'Tis the Season at Mercyhurst

These few weeks leading up to break seem to be some of the hardest for students to get through. It is the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas that always seems to get lost in the anticipation of the holidays and the beginning of a new term of school work. I myself have filled it with some busy annual events at Mercyhurst that I'd love to share!!

Christgiving is the Ambassador Club event that happens each year between Christmas and Thanksgiving, hence the name. The club always hosts various social functions for our whole group to get together, but this is always the one of my favorite. We have great food and company, not to mention it is one of the first of many seasonal parties to start off the holiday cheer. This year I got to enjoy spending it with many of my Ambassador pledge members who are mid-way through their process of becoming Ambassadors!

This year's pledge class with the Pledge Chairs and myself inside our Student Union!

Another event that I take pride in that happens on campus to involved multiple students and organizations is the annual tree-lighting ceremony hosted by Student Government. As always we have the 12 days of Christmas that leads up to this event, where MSG hands out free gifts to students across campus. Some of the gifts can be as little as a new pair of gloves or some chap-stick. This year I received a notebook and pens, as well as a new MSG travel mug with cocoa. I can never turn down some new, free things!

This event is also paired with a tree decoration competition in the Student Union between various clubs and organizations across the University. The Ambassador club's tree was decked out in green. The History club made their Christmas tree look like Abraham Lincoln. There was a pile of canned goods for a food drive under the Circle K tree, and the Biology Honors Club was full of tinsel DNA that wrapped around it! In all honesty the seasonal-spirit has caught on to Mercyhurst and moods seem to be high. Which is perfect for the giving season!

My last and favorite event that happens each year is very significant to me! In the past years campus has hosted an event called Christmas on Campus, which has now transitioned to our Miracle on 38th Street. It is an annual event that occurs in which Mercyhurst opens up our facilities to local community after-school sites, and allows for various students from Erie neighborhoods to come celebrate the holidays. Each year these students are brought on campus from their various sites to participate in the event hosted by many offices at Mercyhurst. 

This year the event was sponsored and hosted by the Campus Involvement Center, Campus Ministry, the Office of Service-Learning, the Multicultural Center, Parkhurst Dining Services, and many student clubs and organizations. There were nearly 50 students from the International House of Mercy, Erie Boys and Girls Club, the MLK Center, and the JFK Center. Our youngest visitor was just 5 years old and the eldest was just 11. I enjoy that they come onto campus because they then have an opportunity to be paired with a "buddy" student from Mercyhurst who then assists them for the afternoon during the events.

One of the event highlights is for retired English professor, Barry McAndrew to return to Mercyhurst and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. The children are all too excited and can barely sit with all the anticipation for his animated storytelling. 

I have participated in this event every year so far at Mercyhurst, and nothing brings me more joy than seeing these students interact with Santa. My favorite thing about our Santa visit is that each child has an opportunity to get a gift. For some of the children, this gift makes their whole life light up. I heard numerous kids saying "This is just what I wanted!!". Nothing beats their smiles and "thank yous" to Santa!

L-R: Brian Lombardo (MSG Vice President), myself, Mrs. Clause, Santa, and Emily Carrier (MSG Senior Senator) helping hand out presents to the children during Miracle on 38th Street event.

Photos of Our Week

This week was such a blessing leaving each of us with fine memories of New Orleans, our experiences here, and about 18 new friends!

Our crew overlooking Lake Pontchartrain

Breakfast with the whole crew, made by the boys

The girls all together in Audubon Park

The Saint Charles Line Streetcars

Some new houses funded by Brad Pitt in the Lower Ninth Ward

Our view of the Po-boy festival on Sunday

Jackson Square and the local artists in the French Quarter

Last night!

Hello Everyone!

Greetings from our last night in NOLA!  Today offered the group many opportunities: time to wrap up our unfinished products, look back on our progress from last year, learn about the physics of levees,  cement our status as a team of 19 students who came together over the past 5 days, and to most importantly reflect on the work we've accomplished during our time here.

