Hello, Griffins and future Griffins! My name is Corie and I am a transferred junior here at Fontbonne. I am from Plainfield, Illinois. Plainfield is about an hour south of Chicago. I usually tell people I am from Chicago because no one knows where Plainfield is located, so Chicago is easier. I like to spend time with my friends, watch reality TV and movies, surf the net, listen to some music, and the obvious shopping (when I have the money). For being a transfer student I have actually made quite a few friends. People here are incredibly nice. For the most part I see people here are very outgoing. I’m probably like most transfers, worried about making friends. Here at Fontbonne that was not a problem at all, the key is to get involved! Now you’re probably wondering: if she’s from Illinois how did she end up in Saint Louis? Well, my whole family pretty much lives here, and my cousin goes to Fontbonne as well. Actually, being here has brought me closer to my family.

Now, over the weekend was my first real baseball game. It was so much fun, I had a blast. My roommate and I went on the metro link to the stadium and enjoyed our free hot dog and drink while watching the Cardinals win. Five dollars to see a baseball game and free food; who would pass that up? I cannot wait to get tickets for the Blues games. This is a picture of my roommate and me (I am on the left), the other is the front of the stadium.

Thanksgiving is done. Black Friday is long gone. It is time to throw up those Christmas decorations and start watching Christmas movies! Every year after Thanksgiving we put up my tree to some Christmas tunes and bake cookies to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” I would have to say it is my favorite time of year! I count down the days until snow, hot chocolate, and Christmas lights. I LOVE that Fontbonne really gets into decorating around campus! It really helps me stay in the Christmas spirit! Happy Christmas Season to All!

This campus is small but wonderful. I love the close atmosphere and also I enjoy seeing everyone so much. I feel that this has had a great impact on me. I came from a huge high school of over 2,000 kids. My graduating class was over 500 itself. I would go a whole day without seeing my friends, or half the time, I would walk past them and not notice it since there were so many kids. I think Fontbonne has been great for me to get to know everyone (students and faculty) on a greater level since I see them so frequently. I have become closer friends with people here than I ever did in my four years of high school because we live together and also because I see them daily. It is just what I needed right before entering the real world by myself. THANKS, FONTBONNE!

Last night, a handful of Fontbonne Clubs put together “The Big Fall Event” to celebrate Halloween!! There were so many entertaining and different activities!! Pumpkin Carving and Pumpkin Carving Contest, Unwrapping a Starburst with your teeth, Costume Contest– just to name a few! I’d name some more but I was sooo distracted by the Pumpking Carving and the S’mores booth that I did not make the rounds to every other booth!

Pumpkin Carving– I haven’t carved a Pumpkin since HIGH SCHOOL!!! Or longer! To tell ya the truth, I missed it! I miss the whole process– the driving to the store to buy the pumpkin, bringing it home, waiting for both my parents to be home in order to carve it, picking out a design stencil and trying to follow it the best I could (I was never good with a pumpkin carving knife, to be quite honest. The specific knives are waaay to dainty for such a laborious task!!) then realizing the end result looks nothing like the stencil! Ehhh, put a candle in it and VOILA its perfect!! As far as scary Pumpkins go!!

Then, I made it out to the S’more booth–well I was working the booth so I kinda had to make it out to the booth! The fire was warm and cozy and the conversations were the same!! S’mores were prepared, burnt, and consumed!! Such a fiery activity!

Now, I am looking forward to HALLOWEEN!! Carved Pumpkin and all!!

Have a FUN (and safe) HALLOWEEN!!
Lee

(My Pumpkin)

