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x3erica1037Two days till Halloween!!
While a lot of us claim to be mature adults here, I think I can speak for a lot of people, including myself, when I say we still get excited for the holidays. The university seems to recognize this and offers us the Masquerade Ball on Friday night so we can get dressed up, too. Personally, I always get excited for the costume parties, candy, and scary movies that come every October and it’s no different this year.
The excitement began when I saw the hallways of St. Anne’s transform into creepy pathways filled with decorations and window paint, and it continued as my floormates began carving pumpkins and starting Halloween countdowns on their doors.
Later, I went shopping and felt a little guilty about spending money on a costume, (we all know the money issues of being a college student) but I think it’s okay to have some fun every once in a while. That’s why it’s a holiday right?
So whether you decide to go to a Halloween party, pass out candy to Trick-or-Treaters, or stay in and watch horror flicks, don’t think you’re too old to get in on some of this season’s fun!!
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, Class of 2013, EricaT, events | Tags: announcement, awards, dean, event, freshman, freshmen, liberal arts
Last night, the winners of the Liberal Arts Freshmen Video Contest were announced. While watching the videos, I was really impressed and thought the editing and effects were very original and professional. The videos showed a little bit about what it’s really like to be a Duquesne freshman here at McAnulty.
First place went to Omari who received a new video camera and second place went to Becca, who took home a $100 gift card to Nakama. After the videos were shown and the winners were announced, the winners took a picture with the Dean of Liberal Arts.
From left to right is Omari’s actor, Omari, Dr. Duncan, and Becca.
I think everyone was happy with the way the videos turned out, and the contest will be run again next semester. So, if you had didn’t have time to enter this past contest or heard about it too late, be sure to enter next time!
You can view the winning video below.
Again, great job everyone! I loved your videos and hope to see more next semester!!!
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, Class of 2013, EricaT | Tags: advisors, careerservices, college, duquesne, freshman, freshmen, liberal arts, register, schedule
Today I had my mandatory Liberal Arts freshman advisement meeting. My advisor and less than ten freshman including myself talked for around 45 minutes about various things, like how classes have been going, studying abroad, learning communities, and registering for spring classes. It was actually pretty useful information and cleared up some things I had been unsure about.
My advisor was really helpful and seemed to actually care about getting to know each of us personally. I think this will help when we go to schedule classes and get ready to look into landing jobs and internships. While I know these mandatory meetings can seem a little annoying now, they’re actually not bad and they really do help.
I do, however, have mixed emotions about getting ready to schedule for spring. On one hand, it’s kind of exciting to be able to sit with my advisor and actually choose what classes I take and when I take them. While we did get to fill out interest surveys before our schedules were chosen for the current semester, we had no say in what times we were given. I’m looking forward to creating a schedule that will be challenging and get some tough classes out of the way.
On the other hand, though, it feels a little crazy to be getting ready to make a new schedule. I feel like the fall semester has just begun, and to be honest, I don’t want it to end yet. I’m just now feeling totally comfortable with my schedule! Although we’re really getting into midterms and writing papers more often, I don’t want my college experience to fly by too quickly. It just makes me realize how limited my time at Duquesne will be, and I know I have to take advantage of every minute.
So if you haven’t already done so, sign up for one of the sessions to meet with your advisor! It won’t take up too much of your time, and it will allow you to schedule sooner so you can get the classes you want.
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, Class of 2013, EricaT, events | Tags: announcement, awards, college, duquesne, freshmen, liberal arts, Video Contest
As you may know, the McAnulty College of Liberal Arts is hosting a video contest for it’s freshman students. The idea is for students to make a video depicting what it really means to be a freshman at the college. I had hoped to make a video of my own, but ended up being too swamped with work for my classes and various other activities, so I won’t be entering.
Since I was disappointed with myself in that, I decided to make time to attend the awards ceremony for the contest. It’s on Tuesday night (October 6) at 9 p.m. in Rm. 104 College Hall.
I think it will be a fun chance to see what everyone put together. Those who place in the top of the rankings will receive prizes like gift cards or even a new video camera.
I would definitely recommend attending. I’m sure the videos will be entertaining, and if that’s not enough to persuade you, I hear there will also be free pizza!! 🙂
See you there!
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, EricaT | Tags: break, duquesne, G-20 Summit, Pittsburgh, weekend
As you undoubtedly know from Brittany’s post and from talking to almost any Pittsburgher over the last few weeks, the G-20 Summit is coming to Pittsburgh. We at Duquesne have the decision of whether to stay on campus or to go home for our days off. The summit is expected to bring thousands of people to the city, so there will be a lot of traffic, and businesses will be closing down for the weekend as well. It will be interesting to see how the media portrays Pittsburgh and the summit.
Since I live only about a half an hour from campus, I’ve decided to go home during the break. I’m hoping to catch up on sleep and homework, and also make time to visit some friends at another university. I think it will be a nice break to help me get re-energized for the rest of the semester, but it will also be kind of sad to see my new group of friends split up and go home for the week.
While I think it’s pretty special that Pittsburgh was chosen to hold this conference, it also makes me a little nervous as thousands of people are expected to be arriving soon. The city is taking tons of precautions to keep residents and buildings safe, but there’s always the chance that something could get out of hand.
Don’t worry, though—those of you who decide to stay on campus will be just fine. Like I mentioned, the city is being sure to keep everyone safe, and the school is taking even more care to keep the students safe and happy over the break. There will be stricter rules in the Living Learning Centers as a safety measure, and many offices will be closed so employees don’t have to brave the traffic. Just make sure to be careful and be smart if you decide to venture into town for an up close view of the weekends festivities.
