Widener University: Joe Keifertag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//3182009-11-19T12:07:05ZMovable Type 3.34Registering for classes and the “101 Reasons why students choose Widener” booktag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.114202009-11-19T12:06:15Z2009-11-19T12:07:05ZSo I registered for classes last week and ended up getting all the classes I wanted. It was funny because I went back and looked at the website after I had registered and all of the spots were full. I...Widener University
So I registered for classes last week and ended up getting all the classes I wanted. It was funny because I went back and looked at the website after I had registered and all of the spots were full. I guess there were a lot of people sitting at their computer waiting for the registration time. Mine was at 6:30 pm so at 6:35 all the spots were filled in the clinical group that I had selected. There are only eight spots in each clinical group which is good because their small but its bad cause if there is a group of five friends that all want to go to the same clinical spot it makes it hard for anyone else to get into that clinical. Either way I am happy with the classes I got. For nursing especially senior year everyone takes the same classes so I am actually happier about the time that I am taking my classes and not so much the classes themselves. It is crazy to think that I only have one semester left at Widener. Time has gone by so quickly.
I would also like to address a couple things from the Widener 101 booklet. For those of you who haven’t seen it or gotten it as part of the admissions information it’s a pretty well put together booklet. It has 101 reasons why Widener is a great school and a place where you can really learn and develop your passion.
Reason 1 – “You are not just a number. Here, everyone will know your name.”
This is pretty much true. All of my professors have learned my name and remembered it even long after the class is over. I still have professors from my freshman year remembering my name and saying “hi” to me on campus. Widener also has a undergraduate population of 2700ish. For me this is the perfect number because as I walk across campus I see familiar faces and friends but I also see people I don’t know. I like this because it is not so small here that you know everyone and everyone knows you and it is not so large her that you are just a number.
I would recommend if you haven’t seen this booklet yet check it out. It has some pretty good pictures in it and I actually know a good number of the students featured in the booklet.
First month of school almost over, time for fall breaktag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.110032009-10-07T20:35:16Z2009-10-07T20:46:05ZSo the first month of school is over and its almost time for fall break. It seems like just last week I was leaving home to come back to school. Time flies so quickly at school. It’s hard to believe...Widener University
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Summertime...and Greek Lifetag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.103572009-05-20T15:12:06Z2009-05-20T15:13:47ZWell the semester is over and the semester turned out alright. It’s nice to relax a little bit and catch up with old friends. I do miss Widener and the community atmosphere that it has. One aspect of Widener that...Widener University
Well the semester is over and the semester turned out alright. It’s nice to relax a little bit and catch up with old friends. I do miss Widener and the community atmosphere that it has. One aspect of Widener that I really enjoy is its Greek Life. I am a brother of Phi Delta Theta. I joined my sophomore year of college.
When I first came to Widener I had no plans of joining a fraternity or any similar organization. However once I got involved on campus and found that many of the students who were highly active in the Widener community were also involved in Greek Life. It was from here that I met a couple of brothers of Phi Delta Theta. I still didn’t have any plans of joining their fraternity but as I got to know them better and hang out with them more I realized that it was a organization I wanted to be a part of. One fallacy about Greek Life that I would like to talk about is that you are paying for friends. This in fact is not true at least from my observations. While it does cost money to join a fraternity. It costs money to belong or participate in almost any organization. Dues are used for paying for insurance, brotherhood activities, and general headquarters dues. They certainly do not guarantee that everyone in the fraternity will be your best friend. Like almost anything in life you will get out of it what you put into it. If you do not make any effort to become friends with the members of your fraternity you will most defiantly not become close friends with many of your “brothers” or “sisters” if you’re in a sorority. I do not see this as buying friends. In addition to this YOU get to dictate where the money goes to, to a certain extent. For example most fraternities and sororities are required to pay dues to the headquarters. Obviously this you could not really control but in terms of brotherhood activities these are up to the discretion of each chapter. I find the idea that joining a fraternity is like paying for friend’s kind of offensive. It implies that those who join any Greek organization are unable to make friends on their own. In fact I believe that joining a Greek organization can make someone more able to communicate and interact with others as there may be members of their organization that they do not get along with as well. However one would have to learn how to interact with this person for the betterment of the organization. Overall I have found the Greek Life at Widener to be rewarding and valuable. I recommend to any incoming student to keep an open mind to Greek Life. It might be different that you expect or imagine.
