Friday, January 31, 2014

Friday Five: The Five Days of Sorority Recruitment

(Borrowed from Indiana State)

TGIF! It's been such a busy week for Greeks and I have to admit, I'm a little worn out. Even though I'm a little worn out, it's totally worth it. Recruitment week is one of my favorite times of the semester because all of the sororities join together to meet their potential new members. It's fun, heartwarming, and super exciting. If you were curious about what happens during sorority recruitment, I hope you find this post to be of some help and also help you decide whether or not you'd like to go Greek. Click the pictures to enlarge.


Open House (Day 1):

Open House is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll clue you in on what you might not know. During Open House, all of the sororities set up a table and display some information, scrapbooks, and fun facts about their sisterhood. This night is meant to give you a chance to come see what all of the sororities are about and decide whether or not you're interested in continuing on with the rest of the week. There's a lot of small talk and getting to meet new people, which I personally love. If that's not your cup of tea, don't worry. It's not as scary as it sounds! Everyone is extremely welcoming and sweet. To help settle any nerves... I want you to know that if you're coming out to recruitment, it's okay to be nervous. Because, guess what? So are we. It's a two-way street and we want you ladies to like us as much as you may want us to like you. If there's any recommendations I can give throughout this entire post... it's to attend Open House. Get a feel for it and if you don't like it, you can easily just walk out, no strings attached.


Game Night (Day Two):

This is where the action really starts. On game night, you'll attend two different sororities' events. This way, you have some time to actually interact with the ladies instead of having a few minutes of small talk. Also, since it's a "Game Night", the awkwardness that comes with getting to know someone won't be as likely to occur. You'll be able to interact, feel like part of the sorority, and see if you could see yourself as a part of them.


Philanthropy Night (Day Three):

Tonight is the night that you get to see what the sororities are really passionate about. Just like on Game Night, you only go to two of the sororities events so you can spend some quality time together. There are many different things you'll do this night but it all involves learning about the sororities' philanthropies and probably helping their philanthropy in a small way (making crafts, creating awareness, etc.)



Preference Night (Day Four):

Preference Night is a very important night in recruitment. This night is one you have to be invited to by a sorority. Once you get an invitation, you can either attend the event(s) or decide not to go. All of the events are slightly secretive and very special to the sorority. Tonight is the night that you typically decide which sorority you want to be a part of forever.



Bid Day (Day Five):

Bid Day is my personal favorite. It's such a fun and exciting time! New girls stand in line and get their name called and the sorority that extended them a bid is announced. There are sororities screaming and cheering for their new girls, so excited to have them a part of their sisterhood. Gifts are given to the new members (t-shirts, candy, and homemade crafts) to officially welcome them and hugs are thrown everywhere. Today is a memorable day for any sorority girl and it's such an amazing feeling to go through it and watch others go through it as well.


Hope you all have a great week and learned a little bit about recruitment week from this post!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

What's Happening Wednesday: Fraternity Recruitment Week

(Borrowed image from here.)

Hey, Mounties! Please excuse the tardiness of this week's What's Happening Wednesday. This week, Greeks are hosting their recruitment events, so I've been all around campus trying to cover whatever so I can share it with you!

I wanted to feature the fraternities at Mansfield this week because even though the media sometimes gives Greeks a bad reputation, we do work hard in many different ways, for many different reasons (no...this doesn't mean partying). Hopefully, at the end of this post, you'll be able to see the fraternities at Mansfield in a whole new light and if you're interested, make sure you check them out!


First up, we have Alpha Kappa Lambda (AKL). When I showed up to AKL's game night in Oak's Multipurpose room, they were all very welcoming and seemed to be having a ton of fun. When I think of AKL, I think of community service and philanthropy. I have never seen any organization work as hard for community service as these guys do. Other than community service, they're all just genuinely nice guys that work hard and make Mansfield a better place. Oh, and if you couldn't tell by the picture, AKL isn't afraid to have fun and be goofy sometimes! 


