This update is actually a duplicate of an email I sent to my MVY coworkers. Sorry if some of the information is repeated from last update.
According to my new driver's license, I am now officially a resident of the state of Florida. My program is making me become a resident so that I get in-state tuition, which means in turn that they only have to pay in-state tuition on my behalf. Guess that's the price you pay when you're getting a tuition waiver and a job...
I have been in Tallahassee for just over 3 weeks. I started my assistantship in FSU's Center for Leadership and Civic Education on August 8th. The "Center" just moved into a HUGE brand new building. It's great. I have my own little "pod". So much more than a cubicle, so much less than an office. My 20 student cohort comes from all corners of the US. Two of us from the state of Georgia (other girl graduated from Emory in 07). We're both huge fans of the Dawgs, so we've started plotting our secret alternative football roadtrip schedule. There are a few students from New England that are trying to get me to say "Mahtha's Vineyed" correctly. The transition from UGA to FSU was pretty seamless because I felt like I had a ton of friends within my first week. That's the beauty of a cohort. We saw comedian Greg Giraldo (of Comedy Central's 'Roast' series) last Friday and he was a riot. We've also rekindled the tradition of Sunday night potluck dinners.
At work last week we hosted the "Service Leadership Seminar" or SLS. The program provides an opportunity for incoming freshmen to learn about community service and leadership. The seminar includes community service projects, workshops, speakers, interaction with current campus leaders, teambuilding, cheers, ropes courses, the True Colors leadership inventory...etc. Basically the stuff my dreams are made of. And the theme this year is "pirates". Must be fate.
We also hosted the orientation for the CLCE Service Scholars. These students are selected based on merit to be part of a prestigious group of students committed to service learning. They have some pretty phenomenal stories and I have the pleasure of mentoring one of them.
Furthermore, we've been prepping for the Social Justice Living-Learning Community (SJLLC). According to the website:
The SJLLC is designed for students of all majors who desire to understand and practice social justice. Approximately 40 first-year students are members of this supportive, inclusive community. Sharing time and space with others who have similar passions and values will encourage these students to establish lasting relationships and provide them with the opportunity to work with others. Together they will live, learn, and explore social activism, social change, and the philosophical foundations of justice.
I spent last week finding service projects for these students and preparing for their weekend retreat in Americus, GA (home of Jimmy Carter). I would have gone on the retreat had I not already committed to working at the Vineyard over Labor Day. I'm also TA-ing their colloquium course.
Lastly, I needed another part-time job with flexible hours, so I applied to mentor FSU athletes. A few 2nd year students in my program have done it and really enjoyed the experience. I'm excited about it. In October I'm also getting certified to facilitate low and high ropes challenge courses. Just seemed like something I might eventually end up doing. I also hope to be competing in the NASPA case study in October. I'm staying busy.
Oh, and classes--I'm taking 9 hours (3 classes) and I've chosen Program Evaluation as my minor. So far I really like my classes and professors (granted, we've only met once), but I think it's going to be a great semester.
__________
Now I'm back on the Vineyard to work Labor Day weekend with a few coworkers from the summer. It's great to be back, but we had a beast of a time getting up here:
1) After my colloquium ended on Thursday night, I caught an 8:10 flight (barely) from Tallahassee to Charlotte. My first flight was delayed, so I had to break out into a dead sprint to make my connection in Charlotte. I feel like I sprint a lot in airports, but this one definitely takes the cake.
2) We flew into DC around 11:30 pm. Kari's brother Kevin (also a UGA grad and Colgan employee) picked us up and we stayed the night at his place.
3) We woke up at 4:30, took the DC metro to the airport, and caught a 6:30 shuttle to Boston.
4) This is where the trouble begins. We get to Boston's airport and go to check in with Cape Air, the other air carrier that flies into the Vineyard. Whoever booked our reservation forgot to book us as positive space, which means that we are guaranteed a seat on a flight, and unfortunately all of the flights were booked for the remainder of the day.
