately. True, I was an advocate for snow, but this taste of fifty degree weather sure has me hoping for spring!

Anyway, this weekend was extremely busy, but a lot of fun. I went back and forth from my home back to campus, which was a lot of driving, but I had several appointments that I had to keep at home. I came back on Saturday for a while though because with TLC Mentoring, a group of mentees and mentors had lunch in the cafeteria and then got to go to the Men's Basketball game, which they won! Yey Moravian Hounds! :-) Then I went back home, only to come back on Sunday for my Resident Advisor and Sorority meetings, which don't sound like fun, but they weren't bad at all.

Then, of course, Sunday night ... the SUPERBOWL!!! I am a true Patriots fan, I must admit, which is not always smiled upon here in Pennsylvania, especially when the Patriots are up against the Eagles! All I have to say is: ROCK ON PATRIOTS! It was a great game and I personally am quite happy with the turnout! :-)
There were a lot of get togethers on campus to watch the Superbowl; I believe each of the freshmen dorms had parties with pizza in their lounges, most of the upperclassmen housing were having get togethers, and there were get togethers that the sororities and fraternities had too, to watch the game. It was really awesome knowing that if you wanted to really rally for your team, there were plenty of places to go!

Yey Patriots! :-)

2005-02-07T10:09:00.002-05:00

Having lots of fun at the grafitti party here on campus

Busy times

2005-02-07T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well the spring semester is well underway here at Moravian College. I just got back from my data analysis and statistics class. It is a prerequisite for all psychology majors and is held on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8:30 to 10:00 and it is certainly a class you have to be well awake for. I can't believe that in just four weeks it will be Spring break, there is certainly a lot going on campus. After leaving the gym on Saturday, and on my way to dinner, my roommate and I stopped in at the basketball double header this weekend against Juniata. Our girl’s basketball team has had quite an impressive season, while the boy’s season hasn't been as impressive. The gym was quite full and I was glad to see all of the support for our basketball teams.
My friends and I had an awesome time on Saturday night. One of the fraternities on campus had a graffiti party. Everyone wears white t-shirts and we all take highlighters so we can write messages or sign each others t-shirts with inside jokes or messages. It is definitely a lot of fun. We all come home and read our t-shirts and laugh. I was certainly glad for some good times this weekend as the week ahead looks like it will be rather busy and not to mention stressful.
Well I should probably get back to the lesson plan I was typing up for my education class, I'll catch up with you guys soon!

...and that's the way the cookie crumbles

2005-02-06T16:19:00.000-05:00

I know you guys are all chomping at the bit to read everyone of my posts, so I will wet your appetite with another.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, it was fraternity rush week here at Moravian. Well the week has come to an end and my fraternity granted bids to 9 new guys and now we just have to wait and see if they accept their bids. The events of the week were fun bowling, game night, everything. Well maybe with the exception of the trip to White Castle. First of all I really don’t like long car rides, especially when I am driving. This ride was about an hour and then when we finally got there, I was disgusted by the way the food looked so I didn’t eat anything, my apologies to anyone who likes White Castle burgers.
On a lighter note though I will be going to Pittsburgh on Thursday of next week to attend a Delta Tau Delta Conference. This is a conference for all chapters fo Delta Tau Delta found on the east coast. This should be an amazing experience, just being able to meet an absurd amount of people, develop friendships, and be able to call them my brothers. We are expecting to see over 1,000 Delts at this conference, it will definitely be an experience.

Stepping away from the fraternity business, school in general right now is moving along quite nicely, I have gotten myself into a good groove and I am actually getting my work done before the last minute. This week looks like it is going to be rough though, I have two tests in two of my hardest classes, I have already began studying, even though both tests are on Wednesday. Hopefully, everything works out for the best. Wish me Luck!

Later on,

Happy Groundhog's Day!

