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The Kentucky Derby
Adulthood Tips
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An Insta-Refresh
Junior Moms Weekend
This past weekend was one that I’ve been looking forward to since I became a student at Saint Mary’s. That weekend was the coveted Junior Moms Weekend. At Saint Mary’s we have a large array of events for parents to join in on with their daughters such as Freshmen and Sophomore Parents Weekend, Junior Moms Weekend, and Senior Dads Weekend. Although my parents only live about forty minutes from campus, I don’t see them nearly as often as one would think. So, I was extremely excited for my mom to come and stay the weekend with me on campus so I would be able to show her around my home away from home for the past three years and have her be able to experience how I’ve been living since I’ve been in college. Neither of my parents went to college, so I was really excited to give my mom her first real college experience and it was so special to be able to share in that together.
Junior Moms Weekend started on Friday and my mom and I decided to kick it off with dinner and a movie. We have been dying to see Beauty and the Beast but didn’t want to see it without the other, so we decided that Junior Moms would be the perfect time. We got popcorn and pop, before we cozied up in our theater seats and were ready to be transported back to my childhood. Beauty and the Beast did not disappoint and we spent the rest of the evening talking about our favorite songs and how much we love the Beast. That evening, after dinner at Salsas, smicks and their moms all took on O’Rourke’s for a karaoke night. It was a great way for all of our moms to get out of their element and spend time with their daughters. The whole bar was filled with Saint Mary’s women and their moms singing at the top of their lungs to songs like “Party in the U.S.A.” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
The next day, I took my mom on a tour all around Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame – since she hasn’t really been on a tour of both campuses since I was a prospective student. It was a beautiful day to walk around and just chat with my mom. We even lit a candle at the grotto and grabbed a coffee at Einstein’s! When we got back to Saint Mary’s, it was time for the trunk sale. The trick sale consisted of a variety of vendors from the South Bend area who all set up their products in Rice Commons. At the trunk sale, I bought my first pair of LuLa Roe leggings and I am obsessed with them! After the trunk sale, my mom and I made our way to Target and lunch at McAllister’s before heading back to my room to rest before our dinner that evening. Dinner that evening was held at the Hilton on campus and it was really great to see everyone all dressed up with their moms for the evening. President Jan Cervelli even came and spoke at the dinner, which was a great surprise!
Overall, Junior Moms Weekend was a great success! It was so fun to be able to share my college experience with my mom and spend a whole weekend dedicated to just us. I definitely would not be the person I am today without my mom and I will forever be grateful for her and the time we get to spend together.
Tori ‘18
Summer Reading List
One of my favorite parts of summer is being able to read all of the books that I’ve been hearing about throughout the academic year. During school, I tend to only read books on extended breaks such as Christmas break, Spring break, and, of course, summer, mainly due to the amount of textbook reading I have for each class during the semester. However, as summer is quickly approaching, I have created a “Summer Reading List” complied of books I’ve heard friends talk about, seen while browsing around the book aisles in Target, and books from blogs I’ve read about on Pinterest. Below is a copy of my Summer Reading List – feel free to add your recommendations in a comment. :)
· The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
· All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
· Burial Rites – Hannah Kent
· The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
· 1984 – George Orwell
· Behind Closed Doors – B.A. Paris
· Where’d You Go Bernadette – Maria Semple
· Every Last Lie – Mary Kubica
· All the Missing Girls – Megan Miranda
· Good as Gone – Amy Gentry
· The Girl Before – Rena Olsen
· The Road of Lost Innocence – Somaly Mam
· The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
· A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
Tori ‘18
The Value of Spring
Spring Break
As readers may have gathered from my blogs, I am always in search for my next adventure. Whether it be studying abroad, rebuilding homes in West Virginia, or spontaneous weekend trips, I cannot get enough of experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. This year for spring break, I eagerly booked a trip to Rome to visit my boyfriend who is studying there for the semester and to also satisfy my need to travel.
