Chelsea’s Blog

Last weekend my brother’s a capella group, Extreme Measures, had their end of the year concert.  Luckily for him, his cheering squad was present!  My parents came to his concert, held in the North Reading Room in Wilbur Cross, along with some of my friends.  Extreme Measures put on a great show, and the Conn-Men, who opened for them, did too.  As usual, the concert was well attended by students, many had to stand (dance:-)) in the back because the audience was so big.  I was amazed by all the parents who came out for the concert on Saturday night and it made me realize that family involvement at UConn is pretty typical.  It is normal to see the parents of the players of the Club Sports Teams at the different games across campus or families visiting for meals in the dining hall.

As you begin to think about what it will be like to be a UConn student next fall, don’t forget to include your families!  While, it may seem like college is the time to be independent and on your own, it’s possible to include your families in your four years as a Husky and many of us do.  So don’t worry if your parents plan on visiting you a lot in the Fall… it seems to be the Husky way!

Here is a video from the concert on Saturday & more information about student groups associated with the performing arts at UConn.

Last night, I made my debut as a GUARD Dogs volunteer, along with my friends from the Leadership Legacy Experience.  I had a great time, one that I will never forget and hope to repeat next semester!  GUARD (Giving UConn a Responsible Driver) Dogs is a student run organization that provides safe, judgment-free rides home for UConn students and their friends on the weekends.  So, here is how it works: volunteers sign up in advance to drive, ride-along, or work dispatching, then show up at 10:00 pm for training, which of course included free food.  After training we loaded up into the vans, complete with a cell phone and Blackberry with GPS, notebook to keep track of who we need to pick up, and a caffeinated beverage.  My friend Brandon was the driver/DJ and provided an incredible playlist, which kept me and our passengers entertained.  My job was to receive phone calls from dispatch, get directions to where we needed to go, sign people up, call passengers when we arrived, and make sure that everyone in the van got home safe & happy.

legacy guards? leadership dogs?

Despite the fact that I was up for 22 hours straight yesterday (because of Open House and my internship), I had a great time and encourage new and current UConn students to take the chance to give back to the UConn community by providing this great service to students.  It was a lot of fun meeting more students and everyone was so appreciative of the service GUARD Dogs provides.  If you have decided to come to UConn and are looking for a way to get involved next year, definitely consider volunteering for GUARD Dogs or becoming part of their more permanent staff.

Here is the link to their website if you’re interested in learning more about GUARD Dogs.

My week has been absolutely filled with prospective students and their families, thanks to my job as a Husky Ambassador Program Coordinator.  Last Saturday, there was a banquet for Scholarship Recipients at the Aquaturf in Plantsville, CT, where I met three very nice families.  We shared a great meal and conversation, which was cut short by the excitement associated with all things Husky Basketball.  On Tuesday and Thursday we had Husky for a Day Visits and last night there was a Yield Reception in Trumbull, CT, where I met three more great families of future Huskies.

I always love meeting with prospective students and their parents, but I’ve started to think that some of them aren’t being honest when I ask if they have any questions… how could you not have questions about UConn?!  So, regardless of whether you are a student or a parent, feel free to post your questions here and I’ll do my best to answer them.  Come on… don’t leave me hangin!

This year I have noticed that a lot more of my professors use the Internet and YouTube in particular to help us connect the material we are learning about to real situations outside the classroom.  Some of my favorite videos of late have been brought to my attention by my professors…

This video was part of a lesson on emotional self-regulation in early childhood.  This toddler has not developed the coping skills that children age 3 to 8 usually do that would allow tantrums to become less frequent.  Plus it’s just a really funny video!

This next video is much different.  I watched it in my Comparative Family Policy class when we talked about the conditions of orphanages in Romania.  The video contains some pretty disturbing images, but it illustrates a very serious condition that country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWKQNMZa–Y

The use of YouTube is just one example of how professors at UConn engage their students in discussion about the subjects they are teaching.  Other similar strategies include debates, readings from sources other than textbooks, watching movies, and talking about their own experiences.  Strategies like this make classrooms seem smaller and definitely give us something to talk about.

For my Spring Break, I went to Slidell, Louisiana to work on hurricane relief with UCC UConn.  I had an incredible time and had I actually brought my computer with me, I would have liked to blog everyday to keep a record of everything we did.  Since one blog couldn’t possibly hold all of the memories, I will give you a synopsis of each day and any pictures that go with them.

Saturday: Flew from Bradley Inat’l Airport to Detroit to Memphis to LOUISIANA!!!  Got our rental cars, moved our stuff in to the church where we stayed, and grocery shopped for 18 people (a ridiculous task).

