Tyler Rauch's Blog

Ready..Set...Go!

     This blog is unusually late and will be unusually short as well. I have been a traveling man for the last few weeks which has caused me to slack a little on the blog and I apologize!!! Well, this is it. Exams are finished as is my semester and I ended up just a hair short of what I was looking for grade wise.  Two A's and three B's won't kill me, but gives me a goal for my last two semesters. As soon as exams were finished I packed up and moved to Hilton Head for a week to live with one of my roommates and his family to work for his father. I needed some extra cash for Spain and had the time so I took advantage of the opportunity. I love Hilton Head and that family so I cannot complain. I reached my goal, made some extra cash and then packed up again to head on down to Florida for a few days with the fam.

     I arrived in Florida Saturday evening and I leave Tuesday morning early so I can get back to Charlotte in time to pack and prepare for Spain. Speaking of Spain, I LEAVE THURSDAY! I cannot believe that for a second and CAN'T WAIT! It is going to be the trip of a lifetime and I intend on taking full advantage of it! Shortly after returning from my twenty day trip to Spain, I will have about three days to pack and move to Dearborn, MI to start the Ford internship. Needless to say I have two monumental events about to take place in my life and I couldn't be more ready to make the best of both. It seems like just yesterday I was looking for an internship and studying my butt off to learn Spanish and now its all here. Its funny how fast life comes at you isn't it? I can't begin to say how lucky and privileged I am to be in my situation. I will have had the opportunity to live in four different states and one country within a three month period which is truly a blessing and a wonderful learning experience. Sure, I have to pack up and move from place to place on a strict time schedule, but I'm young and figure I'd use my youth while I've got it. This is what being a college student is about right?

     Finally, when I return home from Spain and Michigan, I will jump right into orientation and help out with all the incoming freshman! It's going to be a crazy transition but great to see everyone again! I can't wait, this class is supposed to be one of the best :) 

     On a side note, I wanted to extend a big congratulations to the Class of 2008 who graduated on Saturday. You don't realize the relationships you've formed with the students at Queens until you have to see them leave. I can't begin to say how proud I am of the group and all that they have done for me and the university. I love them all and wish everyone the best of luck!!!!

     I guess after reading this blog, you understand why its entitled "Ready...Set...Go!".  I will be super busy for the next few weeks, but loving and taking in every second of it. I hope semesters are finishing up and everyone is getting excited about this summer or potential college plans. I will be keeping up with the blog, however, I won't be able to write while in Spain or the first few days in Michigan. I will need some time to settle down, but be sure to check in periodically and see if there are any updates. You will be right there with me as I continue on with my busy busy summer! I should have pictures from Spain as well as some other fun stuff on here in no time so hang tight and bare with me. Until then, have a safe and warm summer! If you're coming to Queens, CONGRATS and I'll see you in a few weeks :)

FINALLY! Time to take a breath

     Is it that time already? I know I have written about the end of the semester coming to a close, but for the first time it REALLY hit me. I'm going to be a senior in four days...What? Wait...one more time...I'm going to be a senior in four days. OK in all honesty, that never seems to sound quite right in my head no matter how many times I repeat myself. As much as I DON'T want to say it, it is reality. As of Friday at the end of this week I will be completely finished with my junior year. Most students grin at the thought of being a grown up, but that just means that I have to leave the place I have come to love and call my home away from home. Hence why I am not as excited about being a senior as I probably should be.

