PROJECT PRESENTATION DAY IS OVER!!!

Throughout my years as an underclassmen, one of my favorite days of the year, was ALWAYS project presentation day. On this special WPI holiday, the seniors formally present their major projects to faculty, project sponsors, and other students.

The reason I loved this day as an underclassmen, the lack of classes and work for anyone not a senior, became the exact reason that this year I was dreading this day.

I speak in front of groups all the time. I have no problem talking; to anyone, anywhere. However, speaking to a group of math professors about a large math project, left me with a stomach full of butterflies. I worried I would say something incorrectly, forget a word, or worst, be asked a question I didn't know the answer to.

Luckily, Project Presentation Day is over. And I am happy to report that all of my nerves have subsided. I am sure I was at least a little pink in the face throughout our 15 minute presentation, however our project was well received and the professors were very supportive. They did throw some questions our way, but with how much time and work we had put into our project, these questions were easy to handle.

Plus, with our presentation complete, we are now one step closer being done with our Major Project FOREVER, and that is a great feeling!

Overall, I'd say Project Presentation Day, is a great WPI holiday, for any student, any year.

Warming up to D-Term

D-term is my favorite term at WPI. I would guess that most people would say the same and the reason is quite simple and quite obvious, it's spring. Not only does the warm weather put everyone in better moods, but it brings life back to the quad, to the track, and to anywhere green on campus. Of course this life doesn't just include plants, it's students too.

Today I enjoyed a great run out on the track. I was in shorts and a tee shirt and was perfectly comfortable- those are the best days, not too hot nor too cold. Also while walking around campus I saw people playing frisbee, laying on the quad, studying and eating outside, and even walking a rope tied between two trees.

All in all, I'd say spring is here, and WPI is super psyched!

Where did all the jelly beans go?

So today, being Easter, I wanted one thing... jelly beans. I went grocery shopping early this afternoon, and I figured I could pick up a bag at the local Shaw's. Nope, NONE. So, on my way home from the store I stopped at a Walgreen's. They had Peeps, Snickers, Cadbury Eggs, chocolate, gum, and all sorts of other candy... but still NO jelly beans.

Did I miss something? Are jelly beans illegal? Are they only being sold at specialty stores? Was there an outbreak in jelly beans? Did the Easter Bunny go on strike?

Sorry to ramble, this isn't at all related to WPI- but I was upset.

So, yesterday you all probably read Jen's blog and heard about our traditional kegs on the quad, simmer down everyone these are rootbeer kegs :-)

Today is a continuation of fun WPI events. Today is Traditions Day, a day dedicated to educating the WPI population about WPI traditions, and of course having fun!!! Today's events will include Rivalry Events and the always popular Alma Mater contest, ( Please note Jen, another WPI blogger, is participating in this event with a group of friends, and if I had to guess who was going to win, I'd bet on her). Below is some information about Traditions Day, how it began and what events it now encompasses.

Traditions Day

This community event was first held on April 16, 1991. Its primary objective was to educate faculty, staff, and students about the history and traditions of WPI. The students enjoyed such activities as a Pie Eating Contest and a Dunk Tank (to dunk their "favorite" faculty or staff member). Higgins House was temporarily transformed into a museum with original drawings and artifacts. The grand finale of the day’s events, which were sponsored by the Student Alumni Society, was a campus-wide candle lighting ceremony that began on the Quad and ended in Institute Park.

Traditions Day is now held on the second Thursday of April. It’s a time to reflect on WPI’s history and traditions. On the evening before, a Candlewalk around campus is done while singing the Alma Mater. On this day, SAS members host three Freshman-Sophomore Rivalry events: Pennant Rush, Cage Ball, and WPI Jeopardy. The class to win two out of three events wins the rivalry point for the day. During the intermission of Jeopardy, there is an Alma Mater contest, in which various groups on campus enter and present original renditions of the WPI Alma Mater. The contest is open to all groups who want to be creative with the Alma Mater and put on a good show for the students and judges.

Information provided by WPI's Website: http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Library/Archives/TechBible/newtraditions.html

SUMO EVENT

There are 13 colleges in the Worcester area. This allows all of the students to not only cross register at any other school for classes, but it also allows students to particpate on many events at any campus. To give an example, as I have previously written about, I am part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program here in Worcester, and tonight I was at The College of the Holy Cross for a BBBS fundraiser.

There were students from many of the college in Worcester, all of whom were Big Brothers or Big Sisters and we participated in a Sumo Wrestling Tournamant. Other students bought tickets and raised money, and of course cheered us on while we blundered around in sumo suits.

Included are a bunch of my pictures, I hope you enjoy!

home sweet home

So a big part of senior year is planning for the years to come. Most of this planning WPI can and will help you with. Things like job searches, interviews, plans for paying off loans, etc. However, one of the biggest plans one needs to make is finding a home, and this is something you are on your own for...

So today, with the help of my parents, I went for round 1 of apartment searching. I saw 5 or 6 apartment complexes and now I have some serious questions to answer:

Do I want a roomate? or to live alone? Do I want big windows? spacious rooms? high ceilings? closet space? Do I want to be able to walk to work? or ride the bus each day? Do I want pets? a cat? a dog? Do I want a fitness center? a pool? Do I want to spend more or save more?

these are a few of my favorite things...

So to continue with my favorite memories of WPI, I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite memories from sophomore year. Sophomore year I played rugby... for 1 game, lol.

The rugby team did very well my sophomore year and because of their success they had more games than expected. The only problem was, the games ran into fall break. Due to injuries, people leaving for break, and people doing a term abroad, the team needed players. When asked if I wanted to help out during one of the games, I quickly said yes. I attended two practices where I learned as much as I could about how the game went and what the rules were. Before these practices I had never seen anyone actually play rugby, but let me tell you, its definitely my kind of game. Any game in which you can just fall and hit people, is a-ok in my book.

Anyway, the Saturday of fall break I played in my first and last rugby game ever. It was great! If you can't tell from my picture, I'm about 6 feet tall, and the coach thought that it would be funny to put me in a small person position. Basically he thought it was funny to watch the little girls try to tackle me, and it was pretty funny. Now I will not even begin to say that I was very good at the sport, I don't think anyone can be defined as good or bad after just one week, but I will say I had an absolute blast.

I got to meet a whole new group of people at WPI and I got to see a different type of sports at WPI. Rugby is a club sport here meaning that the team still gets to go and compete with other colleges, but the practice time is much less than that of a varsity sport. I think its a great compromise for those athletes who want to play competitive sports but don't have enough time to dedicate to the varsity level.

Although I would have loved to stick with rugby, I don't have very good knees and that's where rugby players tend to get hit. So my career quickly came to an end. Anyway, that Saturday spent running and falling in the mud was one of my favorites of sophomore year.