I was excited to embark on our second European Adventure together as a couple and wanted to see as much as we possibly could. So, I created a near impossible itinerary filled with 6 a.m. flights, little sleep, and a lot of walking. In ten days, I boarded a total of eight flights and visited four countries (five if you count the layover I had in Poland). Going over our itinerary the night before I left for Rome, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. How did I think it would be possible to do all of this in such little time? What if we missed a flight? What if we ran out of money? What if I lost my luggage? What if my luggage is overweight? (This one was very likely – I tend to over pack!) Putting all the “what if’s” behind, I eagerly boarded my flight and left the rest up to fate.
To my despair, when I landed in Rome on Friday, I realized that one of the “what if’s” had become a reality. My luggage had gotten lost during my layover in Paris and now I was in Rome with only one (wrinkly) shirt and a pair of dirty leggings in my bag. I was really nervous that this was a bad omen to the rest of our trip. To make things worse, the next day we were heading to Sevilla and the airline informed me that my luggage wouldn’t be found in time for our next destination. It was difficult to come to the realization that I would not be able to wear the cute outfits I had so methodically planned in Sevilla and that I would have to spend some of our already tight budget on clothes since I didn’t have any. Luckily, by the time we arrived back in Rome on Monday my luggage was safe and sound in my boyfriend’s apartment – I’d never been happier to see my suitcase!
Thankfully, after our first little hiccup of having to wear the same shirt for a total of four days (!), the rest of our trip could not have gone more smoothly. We only almost missed one flight, which was a huge accomplishment considering most of our flights were scheduled for before sunrise and we were navigating public transportation in a foreign language.
During our whirlwind trip, we visited Rome, Italy; Sevilla, Spain; Paris, France; and Prague, Czech Republic. It was so fun to be able to have Felix tell me about all of the interesting facts he’s been learning about in Rome and it was really special for me to bring him back to Sevilla – which is where I studied for four months last year. I also really loved traveling to Paris and Prague together because neither of us had been to either city, so we were able to experience the culture for the first time together.
Felix and I at La Plaza de España in Sevilla
At the Colosseum in Rome!
Our first night in Paris consisted of us walking around for hours trying to find a meal that would cost less than 40 Euros. Finally, we found the Holy Grail – Burger King. Although it wasn’t the ideal fancy, romantic dinner date that we had previously envisioned, it was perfect. The next day, we decided to go to a local market and grab what we thought was typical Parisian food for a picnic. Our picnic included a quiche, croissants with Nutella, and baguettes with meat and cheese. That night, we scoured the web for cheap but authentic French food and came across a great little restaurant. We had really wanted to try escargot, but weren’t sure how to eat it and were afraid to look like novices in front of the French, so we watched YouTube videos of how to eat escargot before heading to dinner. Overall, we could not have asked for a better trip to Paris.
Love Lock Bridge in Paris!
After Paris, we were headed to Prague. We had both heard really great things about the food and culture and were excited to see it for ourselves! I think we can both agree that Czech food was easily our favorite out of the four countries that we visited. Also, the people were very nice and helpful, especially our AirBnb host Harry and our waiter and our favorite restaurant, Joseph. The weather in Prague when we were there wasn’t ideal as it was raining and cold during our visit, however, it just gives us another excuse to go back in the future :)
On the Charles Bridge in Prague
Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. It was so great being able to see Felix again and to be able to explore the world together. I truly feel so blessed and am incredibly thankful for everything we’ve been able to experience together.
Notre Dame in Paris -- it’s almost like we never left South Bend! ;)
Tori ‘18
English Writing Senior Comps
On Wednesday, April 5, I, along with seven other English writing majors gave a reading from our senior compositions. As an English major, our senior comp is to create of 30-40 pages of written work. About half of the seniors chose to write fiction and the other half, including myself, wrote in the nonfiction genre.
The loss of my father was the focus of my senior comp. I wrote a compilation of essays about him and our relationship. The senior comp for the English Writing major is structured as a workshop. Each week we read multiple pieces by our fellow classmates. This layout allowed you to give and receive feedback from several other writers. Some of the pieces I chose to workshop went in a completely different direction than I initially intended. I think this is one of the best aspects about sharing your work. What makes the senior writing comp so special is that we see our fellow classmates’ work take shape and truly come alive. After reading their work in class, it was so great to see what they changed, kept, and the overall finished product.
