Live Snakes at SU!

As spring break approaches, SU students struggle with finishing up last minute work. Preparing for midterms while completing last minute projects and papers is absolutely exhausting. There comes a point in time where enough is enough and even if you are only halfway down your "to do" list, you need a break. Charlie's Coffeehouse provided the perfect break for students with it's Snakes Alive show.

During the show, students were offered the chance to see some of the most gross, scary critters up close and even hold and touch some of them. The show brought a mini zoo; featuring: alligators, tarantulas, snakes, and more. The perfect distraction from the piles of work left behind in everyon'e dorm room. Who could possibly think about a history paper when a 5 foot snake is staring them in the eyes?

The show was really crowded. It did not matter to me though; I wanted to keep as far away from the tarantula as I could!



Free Food!

Every so often, I will walk through the lounge outside of SU's cafeteria and am surrounded by tables and tables of free food. No, this is not simply a mirage of a poor, hungry college student. It is real. It is delicious.

Since my freshman year, I never knew the reason for all the free food, who brought it, and when they were going to bring it again. Frankly, I did not care. I would fill up my plate with pasta, chicken fingers, fresh fruit, and multiple desserts and would continue on my merry way.

This year, as I filled up on fried haddock, scallops, and shrimp; I finally inquired what this wonderful day was all about. What I heard made the food taste even better. Aramark, the company behind all of the food at Susquehanna, buys food from different companies to serve at the university. These companies come and make free food for the university and welcome comments and judgments on the food that they bring. They then bring these evaluations to Aramark to help them decide what kind of food SU would like to eat.

It is really cool that the university food providers care what students and faculty enjoy eating, and it is even cooler that they do this by having my favorite day of the year: Mellon-Lounge-Food-Tasting-Day!

My personal favorite of the day: fried scallops!

100 Days!!

Last Friday marked the countdown for 100 days until graduation. As a senior at Susquehanna, this means that I only have 100 days until I have to actually start a life in the real world. To celebrate this scary yet exciting day, the university held a senior convocation dinner for the class of 2011.

For me, the night started at B.J.’s Steakhouse, a resturant and bar only 10 minute walk from campus. Here, I and a group of fellow seniors met to kick off the evening with happy hour. It was nice to be surrounded by people that I have spent my time with at SU. All people that felt the same fear that I did the first day of school, and all people that are now feeling some of that fear again now that we must leave the comfort zone that SU has become. After some drinks and some story telling we headed to campus for the convocation dinner.

For those of us who live off-campus without meal plans, this dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to get free food. Eating in the cafeteria is something that I never thought I would miss as much as I do. However, as good as the chicken parmesan and cheesecake were, it was not the food that my senior class will remember from the night. The dinner turned out to be a special evening of reminiscing with friends and peers about the fun that we have had at SU and the adventures we are about to embark on.

The agenda for the evening included student speakers, speeches from professors, and even a live web chat with our dear president who sadly had to miss the dinner due to commitments in other, warmer, locations. As the night wrapped up, I couldn’t help but feel the bitter sweetness of moving forward in life but leaving behind a school that has truly impacted my life for the better. I am lucky to have attended a school that cares enough to host such events for the students. I am excited to make my own way in life, but SU will always have a special place in my heart.

Here is a picture of and my friends and I at the dinner!

Beer Education

It is no secret that many college students love beer. So when founder and CEO of the Boston Beer Company, home to Samuel Adams, came to Susquehanna's campus, students gladly gave up their Wednesday night to hear how this entrepreneur became so successful.

Not a chair in the house was empty when James Koch took the podium and he did not disappoint. Koch was both hilarious and inspiring as he recounted the ups and downs of starting a new business. Downing four beers, obviously Samuel Adams, during the balance of his lecture, Koch had the ability to make each attendee feel like they were conversing with an old friend at a pub somewhere; not in a fluorescently lit lecture hall with hundreds of people.

Another pleasant surprise of the night was the story told by Koch’s wife, Cynthia Fisher. Fisher is founder of Viacord, a blood bank that helps to use baby’s umbilical cords to cure disease and sickness later in their life (Talk about a power couple!). Cynthia, while perhaps not as famous to college students as the creator of their favorite beer, is none-the-less a hometown celebrity. Born and raised in Selinsgrove, Cynthia was no stranger to SU. This was evident as she was familiar with a number of people in the crowd.

Both of these entrepreneurs managed to make a 2 hour lecture feel like 20 minutes with their stories, anecdotes, and advice. Ending the night with cookies and punch, college students left the lecture with signed Sam Adams cases and brains buzzing with the idea that anything is possible in life and business.

James Koch is in the blue and Cynthia is behind is right shoulder.

James Koch.

Work it out!

Whenever I need a break from studying, have a lot on my mind, or have a problem to solve I like to work out. Susquehanna has a lot of places on campus to"escape" using exercise.

When the weather is nice, my personal favorite work out is a river run. The beautiful Susquehanna river is only an 8 minute run from campus. Once you are there you can run up and down the banks of the river enjoying the sounds of nature and the beautiful sights of the river.

Here is the river in warmer weather!

Unfortunately it is way to cold to run outside right now but there are indoor options at Susquehanna to workout without the risk of frostbite. The Garrett Sports Complex is the hub of fitness at SU. The complex is home to the univeristy's indoor track, field house, gymnasium, weight room, cardio room, and indoor pool. Gatherings of student-athletes as well as non-athletes take advantage of the sports complex everyday. It is especially busy right now as students fulfill new years resolutions to get in shape or try to rapidly prepare for their spring break beach bodies. My personal motivation for going the gym is to avoid doing my homework.

When students at SU are not studying.... they could be working out!