Lock Haven University: Brianna Bergey

Human Trafficking Awarenss Event

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:41:09 -0500

Yesterday, I helped out with an event that two of my friends planned to raise awareness about human trafficking. They cut 2,700 flags from white material and stapled them to several hundred yards of twine. This stretched out covering Russell lawn several times over. Each flag was representory of 10,000 people enslaved in the world today. There are 27 million slaves in the world today which is more than any other time in history and more than in the entire African slave trade. Because so few people are aware of this fact, we felt that it was important to do something drastic to get attention and raise awareness. This display set up on Russell lawn including several plywood cutouts of people with chains hung over them certainly grabbed attention. The cut-outs were accompanied by first hand accounts of slaves who had escaped and were now living free. We also offered a computer to take a quiz to find out how many slaves you employ each year simply by making everyday purchases. It is shocking to realize that our smartphone, tshirt, and cup of coffee each day were contributed by the hands of forced labor slaves. We set up a table to hand out information, take donations, inform people of just how serious this problem really is. We had people stopping and asking questions all day even before we had finished setting up. It definitely got people's attention. At 7pm, we showed a video detailing the personal stories of 3 recently freed slaves. Overall, I can say that this event had a great impact on the campus, and hopefully, it will lead to inspire some of them to become active on this issue.

Easter Weekend

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:36:58 -0500

So this Friday is Good Friday, and as a lot of people will be going home for the weekend, there are many of us staying in Lock Haven as well. Friday night, NewLife is locking down in our church, BigWoods, and we are broadcasting 'Secret Church' by David Platt. It will run from 7pm to about 1am, and it details suffering as a Christian in light of Good Friday and Easter. This is definitely going to be a good time of growth and fellowship. Saturday, it seems that after I recuperate from being up so late, I will have to spend a good deal of my day purchasing supplies for PA school since I got my list of required materials this week. I'll also likely have to work on a case study for advanced physiology. Then, on Sunday, it's going to be a good day. Easter is the most important holiday of the year, and so we are going to celebrate it with a dinner at my apartment. My mother and sister are coming up for dinner, and I've invited anyone who is not going home for Easter as well. There is also a breakfast at BigWoods church before the Easter Sunday service. This is going to be a good weekend. Tonight will be spent studying like crazy for my advanced anatomy exam tomorrow. After my exam tomorrow will be anatomy lab, followed by biochem lab. After I am finally released from this stress-filled day, I'm going back to my apartment to make Tacos for our weekly theological Thursday dinner! This week we have a special guest joining us all the way from Lancaster Bible College. He was originally a LHU student, but transferred; so we are eager to see him again. This week shall certainly prove to be good (after Thursday afternoon, haha). Wish my luck in my studies; have a great and meaningful Easter weekend everyone! ~Brianna

Senioritis?!

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:30:32 -0500

So, you've read about how fun my spring break was, and now it's back to the daily routine of classes and work, homework and meetings. I can't help but feel the slightest tingling of Senioritis leaking into my brain when I glance out the window during lab to see the sun shining. I am torn though; wanting the semester to be over means graduation, a step that I'm honestly not sure if I'm ready for just because, personally, I hate change. I also know that 10 days after I walk across that stage, I begin the graduate PA program here at LHU which both excites and scares me! Unfortunately, my professors have not gotten senioritis, and so my homework load has been the same as ever and is refusing to let me slack off! This week is my week for dissection in the cadaver lab. Our assignment has been the posterior (back side of) the upper and lower arm. It's a little tricky and very involved, but I'll be honest- it's rather interesting. Yesterday, I dissected for about 3 hours and then returned to my usual spot in Starbucks, where I was asked by a friend if I had just been dissecting. I relied with a weary 'yes', and she continued to explain that she could tell because I smelled like her high school Bio lab. Oh, the joys of being a health science major. Needless to say, I returned home and took a shower. In other news, this week I will be hosting the usual Thursday night dinner complete with theological bible study to follow. The menu for this Thursday is rather exciting however; last night I began preparations for the chicken breast stuffed with freshly shredded spinach in a mixture of ricotta and garlic Italian cheeses breaded and baked to perfection before being lightly covered in a sweet tomato sauce. This entree would of course not be complete without my famous garlic and basil potatoes, for which I will begin preparations tonight. I'm just saying, my friends are very lucky people. The last bit of exciting news I have to share for this week is that Saturday, so long as the weather permits, a group of us NewLifers will be going up to Wellsboro, PA to hike the PA Grand Canyon on Saturday. There are several of us more experienced hikers as well as a few inexperienced hikers, so this shall prove to be an interesting day-trip. Then Sunday is April 1st, and I fully plan on retaliating for the balloon incident prior to spring break, so my roommates had better watch out! ~Brianna

