My classes for this 2008 Fall semester have begun. What was I thinking by taking 17 credit hours?! I'm enrolled in Music Theory, Voice, Classical Guitar, Philosophy of Religion, New Testament Greek, and History of Christianity. The classes have been interesting, although NT Greek gave me a headache.

However, having had combined these classes with a new full-time position  - I feel a bit intimidated. I'm giving it all over to God. Wish me luck and I can use your prayers.

Yet, this is the experience of most Lourdes College students. Their ability to balance the pursuit of a college degree while being empolyed (I know of students with multiple part-time positions), family commimitments, and whatever daily life throws at them - all continue on towards their goals.

What has helped me is that many of my professors at Lourdes share in my life goals. It appears that they are not here "because it is a job" but that they have a vocation to help the non-traditional student to succeed. They have been where I am now so, they understand, support and share in my goals. 

Thursday, August 28, 2008 9:09:47 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Hi!  This is a test.

Thursday, August 28, 2008 8:17:01 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Tom Estrella is a new LourdesWorld Blogger! Welcome, Tom!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:36:44 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Matt is a new Student Blogger for 2008.  Welcome, Matt!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:33:23 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Chris is a new Student Blogger for 2008.  Welcome, Chris!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:31:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Savannah is a new Student Blogger for 2008.  Welcome, Savannah!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:30:35 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1] | 

Fans of Saturday Night Live and Drew Carey’s Whose Line is it Anyway will want to catch the Around the Bend Players performance at Lourdes College. The improvisational comedy performs in the Franciscan Theatre & Conference Center Friday, September 12, at 8 p.m.

The Toledo-based Around the Bend Players entertain audiences by engaging them in their comedy routine. Their fast paced shows are filled with ever changing sketches and games that the audience helps develop – making each show unique. As part of the ongoing Lourdes College Performing Artist Series, the Around the Bend Players show is entertainment suitable for any age group or type of audience.

Lourdes College students, faculty, staff and alumni can receive two FREE tickets with a valid Lourdes College ID card.  Tickets for the general public are only $10 each.  To purchase tickets to the concert, contact the Franciscan Center Box Office at 419-824-3999.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:27:12 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

This fall, "big" things are happening at the Lourdes College Appold Planetarium as it welcomes a new Coordinator and presents its fall program titled BIG.

BIG is a fulldome show that takes a quirky and imaginative look at the size and scale of our universe. With its lighthearted storytelling style, 3D graphics, clay-animated characters and a surround musical score, BIG brings a really big subject down to earth.

BIG shows at 7:30 p.m. on the following days:

September 6 and 20

October 4 and 18

November 1 and 15.

Visit www.spitzinc.com/fulldome_shows/show_big/ to view a sneak preview. Admission is $4 for adults and $3 for children under 12 and for Lourdes College students presenting their student ID.

Shows at the Appold Planetarium are limited to 60 and often sell out. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Dr. Laura Megeath, new Coordinator of the Appold Planetarium, at 419-517-8897 or email lmegeath@lourdes.edu.

Dr. Laure Megeath earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Colgate University in New York and her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. She previously conducted research at Harvard University until her move to Sylvania in 2006. A neurobiologist, Dr. Megeath has also taught as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Biology and Health Sciences at Lourdes.

 “Dr. Megeath is a wonderful teacher who enjoys making solid scientific knowledge available to a popular audience. She is a first-rate scientist and has an active interest in and knowledge of astronomy,” says Dr. Geoffrey Grubb, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. “The Lourdes community is very pleased that she has joined our staff and together, we look forward to serving our local community through the Appold Planetarium and all that it has to offer.”

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:20:51 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Hello again everybody. I haven’t written here in a long while. I’m well, thanks for asking.

(I wrote this last week but didn’t get it posted. They were still going on at that time.)

The Olympics are winding down now. I have always been a huge sports fan, but that has changed for me lately. I have trouble following anything anymore, but that’s a topic for a later blog.

I’ve been watching the Olympics with renewed interest this year. I remember as a child and young man way back in the _0s when watching the Olympics was a heck of an experience. We couldn’t seem to wait until they came by and it seemed that each event was memorable. I remember watching the Black Power salute live. For me it was as powerful as anything I had seen. I remember the Munich tragedy when so many Israeli athletes were murdered. Watching that live was just sickening. I remember athletes like Bob Beamon, Jim Ryun, George Foreman, Mark Spitz, Mary Decker, Mary Lou Retton, Dick Fosbury, and a host of others. We cheered like crazy, knowing that these were truly amateur athletes who really had to live on nothing and to train in obscurity for maybe one chance to shine.