When it was finally my turn to present, I walked up to the podium and read my piece, and that was that. The countless hours writing in my journal, at the computer, editing, workshopping, had all come to a beautiful finish. In this moment I was so proud of my fellow classmates, my professors, and myself. I thank Saint Mary’s for allowing me to tell my dad’s story. It’s been an honor to be part of the Saint Mary’s college English Writing program.
Pictured from top left to right: Courtney Phelan, Miranda Reed, MacKenzie Rizzo, Lauren Zyber, Mariah Rayburn, Roni Darling (me), Dr. Dionne Bremyer, Alaina Anderson, and Maggie Kelly.
A HUGE thank you to Dr. Bremyer for all of her hard work, support, guidance, and snacks she provided us with this year :-)
- RD ‘17
DSLC
Each year, the Student Diversity Board hosts an event known as DSLC, or, Diverse Students’ Leadership Conference. This conference is completely organized and ran by Saint Mary’s women on the Student Diversity Board and takes place over two days during the spring semester. The Diverse Students’ Leadership Conference highlights diversity in our everyday lives here on campus and in the community and globe as a whole. This year, the Student Diversity Board hosted over twenty-five different workshops on a variety of different topics. Some of the workshops held during the two days of DSLC include: “My Israeli Story,” “From Fat to PHAT!,” “Learning to Love Women’s Leadership,” and “Poverty, Diversity, and Single Moms”. The workshops ranged from lecture-style to participation and open discussion. Members from the Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, and Holy Cross community as well as members from the South Bend community were all invited and encouraged to partake in the discussion.
For DSLC this year, we had three keynote speakers. Saint Mary’s President Janice Cervelli held the first keynote we had during our opening breakfast. She touched on topics that are affecting our tri-campus community as well as the world at large and gave a call to action for students. Our next keynote, held during lunch that same day, was alumna Kristen Matha who spoke about her experience in the LGBTQ community.
Our last keynote speaker was journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas. Vargas is from the Philippines and came to the United States as a young boy. He now speaks openly about his experience as an undocumented American through his organization Define American as well as in his two documentaries White People and Undocumented. I was fortunate enough to be on a leadership panel discussion with Vargas in which we covered diversity topics on campus and what we can do to improve the Saint Mary’s community. That evening, Vargas gave his keynote speech on his journey as an undocumented American, which was both moving and powerful.
Overall, DSLC was a complete success and I can’t wait to see what the Student Diversity Board is going to do next year!
Tori ‘18
Senior Comps
As a senior, much of my last year of college is dedicated to research. Whether it be researching for a paper, or researching for a future career, I’m always looking into scholarship on different subjects. In order to fulfill a main graduation requirement here at Saint Mary’s, each student is required to write a senior composition paper or senior thesis. This truly is the most challenging and rigorous paper of one’s entire undergrad career and is the main component for graduation. Last fall I took a Senior Seminar class at Saint Mary’s that focused solely on writing our final papers. In the class, we read 6 full novels over the course of 6 weeks in the course. During each meeting, we would discuss the novels as a whole for almost three hours. The English Lit. group consists of 12 graduating seniors this year and during our discussions, we would not only write our own reflections on the novels, but also bring in research to dissect written by other authors. This entire class was truly an independent learning experience. From this list, we were to select one novel that we would like to write about for our paper. I chose Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides to write about and conduct research. In the novel, there is a family that lives amongst their neighbors in a quaint suburban setting. Everyone is very secluded from one another. As the novel continues (told from the point of view of a neighborhood boy), there is a family with young daughters who one by one begin to commit suicide during the course of a year or so. This dark, twisted novel immediately gripped my attention because I wanted desperately to find out what was causing them to act this way. As the novel continued on, it sparked my interest in finding research around what was happening in society at that time. After doing some investigating, I found some riveting scholarship on The American Dream and the history of the formation and the migration to the suburbs. The argument for my thesis was that it was because of the cultural norms and the desire to be accepted and not be ostracized that the neighbors of these girls did not step in and say something–even though all of the signs of their depression was there. Everyone had kept to themselves in the desire to appear perfect–even the family of the girls, the Lisbons. However, it was this exact mindset of keeping everything behind closed doors that caused these girls to feel ostracized from their community for being different. It was also this practice of secrecy and isolationism that resulted in no one stepping in to help them. Overall, these closed doors also resulted in the spread of rumors and gossip by the outside community members. We see that through the telling of the entire novel from a group of neighborhood boys. It was so fascinating and thrilling to be able to conduct my own research while here at Saint Mary’s College. Last night’s presentation of my research in front of the English Department went really well. I was able to share my findings with my friends and professors as a celebration of the end of a successful school year.
