Tag: Loyola University Chicago

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

Chapel Hill Memoir

Chapel Hill Memoir

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On the night of February 10th, I remember being home relaxing after a long day of class and internship work.  Usually, I get home about 7 in the afternoon and that day was nothing new.  I was debating whether or not to go to the gym or finish my Biochemistry laboratory paper.  Well, I ended up doing both.  I have usually been going to bed around 12 at night, since I spend a good amount of time cooking and prepping my food for the next day.  That Tuesday was not any different and neither was my “check every social media ritual.”  I went on Facebook, but I did not read anything interest.  Instagram? nothing.  Pinterest?  I didn’t even try because I get too hungry.  Snapchat?  I didn’t feel like looking at so many pictures and videos.

When I went on Twitter, I read the first retweet about the #ChapelHillShooting.  At first, I figured it was an old incident, but when I clicked on the attached link, I noticed that it had happened that same night.  Honestly, I was expecting there to be a bigger hype about it.  There are so many discussions that can arise from this tragic.  However, this is not the purpose of this blog because all I want is there to be a mutual understanding that: this was and is important.  Additionally, I am writing this blog because I want to share with you how the Loyola community dealt with it.

There are times in which we get so carried away with all the daily activities of our lives.  This happens to me constantly, especially when I am walking around campus.  I have to rush to class.  I need to print this.  The line is so long.  I need coffee.  I forgot the moonlighting enzyme in the paper.  I knew the answer to that last question.  Did I eat today?  All of these thoughts go on in our heads and sometimes we do not stop to look around us and appreciate what is around us.  I get it.  It happens and this is fine.  However, there are situation, like this one, that make me realize how amazing the Loyola community is.   Unfortunately, in this case it had to be a tragic event, but nonetheless, it made me proud of all of these people who took the time to gather around and pay their respects to the victims.

There were people of other religions around the small and empowering memoir.  There were so many people who passed it and just stared in silence.  I believe that these are incidents that bring people closer.  Many people did not know what had happened and this memoir led them to research on their own.  I just want to put in my two cents about this incident.  I want those to know that the Loyola community is free of bigotry and we support each other like if we were our own.  If you didn’t know, now you know.  Take the time to free your mind and take a look around campus.  There is always something to be proud of, big or small.

 

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Dr. John Donoghue and Pirates

Dr. John Donoghue and Pirates

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It was junior year, and I knew that I had to finish my History requirements.  Honestly, it was my least favorite subject in high school, and I was really dreading on taking more History courses in college.  However, to my luck I chose one of the best professors I have had in my undergraduate career.  His name is Dr. John Donoghue!  I remember this being one of my favorite classes, ever.  I did struggle a little bit on organizing events and memorizing them, but he did help me a lot.  I can say that he made me realize how important it is to know our history;  It just makes us much credible and it helps us value our every day history events.

I remember him talking about pirates, a lot.  Even though we did not get to touch base on them as much as I would have hoped he did, he did state that he was writing a book on them.  I was so excited to see all of these flyers around Loyola University that stated that he would be talking about Rough Justice under the Jolly Roger: Pirates of the Caribbean and the Court of “King Death.”  This is taking place, TODAY:

Thursday, February 12, 2015
Reception at 5:00 p.m.
Program at 6:00 p.m.

Klarchek Information Commons,
4th Floor
Lake Shore Campus
6501 N. Kenmore Ave

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend because I have my biochemistry lab, but I encourage all of my last minute people to go.  Whether you are just getting out of halas or you want to know a little more about pirates (no, Johny Depp, ladies – sorry!), please stop by!  I am sure that the program will be anything less than wonderful.  He has a way of keeping you engaged, and this is why I always sat on the front row of his class because his way of reciting past history is amazing.

“While pirates, the iconic outlaws of the silver screen, have long sustained the American dream of living dangerously, the real history of piracy reveals something even more intriguing – that far from losing themselves in a life of lawlessness, pirates created an alternative system of law and order, what they called ‘the government of the ship,’ to deliver rough and ready justice to the enemies of all ‘men of spirit.’” – John Donoghue

My sandwich and my tangerine

My sandwich and my tangerine

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I love in between classes breaks.  They allow me to do very productive things…well, most of the time. 🙂 However, it gives me some time to do some last minute homework or studying.  If ONLY, I actually attempted to get work done every single time.  However, it doesn’t always happen.  What always happens is that I eat.  I eat, a lot.

I am always going to the dining hall because, since I love to eat, it gives me the most alternatives.  My appetite is always changing.  When I am not feeling too hungry, you can always find me in the Coffee Shop.  It is just such a chill and relaxing atmosphere that emanates the whole shop, and I love it.  Let me tell you, I went there this past Thursday and I had one of the best sandwiches ever.

It wasn’t just my every other Thursday.  I had just  gotten out of an exam and while it wasn’t so bad, I still needed a few minutes to relax before my biochemistry lab.  I was a tad hungry, and so I stopped by.  As I walked in I saw many Loyola students.  This is why I feel comfortable coming here.  I ordered a sandwich and they lady behind the counter recommended that I try the turkey sandwich.  So, I did.  After I paid, I waited for my sandwich but she said that she would bring it to my table.   (Great service, btw).

I sat down and I was having trouble connecting to the WiFi.  (The password is coffeeshop, not thecoffeeshop).  When she suddenly came with my food, I could not help but notice the cute little plate that she put it on.  I really felt at home.  I, also, noticed a tangerine next to my sandwich.  It was very good and fulfilling.  I started working on my lab report while I ate, but all of the interesting decorations around were really distracting me.  The glass table that I was sitting at had old newspapers on it and the walls around me were covered by photographs.  The old piano sat solemnly and I immediately wished I knew how to play it.  It made me wonder of all these belongings and where they came from.  Did they all belong to the owner?  Were they donated?  Who played that piano?  Who touched those newspapers?  So many questions that I will try to get answered next time.

Ugh, another great experience, as always.  It is going to be very difficult to leave Loyola and Rodgers park this May, really, really, really, reaaaaaaaallllllllllly difficult.

 

 

30 Reasons Why We LOVE Loyola

30 Reasons Why We LOVE Loyola

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With Valentine’s Day approaching and everyone talking about love, it only seemed appropriate to talk about what Loyola staff and current students have to say about their relationship with Loyola.

Here are 30 reasons staff and students love Loyola:

  1. The ability to go abroad to the Rome center. – Ellen
  2. The incorporation of social justice into academics. – Judy Kyrkos
  3. The small campus feel with access to the city. – Lexy Rux
  4. Being in Chicago. – Maggie
  5. The small class sizes; it really feels like you get one-on-one time with the professors. – Patrick
  6. Being on a beautiful campus with access to downtown. – Adam Buller
  7. Living in Mertz and the chicken tenders from Damen Dining Hall. – Katie
  8. The sense of community. – Ricky Mott
  9. The beautiful campus and social justice focus in all of my classes. – Kara
  10. The small campus feel. – Shaniqua
  11. How the core classes make us a well-rounded person. – Elise
  12. How self-aware the student body is. I’ve never encountered an impolite person on campus. – John
  13. The community feel, size of campus, friendly/welcoming environment, and small class size. – Christy Vargas
  14. How there are Vegan and gluten-free options in the dining halls. – Sarah
  15. Dynamics of taking class on the lake shore campus and downtown. It’s nice to experience the best of both worlds. – Claire
  16. Class sizes, pretty campus, and nice/passionate professors. – Carlee
  17. Diverse community. – Samantha
  18. Friendly environment on campus. – Brittney
  19. Approachable teachers who seem to enjoy their jobs and always want to help you do your best. – Gabby
  20. The view of the lake. – Shannon
  21. I feel safe on campus. – Adrian
  22. Loyola has always given me the opportunity to succeed. – Aaron Brunmeier
  23. The architecture of campus. – Brian
  24. The sense of community. – Aliyah Jervier
  25. I love that Loyola offers something for anyone and everyone who attends so that they can be a part of something and feel included. – Hiba Abbas
  26. I LOVE that every time I step outside and see our beautiful campus I get excited for my day no matter how stressful it is. – Lucy Mooney
  27. I love that Loyola has so many things to offer to their students. Whether it be information on study abroad, fairs talking about feminism, or tutoring for certain classes, Loyola does an amazing job providing us with tools for success. I think that since there are so many resources offered, any type of student can feel like this school is a perfect fit for them. – Katherine Weir
  28. Loyola fosters education both inside and outside the classroom enabling YOU to grow immensely. Upon graduating from Loyola in the spring of 2015, Loyola has taught me that the aim of my education is not the facts, but rather of values. –Joe Sadofsky
  29. How connected students are to the Loyola community. – Callie Short
  30. How Loyola shares the same values as myself. – Alyson Crutchfield

Happy Valentine’s Day from Loyola University Chicago!

The Little Things Add Up.

The Little Things Add Up.