Next up, here's Phi Sigma Kappa (Phi Sig). When I was walking up to Phi Sig's porch, I came across the smell of someone grilling up some grub. Walking in, I instantly felt relaxed. It's pretty easy to feel that way around Phi Sig because they don't try too hard. Their event was basically chowing down on some burgers and chilling out, which makes it easy to feel at home. Also, these guys are always very involved in their philanthropy (which is the same as my sorority's), the Special Olympics. During the fall semester, my sorority (Alpha Sigma Alpha) and Phi Sig get together to help the Special Olympics with bowling and during the spring semester, swimming. 


Last, but certainly not least, there's Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE). These guys played dodgeball for one of their events, which doesn't surprise me because they like to get competitive and have fun. Out of all of the fraternities, I'm probably the closest to SAE. They were the first fraternity I really got to know at Mansfield and I've developed friendships and memories with them that I'll never forget. Whether it's hanging out with them during Relay for Life or just seeing them on campus and stopping to chat, they're always a blast to be around. What I like the most about SAE is they're completely trustworthy. That statement doesn't mean that the others aren't trustworthy, but I just know most of the guys on a personal level and honestly can't say a bad thing about them, even if I tried.

Hope you all enjoyed getting to know the fraternities a little bit! I'm really glad I got to know all of them and honestly think they make Mansfield a better place.

Have a good rest of your week and make sure to check back on Friday to get an inside look on the five days of sorority recruitment!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Mountie Monday: Kelsie Harman Becomes a Published Author


Mountie Monday is a weekly feature that spotlights current students (AKA Mounties) utilizing their time at Mansfield University  to the best of their ability. Mounties are hard-working in so many different ways and Mountie Monday is a way to show off what is possible at Mansfield... which is pretty much anything.

Happy Monday, Mounties! 

For this week's Mountie Monday, I decided to feature someone that has some pretty impressive news under her belt. Kelsie Harman is a soon-to-be published author. It's crazy enough that a student at Mansfield is getting a book published but what's even crazier... she's only a sophomore!

Kelsie spent the summer writing and querying agents since you typically need an agent to land a contract with the well-known publishing companies. After getting frustrated and discouraged from the slow moving process, Kelsie decided to check out some independent (indie) publishers. 

After submitting some work to some indie publishing companies, Kelsie received an email from Crescent Moon Press asking for her full manuscript. As time went on, they offered her a contract on Thanksgiving, which was extremely exciting for her and her family. Kelsie recently started working with an editor and chatting with other authors from the same company, who have all been extremely supportive.

About the book:

Finn, finds out she is a genie and sort of takes things into her own hands to find her lamp. In a way, she has been rehabilitated into a world where all these magical things exist, so she depends on a lot of other people, namely the Grim Reaper, to help her navigate the new territory. As she learns more about where she came from, she learns, just like a lot of people in similar situations, that magic definitely comes with a price.






Name: Kelsie Harman

Year: Sophomore

Major: Sports Nutrition but switching to English with a Creative Writing minor

Hometown: York, PA

Organization(s): Zeta Tau Alpha (Academic Achievement Chairman

What made you choose Mansfield?

Kelsie: I originally chose Mansfield because they have a sport's nutrition major and a creative writing minor, which was very important to me. When I visited the campus, I just sort of fell in love with it.

Who's your favorite professor or what's your favorite class?

Kelsie: Ms. Clark, who taught my food science class. She's so personable and passionate about what she does, it's very hard to be in a bad mood during her class. I learned so much about how different aspects of food resulted in the final product and how all the processed food gets to us today. I really feel like it's
information everyone should be exposed to. It's pretty eye opening once you know what you're putting in your mouth.

What's your favorite event at Mansfield? 

Kelsie: I love Greek Week. We all work so hard in school, the community, and for our respective philanthropies, so it's nice to have something just for us. It definitely helps promote sisterhood in ZTA as well as good relations with the rest of Greek Life. I'm not one for sports, but utilizing different strengths in the different  competitions is one of the things I love about it.

What's one of your favorite memories from Mansfield?

