Kayla's Blog

It’s almost time for trick-or-treating! Well, not for me (I WISH!) But,  I’m a junior in college. Growing up is far more easy than I anticipated, however.  Just because I’m a junior, though, it doesn’t mean I’m not dressing up. This year, I am going to be a mermaid! I know, it’s not spooky in any way, shape, or form…but the costume is special because my friend from home helped me make it! Sure, Halloween was fun as a kid, but college is a whole different scene. I am excited to get ready with my roommate and to enjoy the night! Or at least, what’s left of it…I have to work on Halloween. I am not complaining though. For the first half of the night I make money, and the second half, I spend with my best friends! I am really looking forward to Halloween this year…and while I am no longer 10 years old,  SJC gave me some of the greatest friends to spend the Holiday with!

This semester has been wonderful so far. I love my classes, especially my magazine writing/editing class (even though it is 3 hours and 15 minutes long). Bill Nemitz is an amazing professor. He is inspiring to me, in part because he challenges us, and also,  because he is a columnist for the Portland Press Herald. Someday I would like to be a writer, just sharing life experiences… When Nemitz teaches you can sense that he is absolutely passionate about writing, and I love that! The assignments he gives are a lot of fun. For example, we had to write a 600-word essay on behalf of Adam and Eve using textual evidence from the bible. I look forward to our next assignment and all that Nemitz has to offer in class.

On September 7th I will be moving back to campus for junior year. I am excited to see everyone again and also, to meet new people. It feels strange to be considered an upperclassmen. I am anxious to see what this school year brings! I will be very busy as an Eco-Rep, doing work-study, being an anchor for the school news show, waitressing at Charlie Beiggs in Windham, taking classes, and hopefully becoming an RA. I have been thinking about minoring in Environmental Science, meaning that I would be taking five classes…so yes, I will indeed be a busy girl this year! I can’t wait to get started, and to see what other opportunities will arise…

This summer has been an interesting one! Working two jobs, having multiple campfires, and spending almost every chance I had with my boyfriend before he left for the Air Force would describe my summer…moments which cannot be described as anything else but priceless. Of course we went to Funtown, and did other things of that nature; not to mention the Old Orchard Beach day we so specially planned that got rained on after a half hour of laying on the beach. Nevertheless, this summer has been one to remember. I have made a handful of new friends and am learning a lot about myself…and realizing that soon enough I will have to decide on a career.

Reality is setting in. Summer is almost over, and in a few weeks I will be heading back to campus to fulfill another wonderful year at St. Joe’s.  Of course, we all enjoy summer break. We create memories with friends and family, and have fun in the sun. But St. Joe’s is my home…and boy, have I missed it. I miss my friends, I miss the food, I miss the lake…and home it will be for the next two years.

I can’t believe I am a junior. Time has flown so fast since High School and over the past couple of years I have changed a lot. I am glad I chose St. Joe’s. It’s close to home, and perfect for me in every way. Well, it is a bit pricey…but in turn, it is definitely worth it. As the years pass, I seem to enjoy being a college student more and more.

Summer is indeed coming to an end. I am growing older, I am becoming a woman with a future…and at times, it scares me. But I will make it, you’ll see. Goodbye summer, and hello again to the real world.

Tomorrow is registration for next semester’s courses, where I will be a junior in college. I am excited about what the future will bring, especially during the upcoming school year. I have to be honest; some of my courses this year really didn’t do it for me, but I can’t expect to love everything I do in life. After all, college is just another, if not the most important learning stage I will ever encounter.

So far, I’ve learned that if you want something, you have to go after it with an honest heart, despite the outcome. I hope that next year will bring new and exciting opportunities that I will continue to learn and prosper from (I am a strong believer in success).

Next semester will be the third time I will have different roommate! Not that we did not get along, but that it was just time for a change, whether I made a new friend, or another decided to change their career path.  Making new friends this year has given me hope in an amazing junior year and I am truly excited.

