This entry is dedicated to my good friend C. I have known her for many years and I know she puts 100 % of herself into everything she does. This especially true of the sport she plays. She walked onto a team and her pure athleticism and drive gained her a spot. However she was chosen to play a position that was entirely new to her. C is not one to back down from a challenge and took it on whole-heartedly, becoming very skilled in the position for which she was chosen. She joined camps and got training to be the best she could be over the summer. I wish I could say her hard work paid off on the field, but she was barely given a chance. However, what little time she got she used to the best of her ability. She didn't let that stop her and kept busting her butt at practice. Her times dropped in fitness tests and really came out on top during training sessions. She possesses great strength of character, as wel,l and knew to not bring any frustration to games.
Unfortunately C was not blessed with a coach of the same strength. Politics always influenced the decisions made and C never got the encouragement that she truly deserved. C bit her tongue the entire season. At her end of season meeting with her coach, C finally told the coach her feelings about the season and how she felt it could be improved. C's frustrations stemmed not only from her lack of guidance, but from the mismanagement of the team. To this most of the team would agree.
Because C spoke her mind she was cut from a fall sport in January for no reason other than for standing true to her beliefs and sticking to her guns. C gave that sport her all and everyone could see that - even the people of the Landmark Conference which awarded her Honor Roll.
I felt that this was important to share with you and the Scranton Community because C is what The University of Scranton is all about: Passion. She stood up for herself and what she believed in while others cowered in fear of defying their coach. And while she suffered because of it, she will be stronger. I am not alone in feeling infuriated because of what happened, but not much will be done. This is the real world and it is not fair.
Rebecca Bartley
Here's a small miracle: I did not have to work tonight! While that may seem like a trivial thing but it's not! I have 4, yes four, papers dues Thursday. This is my fault. I couldn't pick doing work during Thanksgiving break over hanging out with my family, Black Friday shopping, and going to NYC with my aunt. Can you blame me?
I always say they call this week dead week not because we aren't supposed to have tests, but because no one is ever sure they will survive it. I have moved into the library and told my friends I'll see them after finals. Sad fact: I am almost looking forward to finals since I only have three and after all these projects that seems like a breeze.
I am really feeling the recession now that I have everyone's Christmas presents looming over my head. I did do a lot of shopping on Black Friday, but only a little buying. I am a bargain hunter by nature and nurture (a talent I learned from my mom and grandma) but there really weren't any great finds this weekend. Maybe it's because I find it absurd to wake up before 7 am to go shopping. Anyway, I went into the City (NYC NOT Philly) with my Aunt Donna on Saturday. It's our yearly tradition as part of my birthday present. We hit our favorite stores and add some new places too. Classic spots include H&M - the one on Broadway in Soho is my favorite place to find good deals then it's off to my newest favorite, Topshop. If money was no object I'd own half that store and look fabulous always. We also browse the Union Square Holiday Market and buy yummy homemade cookies and stocking stuffers for the family. This year we also stopped by the Hell's Kitchen Flea market - a must for vintage furs and costume jewelry. All that shopping had us famished by 3 so we grabbed lunch at Republic, which was pretty crowded, probably because they have great Chinese and Thai inspired noodles and broth dishes. It was a great little trip. I love the City, hopefully one day I can intern/work/live there.
This semester flew by, even faster than it normally does. I'm done with yoga, which is kind of sad since it was my most relaxing class. My three finals are Psyc 106: Drugs and Behavior, International Business, and OIM. Then it's home for break! And don't worry I'll be here for Intercession so you'll get to find out what kids do in Scranton, while everyone else is home. I knew you were curious!
Back to the salt mines...
Becky
I love the holiday season! We already have a tree in our apartment that you can see from the street! The lights are up and soon, with the aid of brick-patterned paper, we will have a faux-fireplace to hang our stockings by.
But with the coming of Christmas it means the end of the semester and the journey up my mountainous pile of work. Right now its my 5th straight day in the library and I'm about to move my bed in. Tomorrow I have to submit, with my International Business group, our 30 page term paper on manufacturing bikes internationally from our make- believe bike corporation, Better Bikes, Inc. The country I have to analyze is India and I've been studying the culture so long now I can practically speak Hindi. This is the make-or -break it project for this class, but no pressure. Thursday is my last group presentation for my Sustainable Marketing class, which is kind of bittersweet. That was a really interesting class and I learned a lot.
My internship at Diversified is going well. I have almost mastered Salesforce.com and I am a pro at sending Fedex packages. But I really am learning there.
I got a new mentor today! I'm very excited. Her name is Jen Honick and she is the Director of Grants and Finance for Lackawanna County. She went to the University and knows Dr. Cann. I feel like this will be a great experience and that there is so much I can learn from her.
Thursday we also decided to have an apartment Thanksgiving dinner! Wish me luck, because I have no idea how to cook a turkey and I'm pretty sure it will take about 5 hours. This is the only way we can justify having a Christmas party on Saturday.
On Sunday was the Mass honoring the Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador. It was a really beautiful mass and had a video made by students about what happened. It really inspired me to want to do my other tutorial on Liberation Theology, Latin America, and Archbishop Romero.
