The fact that I could find even a free minute to write this blog is a miracle in itself. With graduation comes many responsibilities and cramming before the year is done. Every student has a lot to accomplish, it just seems as if you have much more to do when you’re a senior. Sleep has become something that I can only dream of.

I hope everyone’s year is going well. Just keep in mind that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is the last week of class and then finals are the last hurdle to scale. Its easy to slack off and think as if the final week of school doesn’t matter but I encourage students to act proactively to make finals week much easier.

This week marks the final week that I preside as President of the Walsh University Student Government. This comes with mixed emotions. I am happy to have made life at least a little better for students. But I will be sad to go. Being an active part of the WUSG is very time intensive and not for those who are not dedicated. Over this past year I have put in countless hours, as well as my executive board, to facilitate a successful student government. This Thursday I will be passing the torch to my successor who I know will do a great job extending the legacy that is the WUSG. It is difficult to not get nostalgic or emotional when thinking about this year. All I can say is that the next 12 days will be some of the toughest I will endure in many ways. But the end is near and the next chapter in my life is about to unfold.

Good luck this week Cavs and keep working hard!

Rob

And a special hello to all of the graduating seniors this year, I know what you are going through. The end of the academic year is always crazy for students, but it is especially so for seniors.

Who said the end would be easy? Most of my older friends, when they reached this point, had told me that their senior year was a piece of cake and that they had the time of their lives. Well, I am not quite sure how those individuals managed to have an easy senior year because this has been the busiest year of my career at Walsh. Of course I am sure it depends on how one applies one’s self.

This entire year I have been working full time, class full time, and trying to run a student government. I never imagined at the beginning how difficult it would be to juggle so many tasks and responsibilities, especially while trying to enjoy my last year in college. While I don’t recommend working so much and having so much time devoted to so many different things, I certainly learned how to manage time and how to make the best of what little time I had. Don’t get me wrong, I love my coursework, the student government, and my job (most days), but these are all tasks that require much devotion. But in some cases I had to take on these responsibilities and others I was glad to.

I am certainly excited to graduate and start the next chapter in my life, I will also miss Walsh very much. It still seems somewhat surreal. I feel as if it was only yesterday that I was a freshman about to finish my first year. My how time flies!

Time to get back to work and finish the year strong!

Until next time, GO CAVS!!

Rob Pecl

What a busy weekend! It is Tuesday and I still feel drained. This weekend marked the 37th annual Philosophy Symposium at Walsh University. This years subject was Beauty: Subjective Experience, Objective Reality. It was a riveting lecture and arts performance. We had the chance to view a few art pieces from a local artist/adjunct professor, hear music from a local legend (Kevin DiSimone), and hear dramatic readings from a professor. The lecture was begun by the keynote speaker, Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D., who is the Dean of the Honors college at Baylor University. There were other speakers who also talked about beauty and what a true aesthetic experience is. The symposium was very interesting and allowed for the students to use what we have been learning in lecture.

After the symposium Saturday morning, the first annual Mother Appreciation Day event was held by the Walsh University Student Government. What a successful event! Last year the WUSG held the first annual Father Appreciation Day event so naturally this year we implemented an event for the mothers. We could not have asked for a better turn out. Overall, 159 attended throughout the event. The MAD commission did a great job planning and implementing this event. I certainly hope this event can be established for years to come!

Then, on Sunday, the annual Dean’s List ceremony and Servant-Leadership Banquet was held. This is a great even directed by the provosts office and student affairs where students are honored for both academic achievements and service achievements throughout the year. Many members of the WUSG executive board received recognition for their hard work. It is a nice event to attend, especially because students get the recognition they deserve, but also because it reinforces the important moral value of service to others. This is a large area of focus for Walsh University. I am proud of all of the students who participate in service to others on and off of campus.

Even after a busy weekend, it is time to get back to the grindstone. The semester is rapidly moving to a close and graduation is looming. I am very excited to graduate and move to the next chapter in my life. My future seems somewhat unsure at this point, but whatever endeavors I decide to pursue, I know I will be prepared. It is a very exciting time for all those who plan to graduate!

Until next time, GO CAVS!!

Rob Pecl

9AM Physics Lecture... way too early for this stuff...

Next up is Organic Chem lecture... one of the toughest classes at Walsh. Different color pens for different mechanisms...

