UWM Living Learning Communities

Winding Down the Road

2011-12-21T22:28:00.006-06:00

“The best teacher is experience and not through someone's distorted point of view”

― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

The Crossroads LLC has had quite the semester. Following in the beliefs of Jack Kerouac that experience is crucial for learning the LLC has had a number of activities to better understand the class. This program has been an examination of the Counterculture of the 1960s and the evolution of the Beat Generation.

From Dharma Bums to Naked Lunch, Crossroads have discussed the evolution of the Beat Generation and their many different styles of writing that emerged from it.

To increase their knowledge of this 1960's Counterculture, the residents of the Crossroads LLC have gone on many exciting field trips. After our initial LLC kickoff involving tie-dyed shirts and music the class progressed to more adventurous trips.

Woodland Pattern

One of the many trips the Crossroads LLC took was to Woodland Pattern Bookstore. This bookstore is said to have one of the best poetry selection in the Midwest and has extensive jazz performances. The residents had the opportunity to peruse the extensive Woodland Pattern inventory and learn about the local Jazz community and see a performance.

Shambhala Meditation Center

Another on of the trips the Crossroads LLC took was to the Shambhala Meditation Center. Here the residents involved in the LLC learned about the different types of meditation that the literary figures of the Beat Generation were involved in.

The Crossroads Living Learning Community has had an exciting semester.

I hope you continue to follow our adventures and watch us grow as a community.

See you in 2012!

What classes should I take? Honors LLC is planning for next semester

2011-12-13T14:12:00.002-06:00

It's around that time in the semester where all of us start planning (and hopefully not panicking) about what classes to take next semester. Many of the Honors House students have been asking me what Honors classes I would recommend to take or which I wouldn't. However, my response to the students may not be helpful in narrowing down classes because I have to tell them that all of the Honors classes are great! Honestly, I have not heard of one Honors classes that hasn't been really intriguing, fun and informative. I've taken three Honors courses from three different professors and because each professor is unique, I learn unique things from each of them. I think the LLC students have learned that we may not love every professor, instructor or TA we have, but we can learn something from all of them and make the best out of every class we take because after all, it's up to us to learn. I think most of the students have their schedules all figured out for next semester now and are looking forward to completing finals, enjoying winter break and getting back to campus!

Have a great winter break everyone and see you in 2012! :)

2011-12-12T16:47:00.002-06:00

Last week, my LLC students (particularly my ASL 1 students) had a study day to prepare for their final exam. The main thing when learning ASL is practicing, and being comfortable in conversation. So we played some games in the lounge to practice their facial expressions, and other games to help them sign on the spot. It was fun, I ordered pizza for everyone, so that was fun in itself.

Honors LLC loves Discovery World!

2011-12-11T13:44:00.002-06:00

Hi!

As I said in my last post, the Honors LLC took a trip to Discovery World last Friday, probably one of the most fun things we have done so far this year. There were 13 of us total (including RA Kelly and me) so we had a fairly large group and we were lucky in that we nearly had the place to ourselves. We went to the incredible aquarium in the lower level where we got to touch sting-rays and fish, play inside (an almost real) submarine, and learn all about the Great Lakes. We also went upstairs and got to explore a ship, experience MATC's weather simulator, and learn how water is purified and used for drinking. Then, we went to the machines section where some of the students did the pilot simulator and practiced flying airplanes, while other students learned how various small machines work. Finally we went upstairs and had a blast with the static electricity exhibit (it was hysterical watching RA Kelly's hair stand on end) and most of the students, including me, go to lay on a bed of nails.

I had never been to Discovery World before and I'm so lucky that I got to go for the first time with all the amazing Honors LLC students.We had an amazing time and learned a lot. I can't wait to go back again.

--Molly (Honors LLC Mentor)

End of the Semester for Honors LLC!

2011-12-09T11:23:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone,

With the semester coming to an end the Honors LLC has been very busy studying, scheduling for next semester and decorating our LLC common area (you guys seriously need to come check out the construction paper fire place!) . The students have been working extremely hard on school yet still find plenty of time to hang out with each other because as one student told me, "I'm excited to go home for the holidays, but I don't wanna leave the LLC!" I'm so happy that the students enjoy spending time together. I think every time I stop by the floors, there are at least 10 people hanging out in the lounge. It's awesome!

On another note, today we will be heading Discovery World today for a little fun before the final week of the semester. We are all really excited to spend some time together while enjoying one of the wonderful things the city of Milwaukee has to offer. I'll try to get some pictures of the trip to show everyone!

Have a great weekend/end of the semester! Don't study too hard :)

--Molly (Honors LLC Mentor)

Human Rights Day: Freed Iranian Doctors

2011-12-08T12:49:00.000-06:00

This month the Beyond Borders LLC went to an event that was hosted by Center for International Education. We were able to sit down and hear the amazing experiences that Doctors Kamiar and Arash Alaei shared with the audience. We were able to learn about their efforts in Iran to help with AIDS and HIV that eventually lead them into prison as political prisoners in the most notorious Iranian prison, Evin. We also learned about their efforts while in prison to help the other prisoners and some of their own personal battles. We were all amazed by their strength and perseverance that they had through everything from doing the clinics fighting AIDS/HIV, to imprisonment, to deportation from their home land. The Beyond Borders LLC is revving up for next semester with all new ideas, competitions, opportunities and fun things to do. See you all next semester.

MAM Writing and Visual Culture Trip!

2011-12-05T18:50:00.002-06:00

Hey All!

Just a quick update on an event we ran a while back. 17 students from the writing and visual culture LLC went on October 25th to the Milwaukee Art Museum on for a quick afternoon field trip. Accompanied by the professors of the English 101 and 102 classes that are connected with the LLC, members perused the museum at their own pace looking into traveling exhibits in the art of impressionism.

Other exhibits there included collections by an artist of things unseen to most people. Through consistent letter writing and calls this artist was able to photograph many things that often go unspoken of or even known of to your average person. Some photographs of interest were samples of live HIV Virus, the cross Atlantic cables, the cryogenic freezing apparatus containing the frontier scientists of the field, and even a rejection letter from Disney refusing to allow any photographs be taken behind the scenes as not to ruin the magic of it all.

Many students were also taking the Milwaukee buses for the first time as well which was an eye opening experience in and of itself. Overall it was a fun break from the daily dragged out grid of classes and gave all the students in the Writing and Visual Culture LLC a chance to see some practical applications of Visual Culture in everyday art.

Lab Rats Planetarium Trip!

2011-12-05T10:28:00.004-06:00

On Friday the Lab Rats went on an outing to the Manfred Olson Planetarium to view the 2012: Fact or Fiction show. I recommend that anyone who has concerns about the 2012 predictions go to this show, which takes place on every Friday at 7 through December 16th and costs $2. The show completely put my fears about 2012 to rest! 2012: Fact or Fiction takes five theories about how the world will end and then gives detail about how each theory is nothing to worry about, and then ends with a star show that first shows the stars as they would be seen from Milwaukee and then shows them as they would be viewed in the country. I learned the location of several constellations that I had known little about before, like Cassiopeia. The Lab Rats had a blast and I recommend this presentation to anyone who has nothing to do this Friday night.

So close and yet so far in the Honors House!!!

2011-11-30T17:38:00.007-06:00

We have only 2 and half weeks left of classes plus a week of exams before winter break and the end of the semester!!! Just about everyone is feeling the stress and beginning to prepare for the exams. To try and have some fun before the end of the semester we have a few fun things going on! Next week friday a group of us are going to Discovery World on the lakefront!

a few days later, on saturday, another group is going to see the Nutcrakcer at the Milwaukee Marcus Center!

In keeping in tru Honors House tradition our house could not go with out being decorated for the Holidays! Alyssa Zasada spent a weekend putting together our fabulous Fireplace and Mantle,

and a large group of us had a lot of fun making the snowflakes and a mess ;)

We will never stop having fun! Well anyway I hope you all have a awesome rest of the semester and winter break!!!

RA Kelly

Architecture Tour of Downtown Milwaukee

2011-11-30T14:10:00.003-06:00

Who says you need to go abroad or to another big city see significant architectural works?

This semester, the Architecture LLC had the opportunity to do a walking tour of downtown Milwaukee with none other than the Dean of the UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Dean Bob Greenstreet. "Greenstreet", as the architecture students call him, took our LLC on a 3 hour walking tour downtown, pointing out Milwaukee's most significant architectural buildings.

Having lived in Milwaukee all my life and being a 6th year architecture student (BSAS and working on my Masters degree), I assumed I had seen and heard about most of the important buildings within the downtown area... Well I was definitely wrong. Dean Greenstreet's tour showcased little known spaces as well as the usual suspects. We had the chance to see spaces some people will never get to see! All of the students really enjoyed the tour and had fun getting to know the Dean of the school.

2011-11-30T12:47:00.002-06:00

Hello, my name is Lucas Rentmeester and I'm the Architecture LLC RA. This is my 3rd year as an RA for UWM University Housing and my 2nd year as an LLC RA. I'm also a senior Architecture undergrad student at UWM.

I’ve been really enjoying having the Architecture LLC and helping my residents/students. Thus far this year we have done a tour of down town Milwaukee with Bob Greenstreet the Dean of the Architecture school. As well as, various project/model help nights. I look forward to the rest of this semester and spring semester and the various events we will have. (Sorry for the late post... first time blogging)

End of the Year

2011-11-27T15:09:00.000-06:00

Well the semester is wrapping and the residents are busy getting their final projects done. From this semester the residents explore the art of making 2D art forms. They went though the color wheel and playing with all the possibilities of color. They explored playing with space and shapes. With these foundations they are getting ready to adventure on making their own kind of art. I can’t wait to see what they will create in 3D concepts.

With the LLC being about community and living together, community was taken into the classroom. This semester residents worked on doing art in the community. The focused on the River west area, which got the residents loving the area that they are living in. From the classroom, community in the art and design LLC is very strong. Residents have all semester spend many hours in the lounge work on their homework together. The lounge is very active place at all hours. With this activie they have created friendships in this community.

You Don't Always Need To Know Where You Are Going

2011-11-26T13:45:00.006-06:00

Since this was my first year as a LLC mentor, I was glad to hear that I would be working with the Creating Your Future LLC. I am all too familiar with what it feels like to be unsure about your major and what you want to do after college. Since I already took the journey my students would be just starting on, I was very excited to be a resource for them. If anything, I could relieve some of the stress I felt when I entered college.

My main advice for students who are unsure of what they are going to major in is DO NOT WORRY...actually...be excited. Since you have no idea what you want to do you can take whatever classes you want and explore topics you never knew existed. My freshmen year I was able to take a variety of classes ranging from a political science class with a United States focus to a global studies course that opened my eyes to many international issues that I began to take interest in.

During my four years of college so far I have been a political science major, a global studies major and completely undecided in between every decision I have made. Now I am wrapping up my psychology degree and trying to double major in documentary journalism. As you can see, I still don't really know what I want to do with my degrees or in college, but I stay stress free by taking my own advice. Relax and enjoy college! It is more about the complete experience you get rather than a specific course of study. I have learned more from the people I have met, becoming my own independent person and exploring all avenues of life. For this reason, I think being undecided is the best major you could possibly be!

Community Leadership LLC!

2011-11-26T13:20:00.005-06:00

Hey all!
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was spectacular. The Community Leadership LLC, along with some friends from the res halls, continued to live up to their name all month. It all began with the RAKathon and continued with independent volunteering as well as some great ideas for the upcoming months, like "Don't get sick!" tips and adopting a family for the holidays. We wrapped up the month with a potluck style 4th North community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Winding Down

2011-11-23T13:25:00.002-06:00

The Creating Your Futures LLC has been hard at work this semester. The residents have been working very hard in their classes,with the last few weeks studying for midterms and now the residents beginning to get ready for finals. In the Planning Your Major class, the residents got to learn how to create a resume. The instructor took them through the basics of creating a resume and then some tips to really stand out from others. Then, on November 9th, the residents got to have a local business person come in and speak to the class about interviewing. The residents all found it really helpful and are planning to use what they learned to try to find a job on or around campus.

Other than this we have had a few social events in RiverView lately and have a couple more coming up including a skateboard/longboard design competition, a ping pong competition, and our community specifically will be having a video game night in a couple weeks to celebrate the end of the semester and relax before finals get into full swing. Before we know it, it will be time to pack up and head home for winter break!

***Just a little tip to prepare for success for next year, make sure you meet with your academic adviser before you schedule classes! Meeting with your adviser can help keep you on track and help you graduate on time!

