My Final Post

Where to start? How about on friendships. I know that this topic is not entirely related to FAU, but to me it is. I have two very important people in my life all because of FAU. Two years ago when I started at FAU as a transfer student, I walked into my first class on the Jupiter campus and met Heather and Nina. Nina was very outgoing and Heather kept more to herself at first. Once we realized that we three had several classes together we began to sit next to each other and get meals together between classes. Our friendship caught on quick!

If only you could see us now! We have come so far in the short amount of time that we have known each other. I am the oldest of the three and yet I seek the advice of my dear friends often. I have so many fond memories of FAU because of these two amazing women. They have done nothing but support me and encourage me throughout these past two years.

I have called upon them countless times for help with school work and they have always answered my calls. College is not entirely about getting the grades to get the degree. It is about the relationships you build with people and how those relationships carry you through the toughest and the best times of your life. FAU would be so different for me if I did not get to see Nina and Heather in class every week.

These two women are smart, funny, beautiful and oh so caring. I know that our "Cracker Cubed" relationship will continue on past graduation. They are my crutches to which I have leaned on many times and without them I would have given up on school long ago.

So here's to Heather and Nina- My FAU lifeline and my true friends. I only hope that other students find and form friendships like ours!


GO OWLS!

Guest Speakers

One thing I have found FAU is good at is bringing in outside sources to talk to the students. In many of classes, even those outside of the journalism major, I have found that FAU's professors like to bring in people to talk to the students in relation to what the students are currently studying. 

I know that within the last two weeks I have had four guest speakers. People speaking on writing novels in my English class to a channel five news reporter to a Sun Sentinel employee. All of whom have opened the class for questions from the students and they have been more than willing to answer our questions. 

I know that this time last year I was in a storytelling class and we had several professional story tellers from around the country come in and talk with our class. One of the speakers actually listened to the students tell their stories and then they gave us a professional critique. 

FAU's professors seem to be really in touch with sources in the field. This of course comes from loving what you teach and wanting the students to benefit from the class, other than just getting a passing grade. 

A good professor feeds the minds of students any way that he or she can.

GO OWLS!

A Quick Note

Today I was interviewing a man for a story I am covering for class and when I told him I was from FAU he started laughing. Then he looked at me and said "you know what that stands for right, Find Another University". 

He then went on to explain that he studied here for his undergraduate degree and majored in business and that he had so many problems with the administration and that the school was constantly changing things on him and that it took him one year longer than planned to graduate. 

I told him that I was a journalism major and that I was graduating in August and he then said "well you can change your fate, I did". Then I was thinking that as many issues that I think I've had, I would not change schools. I like FAU and most of the students I have spoken with agree with me. Every university has its difficulties and in the end FAU has been very enjoyable for me.

I cannot wait to be an Alumni :)

GO OWLS!

Art Exhibitions in Boca Raton's library

FAU just hosted an Art Exhibition in the Wimberly Library on the Boca Raton campus. The art exhibition was done because a couple, the Chodorkoffs, donated 18 pieces of art to the university.

The 18 pieces of art included fiber art, studio glass, ceramics, paintings and sculptures. According the couple they plan to continue donating artwork to the university until they have none left. The couple really liked the idea of giving art to a university for the specific reason that students would be the one to view and learn from the art. One of my professors stated that she would be taking her classes over to see the new collection, so that they may practice writing art critique pieces. 

This new collection of art joins other pre-existing collections within the library and within the campus walls. FAU's Boca campus has several art galleries around campus. This includes the art pieces that are already housed in Wimberly Library. FAU prides itself in containing student and professional artwork. This gift from the Chodorkoffs can be viewed inside Wimberly Library during gallery hours. 

I know that I thought the art pieces were very beautiful and they make a great addition to the university.

GO OWLS!