Spring!!!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:21:55 -0500

So, today is the first day of spring, and in honor I broke out the shorts, flip flops, and bright colors! This morning has been a little rainy, but I'm not letting that keep me from shining! As with every year, the first day of spring brings free Rita's Italian ice, so when I get off work at 2pm, a group of us will be heading to Williamsport for some free Rita's. Speaking of spring, yes, my spring break was pretty swell! Friday afternoon, my roommates and I left for Ocean City, MD. It was a very good 3 days. We went to the Salisbury zoo- I don't think I'd ever seen flamingos before. We went to the beach Sunday and Monday where we got to experience warm sun, warm sand, and not so warm water; but it was still worth it. We arrived back in Lock Haven late Monday night and noticed that it was rather warm even back here. Little did we know, we brought the spring break weather back with us. The rest of the week we saw temperatures in the 70s every day and constant sunshine, it was beautiful. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at home visiting my family and came back Wednesday night. Thursday, I went with my roommate, Kate, up to visit a family from our church who live about 8 miles out of Lock Haven who have a farm. We played with baby goats, pigs, bunnies, and of course their grandson, baby Sam. It was such a good time and great weather that when I got back to Lock Haven, I decided to walk the length of the levy from my apartment up to campus and back. I also stopped to sit at the amphitheater on the levy to read. The next day, a friend and I set out to visit her home in Pottstown, PA. I had my first experience at a Wawa, always having been a Sheetz fan, and I was pleasantly surprised! I got my full taste of as far into the city as I'd ever want to live. We visited the King of Prussia Mall, the Philadelphia Premium Outlets, and a rather strange farmers market called Zerns. We had met up with another friend from the Pottstown area and dragged him through the KOP mall. Alright, I will admit, I am not a city girl- this place was enormous! I cannot even fathom how many stores are in the however many miles of mall strip we walked through, and that was only the first building!! My purchases from the KOP mall included a Mrs. Field's cookie and a Cold Stone Creamery sundae. Clearly, I'm not that big of a shopper, but I at least got the experience that is KOP; I think I'll stick to the Nittany mall in State College, and even that overwhelms me at times! Overall, I can say that I had a very eventful spring break; but they're never long enough, so here I am back into the routine refreshed, relaxed, and ready to go with the second half of this semester. With 4 exams coming at me within the next week, I need as much 'ready to go' as I can muster up! Wish me luck! ~Brianna

Ready for Spring Break!

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:23:43 -0500

So, I am officially 1.5 hours from the beginning of my spring break! As soon as I get off work at 2pm, I'll be heading back to the apartment to do a load of laundry before packing it all up and heading to Ocean City, MD! I'm hopeful that the weather will hold out, but regardless it'll be a good time. So, Wednesday I got home from work and walked into my living room to find it had been exhaustively decorated with streamers. Proceeding throughout the house I realized this was the same for the dining room and kitchen as well. I then ascended the stair case to realize that all the bedroom doors were closed. I cautiously opened my bedroom door, not knowing what to expect. Mouth agape, I see my bedroom full, and I mean FULL, of brightly colored balloons. Where had my shoes, table, desk, purse, etc all gone? Under a sea of balloons- happy spring break to Brianna- Love, the roommates <3. They had also filled my roommate, Kate's, room with balloons as well. I was not really sure what to do or how to navigate my way through the balloon pit, but eventually I managed to adapt to my new living environment. There was really nothing I could see to do with all the balloons and decided to temporarily co-exist with them when I returned later that night after pedicures and dinner in State College with the girls. I had gotten back and walked my leftovers to my cousin who lives 2 blocks away. Somehow I ended up sitting and having a great theological discussion with him and his roommate for about an hour, so by the time I got home, I was so tired that I simply waded through the balloons and collapsed on my bed surrounded by the sea of colors. Yesterday, Kate and I transferred all the balloons from BOTH of our rooms to Kelsey's room which is smaller than both of ours, and created a balloon pit that came up to about chin level on poor Kelsey. Good times at the apartment!

