Tip From a Tour Guide: Here’s a Tip from Lisa Vasapollo!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Jess Hague

Tips from a Tour Guide

This week, instead of hearing a tip from me, I figured it might be helpful to hear from another tour guide. Periodically, I’ll introduce you to another tour guide so that they can give you your prospective on McDaniel as well!

Here’s a Tip from Lisa Vasapollo!

Year: Senior

Hometown: Westville NJ

Major/Minor: Communication/Journalism & Writing

How long have you been a Tour Guide?: Since Fall Semester Sophomore year

What is your favorite thing about being a Tour Guide?: Getting to meet perspective students and share my own experience of being a student at McDaniel. I like knowing that I am helping them in the process of choosing a college.

What else are you involved in on campus?: Alpha Phi Omega: National Service Fraternity; Green Terror Productions (Campus programming board); McDaniel Free Press; Office of Student Engagement Student Worker; Peer Mentor; Peer Mentor Advisory Board Member; And some random other odds and ends I tend to find.

What’s your favorite building to talk about and why?: Hill Hall is my favorite building to talk about. Not only because I spend a lot of time there, but also because their is so many different departments and resources in that building. I also think it is one of the prettiest buildings on the campus.

Where’s your favorite place to study on campus?: The majority of my studying is done in my room or library. But honestly, anywhere I can find comfortable at the time. Sometimes I’ll be in Ensor lounge and others I’ll be tucked away in the library. It depends on what I am working on.

What is your favorite resource on campus?: The Writing Center. Even though I am a writing minor, it still helps me to better organize my thoughts and put an academic paper together better than I would be able to do without some sort of help.

What is your tip for someone coming on a tour of McDaniel?: Be prepared to walk up and down stairs! Wear comfortable shoes! And please ask us questions about anything! We love having out brains picked and answering questions. We don’t like when our tours are quiet and we have to hear ourselves talk the whole time.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! Another tip from another tour guide!

Senior Seminar

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Jess Hague

At the end of your time at McDaniel, you will be required to do some sort of project that will culminate your experience here. For English majors, this means a 20-25 page research paper that analyzes some sort of literature. At the end, we also have to give a 20 minute presentation to our fellow classmates, some of the professors from the English department, and whoever else shows up!

I chose to write my Senior Seminar on two Holocaust Memoirs-Night and Survival in Auschwitz If This is a Man. While this has been a very depressing topic to study for the last five months, it was very interesting. I studied the stylistic differences in these two Holocaust Memoirs and compared the effects that they had on the reader’s interpretations of the text. I started my research over the summer, which was hard for me to make myself do, since I was really enjoying my time off from school. However, once I got to school and already had my research question and some of my sources, it made starting my paper a lot easier. My professor made us all write five pages a week so that we would not get too far behind. We met with her every week to go over what we had written, which was very helpful, since we knew whether or not we were on the right track. Throughout the entire semester, I spent many late nights reading sources, writing down my thoughts, and researching some more. Rhonda, a librarian at Hoover Library, was so helpful! I went in and told her my topic and she was able to give me a ton of information to start with!

While I’m glad that I have officially turned in my paper and that my presentation is over, my life feels a little empty without it. The last two weeks of school are going to be so much easier now that one of my classes is already over. I feel very proud of myself for getting through this task, since it was the longest paper I’ve ever written. It helped that I was able to write on a topic that I was interested in already, because then my topic did not get boring to me. Many people will tell you that Senior Seminar is something to dread, but the satisfaction of a job well-done when you turn it in is a fantastic feeling!

Tip From a Tour Guide: Here’s a Tip from Matt Love!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Jess Hague

Tips from a Tour Guide

Here’s a Tip from Matt Love!

Year: Junior

Hometown: Denton, Maryland

Major/Minor: Biochemistry major, Spanish minor

How long have you been a Tour Guide?: Since my sophomore year.

What is your favorite thing about being a Tour Guide?: I like getting to interact with all of the families.

