Summer in Greece

Exciting news! I just found out that I will be spending a lot of time in Greece this summer! Yes, Mediterranean Greece, not Greece New York. I will be doing my internship there for five weeks! One of my history professors leads an archeological dig every summer in the ancient Grecian city of Mycenae, and the internship allows undergraduate students to actually help with physically excavating and documenting the findings. We will be working with other universities as well as a local museum to uncover this historic settlement. I cannot wait to travel there, and actually live there, and bought at least five books already on the country and language. I am going to have to learn to speak quite a bit of Greek, especially if I am going to travek during my spare time, which I certainly plan to. I am secretly planning to steal away to Italy on a free weekend. Summer can't come soon enough!

Halloween Costume Planing

Mid-term break came and went and there are now only five short weeks left of the term! The warmer weather this past week has been a nice change compared to the cold start to October, especially as we close out our field hockey season. I just hope winter stays away until Halloween next weekend. My suitemates and I are dressing as Candyland characters, which should be a unique although certainly interesting sight. I'm going to be King Kandy, I think probably the most difficult one to pull off. So far I've only found a crown, and I think the rest of my costume I'm just going to have to be creative with. I guess if all else fails I can always be a game piece! The Men's and Women's Ice Hockey home openers are this weekend too, which I'm especially excited for. I know a lot of alumni are coming back especially to see the men's team take on our rival, Oswego. It should definitely be a great game!

Time is flying by

It seems hard to believe that the first month of the term has already come and gone and Parent's Weekend is already here! My parents are coming to see our Field Hockey game this Saturday against Houghton. We're having our traditional team cookout afterward, which I especially can't wait for. Later that day, we're going to the Parent's Weekend Dinner Dance. Then, on Sunday, I will be presenting along with the rest of the Students in Free Enterprise team for parents and students alike. Last year, we had close to 50 projects affecting hundreds of people all over the world. At the National Competition in Philadelphia, we placed 5th out of hundreds of SIFE teams across the country. This year, we have high expectations for the same success, and hope to recruit some new members at this weekend's presentation. It should be a busy but exciting weekend!

Waiting for Mountain Day

I can hardly believe it is almost October already! The leaves are beginning to change and I’ve started pulling out my warmer sweaters. My suitemates and I have already started decorating for autumn and our favorite holiday, Halloween! Mountain Day Singing has started, and hundreds of students went to the President’s Home last night to sing. Floors competed in TV Show themes, which ranged from The Adams Family to The Price is Right, That 70’s Show to The Brady Bunch.

Tonight is Class Night and the theme is Togas. My class, the Spectacular Class of 2011, is pretty competitive and hoping to reclaim our title as Class Champion after last year’s upset against the Class of 2009. We’ve been busy preparing a class chant and getting everyone ready for tonight. Soon, the President will decide to give us a Mountain Day, which means a day off from classes. We have a pancake breakfast then a picnic lunch on Carnegie with raft races, relays, and of course, lots of cookies. It’s a great holiday, especially with the beautiful fall weather. And we never know which day it could be…tomorrow maybe? Guess we’ll just have to wait and find out!

Field Hockey and SIFE

It’s hard to believe I’m starting my third year at EC already! The last two years have flown, and from what I’ve seen so far, this year will undoubtedly do the same. I’ve been getting back into the swing of things between classes, practice, meetings and such. I’m tutoring for history this year, and am really excited about the opportunity to help students come to enjoy a subject I have always loved. Not only do I get to work with fellow students, but I get a great refresher too!

Outside classes, I’ve been busy with the Field Hockey team as we enter the middle portion of our schedule. It’s a new sport for me this year, and I’ve loved every minute. My family came out to see us play this past weekend at home, and the weather was perfect. I hope it doesn’t get cold too soon! Our SIFE team – Students in Free Enterprise – has also begun to organize. We took 5th place at the National Competition last year, and have high expectations for doing well this year. We’ve started lining up projects and discussing new ideas for this year. I can’t wait to go to New York City and Minneapolis for Regional and National Competition! I think it’s really going to be a busy but great year!

A Little Team Bonding...

Soccer season may end in November, but our team still gets together for "serious" matters. Here we are with several overnight recruits at Rossi Lanes after taking on the Men's Soccer team in bowling. Obviously we had to let them win ; )

Sibling's Weekend and ECAC Champs!

This weekend proved to be one of the best ones yet! My family came to visit friday night for the Phi Beta Kappa dinner, and my little sister stayed with me until sunday for Sibling's Weekend. After the dinner, my sister and I went out for ice cream with a few of my friends, then we played Apples to Apples for a few hours. Honestly, it's probably the most comedic game I've played. The next morning, a bunch of us went to brunch then headed to the domes (the Murray Athletic Center) to watch two of my suitmates on the girl's hockey team play in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Semifinals. They won 8-1!

The next day, we went back to the domes to watch the girls take on Plattsburgh in the Championship, their rival from the ECAC's last year. Obviously, the game was very competitive and a lot of fans came to support them. Luckily, they pulled off the win 3-0 despite having to face several difficult penalty kill situations, including almost two minutes of 3 versus 5. They now will play in the NCAA tournament this coming weekend,and the men's team plays their NCAA playoff game this coming wednesday. It was a great week for EC and not a bad one for my sister to enjoy too!

A bit about me...

Hello Everyone! I'm Andrea and a member of the Spectacular Class of 2011. Before coming to Elmira, I lived in the small Upstate town of Friendship, New York. Having grown up on my family's farm, some of my favorite hobbies include four-wheeling, snowmobiling, canoeing and horseback riding. I also love to play sports, anywhere from horseshoes to basketball and ping-pong. I've recently become addicted to traveling, recently visiting the Bahamas and planning to go to Mexico this spring. I also am currently applying to volunteer abroad this summer, most likely in South Africa.

I tend to be pretty busy around campus between class, soccer, and the different organizations I belong to, but staympretty close with my family. This upcoming weekend is Sibling's Weekend on campus, so my younger sister Ashlynn is coming to visit. Conveniently, my family was already planning to come to campus this Friday for a recognition dinner. They like coming to a lot of events and catch most of our soccer games.

Two of my suitemates play hockey for the Varsity Women's team, and our college is hosting the Eastern College Athletic Conference playoffs, so my sister is pretty excited to get to see them play this weekend. The college has also planned a bunch of other activities for the weekend, although my sister has informed me that a trip to the mall is definitely on the agenda. She is a junior now, so she's anxious to get a taste of the college experience. She keeps counting down the days until she comes. I'll let you know how it goes!