Rotary Lights

Well, final exams are in full swing here at UW-L. I had my genetics final yesterday and my radiation physics final today. In addition, I had an eportfolio for one of my radiation therapy classes due today. Then I have my pathophysiology final on Monday, but that one is not cumulative so that helps.

To take a little break from studying and celebrate the completion of two finals, I am going to the Rotary Lights tonight with some of my friends. This is a HUGE holiday light display at Riverside Park in downtown La Crosse. There are over a million lights in different designs all throughout the park. It is something that is done every year and they collect money and food items to donate to the local food pantry, which really helps during the holiday season. I am really excited to relax and have a little fun with my friends while getting to see all the wonderful lights. I hear they even have real reindeer there! I'll let you know if I see Rudolph... :)

RHAC Winter Formal

The Residence Hall Association Council (RHAC) is hosting their annual Winter Formal tonight. It is being held downtown at the La Crosse Center from 9:30pm to 1:30am. It is sure to be a wonderful time! Unfortunately, I will not be attending because I am "on duty" this weekend as part of being a Resident Assistant. This involves making sure the building is secure and that everyone is behaving themselves. Hopefully, I'll be able to see everyone in their formal attire before they leave to go to the Formal.

Also, today was the end of the last full week of classes before finals begin. So as you might guess, things are getting a little tense around campus with the end of the semester approaching so fast and final exams just around the corner. Oh well, one thing's for sure--we all want winter break to come as soon as possible. It will be here soon enough, we just have to jump through a few hoops to get the end reward of relaxation and a break from school for a few weeks! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Well, as of 5:30p.m. tonight, Coate Hall is officially closed for the Thanksgiving holiday! As a RA, I had to help "close" the building which means I had to clean up the hallways, vacuum, etc. to make sure that Coate Hall was in tip top condition. Now that all is said and done, I am headed home to spend Thanksgiving with my family! I'm excited to have a little break from school. Once we come back, there is only a week and a half left of classes before finals start! Yikes, then before you know it, the semester will be over. For right now, I'll just concentrate on enjoying the break and having a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! :)

Movie Night!

Well, we've made it through yet another week of this fall semester and I am sure glad it's Friday! Today I turned in my big research paper on my fruit fly experiment that I have been doing this whole semester for my genetics class. The first week of classes, we were given fruit flies with a certain mutation and then we had to cross them with normal flies for a couple generations. After doing so, then we had to look at the fruit flies under a microscope and identify if they had mutations or not and record that in our data, which is the basis for the whole research paper. It is a huge relief to have that off of my to do list!

Tonight, Angell Hall is putting on an all-campus program based on the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" in Graff Main Hall at 7pm. Groups from all of the residence halls on campus signed up to participate in the show itself, while others can still go just to be a part of the audience. Afterwards, I am also hosting a Movie Night for my residents in Coate Hall's Big TV Room in the basement. I'm sure it will be a good time to get to know one another and relax after working hard all week. :)

Wagner Wedding Weekend

This weekend Coate Hall is hosting an all-hall event called the Wagner Wedding Weekend! We've literally been planning this for about two months and we've put a lot of hard work into it. Basically, we're holding a mock wedding celebration as the culmination of our "Girl Talk" and "Man-a-thon" events that have been taking place throughout the semester.

This Wagner Wedding Weekend celebration is a pretty much full-out mock wedding with two of the Resident Assistants from Coate Hall getting fake married. We are having bachelor/bachelorette parties tonight. Then on Saturday, the actual wedding ceremony is at 5pm with the dinner part of the reception to follow at 6:30pm. Then the dance will start at 8pm followed by an all-night wedding movie marathon. It is sure to be tons of fun and a lot of the students living in Coate sure are excited just like I am! We even have a wedding cake!!

Also, tonight there is a concert being held in Cartwright Center featuring the band "Nine Days" at 7pm. The cost for UW-L students is only $5. What a deal!! The Campus Activities Board brings a famous band or musical act to UW-L every semester. It is always a good time and they do a nice job of selecting performers! :)

*First SNOW*

Today the first official snow of this school year fell. There wasn't really any accumulation, so I'm not sure if you can really count it, but there were indeed snowflakes falling. Since the temperature was right around freezing, the flakes were big and wet. This made for an interesting experience riding my bike to class.

The seat of my bike was wet so I put a plastic grocery bag over it like I normally do after it is wet from being rained on. The handlebars were also wet so it was a little tricky to hang on and use my brakes. The biggest challenge (if that's what you could call it) was watching where I was going with all the snowflakes pelting my face and flying into my eyes. Oh well, I made it to class and back safely and I guess that's all that really matters. :)

Now, I just have a ton of studying to do this weekend. I have two tests to prepare for, a project paper to write, and a group research proposal to work on. So I have my work cut out for me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween everyone! There are a lot of fun things planned on campus this weekend. Yesterday and today were Campus Close Up days for perspective students to come and check out UW-L. This is a great way to get a feel for campus when classes are in session and determine whether you think you would fit well here. There are more of these Campus Close Ups scheduled throughout the year and if you'd like more information, you can contact UW-L's admissions office at (608) 785-8939.

Tonight, there is a Halloween Dance Party going on in Coate Hall's basement from 8pm to midnight. Tomorrow night, White Hall is hosting an all-campus event called "The Haunted Reception." It will involve a costume contest along with various wedding traditions from different cultures. It should be very fun and interesting. :)

Also, this weekend the time changes and we "fall back." I don't know about you, but I am excited for the extra hour of sleep! :)

COATE HAUNTED HOUSE

Coate Hall is putting on a Haunted House as an all-campus program this Friday night! It is going to be a ton of fun! We are converting most of Coate Hall's basement into the Haunted House itself. Each room is going to have a different theme, but of course all will be extremely scary and frightening!! :D

There will also be things to do for people who may not like getting scared. We will be having night games outside which I'm sure will go over well. There will be mini-pumpkin painting and caramel apples inside as well as scary movies playing. In addition, there is going to be a bonfire outside in the volleyball pit area where people can roast s'mores or just relax and hangout. Overall, I think the night should be full of fun and it will be nice to see everyone's hard work come together to create a great program. :)

This Sunday night, there is going to be a debate on campus called "The Bible: Fact of Fiction?" and it is sure to draw a crowd. It will feature a nationally known debator arguing against The Bible and a UW-L history professor arguing in favor of The Bible. I hope a lot of people come because college is usually a time when people have questions and are searching for answers in this area. I hope the debate will be very informative and lots of people will come.

Family, Friends, & Alumni Weekend

This weekend at UW-L is a special one that happens every year. It is the Family, Friends, & Alumni weekend celebration with tons of activities going on throughout the entire weekend. There is the homecoming football game of course. There is also going to be a ceremonial lighting of the new "L" logo for the university along with a concert outside on the lawn tonight. The whole weekend should be filled with lots of fun and fellowship!

As for me, I just got done with two tests. I had a radiation physics test and a genetics test back to back this afternoon. Right now, my brain is fried and I have a neck ache from being hunched over a desk for two straight hours. Oh well, it feels good now that they are both over. It is a nice weight off of my chest. The only thing is that I have a pathophysiology test this coming Tuesday...it never ends, but that's college (and life in general I guess). It's ok though because I'm surviving it and having lots of fun along the way!! :)

Bucks Game in La Crosse!!!

Tonight there is a pre-season game for the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Dallas Mavericks being held at the La Crosse Center!! How sweet is that?!?! I am so pumped to go see the game!! :D One of the RAs (Resident Assistants) in Coate Hall organized it so that over 80 people from our residence hall are going to the game tonight. It was really an awesome deal because the tickets were only $7.00 and the La Crosse Center is within walking distance from campus!!

On Saturday, there is a wheelchair basketball tournament going on at the Recreational Eagle Center on campus sponsored by the Students Advocating Potential Ability (SAPA) club on campus. There is also a Strongman competition going on at the REC as well. One of the RAs in Coate Hall will supposedly be pulling a truck as part of the competition!!

On an academic note, I have a lot of studying to do before next week. I have a test in radiation physics and genetics both next Friday and I have a genetics lab that morning as well. Just taking things one at a time and knowing that it will all be ok in the end helps me keep things in perspective.

