The Student Perspective

Hey everyone!

I want to start off by mentioning that the MIAA Tournament for men’s and women’s Division II basketball kicks off this Friday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, MO!The Bearcat men’s basketball team did qualify for the tournament, and with a record of 21-5 will be going up against Southwest Baptist with a record of 18-11 on Friday at 8:15 p.m. Northwest’s point guard DeShaun Cooper is a 5’7” junior from St. Louis, MO. Cooper does a good job at leading the team and is an outstanding basketball player! Last season as a sophomore Cooper was named second team All-MIAA, he started in all 26 games, he led the team with the most points in one game with 31 points against Central Missouri and against Missouri Western, he led the team with field goals made in a game with 13 against Missouri Southern, he tied with teammates Narayan and Haake for most 3-point field goals made in a game with five, went five-for-five 3-pointers made against Central Missouri, led the team with most free throws made in one game with 17 against Missouri Western, and scored 425 points during the season! That is a really impressive record for his sophomore year, especially considering many sophomores don’t even receive much playing time at all.

Unfortunately for the Bearcat women’s basketball team, their season is over, but they are already setting goals for next season! The Bearcat women’s basketball team ended their season this past Saturday against Missouri Southern.

However we still have the men’s team to cheer on, so I hope that all of you Bearcat fans make it a priority to cheer on the Bearcats this Friday night! And remember if you want to listen to the game you can always go to the Northwest website to do so. All you have to do is click on athletics, men’s basketball, schedule, and then by scroll to the bottom where you will see Listen to the Bearcats LIVE 

Well the semester is half way over and it hasn’t really seemed to slow down any! I have a test coming up in Anatomy and Physiology and a research paper that I am trying to perfect all happening in the next two days! But I am really excited because I just had an interview with the Bearcat Boogie Dance Studio to be an instructor. The interview went so good that I was asked back for a second interview/audition! Also I applied to be a camp counselor at Camp Quality. Camp Quality puts on many programs for cancer patients and gives children with cancer the opportunity to spend time with other cancer patients while participating in all types of activities.  Camp Quality also puts on fundraisers to raise money for patients and their families and they also take donations as well! Donations are actually encouraged, so if you would like to check out their website page or donate you can go to http://www.campqualityusa.org/nwmo/Home.aspx. But anyways I am really excited to hear back from them because I have wanted to do this for a couple of years now and it would mean so much to me to have this opportunity!

OK since I am a huge inspirational junkie, I am going to leave all of you with a few inspirational quotes! 

I hope everyone enjoys the quotes and has a wonderful rest of the week and a good weekend!

-T

Hello everyone!

The semester is almost halfway through.. crazy! By now, we have all had time to figure out our favorite classes, teachers, and more.

This semester, I was given the opportunity to take a class related to my dream career: IT Project Management. I love that Northwest offers classes that relate to what I want to do in the future. This is an elective class for my minor, so I was able to select it from a group of related classes.

Since my freshman year of college, I have been interested in Project Management. After having a project management internship last summer, I have known that it is the right career choice for me. However, I also learned how hard it is to get into… especially after college. I wanted to take this class to gain experience in my dream field, so that I can be better qualified for Project Management once I graduate. IT Project Management is making me more confident in myself as a Project Manager and I know I am becoming more prepared for Project Management through it. I am learning industry terms, how to use Microsoft Project, how to develop schedules, and more. I am really learning a lot about what it takes to be a Project Manager.

In addition to this class, Knacktive is giving me good experience with being a Project Manager. I wrote about Knacktive a couple posts back. But, in case you forgot — Knacktive is  more of an internship than a class. This is some of the most real world experience the 32 members of Knacktive can get while in school. Through Knacktive we are building our hard skills and soft skills. By hard skills I mean we are learning job skills like how to use certain computer programs and by soft skills I mean we are learning how to work in a team environment, collaborate with one another, meeting etiquette, and more.

I love that Northwest offers a good education and also offers classes and activities that are similar to my dream career and future. I truly believe that everything I am doing now will benefit me when I graduate. Taking this class and being apart of Knacktive really makes me excited for my future. I cannot wait to see where my future takes me!

I believe that if you form relationships with your teachers and let them know where you want to go in life they will help you find the way. It is up to you to ask, though. Take the initiative, Bearcats. Northwest’s faculty truly cares about their students and where they go when they leave here.

Northwest is helping me make connections and get ahead in the work force. How many other people can say that about their college? Put yourself out there and get involved in organizations OR take the class your dying to take. It just may lead you where you want to go!

-D

Hello Everyone!

This week the sorority Sigma Sigma Sigma have made it a priority to remember Karen Hawkins, a former student at Northwest Missouri State University and a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority in the mid 90′s.

Karen’s Story: An unfortunate event happened to Karen in 1995. As she was  leaving work one day, a male co-worker asked for a ride home. Not thinking twice about it, Karen agreed to giving him a ride. She never made it home that night and her body was found two weeks later, she had been raped and killed.

