Midterms Already?

Yes, indeed. While my friends back home are still waiting for school to start (since they are on the quarter/term system), I just finished taking my first real test of the school year (although I’ve had 3 or 4 quizzes and a paper already, too…). It was for Human Physiology, and taken, of course, at 8:00am. Not my finest hour, but I got used to it when I took Organic Chemistry sophomore year (in which we started exams at 7:30am), and it’s neat to have accomplished so much by 9:00am!

Besides test-taking and studying, things here on campus continue to get busier and busier by the minute, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Relay For Life committee (for which I’m the Chair) had our first meeting last week, and a few committee members are already getting started on their roles, which is SO awesome to see!

All of the fraternities and sororities had their Informal Recruitment processes this week. This is a process for upperclassmen (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) and transfer students who are interested in getting involved with the Greek Community. I am a member of Gamma Phi Beta, and we had an amazing turnout to our two get-to-know-you events… Bid Day is this Saturday, and I’m so excited to meet our newest members!!

I’ve also been busy doing various fundraising walks here in Tacoma and at home (in Portland, Oregon). Last weekend, I took the 3-hour drive home to walk in the Race For The Cure with my mom. It’s a tradition we’ve been participating in for 12 years now, so it’s always really special to take the time to get involved with the Race. Here we are getting ready to walk/run the 5k…

IMG_4109

This weekend, I am volunteering at the Pierce Country Aids Foundation (PCAF) AIDS Walk. It’s held in downtown Tacoma, and the Puget Sound community gets really involved every year. Last year, our “Loggers of Love” team was the largest team at the 5k walk event. It’s always so cool to see students all come together for a common cause! Thirdly, I’m volunteering at the American Cancer Society’s Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on October 9th. Phew! I’ll be all walked out pretty soon.

One of the great things about midterms, though, is that it means that Fall Break is coming up!! We get two days off in the middle of October (this year it’s the 18th and 19th), which means a 4-day weekend. Last year, I went to San Diego to visit my sister (who is at USD), and this year, I’m flying out to Providence, RI to visit some of my friends from studying abroad. A lot of them go to Brown, so I’m very excited to see them, see their campus, and who knows? Maybe I’ll even see Emma Watson while I’m at it?

I have class in 20 minutes, so I should be wrapping up my post, but I just want to end with  two little plugs for prospective students reading this blog. First of all, our Fall Campus Visit Day is this Saturday… It’s a GREAT way to come see our campus and learn more about it if you think you might be interested. To register, just go to the Puget Sound Admissions page! The second plug is for a brand new Facebook page called “Puget Sound Admission”. It’s a student-run page (which means admissions counselors won’t be reading it at all) where you can ask questions about the campus. If you want to know something about student life or specific classes/majors/etc. that only a student can answer, this is the place to ask it. There are over 100 Puget Sound students currently part of the group, so if you have a question, there will surely be an answer out there!

Off to one of my favorite classes: American Schools Inside and Out. Today, we are having a guest speaker come to talk about the achievement gap and white privilege in schools (how fitting, since my Teach For America phone interview is this Saturday).

Cheers!

This entry was posted in Alayna Schoblaske '11. Bookmark the permalink.