Monthly Archives: February 2015

As expected, Woo Fest 2015 was incredible. Every spring the one night to remember is always the largest male talent show in the Riverside area, if not all of Southern California. And similar to the Halloween event last semester, I enjoyed the whole event even more as an organizer than I did as an observer. Let me tell you why.

By 5:30 p.m., all of the RAs on campus met at the Van Dyne gym to set up for the pre-party. A large white tent covered the grass outside of the gym with lights strung across the poles and tables lining the perimeter. Each table offered only the finest of delicious treats: buttered popcorn, cinnamon churros, crème sodas, candies, and milk and cookies. To top it all off, a s’more bar to the side offered gooey graham cracker goodness. I cooked popcorn all through the night and loved every second of it. From almost every living area, limousines chauffeured finely dressed students across campus to the gym to start the night off right. Woo Fest’s theme is traditionally fancy with a twist, this year being circus themed. A beautifully crafted circus elephant cake stood in the corner for students to take pictures with. Relaxing with classy music and soft lighting felt wonderful after a long week. Then the doors to the gym opened and the show began.

Excited, well-dressed students packed every seat in the gym leaving us RAs standing in the back just to accommodate maximum capacity. The show was worth it, too. The first act was a quartet with beatboxer who set a high standard for acts to follow. The rest followed suit with Michael Jackson arrangements, piano-driven love song medleys, and creative lip-syncing. The final act, though, was the RA men, and I was waiting to dance all night. I joined my fellow RAs for one last act, and the crowd loved it. I like to entertain so I didn’t hold back. Truly a night to remember.

I’ve had quite the number of friends poke fun at my choice of a Baptist school. Even if they are active Christians themselves, many of them simply assume that a “private school” means strict, immovable boundaries and very little tolerance for personality. I beg to differ!

For the month of February, we Lancers have been enjoying a wonderful chapel series called “30 Days of Worship.” Each of the speakers introduced this month has offered a different bit of wisdom about the many ways that “worship” presents itself.

What I’ve loved about this series in particular is that it has reinforced the idea that, despite what denomination you consider yourself a part of, Baptist or not, God is glorified through any shape, form, color, or genre of true worship.

This week’s message was about the classic sort – worship through music. But, not through the typical, Sunday morning show that normally comes to mind. Today’s message was about worship through rap!

The speaker’s name was Trip Lee. Trip spoke about how he came to Christ through church camp as a teenager. At the time, he was already investing a great deal of his time and passion into the development of his own rap music. When he was offered a record deal right out of high school, he immediately leapt for the opportunity.

Now, Trip travels, performs, and speaks as a pastor, rapper, and author. He reminded us about how worship presents itself in all forms, including the less common rap music. I appreciated the effort he made to encourage us all to find our own unique means of worshipping out God – one that allows us to completely pour ourselves into His presence. Whether that be bluegrass or rapping, God welcomes our worship with a smile!

The past few days have found me blissfully unaware of the passage of time. I carry on from class to class, meeting up for coffee dates and Oscar parties under the impression that I am still an underclassmen in the throws of college life that will last forever. Then it hit me.

I attended Gradfest.

BAM! I’m going to graduate.

Now of course this notion isn’t bad at all. I am extremely excited to earn my degree from this lovely university and enter into the “real world.” While I am surprised that this has come so soon, I have to say that I feel more prepared for graduation than I initially thought. This event made me fully realize that.

Gradfest is an event where seniors can order their cap and gown, design class rings, take grad photos, and record “thank you” videos to their families. It is one of those events that suddenly makes us realize how far we have come, and how the past four years have prepared us for this moment.

I had the privilege of going to this event with one of my best friends whom I met through random roommate assignment our freshman year. We walked in feeling naturally at ease, greeting members of our class congenially as we went over our graduation information. Then, all of a sudden, I put on a cap and gown for pictures and realized the gravity of the moment. We have all made it so far! We have spent the last three and a half years of our lives at this school, preparing for this moment which we all secretly thought was light-years away. We have grown exponentially as individuals, have encountered the world in new ways, and are now equipped to leave and share what CBU gave us with the rest of the world. What an unreal notion!

