Ben, ‘11

May 2009

Another semester is officially in the books. I am now halfway through my college life. Yikes!!! Where is the time going? As I always do, though, I would like to take the chance to reflect on this semester and see exactly what I was up to. So let’s begin.

I continued to attend my share of cultural events at the Modlin Center on-campus. This semester, I saw MOMIX, Garrison Keillor, Cirque Eloize, the Five Browns and our spring musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. All of them were quite entertaining. One of the best parts was that they were all very cheap, often either free or only $8.

Besides cultural acts coming to campus, we also had several other big names come to visit. We had Chris Hansen of “To Catch a Predator” as well as John Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations. Both were very interesting to listen to. We also had Guster come to campus, but I could not attend their show.

Chris Hansen, me, and my friends

I suppose I shouldn’t go too far without talking about academics. I took six classes for five units and they kept me plenty busy: Managerial Accounting, Business Statistics, Critical Thinking, Research Methods, Group Dynamics, and Rhetoric Theory and Pedagogy. It’s great to be a business major right now because our Business School soared to #12 in the nation this semester, being tied for #1 in the nation for academic quality. Very impressive. I survived all of my classes with pleasing grades, which is always a plus. Just for the fun of it, I calculated from my master calendar that I have read 2,144 pages of readings, articles, and textbooks and also written 115 pages of essays and reports. I think that’s pretty impressive. My favorite study place is in my dorm’s hallway (it’s a long story) and I actually attracted quite a following out there by the end of the semester.

My friend following the trend of studying in the hallway

To destress from any of those papers or readings, I made sure I had my fair share of fun. I went to see “Role Models”, “Quantum of Solace”, “Seven Pounds”, and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in our Commons. My friends and I also made frequent trips to Capital Ale House for Dollar Burger Nights, basketball games, a cappella concerts, and the intramural fields for some sand volleyball. I also went to a sorority social, competed in a 24-hour scavenger hunt, and went to the North American Squash Championships on-campus, just to name a few more events.

Dollar Burger Night at Capital Ale House

A sorority social at the end of the year

My organizations, however, have provided me with plenty of entertainment and work as well. I plan all events for InterVarsity, so I can vouch for this. We held events including an apartment dance party, square dance, medallion hunt, Murder Mystery Dinner, Valentine’s Dinner, and Super Bowl party, just to name a few. We also reinvented our large group worship service and rejuvenated our Spring Retreat by going to Virginia Beach and staying at a hotel on the ocean. Too many fun memories and events to continue on any more.

Polar Plunge at Beach Retreat

Preparing for the IV Valentine’s Dinner

Square Dance!!!

Murder Mystery Night

My leadership on the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team consumed roughly as much time as InterVarsity. We went to New Orleans for an Alternative Spring Break and had a great trip. All of the participants were amazing people and we accomplished a lot of great work. We did work ranging from demolition to painting to sheetrocking, all while completing numerous learning components.

Doing demolition work on a post office in New Orleans

Enjoying Jackson Square in the French Quarter

Painting the home of a Katrina survivor

The 2009 Collegiate Disaster Relief Team

Last but not least, we had several campus-wide events that worth noting. I’ll let the pictures explain them as I begin to look ahead to my last two years here at UR.

Snow Day!!!

Our campus was overrun by snow in early March

Having fun at Bellis Fest

My friends enjoying Pig Roast

Fun Final Year-End Comment:

I made a wall hanging of the Richmond crest before I came to UR and there are eight pockets in each of the red squares. So, as this academic school year has gone on, I’ve put little trinkets in there to remind me of fun events throughout the year. Now that the school year is over, I had to take everything out, but it was actually very fun to do that. This year’s banner included notes from our weekly Methodist lunches, a pack of liquid-filled Gummies from InterVarsity’s Halloween Party, a Relay for Life pin, a Christmas ornament from a friend, a figurine someone gave me on the Spring Break Trip, the medallion from the InterVarsity Medallion Hunt, a Wisconsin magnet from a care package from home, and a completed calendar of second semester’s assignments.

This year’s banner