It was truly a great day!  The group at Elysian Fields got a surprise visit from Miss Mary, the homeowner who we are doing repairs for.  It was a wonderful opportunity and we were very blessed to meet her and here her story.  She is a very special lady who worked incredibly hard to get back into her house, and we can't wait for it to happen!  Hopefully by Christmas or soon after?  It gave each of us the chance to connect and hear first-hand the very personal and often emotional stories from a homeowner who experienced Katrina and its devastating aftermath.  Below is a picture of my group with Miss Mary!

We also wrapped up some loose-ends at the house.  The upstairs hardwood floor that the team had been installing for the past 5 days got almost to the point of completion!  Also, the caulking and painting on both the interior and exterior were finished and a ton of window-scraping was officially over!  All the jobs will hopefully be huge time-savers for Project Homecoming, so they can focus on other essential jobs to get Miss Mary back home faster.

The day ended with a great group dinner where each of us explained our highs and lows from the day and the week.  The group loved getting to know each other better and also learning a ton of new skills during the trip.  We also got a great mini-lesson from our physics professor Dyan, who took time and a demonstration to explain why and how the levees were built and ultimately failed.  It was so fascinating!

It was a truly incredible week, and one that I am blessed to have done twice now.  I'm sad I won't be back with the group next year but I know I will always cherish the memories and connections I made here. Well that's it for now, we'll get back to you once we're home!

Much love!
Brian L. :)

Mission and Adventure

Hi everyone!
      Yesterday, we worked with the New Orleans Mission. We loaded up the vans with bagged lunches, vitamin water, applesauce, and water bottles and went out to do a "mobile food drive." Volunteers and directors from the city mission came with us and brought our vans to certain streets downtown that unfortunately had several homeless people residing there. As a team, we got out of our vans, prayed for the people around us, and went out and served these struggling residents. We literally walked up to homeless men and women and gave them food and water.
      The neat thing about this experience was the fact that it was mobile. It would have been much different if we simply set up a station on the street and the people came to us. However, we went to them, saw how and where they were living, and were able to bring a smile to their faces. These people that are struggling to live off the streets were so grateful for our kindness and made it known that we were helping them. There is nothing more real than this.

 
    This was an experience that our team will never forget. Words simply cannot describe what an incredible feeling we had after making a small difference in their lives. People need to realize that life is truly a blessing and we must be thankful for everything we have. Our eyes were open to a whole new world and environment that only people who see it first-hand can understand. This mobile mission was such a touching experience and one our NOLA 2012 team will always cherish.
   Later in the day, we went to the French Quarter and grabbed some dinner. Afterwards, our group was able to split up and explore the different aspects of the French Quarter, such as the famous Bourbon Street. There were many creole-creation foods that were handed out to show the influence of the French culture on the city of New Orleans. We bought souvenirs and tried the classic beignets at the historical Cafe du Monde. We got to experience the authentic jazz music, street performers, and magicians while walking downtown. Lastly, the famous mardi gra beads were given out! It was overall a very fun and eye-opening experience where we learned about a very unique, but intriguing culture.

Only two more days left!!

Take care,
Amber, Lauren, and Carli :)    

Eye-Opening Service Sites

Hi!
My name is Amber Penna and I am a Sportsmedicine Junior at the Hurst. Today, we were split up into two groups and sent to two different sites. My site was in the Lower Ninth Ward on Elysian Drive. The house is a shotgun style and was damaged from the hurricane. We completed many tasks today, including cleaning out various rooms, priming all the walls, and then adding a coat of beige paint. After this was completed, a few volunteers laid the upstairs rooms with black tarp so that flooring could be put in. Myself and two others, Brian and Joe, started laying down bamboo wood slates to form the floor. This was so much fun because none of us have ever done this type of work before and it was very easy to see progress being made!
Here is a picture of the outside of the house my group worked on today. 

The work day went by pretty quickly, but we had an awesome day and really could see all the progress we made and how productive we were! We are very excited to go back to the house tomorrow and meet the homeowner Ms. Mary, who was treated wrongly by her original contractors. Therefore, Project Homecoming took over and is hoping to have her home finished by the end of this year. The other group went to a site on Chatham Drive, where they painted and made a banister for the front porch. They as well enjoyed their day and the beautiful weather outside!