2005-02-02T22:58:00.000-05:00

Although I hear that the groundhog saw his shadow and went back to sleep (smart little animal!), which means that there are six more weeks of winter left. Well, if you believe in that sort of superstition. I like the snow, but I'm ready for spring break, let me tell you! :-) There are a lot of presentations and projects coming up in the next couple of weeks; the rush before midterms! However, tonight in my dorm lounge there was a showing of the movie "Groundhog's Day" with Bill Murray, which gave the residents time to unwind ... and of course there was popcorn and soda provided, which is always a bonus! The Hall Council of my dorm put the movie on, which is a group of residents from each dorm that plans activities once a month for the other residents of the building. It's pretty neat, somewhat like Student Council for the dorms.

Tomorrow President Rokke is coming to the dorm to have basically an open question/answer session about issues that residents have about campus life, which is called "Dorm Storm". I will let you know how that goes after it happens tomorrow, but for now I have to get back to doing homework and studying for my major Statistics Test! Agh!

Sorry so short, but I'll write more tomorrow about the Dorm Storm.

Back Again

2005-02-01T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,
I know all of you were anticipating the next time I would post a blog, but no need to fear I am back and ready for action.

Since it’s been so long I have a lot to update you on…
1.) Christmas Break…My holidays were great. Just getting to hang out with the family again is a great time, especially with my family. Also I got to see a lot of cousins and aunts and uncles that I have seen since thanksgiving or the summer time and hear updates on their lives which is always a good thing.

2.) Back to school…As my break was winding down, it began to get very long and drawn out, I wasn’t really doing anything and began to get excited about the prospect of coming back to school and seeing my friends again. Then when I got back to school, the attitude changed and I wanted to have my break back again. I was definitely not ready to get back into the flow of classes and everything and at first it was just kind of overwhelming, but now I have myself back on a pattern and am going with the flow.

3.) Spring Rush…I know many of you might have read Jenn’s recent entries about the sorority rush, but now you get to hear the other side of the story with the fraternity rush. The male rush is quite different and a whole heck of a lot simpler. All it real boils down to is one week full of events and activities arranged to get the potential pledges to know and feel comfortable with the brothers that they will be joining in the brotherhood. The week my fraternity has planned out should be good…
1.) Informational meeting with all three fraternities on Sunday
2.) Dodgeball tournament with all three fraternities on Monday
3.) Tuesday is Game Night at the fraternity house with video games, poker and so on…
4.) Thursday we are going bowling
5.) Friday we are taking the rushes to a restaurant and get some of their reactions and comments about the week
6.) Finally, Saturday we are having a finally thanksgiving dinner, yeah that’s right I said thanksgiving, and then the bids go out to the men that we went to join or fraternity.

Whoa, that was a long post, hopefully you didn’t fall asleep while reading it. Well that’s all I have for right now, but I am sure I will come up with something new and creative for next post…You will just have to wait and read.

Fun Fun Fun!!!

2005-01-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

So, I got to meet a lot of great girls this weekend through Rush (for Sororities), which is finally over now. It was a lot of fun, but way too busy for one weekend to be with the amount of homework I have to do! I love meeting the new girls and it's so exciting when new girls are accepted into the sorority! Absolutely amazing! However, I have a feeling my teachers won't agree with me when I have no clue what's going on in class, due to the large amount of homework that I haven't gotten to yet.

There are some exciting events coming up this week! For instance, on Wednesday (Ground Hog's Day), my fellow resident advisors and I are going to play the movie Groundhog's Day, with Bill Murray, in the building lounge and buy pizza for all the residents of the building, which is going to be fun! Also, on Thursday, President Rokke (the president of the college) will be coming to the dorm to talk to the residents about any issues they have, which will be an interesting meeting as well. This coming weekend, I have another mentoring event where we're going to meet for lunch and then go to the Men's Basketball game. Such a busy week, but it'll be tons of fun, so it'll be worth it!

Sorry to cut this short, but I have to get to the tremendous amount of homework waiting for me!