In honor of Karen Hawkins, the women of Sigma Sigma Sigma as a chapter dedicate an entire week every school year to spreading the word about how awful physical violence is and about how prevalent it is in today’s society. During this week, Sigma has a different event everyday. The events include; participating in Burger King Night, in which 10% of the proceedings between 5 p.m.-8 p.m. go to the Women’s Shelter in St. Joseph, a self defense class that was open to anyone who wanted to attend, and a silent walk around campus in memory of Karen. Not only is this week dedicated to spreading the word about physical violence, but it is also dedicated to honoring Karen’s life that was so tragically cut short.

In the classroom: My Anatomy and Physiology class is such a fun and hands on learning class! We are learning about bones right now, and so for the past two classes we have split up into groups and identified actual human bones and classified the different structures on the bones. Another class that I have been really enjoying is my Spanish class. Everyday we talk aloud in Spanish to better our vocabulary and pronounciation! We do a lot of group work and excersises that are based on repetition, therefore the information is more likely to stick in our memory.

I know that mid-terms are just around the corner and stress may be rising. Here is a little motivation to keep you set on your goals: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

I hope everybody has a wonderful weekend!:)

Hey Bearcats!

Tomorrow (Wednesday the 15th) is Mock Interview Day.  Now, I talked about this last semester — but I think it is such a good opportunity that it is worth mentioning again. Mock Interview Day is hosted by Career Services on campus. Mock Interview Day gives students an opportunity to practice interviewing with real employers.

A Mock Interview generally consists of two parts:

1. They will ask you interview questions and look over your resume.

2. They will critique your interview skills, tell you what you did well, what you should work on, and critique your resume.

Some people think Mock Interview Day is only for business majors but that is not the case! There are employers there for agriculture majors, education majors, creative majors, technical majors — you name it!

I am passionate about Mock Interview Day because through my Mock Interview last semester I scored an awesome internship with Cerner Corporations for the summer! Mock Interview Day was a great way to build contact with the company. After my Mock Interview, they invited me to apply for an internship and I eventually did my first round of interviews on campus! After my first interview, I was invited down to Kansas City for “Experience Cerner Day”.  This was a two day event — day one was a tour of Kansas City and all that it has to offer and day two was a tour of Cerner and actual interviews. A week later I was offered the internship. I know that participating in Mock Interview helped me find the internship and made me feel more prepared.  After Mock Interview Day, I knew what kind of questions to expect. Also, since Mock Interview Day is just a “mock” interview there is not as much pressure! I was able to ask my interviewer questions afterwards about things I could work on to better prepare myself for future interviews with the company — that is not something you do at a normal interview!

Now, even though I already have an internship lined up for the summer, I am participating in Mock Interview Day again. One of my classes is requiring we participate — but I do not mind because I think Mock Interview Day is so beneficial. Through it, I will be able to better my interview skills and get more practice interviewing. This is important to me because I will be looking for a job in a couple months and I want to be as prepared as possible.

If you cannot sign up for an interview, Career Services offers resume critiques year round and other interview tips. They really are helpful if you just reach out to them.

Take advantage of what Northwest has to offer, Bearcats! We really do go to a great school .

-D

Hey everyone and happy Friday!

For all you girls The Vow comes out today! And for all you guys, I suggest you start ordering tickets and planning a special night for the one girl that means the most!

Most people don’t actually know how Valentine’s Day came about. The celebration of the day began with the life and death of a man. A bishop by the name of Valentine stood against an Emperor’s ruling that Roman soldiers could not marry. He married them in secrecy because he thought the Emperor’s law was wrong and went against the glory of young love. Valentine was soon found guilty. Because he betrayed the Emperor’s law he was killed. In memory of Valentine’s bravery to do what he believed was right, Pope Gelasius declared him a saint and the day of his execution, February 14th, became known as Valentine’s Day. However, over time, Valentine’s Day was recognized as courtship and love. Now Valentine’s Day has several different meanings. For young kids it is a day dedicated to friendship. The day is filled with cards and candies. For adolescents, Valentine’s Day is about the hope of love. Both girls and guys express their feelings to their crushes with cards, letters, candies and flowers. For singles, Valentine’s Day is all about the search for lasting love. Hoping that that special someone will confess his feelings to you, and just maybe it will be the start to a relationship. Between special dates and special dinners, the Day is full of sharing and reflecting. For couples, Valentine’s Day is a reminder of love. After commitment and sharing, Valentine’s Day is a special time to set aside to remember courtship, share special feelings, and recommit for the years to come. For parents, Valentine’s Day is a shared love and an opportunity to teach about love.

The meaning of love has been expressed on campus for the past week through various acts. We have actual human song-a-grams given out to girls in the Union, in classrooms, and other places on campus. If a person wants to send a human song-a-gram to a special someone they pay a small price to the student in charge. They tell the student when and where they want it to happen, what song, and a message if they wish to relay a message to that special someone. Girls have been blushing all week and hoping that someone will send them a human song-a-gram. Also, the women of Alpha Sigm Alpha are selling Valentine’s Day cookies. I actually just purchased a cookie today for my boyfriend. It will be delivered to his room on Valentine’s Day with a message and picture I drew for him on it! It’s just something cute and personal and I only had to pay a dollar for it!

