SE Speaks

The lazy days of Winter Break are over, so now everyone is trying to re-adjust to their school schedules, plus any extracurricular work we have, too.  For example, I found out recently that I am going to be planning and organizing the events for this year’s Springfest, which is an annual tradition here at Southeastern full of really fun and exciting competitions and games in which any SE student may participate.

Originally, Springfest was an event held during finals week.  The idea was that playing games with your fellow students would relieve stress during what would normally be a tense week for college students.  However, because of the popularity and competitive nature of events like Mud Volleyball, Springfest was actually consuming a lot of students’ time during finals, which would actually cause them to study less and stress-out more.

Now, our SE Student Senate designs and hosts Springfest usually in late March or April, and our participation is huge.  Last year there was somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen or twenty teams, each with five to eight members, all vying for the coveted Sweepstakes Trophy.  Last year’s events included games like the Kickball and Mud Volleyball tournaments, as well as a very muddy obstacle course.

This year, we plan to bring lots of new events into the mix, like Ultimate Frisbee.  I am also currently experimenting with this stuff called Oobleck, which is basically a cornstarch and water mixture that is a liquid unless you apply force to it, in which case it behaves like a solid (this means you can walk across a pool full of it if you go fast enough.  Check it out on YouTube).

I don’t have any doubts that this year’s Springfest is going to excellent, and although I may have my work cut-out for me this semester, I’m still genuinely excited for Springfest Week to start.

Jerreck Uncategorized

Don’t expect to be bored to often in college, there’s always something going on. Lately, a lot of my time has been devoted to community service with Honors and Southeastern. We’ve helped organize clothes at a local resale store, painted buildings around town with the Durant Main Street program, run a food drive for families feeding families, and refurbished some of the flowerbeds here on campus with new flowers and mulch.

But even though I’ve been hard at work, it’s still been a lot of fun. I think Honors students have this innate ability to turn everything we do into a game. For example, painting a wall turned into painting each other. We even have a game we play where if you think about the game, you lose THE GAME (if you’re an honors student and you’re reading this, you have just lost the game).

Ha, but now I’m rambling, I should stop before someone calls shenanigan on me. Till next time

Jerreck Uncategorized

Honors Students are not nerds; they are leaders. You might have heard of the stereotype of Honors Students as the bookworms hiding out in the basement of the library, studying day and night with no social life. You might have even received a similar label from your peers in high school. First-hand experience as an active SE Honors Program member has taught me that Honors Students put these stereotypes to shame by being some of the most active, personable and successful student leaders at Southeastern.

When I was applying to Honors my senior year of high school, I was a little hesitant about joining because of these typecasts. But after meeting my future classmates at Honors Day, and receiving my acceptance letter with my scholarship amount, I could not wait to start my freshman year of college.

Once the school year finally came, and I moved into my new residence hall, I was introduced to the exciting and excellent opportunities available to students in the Southeastern Honors Program. The residence halls, although at first a little unfamiliar, quickly became a second home because of their close proximity to my classes and fellow Honors students: many of whom I know consider family here at Southeastern. But one of the sweetest parts about being in Honors is getting to take Honors classes.

Honors classes provide engaging class sessions and coursework that challenge your critical thinking, self-disciplinary, self-expression, and teamwork abilities. This coupled with the fact that you essentially take Honors classes with people who will become your best friends, ensures that studying in the Honors Program will be a very rewarding learning experience.

Apart from friends and classes, the leadership opportunities provided by Honors are unmatched. The Honors Program encourages its students to take an active role in campus leadership by making opportunities to meet upper classmen easy and enjoyable. Many Honors students who are on campus are often active in at least two or three other organizations such as the Residence Hall Association, Student Government Association, and Greek Organizations.

As I have said my testimony is one of first-hand experience, and not just a bunch of whitewash. For example, during the fall semester of my freshman year, I was nominated by Honors to run for Big Man on Campus for Homecoming (a traditional title similar to Homecoming King and Queen), which I later won with the help of my friends and through self-disciplinary skills I learned in my Honors College Success class. I later became a student senator in SGA as a freshman, and played a dynamic role in the Honors Advisory Council along with many of my Honors Program friends.

Now in my second year of college as an Honors student, I am the Financial Director of SGA, the Vice President of HAC, and I am also nominated to be one of last year’s Top Ten Freshmen. I attribute my success to being an active member of the Honors Program, and taking part in the many leadership opportunities while living on campus here at Southeastern. Nothing you could offer me would be as valuable as the time I have spent here at the campus of 1,000 magnolias.

Jerreck Uncategorized