Merry Christmas... a lil late

Hey all wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, or whichever holiday that you celebrate. Christmas for me was very hectic and busy and my rounds are not quite over. Being from a split family there are so many different holiday parties that are scheduled that my family decided to have theirs on the 23rd instead of either Christmas or Christmas Eve. The entire day was spent with my family playing all of the games that were received underneath the Christmas tree. Apples to Apples Bible edition and Monopoly City, Monopoly City is so completely different that the normal Monopoly game.

Christmas Eve for me was another to Christmas parties. My step mothers family were we did a White Elephant gift exchange where I won CHOCOLATE a girls best friend. After Christmas there we stopped for pizza on our way to Christmas on my mom's side. I spent the Christmas there waiting for my boyfriend to arrive. Yeah he didn't until the party was over but he did end up showing up over at my moms house.

My mom has a two story house and the bedroom I stayed in is on the 2nd story and Joshua slept on the first. Unfortunately for me there are mice on the 2nd story all over in my room. Thanks Mom. Christmas morning I woke up at my Mom's house. Being the bad year that everyone is having she almost had nothing for us underneath the tree. We all knew this and accepted that we'd have nothing to open at her house but wanted to spend the time with her anyway. Some kind man overhearing Mom talk about how she'd have nothing for us gave her a 20 and she was able to get us all one gift each. More than we expected.

From Mom's house I went over to Josh's house to celebrate with his family. Opening gifts there I got from Joshua the most gorgeous cross necklace, amethyst with pink stones at the tips. The first time I saw the necklace I actually gasped. He is way to good for me. Christmas dinner was really good even though Dad spent the time apologizing cause it was to him a cheap dinner. As long as it tastes good I don't care how much it tastes.

The next day I headed over to Josh's mom's place for yet ANOTHER Christmas. This is only the second time that i met her. Not knowing her very well I really had to guess at what to get her and was happy that it was exactly what she was looking for. She ended up getting me a couple of gifts as well. I've never SEEN so much pink as what she gave me. Don't get me wrong pink is one of my favorite colors, everything she gave me was pink, a baby pink. O well.. she tried and I appreciate that more than anything.

I have another Christmas with Josh's family the 3rd and unfortunately I missed Christmas with my Dad's family on Christmas night.

I hope everyone had even half the fun during the holiday season as I did.

Tricia

NU Christmas Cookie

On my way in to school today I could not help but stare out the window into the winter wonder land! The fresh snow looks like frosting on a Christmas cookie, so fresh you can all most taste it on your tongue as you drive by. Before I turned into campus I saw, what I have began to call the NU turkeys. Every day the turkeys are in the same spot doing the same thing. I never thought I would end up going to a school that has turkeys walking around just outside the campus.

Have a bless Holiday!

Mark Thompson

Its the Christmas Season

Its Christmas time as everyone knows. I time of hot chocolate and eggnog, of helping people and being with your family. I came home for break late Friday night and talked on the phone until late Saturday morning. I think I went to bed at about 3 in the morning getting reacquainted with my boyfriend. (Long distance relationships are not my favorite thing, he lives 2 hours away). The next morning I'm woken up at 10:00am. I've been asked to go help an elderly lady move from her house to an apartment just down the street. I didn't know her but apparently my sister did and knew that I would be more than willing to help. I worked for a few hours there and got paid in PIZZA!!!

Sunday I went to church and got to meet up with the church family whom I haven't seen since Thanksgiving. They were getting ready for the holiday program. After church I helped a few of the girls get ready for the performance and than I went over and said hi to all of the volunteers of Heaven Sent at the cyber cafe where they were all having dinner. I ended up picking up the PERFECT gift for Joshua's mom. At 6:00 the Christmas performance went on and it was AMAZING!!

After the Christmas performance my sister and I went Christmas Caroling the with Going Deeper my old youth group. I wasn't the only college student back and out caroling. Despite the younger boys efforts to mess up I think it was with God's help that we sounded absolutely amazing! When we were done caroling we went and had Hot chocolate and treats while playing Partini, followed by some amazing Karaoke. Lets just say the caroling was WAY better than the Karaoke.

I'm looking forward to the holidays to spend it with my family and my boyfriend. Being one of 8 kids I'm sure I'm going to have plenty of stories to tell. I look forward to sharing them. Our Christmas starts Wednesday.

