Finals are here!

Be exited, the final week of school is finally here!!! Finals week started last Thursday, December 10. All of the students are stressing out about their grades, leaving little room for fun times; what they don't realize is that by doing so they are just increasing their stress. Put the books aside for a while and go have some fun; you will see that by doing so you will be more relaxed when its time to hit the books again. Good luck to everyone this week!!!!

Thankgiving Break is here....

Well, the break has arrived that most of the students have been really looking forward to! Thanksgiving BREAK! The students at the Spencer Campus have been chompin' at the bit to head home for the holidays. In fact, many of them got an early start. The break is well deserved by the students who can use this time to refresh their minds and come back to finish the last month of the semester strong.

Today, "The Dock" hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner full with all the trimmings. All students, staff and faculty were able to eat lunch for $2. It was a huge success! The Thanksgiving Dinner was also open to the public and believe me, the public took full advantage as well. I even saw a group of folks from a local radio station there...KICD. "The Dock" was such a success that people were actually waiting to get inside and eat. It was really exciting to see that many folks at "The Dock" Cafe.

Well, here's to everyone have a very happy Thanksgiving holiday break. I believe we all have so much to be thankful for during a very tough 2009!

Coach Farley

midterm grades

Hello everyone
like it has been said, it has been a while since our blog has been updated. Our senators team, has decided to keep you in touch and informed about what is going on at our campuses every week.
The semester is half way done, and midterm grades are available within advisors offices, i hope everyone set up an appointment with your supervisors to discuss about it otherwise, grades will be available to view online on november 6th. To the other hand, the senators spoke to the men's soccer head coach, he said the soccer season is over, but the the players aren't going to be bored. he told us that they are looking forward to an indoor tournament that will keep the boys entertained and many work-out sessions at the YMCA. I thank everyone for your time and inviting you to visit our blog as often as you can to keep yourself updated with college activities

HI!
Thanks for taking the time to check the Iowa Lakes Community College Blog. I know it has been a while since the last post, but from now on we will be updating more frequently. This Post is sponsored by the Spencer Campus Student Senate. Semester is half way done and midterm grades are in. Many things have been going on at the Spencer campus in the past few few weeks From a Blood Drive to Red Ribbon Week. Many more activities and events are being planned stick with us and be part of this. If you have any suggestions for the Student Senate please let us know, our email is studentsenatesp@iowalakes.edu.

Spencer Campus Student Senate
Have a good Day!

First week back to school... CHECK!~

Hey everyone! The first week of college has now been completed!! I have to say we started it off right this year. Everyone was anxious to get back to school and get back into a routine. I couldn't believe on how many more students there are on campus this semester! Its crazy! Although that's great! I mean more enrolment means more new students into classes to see and meet! Now, for the real get down of how this semester is going to be. First off we don't have trays in the cafeteria anymore and I believe its got people puzzled, now for someone who is working in the cafeteria and thinks that its not a bad idea, I mean we save on water and on space in the cafeteria, I'm not so sure how other people are taking to it. I mean come on people we got used to having no paper towels in the bathrooms so we can get used to another adjustment. We can just say how much we are starting to "go green" at ILCC, which is always a good thing.My classes this week were pretty good, every ones getting to know each other again and to welcome the new freshman!! Its always exciting to see on the first day of classes who is exactly going to be in your classes and to see who knows who. I've enjoyed them for the most part, but I'm excited to get the year started and dive right in. Although, with it being a Saturday morning in the burg and I've already done homework for the day its nice to know every ones getting back into the swing of things! It feels like fall here today, warm sun but breezy and chilly! Well its around 12 and I suppose I should probably get some lunch and get on with my day! I'll keep you all updated as the school year progresses!!

New School Year to Come!!

Okay everyone, I'd first like to say I'm SO sorry it's been so long since I've posted a blog. Things have been absolutely crazy!! So we ended the school year last year on a great note at ILCC. Although, I think everyone was ready to end the year I think it was a good note to end on..

So, a little bit about my summer, I worked for Super 8 at the end of last school year and needless to say it didn't work out so great, by July 2nd I had, had enough, and it just wasn't the right place for me. I totally respect all the people that work there and the boss he's very nice, I guess I'm just not cut out for the Hotel world or maybe there not cut out for me.. who knows! ha-ha. Okay, so I quit there and of course had a total melt down because I'm a girl and ya know that just happens. So I went into Steve at ILCC who runs the cafeteria and was crying and saying how I didn't have a job so he gave me some "free" advice that I've taken to heart so much! He told me two things; 1. Stop crying this isn't the worst thing you've ever had to deal with, and 2. You can always learn something from life experiences. But he was also very WONDERFUL and gave me a job working for him, doing night meals for the upward bound and talent search. So I went right to work for him, I worked w/ Jan at nights and had a blast learning the ropes and the tricks of the trade in the kitchen. Meanwhile all of this was happening my dad became ill and was in an out of hospitals for a little bit, but we got threw it and he's doing wonderful now, but let me tell ya from a person that now has experience. Seeing your dad have problems makes you take a MUCH closer look at family and realise what you have.. But on a happy note, we got threw this summer but not with out some changes.. So as you all know I'm a hotel/restaurant management student well I was... As I got into the programs last year I loved it, I have the best friends in the world and I think the program is amazing, but I've seen threw my classes that I really want to be a dietitian and in order to do that, I need to go to a 4 year school and finish my AA. So here came the huge issue, go back this fall as an AA student and finish my 4 classes and graduate and go on to a 4 year college after Christmas, or stay here for another year and a half and then go.. Now if any of you out there know me, you know I'm a person who likes to be around Emmetsburg and loves her town/home very much. But on the other hand I kind of wanted to get out and go to a 4 year college. Iowa Lakes has totally given me so many tools I need to go on and they've taught me more about college in a year then I ever thought I'd learn. From learning how to study and make new friends to getting involved and making college all its worth! So for days and days I argued back and forth with myself and talked to TONS of people about what I wanted to do and I finally have decided to come back this semester and get my AA degree and then transfer at Christmas time. Now I'm super pumped to be going to a 4 year college but on the other hand Iowa Lakes feels like home and its so much fun, but I think for myself its time to move on.. With recent relationship changes and learning a lot this summer I think its time to move on; BUT I do have to get threw 4 classes this fall and make a college choice... the big question now is where do I transfer...

I am very excited to come back to school next Thursday for my first day back. I've always been one that likes the first day of school. There's nothing better then fresh pencils and paper and ready minds to learn... but we'll see how long the enthusiasm lasts!! Well I've obviously blabbed enough for one post, but I PROMISE I'll post more this year then I did last.. I will definitely let everyone know how the first day of school goes.. So I better close for now.. WELCOME BACK LAKERS!

Soo Long

Wow! I can't believe how long it has been since I have written anything, it seems like forever!! Things at the college have been moving quickly as everyone is counting down the days till the end of the school year; and to believe it or not, it is coming pretty fast. With less then 2 months to go, everyone buckling down and welcoming spring at the Emmetsburg campus.

Half of the hotel/restaurant management class is in the cafeteria lately, every Tuesday and Thursday we come in and help the girls get threw an average day. It's been a great experience to get hands on and deal with everyday problems that occur and that may bring up issues that you have to deal with on the spot. I think by far the challenge for everyone has been the manager position. It really takes a lot of push yourself to the max and deal with a group of girls and manage in stressful situations. Although, I am glad we are doing it, its giving us a real shocker of true life in the work force.

Things seem great around campus. Everyones in good moods now that its sunny and everyone seems to be pushing towards the goal of summer vacation!

Keep rockin' ILCC

Is that sun I see?? No Way! Didn't think it was possible!!

Well me oh my, is that sun I see shinning out of the hotel? I think it is!! I can't believe were finally getting some nice weather here in E'burg. I was beginning to think we weren't ever going to see nice weather again! Although it's still chilly, I'll take the sun!

Things have been absolutely crazy around here! I started personal training with an instructor at the Wellness Center and let me tell you I am soar!!! It's a great way to get some exercise and to get someone to push you harder. Wow, I can't believe Spring Break is coming up so soon! It's amazing, one more day of school left and there we are! The town of Emmetsburg is gearing up for it's exciting weekend of St. Patricks Day Celebration! There is lots going on in town and lots of fun things to see and do around town. There's a parade and many fun things to do around town! I'd highly check it out!