Kelsie: I think it was the second week of my freshman year. It had been raining all day, and I was in my dorm studying. All of a sudden my RA just burst in my room yelling at me to go mud sliding. My entire floor went behind Kelchner, basically in the middle of the night, and after I went right back to studying. I just remember thinking, okay, this is college, this is what happens. One minute you're studying, the next you're up to your arm pits in mud without really knowing how it happened. That was the beginning of what I love about being at Mansfield; the spontaneity. You never know what's coming next.

Do you have any tips for for future writers?

Kelsie: My biggest is always, always, always believe in your ability and your story, because chances are, at one point or another no one else is going to... and who is left to defend it if not you? So many writers have gone through mountains of rejection. Actually, it's kind of really weird not to. You'd be a kind of anomaly in the writing world if you didn't. Don't let one bad review deter you, it's all part of the process. In general,     trust your instincts; you have them for a reason. Don't take the advice if you feel it's detrimental to the story. It's okay to push back once in awhile. Half the job is getting other people's voices out of your head long enough to let your story take you where you need to go, and I honestly believe that it will.

If you think you know someone (even if it's yourself!) that would be a good fit for Mountie Monday, please send an email to themountieguide@gmail.com with the (1.) student's name, (2.) contact information, and (3.) reasons why they should be featured on Mountie Monday. 

Friday, January 24, 2014

Friday Five: Five Fun Ways to Spruce up Your Dorm


Happy Friday, Mounties! I hope you all had a great first week of school and enjoyed your classes as much as I enjoyed mine. For the first Friday Five post, I thought it'd be fun to feature one of the new dorm rooms in Spruce Residence Hall and show some ideas on how to "spruce" up your dorm room. 

Erica Henry, freshman, was lovely enough to let me take pictures of her dorm and I have to say, hands down one of the cutest dorms I've seen in person. Take these pictures with a grain of salt because they definitely don't do her room the justice it deserves.

FYI: The titles of the items below are linked to a website where you can find the exact item or something similar. 



This shelf was the first thing I noticed when I walked into Erica's room. I can imagine that no matter where you decide to attend college, dorms will typically be a smaller size than your room at home. Space is hard to come by in a dorm room and this shelf barely takes up any and stores quite a bit of stuff. Unless you selected one of the suites in Spruce, your bed will normally act as not only a bed but your couch as well. With not having a ton of room for a nightstand, this shelf serves as one and has a few other bonuses (cup holder, holds 180 lbs, easy assembly). 

The Dorm Space Saver is unfortunately sold out online from Bed Bath & Beyond, so you'll have to go the actual store and see if they have any in stock or search for a similar product online.



These wall decals added a special touch to the room! A lot of the dorm rooms I've seen have white walls, which is practical because not everyone can live in a space that's painted neon green or fuchsia, but white can make the room look boring. Mostly everything in Erica's room is either black, white, or purple, so these decals not only added something special, but they turned the walls into something else that matched that color scheme. 

These wall decals are from Kmart and are only $13.99. They have others on their website but I've seen wall decals everywhere (online and in stores) so they're cheap, easy to find, and easily help to spruce up a dorm.




I know this item might be aimed more towards the female demographic but I couldn't not mention it. Some girls, like myself, have a lot of jewelry. Jewelry takes up space... which we don't have a lot of in dorms. It doesn't have to, though. I have a jewelry tree myself and it holds so, so much. Not only does it store a lot of your jewelry, it's an added decoration! 

I couldn't find the jewelry tree in silver online but I did find black and white which I think adds the same touch.



These shelves are tall, take up very little space, and hold a lot of clothes, shoes, etc. They go with the black, white, and purple color scheme that Erica has in her room and as you can see, can be used to hang stuff over as well. Even though I don't live in a dorm anymore, I'm seriously considering getting some of these shelves when I graduate to put in an apartment.

I couldn't find the exact shelves Erica has but there are similar sets in different colors that you can find online.