Sunday: Went to church, toured devastated areas of New Orleans (Lakeview & Lower Ninth Ward), did the tourist thing in the French Quarter (including a fried catfish po boy, beignets & cafe au lait, and Bourbon St.).

the waterline at this house was up to the second floor

Monday: Went to our orientation with the Southeast Louisana Disaster Recovery and worked with half of the group at a transitional shelter for homeless, but employed men in Slidell.  Work included hanging dry wall and framing. Our half of the group was lucky enough to work with four guys our age who were Mennonites stationed in Slidell for six months.  They are actually carpenters and were a huge help, since they taught us how to do everything.

our whole group at our orientation

Tuesday: More framing and various construction jobs at shelter, including ripping up an old floor.  Our dinner was a traditional Southern potluck complete with Mardi Gras beads, alligator sausage, the best mac & cheese in the world, and king cake, hosted by the church where we stayed.

Sarah, Laura, and me with some of our hosts

Wednesday: More miscellaneous construction at the shelter in the morning.  Went to Sonic for lunch and then drove to Gulfport, Mississippi and swam in the Gulf of Mexico!!  Also, went to see the African Children’s Choir at night.

Sarah, me, and the Gulf of Mexico!

Thursday: Almost fell through a ceiling while ripping up a floor at the shelter.  Went to a dedication of a house that the guys who we worked with helped to build, almost got eaten alive by blood thirsty gnats.  Went to the emergency room with Brittni, due to an asthma attack my (maybe) latex gloves (may have) caused.  Built a wall with a recovered Brittni and Anthony, one of the Mennonites.  Had dinner with the guys that we worked with and played football and Frisbee.

working on the wall we built

Friday: Finished up various projects around the shelter, cut a lot of 2 by 4’s that the boys hung in the ceiling.  Did a lot of deconstruction and filled a dumpster (for the second time).  Went out to dinner at a restaurant on Lake Pontchatrain.  Cleaned up… got sad about leaving

half of ucc uconn and the guys who helped us out!

Saturday: Flew from New Orleans to Detroit to Bradley.  Reluctantly got on a plane in 75 degree weather and when we got to CT it was only 41.

A hole made my teammate Sarah when she almost fell through

This semester I’ve been doing a lot of out of classroom learning, so midterms have been a little different.  I know I haven’t talked a lot about my classes this semester, so hopefully this post will bring you up to speed on what I’m taking this semester and what my exams (or not!) have been like.  As always, feel free to send me questions about anything!

One of the classes I’m taking is a graduate class on the topic of Minority Families.  Instead of having exams, we have to have a scholarly product (grant proposal, literature review, chapter of thesis, etc.) done by the end of the class and we have article reviews (2 page summaries/discussions) due each week.  On Monday, I had to turn in a first draft of my scholarly product, which ended up being an outline and about ten pages of writing.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to use some of this research for my Honors Thesis which I will be starting next fall.

This morning, I had an exam in my Comparitive Family Policies class, which is one of my favorites this semester.  The class is an introduction to family policy throughout the world.  Family policy, by the way, is the study of how the government spends tax dollars on programs that support families.  Some of the issues we have discussed are universal healthcare, family leave, child care, child poverty, and marriage laws.  I was amazed to learn about the social and family policies in European countries and how different they are from here.  For this midterm, I had to hand in an essay that I prepared before hand (five pages) and take a test, which was limited to multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer.

I know you probably really want to know about the bears, so I’m just going to briefly discuss my two other classes, then I’ll get to my internship and the bears.  For my Poli Sci class, Law and Society, we have to write three essays (5-7 pages) throughout the semester, one of which I handed in a week and a half ago.  It was on a topic of my choice regarding law and society… I still haven’t gotten it back which bugs me a little, but I have plenty of other things to think about!  For my Child Development class (Infancy through adolescents to be exact) I had a multiple choice exam last week.  And now… onto the bears…

Hiking counts as a midterm right?

So, for my internship last weekend, I climbed Bear Mountain in Salisbury, the highest peak in Connecticut. I went with a group of eight students and two instructors, who have a lot more outdoor experience than I do.  I’m always learning from them, whether it’s the best way to communicate with high schoolers or how to stop on cross-country skis (my advice-fall!).  It was a perfect day for hiking, but we had to wear crampons because the mountain was so icy.  Two weeks before that, I did an overnight camping trip with many of the same kids in Beartown State Forest in Monterey, MA.  (Thankfully, I haven’t seen any actual bears, just a lot of signs for them… sorry to disappoint).  My internship with the Wilderness School has been fantastic so far and I can’t wait to see where else it takes me this spring!

View of Twin Lakes from the summit

No... this is not Storrs, CT... don't worry!

