I could not resist sharing this link. If you like the Old Spice Man, you should watch this.
Old Spice Library
Jul 17th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
London Bound (Again…)
Jul 11th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
It’s off to London yet again for a week and a half long holiday visiting my dear American childhood friend Emily in addition to my fabulous English friends! It’s a week of cheaping it – aka lounging around, nerding it up at the free museums, etc. I’ll be staying at a hostel (BOO!) but a travel has got to do what a travel has got to do!
Only a few days to go!
AC & GAGA
Jul 9th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
Over 4th of July SU Alumni Garrett and I headed to Atlantic City, New Jersey for some fun in the sun, and OF COURSE LADY GAGA!
White boy Garrett is out there! Hehe.
While I didn’t go in the water, I did get some awesome sun! Tan-tastic!
The Gaga Concert was AMAZING! Semi Precious Weapons opened for her – a (literally) gay band, with the lead singer stomping around in a skirt and glittered high heels – it was a man!
Come time for Gaga, I WAS BLOWN AWAY. I think she is going to redefine what it means to go to a concert. And she did it in true Gaga fashion – with scene changes, outfit changes every song (she started with bulky clothes and stripped down throughout each song!). She danced on stairs, she danced in a subway bus, she banged out on a piano, playing song made famous by the radio and songs only heard on the internet! She did the dance moves fans have come to know from her videos, and everyone sang and danced along too!
She even wore this little number!
I didn’t bring my camera b/c the ticket said cameras were prohibited. I even read on Gaga’s website that the arena we were attending was strict and confiscated cameras. Working at Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena as an intern, I didn’t want to chance it. Low and behold, everyone and their mother had cameras. The body search was nothing and they didn’t care. All I can say is, the PR/Marketing department needs to be a bit clearer on the camera policy.
But overall it was a fantastic day, concluded by a 4 hour drive home (2 hours of extra bumper to bumper traffic at 2 a.m!) Props to Garrett for driving while I slept on the way home!
Summer Work Load Introduction
Jun 29th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
Stacks and stacks (and even more behind me) of files and papers that need to be sorted.
My project for the week!
“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service at this time…”
Jun 28th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
LIKE OMG! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, JESSICA!
UM. BUSY!
Hello there, kiddies! I apologize for the HORRIBLE effort I’ve been making when it comes to maintaining the blog. Summer has been quite busy with the 9-5 insurance gig. I sort, file, alphabetize, and photocopy papers and now I’m getting ’semi-promoted’ to enter new business into the system, etc. It’s all very boring and I thank all my academic advisors in the Bus Comm major who helped me through BusComm. BusAdmin is NOT the life for me (Yo ho, yo ho).
When I’m not working I’ve been reading NON-STOP. I’m a horrible reader but for the past three weeks, I’ve been locked in on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, better known to non-readers as TrueBlood. Over 3,000 pages later and here I am, alive, not Dead & Gone (haha -bad humor). The series starts out strong, but I must confess that Dead in the Family left me wondering, “Charlaine, how much more can you truly write?” Killing off characters doesn’t solve the problem of having introduced too many or creating a plot. I’m glad I finally read them after over a year of nagging from my mother. Out of 5, I give the series a 4.
In the upcoming future I am
- GOING BACK TO LONDON for about a week & a half
- Seeing Lady Gaga with best friend & SU Alumni ‘10, Garrett Jordan, on 4th of July. What a way to celebrate our nations indepedence from the Brits (whom I adore O so very much!)
I’ve also been handling a lot of SGA things. You’ll have to wait for fall 2010 to see everything going on :-)
I apologize for this entry being so breif, so non-descript. I will post more when it’s not 11 p.m. and when I don’t wake up at 7 a.m. the next morning.
Enjoy your Mustang Days!
Read the paper much?
Jun 2nd, 2010 by Jessica Swing
Well Stevenson, I’ve always noticed a lack of newspaper readership on campus, do in part to the fact that the university doesn’t distribute outside newspapers. As SGA president, however, I am working on getting a FREE NEWSPAPER delivered to campus DAILY!!! I sent the e-mail out, the paper company would do it without hesitation. I am just going to get a few stamps of approval.
