Rider University > Student Blog

Things are Coming to an End

2008-04-23T10:50:00.008-04:00

posted by: Russ

Today starts my last week of classes as a Rider Universit college student. This is very exciting and emotional for me all at the same time. I do not know where these last 4 years of my life have gone; they went by way to fast. This Rider experience has been life changing in many ways.
Saturday night was when I realized that I am graduating in 3 weeks and my life is changing completely. It was 2 AM and I just left my friends pod. For some reason I wasn't tired and just wanted to walk around campus. So I started to walk by myself just thinking about my life, what’s changing, Rider, the friends I have made here, all of the fun I have had and all the amazing times with my friends I have experienced. I walked all over campus for about 2 hours just looking at buildings and remembering things that I have done. I sat on a bench and just thought about the last 4 years of my life. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I have had. Not forgetting the hard times and struggles too. I can't believe that this part of my life is coming to an end. Sitting outside on the campus green knowing that I would be graduating from that same spot in 3 weeks was hard for me. I didn't want to come to college, I was scared, and now I'm scared to leave. Rider has become my home and all of the people I have met have impacted my life significantly. Rider isn't just a place to go to college; it’s a place to shape the person that you are going to be. You will "find yourself" while being here. The conversations you will have with your friends dig so far into who you are, it’s amazing. Staying up until 4 AM with your roommate, talking about Music or what you want to do when you graduate, when you have to be up at 7 AM, is PRICELESS. These are the times that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

I have made so many amazing friendships that I am going to have for the rest of my life. So many people have helped shape me as a person as well as grow as an individual.

I just want to thank some of my friends. Elizabeth, you have been the most amazing person throughout these last four years. The things we have gone through have made me realize how important you are to me. If I did not have you, I do not know where I would be. You have been the best girlfriend a guy could ask for, I LOVE YOU.

Kenny, you have been the best roommate. Living with you has been rockin, there will never be bad music coming from our room. Julie the conversations we have had over the last 3 years have been amazing. We see eye to eye on so many things. To all the guys that live in the B2nd and 3rd Pod. Jeremey, Joe, Dave, Weber, Simon, and Payton it has been the time of my life living with you this year. The guys upstairs, we have rocked it every weekend and I won't forget it.

Last but not least; Kate, Cher and Kerrie. The three of you girls have helped me through so much. Who would have thought meeting you freshman year would lead to the amazing, unique, and wild friendship we have today.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE THAT I HAVE MET WHILE BEING AT RIDER. YOU HAVE ALL HELPED SHAPE THE PERSON I AM TODAY. I AM GOING TO MISS YOU SO MUCH.

I just want everyone to know how important your friends are while you are at Rider. This is the time to find who you are, in which Rider helps you do that. I graduate in 3 weeks and my life is going to change dramatically. I have a job, I am moving back home for a few months, I am leaving everything I have known for the last 4 years and starting over again. I am scared but ready for the challenge (I think and hope). I am going to write one last time after graduation, to let you know what it feels like to be a RIDER GRADUATE. I hope you look at my experiences and realize that you should live every day, hour, minute, second to the fullest. Don’t ever forget that.

Rock On
Russ

Looking back

2008-04-23T10:41:00.003-04:00

posted by: Georgina

It's amazing how 4 years can really pass by so quickly. My senior year is almost through. Looking back over my time at Rider, I have had a lot of great times. I have met some really amazing faculty and made some amazing friends.

Although I am extremely excited for December to get here so that I can graduate, I am going to miss Rider. It's really the kind people which make Rider stand out in my mind. And all of the basketball games, Bronc buffets, and trips that I've experienced.

I am going to miss being involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. It's full of such a great group of people which love Jesus. I am going to miss the French table talks that I had so that I could keep practicing the beautiful language. I am going to miss tutoring Math and giving tours at Rider. Two of the BEST JOBS that Rider has to offer.

But Rider has really prepared me for life after college. I am going to become a great Math teacher because I have gone to a great school. Now, it's time to continue to make more great memories.

-Georgina

Student Support Services

2008-03-27T09:58:00.004-04:00

posted by: Georgina

The Trio Program is making a difference all across New Jersey. It helps middle school and high school students acheive success in their educations. On a third level, the program aids students obtaining a bachelors through graduate school. I am proud to announce that I am apart of the Trio Program on the college level called "Student Support Services". SSS helps financially disadvantaged, disabled, and first generation students obtain a college degree. They also provide counseling and tutoring services.
SSS has left a mark on my life. I am paying for my own education. My family cannot afford to offer me any assistance. SSS, has helped take the burden of financing a private education, off my shoulders. The SSS staff of Rider are sweethearts. They are also professionally commited to student success. Recently, I took a trip to Washinton, DC with SSS.

I absolutely love History, politics, and DC. The trip was amazing. SSS went to Washington in order to lobby for an increase of funding of the Trio Program. We spoke personally to Senator Menendez and also communicated our cause to Senator Lautenburg's chief assistant Apryl. Our goal is to have a senators vote on increasing the Federal grant money to Trio. Every year the cost of living increases. However, for almost three years the amount of money awarded to Trio has remained the same. Therefore, it was time for Rider SSS students to pay the capitol a visit. Everything was paid for in full for those students who volunteered to go to DC and speak with the senators. There was no way that I was going to miss that opportunity!

Full Time Job

2008-03-13T14:04:00.004-04:00

posted by: Russ

Hey everyone. Long time not talk. I hope everyone is doing well. So I have a good story this week. I GOT A FULL TIME JOB WITH JOHNSON AND JOHNSON. How crazy is that? So I received an e-mail from a recruiter at J & J asking if I was interested in the SLDP Program. That stands for Sales Leadership and Development Program. So I went for the interview at one of the J & J locations and it went amazing. I left feeling really good about what just happened. He told me he was interviewing for 2 days and about 40 people. He also said there was one spot left in the program. Long story short, he called me 2 days later and offered me the position. I was shocked and so excited. I can’t believe all my hard work paid off. I will say that Rider prepared me so well and I would not have gotten this job if it were not for the things I learned here. Being able to answer questions quickly and efficiently really helped me in the interview. I attended an interview training session at our career service office, which really prepared me for my interview. It is a two year contract that I signed in which I am going to work in sales, marketing and logistics. I still can’t believe that I have a full time job. The sense of job security from now until I graduate is amazing. All right well I have to run because I am leaving tonight to go to Tennessee for 4 days to watch a NASCAR race. I am going with my dad and best friend from home. We have a 10-hour ride ahead of us and I am going on 4 hours of sleep so this should be interesting. All of that make it even more fun. Talk to you soon.

Rock on.
Russ

Christmas in February

2008-02-14T14:15:00.006-05:00

posted by: Georgina
What comes to mind when you hear the word February? Most people think of Valentine's Day, roses, and spending time on a romantic date with the one you love. February 2008 will be a year that I'll never forget.

Christmas breaks in college are phenomenal. You get a month and a half off to do whatever you want. Last Christmas was fun, I spent it with friends. But, there's nothing like spending Christmas with family. I'm originally from Baltimore, so all of my family live there. I jumped up and down at the excitement of celebrating Christmas in February with my beautiful family. That's exactly what I did this month. On February 3rd we celebrated each other and gift giving. My family came up from Maryland to my new house in Mullica Hill. It was Christmas, Valentine's Day, and a birthday celebration all rolled in one.
Anna, Aunt Darlene, Mom, Aunt Cynthia, and Granny, I love you!!! I thank God for my family. They have helped me excel in obtaining an higher education. They support me in traveling and helping the world. I wouldn't trade my big, loud, and African-American family for the world! They are always cheering and rooting for my twin sister and me. I promise that you will be able to hear them out of all the families when I graduate from Rider : )
Toodles,

Georgina

Philly Auto Show/ Johnson and Johnson/ Words of Advice

2008-02-13T13:12:00.004-05:00

posted by: Russ

How is everyone doing today? I hope you are staying warm because I am freezing right now. So this weekend I went to the Auto Show in Philadelphia. This show is something that I look forward to every year. When else are you going to be able to sit in very expensive cars that you don’t have to buy? Some of my favorite cars were the new Audi R8, Chevy Corvette R1, and the Dodge Challenger. Now if I could have all three of those cars, I would be a lot happier right now. In my dreams right?

So, it has been a full month since I started working at Johnson and Johnson and I am learning/experiencing a lot. Everyday I work with excel spreadsheets analyzing numbers and developing tables/charts to make comparisons for Senior Management in the Center of Excellence Department. Sounds scary right? Well it is, but I have adjusted well. I am treated like a full time employee, which is very challenging but beneficial at the same time. The material I work on deals with New Item Launches, Displays/promotions for Johnson and Johnson’s consumer department. I never thought I would be able to work hands on with actual displays that are in stores Nation wide. It’s a neat feeling.

All right well I have to run because I am doing a lot of work for J and J and it needs to be completed by 4:00. I will tell you this one last thing. Enjoy every minute of your time at Rider; you will learn it is the best four years of your life. Cherish every time you hang out with your friends, go to a basketball game or even to dinner. Get involved on campus and apply for an on campus job, working in the Admissions Office really helped me grow as an individual as well as shape me into the person that I am today. You don’t realize these things until you take a step back and see where and what you have done throughout your college career. Until next time keep studying, having fun, going to events on campus, and having the time of your life. You only get one chance to go to college, don’t forget that.

Rock On.
Russ

No Car, No Problem

2008-01-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

posted by: Georgina

Okay, so I'm 22 and dreaming and praying and hoping and wishing for a car to call my own. But, I just haven't got one yet! I would really love an Infiniti (because I'm a Math geek) or a LandRover (just like Eliza Thornberry on Nickelodeon) but a nice cute car will do.I really have no problem living on campus without one. I have lots of friends who love to drive. So, I have not missed out on exploring the neighboring towns (Ewing, Princeton, Trenton, Hamilton) around Rider. Rider really has scored major points with me because of the SHUTTLE. Every Saturday the shuttle takes students to Princeton, to the movies, mall, WalMart, and a whole bunch of other places. Who doesn't love to shop? If shopping were a major at Rider, I would have a 4.0 GPA.

So, if you're thinking about Rider and don't have a license or a car. No worries, as a student, you can take the Rider shuttle for free.

C ya later

: )Georgina

Break recap

2008-01-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

posted by: Russ

Hey Everyone,
I feel like it’s been forever since I wrote last, so let’s do a little recap. My birthday happened in December. I turned 22 which was a lot of fun. I celebrated for 4 straight days by going out to dinner and such with my friends and family.

Christmas was great, I saw a lot of family I never see and had a great time relaxing and eating way to much food. I had so many Christmas cookies and was eating left over for weeks. The new years eve celebration was very fun even though I had to work at the Black Bull serving tables. My girlfriend Elizabeth and our friend Julie came in and sat in my section for 3 hours until I was done. Good times. The best part of my vacation was started January 4th.

I went on a 9 day cruise to the Caribbean with 22 of my closest friends. WE HAD THE TIME OF OUR LIFE. I went to St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Hati. The cruise ship was amazing. There were 4 swimming pools, 7 hot tubs, a mini golf course, a rock climbing wall, an ice skating rink and a theater. I could have stayed on that ship longer than the 9 days I was on in a heart beat. I went snorkeling and on 2 speed boat rides. We went shopping and toured the towns. I ate at a restaurant in Dominican Republic and the woman did not speak any English. It was very hard to order and pay the bill. HAHAHAHA. The food was amazing as well, and we were able to order as much as we wanted at once. I ate 4 lobster tails the one night.

I got back from the cruise last Sunday and the next day I started working at Johnson and Johnson. I worked 44 hours this week and have been swamped with work as well as trying to learn everything as I go along. I am going to talk about my new job a lot more in the next blog because my brain hurts right now from all of the thinking I have done in the last week at J n J. HAHAHA. I also have to wake up at 6:45 every morning now so I need to get my sleep. The real world has begun and it’s very scary. I will say that this is going to be a great learning experience for myself. Alright until next time, good luck this semester and I will talk to you soon.
Rock and Roll
Russ

Working at Rider

2008-01-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

posted by: Georgina
Well, I've always wanted to be born into a millionaire family. However, that didn't quite happen! So, until I make my first million, I have to keep working. Rider is full of neat on-campus job opportunities. And what's great about it is that anyone can have a job, even if he/she is not receiving Financial Aid from the Federal Government (some schools have this rule).

I have had an on-campus job ever since my freshmen year at Rider. Working has helped keep me focused on finishing homework and managing my time. There are a variety of jobs to find at Rider. I suggest working in the library or one of the computer labs, if you like to do homework as you work. If you are great at tutoring you could choose from a list of subjects to tutor at the Student Success Center.

Among the great jobs that I have worked while at Rider, I have enjoyed working the most in the Center for Reading and Writing (as a teaching aide), the Math Skills Lab (as a Math tutor), and Admissions (as a tour guide). All of my on-campus jobs have helped prepare me for teaching Mathematics.

So, one day when I become a millionaire I will owe part of my gratitude to my education at Rider University.

Dealing with stress

2007-11-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

posted by: Georgina

Okay, life is great but sometimes you get some lemons. So as the saying goes make lemonade : ) You can make it through anything that you set your mind to accomplish.

Just in case no one ever told you, college is hard. But don't worry, building a great support system helps keep you alive. It is so important to keep in touch with your family while in college. They care about you a lot. And if you are independent from your family, it's crucial that you find great friends to just hang out with.

Sometimes there is a lot of pressure for students to do well in college. Rider just wants to prepare you. It is not crucial for you to get all A's. However, it is essential for you to try your hardest, network, and graduate with a degree.

Getting involved on campus helps keep stress levels down. I love working out at our new gym. My faith keeps me strong and I have some great friends to call on when I need them. So, although I have a bad case of "senioritis," I am preparing myself to finish my last year and become a successful math teacher.

If I can do it you can too : )

Thanksgiving can't come soon enough

2007-11-27T10:39:00.000-05:00

posted by: Russ
Alright so ever since I have been writing these blogs of mine, I have realized that I am a very busy person. Who knew? Hahahah. So Thanksgiving is coming up in two days or so and I CAN NOT WAIT. I need a mental and physical break from school. Last week I worked 5 nights in a row on an International Management project until 3 AM. Long nights but I had to do it to get everything done. It was a 35 slide PowerPoint presentation as well as a half hour in class presentation. Wow that was fun. But the fun never stops for me because all weekend I have been finishing up another project, Retail Management. We had to create a store and put together a business plan, sales objectives, target market, store atmosphere etc. This has been a fun project but very time consuming. I think it’s up to about 15 to 20 pages already. So I told all of you that work at the admissions office, well yesterday was a big day. It was our second open house on the semester and it went AWESOME. We had over 1,300 people show up and we took it on well, even though it was rainy and cold. I was giving tours in the rain all day but you know what, it’s worth it when you can possibly make someone’s decision about college it little easier. Alright well I have to run because I have class, class, work, class, project, and some more class. I LOVE BEING A SENIOR. HAHAHAHAHHA. O yea and a little side note for everyone, MONICA, the woman that I send my blogs to every week, SHE ROCKS and is an AMAZING person to work for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE BE SAFE AND EAT A LOT OF TURKEY.

Rock and roll
Russ

Twenty-one And Having Fun

2007-11-09T07:13:00.000-05:00

posted by: Georgina
Okay. Stop. Pause right there. This is the kind of memory that will last a lifetime. Last December my twin sister and I spent our twenty-first birthday in Paris, France. What an unbelievable and beautiful place! In the fall of my junior year, I studied abroad in Paris in order to complete my French minor. The whole thing is really a miracle. I won a full scholarship to go. I spent four and a half glorious months in the fashion capital of the world studying at one of the best schools in Europe, l'Université de la Sorbonne. Boy, do I miss being there!!!! One day I am going to live there for twenty years. Who knows, I may even meet my husband there.

French culture is so much different from American culture. I love it! People take pride in eating together and enjoying each other's company. Meals, especially dinner, could last hours as people converse about French history, fashion, or international news. One thing I learned quickly while I was there: was to stay away from political issues. But besides that, everything was fun.
My twin sister Anna came to visit me for three weeks. She helped make my homesickness go away. We went up the Eiffel Tower together. We went out to eat, SHOPPING, and to the movies. We even went to DISNEYLAND PARIS together : ) What an awesome trip. My 21st birthday was a blast.