All that changed when we Americans decided we should start sending professionals to the Olympics and lobbied hard for a change in the rules. The first basketball “Dream Team” changed everything for me. I couldn’t watch them even a little bit. I was disgusted by every 100-30 victory over Egypt and every other country who dared try. Disgusted when Nike refused to let them accept their gold medals with the Reebok logo on their sweats.  Reebok was the sponsoring company, but Nike owned half of the players for endorsements. Anyone else remember the compromise? Yeah. Nike relented when the players draped the American flag over the Reebok logo. Great use of the colors, right? Who wouldn’t be proud of that? Yeah, neither am I. Some folks get so worked up about flag burning that happened 40 years ago. I think this was MUCH worse.

That was in 1992, and I honestly haven’t watched much since then until this year. For some reason, it has been exciting once more. I really loved watching the different sports again. Badminton? Sure. Triathlon? You bet. Equestrian jumping? Mais oui. Naturally, the star is Michael Phelps. He is a compelling character despite his Wolverine status. Nice guy, hard worker, and often at a loss for words in nearly every interview. You have to love that. It was fun watching every night as he racked up the gold. Did he really win that last race? Wonderful stuff. The most gold medals in one Olympics.

Then it got goofy again.

“Michael Phelps: Greatest Olympian Ever!” Michael Phelps: Greatest Athlete Ever!”

Are you kidding me? Just because of the number of gold medals? This is from the news people and journalists covering the games and many back in the states. I’m so sick of hyperbole!

Look, I know this isn’t Phelps’ fault. The media is ruining a beautiful story. Now I think about the fact that he even had 8 CHANCES for gold medals. Why? He can swim better than anybody else in the butterfly (?!?) and is pretty good in freestyle. Put them together with the relays and you have medal opportunities galore. Where did the butterfly come from? Help me out here. Do people swim the butterfly stroke for fun? If they’re stranded somewhere and have to swim for it, do they think “I’ll never make it if I don’t butterfly my way to shore.”  

How could anyone else have a chance at 8 medals besides a swimmer? There are breaststroke and backstroke events too. How about runners? There are 4 ways to swim here, how many ways are there to run? As far as I can tell, all the track events have people running with the same motion. If they give gold medals to backstrokers, how about a gold for the person who goes fastest running backwards? I didn’t see that event. Tell me that doesn’t make sense. I’d watch that one.

Greatest Olympian ever? Please. You watch American beach volleyball and you can see the dominance. The Chinese divers, American basketball, even table tennis and boxers. The greats compete for 2 weeks, work very hard and suffer as much or more than swimmers. All of this is to earn one medal. He earns 8 in about 6 days and so we discuss whether any athlete has ever been as good? Sorry Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali. Michael Phelps must be greater than all of you put together. Your total in gold medals is only 7.

Monday, August 25, 2008 11:26:21 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1] | 

Attention Students:

Company Description:  St. Joan of Arc

Job Title:  Youth Minister

Job Description: Responsibilities to include designing, implementing, and coordinating comprehensive youth ministry

Qualifications: .Applicant must be adult, practicing Catholic with leadership and administrative skills and able to work collaborative with pastoral staff.  

Application Method:

Application Deadline:

Contact Person Information:

Resumes may be sent to: 

Very Rev. Gregory R. Hite, VF, Pastor,

 5856 Heatherdowns Blvd.,

Toledo, Ohio, 43614.  

Closing date for applications:  September 30, 2008.

Monday, August 25, 2008 8:50:19 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Attention Students:

Company Description:  First St. John Lutheran Church

Job Title:  Youth Director

Job Description:

Qualifications: Excellent communication skills, Strong Interpersonal Skills, Ability to relate to Jr. High and  High school students

Application Method:

Application Deadline:

Contact Person Information:

Pastor Robert Blohm

419-691-7222

Pastorblohm@sbcglobal.net

First St. John Lutheran Church

Attn: Pastor Robert Blohm

2471 Seaman St.

Toledo, OH 43605

Monday, August 25, 2008 8:45:55 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Attention Students:

Company Description:  

Job Title:  Curriculum Coordinator

Job Description: Coordination of infant, toddler and preschool curriculum among four centers of early childhood programming. Monitor lesson planning both comprehensive and individualized.  Coordinate implementation and use of developmental screening tools including the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, the Developmental Continuum, Get It! Got It! Go! and the Ages and Stages Social/Emotional Questionnaire.  Review parent conferences, portfolios, anecdotal notes, etc. to ensure that implementation of all required documentation is complete meeting the auspices of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (Step Up To Quality and licensing), The Ohio Department of Education (Early Learning Initiative), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (accreditation).

