My name is Whitney Vehige, and I am a junior at Fontbonne. I am majoring in speech/language pathology and minoring in psychology. I live about an hour out of St. Louis and commute to school. I chose Fontbonne for their excellent speech/language pathology program and have never regretted the decision. Even though I am busy with school and work (I am a nanny), I still make time for me. I love hanging out with my friends and reading a good book. Well, now that you know a little about me, I just want to wish everyone a happy school year, and I can’t wait to post my weekly blog for all of you all!

How exactly do I show my Fontbonne spirit?? Well that’s easy enough! Fontbonne has always been like a family to me. Its close-knit community and friendly staff have made me feel more than at home here in St. Louis. Coming in as a freshmen two years ago, I realized that people here LOVE to get involved. Day one, students were everywhere eager to help all of us move in. Various clubs and organizations were also there to assist. The transition from high school senior to college freshman was made ten times easier with the help of Fontbonne and the student/faculty base. During orientation we contributed to various community service projects. My choice to attend Fontbonne was becoming clear that I had made the right decision. Students and faculty are always helping out and getting different organizations or community service projects going. Needless to say, a great way for students to show their school spirit here at Fontbonne is through community service and involvement in school organizations. It feels good to be able to represent your school on a community level. Another way I show school pride is through the athletic teams I play on. Playing for the women’s soccer and basketball teams here at the university allows me to represent my school and wear their colors proudly. Go Griffins!

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The dorms at Fontbonne are awesome. I have been on several college visits and to be honest, even our freshman dorms are nicer than some upperclassmen dorms at schools back home in New York.

When asked the question, “What is my favorite place to go in St. Louis?”, Busch Stadium came to the very front of my mind! Going to a Cards baseball game has to be my favorite place to be. The night is always packed with great entertainment, good ole’ stadium food, and great memories with friends. Oh, and I forgot to mention- GREAT PICTURES! The last game I went to was by far the most epic one of my life. My section was the party section and we got balloons and what not. Before I knew it, I looked up and there I was up on the jumbo tron! I immediately hyperventilated and began dancing like a fool. Needless to say, goofy memories like this are easy to come by when attending a Cards game. The fans in St. Louis are great and contribute to the whole experience while downtown.

Tip for the day: Go to a Cards game while in St. Louis. There will be no regrets!

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I strongly believe that having a college education will allow you to reach dreams and set goals that you would never be able to reach otherwise. My goal is to become a speech-language pathologist, and without a college degree, that would not be possible. My education is also important to me because it will allow me to be able to provide for my family better in the future and to help my children see that continuing your education equals success.

I want to be a role model for my younger siblings and for everyone who is striving to better themselves. A college degree is not just a piece of paper, but it is a lifestyle that you have to work for, but it reaps great success!

It’s that time of year again! Our Women’s basketball team has made it to the conference tournament. We got the third seed in the tournament, facing us up against Eureka College on Friday night. It has been a long season full of hard work. I am so glad it paid off! I love playing with all of the girls on the team. It is really cool how easily we all connect. Our passion for the game is the glue that holds us all together. Wish us luck this weekend!!

-ava 

One thing that is quite nice about Fontbonne is the small campus size. It is impossible to get lost on campus, something that is quite possible at larger schools.

First off, let me say that my major is the main reason I chose Fontbonne Universty. I am majoring in speech-language pathology, and I know that Fontbonne has one of the best programs around! But, you may ask, how did you decide on majoring in speech-language pathology? Well, first of all, my brother is currently nine years old, and he has been taking speech services since he was three. This year, he will graduate from the speech program! Yay! At three years old, he was barely intelligible, which made him a very aggressive and aggravated child since he could never get others to understand him. As he progressed through his speech program, he improved so much that today, no one would ever guess that he needed services. His demeanor is much more relaxed, and he does not get frustrated when communicating to others. This inspired me to make a difference in other people’s lives who also have language disorders. Second, my mom’s best friend is a speech-language pathologist and an alumni of Fontbonne University. She taught me about everything that goes into being a speech-language pathologist, and this really sealed the deal for me. In the future, I hope to be working in a hospital or nursing home setting, preferably with traumatic brain injury patients.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that I didn’t have my doubts about my major though. After taking a difficult class, I often feel like giving up on the major. But in my heart, I know that it is the perfect fit for me. What I am trying to say is that a class will only be temporary, whereas a career can last a lifetime. If the career is something that you really want to do, do not give up because of the difficulty. Keep pushing through and you will succeed! Good luck to all!

After my senior year of high school, I was a little lost on where I wanted to go for college. I knew that I wanted to study art but I hadn’t found a place that felt right. My high school art teacher recommended me for a summer art camp hosted at Fontbonne University. I hadn’t seriously considered Fontbonne before then. My older brother had attended FBU for a year, and I didn’t think much of it, but there was a lot for me to learn that summer, and not just about art.

While attending the 4-week camp, I got to meet a handful of graduate students who also sang praise for Fontbonne. They claimed the biggest hallmark of the Fontbonne Fine Arts Department was the emphasis on classical training. They lamented friends who had graduated from other art programs but still couldn’t draw. Fontbonne, they told me, would give me a strong foundational education on the formal elements of art to better prepare me for the incredibly competitive art world. I took their recommendation under advisement.

The campus was charming and easy to navigate. A smaller student body appealed to me, having come from a very small high school. The location in the Clayton/University City area was prime.

But here’s what really sealed the deal for me. Everyone in the art department seemed to know each other. It wasn’t clique-ish, but it was neighborly. People walked in and out of the building all the time during the summer camp, and they always were saying hello to somebody. But they never referred to Misters or Misses in the faculty. It took only a little while to figure out that everyone was on a first name basis with the teachers, and that is an excellent selling point.

Now in my third year as an art student, I can vouch for all these things. The teachers are very personable and almost all of them go by their first name. Victor, Hank, Keith, Tim, Cat…. the informal atmosphere makes going to class a pleasure: an opportunity for self improvement, not a chore. As a student who wants to spend their life doing what they love, Fontbonne was an excellent choice to find a way to do just that.

Hello all! Today is my first blog EVER! Exciting right?! My name is Ava Johnson and I am a Junior here at Fontbonne University. My hometown is Perryville, Missouri. For those of you who don’t know, Perryville is sort of considered to be a farm town. All the boys in town drive trucks (as well as a many of the girls!) and everyone knows EVERYONE. I graduated from Perryville High School in 2009. I love my small town because you can really count on just about anyone for just about anything. I was really nervous in trying to figure out where to go to school. Throughout my high school career I found that my niche was sports. I played volleyball, basketball, and soccer. There was NO WAY I would be able to quit playing when I went away to school. I was very timid when looking for a university that fit me. I didn’t want to be lost in the crowd and labeled as a number. My best friend is a year older than me, and she chose to attend Fontbonne. After visiting her a few times and taking a tour,  I immediately knew Fonty was my fit! The small community feel drew me in right away. The campus was beautiful, the basketball gym huge, and the class sizes small and personal. I consider myself to be a pretty smart person, and I knew that my main concern about school was academics and then athletics. The teachers and advisers I met with were really nice and made me feel completely comfortable and welcome. Not only were the people and academics a perfect fit, but athletics was too! I currently play for the university’s women’s soccer and basketball teams. I love the competition level as well as the commitment and passion my teammates and I have for the sports we play. Fontbonne has given me the opportunity to expand my knowledge while at the same time, allow me to play the sports I love!

Until next time,

ava

p.s. Tomorrow we play Westminster Girls Basketball team at 6:00! It’s going to be a great game and we’d love to have more fans there!!