Falcon Footnotes

As you may know Messiah has mandatory chapel every Tuesday and Thursday. Then throughout the year they have several Alternate Chapels that students can attend to reach their quota for chapel. Yesterday’s Chapel in Brubaker was amazing. We had a speaker named Stephen Gallagher who spoke about forgiveness and how it’s hard for some people to forgive when they have been hurt. It was a word from the Lord that not only ministered to me but also to a majority of the students. Then that night we had an Alternate Chapel run by the African Student Union and the Black Student Union on campus. It was just another worship experience. We sang songs in Swahili and Gospel tunes. It was great to have another opportunity to worship with the community. This was a great experience for me because the worship style was what I am used to. However, I can strongly assume that this was a different experience for several Messiah students and they enjoyed it as well. Throughout our busy day at Messiah, I am grateful for the times when we can slow down and worship the Lord not only during mandatory but during Alternate Chapels when you choose if you want to go or not. Take time for the Lord.

Yesterday In Eisenhower Commons there were several organizations and clubs at Messiah looking for new members and volunteers. There was the Admissions Office asking for host for prospective students, Residence Life looking for Residence Assistance, College Ministries looking for leaders in Bible Study and Prayer on campus, the Radio Station looking for students who want to run their own show and several others. Living on a campus for four years can be the best years of your life or the worst. Messiah is a very active campus and you can always find something to get involved with. Even if you are not sure about what you would love to do, there are days like yesterday that open your eyes to new opportunities. I am Sophomore and I am a member of the Multicultural council, the secretary of La Alianza Latina (Hispanic Club at Messiah), I play in chapel, member of the NEW Women’s Ministry and I volunteer for other organizations of campus. Name anything you love to do and Messiah can find the best activity for you to do. If you love service you can get involved at the Agape Center throughout the year. They visit the elderly at Messiah and give meals to the homeless. If you want your voice to be heard you can join Student Forum at Messiah and give ideas to enhance the Messiah community. If you want an internship that coincides with your major, visit the Internship center in Eisenhower commons and they have booklet full of internships in the area. If you love to climb and get dirty become a member of the LOFT club where you go on several trips and have a fun time with students on campus. Take advantage of all that Messiah has to offer. You get to interact with different people and grow as an individual, what a great deal. =)

There are four different places to eat on campus. You can eat at Lottie Dining Hall, which is located on the second floor of Eisenhower Campus Center. Lottie is your typical all you eat restaurant. You have the salad bar which is always available. You also have the Deli where you can make your own sandwiches with lettuce, turkey and even humus. For lunch you will find pizza, stromboli, burgers and then the main entree. For dinner there will always be pasta and burgers and grilled then you will also have a different entree evey night. In addition to having all these options during lunch and dinner we have the Mongolian Bar which stir frys vegetables and meat that you can then mix with rice. My favorite meal however is the Baby Blue salad that they serve. This salad consists of lettuce, strawberries, tangerines, peanuts, cheese, and some sweet salad dressing. Its completly amazing. This year Lottie started a new thing at the Mongolian bar on the weekends. On Saturday and Sunday nights they serve omelets that you can add anything you want to them. Then you add can pancakes, sausages, bacon and hashbrowns. This has to be my favorite meal on the weekends.

The second place where you can eat on campus is the Falcon, you can get breakfast and lunch from here. The Falcon is only open until 3:30pm. The make sandwiches,wraps, pizza, and stromboli. You also take this food out. They also serve breakfast sandwiches and coffee for on the go.

The third place to eat on campus is the Student Union, which is located in the middle of campus right next to Grantham dorm. They serve pizza, stromboli, taco’s, quesadillas, sandwiches, burgers, fries, chicken strips, philly cheesse steaks, smoothies, and ice cream sandwiches. They also have Starbucks coffee which you can take on the go with all your food if would like.

