Coffee with a Cause

What seemed like a totally normal day in my Lifespan Development class turned out to be anything but normal. The class is so thought provoking and leaves me feeling intellectually stimulated. For real, every axon feels charged in the best possible way! After our usual 7:30 break, we got a guest speaker. I lowered my laptop so I could see her (I sit in the back row), excited to receive the message. I had no idea what it was going to be about, but I knew it was going to be good!

above: Ms. Missy Zivney (in pink)

Human Versus Zombies!

It's that time of the year again!
Human Versus Zombies will be played on campus again this semester!
Be prepared to see students around campus carrying their Nerf guns with orange bandannas wrapped on their head or shoulder.This will add a bit of chaos to our normal campus life, but in return it will add some entropy.The players are advised to be cautious and not disrupt those on campus. 

Registration for Human versus Zombies begins October 28th and will end on November 4th.
The event actually begins November 4th and will end on November 9th. 
Each day involves a "mission" for the human and/or zombies to complete against the clock and against the opposing forces.
  If you would like to participate, you will need some things:

United to Serve at UT Tyler

I've always been a fan of volunteering. Here at UT Tyler we try to give back to the community as much as possible. Recently, Student Government Association has announced that they will be participating in United to Serve through the East Texas Crisis Center.

They ask students to bring in toilet paper, paper towels, cotton balls, q-tips, and dixie cups to donate to the shelter that helps out with victims of family violence, sexual assault, and violent crimes.
Some of the senators will be going door to door at the housing complex to collect supplies, so I'm excited to see the results.
During Christmas time SGA ran an Angel Tree. I remember for a couple weeks I would sit out at a table in front of the Chik-fil-A with papers spread all over the table for people to come pick their "angel", or the child they would get Christmas presents for.
It amazed me that even though we were all students ourselves who could be worried about buying our own Christmas gifts for our own friends and family with the little money we have, so many students adopted angels. On the very last day there were only about 6 angels left.

The power of giving never ceases to amaze me and I absolutely LOVE the big hearts the students here at UT Tyler have.

Be sure to support Untied to Serve!

UT Tyler Volunteer Opportunities at the East Texas Crisis Center

        In college at UT Tyler I have met many people out in the community that could give me opportunities to learn and grow in fields that I have interest! Through my work in the Student Counselling Center, I learned about the East Texas Crisis Center. I learned that they have resources for any person in the community, but they offer something extra to college students- the ability to donate their time to something that heals the community and broadens the minds of students that have never been faced with solutions to the issues of abuse or domestic violence. 

The East Texas Crisis Center's mission is:

To provide safety, shelter, and education to victims of family violence, sexual assault and other violent crime and to restore dignity and purpose in their lives while promoting public compassion and awareness to reduce violence in the community.

         Now, if this is the type of field you'd like to go in, or another way to become aware and help out a good place, you can apply on their website, be interviewed, have a background check, and do some training! This can be a tough job, but they give you all of the tools! These volunteers would, after training, be responsible for one of the jobs listed below!

•Peer Counselors are special friends to women living in the shelter. They maintain contact by phone and in person while the client is a resident.

• Children’s Services volunteers provide constructive supervision at the shelter during afternoon programs, evening support groups, and occasional weekend activities. 
• On-call Advocates provide support and crisis intervention counseling to victims and their families at local hospitals.
 • Hotline Counselors provide crisis counseling to callers on our 24 hour hotline. For convenience calls can be forwarded to your home

If you would like to help out with an event that they have, you wouldn't necessarily have do the training!
And if you you need another type of job in the fall,
the Blog is hiring. :)

Shave your beard for jobs!

St.Patrick's Day Plans

               For my St.Patrick's Day evening out, I opted for a little black dress and heels over the traditional green garb. Nobody pinched me, instead I attended an event called Matisse March Madness. It is an annual show with art donations from local artists. Put together by Tyler AIDS services, the money goes directly towards prescription drugs for a disease that can cost as much as $3,000 a month.

              Tyler AIDS Services stance on HIV/AIDS:

While there still may be a stigma associated with the disease, those who are affected say all that matters is what happens after they contract it.
Tyler AIDS Services is committed to working with and assisting persons affected by or living with HIV/AIDS and their families by creating opportunities to improve and enhance their quality of life.


   
 
      The event was held at the Mercedes-Benz of Tyler, which proved a swanky venue for an art show. Though the setting was classy and the cupcakes were delicious, you could not miss the message. We have people in our community with HIV/AIDS that need our support, and I live in a community willing to support in any way. Even art is a vehicle for social change.
        Next year, you can be involved too. By donating a piece of art work to this event you would receive two free tickets (which is how I got in! it's not what you know, it is who you know, people). You could also buy a ticket for $25 dollars in advance, or $30 at the door. When you attend, you could purchase a painting, with starting bids as low as $25.
        I snagged these two photographs from their event page, because by the time I got there, it was full of people appreciating the drawings, collages, ceramics, prints, mixed media-- I didn't want to ruin the experience. I had a wonderful St.Patrick's Day.

May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you, live. –Irish saying

Campus Community

UT Tyler is a wonderful school tucked in the forests of East Texas. We have one of the most beautiful campuses I have ever been to and I truly enjoy getting to spend so much time here. When you are a college student your school becomes your home. I know you may be thinking to yourself “self, wouldn’t your apartment become your home?” To that I respond, nay nay. You spend so much time in class (anywhere from 12 to 18 or more hours a week), then you have to come back for projects, and studying in the library, then you eat here (because you are already here), then you have organization meetings you have to go to, and if you work on campus… you get the point. Your campus literally turns into a community to you. You have your buildings with familiar faces and places that you NEVER go into (for me that would be the engineering building). On holidays I am reminded of this, and although I am a bitter single, Valentine’s Day is actually a widely celebrated holiday. So on campus today we had a bake sale, many of the offices made treats, and flowers coupled with plush animals were scattered all around campus. Because our campus is smaller I know people in the organization that had a bake sale, I know administrative staff in the offices that had treats and many of my friends received these wonderful gifts. I know these people and it is great to get offered some of these tasty treats on amazing holidays like this! It is an amazing opportunity to be involved in a campus that gives you this opportunity. I encourage everyone to be involved in some sort of community while in college whether that is in college or it is your college itself.