Interested in the healthcare professions? You may want to check out the chapter of GlobeMed at Loyola, an organization dedicated to connecting student leaders interested in health and justice with international grassroots organizations.
Truth be told, I’m not in GlobeMed myself, but I have lots of friends who are in it. I mostly know what they do from two sources: my friends, talking passionately and excitedly about what they’ve discussed or done with the organization, and also the countless sales they have in Damen Student Center of some tasty treats.
Most recently, they had a sale for Sprinkles Cupcakes, one of the best cupcake places in the city. (Their downtown location has an ATM!)
But I also know from firsthand experience that they sell Empanadas and other take-away snacks I can munch on on my way to class.
Here’s a recent flyer of theirs.
More about GlobeMed itself. The students work with Centro Romero, a Rogers Park-based community organization looking to help out immigrants and refugees and create sustainable solutions. You can check out more here at their website or here on their twitter.
I really recommend looking more into GlobeMed, who supports other organizations on campus to work together during Hunger Week, and hosts speakers like Bushra Amiwala. If you haven’t heard of her, she’s incredible – she ran for public office at age 19!
GlobeMed, like a lot of other organizations on campus, strive to make a change in our community. And from what I’ve seen, they work hard to make it a success!
During my college search, I came across a video tour of Loyola’s School of Communication’s Convergent Studio, and well I was hooked. I wanted to experiment, to create and to be immersed in a hands-on academic experience and there it was. I could see myself in this beautiful space and I could see myself at this beautiful university. One baby ‘Bler year later, I’m here. I have a new show on WLUW!
As stated on their official website, http://wluw.org, WLUW is the student-run radio station broadcasting from the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago. WLUW is dedicated to broadcasting independent music and informative talk programming and is a source of learning and growth for Loyola students. WLUW broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is streaming worldwide.
My show is called “Hyperlinked” – in reference to my hyperlinked brain – and it’s going to address a myriad of topics surround human interaction and relationships. And no, I don’t just mean the romantic kind. One of the areas that I hope to explore with my Communication Studies major, and well my Theatre and Creative Writing minors as well, is how individuals communicate, depend and not depend on one another. How do we perceive someone else, how do they perceive us? And why is the way we are present or not present in someone’s life so powerful?
February 13th was the first training day for the ‘Second Wave’. We are the second wave because our shows will be broadcasted on WLUW’s website rather than the actual 88.7fm channel itself. That way we are able to have more flexibility with our playing of music and discussion topics. The Second Wave is also for the more talk based or podcast based of WLUW’s shows. There’s everything from the purpose of spotlights in the Film and giving spotlights to queer artists. And I’m ecstatic!!!!
Our shows don’t begin airing until after Spring Break but I will definitely keep you posted. Wish me luck!!
The first year seminar, UNIV 101, is a graduation requirement for all incoming first year students during their first semester.
The course is designed to provide a comprehensive extended orientation that is holistic in nature and focuses on academic success and students’ transition to college. Through interactive sessions, students will gain an understanding of Loyola University Chicago, the City of Chicago, campus resources, academic planning and meet with other first year students.
Through support by academic advisors, students will manage the transition to college, identify their academic goals and plans, interact with full-time staff and create a sense of community with other first year students.
I benefited a lot from this course, especially with the four year plan we were required to make. It seemed overwhelming at first to layout your 4 years on a spreadsheet, deciding on which courses you will take in the next years of your college career. However, there are peer advisors in these univ 101 classes that are willing to sit down with you and make this plan with you! I look back and thank this class so much, because now that I register for my classes, I know right away which class I need to take to stay on track.
As you may already know, there are so many required tier I and tier II courses required by Loyola, as well as classes for your major, pre professional courses, and foundation course requirements as well. This may seem A LOT to fit within four years, however, making this 4 year plan allows you to see how many of them overlap, are exempted, or fit easily in the span of 4 years.
It is a 1 credit hour course, a GPA booster, is only once a week for 50 minutes, and benefits you a lot in the latter. There are about 3-4 other additional assignments, but they are due within a considerate amount of time and allow you to meet other first year students. It also allows you to self reflect on your first semester and work on some things you may be struggling in!
View of the Lake & the IC. Taken by me, Dec. 10 2018.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I came back to start my second semester of Sophomore year, and before coming, I was excited about coming back. Getting to see my friends after a month, living with the best roommate I could have asked for (shoutout to Devashree for putting up with me), being in the Second City again. Yes, I had missed all of this and was excited to see my past professors and going to my new classes, learning something new every day. However, after I landed in Chicago the day before the semester started, I felt out of the loop: I didn’t know what to do next, I wasn’t able to say “Thank you, next!” In reality, I had forgotten how it takes time for me to get used to a new routine.
