A question from Jadin:
As an international student I was wondering if you studied British English? How hard is it to study textbooks in American English? I went to school in Belgium and that is all they have taught us.

Answer:
Yes, Jadin, I did study British English in school. In fact, I went to the International School of Cape Town in South Africa and studied under the Cambridge System. In the USA, one obviously has to adjust to learning, reading and writing in American English. It takes a while to get used to, however, you’ll become accustomed to it within a few weeks. I remember when I started as a freshman, I quickly learnt which words I would have to write differently (such as colour and color, neighbour and neighbor, centre and center). My first graded paper was returned with a scribble of corrected spelling errors. I was so embarrassed, as I have always prized myself on my grammar and spelling! After that spell of embarrassment, I quickly learnt (which in American English would be ‘learned’) how to adjust!

I highly recommend that before you start here, change your Microsoft word language settings to English US and keep your spelling check on. I still rely on that today!

You will find that in American English they rarely use words such as ‘therefore’ and ‘thus’. Thus, your papers sound very proper and you’ll be credited for it! However, when I wrote for the school newspaper, The iPulse, I found that those proper words I naturally use were omitted for more colloquial words.

You’ll get the hang of it… it’s just tough when you have to write e mails home to friends and family, as you’ll have to write in British English… or else they’ll wonder why a college student, such as yourself, is making the simplest of spelling errors!

Answer:

Well, Lynn University is just a 5 minute drive from the beach. If you head South along the A1A (beach road) you will come to Deerfield Beach. There are plenty of beach front bars and restaurants. One of my favorites is JB’s on the Beach because you can literally step from the beach into a vibey cocktail bar. Needless to say, the view is exquisite. Across the street is Kahunas, which generally has a live reggae band and an array of frozen drinks.

If you head North along the A1A, you will come to Atlantic Avenue. This charming street is lined by shops, restaurants, and my favorite, Dada’s (which is just off Atlantic). There is a club on Atlantic, called Delux, which is popular.

Mizner Park is just a few minutes drive from campus. I really like Mizner, it is a great place for students, and even a place to take mom and dad when they’re visiting. Students are always sitting outside Pranzo’s or Gigi’s, where every night is college night. I love Pranzo’s, I go there at least once or twice a week. The Dubliner is another great location in Mizner. It is a great Irish Pub (and it’s sister company is in Cape Town, South Africa!!!). Below is a feature I did on Mizner Park:

Just around the corner from Mizner there are plenty of great restaurants. I found this great little sushi restaurant in walking distance from Mizner that is half price before 7PM. There is another great Thai/Japanese restaurant, Ziree, on Atlantic Ave. Or there is Kyojin, which is eat all you can sushi!

If sushi isn’t your thing, thats not a problem. There are plenty of other options. I found this great, fun-filled Mexican Restaurant, Baja Cafe. This is a great student hang out, and really inexpensive. Boca Raton has an array of Hookah Bars, such as Funky Buddha. The typical college hang out is O Connells and The Wishing Well on a Thursday night. It’s been like that since my freshman year, and still today as a grad student, it’s a Thursday night and St. Patty’s day haven (although, I have to confess, I haven’t been there since my junior year).

But, there is always something happening on campus. Student Activities arranges events, such as movie on the wall, great band visits to campus (we recently had Fabolous perform on campus), trips to Universal Studios. You name it, Lynn has it! The campus has a fantastic sense of community. Me best years of my college career were spent on campus!

You’ll have friends who live off campus, so you’ll probably end up spending a lot of time with them. If you are more the ‘out doorsy’ type, you can pick up some meat and drinks from the store and head to the Spanish River Park or Red Reef Park, where they have grills and picnic areas. I often just enjoy taking a walk on the beach, and then taking a picnic along and watch the sunset.

Now that I live off campus, I spend a lot of time within my community. I enjoy barbecuing by the pool, and most of my neighbors are from Lynn University.

I have really just touched on the 15 minutes from Boca Area. There are plenty more places if you’re willing to drive further. There’s South Beach Miami, and Downtown Fort Lauderdale, as well as, Clematis Avenue in West Palm Beach.

One of my tasks as the Graduate Assistant in the Marketing Department has been to create a graduation video for the Class of 2008. This was one of my favorite projects, as I am a member of the Class of 2008. I went around campus with Laura and asked seniors to share a memory of their time at Lynn. Some told us of how their friend ended up moving their mattress into their bedroom as the friend didn’t get along with her roommate, others told of their favorite classes, worst teachers, and best moments (such as dancing in the car lot).

I found it quite difficult to share my favorite memory of my time at Lynn. There have been so many great moments that I have wished I had a Kodak just to take a snap shot and treasure that moment forever. At least we have the video, so we can remind ourselves of the very best times of The Class of 2008.

Have you any unanswered questions?
Such as,
Why you should choose Lynn University
Does the cafeteria food suck?
How many courses should I be taking?
Who were your favorite professors at Lynn?
Where did you go and party with friends?

Whatever your question may be, ask away, and I’ll post an answer.

You can leave your question in the comment box of this post and I’ll answer it as soon as possible.

