It’s been quite awhile since my last post, but things have been going by and ahead at break-neck speed.  Spring break was already three weeks ago and I must say that it was a much needed break.  I was able to go home and see my family and just take a breather from the rigors of school.  However, all good things come to an end [usually to quickly], and spring break was no exception.  It’s good to be back at
Wittenberg though, especially since we are headed very rapidly toward the end of the year.

Since spring break was over I have been hitting the books hard, and in addition, I’ve been pounding the pavement [well the internet really] in search of good internship opportunities for this coming summer.  Being involved with the honors program I know a lot of students who get good grades and have a high level of “book smarts” as some people put it.  But life after and during school doesn’t begin and end solely on grades.  Of course you college GPA is important, but when thinking ahead to the years after college, the work and internship experience you have under your belt can be as important, if not more important then simply your grades by themselves.

Wittenberg has an excellent career services center called Witt Path, which works to help students perfect their resumes, work on cover-letters, hone interviewing skills, and find the perfect summer and post college employment opportunities.  I have visited Witt Path many times and have always left with a new piece or in some cases many pieces, of new knowledge. 

While many people may think of internships as a summer activity it is also worth pointing out that many
Wittenberg students find internship opportunities that they can participate in year-round.  This is an amazing chance to build a strong foundation with local community contacts and even try out lines of work you think you may be interested in before fully committing to a job in that field after graduation.  If by taking a job you realize that you have no interest in ever pursuing that line of work, you have had a VERY SUCCESSFUL internship experience.  Learning what you don’t want to do is just as important as deciding what you would like to do.

As March draws to a close I know the application deadlines for colleges and universities around the country are also fast approaching.  If you are still unsure about where you think you’d like to go best, I recommend an additional visit to each of the schools you’re still deciding between.  I personally didn’t drop off my deposit for
Wittenberg until the last possible day, and I fully appreciate the difficulty involved in deciding where to get your four years of college education.  In the end I want to encourage all of you reading this to follow your gut and choose the school that you think you will do the best at and enjoy the most, even if it may not be the school your friends or family or siblings are recommending to you.  After all you will be the one attending college, not them.

Take care and I’ll try to post again before too much time passes by,

Ben A.

It seems like it’s been quite awhile since I last put up a post, the semester is flying by at break-neck speed and I’ve been slacking on updating a little bit.  Aside from classes, work and extracurriculars,
Wittenberg offers its students various unique opportunities throughout the year.  These could be in the form of speakers, programs, or, as in the case of this past weekend, conferences.

Last Friday six very dedicated members of Wittenberg’s Gay/Straight Alliance got up and boarded a shiny red mini-van at 7:00am.  As any of you from Ohio know, we awoke that morning to a snow and ice-covered wonderland.  After much scraping and de-frosting, we piled into the van and set off for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to attend MBLGTACC 2008.  For those of you unfamiliar with the monstrous acronym, it stands for The Midwestern Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference.  Whew, what a mouth full.  Right before we got to the Illinois state line, we ran into a complete white-out of snow an ice causing the last 40 miles of our trip to take 2 and ½ hours.

Once we finally arrived the fun really began.  The GSA had been planning to attend MBLGTACC since last semester so we were all very excited to see the conference come.  I had gone alone to the conference the year before in Minneapolis and was very excited to get back.  MBLGTACC serves as a forum for discussion and inclusion for the Mid-West’s GLBT students.  It consists of key-note presenters, dozens of workshops, and a plethora of entertainment activities.  It’s a great place to generate and gain new ideas that can be taken back to campuses all across the country.

The first night I attended a workshop for young gay men who want to one day be fathers.  Just the sheer diversity present at events like MBLGTACC is astounding.  After the workshop I heard the first US soldier to be wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom give a speech about the military’s don’t ask don’t tell policy.  Finally the night was rounded off by a series of short plays that were all first-rate.

Saturday I went to three other workshops, attended the state caucus and ended the night at a Dance against AIDS party thrown for the conference attendees. 

While academics do play a huge role in your college career, I think there is more to it then just the studying and class time.  I personally feel that some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had at Wittenberg have been ones that happen outside the classroom setting.  MBLGTACC and other conferences throughout the year offer Wittenberg students a chance to interact with other college students from around the country and are just one of the many reasons Wittenberg is such an amazing place to come and develop yourself.

