October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

The jack-o-lanterns have been carved, the costumes are out, and everyone is celebrating Halloween here on campus! It really is one of the most fun holidays to celebrate. I am currently working in the Registrar's Office here on campus and even the employees at St. Thomas get dressed up for Halloween. The kids from the Child Development Center, a daycare on campus, came to our office this morning to trick-or-treat. It was really fun.

Last night I went to ValleyScare with some friends. It was really cool. ValleyScare is ValleyFair, just Halloween-i-fied. (I think I just made that word up...oh well, it's my blog, right?) The rides were running and there was a lot of scary things as well. I get scared pretty easily so I was freaking out at some of the stuff they had there. Tonight I am planning on going to the Cretin Haunted House here on campus with some friends. The residents of Cretin Hall turn their entire res hall into a haunted house. It is a St. Thomas tradition and they do a pretty good job with it I must say.

Well I better get back to work, just wanted to send everyone a quick Halloween greeting. Don't get too scared!

Shane

Posted by Shane at 10:30 AM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 26, 2007

Taking a much needed break!

It may only be for one day...
...but it is so nice! That's right, today is fall break, meaning there is NO CLASS TODAY! WOHOO! I am still on campus giving some tours to prospective families, but other then that, I have nothing do for a change. I slept in, watched a little TV, I even got to sit down and enjoy my lunch this afternoon! Later tonight I am catching up on some homework and working on a Scope story down in the edit lab. Tomorrow my family is coming up to the Twin Cities so I will get to see them. A lot of my friends went home for the break but some of them will be back tomorrow night so I will get to hang out with them.

A New Era...
It was announced to the St. Thomas community yesterday that St. Thomas is embarking on a new era. You can read about it by clicking here. At the website, I encourage you to watch the campaign video. It really gives you an insight as to what St. Thomas is all about and what kind of community is here. What does this mean for you? Well, St. Thomas is starting the largest capital campaign in the history of the school, meaning in the near future there will be a new student center, new athletic facilities, and more financial aid for incoming students. This is really a good time to be looking at St. Thomas because so many things will be updated in the next couple years.

Well that's about all I know for now. Have a great weekend!

Shane

Posted by Shane at 11:41 AM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 23, 2007

Midterms!

It's not as bad as it sounds...
Hey everyone. If you can tell by the title of this blog, it is midterm time already. It seems like the semester just started and already it is half over! Things are a little crazy but overall I'm not panicking. I really don't have any midterm tests which is a good thing, I just have some class projects that are starting this week that are going to take a while to finish. In my media production class we are starting our ENG projects. ENG stands for electronic news gathering. So basically we go out and do a news story. It takes a long time to set up interviews, get cover shots, and edit the whole thing together, but it is also pretty fun. My partner and I are doing a story on Residence Hall Association, a group here on campus that does fun events and activities for the res hall residents. They have free food on the quad, movie nights, and have really cool res hall competitions like "The Price is Right" where you actually play for prizes like iPods and digital cameras. As for the rest of my classes, they are just the same as usual...nothing too exciting.

Soccer anyone?
This afternoon my public speaking class was let out early and the building in which the class is held is right next to the soccer field, so my friend Beth and I thought we would go check out the game. I had never been to a soccer game before, and I have to say, it was pretty fun. Fanamaniacs, a division of STAR, was giving away free pizza, t-shirts, bags, and even coffee mugs! It was a great find!! The game was pretty cool too. We won 5-0. Way to go Tommies!

Looking forward to "break"
This Friday is our midterm break. That's right, one day. Oh well, it's better than nothing. I am planning to stay on campus and work some extra hours. On Saturday my brother is competing in a high school marching band competition here at the Metrodome so my family will be up here anyway and I will get a chance to see them which will be nice.

Well better get back to the homework. Later.

Shane

Posted by Shane at 06:43 PM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 19, 2007

Let's Go Tommies Let's Go!

HOMECOMING
Hey guys, this weekend is homecoming weekend here at UST. The festivities have been going on all week but they really went into high gear tonight with the Homecoming Pep Fest in the field house. Different fall sports teams participated in a talent show, the cheerleaders and dance teams performed, and the pep band got a few songs in to get everybody fired up! Tomorrow morning is the traditional homecoming parade and "Taste of Saints". TOS is a giant food event on the lower quad. Different clubs and organizations on campus sell everything from hamburgers and hotdogs to Krispy Kremes. It is a great fundraiser for clubs and a great way to get some lunch on homecoming Saturday. Tomorrow afternoon is the football game against Concordia-Moorhead. Should be a good time, and it all concludes with the homecoming dance tomorrow night. It is a great way to kick back and have some fun during the middle of the semester.

Check this out
So our first episode of Campus Scope is now online. You can watch it by clicking here! You need to be using a PC though...sorry Mac users. Like I said it was our first episode of the year but I think it turned out pretty good. Let me know what you think about it!

Well that's all I know for now...have a great weekend everyone.

Shane

Posted by Shane at 07:07 PM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 15, 2007

What a Week!

