Month: November 2016

Need a break? LUREC is your place

Need a break? LUREC is your place

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Time flies. We all know that. It looks like it was yesterday when I landed on this amazing city and it has already been two and a half months. Weeks have gone by so fast! And so many things have happened! The World Series, the elections, Dr. Rooney’s inauguration, etc. Papers, quizzes and classes in general have been stressful and with so much going on it is essential to take a break. This is why the wonderful Dr. Ries and Fr. Frank LaRocca prepared a retreat for us, the Double Business Degree students.

We were taken to LUREC, the Retreat and Ecology Campus, where we enjoyed a couple of days of reflection, fun activities and AWESOME food. It was nice to get away from our routine to stop and absorb what we are living. We have experienced a lot of change and of novelty in the past weeks and it was extremely useful to take a moment to think and talk about it. We also did a Challenge Course that included several team building activities and games which were a lot of fun and got us to bond even more. Our instructor was great and he made us enjoy our weekend very much.

So now you know! If you need a break from the craziness of the city, go to LUREC. Not only will you get in contact with nature, but the exciting activities and courses available will help you calm down and get back to routine with fresh energy!

LUC MSA Sisters’ Retreat 2016

LUC MSA Sisters’ Retreat 2016

Retreat_Packages

It has been a quite stressful couple of weeks as I wrap up midterms, exams, papers, and my first semester of Sophomore year. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to find something that I look forward to; it makes the wait worthwhile and makes me want to work twice as hard to get through the weeks. Something I have been looking forward to since last year is the LUC Muslim Students’ Association Sisters’ Retreat 2016. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to attend last year, so I made a promise to myself to go this year and thought I would share a bit information of what it is about.

The MSA Sisters’ Retreat is an opportunity for members to not only get closer to the Creator, but to also strengthen the ties of sisterhood on campus. The retreat is a weekend long combination of activities and spiritual talks and this will help serve to meet this purpose of strengthening the bonds amongst the sisters at Loyola.

The weekend retreat takes place from Friday, November 18, 2016 at 5:15 PM to Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 4:00 PM. It takes place at the LUREC – Retreat and Ecology Campus and is restricted to women only.

I will also be sharing my experience via Loyola University Chicago’s Undergraduate Admissions’ Office Instagram story – Please follow @luc.admission on Instagram and join us as we venture out to strengthen our bonds with Allah as well as each other!

Class Registration Already?

Class Registration Already?

 

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Despite that we have not passed Thanksgiving, class registration for Spring 2017 is underway this week. Students depending on how many credit hours they have, are assigned specific appointment times and dates. Those with more credit hours completed will get to register first before those who have less; students who are declared honors students (by their freshman year) get first-priority and are the first to register.

Class registration is located in our LOCUS site (and those who will be admitted will soon know what this site is more, in detail). Just as if you were going on Amazon, LOCUS has a list of classes and basic info about all of them- class times and dates, professor name, location, pre-reqs, etc. There is a shopping cart for you to put in classes and organize yourself in a way that works out for you. locus.luc.edu

  • Rate My Professor is one of the sites that almost every student uses as reference to see what kind of teacher the professor is. This site allows students to rate professors based on a rate out of 5 of level of difficulty, hotness, and the choice if you would want to take this professor again.
  • During your freshman year, in your UNIV 101 class, you will build a 4-year plan in which you plan out all the required classes needed. This 4 year plan will be extremely helpful as it will guide you along to the way as you might forget what classes you may need to take as the years go on.
  • Lunch is something I always forget to consider when planning out my schedule. Leave space for lunch and between classes if you want to take a break or leave time for studying .
  • Don’t Panic. I may be a hypocrite for saying this, but as others like to say, there will always be other options (classes) that will work out in your favor. For me, since I am a commuter from far and am in the College of Arts and Science, I need specific classes with the right time and good teacher.

 

To DE-STRESS on these crazy few couple of days of November (from the World Series, Cubs Parade, LUC presidential inauguration, and the outcome of the U.S. presidential election)….

please take a short look at this funny LOCUS registration video featuring Hitler:

I promise this will at least give you a slight giggle and/or smile on your face.

A Letter to Cubs Fans– From a Sox Fan

A Letter to Cubs Fans– From a Sox Fan

 

After a rain delay, blowing a 3-1 lead, and 10 long innings, The Cubs made their lifelong fans proud to “fly the W” for one last time for the baseball season. This past week, Chicago made history in a couple different ways. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, and the sea of fans supporting the team for the parade through Chicago was ranked as the 7th largest gathering of people in human history. A sea of fans dawned in blue, white, and red, and a river dyed blue, Chicago was in an uproar of joy knowing that all of their sports teams have won their respective championship titles since 1985.

