Kristina's Blog

spring is in the air

Hello everyone!

This semester has been a whirlwind, I've been so busy with a million things I haven't been able to update you for a while, my apologies.

The most important thing I've been keeping up with are my 7 classes (usually students take 4-5). I took on a lot this semester so much of my free time has been spent on the loads of homework that seem to be piling up. The good news for me however, is that only 3 of my 7 classes are scheduled to have exams, and they are all on the first day of exams, so I'll be done with my freshman year on April 29.

Another thing I have been keeping up with is my position as Vice-President of the freshmen class here at Queens on SGA (Student Government Association). Elections for next year's positions are being held today and tomorrow, and I'm running for my same position again, along with a position on both the Honor Council and Campus Judicial Board.

I'm also really looking forward to Connection Queens this weekend, because I am both a PRO for Orientation and a Student Ambassador, so I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the new faces that will be here at Queens this coming fall! I'm also having two perspective students stay with me this weekend, so it's sure to be a lot of fun here on campus!

talk to you soon!!

admitted students day!

Hello everyone!

Today was a long and fun day here at Queens, as we (the admissions staff and student ambassadors) welcomed over 150 students for both Presidential Scholar interviews and Admitted Students Day! It was great to get to meet a lot of you today!

The day was packed with a ton of meetings, interviews, and tours. Students and parents who came were able to learn more about all that Queens has to offer, including the John Belk International Program, Student Life at Queens, and a lot more!

Students are welcome to stay overnight at some point with a current student, or come to Connection Queens, a pre-orientation event in March. I came to connection Queens last year and got my placement tests out of the way, and had my whole schedule planned and submitted so I didn't have to worry about it during orientation in August! I HIGHLY suggest coming to connection Queens in March! It relieves a lot of stress from move-in weekend in August!!

the smell of spring!

Hey y'all,

It finally started getting warmer here on campus, after we had a snow day (yes, a snow day) last week! I'm from the north so I was not expecting a snow day at a college in North Carolina! I've really been enjoying my classes this semester.

One of the current things I'm working on is starting a swim team here at Queens, which is really exciting. I'm in the competitive swimming class and we're looking to get funding to make our class into a club team and compete with area schools. It's probably going to be a long process, but I'm really excited to see how it turns out!

I'm also a part of CWO, Campus Women's Organization and we had a meeting earlier in the week, which was a lot of fun. There are so many things I want to be a part of at Queens, I just can't do it all! Some of us might be going to a national Women's Conference in Washington D.C. in March, so that should be fun, if it works out.

Other than that, It's homwcoming week at Queens so we have a pep rally tonight and basketball games and tailgating tomorrow, and this whole week has been filled with events every night!

talk to you later!

spring is coming..or is it?

Brrr, it's been unseasonably cold here in Charlotte since I  returned from Christmas break. Although, I should be happy because back home in Massachusetts they are in the midst of a snowstorm as I type this.

This week was my first week with a new schedule of classes, for the spring semester. I'm taking seven classes, and I really enjoyed all of them (at least, the first week). The good thing about the spring semester is that I got to know a lot of people last semester so there are more people I know in each of my classes.

I'm also balancing my new job tutoring at Eastway Middle School, so it's taking a lot of effort to really concentrate on what I need to get done during the weekdays because I don't have a lot of free time.

I set aside a chunk of time on weekends to get all my homework done, which I did yesterday for this weekend, and after a few of my friends and I went to see the Bobcats play the Portland Trailblazers, which was a really good game.

Talk to you soon.

2009 begins.

Hi everyone!

I'm spending my winter vacation hope in Massachusetts with my family, but I really miss my Queens life and can't wait to get back! We start school on the 12th, so I'm flying back o Charlotte on Sunday the 11th. I'm really excited to start all my new classes, I'm taking seven this semester, compared to the 5 i was taking last semester. I also started a job, tutoring middle school kids in Charlotte, which has been really rewarding so far, and is also giving me a little more spending money, which is nice.

I hope everyone's 2009 is off to a great start!!

Kristina

papers, exams and room changes

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic vacation!

I went home for my thanksgiving break, to visit my family up in Boston. They didn't think I was coming, so they were really surprised when I showed up at home! I really enjoyed the week at home, but I was anxious to get back to campus. I didn't realize how much I would miss the friends that I had made here, even if we were only apart for one week!

Since I've been back on campus, everyone has been finalizing their course schedules for next semester, working diligently on their end of term papers, and preparing for final exams, which are held the end of next week and beginning of the week after.