Christmas Party

As a Student Ambassador at Northwood, I was invited to attend the Student Ambassador’s annual Christmas Party. This year was a blast! It was great setting with some of your greatest friends sharing a free meal on the school. I think the best part of the night was game time! It’s the only time of the year when you have a chance to compete against your boss and win in some of the Christmas games! You really start to feel in moments like this is when Northwood becomes more than just a school that you go away to for 4 years but it becomes more like a home. One of the things that I will always take with me from these Christmas party is watching the Dean of Admissions Dan Toland singing and playing on his guitar Blue Christmas. I can only hope that one day I will be able to work for a company that has the same type of atmosphere Northwood has.

This is Dan Toland playing and singing Blue Christmas

Hi all!

This is my first time blogging. My name is Angie Comer and I am a junior ESPM/Marketing major here at NU. I am from Indianapolis, Indiana and I play 2nd base on the softball team. So far, I absolutely love Northwood. I am having such a great time. It is really cool being a part of a team at the collegiate level. For a lot of us, our team is our family since we live out of state and don't get to make it home much. It's nice having some kind of "in" while you're in college. Whether it be a club, organization, or sports, it all helps you get to know people and stay involved.

Until next time,

Angie

Let me take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Jennette and I am a transfer student from GRCC and I am so excited to be Finally here at NU! I am currently on the path towards a dual major in Advertising and Marketing/Management and also a minor in Fashion Marketing Management.

I first found out about Northwood my junior year of high school when I searched on google for a list of all of the schools in Michigan. I knew that I wanted a business degree, but I also wanted to go where I felt I would get a great education in Fashion. I am aspiring to become a talent agent and it was then that I realized that Northwood University was absolutely where I needed to be. I told my dad (who has helped me a great deal in investing in my education) about the school, but when he looked at the cost of tuition, he told me there was simply no way that I would be able to attend here.

I started looking into other schools, including Michigan State University which has a pretty decent program for fashion majors, but it just didn't seem right for me. I attended Grand Rapids Community College to get a few basic classes down while I tried to find a school more in the range of my budget. About a month into classes we had a College Visit day where Northwood had a booth to recruit students. I met with Wynn McDonald (Transfer Coordinator) who explained to me the numerous opportunities for scholarships. I was absolutely astonished by the scholarships that I could receive! If I had known about these my junior year I am sure that I would have been here at NU my freshman year. I transferred to Northwood this past fall and I have loved every minute of it! I am very excited for all of the opportunities here on campus, and also for all of the connections that the school has.

If you are reading this and are worried about how to pay for your tuition, please schedule an appointment with a counselor here, depending on your high school (or college) GPA and your ACT score, you can receive scholarships. You can also receive scholarships for being in DECA or BPA and a few other business related organizations that you probably have at your school!

Best of wishes to all on your holiday break!

~Jennette~

Speed Dating

So my friend decided that it would be fun to participate in the speed dating that was put together by Minority Business Association. I didn't want to go considering I am dating someone myself and I thought it was defeat the purpose of the whole thing. She laughed at me and told me the whole thing was a way for members of Northwood University to get to know one another.
Coming in a little late I ended up just talking to one of the guys. He kept me laughing and joking the entire 5 minutes that we were talking. At the end of each round the man in charge would ask different people to share about what they learned about the other person. All in all it was a very interesting event. Considering I didn't even want to go to it I quite enjoyed myself.

Tricia

President Emeritus, Dr. David Fry was presented with an honorary degree and was the Commencement speaker at the Michigan Campuses ceremony on Saturday

http://www.northwood.edu/media/pressroom/newsarchives/?NewsID=4489

Introduction

Hi!

I would like to introduce myself...my name is Matt, i have just started blogging. I am an international student from England. I play soccer at Northwood and i am the goalkeeper. I major in International Business/Management. I am currently in my Sophomore year and thoroughly enjoying my time so far at NU. The term is nearing to an end and i am getting extremely excited about going home to see all my friends and family back home. Unfortunately i have to take a couple tests before i leave, but thats college i guess. Tonight the soccer team start Winter training. This is the toughest term as most of it is conditioning - i ll benefit in the long run!

Speak soon people!

Matt

Dr. Tim Nash of Northwood University weighs in on the role the Chevorlet Volt will have in GM's future (article link)

Is the Chevy Volt GM's comeback?













Mckenna Long
Admissions Counselor
Northwood University

Resume Tips!

Yahoo News posted a recent article related to building a stronger job resume and mistakes NOT to make!

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/is-your-resume-costing-you-a-dream-job-548550/


Mckenna Long
Admissions Counselor
Northwood University

A New Moon

Howdy!

