Glow-in-the-Dark Fun at the West Bend Campus

A disc golf basket all lit up

I can’t say it was perfect weather to be outside in the dark, but there was no rain, snow, or wind, so I had no problem bundling up a bit for some glow-in-the-dark disc golfing.

The West Bend Student Senate hosted this event with proceeds going to United Way. Each of the nine baskets was lit with glow-in-the-dark lights. We had discs that glowed as well. It was my first time playing, so I was grateful to have one of the Student Senate members teach me how to play. Another participate gave me and another student some pointers on how to throw the disc in order to prevent the wind from carrying it away (especially into the forested area).

After everybody ran through the course, we went inside the building for the drawing. I won a long-sleeved t-shirt. That’s perfect since I think I’m done wearing short sleeves until March!

If you want to play on the disc golf course at the West Bend campus, stop in the library to check out some discs.

The Busy Life of a Last Semester College Student

Week in Review: A Reflection of April 29 – May 5

The end of the semester is always busy, but this last semester before I graduate from MPTC has certainly been the busiest. It’s not just end-of-the-semester projects, it’s preparing for graduation, looking for employment, end of semester celebrations, and taking part in my friends’ and family’s life events.

West Bend Student Senate had their last meeting at a local restaurant. We conducted business as usual, including voting on the gift we’d like to give to the campus, and enjoyed some pizza. It was the last time we were all going to see each other as a group.

I’ve been going through my resume to make sure everything is updated. I’ve been applying for jobs in the county, some of which I’ve found through TechConnect. I may stop by the career center on campus one more time so I can have someone take a second look at my resume and portfolio. My exit portfolio has one item left and that’s the Team Building and Problem Solving project that my group has just finished but has not presented yet. I need to give recommendation forms to my previous instructors really soon, too.

My nephew was in his first play at school on Friday. He played the mayor and wore a suit and hat. It was so cute. Afterwards, we went to my brother and sister-in-law’s house for cake because it was her birthday.

On Sunday I went to a bridal shower for my friend whom I’ve known since high school. I’m one of the bridesmaids. I was asked to be the photographer of the event. It was a nice day so we got a great shot of us all outside. My other friend, who is one of the other bridesmaids, is getting married this summer, too. They are both getting married almost exactly one month apart. My sister is expecting, so she’ll be having a baby shower in July.

Needless to say, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. The calendar is my friend; it keeps me organized and let’s me know where I need to be and why. The job search is going to consume a lot time as well. So, I’m going to stay organized and optimistic, make sure I get enough sleep and eat right, and enjoy this exciting time of my life.

Preparing for Graduation and Wrapping Up Meetings

Week in Review: A Reflection of April 22 – 28

I picked up my cap and gown from the bookstore this past week, and I found out I get to wear a high honors cord to the ceremony. My parents are planning to attend the commencement ceremony to watch me walk across the stage. One of my friends is also graduating. We’re planning to have some sort of celebration afterword, but we haven’t decided what we want to do or where we want to go.

Our last official Student Senate meeting was this past week. We used one of the ideas I learned during a conference to get more students to attend senate meetings. We had half a dozen new people show up! From what I hear, they may start doing the same thing at the other campuses and will most likely be using the idea on the West Bend campus next year. I’m so glad I attended that educational session during the conference so I could pass on useful information. I’ll be meeting with the people on the West Bend Student Senate one more time when we go out to lunch.

The team project I’m working on for my Team Building and Problem Solving class is wrapping up soon. We are currently putting together our paper and presentation for May 8. We can really see how much work we’ve put into the project now that we’re assembling all the pieces together. I’m really proud of it.

There is one more meeting for the Web Developer Club before the end of the semester. It’ll be my last meeting and last day as secretary for the club. I’m going to really miss being a part of the group, but I will definitely be in contact with many of the members after I graduate. They won’t be my classmates any longer, but they will still be my colleagues.

My Final Last Blast

Door prizes including sports equipment, movies, and more

A few minutes before our end-of-the-year party began, I walked up and down the halls handing out Cracker Jacks boxes and letting people know that we were going to have entertainment, free food, and door prize drawings.

This semester’s Last Blast theme was sports, so we decorated the cafeteria with sports-related items. Many of our door prizes had to do with sports as well. People got one ticket for coming to the event and a second ticket for wearing their sports gear. To keep with the theme, we had hamburgers and brats for lunch.

Pendants to show we care

On one of the tables we set up a station to design pendants. You could make a pendant for a child in the hospital, a person in a nursing home, or for the troops. It’s a little something to give them to let them know that we are thinking about them and we care. I really liked this activity.

