Andrew

My key organization on campus is a campus ministry called Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  My faith has always been a pretty important aspect of my schooling and as I was looking for schools Christian organizations and opportunities were a pretty key part of my search.  ISU is absolutely a secular school but at the same time it’s a big D-1 school were you’ve got a couple hundred options of student groups to dive into and make a name for yourself in.  Campus ministries make up maybe 10 or so of those.  You even got a few campus ministries like Baptist Campus ministires, SCAMPS, and FUEL that have there own houses just on the edge of campus that give any student the chance to get off campus and just chill out watching movies, eating, or playing games.  Intervarsity doesn’t have a house and we just rent a conference room in the Student Union…but as w/ all the other campus ministries…we have a great mix of people that really let you connect w/ a solid group.  We meet during the week for everything from dinner to Bible study to the driving range.  Though a lot of my friends aren’t in Intervarsity at all…it’s pretty cool to know I’ve got a solid network of people behind to just chill and share life w/.  I think more than anything else about ISU, I love the friendships that I’ve built and the opportunities for fun I’ve gotten w/ this group.

 On Thursday, we had our big year end cookout…something that’s been annual for a few years now…and we had our biggest turnout ever for an IV event.  We rented out Wolf Field and had dogs, burgers, a live classic rock band, and all kinds of spots from frisbee to football to basketball and volleyball.  Many of the student organizations are a little smaller…ranging anywhere from 10 to 20 to 50.  Some organizations are bigger like Student Government and can get into hundreds of students but groups like volunteer groups and campus ministries truly provide a smaller setting where you can really make your niche on campus.  Because many of these groups are typically small, we all like to have year end cookouts or start of the year parties…stuff like that where other people on campus are really able to see what we’re all about.  Stuff like free food and free music are always good things to hit up on campus…especially at the beginning of the year.  When you get ready to step onto campus in the fall…make sure you take notice of flyers and chalk on the sidewalk and all that stuff.  Not only will it really help you to connect and network w/ some diverse groups of people, but it might also launch you into that group of people that you’ll really get to share life w/.  No matter how different people are from group to group…I know one of the biggest things I want in life is to just connect and share in a better life w/ other people.  Long story short…Intervarsity and campus ministries are a few of many many groups on campus that really reach out to students throughout the semester.  Take advantage of opportunities you’ve got to get to know other people…and eat the free food and stuff they’re giving out…lol.  And while you’re at it…don’t forget IV…I’m sure I’ve been told at least once in life that I’m worth meeting…lol.

It’s the end of the year…classes are winding down…teachers are scrambling to keep up w/ their syllabii…craziness is insuing…and  we students are paying for it…haha.  One easy adjustment from high school to college will be that most profs will definitley cram like crazy before breaks and the end of the year just like high school teachers.  Sometimes you get the feeling that profs forget you actually do have other classes…not to mention a life outside of studying and school ya know?  I’m talkin’ to pros though b/c you guys know all about this stuff right?  Alright…I’m glad we’re all in agreement on that…lol.

 Anyway…things have been absolutely nuts the last couple weeks.  Reading piles up…chemistry problems seem to consume my free time…and actually studying for tests and quizzes has seemed all but impossible.  I’ve got a pretty packed schedule once I’ve done all I need to for my campus ministry and bible study and classes.  Then I try to work out, check my e-mails, have some quiet time, spend some time w/ my girlfriend…and oh yeah…relax once in a while…haha.  Last night, I went out to my lobby for the bible study I lead at about 7:30…I got back to my room at 11:00.  Bible study was done a little before 9 but I ended up just chillin’ w/ my buddies Scott and Kyle.  Scott’s gonna be an english teacher and I’m gonna be a science teacher so we ended up talkin’ teaching philosophy on stuff like grading, extra credit, and all kinds of stuff.  We talked about christianity and people and purpose in life and all that stuff.  By the end, I felt like I was really hurting b/c I had really let my chem homework pile up…but at the same time I’ve really been putting hangin’ out on the back burner lately…and I’ve lost a lot of motivation for school work.