~Emily R. ‘17
Friendships
Last week while in pursuit for a good “#tbt” photo, I happened to stumble upon some old high school photos. For me, it’s truly amazing that I graduated high school almost four full years ago–it seems like it was just yesterday. And some days it feels like it was an entire lifetime ago. While scrolling through some of my memories, I reflected on just how much my life has changed since I was walking those halls. Today, I keep in touch with a few people from high school, but definitely not as many as I originally thought I would. I remember talking with my friends on the night before many of us were going to move into our respected colleges and universities. We laughed around a bonfire I’m sure about crazy times from high school all with a slight nervousness in our voices about what college was going to bring to us–we really didn’t know just what our futures held…
Fast-forward to today and my life is a lot different. My large friend group of 12 has since dwindled down to about 2 that I keep in contact with and visit with on a daily basis. And that’s okay. Time does a great thing: it helps us find out who our true friends are. Over time, I came to realize that I was just friends with some people in high school because I saw them every day since kindergarten. In college, the same can apply. And that’s okay. I have completely different groups of friends now than those who I was friends with freshman year. With time, things tend to weed themselves out. Time passes, people change. And that’s okay. When I tell incoming freshman that they’ll most likely have fewer friends from high school in their life once they start college, they always respond with complete denial. Even though this inevitable truth can seem like a tough pill to swallow at first, I found that these past four years have allowed me to meet the very best friends that I have ever had. Here in college I’ve gotten to connect with people and learn alongside them in a way that I could never do in high school. In college, my friends and I went through tough things. We supported one another through it all and helped each other when we were going through these stresses. We had each other’s back and still do. Do not have the fear of losing friends keep you from making new ones. College is a place where you will be doing a lot of growing up in a very short amount of time. Therefore, allow yourself to grow with others–even if that means growing apart from some.
~Emily R. ‘17
An American in Ireland
Hello future Belles! I hope everyone is well, and that your classes are going well.
Classes so far have been good. They are different from home, but that is to be expected when in a different country with a different way of teaching.
Anyway, in the past few weeks I have done a bit of traveling around Ireland. I hope that anyone who has a desire to study abroad, that no matter which program you decide that you hopefully will make the time to visit this beautiful country.
One of my best friends from home visited over her spring break; so we visited around Maynooth and Dublin, but also went on a bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher. The western countryside of Ireland is a beautiful place. While she was here we also visited Dublin for two days. We hit the Guinness Storehouse which is a very fun experience of exploring the history of the company. We also went to the Dublin Zoo, which is very nice and well-kept. We were both surprised at how clean the glass was for each exhibit, since we are used to smudged glass in zoos at home. All in all it was wonderful to have my friend visit and explore a beautiful part of Ireland and the city of Dublin with her.
I also took another day bus trip a few days after to Northern Ireland, and while we were there we visited the Titanic Museum, Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge. Unfortunately they closed the Rope Bridge as we arrived because of high winds, but I will have to go back to have the full experience. If given the chance I highly recommend Wild Rover Tours for that bus trip, they provided a wonderful and informative experience. Northern Ireland has very beautiful scenery also, and has the claim to fame of being used as many film locations for Game of Thrones.
I am also excited to see what other traveling I will be able to do while I am here. There are so many places I want to see, so it is going to be hard to narrow them down.
Keep working hard!
