Ladies & gentlemen, I hope that everyone’s winter break was enjoyable. This past break from classes I was able to participate in a study abroad program that Walsh co-sponsored with CCSA (Cooperative Center for Study Abroad).  The trip my group and I embarked on was a two week, full 3 credit hour course that was taught in London, England.  Ever since I had the opportunity to study abroad in Rome through our global learning program I have had the greatest yearning to once again venture outside of the states.  Therefore, when this trip to London was proposed I decided to do all I could to secure a seat on the plane that would take our group over the pond to old England. 

            The course we studied while in London was centered around the astonishing Christmas truce that took place between opposing enemies during World War I.  It was a philosophy course that would be taught by both reading great minds of the time period such as Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche, as well as through our interactions with English culture, tradition, and history throughout our stay in London.  Plainly speaking, because we had only two weeks to accomplish such a task, our days in London were fast-paced and the itinerary was tightly scheduled.  A routine day consisted of breakfast in the morning, followed by class, then a trip to a site such as the British Imperial War museum.  At this point our tight-knit group would find a pub, scarf down fish & chips and wash it down with a pint of beer…or two.  After lunch, some people would take the tube to Oxford St. where the shopping was never-ending, while others would continue their sight-seeing adventure through the streets of the city. 

                             Magnificent Oxford Street
On our trip we had the great opportunity to take a coach for two magnificent day trips to unforgettable landmarks in England.  The first trip, we made our way to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Stonehenge, and we also visited the beautiful city of Bath.  If you look at Stonehenge from a historical perspective, the mystery behind its creation and purpose that still to this day is left unanswered, is truly awe-inspiring. 

Myself at Stonehenge (Excuse the picture size, having technical difficulties)

             Our next day trip was to both the city of Stratford and the grand castle in Warwick.  In Stratford, our group visited the birthplace of world-renowned playwright and overall Renaissance man, William Shakespeare.  Who, after reading my blog told me, “a fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” These wise words of Shakespeare I took as a telling sign to start wrapping things up.  Therefore, I’ll end with a picture of Warwick castle, because my words will simply not do it justice at this moment, and I’ll also display an edited collage of our group’s unforgettable New Years Eve night in London.  Until next time, thank you for stopping by. Cheers!!!

Group2 Company: The Sirak-Brockett Agency.

Group2 Members

The members of the Group2 formed a consulting team and analyzed the Information System/Management Information System of Sirak-Brockett Agency, part of Sirak Financial Companies.  The group members developed a quitionarie to ask the IT manager of the company regarding the IT department and the system used at the company. After evaluating their IT department, the group provided recommendations for future improvement.

On Friday November 5th, the group met with Tod Kendle the IT director of the company to discuss the project and evaluate the IT structure of the company. During this meeting, the members of the group asked questions and took notes. Following on that, another day was planned for a group meeting to discuss the notes taken on Friday and assign responsiblities to each group member.

There are five members in the group and each one had different responsibilities and duties to accomplish before the project. For instance, the the overall report was divided into three sections with each member doing one section. One member took responsibility of doing the presentation (powerpoint) and the other member of the group was in charge of preparing the Wiki and the Blog for the project.

The Wiki was used as a collaborative tool to upload and discuss the overall project. The Wiki is designed to be viewed by everyone but only the members of the project could edit the contents of the wiki. A common username and password was created and distributed among the members to long in to the Wiki and bring changes.

Although the Wiki, which is linked to each members Facebook, and E-mail was used to communicate habitually, the group decided to have a final physical group meeting to review everything and make sure the project was ready for presentation. On Tuesday November 30, the group met for the last time. Each member presented their part of the project. Feedbacks were given and necessary steps were taken to finalize the whole project. Also, this last meeting was planned to make sure each member knew their roles during the presentation.

To read more about the project please visit the group Wiki by clicking here

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

For me, it was a bittersweet event.  This was my last year to enjoy the Walsh International Dinner as a student, and possibly forever!

This has been a great few weeks at Walsh. Maybe not for me, as I was faced with exam upon exam, but at least the weather was wonderful and people went outside for the last few days of warm weather before winter settles in.

