First Year Blog

Xairete!

Just a quick update today, on this my last day of classes. I cannot believe that the academic year has come to a close! Montserrat ended Friday, Greek and Astronomy ended yesterday, and today I’ll have my final Archaeology class at 2. It also happens to be Doctor Bender’s last class here at Holy Cross, as he is a visiting professor this year. How perfect that my year should end with a Classics class, and with the professor here with whom I am the closest. Study period starts tomorrow, which will entail me finishing up my Montserrat final paper (in lieu of an exam…a fair trade) and re-memorizing 30 chapters’ worth of Greek grammar and vocab. However, as much as I look forward to being home, I just can’t imagine being away from Holy Cross for almost four months. The minute I set down my pen after completing my last exam, I’m sure these mixed emotions will take full precedence. For now, I’m just trying not to die from the oppressive heat plaguing Mt. St. James!

In more important news, yesterday the Classics dept. held a party for Professor Nagy, my advisor and the patriarch of our department. He was recently recognized by the College and given the Distinguished Teaching Award, a highly coveted honor. In order to celebrate, we all plotted an epic surprise party for him in our Eta Sigma Phi room. Doctor Bender got him to come to Holy Cross yesterday afternoon through some trickery and, clad in flip-flops and a baseball cap, Professor Nagy walked in to see all of us (including almost all of the Classics professors) waiting to congratulate him. Between the delicious food, cake, and lovely conversations, I think we mananged to bestow proper “kleos”—or glory—upon him for his amazing accomplishment. So, congratulations again, Professor Nagy! You have a whole post devoted to you now! (FYI everyone else: Professor Nagy is always asking me when his next appearance in the blog will occur…it never fails to make me laugh.)

Well, I’m going to try to keep working on this paper. The Spring Concert is tonight, and I don’t want to have to worry about writing afterwards. Valete!

Xairete!

Just a quick update today, on this my last day of classes. I cannot believe that the academic year has come to a close! Montserrat ended Friday, Greek and Astronomy ended yesterday, and today I’ll have my final Archaeology class at 2. It also happens to be Doctor Bender’s last class here at Holy Cross, as he is a visiting professor this year. How perfect that my year should end with a Classics class, and with the professor here with whom I am the closest. Study period starts tomorrow, which will entail me finishing up my Montserrat final paper (in lieu of an exam…a fair trade) and re-memorizing 30 chapters’ worth of Greek grammar and vocab. However, as much as I look forward to being home, I just can’t imagine being away from Holy Cross for almost four months. The minute I set down my pen after completing my last exam, I’m sure these mixed emotions will take full precedence. For now, I’m just trying not to die from the oppressive heat plaguing Mt. St. James!

In more important news, yesterday the Classics dept. held a party for Professor Nagy, my advisor and the patriarch of our department. He was recently recognized by the College and given the Distinguished Teaching Award, a highly coveted honor. In order to celebrate, we all plotted an epic surprise party for him in our Eta Sigma Phi room. Doctor Bender got him to come to Holy Cross yesterday afternoon through some trickery and, clad in flip-flops and a baseball cap, Professor Nagy walked in to see all of us (including almost all of the Classics professors) waiting to congratulate him. Between the delicious food, cake, and lovely conversations, I think we mananged to bestow proper “kleos”—or glory—upon him for his amazing accomplishment. So, congratulations again, Professor Nagy! You have a whole post devoted to you now! (FYI everyone else: Professor Nagy is always asking me when his next appearance in the blog will occur…it never fails to make me laugh.)

Well, I’m going to try to keep working on this paper. The Spring Concert is tonight, and I don’t want to have to worry about writing afterwards. Valete!

Salvete, omnes!