Job Interview and Halloween

2007-11-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

posted by: Russ

So ,a lot has happened in the last two weeks. I had my resume edited,yet again, by the career services office and after the woman looked at my resume, she forwarded it to Johnson and Johnson for a co-op opportunity. I met with the recruiters 3 times over the last two weeks. I did a mock interview training session and brushed up on my people skills. I had the interview on Monday; I had to wear a suit which was very scary. The interview went amazing. I feel I answered all their questions in the correct way and gave good examples of my prior work experience. That was the first job interview I have been on, even though it was scary and intimidating, it was a great learning experience. This is all in preparation to hopefully obtain a full time job in the “Real World.” Scary isn’t it?

Now for some fun stuff, Halloween was a blast. I didn’t have a costume until very last minute. As you can see I was “Dead.” HAHAHAHAA. I went to a couple Halloween parties and the Student Recreation Center costume contest, unfortunately I didn’t win. Darn. Haha. I ate way to much candy but had a lot of fun.

Wish me luck with Johnson and Johnson and let’s hope I am 1 of the 9 that they select for this sales and logistics position.

Cross your fingers for me.

Talk to you soon.

Russ

Semester in Full Swing

2007-10-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

posted by: Russ

So, I thought I was busy two weeks ago. YEA RIGHT! The semester is finally in full swing and I am experiencing it first hand. I am doing three semester long group projects this year. I have been working on them every other day in order to keep up with deadlines for each section that is due weekly. I have been working in the Admissions Office every Tuesday and Thursday in addition to working at a restaurant called Black Bull in Holland, Pennsylvania on Wednesday’s. Busy, Busy, Busy.

Not to mention that I have been back and forth to the Career Service Office having my resume critiqued and finalized so I can start applying for a full-time job. Talking about a real job is very scary but I feel that I am ready and that Rider has prepared me for everything I am about to face in the real world. I have been trying to relax a little as well because things get busy and stressful real easy. I went toMAACness which was a blast. Got my free t-shirt like always. I have also beenplaying a lot of guitar, learning new songs and trying to write a few songs as well. Speaking of guitar, I think I am going to go play now since I have been sitting at my desk doing work for about four hours now. I deserve it.

Until next time.

Rock on.

Russ

Rider is full of opportunities....

2007-10-19T15:19:00.000-04:00

posted by: Georgina

Courses here are so diverse. As a mathematics and secondary ed major I have taken a variety of fun classes. Who ever thought class could be fun!!!! Can you imagine it? Okay, trigonometry and calculus may not be your cup of tea. But, there's also World History, Black American Literature, Shakespearean Literature, language classes, and a whole lot more. Although, I enjoyed going to class in high school, classes in college are on a whole new level. In college you dig deeper in to subjects and you talk about a lot of debatable issues. I never studied world religions until college classes at Rider. My politics class devoted class time to debating issues they were directly affecting Americans and the world.

If you think courses are diverse at Rider, check out the student population. Some of my closest friends are international students. I have friends from Shanghai, China, and Belarus, and Haiti. I have made close connections with them so that one day I'll be able to travel to visit them.

It's always nice to have a friend when you're in a foreign country. Not to mention free food and a place to stay!!!!!!

Georgina's introduction

2007-10-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

posted by: Georgina

Rider is a place full of experiences just waiting to happen. High school has its exciting moments but nothing to be compared to COLLEGE. When I fist came to Rider, I was a little scared. I had no idea what to expect. I thought that it would be just like high school only you had to stay in a smelly dorm room with a disgusting bathroom. I come from a long line of women who like things neat and clean. But Rider came to the rescue. We have cleaning crews which clean the halls and bathrooms everyday. Everything is virtually spotless. One could become pretty lazy at college (lol).Okay, I'm not your average young adult. I am a clean "fanatic," bubbly, spontaneous, a book worm, and a Christian. But, I can tell you that I absolutely love being a college student at Rider. There are so many fun things to do! So many creative people to meet. And the campus is gorgeous.

I'm a Mathematics and Secondary Ed major and I have a minor in French. Hence, academics keep me really busy. But in my fun time: I spend time with friends, shop, go to the movies, do hair, and eat out at near-by restaurants. College is no sweat. All it takes is determination, hard work, and lots of coffee (well in my case, lots and lots of hot chocolates) and success in college is bound to happen.

Until the next time,
Georgina

A Busy Start to the Semester

2007-10-03T08:50:00.000-04:00

posted by: Russ

So, I can’t believe that we are in week four of the semester already. I feel like we just moved in. These last couple weeks have been crazy busy for me. Starting all new classes, working two jobs, the fun never stops. All of my classes are going very well so far. I am taking a full five class load this semester. I can’t believe that this is my senior year. I seems like I just got to Rider, how can I been moving on in less than a year already? So, in the last four days I have had three exams. It was so hard to get back into the "Study" mode again. It was five months since I turned my brain on to school work, but when I need to work hard, I can get the job done......I did because on my first exam in retail management I got a "B." Woooo ... a good start. HAHAHAHA. The other two exams were a little harder though. I am kind of scared to see what I got on them but we will see.

So, I went to Bronc Bingo last weekand I was barely getting any numbers. I was saying "this is rigged," but it clearly wasn’t. HAHAHAH. It was a lot of fun...I almost won Starbucks gift cards but I don’t like coffee so good thing I didn’t win them. Alright well I better go be studious and start studying for my next exam in a couple days as well as do all my homework. Don’t forget to go to the Hockey games because they give out free hot chocolate. It’s awesome...and they sell soft pretzels which I'm obsessed with.

Talk to you soon.

Russ

Introduction: Russ

2007-09-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone my name is Russ, and I'm a Senior Marketing Major from Newtown, Pennsylvania. Before I get into everything about Rider, let me tell you a little about myself.

I am 21 years old and love to play music. I have played guitar for eight years and have been in three bands. I played guitar on the radio and came in second place in a contest to perform on stage at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. As you can see, I LOVE MUSIC. I am also obsessed with cars. I have worked on two race car teams and I just built a race car with my Dad. Going to the racetrack is something I enjoy doing when racing my own car or going to a NascarNextel Cup Race. I played football, basketball, soccer, and baseball growing up and still play these sports for fun in my free time. I am a very easy going person. I enjoy meeting new people. I will talk to anyone that can hold an interesting conversation. I am always up for new things and also a good listener. Alright enough of my rambling.

I chose to attend Rider University for many reasons. When I visited campus as a senior in high school, I immediately realized that the faculty and staff wanted to get to know me as a student and on a more personal level as well. This surprised me because my first thought about college was that I was on my own, and no one was going to help me with anything. This is not the case at Rider. I also love the feeling you get when you come to campus. To me it's a very "Home" feeling. I feel like I am part of a second family, the Rider Community. There are so many clubs and activities on campus that I knew were going to keep me occupied on the weekends. To sum all this up for you, I chose Rider because of the personal interaction between the student and faculty/staff, the atmosphere on campus, the activities/events on campus, and our competitiveness of our Division 1 Athletic sports teams.

As I said earlier my major is Marketing and I couldn't be happier withmy career direction. The Business department is top notch and I can’t even list how much I have learned since I have been here. Some of the things I do on campus are Emerging leaders, Student Entertainment Council, MASA(Marketing club),CREWW(Business Program), tour guide, student ambassador, intramural basketball and football, and REVVD(Car Club). There are so many things to do on campus and if anyone is interested in any of these clubs or activities I would be more than happyto inform you about them. I hope that you have an a little insight about my life so far, I promise you there is much much more to come. I look forward to meeting new people and helping anyone with get adjusted on campus.

Talk to you soon.
Russ

Break

2007-06-01T10:41:00.000-04:00

posted by: Zuri

So, break is wrapping up. I had a good time. My boyfriend came to visit for the week, which was exciting because w e haven't seen each other in two long months. So, as a good hostess, I took him to see a couple of tourist attractions. All in one day, we went to see the changing of the guards, again, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Big Ben, and the London Eye. He had a great time, as this was his first trip to Europe. During the week we also saw the London Bridge, The Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. The rest of the days were spent shopping and visiting museums. Also, today is St. Patrick's Day and supposedly, it's a big deal here, so I can't wait to experience that tonight. Until next time.

2007-04-02T11:10:00.010-04:00

posted by: Zuri

So, I've actually just started being quite busy here. I have two new projects due in the upcoming week. Fortunately, I've finished one yesterday and I'm almost done with the other. Besides, that school is good. The trips are better though. In addition, to attending museums for my History of London class, I've gotten to attend my first installation for my Art in Context class. The artist made a replica of a hotel in an abandoned building. The work is actually called "Hotel" and it's located in eastern London where a lot of immigrants reside. He basically wanted to depict the time when the immigrants first migrated over and were too poor to afford their own housing. Unfortunately, you weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was quite interesting because some of the rooms included secret tunnels in the walls and floors.

I also got a chance to attend London's Fashion Weekend. It was located in the Natural History Museum and it had over 100 designers selling their merchandise at what they considered a discounted price. I only managed to afford a t-shirt and a necklace though. Spring break is right around the corner as well, so I'm pretty excited for that. My boyfriend's coming to visit London for the first time so I have to a be a tour guide for a week. Until next time.

Zuri

2007-04-02T11:10:00.008-04:00

posted by: Nick
The past couple weeks have been pretty busy. About two weeks ago, there was an event held called the Rider Rumba, which was a dance-a-thon to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was a lot of fun. There were dance contests, lots of cool prizes, and lots of food. My fraternity had a team for this event and we raised $200. The entire event raised over $5,000, so it was very successful.

My fraternity also attended a Superbowl party in the Student Recreation Center. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of food and lots of chairs setup in front of the big screen TV for everyone to watch the game. I enjoyed the event, although I must say that I was disappointed with the commercials this year!

This past weekend, I went to Salisbury, Maryland with my brother and sister to visit a friend that attends Salisbury University. It was fun because we celebrated her birthday, and I haven’t seen her since I left for school in September. While I was in Maryland, the executive board of my fraternity attended a regional leadership conference in Washington, DC that was run by our fraternity’s national headquarters. Once we all returned to Rider, I was surprised to learn that I received an Outstanding Senior Award at the conference. I was the only one selected out of all the chapters in my district, so it’s pretty exciting.

Well, I’m off to do some homework and studying. Talk to you again soon!

-Nick

Spring Break

2007-04-02T11:10:00.007-04:00

posted by: Nikki

Almost spring break!

Well it is just about spring break and I cannot wait! I am going on a little vacation to Disney World and it should be a lot of fun. As for the weeks that have passed since I last wrote, things have been picking up. I went to see Gross Indecency… BRAVO to all of the actors and actresses in it! They did an awesome job! Also, The Vagina Monologues was great! All the girls did an amazing job! BRAVO to them too! Also, my work has finally gotten started haha. I had to do an oral presentation that went very well. Now I have to write a paper and prepare for my first midterm! Aside from all of that, a bunch of my friends are pledging sororities right now. I am thinking about doing it next semester because they seem to be having a great time! Oh, and I cannot wait for summer to come! I am so sick of the cold and everything that winter brings! Although I will miss being here…. Well that is about it for this week. Hope everyone is doing well!

-Nikki

Random Monday Night :-)

2007-04-02T11:10:00.006-04:00

posted by: Katie

And so the busy-ness of senior year continues! I've been working on a package for the television studio with students' opinions about the "Lost Tomb of Jesus" documentary on the Discovery Channel last Sunday. I was around campus interviewing people and what they thought of the matter. At one point, some credible people refused to comment, which made me feel like a real journalist after a story, even if I just wanted opinions. But the package turned out great, and I did a stand up in the end, where I am in front of the camera at a location relating to the story. I have to practice this kind of stuff if I want to become a broadcast journalist one day, and practicing as a correspondent, where I would commonly start off, is helpful.

I've also been working on a documentary that my sorority sister and I are putting together for our classes about international adoption, and assimilating the children into mainstream American culture. Since we are the producers, directors, writers , ect, we've been doing research on the matter, contacting families that we know relate to this topic and searching for authorities with knowledge on the topic for an interview. Since spring break is coming up soon, I will most likely be working on school work and this documentary, than go on a vacation. Sometimes spring break is a good way to catch up on work, and just a much needed calm, slow week.

But there is the occasional fun thrown in there! My chapter had a sisterhood event last Friday, and we went ice skating. We got a group rate, and only paid 5 dollars for a whole night of ice skating. I had a blast, skating with sisters, and I can proudly say I did not fall. I might have crashed into sisters though to stop me.... But overall, I was a good skater. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to go again! We're planning more events, and we might go for laser tag in Princeton Junction, where there is a huge arena for it. I can't wait for that!

I will admit though that I was a little bit of a slacker this week. I was supposed to finish a paper, which I always make sure is done earlier than crunch time, and instead, I had a bunch of my sisters in my room last night. It started watching Deal or No Deal, and then by midnight, we must have had 10 people in my room laughing and telling jokes. That's what I love about college, about Rider, that something unexpected and fun can happen on a Monday night at random. I will miss t hat most of all when I graduate.

~Katie

Preparing for Spring Break

2007-04-02T11:10:00.005-04:00

posted by: Nick

Things sure have been busy lately! I've had a lot of exams and midterms in the past week, and I have more this week. But, I'm managing. So far, I've done well on all the tests I got back, which is good. Mom and dad will be happy. I just need to get through this week and then it will be Spring Break! For Spring Break, I'm flying down to Florida with my mom, dad, brother, and sister to visit my Grandma, and of course hit the beaches for a nice tan! Some of my friends are going to be staying in another part of Florida, so I may take a road trip to see them while I'm there as well. I'm tired of winter, so I'm ready for some sun and warm weather, although it’s starting to warm up here too. Rider is more enjoyable in the warm weather because the campus seems much more active. A lot more people hang outside. You'll find a lot of students playing volleyball on one of the outdoor volleyball courts, BBQing on the grills outside the residence halls, or playing frisbee on the campus mall.

A couple weekends ago we had Bid Day, which is when bids (invitations for membership) are given out by the fraternities and sororities to people that they want to join. My fraternity had a very successful recruitment this year. We had 18 people accept our bids, which is the largest new member class we have ever had! My fraternity has a continuous recruitment strategy, so we continue to recruit after Bid Day, but 18 is a great start! All of the new guys seem really great too, so I'm looking forward to getting to know them in the coming weeks. It's good to know that I'll be leaving my chapter in good hands when I graduate in May.

Well, I have some more homework and studying to do, so that’s all for now. Talk to you soon!

-Nick

Luncheon

2007-04-02T11:10:00.004-04:00

posted by: Katie

Usually my weeks are very busy, and this past week was no exception, but it was all busy fun! Last week, when I was in New York for my internship, I attended a luncheon at the Princeton Club with featured speaker Anchor Soledad O'Brien from American Morning from CNN. My aunt, who lives in New York, found out about the luncheon since she is an alumni of the college that helped organize the event. So I took a taxi to the Princeton Club, ate a really nice lunch, and spoke to people that were involved in the media. I sat with a woman from the Bravo Network and talked with her a lot during the luncheon, trying to network and talk to women in the business already. But when Soledad came on, I was so surprised at how funny and interesting she was. I almost expected the speaker to talk about how she juggles her career and her huge family, which she did discuss, but she was a great speaker that entertained me while I learned something. I got advice from her during her speech, because I want to become an anchor as well, and I learned how she got her foot in the door in a business that's tough.

Another super fun event this weekend was Bid Day! It's the day that all the fraternities and sororites find out who their new members are, and they run up onto the balcony of the student center, and all the members of each chapter scream and yell below. Everybody screams their chapter songs and chants. It's a huge tradition here at Rider, and it's one of my favorites. It was my last Bid Day too, so it was a little depressing. After the balcony, each chapter goes back to their house on campus, and has a little dance party, or at least we do. We have music and pizza and we give our new members gifts, like picture frames with our mascot on them. We also took a great picture of all the girls in the house that are lettered - meaning that they are able to wear their boyfriend's fraternity letters, which is a huge deal. Even though it was my last Bid Day, I still went to work back home, but came back as soon as I could that night. I'll definetly miss this event when I graduate, along with everything else that I've done here at Rider.