Life is good!

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:41:36 -0500

I had the hardest time thinking of a title for this blog simple because there is so much going on right now. Monday I walked into Starbucks as usual during my lunch break where my friends spent about 40 minutes pestering me until they convinced me that we were taking a ridiculously spontaneous road trip to the restaurant Shady Maple down near Lancaster. I'm not quite certain how they got me to agree to the 7 hour round trip drive, other than I know they had me at "steak night". So at about 2:30pm we set out on our voyage to get delicious home cooked Amish buffet 3.5 hours away. I cannot even describe how much fun we had not only at dinner but also on the car ride there and back. So- just to give a jist of how spectacular this restaurant is I'll list just what I ate: NY strip steak, cheese fries, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, bbq pork, Salisbury steak, stuffing, chocolate éclair topped with ice cream hot fudge butterscotch and sliced almonds, a pumpkin whoopie pie, and some sort of delicious mystery pie. Oh and a virgin strawberry daiquiri! Needless to say, we all rolled out of that place in a food coma- gooooood times! Dinner wasn't even the best part of the whole trip- between the yellow car game, P-diddle, and name that road kill, there was seldom a quiet moment in my car. On the way back, we stopped at the home of one of my friends and drove through their hometown. We safely arrived back in LHU at approximately 12:30am. Who knew a Monday could be so exciting? This is the time of our lives where we can make insanely random road trips for dinner, so no regrets here! Speaking of fun road trips: today the weather is particularly beautiful for March, I see a high of 65! So as soon as I get off work at 2pm, I'm headed out to spend an hour on the levy taking in the sun until a couple girls and I head to State College to get our pre-spring-break pedicures. This week is just so great. This weekend starts spring break and I'll be headed down to Ocean City, MD with my roommate to visit her sister. The forecast doesn't call for a super warm weekend, but who cares!? Being in sweaters on the beach is better than no beach at all! I'll be heading home to spend a few days back in Philipsburg, and then back up to LHU to pick up a friend and head to her home for the last weekend of spring break. This week and next are going to be so much fun; I cannot wait. C'mon 2pm!! ~Brianna

Rough Start, but Progression!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:21:30 -0500

So this weekend was did end up being really fun. Ice skating in State College was a success, and I learned to almost successfully skate backwards- ha! After skating we decided to hit up Applebees for their after 9pm special of 1/2 priced appetizers and trivia night! It was a good time all around. Unfortunately, I think that the cold at the ice rink was just enough to put me over the edge of susceptibility because Monday morning I woke up with the starts of a cold =( I accidentally slept in and missed Biochem lecture Monday morning because I was feeling so drowsy when I woke up! Later that day I realized that it wasn't the best day to miss because we learned how to order amino acids- and that's kind of a big deal when you're a science major! Fortunately, I've got some good friends who could help me catch up. Monday night, a friend of mine was doing a presentation on eating disorder awareness in the Hope Center. I went to watch her speak, and was surprised to find that she quoted me in her story; it was a very moving presentation and elicited a great deal of conversation amongst students and faculty members afterward. So, as Monday was rough to start off, it was quick to redeem! Still progressing through this mild cold, I've been carrying around tissues and cold medicine. I seem to be recovering at quite the acceptable rate though, so things are looking up! Wish me well as I continue through this week preparing for labs accompanied by a box of tissues and a bottle of Robitussen. ~ A very sneezy Brianna

Ready for the Weekend!!

