Santa Clara University

Kelly's Blog

• The End of the Beginning

  Friday, Jun. 13, 2008 at 12:05 PM

       Hey guys, so this is it. Everyone is moving boxes and pushing hand trucks towards the doors. Rooms are empty and that’s how they will stay until their next occupant comes. The walls are bare, stripped of all color, pins, and blue tape. It’s a familiar scene—but it’s not quite right. The difference is that no one is staying.

       The year went by much too quickly. It doesn’t feel like any time has passed but the changes around me says it did. Just the other day I was watching Punahou class of 2008’s commencement online. It made me reminisce about my own graduation—back then I felt like the world was mine for the taking. There were opportunities and experiences for me beyond Hawaii; the anticipation made me giddy. I am no longer that “recent graduate,” but am now on the verge of becoming a sophomore, a “wise fool.”

       I’d like to thank my parents and Santa Clara’s generosity—without them, I would not be here at all. I’d also like to thank all my teachers because I’ve learned something from every single one of them. I’d like to thank my suitemates because they became my family. We’ve all come to learn what each of our perks and irks are and how to comfortably live with each other. And I’d like to thank all my friends because they were my home away from home and were also like my family.

       And for the incoming freshman next year, here’s a list of tips that you may find very helpful. Seriously, this is all from first hand experiences.

  1.       Do not put a preference down for a roommate or suitemate. You meet new people this way and get out of your comfort zone. Besides, I hear horror stories about how friends rooming with friends don’t work out. DISCLAIMER: Not all random roommate/suitemate situations turn out. (A majority does though!)

  2.       You don’t need a lint roller. So out of all the useless stuff in my room, I have used my lint roller exactly one time. Maybe it’ll come in handy if you have a lot of black clothes that attract lint, but other than that, you won’t really need it.

  3.       For business students/those planning to rush a frat or sorority: bring up a suit or snappy business attire. You will need to wear it when you give presentations or when you rush. (Boys, if you don’t already, learn how to tie a tie!)

  4.       Get a Brita. It’s convenient, environmentally friendly, and wayyy cheaper than buying bottled water every day. (And it makes a great grad present.)

  5.       Don’t bring your whole closet with you. Just about everyone I know hasn’t worn half of the stuff they brought from home. And the extra clothes is just a space waster. Trust me.

  6.       You can buy a lot of stuff when you get here. They have a Target, IKEA, and a Bed Bath & Beyond around the area. Besides, now that the airlines are charging you for the second bag, who wants to pay extra?

  7.       Take a class with Professor Parella. A tourist from the mainland gave me this advice last year while I was working at Gap in Hawaii. I had disregarded her suggestion but ended up with Parella anyway. I got lucky because he really is a good/entertaining teacher.

  8.       T-Mobile works best at SCU. This is the one place where T-Mobile beats AT&T and Verizon. T-Mobile works in Benson, most of the library, in the dorms, and at the gym. For the non-T-Mobile users, can you hear me now? Nope.

  9.       Have quarters handy. Although you can use your Access card to pay for laundry and vending machine items, there are times where the Access card office decides to do maintenance. Just the other day I had to convert my $5 bill into $1s and then put those in a vending machine that accepted cash. That machine only spit out dimes. So I put the dimes into a vending machine that only accepted coins so I could get quarters. I did all this in the name of laundry. And quarters come in handy because bus fare is $1.75 one way.

  10.   Skateboards and bikes are great means of transportation around campus. When there is only ten minutes between classes, skateboards or bikes get you there on time. A popular choice on campus are Sector 9 long boards.

  11.   Besides Friday and Saturday night, Wednesday is also a prime night for “rowdiness.” (Way back in the day, there was supposedly no school on Wednesdays.)

  12.   Get involved. Whether it be in flag football, a culture club, Tuesday night liturgy, or on the student body, getting involved will definitely make your college life richer.