For Spring Break, my roommate, Sarah, and I are going to Slidell, Louisiana with UCC UConn, which is a group associated with the Storrs Congregational Church.  We have been fundraising for our trip since November and on Valentine’s Day we had our biggest fundraiser yet, a Surf and Turf Dinner and Silent Auction.  We made over $5,000 in one night!  The Silent Auction definitely helped, since we had items like a basketball signed by Ray Allen of the Celtics/Huskies, Yankees tickets, and an autographed Eli Manning poster.  After setting up all morning, I waited tables at two dinners, where we served sirloin steak and stuffed shrimp, or a stuffed portabella mushroom, and a fruit cup & sherbet, salad, mixed vegetables, and either chocolate mousse or carrot cake for dessert.

mmm... surf and turf

By fundraising most of the cost of our trip, we only have to pay $100 to fly to Louisiana for a week to do hurricane relief.  I’ve never been to the South before, so I’m really excited to go and help people whose lives have been changed by Hurrican Katrina.  Although I don’t have much experience in rebuilding houses, I’m pretty good at cleaning up after other people, so hopefully my ability with a broom and paintbrush will come in handy.  Many UConn students find ways to give back to the community locally, nationally, and even internationally.  To see a list of programs and trips offered by the Office of Community Outreach, follow the link below.    UConn Community Outreach

And… here is the blog for UCC UConn’s Alternative Spring Break trip… yes another blog…

I’ve decided to use this post to highlight two very unique educational opportunities that I have this semester.  The first is a part of my Human Development: Infancy- Adolescence class… I’m raising a virtual child, through a program called (you guessed it) Virtual Child.  In high school I remember seeing students carrying around their “babies” that they would have to feed, change, rock, and play with, which is sort of what I thought I was in for with my virtual child.  Much to my surprise, I had to take a survey about my personality, habits, and behaviors before Norah was “born.”   I don’t actually physically interact with her, rather I answer questions about how I would raise her. Some of the questions seem a little silly, but all are important!  Based on how I have answered the questions, Norah is given developmental report cards through the “years.”  Raising Norah has made learning about child development much more applicable, since we also talk about our virtual children during parent meetings in our class.  Last week we discussed what we looked for in childcare establishments.

Another unique opportunity I have this semester is working on a research project with a recent graduate of the HDFS Department on a study coding gender specific behaviors in the Disney Princesses (and Princes).  Throughout the semester, I will be coding Cinderella, Mulan, Snow White, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty for behaviors such as assertiveness, affection, nurturing, physical strength, and sensitivity.  My favorite behavior to code for is “collapses crying,” which happens more than you might think… though never among the princes.  The head researcher in the study, Dawn, is hoping to be published in the journal Sex Roles after we finish coding.  She turned in her article (which came out of her Senior Honors Thesis) to the journal, and pending the inter-coder reliability I hope to provide, her article will be published.  The project has been a lot of fun so far and I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to do this level of research.

See what gender specific behaviors you can find in this clip from Pocahontas…

I was trying to reel you in with the title… did it work?

Ok, but really now… despite frigid temperatures last week, former American Civil Liberties Union President, Nadine Strossen came to speak at UConn.  I attended the lecture she gave at the Student Union, along with my Leadership Legacy Experience cohort and a diverse group of UConn students, faculty, staff, and members of the Storrs community.  Ms. Strossen spoke about many issues from gay marriage to freedom of speech to issues regarding detaining suspected terrorists.  She made it very clear that the ACLU is a non-partisan organization, interested in the issues, not taking sides and that making your voice heard is the best way to protect your own civil liberties.

My cohort was fortunate enough to enjoy dinner with Ms. Strossen after her speech… and what’s better than appetizers with one of the most influential women in the country?  Well… that would have to be free appetizers with one of the most influential women in the country with some of your closest friends!  It was great to get to talk to Ms. Strossen about things that are important to me, like family policy, and see the other members of my cohort weigh in on the topics they’re passionate about.  Some of my friends also networked with the regional representatives from the ACLU and may be looking for internships with them in the near future.  I’m fortunate enough to already have a great internship for the semester, which I’ll be updating you on soon!

As Charlayne & Kyle already mentioned, we had a snow day on Wednesday, but it doesn’t really sound like either of them took advantage of the day’s winter splendor.  It doesn’t matter how old I get, snow days will always be associated with sledding.  My suite mate Faith and I planned ahead and wanted to have breakfast early so we could get our sledding in before the snow turned to ice.  So, after a leisurely breakfast of omelets (a college snow day tradition) Faith and I suited up.  Our sledding gear included: sweatpants, UConn sweatshirts, hats, mittens, rain boots… and trash bags.   Yes, trash bags.  Most sleds are a little too big to store in a dorm room, but we’ve discovered that the heavy duty garbage bags from our dorms work great.

Post-Sledding Rosie Cheeks

Faith and I hit the short hill (nope, can’t say slope) in front of our dorm and we had a lot of fun.  While our roommates studied and slept, Faith and I looked ridiculous sledding down a mini hill.   Today, I was introduced to real sledding at UConn… Horsebarn Hill.  We only drove by the mecca of winter fun, but I seriously wished that I had been more prepared with my winter garb and a real sled.  Hopefully we will get more snow this week and Faith and I will make it all the way out to Horsebarn Hill for some real sledding!