Adieu Mercyhurst University!

Well guys, I officially finished my last final as an undergrad as of this afternoon. It's been SUCH a long and exhausting 4 years, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The best times I will never forget about being a Laker are all of the great friends I've made, all of the hard work I've put into my grades, and getting to experience all of the fun and exciting things I got to do.

My future is not exactly set in stone yet, because I still have some options about what I'm going to do. I have a job opportunity back home and if I am offered the job I will most likely be working and going to school part time to get my master's degree in Counseling. I also have a couple of opportunities as Graduate Assistants with Edinboro University so I should be hearing more about those positions soon!

Thank you to everyone who followed my blog the last two years, and I hope I have been helpful with decisions about coming to Mercyhurst! So many great things are going to be happening here in the next couple of years, so I do hope that Mercyhurst will give you just as great experiences as I was given!

Best of luck with everyone's college careers and future!

Marleah

Mercyhurst Laker for life! 

Living Up What Time I Have Left At the 'Hurst!

If my Spring Term wasn't as busy as it has been, then I wouldn't have an excuse as to why I haven't blogged in SO long. I apologize...

Well, here is an update as to how my last term as a Mercyhurst University has been going. If you've read past posts, then you would know that I applied to 15 grad schools. I've been accepted to two and rejected from 9. And yes, it's great that I've been accepted 2 places, but they aren't doctorate programs like I really wish they were. I do have 4 more chances to get into one, and even it's highly unlikely I will be accepted, I'm still hopeful every second of every day.

At the beginning of March, the research that I have been a part of for the last year was presented at the Eastern Psychological Association Conference that was held this year in Pittsburgh, PA. My group presented our poster presentation during the Social Psychology Poster Session 1.

From left to right: Jessica, Andrew, Dr. Heerboth, Molly, Veronica, Marleah, and Kristen

The conference went on from March 1-3 and there were many many different speakers and sessions you could go to depending on your interests. Specific sessions that I went to were the Clinical Poster Sessions and attended Community Psychology sessions to learn more about how psychologists are pertaining their work toward the community/public.

Of course I went out and ventured the city of Pittsburgh as well since this was the first time I had ever been in the city. One thing that I wanted to cross off my bucket list was to eat at Primanti Brothers restaurant and that's exactly what I did. It was everything that I wished and hoped for! Here's a picture of myself walking around the city.

Walking around the city with my friend Lauren!

As graduation approaches even closer than ever, I hope that I'll be able to keep my blog updated as best I can! It's been great being able to share my experiences with all of you!

Senior Week Is Coming!

This week is dedicated to all the beloved seniors! Senior Week is a week that is anxiously awaited for all year by the senior class. This year, we are having some amazing events taking place starting tomorrow, Monday the 6th! Below is a schedule of events that will be happening: 

Monday 2/6: Kickoff Party, 7pm in the Student Union Great Room
Pick up your t-shirt, enjoy snacks and mock tails. Anyone who has donated to the Senior Gift fund receives a free t-shirt!
Tuesday 2/7: Bowling Night, 9pm at Eastland Lanes
Pay $2 per game, shoes are included. All 20 lanes are reserved for Mercyhurst!
Wednesday 2/8: Rate Your Pizza, 6:00pm in the Student Union Great Room
Pay $2 to sample pizza from locations all over Erie and vote for your favorite.
Thursday 2/9: Snag a Senior Date Auction, 9pm in the Walker Recital Hall
Show up for entertainment or to bid on a senior date or awesome gift certificates to local restaurants! Everyone is welcome, not just seniors, $2 entry fee.
Friday 2/10: 100 Days Senior Dinner, 5:30pm-7:30pm in the Egan Cafeteria
No need to use your meal plan, this one is free and just for the class of 2012! Grab some awesome food before heading to the 100 Days Party!
100 Days Party, 10pm at the Cornerstone
Drink specials from 10pm-2pm, t-shirts must be worn for entry! Specialty drinks include the “App-ocalypse” and the “Blue MU.” 21+ students only of course! 


We are looking forward to a fun time at every event! Now that it is actually here, I am getting even more anxious for graduation and knowing that my time as a Mercyhurst University Laker is quickly coming to an end. This week is definitely a week to live up the dream of Mercyhurst and enjoy the rest of the limited time we have. Pictures and updates on the events are sure to come in future blogs! 


Just to add some news about the Mercyhurst University announcement, President Gamble informed students of FAQ's that have helped the students get some unanswered questions about the future of the college. If you would like to take a look, please follow the link! 


