Tomorrow is graduation for some of us, including myself. I cannot wait to be walking downt the aisle with a lot of my fellow class members! After Inver Hills, I am planning on staying in Minnesota for my education because this is one of the best places to get your education. I am going to the University of Minnesota next fall and I am totally pumped for it! Since Inver Hills and the U of M has the same accredidation, all of my credits should transfer which is nice. I want to become a pediatric oncologist and hopefully cure cancer one day. Inver Hills has changed my life for the better in so many ways! I am now more outspoken and I have grown as a student leader. Thank you Inver Hills for changing me and helping me develop into a better person. Inver Hills is a great place to start your education because it is welcoming and the professors are awesome! Thanks to all of the staff and faculty as well! Without you, Inver Hills wouldn’t be able to keep running!

                                                                             Take care and the best with your future endevours,

                                                                                                Samantha Potter-Rank

Weekly Joke: What do you call a shoe made from a banana?? A slipper!!

    I am sure that many of you feel the same way when I say that this week has been CRAZY!! This week I wanted to talk about the different opportunites that I have had since I got involved in Student Life on campus. If you have never even walked into Student Life, GO IN THERE! I got involved in Student Sentate here on campus and that has given me so many unbelievable opportunities. I became Vice President of Student Senate and I got closer to the campus as a whole. I also became this past year’s regional representative and I met people from all walks of life. I also had the opportunity to go and testify at the House of Representatives and the Senate about issues facing students. I even got some of their official business cards and they said I could call them anytime! I have also met life changing friends that have influenced me for the better.

    I also got involved in Omni Thinkers which gave me the chance to be a President of a club. If you have never been a President of something, that is SO hard! I loved the challenge though! As well as joining Omni Thinkers Debate Club, I joined the Gay-Straight Alliance, which gave me the opportunity to be the Treasurer of an organization. It was cool to be able to help manage a clubs budget.

   By getting invloved in many different things at Inver, I had the opportunity to get a couple on campus jobs which helped a lot. In this day and age, IT’S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW!! Also, by getting involved, I developed a competitive edge when applying to schools and I got into my dream school, the University of Minnesota. Inver has done so many things for me and it has opened so many doors of opportunities.

                                                                           Take care,

                                                                              Samantha Potter-Rank

Weekly joke: Where did the kittens go on their field trip? The meow-seum.

So I wanted to talk about scholarships and get the word out about how great they are and how not enough people choose to utilize them. Currently there are over THIRTY scholarships offered at  IHCC. I can say it was not until my active involvement in school that I knew about all the scholarships that are offered. I  recently applied for a scholarship through the MSCSA (Minnesota State College Student Association) which I am waiting to hear back about. The scholarship I applied for is the Leadership Scholarship which I learned about through my active involvement in Student Senate and is a scholarship offered through the MSCSA which I also actively participate in as nexts years regional secretary.  I am still waiting to hear a response but if I receive the scholarship I will be greatly honored. So when I was applying for this scholarship I started to think about all of the scholarships offered through IHCC and how not many people know about them.  I guess it is something that just isn’t talked about enough on campus so I wanted to spread the word and let everyone know about them and how many of them there are. Maybe one might not be for you but the next may be. With many varieties of scholarships offered through IHCC  I am sure there is at least one that could fit your criteria.  I have chosen two myself that fit my needs that I will be looking into further. I encourage all of you to take a look at the different scholarships offered at IHCC and maybe you too will decide to apply.  Here is the link to  the scholarship page http://www.inverhills.edu/Foundation/index.aspx check it out it may be for you!

Toodles,

Margo Hollen

As the semester ends and finals approach stress is filing the air at IHCC but sadness also lingers within. The past few weeks  have not only been stressful with finals fastly approaching,  I have found myself feeling sad that a lot of my close friends are leaving and moving on. It is hard to stay focused and positive with a lump in the back of your throat. Over the past year I have found myself involved in many activities and clubs on campus. Being so active has led me to many great friendships, friendships that are still so new to me but also valued in great ways. I could have not pictured my life this way two years ago, I was nowhere near thinking of going to college nor did I have many friends I valued and cherish. It was like a dream for me when I began to surround myself with positive people and positive things started occurring in my life. People began to recognize me and listen to me and value what I had to say, this was new and foreign to me no one ever took me serious or cared what I had to say before I grew so close to so many great people.  So now with the semester nearing the end I find myself to be sad and wishing that I had longer with my friends however, I am very happy and excited for all of them to start the new chapter in their lives as I start mine. I know we will all stay in touch and never forget one another however, I want them all to know I cherish them deeply and thank them for being my friend and changing my world.  To all my great friends I thank you and love you!

