Nathan

Chancellors Leadership Summit

2009-11-15T12:54:00.004-05:00

Fridays are rough days for me every week, but this past friday was a particularly long day, but in the greatest way. I have 4 classes in a row on fridays, including two 300+ student lectures, and a two hour computer programming lab. So I was in class from 10:10 to 3:20, with three 15 minute breaks to get from class to class. at 3:30, I was due at Neyland Stadium to board buses for the overnight adventure. Shockingly, I was late.

As we boarded the buses, I looked around and discovered I knew a lot of the people around me. It was great, because I really enjoy the time I get to spend with most of them. On UT's campus, I have a number of groups of friends I am a part of, for example, Ignite TL's, SGA Evolve people, UT Lead students I met at Ignite, and plenty more. For this retreat, I got to see a small part of each of these circles, and they all got to mingle with each other. I got to watch some of my closest friends find each other and become friends. It was really fun to be around the whole thing.

We rode four buses to Clyde Austin 4-H camp in Greeneville, TN. I rode with a couple people I met last year during the campaign. Laura, Jason, Cory, Brandon, and Sarah. Ben was a couple rows ahead sitting with Misha, Courtney P was in front of them with a couple more TL's. I got to listen to a very intelligent political discussion between 5 older, and much more educated people than I had ever heard before. When we got to the Camp, we looked out into the parking lot to see 30 or so of the most influential and powerful members of UT's Administration and Staff. Chancellor Cheek was there, a couple of Deans, Sally Parish, Jerry Adams, and plenty more that I'm sure are equally awesome.

The point of our retreat was to bring leaders from across campus together, in front of Administration so that we can network with each other, and with Staff in order to work towards a common goal. About 150 students were there, and they represented more than 50 student organizations from across campus.

-Student Orientation and Leadership Development

-Student Government Association

-Panhellenic

-Fraternity Council

-SPEAK(Environmental Awareness)

-Minority Advancement

-University Housing

and plenty more.

The Theme for the weekend was Sustainability, and we got all sorts of information about ways to help make campus more environmentally friendly. We got to have a Panel Question Session with the Chancellors Staff, where students could ask anything about the University. The questions covered stuff from the HOPE Scholarship, Out of state Tuition, the importance of Greek life, The direction of the University in general, and even what the Panels favorite Isle in Wal-Mart is. After the Question Answer Session, we moved into a couple Diversity activities, and then we had the option of Bed, cooking s'mores, playing games, or socializing in general. I might or might not have been up until 3:30. I learned how to play Dominoes, and a game called Rook, which is the southern version of Pitch with a fancy Deck. I went to bed and knew it was only going to be about 3.5 hours before I had to get up.

Have you ever heard the Techno remix of Rocky Top? Well I have, several times. In fact, every time I go to Clyde Austin I hear it. They blast all sorts of Music to wake people up and get them going for the Day. I popped right up and tried to shake off the tired feeling. "Tonight's gonna be a good night" helped for sure. We had breakfast, and then got to hear from the CEO of Bridgestone Tire Company. That was awesome. The man built an amazing career, and had a bunch of funny stories about his life. It was really fun to listen to him talk. AND he gave the SGA president a signed Peyton Manning Pro-Bowl Jersey.

We got on the buses from there, and headed back to campus. It was a very fun retreat, I met a bunch of great people, and got to build some old friendships a little more. It was really fun, and I am very very proud to be a part of the group that was selected to go this year. It's been running for 30 years, and I think its pretty special.

Now its on to go watch the Women's Club Lacrosse Team play Samford University. I wish I knew anything about Lacrosse. hahaha.

Homecoming

2009-11-11T16:19:00.005-05:00

Hey Y'all,

This Weekend was Homecoming, which my High School did not have. So I really don't know the purpose of it is, and apparently neither does anyone else cause everyone I ask doesn't have an answer. It's ok though, cause its fun and it unifies campus in a way. Basically, the whole week leading up to Saturday's game against Memphis, many student organizations compete in all sorts of different contests in an attempt to "Win Homecoming."

This years winners were the Boys of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, and the Ladies of Sigma Kappa Sorority. I am sort of biased in this blog because I like both of these social organizations a lot. I went to the SK spring formal last year, and I am good friends with more than a couple guys in AGR. So congrats Ladies and Gentlemen, even though none of you (except Meghan) read my blog. I'm very proud and very pleased.

I won't lie to you and say its not mostly Greek. Its very difficult for other Organizations to form teams to compete in everything. There are exceptions though, including The BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry). They do very well and placed in several events. Congrats to them as well.

The events are all across campus, and include a Soapbox Derby, a Banner competition, a yard/window display, a cheer/spirit competition called Smokey's Howl, and finally a Float Competition. Each event has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards that count for points towards the final score. The banners are hung up on Neyland, the yard/window displays are all over campus, and the Float competition takes place friday night. They haul huge floats that are complicated and impressive in front of a big crowd by the Torchbearer.

The Judges for the Competition are members of ACE, or All Campus Events. You might remember Catherine from like half my blogs? She is a member of ACE. They travel around and have to judge all the parts of the competition, and get almost as little sleep as the people who actually compete.

There is a ton of work that goes into Homecoming, and its a very special Tradition on UT's campus if you have a means of becoming really involved in it. Otherwise, its just fun to see the fruits of other peoples labor.

The Game on Saturday was fun because of the epic destruction we put on Memphis Football. (Literally, their coach was fired, Woof Woof.) Lots of players got to suit up for the Game, and my buddy Nick got to dress out wearing 34. I met his Mom who came in to see the game, and watched a good chunk of the Game with his Cousin Jayanni, who I just realized has been under-appreciated on this blog. A lot. She was a TL with me, and she is involved in all sorts of good stuff, Including her favorite activity, Jazz for Justice. It helps women in Northern Uganda, and she puts endless hours into fundraising for the Cause. She is actually going to work in Africa either next semester or next year. Go Jayanni!

This weekend, I have a Leadership Summit to go to with some deans and other bigwigs apparently. (hopefully they don't read my blogs and hate being called bigwigs!)

So my beloved Potential Student Demographic, what did we learn from this blog tonight? That Homecoming is awesome, and Jayanni is a Hero. Check out the New Bloggers sometime, I'm pretty excited to have our Crew twice as big. (Especially Jonathan, he's my Boy)

Love,

-Nate

Quick Note

2009-11-06T01:15:00.002-05:00

First. Go Yankees. Victory.

Second. I recently got a TV for my room and its awesome, so I got to watch the World Series.

Third, the TV also gave me the power to reconnect to my beloved Late Night Television Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. In tonights episode, Dennis Leary mentioned that he had gotten a Doctorate from some college. (Emory) You heard/read it here first. Craig Ferguson should get a Doctorate from The University of Tennessee. We're awesome, he's funny, everybody wins.

Fourth, Homecoming is this weekend. I'll let you all know how it goes before long.

ttfn

Power October

2009-11-01T18:06:00.004-05:00

This blog will a list of the epic adventures and interesting activities that I participated in during the Month of October. I nicknamed the Tenth Month of 2009 Power October back in September, and promised myself I would make it life-changing.

1st of october 2009. My friend Kevins Birthday, he is already older than all of us, so I gave him a card that has an old man on the front, and everyone on the floor signed it. Happy Birthday Grandpa.

2nd. My Mom's parents came to visit for the Auburn Game. We went to BWW, and my grandmother Ordered the House Chardonnay. (yes I had too look up how to spell that.)

3rd. Football Saturday. We lost to Auburn, but my Grandparents had a great time. We tailgated with Kevin and some other friends.

4th. Relaxing Sunday, I began friending AFB friends.

5th. Kevin and I led a Study session for our Mythology Exam, and it was hilarious cause neither of us are teachers, especially me.

6th. I wrote one hell of a Good paper for Mythology Class, it later received a D.

7th. I took a Mythology Exam, and took tables and chairs to Sallys for TL Picnic.

8th. My Birthday, I turned 19, got picked on about being so young, and I felt a lot of love from my friends through the billion facebook messages.

9th. My parents and a friend from High School got into town, and I finally got a TV for my Dorm.

10th. Football Saturday. We beat Georgia 45-19, and Matt got to see Neyland.

11th. Ignite Teams Graduation. My Team Painted the Rock and displayed how awesome they really are.

12th. A UT Facilities Services Truck took a corner too sharply, and a Mop Squeezing Mechanism that sits on top of a Bucket flew out. I sketchily ran out into the road, and took it back to my truck.

13th. I lost my Backpack. It was life changing going through the backpack transition. (if anyone knows where a black north-face shoulder bag is, let me know. it has all sorts of stuff with my name on it on the inside.

14th. JORDANS BIRTHDAY! We painted the rock for her B-day. And it at 3:20 I was free for Fall break.

15th. Left early in the Morning for Alternative Fall Break. We helped clean up a boys and Girls Club, and then I played football with little kids.

16th. We helped to clear a part of the Appalachian Trail. I got to display how incredibly manly I am. Not.

17th. I did maintenance work on a Wildlife refuge. Including putting a roof on a Hawk Cage.

18th. Finished off AFB. Effin' A. Began telling people to Apply for Alternative Spring Break.

19th. apparently had a really hard time doing Engineering Homework. I don't really remember it though.

20th. SOLD DAY! I tried to help people find their way to applying for SOLD Office Positions. I wore my Ignite Polo. I finally got to sit down and watch a Yankees Game.

21st. Wrote the AFB Blog. It was a task let me tell you.

22nd. A lot of Engineering. It was a big week for it.

23rd. Began the pre-work for My Smokey Mountain Adventure. Rented Gear, went to Wal-Mart. etc etc.

24th. Adventure to the Smokies! We held #1 Alabama to no touchdowns, and they had to block our field goal to win. A success to any 3 and 3 team. Slept under the Stars.

25th. Clingmans Dome. It was amazing, read about it below.

26th. Technically, the Yankees won the Pennant on the 25th. But we'll put it here, cause I celebrated the 26th by blasting Frank Sinatra's New York, New York down the Hallway.