It was just like this a year ago, when I was still a First Year. At the end of my first semester, I had every single day planned out, and I knew what I had to do at what time of the day in order to stay on track with my To-Do List, and my back-up To-Do List as well. I had gotten used to wearing layers so that I wouldn’t be cold when I went out, but so that I wouldn’t be warm inside. I had figured out my work-out schedule, and I was making enough time for my extracurriculars and spending time with friends. And then, Finals Week hit me like a truck, and Winter Break was upon me. Right when I started feeling like I had gotten the hang of living in Chicago, I was on a plane back to my home, Guatemala. And I was so glad I was, as I got the chance to spend the Holiday Season with my loved ones, and with beautiful weather (cue “White Christmas” but change “White” to “Warm”). I was back home, up high in the mountains, and I didn’t want to come back down. But I did, and once again, as I started getting used to my old life, living with my parents and sister, walking around Antigua with nothing but a light jacket, and seeing my friends, I had to head back to Chi-Town.
Once back in Chicago, I realized how I had to adapt my routine to the New Year (you know what they say: New Year, New Me). And I took that very seriously. You see, that’s the thing I’ve learned about college: your life as you know it is temporary. However, it is the fact that things are fleeting that makes life exciting. I had no idea what that semester would bring to me: I attended my first Women’s March the weekend; I celebrated Chinese New Year in China Town; I went on my first ABI to East St. Louis and got to meet some of the nicest people there; I witnessed the Chicago River turn green for St. Patrick’s day; I saw Loyola’s basketball team beat the odds and get to the NCAA’s Final Four; I enjoyed the first days of Summer in Chicago; and most importantly, I made some of the closest friendships I have to this day. I had none of these things planned, and many of them definitely did not fit my detailed-to-the-hour schedule. But it was during this semester that I got to enjoy the little surprises that setbacks might bring.
Every semester is going to look very different from the rest, whether that be classes, extracurriculars, service work, or what I do in my leisure time. However, I’ve come to see the good side of this: every semester, I get the chance to start anew, to make the changes that I need to make myself feel more comfortable in Chicago and to give my time here a direction, and to enjoy the little things that come along. I’ve come to realize that it’s important that I focus on my semester only, and not compare it to anyone else’s. This experience is mine, and I have to learn to enjoy it like I want it, not like I think others want me to.
Now, with the Polar Vortex having hit Chicago, with classes being cancelled, I feel once again a little out of place, without a routine to follow. As I write this, I have set myself the goal to take these couple of days to reflect on what I want for this semester: what I want to learn, the people I want to spend time with, the places I want to visit, and the goals I want to accomplish. Every break we get as college students, whether that be due to holiday or to inclement weather, is a chance to look back at what you’ve achieved so far, and what you’re looking to do once the storm passes.
Loyola loves a good celebration. And we also love winter!
So that’s why, every year, we set up a big ol’ holiday tree in the middle of our Damen student center. Yes, we are a religious school in name, so it’s called a Christmas tree and it gets blessed, but it’s mostly there for the pictures students trip over themselves to take pictures in front of.
Along with the holiday tree comes a great celebration when the lighting goes on and the string lights across it go on (you know, for the pictures.) That’s today! It’s a fun, free, public event that always clogs up walking traffic a little, on account of the crowd it gets.
I mean, Loyola rolls out a chocolate fountain for it. Who wouldn’t stop by, just for a bit? Santa Claus also makes an appearance and sits on a chair in front of it (you know, for the pics) but he’s not there all the time, just at the Tree-Lighting Event. After it’s over, you know students will be all over posing in that thing!
This Tree-Lighting also marks the start of when the Damen Student Center can start playing holiday music for all hours of the day. Just kidding, it doesn’t play music all the time, just… most of the time. If you walk through there at eleven o’clock in the evening after a theater performance or an organization potluck, there will probably be students there, concentrating really hard but not hearing anything. Later than that, and it would be just spooky to hear, I think!
What has got to be my most favorite aspect of the holidays at Loyola (besides the cute garland decorations everywhere, even in the gym) is the fact that we remove approximately half of our tables and put in… an indoor skate rink! I got a picture of it empty, before people start flooding onto it, so you can see how big it is. It’s free skating, as opposed to the cute (but probably colder) skating you can do downtown right next to the Bean.
