Student Blog

Ready or Not, Graduation is Upon Us!

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:55:44 -0500

Hi again, everyone. It's been a little longer than a month since I last posted a blog. I hope that you all are enjoying the beginning of the new semester. It's crazy to think that this will be my last semester as an undergrad, and that graduation is within a few short months.

It's also crazy to think about how busy I will be in the upcoming months, between classes, papers, exams, my senior thesis project, work and internships. Needless to say, my calendar is rather full, but I promise I will blog as much as possible!

So much has happened since the last time I wrote. The fall semester ended, Christmas and New Year's passed, the NHL lockout ended, and we are already into our third week of the spring semester.

Am I the only one that is thinking that this semester is already flying by?!?

It's crazy, we are already three weeks in, some colleges are just now beginning their spring semesters and we are all already reading and preparing for various exams! I wouldn't ask for anything different though! It is fun being busy – at least I think so! If you see me around campus in about a month or so, ask me if I still think that, I may have to change my feelings on it!

I hope that everyone had a great break! Two weeks before break ended, I, unfortunately, broke my ankle, so I have been crutching around NU for the past three weeks. I have finally gotten myself to the point of semi-walking in my walking boot around campus. This was my first broken bone and I am ready for it to be fully healed so I can get back to running around!

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me throughout break and during the first few weeks of school. Hopefully I will be without a walking boot within two weeks!

Overall, my break was amazing, as I spent time enjoying the holidays with family and friends!

As for this semester, so far, so good! I love all my classes. Being my last semester as an undergraduate student, most of the classes are for my communication studies major.

I am taking one class for my minor in sport management, too. Once you get to your last semester of college, you begin to find yourself reflecting on all that has happened since your graduation from high school. It feels like just yesterday I was graduating from high school, nervous for my first day of class as a college student; now I am a senior at NU, excited about the future and looking forward.

One of my favorite parts of the spring semester is how beautiful the campus looks in the spring. I am looking forward to warmer days. The past few weeks on campus have been so cold, but thankfully we have had little snow! Hopefully it stays that way!

I wanted to end my first blog of the spring semester by saying that I am open to answering any questions students (current or prospective) may have about NU. If you have a question, feel free to leave me a note under the comments section.

I hope that everyone has a great week.

-Ashley

Where did the Fall Semester Go?

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:17:48 -0500

Happy December! In just two short weeks, the fall semester will be over and we will all be enjoying the holidays! It is hard to believe how fast the fall semester went by! It feels like September was yesterday; well, technically it could have been because we had gorgeous weather, but in reality it is December. Christmas and New Year's will be here before you know it!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and break. I had an awesome Thanksgiving with my family. I then ventured out Black Friday shopping around 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving. I made it back home with a ton of deals just in time to catch the Patriots vs. Jets fourth quarter!

I am finding it hard to get into the holiday spirit this year, mostly because of the weather. I really dislike snow but its always nice to have some snow for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I am looking forward to spending time with family and friends this year though. It's always exciting during the holidays to just spend some down time with everyone.

I have a crazy rest of the semester coming up in the next two weeks. A couple papers and finals. It has been a great semester. I loved all of my classes and my professors. I am looking forward to the spring because I think I will feel the same when then!

Over Christmas break I am planning on applying to many jobs. It's crazy to think that graduation is about five months away. I can imagine that the spring semester is going to fly by. With that I am nervous but anxious to figure out my future!

I will be beginning my internship with the Buffalo Bandits the beginning of January. I have never seen a lacrosse game before so I am excited to begin a new journey in the sport management field! I know I have pushed this many times throughout my blogs this semester but I cannot say it enough- Internships are an awesome experience. You learn so much about certain fields taking part in one. There are plenty of opportunities around the area for internships in the fall, winter, spring or summer be sure to look into these opportunities.

I want to end my blog with some of my favorite parts of the fall semester. I am sad to see it go but excited to begin the spring semester in January!

-My classes. I enjoyed going to all of them this semester. At times they were challenging but I made it through!

-Living in the on campus apartments- prior to this semster I was a commuter- My roommates are awesome and it's a lot of fun living on campus.

-I realized I could cook! Prior to this semester I hardly ever cooked anything. Now I am becoming a pro!

-Enjoying time on campus. Last year when I was a commuter I just came to NU for classes then left. Now living here I spend a lot of time enjoying the campus- games, fitness center, theatre performances, etc.

Good luck on finals and enjoy the holidays!

-Ashley

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving break. I had an awesome Thanksgiving with my family. I then ventured out Black Friday shopping around 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving. I made it back home with a ton of deals just in time to catch the fourth quarter of the Patriots vs. Jets!