~Katie

Exams

2007-04-02T11:10:00.003-04:00

posted by: Joshi

I had two major exams this week for my French and History classes this week. Preparing for two exams can be a pretty daunting task but in college it's one of the things that you have to get used to! The good part about them is that my professors helped me so much in the preparation for the exams. They reviewed all of the material during class and made sure that we weren't confused about what was expected. To help me study I went to a tutor at the Student Support Services (a program that I'm involved in) and she helped me organize my thoughts for the essay in the History exam. I feel pretty confident about my grade on both exams and I can't wait to get them back!

I finally went back to the site that I B. It was great because I was able to work with some kids that really have this desire to learn. It really inspired me and allowed me to feel good! We worked on persuasive essay writing for the GEPA prep. It was interesting because I hadn't done any of that in so long, actually not since eighth grade! It turned out to be really good practice for me as well because by helping them I was reinforcing things that I learned in writing throughout my life! Well, off to decorate for the Bronc Buffet and I will tell you about that next week!

More news on Tuesday,

joshii!

Volunteering

2007-04-02T11:10:00.002-04:00

posted by: Nikki

Hey everybody. I am glad to report that these last two weeks have been pretty average for me haha. By that I mean that my classes are going great and there have been no impossibly hard tests or anything. In the next week I have to start volunteering at Millhill, a school/daycare for kids 2 months to 5 years of age. Some of the kids have learning disabilities and are there for help while others are just there for regular schooling. I think that is great because it integrates the classrooms so that all the kids have an equal experience. I am really excited to be volunteering there since I want to be a special education teacher. Plus, I get to interact with a bunch of cute kids! Also I am going to see Gross Indecency. The director came into my research writing class and talked to us about how the play is going to go. It sounds like it is going to be a really good show! All right, well I know it was a little short but that's all that is going on for me right now. Talk to you soon!

-Nikki

Another busy week has passed

2007-04-02T11:10:00.001-04:00

posted by: Katie
Most of it spent in the television studio of course. That's the difference between Communications majors and other majors, my final "papers" are edited projects. Also, I was the producer of the News at Rid er this week, so I spent 4 hours writing a 5 page script for half an hour-not that easy! Now I know how the writers feel when they have to write a half hour script at my internship in New York. But I finished and it made it so easy to read the teleprompter when we were taping, I didn't really have to do a practice run.

This weekend, along with taping it for the news, I went to Protestant Campus Ministry's (PCM) Hugs and Hope for Kids Valentine's Making party. I had to go for the news, but I was so happy that I did! I had so much fun, and stayed until the v ery end, and most of the time didn't even tape. We made valentines for the organization Hugs and Hope for Kids, an organization that has a directory of sick kids that people can write to and send packages to. We made all different kinds, for 2 boys and 2 girls that PCM "adopted." We also had valentines snacks, like heart cookies, and watched the Wedding Singer while we colored and glued valentines. I'm really glad that the news sends me to places that are not just cool to tape, but really fun to be at.

I also went last Friday to the State Museum to do some extra credit for my Mesozoic Ruling Reptiles class. My professor is currently on a dig in Patagonia (the middle of nowhere!) in South America for a week. So he provided an extra credit w orksheet for us to answer, in conjunction with visiting the museum. I liked doing something different from the classroom, and the trip helped when I had the test this past Monday.

But most importantly, the semester is going by so fast! It's already week 4, and I graduate in 3 months. So I make sure to spend a lot of my free time with my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. Soon, we'll all have to move out of the house we c alled home, apart from my best friends accross the hall, down the hall, upstairs...We try to have a lot of fun, though! One of my sisters bought a Karaoke Machine, and we sang with it this weekend, which is always fun! We've been playing with the karaoke machine a lot lately - we'll just knock on our sister's door and go in and play. I'm really going to miss it all when I graduate!

~Katie

Ice

2007-04-02T11:10:00.000-04:00

posted by: Joshi

So, the snow has begun! OR SHOULD I SAY ICE!! I'm on duty tonight for two buildings( because Wright Hall and Gee Hall share duty from Sunday-Wednesday)and that means that I have to walk from Gee to Wright twice in order to do my rounds. The walk over there was really slippery and I almost fell! Anyways, I can't wait until
class tomorrow because we'll be having our first video-conference with students from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. This is truly going to be an eyeopener for many of us because most of us haven't been to the Middle East. Although I have friends that are from the Middle East I have never had the privilege of traveling there. This class will allow me to do just that. The class is called the Student Global Village and we are connected to people from an area that, previous to the beginning of the class, we have no true knowledge of. More on that topic next week!

Tomorrow is also Valentine's Day! The Black Student Union is holding an event called Celebration of Black Love at the Rider Pub tomorrow. We will be having DJ Wes Will, a great DJ that we asked to play slow jams for the evening, and the event will also display some of Rider's poets. People are encouraged to dress up as famous black couples of the past and the present and it would be honoring Black love for Black History Month.

Exams have officially begun. Well not in all of my classes, but, I just had my first exam for my French 496 class (Special Studies: Francophone) and I will be having my next exam on Tuesday for my History 151 class (World History since 1500). Wish me luck and I will talk to you next week!

joshii!

Changing of the Guards

2007-02-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

posted by: Zuri

Okay, so I was really excited about going to see Andy Warhol's work, however it wasn't as interesting as I intended. The worst part about it all was that it took more time trying to find the place then to see the art. I was literally in there for eight minutes. Also, the gallery was featuring his earlier works which weren't as colorful and entertaining as his later pieces. However, something good happened to me. I got to meet the mayor of "the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea" where I am a resident for the next four months. The school gave an American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) reception at the town hall and we were all able to meet and mingle with him.

This past week I also got to see the Changing of the Guards. It's when the new guards replace the old guards that watch over Buckingham Palace. They are replaced every 48 hours and given a huge celebration everytime. But, that's pretty much it, I have two group projects to look forward to this upcoming week, so I guess I should get started.

Until next time.

Zuri

Fashion Show

2007-02-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshabel

Hey again,
So, we just started planning the fashion show that will be going on at Rider in about two months. There's so much work to do, but, I'm so excited for it. Auditions are going to be in just a week and I will be one of the judges! The show will be co-sponsored by three organizations: Women's Center, the Black Student Union, and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
In class, we've had so much reading that it's hard to keep up but when the professor reviews it in class it's great because it reinforces everything that I read. Taking two French classes back to back has been even better because I've been improving on my French skills dramatically. With two hour and a half sessions of each class: An Introduction of French Literature and Special Studies: Francophonie, it's hard not to improve.

The best part about classes though is that I've planned them so that none start before 10 AM so that I can go mentor kids at the Emily Fisher Charter School. Recently, the program has switched so that I am now mentoring eighth grade students instead of high school students. I feel that much more progress has been made and that they are much more receptive to accepting some direction from a college student. Now, when I walk out of the school I feel like I've accomplished something and it really makes me feel good! Well, 'til lata!

joshii!

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself-the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us-that's where it's at." -Jesse Owens

Internship is fun!

2007-02-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

It's been another long week, and I've been super busy as always. My internship is becoming a lot of fun - now I have been finding stories that I want to pitch for a tv segment. It's really cool, finding stuff that I choose, and if it gets on the air, then it was my idea! It makes me feel like I am actually working at a big network, doing something the network can actually use.

I've also been really busy with the television studio. Going out and taping events, and then editing them can take some time. Like until 1am kind of time, but it's all worth it, watching what I have done myself make it on air. I'm really excited that the communications department is starting the Rider University Network online, so people can now go online, anywhere in the world, and check out the station, and see what's playing right then. Now people can watch me as the anchor, all over the world- maybe help me get a job...? I like my major though- it's not just writing papers, it's entertaining people, which makes it the best major, and job, out there. For example, this Friday was the Rider Rumba, a dance-a-thon to raise money for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. My job was to go there, tape the event, and have fun! It was a blast, Rider raised a lot of money, and there were some great prizes, like a hotel stay in Atlantic City, and a 9 day Carribean Cruise to the person who raised the most money.

Even though I have been super busy, I do find time to hang out with friends, and just relax. Right now, the game Guitar Hero on Playstation is sweeping the campus-literally. Everyone seems to be playing it. I even got it as a Christmas present and play it in my room. It's definetly the thing to do after classes and homework.

But now I am off again...and will most likely play Guitar Hero after class, work and meetings...something to look forward to during this busy time!

~Katie

My two courses in London

2007-02-05T14:22:00.000-05:00

posted by: Zuri
So, I'm really enjoying myself in London. The classes aren't that bad. I set up my schedule so I can have Fridays free which will allow me to travel on the weekends cheaper. I noticed though, that the school system in England focuses more on group projects than individual projects as we would more commonly have in the U.S.. I have a group project in every class. I'm not complaining though, because I find it less stressful for me.

I was smart during course registration time and decided to take two courses that allow trips once a week. The first is "History of London" which I find rather interesting because I learn so much more about my new home away from home. Not to mention, the professor takes us to museums every Wednesday. So, far I have gone to the Museum of London and the British Museum. However, this is the only course that I have to pay a fee because some of the museums charge. I had to pay 20 pounds which is equivalent to 40 U.S. dollars. Yea, I know it might sound like alike, but you can't really think about it when you spend money because you'll never buy anything. At least that's what I keep telling myself (haha). The other class is "Art in Context". The basis of this class is to be able to look at a work of art and be able to tell exactly what the artist was thinking. I find it so exciting. I always wanted to be that person that can walk in a gallery and decipher the meanings of the art work with no hesitation. Sounds fun right? So, every Tuesday this professor takes us to art galleries. So, far we have gone to the White Cube Mason's Yard Gallery and saw the work of Anselm Kiefer. He's a German artist who's most famous for his two monumental towers titled Jericho. They are suppose to represent the Twin Towers. But, I'm so ecstatic for the upcoming Tuesday because we are going to see the work of Andy Warhol at the Timothy Taylor Gallery. His name speaks for itself!
Until next time.

Zuri

Black History Month

2007-02-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshabel

What a week! Black History Month officially began yesterday and, at Rider, the Black Student Union has a series of events which this year show the impact of black. Maxine Maxwell performed in the Bart Ludeke Center theatre last night and it was truly an amazing moment which even brought tears to my eyes. The show that she performed was called "Echoes of the Past" and it was a series of five monologues which really made me experience and feel the pain and strength the people that she portrayed have.

This semester my classes are amazing! I have two French classes and an enthralling History course and of course I told you about my course in Jamaica over winter break and then I have a course called the Student Global Village. The Student Global Village is a course where we videoconference with students from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. We've been preparing ourselves by learning about the region's history and culture and we begin video-conferencing on Valentine's Day! I will update you when we start that portion of the course.

Right now I'm on duty (it's my turn to take care of the building) so 'til lata!

joshii!

I'm graduating in May

2007-02-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nick
The second week of classes is almost over already… time sure flies! I wish time would slow down. I'm graduating in May, so I'd like to stretch my last semester at Rider out as long as possible. I'm really going to miss it here, but, I have a couple months before I have to worry about that!

I'm taking a full course load this semester. Actually, one of my classes is a graduate-level class. I am ahead and I only need four classes to finish my undergraduate degree, so I got approval to take the graduate class as a second semester senior. It's pretty exciting! I really am enjoying my classes so far. All of my professors are awesome, which definitely makes the classes much more enjoyable. The course material is also very interesting because I'm taking all of my major core courses.

So far, I've managed to keep one of my New Year's resolutions of going to the gym regularly. I've worked out a schedule to go three times per week for an hour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will last throughout the rest of the semester.

My fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon) is also keeping me busy. It's "rush" right now, which is the period of time during the first few weeks of school when there is a big push to recruit new members. It continues until Bid Day, which is on February 17 th , so we'll be holding a lot of recruitment events until then. So far, we've had a Guitar Hero (which seems to be the latest craze to take over Rider's campus) tournament and a BBQ. We're also planning a Superbowl Party, an Applebee's night, and a video game night, as well as a few others.

I've also been busy running the Interfraternity Council, which I'm the President of. We had our winter retreat before we moved back to school and we had our first meeting on Tuesday. My schedule also includes Student Government Senate meetings, working in the Admission Office and at the Information Desk in the Student Center and homework.

Yes, I'm busy, but I really do love everything that I'm involved with at Rider. Plus, I'll be working full-time after I graduate, so I have to get used to a busy schedule. OK, time to get some homework done… talk to you soon!

-Nick

First week is over

2007-01-31T15:08:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

My first week back to school is over, and I'm glad. I'm so busy already! I always need that first week to get things together, trying to get into the mode of things. I'm actually updating my blog while I am at my internship at a major t.v. network.
But this weekend I spent a lot of time in the television studio, where, as a TV and Radio major, that's where all my free time seems to go! We recently organized a "news team" so we can be more on task and focused with the News at Rider, our campus news program, where I am also the anchor. There are only six of us, and we are each producing packages, for a half hour show, so that means running around campus going to as many events as we can, and then editing the footage that we take.

It's a lot of work, but it's also fun because we get to know what's going on campus at all times, and reporting it to other students. And that's where I am headed after my internship today, back to the Rider television studio; I guess I just can get enough of the TV!

~Katie

Back in the swing of things

2007-01-31T15:01:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nikki

It's only the second week of classes and I already feel at home. I love my new classes and my new teachers. I even have one teacher that I had last semester. This time around settling into classes seems so much easier. I guess that already having friendships established makes it less scary. Although, establishing new ones is always great too!

Last night was my first meeting this semester in my Emerging Leaders group; it was great to be back.

The "freshman 5, 10 or 15" (wherever you fit in) is not a myth and I'm swearing to introduce myself to the gym this semester and have lots of salads for lunch.

My courses this semester seem pretty typical. Two of them require doing some volunteer service (which I actually love haha) and group projects. I love group projects because you get to brainstorm and get together with friends all at the same time. Another class requires me to see the new show by the Fine Arts department, The Trials of Oscar Wilde (I love theater, so this will be great). Tonight I'm headed to
movie night for another class assignment.

This was an exciting week for me. I received notification that I made the Dean's List, and I was invited to join the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. On lighter notes, today was my brother, Justin's, 17th birthday (Happy Birthday Justin). He is now on the road among us. I am also the proud owner of a Conover Hall sweatshirt.

Life is good....

Well, that's all for now, hope you're all doing great. Talk to you soon.

Nikki

I'm in London!

2007-01-29T13:20:00.000-05:00

posted by: Zuri
Hello, everyone. I'm Zuri . I'm a junior here at Rider University. I'm from Newark, New Jersey and I chose Rider because like my high school Morristown-Beard in Morristown , New Jersey, it is relatively small. I love it. Everyone is so friendly, it's so easy to make friends, and the classroom size is a good enough number that you wouldn't be intimated to ask questions and the professors will also get to know you.

Another way to meet people is to join clubs and organizations that interest you. Although, I'm not on any committee boards, I still like to be an active member by attending their events. Currently, I'm in the Black Student Union and Women's Center. I also have two on campus jobs. I work as an office assistant for Residence Life and as a tour guide and student ambassador for Admissions. I spent my first two and a half years at Rider living the typical college life. Live on campus, attend campus events, hang out with friends, and let's not forget--attend class.

However, I got accepted to study abroad in London, England for my second semester junior year and it is amazing. I now attend Richmond, The American International University in London. I'm taking a full load of courses, however, they don't offer the courses I need for my major, so the credits will just transfer as general liberal arts and science electives which are still needed. Despite all that, the experience here is great. I would highly recommend studying abroad to anyone.

I'm meeting so many new people from all over the world and as a "first timer" in Europe I still feel like a tourist and I've been here for a week now. I'm the girl who stands in the tube station (train station) with the huge map in her hand. ( haha ). But, I'm here for four months so I know in the end I will be able to leave my residence hall without my map. Until next time.