FALL RETREAT

This weekend I am going on "Fall Retreat" as part of Campus Crusade for Christ. We are going to a camp in Iowa for the weekend. I am really excited for all the opportunities I am going to have to get to know other people from around campus. It is going to be a sweet time! :D

Some of the residents (students) in my cube and within Coate Hall are going as well so I will get the chance to get to know them a little better on another level. Things in Coate Hall are going amazingly well and I am having a blast!! The other night myself and another RA dressed up as people from The Matrix and had some fun while we did our duty round (making sure the hall is safe and secure). It was a lot of fun for us and the people we encountered!

So now that the first round of tests is over for me, I am really looking forward to a nice weekend of fun and relaxation...until Sunday night when I will be forced to do my homework. But for the moment, I'm off to FALL RETREAT! :)

First Round of Exams

This week was the first round of exams this semester for everyone here at UW-L. It was pretty stressful--I had a genetics test on Monday, a radiation physics test on Wednesday, and I have a genetics lab quiz tomorrow. Then next week I have a pathophysiology test and also a test in my readings, writings, and research in radiation therapy class. So I am studying like crazy...

This weekend there is an all campus event called RECtoberfest that is an alcohol-alternative to Oktoberfest. It is going to be held at the RECreational Eagle Center here on campus on Friday night from 9pm to midnight. There are going to be tons of games, a wii set up, inflatable games, trike races, and all sorts of things. It is sure to be a great time and with the chance to win a free bike, why wouldn't you want to go?

Then on Saturday night, Coate Hall is putting on a house party. There is going to be tons of food, fun, and music!! Plus, the chance to meet new people that live in Coate Hall is a great reason to check it out! :)

Fruit Flies...

It's finally Friday! I got done with classes at 3:10pm today and then I had to go check on my fruit flies. Yes, that's right, I said I had to go check on my fruit flies. As part of the genetics course that I am in, each student is given a vial of fruit flies with a specific gene mutation. Then it is your job to monitor their life cycle and set up another vial with the new flies that hatch and continue this for a couple months. This way we will learn about the heredity patterns of the gene we are studying in our fruit flies. It's pretty interesting.

As for RA (Resident Assistant) life, things are going pretty well. It is definitely a challenge at times to balance everything you have to do as an RA with school and having a life in general. Even though being an RA is a ton of work, it is soooo much fun! I've already met so many new people in Coate Hall and around campus. Meeting new people and forming those meaningful relationships with them is so worthwhile and rewarding. I've learned so much about others and myself so far this semester that I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds! :)

Welcome to Another Year!!

Hello everyone and welcome to yet another fun-filled year here at UW-La Crosse! I am excited for all the amazing things that are going to happen on the campus this year. First, I'll give you a little insight into my life at this point.

I am beginning my junior year here at UW-L and couldn't love it more! :) I am also starting my classes for UW-L's Radiation Therapy program (after being accepted into the program last spring) so it's nice to be getting into the more specific courses of my major. In addition, this is my first year as a Resident Assistant (RA). I am in Coate Hall which is the first year experience hall on our campus. I lived in Coate Hall my freshman year and it's a great place to be again. It is really nice that all the people living around you are all freshmen and going through the same things that you are as a freshman.

Now that I am an RA, I have a different perspective on things. I can remember what it was like to be a freshman and now I can try to help the freshmen with the things they are going through. I am really excited to be a great resource for some of the students at UW-L. I can't wait to make even more friends and amazing memories throughout the year!! :)

FINALLY DONE!!!

I'm finally done with finals for the spring 2008 semester!! What a great feeling it is! I had the absolute last final exam time slot today from 4:45-6:45pm. I finished the final early and now I am completely done!! It is a bittersweet day as I am happy that the classes for the semester are over, but I am sad because I will really miss all of my college friends a lot while I am at home over the summer. A lot of students go through this, but then most of us meet up again in the fall for another great year. I guess that's all I've got for tonight, so have a great summer everyone!! :)

LAST Day of Classes!!!!!

Today is the last day of classes here at UW-L!! I am officially done with my spring 2008 semester classes! It is also the loft return day. Students can rent bed lofts to use during the year in their residence hall rooms to create more space. They are a really nice way to make your room feel a little bigger. You pick the bedloft up on campus when you move in and then return it at the end of the year. National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) is the organization that helps coordinate this. I recently became a part of this organization so I am going to be helping out with loft return today.

