Orientation: Where It All Begins

For those who keep up with my blog regularly, you already know that a fellow blogger and now my good friend, Alex, was one of the reasons I decided to come to Saint Mike's. Like myself, she was also stuck between SMC and Assumption College when she was choosing where to go. While she was helping me out, I thought "Wow.. I barely know this girl, yet she's helping me out with one of the biggest decisions about my life." She was truly representing SMC in the most honest way possible. Recently, Alex yet again inspired me and this time, it was about what to write my next post on. She wrote a fabulous blog post about her orientation experience, so I figured I would write one on my orientation experience and then write one after orientation about what it's like being an orientation leader.

So, here begins my story......

Already having a connection to Alex and some people I met in the Class of 2015 group, I felt confident about how my first day of college was going to be... well at least up until the night before. The night before, the nerves finally kicked in. I was going to be three hours away from home, which isn't really that far, but at the time, it felt a million miles away. I was worried that I wasn't going to find friends immediately. Essentially, I got inside my own head and I freaked out. I thought this was a bizarre thing to do, but if anything, it was normal. Looking back, it made sense to have these thoughts when I was doing something new and unfamiliar.

Once I got to SMC the next day, I saw these people all wearing matching shirts and holding up signs saying, "Welcome to Saint Mike's!" They all shouted out to my car and asked what my name was. They then started chanting my name really loud. Their crazy excitement immediately made me feel like a member of the SMC family right away.

After I was welcomed by all the orientation leaders, I got my keys to my room and started heading over to my new home, Ryan Hall. Once again, the orientation leaders were there for me during the move-in process. They helped me carry up my bags to the fourth floor (woo, quite the workout with so many flights of stairs back and forth!) I was finally able to meet my roommate, who I had been talking to a bit before moving in, and decorate our dorm room. The rest of the day consisted of arranging our dorm room, meeting the rest of the people on my floor, and finding out who were my orientation leaders out of the energetic bunch. 

Throughout orientation week, I got to know my orientation leaders as yes, very energetic people, but also supportive and friendly people. They led us in a lot of group ice breakers and activities and showed us what Saint Michael's was all about. I also got to know the people in my orientation group very well and I'm happy to say I'm still good friends with most of them (including blogger, Lauren Murphy-- so many Lauren's at SMC!). 

Along with our group activities, there was  also some downtime to connect with other first years around campus. We were told to keep our doors open since it's a great way of stopping by and introducing yourself to people. I kept my door open and I blasted my music (I think I went with some top 40 hits) to see if anyone would pop in and say hello. My friend Dennis, who was in my orientation group and lived on my floor, stopped in my room with some other guys who lived on my floor. He introduced me to the other guys, and just like that we were all friends. 

Orientation week is all about connections. You meet people on your floor, in your building, and in your orientation group, and from there those people introduce you to other people. It's kind of like a never-ending super fun game of telephone where you're constantly exchanging new "messages," or rather information about yourself, to other people. 

I could keep going on and on about my experience with orientation, but hey there needs to be some suspense for when orientation rolls around next week!

I'm super excited to be a part of the orientation program and meet the members of my orientation group. See everybody August 22nd! 

Interning at the Lowell Spinners

As an MJD major, I've been considering two different careers. First career involves working in sports, something that I've loved ever since I was a kid. Second career involves exploring the film/television world and working behind the scenes as a producer. Like I said, two VERY different careers, so that's why this summer I wanted to explore my options and find out what it would be like to work in sports.  

I got a summer internship with the Lowell Spinners, a minor league baseball team associated with the Boston Red Sox. While the season started in mid-June, I started working at the beginning of June. The pre-season tasks included handing out pocket schedules to local businesses, looking up music and videos for certain promotional events, and attending community appearances.

When the season started, my department (Media Relations) met hours before the game to go over pre-game and in-game responsibilities. Some of the tasks for the usual pre-game show include handling special guest appearances, greeting fans, and setting up the auction table. When it's game time, I usually am either a part of the on-field crew or I am in the PA booth keeping track of the score or DJing the game. The on-field crew is mainly in charge of entertaining the crowd. We put together games for the crowd to participate in and make sure things run smoothly in the ballpark.

So far, I've been learning a lot about the sports industry. While it consists of long hours, it is also a very fun environment. I enjoy the people I work with.

I'm looking forward to ending my internship on a good note and heading back up to Saint Mike's to be an orientation leader. I'm excited to see who will be in group 18 with me and my orientation partner, Richie Bernache!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Top Memories from Sophomore Year

To me, it still feels like high school graduation was just yesterday. To think that two years have already gone by goes to show that the saying, "time flies by when you're having fun," is pretty true. I have been having a blast these past two years at Saint Mike's. I've had great professors and great friends along the way who have made this experience so amazing and special. Below are some of the stand out memories that made sophomore year another spectacular year!

• Radio show with Brendan. Around the second week of freshmen year, Brendan asked me if I wanted to co-host a radio show with him. With no prior experience of DJing, I said yes because I figured it would be a good start to getting involved on campus and a fun thing to do with one of my first college friends. Brendan and I have been doing a radio show ever since the first semester of freshmen year. From Lazy Sunday to Crazy Sunday, we've sure had some good times trying to be funny on air and having a fun time behind the scenes with our friends who stop by. 

A typical day at the station

•  Macklemore concert. This year, the Secretaries of Programming were able to get Macklemore for our spring concert. I was really stoked about this because I'm a big fan of his music and I was always unable to go to his concerts in Burlington. Finally, I was able to see him live! He had a ton of energy and made sure to always keep the audience engaged. He also made a special shout out to a student at SMC who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. It showed how much of a stand up guy he really is and just reminded me more why I like him and his music. After the concert, the Student Association got to meet Macklemore and Ryan Lewis since we helped set up the stage for the concert!

• Talent Show. Following the Macklemore concert, the MLK Society hosted their annual talent show, where all students are encouraged to try out and show off their abilities. For the first time, I was actually in a skit in the show. For those regular Jimmy Fallon watchers, you'll probably understand it, but if you're not one, watch the original version here and watch our own rendition of it below!

• Beating our odds of the lottery system and getting to live in Ethan Allen. I have to admit that I was pretty worried about housing while we were waiting in the lottery line. All of those worries went away when me and three other roommates got one of the last apartments in Ethan Allen on North Campus. I'm looking forward to living with all of them next year! 

the lovely Ethan Allen crew

• Going to Montreal. I put "Go to Montreal" on my SMC Bucket list the summer before my freshmen year. I figured since Montreal is only 90 minutes away that it should be something that I should take advantage of while I'm at school. My three friends, who I've been friends with since freshmen year, decided to go to Montreal when we had a three day weekend. 

All of us before we were going out to explore Montreal

• Living in a suite with some great people. It was a unique living situation for me this year. My friend Lhanzi and I decided to live in Ambassador Housing where we lived with other students from around the world. Me, Lhanzi, and Suyeon were the three that were there all year. We went through a series of different roommates: Barbara, Ami, Nikole, and Jinhee. We also had our friend, Sierra, move in our suite second semester and Jenna, a transfer student from UVM. It was different having roommates come in and out, but it was interesting learning about other cultures. I definitely loved living in Ambassador Housing and I'm going to miss it a lot.
  
  

  

  Jenna, Ami, Lhanzi, Suyeon, Nikole, Sierra, and myself

Suyeon, Sierra, Lhanzi, and myself

Me, Lhanzi, and Barbara with Brendan and Adam photobombing the picture

• Bonding more with MJD majors. This year, I took the most challenging, yet most interesting course in my major: Global Communications. We were required to learn the world map, research about particular topics, and create two websites. With all of the website work, most of the people in our class worked in Bergeron, the Journalism Department building. It was one of those things when the moment I walked into Bergeron, I was surrounded by familiar faces who were all going through the same project as I was. It was great to have these familiar faces around for hanging around and goofing off when we were all sick of looking at Dreamweaver code all day. 

