It’s been a full week of events since the last time I blogged so I have a lot to update you on! Get ready!

Well first off, my week began after a busy weekend — Spring Formal Weekend!! What a great time it was though! Walsh and the University Programming Board really know how to put on a great event that I think will have students talking about until the end of the school year. The timing was perfect, as it was right before everyone’s schedules began to get crazy! I was able to see so many friends that I don’t have a chance to see on a regular basis simply because of our class schedules and where we live at on campus. The Grand McKinley hotel was a great location as it was close enough to Walsh, yet far enough away that it felt like we were going to an important event—an actual night out on the town! The dance took place in a ballroom with lots of tables for many to gather around for dinner before, and a dance floor that was jammed packed the entire night. The meal was delicious and it was a great time to socialize with everyone before we all have to lock ourselves away during these upcoming weeks to study, study, study!!  A group of friends and I went early to swim at the hotel which made it feel like we were on a mini vacation! Everyone was able to socialize with one another and get the most out of the dance–I’m pretty sure we were the first ones out on the floor and the last ones to leave.

I’ve been diligently dialing away this week since Sunday evening at the PHONE-A-THON! I really have got quite use to the job and I’m so happy that I applied for it as it’s a great way to make some spending money while helping the school improve and help other students achieve scholarship money. I did find out however that my checks are being sent home so in a way that helps me out even more since I have no temptation to spend them. J

Finally, we had our second to last Business and Communications Club meeting this past Tuesday where we discussed service projects for the end of this semester, as well as new officers for next years BCC.

Well its getting late and I have a busy Friday ahead of me—not so much school work—but everything else that I need to get done before the weekend so it won’t be constantly on my mind.

I’ll leave you with some pictures from Spring Formal this past weekend!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Until next time…take care, study hard, but be sure to find some quality time to relax and kick back.

–Chris Burr

Well, as my fellow blogger, and retreat member Kim explained so well, the AGAPE retreat was truly a memorable experience for all who attended. And I was fortunate enough to finally meet Kim in person! Now we are not only fellow bloggers—but also good friends brought together by this retreat. It was great meeting you Kim and I look forward to seeing you soon! Perhaps all of us bloggers should get together one night before this semester is over and go to dinner, or something fun? Let me know, I think it would be a good time!

Well you might have remembered me mentioning in my last blog the AGAPE Religious Retreat that I was attending over this past weekend? The AGAPE Retreat is one of Walsh’s signature retreats that it invites all students to take part in. I always had something going on in years past, so when I saw it advertised this year I was intrigued. And what a truly amazing experience I had! I had the opportunity to be a core team leader, which meant that I was involved in much of the planning and assisted in facilitating activities as a leader. My friend Courtney Briola and I were fortunate enough to get paired together as leaders for a small discussion group, which we would meet in throughout various times of the retreat.

The months of hard work and dedication truly paid off as we quickly could see our own group members growing in their faith and becoming closer to one another and God. The retreat had some of the best students, faculty and staff involved to make it truly moving for everyone who experienced it.

Last Friday, I found myself cramming as much as my 2-door coupe could fit into it of AGAPE gear—trying not to break anything when I slammed the doors or the trunk. A couple of us leaders headed to Camp Carl early to get everything in place; so that when everyone arrived we wouldn’t have to rush around.

Well everyone arrived, but they didn’t quite make it into the drive of the Camp. Due to a muddy entrance and a bus that was not made to take on such rustic adventures as we had planned for it. The bus driver tried her best to move the bus, but this only ended up in her bearing it in the ditch with half of it inside the camp and half hanging out into the road, acting as a road block.  I must admit I was a bit skeptical to see what the rest of the weekend had to hold, as it was Friday the 13^th, and while I’m not superstitious, our luck wasn’t looking good.

As the cops rolled up to investigate why there was a charter bus stuck in the road, everyone piled out of the bus as if they were going to help push the bus out?? Ha-ha In fact, one of our truly dedicated leaders tried his darnd-est to push the 65 seat charter bus…he wasn’t very successful and ended up with mud all over his only pair of pants for the retreat.