International Education Week

2011-11-21T00:51:00.000-06:00

The past month was filled with many event that truly corresponded to the Beyond Borders LLC. This events were those put on by the Center for International Education for the International Education Week. The LLC took full advantage of these events by going to them. The week started off with the Careers Across the Map: Working in International Education on Monday, November 14th. During the middle of the week on Thursday the residents went to the International Bazaar where they were able to sees the different student organizations that have international aspects associated with them. Dina Wolf even created a fun game with it by giving out goody bags to those residents that did come to the bazaar. Then on the last day of International Education Week the LLC residents were invited to the Global Networks: Global Studies Fellow Colloquium where they could enjoy amazing food while listening to faculty members of CIE talk about their research projects and their goals for them. Also on Friday, there was a fantastic program called How's it Going? U.S. Holidays were they were able to try different foods that coordinated to different holidays celebrated in the U.S. by different cultures while learning fun facts and the origins of the holidays. The next event is another pairing with the Center of International Education with celebration of Human Rights Day on Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm in the Wisconsin Room.

60 Second Film Contest

2011-11-15T10:50:00.004-06:00

Hey everybody! The Film LLC recently had a 60 Second Film Contest. Here were the rules:

You have to break off into teams of no more than 4 people.

Each team was then given this quote:

"I was looking for that shop

where the shopkeeper would say,'There is nothing of value in here.'
I found it and did not leave.
The richness of not wantingwrote these
poems."

Each team had four hours to create a video 60 seconds in length. No more. No less.

Each team was given an obstruction to follow: for example, one team was not allowed to shoot on campus, another was not allowed to have any shots of more than 6 seconds in length, etc.

Immediately after the video was completed, the videos were screened in front of an audience and panel of judges. Everyone was allowed to vote for the audience favorite...except filmmakers were not allowed to vote for their own, of course. The votes were tallied, and an Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize winners were given trophies.

It was a lot of fun. We had lots of residents (even from other floors) come to watch the four films that were produced. All in all, it was a great event. Everyone is looking forward to the 12 hour film contest coming up in the spring!

I have placed a link to the Film LLC's facebook page so you can watch the videos that were made. There are more pictures up there as well.

Innovation House at Discovery World!

2011-11-14T12:13:00.004-06:00

Hey all!

Three months into the semester and the Innovation House has some awesome things going on!

The highlight of the semester has got to be Discovery World! Ten Freshman including myself our half way through a program at the interactive Science Museum designing Lego Mindstorm Robots! Every Monday night for three hours, we design, test, and build Robots that utilize bio-mimicry. What I mean by bio-mimicry is that we are designing robots to mimic a plants action. You might not think plants move, but they actually do! The Venus Fly Trap closes its leaves to capture bugs and insects for food, the traditional bean plant moves its leaves around to maximize sunlight intake, and the exploding cucumber plant launches/explodes its cucumber when touched by something. The most exciting part about this whole process, is figuring out how you can design a robot to accomplish your specified plant task. And that is what we are working on! I will try to post some pictures if our finalized robots when we complete them! Stay tuned :)

Ross

Fun Events!!!

2011-11-09T11:38:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! The weather is really starting to turn and a lot of people are looking for indoor activities for fun. I want to post up a few ideas I have for things to do that are close to UWM. One thing I have really enjoyed in the past and would love to go to more is MAM after dark. Once a month, on a Friday night, the Milwaukee Art Museum offers a night of special activities, exhibits, food, drinks, and friends. This website has a list of the upcoming events: http://mam.org/afterdark/?page_id=63. They also have a lot of artists' talks that the public can attend. If you are an art student don't forget to get your free museum pass in the art office! You pay for it through differential tuition so go use it!!

It's an Elephant!

2011-11-08T21:34:00.003-06:00

So we had an event tonight. It was called "It's an Elephant!". Basically, you had to gesture a picture to someone, and they had to gesture to someone else...like the game telephone. I was trying to build there signing skills, using different kinds of classifiers. We had about 10 people come around so that was exciting! It went over pretty well with everyone; it was interesting to see how people interpret things so differently. Event=Success!

Architecture LLC / Environmental & Global Sustainability LLC

2011-11-07T09:36:00.002-06:00

Hello! My name is Kyle Bilot and I am a First Year Mentor working with the Architecture and Environmental & Global Sustainability LLCs!

A little about myself... this is my 6th year on campus at UWM. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies degree in May 2010 and I am currently working on my Master of Architecture degree (graduating this spring). In Summer 2009, I had the opportunity to study abroad in France, Italy, and England, which was an absolutely life changing experience.

I have been involved with the First Year Center and LLCs for 3 years now. Last year, I was the mentor for the Environmental & Global Sustainability LLC, and this year working with that LLC again as well as the Architecture LLC. I love working with the LLC students. It is a very rewarding experience to get to know the students and see them transform over the course of the year. Watch for some updates of what our LLCs are doing in the near future!

Beyond Borders on a Field Trip

2011-10-30T17:04:00.000-05:00

Sweet Water Organics Trip

On October 21st, the residents and students in the Beyond Borders LLC took an amazing trip to Sweet Water Organics and even around Bay View.

We first started off at Sweet Water Organics where we learned one of the most unique ways to grow food. At Sweet Water they use Aquaponics to create their food. It is one of the most creative ways that I have seen to create food. They do not use any soil but water and fish. This system not only helps grow food but helps with growing fish. They are able to sell both the fish and food to create a profit for their business.

The building that they use is an old factory in the city of Bay View. They completely cleaned out the building and revamped it to create what they have now. While they do Aquaponics outside they also do it outside with small greenhouses around the outside of the building. Sweet Water is trying to expand their efforts to the outdoors to try to use as little amount of energy as possible. They also have another system of organic food that is outside: honey making. They were able to create a system in Wisconsin that lasts even into the beginning of winter where bees are able to create organic honey. The whole time that the students and residents were at Sweet Water they their eyes were glued to the different things that the company is doing inside and outside. Some of them were even being studious and taking notes the whole time.

After Sweet Water we were taken around Bay View and shown it by the teacher of the LLC class, Aims McGuinness. He was able to show us some of the historical sites around Bay View like the Father Groppi's family store. Many students bought different and unique items like sausage that is made in the family store and many, many pastries. The reason we stopped at some of the historical sites like the Grippi store and where May Day originated because they talked about these different things and how they connected to globalization. The students and even I were amazed by the plethora of knowledge that Aims had about the history of Milwaukee. Every moment was a learning experience, even when we were able to go into the the Basilica of St. Josaphat.

Half way there!!!

2011-10-28T16:30:00.006-05:00

Well everyone we are half way to the end of the semester! We have been having tons of fun on the Honors House so far! We have had Dr. Schuster from the Honors College come to talk to the LLC students about how to be successful in the Honors College. We had a Busy Student Relaxation day in our lounge were we banned homework from the lounge for a few hours, dimmed the lights, listened to some calming celtic music and had a tea party! It was a big hit and we hope to do it again real soon! We have been spending the past week or so decorating the lounge for a Halloween house decorating contest! I have post some pictures below (all pictures taken by the fabulous Ryan Radtke)

WE WERE THE WINNERS OF THE SANDBURG COMPETITION!!!

We have also been planning a big trip to Discovery World mid November which should be some real fun! but more on that next time!

That's all I have for now keep chugging everyone! Another half to go!!!

RA Kelly Keuper

2011-10-27T15:03:00.003-05:00

The Lab Rats recently started a program for anyone who wished to participate. Andrew, the mentor for the LLC, brought plastic cups, bean seeds, and dirt. Anybody who was interested received several seeds and a couple of cups of dirt. The basic premise is that participants had to record anytime they water their bean plant and at the end of the semester there would be a competition to see whose had grown the most.
The Lab Rats went wild decorating the cups. A competitive spirit arose as the Lab Rats started to tease each other. We all are definitely in this to win!

Introduction

2011-10-26T12:42:00.003-05:00

Hi! My name is Ivy Lee Klarer and I grew up mostly in Mount Horeb, WI, outside of Madison. This is my fourth year at UWM and I will probably have one more semester after that before I graduate with a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture, and jewelry and metal-smithing. I have never lived in the residence halls, but have visited friends there and enjoyed it. I am a freshman mentor for the students in the art and design LLC at Riverview and Cambridge. Things I do in my barely existent spare time are work on my art creations and ideas, cook, listen to music, go out with friends, be outside, and relax. I also love to travel!! Mostly I am doing school projects and working my three jobs, which are all things I enjoy!

2011-10-22T09:11:00.001-05:00

Over the past month the art community has had some amazing events. To start off October the residents were able to do the art walk of River West. Almost every resident were able to participate in this event. They were able to learn about the River West community and see how artist in Milwaukee function. This was also got residents more comfort with this community.

Then residents were about to participated in the free Thursday at the Milwaukee Art Museum. For some of the residents it was their first time ever going to the museum. This created something new for them to try. They were very engage with leaning about the building and all the artwork inside. With that it brought up the question of “what is art”. The question is going to hunt art student forever. Even I’m trying to figure out this question. No luck so far answering this question.

Now the big event in the art community is Gallery Night, which is October 21^st and 22^nd. Gallery Night is where artist’s opens up their studios and share their creations. It is event all over Milwaukee with many types of arts. Some resident took the time to travel to these galleries to see what is out there. There were able to see what the 3^rd ward is all about. They seem to enjoy the 3^rd ward with it’s older building and the people that in that community.

MAM Day

2011-10-15T14:52:00.005-05:00

The Film LLC and Art LLC teamed up to go to the Milwaukee Art Museum recently to enjoy one of Milwaukee's fine art sources. We had a great time touring the museum and seeing all that it had to offer. There was so much to see that we barely saw half of the museum's art work...and some of us even got lost in the endless rooms

that the museum breaks off into. In the end, everyone was happy they went.

BOWLING!

2011-10-11T21:38:00.005-05:00

So I put together a bowling event for all of my lovely LLC residents. We went to the Union and did some hardcore bowling. That was about it :) It was a lot of fun, and a lot of people showed up for it so that is always a plus.

Helping Hands in Health Care LLC

2011-10-06T23:32:00.005-05:00

Hello! My name is Nikole Rude and I am the mentor for the Helping Hands in Healthcare LLC. I am looking forward to working with Alayna, the RA for the LLC. This is my third year here at UWM. I am majoring in Kinesiology pre Physical Therapy and plan on going to graduate school to get a doctorate in Physical Therapy. I am from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and am living off campus on Murray Ave but our LLC is in Sandburg, North tower.

Our first event we had was Mario Cart with fatal vision goggles. We had a blast and enjoyed meeting and getting to know some of the students. We plan on hosting a number of events but they currently are in the making but I will definitely post when we have some things set in stone :) Our next event will have to do with zumba though!

60 Second Film Contest

2011-10-03T16:31:00.004-05:00

Hello, My name is Jordan Larson and I am the new RA for the Film, Video, and New Genres LLC.

I am proud to be apart of the LLC, as we have already been able to be apart of many great opportunities this year. Last week, we attended the showing of Drake Doremus' Like Crazy at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

Coming soon, we have the 60 Second Film Contest! Teams of four will be given four hours to create a short (terms of short film will be determined before competition begins). After each team has concepted, shot, and edited the films within the four hour time limit, we will have a showing of all the films with a panel of judges immediately following the time deadline. Awards will be given to the grand jury favorite and the audience favorite. The competition will be target towards the LLC, but everyone is invited to the showing.

I am excited for this event which will be in November. I will make final announcements soon.

Welcome Creating your Future LLC!

2011-10-02T01:30:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new year! My name is Michael and I am the Resident Assistant (RA) for the Community Leadership LLC! I am originally from Menomonee Falls and I moved to Milwaukee for school in Fall 2008. During high school I was in band, choir and theater productions, though I haven't been in one since coming to college. At UWM I have been involved in several student organizations and worked various on-campus jobs as well.

This is my fourth year at UWM and I will be getting a Bachelors in Social Work along with a Certificate in LGBT Studies. Much like Celia, the Mentor for the LLC, I have had majors across the board before I finally settled on Social Work, so I am very excited to share my experiences and help everyone get a better handle on how they want to spend their time here at UWM!

As far as my job, my second year working for University Housing as an RA and with an LLC, and also my second year in RiverView! I am really excited to be working with everyone and am looking forward to having some awesome experiences. I am hoping to make some amazing connections with all of my residents and I strongly encourage anyone/everyone to come and talk to me whenever. I know that it can be hard to get connected on such a large campus, but I firmly believe that there is a spot here at UWM for everyone. Let's find it together!

That's about all I have for right now. I know this is going to be a great year, and I look forward to everything that is to come!