27th. I took an Econ exam, it was awful.

28th. I learned my Favorite Phrase of the Month, and painted the Rock with a Giant Yankees Logo. It was awesome.

29th. I went to a Sorority Date party with Molly from New York. We were "Yankees" not like the baseball team, but like the irritating people southerners are supposed to hate. I wore a gold chain necklace and everything.

30th. My Dad's Sisters and their families got into town. I asked Juliann to give one of the cars full of them a tour around campus while I took the other car. We went to BWW's that evening. I was a Mad Scientist for Halloween.

31st. Football Saturday. I had a little tailgate for my Family, and we went to the Game. It rained a lot and it was cold, but I think for the most part, my family had fun. I was a Mad Scientist again that night.

Overall, October was awesome. I had a blast, I made lots of friends, I experienced all sorts of new stuff, and it was awesome for all parties involved.

Now to look towards the Future, I am planning on participating in a college tradition saved for only the manly and strong, which means, if I don't make the cut, you won't hear about this again until next year if I decide to try it again. No Shave November. If I can grow a reasonable beard, you will see before and after pics. If not, don't mention it ever, cause it will be a sore spot on my ego for a while.

Smoky Mountain Adventure

2009-10-26T00:51:00.008-04:00

Hey guys, this was my adventure to the Smokies. Tennessee is a special state, and UT is a special place in that we get to experience all 4 seasons, but its still warm, and it has one of the best National Parks in the Country just two hours away. The Smoky Mountain National Forest is the most visited National Forest in the United States, and is awesome. One of the things we get as students at UT is the opportunity to take little trips to the Smokies to Relax.

My adventure started its planning stage all the way back in September, when I decided the the Month of October was going to be life-changing. I had 4 of the 5 weekends activities figured out, but I didn't have any awesome plans for the 4th weekend in October. So after the AFB trip went through and I revitalized a lost enjoyment of being outside and seeing cool places, I decided to make a trip somewhere with at least one of my friends.

Amanda is the girl in all these photos, and she was really excited to go on a hiking trip to the Smokies. She hadn't ever really been hiking or camping before, and our trip was definitely interesting.

Friday afternoon, I went to T-Recs, where Students have the ability to rent Backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, bicycles, and all sorts of stuff, pretty much anything you need to go hiking, and got a backpack, tent, two sleeping pads, and a sleeping bag. (I already had one, I promise we didn't share Mr. Amanda's Dad Sir) The whole lot of that cost me $28 bucks. So this trip was not expensive.

We left at Noon on Saturday, and went straight to a visitors center to get a Map and get pointed in the right direction of what to see and do. The first Visitors Center was helpful, but they couldn't supply backcountry camping permits, so we had to go to the Sugarlands Visitor Center, which is actually inside the park.

When we got there, it was about 3:30-4 and we got our permit and a location to hike to. We drove to our trail-head, made sandwiches and started to hike in. After about 45 minutes of hiking, I decided to re-evaluate our plan of hiking all the way in. It was still a couple miles out, I had a lot of crap in the Backpack, it was going to be getting dark pretty soon, and I am very out of shape. We looked at the map, and decided to go hike somewhere else with a campsite less far from the trailhead. We hiked back out, and got to my truck, and it was already starting to get a little dark. I was skeptical that we were going to do any more hiking at all that night. We looked on the map and tried to find a new spot. Everything seemed to be at least a couple hours hike, and I decided we were going to be using a Campground for the evening. We were near the City of Gaitlinburg at that point, and since I was hungry for something that wasn't a sandwich, we went into town and got Texas Roadhouse. (Roughing it I know) From there we left for our Campground.

We got lost for a while looking for the Campground, but eventually we got there way after dark, and I promised Amanda either a fire of our own, or a fire with some people we would meet in the campground. We parked the truck in the assigned late arrival campsite, and I grabbed some marshmallows and a flashlight we walked up the road a bit to some people who had been sitting out by a fire. They were very very friendly people and we had fun just joking around with them about all sorts of stuff, and Amanda ate more S'mores than she knew what to do with.

After we left our new friends of the Smokies, we walked back to the truck. I knew it was going to be a clear night, and I knew Amanda(who is from Knoxville) still hadn't looked up yet, so I recommended we sleep in the bed of the truck with the Cover rolled back. She was satisfied with that and after we got all the stuff from the bed into the cab, and the sleeping spots set up, she finally looked up. She might or might not have said whoaaaaaaa for a full five minutes. I love the stars, and they were out bright and absolutely beautiful that night. Eventually I fell asleep.

When I woke up, she was cold and ready to be in the truck with the heat on, so I got the heated seats cranking and made her sit in the car to warm up while I finished moving stuff back into the bed.

By about 8 we were ready to leave, and I really wanted to see somewhere epic. We didn't want to hike in to somewhere cool, so we decided Clingmans Dome would be perfect. Clingmans Dome is a Mountain top in the Smokeys, and I'm pretty sure its the highest point in Tennessee. It is def higher than anywhere else we could see from it. We got there about 9am, and the hike to the top takes about 30 minutes, and is paved all the way up to an Observation tower. It has a 360 degree view of the national forest, and is incredibly beautiful. All that white you see in the photos is clouds/fog. It was chilly that morning, and you can see the fog move through the valleys. It would pour over some low spots and looked like a very slow moving river through the place. There is a mountain that is 73 miles away that we could make out slightly, the visibility was awesome. We took some pictures up there, and it made a great ending to our adventure.

Alternative Fall Break

2009-10-21T21:57:00.054-04:00

Hello! and welcome to the highly anticipated Alternative Fall Break Blog! You had better be as excited to look at these pictures as I want you to be.

To start out, as a disclaimer, These pictures have no real order whatsoever. After more than 13 months as a UTK Blogger, 45 Blogs
written, and hundreds of pictures uploaded, I still haven't figured out a pattern for this thing.

So, to clarify for you all, we left thursday morning, and went to Elizabethton, TN. Boys and Girls Club, and then Cherokee National Forest to a Hostel where hikers stay. The next morning,
we met up with Mr. Peoples, aka "The Mr. Peoples." We worked on the Appalachian Trail, fixing parts and widening it. (quick note, these guys to the left are hikers that have about a month left until they complete the journey that starts in Maine and ends in Georgia. They were awesome, and we're all
friends now.) I'm sorry Juliann, but I had to include this awesome picture of you in here. Can't resist a Ginger in Yella Boots and an Ax.

I guess I can clarify in this little space I have here, Alternative Fall Break or AFB is a four day adventure in the Fall for UT students to volunteer their weekend to give back to the world in various ways. This Year, Three teams went all with about 25 volunteers (volunteers double meaning) each. Every year they go to various places around the Country, and It is one of the Greatest Experiences UT has to offer. besides becoming friends with 25 great people, I got to see some new parts of the Country and experience some strange stuff. Anyone can go, and this is one of the great times where I get to influence

current UT students about a great opportunity. Look into it, I promise you won't regret going.

This guy over here is Aemish, and he is sort of my hero, just because of his experience right here. He cleaned out a very gross Bird cage on our Third day (Saturday) where we helped out at a
Wildlife Refuge. This was outside the Wildlife Refuge area, where I managed to convince a group of girls to let me get in their picture. It was a beautiful area, and since it was mid-october, the leaves are changing, and It was amazing. From left to right, It's Ali, Meg, Malory, Katie, Blair, and Courtney. They're great, and I'm pretty sure none of them know they are now on UT's website. Hope they don't mind! To answer your Question, Yes, I wore a Yankee's fitted the entire weekend. It was great, and I'm wearing it now. So I can tell you now, after Elizabethton, TN, we
went to Boone, NC. It is high up in the Mountains, and it's Cold there. I have learned that its a great place to go snowboarding though, and its only a few hours from UT. Now all I need is my board.

AHH! so this is Mr. Bob Peoples and I working on the Appalachian Trail. Our Goal was to widen the trail, level it out a little bit, clear "Duff" which is the organic material that collects on top of the trail and becomes slippery, and to cover roots with dirt to protect them from people walking on them. He was awesome, very friendly, and one of those people in the world that has found exactly what they love in life and gets to live it every single day. He was great about helping us find community work to do. It was awesome, and now I really want to hike at least

.........................part of the AT before I get too old.

These are the Furry Jacket Girls. They had these Jackets that all looked very warm and snuggly, and someone took a picture. I stole it and Boom! Its on the Blog. Left to Right, Blair, Sam, Ashleigh, Lindsay. In front of the girls is our Journal, which I still haven't contributed to quite
yet. But I will. Here to the Left, are our Fearless (emphasis on Fearless) leaders. Left to Right, Bridget, Britta, Zac. Bridget can be found in "Ignite......Teams!" from last October. Britta was Bridgets Partner, and they set up the whole trip, and did Work. Zac is quite simply, The Man. He amazes people with
Magic tricks, and his mustache has been in place for a year.

Here are the Girls, and Aemish, rockin Volunteer Gear. Left to Right, Dede, Ali, Pamela, Aemish, Charity, Courtney, Nia.

Why was this Trip awesome? I mean, thats a reasonable question, so far, for all you know, we worked the whole time. This was my favorite moment of the trip.

<--------------------

We screamed "Eye of the Tiger." Everyone in the car. You know its a good crowd when 12 people can sing together and everyone has a great time. I loved this trip more than anything else since I started college.

This was just a great picture of the three of us. Aemish, Dede, and this is one picture where I smiled on demand and didn't look like a goon. victory. Alternative Spring Break is the Spring Version, and applications are out now. Preference is given to Students who haven't been able to attend before, and they want a diverse group of people, so
please look into it and apply, It's a great time.

Finally, of course, we had to paint the Rock to end the trip. Luckily, it ended up at the bottom. The names written on here are all of our "trail names." Hikers on the AT don't usually go by their real names, the ones we met were Sea-Monster, Disney, Star Trek, and a couple more I can't remember right now. My trail name is under the A in green, and its because of the second picture in this blog.