Toodles for some Noodles ( corny but accurate.. i need Ramen.)
Becky
I had to wait one more day to write to you guys because I wanted to include some exciting news. Yesterday was my first day at my internship at Diversified Information Technologies. They do information systems management, kind of like IBM. They mainly work with medical, insurance, government fields and universities. Well I got my official ID badge and filled out copious copies of paperwork. Then I went to sit in on a meeting with the lady who will be in charge of me, Christine. Little did I know, I'd be sitting there with the CEO and President, Scott Byers, but also with VP of Sales and Marketing, Malcolm DeMayo, and many other important people. After that I got my own little cubicle with computer, email, phone, and voicemail. I felt very official while I figured out how to navigate their email system. Friday I go back and really get to work.
Last night I took a break from studying (the count for this week: 2 quizzes, 1 Test, 2 papers) to go to Midnight Madness. It was great to see how excited the student body was for this pep rally extravaganza. The dance team was amazing as always and the basketball teams looked pumped and ready for a new season. I had to cut out early because lots more studying awaited me last night.
Well it's that time again: the challenge to find/make a cute costume that is under $50 and keeps me from freezing on Halloween. I'm still unsure of what to be but I've heard some cute ideas. People are being everything from the Spice Girls to dressing up in gift wrap as presents. I need to really buckle down on this one as I only have a couple days left!
Sunday was a Open House, and so many high school students and their parents filled the Long Center. I sat at the Honors Table and felt so old! Wasn't I a prospective student only yesterday? No, wait, that was 3 years ago! Time flies here in Scranton. Nothing is really more scary than that. On that note...
Stay Spooky Scranton!
Becky
I really am not sure what to write about... I guess you can call it bloggers' block. There is one thing I am really excited about, though. I was sitting in Sustainable Marketing and we were learning the true cost of products and how if companies added the cost to the environment and society from the production of their product onto the prices, sustainable products will no longer seem expensive. We watched this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n39T35Ia_4. I really, really recommend you watch it. It is unbelievably eye opening. It really shows how we need to pay attention to where our clothes come from.
This really got me thinking about next year's tutorial for the Honors program. I want to do something like Marketing and Social Justice in the Garment Industry. That way I can focus on how to market the benefits of fair trade products and what that means exactly. Dr. Cann, my Sustainable Marketing professor, was really interested in that idea. She said she knows a woman who is trying to help women in Nicaragua earn fair wages to make clothes that she sells here. We want to help her start a website and gain more attention for the work she does. I think people would want to help these women.
I just had my advising appointment today and it looks like next semester I will only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at night. This excludes my Honors courses. I have one junior honors seminar course, but I do not know when it is held. This is in addition to two tutorials which meet once a week for an hour. Hopefully this kind of schedule works out. Well, that's all that's happening for now!
Becky
I'm home from Jersey, but I almost didn't make it! Halfway back to Scranton on 33N Diana and I got a flat. All I can say is thank God for AAA. I was back on the road in 30 minutes!
Break was great. I got to visit friends, I went pumpkin picking, and I went to Eastern State Penitentiary Haunted House in Philly. The haunted house was really fun and spooky but the lines were unbelievable. If you check it out expect to be standing in lines for at least 2 hours. Aside from the lines, though, the actual prison was really scary. It's been on Ghost Hunters and is really believed to be haunted.
Good news! I got the internship with Diversified Information Technologies! I start next Monday and I'm a little nervous. Hopefully all goes well.
Well tonight was the last Building Your Art Business workshop. It really was a success. Everyone said they enjoyed the series and wants to see it continue. The SBDC wants to try but it's hard with the major budget decrease that was just announced. Anyway, this last meeting was interesting because we had a panel of people who had a lot of knowledge to share: Paul DeLuca of DeLuca Frigoletto advertising, Cristin Powers of Green Being (an awesome store in downtown Scranton that specializes in handmade, local, and eco-friendly wares. Check it out!), and Mark the drummer of the local band The Wannabes. After, everyone shared their work. I cannot begin to describe how talented everyone was. From a handmade dress of organic cotton to an incredible pen and ink drawing of the Haitian voodoo Goddess of wind, everyone had really unique work to show.
My Fortune: Lots of work ahead in the next coming weeks.
'Gotta go!
Becky
Well I've joined the search of all college juniors: the search for an internship!
Back track to Thursday and the KSOM Expo: it was a really great experience. Over a hundred students in black suits and white button down shirts invaded the Denaples Ballroom to talk to recruiters from companies like UBS and Prudential to Johnson & Johnson and Coca Cola. I talked to a lot of companies and got some great feedback on my resume and on opportunities. I even had an interview with UBS! It was incredibly nerve racking. They have one of the most competitive internship programs. They sat me down and said, "You need to make yourself stand out among 1000 other well qualified applicants. You have 5 minutes. Go." I hope I did well. I also went to the dinner after at the Hilton. The speaker Patricia Clifford of Dun & Bradstreet was really great.
After I left the interview for UBS, I had a missed call from Diversified Information Technologies in Scranton. They wanted me to come in for an interview for an internship. I guess when one door closes another opens. I have that tomorrow and I'll let you know how that goes.
