Aryn's Blog

Summer is Coming

One of my favorite things about the fast approaching summer is the warmer nights and longer days! Weekend evenings are spent barbecuing at Washington Park. Dinner is usually followed by frisbee, hula hooping, kickball or baseball. After our barbeque and baseball game this past Thursday night we decided to go on a night bike ride! 

Equipped with lights and reflectors (and still in only tank tops and shorts) we headed out from Wash Park to the Cherry Creek trail. The paved trail on the bank of Cherry Creek takes you from the park all the way into the heart of downtown! There are separate paths on each side of the creek--one for bikes and rollerbladers and the other for pedestrians to avoid any collisions!

We biked for nearly an hour, stopping along the way to enjoy the sound of the creek, dip our feet in the water and share some laughs. At our last stop there were bongo drummers and fire dancers on the opposite bank!

There were a surprising number of people there--all enjoying the beautiful night! On our bike back home through Washington Park we ran straight into some pretty powerful sprinklers. We arrived home around midnight sufficiently soaked but with huge smiles on our faces!

My roommate and I enjoyed the path so much we decided to go for an afternoon ride today! It was just as enjoyable in the daylight and I'm sure we will be visiting there quite often!

Alpha Phi Formal 2012

The second annual Alpha Phi formal was last Saturday. Due to a camping trip cancelled last minute, some great friends, and quick dress and date finds I managed to make it. Despite a little rain, it was a wonderful night. We took pictures at friend's houses and headed to the buses! 

We took buses to the Inverness Hotel. We dined and danced the night away in the beautiful ballroom! With a few last minute touch ups from the help of our friends:

Course 2 of 3: Roasted chicken, risotto and veggies--Yum!

Our recently elected school president Sam Estenson!

It was a wonderful night! Despite throwing things together, I'm so glad I was able to make it! It is always a great time when I am surrounded by these wonderful girls!

Undergraduate Student Government Elections

Voting for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) opens today! One of my very close friends, fellow PLPer, and neighbor from last year is running for student body president. 

It is exciting to be on the inside of the campaign team and to see how much our students truly care about the university. Their plans for the future include improving communication and Pioneer pride in addition to revamping the meal plan and the student center!

                                              

I believe Sam and Parker have the capacity and drive to accomplish truly amazing things for our school. With their extensive time abroad, previous leadership involvement, genuine character, and fun loving personalities, these two blondes have the power to make a difference for the student body. 

I'm sure the other candidates are qualified but my vote is going to Sam E. and Parker C.!

Visit their platform page to learn more: http://www.sameparkerc.com/ 

 

DU Lacrosse: Mile High Classic

Last Friday the men's University of Denver Lacrosse team played Duke in the Mile High Classic at Sports Authority Field. There was a huge tailgate beforehand complete with music, friends and Boone of course!

It was a close and exciting game, ending in a win for the Pioneers! 

Unfortuneately, last Wednesday, the Pioneers were not able to win against the Loyola Greyhounds in the semifinal game of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament. They went down fighting however, ending the game 13-14 in overtime. 

Next weekend the team will be in the NCAA Tournament. Go Pios! 

Friends and Family

One of the greatest things about living in the middle of the country is that we are fairly close to many places. Last weekend Sam's parents and grandma came to town. They rented a great house just outside of downtown. It was great to spend the weekend surrounded by the love of friends and family. 

Being the mother and grandma that they are, they packed a suitcase full of food weighing nearly 40 pounds! Let's just say we ate very well the whole weekend. 

We spent the weekend eating, laughing, playing dominos and jenga, and relaxing.

Saturday morning breakfast:

Picking out our favorite jelly beans:

Dominos with dad:

Food coma lounging:


 Time with Grandma Alice:

What a great family!

Celebrating Earth Day at Rocky Mountain National Park

It was Saturday afternoon and we were feeling the urge to enjoy the beautiful weather off campus. We rounded up the troops, loaded our packs, made a quick stop at Safeway and headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park! It was Earth Day so entrance to the park was free!

After a beautiful drive and a few wrong turns, we entered at the Wild Basin Trailhead. Because of our late start we headed off in the dark hoping to find our friends who had left earlier that day. 

