...of a Student Involved in Campus Ministry

Greetings, future Panthers!

Since we've now had a few posts to get to know each other, I felt it was time to share with you something that is very important to me. It also happens to be extremely important to a number of other students on UNI's campus. "What could this oh-so-special activity be?" you may ask. It's something I've been involved in for several years now, and it is also where you can be sure to find me on just about any Wednesday night at 8:00. That's right, folks. I'm talking about campus ministry!

I, myself, have been involved in some form of church group or Bible study since I was very young, and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to make such involvement a part of my college experience. I became a part of the Lutheran Student Fellowship (LSF) in the beginning of my Freshman year, and I have been attending Bible studies with the group ever since. Weekly student Bible studies are held at College Hill Lutheran Church (pictured below), led by the church pastor, and focus on a variety of topics.

Not only has attending the LSF Bible study enhanced my knowledge of the Bible and Lutheranism, but it has also allowed me to connect with students who share in my faith. It's comforting to know that I have a group of people who I can instantly connect with, simply because we all have a common set of beliefs. College Hill Lutheran Church has served as place for me to go to feel safe and accepted, and that is something that I will never take for granted.

Now, although I have my own faith and have chosen the campus ministry that best fits it, UNI offers a TON of other options for students whose beliefs differ from mine. There are approximatelyly 20 different religious organizations open to students here on campus. Many of these groups are partnered with local churches or other religious institutions, while some are completely student-run. Whatever your beliefs, you can rest assured that you will have no trouble finding a group to connect with and feel at home in. I know I certainly have!

Until we meet again,

~ Jordan, STAR

...of College Politics

Hello Future Panthers!

As a little sneak peak onto campus right now, it is CRAZY! The only reason for that is the annual NISG elections.  For those of you who haven't picked up on UNI's many acronyms, NISG stands for Northern Iowa Student Government.  Remember that! Around this time of year it will come in very handy!  Over the past few weeks, 3 candidate pairs and their teams have worked very hard campaigning for the opportunity as Student Body President and Vice President.

This year, I had the opportunity to be on a Tom and Blake's campaign team and it was a blast! However, in this blog I will remain neutral seeing as you all can't vote and the election is still going on :)  For those of you who are really involved in politics or Student Council currently, then I really suggest getting involved in NISG.  NISG looks over many different aspects of campus that focus on student activities; they represent the students' voices.  Therefore, when two people run for Student Body President and Vice President, they refer to their campaign team made up of students! I contributed to Tom and Blake's campaign by giving insight on the minority community on campus and their sustainability platform topic.  Tom and Blake also referred to other students who could give insight on different communities in order for them to have a grasp on the entirety of our student body.  I apologize for the gibber jabber at this point, but you need to know the basics so any of this can make sense.

From this campaign, I was able to meet great people that I would have never met before.  To me, that is the best benefit of working on a campaign team or with any part of NISG.  All of these students are coming from different backgrounds, majors, and communities all for ONE thing: representing the students of UNI! It is pretty amazing how every person sees this university differently and has different experiences, yet we are all in the same place (smaller than my hometown!).

If you want to learn more about your potential Student Body President and Vice President, check out the websites of the two candidate teams that have just gone into the run off for the election!

http://www.tomandblake.com/

http://kaleighandalicia.com/wordpress/

We'll find out next week who wins!

~STAR Joslyn

...of a Student With A Sweet Tooth

Hey there, future Panthers!

One little treat (pun intended) Cedar Falls has to offer is the famous Scratch Cupcakery. Located on Main Street, Scratch is a go-to for delicious cupcakes, coffee drinks, and gelato. It's a fantastic place to go with your parents for Family Weekend or a nice way to blow off some steam after studying!

My friends and I headed down to Scratch last week for some sweet (again, pun intended) bonding time. Check it out!

I love how Scratch always has new and delicious flavors to offer each month. They're also really inexpensive, which is great news for a college kid's bank account. It's nice to just go there and hang out with friends, and giving someone a cupcake is always an awesome pick-me-up during the week.

Scratch is a definite staple of Main Street; definitely try it if you get the chance!

Keep Calm & Eat Some Frosting,

Emily (STAR)

...of an RA

Hello!

