Honored Guest

Whenever a professor announces a guest speaker, students are tempted to believe that day will be a free pass to skip class.  In fact, I often find myself easily falling into this belief.  But this semester, I’ve realized that is not a good idea!  Don’t fall into that trap!  Guest speakers are some of the most interesting and exciting days you will ever have in class!

This week, I had two guest speakers on the same day and I gained valuable advice from each of them.  The first was in my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, where we learn about what it takes to become your own boss.  Our guest speaker was exciting and energetic.  He was a different kind of entrepreneur, who works at a Bible College in Indianapolis, while also working with a network marketing company (which is like the Avon business model).  His message to us was simple:  line up multiple streams of income!  This just means that you have a daytime job, but also devote a couple hours a week to a company on the side, like selling beauty products.  It seems like such a good idea.

He also encouraged us to create a 5-year vision statement, detailing where we would like to be in 5 years.  By writing it in the present tense and updating it each year, these goals are much more likely to be achieved.  This is an idea that I think I’ll actually implement!

Our second speaker that day was Moria Forbes, who is an executive heading up the ForbesWoman initiative.  Her presentation was truly inspiring to me as a woman wanting to move up in business.  She encouraged us to have a mission we’re passionate about and be willing to take risks!  By looking to leaders and their stories, one can find inspiration.  This is something I’ve found just by attending guest lectures.

It seems that taking the initiative in your education can truly benefit, motivate, and inspire you.  This can be done just by attending guest speaker events.  It’s really that simple!  Sometimes, it’s too easy to make light of a college education by just doing enough to get by.  But then, I wonder if you’d regret that 5, 10, or 20 years down the road.  What if we all took advantage of the time we have at Ball State and other universities?  What is each of us made the most of our college days?  Imagine what would be different about college, society, and each of our personal lives.  And it could all begin with an honored guest.

Honors Week

Happy Honors Week, everyone!  This week is a special week with designated days to celebrate the Honors College at Ball State University.  The Student Honors Council has planned various activities for students to celebrate being a member of the Honors College.  These days remind me a bit of our Homecoming week festivities during high school – you know, like school spirit days.  But here in the BSU Honors College, we do things a little differently.

Mad Science Monday
Honors students have a tendency of being rather academic, so the first day of the week is a celebrate science with handmade ice cream and other science activities to kick-off Honors Week!

Get Your Green On
To enjoy our environmentally-friendly sides, Tuesday provided activities like painting your own flower pot, eating dirt pudding, and enjoying Buffalo Wild Wings.  After the activities, it was easy for students to stick around for the DeHority Hall Council meeting.

Feed Your Body, Feed Your Mind!
Wednesday’s activity provided a relaxing yoga session and healthy snacks, followed by a presentation featuring the Associate Director of Student Life, Mitch Isaacs, and finish the night with a late night breakfast put on by DeHority Hall Council!

Throwback Thursday
“Come to snack time, recess, and study hall at the Honors House! Bring old board games to play and donate to The Buley Center, take part in a Hula Hoop Contest, make friendship bracelets, and listen to music from your childhood!”  This is tonight and will be a fun evening of celebrating the good ol’ days!

Formal Friday
Even though it’s Friday the 13^th, the Honors Formal promises to be a fun evening of friends and dancing.  They even have a photo booth this year!

Check out my post from last year’s Honors Week for photos and good memories!

Irish Dancesport Gala

This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in my third ballroom competition! The members of the Ball State Ballroom Dance League travelled to the University of Notre Dame this weekend to compete in a variety of ballroom dance styles.

Our competitors did a fantastic job! The Ball State team is definitely more skilled in the Rhythm styles, which include Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, and Mambo, as several of our dancers advanced in these rounds!  Still, my partner and I felt like we did well in the Smooth styles of Waltz and Tango – better than we did at the last competition, which means a lot to us!

The most exciting time of the day was the afternoon, when we danced for about an hour straight during the Rhythm dances.  My partner and I advanced in Rumba and Cha Cha to the second round, which is something we hadn’t done before!  It was really exciting.

The surprise of the day was when I competed in Mambo with my partner from last year’s Purdue competition:  we got called back….twice!  It was incredible to make it to the Quarter Finals for the first time ever!!

My favorite part of competitions isn’t advancing to the next rounds or competing to win. Rather, it’s the camaraderie amongst the dancers and the fun atmosphere of the day.  The excitement of getting to dance a second (or third) time is the best part because dance, for me, is about doing what I love.

Here's the video of our dances from the Irish Dancesport Gala at Notre Dame!