I had another awesome weekend. I actually went out to the movies to see Twilight, New moon. That was such a great movie; (if you like vampires and wolves). Lol. But I love the concept and the story behind all the action. It was interesting because I went out with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a few months and we had a good conversation about love and fairy tales.

Now I won’t go too much into details, but to be honest he really made me think and put a lot of questions in my head that made me curious. Like is Love complicated or simple? If you had to choose to leave the one you love or stay and hurt the one you love. Which would you choose? When do you draw that boundary line between loving someone and being in love with someone? Once again, which do you choose if it's that simple? Of course it all related back to the movie. But it really did make me think and open my eyes to see that love really does conquers all.

I have to read the rest of those books because I don’t think I can wait for the next movie to come out. My anticipation is like an adrenaline rush. Like most addicts, I’m addicted to Twilight!!! It may be sad but true story. LOL!!

I hope you guys go check it out with a friend or boy/girlfriend if you have free time. I think it was a remarkable movie. But then again I did go with a remarkable guy…lol…just joking. But check it out for yourselves and tell me what you thought about it.

Ericka B.

Howdy!

I had another awesome weekend. I actually went out to the movies to see Twilight, New moon. That was such a great movie; (if you like vampires and wolves). Lol. But I love the concept and the story behind all the action. It was interesting because I went out with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a few months and we had a good conversation about love and fairy tales.

Now I won’t go too much into details, but to be honest he really made me think and put a lot of questions in my head that made me curious. Like is Love complicated or simple? If you had to choose to leave the one you love or stay and hurt the one you love. Which would you choose? When do you draw that boundary line between loving someone and being in love with someone? Of course it all related back to the movie. But it really did make me think.

I have to read the rest of those books because I don’t think I can wait for the next movie to come out. My anticipation is like an adrenaline rush. Like most addicts, I’m addicted to Twilight.
I hope you guys go check it out with a friend or boy/girlfriend if you have free time. I think it was a remarkable movie. But then again I did go with a remarkable guy…lol…just joking. But check it out for yourselves and tell me what you thought about it.

Ericka B.

Psy. Assignment

After reading the omni-quest book, Ten Power Phrases for Positive People, by Rich Devos we were asked by our psy. teacher to evaluate the book and also Rich Devos based on all the things we have learned about leadership, management and behavior styles. Whic connects to what we learn every day n every class about business and employee reations and also about consumer service.

This book connects to the discussions we had about the nature of leadership in many ways. As a leader we have to be able to see the needs of others and figure out how to meet them; for example the Path-Goal leadership motivation method. Path-Goal Indentifies four leadership behaviors:

• Directive behaviors: set goals, assign tasks, show how to do things.
• Supportive behavior: look out for the worker’s best interest.
• Participative behavior: give subordinates a say in matters that affect them.
• Achievement-oriented behavior: Setting very challenging goals, believing in worker’s abilities.

In many parts of this book Devos shows how he has been supportive and looked out for the interest of his workers. In the section on saying “I NEED YOU” he explains that a leader who acts as if their success has nothing to do with their subordinates is in denial. Devos explains that in order to reach higher levels of success you have to show and convey the message that you need them. It is important to let them participate in the matters that affect them, and telling them that they are a needed part of your staff, will help them gain the confidence to get involved more.

Rich Devos matches up to just about all the “Traits and Personal Characteristics Related to Effective Leadership”. Which are as follows:

1. Intelligence
2. Knowledge and expertise
3. Dominance
4. Self-confidence
5. High energy
6. Tolerance for stress
7. Integrity and honesty
8. Maturity

He has shown that he is intelligent and knowledgeable in his field. He is self confident and appears to be a high energy kind of person. He has explained lifestyle changes that are very helpful when managing stress. Stress will be reduced as you began to take a positive look at your life and the people in it. Surely he knows how to manage his stress levels. He has a high level of Integrity, honesty and he is very mature. The only trait that I would question is his dominance, I suspect that he has no problem with this area of leadership, but it is not very clear from the book.

Internship- Detroit Fashion Pages

I got a internship at, Detroit Fashion Pages, It is a web based fashion Magazine. I applied a few weeks ago and I have been sitting around waiting to hear back from the program director. When I got the email I was SSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!! I mean it is kinda a BIG deal! lol. This is the third internship I have had since I graduated from high school, but this is my first FASHION internship. I am a member of the style team. My job is to find students on campus and people that I meet with fun, sassy or unique style and write a brief article about them. I'll have the opportunity to see first hand the world of fashion publications, and I can do all of this without leaving school. After I was told that I was chosen to be a intern I was asked to write a brief bio and send a picture to be posted under the staff section of the web page. I am looking forward to representing Northwood and learning as much as I possibly can. It'll be wonderful!

