The Library

I realized today that in all this time of blogging I have yet to mention the library. I know I mentioned that I work there for my college work-study position, but I have failed to let you know what all our library offers. Well, there is no time like the present! (The images scattered throughout are the layout of each floor of the library, just so you can get a clearer image.)


First of all, I will start by saying I love our library. A lot of people
dislike it because they say it is too small. I guess one person's con is another person's pro in this instance. I love the library because it isn't huge. Personally, however, I don't think it is small. Especially when I am the worker who closes the library and I have to go through all three floors turning the lights off. FYI a dark library is quite spooky.

Let's do talk about size though. Like I said, it is three floors. It houses "The Stacks" (Three floors of general books), An entire room of periodicals, a reference section, and a room full of Educational Resource books (Juvenile Fiction for Education majors to use when planning lessons). The library also has several study lounges, two computer labs, and is located conveniently beside Jazzman's Cafe (Coffee Shop).

Sometimes, even with all these resources, you still can't find what you are looking for. The library has an answer for that too. Patrons of the Library have access to a huge online database of books, journals, and articles. In addition, we are a part of the Inter-Library Loan service and any book that is not available online or at our library you can request from a near limitless list of libraries nationwide. I, especially, have used Inter-library Loan this semester. I think I have about 10 books from as far away as New Hampshire. All of this is completely free too.

If all that still isn't enough we do have one more option. We have a shuttle that transports Transy students back and forth to the William T Young Library on UK's campus (and UK Students also have the same service to come to ours). While the specifics aren't known to me, I do know that William T Young was a generous supporter of both Transy and UK and wanted this reciprocity policy to exist. It is a great asset to Transy students. The William T Young library is one of the largest in the nation. I know some people like to go there and study just so they are less likely to see someone they know and get distracted!

I almost forgot to mention one very special feature of our library: Special Collections. As we are an old university we have had the fortune of acquiring some very rare and unique texts. All of these valuable (both monetarily and educationally) textbooks are housed on the top floor in the Special Collections room. I have never actually been in there, but I hear it is quite marvelous. I know we have a large collection of medical texts so rare that students at the UK Medical School often come over to research them.

Anyway, enough talk about the library. I am just about to head out for my workstudy there, so it will be on my mind enough as it is! I hope you all have a great week. Now that January is over your parents should have gotten all their tax forms in so as soon as they get their taxes complete get right on to the FAFSA. The sooner, the better-- especially for some quickly dwindling State financed aid!

-Jake Hawkins

Haiti

I am sure you all, like myself and thousands of others, have seen the horrible images that have came from the Tragedy in Haiti. It really is unbelievable. Some of the images I have seen, including pits filled with bodies, can only find comparison in the images of the Holocaust.

The troubles in Haiti are hitting me harder than they might have a year ago. Last semester, all first-years read a book "Brother, I'm Dying" that told the story of a Haitian and Haitian-American family. Before I read this book, I had no idea of the political turmoil this country has lived in. I had no idea of the economic struggles the people face. Whenever you hear journalists, politicians, and people of the like say things that underscore how a natural disaster couldn't have 'picked' a worse place to strike, it really is true.

Thankfully, though, at the basis of human nature there is a willingness to help others in times of desperate need. People have texted in donations, called in and pledged through telethons, and sent money to organizations like the American Red Cross. Even groups of people that, for anything else, have nothing to do with humanitarian aid have stepped in.

As a devout Harry Potter fan I am proud to mention that the Harry Potter fandom and its various websites (Mugglenet, The Leaky Cauldron, The Harry Potter Alliance, etc) joined together for a livepodcast and week long effort "Helping Haiti Heal" to raise fundst to be donated to "Partners in Health", an organization that has been on the ground in Haiti for years. Though the effort put on by these websites is still ongoing, at last report $35,000 was raised.

Transy too, has already started planning on a relief fund. Tuesday all campus leaders will be meeting so that all groups on campus can work together to raise money to send to Haiti on behalf of the entire student body. This philosophy will, in my opinion, work really well. It seems like a much better idea to send one large donation from all campus groups as opposed to many small donations from the individual groups on campus.

