Monthly Archives: October 2014

I’ve avoided sharing about my engineering life on these blogs, mainly to avoid reliving the stresses I deal with every day. Junior year in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program so far has been the most challenging academic semester of my life. Between writing assembly code in Computer Organization and calculating z-transforms in Signals and Systems, I don’t have much time to relax, let alone sleep. All of these classes build on that understanding of electronics, which drives me learn more and more, but sometimes it can overwhelming. Luckily for me there are two classes that make my week much more manageable.

The first is Christian Social Ethics, my only non-engineering course this semester. I needed a Christian Studies class for GE requirements, and a friend from church recommended this one to me. I cannot be more thankful for that suggestion. Dr. Stumpf leads class discussions on ethical issues in an entertaining way, and the readings are challenging in a good way. The class itself is the complete opposite of my engineering classes as well, which is just what I need to change up the pace. No weekly assignments. No intense calculus. No extensive note taking.

The other class is Data Acquisition and Design, which at first sounds like one of those math intensive engineering courses I mentioned before, but it really isn’t. The class teaches how to use one software program, LabView, which is a powerful tool for simulations and programming. Our midterm was to create a Rock, Paper, Scissors game that could be played against a computer and keep score of wins and losses. Now for the rest of the semester, I will work with two of my classmates to create a digital version of the board game Mastermind complete with tactile buttons. Group design projects are what make engineering fun, and more than ever I am thankful for just that.

I am not an especially wise woman. I have not been around very long and I have only experienced so much, but I am convinced that there is no other experience quite like taking the opportunity to serve another person.

I’m not just talking about serving loved ones here. It’s easy for me to go out of my way to make my family, friends, or kickin’ fiancé feel loved. As Jesus reveals to his followers, anyone can do that. I am talking about giving up a chunk of your life to serve people you may not like, or people you don’t even know. This is truly a thrill and exercise in holiness, and I have been graced with countless opportunities as a CBU student to do just that.

This past weekend I had the chance to head to a local church with my Focus group and spend several hours serving its needs. None of us are members at this church, and we had not yet met anyone we would be working with, but this honestly contributed so much to the experience. We quickly connected with those at the church as we planted bushes, mulched beds, set up equipment, and sorted through dumpsters. There is nothing quite like manual labor to serve as an icebreaker, after all.

As we worked together, I was overcome by the beauty of the experience we got to participate in. Not only did we get to work alongside each other as friends, we got to meet and bless other members of God’s Kingdom as they moved forward in their ministry. In some small way, we got to share the character of Christ with those whom we would not have otherwise met. This is part of the beauty of being a human, and a bit of the joy experienced in living a life of service to God and others.

This is why being a part of Focus is one of the best things I could have done this year. The program not only connects new students, it gives us a chance to serve the community. That, readers, is a gorgeous thing.

Graphic designers and photographers have a fair reputation for being introverted artists. The same is generally true (not always, but in many cases) for college students studying to go into a creative field. Hence, even in the small world of CBU, we graphic designers tend not to stray far from our little bubble.

However, if you so happen to be close friends with a student of another discipline, you hear a lot about what they’re learning and what their bubble is like, too. In this case, my boyfriend is on the total opposite end of the study spectrum. He is enrolled in CBU’s nursing program, and thus, I know all the ins and outs of how it functions… and let me tell you, were it not for my artistic bias, it’d be mighty difficult to persuade me that any other major on campus is nearly as extraordinary as nursing!

While in the three-year-long program, nursing students are technically “employed” at various hospitals where they intern for one full shift each week in different areas (i.e. pediatrics, general floor, ER). This way, they are not only memorizing information out of textbooks but also gaining hands-on experience along with their peers, which according to my boyfriend has been an absolutely invaluable experience.

The school itself is equipped with a lifelike hospital set, filled with hyper realistic “dummies” of different genders and ages, allowing students to practice administering shots and other medical procedures.

A new hospital recently opened up near my hometown, and it was communicated to job-seeking nursing grads that the hospital prefers to interview graduates from CBU.

Given that knowledge, it doesn’t take a science-geared mind to comprehend how unique and remarkable this program is. My boyfriend and the rest of CBU’s nursing students have chosen arguably the best place around to learn how to be a healer for God’s people.

What a blessing!