International Events

International Dinner 2010

Success! That is the best word to use to describe our dinner. We had more than 250 guests, a wide variety of international dishes, and excellent entertainment. A HUGE thank-you to all international students who helped prepare food and the room, participate in the entertainment and food serving, and clean up after the dinner We made substantial profits that will help pay for an end of the year dinner for the members of the club as some of our Internationals are graduating this semester.

Tennis time

Nothing new to report here folks!

Business Club Bulletin

Casino Night a Learning Experience

Thank-you to everyone from BCC and UPB who helped out at Casino Night! We had a pretty good attendance and quite a few enthusiastic gamblers.

Our next event: Our Service Project to ABCD, Inc to help them with various business tasks. To find out more about ABCD, Inc, click here: http://theabcdinc.com/index.html

In Other Walsh News . . .

Double-sided printing in the Library

I know this isn’t incredibly new news, but you can now use printer B to print your documents double-sided. Here’s to efficiency and saving paper!

Small Victory for Student Government

It is amazing what students can do. With a motion from Student Government and meetings with various committees,  it was announced last Thursday that the cafeteria will be extending its dinner hours until 6:45pm! Also,  it will now be available for students to use 1 swipe a day to purchase a meal at the Grille. It’s always satisfying when the system works

Travel Tips and Tangents

It’s time to jump to Paris, France. It would be a shame to not include this famous, fashionable, historic city so here it is! Paris in the early fall was rather chilly, however that didn’t stop the Paris chic. Everyone was layered up in their Chanel and Yves St. Laurent with a Louis Vuitton on their arms.  I crammed in as much touristy things as I could in the few days we were there. I would love to visit again, maybe in the late spring, to see some more of this romantic city.

. . .  so my computer won’t let me upload. Guess you will have to Google Images for this one folks!

Until next week,

Julia

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS!

Which means one more hour of sleep this Sunday! Another reason why I love the Fall. This sleep-in is needed too, as this semester is finally starting to take its toll on my mental alertness.

However, there is hardly time to think of rest with so many things going on here at Walsh. With just a few weeks to go until the end of the semester, the pace is as quick as ever and events just keep coming one after the other.

International Events

International Dinner 2010 (updated)

It’s that time of year again, time for an International Experience! Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, November 13th at 6:30pm for the Annual International Dinner. We will have our usual buffet of amazing and diverse dishes as well as various forms of entertainment such as a fashion show and musical performances by our very own Walsh students! We also will be doing some fundraising during the evening, including having a recipe book for sale that includes some of the dishes that will be served at the dinner. A big thank-you to Student Government for helping us fund the evening! Keep checking email updates or contact our club President, thomasabberton@walsh.edu for more information. Ticket prices are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for Walsh students and children.

A picture from last year's dinner. All of us in our outfits for the Fashion Show.

Tennis time

The women went out last night to hit at the Hall of Fame tennis courts with 3 potential recruits. Afterwards we had some team bonding time back in my apartment. Thanks ladies for showing the recruits a great time and taking them around campus!

Both teams will be starting our fundraising letters soon. Hopefully we can receive enough donations to go down to Orlando for Spring break again.

Business Club Bulletin

Business Luncheon SUCCESS!!!!

A huge “Thank-You” to everyone who helped out at the Annual Business Scholarship Luncheon! We had around 270 guests, with a good mix of students, faculty and businesspeople. John Nance was both an informative and entertaining speaker and I know I learned quite a few concepts that I will remember to put into practice. The meal was very tasty and I wasn’t even disappointed when I did not see the usual cheesecake for dessert (it was pumpkin mousse instead, yum!).

Events to look forward to: Casino Night on November 16th

In Other Walsh News . . .

Registration Begins!

Make sure you get online or get to Student Affairs and sign up for Spring classes! Wow, already thinking about my last semester at Walsh

Study Abroad Programs gaining ground

As a strong advocate of study abroad programs ( I have been on 3, with a 4th coming up this summer), I recommend you do whatever it takes to get out there and study in another country! Ryan Ozar made an appearance at Student Government this past Thursday to help promote Walsh’s study abroad trips as well as clarify some myths and confusions about what it takes to study abroad. It IS affordable guys, so ask your advisors and talk to Ryan at rozar@walsh.edu for more details!

Travel Tips and Tangents

Where to this week? Seeing as I am trying to clean out my computer before it kicks the bucket, I am going back to old adventures (think 2006). This week, let’s travel East and North to the Scottish Highlands!