I sent in this picture and my bio is as follows:

My style is sweet and romantic, yet it has the urban feel of the city. I like to think of myself as the soft sultry side of the city. Far beyond abandonment and weathered concrete lays the soft supple heart of Detroit. That’s what I represent the sweet nectar tasted only by the most passionate city dwellers. It’s fast passed like heart beats racing against time yet soothing like herbal tea. My style is the rebirth of the city wrapped in color, flare and feminine energy. I love fashion because I love the drama and art and passion that inspire designers to create breath taking garments. I remember buying my first sewing machine. I saved all my money from a little summer job I had; and when I finally got it felt so… right. I was born to help people find their voice and their confidence by making them feel beautiful. Northwood University was such a natural fit for me. As much as I love the creative side of fashion, I also love the business side. Northwood gives me the best of both worlds. We study the accounting and marketing and finance side of the business while still learning about textiles and visual merchandizing and fiber production.

Ten Power Phrases for Positive People, by Rich Devos

The Omniquest book for last term was, Ten Power Phrases for Positive People, by Rich Devos featured a lot of really helpful notes about how to live better and have better interactions with people in both your professional and personal affairs. There are a lot of the phrases in this book may seem common knowledge but just because we are aware of these things, doesn’t mean that we understand their importance. For instance admitting when you are wrong and expressing sincere apologies. This may seem simple enough but one would be surprised at how often something so simple can be the reason for a breakdown of a relationship. In the business environment you truly cannot afford to miss opportunities because your pride keeps you from doing the right thing.

There was a chapter on "Saying Thank You", it seems simple enough, right? Wrong, too often we ignore the people who helps us the most, because “it’s their job” or “we’re too busy to notice them” or whatever the reason may be. I have always seen the value of saying Thank You and even a small gesture to show thanks. When I worked as an Intern at Ford Motor Company, I gave my supervisor, my co-workers and the internship program advisors thank you cards and notes. After I graduated from high school, I gave out thank you cards to all my teachers and my mentors and my family members and to just about any and everyone who has had an impact on my life. The second year of my internship with Ford I directed at ceremony to give honor and thanks to Bill Vaughn the Internship program director. I can see how doing these simple and a lot of times really inexpensive things have helped me have better relationships with people. In the book Devos states that, “People like to be thanked and they need to be thanked! The well of kindness can dry up when we fail to acknowledge the givers of gifts. Some people contribute significantly because they believe in a cause or from the goodness of their hearts. It takes relatively little in return to thank them.” I agree with that quotation, many people give because it’s in their heart to give not for recognition but for that very reason they deserve to be recognized.

Risk

I forgot how long risk is. My friends and I just completed a couple hour risk game. Last night I got out early, I was done by 2 and t he game lasted past 3. I actually won tonight. Surprized me, I'm good on my Ipod not so much with the actual game.

First week of the term has come and gone. New classes new classmates and new books. So far I like all of my classes though I do have one project already I'm working on. The snow is here already, the ground is white, and I have yet to need to go outside. I have no friday classes and my Thursday classes are all in the dorms.

My roomate is gone and I have no money for gas so my weekend this weekend is looking like a relazing weekend of facebook and hulu.

It's Snowing!

Hey guys!!! I was so excited to wake up and see the snow this morning on this beautiful December day. I'm not a big fan of being cold, but I love the Winter. I've been waiting to see some snow since Halloween. Mother Nature sure does know how to work her magic. I think it is very beautiful to see the tress and ground covered in soft snow. Sometimes I wish that I was a painter to capture the beautiful moments of nature. Being here on the Michigan campus, it's breath taking to wake up in the morning and see the glaze of the sun off the snow. It relaxes me and seems to be more peaceful. The next time your walking outside or cleaning off your car full of snow, look at the snow flakes coming down. You'll be amazed at their designs.

Have a blessed day!

Ericka B.

Its going to get rich by doing homework!