If you’re visiting Loyola during this wintry season, don’t worry – this charm is year-long! It’s just that without the lovely decorations of the natural world, Loyola adds the holiday touch, and it sure does make students smile. Trust me, I’m one of them!
Loyola’s students can be described as highly-involved, passionate people who are always doing something!
Well, to be honest, some students aren’t about that life. Some people have their core group of friends they stuck with since high school, or from freshman year, and they go to classes, and that’s it. Not being engaged with the student activities life is totally normal and a-okay.
But for the potential students, whether or not joining clubs is in your plan, I thought I’d tell you a little about what it’s like! Of course, every club is different. But I’ll try to give you the basics so it makes sense.
The first step of joining a club, or even knowing it exists, is going to the Organization Fair! It takes place in the first week of every semester, and every club shows up. Clubs get a table and then from there advertise themselves however they want, whether it’s with a trifold of information or by handing out fliers, and so on. It’s a multi-hour phenomenon so students of all schedules, ages, and levels can flit in and out and prowl the tables to learn about what you can do at Loyola. From the Greek Life section to Field Hockey Club to Quidditch Club and the Classics Club, everyone shows up. So if you’re even a vaguely interested student, you gotta go! Or get a trusted friend to go and pick up people’s fliers so you can decide yourself, but without all of the crowdedness. I’ve seen plenty of people do that.
After that, well, it’s a matter of showing up and showing out. Maybe you got on someone’s email list, or their paper told you that their first meeting would be the next week. Explore! Many people go to one or two meetings of clubs and never show up again, and that’s alright. Other ones show up halfway through the semester, and most clubs are okay with that too! Truthfully, the typical Loyola student is in more than one club anyway. I was in six my freshman year. Although I couldn’t give my all to all of them, I had a good time any way.
All of the clubs are mandated to have a Constitution and an Executive Board to keep them running, which means smooth officer transitions and a pretty easy sense of consistency. Each year new presidents don’t generally have to start a club that has been around for fifteen years from the beginning again. If there’s any issues, the Student Activities and Greek Affairs department at the school can help out, whether it’s with budgets, event planning, or just recruiting. Plus.. they can also be used if you want to start your own club! Many people might find that they have a hobby but there isn’t a club for it. It can be made, no problem! Just this year, Loyola’s History Club was re-founded… we haven’t had one for many, many years, but a few dedicated people have given it new life.
What happens after you join a club is up to you. Maybe you attend only the mandatory meetings, or do what you can because you’re too busy to do a lot, or you become the Secretary your sophomore year, or you stop going after two months. Whatever way you do it, you’re guaranteed to meet new people and have some experiences you wouldn’t have without them (even if it is just learning how to deliver a good punch from Boxing Club.)
Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, there’s a thousand and one ways to light up the dark nights here in Chicago and feel the cheer and good vibes of the holiday season.
My favorite? The Holiday Train!
That’s ride, for the price of one ride on the L (or your U-pass, if you’re a student) you could ride on the CTA L, but the L decked out to the max. It’s got lights. It’s got Santas. It’s got festive decor as far as the eye can see. It’s got a schedule, so you can check it and time your ride just right to feel the fun! It costs nothing extra to the rider and is just a way for Chicago to make you smile.
Word on the street is that it’s been a tradition for over 25 years now, and started as a way for the CTA to bring care packages and food to people in need. Now there’s not only a fully decorated train with Santa on it, but there’s a ‘Elf Workshop’ one too that runs as well, making it twice as likely for you to catch one, and twice as fun! Plus there’s a holiday bus roaming around Chicago – well, I say roaming, but it’s actually just following its regular route – so you can be festive any way you ride. For a fun video featuring the train, check out this youtube link to see something from someone who’s actually ridden it a few years ago and what it looked like then. I for one haven’t been lucky enough to catch it yet, although all of my roommates have!
If you come to visit Loyola this winter, I highly recommend trying to get on it. What a way to feel the season!
A Series of Firsts: My First Thanksgiving in the U.S.
After a couple of months of being away from home, having passed my first midterms season (successfully, thankfully), and wearing many, MANY layers to keep warm in the cold Chicago weather, my homesickness levels had hit an all-time high. I couldn’t concentrate in my school work, as I kept thinking in how much I missed the warmth of my city and seeing the sun everyday. My mood had started to change pretty easily, especially if there was bad weather. In However, missing my family was what affected me the most: I used to be really affected by not being able to see them everyday. The fact that many of the people I knew (who were domestic students, obviously) had gone home for Fall Break or had spent Family Weekend in late September with their family did not help: all I kept thinking was “that could be me, if only I weren’t in a different country.” Other international students like me had to plan other things so that we wouldn’t be overwhelmed by homesickness on days like these. Distance and had time had started to take a toll on me, physically and emotionally. Thankfully, my mom and my sister were on their way to Chicago bringing the cure for my low-motivation levels: love and a new pajama set.
