Last weekend, the Office of Student Activities and Union Services hosted their first annual leadership conference! I attended this conference with an organization I am involved in, the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH). At this conference, student leaders presented programs on leadership styles, how to get involved, and various other aspects of leadership. All of the programs were really informative and interesting, and there was on in particular that really resonated for me.

This program was called “Decent People, Decent Club/Organization,” and was presented by a senior student at New Paltz, Beth. Her program focused on fostering a positive energy within your club/organization and as a person in general. A big chunk of her presentation was focused on a lecture given by Dr. Randy Pausch, who was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. His speech is entitled “The Last Lecture,” because unfortunately, Dr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. However, you would never know this in the way that he presents his speech, and he is absolutely unbelievable! I’ll let you watch this speech, which is about how to achieve your childhood dreams and how to maintain a positive mind when pursuing them!

The Last Lecture

I feel as if Dr. Pausch has put my typical mindset into speech form, and he does so in such an inspiring way, and that is why I have just fallen in love with this presentation! There are some really incredible lessons to learn from Dr. Pausch, like overcoming challenges and putting them in a positive light, recognizing the importance of creativity, having a sense of fun and wonder no matter what, understanding that people are more important than material things, and spending time working hard rather than complaining.

All of these contribute to living life in a positive way, and Dr. Pausch raises the question, “are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?” For those of you who aren’t as familiar with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger is a very optimistic and energetic character, whereas Eeyore is very sarcastic and pessimistic. Dr. Pausch identifies himself with Tigger, stating that “[he is] dying soon and [he is] choosing to have fun today, tomorrow, and every other day [he has] left.” Hearing him say that really made me embrace my Tigger-like mindset, and has made me really appreciate all of the fun and happiness I have in my life even more.

What makes me so happy, you ask? Let me tell you! You know those little things in life that just brighten your day? I look out for those and appreciate them whenever they come my way. They can be family related, like a text from my dad, an e-mail from my mom, or an IM from sister. They can be music related, like having a good song come on shuffle, discovering a really awesome new one, or hearing your friend play a bunch of songs. It can be as simple as the view from my window. Or, it can be as complicated as this organization I’m apart of called NEACURH (I’ll blog about it soon so you can understand my love for it). Whatever it is, I find at least one thing a day that will make me smile, even if it means going out of my way to find that special something (but, thankfully it’s very easy to find things that make me happy here at New Paltz).

I know we all have “those” days, and it’s completely normal to have them. However, I, like Dr. Pausch, encourage all of you to find what makes you happy and what is fun to you, and to incorporate those things into your life every day! And remember- if someone is having a bad day and you see them without a smile, lend them one of yours! Kindness is contagious, and even one smile can go a long way in someone’s day!

Keep on smiling!
Christina

So, as you have probably heard, this weekend was RHSA’s Spirit Weekend! This is a tradition that everyone looks forward to and has really transformed and grown through the years!  Let me give you a little background! In 2006, Spirit Day (yes, DAY!) received the NACURH (National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls…basically, the umbrella organization of every student government in the nation!) Program of the Year Award! How awesome is that?! And since then, it has only gotten better! Last year, when I served on the RHSA executive board, we transformed Spirit Day into Spirit Weekend and added an intense 24-hour scavenger hunt that incorporated bringing items to us, taking photos with certain objects/people/places, community service, and a creative aspect. On top of this, Spirit Weekend consists of a Penny Wars competition, where pennies count as positive points for your hall and all other coins and dollars (that other halls can “sabotage” you with) count as negative points. All of that money that is raised goes towards a charity. Then, there is a day of field events, where halls compete in games like tug-o-war, a wheelbarrow race, riddles, etc. Later that day, there is a lipsync competition (which New Paltz is ALLLL about!) and then an awards ceremony.

So, you’re probably wondering how Scudder Hall did, right? Well, let me tell you!

Spirit Weekend started on Friday evening with a barbeque at Hasbrouck Dining Hall! This is where each hall picked up their scavenger hunt list and started taking pictures! Unfortunately, I did not help Scudder very much this night because I was getting pied outside of Hasbrouck to raise money for a conference that New Paltz is hosting (more information about that VERY soon!). We raised a pretty decent amount of money and it was a ton of fun!