If I was in love with Holy Cross before this weekend, now I’m pretty sure that I would like to marry it. After the seemingly endless weeks and months of wind, rain, and cold, Worcester has finally shown us its good side. It’s currently 80 degrees out and sunny, which is exactly what this entire weekend has been like. And to top it all off, this weekend is also Spring Weekend, which is (in my limited first-year opinion) one of the best times I have ever had on campus. Spring Weekend is a celebration of the school year coming to an end, and boy can Holy Cross celebrate. Saturday morning, there was a fair on Easy Street with all sorts of games, fake-tattooing, cotton candy, and sunshine galore. In the afternoon was an insane soap-box derby right outside of Mulledy, for which a huge crowd settled themselves on the lawns of Easy Street and had a blast booing and cheering on the contestants.

Later on that day was a free barbeque and carnival on the Hart lawn, which I actually had to work for my last Kimball shift. Even though it was really hot and I just wanted to be at the carnival climbing fake rock walls and doing human bowling, I was glad to help Kimball put on this fun event. I even got a bit of extra Captain-training when I helped to unload a couple trucks in Kimball’s storeroom—invaluable experience I’ll definitely hold on to and use when I become a Captain next year. After the barbeque and carnival was an awesome fireworks show on Hart lawn. I watched it with my Classics buddies and upperclassmen friends (two of whom are graduating, oh no!) and had a blast ooing and aahing at the show. It was the perfect end to a lovely day of celebration.

However, the fun and games are (pretty much) over and I have a ten-page paper to write for my final in Montserrat by Friday. The outline is complete and I already went to talk to him about it, and my idea is workable—I just need to muster up the willpower to write the darn thing. Unfortunately, we had our last Montserrat class on Friday, and everyone was genuinely disappointed that this class had to end. I would venture a guess that our Montserrat class is one of the only ones in any cluster that was honestly disappointed at a class being cancelled, or that actually enjoyed being in class every day. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life, and without even realizing it my ability to analyze literature and art carefully and purposefully has drastically improved. I just don’t look at a book the same way anymore, and I think that is exactly what Professor Joseph intended.

Finals are just around the corner and a bunch of interesting events are coming up, so expect updates soon! Enjoy the day, everyone! Valete et carpe diem!

P.S. A little lesson in Latin for you—Carpe diem is a term from the poet Horace in his 11^th ode. “Carpe” is a verb that actually means “to pluck”—it’s not as harsh as “seizing” the day (that would be “cape diem”). So go out there and pluck the day!

Salvete, omnes!

If I was in love with Holy Cross before this weekend, now I’m pretty sure that I would like to marry it. After the seemingly endless weeks and months of wind, rain, and cold, Worcester has finally shown us its good side. It’s currently 80 degrees out and sunny, which is exactly what this entire weekend has been like. And to top it all off, this weekend is also Spring Weekend, which is (in my limited first-year opinion) one of the best times I have ever had on campus. Spring Weekend is a celebration of the school year coming to an end, and boy can Holy Cross celebrate. Saturday morning, there was a fair on Easy Street with all sorts of games, fake-tattooing, cotton candy, and sunshine galore. In the afternoon was an insane soap-box derby right outside of Mulledy, for which a huge crowd settled themselves on the lawns of Easy Street and had a blast booing and cheering on the contestants.

Later on that day was a free barbeque and carnival on the Hart lawn, which I actually had to work for my last Kimball shift. Even though it was really hot and I just wanted to be at the carnival climbing fake rock walls and doing human bowling, I was glad to help Kimball put on this fun event. I even got a bit of extra Captain-training when I helped to unload a couple trucks in Kimball’s storeroom—invaluable experience I’ll definitely hold on to and use when I become a Captain next year. After the barbeque and carnival was an awesome fireworks show on Hart lawn. I watched it with my Classics buddies and upperclassmen friends (two of whom are graduating, oh no!) and had a blast ooing and aahing at the show. It was the perfect end to a lovely day of celebration.

However, the fun and games are (pretty much) over and I have a ten-page paper to write for my final in Montserrat by Friday. The outline is complete and I already went to talk to him about it, and my idea is workable—I just need to muster up the willpower to write the darn thing. Unfortunately, we had our last Montserrat class on Friday, and everyone was genuinely disappointed that this class had to end. I would venture a guess that our Montserrat class is one of the only ones in any cluster that was honestly disappointed at a class being cancelled, or that actually enjoyed being in class every day. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life, and without even realizing it my ability to analyze literature and art carefully and purposefully has drastically improved. I just don’t look at a book the same way anymore, and I think that is exactly what Professor Joseph intended.

