Home Stretch

Hello Everyone,

As I look at my calendar I can only think, why does everyone plan everything for the end of the year?! And, are we really boring throughout the year if everything is so packed now? I truly have no answers for these questions, but what I do know is the next three weeks are going to be busy, stressful and fun, all simultaneously.

Looking at what I have to do this week reminds of the Spring Fest Launch party that will take place tomorrow night. Fortunately for you all, I got the inside scoop as I wrote a story on it for the school newspaper. Spring Fest is an amazing event the brings the school community together for one last time before the seniors graduate and we all part ways for summer. Friday night is the headlining event, which is the concert. This year our headlining band is going to be the Plain White T's along with four other bands, all of which you will be able read about in my article tomorrow on the merciad website. Click here to access the Merciad web page. On Saturday, the Laker Luau theme will be carried through the day with a giant BBQ, Luau dancers and so many other activities.  It promises to be a great weekend, but that's not until May 6 and 7.

More current is the giant Relay for Life walk this weekend. We are walking for 12 straight hours from 1 pm on Saturday to 1 am on Sunday. This is a really cool event that is completely student driven and organized. Some cool aspects are the themed laps (super hero, pajama, etc.), all the club and organization tables that line the event route and the night time candle lit walk. This is a really great cause and a great event to have on campus.

In the next week I'll tell you more about Comm Week that is coming up here for the Communication Department, the Duathlon and more on Spring Fest.

Three weeks and counting!

Thanks for reading,
 Joe

Challenges Beyond the Classroom

Hello Everyone,

The weeks are winding down and summer is coming ever closer... yes the sun is out there somewhere, even above the rainy/snowy Erie skies. Yes, I said snow, but no worries, it's not sticking.

This post is a kind of rehash and extension of a post that I had a couple weeks back. Here is a refresher:

"Finally, the reason that I bring this up, and I'm going to tease you here, is because recently I have been given the opportunity to make a different as a student. It is a tease because I cannot fully tell you what I am working on yet as I have to wait for the appropriate approvals to go through, but I have been given the opportunity to work with one of my professors to bring about a change that we have both been thinking about. I know that this project will be great practical experience that will one day be able to help me get a job, and I am excited to be a part of it. Now, if you want to get a little more information you could try emailing me, but for now this is all I can say. I am excited to be apart of this project and I know that it is because of the connections that I have at Mercyhurst that I am able to do this. Stay tuned for updates as this grows in the next couple weeks."

It is now time that I can spill a few more details. The project I am working on is in response to a growing movement in the communication department, which could be classified as unrest.  We are making an attempt to reorganize and reactivate the department by bringing back a former model that was once known as the Comm. Board. The idea to bring all of the functioning aspects of the department together and combine like efforts. In the past couple years the core comm. dept environment has faded, but this idea brings the people who work hard to get things done in the department together to get even more accomplished and reduces the overlap of like objectives into hopefully one unified and successful program. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to learn and create, and this opportunity is only available to me here, at Mercyhurst, in this small school where the opportunities endless.

If you've ever had a tour with me, or ever do, one of the biggest things I describe is the student engagement atmosphere that Mercyhurst creates. As I may have mentioned in the past, another one of my clubs, the Mercyhurst Chapter of the National Broadcasting Society, is hosting the society's regional convention come November. This is a great honor and a great learning experience for our club. I am fortunate enough to have the lead on this project and am continuously looking at different aspects on how we want to create this event. On the unfortunate side of reality, planning things on a college campus are very difficult as many of you will someday find. This real world experience comes with many headaches, but headaches and experiences that I would never give up.

Again, here on my soapbox I remind you that college is not just about the location, people you are with and the programs offered, but rather about how you utilize those things. These two examples are only my two largest projects and don't include the work I do as an Ambassador, or the time I spend during the Leadership Certification Program, as well the my new VP role on the board of the Public Relations Student Society of America and as a reporter of the Merciad (school newspaper). These are all opportunities that I have been motivated enough to involve myself in create experiences that will get me a job, and I am happy every day for these experiences. 

I hope this all makes sense and that this becomes more than just a rant on my end, but rather something useful. I tell you this now because I wish someone would have told me a long time ago.

Mercyhurst is a great place. I hope one day you can see and experience this too.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Summer is coming...

Hello Everyone,

Summer has finally peeked around here and we're hoping that it's here to stay. The 70's yesterday were much appreciated as the campus is again bubbling with energy.

As we head into the final weeks of term there are many things wrapping up for the good and the sad. The end of classes are in site and that fact creates hope for the better and easier days ahead. We are now at the point where most clubs have begun, if not already, changing hands and electing new e-boards, which means that friends that we have gathered over the last two years are preparing to take flight and actually experience the real world. There is excitement in moving on and then there is sadness in leaving what you love behind.

It's funny, every day and every second of your life here becomes devoted to your future and how you will make it in the real world, but then you realize how close the real world is and that school is not it. The real world scares me and equally excites me. School has always encompassed your life and then one day it will be gone and you will be expected to know how to survive. I am eager and ready, but it is hard to know what the future has in store.

Also, as an RA I have that inevitable truth that my freshman residents aren't going to be so much longer and I will have to split ways with them and face the reality that I have to start all over again next year. I am proud of my boys and happy to see them move, but as in every year I have found my comfort zone with these people and am not sure I am prepared to part that.

Wow, this blog became much more intense then I had anticipated. This is the time of year where you are able to relish the relationships that you've made and remains probably the most enjoyable time of the year, that's all I'm saying.

I hope the final months of senior year are the same for all of you out there. A time to relish, a time to enjoy, and most of all a time to remember forever. Enjoy it.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

Midterms: Not TOO worried

Hello Everyone,

Not much going on here, but midterms are once again upon us. Luckily I only have two midterms this week and as my Art Appreciation test will be easy, all I really need to worry about is my online marketing course. I have to complete the course work for chapter 8 this week and then I have 24 hours to take the 90 minute test between Friday at noon to Saturday at noon. Wish me luck!

My classes are being kind to me this term, so I am left to be excited about the adventure that awaits me this summer. I am currently going through the process of securing housing and pre-job drug screening. I looks as though I will have to travel to Buffalo to get a hair sample taken (I know, kinda interesting) in the next couple weeks so everything is ready when I'm ready to start work. I am enjoying my continued efforts to gain some background research on my employer and can only wait for this adventure to start.

Ok, that's all I have. As I said, life is being kind and hopefully that continues.

Have a good week!

Thanks for reading,
Joe