Tag: Fall

Fall Break Happened Already?

Fall Break Happened Already?

 

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Don’t you wish Fall Break came around again? This is one of those breaks that are definitely needed at this point into the semester. Think about it… you’re half way done with the semester! I was definitely able to get some sleep and spend some time at home this fall break. I was also able to brag to other friends how we get a fall break, and they’re like… “What’s a fall break? Why don’t we get one?” It’s definitely a good feeling and I was able to get some reviewing done prior to my midterms coming up! Fall break occurs every year in the month of October for Loyola Students, usually on a Monday and a Tuesday. I know we all wish it was a bit longer, but we should appreciate we get this little break to catch up if we feel like we’re a bit behind.

If you are behind, by the way, it is OKAY! Just make sure to act on it, and try your hardest to keep your head in the game. Focus on the fact that Christmas is coming up and that means the end of the semester and Winter Break is nearby!

Stay motivated Ramblers, we are just weeks away from freedom! Until then, push through and this semester will definitely be in your favor.

Open House Recap

Open House Recap

 

Open Houses are some of my favorite events of the year. They are simply fantastic, and I’m not just saying them because I coordinate them.

Here are my TOP 5 Reasons for LOVING Open House:

1. Reconnecting with prospective students – I absolutely love recognizing students from college fairs and high school visits and seeing them explore our beautiful campus for the first time. It’s even more exciting when they recognize me and stop by to chat for a few minutes about questions or to share their latest thoughts on Loyola. I was lucky to have several of these interactions throughout the day.

2. The Department Fair – where I get to catch up with some of our fantastic faculty members. As an alum, I have the pleasure of knowing many of the faculty on campus, but I don’t get too many opportunities to catch up with them. Fortunately, the department fair not only gives me an opportunity to say hi, it also gives all of our prospective students and guests the unique opportunity to meet with faculty from all 80+ majors and minors!

The department fair at Loyola's October Open House.
The department fair at Loyola’s October Open House.

3. The food – who doesn’t love free food?! And there is a TON of it at Open House. My personal favorite though is just being able to enjoy Loyola’s hot apple cider on crisp fall day.

4. Spending a Saturday morning on Campus – Rain or shine, there is no location I love more than the Lake Shore Campus early in the morning. It’s simply impossible to find a better view than the sun rising over Lake Michigan as we are getting ready for the thousands of guests at Open House.

View of Lake Michigan from Campus.
View of Lake Michigan from Campus.

5. The Undergraduate Admission Student Workers – they are the best. Seriously, how many people do you know that are willing to work overtime on Friday night and Saturday morning? They not only do this, but they do it with a smile on their faces because they genuinely love Loyola and having the opportunity to connect with our prospective students. It’s great to be able to spend time with current students who are loving their Loyola experiences. They also seem to have fun with the hundreds of balloons we had this past weekend.

Student Workers pose with balloons while prepping for Loyola's October Open House.
Student Workers pose with balloons while prepping for Loyola’s October Open House.

 

THANK YOU to the nearly 2,000 guests we had on-campus this past Saturday! We’re so thrilled you had the opportunity to join our Loyola community for the day.

 

For those of you who were unable to join us, it’s not too late! You can still register for the Saturday, November 8th Open House by clicking here or you can register for a traditional campus visit by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

Happy October!

Happy October!

It’s time to get into the spirit of October!

My roommates and I truly got into the autumn spirit this weekend.  After a brief morning walk, we picked up some pumpkins from Treasure Island, and sat down to carve them with a steaming cup of homemade apple cider.

Check out Loyola’s website for more fun fall festivities!  Enjoy it while it lasts!

Fall Colors

Fall Colors

Taken by Ania Jakobiec

Coming from Southern California there is one thing I truly look forward to every year in the Midwest. The Fall Colors! The oranges, the reds, the browns, it is all so beautiful and different.