Creating Your Future LLC

2011-09-30T12:38:00.005-05:00

HELLO!!!! My name is Celia Osorno and I am the mentor working with the Creating Your Future LLC, which is located in Riverview. This is my fourth year at UWM and I am almost done with my degree in psychology, but I am just starting on my journalism degree, so I probably will be in school for another year.

This is my second year working for the Student Success Center as a mentor and my first year working with an LLC. I am really excited to be involved in this new way and work with Michael (the RA for our LLC) to make the LLC a great experience for our students. I have changed my major a bunch of times before finally deciding on JAMS and Psychology so I am the perfect mentor to give advice to the undecided students in our LLC and help them navigate through their first year at UWM!

Other than work for the SSC, I am playing club soccer for UWM this year and I am involved with the Society of Professional Journalists. I am originally from Green Bay, but I now live full time in Milwaukee on the East Side. I really enjoy going to concerts, hanging out with my friends, exploring the city and going to the beach, in the summer that is, when I have free time away from school and work!

Lab Rats LLC!

2011-09-30T00:56:00.003-05:00

Hi, I'm Lexi, and I'm the RA for the Lab Rats. The Lab Rats are devoted to undergraduate research, which is something that makes UWM unique.
The Lab Rats are going to be doing a lot of cool stuff this year. To start the year, we introduced our theme for 2011: Underground UWM. The goal is to show the Lab Rats many of the parts of UWM that are not typically seen by students or students don't usually know about. We started with a tour. First, we explored the Student Athlete Facilities at the Klotche center. These facilities have been used for undergraduate research in the past, so it made sense for the Lab Rats to see them. They got to see examples of research projects that other students have been a part of. Next the Lab Rats paid a quick visit to Cunningham Hall and walked through the chancellor's office. After Cunningham, the Lab Rats were given a tour of The Green Roof on Sandburg. The final stop on the tour was Special Collections in the library. Special Collections is not restricted, many do not know about it because it is hard to get to (It's on the 4th floor. The stairs don't go up to it and only a few elevators can get there.)
I'm really looking forward to this year and everything the Lab Rats are going to do!
Lexi

RIVERWEST ART CRAWL!

2011-09-29T22:11:00.002-05:00

Artsy people unite!
Riverwest if hosting their annual art crawl on Saturday. The art and design LLC will be meeting at 11:45 in the Cambridge and Riverview lobbies to walk over together. Bring $3 for entry and any money you want for food, art work, etc. WIll be a BLAST!

gallery opening

2011-09-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

Hey All,
Inova gallery in Kenilworth has their opening tomorrow Friday at 5pm. Residents of cambridge and Riverview meet up with Jackie and Ashley in your respective building lobbies at 5:00 and we will walk over.
Meet the artists and enjoy opening gallery events!

Science and Innovation House Mentor!

2011-09-29T15:11:00.004-05:00

Hey all!

My name is Ross Goessl, I'm a sophomore, and I'm studying Mechanical Engineering (ME) at UW-Milwaukee! In addition to majoring in ME, I'm hoping to recieve a minor in Spanish. I'm originally from Middleton which is right outside of Madison, however, I love Milwaukee and I'm really enjoy living on campus in East Tower. Finally, as you can guess from the title, I am the mentor for the Innovation House this semester...WOOOOOO!

So what are some of the fun things students in the Science and Innovation House will be doing this semester? To start off, 20 students will have the opportunity to build Lego Mindstrom Robots at Discovery World! These students will go down to Discovery World every Monday for 10 weeks and build ROBOTS. As part of the welcoming day for LLC, everyone in the LLC watched a video on some of the robots made from previous years and those robots were awesome. We are also planning on having a speaker come in to talk about different types of Engineering to help students figure out what they want to do. Finally, sometime in November we are planning on taking groups of LLC students to various Engineering Student Organizations meetings. A lot of the students have expressed interest in joining clubs, so this should help them narrow down the search!

Oh yea, I'm looking forward to a great year working with this LLC! Alright, back to homework :p

Leadership LLC Mentor

2011-09-28T18:24:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone!
I'm Amber Rivard and am a sophomore at UWMilwaukee. I am studying architecture and adding a leadership certificate to my degree. I am from Brookfield, WI which is about 20 minutes away from here. I live in a UWM owned apartment building; Purin Hall. I am the mentor for the Leadership LLC this year. I was a student in this LLC last year and lived in Riverview.
My overall goal is to become a well-rounded person. As a result I do my best to get very involved with student organizations. I do volunteer work through Circkle K. For those of you who are familiar with Key Club from high school, Circle K is the college version. We do volunteer work on campus and within the greater Milwaukee community. I am also involved in the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) organization as the sophomore class representative. I love being involved in this organization because it supplements my major, gives me opportunities to network with professionals, build architecture computer skills and I get paired up with a mentor to help me with my studio projects. I am the Outreach Specialist for the Ahora! Latin Dance Organization. We stand for dance, dedication and diversity. I love dancing in my free time and preparing for performances on campus and within the Milwaukee community. It's a great stress reliever and my favorite hobby!

Beyond Borders LLC

2011-09-27T12:29:00.002-05:00

Pizza Flag Cook-Off

So, the first event that the Beyond Borders LLC had was a Pizza Flag Cook-Off paired with an icebreaker. We first played the icebreaker or also know as team builders so that the residents of the LLC could get to know each other. The icebreaker was Country and Leader. Each resident had either a country (example: United States) or a leader of a country (example: Barack Obama) taped to their backs. The residents had to figure out either what country or leader that was on their back by asking yes or no questions. Once they figured out what they were they had to find their match and get to know them.

After the residents were done with the icebreaker we then did the Pizza Flag Cook-Off. Each resident was give a picture of a country's flag. The main food that was part of each pizza was an english muffin for the dough. Then each resident used other food materials like onions, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese and much more to make their pizza look almost like their flag. They created some of the most wonderful creations whether it be exactly like the flag or something completely opposite.

Beyond Borders LLC

2011-09-26T15:24:00.001-05:00

Hallo, Hola, Hej, Bonjour, नमस्ते, Merhaba, γειά σου and Hello.

My name is Seth Kaempfer and I am the RA for the Beyond Borders LLC in Cambridge Commons. Right now, I am a Global Studies - Security Major and studying German as well. I have been involved with UW-Milwaukee in many different ways from being a tour guide to a Campus Ambassador for New Freshman Orientation to now a Resident Assistant.

So, what is the Beyond Borders LLC. This Living and Learning Community focuses around global and international studies. One does not need to be a Global or International Studies major to be part of the community but mainly have an interest about what is going on around them in the world. This LLC will also link the Residence Hall community to the global community by doing different events and programs that revolve around this global interest. The Beyond Borders LLC also has a class, Global Studies 101, that is incorporated into it.

It looks like an exciting year for the Beyond Borders LLC with students from a wide range of different cultures and backgrounds and also with the different programs in the near future.

Wirting and Visual Cultures LLC

2011-09-26T14:02:00.003-05:00

Hey all!
My name is Sean McBride and I'll be the Writing and Visual Cultures LLC RA for the 2011-2012 school year. My academic background is fairly scattered across the university. I started my time here at UWM (as may students do) in Architecture Studies. After the first year (again... as many students do), I realized that I would be more suited for a different major. That better place for me ended up being Conservation and Environmental Science.

So then, why Writing and Visual Cultures? How do I fit in with this LLC? Well, in my first year I took just about any and every class that was of some interest to me. I was still trying to figure out where exactly I belonged. One of the many classes I took was a creative writing class. Creative writing has been an interest of mine for the past few years now. I was that kid who never received an 'A' in an english class before I was in a Sci-fi literature class. That class had also incorporated creative writing into it. It was the first time I was actually allowed to do my own thing with writing, and ever since then it's grown on me tremendously. I ended up testing out of English here at UWM and went on to take two of the creative writing courses for the non-English majors here as well.

I'm looking to have a great year with all of the residents in my LLC as well as trying to connect with other LLC's. We should be able to put together many fun programs that will build upon your knowledge in writing and show you all the amazing things you are able to do with it as well. I'm excited for this year, and I hope that you all are as well!

Hope to see you around,
Sean McBride

Community Leadership

2011-09-25T22:10:00.003-05:00

Hey guys it's Dria...well technically Alexandria but either is fine :)
I am currently the RA for the Community Leadership LLC and from the looks of things we have an awesome year ahead of us! I am a Global Studies major with a minor and French and Spanish and can't wait to travel the globe. My goal is to do some sort of humanitarian work with my degree and positively impact as many people as possible. I'm constantly on the move and you will probably see me dancing by our first encounter. Which is why I'm so excited to be working with fellow dancer Amber from the Student Success Center!

2011-09-23T21:02:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone, my name is Ashley Erdman. I’m the RA for the Art and Design LLC in Riverview. I live on the 2^nd floor. This is my 3^rd year as a RA and I so happy to be working the Art and Design LLC. I’m a senior in the art program, majoring in Sculpture and jewelry/metalsmithing with a minor in Art History.

To start of the year, we started with a Kick Off event that happen on August 31^st. This event was shared with Cambridge Art and Design community. The event conceded of doing chalk drawing that was turned into animation. The residents first had to picked a work to imitate. Their word was CREATE. This worded kind of embodies what residents are going to be doing this year. They are going to living and breathing art. Even after this amazing event residents continue to do these animation drawing. Alex and Daniel created two amazing animation that have figured, airplanes and birds. I saw this animation and I was so impress that a first year student could create something like this.

All the residents seem to be talking up drawing a lot better than I have seen in other years. There is drawing going on all the time. I wish I had that kind of motivation when I was a first year student. The lounge has become a place where residents are drawing and learning from each other. The girls for the 224 suite have been working very hard on their drawing skills. Lets just say that there is going to be a lot of still life drawing by the end of the year.

This year we are hoping to create a lager community. Meaning reaching out to other communities, not just the ones in the resident’s halls. You might be asking yourself why do I have to do this. Well someday you are going to need in the art community. Collaborative art is one of the most popular kinds of art forms. To get the ball rolling in collaborative art movement residents will be working toward doing a mural for Riverview that will embodies the Riverview community.

Dance Foundations!

2011-09-22T09:08:00.006-05:00

Hey!

My name is Maggie Iken and I am the Student Success Center mentor working with the Dance Foundations LLC this year. I am currently a sophomore majoring in string bass performance and music history. I'm originally from Green Bay and I'm a pretty big Packer fan. I enjoy Call Of Duty, America's Next Top Model, Chuck Palahniuk books, going to anything arts-related, tattoos, street art, and living in Milwaukee. Although I'm not a dance major, I took six years of dance classes when I was younger and will take several classes here at UWM. I currently live off campus, but the LLC is located in Riverview and I have previously lived in Sandburg North.

I'm really excited to be working with Molly (a few posts below me) this year! As she stated in her post, we will be dancing at the Susan G. Komen walk on the 25th. There are other events in the works, and I'll be sure to post about them here when they're set in stone and I have details. :)

ASL LLC

2011-09-19T09:49:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone!
My name is Lauren McKinney and I am the Resident Assistant for the ASL LLC. This is my first year as an R.A. and I am really excited I was given the chance to work with an LLC so close to my future profession.

I live in Freeport, IL, home of the Pretzels (are mascot literally is a pretzel). Most people do not know where that is so I just say it is near Rockford. I am a Junior here at UWM, but unfortunately I will be here for 5 years, instead of just 4.

I currently live in the Sandburg Residence Halls, in West Tower. I live on the 9th floor, but I look after the 9th and 10th floors.

I hope this year in the LLC is as good if not better than last years LLC. :)

Welcome to the Dance Foundations LLC!

2011-09-16T13:35:00.006-05:00

Hey Everyone!
My name is Molly Blum and I am the Resident Assistant for the Dance Foundations LLC. I am from Elkhorn, Wisconsin. I live on the fourth floor of RiverView Residence Halls.

Feel free to stop by!
This is my second year at UWM and I am majoring in Nursing. I have been dancing since I was three. I was on my high school varsity dance team all four years. I have also had many other dance experiences, such as dancing in Disney World, at Brewer and Bucks Games. I have won many awards throughout my dancing experience. My favorite dance that I have ever done was a Duet to Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation. This past summer I worked with Wisconsin Dance Connections and had a blast working with high school dance teams across Wisconsin. I love watching So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars.
I am very excited to be working with the Dance Foundations LLC and can not wait for the all the events I have planned! On September 25, the LLC will being going to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and dancing for the race participants. The Dance Foundations LLC now has a Facebook page! If you have any questions let me know!

