One final Flunk Day!

Each spring the President of Coe College cancels a random day of class. This day is called "Flunk Day," a tradition of the college that, of course, continues to thrive at Coe!! It is an extremely fun, school-wide celebration for all Coe students. We are allowed to take the day off -- free from classes -- and enjoy many different forms of entertainment on the quad (the center lawn of our campus). This year we had a live band, games, prizes, giveaways, blow-up obstacles and even a jacuzzi-style foam party! It was awesome. I could probably write about this year's FD for quite some time, but we all know the saying "a picture speaks 1,000 words," right?!

There is a theme every year; this year it was "life guards." There is a committee of 40+ seniors who help to fund raise for this event, and on the actual day, set up and tear down. We all wear matching costumes and this year we had a lot of fun with our life guarding whistles!!!

To the left is the foam party! There was a DJ and food for everyone still having fun on the quad...all night long!

Almost graduation...

Graduation is less than a month away, and it's slowly starting to become reality that I'm going to be completely done with classes on April 23rd!! Until then though, I plan to keep having fun as my final college days are coming to an end.

I have been doing a variety of "things" lately. My daily schedule hasn't changed a whole lot -- wake up, babysit, go to my internship, go to class, workout, study & occasionally sleep -- however, I've managed to make time to hang out with my friends a lot more and it's been a blast. We've been playing racquetball, eating out, playing cards, singing karaoke and doing whatever else around Cedar Rapids that intrigues us. Soon we will buckle back down for our last round of finals -- ever! It will be nice to be done with classes, but I wish I could stay at Coe forever.

This weekend I'm helping a friend move, going country line dancing on Saturday at Swisher and helping with a church retreat on Sunday! It'll be another busy, but very eventful weekend. :)

Garry Trudeau

On March 25, I went to Coe’s Annual Contemporary Issues Forum. Garry Trudeau (a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of Doonesbury) was the speaker, and I thought it was a really cool event...so naturally I thought I should recap the evening for you!

I work for Coe's Public Relations Office, so I served as an usher and sort of a "behind the scenes" helper for this event. The PR Office has truly been an awesome internship this spring because there are a variety of tasks I get to do -- in and out of the office! Helping with this forum was definitely another one of those great experiences.

Trudeau arrived in Cedar Rapids on March 25, ate dinner with a small group of people at 5:30, delivered his actual speech to the Coe and surrounding communities at 7:30, and concluded his night at a reception at the Alumni House from 9-10. I went to Sinclair at 6:15 and within five minutes, we already had guests arriving for the big evening!

Everyone was seated and Trudeau’s presentation started around 7:30. I thought his speech was funny and informative. He started off with a comical remark about his daughter having a longer Facebook bio than even his own. Drawings of his works and clips from video were used as visual aids throughout his speech which kept the audience engaged and lively. The crowd seemed to be very entertained by this and Trudeau’s natural humor in his delivery. The presentation ended with a question and answer session, and guests who RSVP’d attended the reception in the Alumni House at 9 for social time, food and drinks.

I’m glad I was able to attend this forum, as well as be a part of the organization and ushering in Sinclair. The next morning, my boss invited me to go out to breakfast with him and Trudeau. This was SO much fun. I was able to actually meet Trudeau and speak to him in an informal coffee-shop setting. I never read the comic section in the newspaper, but after meeting Trudeau and previewing some of his work, I'm definitely going to look for Doonesbury this week!

Spring Break

After a very exciting spring break week of traveling and visiting friends, I just arrived home to Toledo, Iowa, last night! In the last three days, I traveled from Cedar Rapids to Toledo, Toledo to Nebraska, Nebraska to Toledo, Toledo to Ohio, and today – Ohio back to Toledo. That means I have been on the road, driving from to place to place for over 25 hours in the last 56!! Thankfully I made all of the trips without any major problems, and I had an awesome time – in and out of the car!

Last Wednesday my roommate Amber and I went to Omaha, NE, to visit our best friend Molly from high school who goes to Creighton University. We went shopping and out to eat that night. Thursday morning Molly cooked us some delicious pancakes, we packed up to leave and we were back on the road for home by noon.