What else are you involved in on campus?: I am in a social fraternity, part of the Relay for Life Committee, a Peer Mentor, and on the Honor and Conduct Board.

What’s your favorite building to talk about and why?: Hoover Library because I really like talking about the football field and the tailgating experiences, since it is one of my favorite memories on campus and I really like to share it.

Where’s your favorite place to study on campus?: I like studying at my desk in my room, since it’s a controlled space. I can make sure everything is tidy and it’s quiet enough.

What is your favorite resource on campus?: I like the Center for Experience and Opportunity. Their workshops on resume writing and cover letters have given me more confidence in the ability to market myself.

What is your tip for someone coming on a tour of McDaniel?: Make sure to ask the tour guide about their life. Don’t just ask about the general information in the school. You can find any facts about the school online, but you can’t get the personal touch if you don’t ask your tour guide for information.

Anything else you’d like to add?: Don’t be afraid of the Admissions process. It’s a lot more relaxed than you think it is and everyone is there to help you, not judge you.

Thanksgiving Festivities!

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Jess Hague

Just like most people I know, I was very excited to go home for Thanksgiving Break. I was excited for the food, seeing my family and friends, spending time with my puppy, and of course-shopping! However, since I work in retail, I get to see shopping from both sides…being the shopper and being the employee that the crazy shoppers can sometimes be very rude to.

My fun with customers started on Wednesday night. I went to work a few hours after arriving home, so I was already tired, but I was excited to see my co-workers. When I got to work, I found out that I was going to working on special projects all night, in order to help the store make the transition from Thanksgiving stuff to Christmas stuff. It was actually a lot of fun, since I got to set up everything and make everything look pretty! Plus, I got to bond with the new manager while we put up Christmas decorations!

On Thursday morning, my dad decided that it would be fun to clean up leaves as a “Daddy/daughter bonding” moment. After that, I helped my mom finish cooking dinner and we waited for our company to arrive. It was really nice to see all of my family and spend time with them, since it isn’t something I get to do very often. We had so much good food to eat, laughed a lot, and watched a lot of football (of course, watching the Dallas Cowboys lose was fantastic!). After dinner, we had to take a break before eating dessert, which consisted of pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie, and fruit. Then, on Thursday night, my mom and I braved the crowds and went shopping! We went to Target and Walmart and stood in lines to get great deals. We ended up buying a lot of Christmas gifts for people and we had a lot of fun. Plus, it was my best friend’s first time going shopping on Black Friday (or somewhat Black Friday, since it was Thursday…), so it was a lot of fun to expose her to the craziness.

On Friday, my mom and I braved the crowds again and went shopping at the mall for a few hours before going out to brunch with my aunt, which is a Black Friday tradition! Then, I braved the crowds from the other direction when I went to work. It was absolutely insane at work all day, up until we closed at ten o’clock. Many customers asked me for my entire shift how busy we were all day, and if we were crazy in the morning when we opened at six AM. While my day was crazy and I was exhausted when I got home that night, it was a lot of fun. People watching on Black Friday is always fun!

Overall, I had a great time at home for the weekend!

Memorial 5K Run

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jess Hague

On Saturday, I went and helped out at the Flying Feet Burk Memorial 5K Run for my sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma. The run was about five minutes away from campus at a place called the Wakefield Valley Community Trail, and it was a running club that put the whole thing together. I went with three of my sorority sisters. We were quite a sight to see at 7:30 in the morning! We were all bundled up in order to combat the cold weather of the early morning.