     I am, however, VERY excited about the next chapter in my life which we all like to call Summer. I'm not excited because I get to go home and work in the Florida heat, sit in my jacuzzi, swim in my pool or go to New Smyrna beach, but to travel abroad for the first time in my life and work at one of the most competitive internships in the country. As I thought of it today I will be living in four different states and one different country over the next two and a half months. I'd like to think that this is only possible at a place like Queens :)

     This past Saturday I was fortunate enough to accompany a beautiful young lady to her Kappa Delta Sorority formal. I always love those things because food, dancing and pretty girls will never steer you wrong :)  I was also fortunate enough to attend my roommate Brian's mothers birthday dinner at the Palm in Charlotte. I can still taste the best steak I've ever had...Yummm! Sunday we had our Campus Union Board end of the year "thank you" lunch at Olive Garden which was DELICIOUS! In case you didn't catch it, let me recap this weekends meals for you. Friday-Steak at the Palm, Saturday- KD Formal dinner, Sunday- Olive Garden lunch...Does it really get much better? NOOOOOOOPE! And before that I was able to be a presenter at the Student Life Awards which also had plenty of delicious shrimp, fruit and little rolls.  Let's just say the event was a great success and Queens really outdid itself on this one. Student Life Awards is just one of the many events that recognize the contributions students, faculty and organizations make on campus. Certainly something that everyone should get the chance to attend :)   

     Now that I have backtracked a few days, I would like to elaborate on the week ahead. The way its looking now, I will be taking care of little "housekeeping" items such as calling banks about traveling abroad, taking care of getting a new phone, summer living plans and things of that sort that have to happen, but I have not had time to do for the first half of this week followed by some studying for the last half. See, I have two exams left before I'm completely finished. One Thursday at 9am and one Friday at 1:30. I mentioned how many papers I had to write and exams I had to take in an earlier blog, which makes this week relatively easy. By easy I mean I get a breath of fresh air from my usual life. The Student Ambassadors have concluded the year as well as Campus Union Board and The Academic Resource Center. Outside of lacrosse, these are probably the most time consuming things I take part in. I am sad for them to be over, but happy to have a few extra hours to take to myself! On top of all that lacrosse just ended last Friday as we lost in the 2nd round of the conference tourn. Certainly not the season we all hoped, but there is always next year. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger and I intend to fully learn as much as possible from this season.

     It is these reasons that I feel I can get a chance to take a second and breathe. Simply being a student is easy, its the other stuff that keeps me on my toes 9 months out of the year! I'm looking forward to sleeping in, getting the little things on the to-do list done, working out more, spending more time studying AND sleeping...Just thought I'd throw sleeping in there twice. It is certainly something I need more of in my life!!!!

     Tonight I am finishing up this blog, going to lift and heading off to my final Campus Union Board event of the year! This is a huge campus tradition called Midnight on Ice and I CAN'T WAIT! I love ice skating and since it's my event, I get even more excited! It's always a great time and the students always love it. Its a little sad though, because although I will be attending it two more times as a senior, this is the last time I will plan it :( I have been voted secretary and will no longer hold those responsibilities.  Tomorrow is reading day which is a chance for students to just study, read, sleep or destress (if thats possible during exam week). It's Queens way of saying take some time to yourself! I can't wait for this week and all that it has to offer. I know how much fun exam week always is, but this one should be at the top. I will be sure to write on my next post about how exciting it was and the things that went on, but I'll save that for next time. Until then be safe and I look forward to writing these next few blogs on how amazing the summer has started out to be!

Here are a few more pictures from the Student Life Awards :)

Is it already here?

     I cannot believe that the last official week of classes for my junior year is already here! This week is sure to be full of good stuff ranging from exams to the start of our conference tournament. This Sunday was probably the last relaxing Sunday I'm gong to have for a loong time!

     This past week was crazy for me (as you can read from my last blog). Fortunately I made it out alive and think it went pretty well. I did have quite a few papers to write, exams to take, a speech to give and a project due as well as a 21st birthday and a Saturday full of Queens events. I think the exams and papers went pretty well. As far as I'm concerned I am about where I'd like to be for grades. By no means do I have the straight A's that I dream of, however, Its looking like the possibility of 3 A's and 2 B's if I keep working hard. The way I see it, I've got my GPA where I'd like it and as long as I can keep it at that level or go up then I cannot complain.