Now that classes are done, that means finals are next. I have 4 finals next week. One on Tuesday and one on Wednesday both at 7:45am. Then on Thursday I have a final at 2:30pm and a final at 4:45pm on Friday. Then I will be leaving campus on Saturday.

Tomorrow there is an event called Coate Bash going on. It is an annual event hosted by Coate Hall that is meant to help everyone relax a little and celebrate the end of the semester before finals begin. It should be a lot of music, food, and fun!! :)

Colbie Caillat!!

Colblie Caillat is performing for a concert here on the UW-L campus tonight!! The concert begins at 7pm and will be in the Recreational Eagle Center. UW-L student tickets were only $15--what a deal! I went to the Taylor Swift concert at UW-L last year and that was a ton of fun! I'm sure tonight's show will be a great one too!!

Saturday is also the Voices In Praise Choir Concert. Voices In Praise is the non-audition UW-L Gospel Choir that I am a member of. We have practice tonight and tomorrow night with a professional gospel artist that we flew in to be a part of the concert. It is going to be a blast!

This weekend will also be filled with lots of studying and homework because next week is the last week of classes before finals. I just had a physics test this morning. This weekend I have to write a 5-page paper for my English class. I have a physics lab final on Monday and an anatomy and physiology lab practical Tuesday with my paper due Wednesday. So things will be pretty hectic and busy, but summer will be here before we know it!! :)

It's the Weekend!!

It's finally the weekend! There are several things happening on the UW-L campus this weekend and it is sure going to be a lot of fun!

Tonight is the opening night performance of the theatre production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" in the Center for the Arts. The entire production is put on by UW-L students and is sure to be a great show. Each year the theatre department puts on at least 6-8 productions that are always entertaining to watch.

Saturday at the Recreational Eagle Center on campus an event called "St. Baldrick's" is going on. Numerous UW-L students, faculty, and staff members are either cutting their hair or shaving their heads to raise money for organizations such as Locks of Love. All the money will go to these organizations to help make wigs, especially for children with cancer. What a great cause!

Then on Saturday night, Sanford Hall is hosting the "Sanford Block Party." There are going to be live bands, games, food, and of course lots of fun!! It should be a real good time!

On Sunday, all the future staff members for Coate Hall next year are having a cookout to spend time getting to know each other. I am really excited for this and can't wait to get to know my fellow staff members better! Also on Sunday, Baird Hall is hosting the annual "Baird World Cup" soccer tournament which will be an interesting time. So as you can see, this weekend is very packed here at UW-L but I'm sure it will be a good one! Let's just hope it doesn't rain too much anymore... :)

U-LEAD

U-LEAD is a self-guided university leadership program here at UW-L that I took part in this year. There was a Celebration of Involvement and Leadership ceremony this past Tuesday where all the participants who had successfully completed the program received their certificates. U-LEAD is a great way to get involved and develop leadership skills in your own way and at your own pace.

There are four major components of the U-LEAD program including involvement, volunteerism, cultural awareness, and workshops. The involvement category mainly entails getting involved on campus with clubs, government, and athletics either by becoming a member or simply attending a meeting/event. The volunteer component requires that you complete 10 hours of community service which can be done through a campus organization or something else in the city of La Crosse. The cultural awareness category is pretty self-explanatory in that you attend different events on campus to enhance your cultural awareness. The category of workshops involves attending 4 workshops sponsored by the U-LEAD program centered on different aspects of leadership.

Overall, I found my experience with the U-LEAD program to be very worthwhile and beneficial for me. I feel like I really did develop leadership skills in my own way and definitely had fun along the way. I believe the four categories of requirements that are designed to help you develop your leadership skills in a variety of areas did just that for me! So when you come to campus, you should consider taking part in the U-LEAD program. You can talk to your RA or simply stop by the Involvement Center in room 222 Cartwright Center for more information about U-LEAD and tons of other opportunities to get involved!

Refugee Awareness Program

So this week one of the RAs in our residence hall put on a Refugee Awareness Program. I went to the program to learn more about refugees because I really didn't know that much. I learned SOOO much at this program!! It blew me away!

