Winter Weekend Update

This weekend has been one of the busiest of the whole year. It all started with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) Formal on Friday night. All the girls from my Bible study dressed up in our pretty dresses, curled our hair, and danced the night away. It was so much fun!

Saturday I went to my first college basketball game. We lost to Ohio 61-60, but it was a good game! I got to meet up with my great-aunt and great-uncle afterward for dinner too, and we had a great time. That evening, Becca and I got a futon in our room – finally!! We’ve been thinking about doing this for a long, long time. And we finally did it! Thank goodness for my dad’s friend and his son, who helped us move it in. It looks amazing and is so comfy!



Today has been filled with homework. All day. It’s been kind of a long day. The rest of the weekend was great though!

Last week, a prospective freshman came to visit the College of Business and sat in on my Econ class. As I was talking with her, I kept thinking about how cool of an opportunity she had. Even though I was almost certain about coming here last year, it would have been such a great experience to try out classes here before I made my decision. So my advice this week: sign up for a tour day and contact someone in your major department about sitting in on a class or two. I am sure it would be a great opportunity to see if BSU is a good fit for you!

New Year, New Semester

Well, it’s back to school again. I just loved having a 3-week vacation for Winter Break. That’s definitely a benefit to college. It was especially nice because we had no assignments at all to worry about, just the holidays, friends, and family…

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Although, we are beginning a new semester full of new classes. This time around I’m taking:

HONRS 202 – more humanities
ASTRO 100 – Astronomy
ECON 202 – Macroeconomics
ACC 201 – Accounting
FR 302 – French Composition
PFW 103 – Walking

I definitely have a busy schedule this semester! This first week back was pretty good. I’m enjoying all of my classes for the most part, even though some are boring, required courses. It snowed a lot early in the week. As much as I love snow, I can’t say I enjoy walking to class in its slushy remains. Some of the main sidewalks dried up quickly, but I definitely needed my snow boots last week!

Fingers crossed for a good semester! I can’t believe we already had a 3 day weekend last weekend, but it was actually really nice.

Remember to get those school and scholarship applications in – the deadlines will be here in no time, trust me.

Miller Scholars & Honors

I first learned about the Miller Scholars & Honors program 3 years ago when it began. I knew then that it was something I wanted to be a part of, even so far down the road. And here I am today, writing a blog about my experiences as a Miller Scholar.

The Miller Scholars are representatives of the Miller College of Business (MCOB) at BSU. These students are labeled some of the “best and brightest” of the college, which is quite an honor. The program provides full tuition for about 10 students in each freshman class. The scholarship also includes a study abroad stipend, networking opportunities, and more.

Aside from the Miller Scholars, there are also 10 students from each class selected to be Miller Honors students, who have the same opportunities without the scholarship. On a day-to-day basis, there is no distinction made between us. We are all classmates and we are all part of the Miller Honors Program. We really are becoming a close-knit group of students.

As a Miller Scholar, we have each been matched with a Miller Mentor, who is a MCOB alumnus and who wants to be involved with the college. My mentor is the CEO of his own company, which makes him a great contact for me since my major is Entrepreneurship. He has already been an excellent mentor, who genuinely cares for me and my future.

In October he invited me to attend the MCOB Alumni Awards dinner. This is an annual event that is attended by a large number of alumni, which makes it a great networking opportunity. As a freshman, I was honored to attend. At the dinner, I joined a table of my mentor’s associates, his son (who graduated from the MCOB in Entrepreneurship) and his son’s fiancée, as well as several other current students. I even had the opportunity to meet the VP of World Travel at the Walt Disney Company, who is also a Ball State grad.

As I continue through the College of Business, I can foresee the Miller Honors program providing me with even more excellent opportunities that will make a difference in my future.

If you have an interest in the Miller Honors program, definitely check out their website! The deadline for the 2011-2012 Miller Scholars is January 31, 2011. Also, applications for the 2011-2012 Miller Honors Programs are due March 1, 2011.