For dinner, we had salad and the famous New Orleans dish, Jambalaya, which is composed of rice, spices, seafood, chicken, and sausage. It was absolutely delicious! The dinner was hosted by Project Homecoming and we met several women who had moved down to New Jersey a few years ago to help with Katrina Relief, and we also met the first homeowner of a Project Homecoming house.  

Dinner was so good, but after a long day of work, everyone was very exhausted! Therefore, we headed back home. Here us a picture of my group who got so much work done today!!!

Hope all is well!!
God Bless,
Amber

Back in the Big Easy

Day One:

A group shot of everyone prior to leaving Mercyhurst on Wednesday morning!

Here we are on day one in New Orleans! We had a long day of traveling, after finishing finals and Fall term at the Hurst, but we have arrived! Our group is composed of 16 students and 3 chaperones; students ranging from freshmen to seniors. This year marks the seventh year since the events of Hurricane Katrina and Mercyhurst's sixth year volunteering in some way in New Orleans.

We have already seen such a positive outpouring of character and appreciation from some of the people in New Orleans. There were multiple people on the planes that thanked us for being here and contributing in our own way.

We had a group dinner at the Redeemer mission house that we are staying at. After traveling, a large group dinner of pizza and conversation was just what we needed. Over dinner we chatted about our expectations and this week's schedule of events. I am most excited about the opportunity to re-experience New Orleans through a new project! We'll update you all on how the first day on the job goes tomorrow, but its an early morning! We're working on finishing up some houses through Project Homecoming and spending the evening at a welcoming dinner! We'll let you know how it goes!!

Send us your prayers and support! 

God bless,

Adrianne

Finals and the Final Countdown

There are many benefits to being a Mercyhurst student in the future, and the best one that I can think of right now is the switch over to a semester system! Historically Mercyhurst has featured a 10-week trimester system, but there is going to be a calendar change in the fall of 2013 to implement 14-week semesters with a January term in-between. As a science major, the J-term system is going to be incredibly beneficial. In my opinion, lengthening to semesters won't make our classes so rushed!! Which would be really beneficial right now because its finals week. 

the plan for this week

So I am already one final down and two more to go before New Orleans and the service trip of a lifetime (for the second time of course!!!)

For some reason I am much more excited for NOLA 2012. I know I had so much fun last year and I think that the anticipation to do good for others and enjoy myself is what is fueling my finals right now. I am so looking forward to seeing familiar places and exploring a little more of the beautiful city!

For those of you who haven't read my previous posts about New Orleans, Mercyhurst always does a few immersion trips throughout the year through rebuilds in New Orleans over Thanksgiving break and Habitat for Humanity over spring break. It is literally an awesome way for students to spend their extra week at home doing a little extra something for others!!

Some of last year's NOLA group on the Mississippi River

That's all for now!! Stay tuned on updates after finals from New Orleans!

Adrianne

Thanksgiving Back

Every term the Freshman area residence halls get to do one big 'All-Hall' event. This is when all six Residence Assistants (RAs) get to create a program that is beneficial to the residences, but also gives back to the community. I love this program as an RA because we always get to have fun, but the girls are all giving back either to Mercyhurst or our surrounding Erie community. In the past, we have collected money to donate books to a local elementary school, had a canned food drive, and even helped to train Mercyhurst's own therapy dogs!

This term we decided to keep it really close to home. Baldwin decided that for the Fall term we were going to help fund-raise money to support the Thanksgiving dinner hosted over break for any and all students who were not going home or had a chance to go home for Thanksgiving. This event has been put on in the past through the Multicultural Center. The reason they are always active and willing to help is because a majority of students who spend Thanksgiving break on campus are international students!

Our program is set to start the collection this week, November 5th-9th. Our three floors of residents will be competing to see who can raise the most change to benefit this year's Thanksgiving. I'll let you all know the outcome after this week! It is always a good feeling to give back though!

I also just wanted to give a quick shout out to our Laker's sports team for all the accomplishments this weekend! Men's Soccer: 2012 PSAC Champions, Men's Waterpolo for their historic wins in the CWPA Southern Championships (beating John Hopkins and Princeton!!), and our Laker Football team for winning the West! Way to go Laker Nation!!

