As I have mentioned before I am president of the brand new fraternity on campus Delta Sigma Phi. We stand behind many ideals but our big goal is to show the community what real men should look like! We are not okay with being typical.
This season the men of Delta Sigma Phi are running the specialty french fry stand at Solider Field. While we are using it for some awesome brotherhood building and fundraising, the fans clearly recognize us as one of the best food options because we recorded the highest sales on our floor last week! Garlic, Parsley and Butter covering your fries cooked to perfection! Where can you go wrong with that?
For many, the start of the Fall signals the return of some of the nation’s most popular sports. Specifically college and professional football. I am not one of those many. In fact, I think I’m one of the few. Because, for me, the start of Fall means that basketball season is right around the corner.
I follow the professional and college game very closely. I think of most my friends and family members would say my following borders on “obsessive.” On the NBA side, I keep keen track of my beloved, Sacramento Kings. On the college end, I keep keep very, very close track of my alma mater, The Loyola Ramblers!
As I student I made it a point to attend as many basketball games as I could. This was easy since admittance to most games was free for students. For a couple hours each week, I would go to the games to temporarily escape the constant cycle of homework and classes.
Now, as a graduate and an employee of the university, I still make it a point to attend every game I can. This time around I’m attending the games as a season ticket holder (I felt real cool typing that).
Its an exciting time to root for the Ramblers. The university has recently renovated the training facilities for all it’s student athletes with the completion of the gorgeous, The Norville Center. In addition to building The Norville Center, Loyola also overhauled the interior of our basketball arena on campus, The Gentile Arena. The renovations created true stadium seating and reworked the nice, intimate setting already instilled in the bulding. The new Gentile Arena is a fantastic place to catch a game. Both facilities, which are connected, are truly impressive.
The Ramblers are poised to have a great season (full schedule here). The team will be taking on some great opponents. As usual, we’ll play Horizon League rivals, Valparaiso and UIC. We’ll also face, perennial basketball powerhouse, Michigan State in East Lansing. I think there’s one game that stands out from the rest, one with Mississippi State.
Why is this game so important?
Well, 2013 marks 50 year anniversary of when Loyola won the NCAA Basketball Championship. On the way to the championship game, Loyola had to face Mississippi State. A school that, at the time, was not allowed to play racially integrated teams. From Loyola’s Athletic Website:
“Its second-round opponent, Mississippi State, was a late addition because sports programs representing Mississippi schools were not allowed to play integrated teams. Coach Babe McCarthy stole his team to the tournament under the cover of darkness before an injunction could be served prohibiting the Maroons from playing the Ramblers. Loyola won the historic contest, 61-51, with a 20-point effort by All-America forward Jerry Harkness. That contest would prove to be a landmark event in the civil rights movement.”
Pretty cool right?
If you can’t tell, I’m looking forward to the season. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about hoops as the year progresses. Until then, I’m literally counting down the days until tip-off.
This semester I am taking a total of 15 credit hours at Loyola University Chicago. The scheduling also worked out very well so I could have the option to find a campus job to earn in between my classes.
I was able to get the opportunity to be a student worker with Undergraduate Admissions! Working twice a week, I will assist the receptionist, aid counselors with data entry, and be a new face that prospective students will see.
This is my first campus job during my time at Loyola. I would previously work in my hometown during the summer and winter break, but I thought I could help myself with the expenses of being an out of state student living downtown.
Being my first week, I was a little nervous because I was unfamiliar with the ins and outs of admissions. The staff and the experienced student workers were a huge help! The training that we gained with the new data entry system will also make sure that my work will help the staff a long way this year.
I will also have the opportunity to help out at the open houses this semester. I am excited to see students and their interests, just as I was in their position three years ago!
We all know a version of the saying, “Enjoy the little things in life” or “It’s the little things that matter.”
Well that could not be more true for me today. After a stressful day of classes, I walked home and dug in my backpack for my keys. This took much longer than it should have because I was making a mental to-do list of the colossal amount of homework I have to do tonight. I got frustrated and had to take a deep breath to remind myself to go slow and look diligently.
I dove my hand back into my backpack for another try and felt my keys right away. I pulled them out and upon seeing them I smiled. On my keys is a picture of Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian from The Little Mermaid (my FAVORITE movie).
For a brief moment all of the stress of classes and homework were in the back of my mind and I was able to pause and smile at the keys while good memories from the movie played in my head.