So thank you for this break, Duquesne! It should be a relaxing few days for everyone and a nice chance to finish things we’ve been putting off for the last few weeks.
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, Class of 2013, EricaT | Tags: duquesne, english, freshman, learning communities, liberal arts, narratio
Today was the unofficial beginning of my learning community’s service project. (Shoutout to the Narratio kids!!) Last week, we all handed in papers about where we would ideally like to work in the publishing business, and today our professor, Dr. Sora, assigned us to groups of three to five people based on what we wrote. The groups represented departments in the editorial and production sides of a publishing company including Editorial Management, Reporters/Writers, and Arts and Technology.
I was put into the group of reporters and writers, so we will be working closely with Editorial Management, who will decide what they want us to actually write about. My group may even get to visit one of the senior centers in the area to do some interviews, which I think would be really fun. As of now, we’ve had the first meeting with our groups and learned a little bit about what each of us will be doing.
Our overall goal is to work together throughout the semester and eventually publish a book for the senior citizens of Pittsburgh. Since the senior citizens are a bit of a forgotten demographic in the media, Dr. Sora thought publishing something specifically for their age group would be a good way to incorporate service in with our focus on writing. I think they will be happy to meet with us and hopefully enjoy reading our finished project.
More updates about the project to come!
-Erica
Filed under: Bloggers, Class of 2013, EricaT | Tags: Being Active, freshmen, Health, Staying Healthy, Stress
On top of making time for homework, fun, friends, work, clubs, and organizations, I’ve also been trying to make time each day to take care of my health. This involves caring for quite a few different aspects of my body and mind. Although it seems hard to do, I’ve been trying to get as much sleep as possible and I’ve also been taking vitamins each day to keep my immune system strong. Last week my routine was slowed down quite a bit last week after I caught a cold. Luckily, it wasn’t anything too serious, but college campuses are breeding grounds for all kinds of crazy germs just based on how many people live in a small area. While of course, washing and sanitizing your hands is a big help, it doesn’t hurt to make your body strong enough to defend itself in case the sanitizer fails. Trying to make healthy meal choices is important too.
In order to keep from getting too stressed, I try to take frequent breaks when I’m studying and do some form of exercise each day. Taking even a short run around campus or trip to the power center is a huge stress relief and it’s good for your body, too. Swimming in the pool during free-swim hours or participating in intramurals are really fun ways to stay active as well.
I also try to keep myself from getting into too much of a routine by switching things up each day, including the food I eat, the places I study, and where I hang out at night. I’ve found that doing my homework in my room every day gets boring and I get easily distracted, so lately I’ve been enjoying the weather outside while I study, or heading to Starbucks if it’s cooler. I can talk with people while I work and keep from feeling too overwhelmed.
I think, overall, just being aware that I need to take some time for myself helps a lot. Just don’t forget that it’s okay to take a homework break every once in while and pamper yourself. You’ll be happy you did 🙂
-Erica
Everyone deals with the parent-child separation differently. Some parents can’t wait to ship their kids off to school, some have mixed feelings and try to be strong about their babies leaving, and some downright beg their kids not to go. As students, we also have different outlooks about leaving for school. Some teenagers count down the minutes until they move out, some hope to put it off for a while and choose to commute, and others, including me, have mixed feelings. We want to be on our own and start a new chapter of our lives, but we don’t feel like we have to cut off all contact with our families.
No matter which category you and your parents fall into, it’s important to keep some contact with them while you’re away at school. It’s easy to get caught up in college life and forget that anything goes on in the world outside our little Duquesne bubble, but life most likely hasn’t changed much for the family and friends we left at home. They still go to work like they did when we lived at home and they still have their daily routines—we just aren’t as big a part of them anymore. So while we’re here studying and partying it up, our parents are at home feeling strange about our absence. Mom and Dad may be happy now that they don’t have to clean up after us, but they haven’t forgotten about our existence.
I think it’s important to drop them a line every once in a while-whether through email, text message, phone call, video chat, etc.-just to let them know you’re safe and still in school. Most parents would even love to hear about how you’re spending your time, who your new friends are- basically as many aspects of your life as you’re willing to tell them. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no need to tell them everything, but a simple hello each day means a lot.
This goes for other family members and friends, too. I found that email has been a great way for me to keep in touch with my parents and other loved ones since I’ve been at school. You can tell them as much or as little as you want, and they can reply at their convenience. This can also help keep the daily phone calls from Mom to a minimum, allowing you to come up with far less excuses about why you ignored the call.
Don’t forget, you can still visit home from time to time, too! This may be difficult depending on how far you live from campus, but try to go home for a day or two when you can. It will help connect your home life to your school life, and it will make things easier for both you and your family.
-Erica
Filed under: Uncategorized
Now that I can officially say I survived my first week, I feel like I have a tiny bit of insight into the REAL life of a college student, and it’s a life I’m definitely starting to enjoy. The activities of orientation were fun and successfully moved everyone past their awkward, shy stage.
At this point, we’re all starting to experience what will become our normal routine, and get into what we’re essentially all here for – classes. All my classes have had one session so far and I can honestly say I’m very happy with my schedule. I find that I’m interested in all my areas of study and what the professors have to say. I noticed that college learning is different than high school learning in that high school teachers tend to teach facts to memorize and tell you how to do everything, whereas college really teaches you how to think, and discover things on your own.
That being said, I’ve already had a ton of work to do outside of class. I’ve found that I like doing my work in public places rather than my room, so I’m able to socialize a little while I study. Monday I brought my work to the laundry room so I had something to do while my clothes were being washed. I realize I will need more quiet study time as we get closer to exams, but the multi-tasking works for now. It’s all about time management.
-Erica
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