Hey all. Just checking in from my camp for a quick update. After a rainy few weeks, the sun has finally begun to shine and all the activities are now in full swing. The campers have been swimming, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, climbing and enjoying many field sports. It’s great teaching soccer and baseball while basking in the warm summer sun and everyone is now in much higher spirits. It’s hard to believe camp is nearly half over!

Rather than try to explain Maine summer weather, I figured a visual representation would be more appealing. Notice the beautiful sunset in the left of the picture and the ominous storm clouds forming on the right-hand side of the picture. Until next time…

Hey all. The last week and a half has been quite busy. Two weeks ago, after enjoying several weeks at home in New York, I came back up to Maine to begin my summer job as a camp counselor. It is my third year working up at the camp on the shores of Moose Pond (after 7 years as a camper) and it has been a fun summer so far. The weather has been rather rainy but the campers are still having a good time.

I am already looking forward to the fall and returning to Bates but for now I am enjoying my time working and teaching the campers soccer, baseball, and basketball. Hopefully, the sun will come out soon and make for an even more enjoyable summer.

Check out this picture I snapped from the docks of the camp. Until next time…

Hey all. I head up to my summer job as a camp counselor in Maine on Wednesday. In the mean time, I have been relaxing and spending a good deal of time reading. Summer is a great time to catch up on all the pleasure reading that you can’t get to during the school year, and now I’ve found out that Bates recognizes that.

Each summer for the past 13 years, the Bates College Bookstore has created an annual summer reading list. The staff compiles each list after asking Bates staff and faculty for suggestions. According to the bookstore’s webpage, “Each list typically includes some 150 titles recommended by more than 80 members of the Bates community”. Check out the 2009 Bates Summer Reading List here. Click here for past reading lists over the last 7 years.

This year’s list included ‘Still Alice’, a New York Times Best Selling novel by Lisa Genova (class of ‘92), and ‘Olive Kitteridge’, by Elizabeth Strout  (class of ‘77) who won the pulitzar-prize for fiction for her work.

Thanks to Bates, I have been able to add to my own summer reading list (though maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew).

If your looking for some good books that I have read lately, check out: Eric Larson’s, “Devil in the White City”, Barbara Kingsolver’s, “Poisonwood Bible”, and, for my fellow history buffs out there, “American Creation” by Joseph Ellis, and “The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope” by Jonathan Alter.  

I’m off to go do some reading… until next time…

Hey all. I know I blogged yesterday but thought you should all know that I did a major update of the blog today. More short term ‘09 pictures have been added along with videos of the 2009 Commencement Speeches, concerts from throughout the year at Bates, and more. Be sure to check out the ‘Bates Student Voices’ page to hear graduating seniors reflect on their experiences at Bates. 

All pictures and videos can be found by clicking the ‘Pictures from Bates’ and ‘Bates Video’ tabs at the top of the page. You can also access them from the toolbar on the right. Until next time… here is a sneak peek of what the pages have to offer:

CNN Analyst and Columnist Fareed Zakaria speaks at 2009 Commencement:

Graduating senior Anne Mueller reflects on her time at Bates:

Hey all. The last week of short term flew by and, with it, my sophomore year. I suppose I am now officially an upperclassman, a thought which both scares me (senior thesis continues to creep up on me) and excites me (study abroad, more advanced and focused classes, new opportunities, etc.).

Sophomore year was a big transition year for me. In some ways I still found myself to be a freshman – continuing to learn the ropes of living independently while balancing work, play, and a social setting that doesn’t always allow for much personal space. In other ways I saw myself becoming more of an upperclassmen – picking my minor and major, beginning study abroad applications, and focusing in on ideas for my senior thesis. Overall, I became better connected within the Bates and Lewiston community, maturing personally and academically while also having a good time doing it.

I’m already looking forward to a wonderful fall semester next year and an exciting semester abroad the following semester (details in the blog as the summer progresses). 

