When I arrived to the event room for the Day of Service I was extremely nervous with many questions. Would I be with my friends? Would I be outside in the heat all day? I eventually got a club to work with, Circle K with my best friend and I was excited because that was the club we picked a few days prior. Circle K is a volunteer-centered club and for the Day of Service we had the option of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the homeless, making dog toys for dogs in shelters, sewing blankets and making teddy bears for less fortunate children, or making cards for terminally ill children in hospitals. I wanted to do the cards because I enjoy drawling and I thought who does not like being written to? When we sat down, one of the club members gave out sheets of paper with pictures of the children on them with their age and hobbies. Also we had a few guidelines for the cards: make it simple and fun, and do not direct anything to the future, because we cannot tell a terminally ill child to have a nice Halloween, because they might not make it that long. It was initially difficult to decide what to write, what do you say to someone that is seven or even seventeen and dying? Eventually it became simpler. When we started doing the cards I did not think that they would have much of an impact at all but then I reconsidered, if this little girl is sitting in a hospital bed all day, a card addressed to her in her favorite color, with her favorite princess on the front might just make her day more bearable. We had the information of the ill children’s siblings also. I did not contemplate that the siblings are also suffering; they are afraid they will lose their brother or sister and they are probably getting less attention at home because the parents are probably focusing more so on their sick child. I am really glad I had the service project that I did because it made me very grateful for not only my own health but the health of those around me.

On the afternoon of Sunday November 15^th, 2015, the Stockton girl’s volleyball team competed in the regional finals. With that weekend being filled with many games hosted in Big Blue, our girl’s team won their semi final game and for the first time in the history of Stockton, they made it to the regional finals. It was a long weekend for the girls and they played their hearts out and worked extremely hard to make it to where they were.

The final game was played against Randolf-Macon from 2-4pm. Walking into big blue, Stockton gear was dispersed throughout the gymnasium. Many students came out to show our team support and with that came a lot of school spirit and cheering from the crowd. Parents and family members also showed up to support the girls. Throughout each game, you could hear cheers of “Let’s go Stockton, let’s go!” and yells to the girls to keep it up and get back into the game. Ultimately, the girls lost the game coming really close in all 3 matches.

The intensity of the game could be seen in the faces of the girls. Although they lost, they put up a good fight and had support all around. It was an accomplishment in itself to have made it as far as they did. This being the first year ever that they made it to the finals, that in itself was a win for Stockton. The season may be over but the girls will continue to fight and with hopes high, we hope to make it to the finals again next season. The school spirit that was shown at that final game should be the same spirit that should be given to all our teams and as it is basketball season, we must give our basketball team the same support.

On October 22nd, 2013 there will be an event called “Send Silence Sailing”. This event is hosted by the Active Minds Club, which I am the treasurer of. The Active Minds Club’s goal is to change perspectives on stigmas about depression, anxiety, and other temporary mental illnesses. We have events to help student cope with anxiety, depression, and stress. Our “Send Silence Sailing Event” is to raise awareness about suicide among college students. Around one thousand one hundred college students commit suicide every year. To show the effect of how much that is, we are making one thousand one hundred origami sailboats (hence the name “Send Silence Sailing”) and they will be hung in trees and around the library. We will also be having stress-releasing games and a screening test and those that feel they are suffering from depression, anxiety or other minor mental illnesses will have the opportunity to speak to on location therapists, who can give them guidance. In addition, there will be music and snacks so the event should be enjoyable for all involved whether they are seeking help or not. Although the event has not happened yet, I know it will turn out well and hopefully we will be able to help students and give them an opportunity to talk to a professional if they feel necessary without the pressure of going to a doctor’s office. In previous years, the club has done similar events such as “Send Silence Packing” featuring a thousand book bags around campus and “Send Silence Walking” with a thousand or so pairs of shoes around the school, raising suicide awareness. These events by the Active Minds club are important because they diminish stigmas and help students cope with stressors included in the college experience.

The Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, also known as SOAR is a 3 day, 2-night camping trip that happens a few days prior to regular move-in day. This trip is meant for 500 incoming freshmen to get to know each other better as well as know their T.A.L.O.N.S better as well. The T.A.L.O.N.S, also known as The Activity Leaders Of New Students, are also Stockton students who are put in charge of a group of freshmen. The T.A.L.O.N.S are responsible for getting their groups to connect on a personal level as well as bring them from activity to activity. During move-in day, families and students are greeted with many welcoming and happy faces of Stockton students. After everyone has moved in and all the goodbyes have been said, new students get to meet those on their tribe, their T.A.L.O.N.S, receive bandanas for their color tribe and their bags. The first day/night at S.O.A.R is spent getting to know tribe members as well as getting situated in the cabins. Dinner is then served with some of the campers serving as cruisers, bringing food to the table as well as cleaning it up. After dinner, everyone heads out to the field where different games are set up and the faculty band is playing. It’s at this time that everyone gets to socialize and mingle with each other. The next two days are blurred together as they both are filled with many different activities. They’re days full of ice breakers and mingling with each other. Campers get accustomed to the “hey SOAR!” call and can finally respond in unison, “hey what!” Names and faces are put together and everyone familiar with each other. The last day is the day campers are supposed to “chase their lions” on multiple challenge courses. With high ropes and rock climbing, campers get to face their fears. SOAR is a retreat that really connects you with your fellow classmates and when school starts, you’ll be more than grateful to have went on this camping trip.

On November 19th , Stockton had a showing of, “Girl Rising”. It was a documentary featuring a variety of stories of young women and girls from all over the world with a common theme of education. Most of these girls had less than primary education and some could neither read nor write. The documentary depicted their struggles being girls in underdeveloped countries; because they were girls, many were married off at young ages and not allowed to go to school. One story was of a young girl in Nepal whose parents were poor and gave her away so she could have a place to live and food to eat, but she would be doing hard labor, facing abuse, and being fed scraps. Some stories were not all dismal; some stories illustrated family settings where the parents made their children’s education a priority, which gave their daughters an opportunity to succeed. Watching this movie gave me an opportunity to feel truly grateful for being an American and having parents who value my education. I also thought about all of the social injustices these girls in undeveloped countries face and what the resolution would be. There were many astonishing statistics including the amount of sexual assaults on young girls, that rape is legal and is a socially acceptable punishment for girls in many countries, and that a majority of deaths of young girls in these countries are because of childbirth. It is hard to find a resolution because of cultural differences among many other factors. It is unsettling to know how far women have come in America but then to think about all other countries where women are not allowed the most basic rights.

On the weekend of October 9^th-11^th, Stockton University had its annual University Weekend, formally known as Family Weekend. These 3 days were packed and filled with many fun activities and events for both students and families. Friday was the beginning of this great weekend with Stockton Spirit Day. On this day, students were encouraged to wear Stockton gear and in return receive treats such as cookies. Students with gear from other schools were also encouraged to trade them in for Stockton T-Shirts.  On Friday there was also other events such as stroll, strum and yum, twist it like a pretzel: a family yoga workshop, the float decorating party, and a few other events. However, the most memorable event of that day was undoubtedly the comedy show hosted by SET. This comedy show was with MTV Girl Code’s Carly Aquilino. This event was in Big Blue and was packed with people. Carly grabbed everyone’s attention with her choice of jokes and made the whole building laugh.

Although some family and friends came on Friday, Saturday was the day that most family and friends came. Waking up Saturday morning and looking around was very similar to move-in day with all the parents, siblings and families around campus. Saturday was also a day full of events. There was an alumnae breakfast hosted by Zeta Tau Alpha, a breakfast for parents hosted by the Parents & Family association, the University Weekend Parade, the carnival, the men’s lacrosse alumni game, the honors 10-year celebration and a few other events as well. The event that most freshmen were looking forward to, however, was the 20^th annual Osprey Ball hosted Saturday night. This semi formal event was food filled, dance filled and many students had a great night with their friends.

Sunday was a more relaxing day as families got ready to go. There were few events such as the lake Fred nature tour, a professional Achievement Award Ceremony, a softball alumnae game, and to end the night there was a campus center movie night with Max being the movie for the night. Those that had family come down took this day to spend quality time with them and show them around before they headed off. This was a very relaxing day with the osprey ball the night before so other students took this day to sleep off the busy weekend. All in all, University Weekend was a weekend well spent. It was great to show off Stockton Spirit and participate in different events with my fellow Ospreys and their families. I’m thrilled to see what next year’s University Weekend holds.

