Brianne's Blog

My Freshman Year

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:24:00 PST

It’s hard to believe that this is one of the last times I will be sitting in the library as a Freshman, the last few days I will be living in my dorm room, and the last few hours I will have with all my friends before they disperse all over the country for the summer months. This year has truly flown by. In the span of about nine months I have met some amazing friends; transferred into the Business School; determined my major; been hired for three jobs on-campus; visited San Francisco (five times), Monterey, and Santa Cruz; maintained a strong grade point average; earned a national title for lacrosse; joined a sorority that I love; taken some fascinating classes; met some amazing professors; gone to San Diego for Spring break with some of my best friends; gone to a few concerts; had many family meals with people who live on my floor; made a family dinner for the whole floor; just to name a few. While I still have a generous amount of work and studying in store for me over the next week and a half, I cannot help but be extremely happy about how my first year at college has played out. Santa Clara University has become an integral part of my life over the past year. I am so happy that I chose Santa Clara and have found that it is the perfect fit for me. So many doors have been opened to me here and so many opportunities have come my way. I love my classes, professors, jobs, peers, campus, community, and all the opportunities that come with it. I have had so many unique experiences within the last nine months and can’t imagine the experiences that are in store for me during the next three years.

As everyone begins to pack up their stuff and say when they will be leaving, that feeling I got back at the beginning of Christmas break has set in again. It is a sad and confused feeling. You feel sad that you will not be able to see your new best friends for an extended amount of time. You feel confused because you don’t know how you are going to be able to function without them since you are used to spending every second of the day with them. I’m going to miss everyone to pieces but I know Skype, texting, phone calls, and maybe some visits, will appease my separation anxiety. As for now, I cannot wait to introduce a whole new freshman class to the world of Santa Clara University.

Study Rooms

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Thu, 26 May 2011 10:50:00 PST

This week, much of my time has been spent in the library. Finals are quickly approaching and I have a lot of projects and presentations due over the next two weeks.

Since I have been camping out in the library for so long I have come to learn a lot about the library itself. First, there are four floors of the library. As you progress up from the basement to the third floor the quieter and quieter it gets. The first floor consists of a help desk where you can find librarians and student volunteers to help you with absolutely anything you need. You can also access librarians for help through text message and online instant messaging. The basement consists of lots of computers for student use and several stacks of books. The first floor consists of more computers, printers, and a media lab. The second and third floors consist of lots of tables, individual desks, and couches. On the third floor there are two outdoor patios with very comfortable patio furniture and beautiful views. Also on the third floor is a room called the Saint Claire room. The Saint Claire room is one of the libraries best kept secrets. It is always dead silent.

Although the Saint Claire room is great, I have decided that the best part of the library are the study rooms. The study rooms are located on all four floors of the library. In each of the study rooms there is a large round table, (think The Apprentice style) a giant screen to display what is on your laptop, and white board walls that can used to practice presentations or work on projects with your friends. These rooms can be booked on the library website. Each student is allowed to book one four hour long session in the study rooms each day. A good thing to know about the rooms is they get booked really fast around midterms and finals. For this reason, you need to make your reservations as early as possible if you really want a room.

Bon Appetit

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:47:00 PST

Sometimes I find myself asking myself whether our Dining Hall is a restaurant rather than a college campus dining hall. All of the Santa Clara University dining services are provided by a company called Bon Appetit. Over the past few months Bon Appetit has held some very exciting events for the students, hence, keeping the college dining experience new and exciting. A few weeks back, there was an event called the SCU Chef Expo. The Chef Expo consisted of four chefs competing for the best dish. The competition consisted of each chef producing a signature dish. The four dishes consisted of sturgeon taquitos, poblano mole roasted duck, whole grain mustard rack of herb lamb, and rainbow beet timbale and risotto. Every student who wanted to participate in the Expo was able to use their dining points to purchase the dishes. Votes were tallied at the end of the night and one of the four chefs was deemed the winner of the Chef Expo 2011. My friend Rob made a video about the Expo. If you are interested in watching, here is the link: http://vimeo.com/23243262

This past week, Bon Appetit invited a guest chef to prepare two specials and a dessert for all SCU students. This chef, Chef Mayet Cristobal, is the Executive Chef at The Restaurant at the Getty in Los Angeles. The star chef prepared Barbeque Duck Tacos, Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi, and Rocky Road cupcakes, all of which were thoroughly enjoyed by us students. Those students who enjoyed Chef Mayet’s dishes got the chance to enter to win a trip to Los Angeles and the J Paul Getty Museum and have dinner as Chef Mayet’s guest.