Today I just found out that I will have to give a sale's presta

Today will be a Great Day

Good morning all!
The funniest thing happened to me today, and I always like a good morning laugh to get my day going. Our winter term started December 1. My schedule for this term is one class on Monday, two classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and one class on Friday. Well I went to all my classes for the start of the term and for one of my classes on Tuesday, my Professor told us that there would not be a class session held this Thursday because he would be in a conference for a business trip. I had made a note of it in my notebook instead of my daily planner. Well I woke up a little later than I usually do; I had to rush to get ready for class. I typically wake up early enough so that I can check my email and the school hotline for class cancelations, unfortunately that didn’t happen today. On top of that, my roommate also has a class the same time I have class. We both came out our rooms at the same time, staring each other down. My room is closer to the bathroom than hers, so I kind of ran in their first without hesitation. I didn’t want to be rude so I told her that we could share the bathroom since we do have two sinks and I didn’t want to take over the bathroom. As I’m rushing out the door to go to class I forget where my class is located so I had to run back to my room to get my schedule. Now for sure I knew I was going to be later than I anticipated. I got to class at about 5 after, and to my surprise the doors were still closed and the lights were off. If class is cancelled or moved there is usually a note on the outside of the door. I was bewildered. “Was class cancelled and no one put a notice up”? “Did the class move to another location”? “Where is everyone”? I went to the closet computer lab to check if the Professor sent an email or if there was anything up on blackboard about the class. Then it dawned on me that my Professor did tell us students on Tuesday that there would be no class on Thursday. WOW! I am really excited about this term. (LOL:)

I just thought I’d share my morning with you guys. Have a blessed day!

Ericka B.

Getting back in the swing of things!

Hey everyone!

Well, this week is the beginning of the winter term and getting back into the swing of things after the enjoyable Thanksgiving break! It is taking me a few days to get back to a school mind set but it won't be long until we will be leaving again for Christmas break!

Hope everyone enjoys the holiday season!

Marie Zaccagni :)

Tis the Season

Thanksgiving was great. I got to meet up with my boyfriends mom for the first time, we've been dating for over a year. My family this year tried to mix our two different families together. Good idea only... well my dad's family stayed in one room and my step moms in another. My siblings well we were all in a different room with our friends. We really didn't come together. I had the opportunity to make stuffed mushrooms, well they beat out the pumpkin rolls as being the first item gone this year. There were about three cameras going to try and get all of the holiday memories we could including a picture of all of the cousins present. All in all it was a really good thanksgiving and a good break. Josh, my boyfriend made me a steak dinner that was AMAZING. I was able to truly relax almost the entire break.

Coming back for the new term is about getting back into the swing of things. We just came from Thanksgiving and got two weeks off of class schedules, homework, papers, and cafeteria food and not getting to see our new found friends. Coming back to campus almost feels like moving in day as everything that went home, dirty laundry, lap tops, etc. are coming back (the laundry coming back clean) as well as the snacks to get by in between meals. Looking forward to seeing my friends again we quickly got a game going.

The excitement of coming back to school lasted until I tasted the cafeteria food again. There is nothing wrong with the cafeteria but after a week of turkey, ham, steak, and all the mashed potatoes I could eat along with pie just about every day. Well the cafeteria food is slightly disappointing knowing that in three weeks I'll be home getting the same feats for Christmas.

Today is the second day of classes and already I'm looking forward to the break. To seeing all of my family and getting and giving gifts. I'm getting used to some new teachers and different people in my classes. I have a new set of subjects to cram into my brain and a whole term behind me to learn from.

I'm just hoping that this term goes even half as well as the last term and I'll have an amazing time.

Tricia

Loving Life

Well it’s that time of the year again. Getting ready for Christmas, spreading all the joyous cheers around the world. I just love Christmas. I usually want a lot. I look at the things that I don’t have and compare myself to my friends and see how blessed they are by the things that they already have. Well this year is very different for me. I just love life!!! Both of my Grandmothers fell sick earlier this year, and the doctors told us that it wasn’t looking too good for either of them. Here it is now in December and they are still going strong. My fathers’ mother is doing very well. She is actually in a nursing home. She is so full of life every time I go to see her. My mothers’ mom is a fighter. She was diagnosed with cancer and phenomena back in September. It has amazed me how comfortable family, friends, and loved ones make you feel peace and at ease when you know things are going wrong in your life. To have people by your side, and constantly looking over you, and letting you know that they are there to get you through, puts a little more fight in you each day. I have grown to accept why things happen the way they do in life. I have learned that if I do the natural, then God will do the supernatural. My family has done what we can by faith and prayers because of the miracles that both of my grandparents received, God has done what the doctors couldn’t.

Live everyday in the present because it’s a gift. Life is like Christmas, it only comes around once a year.

Ericka B.