Stonehill Cape Week and Commencement 2010

I'm a Stonehill alum! Yayyy! Can you believe it?! It is still impossible for me to fathom that I am no longer a college student, but now an adult embarking on my life as a professional in the work force. The past two weeks have been busy, exciting, and fun, and have marked a momentous change in my life.

Two Thursdays ago I submitted my final two papers and thus completed my finals for the semester as well as my last assignments ever at Stonehill. Without much of a break, I started packing up the things in my dorm room. The next day, my dad and my sister came to pick up and bring home many of the things from my room, and then I left with my suite-mates to go to the Cape for one of Stonehill's many traditions, Cape Week. For Cape Week, the week between finals and commencement, members of the graduating class rent houses on the Cape, usually around Dennis (we stayed in Dennisport). During the week, the College hosts the Senior Formal. In addition to attending the formal, my friends and I spent the week on the beach, going out for ice cream (I got ice cream three times!), shopping in Chatham and Mashpee, and attending some of the Stonehill nights at local bars hosted by Stonehill students. I had a great time enjoying life as a college student with my friends for one last week. Here's a re-cap of the week in pictures:

Before the Senior Formal in Hyannis, a bunch of my friends gathered for pictures on the beach in Dennisport.

My boyfriend, Brandon, even came down to visit to attend the formal with me.

Here I am with Kathleen, Katrina, and Kait.

And of course a roommate picture of me and Carrie!

Melissa and I on the beach in Dennisport.

The girls at Tommy Doyle's in Hyannis.

In Chatham, by the lighthouse, with Kari-Ann and Carrie.

While getting ice cream at Sundae School, we noticed that Stonehill was represented, and of course we needed to take a picture!

Stonehill's Class of 2010 all came back to campus Friday for Commencement Weekend. On Friday afternoon, I attended the Legacy Campaign champagne toast (complete with some of my favorite Sodexho appetizers) to thank those who donated to the Class of 2010 class gift. Following the toast was the barbecue hosted by the Alumni Office. At the barbecue, we also got to watch a video of pictures submitted by seniors and we received our Kiss a Senior Goodbye goody bags, which are full of candy and notes sent to us from family and friends.

On Saturday, we had our graduation rehearsal and the President's Address, and then Baccalaureate in the Sports Complex followed by the Senior/Parent Dinner Dance in Boston. At the end of the Baccalaureate mass, I received my honors medallion for completing the requirements of the Honors Program and graduating with honors. The Senior/Parent Commencement Eve Dinner Dance was then a way to celebrate my graduation not just with my Stonehill friends, but with my family as well. My parents got to meet my friends' parents, who they have not met before, and some Stonehill staff as well. Here are some pictures of Baccalaureate and the Dinner Dance:

Congratulating the recipients of the Honors medallion at the close of the Baccalaureate mass.

With my parents after Baccalaureate.

Most of the graduating seniors who have also been Peer Mentors during our time at Stonehill with our boss, Jim Hermelbracht, the Director of Student Activities.

Finally, after an exhausting week of finals and a week on the Cape, Commencement Day was here! After putting on my cap and gown, the graduates all met behind Donahue Hall to line up before the traditional procession down the steps of Donahue hill. The commencement ceremony was lovely. The major themes that we heard from our commencement speaker Jack Connors, who is the President of the major Boston advertising firm HillHoliday, our student speaker John Hanawalt, and President Cregan were friendship, communication, family, faith, and that we can make a difference when we use our "many minds" and passions to work together to solve the problems our world faces. I enjoyed the ceremony, and it seemed to go by just too quickly! But I do have some great photos from during commencement and after with family and friends!

With Katrina, Kathleen, and Emma behind Donahue before Commencement.

Now with Kait and Sarah.

With my parents and my sister Lindsay after Commencement.

My grandmothers also attended Commencement and really enjoyed the day!

I also got to see some friends after the ceremony. Here I am with Alexia, Melissa, Alex, and Carrie - four of my suite-mates.

