Student Blog

Wow!

If anybody else went to the concert on Tuesday, they know what I mean! I had gone because my cousin is a cellist in the orchestra, and I’m glad that I did. All the musical groups played, the choir, guitar ensemble, more choir, what looked like a group of kids from the Collegiate School, and it ended with the full orchestra (orchestra/band combined). They all did such fantastic jobs! It wasn’t your run of the mill college music concert, at all. There was some dancing thrown into the songs, more than one where the students came out into the audience as they sang, and songs were sung for both Kwanza and Hannakuh, alongside the mass of Christmas tunes. It went on for about two hours, so it was a good thing I didn’t bring my five year old sister along.

Personally, Christmas and all the festivities surrounding it is my favorite holiday. I love the music, the scents, the decorations, the gift giving (the gift receiving, haha!). I know a lot of my friends aren’t nearly as excited for it as I am. They talk about how their workplaces have been playing Christmas music since Halloween finished, not to mention the radio. They worry about the money that will be spent on presents and the days they can get off of work… And its kind of sad, actually, to realize that this is what Christmas has come to, for a lot of people. Religious aspects of the holiday aside, I think the whole point is to celebrate and give and spread love throughout your friends and family! To go to things like the Christmas Concert and to have a good time, to just let yourself have fun!

I guess the point I’m getting at is that when you’re celebrating one of the winter holidays, make sure you give it your all. Don’t let life get you down. So what if money is tight? Give what you can, even if its just hugs and kisses. When they say “its the thought that counts,” its no joke. I might not have gotten gifts for every single friend this year, but I make sure they know how much I love and appreciate them.

What’s your favorite part the of the winter holidays? From getting a break from school, to the holiday feast that might await you at home, share you favorites with us in an email to studentblog@scf.edu!  :]

Hello fellow students and readers. Well, I attended the Venice campus’ 2011 Honors Convocation today (Friday April 29^th) as promised! I must say that the event was a pleasure to be at. First, I would like to congratulate all the honorees who were awarded by their professors and department heads today! I would love to name you all here but there are simply too many of you to list! In case you don’t know what the Honors Convocation is, it is held to recognize undergraduate students for their exceptional academic initiative and achievements during the year. All honorees were awarded with certificates, some with books and others with actual scholarship money! This year we in the Phi Theta Kappa donated a beautiful cake, which was delicious as usual, and beverages to honor those awarded. We even had the pleasure of seeing one of our own members honored today, former PTK president Jodi Johnson. She won the Coca Cola Scholarship, and is SCF’s very first All-Florida Academic Scholar! Woo hoo Jodi! Jodi happened to be honored by, who will be, our former PTK advisor Stephanie Cook and she really had great things to say of her.  Special thanks to Stephanie Cook for being a fantastic advisor for the PTK!

   So, what was it like to be there today? I’ll tell you…it was inspiring! Did you know that SCF awarded a small group of single-mothers for their outstanding effort and achievements? You do now! Fantastic ladies! I think they have sent a great message of inspiration to their families and other single parents out there, don’t you? As was mentioned during the ceremony, many people today are struggling with hard times, children, work, and their academic career.  Gas prices alone are enough to make you kick and scream or consider driving one of those ridiculous scooters, lol.

   Seriously though, most could not be honored today but I say you should still be very proud of yourself for juggling all these things so well. If you’re still doing it at all, you’re doing pretty good right? Keep up the good fight you fellow student warriors, in these hard times, and someday the applause will be for you too.  This reminds me of something that very important, that we in the Honor Society are trying to embrace and pass along and it’s the need for students to commit to complete their education. I’m not just talking about SCF students, but students all across the Nation. Students in dire times, or sometimes simply at a whim, will drop out of college and we are urging everyone to make a commitment with us to complete your degrees. Our country has a huge drop-out rate, but we can reverse that with some good old tenacity and endurance! SCF happens to be a leading college in our country as far as graduates is concerned, did you know that? I know we can keep this up with you a part of the commitment! These hard working single parents can do it, and so can we. So, spread the word that you are a part of something bigger than simply yourself, which is of course a great cause, but that you are working to put some pride and faith back into our country’s future. When the going gets tough, don’t flake-out okay? Get tough right back!

By all means, please have a good one!

