Officially a University Student!

Hi All,

So this past week was a very exciting week for Mercyhurst.  On Wednesday morning, all of the students and faculty received an email from President Dr. Gamble, encouraging us to come to the student union because he had a very big announcement.  We knew that the school has been working very hard at earning university status, so we had a feeling that's what was going to be about, but the anticipation was certainly killing us all!

Look, Mom and Dad... I'm a University Student! =)

My roommate Lindsay and I were actually in Ethics class when the big announcement was occurring, but luckily our professor was gracious enough to let us excuse ourselves if we wanted to hear the big announcement.  I was literally getting my scarf wrapped around me as the two of us ran across campus to try and make it to the union.

Lindsay and I just barely missed Dr. Gamble officially announce the school's university status, but we did manage to see the new "Mercyhurst University" seal.  It was an incredibly exciting moment in Mercyhurst's history to be a part of.  But what's even better about this change, is that Mercyhurst is finally getting the acknowledgement it deserves; we can now officially say that we're getting a university-worthy education with the benefits of a small, liberal arts college!  So no worries to any prospective students (or parents!) who think that Mercyhurst will lose it's college charm now that it's a university... it won't!

Here's to truly "Carpe Diem-ing" or "seizing the day!"

Service OpportunitiesThrough Mercyhurst

Hi Everyone!

Ambassadors of Service hard at work!

This past Saturday morning, my roommate Lindsay (also a fellow blogger!) and I volunteered at the Emmaneus Soup Kitchen.  I later learned that Mercyhurst students have been volunteering at the soup kitchen every Saturday for years; it really made me proud knowing that my peers and I have been able to provide service to so many people for such a long time!

With regards to service opportunities, Mercyhurst does an excellent job at providing students with options.  Not only do we have a service learning database, but the school even provides free transportation to certain areas!  There are also trips to New Orleans, North Carolina, and Kenya that revolve around service!  Feel free to check out our service learning website if you want to find out more about giving back! Service Learning @ Mercyhurst

On and Off Campus Activities

Hi Everyone!

So this week's blog post is going to be all about all of the cool weekend activities offered on campus and some Erie hot spots!  With winter in full swing here, I figured it'd be nice to know what you can do so you're not stuck in your dorm room or apartment all winter.

My team and I at the podium

On Friday night, a bunch of my friends and I went to "Are You Smarter Than a Professor," a co-sponsored event with the Student Activities Council (SAC) and the Mercyhurst College Honors Program.  My roommate Kaleigh was a judge, my friend Joe was the host, and my friends had professors competing.  Lucky for my team, we WERE smarter than the professors!

Wii Just Dance!

My friend from home was visiting me for the weekend, so I decided to take her to The Breakfast Place for breakfast, definitely an Erie staple! It's really good food at an affordable price, and just down the road from Mercyhurst; a college student's dream!  We also walked around the Millcreek Mall and later that night, I also had some friends over to play board games and Just Dance on the wii because my birthday was on Monday.

My roomies and I at the Stone =)

And at 12AM Monday morning, my "21 and up" friends and I went to the Cornerstone (the school's local bar) for my first legal drink!  It was a lot of fun because I saw a lot of Mercyhurst friends in addition to the ones I went with.

All in all, a very busy weekend AND long weekend with no school on Monday because of MLK, Jr. Day.  Hope this helps show that there are plenty of fun things to do on and off campus!

Being a Fashion Major at Mercyhurst

Hi All,

So as many of you might know, I'm a Fashion Merchandising major at Mercyhurst.  Although the past few days my fellow fashionistas and I have been complaining about how busy we are with fashion classes, deep down we truly love our major.

The easiest way to explain what a Fashion Merchandising major learns about is we're a business major that learns all about the fashion industry.  We learn about marketing, management, and other means of promotion, but there are a variety of other things we learn about too, like textiles, apparel quality, styling, and the international fashion industry.

Fashion Club Ugly Xmas Sweater Party

Our classes are really unique too; right now, I'm currently in a class called Product Line Development where I literally create my own fashion line (it's a trendy business women's travel wear line).  So far written a research paper and created an inspiration board to illustrate the theme of my line.  Eventually, I'll actually create and manipulate clothes on the computer which I'll include in my final presentation that I'll have to pitch to my class as if it's an actual Product Line I'm presenting to a real company... it's a tremendous amount of work, but very cool and exciting at the same time!

Feel free to check out our fashion page at fashion.mercyhurst.edu but also feel free to email me at hurstblogger@yahoo.com if you have any questions for me!

Christmas Break & New Years

Happy 2012 Everyone!

It's hard to believe that just two short weeks ago, I was anxiously awaiting my arrival home.  Of course now, I'm back at school, anxiously awaiting tomorrow, which will be verification that break has officially ended and it's back to the books.  But before school officially starts, here's a re-cap of my wonderful Christmas Break home:

Just a few of many cookies!

My first full day back, I spent the afternoon decorating Christmas cookies with my best friend from high school, Carrissa. Since this was something we'd been doing since high school, I immediately jumped on the offer.  Catching up, decorating cookies, and eating the broken cookies... definitely a great first day back!

My kitty, Roo

For the remainder of the break, I either hung out at house or spent afternoons with my mom, which consists of running errands, shopping, and lunch... something we always doing when I'm on break!  I also caught up on some of my favorite shows (as boring as that sounds!) since I never have time to watch TV during the school year.  Break also consisted of sleeping in and eating delicious home-cooked meals, as well as dinners out with my family and a dinner out with my dad, something we've been doing lately whenever I'm home for break.

Watch out 2012, here we come!

This year, I also decided to come back early to celebrate New Years Eve with some friends at school.  My friend Jeremy (also a blogger!), had a small get together at his apartment, where a few of us spent the evening playing board games with Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve in the background.  Although it was just a few of us, Jeremy decided to go all out with decorations and New Years Eve paraphernalia.  Between that and all the dips, snacks, and sweets from Christmas, it was truly a night to remember!

**Here's to the end of an amazing year and the beginning of an even better one!**

Oh, and 51 days until Spring Break, but who's counting?! ;)