It was just this little thing, this picture of the Little Mermaid, that gave me a smile and a reminder not to worry so much about the bigger stuff.
Half way through this summer, at the end of July, I turned 20. I was no longer a teenager; I had officially entered into adulthood!
While I was excited to finally take part in the world of grown up perks, I was also a little scared. I was nervous for just how fast time was flying by. Not only was I now 20 years old…I was also halfway through my undergraduate college experience.
Even though I’ve known that I want to be a nurse for years, all of the sudden, I started questioning if I was in the right major, living in the right apartment and making the right choices.
In other words, half way through my college career, I was having a Midcollege Crisis.
I wasn’t the only one.
Amongst almost all of my friends, halfway mark of their college careers, there has been a seed of doubt that sprouts right at that moment when they feel as though they’re past the point of no return. Most of my friends solved their crises with some heart to hearts from friends at Loyola and friends from home.
I had a more…extravagant…solution.
Me with my baby!
You know the stereotype of the 50 year old man who buys a red Ferrari? I guess I’m the 20 year old equivalent of that; i.e. a 20 year old girl who buys herself a beautiful longboard.
Unsurprisingly for anyone who has had the joy of longboarding before, it has been an amazing experience for me. Today, I went by myself for the first time all the way from my apartment at Jarvis to the Devon Market.
It’s funny, because RoPo is a pretty diverse, neighborhood. I was reminded of that today as I rode. A 20something guy who told me, “Keep going! Stay steady!” to the 7 year old boy who asked his mom, “What’s she riding? I want to look that cool!” to the little girl who yelled at her family, “Mira! Mira! La chica!” my ride today reminded me that Loyola is surrounded by a pretty awesome neighborhood that I’m proud to say I live in.
My rides have also given me time to relax and think about all the choices I’m making. And luckily for me, I’ve been able to realize that all of my doubts were really just from the confusing Midcollege Crisis, and that I have absolutely no regrets about any of the decisions I’m making right now.
Well…except for maybe that I’m up at 4 am writing this blog…but that’s a choice I can live with!
This year I will be living in Baumhart Hall, which is located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower campus. It is my first time living in this residence hall, so I am excited to see how different the dynamic will be from living on the Lake Shore campus for two years.
Baumhart Hall is apartment style housing, just like Fordham Hall on the Lake Shore campus. This allows me to cook for myself again with a fully furnished kitchen and dining area! I cannot wait to try more of my mother’s recipes this year! I am living with one other person this year in a double, but Baumhart houses quads and singles as well.
Living on Water Tower campus also allows me to take more classes required for my journalism major. The School of Communication is right across the street! It will save me ample travel time as well as give me more opportunities to get to know my professors down here better. I am still taking two courses at Lake Shore, so the shuttle service will be just as convenient, along with the train and the bus stops that are nearby.
My favorite grocery stores, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, are only a couple blocks away, along with Argo Tea and other ample eateries too. There are so many new places for me to explore while I am living down here by just walking around!
Living in this new environment will definitely help with my growth as a third year student at Loyola. I am excited and prepared to see what else is in store for me this year!
One of the best things about Summer in Chicago is all of the music festivals! Lucky for us, even though we are back in school, Chicago knows that it’s still Summer and held the Jazz Fest over Labor Day Weekend.
Before heading to Millennium Park, my friends and I took a walk through Grant Park. It was beautiful! Nothing beats walking in the park on a warm Summer night with the city lights as your view. Two of Chicago’s buildings had “CPS #B2S” spelled out with their windows. We found out that this was advertising for the Chicago Public Schools campaign to advocate getting all of Chicago’s youth back to school on the first day. Pretty cool huh?
We eventually made it to the actual Jazz Fest in Millennium Park and the night was filled with good food, good friends, and most importantly, good music.
"Chicago Public Schools Back 2 School" My friends and I in front of the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park during the Jazz Festival.
It’s early September and that’s my favorite time in Chicago… that transition from summer to fall where the weather is not too hot, but still cool enough to wear shorts and sandals. I am making the most out it, trying to get as much as I can in before it gets cold. Whether it be basking in the sun at Oak Street Beach, studying at Millenium Park, or walking the few blocks to Sprinkles to get the cupcake of the day. Actually, the cold weather wont stop me from doing that last one.
