Fall Term Is Ending!

It's crazy to think I am just a few short weeks, two to be exact, from finishing my final fall term at Mercyhurst University. Some of my best friends and I were on Homecoming Court which was a really great opportunity to partake in. In addition, I was able to present one of the Senior Class Gift ideas to the President of Mercyhurst, which again was really amazing. Senior year brings in change, but wonderful opportunities and adventures also drift in with the tides of change.


I am ready to end the term though, and finish-up all of the class work that is going on, because I have exciting plans for Thanksgiving Break. My friend Rhona is from Dublin, Ireland, and I will be traveling to her house for Thanksgiving...even though the Irish do not celebrate the holiday! I have been to Ireland once before, but I am really happy to be going back. We will also be accompanied by our friend Alyssa. It is a good group going and we should have a really great time. The really exciting thing about this trip is that we get to stay with Rhona's family the whole time. I have met her family once before, but I am even more excited to get to know them better!

If going to Ireland for Thanksgiving wasn't exciting enough, our adventure does not stop there! We are also spending four days in London! We are technically flying on Thanksgiving....which will be a bit weird, but I think it will be cool to not experience an American tradition for once, and see how the rest of the world goes on without celebrating it. We did talk about Alyssa and I cooking a "Thanksgiving Dinner" for everyone, but we will just have to see if that happens.

One of the days that we are in London, I will actually be taking a day trip to visit my possible graduate school in Newcastle, England. The flight is only about an hour and ten minutes, and I will only be gone for the day. I am happy to have the opportunity to visit the school. Many students who study abroad rarely get the chance to visit the school beforehand. Although my future decision are still up in the air, I am hoping that by visiting Newcastle I will have more of an idea of what I want to do with my future.


Well, that's all for now. I will make sure to fill you in on everything that happened on our trip, and of course I will upload tons of pictures!

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

It's the weekend, what to do?

So it's the weekend, and the weather is in that in-between stage where it's not really nice enough to do anything outside, but it's not too cold either. Much like any hard-working and busy college students, my friends and I love to spend the weekends having fun, but sometimes trying to think of things to do is not that easy.

I've spent the majority of the morning brainstorming different things to do in Erie, Pa., and I will list them below with a brief description, just incase you may be wondering about the happenings that you may participate in on the weekends.

The first thing that really comes to mind is the Erie Zoo. The Zoo itself is about 2 miles or so from campus. If you are feeling adventurous and there is nice weather, you can walk to the zoo. If you would rather not walk, you may take a bus or taxi. The bus is free, and admission to the zoo is pretty reasonable for college students. On Sundays, after 3:00 p.m., the zoo is open for free admission which is perfect for any student wanting to save a little money! Feel free to check-out the zoo's website here: The Erie Zoo.

If going to the zoo isn't something you're interested in, you can go to Presque Isle. Presque Isle is a nice place to visit on a sunny and warm day! It is about a 20 minute drive from campus (so no walking, unless you are adventurous). The bus can get you pretty close, but does not actually go the whole way to the Isle. This area is the equivalent to the beach, and the closes thing Erie has to one. At Presque Isle, you can have a cook-out, swim, play volleyball or even participate in many of the activities the park directors have. My friends and I make a point to visit Presque Isle at least a couple times a year, when the weather is nice. Also, if you go to Presque Isle, make sure you stay until sunset (on beach 6). This spot has the world's second best sunset and is seriously one of the best sunsets that I have ever seen! Here you can find all the information on the park: Presque Isle State Park

The last thing that is really fun to do, is just to explore Erie, itself. The town is historic and fun. There are tons of restaurants, theaters and shops that can really fill-up a weekend quite quickly! My group of friends is known by my family as the "restaurant club," because we have probably eaten at 90 percent of the restaurants in Erie. It's always nice trying new or ethnic food. Most of the restaurants are reasonable for college students, and as long as you're not eating out everyday, then you won't have to worry too much about the "freshman fifteen"! Erie is really a lovely city and there is always something happening downtown, near Perry Square. Like I said before, there are tiny shops, coffee shops and museums to keep you busy. Here is the website to find out all about Erie: Erie, PA

I hope that I have given you a taste of what types of activities you can do on weekends while at Mercyhurst University. The best piece of advice that I can give any student, is to just explore the city a little. Go-out with your group of friends and see just what there is to do. You will spend four years in Erie, so you might as well get used to its offerings as quickly as possible!

That's all for now, Carpe Diem everyday!

~Jeremy