Amber and I stopped at Jordan Creek Mall in Des Moines to do a little shopping before arriving back in Toledo at 5:30 Thursday evening. Good thing it was only 5:30 because I had plenty to do before leaving the state, once again, at 8:30 to watch my other roommate, Holly, who qualified for the NCAA National Indoor Track Meet in Ada, OH. I had made plans to ride with her aunt Kathy and three cousins to the meet, nine hours away!! We drove through the night, but not without a few bathroom breaks and one unscheduled stop that wasn’t by choice…halfway through Illinois, we ran out of gas! This was my first time ever running out of gas, and it was on the interstate at 12 a.m., nonetheless! We called 9-1-1 and a cop came to help us. I thought he was just going to bring a tank of gas, we’d pay him and be on our way; apparently he had other plans.

After 40 minutes later of waiting, the cop finally arrived. However, he didn’t bring any gas! I volunteered to be the criminal, and the cop graciously opened his rear passenger door to take me to the gas station…that was honestly my first time ever in a police car and quite the experience! He was extremely nice and soon after my ride to and from the gas station, Kathy’s vehicle had a full tank of gas, and we were back on the road again to Ada. We pulled into Ohio Northern University around 6:30 a.m., found a lounge area in the Union Center and crashed for three hours…we were all desperate for sleep!

The national track meet started at 12:30, so we went to watch Holly warm up around 11:00. The next time I looked at my watch, it was 2:00 and my roommate was officially an ALL-AMERICAN hammer thrower!!! Holly threw 16.47 meters which was good enough for 6th place and some really proud Kohawk fans. It was so much fun watching Holly compete!

I took this picture from the bleachers, a mile away from the winner's stand, but Holly is up there - in the 6th place spot!

Nationals & Spring Break

With papers and midterms last week, I was really busy studying and typing multiple papers...but I finished all of my work, it's officially the first day of spring break!! We have a full week off, so I think most Coe students went home, to Panama, or somewhere else where there's less snow. I'm still in Iowa, but still having a great time. :)

I didn't have class on Friday, so I went to the NCAA National Wrestling Tournament at the U. S. Cellular Center in the afternoon. It was awesome. Coe qualified 5 wrestlers, and all 5 advanced to today, knowing they would place -- meaning all of them are All-Americans! Tonight, 3 competed for a national title. I was at the meet this morning, but since I wasn't able to go back tonight, I watched it live online. Even though the Internet doesn't create quite the excitement that the U.S. Cellular atmosphere generates, it was still worthwhile to watch. We ended up with one-1st place and two-2nd place winners! Check out how all of our studly wrestlers did at http://www.coe.edu/athletics/wrestling/index.htm.

This week I'll be traveling between home (Tama-Toledo, IA) and Cedar Rapids, just enjoying the break from classes and trying to plan my life after I graduate in May! The NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Meet is next weekend, and my roommate Holly qualified for the hammer throw!!! I think my other roomies and I will be traveling to Ada, Ohio on Thursday night to watch her compete on Friday. It's almost a 10 hour drive...that will be great for some quality bonding time! I'm just excited to go somewhere -- even if it's Ohio! -- for break.

Classes will start back up on Monday, and after that, there is only six more weeks of class before finals. Time is going even faster ... check back for some pictures updates later this week!

Friends!

Good morning!! I can't believe it's already Wednesday -- this month has gone even faster than ever!! Last night I went to the last home women's and men's basketball games for the first round of playoffs. Both teams won in overtime! The games were awesome.

I'm going to an elementary school this morning to observe a classroom for three hours...an assignment for my Human Relations class. I did this three weeks ago, too, and it was really fun to meet all of the students. I couldn't help to not be reminded of my friends here at Coe, so here are some pictures from the past two weeks ...

Dan, Viq, Hallie, Leah, Me & Derrick ... just having fun. :)

Paige & me playing pool!

Katie & Paige and one big bear hug. ;)
Alex & Alex ... the 2 coolest Alex's I know at Coe!

What is there to do at Coe?

...so I hear the question, "What is there to do at Coe?" a lot! In previous posts, I have listed many of the organizations and events I've done participated over the course of the last four years, but that could never do Coe's clubs and activities justice!

Check out this website (http://www.coe.edu/studentlife/studentorgs.htm). It has a complete list of Coe's student organizations, honorary clubs, fraternities and sororities.

Also, our Student Activities Committee has their own website... http://www.public.coe.edu/organizations/SAC/index.htm; this group brings some really awesome performers to campus on the weekends. Their budget is over $100,000 which allows SAC to host more than 25 events on campus each semester including speakers, bands, solo artists, hypnotists and more.

There is always something to do on campus, everyday of the week!

My near death experience...

On Monday, February 18, I was traveling from my grandparent’s house in Cresco, Iowa, back home to Coe when I almost died! It’s a true story, and I hope it never happens again, but allow me to explain my near death experience...