The RA presented information about three refugee camps---one in Uganda, one in Israel/Palestine and then just Africa as a whole. These were just three examples of what is happening in refugee camps all across the world everyday that most of us never even think about. There are so many things that go on in the world that some of us can be so uninformed about---including myself at times. Before attending this program, I didn't know much at all about refugee camps.

The refugee camp in particular that really caught my attention was the one in Uganda. Three men started this army to rebel against the government and they had a lot of followers that were a part of their army. Later, some of their followers left and in order to maintain the large numbers of soldiers in their army, they started taking the children of refugees who had come to their country seeking a safe place. These children were torn away from their parents and families at the tender ages of 9 or 10 to be forced to serve in this army and eventually turn into killers. The children were subjected to horrible forms of torture in order to desensitize them so that they would be able to treat other people in a similar way while they served in this army.

As I was hearing all this information, I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. This is just one example of all the horrible things going on in the world every single day. I feel like we all need to do our part in becoming aware of these issues and then hopefully try to bring an end to all the terrible things going on. I plan on watching the movie "Invisible Children" because it is about the refugee camps in Uganda and the children who were forced to be in that army. I want to become more informed and then hopefully use that new knowledge to do something about these events.

"Fine Dine"

Last night, the ladies of our fourth floor wing of Wentz Hall had a "Fine Dine" with some gentlemen from White Hall. I had went to a "Fine Dine" last year as a freshman, but I liked it so much that I wanted to go to another one this year.

A "Fine Dine" is a dinner where two wings/cubes of opposite genders from different residence halls get together for a nice dinner and some good company! There is a nice little place in the basement of Coate Hall (UW-L's all freshmen residence hall) called Koehler's where all the "Fine Dines" are held. It is a unique and interesting room that can be used for nice dinners or just a cool place to hang out. When you go to a "Fine Dine," you are served very good food comparable to what you would get at a restaurant! (You just use one of the meals from your meal plan.) The meal starts with a salad and biscuit for everyone. Then you are served the main course with a side and finally the meal ends with a tasty dessert! Yum! :)

Usually every wing/cube of each residence hall is able to take part in a "Fine Dine" sometime throughout the year. It is a really nice experience and a great opportunity to dress up and meet other people from across campus all while sharing a nice meal!

On a side note, if any of you have any questions or comments about anything I write, please feel free to post them in response to my blogs. I will do my best to answer any questions you may have. Don't be shy. :)

Welcome Back

Welcome back for the last half of the second semester! Things this week are crazy for a lot of the students here at UW-L. Some people are having midterms if they didn't have them before spring break while others have another round of tests and projects, so either way school is keeping everyone pretty busy! I had a lot of stuff going on this week and next week is also jam packed for me, but I'm just taking it one day at a time. Atleast I'll be able to relax a little bit this weekend (even though I will have to do some homework).

This morning after I got done with class, I went over to Reuter Hall, which is our newest residence hall on campus (it's only a few years old). I have a friend who lives there and I needed to give something to her. For those of you who don't know, Reuter Hall is an apartment style living environment on the UW-L campus. Its rooms are similar to suites and there are four people with their own separate rooms in each suite. There is a kitchen area, living room, and bathroom all within the suite. Anyway, as I was on my way to my friend's room, I saw someone who I sit next to in one of my classes. She lives in Reuter too and she ended up giving me a tour of her suite because I had never actually seen a suite in Reuter. I was very impressed with how nice the suites in Reuter actually were! However, the living environment is very different than the other residence halls on campus which is most likely part of the reason why Reuter Hall is only available for students of sophomore status or higher to live in. It's just one more of the many options that UW-L offers to its students!

SPRING BREAK!!!

Spring break has finally arrived for the students at UW-La Crosse!! This week was pretty hectic for lots of people, but that's the life of a college student. I had a physics lab midterm on Monday which I think went pretty well for me. Then on Wednesday, I had a midterm exam in my literature class and it was not as hard as I thought it would be so that's always a nice surprise. This morning I had a group presentation in my sociology class. Our group had met a couple times outside of class to put the presentation together. It was tough to find times when everyone could meet since so many people had tons of exams this week, but we managed. The presentation itself went really well this morning and our professor was pleased with our work.