Happinesstag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.92872009-02-25T19:28:47Z2009-02-26T21:07:11Z“Every man (person) wants to be happy, but in order to be so he (she) needs first to understand what happiness is.? -Jean-Jacques Rousseau I decided to write a blog about something a bit different, meaning something other than Widener...Joe Keifer
“Every man (person) wants to be happy, but in order to be so he (she) needs first to understand what happiness is.?
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I decided to write a blog about something a bit different, meaning something other than Widener or about myself directly. I stumbled across this quote the other day and found it quite intriguing. And I started to think. What is happiness? It is this “thing? that we all strive to achieve but we never seem to find a definite thing to hold onto.
According to Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary happiness is “a state of well-being and contentment.? I believe this definition is pretty universal. Not too many people would define happiness as a state of chaos or disequilibrium. The next logical step would seem to be how does one obtain a state of well-being/contentment? This is very individual to whoever is asking the question. For a homeless person happiness may be getting a hot meal in a heated building, while happiness for a college student maybe be if the cafeteria serves tomato soup and grilled cheese on the same day. What makes one person happy may just be every day boring life for someone else. In this blog post I will not obviously be able to answer the question of how does one obtain happiness but I will certainly write down some of the conclusions/ideas that I have come up with. Like I said this post is meant to be something different from the usual stuff I post.
If happiness is something that is relative to the individual one must find happiness for them self. No one else can find it for them. This is not to say people can’t become an “asset? or a guide to help one discover happiness but ultimately one has to find it for themselves. This is similar to learning. A professor can explain the material or concept but ultimately the student has to understand it for themselves.
The first conclusion I have come to is happiness is all around you and you just have to look for it more closely. I have heard this other places too. This theory suggests that an individual is unhappy because they spend a lot of time focusing on negatives and not so much on all the many positive aspects of their life. There is a saying you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I propose that by appreciating what you’ve got now you won’t miss it so much when it’s gone. And when it is gone you will still have many aspects of life to appreciate. If we could bring our awareness to the many things we take for granted our minds would probably overwhelmed with things that make our life easier and we could not appreciate everything in our life. If every day we could appreciate one object/aspect of our life that we usually pass over and forget about every day could one increase their perceived level of happiness? I believe it is possible. For example if you buy or drink coffee every day in the morning just to get out of your house and make it to school or work try appreciating all that this warm caffeinated beverage does for you. I know many people who could not function without it. Some aspects of coffee that one could contemplate would be its warming effect on a cold day or its bold flavor. Another example is if a person helps you, say thank you and maybe tell them why you are grateful for their help. These acts will most likely make their day better and I believe will improve yours as well. There is a Buddhist quote that explains this idea.
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
-Buddha
What is the harm in brightening someone else’s day, I don’t see any harm.
Another idea that I had was that maybe happiness is an illusion created by humans to provide a reason for life. Many of the goals we set are goals that we hope will make us or bring us happiness. For example someone might say “oh if I could get that raise or that job I would be happy? but me and you both know that once they got that raise or job they wouldn’t be happy for long. They would realize there are just as many problems being rich or having a new job as they had before the raise or new career. As humans we become quickly discontented with the current situation in our life and make changes to improve or alter our lives. By setting some unobtainable illusion that everyone strives for we bring meaning behind many of our actions. Could this illusion be necessary for sustained human life? I don’t know for sure. What would we do if happiness didn’t exist in our mind? What would exist in its place? Contentment? Blissfulness? Again I don’t know.