As for my summer plans, I will be heading back up to Maine in two weeks to work as a camp counselor at my childhood sleep-away camp (about 45 mins away from Bates). It will be my third summer as a counselor at the camp, 10th summer overall, and potentially my last there for awhile. Camp is a familiar and relaxing place to spend my summer vacation and I’m looking forward to it greatly. Several Batesies, both past and present, work at the camp as well.

Stay tuned to the site, as I will be posting and updating the blog frequently throughout the summer.

Hope you enjoy these pictures I snapped during the last week of short term from the top of Mt. David (on the Bates campus) of Lewiston and the surrounding area. I tried to avoid using the cheesy-metaphoric-sun-setting-on-my-sophomore-year pictures, but I couldn’t help myself. Until next time…

Hey all. Hard to believe it is the last week of short term already. The year has flown by and this final week of classes has really snuck up on me. I will save the ‘end-of-the-school-year reflective blog’ for another day (I will be blogging throughout the summer so stay tuned) but for now will just share some general Bates short term news.

In terms of academics, I have been keeping busy with reading for my short term class (Introduction to Historical Methods). The course has been extremely informative and, as a history major, has taught me a lot about proper research and citation techniques while also providing me with an understanding of the pitfalls that historians must avoid while studying and writing about history.

Outside of the classroom I have filled my days relaxing by the puddle, unwinding at the beach, playing IM flag football, throwing a baseball around, and generally chilling out and reflecting on another great year at Bates.

Read more about some cool short term offerings here.

Until next time… I’ll be enjoying my last week as a college sophomore. 

Hey all. Short term has been going quite well. I thought I’d pass on these photos I took from a trip to Popham Beach with a group of friends last friday. It’s hard to believe short term is over in less than two weeks:

(Wiffleball photo credit: Diane)

Hey all. Saw this story on the Bates website which is really cool: Batsie Tyler Fish (’96), along with friend John Huston just became the first Americans in history to ski unsupported to the North Pole. On April 25th, after sleeping just 3 hours during the prior 66 hours, Fish and Huston reached the North Pole after 55 days of traveling together unassisted. The two undertook the trip to help raise awareness for the non-profit organization, CaringBridge. 

People say that many Batsies are outdoorsy but this takes it to a new extreme. Read the Bates story here. Check out a map of their journey here. Check out a blog they kept documenting their travels here.

Below is a picture with Bates grad Tyler Fish (’96) on the right. Until next time…

(http://www.bates.edu/x203020.xml)

Hey all. I apologize for not blogging much lately. Between finals week, spring break, and transitioning into short term, things have been a bit hectic in the last couple of weeks. With that justification out of the way…

Short term is now in full swing and I am enjoying every minute of it (For more information on short term check out Bates’ explanation of short term and a blog about my short term experience last year).  My course is called ‘Introduction to Historical Methods’ which is a required course for all history majors. So far we have read two books about how historians approach history and most of our class discussions have focused on the ‘What is History?’ question. The class meets 3 hours a day, 4 days a week and the workload is completely manageable. As a self-proclaimed history nerd, I am enjoying the class and all the abstract conversations about history.

Outside of class I have been keeping busy playing IM flag football (3-0 so far but my team has a tough game tonight!), going to Range Pond (beach about 20 mins from campus), doing some light volunteer work, and catching up on some pleasure reading. All in all, short term continues to be just as relaxing and rewarding as last year.

Speaking of reading, former-Batsie Elizabeth Strout (’77) just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! Read about it here. Until next time…

Hey all. After a stressful and sleep-less week of final exams and papers I am finally done. Tomorrow I head back home to New York and then will be going on vacation with my family. I will be back to Bates a little over a week from today to start short term which I am very excited for. 

I will leave you with these pictures of finals week at Bates:

(Batesies hard at work – studying in Pettengill Hall) 

(The study nook with festive holiday lights where I spent my days studying)

(I came back to my room to grab some study materials and caught this nice shot outside the room just after sunset)

Until next time…