• Starting Her Campus SMCVT. Her Campus SMCVT is an online magazine that Alex and I started up earlier this year. Things were pretty successful this year and I'm hoping things continue to get even better. I'm so excited that we started this up together and have such an amazing staff of committed writers. 

the Her Campus staff

Thanks for reading and stay tuned throughout the summer while I post about my internship with the Lowell Spinners!

#Itsallinthevisit

When I was looking at colleges, I didn't realize all of the things that I had to consider. I had to think about the location and the curriculum, but most importantly, I had to see what I wanted and what felt right. I endlessly researched college websites, but what really meant the most to me was the tour. I was able to see the campus and get a feel for what it would be like to be a student there.

The websites provided me with the facts, but my tour guide told their personal experiences with students and faculty. At Saint Mike's, I heard about how students connect with their teachers and other students, meet people through clubs and sports, make funny phrases in the word garden, go rock climbing inside the sports center, study abroad in unique locations, participate in community service, and of course, start the famous cup drop in Alliot. As I was listening about all of these awesome opportunities and walking around the beautiful campus, St Mike's started to feel like the right place for me. I ended up visiting St. Mike's twice because I was still considering other options, but I have to say that immediate vibe you feel when you're on a particular campus isn't one to ignore. It's usually telling you something good. The second visit was when I decided to officially commit to St. Mike's.

I think about how awesome it is being a tour guide and being on the other side of things now.  I love helping out prospective students and seeing them feel the same way I did when I got on campus.

Me, Alex, and Mike excited to give a tour on Accepted Students Day!

I know it's quite crazy to think about tour colleges and making the final decision about where to go. The deadline is approaching quickly for the upcoming class of 2017, so I wish all seniors the best of luck with their decisions!

Update on Classes

After spending almost all semester working on a website (works best to view in Internet Explorer) for Global Communications, I'm glad to say that it is finally complete and it is live on the Internet! Despite the amount of time it took to research and put together the website, it was still a fun and interesting project since I was able to analyze how much access other countries have to media.

For prospective MJD students, you'll find yourself working in Adobe programs such as Flash, Dreamweaver (used to create websites), Photoshop, and Illustrator, and reading intriguing articles related to media. Below, I've posted some videos that we've watched in our Global Communications class so you can get a feel for the topics that we discuss.


            And yes we even analyze the Gangnam Style music video..

   

So as you can tell, we discuss a wide range of topics and relate them to media. It's mostly a discussion based class with some reading and web design projects.

As for next year, I'll be taking two MJD classes, a Psychology class for my minor, and a Biology class to fulfill my scientific requirement. Check out my schedule below!

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

9:45-10:50 Microbes and Human Health

Tuesday, Thursday

8:00-9:35 Magazine Writing

1:15-2:50 Digital TV/Film

3:00-4:35 Sports Psychology 

 

 

I hope all those accepted students yesterday had a great visit at Saint Mike's! If anyone has more questions, e-mail or tweet them away :)

Housing for Next Year

Hello everyone!

As you may already know, I currently live in Ambassador Housing. Ambassador Housing has its own lottery system so there's a smaller pool of people and it is generally less hectic than the rest of housing process.

This year, my friends and I decided to try and get a 4 person townhouse. Townhouses and suites are assigned based on the lowest lottery number and the year of graduation. The ideal situation would be to have 4 seniors because it puts you in the highest priority for housing. Luckily, one of my friends is a senior in credits so that put us into a higher priority with 3 juniors and 1 senior. We ended up getting one of the last apartments in Ethan Allen. Ethan Allen is located on North Campus, just a mile from main campus. While it will be a year full of adjusting to the shuttle schedule, I am excited to be living with my friends in an apartment with a kitchen and living room and with the tennis courts right nearby!

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!