I have now “liked” the SCU Dining Services by Bon Appetit Facebook Page and will now get constant updates, through Facebook, about the special events Bon Appetit will be having. I am looking forward to seeing what Bon Appetit comes up with next.

WCLA National Tournament

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 11 May 2011 09:09:00 PST

This past week was a very successful one for the Women’s lacrosse team. We travelled to Scottsdale, Arizona for Nationals and got the chance to play teams from all over the country. Our first game was against Boston College. After beating Boston College we moved on to play Cal Poly. We won these first two games by several goals and continued on to play UCLA. Unfortunately, we lost in sudden death overtime. The game was a big upset (since UCLA was the #9 and we were the #4 seed out of 16) but even after losing we got the chance to compete for third place in our final game. We beat UCSB in this final round game in the one-hundred degree heat, and therefore, placed third in the Division I bracket of the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates National Tournament. I am very proud of the team for finishing the season off right. It goes without saying that all our hard work over these past months paid off.

A month ago I applied for an internal transfer into the Leavey School of Business here at Santa Clara. I did so because over my past few months, being enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, I have discovered a strong desire to study Business. Lucy for me, each year the Business School accepts applications for internal transfer. The process is competitive. Though, if a student does not get in the first year they apply they are welcome to apply the year after. I received notice the other day that my application was accepted. I am now working on officially transferring into the Business School and figuring out the classes I need to take next Fall. I will need to catch up on some core classes but fortunately some of the Business core and Arts and Science core overlap.

Red Dress Gala

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 04 May 2011 09:12:00 PST

This past weekend I was lucky enough to get to spend a significant amount of time with my family. My sororities’ annual Red Dress Gala brought us all together for the weekend. The Red Dress Gala consists of an auction, dinner, and dancing all of which benefit Cardiac Care. In just one night we raised $63,000 for the cause. I have to thank all of my sisters for working so hard on the event, there is no way we would have been so successful without all their time, donations, and effort!

Currently, it is week six and as I power through my midterms and enjoy the perfect weather it is hard not to get exited for summer. Especially since I will be spending the summer here in Santa Clara, working as an Orientation Leader. I am happy to report that the Orientation Team for this summer’s freshman orientation sessions is official. If you are interested in meeting the Orientation Team click on the following link:

http://scu.edu/orientation/leaders/

Palm Springs, Nationals, and Philanthropy

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 08:35:00 PST

This weekend I was fortunate enough to get to go to Palm Springs and spend three days with my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, my Aunt, and my Uncle. The three day weekend was just what I needed to catch up on homework and spend time with my family. Laying by the pool, sleeping in, going out to dinner, and enjoying the nice weather in Palm Springs reenergized me. I am now ready to take on midterms and the final few weeks of school.

Being back at school I am throwing myself back into my classes and getting ready for lacrosse Nationals, which are next week in Scottsdale. I have been busy letting teachers know that I will be missing class next week for Nationals. Fortunately, all my teachers are very excited for the team and I to have this opportunity. They have generously worked with me to move around my presentations and midterms.

Coming up this weekend I have my sororities biggest philanthropy event. In fact, it is this event helps our sorority rank as one of the top earning chapters in all of the country. I cannot wait to experience this event that we have been working so hard on and have not only my family here this weekend for the event, but all my friend’s families as well. It is always a pleasure to be able to meet my friend’s families and spend some time off campus with them.

My Santa Clara Experience

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:33:00 PST

It just hit me that I am nearing the middle of Spring Quarter of my Freshman year in college. I cannot express how fast this year has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was moving in and starting classes here at Santa Clara. Thinking back on my last few months, I am so happy with my decision to come to Santa Clara. I have had experiences and opportunities available to me that would not be possible at any other school. The people and community here are incredible and the area in which the school is situated makes for endless amounts of things to do on the weekends. Throughout the span of the last few months, not including the travelling I have done for lacrosse, I have travelled into San Francisco three times, gone to Santa Cruz twice, and visited Monterey once. I have also obtained three jobs here on campus, joined a sorority, and met an amazing group of friends.

