Two Popes in Prayer

Thought everyone might enjoy this.

Spring Break

Last minute trip to Phoenix

So my dad and I had decided to take a last minute trip to South Carolina over spring break because it was a good deal ($130 round trip it can't get much better than this). However, due to an impending snow storm that was coming into Chicago we were able to change our travel plans to going to Phoenix for no additional cost.

Our flight times were a little bit crazy we got into Phoenix at about one am in the morning after a layover in Dallas. It was certainly nice to get out of the snowy weather in Chicago. The weather in Phoenix while we were there was 80 and sunny all three days. It couldn't have been better. It was nice just to spend a lot of quality time with my Dad. He is so awesome. I had been to Phoenix a few times before but it is always a nice city to go back to.

We spent a day and drove two hours south of Phoenix to Tuscon. The University of AZ is located in Tuscon. They have a really nice campus. It felt strange to be on such a big college campus. All in all, I really like the smallness of the Rockhurst campus. It is nice knowing that you can get anywhere on campus in 5 minutes or less.

A lot of the time on trip was spent hiking, biking, playing tennis and just relaxing by the pool. All in all it was a really great trip. The only thing I was not crazy about was our 2:10am departing flight back to Chicago.

Here is a picture of me at a park outside of Tuscon, Az. This is a fantastic park. This picture is take at, at least 7000ft elevation.

Sorry for the Delay...The ups and downs

Hi All,

I want to first off apologize for the delay in posting. The week before spring break was crazy then spring break was crazy and wow already we are done with one week.We have one more full week this week and then a four day week and then we have a four day weekend for Easter. 

The week before spring break went really well. I we had a snow day on Tuesday which was nice then I just had two days of classes and my break started. My sister Hannah was really excited to see me when I got home. I hadn't seen her since I left at the end of winter break. That is the one disadvantage going to school so far from home. I guess though at the end of the day it makes the time we have together even more special.  With the spacing of the breaks it turns out I am able to be at home seeing my family every 8 weeks or less. I will always be a family boy. I got to be home for my sisters birthday which was really cool! 

I have to admit the week before spring break was not all perky. I got some tough news I did not get rehired for the Desk Manager. It was really tough for me. I have since gotten over it. A quote I keep going back to a lot lately is, "God will never give you more than you can handle. If it seems to be too much on your plate, remember, not everything comes easy in life but he's giving you this load because you're strong enough to handle it ". As one door closes another door opens. That is what I keep telling my self. The waiting to find out what that door that opens will be. I am really pleased with the people that got hired. 

I have an interview for an internship this summer next week. I am really excited for it. 

The snow just followed me home.  I ended up going to Phoenix for part of my spring break with my Dad. It was a great trip. That is another blog. Hopefully this weekend I will have time to write another blog post about it.

There are some exciting events coming up at Rockhurst in the coming week. I cant wait. It will give you something to look forward to! Anyway... if your reading this blog and wana know something about me?/ About RU? or have a topic you want me to blog about comment on this post! 

A tribute to our first Jesuit POPE!!

Snow Day #2

Hi All,

Today is snow day number #2 here at the Rock (Rockhurst). It is crazy enough to get one snow day let alone two snow days! Anyway it came at about the perfect time of the semester. It is certainly nice to have a few days just to relax and hang out with friends. Snow days in an neat way draw the campus together. No one can go anywhere off campus so it draws people together. I watched a lot of people sledding outside my dorm room. There is a good hill to sled down my the baseball fields. A lot of college students found sleds somehow or pieces of cardboard to go sledding on. I will admit campus is really pretty all snow covered. There is almost something magical about it. One of my friends and I ventured over to the cafe before most people were up and it so cool because not many people had been out in the snow yet.

The Rockhurst grounds crew and students who work with them have done an awesome job keeping campus clean the past two days. During the heaviest snow yesterday morning they keep shoveling trying to keep the walk ways clean.

Snow days are not all the common at Rockhurst. This was the first snow day we have had in two years. The ones we had two years ago were the first ones we had in something like 6 years. Something that is funny is that this year Kansas City has had more snow than my home town of Chicago has had.

Have a great week! Fun digging out to all those who have snow outside. This has been a crazy weather year.

Here is my weekly quote. Another one from Steve Jobs:

The Waiting Game

First off a big thank you to the one competitive scholar who responded to my last blog post. If there are any other competitive scholars out there feel free to still comment!

With lent already upon all those who are catholic. I feel like I am coming to an end of my waiting game...

Things I have been waiting to hear on:
1. The Truman Scholarship. The Truman scholarship is a $30,000 graduate school scholarship given to about 65 college juniors every year. Each university across the country is allowed to nominate up to four people for the Truman scholarship. I was the only student from Rockhurst that was nominated for the Truman Scholarship. It was a great honor in and of itself to be nominated for the Truman scholarship. Each university that participates in this has a faculty adviser that oversees and helps guides the students through the process. Rockhurst has not had someone win the the Truman scholarship in a long time.

What is really awesome about this scholarship is that there are basically no strings attached. Those who win the scholarship can use the money at any graduate school of their choice. The only catch for the scholars is that 3 out of their first 7 years post graduate school have to be spent working in public service (aka for the government or for a nonprofit organization). Seeing that working for a nonprofit is how I plan to spend my life the one requirement is easy for me.