Our entertainment for the afternoon was a ventriloquist named James Wedgewood who pulled people from the audience up on stage to participate. Some of my friends were part of the show.

Amanda participates on stage

After the show, we had the drawing for door prizes. There was so much awesome stuff! There was sports equipment, DVD players, MP3 players, Moraine Park gear, and a large TV. I won a basketball and an MPTC t-shirt.

Bonnie taking photos

The fun wasn’t over yet. We also had our last BINGO event of the semester later that day. I actually won the last BINGO game, which was blackout! I got two Brewers tickets and a Brewers t-shirt.

Before I end this blog post I would like to take a moment to recognize Bonnie, an active West Bend Student Senate member. She is an outstanding leader who has volunteered a lot of her time to organizing and running events like this throughout the year. She does an amazing job paying attention to detail and making sure that our events are successful and fun. Thank you, Bonnie!

Implementing New Ideas

Week in Review: A Reflection of April 8 – 14

Wear your sports jersey on April 23

Last week Thursday was my opportunity to share some new ideas and give my entertainment recommendations from the 2013 NACA conference to the rest of the West Bend Student Senate.

I shared three ideas I learned from the educational sessions at the conference. One of them was a student senate recruitment suggestion. The members really liked the idea. One member took that idea and altered it so we could use it this semester. I’m so happy that we don’t have to wait until next semester to start implementing new ideas.

My suggestions of possible entertainment acts to bring to campus sparked a discussion, and another good idea from one of the members emerged. Instead of spending a lot of money on one or two events, we thought we should look for local speakers and entertainment acts. MPTC is very good about working with the community, so why wouldn’t student life do the same when it comes to planning entertainment and educational events? There are plenty of great options in Southeastern Wisconsin. Is there anybody located in our area you’d like to speak or perform on campus?

The last thing I had to share with Student Senate was the college swag I brought back from the school swap.  There were a few types of items we’d like to give away in the future including a magnet with event dates. What kind of freebees, like T-shirts, would you like Student Senate to give away?

There isn’t much time left for campus activities since we have only about a month left until the end of the semester. Our Last Blast event is Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Come down to the cafeteria at 11 a.m. for a free lunch (with student ID) and watch Comedy Ventriloquist James Wedgewood. We’ll be giving away awesome door prizes. If you’re on campus later that day, play bingo at 4:30 p.m. for a chance to win more prizes. All the events for the day will be in the MPTC West Bend Cafeteria.

Don’t forget to wear your sports jersey because this Last Blast is sports themed!

NACA 2013 Part 4

Dinner with Daryl

MPTC Student Senate with Daryl 'Chill' Mitchell

On the last night of the 2013 NACA Northern Plains Regional Conference, the MPTC Student Senate members sat down to dinner with one of the showcasing speakers. His name is Daryl ‘Chill’ Mitchell. You may have seen him in movies such as 10 Things I hate About You playing Mr. Morgan or in the 1990 movie, House Party. In 2001, he was in a motorcycle accident leaving him paralyzed.  I like when the performers and speakers at conferences sit at the tables with the students, because it gives us a chance to learn a little more about them.

Early that day, I went to the two last educational sessions. The first one was about collaboration. Student Senates and other clubs on campuses sometimes work with each other to host an event that’s mutually beneficial. There are different stages of working together from networking, coordinating, cooperating, and collaborating, to integrating. It can be difficult working with others when you are sharing space, resources, and responsibilities. But, it can be a great experience as well!

The last educational session I attended was about planning and creating promotional videos for campus events. The presenters explained a timeline to follow so the video gets completed in time to advertise the event. We were then broken down into groups and given an event to promote. There wasn’t time to make an actual video, but we did brainstorm what we could do and shared it with the rest of the groups.

The CAMP crowd

Saturday was also the last day to watch showcases and visit the entertainment booths to get more information about acts we’d like to bring to MPTC. As a group, we all went together this time so we could find out which acts we all liked.

Lisa, Sam, me, Alex, Bob, Becca, Amanda and Joey

Because people had homework and other responsibilities to get back to, we left really early Sunday morning so we could be back in Wisconsin at a decent time. I had a paper to finish writing for my Computer Essentials class. I also wanted to consolidate all the notes I had taken during the conference and go through my collection of promotional items from the swap so I could share that information with the rest of the West Bend Student Senate members during the next meeting. I came back with some great ideas I was looking forward to sharing and hopefully implementing as soon as possible.

