OFFLINE - Amy Gunderman

My New Floor....

Where has the time gone...? In the flurry of activity that seems to accompany the start of a new school year, I just sat down to write my first blog of the year...and realized that we are already in the 5th week of school! Just a little reflection on my junior year thus far....

I absolutely love being an "upperclassman"...finally. I feel like I've been waiting to be back towards the upper end of the school since I was a senior in high school, but now that I am here, it's almost bitter sweet. I can't believe that I'm already more than half through with my time here at Carroll. It has become such a part of my life. I not only associate happy memories with many locations on campus, but I also have met so many of my close friends at Carroll. I'm determined to make my last two years here at JCU even better than my first two years....

That being said, this year is off to a great start! I am an RA in Sutowski (a coed freshman dorm) again, and I have 28 girls on my floor this year. Although I'm still getting to know all of them, I have already become really close to a few. Each of them have very different personalities, but it is this great variety that brings a much-needed balance to the floor. One resident can always be counted on to make the rest of the floor smile, one is always there to keep the girls focused on their homework, and another is always more than willing to get up at 6am to go to the gym with me. From what I have seen so far, I'm pretty convinced that this is going to be a pretty awesome year!

And Another One Bites the Dust....

And another summer bites the dust....where ever did the summer go...? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was packing my bags, boxes, crates, etc, and moving out of my much loved room on the first floor of Sutowski. In reality though, that day was a few months ago...

This past Wednesday I moved back to campus and into Sutowski to be an RA once again, but this time I'm on the 2nd floor. I didn't even have a chance to unpack my bags before I was whisked away to a 3 day/ 2 night retreat for all of the John Carroll RAs. We spent the next few days getting to know one another and bonding with the other RAs in our own buildings. We played many team building games and icebreakers, went swimming in the lake, and enjoyed bond fires and reflection times. On Saturday we returned to campus and joined the football players. It was time to begin our training for our roles as RAs.

It is great being back at JCU, but there is defenitely something missing...all of the other students. They really bring a life to the campus that doesn't exist without them. I can't wait for Streak Week!!!! :)

Modeling for Equality

Just like a lot of other girls my age, I've often watched reality shows involving the runway and models, even occasionally envisioning myself walking down the runway. The last thing I ever expected was to actually have the opportunity to model, let alone to model while advocating for a worthy cause. But today, that's exactly what I did. I had the opportunity to model fair trade clothing for a clothing store, Revive . Along with about 20 other John Carroll University students and teachers, I modeled different items, including shoes, hats, purses, and garments. All of the items were made by individuals that receive a fair wage for their labors. I loved my outfit! I got to wear a tan skirt, pink sweater jacket, a bracelet, earrings, and a necklace . I also carried a brightly stylish purse. It was so much fun to pose by the jukebox, mailboxes, and chapel. We were informed that the photos will be used both to advertise fair trade clothing on campus as well as possibly on-line or in the store's catalogue. Hopefully, my fun afternoon of modeling will help better the lives of individuals in the clothing industry.