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 Hello there, believe it or not there are a couple interesting things happening soon so I thought I would hop on here and alert you. Both of these things happen to occur on a Friday. Okay, so this Friday the 22^nd of April @ noon on the Venice campus along the rear walk way, where we usually set up all our tables for Spring Fling and Fall Ball, there will be a tree planting ceremony. I wish I could be there but I will not be able to make it. Anyhow, live oak trees have been donated by the Phi Theta Kappa and Green Team to provide shade along that blistering hot walk-way when we have events. I don’t know about you but that sounds great to me! The oaks donated will be under the care of each of the school’s clubs on campus, so “thanks” in advance!

   Now the Friday after, April 29^th in the Selby room, there will be an honors award ceremony for individuals that the faculty feels are deserving of praise due to work exhibited or improved efforts. I am not sure of the time of this event but if you’re interested in attending there may be a posting in the lobby of the Selby building. Congrats to all those nominated!

   Something else I’d like to mention is that Lisa Rydzenski Joseph will be assuming the position of President of our Venice chapter’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, called Alpha Mu Upsilon. Yay Lisa! She will be your new contact person for any PTK inquiries as Jodi Jeffries Rossi will be graduating. Congrats to Jodi! We are losing a few officers to graduation this semester as well, so I want to say congrats to Taylor, Kimmy, and Sasha also! You know what this means PTK members, we need new officers! So, if you are currently a PTK member and are interested in becoming an officer please contact Lisa on Angel.

   I’d just like to say a warm thank you to Jodi for all your time and hard work as a member and more, being such a worthy President of our chapter. Your motivated charm and diligent care to attention will be greatly missed on campus. By the way, thanks for leaving us in the hands of such a great candidate for President too. Have a good one!

If you’d like to reply to this blog please go to studentblog.scf.edu .

     Perhaps you wandered out of your class Wednesday and heard the rhythmic sound of Lady Gaga pa-pa-pa-poker-facing out of giant speakers on campus, smelled Dominos pepperoni pizzas wafting through the air, or saw students sporting togas? Well, it was Spring Fling with a Greek Theme on Venice campus and being one of the toga-sporters, I have a toga-shaped burn to prove it. Note to self: Remember to apply sunblock before outdoor events! I used to look like a glass of milk and now I resemble a candycane!Anyway, I noticed many people come out of their classes and just leave campus even though there’s activity going on. Next time, don’t be so shy. Wander through and see what’s what! All our college clubs are lined up along the walk so you can find out about them, join if you like, or just grab some free stuff and play some games.

   There’s a couple of things I’d like to say, and am very interested in your feedback. I know the bottom of these blogs say that comments are closed, but at the end of my blog there will be an email I will give you where you absolutely can comment on the blogs. So, here is a question. Did you know we have Spring Flings and Fall Balls on Venice campus? Something that is a bit of an issue on our particular campus is the fact that it’s what is known as being “green” or “environmentally conscious” of the way it appears. In being so “green” one small dilemma is that posters around campus are only allowed in very few locations making it kinda tough to advertise school events. Some of these locations are the bathroom walls, café, and library, so you can look for them. In the very back corner of the café near the coffee there is a glass case on the wall where all our clubs and contact info are listed in case you want to know more about them. The more the merrier! Our campus is very nice, for sure, and there is new work going on around our lake to invite us to walk all the way around it on a path. Have you noticed? I think it will be a very nice addition to our campus.

   One more comment I’d like to add is that I have heard people say again and again, “I thought Spring Fling/ Fall Ball was a dance?” Sounds like it would be doesn’t it? I must admit, I thought so myself when I first heard of it. I think it would probably be far more popular if there were an evening dance on a Friday or weekend. What do you think? Ya never know, maybe if enough students want that, things could be arranged huh? Oh, and here is that email for your comments studentblog.scf.edu and I hope to see your input! Have a good one!

Just before spring break our Venice campus had the semesters Phi Theta Kappa Induction Ceremony. The ceremony takes place in the Selby Room of the 400 bld., which is also the room where the officers have introductory meetings for prospective members. On the night of the Induction Ceremony this year the room had great PTK member art displayed at one of the corners of the room. There was some really nice work in the room for family and friends to browse after the ceremony.  I should probably mention that last semester I was inducted as a member, and this semester I was inducted as the Officer of History. Anyway, I was happy to share my poetry anthology, which I constructed last semester, in a scrap book style at the Induction. Much more impressive was Evan Lamar’s work, a fellow officer and SCF art student, he displayed his awesome pottery. Taylor Meredith read one of her beautiful poems at the night’s event as well, who cast a very personalized tone on the evening. Both of these officers won an award at the recent PTK Regional gathering in St.Pete, held at the Hilton, for their great contributions of artistic talents. Wicked awesome, you two!