Over Christmas break, I am planning on applying to many jobs. It's crazy to think that graduation is about five months away. I can imagine that the spring semester is going to fly by. With that I am nervous but anxious to figure out my future!

I will be starting my internship with the Buffalo Bandits at the beginning of January. I have never seen a lacrosse game before so I am excited to begin a new journey in the sport management field! I know I have pushed this many times throughout my blogs this semester, but I cannot say it enough: Internships are an awesome experience. You learn so much about certain fields by taking part in one. There are plenty of opportunities around the area for internships in the fall, winter, spring or summer, so be sure to look into these opportunities.

I want to end my blog with some of my favorite parts of the fall semester. I am sad to see it go but excited to begin the spring semester in January!

My classes. I enjoyed going to all of them this semester. At times, they were challenging but I made it through!
Living in the on-campus apartments. Prior to this semster I was a commuter. My roommates are awesome and it's a lot of fun living on campus.
I realized I could cook! Prior to this semester I hardly ever cooked anything. Now I am becoming a pro!
Enjoying time on campus. Last year when I was a commuter, I just came to NU for classes and then left. Now, living here, I spend a lot of time enjoying the campus games, fitness center, theatre performances, etc.

Good luck on finals and enjoy the holidays!

-Ashley

Thanksgiving is almost here!

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:06:32 -0500

Hello again!

I know I say this every blog but I cannot believe how fast this semester is going! It's crazy to think about it. It really does feel like yesterday I was beginning my final year at NU, now it's almost time for Thanksgiving!

The past two weeks have been jam-packed and I am imagining the rest of the semester to be the same way!

Halloween was fun! My roommates and I decided to carve pumpkins. Jen carved a Syracuse University pumpkin, Amy carved hearts, Taylor carved a cat, and I carved one big heart and wrote various words in sharpie.

Last week, I registered for my last semester as an undergrad. It was exciting but it also reminded me that I needed to begin the job hunting process. I have begun researching various opportunities but I still have to get my mind in that mode. My goal is to have a full-time job after graduation in May (even before then would be AMAZING too). My schedule for the spring semester is amazing and I am looking forward to beginning classes in January. Basically I am down to the core communication studies classes, so that is always fun!

I voted in my first presidential election last week. I drove back to Oakfield with my roommate Taylor. It felt awesome to have the chance to vote. My "I voted today" sticker is hanging on my bulletin board in my room now!

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I am thankful for so many things. The only thing missing this year will be my older sister Melissa and her family, they cannot make it to my house for dinner because of crazy work schedules, but Christmas is soon so it will be fun to see everyone then! I am really looking forward to my mom's cooking - she always makes enough food for my whole town! The holidays are about family and it will be great to spend some time at home with my parents.

With Thanksgiving comes the day after - "Black Friday." Every year, I go out shopping on Black Friday. Yes, I am one of those CRAZY shoppers. Many people choose to not go shopping at all during the week of Thanksgiving, I just have made it a sort of tradition. Last year my friend and I threw doorbuster items between the aisles to each other. I have no idea how this year will be, but I am looking forward to it!

This week, I am busy with classes and interning at my two internships. I am currently beginning a Pinterest page for the event planning company that I have been interning with since the summer. Pinterest is so interesting. If you are not on it, you should be. It is very addicting but super fun! You can pretty much pin various websites and interesting items to bulletin boards of your choice. It basically is a virtual bulletin board. Check it out sometime if you have the chance!

This week is also the Buffalo Sabres fall wine fest so I am volunteering my time at the arena for this amazing event.

That's pretty much it for this week! Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone! Talk to you soon!

Adventures and Craziness!

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 09:22:21 -0400

What a crazy past few weeks I have had since my last blog.

I want to begin by wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays mostly because I get scared too easily. This past weekend, I walked into a Halloween store and almost ran out because something jumped out at me. The only thing I actually enjoy now about Halloween is people watching and getting photos of my niece and nephews in their costumes! This year, my niece, Allison, is a butterfly and my twin nephews, Cole and Kyle, are a a monkey and giraffe.

I am running low on sleep this week, partly due to the show Long Island Medium on TLC and because of Hurricane Sandy. It is devastating watching the news and seeing all the devastation in NYC and New Jersey (among the other states). I am glad that we did not get what the meteorologists expected. With all the talk about the weather this past week, I could not help but think about the "October Storm." Two of my roommates (not from this area) did not know what happened during that storm; I remember it clearly and it was crazy reflecting back on it.