But this small mishap actually could not have worked out better as this allowed everyone to quickly socialize with one another while standing out by the bus waiting to get their luggage out. In fact I look at the bus getting stuck as one of Gods many blessings in disguise that he spoke to us throughout this retreat.

As we walked the bags to the cabin the whole group of participants seemed to really gel well together with one another, and this was reassuring to all the leaders as we were excited to begin all that we had planned.

The night continued on with many group activities and fun icebreakers to get everyone familiar with one another. One really cool idea was the prayer wall. Which was simply a brown paper bag that you wrote your name on, and hung one wall near all the rest of the bags. Throughout the entire weekend we could write our prayer buddies anonymously and wish them the best while growing in their faith.

Saturday brought about a full schedule as we woke everyone up at around 7:30am! They really loved that!! J, not!! But at the same time we had a great breakfast waiting for them. Soon after breakfast I had to get my Visionary Project together which involved me basically having fun with Play-Dough, popsicle sticks, Styrofoam, rope, balloons, etc…you name it and I found some way to incorporate it into my “vision.” Which then one member from each group was able to view, and report back to their groups by only answering YES and NO questions about how to build it to mimic by model. This seemed impossibility with the short amount of time we allowed and the extensive details, but you would be amazed at how close most of these groups were able to match my model. Some actually had better concepts of design then I did with the original J Either way, it taught a simple lesson that we are all visionaries, however, we all envision God in a different way.

The rest of the day continued on with a truly moving witness from Mary Neidenthal, of Walsh University, as well as a “Life at stake” skit that the Core Team Leaders performed. To sum up the skit in the best way possible…it instantly gives you goose bumps, as it truly is so moving. I remember feeling as if God took over throughout my several parts, of playing Jesus, in the skit, and I know his message was conveyed by all of our actions. It was an amazing feeling afterward to know that we helped to make such a powerful impact on the individuals in the audience.

The night led on to a beautiful mass and exposition of the Eucharist, along with Praise and Worship for those who like to sing their prayers, or better yet, pray twice while singing

Going to bed that final night, knowing that only a small portion of the retreat was left, made me realize just how fortunate I was to be part of this experience, to be surrounded by such wonderful people. If I could I would make everyone who attends Walsh attend at least one retreat throughout their college experience, it truly is one of the attributes that makes Walsh—Walsh!

As I turned in for the evening late that Saturday night after catching up with the late-nighters by the campfire, I had the most reassuring feel come over my body. No matter how much homework I may have left back at school, or how much sleep I was lacking do to our packed schedules– it was during this moment that I knew for certain that this was exactly what I was called to do!  Just as the retreat had promised…I had found “my missing PEACE!” 

I wish you all a great weekend! Enjoy this Spring weather!!

Until next time, take care, and God Bless! 

Welcome back!

I hope this blog finds everyone doing well, all rested up after their spring break, ready to take on the remainder of the semester with full force! I know that for some Spring Break meant the warm, sunny beaches of Florida, or perhaps basking in the sun in Cali, for me however; Spring Break meant 7 days, 6 nights in the all inclusive Astha-beautiful (OK, Ashtabula, well technically Jefferson, OH) but close enough. The weather might not have been the best, and there may not have been too many exciting resorts and attractions, but there was definitely one thing that made my break spectacular–the company of close family and friends to catch up with and spend quality time with.

We did have some record highs however, it reached into the 60′s on Friday and Saturday and my dad and I had taken advantage of the nice weather by washing and waxing the cars. I felt like I was the “Karate Kid” after washing and waxing all the vehicles. Not exactly lounging on the beach, but it was a great opportunity to get some fresh air, enjoy the weather, and most importantly spend some quality time with my dad.

I had the opportunity to meet up with my friends from school and home, and spent several nights out on the town taking in all that Ashtabula had to offer–such as the Crowns Nest, BW3′s, and even a late night trip to Perkins. The thing I like most about Ashtabula is that no matter where you are you can always count on running into someone you know and/or are related to. In my case, coming from such a big family, this happends a lot–and I love it! (while others may not so much)

Luckily most of my friends were home on break at the same time, but unfortunately there were some that had break the following week, so we didn’t get a chance to hang out as we had planned. But with only a few more weeks left until Easter break, and then the end of the semester I’m confident we will be able to figure out something.