Being a member of the club lacrosse team has made the last few months even more exciting. In fact, this past weekend my lacrosse team and I made the trek down to Santa Barbara to compete for the championship title in the Western Women’s Lacrosse League. I am beyond happy to report that after three rounds and a nail-biting championship game we won the tournament and clenched the championship title for our league. With a relatively young team, this win was by no means predictable. I am so proud of the team and so excited that this is our second consecutive year to win this title!

As I reflect on the previous few months of my life, I am amazed by how much I have been able to accomplish and learn. I have no doubt that Santa Clara University is to thank for everything. If I could give any advice to incoming college students (hopefully coming to Santa Clara!) it would be that they should make sure they enjoy every minute of their college experience and don’t take any of the opportunities they are given for granted.

Spring Quarter: Week Three

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:24:00 PST

Spring Quarter is by far the best quarter of the school year. The weather is absolutely perfect. Going to the pool, playing Frisbee, and basking in the sun on the lawn in front of SWIG are always an option. Though, the hardest part of Spring Quarter is the difficulty of classes remains the exact same of those of previous quarters. I have found over the past few weeks that the key to getting the best of both worlds, the pool and homework, is time management.

This week marks the third week of Spring Quarter. The week when work starts to pile up and you realize midterms will be here before you know it. For that reason, I have found myself in the library after practice, during the day, or anytime I can find in my busy schedule. Although, I have been bogged down with work I have not been sitting in the library miserably typing up my papers. In fact, I have really been enjoying the readings and projects I have been assigned in my classes. For my Introduction to Communications class, I have gotten the chance to not only analyze why people say the things the do and react the ways they do, I have also been able to learn about the inner-workings of relationships. For example, how different types people interpret compliments, how different events affect long-term relationships, and how first impressions shape people’s interpretations and feelings about people. For my Business 70 class, I am about to begin a project called Mike’s Bikes. I will be working with a group of students in my class and competing with other groups to create the most successful business on a computer simulation program. As I mentioned before, for my Sociology class I am volunteering at a local charter school. My teachers have really captured my attention this quarter by providing me with assignments that allow me to learn in unique and interesting ways.

I am happy to report the Women’s Club Lacrosse Team will be heading to Playoffs this Weekend in Santa Barbara. This Sunday we played UC Davis Club, who is ranked number one in the national rankings. It was a great game to watch and even more exciting to play in. The score was close for the entirety of the game. We played a great game but unfortunately lost by one goal in the last three minutes.

Arrupe Placement

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:10:00 PST

One of the requirements a Santa Clara student must fulfill is a Civic Engagement requirement. For my Civic Engagement requirement I am taking a Sociology class called the Self, Community, and Society. For this class I am required to complete an Arrupe Placement, or a community-based learning experience. The Arrupe Program believes that applying what we learn in the classroom to real life situations and giving back to our community at the same time allows students to further explore and better understand certain topics discussed in class, the community, and ourselves.

For my Arrupe I will be volunteering at the Bachrodt Charter Academy located ten minutes away from campus. Bachrodt Charter Academy is a unique school in which 606 students from the San Jose area attend. Bachrodt has integrated technology, a Two-Way Billingual Immersion program, the creative arts, and parental involvement into their curriculum over the past three years. As a volunteer at Bachrodt, I will be working in a classroom assisting as a tutor to first grade English students. I will be volunteering every Thursday for two hours for the rest of Spring Quarter.

I am very excited to get started with my Arrupe Placement. I have always loved volunteering and cannot wait to get involved with the truly unique philosophy behind Bachrodt. Over the next eight weeks I will be keeping a journal of my experiences I have throughout my time volunteering. This journal and my completion of my Arrupe Placement will constitute a part of my grade for my Sociology class.

Spring Break

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:35:00 PST

For Spring Break a bunch of my friends and I travelled down the coast to Mission Beach in San Diego. We rented a house that was not only a great deal but was located one block from the beach! The house was only a mile from Garnet Street in Pacific Beach, which is a street full of shopping and restaurants, and a mile from Belmont Park, which is Mission Beach’s version of a boardwalk. My friends and I spent the week laying on the beach, cooking meals, catching up on T.V. shows and March Madness, shopping, eating, visiting friends, and sleeping in.

