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Puppies and Poetry
It’s not uncommon to find a furry friend walking along the science building or taking a stroll beside the library. Juniata’s campus is a very pet friendly environment, I mean come on, who wouldn’t want to play fetch on all that freshly cut green grass of the quad?
It was a Friday, the third Friday of classes to be exact. Things were finally starting to fall into a pace. I walked into my last class of the day, feeling the drag of a Friday afternoon. I realized everyone else was really feeling this drag, too.
Poetry, in my opinion, is a great class to end on. It’s a wonderful wind down after a week full of fast paced, non-stop, college life. Despite my positive feelings towards this class, it’s still an obligation that isn’t quite Grey’s Anatomy and so I took my book out with a sigh, watching the minute’s tick until we began.
As we waited for a few more people to trickle in, a student came running into the classroom out of breath. “Puppies!” she shouted, “There are puppies!”
“Puppies?” my professor exclaimed? “What do you mean puppies? Where?” I think I could tell he was trying to contain excitement.
“Outside! By the Founders Fountain! Can we go? Please?”
Everyone stared at my professor waiting for a response. Awkward seconds passed. “Puppies don’t have anything to do with poetry…” he began. More awkward seconds.
“Okay. Quickly.”
Then suddenly, the Friday drag was lifted. Everyone jumped, and I mean jumped from their seats, including the professor, out and down the stairway to the fountain and onto the grass to play with and love the multiple, freshly born puppies.
The first ten minutes of poetry that day were passing puppies around, holding, snuggling, and watching my professor tell them how much he loved them. A memory, I’ll never quite forget. A memory of Juniata I hold near and dear to my heart. An experience I don’t think I’d get in any other poetry class anywhere else.
Returning from Cork, Ireland
When I was walking around Huntingdon on my first day back at Juniata College, I couldn’t help but smile. Even if I had an amazing time in Cork, Juniata was still home.
I spent my entire junior year studying Irish language and literature at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. Talking about study abroad is tricky – you don’t want to downplay the opportunities and experiences you had while there, but you also don’t want to sound arrogant or pretentious. In terms of school, UCC is much larger than Juniata. UCC has just under 20,000 students, around 2000 of which were international students like me. Compare that to the approximately 1600 undergraduate students at Juniata.
Most of the classes I took were within the Celtic Civilisation department (yes, civilization has an “s” instead of a “z” in Ireland). These classes had small, discussion-based approaches like at Juniata. This was not the case for other students in larger departments. I was happy to learn about Celtic linguistics, Old Irish grammar, and Otherworld literature as part of the 30-credit Certificate in Irish Studies that I earned.
The primary difference, for me, between Juniata and UCC was the workload. Juniata students are driven by a deep desire to learn that comes from somewhere within them. Most work abroad was done right before the heavily weighted final exams. I suppose they would think our structure was strange if they came here, though. Additionally, a huge difference upon returning is working. I have a few campus jobs, and I love working for Juniata. I couldn’t work at UCC because I didn’t have the paperwork to be eligible, and the shift from not working to working has been an adjustment these past few weeks. However, that adjustment is a welcome one. I really missed working in the Writing Center while abroad, and I made sure to meet up with some tour guide friends who were abroad to catch up with them.
One of my favorite aspects of Juniata is that it has offered me opportunity after opportunity, and one of the greatest has been the chance to study abroad at UCC. I came back with so much academic, personal, and cultural development, but I am thrilled to be at Juniata again. I’ve had so much fun (and I’ve learned so much) talking to other students who were here last year and who were abroad, and I love seeing the way their eyes light up when they tell stories from abroad, or talk about an event on campus that they orchestrated, or dive into the developments they made in their research. You could say that what I missed the most about Juniata was the passion in the students.
Go raibh maith agat, a Chorcaigh, ach táim sa bhaile anois.
Thanks, Cork, but I’m home now.
Juniata Goes West
There is a waterfall that is nestled between some of the lesser mountains that adorn the rugged skyline to the west of Colorado Springs. Seven Falls has been a longtime fixture in Colorado Springs’ attractions, but it has only recently (within the last few years) been bought by the Broadmoor, a swanky hotel, golf course and resort. They have made some amazing additions to the park and have done some stellar renovations. If you ever visit, hit up The 1858. It’s a little pricey but well worth it.
I found myself there twice this summer; once at the beginning, once at the end. The first time I found myself there was right before my best friend’s sister, a girl who I myself have come to see as a sister, graduated from our high school. The beginning of my summer marked the ending of an era for her. She was about to head off on a new adventure on the opposite side of the country. This was a momentous occasion for her, and there I was, back in Colorado, trying to combat altitude.