When we got to the location, we were at a corner which marked the two-mile mark of the 5K (a 5K is a little more than three miles). We met Sam Lopez, who works for the CEO on campus, there. She told us that we would be working the water station at the corner, but that due to the cold, most people wouldn’t want water. If we weren’t handing out water, we could also cheer the runners on and give them our support. She also told us that we would be working with Middle School and High School students that are involved in the Higher Learning Program. Before we started, Sam wanted to read something to us from a book that was written by the director of Flying Feet. Since Sam and I know each other and she knows I’m a Secondary Education minor, she asked me to read the passage to everyone, since I could practice my “teacher voice.” Since there ended up being so many volunteers from different campus organizations (Gamma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Phi Omega, and Phi Delta Theta), we ended up splitting up and becoming different cheering sections. We situated ourselves half-way up the hill that was the last obstacle between the runners and the finish line, while another group went to the finish line to congratulate people on being done. As runners started to come by, we cheered for them to encourage them.

There were two fantastic things about this service project. The first was that the runners seemed grateful to have our support as they were going up the large hill and many of them thanked us. The second was that it really inspired me to get myself in shape so that I can run a 5K in the near future. My real goal is to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon, which takes place every February. Since I’m nowhere near ready, that won’t happen for a while, but in order to train for it, I have to start small! So, it’s time to get myself in shape and run a 5K!

Jazz Dance

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Jess Hague

Earlier this month, I started my gym class for this cycle, Jazz Dance. It was a last minute add-on to my schedule, just for fun, but I was still very nervous walking into class on the first day. I had heard from a lot of people that it was bound to be a fun class, since the teacher is fun and always energetic. What I didn’t realize is that I would enjoy it so much.

My first day in the class, I thought for sure that I would be the worst dancer in the class, since I hadn’t done a formal dance class since I was 13. Sure, I danced in theater throughout high school and every summer, but that didn’t seem like it would be nearly enough. Throughout class on the first day, we stretched, just to see how much we could do. We also practiced some basic movements and I was surprised how much I still knew! Every class, we work on a different type of Jazz Dance so that we can learn a lot of different things. Today, we did a Latin-inspired Jazz number, which was a ton of fun! We had a ton of choreography to learn, but since it was upbeat, it went quickly and remained interesting!

I’m really excited to see what the rest of the class holds, just because it’s so much fun! Our teacher told us that we’re working on a Lyrical number on Monday, which is something I’ve never done before! I’m also excited for our final. We have to teach the class a dance that has three counts of eight in it and also perform a leap combination in public, which is bound to be fun!

District 4 Service Day!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Jess Hague

This weekend, my sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma held it’s first ever district event. The chapter hosted two other chapters in a Day of Service. Most of the details for this large day of service were planned by my little, Whitney. As I watched the event come together piece by piece, I could not have been prouder to call her my little. The day of service had a mission: to serve or raise money for each of our five Service Partners, so naturally, we had to come up with five different service projects. We had a lemonade stand for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a raffle for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, prize balloons for March of Dimes, bandanna decorating for the American Cancer Society, and a life-sized Monopoly game for American Red Cross. The monopoly game was not regular Monopoly though-it was McNopoly! Monopoly McDaniel style!

Whitney and I had so much fun coming up with ideas for what would be on each square, so we could tie it all together and make it McDaniel themed. Then, with the help of some other sisters, we managed to take two pieces of blank canvas and turn it into a Monopoly board. The entire process was fasctnating. It was so much fun to see it go from the canvas, to a bunch of lines drawn in pencil to the full-scale board in color. Not to mention, I loved watching other people have fun playing the game that we created. We really had the support of other organizations on campus, since they came and played Monopoly to help us raise money. The Monopoly game itself raised $200 for the American Red Cross, and we’re hoping to give it to the Hurricane Relief Fund when we donate it.

Overall, the day was super successful! We raised over $400 for our five service partners and had a blast doing it! I loved bonding with my sisters from other chapters while being able to raise money to help others!