Currently, Queens has a policy where students can "self-schedule" some of their exams, in order to spread out or make their exams closer. Some faculty and students are opposed to this type of scheduling, so Queens is debating removing self-scheduled exams for future terms. I personally am benefiting from self-scheduled exams, because 2 of my exams are at specific times, and I'm self-scheduling my other exam so I'm done with my exams on Friday the 12th, rather than Wednesday the 17th.

I'll be flying back to Boston for the Holiday vacation, and I'm sure I'll be very ready to get back to campus once the holidays are over!

Have a great week everyone,

Kristina

Course planning, concerts & a schedule for the spring semester

Hey guys,

I hope everyone is doing well, and those of you filling out college applications aren’t too stressed out! Everything will work out for the best; maybe you’ll end up at Queens ☺

As usual things are so busy around campus! There is always something going on and something to do.  From the Costume Ball on Halloween to CUB (Campus Union Board) selling tickets to “So You Think You Can Dance” in Charlotte, there are things to do around campus, and in Charlotte.

As I mentioned earlier, students are beginning to choose classes for next semester and the class lists for next semester’s freshmen composition classes just came out. Instead of putting all students in a general class Queens offers a variety of topics, and there are some very interesting ones for this upcoming semester, and it is going to be a tough choice for me! I get to choose from topics in fashion, medicine, music, media and family values. While some don’t fit into my schedule because I have other classes, I’m still deciding between the music class, in which we will examine the affect of music and song lyrics on our lives, and a media class.

This weekend I will be working on the newspaper layout for the Queens Chronicle, because our fourth issue of the year is coming out on Friday the 21st, just as students will be going home for Thanksgiving Break.

Other than that I’m not up to much, other than a concert this Sunday featuring Hit the Lights, Forever the Sickest Kids, Sing it Loud, and Cobra Starship that I’ll be attending with my friends.

Have a great week guys ☺

Kristina

time flies when you're having fun!

Hey everyone!

Time has been flying by here since I got back from fall break. I had a great time and enjoyed my break from campus. It's hard to believe that it's almost Halloween and that Thanksgiving break will be here in just a few weeks!

Since fall break a lot has been going on around campus. I've been working on the newspaper layout, and another edition is coming out this Friday (our third of the year). There's lots of Halloween activities going on and talk of scheduling next semester's classes has already begun! The registrar's office is trying to have everyone register online for the first time, which could make things easier for some and stressful for others! Hopefully I'll be able to get all the classes I want so I can finish up most of my general education requirements this year and be free to pursue all courses in my major starting next fall.

Tonight I went to a meeting for students interested in signing up to peer tutor for a middle school in the area. It was actually really interesting, and not only does that help for my resume later on, it helps me with my major and it's financially rewarding for me. It's a great opportunity to start working with kids now, and hopefully if I'm one of the tutors they pick I'll be able to work with them each year.

that's all for now! have a great week!

Kristina

new places, new faces

Hi everyone!

My name is Kristina and I am a freshman here at Queens. I was born and raised in the small town of Topsfield, Massachusetts. I have two wonderful parents and two younger brothers. My brother Danny is 15 and Kenny is 14.  Coming all the way from a really small town to Charlotte was quite a culture shock. Not only was I flooded by the usage of "y'all" and numerous restaurants I'd never heard of, I was also given the opportunity to meet people from all over the country.

So far during this first semester of college has been a roller coaster of new things, education, decision-making, new friendships, and new places.  I've now made it through everything since Orientation, and Fall Break is just around the corner. During orientation my PROs and RAs did an amazing job helping with everything I needed. The upperclassmen and professors do everything they can to help in any way possible, not just during Orientation, but whenever I needed anything, someone was always there to help.

I'm really enjoying my classes as well. I decided to start of my fall semester getting some of my general education credits out of the way, so I'm taking Geology, Spanish, English and Core. I had one available space left so I decided to take Queens Chronicle, a class dedicated to producing the student-run school newspaper. So far in all my classes I have experienced many things I hadn't yet done in a classroom setting. My geology class climbed to the top of nearby Crowder's Mountain and will soon be climbing King’s Mountain. My Core class will soon be traveling to nearby Billingsville Elementary School to read books with the students there. All of these experiences have been a part of one of Queens' most important values. They want their students to "Thrive." in their college environment, and so far at Queens I've been able to do just that.