oh no! midterms!!!

Hey everyone!

This week has been one crazy week! With midterms coming up, and spring break just around the corner, my life is busy, busy, busy! This week has been filled with numerous hours in the library working on a group project, as well as coordinating a philanthropy event for the Greek community. I am working with one of the Fraternity Presidents on a project that will allow the MSU community and Mankato community to go to the WOW!Zone to play laser tag, mini golf, and bowling while raising money for the Mankato School District. :) I'm excited to see where this project takes us and it is a great experience for me!

I don't have much planned for this weekend except for working at my amazing job, at Topper's Pizza, visiting with one of my friends from home, and catching up on some sleep! Oh how I can't wait for Spring Break!!!

Stay tuned....

--

Erik

Summertime and the classes are speedy!

During this week of classes our summer session courses were posted on e-services. I have taken a summer class every year since I have started college. I think to take the time to do take the classes that either I didn’t want to take during the normal school year or that filled up before I was able to register during the fall and spring semester. The course I have been taking for the past few summers are biology courses. So far four to five weeks in the summer I attended about 2.5 hours of lectures as well as about 2.5 hours of lab Monday through Friday. It is an accelerated version of the course; however I feel that sometimes with the short time it is easier to remember all the information. I get to take 4 credits in about a month. Minnesota State University Mankato does a great job with offering a variety of summer classes. Just about every major has classes that are available. With that there are also a lot of activities going on in the summer.. I think students are surprised to know what activities are going on in the summer.

Hi again everybody,

Well it was another short weekend here at Minnesota State University Mankato. I had quite a bit on my plate this weekend that needed to get accomplished. On Friday, my day started at 10 am, when I went to my Chemistry Class. Its CHEM 104 to be exact, and its just a general course to fulfill a science general credit area, but it is still an interesting course. After my class I went to grab a quick lunch from the cafeteria and then I went to the MSSA office to do some office hours for Student Senate. After my office hours I gave a tour to admitted students and their parents. I gave the tour as a part of my Student Ambassadors organization. I hope they enjoyed their visit! After the tour I went back to my room to relax and hang out with some friends after the long week. We watched the Winter Olympics and cheered for the United States.

After watching the Olympics, I started working on my Management paper that is due on Tuesday. My paper is a part of the project my group has to complete for a class. It is a very strenuous class, so I wanted to finish, but that did not happen. I decided to go play some pick-up basketball with friends until 9 PM, and then before I knew it, I was watching Step Brothers with some friends. After the movie, and upon realizing the time, I went to bed.

On Saturday, I slept in since I went to bed late, but I did get up for brunch, which is served from 9 am until 1 pm on the weekends. After brunch I worked on my Accounting homework and my Management paper. Then I decided to go play basketball with friends again until 7 pm when the Otto Recreation Center closed. After that I got showered up, and decided to go to a movie with friends. There is a movie theater that is located within walking distance of campus, so we went to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Lightening Thief. It was a fairly decent movie, and it was nice to be around friends.

On Sunday, I woke up and worked on homework for most of my day, but I sneaked in a little leisure time in there as well. I had to play some more basketball, and work out a little bit.

But there was my weekend, in a nut-shell for all of you.

--
Braeden Hogie

Give us warmth, Mother Nature!

This week was a calmer, as far as test and quizzes go. I was able to relax a bit and begin learning the new material for a few of my classes. Only a few weeks till spring break which seems to be on many students and staffs mind. I saw more students and staff in the Otto Recreation center this week. We have a great recreational facility here on campus. Our treadmills, elliptical, and bikes each come with “tech rech.” What it allows all of its users to do is be able to go on the internet, watch television, use the touch screen, or even play a DVD. I enjoy going to the Otto Recreation center mostly because they have more channels to watch than my cable at my apartment. As nice as the recreation center is, when the weather gets nice, the outside becomes flooded with students and staff that are ready to break free from the cold winter and are willing to brace the outdoors. Even if that means putting on an extra layer, we are all anxiously waiting for Mother Nature to send a little more warmth our way.

