One year down

Well, I survived my first year of graduate school. Academically it was not challenging. It was emotionally draining and some days I struggled to get along with the liberal world, but I survived it. Now all I have left is two summer classes and next year. I think I will graduate on May 7, 2011. I really never thought I would get a masters. I thought I wasn't smart enough, but I guess I picked the right masters because it is not academically rigorous.

Other than my two summer classes, I am going to continue to work at the Disability Support Services and mountain bike a lot. Laramie may be super cold, small, and windy, but there are great hiking and mountain biking trails close by.

I also decided to join AmeriCorps. I am really not sure what this all entails. I have to do 300 service hours, but my Internship next year will cover this. I will receive a scholarship which will help me pay for summer school. That is why I joined. Other than AmericCorps, I have decided I am going to limit myself to my calling, school, GA and internship. I told the athletic academic coordinator that I was not going to be a mentor again next year. This is big for me to say NO. I am not very good at it and I ended getting to busy. I figure with the things I have going I will be able to stay out of trouble.

No Autographs Please

Well, I was hoping to go unnoticed here at UW, but my plan does not seem to be working. A picture of two other students, a professor, and me made its way into the school news. The two students and I nominated our professor for an award and she was selected. She is a fantastic professor. I also have a picture on the Staff page in our department since I am a Graduate Assistant. And last, but not least, I was asked to write a little bio for potential counseling students to read and contact me if they have questions. But just because I am famous, please do not treat me any different. And please don't ask for autographs. I am just a typical grad student. And if you think I am not being sarcastic...I AM!

http://www.uwyo.edu/news/showrelease.asp?id=41362

https://www.uwyo.edu/cnsled/directory.asp (scroll to the bottom)

https://www.uwyo.edu/cnsled/info.asp?p=2739

Closet BYU Fan

So, about two weeks ago, UW played BYU in the Women's NIT Tournament here in Laramie. The game was the same night my 1st cousnelor and I were to do Relief Society visits. Well, my counselor said she would not be able to go because she had tickets to the game. My secretary said she would go with me instead. Well, I told my secretary that we needed to do something to my counselor's house while she was at the game. We decided since my cousnelor and her husband are HUGE UW fans, we would have a BYU theme be our guidance for a prank. We made two posters and got blue and white balloons to decorate their house. We thought it would be appropriate to take pictures and then email them a few days later.

Well, we emailed the pictures Saturday night and were a little confused that Mary didn't say anything to us at church. So, we decided she hadn't checked her email. Then in our presidency meeting, Mary asked how Thursday visits went. I started laughing and Tamia put a paper in front of her face, but I pulled it off and Mary had NO idea it was us until she saw the email. She and her husband thought it was a couple in the Stake that are BYU fans that Mary doesn't really care for. Her husband was pretty mad. When she told her husband it was us he said, "I thought they were my friends."

Notice the UW posters in the window.

Reunited with my best friend

Finally, after so many seconds, hours, days, and months apart my best friend and I are finally reunited. I was hoping for an earlier reunion but I could not get my garage door open because it was frozen shut. What? Don't you keep your best friend locked up in your garage over the winter? Well, Sunday, it finally had warmed up enough and I was able to get my bike out of storage and begin riding to school. I was so happy today riding to school with my best friend.

Wyoming Winter Art

Tour of the University of Wyoming

I thought I would give you a little taste of the buildings that I call home here at UW. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I work at the University Disability Support Services. I have about 64 students on my case load and I help students with disabilities received accommodations they need to be successful in college. I also am advocate when they need me. Not all the students use the services but I have kept pretty busy this semester.

This is Knight Hall where I work. Also in this building are the registrar's office, financial aid, and other student affairs offices.

This is the first time in my life that I have an office. Although in a few weeks I am getting a new office...a CORNER office. It is in the corner in the basement. I currently work in the basement and I am just moving down the hall.

This is the Education Annex where I have all my classes but one.

My department is part of the education department so I also spend a fair amount of time in this building. Our counseling clinic is in the basement so I see clients here from 2-6 every Thursday. Also in this building there is a k-9 school called the LAB school. Many of the students that attend this school have parents that work on campus.

Here is Jamie in the observation room where we watch each other "Therapize". Jamie kept telling us she wanted a leopard print snuggie and since she didn't get one for Christmas, we bought her one for her birthday.

I know this picture didn't turn out well but imagine green grass. This is the middle of campus and is called Praxy's Pasture and it is literally still a pasture. Although, I have yet to see cows grazing. But UW can say they have a pasture in the middle of campus.

Communicating at the counseling level

One of my graduate classmates told the rest of the class that she likes to communicate orally with other people. Now that is a new concept.