Connecting

One of the best things I’ve done since coming to Ball State is joining Cru. For those of you who enjoyed being part of a youth group through your church at home, religious organizations at BSU are the next step! Surrounding yourself with students as passionate about their faith as you are (or would like to be) is the best way to grow!

Whether you are Christian, Catholic, Lutheran, or something else entirely, there is a place for you! For me, personally, I joined Cru about a year ago through a Bible study in my dorm. It’s a Christian organization that meets once a week, with small groups that meet another night each week. Most of my best friends now are girls I met through Cru and Bible study. Not only have I grown in fellowship through Cru, but also in my faith. I have learned so much in my walk with the Lord this past year!

Some of the other most popular organizations on campus are Intervarsity, Navigators, and Baptist Collegiate Ministry. There are other great organizations too, like Grace Village and Catholic Student Union. Some of Ball State’s religious organizations invite members of the community to join their services each week, like the Revolution and Common Way. For those of you interested in learning about other religions, there are groups like the Religious Studies club that I just learned about the other day.

Honestly, I have only brushed the surface of what BSU has to offer for your spiritual connections. I've provided links where I could find them, but there are a total of 32 organizations available to you! Check out Ball State’s Pride Guide for more info about each of the religious organizations on campus.

P.S. Cru’s annual Barn Bash is coming up!!! Check back soon for an updated post with photos!

Career Fair

Every year, there are several opportunities for BSU students to meet and network with companies looking to hire college graduates. Another perk of these events is that many of these companies also have internships available for undergrads. That’s why I attended the most recent Fall Career Fair last week.

At first, I really thought it was unnecessary for me to attend the job fair. Why would I go if I don’t need a job yet? Then I went and realized how beneficial it was. First, though, I had to develop my resume. This was kind of a big deal because I had no idea where to begin. Fortunately, Ball State has an excellent resource for students:  the Career Center. This is a place where students can explore job and internship opportunities, as well as find assistance with interview skills and resume creation.

The Miller Honors Program sets up a “resume workshop” just before this career fair to help us prepare – a benefit of being selected for this program! I learned everything I needed to know to create a basic resume for the fair.

Like I said before, I really didn’t think I would need to be at the career fair. In some ways, I was right. As a sophomore, many companies weren’t interested in even hiring an intern my age. However, they still took my resume and made a note for next year. The benefits started coming in because I was able to make those contacts already for internships I may be interested in next time around. Also, there was less pressure to perform, because I’m just a sophomore. It made a good experience being able to practice networking with real recruiters, even though they won’t be interested until next year.

The moral of the story is that no matter your year, attend a career fair for the experience! There are more coming up this year - check them out here!

We Remember

Today, Ball State remembers September 11, 2001 with special commemoration events. In fact, the University has put together events that lasted all week long. Beginning last week with a blood drive sponsored by Staff Council. Student Voluntary Services (SVS) hosted various service projects around the Muncie community yesterday. Along with Staff Council, SVS also collected items to make care packages for military troops as part of Operation Gratitude.

This evening, a commemorative service was held on campus, with a special guest speaker. Michelle Rosado actually survived the attacks on 9/11 and presented her inspirational story at BSU. The Chamber Choir sang “Prayer of the Children” and ROTC presented the flag. The Student Government Association hosted an “I Remember” poster for students to reflect on where they were that fateful day; the poster was on display at the service tonight.

Immediately following the commemorative service was a procession to Shafer Tower. There was a special candle lighting service, along with a moment of silence followed by the tolling of the Carillon Bells. It was truly a moment to reflect and remember the events of that day 10 years ago.

A Center for Learning

This week, I took a step outside my comfort zone:  I called the Learning Center and made an appointment with a tutor. You see, this was a BIG step for an honors student used to being on the tutor side of the equation. However, I have already gotten to the point in my statistics class where I feel slightly lost. So I decided to be proactive instead of failing…

Believe me, it’s SO worth it! I took a friend with me so I wouldn’t lose my courage, but the tutors at the BSU Learning Center are great. At least the one we had was; I even knew one of the other guys and he probably would have done a good job too. Once we got started with the questions I had, all my fears melted away. Suddenly, probability and distribution functions seemed so much easier! They have tutors in other areas too: Core Curriculum; Math, Physics, Accounting, and Economics; Study Strategies; and Writing.

Honestly, all it took was for someone to explain the notes in a different way. Granted, I haven’t taken the exam yet, but I feel much more confident going into it than I did a few days ago. So if you want my advice (and this is good stuff, folks!), pick up the phone and call before your grades start to suffer. It’s worth it!

Game On!

The first “home” football game of the season was this weekend! It was exciting because we played IU at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (road trip!) and even more exciting because WE WON!!!!

The Miller College of Business Honors Program reserved a block of seats in the student section for the game, which provided a chance to meet and get to know other members of the program. My friends and I carpooled down to Indy earlier in the evening for dinner at T.G.I Fridays. Yum!



Walking around part of downtown Indy was a great experience – I had forgotten how beautiful it is, especially through the eye of a camera! I could have easily spent much longer exploring and taking photos. Before long, we turned a corner and there it was! The Lucas Oil Stadium was HUGE! Going inside was even more breathtaking; I’ve never been to a football game in a completely enclosed stadium before. Definitely an interesting experience!



I’ll admit, I was a bit of a skeptic going in to this game. I’m not much of a football fan myself and from what I remembered of last year, our team hadn’t been very good. But they pulled together to beat IU 27-20 on Saturday! It was exciting, even for me!





The camaraderie amongst the Ball State fans after the win made the night feel alive. On the walk back to the parking garage, we heard a chorus of “chirp chirp!” everywhere we went. This game is one I certainly won’t forget anytime soon.

Chirp Chirp!