Finals Week!

It's hard to believe, but it's finals week already. Today is my last day of classes for the semester! Wednesday is reading day, and then Thursday is the first day of final exams! I have my Spanish final on Friday, Stats and Sociology on Monday, and Chemistry on Tuesday. I will head home on Wednesday for the rest of the week and then come back to campus Sunday to start my Maymester! We are in Ripon for the week, then we fly out to Jamaica for two weeks!

It's hard to believe that I'm almost done with my sophomore year of college! The time has just flown! I ran into some alums over the weekend and they said to stay in college as long as possible! :) So I'm glad that I'm making the most of the opportunities Ripon has to offer!

~Christy

Springfest!

This weekend is one of the biggest weekends on campus! It's like the "last hurrah" before finals and the end of the semester. It begins at noon with t-shirt tye-dyeing and a Rugby game...the activities start at 12:30 including inflatable boxing & jousting, bungee run, inflatable obstacle course, and mechanical bull...at 1:30 Mark Little will be playing on the Union Patio...RSee3 (a Ripon-based group) is performing at 2:45...the Dance team is performing their Guy/Girl routine at 3:30...Kyle Man Combo is playing on the Union Patio at 5pm...then the Main Stage starts up with Danger Is My Middle Name at 8pm, Treaty of Paris at 8:45pm, and the headliner, QUIETDRIVE at 9:30pm! It is going to be a great day!

Tonight is the drive-in movie. The Student Assistant Hall Directors and Residence Life are showing "Transformers" in the West Storzer parking lot tonight at 8pm! I don't have a car, so I'm just bringing down a blanket and a radio! I am so excited!! Also happening tonight is a Pool Party in Storzer. WRPN FM is going to be broadcasting live from the pool! So we might have to go for a dip after the movie! :)

Then Sunday the volleyball team is playing in a tournament at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee! So it's going to be a busy week! I also need to find time to start studying for my finals (which begin in a week)...

~Christy

Busy Busy Busy!

Today I have SO many things to do! Tonight there's an EarthWeek BBQ, De Novo Dahl in Concert at 6:30, then they're showing Blood Diamond in the Pub at 8! I have to sell Springfest t-shirts for SMAC, so I will get to eat dinner and enjoy a concert at the same time! :) YES! Before that though, the volleyball team is practicing, since we have an off-season tournament on Sunday! I might have to miss the Student Appreciation dinner put on my the Admission and Financial Aid Offices for their student workers, but I definietly need to have some of the dessert! Toni makes the best desserts!

The end is growing near...and so are deadlines! I have so many projects and papers due! But hopefully I can get them done before this weekend, so I can enjoy Springfest!

Ciao!

Christy

Red Hawks are thinking Green!

This weekend was BEAUTIFUL! And we definitely took advantage of it! Saturday, Merriman hosted their annual Ultimate Frisbee Tournament to raise money for a local girl with leukemia. It was a great cause, good exercise, and a nice way to get a tan (or burn!) too! Then Sunday, Phi Delta Theta had their annual Firefighter's Run to raise money for the Ripon Fire Department. The guys put on the firefighter gear and run laps around the quads and they also grill brats and hamburgers. It was a lot of fun! I played sand volleyball, which was a blast!!!

This week on campus is a week-long celebration of Earth Day! Let me give you a run-down of the events!

Tuesday
- Earth Day Golden Hour: The Urgency of Incorporating Sustainability in Higher Education--An Ethical Perspective; Dr. Peter Blaze Corcoran with an introduction by ELP Green Certification Students
- Earth Day Presentation: Earth Charter Ethics--Supporting Young People on the Journey to Sustainable Societies; Dr. Peter Blaze Corcoran
- EGOR & SMAC Present the Earth Day film, the 11th Hour

Wednesday
- Sodexho & EGOR “Zero Waste” Earth Week BBQ
- Environmental Group of Ripon, SMAC, College Dems, & College Republicans present De Novo Dahl in Concert

Thursday
- Dedication of trees to Ripon community
- Nature Photo Art Show and Contest co-sponsored with Photogenesis
- Organic T-shirt Tie-Dying co-sponsored by SMAC & Bonner Program

Christy

Thinking Pink...

Last night my Living Group, Think Pink, did our activity for the semester. We made pink ribbon pins and sold them around campus. We made over $150 for Relay for Life! Relay for Life is tomorrow night at Ripon High School, so we're going to head down there to volunteer and donate our pin money!

The weather yesterday was beautiful! There were intramural softball games, sand volleyball matches, kites being flown, and frisbees being tossed around campus. The campus really comes alive with the warm weather! :)

Today i'm headed to the JV baseball game to see some of my friends play! Then it's time to hit the books! Tomorrow I'm making up a Chemistry test I missed on Monday when I was sick, so I need to review some more for that!

~Christy

What a Week!

This week has been crazy. And crazy seems to be the forecast for the rest of the semester.

I have two exams next week, then projects and papers due the following weeks. This month is going to be busy and stressful! But at least there are awesome activities going on around campus to offer a break and some fun during this stressful time! Last night Ripon Afterdark sponsored a comedian, Multicultural Club sponsored an Open-mic night, and SMAC had a speaker talking about sex. Tonight SMAC is showing Hairspray and it's also Spring Fling, a Sadie's Hawkins Dance with the theme "Rollin' through the Decades." The one-act student-directed plays are also this weekend (I'm going tomorrow night!).



