Huskie Life

Greetings Everyone!

Thank you for being our first viewers for the launch of the Huskie Life Blog!  We hope you have enjoyed learning more about our bloggers for the year and acquired a little more information about Northern Illinois University!

We will be taking a short break for the summer and will be back in the Fall!  Get ready to meet our new bloggers for the 2013-2014 school year as they share fun and exciting topics with you.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the summer!

Ta Ta for now!

So finals are officially over, yeah! I hope that you all did great and are proud of your accomplishments this year. Hold onto the lessons learned and embrace the opportunities ahead. If you can start looking for internships and volunteer opportunities to help build some networks and gain experience it will definitely be a great tool in your development.

Besides that, take advantage of your summer! Spend time to yourself and with your loved ones, read for pleasure, dance, soak up the sun, enjoy bike rides and do the little things that put a smile on your face-live in the present.

Best of luck to all of you on your journey, it has been a pleasure to share some insight through this blogging experience.

Take Care.

About Alyssa Thomson

Senior Nursing Major from Chicago, IL

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Hi All!

Ladies and gentleman, I officially am graduating in 4 days! So since I am graduating and heading to South Carolina in August, I figured I would tell you about what I am doing to try to prepare already for moving.

First: I am working on getting an apartment. I found a fabulous roommate so that is super exciting! Someone that I met when I went to visit and I am so happy! It is going to be a good year!

Second: If you are moving far, think about looking for a furnished placed. You can also check with the program or university for help with finding apartments in the area. They may have lists of places in the area. For example, my program gave us this wonderful House Hunting guide. It was great because it listed all the places that the graduate students live at in the area. It also listed pros and cons of each place which was really helpful!

Third: Think about the banks in the area you are moving too. Is it the same bank that you are using now? Do you think you may have to change banks? That is something else to consider.

Fourth: Parking at the university: if you are going to live off campus, think about parking on campus for work or for classes!

Fifth: Signing up for classes – Super important if you are going to graduate school. Sign up as soon as you can!! Check to make sure you have no holds on your account too so you can sign up for classes at the earliest possible date. – I definitely did this…oops!

Sixth: Know the area – grab a map, see how close you are to grocery stores, campus, shopping, etc. Also know about the security in the area too! Know how safe it is!

I am probably missing some things but this is what I have been focusing on in the recent weeks! Hope this helps a little bit in your futures! It is certainly something that has been on my mind and is important things to think about!

Have a great week!

About Stephanie Baskerville

Senior Family and Child Studies major from Joliet, IL

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So I know everyone is studying and getting ready to take some finals.  I hope all of you do great and to share some study tips with you all! Stress is normal, but don’t forget to take care yourself.

• Get some sleep
• Stay hydrated ,especially if you are a fan of the caffeine- take some H20 breaks
• Eat some healthy snacks
• Don’t skip meals
• Listen to some good música, why not take a mini dance break!
• Take  10-15 minute breaks in between the studies
• Go for a walk
• Study in groups, if not study whatever way is working for you whether it be notecards, re-writing notes, re-reading etc.
• Try some alternate study spaces
• Take some time for yourself
• Take some deep and relaxing breaths
• Stay optimistic and be confident in you capabilities!

&& when you sit down and get ready to take those exams,  take a cleansing breath and remember- you got this!

About Alyssa Thomson

Senior Nursing Major from Chicago, IL

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Hi All!

So this will be my last blog! I honestly hope that you have all enjoyed reading my blog!

For this last one, I figured that I would reflect on some amazing times that I have had at NIU.

I remember my freshman year and moving in with my roommate, Madison. Oh geez, that was a fabulous year and I can’t believe that it was almost a complete 4 years ago. I had so much fun with Madison, late night talks, watching TV and eating dinner together, and working out together!  There were also these three girls who lived in the triple my freshman year as well and they were great because they really helped me transition to the university and discover what NIU had to offer me.

My sophomore year, I remember that I had decided that I was going to apply to be an orientation leader(OL)…best decision of my life. I was selected to be an OL in February and training began and I had a great spring and summer. It had been such a huge impact on my life and I would not be in the position I am today without that wonderful experience. I met my mentors during my time working with orientation and plan to keep in contact with those individuals throughout my graduate school career and professional career.

