Academic Honors Banquet

Yesterday, March 29th, I was invited to the annual Academic Honors and Student Recognition Banquet at 5:00pm to be recognized for a couple of my accomplishments this year. Elmira College distributes several awards that are funded from estate donations, and generous alum who wish to honor students with particular attributes, talents, and interests. In addition to these awards, Elmira College honors students who have received local awards sponsored by businesses other than Elmira College. This year, I was one of two recipients for the Institute of Supply Chain Management of the Finger Lakes Region (ISMFLR) $1,000 annual scholarship award. Professor Mullen announced my accomplishment and I met him at the podium to shake his hand and have our picture taken. Later in the program, Elmira College recognized the 47 Elmira College Students who had been selected to be recognized in the 2012 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Following the distribution of awards, we ate our Elmira-College-catered chicken Parmesan, tortellini, and green bean dinner. After dinner, the 47 students chosen from Elmira College to be in the 2012 edition of Who's Who gathered by the podium to receive our certificates.
As soon as I grabbed mine, I rushed back to Meier to change for my Thursday night Strategic Advertising class. There is only one more week of classes, and some professors have cancelled class to allow us time to complete our many projects and papers that are all coming due simultaneously. After today, I have 8 classes left, then 2 presentations, 3 papers, and 3 finals, and then I just have my trip to Hawaii and commencement to look forward to. The time is flying by, and I am starting to become nostalgic about my time left at Elmira College. As excited as I am to begin a new chapter of my life, Elmira College has served as my home and my family for the last 3 years of my life and there are some things about it I will forever miss.

Honor Scholar Day

On Friday March 23, I was able to host my second overnight prospective student for Elmira College. Saturday was one of the Honor Scholar Days in which is for students who have applied and have been accepted to Elmira College and have received one of the various prestigious scholarships that Elmira College offers. My overnight guest, Caitlin, was from Binghamton, and she was trying to decide between Elmira College and Iona College, and was hoping that staying overnight would help her make up her mind. Once my shift was over at my off-campus job at Family Video, I went to Hamilton Admissions Building to meet Caitlin and welcome her to her third visit at Elmira. My roommate, Michelle, was also there waiting for her overnight guest that she would be hosting. Her guest, Jade, was traveling from Virginia to decide whether she was interested in attending Elmira in the fall semester. I brought Caitlin to 1855 to eat some of the best meals on campus, and meet with some of the other overnight guests who were staying with my friends. Following dinner, we attended an Encore performance of Orchesis in which Elmira College’s dancers perform student and faculty choreographed pieces arranged through a variety of styles including ballet, tap, modern, and hip hop. Since freshman and sophomore student have to attend Encore performances for terms one and two, I thought I would give Caitlin a sample of one of the shows. After the Orchesis Show, we went back to the Meier Hall Lounge and watched the SAB performance scheduled for the night; Magician Daniel Martin was doing a show. Daniel has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year by Campus Activities Magazine and was recently nominated for the 3rd year in a row for Best Male Performer. He has been featured on CBS, NBC, ESPN, Revision3 & VH1. The show was amazing, and left everyone stunned, amazed, and confused at the same time. We headed upstairs to the dorm room and then met with some of my other friends who had overnight guests staying to hang out for a little before heading to Twin Towers to meet some sophomores on campus, and more overnight guests. Caitlin and Jade enjoyed seeing Towers as it is completely different than Meier in the atmosphere and the visual aesthetics. We rounded up the group and headed back to Meier to decide the sleeping arrangements and set our alarms to escort Caitlin and Jade to the gym at 9am for Honor Scholar Day activities. I enjoyed meeting Caitlin and Jade, and it feels good to know that we play an important role in prospective students' decision on whether or not to attend Elmira College. It is one of the biggest decisions of a person's life, and it is empowering to know that they base their decision on the experience we provide them in one night. We wish both Jade and Caitlin good luck in completing and graduating high school and hope we helped them with their College decision.

2012 ISM Scholarship Dinner

On Thursday, March 22, I was invited to attend the annual ISM Scholarship Dinner to accept my $1,000 reward I received from Hilliard in recognition of academic excellence and business acumen. I was lucky that both of my parents and my boyfriend were able to attend to support me. I sat at the dinner table with my guests, my professor/academic advisor/guest speaker for dinner, and the scholarship chair that interviewed me and played a major role in deciding the scholarship recipients. They gave me a certificate of achievement, took my picture with members of the scholarship committee, and gave me a check and a wine glass with ISM imprinted in it. Several members of the ISM Finger Lakes Region congratulated me throughout the night, and my parents enjoyed bragging about their effective parenting skills that guided me to where I am today. My advisor spoke about a book that he had read over the mid-term break and provided interactive activities for the different tables to participate in, which were a lot of fun. Finally, the dinner was concluded and I met my parents back at my dorm to swap out my winter clothes for summer clothes they brought, before saying goodbye to them. I definitely needed that last hug from my parents to get through my last couple of weeks of classes.

Countdown Begins

This weekend is not only St. Patrick's Day weekend but also the 100 days until graduation countdown begins! Yesterday the members of the class of 2012 were invited to the Commencement Fair in the Tifft Lounge from 1:00-6:00 to receive loan information, free key chains/bottle openers, sign up for senior week activities, fill out exit surveys, and collect our GRADUATION REGALIA! That's right, I am now in possession of my purple cap, gown, tassel, and hood, and it will stare at me for the next 100 days reminding me how far I have come, and how much farther I can now go. March is the busiest month of the school year since there are no breaks, lots of tests, ceremonies, dinner events, prospective students visiting, and finals. There are a ton of events coming up including my LAST advising day to register for my trip to Hawaii for term 3, a meeting with the Human Resource Manager at Eaton Corporation to discuss human resource management in a business setting for a project, the ISM Scholarship Awards Dinner next Thursday when my parents come to visit, and I believe I will be hosting another prospective business student on the 23rd. I will try my best to keep posting throughout the chaos.

Icing on the cake

It all paid off, literally. I just received one of the best e-mails of my life this morning, and my heart started pounding when I read the subject line: ISM Scholarship. Of course, when I decided to check my e-mail I was waiting in line at 1855 for my chicken salad panini to cook, so when I read the first word of the e-mail "Congratulations" I screamed with excitement and everyone in 1855 stopped and looked at me. I could not help but smile for the rest of the day, remembering how upset I was last year when I was not chosen, and thinking about how much effort I put into writing a good essay and interviewing for my last chance this year. As I walked into my first and only class for today, everyone knew somehow and congratulated me. Ironically, the second winner of the scholarship is in my same class so we were both beaming with excitement. We were invited to attend an awards dinner on March 22nd at the Elmira Country Club, where we will be recognized for our achievements and awarded $1000.
Before I even finished reading the e-mail, I called my dad and blurted out the news, and then my mom, and they are both very proud and happy for me. It's events like this that make me grateful for the opportunities available here at Elmira College and the constant support I receive from my family. Both of my parents are trying to rearrange their schedules so they can attend the awards dinner with me, for what might be the last time they are in Elmira before I graduate in a couple short months. It all seems surreal, but exciting at the same time, and I am so proud of myself for how much I have been able to accomplish in my three years here at Elmira College.