Chicago!!!

CHICAGO WAS AMAZING! Simple as that. It created some great foundations for new friendships and gave me some memories to last a life time. Starting with getting locked out of the museum in the first 20 minutes by going out the wrong door, sitting at a bus stop for an hour to realize it wasn't the bus we needed, going to the top of the Willis Tower 10 minutes before it closed to see the city all lit up or taking a million pictures under the Bean. It was all amazing. Not to mention the Second City stand up comedy show was hilarious! I would recommend this trip to anyone and want to go back any chance I get!

Trick or Treat for the Hungry

On Halloween night, in Hilliard, Ohio, fellow humanities scholars and I took advantage of a unique opportunity to give back to the Columbus community, surrounding The Ohio State University. Instead of just trick or treating simply for the sake of candy and having fun with buds on Halloween, when we approached a house instead of asking for candy for ourselves we asked for can food for the hungry. Minus the bitter cold, howling wind, and torrential downpour, it was a great night. Not only were we doing something for those less fortunate then ourselves but we were having a great time doing it as well. Dressed in full costume my group of scholars truly had a blast walking around the Hilliard neighborhood collecting canned, and non-perishable food items. In the process of things we got some candy of our own too!  

Tracking History

Not too long ago, after Britain's equivalent of Veteran's Day had passed, my aunt had the sudden urge to begin researching my maternal great-grandfather - and as it just so happened, a journal was being discussed at the time which had a very intriguing poem enclosed: one written by a Private Kermilleau Hayden of the 85th battalion (called the Nova Scotia Highlanders), which also happens to be my great-grandfather's name. Now I don't know about you, but I don't know many Kermilleaus...which makes this highly likely to be my great-grandfather. My aunt immediately contacted me, knowing the history buff that I am, and now our family has begun to re-trace our family tree, which we had considered rather hopeless until recently. It's been really cool to see my aunt's discovery brighten my love of history once again, as it's something I've been missing for awhile, and I'm excited at the idea to finally get to research my family tree, as I've always wanted to do. 

Treating the Hungry

On October 31st, despite windy and rainy conditions that accompanied Hurricane Sandy, humanities scholars went to the suburb of Hilliard to collect canned goods to help feed those in need. I enjoyed being a part of this off-campus expedition. The residence of Hilliard welcomed us with open arms and generously distributed large sums of goods. By going house to house, we had friendly chats with residence and created stronger bonds amongst ourselves. In the giving spirit, I had a rewarding experience, feeling as though I was part of a very beneficial cause. I also appreciated my time treating the hungry because I had never had the opportunity to see the Columbus suburbs, and through the lengthy bus trip, combined with our door to door interactions, I was able to get a good look at the surrounding neighborhoods of Columbus. Finally, I must admit, one other highlight made the trip all the more better, and that was receiving candy from Hilliard homeowners who wanted to reward us on that Halloween night for being the middlemen of charity.

Humanities Scholars Flag Football!

The 2012 Humanities Scholars Flag Football team made history this year as they not only finished the season with a stellar 2-2 record, but also advanced to the first round of the playoffs. I had the opportunity to be a part of this special team, and met many humanities scholars I otherwise probably would never have had the opportunity to spend time with. As a team, we experienced great adversity and exceptional resilience. After an easy first game victory and the rush of confidence that accompanied that superb performance, we were blown off cloud nine when we were thrashed by the well-oiled machine that was the Arts Scholars. But what made this team special was the way we rebounded from that ugly outing. A week later, we found ourselves in a grisly neck and neck contest with the heavily favored Health and Wellness scholars. As time expired, our calm and confident quarterback Matthew Crumb heaved the ball to the back of the end zone, where captain Ben Leach made a spectacular catch to give us the game. The poise our team possessed in that affair cannot be understated; with that victory we headed to the playoffs. Unfortunately, our opening round playoff game proved to be a rough road as we were greatly outplayed by the swift and efficient International Affairs scholars. With that, our season came to an end. Although bitter with disappointment and bearing fractured hearts, as a team, we held our heads high walking off the field that day, knowing that we gave it our all representing the Humanities Scholars. Special thanks goes to captain Ben Leach and all others who helped make Humanities Scholars Flag Football a reality.

