We’re almost done with the 3rd week of the semester already! Time is flying by and I feel as though I’ve only just gotten back from winter vacation! It’s never a dull moment on campus, and its especially true of the spring semester for me. Only a few days after returning to campus I was already back in class, heading to work at Academic Services and running over to Lacrosse practice to finish off the day. Its no wonder three weeks have gone by without me blinking, I have barely had time to sleep since I’ve been back. Assignments have been written and handed in, group meetings have begun and I’m almost over the pre-season body ache, almost…

I’m also trying to soak in all the last bits of knowledge Babson can bestow upon me in my last semester. I am taking some courses I am really enjoying so far, some to finish up my concentration: Global Business Management, and some for fun - Writing Poetry with Professor Pinard. I am going to go out on a limb and say its already one of my favorite classes I’ve taken in the last four years. It’s one of those classes where you’re always a bit nervous about speaking out loud because there isn’t really a wrong answer, but you think yours will be the first to prove that wrong! It’s a good class to take you out of your comfort zone as well, reading your own creative poetry and examining what your idea of poetry is really exposes you. Its those moments when you do step outside that comfort zone, when someone applauds your poetry or you help someone see a poem in a new light that the risk pays off, and it feels really good! Look at that hidden business environment, even in a poetry class!

This semester has started off with a bang…..*BANG*….get it?  Sorry for my horrible humor.  In all honesty though I don’t really understand what is happening this semester.  For some reason everyday feels like it is completely full.  I think I’m just taking much more difficult classes this semester and that causes me to spend more time on my homework.  Whatever it is, I’m not OK with it.  I want time to relax.  Alas that is not to be.  Oh well the classes I’m taking this semester are ones that I’m really interested in, so at least i’m enjoying it.

In other news, this weekend I went to a wedding expo(I’m engaged if you haven’t read my first post).  I was promised lots of cake and catering at this wedding expo…I was lied to.  There was no cake nor were there any caterers there to serve me their delicious food.  Now Alaina and I are going to have to go around to all these bakeries sampling all different kinds of cake at the bakery…I am so pumped for it.  I love cake.  Did you  know that the shovel was originally called a cake spoon, at least that’s what I’ve always called it in my mind.  The good news is that we did find a very good photographer at the expo so hopefully that’ll pan out for us and we can cross one more thing off the list.

Today was OWWWG. That’s On Wednesday’s We Wear Green for anyone that couldn’t figure that out.  It is a program that our student government is doing to try and increase school spirit.  If you are wearing green than you receive some sort of prize.  This is the first one so I wasn’t expecting much and I forgot so I didn’t wear any green today.  As it turns out they were handing out a coupon good for one free Qdoba burrito.  Needless to say I was not pleased that I wasn’t wearing green.  Qdoba is like my favorite thing ever.  Next Wednesday I’m going to be wearing green and they better be giving out free cake or something.

Random fact of the day:

A fist fight broke out at Paul Revere’s funeral because his coffin was dropped by a drunken pall bearer.

Yes this is a metal cheetah, pretty much the most terrifying thing ever.

Hello readers!  We are super busy anticipating tomorrow’s deadline.  To let off some steam, the admission staff attended the women’s basketball game last night.  Here we are showing some Beaver pride! 

We are Beaver Believers!

Some of you may be making a last minute decision about whether or not to apply to Babson.  With this fun group of admission counselors, how could you not!  But, in all seriousness, for those of you who are undecided, I highly encourage you to check out this link showcasing a day in the life at Babson.

This post was written by undergraduate student Mike Smith ‘12, currently traveling on Babson’s Habitat for Humanity Winter Break trip

Hey Ya’ll! Greetings from Thibodaux, Louisiana! Today is our third day working in the Bayou area Habitat sites and so far we have worked under a house, on the side of a house, inside a house, and on the roof of a house! We have sided, insulated, painted, tiled, and shingled a couple of houses that are now in their final stages of construction. Throughout the trip we have been learning all the tricks of the construction trade and have also taken in the southern culture. Just the other night we ate at Bubba’s Restaurant and our group tried everything from catfish and crawfish to alligator and gumbo.