5) The three of us had to take a 2 hour bus ride to Hyannis, on the Cape, with the intention of taking a ferry to the island. The bus was oversold, so it was packed with people spilling out into the aisles. Terrific.
6) We get to the transit center in Hyannis, and walk to the airport. Fortunately there was a 4:30 flight to the Vineyard with availability, so basically it took us an additional 7 hours + alternate modes of transportation to make it up here.
We'll be working until Monday when it's back to the Tallahassee grind. Next update will include FSU football!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Week 10: Welcome to Tallahassee
I will probably cease my "weekly" updates soon as I am no longer living the life of a jet-setter, but I will try and continue to post whenever I have any major news. I feel like moving to another state, starting another job, and starting a new degree all merit a journal post.
Of all things to leave on the island, I managed to get away without my camera, so we'll have to wait until I go back for Labor Day to reclaim it.
So...the big move to Tallahassee. Where to begin...
We'll start with the day before the move. I flew back from Martha's Vineyard on the 2:00 jet to DC, and for fear of not having my checked bags make an earlier connection, I scheduled myself for an 8:45 flight into Atlanta. As soon as the plane landed at Reagan International, I made the game time decision to take an earlier flight (about 5 minutes to connect between flights), and so I made it back to Atlanta by about 5:30. Unfortunately my bags did not. Dad picked me up and we drove back home to Marietta, where I grabbed a quick dinner with the fam before getting back on the road to drive to Athens, drop off my old house key, pick up a few items, and drive back to Atlanta to collect my bags which had just arrived. Made a few trips between the car and baggage claim, and made it back to Marietta around midnight. If only I had taken MARTA, I could have claimed travel by planes, trains, and automobiles...
The next day, I slept in with the intention of being on the road by early afternoon, thinking (foolishly) that I can pack in 2 hours. What a joke. Fast forward to 5:00PM, after a few panic attacks and enormous amounts of frustration, I finally get on the road in my mom's vehicle (which I have lovingly dubbed the "GRT" for Giant Redneck Truck) and begin the 5 hour drive to Tallahassee. Thank goodness for GPS. Without it I probably would have never made it to my new apartment.
I roll into my complex around 10:00PM. It's pretty dark, so I can't see much, but from what I can see, the place looks old. OLD. I was starting to second guess my decision to sign a lease until I got inside. My roommate (Megan) and I are leasing from twins that own the town home and just graduated from FSU. They were nice enough to leave the whole place completely furnished (complete with kitchenware and cooking supplies---nice!). All of the rooms are painted, we have a front and back porch, an attic, a shed, 3 linen closets, 10,000 square feet of workout space, an Olympic size swimming pool, 8 full length basketball courts, 10 racquetball courts, 2 squash courts, and a partridge in a pear tree. (For those of you that missed the humor, a few of those are a reference to my former UGA campus tour---can't let the dream die).
The complex itself is less than 10 minutes from campus. We are supposedly on the "undergraduate" side of Tallahassee, but our complex doesn't have any undergraduates because the units are for purchase, not lease. I joke around and tell people that we basically live in a retirement home because everyone is considerably older than us, but we love it! It's safe and quiet--can't ask for more than that. The neighbors are very friendly--especially "Fancy". Fancy is super sweet, but she's basically the living embodiment of Magda from "There's Something About Mary" --even down to the miniature dog, Budreau. She's great. What a character.
I am physically unable to leave boxes unpacked overnight, so I was up until the wee hours of the morning getting *completely* settled in to my room. I'll post pictures eventually. The next morning, Megan invited me to join her and cousin Katie (visiting from Atlanta) on a kayaking trip down the Wakulla River. What a great introduction to Tallahassee! The river was beautiful and full of wildlife. We saw turtles, egrets, an otter, and 3 alligators! There are also manatees in the river, but we didn't have a chance to see any on this trip. When I retold the story to Mama G, she totally freaked out when I got to the part about the alligators. Further research indicates that the Wakulla River has been the site of a handful of alligator attacks, so I will probably refrain from kayaking with my feet dangling over the edge of my vessel next time...