Seven Falls is an interesting place. Honestly, it is mostly just a tourist trap, offering the much sought after Colorado branded merchandise at extravagant prices. But once you climb the two hundred and eighty something steps to the trails above the falls, you get a new appreciation for life… and oxygen. The trails are shaded by tall spruce and sentinel pines and the few aspens that might be left over from a bygone flood. It is peaceful and calming; the stream that feeds the falls, can be heard trickling through the rocks and roots.
On my return trip to Colorado Springs at the end of the summer, my friend and I made our pilgrimage to the Falls. As we made our way to Inspiration Point, a cliff overlook that stands high above the falls and looks out over Colorado Springs, we passed a man and his son. The man stopped and pointed at my windbreaker (which bears a Juniata logo) and said “Juniata College? Is that the one in Pennsylvania?” I was so stunned that someone recognized the school that I was momentarily speechless. Then I enthusiastically responded that yes, it was, and we had a very exciting conversation about how his wife attended Juniata and how important her experience here was for her.
I was in awe for the rest of the day. It really wasn’t that big of a deal; you meet people who you have something distantly in common with every day. But it was the fact that he knew Juniata and not just in the “the school south of Penn State” kind of way. So many people I meet give me blank half-apologetic stares when I tell them where I go to college, but there, finally, just below Inspiration Point, I met someone whose life had been changed for the better because of Juniata.
My friend and I continued our climb to Inspiration Point and when we reached the top, I can in fact say that I was inspired. I sat there, staring down at the now miniscule city and how it, and so many things that I have come to associate with it, have gotten me to where I am today. I looked up from the city and admired the ageless rocks that surrounded me. I smiled, and we hiked back down to lunch, and the best nachos I have ever had.
Finding Your Fit
Like many students who transfer, Jamie Mistretta ’17, from Philadelphia, Pa., was struggling to find an engaging environment at her previous college, which led to a phone call with an admission counselor at Juniata. “I didn’t feel academically challenged, so I knew I wanted to attend a school where academics are a priority, and find a place where I could really get to know other students and professors,” says Jamie. Her phone call allowed her to meet an alum of the College and gain a really authentic understanding of the Juniata community.
After visiting Juniata, Jamie reflected on how easy and important it can be to design your own Program of Emphasis (POE). At Juniata, Jamie is able to take classes in a pre-designated POE program and then take specific courses that allow her to re-define her degree program. “It is great to have the option to study what I want to study and create my own personal POE,” says Jamie. She didn’t lose any time by transferring, as nearly every credit transferred to Juniata. She is currently pursuing a PreK– 4th grade education POE, but she is also interested in speech pathology.
In addition to finding her academic transition easy, Jamie also quickly adapted to a new social atmosphere on campus and in the Huntingdon community. “It was really important for me to go to a school where I could have great relationships with students that did not only revolve around studying,” says Jamie.
Juniata encourages students to interact with classmates through at least one of more than 100 campus clubs. She is currently an active member of Amigos de Guanin, a club that raises awareness and hosts fundraisers for people in Guanin, Dominican Republic, and she is a member of concert choir.
According to Jamie, the key to transferring is acknowledging what aspects you truly need out of your education. Transferring to a different college can be stressful, but phone calls and visits can really allow you to share some of your concerns and interests to achieve a more satisfying college education.
“Don’t hesitate, always apply,” Jamie says. “Applying gives you options and opportunities to find the qualities you want in a college experience.”
Written by: Lauren Frantz ’15
To Be, or Not To Be (Involved)
The spring semester theatre production of “Hamlet” opens this week and I am so incredibly excited. Not only are they performing this weekend and next, but they get to travel to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August! I was not cast in this show, but just because you’re not cast doesn’t mean you have to sit on the sidelines and watch from afar. I hopped on the opportunity to work backstage with the costume crew. This was my first experience working on the technical side of theatre, but my supervisors were appreciative, understanding and helpful with our tasks.
I was a little embarrassed to admit I didn’t know how to sew, but the costume designer for the show, Tara Webb, taught me everything I needed to know. I worked to sew buttons and labels while she made alterations to the actor’s costumes.
Another great part of working backstage is that I get to see the whole process of the show being put together. Many of my best friends have been cast in the show and it is
so amazing to see them killing it on stage! Not to mention, “Hamlet” is not an easy show! Any Shakespeare play has some serious memorization and text work that needs to be done before the play can even begin to be blocked in rehearsal.
“Hamlet” opens this Thursday, February 18th, and will perform the 19-20, and the 25-27th as well. There is a male cast and a female cast, and the casts alternate each night. I’m so proud of my friends for all of the work they’ve put into this show, and I’m so glad I can be a part of it, even thought I’m not in the actual show.
