Posts Tagged ‘dorm life’

APU All Access Weekends Are My Favorite :)

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

If you are even considering coming to APU, I would highly encourage coming to an APU All Access campus preview. I love APU All Access. I love it so much that I went to two of them and now host students who come. :)

I went to my first APU All Access my junior year.  My best friend and I had wanted to go to APU for years. Jana’s Dad is an alumni of the college so she had been here for Homecoming many a few times but want to experience APU as a student.  I had never been to APU and was hoping it would live up to Jana’s stories and what I’d heard from others.

My best friend Jana and I hanging out on West Campus in March 08 :)

My best friend Jana and I hanging out on West Campus in March 08 :)

I had so much fun my first preview weekend!  It was fun to experience dorm life, go to a chapel, sit in on classes, and just learn more about APU.

Jana and I again :) Seems like so long ago!! The background is the Darling Library (West Campus)

Jana and I again :) Seems like so long ago!! The background is the Darling Library (West Campus)

So why did I go to a second APU All Access? I know, it seems kind of strange. One of my best friends moved away in junior high and called me to tell me she was going to an APU All Access campus preview in January of my senior year.  I only get to see her about every other year and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a weekend. :)

Lainey and I at the January All-Access. We are sitting in the front row for a basketball game!! It was so much fun!

Lainey and I at the January APU All Access. We are sitting in the front row for a basketball game!! It was so much fun!

I was accepted in December because I did “Early Action” but I thought that another APU All Access could confirm my discoing. It definitely did! You may have heard that APU has great community and that everyone is really friendly, and its true! The best example that I experienced while I was visiting occurred after sitting in on a Journalism class.

We watched the Women and Men's teams play! It was pretty awesome. APU Basketball is kind of a big deal here :)

We watched the Women and Men's teams play! It was pretty awesome. APU Basketball is kind of a big deal here :)

The professor talked to me and the other preview student before starting class. He asked us where we were from and if we were interested in Journalism. The class was interesting but after it was over a girl in the class stopped us and asked us why we were interested in APU.  She shared her experience in the Journalism program and then asked us where we were headed next.  It was lunchtime so she offered to drive us back to East Campus even though we said we could easily walk or talk the trolley.  While driving us back she shared more about why she loved APU and how much she enjoyed her classes.

It seems like such a small gesture but looking back it really meant a lot to me as a preview student. A college student not even related to the All-Access program took time out of her day to spend time with, talking to, and talk about APU with some high schooler who, in way, interrupted her classes and routine. It just showed the honest friendliness and community at APU.

Honestly, if you have any interest in APU, come to an APU All Access campus preview.  I’ve heard the best way to choose a college is to go to the campus and envision yourself there. Personally, APU definitely fit that description and I easily ruled out others by visiting campus.

I had an awesome time hanging out with the girls who stayed in my room for All Access :) I’m so glad they enjoyed their weekend here.  Both are planning on coming to APU next year! Can’t wait to see you guys! :)

-Kelsey

P.S. Just a helpful college hint… ALWAYS randomly hit the “Control/Command S” button while typing ANYTHING.  While writing this blog and outlining the entire book of Exodus my Microsoft Word decided it would be funny to have “an unexpected error.” Not so funny when it only recovers half of each document. Sigh. Oh well :)

Also, if you are interested in an APU All Access campus preview you should go here:

https://www.apu.edu/admissions/undergraduate/visit/

(It gives dates, cost, and all the fun events that you’ll do :)

Finally a Video!

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

I promised the next blog would include videos.. so here you go!

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This is Karissa and Purple (Michelle) singing at an event called ‘Color the Night.’

Color the Night was an event to show APU creativity through student artwork and music . It was fun to see APU students play fun music and see all the beautiful artwork. :)

The next video has a story behind it.

Smith (the all guy hall) started dressing up for family/hall dinners.  Family/Hall Dinner is where you eat with your entire hall in the Dinning Hall. Not only do you dress up as the theme, you are supposed to act the part.  I believe the first theme for the Smith hall was Egyptians but it’s since been sheep, beggars, and other crazy ideas. Trinity 1st South has been waiters and first graders. Trinity 4th North have been really funny nerds and babies.

3rd North decided we wanted to go all out for our first ‘themed’ family dinner. Our theme was Safari, which meant we dressed up as wild animals. Yes, its a little bit crazy but it was a whole lotta fun :)

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Week In The Life Of A Freshman

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

So this blog is a few days late, but the bonus of it being late is that you get it with pictures and an example of a normal week in my life. My week has been pretty random, so here are my awesome APU highlights! :)

Sunday: We went to a beach bonfire with our brother hall.  We celebrated their RA’s (see note below) birthday with hotdogs and cake. It was fun, but I was definitely tired. Note to self: Get more sleep before going somewhere. Actually, getting more sleep in general would be a pretty good idea.

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

Huntingtons Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Huntington's Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Monday: My Mondays feel generally pretty crazy. I have three classes on Mondays, which isn’t too bad, but one of them is 3 hours long and chapel starts at 9:30.  Something interesting probably happened, but I apparently can’t think back a week :) I’m sure there was homework involved. Oh, and this is the day I locked myself out of my room so I studied in our Study Room until Rachel (my roommate) got home.  (By the way, RA’s can unlock the doors for you, but it costs $5) I love the Study Room.