The hotel and restaurant management team is in the cafeteria the next few weeks, working side by side with some awesome school cooks and learning a lot about working together and becoming a team. It was a great experience and I'm excited for the next few weeks ahead. Well, this is all for now, I will right more when I come back from spring break! Enjoy the break ILCC!!

More icky weather???

Well, Well, Well, what do you know.. as I sit down to write this I'm looking out my bay window and I see a mixture of sleet and snow coming down. I thought after the beautiful week we had on campus at ILCC we would be in for some spring! But I guess we were "fortunate" enough to get winter back. Things at the college have been moving slowly lately, as most everyone is ready for some spring break action! St. Patricks Day is coming up also in Emmetsburg and you can tell the town is getting very excited for the festivities coming up! It is nice that this semester we get a fun weekend of St. Patricks and then were off for a whole week on spring break. I think everyone has been working really hard around campus to study hard and push in there classes. Everyone seems to be working towards of goal of getting ready for the last bit of school and to get done with this year right!! Other then that, things seem to be pretty quiet around campus.. Ill right more when things pick up.. Keep Rockin' ILCC!!

Please spring, come quickly!!

Hey Everyone! I'm so excited to be back from our trip to Minneapolis. It was a blast and very exciting but I am sure glad to be home and back to sleeping in my own bed. It's always nice to go away but let me tell you, its always even better to come home.
We took off Sunday morning around 10:00 and you could just tell everyone was super excited to get on the road. We traveled to eat at the "Wild Hog Salon & Eatery" It was a nice place we enjoyed a large buffet of breakfast foods and yummy desserts. We also got a nice tour of the place. It was fun trying out a new restaurant. We then all loaded back up and got on the bus to go to Chanhassen Dinner Theater. We got the privilege of getting to see "7 Brides for 7 Brothers" it was a hilarious play. The food was amazing at Chanhassen! I had the top sirloin steak and I highly recommend it. After a great dinner and show we loaded the bus's back up and headed to an amazing hotel, the Northland Inn & Suites. I do have to admit we were all very tired on the trip to the hotel, but we when we all saw that huge hotel all lit up and the dark, we got SUPER excited!! It was awesome to get there, get settled in and hit the sheets after 2 hours a giggling and laughing our heads off, but what can ya do when you put 5 girls in one room?

The second day we were at the hotel was great! We woke up to a wonderful buffet of breakfast foods and off we went to tour the Hilton Hotel, I do have to say this was my favorite part of the trip. The behind the scenes of the hotel was amazing! After we had a great tour of the hotel we walked the skyways to the Upper Mid-West Hospitality Show! It was a good chance to walk around and look at some awesome vendors, along with great samples of goodies! We then returned back to our hotel for an afternoon of being lazy and hanging around the hotel; later that evening we had a seminar on front desk operations and sanitation. We then enjoyed a sweet buffet of lots of food; along with a whole food island dedicated to desserts, now let me tell you that was worth the trip alone!! That evening we had free time to go swimming and hang out with our friends. It was a great way to relax and have some fun!

Our 3rd and final day we got to sleep in a little bit and after we got up and got packed and headed off to the Mall of America. As we arrived we had 4 hours to shop, so we all took off in all sorts of directions.. Lots of walking and lots of fun stores, I think all of the girls enjoyed it but for the boys not so much! ha-ha. We then took off for our destination of Esterville and Emmetsburg. On the long drive back we watched "Home Alone" and all took naps. I personally layed of the floor of the bus and fell asleep immediately. We got back to E'burg and the weather was soo warm, I was amazed! All in all it was a great trip and I'm very glad I went.

Now that I am back to E'burg and back in school all the time its back to the average day of being a hotel/restaurant student.. what can I say, its the life!

My First Post in Iowa Lakes Blog

Hello-- I'm glad you're taking time to read our college blog. Our web page editor "jumped on it" when I barely mentioned that I could write in this blog as one of the faculty/staff from the Emmetsburg, Iowa campus. So, here we go.

This takes me back many moons to when I was writing each week for my high school newspaper. I'm sure our college administration will hope that I don't get as controversial as I did in those days. My high school principal was invited to appear on Good Morning America, because I exposed that he was locking mischievous students in a "slammer" all day. The wire service picked it up from our small town newspaper where the high school page appeared. He, of course, refused to appear on the show, and I, of course, was very disappointed they didn't call me instead. It could have been my ticket to fame and fortune. But, instead. . .

Twenty years of my life have been spent walking these college hallways and usually landing in Room 533. This is where, as of lately, I've spent my days listening to students and student speeches. I find the students and our classroom time to be fascinating, amazing, motivating, often funny, often sad, and always enriching. This is a challenging career and not easy at all if you want to do it well. I want to do it well, so I'm constantly working toward more engaged students, motivated students, and students that are better able to think critically. Besides working with students "on the ground," I also teach public speaking online to students across the state. Yes, it is possible to take public speaking online, and I'll share more of that experience at some point.

The students and I will be traveling down a pathway to informative speeches in the next couple weeks before our break. This week, students will be finding good examples of informative/demonstrative speeches on youtube.com to share with the class. I'll share a few of their favorites with you next week.

Our college leadership changed this past week, in an unexpected turn of events. Change is never easy, but I'm very optimistic about our college future. We have our first ever female president in Val Newhouse, and I believe she is also the first college president to reside in Emmetsburg. She knows our campus faculty and staff well and that should be an asset for all of us and the students. I wish Val the best in this key leadership position.

I was visiting the Iowa Historical Museum in Des Moines this weekend and I found a significant Iowa quotation to use as a closing tonight. It seems important for hope as we look out at our frozen tundra in late February and our national economy.

"The land being fertile, never failed to produce good crops. . . .We always had plenty; our children never cried from hunger, neither were our people in want."

MA-KA-TAI-ME-SHE-KIA-KIAK
Black Hawk Sauk
Autobiography

Cross your fingers, as March should be arriving within a week.

Renee

Fasination

There is so much going on at Iowa Lakes. Mid term is coming up in a few weeks. So I am studying like crazy. There are some study groups that you can join. So it helps allot studying with other students. It also helps to get to know more people. Spring break is also coming up. I am excited for that because my fiance is graduating from Basic Training. So I get to go see him. Then he starts is AIT's 4 days after that. We got to go to Chicago this year with our MA Program. So I got to see a lot of cool sites. So I can't wait to go see Jake. It snowed this weekend so I'm not so happy about that. I have a lot of papers due this next couple of weeks. So I better get to them.
Susie

No More Winter Please!

Ugh!!!! I regretfully type this today as I look outside and see loads of snow in Emmetsburg! How ridiculous is this?? I think its crazy! Yesterday I took off to Mallard to do some things at Alex's house and it was simply raining and I thought nothing of it, well as the afternoon/evening progressed I soon went outside to the shop to get something and I looked around and saw nothing but SNOW! Crazy!! I couldn't believe it. Needless to say the roads weren't the greatest coming back to Emmetsburg last night. I'm very excited as Hotel and Restaurant Management is taking off tomorrow for Minneapolis! Although, I have lots of packing to do to get ready I am very excited. I'm not sure if its what were all going to do that excites me or it's the pure fact that I'm getting away from E'burg for just a little while. I hope that when we return some of this snow has disappeared. Emmetsburg seems to be very hopping tonight as the hotel I worked at is nearly booked for the night; which is good because that means there is many people in and out of town doing a variety of things. Well as I better get back to working the afternoon, I will write when we return from our trip! I'm sure there will be plenty of fun stories and things to share! Take care E'burg! See you in a few days!

Finally Some Sun!

Well what can I say, I'm finally glad to see some sun peaking out in Emmetsburg today. It's been a few cold days.. I miss that nice taste of spring we got, I think it put a spring in every ones step at the college.

The Hotel and Restaurant Mgt class is very excited as we are taking off for Minneapolis on Sunday for a fun trip of seeing hotels, going to the Upper Midwest Hospitality Show and having some fun at the Mall of America! We've all been waiting a long month or so since we've came back to school for this trip, were excited to get out of here for a few days and see some new things! That's all we can seem to talk about!