After spending six days in San Diego and getting a severe sunburn I took the train from San Diego to Union Station in Los Angeles. I spent the weekend Santa Monica visiting my sister, Lindsey and her boyfriend, Chris. Over the course of one weekend Lindsey, Chris, my boyfriend, Brian, and I managed to make our way all over Los Angeles.

We started Friday night off with a show at Westside Comedy Theatre in Santa Monica. The show was called Mission ImPROVable. The hour long show was run by a group of six comedians who were so clever and sarcastic that we left the theater laughing. The group did a series of skits in which they challenged each other to think, act, and make the crowd laugh all on their feet. They kept the audience involved the entire time by pulling them up on stage and asking them to contribute to the skits. Saturday we travelled to West Hollywood to a festival. The festival consisted of a $4 cover fee from each person to help a local dog rescue and adoption charity, about a dozen food trucks, vendors, and music. The fours of us ordered one order of curry french fries, one shrimp poboy sandwich, one bacon wrapped hotdog, and one hamburger in which the buns were two grilled cheese sandwiches. After eating our weight in food we left for Silverlake. We walked around Silverlake for an hour and visited the Barnsdall Art Park. The part, located on the top of a hill is home to an art gallery, a lawn perfect for picnics, and amazing views of the Hollywood sign and downtown Los Angeles. After taking in the amazing views we drove back to Santa Monica. The next morning we headed to downtown Santa Monica and stopped at a farmer’s market with a stand known for its three pound burritos. After we ate we walked around Venice Beach and attempted to work off a little bit of our generous breakfast and meals from the day before.

I cannot say I have any complaints about my Spring Break. I spent lots of time with family and friends, got lots of sleep, and ate very well. I can’t say I am looking forward to going back to my small bed and shower shoes but I am looking forward to seeing everyone I didn’t get to spend time with over break and starting a brand new schedule and classes.

Internal Transfer

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:32:00 PST

Grades have been returned for Winter Quarter and I am officially enrolled in my Spring Quarter classes. I am signed up for a Sociology classes, a World Politics class, a Computer Science class, and an Introduction to Communications class. Currently, I am trying to get a feel for different majors by taking different types of classes that will fulfill my core requirements. I have yet to declare a major and have been struggling to decide exactly what I would like to focus on. All though I haven’t found exactly what major I am interested in, over the past few months I have noticed myself becoming more and more interested in a major in Marketing or Accounting. For this reason, I have decided to keep my options open and apply for Internal Transfer into the Business school. As a student in the College of Arts and Sciences here at Santa Clara I am eligible to apply for Internal Transfer into the Business School. The process is simple but at the same time very competitive. Students from the Engineering and Arts and Sciences Schools apply for Internal Transfer to the Business School in the beginning of their Spring Quarter. They receive a notification at the beginning of May telling them if they have been accepted, denied, or waitlisted. Students can apply for Internal Transfer the next year if they get denied the first year. The acceptance is heavily based on the student’s current Santa Clara G.P.A. as well as their SAT scores and a personal statement. Overall, the process is quite selective. I am crossing my fingers that I will be accepted. Wish me luck!

Over the next few weeks I will start training for my student leadership jobs that I just received here on campus and be getting used to my new class schedule and new teachers. My lacrosse team and I will be busy preparing for our next game against UC Davis and hopefully preparing for Playoffs which would take place in the middle of April.

Finals Week

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:20:00 PST

Finals week is upon us again here at Santa Clara. Every seat in the library is full, quiet hours are in effect in the residential living communities, and everyone is staying up late studying. I have come to the conclusion finals week is all about when your finals are scheduled throughout the week. Some have all of their finals at the beginning of the week, allowing them to get everything out of the way and start their break early. Others have all their finals spread out awkwardly throughout the week, meaning they must spend the whole week in the library. Then there are the unfortunate few who have all their finals on the last few days of the week. These people are also found in the library all week and don’t get that rush of accomplishment one receives after finishing one out of four finals until the end of the week. I am the student whose schedule is spread out across the week. I can’t start my break as early as some but I do get one extra day. I have three finals this quarter; one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. Currently, I am counting down the minutes until it is Thursday afternoon and my Spring Break can officially begin!

