A Respectable 93

I scored a 93. Not on a test, but in bowling. Okay, so a 93 isn’t a great score, but I think it’s pretty respectable considering I haven’t bowled in a long time. Last Sunday I met up with former and current members of MPTC’s Student Senate. Melanie, the Student Involvement Specialist at the West Bend campus, invited us for a fun afternoon of bowling and pizza before the tragic (for Green Bay Packer fans at least), football game. But we won’t talk about that…

It was great catching up with people I haven’t seen in a while, including someone who I had Career Development class with a few semesters ago. There were lots of new people there, too. I’m glad that more students are getting involved in campus life. They seem like a great group of people, and I think it’s going to be a fantastic semester.

I’ve heard of the Beaver Dam and Fond du Lac campuses having other student/alumni events as well, such as baseball games, in the past. It’s nice to have some events that are just for fun, socializing and getting a little exercise. If you’re an alumni or current student and would like to participate in these kind of activities, contact Melanie, Lisa or Sam, the Student Involvement Specialists at the three MPTC campuses.

Four Assignments and a Wedding

Week in Review: A Reflection of September 10 – 16

This  gray wolf helps relieve stress

Last Wednesday I went to a Student Senate meeting at the West Bend campus. It was nice to see old as well as new faces. Adam, our student life advisor, gave us an overview of Student Government as well as gray wolf stress balls. We had nominations and elections for officer positions. We also discussed some upcoming events. There’s going to be a lot of things going on from now until the end of the semester!

I had a lot of things going on for homework as well. I had two integrated financial sheets to complete for accounting as well as starting a professional goal-setting project. For my Document Standards and Expectations class I had an editing assignment. In my Customer Service Essentials class I had to create a presentation about video sharing.

But, there wasn’t much time for homework this past weekend because my sister got married. I helped create the party favors that sit on the tables for dinner. They looked like little suits and wedding dresses with a ribbon tied around the waist. Those took a long time to make! So, come Monday and Tuesday, I spent the entire two days working on homework. I got everything done, but I sure did feel rushed.

How do you balance school life and family life?

Welcome (Back) to MPTC!

The first thing I went to the first week of the fall semester wasn’t class, it was the Welcome Back Lunch featuring comedian Adam Ace. It felt a little strange to be “back to school” but not back to class yet. It was a pretty good way to ease into the fall 2012 semester.

I met up with a friend from Student Senate in the cafeteria for the show and free lunch. Adam Ace had a lot of variety in his show. He incorporated people from the audience, including our own student life advisor, into the show. He got him and a student to dance on stage in funny costumes.

Whoa, Double BINGO, All the Way!

What does it mean? Double BINGO means you have two traditional BINGOs on one card, and it’s one of the many BINGO patterns we play when West Bend Student Senate hosts BINGO events.

This time around, I helped with the event by checking the numbers on the cards of the winners. Bonnie and Sue took turns drawing the numbers at the podium. It’s always fun, even if you don’t win. It only costs five dollars to play two cards and you get a free lunch voucher for the cafeteria.

If you missed out, join us next time at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus. You can find out when the next BINGO or other campus events are by click on the “Events” page of my blog. It’s so intense!

Week in Review: A Reflection of October 2 – 8, 2011

This week went by so fast! There is only one week of classes left for my one-credit courses. Schedules for Winterim/Spring 2012 semester are already online. My advisor sent an email out to all the students in my program to let them know they should look up their registration dates and times. He’s offering help in choosing classes as well. I met with him at the beginning of the fall semester to make sure I was on track to get my Web Site Coordinator Certificate in December.

I spent some time recently organizing a binder for the Web Developer Club. It will have the by-laws, meeting minutes, agendas, calendar of events, project opportunities, and whatever else we need to keep record of for the club. And when I graduate, or am no longer the secretary, it can be passed on to the next person.

I really tried to take advantage of the warm weather this past week. As I mentioned a few days ago, we had the Student Senate meeting outside. It was beautiful outdoors. I didn’t even mind having to rake leaves at my home. Not only did I not have to wear a scarf and gloves, I didn’t even have to wear a jacket to stay warm. It has been such a lovely week! I’ll be dreaming about it come January.

Plenty of Activities at Moraine Park Technical College

Our West Bend Student Senate meeting was held outside this week because the weather was so nice. We sat just outside the cafeteria at the tables. MPTC President Dr. Shelia Ruhland joined us as well.