Until later……

Margo Hollen : )

My life has felt so horribly busy lately that I’m finding it harder and harder to “pencil in” time to relax. With finals and graduation right around the corner and along with that, Student Senate drawing to a close before finals start, homework, quizzes and tests seem to take up the majority of my time. But that’s ok because to paraphrase the Inver Hills motto, I want to finish what I started at IHCC and have my Associate of Arts degree completed this summer before I move down to Mankato, MN where I will be attending Mankato State University in the fall!

There has been a few times where I have been able to relax throughout the day though. When I’m managing my old adapted softball team, the Dakota Hawks I am in a completely different mindset. I try my hardest not to think about how I did on that math test or whether or not I got a good grade on one of my papers for my film studies class. When I’m at one of the practices, I’m just thinking about how I can help out the team the best way I can. I’m trying to be there as much as I can for the Hawks this spring, as this will be the last time that I will be able to help out and manage before Mankato. Although I will miss everyone who I’ve met and connected with through playing on and managing the Hawks over the years, I want them to know that the Hawks is one of the many reasons why I am pursuing a career in Special Education They have their first regular season game today so I hope it goes well

Another time that I got the chance to relax and/or have some fun was last weekend when I accompained the Student Senate to Breezy Point Resort in Brainerd, MN for MSCSA’s General Assembly. It was amazing to be able to see all of my friends from around the state and it was even more amazing to see how much Inver Hills students were recognized and/or appointed to different positions within MSCSA I was very proud of everyone! Our current Student Senate President, Alex Rodich got voted as next year’s Treasuer of MSCSA and for the second year in a row, the Metro South Governing Council member is from IHCC (Doug Hollen). Congratulations to Alex and Doug I know you will represent Inver and MSCSA well in your new leadership roles

Lastly, another shout out to fellow bloggers, Sam Potter Rank and Margo Hollen! Congratulations to Sam on receiving the Governing Council Member of the Year Award and Margo Hollen for being appointed as next year’s Metro South Regional Secretary Congratulations, Sam and Margo I am very proud of you and love you both very much

So bottom line: I am appreciating now more than ever the times that I have to relax and I cannot WAIT for May 12th so I can finally graduate
Alright. Time to end this blog so I can gear up for adapted softball! GO HAWKS
Until next time (or tomorrow, because I’ll probably do another blog since I’ve been forgetting about blogging for the past few weeks)
Ashley Hartle a.k.a “ash”

   So this past weekend was AMAZING!! I went up with a 15 other people from Inver Hills to Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minnesota. We went up for a conference called the General Assembly which is put on by the Minnesota State College Student Association (MSCSA). I am a part of the Governing Council which is made up of eleven different members of the association. We are the decision-making board of the association. This past weekend we held elections for everything. There is a Cabinet that runs the association and the positions are President, Vice President, Public Relations Coordinator, and Treasurer. We also held elections for two Student-at-Large positions. The Student-at-Large positions are the voice of students who are the minority. I don’t mean minority by only race, gender, religion, etc. but more by your opinion. If everybody says yes to something but you disagree, you would talk to your Student-at-Large representative and they would be the voting voice for you. We also had elections for regional positions. Inver Hills is apart of the Metro South Region, which I am currently the Governing Council Representative. There is the Governing Council Representative position and Alternate, Platform Committee and Alternate, and the Regional Secretary. The new Governing Council Representative for the Metro South Region is Doug Hollen from Inver Hills Community Colleg and his Alternate is Andrew Gould from South Central College- North Mankato Campus. The new Platform Committee member is Ryan Newbloom from Normandale Community College and his Alternate is Jaycob Martin from Dakota County Technical College. Our new Regional Secretary is Margo Hollen from Inver Hills Community College. Congradulations to all! They will all begin their term on July 1st, 2011 and will end on June 30th, 2012. I won Governing Council Member of the Year award which is exciting as well. Other than that, not much happened over the weekend. I want to say thanks to everyone within the region for a great year! It was an honor to be your Governing Council Representative!