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:12:43 -0500

So I made it through my Anatomy lab practical yesterday and my Biochem test this morning, and it seemed to go pretty well. I guess we'll see when I get it back next week! For now though, I am so ready for the weekend! I probably could have studied more, but I was so studied out that last night, my roommates and I made dinner (Kelsey makes the BEST alfredo ever) followed by my home-made pumpkin cake, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin whoopie pies (I made a lot more batter than I expected). After dinner, we went and played some pick-up soccer in the Rec center. Although my team did win in the end, I was having a rather off-night and gained myself title of LVP among my friends after successfully kicking the ball out of bounds more than anyone else; but it was all still fun- I scored a goal even though I was playing defense- I'm just sayin! This weekend promises to bring some good times as well! Tomorrow morning, a group of us NewLifers are going to help do some demolition right here in down town Lock Haven! We're helping out the efforts of Grace Presbyterian Church in renovating a building into a transition house for the homeless. We'll be doing some demolition and construction, prayer and fellowship- so clearly, it's bound to be good! Later tomorrow evening, we also have a trip to the Penn State ice rink planned for some ice skating. I love ice skating as well as teaching new people to ice skate. I think we've got about 10 people going, so this will be fun! As always, I’ll be at Big Woods Bible church on Sunday morning for some good Word, and probably Subway for lunch with the NewLife crew. Looks like a good weekend to me ;) Can't wait! Hope you all have a great, safe weekend as well! ~Brianna

Just Dance!?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:50:42 -0500

So last week was killer; I had two exams and my cadaver dissection due, so by the end of the day Friday, I was ready to just fall into a coma! Due to this feeling I found myself very much avoiding any sort of school work, so I invited a bunch of my friends over to my apartment for an evening of baking cookies, watching movies, and playing the Wii. I've never been too big on video games, but my roommates were all pumped up about this game "Just Dance". I watched my friends play the first few rounds, and I decided that there was no way I could must-up enough coordination for that! However, after a lot of coercion, I was talked into trying a song- of course they set me up with Brittany Spears- Hit Me Baby, One More Time. To my surprise, however, I won! Apparently, I have a secret talent for this game, because I went on the rest of the evening getting high scores- it was so much fun! We also bought a tub of Toll-House cookie dough and instead of scooping out individual cookies, we just dumped the entire tub into a casserole dish and baked cookie/cake/brownies- SO DELICIOUS! Overall, I would say it was a great girl's night experience. Sunday, after church, we went to OIP for lunch with the new leaders of NewLife. We just held elections for new leaders this past week, and so we decided to have a transition lunch to discuss future plans and past experiences. This was a good time, with even more good food! Last night was graduate bible study for the second week, and we started Colossians chapter 1. It was really good, and I'm getting to know some of the people in the PA program, and they've been giving me advice on how to prepare, so I'm very excited about these new friends and experiences. Well that's about enough for this blog- have a great rest of the week! ~Brianna

Valtentine's Day at the Haven!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:19:10 -0500

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Last night I made sugar cookies with pink frosting and red and white heart shaped sprinkles for everyone today. I decided to spread a little love in the form of baked goods this year. I just dropped them off with friends in the Starbucks in the dining hall before coming over to work. So far they are a hit- apparently I make a pretty mean sugar cookie! After work I'm heading back over to the cadaver lab to meet up with my partner to finish our dissection of the posterior lower leg- it's been a grueling process, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My plans are not totally finalized yet for this valentine's evening, but if I am able to finish dissecting and study for my exams before 5:45, I'll be departing with a few other members of NewLife for Williamsport. They're having "Singles' Awareness Day", so a bunch of the single students are going to Williamsport for Taco Bell and Bowling. Hopefully, I'll be efficient enough to adequately study this afternoon or my Valentine's dinner date will be with my cadaver, lab partner, and anatomy book! Speaking of cadaver lab!! Last night at graduate student Bible study- I met a few of the PA grad students. We got to talking about how although very worth while and interesting, cadaver lab does leave your hands with the unpleasant preservative smell- for anyone going into the medical field: I have discovered the secret of eliminating this problem!! Washing your hands with Colgate toothpaste- it works miracles, honestly. In other news, I will be taking my Intro to Disease exam tomorrow and my Advanced Anatomy exam on Thursday, so wish me luck. I know it's going to take a lot of studying and caffeine, but I think I can do it. A lockdown in the library may be necessary tomorrow night, but I'd really rather not allow this test to kick my butt, so we do what we must. Well, happy Valentine's day! Later!