I highly recommend joining Student Senate and attending these kinds of conferences. When else in your life will you get this kind of opportunity to learn, be entertained, and bound with your schoolmates in just five days?


Incase you missed it, check out the rest of my NACA experience:
Read NACA 2013 Part 1: Crossing the Boarder
Read NACA 2013 Part 2: The Conference Kicks Off
Read NACA 2013 Part 3: The Great School Swap

NACA 2013 Part 3

The Great School Swap

Each school that participates in the school swap sets up a table with their “Swag”—things like t-shirts, cups, key chains, magnets, pins, or anything else they give away at events. On Friday, MPTC participated in the school swap at the 2013 NACA Northern Plains Regional Conference.

For the swap, a few members stand at their school’s table while others walk around carrying their school’s stuff to swap. They go to the other tables, and if they see something they like, they ask to swap some of their own stuff for the other school’s stuff. We collected a ton of items, enough for all three MPTC campuses to come back with a large bag to share. There were a few t-shirts and a magnet I really liked from other colleges’ events. I’m bringing back the items for the West Bend Student Senate to see so we can get some fresh ideas on giveaways and designs.

Throughout the day we had three showcases, one of which was a lecture showcase. There are a couple of speakers I’d like to bring to our campus. We also had a chance to speak with the acts, both the ones showcasing and ones that weren’t part of the showcases, during something they call CAMP where you can go booth to booth asking questions and getting information about booking.

I went to two back-to-back educational sessions early that morning. The first one was about retention, recruitment, and involvement on two-year campuses. I got some great suggestions from this session for Student Senate recruitment and getting Senate members to participate. The second session was about event publicity. The presenters and attendees had a wide range of advertising ideas, both online and print. They stressed the importance of being descriptive when advertising for an event. People want to know what they are going to see or they might not go to see it.

Even though I saw a lot of great acts, my favorite part of the day was the school swap. It was exciting, a little chaotic, and much more fun than I thought it would be.


Incase you missed it, check out the rest of my NACA experience:
Read NACA 2013 Part 1: Crossing the Boarder
Read NACA 2013 Part 2: The Conference Kicks Off

NACA 2013 Part 2

The Conference Kicks Off

My NACA items

I was handed a drawstring bag containing a booklet listing all the events for the weekend, a pass with my name on it, meal vouchers, and a bag of magic tricks at the conference center when the Student Senate members and I registered for the 2013 NACA Northern Plains Regional Conference on Thursday. The theme of the conference this year was magic, and they called it AbracaNACA.

The first event was the conference kick-off featuring Breaksk8. They are a group of break-dancers who perform on roller skates. You may have seen them on a previous season of America’s Got Talent. The same day we had two showcases featuring musicians, comedians, and poets.

I also went to the first of five educational sessions. The educational sessions are my favorite part of conventions like these because oftentimes you learn tips from other college students. You can learn what works well for them and relate to the difficulties they have.

MPTC magnetic clothespin

For each session you get to choose from a list of topics that may interest you. I went to one about Pinteresting on small campuses. If you didn’t know, Moraine Park Technical College has a Pinterest page, so I felt this topic was relevant. The student presenters explained how they use this social media tool to list different event ideas, team-builders, and to promote their crafting events. They showed us how to make a decorative magnetic clothespin, and we got to make one for ourselves that very day.

Each night of the conference had a special late night event. Thursday night was a live karaoke band. It’s like regular karaoke but better because you get to sing with a band and not prerecorded music. Four of us from MPTC wanted to go on stage and perform, but the event was only an hour so we didn’t get a chance to do it. We got to see some really talented amateurs, though!


Incase you missed it, check out part 1 of my NACA experience:
Read NACA 2013 Part 1: Crossing the Boarder

NACA 2013 Part 1

Crossing the Border

View of the convention center from my hotel room

It was an early April morning (if you consider 9:30 early) on a Wednesday when we gathered at the Beaver Dam campus with our luggage and headed across the Wisconsin border.

NACA stands for the National Association for Campus Activities. I went on a five-day trip with Student Senate members from all three Moraine Park campuses to the 2013 NACA Northern Plains Regional Conference in Minnesota. The purpose of the conference is to view entertainment acts, check out activities, and participate in educational sessions. College students who attend bring back to their college information such as acts they’d like to book for future campus events and share tips they learn in the educational sessions.