Settling In

Settling In

After almost two months since leaving for school, fall break finally gave me the opportunity to travel back to my hometown. This break always comes at a genius time, when I physically can’t pull any more all-nighters, I crave my mom’s home-cooking all day long and most of all I miss my family and friends. All semester long I have been using the same phrase to complain when I am homesick and tired: “I just want to sleep in my own bed.” What I found however, was that after a day of traveling and excitement back home, I was finally back in my own bed and couldn’t sleep. As a matter of fact, although I greatly enjoyed my time at home, I really wasn’t able to get a good night sleep at all.

Upon arriving back at Loyola, I laid down in my bed in Fordham Hall and the next thing I knew it was nine hours later, just in time for my first class of the day. I had slept the best that I had the entire fall break.

I tend to read into small signs like this. I have heard it usually takes six months for someone to move-in to a new space and become fully acclimated. For me, this was a sign that the freshness of the beginning of the year is officially over and I have finally settled in here. Even something as little as feeling comfortable and safe in my bed is a comfort measure that reminds me of home and helps me deal with homesickness. It is in finding these little things that help make Loyola home. I needed this fall break trip to reaffirm my roots at home and at the same time acknowledge my life as a college student.

Now confident and reenergized, I feel ready to conquer the school week as the mid-academic semester approaches.

Fall In Northern Michigan

Fall In Northern Michigan

I love living in the city. I would not trade living in the city for anything. I can not get enough of city life! Get the picture? I LOVE living in Chicago.

Once in a while, however, when school is stressful and life gets crazy, getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life can be very therapeutic. So, that is exactly what I did with my fall break!

I took the train home to Kalamazoo on Friday. Then, on Saturday, I headed up north to Glen Arbor Michigan for some beautiful scenery and to watch my friend Haley run her first half marathon! It was quite chilly but so beautiful. We took a hike through the woods and played a lot of card games. Sunday morning we woke up and watched Haley run all 13.1 miles before heading back to Kalamazoo.

I got home from being up north around 4:00p.m. on Sunday and realized that I still had two days off of school! I spent my time sleeping, catching up on homework and bonding with my family. I have learned to appreciate my family much more since coming to college 🙂

I also applied for an absentee ballot so that I can vote in the coming election! It was an amazing, much needed, break and I am refreshed and ready to tackle the next few weeks of the semester.

View out of the window of the car while driving through Michigan.
Haley and I on our hike up north through the beautiful trees.
After Haley's half marathon!
The windy and cold Lake Michigan.
Traveling & Study Abroad

Traveling & Study Abroad

So for the past month, I have spent A LOT of time on the road and living out of a suitcase for fall travel, recruitment to various high schools and college fairs around Indiana & Illinois. This has led to quite a bit of reminiscing over my study abroad experience while I was a junior at Loyola University Chicago.

The summer before junior year, I traveled to Rome for a 2 week international 3 credit hour marketing course with a small group of students and one of my favorite professors, Stacy Neier. During our short-time abroad, we traveled throughout Rome, Florence, Lake Como, Milan and then we ended our trip in Paris. I started going through my photos from the trip and decided that the old saying is true, “a picture is worth a thousand words” so instead of writing about my experience, I’ve decided to share some of my photos!

-ROME-

-Florence-

-Lake Como-

-Milan-

-Paris-

Overall, it was an absolutely phenomenal experience, I’d definitely recommend that you consider making study abroad a part of your college experience. Loyola offers over 100 study abroad programs in over 55 countries, so you can definitely find the right location for you!

Rambler Cross Country

Rambler Cross Country

This weekend was the only home meet for Loyola’s Cross Country team which meant I got to see two of my roommates run! The Sean Earl Invitational was held at Montrose Beach on Saturday. We couldn’t have asked for a better day, it was beautiful, sunny and 75 degrees.

We arrived at the meet and immediately sought out Mary and Alyvia, my roommates who are on the team. The girls 5k race started promptly at 11:45 and didn’t last long! It was a struggle for my friends and I to make it to different spots on the course in time to see the girls run because they were so fast. Before I knew it, we were watching the girls cross the finish line.

Mary ran a 19.31, which was 32 seconds faster than last year when she ran that course and Alyvia ran her personal record at 17:53! To top it all off, the Loyola girls team finished in second overall. It was a great day for the girls!