     My 21st birthday was a blast. I can definitely say without a shadow of a doubt that I have the BEST friends, family and teammates on the planet. I can't say enough about the love that was shown for me by everyone and I am so thankful for it! Although my birthday was on Thursday, my parents drove in late Friday to help celebrate as well. We went to dinner twice and lunch once so its safe to say I was eating right these past few days! And lets be real here, the best part about birthdays is that you're bound to get gifts way after your birthday because half of your relatives don't have your address and there is nothing like getting cards or birthday wishes a few days after :)

     On Saturday I had Preview Queens which I thought went pretty well. Unfortunately I could not stay for the entire day because of our last regular season home game, but I still got to meet lots of wonderful people. I wish we had a little more time to sit down and talk to the students, however, the time we did have seemed like enough to help them start making their college decisions. After all, there is plenty of time considering they are all only juniors. On a quick side note of Preview Queens, I can't say how excited I am to know that a few more people might read my blog! I wasn't planning on it at the time, but we ended up putting in our plugs for the student blogs during my 25 minute info session! If you are one of the new readers that was at Preview Queens then THANK YOU!

     After Preview Queens, we had our last regular season home game against St. Andrews. This is a team that has always beat us in the past, but coming into the game we were very evenly matched. This game was also HUGE for our tournament seeding. If we won it would put us as the second seed for the tournament which would give us a first round by and give us a lot more potential to end up in the finals. If we lost, we would have to play a much harder path to the finals and seed us fifth. Luckily we won despite the rainy conditions that for a while seemed like they would cancel the game. It was also our senior day and our last chance to send them out with a bang. They've worked so hard for four years and they deserved it. We have our next game for the second round of the Conference Carolinas tournament on Friday at 2pm. I can't wait!!!

     As far as this week is concerned, I have one final on Wednesday and a few exec meetings, however, since it is the end of the year, we have successfully wrapped up all of our final meetings last week which means a little more free time to study and really get into gear so I can finish strong. I mentioned that this would be my last relaxing Sunday for a long time just because I have exams to study for, packing for Spain and Detroit followed by my John Belk International Program study tour to Spain and the internship with Ford immediately after that. Once I am full swing into the JBIP trip and the internship I highly doubt I will be doing much relaxing. What about after the internship and Spain trip you ask? Well, I leave immediately to come back and work orientation as soon as I am done in Detroit. By no means will this summer be anything but exciting and busy! It's great practice for everything I will encounter my senior year as well as once I graduate.

     I certainly look forward to keeping up with the blogs over the next few weeks and into the summer, but cut me some slack while I'm in Spain. I am sure I will have plenty to write about as soon as I am settled in Michigan. I really do look forward to sharing the Ford experience with everybody as I progress through the summer. Thanks to everyone who has taken part in a Queens event this year or is looking to! You all make Queens the wonderful place it is :)

     Until next time, take care and be safe!

P.S. I wanted to share a few photos from the night it snowed this year. I mentioned that I had to get a working computer and a cable to upload photos so here they are :) Thanks for your patience!    

A paper a day keeps the doctor away!

     OK, so you can tell by the title that I obviously have quite a few papers due this week. Now, by most circumstances this would make most students a little upset. I, however, find that when it comes to be that time of year when all the papers seem to be due one after the next, that I can't help but smile! See, the more papers that are due in a more concentrated period of time generally means one of two things. Either A) you are majoring in political science, history or English or B) IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR! In my case, its the end of the year which means my John Belk International Program trip to Spain followed by my 10 weeks with Ford. This also means that I won't have as many finals to take because the papers take their place. See, a week full of papers isn't so bad after all :)

     Outside of the papers I have a speech to do which I LOVE because public speaking is sort of my thing. For those of you who have met me in person I'm sure you found out quickly that talking is also sort of my thing :) I forgot to mention that one of the papers is for a scholarship that I was selected for and if I receive the money, it will be awarded for my trip to Spain. Who wouldn't want to write a paper for some serious cash to use overseas? The last big project that I feel I should talk about is a corporate finance project that will be done on excel to demonstrate the ability to compute certain values using a spreadsheet on the computer. It won't take entirely too long, because when interviewing with Ford, I had to do a case study which involved a financial analysis and I got VERY familiar with excel during that period. That pretty much does it for my week in terms of homework. To recap I have three papers, one speech, two finals and an excel project. Although it looks bad, I can assure you that I'll come out on top.  Weeks like this are what being a college student is all about.