Personalized FAU Jersey

I am a true advocate for school spirit, as you all know by now and I love sporting my school spirit wear. While browsing around the FAU official gear website, I discovered a page where you can order your own FAU jersey. Even better when you order your own jersey you can personalize it with whatever name you want. 

This jersey cost $69.95 and it is oh so adorable for the true OWL fan!! The name you choose to have personalized will go on the back of the jersey above the number you want. 

I am ordering this jersey for myself and you can count on me wearing it around campus and to the games!

                                                                                    GO OWLS!

On Air at FAU

When walking around the campus and listening to the Owl Radio programs FAU provides for the students I often find myself tuning out. I was walking through the breezeway the other day and I kid you not they had Miley Cyrus singing on the show. I said to my friend Heather" isn't that girl like 13". To which Heather said "I never like the music they play. It is geared towards a very isolated audience".

I started to pay attention to it more over the past week and The music they play and the subjects they talk about are not aimed at a general audience. There is only a select few that like and/or relate to the show. When producing a college radio station or when just playing music throughout the halls for students don't you think the university or the radio producers would think to create topics that would interest a larger audience and the music they play should be more top 40's, instead of class oldies.

Heather and I mentioned this to a couple of our classmates and they all agreed that if they worked at the station they would do things differently!

GO OWLS!

Study Abroad Continued

Did you know that there are two types of study abroad programs? There is the Lead and the exchange programs.

The Lead program most often occurs over the summer and this is when an FAU professor travels with the students to the abroad location. Usually on these trips the professor has mapped out the trip with excursions included in the price and schedule. These trips are less expensive than the exchange program most of the time and are more touristy.

The exchange program is more culture driven and this is for the fall or spring semesters. This is when the student travels independently to the abroad location and they are immersed into that culture as if they lived there permanently. In this case a student can stay in the dorms or with a host family. When a student chooses this option they are actually enrolled in that countries university and when they come back to FAU they will request a transfer of credits.

Both of these sound so exciting and full of adventure, I wish I had participated in study abroad programs. If you are looking for a different way to earn credits, this is it!

GO OWLS!

The Hardest Class I have ever taken

Sigh! For you journalism majors out there.... good luck! I am in my last semester here at FAU and I am taking a broadcast journalism class and I hate every minute of it. This class is so different from the rest of the classes one will take in this major.

All of my previous journalism classes were styled around AP writing and they were writing classes. Well this broadcast class is all about radio broadcasting and National Public Radio (NPR) style of reporting on the radio.

in this class we have to work on a project titled "Mini-Doc". This Mini-Doc is required to be a minimum of 10 minutes in length. The Mini-Doc is a radio segment produced by each individual student. You are required to write a script for the project and have at least 16 sources and 12 sound bite inserts. Once completed this project will air on the Wavelengths page on the FAU website. 

Now on paper this all sounded possible, but when you begin interviewing, recording, downloading and editing the project transforms into this huge tedious task that just hangs over your head. I have two weeks left in this class and I am no where near being done with this project.

I am enrolled in five classes this semester and this project is throwing off all my other classes and the work I need to do for them. When taking this class try not to take a lot of other classes with it; It very quickly becomes overwhelming!

Good-Luck and GO OWLS!

It's All About the simple Things In Life

We all love it when something so small happens to us and when it does it highlights our whole day! I know that yesterday I went to the vending machine to get a bag of chips and I put just enough money in for one bag but the machine gave me two bags....Yeah!! I thought to myself "this is going to be yummy and more calories than I need".

I know that the parking lots can drive us all crazy, especially on the Boca Raton Campus. So don't you just love it when you pull into the lot and right up front there is any empty spot waiting for you. There is no one else there to gun for the spot and cut you off ; you get to pull right in.

My friend Marc and i were walking to class the other day from dinner and it was pouring the entire evening and we waited as long as we could before we had to leave. Just as we were leaving the skies cleared and we walked all the way to class without a single drop of rain hitting us.

Things like these are what makes a persons day!

GO OWLS!