Sincerely,

Ben A.

What a week its been since my last post.  I got one exam back only to take another an hour later [what a vicious cycle].  The university also hosted its last scholarship day, meaning that the hard work is over and now its just  a waiting game to hear all the good news!!!  I wish all of you who attended good luck and having met quite a number of you I hope to see you all on Wittenberg’s campus next fall.

 One thing that Wittenberg provides to its students each semester are colloquiums.  A colloquium is more or less a featured discussion or presentation hosted by one of the academic departments on campus.  Traditionaly they are meant to bring new and interesting topics to the students as well as to give the student body a chance to meet individuals who have made a life’s carreer off of the academic backgorund in the major hosting the colloquium.

 This past week Glen Christenson, a Wittenberg graduate in the class of ‘71 who majored in management came back to share his experiences in the corporate world of gaming in Los Vegas.  Mr. Christenson spent 17 years as the Chief Financial Officer for Station One casinos and resorts and was directly involved with taking the company public and then several years later taking it back private.  Aside from a keynote presentation, Mr. Christenson gave talks in numerous management classes and also attended a dinner in his honor that was offered to allow certain management majors a chance to learn more abou this experiences in the real world.

 I was lucky enough to attend all of the above listed events and found it very rewarding to see that Wittenberg Graduates do go on to do great things.  Though recently retired, Mr. Christenson sets on numerous institutional Boards of Directors and is truly following Wittenberg’s motto of “Having light we pass it on to others”.  I think the type of experience that a visit from an alumni like Mr. Christenson allows is something truly unique and is yet another reason that Wittenberg is such a special place to not only learn, but to live and grow as a person.  As the time for final desicions begins to loom I want to encourage all of you to rememeber that Wittenberg is much, much more then just a University and that it truly creates an extended family for all who pass through its halls.

Its only Monday and already I feel a little exhausted: never a good sign.  I have my first Macro-Economics exam tomorrow and I must say I am a little nervous about it.  I’ve been reviewing the materials, but regardless of how many times I see it the Classical and Keynesian models only seem to make so much sense before they all blur together.  However, rather then to get down I’m just trying to view it as the fact that you will never be able to have a perfect understanding of every class you take, and in the long run it’s usually the classes you struggle in that teach you the most. 

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending a reception, hosted by the admissions office, for scholarship day students and their parents. It was held in Hollenbeck hall and was a very energizing experience.  To be in a room with 30 perspective students who really are the top of the top; the conversations were deep and interesting, and I am incredibly excited and hopeful that I will see all of those who were in attendance on
Wittenberg’s campus next fall.  I wish all of you reading this the best with your scholarship competitions and contests.  I know how nerve wrecking it can be as you wait for the results to see what you have been given for each of the colleges and universities you’ve been looking at.

As I enter this 5^th week of classes I think it is interesting to look back on the plans I have made for 2008.  You might say this seems silly, but after visiting the HPER center on campus its plain to see more then a few people have already fallen off the New Year resolution band-wagon.  I must confess that I am one of those people.  My attempt to read a book a week has thus far yielded only 2 in the span of 5 weeks.  The trips to the gym and pool have similarly been shirked off in the sake of homework or other interests.  While this is somewhat disappointing to think about I want to encourage all of you [myself included, ] that if we stumble rather then get down on ourselves, we must do the more difficult thing.  Pick up where we left off.  No one will ever be able to do everything they want to, but I feel like quite often people fail at a first attempt and write off the activity as a failure.  Think of what the world would be like if everyone took that approach!  I guess as the semester goes foreword I just want to cheer all of you on to continue to follow your aspirations even if they may not seem immediately attainable.  Just remember,
Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Good luck in school and in your pursuits!

Ben A.

Hello Everyone and Happy Monday!

Regardless of what I do or do not have to do it seems like the weekend always zips by to fast, but I guess it’s just best to push ever-foreword through the weeks. Last Friday was Wittenberg’s first scholarship day, and what a day it was! I had the privilege of greeting the scholarship day attendee’s and there parents in Wittenberg’s very own Matthies house. In my last blog I briefly mentioned the house, but after re-visiting all of its wonderful attributes with dozens of families I decided to revisit the house here in greater detail.