Coming back from break I had to Spring into action, literally!  With the AGAPE 09 Retreat only a week away our core team leaders and myself are constantly working on something for that! I can not wait until the retreat is finally here as the excitement builds as each day passes!

Before break I began my PHONE-A-THON job and will continue working with that until finals week. This is a great opportunity for me to raise money for Walsh, as well as earn some spending money–so i don’t have to ask mom and dad any more for a couple bucks . So remember if you get a call from Walsh, please don’t hang up, it could be me, just saying HI! :)

From here on out I am springing into action by sending out applications for summer internships as well as lining up my summer and fall classes. I want to make sure that I will graduate on time so I figure the best way to go about this is taking summer courses to avoid any conflicts my last sememster. Don’t get me wrong, I love Walsh, but I’m also eager to get into the real, business world!

I am anxious to see what the rest of the semester has to hold! I can’t believe midterms are over with already, and to think, before we know it, we’ll be studying for finals! The next big event I will be working with after AGAPE is the Business Club Luncheon. More info to follow soon, as we are having our meeting about the luncheon in just a couple minutes.

Hope you all have a great first week back, and stay tuned for future updates!

This past week began for me as going down in the record books for the busiest week ever or so I say that now…I may be eating my words come finals week. Anyways, Monday began with a lot on my plate, as the Business Club was selling Carnations throughout the week for Valentines Day, and I was in charge of this, making sure everyone was scheduled to work the table we had in the David Center and also that the flowers were ordered and ready by Thursday—Friday. Luckily I had a lot of help as many members volunteered their time to help out, and many of our officers pitched in when it came to planning out the sale. 

The week went on and I was busy with my AGAPE Core Team work, as we are in the process of getting the word out for the retreat and this meant time dedicated strictly to hanging posters, sending out invitations, etc…

Along with this venture, I also thought it would be a good time to have a guest speaker come into talk with the Business and Communications Club about career opportunities. I had 2 representatives comes from North Western Mutual—Jessica Modic, was one of our main speakers and she is a recent Walsh Alum. She gave great insight on the real world of business and her past experiences with internships and finding the job that’s right for you!

With all these extracurricular activities I found it tough to find time to study for my Information Systems exam, but managed to squeeze in some study time later on in the evening of Monday, on into Tuesday morning. Sleep was definitely not one of my top priorities of the week

Tuesday and Wednesday rolled around and I was busier than ever, selling Carnations and managing my other course load. I had a paper due on Thursday that I knew would take quite a bit of time, so I had to sacrifice my Intramural Bowling night to finish it up. Luckily a good friend of mine took my place so I didn’t’ have to worry about letting my team down. It was best probably that I stayed and finished my paper anyways—as the power went out at the bowling alley half way through and caused for many teams not to finish there games. This was all due to the horrific winds that caused a lot of damage in our hometown of Ashtabula I found out, when I was home this past weekend. Luckily North Canton suffered just a temp power outage and some branches on the ground to clean up.

Thursday was one of the first days of pickup for the Carnation sale and I had to be up bright and early to pickup the Carnations from United Floral. I picked the flowers up by 8:00am and had them ready to distribute. We actually had to order 25 additional carnations on top of our original 50, selling 75 total carnations. Then later on in the day at 6 I headed to work for the PHONE A THON Scholarship Fund campaign that I have just been recently employed at.

Friday was a relief, as I had no classes and simply had to distribute the rest of the flowers for those who ordered them. I didn’t mind this at all, as I knew the busy week was winding down and I could spend several glorious days of relaxation at my house. I looked forward to a Valentines Dinner with my friend Jenn and a weekend full of friends and family I headed back with a friend from home, and didn’t’ open a book until today, Tuesday!

To my surprise I had some homework that needed tended too, blogging being one of them! Ha-ha 

Well I hope you all had a great break + an additional day off for us Walsh folk J I look forward to getting back to school, but first I better finish up some work and pack up my things. That hour and a half drive back to school from home beckons me…

Take care everyone!

–Chris Burr

Well if any of you heard, or perhaps have wondered what all the ‘hoopla’ about Career Fest was all about, let me tell you, it’s definitely a day full of opportunity to land an internship or for those who are graduating this spring—a job, a real job!!

I was skeptical as I awoke at 6AM this morning (Friday). After a week that seemed to be filled with constant homework and study I decided I wanted to use Friday (my day off!) to find a future internship, or perhaps my dream job

The alarm rang several times, and I had to stop and think why it was going off so early. As soon as my mind regained function I remembered that today was the big day! Jumped out of bed, new suit ready to go (Christmas gift—thanks Mom and Dad), got a shower, and made sure I had enough resumes to get my name out to the world. Ran to the David Center, where a helpful Career Development worker, Kay, would meet my friend Allison and I to set off on our journey to Career Fest in Columbus, OH!

Ok, so I’ll admit, in the past I may have sarcastically made several comments about Career Fest and how it seemed to be advertised as some wild party, instead of what I really believed it to be. However, I take back any sarcastic or semi-negative comments I had before going to this event. I learned from the old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover!”

So we arrive—finally…Columbus is a bit of a hop, skip, and a jump from Walsh. We check in, and get our paperwork with a handy map to navigate around the crazy maze of careers and opportunities. If anything, you are simply overwhelmed at how many businesses are fit into one area. It’s as if you have the entire state of business opportunity – and perhaps other states for that matter, packed into one room, awaiting your arrival, questions, and resume.

Allison and I felt that we had to take some time to prepare ourselves. We finally fought our way through the crowd and found a seat to map out our plan of action. We quickly ran into our friends from Walsh and I saw some of my friends from Mount Union, it was nice to see the familiar faces and know that even though this was such a huge event, Walsh was well represented.

We finally worked up the nerve to enter the maze of opportunity, as I would like to call it, and decided that we would start with some smaller—lower profile companies to brush up on our communication skills and then hit our big interests companies towards the end –just as our career development professional, Kay, had instructed.

The time began to fly by as I checked off companies, getting me closer and closer to my top 3. It was surprising how you plan on a certain business being the job for you, but quickly find that it’s the least expected companies that actually may have the best fit for you in the long run. Take the company Progressive for example. I had no clue they had so much to offer, as far as an internship, especially for Junior Corporate Communication majors, with a minor in Management Information Systems. I felt as if I landed a job as I walked away from talking to their rep. Now perhaps I didn’t, but I had a great feeling that I was marketable enough to catch their eye, and perhaps have a decent chance at landing an internship for the summer!

Finally, we took one more lap around, making sure we covered all bases. When Allison and I, and the other Walsh students met back up we had so much to tell one another about our experience. Most students had a great experience. We all were impressed to find that there was such a need for undergraduate students—when we had expected all along that they would only want graduating seniors—this was not the case for this year’s Career Fest.

Overall, I would recommend an event like this to anyone interested in bettering their future. For who’s to say that through this “maze of opportunity” and at times severe confusion, that there is not a light at the end of the tunnel—a future job position with your name on it, waiting to be filled!

Check out this link for more info (I thought it was cool how Walsh is used as one of their pictures for a college):

http://www.ofic.org/careerfest/index.html

Also, check out the pictures (above) of Career Fest in Columbus, to see what I mean when I say how much they have to offer!

Hope you all have had a great week and that you have a safe and enjoyable weekend! I better get going as my friends Angela and Karly are coming to visit from their colleges and I wouldn’t want to miss their arrival!

Well until next time…Take care,

Chris Burr

Hey everyone!! Well as promised I’m back for a recap of my week. Its been a pretty eventful one and at the same time a short week as we had Monday off for Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday was a rough one after the long weekend (4-days for me) but I quickly got back into the swing of things. Unfortunately I had to start my week off with an exam, but I was ready for it. Later that day we had our first Phi-Beth Lambda meeting of the semester, which reminded me that I would soon need to hold another Business and Communications Club meeting. The time is flying by…and I love it, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time its kinda crazy to think how much is ahead of us and how much I’ll need to accomplish by the end of this semester. One day at a time, I suppose! haha…Wednesday brought about an exciting day for classes and extracurriculars as I had one class, but instead of having actual class we were asked to go to several local shopping centers and study peoples behavior when in certain stores. Our stores were Abercrombie and Fitch and The Buckle. This was an interesting experience and we were able to question the managers and find out more info about the people who shop at these stores. Definitely a hands on experience, and a great way to get out of the classroom while still learning a lesson. Wednesday evening’s are now marked as our Intramural Bowling night!! What a great time this is for everyone involved! It really breaks the week up nicely, and is a great way to simply relax, get your mind off of school for a bit, and have fun! Our team “Prestige Worldwide” (Stepbrothers, for those of you wondering) had a great first week! The future looks bright for Prestige Worldwide haha… keep an eye out for pics and standings.

Thursday rolled around fast enough… we had a member of our group for Behavioral Organizations go to the Rotary Club in Cleveland to find out what our groups semester assignment would be. We found out we will be raising money for the Tall Ships program! This was great news to find that we would be helping these children get off the streets and into something very productive, while learning so much from the experience at the same time!

Finally, that evening in celebration of my friend Emily’s 21st birthday a group of us all went to TGI Fridays! It was great catching up with everyone, especially McKenzi and Damir who I hadn’t seen forever, since we’ve all have such busy schedules this semester. We all agreed we have to do something like that more often.

Friday, which is still happening as I type this blog has been going well. Of course I have had no classes today (don’t hate me because of that). I did however get up bright and early to go to breakfast as part of our Entrepreneurship Experience meeting. 7:15 came quick and we arrived a bit late, but I felt that the fast-early morning wake up actually gave me a lot of energy for the day. I was able to get a lot accomplished, and found our later in the day who had won our Entreprenaurship Business Plan Competition that Jason, Nate, and I were in. Unfortunately, our team did not win, but nonetheless, Caves Crave (first place), and WU town clothing (second place) were deserving of the win!! E very EE group worked so hard and showed so much dedication that if I were one of the judges I would have had a tough time deciding the winner. I’m so proud of everyone and so fortunate to have had the Entrepreneurship Experience! 

Well Friday night is rolling around so I’m going to get going. I hope you all have a great weekend! 

Take care,

–Chris Burr

Hi everyone! Hope this blog finds you all doing very well! I have been pretty busy this past week getting more in depth into school work and extracurriculars that make college…college. I will be updating you with some more info from this past week very shortly, but for now I thought I would leave you with some thoughts that I had just put into words that I have had on my mind since my trip to New Orleans.

These thoughts all came back to me when I was asked by my good friend Sarah Reed for some memorable thoughts and quotes to include in an article that she was writing about our trip. This was a great opportunity to get these thoughts down on paper so that I could share them with you all! Here they are, perhaps this will be more of an impact than my last blog about the trip in general. As these thoughts are straight from my personal experiences and right from the heart.

NOLA Thoughts:

“One of the things that stood out most from the NOLA Trip was the sincere appreciation that all of the New Orleans people had for any help that we could provide them. No matter what task we were performing, from gutting a house, to putting a coat of paint on a wall, they were truly grateful for our presence, and willing to help us in any way possible.”

“At first arrival I was in total shock, as if I didn’t know so much destruction still existed—the news barely scratches the surface to what needs to be done still—after 3+ years, it’s hard to believe it until you see brand new re-built homes, and then right next to them a row of destroyed houses that still need to be demolished.”

“The overall atmosphere of a city that has been through so much is surprisingly upbeat and optimistic! The people have a great mindset in the sense that the most important things to them are their lives, their families, and the memories they hold so dear. They are so fortunate to still have those—everything else can be replaced. Can we say this–would we be able to live without our car? or better yet our Ipod for that matter?”

“Ms. Lydia (owner of a newly rebuilt home from Habitat, with assistant of last year’s Walsh students), was a true inspiration to all of us, explaining how this was time of great destruction and chaos was a true test of faith for herself and her family—she remained so strong and opened her home to all 30+ of us for dinner—she truly was a role model to all of us!”

 “The feeling that your helping someone get their life back was priceless—and to do this with great friends around you, working together to reach a goal—felt more like fun, instead of hard work—the results however were amazing!”

“I admired how much patience the Habitat crew had for us—they would simply explain a task that they needed done, instruct us on being safe, and allowed us to get right to work—learning as we went along.”

“Never again will I look at a simple piece of trim or a door jamb in my house the same since NOLA. I gained a deeper appreciation for every little detail of a home—once I found out just how much work went into every aspect to allow it to pass inspection.”

“Going to NOLA right before Christmas could not have been a better time for me to realize just how fortunate I am—while these families are wishing for their lives back and a simple roof over their heads, any materialistic gift that I could wish for quickly fails in comparison to what a house could mean for the families of New Orleans.”

I’ll be back tomorrow to fill you in on my busy week! Stay tuned!

Take care,

Chris Burr 

Hello everyone!  I hope you all have had a great first week and are settling well into your classes!

I know this title probably surprised some of you, but for all of you avid readers of my blog (thank you by the way) I had mentioned that over Christmas break I was going on a 1-week service trip along with 30 some other Walsh students to New Orleans to assist Habitat for Humanity rebuild homes destroyed during the hurrican disaster. Going into this trip I had no idea what to expect, I knew that I would be surrounded by so many great friends, and I was looking forward to meeting many people I hadn’t had the chance to before…but there was so much more that I never could have expected.

I can’t tell you every single detail of the trip, because there were so many good times and activities we did that there is not enough room on my blog to tell you everything but I will give you some highlights and I’ve got pictures for you too so look below!

Well we departed Walsh early Sat morning after finals packing our lives into 4 vans–with 11 of us in our van we were ready to get down there!! 17-18 hour drive sounded like an eternity, but it was split up into 2 days so it was’nt too bad at all. The time began to quickly fly by as we traveled through several states and made several stops for food and breaks. Before long we arrived at the La-Quinta in Tennessee! Our first impressions were not the best but when we found the pool and that it was in close proximity to Steak and Shake we we grew to love it!!

The next morning we awoke to continue on our final way to Camp Hope in New Orleans! We arrived later in the night and didn’t know what to expect…it turned out to have all the essentials that our group needed to survive the couple days that we would be working. It was definetly no Hilton, but it sure beat what we could have had, so we were very thankful! We quickly got the rules that we were expected to follow. 4 minute showers, and limited computer usage, kept everyone on their toes. They did however, provide us  with plenty of food and comfortable beds–so we couldn’t complain.

The next morning was an early one and a group of us who hadn’t gone last year went on a tour of New Orleans to better understand the impact that we would have while helping. A Priest from the Youngstown Diocese, guided us around and explained many important landmarks. We also were able to attend mass in town and visited a family that had their house rebuilt by our Walsh Students last year. This was such a rewarding experience to see the finished product that last years group had worked hard on. If there was nothing else I came away with, was that the people in New Orleans were so greateful for all of our help….any help that we could offer for that matter. No matter where you were if they saw Camp Hope, or Habitat on your clothing they immedietly Thanked you, the feeling was undescribable, to know that we were helping to get so many families lives back on track–giving them a second chance.

As days went on, each van group worked on a different site. We would arrive early in the morning, get our job assignments, recieve intructions by Habitat workers, and then work until about 4 in the afternoon.  Between the 4 vans we were able to get so much accomplished–in fact we were putting paint on the walls on our last day, and the finishing touches on most of the homes.The weather was great the first 2 days of work, but of course even down in New Orleans, us Ohioans couldn’t escape the snow…becuase It went from 70 some degrees to 20 degrees and a blizzard our last day of work (go figure right?)