I spent the rest of the night/weekend in Scudder finishing up our lipsync and banner. It was a blast hanging out with our Hall Government (they are AWESOME!) and with my staff, and towards the end of the night, our preparation turned into a three hour dance party into the wee hours of the night! Then, Saturday morning, we had a “Scudder family” brunch at Hasbrouck, where we finished up the scavenger hunt! Check out some of our pictures!

Sunday was field events, and unfortunately, they had to be held inside and were delayed due to the rain. But, that didn’t keep us from having fun! We cheered nonstop, for our residents, for our buddy hall, and for all the halls in general. Everyone did such a great job, and we loved bringing a positive energy to the room to support them!

Now, for my FAVORITE part of the weekend…the LIP SYNC! We worked hard all week to get the moves and timing down, and we wanted to really make it something special. The theme was “Building Our Future,” and we tried to bring a really unique perspective to it. Before the theme was even announced, a few of us discussed wanting to do a nightmare themed lip sync, so we incorporated that idea into the theme, and voila! We concocted a lip sync that had a dream plot line where a student falls asleep and is nervous about the construction. Although the construction is terrifying at first, it completely turns around when she realizes that construction is actually beneficial to the students! The participants in our lipsync were extremely creative, and we brought in completely original songs and handmade props in order to really made our lipsync stand out! Follow the link to watch it!

Scudder’s Spirit Weekend Lipsync! (that’s me on the bike, by the way! haha!)

So, I know I started off the blog saying, “you’re probably wondering how Scudder did.” I could have started telling you the awards we won, but I decided I would go into detail about how much fun we had with each other preparing for the events and participating in them. Sure, winning is great; but, I think Spirit Weekend is more than that. It’s about loving the community you live in enough to scream at the top of your lungs, building friendships and bonds with the residents in your hall, and learning to support one another. To those of you who will be participating in Spirit Weekend in the future, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: focus on the positive and not the negative. Take it as you will: the elimination of stress and negativity that can be associated with competition, or a first place award in Penny Wars (haha). But in all seriousness, if you’re more concerned with having a good time than doing something just so you can win, you’ll have a much better experience!

Okay for real, though, we did win some awards, which I think reflects how hard our Hall Government and residents worked, and they should totally be recognized in this blog, right? With that said, I would like to congratulate Scudder Hall for another strong and spirited year, and for receiving the “Brightest Fishies in the Sea” Award, 3rd Place in the Scavenger Hunt, 2nd Place in the Banner, 2nd Place in the Lip Sync, 1st Place in Penny Wars, and 2nd Place Overall!

Oh, and Happy October!
Christina

This weekend was especially nice because I had five, yes FIVE days off! I got an e-mail Wednesday night saying that my class on Thursday was canceled, then we had Friday off, and I don’t have class on Mondays, so it was pretty awesome! I went home to spend some time with my family since I won’t be home until Thanksgiving. It wasn’t a typical weekend home, though! I did something relatively dramatic…

I…

CUT MY HAIR!!!!!!

At a meeting on Monday, we were brainstorming some “crazy” things we would do to fund raise money, and I said I would cut my hair. Then I started to think more about it, and realized I had enough hair to donate. I mean, look at how much hair I had!

Some sepia tone for my long lost locks!

So, on Saturday, I went to the hair salon with my sister (she came for moral support!) and they chopped off my 8 inch ponytail! It was SO weird, especially because I can’t remember the last time I had short hair. Actually, that’s a lie; I saw a picture of my six-year old self on the fridge when I was at home and we had pretty similar haircuts!

The ponytail!

I know it’s probably weird that I’m blogging about my hair, but I’m just so happy I did it! Donating my hair is something I have wanted to do for a while, but I was always too afraid of losing all of my hair! It was such an awesome experience, and I totally want to do it again! Who know if I’ll let my hair grow that long again, though. I’m really diggin this new ‘do!

I promise my next blog will be much more action-packed! This upcoming weekend is RHSA’s Spirit Weekend and I can not wait!!! Scudder Hall is bringin it, yo!

Christina

I saw that quote from Oprah and thought it perfectly summed up everything I wanted to write about!