Tuesday: The Freshman had a “Street Meets” which was called a Lumberjack Dance. I don’t really know what the point of the whole thing was, but it was similar to a hoedown with plaid/checkered flannel. The highlight for me was when the RA’s from each dorm performed group dances. I wish I had would have been able to video it! Engstrom was the most amusing, but the Trinity RA’s had the most skill.  I wasn’t able to stay at the dance long though because I had a test the next morning as well as an Alpha meeting. We had our Alpha meeting at 10:30pm after getting coffee at the Cornerstone Cafe because it is the only time that fits our whole group’s schedule. Alphas group are a required once a week meeting with a random group of people from the Beginnings class, lead by an sophomore who volunteered to be an Alpha leader.  It was a very informal meeting and we just had a lot of fun sharing stories and eating delicious Pizookie (an ice cream and cookie dessert) that our Alpha leader Jen made for us.

TIffanys view from the dance

TIffany's view from the dance

Wednesday: Wednesday morning I thought I was going to have my first APU test. My teacher told us to study two chapters in our book. After staying up until 3:00am, studying the two chapters and one wrong one, I felt pretty prepared. Unfortunately, I was a bit over prepared.  My professor’s version of a ‘test on the chapters’ ended up being essentially a 15-question quiz worth 5 points. Needless to say, I realized I should ask for more information on ‘tests’ before studying in that class.

My hall had Family Dinner together! Family dinner consisted of as many 3N Girls going to the Caf together and fitting into one long table. The Caf was reasonable full when we got there at 6:30 and finding a table for 20+ girls was difficult.  The only tables available near each other were in a huge corner that made it hard for anyone to move around. A few of the girls resorted to climbing under the table so they could get more food. It was pretty funny and possibly a bit gross, but we were all able to eat as a ‘family’ (and that’s what counts :)  Every Wednesday Night we have Kaleo, which is my favorite chapel service.

Almost all of the 3N Girls

Almost all of the 3N Girls

I love Kaleo with all of my heart.  The services have been getting so crowed that people have started to line up as early as 8:15 to be sure they get in for the service at 9:00. We are going over the book of Daniel in a way that it is applied to our lives directly connecting to scripture.  Instead of going story by story, we are taking a chapter or two at a time and digging into it while making it personal. I’m sure I’m doing a terrible job at explaining it, but I promise, Kaleo really is awesome.

Thursday: I’m pretty sure something exciting in our hall on Thursday but again, the days seem to blur a bit.

Friday: Friday was a really exciting day for me! I had my normal classes that were great, but the highlight of the day was seeing my friend Lainey. I haven’t really been able to see anyone I know closely for a month and I was so happy to see her face! She goes to a different school about 45 minutes away, but neither of us have cars which makes it difficult to hang out.  Lainey and I have been best friends since 4th grade but she moved to Illinois in 8th grade. Seeing her was definitely a blessing.

My mom made me promise wed take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth instead :)

Promised my mom we'd take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth in my dorm instead :)

Saturday: I went to the football game vs. the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It was fun to cheer them on and even more fun when they won 23-7. There were some awesome fumble returns and an amazing field goal!

Libbys view of the APU football game

Libby's view of the APU football game

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Sunday: On Sunday I pretty much slept all day. I’ve never been able to go to bed early and college definitely didn’t change that habit. I use my weekends to make up for the 5/6 hours of sleep I get during the week. I basically spent all day in bed but I attempted to do homework too. I wrote my speech for Public Communications and almost started this blog :). I took a break of doing nothing to go celebrate my hall-neighbor’s birthday at Tutti Fruity, a local frozen yogurt place that is not only delicious but also gives APU students 15% off!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Monday: My Monday was a crazy day again which is why this blog didn’t get posted this morning.  I love my Exodus/Deuteronomy class but it sometimes causes a brain overload. The hardest part of the day was Public Comm because I was second to give my ‘Story Speech.’

My speech was a fairytale story I made up for the girls I nannied for this summer. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking even though I talk too much. The formality too it is a bit daunting for me and I was definitely nervous.

After Speech I saw a friend from my Into to Communications class and had a fun time hanging out in her hall. Unfortunately when I got back to 3rd North after 10pm I realized I had a quiz in my Health and Wellness class. A neighbor of mine has that class too so we attempted to study in the hall kitchen but we were very easily distracted by pretty much everything and anything. During our ‘study breaks’, which there were more of then actual studying, I started this blog. By the time I got to bed I realized like I hadn’t learned very much, my blog wasn’t finished or proof-read, and I had to be up at 7:45 for my Walk/Jog/Run class.

Tue: When I woke up, the day wasn’t looking too promising. I was tired and was worried about my quizzes. Thankfully, my Health and Wellness test was very easy for me and since we could leave as soon as we were done, I had time to eat and study a little bit more for my Into to Lit quiz. Now I plan on either watching something on Hulu or taking a nap before starting homework. Good day :)

Feel free to add comments or ask any questions!