I began my trip at 9:22 a.m. Monday morning. I never accelerated above 40 mph during my three and a half hour drive yesterday because Interstate 380 was covered with ice and snow. For the first 80 minutes there were hardly any other vehicles on the road. Traffic started to increase in Waterloo, and from there to Cedar Rapids, I drove a consistent 35 mph behind a caravan of cars.

Passing through a little town, there were two semis behind me; all of us were in the right lane. In the left lane, just a half mile ahead, there was a snow plow that was not visible to the semis behind me. To my immediate right there was a continuous pile of snow (much like the Great Wall of China!) and to my left, oncoming traffic.

The semi behind me was gaining on my bumper quickly; within seconds he was making his move to pass. This is when I knew he didn’t see the plow ahead in the left lane, but the semi sped up and was able to squeeze back in. While I was watching the first semi, I didn’t realize semi number two was attempting the same crazy stunt. Unfortunately the half mile between us narrowed, and the plow was now less than two blocks. Not knowing what to do, I started breaking, and the second semi started to merge back behind me in my lane. Scary enough, all three of us were having a hard time slowing; I started fishtailing as the semi behind me was nearly riding my bumper-ah!!!

With the grace of God, my car regained control and all three of us (both semis and my car) remained on the road and amazingly, without a scratch! I drove into Cedar Rapids just 15 minutes later and was glad to be off the road and alive. :)

FYI -- As of February 17, Cedar Rapids has received 54.8 inches of snow this winter season, and we now rank ninth in seasonal snowfall. I just heard more snow this afternoon…spring couldn’t be more desirable than it is right now!

Life

Another week has passed, and another is about to begin…time is really going quicker then ever! Maybe it’s because I’m a senior, but I feel the crunch of the second semester. Everyday I hear the famous question: “What are you doing next year?” I honestly don’t know, but I’m thankful to have many options.

I’ve contemplated doing an internship with Fitness Magazine in New York City, moving to Colorado to work for Sports and Fitness Magazine (and be that much closer to my expecting sister and brother-in-law who live in Gypsum), applying for jobs in the Cedar Rapids area and graduate school, or what I’d really like to do – “accidentally” fail a class and come back to Coe next fall! Realistically that wouldn’t happen; it’s just wishful thinking. Waking up next year to look out my window and not see Coe’s campus is hard to imagine though; this has been my home away from home for four years, and I’m going to miss it soooo much!!

I guess spring break in two weeks will be a great time to plan my life after graduation. Last year for break I went to Gulfport, Mississippi, to help Katrina relief victims. I would love to go again with this year’s group from Coe, but I think (for once) I have to say no and start planning for my future. I’m sure some of my classmates are excited to enter the “real world” while others are nervous to start something new. I’m definitely in between. Mostly I’m just anxious to decide what I’m going to do – even if it’s only temporary – and then see where life takes me in the next five years. I’ll keep you posted on my future plans after I do some serious planning during spring break, but for now, that can all wait. It’s snowing outside again and sledding sounds quite appealing…!

Double Trouble ...

...for the Dutch that is. Coe's women's and men's team were both victorious over Central tonight. If you weren't at the game, hopefully you had a chance to watch the live stats. The ladies won 77-58 and the men's game was much closer, 75-74. To the left is Ryan and me during a time-out. He does all of the stats, and I help keep the numbers accurate when the game get's crazy!

Think Pink!

Today, like everyday, is flying by. I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday, February 13th! It’s almost half-way through the month, and I feel like the Groundhog just saw his shadow yesterday.

This week has been extremely busy, but a lot of fun. I’m the President of Coe’s Fitness Organization, and this year I initiated a new staff and faculty weight-loss challenge. It’s similar to NBC’s Biggest Loser competition. There are 14 student trainers who are the “coaches” for 14 different teams, each with three participants who want to live healthier lives. The program is motivating for everyone, and it has been so much fun watching the teams compete and lose weight together. So far, our group of 42 people has lost nearly 200 pounds in three weeks! I recently created a Blog for our competition…check it out at http://coe-nyny.blogspot.com/. There are some great links on this site as well – you can check your BMI, calculate your body fat percent and even determine how many calories you consumed for lunch today.

Tonight I’m going to the women’s and men’s home basketball games against Central. It’s “Think Pink” night which is an event the Women's Basketball Coaches Association began in 2007 in order to raise breast cancer awareness around the nation. I’m looking forward to watching the Kohawks dominate and a mob of pink fans cheering them on. If you want to follow the live stats, check out this site: http://www.coe.edu/athletics/livestats/basketball/xlive.htm. Our Sports Information Director Ryan Workman posts the play-by-play action so you can follow the game from your computer, too!