Qualifications: Must have a Bachelor degree in Early Childhood Education or                     Special Education of Preschool Children. At least five years experience in the early childhood classroom and/or the ECE arena including interaction with community resources and funding resources.

Application Method:

Application Deadline:

Contact Person Information:

Pat Scheuer

pscheuer@toledodaynursery.org

Monday, August 25, 2008 8:42:09 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Lourdes College is offering a new Engineering Transfer Program through a partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM). The program allows students to take math, science and humanities classes at Lourdes then complete their designated Bachelor of Engineering degree (Civil, Electrical, Manufacturing or Mechanical) at UDM.

Students enrolled in this program will attend Lourdes College for one to two years of full-time study and will then transfer to UDM to complete their degree. The Engineering Transfer Program is open to both full and part-time students.

One of the unique components of the program is the option for full-time Lourdes pre-engineering students to take Engineering Graphics and Design (E105) and Introduction to Solid Modeling (E107) at UDM before transferring at no cost. A second benefit of the program is the completion of three cooperative work assignments, equivalent to one full year of work experience. During the cooperative assignments, students will earn money, obtain real-world experience and gain a full resume before graduating.

Monday, August 25, 2008 8:12:13 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Lourdes is pleased to announce the establishment of two newly endowed scholarships, the Elwood “Woody” Haley Scholarship and the Dr. Patricia McCutchan-Richard Vernier Scholarship.

Allen Haley (’88, B.A., Human Resource Management) and Chad Haley (’97, B.A., Human Resource Management) have established the Elwood “Woody” Haley Scholarship. Named in honor of their father, the endowed scholarship benefits Lourdes students seeking a Bachelor’s degree in Business. To qualify, students must demonstrate financial need and/or academic merit.

Currently, Allen serves as Director of North American Sales for the NCR Corporation and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Chad owns and operates Career Integration, a Toledo-based executive recruitment firm servicing companies in North America, Europe and Asia.

Dr. Patricia McCutchan-Vernier (’89, B.I.S., Individualized Studies) has established the Dr. Patricia McCutchan-Richard Vernier Endowed Scholarship for students who have an interest in the fields of a Pre-Medicine or Pre-Veterinary Medicine. The scholarship will financially assist Lourdes students pursuing either a Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Study with a concentration in the Natural Sciences or a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree in Biology.

Dr. McCutchan-Vernier, who earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Ohio, is currently a practicing Radiologist in Lima and resides in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Monday, August 25, 2008 8:08:22 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Lourdes officially closed its 50^th Anniversary celebration by sealing a time capsule during the College’s Convocation on August 22. The time capsule will be reopened in August 2033 at Lourdes’ Convocation ceremony marking the start of the College’s 75^th anniversary.

Students, faculty, staff and friends of the College contributed mementos to the time capsule including publications, literature, event programs and photos pertaining to the 50^th Anniversary. Also included is a journal of reflections about the College composed by members of the Lourdes community.

Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents Eric D. Fingerhut served as guest speaker and addressed higher education in Ohio.

Excerpts from time capsule journal:

“Today, the campus is alive with students walking around, playing frisbee, studying under the trees, in the library or in the WIN Center. Twenty five years from now, some of these students may be on the faculty. Some of these buildings will have been replaced. There may be grass where there are buildings and buildings where there is grass. One thing that will not change--Lourdes College campus will still be a holy place, a place where Learning, Reverence and Service are at the core of all that goes on here.” – Nancy Brown, Associate Professor of English

“Lourdes has done so much so fast over the last several years, I don’t know if I am writing this from the present or the future. However, one thing I know for sure is that things have a way of changing over 25 years, and we’ll be ready for the challenge. My hope is that we stay true to the mission, grow within our capability, have 25 more years’ worth of student success stories, are a nationally-known success story and are the pride of our community. In other words, more of the same, just for longer. Godspeed to Lourdes as it continues its journey!” - John Harris, Lourdes College’s Board of Trustees

Saturday, August 23, 2008 8:31:08 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] |