For Spring Break, a bunch of friends and I are heading to Mission Beach, San Diego. I will spend six days in San Diego and then meet up with my older sister and her boyfriend to spend some time with them in Santa Monica. I cannot wait to spend a whole week relaxing on the beach with friends and see my sister and her boyfriend. Right now, with my finals looming it seems like I will never reach Spring Break, but like everything in college I am sure the rest of this week will fly by and Spring Break will be here before I know it!

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:33:00 PST

This Wednesday a friend and I decided we needed to get off campus.A meal somewhere other then Benson and a couple hours without homework was exactly what we wanted. We jumped on the Cal-train and went to Palo Alto. After just thirty minutes on the Cal-train we were dropped off right on College Avenue. We walked around College Avenue, ate dinner, stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for desert, listened to the street performers, and shopped around. Palo Alto not only has a lot of restaurants to choose from but it has a lot of stores as well (my favorite being the Apple Store).

Over the past month I have being going through the application process for student leadership positions here at Santa Clara. The student leadership positions offered are Student Ambassador, RLCA committee, Orientation Leader, and Community Facilitator. The application process is very competitive. The first step to the process is filling out an online application consisting of basic personal information and a few short answers. The committees select from the applications who they want to invite to the next stage of the process, the group interview. Those who are asked back after the group interview then attend an individual interview. It is after all these steps and a few days of waiting that you finally hear whether you got a position or not.

This process sounds very daunting but I have come to understand why they put the applicants through it. After I went through what seemed like weeks of interview after interview, I have become more confident in myself. I feel like the process really forced me to learn how to articulate my thoughts in a mature manner, improve my speaking skills, think on my feet in front of a group of people, and become more comfortable in an interview environment. I am positive all these skills will help me immensely when I go to apply for an internship or job off campus.

Registration, Psych Studies, and Parent's Weekend

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:38:00 PST

I can’t believe that it is already that time of the year again, but last week was registration for the Spring 2011 quarter. As a freshman, you are the lowest on the totem pole so you are the last students to register for classes. For this reason, I have learned to get creative. The motto every freshman is forced to follow during each of the three registrations on their first year is “think outside the box.” Santa Clara offers its’ students a large variety of classes. Although we have core requirements, each requirement has a lot of different classes within it. Completing your religion requirement doesn’t mean you will have to take a boring religion class. You can take a class called, Ways of Understanding Religion, Asian Religious Traditions, Classical Mythology, or Spirituality and Sustainability. As I was looking through all the classes that were being offered next quarter I rarely passed over a class I had no interest in.

This quarter I am in a Psychology 2 class. For this class the teacher requires that we take part in an allotted amount of research studies. The studies are usually ran by psychology majors. I was able to take part in an exercise study as well as a computer news entertainment study. For the exercise study, I was put on a stationary bike and my speed was recorded every two minutes for twenty minutes. I was given a survey to test the changes in my mood that resulted from the exercise. For the computers news entertainment study I was asked a series of questions about an article and told to answer them. I thoroughly enjoyed being a lab rat for a few tests and am interested to see the results of the studies in which I participated in.

This weekend was Parent’s Weekend here at Santa Clara. My parents along with a bunch of other parents from all over the country flew in for the festivities. Classes were provided for the parents as well as informational sessions. I really enjoyed having both my parents here at Santa Clara. We went to breakfast at Bill’s Café before my classes on Friday and my lacrosse game against Cal-Poly on Saturday. Though, my favorite part of Parent’s Weekend was the dinner my parents and I went to on Saturday night. All of my friends and their parents, as well as my parents and I, went to Maggiano’s for dinner. It was really exciting to meet my friend’s parents who I had yet to meet and get to know them. The dinner itself was amazing. Now, since all the parents have gone back home, it is apparent that my friends and I are already missing them. I’d like to thank the parent’s for making the trip out to visit us and showing us a great time!

Three Day Weekend

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:14:00 PST

This weekend the Santa Clara Women’s Club Lacrosse Team and I travelled to Santa Barbara for the Santa Barbara Shootout. The Santa Barbara shootout is a lacrosse tournament at University of California Santa Barbara. Club teams from all over the country fly and drive in for the tournament. My team and I made the five hour trek down to Santa Barbara on Friday. My family made the trek out to Santa Barbara as well. They were the best fans I could ever ask for! They came out to every game and cheered me on even in the rain and cold.