Matching bathroom:

Even though this last picture isn't one single item, it's still a cheap and great way to spruce up your dorm. Instead of using the white shower curtain that is provided for you when you move into Spruce, invest in a shower curtain to match your rug and towels. It pulls a very boring, white room into a fun and aesthetically pleasing bathroom.

I personally suggest looking on Target.com because you can sort the shower curtains by color which makes it incredibly easy to match other bathroom accessories to it.

I hope you found these items and tips helpful! Feel free to share any items or tips you have for how to spruce up a dorm room in the comments below. Enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

What's Happening Wednesday: Mounties Take on Spruce Residence Hall


Happy Hump-Day, Mounties! Hope you're all having a great first week! 

If some of you haven't heard (which I'm sure you did) Spruce Residence Hall finally opened up its doors this week so Mounties can move in. After waiting patiently last semester for these luxury dorms to open, on January 18, Mounties finally started migrating down the hill from Laurel and Maple and settled in. Since I don't live on campus and the security is pretty tight, I was lucky enough to have a few friends show me around the residence hall so I can let everyone else that hasn't seen it sneak a few peeks.

(Karl Szymanski braving the chilly weather to finish moving into Spruce)

Now I'm not saying the older dorms like Maple and Laurel are bad, because they definitely weren't! I spent 2 years in the older dorms and gained some of the best memories from Mansfield in there. But these new dorms... they really are luxurious, just as promised. 

"One of the things I'm most excited for is to only share a bathroom with my roommate and not a whole floor," said Karl Szymanski, freshman. 

While I can imagine how excited I would be as a freshman to move into these dorms, I have to say that sharing a bathroom with a whole floor had its perks! It gave us a reason to interact with other residents on our floor because we'd run into them when we were brushing our teeth, washing our face, etc. However, I doubt the residents of Spruce will have any issues with interaction when there are so many cool features in their new dorm!

(Multi-Purpose Room)

One of the best features (in my opinion) in Spruce is the Multi-Purpose Room. The Multi-Purpose room is this huge room with tons of couches and chairs and two touch screen TVs. I know you might be thinking how hard it might be to hear if there are two TVs so close to each other, but there's a divider to separate the one large room into two smaller (but still pretty large) rooms.

(Kitchen)

(Dining area in Kitchen)

While I can usually always go for a BBQ Chicken Wrap from Jazzman's or Fear Fries from Lower Manser, the student heart typically craves recipes from home and that shouldn't be a problem when you have a brand new kitchen like the one above. Also, whether or not you're used to eating dinner with the TV on, you have the option for it in Spruce which I thought was pretty convenient.

(Recreation Room)

The last main floor room I'm going to show is the Recreation Room. The older dorms had something like this... but not really. The old dorms had a chilled out space that was easy to hang out in but these new rooms are pretty large and sweet. There's tons of seating, so if you're not playing pool you can chill out in the same area to watch or you can just pay attention to the TV.  

I'm so jealous that Mansfield made all of these changes right when I'm about to graduate! I have to admit though, I'm pretty stoked for the fellow (younger) Mounties that get to experience these dorms and make tons of new memories in them. These are supposed to be the best years of our life after all (or so they say).

Keep up the hard work with classes and make sure to check back on Friday to find out Five Fun Ways to Spruce up Your Dorm!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Mountie Monday: Kelsey Kaufmann Takes on NYC with VH1 Internship


Mountie Monday is a weekly feature that spotlights current students (AKA Mounties) utilizing their time at Mansfield University  to the best of their ability. Mounties are hard-working in so many different ways and Mountie Monday is a way to show off what is possible at Mansfield... which is pretty much anything.



For the first ever post of The Mountie Guide, I really wanted to capture the reader's attention with a crazy, awesome Mountie Monday post. Who would make for a better Mountie Monday than a current student that's interning in New York City for VH1

Just last semester, Kelsey Kaufmann had been looking for an internship with a major TV company and knew she wanted to escape her comfort zone of Mansfield and conquer a bigger city. After talking with her academic adviser about potential internship possibilities, he took it upon himself to contact one of Mansfield's alumni that has worked with both VH1 and MTV.