When you walk in the Matthies house you almost immediately feel like you’re at the home of nice friend or dear relative, who has gone for a trip and given you the use of there abode. Only in the case of the Matthies house you get to use the house 24-7 for as long as you like! The house has two large study rooms on the downstairs floor equipped with comfy couches, nice desks and plenty of lighting. There is also a kitchen that is perpetually ready to welcome you with offerings of hot chocolate, tea, or a can of soda.

Advancing to the upstairs of the house you’ll find three more study rooms, including one which is set up for going over presentations or group projects. The second floor also has a computer lab, loaded with eight computers, a laser printer, and numerous study and reference works. While the Matthies house is almost never busy, if it ever does have more then a few students working underneath its roof a nice feature of the house is that every room in the house can be closed off. So if you ever have a big project and really need to focus, you can just pull the doors and get through the task at hand without any interruptions.

I don’t want to make it seem that the Matthies house is a place only used by haggard looking students who are on day three of a 20 page paper. The house also serves as a social space for students in the honors program to meet up and hangout. There is a large closet of games available for groups to use to their hearts content. There’s also a TV with a DVD player in the event that a group of honors students want to get together and watch a movie while they relax after a stressful week or exam.

I have utilized the Mathies house innumerable times since I started at Wittenberg, and feel that it is without a doubt one of the greatest privileges given to members of Wittenberg’s honors program. If you come to campus for a scholarship day or tour I highly encourage a stop at the Matthies house to see it and all it has to offer for yourself!

Best wishes for a great week,
-Ben A.

We’re already on week three of the new semester and things are going fast. Classes have kept me on my toes, but they have all been very interesting and engaging. I have a feeling it will be a hard but rewarding semester. I hosted my first overnight perspective last night and must say if you want an idea for what Wittenberg is really like, there are few better ways to gain that view then by coming to campus and doing an overnight with a current student. Since many of you may be coming to a scholarship day or accepted student visit day in the near future I want to encourage you add an overnight on to you schedule if you can swing it.

Since many of you will be at Wittenberg in the next few months I also want to encourage you to take a look at the Matthies House, located on Alumni-way. The Matthies house is one of the many privileges given to students who are accepted into the university’s honors program. The house has multiple study rooms to accommodate nearly any size group. It is also equipped with a personal computer lab and a working kitchen that always has hot chocolate ready to go! The house is open and available for use by honors students 24 hours a day, and is a great retreat if you need to pull an all-nighter before a project. For those of you who are looking for a challenging and equally rewarding academic experience during you college years I think you will be hard pressed to find a comprehensive honors program with more to offer then Wittenberg’s.

Going along with expending academic horizons, today was Wittenberg’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation and it was a speech to remember. Throughout the year Wittenberg brings many renowned speakers to campus, to discuss a broad spectrum of topics related to our ever-changing world. Today’s convocation was a challenge to all to remain vigilant and steadfast in the face of prejudice, regardless of the form it takes on. The convocation really reminded me of another reason I love Wittenberg. Many schools are canceled for the holiday celebrating Dr. King, but Wittenberg found a way to bring the entire campus community together for an enjoyable and enlightening address. I think it really shows Wittenberg commitment to the overall well-roundedness of its students that the university constantly provides opportunities that challenge us and make us think in new and unique ways.

I wish you well in the coming week and hope to see many of you on campus over the next few months!

Ben A.
s10.badams@wittenberg.edu

Hello Everyone,

My name is Ben Adams and I’m a sophomore here at Wittenberg. The main reason I have been given the opportunity to have this blog is so that I can inform all of you perspective students about Wittenberg’s outstanding honors program! However before we get into that I figured I’d just write a short first post about who I am and what I’m up to. I am a management and Economics double major and so far I love it. This semester I feel a little overwhelmed with classes [Two 300 level Econ and a 300 and 400 level management :/ ], but I’m also excited to be learning so many things that relate to both of my majors.

Outside of the class room I am involved in Witt invest, Wittenberg’s investment club, and the campus’s gsa. I am also an RA in the Tower residence hall which has been an amazing experience. Aside from my job as an RA I am a marketing Intern for Sodexho [Wittenberg’s food service provider] and an overnight host for the admissions office. I guess that’s really about all the intro I have in me. If you ever have any questions about Wittenberg or anything on campus please feel free to ask, I love talking about Wittenberg. I hope 2008 treats you well and I look foreword to telling you about all of the great aspects of Wittenberg’s honors program.

Ben A.