-Kelsey

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us

Beach Trip

Monday, September 21st, 2009

My hall’s awesome RA* (see note below) Megan planned a trip last weekend to celebrate our first week of classes. It was really nice to be able to go somewhere, forget about homework, and most of all, celebrate at the beach!!

About 20 of us piled into cars and took off to Huntington Beach!!

By the time we got there half of the group wanted to go eat but I stayed with the group heading towards the water.

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

I’m from Northern California and while we have some beautiful beaches, they are usually very cold and windy. Especially because I lived pretty far north. Only brave kids got farther than their ankles in the freezing water and I wasn’t one of them. So the idea of a warm beach was extremely exciting!! It has been a really long time since I’ve been to a warm beach. It was weird to see all of the girls go so far out into the ocean and swim in the huge waves. I’ve been taught never to go above waist level because of the horrible sleeperwaves in NorCal. It was really fun to just hang out in the sun too.

We laid out on the beach for a while and then switched with the other group and ate at BJ’s. BJ’s is a really good restaurant that has delicious deep-dish pizza and Pizookies. Pizookies are huge cookies baked in a deep dish covered with vanilla bean ice cream and they are amazing.  A bunch the girls in the hall are planning a trip to go there (and the beach) soon!

Overall, it was an amazing time to get to know the girls in my hall better, hangout at the beach, and have some amazing food.

Our entire group!

Our entire group!

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us.

Or E N tay shun…

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

You can thank my fellow 3rd North sisters for the title of this blog. Can’t you tell we are freshman? We apparently haven’t learned the art of spelling. There are currently 5 of us watching Pride and Prejudice with girls popping in and talking. Actually, we are barely watching the movie and mostly talking. I love it.

Orientation was pretty crazy. It was a bit stressful, really interesting, but mostly overwhelming for me. Which isn’t true for everyone, some kids had no problem with it all.  Overwhelming isn’t also a bad thing though, Orientation is guaranteed slight chaos anywhere you go I think. But this chaos was actually quite organized; APU has an impressive schedule that they stuck to. There was so much to do! There always was a friendly face to help us out though.  The events were really cool including a football game!

Ready to help us move in and direct us where to go :)

Ready to help us move in and direct us where to go :)

The main chaos for me was getting to know people, organizing all my stuff, and the many trips to Target my parents have taken for me. I forgot a lot of small stuff on top of the fact that we could only take so much down here in our car. Let’s just say I over-packed a bit. So far all the stuff has come in handy except maybe the art-like stuff though. I’ve brought. I may have been laying against a few boxes cornered in the backseat, but it worked! Thankfully my dorm room is pretty spacious and as lots of places for drawers and boxes :).

The photos on my wall in the dorm room.

My almost completed dorm room :)

Another thing you’ll experience as a freshman is Alpha Groups! An Alpha Group is a random mix of freshman assigned to a sophomore who helps us through orientation and our first semester of freshman year. I really do like my Alpha group. My leader Jen is nice, sincere and really chill. Our group gets along pretty well and we were all open the first night, sharing the fun and scary parts of Orientation. It’s been nice just to talk about Orientation together and know that other people are coming without knowing anyone else.

A few members of my Alpha group on the trolley :)

A few members of my Alpha group on the trolley :)

I’ll definitely be talking more about my hall (3rd North!!) in my next blog! I was planning on staying on the topic of orientation so I guess I’ll just make hall stories relate :) The first night of Orientation I stopped by my RA’s room to just say hi. An RA is a Resident Adviser, which basically means an upperclassman has decided to live in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us. Her roommate is called a RAR (Resident Advisor’s roommate) and they usually aren’t very involved in the hall.  Instead, Jaclyn decided that she is going to be super involved with 3rd North and we all think it is awesome!! They invited me to come hangout with them in the dorms and watch a movie with them. It was so nice! Megan is such an awesome RA and it was nice just to be able just relax and hang out.

The next night I went to the football game with my alpha leader Jenn, another Alpha leader Bianca and a girl from her group. It was really cool to experience the game with all of the APU students. The field was packed! It was really fun but we decided to leave before the game was over so we could head to Tutti Fruity.

Hanging out at the football game.

Hanging out at the football game.

Tutti Fruity is a frozen yogurt place right across from the college.  APU students get a discount and it very delicious! Our alpha leaders took us to a sophomore living area and we played slap uno with a bunch of their friends. It was really neat to see all of the different living areas, plus be able to meet people who could talk about their fun experiences at APU. I even met someone who lived in my city for a few years and went to my high school’s rival which was really exciting! I haven’t met a lot of people from around where I lived.

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While writing my blog earlier I overheard a conversation between a hall sister and her family. I wasn’t eavesdropping I swear! Both of our doors were open (which is the best way to meet people in your hall). I asked her afterwards if I could use something she said in my blog anonymously. She said yes so here it goes:

“I’ve never been anywhere where people are so genuine and real. I don’t know how to act sometimes because I can truly just be myself and it’s not a problem. For the first time I can act like me and everyone is okay with it. They’re here because they believe in God and they are so open about their faith.”

Beautiful (and very true) words from a ‘sister’ in my hall.