Looking forward to the Senior game next Saturday and another Open House!

Until next time,

Adrianne

Get Involved: RSCO Life on Campus!

Here at Mercyhurst we have millions of things to be involved in and Student Life does a great job making sure that if you want to participate in it, then you can do it here! RSCO, or Registered Student Clubs/Organizations, are here on campus for camaraderie for students who share common interests. Getting involved on campus is simple, and it is a great way to develop social skills and leadership skills. Not to mention it is always a great resume builder for Graduate School or any job after graduation! We offer so many Clubs and Organizations on campus and the best part is if we don't offer what you're looking for... you can start it yourself!!

In my four years here I have been more over involved than I care to admit. It is a great feeling to be a part of something, and there are so many different things that I have been able to be a part of. You can check out a full list of RSCOs on campus here. Here are some examples of ones that I have particularly invested time in. 

Ambassadors: Our Ambassador Club is service club on campus that promotes the core values through our service to the school. In general, we are known as the Green Jackets, the tour givers, event helpers, direction guides, and faces of Mercyhurst. This club is definitely the club I am in that has helped me to achieve and maintain professionalism and confidence at Mercyhurst.

Currently I am one  of the Pledge Committee Chairs, in charge of recruiting and helping to train new Ambassadors for the year. This year there were over 120 students that have showed interest in pledging for the respected position... which will only be about 25% of those students. I'll let you all know how they're doing this term!

Ciaran, a graduated Ambassador, and myself at last years Spring Tea Event!

The full club in our "goofy" pose! Always a fun time!

Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG): Student Government is just as it sounds, we're the voice for the undergraduate population on campus. Known for our work for the students, we are here to promote and represent the student body in any way necessary; whether it be academics, financial, social, cultural, or political. All concerns, questions, and complaints that need to be filtered through the students to the upper-administration should come to the Student Government. 

This year I am the senator for the Zurn School of Sciences, and I also sit on as Committee Chair for the Residence Life Committee. As the senator, I specifically want to hear concerns about students from my constituency in Zurn. I want to know what they are worried about in regards to the sciences, our classrooms, or even our professors. As Committee Chair for Residence Life, I am looking to use this year to outreach to students who are unhappy with campus housing conditions (specifically in upperclassmen area). I think that Student Life and Residence Life have a large impact on the four years here, and it is an important thing to have student concerns properly represented.

Friends and fellow members of MSG in our Spirit Shirts! GO LAKERS!

TOMS Mercyhurst Campus Club: TOMS Campus Clubs are groups of passionate, excited students who are working together to raise awareness and share the TOMS Story and the One for One movement at their school. We do this by hosting events and activities to give students a perspective from the impoverished people who TOMS works so hard to represent. Mercyhurst TOMS Campus Club started my freshman year on campus, and I have slowly become more involved. This past year and currently I hold the title of President, however I'm looking forward to passing on the torch and seeing this club build up still on our small campus.

My TOMS family and friends here on Campus at our documentary screening!

Each year we do an event called One Day Without Shoes, where students and faculty go barefoot to support children and people around the world in poverty. In my four years here this campaign has grown near and dear to my heart. We encompass the school's core values of being socially merciful and aware. I know that TOMS is a giving model that really impacts our world, and I love to bring that impact and influence the Mercyhurst community!

Have a great week!

-Adrianne

When the Leaves Change...

Fall is here in Erie, and I have reminded myself so much why I love this season. It has been a while since my last post so I have a bit to cover now, but most of my fall adventures have revolved around my major, Biology!

Its beginning to look like fall at Mercyhurst as the leaves are changing!!

Last weekend was our Fall Break off of school. The extended weekend away from Mercyhurst right after midterms always seems so wonderful to me, but this year it was a productive weekend. I went home to the Cleveland area and had an opportunity to job shadow. Since I am a Biology major, I've been looking at many different career paths. Fall break became the best when I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Kathleen Skoch. 