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Here’s a secret – this is really a list of common pet-peeves among admission counselors. Most of us really love our jobs and really love assisting you through your college search/decision process, but those of you who do the following will definitely make us loves our jobs that much more.

  • Research ahead of time. Most of the questions we get are easily answered by spending 30 seconds our our website or Google.
  • Ask the questions that actually matter to you. Don’t ask what the most popular major is at Loyola. Instead ask about experiential learning opportunities or about class offerings for a major (or majors) that you are actually interested in. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if our most popular major is Biology if you are interested in Business or History, those are great majors too. Skip the generic question and ask what you really want to know about.
  • Ask questions yourself instead of having your parents or counselors call or email on your behalf. This is your college search and decision process, not theirs!
  • Learn how to write a professional email. It should have a greeting, a body, and a signature. Your email address should also be appropriate. All text in your email should have proper spelling and grammar (don’t forget your punctuation).
  • Don’t send generic emails to multiple schools at once. This makes us question your interest in our respective schools, so take a few extra minutes to send us individual emails.
  • Spell Check. And double check that you have spelled the school’s name and the counselor’s name correctly.
  • Make appointments with us. Show up on time. Show up prepared. We love meeting with you but if you show up 25 minutes late and don’t have any questions, you won’t get the most out of this appointment and we’ll be scrambling to give you a ton of information in a short amount of time.
  • Remember that we are human beings. If we don’t respond to your email or voicemail within minutes, don’t panic, don’t send us 10 more emails. We’re busy trying to make sure we provide you all with the best support but that takes time, so be patient.

Even if you have already made some of these mistakes, it’s not too late to change! We’re quick to forgive and we’ll be pleasantly surprised by seeing any one of these changes made in your communications with us.

 

CPS Opportunity

CPS Opportunity

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So today, I want to share with you all some great news!  A good friend and Loyola Alumni just provided me with some information that might be helpful to some.  As we are almost graduating, Yay!, some of us are not sure what will happen after Loyola.  I know some do, and that is GREAT!  But to those who are looking into graduate school, I want to inform you with this option.

There have been so many times when someone would tell me that I should’ve become teacher.  I am always tutoring, but I have never thought about it as a career.  I shared these thoughts with this friend because I knew that she was pursuing a career in teaching.  She explained to me that she is in a two year program in which you receive a Masters in Education and teach as Full-time teacher (including all of the benefits).

She absolutely loves teaching and says that she cannot see herself doing anything less.  She graduated as a Biology major and she teaches the sciences as well as English as a second language.  She teaches in an elementary school in Chicago and she absolutely loves it!  She mentioned that she hesitated in taking this opportunity, but it came so easy to her.  People are always saying that teachers make peanuts, but this is not entirely true.  She is doing fairly well and after she has her masters she will be very qualified for a great job!  It’s also a plus that she is bilingual and she will be receiving her ESL certification as well!

Also, many of her loans will be forgiven because she is a teacher teaching a very needed subject.  I recommend this opportunity to you because I, myself, am looking to find more information about it.  It is a great back up plan, and if you find out it is not for you than at least you know that teaching is not for you; what best way to find out while getting paid, right?  I was so excited that I decided to share with you all this opportunity!  I hope this helped some of you out there. 🙂

Itasca Crash

Itasca Crash

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This might be late news to some commuters, maybe to all commuters, but about a week and a half ago there was a huge delay on Metra trains.  I, unfortunately, was in one of the trains that was delayed exactly 2 hours.  As you can see from the picture, there was a train and car collision on the Itasca stop.  The Midwest-Elgin line that I take makes a stop at Itasca and fortunately, it wasn’t my train that hit this car.  The train in front of us was the one that, at 70 mph, hit a crossing car early morning.  Details as to how this happened were not given right away.

Luckily, the elderly conductor, and the only passenger, of the car survived with minor injuries.  The paramedics described that she walked to the ambulance.  It is of shock and a blessing that this collision did not result in any deaths.  It was frightening for those who were in the train; these people were transferred over to the train that I was riding in and described that the train had only one dent and nobody was hurt.

Even though, it was the first week of classes, I  still attempted to make it to my 10am class.  However, this was not the case.  As you may all know, once you get to Union Station downtown, you need to take the Red Line all the way to Loyola.  This is about another 40 minutes, and I got to class at the end of lecture.  These are problems that commuters have to face, but it’s a sacrifice!  This is why I enjoyed my dormitories at Loyola so much; they were so convenient, close, and fun!  I recommend everyone to live near campus if they can for its convenience is maximal!