Couple Random Notes:

1) Jason Witten, former UT Vol, Current Dallas Cowboy, is awesome. He donated a big chunk of money to the Boys and Girls Club for computers and other great things for the kids in his Hometown of Elizabethton TN. While I know he will never read this or hear about it, I still want to thank him and throw him some credit for that, its a great thing to do.

2) I didn't get to explain Dinner on Saturday night. (yea, the picture where I'm getting into some chicken.) It was at a wonderful restaurant called The Dan'l Boone. Its all you can eat, served family style, Southern Cooking. Meaning, they bring bowls of fried chicken, potatoes, apples, gravy, everything good, and you pass the bowls around the table and get all that you want. When the bowls go empty, they bring you a new one. Great restaurant in Boone, NC. Check it out if you find yourself in Boone sometime.

3) I didn't get a chance to have everyone in a picture, and for that, I'm sorry.

4) Thanks to everyone who helped to make this Trip happen, and helping this great opportunity make itself into a true UT Tradition.

"Work Hard, Play Hard. TeamVOLS."

Ignite Teams

2009-10-14T20:16:00.003-04:00

This picture is of our Participants that had 100% attendance. Team 10 is pretty awesome, and can often be found cooking s'mores in Hess courtyard or painting the rock together. The whole team was a great group, but these five really stood out because they came to every meeting and really contributed to every
Discussion. They were very friendly and fun, I wish I had thought to take pictures with them other than when we painted the rock, but these were the only ones I could find on facebook. This is a picture of the boys, according to the girls we look "awkward" but I disagree. Rhett and Dave are going to do great things at UT.
Hallie and Autumn are in this picture, and they are both really fun, and very sweet. At meetings this year, we talked about all sorts of stuff including: goal setting, fears, conflict resolution, Diversity, and Teamwork. It was really fun to watch my team grow together and be really excited to talk about these things once they got to know each other.

This picture is of the girls, and that includes Bekah, who is quiet and soft spoken, but a huge part of what makes our team awesome. For most of our meetings the team met in Prez Courtyard, but we always had something interesting to talk about. It was so fun to be a TL this year, and I hope my team had as much fun as I did. I think they did.
The Biggest reason our team was great this year plain and simple is because I was lucky enough to get paired up with Jessica. She is incredible. Between being a great student, a great TL, and one of the best in her sorority, Jessica also manages to be a great friend and to always have a smile on her face. She was always there to email our team if I forgot to, or to lead the group discussion if I didn't know how. She was always willing to let me try to lead the group, and she had my back when it got a little rough. Jessica is one of the people you want in your world, and I'm pretty lucky to have her in mine.

The last 8 weeks have been a pretty interesting series of events, and now I start a new chapter in my life, which will begin tomorrow morning at 7am with a program called Alternative Fall Break. I will tell you all about it when I get back, but I can't wait to get started tomorrow. My team is cool, my leaders are great, and I have heard that AFB is one of, if not the, best experiences UT has to offer.

"I SAID IT'S GREAT TO BE A TENNESSEE VOL!"

Traditions: The Rock

2009-10-12T14:10:00.003-04:00

This blog is for one of my favorite UT traditions, THE ROCK. Everyone who goes to UT should paint the rock at least once before they graduate. This first one is of my Ignite Team. They are awesome, and they couldn't wait to paint the rock, but we didn't get around to it until after graduation. I'll tell you more about them another time.

This is Catherine, you might remember her. Ben, Jamie, and I wanted to paint the Rock for her birthday, but the day of it was raining. We tried, but it wasn't working out. So I came back the next morning, and got it done before my class. She loves anchors, when I say loves, I mean LOVES, so she was quite pleased to have that on the Rock.

This is the first time I painted the Rock, it was for my beloved friend Sam's Birthday. She had no idea it was coming, (that I know of) and I believe she was pretty pleased. It was really fun when Ben, Matt and I painted the Rock for her. A really strange part about it, thats awesome, is that it was windy that day, so there is a fade of blue that goes to the left of all the letters.

This is Devlyn, she is also from NY and she studies German. So in case you aren't sure, this is a German Flag. Caitlin, Sam, Ben and I had to use an iPhone to double check to make sure it was accurate haha. This was a fun time to paint the Rock, and I think she was really proud of it.

Nick had his birthday at the end of summer, and he was going to paint the rock himself for his own birthday, so we had to beat him to it. He is an RA in Gibbs, and was on desk when we finished, so he had to run down and see it on break. He sat on top of it threatening people driving by not to paint it or harm will come to them. He was going to make sure that it stayed as it was forever, or at least until he had to go back to work.

The Rock is one of the Great things UT has to offer, and I wish more people got around to painting it their freshman year. Its a really fun experience and something everyone should get to do. People have tried to recruit Athletes, encourage philanthropy, wish happy birthdays, celebrate any type of event, and some men have even proposed on the Rock. Its a tradition that is deeply ingrained in UT's History, and anyone who has painted it has a positive memory of it.

Traditions: The Hill

2009-09-27T14:57:00.008-04:00

"The Hill" is obviously the hill on campus. It is where Ayres Hall, Ray's Snack Shop, Beuhler, and many other buildings on campus are. Neyland Stadium sits on the edge of the Hill, and you have to walk halfway to the top to enter through the Student Gate. There are 95 steps to the top of The Hill.

Basically every freshman is pretty much guaranteed to have a class at the top of the hill, in one way or another. I've always thought that was funny because I believe women here are prettier than anywhere else I've ever been, and its probably because the Sun is always out so they are smiling, and they are in good shape from having classes on the hill.

Last year, I had Math in Ayres during the Fall, and Chemistry in Beuhler all year. Ayres Courtyard is definitely one of my favorite places on campus, except right now, because Ayres is going through renovations. I don't have any that are actually on the Hill this semester, but I have to sort of walk up the edge of it, and then down around Neyland to get to Estabrook Hall for Engineering Classes.

I have heard, but not found proof that Ayres Courtyard is the Highest point in Knox County. This is believable, because Ayres Towers up above everything else, but isn't a really tall building. I've said it before, but Ayres is where The University gets its Checkerboard Pattern from, you can see it in the Bricks.

I consider the Hill a University Tradition because it is a huge part of academic life at UT. Very few people who don't go to UT have ever even been to the Top of the Hill. It's a student place, it's a beautiful place, and it's a very special and important part of UT.

"Good ol' Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee"

Traditions: Football

2009-09-16T09:40:00.003-04:00

I have decided to write a Series of Blogs about UT Traditions that are awesome. Over the next couple weeks I will get to experience Several of them, and over the past few weeks I have experienced others.

I'm not sure which is my favorite tradition, but Football Saturdays are definitely in the running.

Every Saturday in the Fall, people all over the state, and many around the nation get up with their Orange clothing for the day already set out waiting for them. They get their Lunch that day from a grill somewhere, either from the back of a pickup truck, out of someone's backyard, or from under an EZ-up in a parking lot. The part that is consistent about Tailgating is that its always with friends, and its always a good time. On some of the Saturdays, more than 100,000 people get the opportunity to go to the game. Hundreds drop anchor right next to the Stadium in the Tennessee River to form the "VOL NAVY." Thousands more travel to Knoxville just to tailgate near the Stadium, and Hundreds of Thousands watch the game on Television.

When inside the Stadium, those 100,000 fans listen to and watch The Pride of the Southland Marching Band. Apart from sounding amazing every year, they also have one of, if not the best Marching Band Field Shows in the World. Before every game they spell out VOLS, and USA. For one home game every year, Fans are lucky enough to witness the "Circle Drill," which is the Pride's most intricate and impressive Show. I suggest to youtube it.

The Pride plays one of Tennessee's most honored traditions, Rocky Top. While Rocky Top is not our official fight song, it is what we sing at sporting events. Towards the end, it says "Good ol' Rocky Top, WHOO! Rocky Top, Tennessee" and during a close game, that Whoo hits like a Sonic Boom.

Football Players Fulfill three great traditions at UT. The Vol Walk, The locker room sign, and The opening of the T.

The Vol Walk takes place a couple hours before kickoff every game, and its a time for the players to walk from the Other side of campus to The Stadium. A crowd forms to watch them walk by, and the crowd opens up in front in front of the team. All the players give High-Fives, and all the fans get an opportunity to wish the players luck before the game.

The Locker Room Sign is the best name I could come up with for this tradition, Every Player touches a sign above the locker room door on their way out onto the Field. It says "I will give my all for Tennessee Today!" A lot of students have a similar Sign above their bedroom door, and its a big feature on the back of T-Shirts.

The Opening of the T is a Tradition that The Pride and the Team participate in together. The Pride, along with the Cheerleaders and Dance Team, form a huge T that spans the width of the field and runs almost halfway down the field. As the pride starts playing "Down the Field" they walk away from each other, and a massive T shape forms, and the Team runs through it. At this point, everyone in the Stadium is on their feet, and screaming.

School Pride and School Spirit are two things that UT has a lot of. There isn't a better way to show it than to come to a Football game and experience it for yourself. I'm really excited for my family to come down. My Mom's Parents will be down for the Auburn Game, and My Dad's Parents and Sisters, and their families will all be down for the South Carolina Game. It will be an incredible experience for my Cousins, who are all younger than my younger brother, and the adults are in for a surprise. There is nothing like a UT Football Game.

"I will give my all for Tennessee Today!"

Greg's Second Adventure

2009-09-11T15:51:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, my brother Greg, as described in "Nate Talbot 2.0" came down to visit. He flew in Thursday night, and one of the new guys on my floor, Hunter, came with me to pick him up. Friday, I have class straight through 10:10-3:20, so Greg had to fend for himself for the 5 hour block. He touched up his college application to come here, and he went and talked to my boss in undergraduate admissions. I met him over at her office, and after we left we found a couple people that wanted to see Greg. He loves to come visit and see all these people, and he is getting more and more excited and set on coming to UT. Saturday we tailgated before the game, I thought it would be clever to make breakfast food since the game started around Noon. Turns out, my grill isn't hot enough to cook bacon or pretty much anything on it, Epic Fail. It was fun though, a group of my friends showed up and we all sat around having poorly toasted bagels and English muffins together. The game was a blast, Obviously. (we won 63-7) I got Greg a student Ticket, and he knew a bunch of the people sitting with us or around us. At one point, one of my friends made the comment to him that if he does come here, he'll know more people than she does. It was really funny, because its not true, and it illustrates how different his freshman year here would be from mine. Sunday and Monday are more of a blur, it was just a fast-paced social time. We tried to see as many people as he could before he left, and it was great, I always love it when he comes to visit.