But the southern neighborhoods of the city seemed quieter and less joyous than the northern neighborhoods. A number of die-hard White Sox fans couldn’t feel the same way as the other half of their city. News stations seemed to have been forgetting their win in 2005, and everywhere in the city, no billboards boasted the chance of both of Chicago’s baseball teams winning the World Series in the past 20 years, days before the Game 7.

Despite a number of those apathetic Sox fans, there will plenty such as myself who rooted for their city and were screaming their heads off as the Cubs won on November 2nd. Despite being raised on the south side of Chicago and the south suburbs all my life, and being a Sox fan since, I was still proud of the Cubs just knowing what joy they were going to bring to the rest of the city.

Chicago’s been getting a bad wrap lately, and the tourism that’s to come and has been coming is really going to help build this city back up. Even if it wasn’t my team, the Cubs are still a part of my city, and this city is home to me. I’m still going to continue to sing “Go Cubs Go” with my north-sider friends, I’m still going to feel proud that Bill Murray shows his love for Chicago through sports, and I’m still going to make sure that I get a Chicago style hot dog any time I might go to Wrigley Field. (Even if I am going to rub it in the face of my Cubs friends that I get to claim Chance the Rapper as a Sox fan.)

So from a Sox fan to Cubs fans, congratulations of making our city proud, and you’re not alone. Even though we may have beef during the Windy City Showdown, all of us will still think we come from the greatest city in the world; and I know that there are plenty other Sox fans with me to help build our city up, and show how great Chicago is, and how all of us can call it home.

Chicago Traditions: The Holiday Season

Chicago Traditions: The Holiday Season

With steamy hot chocolate with marshmallows in one hand, a gift list for all your friends and family in the other, all the while looking like a snowman topped with a fuzzy overcoat and scarf to cover your face. The holiday season has arrived again in downtown Chicago. Every year, the days after Thanksgiving, downtown Chicago undergoes a transformation, and becomes a winter wonderland, seemingly overnight. For many of those from Chicago, there are set of holiday traditions that run through their families. Whether it be singing carols at Cloud Gate in Millennium Park or eating a family meal in the Walnut Room of Macy’s (formerly Marshall Fields) on State Street. Here are some attractions and fun things to do in Chicago during the happiest time of the year!

  1. Macy’s Walnut Room: As part of many Chicago natives traditions, having a family meal at the Walnut Room at Macy’s on State Street, is a classic affair. As the name suggests, the room is known for its signature wood paneling, made of, you guessed it, walnut. With renowned chefs from around the world who help design the menu, depending on when you go, you can try the cooking of chefs like: Rick Bayless, Cat Cora, and Wolfgang Puck among many others. Besides the food, people come here to get a chance to see the famous Christmas tree at the center of the dining room. Every year, Macy’s puts a theme on the tree. One year it was Swarovski crystal, musical instruments, and so much more! But make sure you check the outside of the store before you leave as well. Every year, the store windows all tell a story. A typical story is the one of “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” and the “12 Days of Christmas”. This is a hit Chicago attraction, so be sure to check this out before you leave back home for the holiday season.
  2. Dickens’s A Christmas Carol: In Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, during the holiday season, there is the classical retelling of Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Fun for the whole family, the show has both comedy and exciting musical numbers, that makes this for all ages. Running from November 9-December 31st, be sure to check this out!
  3. Christmas Around the World: In Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, the main hall of the museum is adorned with various Christmas trees from around the world, with the United States of America tree at the center. All of the trees are unique and feature ornate ornaments that are unique to the country that they are from. For example, on the tree from the Philippines, shell ornaments (capiz) are common while for Russia, wooden babushka dolls are popular. This trip reflects the importance of how American culture is truly a melting pot of all cultures, unique in their own respect.
  4. Navy Pier’s Winter Wonderland: Located close off the Grand and State stop on the CTA Red Line, this attraction for both young kids and teenagers alike. Upon entering the site, the atmosphere is reminiscent of an indoor Six Flags that has a holiday theme. It has the typical fair food, winter feel, and endless holiday tunes that play on the speakers. Navy Pier also has a Children’s Museum, numerous restaurants, and a beautiful crystal garden. Regardless of your age, there is something for everyone to do here at Navy Pier!

