Announcements Regarding Formspring and Knight Chats

As some of you may have already heard, Formspring is shutting down at the end of March. Before it shuts down, I'm posting previous questions that I've answered below.

Would this be a good school to go to if you want to be a teaching and play soccer?
Hey! The education program at Saint Mike's has three options in what you can specifically major in: Art Education (grades Pk-6, 7-12, Pk-12), Elementary Education (grades Pk-6), and Secondary Education (grades 7-12). From what I've heard, the program is hands on and beneficial, even as a first year. Also, the program has some special benefits including a possible 9th semester, where students can engage in student teaching after their four years are completed, and there is an Education study abroad opportunity in Bath, England. To find out more about both of those opportunities, here's the link: http://www.smcvt.edu/academics/education/special.asp
As for soccer, I highly encourage you to check out the SMC Athletics page to click on Varsity sports to find out information about the soccer team ranging from statistics to the roster. Also, the Varsity coach has contact information on the web page so contact him for more details about trying out :) 

How many psych classes have you taken at smcvt so far? Did you sit in on a class or talk to a current psych major or prof before deciding on smcvt?Do you have a track? Sorry for all the questions, just got accepted and want to be really thorough lol! 
I took General Psych for my first semester, and I was unable to get into a psych class for my next semester. I was freaking out a bit that it would affect my overall major schedule, but it turns out that it's common to not have a psych for the spring semester. My advisor told me that if I were to get into a psych class spring semester, that I would actually be ahead in the program. I was aiming to get into Research Methods I, but my advisor told me students usually take that sophomore year so they can take Research Methods I fall semester and Research Methods II spring semester.
As for how I decided on SMC, I went on a tour at first to see the campus. I immediately felt like I could see myself going here, so I applied and continued to research the school more. After finding out that I was accepted, I was soon invited to an Accepted Students Day. The schedule involved breakfast, a tour, a panel with current students, and an opportunity to meet professors in your potential major. Susan Kuntz, a faculty member of the Psych department, was informing us about the major requirements, minor requirements, and the rest of the faculty. Right away, I was impressed with how in depth the courses appeared to be, and also how willing Kuntz was to answer any questions. She seemed passionate about teaching students. Compared to other schools I got accepted to, the course selection was the most thorough. With the course selection, I was also given more of a chance to test out other options in the Psych field such as clinical, social, physiological, developmental, and cognitive to see where I really wanted to go with my degree. As of right now, I'm interested in going on the track of doing something with clinical/social psychology so I'm planning to take courses such as Abnormal Psychology, Sports Psychology, and Social Psychology.
I also was a very active reader of the student blogs when I was looking into Saint Mike's. I read Alex's blog, and noticed that she was a Psych major. It was ironic because at the time, I was deciding between Assumption College and Saint Michael's, the same two schools Alex was stuck between also. I asked her questions about the differences between the colleges and the programs. She did an awesome job at helping me gain a better insight on everything.
Congratulations on your acceptance and feel free to ask questions if you have any more!
 
If I'm not Catholic (or even, say, agnostic) would I still be okay at St. Mike's?
 Coming into Saint Mike's, I had the same concern you had especially since I had the same religious background. The only religious requirements you have to fulfill are a 100 level religion course, a 100 philosophy course, and your choice at a 200 level in either religion and philosophy. Other than that, religion isn't something that is forced at all. Mass isn't required, so it's not something that would make you feel left out if you didn't attend it. Personally, I've found myself fitting in really well here due to other activities and interests. I hope that answers your questions and if you have any more feel free to ask! :)

It’s a sad, sad thing that Formspring is shutting down, but no worries because you can still e-mail me at lmazzoleni@mail.smcvt.edu and ask any questions you may have! Also, there’s a student Knightchat from 7:30-9:00PM this Thursday. Join by clicking on the link provided to talk some current students, including me!

Bermuda Pictures

For my spring break, I spent some time in the lovely island of Bermuda. It was great to get away and experience some nice weather. I must say that the highlight of the trip was getting the chance to swim with dolphins.  Check out the pictures below from my trip to see the dolphin pictures and much more!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I hope everyone is enjoying it and if you aren't busy, tune into me and Brendan's radio show tonight from 7-9 on 88.7 FM or either through iTunes.

Weekend Events: Softball in the Snow?

Sometimes, it's fun to go away for the weekend and do things that you wouldn't normally do. This weekend, I played in a winter softball tournament called Freezing Fun with Families with my two suitemates this weekend. What was great about it was that it was an opportunity for some suitemate bonding time and a chance for me to play softball again. I played travel softball up until my junior year of high school, so playing this weekend brought up some good memories from one of my favorite pastimes.

my travel softball team that I played on for 5+ years

The only difference between playing travel softball and playing winter softball is that well... there's a lot of snow during winter softball. The snow and the cold temperatures were at first hard to get used to, but after a while, it was really fun. At the end of the weekend, our team got eliminated because we lost two games. Winning didn't seem too matter because the tournament was for raising money for two girls battling cancer. This tournament has been very successful in the past years, and it even earned the title "World's Largest Snow Softball Tournament" in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was an awesome event to be apart of and a perfect way to spend the week!