Now that I have moved back home, I have already begun work substituting in my hometown, Northbridge, MA, and in the town that my parents are from, Grafton, MA. Also, I will be working this summer as a teacher for the summer school program in Grafton. I am still in the job search process for teaching positions for next year. I am quickly learning that this process will test my patience and my nerves, but I am also so anxious and excited to find a position and get my classroom set up and begun! It is a nerve-wracking time in my life, but it is also a very exciting and thrilling time. There are many changes that will be coming in the next few years, I am sure, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for me! I will miss Stonehill immensely, but I will always have the best memories of my college years, and Stonehill has prepared me well to take on the next phase in my life, wherever it may lead me.

5 Finals Away from a Bachelor's Degree!

All day yesterday I was in disbelief that it was my last day of classes that I will ever take at Stonehill. It was an exciting moment, but also unbelievable and bittersweet! Yet, it was not just yesterday, but all week that had me thinking about some of my "lasts" at Stonehill. I ate at the Hill for the last time (because they are starting remodeling today! So sad I am going to miss out on the new space!), I had Pastabilities (probably my favorite meal in the Dining Commons) for the last time, and I went to my last Brother Mike's bar night. I almost didn't go to Brother Mike's last night because I was gone all afternoon and have so much work to do for finals. But it was my last chance to go, all my friends were there, and I want to remember to enjoy the last few days in addition to getting my finals completed!

Yesterday was a busy day, not just because it has been my busiest day of classes this semester, but because for my last class, which was my senior Capstone Seminar for my English major, my class met my Professor at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and then went over my Professor's house for dinner - homemade salad and chocolate cake along with pizza. It was very generous and kind of our Professor to open her home to us. I felt I got very close with my seminar class this semester, and so our final class was an apt conclusion to our work together. It was also fun meeting her 2 and a half year old son! While we ate, we also discussed our final paper topics. But not only did my Professor want to hear from us about our final papers, she was also interested in hearing from the 11 of us about our plans for next year. As I sat in Professor Gracombe's Brookline living room listening to my classmates share their future plans, I had a strange sense that I was no longer an undergraduate. At that moment, at the end of my last day of classes, I truly felt the transition I will be making this summer from student to teacher. It was a satisfying moment and a lovely way to spend my last Stonehill class.

Here is a picture of my seminar class with Professor Gracombe:

This whole week of lasts was preceded by a first. The week began Saturday night with a Class of 2010 boat cruise on the Boston harbor on the Spirit of Boston. The event marked our "25 Days" to graduation. It was beautiful weather, and we all had a great time celebrating our next step closer to graduation. Here are a couple pictures from 25 Days:

Carrie and I before our trip to the city!

The beautiful Boston skyline, unfortunately it's a little blurry, but this was the best I could do from a moving boat!.

Kait and I on the Spirit of Boston!

Over the course of the next week, I have 3 final papers and 2 final exams, plus an interview in my hometown for a first grade teaching position. It will be a busy week, but once the week is over, I will be spending the next week on the Cape with the Class of 2010 complete with a Senior Formal, beach, and bar nights, before we come back to campus for Baccalaureate, the Senior/Parent Dinner Dance, and commencement! I am looking forward to enjoying my last week as a Stonehill student. I'll be sure to update one more time after commencement to share the highlights of our senior week!

Rain Won't Ruin Our Parade!

Last I heard, the count is at 35 days until graduation! And with the approaching end of the spring semester also comes lots of exciting senior and campus events.

Last weekend, the Class of 2010 celebrated with our 50 Days event at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution. I've been to the stadium a couple times before, but it was neat to have the clubhouse (and the stadium!) all to ourselves to eat, drink, be merry, and of course DANCE the night away! Unfortunately, it was pouring when we left campus on about 7 or 8 buses to travel to Gillette, so we all got a little wet as we mad a mad dash to get on the buses as soon as they arrived. But luckily, the event was inside, so there was no way the rain was going to bother us! I had a really great time at the event. My friends and I had fun taking pictures outside at the clubhouse level overlooking the field and around the clubhouse:

Gillette Stadium even had personalized messages to us on the jumbo-trons:

I had such a great time that I am now really looking forward to 25 Days and all the good times ahead of us during Senior Week on the Cape leading up to graduation!