FOCUS

What is FOCUS? FOCUS is basically a freshman orientation course or College 101 if you may. FOCUS is required for all incoming first-semester freshman students who are unmarried and under the age of 20. Here students talk about everything from budgeting to relationships to career searching and resumes.

FOCUS is also intended for students to make a trustworthy group of friends. I absolutely love the people in my FOCUS group. They have definitely become some of the people I have grown closer to over the past couple months. I personally feel that I was blessed with the best FOCUS group. We all find a way for everyone to socialize and be comfortable.

One way that we grow closer as a group is by doing small events that consist of playing games, having Bible study, or just enjoying each other’s company. It is these small things that meld us together to create a bond that will last forever. FOCUS, to me, is totally worth sitting through the lectures. As long as I get to see and be with my FOCUS group, I am glad to attend.

Before entering college I was never all too sure how to configure my class schedule. Should I have classes every day, every other day, in the morning, mid-day or afternoon? Since I wasn’t sure, I asked around. One of my close friends and mentor told me to take morning classes. She told me that when she was in college, she took all the 7 and 8 a.m. classes. When she told me this, I thought she was insane. When people think about college, they think about being able to sleep in and relax in the mornings. My friend had the total opposite idea.

She told me that she took all morning classes Monday through Friday. She would be done with class by noon, have all her homework done by 2 or 3, and then have the rest of the day to herself. That struck me as the most amazing idea a college student could ever come up with! With that, I took her advice and may I say, it is the best thing I could have done for myself.

I wake up at either 5 or 7 a.m. and finish before either 10 a.m. or noon depending on the day. I take care of my homework and everything else that needs to get done and by the time 2 p.m. rolls around, I’m ready to hang out with my friends, go enjoy some recreation, or just relax and rejuvenate. This was one of the best decisions I have made since I have entered college!

Brainstorming for events and hangouts to do for my residents is one of the more creative aspects of the RA job. Up until this point, I’ve focused on food, mainly because of its universal appeal to all human life. I make it, they enjoy it, and leftovers abound for me and my roommates. I’ve continued with my weekly soccer hangouts, which has grown to support itself even without my involvement. I had to try something new, then, to spice up my events beyond sweets and sports. Ironically enough, my next event combined those two together.

The Community Life office pulled through for me again by offering discounted LA Galaxy tickets to CBU students for Landon Donovan’s last MLS cap. I don’t follow American club soccer teams too much, but for $15, my interest changed a bit. This would be a perfect opportunity to invite some residents, too, and I knew just the ones. Valentin and Abdel are international students from France who like to play soccer. I knew they would be interested in exploring more of California, and the outing was set.

Sunday afternoon we drove to the Stub Hub Center in Carson and met up with the crowds of Galaxy fans herding to the stadium. Since this was Donovan’s last game, fans packed out the stands and cheered his name throughout both halves. We all joined in on the boos and cheers, not because we cared about the teams, but because it was fun to join the energy in the stadium. Our section was primarily CBU students, which meant we had the best seats in the house. The LA Riot, LA Galaxy’s loudest and proudest fans, kept the excitement going in the section next to us with drums and chants to follow. The game itself turned out to be quite exciting, too, with Galaxy up 2:0 but then Seattle Sounders tied it 2:2. It was too much fun hanging out with my French bros, and finishing the night with McFlurries. Soccer and sweets seem to be my forte.

Remember how I just recently talked about the unexpected, changes in plans, and how it is such a great way to rely on God’s agenda rather than our own? Yeah, well I had the opportunity to put all of that into practice once again this week.

Friends, my favorite person in the world asked me to marry him. And I said, “Of course.”

While we had talked about it extensively and I saw it coming at some point this year, he completely surprised me with the proposal. I couldn’t be more thrilled – I am confident that God is better glorified in us together than apart, and I have experienced the Creator so much more deeply through this relationship than I could have imagined.

Looking back to Freshmen Aubrey, I could not have guessed that I would be where I am today. I made several goals for myself that ended up either coming to reality or exceeding my expectations by changing completely. It was never my goal to start dating at CBU. I have always been the type of person who sees life as an ongoing adventure and sets goals for the grand journey before thinking of becoming a partner. I am so thankful for this, as it led me to meet Jared while analyzing Homer in our Classical Literature class. As I ran my course, I discovered that we were going in the same direction. I began building a much fuller life with him than I initially thought possible.

