Hi Everyone!

It has been such a busy semester for me so far- sorry I have been out of touch! Anyway, I just wanted to update you on whats going on down here in good ole Columbia, Mo.

On the school front, classes are getting crazy- I have three exams next week and two the week after that, so that will be fun…

Luckily, I kind of enjoy my classes. I am taking Strategic Communication (aka advertising) which is a lot of work, but not too bad; Media Commuications, which is just an intro communications course, and I love it! We talk about TV all the time!; Accouting, which is boring but is my last class in my business minor; Intimate Relationships, kind of a random class I picked up as an elective, but it is really easy- we watched Hitch this week!; and a Service Learning course, where I get credit for doing volunteer work.

Now my next obstacle is making sure I am okay to graduate in May…

On the Delta Gamma side of life things are going alright. I can’t believe I will only be president for a few more months! I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like but check it out- mizzoudg.blogspot.com.

Next week (yes, the one I have three tests during), is our annual Anchor Splash, which benefits Service for Sight. We have little fundraising events throughout the week, but the biggest things are the Plunge on Friday (synchronized swimming and water games) and the Lectureship in Values and Ethics on Wednesday. The Plunge is hilarious- guys dress up in costumes and do dances/synchronized swimming.

And the Lectureship is really amazing. Every year we bring in top notch speakers to talk about the University’s core values- respect, discovery, excellence, and responsibility. Last year, we brought in Chris Gardner (inspiration for The Pursuit of Happyness), but we have also had Sally Ride (first woman in space), Herman Boone (inspirational coach from Remember the Titans), Jerry of Ben & Jerry’s, Sylvia Nassar (wrote A Beautiful Mind), and the list goes on.
This year, we are bringing Jeff Corwin from Animal Planet and I am so excited! He will be talking about his experience in the field and conservation, but I am really hoping he brings an animal or something! Beforehand, I get to go to a fancy dinner with him and a lot of big time donors/University people, so that is really exciting!

I guess the most exciting thing that happened to me this week was that I had my first day at the Central Missouri Humane Society (that is where I am doing my volunteer work for my Service Learning class). I am so excited to work there! I get to work with dog and cat ‘socialization’, meaning I get to play with them as much as I want! I also work some Saturdays at their ‘Walk A Hound, Lose A Pound Event.’ I even get to name animals when they come in if I want!

The hardest part will definitely be if they have to put down one of the animals that I bond with. When I went in on Wednesday, they had put down six dogs that day. It is so hard because they are an open shelter- meaning they take every animal that is brought there. And they get very little funding from the city- it is all in fundraising and donations. The Central Missouri Humane Society is really struggling right now too. Sometimes the people that work there take home a few dogs with them at night so that they don’t have to be put down. When ever people buy pets from pet stores or breeders, dogs and cats have to be put down at shelters. So get your pets at shelters! If you ever need a great place to donate money to- you should consider open shelters like these! These animals are so innocent- they don’t deserve to live in a cage or to be put to sleep just because they take up space!

I am so happy to work at CMHS though, because it is such a great place. I really can’t wait to be able to be a foster parent for dogs and cats when I get older. I would love to be able to foster puppies that will be sent to guide dog school when they get to be the right age. Then you are helping the dog and the person! Anyway, I am obviously super excited about this and can’t wait to spend more time there!

Well, sorry that was long… That’s what has been going on here! Miss you all!