Since my last blog, I have been running around like crazy! On October 17, I was in charge of coordinating the volunteers for the 2012 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame (GBSHOF) awards dinner held at the Hyatt in downtown Buffalo. This is a great event that honors sports figures from Buffalo. I cannot thank all of my volunteers enough for all the great work they did!

On October 19, my roommate Taylor and I lit up Niagara Falls pink for breast cancer awareness. The event, named "Billieve," was hosted by the Buffalo Bills and featured several Bills players, each of whom helped form a living pink ribbon across the Rainbow Bridge. The ribbon was formed by our pink scarves, which were given to us witha donation to the American Cancer Society. This was such a cool event to be apart of. It's a great feeling seeing how many people showed up for this event, decked out in pink, all for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or, as many say, "Pinktober."

I was able to enjoy the theatre's production of The Rimers of Eldritch on October 20. This was my first time seeing a production at NU. Everyone did a great job, including my roommate, Amy! Congrats to all who performed!

Just last week I sat down with my advisor for my last advisement of my undergraduate career. It's crazy to know that you need to take certain classes. My schedule is now made and I am waiting until my registration next week. It's a bittersweet feeling. This semester has gone by so fast. November begins and then it is almost Thanksgiving and Christmas. I know that it will continue to go by fast as the calendar dwindles to May.

Classes have been going great. I am taking two communication studies classes: video production and research methods and event planning in sports, an internship and introduction to American Sign Language. ASL has been so challenging but I am enjoying learning it every Tuesday and Thursday. I also have to thank my roommate, Jen, for helping me practice signing each night. I tend to catch myself signing various signs throughout my other classes, it's rather addicting!

Even though the past few weeks have been crazy, I cannot help but be thankful for each moment I have on campus. NU is a great place to attend. It is gorgeous in the fall. I am enjoying all of my classes even though some are challenging. I have been able to meet some great people these past two months and I cherish every moment.

Election day is next week. This will be my first time voting in the presidential election. I remember watching election day in 2008, wishing I could vote. Now I finally get the chance to and I am very excited! I will be glued to my TV watching the results all night on the 6th. If you can vote, please do. This is a great privilege that we have as American citizens and I believe that everyone should cast their votes!

Talk to you soon!

Time Is Flying By

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:27:37 -0400

We have approached midterms at NU this week. My roommates are all busy running around studying while I am focusing on plenty of projects for my various communication classes. I somehow got lucky enough to not have any midterms this semester, just projects and papers, all due within the next couple of weeks.

Between projects and papers, I also have been busy interning and working. I was given the chance to intern at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Show VIP party in Buffalo a couple weeks back. It was great experience learning more about event planning and what it takes to run a fashion show and party at the same time.

As I have said in my previous blogs, internships/co-ops are HUGE. I have completed six internships throughout my college career and am currently embarking on an internship with the Buffalo Sabres. I believe that everyone should have at least one internship completed throughout their undergraduate studies. Throughout each of my internships, I learned different areas of study andyou find out what you enjoy and what you do not enjoy from each one. Internships definitely help in order to make decisions about future jobs also!

Speaking of future jobs, I am in the process of beginning my job search even though I graduate in May. I am sure over the next couple of blogs I will have more to say on this topic but I have been searching and thinking about various opportunities. I believe it's never too early to begin something, but it can always be too late. I'd rather be way early than late!

Not everything has been about school work, jobs or internships this semester. I have also been able to enjoy some free time around NU. One place I have been spending more time at is the newly renovated Kiernan Center. I have attended two other colleges but NU has by far the best fitness center out of all of them. I have begun working out on the stairmaster. This machine is crazy, sometimes scary, especially if you have a hard time walking up stairs in the beginning, but I have gotten better at it with time! I also love the aerobics classes, especially Zumba. It's a crazy dance workout, but so much fun! If you have any free time around campus, I would check out the new machines and classes at the Kiernan Center.

It's crazy to look at a calendar or course schedule and see how fast the semester is going by. Earlier this week, it hit me that registration for the spring semester begins soon. It also hit me that I am a senior and just had to look at the dates and times of classes. In previous semesters, I would have to decide which classes I wanted to take and when. Now you have no choice but to complete them. If I can send a warning to sophomores and juniors, try to get the bigger classes completed earlier, because senioritis is real! When I was in high school, I remember getting senioritis, I never thought I would get it my senior year of college but, trust me, you do!

I want to end my blog reminding everyone that the NU theatre department is putting on The Rimers of Eldritch October 18-22. One of my roommates, Amy Mings, is in it and I am looking forward to seeing my first show at NU. Good luck to everyone performing!

And good luck on midterms!

Fall is Here!

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:19:46 -0400

Fall is here!