Overall, the actual hands on work was the best in my opinion, as we were able to work together for a good cause, and  still have a blast!! Check the pictures for proof!!

When we weren’t on the job site the drivers (our leaders) would take us around the town where we were able ot take in some of the sites and learn a little more about the city and all that it had to offer. Our faithful driver Beth (who we all grew so close to) drove us all over, we were so thankful for her and all the wonderful leaders we had around us while on our trip.

We even made it to Bourbon Street one night, and Cafe DuMonte to take in all the sights and sounds of the city and enjoy all that New Orleans had to offer! We were treated to several great meals, including a great dinner at Bubba Gumps (Forest Gump themed restaurant) with our whole group! We grew so close, and I can honestly say that this mission trip was one of the best times of my life. I no doubtly would do this again next year, and I thank everyone who volunteered their time for making this happen!

Heading back home after all the great memories and thinking about all that we had accomplished in such a short time really put life into perspective for me. The timing of this service trip could not have been better as we were going back home into the Christmas season–so much more grateful for everything we had. It was truly a moving experience knowing that while you are opening your gifts on Christmas day there are still people in New Orleans shuffling through their disaster.

Well I hope you will enjoy the pictures and please let me know of any questions you have about New Orleans, Camp Hope, or Habitat for that matter! I’d love to share more, but I better get my rest!

Until I blog again, take care!

–Chris

Well another semester has come and gone, I traveled to New Orleans, had a wonderful Christmas vacation with family and friends and now another semester is beginning and it feels as though I never left–but that’s a good thing, right? I mean don’t get me wrong, home cooked Italian dinners from the best mom in the world, playing the Wii and hurting myself (multiple times), a full size bed to stretch out in, and hours of fun with friends and family made for a great time at home, but it feels good to be back!  

A month felt like a couple days as I awoke last Sunday morning, went to church with my family and out to breakfast, then quickly rushed home to pack everything I had been meaning to pack for a couple weeks–in just a couple hours. O.k. to be honest some things I didn’t even unpack from my New Orleans Trip (a month ago). My goal was to leave the house by 2:00p.m. (I highly doubted this would happen). Leaving around 6:30p.m. I was satisfied that I had officially packed my entire life into my car (correction, not my car, because it all wouldn’t fit, my moms car)–once again asking my mom why it was necessary for me to take every dress shirt with me, as she yelled “I didn’t wash and iron all these things for nothing,” I highly doubted I needed every pharmaceutical product known to man—but it gave my parents peace of mind so I proudly packed them away to take. I waved goodbye thinking of all the great times I had back home, as my dad reminded me to “drive safe and watch the roads—they might be slick, just take it easy!” and my mom yelled “for me to take care of her Taurus—and to drive safe, and that she loved me of course J ” The drive back felt like nothing after the 18 hour trip that I took to New Orleans over break (read previous blog for more info:) ) Pulling into the Westgate parking lot immediately brought on a feeling, something that in the past I hadn’t felt before, this time it felt as if I was back home–my second home that is, The WU!!  

My first day went great; in fact I love my schedule. I should never complain about my schedule, if I do, on here, or in person, please just tell me to STOP! My schedule is perfect, I don’t have any class until 1:50 on Mondays and Wednesdays…and then Fridays…brace yourselves!! I have NO CLASSES!! I know, you thought that couldn’t be done, well it happened, and I really did not plan that, it just kind of worked out in my favor. I am very grateful and will hopefully be able to take full advantage of the time my schedule allows, while still taking 16 credit hours, definitely we’ll utilize my time. One of my goals for the New Year is to work out on a daily basis (last semester started out strong, but I slacked off a bit—ok so I had three solid days of intense workout that I figured made up for the whole semester)… so this semester I’m going to be dedicated, and should have no excuses!

This semester brings many big events academically and as far as extracurriculars. Events such as my Entrepreneurship Experience competition coming up in just a few weeks and the Business Club Luncheon that will take place in the spring! I will soon have to schedule the Business Club’s next meeting to discuss our upcoming fundraisers and possible service projects.