Friday my apartment went to Dracula's Forest Haunted Hayride in Clarks Summit. It was really fun, but I don't know what was scarier- the drive there in the rain on winding mountain roads or the hayride itself. It's definitely something to go check out before it's over!
Sunday a bunch of my friends and I went to go see Avenue Q at the Scranton Cultural Center. I have never been in that building and I was blown away by how beautiful it is. It's an old Masonic temple and it is really awesome. They play was hilarious. It was a lot of college humor and the acting with puppets was great. It makes you wonder how they do it.
I had to present a small part of the Build Your Art Business Workshop today. I was pretty nervous. I hope everyone got something out of it. I talked about blogging and facebook, two things I know well.
This weekend is Fall Break so I get to go home. It'll be nice to relax a little even though I have a ton of work waiting for me when I get back.
'Gotta go study! Finance quiz!
Becky
I just got back from week #2 of the SBDC's Build Your Art Business workshop, which went very well. We had a lawyer/sculptor come in to talk about the legal issues that can happen with art businesses. Then Donna Simpson, another SBDC employee and my former Public Speaking professor, gave a great talk on managing money, budgets, and taxes. The group is great and I can't believe it's half over!
I had two tests today and one tomorrow in OIM so I am drained right now. International Business was the one I was dreading the most and it turned out to be better than I expected, but my Psyc class, Drugs and Human Behavior, test was awful! It was very nit-picky from the book. : (
On a happier note the Dave concert on Wednesday was awesome! Saturday I went home for my grandma's birthday. It was great to see the family, although my Aunt Deanna could not make it. I taught my little cousins some silly yoga moves that they loved. On Sunday my friend Dominic took me to a NASCAR race at Dover Downs in Delaware (say that 3 times fast!). Well let me tell you it was an experience. I am not a NASCAR fan, but I went along to see what it all was about. It's hard to describe but it's very loud and can be exciting, like when the Home Depot Car crashed and rolled 7 times! The weather turned out to be really nice and it was a good time, although it is probably a onetime only thing for me. (My sustainable marketing teacher would probably not enjoy it - least eco friendly sport/event ever!)
Sorry this is a short one! More next week on the KSOM expo and a few other fun events!
Becky
Ok so I stretched a little to make the title sound nice, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for alliteration.
Meetings! Well I attend the year's first Business Club meeting the other night and I really kicked myself for not being more involved with that club earlier. So I am currently applying to be a representative for the Business Club. This club hosts an amazing Business Recruiting expo every fall and spring, and next Thursday is the first one! I'm really nervous because I've always wanted to go but always felt not serious enough for it. This year I'm diving in head first. I am attending the expo during the day, while sporting my best business attire and handing out my new and improved resume (thanks to Frank Gilmartin at Career Services), and at night I am going to the dinner at the Hilton. Hopefully this will lead to an internship or (fingers crossed!) future employment. These days jobs are so hard to come by that when someone asks me my career goals I say "any job that will pay off my student loans." Anyway, I'll fill you in next week about how the expo goes.
The other major meeting was that last night was the first session of the SBDC's Building Your Art Business workshop that I have been putting together with Lisa Hall as my Honors tutorial class. It went really well and our group of 15 is great. They seemed to love the presentation and all the information they received. I only had to do an icebreaker with the group so I wasn't so nervous. In a couple weeks I'm actually presenting something so I'll save the stage fright until then.
I received my mentor, Mary Kay Warner last Thursday. She has a really interesting job that deals with eco-friendly record keeping and digitalizing companies' systems to eliminate unnecessary paper work. It really ties into my Sustainable Marketing class.
And now for some fun stuff! You read correctly, I'm going to the Dave concert tonight. The weather is gorgeous so it should be a great time. My friend Emily and I are going together, but so many people from "the U" are going, too. I'm sure I'll run into some familiar faces!
'Gotta run!
Becky
Can you believe I'm still getting settled into this school year? I think it's because I am working a lot now and it has been brutal down in the Moses Taylor ER. We are very short staffed. I also have taken this semester off from Rugby. I miss it a lot especially playing on Saturday. Fortunately though we still have a strong team and won against Muhlenberg last Saturday.
Classes have been going well, only a few quizzes and projects so far. We had to come up with a sustainable product and present it to the class for my Sustainable Marketing class. It was pretty interesting trying to find a product that doesn't already exist. There is really so much out there now that is sustainable or at least more eco-friendly than its normal version. I got to work with a girl from the Netherlands. She had a lot of ideas and it was fun talking about what she thought was different here in comparison to her home. It's kind of embarrassing to be an American in a class about sustainability with people from Europe. We are so behind here.
I find out who my business mentor is today! I'm so excited to talk to them. I've been sprucing up my resume with Career Services so that it looks more professional when they see it. I hope I gain as much as I can from this experience.
Habitat for Humanity also started up with our first meeting. I can't wait for my board-memberly duties to kick in. I love this club and really want to do more. We have seriously grown in numbers and our county affiliate has resurrected itself so we will be doing a lot more locally this year. We will be breaking ground soon for our first Scranton Habitat Home!
It's off to class for me!
Becky
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