We are...Mercyhurst University

The wait is finally over! Over the past few months Mercyhurst has been patiently awaiting for a few signatures required to end the process of moving to a university.
When I woke up this morning and checked my e-mail, I was greeted with a message from our president, Dr. Gamble inviting us all to the Student Union for an "important announcement." I immediately thought but more specifically, hoped that this announcement would be that we were officially a university!

The bad part- the announcement was taking place at 1:45- right in the middle of my class presentation! What are the odds! I was really upset so I e-mailed my teacher begging her to let our class out to hear the announcement...luckily she said yes! Anyone who really really wanted to go to the announcement was permitted to leave class for it!

The Great Room was crowded with students, faculty, staff and administrators who were thrilled for the suspense-filled announcement!

Check out Dr. Gamble's address to the entire Mercyhurst community!
As many people expected, his announcement was that yesterday, the Department of Education signed off and officially, we are now MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY!

I am beyond thrilled to be a part of what is arguably one of the most important moments in Mercyhurst history. Aside from our birth in 1926 and our move to a co-educational institution in 1969, becoming Mercyhurst University has students, alumni and the entire community very excited!

And...to top it all off, as Dr. Gamble states in his address, this year's senior class (yep, this girl right here!) will be the first graduating class of Mercyhurst University!

Mercyhurst University's new logo!

I hope you are just as excited for this change as we are!
As always, Carpe Diem- Seize the Opportunity!

Sorrows of a Senior: We're Halfway There?

We just recently hit the halfway mark not only for the winter tri-mester but for the academic year (sigh). When facebook statuses started popping up from my fellow fearful seniors that said "only four months left," I can't help but think "where has the time gone?"

Furthermore, the lack of time left in my undergraduate career just reminds me that there are ONLY four months left to live up college life!
Unfortunately, all of this "living it up" comes every now and then since I am incredibly busy with school work and clubs and activities!
I wanted to give a quick run-down of my classes and professors because right now, our students are working on figuring out what classes they would like to take next term- perhaps they will read my blog and hear how much I like my current classes and professors!

I am currently taking Social Ethics with Dr. Verna Ehret who is an assistant professor of Religious Studies. I took a class with her my freshman year and really liked her as a teacher so decided to take ethics with her this year. I think one thing that really stands out about her is that she goes above and beyond to make herself available for students. Our entire class is writing a paper and she made time outside of class to meet with every single one of us to discuss our topics. What I like about the course work is that we are studying ethics but we each were allowed to pick what topic to write a paper on and conduct a presentation and we were able to pick a topic that applies to our major area of study. My paper and presentation are being done on corporate social responsibility. Although this is a religion class, I am still able to pull from the area that I know best, business.

My other two classes are both to fulfill my communication minor. I am taking Professional Development with Mr. Michael Leal who is the chairperson of the communication department. I enjoy this class a lot because we work on resumes, cover letters and most importantly interviews! So far we have done several mock interviews and it has been really helpful to start thinking about what I would say in future interviews!
I am also taking Strategic Communication I with Ms. Meghan Corbin who is the current Director of Marketing and Public Relations here at Mercyhurst. She brings a ton of experience to the class- it is at 8am in the morning but she does an awesome job of keeping everyone awake! We are currently working on a project in which we write a PR plan for Mercyhurst College's transition to university status!

Now that we're halfway done with the school year and the term, there is no time to rest or take a break, everything is in full swing BUT...In the words of Jon Bon Jovi- "we'll make it I swear."

"Great Minds Drink Alike" Beer and Wine Tasting Event

Some of the girls!

This past week the Senior Class Gift Committee held a beer and wine tasting event in the Student Union! Of course, only students who are 21 were permitted in and tickets were only $10! It was a lot of fun and we were very happy with the turnout!

The boys got dressed up!

Mazza Vineyards began the evening by serving four different types of wines- I was never really a big wine person until my trip to Europe which is where I acquired a better appreciation for it!

Then, three breweries had beer samples, they were: Lavery Brewing, Erie Brewing and the Brewerie!

All of these vendors were so great in coming to Mercyhurst to help us out with this event. Hopefully we have started a new tradition for the senior class!

Leaving a Legacy- Mercyhurst College Annual Senior Class Gift

Greetings readers!

This past week marked an exciting time for the senior class! As I've discussed in previous posts, Mercyhurst College seniors, with help and guidance from the Alumni and Annual Giving department form a "Senior Class Gift Steering Committee" to work together to get the seniors to make a monetary gift to a senior gift fund.

The senior class then chooses and plans a gift to gift to the school. This year, my class decided that we wanted our slogan for the committee to be "Living the Dream" and we wanted to choose a gift that would allow all Mercyhurst students to live the dream just as we have for the past four years!

Pledge Card

Our gift is to re-do the great room of our Student Union! It is currently an awesome room with a lot of space that is just not being used to its full potential.

We are working with Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG) to make the room into a lounge and entertainment space where students can hang out, play games and visit with friends!


Seniors can make a gift by filling out one of our pledge cards shown above or visiting the Mercyhurst website!

Funds raised display

Off to the right is our (currently empty, since we just started our fundraising) "funds raised thermometer" that will be on display in the Student Union and at events that we hold.

Our ultimate goal is to raise $16,000 and to have over half of the class contribute to the fund! It will be very exciting to try to reach these goals...and of course a lot of work too!







 

Beer and wine poster hung around campus!




Another way to raise funds for this gift is through events that we hold! Coming up this week is a beer and wine tasting event for the senior class! We are hoping for a great turnout and we're assuming a lot of people will want to attend! Students can sample locally brewed beers and locally made wine for just $10 or they can choose to sample just beer or just wine for only $6!

Until next time- I hope you are living your dream just like the class of 2012!


Home for the Holidays

The tri-mester system at Mercyhurst College, although different than many schools, still allows us students to have a lengthy break from our classes for Christmas! Differing from the semester system in the sense that we get nearly two weeks off at Thanksgiving, we don't get as long of a break at Christmas. Still, we did have over two weeks off for the holidays!

Since I was on my study abroad trip for Thanksgiving break, it was so nice to be at home, sleep in my own bed and be with the family for awhile!



While at home I was able to visit with the family and catch up, of course telling them all about school and how it's going!
Also over break I took the GRE! The main school that I am applying to for graduate school is actually Mercyhurst College. In order to be accepted, the GRE was required. For those who are going through this process...it was horrible! Ok, I am exaggerating. It wasn't that bad but I can think of a few other things that I would have rather of been doing for those FOUR hours that I spent with the GRE!

Now that break is over, it is hard to believe that 17 days went by so quickly! Today is my official last day of break so that means an early bed time followed by my very early 8am class tomorrow morning!






Although it is a new year, it is still the same winter term. I will resume my classes tomorrow which begins the fourth week of our winter term. Winter term always seems to fly by because of Christmas break! Now that it's 2012...it's officially my graduation year! I am very excited to see all that is in store for 2012! Happy New Year!

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson