4Boston!

Hi again!

I wanted to just tell you a little about my experience volunteering with the 4Boston group. The group volunteers for four hours each week, with a one hour group reflection each week. At first, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that their three pillars, social justice, community, and spirituality meant a lot to me, and that I wanted to become a part of something important here at school.

After going through the application process and the interview that followed, I got chosen for my first choice and was so excited to get started! My choice, to volunteer with children at the Franciscan Hospital for Children, was something that I thought would enable me to gain experience in the field that I am interesting in focusing my career one while also helping families at the same time. It's been a whirlwind of an experience. I have grown so close to my group; weekly reflections, which I thought would be more of a hassle than anything, are greatly looked forward to and enjoyed. We have so much together, just sharing stories and laughing together, while also focusing on the very serious nature of the work that we do. I realize that we are a very integral community of volunteers at the hospital, and it's worth every minute I spend.

I work on a floor with newborns and a few toddlers who suffer from genetic disorders or very severe respiratory problems. Many spend their days alone, and have been in the hospital since birth, with the possibility of depending on machines to keep them alive for life. Sometimes I just get to hold the babies, and I look at their little fingers and try to give them the love and care that they deserve. I've realized that even a few minutes spent with a child in need is better than nothing at all.

I have several friends who volunteer at other 4Boston placements, and the similarities that exist are strong. Each one of us dedicates so much time to work for the betterment for others in the surrounding communities. Recognizing that others are in need of dire help is important, especially for those of us who are fortunate to be here at Boston College. It's great to know that we are recognized and greatly appreciated both within our school community and in the surrounding neighborhoods of children and their families.

The verdict of life as a Newton freshman

Hi everyone! This is my first post, but I'm really excited to be able to share what my experience has been like thus far.

I'm a freshman and I live on Newton Campus. At first, I was upset to have to rely on the bus to get to main campus and to be so isolated from the rest of the school, but the prospect of living with all freshman has greatly outweighed its few disadvantages. Living on Newton is one of my favorite parts of school. Unlike Upper Campus, you get the feeling of going "home" at the end of the day, and you have the opportunity to leave campus and classes behind you.

I found that my first few weeks at school back in the fall were eased by the fact that I knew everyone was in the same boat as me. Walking into the dining hall on Main Campus, I walked over to a young lady and asked if I could sit with her, to which she responded "I'm not a freshman". Ok, so not all people here are so rude; in fact, most aren't. But at least walking into Stuart Dining Hall I knew that everyone was a freshman and I felt more at ease walking up to people and introducing myself.

Living on Newton brings everyone really close together in the sense that we all see each other some way or another from time to time, whether it is in the dining hall or waiting for the bus, or riding the bus to and from main campus. If you're considering living situations, definitely give Newton a chance. Riding the bus is not as big of a deal AT ALL as I thought it would be. Having the beautiful campus around allows us to be able to throw around a Frisbee or sit on the ground with friends and do work. It's such a great place to be!

-Dana

Chemistry goop and other such goings-on

Well hey there!

So, chemistry lab today was probably the most fun I have had in science lab since the fourth grade. We were studying polymers and their properties – translation, we made different kinds of goop, then played with them. I just wanted to share this awesome experience with the world.

Yesterday was a big day for me, I got to office hours of two of my professors for the first time, both of which were extremely helpful (office hours = optional periods where students can come in and ask professors any questions; often regarding class, but not always – Professor Wolfman of General Chemistry talked about the closely-kept secret U2 concert being held nearby). Since I am still up in the air about what major(s) I want to pursue, I am trying to poke around a bit more thoroughly. Though my general biology lecture is around 200 students (the only larger class I have heard of on campus is an economics lecture) and general chemistry just under 100, the professors are great in small-scale office discussions. Most, if not all, professors hold office hours every week at various times. And since I came back this semester with a new drive to get everything I can out of this education, office hours and TA (teaching assistant) discussion sections are invaluable.

Unfortunately, while I would love to stay and talk more about my classes and how to choose them (PEPs are key – student reviews of many teachers throughout the university), and to continue playing with synthesized goop, I have to run to band and dinner, after which I will be reading Rousseau, writing Harmonic progressions in preparation for a take-home midterm exam, quickly going over our chemistry chapter for our quiz tomorrow, and beginning a paper on Calvin’s place in modern philosophical thought. Those Jesuit ideals of a liberal arts education and rounded character not exactly ignored here at BC.

So, until next post!
Joe

Hello again!

It's been a while, but I've just arrived back in Boston after Spring Break. The few weeks before were quite hectic, with papers due and midterms in my economics and math classes. It was a much needed break, but it's great to be back! Campus is still a bit empty... most people will probably be arriving back tomorrow. Anyway, some of my friends who went on Appalachia are back on campus now as well. They all said it was such an amazing experience, and I'm contemplating going next year. I almost regret not doing it! So far I've heard stories of building houses, playgrounds, and other little jobs around communities. It really seems like a worth-while opportunity.

An event I participated in before break but didn't have time to write about was the Campus School Broom Hockey Tournament. This was another fundraiser for the campus school, similar to that of the Marathon Team I'm a part of. A team of ten of my friends got together, made awesome team t-shirts, and headed down to Conte Forum on a Sunday afternoon to show our skills in Broom Hockey- hockey played with brooms and a volleyball on the ice rink, in sneakers. It was a GREAT time- and my team even made it to the semi-finals. It was an awesome event, all for a wonderful cause.

Well, I guess I should go make my rounds through Walsh to see if any of my other friends have returned from their breaks. Returning to campus has given me a mental block-- I'm not sure what else I wanted to write about!

Until next time,
Megan

Hi everyone! This is my first time writing on this so let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Megan, and I'm a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. Technically, I'm just a math major, but I plan on double-majoring with economics as well. Usually when I tell people that, they act like I'm crazy... but so far, it's not too bad.

Anyway, it's a Sunday night here at BC, which means I'm taking a break from most of the work I've put off for the weekend. I always think the weekends will be so relaxing and give me time to catch up, but it's always the complete opposite. There are always sooo many different things going on that make me procrastinate even more. Yesterday I woke up early to try to be productive. I went to the gym for a quick workout, but it turned out that the varsity tennis team had a match right on the courts in the Plex. I had finished my run on the treadmill, but I ended up staying for awhile to watch the boys play against Colgate. It was amazing to see that on a Saturday at 10am, there were still plenty of BC students and parents out to support their friends/children.

Later on in the afternoon, some of my friends and I went into Boston for dinner and shopping. Having the T stop right on campus is so convenient... and even if the B line is a little too slow sometimes, you can take the Comm Ave bus to the D line and it's just as simple. That's been one of my favorite parts of BC- having the city right at your fingertips, but not actually living in it. Anyway, we shopped on Newbury Street and ate, then headed back to campus.

I wish I had time to write more but I have to get back to my work. Hopefully I can get to bed at a decent time... I'm exhausted. I'm training to run the Boston Marathon with a group of about 100 other students through the Campus School. Every Sunday morning we do our long group runs, so today was a 13-miler through the streets of Newton and Chestnut Hill. Needless to say, I'm quite tired! Hopefully this will all pay off on April 20th- Marathon Monday!

Have a good week everyone,
Megan

Hello all,

I just returned to the Heights from an exciting weekend in New Jersey with the BC Figure Skating Club Team. We were competing at the 2009 Eastern Sectionals Synchronized Skating Championships, or so it says on the gold medal hanging from my neck. Wait? Did I say gold medal? Yes, I did. We won.

Something you will learn quickly at BC is that the motto "Ever to Excel" really rings true, as corny as it sounds. People here are not just excellent students, but they also are amazingly talented outside of the classroom. Take my lovely floor of Gonzaga as a microcosm for the campus. We have two varsity swimmers, a hockey player, a lacrosse player, two girls who sing in the Chorale, one of whom has just been cast in the spring musical (congrats), almost an entire intramural volleyball team, and two members of varsity crew; and that's just from the top of my very sleep-deprived head. My point is that as a university we're good at what we do. Now, what if you don't play a varsity sport? That's where club sports and intramural sports come in. If you get your "exercise" fix from hiking up the Million Dollar Stairs, then no fear there are many people on my hall alone that feel the same way.

So back to the competition. What a blast. It was my first synchro competition; I skated singles through high school and I loved it. The highlight I would say was singing "For Boston" right before we stepped on the ice to compete and having the ice monitor, a BC alum, join in. When you are walking around in BC gear, it still amazes me how many people approach you or yell "Go Eagles!!!" which happened several times in the airport. I would like to say that once an Eagle, always an Eagle rings true here. Beyond that it was great getting to spend so much time with my teammates. The win was more the cherry on the sundae if you will.

So that's all I've got for now folks. I'm heading off to a FACES meeting in a few and need to get ready. TTFN.

Kristin

Spring Awakening?

The spring semester is beginning, and while not exactly warm and relaxing, it has started with some pretty sweet moments.

First, and most importantly, of course: it is absolutely prime sledding season. Though the weather is WICKED cold, everyone came back from break with nice warm winter gear, which I enjoyed seeing after having waved goodbye to a friend going home to California in flip flops. Seriously, though – it’s winter. It’s supposed to be cold. Good old Mother Nature dropped a foot or so of snow, which I naturally had to shovel, being home for the holidays. Now, many have found hills around campus, especially here on Newton, to get trays and sleds out and fly down in all kinds of creative - and slightly insane - ways.


We started classes a week ago; we have until tomorrow when Add/Drop period ends to finalize our schedules, and I am still moving around in my schedule. So far so good, though – my professors are great and class times are really quite convenient.

I just went to a meeting for College Bowl, similar to Academic Bowl apparently, which I was never part of, but it deals with trivia. Last night was Zombie, Pirate and Ninja themed night. I hope to go to Laser Tag this Saturday at the O’Connell House, the center of freshmen social life on Upper, and maybe back into the city – my friends and I visited the Museum of Fine Arts for free, since we go to BC. Other extracurriculars abound, and I just applied for a job with the IT support staff.

In Organisms and Populations class, we learned that a blue whale’s testicles weigh over a ton, but a fruit fly has the largest sperm, longer in fact than its body… and this actually related to the lesson in evolutionary progress. In chemistry, we passed around blocks of dry ice that could freeze our fingers off if we held them for too long. Cold potato, anyone? In my philosophy/theology class, we discussed the various college-life habitats, the mating and courting patterns of freshmen, and social structure based on a BAC of 16.7 (or something ridiculous) and the goal of college students in general being able to replace their blood entirely with alcohol. Believe me, these classes are not boring – and far from being inapplicable to life. Except maybe the biology facts… but as a lesson, make sure to put plenty of effort into choosing courses at any school. The teacher can make or break your future in that subject.

Anyway, that’s it for now, I am not envying those that have to go through the selection and application process, though I do sympathize. Good night and good luck!

Joe M.