Senior Class Gift

One of the exciting ventures that being a senior brings along is the ability to serve on our Senior Class Gift Committee. This year I have the privilege of being the Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator for the committee. This basically means that I am the individual who designs the logo and is charged with creating all marketing material for the committee. I am very excited to serve on the committee and to see just how much money we can raise for our class gift!

The committee's main responsibility is to choose a class gift that will serve as the class of 2013's legacy on Mercyhurst University's campus. As a group we have developed about 5 viable options for possible class gifts. Some options included a greenhouse/biodome, MAC lobby renovation, all day breakfast bar, fire-pit, and a new alumni plaza.

While my personal favorite gift option is a greenhouse, mainly because it was my idea, I think all of the ideas presented would be really great additions to campus.

The next step in the process is presenting the top ideas to the administration of the University. Once they decide what the gift will be the committee will begin fundraising efforts to pay for the gift. This process teaches students the importance of giving back to Mercyhurst, the school which has given us so much. I cannot wait to see all of the hard work that this committee will do, and to see our class gift come to pass. I'll make sure to keep everyone up-to-date on the gift and fundraising efforts!

That's all for now,
Carpe Diem Everyday!
~Jeremy

Senior Political Science Project Class

So along with being a senior political science major, comes the privilege of taking a very interesting and fun class called Political Science Project. (To learn more about the Political Science program at Mercyhurst University click here) This class is a distinct class for senior political science majors or minors, and hones in on a series of skills that we have learned throughout our political science classes while at Mercyhurst University. As a whole, the class is designed with the goal of each student completing a political memoir which serves as a senior thesis.

At first glance, I was a little overwhelmed with the idea of this class but our professor, Dr. Clemons teaches it in such a way that breaks the big project down into a series of smaller papers, so it is not too terrible. Alright, this may sound a bit strange, but our first assignment was to write an autobiographical obituary detailing your future life. It was surprising how much I learned about myself from that simple one page assignment. I realized that I knew much more about what I wanted to do in my future, compared to some of my other classmates. I also saw how much I have learned from my past political science classes, which was very reassuring.

As we continue on through other assignments, it will be interesting to see where my political science memoir progression will take me. If one things for certain, it is that the experience from past classes I have taken in the political science department at Mercyhurst University have really prepared me for my future. Whether that future is working for a private company, or public relations firm or directly working in political campaigns, one thing is for sure, all of my classes and experiences at Mercyhurst University have prepared me for real-world situations.

Below is a great video which talks about two of my favorite things, politics and social media, and it of course features students and faculty from Mercyhurst University. Check it out!

Carpe Diem Everyday,

~Jeremy

Senior Year, and Life Beyond the Gates!

Although I can hardly believe it, I just started my senior year at Mercyhurst University! It seems like only yesterday my grandparents were driving me through the gates of Mercyhurst, and here I am four years later pondering life beyond those very same gates. While I am excited for all of the fun events that senior year holds, it is especially smart to be thinking towards the future. While I have decided that continuing on to graduate school is the path that I would like to take, there are an array of options that students may decide to embark on after their four years of undergraduate education.

 Some of my peers will jump right into the "real world" which may be a little overwhelming to imagine, but you earned a degree and technically are ready to now start a career with that degree. Mercyhurst University has wonderful job counseling and job search opportunities for students to access both before and during their senior year through our Career Development Center. This service will step by step aid students in resume writing, interviewing and even job searches. The staff of the Career Development Center are well trained and very happy to sit down with students and help them with their future plans and ambitions.

Another option that may be a good idea for some students would be to take a year or two off to participate in some type of volunteering opportunity. While this is an option that definitely takes a determined and selfless individual, it is a very great way to boost a resume and give someone direction if they are just not sure where they want to go in life. There are numerous organizations that any interested student should look into. Mercyhurst University students have participated in: Mercy Volunteer Corps, Peace Corps, and AmeriCorps. All of these volunteer organizations would be a great stepping stone for people to experience right out of college. Just make sure you read all of the information, and make sure that giving-up your time to help others is something else you are really passionate about.

Whatever path you are planning to take after your four years at Mercyhurst University remember these key words of advice: "Enjoy your time at Mercyhurst, because it will fly by in the blink of an eye, but keep an ever watchful eye on the future, because it will arrive just as quickly!"

That's all for now and remember,
Carpe Diem Everyday!
~Jeremy