The boys race began at 12:15 and they did just as good as the girls team! At the end of the 8k, the boys finished fourth overall with Sam Penzenstadler in first for Loyola with a time of 25.02!

It was a great day and I had so much fun watching my friends run. Check out some of the pictures we got at the meet!

Mary and I after her race.
The Rambler girls huddle before their race.
1,794 Miles

1,794 Miles

As I’ve mentioned before, fall means travel season for Admission Counselors! So far I’ve spent a total of 9 days on the road and I’ve driven a total of 1,794 miles throughout Indiana! That’s an average of 199 miles per day, woah. While I love fall travel and the opportunity to meet with so many awesome perspective students, being on the road does make me miss Chicago.

I specifically miss the CTA or Chicago Transit Authority. The CTA is not only my regular form of transportation throughout the year, but also the 2nd largest public transportation system in the country. (Click here for more fun facts about the CTA!)

After living in the city for 5 years now, I definitely prefer taking one of the many CTA buses or trains instead of driving. It’s nice to be able to sit back and read my kindle or the RedEye, listen to music and watch the stops go by as I near my destination. By relying on the CTA, I never have to worry about navigating road construction, gas prices, car insurance, or finding parking in the city.

The CTA is a great option for Loyola students, as all full time students receive a U-Pass, which gives them unlimited use of all CTA transit during the semester. The red line, probably the most popular train route for LUC students, runs between Lake Shore Campus and Water Tower Campus (the Loyola stop & the Chicago stop). The #147 (Outer Drive Express) bus route also runs between the two campuses on Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, also known as the “Magnificent Mile“..

The U-Pass is more than just an option for getting between classes, it’s a passport to the city! It will get you to Soldier Field to watch the Chicago Bears, U.S. Cellular Field to hopefully see the White Sox make it to the postseason, Millennium Park, Museum Campus, Chinatown, the House of Blues for a concert, or maybe just a random stop where you can do some exploring! It was definitely one of my favorite possessions as a Loyola student, and I think most students would agree with me.

If you’re up for a road trip yourself, I’d recommend planning a trip up to Loyola University Chicago on October 20th or November 17th for an Open House. They’re a great way to determine if Loyola is the right fit for you, and you can always hop on the CTA and do some exploring in the wonderful windy city!

Sweater Weather

Sweater Weather

I have to be honest with you. Sometimes, Chicago weather can make me grumpy. It can be windy, cold, a little bit dreary and often results in me being blown into light poles and unsuspecting pedestrians. And I think that’s what most people think of when they think about the Windy City (the cold and wind, not blowing into innocent people). But, people who just file Chicago weather under freezing and miserable are forgetting one important season: Chicago Fall.

The time between the sweltering summers and frozen winters includes the best weather I have ever experienced in my life. Fall is beautiful.

It’s usually warm, but with enough breeze that it’s comfortable to wear a nice combination of clothes – t-shirts and pants, dresses with tights or my favorite, shorts with sweaters. In general, it’s just nice not to be a melting puddle of sweat or a freezing iceicle.

Last week, it seemed like Chicago finally began it’s fall transition, giving up the sweltering days of 90 degrees in favor for 70 degree weather with intermittent breezes. Seeing everyone hanging out along the lake and sprawled out on the quad reminded me of just how gorgeous the Lake Shore Campus at Loyola can be.

Lake view numero uno

It’s easy to get distracted by all of the work, committments and other things I have going on, forgetting just how completely beautiful my campus can be.

Luckily, because my workload hasn’t been too heavy so far this semester, I’ve had a chance to remember and enjoy the gorgeous weather. I’m glad that I’m not too busy…I don’t think I would have been able to study from my 7.3 pound pharmacology book if I wanted to. The idea of making millions of notecards along the lakefront seems a little out of place in my mind.

That’s not to say that people haven’t been doing their homework outside – reading and laying around the grass and lake paths seem to be the activities of choice for students during the past week or so. I just have a habit of getting too distracted by the mesmerizing waves or breeze.

Lake view numero dos

But for me, I think that’s okay. While part of college consists of the academic experience, I think another big part of it consists of those lazy days where you can just lay out under the sun and listen to the waves before heading to your next class.