The weather has been unusually cold for this area and that has sparked some interesting stories from those not used to temperatures in the 20’s and 30’s– one of the staff members could not find an ice scrapper to get the frost off of his car at any of the Thibodaux stores so he resorted to a spatchula! Despite the colder than usual temperatures at the beginning of the trip, all of us volunteers remained in warm spirits and as the week progressed, it has gotten a little warmer everyday!

Although the trip is not over yet, I can already tell that it has had a profound effect on me and will be nothing short of a life-changing experience. I came down here to help ease the devastations that are still being felt by the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but in the process of helping others, I have really helped myself. Before this trip, I would sometimes take for granted the many blessings of my own life (the great people I am constantly surrounded by, the amazing school I am able to attend, the roof over my head every night, and the food that I have available to eat every time I’m hungry); however, I now see how truly fortunate I am and appreciate it all. So for me, this trip has been about, in large part, perspective. The people that came on this trip with me (other Babson students and staff) have really inspired me to be a better person. We’ve shared countless laughs and have really enjoyed each other’s company. Our volunteer house could be considered close quarters but we like to call it “cozy”—our word of the week. During reflection time the other night, we got to delve deeper into our feelings and we got into discussing the needs that are present everywhere in the world. We traveled thousands of miles to get here and there certainly is need all around us. There is a lot of need for help overseas and in other countries also; yet, there is need even in our own backyards too. We realized that although it has been great to travel and experience a different culture, it is really just another blessing for us. Next semester I will assume a role on the Habitat executive board as Senator for the club, and I am grateful for the opportunity. When I return home, I look forward to working on many local builds, especially in the Dorchester area.

If I could sum up this experience so far I would have to use a quote written on the wall of our volunteer house: here in Thibodaux, “many hands come together as one for a common good”. The quote is surrounded by the handprints of past and present volunteers, and I am more proud than I could ever say to add my hand print to the mural today. Also written on the wall is: “If you leave here with a bruised thumb, you know you had a good trip”, and I can definitely say that we are all on our way to having bruised thumbs, and that the trip has already exceeded all my expectations. Thank you to everyone that made this trip possible, and a great thank you to Babson for sponsoring us!

Greetings from Ghana! (Momoaha is welcome in the afternoon in one of the native languages, Fanti)

I’m here on the Ghana trip with Dean Hanno and a fantastic Babson team!  There are 45 of us here, including undergraduates, graduates, 3 staff members, Professor Stephen Deets, and Dean Hanno.  Our team is so understanding, focused, driven, and will always “go with the flow”… well you NEED a team to “go with the flow” when you have no water for 4 days and electricity continually shutting off! But why not?  We are indulging ourselves in the most unique of experiences in every way - I wouldn’t have it differently! I do feel fairly dirty though

We are teaching entrepreneurship and business to high school students as well as to local community members at various churches in the area.  We are staying in Sekondi, which is about 5 hours from Accra, the capital of Ghana, and our schools and churches are in the Sekondi-Takaradi area.  We’ve starting to really familiarize ourselves with the area; we can practically direct taxis back to our home at the “big fish” (the church compound we’re staying at is around the corner from a HUGE fish landmark in a broken playground).  We’ve also been able to tour the local area, really immersing ourselves in the community.  I am most amazed at our ability to build relationships so quickly with our new Ghanaian friends.  From the members of the church community who are assisting us in our stay, to the high school administrators at my school, Chapel Hill, to the small children who hang out and LOVE playing hand clapping games with me… It’s an absolute blast to chat with them, learning about their intriguing lives and beloved culture.

I have been teaching at my high school for the past couple of days along with my co-teacher, Lauren Garey.  We LOVE our students.  We have a class of only 15 so we’re really able to meet and get to know each and every student. It was difficult at first to get through to them, to make sure they don’t tease us for our “strange accents” But now I would say I have found a friend in most of them already! They are shocked that we haven’t tried some of our classic Ghanaian foods, so today they gave us “kankey” to try, and tomorrow they’re bringing “foufou”. So far, unique but delicious.

