Believe it or not, Tropical Storms can be fun. All is takes is some good planning and a little preparation.

Other universities have snow days and snow storms, some have other weird and wonderful weather phenomenon, but quite honestly, I quite enjoy a good tropical storm every once and again. It gives me the opportunity to catch up on some reading, eat some ‘non-perishable’ candy, and enjoy life without electricity. I think it’s quite a soul-searching experience, and also an easy way to catch up on your sleep deficit.

It’s that time of year again, the time when you make that fateful trip to Walmart in an attempt to purchase everything you may need to ride out a storm in style. Of course, when I read the news about Tropical Storm Fay, and my dad called me from South Africa, ensuring I had batteries and all the necessities, I thought it was a good time to check out my ‘hurricane supply cupboard’. Needless to say all that I found was a medical aid kit from my freshman year in college, two batteries, and a very old can of baked beans. Although I did assure my father that I had everything I could possibly need to ride out the storm in style, I have every intention of making my way to Target and doing a stock up.

I am not too concerned about Tropical Storm Fay. Although these storms are unpredictable and can turn on you in a moment, the predictions merely put our area at a tropical storm watch level. The west coast seems as though it is going to take the brunt of the storm.

So, being a hurricane survivor, and quite an expert on riding out the storm in style, I thought now would be a good time to impart some well learned knowledge to the newbies at this hurricane thing.

Rule #1: Never let your hurricane supply cupboard look like my current cupboard.

Rule #2: Never leave your hurricane supply shopping to the last minute.

The queues are horrific! And if you have left it to the last minute, do not… I repeat, DO NOT go to Walmart on Military and Linton Roads! You are going to leave 5 hours later with no supplies and in a frustrated mood. Walmart (that one in particular) gets sold out instantaneously, everyone is running around panicking, and you will in no doubt get stuck in a gridlock of trolleys. Rather go to Target, where the shoppers there are generally families, rather than the elderly, and they seem to be more efficient shoppers. Additionally, Target has the stylish hurricane supplies (and how else do you expect to ride out the storm in style?).

Rule #3: Write down a list before shopping.

This is important. I find if I don’t have a list (and stick to it) I end up arriving home with bags and bags of essentials, but nothing I truly need. When you sit down and write a list, you are more likely to stick to it, than if you are in Target, when the panic takes over and you start throwing things into the cart that you’ll never use and never need. Think simple - but bare in mind, these are some of the things you may forget…

• batteries
• can opener
• lifelong milk
• water
• hurricane-safe candle and matches
• foods that do not perish
• candy and chocolate (I have been through a storm without chocolate, I had a craving… couldn’t go out and get it and it wasn’t a pleasant experience by any means)
• paper plates (may not be running water)
• medicines/first aid
• wet wipes/toiletries
• flashlight
• radio (battery operated)
• an extra cellphone battery (charged) or a car charger
• Cash!!! (ATMs will not work and neither will your credit/debit cards if the electricity is still down after the storm)
• Games and Books (try and entertain yourself without electricity!)
• A fully charged Ipod!
• Tools
• A full tank of gas
• Important documents in a ziplock bag
• Food for two weeks

Rule #4: Keep up to date on storm developments.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Rule #5: Suggest that a friend and yourself stay together during the storm (you’re going to want someone to talk to).

Rule #6: Speak to your family and parents.

Inform them about developments. Make sure they realize that you will probably lose communication during the storm, and make a plan of action. Inform them about the information found on Lynn’s website. If you have never been through a hurricane before, and your parents are concerned, direct them to the following page on Lynn’s website, which explains what a hurricane is.

Rule #7: Don’t panic - stay calm.

Lynn University monitors the storm’s developments to ensure the safety of all the students. Check for updates on the storm and Lynn’s plan of action at http://www.lynn.edu.

Dear Diary,

(sigh) where to begin…

For those of you who are about to start Graduate School, this is a post for you.

I never thought that I would do my masters, and as my undergraduate degree came to an end earlier than expected, I decided that the best option would be to work as a graduate assistant and continue my education. I am so very happy I did, and I highly recommend that even if you are doubting which path you should take, continue with school - an education is something no one can take away from you. It is well worth the effort, time, and investment. Not only will it benefit you personally in terms of growth and development, but it will also give you a phenomenal advantage when getting your first job.

If I look back on my masters degree thus far, I am astounded by how much I have learned. I found that the Master of Science in Communication at Lynn has taught me not only to think in a very critical manner, but to develop and support my own arguments. Mostly, I have learned to believe in myself and the validity and credibility of my own ideas. Much of this comes from the classroom environment that Lynn offers. My graduate class ranges in size from 6 students to 10 students. All of my professors and teachers have encouraged class discussions, and I find I truly learn from others’ viewpoints, and I now have a better idea of how to support my own arguments.