I apologize for the shortness and picturelessness of this blog. I will have time to write a great one soon. Still accumulating thought and pictures for the ones coming up.

"YES! We finally found the Ghetto."

Greek Life

2009-08-31T00:56:00.004-04:00

Rush is the week where you try to decide whether you will pledge a fraternity, and which particular one you will pledge. The Fraternities also have this week to decide who they like, and want to become a part of their Brotherhood.

I went to the picnic to start out Rush week, and I had a pretty good idea of which Fraternities I wanted to look into. I found a couple that I liked and wanted to give up some time for. As I talked to brothers that were trying to recruit me, and other guys looking to pledge, I could really see that fraternities have two sides.

One side is the traditional public view of fraternities, the stereotype if you will. Drinking, Partying, Girls, Hazing, so on and so forth, you have heard it all before. While for some guys that is all that its about, but that is actually a very small percentage of the Greek Population. Mostly because its very easy to pick out which guys are into that during rush, and they don't recieve bids. Very few fraternities haze, and the Inter-fraternity Council is very good at catching the ones that try it. Many brothers do not drink at all. Most Fraternities have required Study hours, and are very adamant about proper Social Behavior. The other side, the more accurate and realistic side, of fraternities is Brotherhood, Honor, and Character. I started out Rush week pretty much positive I didn't want to pledge. By the end of the week, I would have done about anything for a Bid from one fraternity in particular that I really liked. I didn't receive one, and I certainly wouldn't put my feelings about it online if I didn't really want to be a part of it.

Young men, I suggest you give Rush a chance, it can actually change the way you think of fraternities, and its a great way to meet tons of people. Parents, I strongly advise you to discuss Greek Life with your Son before they go to college, and before they sign a Bid. It is not all the bad things you think it might be. Your son getting a bid from a fraternity that he wants to pledge is worth a drive to Knoxville to have dinner with a couple of the brothers before your son completes initiation, and that includes people from far away.

The best way I can sum up the whole thing is, two weeks ago, I wouldn't have considered letting my little brother pledge or probably even rush next year if he decides to attend UT, but now, I hope he does Rush, and even more so, finds a fraternity that he wants and that wants him.

Thank you to all the Guys who showed me around this week, and helped me draw a much more positive and educated view of Greek life at UT.

"God and the Ladies."

My Sophomore Year so Far...

2009-08-30T02:58:00.002-04:00

My Sophomore year so far has been...

Interesting,

Fun,

Exciting,

Stressful,

Busy,

Social,

Delicious,

Educational.

Interesting because this year is shockingly different from last year. I used to be able to just walk to presidential court and see 20 people I knew walking around within ten minutes, and now that 3/4 of my friends live off campus or in the apartment dorms, I have to be more direct in finding people to hang out with.

Fun because I missed my friends during the summer. I was lucky enough to be here and close to a couple of them for the last couple months, but I am really glad to be surrounded almost exclusively by my peers again.

Exciting because I have a whole new life. Once again, pretty much my world has been turned around and inside-out, I have new interesting classes, new friends, a new side to the activities like Ignite I'm in. Its been crazy busy and I have wasted very few minutes since I've moved in.

Stressful because I have a lot to get used to, and a larger workload than I've ever had before. I have finally started Engineering classes, and I love the material for the most part, its just a lot of time working at the computer, trying to master every topic.

Busy because I have all these new classes, all my friends to catch up with, and because I decided to go through Rush this year. I'll go more into detail at the end of this Blog about all that. I have been go-go-go so much for the last two weeks I don't get nearly as much time to talk to my parents as I would like, but once I get into a good pattern it will be a lot easier.

Social because of Rush, Friends, new Classes, Ignite teams, and new floormates.

Delicious because I have the Varsity Inn Dining plan. The Varsity is in Gibbs, and its all you can eat 3 meals a day, 5 days a week. The food there is very good, and I always get to have Jell-O. Its sort of my tradition to have orange jello for dessert after dinner. So far I've had Steak, Popcorn Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Spaghetti, all sorts of breakfast food, and lots of other stuff.

Educational because I learned a lot about Greek life, and I have been learning a ton in classes. All this homework can get old, but I learn stuff and it is burned into my mind. I also learned a little bit more what its like to be an adult. I have more responsibilities than last year, and I'm really proud of how much I actually can accomplish. Time management is a skill you learn when there is too much on your plate, but you have to eat every bit before the clock runs out. (don't hate, I like that comparison)

Overall, this is pretty much most of my life so far. I have been having fun, but its more serious that last year. I am most happy with my new floormates, and my friends from last year. All these people are making everything a lot easier to handle.

I know I said I was going to talk about Greek Life in this Blog, but it is way too much to go into write now. Trust me, I just had it all written in here, and it deserves its own whole blog. I will have it up by next week, and it's pretty good.

"to bleed orange is a gift"

Welcome Back

2009-08-21T16:09:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to my Blog. I haven't exactly been keeping up with the weekly promise I made over the summer, but we'll get back into the swing before long.

I will give you a list of Blogs to come for two reasons.

One: So you know what to look forward to.

Two: So I can remember what I have thought of to write about.

Some of the Favorite Blogs from last year will be revisited or given a sequel. Including, but not limited to:

IGNITE!

The War on Homesickness.

The Dummies Guide to Southern Language.

Diversity.

One is coming about my Ignite TEAMS Team, which is pretty much thebomb.com SPECIFICALLY MY PARTNER JESSICA!

My Grandparents First Experience at a UT Football Game.

Tailgating.

ONE ABOUT COURTNEY!

Sophomore life in Hess.

Student Government.

And plenty more, this is Blog #42 apparently, I'm not going to count to make sure, but I have that many to write before school is out.

I can tell you a little about my Summer I guess now, I stayed with the Patterson Family this summer, and they are Incredible People. Mrs. P works at the University and keeps a ridiculously nice house spotless all the time. Mr. Patterson runs a Construction Company in Knoxville and drives an epically huge truck. Kaity is Ben's younger sister and a mega-sweetheart. I put up with her and her friends from time to time when they would come to visit, and they insisted on calling me Kent. Ben's Grandparents, Grandaddy and Grandmother, are very warm and welcoming people. They let my mom and her friend stay in the house when my mom visited. Ben's Uncle Brad went to Nebraska and loves to wear a Nebraska Beat Tennessee like 87' Shirt to dinner with a bunch of us Die-Hard UT fans. I had a great Summer and got everything I could ever ask for from all of them, and the experience is real evidence of true southern hospitality.

I took a Summer Class, Math 130, and had a grand old time with my teach Jon. He was very exciting and fun to learn from, which made 5 day a week classes somewhat more tolerable. I met most of the people in the class and see them around campus from time to time.

I have Moved into Hess Hall for my Sophomore Year, and started Ignite TEAMS off with a Bang! My room is a single, and its pretty amazing, maybe I could write a blog about how great my room arrangement is. Several of my friends from last year are on the Floor, including Jonathan, the Guy from "The 50" with a Guitar. Cody (the one with a Golf Club) is my RA. About half of the Floor is Freshman, which leads me to my next point:

The Class of 2013 is AMAZING. I have yet to talk to a whiney freshman, or anyone who is negative, depressing or even boring. Of the ones I've dealt with, they are nice, excited, intriguing and overall cool. Keep up the good work Undergrad Admissions, y'all have done a fine job this year.

Last thing before I peace peace it, Thank you to the people who have said hello, or started a conversation about my blog with me. I love to meet someone who reads it, and do whatever I can to return the favor. If you see me on campus, or anywhere, please do not hesitate to say Hi if you liked even just one of the blogs. The feedback really inspires me to try harder to write good ones, and its not creepy in the least little way to recognize me or anyone mentioned in one of them. I won't put mean people up here, and while you might get a strange look if you say "I saw your picture on the internet", I will promise you that they will be approachable and easy to talk to. If you run out of things to say, mention that you met a goofy ginger from New York.

Love y'all, and remember that "the first symptom of the swine flu is your mouth will taste like bacon"

Student Organizations

2009-07-01T12:17:00.004-04:00

Student Organizations are a very big part of campus life at UT. We have Hundreds of them to choose from and at least 3 or 4 will fit you perfectly. When you get here, the university will do a lot to try to get you to join a couple. Remember the phrase "get inVOLved"? They are talking about student organizations. We have a range of them from Greek Life, to Student Government, Music, the Arts, Leadership, Residence Hall work, Volunteer Organizations, intramurals/club sports, and even school Spirit.

I will give a little description of a couple organizations I am either involved in myself, or where I have several friends that participate. But don't feel this list is everything or "the best" because there are really hundreds to pick from. Check out Registered Student Organizationson utk.edu/currentstudents to see the full list and get contact information.

For students that have committed to UT, go ahead and use this to help you find your way to a great student organization, and for students who are still looking for the right college, please use this blog as a way of seeing what kind of stuff you can get into when you are here.

-Leadership. When I say leadership I am referring to the idea in general, but the best office on campus to start out leadership training and to meet a lot of the future leaders at UT is the SOLD office. Student Orientation and Leadership Development. Their Office is on the Third floor of the UC and they have several programs you can join on Campus. Including but not limited to, The Ignite Program, Orientation Leaders, Leadership Guides, and the Women's Mentoring Network. Ignite is for incoming freshman, it helps to build a network of friends, Its about 90% of the reason I consider myself successful on campus, and it helps to develop communication and leadership skills. OLs are the Bubbly people that will help you through Orientation in the Summer. Leadership Guides provide leadership training to other student groups on campus and in open sessions called Leadershops. The Women's Mentoring Network connects young women to female faculty members that can serve as mentors, friends, confidants, or just a good contact on campus. Previously Mentioned people from my blog in the SOLD office: Ben, Jessica, Louri, Catherine, Sally, Avery, Sam, Juliann, Misha, Bridget, Matt, and probably about a million more.