     At the end of the week I have a pretty big day. I turn 21 on April 10th (Thursday) which I can't wait for! I've waited what feels like 50 years for this to happen and its hard to believe it's Thursday.  Because of lacrosse games and class, I won't really be able to celebrate until Saturday night. Nonetheless it should be a great time and I can't wait!

     We play our last game of the regular season which is home against St. Andrews at 2pm. We are coming off of a big win against Lees McCrae college in Banner Elk which our team really needed. I started so it felt good to get the win and get our confidence back before we head into the conference tournament. Depending on Saturday we will find out if we are getting a "by" or playing a lower seed. There are so many factors that we'll just have to wait and see before I make any predictions.  Wish us luck!

     Tonight I was inducted into the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society and elected as the communications Chair. It is certainly a big deal for me, because this is a prestigious honor society and something that is a testament to my hard work the last few years. It feels good to be a part of this society, but feels even better to get elected to an exec position! This of course is coming off of a huge shock that happened Friday afternoon. I was elected President of the Student Ambassadors and I can't begin to tell you how much of an honor that is. I was running against two of the best candidates at Queens and am honored to have been chosen! It seems like my senior year is shaping up to be a good one! I love the opportunities  Queens provides its students to get involved and the chances you have to grow and move up in those clubs or orgs. I hold an exec position in every club that I am a part of and started as a freshman or sophomore in each one at the lowest level. I suppose I'm still in shock. Pinch me!

     That about does it for me here, I have to get running and finish some reading for management and outlining of paper number two. I finished number one about 20 minutes ago and figured I'd take this opportunity to update you all! I hope everyone is doing well and don't forget to shoot me any questions you might have! Until next time, BE SAFE!

Student Ambassadors anyone?

     What a weekend! I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to be sitting down! It was a wonderfully successful last two days to say the least so I really can't complain, however, I am EXHAUSTED! This weekend was a combination of Admissions events and a lacrosse game which are two of my favorite things to do at Queens!

     I have to start by telling you a little about Connection Queens that started early Saturday morning. This was one of the many amazing programs that the Admissions Dept. helps put on in order to make the transition from HS to college that much easier. Connection Queens,however, is different because it is a two day event that is designed for students who have made their deposit and are planning to attend Queens in the Fall. This is a chance for them to see the school again, meet a good bit of their class, take placement tests that everyone is required to do during orientation AND do their advising for classes. Its a wonderful chance to get a lot of questions answered, meet other parents and get two steps ahead of the rest of your class. For those of you who are considering Queens and have the chance to do Connection Queens, I highly recommend it!

     This was a unique Connection Queens because this was the first year that we introduced doing the placement tests and advising this early! Now, I can't finish this post without giving Michele Kelly a much needed thanks because that whole part of this weekend was all her! She did SO much behind the scenes to make this possible and none of this would be possible without her!

     OK, now that I have all that out of the way I can tell a little about the weekend. I need to start by saying that I met a mother who said she read my web blog and I can't say HOW GOOD IT FEELS! I always wonder if these things ever get read and it was so nice to hear in person that she did! It was especially special because she is the mother of a young lady who will be attending Queens in the fall and currently attends my rival High School back home in Florida. I know it doesn't seem like much, but its always nice to see a little piece of home come to Queens! Outside of that experience I had a BLAST getting to sit down and talk with so many new students and see how excited they were to get to Queens. It's a huge step going to college so seeing these students talk to each other and meet new friends all in a day or two just speaks volumes to the kind of class we have recruited! It was a great success! The Ambassadors and Admissions Dept. did a fantastic job of making sure everything went smoothly and everyone knew where to go. I know we were all over the place and I hope I didn't make anyone "Tyler-ed out"! We do our best to meet as many students as possible and sometimes it can be information overload which I want to apologize for. So if at any time I was bothering you with how much I love Queens, I'M SORRY! I just can't help how much this place means to me! In the end we all had a great time and although it was a LONG day for EVERYBODY it was by all means worth it!

