Category: Rambler Athletics

Defining Different Types of College Visits: Which visit is right for you?

Defining Different Types of College Visits: Which visit is right for you?

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Enjoy your Campus Visit

Loyola Men’s Volleyball Games

Loyola Men’s Volleyball Games

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I’m not much of a sports person myself, but one sport I have come to enjoy watching is Loyola’s Men’s Volleyball! For sports fans and non-sports fans alike, everyone can find enjoyment in watching two teams battle it out in an intense game of volleyball to reach the top! In this post, I will be talking about attending Loyola Men’s Volleyball games. (I’m sure women’s volleyball is very exciting too, I’ve just never personally been to a game yet!)

A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I decided to check out a volleyball game because we have never been to one before and we knew that they were undefeated! Loyola was versing Harvard, and I wasn’t too sure on what to expect, because honestly, sports games usually bore me. I was pleasantly surprised once I arrived though, because I found that volleyball is actually such an intense and exciting game to watch! (It also helped that I actually understood how to play and what was going on…) We watched and cheered as Loyola gained score after score, and felt the tension when there was an intense round of volleying the ball back and fourth over the net, hoping the play would end in Loyola’s favor! In the end, Loyola won the game, continuing their winning streak from this season as well as winning the championship last year.

All in all, whether you love sports and go to as many games as you can or if sports aren’t your thing at all, I would encourage you to go to at least one volleyball game to witness the excitement of it! I had my doubts, but am now so glad I went to that one game, because now I plan to go to every single one in the future that I can! The next time Loyola has a home game is Saturday, February 14th against Ball State. So, if you’re bored this Valentine’s Day, come on down to the game at 7pm at Gentile Arena! I know I’ll try to be there! ☺

2014 in Review for LUC

2014 in Review for LUC

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On the last day of 2014 it’s time to look back on the year and reflect. For Loyola University Chicago the year has seen all sorts of changes, high points, and tragedy–here’s a few:

  1. LUC is the 4th greenest university on Sierra Club’s list. Thanks to the Institute of Environmental Sustainability–run on geothermal energy, housing a biodiesel lab, greenhouse, and aquaponics system–and extensive recycling and composting programs, Loyola is proud of it’s sustainability efforts and eager to keep improving.
  2. Men’s Volleyball 2014 NCAA Champions. A first in the program’s history, the Ramblers defeated the Stanford Cardinals in 4 sets–a match hosted in Loyola’s Gentille Arena. This is the 2nd national championship title Loyola has won, the other being the 1963 Men’s Basketball title.
  3. November brought the installation of Madonna della Strada’s bells. For both the 75th anniversary of the dedication of the Chapel and the 25th anniversary of the deaths of the Salvadoran martyrs, the bells rang. These bells completed the vision James Mertz, S.J. had when building the chapel in the 1930s.
  4. Opening of St. Ignatious Plaza, Halas Recreation Center, and the West Quad. Loyola’s campus saw some changes in the fall of 2014 with 3 new additions to campus. Students can now enjoy extra green space in the West Quad, an addition to Damen student center with a remolded Halas Recreation Center, more study space, and a new cafe. The south side of campus now boasts the St. Ignatious Plaza, a brick walkway with greenery and benches, closing off part of Kenmore Avenue and making campus safer for students.
  5. The tragic death of student Mutahir Rauf. Both students at Loyola, Mutahir was with his brother in Rogers Park when the two were robbed and Mutahir was fatally shot. The Loyola community came to together in remembrance of him at  a memorial service on December 9th and an interfaith prayer service on the 10th to pray for nonviolence.

The Loyola Community saw highs and lows throughout the year. Each event brought with it lessons to be learned–from eco-friendly practices to remembering our loved ones, 2014 was a year to be remembered and cherished. Looking forward to 2015, Loyola will yet again see challenges and success stories–here’s to making it count! Happy New Year’s Ramblers.

A Christmas Poem for LUC

A Christmas Poem for LUC

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On Christmas Day our campus was quiet,
all of the Ramblers back in their hometowns.
Mom’s cooking for a month–say goodbye to your diet.
Winter break is far from a let down,
who doesn’t love catching up with family and friends?
Frankly, it becomes exhausting.
Some of us will be sad when break ends,
But when we return we won’t stop talking.

The Jesuits will have a Christmas celebration.
Surely Sister Jean will come and spread cheer,
if of course she ever takes a vacation.
It’s hard to believe it’s the end of the year.
Come 2015 all the Ramblers will be rejuvenated,
ready for new professors and new classes–
We’ll see how much more knowledge can be accumulated,
and who will stand out among the masses.

Soon students will make their way back to the lake shore,
all their presents in tow.
We’ll gather in Gentille to watch the Ramblers score,
cheering for those points to grow.
I’ll bet there’s been some Christmas wishin’
for a winning season all around.
Our boys and girls are on a mission,
to bring home the victor’s crown.

So from one rambler to the rest, I hope this Christmas was the best one yet!

 

 

Intramural Soccer

Intramural Soccer

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I’ve always played varsity soccer during my high school career.  Even though, I would’ve loved to play for a D1, even a D2 school, I knew the time and dedication wouldn’t work out with the major I wanted to pursuit.