Note to commuters: take the earlier trains.  It is better to get to campus sooner than later!  Till next time…

Stephanie

**The picture is not my original picture.  I googled this picture; however, I do have a video of the crash as my train passed the Itasca stop.

Winning the Scholarship or Honors Program Acceptance Letter

Winning the Scholarship or Honors Program Acceptance Letter

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Congratulations, you’ve been admitted to Loyola University Chicago as a future Rambler! And now, some of you have been invited to apply to Loyola Interdisciplinary Honors Program or the Business Honors Program and some of you have been invited to apply for selective scholarships at Loyola! While being invited to compete for these prestigious organizations and awards is an accomplishment in itself, you can follow a few quick tips to put yourself in the best position to win the scholarship or acceptance letter; my advice:

When it comes to your essay…

  • My number one tip: ANSWER THE QUESTION. Many students submit essays that dance around the topic, but your essay will be much more impressive if you acknowledge the question head-on. Be direct and be concise.
  • SUBMIT IT EARLY. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to start your essay. You want this to be a well thought-out and well-written essay. Not something you threw together at midnight between your math homework and science project. We read enough essays to tell which were written with care and which were written hap-haphazardly.
  • USE SPELL CHECK. It’s your friend. Use it. Then proofread it. Then read it again. Then have someone (a teacher, counselor, parent, etc.) read it. Then put it away for a few days and then break it out and read it again. You want this essay to be perfect.

When it comes to your resume…

  • SEND IN A NEW ONE. If you submitted a version for college admission, that’s great, but you might be leaving out some new accomplishments. I would recommend adding new information like new awards, honors, participation in organizations, leadership, service, etc.
  • DON’T FORGET FRESHMAN YEAR. We should know everything you’ve been involved with in regard to extra-curriculars over the past 4 years; not just what you’ve been doing junior and senior year. Leave nothing out; this is your chance to awe us with your accomplishments. (This updated resume will also be helpful in the future if you are looking for jobs on-campus in the fall!)
  • MAKE IT PROFESSIONAL. The font should be clear, text in black, with a format/style that says organized. There are so many different template available to help you do this. A final tip, send you resume as a PDF so you don’t have to worry about it being distorted when opened on different types of computers and programs.

When it comes to your interview…

  • BREATHE. You’re here to talk about you. No one knows you better. This is a topic you’re a natural pro at so try to relax. Just come in, be yourself, and don’t be afraid to brag a little.
  • BE PROMPT. Walking in late will not impress anyone.
  • DRESS FOR SUCCESS. You don’t have to wear a suit necessarily, but you should be dressed appropriately (definitely no pajamas, disheveled clothing, or clothing you wouldn’t wear to school or to dinner with your grandma).
  • BE POLITE TO EVERYONE YOU ENCOUNTER. If an administrative assistant checks you in or escorts you to the office for the interview, be polite and friendly with them, you never know if they might share this input with the decision-makers.
  • PREPARE. Do your research about the school, their values, their mission, etc. Knowing what is important to the school will likely help you impress the interviewers.
  • LEARN SOMETHING. If you’re there on campus, this is another chance for you explore and determine or confirm “fit”. Also, keep in mind that whoever is interviewing you has some connection with the University whether they are staff, faculty, current students, or alumni, they are great resources whom you can ask questions.

Good Luck!

 

Addy the Sergeant

Addy the Sergeant

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All the elderly veterans that I have met at my job have been male and this shouldn’t be a surprise.  After five years, I finally got to meet an elderly woman who was once a Sergeant Chief.  I found this extraordinary since back then only males joined the army, navy, and air-force.  Even though, she doesn’t talk anymore all of her pictures in her room do her hard work justice.  She has many photographs of her in her uniform and with many other women, who fought to save our country.

I found this important to share because these recognitions are not ones that you see every day.  She was one of the first women to join the army since it wasn’t until the 1917s that women were given the opportunity to join the army in the first place.  I can only imagine the hardships she went through from being a women, but regardless of it all she stuck through it.  Her daughter remembers her as a strong, confident, but sweet lady.  She said that she was very proud of her achievements and all the recognitions she received.

Today, double standards, between men and women, still exist.  This is why I think it’s important to note how much impact women had in the army, as well.  I cannot believe that my job continues to enlighten me each day.  This is why I would love to continue working in the medical field!  It is very rewarding to be able to take care of a woman who once fought for the country I, we, live in.

Everyday should be Veterans Day.