Dr. Skoch is a very well known pediatrician with her own practice, Neighborhood Pediatrics. I admire her for a few reasons: one, because in Cleveland she is well recognized and respected; two, she recieved her degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; and lastly, she was so kind and accommodating towards teaching me the ropes of her business. Also I was able to spend some time in her office with her co-doctors and their nurses. All fabulous women who added toward such a positive experience for me!

In sticking with things going on in my academic life, I had some other cool biology moments when we got back into classes this week. During my Field Ecology class this term we are going some independent research in the Erie area for our laboratory portion. As a pre-health focus it has been definitely a challenge to come up with and implement something that is able to be proven ecologically. However my group was up for the challenge. Sticking with the season we are studying a bit about leaf coloration in Erie, and the differences in the amount of sunlight the leaves get. We are calculating the change in coloration via the percent of green left in the leaf. So far so cool!

This fall term I am also taking a Biology class for Human Anatomy. Just as it sounds we are taking this term to really delve into the human body and learn more about muscles, nerves, bones, and their structures and functions. I was most looking forward to this class because I feel like it would be very telling if I was capable of going forward with my pre-health degree. I can confidently say that I love this class and it has confirmed my passion for the future. 

In our lab portion this week, my fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to go out to our cadaver lab at the North East campus. As a senior this wasn't my first time out at the lab, but I am also hoping it won't be the last. The cadaver lab out a North East campus is something different that Mercyhurst offers that really makes us "the small-school with really big opportunities." Hirtzel Lab is a $1.2 million mega-lab at the North East  campus that houses our  four cadavers, a standard feature for medical schools that is unique to our small private college. Students use this for this for both undergraduates and graduate programs, including: Anthropology, Exercise Science, Sportsmedicine, and Biology majors.

SO many good and cool things going on this fall!

Until next time, 

Adrianne

Getting Ready for NOLA 2012

Excitement is brewing getting ready again for New Orleans 2012!! 

A motto for me in
the city of New Orleans

Last year I spent a week with the Mercyhurst Service Learning Department over Thanksgiving Break in New Orleans doing a rebuild service project. This year marks the seventh year since Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans and there are still an large amount of homes in need of repair! With Hurricane Isaac re-affecting the rebuild process, there is an even bigger need for help to rebuild and that is where the Mercyhurst team comes in. 

Each year through the Service Learning Department, Mercyhurst sponsors various trips to immerse students in community service and learning opportunities. I was able to go to New Orleans in 2011 for the rebuild and I am looking forward to getting back. Last year there were 18 volunteers who spent their break working with the PNOLA team (check out their blog here).

Our Crew overlooking downtown New Orleans across the Mississippi

On the trip we split up and work as teams on houses in various areas of the city during the week. We did all sorts of jobs from painting and restoring the exterior of houses, to dry walling, insulating, framing, and general tidying. I think that my work from the House the Hurst Built is going to better prepare me for this year's trip! However, I am really looking forward to this trip. Some of the people from last year are going again, so I know that we are all looking forward to getting back to the city to see the progress that has been made. We are also taking new people who have not yet been on a rebuild trip or to New Orleans. As a leader in the group, I am hoping to help them make a positive impact and realize why it is so good to give back the way we do at Mercyhurst.

Me doing demolition at one of the houses with PNOLA 

This trip is one of the best things I have ever done at Mercyhurst, and I am looking forward to returning. We just found out if we were chosen or not to go on the New Orleans trip for 2012, and I couldn't be more happy to be part of the contributing team. I think it is important to remember why we are there. It is not only to experience this city and spend time with my friends from school. These people of New Orleans have been through true life struggles that I can't even relate to, and they continue to work hard. I loved the PNOLA site because of their motto. The P stands for Phoenix of New Orleans, LA. Phoenix meaning to rise from the ashes. This city that has been majorly effected by the hurricanes and destruction is rising from the ashes. 

Lakers getting silly with a family we were helping

Until next time Lakers and readers..... remember to do something good for someone else. There is nothing better than service for another person; its good for the soul!

