{ Journalism Happenings and a Show at the Flynn }

Happy first day of May!

Today was the last day of classes here at St. Mike's. That means finals are the only thing separating me from home and family and summer!

I've written before about the closeness of the students in the MJD department before, but I wanted to share a story that further illustrates the family-like aspect. 

My Advanced Writing for Media class all decided we wanted to have dinner together before the semester was over and some of us went abroad. We ended up taking a St. Mike's van to Professor Cleary's house on Sunday evening. It was a beautiful day and we ate a delicious home-cooked Indian meal outside in the sunshine. It was so great to be able to spend time together outside of the classroom. We were all so grateful that Professor Cleary had us over. The 12 of us in the class really do feel like a little family because we've spent so much time together and gotten to know each other (and each other's work) so well. I'm happy to be able to call myself a part of the little MJD family.

Yesterday, the class met up at the shuttle stop instead of in the classroom. We headed on over to North Campus and went on a little field trip at Vermont Public Radio. Mitch Wertlieb, who works at VPR, had come into our class a couple of times and helped us with the radio stories we produced, so it was neat to see where he works. We even listened to him do a live news report. So cool!

Last night, my Dance for Athletes class all met at the Flynn in Burlington to see Cirque Zuma Zuma. They were actually on America's Got Talent! (Click here for a video.) The acrobatics and things were really amazing. And because we went for a class assignment, our tickets were free (usually they're $10 for St. Mike's students, which still isn't bad!).

There are only six days until I'm on my way back to New York. I can't wait! The weather is gorgeous here, which makes it a little bit more difficult to concentrate on work, but I love it. 

Until next time,

Love, laugh, and photograph!

-Jessica

{ P-Day 2013! }

Hello, friends!

P-Day weekend is officially basically over as it is now Sunday and everyone is kind of getting back to what they need to do for the remaining three days of class (yes, classes end on Wednesday!), and then finals, which are Saturday through Wednesday, the 8th.

Friday night, rather than the usual dinner, Alliot brought food out to the 300s field. We sat in the grass in the sunshine and watched the men's and women's rugby games. It was a great start to P-Day weekend.

Men's rugby vs. UVM.

The day started yesterday at 11:00am, with a trike race by Alliot. This is always fun to watch, as people douse the racers with water and flour and other obstacles. It's also just plain funny to see grown men and women riding tricycles meant for small children.

At 1:00pm, the festivities on the 300s field began. Here, there were inflatables, henna, a photo booth, live music, and (my favorite part) a giant tent of food. I ate so much yesterday that I was still full this morning when I woke up. But everything was so good!

The food tent after things calmed down a little bit.

My first ever falafel.

Pizza!

The lo mein was so good.

A cannoli.

Hannah with her big cookie.

This was perhaps the best thing I ate all day. It was still warm when the woman handed it to me!

Ben & Jerry's!

Me and Hannah with our ice cream (aka in heaven).

At 7:00pm, there was a mind reader / sword swallower who performed in Ross. I guess he's been on Ripley's Believe it Or Not before!

Then, at 9:00pm, Alliot served breakfast. This is always quite interesting, but I didn't go this year. I was still full from everything else!

Because the weather is getting so nice and because everyone's really stressed out with assignments and finals for this last few days of school (ten, to be exact), it's great to be able to enjoy some time with friends.



Only ten days left until summer officially begins. I'm sure move-out day will be bitter-sweet. I shall blog again soon as this year comes to an end.

Until next time,
Love, laugh, and photograph!

-Jessica

{ Macklemore and our Dance Performance }

Last night was the Macklemore concert... it was AMAZING. St. Mike's is so fortunate to have a great student planning committee to make events like these possible. It was my first concert (unless you count Aretha Franklin a few years back..) and I know I'll remember it for a long, long time. But not only for that reason..

Macklemore visited a St. Mike's student named in the hospital before the show on Thursday who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. And then he paid tribute during the show with a moment of silence, which was actually silent (surprising for such a loud, excited crowd).

