Category: Student Activities

Post Loyola Weekend Vibes

Post Loyola Weekend Vibes

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What a weekend! I was so excited to see everyone there and make this event a success. From my end of the spectrum, I know that all the student workers and admission counselors have worked hard to bring you a great Loyola experience in all aspects. You got the opportunity to visit all 5 freshman residence halls, see and talk to professors at the department fair, mingle with students and learn about student organizations, visit the actual lab rooms (that are not shown during general tours), and create new memories.

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As happy as all of this sounds, this Loyola Weekend event is my last one. I still remember my first Loyola Weekend event, where I took care of the luggage room and alphabetize people’s belongings. The year after, I also did the luggage room and ended using barricades out  the room because there was no more space. My third year, I helped with check-in and got to speak with so many people, face-to-face. It was exciting to be the first person to welcome prospective students and families to Loyola. This year, I was the photographer. I captured the memories and hopefully, I was able to preserve these moments for a long time.

Hopefully, maybe you were able to stop by my organization’s booth too – Vietnamese Student Association! You could have gotten a free button too, made by yours truly! 🙂

Some people were even lucky to catch a glimpse (and even take a picture) of Sister Jean. She wanted to go into her office to finish up some paperwork, but unfortunately her office is smack-dab in the middle of the atrium/food court. There was no way she could avoid her ‘fans,’ trying to get to the room. Either way, I was able to chat with her the next day (after everything died down) and give her a gift that a family wanted to give her. She asked me how Loyola Weekend event, and I told her that it was a complete success, also due to her and the recent excitement from March Madness. She told me she could only hope that she could do more for Loyola and bring more spirit and liveliness to campus. Isn’t that remarkable? Even at 98, and even in a wheelchair, she has so much willpower to help Loyola thrive and impress prospective students. The very next day, she was at Wrigley Park throwing the first pitch of the season for the Cubs, and still promoting Loyola!

Though Loyola Weekend is my last weekend, my mind is now focused on Weekend of Excellence. Yes, these events are different and yes, Loyola has a lot of events going on in the month of April. I have been nominated for an award and will be attending 4 events that weekend- April 19-21. With that being said, I won’t get teary-eyed yet because I’m not done here until a couple more weeks. There will be a couple more posts left, that will come out of my blog, Rambler’s Pie: A Slice of Loyola. As always, I hope I am/was able to give you a better student perspective on my Loyola experience. 🙂

 

Loyola Weekend Madness

Loyola Weekend Madness

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Future Ramblers! This is YOUR time to come and see what the Loyola Experience is all about. We’ll show you around ALL of campus, including talking to people in all the departments, visiting student organizations, and viewing all the Freshman residence halls. This is quite different than your average tour of Loyola, so please take advantage of the opportunity to see the most of our beautiful and amazing university!

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Though March Madness is over, our Loyola spirit has not died down yet. Especially in the month of April, Loyola has so many things going on! This weekend, we will have Loyola Weekend, which pertains to incoming freshman and includes Scholars Night at the Field Museum. In the third week, we have Weekend of Excellence, which showcases all the accomplishments and success of the students who go above and beyond. This weekend has over 20 events going on, and I will be attending many of them. Furthermore, the last week of classes is the last week of April and the week after is finals week. The first week of May is finals week and the week after, I graduate. To say in the least, there’s a lot of stuff happening!

This is the best opportunity for you to visit campus and see everything to its entirety and begin to meet your future classmates and friends. Still indecisive about which dorm you want to live at? You can walk into the residence halls and see for yourself- Mertz, Campion, De Nobli, San Francisco, and Simpson.

Do you want to get a head start on meeting actual students and getting involved with campus clubs and activities? We’ve got that at Gentile Arena. You can meet actual students and professors at the department fair and see all the clubs/organizations at the Student Life Showcase! My organization, Vietnamese Student Association, will be there so make sure to stop by and get a free pin to wear!

Throughout the day, there will be presentations on all your lingering questions. Financial aid, student life, academics, and all of the above– our Undergraduate Admissions Office counselors will help break things down so you and your parents can easily understand and know how to proceed. After working at this offices for years and observing other university admission events, I can firmly say that we honestly make effort to answer your questions and reassure you.