Let’s start with this weekend! We had Monday off for Labor Day, so I decided to go home. I live in Huntington, which is on Long Island and about two hours away. Honestly, it’s like, the perfect distance away from New Paltz because I’m close enough where I can go home for a weekend, but I’m far enough away where I can still get the whole “I’m learning to live on my own” experience. Being home was great; I lounged on the couch all weekend watching Degrassi and then my family and I celebrated my birthday (which was YESTERDAY! 09-09-09…how cool is that?!) I got a sweet color-changing iPod speaker thing and my parents took me out to my FAVORITE ice place, Rita’s! And today is my actually my dad’s birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Speaking of my birthday, it was nothing short of incredible! Tuesday, the day before, was a little rough because a series of unfortunate events kept happening and snowballing. But, for some reason, whenever I have a terrible day, the next one is absolutely outstanding. And this DEFINITELY held to be true this week!

It all started at my RA staff meeting. We always celebrate each other’s birthdays at our meetings, and on Tuesday, one of my staff members baked me a homemade cake (with pineapples on it! mmm!) and another of my staff members made me jewelry! It was so sweet, and I definitely wasn’t expecting it.

But not as much as I wasn’t expecting what happened next. I walked upstairs to my room after our meeting and walked past quite possibly the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. To make a long story short, one of the unfortunate events I referred to involved my RA bulletin board getting ruined. However, a bunch of my residents redid the board, and it absolutely made my night. So much so that I may or may not have cried tears of joy…

My original board was about goal setting, and you can see the original quote on the top and bottom. My residents turned it into a quote board with a bunch of my favorite quotes and some really great inspirational ones! Ah, I just love this board and I’m going to keep it up all year! (Not really, though, because I need to change it every month! Ha!)

I was not expecting it AT ALL, and it was just so great to see my residents take initiative and promote a sense of community on the floor. They are incredible and I am SO unbelievably grateful to have all of them!

I spent the rest of the night with my staff and a few friends and we had an absolute blast! It was so awesome to celebrate the first hours of my birthday with them, and I’ll never forget it!

Then, in the morning, while I was getting ready, I heard a knock on my door. I figured it was a resident that was locked out of his/her room or had a question, but it was actually a few of my friends who came to surprise me with a song and some gifts! The surprises just kept on coming! It was so nice of them to take the time to do this, and I can’t even begin to tell you how appreciative I was!

Thank you Kyle, Erin, Kris, Meghan, and Jen! You guys are the best!

Finally, that night, I went out to dinner with a bunch of friends and my sister. We went to Red Robin, which is a restaurant in Poughkeepsie (about 15-20 minutes away). It was so nice and comforting to spend my night with good people and good food. And I even got a hug from the Red Robin mascot!

This was definitely one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had, and it’s all thanks to my family, friends, and residents! I am so thankful to have all of you in my life, and you give me a reason to celebrate my twenty-one years. I would be nothing without your support and love, and it means so much to me have you in my life. A thank you to EVERYONE, and here’s to another fantastic year!

Although I have been back for a while (and was here all summer!), this was the first full week of classes, students, and real New Paltz-y goodness! It was mighty lonely without everyone here and boring without classes and activities to consume my life, so I must say, I am happy for everything to be starting up again!

I started this week off with a day off! Somehow, I managed to have a schedule without Monday classes! (How nice for my senior year, right?) So, my friends, Erin and Jessie, and I had a nice girls’ day out! Then, my REAL first day of classes started. I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of my classes are really interesting! All of my professors are really passionate about the material, interesting to listen to, and very motivating! Although I am a little less excited to read and write papers, I am really looking forward to my classes. And what am I taking, you may ask? Public Speaking (with NPBlogger Katie! Hey heyyyyy!), History of Modern Design, Developing Adolescent, and Alternative Epistemologies! Woohoo!

Also this past week, my RA staff started off what we call “40 Days and 40 Nights.” Basically, we put on programs every day and/or night for the first forty days students are here! This week, we had an Ice Cream Social, a Speed Friending program (much like Speed Dating, except without the whole dating part), RA Hot Seat (where residents can ask us any questions), and my personal favorite…Shaving Cream Pictionary! This is a program that was created by Chris “Thursty-Thurst” Thurston, an RA in Gage Hall! It is played just like Pictionary, where you must draw out a word for your team and they must guess it, except it’s played in shaving cream! Here are some pictures and videos from the night!