So, the time has come in which I have to put the skills and knowledge I have gained into practice. Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is Thesis time!
I have successfully changed my mind four times on what my thesis is going to be about. It started with YouTube and Africa, and is now somewhere between the idea of media and the world. I like to leave my topics broad as to ensure I have a lot to write on!

On a more serious note, I have been putting a huge amount of research into my thesis ideas. In the evenings I have been going to Barnes and Nobles and just browsing the rows of books, hoping to stimulate some thought, develop ideas, or possibly experience an epiphany. I am not yet completely inspired, yet on the right track. I am simultaneously reading several books, on a broad range of topics, all encompassing human rights and international affairs. My idea is to incorporate a passion, with a media influence or effect.

Someone recently said to me that one’s thesis is going to require an extreme amount of time, effort, and endeavor, thus ensure that it is something that you are passionate about; as well as something that you can use in your future career goal. This is what got me thinking about the seriousness of choosing a thesis topic! This thesis topic decision is a huge commitment! And I am not exactly the most decisive of individuals. I want to make an informed decision, thus the late nights at Barnes and Nobles until closing, and the mass of books lying scattered across my bed with scribbled notes on odd pieces of paper (You never know when you’re having an epiphany until after it has occurred - I’m not taking any chances; I’m writing everything down!).

Well, it is back to the books for me.

I finally got around to going to Muvico and seeing a movie. Watching the movie was purely an excuse to see the Lynn Commercial in theater, and enjoy my 15 seconds of fame. I felt rather special sitting in the packed theater, everyone watching something I created. However, I was rather disappointed when some rude individuals continued to talk over my hard work. I must admit, I had to stop myself from jumping up and ’shhhhh’ing them. Laura, my amazingly supportive friend and co worker brought her camera along and we tried to snap a photo of the screen… evidence. And she even gave me a little applause after the commercial had aired. I was hoping every one would clap, but then again, I was just relieved nobody ‘boo’ed!

Well, the second Lynn Commercial launched today on YouTube and also on our Facebook page:

Thanks again to everyone involved. These commercials are a true window into Life @ Lynn!

A few days ago the new Lynn University Commercial launched in movie theaters in our area. If you remember, I had been working on the production of the videos for quite some time. Well, it is such a relief to know that the videos are now in theater and running smoothly. I never thought I would be on the same screen as the premier of Batman! In fact, I never really saw myself on the big screen at all! However, it is due time that I make my way down to Muvico and see myself in theater.

There are two commercials, one of which I have posted to our Lynn University Facebook page.

I just wanted to say a big thank you to each student that worked with me in creating the commercial. Interestingly, none of the students are professional actors, merely students being themselves. It’s a truly authentic commercial. If you go to the science lab, you’ll find Rhandi working in her lab coat. The classes that I taped in were actual classes, and the teachers were really teaching. And if you walk around campus, you’re bound to find me somewhere with a video camera. So, the commercial is as honest a reflection of the university you can get.

I’ve just arrived back from a week in Washington D.C. I received an e mail a few weeks back inviting me to attend the Athgo Third Annual Global Forum at the World Bank Headquarters. The Forum, Miracles of Development: Good Governance and Capacity Building partnered with The World Bank and Speaker’s Bureau, including presentations from acclaimed individuals, such as Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, United States House of Representatives; H.E. Urs Ziswiler, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States of America; Caroline Schwab, Program Officer, Coordination Sector for External Relations, WIPO; and many more inspirational speakers.

I actually interned at the Forum, and was a member of the media team. It was such a wonderful experience, and it was quite testing balancing my two passions: media and world affairs. Willie Mitchell, who was the media team coordinator was the most interesting of characters. I must say that I learned more than I imagined from him. One of my tasks was to interview the speakers… what a fantastic opportunity.

It was phenomenal to meet with students and young professionals from all corners of the globe. I developed lifelong friendships with people from China, Uganda, Korea, Greece, and many other interesting countries. Who would ever imagine that two-hundred unique individuals from all places of the world could come together for a common cause of making a difference in their world. This forum gave students a platform from which to present ideas and visions, to receive feedback which suggests the success of these proposals in different countries. Ultimately, the forum is a launching pad, from which young people can enjoy the networking benefits, the knowledge and experience of world leaders, and ultimately follow their dream and succeed.

The worst thing about the Forum was that it had to come to an end.

Aniela, Carlos, Armen (Founder of Athgo), myself, Roberta, and Isha.

Myself and Elle - The Media Team interns

In a recent blog I asked you if there were any aspects on campus you would like to see. Kristopher left me a comment asking to see more of the facilities on campus, and also the dorm rooms.

