April 25, 2008 Living On-Campus

More often than not, when someone visits USF, he or she is interested in seeing a room in one of our residence halls.  The school caters to this wish by including a trip into a freshmen residence hall as part of the standard campus tour.  Now, nothing beats actually seeing a room in one of our residence halls with your own two eyes, but if anyone out there is just a little curious about the specs of a room on campus, this is the blog for you.   First and foremost, I would  like to give you all a quick intro to who I am and how I know about the residence halls on campus.  This is not something you will  normally hear from the students on campus, but I  have had the pleasure of living in a freshmen-only hall for nearly two years now.  I have lived in Gillson Hall now once as an actual freshmen student, and this year as sophomore Resident Advisor.  *As a point of reference, a Resident Advisor (RA) is an upper-classmen, community builder who lives among the residents of the residence hall.  The RA plans programs over the course of the year to help matriculate the students into university life and into the social atmosphere of the residence hall.*   Ok, so that is out of the way, let us  talk about the freshmen residence halls.  We have two freshmen-only, co-ed residence halls at USF:  Hayes-Healy and Gillson Hall.  Both of these halls are identical in just about every aspect except that Hayes Healy has more recently renovated bathrooms (a small issue, and that is not just my "Gillsonian" bias).   The freshmen halls are accessible to students and the senior staff at the Office of Residence Life, but access to individual rooms is privileged only to the students occupying them.  It is worth noting that Gillson Hall will be renovated this upcoming summer, and students will not be needing any sort of key to access their rooms, but rather will use their USF IDs as key cards to unlock their doors.  (Similar to a hotel)  That is pretty cool right?  I am  excited.   The structure of every floor in both of the halls is also identical.  Each building has two corridors that stretch out in opposite directions from a central lobby area.  This central lobby is where the communal bathroom for the floor can be found, and also is where the elevators are located.  Inside each room is two beds and it should be noted that they are not stationary.  The beds can be moved around, lofted, or bunked to maximize space. Two closets, two desks, two chairs, two dressers (each with three drawers), and a total of twelve shelves (four in the closets, and four bookshelves on each side of the room) are also in the rooms.  There are two jacks for Ethernet chords to access the internet from the rooms (and USF provides the chords, so no need to go and buy one).  *Again, as another side note, there is wireless internet all over campus, except for the rooms in the residence halls, being that they are private areas and accessible only to students and not ITS employees.*   I hoped that provided some insight into the structure of the freshmen residence hall.  For more information, check out http://www.usfca.edu/residence_life/oncampus/index.html.

April 14, 2008 Only in San Francisco

This past weekend was quite an interesting one.  It only served as a reminder to me that one can never really be fully prepared for the weather in this city.  Now I have blogged about the weather before, but I feel like talking about it once more. So here is some background information:  San Francisco is transitioning from cooler weather to warmer springtime weather.  Lately, for the most part, we have been seeing a lot of windy weather, some very occasional raindrops, and some cloudy skies.  That was the norm, and that is what we here in San Francisco had been used to seeing for the majority of March and for most of April so far.  ALL OF A SUDDEN, this past weekend, the sun just decided to come out, and really dish out some heat to our city by the bay.  The weather took an unexpected turn from a temperate 60˚ to a dry and hot 80˚!  Naturally, we were all thrilled.  It was a chance to lie in the grass, and visit the beach, play in the water, tan, and just be outdoors!  I, myself, can attest to the craziness of Mother Nature in San Francisco.  When I went to sleep on Friday evening, it was cold and windy.  I woke up Saturday morning, and the weather was amazing!  The sun had come out and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Later on that same day, I went over to walk and just hang at the Golden Gate Bridge, and the weather was still warm, but the sea breeze balanced out the heat from the sun.  The weather stayed warm for Sunday, just as amazing as it was the previous day, but then on Monday, it reverted to cool and windy!  Go figure.  Today, the high temperature predicted was about 60˚. The general advice - to be as prepared as one can be for this type of weather - dress in layers.

