This morning we were suppose to have our dorm competition called Rymer Cup. It’s when all the halls in Maclellen dorm pair up with their brother/sister halls for a big field day filled with crazy relay races. As excited as my roommates and I were about going to competition we were all a bit relieved when we woke up to the pitter patter of rain. Most mornings we would have probably complained at the fact we would have yet another day of rain, this morning we invited the rain. You see, we had stayed up way too late talking about life the night before and the thought of pulling ourselves out of bed presented a challenge far bigger then we could tackle on a Saturday morning. We enjoyed a few more minutes of slumber before phones started going off with text messages and people calling telling us to hurry and get ready because the games were on! So we painfully pulled ourselves out of bed and rushed to throw some cloths on and run down to meet everyone. When we got downstairs we were informed that because of lightening the games were in fact canceled. After all that though we couldn’t just go back to bed now, so we decided to go with our brother hall to play out in the rain.

We went out to the intramural field and played freeze tag, capture the flag, and had puddle sliding contests. It was hilarious, it was so hard to play running games because as soon as you would try and stop yourself you would slip and slid all over the grass. After we were drenched, cold, and bruised and battered we decided to go and grab something to eat and something hot to drink. In case I haven’t said it before, I just love our brother hall!

After a fun morning in the rain us girls sat and had girl talk and then curled up to watch an afternoon movie. Boy, I love days like today. I am now sitting at the Starbucks on the mountain. I’m am determined not to let the gloomy rain get to me. This year my theme has been, “Embrace it…embrace life, embrace those crazy red shoes, embrace the rain.” So that is what I’m doing, I’m embracing those raindrops as they drop on my nose and toes.

Oh yes another Covenant music event. This was the first ever Music Through The Decades. It was held in the chapel and they had the whole stage set up concert style. They started playing songs from the 50’s and ended with songs we hear on the radio today. Artists such as Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Elvis, and Kelly Clarkson all graced Covenant’s stage. Again Covenant’s musical talented astounded me. From the students who played the violin, cello, trumpet, piano, guitar, and the students who sang. Many of them doing amazing replicas of the original songs. The audience was dancing, clapping, and singing along to their favorite songs. It was another successful music event! :)

Remember these guys?

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I have told you about Covenant’s many opportunities for students to share their talents, especially their musical talents. Throughout school year Covenant has many events for the best to show off their skills…this year Covenant started a new tradition. Last night was the first annual CRAP talent show. Instead of the night being filled with wonderful musical numbers, beautiful melodies and the like, it was filled with students just getting to do what they wanted no matter how silly it may have been. There were still impressing music acts and some great poetry reading…but then there was the song about a kid having his velcro shoes taken away, the beep boxing, and the somersault routine. It was a lot of fun and the crowd got a lot of laughs. I’m going to try and put the link on for the third place winners. It was a crazy ridiculous act, and pretty awesome! CRAP 3rd Place

Last night I went with a group of friends to watch the Covenant production of “The Importance of Being Earnest”. It was hilarious! I am one who always enjoys a good play, but I think that this production would have converted even the most pessimistic play critic to optimism in the arts. I was impressed with the talent and ability: not only was it acted by students but the play director was a senior and the play was the product of her senior project. And I hope she gets an A because the whole audience left ranting and raving about how good it was. Although Covenant does not have a specific Theatre major, many students major in English with a concentration in theatre. I also have one friend who is highly interested in theatre and therefore has been taking classes down at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, which is a college about 15 minutes from the school, so that she can graduate with a theatre degree. Covenant has several plays during the school year and one large musical in the spring, which I have talked about in previous blogs. If you are interested in theatre you should definitely check out the link on Covenant’s website to help you understand more of what Covenant offers, http://www.covenant.edu/academics/undergrad/theatre.

Every year I look forward to the spring musical here at Covenant. Students and faculty have been working on the play since last fall and these past to weekends it has finally been in production. This year’s musical was Guys and Dolls. The actors were great, the actresses were great, and the singing was superb. Once again I sat in awe listening and watching the talent we have here at Covenant. The entire play kept me laughing or enthralled with the singing. Another thing I love about our musicals is that not only is it a chance for those student’s talented in vocals to perform but also our orchestra. The orchestra really made the play. If any of you are talented in singing or acting I would encourage any of you to try out for the spring musical, it is always just amazing!

One of my most interesting classes I’m taking this semester is Teaching in a Pluralistic Society. We are learning how to teach a classroom filled with all sorts of cultures, races, backgrounds, etc. I went into the class thinking I pretty much knew everything. I had heard about the discrimination of Irish, blacks, women, etc. I soon found out though, that knowing these events and knowing how to teach students in light of these events are two completely different things. I always thought that race and culture were things best not to be addressed in the classroom, however Teaching in a Pluralistic Society has proved to me quite the opposite is best for classroom teaching. It is our responsibility as teachers to view each and every child as children ALL created in the image of Christ and therefore they must be shown love for that very reason. Race is something to be valued, appreciated, and noticed because it was a creation of God.