My last class of the day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is Biology. I would take a picture, but it’s simply more notes. I’ll spare you the details… After class, it’s off to my lovely job at Student Activities!!!

My desk at work for Student Activities (Please excuse the mess)... I'm currently multi-tasking making advertisements for various Student Life events this week as well as planning the spring training for our Orientation staff... all while listening to my trusty Pandora Country station!!

My best friend Lisa and Jo who runs the campus Starbucks... I can always count on them to have a nice hot venti green tea waiting for me while I'm working

My roommates and I are always super busy, so after work it is the usual to have a quick family dinner before running off to our various tasks for the night. Tonight was an Italian night, with sauce made by my mom (Disclaimer: The wine glass you see is filled with peach iced tea. My roommate Monica likes to drink it out of a wine glass because she says she feels classy ...)

After dinner, I rush off to my Organic Chem study group with my buddies Shantil and Nikki. While we love each others company, (we hope to one day be in grad school together here ) we sometimes feel otherwise about the difficulty of the material... if you couldn't tell by the photo...

After a quick study session, it's off to cheer a double header basketball game. Otherwise known as a welcomed break from studying! In this picture, we were getting ready to do our last halftime performance of the season! Go Cavs!

Each game, the pep band dresses according to a specific theme that the band director assigns prior to each game. This night was assigned "Biker Night." They did such a good job, we felt it necessary to snap a photo.

After two games (and hopefully two victories,) it’s back to the room for some final homework assignments, and eventually sleep… just to wake up and do it all again! As you can see, they keep us plenty occupied with tons to do around here, and we love every minute of it!!

I hope I find you all doing well. The week before spring break is very hectic with tests, projects, and preparing for vacation. I had two tests this week totaling in around 30 hours of studying. I am exhausted! But with break a mere few days away I feel much better.

This year will be the first time I do not travel for spring break since my freshman year. That year I was playing baseball but was not fortunate to travel with the team because I was not on the active roster. My sophomore year I traveled to Port Charlotte, FL, where my baseball team played 10 games in 8 days. It was a crazy week. Especially considering the first 4 days we were there the weather was in the high 40′s!. But the rest of the trip was bright and sunny. My junior year I traveled with friends of the family to New England where we went to visit their cousins. We stayed our first 4 days in New Hampshire just next to the Vermont border. New England is certainly an experience. I would love to live there for awhile. We had the chance to sample some down home cooking and ski an actual mountain in Vermont. What an experience!

Then after that we traveled to Boston to visit yet another cousin who was living their for work. He had a flat right downtown just a short walk from nearly everything. I love the downtown life because of how busy and stimulating it is. One nice thing about living downtown in a city like Boston is the travel. All you need to travel is the subway system (called the T) to get around the city. Other than that we walked or took a cab around. I liked that change of pace. We got to see some major landmarks in history like John Hancock’s grave, Boston port, Liberty trail, and many others. The city is riddled with history. We also had the chance to get a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery and Faneuil Hall. We also had the chance to see the many great universities there like Harvard, MIT, and Boston College. It was truly one of the greatest trips of my life.

The next year, my fourth year, I drove down to Florida from North Canton. It took us a total of 16 hours to reach Orlando, Fl, where we were staying at a resort outside of Disney World. I had never been to Disney World (I know, I had a deprived childhood) but it was actually a cool experience. While in Florida we drove down to the Gulf side to Clearwater, Fl, where I had the chance to see one of my favorite baseball teams, the Philadelphia Phillies, play a spring training game. After the game we went to Clearwater beach which is absolutely the best beach I have ever been to. The Florida trip was another trip that was a lot of fun.

Spring break is a good time for students to unwind and prepare to finish the year strong, especially those of us that are graduating. Sadly, I will not be traveling this year. I was supposed to fly to Key West, Fl, to visit my uncle who is staying there but those plans fell through due to my work schedule. But oh well! I will make due with staying in North Canton and I look forward to relaxing plenty and getting stuff done!

So until next time, have a great break Cavs!

Rob

This semester could be compared very easily to a whirlwind of sorts. With graduation looming there is much to be done. With classes starting to get very busy just before spring break it is amazing any student has time to rest. After almost five years of undergraduate coursework one would assume that perhaps crunch time gets easier. In a way it does, but there is still stress, although my tenure at Walsh has taught me to better deal with this stress and have better time management.