Sam and me at dinner on Wednesday night

Wednesday was a travel day since it takes a few hours to get to St. Paul. We stopped in Tomah for lunch on the way, and by the afternoon, we were at our hotel across the street from the convention center.

The conference didn’t start until the following day, so after dinner at a restaurant across the street, the rest of the night was free to do whatever we wanted to do such as working on homework or going for a walk. A few of us spent time in the pool and hot tub since it was probably going to be our only chance to do so. Once the conference started, it was supposed to be non-stop, from 9 in the morning until midnight (or later). And it was.

Trading the Books for the Shovel

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 28 – February 3

Shoveling is an unexpected and unwelcomed responsibility during the winter (and sometimes fall and spring) months. But, it’s something that you’ve got to do if you live in Wisconsin, so I put down the books this past week for a little while and picked up a shovel. I can’t wait for spring.

Thursday was the first West Bend Student Senate meeting of the semester. We needed to elect a new vice president since the seat was open. One of my friends, who is also in the Web Developer Club, was nominated and elected for the position. Congratulations, Jane! During the meeting we talked about Relay for Life, which is in August. We may be getting a MPTC team together for the cause. Later this month two Student Senate members are going the Wisconsin Student Government (WSG) legislative seminar in Madison. They will be meeting with legislators to address the concerns of Wisconsin technical colleges. What an amazing opportunity!

It’s Been One Week

Week in Review: A Reflection of January 21 – 27

How nice it was to see a familiar face in my first class of the semester on Tuesday.  She’s a friend I met in a previous semester while working on a group project. We are in the same program so naturally there was good chance we’d have class together again. The instructor said this course would be a hybrid class so we’ll meet in class part of the time and the other part we’ll be online using the discussion section of eCollege. During the first class meeting we spoke about the importance of managing records and the consequences of companies who had poor document management. It’s one of the easiest ways a company can loose money, time, privacy, and the trust of their customers and other stakeholders.

My last remaining general education class is Team Building and Problem Solving. I elected to take the in-class version of this course. We started with a “web icebreaker” in which the class stood in a large circle and passed a ball of yarn around while holding onto the thread that linked us together. We discussed what this activity meant when it’s applied to working in a team. Later on during class we watched a video about a fish market in Seattle. They have a certain philosophy when it comes to work that makes it fun for them and for the customers. There are some really good strategies that can be applied in a team setting.

The first week of classes went by quickly and we’re already onto the next. Besides going to my new classes during the second week of the semester, I also have a few other things to attend on campus. The first Lunch ‘n Learn is on Tuesday at noon on the West Bend campus. Student Senate has sponsored a free massage day, and I have signed up for a time slot before my class on Wednesday. Speaking of Student Senate, our first meeting is on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. If you’re at the West Bend campus, come check it out!

Representing the Web Club at New Student Orientation

Web Club members Patrick, Brandon, and Dwayne

It seems like the fall new student orientation wasn’t very long ago, yet here I was at the spring 2013 orientation welcoming in a new group of students. Even though I went through the orientation more than two years ago, I still remember what it was like. I was unprepared for the slightly overwhelming feeling I had that day. I was starting something new, and that’s the moment when it hit me. I didn’t know what my classes, my instructors, or even my classmates were going to be like. Would I like my classes? Could I keep up with the work? Will I meet anybody I could relate to? As I settled into my classes my anxiety was subdued. With everything that is new, you need to allow yourself some time to adjust. That day for me was the beginning of an adventure and now I feel at home when I’m on campus.

This year I, along with some other students in the West Bend Student Senate, were part of a panel. We answered some commonly asked questions as well as some great questions from new students. The panel has some great advice about getting involved and taking advantage of Moraine Park’s services.

I was also at the orientation to represent the Web Developer Club. Three other members of the club came to speak with students about our club. As I’ve said numerous times, I highly encourage students no matter what program they’re in to join a club. Check one out this spring!

I think the most important thing the new students took away from the orientation is to just ask.  Ask your instructors, MPTC staff, and even returning students if you have any questions about anything. There is always someone here to help. We’re friendly like that.

Busy Weekdays, Weekends, and Everything in Between

Week in Review: A Reflection of November 5 – 11

MPTC's West Bend Campus

There was plenty going on this past week on the West Bend campus. There was a book sale fundraiser outside the library, a blood drive, and a campus preview day. Along with that, many students, including me, registered online for spring 2013 classes.

A few weeks ago I spoke to my academic advisor. I wanted her to look at my records to make sure I was on track. If I had figured it out correctly, I would be receiving my Office Assistant Technical Diploma in May. She confirmed that if I take these three classes, I would graduate next spring. So, I registered for them and I’m all set!