This past weekend was Spring Weekend, but sadly, it didn't feel like spring at all! For the past three years we have had absolutely beautiful weather! But this year it was rainy and chilly the whole weekend! But even though it didn't feel like spring, it was still a really great weekend! Student Activities put on some great events all week leading up to the weekend, including a performance by comedian Loni Love, an A Capella Jam, and the annual DiverCity event. Then over the weekend, State Radio and GirlTalk performed our large spring concert, we had a carnival (yes, even though it rained!), and the Spring Fling Dance. All of these events are held in the Sports Complex because they are so widely attended that we couldn't have fit anywhere else! The carnival is usually held outside, but we are lucky to have a rain location in the Sports Complex!

As always, we had to take many suite-mates pictures! This one was taken before heading over to the concert on Friday night!

Here's one of GirlTalk on stage with Stonehill students dancing to his mash-ups.

GirlTalk brought confetti filled balloons as well as lots more confetti and toilet paper shooters! He was a great entertainer, and we all had a great time dancing!

Kait, myself, and Carrie at the concert! :)

Kait and Carrie posed for me at the carnival. There was fried dough, cotton candy, mini golf, lots of games, a place to take a picture for a keychain, spin art for Frisbees and sunglasses, airbrush tattoos, henna tattoos, and a BBQ lunch was also provided!

Saturday also happened to be Kait's 1st anniversary of her 21st birthday, so a few of us went out for a nice dinner at a place called Loco for tapas (Spanish appetizers) and homemade sangria.

Group picture before the Spring Fling Dance.

Of course we had to take a roommate picture showing off our outfits!

Me with Brooke and Kait at the dance!

This weekend was a lot of fun, but now it is back to the real world with a very busy week! Today I met with a focus group to discuss student leadership on campus and potential changes to leadership, and also my professor about some math challenges my group was having some trouble figuring out. Tomorrow I am giving a tour (so I maybe I will see some of you many high school students visiting colleges on your April vacation!). On Wednesday, I am visiting a solar field in Brockton to learn more about solar power to put a proposal together about investing in solar power at Stonehill. I am also announcing the names of the inductees to Kappa Delta Pi, the international education honors society, at one of Stonehill's many events celebrating academic achievement. Wednesday is actually a day off from classes for us in order for students to make presentations all around campus displaying their research and other projects, such as senior capstones.

This week is also Environmental Sustainability Week at Stonehill in honor of Earth Day, and so on Thursday, I will be with my Environmental Science class helping out at the fair. My Environmental Science class, in fact, I actually have a picture of! We have been going outside the past couple weeks for class to study the land that Stonehill is founded on. This past Thursday, Professor Emeritus Chet Raymo, the author of several fiction and non-fiction books, took a walk with us through Easton's sheep pasture to share some of his knowledge about the land with us. Here is a picture of my class with Professor Mooney from the walk:

Now back to this week! On Friday I will be attending a job fair in Boston for teaching positions, and then on Saturday, my parents will be visiting campus for the Student Life Awards event. Now add to this all the reading, papers, final projects, and exams that the last few weeks of classes will bring! It is sure to be a very busy, but also exciting few weeks ahead!

New Experiences and Big Changes

Hello there! Apologies to my readers that it has been awhile, but life as a senior in the spring is quite a busy time!

As this is the last chance for me to enjoy Stonehill and enjoy time with my college friends, I have been trying to do just that! Whether my friends and I are going off campus for Indian food, grabbing a meal together, or hanging out at Brother Mike's and playing Stump Trivia, we are trying to stay in touch and keep each other caught up with all of the exciting things happening in our lives! We still have about 5 weeks left to continue to enjoy Stonehill and some really big events to look forward to, but many things we have already done for the last time. One of the most exciting things that I've done for the last time was enjoy my last spring break. This may have been my last spring break, but it was actually the first spring break that during which I traveled! I went with my boyfriend to southern California for the week to visit Brandon's sister, Megan. We had a great week, and saw so many things! We explored Pasadena (Brandon's sister is working on her Ph.D. in cell biology at CalTech and lives in Pasadena), saw the sights in LA, traveled down to San Diego, and also up to Santa Barbara. For my first time in Cali and seeing the Pacific Ocean, I sure saw a LOT of SoCal! Here are some highlights of the week in pictures:

Brandon and I in the gardens at the Getty Center near Beverly Hills.