     After an exhausting day of Ambassadors which started at 7am I had to change my polo into our travel Polo's for lacrosse and grab my pads then hop on bus to Catawba College for a night game. Needless to say I was running on empty at this point and took a short nap on the bus trip there. We played and unfortunately came home with a loss but it was a great game. The final was 12-10 and I certainly feel like we outplayed them so it is hard to see why we lost. I was pleased, however, to see one of the Admissions Dept. staff members and her husband come to the game along with one of the students for next year who spent the whole day at Connection Queens. Always feels good to see that kind of support :) The bus trip home and eating out took a few more hours and we didn't pull up to school until midnight! Now, all day of Ambassadors and then a lacrosse game will wipe you out! I SLEPT LIKE A BABY!

     Finally this morning I woke up and was back in the Ambassador outfit and headed to the biggest college fair in Charlotte! It is a national college fair and was a wonderful experience, but lasted from about 10:45 when we left till about 4:15 when we got back. About 90% of that time was spent on my feet introducing Queens to the lives of local high school students. I had a BLAST doing it and it was so awesome because there were hundreds of other universities represented there! Another Ambassador along with our Director of Admissions and one of the other Admissions counselors were present at the table and it was so fun getting to spend the day with them. I actually learned a lot about Queens in the process!

     Upon returning home, I had a meeting about the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society that I was recently accepted to. It is a respected honor society so I am so pleased to have been chosen for and can't wait to start. Our initiation is Sunday so I can't wait! After that I came home and had lasagna with the house which was DELICIOUS :) Now its time for some homework and getting ready for another long week. Tomorrow is promising with lifting at 8, tutoring at 10, meeting with a professor at 11, class 12-4 and practice 4-6:30. I don't expect to have much energy for the rest of the semester but it is all worth it!

     Before I go, I know these web blogs might talk a lot about what is going in my life and some of the stuff I talk about might interest you or make you kind of curious. If you ever need anything answered please feel free to contact me and I will do my absolute best to help! My e-mail is tyler.rauch@qmail.queens.edu ! I hope you all have a great next week and GREAT rest of the semester! P.S. I am going to upload some photos from this weekend as soon as I get a hold of them!    

One week closer to my senior year!

     Ok so again this post is a few days late...But who is counting :) This past weekend was Easter as well as one more lacrosse game in the books. Unfortunately we lost the game against another top team from Massachusetts, but it was a good game nonetheless. On the plus side, however, my family was in town to spend some time with their youngest (and favorite) son! They flew in on Saturday afternoon and were picked up by one of my roommates parents (who are like family) who then drove to the hotel and checked in before heading to our game which was at 7pm. After the game we decided to head back to the hotel where my roommates parents were upgraded for free to the presidential suite. No idea how or why but they didn't pay a dime extra for a SWEET room! It was like the size of my house here at school accept it overlooked the city which was so amazing at night! We just ordered in and spent some time there. On Sunday we woke up and went to brunch at the Cheesecake Factory which was soo good! Unfortunately, shortly after brunch it was time to drop mom and dad off and get back to reality with homework and lifting.

     After a wonderful Easter break I came to the harsh reality this week that I only have roughly a month until I am a senior. Now, in high school that is so exciting because you move onto the next stage of your life with college after you graduate. However, now that I'm in college and can't wait to see what my future holds, I also can't handle the fact that I am going to eventually have to leave QU. I love this place and everything it has to offer. At this point I just don't want to think about not playing Division II lacrosse again or having 9 hour days that include practice, meetings, class and so much more. It is only the end of my Junior year but I can't tell you how fast it has all flown by. I guess its true what they say about time flying when your having fun!