-Greek Life. aka fraternity and sorority life. I am not Greek. I speak on behalf of my friends that are, and am doing my best to explain greek life the way I see it. Fraternities are not like the fraternities of the old days. There is a very strict no hazing policy in place on our campus, and the guys who are good students and in fraternities rank among the best nationwide for leadership, grades, and for the jobs they get after graduation. There is a massive network of Alumni across the country for most fraternities. Sororities work very similarly, but with even more emphasis on friendships that are built during your years here. All the sorority girls I know have friends that are not greek, but they have a very solid committed group of friends from within their Sorority. Greek Life is not for everyone, and it is something you have to really figure out if you want it or not before you pledge. Its one of the, if not the best way to build a network on campus and start to get involved, but a lot of people start out joining for the wrong reasons and give Greeks a bad name. Sign up for Recruitment or Rush, and join if you want to be spend lots of time with the people you meet. Previously Mentioned in my blog involved in Greek Life: Nick, Ruth, Jessica, Sarah, Cody, Laura, Cory, Brandon, Jeff, Josh, and plenty more.

-Student Government. Student Government in College is not like that of High School, its more intense, and a lot more fun. You deal with Faculty that is a lot more interested in your opinion, and they have the power to make any good suggestion happen, as opposed to high school when your Principal couldn't do Squat. The first way to get involved in SGA is Freshman Council. You sign up the first week of classes or before you get here for the summer, and there is an application process including interviews. I didn't participate, but I don't know anyone who didn't love being on FC. I am a Senator representing Hess Hall in the Campus wide senate. We propose legislation to Administration and make a lot of the suggestions that make student life easier. To run, find your senator either for your residence hall or academic college, and ask them about running in the spring. Two campaigns form and have about a week of Campaigning and Craziness. It was one of the most fun weeks I've ever had, and I met hundreds of people during that week. Its awesome. You can also participate by finding one of the senators that represent you, and telling them to fix one of your problems. We signed up to make campus life easier for students, and I love trying to fix little problems. If it can't be fixed, we will at least be able to tell you why it is the way it is. Their Office is on the Third floor of the UC. Previously mentioned people: Jeff, Laura, Cory, Jamie, Brandon, Catherine, Jamil, Avery and probably a couple more, I haven't known my Senate buddies for as long.

-Intramural/Club Sports. Wanna show off your skillz from 12 years of soccer, or learn how to play it? Maybe you loved basketball in high school but were terrible. Maybe you have always been a Gym Class Hero, and just want to play casual sports. It doesn't matter if you are terrible or amazing, sign up for Intramural or Club Sports, they are a lot of fun and lots of people participate. Its a huge thing to do on weekends and a lot of nights, just go watch intramural football games, or whatever sport season is up. Sign up in T-Recs or Online. Previously Mentioned: Nick, Louri, Nathan, Mark, Joel, Misha, Jonathan, Jonathan, D.J., Matt Cody, Joe, Dre, Matt, Desmond and lot more.

-Residence Hall Council/Resident Assistant. URHC is a great way to help your fellow students by providing lots of entertainment and by fixing little problems in your Residence Hall. They throw game nights, parties, and cookouts all the time, and its all free to students. Ask your RA about how to get involved in your Hall Council. If you want to be an RA, that is another great way to get involved on Campus and make a lot of $$$$. They have whacky hours, but for the most part it seems like an easy, chill, fun job. Again, ask your RA how to move down that road. Previously Mentioned People: Jonathan, Devlyn, Nick, Cody, Sam, Jeremy, John, and a couple more here and there.

-TeamVOLS. This is the Big Volunteering group on campus, they have several different ways to help the community, including: the elderly, children, campus/knoxville beautification and a couple more. Their office is also on the Third floor of the UC and the two guys who are in the office all the time rule. Zac and Michael, go talk to them about teamVOLS or the AFB/ASB trips that are available. Alternative Fall Break/Alternative Spring Break are volunteering trips that students take to cities across the south to do lots of work to help out other communities that need it. Its a great thing to do for your soul, and a great way to meet a huge group of amazing people. Previously Mentioned People: Catherine, Bridget, and I wish I knew more from this particular Group. Bridget is leading an AFB trip this year, so sign up, cause she rules.

-Student Activites. There are a number of Committees that plan all sorts of student activities through the year. Including Volapalooza, our big end of the year concert where Gym Class Heroes and Reel Big Fish Played this year, or our Vol Night Long nights, where T-Recs or the UC is open till late with lots of games and free food open to students. There is a Committee for Guest Speakers, and a few others, go yet again to the third floor of the UC and talk about the different options you have, and see if any of the Committees are right for you. Laurin, Robin, Ruth, and probably a couple others.

I hope this kind of helps, all of these Organizations are awesome and full of great people. The way to survive college is to make friends and stay busy. As much as your parents will hate me for saying it, and probably the University too, you won't enjoy college if you spend the whole time with your nose in a book. And to be honest, you won't learn nearly as much either. Go get involved in something you love, and surround yourself with people you love, and you will have a great experience.

P.S. Comment if you would like to know about an organization I didn't mention or want to know anything specific about one I did. I'll do my best to find someone who is in it and see what its all about, or I'll be your little research nerd that can find your information for you. Bottom Line: Comment my Blog!

Ignite Summit 2009

2009-06-29T18:02:00.002-04:00

Howdy y'all! Welcome back to my blog, I know its been a while. How's your summer going? Ignite Summit was this Weekend, and I had the time of my life. This Picture up top is of all of us Team Leaders, (TL's). Probably the coolest group of students you will find and all of them are easy to get along with, smart, cool, knowledgeable about UT, and all of them especially have a burning passion and love for the University of Tennessee, and helping people. Meeting 2 of the TL's is more than enough of a reason to join Ignite, everything else is sort of a bonus. This Picture is of my Team. Team 9. Volunteer Dundee. The Theme this year was Vol vs. Wild, and my TL partner made bracelets for our team. We had students from across the state, Memphis, Kingsport, Murfreesboro, my partner is from Brentwood, and we had one out-of-stater from Washington DC. The 15 of us, 12 incoming freshman, 2 student leaders, and our Faculty facilitator Andrew Wood from Undergraduate Admissions got very close through the weekend. I had a blast learning about my team and remembering a year ago when I was in their shoes. Their fears were my fears, their goals were my goals, and everyone had a really neat story of how they picked UT. Thank you Team 9! See you guys in the Fall for Teams!
This Picture is fun for a number of reasons. One, I'm wearing a Yankee's fitted. I bought it about a week ago in Tennessee. Not in New York, in Tennessee. haha. I'm also laying out a ground cloth, because the night before Summit, the TL's all slept in tents or outside together. It was a fantastic night, and we all bonded a lot. I helped Juliann set her tent up, and then we decided to sleep next to the fire and look at the stars. She is from Memphis and didn't have a lot of experience doing that sort of thing. I have been in Boy Scouts since I was like 6 so I know something about setting up a tent and sleeping in it. Summit took place in Greenville Tennessee, 1.5 hours east of Knoxville, and there are bunks for when the students come, but the night before they showed up we went "roughin' it" ha. The girls didn't get to shower until 10am and they were more than a little upset. Clyde Austin 4H camp is a UT extension and operated by the University. It hosts a lot of Training and Leadership activities, including our very own Ignite Summit. Good Times in Greenville both times I've been there.
When the students arrived we had been able to shower and get ready for them to come find us. We played a couple games to get to know each other, and start learning some names, then we made team flags and personal posters. That night, it was time to get jiggy with it, for the Ignite Summit 2009 Vol vs. Wild Dance Party. All the TL's wore costumes and attempted to minimize awkwardness for the students by being more awkward with each other. I just made up terrible dance moves all night. We still aren't sure what kind of animal cut those holes in my shirt.
We did a lot of activities that were fun and designed to teach the students about the university and be a lot of fun. For example, teams had to race through a hula-hoop and answer a trivia question, and the first to do both got to pie the other teams TL's in the face. My team knew all the answers except the one they got asked. Who is the SGA president? Laura Nishida. Oh well, the pie was delicious, and the Suckers who "won" don't have a picture of themselves after the pieing went down. Courtney took hers like a Champ and I shared the whipped cream with more than a couple people via unwanted hugs. Good Times.

One more chance for me to Plug Ignite before Teams starts in the Fall. Go sign up for it right now! It will run for the first 8 weeks of classes, once a week for about an hour. We will help your transition into college and help you meet a lot of great people. If you have any questions about it, comment the blog or email us at leader@utk.edu

LAST THING. If you see me on campus, or anywhere, I demand you say "ARE YOU THE BLOGGER GUY?!?!" or something like that. I love it when you guys come say Hi to me. I am mad loyal to my readers, so let me know if you are one. Enjoy the next couple weeks of your summer I'll try and post a new blog in a week or so.

Class of 2010

2009-06-09T13:05:00.003-04:00

Hello, members of the class of 2010, and welcome to my blog. More importantly welcome parents, especially mothers of students of the class of 2010. While many of my readers are from in-state, and therefore, this is a bad blog for the university, I want to explain things from my perspective and encourage you to allow your son or daughter to go elsewhere.

I have a passionate Hatred for In-State, Out of State Tuition. It makes very little sense to me to have all that business, especially when lottery scholarships only pay in-state students anyway. Going to College is the experience of a lifetime, no matter where you go. That may be like my older brother, who went to a small college close to home in NY, with several kids from his graduating class. It may be like me, who went to basically a completely random college that I had no prior attachment to, Including no one from my graduating class within 500 miles. It may be like what my little brother wants to do, come to my college, and build his own network throughout the school, and have a brother to guide him. All three of these approaches have value, and for the most part any student will fall within one of the three. However, the latter two are more expensive, a lot more expensive. This is where it becomes unfortunate, because there are thousands of students who every year have to decide between the perfect college for them, and the college in state that is most similar. I encourage you to help your student to find the college that is perfect for them, and honestly, for most students it won't be in state. There are thousands of scholarships to be earned, and millions of dollars of financial aid to be given out. College is about exploring life, opening up, walking out with a Degree, Friends, and most importantly, experiences that you can be proud of.