For SMC students...

For prospective students...

Canada Traveling Tips

Bonjour mes amis! (Hello my friends!)

This past weekend, I went to Montreal with my three friends, Sophie, Brianna, and Emily. Whenever I travel somewhere new, I always learn something new about myself and the surroundings. For instance, I learned that no matter where I am, I'll always still order cheesecake because it's my favorite dessert. But of course, I learned a lot of other things that are helpful when you're traveling to Montreal as a college student.

Lesson #1: While it is not required, it's good to know a little bit of French. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but luckily, I have taken French for a couple of years. I attempted to speak some French, and when that failed, I simply just asked, "Parlez-vous anglais?" which means "Do you speak English?" French and English are the two official languages in Canada, so mostly everyone could speak both. 

stop sign in both English and French

Lesson #2: Being a college student means being aware of your bank account. Save, save, and save is the usual motto, but that can sometimes be hard when you're surrounded by new stores and new restaurants. Instead of going out to eat every night, my friends and I brought snacks from school and made fluffernutters and oatmeal for most nights. However, we did end up treating ourselves to dinner one night at an Italian restaurant and also delicious crepes.

excited about eating my crepe filled with cheesecake and strawberries!

spaghetti and salmon for dinner

Lesson #3: Being spontaneous is always fun, but sometimes it's good to research ahead of time to get a better understanding of your surroundings. Look around and see what's near where you're staying. Fortunately, the hotel that we stayed at was 10-15 minutes from Saint Laurent Bouvelard, which is like Montreal's own version of Church Street.


Lesson #4: It was fairly easy to convert American money to Canadian money. Most places would tell you if they took American money. If they didn't, they would either take VISA or have an ATM in their store to withdraw Canadian money.

It's fun to travel to a new place and learn about other country's cultures. This trip made me even more excited about studying abroad next year in Ireland.

I hope you all continue to have a great week and if you have any questions, tweet or e-mail! Also, there's a parent Knightchat tonight from 7:30-9pm and I'll be one of the bloggers in the chat so check it out :)

#PassportProblems

It's been a stressful semester with a lot of projects and homework assignments so I'm really excited that there's a three day weekend next weekend. Since one of my friends has a car this semester, we all decided that we would spend next weekend in Montreal.  Two weeks ago, we booked the hotel in the  so it seemed like everything was set in stone and nothing could go wrong. Until, I realized last week that my passport was soon to be expired......

 Immediately, I started looking into nearby post offices that could process passports, but nowhere could process it in time for me to go. I started freaking out, but luckily, parents always know how to save the day. My dad found a passport office in St. Albans that could process my passport in 3-5 days. Luckily, the office was able to get me an appointment quickly. I just had to bring my birth certificate or old passport, driver's license, and a 2x2 photo that's been taken within the past 6 months (Rite Aid takes passport pictures and there's one in Colchester, Essex Junction, and downtown Burlington!) My appointment was last Thursday and my passport got delivered on Monday! It looks like mission impossible was actually possible, so I'll officially be going to Montreal next week. It will be my first time going to Montreal, so I'll be sure to post a lot of pictures next week!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend! If you have any questions, e-mail or tweet away :)

BANFF Mountain Film Festival

Last Saturday, I attended the BANFF Mountain Film Festival. BANFF is an international film competition that consists of short films and documentaries about nature and winter sports. I originally wasn't intrigued about watching videos about skiing and snowboarding because if you're a regular reader, you know that skiing and snowboarding aren't exactly my thing. Fortunately, movies are my thing! It ended up being a really fun time, and even though I had to go for a class, it's definitely an event that I want to go to next year.

Below are some of my favorite movies from the night:

Crossing the Ice
Strength in Numbers
The Gimp Monkeys

Suite New Decorations

Welcome to my first post of 2013! I had a busy winter break hanging out with my friends and family, searching for summer internships, catching up on television shows (Netflix and DVR are awesome!) and looking into study abroad programs. It feels great to be back at SMC, though! With the first week of classes done, I can already tell it's going to be a challenging semester, but it's a challenge I'm willing to accept (see clip below).


 
Since I've been back, I've been doing homework, catching up with friends, going to the gym, and... decorating! Yes, the last one even surprised myself, but I realized that I needed to spice up the white space in my suite.

Latest additions to the common room...

tapestry from Homeport

using whiteboard to communicate between suitemates and to play pictionary!

Latest additions to my room...

climbing people from Homeport

the "Lau" collage

for my Global Communications class, I have to learn all of the countries so why not deck out of my wall with a world map?!

 

 

 

I'll be attending the BANFF Film Festival this weekend, so be on the lookout for that post! As always, e-mail with any questions that you might have!