The Honors House is Alive and Kicking!

2011-08-30T13:09:00.001-05:00

Hello Students, Residents, Parents, and Fans of UWM!

My name is Kelly Keuper, many of you will recognize my name as the RA from the ASL LLC from last year. However, this year I am with the Honors House located on South 15/16 of Sandburg Hall! For those of you who do not already know me, I am a Senior here at UWM with a major in Psychology!

The year is off to a great start and just about everyone from our LLC has moved in! There is already an enormous amount of pride and camaraderie on our floor! We have adopted a pair of fish, won by one of our residents at the SHAC Move-in Carnival (the fishes names are Tequila and Constantine)! We are also trying to come up with a floor "name"! (any suggestions?)

We have a lot planned for the next few weeks, including the LLC Kick off tomorrow with a tour of the new Honors College department! Then, on Thursday we have the Panther Pep Rally at Englemann Field at 4pm! Friday we will go on a tour of campus to find classes, get books, and Pantherfest tickets. And an adventure to the East Side of Milwaukee on Saturday!

I wish you all the very best for the year! If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at kmkeuper@uwm.edu

otherwise, I will post again soon!

Sincerely,

Kelly Keuper

RA Honors House

We wont say good bye, but farewell!

2011-05-18T13:48:00.006-05:00

Well its the end of the year!

I am very impressed at the success of our "Talk to the Hands" event! We had over 100 people attend and it received positive feedback from all that attended! Thank you all for helping out and putting so much time and effort into our event! we really made a difference and educated many people about the deaf community here at UWM! We hope that the ASL LLC will continue this event next year and make it even more successful!

I know you have all made some lifelong friends and hopefully have learned from each other. You came as strangers and are leaving as a family. For those of you who are not moving off campus together, or living in the LLC or Res Halls again, be sure to keep in touch with each

other!

Have a spectacular Summer!!!

West 2 Holiday Party!

Back row left to right: RA Kelly, Alex, KimmiLei, Alyssa, Trevor, Bri, Isiah, Mice, and Chelsea

Middle Row: Sarah, Ana, Ashley, Kelsey, and Jill

Bottom row: Katy, Tyler, and Leah

Not pictured: Jordan, Mentor Katie, Advisor Heahter

DEAF DAY!!!

2011-04-15T19:09:00.003-05:00

The ASL LLC will be going to Deaf Exposure Awareness Forum (D.E.A.F.) in the Zelazo Center Saturday April 23rd @ 1pm! The fee for students is $5

We will get the chance to be immersed in Deaf Culture, and connect the ASL and Deaf culture classes to real life. There will be well know Deaf and Hearing performers, including a Deaf Comedian, to interact with as well as members of Milwaukee's Deaf Community.

Deaf Day is Sponsored by the Signing Student Association (SSA)

Talk to the Hands!

2011-03-31T17:46:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone!

Talk to the Hands is coming to a Flicks near you ;)

May 10th at 7pm in Flicks the ASL (American Sign Language) LLC and SHAC are teaming up to give you a glimpse into the Deaf Community!

If you attend (and you should) you will learn some basic American Sign Language, some games people in the deaf community play. You will see how Deaf people experience music, you will experience the communication barrier for some of the deaf and hard for hearing, and get the opportunity to ask questions of a panel of deaf and hard of hearing students as well as learn what is like to grow up with a deaf sibling.

The first 100 residents will receive a free t-shirt!!!

Come ready to have some laughs and learn!

Business Panthers welcomes the new Business Panthers Mentor!

2011-03-14T14:03:00.005-05:00

Hello, hello Business Panthers!!

My name is Mark Przybylski (phonetic pronunciation=SHA-BILL-SKEE), I am 20 years young and I am ecstatic to be a student here at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I am currently pursuing a Marketing major with a minor in Architectural Studies. I have been attending UWM for three years now and can't imagine studying anywhere else. The city itself holds so much history, diversity and culture; it's quite the place to be! I have just recently started working for the Student Success Center (Bolton 120) as a Campus Ambassador/First Year Mentor and am very eager to start working with freshman coming into the School of Business as well as the Business Panthers LLC. My job requirements are relatively simple although I'm looking to take my responsibilities to the next level. I don't want to be the guy sending out a bunch of mass emails; I have the opportunity to network with an abundance of individuals, I'm going to make the most of it!

As goes for the School of Business, I am currently enrolled in a number of 300-level Business Administration courses and couldn't be happier. The school as a whole has some remarkable staff members and the environment is truly one of a kind. I am an active member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and would heavily advocate majors of any area of business study to look into. There are a number of volunteer, internship and general extra-curricular opportunities that will all enhance your learning and networking experience. If I have any advice for students looking to make the most of their college experience, it would be to get involved. The importance of networking in the world of business cannot be underestimated.

At this point in my life, UWM is without a doubt, a very demanding full-time job. That doesn't mean there isn't time for a social life though! I am a music fanatic; I listen to a number of genres, mainly rock/alternative/indie. Favorite bands include: Radiohead, The White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, The Dead Weather, Chiodos, Animal Collective, MUSE, Simon & Garfunkel, The Doors, Them Crooked Vultures and even though it doesn't need to be said, The Beatles. As a hefty majority of my close friends are Film majors, I also take a strong interest in cinema. My all time favorite movie is Requiem for a Dream closely followed by American Beauty, The Dark Knight and Black Swan. When music and movies aren't present, I can typically be found exploring the East Side/Downtown, rocking out at The Rave or making bagels at Brueggers on North and Prospect!

I am very excited to begin working with all of you more over the course of the semester; I have very high hopes that we will do some fantastic things. Louella has a very organized and captivating itinerary and wants exactly what I want with the rest of this year; to make the most of every minute of it! Here's to a fun-filled and productive semester!!

Spring into Spring Break!

2011-03-08T18:23:00.004-06:00

Its about that time when the members of our LLCs are getting cabin fever from being copped up all Winter and when they get let out of the cage they will be fanning out to destination all over the world! Here are the Top 10 Spring Break Designations for 2011!!!

1. Cancun

Cancun, you're still the one. This little piece of Mexico is pure craziness during March and April: margarita madness and a massive influx of students doing the spring thing on drop-dead gorgeous beaches and in late-late-late night clubs. Hop the ferry to Cozumel or the bus to Playa del Carmen for slower-paced sandy paradises. Xel-Ha is fun for snorkeling, and Tulum is worth a visit (90 miles south; go early a.m.) -- great beach and unba ruins, but don't expect nightlife (the quiet nights - generator-powered lights out by 10 - are part of the charm). Don't forget to get a passport for this perennially popular paradise on Mexico's Caribbean!

2. Panama City, Florida

Panama City and Panama City Beach (PCB) have Florida's spring break top dog billing yet again in 2011, though Miami, especially South Beach, will once more offer some serious competition. mtvU was all about Panama City in 2009 (this year's mtv blowout is in Las Vegas: what is up with that? We're guessing mtv got an offer they couldn't refuse), showing the planet that Panama City's a sure bet for the kind of fantastic fun that makes a break memorable for the rest of your life. Take some time, too, to see Panama City's 27 miles of sugary sweet sand on the Gulf of Mexico (west coast of Florida, where it can be blessedly cool at night).

3. Miami and South Beach, Florida

! Just east of Miami, South Beach is bordered by Biscayne Bay on one side and the Atlantic on the other (which is where you'll find the beaches you'll like). South Beach is a tres cool club scene (is your attitude really ready?). Just up the sand is Miami Beach -- bit cheaper and less of dress-with-the-best thing.

4. Europe

Exchange rates ain't bad, and thus Europe (yep, the whole thing) moves up four places on the list of spring break hot spots for 2011 -- Amsterdam, London and Paris will be the cities in which you'll see the most American students, followed by Rome, Florence, Madrid, and Berlin. All chilly cities this time of year, so the social scene will be indoors (your hostel's always the best bet for finding the party place), but sights will be free of summer's mobs: great time to be in Europe, and way more US students will be there this year than last.

5. Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta's a beach-meets-Mexican-mountains city that will again have a lot of what you want for 2011 -- friendly folks, awesome nightlife, beautiful beaches, great all-inclusive hotel deals -- and all the action's not just at the beach, either: parasail or mountain bike, for instance. Hasta pronto!

6. Acapulco

Acapulco's not Mexico's best beachside city (that might be Puerto Vallarta), but it's tried, true, and ready for you. Acapulco's murderously messy drug-related mayhem has little to do with you -- mind your Mexico manners and consider student travel safety tips, and you should be as safe as you would in any US city.

Acapulco beaches range from quiet hideaways, like Playa Pie de la Cuesta, to elbow-to-elbow humans, like La Condesa. Stay in a hotel on the Costera (main drag) -- drop by the small Puerto Marques village for an afternoon.

7. Bahamas and Jamaica

Both of these beautiful Caribbean countries will see plenty of people in 2011: the blue, blue water and white, white sand of extremely accessible Nassau, Bahamas will bring boatloads of breakers to its balmy beaches in 2011 (even though Nassau's sometimes not so friendly). Rent a scooter or hit the Straw Market; gambling's on nearby Paradise Island. Bahamas spring break packages are uber cheap, and you can choose a cruise.

Meanwhile, the forecast for spring break 2011 in jammin' Jamaica is sunny and the outlook is partly party, party with scattered water sport fun in happening Montego Bay and quieter Negril. If you go, remember that parts of the island can be a walk on the wild side: don't fear to adventure -- just be safe.

8. South Padre Island, Texas

South Padre Island, where vacations are biiiig Texas style, is more popular than ever this year as an easy (easy to get to, not too expensive) and easygoing US beach town ...and with recent hurricane damage to South Padre, neighboring Corpus Christi will see its share of folks looking for the action, too. If you go, know that the sandy spit near Corpus Christi is windblown but sunny, and Padre Island proper has hundreds of miles of beach. The gang's all at South Padre, though, where you can find fresh shellfish and every conceivable kind of water sport, along with events galore. Surf's sometimes a little rough. Scooters are a great way to get around the whole island.

9. All Tied and All Good - Baja (Rosarito Beach, Cabo), DR, Puerto Rico

You need no passport to drive back from Mexico if you have a PASS card, and Rosarito Beach in North Baja will get some last minute driving traffic through San Diego (you need a passport to fly home from Mexico). Cabo in South Baja, Mexico, will have the usual hot weather and cool clubs (fly, don't drive to South Baja). And learn whether Mexico is safe for spring break!

10. North American Ski Resorts

Unlike current economic conditions, snow conditions are awesome and ski resorts are still on the list of cool spring break hot spots for 2011. Though there will be smaller numbers of 'em this year than last (just tooo spendy), you'll find plenty of fellow partiers boarding the days away and doing the apres-thing at North America's best ski resorts for spring break 2011, though. These are the slopes welcoming you in Colorado, Jackson Hole, Heavenly, Canada's wild Whistler, a few quieter spots, and some places you may want to give a pass. I live in Rocky Mountain high country now, and have done all but one of these top ten ski resorts -- and I promise it's all good. Get the whole skinny on how to get there, and where to stay and party.

http://studenttravel.about.com/od/springbrea1/tp/to_spring_break.htm

2011-02-22T09:17:00.003-06:00

Hey everyone dont forget that ASL Bowling is tonight from 7-9pm in the basement of the union in the Rec Center!

and... ITS FREE!!!

All levels of signers are welcome!

and we challenge you to speak as little as possible and use those awesome signing skills!

Semester 2

2011-02-21T16:04:00.004-06:00

I thought for a second there that spring was gently descending upon us... I also thought: what a great thing to write about as I welcome my readers into a fresh semester for the Creative Suite located at NG1, North Tower...

It seems, however, after that blizzard yesterday and the continuing snowfall into today, spring has decided it's time is not yet.

Don't let the persistent winter bring you down though! After all, this IS the start of something new. In terms of class work, you should be able to tackle new challenges with ease after that brutal first semester of college. And hopefully it was fun! Hopefully you've made friends with your living-mates and are excited to finish the first year of college.

If you haven't made friends, or don't have the necessary tools of writing and visual culture to succeed this semester (probably not the case)... woe is you . BUT. Never fear, the CS is here. Just like in Semester 1, the CS will provide social and educational events to make sure you finish the year with friends and good grades in all writing and visual education courses alike.

Our community is focused on learning and developing strong social bonds. These bonds make the educational process easier because, in many ways, we're doing it as a group.

In conclusion of this post, I feel it is my civic duty, as a participant in a great democracy, to seek your input regarding what type of activities you (my readers-- current CSers, future CSers or just lovers of blogs) would like to see happen on NG1. Share your ideas in the comments section and help be a part of what the CS will become!