--

Sharon

Hello? Is anyone there?

Hey, it's me again. I would have to agree with Andrea that this week seems to be taking forever, even though the semester as a whole is flying by. I keep trying to make it a day later in the week than it actually is, and I am starting to get pretty confused. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and as I live in the residence halls, that meant pasta without sauce and grilled cheese for lunch and dinner. Hopefully I can bring this up in RHA on Monday and maybe get it so that those of us who observe lent aren't stuck with this diet every Friday until Easter. As for classes, things seem to be going pretty good right now but I have a feeling they are about to get a lot more frantic as midterms are right around the corner.

On a separate note I am super excited that the Olympics are on (Go USA!!) and I watch them every chance I get. So far so good for the USA with only one major disappointment in the Women's Snowboard Cross, but from what I hear that is just the nature of the sport. But my favorite sport to watch is the short track speed skating because it is so exciting and fast. I am definitely rooting for Ohno to break the medal record for a Winter Olympian, but I will be watching all the sports, not just his.

Hope someone's reading this

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Liz

What..? It's not Friday, yet!?

The week is going by a little slow. I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday and yet it is only Wednesday. I'm going to say it's because I have been very busy with meetings, classes, homework, and work. I have 4 classes this semester, including Food, Culture and You, IT 100, Health 101, and Chemistry. It is not that much to handle, but it does take up a lot of time. Today I only had IT so I'm taking some time to clean up my apartment and take my car in to vacuum it out. I can actually get things accomplished faster when I'm not hoping over laundry piles. I just bought the new Gain detergent that has an Island escape scent and its AMAZING! Today at 4 I will be interviewing potentially new Ambassadors! I am super excited about it as well as to see all those new faces and what everyone can bring to the group. I also have my own interview on Sunday for an OPA (Orientation Peer Advisor) position. I'll probably explain more next week!

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Andrea

Greek Leadership Conference

Hey all,

This weekend I spent in St. Louis, Missouri for a Greek Leadership Conference! It was so much fun getting to meet other members of Fraternities and Sororities from all over the nation! I got to listen to great speakers, participate in workshops, and meet so many new people from my campus and other campuses! The 10 hour bus ride wasn't the most fun, but it was a good time to get caught up on the homework and start some of my research projects!

Although the weekend was great, it felt nice to get back to MSU. This week is filled with all sorts of events and meetings for the different organizations I am involved with. I am particularly excited for a meeting I have on Wednesday! Over the past two summers I have worked at summer orientation for new freshman as an Orientation Peer Assistant, and this year I was selected to be an Orientation Student Coordinator! It is going to be a blast getting to plan and prepare for this upcoming summer!!

Stay tuned!!!

--

Erik

text alert

This week was a busy week. It started off with a very snowy Monday. MNSU has a great alert system to keep everyone in the know for what is going on with the weather. I was waiting all day to get a text from “MNSU Alert” about night classes getting cancelled. Although I never received the text from the school, my night class ended up getting cancelled anyway. For the first half of the week I had two tests and a quiz. So, I spent a majority of my time studying in the Centennial Student Union. As a student Ambassador this week was also busy giving extra tours. The tour groups ranged from prospective high school students to admitted students to transfer students. I like giving a variety of students a view of what it is like to be a student at Minnesota State University Mankato.

--

Sharon

Braeden's Voice

Hello everyone,

The weekend was short (as always), but that’s what happens when you are having fun; well sort of. The weekend was nice since I did not have any classes; however I had to prepare for a few of my classes for the upcoming week. As always, I studied Accounting, I have an exam on Thursday in Macroeconomics, and I have a paper due along with a project for my Introduction to Management class. The project and paper are not due until the following week, but I had to get started. I felt fairly productive this weekend getting started on those items and I got to sneak some fun in there as well. I went out to eat with my friend for his birthday at Applebee’s on Friday, I watched a couple older funny movies from the 90’s with friends on Saturday, and Sunday was pretty relaxing since I had done some homework already.

