Spring Break: Part Two

Part of going to a Catholic school means the school recognizes Easter as a major holiday. During the Spring, the Thursday, Friday and Monday surrounding Easter are days off. For many students this is a chance to return home and celebrate the religious holiday with their family. A lot of students stay on campus too, which is what I elected to do. The break will provide me with a great chance to relax before the grind of finals approaches. I’ve been going out to eat and enjoying time with my friends who also stayed on campus. When I’m not with them, though, I’m afforded a great opportunity to catch up on homework, read my textbooks and write some papers that I have due in the coming weeks. All in all, the break is an immensely beneficial time. Whether I choose to relax, be academically productive, or hopefully, both, the break will be very rewarding.

Welcome Back

There is nothing that says welcome back better than two midterms. That’s the greeting many students are receiving this week. While many midterms are completed before Spring Break, some professors choose to postpone their test until afterwards. In college, tests are immensely important, so there is no choice but to be well prepared for each and every one. The students of USD strive to create an academic climate that has a high standard, and study accordingly. Stress comes and goes; there are highs and lows. It’s all part of college, and the good thing about going to school at USD is when there is free time, you are in San Diego.

I went home to Kansas City over Spring Break. For the first time in recorded history, somebody went from San Diego to the Midwest for Spring Break. No doubt, people questioned my sanity. My consolation is that because I go to school at USD, I live where most people spend Spring Break. All jokes aside, I had a great, relaxing Spring Break. I spent time with family and friends, played golf and watched a lot of basketball (Rock Chalk!). The home cooked meals were stellar, and a lunch I had a local university reminded me just how good SLP food is at USD. All things considered, it was a very good break, and I feel rejuvenated to finish the semester well.

A week of visits

This past week was full of events on campus. On Thursday, the first of many Overnight Visits happened. There were tons of prospective students checking out the campus. The visit includes a campus tour, a stay overnight in the dorms to experience the campus food and life, a sit in on a class, and informational sessions. The prospective students I talked to all seemed to really enjoy their stay here. 

Upcoming dates for the Overnight Visits are:

• March 24-25
• March 31 - April 1
• April 28-29

You can get more info and sign-up HERE

Grandparents Weekend was also this week. There were many folks out on campus spending time with their grandchildren. My parents decided to make a trip out to San Diego this week, too. I enjoyed dinner with them and a friend of mine on Saturday. Today, I played golf with my dad in Coronado. It was awesome to play golf at a beautiful course, in February no less. I find that most parents can more easily make time to visit their kids when they go to school in San Diego! I can't blame them though; it's a beautiful place to live.

Just another (a)typical weekend

Adventurous. Fun. And of course, way too quick.

Greek Life is officially in full swing. On Friday, I had the privilege to go to Theta Love, a spring dance put on by Kappa Alpha Theta. It was a blast! I met several new people, enjoyed the company and of course, danced the night away. I had a quick turnaround before my next event. Saturday morning brought my first step of the pledge process for Delta Sigma Pi. Without doubt, it was a fun first step into brotherhood.

After enjoying the brunch that is served by SLP on weekends, I decided to relax. I went golfing with a friend and had a great time. Not being from SoCal myself, golfing in February was a bit hard to wrap my head around. But in America’s Finest City, weather is never a handicap. Afterwards, I went downtown with another friend of mine. The public transit system is cheap ($5 for a day) and accessible, so it was simple to get in the city, even without a personal car. Once there, we navigated through Seaport Village and the Gaslamp Quarter. We had dinner in Little Italy, which, as the name suggests, has some of the best Italian restaurants in this part of the country.

Before I knew it, I found myself waking up on Sunday, reminiscing about another fun, memorable weekend.

Once you go Greek...

A couple of weeks ago, the ladies of USD were able to rush and become a part of Greek Life on campus. You can read about that here. This past week, the men started the process of becoming involved in Greek Life. The different fraternities had a variety of activities to participate in. There were barbecues, dinners and other activities such as dodgeball and rock climbing. My roommate was involved with the process, and he absolutely loved it. He mentioned the brothers being very energetic and fun to be around.

I never thought I would be a part of Greek Life. However, once I saw the opportunities available I decided to try it out. I have been participating in activities for the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, and also Alpha Kappa Psi. Both have been good experiences for me, and I’m hoping to continue being involved in one of them.

Another major event on campus this week was the Alcala Bazaar. This is a forum for all of the groups on campus to share what they are all about. There were tons of groups including a wide variety of topics. I’m confident that anybody can find something they are passionate about and become involved in the USD community.

Today the NFL season officially ended with the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl (woot!). Now I can finally direct all of my sports attention to my beloved Jayhawks and March Madness!

Welcome Back

The first week back on campus was wonderful! The Associated Students had a variety of events throughout the week, including free Sonic, free Jamba Juice and free basketball jerseys, which helped make the normally stressful first week more relaxing for students.  My classes were very interesting, and the scheduling of my classes is nice.  This is because USD makes scheduling very easy for students. There are many different classes and times available, so getting a schedule that suits your lifestyle is simple. Don’t want classes on Friday? Done. Feel like sleeping in until noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Easy.  It’s possible to make a schedule around any goals you may have, which is a commodity many colleges can’t offer.

As for living in San Diego, the benefits haven’t been better.  The weather is a point that I don’t want to beat to death, but…WOW. I left KC when it was around 10 degrees, and when I got off the plane it was 74 degrees in America’s Finest City. The PGA tour is having a tournament at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, featuring stars such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. I’m making my way up there on Saturday to take advantage of being in such a prime location, and on Sunday I will most likely be at the beach before I study for the upcoming week. Life in San Diego is good.