The Holidays Are Here!

It is December 23 and Christmas is only two days away.  I would like to take this time to share with you how the Christmas spirit has been abundant on the Albertus Magnus College campus.  This month, the students have been kinder, happier and all around more vibrant.  Finals were quit stressful, but the faculty and staff definitely have made this last month memorable.   

On December 4, the Student Alumni Association held the first ever Christmas Tree Lighting.  The lighting was held outside of Aquinas Hall.  There had to of been over two hundred people there.  It was a nice event that brought day students, evening students, faculty, staff and families together.  The school's choir sang some Christmas carols while the event was going on.  It was a magical night - not to mention all of the free items available.  People were able to take pictures with Santa, eat tasty gingerbread cookies, sip on warm hot chocolate, decorate their own ornaments and even have their picture inside of a snow globe.  The Student Alumni Association hopes to have this event become an annual celebration.  

A couple days later, the Student Government had a Winter Formal dance for students.  The Behan Community Room in the Campus Center was decorated with Christmas trees and snowflakes.  It was a nice event before students needed to get serious about finals.  

Also, the first night before finals, the residential life staff and Deacon John served us breakfast in the dining hall.  This event is held every semester.  The students call it Late Night Breakfast.  The dining hall opens at 9 p.m. and you can get eggs, bacon and other breakfast foods.  It is a nice get away from studying.  The residential life staff also has a snack cart that comes around during finals week.  You are allowed to pick two different snacks and one juice or water.  

Overall, this last month at Albertus Magnus College has been amazing.  People did things out of the kindness of their hearts.  For example, my wonderful supervisor for work study gave me a frozen yogurt gift card for Christmas.   She truly is the best supervisor anyone can ask for.  I hope you all have a nice and safe Christmas and New Year, Albertus Magnus College surely will.    

All Saints Day Liturgy

 

Good afternoon everyone,

Today I would like to take a second to share with you all something special about Albertus Magnus College.  Every year we have a mass in memory of deceased friends and alumni.  It is a special ceremony and this year I got to be a part of it.  I was the cross barer  and I also was able to read a psalm.  At first I was really nervous.  The cross weighed a lot more than what I had anticipated.  It was also difficult to put it back into the stand on the alter.  I felt like a train wreck but everyone said I did well.  Then, when it came to my psalm reading, I was even more nervous.  I did not look up once at all. 

Even though my nerves got the best of me, I felt really good to be a part of something.  I was in a ceremony that honored our deceased loved ones.  It reminded me of all the loved ones I too have lost.  It is nice to have something special to honor them.

AMCWVB

Being a student-athlete can be difficult at times, but it is most definitely worth it.  Last Saturday, was my volleyball team’s last game.  It was a tough season, but it was my favorite out of the three years I have been here so far.  The connection between the coaches and players is indescribable.  We all rely on each other as a unit.  I can honestly say we were more than a team.  We created a family.  In most of our huddles, you could hear, “Let’s do this for the family.”  We truly all love one another and I would not want it any other way.

 

This season, my team had a really good start.  We had a seven game winning streak.  We felt like we were going to be unstoppable.  Then we started our conference games.  Our seven game winning streaks quickly turned into a seven game losing streak.  We still had a couple more wins before the season ended.  Our record ended at 9-14.  I know my team is a little disappointed with the numbers, but compared to my freshman year, this team has changed drastically.  My freshman year the women’s volleyball team only won three games.  We tripled that score this season.  I am very happy with how far we have come as a team and I hope next year we do even better.  Wish us luck!!

 



 http://athletics.albertus.edu/sports/wvball/index

 

 

http://athletics.albertus.edu/sports/wvball/index

Yale Art Gallery

This past week, I visited the Yale Art Gallery located on 1111 Chapel Street.  I love going to the art gallery.  It is a way to escape from my hectic life style. 

My favorite section of the gallery is the modern and contemporary art floor.  There are many abstract pieces and others that look as if they could be photos.  For example, below is “Sacramento Montego”, by Robert Bechtle. 

 

It is oil on canvas.  If art management was not my major and I did not know anything about art, I would think the “Sacrament Montego” is a picture.  It looks extremely realistic. 

The picture below is an example of the abstract pieces the Yale Art Gallery exhibits. 