Election Night Program

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Jess Hague

Earlier in the semester, we decided as a Residence Life staff that we would hold a program on Election Night in our Recreation Lounge. The Rec Lounge has lots of TVs, so we figured it would be the perfect place to have people gather and watch the results that would come in throughout Election Night. We had TVs turned on different channels, so we could watch the results from CNN, Fox, NBC, and a local channel (to cover the local politics). We also had an Electoral Map prediction contest, where students could choose which candidate would win which states. Whoever was closest, by number of states, will be getting $40 added to their McDaniel OneCard, which is like a debit card that can be used around campus and in town. To make the competition fair, all entries had to be in by 9 o’clock. That way, people couldn’t just put down what was actually happening. We had plenty of snacks: cookies, drinks, chips, muffins, blue and red brownies, chips and salsa, and veggies, so that people could snack while they were watching the results come in.

The attendance for this program was overwhelming! Sure, we advertised all over campus, not just to our own residents, but we have never had so many people attend a program thrown by the Independent Housing Staff. People were coming in and out of the Rec Lounge for the two hours that we were having the program. Everyone seemed really excited to be there, even if they were just stopping in to see the current results. We had over 120 people attend the program, plus it was beneficial because it was educational! I never would have thought a program about Election Day would be so fun!

Prepping for the Praxis

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Jess Hague

In order to gain teacher certification, in any state, a teacher candidate must pass the Praxis I and II. The Praxis I is very similar to the SAT test, with Math, Reading, and Writing. However, the Praxis II is specific to the content that the teacher wants to teach. Since I want to be an English teacher, I have to take two tests-the English Content test and the Pedagogy test. On Saturday, I took the English Content Exam.

In the few weeks leading up to the exam, I was scared that I wasn’t going to know anything, and that I would fail the test. The week before the test, I feel like all I did was study. I bought a study guide so that I could also take some practice tests. I looked over all of the chapters in the study guide, even though some of what was in there was common sense, but I wanted to make sure that I could answer as much as possible. I knew that there were bound to be some questions that I would have no clue on, since there was no way that I could possibly read every piece of literature that they might ask about. The night before the test, I took two practice tests and scored myself. After I took it, I went out to my living room and started telling some of my roommates what some of the crazy questions were. Some of them were super easy, but some were ridiculously hard and specific. However, after taking the practice tests, I still felt more confident about my chances of doing well on the test.

I attempted to go to bed early, but I was too nervous to fall asleep and I ended up staying up til 4 AM. Considering I had to be at the testing center, which was conveniently just across campus, this was not good. I still wasn’t fully awake when I got to the testing center on Saturday morning, but once we started filling out the test booklet, I knew I would be fine.

I walked out of the test feeling confident that I had done well, which is always good! Unfortunately, I have to just keep those good feelings up for a month until I find out my scores. Now, it’s on to the next test-the Pedagogy test in January!

Tips From a Tour Guide: Another Tour Guide’s Point of View

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Jess Hague

Tips from a Tour Guide

Here’s a Tip from Whitney Walker!

Year: Junior

Hometown: Cumberland, Maryland

Major/Minor: English Major with a Writing Minor

How long have you been a Tour Guide?: Just over a year.

What is your favorite thing about being a Tour Guide?: Getting to know all the perspective students and their families. I especially love when a student is excited to be on campus as I always am.

What else are you involved in on campus?: I’m in the service sorority, write blogs for Admissions, work in the English office and am a peer mentor for the First Year Program.

What’s your favorite building to talk about and why?: Hill Hall because that is where I spend the majority of my time. Also, I love talking about study abroad and Jan Term options because that is what first interested me in McDaniel when I took my tour.

Where’s your favorite place to study on campus?: During the warm months, I love sitting in Red Square to study. When it’s colder, I like hanging out in Casey’s Corner to work on school work because there’s always coffee nearby.

What is your favorite resource on campus?: The Writing Center is my favorite resource because I write what seems like a million papers a semester and sometimes I just can’t make my words mean what my mind is thinking and they are always there to help.

What is your tip for someone coming on a tour of McDaniel?: When going to any college, show enthusiasm. Don’t be intimidated. The students are closer in age to you than you think so don’t be afraid to get to know them and talk to them like you talk to your friends. It could help you learn a lot about the personalities of the different schools.

Stories from the Hill

Category Archives: Jess Hague