Finals are just around the corner and a bunch of interesting events are coming up, so expect updates soon! Enjoy the day, everyone! Valete et carpe diem!

P.S. A little lesson in Latin for you—Carpe diem is a term from the poet Horace in his 11^th ode. “Carpe” is a verb that actually means “to pluck”—it’s not as harsh as “seizing” the day (that would be “cape diem”). So go out there and pluck the day!

Hello all!

As most of you may know, yesterday was accepted students day here on the Hill. Since my SPUD was canceled for the day due to unforeseen circumstances, I made use of the time pretending to be a prospective student with my friends Clara and Cynthia.

It didn’t work.

We tried going on a tour of Hanselman, but one of the tour guides happened to have a class with Clara, so eventually we meandered off towards Stein. We ran into another tour guide (whose name I still don’t know), and I asked her a question. She recognized me (and I’ve seen her around campus as well). Clara and I then wandered up towards the “Last Stop Information Center” and were immediately picked up by an admissions counselor, Tran Kim-Senior (despite foiling our plans, she’s still really nice).

We sat in on Father McFarland’s closing speech and I was, quite frankly, a little surprised to realize that everything he had been saying was true. I’m used to taking in admissions speeches with a grain (more like a handful) of salt, mainly because I understand that these colleges want you to go to their schools. But hearing Fr. McFarland speak, it was weird seeing how it was all true. I mean, at any other school, I can’t help but feel that my friends and I could have gotten away with pretending to be prospective students. But because Holy Cross is such a tight knit community, that epically failed.

I think it’s a good thing that it failed.

It’s nice knowing that you’re not going to a school completely filled with strangers. It’s just a pity that we can’t step in on your tours at this point.

Hello all!

As most of you may know, yesterday was accepted students day here on the Hill. Since my SPUD was canceled for the day due to unforeseen circumstances, I made use of the time pretending to be a prospective student with my friends Clara and Cynthia.

It didn’t work.

We tried going on a tour of Hanselman, but one of the tour guides happened to have a class with Clara, so eventually we meandered off towards Stein. We ran into another tour guide (whose name I still don’t know), and I asked her a question. She recognized me (and I’ve seen her around campus as well). Clara and I then wandered up towards the “Last Stop Information Center” and were immediately picked up by an admissions counselor, Tran Kim-Senior (despite foiling our plans, she’s still really nice).

We sat in on Father McFarland’s closing speech and I was, quite frankly, a little surprised to realize that everything he had been saying was true. I’m used to taking in admissions speeches with a grain (more like a handful) of salt, mainly because I understand that these colleges want you to go to their schools. But hearing Fr. McFarland speak, it was weird seeing how it was all true. I mean, at any other school, I can’t help but feel that my friends and I could have gotten away with pretending to be prospective students. But because Holy Cross is such a tight knit community, that epically failed.

I think it’s a good thing that it failed.

It’s nice knowing that you’re not going to a school completely filled with strangers. It’s just a pity that we can’t step in on your tours at this point.

Salvete, omnes!

Hope everyone is doing well! The sun is shining here (well, earlier it was raining) and the temperature is comfortably in the 50s. How much of a stark contrast walking around campus is now as opposed to in January or February, when I could barely keep my eyes open against the piercing wind and negative wind chills! As spring takes hold of Worcester, I find myself taking the long way to class, or ducking along Easy Street to see the trees blooming. Anything to be outside as long as possible before the heat of summer kicks in!