The third conclusion is kind of based off the second theory I have. If we assume happiness is an illusion we can create a more real definition of happiness. Using the definition from Merriam-Webster “a state of well-being and contentment.? Maybe happiness should be realizing that this definition of happiness is unobtainable on the long term obvious we can feel content or in a state of well-being in a short term basis. I am only 20 so I don’t have a lot of life experience to justify believing that long term states of well being are hard/impossible to obtain but I believe it could be possible subscribing to this theory of re-defining happiness. If you re-define happiness to something obtainable couldn’t one be happy for a long time? A “re-definition? could be something more encompassing to the reality of life. Maybe happiness could be “being alive and experiencing the ups and downs of life.? I guess this kind of combines the previous two theories that I suggested. We all know that life is not always perfect so why not accept this fact instead of trying to fight it all the time. If we accept that not everything works out the way we want it too wouldn’t that make life so much easier when things don’t go perfectly. Maybe if we could step back and say hey this feeling/event is not so great right now but I’m going to keep trying and stick with it because this is only a temporary feeling or event; just like everything else in life. Accepting the inevitable could be the first step to finding happiness.
Back at Widener!!tag:blogs.targetx.com,2009:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.87302009-01-23T18:19:43Z2009-01-23T21:00:05ZSo school is back in session. I'm glad to be back, but another week of break would have been nice. This semester I am taking 17 credits. My clinical rotations this semester are OB and Psych, which are Nursing-360 and...Joe Keifer
So school is back in session. I'm glad to be back, but another week of break would have been nice. This semester I am taking 17 credits. My clinical rotations this semester are OB and Psych, which are Nursing-360 and Nursing-364 respectively. For the first part of this semester I will be at Cooper University Hospital where I will be completing my OB rotation. I will complete my psych rotation at Belmont Hospital. In addition to these classes I am enrolled in Nursing-363 which is a research class and History-354E which is an online course that focuses on revolutionary America from 1760-1820. So far my classes seem pretty interesting though as expected with history classes there is a lot of reading involved.
I have started to work on resumes to apply for student nursing externship positions at hospitals near Widener and near my house at home. It should be interesting to see which hospitals accept me into their program. For those of you who do no know what an externship involves it usually means that a student nurse will shadow a nurse in a hospital for two months. Not only is it a paying position but it also is a valuable education experience. Most nursing students complete an externship between their junior and senior year. I have been working hard on my resumes and cover letters. I will be bringing them to the CAPS (Career Advising and Planning Services) Office to have them looked over to see if there is anything that could be improved or changed. I will have more updates to come soon!!
Clinicals at Widenertag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.84152008-12-17T17:29:04Z2008-12-17T18:49:43ZThis semester I have been very busy with my first clincal experience through Widener. Every Tuesday and Wednesday I would go to Cooper Medical Center for most of the day. I have been learning so much about nursing and how...Joe Keifer
This semester I have been very busy with my first clincal experience through Widener. Every Tuesday and Wednesday I would go to Cooper Medical Center for most of the day. I have been learning so much about nursing and how to care for patients. It has been a lot of work and very stressful at times and I could not have done it without the help of my clincal instructor. She was there for my clinical group every step of the way. This is not to say she held our hand the entire time. Clincals are a time to "spread your wings" and really take off. Sorry to sound so cliché. If your hand is held the entire time you will never learn anything because in order to learn one must take the first step themselves. You need to find the motivation in yourself to step outside your boundaries and tackle a new challenge. Although you remember the entire time you have your clinical instructor to go back to and ask for help or further explanation.
My instructor was able to pull much knowledge from her own personal experience as a nurse. She had many years as a nurse and worked in the ICU at Cooper. This was also helpful because she knew many other people working throughout the hospital. This allowed her to get people to come in and speak to our clinical group. One time she had the respiratory educator come in and talk with us about different types of respiratory equipment we might see a patient using. Another time we went to see a lecture given by a doctor on his study of hemoglobin levels and how that level determines whether a blood transfusion would actually be necessary. His findings were that blood transfusions may be given too often and that the benefits of the transfusion do not out weight the risk of giving the transfusion. As you can see the junior and senior year of nursing school are a time to really learn a lot and get a really good idea of what you want to do in the future as a nurse. I look forward to next semester where I will be studying OB and Psych at Cooper and Belmont hospitals.