I hope the readers of this blog are as excited for this semester as the author is. 'Cause it's destined to be pretty awesome. Get on board.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome Back to the ASL LLC

2011-02-16T16:08:00.002-06:00

Hey Everyone!

We are very excited to get this semester started!

The second floor of West Tower is alive again and filled with studying and fun!

This semesters first event is coming up in about a week on Thurs Feb 24th at 8pm! We will planning a larger event to happen later in the semester ( look for details soon to come about our larger event. It should be a blast)

There are many more Student Signing Association event going on that the ASL LLC loves to attend. Coming up next week is another Deaf Bowling Event on Tues Feb 22nd from 7-9 pm in the Union Recreation Center! You will be sure to to plenty of ASL LLC residents signing away if you come and join us!

We are really looking forward to Deaf Day this Semester on April 23rd more details to come.

These are a just a few of the things to get excited about in the ASL LLC! We'll keep ya posted!

(GO PACK GO)

Fall 2010 Recap!

2011-01-15T10:39:00.005-06:00

Now that the new semester is quickly approaching as classes will be starting on Jan. 24th I wanted to just look back on the fun things that the Film, Video, and New Genre LLC did at the end of the semester!

North Gives Back in Supermarket Sweep!
Each house in North Tower compete in just half hour to collect as much food from the residents in their house against all the other houses in North Tower. Our house did a great job in collecting food and we had a lot of fun doing it! Overall North Tower collected 7 full grocery carts full of food to donate to those in Milwaukee in need! We even made it in the news!

CHECK IT OUT!

12 Hour Film Contest!

The residents were randomly assigned teams and given 12 hours to develop an idea for a film, work out the location and props for the film, film the film, edit, and have it ready to present all within 12 hours.
The requirements is their teacher gave them a quote that had to be included into the mix of the film in some way shape or form and be under 8 minutes in length.

This is one of the best events I have done as the residents were active in the event all day. They all worked really well together and got excited. They were supportive of each other and just made the event a blast. We had a screening that night where 3 Judges ( 2 RAs and one of my close friends) selected their favorite. There was also a winner for fan favorite! The residents did great work on putting together these films as we have a talent group of individuals.

Overall we really had a great semester and we are working together to make Spring 2011 and this NEW YEAR even better!

I just wanted to thank all my residents for making this year one of the best!!
RA ZACHERY!

Lions and Tigers and Signing, Oh my!

2010-12-11T19:50:00.006-06:00

The ASL LLC had a very fun time at the Milwaukee county zoo, even in the cold and rain!

some high lights were getting to pet a Bat, ashley being playfull with a baboon and the adorable tigers! This was the first time at the Milwaukee county Zoo for most of our residents that went, and they enjoyed being able to see the animals upclose (even if they were behind 2 inches of glass)!

Enjoy the pictures!

1 of 3 very cute and playful Tigers!

(Jill wanted to take one home so badly! but they are not allowed in the residence halls unfortunately)

(from left to right)

Back row: Heather, Jill, Bri, Ashely, Kelsey, Sarah,

Front: Isiah and Kelly (me)

This is Ashley's new BFF, he wanted to play with her so bad but the glass got in the way :( but he tried his hardest to get to her. then settled with making faces at her, and hitting the glass.

;)

Good Luck on final exams! and see you all next semester

WE MADE IT

2010-12-07T17:29:00.004-06:00

Well Panthers we did, we made it to the end of the semester!

It has been such a fun semester (and the fun hasn't ended quite yet).

This week Sue Conway from the Study Abroad office came to talk about an exciting new study abroad program for ASL students, which will give them the opportunity to learn Italian Sign Language in Italy! And we had 20 residents from our floor inducted into the West Honor Society at our fabulous banquet which included receiving a certificate, a T-shirt, and enjoying a chocolate fountain, all to recognize those who have achieved academic success this semester.

Some of our residents were first to arrive and got the best seats in the house!

This coming Saturday we will be going to the zoo for some fun in the cold with our furry friends! We are going to have tons of fun while learning some new signs!

Everyone is in need a break and it has been well deserved! The residents of the ASL LLC have been working very hard and doing very well in their classes! I am very proud of all of them and I am looking forward to an excellent second semester with them :D

Good luck on exams and Happy Holidays!

Until January!

Kelly Keuper and the ASL LLC

Happy Semester's End!

2010-12-07T14:06:00.002-06:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the semester is coming to an end. It has been an exciting one for the writing and visual culture LLC. It sure is amazing how quickly time goes by.

Our last LLC event for the semester will be this Friday at 12:15 p.m. The event will be a celebration of the semester we've shard learning and living as one community. We'll meet in C160 of Sandburg, which is where the LLC class meets. This will serve as the last chance for residents of CS and the studious members of Nic's class to meet up.

We'll get together one last time over chips, soda, and ice cream to celebrate the successful semester!

As you head home for winter break and finish up final exams, fondly remember the wonderful time we've had in the Writing & Visual Culture LLC.

Travel safely and good luck!

Happy Holidays, Lab Rats!

2010-12-07T00:14:00.000-06:00

Alas, this will be my final blog post of the semester! *tear* We had a really fun end-of-semester event at Alterra on the Lake on Sunday (sorry, I forgot to take pictures) where we did our homework (yes, we really did), drank some coffee, ate some delicious scones, and laughed a LOT. Half the fun was walking to and from Farwell & LaFayette and trying not to slip and slide in the icy snow!

The students are now applying for lab positions for next semester and are excited to really get started in their majors. I wonder what they will discover? Maybe they will decide to present their research at the UWM Research Symposium in spring as well, just like I plan to with my lab's research :)

Well, well, I shall end this here.

Happy holidays, everyone! Have a fun, safe winter break!

The CS Update: November

2010-11-29T17:44:00.011-06:00

November began with a bang! North Tower donated eight entire shopping carts up to the brim with nonperishable food items to the Hunger Task Force. Each house competed to see whocould raise the most.

I know you're wondering how the CS faired... AND THE ANSWER IS AWESOMELY.

With just 18 residents total, NG1 amazing pooled enough food to FILL a shopping cart. We came in the third overall. Want to know how awesome it was to see North Tower coming together for such a great cause? It was indescribable.

The MAM

Shortly after the food drive, the NG1ers took a trip downtown to the Milwaukee Art Museum. We saw the special exhibit, European Design, and as much of the permanent collection as we could. For many of the residents, this was the first time at the MAM. Just think what they'd be missing if they'd never joined an LLC.

There's plenty of fun to be had in the CS, the writing and visual culture LLC. An upcoming event is a gallery talk on Thursday night. The artist Loren Schwerd is presenting his work, part of the gallery's show,"Venerate: Collectors of the Human Condition," @ 7:00 p.m.

Check back soon for an update on the end of the semester!

And now to play us off, Clay from NG1:

Great Semester with the ASL LLC

2010-11-27T10:21:00.004-06:00

It has been a great semester with the ASL LLC! We have had a great semester and are looking forward to a new one after a well deserved break! We have such an enthusiastic group! Living in the LLC has taken this bunch of strangers and turned them into great friends!

As exam approach we look forward to a little recreation at the zoo on Dec 11th and then getting down to business as they study for ASL 1,2,3 and 5; as well as Deaf history and Deaf culture together. Continuously helping each other learn and have fun doing it!

As the semester winds down we will be returning home for a month. But while we may be in Appleton, Door County, Racine, Muncie IN, Victoria MN, Kuwait, or Waukesha, we will all be excited to reunite in january and start another spectacular semester!

Wishing all of you a great Holiday and Winter Break!

Talk to you soon,

Kelly and the ASL LLC students

Lab Rats on the Lake

2010-11-23T11:14:00.001-06:00

Hello out there!

Things have been going really well here in Lab Rat Land, lately. The students are currently picking research labs for next semester and deciding how they want to continue in the LLC. The Lab Rat mentor, Amanda, and I have just finished the last details of the final event of the semester. We're taking the Lab Rats to Alterra on the Lake for a study session! We'll buy them a drink and a snack and we can study for our finals, either independently or quizzing each other. Going to Alterra also allows them to check out a new study area and a new part of Milwaukee they likely haven't been to as yet.

As the semester is winding down things are getting more intense for everyone, myself included! It's important to take some time for yourself and budget your time so you're not pulling all-nighters during the week of finals! Good luck, everyone!

You are never to old for a trip to the zoo!

2010-11-10T11:44:00.004-06:00

The ASL LLC is hoping to take a trip to the zoo in mid-December! Braving the cold is a small price to pay for the LLC residents to get to go to the Milwaukee County Zoo! The trip will allow them to practice their classifiers, which are used in American Sign Language to show movement, location, and appearance. After a signer indicates a person or thing, a classifier can be used in its place to show where and how it moves, what it looks like, and where it is located. We are also planning a final exam study session for our ASL Classes. This will be a great opportunity to get together and practice signing right before the final exam and also, pig out on pizza!

Currently we are all busy picking new classes for next semester and all of our LLC residents are very excited to go on to the next level of ASL and either Deaf History of Deaf Culture (which ever one they are not currently enrolled in)!

One last thing, I would like to invite any resident who is interested in sign language or is in the major or minor to come and hang out on West 2 with the LLC residents! There is always someone out in our lounge and they would love to talk/sign with you any time!

Come join our ASL LLC family and maybe you will consider becoming a part of the LLC next fall!

The CS!

2010-11-09T14:14:00.005-06:00

The CS Goes to the MAM!

That's what we WILL be doing on Saturday! And for some residents who have never experienced the Milwaukee Art Museum, this will be a true delight. Together we'll discuss art and culture, lifestyle and politics, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Almost everyone on the floor will get to go and enjoy the art and beautiful museum!

Check back in soon for photos of trip!

On another note...

It's November. That means it's getting cold. That also means classes are well, well, beyond the easy, intro, get-to-know-one-another stages and might actually be causing STRESS.

For artists and other creative people (like the people of NG1-- The CS), November might mean you're in a creative slump. Don't let the weather or stressful classes bog you down! Go and enjoy the final days of fall while you still can! Today the high is 61 degrees! Beautiful. Take time and do things that keep you sane. Continue to do the things that spark creativity.

Now is a critical time in the semester as finals or final projects are looming on the not-so-distant horizon. Prepare. But stay sane. Many of the creative people around you are struggling in the very same way, so don't feel alone either. Just breathe, be organized, and do what you naturally do best: allow creativity to flow forth!

Here's a lovely interactive video piece by artist Chris Milk that inspires me to be creative on the most cold, uncreative of days... "The Wilderness Downtown..."

If you like Arcade Fire, than this video is surely for you.

Thanks for reading! And good luck exploring the infinite abyss (of your creativity).

Lab Rats Update

2010-11-09T11:29:00.000-06:00

Well things are chugging along in Lab Rat Land at the moment while Amanda (the Lab Rats mentor) and I finalize our LLC's final "end of semester" bash. Within the class, the students are getting one-on-one interactions with other undergraduates within their majors by visiting their labs and getting some insight in where they could be potentially placed during the next semester. The students are also currently discussing the pros and cons of being engaged in research as a freshman and the importance of time management. Soon, the Lab Rats will be conducting lab interviews with professors in their field of interest until successful research placements for next semester are found.

This is super exciting because the entire point of the seminar is to be placed into a research lab! Once the students begin their experience in the labs, they can have the opportunity of publishing their own work by submitting abstracts to conferences and can really start building their academic resumes.

Just Ten Minutes

2010-11-06T23:35:00.002-05:00

The Film LLC decided to help in the University Housings Compete to Reduce Campaign.

University Housing has partnered with the Lucid Design Group to monitor our energy and compete against other schools in the country to see which University Housing can reduce the most. Everyone likes a little friendly competition so to encourage residents to participate we made it a competition within our own housing complexes.

North Tower came up with the idea to get its residents to turn off everything and go unplugged for Just Ten Minutes A Day. We figure everyone can give up ten minutes. Also every Wednesday we have the No Power Hour at 7pm to help reduce our usage.

The Film LLC and a few friends got together and made a video to help! This is what we put together in a couple hours.
Enjoy!

JUST TEN MINUTES

Copyrights: Weigel Broadcasting Co.

To Check UWM's Energy Statuses Check Out:
http://buildingdashboard.net/uwm/

Also there is a bulletin board at the base of North Tower that gives the standings for each day!

