An Ambassador "Chrisgiving"!

All dressed up for Ambassador Chrisgiving!

'Tis the season everyone!

I am SUCH a huge fan of Christmastime!  It's the time of twinkling lights, busy shoppers, Christmas music playlists on repeat, holiday movies, and of course ugly Christmas sweaters!  I can honestly say that there are few other times of year that I love as much as this one!  And as a member of the Mercyhurst Ambassador club (click to meet your ambassadors, although it is admittedly a year out of date...!), I got to enjoy a lovely "Chrisgiving" party on Sunday evening.



This party is an annual event where all the Ambassadors get together and have a Thanksgiving dinner (cooked by our very own members), and celebrate that holiday season with style.  Not only that, but it doubles as an ugly Christmas sweater party!  This year, instead of donning one of my sweaters, I decided to just wear nearly everything I own that is Christmas colors.  It was so much fun to be festive and dress of with all my roommates and friends! 

Roomies at Chrisgiving!

Unfortunately, we sat at the table that was chosen LAST to get in line for food...and seeing as there were at least 100 students at the event, the food I got was a little cold and not much was left.  Luckily, I still got the chance to eat enough and even grabbed a delicious Christmas cookie before they were all snatched away by other people!

Senior Ambassadors

Besides our wonderfully festive Ambassador Chrisgiving, it is obvious that the entire campus is full of the holiday spirit.  Besides the awesome decorations and themed events that are occurring all over campus, our student government is holding an event right now called "Twelve Days of Christmas."  Everyday for the first twelve days of September they are handing out gifts to the first 50-100 students at specific times and locations.  So, if you want a fun gift, you have to rush to the place in time before other students do!  I have not had to the chance to get any gifts because I have been busy with classes and homework, but I hear it is a super cool event! 

Well, time for some more homework and jammin' out to Christmas tunes!

Finals, Thanksgiving, and Another Term Beginning

Hey readers!

I just want to start out by apologizing for my several week blogging hiatus!  I have been a very busy and distracted little bee and I completely forgot to post!

My boyfriend, dog, and me on
Thanksgiving

Right after my last post, we had finals for Fall Term 2011.  Needless to say, I spent most of my time studying my butt off and being shut off from the rest of the world in order to survive the ever-stressful exams that come three times a year!  Luckily, I did pretty well on my finals and I now have another term of Undergrad under my belt!  I'm well on my way to be done with college and I am so excited!

I got lucky with finals this year because I only had two scheduled during finals week and both were on Monday (finals week generally is Monday-Wednesday).  Since I got them over with on the first day, I got to spend an extra couple of days relaxing and unwinding for one very stressful and long term! (click here to see the Mercyhurst 2011-2012 calendar!)

Mommy and Me!

My break was really really great this year.  Fall term break is one of my favorite ones of the year because I have no homework (since it's between terms) and I so I get to turn of my brain for a few weeks!  This year during break I read several books (one of my FAVORITE pasttimes!), worked out at the gym often, and did some Christmas shopping.  I saw a ton of movies in the theater, spent time with my boyfriend, and had a very delicious and enjoyable Thanksgiving with my family.  I even went Black Friday shopping in the middle of the night.  Seeing the crazed crowds is such a fun(ny) experience and I would totally recommend it if you have never gone before =]. 

Our fall-y cake!

One of the best activites that I did over break, though, was baking.  My friend and I have a LOT of fun making and decorating really intense cakes and this year he and I make a fall themed one!  See the picture to see what two days of hard work resulted in!  Not only did it look cool, it tasted even BETTER!  Mmmmm, pumpkin spice cake!

After all my fun, relaxation, and much needed mental break that my long break provided, I am now back at the 'Hurst for another new term.  This term I am taking two history courses (The Greeks and American Material Cultures) and Comparative Issues in Education.  I have only have one class so far this term, but I have high expectations for it being a great one! 



If only the cold weather would hold off a little longer...!  At least it means Christmas is on its way!

MTV's Buried Life Comes to Mercyhurst!

The promo poster for The Buried Life at Mercyhurst

Amidst all the stress of finals, papers, and endless studying that most Mercyhurst students are loaded with during this point in the year, last night was a very exciting, entertaining, and fun event!  The Buried Life(click for Facebook page), which are four guys that have their own show on MTV, came to speak to the college!

Some friends and I waiting for the show!