The Regional Event was fun and informative, and they even provided food and Starbucks coffee!  I’ve got to have my morning coffee. I’m only human, lol. I seriously think they need to put a Dunkin Donuts on campus or just outside of it, but that’s another matter altogether. Is anyone with me? Hahaha. The coffee machine in the Library lobby just doesn’t do it for me. I tried to drink one of those coffees one cold Thursday evening last semester. I had to stop myself from spraying it across my philosophy class, lol.  If a Hilton can have a built-in Starbucks why not a SCF Dn’D? I’ll have mine light and sweet please! Okay, enough with my addiction, back to the Regionals! As I was saying, the event was actually full of good humor. We heard some very good member speeches for competition on this year’s theme, which is communication. There were awards, a small art exhibition, and writing contest submissions. Our chapter, Alpha Mu Upsilon, won some great awards for member contributions on campus, like the 5 Star status award, so we had much to cheer about! I just want to say a “Thank you very much!” to all our members who helped out with events last semester and this semester too, like the Induction volunteers!

Hey, I hope to see everyone out and about at the upcoming Spring Fling on campus ,which has a Greek/Olympic theme this time, so bring your togas if ya got em’! The Spring Fling is on Wednesday March 23^rd this semester, from 10am to 2pm, I believe. Oh, and this Friday if you’re interested, there is a viewing of the movie The Soloist in Rm. 307 in the Library and a discussion afterwards on the effect of music and art on the human psyche. I’ll do my best to make it, but in the meantime, have a good one!

Last Wednesday, was Spring Arts Day in Bradenton and even though it’s a good hours ride for me from my side of Sarasota County I figured, why not! I was pretty nervous though because what I was headed for was the open mike portion of the day’s events. Dr. Glanville, my favorite English professor of last semester, had encouraged me to share some of my work. If you haven’t met Dr. G, you should because she’s more than a professor…she’s a Literature and English guru! I don’t know how you could miss her actually; she’s always got her red head held high and a welcoming smile toward your approach. Anyway, she was there urging me on to read so I read a quick poem I had written earlier called “Old Man of the Desert” during the first slot of the open mike. I had brought a not-so-short story also that I wrote while I was in her class last semester and she really liked that and since not many people were signing up for the open mike she talked me into reading that for during the next slot. So with my heart pounding, knees knocking and hands shaking my paper like a leaf in a stiff breeze- I read my story. My story is called “Everlasting Life on the Farm” which was my anthropomorphic (animals given human characteristics) view on my personal experience with my very strict former religion. My story was kicked off by Dr. Glanville’s alarming and hilarious whistle from the rear of the audience hahaha. She was back there happily sending people off on scavenger hunts from her tent and then running over to hear people read their work! So, despite the length of my story, it seemed to go over well thankfully.

Taylor, my friend and fellow officer from the PTK, had driven up along with her Mom and gone on just before me. She recited a poem she wrote on the topic of forgetting your lines and it was really amusing and very good! Taylor also wrote a beautiful poem for our Induction Ceremony for the following day. I’ll make a separate blog for the Induction! I enjoyed the Spring Arts day very much and was glad I drove all the way up there to hear other writers share their poems and stories. The Pentangle group was also there and they were doing fantastic portraits of people at their tent, and between open mike slots the choir came out to fill the campus with their voices. It really was a pleasant day at the campus and I’m glad we have students & faculty at SCF who try to make life interesting, so next time you hear there’s a Spring Arts day swing by!

Some days really are perfect.  Today, The Veterans Exchange and MOTS (Manasota Operation Troop Support) completed our “Toes For Joes” Sock Drive.  We filled 70 boxes, for locally deployed troops, in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We all met up at 9:00am, this Saturday morning.  We got the boxes ready, actually knowing the names of the soldiers who were going to be opening them.  We packed socks, shower shoes, candy, beef jerky, energy bars, letters, and cards.  They are filled to limit, and ready to go!

