Tag: Spring

Summer break already?

Summer break already?

wounded-angel-spring

It is pretty scary to know that I’ll be entering into my third year at Loyola. Time goes by faster than you think.

Sophomore year is coming to an end. It certainly does not feel like summer break is next week, given the recent weather Chicago has been having. Some days, we’ve had winter-like weather, and the fact that we are right next to the lake, does not help with the wind gusts. But to compensate, our campus has had a plethora of bunnies which is quite pleasant to look at, nibbling at the grass, as students walk across campus.

I will be taking a course over the summer to keep myself in the ‘student’ mode and get caught up. It will be interesting to see orientations happening during my class time. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to see you prospective students and even get to talk to you one-to-one. During convocation week, you’ll see me again ,helping out the OCSL- Off-Campus Student Living group. I’ll be welcoming the commuter students, especially. 🙂 It’s always such a fun time to experience that freshman excitement all over again. It brings back a ton of memories when I was a freshman in 2014.

Over the summer, I will be volunteering at Swedish Covenant Hospital (and maybe Rush Medical Center) for a period of time. In addition, I will be taking care of my brother, Ryan, and take him to parks, playdates, and a bunch of other summer-related activities. I also plan on hanging out with friends and jamming to music with people like Dong, a talented musician (professional violinist!). I still play the cello and will continue to attend Old Town School of Folk Music over the summer. Altogether, my summer is full of things to do and I’m looking forward to all of it.

With that being said, this is my last blog post of the 2016 spring semester and I hope you guys enjoyed journeying with me into my sophomore year, here at Loyola University Chicago.

Until next time,

Farewell & have a fantastic summer!

Christopher Lam

Spring is in the Air… Now What?

Spring is in the Air… Now What?

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Finally you can leave your dorm without your parka and winter boots, now what the heck are you going to do! Since making the trek to the L isn’t like taking a walk through the tundra, the options are virtually endless. So what are you going to do? Here are some of the things that I am going to do with this non-polar weather!

The first place I definitely want to visit this spring is the Lincoln Park Zoo! In addition to the fun of going to the zoo and being a kid for the day, its also FREE! Yes, it’s free, which as a college student is one of the most important aspects of any activity. If you didn’t make your way to the zoo for Zoo Lights around Christmas, this is a great opportunity to experience Lincoln Park Zoo!

One of Chicago’s most famous land marks is also a great place to visit this spring, and it’s Navy Pier! You can’t live in Chicago and not visit Navy Pier at least once. This spring Navy Pier is getting a face lift with a brand new, even bigger ferris wheel. The ferris wheel won’t be open till the summer, but, there are plenty of other things to do. Navy Pier offers daily cruises around the Lake Michigan coast, and also currently has a garden exhibit and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater (currently playing Othello). Navy Pier is a great field trip place, even if you aren’t interested with any of these things, it’s just a great place to visit!

Something to do when the weather gets even a little bit warmer than it is now is Kayaking on the Chicago River! Yeah, you actually can do this. You can rent Kayaks from Kayak Chicago, Urban Kayaks, or Wateriders. Kayak Chicago rents kayaks for $20/hr or $80/day. This is such a fun and unique activity, plus  like everyone who takes snapchats while river kayaking gets on the Chicago snapstory!

Spring time is also a great time to visit any of the museums in Chicago. Aside from the big museums like the Field Museum, the Art Institute, the Science and Industry Museum, or The Shedd, Chicago also has smaller museums like the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago Children’s Museum, the Museum of Broadcast Communications, and many many more!

Of course my favorite thing to do when the weather is nice though, is shopping! Michigan Avenue is one of the best places to shop in the country and is of course right in the heart of Chicago! You can take the campus shuttle right to Water Tower campus and be right there! Take a walk down Mich Ave and hit up any of your favorite stores as well as taking a basic pic at the bridge over the Chicago River.

Take advantage of the amazing things around you while you live in Chicago, there are so many things to do to help get your mind off school for a while. It’s a great incentive to going to Loyola and I appreciate it everyday! Have fun!

 

Spring on Campus

Spring on Campus

There is nothing better than Spring time on campus when all of the snow has melted away and the flowers begin to bloom. Even on a cloudy or rainy day, Loyola’s campus looks beautiful. Below I’m sharing some of my favorite photos of campus this season:

Photo Credit: Lindsy Fagerstrom
Tulips bloom near the Mundelein Center Fountain at Lake Shore Campus. Photo Credit: Lindsy Fagerstrom

 

Photo Credit: Lindsy Fagerstrom
View of Chicago’s historic Water Tower from Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. Photo Credit: Lindsy Fagerstrom

 

Photo Credit: @marcellobdm via Instagram
Taking in the view of the East Quad at the Lake Shore Campus. Photo Credit: @marcellobdm via Instagram

 

Photo Credit: @m1ggyy via Instagram
Enjoying the view of the Information Commons at the Lake Shore Campus. Photo Credit: @m1ggyy via Instagram

 

Photo Credit: @wheresjennau via Instagram
Trees being to bloom outside of Cudahy Hall at the Lake Shore Campus. Photo Credit: @wheresjennau via Instagram

 

Photo Credit: Christina Hernandez
The sun reflects over Lake Michigan at the Lake Shore Campus. Photo Credit: Christina Hernandez

 

If these photos haven’t sold you on Loyola, come visit campus for yourself! If you’re an admitted student who’s ready to commit to Loyola, submit your deposit now before May 1st!