Genre: Horror

2010-10-29T13:40:00.006-05:00

The Film, Video and New Genre LLC has been up to no good recently. Meaning we have really gotten in the spirit of this wonderful time of year called Halloween.We decided to participate in the Haunted Houses of North Tower competition. In one night without having to fork out any more like all the other houses we put together a pretty good haunted house or more so a well decorated house for Halloween. The residents had fun as we crafted tomb stones, trees, and mummies. It was an event that really got a lot of residents to come together to make it all happen.
Harry Potter, myself pulled together his fellow wizards of the LLC and attended the North Tower Boggie Woggie Ball. The residents got rather festive as the dressed up from a lady bug, an anime character, to even a man who escaped a Lady Gaga music video. We all got our dance on and had a blast dancing to the Cupid Shuffle and the Tootsie Roll.The residents have been hard at work lately as we always have someone filming one of their projects throught the week. I would love to be in that class and see how everyone strangely is in everyone else's films. It seems like they have really become a well oiled machine as they all help each other out with the measurements of light and even fixing each others camera problems. Its something I really wish I had as a new student, maybe than I wouldn't have had to spend so much money on film.

We are getting excited as the first semester is half way through and we have lots more to come. As we will be going Bowling for Soup doing a North Tower Super Market Sweep and in hopes of getting to tour a sound stage. We are also in hopes of maybe even working with Make Good Decisions and doing a few short videos for them. All of which is just brain storming ideas but the Residents of this LLC are rocking out this first semester!

We can't forget the group who attend Breathless a great movie that really got the residents talking at the Milwaukee Film Festival!

Talk to the Hands!

2010-10-28T20:29:00.002-05:00

The ASL LLC is talking it up! We had some lively conversation in our "Lets Spread Deaf Culture in the Res Halls" event about what it is like to live in the residence halls as a Deaf Resident or as a member of the LLC. As a deaf student they get special strobe light fire alarms to wake them up or let them know there is a fire and we always have our closed captions on our TV in our lounge and in most residents rooms. These are things that most floors usually don't have or do, but why not? The LLC is not the only place in the residence hall that has deaf residents.

When we asked our LLC residents what they think the everyday person should know about Deaf people they said, first you need to know deaf people are just like everyone else, completely equal. They are capable of many of the same things as a hearing person. One resident said that when interview for jobs deaf people are often treated differently and looked at as being less capable, but our LLC would like you all to know that this is most definitely not true. When it comes to communicating with a deaf person no matter how loud you yell, cant hear you, and not all deaf people can lip read. When it comes down to it, the best way is to write.

The ASL LLC also has some great ideas as to how to make our residence halls of Deaf-friendly. Some ideas we hope to see become a reality in the near future are: Closed Captions on the movies in Flicks, and Interpreters at tower/complex wide events.

I encourage all of you to come and hang out on West 2 and get to know this very friendly and funny bunch! you will learn a lot and make some great friend! You all are always welcome here to come and Talk to the Hands!

MAM

2010-10-26T11:09:00.003-05:00

The CS is heading to the Milwaukee Art Museum in November!

This will be a great opportunity for us to check out the museum and discuss art and culture outside of the school setting. For those that have never been to the MAM, take advantage of this!

The Writing and Visual Culture class with Nic Learned is planning a similar trip to the MAM on Nov. 9th. Their trip is planned around the chance to hear curators give a gallery talk about the latest exhibit, European Design Since 1985.

European Design is open now and at the MAM until January 9th. For the CS folks, this will be a perfect time to check out this exhibit. Here's a link to their page all about European Design at the MAM.

So, ladies and gentlemen of the CS, mark your calendars for November 13th-- our tentative date! And if your in Nic's class, for November 9th!

Thanks for reading!

Lab Rats at Discovery World!

2010-10-25T23:26:00.001-05:00

The Lab Rats LLC recently had a trip to Discovery World! The trip was a ton of fun and the residents got to know myself, their mentor, their professor, and the director of undergraduate research better. I think everyone's favorite exhibit was the awesome aquarium, but each student was able to learn something new while at Discovery World:

> Tyler learned what a fish feels like <
> Anurag learned that the amount of water in our bodies lessens as we get older <
> Kristin learned the life cycles of different fish <
> Shelbie learned how dirty our water is before it gets cleaned <
> Parijat learned that it doesn't take much to put together a lever-pulley system <

Checking out the Innovation House exhibit!

Part of our group in front of the awesome tunnel-tank aquarium - the diver wrote "Lab Rats" on the yellow board!

Touching sea urchins and starfish! They felt a lot more rough than you would think.

Our entire group about to explore the Great Lakes exhibit.

Lubar in the Residence Halls: Getting down to Business!

2010-10-14T12:21:00.010-05:00

Last week, the Business Panthers LLC had a very special visit by some wonderful Undergraduate Business Advisors! In collaboration with the Undergraduate Business Advising Office, the Business Panthers LLC had an event in Sandburg's FLICKS that introduced the resources available to business students, highlighted the importance of academic advising in understanding a student's pathway to graduation, and allowed LLC residents to connect and interact with the Business Advisors.

In addition to a presentation on services of the Undergraduate Business Advising Office and the Career Services Center, the advisors prepared personal folders and scorecards for the LLC residents. These folders contained information from the presentation and other useful handouts. Also, these "scorecards" were personally made for each students as it tracked exactly what each resident needed depending on what major(s) they were interested in and what classes they are currently enrolled in.

But here in Business Panthers where we like to mix the living and the learning, the residents broke up into smaller groups so that they could have more personal one on one conversations with their business advisor. Also, we ended the event with a great "Pizza and Networking Social". Business Panthers LLC residents ate pizza and mingled with upperclassmen from Delta Sigma Pi - one of the largest co-ed business fraternities in the nation. This was a great opportunity for residents to talk to upperclassmen about UWM and business and for Delta Sigma to recruit some very ambitious and awesome students!

A CS Update

2010-10-12T14:52:00.005-05:00

Here's the update on the Creative Suite:

G1 is a place to socialize, stay up late (while maintaining healthy sleep schedules, of course), and become really close to a group of friends!

G1 is a great place to watch a movie or play Halo Reach.

G1 is a quite, friendly place to do homework (Like Alex is right this very moment.)

G1 is THE place to watch Glee. Every Tuesday night at 8/7 Central, flocks of seasoned Gleeks and newcomers enjoy the humor and music of FOX's hit musical show.

The people who live on North G1 are naturally social and kind! If you're looking for a place to relax, check out G1.

G1 might also be the place to start your own business... Check out the work of the North G1's very own Noah Johnson and his T-shirt company, Stray Ink, on facebook!

Beyond the impromptu TV watching sessions or Halo marathons, the CS has some exciting things coming up! Keep your eyes open for dates coming out soon for these cool activities:

Mario Kart Happy Hour
The CS Goes Downtown

Thanks for reading and see you soon at one of these cool events!

Off to Discovery World!

2010-10-11T16:58:00.001-05:00

Well, on October 17th the Lab Rats will be on an adventure around Discovery World! I think we're all getting pretty excited for the trip. Discovery World has a little something for everyone, a music area dedicated to Les Paul, a really cool aquarium, an exhibited regarding the future of the Great Lakes, and many more options. Each student in the LLC can relate his or her major to one of the exhibits: Kristin is a biology/pre-vet major and can learn about the life cycles and anatomy of different aquatic life at the Reiman aquarium exhibit. Shelbie is a forensic science major and can learn about how many gallons of water the average person has in their body at the Liquid House exhibit. Tyler is thinking of majoring in graphic design and pursuing a career in video gaming and can learn about gaming technology at the Hive exhibit, which will take us on a "3D journey" and have the faux-environment respond to our movements. Mike is a chemistry major so he will learn about water molecules and Lake Michigan in the City of Freshwater exhibit. And both Parijat and Anurag are physics majors, so each will learn a little more about physics through the Energy and Ingenuity exhibit, which shows us the inside of a nuclear reactor.

Stay tuned over the next couple weeks to see how our trip went!

Lets Spread Deaf Culture!!!

2010-10-11T09:46:00.006-05:00

Hey all!

As you can see we have been having a great semester so far here in the ASL LLC!

On October 28th we will be having a forum or discussion in our lounge to discuss ways we can help to educate about and spread Deaf Culture in the Residence Halls. Katie Woods and Heather Ford, from our awesome LLC team, will be coming to help guide us on the right track and help be a source of information about deaf culture/community. We will also have Chris Sewalish from University Housing coming to be a voice for the residence halls.

We have such a bright group here I'm am sure that together we can come up with ways to use the information they have gleaned in their classes to increase awareness and knowledge about the deaf community. I look forward to letting you know of some of the ideas we come up with, and be on the look out for those ideas to become a reality in the future!

Until next time,

I'm Kelly Keuper, the RA for the ASL LLC

Have a stupendous week :)

Health Care LLC: September

2010-10-01T13:03:00.007-05:00

Hello all! I hope your first month of college was as fun as mine was! Living in an LLC is awesome! For starters, I'm living in North 15/16. Not every kid living on these two floors are technically in the LLC, but I would say about 30-40 of us are. There is everyone from Nurses to Pre-Med here (or biomedical sciences- Diagnostic Medical Sonography like me- the only one!)It is awesome to get to know a bunch of kids who have the same interests as you, and sometimes you have classes together! Everyone in our LLC has a seminar on Thursdays, it is technically "Nursing 103" but as my schedule it was a CHS (college of health sciences) seminar. Anyways, regardless of your major in this seminar, we all have this class together. We've only gone to it 4 times, and its pretty low key which is nice. We journal and discuss readings and now we're watching a movie!

Our LLC had a tie dying event earlier this week and we got shirts that said "We are the futures of health care" on them and got to tie dye them! I'm pretty proud of how mine turned out, for being a pretty bad tie-dyer. (excuse my messy desk!)

In the first month of school kids in our LLC have had movie nights out in the lounge, my first night here we played bananagrams and apples to apples and went for a night walk, and lately a big group of us have been watching Glee! It is super fun to just chill with kids from your floor and watch a good tv show! :)

As of now, I have no idea what October has in store for us, possibly some volunteer opportunities and who knows what else! I do know that I will have a blast doing whatever we're doing. Health Care LLC is the place to be!

Have a great second month of school!

- Emmalee Vander Zanden

Meet some of the panthers in Business Panthers!

2010-09-28T18:24:00.009-05:00

Q&A with some students in the Business Panthers LLC

Nick
Major: Undecided but thinking about business

Q: What do you see differently with the community you have in the Business Panthers LLC and communities that are Non-LLC?
A: “[Here in Business Panthers] we are a lot closer. We have more common interests and we can relate better”.
Q: What has being in the Business Panthers LLC done for you personally?
A: “It has inspired me to reach goals I never thought I had.”

Nick likes to ride his motorcycle and go to the gym to lift weights in his free time.

Jeanne
Major: Architecture and Business Minor

Q: Why did you choose to live in an LLC instead of a Non-LLC environment?
A: “I was never really involved in high school, and I found that I didn’t really fit in anywhere. Being in an LLC made me think that I could find more people like me that had the same interests”.

Taylor
Major: Marketing, Finance and Real Estate with Certificate in International Business

Q: What do you like best about Business Panthers?
A: “Everyone has the same major and we all have the same [business] classes. So if you need help with your homework or you need to discuss something in class you didn’t understand, you can just go to someone on your floor”.
Q: How do you feel about your fellow Business Panthers?
A: “I like everyone in the LLC, they are all down to earth but also business motivated. I’m building long lasting relationships. And when we are older and have careers, these are the people I know I can go to.

Taylor competed in his DECA’s International finals, and is trying to start a DECA chapter here at UW-Milwaukee.

Nakia
Major: Accounting
Q: How do you think Business Panthers has or will help professionally (career and academic wise)?
A: “Well it looks really good on a resume. And being in Business Panthers, [RA Louella] introduced us to some ‘big guns’ in the business school. If I wasn’t in Business Panthers, I probably would never know or meet some really important people in Lubar”.

Nakia has her eye on working for Pricewaterhouse Coopers, one of the Big 4 Accounting firms in the world. Nakia is also organizing a West 5/6 Family T-shirt and a Business Panthers T-shirt.

**The above individuals were interviewed and informed of this blog post with their permission. They also approved of their picture. All individuals in this blog post are aware of this blog post and approve of this blog post.

Need Help?

2010-09-28T15:19:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe one month has gone by!

By this time in the semester all of UWM is moving full speed ahead. Hopefully students understand how their classes work and what expectations instructors have of them. Before we know it, midterms will be upon us!

If you're still feeling a little overwhelmed by the semester work load, that's okay too. If you need a tutor or help with your work, find those resources on campus now. Even if you have the smallest inkling of stress in the future, reach out NOW! It will be easier in the long run, I swear it.