Although I am in denial about it, we have actually started classes. This fall, I’m taking 18 credit hours, so 6 classes, and I’m actually really excited about them. Now that I’m a junior, I am able to take a ton of classes for my social work major. My two favorite classes would have to be my cultural diversity class and my human behavior class. I have great professors who are very hands on and extremely intelligent. The subject matter is very interesting to me, as well.
I will be extremely busy with homework and studying from all my classes, but besides that, I will also be busy with clubs and organizations. I’m in Chi Omega Fraternity, Pre-Law Society, Psychology Club and the School of Social Work Student Organization. There’s so many great clubs and organizations at Loyola, its hard to narrow it down to just a few. I want to join everything!
I’m also going to volunteer at a middle school with at risk students. I did this when I was a freshman, and it was such a rewarding experience. I helped them with their homework and just hung out with them for a few hours after school. It was a great experience and it will definitely help me for my future endeavors. I’m looking forward to volunteering there again this year!
Besides all of that, I plan on taking in everything Chicago has to offer. There are always a ton of free events, and I always try to take advantage of those as much as possible. (“Like” Free things to do in Chicago on facebook) I’m really excited about my classes, volunteering, and the organizations I’m in, so I know this going to be a great semester!
The title of my “return to school” blog has been taken from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. For one of my best friends and I, this quote has became the unofficial motto of every summer since our senior year of high school.
This poster was hanging up in my freshman dorm room!
It’s also completely true.
Because while I love the hustle and bustle of the academic year, there’s also something special about going home to the suburbs and laying in bed all day and weighing down your backpack with library books on a weekly basis.
That’s not to say that I didn’t also spend this summer being extremely busy – I moved out, learned to cook and worked 24 – 30 hours a week. But it was also nice to get an academic break before heading back to Loyola for my junior year.
Not that I’m not excited for this year: I started my mental health clinical last week, I’m taking some pretty cool nursing classes (pharamocology, say what?), I’m on exec board for Alpha Phi Omega, have been accepted into Alpha Sigma Nu, I’m becoming a quote unquote runner (see: the 5k I’m running tomorrow morning!), and still working, amongst other things.
Pre-clinical GPOY
I know this year is going to be crazy busy, and I’m sure I’ll be stressed and frazzled and have my fair share of all nighters that end in me confusing bikers wearing all black as a Nazgul (longgggg story), but I know that this school season is also going to be just as great as my summer season, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Alas, one of my favorite topics. Okay, not really, but why not dive in?
People ask about my thoughts on college rankings from time to time. Searching Google for “college rankings” just now, I am not surprised that U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review top the list. It’s also not surprising that for this time of the year, four of the top ten headings happen to be about college football rankings. Should USC or Alabama be #1? I’m a huge college football fan, but I commit to not publicly voicing my opinion on these particular rankings.
Really though, everyone has a different point of view on college rankings. Parents want to see rankings by category. Students like applying to one or even a few of the “top” schools in the country. College counselors try to ensure that their students are looking at what is important to them in a college experience rather than just a ranking. University administrators are keen to note that some rankings include areas that universities are constantly striving to improve. College admission officers use rankings to educate prospective students and parents about some of the strengths of their university.
However, I am hopeful that most people recognize that college rankings aren’t the best source to help a student find his or her best match or “fit.”
Rankings may be a good start to the conversation, but ideally, a student (and parents) should also become familiar with locations of schools, size, public vs. private, acceptance rates, cost, etc. One should also keep in mind that in general, rankings don’t change much over the years, so there are many great schools to choose from that might go unnoticed if you only looked at the rankings. To that point, I read an article this morning that noted that since 1996, fewer than 50 colleges have been in the top 40 for U.S. News and World Report. That’s a pretty limited view for a first-time, 18-year-old, college-bound student who really has countless choices with many schools that might be a great match.
As a Director of Admission, I admit it’s an added bonus to move up in the rankings. I certainly don’t wait for the different sources to publish rankings, but I am happy to see that our long-term community efforts and investments pay off for future students. Unfortunately, students and families considering college rankings don’t look at these with the perspective of seeing progression. They are looking at a snapshot in time as defined by one instrument or survey—and other rankings may differ depending on what and how questions are asked.
I am hopeful that prospective students might look to rankings to get started, but they should be asking themselves the important questions that will truly help them make their college choice.