The next day was my official first day of my new assistantship. I am working in FSU's Center for Leadership and Civic Education, which is basically the FSU equivalent of UGA's Center for Leadership and Service (or Student Leadership Center depending on when you graduated). I have a programming assistantship, so I will be working directly with the Leadership Program Coordinator, Carrie Tucker (my awesome supervisor) to oversee programs like Leadershape, the Social Justice Learning Community, Lead-ins at the Rez, etc. I was only on campus for a few hours, mostly filling out paperwork, but Carrie was nice enough to take me around to get set up with my student ID card, bank account, building keys, and show me the brand new Student Success Building, where our Center and the Career Center will be moving on Monday. The new building is beautiful--I feel spoiled that my assistantship has landed me there! Carrie and I spent some time discussing what I wanted to accomplish this year, and I was thrilled when she asked me to serve as the coordinator for LeaderShape. I am really excited about working with the other programs as well, especially since I have no prior experience with any of them, but obviously LeaderShape has a special place in my heart :)
I used the rest of my free afternoon to do some minor exploration of campus by way of running. From the doorstep of my town home to campus is about a 20 minute run, which is great. I was feeling pretty ambitious, so I thought I'd go for an hour run on campus, however I did not take into account that 95 degree weather plus Florida humidity is not the same as 70 degree weather and an island breeze. Big whoops.
The Higher Ed program had a social at Po Boy's in downtown Tallahassee that night, so it was a great opportunity to reconnect with people in my cohort and meet new students. I love the people in my cohort. I am so lucky to be able to move to a brand new city and feel like I already have a ton of friends. We went over to a fellow student's apartment (she's a GA for housing, so we were actually in a residence hall---nice!) to watch the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics before calling it a night.
Which brings me to today. Nothing too exciting happened other than I was able to locate a fantastic park about 8 miles away from my complex that has tons of running trails. Basically my initial take on Tallahassee is that it is the environmentalist's dream: dozens of parks, tons of green space. It's great. The "downtown" area has got a small-town feel just like Athens. Everything is convenient. As I am living so close to campus, it'll be a very easy bike ride. And I love living in a city that is so conscientious of it's wildlife.
Despite the cold feet prior to the move, I'm so glad to be here and I'm expecting a great year. I apologize for the lack of pictures. As soon as I get my camera back...
Of all things to leave on the island, I managed to get away without my camera, so we'll have to wait until I go back for Labor Day to reclaim it.
So...the big move to Tallahassee. Where to begin...
We'll start with the day before the move. I flew back from Martha's Vineyard on the 2:00 jet to DC, and for fear of not having my checked bags make an earlier connection, I scheduled myself for an 8:45 flight into Atlanta. As soon as the plane landed at Reagan International, I made the game time decision to take an earlier flight (about 5 minutes to connect between flights), and so I made it back to Atlanta by about 5:30. Unfortunately my bags did not. Dad picked me up and we drove back home to Marietta, where I grabbed a quick dinner with the fam before getting back on the road to drive to Athens, drop off my old house key, pick up a few items, and drive back to Atlanta to collect my bags which had just arrived. Made a few trips between the car and baggage claim, and made it back to Marietta around midnight. If only I had taken MARTA, I could have claimed travel by planes, trains, and automobiles...
The next day, I slept in with the intention of being on the road by early afternoon, thinking (foolishly) that I can pack in 2 hours. What a joke. Fast forward to 5:00PM, after a few panic attacks and enormous amounts of frustration, I finally get on the road in my mom's vehicle (which I have lovingly dubbed the "GRT" for Giant Redneck Truck) and begin the 5 hour drive to Tallahassee. Thank goodness for GPS. Without it I probably would have never made it to my new apartment.