Come the fall 2010 semester, you may just see Baltimore Sun’s B Free Daily paper in orange distribution boxes around campus!
B Free Daily is a great Baltimore & gossip paper. With students saying, “there is nothing to do in Baltimore,” this paper will tell you EXACTLY what events are happening, where, the price, who to contact, etc. It’s a great resource! It also lists the “news” we like – Baltimore Sports, Movies, TV, Music, & celebs! Don’t forget your daily puzzles like sodoku! And yes, they do have some actual stories in there.
We’ll have to moniter the success of the free paper. Who knows… we may get more newspapers depending upon the success of this…
Thoughts appreciated!
Summer thus far…
Jun 2nd, 2010 by Jessica Swing
Summer thus far for the world traveler & SGA President Jessica Swing….
The first week out of uni I was working with my mom for job a week at the insurance agency she worked at doing paperwork, sorting, filing, copying, and a lot of database work. It was just for the week. That weekend I went camping.
Week 2 I took it easy, doing some presidential things, lounging around, playing with my dog. That weekend I went down to Baltimore to hang out with my now graduated roommate Christine and our friends.
Week 3 has jus begun. I was supposed to work at Chili’s but come Tuesday morning my mom’s agency asked me to work for them for the entire sumtmer. JACKPOT! I hung up my apron (quit) and graciously accepted the 9-5 job! I start next monday. Now that I have another free week I’m working on some more SGA related things, starting my diet (rock on working out and eating right!), and cleaning the house. Cool stuff. This weekend my family and I are going to ‘the family lake’ in Jersey for a day of being lazy.
Things to look forward to:
I’m going back to London in August to see Emma, Dane, Emily (American), and a few of my other European friends. I CANNOT WAIT!
NPR.org – Study: College Grads Unprepared For Workplace
Jun 2nd, 2010 by Jessica Swing
My father was listening to NPR on his way home from work and listened to a very interesting story about how college grads were unprepared for the workplace. He was so intrigued he sent me the link to the story. (Read it – it’s a quick read)
Upon reading it I said to him, “It’s funny how these students are so unprepared because Stevenson’s been preparing us since day 1.”
He replied, “I know. That why I thought you’d enjoy it.”
I know you know that Stevenson knows that students in most universities are unprepared when it comes to finding a job as soon as you graduate. With mandatory internships, Career HQ and their various career events including the month long March Madness Career Month, and daily help from advisors, Stevenson makes sure from day 1 you have a ‘career’ in mind and that you are on your ‘professional’ way towards earning a job in that field.
Seriously, read the article. How sad is that? Attending a business seminar in shorts and flip-flops. Stevenson has us thinking by freshman year, “Business seminar? Hmmm… opportunity to network. Bring a copy of my resume. Dress approrpiately.”
And with a 95% job placement 6 months after graduation, Stevenson is doing something right.
I haven’t the slightest doubts that after graduation I’ll be jobless for months.
New Printing Solutions for Fall 2010
May 28th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
The end of the Spring 2010 semester brought with it rumors of a ‘more difficult printing system’. One where students pay out of pocket to print! One where students have to relearn the printing system all over again! One so complicated even the IT department was bamboozled!
Let me put your fears to rest. Yesterday I met with Ray Cardillo, manager technology support helpdesk, to discuss the new printing system.
Yes, it is true. There will be a new printing system in operation by fall 2010. Black & white printers, b&w copiers, and many more color copiers will be available to adhere to student demands.
At the beginning of each semester, students will receive an allocated amount of approximately 375 pieces of paper, at $15 total. Students, however, should not worry about the cost of printing as this new “fee” is not a “fee” at all. No one’s tuition is on the rise.
In the past students experienced ‘free printing’. While printing was free for them, the funds to print ultimately came from the IT department. This semester instead of giving everyone ‘unlimited’ sources to print, the IT department is simply allocating a set ‘fund’ to every student’s account. This is being done in order to make students more print conscious.