I cannot believe that we have been in classes for five weeks. It feels like just yesterday we were all attempting to find a seat in each class; now we are all into the main workload: homework, projects, exams and quizzes. The leaves are already falling and coffee shops now have pumpkin flavored drinks! I also noticed a few Christmas decorations on sale at Target and Wal-Mart! That's just CRAZY. It's not even Halloween! Needless to say I hope you are all enjoying the semester, but before we know it, winter break will be here.

My past five weeks at NU have been super jam-packed! Reality really set in last week as I sat down for my senior check. A senior check involves a meeting with your college's assistant dean or dean. During the meeting, you basically discuss the rest of the year, talk about graduation, sign graduation information and check your advisement card to make sure you are on track! It is a very helpful tool, but definitely makes you realize how crazy your life will be until the end of May! It's fun yet nerve wracking!

I also have been working at my family's restaurant on the weekends, interning and studying like crazy since I moved in on Sept. 3. I love the craziness though! I have met some awesome people since deciding to move to campus (I commuted all last year, but got sick of the drive really fast!). Now I live in the on-campus apartments with my roommates, Jen, Taylor and Amy! It's a different experience living on campus than commuting, but I am loving every moment of it! On Mondays, we have a bunch of friends over for dinner, so I have been surprising my family with my cooking when I go home on the weekends! I also decided to attend Zumba classes during the weeknights. Zumba is awesome and very challenging, but the instructors are amazing and so helpful!

I also began mentoring at the Niagara Charter School for one of my sport management classes. This is a such a great experience and I cannot stress enough that students should try and volunteer or mentor as much as possible throughout their college career. You learn so much from these experiences and you meet so many great people.

I wanted to end my second blog with some bullets that I think every student should try throughout their time at NU. Here they are:

I know I said this before but I'll add it to the list: mentor or volunteer some of your time to various organizations or events.
Spend at least one or two hours in the library a week (this may sound crazy but it's a great environment to get work done).
Try to not spend too much money at the Fashion Outlets (I try to stay away from them, too many great stores).
Go to a Late Nite Niagara event and/or a campus activity event, these are great ways to meet other students.
Join a club/organization. Another great way to meet students.
Attend a sporting event, we have some great Division I athletics here at NU.
Just enjoy your time at NU, it goes by super fast and remember to study!!!

Oh yes, congrats to the New England Patriots on the big win this week! :) Also congrats to the refs for finding there way back to the football field! Have a great week, everyone!

Beginning of the End

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:32:55 -0400

Hi, everyone! Hope we all are adjusting to the new school year well. My name is Ashley Dilcher, a senior studying communication studies with a minor in sport management. This is my first time ever blogging so hang in there as I hope to get better with time. For my first blog, I figured I would introduce myself.

I grew up Oakfield, N.Y., a small town located about an hour from NU. Most people are like “where are you from?” so usually I say Batavia or Pembroke, based on exit signs seen on the thruway. Oakfield is basically right in the middle of Buffalo and Rochester (it takes about 45 minutes to get to both places). I graduated in 2009 from Oakfield-Alabama High School (that confuses people even more, then they think I am from Alabama!). I transferred to NU the beginning of my junior year. I fell in love with the campus during a visit and have loved it since.

I decided to major in communication studies because I love to talk and I enjoy everything communication-wise. My family, especially my older sister, pushed me in the direction of communications when I was deciding what major I wanted. Needless to say I took an introductory course my first semester of college and fell in love with the major. After deciding my major, I knew that I wanted to work in the communication/marketing field of professional sports so I decided to minor in sport management. I now love both fields and cannot wait to enter into them after graduation.

I am a huge sports fan as you will see in many blogs coming up. I am a New England Patriots fan (if you see me on campus, please do not throw something at me!). I also am a huge hockey fan, a Sabres one to be exact. I tend to watch ESPN daily and I basically check Twitter hourly. So you can call me a sports geek if you like!

I am a huge believer in internships. Being a senior, many people ask what advice I would give freshmen and my main answer is that they should do as many internships as possible before graduating from college. I am currently on my sixth internship (I tried to hit every aspect of communication studies and sport management before graduating).

Some people may call me crazy but I enjoy the experience. You learn so much during your time at internships and you walk away learning so much each day. I also tell freshmen to enjoy their time at college. Time flies the longer you are in school, it feels like just yesterday I was beginning my freshman year of college and now I am beginning my last year of undergraduate studies. It really does go by fast, so enjoy it. The reading may get tedious but, in the end, you will look back at everything and feel a sense of accomplishment.

I think that’s enough for today! Here’s to a great year! Enjoy it!