--

Braeden

Hi again.

So this week I have been super busy with schoolwork. I had a paper due on Monday which I stayed up until 2am working on, and then a test in one of my math classes on Tuesday that I didn't finish because it was too long for the class period. Homework was due on Wednesday in my other math class, followed by a test in Sign Language Wednesday night, more homework was due in the math class I had a test in on Thursday, and another small paper due on Friday. This has made me crazy, and it seems like this week will never end. However, I thank my lucky stars every night that in a typical week here at MSU, I might have half of all that due. Another thing that is making this week take forever is the fact that my main laptop decided that it wanted to break and so I had to drop it off at IT repair and I still haven't heard anything back about it. Granted there are like 300 computers on campus, but when your used to having one in your room, you feel a little lost without it.

Some good news though is that even though I have to work this weekend, I should have plenty of time to just relax, and to get all caught up and prepared for the week ahead. I feel like this whole week is one big test to see if I really am learning how to juggle, and a lot my time here in college. So far I have been able to keep my head above water, and right now, that's all I can ask for.

Saturday I will be going to the movie on campus again with my friend, Stacy, but this time we will be seeing Twilight: New Moon. Also, I will be on my first student panel for the preview day this Saturday, and I will be giving a tour afterwards as well. I am excited about these opportunities because I always have so much fun eating lunch with the perspective students afterwards. It makes me happy to able to answer their questions, and see their excitement, that I had once too, about choosing where to go to school, and all the decisions that came with that choice. Hopefully one day I might see you at an open house and I hope that if you have read my blog, you would come up to me and say hi. In the meantime if you do have any questions for me, just leave them as comments, and I will get back to you with the answers.

Oh, and sorry for the first paragraph, I know you might not want to hear the downsides of being a college student, but this blog is meant to be a real peek into the life of some MSU students, and in my opinion that means sharing every aspect, not just the good ones, of my day to day life.

Talk to you all again soon,

--

Liz Schieler

Welcome to MaVoices - A MavBlog!

Welcome to MaVoices - stories from the lives of current students at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

We're excited for this project and to be sharing our lives with you. Some of us have done this before and for the rest of us, a slightly foreign concept. But that's what life is about anyway - embracing the new! We hope that through this blog you will get a glimpse of what it feels to be a student on our campus. From dreading to waking up in the morning, to welcoming the winter wonderland we call home, to looking forward to engaging conversations with friends and professors - in the classrooms, on the mall, by the fountain - spring or fall (or in snow covered land!) Minnesota State University, Mankato is a great choice for higher education and possibly through our stories you will learn that students receive tremendous support for their big ideas and real-world thinking.

Storytelling defines us, humans. These stories may be fact or fiction, but they have existed for as long as our race has. It is the simplest form of communication, if you stop a moment to think about it. A way to pass along information, to reach those beyond imagined, to change minds, or, to simply state. As you read our stories and take-in our lives, we request that you leave behind a comment or two, perhaps a question or even just a sentiment, a shared thought. It is nice to know our lives, our stories, our voices are being heard (or in this case, read!)

Here's a thought for today: "Life is unchartered territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time." ~ Leo F. Buscaglia (American guru, 1924 - 1998).

Happy reading everyone. :)

Andrea's Voice

The campus is quite chilly at this time and it makes the week a little longer. I have used the so called long route to get around because its warmer. I thank my parents for getting me an iPod because it makes my walks shorter and the weather a little warmer because I'm able to distract myself.

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Andrea

Erik's Voice

Today was a super busy day for me. I had three of my five classes, and three different meetings. Although classes were fun, I was really anxious for my evening plans. My fraternity had an exchange (social gathering) with another fraternity to go bowling in the Maverick Game Room. It was a great time to hang out with my friends, and meet some new people. It's only Tuesday, but I am excited for Thursday to come! Thursday I leave for a Greek leadership conference in St. Louis, Missouri!