This weekend was a blast in many different respects. On Friday was the induction ceremony for Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics Honor Society. I am officially a part of this crazy club, also known as the “glorified pizza party,” or “secret sorority,” as my friends like to call it—the name does sound like some frat or sorority (but we don’t even have Greek life here on campus, because we’re a Jesuit college). Friday night Simone, Lauren and I dressed up for Mulledy Prom, which the RAs put on for our building. I, thankfully, fit into my dress from senior prom and rocked that for the night. Our hall turned into a quasi-pageant or catwalk of some sort, because we all just ended up showing off our dresses (Simone’s in particular worked very well for this). Saturday night turned into a Disney movie marathon with Ashley and my fellow blogger and Kimball captain Colleen—we snuggled in her RA room in Wheeler and had a fantastic time. Some of our other friends and Ashley’s residents slowly added to our little group, and before we knew it, we were packed into her common room and screaming “Be Our Guest” at the top of our lungs. What a great release after a long week!

Sunday, yesterday, was another crazy day for me. I’m thinking of becoming a vegetarian, so my RA MK and I had a long talk about what it’s like to be one, since she has been veg for years. We sat outside of Hogan and watched all of the accepted students wandering around campus, which made me reminisce fondly of the days last spring when I relished the thought of coming to Holy Cross. Of course, I had already known I was coming here in November, but seeing the excitement on the members of the Class of 2013’s faces was priceless. I also helped answer questions at the Classics information session, which emphasized just how much of a family this department is. Professors Nagy and Perry both stated many times that this department has something special about it—it’s top ranked, but even more important than this, it affords us students the opportunity to make lasting bonds with each other and with our professors. The information session proved to me that I wouldn’t want to study Classics anywhere else.

This week is the last full week of classes, and I’m trying not to think about that. I absolutely do not want my freshman year of college to end! I’ll pretty much be living at Kimball for the week, because I have both my regular shifts and a couple training sessions thrown in there as well. All in the name of becoming a good captain! Well, I must get back to my Montserrat final essay outline—I have office hours at 2 and I want to have my ideas in order. Xairete!

Salvete, omnes!

Hope everyone is doing well! The sun is shining here (well, earlier it was raining) and the temperature is comfortably in the 50s. How much of a stark contrast walking around campus is now as opposed to in January or February, when I could barely keep my eyes open against the piercing wind and negative wind chills! As spring takes hold of Worcester, I find myself taking the long way to class, or ducking along Easy Street to see the trees blooming. Anything to be outside as long as possible before the heat of summer kicks in!

This weekend was a blast in many different respects. On Friday was the induction ceremony for Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics Honor Society. I am officially a part of this crazy club, also known as the “glorified pizza party,” or “secret sorority,” as my friends like to call it—the name does sound like some frat or sorority (but we don’t even have Greek life here on campus, because we’re a Jesuit college). Friday night Simone, Lauren and I dressed up for Mulledy Prom, which the RAs put on for our building. I, thankfully, fit into my dress from senior prom and rocked that for the night. Our hall turned into a quasi-pageant or catwalk of some sort, because we all just ended up showing off our dresses (Simone’s in particular worked very well for this). Saturday night turned into a Disney movie marathon with Ashley and my fellow blogger and Kimball captain Colleen—we snuggled in her RA room in Wheeler and had a fantastic time. Some of our other friends and Ashley’s residents slowly added to our little group, and before we knew it, we were packed into her common room and screaming “Be Our Guest” at the top of our lungs. What a great release after a long week!

Sunday, yesterday, was another crazy day for me. I’m thinking of becoming a vegetarian, so my RA MK and I had a long talk about what it’s like to be one, since she has been veg for years. We sat outside of Hogan and watched all of the accepted students wandering around campus, which made me reminisce fondly of the days last spring when I relished the thought of coming to Holy Cross. Of course, I had already known I was coming here in November, but seeing the excitement on the members of the Class of 2013’s faces was priceless. I also helped answer questions at the Classics information session, which emphasized just how much of a family this department is. Professors Nagy and Perry both stated many times that this department has something special about it—it’s top ranked, but even more important than this, it affords us students the opportunity to make lasting bonds with each other and with our professors. The information session proved to me that I wouldn’t want to study Classics anywhere else.