Happy Holidays, from my family to yours!

Now that I'm home for Winter Break, my family and I are happy to be back together. My sister, Jessica, even had a snow day today! Actually, it was more of an "ice day" since there was half an inch of ice on everything. So we basically had an ice skating rink on our driveway, and the idea developed to create our own version of "Skating with the Stars." This video is the result. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Let it snow...

Yesterday was the first measurable snowfall on campus this year (it actually snowed the first weekend of November, but didn’t stick very long). It snowed all day, from flurries to big flakes. We got about half an inch or somewhere around there. Last night, the sidewalks were icy enough to slide our feet along – ramps being the most fun, of course.

Today, the sun is shining and slowly melting away the snow. Ball State seems to do a good job of keeping salt on the sidewalks when classes are in session. There is quite a bit out there today.

It’s definitely getting cold in Muncie. Since I’m not a huge fan of winter weather, I made sure to bring LOTS of things to keep me warm. I’ll share my list with you.

Winter Checklist:
-parka (or just a winter coat)
-snow boots (the kind that actually keep your feet warm - not Uggs)
-gloves (invest in Isotoners)
-scarves (nice, warm ones)
-ear muffs (I haven't gotten any yet, but I feel like they would be really nice...)
-hat (I want one with fur)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the dorms...especially in Becca and Nicole's room!

Giving Thanks

This holiday break, I am at home with my family. Tonight, I spent some time talking with my dad. For my Honors 199 class, we were asked to interview someone we know who is at least 15 years older than us. So I had a conversation with my dad about his childhood. We talked about everything from television to music, and fashion to technology. I love hearing stories from when my dad was a boy. He told me about his cowboys and Indians fort (which I’ve actually played with myself) and his 3-inch afro from his trip to Europe. Entertaining, believe me.

It’s been a wonderful Thanksgiving. And it all began with Fruesday…well, maybe I should explain. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Break has been dubbed “Fruesday” by Ball State University. It is a day on which we have Friday classes on Tuesday, hence Fruesday. The whole idea is to make up for all the Monday holidays we have off, thus missing out on class time those days. I’m not sure how effective it is, but hey, at least it makes us unique!

It’s hard to believe there are only two more weeks of classes and a week of finals before the semester is over. It seems like not so long ago I was just moving in. But I’m thankful to have made it this far!

I’ve had a wonderful Thanksgiving at home with my family. These days, my list of things to be thankful for is growing ever longer – and I’m grateful even for that!

Happy Thanksgiving!


(Psst! Click on the picture to learn about another unique part of Ball State!)

Dance Auditions

Last year, when I applied to Ball State, I hadn’t really decided about minoring in dance. By the time I did decide, it was too late to audition. The Department of Theatre and Dance audition days are in November and February. So, I just had to wait until November of this year to audition. This past Saturday was the first round of auditions for Fall 2011 (or Spring for current students). There were students auditioning for dance majors and minors, musical theatre, and acting.

The (early) morning began with a performance by the cast of Company, a musical production currently being put on at University Theatre, and a performance by the cast of The Nutcracker ballet being performed in December. The students were great and seeing them got us excited to get started.

The dance and musical theatre students stayed in the studio for the dance portion. We began with a jazz combination, then tap (which was optional), and finally ballet barre work. As the musical theatre students left, the dance students continued with ballet at the barre and floor work. All that was left was a modern combination and we were finished! It was a whirlwind morning, but so exciting.

I loved the feeling of dancing those styles in a class setting again. It’s been awhile! For dance minors, the audition is more about class placement than anything. They look at where you are and determine in which level you belong. I’m not sure if I will be taking any dance classes next semester, mainly because course request is now over, so most classes will be full, and I already have a full load. There is always an Add/Drop period when you can change your schedule up until the first week of classes though. So who knows?

As always, feel free to leave comments! I love hearing thoughts and suggestions for my blog. Also, if you have questions about campus life, please ask! If I don’t have an answer, I can direct you to someone who does.