 

 

Waiting for Spring

Waiting for Spring

photo

Eventually the snow will melt and the vibrant colors from the green grass and flowers will bloom. I cannot wait for this time of the year to come as I am a little exhausted with the things winter currently does to people. With winter, comes slush, traffic jams, slush, overly sized puffy jackets, and more slush; getting up for school during the winter time can be hard without the sun’s appearance yet. Snow can look so beautiful, but the color of white can get tiring as it already is for me. I would love to see the warm, bright sun out more frequently to bring the students outside of their resident halls and hang around outside for a walk for crisp, fresh air.

I digress, that is just me daydreaming in Damen near a warm radiator. My first week of second semester went well as I was able to attend and enjoy all the classes I enrolled in. Luckily, I am fortunate to have friends in each class. With that being said, I know I can do better academically and relieve some of the tension I brought upon myself last semester when I did not know anyone in class. There is always room for improvement. I am not waiting for spring for that to happen, rather I start now because it is never too early or too late to be a better person for yourself and for others to see.

Spring Has (Almost) Sprung

Spring Has (Almost) Sprung

It is hard to believe that we have entered the spring season when temperatures remain below forty degrees in Chicago.  As less windy cities experience sunny days and warm weather, Chicago seems to be trapped in one of its notorious six month winters.

Thankfully, there is hope!  Over the past couple of weeks, there have been subtle hints to changing weather.  The sun has made appearances, the temperature has hit sixty, and flowers are beginning to bloom.  At long last, it is really beginning to look like April.

So say goodbye to Jack Frost, I think we Chicagoans are well on our way to spring!

Flowers beginning to bloom on Chicago street gardens
Looking Forward To Spring

Looking Forward To Spring

Well, it’s been a minute since I last wrote. This has been due in large part to what admission counselors call “reading season.” This is the time of year we read the numerous applications that students filled out in the Fall. Much like the “holiday season,” this time of year is stressful, fun, busy and rewarding. I can’t count how many applications I’ve read, but I’m through the busiest part.

With the Fall over and Winter on it’s way out, there are some excited things happening at Loyola this Spring.

Since reading season is just about over, our office is finalizing our plans for Loyola Weekend. Loyola Weekend is our annual Spring open house and one of the best chances for admitted to students to check out the University before May 1 (the deposit deadline). We’ll have a great deal going on the weekend of April 6th: tours of campus, tours of residence halls, a mini department fair and a student organization showcase. Use the Loyola Weekend link above to check your customized schedule.

When (or if) you attend Loyola Weekend you’ll get to see our new student union! The student union, or the Damen Student Center, will be complete April 1st and pretty beautiful. Our office is getting a preview tour of the space next week. I’m very excited to see what exactly the student union is going to house and the physical space. It’ll be a big upgrade from what I had available as a student. I plan on taking a number of photos and maybe some videos to post after we return.

Each Spring also welcomes Loyola’s annual concert/comedian pairing known as Colossus. During this Friday and Saturday in March Loyola traditionally brings a band and comedian to preform, on campus, for students. We’ve had some great acts preform over the last couple of years (Jim Gaffigan, Donald Glover, Flo-Rida and The Black Eyed Peas to name a few), but I’m pretty pumped for who’s preforming this year: Karmin/Matt Nathanson and Aziz Ansari! I’ve been the last couple of years and I think I’ll make it out again in March. Tickets for the show are sold together for $7 and separately for $5, what a steal!

If these three events weren’t enough to get you excited about Spring, the clocks are going to spring forward soon! That means another hour of glorious day light is on the way. Which means, Summer is approaching.

Check back Tuesday for my photos of the new student center!

 

Tulips!

Tulips!

Spring is here and Chicago is covered in tulips! Check out these beautiful pictures of tulips around Loyola’s campus and downtown:

A close-up for tulips on campus!
Orange tulips in flower boxes on the sidewalk on Michigan Ave.
Loyola's Simpson Center sign is adorned with red and yellow tulips.
More tulips on campus. These are in front of Coffee Hall on Sheridan Rd.
Election Reflection

Election Reflection

In the shadow of the presidential primaries, Loyola has been having its own elections. Earlier in the week, the Unified Student Government Association (USGA) held its spring elections, which, among other things, elected the student body president for next year.

LU wolf wanted everyone to vote!

To be honest, I don’t remember last year’s election. In fact, I don’t even think I voted.  However, this year, several of my fraternity brothers (the same fraternity that Tad often references) were running for various positions, so I had much more interest in what was going on.

As someone who would have ignored the elections if they weren’t brought to my immediate attention, I wasn’t surprised to learn that LUC has an extremely low percent of students that actually vote; in fact, only 30.1% of students voted.

It’s sad, but I also think it’s possible to change that number. For myself, once I decided to vote, I took a marked interest in how the elections were run – and was more than pleasantly surprised with what I found.

To make myself an educated voter, I read the candidate statements, watched the WTC and LSD debates and stalked USGAs webpage and twitter. It’s amazing, because I never realized how official and thoroughly our elections are run.

I was more than impressed, and I think if more students were exposed to this part of the elections, they would be too.

I hope that more students get a chance to see how great our election are, but in the meantime, congrats to Julia Poirier and Sarah McDowell!

The Homestretch

The Homestretch

It’s been surprisingly great to be back at school from Thanksgiving break. Only two weeks left of classes and then finals week. I am ready to power through, and am very much looking forward to getting back home for a whole month!

It’s hard to concentrate on my current classes when I feel like I’m already in the mindset of next semester. I’m loving my class schedule for next semester—I finally got into a couple of photography classes! I’m taking Photography I, an art class and the first step into my photography minor, and Photojournalism, which is a communications class and will count as an elective for my Communication Studies major. Along with those two, I’m enrolled in Journalistic Interviewing, Writing for the Web (which will help me for blogging!), and Intro to the Bible.