Why Widener is the place to be!!tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.74472008-10-06T17:01:41Z2008-10-07T18:31:02ZRecently my uncle from California came to visit me and he asked me many questions about Widener that really got me thinking as to why I came to Widener? Why I stayed at Widener? And why others should come to...Joe Keifer
Recently my uncle from California came to visit me and he asked me many questions about Widener that really got me thinking as to why I came to Widener? Why I stayed at Widener? And why others should come to Widener? From that I came to these conclusions...
Why I came to Widener?
1.Location - close enough to home (central NJ) but far enough away to be a different atmosphere
2.Courses - Offered Nursing with a reputable and accredited program
3.Community Service - Through out high school I did a lot of community service and Widener offered a lot of programs to continue this service through many different mediums.
4.Financial Aid- Widener offered me good financial aid and made it worth going to a private school
5.Campus - Seemed friendly, clean, and well taken care of.
Why I stayed at Widener?
1.Classes- I was doing really well and enjoying my classes. Small class sizes too!!
2.Clubs and Activities - I was highly involved in many organizations that kept me busy with many things to do.
3.Location - It is very different from my house away from Widener. I'm not sure which area I like better.
4.Friends - Widener community is great! You get to know a lot of people!
5.I couldn't think of a fifth reason, but why would I want to leave anyway!
Why others should come to Widener?
1.Growth - Widener provides an atmosphere for you to grow at your own pace, whether this is academic, spiritual, or physical.
---Academic- Pineapple House (academic support services), honors societies and fraternities
---Spiritual - Interfaith center, religious clubs on campus
---Physical - Wellness Center (Gym)
2.Build Leadership - Widener has always been a place where leaders made. Whether you look at the leaders that came out of PMC or the leaders that graduated last year. Widener takes Pride in developing leaders who want to make this country and world a better place.
3.Variety of activities to do - Whether you want to stay in your dorm and play video games or if you want to go out and join one of our many clubs you can be as busy or as un-busy as you want to be.
4. Students matter- At Widener the students do matter and the administration does listen. Students are not just seen as a source of money or a number but as a human being whose experience as Widener DOES matter.
5. Find out for yourself. I could list a million reasons why you or anyone else should come to Widener but in order to fully understand I would recommend coming in for a tour so you can see what Widener has to offer.
Summer Vacationtag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.71692008-09-07T17:23:18Z2008-09-08T17:25:17ZMost summers I do not take a vacation. Mainly because I end up working all summer and never bother to tell my bosses to give me time off. This summer I wanted to make sure I had some time for...Joe Keifer
I spent a lot of time just relaxing. Whenever I have visited my grandmother in the past my Dad would always plan tons of activities to do such as hiking and sight seeing. I really just wanted to relax and recovery from a summer full of working. I did go into downtown Portland a couple of times. I had some really good seafood at a oyster bar and went to this massive used book store called Powell's Books. Other than that I just hung out with my grandma.
My grandma and I went out to dinner and lunch a lot. One place that I enjoyed was The Bomber Restaurant (see picture below). It used to be a gas station but now it is just a diner. I would pass this restaurant the mornings I would go for a run. Other than running I did not do too much other physical activity.
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Cyclingtag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.69302008-07-25T04:10:06Z2008-07-28T13:37:56ZOne activity that I do when I’m not working in the admissions office is cycling. I really enjoy it. It’s a great way to get outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoors while staying in shape. It really helps me to...Joe Keifer
Be Here Now.
This is what most people think of then they think of 'New Jersey'...
My bike route is nothing like this.
