University of Richmond

Archive for February, 2009

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hello, hello all! I hope you had a great Valentine’s weekend. The atmosphere here on campus is so fun and happy every time any sort of holiday rolls around. UR student groups love to go all out for every holiday, giving us students fun breaks from classes and studying.

There were random events that occurred all throughout last week leading up to the day itself. On Tuesday, my hall’s Resident Assistant threw us a Valentine party, where everyone in my hall exchanged secret Valentine gifts and decorated Valentine cookies. Then, Thursday night, the Campus Activities Board hosted William Cane, author of The Art of Kissing on a how-to kiss show.  This event was entertaining, to say the least, as author William Cane attempts to teach college students, in his very blunt and satirical sense of humor, how to kiss. Yes, you read correctly, dear reader, I attended a how to kiss event. This all goes to show the different kinds of speakers, programs and shows available on campus. There is always something different going on, and you should always keep an eye out for them! And finally, to sum up all Valentine’s Day events, the Westhampton College Cabinet for the class of 2012 hosted a cookie-decorating party for all the ladies of 2012 to get together and relax.

All in all, this week has been full of Valentine festivities and lots and lots of sweets. I just wanted to give you all a sneak peak into holiday events, because they always lighten the mood on campus! I hope everyone had as good of Valentine’s weeks as I did. Until next time!

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Just thought you might like to see what the Art of Kissing event was like. Captured here is author William Cane and student volunteers demonstrating “the art of kissing.”

Volunteering in the City of Richmond

Today, I began my volunteer work at Reid Elementary School, located fifteen minutes away from the University of Richmond. Because Reid has a large Hispanic student population, I originally signed up to work with them to fulfill a service requirement for my Spanish in the Community class. However, my first experience at the school today opened my eyes to a whole new side of Richmond that I am so glad to have finally seen. Although the Richmond campus has an increasingly diverse student population, we all ultimately share a common lifestyle as students at the University. I think that today has finally allowed me to see Richmond as more than just a campus. I finally see the city as a real, live city with a very diverse population.

As an ESL volunteer at Reid, I work with second and third grade students, helping them develop their math and English skills. Many of the students enjoy having a young “older person” to talk to. It is also easier for them to relay their problems with schoolwork, since I was in their shoes not too long ago. I thoroughly enjoy working with these students, as they show me a totally different world from my own and they bring back memories from my own elementary school days. I also enjoy the fact that I can be of any help to the students in progressing in their school work.

Again, today would count as one of those eye-opening experiences, to be cliché. Some words of advice for future Spiders: try to take at least one course that emphasizes social involvement and community-based learning while you’re here because, like me, you’ll be very grateful that you did!