Always,
Adrianne

Campus Involvement and Homecoming

There were a lot of important things buzzing in and around campus for the past week. On Wednesday we had our Campus Involvement Fair. I got to participate on behalf of multiple clubs on campus. The TOMS Campus Club, that I am the president of, is just one of our service-based clubs on campus. As a service based RSCO (registered student clubs/organization) we take part in something that is bigger than just our own purpose. So, while Mercyhurst's TOMS Club is just a student based organization that spreads the One for One global mission, we also look to help out our own community with the Mercyhurst mission. Plus, Its always exciting to get new members and people interested. 


This week was also another big one for campus involvement in general because it was Homecoming week! Spirit is a big thing for any school, and it is always good to see an increase in support going into Homecoming weekend. As part of MSG (Mercyhurst Student Government) I got to kick of my weekend with a spirit barbecue at the Clash of the Classes. This event was new to students this year, and was pretty successful! It was great to see students taking the initiative and getting together to support our Lakers. It also only made me more excited for our Homecoming football game against Slippery Rock!

The homecoming weekend at Mercyhurst always pairs with Parents and Alumni weekend, so the activity at Mercyhurst is amazing. The atmosphere makes it impossible to not have a good time (even though we were rained on for most of the day!). I had an amazing senior homecoming! My parents were here to visit, I had so much fun with my alumni friends, and I was honored to be a part of our senior homecoming court! It was raining, which made it difficult to watch the football game in a dress... although Mercyhurst made it easy because we won!

Myself and some fellow members of the homecoming court!

Also at the halftime portion of the game, Mercyhurst presented the House the Hurst Built (see last blog post) to its new owner! We did it--- built the house in four weeks and it felt great to be a part of that! 

Richard and I after the obstacle course

After the homecoming football game, there are some annual festivities around campus to be involved in. My personal favorite is always the bounce houses and obstacles at Hurst Fest. This homecoming was not shut down by the rain! I got to challenge Richard, our MSG President and friend, to race me through the course. It was slippery and muddy, but it was still fun! 

In the pictures you can see that we are also sporting the new Spirit shirts! In an effort to unite the student body even more at sporting events and campus events we thought of spirit shirts this year. Piggy-backing off of large University ideas, we want our shirt to be worn all year at multiple events as "The Shirt"! I was excited to see all the green on campus in promotion! GO LAKERS!!

This week its time to focus on school work and graduate school admissions. Back to the grind!

Until next time.
Adrianne

Welcome Back to Welcome Home!

There are so many opportunities at Mercyhurst to become involved, and the year always starts out with my favorite version... Service day! The easiest way to encourage the freshman to get to know someone random is by taking them into the city of Erie to do something better than catching an extra hour of sleep. I love service day. I remember my own service day, and looking back I had the opportunity to make friends that I still have today. Also it is a great way to learn some of Mercyhurst's core values, including being an Ambassador of Service!

A group of freshman students and me at the Mercy Center for Woman this year.
We worked hard and brought our smiles to make their days better.

But this year especially, Mercyhurst is doing more than just one big day of service. This new year of University has encouraged to do more! In July, Mercyhurst University announced plans to collaborate with Habitat for Humanity in Erie and build The House That 'Hurst Built. This entire build will just take about four weeks, and is a gift back to the city and the community that help and involve our Mercy family.   


My favorite part about the build is that you don't have to be Mr. or Mrs. Fix-it to participate. You may never have used a power tool, but we still are encouraging students to go! It is all about the experience of giving back and involving multiple people on campus. 

I have been to the site four times now since the project started August 27th. We are now down to the last week of the Hurst house build, and it has been incredible. I have seen the house from foundation, hopefully to finish. We will be dedicating the house to the family that will own it at our homecoming weekend. All of the students, faculty, employees, and friends of the University will see what a difference four weeks and a lot of hands can have.

Like I said I have had a lot of great experiences at the house the past few weeks. I got to watch the roof go up. I helped screw in drywall for all of the interior, while friends were hanging the siding on the inside. 

This past weekend the Ambassador club worked a morning and afternoon shift at the site. A majority of us were left to sand down the filled over screw holes and drywall cracks to make sure the house was ready for interior painting! That is when I really knew it was coming together. I will be posting more pictures of the recent build in another post so you can all see the progress that has been made! So proud to be a Laker and do good!