It is frequently said that the small things in life make it the most enjoyable. As I go through my first semester of college, I am coming to this exact realization. Between a full class schedule, a full workload, and adjusting to this new lifestyle, I am finding it hard to find time to enjoy life. It is the little things now that keep many students, including myself, going. So when I opened the student newspaper, the Argo, last week and discovered an advertisement for “Sweet Tooth Day,” my day was made. It was precisely 1:58 in the afternoon when I came upon this piece of information, and I happened to be sitting across from where it was being set up in the Campus Center for 2 o’clock. As my friend and I walked across the room, our eyes gazed upon such a beautiful sight: a candy cart. The popularity of this Stockton sponsored cart quickly grew into the form of a long line of sweet-toothed students. As my friend and I had our turn at the cart, I knew it was going to be a good day after all. There were choices of rock candy, nerds, jolly ranchers, skittles, sweet tarts, and many others. That day was a stressful day, but I was able to forget about the stress for a blissful few minutes filled with sugar. This small event had made a big difference in my day, and the days of those who joined me. Small Stockton events like this make a huge difference in the students’ lives, and they are important reminders of the little things in life that make it enjoyable.

On Monday September 14, 2015, all Stockton students were welcome to try out for the Stockton University cheerleading team. That day was an opportunity for participants to learn a dance, cheer, stunts, and tumbling to prepare for the actual tryout in front of the coaches and captains on Wednesday September 16. The captains taught everyone the things they needed to know. The captains were two nice girls that would help you with anything and answered any questions. Whether you had cheered before or it was a totally new thing, everyone felt welcomed. After leaving that Monday, everyone felt pretty confident.

On Wednesday, it was the big day. Everyone was nervous and practicing everything together before the tryouts begun. They split us into groups of 4 and the tryouts were underway. Everything ran smoothly and before you knew it, tryouts were over. Afterwards, we stayed and flipped and stunted. Everyone there was so nice and friendly. It was an awesome way to make really cool friends that you had something in common with. It was a lot of fun.

Overall, cheerleading at Stockton seemed to be a great experience. It was a great way to make friends, get involved and do something you enjoy doing. I would personally recommend trying out for a team or joining a club here at Stockton. I am sure that just like cheerleading, other teams or clubs would be welcoming and fun. It was truly an awesome experience all around.

In the Campus Center Theatre, Theatre Club held Whose Line? a few weeks back. My roommate and I decided to check it out. It was filled with laughter and fun, and it was a nice way to spend my time on campus.

The show is based on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and the group of Stockton students do skits throughout the whole show like the ones they did on the TV show. The club also includes the audience by asking for suggestions for the scene of the skit and to also give suggestions before they enter for characters and one-liners. This made me feel a part of the show and made it funnier since the quotes and characters were ones that the audience knew and could relate to. One of the skits took place during Black Friday and each club member acted as a different item or person of the scene. One girl was a television and another was a little girl who got trampled by the crowds. Another skit was where audience members got selected to join the cast on stage and compete in a rhyming battle.

This event was very entertaining and I enjoyed it very much. The fact that the Theatre Club interacted so much with the audience made it more fun and I found myself

On Tuesday November 17, I got to attend my first college basketball game. It was a really good time. As a cheerleader, I do not get to really attend games without cheering so this was a great experience for me. I thought that it was going to be like my high school basketball games, but it was totally different. Stockton’s game was like a high school game on steroids. Even if people are not really into basketball, I would still suggest going. The game I got to attend was a men’s game and it was an exciting experience that I would love to share with others.

When I first got there, I was initially shocked by the fact that with your student id you did not need to pay. Even though we pay mega bucks to attend school here at Stockton, I still would have thought they would make us pay at least two dollars. Once entering the courts, it was very loud. There were people all over the place. The bleachers were packed like sardines in a can. I am not sure if every game is going to be like this or if it was just because it was the first home game. I hope it is always like this because I love to see school spirit like that.

As the game began, the crowd was really wild. Everyone was having a great time that I could see. When halftime came, there was a great concession stand that people could go to. The money went towards the teams, which is a great way to raise money. There was hotdogs, pretzels, candy, and drinks. The stuff was good, but I was hoping there would be pizza or fries. The line to get the food was very long, but I could have guessed it would be that way. During the half, I also used the restroom. I am a huge critic of bathrooms and I must say this bathroom was one of the best I have seen. It was very clean and big and I did not mind using it at all.

The men’s basketball team did well. I can tell that they have been practicing and have a chance at winning their conference once again this year. They played to the best of their ability and were a complete pleasure to watch. They did not play dirty at all and I was very happy to see that. Although they did not end up winning, it was a great game to go to. I cannot exactly remember, but I believe that they only lost by three points, which is really good.

Overall, the game was a complete joy to be at. Everyone there was so nice, the environment was enjoyable, and the team did great. I hope to see the school spirit stay the way it was at that game. That means that everyone should come out and support the teams! I wish the best of luck to both the men’s and women’s basketball teams this season. It is going to be a amazing time cheering for them both. I hope to see you all there!