This is one of my favorite times of the school year, its like we’re all thrown back into the deep end, swimming towards endless possibilities that await us in Spring Semester 2009!!

Well it’s getting late and I need to get my 8 hours..Haha or attempt to at least.

Happy New Year to everyone and may this New Year bring you great happiness, health, and prosperity!

Well everyone I knows it’s been a while since you’ve had an updated blog to read from me, and I’m sure you’ve missed my ridiculously creative blog titles haha jk, but I think I have a decent excuse—I’ve been hidden away in various corners throughout campus studying for finals. 

Anyways this week and the past week I have been extremely busy with school work as well as participating in many events around campus such as Founders Week. Founder’s Week is a week dedicated to the Brothers of Christian Instruction. We honor the Brothers for all that they are and all that they do for us, and all that they have done for our Walsh University community. Without the Brothers, Walsh would not be what it is today, because the Brothers came up with the vision of Walsh and dedicated their lives to making Walsh and the students who reside here part of their mission, allowing their legacy to live on in the students. To celebrate this week there were many events planned on campus that were dedicated to the Brothers and all that they stood for. I was lucky enough to participate in the Legacy project. Our desktop publishing class was encouraged to create a piece to share and be judged at a competition held to find out what the Brothers meant to “us,” the students. We split into groups and everyone came up with new and creative ideas of how to go about designing this project. My friend Kate Lombardo and I came up with the idea to create a Video timeline of the many pictures of the Brothers from 1960-present day. We decided that we would go to the library, find as many old yearbooks as we could and scan many pictures that we felt displayed the Brothers as they passed along their legacy to the students. We also had access to several recent pictures, as well as alumni pictures on our computer to add into our slide show. Each time we would find a new resource to use we would get more excited as the slideshow/video was turning into something really special, and we had thought that this would be something that could be used to show new students what Walsh’s vision is all about—so it could serve as more than just our project, this could be something passed along into the future of incoming students and staff. We knew we were dedicated when were finalizing out project on a Friday night around 9:00p.m. (Not too many still doing homework at this time on a Friday) but we were on a mission. Kate would edit the photos in Photoshop and I would place them and add effects in Windows Movie Maker. With the final touch of two modern Christian songs we had finalized our project and were ready to burn our masterpiece to DVD.

I don’t think Kate and I had any idea that we would have so much fun with this project. Not only did we learn so much about Walsh’s history but we had so many laughs looking back at the campus, the student life, and how “different” everything was compared to today. Overall, we found that as the numbers of Brothers declined on campus, due to many of them passing away over the years, that there vision still was able to live on just as strong as ever through the works of the students—especially within the Walsh University Campus Ministry Program.

Well,   “judgment day” finally came and Kate and I were anxiously awaiting the results of our project. After seeing the other projects created by fellow classmates we knew that they competition was really tough, every project was professionally designed and you could see the creativity of each student come alive as they were presented. Finally, the votes were in and we found that 2 of the 3 top prizes went to our desktop publishing class students. Kate and I had won second place, and $75! We of course split the cash and talked about how this was such a win-win project, as we learned so much and were able to show others how much the Brothers meant to us—while earning a little extra cash (always a plus for college students). In the end, it’s obvious that we gained so much more than a little extra cash—we were able to be part of the legacy and the mission of the Brothers.

To top off Founder’s Week I also attended the True Light Concert dedicated to the Brothers of Christian Instruction. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel was at “standing room only” as students and community alike came to celebrate this special event. Many of my friends are part of the choir, so we were able to get a nice group together and go to support them as well. Afterwards there was a nice reception where we could visit with the Brothers as they shared stories with us from the past.

What a great way to lead up to Thanksgiving Break, finals, and now we anxiously await Christmas break!

For many of us, especially myself, I am looking forward to our mission trip to New Orleans to help rebuild homes, this trip coming up December 6^th—13^th…stay tuned for more updates and pictures from my experience!!

Take care, best of luck with the remainder of your finals!!

Chris Burr

P.S.

Here is our project in case you want to check it out!

Click this link! The Legacy Lives On…