Zuri

My internship

2007-01-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

posted by:Katie
So, this is the semester I graduate, and I am surely not taking it easy. I have some interesting classes, like a course called Mesozoic Ruling Reptiles, an elective, where I learn about dinosaurs and looked at fossils during the first class. And then there are my course requirements, Advanced TV, where I will finally get to make the movie I wrote for one of my classes when I was studying abroad in London. But most importantly, I have my internship, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and my first day was this Tuesday!

I have a long commute now, and I have to be in New York for the Evening News with Katie Couric at 10am, and I leave when the show is over at 7pm. Today, I did research for feature stories for February, and transcribed a package (edited footage) for the telecast Tuesday night. I also put together the scripts for theexecutive producers and the director of the program, and was in the control room during the program, even though Katie Couric was in Washington for the President's State of the Union address. I'm looking forward to next Thursday, when the studio for the Evening News does a special dinner, that the executive producers are ordering food and drinks for the employees. It should be fun, and an opportunity for me to meet people and network. Yet, today was a long day, and then the train isanother hour, but hopefully I'll be able to do well, and this will be a positive experience for me- and help get me a job when I graduate in 4 months!

My second semester begins

2007-01-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nikki

The holiday break was great!! I always have a good time with my family. I got a lot of my Christmas shopping done on campus between the Rider Store and the Holiday gifts bazaar at the BLC. So most of my time before Christmas was spent catching up on sleep!

My holidays were great. We spent lots of time together and celebrated my birthday along with a few other family members' birthdays too. December is one great big party at my house.

The New Year brought excitement about our family trip. We set sail on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. We visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, Cozumel and the cruise lines private island in the Bahamas. I did a lot of shopping, a lot of exciting excursions and a whole lot of eating and tanning!!! We had a great time and it was a great way to end break and get back into the swing of things here at Rider.

I was so excited to be back and see all my friends, hear about all their holidays and just plain catch up. I'm also excited about starting my new classes. They feel a little more personal this time since I chose them myself. I made the wrong choice in one of my courses and I've already had to make a change. My advisor got right back to me with help and making the change with the registrar was painless. I love Rider!!!

Well, that's about all I have right now. I'll keep you posted on how my semester is going. Hope you all had a great break and are as happy as I am to be back. I hope to see you around campus…please stop me and say hi. Talk to you soon.

Nikki

Winter Break in Jamaica!

2007-01-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshabel
Over the winter break I chose to take a class that is called the Jamaica Service Learning Trip. As a first time visitor to Jamaica I was totally amazed by the exposure that we got to the whole Jamaican culture. We lived like typical students would live in a dorm in Jamaica at the United Theological College in Kingston . We visited the Bob Marley Museum and The Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Factory(Jablum). We also visited Lime Cay, which is a cool beach off of the coast of Jamaica. Then we lived at Pringle Home: a home for children that was located in the mountains of Jamaica . I, along with a remarkable group of six other girls, worked at Pringle Home where we went to Carron Hall High School or Carron Hall Primary School . At Carron Hall High School we taught classes in all different types of subjects, such as Literature, Food & Nutrition, Principles of Business and Accounts; I taught Spanish to grades seven through eleven. The Rider University students that were at the primary school taught letters, math, and everything in between to kids ages three through five. When we got out of the schools for the day we did everything from tutor Pringle Home Students to just talk to them. Then one of the highlights of my day was when I got to teach them ballet and they taught me some reggae moves like the dutty wind and others. We also ate all meals with the kids up at Pringle and we hosted an ice cream party before we left.
It was truly the most heart-warming point of the whole experience. Lastly, we
lived in Columbus Heights , a luxurious complex that overlooked all of Ochi, or Ocho
Rios. We taught at Iona School during the day and were free during the afternoons and evenings. This was overall the best experience I've had in my whole Rider career and I recommend anyone that can experience this to do it.
Yeah mon!

Joshabel

First semester is over

2006-12-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nikki

It is hard to imagine being a different person only three months after coming to Rider, but the truth is, I feel completely different. I have worked with some great teachers and made great friends and I am sad that we have to go.

In the beginning, I was excited to go home and see my family, but now I feel that I am leaving one to go see another. Rider has become like a second family to me and I love that feeling. After all of the hard work I have done this semester, I am looking forward to taking a break, but also looking forward to coming back to my second family in January. When looking at Rider as a possibility last year, I hoped that I would feel this way when it was time to go, and I am glad it turned out the way I hoped. I want to thank all the people who have made the first semester of my freshman year so positive, leave some love for all my friends going home, and leave everybody with a wish I have for you this holiday season.

Whatever is beautiful, whatever is meaningful, whatever brings you happiness… May it be yours this holiday season and throughout the coming year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYBODY!!!
~Nikki

Fall Semester almost over...

2006-12-07T09:55:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
topic: So this week is the last week of classes for the fall semester! I have all my work pretty much done, I only have a final paper and a final for the same class, on the last day of classes. I don't have any finals during finals week! Instead, I'm working more at the television studio and admissions. So what my friends and I call the "com major crunch" hasn't really affected me- which means I had all my assignments done early so I don't need to edit footage, work with media, ect during the last days of classes.

Even though my fall semester as a senior is coming to a close, I may be at Rider longer! I'm applying for graduate school in the organizational leadership program with a track in communications. I would like to become a professor one day (after working in the awesome television industry).

Tonight we had a rush event to invited girls to check out my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. We held a game night, and it was a blast! Mostly because the games I own are awesome. I have the "old school" games from when I was 13, like Mall Madness and DreamPhone. Everyone wants to play those! It was fun for independents and sisters.

Another thing that I am super excited about revolves around the scholarship I won with the American Women in Radio and Television. Now I am a member, and get to do all the cool members things. One event that I am excited about are the Gracie Awards, awards for women in the media. It's going to be held at Tavern on the Green in Central Park, NYC, and it should be a lot of fun. I hope I can go, and that I'm not busy, but why should I skip an event to "hob-nob" with the famous? I'm excited for it.

That's what I've been up to so far- definetly ready for Christmas Break time though- and then off to my final semester as an undergraduate at Rider.

~Katie

Deserved Break

2006-12-07T09:52:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
topic: Over Thanksgiving break I definetely kept busy and tried to spend as much time with friends and family as I possibly could. My break began by meeting my sorority sister for dinner to discuss the plans for her wedding which I am one of her bridesmaids! I cannot wait to be a part of her special day! Then came Thanksgiving where I went back to my hometown, where I spent Thanksgiving day for the first time in awhile. That night, I did the major craze on Rider's campus- Guitar Hero 2.

Although this break I did try and catch up on sleep since I had been sick, I did still have many responsibilities to take care of as well such as waitressing at a local restaurant.

Now that I have returned to school, I have to buckle down to complete my projects and papers. I must admit that after a well-deserved Thanksgiving break, it is great to be back at Rider, even though I have so much work in the next short 2 weeks leading up to finals!

~Katie

Nick's Introduction

2006-12-07T07:35:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nick
Hey everyone! My name is Nick and I am a senior at Rider. The last three years have flown by, and this year is going just as fast! I can't believe I'm graduating in May. I feel like it was just yesterday when I was starting my experience at Rider as a freshman. I come from Yardville, NJ where I graduated from Steinert High School in 2003. At Rider, I'm majoring in business. I have a double-major in Computer Information Systems and Management and Leadership, and I also have a minor in Spanish.

My courses keep me pretty busy, but I'm also involved in a lot of other activities at Rider. I'm a Student Senate Representative in Student Government Association, a position I have held since my freshmen year. I am also a Peer Mentor, which a student mentor that helps facilitate a freshmen seminar. I am also involved in Greek Life. I'm a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and I am President of the Interfraternity Council which is the governing body for Rider's five social fraternities.

During my freshmen and sophomore years, I was also involved in the Association of Commuting Students and I was a Commuter Assistant. I lived at home and commuted to Rider throughout my first two years. I decided to move into my fraternity house on campus during my junior year, which has been an incredible experience. I also have two jobs on campus. I work as a Student Admission Representative in the Office of Admission and as a manager of the Bart Luedeke Center (Student Center). As you can see, I'm pretty busy! Don't worry; I do manage to find some free time. In my free
time, I enjoy working out at the Student Recreation Center, listening to music, and hanging out with my friends. I'm looking forward to sharing my Rider experience with you. I hope you'll check back soon to read about my experiences. That's all for now. Talk to you soon!

-Nick

Thanksgiving....

2006-11-21T15:07:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nikki

These last few weeks have been a little crazy. I have been crammed with papers and studying for tests. BUT, it is all fine with me because Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and all the hard work I have to do to get there is fine with me. Other than that, I cannot wait to get home and eat massive amounts of turkey for 4 days and get lots of much needed sleep.

Anyway,last few weeks have been great! I have gotten involved in a lot of great organizations such as the Counsel for Exceptional Children and my Emerging Leaders club helped make Thanksgiving baskets for the needy. Also, I want to try and do a Midnight run to help feed homeless people in the city. I am really into helping people now that I have found the right organizations to do it through!

Oh, and my friends and I have been having a great time here at Rider! Between comedians and Urinetown, all the activities here are so much fun! Urinetown was an amazing musical and everybody in it was so talented and they did an amazing job!

Well, that is pretty much all from me. Have a Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!!
-Nikki

Conference in NYC

2006-11-18T07:20:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshi
Hi! This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to an amazing conference in NYC with a program on campus called Student Support Services. It was one of the most inspirational, informational, and fundamental conferences I have ever been on: NY WICI! WICI, which stands for Women In Communication, showed me that women are determined to surpass all obstacles and break all barriers in order to achieve their goals. Hoda Kotb, from Dateline, was the keynote speaker of this event. Her speech screamed passion for her field, and all I could sense was this strong determination, will and perseverance. Everyone in the audience gave Hoda Kotb, a person that persisted until she found her entrance, a standing ovation. I was enthralled overall by the conference; indeed, there were some key moments that made me think, “ WoW! I can do that!” Hoda Kotb’s speech was one of those moments.

Another one of those moments was when I was sitting in the Advertising workshop and Gail Anne Grossos was speaking. She spoke to everyone about the advertising field. I felt captivated by every word that she said. All of these sessions offered amazing insight into what we should do when looking for a job, or the job search.

The job search portion told us to utilize our networking opportunities, especially the amazing connections that we made at the conference. We should do our research about the field that we wanted to go into, and starting at the conference was an extraordinary opportunity. We were told what to do and what NOT to do by some of the most influential people in the business: the people that may one day hire me!

Overall, this conference has been a one-of-a-kind opportunity and I would encourage
anyone that had the opportunity to attend it because of the priceless knowledge and invaluable connections that they could get by being there. If ever you are offered the chance to go on an invaluable conference such as this one, DO NOT PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY!!Joshii!

Career Fair and Semi-formal

2006-11-18T07:08:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
Since I was sick last week, I've spent this week catching up on everything I had to do! I'm getting everything done, and all the major papers due this week are over with. Most of my work is now for my audio production class, where we record our voices for different exercises and my class does things like special audio effects, to our voices. Now we're starting to create small movies adding the audio that we have edited and created. That's where all my time goes lately.
Tuesday the communications honor society that I am in, Lambda Pi Eta, held a career fair, inviting past alumni to come and talk, and give students a chance to network. There were alumni who are pretty young, and already producers! It was interesting to hear about their college/getting a job experiences. It kind of made me feel better, being a senior I have to get a real job soon, and I'm so scared to go into the real world! I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Last week was my sorority's semiformal, where we get all dressed up and go to a banquet hall. It was so much fun, as always! I felt so cool in my dress, which I got in London when I was studying abroad! We rented buses to take us to the hall, because carting 60 sisters and their dates is practically impossible without it! But it's my favorite thing about my chapter, when all of us dress up for a night of fun!

Katie

Amazing Week

2006-11-18T07:01:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshi

This past week was absolutely AMAZING! I had the opportunity to go to the N.A.C.A. conference out in Lancaster, P.A., even though I had two weekend duty days I was able to go, because I had someone cover for me, and gain knowledge and RELAX for a couple of days. I was able to see a bunch of comedians, musicians, and motivational speakers and even choose a couple that will be at Rider University very soon! I was so excited to be chosen to go and I can't even explain how important this weekend was to me because it provided me with a much needed diversion!

Another thing that happened this week was the BEGINNING OF HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH!!! This means that L.A.S.O. also had their Opening Ceremony for their month this week! As the Vice President of L.A.S.O. I put together an opening ceremony that included good Spanish food, and an amazingly inspirational leader and Rider alum, Gerson Martinez. He put a message into everyone's minds that said that in order to become successful in the future we must understand and KNOW our past! He spoke to us about all the trials that our ancestors went through to be able to get us where we are now! Many thanks go out to Gerson Martinez for that speech!! One of the last phenomenal things that I got to do this week, actually today, was speak to the Board of Trustees on improvements. Since I am the Diversity Chair of the Student Government Association, I was able to speak about the C.U.R.E. (Creating, Understanding, Respecting, Exploring) the difference between
Domestic and International Diversity. I spoke about our missions within the mission and the identification of barriers that the multicultural students are feeling. Don't get me wrong, we are ALL multicultural students because America is an immigrant nation, and there are many different ethnicities, races, and cultures, but, different cultures have had different experiences in developing their culture. What CURE is trying to do is make students aware of these experiences and allowing
others to acculturate with one another! I will definitely keep y'all up
to date on this!
The last thing that happened to me was that I got the sweetest Halloween candy grams from my residents!! I love being an RA to these girls (KNoCK on WoOd!!) I could only hope that they would grow into even more positive role models on campus!!

Joshii!!

Understand Your Past in order to Know How to Succeed in the Future!!

ABC and CBS

2006-11-18T06:58:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
I'm writing this update at ABC NewsOne, while I have a quick break. I won a scholarship recently from the American Women in Radio and Television, and besides monetary award, I also get to go out on shadowing opportunities with women to see what "real broadcast" is about. (here is the link to the press release and a picture of me receiving the award http://www.rider.edu/139_7925.htm ) Monday, I was at CBS, and it was really cool, checking everything out. I got to see how the radio aspect is broadcast, and how television is broadcast too. And I ended up walking out with an internship at CBS news next semester!

Yesterday and today I was at ABC, and was able to see ABC NewsOne, where they produce lots of news packages that are made to send out to stations across the US. Today I was able to be at the live broadcast of the World News with Charlie Gibson at 6:30 ET. It was so cool, seeing the craziness of the broadcasting world. I really think I picked a good major with this one!

All in all, my experiences have been really great, and I've learned a lot. And I know that I'll learn a lot more when I work at CBS next semester!

Katie

Big Sister/Little Sister

2006-11-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

Despite having developed a bit of a cold this week, school still remains in full swing. I have been working at my highest potential to keep up with the many assignments I have, such as my controversial speech, learning to work with sound effects for audio production, along with the typical papers and projects which have also been assigned.

Along with being busy with schoolwork, Alpha Xi Delta has kept me occupied as well. Recently, we have had our Big Sister/Little Sister program, where current members become mentors to new members to the sorority in order to help guide them throughout their greek life experience. I am happy to say that I have received my new little sister!

To welcome her to our greek family, I gave her a teddy bear which is a representation of our sorority's mascot. I am so excited to welcome my new little to my family, and look foward to spending more time with her as well!

Well, It's time for me to get back to my school work!

-Katie

Eye-Opening Week

2006-10-31T17:41:00.000-05:00

posted by: Joshabel
topic: WOW! This past week felt like it was the longest week ever! I had two midterms in one day! I'm so glad that midterms are over, but this also means that I have to work harder to get great grades! I needed a break so I went home this weekend, and it was a well deserved break! Today, I got to present myself as a possible candidate for the Community Standards Board at Senate and I got in!! The Community Standards Board holds disciplinary hearings for students. There are two students and an administrator present to hear your case and everyone has an equal say in the process. The fact that students are allowed to be in this process is extremely important to me and it allows us to have input in what the outcome should be for our fellow peers. We have to be openminded and listen to everything that people have to say. We should do this because we should base our decisions on what they are presenting to us not our previous notions of the person. Another important thing that happened this week is that I saw two unbelievably eye-opening movies: INVISIBLE CHILDREN and An Inconvenient Truth. These powerful movies both have totally different points. Invisible Children is about children in Uganda that are abducted and turned into soldiers at the age of 5. An Inconvenient Truth speaks of the Global Warming Crisis! it is amazing how the world isn't taking action. I'm going to take responsibility for my emotions and say that it is amazing that I did not educate myself about this up until now! It only took three college students to make the Invisible Children movie, to make a difference in the world and it only took one person to challenge us to stand up and take a stand up against the Global Warming Crisis. They've already started and that's always the hardest part of a movement, now what are you going to do about it?

