My Temple career has come to an end.

The past 4 years have been a ride full of ups and downs, and twists and turns. I have learned so much about myself and where I want to go from here. Of course, leaving behind Temple is not easy. I have made some of the best friends and gained valuable knowledge from excellent STHM faculty. I know that I will always have a place in STHM. Part of me never wants to leave, but I have to.

It's now time to move on and go forth in the real world. So what does a college graduate do now? Well, so far this week I've had 3 interviews and have 2 more in the upcoming days. Things seem to be going great. It's nice to have a little bit of relaxation before I get back into the 40+ hour work week!

If you haven't heard, Patti LaBelle and Bill Cosby were at graduation! It was pretty interesting. The STHM graduation was the highlight of my day. We have all become such close friends that we were so supportive of one another cheering as loud as we could as each person received their degree. We have really become a family! STHM Class of 2010 I will miss you! Thank you all for a great 4 years!

And here are some of my best buds!

Dave and I!

Tara, myself, and fellow blogger, Nikki!

One of my very best friends, Jon!

Tara, Candace, Nikki, Dean Montague, myself and Dean Barber!

It's been great Temple. Thank you, STHM!! Proud to be a graduate of the BEST school at Temple!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So over the past few weeks, my Mom and I had some really fun outings. We went to NYC the weekend of the horrendous rain. Normally, I wouldn't have gone in that weather BUT I had tickets to the Emeril Lagasse Show! The show was awesome. Saw Bo Bice (American Idol), Tim Gunn, the host of The biggest Loser, and of course Emeril. The show airs mid May..look for me :) Actually, you probably won't see me, but you'll hear me. I won a cookbook for being the loudest audience member. Shocking!

More recently, we saw Michael Buble! What an amazing concert. Sure, our seats we're the second to the last row but it was still one of the best concerts I've been to.

To top it all off, my cousin Katie got married. We haven't had a wedding in my family for quite some time so it was great for everyone to get together. I'm very happy for them. However, I'm next in line to get married so it might be a while till the next wedding ;)
My favorite picture of the evening!

In other news...42 days till graduation :) It's crunch time now. So much to do. We have a lot of big events coming up in the office such as the Student Honors Convocation, Faculty Awards Convocation and of course, Commencement! Life is good!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm in such a great mood because I wont tickets to go see a taping of Emeril Lagasse's new show in NYC on Saturday!! Despite the fact that it's going to pour, I'm extremely excited!

In other news, a lot had been going on lately. I had jury duty (worst experience of my life) a few weeks back. I got so sick in those stuffy rooms that they had to let me leave. It did bring back a lot of my memories from my Legal Issues class. I actually felt like I knew what was going on. As far as my internship goes, I love it! We had a huge event last week which involved a reception and dinner for the Middle States Accreditation team. They basically come to evaluate Temple as a whole. Not only did I get to plan the event, I was able to work the event and somewhat be a guest too. During the dinner, I ate with 4 university deans, the chief of staff and a member of the Middle States team. Everyone was very enthused to hear about my internship and STHM in general. It was an excellent experience and a great first "major" event that I was able to assist in in every way possible. On a side bar. I went on another walk through of The Baptist Temple today. It's pretty much finished and GORGEOUS! We are holding the Student Honor's Convocation there and I can't wait!

How about this spring time weather? I went for a nice walk after work today down South Street. It's ashame it's all going to end soon! Don't forget to turn your clocks this weekend! Spring ahead!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So this blog entry was supposed to be geared toward my internship but I feel like I have to mention this snow storm! I was a little bummed it ruined my weekend plans but I never thought it would be this much!! My mom and I just shoveled 2 feet. And as we were shoveling, another 2 inches had come down. Thank God I'm not at my house in South Philly because I would never be able to get out of my tiny little street! Oh man. I do love a good snow. Why do most storms happen on the weekend?

Anyways...I'm coming up to being at my internship for almost a month. What a month it has been! We are starting to get verrrrrry busy planning Commencement for May and different award ceremonies. Temple had this huge 2020 plan where many new building will be going up so there is a lot of work going toward that. It's been a great experience thus far. I've been to meetings with school representatives and different offices, learning every aspect of events at Temple. I even got to go to a food tasting for an event we're having soon. Delish. I really am enjoying it and I think this is what I want to make a career out of. I hope it only gets better from here!

I'm also really glad that I'm still on campus. A lot of my friends have internships in DC, New York and event Memphis! But it's great to still be in Temple's atmosphere. I even get to stop by and visit everyone I miss from STHM! Nikki (the other blogger) and I are planning another dinner with our dean to catch up on things and see how his new students are!

Well, I guess I have to go shovel the next round of snow that has fallen in the last 2 hours since the last time I shoveled. This will be my workout for the year :)

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has certainly been one of change.

First off, my college career is almost over. An internship and my senior project stands between me and graduation. I never thought it would go by this fast. I am already terribly missing Senior Sem and all of my classmates. It really was the best class I ever had. I've made some amazing friends that will be in my life forever. I've already started looking into plane flights so I can visit some that are traveling for their internship!

I also just cut 13 inches of my hair! I've been wanting to do it for quite some time. I've had long hair all my life minus some strange period in like 5th/6th grade. I just felt like my hair was weighing me down and wasn't super professional looking. So after much debate, I made the choice to get it chopped. And I LOVE it! I would recommend it to anyone considering!

