The Lourdes College 2008 Commencement Ceremony is being moved to the SeaGate Convention Centre, 401 Jefferson Avenue, in downtown Toledo. The College has experienced enrollment increases over the last four years which has culminated in a record number of graduates for 2008.

 “The decision to move from the Stranahan Theater to the SeaGate Convention Centre was based on the available seating for the graduates’ family and friends who want to attend commencement,” offers President Robert Helmer, Ph.D., J.D.

Known for the personalized and caring education it offers, the new venue allows this year’s graduates the opportunity to invite as many guests as they wish. “The May 17^th Commencement Ceremony is a day of celebration for our graduates,” adds Dr. Helmer. “It was important that Lourdes not lose sight of what makes us distinct. When students attend a larger college or university, they often receive a limited number of tickets for commencement. Lourdes does not issue tickets and the SeaGate Centre allows us to carry on that tradition.”

Friday, March 28, 2008 9:19:24 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

The following is a transcript from the show Hardball with Chris Matthews:

Chris:   In the last segment of our show tonight we examine the proliferation of blogging today. Our guest is from Sylvania, Ohio and has recently become the 200 millionth blogger. We welcome Dane Copti to Hardball.

Dane:   Hi Chris, thanks for having me on the show. Wow. There must be over 10 people watching.

C:         Very funny. Tell me why you think we need 200 million people blogging?

D:         I didn’t say I think we need it.

C:         Ok. So why are you doing this?

D:         Seriously, I don’t know. I don’t have the time, I really don’t. Just to write this baloney today I’ve put off grading my 200 millionth paper. I keep thinking that if I had the time I’d do something great with my life. Instead I’m starting this. I don’t know how I get off the track sometimes.

C:         You must have some goals for your blog.

D:         You’d think, but no. I am not trying to advance humanity, teach, or even elevate anything. Some days I believe that I have something worthwhile to say, but then I remember that everyone thinks that sometime. Goals? No, not really. So in the middle of a brutal semester I think I should start blogging. What an idiot.

C:         (aside) who booked this guy?

C:         OK, fascinating. We’re off for a short break. Don’t go anywhere.

During the break:

C:         Man, maybe you should go get an anti-depressant.

D:         Thanks, but I’ll be fine.

C:         Not for you, for me.

C:         OK, we’re back with Dane Copti, 'Blogger Superfluous'. Dane, do you have any positive thoughts about this project?

D:         Oh sure, Chris. In the end I think I’m doing this because I DO have things I want to say for myself. If no one reads it, fine, but I get my say. I love Lourdes College. I love my job, my profession, NW Ohio. I love my daughter, my friends, my life, and I like to write. I’ll find the time somewhere and other things will suffer for it. I’ll look up later and realize that important things will have gone undone and I’ll be at a total loss as to why. It’s ok; I’ll probably just blame George Bush for it.

C:         Excellent. In the last few seconds, is there anything else you want to say?

D:         Yeah. I have some things to say to my fellow faculty bloggers.

Joyce Litten, what happened to you? I read about the End of the Conservatist Agenda then I wait for more. And wait. Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me nothing is happening anywhere in the world that would follow that? Where are you? Oh yeah, probably busy. Does that come as a total surprise?

Tom Estrella? I know there are things you want to say. How do I know this? YOU’RE TOM ESTRELLA! That’s how I know it. What happened? You got on the front page of the Blade and figured you met all of your goals? Elvis as the Antichrist left me wanting more. I never got any more. It’s been only 6 months, so I guess I need to learn patience.

Finally, Dale Lanigan. Important stuff you’re writing there, Dale. Look, everyone knows that people often confuse us for each other. We look so much alike you’d think we were separated at birth. But blogging? In a moment of sheer profundity, you asked about the words to the song “Take On Me”. How terribly deep! I actually got an email from a well-meaning student complete with the lyrics. Keep it up, Dale. Maybe we’ll even get an easy opening CD from this.

Come on, faculty. Our blog page is little more than promotional announcements anymore. Don’t get me wrong, IA does a good job, but please.

C:         Thanks, Dane, and thanks to all of you for watching. Countdown with Keith Olbermann starts right now.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 6:19:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1] | 

At least I'm not as bad as last week.  Last week was all work related.  This week it's life in general.  Life in general has had its way with me for the past few days.  And life in general comes in the form of beloved fiance.  We have been together for three years and at times it seems like three years too long.  We were raised differently in EVERY way possible, and naturally that makes things really interesting.  Or really irritating.  Or really awesome.  But I digress...

So we've been together this long, been engaged for almost a year, and we want to move in together.  Cool, I'm all for that.  So how much money should we have saved before we decide to vamos?  We've set some goals, and I, being the logical one, would like to have a happy little nest egg saved so that I may also be able to take care of my student loans when they get out of the grace period and have some money to buy some nice things with.  Well, apparently my beloved just wants to save "X" amount of money and once we get that then we'll move out the next weekend.  HUH?