I have always stressed the importance of following God’s call for my life. I was following that lead when I met my fiancé, and we discovered that our goals lined up. While I did not expect to pursue my call in this way, I have been infinitely blessed by the unexpected change of sharing life with the best person I’ve ever met. It has helped me to continue to follow my Lord recklessly and see him work in unimaginable ways. This is why I am so thrilled to be where I am today, and so excited to see all that God wants to accomplish in our life together. Friends, I’ll see you next week.

I’ve had so many students ask me, “Where do graphic design students have their classes?” Well, let me tell you – in our creative corner, of course!

Graphic Design and Photography students don’t really live in on-campus housing. At least, it doesn’t always feel that way. Most days it feels as though we live on the uppermost floor of the historic James building; our home away from home!

Our program is a smaller one, compared to business, nursing, and the like – however, we’ve certainly made the most of our little space up there. As soon as you enter the fourth floor of James, you know you’ve set foot in our creative corner. Posters are hung wall to wall, advertising exciting opportunities such as marketing internships and film festivals; all of the classrooms on our end are filled with Goliath-sized iMac computers; we even have bright orange walls in our main design lab. I’m pretty sure those wouldn’t fly in any other discipline!

But the true hidden gem of our corner, the pride of our department, is the photography studio. All the way in the back of the fourth floor, nestled against a cozy lounge area, lives the magic. This room contains everything from professional flash equipment to gorgeous backdrops to large modeling fans and more; and it is completely free for our majors to use, whenever we’d like! What other school can boast that privilege?

I’ve been assigned a “Surreal Sermon” project for which I need to portray a Bible story as it would have truly looked. So, this week I’ll be spending a lot of time in that studio, using top-of-the-notch camera equipment that is available and free of charge for us to use as well.

We graphic design and photography students are enormously blessed by these freedoms and privileges. I can’t imagine what it would be like to “live” in any department outside of my creative corner!

Come see it sometime!

“You know I’m all about that bass, no treble” rang through the ears of the residents and all others who came to the Cottage Coffeehouse talent show. Last week, the Cottage RAs put on a coffeehouse-style talent show to exhibit the incredible talent we have within the Cottages.

May I say the talent was amazing! Vocal acts, stand-up, and even a girl from my cottage exhibited her master skill on the violin. I was blown away by how amazing these kids were. Though the highlight of all the acts were Jon and Ben of Cottage 13 singing an acoustic version of “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor. This performance was definitely the one to remember for this year.

What is a coffeehouse show without coffee? Oh right, nothing! We were provided with Starbucks coffee and an arrangement of fall cremes and snacks to get us hyped for the upcoming autumn season!

Once we finished our coffee and the last act performed, it was time to have even more fun. An arrangement of dubstep, line dancing and Disney music was played to close out the night. We all joined together in the cottage lawn to dance and go crazy. It was definitely a night that neither I nor the rest of the Cottage residents will ever forget!

Every week I think I’m prepared, and then Tuesday rolls around, and I remember how crazy I was to stack as many classes as I did on one day. My Tuesday classes begin at 7 a.m. and finally end at 5 p.m., with no break in between. Quite frankly, it’s exhausting! By the end of every Tuesday, as much as I love what I’m learning, I am so ready for a cup of tea and a T-shirt.

Last Tuesday I had an especially difficult day because I struggled with my afternoon lab, so when 5 o’clock rolled around, I was in serious need of some relief. I left class, and as I was walking toward my apartment, I glanced across the front lawn and noticed a couple of the girls’ flag football teams out prepping for a game. One of the team’s brightly colored uniforms looked familiar to me, and I realized a few of the teammates were friends of mine. So, I made my way over for a quick hello!

The team spirit was absolutely radiant. All the girls wore matching, handmade shirts with black paint smeared across both cheeks. After my quick hellos, I hugged them both goodbye but hung around for a few minutes to watch them play. It was the best unexpected relief ever!

CBU has so many fantastic opportunities to get involved with peers outside the classroom, and Rec sports are probably the best. Rec sports are based more on fellowship than they are skill, and because of this, teammates always leave the season having made countless new friends. It was so much fun to watch these girls play – having a great time, supporting and encouraging one another, all the while using CBU provided equipment and facilities to avoid any hassle.

Hey, maybe next year I’ll sign up!