Some campus resources I recommend checking out:

The First Year Center

This resource could be your one stop answer to all of your questions! If you're a first year student, this is a great place to find help. They have wonderful advisors who are there only to help you. Go here to talk, meet classmates/peers, and get access to tutors and mentors. The FYC is located in Bolton 120.

The Writing Center

The WC is open to all writers on campus, freshman to grad students alike. The staff here can help develop ideas to write, organize thoughts, revise drafts, and help you refine your writing ability.

TUTORS

Many of the classes you are in have tutors assigned to them and are completely free to you! They'll answer questions, review material, and ensure your understanding if you go to them. If you class doesn't have a tutor, hit up the FYC and see if you can find one.

I recommend you do these things early (now!) and start forming good study habits. It might be a lot harder to form these habits when it's just days before a final...

Thanks for reading!

OUR Highlighted

2010-09-27T16:37:00.003-05:00

A lot is happening in the Lab Rats' LLC these days. In class, they are working on visiting various research labs around campus - mine included. Besides being an RA in West, I'm also an RA (Research Assistant) in Dr. Mosack's Patient Advocacy and Research Lab here on campus (a psychology lab). Right now the study that I'm involved in researches how patients with HIV and diagnosed depression can adhere to their HIV medications and how their HIV affects their depression. It's pretty deep stuff! Another study that I was involved in for the lab researched bisexual identity development among college-aged women. I got in the lab the first semester of my sophomore year and I am very glad I got my foot in the door as early as I did.

In the spirit of Undergraduate Research, I would like to highlight the Office for Undergraduate Research, or OUR, since it affects so many students who will read this. The OUR describes itself as "a centralized location for undergraduates seeking on-campus research opportunities and faculty seeking enthusiastic, motivated undergraduate students with whom to collaborate." (Taken from the OUR homepage).

Students can even visit this link, https://www4.uwm.edu/our/students/index.cfm, to start creating their own research profile and apply for credit in a research lab.

Another resource that the OUR website provides is a list of roughly 90 research projects that are happening on campus right now: https://www4.uwm.edu/our/research/index.cfm. If you are interested in getting involved in Undergraduate Research, skim through these studies too see what floats your boat. You never know where you might end up!

I really can't stress enough how important it is to start early in your undergraduate research experience. I have always been the youngest assistant in my lab, which means by the time I graduate, I'll have the most experience out of everyone - which looks awesome on my curriculum vitae and graduate school applications!

I'm really glad I got the opportunity to push the Lab Rats into undergraduate research and get them started in some labs right now!

OUR homepage: http://www4.uwm.edu/our/
OUR facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milwaukee-WI/UW-Milwaukee-Undergraduate-Research/183946611475

Check it out!

ASL LLC gets an exciting new addition.

2010-09-24T10:58:00.006-05:00

The ASL LLC is off to a great start and this week past week we welcomed a new floor-mate. Mohammed comes to us from Kuwait, and this is his very first time in the US. Everyone was very excited to learn we would be receiving a new resident and we welcomed him with open arms. The students spent a long time researching Kuwait's customs to make Mohammed feel right at home. He is going to be studying English as a second language for 4 months here at UWM.

He has come a long way to be with us.

It seems that this semester will be very educational for everyone! The LLC students will get to learn about a foreign culture and teach about their culture. They have already stepped up to teach me a little about signing culture. Coming in to this semester, I did not know anything about sign language or Deaf Culture but I have already learned so much from these students. For instance have a learned several signs like "nice to meet you", "understand", "girl", "boy" and several others. I have also learned how close people are in Deaf community. When you are part of the Deaf society, you automatically have friends and a family no matter where you are solely based on your similar experiences with the signing community.

I have learned so much from the ASL LLC residents and cant wait to learn more from them and from Mohammed. I'm confident he will return to Kuwait having had a very special experience here in the US.

Business Panthers at Lubar's Back-to-Business Picnic!

2010-09-22T13:53:00.008-05:00

The Business Panthers LLC located in West 5/6 have been extremely busy networking and working towards success!

The Business Panthers LLC kicked off their year by attending the Business Ice Cream Social in Lubar's Undergraduate Student Advising Office N297. There, the Business Panthers students enjoyed refreshing sundaes and conversations with the Lubar staff. Howard Spearman, a Lubar Undergraduate Business Advisor, talked with the students and explained how the Advising Office could help them. Then Greg Krejci, the Director of Business Services, introduced himself to the students and told them how his office could help them explore majors and careers, build their resume, and search for internships. Krejci also shared that he would personally edit the students resumes if they set an appointment with him ahead of time- just because they were in Business Panthers!

On Wednesday, September 22, some of the Business Panthers attended the Back-to-Business Picnic located at Pangea Mall to put their networking skills to work and get a delicious lunch sponsored by Lubar School of Business and Direct Supply. The picture above shows some Business Panthers students with their RA Louella Aquino and their Mentor Blen Bayu. Some students were not able to join due to class conflicts - there are some dedicated and studious students in this LLC!

Coming up, the Business Panthers will have another LLC event called "Lubar in the Residence Halls". Now that Business Panthers have made several trips out to the business school, it's time to bring the business school to them! Stay tuned for more information on this exciting event coming up fast in October!

The CS Welcome!

2010-09-21T14:56:00.006-05:00

The Writing and Visual culture LLC is off and running smoothly, ladies and gents!

It's the fourth week of class now and hopefully we're all adjusted to the living and learning that has been going on.

Down here on G1 of North Tower things seem as creative and social as ever. I'm so excited to see all the residents hanging out and making friends. What's more, the friends we're making are our future network! As creative individuals, networks such as this will someday (or already are!) crucial to success!

You might be wondering what "The CS Welcome" is?

Let me being with explaining the name: The CS. The CS is a name for both the group of students in the Writing and Visual Culture LLC, and one of the nicknames for our floor (North G1, the Ninja Turtle Lair, NG, and now The CS). The Creative Suite, in the unabbreviated form, implies a general interest in creativity the residents of North G1 share. Maybe it's visual art, theatre, music, literature, or just a healthy interest in creativity. The people of North G1 are creative people. Thus the new nickname.

You have to admit, calling ourselves The CS is much more hip and edgy to say than Writing and Visual Culture LLC.

"The CS Welcome" was an event that took place on Monday, September 20th in Sandburg Residence Hall. It was an opportunity for residents of North G1 and students in the LLC class to meet, mingle and eat delicious pizza. Students enjoyed food, refreshments and good conversation. Not only did they get all that, but UWM mascot Pounce the panther stopped by for some entertainment and school spirit.

The CS is doing well, I hope you can see. However, to make this more clear next time, I think an official event photographer should be appointed. A picture of Pounce would have made this entry supreme! Send me a pic if you have one!

Thanks for reading!

Second week of Creating Your Future

2010-09-15T17:52:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! How's everyone doing? Well, our LLC - Creating Your Future meet up every Wednesday and it's been going great. There's about ... 20 students in the class and I'm trying to remember everyone's names. It's hard but we all live on the same floor in one wing so I'll get it soon :)
Have I explained what this class is about? Well, the class is more like a classroom-type but it's all good. This class is about exploring your future career options. Most of the students are undecided but have an idea on what their career might be. Some students, like myself, have declared our majors but decided to join for more resources and information. Today we played CAREER PICTIONARY and my team won (with my awesome artistic skills, just kidding) ! And then we evaluated our interests, skills, values, etc. and we're gonna fill out this major scorecard. That's the exciting part! (for me at least) So, I'll update with you all next time :D

Health Care in the 21st Century Update !

2010-09-14T21:00:00.005-05:00

HEY EVERYONE,

Alright so the beginning of the year is off to a wonderful start. The latest thing that we have had as a fun event occurred right after the house meeting! Everyone gathered into a circle and played ninja. It was hilarious to watch everyone trying to make moves to protect and hit others hands at the same time! It was a great bonding experience for all those involved.

I do have to say though 15/16 in North tower is the place to be. Up to this point we have had a good 6 movie nights were everyone just decided they wanted to get together and watch a movie, as well as, a GREAT game night where a bunch of people sat in the lounge and got to know each other over a rousing game of apples to apples. But it is not all just fun and games over here, oh no... we also have a tone of creativity. A few individuals got together and decide to make a Robot.... Props to them !

Everyone in the LLC for health care thus far is a blast to talk and hang out with! I can't wait for the future events and fun times I know will happen with all these wonderful students!

Milwaukee Film Festival

2010-09-14T13:28:00.005-05:00

This semester is already off to a great start as students in the Film Video and New Genre LLC have already become a close knit group of film makers. They have used each other as motivation to go out and start filming and making projects. Just this past Thursday I was walking back from Kenilworth and got near the Architecture building when I saw a group of my residents taking pictures. When I asked them what they were doing they said they were working on homework for their film class. Getting a head start most of them ended up finishing the assignment a week before it was due. Thus giving them time to spend the night in our lounge watching a movie.

This LLC has already proven to become a great benefit for the students as they have resources to bounce ideas off of and collaborate as well as give feed back. It is something I wish I had as a first year film student.

What have we been up to?
Just last week we had our first official LLC kick off where a group of about 20 of us got together and played some Scene It! and eat pizza. Poor choice on my part was that I forgot to order the drinks. Oops. We had a blast though and it was a very much back and forth race as we had four teams two of which held a strong lead and than suddenly it all turned around.

Most of the residents attended Pantherfest and had a great time hanging out together. As far as enjoying the headliner that is something you would have to discuss with them.

Also like I mentioned before you can always find them in the lounge about every other night watching a film. All the chairs are filled and you can't forget about the beloved LoveSac.

Whats up next?
We are currently planning to attend the Milwaukee Film Festival. Everyone has a good list that they would like to see as the film festival has a large amount of highly acclaimed films. So you probably will be able to catch one of them at most of the screenings at least at the Oriental. We will be attending as a group to the film Breathless (2010 Restoration) a film I enjoyed watching as a first year film student and one that will be talked about in their film classes as it focuses on the 1960 film style with black and white.
Films they have their eye on? Buried, Hipsters, Lucky Life, Waiting for "Superman" and much more.
The students also are considering volunteering at the Film Festival as they receive a free tshirt and entry to a movie.
Volunteers can register at http://www.milwaukee-film.org/section/volunteer

Thats all we got for now! Join us sometime!

Lab Rats Update!

2010-09-12T22:44:00.002-05:00

Hey all!

It's time for an update on the Lab Rats! Recently we had a fun pizza party and discussed the first Lab Rats LLC class and what the residents hoped to gain out of being a part of the class and LLC. Some awesome ideas included getting experience in undergraduate research early in their college careers, starting to network with professors, and just having fun!

The Lab Rats have even already started their own research projects. Ishu and Shelbie decided to take note of how many times they saw transportation other than walking (i.e., bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades) around campus. Mike and Tyler kept track of people's favorite fruits. Kristin and Anurag tallied up how many hours per day people spend doing homework. The groups collected information by asking people around campus and keeping track of responses or just by merely being observant. It will be interesting to see the outcomes of the research!

Well, that's all for now from the Lab Rats. I will leave you all with this delightful photo (this is actually the default pic for the Lab Rats facebook group).

ASL LLC's first event of the year.

2010-09-10T16:03:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone,

The ASL LLC has had our first event this past Wednesday the 8th! Our Pizza Pig out was a success, even though we ran out of pizza. We had started to plan a big event for our second semester, and talked about other option for this semester. We had a chance to talk with Katie Woods our ASL LLC mentor who had fun chatting with the residents, giving them advise and talking about the deaf community at UWM. Some of our ASL LLC residents will be going to the Brewers game this Sunday the 12th where there will members of the deaf community signing the National Anthem.

We've started out this semester in a great way and hopefully it will continue to go well.

Talk to you again real soon,

Kelly Keuper

Business Panthers on the Prowl for Success

2010-09-02T02:23:00.012-05:00

Hello and welcome to the Business Panthers Living Learning Community (LLC) at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee! This is the inaugural year of the Business Panthers; nevertheless, our LLC and our LLC students are on their way to big success.

I’m excited to introduce myself to you as the Business Panthers LLC Resident Assistant. My name is Louella Aquino and I’m a second year student pursuing Marketing and Spanish. It is my first year as a Resident Assistant, and I’m excited to also be able to guide the Business Panthers LLC. Before declaring my major this fall, I have already been fortunate enough to have had two Marketing internships: first with the Milwaukee Art Museum and second with Motorola, Inc. This year will be an exciting one for me as I dive deeper into my business education and explore business with my LLC students!

