Living Life to the Fullest

Hey Bloggers-

I hope you have all been staying warm over these past few COLD weeks!  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for it to be 70 and sunny again!!  The past few weeks have brought me great triumph and great sadness.  The start of the semester has been going pretty well- classes are super busy, as expected, but they are all super interesting so that’s awesome!  It’s always really cool when homework feels more like fun than like work!  Nothing like some good ol’ fashion chemistry fun, right??
The past weekend I raced my very first triathlon!!!  It was AWESOME!  I am a huge runner, as you may have guessed from my last post, but I just recently started training for triathlons to give my training some variety.  I crushed the run and the bike, but I’m not ashamed to say my swim was absolutely terrible.  Actually, it was beyond terrible… but I finished it!  And I learned to swim a week before the race, so I’ll accept just finishing for this race.   The triathlon was an indoor triathlon at Iowa State University and I went down there with the tri-team here at MSU!  It was so fun!  I’ll put a picture at the end of the blog of all of us after the race.

After my race things turned much more somber.  When I called my sister to tell her how it went I could quickly tell something was wrong.  It turned out that a childhood friend and classmate had passed away in a car accident.   After hearing this news I was in complete shock, I didn’t even know how to begin processing the hefty information I had just learned.  I had danced with Caitlin starting kindergarten through my senior year and she was an incredible friend with such a joy for life.  After getting back from ISU I went home to find some comfort (thankfully we didn’t have class on Monday so I was able to) and then returned home again later that week for the visitation and funeral.  Although there will always been a hole in my heart from now on, I have learned a lot through this loss.  It has taught me how precious life is and how every moment is a beautiful gift.  It has been a reminder to live every day to the fullest and take in all the joy and love the people around you have to offer.  So, go out and do something you have always wanted to do!  There is no better day than today!!

I hope you all have a great next few weeks- stay warm!

Kira

Spring Break Fever!

Hey Everybody!

Well the second week of school is officially over. Time seems to fly by so fast when I am busy with classes. This semester has been filled with class, work, meetings, and extracurricular activities but I wouldn’t have it any other way. With school keeping me busy it is hard to find any free time. This semester I have focused very heavily on setting specific times for everything I do. It may sound like my life is too planned out, but it is the best way I can find to manage my time. I still make time for myself though. I try to go to the gym everyday and use that as my relaxation time and break from school. With the free recreation center on campus it is nice to not have to worry about paying extra to have a place to work out. Plus all the machines have computers so I can surf the internet while I work out!

My friends and I also booked our spring break trip this past week! This is the first year I am doing something big for spring break so I am very excited. My five friends and I are going to Florida this year. We even got a hotel room with a kitchen so we can make our own food and our hotel is right on the beach. I am so excited that I am already planning everything now, even though spring break is six weeks away! The worst part about spring semester is that you go weeks without a break from school so planning for spring break gives me something to look forward too!

Well that seems to be all for now! And as always, keep an eye out for me when you come to visit campus! 
=)

Puppy Love

Hey!

I hope you have all made it through these arctic conditions and are now looking forward to spring as much as I am.  We are now past two weeks into the semester, and it is looking like it will be a good semester. I have one accounting class that will be extremely challenging, but I don’t think the other ones will be all that tough.  I’m hoping this will be my first semester where I don’t have to write a single paper, seeing that papers kick my butt more often than not.  I really love my schedule this semester because I don’t have any class or work on Fridays.  That means three day weekends every weekend!

I bought a used car over winter break, and absolutely love it.  It is a white 2011 Chevy Malibu with only 18,000 miles on it.  Unfortunately it recently needed a new battery, which thankfully was covered by the warranty. In other news, my family is getting a new puppy soon!  She is a little German shorthair who will have a new home at the beginning of March! I am very excited to go home for spring break and see her!!  Have a good week and stay warm!

-Jake

Break is Over!

Hey Everyone!