This is Hamish, a fine example of Highland cattle, a tourist favourite at Kilmahog, Scotland.

The Highlands in Scotland are simply breathtaking. Large rolling hills and brush-covered mountains abound. It looks and feels very medieval and one can tell this area is only meant for the heartier of people. Both people and bovines must brave the cold temperatures, harsh winds and high rainfall.

Awesome views during a stop on our way to Loch Ness.

There is no direct way to get anywhere when you head up this far. It’s more of a “follow the only road” sort of deal. Very scenic and peaceful, so not for those who prefer the concrete jungles.  I ventured my way to Loch Ness and alas, no monster sighting. The conditions felt perfect for a Nessie sighting, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. That Loch is a lot larger than I thought it was!

Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness. We witnessed a wedding party having the ceremony right in the ruins!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Julia

“We are the Champions, me and my friends!

  We are the Champions…Once again!

  Sing along, everybody now!”

  ~The Gods and the General

            For those of you that haven’t heard…most likely everyone reading this. The Gods and the General, which is the intramural flag football team I played on; just last Sunday completed a successful undefeated season.  We are now the two time back to back champions of intramural flag football here at Walsh U.  The road to an undefeated season wasn’t easy.  However, I won’t waste your precious time with every detail. Just know the Gods and the General embodied the spirit of a true team, showing moxy, bravado, gamesmanship, grit, perseverance, and just about any “legendary” quality on our way to a second championship title.  What’s in store for these warriors in the future you ask?  Easy, zero contracts, shoe deals, or really fanfare of any kind. Rather, we’ll take ibuprofen to nurse the embarrassing amount of injuries we’ve accrued due to flag football.  Then, who knows? Maybe a future of golf, or possibly even the more risky option of men’s summer softball. 

The Gods and The General

            On another note, did you catch the results of the 2010 midterm elections?  The road leading up to this race was full of more “political media warfare” then any midterm in our nation’s history.  The amount of seats Republicans gained in the House made for an historic swing. Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you fall under, or if you feel you can’t be labeled at all; the results of this election will affect our country now and into the future.  As a college student how does this affect you? What changes will impact your personal life? Geeze! How should I know?!

            Personally, I feel all you can hope to do is stay informed, figure out what causes you’re passionate about, and take time out of your busy life to enjoy the freedoms that our great country still affords us.  Anyway, that’s all I have for now.  If you could think of an awesome and catchy send off sentence please let me know. It would be my pleasure to steal your catch phrase and call it my own. 

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Although the weather is a bit frigid, I hope everyone has fun this weekend dressing up and celebrating this highly sugar-laden holiday. I do miss trick-or-treating; there should be some way for adults to get free candy too . . .

As it relates to the title of this entry, here is some information that is being added to my professor, Dr. Kim’s blog as part of a Tribal Knowledge assignment.

You can access his blog here: http://walshuniversity.blogspot.com/

International Events

International Dinner 2010 (updated)

It’s that time of year again, time for an International Experience! Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, November 13th at 6:30pm for the Annual International Dinner. We will have our usual buffet of amazing and diverse dishes as well as various forms of entertainment such as a fashion show and musical performances by our very own Walsh students! Keep checking email updates or contact our club President, thomasabberton@walsh.edu for more information. Ticket prices are $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for Walsh students and children.

Tennis time

No new news, we are just fighting the weather and are trying to use out outdoor courts as much as possible.

Business Club Bulletin

Business Luncheon THIS WEDNESDAY!!!

RSVP now for the Business Scholarship Luncheon! Come listen to John Nance, a nationally-recognized public speaker and best-selling author of Why Hospitals Should Fly. Tickets are $5 for Walsh students and $25 for Walsh faculty. Non-Walsh guests are $40. This is a great opportunity to network and practice your communication skills, so please contact either myself, juliakole@walsh.edu, or cbendetta@walsh.edu for a reservation and/or payment.

In Other Walsh News . . .

Ski Club planning for Holiday Valley winter break trip

The date for this year’s trip to Holiday Valley is December 14-16th. The price is $165.00 for Walsh students and faculty and $170.00 for non-Walsh participants.  Please email alexanderbotsch@walsh.edu or ptandler@walsh.edu for more information and to sign up.