We had one game Friday night, two games on Saturday, and one game on Sunday. These four games make the Santa Barbara Shootout a pivotal part of our season. I am happy to report us Broncos came home with a 3-1 record.

Though, I have to admit I really missed Santa Clara when I was away this weekend. Although, I got to sleep in bigger bed and have my own bathroom at the hotel, I really missed my bed and all my friends back at school.

On Monday after I got back from my tournament my friends and I had no classes. A couple of friends and I decided to make a feast. Two trips to Safeway, one trip to the bank, and one trip to Target later we were able to begin cooking. The menu for our feast consisted of green beans, edamame risotto, chicken cutlets, macaroni and cheese, salad, and sugar cookies. We made enough food to feed twelve people and have leftovers. It was a very successful dinner and left all of us stuffed.

All in all I am happy to be back at school! One day into my Santa Barbara trip I was missing everything about Santa Clara. After a wonderful feast with all my friends, I am ready for another busy week.

One Busy Week

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:26:00 PST

This week was a very productive and exciting week! I had a class outside, played volleyball on the beach volleyball courts right outside my dorm, learned the ins and outs of the library, applied for several leadership positions here at SCU, completed my long paper for my Communications class, and was featured in the Washington Post Online!

This week, I spent two class periods in the library. From those two periods I learned all about the school’s library, how to use the databases, find and rent journals in the library, and work with the librarians. I know all these skills will help me immensely over the upcoming months. Especially, within the next few weeks because I have a research paper due at the end of the quarter. Along with my hours spent bonding with the librarians, I was in the library working on my first long Communications paper, which is a key part of my overall grade.

Santa Clara offers many students paid positions both over the summer and throughout the year. These student leadership positions consist of Student Ambassadors (students who work as tour guides), Orientation Leaders, RLCA Executive Board Members (students who organize events year-round on campus), Community Facilitators, and Neighborhood Representatives. I applied for a few of these positions and am crossing my fingers that I will get offered one.

This week I was notified that an article in which I wrote for the Washington Post Online was posted! The article discusses my transition from the East Coast to the West Coasts and the differences I have seen between the two. If you are interested in checking it out the article here is the link: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/campus-overload/2011/02/east_vs_west.html

I am really looking forward to next week. Not only do I have my sororities Sweethearts Dance, but I get to celebrate one of my best friend’s birthday and spend all of next weekend in Santa Barbara for a lacrosse tournament.

Sunburns in February

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:19:00 PST

The weather this week has been absolutely perfect. All week the sun has been out and the temperature has been in the 70’s. What more could anyone ask for in the middle of February? Especially when back home on the East Coast, people have been getting inches after inches of snow. I really cannot complain about the fact that I have had to pull out my flip-flops, my shorts, and even my bathing suit this past week. The beach volleyball court next to my dorm has hosted several games this week and the lawn in front of Swig has been filled with people enjoying the weather, doing homework, and playing Frisbee.

It is weeks like these that make me wonder why everyone doesn’t want to go to school here at Santa Clara! There are not a lot of colleges in the country in which you can study outside in the middle of winter. I am so happy to be far far away from the snow on the East Coast. After years of playing lacrosse in the freezing cold, I am now running around outside on Bellomy Field amidst beautiful California sunsets setting behind the mountains, in shorts and a t-shirt!

This perfect weather we have had all week really helped to ease me through my days of studying and midterms. I have officially completed three of my four midterms. I made sure to take a few breaks throughout my busy week of studying to enjoy the sun, go to lacrosse practices, attend one of my sororities’ philanthropy events, and relax at Starbucks (located right across the street from the main entrance of campus).

This past Saturday, I had my first home lacrosse game. I am proud to say we beat the USC Trojans, 20 to 3. A lot of friends and family were there to support us and cheer us on! Sunday, we travelled to Stanford for a Play Day. We had three games, each consisted of 25 minute halves. Our first game was against UC Davis Club, second, Cal Poly, and third, UC Davis Division 1. It was an exciting day but it left the whole team sunburned. Though, the Play Day was a perfect way to determine what we need to work on for the rest of the season.