This is one of my favorite barns around my area one of the reasons I included it on my bike ride:
I'm not a huge fan of horses but it certainly is picturesque:
This is a picture of one of my favorite roads to bike on. On my 20 mile bike route it is towards the end of the ride so it is good because you are out of the sun and there are very few cars. Its a very beautiful road. On my 50 mile bike route I actually get to bike the entire length of the road which is always fun!
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Cinnamon Breadtag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.65602008-06-09T14:50:11Z2008-06-09T15:27:23ZLast week I made some cinnamon swirl bread from scratch. I had a day off from work and decided that it would be a 'fun' activity to make some bread. Originally I was going to make white bread, but I...Joe Keifer
It is important to monitor the temperature of the liquids you are going to mix with the yeast because if it is too hot your yeast will die and your bread wont rise.
This is a picture of the yeast and water mixture.
You know the yeast is ready to be used when the water, sugar and yeast have risen a bit in the measuring cup. I don't know if the word risen is the correct word, its more like bubbles and had an obvious chemical reaction. It also shows that you didn't kill the yeast by having too hot of water.
This is the dough before it has had a chance to rise. For this kind of bread I had to let it rise for about an hour before it was ready to be put in the loaf pans.
The finished loaf! Delicious! ]]>
My summer work!!tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.65592008-06-09T14:37:53Z2008-06-09T15:27:05ZOver the summer I am working at multiple places. The two main places that I work are Shoprite and for my neighbor. At Shoprite I work in the Frozen foods department. This involves stocking out popsicles, ice cream, frozen bread,...Joe Keifer
This is a picture of the Shoprite that I work at. Not too exciting.
This is ambulance 45-7A one of the ambulances that I ride on when I work as an EMT.
I hope everyones summer is going well stay cool!!
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Spring Breaktag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.54452008-03-19T03:25:00Z2008-03-19T14:05:55ZFor my spring break I went to Mississippi and build houses with Habitat for Humanity. I did this through a group on campus called Alternative Spring Break. This is my second year participating in this. I had a blast as...Joe Keifer
After working for almost a week this is what we were able to complete. In addition to Widener students being at this work site there were volunteers from a church in Chicago and some AmeriCorps volunteers.
After we were done working we went out and explored the area. It was a lot of fun to enjoy the local food and specialties. Near by our work site there was a place called The Shed, which is a BBQ and blues restaurant. As it turns out this was a nationally award winning restaurant. The BBQ I had was amazing best ribs I've had in my life.
Another aspect of this trip that I particularly liked was getting to know other Widener students. When I first got on the airplane with the rest of the group I didn’t know many of them. By the end of this trip I had gotten to know most of the people on the trip pretty well. When you spend an entire week with someone you really get to see another side of them that you wouldn’t see at Widener.
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snow day!!tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.51282008-02-25T22:53:09Z2008-03-19T14:05:28ZSo here at Widener we got a three day weekend!! Due to the snow school ended up being canceled. I didn't do any sledding or snowman building. When I got the text at 6:15 saying school had been canceled I...Joe Keifer
So here at Widener we got a three day weekend!! Due to the snow school ended up being canceled. I didn't do any sledding or snowman building. When I got the text at 6:15 saying school had been canceled I immediately turned off my alarm and went back sleep and slept till 10:30. I have been recovering from an upper respiratory infection and the extra sleep was quite beneficial. At that point I didn't particularly care about playing in the snow. The rest of the day I pretty much just relaxed and played some video games. I did go to the gym which wasn't really relaxing, but it was worth while.
Entry Three - How am I different?tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.49322008-02-11T04:25:44Z2008-02-11T16:41:25ZSo I was given a list of tips on how to avoid "blogger's block" one of the suggested topics to talk about was "How are you different now than you were in high school?" I figured I would share how...Joe Keifer
So I was given a list of tips on how to avoid "blogger's block" one of the suggested topics to talk about was "How are you different now than you were in high school?"