Molly ‘19
Cliffs of Moher
Belfast - Titanic Experience
Giant’s Causeway
Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge - the walk to the bridge since we couldn’t go on the bridge
The General
Being a dedicated student in college can sometimes become monotonous. I sometimes get into such a routine with my daily life that I forget to have some time for spontaneity. After all, there’s not much of college left for me. So last week when my friend mentioned that she wanted to check out a grunge coffee bar that she had heard of, I made sure to go with her on her adventure. There was not much that I heard about The General in downtown South Bend other than the coffee shop used to be the original general store of the area. In fact, it’s front door is the original door from that business many years ago. When I entered (with plenty of homework in tow), I immediately fell for the atmosphere. The vibe inside was so warm and different. Inside, there are a variety of warm, dark wood booths and round tables. There’s also a collection of eclectic furniture pieces like sofas and lounge chairs for guests to sit in as well. The wrap-around coffee bar is home to several metal barstools and a display case full of pastries. On the chalkboard menu above, the coffee bar has several craft beers to choose from but the main focus is the collection of handmade espresso drinks as well as homemade grilled sandwiches. What I love about the place especially is how reasonable the prices are. Here, there are no gimmicks. After paying only $2.80 for my freshly brewed mocha (about half the price of my regular Starbucks order), the barista handed me the mug across the counter. After discussing with her that all I really wanted was a little sunshine in South Bend, she even took the time to paint a sunray on top of my drink’s foam in chocolate sauce. Shortly after I sat down in a booth with my order, my friend met me in the coffee bar. We soon discovered that the coffee bar also rents out the conjoining space next to the building for local bands to come and practice/perform for guests. We stayed for a while to listen to the band’s first song, walked around to look at the local art that graced the walls, and left for the day. It’s always nice to know that even though I’ve been going to school in South Bend for 4 years now, different local spots can still surprise me. It’s nice to be a tourist in your own city every once in a while too. This trip reminded me to always search for something to discover with friends because you’ll never know what you’ll find. For me, I’ve gained a new place for my friends and I to be a part of for the rest of the semester.
~Emily R. ‘17
How I Stay Sane (for my students)
Being a full-time student teacher at a local high school here in South Bend, I am held accountable every day in regards to my students and their learning. Teaching is a unique job that requires so many people to rely on you to be present and active on a daily basis. Ultimately, you are the leader. In order for me to perform my very best in my classroom every day, I have to make sure that I am taking the necessary steps that I can in order to have the best days possible each week I’m teaching. In order to do this, I have created a list of steps that I make sure to take. These little things help me remain calm and organized.
1. MEAL PREP
I’ve talked about meal prepping before, and I honestly cannot stress it enough. To be able to come home to a meal that is already prepared (or just needs quick reheating) saves me easily an hour of my time a day. I usually do the majority of my grocery shopping/cooking on Sunday afternoons in my kitchen (with my favorite throwback playlist on to keep me grooving). My usual routine involves cleaning out my Tupperware containers, searching for recipes on Pinterest, collecting my ingredients and cooking all day. To help, I sometimes use a Crockpot to cook my meals for me while I either lesson plan for the week or run other errands. This way, I’m less likely to not eat, over eat one type of meal, or grab fast food on my way home. Either way, meal prepping saves me money and extra calories.
2. TIMERS AND PLANNERS
It may seem like you’re living a ‘Groundhog Day’-type lifestyle by practicing these strategies, but it does save me a lot of headache at the end of the night. By planning my day by the hour, I am able to stay focused on accomplishing goals after I come home at 3PM. I’ll dedicate 1 hour to the gym, 1-2 hours to lesson planning/studying, and even an hour or two to myself to watch Netflix or go out with friends. In the past, I’ve also set timers for myself while also setting smaller goals within those timeframes. This helps me stay on track overall and even gives me more time to relax on my futon.
3. FILL YOUR FREE TIME
Trust me, I’m the first one to admit that I love scrolling through Pinterest for hours with my free time. However, I have come to discover with college that even though you may have “free time” on your schedule, you could always be doing something. Time to binge-watch your new TV series obsession will always be there, but you’ll not always have copious amounts of time to touch up that resume you’re going to need soon.
4. FIND YOUR ZEN
It’s important that you find a little bit of time for yourself every day. For some people, that means coloring during their lunch hour. For others, that means getting up 20 minutes earlier to answer emails and get organized for the day. For me, it usually means having my day complete by 9PM and giving myself an hour to unplug and unwind by reading a book or heading to the gym for some end of the day cardio. Whatever your personal treat to yourself is be sure to practice it every day without fail. You’ll find yourself more whole and balanced with your responsibilities.
