This past Thursday was the 6th annual Mercy Presidential Dinner held at Mount Aloysius College in the Cosgrave Dining Hall. The event was a great success and I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate in it. The whole event was to invite and congratulate the new Mercy Presidential Scholars to the campus and congratulate them on their wonderful accomplishment.

First we held a small reception to meet and mingle with some of the new Mercy Scholars, their families, and some of the college's faculty members. There were refreshments, music provided by student Ashley Warfel, and of course, my favorite...cheese cubes! After we mingled and entertained for about a half-hour, we headed into the dining room to start the night. Laura Deely and Mike Feuz were the Mistress and Master of Ceremonies, and let me just congratulate them on a job well done. I know how hard it is to be prepared and how nervous one gets because I did it last year. They opened the evening with introductions of some of the college administrators, and we were graced with many words of wisdom and encouragement.

Afterwards, dinner was served, which was fantastic. The Metz staff always impresses me with these special events. Everything was perfect from the rolls to the Snickers pie...yum. While I was eating, I got to meet a new History/Political Science student and his family. I am looking forward to his addition to the college community. I also got to sit with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Julie Smith. She always has something interesting and thoughtful to share with us.

After dinner, the next thing to do was to introduce the new Mercy Scholars to the rest of us. They were handed their certificates and then they took their picture with Sister President. The whole night was great, and I am saddened that next year will be my last year at the dinner.

Well, I am going to get ready for the weekend. Easter Vacation is only a couple days away...Florida here I come!!

Posted by John Porter at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday, Laura, Ashley, Dr. Grassadonia, and I headed to Pittsburgh to participate in a conference. The conference was attended by several staff members and students of a couple of colleges sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. The conference was very productive and interesting. This conference was established to set up a larger conference that involved all of the Mercy Colleges.

During our discussion, we discussed the missions of our schools and the purpose for our conference. One of the purposes was to look at the some of the problems of the world. We discussed poverty, illiteracy, environmental problems, and violence. The issue that we chose to work on was violence. We are going to focus on violence to self, and the world. We then set up a date and a location for our conference. We decided to hold the conference in Chicago at St. Xavier College. We are also planning to hold the conference in May 2008. I am looking forward to the conference. As part of the planning committee, we have to work on everything that encompasses the event. This includes speakers, entertainment, publicity, etc. It is going to take a lot of work, but I think that I am up to the challenge.

Well, I am going to get ready for work

John

Posted by John Porter at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spring is officially here! I am so excited for the warm weather, shorts, and sandals. Although it rained a little, the weather was really nice. Let me fill you in on my week so far. On Sunday, I forgot to mention that Justin and I went to a basket raffle, which benefited the Relay for Life. I also tutored for a couple of hours this week. The Fall 2007 schedule has officially been released, so it is time to get ready for the next year! I can't believe my junior year is almost over. It seems like yesterday, that I was at my graduation in Arkansas... I really miss all of my friends down there. I started to get my schedule for next semester ready, and so far, it is looking good.

Today I went to the Mercy Presidential Social. We discussed further service requirements and upcoming events. I had the privilege to share all of the activities that I have participated in this year. Tomorrow, Laura, Ashley, and I are heading to Pittsburgh as student representatives of Mount Aloysius College. There is going to be a conference for all of the Mercy colleges. We do not know what is going to happen, but I am excited to go. We also played a couple of games over the week. Owen brought up his Shout About Movies game, which was fun...

Later on tonight, Laura and I are going to get the Relay schedule reading to publish. We have a lot of fun things planned, so I hope to see you there!!!

I'm heading off to work, so I will TTYL

John

Posted by John Porter at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend was pretty fun. On Friday, I watched some of the NCAA basketball tournament. My bracket is not doing too hot. After work, I watched some more basketball and worked on a puzzle of Niagara Falls. Amber came over and helped me with it. I finally finished it on Saturday. I also participated in a 24 hour fast. People are going to participate next Friday, but I am going to a conference in Pittsburgh, so I won't be able to do it then. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I am glad it is over, though.