 

 

It is called “Dog and Cock” by Paublo Picasso.  If you turn your head to the right you can somewhat make out the dog and the rooster looks like it is falling from the top of the painting. 

The art gallery always makes me think in new ways and inspires me.  If you would like to go, admission is free on Tuesday–Friday 10:00 am–5:00 pm, Thursday (Sept.–June) 10:00 am–8:00 pm, and Saturday–Sunday 11:00 am–5:00 pm.

"Bingo"

Hey Everyone!  I would like to tell you all how my week is going so far.  Besides volleyball and my normal class schedule, I attended one of the Albertus@Night events.  These events are held around 8pm throughout the week.  They give the student body a chance to have fun after a hard day’s work of classes. 

At this particular event we played Bingo.  I was so close to winning a few times, especially during “Loser Bingo”.  For those of you who do not know what Loser Bingo is, it is when the announcer calls a number and letter combination and if you have that on your card, you must sit down.  In one round, it came down to a tie between my new friend Josh and me.   Josh and I were the only two left standing when the announcer called “B6” and we both had to sit down, so we then had a tie breaker.  Whoever had the next number letter combination would lose and of course, mine was called.  I was so close.  I have never won Bingo before. 

To make things even more embarrassing, the next match we played “Horizontal Bingo” and I said “Bingo!”, when I had it diagonally.  My friends were shouting, “Leanna, get off the stage.  You are the worst at Bingo!”  I truly am the worst at Bingo.  I do not even know how people could be bad at a game of chance and luck; I guess I am just not lucky.  If you ever want to win a game, just play me.  Even though I did not win, I still had a great time.  The Albertus@Night events are always fun, and they give you free food.

New Haven Resturants

Last weekend was very exciting for me.  It all started Friday when I got the day off from volleyball my roommate and I went on a little adventure to downtown New Haven.  Since it was a nice day, we decided to walk rather than taking the Yale Shuttle.  Plus, we knew we were going to eat a lot so we needed the exercise. 

The first place we stopped at was Noodle House; it is located on York Street.  We both ordered our favorite, spicy glass noodles with chicken and shrimp.  If you love noodles as much as we do, you will not be disappointed.  If you are not into spicy foods, I would suggest ordering their fried rice with teriyaki chicken. 

 

 

After eating there, we went and got dessert at Froyo World.  For those of you who do not know what Froyo World is, it is a place where you can get frozen yogurt.  It is absolutely delicious.  I am an original tart type of girl, but they have all different types of flavors you can choose from.  For example, vanilla, cake batter, banana split, mango and dark chocolate.  Once you choose your flavor you can go to the topping bar.  There is a variety of fruits, cereals, sprinkles, and many other types of toppings.  I usually get white chocolate chips, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, blueberries, cookie dough bites, and a little bit of fruity pebbles.  I could legitimately eat that for the rest of my life.  If you are ever on High Street, you have to go there.  Whenever my family or friends come to visit me on campus, I always make them go.    

 

 

Later, when we were done eating, we took the Yale Shuttle back to campus.  The shuttle stop was very close by, so we did not have to walk very far.  We were really happy about that.  Our stomachs were full and there was no way we would have been able to walk up the hill back to campus.  Once we got back to the room we just relaxed, watched a movie and caught up on all of our homework assignments.  It was nice having a day off from classes and practice.  I was able to relax and enjoy myself.  I also, was able to go downtown, which I have been dying to do.  So whenever you have a day off, enjoy it.  After working hard all week, we all deserve a day off. 

Go Falcons!!

The Albertus Magnus College Athletic Team room is a great place to hang out, do homework, and relax before practice or a game.  I am in there very often.  My teammates and I watch our favorite shows and sometimes do Insanity Workouts in there.  I also come in there to do homework from time to time.  There are two computers available for students to use and four tables to sit at and do school work.  It is a nice quiet place to get all of your school work done.  I typically bounce from the leather couch, to the computer, to the table and then back to the couch while doing homework.  I am so glad the Albertus Magnus College Athletics Department renovated this space.  It has been put to good use by all of the sports teams.

Welcome!!

 

 

Welcome to my student blog.  My name is Leanna Velez and I am a junior at Albertus Magnus College.  My blog will give you a glimpse of my life as a college student.  I hope my story will be advice for incoming students, as well as inspiration.