~Emily R. ‘17
Tips for Success
Every day when I come into class and I see my students, I am reminded of when I was once their age. I was in their shoes just four short years ago and it’s amazing how much I’ve changed and grown. Saint Mary’s has given me opportunities that I myself could never have dreamed on my own. Sometimes, I’ll have students ask me what I was like in high school. To which I respond, “a hard worker”. Looking back, I was my own competition. I was my own motivator. Too often than not, my parents were the ones telling me to slow down, not to worry, and be easier on myself–but I couldn’t help that I had drive. I wanted to be better than a previous version of myself. I wanted each day to grow and change into someone more advanced than the previous day. It was this sense of drive that got me into Saint Mary’s and it’s this sense of persistence that I have achieved at the level that I have. Being around high schoolers all day, I’m reminded of the same questions and apprehensions I had about life after high school. So, for those who are incoming freshman to Saint Mary’s, are still currently deciding on their path, or just need some advice, here are the tips that I can give you:
1. Work hard. It may be your second semester of your senior year, but now is not the time to slack. Come to class every day prepared and ready to go. Make sure you finish strong so you can feel as though you have done all you possibly could to set yourself up for the best possible outcomes of your life. It’s better to put in the work now and be given opportunities to choose from than to slack off and only have one path in life that you can’t necessarily choose.
2. Keep an open mind. When I was searching for colleges, I knew exactly what I
wanted to do–or so I thought. My original idea was to go to a college in the city of Chicago and take classes downtown. However, when I went to visit those urban campuses, my mind completely changed. I heard firsthand how noisy the streets were and the fact that in some cases I may need to take public transportation up to three times just to get to one class. Once I realized that wasn’t for me, I found that SMC was my home shortly afterward. However, if I didn’t keep that open mind, I could have possibly committed to a school that I wanted nothing to do with at all. This same lesson was taught to me when I got my first job in high school. A grocery store had opened down the street from my house and I applied to work with my friends after school. To keep my options open, I checked the box that said, “available to work any department”. Sadly, my friends all were put in a different department than I was and I was about ready to quit after my second day of dishwashing. However, I kept an open mind and stuck it out until my third day of work. On day three, I was promoted to work with customers and ended up making the very best friends that I still currently have while working the counter.
Stay involved and remember what you have to offer.
We are all put on this planet to do something good in our lives. The biggest crime we can commit as humans is to not share our talents with others. There is always someone out there who does something better than your ever could. Do not view them as an enemy. Do not let jealousy overtake you. Instead, have confidence and remember what you have to offer to this world. Whatever you do, be sure to do it with love and passion.
~Emily R. ‘17
Making Monsters
As an aspiring teacher, sometimes half of my battle is to keep students motivated to complete their work both in class and at home. However, there are moments when my students really do have their talents shine. As a student teacher, seeing students apply their knowledge to big projects always makes me excited. I love seeing what students can create when given a little guidance, some supplies, and a little bit of time. This past week, my students were assigned a project to construct a replica of the monster from Frankenstein. We had just concluded the chapter that describes the creation of the monster when my cooperating teacher and I decided to assign a hands-on project. Students were to get into groups of no more than four to create monsters of their own. In order to receive full credit, these creatures were to have its actual physical characteristics as described in the novel. The criteria include for the structure to stand at 8ft. tall and proportional. My students had several days to work in class to complete their projects and were allowed to bring in any materials to build their structures. Where several of my students just chose to draw their creatures on a large sheet of butcher paper, some groups decided to take their projects home and go above and beyond. One of the groups of students created their own 8ft. structure mad entirely out of chicken wire and paper mâché. They came into class that day radiating and excited to inform me all about the hard work they completed over the weekend. Minutes later, several students form the group filed in carrying large human-like pieces. Right before the entire class’s eyes, they assembled the figure with twist ties. It was such an enjoyable presentation to watch because you could truly see the pride that these students had for their project. Overall, it’s always exciting for me as a future teacher to witness students get excited about learning. Projects like these remind me of just how creative my students can be when they have the option to take control of their own learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
~Emily R. ‘17