JOSHII
"Be the change you want to see in the world."-Mohatma Gandhi

My busy Weekend

2006-10-31T17:38:00.000-05:00

posted by: Kathleen
topic: This weekend was really busy! But it was the fun kind of busy. On Friday
night I went to Bronc Bingo! It's so much fun there, especially when you are sitting at a table full of friends, who cheer for you when you win, or get close to winning. There were some awesome prizes too! There must have been at least 20 Target gift cards, and top prize was a portable DVD player. I really liked a lot of the prizes, but sadly, I didn't win anything. But it was so much fun; another free/fun event at Rider!

Sunday was Open House! I'm also a tour guide on campus, so that day was my day. I gave tours to a lot of families, and I have so much fun doing it- I meet so many new people. And the food's pretty good... But I always have fun on Open House, because my job is a fun job. If I look like I'm having fun, then so is everyone else. It's the best kind of job out there.

On Tuesday I went to a dodgeball game! Rider has an intramural program, and my fiancee is in Tau Kappa Epsilon, aka TKE, which I am also lettered too. I went to the game to cheer them on, and it was crazy! It seemed like so much fun to play, the game went so fast! I didn't realize how many rules dodgeball had! But it was cool to be almost like a TKE cheerleader.

Another busy week has begun at Rider, but most often its fun, so I can't wait!

~Katie

Updates...

2006-10-31T17:35:00.000-05:00

posted by: Nicole
topic: It's been a while…

Hey everybody! It has been a while since I last did a blog so I have some great stuff to talk about!

Last time I blogged I told you about my club planning Midnight MAACness. Well, it was a huge success! We have gotten a lot of great feed back from students and faculty saying it was the best one ever! So thanks to everyone for coming! I also told you that I was going to see the guy that played Roger in RENT… he was AWESOME! And he is really cute in person haha. Also, last week I had a bunch of midterms!! I was dreading them because I heard that college midterms are soooo hard! So, I studied really hard and I am happy to say they were pretty easy! I learned a very valuable lesson that if you study what the teacher tells you, then you will do great! Well, this past weekend I made up, what I hope will be, my schedule for next semester. I met with my advisor and he said I am green lighted but I still cannot register until November. I just hope I get the classes that I really want! Oh, and on Tuesday I went to celebrate Halloween with little kids. The Catholic Ministry on campus took a trip over to Millhill. The little kids were so excited to see us and they loved the candy! Well I guess that is about it… talk to you soon.

Great Opportunity

2006-10-20T10:10:00.000-04:00

posted by: Kathleen
topic: This weekend I went with a few of my sorority sisters to see my real little sister at her high school homecoming football game, because she got senior class princess on the homecoming court! She had a little section of screaming alpha xi deltas holding signs. I loved that I was able to bring my friends back to where I grew up.

Most importantly, I recently got a great opportunity, that I finally have pictures for! While I was studying abroad in London last semester, my advisor sent me an email about a scholarship from the American Women in Radio and Television. She wrote that I should try for the scholarship because it represents exactly what I want to do with my career. So while I was in London, I had my fiancee gathering my transcript request forms, and other papers like faculty reccomendations, to send them out as soon as possible, because if I mailed them from London, my application would have been late. But the best part, obviously, was that I won the scholarship!
I went to CBC Studios to receive the check and attend an event around me and a speaker, a co-anchor of the CBS Early Show. It was really exciting! I "networked" and met all different kinds of people from places like ABC, Lifetime, CBC and NBC. But most of all, I also get a shadowing opportunity where I get to hang out with people like Charlie Gibson from the ABC News! And this week, I am going to the Yale Club of New York, a female "gentlemen's club" where I will attend a luncheon with the big wigs in the media about reality television. I have all the awesome opportunities to get started in the career I want to have! I can't even tell you how happy I am that my advisor sent me the email.

Also, this past Tuesday, the News at Rider taped a special show that we are going to enter in college broadcasting competitions. The best thing about it, (besides me of course!) is that one of the students got an interview with former president Bill Clinton. Hopefully, we get some kind of cool recognition for it.

So look out for me on TV sometime, I may be telling you the news!

~Katie

Midterms!!!!

2006-10-20T10:07:00.000-04:00

posted by: Joshabel
topic: Hey guys,
I had the LONGEST week, no make that two days of my life! I just had two major exams and two papers due in two days! I was dying from all the stress that I had on me, ha I got a nosebleed at lunch from all of this! But, in the end everything was okay because everything worked out and guess what? I didn't die! Midterms are not over and I still have two papers due by the end of this week, but, I'm trying really hard to put myself first instead of everything else that's on my mind. P.S. I gave my first tour last Friday and it was amazing! I'm so excited and I hope that the people I gave the tour to come cause they seem like great prospects for the future students at Rider!.. Well I guess my saying of the week would have to be, Everything will work itself out and when you think you've hit rock bottom the only way you can go is up, RIGHT?

joshii!

Bid Day

2006-10-15T13:14:00.000-04:00

posted by: Kathleen
topic: This weekend was a huge weekend for Greek Life. It was bid day! It's the
day that our new members get their bids, an invitation to join our chapter. The new members run onto the student center balcony, and we scream and cheer for them. We make giant balloon arches for the front of our house, and we tie balloons to our jeans. It's such a fun day! We chant our songs on the way to the student center. Then after we meet our new girls at the balcony, we round up with our special chant, and we take them back to our house for a dance party. We get pizza and get our new girls presents. This year we made them picture frames with their names on them. It's always a fun holiday whether you are a new member or a sister. I did have to work that day, so I got back around 1am. But there was still stuff going on! There was music playing from all the chapter houses. I was excited that I was able to go to the balcony, and was still able to experience some of the excitement after I got out of work.

Another thing that I am super psyched about is that I got lettered by my fiancee's fraternity! It's a big deal to be lettered, to wear someone's else's letters other than your own. So I had a candlelight, a special ceremony. Then my sisters and I rounded up, and as a tradition, was thrown in our campus lake. It was a nice swim! Joking aside, I am really excited.

Can't wait for another awesome Greek holiday to wear my new Tau Kappa
Epsilon letters!

Unity Day

2006-10-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

posted by: Joshabel
topic: Hey guys, I'm so exhausted from this VERY long week. I'm on the committee for Unity Day and after plenty of work it finally happened. We had the most dynamic and amazing speaker, Irshad Manji, come and speak to us about her controversial ideas on the change in Islamic culture. She didn't come to change our ideas on the culture, but, she did come to show us that we can use our voices to "Ask Questions! Out Loud!" This wasn't the end to Unity DAYS 2006 though because we had incredible amounts of multicultural food. All of our events had an incredible number of people; we were so proud of the turnout! All I can say is that if you haven't been on a committee yet, you don't know what your missing. If you have been on a committee at Rider you should know that you get amazing perks like: free food, and front-row seating at a packed event, and even getting to meet the person that is said to be Osama Bin Laden's Worst Nightmare! and it was AMAZING!

"Be the change you want to see in the world!"-Mohatma Gandhi

P.S. I just wanted to congratulate Monica on getting married!!

Love joshii!

Semester is Going Great!

2006-10-06T06:39:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki

This week I wrote my first two papers! Two papers due within one day of each other. WOW that was not fun haha. But, the semester is going great! I love it here and all of my classes are awesome. I got some amazing help from the Academic Annex. The people there are really nice and very helpful. I wrote my papers and I went there to get help editing them. I am pretty good at writing but going there really made me better. If you have trouble just call them and make an appointment, they will definitely help you. Also, I am really looking forward to seeing Adam, you know the guy that played Roger in RENT. That should be really awesome! I am really
glad that Rider offers so many fun things to do and see. Earlier tonight, I attended an S.E.C (Student Entertainment Council) meeting. It seems like a really good association to be involved in. I also have been going to Emerging Leaders meetings. We are planning Midnight MAACness. It is going to be a really awesome night so everybody should attend! Well that’s about it. I hope everyone is having fun here at Rider!

~Nikki

Weekend trip

2006-10-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

So this weekend was a busy one, as always. I went up to Massachusetts with my family for my grandmother's 90th birthday. We were in Boston for a while, and then went to her home in Boxford. It was really nice to be with my family, which, out of the 40 or so we have, 26 were able to make it. I had so much fun though! We had all 26 walk into a restaurant and ask for seating, but the college age cousins, meaning me, waited at the restaurant for an hour ahead of time. Which was fine, we got our food first! I loved being there for my grandmother's birthday. We saw pictures of her as a child, saw pictures of her and her eight children (one being my stepfather.) It was really sweet. We even went to a fair one day, the cousins and a few aunts and uncles. My fiance came with me and we walked around, saw pig races, pet sheep, that kind of thing. I even got a great picture on a tractor, in my sorority letters! I'm sure that was a sight for New England.

When I came back to school on Monday it was back to work and classes. For our entertainment show on campus, we decided to create a new segment, called Bronc Busters. It's where we ask questions, similar to Jaywalking and the show Street Smarts, but with Rider questions. We wanted to see how much the campus really knew. We got some great answers to who is Rider University named after, people said Mr. Rider because they didn't know. It was partially true, it was founded after Mr. Andrew J. Rider. And now we have to edit the footage and put it on the show, to premier in the next few days. It's a lot of fun to accomplish something that people will see and talk about in a positive way.

Katie

Busy week

2006-10-04T10:23:00.000-04:00

posted by: Joshii

Okay, so this week I had two back-to-back events for L.A.S.O., the Latin American Student Organization, which I am the vice president of. The first event was the Chill Night where students just come, relax, eat and if you want, dance. We had an amazing DJ and subs; I think the turnout was great and the atmosphere seemed to evoke the word CHILL! The next event was the LASO annual welcome back dinner which was AMAZING. We must've had at least fifty people throughout the whole event and the place was packed. The dinner was scrumpt-deli-umptious! I think that everyone had a good time, and you could tell that everyone loved the food because there was none left when I went back to the table. GIVE College students food and they will turn out!! GOOD FOOD and they'll definitely come back for more! My lesson of the week is to never overstress a situation, organize yourself and everything will work out. Talk to you guys next week!!!
-joshii

80's night

2006-09-29T06:47:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

This past weekend was so much fun! It was 80's night at the Rider Pub, and being 21, it was the place to be if you were of age. They played 80's music, gave away prizes for best outfits, and gave out glow sticks and 80's style sunglasses- free stuff as you hung out all night. It's always fun at the pub, just because you hang out with your friends in a cool atmosphere with loud music, dancing and television. This year, being a senior, it's going to be a lot of fun at the pub, especially during Senior Pub Nights, hanging out with your class, and the last Senior Pub Night is a huge tradition. If you go to the last one, you carve your name on the walls, ceiling- wherever there's space!- and its there forever!

Monday began classes and work, and being the new anchor of the News at Rider, that meant another filming of the show. It's so cool to be on TV, even if its the Rider Channel. I love when my friends and other people I don't know say "I saw you on TV!" It will never get old- it makes me feel so cool! I really do love my communications major, its always so much fun! I'm also the producer of What's Shakin, our on campus entertainment show, and we are filming that this week. It has lots of jokes and funny news bits that has become popular on campus. I'm proud of all this stuff, since recently I won a broadcasting award from the American Women in Radio and Television, where I will be attending the presentation this Thursday.

My advisor actually helped me get it, she sent me an email about it from our University president while I was in England. I'm just so glad I won! I love how Rider gave me the chance to do what I want to do, and even gave me what I needed to earn an award. So I'm really excited for that!

Katie

Introduction by Simps

2006-09-26T17:27:00.000-04:00

posted by: Simphiwe

Hey guys,
My name is Simphiwe [pronounced sim-pi-we], but its saves time to call me Simps, and so everyone does. I am a sophomore and am actually amongst the first full-time, international undergrad students this school has ever had. I come from a distant kingdom, called Swaziland. It's a small country sharing South Africa's north-eastern border, and yes, I still live there. In fact, I have absolutely no family in the northern hemisphere. So I try to go back there every summer. Now, I know what you are thinking... "Dude, why did you pick this school?" Am I right? Well, to explain that I need to first tell you that I'm a double major in Actuarial Science and Finance. Those of you who know anything about actuarial science should know that it's a very difficult and rigorous course. Because of that, most universities don't offer an additional major to that course, but Rider University does. So I came here. And of course, our college of business is actually well renowned world-wide. I have a 3.94 cumulative GPA!! [I got a 4.0 last semester]. Oh yeah... I'm really proud of that, and so I should be, right? Well, I'm not mentioning this purely for the sake of boasting [although that's a minor part of the reason], I'm telling you this because this fact is a big part of who I am. I work hard!! I'm not kidding; I work really, really hard. In fact, it could be argued that I'm all work and no play... or very little play. But don't for one second think that I'm a nerd. Those who know me intimately know that that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm merely determined and extremely motivated, and these aspects of my personality will shine through my blogs. So my reason for writing this blog is to give you some insight on how an international student is coping with the daily trials and tribulations of college life. The same college life you are dealing with [and still getting pretty impressive grades]. Well, I hope you find my blogs of some interest, and that they help you deal with your own college experience.

Well, I'm going to sign-off... for now. So, tune-in two weeks; same time, same place. There are more interesting tales from the Swazi yet to come.

Simps

Joshabel's Introduction

2006-09-26T17:15:00.000-04:00

posted by: Joshabel
My name is Joshabel, but everyone calls me Joshii! I'm a sophomore at Rider and I have a major in Communications and a minor in French. I'm a Resident Advisor at Gee Hall. As an RA I have the wonderful opportunity to make my residents feel at home. The whole idea for my hall is to create a community and I think that I am creating just that type of feeling: like home
I'm also involved in other activities on campus like: the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), the Black Student Union (BSU), the Student Government Organization (SGA), and others. I serve as LASO's Vice President, SGA's Diversity Chair, BSU's Social Chair, and I am a Rider Community Scholar which basically means that I serve about ten hours a week at an assigned site. If I had to choose one of these activities to do and just drop all the others, I don't think I would be able to. I just don't feel like my college experience would be fulfilled if I didn't try to involve myself in all the available outlets that are here for my growth.

I am also a tour guide at the admissions office, this "job" gives me the ability to show others what I felt when I first came to Rider and how my feelings for Rider have grown since then. Things that I belong to at Rider are the Educational Opportunity Program and Student Support Services Program (TRIO), without
these programs I would never have been able to succeed with all the ease and support on campus that has been necessary for me to begin to achieve my goals. I hope that you will follow my lead in the story of my life with these weekly blogs!

love, joshii!!

P.S. "You are the captain of your ship!"- Do you know where you're heading?

School is in full swing!

2006-09-22T06:19:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

School is officially in swing, which means, I am constantly busy! When I was in London for the semester I had so much time on my hands, now I work three jobs, one back home, one in Admissions as a tour guide and Student Admissions Representative, and also at the television studio. Plus the organizations and honor societies I'm in. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm really excited about this year, because there is so much to do. I am the new anchor of the News at Rider, our news show, and I'm also the producer of our entertainment show, What's Shakin. So that's going to be a blast this year, being in charge and all.
Greek life is crazy right now. I'm in Alpha Xi Delta, the coolest sorority in my book, and rush is happening now. So we are having tons of events that we go to just to meet new girls and get to know them. So I'm really looking forward to Bid Day, the day where we know who our new girls are. It's a huge dance party in our basement with just the sisters and our new member class. It's a lot of fun. We also had Sweetheart Weekend, where each chapter on campus chooses a sweetheart for the year. I was pretty bummed that I didn't win for my fiancee's fraternity, but it was awesome to be nominated. And nomination night was a lot of fun too.