We discussed a lot of topics at this meeting. Representatives from clubs shared what they are planning. The Graphics Club will be doing a poster sale, which I believe they did last year, outside the library. Business Professionals of America are having a brat fry, and the Chiropractic Club is going to be fundraising by selling candy bars. I like hearing what other clubs are doing this semester. It may give me ideas for my own club’s events.

The week of November 7 is Club Week at the West Bend campus. Students can check out clubs they may be interested in. I hope to represent the Web Developer Club that week. Keep your eye on the events calendar for more information.

October 10 – 22 is the First Annual United Way – Moraine Park Technical College Disc Golf Tournament at the new disc golf course also at the West Bend campus. Money from the event is going to United Way and there will be door prizes. I’ve never played disc golf before. I’m not even sure what it is, but it sounds like fun. Now is the time to use the golf course before it’s covered in snow.

Student Senate is the place you want to be if you want to know what’s happening on campus. It also a place where you can share ideas, get in contact with administration, and have a voice as a representative of the student body. I haven’t been a part of planning any events yet, but I hope to sometime soon. If you have any event suggestions, please share. What would you like to see at MPTC?

Second West Bend Student Senate Meeting of the Year

Our officers for the Moraine Park Technical College West Bend Student Senate were elected this week during the second meeting of the semester. I’ve been appointed as one of the members at large, which means I’m a general member of Student Senate. I’ve also decided to be part of the Student Senate Activities Committee this semester. This is a group of students who plan, organize, and run special events on campus.

During the meeting we discussed some of the upcoming events. Next week Wednesday, September 28, is BINGO in the MPTC West Bend cafeteria at 4 p.m. I remember there were BINGO events a few times last year, but I had class at that time. This semester I don’t have class on Wednesday nights, so I’m going to try to go. It’s only $5 to play, and there are prizes to win.

On October 21, Chad Calek will be giving a free presentation called “Trail of the Dead” at 6 p.m. with dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. He’s a ghost hunter who has captured footage of paranormal activity, and he’s been on several TV shows. Adam Ninmann, who’s in charge of Student Life at the West Bend Campus, told us that people must pre-register with him if they are interesting in attending.

At the Senate meeting we also discussed APCA (Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities) conference this October. Two of our members are going. It sounds really interesting. I’m unable to go to the conference, but hopefully I will be able to go to a conference in spring.

During our next meeting, October 6, Moraine Park President Dr. Sheila Ruhland will be there to speak with us. Student Senate really is a great way to get involved, find out what’s going on, and have an impact on the college’s future.

Last Blast: Casino in the Cafeteria

On Wednesday, the West Bend Student Senate and Activities Committee sponsored a casino event to celebrate the near end of the spring semester. It was held in the Moraine Park Technical College cafeteria. There was free food, live music, casino games, a large raffle and a door prize. It was definitely a big event. The cafeteria was packed with students!

For lunch I had a pulled-pork sandwich, corn and a soda. There were cheesy hash browns too, but I don’t really like those so I didn’t have any. While I was eating, a band named BOS performed http://www.sonicbids.com/bos2. They sang current hits like a song by Bruno Mars, some classics like Michael Jackson and some of their own music.

There were a bunch of dealer tables in the cafeteria and professional dealers from Casino Events, Inc., were at the

tables. I played roulette. Steve, the dealer, taught me how to play. We played with real chips that we purchased with

fake money they called “funny money.” I wasn’t a big winner, but I really enjoyed watching that ball spin around and land on numbers.

A Student Senate member gave me a raffle ticket just for playing. The “funny money” that people won could be turned in for more raffle tickets. There were some big winners who got to put a lot of tickets into the raffle.

Fortunately for people like me who only had three tickets in the raffle drawing, a person could only win one prize. At the end of the event, they did the raffle drawing. There was a whole table of prizes! There were things like a printer, microwave, digital camera, gas grills, MP3 player, coolers and lawn chairs just to name a few. They also had gift cards for gas, the grocery store, restaurants and department stores. I was lucky enough to win a $25 gift card to Pick ‘n Save!

The door prize was a 32” LED TV. The person who won was in class during the drawing. I’m sure she was happy to know she won the big prize after her class let out.

This event was so much fun. I learned how to play roulette, and I won a raffle prize. I hope they do this again next year. If you were at the event, please share your story in the comment area of this blog.