April 09, 2008 Kalmanovitz Hall

Hey again, everyone.  It has been a little while since I last blogged, and I think it is definitely due time for another one. So how about that new building on campus?  If anyone has visited the school or seen the campus, you can definitely agree that this new building is noticeable.  Formerly Campion Hall, the newly renovated and rebuilt, Kalmanovitz Hall is located at the heart of our school.  Directly across the way from Gleeson Library and across Welch field from St Ignatius Church, Kalmanovitz Hall is finally going to up and be ready for use during the Fall Semester of 2008!  This is a really exciting time for all of us here at USF mainly because we have been watching this building get torn, plastered, cemented, hammered, drilled, and covered in tarp for nearly a year and a half now—and now there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.  As if a brand new building with all new fixtures and gadgets of all sorts was not going to be enough, there is also the rumored nap room in the building.  Apparently, we may be seeing a nap room in the building!  How crazy is that?   The school truly understands what we need here at USF, a good education, a pleasant learning environment, and sleep.

November 30, 2007 Greek Life at USF

I think a fun topic to blog about this time around would be the Greek life we have here on campus.  Throughout my time here at USF, I’ve always known about the existence of Greek life, but not much else other than the fact that it exists.  So why not talk a little bit about it and inform USF’s loyal readers about what we have to offer here at USF as far as Greek life goes? All students are made aware of the Greek life’s presence on campus when Greek Week comes around early on in the year.  That is the week that all of the fraternities and sororities on campus market themselves to the passing students in Harney Plaza, USF’s main quad.  All of the organizations set out their tables and booths and aim to inform students of their “rushing” processes, or rather, their unique means of recruiting and informing those interested in pledging, or joining, the organization.  There are different fraternities and sororities with different purposes in mind here at USF.  We have around 15 or so, different active chapters (fraternities and sororities) here and each with its own purpose and intent.  Delta Sigma Pi, for example, is a professional fraternity “organized to foster the study of business in universities.”* Tri Gamma is a sorority meant to foster growth among nursing majors, and Omicron Theta Chi is meant to “stimulate higher-intellectual achievement, allowing male students [from] all areas of study to involve themselves in an academically as well as socially active environment.”* Greek life is definitely present here on campus, though I do want to clarify for everyone that it is nothing like the stereotypical partying fraternities and sororities that the media has portrayed in the past. If anyone has seen Van Wilder or Animal House, you’ll know what I mean. Greek life is meant to foster academic and social growth in a person,so definitely look into it at USF! Till next time, everyone. Peace.

November 21, 2007 Come Visit USF

I thought it would be nice this time around to talk a bit about the campus here at USF.  When most people think of college campuses, more often then not, the thought of a humongous, secluded one is what comes to mind.  That was the case with me anyway when I was in high school.   Needless to say, there are those campuses that do fit that mold of a giant, countryside, campus in the middle of nowhere, but USF is definitely not one of those types of schools.  USF has a gorgeous and very urban campus.  Because it is located in the heart of San Francisco, it definitely is not a gigantic, far off, 400,000 acre campus, but rather a smaller one.   Now, after having been a student here for nearly a year and a half, I can find two reasons why the size of the USF campus works well:    The first is that the size campus presents a social advantage to all whom live and study at USF.  The fact that it’s so small makes being social extremely easy, since one can often run into familiar people here.  That fact in turn allows one to build a strong sense of community early on in his or her college career, which would play to any student’s advantage since a group of friends acts as a means of support and encouragement-and God knows, when midterms and finals come around, support and encouragement are welcomed!   The second reason why I feel that the smaller size of USF’s campus is advantageous is that it encourages students to get off campus and explore the city once all of the campus has been explored (and that only takes a couple of weeks at most). Also, needless to say but still worthy of mentioning, there is always something occurring on USF’s campus, from political lectures, to Stress Relief Days in the central plaza, concerts, and my personal favorite:  campus-wide capture the flag games—the list really goes on.  The campus is basically a very lively one, but at the same time, we USF students are in the heart of a bustling city, and it plays to our advantage to go out and explore what there is to see in San Francisco!  From the financial district where six Fortune 500 Companies are located, to the Embarcadero where we have our famous Ghirardelli Square, to North Beach, our little Italy, to Chinatown, to Ocean Beach there is so much to do and explore, one shouldn’t stay on campus at all!  And hey, transportation’s free for all USF students, so it’s worth going out and exploring!   USF’s campus plays as a very strong advantage to all of the students—its worth checking out!  Look into it:   http://www.usfca.edu/acadserv/visit.html