Chicago!

After a hectic week, what better than to kick it with your peeps in Chicago?!

We left campus around 4pm on Friday, Nov. 9th, and got back around 5pm on Monday, Nov. 12. Probably the most surprising aspect of the trip was our hostel - the beds were comfier than ours in the dorm, and it was like a hotel with 8 people per room! They provided breakfast (French toast sticks, bagels, apples, cereal, etc.), and we had to wash our own dishes, which I thought was pretty ingenious of them. Meeting in the lobby after breakfast, we headed off to the Field Museum. We saw ancient mummies, dinosaurs, Africa, evolution, and some strange and wonderful things. Then came free time - it started raining as our group made its way to Michigan Avenue, so we walked a while and backtracked our way through the rain to find lunch. Six of us broke off from the large group and stopped to chow down at Pita Heaven.  From then on, Julianna, Andrea, and I went off by ourselves, and we finally found the Bean in Millennium Park. It is quite impressive in person, and we of course took our goofy tourist pictures. We wandered to the shore and stood on a little dock, moseyed back into town, and headed back to the hostel to meet the group.

From there, we rode the L (elevated train system) to Gino's East of Chicago for some deep-dish pizza. We then headed out to see Second City, a famous comedy gig where a bunch of SNL folks got their starts. It consisted of six actors, four chairs, and a "special group of people [that] will never come back as one audience again." It was mostly good, but some sketches were a bit over-the-top, if you know what I mean. It was supposed to be improv, but it definitely was not all improv - the spot-on sound effects kind of gave away how much it was scripted and rehearsed. After that, we returned to the hostel worn out.

Next morning, we ate brunch at Panera (we missed breakfast). We stopped by a store on Michigan Avenue so Andrea could take care of some unfinished shopping, saw the Bean again, and then met in the hostel lobby to go to Navy Pier.  I wore my hair down, and the wind got pretty intense. At one point, we were all being supported by the wind while we leaned into it. We also saw a gorgeous stained glass exhibit, a greenhouse with jumping fountains, and the Ferris wheel (which wasn't operating). After Navy Pier, we went to our Humanities Festival Session: "The Other 1960s," which was mostly interesting. I think it would have made more sense if we were alive during the decade. Our speaker, Kevin Boyle, spoke mainly about this family who were regular people, children of immigrants, and how they survived. None of your usual hippies, civil rights, Kennedy conspiracies, or anything. We then stayed for the reception, where we consumed some fancy foods, chatted, and went our separate ways.

Fourteen of us found our way to Ed Debevic's, right next to Gino's. It was a dark and stormy night, so we tried not to get too soaked. Ed Debevic's is a diner where the waiters are supposed to be rude to you, and when we walked in, I received the first insult. I commented on a waiter's Boy Scout outfit, and he saucily replied, "Man Scout. It's called puberty, you've probably never heard of it." It was quite funny. However, I was not impressed by our waitress. Although she was dressed like a little old lady with her hair in curlers, she seemed like she was done for the night and was hardly spunky at all. She did call me a cheapskate, though, which was pretty accurate. We also got cute little paper hats. We all went back to the hostel afterwards, and a small group of us went to see Buckingham Fountain at night. However, it was dry (besides the rain), and turned off.  We hit up a Dairy Queen on the way back, then dried off in the hostel and went to bed.

We had almost gone to Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) or the John Hancock Building that night, but the viewing deck on Willis was closed, and there was no visibility on Hancock. Overall, we had a blast and made some lasting memories with our fellow Humanities Scholars.  The last morning we woke up, packed, handed in our keys, ate breakfast, and hit the road. Lo and behold, here we are once more, home in Haverfield.

Presidential Watch Party

Regardless of whether or not you are happy with the results of the presidential election, I sincerely hope each and everyone of you went out and voted!
I went down to Woody's Tavern at the Union last night for the watch party. I was very interested to see what the atmosphere would be like with members of different parties all watching the same results in the same room. It was very crowded and there was a lot of chatter throughout the night. I didn't get there till closer to 7:30, but my roommate was already there and saved a seat for me up near the T.V. screens. There were trivia questions and guest speakers as the night went on, not to mention the free food! I didn't stay until the very end, but I heard it was insane when they announced the president! Every time they called the winner of a particular state there would simultaneously be loud cheers as well as boo-ing, and I can only imagine how loud and crazy it must have been when the results came it.
I definitely thought it was an interesting experience, and I'm glad I went even if it was only for a little while.

R.A. Planned Event - from Gabi Smith

Tuesday, October 9^th, 2012

R.A. Planned Event Blog

Today at 6:45pm, I attended an event my R.A., Megan Francis, planned. Dr. Rebecca Ricciardo, a chemistry professor, came to speak to us about how to be successful in a large class, namely, general chemistry. I am currently in chemistry 1210 and have been struggling greatly, so I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of. Dr. Ricciardo was great and summarized many good tips. Although it has been emphasized to me before, I realize even more that I need to go to my professor during office hours when I need help. She brought up the point that if I don’t have any questions while I’m studying, then I am not studying effectively or actively thinking about the content. She also pointed out many reasons why students may not succeed, and the one that best applied to me is missing little points on every assignment that add up over time. I do wonderfully on the chemistry lab reports, but fail the online pre-labs and post-labs. Some I’ve even forgotten the due date and unfortunately received a zero on them. I suppose I need to do more studying and more effective studying. According to Dr. Ricciardo, I should spend more time on studying the lecture notes and reading along in the textbook, instead of spending hours on perfecting my lab reports. Lab reports are only 20% of the total grade, whereas lecture is the majority. I should focus my time on preparing for the weekly quizzes during recitation, and less on the labs, while balancing study techniques that improve my success on the online pre- and post- labs.

               One thing I loved about Dr. Ricciardo’s presentation was the memes she used to go along with every point in her powerpoint. They added humor, mainly because they were “sad, but true”. I realize “oh no! I do that… I need to change something.” Dr. Ricciardo addressed something that I feel every student should be informed about, and that is the etiquette of e-mail. E-mail is usually the first and preferred method of communication between students and professors, and Dr. Ricciardo stressed the importance of maintaining a formal tone, because professors DO remember students with nice e-mails… and bad e-mails. Luckily I’ve had a bit of experience with this when I’d have to send out e-mails to my co-workers in the Human Resources Department at Stanley Steemer International, Inc. The importance of sending appropriate, concise, and important e-mails with a formal and calm tone could not be stressed enough. She showed examples of students venting to professors, commanding the professors to stop the “freshman hazing,” etc. These examples were good to show because it puts the students in perspective of how e-mails should be worded when being sent to these professors, these connections that may follow us past undergrad school.

               Overall, I was happy I attended this event. It was helpful and informative and was somewhat of a confidence booster (for the things I already do that are good) as well as a wake up call (for the things I need to improve on). Hopefully I am conscientiously applying these study tips and notice an improvement in my general chemistry grades.

Treat the Hungry, Humanities Style!

On Halloween, you'd expect us to go Trick-or-Treating, right?  Nope.  We went door-to-door, and instead of asking for candy, we asked for canned goods and nonperishable food items for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.  Shout-out to Group #2!  We had fun on our side of the street, and even got some candy, too.  I was elected the designated speaker of the group, and did the talking for the majority of the houses we visited.  Our favorite house, if I'm not mistaken, was a nice lady sitting on her porch who we entertained with "Carmen Ohio" while her husband collected the goods.  I made some new friends, and got to treat the hungry!  Overall, it was a much different way of celebrating Halloween, but one that was definitely worth the cold!