At my graduation get together, my grandparents who were unable to fly to the USA for the ceremony sent an email congratulatory speech to be read to me after graduation. A similar poem was once quoted by Mother Teresa. The following words are words of advice from my Grandfather to me, and are words of wisdom we should all keep in mind, and perhaps a list of rules we should live our life by:

LIFE IS A CHALLENGE, MEET IT
LIFE IS A GIFT, ACCEPT IT
LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE, DARE IT
LIFE IS A SORROW, OVERCOME IT
LIFE IS A TRAGEDY, FACE IT
LIFE IS A GAME, PLAY IT
LIFE IS A MYSTERY, UNFOLD IT
LIFE IS AN OPPORTUNITY, TAKE IT
LIFE IS A JOURNEY, COMPLETE IT
LIFE IS A SONG, SING IT
LIFE IS A PROMISE, FULFILL IT
LIFE IS A BEAUTY, PRAISE IT
LIFE IS A STRUGGLE, FIGHT IT
LIFE IS A PUZZLE, SOLVE IT
LIFE IS A GOAL, ACHIEVE IT

One aspect of the Graduation Ceremony that made it such a special and memorable occasion, was the words of advice and encouragement from our student commencement speakers, Taryn Hamil and Jena Zakany.

Taryn Hamil, who earned her degree in Business, addressed the undergraduate students, whilst Jena Zakany, a College of International Communication major put her masters degree to practice, in addressing the graduate students.

Both of them did a fantastic job! You can actually watch their speeches online.

On Saturday at 6:30 AM I woke up and hurried around my room. It was the day, the day I have worked four long hard years to finally reach. As I put on my cap and gown, they didn’t make me look quite as pathetic as I had anticipated. The long black gown and the black cheese board cap resonated an air of intellect and wisdom. For just a moment, I felt as if I could quite possibly be Harry Potter (or should I say Harriette Potter). So, my day began with my mom running in with the camera, snapping photos every few minutes. I wasn’t sure who was more excited, however, I do believe the nerves and gargantuan butterfly farm in my stomach had something to do with the suppression of my elation.

I had previously planned that I would meet my friends, Laura and Danielle at their house for a morning celebration before we headed off to the commencement. In the mean time, our parents made their way to campus, where they queued for the best seats in the house. I think all three of us were too nervous to do too much celebrating, so we hit the road and headed to campus way before we were supposed to have arrived.

All the graduates congregated in the Green Center, where our caps and gowns were adjusted, we were given our Summa Cum Laude medals, and were seated in order. And then it was time.

Before I knew it we were parading down a long red carpet before hundreds of glowingly proud parents, family, and friends. As I sat down and the ceremony began, I became more and more anxious. The day before, I had received a phone call, informing me that I would be receiving a special award at the graduation. I was ever more anxious about this, and I had not yet told my family, thus it was going to be a great surprise for them. I was to received The Award of Excellence in Communications. I knew this would bring my mom to tears, as in previous years in elementary school I had always been awarded the prize of creative thinking (and this was purely because most of my younger years were spent day dreaming and they had to come up with an award for each student).

The guest speaker at the commencement was Dee Dee Myers. She did an excellent job and her speech was a highlight of discussion after the ceremony. The entire ceremony ran extremely smoothly. The MC was fantastic, Kevin Ross’ speech was extremely appropriate, and the student speaker, Taryn Hamil, touched on some fantastic points, referring to our Lynn Faculty and staff as ’superheros’ (which I loved).

Kevin Ross instituted a new tradition at Lynn’s graduation. The Faculty lined up along the aisle leading out of the hall, forming a walk of victory for the graduating students. I truly loved this idea. Each student was congratulated by the faculty, shaking hands and hugging those professors that had made an impact in their college career.

When we congregated outside the hall it was time for more photos. After which, everyone made their way to the student center, where the faculty, staff, parents, and students could have some finger snacks and drinks. My family and I sat by the lake outside. It was the most beautiful day. Various faculty made their way around, introducing themselves to their student’s parents and friends. Kevin Ross went around to every family, congratulating them. I had family friends from out of town attending my graduation, and they thought that this was just phenomenal. And it is. I believe that Lynn is such a unique university. There are not many graduation ceremonies that take place, that the President of the University will greet you by name, and then make the effort to congratulate and chat to each parent, knowing the student’s name, what they studied etc.

I am mostly grateful, however, that I am not leaving Lynn just yet! I still have seven or eight months left… and I am going to make the most of every single one of them!

If you are reading this, and are a parent or student considering Lynn as an option, believe me, there is no better university on earth. Every day that I drive through the entrance to Lynn, past the circle of flags, I think to myself how lucky I am, how fortunate I am to have made the right decision. I absolutely love Lynn University, and I wouldn’t change coming here for the world. My only regret, is that my time here is limited!

The Lynn University’s student run newspaper is now online.

The iPulse is a daily paper on campus, it covers topics, such as faculty and student profile interviews, and many other interesting student-written articles.

Whether you are a prospective student, a parent, an alumni, or a current student, this site is well worth checking out. You will be able to see the archived papers, as well as today’s issue. There is also a link to iPulse on the air!