I feel like I am entering the next stage in my life. No more classes, a full time 9-5 internship, looking at possible jobs after graduation..there's a lot on my plate! My hope is to continue to stay busy and educate myself through this experience. My big project is planning commencement of Temple's graduating class of 2010! My hands are full and I am happy.

This winter break is MUCH needed. Between 18 credits, Senior Seminar, finals, papers, and a social life, the time has come for rest. I will miss this semester and live in the memories for the next few weeks. One of my fondest memories...When Mr. Montague took myself and Nikki (the other blogger) out to eat(El Vez mmm)! See in this major, you know your Dean on a personal level. One of the many reasons why I love STHM! I will miss it dearly!!!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am extremely sad the semester is almost over. this had been one of the most eye opening semesters of my college career. I've had one of the best classes of my life, Senior Seminar. Just to recap..I was not thrilled about the class in the beginning. Mainly because I had no idea what to expect. Now, 13 weeks later, I don't want it to end. I've made some of the best friends and have had so many wonderful experiences. Some classes, like Greek Mythology, I'm glad are almost over! Interesting, but too many weird names to memorize.

Last night happened to be the Semi-Formal. An event my section of Senior Seminar had been planning all semester. It was a great time. A few problems here and there but we all enjoyed ourselves. Here are Nikki (my fellow blogger) and myself with our dean Mr. Montague :)

And for those of you interested in STHM..you wana talk to this man, Mike Usino. Mike started the whole blogging scene with STHM and is an awesome person to know!

Well, 2 paper and 2 finals until I am officially done my classes at Temple! Then it's break and then the real world with my internship :) Enjoy the final weeks of classes!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quick update from the Hotel Show in New York. It was a really great experience. Myself and a fellow classmate, Angela, did a great job planning and executing the event. Everyone was where they were supposed to be at the right time and we remain organized throughout! New York was crazy. I've been there several times before but this time reassured me that I am a Philly girl. Too many people, I hate crowds, crazy cabs, but I did enjoy it. I'll give New York much credit on their nightlife and scenery.

The Hotel Show itself was huge! I was there from 10-5 and I'm pretty sure I only saw about 60% of it. they had vendors from all over the country giving food demonstrations on selling new linens for hotels and just showing a lot of the up and coming amenities for hotels in the future. Temple had their own table and we had a lot of fun chatting with other schools and giving out info. Good time all around!

Here is some of us at the Temple table!

And us in Times Square with Mr. Montague and Dr. Barber!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'd like to thank SEPTA for making my life miserable. I take the subway from South Philly every day from campus but since they went on strike I can't. Luckily, I have a car. So I've been driving to school but I'd probably be better off walking. Everyone has the worst road rage because of the strike. Broad street was jammed! And everyone is biking too and I have probably almost killed 20 bikers. There are bike lanes for a reason people!!!

Speaking of even worse strikes, I hope the Phillies don't strike out tonight and Pedro can throw a bunch of them. I can't talk about this game. I'm too nervous.

On a happier note, I'm headed to New York (boooooooooo) with my fellow classmates for the hotel show. I'll share all the details when I get back! And I can't believe it's already November. Time flies when your having fun. I'm pretty excited for Thanksgiving though :)

Here's one that will make you laugh...
Sailor, Aretha Franklin's hat from the Inauguration and a Strawberry Daiquiri.

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ME.

Just to give you an idea of you senior year is here's a sample of my week next week.

Monday:
Work 9-1
Senior Seminar Meeting 10-11
Meeting with the CSPD to talk about internships 2:30
Meeting with Angela to discuss the Hotel Show in NY we are organizing 3:00

Tuesday and Thursday, class 8-8

Wedneday:
Volunteering at the Palomar Hotel opening 8-11
Work 12-5
Meeting with Global Events Partners for a job next week I have 6:00

Friday:
Work 9-1
Volunteering again at the Palomar Hotel 1-3

On top of all that, I have my 6 classes I'm taking and all the homework and studying. Be prepared. I have to stretch myself thin because STHM provides so many great opportunities, like the Palomar Hotel.

We met with the director of sales and marketing today to get a tour of the hotel and learn about it. It is GORGEOUS! We will be serving as "hotel ambassadors" during the opening process. We also go invited to a luncheon with the CEO of the company! What an amazing opportunity! Don't pass anything up. Especially if it can lead to a career later on!

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So the past week has been very hectic...but I absolutely love it. I thought I would dread senior year with the course load I have, but I am falling in love with being super busy.

For example, today, I had a meeting at 10 with my group for Senior Seminar. I am in the Sponsorship Committee. Our goal is to raise $12,000 from sponsors to fund the Semi Formal. My group is outstanding. We are all very hard workers and ready for the challenge.
After that I had work til 1. Then I met with my partner for our Research Methodology proposal. Our topic is what motivates college students to work while getting an education.
After that I had a STHM Student Association Meeting.

Finally I'm able to sit in bed. But... This week I have 4 papers due, plus 5 one page papers. I was stressing over the weekend but taking it one thing at a time is helping immensely. I'm already ahead of schedule :)

Posted by Courtney Clarahan at 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)