Knightchats, the Slush Sessions, and Pizza!

I had my first Knightchat experience this past Wednesday, the 19th- and I must say, it was some quite enjoyable chaos! The parents all had such great questions. Knowing especially how stressful it was for myself and my parents to have these burning questions (none of which are small, stupid, or insignificant!), it felt amazing to be the one that provided the answer this time.
Considering it lasted for an hour and a half, it flew by! It was a great time, and I highly encourage accepted students (and their parents!) with those burning questions to partake in one of the upcoming Knightchats:
- Thursday, 3/27
- Wednesday, 4/9 (parents only)
- Wednesday, 4/23
Check out all this fantastic Q&A from Wednesday!

In other news, while last weekend was a powdery wonderland, this past one was a bit of a slushy disappointment. A slush show? The slush sessions? Regardless, it didn't make for the most exciting day of skiing, but we made a day of it nonetheless.

It all began with the rain...DISCLAIMER: the iPhone does NOT have this impressive of a lens. Although it was in fact raining, the appearance of rainfall was enhanced with an effect on Pixlromatic (a highly recommended app, I must add). :(

Though it may look like we had abundant snow, all that white was mostly an ice sheet. :( 

It was a warm day, which I certainly can't complain about considering temps of previous ski adventures, but a cautious one. Crossing my fingers for another glorious storm! 

While the day may have been a let-down, the following midnight snack was not. Praise Domino's, once again! (I'll never get tired of it, I swear. And the best part is, guess who has leftovers??)

Long story short, it's another weekend come and gone. But we sure made the best of it!
Hope we hear from all of you in upcoming Knightchats, I'll be attending on 4/23! Looking forward to it. :)

Mike's Movies!

An exciting part about coming to St. Mike's is that we're even given options for those times when we just don't feel like being exciting! Which we can all admit, I'm sure, happens more than we'd like.
So for when those times hit, one may venture to the portal. For the prospective students out there, the portal is a St. Mike's student's access to everything St. Mike's: email, class registration, your class schedule, announcements and reminders for events or other goings-on, and even the weather forecast! A new addition to the portal for these times that we just don't feel like being exciting is the ironically quite exciting Knightflix. Yes, while the name is a spin off of Netflix, a St. Mike's student doesn't have to pay for a subscription. Yes, we are given access to more titles than we could ever hope to tackle! And as cliche as it may sound (still going to say it!)  there truly is something for everyone...you've got your action, your thrillers, your chick flicks, all those 80's classics, and loads more.
And if one of those nights that you feel like being slightly more exciting comes around, there's always the Saint Michael's Film Series- a new movie is put on somewhere on campus every week! A professor knowledgeable on the context or period introduces the movie, and delivers a brief synopsis. And no, you won't feel like you're sitting in a lecture hall (even though you might actually be), as long as you take advantage of the free popcorn and soda (who wouldn't go for that alone?!).
Long story short- even if you are just sitting on your bed, or maybe even in a lecture hall, there are always options; there is always something to do at St. Mike's!

Snowy Times at St. Mike's!

One of the best parts of St. Mike's is those sudden snow surprises! Last week, campus got hit and was immediately washed in white. It made for some great skiing, as well as some of my favorite St. Mike's shots yet! All can be found (along with lots of other St. Mike's shots!) under #smcvt on Instagram.

One of the other best parts of St. Mike's (yes, there are more than one!) is that the classes not only teach you more about who you want to be once you enter the work force, but also more about what's going on around you. You are given the opportunities to learn about life near and far away. What's even better than this is that professors here actually make you want to learn about these things. And once you have, experiencing these things is infinitely more thrilling.
One of the best examples of that in this particular time of year is my freshman seminar, Snow: Art and Science. In this class, we are able to learn not only about the artistic, visual experience of snow, but also the even cooler parts like crystal formation! It comes as no surprise that this has made the weekly ski adventure even more exciting.

GET PUBLISHED!!!