September 25, 2007 I'm Back! USF Blogging Round 2

"In the City"              -The Eagles What's up, everyone?  Remember me?  Well I'm back, so here it goes: USF  blogging -- round 2. And I'm back home again.  It was a great summer being back with my family in San Jose.  I saw a lot of my high school friends, reunited with a high school sweetheart (whom, if she should be reading this, totally rocks), and hung out a lot with the family.  Needless to say, my summer was amazing and gave me plenty of things to smile about, but it is such a great feeling being back at school. What I've come to realize this time around is that USF feels more like home to me now than anywhere else.  When I returned to school, I hadn't realized how much I had missed the city, the people I had met, the friends and good relationships I had made, and the flippin weather.  I love San Jose, but geographically, the place is a valley, aka an oven during the summer, so goes without saying, San Francisco is exactly the place I need to be now -- much cooler and more tolerable weather. Also, a welcome is in order to the USF class of 2011!  Welcome, everyone! Alright, well I'm going to leave it short and sweet for now, keep checking back every week and a half or so to keep up on the new blogs to this site.  Until then, everyone:  peace.

May 15, 2007 "Here Comes the Sun" -The Beatles

Here it is:  the light at the end of the tunnel!  It's almost surreal how my first year at USF is already over, but it feels sooooo good now that is.  Honestly, I am taking the biggest breath right now that I have taken all year.  Everything's falling together, angels are singing, trumpets are roaring, and kids are graduating.  So ends my first year here, it was fun, it was long and enduring, but it was definitely worth all the early mornings and late nights.  Summer begins for me officially at 5pm, Wednesday May 16th, that's when my last finals is over.Everything is finally falling together, and I can breathe again.  Very well, so this is my final blog for the 2006-2007 school year, to my loyal readers, have a great summer and remember to enjoy it while it lasts.  To the graduating class of 2007, congrats to all of you, I am looking forward to seeing some new freshman faces here at USF next year.  Lookout for me next year, by the way, I'll be one of the Gillson Hall Resident Advisers; you won't be able to miss me (I'll probably be the loudest one)! :-) Shoutouts to everyone in Admissions, you guys made my year awesome (except for the EMT), I'm glad to have met all of you.  See you all next semester! :-) Peace everyone, rock on.

April 23, 2007 Welcome to USF...

How's everyone out there doing today?  What I really feel like talking about this week is the recent Admitted Student Reception we had here on campus on Sunday, April 21st.  First and foremost, these Admitted Student Receptions are extremely useful for any new, incoming student to USF, be the student a transfer or a freshman.  The receptions give the students a chance to meet and speak with their respective USF counselors, as well as also meet current students.  That only touches upon what these receptions offer, but in a very condensed nutshell, that is an opportunity given to the students that attend these events. The most recent reception we had was a great success and a lot of fun to work at.  Because I am a University Ambassador, I had the pleasure of meeting many of the new, incoming freshmen to USF at the event through the tours that I gave, through the Freshman Q&A Panel, and through the lunch social.  It's always fun to meet new people, and to see so many of the new students planning to enter in the Fall was really exciting.  The event was a blast, look out for me the next time you attend an Open House! Shout-outs go to any of the male freshmen considering living in Gillson next year; I'm an RA in that building next year, so look out for me! Special Shout-out goes out to my number one fan that I ran into early on Sunday morning at the Open House!  You recognized me from my blog and made my day, YOU ROCK! Take it easy everyone! J