Meg and I at the Getty Center with a great view of LA!

It's official, we're in LA!

Old Town in San Diego. Where we got yummy Mexican food for lunch!

San Diego Zoo's famous pandas!

Brandon and I at the San Diego Zoo!

Santa Monica beach and pier!

Hermosa Beach + the Pacific Ocean!

Walking along the beach in Santa Barbara.

Watching the sun set in Malibu.

The Lily-Pad Pond in the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena.

The Japanese Garden in the Huntington Gardens.

Life as a college student is really a balancing act, and it's a skill I am still perfecting! Not only am I trying to enjoy college, but I am also keeping up with schoolwork, staying involved in all my varied co-curricular programs, and oh yeah, I'm also working on planning for life after graduation as I search and apply for teaching jobs! I have been having flash-backs to my senior year of high school and the process of applying for colleges and the college decision process. I had some tough times along the way, as I am sure we all do, with the college selection process. It is intimidating to have such a big change in my life, especially when I feel so happy and comfortable here. I am anxious to get further along in the job search process, have a job solidified, and then of course to get my classroom set-up and get settled into my new school! It is a challenging experience to hear all the exciting plans that my friends already have for next year. Just today one of my friend Kari got accepted to Northeastern for a grad program in speech pathology, and yesterday another friend accepted a position in a Reconstructive Surgery ward at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plains. Two other friends of mine have also been accepted to year of service programs, one in Texas and one in Baltimore. But for me it is challenging because it is still a little early in the year for many teaching jobs to be posted. But I have had one interview (last week over Easter break) and I am keeping my eyes open and applying as more positions are posted. I am so excited at the thought of the next stage of my life and having my own classroom. But at the same time I am intimidated and feel that I will miss my life and friends at Stonehill.

But I don't want to get too ahead of myself! I still have more than a month of doing the college balancing act before I settled into the next great chapter!

Less than 100 Days to Go!

It never fails to surprise me how fast the middle of the semester always comes! The past two weeks have been very busy for everyone at Stonehill with mid-terms. It always seems that papers, projects, and exams get scheduled right before spring break. For me, with all my English courses, this meant that I have had quite a few papers due. I made it through the two busy weeks, and now it is the beginning of spring break. I am home now for a couple days, but on Tuesday I am going with my boyfriend to Los Angeles to visit his sister! I have never been to California before, so I am so excited for my first spring break trip over my last Stonehill spring break! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures so I can share my trip with you when I am back on campus!

To return to the past couple weeks of the semester that have led up to spring break, I have been busy not only with work but busy with some really exciting big events too! Two weeks ago was the first of our senior class events: 100 Days! Throughout the spring semester, we have a countdown to graduation marked by 100 Days, 50 Days, and 25 Days, not to mention the last week full of events leading up to commencement! But I'm not ready to talk about commencement yet, so let me tell you about 100 Days! For the event, we brought the dueling pianos from Jake Ivory's, a piano bar in Boston, to campus. It was a great event! The two pianos mostly played together, and I was really impressed with the great variety of songs that they played. We had everything from traditional Piano Bar music, like Billy Joel's Piano Man, but we also had lots of today's popular songs, such as Lady Gaga! Here's a picture of some seniors singing along with the dueling pianos:

My favorite aspect of the event was to have all of the senior class together! Stonehill is a school where students from every class get to know students from other other class; some of my close friends are also seniors, but some of my close friends are also in other grades as well. We do not just form communities within our classes, but we build a strong community including all Stonehill students. So the kick-off senior event served to unite our class, and set the stage for the rest of our last semester together.

Some friends and I before heading over to the 100 Days event!

Hanging out with my suite-mates at 100 Days!

The other big event of the past couple of weeks was my cousin's wedding! I always love big family events, and I had a great time celebrating with my family. Here are the bride and groom, Liz and Mike, cutting their cake and looking very happy!

Here is a picture of all my cousins on the Charest side of my family, with my cousin Liz, the beautiful bride in the center:

That's it for now because I've got to get going on my packing for California! Happy Spring Break everyone!