A Gamecock by Nature

I'm sure you're answer to my title, "Do you like sleep?" is probably "yes".  I find it interesting that as a little kid, you hate to sleep and take naps, yet by the time you reach high school and college, naps are the best part of some people's days.  I personally don't have time everyday to take a nap since I usually fill my afternoon with time at the Strom, but I must say that a large percentage of my friends do.  This is understandable though, when you have people who pull all nighters, not just to study but to wait in line in the freezing cold for a Florida v. USC football ticket.  

Monday morning at 7 am was when the doors opened to disperse tickets to students.  As of midnight the night before the line was already wrapped around Russel House on Greene Street.  Then by the time I walked by at 8 am after the ticket line had begin to move, the line was backed up past Longstreet Theatre at the corner of Greene St. and Sumter.  It was so funny to see so many tents and people wrapped in blankets.

I was honestly hoping my younger brother, who is a freshmen, was going to wait in line and get both of our tickets.  Unfortunately, after seeing how ridiculous the line was he changed his mind.  Luckily for me, my fraternity brother decided to take our carolina cards to see if there was any tickets left at 1 pm.  He said he literally walked up the stair case and got our tickets.  INCREDIBLE!  This was the best news ever, because my favorite match of the year is UF v. USC since a lot of my friends from Tampa go there. 

My word of advice to incoming freshman is to not stress about tickets or camp out for tickets.  Let the chips fall where they may.  If everyone would just go to the ticket room periodically throughout the day, no one would ever have to wait over 3 hours for a ticket.  Have a great night!  Happy Halloween!

Posted by Lydia at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday night I saw a part of campus that was only familiar in name.  I have a lot of friends who tell me that they're going to the School of Music to practice their instrument or that they're going to the School of Music for a class, but I honestly had no idea where this building was located or what I'd find behind its doors. 

My friend Walt (Psychology '06) invited me to come see him play alto sax Wednesday.  I told him that I would definitely be there, but on my way I had to call him to get directions to a building on campus!  I'm almost embarrassed I didn't know that the music school was across the street from the Shell station on Assembly St.  After I walked in the building, I could hear a concert being played and I literally followed the music to the Recital Room.  I was pleasantly surprised when I entered to find the "Bank Combo" composed of 6 members enjoying themselves while playing "Confirmation" by Charlie Parker. 

The jazz music was incredible!  I found myself nodding along to the songs and clapping sporadically with the rest of the audience.  My friend Walt even wrote his own song that the entire group played.  He wrote a part for the trumpet, drumset, piano, bass, and the sax players.  The funniest part was when he randomly hit the gong.  He literally dragged the gong on stage before the concert for one moment in the entire performance!  He wrote his song on behalf of one of our mutual friends' crazy life and entitled it "Walt's Cranial Meltdown".  I think I was highly entertained because I knew who the song was about. 

It was a wonderful concert that lasted about an hour and it has definitely made me more intrigued about other cultural events that are taking place on campus.  Who knows, maybe I'll attend a play next? 

Posted by Lydia at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday was a beautiful day to be at the University of South Carolina.  The Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center was filled with about 2,000 prospective students and parents. 

I had the pleasure of making a picture showboard of some of my experiences at USC to date.  I had pictures about USC sports, Capstone Scholars, Delta Sigma Pi, Study Abroad in France and England, and Resident Advisor training. 

I loved having the opportunity to meet so many prospective International Business students, future Capstone Scholars, and an array of other high school seniors planning to be Gamecocks in the fall!  I'm excited to think that a lot of you may live on my floor next year or in Capstone! 

I had a lot of questions about the Capstone Scholars' Program and what it involves.  Capstone Scholars' Program is a two year program that is a support system for student success.  Capstone Scholars have an opportunity to take Capstone sections of University 101, English 101, and English 102.  Capstone Scholars also have an opportunity to participate in Maymester abroad and earn three credits.  They can also apply for a $2,000 travel grant to help alleviate the cost.  As a Capstone Scholar, you can attend Capstone Conversations an an array of topics, attend Capstone Cinemas (movie and discussion), First Friday night events (game night, comedian night, musician night, etc) and Hot Cookie Fridays to name a few. 

The Capstone Scholars' Program has also recently created the Capstone Fellows Program which allows students to earn points through participation, good grades, and other areas of involvement and be recognized at the end of their sophomore year at a nice banquet. The following website is a great resource with more details about Capstone. http://www.sc.edu/capstonescholars/index.html

I also talked with a lot of students interested in the International Business (IB) Program.  This program is still ranked #1 in the nation.  The IB Program is extremely competitive as it only accepts 50 students a year.  You can apply in the Spring of your sophomore year and a copy of the application can be found online.  http://mooreschool.sc.edu/moore/ib/ib_major_information.html  The most important factor considered is your GPA.  It is extremely important that you do well in your courses from the beginning. 

If you have any questions let me know!  I hope you enjoyed your day at USC and you're looking forward to many more!

Posted by Lydia at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This past Saturday I woke up at 6:40 am!  Most college students rarely see this time on their alarm clock, but I saw it flashing and beeping on a weekend morning!  Saturday was the Student Leadership and Diversity Conference (SLDC) presented by the Gamecock Leadership Society (GLS).  I am a member of GLS which is a leadership organization on campus that invites schools in the southeast mostly to come and enjoy a variety of workshops to enhance individual skills and organizations.  

I arrived at the Russell House a few minutes after 7 am and helped set up each of the rooms before students from USC and other universities began to arrive for registration.  After setting up, I was a moderator for three separate workshops.  After introducing each speaker I was able to enjoy the session like everyone else.  

The first speaker was Rebecca Cody from USC’s Career Center.  She was great because she spoke to students about ways to make your skills marketable and ways to improve your résumé.  The second speaker was Dennis Rahiem Watson.  He was absolutely hilarious and he spoke about the types of things that face black students in college.  He was very interactive and engaged the audience throughout his entire speech.  He is a motivational speaker and I wish more students had come to enjoy his conversation.  The last session was with Dr. Tim Elmore.  He spoke with campus leaders in a small session.  He talked about his series of books called "Habitudes" and explained their meanings in relation to leadership.  This is the second time I was able to enjoy Dr. Elmore speak and he was just as motivational this time as the last. 

At 4 pm when the conference was over I was exhausted but so glad to have been a part of the main event!  I had an amazing Saturday and I look forward to planning and attending SLDC again next year! 

Posted by Lydia at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)