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Erik

Liz's Voice

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Schieler, but nobody calls me that because I go by Liz. I am a sophmore majoring in Secondary Math Education which just means that I want to teach high school math when I graduate. I grew up in a small town called Gaylord, MI, but about five years ago my family moved to Tomah, WI. I chose Minnesota State University - Mankato because it not only had the majors I wanted at an "affordable" price, but it was a good size too, not too small but not too big either. Another thing that got me excited about Mankato was the dorm rooms. I toured lots of schools where the rooms were just barely big enough to turn around in, and when I came here, I found that I had more than enough room to feel comfortable. I have lived in the dorms for a little more than three semsters and I plan to stay there until I graduate. I have become active in our Residence Hall Association, RHA, as well as our National Residence Hall Honorary, NRHH. This has given me opportunities to attend leadership conferences, special events, meet new people, and overall have a great time. I definitely reccomend living in the residence halls even if it is just for a year so that you can experience just how great it is. Not to mention you are less than ten minutes away from all your classes so you can get those extra minutes of precious sleep.

I am also involved in Colleges Against Cancer, Math Club, Student Ambassadors, and Sigma Alpha Pi: National Society of Leadership and Success. However, I will tell you more about those activities as we go. This is officially my first blog, and that is because I am kind of technologically challenged, so bear with me through this experience. This week was amazing. My younger brother had his interview for the Presidential Scholarship on Thursday, and then today, Friday, he attended the Admitted Student Open House. This meant that he got to spend the night with me Thursday night and we had a lot of fun together. We got Little Ceaser's for dinner ($5 hot and ready large pizza is the best), and then we went to the movie that IMPACT was showing in Ostrander Auditorium in the CSU, Men Who Stare at Goats. I got to hang out with my mom on Thursday after she dropped him off, and before I had to go to class, and I will get to see my dad today at around 1 for about an hour before I have to go to class, and he has to take my brother home. I know this sounds corny, but once you get to college, you tend to value that time you get to spend with your family more than you did when you were living at home, because you only see them every so often. Admittedly though, by the time August comes around after being at home since early May I am ready to come back to school. Well, I know I threw a lot of introductory information at you, but I promise, as this blog continues, I will be sharing more about day-to-day life, and less about my background.

--

Until next week,

Liz

Sharon's Voice

My Name is Sharon Schwarz. I am from Prior Lake, Minnesota. I attended Normandale Community College for two years to work on my general education requirements. I transferred to Minnesota State University Mankato in the fall of 2008. I am currently working towards getting a major in Cytogenetic and minor in Chemistry.

When it came to deciding what college to transfer to I looked for certain things that I know would be important to me. First, I wanted a school that would transfer the credits that I took from Normandale Community College. Working with the MnScu system I was able to find the Universities that accepted my credits to switch into my major. Second, I was looking for a university that had a smaller campus to make it easy getting around. It seems that no matter where you are on campus you can get to where you need to go within 15 minutes. Thirdly, I was looking for a city was populated with places to go. Mankato has the mall, 3 movie theatres, several restaurants, arenas, and great parks.

My first year at Minnesota State University Mankato I didn’t participate a lot with what the school had to offer. I would come ride the bus to school, go to class, and ride the bus back to my apartment. I wasn’t in any groups or clubs. After the first year I decided to be more of an active member with my school. I became a Student Ambassador for my University. I give tours to new prospective students and show them what it is like to be a student here at MNSU. I also became a member of National Honor Society of Leadership and Success where I work with other members to give back to the community and work on educational goals we have.

When I am not in class or working on homework I can be found doing other activities. I work at Aldi Food Market in downtown Mankato. I enjoy being outside. In the winter I like to go snowboarding, skating, and watching hockey. I bought a “Fast Pass” at school which guarantees me a ticket to every home game for our Minnesota State University Men’s Hockey games. In the warmer months I like to be on the lake in the sun. I like going camping in the BWCA or going to the cabin. I have a good time hanging out with my family and catching up with friends from back home.

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Sharon