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The semester is almost over!  Wow, it feels so weird almost having a year of college done.  Time really flies.

So, updates updates!  I am finally an official member of AGD and APO (Alpha Gamma Delta-sorority, and Alpha Phi Omega-service fraternity).  On Friday we had AGD initiation.  It was so awesome!  The actually ceremony was really cool, because we got to see the traditional ritual of Alpha Gam.  We all wore white dresses, white shoes, and white stockings. 

On Saturday I went to the Sociology house for Macon A Difference Day.  Different organizations sponcered events all around campus.  For example, I think I saw some Delta Zeta girls doing a fundraising walk, and other Greeks did stuff as well.  At the Sociology house APO babysat professors children.  We ended up having only 4 kids and about 20 brothers were there, but I honestly don't think we could have handled more!  The kids were a lot of fun to be with, but definitely had about 50 times the energy of the average college student. 

On Sunday APO did big brother revealing, so I found out what "family" I am in.  In most Greek organizations people break into different families, give their "littles" or "daughters/sons" presents, and are basically just really awesome.  My APO Big is my friend Trang, which is cool because shes in AGD as well.  Our family, which has maybe 10 members, went out to dinner afterwards.  That night was initiation for APO.  I'm so glad to finally be a member. Pledge period was fun, but definitely exhausting. 

This week I already had 2 papers due, and I have a quiz on Wednesday. This Saturday is AGD's formal, so I am looking forward to that. 

I found out that I got a job as a Writing Center Consultant, so next year if you come here maybe I'll be helping you with a paper.  I'm pretty excited about it, and am still going to keep my current job in the Financial Aid office.  I like working in the Financial Aid Office because its not many hours a week (usually 6), and the ladies I work with are really nice. 

Yesterday my FYEC class had desert with the president at his house.  Our new president, Robert Lidgren, invited each FYEC over to his house seperately.  He's a wonderful man and I think he'll do a lot for our school.  He asked us what we liked about the school, what we liked about FYEC, and what we would like to see changed.  Then tonight, my Fyec is going to a book reading by author Linda Hogan.  We're reading her book "Solar Storms" in our class.

Speaking of, I'm off to do some work!  Which is really difficult since its 75 and sunny outside...

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Wow, sorry I haven't blogged in a while!  Hmm..where to begin'

Spring break was amazing.  I went home and relaxed, it was a necessary break.  Lately I have been extremely busy with countless things.  I'll fill you all in so you get a sense of just how involved one can become at RMC.

I am pledging Alpha Phi Omega (National co-ed survice fraternity), and have had lots to do with it.  I am the Pledge Class President, so I have been leading the two major requirements for initiation into APO: A social and a service project.  For our social, APO reserved the Brock swimming pool area and our pledge class hosted a Luau.  We had pinapples and other tropical fruit, beachy music, and so much fun!  In addition to the social, our pledge class is organizing a Coin Drive for Junior Achievent Program, an organization that holds programs to teach young people about business and economics.  We have been going around halls and setting up tables, all to collect spare change to support this organization.

As far as Alpha Gamma Delta pledging has been going, it has been quite busy as well.  We had  huge test on all the founders and history of the sorority, and have had some pre-initiation activities to do. Most exciting, we have a Formal coming up in the next week, so I get to pull out my prom dress and get all dressed up.  By then I'll be an initiated member, and have about 50 sisters!

My roomates and I all got accepted into Thomas Branch, the residence hall I talked about in the last blog.  We're trying to get a triple, and the rooms are so nice.  The only thing is that there are community bathrooms, which will be a change from the suite style bathrooms we had in Jones Dormitory this year. 

I'm going home for Easter this weekend, all the way back to Pennsylvania!  I am excited to see my family, but it probably won't be as hot in PA.  Right now its about 80 degrees in Ashland, and a beautiful day. 

Well everyone, I'm off to Pilates class! Adios!

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            What a beautiful weekend!  It might be Monday, but after a weekend of sunshine and warm weather, Monday's don't seem too bad.  As I sit at my desk in my dorm, windows wide open with spring time winds washing into the room, I realize how much I really do love that southern weather.  Because this weekend is the freshest in my mind  I will start there and work my way back.  Friday was awesome- 80 degrees and sunny.  I had class, went on a jog, went to work, and eventually left town for Charlottesville, home of University of Virginia.  My family foxhunts with Rolling Rock Hunt in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and this weekend was a joint meet with Keswick Hunt in Virginia.  Both my parents came down for the weekend, but just my Dad and I hunted.  On Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. I met my parents at Farmington Country Club, drove over to Keswick, and met the horse that I would be riding that day.  The horses name was Rhapsody; a retired racehorse that was eager to run fast but calm enough for me to handle.  The foxhunt lasted from 10 till about 4 pm, and let me tell you, today I am so sore.  I ride my horse during breaks so I have not ridden for about a month.  Anyways,  to sum up I had an awesome weekend and, although I am sore today, it was definitely worth the trip to get to spend some time with my parents.  To relate this to college life, being without your parents is both a blessing and a curse.  Sure, it brings a lot of freedom to make decisions and do whatever, but sometimes I miss having my laundry folded and a me cooked meal on the table.  It was great getting to visit them for a few days.