     This week has started off pretty productive. I have picked up my transcript to send to Ford, met with some professors, taken care of some end of the year/beginning of next year club stuff and cashed some much needed pay checks. This was only scratching the ice berg! I also got some good news recently that I have been accepted to the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society. It feels good to see my hard work in the classroom paying off. Mortar Board builds off of academics, service and leadership so being apart of something so special means the world to me. I was also recently named to the academic all conference team for the Conference Carolinas. I don't know if I already posted about this, but I still can't tell you how exciting it is! You have to have a minimum GPA and be a Junior or Senior to receive academic all conference. It is always a good feeling when your parents can look on the school web site and find their sons name for all the right reasons.

     I am currently in the process of applying for the Dana Scholarship that I have received since my sophomore year but need to reapply every year. With a University like Queens the competition gets harder and more intense with each semester of outstanding students.  I guess the point I'm trying to make is although I have had the scholarship for some time now, its certainly not guaranteed; ESPECIALLY at a school like Queens! I also want to point out a piece of exciting news that I will be looking tomorrow morning for where I will be living in Dearborn, MI this summer. I am sitting down with Katie Carman who has also accepted the Ford offer and we are going to check out some places. I know it sounds fun now, but I'm sure after about 30 minutes I'm going to be sick of it! Ill certainly let you know how it goes.

     We have a game tomorrow at 4pm against cross town rival Wingate University. They are pretty good this year so it won't be any easy game. I hope we can pull it out and I can't wait to post next week and let you know the outcome! Until then I have some Corporate Finance homework to take care of and a few things around the house that need to be done! Have a great rest of the week and I'll talk to you all Sunday!

Spring (MUCH NEEDED) Break!!!!

     Ah, finally back at the computer to continue these posts after a MUCH NEEDED break! I know I missed a blog, however, I was busy with our spring break lacrosse trip to Charlottesville, Virginia and the rest of my break spent in Hilton Head with my "crew" or "the house" as we like to say. To be honest this break had a little bit of everything; some highs and lows, but nonetheless a wonderful break.

     The break started on a low point as four cars were broken into during practice shortly before we left for Virginia. Our campus police officer caught the suspect after a pretty intense car chase (from what I've heard). The suspect broke into my roommates car who happened to have driven that day and I conveniently left my wallet, keys and cell phone on the back seat in plain view. Needless to say the keys were left, the wallet and cell phone were gone. Fortunately, however, the wallet and cell phone were thrown out the window and later retrieved (minus my bank cards, insurance cards, and money). The cell phone  worked and I can now say it has been thrown from a window in a high speed car chase which always sounds pretty cool. I canceled all of the cards and I will have them very soon so no real damage was done (accept to my roommates back left window)! The only big downside to having bank cards stolen is the fact that you have to physically walk into the bank to withdraw money which is a real pain in the butt when you're in different states for the entire week on spring break. In the end, it all worked out and everything is OK so I can't really complain!

     Next, we left for Virginia after a good early morning practice on the turf. We arrived in VA at UVA after enjoying subs on the bus which were AMAZING! We watched the UVA men's lacrosse team practice which was awesome because it not only pumped me up but gave us a great idea of what a championship program looks like. We then met for dinner at Red Robbin (I think thats the name) and based on what it looked like outside I wasn't expecting much but I do have to say I FELL IN LOVE! Besides how can you not enjoy eating out with 42 of your best friends. Its like a HUGE family and always makes for good stories:) Later that night we had our team meetings at the hotel and I spent a little time in the spa/jacuzzi that the hotel provided. This was certainly a HIGH point (Jacuzzis always put me in a good mood). The beds in the hotel were sooo cumfy and I got such a great sleep!

     The next morning we woke up and practiced at UVA which was also a high point because I had a great practice which felt good and helped warm me up for that days game. After lunch and some rest we suited up to play Bryant College a top ranked DII team that is coached by former Duke Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler (an outstanding man). The game didn't go as well as planned and we got killed unfortunately:( I did get some good playing time and thought I did pretty well so I can't complain. It's been a rough season thus far and how we bounce back will be a testament to how close and mature we are as a program. That was definitely a low point. The bus trip back we had a good meal and I had my own seat so I just listened to the I-Pod and relaxed till we got into Charlotte. As soon as I stepped foot in my house I threw my things in the laundry, packed for Hilton Head and hit the hay.