I know this doesn't have much to do with my "College Experience", as my blog's purpose dictates, but it is on my mind and I can hardly stop thinking about it. Writing about it seemed like a good idea. Some people criticize the "trending" nature of pop culture. Some argue that the mainstream media focuses strongly on one topic for a while, and then jumps to another. Well, that may be the case. In this instance, however, the problems of Haiti cannot be underscored enough.

Anyway, sorry that this post was off topic. I just really feel strongly that we should keep this in our discussions, as long as we keep talking about it it won't be forgotten.

Career: The Reason We Are Here

Hey all. Sorry about being a day late, hopefully you didn't miss me too much! I didn't find time to blog yesterday because of my new on-campus job. That's right, I'm crazy. Now, not only do I work in the library 7.5 hours a week, I also spend 6 hours on a weekly basis working in the Admissions Office chatting with prospective students (you guys!) on the phone. I love it though, so it hardly feels like work. That being said, though, start looking for my new blogs on Sunday nights, starting this Sunday. That should be a much easier day to keep as a deadline (it is also my deadline for the campus newspaper, The Rambler, so, while hectic, it will be easy to remember!)

This week I'm going to talk to you about one of the less mentioned really, really strong aspects of our campus: the Career Center. It is amazing. The Career Center is an office right beside the Raf (The student grill, if you haven't been keeping up, lol) that, as the name suggests, helps students with career planning and all the things that go along with it. Working there are two amazing people: Mrs. Rayner and Mr. Cronk.

Earlier this year I had met with Mrs. Rayner just for a preliminary meeting. I was really just introducing myself, making sure they knew who I was, and letting the Career Center know some of my interests. That meeting, while helpful, was pretty uneventful. Yesterday, however, I met with Mr. Cronk about my resume (insert appropriate accents over the two e's, lol). I had sent it to him over Christmas Break.

You may wonder why I am already, in my first-year, writing a resume. The answer is pretty simple. First, I plan to stay in the same organiazations, and do have the same jobs, all throughout college, so it won't change much. Even if it does, a resume is a great way to keep track of it all. Secondly, I am looking for an internship this summer and, of course, to apply I need a resume.

But back to Mr. Cronk. He is like the master of making a resume. He really is. The things he taught me about better communicating my experience through my resume were simply amazing. They were things that I would have never dreamed of. I can't wait to find the extra time and spruce my resume up using the suggestions he taught me. Anyone else out there looking for an internship in the journalism or political fields should be scared; I will be armed with a deadly resume. (Yeah, maybe I just wen a little overboard there...)

Anyway, that is just another thing to think about. Before I go, though, let me inform you of two very important dates.

January 30th: Winter Open House. Simmilar to the open house we had on Halloween, this will be a time for you all to come, meet with administrators, admissions officers, professors, and students and see Transy in person. Definitely mark your calendars!

February 1st: This is bolded because it is sooooo important.This is the Regular Decision Deadline for Admission. To be considered for scholarships, you must apply by this date. Also, those who apply after this date will only be offered admission on a space-available basis. Don't forget Apply Now!

It is also time to start filling out your FAFSA! Anyway, that's enough of me throwing reminders out to you. So I'll talk to you on Sunday!

-Jake

My Transy Story

Well it is blogging time again. As you know (at least if you are a regular reader) I have only been back on campus for about three days. I have been to all my classes, and I am really excited about how this semester seems to be turning out. Anyway, nothing 'big' has happened in my few days back so I decided to post a blog that I have been sitting on for a while. It is my own Transy story detailing why I chose to call Transy my college home. It is a bit lengthy, so get comfy!

I started my college search the summer before my senior year. I also ended my college search the summer before my senior year, or so I thought. For as long as I could remember I wanted to attend the University of Kentucky. My career plans may have changed while growing up, but the college never did. Yes, I had thought about Transy, I had even applied. I had never given it much serious thought, though- I mean the tuition/housing bill seemed a bit steep for my family's budget. So after my first campus tour at UK I bought the shirt, hoody, lanyard and wall art. I applied as soon as the applications opened up, and received an acceptance letter two weeks later. In my mind, at the time, the college search was already over.