In the evenings, I have been teaching at a church called Esikado which is in a very poor fishing village in Sekondi.  Definitely my GREATEST challenge of the trip… I work with a group of women who are fish mongers, sell beans and rice, and sell second-hand clothing… all on the street, which is where the majority of business owners place their establishments.  These women can’t speak English (only Fanti, so I worked with a translator), can’t read or write (not even numbers), and are unbelievably restricted by the terrible economic hardships of the city… there is just so much corruption, inflation, NO teamwork, and absolutely no sense of self-respect in business.  I had a rough couple of days… but today I really felt like I got through to them.  They took my advice so seriously… and really considered adapting my suggestions to their business lifestyles. PHEW what a relief. Aside from the frustrations, however, they were such wonderful people.  I am so lucky to be interacting with really caring, typical Ghanaian women with INCREDIBLE faith in God and life. It’s inspiring.

Another major prohect is the ONE HEN, INC. program… but that will be the next blog post to come!!!

I sign you off in my Ghanaian name…

Medase!
Abena

Day 2 for Babson’s Habitat for Humanity Winter Break trip

“Work like a champion today”

Today was the second day of work at the Habitat for Humanity Bayou site on Babson’s Katrina Relief Alternative Break Trip. Our team was split up into two groups today; Emma, Cathy, Andrew, and Mike remained on Bon Jovi Blvd. to paint, while the rest of the team went to the house to continue our previous day’s work. On Bon Jovi Blvd, the four aforementioned went with a couple of Americorps members to clean out an entire house - then, they painted. It was a lot more work than it sounds like. During the day, all the Americorps members entertained us with stories from their previous experiences, further inspiring us to do more for the world around us. We had a great time getting to know our neighbors on the street.

At the house, the remaining workers were split up into two main tasks, installing insulation underneath the house and installing different pieces of siding.  Today was about getting into a rhythm and quite a bit of work was accomplished today as a result.  Since everyone learned about the different tasks we were assigned yesterday, we all worked much more smoothly and efficiently.  It was certainly a messy day for everyone.  Everyone who was working on the insulation became quite intimate with the sand and dirt underneath the house.  We were also treated to some Southern hospitality in the form of a wonderful, wholesome lunch made by a wonderful grandmother.  The real star of the show were the coconut, chocolate chip bars she made. Delicious.  She even made us almond cocoa and cappuccino as a welcome surprise towards the end of the day.  She praised all of us for a great job and reminded us that we are doing something great for a family in need.  That was the best part of all.

This post was written by undergraduate students Jennifer Kearney ‘11 and Cathy Bao ‘12 as they participate in Babson’s Habitat for Humanity Winter Break trip

“Work hard - it all comes back to you.”

It was our first day on the Habitat for Humanity (Bayou/Louisiana) job, and it was pretty amazing. The weather surprised us - it was definitely a lot colder than we anticipated (23 degrees when we woke up!) - but we had a lot of fun despite the strange weather. Thankfully, it warmed up as we got to work, and the warm Louisiana sun kept us from thinking of cold New England.

Our work site was about 10 miles away from our house on Bon Jovi Blvd in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The house is still a work-in-progress, so what our tasks were for the day involved insulation and siding. Some of us were able to use power tools (like: Paul and his saw, Jen/Matt/Ryan and their drills) while the rest worked on siding and scaffolding. All of us enjoyed chili for lunch, delivered to the worksite by Aimee, the Bayou Habitat moderator. We worked alongside Americorps volunteers for the day, who were extremely helpful in teaching us the ropes (and Jen how to use a drill).

Today is Monday, and it’s the second day we’ve been living in 175 Bon Jovi Blvd (our volunteer home). The minute we walked in yesterday, we weren’t greeted by former volunteers in person, but by the names and memories they left - all over the walls. There is artwork everywhere - whether it’s advice on where to eat, or an uplifting quote, or a hilarious memory from a previous trip - it’s easy to see that we’re all in for a life-changing experience.

I am one of forty-five Babson students, faculty and staff who recently left for a trip to Ghana teaching business and entrepreneurship to local high school students and adult learners.

We were warmly welcomed on our first day by the Ashesi University community, after our 6 a.m. arrival and quick nap. A traditional Ghanaian lunch opened the visit, and I enjoyed a plateful of new and flavorful delights. I met our new exchange student from Ashesi, Afua, who is so excited to come to Babson. I was amazed by the quality of the Ashesi students and the strength of their program. The lectures provided an amazing amount of background information about the political structure and the impact of oil discoveries on the country.