My junior year: first apartment! Wow, talk about an experience. I loved my first apartment and my roommates were great! It was a fantastic opportunity for me to have more responsibility. I met so many people my junior year and that year also helped me to be more mature about living on my own. In addition, I turned 21 that year, so that was fun finally being able to check out the bar scene. That was also an awesome birthday too, my parents surprised me with a party and then we went to the casino that night! It was a blast. J  It was also the year that I decided to go to graduate school somewhere – how exciting!

My senior year: WOW. That is the only word I can think of that describes my senior year. I researched and applied to graduate schools literally all over the country. I took some amazing classes that I really enjoyed. I developed close relationships with the people in my classes and had some amazing times the first semester with them. This spring semester has been a complete whorl wind. I had an internship with academic advising, I was able to travel to South Carolina and California, I interviewed for different positions, I met and networked with many individuals, explored the areas I visited, met new friends, gained an internship for the summer at U of I, I attended two amazing conferences, and I had the best time doing it all. It was exhausting but honestly, I know that it is all leading me towards an amazing future. Looking back, I can’t believe that it has been four years; it doesn’t feel like I am a senior who has graduated.

Honestly, it is still unbelievable to me that I have graduated and have a degree. These four years certainly went extremely quick and it is so hard to believe that I have hit the next chapter in my life. A whole new chapter that gives me an opportunity to start again in a new place! I may not know what the next few years hold, I am taking a leap of faith and hoping for the best and that is all we can do in these situations and it is so exciting…nerve-wrecking yes, but absolutely exciting!

Good luck with whatever your future holds!!

GO HUSKIES!!

-Stephanie

About Stephanie Baskerville

Senior Family and Child Studies major from Joliet, IL

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V-Day is a global movement of grassroots activists dedicated to generating broader attention and funds to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sex slavery.

According to the United Nations, one of every three women on the planet will be physically or sexually abused in her lifetime. Although the methods of violence vary, women’s responses sound tragically similar. Besides the pain and strength you will hear in their survival stories, the themes that resound across cultures and geographies are: the indifference of authorities, the familial instinct of denial, and the lack of public outrage about the violence that millions of women experience every day.

Women’s Rights Alliance will be hosting an event titled, “A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer” (MMRP) to help spread the message of V-Day and awareness on the issues that affect women and girls globally. This event is similar to “The Vagina Monologues” but instead of being a female lead performance MMRP welcomes males to become involved.

Some of our awesome co-sponsors include the Women’s Studies Program, Safe Passage, Victim Advocacy Services, and the Women’s Resource Center. If you have not meet the amazing people from these organizations/centers, I highly recommend that you do!

I welcome you, your family & friends to join us for these performances that will be taking place on April 26th and 27th at 7pm in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium (Holmes Student Center).

*All the proceeds will benefit Safe Passage and V-Day*

About Alyssa Thomson

Senior Nursing Major from Chicago, IL

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Hey everyone!

How’s it going? I am doing good! 18 days until graduation! Holy Cow!! And on the plus side, the weather is starting to get warmer than 30 degrees! Thank goodness because I thought this day would never come! I went out to my car on Saturday morning for NIU Cares Day, April 20^th, and I certainly did not expect to see snow on my car or for me to use my scraper again. Oh mother nature…

Anyways, so since I mentioned NIU Cares Day, that is going to be the topic for today!

For those of you who do not know about this day or even what it is, keep reading! NIU Cares Day is an opportunity for the students at NIU to give their time and energy for a few hours on one day to different sites around the DeKalb area. This year there were over 87 sites that students went to in two shifts, one morning, one afternoon (you don’t have to do both!). I participated with Mortar Board Senior Honors Society and we were sent to a forest preserve outside of DeKalb (NIU provided our transportation). Once there, we were given a tour of the forest preserve and taught about the trees and everything that grew there, including things called garlic mustard (at least that is almost positive what they are called). We then proceeded to go in search of and pull out this so called garlic mustard over a good portion of the preserve. It was not as bad as you are thinking. There were so many of us that it honestly did not take us very long to do the area that they had marked off. So all in all, not only did I do community service bright and early on a Saturday morning, but I also learned something about trees, plants, and fungus (unfortunately, plants are my least favorite part of biology, so I am not sure how long that information will stick with me). Overall, it was quite the fun experience, especially if you are around people that you enjoy being with, makes it that much more fun! This was not the first year that I participated in this event. I also participated my sophomore year with some awesome friends. That year, it was even colder than this year and it was snowing/raining! The weather was awful but our site offered us hot chocolate and a warm house to warm up in!