I forgot to mention my babysitting experience this morning with Sadie and Chase. Their school was cancelled for the second day in a row, so we had plenty of time to play and take pictures. We also stuffed Valentine's cards, colored, played hockey, and their favorite - tag!

I've nannied for Sadie (5) and Chase (3) for the last 3 1/2 years. They are the cutest kids in the world...check out the snap shots we took today!

Chase wanted me to wear his extra small hockey helmet...he loves to share!

On my first day of babysitting (when Sadie was just under 2 years-old), she said, "Pleased to meet you Miss Kristy," while shaking my hand. I will never forget her greeting! She's one of the most polite young ladies I know.

Snow at Coe!

After 12+ inches of snow in just 24 hours and 25 minutes of spinning my tires before finally pushing my car, I was able to drive out of Coe’s parking lot yesterday at 5:45. I left with my boyfriend Tyler for church that started at 5:30…yes we were late, but we eventually made it!

I went to babysit this morning and the snow drifts were still higher than my knees. I left plenty of time to warm-up my car, so I had no problems leaving the lot. Most of the other vehicles are still snowed-in. I can’t believe it actually snowed a foot here! I expected a storm, but I didn’t think it would hit Iowa this hard. As it was coming down on Wednesday, I was working in the Public Relations Office. Around noon, a campus e-mail announced the cancellation of all classes scheduled after 1 p.m. I looked out the window because I knew it had to be bad – Coe College has never cancelled class due to snow, EVER! I took advantage of the free day and kept working until late afternoon.

Today the snow is still as visible as ever. Take a look at my car; it's blue -- the only one in the lot that isn't white!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Wow - what a game! I can honestly say that tonight's Super Bowl game was one of the first I've actually enjoyed for the football and not just the commercials. I didn't have a favorite team, but it was nice to see the underdogs pull out a victory in the last 3 minutes like they did. :)

I watched the first half in Coe's athletic recruiting lounge. For the Fellowship of Christian Athlete's organization, we hosted a party for anyone on campus. The game was projected on the wall, and we made a TON of food! For the second half of the game, I went over to my boyfriend's brother & sister-in-law's home -- the same family I've nannied for for the past 3 summers. I could talk about them forever...they are amazing, and that story definitely deserves it's own post! The extended family was all there watching the game and mostly cheering for the Giants. I was still impartial, but the game was so fun to watch.

If you're a Patriots fan, I wish they could have finished with a perfect season -- next year? If you were rooting for the Giants -- well, I'm sure you're pretty ecstatic about the finish, so whether you prayed for them or just cheered, it worked!

Philosophy of Coe continued...

Fellow Coe blogger Mitchell Lincoln posted his philosophy of Coe yesterday. If you haven't read it, you should.

Well, I might be biased, but I don't think Mitchell is "full of it" - I think he's right on! The world needs more skeptics. I think Coe's classes and professors are great at encouraging critical thinking…so keep on thinking and hopefully you’ll think about coming to Coe. :)

Kohawks Take Two!

My predictions were right! Coe pulled away with 2 victories against Wartburg's basketball teams earlier tonight. The girls kept the game within two for most of the game, but went on a 21-3 run in the second half to win 73-63. The boys held a solid lead the entire game, finishing 74-58. GO KOHAWKS!

This is my roomate Holly with me on the right, posing while our other two roomies are dominating on the court!

...almost game time!

It’s been a wonderful Wednesday so far! I worked in Coe’s Public Relations Office this morning, went to my one and only class of the day at 2, exercised after class, and now I’m just getting ready for another busy night!

In 15 minutes I will go to my last Coe College Student Senate meeting ever. After meeting with our representatives at 6 p.m. every Wednesday for the last two years, it’s hard to think about not every going to one of these meetings again. I guess that also means this is my last day of serving as the Student Body Corresponding Secretary. Being the PR coordinator of our senate has been one of the most fun leadership roles I’ve had at Coe. In addition to chairing the public relations committee, I was in charge of baking delicious homemade treats for the group and choosing the “Senator of the Week.” I’ve been told the group is going to miss my treats a lot…whether they miss me, who knows?!