Winter break has finally concluded and the first week of classes is almost done! Over winter break I worked in the Admissions Office, relaxed and went home to spend some quality time with my family. My brother visited from California for a week over Christmas time. It was so great to see him again! I spent most of my time back home with my family, we did not do anything too exciting, it was nice just to finally have some relaxation time. I received some really nice gifts for Christmas, new pots pans and cooking utensils, new clothes and money! After the holidays I returned to Mankato to work and prepare for the semester. This first week was pretty simple, just course introductions and some review from last semester for my dental hygiene program. I start seeing patients this semester and finally clean teeth! I am very nervous to get started with clinic, but I know that I will enjoy it once I get the hang of it.

For now,

Kayla!



Half Way There!

Hey All!

I hope everyone had a really good couple of weeks off for the Holiday and New Year!! We started class already this week for this Spring Semester! I'm taking 18 credits again this semester and will be enjoying all the wonderful study time that will come with it! The end of this semester this will put me at the half mark with my 4 year Law Enforcement degree and I can’t believe it’s already here!

We had a month off for the Winter Break again this year which was really fun! The first week I worked in Admissions again as a Tour Guide, then enjoyed a week off. After the beginning of the New Year I went on my second cruise for 11 days. I spent two days in Miami, Florida and then went on the cruise. We visited four ports of call on this cruise. They were Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Curacao and then Aruba. It was such a blast but we arrived the night before classes started so I know I will be feeling the boat for sure!

Thanks,
Nick

Polar "BRRR" Plunge!

Hey Bloggers!!!

My name is Kira and I am the newest member of the Student Ambassador executive board.  I am now the secretary (or treasurer, I think the official title changes depending on the week…) and am SO excited for my new leadership role within this awesome group!!!! I am a junior Chemistry Teaching major from Northfield, MN.  Along with Student Ambassadors I also work in the Admissions Office as a tour guide.  Ever since I went on my very first college visit I’ve wanted to be a tour guide so it’s the perfect job for me. Going into work is more fun than it is work!  I am also the co-president of Colleges Against Cancer.  Needless to say, I keep pretty busy, but I love it that way! 

I can’t believe Winter break is over and it’s already second semester!!!!!  Time has seriously flown by, I can’t believe it!  My winter break was great.  I was able to spend the whole four weeks in Northfield spending time with my family/friends, relaxing, and getting back into my red and khaki to work at Target.  The coolest thing I did over break was run the Polar Dash half marathon in St. Paul on New Years day.  The temperature was -2 but I finished with a new personal time record of 1:36:14, or 7:21 minute miles!!  Throughout my blogging you will find out that I am madly in love with running, and this was the absolute GREATEST way to start 2013!!!  I’m ready to take on the New Year!!!  Below is a picture of me after I finished 13.1 miles later…. BRRR!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic start to their New Year and semester!!  Thanks for reading my blog!!

-Kira

Keeping Busy

Hey Everybody!

This is the first week back and everything is hectic once again! Winter break just seemed to go by way too fast. Over break I spent a lot of time working at the Admissions Office and at the pharmacy. It was nice to get more hours in and make a little bit of extra money for the holidays. I was also able to spend time with my family. I feel like I never spend time with them so I was very excited to spend a week with them back home.
Other than celebrating the holidays, working, and spending time with family I found time to relax.
During the semester my schedule is crazy busy so I enjoy when I have some downtime. I spent time with my best friend Kayla also. We went to the mall and also attended a hockey game the weekend before the start of school.

With the start of the semester it means the start of new classes! This semester I have 17 credits, which will keep me busy. I am excited for my classes and looking forward to getting back in the routine of school. That’s all for now! Wish me luck in my first week back! : )
-Jeni

I'm Back!

Hello All!

I’m excited to be back for another year of blogging for the Student Ambassadors! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s, and are enjoying a great start to the New Year. I’m looking forward to a great semester!  I didn’t do a whole lot over break, saw some high school friends, went to a Timberwolves game, and loved getting to see family over the holidays. 

Although we didn’t get to go anywhere warm this winter, we did find out that my aunt is taking us to Aruba next year!  It is an island just north of Venezuela, and is only 20 miles long.  I’m very excited because not only do I love to travel, I am not a fan of winter!

This semester I am really getting into the upper level business classes, taking two accounting, two finance classes, and a marketing class.  It should be challenging, but I am looking forward to it! Have a great week!

-Jake