By all means…class and homework are definitely important things that you’ve gotta make time for.  But I’ve found the more I let them consume my and the less time I spend really building relationships and talkin’ about important stuff…the less motivated I am and the less I enjoy school.  I’m just a simple blogger and I’m not gonna find the research for you…but believe me it’s been done…people who develop meaningful relationships and really invest in them during college do better across the board.  This week…I’ve really gotten back to hangin’ out more w/ friends…even if it means homework time hasn’t been quite as plentiful.  And oddly enough…I’ve started doin’ better in classes and school has actually been more fun.  I’m not as stressed and not as worried about how stuff like grades is gonna shake out.  All this to remind…homework is good…goin’ to class is a must…but the real point and purpose of college is to expand yours

What’s goin’ on everyone…so I’m a little tardy since coming back to spring break but I wanted to give you guys a little update on things back in the Haute.  It’s been about a week and a half since break  has let out and I’ve had almost all my classes at least twice again.  Break was pretty solid…didn’t do a whole lot but I did get a good chance to relax and catch up on that.  Lots of people use break for a trip to Florida or Panama City or something like that but ever since high school I’ve always stayed pretty close to home.  I played baseball in high school and we always played or practiced at least a little over break so I just got into the habit of chillin’ out rather than making extra time for a busy spring break.  I’ve found that I’m usually pretty fried by the time spring break rolls around and I just enjoy watching movies, playing video games, and reading…which always seems to get shoved out during the school year.  Over break I watched Scarface, Pulp Fiction, Crash, the Secret Window, and The Terminator all for the first time…they’re not quite as good once you’ve seen some of the modern action movies but they were still pretty solid…haha.  I also watched Disturbia and Meet the Fockers for good measure…lol. I’m a huge movie guy.  This past weekend I watched Devil in a Blue Dress and the Hurricane…both solid Denzel Washington flicks.  The ISU Library movie collection has defintely got solid stuff worth checking out.

Anyway…if I decide to go somewhere in the next couple years for break I will probably take the opportunity to go on the alternative spring break that ISU offers.  ISU has really taken some good initiative for this trip in the two years that I’ve been here as they’ve lent a helping hand to Hurricane Katrina victims.  This year somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 people gave up virtually their whole spring break…Sunday to Saturday…just serving people who’ve been dealt a really bad blow.  They worked on a house and just helped clean up and rebuild in general doing various projects.  These people definitely deserve a huge thanks and should really be commended for their service…how many of us would actually be willing to give up an entire break of sleep and relaxing for early morning and service?  So that’s life in the last couple weeks…I’m about used to the pace of classes and work and all that…things fire into a whirlwind of busyness some days but for the most part this has been another great semester at ISU.  Enjoy the rest of the week and talk to you guys again soon!

In light of last night’s Missouri Valley Conference tourney win last night, I thought I’d talk a little about ISU’s athletics.  Our men were solid at home this year losing only twice.  We struggled on the road but the success at home made for a fun environment when I had a chance to go.  My roommate is an ISU basketball junkie and missed only a couple home games…men’s and women’s combined.  Our women won at home last night as well against a very solid Evansville team.  Though not like a basketball game at Mackey Arena or Memorial Stadium, the Hulman Center provides a pretty fun atmosphere to get off central campus and enjoy an exciting game.  Both the men and women have played at a pretty quick pace the last couple years and have really put on a good show when in the Hulman Center.  A couple weeks ago, Admissions hosted Sycamore Hoopla that involved both a men’s and women’s game.  My parents were able to come down because my Dad’s a guidance counselor.  We saw a pretty exciting men’s game that weekend.  The Hulman Center throws out t-shirts for every 3 and offeres trivia during the game where you can earn prizes.  It’s a cool atmosphere and the best part of all is that it’s free!  With your student ID, all athletic events at ISU are free to students.  The baseball team is slated to play teams Big 10 teams Illonois, Indiana, and Purdue all at home this year.  And all games are free!  Whether soccer, football, basketball, baseball, softbal or other are you favorite…you can check them out here.  Like I said, you’re not gonna always have Big 10 powers or SEC showdowns here but you can’t get into Mackey Arena free on your ID card either!  There’s many clubs and organizations to get involved in on campus and athletics are definitely one of the many events that are offered.  Not often can you get exciting athletic events for free…heck…I can’t walk back to my high school this weekend and walk into a game for free!  That good ‘ol student ID…just another thing that it will do for you.