If you are shy, and you don't want to be anymore, promise yourself you will renew your image in college. When you get to college, get involved with what seems interesting, talk to people and tear your old image to pieces.

If you have always been a Jock in high school and you want to do something like art or poetry that you never could get into in high school because your football buddies wouldn't have it, guess what. You can become that artist, or that musician or whatever you want.

If you have always been "lame" or unpopular, and you don't want to be anymore, why in the world would you go anywhere near anyone who sees you as that image you want to forget about.

Do you think your hometown is amazing? how about terrible? how about eh, alright? How about you go find out. Open yourself up, you may be from a city and decide the country life is right for you, or you might end up realizing how much you love living in the city. I come from a tiny town that I hated when I walked for graduation. I have learned that there isn't a place in the world I would rather raise children than Gilbertsville, NY. Its peaceful to visit the family there, and I hope I can talk my southern belle of a future wife into getting married there, but I know now, that its not a place for a freshly graduated Student. That is what the City is for, I think I want to live in New Orleans when I graduate. I have met more than a couple people from there, and I loved it when I visited.

The point is, explore your options, don't just look at the unit price. UT gives out TONS of financial aid every year. You have to apply for it, and you have to fight for it. Its the same at every other college in the country. Don't think that because the price on the tag is X you can't end up paying X/4 or less. Some people are built to go to a small college, I have finally accepted that, however, you don't have to go to a small college 40 minutes from home. Mix it up, and discover who you really are, and what kind of person you really want to be. OH YEA and what you actually can accomplish that you never thought possible.

P.S. Orientation started. Welcome new Students, we love you and are excited to see you around. GIVE ME AND ELIZABETH A SHOUT IF YOU SEE US!!!!!!! seriously, we'll make your day brighter. especially Elizabeth.

P.P.S. Sign up for Ignite Teams, Summit goes down in 16 days! HOLLLLLAAAAAAA

The Mothers Blog

2009-05-21T20:58:00.004-04:00

This is Nate for a moment. I am making my mother write a blog from the mothers perspective. she did a pretty good job as a mother of a college freshman. If you are a regular reader, make your mother read this one, she'll appreciate the jokes for sure.

Hi all...I haven't adopted the y'all yet, but I like it. This is Nate's mom, he asked me to write this week's blog and talk about ways to support your Freshman. He actually has been nagging me for a week, so I guess I will procrastinate no more.

I will forever be grateful that I signed him up for the Ignite program. As a college instructor I know how challenging the first few weeks can be for Freshmen. I wanted him to have some familiar faces, knowledge of the campus and college life before he arrived for the start of his first year away from home. The SOLD office did a remarkable job in organizing this weekend for the new students. He met over 100 fellow freshmen, at least 20 upperclassmen who were team leaders and he became familiar with UT life. He learned Rocky Top and tons of trivia about the institution formerly known a Blount College. He spent the summer facebooking with the people that he met. Some of the people that he met there are his best friends today. See the blog entitled, "The 50 Most Influential People of My Freshman Year".

One of the things that I am so glad that I did was to take pictures of people who are important to him, print them out, stamp and address them to Nate and have the person write a message on it to him. He covered this in a previous blog, but I feel that it was so important to him feeling less homesick that it is worth mentioning again. I tried to space them out so that he got no more than one a day. There is no better feeling than receiving snail mail when you're a college Freshman. UT has the mail delivered to the dorm by street address. You don't even have to write University of Tennessee in the address. He received his mail quickly.

Video chat is a must. We would log on and be able to see him in real time. It seemed like he was in the next room, not 13 hours away. Hess Hall is equipped with wireless internet so he could take us around and show us different things. He could also hook up with a wire to get a crystal clear picture.

I wish that I had sent him more packages. I epically failed in this department. I know that he really would have liked to get some home-baked cookies or some reminders of home, but I just didn't do it enough. I guess because of video chatting, it seemed like he wasn't that far away.

I signed up for the Parent's Association during his orientation. I highly recommend that everyone signs up. I received weekly emails that are very informative. Also, they would notify me if a campus wide text went out to students. I was pleased with the amount of communication from UT.

Visiting Nate at college was fun. We went to Family weekend in October and watched a football game. I'd heard it is a religious experience, and it was. We stood near the UC and watched the parade. I didn't know that there were that many orange accessories to be had. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was wearing orange. I saw orange jewelry, orange belts, orange sandals, orange sneakers, orange pants, orange bandanas, orange, orange, orange everywhere. It was great to see that amount of school spirit. The band is nothing short of amazing. The baton twirlers were impressively synchronized as well as the cheerleaders. Then we filed into the stadium. I've been to some impressive sport's venues, but this was incredible. It beats the Daytona 500 and Yankee Stadium, hands down. Imagine a place where 106,000 of your closest friends, or fellow tuition-paying parents, congregate to cheer on the Vols. It really is indescribable, you just have to experience it for yourself. Be sure to wear orange, it looks good on everyone at a Vols game.

There are hundreds of clubs on campus. Get inVOLved isn't just lip service. I believe that the key to Nate's smooth adjustment to college life is the fact that he participated in activities that interested him. He continued with the Ignite program by taking Ignite class. Here he was able to ask questions and make connections with people on campus. He also was a blogger for the Admissions Office, obviously. People on campus recognized him from his picture in front of Ayres. In the spring, Nate was recruited by one of the parties to run for a Senate seat representing Hess Hall. He was victorious and met many, many people.

My husband, Mark, and I were so relieved when Nate was accepted at UT since it was the only college to which he applied. There are so many people who have asked, "Why UT?" and I still don't know the answer in its entirety, but it goes something like this: Nate is a ginger and when he was learning his colors it confused him that people always commented on his "red" hair when it was orange. He chose orange as his favorite color. He wanted to get out of the North with its cold weather, so he started with University of ... fill in the blank with any Southern state. He was always interested in planes and flying, so when he saw that Tennessee offered Aerospace Engineering, he zeroed in. It also helped that it is a big school, with nationally recognized football and basketball teams. We visited campus in September of his Senior year and he saw tons of students wearing UT t-shirts, he was hooked. He said that we didn't even have to go to University of Kentucky or Ohio State, but I insisted just to be sure. He was polite for the tours at the other universities, but I could tell that his heart was in Tennessee.

We started paying attention to all things Tennessee. The Vols, Phil Fulmer, Pat Summitt, Bruce Pearl, the Titans, Dolly Parton, etc. We outfitted ourselves in the requisite orange clothing and purchased Vols merchandise for family and neighbors. The most important purchase we made was the pennant that now hangs in the high school's cafeteria.

UTK Flash Rave

2009-05-02T15:00:00.003-04:00

Yes, I went. Yes, it was awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skxMvRnahfQ

watch the video, and if you don't want to spend the whole four and a half minutes, at least watch the end.

"I said it's great to be a Tennessee Vol"

The 50 Most Influential People of My Freshman Year

2009-04-25T22:10:00.007-04:00

The #1 most influential person to my life since I started over at Tennessee is Catherine Skeens. She was my Ignite Team Leader, she recommended me to the people in charge of SGA, she introduced me to a large group of great people, and she has been a great friend for the last 10 months. Catherine is from Clarksville, Tennessee and she just got accepted into the Nursing Program here. She is an Ambassador Scholar, and an Ignite Team Leader. She went on Alternative Spring Break, and serves on 50 other committees. Skeens is always smiling, always having fun, and always trying help people in one way or another with whatever they need. Simple Fact, if she were not at UT this campus would be a different place.
This is Ben, I'm staying at his house for a chunk of the summer for classes here. He is from about 25 minutes away, and his mom works here. I met BP at Ignite and he is a fellow TL. He just happens to be Catherine's partner. Ben went to South Carolina with me for Spring Break, and he is more excited than anyone else to go to NY. He and Greg(my little brother) got along great, and Greg looks up to him more than even me. Ben is an Aerospace Engineer, but he might change to something ridiculous like Pre-Med. He lives in Morrill, and he's works out all the time. I always pick on BP about his mega-deep voice and southern accent. He is pretty quiet most of the time, and he knows a lot of people around campus. Being from here, he knows people from here, and I love having a friend who is very similar to myself, and doing the same things, but having a totally different experience just because of the town written on our licenses. BP is a good dude.

