Things to do before I die...

One of my all-time favorite quotes is, "Learn as if you were to live forever. Live as if you were to die tomorrow," by Gandhi. He was a brilliant man! I have taken this to heart & started a Tiff's Life To-Do List...living my life to the fullest & encouraging others to do the same. I believe setting goals really does motivate a person & it's okay to dream BIG... :) I have decided to share with you all the things I wish to do before I die & hope the list continues to grOW...

1.) Complete my education. I have started working on my Master's degree at Iowa State in Higher Education/Student Affairs with hope to also complete my Ed.D. (Educational Doctorate) researching effective & realistic ways to reform America's public schools.
** My inspiration? Former teacher, auther & education advocate, Jonathon Kozol. Where did I learn of Kozol? We were required to read one of his books, Savage Inequalities in one of my education courses here at Simpson. It was the most eye-opening experience I had ever encountered! