Kaysi

White Carnations, Connection Queens...and a Wedding!

Hey there! I bet you're wondering just what white carnations and connection queens have to do with one another! They both have a lot to do with my past weekend!

White Carnation is the formal event which my greek organization, Chi Omega, puts on each spring. It proves to be an amazing evening each year, and this one was no exception! We all boarded a bus to travel to the location of the event, which is kept secret every year until we get there, and all the fun began! Here are a few shots of the evening:

Here is my little sister in Chi Omega, Katherine, with me before we went to the Mint. She looked beautiful in her white dress! (Every year, it is tradition for the new members to wear white dresses to White Carnation.)

Here are a few of us posing in Burwell Parlor before we boarded the bus. We had quite a group!

Here is my big sister in Chi O, Katie, with me in Burwell. She is graduating in May, and Queens certainly will not be the same without her!

These are a few of our dates, who seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly!

Here is my date, Ryan, with me at the Mint.

The event turned out to be very successful, and we all had a great time dancing, eating wonderful food, and enjoying good company.

Speaking of good company, earlier on the day of White Carnation, there was another awesome event: Connection Queens. This is a day for future Queens first year students to come and meet other people in their class, choose a roommate and residence hall, tour Charlotte, enjoy awesome food, and find out answers to questions they never knew they had. It is always an awesome day, so take advantage of it if you're reading this as a junior this year! Don't miss it! I was especially excited to see two different girls I had the pleasure of hosting this year, Maureen and Leslie. I'm hoping to see them on campus when August rolls around!

I had a meeting with my honors advisor, Dr. Harper, about my thesis project I'm working on as an independent study. The project focuses on identity formation as a function of familial, peer, and cultural involvement, and it's huge. I was overwhelmed when I first began my research, but I am constructing an outline of the paper, which I hope to have finished by the  end of this semester, and I'm getting more and more excited about it. I plan to submit it to the Society for Research on Identity Formation, and if I get in, I will hopefully be able to travel to California, where the conference is next year, to present my work! Until then, I have to work extra hard, which shouldn't take much probing since I am so interested in the subject. But I am so glad to be working closely with an advisor who shares an interest in and enthusiasm for the project. It makes managing the whole thing much more...well, managable.

I also got to travel home to Austin, Texas over the immediately past weekend for a family wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and it was fabulous to see so many friends and family I haven't seen in quite some time. But I was more than eager to get back to Charlotte, because I have some big things happening here!

This week (actually tomorrow), I have two interviews at Wachovia for potential internship positions with their Corporate Communication and Marketing departments. I have thought so much about these interviews that I've been dreaming about them! Wow, I can't believe they're coming up so soon. I also have a final exam in my Persuasion class (COMM335) with Dr. Nathaniel tomorrow at noon, over eight chapters! It's a ton of information- thank goodness we at least have a study guide.

This week is also Greek Week, and we have tons of fun things lined up for the greek community to participate in and to show their spirit for this week. I'll tell you more about it and the other things that are happening when I post next!

Seniors (high school and Queens students!), keep fighting the senioritis with all you've got! Everyone else, stay healthy and productive!

Until next time,

Kaysi

Springing Forward

Hello again to everyone! I hope, as always, that your past couple of weeks have been and continue to be productive and relaxing, as they do include spring break for most of us! Mine have been very exciting.

On Wednesday morning, I joined the other 11 members of the Transition to University team on a flight to Chicago, Illinois, where we presented our study to doctors, professors, and students of psychology from all over the country (and, in many cases, from other countries). This was a wonderful trip, and to be part of the biennial conference of the Society for Research on Adolescence (www.s-r-a.org ) was quite an experience. I had the opportunity to attend paper symposiums and poster sessions where I was able to talk with incredibly intelligent and knowledgable people, and I learned so much through these interactions. I am particularly interested in the subject of identity formation, and there was an entire group dedicated specifically to this area of research! I had conversations with more than a few of them. We were certainly among the youngest groups there- only one other undergrad group I know of from Duke University attended the conference. While we were in Chicago, we also enjoyed some awesome restaurant venues, from Chicago-style pizza and culturally distinct diner entrees to upscale Mexican cuisine and sushi, we certainly did not go hungry!

After I landed back in Charlotte around 5:30pm eastern time on the first Sunday of break, I turned directly  around and flew out at 7am the next morning to Austin, Texas, where I am from. After all that traveling, I was certainly glad to be home when I finally arrived! I got to visit with both sides of the family, spend time with a friend or two, and experience South by Southwest (commonly known as SXSW), the biggest music festival/conference in the world! Ironically enough, I had altogether forgotten that this festival was scheduled during my time at home, and the city of Austin really impressed me with all the musical personality it hosted this past week.

I arrived back in Charlotte mid-day this past Sunday, and as always, I was so happy to see familiar surroundings of the beautiful Myers Park neighborhood and Queens' campus. I can't believe that there are only five weeks of school left before finals begin! And then I'm off to Italy on my JBIP trip! That will certainly be an incredible experience.

I'm off to class now, so...

Until next time, for those of you who are graduating high school or college this May,

Keep fighting the senioritis!!

Kaysi

Hello to everyone once again! As always, I hope that this past week has been productive and fun!

My weekend was spent studying for an upcoming quiz and test I have this week and enjoying the gorgeous weather! On Saturday evening, I took a stab at cooking mashed potatoes, which I must say turned out very well, in preparation for my hopeful apartment living experience in the fall! For those of you who are confused, I've been keeping my eye on the new apartments Queens is renovating for fall residence this year. It would be an understatement to say that I'm excited to have the opportunity to spread my wings a little bit by moving a small distance away from where I've spent the last three years and by exploring my culinary capabilities!

It was so refreshing to take a long walk around Myers Park on Sunday afternoon, and I have to admit that it made me dread the Chicago weather I'm about to experience! From a beautiful 65 F to a not-so-pleasant 25 F, accompanied by snow is apparently only a matter of a two hour long plane ride. But the opportunities waiting for my T2U group at the end of the plane ride will be well worth enduring a small dose of northwestern weather! I'm borrowing a friend's peacoat.

My flight to Chicago with my T2U group and Dr.s Allegretti and Harper leaves Wednesday, and we come back on Sunday. Check back for what I am anticipating to be some amazing pictures and stories! Then on Monday, I fly home to Austin, Texas to visit family and friends over spring break. I think that by the time I return to Queens on March 17th, I'll be especially glad to be back.

I don't have any exciting pictures this week, but I'll make up for it next week with Chicago pictures!

Until next time,

Kaysi

Hello to everyone again! I hope that your weeks continue to be productive and fun! Mine sure do! There is some catching up to speed to be done here; a lot has happened since my last post a couple of weeks ago!

The weekend of February 15-17 was the Presidential Scholarship Competition weekend as well as Discover Queens and Homecoming, so it was packed with tons to be done and fun to be had! I got to host a wonderful student from Elon who competed for the scholarship. I am attending Queens on the Presidential Scholarship, and it brought me back to three years ago when it was my turn to compete and go through the interview process! I remember being so nervous going in but coming out with such assurance that this is definitely where I wanted to come to school! Here I am...I'm loving it!

I got to participate in the Discover Queens day that Saturday by presenting on the Honors program during the special sessions. It was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to talk about the process and benefits of the program, and it made me realize what an awesome project I have to talk about! I am writing my honors thesis, which will really be more of a literature review, on individual identity formation with respect to the intrusiveness of peers and family from the age of birth until adolescence. There is so much research to read, and it's all fascinating! I especially enjoy the fact that I'm studying a topic of my own interest and choice- I feel more motivated to spend my time on the project.

Speaking of projects, I am especially excited about a certain current project at Queens. I have the honor of being part of the Providence Place Student Committee, a team of students who get to meet with the head of Residence Life, Thom Shepard, about details of the new apartment community QU is developing. It's a really exciting process to be part of, and I'm even more excited about the end result- apartment style living for upperclassmen close to campus! It's the perfect medium of independent and campus living.

Another project I have the honor to be a part of is called T2U, which stands for Transition to University. This is a Queens/Psychology Department sponsored program where upperclassmen (me) get to meet weekly with new freshmen throughout their first semester at Queens and talk about pertinent issues of the student experience and transition to college living. It was an awesome experience for me to be a facilitator of these discussions and to help in the problem solving and support process for these freshmen. It was also really interesting and enlightening to hear their feedback on our meetings and how they affected how these students experienced college and Queens life. We asked them to take surveys before and after the sessions ended and compared them with students' surveys who didn't participate in the process. I would tell you our findings, but you'll have to wait until after we present them next week! I'm particularly enthusiastic about the part of this process where our team travels to Chicago, IL and presents our findings at the Society for Research on Adolescence Conference...next Wednesday! I've been keeping tabs on the weather there, and let me just say that as a native Texan, I'll be bringing along extra-warm clothing! Here is a picture of our team. Dr.s Allegretti and Harper, two brilliant Psychology professors here, head up our team and will be traveling with us to Chicago.

Mid-terms are upon us (it seems like me in particular!), so off again I go to continue my study marathon! Take care and to those of you who are graduating this semester, don't let the senioritis get the best of you!

Until next time,

Kaysi

Hello again to all! I hope that this past week has been wonderful and productive!

This past week was an eventful one for me- two tests, a few different club meetings, lots of research and a Mardi Gras-style mixer kept me busy as ever!

On Friday, our Ambassador meeting was in the format of a round table discussion about Queens facts and knowledge. We have almost 40 new Junior Ambassadors, so this was a great opportunity to talk about questions they had about what goes into giving a tour and answering  questions prospective students and families want to know about during their tour. It was also a good reminder session for me! There is so much to remember about Queens, and as we grow there is even more to remember!

Monday Strikes Again

Hello again! I hope everyone has had a wonderful and productive week! Monday strikes again, and the week is upon me with a lovely list of all I need to do! I've got a sneaky feeling this this is a fairly common condition around here... We like it that way!

Well, let's begin with the obvious news: the Giants beat the Patriots last night in what I've heard at least two different news stations, which will remain nameless herein, call one of the biggest upsets in superbowl history. I'm sure certain people have their opinions and that others have their apathy about the game, but I have to admit that I watched it only- well, mostly- for the advertisements (which turned out to be hilarious). I had a quiet evening and enjoyed the five hours of sleep I got before waking up to babysit at 6:30 this morning! Ante meridian, may I point out. Luckily, I love the little boy I babysit for and we had a good morning.

I happily squeezed in a nap before my Gender and Communication class which I love. We are focusing on gender identity in our discussion right now- how it forms and is socially reinforced by everyone and -thing from parents, peers, and teachers to books, movies, magazines, television and advertising. It's really interesting to talk about, because everyone has an opinion- we all have a gender identity! Discussing the degree of masculinity and femininity and how the identity forms fascinates me. I am composing my honors thesis paper as a literature review of identity formation, from past literature to present day and how applicable identity theories are. I'm really excited about it, and my advisor, Dr. Melinda Harper, is helping me to compose the paper to submit for publishing. More on that later.

I have a couple of pictures to share of my friends and me just before we left school this past semester for winter break. We all wore white shirts and jeans and trekked across Burwell lawn to the Queens sign and posed in a bunch of different ways. These pictures mean a lot to me, because  not only do they portray our friendship (and actually, also our sisterhood: we belong to the same Greek organization), but they also portray our affinity for the place we go to school in. This is a very special institution, and it grows more so throughout our time here. That's probably enough mushy gushy stuff for most of you reading, so I'll be courteous and stop there!

I'll keep you all updated as this next week goes by. Lots of exciting things are approaching quickly: Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day, depending on which way you look at it) is coming up, and Scholars' Weekend coincides not only with Discover Queens, but also...you guessed it, Homecoming! I strongly recommend that anyone who has not experienced Queens at Homecoming do so as soon as possible- it's an amazing experience.

Stay focused, be productive, and remember to smile this week!

Until next time,

Kaysi

This week was packed- as usual! I am so grateful to have so many wonderful things to do, so many great people to hang out and work with, and such a great city for it all to happen in- Charlotte.

As House Corporation Chair in Chi Omega, I finally got the issue of the heat resolved for our lodge, and it was nice and toasty for Saturday, when we spent the whole day down at the lodge for initiation of our newest pledge class! It went really well, and I am thrilled that the new girls are finally officially sisters. They are all classy, charming, bright, outgoing and well-rounded young women (especially my little sister! Haha). Here is one of my favorite pictures of my little sister in Chi Omega and me. This is in my room just before Casino Night this past December. She is such a sweetheart, and I get to be the one to help her learn all of the new "stuff" she needs to know as a Chi O. Spending time with girls like these produces memories and bonds with them which truly will and do last a lifetime. I feel that my friendships with many of my sisters and friends here at Queens will definitely continue for a very long time.

On a different note, I am waiting to hear back presenly about my application to the Order of Omega, the Greek Honor Society which is starting up this semester. I hope that I am accepted- membership in this organization seems to be a good opportunity for service and places even more importance on scholarship, so it's right up my alley!

Janusian Order, the junior-year honor society, teamed up with Mortar Board, the senior honor society, to host a faculty tea this past Thursday in Burwell Parlor. I got to be in charge of buying the food Janusian Order provided, so I happened to choose really tasty snacks to serve- from blueberry and lemon poppyseed muffins to grapes, strawberrys and melons, there was plenty to choose from. It was so good! And not to mention, the trays Mortar Board provided from Chick-Fil-A weren't a bad addition, either! The tea was to remind the faculty how much we appreciate what they do and the way they always do it here at Queens- with passion, character, and commitment. I'm a fan.

Well, I am off to get ready for Spring Convocation- the last commencement of our seniors before...the real commencement in May! It's also a celebration of the achievements of the student body here at Queens, which is always a pleasant reminder of our sense of community and relationship with one another.

Take care, especially you seniors who only have so much left of high school! Keep your focus and go out with a bang!

Until next time,

Kaysi

Back in the Swing...

Well, I can finally say that I've gotten back into the "swing of things." I love every class I am taking this semester, and that makes studying very worth my while! (Of course it always has been, but now it's especially enjoyable...) I am so glad that I settled on Corporate Communication as a major, because the classes I take are directly and immediately applicable to virtually every area of my life. Whether using what I study to interact effectively in organizations or in a couple (romantic or platonic), I get to see what I learn and talk about in the classroom in action in my own life. That makes me want to sink my teeth even further into my shiny new text books!

I'm looking for an internship right now to start this summer when I get back from my JBIP trip to Italy. I haven't decided for sure what I want it to entail, but for now I'm pretty set on something relevant to public relations. I'm still deciding whether I should apply to a large or small company, well established or still starting up. Choices, choices! I am sure not complaining, though! Charlotte is a great place to be right now, because the whole city is growing in practically every direction you can think of! Lots of opportunities are out there- I just need to get a hold of one of them! I'll keep you updated.

I am House Corporation Chair this year for my sorority, Chi Omega. This position is responsible for the upkeep of our meeting lodge- making sure bills get paid, the interior of the house stays clean and organized and that the heat works! The heat has arisen as an acutely significant challenge which I'm in the midst of tackling as you read this. I'll have to update you on this progress as well! :)

I'll have more to say as my semester progresses... It's unusually cold for my taste, and it snowed the other night here! Since I'm from Texas, it was exciting and upsetting at the same time! I happen to be an especially enthusiastic fan of the warm weather and of sun, so freezing rain and snow aren't quite right up my alley! On the other hand, it doesn't happen often- in Texas or in Charlotte! I'm appreciating it as much as possible. Haha. I'm also giving staying warm my best shot! Wish me luck!

Until next time,

Kaysi

This Time of Year...

...is wonderful. I promised a completed update of the rest of the weekend, and here it is!

Friday night was the Holiday semi-formal for Chi Omega. Before the event, a few of us got together at my friend Lindsay's house. We all brought a different appetizer, and it turned out to be a college version of Thanksgiving! Haha. Here is our group (from left): Kate, Mark, me, Ryan, Allison, Alex, Lindsay and her date, Paige, Mikey, Shea and Evan. It really turned out to be a nice evening, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. I got to play a part in planning and setting up as a member of the social cabinet, which is responsible for orchestrating and putting on these types of events, so I was especially happy that everything went so smoothly and looked so nice! The event was held in Sykes Rotunda, and we decorated with Christmas lights and a beautiful Christmas tree. (I'm glad that I got to decorate at least one tree, because my family in Texas has already put ours up!)

