This last week has been another busy week of school, work, events, and fun. I have been busy working on my Spanish thesis, my band saw box for my Sculpture I class, and working on lab reports and problem sets for Analytical Chemistry. Although my classes are extremely demanding, I of course have to find time to participate in the many events happening on campus.
On Tuesday, ACE hosted the second annual “Fox Day Jugs” event in Dave’s Down Under. Just like last year the event was filled with anxious students excited about decorating their fun colored jug for the big day – Fox Day!
For 52 years now, the President of the college chooses a day in the spring to cancel classes and host a barbeque for the entire campus – faculty, staff, and students. No one knows when the day is going to be until the President places a statue of a fox on Mills Lawn at 5:30 am and the chapel bells sound to alert the campus that Fox Day has arrived. After the statue is put in place, the President opens up his office for the entire student body to walk through and pick up a Krispy Kreme donut, a glass of orange juice, and an official Fox Day certificate.
Everyone rushes back to their dorm room to throw on their swim suit, grab their towel and sunscreen, and get on the buses to head to Cocoa Beach. The students spend the day at the beach relaxing, tanning, and spending time with their friends. At the end of the afternoon the buses drive everyone back to Rollins College for the all campus barbeque. Mills Lawn is full of students, faculty, staff, and family members enjoying hamburgers, hotdogs, and ice cream. Fox Day is a day that all of campus looks forward to for the entire year and it’s now just around the corner for us!
On Wednesday, ACE sponsored a trip to Amway Arena to watch the Orlando Magic take on the Toronto Raptors. ACE was able to purchase discounted tickets to the game for 200 Rollins students. Students purchased a ticket to the game and a spot on the charter buses to get to and from the game for a total of $10. But the event wasn’t just a trip to watch the basketball game; it was also a trip to watch the pre-game show featuring two student organizations from Rollins. A couple weeks before the scheduled Magic game, the annual Lip Sync contest took place in the Alfond Sports Center. Lip Sync is a competition open to all campus organizations in which the groups compete for the best lip singing and choreographed routine.
There were two categories, Greek affiliated organizations and non-Greek affiliated organizations and this year the winner received a little more than the usual title of “Lip Sync Champions,” Lip Sync trophy, and money toward the organization, they also won the opportunity to perform at the pre-game show of an Orlando Magic basketball game.
The winners this year were the Rollins Players (non-Greek organization) and Kappa Kappa Gamma (Greek organization). Unfortunately Kappa Kappa Gamma wasn’t able to perform, so the girls of another sorority on campus, Kappa Delta, offered to take their spot. The buses picked everyone up early from campus to ensure that we arrived in time to cheer on our fellow students. Both performances received loud cheers and applause from all of the fans, especially the section filled with Rollins students. It was an awesome experience to see our own students performing in front of thousands of people representing the entire student body of Rollins College.
Thursday night was the annual Hunger Banquet hosted by the Office of Community Engagement. Hunger Banquet is an event designed to bring awareness of hunger and homelessness. All proceeds from the event are given to 2nd Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. It is always a well attended event that is a great way to raise awareness and help people understand the harsh realities faced by people who live in poverty.
The week ended on Friday with a barbeque presented by SGRho, a sorority on campus, to culminate their founder’s week and announce their new members. Students gathered around the tables on the patio outside of the Galloway Room to enjoy hamburgers, cheeseburgers, barbeque chicken, corn, and delicious brownies all compliments of SGRho. It was a great event that brought together a large number of students, faculty, and staff to converse with each other over an excellent meal and wonderful Florida weather!
After a long and tiring week of homework, labs, art projects, and campus events, I was definitely ready for a day of relaxation. Friday night my friend and I drove to Ponce Inlet to spend the weekend at her family’s beach condo. While the weather forecast showed rain on
Friday and Sunday, Saturday’s forecast was nothing but warm weather and sunshine! When we arrived at the condo we were greeted by her parents who were excited to see us both. That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant right on the ocean called the North Turn. Over dinner, Megan’s dad explained to me that the restaurant is located on the original Daytona 500 race track – right on the north turn of the track – hence the name North Turn. The restaurant had an absolutely gorgeous view of the ocean and the food was excellent – the catch of the day was my choice!
After dinner and dessert we headed back to the condo to rest up for our day at the beach. We woke up early Saturday morning, packed our beach bags, and headed for the water. It was so relaxing spending an afternoon laying in the sun and spending time with Megan and her family. Later that day we all decided to take a nice long walk on the beach as the sun set. The weather was perfect and the water was warm. It is definitely days like this that I am going to miss once I move back home to Wisconsin.
That night we all had dinner together, packed up the cars, and headed back to Winter Park to face the reality of homework, studying for exams, and work on Monday. It sure was good while it lasted! I must take advantage of these last few weekends here in the Florida sunshine before my time here comes to an end! I’m excited that Fox Day is just around the corner!
As she begins her fifth and final year at Rollins, Jenn is clearly not a new student to the Rollins community. After studying abroad in Spain and having two very different concentrations, Spanish and Pre-dental, she is spending her last year finishing up her dental school prerequisites and completing her Spanish major. Staying at Rollins for another year has allowed her to continue being involved on campus as well.
Jenn is the director of All Campus Events (ACE), the president of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), and a member of the Academic Honor Council, NSCS, and Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society. She also enjoys teaching oral health care lessons to elementary students. “I think that my diverse involvement on campus and experiences will allow me to relate to many Rollins students and offer valuable insight to college life,” Jenn said.
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