Sometime in the middle of October all the seniors at my school went on a field trip to a College Fair hosted by a college close to my hometown. I was somewhat less than enthusiastic about going. I mean, I knew that I was going to UK. Nonetheless, it was a day out of school. That morning I put on a UK shirt (hoping to detract determined people from trying to persuade me) and headed out. I should mention two of my closest friends also knew they were going to UK (of the three of us, only one is still headed towards the Big Blue). So the three of us just found a place to talk and ignored all of the college booths. Our guidance counselor saw us and insisted we give it a chance. I had always had Transy as a thought in the back of my head, so I decided to go towards that booth. I have never liked talking to admissions counselors before (Even the UK ones. I hated how they all said “So, do you have any questions?” I wanted to scream every time I heard that) so I was somewhat dreading starting a conversation with another one. I got to the Transy booth, introduced myself, and waited for the dreaded question. It didn’t come. My admissions counselor, Megan Tolley, did not start our first conversation with: “So, do you have any questions?” Instead she complimented my shirt (she was a UK alumnus). I told her that I was basically committed to UK, but had applied and thought about Transy- the cost always holding me from exploring the option further. She explained that Transy has a great financial aid program and that most Transy students end up paying about the same, out of pocket, as UK
students. That surprised me. At this point another crowd of students wanted her attention so I dismissed myself. As I was going she gave me her card.

It was December when Transy entered my mind again. I was home from school (One of many Snow Days my senior year). I went to check the mail and inside was my Transy acceptance letter. Surprising even to myself, I was ecstatic. I felt I had really accomplished something. My parents were very excited as well. I called my dad, who is a teacher at a high school in the neighboring county, to tell him the news; he was so excited he announced my acceptance to his entire class. After the initial excitement, I decided I was going to give Transy a chance and research it a bit further. I mean, it was the least I could do, right?

I should mention, at this point I was a little bit annoyed with UK. The second I was accepted was the moment, I felt, they forgot about me. After acceptance into UK I never heard from them again. No emails, no phone calls, no letters. I even emailed someone once with a question and never received a response. So I was a little more open to Transy than I would have been two months ago. The first step of my research was to email my admissions counselor, Megan Tolley. I remembered that she had graduated from UK, and I knew that she would be able to tell me a lot about both universities. While waiting for a response (which, might I add, took less than a day) I perused the Transy website. I found it to be a very good source of info. A few hours letter Megan’s response came- I found it amazing. It was a long email detailing the main differences between Transy and UK. This was the first of many emails back-and-forth between Megan (side note: I never knew what to call her: Ms. Tolley, Megan, Ms. Megan?!?) and myself. She even took time during her Christmas break to email me. In the end, it was the personal attention I got from her that influenced my decision to attend Transy the most. I couldn’t even tell you the name of my admissions counselor at UK and here I was receiving friendly emails from Megan on an almost daily basis.

When it came time for me to tour Transy I was already pretty confident in my decision to attend, not UK, but Transylvania University. The tour itself sealed the deal. I was allowed to sit in on classes, I talked to the head of financial aid and I took in the aesthetic beauty that was Transy’s campus. I felt at home. Maybe it was the classical look that appealed to the inner part of me that secretly wished I was attending Hogwarts (yeah, when I said I liked Harry Potter I barely covered it… it is an obsession), but seeing the buildings on Transy’s campus made me feel like I just arrived home after a long trip. After my tour was over I bought the Transy shirt, hoody, lanyard, wall art and, as an act of immense symbolism, threw the UK lanyard attached to my keys in the trash of the men’s restroom.

So there you go. That is my story of how Transylvania University “found me.” Sorry for the length, in revision I tried to shorten it, but I found nothing that was unimportant enough to be omitted.