These are pictures of a Marketing Intern at work at the Milwaukee Art Museum: helping out at MAM: After Dark and the Brewers' Sausages' photo shoot.

The Business Panthers LLC will help students (already interested in business or still contemplating) explore business majors and careers, develop a sense of belonging with our Lubar School of Business, and academically and professionally reach success.

As the Business Panthers RA, some quantitative goals I have set for myself that align with the LLC's objectives are: 1) Have 80% of students in the LLC continue to pursue their business degree and remain in the LLC. 2) Recruit at least 3 students interested in business to the LLC. 3) Have at least 1 LLC student obtain a well paid, respectable internship at the end of their first year.

The Business Panthers LLC is located in West Tower Floors 5 and 6. Stop by, say hello and become successful with us!

Hey Health Care in the 21st Century !

2010-09-01T16:05:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone !

I am Nikki and I am the RA for the Health Care in the 21st Century LLC. This is my second year as an RA for an LLC and am really excited for the different opportunities it provides for the residents. I am from Kenosha, WI but now call North Tower 15/16 home! I am in my 5th and last year of school and thus my last two semester are made up of Nursing Clinicals. I am engaged to a great guy who actually lives in east tower at the moment. I really can not wait for the year to get into full swing. The LLC welcome event today should be a blast. Remember LLC students to mark on your calender Sept. 27th since their will be a Tie Dye event where you get an awesome LLC themed shirt and then get to make it your own. Not to mention you will be able to talk not only your professors but other individuals in the Nursing and Health Sciences programs. Making Connections, plus having a blast....what more can you ask for?

Till next time, Nikki

Film, Video, and New Genre

2010-09-01T11:15:00.004-05:00

Hello and welcome!

My name is Zachery Holder and I am the Resident Assistant for the future of our entertainment world, at least I like to believe so. I reside in Sandburg Residence Hall on the 19th floor where the Film, Video, and New Genre Living Learning community is already booming with artist and film makers eager to make movies.

I am a 3rd year student at UWM and a 2nd year RA. I am a film major myself and am gaining more of a focus in animation and video. I graduated high school from Verona Area High School right outside of Madison. It was my art teachers in high school who really sparked my passion to have film as my career as I spent most of my time in our video lab. I recently finished an internship at Walt Disney World and now am a Campus Representative for their Disney College Program. I spent my summer working at Six Flags Great America doing shows and parades. I also had the chance to work with American Idol while they were in Milwaukee which was an unforgettable experience. I am a RA mainly for the fact I love to help people and just be active in my campus and helping new students and meeting such great people along the way makes this experience all the better.

I am rather excited to have this group of students who a good number have connected from the start and have grouped up to start working on projects. It's exciting because it is definitely something I wish I had during my first year. It's great to see that within the first week of moving into Sandburg the goals of these residents are already starting to be achieved. Our goal for this community is to come together to collaborate on ideas and network to help bring those ideas to reality. One of the hardest things to do when making a film is getting people to help you and be dedicated to it. In the LLC everyone is here to make a film, video, or animation or something of the likes.

Up coming events we will be having our first Film, Video, New Genre LLC Kick off in the Channel on Tuesday Sept. 7th at 7pm where the residents will be able to test their movie knowledge and eat free food and relax just before the really jump into their classes and homework.

I have high hopes for this year! Hope to see you around!

Finally at UWM :)

2010-08-31T12:07:00.002-05:00

Off to college

Hello everyone! I moved into Cambridge Commons on Saturday at 9:30am so I left home at 7am. My boyfriend and my two younger sisters came along. I was nervous and excited at the same time. So, we're finally in Milwaukee and I'm trying to spot the residence hall but it was actually easy because I've seen the pictures before and there were colorful flags on the rooftop :D Thank you staffs!

This is a view of the courtyard

So unloading for me was less than an hour. I'm glad I didn't bring too much. Remember: Don't bring octopus lamps, microwaves, and mini-fridges...into Cambridge at least. It varies in different residence halls, I believe. And when you're there, they give you two carts :) As you enter the hallway, the walls are decorated with activities, maps, warnings, etc so its very welcoming !

Outside of my suite and going to enter for the first time!

And finally unpacking :D

-After I unloaded my boxes, me and my family went to explore Milwaukee. It was a great day but after they left, it's heartbreaking. You're officially alone but don't think about it too much because there are other students that are going through the same thing that you are :) Honestly, when it came down to "unpacking" I didn't know where to start....but I started on my clothes and next thing you know, you are finished! Lay in bed...and sleep. I hope you (freshmen like myself) had a good experience as well and a great year :)

Welcome to Writing & Visual Culture!

2010-08-31T10:57:00.005-05:00

Hello and welcome!

I hope everyone is as excited about this year as I am. And I mean everybody. You (whomever is reading this), your neighbor, and your cousins. Everybody. The Writing & Visual Culture LLC is going to be a smashing good time.

Residents have moved in and we're off to a great start of the year. Down here on NG1, which is where I, RA Jeffrey, and a great number of the LLC residents live, is starting to become a pretty cool community.

My name is Jeffrey Brennan and I'm the RA on G1 in North Tower of Sandburg Residence Hall! I'm a photography and journalism major from Sauk Prairie, WI, a small village near Madison. This is my second year at UWM and first as an RA. As the RA of this floor, I'm also in charge of planning cool events for the Writing & Visual Culture LLC.

I'm excited to meet you all and really get to know you throughout the year!

Here's a picture of me:

(Cool how I just put that right in there, huh?)

Lastly, I'll tell you all about a few things coming up you should take advantage of. Tomorrow is LLC Kick Off Event in Flicks. This a great time to meet everyone involved with the LLCs and perhaps even your instructor! The date again is, Wednesday, September 1st, @ 4:30p.m.

Another cool thing coming up is an event just for us Writing & Visual Culture folks. This will be a time to specifically meet one another and really build some tight bonds between us. So, save the date! Wednesday, September 15th! We'll have food and a cool writing/visual art collaborative to work on.

See you all soon!

Nyob Zoo (Hello!)

2010-08-24T14:01:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone!
My name is May See Yang and I'm from Green Bay, Wisconsin. I'm a freshman @ UW-Milwaukee and I'm in the Creating Your Future LLC. I'll be living in the Cambridge Commons residence hall and I'm currently majoring in Anthropology :)

LOL, that's me doing a pose at camp. Anyways, I'm into movies, music, art, and cultures. I love to promote diversity and I like to meet people from different ethnic backgrounds. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is learning. I'm excited and ready to learn. Let's make this year an exciting one!

Healthcare in the 21st Century LLC

2010-08-19T21:15:00.005-05:00

Hola!
My name is Emmalee Vander Zanden. And as many of you may have noticed, my first name is spelled a little differently than the typical 'Emily' but it is pronounced all the same :) I am an incoming freshman and will be a part of the "Healthcare in the 21st Century" LLC located in North tower. I'm from DePere Wisconsin which is about 15 minutes south of Green Bay.

that's me on the crutches! can you guess why I picked healthcare? :)

I'm a bit of an accident magnet.

I'm very excited to move in, and meet people that are going into the same field that I am. As of now I'm looking to major in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and minor in Spanish, but I'm only a freshman, things can always change! I'm not sure what our LLC will be doing but I'm sure it will be fun!

Untill next time!

Welcome to the American Sign Language LLC

2010-08-19T19:45:00.007-05:00

Hello there everyone!

My name is Kelly Keuper and I will be the Resident Assistant for the ASL LLC. I am from Brookfield, Wisconsin, and was in the Brookfield Central High School class of 2009. I am Junior at UWM and I live on the second floor of Sandburg Hall West Tower.

Come see me in 270C

Although, I am the ASL LLC RA I do not speak sign language, I am actually a psychology major. But, I cannot wait to learn some sign language this year. I am looking forward to doing some really fun things this year with the ASL LLC and getting to know all of you. To get started we will be having a get to know the LLC Pizza Party on September 8th in the West 2 common area.

Cant wait to meet all of the residnets and get this semester started!

Hope you all enjoyed the summer!

Kelly Keuper, ASL LLC RA

What's Up, Lab Rats?!

2010-08-15T17:01:00.011-05:00

Why, hello there!

My name is Sam, and I'm the RA for the awesome Lab Rats LLC in West Tower 3/4. I'm from Sheboygan Falls, WI and am now a junior at UWM double majoring in psychology and Spanish. I hope everyone is refreshed from summer and is raring to go on their first year at UWM!

Moi!

It sounds cheesy to describe how excited I am to be the RA for this LLC, but I really can't tell you guys how awesome this semester is going to be. I've got a fun-filled semester lined up for my Lab Rats, and we're going to kick-off the year with some de-lish pizza from Palms Gardens. As a psychology major, I already have experience in undergraduate research so I hope to be a great resource for my Lab Rats! See you all soon!

Ps - Lab Rats --> join the Lab Rats LLC 2010-2011 facebook group asap! :)

LLCs Featured in the UWM News - again!

2010-08-13T07:53:00.000-05:00

For the second time, an article about LLCs was featured in the UWM News. Click here to read it. The article focuses on the LLCs that are new for 2010-2011:

Healthcare in the 21st Century
Environment and Global Sustainability
Business Panthers
Writing and Visual Culture

If you missed the article that was featured last semester, you can read it here.

Now Seeking 2010-2011 Student Bloggers!

2010-08-04T15:12:00.001-05:00

University Housing is currently seeking writers for this blog! If you're living in an LLC this fall, please consider blogging about your experiences. Last year this blog had over 600 unique visitors, and we only expect that number to increase.

What would you write about? Well, basically whatever is going on in your LLC. Contribute pictures, videos, or just words. Your role as an LLC blogger is to give current and prospective students an idea of what it's like to live in an LLC.

If you're interested, please contact me at vanlysal@uwm.edu or on Facebook.

And, to all Fall 2010 LLC residents: I'm excited for you to get to UWM and live in University Housing!

Drawing to a Close

2010-05-04T22:13:00.000-05:00

Only a couple more weeks more and school will be done for the summer and my wonderful LLC will be saying their final goodbyes. This semester has been awesome and I'm glad that I've been able to work with some really cool kids and learn all about their research.

This past Friday was the Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Lab Rats had the chance to present their research to judges and tell all about what they've been learning. Mesi researched the breast cancer needs and concerns of African Americans and African immigrant women, Lizzie spent time researching the barriers to prenatal care for African American adolescents, and Joe researched muscle oxygenation during exercise on motorized versus non-motorized treadmills. All of the presentations looked awesome and well put together.

Another bit of news is that the Lab Rats LLC was featured in an article on the homepage of UWM's website. The article talked about the research opportunities that the Lab Rats have and even quoted Joe and Mesi.

Finally, the end-of-semester LLC social is coming up Sunday, May 9th. We are planning to go to the Gasthaus for some delicious food at 6:30 and then head back to Sandburg to watch the new "Alice In Wonderland" in Flicks at 7:30. I'm excited and I think this will be a fun way to wrap up the year!

Well, i guess this is so long. I've had an awesome semester and the Lab Rats LLC has been great!

~Anne-Marie

LLCs Are Famous!

2010-05-04T09:16:00.001-05:00

Check out the UWM News article about Living Learning Communities, which was posted on the homepage of www.uwm.edu today!

What a day.

2010-04-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

The COMPASS LLC had a wonderful time at the Shedd Aquarium this past Saturday. We had about 4 hours to check out all the exhibits and made good use of our time.

They have a few beluga whales. One of which had a baby in December, which prompted me to have this song stuck in my head for a good portion of the day. One Aquarium guest standing next to me at the Beluga tank remarked, "Wow, look! A dolphin swimming with a manatee!". Apparently she missed all the signs...

We swung through the gift shop and Christina and I found (but did not purchase) otter masks.

The LLC pauses for a moment to really think about everything they've seen...

The COMPASS LLC is on a boat.

I brought along a few note cards and a pack of crayons. When we had time at the end of the day, we stopped at a table and everyone drew what their favorite part of the trip was, and explained why.

Mason enjoyed the medusa cniderians...more commonly known as jellyfish for they way they swim.

Maggie found the bride by the belugas to be amusing. Yes, there was a couple that apparently got married at the aquarium.

Matt liked the belugas because he found them to be the most interesting of anything there.

Justin liked the eel because it was easiest to draw on a note card.

Christina was also a fan of the jellyfish and how they were changing colors.

***Not pictured, they had a few windows talking about tectonic activity and ancient oceans. This applied to my group because the course the LLC took last semester was about plate tectonics. However, nothing there was especially photogenic or "drawable".

It was a good trip and everyone had lots of fun.

Until next time.....

-Carly Danger Wilson