It should be a fun weekend!




~Christy

Ripon on YOUR Resume

Last night Jess and I went to the Resume-Building Workshop hosted by Professor Judy Roy, Professor Brian Smith, and Professor Diane Mockridge. What a great opportunity it was! We learned what grad schools and scholarship committees are looking for and how Ripon will help us along the way. Grad Schools and scholarship teams are looking for well-rounded individuals... at Ripon you are involved not only in your education, but in your community and extracurriculars...they are also looking for community service...Ripon has an Office of Community Engagement dedicated to making students aware of volunteer opportunities and professors who make opportunities aware to you as well because they know what you're interested in. Grad Schools and scholarship teams also look for great recommendation letters, which you are sure to get at Ripon. Your professsors know you personally and are able to really speak about your accomplishments and character. No matter what your goal is, the professors are willing to help you get there, and that's what makes Ripon so special.

While I want to figure out my future plans soon, tonight I am finishing a paper for Friday and doing my laundry! :)

~Christy

Happenings around campus...

If you've ever thought there's nothing to do on a small campus in the middle of Wisconsin, think again! Let me give you a run-down of all the things happening around campus:
-Saturday was the Bags Tournament hosted by Sigma Chi to raise money for the Jamaican Maymester
-Sunday was the Mud Run sponsored by the Pre-Med Society
-Last night there were IM floor hockey games
-Today Besty Nadler, an athletic trainer at the Olympic Training Center spoke about her work as a trainer at the Center, as well as her involvement as a Medical Director in Winter Olympic Games and the Paralympics. (Betsy was actually my sociology professor's undergraduate roommate!)
-Tonight the National Scholarship Team is offering a resume-building workshop
-SMAC and the Cultural Diversity Committee are showing "Last King of Scotland"

There are even more activities coming up this week, but I will tell you more about them as they come...I have to write a paper! And go to the resume-building workshop, a SMAC meeting, and an intramural volleyball game! :)

~Christy

GORGEOUS.

One word to describe today's weather: gorgeous. It is 52° and sunny! And tomorrow's supposed to be even warmer! :D

That's great because tomorrow Sigma Chi is hosting their annual Bean Bag Tournament! The profits go to help the Jamaican Maymester in Hagley Gap (which I'm going on this year!). It's a great cause and who doesn't love bean bags?! Then, tomorrow night, Sigma Chi is having their annual Graffiti Party...t-shirt + Sharpies = Graffiti!

But tonight, I am helping Jess with a lock-in at the UCC Church just off campus. I am so excited for it! I haven't been to a lock in since high school! But it's kind of sad that I am so tired all I want to do is sleep! But hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight! :)

The Ethics in Health Care Conference continues tomorrow with a presentation from the Honorable Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services: “The Covered and the Uncovered: The Ethics of Failing to Ensure Health Coverage for all Americans.” I'm not sure if I'll be back in time to see his presentation, but it would be really neat to. We just finished watching Super Size Me in Sociology this week, and Tommy Thompson was featured in the film!

Also going on this weekend is the Mud Run, sponsored by the Pre-Med Society. It's a 5K run through the Prairie to raise money for the Palestinian Children's Fund, which helps Middle Eastern children with medical needs. Very cool!

Have a great weekend!

~Christy

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Today there are so many things happening on campus! I just finished eating a brat from the brat fry sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement--Yum! Also, over the noon-hour, E.G.O.R. (The Environmental Group of Ripon) sponsored guest speakers Paul Linzmeyer and Steve Dunn, who discussed "The ‘Grean’ Journey to Business Success in the 21st Century." The first home baseball game is also today, at 1 p.m. I would really like to go to the game, but I have a Sociology exam and a Stats quiz tomorrow...so I'll probably be inside studying. But if I open my window I can hear the announcing! :)

Tonight, as a part of the Ethics in Health Care Conference, the movie "Sicko" will be shown in Bear Auditorium followed by a faculty panel. It's at 7:30, so I hope to have all my studying done before that! I'll miss my intramural volleyball game, but I am confident the team will go on to victory even in my abscence. Go Vicious and Delicious! :)

~Christy

30 days!

As of yesterday we officially have ONE MONTH left of classes! I can hardly believe it! But things are definitely getting busier, and as they do my room gets messier and messier! I just don't have time to keep it as tidy as I would like!

Friday and Monday were Accepted Student Days, so Jess and I hosted overnights Thursday and Sunday. The girls that stayed with us were great and I hope they both decide to come to Ripon! :) Accepted Student Days went really well overall (except for the rain Monday), and it was great to meet the people that I have been sending letters to all year!

Yesterday I got to sleep in! I had Chemistry lab from 1-4, then I practiced with the volleyball team, went to dinner, worked on homework, went to a SMAC meeting, went to an Intramural Volleyball Game (GO VICIOUS AND DELICIOUS!), and finished up the night with some more homework and HGTV! :)

Today is absolutely GORGEOUS outside, so hopefully the sun will help keep me awake and give me energy! I have a full day of classes, but nothing going on tonight but homework. So hopefully that means getting to bed early...we'll see how that goes! Ha!

~Christy