     Early Wednesday morning we left for Hilton Head to officially start spring break '08 when we didn't have to be college athletes or students, but just college kids looking to have some fun. Fun is exactly what we did. We spent so much time relaxing on the beach, playing beach volleyball, meeting tons of other spring breakers and enjoying all that Hilton Head has to offer. I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time and it felt good to act like a kid again. As I mentioned earlier I went with my house that consists of Brian, me, Murray and Jonny. We were joined by three other students from Queens that met up with us after spending the first few days in Myrtle Beach. They were Emily, Jackie and Allison. All of us are such good friends and we only became closer on this trip! At the end of the day I will certainly say that spring break '08 was a success! 

     You'll see a few photos here FINALLY because as you might have guessed my computer is FIXED! I had my parents send it to my roommates house in Hilton Head so I wouldn't have to leave it outside waiting for a week while we were out of town. The photos are just a few group pictures of everyone from break (everyone in the photos were mentioned above).

     I am sending my final info to Ford at this point. They have received my acceptance paperwork and just need my official start dates, etc... I will be busy with that for the next few weeks and finalizing where exactly I am going to live along with how I am going to work that schedule into my John Belk International Program trip to Spain for all of May and the start of my senior year in August! Busy summer :) Just the way I like it! Until the next blog I hope you enjoyed any time off you may have had and I look forward to letting you know how rough it is going to be getting back into the swing of things! Be safe!   

Its official!

     Its official! I will be a 2008 summer intern for Ford Motor Company and I can't be more excited! To me this is about as big as it gets and the offer is unbelievable. I can't say enough about the folks at Ford thus far and how excited I am to be working with them this summer! I have weighed out the pro's and con's and so far can't find any con's! Its wonderful to feel so sure about something that about 3 weeks ago seemed crazy! Tonight I spoke to a student at Queens who just completed her summer internship with Ford and she had nothing but the world to say about the entire experience. Needless to say I am so excited!

     In other news, I had the Campus Union Board interviews today. Since I have been recently voted as the secretary for next semester I was required to sit in on the interviews. It took us about 5 and a half hours but we found our group. Everyone seems like great candidates and were really excited to have the group we've selected for next year. In the next Ambassadors meeting I will get my chance to run for President and make the jump from VP (I am VERY excited about that opportunity)!

     We lost this weekend to Limestone college who is a powerhouse in the south. It's a shame that we lost to them as bad as we did and I hope we get to see them in the conference finals for a little pay back. Its been a rough start to the season seeing as were 1-3, but thats the price to pay when you play #2, #7 and  #4 in the first two weeks of the season. Now we really start playing conference and region games so I'm very excited for those.

     It seems like it's that time again for exams and I had one last week and have two tomorrow. It is a little stressful for me but I'm excited to get them out of the way! I look forward to tomorrow being over so I can get some sleep! And my last news for this post is that I officially turn 21 in 38 days, 2 hours and 31 minutes (from the time I'm writing this)! but hey whose counting! Its time for a little more studying but I hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying themselves! Till next time, have a great week!

I got it!

     How late am I??? This bad boy should have been up a few days ago but I've been so busy with so much that getting to a computer on campus long enough to type was not in the cards. My apologies! The main reason for me being so busy was a number of reasons. First and foremost, I GOT THE INTERNSHIP AT FORD! Ford Motor Company offered me a position in their summer internship program for 2008. This is awesome because Ford is not only such a widely recognized company but because of the competitiveness regarding the internship. Ford is very particular about who they select and to be very honest I did not see myself as someone they would accept. On that note I'd like to add that I was up against three other VERY qualified students from Queens. Needless to say the odds were against me. After the interview process, however,  I was happy just to have the opportunity to even get that far and figured I'd take what I learned and apply it to future interviews. To my surprise they not only took me, but another student as well. I'd like to attribute this to the outstanding job our business school and career/internship center has done. I felt so prepared from the training I've had over the last two and a half years and can't say enough about the help that was offered to me. I am a firm believer this is the reason why a small community like Queens is so helpful. I'm in the process now of finalizing offers and getting some plans squared away. As they progress I will keep you all posted!