I like change, but not too much- I like learning new things about the world, and about myself, though I would rather not forget who and what has shaped me in the past. I owe it to a lot of people, for the person I am today, and I only hope that a new year will bring new memories.

Junior year will be a turning point in my life. I am going to bury my nose deeper in books and open my eyes wider to different opportunities. I am going to figure out who I am and continue to be successful, but never forget to have fun. College is definitely for me. Junior year is my time to shine even brighter than ever, baby!

Okay, so I wanted to get more involved on campus. Professor Bridge, of my Contemporary Christian Morality class, assigned each of us a fifteen-hour practicum, where we choose how to get involved. One day while doing homework in my dorm room, I overheard my neighbor’s boyfriend talking about his responsibilities as an eco-rep on campus. An eco-rep is a positive role model for the environment; it is someone who is passionate about sustaining and improving the environment by taking simple steps, like recycling, for example. Other issues that have been discussed are about the amount of electricity used/and or wasted on campus over a period of time and steps we can take to reduce energy costs. Anyway, while listening in on Chris’ endearing conversation about the eco-rep position, I heard him mention a campaign called “Take Back the Tap”. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity for my practicum, especially since Chris expressed his dire need for the promotion of the campaign and help in sustaining a healthy Saint Joe’s community.

“Chris, can you tell me more about that campaign? I would like to help you guys spread the word,” I yelled across the hall.

“Yeah, of course. It’s called Take Back the Tap. It is a campaign to educate people on drinking tap water instead of bottled water, which has been known to be more expensive and less healthy for consumers,” he replied.

I thought about what I could do to get more information on the subject. Chris then invited me to join him at the eco-rep meeting the following Friday, where Dr. Jeanne Gulnick and the other students sat around a table in the cafeteria throwing ideas back-and-forth about their next step in the Take Back the Tap campaign.

I volunteered to write an article for the student newspaper. I not only wanted to research and learn more about it, but I wanted to make students aware of the issue, since it had been such a vague topic to many people, including myself at the beginning. Below I have included the article, which you will also be able to read under the MySJC tab on the website, in the March issue of the student newspaper:

Taking Back the Tap at SJC, by Kayla Collins ‘11

A group of Saint Joseph’s College students, also a part of the eco-reps on campus, are working to educate the campus community on the dangers of bottled water. A campaign called “Take Back the Tap” is encouraging people to avoid bottled water and to start making use of tap water which is more clean, safe, and affordable. During a water-testing session in the school cafeteria on February 18^th and 19^th, about 80% of Saint Joe’s students, after having their eyes closed, couldn’t tell the difference between bottled water and tap water; they actually chose tap over bottled because they preferred the taste. As surprising as it seems, these statistics are accurate. The non-profit Food and Water Watch organization, whose mission is to protect the quality of food and water, claims that 40% of bottled water came from tap in the first place.

“The campaign is mobilizing an army of water activists across the country in order to create a movement for the revitalization of our nation’s public water systems and the protection of our water supplies”, says Amy Dowley, a campaigner for Food and Water Watch.

Water in the United States is the cleanest in the world, but many people still choose to drink bottled water because they do not like minerals in tap water. Others choose to filter their water, a better alternative because tap water is cleaner than bottled water. There are many myths concerning bottled water, and it is our job as eco-reps to assure that the St. Joe’s community becomes aware of them.

In a study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 1,000 bottles of water were tested for pollutants, including arsenic, a poisonous contamination of groundwater. Of these 1,000 bottles tested, approximately ¼ contained bacterial and/or chemicals that violated safe drinking water standards (www.nrdc.org). This means that not all bottled water is clean and pure.

Also, people have bought into the fact that bottled water is healthier than tap water, but have spent thousands of times more than they would have if they drank from the tap. While tap water is about $0.002/gallon, bottled water can cost up $8.29/ gallon, causing economic, social, and environmental costs that society must pay because people would rather drink bottled water.

“Making the switch to tap is easy, convenient and cheap. We encourage tappers on-the-go to use stainless steel water canteens to reduce the risk of plastic [contaminants] leaching into water”, says Amy.