   

  And here’s a special v-log I made… so watch it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT_8hP_gmqI

   

  Thanks for reading my blog this year! It’s definitely been a privilege being a student blogger. But I feel like there is so much more I have left to say and share with all of you… If anybody, students, parents, teachers, whoever, you can reach me at khee@scu.edu or find me on Facebook.

   

  Love,

  Kelly

  Posted by Kelly Hee | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Whitney the Bee and Business School

  Friday, Jun. 6, 2008 at 11:00 AM

   

                  On Tuesday after making ice cream in our last chemistry lab, I went to the library’s Sunstream Café with Ian because he wanted to get a drink. While waiting for the drink to be made, I spotted my friend Arianna and went over to say hi. We exchanged hellos and then she pointed at my hip. At first I was confused why she was pointing at such an unusual spot and thought, “maybe she likes my skirt?” But in fact, she was pointing at a hitchhiker bee that caught a ride on the side of my yellow blouse. I named it Whitney and dropped it off on a flower petal outside. (Santa Clara has some pretty nice flowers.) After a few minutes, I came back to check on it and it was still on the petal. “What a lazy bee,” I thought to myself. The hive was not going to be happy.

                  I feel just like Whitney. Lazy. The pollen is right there, but I’m too lazy to collect it. Although I just finished four presentations this week, unfortunately, I still have a test and two papers to get through. Ugh. Tip to those recent high school graduates coming to the business school next year: bring some business attire with you. You will probably need to wear it when you give presentations and especially if you decide to rush a frat/sorority. And another tip for those to-be business students—if you plan to double major or pick up a minor in the same school, it’s not going to happen. This means you can’t major/minor in accounting AND management. They won’t let you, just a heads up. I know this because I declared a Management major on Wednesday (yay!), which was an easier process than I thought it would be. So now we can change my info on BlogSCU! I also plan to pick up a minor in retail studies and possibly environmental science too.

                  Anyway, the end is drawing near, so look out for a few more posts next week! Seriously, where did the year go….?
  

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  Posted by Kelly Hee | Permalink | Comments (0)

• Give me down to there, Hair!

  Tuesday, Jun. 3, 2008 at 11:05 AM

  

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                  Last week Friday, I went to see the production of “Hair” with David and Roger, who had to see it for their Performance and Culture class. I had always wanted to see “Hair” since the Broadway version performed the song “Hair” at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade several years ago. So I was kind of excited. It was not only my first time seeing “Hair,” but my first theatre production since I’ve been here, sans “Unspeakable Acts.” Since my ticket was free, the box office seated me right in the front row, a supposed undesirable seat. David sat on my left and on my right sat a Caucasian conservative looking man with glasses. He had his button down shirt neatly tucked in, wore smart looking glasses, sported a slightly receding hairline, and came off as intelligent and proper. When the production of “Hair” began, I knew right away this was not the show for him. Or perhaps, the seat for him. In the first act, he had a pair of jeans thrown at him by an actor stripping to reveal a loin cloth. My neighbor held the jeans like it was a smelly old shoe, and even offered them to me. Wild times, sitting in the front row.

                  The show itself was really good. It was an interesting musical, as it had no plot, and the actors/actresses never broke character. And just about all the performers could sing and dance really well. I give them props for accurately knowing their set and acting around the giant hole in the floor in which the orchestra, on the bottom, played from. (I was watching how close the actors could get to the edge of the pit, and they could go close!) The performers brought the radical ‘60s to life and showed me what it REALLY meant to “have a nice trip.” I definitely give it an A+ and highly suggest it to all that have not seen it yet. However, it is not a production you would want to see with your parents, as I think they might have a several urges to cover your innocent eyes.

                  I thought this would be an appropriate post, since I have recently noticed that most of my guy friends’ hair has been getting extremely long. I dub this style, “college hair.” “College hair” covers guys’ ears, looks straggly, and is pretty long. It resembles hair that hasn’t been cut in months. Hopefully, their moms will make them chop it off when they go home.

  O-oh, Say can you see; my eyes if you can,
  Then my hair's too short!
  Posted by Kelly Hee | Permalink | Comments (0)