 P.S.  I promise I won’t go this long before blogging again…lol.

Last time I blogged, I rambled on and on about how great Christmas break (and breaks in general) are while in college.  One of the biggest advantages is the extended time off you get and just being able to use that time how you want.  There is a dark side to vacation though…returning to the grind of the school semester…lol.  As great as the extended breaks are while you’re on them, sometimes it’s a little tough to get back in the swing of things after your break.  So here’s what it’s been like for me to be back in the Haute rockin’ another semester.

Even as a science ed major, this semester is far and away my most science concentrated semester.  As a matter of fact, 4 of my 5 days are spent completely in the science building…and on Wednesday I have one night class that meets outside the science building.  Even as a science guy, it’s tough to have that much of one particular subject area.  There will definitely be times once you gotten all your general stuff out of the way that you get stuck with that big art semester or music semester or math semester…whatever your major happens to be.  You have to start to prepare a little in advance by working your schedule so that you don’t have a ton of stuff that’s identical.  For instance, even though I’ve got mostly science stuff this semester, I have a theories of evolution class, a microbiology class, an organic chem class, and a general chem class.  All science but all pretty different.  If you schedule a ton of very similar classes…trust me…you won’t be interested long…haha.  Plan ahead a litte…it’ll save you some misery as you try to adjust to the grind.

I guess the biggest thing that helps me avoid the grind of getting back in the swing of things is to just do as much stuff as you can that you really like to do.  Get your homework done early if you work better then or do it late if that’s what works best for you.  Don’t pile tons of homework into one section of your spare time.  If you like to play video games, give yourself time to do that.  If you like to read or veg in front of the tv, give yourself that relaxing time.  Don’t feel like you’ve gotta sit down and do everything that needs to be done in one setting.  On vacation, you took all the time you wanted to relax so don’t come back to school and give yourself no time to relax.  Part of getting back into the semester is taking things gradually.  Find stuff that will calm you down and that you enjoy to do.  I absolutely love to read…I read 4 books in 3 weeks over break…love it…haha.  Now that I’m back at school and trying to adjust though, I have a ton of reading for class.  I really want to keep knocking out books but sometimes it’s almost a chore to keep reading.  Don’t do stuff like that that’s gonna make the grind worse!  For me right now…I’ve found that ps2 is what’s relaxin’ me the most so that’s what I need to do to change things up and not let the grind get the best of me.

Love the breaks once you’re in college.  Soak ‘em up and relax like you’ll never get to again…haha…only as much as your parents will allow though…lol.  Just prepare your schedule for time to relax once you get back and make things easier on yourself by scheduling well.  Think of how you’re gonna handle the grind ahead of time.  Talk to you guys again soon!

Well hello everyone!  I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry….I’m sorry…lol.  Hopefully that will start to cover my lack of posts lately.  Time starts to run together sometimes and I just get so busy doing everything else that my blog gets neglected from time to time.  I promise I will do a better job of updating here much more periodically.  So here we go…

 A little about Christmas break at ISU: when I first left school for Christmas break last year I didn’t quite realize the gold mine I was stepping into…in high school Christmas break consisted of what seemed like a week and a half of break (barely enough time to get used to my Christmas gifts and play some board games on New Year’s Eve right!) and I even had an all-day wrestling meet packed in there.  My first Christmas break at ISU was pretty incomparable though.  You finish with classes somewhere around the 15th of December…I said the 15th of December!  Pretty sweet huh?  Then you return to school somewhere around the 7th of January….go ahead and do the calculations…that’s like 3 weeks of vacation over Christmas break!!  Now that’s how all breaks should be right…haha.  Needless to say…vacations are pretty awesome in college!  So what did I do with my break…I went up and wrestled with my old high school buddies with the current wrestling team several times, I hit up my old weight room a couple times, watched a dozen or so movies, and had Christmas with all the sides of my family.  And yes…before you ask…I did play over an entire season on my new NCAAA ‘08 football game…haha.  Go ahead and say it…I’m a bum.  For New Year’s, my lovely girlfriend Steph and I took a trip from Wabash (in general where we live…and no not where the college is…lol) over to Lafayette where my buddy Kyle lives.  I also officiated two wrestling meets over break and hauled in something like 300 bucks.  I spent one day subbing in a classroom for severely disabled students as well.  I would highly encourage you guys (wherever you end up) to look for opportunities to expand yourself.  If you played a high school sport, look into venturing into the realm of officiating.  Look for community centers (like 14th and Chestnut here in the Haute) or high school (like North and South here) to volunteer at.  Put your name out there as a potential sub for general ed classrooms or even look at the special ed side (like a classroom for students with disabilities) to gain a better appreciation for things we take for granted.  Anyway…these are things I’ve been blessed to do with my spare time in college and especially my spare time over breaks!  Christmas break is awesome at ISU…take advantage of it…don’t waste it away on nothing but video games, movies, and the Net (I know…I know…it’s very easy to do…lol).

Again…I apologize for not posting in like 2 years but I promise…another one is coming soon.  Hit me up again in a week or so and I’ll let you know what it’s been like to be back at ISU.  Later guys and gals!

Hey guys–Just wanted to give you the heads up that all of us bloggers will be part of a live chat shortly after Thanksgiving on the 27th from 7-10 pm.  If you wanna chat with us or ask us questions about anything in particular stay tuned for more info as I think Admissions will be getting in touch w/ you about this.  Hopefully I’ll talk w/ you then!  Have an awesome Thanksgiving break!

 Andrew

College is tough.  You have tons of homework.  There’s never any time to do anything.  And most of all…you’re just a number that your profs are never gonna remember anyway…right?  Right?!  Lol.  Have you heard any of this before…sound familiar?  I hope not because none of it’s true…ok…ok…except for the tons of homework sometimes…haha.  The myth I want to bust up today is the one that makes you think you’ll just be some number to your profs…the one that says your profs are just around to cram some info into your skulls a few times a week and then head out to do some research.  Now I can’t speak for universities everywhere b/c obviously ISU is my only experience…at some of the big dog schools you may very well get swallowed up in the numbers…but ISU is the prime size for solid student-professor relationships.  At ISU we’ve got a 17-1 student to faculty ratio.  Now that by no means says that you’ll have 17 kids in every class but it does speak volumes to the presence of faculty at a school of well over 10 thousand.  Once you get rolling into your second and third year classes and exit the general studies arena, a lot of classes have shruken down to about 25 or 30 kids…sometimes you even fall around 15 or 20.

Now what does this mean…that everyone is going to know all your business and there’s no room to breathe?  Heck no!  The coolest thing about a big school like ISU staying small is that your profs will know you!  You’re not going to be a number…you’ll be known as that guy/girl that always sits along the wall on the right wall of the room, leaning against it trying not to fall asleep.  They’ll probably know your name and recognize you as the kid who is always walking in 3-5 minutes late (like my physics teacher probably does this year…lol).

My point to all this really is that here at ISU, one of the biggest helps in gaining a solid education is that most all of your profs are going step and step w/ you to make sure that you learn what you need to learn.  They aren’t here to force feed info…they’re here to make sure you LEARN the info…and they’re completely willing to help you make that happen.  On the first day of classes, profs hand out a syllabus that has their e-mails, telephone extensions, office hours, and policies for setting up appointments…sometimes profs might even give you a home phone number or a cell in case you can’t reach them in their office.  They don’t do this b/c they like prank calls or the latest junk mail forwards…they want to make sure you get all the help you need!

It’s pretty sweet really…I e-mail my profs all the time whether I’ve got a question about something we went over in lecture or if I have a question about an upcoming assignment or even to see if they have any ideas for good classes I might take next semester.  And I’ve never had even one professor not respond to an e-mail…the craziest thing is that they know who I am when I e-mail them!  How many big schools give you that?  Last week on Thursday I had lunch w/ my ecology and evolution teacher.  We just chatted in the commons for a half hour or so and he just talked w/ me about the types of things he had studied, the areas he had researched, and even some cool science magazines that he had read (please don’t tune out my blog b/c you think I’m a science nerd…lol…I do admit that I can be one though…haha).