There's so much more going on in the next few weeks at Rider, and it's going to be a lot of fun putting it all on television on the Rider channel. So a lot of work and a lot of fun is to be done!

~Katie

We are finally here!

2006-09-20T17:21:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki

So, the anticipation is over and we are in college!

I was so nervous to get here but now I am totally excited. Move in day was a little hectic and it took me a while to get my room just the way I wanted it. Now that everything is all settled I feel more comfortable about living here for the next year. I know some people are feeling home sick, don't worry, the feeling will pass. Everything Rider has offered us to do this passed week has been a lot of fun too. The comedian, last Monday night, was especially awesome and everyone at the talent show did very well! I am really enjoying my experience here and it has only been a week.

I cannot imagine how much I will love it as the year goes on. As for classes, they are ok so far. It seems like there will be a decent amount of work, but my teachers are cool and the classes seem interesting. I have also made a bunch of new friends who are super nice! I am a little shy and I was afraid that I wouldn't make friends, but I am glad I did. We have had a lot of fun together and I know this year will be great with them!
I hope everyone is having so much fun being here! This is the time of your life you will always remember so laugh a lot and just have a great time! Rider is an amazing and fun place and we will have so much fun!!

I am really looking forward to meeting all of my freshman class mates so if you see me around, definitely say hi! Or come find me in Conover! See you around!

My first week...

2006-09-14T16:14:00.000-04:00

posted by: Philip

Wow, college, this is amazing. New faces, new places, so much to learn and remember. So freshman year, Rider class of 2010. Names Philip. B.C. -Before college- I lived on Staten Island. My family is crazy like most. Mother is a nurse; father is a veterinarian, and I have a 13 yr old sister.

At the moment my declared major is Advertising. I use Photo shop and
illustrator a lot; it's a lot of fun to use. This is not my first time living away from home. For the last 11 years I have gone to sleep away camp so living away from home is not a problem. During this summer I have found a hobby, bone carving. I know sounds weird but to me the one of the most relaxing things that I ever done. I like to read and listen to music; I am a big fan of Broadway.

My first week at Rider has been very busy. I have met more people then I can remember and started to learn Chinese. It's not too much though, just it keeps me busy and I am definitely enjoying it. This place is a lot of fun. I think the main reason I am exicited is because after I met the professors who teach advertising I was really impressed. All of the teachers at the school really seem to know what they are doing. The class sizes are great and I am actually learning.

I can't wait to see what happens next. With the awareness fair, every group and organization will be there. I can't wait to meet everyone else and learn about the other options open to me at Rider U.

Moving in!

2006-09-05T09:35:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki

Leaving home is easier then I thought it would be, or maybe I'm just so bombarded with checklists and decisions that I haven't had time to really think about it. .
If I start feeling homesick you'll hear about it in my next blog...In the mean time, my bags are packed (it took me a whole day) and I'm praying that everything will not only fit in the car, but it will all fit in my room!!! My family may be bringing some stuff back home

My new roommate, Lulu and I have talked quite a bit and I'm feeling that we are going to be a great match. We both have so much in common and her academic schedule is going to be as hectic as mine. We also met a girl named Jess that will be living down the hall and she is awesome too!

The anticipation and excitement of moving in has pretty much erased the nervousness that I was feeling. Everyone that I have had contact with over the summer who will be attending Rider has been great! I can't wait to get there and really experience it all!

Knowing that I'm leaving my family and friends has been on my mind all summer,
but I feel now that I'm just adding to my circle by being a part of Rider. I know Rider was the right decision for me, and I can't wait to meet everybody!

Back to school!

2006-09-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

So, tomorrow I go back to school! I'm so excited. I've missed all my friends and sorority sisters. I did see a lot of them over the summer, but since a lot of us are seniors, we have to go out and get a real job next year, so a lot of us are saving up our money and focusing on internships and everything. It will be great so go back for one last year, which will be sad, but I know a lot of fun.

I'm slowly starting to organize all the stuff I need for going back. I remember moving in as a freshman and having 3 car loads of stuff! Now I can fit it all into my little saturn ion. Once I've finally mastered packing for college, it's almost over!

I'm so excited for all the fun stuff that I know is going to go on this semester, since I missed a lot while studying abroad in London last spring. I can't wait for the Bronc Buffets (with good food, not like England...) and lots of greek life activities, like sweetheart weekend and bid day.

Just one more day left, and senior year for me begins!

~Katie

Shopping for college

2006-08-09T09:19:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki
Getting ready for Rider is exhausting. I've seen more check lists and made more decisions on what to buy then ever before. I'm really starting to appreciate how expensive things are. Time is flying too! I've been thinking I have so much time to get things together but it's already August!
I am starting to feel a little nervous again, but this time I am equally excited. Every time I pick out something new for my dorm room I get a renewed feeling of independence. I'm also anxiously awaiting my room assignment and info about my new roommate so I can buy a rug and some curtains. I'm sure everyone is worried about who they'll be living with. Will they be cool? Will they like me? Will we get along? The list goes on forever. I just keep reminding myself that we are all in the same boat, and have faith that things will turn out good. My mom has also started the count down until I leave. I cannot believe college is so close, but I am excited to go. I can't wait to see all of you in a few weeks and I hope that everyone is excited too! See you all soon!
-Nikki

Orientation was great!

2006-07-17T11:01:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki

I was so nervous on the ride there, not knowing what to expect, or if I would see any familiar faces. By the time we left on Monday afternoon not only was I so excited about starting in September, I hope that in years to come I can be part of the orientation staff.
Everyone was really nice and very friendly. They supplied us with lots of great information and advice while keeping everyone laughing. The staff was even nice enough to take a picture with me to post with this blog.

As we arrived on Sunday and checked in we had our pictures taken right away (thankfully I did my hair that morning) for our Rider ID's. We also received our schedules on Monday morning before lunch. That was a really exciting time comparing schedules and finding that at least one person you met at orientation would be in your classes.

There were also plenty of opportunities to win free Rider stuff (thanks Esi for my new rider hat). We played icebreakers and answered trivia questions, which helped us learn about Rider while having fun. The bookstore was open so you could stock up on apparel, and I even picked up a few books for fall classes.

My family didn't stay on campus (my mom is an air-conditioning girl) but friends I met who did stay in the residence halls said that a fan was really all you needed to be comfortable. I felt comfortable, welcomed and at ease with everyone. That's one of the things that made me love Rider. I can't wait to start, to meet new friends, be on my own, and yet still feel part of a family.

So it's okay if you're nervous (I had butterflies the whole way), you'll walk away feeling excited, at ease, and independent.

Thank you Orientation Staff and thank you Rider. Here's to the Class of 2010!
-Nikki

Joining Rider University's Class of 2010!

2006-06-26T13:32:00.000-04:00

posted by: Nikki

Hi everyone! My name is Nikki. I will be starting Rider this September as a freshman. Go Class of 2010! I'm joining the Rider student body from Brick, NJ where I just graduated from Brick Memorial High School. I'm entering Rider with the majors of elementary education (I love kids) and psychology. I love to dance and have taken dance lessons most of my life. I'm hoping to have the opportunity to try out for the Rider Dance Team. I was also highly involved in Key Club and other community service organizations. I pride myself on being able to help others and that is why I am writing for you guys. I am hoping that by writing my experiences for you, there will never be a time when you feel you are alone in what is happening as you experience freshman year. After this blog, I will be reporting on my orientation experience on July 09/10, my experience of leaving home, move in weekend in September, and my experiences for the entire freshman year. I hope that you'll check back soon, and follow along with my journey. That's all for now. Talk to you after orientation.

-Nikki

What a welcome home!

2006-05-15T11:34:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

I'm back in the United States of America! It was nice being a "British citizen" for awhile, but it's nice to be home. I loved coming back to Rider especially, and when I entered my sorority house, everyone was screaming that I was back. It felt so good. I love telling everyone about the crazy funny stories I had while in London, and in the rest of Europe. It's nice to finally be home.

I guess, even though I am home, I do miss London and the rest of Europe. I loved living in a different country, where I had to get along by myself. I loved "jet-setting" around the world, like going to France, Spain and Austria, from England. I feel like I really grew up from this experience, and I can do anything, especially fly around the world, it's really not that hard to do...

The best thing about being back actually, is that my boyfriend proposed to me when I came home! So now from this experience I have a worldly knowledge, and a fiance, and it's awesome. I can't wait to bring my friends back to England though...

Katie

A visit from home

2006-05-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

My younger sister came to visit for a week and a half, and after going to Paris for Easter break, I tried to show her all the attractions and tours that London has to offer. I've been on most of them, and blogged about most of them, but there were a few things that I really wanted to do, and was excited that my sister wanted to go too, that we could share the experience together.
After being busy with a lot of touring, we went to the Globe Theater and Hampton Court Palace.

The Globe Theater, the current one, was actually built in 1996, since the original one of Shakespeare's caught fire and was never rebuilt. This theater though is built according to all the specifications that the original theater was built in, even down to the goat and horse hair in the plaster, as well as wooden nails! You could almost picture yourself in the late 1500's while inside, and the tour guides explained what it was like to see a performance there. There are even performances in the theater, but by the time the shows begin, I will already be home. It was so pretty and interesting to see the traditional theater.

Then my sister and I went to Hampton Court Palace. The palace was built in the early 1500's, and was lived in by King Henry VIII. It also was built upon until the late 1700's, in the Georgian era. The Palace was huge, and the gardens were so beautiful, full of flowers and colors. It was nice to see that spring finally arrived in London. The tour for the palace was so interesting! The tour guides
wore costumes from the period they were from, and also performed! They acted as if they were part of the time period they dressed from. For example, while we got a tour of the King's apartments, the tour guide was "looking" for prince Edward. We learned a great deal of the history, and got some great pictures with the tour guides/characters. The palace was also so interactive! There was a huge maze, and you were even able to go through the medieval kitchens, and see how meals were prepared for up to a thousand guests per day.

What I realized I love most about London, is that you are having fun on these tours, but learning so much in the process. It is truly a great
experience to do both.

~Katie

Westminster Abbey and the London Eye

2006-04-13T15:03:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

Recently I did the two biggest things in London, that you are supposed to do while here- Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.

Westminster Abbey is huge! It was built over a thousand years ago. There's so much to see, granted they are all tombs, but it was so interesting. I was able to see where Queen Elizabeth the I was buried, in the early 1600's, nd her sister,Queen Mary in the mid 1500's. And so many kings and queens are there! I also saw things like the coronation chair, where the new monarch is coronated. There was also a room that used to be for the monks that lived there, where the room had the original tiles from the 1200's. It was pretty amazing to see what they can do there. There was so much history, the States don't have that at all!

Then we went to the London Eye, which is the largest ferris wheel in the world. It takes half an hour to go around, and you can see most of London from the top. Im terrified of heights, but I faced my fears for this trip. I could see everything that I went inside, the Tower, Parliament, the Thames, and Westminster. It was beautiful.

I feel like I have done so much in England in the short 4 months I have been here! So I am going to France for Easter, and I can't wait. I have 3 more weeks here though, so I am going to try to make the best of it!

Katie

2006-04-11T14:19:00.000-04:00

posted by: Katie

This weekend was a busy one, and so much fun! Friday night was my friend Emily's 20th birthday, and a whole mess of us went to Covent Garden, where all the cool restaurants and pubs are. It's such a nice place to go on a Friday and Saturday night, and so busy with people! We went to a pub called Walkabout, and it was a blast! There was a live band that played lots of cool music, I think they were Irish, and played American music! It's so crazy to think of how far America can go in the entertainment industry.

The next day my friends and I made a trip to the Tate Britain Museum. They have lots of British paintings, not many before 1700's though, because of the Great Fire of London that destroyed most of them, except a few about the Tudor times in the 1500's. But there were a lot of paintings that displayed British countryside and life after the 1700's. There was an exhibit that we went to go see, called the Gothic exhibit, and it's focus was about the painting called the Nightmare. It was so interesting to see, because I learned all about it in my freshman art history class! I saw a few of the paintings we would discuss in class, and it was so cool to see them up close.

Sunday was spent going to Putney, where the Oxford-Cambridge boat race was. It started over 150 years ago, and is a huge tradition in London, on the River Thames, and starts at the Putney Bridge. The students of Oxford and Cambridge (England's 2 Ivy League schools sort of) train all year for this race, which is only 17 minutes, and goes by so fast! There were 12,000 people there at the start of the river race, and it was like a huge party! People tailgated since the early morning for good spots! There were so many booths for food and drinks. The day was beautiful for the
race though, and the rain let up and the sun shone just an hour before the race began. It was soo cool to see a tradition in London, and Oxford won! (I wanted Oxford to win, because I was there a few times and bought a t-shirt...)

I can't wait for Easter to come, my little sister is coming to visit and we are going to France for 4 days. I'm so excited!

Katie

Three weeks left until classes end.

2006-04-11T14:08:00.000-04:00

posted by:Esi

Hey Everyone!

Officially 3 weeks left until classes end! I can't wait! Preparations for the summer are in affect. The Orientation Staff had their first meeting/retreat this past weekend. It was definitely a good time. We did a lot of team building exercises, dichotomies and overall talked about our jobs. The staff is really awesome so far and I can't wait to see how we'll all work together. I'm definitely pumped for this summer. Soon we'll have our photo shoot for the website and start our duties as O*Staff 2006.
With the year winding down, people are preparing for next year. RA's just received their room assignments for next year and the lottery is on Monday. My friends and got approved to go to the lottery and we're hoping to get an apartment next year in the New Building. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

They also had elections for student government, finance board, resident hall and commuter associations and class positions. It was fun seeing everyone's flyers and chalkings all over campus. People really go all out when it comes to elections
University Day is today; Happy Birthday to Rider. There is going to be all sorts of events and fun things to do on that day. Personally, I think Rider should have no classes on University Day. You know, to celebrate! Ha ha. A girl can dream can't she?

Hope everyone has a great week!

Esi.

It's been a while...

2006-03-29T10:48:00.000-05:00

posted by: Esi

It's been a while and a very busy second half of the semester. Things have been very well. Two weeks ago was spring break and I spent my time at home. It was a great spring break with a great ending. The 17th was my 21st birthday. The night before I went into the city with my boyfriend to see RENT which was AMAZING! The night of my birthday I went out with my family (I know REALLY wild) but afterwards I went to my friend's house only to find a SURPRISE party for me! It was definitely the best birthday and spring break that I've had yet!

Class selection started this week. Thanks to student teaching I only have to register for one class. I can't believe next year Ill be a senior. That is INSANE!

Room selection is also approaching quickly. Three of my friends are trying to go out for an apartment or pod for next fall. Wish us luck!

This summer I'll be working on the Orientation Staff! I will be 1 of 7 Rider students to help welcome in the new freshman class! I was very excited to get the news and our first retreat is this Friday night! I can't wait to see how the summer goes!

The nice spring weather is FINALLY starting to kick in. It makes me want the summer to come quickly. Pretty soon the campus will be buzzing with people barbecuing, playing catch and Frisbee and just walking around. This is my favorite time to be at Rider.

Until next time...
Esi

The Sound of Music

2006-03-27T18:24:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

Pretty much the entire reason I went to Austria was because I am a HUGE Sound of Music fan. I watch the movie all the time, and even have the sound track. It was always my dream to go and take the tour in Salzburg, Austria, and while I was here, I thought that I should take that opportunity.

So, the company that does the Sound of Music Tour picked us up at our hotel, and drove us to where the bus was for the tour. The tour took us around the town of Salzburg, and the tour guide, who was so funny and awesome, showed us spots that the movie took place.

We also got off the bus a few times to see places up close, and took a lot of pictures. I had to do everything they did in the movie! But going on the tour was so cool, I was able to recognize so much! I was even able to answer a trivia question right, I was the only one on the tour who knew the name of the mountain Maria sang on at the beginning of the movie (the untersberg) and I was probably the biggest dork.