Many students participate in this day of service and it is such a good way to show the NIU and DeKalb community that NIU does care! It is certainly something you should look into and consider doing!

Have a fantastic week! And remember…it is warming up, at least according to the 7-day weather report I saw recently!!

About Stephanie Baskerville

Senior Family and Child Studies major from Joliet, IL

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So if you can’t tell by the title…I am just a bit excited that GRADUATION IS 31 DAYS AWAY!! Oh my gosh people! I can’t believe it!!!

And since it is getting close to graduation, those graduating seniors are trying to decide where they want to go if they are continuing onto graduate school. I have finally made a decision and let me tell you, if I knew I would feel this huge weight off my shoulders 2 months ago…I would have chosen two months ago! I am so excited to say that I will be attending the University of South Carolina!!!

So this blog post is going to be about preparing to leave after graduation. So first, you need to figure out what you are doing for the summer if you do not know just yet. I am quite lucky and have an internship set up for the summer which is fantastic. You also need to think about moving out and cleaning the apartment you are currently staying in. I am very lucky to have a brother and father who will help me move out and I also have 4 other roommates to help clean the apartment we are currently in. You also need to consider which day your rental company is coming to check you out of your apartment. (I didn’t think about this until last week)

Since I will be moving to another state, I need to do an apartment search based only online for the fall. Also, figuring everything out with the university about immunization forms, officially saying yes, filling out the FAFSA, doing any other required financial documents and other documents they need. In addition, moving to a new place is stressful and I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to meet people when I visited; this gives me an option to talk to them to see what they are doing for their living situation and a chance for us to live together – which will make it cheaper for the both of us. But that is all about communication!!

Also, if you do visit a place, make contacts with people so you have references when you actually move and can get advice on where the best places to go are, or even which places are best to live! I have definitely taken advantage of that and have asked people what they think. You can also contact the school and see if they have an office such as Off-campus and Non-Traditional Student Services to help with apartment searches because they have information about each leasing company and know of places to be rented in the area.

My last piece of advice, talk to your family. I am very glad that my parents are ok with my decision to move to South Carolina. It took a little while for them to be alright with the possibility of me going there, but once I gave them all the information they could see why it was a good choice. It may be really hard to not be around my family, but it is only a 2 year program and then I can move back to Illinois if I wanted to after I finish my degree.

Good luck the rest of the semester! If you are feeling the end is near, trust me you are not alone! I have senioritis really bad…

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

About Stephanie Baskerville

Senior Family and Child Studies major from Joliet, IL

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Hey there!

If you are a woman, especially if you are a Latina, I want to invite you to this years 2nd Annual Conference, Latinas Rompiendo Barreras to Become Tomorrow’s Leaders. This conference is hosted by amazing Latinas who are ready to build an empowering community among women.

It is hosted by women for women, which is an amazing opportunity for us to get together and strengthen our bonds among each other so that we can build a strong foundation together during our academic and personal journeys. We all need support and encouragement and this is a great place to meet some amazing women here on NIUs campus.

So come out, share some laughs and gain some new insight! This is event is FREE and there will be food provided.

About Alyssa Thomson

Senior Nursing Major from Chicago, IL

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I know many of you are probably getting ready to kick-butt as the semester comes to an end. But we all need a study break here and there. And what better way to do that then watching (or reading) something that is informative, real and can help keep us grounded when we become preoccupied in our own little worlds.

This film is called Inocente and it is about a young Latina who has a passion for art but is battling some harsh circumstances being an immigrant and homeless in this country where most of us are privileged and unfortunately sometimes very unaware of how life is for others.

So if you have the time, I think you will enjoy this Oscar winning short documentary film.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/inocente/1702321/playlist.jhtml

About Alyssa Thomson

Senior Nursing Major from Chicago, IL

• More Posts (14)