I figured I would share how I have changed from high school. In high school I was very shy and defiantly not outgoing. I had very low confidence and didn't even think I would amount to anything to be honest. Luckily I decided to go to college with a positive attitude and was determined. In high school my graduating GPA was a 2.2, I really didn't try in high school. I don't even know how I ended up with a 2.2. Regardless I wanted to do better in college. My first semester at Widener I got a 3.9! So to make a long story short. In college I became more outgoing and tried my hardest not to be shy. I have met a lot of great people here at Widener and wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Widener has provided me with opportunities to open up as a person. I still am some what shy and not the most outgoing person in the world, but every day is a new day right? When I look back at high school I am a completely different person. I have learned so much about myself. Well enough of this babbling about my life and how much I have changed. I have a micro test to study for..... peace
Second Entry!!! Bike Tour and Weekendtag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/widener/JoeKeifer//318.48362008-02-05T15:33:41Z2008-02-05T16:39:12ZSo over the past couple weeks I've started training for the MS-170 Coast the Coast Bike tour. It helps raise money to support people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) through sponsoring support groups as well as camps for kids whose...Joe Keifer
So over the past couple weeks I've started training for the MS-170 Coast the Coast Bike tour. It helps raise money to support people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) through sponsoring support groups as well as camps for kids whose parents have MS. It also raises money to fund research to help find a cure for MS, because at this time there are no cures only therapeutic measures that can lessen the severity of symptoms. The bike ride itself is 170 miles over two days and is a lot of fun, so I really looking forward to participating in it again. This will be my third year. It is hard to find time to get to the Wellness Center (gym) with all the activities and school work I have to keep up with. I'm hoping that I will be ready by May. While it is still three months away it is important to start training as early as possible.
This past weekend I hung out with my girlfriend on Saturday and Sunday. We watched this independent film called "Kiss of the Spider Woman." It was about two guys in prison and how they pass the time while they are in there. Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie, though since I was really tired I kind of was falling asleep, but my girlfriend kept waking me up because it’s her favorite movie and she wanted me to watch it. We also went out for late night coffee and cheese cake. Yes, I know it is an odd combination.
This week will be busy and probably somewhat stressful as I have an anatomy test this week and a whole bunch next week. Well that’s all for now…peace
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My bike route is nothing like this.
This is one of my favorite barns around my area one of the reasons I included it on my bike ride:
I'm not a huge fan of horses but it certainly is picturesque:
This is a picture of one of my favorite roads to bike on. On my 20 mile bike route it is towards the end of the ride so it is good because you are out of the sun and there are very few cars. Its a very beautiful road. On my 50 mile bike route I actually get to bike the entire length of the road which is always fun!
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It is important to monitor the temperature of the liquids you are going to mix with the yeast because if it is too hot your yeast will die and your bread wont rise.
This is a picture of the yeast and water mixture.
You know the yeast is ready to be used when the water, sugar and yeast have risen a bit in the measuring cup. I don't know if the word risen is the correct word, its more like bubbles and had an obvious chemical reaction. It also shows that you didn't kill the yeast by having too hot of water.
This is the dough before it has had a chance to rise. For this kind of bread I had to let it rise for about an hour before it was ready to be put in the loaf pans.
The finished loaf! Delicious! ]]>
This is a picture of the Shoprite that I work at. Not too exciting.
This is ambulance 45-7A one of the ambulances that I ride on when I work as an EMT.
I hope everyones summer is going well stay cool!!
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After working for almost a week this is what we were able to complete. In addition to Widener students being at this work site there were volunteers from a church in Chicago and some AmeriCorps volunteers.
After we were done working we went out and explored the area. It was a lot of fun to enjoy the local food and specialties. Near by our work site there was a place called The Shed, which is a BBQ and blues restaurant. As it turns out this was a nationally award winning restaurant. The BBQ I had was amazing best ribs I've had in my life.
Another aspect of this trip that I particularly liked was getting to know other Widener students. When I first got on the airplane with the rest of the group I didn’t know many of them. By the end of this trip I had gotten to know most of the people on the trip pretty well. When you spend an entire week with someone you really get to see another side of them that you wouldn’t see at Widener.
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