The production and destruction of plastic puts toxic emissions into the air and leaches into the ground and the surrounding area. Plastic bottled production in the U.S. requires more than 17 million barrels of oil (“Bottled Water: Pouring resources down the drain”). Even the transportation of the bottles is causing an increased amount of air pollution.

Take Back the Tap not only encourages consumers to give up bottled water, but to also resort to filtration. Those who live in communities with tap water that tastes funny shouldn’t make bottled water an option. Filtration is easy and affordable. First, find out what is in your water to know what you will need to remove. Next, look for a product that best fits your filtering needs and budget. Filtering water will save you money and more importantly, sustain your health.

Our mission is to create a better economy and to invest in an environmentally viable future. It is our job as humans to preserve the society by making smart decisions regarding our health, our wallets, and the world we live in. Help “Take Back the Tap”.

Thanks for reading.

Yesterday I applied to be a resident advisor for next year, my junior year at St. Joe’s. The application consisted of a few questions regarding my opinion about an RA’s responsibilities and my reason for applying. I believe that every year of college should entail a new experience. Being an RA would not only give me the opportunity to meet new people, but to also watch over student life on campus, and to gain better leadership skills. While my major requires a lot of independent work, there are times when teamwork is important, and usually working with others calls for leader- someone who will take the reins, and steer everyone in the right direction, and I believe that becoming an RA will be the next step in making me a more well-rounded person.

Applying to be an RA gives me the chance to motivate others. I want to lead activities and get others involved more on campus; in the process, I’m sure this would increase my own involvement, but not only that, it would help us all to have more appreciation for everything that St. Joe’s has to offer.

My RA Jenn is awesome. Around Christmas time she organized a party for the residents, where we ate cookies, drank hot chocolate, and swapped gifts. She also keeps everyone updated, as far as what activities are happening on campus. She really cares about her residents and their college experience. She makes sure everyone is okay, and makes the effort to actually make friends with us. Jenn and I have classes together, but having her as my RA has made her even more of a friend to me. I appreciate her being there for us.

I hope I become an RA next year. There are many benefits to it, and I want to make sure that I make the best of college, and also provide a safe and fun experience for the residents.

When I first applied to schools, I knew that I would be majoring in communications. I love to write…and I certainly love to communicate. I have always wanted to be a magazine writer, or  an anchor of some newscast, but now, I am still trying to think about what I truly want to be when I graduate. After hearing rumors that it takes a lot of ambition to get into the news field, I will just have to work that much harder!  I am not doubting that I can do it; I know I have what it takes…I have always been the kind to chase my dreams. Although, there is still alot  to consider when getting where I wanna go. All I know is that I love writing and always being up to date with what’s happening in the world and how to go about it.

Perhaps I chose the right major!

Last night, a few other communications majors and I spent a total of three hours in the “news room”; a regular old classroom containing spotlights, a prompter, a video camera, a desk for the anchors, a royal blue background and some stander-bys, including myself. Being a journalism major requires a lot of experience in the real world. It means that you have to be aware of everything that is going around you, at all times- that is, if you want to get the good stuff. As a first-timer in the journalism field, my RA and classmate, Jenn Jimenez came up with a brilliant idea that totally interested me- A campus news program, which we have named: “The Weekly Word”. The other comm. majors and I have already begun our journey; we’ve set out to broadcast happenings from student life on campus,  SJC athletics,  weather, local, and even world news. We filmed for the first time last night, and it was a lot of fun, and definitely a learning process. I not only like going to events on campus and getting the scoop. I like to make new friends with the same interests and work with them to expand our knowledge doing something we love. Being in front of the camera is somewhat intimidating, but it won’t stop me from reporting important things that happen in our society, and even in our world. That is one reason I am majoring in journalism; I like learning about new things, and about life in general. It’s about what I can do to help people change their way of living. I have faith in the new campus news program. I am hoping it will make a difference on campus in not just how people see the campus already, but how they will start to see it as they explore the great opportunities SJC offers, and have fun in the process.