            As far as school goes, the past week was extremely busy.  I stayed in all last weekend (the weekend of March 4^th) and did homework.  I had two papers due, two tests, and a few quizzes, all on top of my other homework.  Furthermore, I had applications to fill out, one to live in Thomas Branch and one to work at the Writing Center.  Thomas Branch is unique type of living for upperclassmen.  The dorms are really  nice, and people want to live there (or don't want to live there) because its substance free and an academic setting.  This means that there are study rooms all throughout the dorm, and the Higgins Academic Center is located here (where all the tutoring takes place).  Definitely a good place for students trying to get good GPAs. 

            So this week I have two more papers due, a Spanish presentation, and a few books to read.  On the bright side, its Dance Marathon week!  Dance Marathon is the biggest philanthropic event on campus, and is on Saturday the 18^th.  There are fun events all week, but mostly on Saturday.  Since I have never been here for it I do not know a whole lot about it, but I will definitely write a new post when I get to experience the fun!

P.S.- 10 days till Spring break!

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            Another busy week at Randolph-Macon! This semester is already going so fast, I cannot believe that it's almost March.  Spring break is in a month!  Last weekend was so busy- the Randolph-Macon Basketball team went to the ODAC (the Old Dominion Athletic Conference) Tournament, and the pep band went along to support the team.  The pep band usually just plays at the home basketball games, but this year we've grown so much and become much more active.  We left on Saturday around noon (which is early morning for most college students), arrived in Roanoke around 4 pm, and settled into the hotel.  The game started at 6, and the pep band was ready to go.  The guys played so well, and although it was a tight game, we beat Bridgewater 65-55.  The next day we played Randolph-Macon's biggest rival, Hampton Sydney College, and won 93-82 in overtime.  The Hampton Sydney game was amazing, fans on both sides were incredibly energetic, and the pep band had a blast.  Unfortunately we went back to Ashland on Sunday night so that pep band students could attend class on Monday.  Then, on Monday we met around 2 pm for another 4 hour drive to the Championship game between Randolph-Macon and Virginia Wesleyan.  The basketball players did so well in this game, and the crowd was so encouraging, but in over time Virginia Wesleyan beat us 81-78.  We didn't get home until about midnight, and wow, we were all exhausted. 

The craziness doesn't stop here.

This week was rush week for Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity.  This means that all the members are 'brothers' regardless of gender, which is pretty cool.  APO has unique goals different from that of other fraternities: friendship, leadership, and service.  Also, members of APO can belong to another Sorority or Fraternity, because APO is mainly for community service.  Anyways, rush was really fun this week, basically they just had some casual parties such as Vegas night (where they had cards and poker chips, etc.). 

Other than all the fun stuff, classes have been busy as well.  I have some papers to work on, two tests next week, and a few books to read (the usual).  Have a good weekend everyone and I hope you're getting an idea of all the fun things we have at Randolph-Macon College. 

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Wow! What a busy month I had!  It's obvious that life at Randolph-Macon is busy when students like me cannot even find time to update this blog!  Anyways, January Term class wrapped up nicely, and students went home, or wherever, for a week off before starting Spring Term.  Break was wonderfully relaxing and greatly needed to help me gear up for a busy spring.  Students came back to school on Super bowl Sunday, and being from Pittsburgh, I was waving my terrible towel here at school with a few other Steelers fans. 

            Perhaps you've heard of the popularity of Greek organizations at Randolph-Macon.  Well, everything you've heard is true.  The first week of spring semester (last week), spring recruitment for fraternities and sororities began.  Recruitment was SO much fun, even though it kept me extremely busy.  It began on Monday and ended with bid turn in on Sunday.  The way that recruitment works is that the first night you visit all four sorority houses for a casual party at each, the second night you visit three or two (depending if your GPA is up to par), and the last night you can visit only up to two.  Saturday night was the most fun night, because the attire was semi-formal- hooray for the little black dress.  After the parties on Saturday, we returned to Brown Campus Center to fill out what's called a preference card.  Each recruit put down her preferred order of sororities.  This may not seem like a hard decision (it's just a sorority, right'), but it was SO difficult.  Each house is so different, but so wonderful, that deciding which one you want to be a part of for the rest of your life is not an easy decision.  I decided to pledge Alpha Gamma Delta, and oh my gosh, it has been SO MUCH FUN!  We have 'sister mothers', so a sister in the sorority becomes your mother during the 8 week pledge period.  My sister mother is so cool; she got me so many presents and is so much fun! 

            What else has been going on'  Classes, of course.  This spring my classes should be pretty difficult, but I am really enjoying them.  I have the second half of my FYEC, which is a literature class, Social Geography, Spanish 212, and Advanced Expository Writing.  I am also doing pep band still, and this weekend we are going to play at the ODAC championships for basketball.  It should be really exciting, hopefully the basketball team wins! 

            Ok, so to wrap this up-

1) Spring Semester is CRAZY BUSY!

2) Incoming freshmen girls, GO THROUGH RECRUITMENT, and last but not least'

3) Take advantage of any breaks you have throughout the year to RELAX!

Posted by Kspeicher | Permanent Link