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Activity #5- Strive for College Mentoring

This is exactly what it sounds like; Strive for College is a program that pairs college mentors with high school seniors in order that the high school students have someone to ask questions to about the college application process. It is a weekly commitment, and the chapter we have at Boise State is the trial run for sessions that take place over a computer screen. 

My experience with Strive for College has been a wonderful one. While it is difficult to wake up early on Thursday mornings, it is worth it because when I see my mentees' faces on the other side of the Skype screen and am able to answer questions about college, I know that I really am helping them with their application process. I had so many incredible mentors help me in various facets of life (still have them, really), and I am incredibly excited about being able to act as a mentor to others. 

It is beautiful to see that the high schools students really care about their future, and I am excited for my mentees to have college experiences. I hear their stories and am enriched, as their lives are vastly different from mine. I can only hope that I am having an impact upon them. 

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Activity #2 Update Had SUCH a wonderful time at Chicago Connection. Joy Kealey's gift of a free pizza turned into the gift of a really, really great experience. The garlic bread at the restaurant served as a reminder that real food does, in fact, exist, and sharing the meal with two close friends served as a reminder of the happy community that is created any time food is shared. Thank you, Mrs. Kealey!!! We will be back :)

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http://cityoftreesmarathon.com

Activity #4: City of Trees Marathon Volunteering

This volunteer opportunity happened on Sunday morning October 13, 2013. It was very cold when we got there to set up the tables. We filled a huge number of cups with water and Gatorade and handed them to the awesome runners in the CIty of Trees Marathon/Half Marathon.  It never warmed up very much temperature-wise, but in universal attitude, it kept getting sunnier. 

It was interesting to watch the progression of runners. The first, very serious runners would haphazardly grab the cup out of the hand of whomever was passing it out and it would be somewhat of a stressful ordeal. When it got a lot further down the line, people became very receptive. We must have heard the word "Thank you" 500 times, which was more than beautiful. I think someone even said something along the lines of "I love you!" simply because we were the medium communicating to them the liquid that their body was screaming for. I remember how that would go during long basketball practices, you'd tell your water bottle how much you adored it simply because it was providing you with water. In this really weird way, I felt wonderful about being able to give back. I also enjoyed kind of just being a cog in a machine, not because it was monotonous, but because it was efficient. It was still personal. 

I got to see a lot of beautiful things (including the view) while working at the water station, and I feel lucky that I got to be of service while doing so. 

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Activity #3: Spring 2014 Course Showcase

The Honors College Course Showcase was in the Student Union Building and featured several members of the faculty discussing their respective classes for the Spring 2014 semester. It was a nice way of allowing students to preview upcoming classes before it was time to actually register. 

I learned about several different kinds of courses that I would have otherwise not thought about by going to this event. I was also able to speak in detail about a particular Colloquium class with an upperclassman. That conversation made me excited about the honors program and about learning. The general idea of what the upperclassman said that stuck out to me was "It was one of the hardest classes I've ever taken...he tore my writing apart...but he made me a better writer and I learned so much!" What I got from that was the idea that really difficult classes can be worth it.  I think I probably have not been challenging myself in the way that such a class would challenge me, and though I was advised not to take the Colloquium class as a Freshman, I look forward to the challenge of such when I end up being able to take it. 

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Activity #2: Question and Answer Session with Joy Kealey 

This activity was billed as an opportunity to learn about the 'real world' with a local businesswoman, and it lived up to and past what I expected of it. 

First of all, it was interesting to hear Mrs. Kealey's story. She told it well, discussing how she came to be the owner of the six Chicago Connection pizza places in the area. She discussed her volunteer work with Boise State University as well. (The volunteer work sounded like another full job. It seemed that this commitment impressed many of the attendees, including me.) 

Secondly, the questions that different members of the small audience of about 30 Honors students were quite an enjoyable exploration of our community's diversity. Some people wanted to know about the business in a financial kind of way, others wanted to know more about ideas such as how much hard work it took. I thought that not only the experience of these rich questions, but the thorough manner with which Mrs. Kealey answered them were testaments in and of themselves as to what the real world requires of a person. 

I was very impressed with my peers' questions and with Mrs. Kealey's answers, and I think I learned that the 'real world' is all around; people are more interested in coming to understand one another than I may have thought. 

Mrs. Kealey was also enormously generous in that she donated to each of us in attendance a voucher for a free individual pizza. 

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Activity  #1: Convocation

Convocation was a somewhat emotional welcoming ceremony that happened about an hour after we got back from the Honors College retreat. It involved a vast number of new students and their families crowding into the Morrison Center listening to encouraging (though sometimes overwhelming) words from a handful of speakers. 

It was meant as a welcome, and it succeeded in its endeavor. The band's performance brought tears to my eyes; I came to Boise State University primarily because I craved the 'big football school spirit'. I got that vibe when the band started playing and I could not have felt happier with my choice. 

I enjoyed the band preview even more when I started meeting new friends and realized that they or people they knew were members of the band. From this I have learned of the beauty of college; it really does introduce every possible kind of person, every different perspective. (It can encourage people like me to be less 'fangirl-y' and more personable. I am so happy to be able to tell an actual marching band member that they sounded wonderful, especially because now I understand them as nothing other than my peers...) 

Overall, convocation (and the subsequent photo on The Blue) was more successful than any prior BSU activities in making me feel welcome and part of a new community. 

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Choose and attend 4 Honors College Activities to participate in. One of these events should be service based. Be creative in the presentation of this assignment [the assignment: present what you experienced]. Be sure to address: -a description of the activity -the purpose -what you learned about yourself and others during and after the activity -the goals of the activity -what you took from your experience

The Honors 198 Syllabus, Boise State University :) 

[This is the purpose of this tumblr.]