Nick is my friend from Memphis. He lives on the Third Floor with a bunch of the guys you can read about below, including his roommate. Nick is a lot of what typical males entering college want to be like. He is fun, really cool, popular, nice, his girlfriend is beautiful and a total sweetheart, and his most glorious virtue is a goofy yankee ginger friend. Nick went to Central in Memphis, and he has a lot of family in New Orleans. He is hyper-athletic, and will hopefully play football for UT next year. Nick is one person I never would have seen myself being close friends with, but great people come from all over.
Dre is one of the coolest people you could ask to meet. He is from Atlanta, where he ran track for Douglas, and where he won States in the 1600 relay. He is incredibly calm, and he can be friends with anyone. I could amuse him all day just trying to talk like him, or talk how I normally talk. He will just sit back and laugh. Dre lives in Gibbs with Desmond. He runs for UT and I love to stop by the track and see the team for a few minutes. What can you learn from Dre? Athletes can be chill, cool and inclusive. Some of them aren't, but so long as your not asking for autographs they are just college students.
Sally is my Ignite Program Director. I don't know the politics exactly, but I feel like she runs the SOLD office. Student Orientation and Leadership Development. She has a big office, and works with Graduate Students in the upstairs of the UC. Sally is the best resource I could ask for on campus. She can connect you with anything you need on campus. If she doesn't know the perfect program for you to get involved in, she knows who to call to find out. She is getting married this summer, and I wish her all the best. Even though she went to Memphis. We argue all the time about basketball and rivalry, which usually resulting in me being put in my place because I don't know what I'm talking about. Sally is a great person to know on campus, and a great friend. I wouldn't have applied to be a TL if she hadn't said "I'm sending you an application anyway". I am very proud to have that kind of approval from a person like Sally. Bottom line, Faculty members are great people too.
Nathan is my friend from down the hall. He lives on my floor, and I didn't get to know him until halfway through the year. He is from Knoxville, but his family moved to Tampa. In this picture we are "Rip-Sticking" which is a two-wheeled skateboard that you can propel yourself without taking your feet off the board. Nathan is very good at it, and he rides it up hills and stuff. They are affectionately referred to as "Wiggleboards" by the girls that recognize Nathan around campus. And yes, I'm riding it in Sperry's. Nathan plays the Bass Drum in the Pride, and is roommates with Mark. He is a lot of fun, and we met when I stopped in the lounge to see what some nerdy kids from my floor were playing in there. I figured I would be nice, I didn't know them. They were playing Settlers of Catan, and it turned out to be a blast. I chill with the guys on my floor now because I decided to stop in and see what they were doing. Lesson for next year, don't write anyone off. If someone is willing to have a conversation with you, then the conversation is worth having.
Brandon is the new SGA Webmaster, and the first person other than my tour guide I ever dealt with at UT. He helped me carry my bags to the bus for Ignite. Several months later, he messaged me on Facebook about running for Senate. I was like "Nahhhhhh. I don't have the time or desire to do that." He kept dinging me though. I guess he asked around, and my name kept coming up as someone to get to run. When I found out that the people he trusted enough to ask for recommendations had mentioned me more than a couple times I decided it was worth talking about. The makings of that situation aren't even close to over yet, but I have at least 50 new friends and a Senate Seat because of it.
Penelope. Penelope is from Wisconsin, and she is a pain. Mostly because she will tell me what I need to hear and that rarely aligns with what I want to hear. "change your shirt". Penelope rules though. She is as real as a person can be, and as hard as it is to believe, I think she does really want what is best for everyone. I met her in the Laundry room in Hess when she wasn't too happy over the score of a Brewers Game. I learned her face, and got a decent enough reason to wave to her when I would see her around Hess. Here is where the Controversy comes in, I met her because she smokes. She would sit outside and talk, be social, have a good time. I would walk by and wave, and a couple times sit and chat with a group of people. I don't smoke, and I want to clarify that for mothers of potential students, I'm not endorsing smoking with this picture. I do suggest however that students be open to the idea of being friends with people who smoke. They don't care if you sit and talk with them, and they are a very accepting group of people. Penelope is awesome, I met her because I was open to sitting around and talking with people smoking cigarettes.
MARGO! aka blue. Margo is 100% sweetheart, and I call her blue because I met her through another girl named Margeaux, pronounced the same. When trying to identify between the two, the guy I was talking to knew their last names but I didn't, so I asked, "the one with Blue eyes?" and he knew exactly without hesitation. Margeaux has brown eyes. Margo has hyper bright blue eyes, and she is a classic Southern Belle. She doesn't curse, or lie or drink or anything. She is always smiling and having a good time. She is the source for those contagious smiles that pessimistic teachers always whine about. This picture is from Football Season, she was out of town when I went and got all these pictures. So thank you, Facebook. I don't have tell you why you should be friends with Margo, if you meet a girl like her when you get to college you will already know.
Dave! Dave is my roommate. He is also sort of my hero, he is the best roommate a freshman could ask for, and he is 5 years older than me. Dave already graduated from American University with a Fine Arts Degree, and he is attending UT to hone his skills and build a bit of a portfolio. Don't ask me why he wanted to live in a dorm full of freshman and have a freshman roommate, I couldn't tell you why either. I lucked out hardcore to get him. Neither of us care if the other side of the room is filthy, but we both appreciate the other keeping it clean out of respect. I am worse about it than he is, but Dave is mad chill. He gave me a Green Blazer for no reason other than he knew I wanted one and he saw it at Goodwill. We had a good system for when both of us were here, but for the most part we had schedules that didn't call for that kind of thing. If he came in to take a shower early in the morning, he knew he could turn on the light and it wouldn't wake me up, but he didn't anyway because he is a good egg. What can I recommend for incoming freshman when it comes to roommates? Don't get all uptight and fidgety over stupid little things. Relax, if you show respect, most of the time your roommate will back. If it's not gonna work out, you can move, but most of the time it can work out just fine.

Continued..

2009-04-24T23:55:00.029-04:00

-Jamie Lonie is the new Student Services Director and the Blonde one in this Picture. He is very nice to me, and I'm really happy I was paired up with these three people for the Election. Not only did we win, but they are awesome and I couldn't ask for better people to lead me in Senate. Sorry my Picture isn't with Jamie, we were going to do one working on Macs, but two busy Schedules and a short deadline is not a good combination.
-Jeff Wilcox is the former SGA president and one of my leadership role-models. He is very inclusive, he listens a lot, he makes you want to talk. He told me to follow Rudy Giuliani, surround myself with good people, listen, and ask for help. Without Jeff's support I would be a lot less confident for my year in Senate. I give him one of the two "better dressed than me awards".

-Laura Nishida was elected President of SGA and super deserving of it. She is wicked smart, and can't stress enough to us how she wants us to ask her for help in getting little problems fixed around campus. She has been working for a Year as Chief of Staff under Jeff Wilcox, and will do a great job continuing the work he started.

-Cory Hipps is the Vice President of SGA, and the other recipient of the "better dressed than me award." He has some great suits. I believe that as VP Cory will end up being my leader for Senate, and so we'll see how Senate turns out because I know very little about it.

-Elijah. To start off, this was a horrible Idea for a picture. I fell for the first attempt and my knee is killin' me. I met Elijah at Ignite, and he Introduced me to Desmond, Dre's roommate. Because of them I know a bunch of the Track guys, and those are some of my best friends. Elijah is responsible for all of it. The point of explaining all this is to show you, the potential UT student how important a network is. Elijah->Desmond->Dre etc. Make friends with good people, because good people know good people.

-Jamil is one of the most helpful people for me in the Election a couple weeks ago. Whenever I had a question I would call him or Brandon because they both knew what to do and how to do it. Jamil was an Orientation Leader, and a Tour Guide. He has a great Reputation on Campus and I hope to be in a similar spot to him down the road.

-Desmond or D-Brown is one of the Track guys. He is Dre's Roommate, and from Memphis. He went to High School with Elijah, and is hysterical. He will start rapping about people in front of you, or he will answer a cell phone call as if he is his own secretary. He Sprints and Jumps.

-Tommy Moore is my Chemistry TA this semester, and he is really funny. He messes with the Lab Instructor all the time and taught us a lot of chemistry while we had a good time. Tom was a great TA.

-Cody is Elijah's Brother. They both went to Summit and room together upstairs. Cody is really chill and has made more than one random trip to Wal-Mart, I always seem to bump into him when I'm on my way over there. He is quiet and relaxed, but wicked smart and an Athlete.

-Matt lives in Gibbs, and runs with the Track guys all the time. I think he is a "walk on" so something like he is on the track team but he's not. I don't really understand. For the most part, he runs a lot faster than I ever could, he lives in Gibbs, and he hangs out with the Track team. He's a good dude, and he "checks" Desmond all the time, which is one of the funniest things to experience.

Continued...

2009-04-24T23:48:00.018-04:00

-Avery was one of my Ignite Teams TL's. He was a big part of how I got involved in the Campaign and Senate, and I'm sure I'll end up learning a lot about how Senate works from him. Avery sort of runs campus because he knows everyone. If Avery taught me anything, it's to get to know as many people as you can.

-Mark lives on my floor, and is Nathan's Roommate, he is also part of the Drumline in the Pride. Mark is ridiculously funny, and can use anything to make a solid beat just by banging things together. He also Rip-Sticks, but the sleeping picture was too good to pass up.

-Joel also lives on my floor, he regularly asks me to go to McD's in the middle of the night with him and a bunch of the other guys on the floor. Joel is also really funny and his summer job involves teaching middle aged women how to sell cutlery to each other. Remember in the movie "Transformers" when the guy climbed the tree? Well, Joel does that.
-Couter is also in the Pride. He plays the Trombone, and could make you laugh for hours if you let him. He can dance to Paper Planes or scream like extinct animals just to scare kids walking on the Ped Walkway after dark. During the VOLS spellout, Couter is the apex of the V.

-Joe is Nick's roommate. He is from Nashville, and wears a size 15 Cowboy Boot. He has a part in the Play "Tommy" which is apparently amazing. He and Nick debate about everything and have a passionate Nashville vs Memphis rep to keep up.

-Cody is the RA on the 3rd floor of Hess, which is where a lot of these guys live. He was an Orientation Leader last year, he is Greek, and he will be my own RA next year in Hess. It will be fun because we already know all the guys living on our floor and so there will be a strong community next year.

-Matt lives on Cody's floor, down the Hall from Jonathan, Joe and Nick. He is very country and loves it. He dodges getting picked on a lot by pushing it to Jonathan who I'll talk about in a little while. Matt Painted up for a Basketball game one time and was all over TV.

-Don "DJ" went to High School with Nick, he lives in Clement, and is incredibly chill. He is very good at poker, and I've watched him clean house more than once playing in the lounge. Don wants to come back to NY this summer, and Hopefully he can make it. I want him to see a Cow, a shotgun, and some real woods.

-Tatariw is Jordan's BF and one of the Hess Hall Council Members. He just won a major Award for service to the Environment and University. He lives a couple floors above me, and is not wearing a shirt in this picture. Tatariw is from Virginia, and is pretty much full on yankee right with me.

-Jonathan is from the great city of Lebanon, Tennessee. Not Leb-a-non, Not Leba-nun, but Lebnun. He loves to play guitar, drive a massive truck, wear boots, and sing country songs. I don't know exactly what a Good ol' Boy is, but I guess he is the classic one. He is playing "Sweet Home Alabama" during this picture.