Ok, so that's peachy and all for someone who flies by the seat of their pants. But for me, said weekend would more than likely fall somewhere into the area of my pinning ceremony, commencement, and graduation party.  But he just wants to move out.  And because I'm busy in May, that's just an excuse not to move out.  Where's the common ground here?  I guess I just feel like my priorities are not respected or recognized.  Just because I am out of college does not mean I focus on him 24/7.  He is a huge part of my life, but I am just getting into the swing of things with my new job and I'm trying to adjust. 

Well, what if we moved out here, or on this date, or whatever.  Newsflash:  We don't even know where we are going to live nor what our dwelling will be.  He'd be happy if we found a field of mud and made a house out of mud and slapped a tin roof on it.  As long as he's with me.  He'd have been happy if we went out last weekend and built an igloo.  As long as I'm with him.  I'm surprised he didn't go find a cave somewhere, build a fire and then bring home a carcass to show his devotion to me. 

I want to move out. I am so ready.  At 29 I still live with my parents.  My little brother has been out on his own for over 2 years.  I love my parents, but my mom has this menopause issue going on that sometimes proves quite entertaining but more often than not proves to be a nightmare.  It can be like living with Linda Blair from the Exorcist.  Then there's my dad.  He walks after work.  Then he sits at the computer.  Wow. Stimulating.  But that could also be a diversion from the Damien-like creature known as mom, who by the way, is convinced that an owl lives in the tree next door and she hears it on a nightly basis.  Maybe she's got more than menopause going on...

The long and short of is that I'm ready. But I'm afraid to get my feet wet.  What if I make a mistake? What if things get worse between me and my dude? What if, what if, what if...

To Be Continued...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 4:51:05 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [1] | 

On Friday, April 18, two Lourdes College faculty members will give presentations focusing on diversity issues during the 8th annual Quest for Community: A Call to Action conference at Wright State University. This year’s conference is supported in part by Lourdes College and will be held April 16-18.

Dale Lanigan, Ed.D., Director of the Lourdes Criminal Justice Program, will present “Students Preconceptions Regarding Racial/Ethinic Groups and Implications for College Personnel.” Beth VanRheenen, Ph.D., Lourdes College Associate Professor of English, will present “An End to Othering: Examining our Preconceptions about Other Ethnicities.”

Quest for Community is a state-wide conference exploring diversity issues in higher education. Each year over 250 participants attend the conference. Quest brings the public together to encourage an understanding of and commitment to diversity issues and offers participants opportunities to exchange resources related to diversity enhancement. This year’s guest speakers include mother and activist Judy Shepard and Executive Director of the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs Dr. Nadinne Cruz.

The cost of the Quest for Community conference is $20 per person. For more information, please visit http://www.wright.edu/quest/2008/.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:18:05 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

I am really irritated today. 

First, I just got home from work after being there for 13 hours and there is an extremely annoying banging sound outside my house.  I have looked out the windows and cannot locate said irritating noise, so either it's so loud it's travelling my way or it is merely a figment of my annoyed mind.  And it isn't stopping.

I just don't understand how or why certain people are the way they are.  It's like they've been living in a cave in an undiscovered part of the world and all of a sudden here they are.  I don't know how a person cannot know things about their health. Or why they are so ignorant about it that they go into respiratory arrest and nearly die yet they keep on keeping on.  I don't get it. 

I don't understand why people become helpless little lost bunnies when they are coming in for a procedure they have already had before.  And their families are equally helpless.  I understand being concerned, but questioning me every five minutes about a heart rate bouncing between 80 and 90 is a little excessive.  (By the way, that is a normal heart rate, and it fluctuates because of activity.)

No, you are not going to die if you get out of bed and sit in a chair.  But you will cause damage to your body if you don't move.  And the same goes for eating.  You need fluids and food to help your body.  Refusing to eat is not an option for getting better. 

Hospitals are scary places, I agree.  I am just getting comfortable with my new unit and it is still intimidating.  So please don't go poking around the machinery by yourself. Ask someone to explain it to you.  For example, don't mess with the oxygen meter while your father is using it to breathe.  It's programmed where it needs to be programmed and you technically aren't supposed to touch anything in the room besides the patient and the sink. 

I could go on and on, but I won't.  I just had one of those weeks--overbearing and uncooperative patients and overbearing uncooperative families.  It happens, I know.  So thanks for listening to my ranting. 

And that noise still has not stopped!

Thursday, March 20, 2008 7:10:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Kim Grieve, Assistant Vice President for Student Services at Lourdes College, has been selected to participate in a course by the American Educational Research Association (AERA). “The Asa G. Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore Research Course on African Americans and Education” is open to doctoral and graduate students throughout the United States. Participation in the course is open to a small number of applications who successfully pass the selective review process.

