Lauren's Crazy Life at SWOSU

My life at SWOSU is very crazy. I am involved in activities such as New Student Orientation, Student government, Campus Crusade for Christ, and intramural softball. The month of April kept me very busy, helping with SWOSUpalooza and preparing for finals. Also, I stayed busy working enrollment sessions for NSO. Getting ready for sessions and the actual days was tons of fun because our group of Orientation Leaders have really grown together as a group and we all understand each other. Intramural softball keeps me busy some week nights. Last spring, I had to miss the first couple of games but every game I attended we won. Well, this is pretty much my life at SWOSU.

Zak Spends Time at the Wesley Foundation

I’ve been spending a lot of my free time with the Methodist Ministry group on campus. One of my friends lured me in with free lunch, so I’ve been eating free lunch at the Wesley Center, across the street from the tennis courts, every Tuesday, bible study on Wednesday, and going to game night on Friday nights. Just hanging out with the group is a great time. They have a mission trip every spring break and go to Oklahoma City often just for fun. We have played laser tag, seen Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D, and we even attended a Redhawks game. Like I said, one of my best friends is an intern with the church so I spend a lot of my time over there playing pool and ping-pong or watching movies in their lounge area. There is always something going on with this bunch. I missed these guys and gals this summer. I can't wait to see what is in store for this year.

Mica Helps with Relay for Life

Last night in class I got an assignment to write a blog about an event I had attended here at Southwestern. Great, I thought. That is just great. What in the world am I going to write about? So I thought back and the most recent event that I attended was Relay for Life.

I had not ever done Relay for Life before so I thought, “what the heck why not? Well as time went on I didn’t really want to do Relay because I wanted to go home. I talked to my mom and told her that I didn’t want to participate in the Relay because I wanted to come home. She told me that I was being selfish and I needed to participate in the Relay and have a good attitude while doing it. So, 6:30 p.m. on Friday came too early and after getting ready, I traveled down to the Wellness Center where the Relay was being held. I walked in and was shocked to find the Wellness Center was packed with various booths and different groups on campus and around Weatherford. I found the Orientation Leader's area and helped set up. We had decided to do spray-on tattoos.

As we were setting up, kids started coming by and wanting a tattoo. We were having technical difficulties with the air pressure on the machine, which made the color nonexistent. Once we got that fixed we were ready for business and boy did we get business! We had two stations set up and were steady with many individuals for at least an hour. I didn’t feel comfortable using the tattoo gun, so I held the stencil and another OL, Heather, sprayed. During this time my friend Kadie signed us up for times to walk the Relay. We helped with the tattoo booth until it was time to walk.

When the time came, we went upstairs on the track and started to walk the Relay for Life. It was a long 30 minutes but Kadie and I talked so it wasn’t too horrible. Once we were done walking, we went back downstairs to help with the tattoo booth again. After a couple of hours, it was time for us to walk again. This time Kadie had signed us up to walk for an hour. I seriously thought there was no way I could walk for that long of a period. Then I got to thinking about something one of the speakers had said earlier, “Cancer is a disease that never sleeps and never lets you rest.” Okay, I thought, there are thousands of people out there that are suffering with cancer and have to attend daily chemo and radiation treatments. Also, so many people that are stuck in a hospital bed or a wheel chair would love to be able to have the strength to walk. I decided to suck it up and walk for all the people in the world that couldn’t. I am so glad I did because not only did Kadie and I become closer, as we had so much time to talk, but we walked for such a great cause and really learned a lot during the experience.

I ended up walking a total two and a half rewarding hours. When the night was done and the Relay was over, I felt as though I had accomplished something and contributed to something that was bigger than me. It was a long night that was filled with a lot of laughter and sweat but it was well worth the experience. I am planning on doing Relay for Life again next year and the years to come.

The Custer County Relay for Life is usually in April. Many student organizations from SWOSU participate in the annual Relay for Life.

Get Involved!

Kelly and Myka with Duke
during an Orientation Session
Hello! My name is Kelly and I'm a Senior here at SWOSU. I absolutely love being at Southwestern. I've met so many great friends here, and my extracurricular activities (such as being an Orientation Leader and attending the Baptist Collegiate Ministry) have helped me grow as a person and try new things. If you're an incoming freshman, or even a current student, I would encourage you to get involved somehow and continue trying new things throughout your college career. Whether it's a campus ministry, a sorority or fraternity, an academic club, or anything else we offer here at SWOSU, I would definitely encourage you to get out there. It's a wonderful experience meeting new people and getting outside of your comfort zone. You'll never know the possibilities unless you get involved! 'Til next time...

Claudia's Finals

I am so tired. Tired of studying! Today, I started my finals. I felt tired and choked up so, I decided it was time to do some blogging. Okay, I have never done this before. Wait a minute, there is so much I have not done before, isn’t there always a first time for everything? I am up early, ready for my first final. I have to go now, running late for my exam .... I just got back home and my brother has made breakfast! He is the sweetest guy I know around here (although, c’mon now, who is perfect?) However, I can not eat because, my results are not going to be posted until noon. It is only 11:00 a.m., and I have to meet up with my study partner at 12:30 p.m. Three finals next week? Everything will be fine Claudia, just one step at a time. That’s what I'm going to do, take one step at a time! Remember, you always have to plan! If you plan for your finals far ahead of time, you won’t be as confused!