Intramural basketball has taken off for the semester. We have already had two games so far and my team, the Phi Mu Phatties, are 2-0! Intramurals is a great way to be a part of a team and get invloved. I personally love to play sports for the reason of having fun to be competitive.

The Bearcat men’s and women’s basketball team plays the Missouri Western Griffons tomorrow at Bearcat Arena. The Bearcat men’s basketball team record is 18-3 and the Griffons’ record is 7-14. The Bearcat women’s basketball team record is 4-19 and the Griffons’ record is 6-15. If you are a true bearcat fan come to the game or keep updated on the game and cheer for the BEARCATS! You can even go to the athletics page on the Northwest websit to listen to the game. Once you are on the athletics page click on either men or women’s basketball and then click on schedules. Scroll to the bottom and you will see Listen to the Bearcats LIVE! After talking to the twins Alexis and Candace Boeh, sophomores, on the Bearcat women’s basketball team, they both expressed how the game tomorrow is going to be a game that you don’t want to miss. The girls feel confident and ready! They are ready to leave everything on the court and play to their full potential! After talking to sophomore Kyle Schlake, the boys are unstoppable. They know what they want and their main goal for the near future is to win the MIAA Division II Tournament! They certainly are on the right track to achieving their goal as they have been playing phenomenal all season!

It’s time to say goodbye and enjoy my Friday night!

I’ll leave everyone with words of wisdom that tie in with Valentine’s Day; A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

-T

Northwest has always been a school known for recycling. There are no “normal” trash bins on campus. Each bin has slots for paper, plastic, metal, trash, etc. In fact, Northwest even uses its recycled materials as an alternative fuel. In November, Northwest received the 2011 Annual Recycling Award from the Missouri State Recycling Program. Also, a “Greeks Go Green” recycling competition helped keep 8,100 pounds of recyclable materials out of the local landfill last semester. Northwest really does a lot to stay a green campus. As of February 5th Northwest started Recyclemania — another way Northwest is proving to be an environmentally friendly campus.

Recyclemania is a competition Northwest is in against other colleges and universities. Recyclemania is an eight-week competition that sees which college can collect the “largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recylcing rate.”

It just started and I have already seen people with “Recylemania-fever”. One of my teachers Monday collected everyone’s trash and bottles and placed them in the right bins to get us started. One of my friends has started collecting things to recycle at her house to bring up to the bins and is even offering to collect her neighbors. Students are really getting involved! Sometimes I use plastic water bottles to take to class, but I always make a point to put it in the plastic section of the trash can so that I can do my part. I think Recyclemania is awesome because living green is becoming more and more important. Hopefully, Northwest student’s and faculty will keep up their enthusiasm about recycling after Recylemania is over.

This program is a good way for students to use a small act to make a big difference. I wanted to write about it in this blog because I would not even know it was going on unless my teacher took recycling to the extreme in class Monday. I want to make sure everyone knows about it because I think this is such an awesome event and just one of  the many things Northwest does that sets it apart!

Even if you live off campus I encourage you to participate and bring your recyclables on campus. My roommates and I have started doing this and each week we bring them up! There are a couple rules to remember, when recycling. Make sure you empty containers and remove bottle lids. Also, plastic lids can be recycled but metal lids should be thrown in the trash. It is especially important that you empty your containers because if they are not emptied they will have to thrown away and will end up in a landfill!

Please take the time to participate in this awesome competition. Northwest does a lot as a university to promote and encourage recycling and it’s time for students to get involved as well!

-D

This semester, I decided to take a class that interested me.

A class that doesn’t apply towards my major, but rather something that I would enjoy learning about. (Don’t get me wrong, I love the classes I am taking for my major, but I wanted a class that didn’t go hand in hand with my degree.)

African in Popular Media evaluates how movies and the media have shaped the opinions that we as Americans have of Africans.

My eyes have already been opened up.  The class discussions and topics are intriguing.

Hollywood portrays Africa as a poor country with starving people and malnutrition.  While some of this is true, a lot of it is false.  It is important to look at the cultural differences and see why others live the way they do.

Last week, I had a huge light bulb go off in my head and had to send my professor an email.

Dr. Hesse –

 I  had this huge light bulb go off in my head yesterday at the gym! As I was running on the treadmill it occurred to me that nearly everyone (many out of shape) in the room was trying their hardest to burn some extra calories. I thought about how our society truly has a problem with obesity. When you showed the photos yesterday in class of the African tribes, I kept thinking … “everyone is so fit, so toned, etc.”

It is crazy how the world has evolved. Americans, who have ‘everything’ spend ample amount of time working out. We can’t seem to escape body images.

Many Africans live off the land and build their muscles the ‘natural’ way and do not have to worry about lowering their cholesterol by running an extra mile or two on the treadmill.

My professor replied back to me and was excited to hear my response.  I love that I can e-mail my professors and they respond back.  Professors at Northwest truly strive to connect with students and form relationships with them.

Well, with all that being said, I need to go.  I’m off to watch the Super Bowl with my friends! … what a very ‘American’ thing to do.