Hey All!

Hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween

I decided to be Cleopatra! This was the first costume I have ever bought and I was so so excited to wear it.  The bundle came with a long dress with a gold sash, arm cuffs, a headpiece with a cobra and beads, and more.  Everyone started dressing up even the night before and the costumes were great.  I saw some people with home-made ones which were the best.  People dressed up as Disney characters, sports players, pieces of food, etc.  On Halloween day I watched a scary movie called “The Orphan” with my friends Kilfy and Sabrina.  Then I went to the parade which was a lot of fun! All the people from town went and marched.  I saw lots of little kids dressed up and the one that stood out to me from the rest, was this little boy that put himself in a huge box and made it into a DJ booth!  He was so adorable and he had all the equipment of a real disc jockey.  I also liked someone who was a Jellyfish, I think I saw that last year, haha. Still it was cool. A band played during the parade and they were good.  We also stopped by this student-run haunted house for the children’s center.  After that I got dressed in my costume and went to the college terrace for the HALLOWEEN BASH! It was very very nice and all decked out! There was snacks and drinks, games, music and much more. I got to see all of my friends there and here’s a pic:

Some of the Orientation Leader's!

Overall it was a really really fun night and I got to see a lot of people out and about.  Oh how I love Halloween.  Anyway , I’ll be blogging soon! Until then, see ya!

*Song:  Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

Bye! Katieee!

Heyyyy!

So last Saturday was Open House at SUNY New Paltz! And I must say, that it was a success! Every year we host an open house to all the prospective students for the next year. However, this year is special. We have TWO open houses, not one, but TWO! It’s fantastic. The next one will be October 24, 2009. This event is run by the Admissions Department, the Student Ambassadors and also, CREW! CREW stands for Campus Recruitment Event Workers. They are volunteers that help out with all the tasks needed to be done at the event. This includes giving academic tours, giving out information pamphlets, directing people and most importantly… answering ANY questions people have about our lovely college! Correct me if I’m wrong, but…we have approximately 130 volunteers this year! That is insane! I am so glad to see that many students from all years are trying to get involved and at the same time they are improving our campus. It is great volunteer work and you meet so many people during the process! I was in CREW last year and it inspired me to become a Student Ambassador. I love my job and I believe that all the CREW members truly enjoyed this experience.

So Meghan and I were designated to the Athletic and Wellness Center, which was a lot of fun. We got to direct people around the vicinity and help CREW members find their way. There were a good amount of people there and I was glad that I got the chance to help out. It just feels so good knowing that you helped someone or persuaded them into coming to New Paltz. I hope that our next open house is even more successful. I feel that more and more students are coming to look at New Paltz because it’s such a wonderful place! So anyone that is interested, PLEASE COME TO THE OPEN HOUSE SAT, OCT 24th!

The cool thing about open house is that there is so much to do here. You have you options of going to a Residence Life Tour, an Academic Tour, Presentations, etc. I would recommend going to as many as you can so that you can receive the full experience. Anyway, just making this a short blog, but farewell for now!

Song:  What’s My Age Again? – Blink 182

~Katie <3

Why hello!

Hope everyone is doing well. As for me, I have been super super busy lately. As you can tell, I haven’t been blogging much lately. This is because of my hectic schedule! A lot of things will be coming up in the near future and I’ll be blogging more frequently. For my next few blogs, (I’m giving you a little preview) are Open House, Tie-Dye Versity, Parents Weekend, etc. Well one huge event just passed so now I have a bit more time to blog about fun stuff at New Paltz! That huge event would be SPIRIT WEEKEND! I know people have written a long messages about it so I’ll just mention a few things! Okay, here I go!

So, Bliss Hall Government has been working so so hard on getting things prepared for the big day. We practiced hours on lipsync preparation and we worked on the banner too. With tons of help mainly from our CDA Bina and member Sam! You guys did a fantastic job! Our lipsync was rocking! We had a mix of everything in there and it overall represented the theme “Building Our Future”. I’m President of Bliss Hall Government and this was the first time I have been immersed in the spirit day extravaganza from the very beginning. It was a lot of work, but we all pulled through together and I have to say… it was a success. Everyone contributed SO SO much to this day and we had a lot of fun doing it too! My direct hall gov’t members are Alex, Karly, Courtney, Rosemary, Raj, Jess, Michele, and the liaisons Steven and Julie! I just want to thank them for being the best ever and we all got closer because of this. Spirit weekend consisted of Penny Wars, a VERY intense Scavenger Hunt, Lipsync, Banner, Field Events, etc. But one thing I love about this weekend is that it brings everyone together and it’s all about community within our campus. Which I find to be amazing. That is one of the many, many reasons I love New Paltz THISSSS MUCH! Here are some awesome pictures from the weekend!

The Blizzards! Aren't our t-shirts cool?!

Working so hard on lipsync! You guys rock. <3

Bliss' mascot, the lizardddd.

There were so many people there!

Bliss doing TUG-OF-WAR.

Our beautiful banner, that came in 3rd place. Thanks to Sam

Anyway, so there’s some info and some pictures of Spirit Weekend! Hope you enjoyed it and I’ll be blogging soon!

