September Updates
I can't believe it's already October and September has flown by. I had a busy month full of beginning of the year activities and ceremonies and now it's back to doing serious work. I have two mid-terms this week as well as a retreat this weekend, the Catholic Retreat. I'll be a retreat leader. This year the theme for our Catholic retreat are "Who Are Your Heroes?" We'll be talking about saints, their lives, and how they inspire us to become better Catholics.
I want to share a picture of my apartment this year. I'm really excited because I'm rooming with one of my close friends, Veronica Graveline, from California. She's one of the first people I first met here at SPC and we're really excited about rooming together.
My new room! Notice the Maltese pride on the right. I have a whole wall dedicated to all my travels abroad from last semester.
So here's a recap on all the events that happened on September:
On September 10 I was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honors Society. There were three new inductees, including me, and most of the history faculty department was present as we agreed on our vows. I also got elected as Secretary for our chapter.
We're planning on new events this year for the honors society including having a guest speaker, Dr. Fischer, talk about his new book On the Waterfront about Irish immigrants in Manhattan. There's also a Phi Alpha Theta conference this January in San Diego that we're planning on attending. As members, we'll attend the conference as well as give a presentation on a paper we have previously written. I'm really excited about getting more involved with the history honors society.
Me, along with the new Phi Alpha Theta inductees with the History Department Faculty
Other than Phi Alpha Theta, I was also elected as President of the History Club this year (when I was still in Malta). We meet twice a month on Thursdays at noon. There's always free food and we play trivial pursuit. This year we're trying to do different things such as visiting a museum, having a Jeopardy tournament, and sponsoring a movie night. Recently, we went to St. Ann's Home for the Elderly to finish our community service from last semester. We came and took down oral histories, basically we interviewed members of the community at St. Ann's about their life. It was really interesting! I spoke to a 92 year old man named Marty who grew up in Bayonne and loves his life. We're planning on going again in November.
History Club members in front of St. Ann's at our Community service project
Along with all the honors and inductions, Saint Peter's College had its Michaelmas Convocation on September 23. The top 10 students of the Class of 2010 were inducted into the "Most Noble Order of the Peacock." There were also several undergraduate awards that were also given. I received the Konstantyn Sawczuk Award for having the highest average in History by the end of junior year. I was honored to be given this award.
My friend Jacob, my Dad, me, and Fr. Wrynn (Chairperson of the History Department) at the luncheon after Michaelmas Convocation
So...enough about history!
On September 13, my roommate Veronica and I went to "Broadway on Broadway." It's a free performance in which all the musicals take a part in. I've been going every year since freshman year and I really didn't want to miss this one as a senior. This year was the best Broadway on Broadway I've been to, I think. We got the chance to sing along to "Seasons of Love" and see a lot of great performances. Hopefully I'll be able to see a few shows this year.
Veronica and I in front of the stage
During the finale, "New York, New York" I love NYC!
On September 16 the McMullen Chorale performed at the Presidential Reception, honoring our SPC donors. We sang the Alma Mater as well as Io Pavo, the SPC fight song. I had a fabulous time meeting alumni and enjoying our spectacular view of NYC.
My friend Mae and I at the Presidential Reception
The next day, a couple of friends and I went to the San Gennaro festival in Little Italy, Manhattan. The San Gennaro festival is held every year in September and I've been going ever since my freshman year. It's based on an actual Italian festival in Napoli honoring San Gennaro. There's a whole ceremony in Naples where the produce of this year's crop is predicted. In Little Italy there are a bunch of booths set up that sells food, souvenirs, and other merchandise. It really made me miss my Italian friends from Malta.
At the San Gennaro Festival
The weekend of Sept. 18-20 was a really busy one for me. On Friday, we had Student Leadership Day, sponsored by Student Senate, for all the e-board clubs and organizations of our school. The next day I had to wake up early for the Chorale Retreat Day. This year we had a retreat on-campus where we learned new music for this year as well as do some team bonding activities. Kevin Cummines is the Chorale Director and planned the whole thing, including free food! Later that evening we had a pool party and I swam in the SPC pool for the first time!
Learning the music
Veronica and I at the pool party
On Sunday I had to wake up early again for another retreat, this time for Campus Ministry. We went on a mini retreat for retreat leaders at the Marist Brothers place in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was at the same site where we held our Adventure Retreat. I still had a lot of fun doing some new low ropes courses and learning more about my fellow retreat leaders.
Most of the retreat leaders this year
On September 26 it was Free Museum Day nationwide. Participating museums gave free admission to everyone and it was sponsored by Smithsonian. As a history buff, I love visiting museums! I think it's why I loved Washington, D.C. so much. Veronica, her mother visiting from California, and I visited The Museum of the City of New York. It was so interesting! They had an exhibition on New Amsterdam and the Dutch influence as well as a toy exhibition, photo exhibition, and an exhibition on trade and commerce of Wall Street. I learned a lot about Manhattan and its past. Hopefully I'll be visiting more museums this year as well.
Veronica and I in front of the museum
Later on that day my friend Albert got tickets to the Devils pre-season game against the Philadelphia Fliers. I had so much fun! I went to my first hockey game last year and I'm definitely a Devils fan. The Devils won after scoring a goal in the first few minutes of the game. I really hope we have a good season this year.
Albert and I in the Prudential Center where the Devils play
So, that's pretty much September of my Senior year! It's been hard balancing leisure time and work. I'm still working on my honors thesis and history research paper. It's really hard trying to balance everything, but hopefully all is well in the end. See you in October.