A view of the crowd for The Buried Life

They pose the question to us all: "What do you want to do before you die?"  This group of very funny (not to mention good looking) guys have created a list of 100 things that they want to accomplish or experience before they die.  They have a mission to unleash the "buried life" within them and do whatever it takes to accomplish these goals.  Along their journey around the country to do things like ride a bull, streak at a soccer game, and kiss the Stanley Cup, these four friends try to help others with their dreams in life.

Students on the floor for an hour before it began

Kissessss!

I must admit, I had never seen the show on TV before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Everyone on campus was VERY excited for the event, though so I knew that if I didn't go I must be missing out on something.  I can honestly say that I am VERY glad that I went!  The event had a HUGE crowd, too!  My friends and I actually went an hour and half before the show even started just to get a good seat in the Performing Arts Center!  The guys were hilarious, and at the end they even let students come forward and say what they wanted to do before they die.  One very bold girl said she wanted to kiss one of the guys from the Buried Life!  Sure enough, he invited her on stage and kissed her right in front of the crowd!  It was very funny and I am pretty sure half the girls in the room were very jealous of her lol!

"The Buried Life"

Besides making my cheeks and sides hurt from laughing so very much throughout the show, The Buried Life really has inspired me to go after what I want in life.  We all only get one chance to live, so why on EARTH should we not live it the way we want??  They are willing to do WHATEVER it takes to achieve their dreams, and I think that is something that a lots of college students should really strive to do.


So, before I return to my tedious studying and prepare to dive into finals week, I leave you with one question: What do you want to do before you die?

A SPOOK-tacular Halloween!

Our Halloween Costumes! (Fairy and Old Man)

Happy Halloween Lakers!




I must say, one of my favorite parts about college is celebrating holidays! As many of you probably know, today is Halloween!  Mercyhurst has loads of fun activities, celebrations, and traditions that really make this holiday come alive for students!  Let me tell you about them!

My Boyfriend, his brother, and me

Every year, the Student Activities Council (SAC) hosts two well-attended and non-stop fun events on Halloween weekend.  The first event is the Haunted Skate.  This is held in our very own ice rink.  Students come dressed in their best costume and enjoy a little ice skating, snacks, and fun music!  Students LOVE this event and it is an excellent way to celebrate Halloween!  I have to admit, I have never gone to it but I have heard nothing but GREAT things about this spooky event!

I even dressed my dog up for Halloween!

The next event is Haunted Hurst!  This is probably one of the most attended events of the entire school year!  Some of you may not know this, but Mercyhurst is rumored to have a haunted buildings and creepy areas.  Haunted Hurst is an event where the campus is actually tranformed into a haunted house and students can get haunted tours through the scariest places on campus...if you DARE!  Watch out for the ghosts, though...you never know where you might come across one!  After a tour, you can enjoy yummy treats and Halloween activities in the student union!  This event is actually award-winning and trust me, is SO MUCH FUN! (click here to read about its award!).

I was a fairy!

If you're interested in the spooky ghost stories of Mercyhurst College, check out the school's youtube page here!  There is a series of five videos entitled "Haunts from the Hill" that give you a sneak peek of some of the stories you learn about on your haunted tour of campus!  Don't be too scared, though =].

As for my own Halloween celebrations, I spent the weekend visiting my boyfriend at his school!  We got all dressed up on Saturday night and enjoyed some good spooky festivities!  Check out the pictures to see how I spent my Halloween!

Now, it is unfortunately time to buckle down and prepare for the end of the term!  Final paper writing time...=[.  So, until next time!

Open Houses!

This past weekend, I donned my lovely green Ambassador jacket and worked the first fall Open House of the year.  While I must admit that I don't enjoy having to get up early on a Saturday morning, the Opem Houses are really great ways for prospective students and their families to learn more about Mercyhurst.  If you happened to miss the first one, and would like to register for the next one (coming up in two weeks!) click on this link to get more information!

The Ambassadors who may give you your tour at open house!

Open Houses and other admissions events, (We also host Major Day and Junior Day in the spring), are a really good opportunity to visit Mercyhurst.  While the admissions office and ambassadors give tours 6 days a week and all through the summer, open houses give you a chance to attend a major fair, eat at Egan dining hall, and learn more about the admissions and financial processes that it takes to become a Mercyhurst student.  This last open house we had an awesome turnout: 100 families!  If you want to experience this day, make sure to go here to sign up!

My Mommy Visiting Me!