Fontbonne has been my best decision in my academic career. I previously went to University Missouri St. Louis for a year and a half, and then came back home to Springfield, Illinois and enrolled in a semester at Lincoln Land Community Center. Transferring is not the easiest of things to when you are super frustrated and stressed. I left UMSL because I had a horrible experience with my basketball coach and team. Coach Wickenhauser, the women’s basketball coach here at Fontbonne, just so happened to volunteer some time as an assistance coach at UMSL. We became close friends and kept in touch throughout the years. He knew my spirits were down, so he wrote me a letter which told me all about what Fontbonne had to offer. “I know in my heart that FBU is a place where you can learn and blossom into the young woman you aspire to be.” After I read that I saved the date to come visit.
I made the two hour trip down south and spent the day in Clayton to take a look at the campus and to meet with the advisors. Coming from a big campus where you are known by your ID number, to this smaller, homier, atmosphere is just what I wanted. It was absolutely beautiful when I walked into Ryan Hall. I love the dorms here because you can get anywhere in five minutes and your neighbors soon become your family. The faculty, staff and students are so nice to be around as well. Every corner I turn I am greeted with a smile or hug. College is supposed to be filled with good times, late nights, Ryan food, and lots and lots of pictures. I’m not just learning for the sake of getting it done and out of the way like I was at UMSL. I am enjoying every minute of it, while learning and loving basketball life at well. I have my own family here with my basketball friends, and I am happy to say Fontbonne is where I call home now.

It seems to me like multiple people (including me) all get sick around the same time here at Fontbonne. Hmmm, I wonder why. Maybe because we all live in the same buildings, see each other everyday, eat together, hang out together, and very few people have medicine. Man i LOVE campus-wide diseases!

There are so many great people that every student should get to know on campus. It might just be too hard a task to narrow it down to one. So to be fair, I’ll break this topic down, and I’ll choose a person in an educational sense, as well as in the social scene. Therefore, as a general statement, everyone should get to know their own advisor. My advisor has been more than helpful in my studies here, but he is always looking out for things outside the Fontbonne community that would help me too. As a pre-law major, he has given me flyers from a wide variety of things such as law school admissions fairs, interesting cases in the news, and mock jury trials. As far as students on campus go, there are a number of people who are always fun to be around! In my experience at Fontbonne, there are two main groups of people always looking to have a good time — Focus Leaders and FAB (Fontbonne Activities Board). You can never go wrong with these people. Finally, to get back to the original question of “Who is one person that every student should get to know on campus and why?” I choose Cameron Elliot. Not only is he super social and always passing out hugs that bring happiness to your day, he is the Student Government President, a helpful resident hall assistance, a member of the undergraduate academic committee, and on the Fontbonne Board of Trustees. So if you’re looking for a pick-me-up in your day, have an issue with anything Fontbonne related, or even get locked out of your room, Cameron is your man. In a nutshell, everybody should get to know Cameron Elliot, and I’m sure he would be happy to get to know you!!

Midterms. The one word every college student never wants to hear. The big scary test that happens before the exam. Well, they are definitely scaring me. I have two of my midterms on the same day. I had always been lucky enough in high school to never have more than one test on the same day. So, with having said that I am TERRIFIED for my upcoming midterms. However, I know what I have to do. I will be spending my lovely Saturday and Sunday at the library. The first time I went in the library to study was last week. It was amazing! Everything was so quiet; there were no distractions! I highly suggest whenever you have procrastinated or have a big test coming up, spend your time in the library! You won’t believe how much you can get done when you have the beauty of silence!

You should definitely get to know Jerry, who is a cook here in Ryan Hall. He is always there to brighten your day, and he makes the best waffles around.  Actually, you should know the whole staff. They welcome you with the biggest smiles. They are all awesome.

On Wednesday, October 5, the Psychology Club sponsored a blood drive. I’ve never given blood before but always wanted to. My grandfather, who died from leukemia when I was in grade school, used to give blood often because he was a rare blood type and wanted to help others. I was very close with him and it was hard when he died, so when I heard the there would be a blood drive right on campus, I knew I would donate in his honor.

To be honest, I was really nervous about giving blood. I’m not really a squeamish person but I was just a little uneasy about how it would work. But once I got there, I realized there was nothing to worry about. It didn’t hurt at all and I felt like I was in good hands. Before I even knew it, I was finished and free to go. But knowing that I helped someone else was such a great feeling.

One of the things about Fontbonne that I like the most is that there is always something to do on campus. Whether it is helping others by donating blood or going to watch a comedian at the DSAC on a Friday night. There is never a dull moment, which is great for someone like me who is always searching for something fun to do!