I Passed!!

Well, I accomplished another goal - I passed Western Civilization with Dr. Caton!! Now, this is just a Gen Ed class, and all we did was take exams, but they were tough! I got some of the lowest grades I have ever received. I would count the questions on the test and determine how many I had to get right just to get a 60! History has never been my favorite subject, so I knew the class would be a drag. I am just glad to have it over with - and I received a B, which is higher than the C I was thinking I'd be getting. Now the only Gen Ed I have left is Senior Seminar - glad to have those all out of the way!

The End

I just came from my last final of my junior year! (I would have been done yesterday, but somehow I missed my final on Tuesday, and my professor graciously let me make it up today!) This semester has been okay. It's been a lot of 'take notes, take an exam, take notes, take an exam.' I think I learn best with papers and projects, where you have to do some work yourself! I'm a business major, so I am used to lots of projects and presentations. However, I only had one 1 credit business class this semester. Next semester will be full of business classes, so it should be very project heavy! I am also looking forward to taking Leadership in Ministry, taught by the pastor of the church by campus. It'll be a full 18 credit semester, but it should be a good one! But why am I thinking that far ahead?! I've got SUMMER to look forward too!!

SIFE Competition

I am traveling to Minneapolis, MN next week with the SIFE Team from Roberts. SIFE stands for Students in Free Enterprise, and all year we have been working on various projects. Some of the projects work to earn money, while others use that money to help those in need. I have been involved in SIFE since freshman year. I have served with the CASH (Creating Assets Savings and Hope) project, as a tax preparer doing people's taxes for them for free on Saturday mornings. I have traveled to Guatemala to help a village's business ventures and to show their children what the future can hold for them as we took them on a field trip outside their village to the capital city. I have played an ethics game with children, taught a business program using friendship bracelets, prepared and presented Financial Freedom workshops for freshmen classes at Roberts, directed a CASH training video, and so much more! Our team has invested so much time and effort into our projects, and each year we present on what we have done. Our 24 minute memorized presentation was recently judged in Cleveland, OH at Regional Competition. We did well and have moved on to National Competition, which is next week in Minneapolis. Our team flies out Tuesday morning - we are meeting at 3:30am to board the bus!! We have 3 days of competition and events then come back on Friday. This trip will complete another one of my goals: to travel to a state I have never been to. Should be an adventure!

Straining Forward

On Sunday, the pastor directed us to the book of Philippians. I couldn't help but notice an underlined and noted verse on the next page. I will share it with you:

Philippians 3:13b "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."

The note I have written next to it says, "Don't let the past stop you from now striving to become like Christ." We can't let hard times stop us from pressing on to our goal - living in Christ-likeness as we look forward to eternity in heaven!

At this time last year, I was not at a good place. I had several decisions to make about my future, but I was letting past failures get in the way of the current life I was living. I was confused and frustrated, not sure what I was supposed to do. I was also trying to please everyone - which, believe me, is impossible! I have since, by God's grace, come a long way. It's been a trying year, but I have learned and grown so much because of it. I am thoroughly looking forward to this summer and what the Lord has in store for me. Will you join me in "straining forward to what lies ahead?"

One Life to Love

Last semester I went to a concert in the area. I really went because John Waller was going to be singing, but 33 Miles was the main band. I really enjoyed what the lead singer had to share as he talked about Guatemala - I went to Guatemala on a mission's trip 2 summers ago, so it holds a special place in my heart. I also liked their song One Life to Love.

The chorus goes like this:

You only get just one time around,
you only get one shot at this

One chance to find out the one thing
that you don't wanna miss
One day when it's all said and done
I hope you see that it was enough

This one ride, one try, one life to love

You can listen to the whole song on Youtube here. I love when it comes on the radio!

I had a friend share this on her Facebook, and I commented that I liked the song. She said it reminded her of my speech at graduation. I talked about living your life the way you want to be remembered, making sure that in the end we can look back and be pleased with how we lived for the Lord. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on your life and make sure you are using your one life for His glory!

Buffalo Zoo

I accomplished another goal/activity today! I went to the zoo with my friend, Danielle. She goes to school in Buffalo, so I went over for the afternoon. We saw monkeys, polar bears, a rhino, a giraffe, and of course some elephants!! The forecast called for thunderstorms, but we walked over and the weather held off for us. It was a fun afternoon to spend with a friend before my busy week of finals. Now I am off to study for my Western Civ exam!

Shadowing: One of Three

Wow! May 1st already! I had to write the date this morning, and I was surprised to have to write May already..time sure does fly!

I'm doing pretty well with working on accomplishing my goals. This one has to do with school - sort of. For my major we have to do an internship. I am doing mine next spring at Heritage Christian Services. They are a not-for-profit organization that helps those with developmental disabilities. I will be interning in their fundraising and grant writing department. The two ladies in that area seem very fun to get along with, and I'm looking forward to learning a lot. Besides my internship I decided I want to shadow people in their job as well. My goal is to shadow 3 by the end of 2010. I think it can be done!

I recently got together with Amy Eisenhauer who works at Roberts in Alumni Relations. She has some experience in Community Relations, which is what I was interested in. For one of my classes here we do a mock interview night. I interviewed with a lady from a credit union who said I would probably be interested in their community relations department. I asked what all that involved, and basically it is event planning to get the company's name out there. Although I've heard it can be stressful, I think event planning would be fun. (The fundraising aspect of my internship would be the event planning side of me.) I talked with Amy about what she does at the school and Homecoming came up. This is a big event that happens every year. It involves current students and alumni. I told her I would be willing to help out with it - it would be a great experience for me to help out with a big event like that! We will be in touch again in the fall.

For my other 2 (maybe more!) shadow experiences I am looking into the United Way and the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The ADA has a special events position that I would be interested in learning more about.

When I was in high school I was the class treasurer for all 4 years. We had to do various fundraisers to raise money for our senior class trip to Toronto. I loved organizing the events, making sure students sold their tickets, and running the event. I loved the feeling of success afterwards, and enjoying the rewards of our hard work. I definitely enjoy the switch from Accounting to Management, but the money thing is still in there for me!

I will keep you posted on any other shadow opportunities I have : )