A warning to students

Student Government has already discussed this and we all find it a pressing issue: Vandalism. Specifically, students coming in and ruining the chairs and tables in the classrooms. I find is very sad that some students have not matured enough to treat their environment with respect. There is no need to bend and pick at the arms of chairs or carve a message into desk tops. Walsh in an amazing University, so please treat it with the respect it deserves. It is a privilege for you to study here and I don’t think some people realize just how lucky they are.

Travel Tips and Tangents

On a cheery side, it is time for more pictures and comments on a global destination! This week: Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow has really cleaned up and is now a great shopping and tourist destination. It is the largest city in Scotland and one of the most populated cities in the United Kingdom. I was very impressed with the shopping options and the mix of traditional and modern found all over the city.  I really enjoyed the Mackintosh House and Hunterian Museum. Way ahead of their time, Charles and Margaret Mackintosh turned their Victorian home that they lived in from 1906 to 1914 into a distinctively modern home with designs we would expect to see today.  You can check out more information here: http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/collections/art_gallery/mac_house/machouse_index.shtml

A double decker bus roaming around downtown Glasgow.

St. Mungo's Cathedral. It was rather dark inside, creating an appropriate sombre atmosphere.

The Kelvingrove Museum. A massive building with a huge collection of, well, everything!

Enjoy the last few days of October!

Julia

Happy October (and a belated “Happy Canadian Thanksgiving”)!

I really need to be more consistent with my posting times. I don’t like this time gap, as most of the time I forget about the events I really want to write about! Hopefully I can get back into a weekly posting, but if I don’t please forgive me.

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the Fall! Wonderful weather, brilliant colours, holidays that focus on food and feasting (the best kind of holidays) and Pumpkin-flavoured products everywhere. Life is sweet right now, especially with that little taste of cinnamon and nutmeg

International Events

Cedar Point Trip

It happened! Ten students from the club, both Internationals and Americans, committed a whole Sunday to conquer some amazing roller coasters and rides. I did manage to jump on Dragster again, this time at night, and none of the original thrill was lost. The Internationals who went had a great day and even tried Elephant Ears for the first time. It is always nice to travel outside of campus once in a while to explore the state and give International students different experiences of life in the United States.

International Dinner 2010!

It’s that time of year again, time for an International Experience! Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, November 13th for the Annual International Dinner. We will have our usual buffet of amazing and diverse dishes as well as various forms of entertainment. Keep checking email updates or contact our club President, thomasabberton@walsh.edu for more information.

Tennis time

More uniforms! The women will soon be adding a maroon dress to our Spring 2011 collection, in addition to new warm-up jackets that just came in this week. But in slightly more important news, the men made Walsh proud for a second year in a row as doubles partners Pierre La Grange and Gary Innes came in 6th place at the ITA Nationals Tournament in Mobile, Alabama. The boys also went for a day trip to New Orleans (jealous) to visit the French Quarter. Now both teams are enjoying the last few weeks of warm-ish weather before winter settles in.

Business Club Bulletin

RSVP now for the Business Scholarship Luncheon! Come listen to John Nance, a nationally-recognized public speaker and best-selling author of Why Hospitals Should Fly. Tickets are $5 for Walsh students and $25 for Walsh faculty. Non-Walsh guests are $40. This is a great opportunity to network and practice your communication skills, so please contact either myself, juliakole@walsh.edu, or cbendetta@walsh.edu for a reservation and/or payment.

In Other Walsh News . . .

Student Government active on campus

This year, Student Government is making an effort to become a known entity on Walsh’s campus. The Treasurer has spearheaded a football event for this weekend’s Walsh vs Malone game. We have organized a coach bus to drive 55 students who do not have a car on campus to Fawcett Stadium as well as give them free spirit t-shirts. Come on Walsh, tomorrow LET’S BEAT MALONE!!!!

Since when did we get a bell???!!!

I noticed at the men’s soccer game vs Malone ( a 3-1 victory for Walsh I might add) that there was a Walsh-painted wagon with an old school bell on it. There was a dedicated group of fans watching over it and even rang it when we scored a goal. Where did this mystery bell come from? Am I that behind in Walsh sports? I’m sure it has a story, I may have to dig around for that one.