(Photo from Reddit.com)

Here's what Macklemore said about the incident in his blog:

"In all honesty, it’s the Sams of the world and the situations they go through that give us perspective on our own lives. Unfortunately, so often it takes a tragedy to wake us up and appreciate those closest to us. When we are faced with death, we immediately put a new found value on the life we’ve been given. I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet Sam and his parents today. Made me feel like a real person. Beyond the music and the accolades, at the core that is what I want out of this life. To feel. And Sam reminded me of that.

Much love to him, his family and his friends.”

Read more about the visit here. It really is a touching story.

Today marks the beginning of P-Day weekend, an annual event at St. Michael's. P-Day actually stands for "preparation day," so the students can kind of get ready for the home stretch and finals. It's a lot of fun. I'll blog about that later. 

At 12:30, all of the classes in the dance department met outside the gym and performed all of the material we've been working on throughout the semester. I can't stress how much fun the classes are and the bonds you make with your fellow dancers over the semester.

I couldn't fit Ballet or Beginning Dance in my schedule this spring, so I ended up taking Dance for Athletes (no, I'm not an athlete..). I'm so glad I took the class though. The guys and two other girls in the class have such great attitudes; we all push each other so much that the group really ended up feeling like a team. We like to call ourselves the Shooting Stars.

We performed two routines today, one with the Beginning Dance class and one with just our group. The first had parts which were choreographed by the Shooting Stars and we choreographed almost the entire second piece (the one performed to Alicia Keys' "Fallin'."

Here they are. Enjoy!

(My class was in all black and Beginning Dance wore white shirts.)

Until next time,

Love, laugh, and photograph!

-Jessica

{ Our Field Trip to WCAX! }

Advanced Writing for Media is one of the two MJD classes I took this semester. It's not a requirement for the major, but should be taken before Defender class. It's kind of a continuation of Investigative Reporting, which I took last semester. Both were taught by Professor Cleary, so it seemed only natural for me (and a majority of my classmates) to make the transition.

On our way!

That means that the people in Advanced Writing are all kind of close. I'd almost consider us a little journalism family. We know each other's work pretty well from our constant editing and discussion sessions and have gotten very comfortable collaborating and sharing ideas over the past year.

Today we took a field trip to WCAX in South Burlington. It was great to be able to see working journalists in action, especially those in the class who are interested in broadcast journalism.

Here it is!

They were filming a cooking segment when we got there.

Ever wonder what it looks like when they film the news?

The control room. So many buttons and screens!

Here we are!

The trip to WCAX was just one of the many opportunities that I'm so thankful I've been able to partake in as part of the MJD department at St. Mike's. It was a great time and we learned so much.

The countdown continues. 20 days until summer vacation officially begins. I love it here, but after two semesters, everyone just kind of needs some time away from classes and work and stress.

Until next time,

Love, laugh, and photograph!

-Jessica 

{ Going to a Ball & an End of the Semester Update }

Well hello!

Things have certainly been busy here at St. Mike's as the weather gets warmer and the semester comes to an end. 

My global media mapping project was due last week for Global Comm. (one of the required courses for MJD majors and minors), which is a huge relief. It's a great project for developing web design and research skills, but I'm so glad it's over! Click here to see all of the fantastic web sites created in the class. Mine is on the Philippines!

This weekend was a busy one too. There was lots going on for Accepted Students Day and the Earth Fest, so campus was very lively (which is wonderful with the coming of spring!).

Then I went to a ball! My boyfriend is a junior at Norwich University, a military school about an hour southeast of St. Mike's, and they celebrated Junior Ring Weekend. There are a few photos below.

 

We're all kind of in the final stretch now; there are only about two weeks left of classes and then finals and then we're done! And I think the warm weather (it's supposed to get up to 75° this week!) and everyone being so busy will make the time fly even faster!

I shall update again soon!

Until next time,
Love, laugh, and photograph!

-Jessica