Song: Evacuate The Dancefloor- Cascada

<3 Katie

Why hello, everyone! Hope your weekends are going well. Mine was a lot of fun. On Friday, I had my classes which went very well and after that I met up with Jen and Kris to go to Stop & Shop. We bought stuff to make cookies! We got cinnabon flavored cookies which were AMAZING and oatmeal chocolate chip, which were equally as good. It was a lot of going with them and even more fun baking them. Christina (a fellow blogger) was kind enough to let us into the Scudder Hall kitchen where we baked the yummy food. If you didn’t already read from Christina’s Blog, it was her birthday! So if you wanna comment and wish her a Happy Birthday, I’m sure she would love that. After that I got dinner with some of my friends and then I was off to BUZZ KARAOKE!

Buzz Karaoke is held in a different Residence Hall every time and it’s so much fun. This time it was held in Scudder Hall, and I must say…a lot of people came! RHSA (Residence Hall Student Assocation) gave out wings along with some drinks and everyone had a blast! It was a huge success and a lot of people got up to sing, including me! Here’s some pictures from the night:  (*Credit to the Residence Hall FB page)

These girls were fantastic!

Look how many people came! WOW!

The Scudder Hall Staff singing a beautiful song together.

Colleen and I @ BUZZ!

As you can tell, BUZZ Karaoke @ Scudder Hall was a huge success. Next time it’ll be held in Lenape, so look out for those flyers for the time! It was a really great night. So on Saturday, I basically just hungout in my room and did some homework throughout the day. I went to brunch with my friend Joey and that was lots of fun. Then for dinner, I went out to P&G’s for Jen’s birthday celebration! We all had a great time together.<3 After that I had to work at the Terrace for the A Cappella Night. Kris was working with me and we had to set up for the big event. It’s one of many event at the “Saturday Night’s @ The Terrace”. A program is held there every weekend and it includes events such as, comedians, slam poets, a cappella, arts and crafts, game night, etc. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet people and hangout on a Saturday night. Food, beverages and yummy snacks are provided. Plus…FREE entertainment! Tell me, what’s better than that?! Well Kris and I worked together as hosts and it was a very popular event.  Around 100 people came and it was a great turnout. Absolut A Cappella along with Male Call performed several songs and it was amazing.  So in the future DEFINETLY check out the event going on @ the Terrace.

So basically I’m just gonna finish up some homework soon and watch the VMA’s tonight. Hope the rest of your weekend goes well and enjoy! So long, for now!  Katie

*Song: Fences-Paramore

Hello again!

Hope classes are going well, the first week is finished! Anyway, to continue the explanation of my fantastic summer…

So, after my relaxing week in California it was time to pack yet again and make my way back to New Paltz. I was going back because I had gotten the Orientation Leader position and we were to stay up on campus for the summer. It was so exciting and I couldn’t wait to get there! Orientation Leader is a very selective process that selects 14 people out of a large pool of applicants.  They are chosen and trained extensively in order to orientate the incoming first-year students to SUNY New Paltz! We are ambassadors and peer mentors to the students throughout their entire first year. It’s our job to make the college transition easier and of course…lots of fun. Throughout the process we answer college questions ranging from residence life to campus clubs and organizations. We also incorporate ice breakers and other fun activities to make new students feel more comfortable. They also work on their schedule through academic advising and they set themselves up with housing too. Students leave orientation with all the information they need to know in order to make their first year a success. The OL’s are fully trained to answer all questions that may come up during orientation. We meet many of the departments here on campus and it’s a great way to get to know the staff here. Throughout training we did a lot of staff bonding. I had a great time getting to know everyone during the summer. Here’s a picture of the staff!

Staff from left to right (top):  Jonathan, Kyle, Dey, Meghan, Kris, Sabrina, Diones, Felipe

(bottom):  Sarah, Jen, Me, Emily, Tiff, Marissa, Rafaela, Hope, Kelly

Overall, it was an AMAZING summer and it was an experience that I will never forget.

*Song Choice:  Tiffany Blews-Fall Out Boy<3

Bye for now! Katie :]

Hey everyone!

Hiii, my name is Katie Harman, and I’m a sophomore here at New Paltz! I haven’t officially declared yet, but my intended major is going to be in Communications, and a minor in Art. I’m from Seaford, Long Island. Let’s see…here’s some interesting stuff about me: My favorite bands are Fall Out Boy and Jimmy Eat World. I love to cook and hopefully one day I’ll achieve my dream job which is to become a pastry chef! Ever see the show Ace of Cakes? Really, really awesome tv show. I love to do art and my best mediums are colored pencil and acrylic paint. I always like to strike up a good conversation, so please say hi whenever!

So basically this year is going to be pretty amazing. I can feel it  Well classes just started and I have to say, I love them. Best part is…no 8am’s! I’m just getting used to my whole new schedule and my new Residence Hall, Bliss.  So please feel free to come by and say hello anytime.

I hope everyone’s summers went well. Mine was pretty amazing. At the beginning of the summer I went to California for the second time which was the best. I traveled to San Diego, CA and it was beautiful. It took me around 6 hours to get there. Here’s some pictures of the scenery in Old Town as well as the San Diego Zoo:

Aren’t they so cute? Anyway, California was wonderful and I wanna live there someday, haha. After my adventure I came back home and hungout with my friends and family for a while which was very nice. I got to see everyone from Seaford. It was a great beginning to one of the best summers in a while. I will definitely write more about my summer later! Thanks for reading and I will post more soon! I have a feeling this is going to be a fantastic year.

*Song of the Day: Work-Jimmy Eat World

Always, Katie! <3