I think that's all I've got for this week. I am so excited for a week off of school!! It's going to be so nice and relaxing! Aaaahhhhh!

Another Great Reason to Love UW-L!

As a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society UW-La Crosse Chapter, we have regular monthly meetings like any other organization. Last night we had our March meeting and there was a guest speaker from the Career Services department on campus. I learned so many things that I didn't even know UW-L offered!!

The speaker talked about all the things UW-L offers career-wise. It blew me away! There is something called Eagle Opportunity that every student enrolled at UW-L has access to. It is an online list of all kinds of job and internship opportunites in virtually all fields that businesses, companies, etc. have to offer all around the world. You can obviously narrow your search with specific information you are looking for; history-related jobs in Atlanta, GA was the example she used. The staff at Career Services compiles this listing and updates it monthly by going to all the major job websites plus more and putting all the internship and employment opportunities into one convenient place for UW-L students!

With Eagle Opportunity, UW-L students can also upload their resumes into the program. Then they can instantly use it to apply for jobs by clicking a button that says submit resume. It's as easy as that to apply for some jobs and internships. Others obviously require a little more than just submitting your resume, but nevertheless, Eagle Opportunity is a great tool for UW-L students to take advantage of! So that's just another great reason to love UW-L!!

Being Productive Feels Good!

I've been very productive the past few days and it feels really good! On Thursday, I finished up my applications for scholarships through the UW-L Foundation and turned them in---that was a big weight lifted off of my chest! Then on Friday, I worked on filling out Financial Aid Forms both for UW-L and the Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA). That is always such a time consuming process but it didn't take too long for me this year. So today I called home and got a few of my questions answered and I was able to fill out the FAFSA online and submit it. What a great feeling!!

Tonight, I am going to the 5pm Mass at the Newman Center (the Catholic church right across the street from Cartwright Center on campus). Then I am meeting some friends at The Cellar for supper. From there, we are all going to The Price is Right event that is being held on campus! There was an event like this last year and it was really fun. Hopefully one of us will get to "come on down" and win some cool prizes!!! :)

Woohoo!!!

So, I have an interesting story to tell today. Yesterday afternoon I got a call from my roommate who was working at the front desk in our residence hall. She said, "Sabrina, you should probably come down here." Then I asked if I could just come down as I was dressed because I was wearing mismatched clothes and sweatpants since I was doing laundry (haha). Then she shouted at me, "It doesn't matter what you're wearing--just get down here!" A complete panic came over me and I raced down the stairs to the lobby with the worst possible scenarios going through my mind. When I got down there, my roommate told me I had mail in my mailbox. Then when I looked at the letter, it was from the Office of Residence Life on campus. I knew it was about whether or not I had recieved the RA position for next year. We weren't supposed to get the letters until today, so it was completely unexpected.

Anyway, then she made me open the letter in front of her of course. I was shaking so much that I could barely open the letter as my heart beat raced faster and faster....I was losing control of myself. I finally inched the letter out of the envelope still shaking and unfolded it just barely enough to read the first few lines of the letter. It said that I had been accepted to the position of Resident Assistant!!!! I started jumping up and down and bouncing off the walls all in silence because I couldn't even scream because I was so overcome with joy. At the same time, I also wanted to cry because I was so happy, but I couldn't do that either. I was so excited that I could not do much of anything except be in awe of the whole situation. Then I started hugging my roommate and all the other people in the lobby. It still hasn't even completely set in today that I am going to be an RA next year, but I am sooooo excited for it!!!!

Also yesterday, I had my interview for acceptance into the Radiation Therapy Program. I think it went pretty well but you always second guess everything after the fact. Anyway, I will hear about the results of that in a couple weeks. Hopefully, the news will be as exciting as yesterday was!! :)

Politics Galore!

Things on campus sure have been very busy lately! Several political figures have come to campus and the La Crosse community within the past few weeks.

Current Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle visited campus last week in support of Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Chelsea Clinton also came to campus and spoke on behalf of Hillary Clinton's campaign this past Tuesday in the Cartwright Center. It was really packed and the room could not accomodate all the people who wanted to attend. This shows the high level of involvement and political interest of the students on this campus and it's really great to see! Then yesterday when former President Bill Clinton visited campus, the university made larger accomodations. He was scheduled to speak in the Recreational Eagle Center, which is our gym/exercise center on campus. Over 2,000 people attended the event last night! The former president talked for about an hour and a half in support of his wife's campaign for the presidency.