Spring Rush 2005

2005-01-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

Hey there! This past week and a half have been crazy! Projects, papers, and reading has really started to pile up ... have to love college!!! :-)

I have been having fun though. Last weekend, on Friday, I met up with my 12 year old mentee and a group of about six other mentees and mentors; we watched Shrek 2, which is an extremely cute movie! A lot of humor that the mentees didn't quite get, but that's okay becuase there was enough humor for all of us. After that, I met up with a group of friends where we listened to some bands (local and from New Jersey), which were pretty good and definitely entertaining.

Tonight is the informational session for the sororites, called: Meet the Greeks. Rush Weekend, where we meet new girls and at the end of the wekeend will have chosen new girls to join our sorority, is this weekend. This is somewhat like the first event of Rush, where the grils interested in joining a sorority get to meet the girls of each one (there are four sororities at Moravian) and gets to learn information about each one. Anyway, it should bev a lot of fun and I'm really excited for it!

However, I should probably get my homework done for tomorrow's classes .. it's almost Friday!!! :-)

Amazing Weekend!

2005-01-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this first week of classes was challenging, I'm going to admit it up front, but at least this weekend is a long weekend, giving me time to both catch up and relax. So far, I've helped myself to a whole bunch of relaxing! First of all, on Friday night, my friend, Brynn, and I went to the HUB (where our cafeteria, school bookstore, mail room, etc. is located) and saw the Hypnotist at 9 pm. This was a program put on by Impact, which is one of the clubs here that also takes care of the bands, comedians, and other outside activities that come to Moravian. The hypnotist was hiliarious!

Yesterday I did a little bit of work during the day, but then last night I went with Brynn to the Crocodile Rock Cafe, which is a small restaurant/bar in Allentown, where we saw Gavin Degraw in concert! This is a new place that we have found nearby which has different bands come play every Friday night. Some of them are relatively small, but there were tons of people at the Gavin Degraw concert; it was simply amazing! Even the two opening bands were good; one of them was called Ingram Hill and the other band was just the name of the lead singer. This is the first concert where I have liked all of the bands that played!

Today and tomorrow will be more days of work and also tomorrow I have a three hour meeting with my sorority about the upcoming Sorority Rush! It's going to be a hectic couple of weeks, but they will be a lot of fun; I can't wait to see who comes to all the events.

Well, I should really get back to doing work, so have a great Martin Luther King Jr. Day... :-)

Happy New Year!

2005-01-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

It's 2005!!! Which is accompanied by a new semester. Classes started on Monday, although I came early (last Thursday) for retraining as a Resident Advisor. I am really enjoying my classes this semester because they all actual pertain to my major/minor .. as a sophomore, I think that's pretty amazing! Of course, it is only the third day and my reading really is piling up, but that's college for you! :-)

Tonight I went to the Moravian Men's Basketball game against Lebanon Valley. It was a great game, although unfortunately we lost. At the game, they were collecting donations to send to help Tsunami victims; I think it's great that we're trying to help out with that, it is such a tragedy. :-(

Mentoring starts up again tomorrow. I'm a part of the TLC Mentoring program here at Moravian College, which entails getting paired up with a student from one of the local elementary schools (a fourth and fifth grader) and spending an hour with them once a week. Then all the mentors and mentees get together one Saturday a month for a three hour long program; they usually have to do with the nearest holiday or certain subjects the mentees are dealing with in school. It's a lot of fun and the students really seem to enjoy it. This is my second year participating in it; my mentee from last year is in TLC Mentoring Too, because she is in sixth grade; in this program, there are less mentees, and the mentors and mentees only meet once a month for fun activities. I got another mentee in the regular TLC Mentoring program though this year and tomorrow is our day to meet. She wants me to come to this dance recital of hers and I'm pretty excited about it. I really love working with the mentees; they have the greatest sense of humor!

Well, there are a lot of activities going on this weekend, but I will fill you in on them later because this reading that I'm putting off right now needs to get done before tomorrow morning!!! :-)

Hasta Luego...