                                                           Thanks,

                                                                 Samantha Potter-Rank

Weekly Joke: How does a pig go to the hospital? In a hambulance!

  I also have been working very hard at math, math is a challenge for me and as the semester nears I am focusing a lot of my attention towards math.  As I just mentioned the semester is reaching the end and stress is filling the air, I am quite sure many of you are also feeling the tension and are working hard at making sure you can achieve a great grade in all of your classes I know I am. 

I also have had some family issues to deal with as well, my daughters have been sick on and off within the past few weeks causing a lot of stress with having to miss school and work to take care of them.  I also got a heartbreaking call from my mother about a week ago telling me that she lost her job, which worries me because she is single with no one in her life but me and I am a poor college student so money is an issue.

One thing I can say is that with the great support and friends I have in my life I also stay positive and know that things will eventually settle down.   Until next time……

                                                                                                                   Margo : )

    So this weekend is a Minnesota State College Student Association (MSCSA) event at a place called Breezy Point Resort in Minnesota. I am so excited for it because I get to see my friends from around the state. There are around 300 people coming, 86 of which are new to the organization. There will be many different things going on such as elections for different positions within the association such as President, Vice President, Public Relations Coordinator, Treasurer, as well as 2 Student at Large positions. We will also be looking at our budget for the next fiscal year and some other documents within the association. One of the best parts, in my biased opinion, is the regional meeting. Minnesota is divided into many regions and Inver Hills is a part of the Metro South Region. I say I am biased because I am the Governing Council Regional Representative for the Metro South. This weekend we will also be electing new Regional Representatives like Governing Council Representatives, Platform Committee Representatives, and Regional Secretaries. I am excited because I am ready to pass on the torch but I am also sad to leave the amazing organization. Other than the business part of it, there is going to be a dance, kareokee, and videogames. We are also on the beach too so it will be awesome!

                                                                                            Take care,

                                                                                                    Samantha Potter-Rank

Weekly Joke: What does a cat like to eat on a warm summer’s day? – A mice cream cone!!

     This past week has been nothing but interesting for me. If any of you don’t know, I am a Post Secondary Enrollment Options, or PSEO, student here at Inver Hills and I will be graduating from here before high school. I was admitted into the University of Minnesota and that is where I plan to study pre-medicine. So here is the bad news: Only 27 of my 63 credits are going to transfer there. I feel like I wasted my last two years of high school when I could have been with my friends. I am currently battling the U of M because someone who completes the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum (or MnTC) and completes their Associate in Arts Degree, all of their credits are accepted into the U of M. I know this because I talked to a few students who did this. I completed the MnTC, Inver Hills graduation requirements, and the U of M’s two year education requirements so why don’t my credits transfer?! Now here comes the good news: I recieved a $14,000 scholarship to the U of M. I figured I would share the bad first because it makes to good seem so much better! Hopefully I will get most of my credits to transfer and have a huge scholarship. Other than that, I have been studying hard and playing hard. I can’t wait for it to get warmer so I can play outside too!

                                                                                                    Until then,

                                                                                                           Samantha Potter-Rank

Weekly joke: What are the strongest days of the week? Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the days are weekdays.

Because I chose to  actively participate in class I was recognized for doing so, and midway through the semester my teacher asked  if I would be interested in a Student Ambassador position at school. I was pleased to be asked but was curious to know what a student Ambassador did so of course I asked.

A Student Ambassador is a work study paid position. One of the  jobs as a ambassador is to give tours of  our campus.The tours can consist of  4 people to 30 people aging from 14 yrs old to 60 plus depending on what kind of tour it is you are giving.  Some tours are given to  middle school and high school kids, well other tours are given to adults showing interest in our campus.During a tour I guide people around the school explaining and showing the different areas on campus and answering any questions asked.

Not only as a Ambassador do I do tours I also help out with events on campus, sometimes by serving food, other times helping to set up events.  Being a Ambassador is great because you get to be actively involved on campus and get to help others.Being a Ambassador also helped me to find other work study positions on campus as well helping me become more involved in other areas too.

Another advantage of being a Student Ambassador was how I got to become familiar with all the clubs on campus, and  I now participate in quite a few of them and love it. So in a nut shell getting involved is a positively great way to feel good about yourself, be successful, make friends, and in my case as a work study make money!  I FEEL ABSOLUTELY GREAT! I LOVE BEING INVOLVED!    : )

Margo Hollen