Yesterday, I watched some more basketball and did my Philosophy work. After a while, I headed down to work for a couple of hours. I really got a lot done. After Justin and I were finished working, we headed to Altoona to get some supplies at Wal-Mart. We got some milk and cereal, and then headed to Super Sheetz to hang out. While at Sheetz we ordered some pizza and had some fries. Then we walked around the store for a little bit before heading out. When we got back to the residence halls, Justin and I watched the movie Borat. It was very funny and correctly showed the problems of our society. I think I am going to buy it next time I go to Wal-Mart. Some parts were disgusting, but it is well worth it. If you haven't seen it yet, go out and rent it!

Today I did some more work and relaxed a little bit. I worked out for an hour in the fitness center. Later on tonight I am going to finish working on my history homework, and then head to bed. I have to go now, because Aqua Teen Hunger Force is on and I cannot miss it...

Hope you had a Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Posted by John Porter at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey everyone,

I am back at school after our midterm break. Although I only had three days of class, it was an extremely busy week. We finished watching Blade Runner for philosophy, after the movie, we discussed the movie and what makes a person a human. I also watched a movie in my Comparative Politics class. It was Burnt by the Sun, which was about Russian life during the Stalin years. It was a really good movie. For homework, I had to read for a couple of classes and had to wirte a reflection for my philosophy reading on Friday. I also finished my movie anaylsis for Comparative Politics.

On Thursday, I had a SGA meeting and a Relay for Life meeting. I can't believe that there is only one more month until the Relay. I am so excited, but hope we are ready for it. Laura, Sue, and I are basically running the entire event. They also announced the snow sculpture winners from last week. Justin and I made a sculpture, but it broke before the judges were able to see it. I think we will try again next year. Tonight, I am going to head to work and watch some basketball games. I hope Arkansas wins tonight, but they are going against USC, so it should be a good game.

Until next time,

John

Posted by John Porter at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I went to the nurse on Thursday. She thought I had bronchitis and gave me some Robitussan and some Sudafed. I thought it would be wise to go home early, so I did. While I was at home I got more of my work done, and I watched some TV and movies. My mom and I went to Wal-Mart on the way home, and I picked up some medicine and some popsicles. The popsicles really helped my sore throat. I did not get any better until Monday. At least I got an extra day of midterm break. I also got to spend some great quality time with my family. I really missed them.

When I did get better, I went to the bank and deposited some of my checks into my account. I also took my dog for a nice long walk in the woods. It was a really nice walk, and I enjoyed listening to the rushing creeks as the snow continued to melt. The weather has been really nice for the past couple of days. We had some rain, but the temperature was really nice. While I was home, I also went to my hometown Library. I got some research done and checked out a book. I did not like the library too much; I think the library at Mount Aloysius is a lot better. They definitely have a lot more sources for my history major. Later on today, I am going to pack up my stuff, and make my way back to my home in Cresson.

Later

Posted by John Porter at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been feeling a little under the weather for about a month. It all started in the first few days of February. I had this extreme pain in my abdominal area. It was worse during the night while I was sleeping and during the morning. The weird thing is that it was the only symptom that I had. It would go away for a day or two, but then would come back. I tried to cut out all dairy products for a few days, to see if I was lactose intolerant, but that did not work. It finally went away, but now I have a really bad cough and sore throat. I think I will stop in and see the nurse tomorrow.

Other than being sick, I have been busy with clubs, work, and school. I am currently working on my movie review for my Comparative Politics class. I had to go to the library during one of their "Movie Nights" and watch a movie depicting different countries. I chose to go to the one about Australia. They showed the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence, a story about three girls who were taken from their mothers because they were part Aborigine and part white. They were taken to the Moore River settlement, which was a place to reeducate and civilized mixed raced children. The girls, homesick and scared, decide to run away and go back to their home and their families. They walk for 1500 miles for nine weeks along the Rabbit-Proof fence in the Australian Outback. It was a really good movie, and I am glad that I got to see it again.

Well, I am going to head to bed for the night...

Until next time

Posted by John Porter at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)