Archives: Natalie Shadle

Entrance to the carnival!

If you remember, last year I wrote about Puppies and Pokémon. Each year, Community Life puts on a giant Recess event just before finals week hits, as a means of stress relief for all us overwhelmed students!

This year, Recess was carnival themed! And boy, did they go all out! There were swing rides, a giant inflated slide, and this crazy circular contraption that you got strapped into and then spun around like a rag doll (I personally avoided that one!).

Swings at the carnival!

Carnival music was blaring across the front lawn as students flooded the event, faces lit up, and the fun commenced.

Along with all of the carnival rides were also lines of carnival themed booths…. everything from Mexican smoothies to a ticket booth where you could pick up a strand of tickets to use at the game booths (yes, we had those too!).

I was reminded of being at the Del Mar Fair, except that I recognized so many of the faces on the lawn. We had our own private Del Mar Fair, which meant short lines and lots of yummy snacks!

Someone experienced a stroke of genius when they decided to create this carnival. What better stress relief could there be for kids our age than a rush of adrenaline and a whole lot of sugar?

As the semester comes to a close, I am realizing this is my last blog of the year. That being said, it is fabulous events like this one that make me feel so thrilled about returning for more excitement next year!

Happy summer, Lancers!

Let me tell you, yesterday was one of the most insane workdays I’ve ever survived at Conferences and Events. Whenever this happens, that means the campus is buzzing with activity. Yesterday, we experienced a flood of incoming freshmen!

There were booths, balloons, bright colorful posters, and music everywhere on campus. I asked my supervisor, “What is all of this craziness for?” He responded with a grin, “It’s draft day.”

As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy keeping up with the sports world, that response wasn’t super helpful. He explained to me that, just as football coaches celebrate their draft picks of new players for each season, so CBU was celebrating its fabulous “draft” of new students to attend this coming fall.

And what a perfect day to visit! Out on the front lawn, simultaneously, the Lancer Cup was in full swing. Similar to the World Cup, on a much tinier scale, CBU hosts a championship soccer game for our intramural competitive league champions. Bleachers, a massive screen, and speakers blaring music lined the field. Fans packed the stands. Screams and applause could be heard from the opposite end of campus.

I only vaguely remember what it was like to be a new student here and to carry that feeling of dread that all eyes were on me, the newbie. CBU is so practiced at putting on events specifically engineered to make new Lancers feel at home that the transition was quick and painless.

Not only have these future Lancers been drafted from the pool of candidates, but their arrival has now been celebrated. What better way is there to join your new family of the next four years?

Working for Conferences and Events here on campus, I tend to know all the ins, outs, and round-abouts of what all goes on at CBU. Whether it be an open mic night, festival of some kind, or educational meeting, I’ve probably had a hand in it at some point.

What has caught my attention most recently is the amount of benefits there are to being a CBU commuter! I’ve probably been more attentive since I’ll be a commuter myself next year, but now that I have been paying attention, I’m very impressed!

Back in high school, one of the most exciting things to look forward to about going to college was the on-campus experience. “Away from home,” “choose your own curfew,” “eat five meals a day,” etc., etc. These were all the phrases I heard buzzing up and down the halls as each of my senior classmates ecstatically prepared to become “a college kid.”

But what about those who, for one reason or the next, weren’t given the opportunity to live on campus? How do they meet people? How can they still be involved with CBU life?

For one, Commuter Sidewalk Café is such a fun opportunity. Next to the Yeager Loading Zone, every few weeks, Community Life offers this “sidewalk café” with free coffee and doughnuts to commuter students only. Not only does this make them feel remembered and appreciated, but it starts hearty morning conversations, too!

Then there are also other random events here and there. For example, just a few weeks ago I set up for the Commuter Movie Night. A large screen was set up on the front lawn and commuters were welcome to bring blankets and friends to enjoy the evening atmosphere together! So fun!

I’m not worried about finding ways to stay involved as a commuter next year. There are plenty, and they are all oh-so worth the drive!

ISP, USP and SOS spirit is flooding our campus! As the semester comes to a close, hundreds of students are primarily focused on one thing – leaving this country and changing lives.

