Wednesday, May 26, 2010

how i can i play a varisty sport at smc? are their tryouts when you get there in the fall?

Yes typically there are. Which sport are do you want to tryout for? Have you contacted the coach? Try Calling the coach with your specific questions and for answers about exact dates and times of tryouts http://www.smcathletics.com/information/staff/index

Ask me anything

Are books expensive in smc?, Im going to be attending next fall

It depends on your classes and where you buy them. I always get mine at the bookstore, but if you ask or find out from your professors ahead of time you can buy them cheaper online!

Ask me anything

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Graduation 2010!

Another school year has come and gone. The seniors have now graduated and have entered the "real world"! My sister, Megan, was one of the seniors in the class of 2010. I got to experience graduation two years early and preview what a Saint Michael's graduation is like. They had a senior week, a baccalaureate mass, and a beautiful and entertaining graduation ceremony. I think that the thing that scared me the most was how I only graduated from high school a mere two years ago and will be participating in my college graduation in only two years. Where does the time go?

The senior class lucked out on Thursday May 13, 2010 with a warm and sunny
Vermont day. Earlier in the week Burlington and parts of Vermont experienced snow flurries and chilly temperatures for May. Graduation brought everyones friends and family to celebrate the end of college and beginning of the next chapter in many students lives.I enjoyed finding decorated graduation caps that said "Thanks Mom & Dad" or ones with fun pictures and designs.

It will be different for me now at
Saint Mike's as I will no longer have Megan their to run into or to be confused with as my twin. (I promise we don't look that similar). I have visited Saint Mike's ever since she moved in Freshmen year and have been a part of her four year experience. Actually there are a lot of siblings at SMC which is pretty cool. I will return to school as a Junior and she will visit as an alum. It's sad to not be near her and her friends as they became my good friends too. I wish the senior class good luck and congratulate them on a job well done!

Here is a picture of my sister and all her friends!


Sunday, May 9, 2010

Guest Appearance: Natalie Watson talking about Dream

At St. Mike's there are many programs and clubs to join. I asked Natalie Watson a Sophomore involved in DREAM to explain the program and talk about her experience.


Natalie, what is DREAM and explain a little about it.

DREAM stands for "Directing through Recreation, Education, Adventure, and Mentoring" but it is so much more than that. The DREAM program was started in 1999 by students at Dartmouth College, and it pairs college students with children from affordable housing communities in hopes of creating lasting relationships that positively impact both the mentor and mentee. I've found that DREAM has become addicting. I was paired with my mentee Najima, a nine-year-old Somali refugee, in the Spring of last year and we've grown so close. We do all sorts of things together and with the group. Najima calls me all the time asking me for advice or just calling to talk.
One of my favorite parts of the program is how close I've become with Najima's family. I think they really appreciate college students reaching out to help their kids, and her parents are always so appreciative of the time I spend with Najima. Najima and her friends all live for Fridays, or DREAM days, when they get to see their mentors. That's probably my favorite part about DREAM- pulling up to their neighborhood, Franklin Square, and seeing all of the kids run to the St. Mike's vans screaming "DREAM IS HERE!!" As cliche as this sounds, we, as mentors, are blessed with the ability to take these kids out of their underfunded,overcrowded, and oftentimes hostile living situations and give them hope and the tools to achieve their dreams. Children who are enrolled in DREAM are more likely to graduate from high school than their low income peers, and the first DREAMer recently graduated from college. Knowing that we can have an impact on local kids is the greatest feeling in the world!


At the end of the school year DREAM and the other Mentoring programs such as, Big Brother, Big Sister have a big BBQ on campus and have bounce houses. Fire and Rescue, which is run by students, brings over the ambulance and a fire truck and allowing the kids explore them. It's a great way for mentors and mentee's to have fun together before the summer! I went and took pictures and got to hang out with everyone. Check them out!