Student Senate is doing great! We had a weekly meeting this week and got lots of things done. Student Senate will be sponsoring "Root Beer Fest" on March 3rd in the gym at the Wellness Center in Emmetsburg, were very excited to have lots of fun and play some games!

Emmetsburg was sure moving slowly this week with the cold weather and wind. I took a couple of students that play basketball for ILCC yesterday back to Estherville to get on the bus for a game and boy the wind pulled the car all over the road!

Its such a nice morning as I get ready for school, I'm glad to see the sun out! But I better get ready as another full day of school and work is ahead for me!

First Blog

Wow! I really don't know what to say! This is my first "blog" for Iowa Lakes Community College. So I guess I will start out by telling everyone a little bit about myself. My name is Amanda , I'm a student at Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) in the Hotel & Restaurant Management Program. My goal with school is to complete two years here and then transfer to a 4-year college for food science. I hope someday to become a dietitians in a hospital or school depending on where this road takes me.I was a 2008 graduate of Emmetsburg High School, and grew up in Emmetsburg my whole life. I am an only child, both of my parents work for the Emmetsburg School District. I became a huge fan of ILCC in high school when the high school paid for classes here at the college. It was a great opportunity to accomplish some of my college classes for free and get a break from the boring days of high school.I have many hobbies; I'm an avid reader and I love to cook. My boyfriend who is from Mallard Iowa is really into cars and more and more I'm interested in them. Mainly the colors but hey that's a girl thing. I also like being outside and working on the computer. Cooking is fun for me. I've always been interested in it along growing up with my mom she is an awesome cook and I look to her for good advice. I originally started going to ILCC for my AA (Associate & Arts) Degree to eventually become a teacher, but I soon decided that field wasn't for me and chose to join H&R Mtg. It's a blast, we have lots of fun everyday weather its in the kitchen cooking or in the classroom hitting the books.I am also on Student Senate at ILCC. Student Senate was a great experience to get out and meet new people and do many new things at the college. We put on events and activites for the college to have some. Were a great group of friends and always have a good time.Well I must sign off for now as I have a weekly senate meeting!

Winter at Iowa Lakes

We call January to May our spring semester. Right now it is difficult to think of spring since we are just about in the middle of winter in Iowa. I really enjoy living in a state where we have four seasons throughout the year. By the end of one season I am looking forward to the next season.

I can't wait to see what the GROUNDHOG in Pennsylvania does next week (according to an old fable if he sees his shadow and runs back into his hole we are supposed to have 6 more weeks of winter, if he doesn't see his shadow winter will be over soon--so a sunny or cloudy day on Groundhog day, February 2nd, determines the length of our winter???) Spring and fall are my two favorite seasons but I do enjoy most of summer and winter. I think they both have beautiful aspects.

However; one of the downsides of winter is the cloudy days and the bitter cold days. We need our sunshine to feel good and we need exercise to feel good as well. Finding alternatives for exercising outdoors is a key to keeping our spirits up during the winter months. The chemical endorphin is released into our body when we exercise. Endorphins are needed to keep our spirits elevated. Without the natural endorphin chemical it is easy to become depressed. Laughter also releases endorphins in our body and so finding humor is key to feeling good as well.

There for Me...

Hi, My name is Susie. I am a student at Iowa Lakes Community College. I am in the Medical Assistant Program. This is my first year in college. I really like the opportunity of having a community college near my home. I am able to get my degree and stay with my family. I have a strong support system at home, but my fiance left for basic training so i not only have the support of my family but of the college. Both the students and the staff are there for me to get through the tough times. They help me with my homework and for my personal problems as well. I will be blogging frequently so keep checking to see whats new at the school.
Susie.

A College Setting with a Family Atmosphere...

Welcome to the Iowa Lakes Community College Team Blog! This blog is a team effort of students, faculty and staff members who will have an opportunity to share what a strong community college is all about. Iowa Lakes is a community college that allows people the first step opportunity to pursue their goals and dreams...but, at the same time building lifelong friendships. It is truly a family atmosphere.

The goal of this blog is to share many of the different experiences from a variety of different members of the Iowa Lakes Community College Family.