-Jake Ryan


(Quick P.S. I seriously debated including UK in this blog. I in no way want you to think I dislike that college. It is a great school, and an awesome neighbor to Transy. Both UK and Transy offer very different college settings and to say I chose one over the other does not mean UK in anyway inferior. It simply means that for my tastes, needs, and desires in a College Transy was more suitable. You have to decide the same thing for yourself)

Back at Transy!

Hey guys, just wanted to write a quick message to let you all know I am back at Transy, and it feels great! The break was much needed, and I got to spend a lot of much needed time with my parents, family, friends, and pets. I love and will miss them all. I have to share the beautiful view from my window though. The snow is very pretty, but I do dread walking to class in it.

Speaking of class, we hit the ground running. Classes start tomorrow! Thankfully I have no morning classes at all this semester, so I will be able to get a lot of sleep.

I will be resuming my regular blog posting schedule from here on; Tuesday nights unless something comes up. So check back soon!

Until Then,

Jake

Merry Christmas

Hey Guys, I was just laying in bed thinking (as I do a lot) and thought I would get up real quick and just give a quick update and wish you all a final Merry Christmas.

I have been home for a few days now, and, though I am not unhappy with home, I really miss Transy. I just got so used to the perpetual and convenient socialization it is hard to go back home where if you want to do something you have to call a few people, find a place to hangout, and drive. At Transy (and in fairness, probably most Universities) you just have to open your door and socialization awaits. Then again, I wonder, do all college students miss their school when they are on breaks? I called some friends up (both high school and Transy friends) and all of my Transy friends miss it, two of my friends who attend other universities do not, and one friend who goes somewhere else does miss school.

I have hardly done anything productive so far (which is a good thing!) but I keep stopping myself in the middle of a Christmas movie or playing The Sims 3 and thinking I have a paper to write or a test to study for.

Anyway, I hope everything is going great on your end. I'm sure you aren't missing school, maybe it is just me. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, which is when I essentially have all of my Christmas festivities-- I can't wait!


Merry Christmas!

JR Hawkins (My attempt to be more like JK Rowling)


PS- Please excuse the incredibly dorky Rugrats images. I was filling in touch with my inner child earlier and watched an old VHS of the Rugrats Christmas special. Yeah, I know, major dork move...

A Semester Gone...

My first blog post was titled "The Start of Something New" I don't think I could have put it better, now that my semester of college is over. I can't believe it, I really can't. It seems like not long ago I was a senior in High School eagerly anticipating the day that I would finally be a college student. Now, here I am a semester already under my belt. Yeah, I know one semester doesn't seem like much, but it is a dramatic life change.

One semester has brought me into a whole new world of experiences, new friends, new mentors, and, yes, new knowledge. My roommate and I had a conversation the other day about how, even though we have fallen into a routine and don't notice it, life is completely different than it used to be.

The differences of life, however, are not negative. While I do wish I still could throw my laundry in a hamper and not have to worry about how it got back into my closet clean, I wouldn't give up all the great experiences that independence brings just so I wouldn't have to do my own laundry.

It is also unbelievable how much I have learned. I can have a lengthy conversation about anything from Utilitarianism to the constant struggle of the individual versus society and vise-versa. I can talk about the etymology of the English words thanks to my Latin experiences, and I can take more from a news program after learning about framing, spinning, and other media tactics.

In less than 24 hours I leave the place know affectionately as "The Transy Bubble" for the longest time since I got here. I can't wait to be back in my hometown with family and just completely relax for a few weeks, but at the same time I am going to miss Transy, really miss it. Transy has become my home.

I hope you all have a great holiday. Eat plently, sleep a lot, have fun with friends, bond with family. For those High School seniors out there: enjoy it. Once scholl starts back in January it will be a race to graduation. This break will be your last chance to completely relax before Graduation.

Unless I have a great inspiration I probably won't write any blogs over the break. So this will be the last time I talk to you all this, well what do I say: semester, year, decade? Well, anyway, I will talk to you all again in January.

Until Then,

Jake Ryan Hawkins