Happy Holidays!

2004-12-20T19:47:00.000-05:00

Just finished my fourth final... only one left and that is tomorrow afternoon! My past week has been crazy with studying, but I actually got a chance to get out and do some fun things, in order to save my sanity! First and foremost, my residents and I had a pizza party last Thursday and did our gift swap. For one of my programs as a Resident Advisor, I decided to get everyone's favorite candy and play a sort of "Secret Santa" with every girl's favorite candy. It was awesome.. we got to sit in the hall, eat some pizza, and get our favorite candy to chow down on during finals week! It was just what I needed! :-)

On Saturday night, after a long day of studying, I went to Allentown with Brynn because we were trying to get tickets to Gavin Degraw at the Crocodile Rock for next semester. Of course, we completely forgot that it was Sunday and that the ticket office wouldn't be open... but it was a nice drive! haha... Later that night I went to the movies with Brynn .. we went to see the movie "Closer," which was a pretty cool movie; it was definitely different than most I have seen, but it was cool. Then on Sunday night, after another long day of studying, I went to the movies with Omar and we went to see "Blade Trinity," which I enjoyed, but if you don't like "Blade" movies, it probably isn't going to be your favorite. Last night, Sunday, it finally snowed!!! It was awesome, except for driving to the movie theater was a trick and a half with all the ice on the road. The snow and cold air came on so quickly I don't think anyone was expecting the roads to ice over so quickly ... but by the time we got out of the movie, the roads were pretty good.

Sorry this is just a quick run down, but my brain is pretty much scrambled!! :-) Only one day left and then it's break, which I'm excited for because I haven't seen my family in a while and it'll be fun to just relax.

Well, Happy Holidays, and I'll see you next year! ;-)

My first blog

2004-12-16T23:27:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo!!! My first Moravian College blog post! Let the fun begin!
I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself, I'm Emily Klein and I sophmore at Moravian College. I am a double major which definately keeps me busy. I am majoring in elementary education and psychology. While on campus I am always up to something, whether it is meetings, giving tours on campus, putting work study hours in at the admissions office or of course hitting the books. Other than the activities listed above, I spend alot of time practicing baton twirling. I am the feature twirler for the marching band, a position that I truly love but also takes a great deal of time to maintain. We are currently in our exam period here at Moravian, at the current time I just got back from midnight oasis. Midnight oasis is a probably the best part of exam week. Our dean of students aka "Doc" comes in and makes breakfast for the entire student body and serves it at midnight. It's great! Especially because most of campus is up studying, so what could be better than a free midnight snack (or breakfast). My fellow students and I all head up to the cafeteria and stand in line in our sweats and slippers. It is definately one of the perks of being a moravian student. Well one more final for me and then I can successfully declare it the end of the fall semester. It has ceratinly been a busy one and I am proud to say that there are only 5 days until I am done.
Well I think I am going to have to head out, back to the books and studying!

cya!

Introduction

2004-12-15T22:34:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Just to introduce myself, my name is Matt Mutarelli and I am a sophomore here at good ol' Moravian College. I am one of those people that like to be involved in as much as possible, so I am involved in quite alot. I am president of the sophomore class, involved in 26 points (the tour guide group at moravian), a member of Greek Life (Delta Tau Delta), an editor for the yearbook, involved in the student alumni association, a member of the Amrhein Investment Club (soon to be fund manager), I am also a student advisor here at Moravian. To explain that, as a freshman when you come to Moravian, you will be placed into a class with about 17 other freshman with different majors and sports and things like that. You will then be hooked up with a member of the faculty and an upperclassman, who will act as your advisors throughout your first year here at Moravian and who will be instructing your Learning in Common Class. I also hold a job off campus at a department store called the BON-TON. Well that's all I got for right now, I gotta get back to hitting the books. It's finals time around here, so everyone is deeply engaged in their studies, probably what I should be doing right now.

Later on...