After the open house on Saturday, my week continued to be busy!  Saturday night, my mom and my boyfriend's mom came to visit me!  We stayed the night at a hotel in Erie and had a girl's night!  It was a lot of fun and an awesome chance to get off campus and spend some time with people that I love.  After my relaxing weekend, I jumped headfirst into a busy pre-Halloween week!  I have had two presentations, two papers, and lots of reading to jam in!  Plus, I have had meetings! 

Tomorrow night I have a Student Alumi Association meeting that I am actually excited for!  It is Halloween themed and everyone gets to dress up, have snacks, and enjoy the fall holiday.  Then, it will finally be Halloween weekend so I can dress up in my costume and have fun!  Hopefully the fall rain holds off for a little while longer!

Until next time!  And don't forget to check out admissions events and open houses here!

What's your major, major?

Hey all!

As I was looking through my blog posts recently, I realized that in the year or so that I have been blogging about life at Mercyhurst College, I have barely talked about my major, professors, and academic experience!

Mercyhurst has a lot of majors to choose from.  For a small school, we have a large variety or majors, minors, and concentrations.  Some of the most popular programs of study here include Intelligence Studies, forensic science, and business.  I am actually a social studies secondary education major.  In other words, when I am finally finished with my education, I will be a high school history teacher!  For any other those future Lakers out there that might be interested in either being history or education majors, read more to find out what each department/program is all about!

If you want to be a high school teacher after college, the program that Mercyhurst offers is the 4+1 program.  This program is designed so that students take 4 years of undergraduate college and receive a bachelor's in their content area (I will have one in social studies).  Then, students in the program will remain at Mercyhurst for just one extra year in order to get their master's degree in just one year!  This is an awesome program because students can get two degrees in just five years, which takes other students 6+ years to accomplish.  Plus, once I graduate, I will start at a slightly higher salary because I will already have my master's degree...and those new teachers that only have their bachelor's won't be able to say the same!

Because I am doing the 4+1 education program, most of the classes I take are in the social studies/history content area.  Because of this, I have only had two education classes so far, so I don't really know much about the department yet.  But, I CAN tell you a lot of really good things about the history department!  I do not have one bad thing to say about the professors in the department. I know them very well and it is so great to be about to say hi to them when I see them around campus.  They all know my name and I have gotten to know them in return.  Plus, the advantage of being in a small program means that I know exactly what to expect from professors in classes; plus some of my classes are as small at 9 students!  It is very personal and gives classes a chance to have discussions and interactions.  I love it!  Be sure to click on the links to learn more about the department and all the cool things that it has to offer.  Plus, if you love history but don't want to teach, you can learn all about the other concentrations in history you could do!

Now, I know all of you aren't interested in history or in education.  But, like I already mentioned, Mercyhurst has MANY majors to offer students.  We even have a couple brand new programs (public health and sustainability)!  Check out this link to see everything that this school has to offer!

Times, they are a'changin'

As long as I have known about Mercyhurst, it has had a trimester system.  Theis means that we have three 10 week terms during the year and lots of breaks in between.  Classes move at a faster pace, but you take on less work at a time and it makes classes (especially if you don't like them) go by REALLY quickly.  I personally love them and couldn't imagine a different schedule.

However, Mercyhurst is in a transition phase right now.  We are growing by the minute, building new buildings, planning for a very exciting future, and hopefully becoming Mercyhurst University by this time next year.  All of these things are SUPER exciting, but they do mean that there will need to be some changes to the Laker way of life so many of us have grown accustomed to.   Click here to read about Mercyhurst's future, or here to learn about "university" status!

Because university standards require more class time for all students throughout the year, the trimester seems will need to be modified, or dropped altogether.  They have several options; these include traditional semesters, a longer school year and longer classtimes, or the unique 4-1-4 system.  These are all laid on the table and there is a huge debate that is buzzing around the school about the future of the Mercyhurst schedule. 

When this does change, I probably won't really be affected since it will most likely take place a couple years from now.  But, for all you future Lakers out there, it will be something that you will have to keep in mind!  Personally, I think all the changes are exciting and will really make this already great school even better.  I know a lot of students that are outraged at the changes, but that's because we are all a little resistant to change at first!

Anyway, if you're interested in learning more about the options for the schedule change, check out the link to the Merciad (school newspaper) below!
http://merciad.mercyhurst.edu/content/college-considers-calendar-change