After dinner at the hotel, some enjoyed a refreshing Star beer at a local establishment, some engaged in a heated Catchphrase game (who knew Anna Collins was so competitive!), and I went with some of the group into Accra with Nana Amma (who studied at Babson last spring) to experience the city. One thing that strikes me, even after the first day, is the gap between the many people you see on the street who struggle to make a living and the wealthy who we saw at some points during the day.

Off to Sekondi. It’s a long bus ride but I can’t wait to get started on our important work!

You can keep up to date on our Ghana travel at Dean Hanno’s blog.

The campus is caked in beautiful white snow after this weekend’s storm.  It’s the perfect winter weather, not warm enough to melt the snow but not freezing enough to cause slips and falls on black ice (yes, I’ve been a victim).  The campus is eerily quiet as pretty much all students have left for their winter breaks!  Almost a month of pure relaxation - some students work, some students travel, some come back to campus for winter classes or for sports, and some will just hang out at home in couch potato mode (after a busy semester, that mode is usually needed to recoop).

Recoop from what, you may ask? Well, the last couple of weeks have been crazy ones…
EXAMS.

Grrrr exams…  A necessary evil.

For me as a senior, I was lucky that most of my classes required take-home exams, final research papers, or final presentations - I personally do MUCH better when I can spend ridiculous amounts of time cranking out work and perfecting it at my own pace rather than sitting in a crowded, stressful gym or auditorium to complete an exam.

HOWEVER, regardless of the title “exam week”, our Office of Campus Life calls it something different:

STRESS RELIEF WEEK!

Various departments all over campus sponsor fun, relaxing events to cool us down as we’re all hyped up.
Most are Babson Traditions… and most involved LOTS of food.
Some of these events include:
- the annual Midnight Breakfast: one of the best events of the year!!! All students head down to trim at the beginning of Reading Days to be served by some of our favorite staff and faculty! Pancakes, waffles, sausages, fruit, muffins, and infamous hot chocolate, mmmm.
- Late night bingo: another classic tradition, and one that gets people VERY competitive to win some awesome prizes… VERY competitive…
- FREE MASSAGES: another tradition, sign ups start at 11 am that day and believe me, the time slots go fast!
- Tai Chi and Yoga in Glavin Chapel
- Espresso Dave: free lattes in Reynolds
- Religious celebrations: Christmas caroling and Chanukah celebrations
- the library is open 24 hours every day for 2 weeks and provide students with lots of snacks!
- and finally… MIDNIGHT PIZZA! Another great tradition. Our dean, Dean Hanno, orders hundreds of Domino’s pizzas and gives them all out while fighting off the crowd of exhausted, hungry students. We seriously act like cannibals fighting for slices or even boxes of pizzas and use the time to hang out in Reynolds for a nice study break. But it truly is one crazy sight, all of us fighting for pizza…. I hear that staff members come to this event JUST to watch us act like madmen…

All these events, and simply the huge support from Babson students, staff, and faculty alike while we make our final mark for our semesters, truly help us fiend through final exam time.

And see? I made it out alive

As a Happy Holidays wish, check out this wonderful holiday video card made by our fantastic Dean Hanno:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CzQVePG5EA

Sometimes it’s the good times that make me the saddest. Last night when my roommates and I should have been studying for our finals we were playing around in our kitchen instead. We ate snacks even though we were not hungry, we laughed at things that weren’t that funny and we got distracted by the shiniest things! We have a new fish that I got during our lacrosse holiday party present swap. He has become our new distraction and changing his water last night turned into a heart racing event where he accidentally spent a few seconds in the sink. He’s ok, but I may still be recovering. It’s times like these, when I’m crying because I’m laughing so hard, my stomach is convulsing and my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard that I realize how good the last four years have been.

We all finally calmed down and went back into our rooms to study and I couldn’t help but think about how hard its going to be to say goodbye to this part of my life. I won’t be able to walk outside my room and see my best friends whenever I want. Coming back to my friends after a long day or a hard exam, running in to talk about something funny that just happened, or just always having someone to talk to are all things I have sort of taken for granted until recently.

Moral of the story: enjoy every minute, because it flies by.