Lastly, after Loyola’s great March Madness experience, we definitely have a boost of school spirit and sense of community. There’s a bigger flame of excitement and with the rest of the things happening at Loyola in the month of April, we are close to setting the world on fire as St. Ignatius said.

A Winning Weekend

A Winning Weekend

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What a weekend it has been! From Nick Jonas performing a burnin’ performance, to Loyola making it to the sweet sixteen, to Loyola’s Pakistani Students’ Association holding an amazing event, to Hannibal Buress getting kicked off of stage! It all happened this weekend, and it couldn’t have been better.

Nick Jonas came to Loyola and fans were in so much excitement. Nick Jonas performed old classics to new ones and the crowd went wild, singing along to every lyric.

The next day, comedian Hannibal Burress was kicked off the stage here at Loyola University after joking about priests molesting kids. Before getting kicked off, the comedian shared an email he received asking him to refrain from cursing– topics including sexual assault. After an extended 15 minute break, Buress was allowed to return to the stage and continue his set. Students expressed how they were “shocked how he can say this at a university performance even after told not to.”

In addition, Loyola University’s Pakistani Student Association held an event called “Explore Pakistan” on Saturday evening. Over 200 students attended and enjoyed the celebration of Pakistani culture. Pakistani food, music, and colorful decorations done by Afrin Designs captured the bursts of colors and blooming of Spring time. All proceeds went towards Doctor’s Hospital in Pakistan. The event had live food stations, performers, dinner, and dances. “It was truly an unforgettable night.”

Students at the event were also in attendance at Loyola’s incredible win! Cheers ran across the entire campus as all students celebrated the win and making it to the sweet sixteen! Clayton Custer’s jumper took a friendly bounce off the rim and in with 3.6 seconds left, and 11th-seeded Loyola beat Tennessee 63-62 in a South Region second-round game Saturday night. The Ramblers (30-5), who won the Missouri Valley tournament, broke the school record for wins set by the 1963 NCAA championship team.

Loyola will play the Cincinnati-Nevada winner in the regional semifinals Thursday in Atlanta.

Loyola is headed to the round of 16 for the first time since 1985, when it lost to Patrick Ewing and Georgetown.

That was also the last time the Ramblers made the NCAA Tournament.

 

Explore Pakistan

Explore Pakistan

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Loyola University Chicago’s Pakistani Students’ Association presents to you the third annual Explore Pakistan. With this year’s theme of “Jashn-e-Bahara,” we are celebrating the season of Spring, bursts of color, new blooms, and Pakistan. Join us in the celebration of Pakistani culture with Pakistani food, music, colorful decorations, and more!

This event will have live food stations, performers, dinner, and dancing.

All attendees must have a ticket to gain entrance.
Loyola Students: FREE tickets w/ID
Non-Loyola Students: $10 [Non-refundable] Tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

Dress to impress: Formal attire is required!

Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.
Open dance floor at 8:30 p.m.
Doors will close at 8:00 p.m.

All profits will be donated to Doctors Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to a PSA Executive Board member.

***Do not bring and/or come under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If any issues occur, Loyola University Campus safety will strictly and promptly escort you out and will take legal action if necessary***

This event is sponsored by SAF.

New Years Celebration: Year of the Dog

New Years Celebration: Year of the Dog

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New Years, again? In many parts of Asia, New Years is celebrated based on the Lunar calendar rather than the traditional Gregorian calendar starting on January 1st. This year, New Years falls on February 16, 2018 and it so happens to be the year of the dog (based on the 12-year zodiac cycle). Those who are are born during the year of the dog are known to be communicative, serious, and responsible in work!

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Here at Loyola University, the Vietnamese and Chinese Student Association (VSA & CSA) have put together an event to celebrate this fun and joyous holiday. Our event will take place on Tuesday, February 13 at Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt Multipurpose Room (North and South) from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

VSA & CSA have been planning for 3 months to bring to the Loyola community a wonderful cultural experience of New Years. We will feature cultural and study abroad presentations, a lot of Asian-based organizations, traditional games, and a prize booth. Nevertheless, it will be an event in which offers inclusiveness, educational components, and tons of fun for everyone.