It made my heart so happy to see my mom and my sister in flesh and bone after so long, hugging them felt like it was the very first time (that’s how long it had been). And it made me even happier that I would be spending my first Thanksgiving abroad with part of my family. Back in Guatemala, my family gets together every year to have a Thanksgiving dinner, but it was nothing like the Thanksgiving experience that I had learned about in movies or TV shows as I grew up. Thus, the moment my mom and my sister picked me up from Loyola the day before Thanksgiving, Operation Thanksgiving was on its way. My mom had planned most of the week for us, and to be honest, it really was going to be a break for me. We toured the city on Wednesday, paid the Bean a visit and wandered around for most of the day; I was just so happy that we were together again. On Thanksgiving day, we woke up early to go to the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade, (nothing like the Macy’s Parade that I’m going to attend this week, but that I’ll leave for another post) which was very fun to watch: I found interesting that marching bands from other States had come all the way to Chicago to play at the Parade, and wondered what it must be like coming to the Windy City to be in the Parade. Children were dancing, trumpets were sounded, and everybody around us seemed to be happy. After that, we headed to the Millenium Park Ice Skating Rink, where we danced on ice by Cloud Gate for a couple of hours. Dinner was not your typical Thanksgiving dinner: as we didn’t have in which to cook our meal, my mom made a reservation at (wait for it) a steakhouse. It was that night that I realized that it wasn’t really the dinner that made the holiday, but rather being able to spend such a holiday with my loved ones. That’s what I the most thankful that night: my family, and all the friends that I had made at Loyola. The rest of our weekend was uneventful, but I was happy to feel refreshed and feel the love once more.
It’s embarrassing to confess as a sophomore that my first Loyola basketball game was last Friday. Sure, I watched the NCAA last year, but well, online or through a TV. Times never really aligned I guess, but after missing the first game of the season on Tuesday, I was determined.
Here’s what I’ve learnt:
If the game starts at 7pm, it starts at 6pm. The lines get pretty long quite quick so it’s best to come early, especially so you don’t have to wait out in this windy weather. I arrive at 5:30pm after class today and a quarter of the student seats were filled.
This was also my first live American sporting event, so I learnt that the national anthem is sung!
Sister Jean and her prayer before the game is a blessing (but we all know this already.)
‘Blers are raised for good luck before a shot, especially if it’s a free throw.
The energy is addictive.
Sometimes there’s free stuff for the crowd (oOoOoOoOh)
I love the band and there are A LOT of chants, but you learn as they go – this is a lot of fun!
Fun fact: LU Wolf is actually a friend of mine from freshman year, but I’m not too sure it was in fact him that night. All LUs are friendly. Any guesses?
This was the scoreboard before things went crazy – we lost to a single slam dunk at 2 seconds to time. But the crowd was wild, and I was one happy Rambler.
LU Wolf and I in front of the West Quad. October 2017. Go ‘Blers!
Hello, everybody! My name is Francesca Marchese González, and I am an international student from Guatemala. I am one of the new bloggers for Undergraduate Admissions Office, and I am really excited to share a little bit about my Loyola experience with you! Before getting into the logistics of this post, I’ll tell you a little bit about me and how I came to be at Loyola.
Like I said, I am an international student from Guatemala, and I am also Italian. I was born and raised in Guatemala, but my family and I really LOVE traveling, so we have been to different places in Europe, North America, and South America together. My favorite food is pasta, and a fun fact about me is that I know 3 and a half languages.
This is my second year studying at Loyola, and I’m trying to major in Global & International Studies and Women’s & Gender Studies, with a Minor in French Language and Literature. I am planning to study abroad in the future, whether that be at the Rome Center or in a French-speaking country. On-campus, I am part of a couple of organizations, like Womxn in Leadership Loyola and LUCES. I am also part of Global Engagement Programs, as the Chai & Chat facilitator. These are all spaces in which different perspectives are shared, in which learning is promoted and where we can all strive to be the best version of ourselves. And I feel like these organizations and programs have enhanced my experience at Loyola. I am an avid believer in that different perspectives have to be shared in order to get the bigger picture of something, so that if a single perspective is not the most popular, it still plays an important role in understand a community, like that which we have here at Loyola. And that’s what I am going to try to do through my posts: share with you a different perspective of Loyola.