A Christmas Carol

Living On Campus After Freshman Year

Living On Campus After Freshman Year

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When most of your friends are headed off to state schools, it can seem really weird that here at Loyola you’re required to live on campus for two years. Of course, there are always ways to get around this rule, but for the most part, sophomores tend to live on campus. Don’t fret though, living on campus after freshman year isn’t all bad, and here’s why.

Freshman year you’ll live in one of five dorms; Mertz, Campion, San Francisco, De Nobili, or Simpson, but after first year you have a lot more options. Now you can pick from residence halls like the beautiful lake side Santa Clara, or if you prefer a double, Regis Hall. Another interesting thing about upper class men dorms is that some of them do not have front desks! If you’ve already lived or are living on campus, you’ll know the luxury of this.

Another luxury of living in upper class men housing is the over night policy. While living in first year housing you have a pretty strict non-Loyola student overnight guest policy. Once you graduate to second year housing you have much more relaxed guest policies and don’t have to worry about getting a guest pass 24 hours in advance to your best friend from out of town spending the night.

Living in upper class men dorms is also nice because it gives you a chance to adapt to living with a little more independence before actually getting your own apartment. You can live apartment style after freshman year which means you’ll have your own bathroom and kitchen. This makes it easier to cut down your dining hall plan (which you’re required to have) to only a five day and start cooking for yourself!

In the end, living in student housing for two years really isn’t that bad. It gives you one more year to live in a community with your classmates and not have to worry about adult things like bills and cooking. You’ll have plenty of time to live on your own and be an adult, so don’t rush it. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up loving your upper class men housing and keep living there till senior year, you never know!

Life Outside of Loyola

Life Outside of Loyola

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For those who do not know me by now, I am a commuter student. I live in Albany Park, which is about 45 minutes to an hour away (depending on rush hour times and whether or not there is a baseball game at Wrigley Field).  Besides the academic life at Loyola and talking about all the things that Loyola has to offer, I want to direct my attention to life outside of Loyola and what things I do that are not Loyola-affiliated. 

Like I have mentioned before, the single, most distinct characteristic that separates students is whether or not you live on campus or live at home with your family. Again, this is a big factor. Commuters live their lives very different. Those who live on campus participate in a lot of LUC events and hang with their friends for dinner or for an outing by going downtown. 

I, like other students, have other responsibilities and other obligations I have to meet. My home life and academic life are split up entirely. 


My weekdays, Monday through Friday, are generally dedicated to schoolwork and any extracurriculars I am a part of. These component you should have a basic idea of already through my previous post as well as my fellow bloggers’ posts.

Weekends and Friday nights are pretty hectic.

Friday nights are spent at laundromats, washing, drying, and folding clothes for a family of 4. After, maybe go to a family member’s house and eat dinner there.

Saturday is spent going to the grocery store or supermarket to restock our fridge and make meals for the following week. We usually go to 2-3 stores because some places do not have the things we are looking for. Buying food generally takes up all of the morning. When we return home, we get started on cooking and/or I get started on my school work (which can be a lot!). By 4pm, I’m out of the house again and on my way to church for choir practice (no, I don’t singing nor am I a very good singer; I play the cello). 5:30pm mass lasts an hour or so. Some Saturdays, my choirs may have weddings or funerals or other events that I have to be at too, and when you factor in rehearsal times, my Saturday nights are quite busy.

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Sunday is the busiest. 9:30am is when I have my weekly meeting for the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (a church group for kids), where we talk about what we will teach the kids this week and what events we need to take care of in the future. From 10am to 11:30am, I alongside some my friends, teach and play with the kids. 11:30am mass.

Sometimes, my cello lessons at Loyola are on the weekend too, so that means I have to commute to Loyola with my cello either Saturday afternoon or Sunday late afternoon.

Either way, it is easy to see that life outside Loyola, especially for me as a LUC student and Chicago resident, can be busy and filled with so many things to do. There is certainly never a dull moment during the week and there is never a time when I am not being unproductive or couch-potato-like.

In a way, I do enjoy this lifestyle because there is a greater purpose to my life rather than doing nothing. In addition, most of the things I do outside of school are to support my family or support a good cause- this makes me feel like my time and effort are worth something.

Life outside of Loyola can be very fun and thrilling. We live in one of the greatest cities, so take advantage of it and get involved in everything that Chicago has to offer!

 

Concert Season

Concert Season

As a Chicagoan, one of my favorite unofficial seasons has started that all music loving college students absolutely adore — Concert season. With Chicago being the third largest city in the country, it seems like no matter what genre you listen to, and how big or small the artist might be, if they’re touring, they’re almost always going to stop in the city.