April 03, 2007 Big City Nights and Days

What's up again, everyone?  This has been a pretty decent week in the city.  Classes are going well, and as of right now, the sun is shining, which is always nice.  The fact that the sun is shining though, does bring to mind an interesting topic to blog about this week.  Have you heard of the phrase, "Mother Nature has a mind of its own"?  That phrase totally applies to the weather here in the city.  One can experience wind, fog, rain, completely cloudy skies, and bright sunshine over the course of about 7 days!  Now don't get me wrong, not every week is like that in San Francisco, but we certainly get our share of crazy weather here.  Just this past Monday it was raining like crazy in the morning, then during the afternoon it was bright and sunny, and following that temperature shift, the evening was quite windy.   Go figure, right?  To view this crazy weather optimistically though, one can think of it as one day being a great day to go to the beach, which is just 10 minutes away from school (Google: Ocean Beach), and another day being great for sitting in with some hot chocolate and watching tv in the lounge. Till next week, everyone!

March 23, 2007 Back Home Again.

Hey everyone, Spring Break is over now, and we're all back at school, and that's actually a good thing.  I totally enjoyed that break and believe me it was just the refreshing break I needed to keep me ready to go with everything going on back here at school.  Being home was nice, and it was great to see my mom and dad and brother, but I ended up missing my friends here at school quite a bit, so I'm definitely happy to be back.  It's really cool how I've come to make such great friends here in the city.  All the people I know here, I've only known for a number of months, yet I feel so close to so many of my friends, that a week away from them did make me miss them.  In that sense, I am definitely happy to be back at school, yet on the other hand, it's back to the grind again:  homework, work, clubs.  Eh! that's life though right?  At least I'm around those whom I care about! Till next time, take it easy, everyone!

March 09, 2007 Goin to the Beach Where I Belong

What a week!!  Honestly, this week before Spring Break has been crazy!!  To all the students out there, you ever have one of those weeks where you're about to go on a small break, be it anything from a 3-day weekend to a small one to two week break, and the teachers just assign a million different things for you to do?  That's what this week has been for everyone.  It's been insane, SOO MUCH WORK.  All that plus mid-terms? All I can say now is that I'm so ready for Spring Break.  I'm planning a few beach trips to Santa Cruz and I can't wait!  So yeah, everyone have a great week coming up!

March 05, 2007 Learning to Fly

Hi there, everyone.  Last weekend was pretty cool for me, I saw my mom  and dad and brother for the first time in a while, and so that definitely put a smile on my face.  Its insane how college life can make you miss being home so much, or at least that's how it is for me.  There are those here on campus whom are thrilled to be on their own away from their parents and that's cool, whatever, but I tend to miss mommy and daddy every now and then.  College life is good in that it makes one used to being on his or her "own," and living life more independently, but every now and then its really nice, one could say "refreshing," to see mom and dad and the little bro again though.  So that's what I did, last weekend, I met up with the family and we went out to eat here in the city and hung out.  It was awesome. For any incoming/prospective students to USF, just to let you know, the whole process of leaving home isn't bad at all, and the Freshmen Orientation during the first week of school does help you out in getting social and meeting people around you.  It's a fun experience that's for sure, and one gets accustomed to living life away from home, but again, it never hurts to see mom and dad occasionally, because no matter how busy or chaotic life gets, you will not stop thinking about your family.