After Kelsey's adviser told her to get in contact with the alumni, she sent him her resume and crossed her fingers, hoping for the best outcome possible. Kelsey made sure to keep in contact with the alumni, even if she was unsure of the outcome, just to make sure she was staying up to date with any important information. 

After a few weeks, Kelsey started receiving emails from Viacom's (owns VH1 and MTV) human resource department about interviews and the next steps towards getting this internship. After some nervous but casual interviews, Kelsey received a thrilling email that told her VH1 was offering her an internship in New York City for the Spring 2014 semester.

Kelsey started her internship today with VH1's entertainment news department where she will get to help with interviews and news segments. She's extremely excited and hopes to be able to sit in on some exciting interviews, news segments, and gain a better knowledge of the TV world. 

Good luck, Kelsey! Make Mansfield proud!




Name: Kelsey Kaufmann

Year: Senior

Major: Mass Communication with a concentration in Broadcast and Journalism

Hometown: Tioga, PA

Organization(s): MUTV (positions held: main news anchor, script writer, president)


What made you choose Mansfield?

Kelsey: I chose Mansfield for a few reasons.  I was nervous to leave home and go far away after college because my Dad had passed away during my junior year and I couldn't imagine being far away from my Mom, and Tioga is only about 15 minutes away so I knew I would be close to her.  I also knew a lot of people that went to Mansfield because I would come up my senior year and hang out with them. Mansfield also gave me the ability to go in undeclared (which I did) and let me figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I liked the small class sizes and many people told me that you could create good relationships with professors so I really liked that.

Who's your favorite professor or class?

Kelsey: I think my favorite professor would have to be Dr. Lucas, even though she isn't here anymore.  She was one teacher that really sat down with me and would help me out step by step with things.  I'm sure other teachers would do the same but she really took time out of her schedule to let her students know that she wanted them to succeed.  I only had Communication Theory with her but my experience in that class was amazing because she was such a phenomenal teacher.  She taught in a way that was simple and easy to understand.  She was easy to make jokes with but at the same time she was stern so you knew not to slack off.  I have also had side conversations with Dr. Lucas where she would pull me aside and talk to me about MUTV and let me know that she thought I was doing a great job and she would give me advice on other things in my life.  She was more than just a professor, that's for sure!

What's your favorite event at Mansfield?

Kelsey: Can I say Com (Communication) Day? Is that being biased? Other than that, I would have to say Homecoming with the football game.  The whole weekend is well put together and it gives students a lot to do.  There is the parade, the football game, and most likely a dance at The Hut.  The football especially brings people together.  

What's one of your favorite memories from Mansfield?

Kelsey: This is kind of a long shot but my favorite memory would have to be being a part of the Communications department and being so involved.  I don't know if that is one memory. I mean, there are a lot of different memories I have with the department but a lot of my best memories are with the department.  Com Day, going to New York City, my classes, the friendships I have made.  Being in the Com department has led me to making great friends that I probably wouldn't have made before and having great connections with professors and alumni.  When you care so much about your department it allows you to really enhance your college experience.  Without the department I wouldn't have been able to make half of the memories I have made.

Do you have any tips for freshmen?

Kelsey: GET INVOLVED!!!  You aren't going to make any friends sitting in your room playing Xbox all day. You can only learn so much in the classroom and by getting involved you really expand your knowledge on so many levels.  Whether its an organization in your department, SGA (Student Government Association), or just something you have an interest for. It is so important to get involved.  When you graduate you want to be able to look back and be like "Yeah, I did something fulfilling and important during my time in school.  I didn't just go to class and meet the bare minimum, I went above and beyond and pushed myself."  Getting involved is my biggest tip!  Also, go to class! Stay organized, and at the end of the day, have fun, meet new people, and try new things.  College could be the best years of your life... you just have to make it worth it.


If you think you know someone (even if it's yourself!) that would be a good fit for Mountie Monday, please send an email to themountieguide@gmail.com with the (1.) student's name, (2.) contact information, and (3.) reasons why they should be featured on Mountie Monday.