Even if you don’t listen to certain artists often, depending on how popular or mainstream they might be, very frequently you’ll be able to find some cheap tickets to help fill up an empty day on your schedule, by looking up certain venues around the city that are easy to get to and looking at their calendars for the coming weeks and months.

And if you want to be more adventurous, looking into the DIY scene and finding a cheap lineup of bands and musicians of all backgrounds is just as easy. And once you gather some connections in the music scene around the city, it becomes so much easier to continue your pursuit.

I know myself personally, I’ve already been able to get tickets for 4 shows, a couple of them being under $10 to see about 3 bands each night. And even though I haven’t listened to the bands, the experience of listening to them with my friends and expanding my musical palette is more than enough of an experience for myself. If you don’t want to take that risk like I’m going to be doing, the off chance of being able to find the band or musician’s stuff on ‘bandcamp’ or ‘soundcloud’ is entirely possible to help you get a taste of their talent, and decide whether they might be worth seeing for you.

In the meantime, I’ll be hitting up a variety of shows, and getting a taste of the intimacy of seeing an artist play for a smaller crowd of people as opposed to what you would find at larger music festivals, that populate all of Chicago’s summer months. Don’t let the crummy weather ruin your good vibes! Take that leap and find some great tunes to keep you going through the rest of the school year

Loyola’s Music Ensembles

Loyola’s Music Ensembles

Whether you have a bass voice for the choir or a bass trombone for the orchestra or the wind ensemble; Loyola has countless musical ensemble classes that the school offers. Open to students of all majors, interests, and backgrounds; music is the living and driving force that brings all these students together to make beautiful music together. Under the direction of esteemed and professional faculty members, these professors are truly dedicated to their students and their craft. Throughout the academic year, there are many different themed concerts often in accordance with the season. For example, every year during the holiday season, the music department puts on Joyola, an annual musical concert where members of all ensembles (choirs, wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, and orchestra) perform holiday classics and tunes for members of the Loyola community and the greater community. In addition, last year, Loyola held its first Night at the Opera where both students from the orchestra and the choirs performed classic pieces from Operas and Broadway i.e. Puccini’s Humming Chorus (Madame Butterfly) to Roger’s and Hammerstein’s “There’s Nothing like a Dame” (South Pacific).

Wind Ensemble: Under the direction of Dr. Frederick Lowe, the Wind Ensemble is a group of students who play both traditional and contemporary band literature. This group is composed of typically 50 students and is open to all from freshmen to seniors. The Wind Ensemble usually plays with either the Percussion Ensemble or the Orchestra. As with the other musical courses, this course fulfills parts of Loyola’s Core Curriculum, that all students have to take during their time here at Loyola. To get in the ensemble, there are auditions at the beginning of each semester to determine seating for that musical season. Dr. Lowe is also the director for the Band of Wolves, the school’s Pep Band that plays for basketball games.

http://www.luc.edu/music/academics/ensembles/wind-ensemble/ 

Jazz Ensemble: Under the direction of Professor Scott Burns, the Jazz Ensemble is divided up with the ensemble group and the Jazz Combo under the direction of Professor Anthony Molinaro. These groups continue to promote jazz training with improvisation, music theory, etc. The jazz group typically plays standards of jazz literature with: Duke Ellington and Count Basie and so much more.

http://www.luc.edu/music/academics/ensembles/jazz-ensemble/

Orchestra: Under the direction of Dr. Colin Holman, the Orchestra is a musical group that plays a combination of classical music from an array of composers and disciplines (i.e. operas, overtures, etc.) This group usually performs with the Wind Ensemble and/or the Choir. Like the Wind Ensemble, the ensemble requires an audition process to determine seating.

http://www.luc.edu/music/academics/ensembles/orchestra/

Choirs: Under the direction of Professor Kirsten Hedegaard, there are several choirs at Loyola depending on the student’s level and experience: Women’s Chorus, Chamber Choir, and University Chorale. Many of these groups practice on vocal techniques and mastery of different choir literature and skills. This Choirs usually perform together during the Joyola concert or separately at different times, but this depends on the Choir. Sometimes, the choir is given an opportunity to travel abroad to perform. For example, this coming spring of 2017, the choirs will be performing in Italy. There is also a Choir class, Schola Cantorum, under the direction of Professor Steven Betancourt, a collection of 24 students that perform challenging Choir music from a Roman Catholic mass.

http://www.luc.edu/music/academics/ensembles/universitychorale/

 

Ensembles