The week was sure busy and so was the weekend. I went to a wedding of a former co-work on Friday. On Saturday I celebrated a friend’s birthday. We spent the weekend watching the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes series. She also had an awesome Sherlock board game from the ‘70s. You know it’s an older board game when one of the clues mentions USSR.

It looks like another busy week and weekend ahead. We’ll be continuing working on our customer service manual for my Customer Service Essentials Class. I have a Student Senate meeting and a Web Developer Club meeting later in the week. My niece’s first birthday is this weekend, and I will be seeing the last installment of the Twilight series. No midnight showing for us this time I think. It’s way too cold to stand outside.

APCA Midwest Conference 2012 – Day 4

Goodbye, awesome view from my hotel room

Because we are Wisconsinites, we had to leave Iowa early Sunday morning so we wouldn’t miss too much of the Packer game in the afternoon. The day was much sunnier than when we arrived, and it was a really nice trip back. There were some pretty cool land formations around the Wisconsin/Iowa boarder.

It was a long but amazing weekend. I would recommend any Student Senate member to attend APCA, and I highly encourage MPTC students to join Student Senate so they can take advantage of opportunities like this.

Over the weekend we saw over 40 acts perform. We got a chance to talk to all the acts in person. They are some really talented, interesting people that love what they do and they really enjoy performing and talking to college students. I enjoyed talking to some awesome students from different states, learning from them, and just getting to know them. I got a lot out of attending the educational sessions. They were very helpful in providing advice and tips, and I plan to discuss what I’ve learned with the rest of Student Senate so we can start implementing ideas and create a better student life for our campus.

Scenery at the Iowa/Wisconsin border

It’s not too late to join student clubs or Student Senate. If you’re not involved already, check them out now or at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester. Our next conference for Student Senate is NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) Northern Plains Regional Conference in the spring.

APCA Midwest Conference 2012 – Day 3

So this is why I couldn't find a place to sit

Saturday was an early day. The educational sessions started at 8 a.m. and we had four of them in a row. The first one I went to was a roundtable discussion about two-year campuses. We discussed what worked well on our campuses, what wasn’t working well, and offered or took suggestions. I’ve got quite a few ideas out of this session that I will be bringing back to Student Senate.

The second educational session I chose to attend was about social media. I learned some things about using Facebook to promote events, encourage student interaction with the college through social media, and learned how to read analytics.

During the third session, we learned the secrets to being happy and making others happy. I think if we could all take the presenter’s advice, we’d all be a lot happier with ourselves and learn to lift others up. It’s so important.

The last session of the morning was another roundtable where we talked about all the different types of social media and how it could be used by colleges. We talked about mass text messaging as well, which some campus have implemented.

Lunch was much like the previous day; we ate and watched all kinds of performers. After lunch we went to another room and listened to some great speakers. I would like a few of them to come to our campus in the future.

It's hard not to be happy in a room full of bubbles

The results from all the competitions were reveled during dinner. Moraine Park Technical College placed third in the pumpkin-carving contest! Danielle from American Pickers made an appearance on stage later. When one of the performers, a mentalist, needed a volunteer, our own Erica from MPTC got to go up on stage.

Erica is on stage!

The last event of the night was a dance party featuring a percussionist. Afterwards some of the musical acts collaborated together and played music in the lobby. So many things happened on Saturday it’s hard to believe we squeezed everything in one day!

MPTC's pumpkin-carving entry

APCA Midwest Conference 2012 – Day 2

The conference officially kicked off on Friday morning and I went to an educational session on recruiting. The presenter gave us some good tips on choosing the right kind of events for our campus and how to encourage students to come to events that we host.

Becca volunteers

We had a buffet-style lunch in the afternoon where Becca and Robyn, Moraine Park students, volunteered to take lunch tickets. During our lunch in the ballroom we listened to all different kinds of acts that included comedians, musicians, and acrobats. Throughout the performances we could send tweets on Twitter using the conference’s hashtag and see them on the projection screen.

Resa's got a monkey on her back

After the showcase, we got a chance to meet with the acts that were performing throughout the weekend in the exhibit hall. Resa, our West Bend Student president, had the opportunity to hold a monkey. There was a tarantula as well, but I didn’t go anywhere near it. Yikes!

There were more acts to see before and during dinner, and the late night event included a mentalist and hypnotist. Both of them were good and a lot of fun to watch.