The Veterans Exchange, which I’m extremely proud of co-founding, has accomplished so very much this semester.  Our fantastic Venice Campus Student Life Advisor, Jeff Snyder, continuously extends his appreciation of what we have accomplished.  He cannot recall a club, being newly chartered (only since this past August), achieving so much.  And it was not easy.  It took a lot of hard work and dedication.  Our efforts have helped propel the Bradenton Campus to establish a Veteran’s Club of their own.  To be honest, I’m still amazed at how all of this happened.  The “Veterans Exchange” came to life from one simple question posed in a conversation during the summer term:

“Why don’t we have a Veterans Club on Campus?”

And that’s how things happen. It’s as simple as that—having a conversation— asking questions. So now, the Venice Campus has Veterans Organization that has over 40 members.  I am truly honored to know that something I helped to create will become a permanent part of the social structure of SCF.  It’s a great feeling.

Sometime ago, and I think it may have been my first blog, I wrote something like: “if a club doesn’t exist on campus, and you feel strongly about it, then START one.”  Mostly anything is possible, and I’ve got the evidence to back it up.

Well—three finals left! STATS, History of Film, and Horror Literature.  I’ll be officially done with my classes by 2pm on Tuesday, and by that time I’ll also be somewhat normal again (and “somewhat” is a key word in that last statement).

I really want some Ben & Jerry’s pistachio ice cream right now, but it’s so cold I think I might shiver myself to pieces if I have some.  I’m sure I’ll break down and have some anyway.  No pain, no gain, or so I’ve heard anyway.

It’s only Tuesday, and I feel like an entire week has already gone by.  I started the day off with Statistics, at 8am.  We got the low-down on what’s going to be on the final.  Only 20 questions! Wow, an entire semesters worth of information compacted into 20 questions.  You know what that means?  The questions are not going to be easy.  And I suppose they shouldn’t be.  I’ll find out one way or the other next Tuesday at 7:30am when I take the final. (Note to self: do not take anymore 8am classes, because 7:30am is just too early for taking a final)!

Tomorrow I have an orientation to attend at USF, then Thursday night is the Poetry Slam, Friday night is the Pop Culture Club Christmas Party, and Saturday, The Veterans Exchange, in conjunction with MOTS (Manasota Operation Troop Support) is holding a Packing Party.  We’ll be packing up all the socks collected during our “Toes For Joes” Sock Drive.  In total, we will be packing 65 boxes for locally deployed troops.   We are starting it at 9am (usually takes about 45mins).  This event is open to the public, and we WOULD LOVE TO HAVE TONS OF PEOPLE THERE!  Here is the address

MOTS Venice Office

7801 Tamiami Trail S., 6A

Venice, FL 34293

If you have any questions, please email scfvets@gmail.com.

Well, I at least have my statistics notebook out of my book bag, so technically I have begun studying, right?

The last of this semester’s Swamp Scribes Open Mike was last night, and it was great!  We had about 30, very talented, readers.  It was kind of emotional for me, because it was my last one, as an SCF student (I still plan to visit when I’m at USF).  My good friend Jay helped me host the event.  As one of the students commented, it was a wonderful celebration of free speech.  Students and faculty alike were able to creatively express their ideas, philosophies, emotions, without any sort of confining filter.  It’s truly something that doesn’t get fully appreciated for its magnitude.

Although it was the last open Mike reading, there is still one more BIG event to be held.  It’s the Poetry Slam, Thursday, December 9^th at 7pm in the Selby Room, Venice Campus.  It’s a wild ride!  It will once again be hosted the famed poet Ray Mcniece, and you can get a taste of his work and biography at his website:  http://www.raymcniece.com/.  It’s great fun and I hope to see you there.  Last year, I was lucky enough to place in the final three (third place L), I hope to come in strong this year, but I’m know I’m up for a challenge.  It’s amazing how many brilliant and quiet poets are among us.

I’m off to Archeology class, hope we find something today.  If I don’t get a chance to, I’m wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Just got back from the Veterans Day Parade in Sarasota.  First, could not have asked for more perfect weather.  Second, it was great to be surrounded by so many fellow Veterans, and also the many who expressed their thanks for our collective service.  I also got a free cup of coffee today from Starbucks! (Like I need more coffee).

BTW, yesterday was a huge success.  Our Veteran’s Day Campus Cookout was received with much excitement!  We made a profit, and we were able to collect a generous amount for both the VX and also to help out a member of the Venice Campus Staff, whom has recently been diagnosed with a serious illness.   We would like to say thank you to all who bought a ticket, and all who simply donated!

Well, It’s Veterans Day, by the time this blog posts it will be over.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t still thank a Veteran, because you can do that any day of the year.