I roll into my complex around 10:00PM. It's pretty dark, so I can't see much, but from what I can see, the place looks old. OLD. I was starting to second guess my decision to sign a lease until I got inside. My roommate (Megan) and I are leasing from twins that own the town home and just graduated from FSU. They were nice enough to leave the whole place completely furnished (complete with kitchenware and cooking supplies---nice!). All of the rooms are painted, we have a front and back porch, an attic, a shed, 3 linen closets, 10,000 square feet of workout space, an Olympic size swimming pool, 8 full length basketball courts, 10 racquetball courts, 2 squash courts, and a partridge in a pear tree. (For those of you that missed the humor, a few of those are a reference to my former UGA campus tour---can't let the dream die).
The complex itself is less than 10 minutes from campus. We are supposedly on the "undergraduate" side of Tallahassee, but our complex doesn't have any undergraduates because the units are for purchase, not lease. I joke around and tell people that we basically live in a retirement home because everyone is considerably older than us, but we love it! It's safe and quiet--can't ask for more than that. The neighbors are very friendly--especially "Fancy". Fancy is super sweet, but she's basically the living embodiment of Magda from "There's Something About Mary" --even down to the miniature dog, Budreau. She's great. What a character.
I am physically unable to leave boxes unpacked overnight, so I was up until the wee hours of the morning getting *completely* settled in to my room. I'll post pictures eventually. The next morning, Megan invited me to join her and cousin Katie (visiting from Atlanta) on a kayaking trip down the Wakulla River. What a great introduction to Tallahassee! The river was beautiful and full of wildlife. We saw turtles, egrets, an otter, and 3 alligators! There are also manatees in the river, but we didn't have a chance to see any on this trip. When I retold the story to Mama G, she totally freaked out when I got to the part about the alligators. Further research indicates that the Wakulla River has been the site of a handful of alligator attacks, so I will probably refrain from kayaking with my feet dangling over the edge of my vessel next time...
The next day was my official first day of my new assistantship. I am working in FSU's Center for Leadership and Civic Education, which is basically the FSU equivalent of UGA's Center for Leadership and Service (or Student Leadership Center depending on when you graduated). I have a programming assistantship, so I will be working directly with the Leadership Program Coordinator, Carrie Tucker (my awesome supervisor) to oversee programs like Leadershape, the Social Justice Learning Community, Lead-ins at the Rez, etc. I was only on campus for a few hours, mostly filling out paperwork, but Carrie was nice enough to take me around to get set up with my student ID card, bank account, building keys, and show me the brand new Student Success Building, where our Center and the Career Center will be moving on Monday. The new building is beautiful--I feel spoiled that my assistantship has landed me there! Carrie and I spent some time discussing what I wanted to accomplish this year, and I was thrilled when she asked me to serve as the coordinator for LeaderShape. I am really excited about working with the other programs as well, especially since I have no prior experience with any of them, but obviously LeaderShape has a special place in my heart :)
I used the rest of my free afternoon to do some minor exploration of campus by way of running. From the doorstep of my town home to campus is about a 20 minute run, which is great. I was feeling pretty ambitious, so I thought I'd go for an hour run on campus, however I did not take into account that 95 degree weather plus Florida humidity is not the same as 70 degree weather and an island breeze. Big whoops.
The Higher Ed program had a social at Po Boy's in downtown Tallahassee that night, so it was a great opportunity to reconnect with people in my cohort and meet new students. I love the people in my cohort. I am so lucky to be able to move to a brand new city and feel like I already have a ton of friends. We went over to a fellow student's apartment (she's a GA for housing, so we were actually in a residence hall---nice!) to watch the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics before calling it a night.