Wins, Losses, and Midterms

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:34:00 PST

The wins continued this week for the Broncos! Not only did the men’s basketball team beat Loyola Marymount University, but the women’s lacrosse team is now one-for-one! Our game was Friday night under the lights at the Maxwell Family Field at UC Berkeley. It was a perfect way to kick off the season. Everyone on the team played well and all of our hard work over the past months showed. We were up by seven goals at the half and the final score was Broncos-15 Bears-10!

Feel free to follow the rest of the season on Twitter! The link is: http://twitter.com/scuwlax.

I have been very busy over the past week studying for midterms. Last week I had my first of two psychology midterms. Next week, I have two midterms, one in my communications class and one in my philosophy class. For this reason, I am planning on getting to know the library really well this week. Though all these midterms may sound like a drag, I can still say I am a fan of the quarter system. Since it is only week five of the quarter, I don’t feel like the material I learned in my classes during week one is a distant memory. For me, the midterms feel more like tests. If I were on the semester system I would be going back through and relearning material I was taught seven to eight weeks ago.

I decided the perfect way to blow off steam from both my classes and lacrosse was to join an intramural team. I joined my sororities’ intramural basketball team, the All-stars! Today, we had our first game. Twelve girls came out for our first game, seven of which had never played basketball before. After a quick review of the rules, the game began. Although we lost by 40 points and the other team scored 71 points on us, we all had a blast. For next week, we are considering installing some plays. Until next week, Go All-stars!

Teach Me How to Bucky - Bronco Week 2011

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:48:00 PST

85-71 SCU with the win! The SCU vs. Gonzaga game that took place on Thursday night will go down in history. It has been ten years since the Broncos have been able to beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs here at Santa Clara and three years since they have been able to beat them at all. Thursday night the Broncos ended Gonzaga’s nine game winning streak and sent them back to Washington crying. The game was riveting! The student section was screaming, jumping, and cheering the Broncos on the entire game! They were neck and neck until the final minutes of the game when Kevin Foster sealed the win with 11 straight points. Standing in the student section was so much fun. We did not stop cheering and jumping down for the entire of the game! The excitement was electrifying! As soon as the final buzzer rang, the student section rushed the court and celebrated the victory.

Bronco spirit was everywhere the night of the game and this whole week! This week, also known as Bronco Week, is a week of events to pump up all Broncos and get them ready for the Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara game. In the cafeteria and cafes around campus there were instructions on “How to Bucky,” which updated students on the Bronco Week festivities. These events consisted of Bronco Idol, a singing competition with a $500 prize for the first place winner, a Scavenger Hunt, door decorating, Dormal Formal, and a BBQ. All week students wore their Ruff Riders shirts and showed off their school spirit. The game, with its spectacular ending, was a perfect way to bring an end to Bronco Week!

The Zipcar: A College Student's Best Friend

bjones@scu.edu (Brianne Jones) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:29:00 PST

For the past few months of school, my off campus trips have been restricted to only places that the Santa Clara Transit System or Cal Train could bring me. Taxis around here are super expensive so those were rarely an option. Though, everything has now changed. My Zipcard arrived in the mail over break and I can officially rent one of the three Zipcars we have on campus whenever I so desire.

Last weekend, I had my first Zipcar experience. All I had to do was go online, reserve my time, arrive at the car at the time I reserved, and return the car on time as well. The Zipcard I got in the mail is what unlocks and locks the car. The whole process seemed too good to be true. I didn’t have to pay too much to rent the car, didn’t need to fill it up with gas, and the car itself was very well kept.

Next weekend, a bunch of friends and I will be renting two Zipcars and driving them up to Saint Mary’s for the SMC vs. SCU men’s basketball game! I went to the USF vs. SCU game last Saturday and had a lot of fun cheering for SCU in the student section! The gym was packed and all the students including myself were wearing our Ruff Rider shirts.

I cannot wait for my mini road trip on Saturday to Moraga for the game, and the rest of my three day weekend. My plan is to get all my work done early on Saturday so I have Sunday and Monday to enjoy myself and catch up on sleep. A bunch of friends and I are thinking about taking the train into San Francisco, taking a trip to Santa Cruz, or spending the day at Santana Row on Monday. We can go just about anywhere now that I have my Zipcard!