Mercyhurst University FAQ's

It's Official: Mercyhurst College is now Mercyhurst University

IT'S OFFICIAL! Mercyhurst College is now Mercyhurst University, which was just recently announced this afternoon by President, Dr. Thomas Gamble! I just want to say how great of a feeling it is to know that my class, Class of 2012, will be the first to walk across the stage with a diploma that states Mercyhurst University. It's definitely a great moment for the institution and has many things to look forward to. Dr. Gamble has stated that the change has been in the works for a couple years, but we've finally reached the goal to become university status just yesterday (January 24th) when the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education signed the document that made it official.

There is a lot of press that is going on about the big announcement today, but I wanted to make sure that all future students know that when you come through the gates, Mercyhurst University will be here to greet you and make sure that your four years as an undergraduate student will be successful. There are many opportunities headed the way of prospective students most definitely!

If you would like to read more about this amazing event in history today, please visit the link below! Carpe Diem! Mercyhurst University Announcement

Update On Construction of the New Academic Building

If you don't know already, Mercyhurst is adding a new academic building to the main campus that will open to students in the Fall of 2012. I thought I would give everyone an update on how the construction is going.

Here is an updated picture on what the building is eventually going to look like, but they have added a hallway that is going to be a cross over from the building to the 3rd floor of the library. Everyday so far I've been hearing sounds of the construction company working hard on getting the building ready one little bit at a time. In passing, I have been able to see that the brick is getting put on as well now. Erie has recently gotten hit with a lot of snow and really cold wind chills so I'm sure construction has stopped for a little while.

Mercyhurst students have a lot to look forward to, especially Intelligence Studies and Hospitality Management majors, considering this building is mainly for them! Mercyhurst has it's own website dedicated to looking at the progress of the building and everyone is more than welcome to view it.

Mercyhurst Construction Photos

Senior Class of 2012: Senior Gift!

The senior class is a big deal for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, but what a lot of people don't know is that the senior class also gives a gift to the school to leave a legacy. At least I know when I was a freshman, I had no idea what the senior class gift was until Spring term when it was revealed to the school. As a senior, I am apart of the Senior Gift Committee and has been a great experience so far during the year. It's great to get together with your classmates and talk about what you would like to leave as your legacy to the school.

This year, the committee has just announced to the school that our gift is going to be a "revamping" of the Student Union Great Room, which we are helping Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG) with. The basic idea is that we are going to help MSG turn the union into a game room with big screen TV's, gaming systems, movies, etc. Want to make it a place for students to want to come to and have fun on the weekends or weeknights when they just want to hang out with friends or want to get out of their dorm/apartment. 

Right now the committee is raising money in order to provide the items for MSG. Our basic target are seniors, but we are always looking for any supporters of the college to donate as well! If you will be attending Mercyhurst in the future, then you will definitely get to enjoy the Senior Class of 2012's gift to the college! The picture below is what the union is going to look like when new doors and windows get added to it. If you'd like to read more about the gift, please visit the Merciad article

Preparing for Break and Ugly Sweaters

Well, as I sit at home looking back how crazy of a week I just went through, I cannot believe I made it to Sunday. I'd like to share some pictures from the Upper Sophomore RA Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. We came together and celebrated Christmas at my Hall Director's apartment and we played the Bad Santa game. If you don't know what it is, that's okay! I didn't know either. How it basically works is that everyone brings a gift and gets a number. The first person picks a gift, then the second person picks a gift , but if the second person doesn't like their gift, they can steal from the first person and so on. It gets pretty feisty fast, especially if there is a good gift! As you can see in my pictures, we are pretty decked out in our Christmas gear. Gotta love the ugly sweaters!! 

From left to right starting at the bottom row: Meaghan, Marleah, Muna, Sacha, Jeanette, Adam, Matt, Mary, April, Colin and Dean

Making funny faces! 

We also watched the movie Elf and sat around until about 11pm just talking and having a good time with each other! We only see each other once a week at staff meetings! It's great to catch up on each other's lives.

This past week I also had 3 exams on the same day; It felt like finals on crack. Thursday night I had about 3.5 hours of sleep before getting up to take the tests starting at 8am. Whoever said the life of a college student is glorious, was so wrong. Throughout my four years I've heard stories about how easy senior year is. Whoever said that was also seriously wrong, because this has been the most difficult year by far. I see it as just another way to take senior year by the horns and go out with a bang! Well now, it's about 11:03pm and I'm sitting on my couch enjoying some hot chocolate and watching a Christmas movie. I plan on catching up on the many sleep hours I've been lacking lately, so goodnight everyone and have a great and safe holiday!

p.s. if you'd like to look at more holiday ugly sweaters, this site hits the spot!

The Best Ugly Sweaters