Which brings me to today. Nothing too exciting happened other than I was able to locate a fantastic park about 8 miles away from my complex that has tons of running trails. Basically my initial take on Tallahassee is that it is the environmentalist's dream: dozens of parks, tons of green space. It's great. The "downtown" area has got a small-town feel just like Athens. Everything is convenient. As I am living so close to campus, it'll be a very easy bike ride. And I love living in a city that is so conscientious of it's wildlife.
Despite the cold feet prior to the move, I'm so glad to be here and I'm expecting a great year. I apologize for the lack of pictures. As soon as I get my camera back...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Week 9: Wrapping up on the Vineyard
Typical MVY airport sunset
The Team (minus Katie Ryan and Michael)"So no one told you life was gonna be this way..."
Chef Kevin and our live lobsters
Chef Kevin and our live lobsters
Ladies of Team US Airways MVYOnce again, I have become negligent in my weekly updates. My last week on the island was very relaxed. The girls had planned a trip to the Grand Canyon/Las Vegas, but due to 4 (4???) flight cancellations the day prior to our departure, we had to postpone (cancel, rather) the trip so that we could stay and help out the office. Our help was definitely needed. With our free days off, Kari, Emily, and I made a few trips to the beach, window shopped in Edgartown, went out in Oak Bluffs with other airport employees, and biked around the island one more time. I realized that it had been since early June that I actually spent one of my days off work on the island instead of flying, so it was nice to have a few days to enjoy it. We had a little shindig at the house to celebrate a few birthdays and unofficially close out the summer. Over the past few weeks, Team US Airways (us) has become really close with several other airport employees, particularly those that work for Cape Air, TSA (security), and General Aviation. Working for the airline industry has so many ups and downs, and the employees at our airport definitely watch each other's backs. I love it. I sincerely enjoyed spending time with them and I feel like I'm leaving the island with some great new friendships. Kevin Ewalt also came up to visit (after taking planes, trains, and automobiles to get here) and it was so nice to have a friend from home up on the island. We cooked lobster on my last night on the island. It was awesome.
The friendships that I built with my immediate coworkers (US Airways) mean so much to me. It was really hard for me to leave the island. I have been very fortunate to have had an opportunity to work such an amazing summer job with people who have been great influences on me. I can't wait to go back next summer.
And thus ends the first chapter of Kellie's post graduation adventures.
Next phase: Life in Tallahassee--coming soon...
Friday, August 1, 2008
Week 8: ATL/Saint Simon's Island
SSI High Ropes Course
Beach Challenge
AHA Softball ShowdownI have become negligent in my weekly updates. I took the 20th-26th off work in order to chaperon American Heritage Academy's Cross Country's annual training trip to Epworth by the Sea on Saint Simon's Island, GA. I was able to fly into Atlanta the night of the 19th (after rerouting myself about 3 times due to booked flights) and spent the next day with the Gerbers clan. Jill and Cliff left for Japan on the 25th, so Sunday was my last day on the continental US with my sister and brother-in-law for the next three years.
I left the morning of the 21st for the running camp. A little background on AHA:
AHA is a very small private school (k-12) in Canton, GA. My former softball coach at Lassiter, Coach Rein, transferred from LHS to AHA about 6 years ago in order to take over their athletic program and become their head basketball and cross country coach. The XC team contains both middle and high school students, and the camp is limited to the first 15 students that register, so I was helping coach students as young as 12 and as old as 17.
I've participated in AHAXC programs since my senior year of high school, and I've helped chaperon this trip for the past three summers. I absolutely love the students at AHA and the camp is a blast. It's been really fun to watch some of these students grow up and start college. The structure of the camp is very different than my LHSXC training trips from back in the dark ages when I was in high school. Rather than focusing our week on logging an insane amount of mileage, AHAXC uses the camp to encourage teambuilding. We ran once or twice a day, and spent our free time playing ultimate frisbee, kickball, going to the beach, etc. We also spent a day doing a low/high ropes course. Overall, it was really nice to replace a week's worth of airport labor with a week devoted to running.
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