We

After setting down a trail we came across a snow bank that didn't have any fresh footprints so we decided to turn back to the main trail. It eventually branched into the one we had been looking for. Still doubting that we would find the rest of our group we trekked on laughing and singing under the stars. A few miles in, we stopped for a quick water break and thought we heard something. We called out and listened for a response. To our surprise we heard a whooping! We walked on a few more yards and stumbled upon a note written in the rocks and a sign for a campsite! We'd found them!

There were slacklines and hammocks on almost every tree--quite the sight! We spent the night talking and even threw in a pretty intense game of Catch Phrase!

The next morning we cleaned up camp. A few of us decided to stay and hike around a bit to enjoy the beautiful park.

It was a beautiful time in the woods! Wonderful weather, beautiful scenery and the best of friends!

Happy Earth Day!

"Tacky Prom" ---Leadership and Honors Program Fun

Loud music and flashing lights filled the Olin Rotunda last night for "Tacky Prom" put on by the Pioneer Leadership and Honors Programs. Amidst the pastel balloons and shiny streamers students were dressed to their tackiest complete with roller corduroy pants, socks and tennis shoes, lots of tool and much more!

We started off with awkward pre-prom photos:

Blew plenty of bubbles:

And had plenty of laughs:

Collin even curled his hair:

Tacky Prom is only one of the very entertaining annual events PLP and the Honors Program puts on for members for the program!

Undergraduate Student Government (USG)

Bringing a new student organization to campus last year was quite the ordeal. There were a lot of processes I had to go through, people to contact, and forms to fill out. At the beginning of the process I was pretty lost. Lucky for me, two of my close friends were members of Undergraduate Student Government (USG). They directed me to the right people to talk to and were able to be a voice for me in student Senate. 

One of those very helpful friends is running for student body president this year--Sam Estenson! He has been an amazing friend these last two years and I'm incredibly excited that he is running for office. 

Time Flies on the Quarter System

Here at the University of Denver classes are on the quarter system. We have three 10 week quarters plus an optional summer term. Classes begin in early September and get out for summer the first week of June. Our schedule is a lot different from most other schools, but overall I like it a lot. 

We rounding the corner to week 5 of spring quarter. We're just half way done with our quarter while many of my friends at different schools are heading into finals! Our unique winter break is the reason we get out so late. Finals for fall quarter finish the week before Thanksgiving. Instead of going back to school for a few short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have a 6 week break spanning between Thanksgiving and New Years. The six weeks is a great opportunity for internships, inter term classes abroad, traveling, or visiting friends and family. 

The ten week quarters truly fly by! If you have a class that is not particularly enjoyable or a teacher who's not your favorite, the ten weeks makes it a bit more bearable. Also, taking three sets of classes each year gives you more wiggle room to take electives or classes outside of your major. For example, even though I am a busy science major, last quarter I took a Religions of Tibet class and this quarter I am in Food and Cooking in Latin American Literature. 

Although it can be a bit overwhelming at times, knowing there are only ten weeks keeps you on your toes since falling behind can happen quickly. On the plus side, midterms and finals usually cover less material than standard semester systems. 

We get out a bit later than schools on the semester system, but we also rarely have classes on Fridays and still find plenty of time to go skiing and camping on the weekends and get to study outside under the beautiful Colorado sunshine!

GlobeMed Update

GlobeMed has been busy as ever! We have a bunch of exciting campaigns planned for this quarter and are currently going through staff transitions. We have elected our new co-presidents--Congratulations Alec and Amelia! I am both sentimental and excited to hand over my position to these two. It's sad to step down from something I have put so much time into but I know they are going to do wonderful things for our chapter!

Midterms are next week and we are doing a Waffles for Wellness campaign. We are taking orders at the beginning of the week and will be delivering waffles to dorms both Monday and Wednesday night for study snacks! We are also planning a benefit breakfast, Yoga for Finals, and a partnership with Noodles and Company. These events will hopefully be enough to bring us to our goal of $5,000!

Vandong, the director of our partner organization Buddhism for Social Development Action recently sent me an e-mail wishing me a happy Cambodian New Year!

It's hard to believe that I have been involved with this amazing organization for over a year now! Although at times it has been difficult, it has been a learning process and I have grown so much from it. It is bittersweet to leave the president position but I have high hopes for the future of GlobeMed at DU!