     Next, I was recently voted Secretary of the Campus Union Board and on Friday I will run for the Presidency of Student Ambassadors. I am currently VP and want more than anything to take over President very soon. The number of qualified Ambassadors and candidates for the position have grown tremendously over the last few months and winning won't be any easy task. I will keep you posted on that as well.

     I recently volunteered with our Alpha Delta Pi's (1 of 4 sororities on campus) at the Room at the Inn. It is a program put on by a number of groups on campus that basically houses homeless or people who just need a warm place to sleep and a hot meal. They are put up in groups of six in one of our empty fraternity houses for a night. This includes dinner, movies/games/company, breakfast and a hot shower. Upon departure they are given a bag lunch for the road. Every group has a number of workers that take turns and work in shifts to get it all done. It really is great and can't say enough about the job everyone does.

     Last, we lost 9-3 to the #2 team in the nation on Sunday which was a heart breaker because it was the silliest mistakes that cost us the game. Holding a team like that to 9 goals should guarantee a victory. We look to beat our in region and in conference opponent Limestone who is also ranked very high in the polls. I will let you know :)

     I have to get going now because I've got some tours to give and homework to take care of. We will be conducting our interviews for our Co-Chair positions on Sunday for Campus Union Board and I will be interviewing from about 1-6. Now if that isn't fun then I don't know what is! I will let you know how that turns out and continue to inform you on Ford. Hope all is well wherever you are and everyone is staying as healthy as possible! I know the flu and cold is running Queens at this point! Sorry again for the last post and have a great day!

Big week!

     OK so usually I'd say "big week" and it would specifically pertain to how many large events I have in the next few days. This time, however, it includes not only the big events coming up but the fact that I'm finally going to get a little break and ANY time I get a break I consider it a big week!

     In the past week and a half or so, I have had my interview with Ford (which went really well!), delivered my brothers best man speech, done my presentation for my JBIP class, had my O-board interview, been the MC at the "dating game" during homecoming week, taken all but one midterm AND spent time with my folks. Now these are all things that I was at one time worried about because they were all going on during the week or weekend and took significant amounts of time to prepare for and execute. Now that they are all over and all went really well, these next few days should give me a chance to relax. phew!

     Now, the stuff that has yet to happen which makes this a big week includes our second game of the season against Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday at 7pm (our hometown rival!), our third game of the season against Mercyhurst College on Sunday who played for the National Championship last season, my roommates father's birthday (he's like a father to me as well) at the Psalm, my last midterm, and I find out if I got the Ford internship this week as well. So far this week has gone pretty well and I can't say enough about how excited I am to get a little more sleep and a little more time to relax. I think this is going to shape up to be a great week!

     Recently my buddies and I made the decision to spend Spring Break in Hilton Head this year. We've got a place to stay and will save LOTS of money that way. We spent it in Daytona last Spring Break after spending two nights at my house and flying back a few days later. I'm certainly looking forward to that trip! I will certainly keep you all posted on the newest updates as they come in :)

     Homecoming week was a great success and I think everyone had a BLAST like usual! It's quite the week of events followed by a big win for our basketball teams! Campus Union Board is the sponsor for the events during HC week and they always do a great job. It always makes me proud to be part of a group that does such a great job!

     That is going to pretty much wrap it up for me this week. I know this post is pretty short, but outside of what I've mentioned above, there isn't anything really exciting that has happened. My life never stays this way for long, so expect a better post next week. Who knows maybe I'll be able to write about upsetting the second best team in the country! Until then be safe and I look forward to writing to you all very soon!

p.s. Computer is still broken...Please continue cutting me some slack with these photos!