It was easy to get into the holiday spirit after this weekend, which was full of fun events and memories with all the people I hang out with here at school.

Everyone had a blast at Casino Night on Saturday as well. For anyone who isn't exactly up-to-date on what Casino Night entails, it's a formal event open to any and all Queens students. There's a d.j. entertaining a packed dance floor and professors who teach us everything from psychology to political history come and deal at casino games one would find at a real casino. When you walk in the door, you are handed a stack of fake money which you can use to gamble with at these mock casino tables. I always give my money away to someone who's already used his or her own, but I'm sure that part is fun, too!

Here are a few of my friends and me in Wireman before we went to the event, which was on campus in Trexler. My new little sister in Chi Omega, Katherine, is to my right in this picture. To my left are Sarah, Annie, and Victoria. We had such a fun time!

Now that we're all in the holiday spirit, the last week of classes comes as a shock! I really can not believe that this semester has flown by so quickly. It's been a wonderfully busy part of my time here at Queens, and I'm glad to have memories like these to look back on. And, speaking of the last week of classes, today is Monday and it's time to get back to business! The week before and of finals is always crunch time, so here it goes! Wish me luck.

I hope that everyone stays safe, healthy and keeps the stress to a minimum over the coming weeks! I'll post again to update everyone on how the conclusion of the semester has gone!

Until next time,

Kaysi

May the Semester....Conclude?

Hello again! I have been so busy since my last post here. The fall semesters in particular at Queens always seem to fly by, and I find myself wondering where the time has gone again. This semester has been absolutely wonderful. I have had so many experiences from which I have grown immensely, and I can not believe that the winter break is already approaching!

My Thanksgiving break this year was a special one. I drove to Lexington, Kentucky to meet my grandparents, who had driven up from Texas, to celebrate with some of my extended family. I had one of those family gatherings where you haven't see anyone in such a long time that you know you're related to everyone, but you aren't completely sure how! It was so much fun, to my relief, to get to know my second cousins who live there all over again. Our Thanksgiving table had 22 people seated around it, and I haven't spent as much time in the kitchen in months! I loved getting to help prepare all of the dishes and desserts. And "Black Friday," as they call it, brought a surprisingly pleasant shopping trip to the Lexington mall! My grandmother and I emerged successfully with a dress and shoes for me to wear to my Chi Omega Holiday Semi-Formal, which actually was yesterday.

This time of the year is always a busy one for the Queens student. Our social and academic calendars are chalk-full of activities and tasks to keep us very busy! I think it may be an exercise to encourage true appreciation of the rest we get on the winter holiday!! We celebrated our 75th annual Boar's Head Banquet this year, a three course formal meal accompanied by entertainment from our Chamber Choir and dance ensemble. Here is a picture of our table. My friends Victoria, Sarah, Danielle, Chelsea, Maggie, Emily and Jackie all enjoyed getting to experience formal dining in our dining hall, a rare and much-appreciated occassion!

The following evening (yesterday), my sorority holiday semi-formal event was held in Sykes Rotunda. I will work on more pictures of this event soon!

On a random side note, I just logged onto the Queens website and saw that my former Core and current Honors professor, Dr. Reed Perkins, is the recipient of the North Carolina Professor of the Year award! I am so proud and excited that Queens has such outstanding faculty who work so closely with us. It makes me always more confident in the quality of the academic experience I'm having here.

Tonight is Casino Night, one of our very favorite social events at Queens throughout the whole year. All of the students dress up and enjoy music, dancing, and spending fake money at mock casino tables. It should be a really fun time. It's almost time to start getting ready, so off I go! I will post an update of the rest of the weekend soon! There's a lot to be enjoyed, worked on, excercised off, and talked about before the semester is over, so check back soon!

Until next time,

Kaysi