The tour showed so much countryside and the town! A lot of it was covered in snow, so it was kind of depressing, but it was beautiful nonetheless. We drove past places like the Hoensalzburg fortress, where I went the day before, and drove through the town. Then we went to the house that the movie used for the back of the von Trapp villa, where the lake was. It was so cool to see it up close! Then we went to Hellbrunn Palace, where the gazebo from the movie is kept now, but it was sadly locked, and I couldn't dane in it. But I got a few good pictures. Then we drove up into the mountains, and saw the little Bavarian villages that dwell high above the city of Salzburg. We saw the church where Maria and the captain got married in the movie and we went to this little restaurant that is said to have the best apple strudel. It was so good! Worth the snow for a tasty treat like that. Then we went around the mountains and saw all the mountainscape, the lakes and all that, like how they pan around Austria in the beginning of the movie. Then I went to Mirabell gardens, where the song Do Re Mi was done, or at least a lot of the dancing was there. I danced like they did, which was probably pretty sad. And then I went to the house they used for the movie in the front, and went right up to the door! (it's a school now, so it was ok). And I got a lot of great pictures and fufilled my secret little Sound of Music dream!

I had a blast, and then returned home to London, where the story continues again...
-Katie

Spring Break: Part II

2006-03-23T19:50:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

I took a little bit more of a spring break, and when I left Spain, I flew back to England and my boyfriend came to visit me for his (Rider's) spring break. We then went to Salzburg, Austria for 4 days and had a blast.

The first full day we were there we went to the Hoensalzburg Fortress. It's one of the oldest fortresses in Europe, built around 900 A.D. by the archbishops, the rulers of the principality, before it became part of Austria. It was huge! It's located in the center of the city, but on the highest cliff! It can be seen from anywhere in the city, and it is immense. Inside it was really interesting, since it was a fortress, it had so much inside, it was like a little city within it. We went on the tour of the fortress and learned about Salzburg's history.

We then went down Salzburg's major street, where all the shops are. The street had signs over every shop. They were very pretty. The signs were a tradition nowadays, since long ago the people couldn't read, they would look on the signs above the shop and learn what kind of shop it was by what was pictured.

Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart, so there was so much of him around the town, everyone was selling things with his name or picture on it. .

We got to see the house he lived in before he became famous, the one he was born in. It was so interesting to see something about someone so famous and well known as Mozart and where he began it all.

Austria was a beautiful country, and so much snow! The mountains were so beautiful. Sadly, I'm not a skier so I couldn't experience the mountains as most people who go to Austria do. I hope to go back when it's warmer one day, and see the city in a new light.

I'll tell you about the tour I took in Austria soon, the Sound of Music Tour! There's so much to say about that!

Katie

My spring break adventures

2006-03-22T15:40:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
I spent the most awesome week of my life in Spain, the Canary Islands. I went with four of my girlfriends, and it was probably the best trip I could have taken with friends.
We had a beautiful apartment on the island of Tenerife,and it looked over the ocean, where we had breakfast on the terrace every morning! It was so awesome to wake up, and go right to the terrace to eat and gaze at the sun over the ocean and the palm trees. It was like 80 degrees there! We basically wore our bathing suits the entire
time, and just hung out on the beach. Every day was looking for a new beach. They were so beautiful! It was all black sand beaches and blue water, so not like the Jersey Shore!

Our nights were spent looking for awesome restaurants. We went to a few places that were really fun to go to, like a Spanish restaurant that the host was a matador, and we had a lot of fun with him!!He gave us sombreros while we ate, and it was so funny. He would always talk to us, and we even got free stuff! And one night we went to a 5 star hotel for dinner and we pretended to be rich...And then the next day would come and we would start again with a beautiful beach...

It was so beautiful and warm there, that it was so amazing. Soon I'll let you know what I was up to in Salzburg, Austria...which was my part II of Spring break.

Katie

SPRING BREAK IS here!

2006-03-13T10:33:00.000-05:00

posted by: Esi

Oh how the semester flies! I'm all packed up and ready to start my spring break in Verona!...New Jersey...not Italy. Ill be home for spring break (again) which is okay because that means I'm guaranteed LOTS of time to sleep and catch up on my television watching. I'm also celebrating my 21st birthday over break so I am VERY excited for that.

Yesterday, the Rider Vibes performed at the LASO (Latin American Student Organization) Talent Show. The money that they raised helped to support the Big Brother Big Sister Mentor program. We closed the show singing two songs: Weezer's Island in the Sun and Disco Classic, Funky Town. We had a great time and it seemed really well received. We're starting to get ready for our spring concert that will hopefully be sometime in April.

On Monday, Anthony Rapp who played Mark in RENT came to our school. I was so excited since I recently jumped on the RENT train. A few of my friends and I got there an hour early only to find that there was already a line from the door. He talked about his new book "Without You" and talked about love, loss and of course RENT. The talk was great he's a really great speaker and he even sang for us TWICE! He raffled off twenty of his books and my boyfriend and two of my other friends won them. Anthony Rapp signed autographs afterward and I got my copy of the movie signed and a picture. My boyfriend got his book signed and gave it to me! I was VERY happy about that.

I hope to finally see the play during spring break, I'm very excited.

I hope everyone has a great spring break, the weather has been warm hopefully it'll continue into next week!

Esi

Mid-terms in England

2006-03-02T14:22:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

Since midterms are here, my friends and I decided that we had to do something to perk ourselves up, and do something fun. We just couldn't study anymore! So we signed up for a trip to Leeds Castle in Kent, southof London, and known as one of the "most beautiful castles in England" and a wine tasting tour.

The day we left was very rainy, and probably not one of the best days to go look at a castle and its grounds. But we tried to make the best of it. The grounds of Leeds castle had a lot to do. First we had to walk from the coach park, up a hill for about 15 minutes, to get to the castle. The grounds were beautiful, and surrounded by "the duckery." Leeds Castle was purchased by an American heiress in the 1920's and was remodeled for her, and she loved birds, so there are several ponds dedicated to exotic birds. As we approached the castle, the outside of it did resemble a medieval fortress, as there was a gate and a barbican that was fun for pictures. We were able to walk around the castle and were able to take pictures within the castle. We even found out that the foundation that keeps up the care of the castle still meet inside, and even live there for a week when making decisions. It was kind of depressing that the castle was modified and looked more modern. But it was a beautiful castle, surrounded by a real moat. We then went to a small area a little further from the castle, where the workers used to live, but was now modified to take care of guests, with a restaurant, fowlery and little shows for kids with Henry VIII, the last king to live there. We went to the maze, which was made of high hedges, and got so lost. There was a man at the center who directed us, and when we got there, it was this small rock fortress that we could look from onto the maze. We then were able to go below it, where the grotto was. It was made of stone and underground and filled with small fountains and tile work. It was really beautiful under there.

Afterwards we went back to the coach we arrived on and went to Chapel Down, the winery.
We went on a tour of how to make wine and sparking wine, which is just champagne with a different name. Then we sat down and had a wine tasting. It was so cool. They gave us glasses to taste several wines, and we were able to take notes on it, and they taught us how to taste wines. It was a lot of fun, the release from midterms that we needed. We then came back to Richmond, and were absolutely exhausted. It was a fun and exciting day.

By the time you read this, I'll be in Spain and Austria! Having a total blast! I'll make sure to tell you all about it...for those in snowy New Jersey...

Katie

February comes to an end

2006-02-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

posted by: Esi

Greetings!

Where has the time gone?? It's been a pretty busy semester so far and I can't even believe March is right around the corner. Things have been great the past few weeks. My junior year experience at Dutch Neck School has been very fun. The students are great and I really enjoy working with them. I teach my first lesson on Thursday. Outside education, the rest of my classes are great too! I'm enjoying the "Great Composers" class. I enjoyed the Beatles (who the class is about) before this class, and now that I'm taking it I love it even more! I started taking piano lessons at Westminster Choir College. It's a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. It's nice to extend my learning past the few piano classes I took at Rider.

Even though the semester is a little less than half way over, people are starting to begin planning for the summer and next year. In a week or two, I will have an interview to be on the Summer Orientation Staff. I was on it last semester and it was the best summer of my life. It was fun to meet and help the new incoming freshman and their parents and I hope to be able to do it again this summer.

Jumping even further ahead, education majors have to hand in their student teaching applications in soon. It's very scary to know that in just a few months, I will be in a class all on my own finishing up the last of my education work in the field. I nervous and excited and yet it's nowhere near time to start. Time is flying by way too fast!

Something exciting that is going on in my life, my "day in the life" video finally came out. Last semester I, as well as a few other Rider students, was followed around for a day to give prospective Rider students the opportunity to see how we live. I was very excited to see it and it turned out GREAT! I was very excited and I got lots of feedback from people that saw it. I was VERY proud of the video.

There were some good events on campus this past week, first, last Thursday was a 70’s Dance Party sponsored by the Student Entertainment Council, they had 70’s music blasting, disco ball necklaces, hats, tie die shirts, mood rings and other fun 70’s trinkets. They also had hot dogs, candy and my personal favorite, strawberries, hot fudge and whipped cream!! Mmmm! It was GREAT! On Friday we had another Bronc Buffet, this one was sponsored by the Black Student Union, and they had LOTS of delicious food, games music and of course fun! Me and a group of my friends went and had a great time! Well I guess that's all for me for February!

See you all in March!
Esi

Day trips in England

2006-02-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie
Here in London there is a company called Tracks Travel that offer day trips, and it only costs about 15 pounds per trip. Recently, my friend and I went to Oxford, home of the famous University, and Bleinhiem Palace, one of the biggest palaces in England, one of its most famous "stately homes." The sun was shining that day, and it made the gardens everywhere look absolutely beautiful.

We reached Oxford around 10:30 am, and made a dash for breakfast. We found a really cute English bakery and ate a hearty English breakfast. Then, just to say we were in Oxford, we had to buy tshirts that say "Oxford University." The town was very cute picturesque, it reminded me of Princeton, down the road from Rider. There were many small shops, and a lot of history there, like old churches that had stories to them, such as Christ Church, which was where Lewis Carroll wrote his story called Alice in Wonderland. We walked around a lot, looking at the buildings, sadly we couldn't go into any of the school's buildings, since classes were in session, but we did get to go into the building where Oxford has their orchestras and special meetings, and I got to sit in the Chancellor of Oxford's seat. It made me feel special. We then climbed to the tower of the building, and were able to see a 360 degree view of Oxford, all the buildings, steeples (where the first steeple in England was built) and all the gardens surrounding it. The view gave us a good idea of where to go. We then walked to Christ Church, and the gardens around it were beautiful, true English gardens by houses with thatched roofs. Oxford was just a beautiful, small and quaint city. Now I can say I went to Oxford University...

Then after we left Oxford, we drove to the countryside and went to Bleinheim Palace, home of the Duke of Marlborough, which actually still lives there in private apartments in the palace. There was so much to do there. There was a lovely little cafe over looking the gardens for lunch. We also went to an exhibit on Winston Churchill, because he was actually born in Bleinheim Palace, and we even saw his birthroom. His grandmother was the 7th Duchess of Marlborough, while his father was actually the youngest, so not the heir to the dukedome. We learned what it was like in war for the first duke of Marlborough, and saw what it was like for Churchill as well. There was even a station for dress up, to wear the war clothes they did in the Revolutionary War! And I definitely had to try them on. It's a great picture. Then we took a tour of the palace. There were a lot of parlors, not a lot too see, since the Duke of Marlborough still lives there with his family. We did get to see the coronation robes of the duke and duchess, and even saw what the duke wears when he is in a session of Parliament. While walking around the grounds of the palace, there was a man dressed as a soldier from the Revolutionary War, and when I asked for a picture with him, he asked if I was a Yank, and I got so confused! Then I realized what he meant, being colonists vs. England, but he was really nice and I got a great picture in front of the palace. The best thing about Bleinhiem Palace were the gardens. It was a beautiful day for the strolling in gardens and by the river that it rests by, and there were gardens all over the property, even beautiful gazebos sitting in the middle of woods. The view at the palace was very beautiful, and was great in the sun. It was nice to sit by the trickling water of the fountains and by the topiaries and think yourself to a time long ago, and pretend that you are some kind of aristocracy. Then after arriving home a few hours later, it rained, of course that would happen in England, but it was nice to have the sun while it lasted.

Katie

Greenwich and more

2006-02-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

This weekend I was very busy with a lot of sightseeing, probably spent a lot of my money just trying to see England! Although, no amount of money could compare to getting out of class...

My friends and I went to Greenwich over the weekend, which is a suburb of London, so we took the tube and the train just to get there. The train was almost like a monorail, so we got to see a lot of the outskirts of London from high above, through the windows. When we got to Greenwich, it was so pretty! There was lots of green grass (instead of cobblestone sidewalks and roads as in London) and families picnicking. Lately, the weather in London has been amazing, we've probably had it rain here 3 times, and I've been here for 2 months! It's been sunny and, even though not warm, I need only wear a sweater every once and awhile. I heard it was snowing in New Jersey...While in Greenwich we did a little sightseeing, as usual, and found where the old medieval palace at Greenwich used to stand. Greenwich used to be the countryside, where kings and queens would take time away from the Tower of London and other city palaces. It was where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born...we found the plaque commemorating the original building. Unfortunately, the palace at Greenwich was torn down for Sir Christopher Wren's buildings, which are now housing the British Royal Navy Academy.

We also visited a ship called the Cutty Sark, which was built to race the steamship in the mid-1800's during the industrial revolution.
It lost, but it has remained and been kept up in the harbor of the Thames River in Greenwich for 100 years.

We then went to the Queen's House, which was build for Jame's I's wife, Queen Anne of Denmark. We even got to go in for free! (It usually costs money everywhere to be admitted). The house now holds some of England's finest paintings, even a painting of the Battle of Trafalgar recently appraised at 30 million pounds! Some paintings even go back 500 years, and we were able to go right up close to them.

My friends and I then trekked up this huge hill, at at the top, is the Royal Observatory. That is where time originates for the world, also known as Greenwich Mean Time. It also separates the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, and there is a line, so you can stand on both hemispheres at once. Although it was closed when we got there, we probably spent too much time in the Queen's House, we did synchronize our watches to Greenwich Mean Time, so no one can say that we are late, we have the origin of time exactly!!
We then decided that it was time to go home, and traveled about an hour back to London on a main bus. We were exhausted from the countryside, there were no buses or tube stations to take us where we needed to go while in Greenwich, so it involved a lot of walking! I really hope to go back when England is in full bloom with all the flowers and gardens at their peek, then it will be truly an English experience for me.

Katie

Hello from the world of student teaching!

2006-02-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

posted by: Julie

I have to tell everyone, that I am having a blast in my classroom this semester. I have a great co-op teacher who is really getting me involved in the classroom and with the students. I'm already teaching math and reading, and I've only been there for three weeks! Basically what this means is I am teaching all morning about three days out of the week. I thought waking up at 6am was going to be hard for me, but once I got myself into a schedule, it's nothing. In fact it's kind of amazing how productive you can be in a day when you don't sleep until noon. Don't get me wrong, I still love my weekends when I do get that chance to sleep in. And speaking of
weekends, I still get to come up to Rider on the weekends and see all my friends, so that's exciting. I mean, student teaching is a lot of work, but I do still get to have a small social life.

I have to admit though, I am really thankful for all the preparation Rider's school of education has given me in the past three and a half years, I don't know if I would be able to handle all the planning and work, if I wasn't already accustomed to a classroom setting and what would be required of me.

Hope everyone is staying warm in this wacky weather we've been having!

Talk to you soon.

Julie

A slower weekend?

2006-02-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

My weekend was pretty slow I suppose, if there is such thing as slow in the major metropolitan city of London. My friends and I walked around on Friday, mainly because it has been so nice outside! I always expected England to be gloomy and raining all the time, but by some miracle, the sun shines and the sky is blue. So we make sure to take advantage of that.

After a few hours of walking around and just window shopping, a bunch of us decided to go to the British Museum. There are so many interesting things there! Ancient articles such as Greecian statues, Roman money uncovered from archeological digs here in England, to even a 6000 year old man, preserved of course. I looked at many things that I've read about in history books, like the Rosetta Stone, and the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was all so fascinating, there was so much history there, probably more than any museum I could go to in the US.