February 26, 2007 I Wanna Rock

Hey again, everyone!  You'll all be happy to know I'm feeling better and am ready to blog away like no other!  Right now, the biggest thing on my mind is a possible Battle of the Bands that might go on at the CrossRoads Cafe here on campus.  There are two places for us students to eat here at USF, the Market Cafeteria, and the CrossRoads Cafe, which is entirely student-run.  So I've heard by word of mouth that there may very well be a Battle of the Bands coming up in March at CrossRoads, and if that is the case, I think I'm going to jump up and down and yell and scream in excitement! So there are two things in life that I really enjoy:  seeing friends, and playing my guitar, and it goes without saying, playing guitar is the most super fun thing in the world, and I would be thrilled if I got a chance to perform with my friend on stage at CrossRoads.  Lately, he and I have been working on covering this song, by Andy Mckee called, "For My Father,"(look it up on youtube) and this could be a fun chance to perform it! Events such as these occur from time to time at CrossRoads, such as movie showings or comedy nights, but I haven't participated too heavily with them.  This Battle of the Bands would be a fun way to participate in one of them, and I can't wait! I'll keep everyone up to speed with any other fun things I hear about that are going on at USF!  Until next time then, take it easy everyone!

February 20, 2007 Just Feel Better

Hey everyone! What a week!  I am quite tired, and am extremely relieved that it's Friday.  Every once in awhile, it seems that life just wants to throw curve balls your way to test how strong a person you really are.  Can anyone relate to that?  This week, for instance, I had a sufficient number of things on my to-do list to keep me plenty busy, but to top it off, I now have a cold. :-) At least I say that with a smile right? :-) Here's the nice part about why it's Friday though:  Thursday through Sunday are the days that make up the weekend at any college.  Needless to say, there are still classes going on Thursday and Friday and Saturday, but the weekend does unofficially begin on Thursday for us here, and that means I get to rest and sleep in and recover!! YEAH RECOVERY!! I'll keep this one short and sweet, hope everyone's doing well and NOT sick!

February 09, 2007 Livin' the Life

How's it going everyone?  It's been a week since I last checked in with the USF Bloggers, and let me say this has been quite an interesting week for me.  A lot has been going on.  First and foremost, I can say that I'm back on a routine of getting up out of bed, going to class, work, and whatever else I have to do, so life back at school is definitely getting easier. Last Friday for instance was a fun, yet busy day.  I woke up, went to class, met with my Business Analysis Group to discuss a problem we had to do at the time, then went to work, and afterwards, I started training on becoming USF's next tour guide!  Definitely a full day, but it was really fun to go through, especially the tour guide training part.  All I had to do was shadow a tour and study how the tour guide kept the tour fun and interesting.  If anyone's coming to USF for a tour, you should definitely ask for me, because I know how to give one now! Today was also a pretty cool day.  I was just informed about how my application to the Freshmen Leadership Institute was accepted! For those prospective freshmen to USF whom are looking to get involved in a leadership position, Freshmen Leadership Institute is a good way to get the ball rolling for yourselves.  The Institute provides training for those whom look to make something of themselves as leaders among their peers, and also takes its students on a weekend retreat!  Pretty sure that ought to be fun! For more info, check out the Institute at www.usfca.edu/leadership/fli.  I'll end it at that.  Until next week, everyone, take it easy, -David

February 02, 2007 Back in Black....

What's up, everyone?  First and foremost, let me introduce myself:  I'm David and am one of the newest members of the super awesome USF Bloggers! SWEET!   So we're all back at school now and in the process of re-adjusting to the new routine, and let me tell you that it is not the easiest thing to do.  Fall semester ended, and then there were 5 glorious weeks of rest and relaxation, and now it's been two weeks of spring semester, and well, it hasn't exactly been the most relaxing experience.  Classes and commitments will drain you of your energy, but it's fun stuff. J   I'm excited for getting back into the swing of things for this semester though since I have fun stuff to look forward to.  For instance, let me tell you all about Resident Hall Council.  Every dorm building has its own associated student body, or so to speak, called Resident Hall Council.  We plan events for the dorm as a whole to be involved in, and the school gives a very generous budget for us to work with so we have a good amount of freedom with the sort of events we end up planning.  As an example, last semester, we planned a giant Halloween costume party for the school, and that was a huge success.  We work hard and we play hard.   I'll keep it short and sweet for now, but I'm definitely looking forward to blogging for all of you prospective students.  Keep checking regularly to hear about all the awesome stuff that goes on at USF!