Lynn does not have Upperclassman dorms, all dorms are open to any student class, however, we operate on a lottery system. The higher the amount of credits you have, the sooner you get to choose your dorm room. Thus the Upperclassman have first choice, however, due to the cost difference in the residence halls (The more expensive being E M Lynn and Lynn with triple occupancy - sometimes double - with a private bathroom; the less expensive being DeHoernle, Freiburger, and Trinity with double occupancy and a community bathroom on each floor) some upperclassman may select to stay in the less expensive dorms. As a freshman, your room will be assigned to you. You are able to pick what your first choice would be, however, you may not get what you want.

As a freshman I was placed in Trinity. It wasn’t my first choice, however, I actually ended up really loving it! So let me tell you a bit about each Residence Hall…

Trinity, as I said, is one of my favorites, and I truly recommend that as a freshman, I would elect this hall. It is slightly smaller, thus it has a great sense of community. The residence hall also overlooks the lake and the cafeteria, so you are likely to have a room with a view. It’s three stories, and the bathrooms are really modern and clean. The cleaning staff attend to the bathrooms at least once a day, if not more. Trinity also has the best location, right across the lake from the cafeteria, across from the pool, close to the fitness center, and closest hall from the educational buildings on campus. This building is coed, however separated by floor… I believe the first floor is males, and the top two are females. Also, there is a common area on the first floor where one may watch TV on a big screen. Also, there are vending machines on the second floor, and also a computer room.

Quite honestly, DeHoernle and Freiburger are practically identical. They are both two stories, and have four wings in each building. Recently I walked through DeHoernle, and they have this great courtyard with couches and tables. It looks so nice, and really the center and social area of the hall. These rooms have views of the baseball field, volleyball court, soccer field, and basketball court. I believe there are some single rooms in these buildings. However, as a freshman, believe me, you’re going to want a roommate. This hall is also gender separated by wing. Additionally, there are vending machines in both these halls.

Lynn has a view of a lake and the Schmindt building. The rooms are considerably larger than the above mentioned halls, however, keep in mind that they are triples. The fitness center is located in this building, but anyone may use it. There is a pool table, and TV lounge on the first floor. On the second floor there is a yoga room/studio room and a boxing bag. I really like the large windows in this hall, the rooms are all really bright. This is a three story building, and quite large compared to the above halls. However, mainly athletes, and upperclassman reside here. This building is co-gender.

E M Lynn is where I lived and worked for a year as a Resident Assistant. This building is five stories, triple occupancy, and private bathrooms. This building is also co-gender. I love this building too, however, I honestly do not think that a freshman should reside here. As a freshman you truly want to be amongst your peers, people who are experiencing the same things you are. As this building is mainly Upperclassman, and the most sought-after residence hall, it may be a little harder. E M Lynn has the largest rooms, and offers a lot more in terms of facilities. There are laundry facilities on each floor, a recreation room on four floors that facilitate pool tables, ping pong tables, foosball tables etc. Additionally, there are TV rooms with dvd players and vending machines. The view from the fifth floor is spectacular of campus. This hall also has a great location. The nurses room is located on the first floor, as well as residence life, but both these offices are accessed from the exterior of the building.

Whatever you choose, it is not carved in stone. If you arrive on campus and hate your residence hall or your roommate(s), don’t worry, they aren’t going to force you into an environment you aren’t happy with. There is a two-week freeze at the beginning of semester, in which they do not allow any changes to occur, but this is just to allow you to settle, and perhaps after 14 days you discover that actually your roommate isn’t who you thought they were, and your room has actually become quite homey and comfortable. If you still dislike your situation after 14 days they will do what they can to get you where you’re happy. They are extremely accommodating, and the residence directors are fantastic!

Being a campus tour guide, I saw many prospective students and parents reactions when I showed them the rooms. The most common reaction was: ‘Wow! They’re so big! They don’t look anything like the other dorms we’ve seen!’ and then the parents go on to ask when they can move in!

So, Kristopher, as you requested, here are some photos from Trinity. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any photos of the other dorms as it is Summer and they are all locked. This is our show room, however, I assure you they all look like this. Keep in mind that this room is the smallest on campus, and the rooms in E M Lynn and Lynn are twice the size, if not more. All rooms on campus come with a basin area too!

These photos are of Trinity:

Clearly, this is the pool~

There are two pools on campus. And a volleyball net to the right of the pool.

The building to the left is Trinity and to the right is E M Lynn.

This is one of the two tennis courts on campus. Altogether there are six nets, and it is open for student use, as long as the teams aren’t practicing. We have a social tennis club too.

Below is the outside area of Christene’s, which is our cafe on campus. They have sandwiches, salads, soups, pastries, smoothies, ice cream, and my favorite, Starbucks!

So, if you’re not on Facebook yet, it’s time to get with the times, and take that bold step into the realm of the unknown. Facebook is a great way to meet other Lynn students, and also become a fan of one of several Lynn University pages.

Become friends with Lynn University:

Become a fan of our pages:

Facebook has a great chat feature, so you can get in contact with current students, or even Lynn University itself.

