Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fall Break

Last week was Rockhurst's Fall Break, which meant that some students went to enjoy the comforts of home, some traveled to exciting places, and others gave back to different communities by volunteering.  I choose to go back home for a few days and then spent a few days back in Kansas City for events going on.  I quite enjoyed some sleeping in, a chance to get my car taken care of, and lots of homework and television with my parents for company.  There are definitely some major advantages to doing homework at home (dad helping me and mom keeping me company), and the laziness felt well-deserved.  For the weekend, I got to enjoy the celebration of a wedding in Kansas City, with a very pretty ceremony in Mission and a beautiful reception in the Westbottoms area.  Getting to take people to restaurants that I've recommended is always fun too :)  

Several students went on a trip organized through Rockhurst to Moore, Oklahoma.  They were bused down to the site and then spent the days assisting in ongoing construction projects through Habitat for Humanity.  Similar to regular Winter and Spring Break trips, they spent the night at a local high school and participated in prayer and reflection throughout the trip.  These many opportunities for service trips are a great way for students to get involved and give back to many different communities and groups of people.  

 
From Rockhurst website

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Discussion

Last week before Fall Break!! I know that most students by this point in time are MORE than ready for a break.  A chance to go home and relax for a few days to power up for the second half of the semester.  And this year is NO exception!  Luckily for me I don't have any midterms to worry about like most students.  I had all of my tests together within two weeks and I'll have the same rotation here in another few weeks.

Today during class though, we got to have a discussion about the current economic situation relating to the furloughed workers, the budget deal, and the federal debt ceiling.  This type of discussion in class was very relevant to what is going on in the world around us and just as, if not more, applicable than what we would have learned during class.  Other Rockhurst classes that I am working with have had a service-learning concept which involves a service project that the students must participate in and then do a presentation or a paper about the project, relating it to classroom lessons.  Between all of the classes we have at Rockhurst, the applicable real-world learning concepts that we are given are more valuable than most classroom learning you are afforded at other universities.

Hope this didn't come across as too "salesy" because that definitely wasn't my intent- just something I've noticed especially most recently!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Ambassador Visit

My picture (why its blurry) 
Last night, what would have generally been a normal Tuesday night, was made more interesting by a lecture by Israel's ambassador to Vatican City, Zion Evrony, Ph.D., here at Rockhurst.  I had seen information about it online, so decided to stop by in the hope to add to the audience that I guessed would be fairly small.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to arrive to a very full audience at the Convocation Center!


 Fr Curran, Rockhurst's president, has had a long-time friendship with the Ambassador, so with the help of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau/ American Jewish Committee of Kansas City, we welcomed him to Rockhurst for part of our Visiting Scholar Lecture Series.  After an introduction by Craig Prentiss, a professor at Rockhurst and a member of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, he began his speech with surprising humor for a diplomat!  He spent time as the Ambassador to Ireland, and then went into his position where he his now.  The Ambassador reminded everyone that the Holy See has separate embassies from Italy, even with the small size and close proximity to the larger country.  The most interesting part of his speech (to me) was his message about the interfaith dialogue that takes place in his position.  One quote that I particularly liked was that "diplomatic relations (are) used to ease religious tensions".

After he spoke, people were open to ask questions by going up to microphones set up around the room.  The questions ranged from subjects including the wall built in the Cremison Valley to tensions in Iran.  While I felt that some of the questions were not directed toward the correct place, the Ambassador handled each with care.  (He mentioned he hadn't addressed an American audience in many, many years).  Overall, it was a phenomenal event that was put on, that was very educational for all of the students who choose to go, in addition to the countless community members who also were in attendance.  I even met a very kind couple, around the age of my grandparents, who I sat next to during the presentation, and we had a wonderful conversation following the event.  It is always a great opportunity to meet community members, especially since at college, sometimes it feels like you only ever meet other college students!

But overall, the event went very well, and I am proud to say that I was able to attend yet another great lecture before graduating!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Meals

These past few days, organizations have sponsored two very successful gatherings for "mealtimes".  But I will share more here.  Yesterday evening, Student Senate sponsored a picnic dinner that allowed any students or faculty to head out to the quad and enjoy their meal outside on the quad alongside other students, with live music and free cookies provided by Sodexo.  A lot of students took advantage of the chance to get out in the beautiful weather Wednesday evening and socialize together!  This was the first time Student Senate put together the event, and I would say it was a success!  We are looking forward to hosting this a few more times before it gets too cold this fall (for those on campus who are interested)
A few students enjoying dinner
The second event was lunch today, sponsored by the Helzberg School, which invited the faculty of the Helzberg Business School to eat lunch with all students enrolled in the Freshmen in Business Seminar (all freshmen interested in a business major).  Although we experienced a downpour which delayed some of the professors from arriving at the beginning of the class time, several professors and staff were able to chat with the freshmen and get to meet them (many for the first time).  I think the connections that were made along the way will be helpful just as they are beginning their freshmen year!  

Some of the FIBS students before the professors arrived