An interesting thing about college that I have grown to reflect on, no doubt due to my graduating from undergraduate, is what one should gain from the whole “college experience.” What perspective students should realize is that college is not just about how much information you can soak up and how well you can perform on tests. Much of the greatest experiences I have had in undergraduate are the many moments outside of the classroom spent with professors and fellow students. Learning from one another in a social sense is just as important as an academic sense. That is why students are encouraged to be involved around campus. So that they may better learn from their peers and leaders. I challenge all young students to grow intellectually as well as socially and personally. College is a great time to enlighten yourself on knowledge but also to develop who you truly are and develop into the person you wish to be. That is one of the greatest things I have learned from Walsh, and that is also the importance of the liberal education model. Some of the greatest things I have learned have nothing to do with my major. It is this wealth of knowledge that is worth the time and effort of class.

I challenge all current and future Walsh students to explore and learn as much as possible. Again not academically but socially and spiritually as well.

Until next time, have a great day!

Rob Pecl

So with meat off the menu, my roommates and I were forced to whip up a dinner at our house vegetarian style. Basically, it was a Food Network Challenge and we were all competing against each other for the top prize. There was actually no prize. We are all athletes so it’s in our blood to compete over everything for no reason. On one burner, Chief Kris-Kross was boiling a pot of gourmet elbow noodles, which would be paired with butter and parmesan cheese. On the other burner, Chief Bmo was grilling toasted cheese, being prepared on rye bread with two slices of Kraft singles hugged in between. The last chief, which was me, was creating the family favorite of peas and eggs. If we’re being honest, Bmo’s toasted cheese sandwich looked heavenly, Kris-Kross’s elementary noodles looked bland, and my peas were a little burnt. So for the first annual Volleyball House Food Challenge, Bmo took home the grand prize.

Now that the dinner rush is over, there is not much more going on tonight. We just finished watching Pocahontas on VHS, which instantly took me back to my childhood. You don’t realize how poor the quality of animation is when you’re young. In my head, Pocahontas looks like a Pixar film. After watching it tonight, I realized how much my perception was skewed. Again, it’s crazy how the mind works.

It is now that time for the Taft Elementary special. During the kindergarten class today, I had two students bickering back and forth to each other. The boy was accusing the girl of cheating during the game and the girl was taking this to heart. She was screaming back at him, almost in tears. So I walked up to the scene of the crime, calmed down the students and asked for the story. After we got through the “She cheated,” and “No I didn’t,” chatter, I asked the boy how the girl cheated. His big eyes opened wide and he answered so confidently saying, “I don’t remember what she did, but I know she cheated.” At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be inside this boy’s head. What was his thought process and why was it so important for everyone to know that he was playing with a “cheater”? For the last time, it’s crazy how the mind works.

P.S. Thank you for reading and commenting. I just got a chance to read your comments and it made my day.

P.S.S. Here is the link to the flash mob dance. Enjoy!

Throughout my day, I hear and see my fair share of bizarre events. If there is one thing I can count on while working with kids, it’s that things will never get boring. To give you a little taste of my day-to day routine, I decided to include a story from the week that I feel you will appreciate. Just to give you some background information, I am teaching physical education at Taft Elementary in Canton, grades K-4. So here we go…

It was my first week of teaching and I was doing a lesson on jump rope and scooters to one of the first grade classes. *Eric, one of the first graders, was in his own world. He had trouble listening, wasn’t on-task, and did his best to get the other students to follow his example. So throughout the forty minutes, I had to correct him at least 15 times. When class was over and I had the students all lined up at the door, I was teaching them how to clap in sign language. They ate that right up! About two minutes later, their teacher came to pick them up and as they were leaving, I felt a tap on my leg. It was Eric. If I’m being honest, he was the last kid I wanted to see. All of the sudden, he started making all kinds of motions and hand gestures, without speaking, that lasted a good 10 seconds. When he was done, I asked him what he said. With a sweet, innocent look on his face, he replied, “I love you.” My heart instantly melted and I forgot why I was ever mad at him in the first place. That’s how they get ya!

I’m sure this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to teaching stories. Let the journey begin!