The purpose of the AERA course is to advance the research skills and competencies of graduate students in the area of African Americans and education research. It honors the lives and legacies of educators Drs. Asa G. Hilliard III and Barbara A. Sizemore. Through their collective research and scholarship, Hilliard III and Sizemore emphasized equal educational opportunity for African American students and social justice. The AERA course provides participants with an opportunity to publish original research in an edited volume developed specifically for course participants. 

AERA is the most prominent international professional organization, with the primary goal of advancing educational research and its practical application. Its 25,000 members are educators; administrators; directors of research; persons working with testing or evaluation in federal, state and local agencies; counselors; evaluators; graduate students; and behavioral scientists.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 1:09:35 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

On Wednesday, April 2, Lourdes College will unveil its newest cutting-edge addition, a virtual naming wall. The unveiling of the virtual wall is part of the 2008 Grad Bash, held in the Ebeid Student Center in Delp Hall from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

The Grad Bash is a celebration for Lourdes students who are graduating in 2008. The event will include food and beverages, door prizes and live entertainment by the Ryan Erard Jazz Band. Lourdes President Dr. Robert C. Helmer, Alumni Association President Mary Ann Durst, and Graduate Admissions Director Keith Ramsdell will each give a short presentation during the Grad Bash. The event concludes with the kick-off of the Graduate Gift Campaign and the unveiling of the virtual naming wall.

The Lourdes virtual naming wall is designed as an innovative way to recognize graduates who have donated to the College while extending the physical walls of the campus. “The virtual naming wall provides our alumni greater access to one another and gives them the ability to share their pride for Lourdes College on the world-wide web,” notes Dr. Robert C. Helmer, President. The URL address of the wall will be distributed with the unveiling of the wall during the Grad Bash.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:59:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

Lourdes College was presented with gold, silver and bronze awards in the 23rd annual Admissions Advertising Awards sponsored by the Admissions Marketing Report. Lourdes was honored for its advertising campaign in the following categories:

                        Gold = Total Public Relations program

                        Gold = Radio Ad/Series

                        Gold = Transit/Billboard

                        Silver = Newspaper Ad/Series

                        Bronze = TV Ad/Series

                        Merit = Student Viewbook

Carla Leow, Publications Coordinator; Amy Mergen, Director of Admissions; Helene Sheets, Director of College Relations; Carla Woodell , Graphic Designer; and Thread Information Design worked diligently on creating the advertising pieces.

The Admissions Advertising Awards is the largest educational advertising awards competition in the U.S. In 2008, over 2,000 entries were received from more than 100 colleges, universities and secondary schools. The awards are sponsored by the Admissions Marketing Report, the nation’s leading marketing publication for higher education.

Friday, March 14, 2008 12:39:36 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] | 

I am officially a nurse!!  I passed my boards on February 27 and now bear the coveted title of RN.  It's been a few weeks now and I still feel like a student, although it boosts my self-esteem when the women on my unit say, "Oh, Kim can help.  She's a nurse now."  So I get to do fun and interesting things now, like starting IV's, signing for blood products, taking and giving reports, and transporting patients. 

The best part of all is signing my name.  I know, I know. I spent five years in nursing school just to be excited about signing my name.  Well, when you get to add credentials after your name, tell me that you aren't proud and excited about it.  So now my signed name is Kim (Last Name), RN, BSN.  Wow.  Doesn't that look AWESOME???

I've been out of hospital orientation now for several weeks and have been in the cardiovascular recovery area.  In short it's basically a pre- and post- heart catheterization area.  Patients come in and wait to get taken to the cath lab and then they come back and recover there.  Yesterday I had a patient that required emergency open heart surgeryand I was able to see it.  That has been my dream since starting nursing school.  My nana had quadruple bypass six years ago.  That surgery was the catalyst to my career decision.

I have been on a mission since the beginning of school to see an open heart surgery, to know what the patient goes through while they are on the table.  And it happened yesterday.  It was by far the coolest thing I have ever seen.  I saw the heart and and what goes into a bypass.  I looked right over the patient's head and into their chest.  What a marvel the body is, to be able to be opened like that, and to see the heart beating was just, in my mind at least, a miracle and the realization that this person't heart was literally in the hands of the surgeon.  I was so amazed that I could barely pay attention to the doctor as he explained the surgery to me while he worked. 

To see the surgery was a dream come true.  I know now why patients have such pain.  Not only is the sternum (chest bone) sawed through, but they get veins sewn to the heart to create the bypass.  There is a lot of rustling around of the organ and a lot of trauma to the heart. But it saves lives.  And I finally got to experience it. 

Thursday, March 13, 2008 4:59:39 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [0] |