Even though I am not an RA, I wanted to share with you what being an RA is all about!

So, I interviewed my wonderful RA, Alexa! 

If you are interested in being an RA, check out this website for more information!
https://www.uni.edu/dor/http%3A//www.uni.edu/dor/raapplication

Have a wonderful day!
~Diann, STAR

...of Valentine's Day: Dorm Style

Beautiful roses, decadent chocolates, candy hearts, and pink and red galore. These are just some of the many wonderful things Valentine's Day brings with it each year. Although many people find February 14th to be too commercialized or even depressing, there is something undeniably heart-warming about reminding those you love how much they really mean to you.

I can still remember those first few elementary school Valentine's Days. They were filled with heart-shaped party foods, "Most Creative Valentine's Box" competitions, and cards representing the most popular cartoon characters of the day. I am proud to say that I was the back-to-back third and fourth grade "Most Creative Box" competition victor. My robot and castle-inspired creations were truly genius. Unfortunately, as we grow older, robot-themed boxes and heart-shaped rice krispie treats soon become overshadowed by more extravagant gifts, such as jewelry and roses.

It was for this reason that the women of my house in Campbell Hall decided to do something a bit more old school this year. Instead of hoping for expensive gifts from family, friends, or significant others, we decided to revisit our elementary days and have a good old-fashioned valentine exchange.

In order to make this happen, each of us decorated a paper bag and placed it outside of our room. We then exchanged the typically corny cards we treasured so much as children. The fact that these valentines weren't costly or over-the-top made them all the more special, and I truly appreciated the thought and generosity that was put into each and every one.

So, the moral of my story is that when we were eight years old, we didn't need a significant other to make us happy on Valentine's Day. All we needed was some candy, a Scooby Doo valentine card, and some really great classmates. And Valentine's Day at UNI can give you just that! :)

Panther love,

~ Jordan, STAR

...of a Science Education Course Student

Hey there matey!

As many of you may know from my previous blog posts, I am an elementary education major here at UNI!  This semester, I am in my science methods course called Teaching Elementary School Science.  We are five weeks into the semester and I have already learned SO much!  I am loving every second of this course, which is great because it is my LAST semester of classes at UNI before I student teach this coming fall.

Today in class, we built a fleet of four boats that varied in capacities and sizes.  After our boats were made, we were required by our professor to name each of the boats.  My group chose Bruce for our 100 mL boat, Dory for our 75 mL boat, Nemo for our 60 mL boat, and Squirt for our 40 mL boat.  If you didn't notice, we chose Finding Nemo characters to name our boats!  I'm sure you all noticed that though! :P

From left to right-Bruce, Dory, Nemo, and Squirt!

After our boats were made and named, we moved on to main event!  We put the boats one at a time into a tub of water and placed pennies in them until they sunk.  The point of the activity was to see how many "passengers" we could fit into our boats before they sunk.  We also had to decide on certain variables that we could control or that could factor the boats sinking more easily than others.  It looked like this:

One of my table mates, Shelley, putting Bruce into the water!

I believe this was Squirt!

This project was so much fun and I am excited to make divers during Tuesday's class!  If you have decided on becoming an elementary education major, get excited to do projects such as this!  Stay afloat future panthers!

~Vanessa, STAR

...of UNI Diversity

¡Hola Panteras Futuras!

(Don't fret, this isn't in Spanish!)

As you may know, one of UNI's unique characteristics is community! I've already shared with you all about my super awesome friends, coworkers, and role models.  Today, I want to share with you the diversity of our purple & gold community.  Yes, we are all panthers, students, and go-getters, but we all come from different backgrounds.  UNI may not be the most diverse community, but we sure are MIGHTY!

To prove that, multiple organizations on campus made a small video clip on how their organization embraces their diverse community.  Of course, CATS was all over that! I want to share with you all the many different CATS I know that I call family...

Although we may look different, come from different areas, or have different beliefs we all have that ONE thing in common: we BLEED purple and gold! So when you are walking on campus next year, don't be afraid to reach out to someone who may look a little different from you because you never know where your paths may cross again :)

Kudos to Sammy Kaster (my roommate, best friend, fellow kitten) and Austin Hansen (fellow kitten)

Thanks for watching!

~STAR Joslyn