I am immensely thankful for the time spent at this university, and am surprised at how quickly it now draws to an end. I can definitively say, however, that because of the time here I am ready for what is to come.

At a young age, I enjoyed dancing. Like most young girls who dance, I started with ballet. As I grew older, I tried other styles including jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. Contemporary and hip-hop were the ones that I grew most fond of. Of all the styles of dance, these are the two that require the most self-expression, and, I feel, are the most enjoyable to perform.

Since my junior year of high school, I haven’t done as much hip-hop. This semester, the Recreation Center introduced a new hip-hop class called Pulse. Being away from hip-hop for some time now, I had been recently longing to get re-involved so I figured what better way to do that than with this class.

We learned a short choreography to “Caught Up” by Usher. The class ranged from first-time dancers to performers with years of experience. The great thing about this was that there wasn’t a sense of “who is better than whom.” Instead, this class presented a vibe of fun and fitness with others who had the same interest.

While learning this choreography, I realized that the hip-hop side of me never left. Being around a group of people who enjoyed doing what I also enjoyed caused me to remember why I started dancing hip-hop in the first place. It is just a rush of unexplainable adrenaline and joy that can never be expressed in any other way. This class is definitely one that I will be attending for the rest of the semester.

Welcome to the season of soccer, Lancers! I for one have been waiting all year for this, and am thrilled that it’s finally here!

Our campus is filled with students interested in group sports, and if you’re one of them (massively athletic, or not-so-much) I can guarantee you there’s an option out there for you to get involved.

In my case, I joined the intramural rec league. Joining the league is free, and you simply need to build a team of 8-14 players (friends, co-workers, whoever) and choose which country to represent. Then, just like a competitive league, you’re assigned a color and can opt to order jerseys or simply where T-shirts with your number marked on them. You’ll be emailed a game schedule for the entirety of the season (now through April), and then it’s time to let the games begin!

What’s fabulous about playing in the rec league is that you can assume most players are more interested in having fun than winning. For me, that’s perfect, because I haven’t actually played soccer in almost 7 years and wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a pro (in fact, I laugh at the thought). But by signing up, I’ve still guaranteed myself an opportunity to be involved with one of the most fun and interactive ways to fellowship with fellow Lancers this spring!

Unfortunately we, Portugal, lost our first game yesterday (0-1… sad day). But, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, we’ve been challenged to practice a little harder and arrive at our next match with a fresh start and thirst for a good time! Can’t wait! 🙂

Back in January I found a post on Instagram from the CBU Career Center advertising a career fair for Feb. 18. The post advertised that there would be various engineering companies present, so of course I became interested. Initially I hoped that no other engineers would hear about it in order to ensure my chances at an internship, but soon after the College of Engineering began aggressively advertising the event as well. Now with some healthy competition, I revised my resume countless times, bought special resume paper for pristine prints, and invested in a Fossil watch to compliment my suit coat. With a little gel in my hair, I walked into the Rec Center yesterday evening to meet the companies.

And there were plenty. Finely dressed students and friendly business representatives packed the recreational basketball area, passing out business cards and collecting resumes all around. I approached the area cautiously, although determined to make use of all 50 resumes in my newly purchased business pad folio. I approached the first table blindly, choking on my words, and staring awkwardly into the distance as I failed strike up any form of conversation with the representative. I knew that would happen eventually, but that table was Bourns Engineering, which recently donated $5.5 million to the CBU College of Engineering to construct a new engineering building. Striking out with my department’s largest partnership was a serious misstep, but after that encounter I felt motivated to not let it happen again. The conversations after that flowed much smoother. I made it my objective to make the representative laugh a little before ending it with my resume and a smile. I received positive feedback from several representatives, as well, which became a huge encouragement. I left the career fair with a pocket full of business cards and a motivated spirit. I don’t know where I’ll intern this summer, but the Career Center helped get me that much closer.

If anyone gathers anything from my shared experiences, I hope that they see a love of a full life, an appreciation of goofiness, and a respect for the solemn. My life this semester, as is common, has been very full. I have been busier than I sometimes know how to stay on top of, and I have even more coming as I look ahead. As always, I gaze forward with anticipation mixed in with the chaos.

So here I am as we move into Lent and the celebration of Easter.