2. Desk Manager. This past week I had my rehire interview for the on-campus job I currently hold as Desk Manager. I have had the position for the past two years. I will be the first to admit the job has it's challenges but it is a great job overall and I feel so fortunate that I get to be part of the Rockhurst Residence Life Staff. Within the next two weeks I should find out if I am going to be rehired for my position as Desk Manager. I am really excited to hear back about that because it determines my living situation for next year. As crazy as it is, all the housing applications for next year have already opened and deadlines for certain upper-classmen housing options close as soon as March 1st.

3. There are two other scholarship applications that I have finished up over the past few weeks and submit for review this coming week. It will be interesting to see if I get either of those scholarship applications.

4. There is a lot more I am sure. I have to decide what I am doing this summer for work.

Have a fantastic weekend I will post more after I find out about the Truman scholarship. By the way the Truman Scholarship has a funny twitter feed. It is quite entertaining to read. Yesterday they posted a picture of all our applications.. . 


And finally I leave you with my quote for the week. I found this cool website that had quotes from Steve Jobs.. so that is why I have picked his quotes for the next few weeks.

I pray that I may be crazy enough to think that I can change the world. 

Anyone reading out there have any questions for me RU related or just life related?

"What a great day for Rockhurst"

The title of this blog was the title of an email sent out to the student body, yesterday (Friday) was competitive scholars day at Rockhurst University. Over 305+ high school seniors came to Rockhurst. All of whom have been admitted to come here next year and represent to top tier of students. 

From the  competitive scholars day reception after all the interviews were done. Notice how nice the convocation center got transformed!

The email read "We have 305 scholars attending, and with their guests, a total of 835 people! These are record numbers for this program.We have 440 guests arriving at 8:30am, for optional morning program and by 12:30pm all of our 835 guests will be on campus.Close to 200 members of our campus community; from faculty to staff to students will be involved in making this day a wonderful experience for our guests, and in allowing Rockhurst to show one of its best attributes—our people."

It was really exciting to see all these potential Rockhurst students and their parents on campus. It reminded me of three years ago when I came here to interview for one of the 10 full ride scholarships. The year I came to interview there were only about 100 students here interviewing. This year the number of full ride scholarships they are giving away is up to 30 since they had over 300 students come for the interviews! 

Thinking back to when I came for Competitive Scholars day, it really confirmed where I was thinking about going to school. Going into the interview secession's with other candidates (potential classmates) and getting to know their background. More than the full ride conversations it is a chance to have an intellectually based conversation around topics that are of interest to everyone. You also get a chance to meet with some of the faculty members who conduct the interview secession's  To this day I still remember some of the faculty members that interviewed me while I was here. Additionally, some of my fellow students who came to be interviewed I have ended up becoming good friends with here at Rockhurst. For me the interview was not very intimidating instead it was a really good chance to share with others some of the life experiences that I had that shaped and formed me. 

Now for the 300+ Students that came to competitive scholars day it is waiting time to find out if they are one of the luck 30 to get a full tuition scholarship. If any of the competitive scholars happen to be reading this blog I would love for you to comment on how you enjoyed the experience of the day and if it swayed your college choice at all? Hope to hear from some of you! 

Here is the Quote for the week!

Semester in Full Swing

Hi All,

Hope everyone had an awesome week. My week seemed to either go bye super fast or felt really long I can not decide which though.

Monday was highlighted by an awesome weather day. The high monday was somewhere around 76 degrees. It felt awesome! The campus felt so alive! I think the warm weather brought out the best in everyone. Everyone was outside. A lot of people were running. I actually went for two runs on monday with two friends. It was so nice to be able to get out and run in just shorts and a T-shirt. One run I went on was just two miles the other run was like 6.3 miles. It was nice to catch up with some friends while I was running. A lot of students at Rockhurst like to run. More than I thought would enjoy running, honestly. I remember thinking that freshman year. Also the one room on campus that has to get the most use per square footage is the workout room. That room is always busy. It is a nice room, it is just small. I was joking with a friend it has been particularly busy this semester. My friend replied "It is everyone's new years resolution to work out more frequently and it will die off in a few weeks". My friend is probably true.

This weeks inspirational quote. 

The weather went on a drastic change. It rained all day Tuesday which defiantly changed the number of people that were out and about walking around campus. Tuesday I had an HAC (Honors Advisory Council Meeeting), which consists of two students and about 8 honors faculty members who are on the committee. We advise the Honors Director on various issues. Also on Tuesday afternoon I went to the weekly event campus ministries hosts called pasta and prayer. Which is exactly what is sounds like. We have "prayer" first which is normally mass then we all head over to the campus ministries house for "pasta" which a few students prepare. It is always really nice to have a home cooked meal and fellowship for this weekly event. Last semester I had class during the time so I was not able to attend.

On Wednesday it snowed! We got like an inch of snow here. It is crazy how the weather can turn cold so fast! The rest of the week was pretty routine. Each week I will try to highlight a different part of the week. So keep coming back to check for more!