In addition to all of this, VSA & CSA have worked hard to bring in traditional lion dancing for entertainment! The event will comprise of 2 performances. The first performance will open up with lion dancing. As customary, they will wake up from a slumber and dance to the sounds of the drums and symbols. To bring good luck to this event, they will perform the “Choy Cheng ” ceremony in which they will receive their lucky money. After, the students may even get to interact with them, as they are playful and social! Their second performance will be focus on-stage with many tricks as people sit and enjoy their food.

In terms of food, we have a variety of Vietnamese and Chinese options. As learned from VSA’s recent Cuisine Night event, we have ordered sufficient food to accommodate the large expected attendance and considered many vegetarian options. On top of all this, we have dessert! We will have traditional New Years cake, known as Nian Gao, cuties, fortune cookies, Vietnamese Banh Cam, and an assortment of candies. For Loyola students, this is free admission and with free food, so we hope to see many LUC students attend!

New Years is primarily a time for celebration with friends and family. It is a perfect time to get together and have fun with each other. We hope that the Year of the Dog brings you luck, happiness, and prosperity to you and success will happen throughout the year!

See YOU at our event on Tuesday, February 13 6pm at Damen MPR!

Did Someone Say…Games?

Did Someone Say…Games?

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BE GAME FOR GAME NIGHT!!! Be sure to stop by Palm Court on February 7th 6pm to play Pakistani games and meet the E-board members. Food and drinks will be served!

Come enjoy a night full of fun and games! Meet our E-board members and challenge your friends to your favorite board and card games including Ludo and Carrom! Ludo and Carrom are very popular games played in the Pakistani culture, and if you’ve never played, you’re in for a treat, and a challenge! Stop by for PIZZA, drinks, and to learn about our upcoming events!

Games include:
Ludo
Carrom
Playing Cards
Twister
Uno
Taboo
Jenga
Cards against Humanity


WEDNESDAY February 7th at 6 PM
Mundelein Center, Palm Court
*This event is for Loyola Students only*

Be sure to check out the promotional videos for this event on Loyola Pakistani Students’ Association Facebook page!

 

Federal Work Study

Federal Work Study

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I high encourage all of you guys to do Federal Work Study (FWS) and mark that down when you do the FAFSA. The purpose of FWS is to help undergraduate and graduate students earn some income, based on their financial need. Especially at Loyola University, we are known for hiring student workers for a lot of part-time positions in multiple offices – Damen Student center, Tutoring office, First-and-Second Year Advising, Undergraduate Admissions (THE BEST), and so much more.

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With federal work-study, you get paid like any other job (at least once a month), and the job is part-time (probably around 20 hours a week). The amount you earn, according to Federal Student Aid (studentaid.ed.gov), can’t exceed your federal work-study award.

Most of my friends also do FWS in different departments -First-and-Second Year Advising, Residence Life, and Undergraduate Admissions. Balancing a job and school is quite doable. These departments already know they have student workers, so obviously scheduling hours is flexible based off of students’ class times. In addition to flexibility, the departments/bosses are understanding. If you cannot make it to a shift because of an exam or emergency, it is a-okay. My personal opinion is that if you are a hard worker, are very responsible, and have a good work ethic, things can work in your favor. I cannot speak on behalf of many other student workers nor do I wish to represent a department’s way of dealing with student workers– this is just my opinion.

At Loyola, we have a website called Ramblerlink.

Here’s the link: https://www.luc.edu/career/RamblerLink_Login.html

Ramblerlink is a website for Loyola students, staff, and faculty to use (with their school login) to see any job positions within the university. Like any other job, there are requirements, resumes, and other specifications; they vary. It is quite helpful and useful for our Ramblers because every school job is located in one website and there are tabs to filter out things that they are eligible/qualify for. In order to successfully use Ramblerlink and apply for a job, it is required for everyone to submit a cover letter and resume that is up to university standards. This means that the Career and Development Center (CDC) will look over your two documents first and if they approve, access is granted to actually apply. This is fantastic because CDC reviews and gives you comments on how to make your documents PROFESSIONAL and COMPLETE, as a free service. How great is that?!

Perks to doing FWS also include, but are not limited to:

  • Gaining experience in the particular department
  • Developing a better work ethic/become more responsible
  • Improve speaking skills
  • Have friendships with other student workers and staff members
  • Tons of funnn!

And remember, Loyola is a very student-oriented school. The work environment is pretty nice – Student of the month, funny wall of student workers, etc. With all that being said, consider applying for a LUC job once you become a Rambler!!!