It’s examples such as printing 30 copies for the class only to find a spelling error. Or printing 2 copies when you only needed 1. Or printing out personal information to a printer and never retreiving it.
The IT department wants you to know where your document is at all times. They want you to have ultimate control over your papers.
This can be done by a new feature that enables your documents to “Follow You” until you arrive at a copier most conveninent to you. For example, you may print a document in the School of Business Library, rush over to Greenspring and print it from the copier in AC 202. A simple swipe of your SU1 Card tells the copier you are giving it permission to print the document there, right in front of you. Basic black & white printers, however, will still be available in classrooms and do not require a swipe.
The IT department is very excited, not about the new printers, but the new copiers and hope students will use the copiers more frequently than the classroom printers. While the copiers are more cost efficient, they also have some new features, sure to please students. These new options enable for easier double sided printing and students can now tell the copier to staple or 3 hole punch their paper for them!
Currently, students have access to 3 copiers between both campuses. Next semester, however, students will have access to 9, with 6 copiers on the Greenspring campus and 3 on the Owings Mills Campus.
The SU1 swipe also will ellimate the distinction between ‘faculty’ copier and ’student’ copier. Everyone will have access to all copiers.
Art students who face the frustrations of a backed-up or broken copier in AC 202 will have access to the once “faculty printer” diagonal from the room in AC 231. The printer will be replaced with a color copier.
The copiers will have an easier copy to email feature, all scanners on copiers, wheather it be a b&w or color copier, will all scan to color, and fax will be available on most copiers.
I was able to take a look at a new color cube copier yesterday to examine how easy it was for students to use. If you can’t read the words, there are HUGE pictures for you to press and walk you through step by step in your copy or printing process. Additionally, if pictures weren’t enough, the IT department will hang up posters above each copier to help walk you through the process.
For those wanting just a simple print in the classroom they are in, not much has changed. Yes, every printer and copier is now Xerox, however, when a student hits print, new options will apprear to ensure that YES, you are sure you want to print and this is the way you’d like to print: double-sided, two copies, from copier AC 230 etc.
A new feature that the IT department is also working towards is “off campus printing”. While details are still underway, this feature will enable students off campus, or in dorm rooms to print. Additionally, residents may find a surprise in the Ratcliffe Community Center this Fall with the appearance of a new copier. This is not set in stone yet, however, as there are space and power outlet limitations
Student should not worry over the cost of printing. 375 pages in more than enough. AND if you happen to run over, the printing will link to your SU1 card/Flex. For more information on the costs of printing or the copier/printer systems, click here.
Throughout the semester, if you fear your professor is abusing printing, please contact the SGA to ensure that a new printing policy is set. Don’t allow your professors to tell you to “Print out this PDF version of a book.” Sometimes it is better to buy the darn thing on half.com for two dollars then to print a low grade pdf. Additionally, if you fear your professor prints too much in general, fear not, as they’re printing will be monitered monthly by the heads of their department. Each department will be given a printing budget as well.
Again, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at jswing@stevenson.edu.
Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion inregards to printing. Look for more details as we draw closer to the new academic year!
School’s Out!
May 24th, 2010 by Jessica Swing
The 2009/2010 Academic Year is finished and it’s onto summer!
Summer can be defined as the spending of time at a place of employment to earn money for the upcoming academic year in addition to weekends camping, laying around at the beach, seeing concerts, and rejuvenating one’s brain.
At least that’s summer for me.
Ideally, I’d be making money for a trip to England this summer. Alas, I am “Stuck” in America this summer (Unless you count my upcoming roadtrip to Canada!). For the past two summers I’ve worked more than is healthy as a waitress to afford myself two fantastic Fall study abroad experiences in New Zealand and England. This past winter break I worked to afford a ticket to England for Spring Break. This summer I work towards taking care of myself next semester in addition to my trip to Germany and England the week before and week of Christmas.
But for a few SU students summer is studying abroad. This past week 19 students headed to Ireland for a Stevenson hosted semester an hour outside of Dublin. And, shortly, 10 more students leave for a 3 credit option, 4 countries in 16 days in Europe.
I’ll post more in a bit.