Team Stony Point Day Camp! Meg, RA Aruna, Dean, Laci, and Adrienne! They were awesome at guessing…I don’t know how they did it!

Can YOU guess what this is?

…and see if you can get this one!

Unfortunately, Shaving Cream Pictionary got very messy! Look at what happened to me and RA Aruna!

Andddd tonight, (you all must think I never leave my residence hall…I swear I do! I just have so much Residence Life and Scudder loveeeeee!) we had FONDUE NIGHT!!! We set up fruit and pretzels and cookies for residents to dip in chocolate and it was a HUGE success!

Look at that lounge full of people!

Following that, we had our Hall Government elections. Every hall has their own hall government, which is made up of positions like President, Vice President, etc. They work together to put on exciting and interesting programs, act as liaisons for residents, and just generally do really awesome things for the hall. It’s an amazing leadership opportunity and a great way to meet people, and I am really looking forward to seeing what our newly elected executive board has in store for Scudder this year! Shout-out and CONGRATULATIONS!!! to Dean, Kelsey, Jenny, Cindy, Danielle, Pam, Greg, and Rebecca!

That’s it for now! Oh, but before I go! I know my parents have been anxiously waiting a new post so…HI MOM AND DAD!!! <3

Christina

HELLO!

Welcome to my blog! Hopefully I will be able to keep you all entertained and informed throughout the 2009-2010 year!

I guess I’ll start off by introducing myself! My name is Christina Alch! I am a senior, majoring in History and minoring in Art History and Communication. I am from Huntington, Long Island. Some fun facts? I am obsessed with arts and crafts (especially ones involving “trash”), I love the beach, and I am addicted to ice cream/Italian ices/frozen yogurt (especially Ritas and Red Mango! mmmm!).

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer; I know I did! From start to finish, my summer was AWESOME! First, I took a delegation of students to the University of Arizona for a national conference! Our school’s Residence Hall Student Association and National Residence Hall Honorary are affiliated with the largest student run organization in the world, NACURH (the National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls). This annual conference brings students from college campuses all over the country and even some other countries together to share ideas and resources, and of course, to show off their school spirit! It was suchhhh an incredible opportunity and I learned so many great things from other students and schools!

A lovely picture of our lovely delegation in lovely Arizona!!! Fellow NPBlogger Chris, Kevin, Val, Rob, Janine, Kyle, me, Tiff, Kris, and Jessie! For the three days we were there, we dressed up in matching outfits that relate to our school and the theme of the conference. This conference’s theme was “Our Place in Time,” which was mainly about sustainability and recognizing our responsibility to the world. This is our “Ecolo-G!” outfit, where we channeled our inner Flava Flav with shirts that said “what time is it?” in different languages and clocks in the shape of worlds that showed the time in different countries.

Our delegation with SUNY Stony Brook! One of the greatest things about going to a national conference is meeting new people! It’s such a fantastic way to network and bond with other schools!

After I got back from Arizona, I had a few days off and then I headed back to New Paltz to work with our Student Orientation and Registration (SOAR) program again! Last year, I worked as an Orientation Leader, which is a position held by 14 students that work to ensure that incoming first-year students are comfortable on campus. This year, I got to hold a more administrative position as the Administrative Program Associate for the Student Program! It was a totally different, but fantastic experience working in this position, and it taught me so much about the “behind the scenes” work of Student Affairs (which I will be pursuing a career in!)

Our awesome SOAR 09 staff! Orientation Leaders, Educational Opportunity Program and Scholars Mentorship Program Liaisons, Administrative Program Associates, and Program Coordinators!

The Orientation Leaders and Liaisons! They did such a wonderful job working with this year’s first-year class and I know they will continue doing a great job this year as Peer Mentors to those students!

Now that summer is over, it is time for the fall semester to start and for me to enjoy one last year at New Paltz! I am so excited to be living in Scudder Hall for another year as a Resident Assistant! (Shout out to my super neighbors, NPBlogger Kyleen and Jen Evers!) I am really looking forward to spending the year getting to know the residents in the building and putting on some interesting programs!

Overall, I am feeling very positive and happy about this year, and I can’t wait to start getting in the swing of things! Thank you for reading my first post, and I am looking forward to letting you all in on my exciting year at New Paltz!

Christina