I know when I decided to go to college a big question was, “What will my days be like?”
Being the first in my family to go to college was scary. I didn’t know what to expect in a day, or a week, I just knew I was going to be away from what I knew, and I had to go to class.
On average my days are pretty full. I enjoy being as busy as I am because I grew up that way through junior high and high school, and couldn’t see myself any other way.
My average day usually doesn’t consist of an early start. I get up around 9:00 (maybe 10:00) every morning. I spend about a half hour on last minute assignments for the day, and then I get ready and am out the door by 9:45. My first event is usually a tour. As a student admissions representative I give an hour tour a few mornings a week. After my tour I’m off to the news paper office to get the big stories of the day, or pick up my pay check. I usually hang out there for awhile, and then venture back home for a bite to eat if I have time.( It’s not uncommon for me to look at the clock at about 3:00 and realize I skipped lunch.) By this time it’s about noon, and five out of the seven days of the week there’s softball, baseball or a tennis match, so I grab my camera, and it’s off to the field for me. Depending on the day, classes start at either 3:00 or 4:30. (On Mondays and Wednesday s it’s 4:30-8:45 and Tuesday and Thursday it’s 3:00-4:15 and 6:00-7:15) The games for the most part are never over before I head to class, so I go to class and stop back over afterwards. I can for the most part make my way back to my apartment by 9:00. This is when I do most of my homework. I seem to work my best in the later hours of the evening.
It’s really nice having the schedule I do, except most of my friends, roommates, and neighbors all have morning classes, and go out before I even come home. My night starts after a full day and I don’t end up going to bed at what my mom would call a “decent hour” hence the not getting up before 9:00.
I have to schedule for next fall soon, so I’ll let you know how that goes when I know!

If you want to see more of my shots visit my blog/website: http://mstopphotography.blogspot.com/
Feel free to ask any questions or leave comments!!!

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some of my fondest memories of my first year of college so far are the things that no one tells you about until it’s over. I enquired a list of six things that I think are the most important.

1. Make a new best friend. I think college would be a sad place to go without allies. The more friends you have in college the better off your experience will be. The one huge difference between college and high school is the cliques. Starting college is like starting over, and no one has a label. Go have fun, just remember this saying: “be nice to the people you meet, because they are fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Everyone comes from somewhere…just give them a chance.

2. Take a camera out in the late night or early morning and take a few shots. I am a photography major, but I can’t tell you enough how fun it really is. Not only do I get great shots I get a chance to hang out with friends and talk about random things along the way. It’s a great way to open up and it’s something to do. College is really only as fun as you make it.

3. Learn time management. I think the hardest part when coming to college is not having your parents there to make you dinner, do your laundry and wake you up for school. It’s the first time you’re on your own, and you feel like you’re on top of the world. I know this first hand, as I missed my first 20 minutes of class on the first day of school! My class didn’t even start until 11:00 and I over slept. It’s hard to say it, but you’re mom’s right when she says you need your beauty sleep!

4. Take a 2:00 a.m. trip to Stake and Shake. I don’t know about you but around 2:00 is when I start to get what my friends and I call “slap happy.” It’s the time in the morning/night that no matter what it is, it’s funny! I think it explains itself. All of my friends have gotten nicknames through our several trips. We’ve even invited people we didn’t really know from down the hall and by the end of the night we are considered great friends!

5. Join a club. I am a part of the IPFW communicator staff, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. My friends all work with me and everyday is a new adventure covering the news around campus. I do mostly sports coverage, and I can’t tell you how many people have ended up on my facebook list because of it. It’s an amazing group to get to know. (the IPFW athletes)

6. My sixth and final task would have to be getting to know your neighbors. I mentioned before that I live in apartment style dorms here at IPFW, and you have to cook and clean them just as you would your own house or apartment. I don’t know how many times I have decided to make something like a brownie and not had any eggs. It’s a really good idea to know your neighbors! I’ve also loaned out I don’t know how many pans or a strainer here or there, but it helps that you know you have a few things you don’t have to go out and buy.

I hope this eases your mind a bit about college. I was the first one out of my family to go. I decided on the wrong school first and then ended up here at IPFW. I wished someone would have told me a little bit more about student life before I made up my mind.

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I'm from Ohio, and the most frequently asked question that I hear is, "Why in the world IPFW?"
My famous answer to that and most other questions has always been "I don't know," until I really started to think about the reasons I am here. A little background on myself, I am not a traditional first year student here I actually transferred from a smaller school in Ohio. After this semester I will be a junior and I’m actually just a photography major, working toward minors in journalism and sports management. (My majors and minors have been changed several times!!)
I would start off by saying IPFW is not for everyone! It's a pretty big campus with about 13,000 students, and a much smaller housing community of around 700. The facts sometimes surprise people because they picture us as a community college for commuters and part-time student with full time jobs. If you’re looking at IPFW, I would recommend a tour of our campus because it really isn’t enough to just read about it online.
I first toured campus in June of 2008 and it was little overwhelming! A few things that attracted me to this school were the student housing, the beautiful campus, and the numbers! Our student housing isn’t like your traditional dorm room setting. I currently live in a four bedroom, two bathroom apartment style dorm. It’s really nice because I have my own room, I share a bathroom with one other roommate, and we have a kitchen and living room. The only down side to the apartments are you have to learn to cook for yourself real quick.
The campus is just a very pretty and is a well-taken-care-of place. I really think a tour speaks for itself! Finally I liked the numbers! I like that there are 13,000 students on campus, but the student / teacher ratio is 26 to 1. I like that class sizes, unless it’s a lecture, are usually under 20 students at a time, and finishing off my last topic, I am a pretty big sports fan and like the fact that IPFW is a division I school. It’s pretty neat to see other big schools like Ohio State and Penn State come and play here!

Feel free to leave comments or shoot me an email: gerdms01@ipfw.edu
Subject (IPFW)

Posted by Monica Gerdeman at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)