ISP is the program I spoke of in an earlier blog. It stands for International Service Project, and its reputation here on campus is truly astounding. Students from all disciplines and years come together to form teams, sacrificing an ample amount of their free time during the spring semester to be trained for service. During the summer months, they travel all over the world – some visit Asia, others Finland, some London. Wherever they are sent, they each carry the same purpose: to share God’s love, and grow together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

USP is another fantastic opportunity that CBU offers for those hoping to spend a portion of their summers in service. For a smaller cost, students can embark on the journey of a United States Service Project, during which they will visit somewhere in the U.S. to serve and grow.

Finally, there is SOS. Students who apply for the SOS program have likely already served on ISP or USP in the past. SOS is a service project as well, except that instead of the mere three weeks of ISP, the length extends over a whole two months! These students are prepared to serve for over half their summer break, and because of it receive the experience of a lifetime, while simultaneously blessing numerous internationals.

CBU encourages us to live our purpose. For many, full immersion is the best way to recognize exactly what that is. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to do so!

So I walked into my first class coming back from spring break, and my professor greeted us with, “Welcome back! Guess what? After this one, we only have four weeks left!”

…What?!

I couldn’t believe my ears. Despite how long each school day feels, the semesters feel shorter every time around… It’s funny to me how students don’t seem to realize just how much professors also can’t wait for summer break. I could hear the echo of relief in her voice!

So what to do with these last four weeks? The final month of the semester is always the most chaotic. Students are juggling projects, presentations, final exams, part-time jobs, relationships, and so on and so forth…and, the soccer season for us won’t end until early April. Plus, I’ve got this wedding to plan. Did I mention that I have final exams, part-time jobs, relationships, and soccer to juggle too? I did? Oops.

The Bible says that the Lord will walk alongside us in our struggle. College students all over the world had better hold onto that hope if they intend to finish strong. We at Cal Baptist are especially fortunate to be reminded of this truth every day. Sometimes I wonder why the Office of Spiritual Life crams the majority of our chapels into the second half of the semester, but right now I’m truly wondering if the intention was to provide a little wisdom and sanity during our most trying time.

As I enter into these last four weeks, it is critical that I remember that I am fortunate enough to be in a place where I am blessed with the company of professors and mentors who truly love and look out for me and my wellbeing.

Here we go. Time to juggle.

This past Friday marked an extravagant, colorful event for the international students of CBU. In India, “Holi” is a beloved, highly anticipated event that the Indian people celebrate to mark the close of winter, and the new beginnings, specifically “new harvests,” that roll in with springtime.

CBU’s International Center promotes enormous efforts to make our international students feel welcomed into the wonderful, family-oriented community we’ve developed here. One of the ways in which this welcoming is promoted is through events that honor and communicate specifically with our international students.

As I said before, Friday evening marked a very colorful tradition for the international students of CBU. We call it our Color Festival, and it is meant to honor and educate our students about Holi by bringing its main elements onto our own campus.

During Holi, Indian locals throw colored powder in the air as a symbol of the beauty of springtime. They’ll dance around, laugh, and enjoy the event as the colors cover their bodies, leaving like a living art piece.

For this event, CBU provided all the colors, and the students provided the fun! Lancers, international as well as local, flooded the Front Lawn for an evening of Indian music, bursts of colored powder, and fellowship with classmates. Each attendant left the event covered in a literal rainbow of memories!

When I was in high school, sure, I thought a lot about “what I wanted to be when I grew up.” But there were a lot of small details I hadn’t considered – and now, details such as pros and professionalism don’t seem all that small anymore!

A few weeks ago, CBU hosted an enormous job fair in the Rec Center. If I remember correctly, close to 100 vendors were on campus, ready to share each of their unique and exciting opportunities with hopeful students!

As a sophomore (technically a junior, credits wise, but let’s not get into that!), I’m halfway there. I’m starting to think about portfolios, resumes, and connections with the pros out there, who could potentially be my bridge into the career world. CBU providing an opportunity like this one, for students to meet the pros face-to-face, share a little about themselves, and walk away with a grain of wisdom or two, was a tremendous blessing.

Now, about that professionalism part. To attend this job fair, students were asked to dress professionally and prepare multiple copies of a complete resume. Not only did these requests help us to give a positive first impression, but they also allowed us a chance to work on these skills in an inviting, approachable environment!

This career fair is one of CBU’s most eagerly anticipated traditions, especially by juniors and seniors. I look forward to what new opportunities it will bring!

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!

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! 🙂

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!