Welcome Back Ramblers!

Welcome Back Ramblers!

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It’s Tuesday, January 16th. There is a mini-blizzard seen outside the classroom, the smell of hot coffee beckons (waiting to be drunk), the sound of crunching snow and slosh of slush being stepped on by heavy duty boots. With all this, we are back to work. Welcome back Ramblers to Spring semester!

Today, I am here to tell you about what to expect this semester from your weekly blogger! As always, I am here to be your resource to connect you to your Loyola experience. Every other week, I will talk about academics, extracurriculars, and events going on at both Loyola’s Water Tower and Lakeshore Campuses. Here are some of the topics that I hope to cover this semester:

  • How to choose a college major, minor
  • Why it is okay to be undecided with your major/minor
  • Some Loyola history (St Ignatius of Loyola, History of Certain Buildings, Important People on Campus)
  • Tips for academic success (Tutoring Center, Writing Center, Research, etc.)

However, starting next week, we will be going to have Explore Chicago CTA Edition where we are going to explore Fullerton. Just a quick reminder, during this segment, I give you a bunch of tips on places to explore and what makes Chicago such a beautiful and unique city to live. As always, you can count on receiving suggestions for tasty meals (sit downs, cafes, fast food, and of course…desserts) as well as shops (bookstores, boutiques, speciality shops) and many attractions in these neighborhoods (parks, historic centers, and so much more)! Make sure to bring your U-Pass and an empty stomach to come on this fun adventure!

  • January 23 (Fullerton)
  • February 6 (Belmont)
  • February 20 (Addison)
  • March 13 (Argyle)
  • March 27 (Granville)
  • April 10 (Morse)
  • April 24 (Howard)

I hope you have a great spring semester and are ready to embark on adventure. Welcome Back Ramblers!

Cuisine Night

Cuisine Night

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One of the many things that makes Loyola so awesome is the fact that many registered student organizations create and plan fun events for everyone to enjoy! Just about every day, students have the option of attending organizational meetings, listen in on speaker events, doing activities, and so much more. I am a part of the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and we have been planning for months to bring to the Loyola community, our biggest and most anticipated event scheduled for this Thursday (tomorrow)- Cuisine Night! 

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This event consists of several popular Vietnamese dishes, including an array of banh mi, spring rolls, egg rolls, fried rice, tofu, noodles, and so much more. VSA hopes to bring the Loyola community a different and tasty experience of Vietnamese cuisine and though you could visit any of the restaurants on Argyle (Viet Town), this event allows you to sample everything, not just one dish alone!

In addition to food, we will have a main presentation to talk about Vietnamese foods, their origins, literal translations, and also feature fun and interesting facts. In the later half of the event, we will have an interactive game of Kahoot with our awesome interns to test people’s learnt knowledge from the presentations.

Altogether, this event is one our most anticipated events as we have planned so extensively for. Why, you may ask? During our student organization fair back in September, we asked students to fill out a short survey and vote for events they were most interested in. Cuisine Night was the most popular and understandably so- who doesn’t like a food-focused event?!

With that being said, this event is TOMORROW, Thursday, November 30 from 6pm-7:30pm. It is a free event for current Loyola students and for non-Loyola students, it is simply $2 for admittance. I hope to see all of you there and if you see me, don’t forget to say hi!

Did Someone Say Free Breakfast?!

Did Someone Say Free Breakfast?!

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Pakistani Students’ Association (PSA) hopes everyone is ready for the Thanksgiving holidays. As we approach the end of the semester, things can be quite stressful, but that is why PSA is inviting you to yet another exciting event! To celebrate a successful semester and to thank you all for your support, BREAKFAST IS ON US!!! We will be serving Halwa Puri with Aloo and Cholay along with Kashmiri Chai. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this popular Pakistani breakfast, halwa is a sweet that comes with a deep fried bread (puri) and is typically served with potato (aloo) and curries mixed of chickpeas (cholay). Bring your friends along and enjoy Nashta November!!!
 
When: Monday, November 20, 2017 from 11am-1pm 
Where: Damen MPR South
 
 
 
Note: Loyola Students Only.
 
 
We look forward to seeing you all this Monday! This will be our last event of the semester so stay tuned for what we have planned next!
 
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