So, when I found out that there was an option to play intramural soccer without traveling (like club soccer), I knew I had to play.  You only need a team captain and enough players!  If you don’t have a team you can still sign up as a free lancer and they’ll make sure you have a team.

Even better, there’s flexibility about when and what time you want to play!  Overall, I have had a great experience playing coed intramural soccer these past few years.  I met great people and got to play the sport I’ve always loved!  I became very close with my team players and although they have graduated, we still remain in contact.

Intramural soccer is very laid back, it lasts about 4 weeks with the possibility of going to playoffs.  This is a great alternative if you want to stay fit and play for fun without wasting too much time traveling!

This semester’s intramural soccer sign up deadline has ended, but keep a look out for spring’s semester’s deadline!  Click the link to stay up to date.

 

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Open House Recap

Open House Recap

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Open Houses are some of my favorite events of the year. They are simply fantastic, and I’m not just saying them because I coordinate them.

Here are my TOP 5 Reasons for LOVING Open House:

1. Reconnecting with prospective students – I absolutely love recognizing students from college fairs and high school visits and seeing them explore our beautiful campus for the first time. It’s even more exciting when they recognize me and stop by to chat for a few minutes about questions or to share their latest thoughts on Loyola. I was lucky to have several of these interactions throughout the day.

2. The Department Fair – where I get to catch up with some of our fantastic faculty members. As an alum, I have the pleasure of knowing many of the faculty on campus, but I don’t get too many opportunities to catch up with them. Fortunately, the department fair not only gives me an opportunity to say hi, it also gives all of our prospective students and guests the unique opportunity to meet with faculty from all 80+ majors and minors!

The department fair at Loyola's October Open House.
The department fair at Loyola’s October Open House.

3. The food – who doesn’t love free food?! And there is a TON of it at Open House. My personal favorite though is just being able to enjoy Loyola’s hot apple cider on crisp fall day.

4. Spending a Saturday morning on Campus – Rain or shine, there is no location I love more than the Lake Shore Campus early in the morning. It’s simply impossible to find a better view than the sun rising over Lake Michigan as we are getting ready for the thousands of guests at Open House.

View of Lake Michigan from Campus.
View of Lake Michigan from Campus.

5. The Undergraduate Admission Student Workers – they are the best. Seriously, how many people do you know that are willing to work overtime on Friday night and Saturday morning? They not only do this, but they do it with a smile on their faces because they genuinely love Loyola and having the opportunity to connect with our prospective students. It’s great to be able to spend time with current students who are loving their Loyola experiences. They also seem to have fun with the hundreds of balloons we had this past weekend.

Student Workers pose with balloons while prepping for Loyola's October Open House.
Student Workers pose with balloons while prepping for Loyola’s October Open House.

 

THANK YOU to the nearly 2,000 guests we had on-campus this past Saturday! We’re so thrilled you had the opportunity to join our Loyola community for the day.

 

For those of you who were unable to join us, it’s not too late! You can still register for the Saturday, November 8th Open House by clicking here or you can register for a traditional campus visit by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ around Chicago

Ramblin’ around Chicago

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To indulge myself in the complete Loyola experience, I decided to explore around campus and find three events that in some way related to my experience as a Loyola student. Much to my delight, Loyola provided several opportunities for me to go to, such as sporting events (I attended a men’s soccer game), a farmer’s market (which I actually sang at with my roommate), and make a class trip to one of the most amazing art galleries I’ve been to, (and trust me, I’ve seen the Mona Lisa in person, this was just as cool) available right here in Chicago: The Art Institute.

Out of all three events, the soccer game was probably my favorite experience, as you can tell how hard the athletes work to be able to have such a winning mentality on and off the field. I’m extremely unathletic (I’m actually scared of the gym) and to see what they are able to push their bodies to do is amazing and impressive.

The best thing about the game, however, was 100% the student section. It was both surprising and refreshing to see how into the game the students (and faculty) got. (Sister Jean even made an appearance, which warmed the hearts of athletes and students alike, what a gem.) So many people sported our school’s maroon and gold, and cheered as loudly as they could to help their peers gain a victory against the team from Dayton in Ohio.

It was great to see so many people from different fields of interest and other sports (track and field came out and were some of the loudest fans there, to my surprise) to come together and show that much school spirit for a team that they had no personal connection to, and that in and of itself has made me more excited to come to Loyola and be a Rambler.

 

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Find Yourself at Open House!

Find Yourself at Open House!

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As the on-campus event coordinator in the Undergraduate Admission Office, some of my favorite weekends of the year are coming up – our Fall Open Houses! This year we will be offering two Fall Open Houses on Saturday, October 18th and Saturday and Saturday, November 8th on our Lake Shore Campus for High School Seniors, High School Juniors, and Transfer Students. Open Houses are a great way to spend some time on campus to see if Loyola is the best “fit” for you. All of the different tours, sessions, and activities are designed to introduce you and your guests to the Loyola community.

Open Houses at Loyola differ from our daily campus visits in that they offer students, parents, and guests insight into the entire Loyola Community.

