Sterling College: Serve. Lead. Grow.

April 9, 2008

Summa-time

Is it just me, or whenever you hear the word “summer” do the words from that good ol’ LFO song get stuck in your head?

“New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits, Chinese food makes me sick!”

What a great song.

Anyway…

Sterling used to have this thing called Interterm where students had the chance to take one class during January. The class met every day for three hours (instead of the usual three times a week for about an hour) so you were able to get an entire class out of the way in just a few weeks.

We have something similar this year, but the administration decided to move this term to May instead of Janurary, so we started school pretty early after Christmas break back in January so we could be done in time for students wishing to take a class in May. Therefore… I only have two weeks left of my sophomore year. And it’s only April 9.

Ohhhhhh yeah.

As awesome as that is, it also means that it is now crunch time with tons of papers, exams and presentations for classes. Again, I want to be open and honest on this blog, so I’ll try to give you a taste of the good and bad about life at Sterling.

You should probably know that I am kind of a nerd, and therefore spend a lot of time studying. With quite a few tests and papers due this week and next, this can be a pretty stressful time. I’m taking 17 credit hours and have quite a bit of work on my hands…

But, at the same time, there are a lot of cool things going on around campus as well. We had our big “Formal” dinner and dance last weekend at the airport in Hutchinson (which is a bigger town in Kansas about 30 minutes from the college campus). Students only had to pay $5 to attend and we all got a great dinner from the Aiport Steakhouse (a much appreciated break from the cafeteria…). Some people are a little surprised to find that, even though we’re a Christian school, Sterling still does have school-wide dances every once in a while (we’re really not THAT boring). It was a really fun evening and it is always nice to get off campus for a while.

Even though it wasn’t really a “campus activity,” a group of my buddies and I got together for the big KU game Monday night in our dorm lobby. We had a bunch of snacks and ordered some pizza and just went nuts. Chalmers has always been my favorite KU player and he had such a great game. It was also a great night, even though we all probably should have been working on projects… Oh well–rock chalk, baby!

For all you perspective students reading this, I hope your year is finishing well. As always, feel free to hit me up at mehresman@sterling.edu if you have any questions.

“Cuz she’s been gone since that summa, since that summa…”

March 14, 2008

Hello World!

Hello Potential Sterling College Students,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Sterling College online! Perhaps this is the first encounter you have had with Sterling, or maybe you have been destined to come here since birth. Whatever the case, I am glad that you found your way to our website and this blog. Hopefully you will find some interesting stories and valuable insight into what it is like to be a student at a small, Christian school. So, before we can commence, there are few pieces of basic information I should probably share with you.

My name is Taylor Libby and I am a freshman English major here at SC. I am from Ellinwood, KS a town about the same size as Sterling a little over 40 miles away, and although I always saw myself going to a larger university far away from home, I decided to come to Sterling to compete on their forensics team. Now, you might be thinking it sounds a little strange for a school to have a competitive team that goes out and cuts up dead bodies, but forensics actually has nothing to do with crime scene investigation. Forensics is actually competitive speaking, acting, and oral interpretation of material, as well as competitive debate. Aside from forensics, I also am the features editor of the Stir (the college newspaper) and a freshman class senator. Needless to say, between these activities and homework, I stay pretty busy.

Like I said before, this is my first time blogging, but since you have come this far maybe you are intrigued to learn more about my life at Sterling and what Sterling could have to offer you. I am going to try really hard to blog at least once a week, and my goal is to give you the most honest look at what goes on at Sterling as possible. If you ever have questions about certain aspects of SC life or about anything else, feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me at tlibby01@sterling.edu.

Sit back and enjoy the ride as we enter Sterling College Taylor Libby style!

March 11, 2008

What is this college thing about anyway?

The magic number is 46. 46 days left in my junior year at Sterling College. Holy Smokes! The past three years for me here at Sterling have been filled with a rollercoaster of events and emotions. The nerves of Freshman Orientation, the anticipation of every new campus-wide event, the frustrations of overbooked semesters, the joy of really digging deep and getting involved on campus, and yes…even some petty drama with friends and relationships. College is overflowing with the things that shape who you really are and challenge everything you know. A scary thought. But Sterling College is (in my humble option…lol) an amazing place to experience those things while being held up by the foundation of Christ’s love and servant leadership (what a cool word huh?! You’ll be hearing about it a lot more when you get here, trust me!!).

So who the heck am I and why should you listen to anything I’m saying?! Well….let me introduce myself. My name is Ashley Earle and I love Sterling, Kansas! I grew up here. My dad graduated from Sterling College a looong time ago and I guess you could say that I’ve been raised on it. I’m an Elementary Education major with a minor in Christian Ministries. I serve as an RA in McCreery hall and a member of the student senate. Pretty everything I’ve done/thought about/worried about/been happy about for the past three years have been centered around this place…..and I’ve loved every minute of it!

I hope that if you are reading this you have been impressed with what you have learned about Sterling so far. Are we perfect. NO WAY! Are we filled with people who care about each other and are committed to seeing Christ shine through our campus? Absolutely! I guess I’ve learned that when you love something you take the good with the bad. And let me tell you, it’s worth it! If you have questions or want to hear about anything specific PLEASE let me know! (I have facebook too so message away! haha) This first post is short, but that’s because I’m trying to fit it in between homework, dinner, and a class meeting. Yay college!

March 10, 2008

You found my blog!

Greetings, all. My name is Matt.

That’s me.

Sorry it’s really big. I couldn’t figure out how to change it.

Most of you reading this are probably high school students who are considering coming to Sterling College, and I’m really glad you found this page.

I know that sounds cheesy and you probably don’t believe me, but it’s true. It’s nice to meet you.

This is my first post and I’m just trying to figure out what all to put here that won’t bore you to death. How am I doing so far? You’ll soon find out that I’m kind of a weird guy, but hopefully that will make this somewhat interesting to read.

Is it just me, or does this kind of feel like an awkward first date?

Don’t worry, I’ve got the tab.

Anyway, I’m a sophomore here and I’m from Wichita. I’m a Graphic Communications major with a minor in Youth and Worship Ministries. I play guitar and help lead one of the praise and worship bands here and am an editor for our school newspaper, The Stir.

I know you probably don’t care too much about my hobbies, so I won’t bore you with all the details. If for some reason you are interested, find me on Facebook and you can check out that stuff there.

So this first post is kind of short and lame, but I just wanted to set some ground rules so you can know what to expect.

I like Sterling a lot, but it’s not a perfect place. I know you’re probably getting a lot of flashy flyers in the mail from Sterling and other places (if you have the green viewbook from Sterling, I’m the one with the white shirt sitting in the chair on the fold-out page), and I’m going to try to give you an honest view from a student of what life is like here on campus. I’m going to try to be honest, and feel free to shoot me an e-mail (at mehresman@sterling.edu) or leave a comment if there’s anything else you’d like to know.

In the mean time, I’d like to get to know you too. If you have a blog, be sure to let me know. I hope you enjoy my musings, and I hope to see you around here next year.

Welcome to the Sterling Blog!