Today we went to a school that would put us, being white individuals, in the minority. As I observed the classroom I was in, I tried to soak in as many of the teacher’s methods as I could. They had been learning about Africa and had had a guest speaker who came in for three days to teach them about African music and dancing. The kids loved the lesson and it really seemed to catch their interest. In this classroom the white teacher, who was the only white in the classroom, was not afraid to talk about race. Because of her ability to talk about race she was able to love the students for who God had created them to be.

What a class though! Teaching in a Pluralistic Society has definitely been a challenging class. It has asked me the hard questions. However, through it’s challenges it has taught me better how love my students better through my teaching.

Campus Preview Weekend, although exhausting, is so much fun. I love getting to meet people from all over the world that are interested in Covenant. I usually spend the weekend standing behind the desk checking people in, but my favorite thing to do is walking student to their rooms and giving tours because this gives me a couple of minutes to get to know them.

I met a lady from England, she and her daughter flew over to America to visit Christian schools because in England she said that the only Christian colleges they have are seminary schools. I met another girl form Little Rock, Arkansas! It was fun having a girl from home coming to visit. Then there were all the students that I contact in admissions, which I actually got to meet in person. It means so much more to get to put faces to the phone calls I have.

I just want to encourage everyone that if you haven’t already come up for a Campus Preview Weekend or even if you have, come up again! It really is a great way to start meeting people here at Covenant, as well as teachers and administration. Covenant loves being personal, and Campus Preview Weekend is just one of the ways we do this. Our next Campus Preview Weekend is in the beginning of October, so don’t forget to sign up!

Yes, it’s that time of year. The time of year when flowers begin to bloom, birds begin to sing their songs, and it’s time for spring banquet once again. Spring banquet is the perfect mixture of everything that’s good. The banquet is at The Hunter’s Museum here in Chattanooga, it’s a great setting. We walk into the museum to a live jazz band playing all of my most favorite songs. We quickly got into line for the food. And boy am I glad we did, the food was just amazing:  stuffed mushrooms, hummus, shrimp, and much more. We went out on the patio overlooking Chattanooga to eat. It was a beautiful night. By this time some couples had started dancing with the jazz band, one of my favorite sights in the world are people swing dancing. My date and I watched them from the upper floor where desert was. We just couldn’t resist the chocolate covered strawberries and other yummy deserts.

After our bellies were satisfied we went out to the 2nd dance party being held on one of the outside patios. This was where my date and I parted ways for a bit so that we could have some fun dancing time with our friends. Oh, yes nothing is better than a group of me and my closest girlfriends making fools of ourselves dancing to ridiculous songs. I just love it. I was stolen away for one or two fun dances with my date too though. It was a blast. We then spent the last of the night walking around the gallery. Honestly guys I don’t know what a better night would entail, I think spring banquet is one of the best times of the year. So now I don’t only look forward to the songs of the birds or the greetings of the spring flowers but that time of year when spring banquet comes around.

Covenant Culture Fest is a relatively new tradition some students here have started. It’s a night in which Covenant students that come from all over the world put on a show representing their homeland. We had student’s who grew up in Ireland singing bluegrass songs, we had student’s who grew up in Africa singing African Queen, and many other acts. I guess I forget how many students who go to Covenant are actually diverse. We had students representing Kenya, Uganda, China, France, Mexico, Israel, Scotland, and many more. Along with the show was a style show where students showed off their traditional homeland outfits. After the show, a feast had been prepared of dishes from all over the world. What a great night for Covenant to unite and enjoy the people God has brought together!

Tonight was Catacomb’s Folk Festival. This is a night in which students sign up to perform talent acts. Students do anything from poetry reading to musical renditions. Some students play pieces that they’ve written themselves, others play classics that everyone enjoys to hear, and then there are those that give us a break from the music to recite beautiful pieces. It is a wide range of just plain, good entertainment. The night starts early in the evening and ends early in the morning. This year the last act didn’t end until 3:30. My favorite thing about the festival is that it’s held in the art barn, a room far to small to hold all the audience. So we are all squeezed in, and as we sit real close to each other we enjoy performer after performer. People come and go as they please…I usually have to drag myself from the acts; the performances are just so good.

I know I’ve said this before, but again I am just in awe with the talent we have here at Covenant. Now I know that a lot of my amazement has to do with the fact that I have very little talent and absolutely NO musical talent what-so-ever, but it sure does make me appreciate nights like this so much. I love the fact that Covenant gives its students so many opportunities to perform their talents and gives people like me chances to just enjoy them. Yes, it was a blissful night.