We offer presentations on: Freshmen Admission/Scholarship, Transfer Admission/Scholarship, Financial Aid, Study Abroad, Pre-Health Advising, Career Development & Experiential Learning, and Residence Life.

We offer tours of the Lake Shore Campus, all first year Residence Halls, and the Institute of Environmental Sustainability.

We also offer a Department Fair where guests have the opportunity to meet with faculty, staff, or students from every major at Loyola.

 

 Click here to register for Open House!

Click here to view the full agenda for Open House!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to bring anything to Open House?

You are not required to bring anything to Open House. Though we do recommend that you spend some time looking at the schedule before hand so you can select which sessions you would like to attend. Also, be sure to come prepared with any questions you have for admission counselors, financial aid counselors, or faculty members from your major/program of interest.

Do you have hotel recommendations for the weekend?

Yes, click here for recommended lodging options nearby.

Is parking available on campus?

Yes, we recommend that all visits park in our main parking structure on campus. Parking will be free on both Saturdays.

If I cannot attend Open House, is there another time I can visit campus?

Yes, you can attend a campus visit at our Lake Shore Campus on Monday – Saturday and our Water Tower Campus on Monday – Friday.

 

If you have any additional questions, give us a call at 800.262.2373 or email us at admission@luc.edu.

 

Jesuit Jam

Jesuit Jam

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The Loyola Men’s Basketball season is in full swing, and the Loyola community has been pulling out all the stops to show its full support!

The walls of Damen have been covered in advertisements for basketball games and events.  On Thursday the school sponsored the Jesuit Jam, closely followed by the “Cage the Redbirds” Tailgate on Saturday.

While I had to spend Sunday catching up on homework and going to meetings, I was able to stop in for the Jesuit Jam on Thursday.  Cheers from the student section could be heard as far as the Damen Food Court.

Besides a free t-shirt and sign, I was treated to some seriously hilarious entertainment from the Loyola Jesuits.  Breaks in the game were filled with trivia sessions, dance competitions, and endless cheering from Loyola students and fans.

Though the basketball team suffered a loss to Bradley, I think it’s safe to say that the event was a huge success.

 

Loyola Joins The Missouri Valley Conference: UPDATE

Loyola Joins The Missouri Valley Conference: UPDATE

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It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Loyola. We opened our awesome new Damen Student Center and started construction to revamp our on student gym, Halas.

But perhaps the busiest office on campus was the Athletics. They did two majors things over the past week. First, they hired a new women’s basketball coach, Sheryl Swoopes. For those of you who don’t know, Swoopes is regarded as one of the best athletes (women’s basketball) of all time. Her accolades include a NCAA title, 4-WNBA titles and 3 Olympic gold medals.CRAZY!

The second move athletics made was even bigger than hiring Swoopes. Loyola announced hat Loyola was leaving the Horizon League to join The Missouri Valley Conference. Loyola held a press conference today announcing the move which is affective July 1 2013.

I was hoping to write more about the move today, but it’s been busy in the office. I’ll provide a more in depth look at the move early next week. Check back then!

UPDATE:

As promised, I’m back to write more about Loyola’s move to the Missouri Valley Conference. To make it a littler easier to understand, I’m going to break down my analysis into a couple different section: who, what, when, where and why.

Who- A majority of Loyola University Chicago’s Division 1 athletic teams

Most of Loyola’s teams will make the jump the the MVC. The only team that won’t is Men’s Volleyball.

What- Missouri Valley Conference

Loyola was one of the founding members of the Horizon league and has seen the league gain attention over the last couple of years. But, change is good. Especially when you’re making the jump to the second oldest conference in the NCAA and a conference that has some serious basketball powerhouses (e.i. Wichita State and formerly Creighton). A new (and not to mention strong) conference, and one known for hoops, will help Loyola improve it’s level of competition and attract new recruits across all the sports.

When- July 1, 2013

As I wrote above, LU fans won’t have to wait long for the school to make the jump to the MVC. The switch is affective this summer and teams starting officially playing MVC teams in the Fall.

Where- All through the Mid-West and Arch-Madness

True to the name. MVC’s teams are all located through out the mid-west. Which mean, our teams don’t have to travel to far for games.  Each year the MVC hosts it’s annual conference basketball tournament in St. Louis, thus calling it “Arch-Madness.” The MVC hoops tournament is one of the first events that marks the start of March Madness and has had some impressive crowd turnouts over the last couple of seasons.

Why- Fit and Chicago

Last, but not least, is the why. There were a number of reasons given at the press conference as to why Loyola accepted the bid to join the MVC. The word that came up over and over again was “fit.” The league felt Loyola fit well with the league is trying to do now and what it wants to accomplish in the future. The MVC’s commissioner, Doug Elgin commented on how impressed he was Loyola’s facilities and commitment to the ‘student’ part of student athlete. Beyond fit, one of the bigger reasons the MVC looked at Loyola was our location, Chicago. Having a school in the nation’s third largest media market, allows the MVC greater exposure for not only the conference, but it’s teams.

Pretty exciting move, through and through.