Yesterday, Coe’s student body voted in our new President and Vice President for 2008-2009. The election process began on Monday with three pairs of candidates contesting for student’s votes. The winning contenders must win by majority. This didn’t happen in Monday’s election, so there was a run-off election yesterday. I counted all of the votes last night with our out-going President Kevin Randall and Vice President (and fellow blogger!) Katie Roger.

After the Senate meeting at 6, I’m heading over to the basketball game. The Kohawks face Wartburg tonight. Our girls lost by one the first time they faced the Knights, so it’s definitely time for some redemption tonight! Regardless of the outcome, it should be a great match-up. If my roommate Amber Karkosh scores 14 points, she will have racked up 1,000 total points during her collegiate career. I’m off to buy her balloons right now…I’ll report back tonight with the scores!

Relaxing Saturday

Today is not a typical day school day, but it’s still been very eventful! I went to Cornell College this morning to play in a women’s volleyball tournament with an adult team. I've played on this team every winter since my freshman year at Coe. I love playing with them, and it has been a great way to stay in shape in the off-season! We travel all over Iowa and out-of-state for regional and national tournaments. Unfortunately we didn't play as well this morning, so I got home earlier than normal.

My apartment in really quite today. Two of my roommates, Amber and Shanon, play basketball for Coe. This evening they will be playing Luther in Decorah…hopefully winning to advance their record to 13-5! My other roommate, Holly, is a thrower for Coe’s track team; today she is in a meet at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Check out their picture below!

Shanon (left), Amber (top) and Holly(bottom) went sledding right behind our apartment for a study break during finals week. They used our green plastic sheet (part of our Christmas decor) as their sled!

Right now I’m catching up on some reading and will soon be writing a paper for my Advanced Journalism class on Tuesday. So far I’m really enjoying my courses this semester! I’m working 20 hours a week in Coe’s Public Relations Department, so I only have three classes for the first time in four years! (A four class schedule is a considered a full load.) In addition to the journalism class, my other two are Advanced Writing Workshop and Human Relations. All of my professors are really fun, and the small class sizes are perfect for small group discussions!

Tonight I think I’m heading out to dinner and a movie, and tomorrow I’m headed to West Branch for a Birthday party. I hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend, too!

Hello from a stranger!

Hi & Happy New Year!

While that greeting seems long overdue (which it is!), this is my first post since 2007, and I’m excited to be back in action on Kohawk Talk! I guess you could say one of my New Year’s resolutions is to start blogging on a regular basis in 2008…starting today, January 23. For the rest of the spring semester, I’ll be blogging weekly. With frequent postings, you’ll be able to know exactly what is going on in my life at Coe that keeps me so busy…so busy that I haven’t blogged since last November!

With that being said, I feel the need to catch you up on my life since Christmas. Check out the list below of all the fun “things” I’ve done during the past 23 days.

• December 27: I went on the “Annual Cousin Ski Trip” to Wisconsin with my five oldest cousins and two siblings. The snow was powder and the snow shinning; the trip couldn’t have been better.
• January 1: The morning after bringing in the New Year, I went to church and afterwards, enjoyed en exciting day of football. There’s really no way to avoid an entire day of ESPN, especially when your boyfriend is a football coach!
• January 3: I began a part-time internship in Nestlé’s Marketing Division at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, IA on the best day of the year, my Birthday! That’s right…Twenty days ago I turned the so-not-exciting-22-years-old -- one year past 21 and 3 short from renting cars at 25.
• January 4-11: I was at Meredith for one and a half weeks filling in for a Drake student on vacation. At this amazing (and huge!) publishing corporation, I specifically worked for the Nestle, Very Best Baby account. For seven straight days, I looked at adorable baby models and worked on a variety of projects for the marketing center. I met many talented employees including several graphic artists and magazine/publication editors who were all very welcoming and helpful. The atmosphere at Meredith was extremely positive which made my internship really enjoyable.
• January 14: This Monday was the start of my first full week of the spring semester… my last semester ever at Coe College; I’m only 15 weeks from graduating! Okay, so maybe that isn’t such a good thing. I love Coe, and I’m not quite sure I’m ready to leave – aka, enter the real world – yikes.
• January 18: I started my second internship with Coe’s Public Relations Department on this Friday. It was a great first day…everyone in the office is wonderful! I know I’m biased, but I truly think that one of Coe’s most appealing features is the friendly atmosphere, among students, staff and faculty.

Well, I guess that sums up my last month in a nut shell! Tonight I went to the Coe-Cornell basketball games, and just in case you’re curious, both the men's and the women's teams beat Cornell! Have a terrific Thursday. :)