Continued....

2009-04-24T19:40:00.035-04:00

-Juliann! She is from Memphis, and a fellow Ginger. She has curly hair though. Her twin sister goes to the University of Memphis, and she has straight red hair. Juliann is a TL with me this year, and is going to be great at it. She has a lot of energy, and she is super nice. She came to UT with a bunch of People from her High School, at least three of them are on this list. I love White Station kids, and I know tons of them. All because of Juliann. Her friend Trey lives on my floor, and we do Chemistry Homework together.

-Emily is one of Catherine's best friends. Emily is from Cincinnati, and part of the reason I have grown to consider Ohio more southern than Virginia. She has a great accent and is incredibly nice. She is a Sophmore at UT, and lives in Hess. She introduced me to Trio's. Thank You Emily.

-Misha. Misha is also a TL, and she went to White Station with Juliann. She is quiet, talks very softly and is still angry I thought she was a snob when I first met her. HAHA-snob! Being from Memphis and all, she has this pose down a lot better than I do, and being southern, she can pull it off wearing a dress, no easy feat. She went to Summit last year, and she plays on the Lacrosse team here. I don't understand the game at all, but she has promised to help me figure it out. Her other promise is to show my how great Memphis really is, because I've never been, so I pick on her about it constantly. I'm excited to go there when I get a chance, I have heard the Barbeque, Music, and Tap Water are amazing in Memphis, Tennessee.

-Laurin. Guess where she went to High School. If you said to WSHS with Misha and Juliann, you guessed correctly. I met Laurin at Ignite, and she is big on the Campus Entertainment Board, who organizes events for students through the year. All the events I went to were great.
-Jessica. Jessica is also a TL, and she is awesome. Get excited if you pledge a certain Sorority because she is very happy with her choice to be greek.We make random trips to iHop with her boyfriend Phil and he is sort of my hero. My little brother loves her because she gave everyone Krispy Kreme Coupons for V-day, including him.
Lourie is really cool. She is a TL this year, She plays club Volleyball, and she speaks a whole mess of Languages. She was born and raised in Brazil, and when she was 9 she moved to America. She speaks Portuguese every once in a while and I'm always impressed.

-Bridget, my Ignite Teams TL and one of the Ambassador Scholars. aka Tour Guides. She is really nice, and we got this picture at the Gym Class Heroes/Reel Big Fish/Chester French Concert with a rather happy Police Officer. He wasn't sure of our Intent for this picture, but he let us take it anyway.
-Ruth has three connections to me that are rather strong and they show how small of a world we live in. She went to WSHS with Juliann, Misha, and Laurin. She is in my best known sorority on campus, I know a lot of these sisters. She knows my roommate and chills here all the time.
-Jason is one of my Major Staff influences and a lifestyle Idol. He no longer works at UT, he's in Admissions at Southern California now. Jason was my Staff Leader at Summit, and he is an explorer. Not only with a Backpack, but he will end up working all over the country during his lifetime, and I think it's a great way to live.
-Matt is one of the Teachers for my Ignite Class. He is the Graduate Student in charge of our program and he is awesome. Matt regularly wears a massive man-beard. He was nicknamed DJ-stash for it. He is a great role-model and a lot of fun to hang out with. Get to know Graduate Students, they can teach you a lot.

Continued.....

2009-04-24T13:46:00.040-04:00

-Stephanie is Friends with Allison, who is down below, and was featured in "Adventure to Nashville." Stephanie is quiet and incredibly sweet. Her circle has Brittany and Allison in it, who are also some where in this list. I went to a lot of Basketball games with Steph, and her bf Charlie also has an Orange Blazer.

-Devlyn is from New York! She is hardcore about Classes, and she works a lot. She found me on Facebook and ended up being a great friend to have around. She is incredibly intelligent, and is a lot of fun. Especially on you get lost on the way to the movies!

-SAM! If you decide to attend UT as a freshman this year, you will bump into her at least once. She is an Orientation Leader and Devlyn's Roommate. Shockingly enough I know Sam because of Devlyn, not because of her work in our Office. It sort of shows how much of a community this campus is.

-Lacy, as in Lacy from "Lacy, Lacy, and Jordan's blog. These three Girls are from West Tennessee, and they have some of the strongest southern accents I've heard down here. Lacy is Jordan's Roommate and I met them at an International House Dance Party. Turns out they are my next-next door neighbors.

-This is the other Lacy, or LJ. She lives in South Carrick, and went to High school with Jordan and Lacy. They are all in my Chemistry Class and I hang out with them regularly. They went to School with two guys that also live in Hess, and so they are on my side of this building a lot too.

-Allison is my Friend from Nashville/ Indianapolis/ Texas. Remember the "Vegetarian from Texas" from my blog "Diversity"? Well that was her. She is mad cool and we went on Spring break with her. I think this picture has been in the blog before, if so my bad. We went to a lot of Basketball games together, and she made it on TV a lot. I met her at Orientation.
-Brittany is as nice of a person anyone as anyone could be. She never says anything negative, and if it starts to sound like she might say something mean she will justify it by saying "bless her heart". Brittany is also in Chem this Semester, and she laughs at me and my friends being idiots regularly.
-Jordan. You have heard about her friends, but Jordan is in my English Class too, and she bubbles with energy every time I see her. She is really funny, and you can't help but smile when you chill with Jordan. "I think we are smarter for thinking of a shorter way to say you all."-Jordan K. Jordan, Lacy and Lacy are three girls you simply want to be friends with.
-Mrs. P! She is Ben's Mom and my substitute mom for at least a part of the Summer. I am going to be here for Orientation and maybe a class or two, and she offered to let me stay with them a half-hour from Campus. She works in UT Dining, (thats what the picture is all about.) She can get any of my problems with service or meal plans fixed with a phone call and awesome about trying to help students. She is the perfect Southern Mom, her food is amazing, her house is very clean, and she doesn't stop smiling. It will be a great summer. Her husband went to UT and their whole family is hardcore fans, especially of Women's Basketball. I have been to their house only a couple times, but Ben's Family is awesome and they seem to tolerate my Yankeehood pretty well.

-Sarah is probably the girl I am closest to on Campus, She is from Ohio, and is very happily Greek. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say which one she is in, so we'll just have to stick with "greek". She works at the UC Snack Shop and I met her at Ignite. We had similar family Situations when we first got here, being far from home and we both got involved in a lot. This picture is funny because she actually studies and I never do. Sarah knows me better than anyone else on campus, and I'm going to miss seeing her around next year.

So after I wrote about 50 of my favorite people on campus, and posted pictures of all of them, I'll try to summarize my year for you. PEOPLE. That's all that freshman year was about for me. People. I met hundreds, and I learned so much about my life at home, my life here, where I want to be, where I should be. College has one goal for most people, to get a degree. Well, quite frankly, that's not enough. If you aren't loving it then there is something wrong. You come to college to get a degree, and you walk out with an Education. How many people actually end up using their Degree? How many people end up marrying someone they met in college? How many people are lifelong friends with someone from college? The degree is a piece of paper, but it'll mean a whole lot more to you if every time you look at it a different great memory pops up. Pick the college that is right for you, whether it's UT or not, All I can tell you is that UT has something for every single person that wants a great degree, a great time, and a great well rounded education. Enjoy your summer, and thanks for reading.

I wanted to include some people I didn't ever end up getting a picture with. We'll call it

Honorable Mention:

Jayanni- Fellow TL

Brooke- Lab Partner Fall Semester

Tanner- My Orientation Leader

Alexis and Allyson- my girls from Knoxville

Nick and Callie- You know I love you two

Ilya- Moved to America from Russia when he was younger

Phil- Jessica's BF

Cam- Straight outta Tampa

Katie- Ag Campus

Elizabeth- Fellow Blogger, YOU ROCK

Brittney- English Partner

Courtney- TL Partner

Margeaux- X

Nick- Greeky TL

Kim- anti-social

Charlie- Orange Blazers

Josh, Bond, Alec

Evan, Artie, Zach, Greg, Pacman

Brian- has a new car.

BUBBLES

Cyndi- Admissions, my boss, the reason you get to read my rantings.

Greve at IHOP

2009-04-23T02:02:00.011-04:00

This is just going to be a quick one, everyone that knows me is waiting until tomorrow night to check my blog for the big end of the year post. It will be amazing please read it intently, I intend to sum up everything that my freshman year has been about and taught me in a

reasonable amount of reading. I'm excited you should be too.

This evening at 12:00 midnight, on the spot, my good buddy Phil texted me the following "Wanna go to i hop?" and I agreed it was a good idea.When I got there, I learned this is a regular event, midnight iHop with the Greve RA's. Phil is the one all the way to the right, with the glasses, the other three guys I just met tonight. The one with long hair is Kevin, he is pictured above with me doing a tradition for the iHop night, a Jelly Shot. Yes, we ate straight Jelly. (it made my sweet tea taste unsweet) The other two guys are John and Jeramy, the two who organize the event, and handed out awards tonight to the regular attendees. Phil got the Golden Spatula Award, and Kevin got the Golden Whisk Award. The Girl in the picture is Jessica, Phil's gf and how I know this crew. She is an Ignite Team Leader with me, and one of the sweetest people you could want to meet. She has wanted to be in my blog for a really long time, and it's way overdue that she be in one. So I wrote this one tonight for two reasons, so she could be in one, and to give credit to the Greve RA's for doing this. This type of thing is such a great social time, it's cheap, and it's 100% positive. Jeramy will be in Hess next year on the floor above me, and I'm not sure what John is doing. They may not be my RA, but if they put this kind of event together regularly, they must be good at other RA stuff. I guess the most they ever had for one of these nights is 72. Not a bad bit of work boys, I'm impressed and really glad I went.

Last Bit, INCOMING FRESHMAN, sign up for Ignite, right now. It's almost full if not already. Our pictures are up(which reminds me I have to look at mine and see how it is), read about the event after you have signed up, its for anyone who is willing to be positive. Good Night readers, I'll see you tomorrow for my last Blog of the School Year.