Some of the MPTC crew

APCA Midwest Conference 2012 – Day 1

I packed my Moraine Park Tech swag in a suitcase and headed over to our meeting place, the Beaver Dam campus, Thursday morning. We were going to Iowa for a full weekend at the APCA conference to check out entertainment acts and participate in educational sessions. APCA stands for the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities.

My MPTC swag in a suitcase

My Trick-or-Treat bag design

We crossed over the Mississippi River before getting to our destination, Coralville. The hotel and conference were in the same building, which was nice because the weather was cold and wet. We had some time before registration, so we went to a nearby mall.

At registration we had an opportunity to participate in some service projects and novelties that were set up at a table. We wrote cards for soldiers, created encouraging letters for kids, made ghosts out of suckers and tissues, and decorated trick-or-treat bags for children. Then our group, consisting of Student Senate members from all three MPTC campuses, talked about the conference schedule and chose educational sessions to attend.

Our last activity of the day was to create a poster for the poster competition. Becca and I drew our mascot, the grey wolf, and incorporated the construction theme of the conference.

MPTC's poster with construction theme

A Month Worth of Weekends

Week in Review: A Reflection of October 8 – 14

I am happy to report I have turned in my last assessment for Principles of Accounting class—forever. It took me most of the weekend, but it’s done, and I’m done with the class. It’s a good thing, too, because the next four weekends I am booked and would have a difficult time fitting in any more accounting assignments.

This weekend I am hosting a Halloween Party. I’ve got some straightening up to do and a lot of baking. I’ve made the banana bread with crystallized ginger (it’s a very good addition that I recommend trying), but I still need to make skeleton cupcakes and monster finger cookies. Last year I made cupcakes with spiders made out of candy on top.

Next weekend I will be going with Moraine Park Technical College Student Senates to the APCA conference in Iowa. This is my first trip with Student Senate. We’ll be going there to view some entertainment acts that we may bring back to perform at the campus in the future. I’m still not sure what we’ll all be doing, but from what I understand, they’re going to keep us busy from morning until night with activities.

The following week I’ll be celebrating my friend’s birthday. She has a whole weekend-worth of plans for us. We’re going to be doing karaoke somewhere, going swimming (indoors of course), watching the Packer’s game, and possibly going to Wisconsin Dells. I’m not sure how she plans on fitting in all of that, but she’s a really organized person, so she’s probably got it all figured out.

The weekend after that I am going to another friend’s wedding. I hope that the weather will be good that weekend, because it will be November. I’m looking forward to seeing a handful of people I haven’t seen in a while at the wedding.

What do you for fun on the weekends?

Looking Forward to an Awesome October

Week in Review: A Reflection of September 24 – 30

September has been a very busy month, and I imagine October will be more of the same. However, I am nearing the end of my accelerated Principles of Accounting class. It’s an eight-week course that started at the end of August. I’m pretty excited to have Wednesday nights free again soon; especial since the new fall TV shows have just started.

At the end of October I am going to the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) Programming Conference in Iowa with some MPTC Student Senate members. At the conference we’ll get to check out entertainment acts we think students will like so we can have the acts perform at our campus in the future. I’m not quite sure what the weekend all entails since I’ve never been to anything like this before. I’ll be sure to take photos and video and tell you all about it when I come back.

The week before I go to the conference, I’ll be hosting my annual Halloween party. Everybody dresses up and we play BINGO for prizes. I’ve got my Halloween costume put together already. I won’t tell you what it is, but I will say that I have purple gloves that go up to my elbows.

The only downside to October is all this leaf raking that needs to be done. Can’t we just vacuum them off the tree? No? Okay, I’ll go back to raking now.

A Shopping Success

Week in Review: A Reflection of June 4 – 10

Over the weekend I used the gift card I won at the Last Blast event in April to go shopping. I picked up two pairs of Capri pants and a sweatshirt, and I only had to kick in about eight dollars of my birthday money. It was a very successful shopping day.

Also during the weekend, I picked up my bridesmaid dress from the bridal shop. It’s for my sister’s wedding, and I love it. I was happy to find I will not need any alterations done to the dress, and I already have the shoes to match.

Even though it’s summer, I’ve received emails this week about some events going on this summer and next fall. One email about New Student Orientation in July asks members of MPTC student clubs to represent their club at the orientation. Another email notified us about a strategic planning meeting in September. It sounds like we’ll be able to provide some feedback about topics that concern student life such as health and wellness and campus safety.

If MPTC had fitness centers on their campuses, would you be likely to use them?