Also yesterday, Governor Mike Huckabee came to La Crosse. He spoke at the La Crosse Center at 2pm. Then today, Senator John McCain is speaking at the Radisson Hotel in La Crosse at 2:45pm. There is also rumor that Senator Barack Obama might be making a visit to the UW-L campus on this coming Monday. It is very exciting that there is so much political action taking place on the UW-L campus! It really makes me feel like I chose the right university to attend!!

All of these events and visits to campus are of course in preparation for the Wisconsin Primary which will be taking place next Tuesday, February 19, 2008! The Recreational Eagle Center on campus will be turned into an election poll place for the primary. This makes it really convenient for students at UW-L to take advantage of their privilege to vote. I know I found it to be a great experience last year when I voted! This is just one more thing that makes UW-L a great place to be!! :)



p.s. Oh, and by the way, I have an interview for acceptance into the UW-L Radiation Therapy program next Thursday!!!! I'll let you know how it goes!

RA Interview and Relay For Life

The two major highlights of my week were my interview to be a Resident Assistant for next year and the fact that Relay For Life is tonight!!

My interview for the RA position took place on Tuesday. I felt like it went pretty well, but sometimes it's just hard to think of answers to some of the more difficult questions, especially when you are put on the spot like that. In general, I felt like I did the best I could and I just acted like myself so I am happy with that. February 22nd is the magic day when we will find out if we were hired as an RA for next year or not. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

Also, I turned in my application to be in the Radiation Therapy program here at UW-L over winter break and I am supposed to be hearing soon to find out whether or not I get to have an interview for that, which would probably take place sometime in late February. I'll keep you posted on the results of this as well!

Tonight is the Relay For Life event which is being held at the REC center on the UW-L campus. It is from 6pm to 6am and serves as an event to celebrate those who have won their battle with cancer, remember those who are currently battling cancer or have lost their battle, and fight back against these cancers that take so much. The event consists of people walking around the track all night long and there are also tons of activities to do when you take a break from walking in the relay.

Since the beginning of the school year, teams have been fundraising money to support the American Cancer Society which Relay For Life is associated with. I have been working hard since the start of the fall semester as part of the student planning committee for this huge event and it is a great feeling to finally see everyone's hard work coming together on this wonderful night! I was the Co-Chair of the Luminaria subcommittee for the event this year. Luminaria are bags that can be purchased in memory or in honor of someone you know that has battled/is battling cancer. They are a great way to honor your loved ones and all they have been through. During the Luminaria Ceremony, the lights are turned off and all the Luminaria bags are lit up. Let me tell you, it is a very emotional time with a powerful slideshow and inspirational music, poetry, etc. It brings me to tears.

Tonight is going to be crazy and chaotic but tons of fun at the same time! I can't wait to be a part of this amazing experience once again!!

Welcome Back!

Well, we've made it through the first week of the second semester! It was busier than I thought. Professors don't waste any time jumping right into the material, but college coursework in general is usually pretty fast-paced.

I have 17 credits this semester (just one credit shy of the maximum credit load for undergraduate students) so I'll be staying very busy. I am taking anatomy and physiology II, sociology, physics, an honors literature class, and I'm also doing my senior project for the honors program. I'm only a sophomore but I have to do it now because it doesn't fit into my schedule anywhere else. This is mainly because I am applying to the Radiation Therapy program this year and if I get in, my schedule will be pretty well laid out with very little wiggle room for the rest of my college career.

Last night, I had a mock interview to practice for my real interview to get into the Radiation Therapy program here at UW-L. It went pretty well and was helpful with becoming familiar with the process. The people who interviewed me were students who are already in the program and they asked me questions they were asked when they had their interview. I felt it was very beneficial to me. Now, I have suggestions for improvement and tips from them that I will be able to use in my interview.

Tonight, I am going to the gymnastics meet at 6pm. Afterwards, there is a program going on in Cartwright Center. There will be the option of making your own ice cream sundae at 7pm followed by the movie "Heavyweights" at 8pm. It should definitely be a fun-filled night!! :)