Back in the Swing of Things!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:34:50 -0500

Wow, 1 week down! The first week was a little hectic this semester, but it was still a lot of fun! I began my first week of cadaver lab; that was interesting! I found myself spending a lot of time hanging out with my friends in Starbucks last week, but I know what with the semester underway I'll have to buckle down and really start studying. I've got Biochem, Advanced Anatomy, Advanced Physiology, and Intro to Disease for this last semester. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but it'll be worth it come May graduation! Things are off to a good start, last week, my church in town had a Potluck dinner for the college students- excellent! Then Friday night, after NewLife, there was a game and movie night that was a good time. We decided to plan a spontaneous ski trip for this afternoon, and it's looking like it's going to be beautiful day too: 59 degrees!!! It's exciting- can't wait to see how this semester unfolds! ...and hopefully I wont break any bones this afternoon! ~Brianna

3 day weekend!

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:07:55 -0500

It's Friday- Josh and I are holding down the fort up front today, but 4:00pm means that we are free for the 3 day weekend in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I just found this out, so I decided to make the 1 hour trip home, stopping in State College to watch the Penn State Hockey game with my little sister this evening. I can't recall the last time I was to a hockey game so this should be interesting! We're supposed to finally see some snow today and tomorrow- I don't usually like snow, but I feel like a little tiny bit would make it seem a little more like winter, so the anticipated 1 inch has me excited. I would be perfectly ok if all the snow went away and it got a little warmer by January 23rd for the start of the Spring semester, though! Only one more week until classes start, and this break has flown by- probably because I've been so busy. Well, back to work; 4:00 can't come soon enough!

Back to the Haven!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:01:54 -0500

So after taking 2 weeks off, I am back at the Haven. I worked up until December 23rd in the Admissions office, and then headed home that night to finish up Christmas shopping! It was great to spend Christmas with my family, but I had to come back up to the Haven on the 29th to begin preparations for my friend and fellow blogger- Sarah Brand's wedding!! The wedding was on December 30th at First Church of Christ in Howard, PA (about 20 minutes from LHU). I was a bridesmaid, and it was so much fun! The day after the wedding, I had to return to my apartment and pack to leave for Passion 2012 in Atlanta, PA at 5am on January 1. We had a mini New Years Eve celebration at my campus minister's house- that ended before midnight due to our early departure the next day, and then left bright and early on our 14 hour trip to Atlanta. The trip was not only great fun, but was a life changing and really helped me grown in my faith. The conference gathered about 44,000 college students, and together we raised over 3 million dollars to help fight human trafficking throughout the world. The experience was absolutley amazing- even though we only got about 3-5 hours of sleep each night, it was extremely rewarding. Now I am settled back in here at Lock Haven, working in the office again until classes resume on January 23rd- my final semester as an undergraduate here. Then I'll be graduating in May, and starting Physician Assitant Grad school here for the summer semester. This is going to be my last semester before I have no free time at all- it;'s exciting, but scary at the same time! Well, wish me luck! ~Brianna

Finals Week!!

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:23:49 -0500

So it's THAT week! The last week of the semester when everyone is hunkered down in the library, hyped up on coffee, and studying away before the long winter break. This is actually probably one of my favorite weeks of the semester just because it is such a different schedule and you get to spend a lot of time in study groups and just hanging out with friends. No finals for me today or yesterday, but two on Wednesday, one Thursday, my last one Friday, and then it's home for me! This winter break I will be working in the admissions office for 3 of the 5 weeks. I will also be travelling to Atlanta GA, with my campus ministry NewLife, for the Passion Conference January 1-6. Then after that, I'll be coming back to the office until classes resume in middle January. Well it's about that time that I head off to the library myself to settle in for a little studying for my communication and history finals tomorrow- perhaps I'll treat myself to a Starbucks treat first. Wish me luck on these tests, and have a good week everyone! Not too shabby for a first blog, eh? ~Brianna