Travel Tips and Tangents

OK, so I have been holding out long enough and I feel terrible. This week, let’s travel across the Atlantic to Dublin, Ireland:

Dublin is a modern city with a strong International vibe. Although it was clear we were in Ireland (the countless pubs, shamrocks, Celtic music street performers and Guinness ads was a constant reminder), the city was very fast-paced and in a constant state of change. Filled with history, culture and wonderful entertainment, I was lucky to stay for two whole weeks in Dublin at Trinity College. This college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and is Ireland’s oldest University. An extremely fun city, especially if one gets into sports, I highly recommend making the journey to the capital city of the famed Emerald Isle.

Trinity College in the evening. Wonderful University grounds, so full of history.

Downtown Dublin. Lots of shops to run into, pubs and restaurants to explore and historic monuments everywhere you turned.

In a suburban area outside of Dublin we stumbled upon Bono of U2's house! The main gate was the closest we got before a loudspeaker told us to step away from the property.

Yes, this is still Ireland. Wouldn't it be nice to have a property like this, palm trees included?

Hope you enjoyed, see you next week!

Julia

As I sit here before you, my glass of red wine plays a serenade on the left and Ferrero Rocher chocolate’s impatiently stay wrapped to my right.  This moment of simple beauty makes me reflect on just how well off I am as a college student, more specifically how wonderful it is to have the opportunity of pursuing a higher education here at Walsh.  Yes midterm’s just wrapped up last week and I’m sure not all of them went so well for everybody.  However, you’re not laid off for doing poorly.  In fact this week marks a new beginning. At Walsh professors really do want to see their students do well. So if you’re struggling with something see your professor and if that’s not enough, contact student services and sign up for tutoring.  I just see no reason, moreover no excuse for students here at Walsh to ignore their academic struggles.  Your studies, which eventually lead to your future career, are very important and should be taken as such.  Hmmm not sure what that lesson (rant) was for.  Anyway you get the point. It’s just too important and simply far too expensive to not take your time in college seriously. 

   Just an obnoxious picture I found while googling “hard work.”

Ok, ok time to completely contradict what I’ve just said.  It’s my blog right?  Your education should be taken seriously and each assignment should be conducted with the passion and vigor to achieve an A+. Nevertheless, you do live only once right?  When your work is done I see nothing wrong with the motto of “working hard to play even harder.” Actually, I would argue that one can only truly enjoy themselves after a hard week’s work.  You may have fun going out every night of the week, but that ship will sail once you’re out in the real world. On the contrary, if you get in the habit of busting tail throughout the week, you’ll find yourself to be the life of the party on the weekends.  Not only the weekends, but every free “kick up your feet” moment you have will be pure ecstasy. Anyway, if you’re reading this and are older than me, thus wiser, tell me to bug off with my advice.  However, if this simple entry has resonated with you heed this advice: “Some people dream of success…while others wake up and work hard at it.”~Unknown.

Fellow college students, for this blog I’d like to discuss one of my favorite pastimes of keeping up with current events.  I do this by both watching the news and keeping up with daily articles online.  Why do I enjoy what is perceived by most students as boring and dull rather than following one of the many reality T.V. shows that clutter cable television? My answer is simple.  If you watched the news, especially on stations such as Fox or MSNBC, you’d realize that people such as Glenn Beck or Keith Olbermann can spew out crazier statements than any Mike “The Situation” pickup line.  Sorry for the second Jersey Shore reference in the last three blogs, come on…it’s hot right now!

            The main thing the news has over any given T.V. show is variety.  On a daily basis newscasters cover stories of every genre. You’ll find stories of suspense, political/celebrity scandal, and unscripted drama on local, national, and global levels.  Keeping up with this information is important. The news discusses topics that really do affect our everyday lives. 

            The hot national story as of late has been the upcoming midterm elections in November.  Even if you wanted to avoid hearing about it you couldn’t.  Seemingly every other radio and T.V. commercial is about what a particular candidate will do for you; or how a particular candidate, if elected, would bring about Armageddon.  If you think the election coverage is boring, think again.  While the big 3 news stations may not be your cup of tea, I guarantee you’d find the Daily Show or Colbert Report on Comedy Central to have some the funniest material on television.  So stay informed, enjoy the vast freedoms our Democracy allots us, and get out and vote in November!