The last place to eat on campus is the South Side Cafe which is located underneath Mountain View dorms. The SSC is only open at night not during the day. You can’t really get meals here but you can get ice cream, cookies, coffee, juice and baked goods. In lottie you do not need to pay if you have a meal plan. For the Falcon and the Union you can use cash and your Flex dollars. In the South Side Cafe you can not use your Flex dollars because it is a student run organization, however you can use cash and your falcon dollars. Now you know all the options you have when you decide what you want to eat. xD

Last weekend was the busiest time for me as a music major. Though it was very busy it was truly a learning experience. On Friday, we rehearsed from 4 – 5:30pm for music that we would play for the concert on Sunday. Not to mention that during that entire week we were recording for the Centennial CD. Then on Saturday we had an orchestra concert with a call for 6:45pm. The concert was great there was a Trumpet Concert. We also played “Bolero” which was a piece that was written to never be performed. This piece has the same theme throughout the orchestra and builds up in different keys at the same time. It is such an amazing piece. Then on Sunday we had call at 1pm for the 3pm. We played piece that were recently written by Contemporary Classical musicians. We played a piece entitled “Variations” written by Professor Yurko at Messiah College. We also played a piece entitled “Ecstatic Waters” by Bryant. This was piece was the most unique of all the piece we played that night. This piece had computer parts as well in addition to the instruments in the band. It was so different but fascinating at the same time. Then after the concert was done, we had a break to go eat dinner and then it was back in the recording studio to finish our last piece for the CD. We recorded for 3 hours and a half. It was tiring for a while but it was great to mark the completion of our CD. Like my band conductor says “This CD will be around for a hundred years.” =)

As you may know Messiah has mandatory chapel every Tuesday and Thursday. Then throughout the year they have several Alternate Chapels that students can attend to reach their quota for chapel. Yesterdays Chapel in Brubaker was amazing. We had a speaker named Stephen Gallagher who spoke about forgiveness and how its hard for some people to forgive when they have been hurt. It was a word from the Lord that not only ministered to me but also to a majority of the students. Then that night we had an Alternate Chapel run by the African Student Union and the Black Student Union on campus. It was just another worship experience. We sang songs in Swahili and Gospel tunes. It was great to have another opportunity to worship with the community. This was a great experience for me because the worship style was what I am use to. However, I can strongly assume that this was a different experience for several Messiah students and they enjoyed it as well. Throughout our busy day at Messiah, I am grateful for the times when we can slow down and worship the Lord not only during mandatory but during Alternate Chapels when you choose if you want to go or not. Take time for the Lord.

Every year around this time in February, we have Siblings Weekend. Messiah’s Student Activities Board host events for the entire weekend. Messiah students and their siblings register on Friday afternoon in the Union and then that night is where the fun begins.

Friday we have school buses that pick us up to go Ice Skating for a $1. Its called Midnight Skating, we can skate all we want from 11 – 1am. When we are done skating, the school buses come and being us back to Messiah. Then on Saturday (more…)

It has finally arrived. After our 3 week winter break. We come back to school and take a 3 hour class for 3 weeks for the entire month of January. J – Term the best semester of the year. Some people choose to take a 8 – 12pm and then they have the whole day to themselves. Then you have those students who love to sleep in and take a 1 – 4pm class. It’s great, I personally like the morning class because I have the entire day to myself. I can even take a nap and still have plenty of time to hang. Since J- Term is only three weeks some students do not even come back from Winter Break, they stay home. They take a longer break than usual and start back in February. Hence, the empty doubles, lonely roommates, and quiet dorms. Students also choose to take a 3 week Cross – Cultural in the country of their choice. I know some students right now who are in Africa, Israel and Greece. They are learning about the cultural and seeing several historical artifacts. I can not wait to hear about their semi-vacation when they return in February. I love J- Term because it makes your Spring Term from February to May so much lighter. Now my schedule for next Spring semester looks great. I have no morning classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It’s great, because Fall Semester I had a 7:50 class and that was not fun to wake up for. Remember, stay for J-Term it is the best semester of the year. It makes the load lighter. =)

As you all may know Freshmen Year is the most influential time for a college student. This is your first time on campus with people you don’t know. I’m from Brooklyn, a very urban setting and then I came to Messiah; not so urban. My 1st Year Floor community was the source of encouragement that helped me because I was so far from home. Most of the girls on my floor were very close and we became closer through several activities we did together. We did Bible Studies and those are always encouraging because during the week you get stressed with class and you just want a word from the Lord. It was a fun experience because there were several different approaches taken by each female when they gave the Bible study. My floor also had Prayer Night and we would pray together for each other. (more…)