One of the key perks for me as an ISU student is knowing that I’m not a number.  Beyond the work out facilities, my campus ministry and other clubs, and even the food (tough to say I know…lol)…ISU’s ability to get bigger but still stay small in the classroom where it counts is what’s really cool.  Even in those big freshmen classes of 50, 70, or 100, professors still care about you learning.  Just be sure to take advantage of their willingness to know you.  Take care guys and gals.

 Andrew

The organization on campus that I’m most proud to be a part of is my campus ministry Intervarsity.  In my opinion, every single campus ministry at ISU is every bit as powerful and cool as IV…IV justs fits my style best I guess.  Campus ministries are one of the rare organizations on campus students can join where they can actually go deeper than joining a resume building club because groups like Intervarsity, Campus Outreach, BCM, and Scamps are all about teaming up w/ a guy named Jesus that will really change your life.

Anyway…my campus ministry is IV and not last weekend but the weekend before we went on our fall conference.  All the campus ministries I know of have their own fall conference where they get away for a weekend and just spend the weekend hanging out with friends and more importantly hanging out with God.  It was an awesome weekend because I really got to develop some relationships with people in my campus ministry that I’ve known from the rest of the year but never really gotten to hang out with.  For our chapter, fall conference is just a great time to tighten up our group and really develop cool friendships in the middle of a getaway weekend.  We went to Camp Illiana down in southern Indiana close to Washington.  The scenery was beautiful (guys…it is ok to say the word beautiful once in a while when your not talking about that special female you’re trying to hook up w/…lol).  We were in the middle of woods and the trees were just starting to turn so we got to spend some time in quiet with our bibles just hanging out in the nature that God created.  There was a lake, a zip-line, and some cool paths that we could really just soak up the whole experience with.  By the end of the weekend I really felt encouraged because of the friendships I’d strengthened and I really felt like I’d drawn closer to my buddy Jesus…because that was what it was all about.

I’m sure I’ll share more about IV with you in the coming year because I love campus ministry.  You don’t have to officially sign up with any campus ministry ever.  They’re just there to be available and you can get as involved or uninvolved as you like.  Every campus ministry opens up there fall conferences and other trips to everyone so stuff like that is a great way to meet new people and really have some cool experiences.  So next year, whatever campus you end up on, just remember campus ministry as something to check out…you never know what you might encounter.

P.S. The comments have been nonexistent thus far and I really hope I’m not that boring.  Hopefully there’s at least one person out there that’s still reading by now…lol…at least one right?!  Anyway…feel free to drop me a comment letting me know what you’ve liked so far and what you haven’t.  Or leave me something that you’d like to hear about.  I’m up for suggestions.  Later!

So…as promised…I thought I’d share a little of what I did during spring break.  And since it’s now the middle of the week you can tell that the busyness hasn’t left at all…lol.  I live 3 hours away from the Haute…in the All-American town of Wabash (and no the college is not there…that’s Crawfordsville).  Even for a 3 day weekend it fills up so fast w/ everything that you want to get in.  I had some great time to catch up w/ old high school friends…one joined up w/ the Air Force last fall and he’s heading off to Iraq at the end of the month.  I even got pizza w/ another friend and Bob Evans breakfast w/ another friend.  And don’t worry…I was anything but food deprived this weekend as I had some grilled, marinated chicken Friday night and chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes on Sunday.  Alright, alright…you’ve got me!  I love food ok…lol.

 Aside from that…the week has gotten off to a great start.  There’s been a fair share of homework and I’ve got a quiz and test today.  I have had plenty of time to relax, work out, and just kick back.  As much as things get busy for me from time to time college is still a blast and there’s never a shortage of stuff going on.  So the quiz I said I have today…is now in less than a half hour…and I’m definitely not studying right now…lol.  Sorry for the shorter blog…you guys prob’ly think I write too much anyway…geez.  Alright have a great week until I talk w/ you again!

-Andrew-