Final THREE...TROIS...SAN...3-3-3

Oh la la…
I have 3 days of school left☺ I am SO happy…yet nervous…yet anxious…I’m going to have my BACHELORS☺YIPEE YIPEE

Next Friday (May 4th) I take off to Pittsburgh, PA where I will attend my outbound training for Rotary. We are going to learn what it’s like to live in a different country! (Chuckle)

Right now I am in the middle of final projects and allergy season. (It is absolutely beautiful here this time of the year; the dogwoods and cherry trees are all in full bloom)

Tomorrow I am presenting my project for my environmental ethics class. I get to talk about what it was like to be a vegetarian for a month. I am going to pass out vegetarian recipes and take in snacks for everyone to try☺

Sad, Confused, and Speechless.

The last few days I have not been myself. I have a lot of thing running though my mind and I just can't seem to turn any of it off. On Monday morning on my way to school I heard the news of the first shootings at Virginia Tech. It wasn't until a few hours later that I learned of the second shooting. I spoke to many of my friends because I just could NOT comprehend how this "person" could kill two people in their rooms and then hours later proceed to another building to shoot and kill 32 more. I kept asking the same question to everyone "What was he doing for those 2+ hours in between the shootings?" I have avoided the news as much as possible because it saddens me to hear the reporters "guessing". I only want to know the hard facts...what did happen. NOT what they THINK happened. Finally, this evening my question was answered. This "person" went back to his room and took pictures of himself with guns, knives, and a hammer. Then made a DVD and blamed the world for the death of these students, wrote letters, and then MAILED the package to NBC NEWS. What kind of "person" does this? Why would a student be allowed to purchase weapons at a pawnshop across the street from school? WHY WHY WHY is there a store selling weapons near a campus? I just don't get it.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy...nothing can be said to make anyone feel better. I hope this catalyzes government action on violence and gun control. I mean seriously...how blind must people be?

M.A.D.E. (Making a Difference Everyday)

Last night my community service club held its last event with me as the President:( We had members from M.A.D.E and the Black student league help out. It was a lot of fun. We snacked on pizza and other goodies and made Blankets to support Project Linus-an organization that donates blankets to children living with cancer in local area hospitals.
We ended up making 6 large blankets (3 for boys and 3 for girls).
I enjoyed my four terms as President and I hope that my club is able to continue for years to come; serving and Making a Difference to those in the local area.

Beautifully said...

Happy Sunday and April fools!

I am sitting here working on my homework for my online civic and community engagement course. I came across something very powerful. The website www.coopamerica.org is dedicated to writing and bringing awareness about economic action. There vision is this:

"We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come."

I am speechless.

Portage la Prarie -Manitoba

A success! On Tuesday, March 20th I attended my FIRST meeting as Ambassador! I was a natural the words just rolled off my heart. Everyone was very attentive and asked some great questions. At the end I was interviewed for the local radio station (96.5).

One thing I really like about the meeting was that they had banners posted all over the room of visiting Rotary guests. It was amazing-they had banners from Korea, Argentina, Atlantic City, Africa...

I exchanged with them also, so now they have a banner from l'estrie!!

While I was on the airplane I met two Rotarians. One who was very interested in having me speak at his club in Winnipeg...an offer I will have to accept...it is after all the club that made Rotary INTERNATIONAL!!!

PBS Volunteering

On Saturday night a group of students and teachers from Penn State went downtown to the local PBS station (WHYY) and answered phones from 7-11pm. I remember as a child I would see the volunteers answering the phones and think that it was really neat! Well it was...having the girls there with me was a total riot:) We met the DJ for the local radio station...and I told him that he woke me up every morning...and I dreaded it when he said, "it's 7:00"!!
One of the girls dressed up like Curious George and of course the Knittany Lion was there (Penn State Mascot). During the show one of the men asked where we were all from. I explained that I was from Canada and when we were on air again he told everyone that they needed to call in and talk to me because I came all the way from Canada just to answer the phones! Then he said if you want you can even pledge in French!
It was a lot of fun and nice to get out with everyone--especially after working so diligently on my Service Exchange all those months.

The Service Exchange my Penn State Project

To see Penn State Web Gallery- Click here!
In September I was given the opportunity to persue a minor in Civic and Community Engagement (to accompany my Major). One of the requirements was to develop a project-that didnt have to be followed though-only developed. I wanted to do something major-that could deem useful. I wanted it to be GREAT...and it wouldnt be like me to do something easy. I decided (pretty much on the sport) that I wanted to have a volunteer fair. After talking more with my professor (who would be my advisor for the project) we tweeked the fair idea. I came up with the name 'The Service Exchange'-and it would be like a fair, but it would actually teach people things. So... on March 2, 2007 (Friday) from 2:00-5:00 my vision and hardwok become a reality! I wanted this to reach out to the whole area, not only Penn State, so I invited all local area high schools, community members, and Penn State students.
The afternoon will begin with keynote speaker Barbara Shaiman from Champions of Caring giving an inspirational talk, then students will have the opportunity to showcase the service they have already performed (and be qualified to win a red Ipod donated by Apple), then participants will be able to learn new skills at our learning workshops, mingle and make new contacts with local area non profit organizations, and participate with onsite service events. So far I have 45 registered organizations.
The four learning workshops taking place will be:
1) You and your environment
2) Effective letter writing
3) Hunger in PA
4) UMADD-Mothers against drunk driving for University students

I am very proud of how this has all come together so far. At the same time there will also be a room for hands on volunteer projects and the price of admission is one canned good that we will donate to local food pantries.
One of the local hospitals has given us a generous grant that we have used to create a handbook that will be called the "Yellow pages of Volunteering" and everyone who participates can take one home. Every organization and registered High School will be mentionned inside. It will give everyone the infomation they need to get involved in volunteering in their community.
The welcome page (written by moi!) is my vision of the project as a whole...
"Welcome to Penn State’s first ever Service Exchange! By attending this event you have already taken an important first step in getting yourself involved in your community and your neighborhood. For this I applaud you.
I have a personal commitment to volunteerism because I have lived in many different communities. Becoming active, volunteering, and helping others in those different communities has proven very useful for me. It’s a way to make new friends, gain valuable life skills, and learn about myself. I have learned about career choices and where and how I can constructively use my time to make a difference. Being connected with others who see life though the same lenses creates deeper connections and future mentors. It opens doors to opportunities that you didn’t know existed.
Here at Penn State I have truly matured and grown. The friendly, helpful and yet challenging faculty and staff honestly made a huge impact on me. I was thrilled to learn that I could minor in civic and community engagement. Combined with my broad major, this minor creates a focus and foundation for my future career in the humanitarian field.
Working with different groups of individuals has taught me that others are interested in serving the community, but just don’t know how to get started. Perhaps this describes you. My vision of this project was to create a venue to serve as a catalyst of exchange between the community and local non-profit organizations.
I hope you take advantage of the information provided here today and use it to get involved in something that can be positive for all concerned."
Hopefully I will have a great turnout and have a great review to post on here...