This week is the last full week of classes, and I’m trying not to think about that. I absolutely do not want my freshman year of college to end! I’ll pretty much be living at Kimball for the week, because I have both my regular shifts and a couple training sessions thrown in there as well. All in the name of becoming a good captain! Well, I must get back to my Montserrat final essay outline—I have office hours at 2 and I want to have my ideas in order. Xairete!

Clouds of steam whirled around the head of one young, sweet, kind, hardworking (bet you can’t guess who I’m describing), pink-hatted girl as she took dishes out of the dishwasher, waiting for the clock to strike six so that she could go on yet another adventure.

The captains were kind (on a side note, fellow blogger Colleen was subbing for one of my normal captains, and we had a moment of blogger bonding when we discovered how sheltered we were compared to the guys on my shift during our break) and as soon as six o’clock rolled around, they let the girl and her coworkers go. The coworkers, headed for places unknown, went one way, while our young pink-hatted adventurer dashed back to her dorm, put on non-gross clothing, and ventured to Asia.

Well, that’s almost true. Technically, I only went to Hogan Ballroom. Last night ASIA, the (as seems obvious) Asian group on campus (Advocating Student Interest in Asia) put on their annual performance—ExplorASIAn. The performance includes dinner, and features dances from various Asian countries as well as several short video clips from the hosts, “testimonials” from some members, and  plenty of humor. And no, you do not need to be Asian to attend or be a part of ASIA. I am not a member of the group, but several of my friends are. I went to see them perform, and in my personal, completely biased opinion, the dances they were in were my favorites.

In short, the show was awesome. My future roommate Cynthia did a Vietnamese Candle and Fan dance, which was absolutely gorgeous to watch. My friend Abhi did an Indian hip hop sort of dance with his sister which was surprisingly fantastic (he never struck me as the dancing type). And then my friend Jenny did a Filipino dance called Tinikling, which involves having moving sticks on the ground and jumping around them. It looked cool, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to do it. My lack of grace and balance mixed with moving sticks could never lead to any good outcome. 

This weekend is also Visions Weekend for minority admitted students to come visit the school. I’ve met a few, and I can’t wait to run into more of you (no, I am not sketchy) during admitted students day!

Clouds of steam whirled around the head of one young, sweet, kind, hardworking (bet you can’t guess who I’m describing), pink-hatted girl as she took dishes out of the dishwasher, waiting for the clock to strike six so that she could go on yet another adventure.

The captains were kind (on a side note, fellow blogger Colleen was subbing for one of my normal captains, and we had a moment of blogger bonding when we discovered how sheltered we were compared to the guys on my shift during our break) and as soon as six o’clock rolled around, they let the girl and her coworkers go. The coworkers, headed for places unknown, went one way, while our young pink-hatted adventurer dashed back to her dorm, put on non-gross clothing, and ventured to Asia.

Well, that’s almost true. Technically, I only went to Hogan Ballroom. Last night ASIA, the (as seems obvious) Asian group on campus (Advocating Student Interest in Asia) put on their annual performance—ExplorASIAn. The performance includes dinner, and features dances from various Asian countries as well as several short video clips from the hosts, “testimonials” from some members, and  plenty of humor. And no, you do not need to be Asian to attend or be a part of ASIA. I am not a member of the group, but several of my friends are. I went to see them perform, and in my personal, completely biased opinion, the dances they were in were my favorites.

In short, the show was awesome. My future roommate Cynthia did a Vietnamese Candle and Fan dance, which was absolutely gorgeous to watch. My friend Abhi did an Indian hip hop sort of dance with his sister which was surprisingly fantastic (he never struck me as the dancing type). And then my friend Jenny did a Filipino dance called Tinikling, which involves having moving sticks on the ground and jumping around them. It looked cool, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to do it. My lack of grace and balance mixed with moving sticks could never lead to any good outcome. 

This weekend is also Visions Weekend for minority admitted students to come visit the school. I’ve met a few, and I can’t wait to run into more of you (no, I am not sketchy) during admitted students day!