The Onion River Review, Saint Michael's literary magazine, offers St. Mike's students the chance to get published at least once a year with each publication. It is edited by students, run by students, and comprised entirely of student work! And YES, if your submission is accepted, you are officially considered officially published! (Talk about a little color on the resume, right?)
Submissions of poetry, photography, sketches, and more are being taken (from students of any year) until February 6th, so get those creative juices flowing! Because this wouldn't just offer bragging rights.  Being published would render you a creative, talented, gutsy go-getter...and that's an honor impressive to any future employer!
Anyone who wishes to submit work may submit up to five pieces (this gives you the opportunity to submit in more than one medium!), so no worries if you've got a lot of good stuff you'd like to be considered. I myself submitted a photo; here's hoping I'll have more time in future years to submit more!
Even though I'm not affiliated with Onion River, I think it's definitely a fun opportunity for any student, even if you may not have previously considered yourself to be very artistic. My outlook is, why not at least try for it?!
For more information, visit http://www.smcvt.edu/onionriver/ or email onionriver@smcvt.edu.
GO FOR IT!!!

Missing All that Literature...

At first, I was a tad hesitant to get on board with the Saint Michael's Honors Program. I wondered if it would even be worth it in pursuit of a degree. After remembering, however, that it wouldn't hurt to give it a spin, I did just that.
So, I registered for one honors class for my first semester at St. Mike's: Imagine Nature, a literature class with an emphasis on the appearance and relevance of nature in novels, short stories, and poems. I figured it sounded fun enough. Little did I know, it would be the only class I'd miss upon entering my second semester.
What might be the best part about honors classes at St. Mike's is that they're guaranteed to revolve around small group discussions. Running the risk of sounding like an ad, this truly allowed us to become a close knit community, and dare I say friends, right there at that round table reading Robert Frost and Wuthering Heights.
And even with all that, we still managed to learn something. A lot, actually. As hard and often frustrating interpreting literature can get, this class made it fun and interesting...and with this group of people, it was the class I was happiest to go to and the class I was saddest to leave at the end of the semester. I couldn't fit an honors class into my schedule this semester, but I am far more than excited to be jumping into another one next fall.
That being said, I highly recommend the Honors Program at St. Mike's to anyone who may be on the fence or even dead set against it. For me, it was undoubtedly a fantastic decision that I'm so glad I made. It's days like these (deep, deep in this wretched polar vortex...) that I wish I had an excuse to lie in bed and read- even if it would be for a class. I imagine we could probably come up with some choice interpretations of this weather via discussion.

Lazy, Last Minute, Late Night, Lousy Decision-Making

Or is it all that lousy, really?
That all depends on your outlook, of course. If you ask me, my spontaneous orders of pizza and wings tend to make my weekend. Think what you will about that, but I'll tell you that you won't understand until you give it a spin for yourself.
One of the many perks of being here at St. Mike's is its convenient location near Wings Over Burlington. Angelic wings, if you ask me. I've heard some say they're the best wings they've ever had. I'll say that's just about as close to a fact as an opinion is ever going to get. Not only are they the shining light of my meat experience thus far, but order them with a group, and all of a sudden you're engaged in a uniting community event. I'm partial to the boneless Jamaican Jerk, but the idea alone is a force strong enough to rally even the laziest of pals.
And of course...what better study motivator could there possibly be...?

In addition to the occasional wing order, there's absolutely nothing wrong with an online pizza delivery. Sounds fun already, right?! Domino's gets my preferred sausage, onion and garlic or my chicken, bacon, ranch pizza straight to the dorm entrance in usually under thirty minutes. The best part is, since so many St. Mike's kids order for delivery, they always know exactly where to come, no questions asked. Score.
Long story short, we've got ourselves some options here at St. Mike's. Options never to be passed up in fear of weight gain. And I mean never.

Kicking Off the Season at Smuggler's

As the semester has come to a near end, I've been lucky enough to head up to Smuggler's Notch for two days of some thrilling snow (or lack thereof) adventures!
As was to be expected, the pre-season crowd proved slim to none, but I wasn't about to complain. Both days (Thursday and Saturday) left the lodge mostly empty, with the exception of a little more turnout through lunchtime. This gave me ample opportunity to snap a few pictures without judgment..."Would you look at them flags?!"

Though real snow was in short supply, Smugg's was avidly shooting the snow guns. Aside from a few fog and ice escapades, our slope ventures were productive to say the least. Both were gorgeous days- I am beyond excited to get back after a couple of storms!
Thankfully, I was able to capture a few seconds of jump-glory on video, however non-serious my ski-buddy may have been about it.