Pheew!
...that is a sign of relief if you can't tell. Last week was a blur! I was really happy when the weekend rolled around. Now it is Monday morning and the week is starting all over again. However, I don't think this week will be nearly as busy as last week...at least I HOPE it won't.

SCOPE!
So this Friday we taped our first Campus Scope show of the semester. I think it really went well. In fact, I was quite surprised at how everything came together. The show is broadcast throughout the res halls as well as online. Once it is posted I will put a link to it on my blog so you can catch a minute or two of it. One of the jobs of a journalist is meeting deadlines. We had some breaking news here at St. Thomas last week and I was assigned to put a story together about it before the Friday taping. Myself along with another student worked until about 2:00 a.m. one night putting the story together. It took a long time, but in the end it turned out pretty good. It was nice to see the story run on Friday.

Homecoming Week
This week is Homecoming Week here at UST. St. Thomas Activities and Recreation (STAR) has a long list of activities planned. You can read all about it here. Hopefully it doesn't rain like it did during the last home football game. You know my luck with rain...

Is it midterm time already?
It is hard to believe, but next week marks the half way point in the fall semester. It has been a good semester so far. I have a couple exams coming up this week and next week that I will be studying hard for, one in particular...Spanish. That class is a thorn in my side. No offense to anyone who likes Spanish, but for me it is just plain hard. It is the one class that is just a complete and total struggle for me. There are Spanish tutors and the professors help out a lot, but it is just really challenging. I am looking forward to the end of this semester because then I will have completed my foreign language requirement and I won't have to take it next semester!

Well that's about all I know for now. Until next time...

Shane

Posted by Shane at 08:39 AM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 08, 2007

So...DC was Fun

Hey guys, it is Monday night and I just got back to St. Thomas yesterday from my trip to DC for the SPJ National Convention. It was a great time! I learned a lot and got to see some pretty cool sights in DC.

Convention
At the convention, I learned valuable skills. One of the sessions talked about how to make a resume tape. In broadcast journalism you put your best work on a tape or DVD and send it out to lots of stations hoping one will reply and offer you that first job! I even got personal one on one help with my own resume. The lady that was running that session is a producer at WCCO-TV right here in Minneapolis. She was pretty shocked when I told her I was from St. Paul. It was nice to make a contact like that.

Sight Seeing
When we weren’t sitting in meetings or sessions, we were hitting the DC streets seeing all there is to see. I had been to DC twice before, but it was still nice to go back. One morning we all got up really early to go to the Washington Monument to get tickets to go to the top. We were in line for probably 45 minutes but finally got tickets. The view from the top of the monument was well worth the wait. It was spectacular. We also went to Lincoln, Jefferson, and Roosevelt Memorials, all of which were fun. You see these places in pictures all the time but when you are actually there it looks so much different and feels so much different as well. We also visited the war memorials, quite a sobering experience.

Back to reality
Don't worry...class was waiting for me this morning, it didn't leave while I was away...too bad! This will be a busy week. I have to give an informative speech on Thursday. I have been working on it for about three weeks now so I am ready to deliver it and see how the class reacts. This Friday we tape our first edition of Campus Scope. The staff has been literally working around the clock on that one and I think our first show will be a hit. In the world of news, there is always something happening or last minute breaking news that needs to be reported. What a life!

Well if I want to be up and functioning for my morning class tomorrow, I better get to bed. Have a great day!

Posted by Shane at 10:36 PM » Want to read or post comments about this? »

October 03, 2007

Fall is Here

This is the last time I talk about rain....PROMISE!
So by now you are probably getting sick and tired of me talking about the rain. Well, I am sick and tired of getting caught in it! First of all, pep band at the football game on Saturday was cancelled due to...the rain! And, of course, it poured again on Tuesday, right when my class on south campus got out. Most of you are probably thinking, "Why doesn't this guy just buy an unbrella?" Well, I have one but when the rain is coming down THAT HARD a little umbrella doesn't supply much defense.

The leaves are turning...
There is no doubt about it, fall is here. I love this season! St. Thomas a prime location when it comes to seeing all the fall colors on the trees. Just a block down is the Mississippi River, and when the trees turn by the river, it is a really cool sight, and I'm not just saying that. All along Summit Avenue there are big trees that turn bright orange and yellow around this time of year. Truley my favorite time of year.

Leaving for DC!!
Tomorrow I am leaving for Washington, DC for the Society of Professional Journalists National Convention. I am super excited. Four days of listening to professional journalists, gaining experience, and sight seeing. Of course the best part of all is that UST is footing the bill! Can't go wrong there. They don't just hand money out. It took a long time to request funds and get approval, but in the end it means a free trip to DC for me and three of my friends who are also on the SPJ Board. It will be a good time! If I have a spare minute or two I will try to blog to you from DC to keep you up to date with the goings on.

Celebrating a Birthday
One of my friends had a birthday last week so tonight a group of us are going to Axel's Bonfire on Grand Avenue. It is about 10 minutes from campus and the food is amazing! Almost everything there is cooked over an open flame, hence the name "Bonfire".

Well I better get some homework done before I head out tomorrow. Talk to you all later.

Posted by Shane at 06:07 PM » Want to read or post comments about this? »