Saturday my friends and I went to Warwick Castle, one of the oldest castles in England. However, it was renovated majorly during the Victorian period. But a part of the castle, the part built in the 1100's is still on a high hill in the middle of the courtyard. It was so pretty and picturesque there-I was so happy to finally be at a castle in England! It reminds me of the storybook kind of England that I really wanted to see. There were dungeons to explore, as well as state rooms that dukes and duchesses, and perhaps a king or queen in the past, stayed the night it. It was so interesting to hear all the stories of royalty that passed through the gates of Warwick Castle.

Lately, midterms have been coming up. I'm not quite sure what to expect, so I have been studying like crazy. There's so much information, information that I have never learned in the States! Hopefully I'll do well and come back to Rider with the classes that I need. I've spent almost all my time this weekend trying to study the material. Hopefully I'll do well. Wish me luck!

~Katie

London with a taste of Texas

2006-02-07T16:04:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

However expensive London is, it is totally worth it. My friends and I, this weekend, did some great touring around England, spending perhaps too much money than we needed to. Saturday night we went to the Texas Embassy, which is a Texan restaurant, frankly because, we were sick of English food. Thankfully, England is packed with restaurants of the world, and when I mean of the world, I mean places like Zimbabwee have restaurants and such. Then a bunch of us walked to Trafalgar Square, which is so pretty at night! When it's warm out, people go swimming in the fountain, and even though it was cold, people were doing it then too! But all we did was look and hang out in the square, the lights were so brilliant at night.

Sunday, a group of us went on a trip that a place called STA travel offers for a low price, 15 pounds, which is around 25 US dollars, and that takes us, on a coach bus, to three places in England, 2 hours away. First we went to Stonehenge, which we had to do, we were in England! Although we couldn't touch the rocks or get very close to them, there was a roped off trail around it, it was amazing to see 4000 years of history before us, the mystery of it was really cool. You don't see things like that in America. Afterward we went to a small town called Devizes and ate at what we thought was a real English inn called the Black Swan dating back to the 1600's.

Our last location that day was Avebury, which is another rock formation, and a town is located in the center of it. The rocks are not like Stonehenge, so it's now as famous, because the rocks are just any large size and shape, several yards from others, in the shape of a circle. There was also a huge ditch built around the rocks thousands of years ago, and that was where I probably had the most fun. There were children rolling down the ditch, it was so steep and deep! And then two older parents did it, so then I had to do it. I rolled down the ditch several times with small British children, and we had a blast. Afterwards, we went to the center of the town, and went to an English pub. When you think of English pubs, this is it. We couldn't believe how quaint it was! It had outside plaster walls and a thatched roof.

My classes are going well, and I really enjoy them. I thought that in a metropolitan city like London I wouldn't get the same 'homeyness' that I get at Rider but my professors are like that at Rider, very helpful when you need them for your work. Although, I can't wait until spring break! My friends and I are going to the Canary Islands, which is off the coast of Spain. Then I fly back here and my boyfriend (who is also from Rider) comes to visit and then we fly to Salzburg, Austria. I can't wait!

Katie

Third week

2006-02-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

posted by: Matt

Well, it's the third week of the Spring semester and that means one thing; Friday is Bid Day. Bid day is one of Rider's biggest traditions. It is the day of several ceremonies where the Greek houses give bids to their new members.

This past weekend was a sad one for me. The hockey team did not make the playoffs. We lost to two teams that we need to beat to make it and we lost. It is hard not making the playoffs your senior year. I wanted to keep the tradition of Rider hockey alive. We have never missed the playoffs. This will be first time since the creation of the MACHA in 1996, that Rider is not in the playoffs and it means only the third time we will not be competing in the championship. The worst part is, is that in my freshmen and sophomore year we were contenders for the championship and even the national tournament. Now we can't even make the playoffs. It is a little depressing.

This past week I also booked my flights to Europe for the summer. I plan on packing through several countries this summer. But more on that
later. Until next time.
Matt

So much to do...

2006-02-03T14:12:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

I'm so amazed that there is so much to do in London! There's never a time to be bored with all the stuff that there is to do around here. A lot of things do cost a bit of money, but you can always find free things to do. My one friend and I, Chelsea, wanted to do something that we hadn't done yet here, and decided that we should go see a play-one of the best things to do in London anyway. The best part is, we could go to a ticket booth, located in the center of the bustling Covent Garden, and bought tickets for The Producers on a Friday night, and got great seats! The musical was really great, and we had a blast. Unfortunately, that put us back 30 pounds, but we had fun during it. The play was even on Drury Lane, and we found it amusing because of the nursery rhyme, so we bought a muffin and took pictures on Drury Lane.

This weekend was the Chinese New Year. The night before, we were able to see all the decorations put up in Chinatown, and got a great meal while we were touring the part of the city. The decorations and lights were so pretty, and reminded me of how much diversity there is in London-I was told that most "Londoners" are not even British. Walking around Chinatown was a lot of fun in all the lights.

My classes are getting a little bit easier to understand, since I never had this type of education in the States, learning about international affairs. What is really interesting is, everyone internationally knows about U.S. matters, as well as international, but we only focus on ourselves. I like getting a different perspective and view of the world, as well as my homeland from another perspective. I was even able to start off a discussion in my Politics in the Middle East class, I am usually so completely lost in that class!

My friends and I are starting to make a list of places to go that we are interested in seeing. The list just gets longer and longer! I don't know if we'll be able to finish it all, but I'm having a lot of fun trying!

Katie

Start of Classes

2006-01-27T14:44:00.000-05:00

posted by: Esi

Just as soon as you think you're settled at home, it's time to come Back To School! We'll I'm back at school for spring semester 06' (Can you believe its 2006?)

I came back early for January Orientation and for Information Desk training. It's always nice to come back to school a little earlier than everyone else. That way you're all done and settled when people just start moving in. Orientation was a success; we got a lot of new students coming in.

The first week of school also came and went fast. I've very satisfied with my schedule this semester. Of course I have my education classes, teaching literacy and teaching math, which seem very interesting. I'll be doing my second junior level experience at Dutch Neck School this semester. I also am taking a computer course and a course on Dance History. The dance history class is interesting because we actually get up and move and do some of the dance we were learning about. It's not too complicated so it's very fun for someone like me that can't dance but am interested in dance. The last class I'm taking is a class titled "Great Composers" which could sound boring to some until you learn what it's really about; The Beatles. It's a class chalked full of the history of The Beatles as well as analyzing the music. It's a really interesting class and I can't wait to see what's in store for the class.

So far I've kept organized so hopefully things will continue this way. Tonight's the first Bronc Buffet of the semester. It'll be a nice way to relax after a somewhat hectic first week of classes. It's also a good way to see the last few of my friends I have yet to see since getting back!
Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Esi

London continued...

2006-01-25T14:48:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

So I've been here for two weeks already and I feel as if I have been here forever. I've "semi" mastered the bus and tubes, only getting ridiculously lost once, but the people here are very nice and try their best to help you. My friends and I have done so much, and we try to do as much as we can on the weekends, since school is in session during the week, but luckily, Richmond, my school, has Friday as a "dead-day" which means there are no classes, so there is more time to do what we want.

I feel as if I have been everywhere! We toured the Tower of London, running around to see everything before the tower closed. It's so interesting to see things that are almost a thousand years old, seeing things that are older than America's discovery. Lately, there have been about four sunny days, and I am maximizing those days as best as I can, since usually it's cloudy and a little gloomy. My friends and I walked ALOT the other day, for three hours straight, just looking at everything we could.

We walked through Kensington Gardens, found some of the most beautiful and manicured gardens I have ever seen, I even had squirrels and birds eating out of my hand in these gardens and ponds. We then walked through Hyde Park, then through St. James Park, onto Buckingham Palace. We couldn't go in, because the palace is only open during July and August, when the Queen is on vacation. Sadly, we had no glimpse of her or her grandsons...And then we walked to Westminster, where the London Eye and Westminster Abbey are located. We were so exhausted that day-we walked 8 tube stops! We definitely took a double decker bus back.

The other day was very fun-it was a shopping day! Portobello Market is a market that vendors and shops open their doors every Saturday. There are so many interesting things there-from clothing, to shoes, jewelry and many many antiques. And it's so big! I had a lot of fun on that day. Later on that day, we went to an old fashioned English pub, where I was able to meet my cousin who lives here. It was really cool to see what people our age do in another country, very different from Rider. In the short two weeks that I have been here, I feel as if I am so acclimated to this London already, and so glad that I took the opportunity that so few get to take.

Katie

Back from break

2006-01-25T14:26:00.000-05:00

posted by: Matt

Winter break was awesome. The first half was spent enjoying the holidays with family and friends. I spent New Years in Philadelphia at Denim. They had a private party that I attended. I went with some teammates from the hockey team.

On January 5th I left to go to the Dominican Republic. I went with a group from Rider called Catholic Campus Ministry with the Orchid foundation. We went there to work on an orphanage. I had lots of fun working with the kids there and making their home and school better equipped. We did some roof work, hung blinds, organized the entire years supply of their food. We even had time to dress up as the three kings and hand out presents and candy to the kids. We left on January 20th and I made it home just in time for classes to start.

I will keep every one posted on whether the team makes the playoffs or not. Until then rock on.

Matt

Tourist

2006-01-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

So, I am all moved into Richmond, The American University, and I like to say that I am a British student now (I even try to put off a British accent, who knows if it works). I was pretty homesick for awhile, but slowly I'm doing better, making good friends, and exploring a lot. A few friends of mine finally did some "touristy" things today, aside from all the errands that we have to do before school starts, like get Tube (subway) cards, get books, special student cards and sign up for trips around England. I kind of don't want classes to start yet, because it just feels as if I am on vacation with friends, and it's a blast. A few of us went to see Parliament and Big Ben at night, and that's when it hit us that we are in England, cause it's just so pretty here, looking at all the lights, old castles and Victorian era buildings. I definitely feel as if its another world here, aside from another country.

Studying Abroad: My London Story

2006-01-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

posted by: Katie

My name is Katie, and I am a junior Communications major in the
Television and Radio track at Rider University. I really do love my school, sometimes I would rather be there than home. So it's probably really weird as to why I would want to study abroad for a semester. There's just a whole mix of reasons that eventually culminated in choosing to study in London, England at Richmond, The American University for four
months.

I guess a major reason why I chose to study abroad were the
classes. Although I enjoy my classes at Rider, there are just some that my school can't offer, and I can only get while studying in another country. For example, I have classes about the European Union (which I never learned about in American in general) and one called Foreign Trade Policy. That class is probably the most interesting, basically because of the group of students that make it up. I am the only American, and sadly, only speak one language. Everyone else in the class have experience with their parents' import/export businesses back home, in Germany, Yemen,
Nigeria and even Bulgaria; one student even speaks 5 languages fluently, while I only know basic Spanish. It's like I have the world sitting in with me in class. It's pretty interesting to hear what they have to say.

Another reason why I chose to study abroad was perhaps because I always wanted to, which is why I chose Rider. I guess even back then I knew it was going to be an awesome experience, to be on my own, in another country, for four months. The school helped me out a lot in getting everything together. They helped me figure it all out, especially my advisor, and the people in the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences offices, they helped me get done what I had to do to study abroad, and helped me get in contact and apply to programs and schools for studying abroad.

Lastly, I realized recently that so many people seem to be proud of me for studying abroad, doing something out of the ordinary, which I learned that only one percent of American students do. My mother told me before I left that she was proud of me, and it meant so much, because she had always wanted to study abroad but never got the opportunity. So I guess she's living vicariously through me. And it makes me feel good that my sorority house is cheering me on back home, and that when I return to Rider, I'll still have my home waiting for me.

Katie
ps. I am the one on the right in the picture it was taken in front of Big Ben with my friend Chelsea from Texas.

Relaxing is coming to an end

2006-01-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

posted by: Julie

I hope everyone had great holidays! I know I sure did. It was good to relax and enjoy a home cooked meal and spend time with the family.

Other than that, that's about all the relaxing I've been able to do. I'm working on what I like to call "my big girl room" back at home. So that's the big winter break project. I know that once I start student teaching, I am going to be bringing home a lot of papers and I want to have a new organized space to put everything in.

Speaking of student teaching, I have my training in a week and then I start teaching in two weeks. I have to admit, I'm kind of both nervous and excited about teaching. In one sense, I've prepared for this day over the last two years at Rider, but now it's like the real thing. It's not like I have other classes at Rider, or that I'm only teaching two days a week, I am going to be in this classroom everyday, and then the next step after that is teaching my own classroom. Part of me wants to jump right to teaching my own class, I think that will be so much fun, but I know I am going to leave my student teaching experience with a lot of things that are going to help me in my own classroom. But I really am looking forward to student teaching because I will really be able to put all that I've learned in my classes to work. I hear so many times, "am I really going to need this in the real world?" but I'm pretty sure everything I learned in the school of education will be used at some point in time in my teaching career.

Well, I hope the New Year brings good times to all of you and for those high school seniors; good luck with the college decisions.

Talk to you soon!

Julie

Almost break time

2006-01-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

posted by: Esi
Break is almost HERE!

I must say I shouldn't complain because I've had a pretty easy final schedule this week. I had to hand in 3 finals and other than that I've been working at the desk and preparing for me one (and only) real final which is on Monday in Geology. So the week has been fine for me.
Last Friday I went to the Alphi Psi Omega's (the theatre fraternity) winter formal. I had a really good time. Plus it was an easy opportunity to get dressed up for no reason! The next night the Rider Vibes had their winter concert. Despite the short notice, we had a great concert and an awesome turnout. I had a duet/solo in Weezer's "Island in the Sun" and a cheesy role in our holiday skit. Hopefully, having people see the concert will encourage them to try out next semester. We had a really good time and I can't wait to start Vibes up again next semester. As for the break, I've got nothing planned. I'll probably just hang out with my friends from home and my friends from school. I really should have gotten a job but this break I'll just relax. I'm coming back to Rider a week early to start preparations for Winter Orientation, so I'll be back in no time.

Something I'm really excited for next semester, BRONC BINGO. But more of that next year!

Maybe I'll keep a resolution this year.
-Esi

Since Thanksgiving Break

2005-12-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

posted by: Julie

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know that I did, it was good to be around family and friends for a few days and take a break from classwork.

It has been a interesting couple of weeks here at Rider. There have been many up's and down's in the past few weeks. Sadly, a close friend of mine from Rider, David, he passed away in a car accident right before Thanksgiving break. But to every
sadness, there is happiness that comes through it. I mean, it was amazing to see how many people he was friends with on campus, and how many people he knew. This is all kind of going to back to that sense of community especially when you see an entire campus come together in these kinds of situations.

But on a better note, my sorority also had their date night right before break. Basically, its a night for everyone to get dressed up and go somewhere off campus for kind of a high school homecoming dance if you will. It's not a formal event, but it's definitely a fun time. We have a nice sit down dinner and then for lack of better words, dance the night away.

But now I am about to enter my last week of formal classes at Rider. Next semester I'll be moving back home to student teach. It's really sad to be leaving here after all the wonderful memories I have here with so many great people. I'm sure ill be coming back to school some other time to further my education, but for now, my four years at Rider is drawing to a close. I realize I still have spring semester, but I'll be student teaching at home, and I'm really going to miss this place. Not necessarily the classes, I'm glad to be done with readings and papers, but more the friends and the family that I have grown so close with over these past four years. These are going to be the people I miss the most.

Have a great Holiday!

Julie

Break

2005-12-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

posted by: Matt

Well, I just finished my last exam and all I have to do is one last term
paper. I am so excited to be finished with this semester and get a
break. I have so much to do before Christmas. I haven't even started my shopping. I need an entire day off to sleep. I did not go to bed Monday night at all because I was nervously studying for my tax exam. Now that they are all finished I can now sleep and get the holiday festivities started. Hockey has stopped for break so I really have some time on my hands.

I also am leaving for the Dominican Republic on January 5th for two
weeks. I am working on an Orphanage down there. There are twelve of us Rider students going down. One of my teammates is also going so we are looking forward to the fun. I get back on the 20th so until then; have a safe and happy holiday.

Matt