We have professors, staff, and students on Facebook… what a great way to get to know who you’re going to be spending time with over the next four years! So, request me as a friend, ask any questions you may have, and let the “Facebook addiction” take effect.

I recently posted a blog giving you the opportunity to ask me questions about any aspect of Lynn University or what it is like being a college student.
I had a great response, and thought I would open up the forum to you once again. If there are any questions that you may have lurking in your mind, post them in the ‘comment box’ below the post (you will see a link that says ‘comment’. Click on there, post your question, and I’ll check them daily and post a blog answering your question… so remember to check back!).

Additionally, if there is something at Lynn University you’d like to see, for example a dorm room, the fitness center, or the library, just post that in a comment and I will personally take a photo of it and post it.

So, the forum is now all yours… ask away!

So, I don’t mean to boast by any means, but I must say that I do have the most interesting, exciting, and captivating job around. And if you thought I wasn’t lucky enough to actually enjoy what I do, I also work for the best, most interesting, and most generous team ever. Working in the Office of Marketing at Lynn, I know has just set me up for disappointment when I enter my next job. I have really landed myself a winning position in the Office of Marketing. What other team would send a graduate assistant to a three-day seminar in Miami?
I know, I know, I am a very fortunate Graduate Assistant, and believe me, I appreciate it! Laura and I left Thursday to arrive in Miami in time for registration. The introduction for the event was great, Laura and I did some networking, and then got to bed in time for a good night’s rest.

The Conference was hosted by the Public Relations Society of America. The first session I went to was ‘PR with the “King”‘ and the speaker, Amy Wagner, basically spoke about the Burger King commercials and what made Burger King change from being a failing burger joint, to a successful franchise. I found this very interesting, as it truly tied in to my International Advertising course I am taking with Dr. Grodzki. So, I recently did some research on Burger King, and really loved their advert: Whopper Freak out. If you haven’t seen it, it really is funny and worth a few minutes of your time.

The most interesting of the sessions was the “Social Media - it’s not web 2.0 or web 3.0 - It’s life” by Peter Shankman. I absolutely loved this speaker. He was so funny and entertaining. Shankman had so many really great points he touched on. Firstly, he gave us his rendition of ‘the future’, which was really something to think about. He then spoke about how the world has become so ‘me-centric’ and how success will come to you if you just ask yourself, ‘How can I help this person?’, rather than ‘how can this person help me?’ His last quote really resonated with me: Be the change you want to see.

Be the change you want to see. What a perfect world the world would be if we all did abide by this ever so simple quote, or life lesson. Well, I’ll start it off!

So, all in all the conference was a great success. What I learned the most was that Lynn University is truly strides ahead of everyone else in regards to social media. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but Lynn University has a few facebook pages. Actually there is a link from our blog launch page. Even these blogs are innovative! So, Kudos to Lynn University and a big thank you to the Marketing Department for sending me to such a phenomenal conference!

Laura and I taking notes and listening intently to speaker Amy Wagner from Burger King.

Nick Pentzak, originally from North Port Florida, shares his experience as a student of Lynn University’s School of Aeronautics.

-I came to Lynn University’s Burton D. Morgan School of Aeronautics because it had the same feel as my hometown airport’s flight school. I started my flight training in a small community airport, where everyone on the field knew everyone. It was that setting that really encouraged me to keep at my ratings, and fueled my increasing enthusiasm for aviation.
At Lynn, the flight program they have there is set up in the same manner. You have flight instructors that were once students at the university themselves, and share their passions with their students freely. The same atmosphere of enthusiasm and compasion for aviation is present, and you cannot but help but get to know all of your fellow aviation students, of which I have made my greatest friends.
The fleet of aircraft consists of Cessna 172s, a Cessna 172 SP, and coming this month, a twin-engine Diamond Twin Star. The program is conducted under Part 141, for ratings up to Private Pilot and Instrument ratings, and upon the arrival of the Twin Star, Commerical, Multi-Engine, and Certified Flight Instructor ratings.
Even though I graduated, I still keep in touch will the instructors and professors, as they have made a real impact in the shaping of my career. Right now, I am employed by Spirit Airlines, as the Assistant Chief Pilot. While I don’t fly for them (yet), I work directly with the pilots and flight attendants with any and all issues they may have, such as schedule conflicts, company correspondence, and other human resources. I also update the electronic cockpits of the Airbus A319 and A321 that Spirit operates with navigational and operational information, as well as revise the paper manuals on-board the aircraft. I also work directly with the chief pilot, who is probably one of the best professional contacts I have ever made, and has allowed me to not only enter the industry, but help out my fellow Lynn students get into the airline, as well, through internships, positions, and even piloting jobs!
For further information of the Burton D. Morgan School of Aeronautics, contact the chief pilot, Tim Jensen, at 561.237.7323-