Cal Baptist has been hosting a series called 30 Days of Worship. This takes form in a specified focus through chapels and other on-campus events. The purpose of this is to get to the definition of worship and its implications in every facet of life, showing again that a Christian faith is all encompassing and integrated into daily life.

At the same time as this campus series occurs, my church has begun an intentional period of reflection in preparation for Easter. I have to admit that I have never experienced Lent with a church quite so purposefully, and I have nothing but excitement as I’m moving forward with my church family and fellow students.

The purpose of all of this is to refocus. We are taking a step out of the flow of our active routine in order to look at the direction of our lives. For me, this will take form by way of fasting and reading on focused topics in order to push myself further in the direction that I want my life to go. It looks different from person to person, though we have the same aim of purposeful focus on our lives and our values. Being a part of an accepting student body and church to experience this season with is a unique honor. Not much means more to me than a freedom to grow in the midst of a busy season, and I am sincerely praying that we all are edified through the coming weeks.

This week I attended a crucial event for the Lancers – ASCBU’s annual presidential debate!

Voting season for CBU is always abuzz, filled with promotional signs and campaign slogans, plus the occasional clever meet-and-greet. But the cream of the crop in the midst of all these tactics is the live debate – that’s right, live.

For the event, CBU hired a professional camera crew and even flew out a radio broadcaster from Washington, D.C., to run the evening. Students pursuing talk show careers filled in as anchors, and attendees had the pleasure of viewing all of the excitement firsthand!

Makenna and Nick are this year’s candidates for the position of executive ASCBU president. I was very impressed with both of their presentations, as well as their goals for the student body.

However, I have to say I was most thoroughly impressed with the entire event itself. From the candidates to the anchors to the student photographers and student journalists… so many opportunities were given to my fellow Lancers. Voting season at CBU always reminds me of how close I am to entering the “real world” post graduation, with “real-world” responsibilities and hardships. With that in mind, how blessed are we to be in a place that truly strives to give its students every possible opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive before taking that major leap? We are blessed, indeed!

There is nothing more intimidating than moving in with a group of girls whom you have never met. I think all of my housemates felt the same on move-in day. The initial thought of whether or not you would get along with all these girls remained in everyone’s head in the first few weeks. And may I say, we have come a long way since then. Me, two of my housemates, and our RA have found this special bond since last semester.

Over Christmas break, I thought that it would be nice to get away from the Cottage for a little while and be on my own back home. Boy, was I wrong! About halfway through break, I started to go crazy without having my girls around. It was especially hard when something during break would happen, and I didn’t have the same comfort I did at school. These girls have definitely had a big impact on my life.

Since we have returned from Christmas break, we have done nothing but grow closer and closer. We are so used to being around each other now, that we immediately notice if another girl is gone longer than they are supposed to be. We know where every girl is at just about every moment of the day. We have begun to develop sisterly instincts for one another. We are there for each other through the ups and the downs. People like this are impossible to replace.

I’m not sure what my freshman year would have been like without these girls. I am sure glad God has blessed me with them.

I am not one to reuse old ideas because they are easy, but when it comes to giving my residents what they want, I am open to suggestions. I took it upon myself to ask most of them what they would like to see in my next living area event, and most of them said the same thing: bring back the crepes. On my first mandatory meeting I cooked up crepes for everyone and served them with Nutella. Obviously that left a lasting impression on their taste buds. The second suggestion was smoothies, which I have never attempted, but felt ready to explore.

Now I care about my residents, so I wanted this event to be just right. I borrowed two blenders, bought frozen strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, mango, and bananas, and a new jar of Nutella just for the night. I laid out my smoothie and crepe bar, and even sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top for presentation.

My first residents arrived and immediately I remembered that I had no idea how to make smoothies. I tested with the berries and bananas for a bit before finding the perfect combination of blended fruit and orange juice. The blackberries added a stylish magenta to the blend while the bananas infused just the right amount of sweetness. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to place fruit in a container and press “blend.” They tasted amazing as well, and I repeated my procedure all through the night. The crepes held their own as well, and smears of Nutella can still be found around my living room. My French residents dropped in and approved of my methods. I wasn’t sure if anyone would have time half way through the week, but the night turned out just right.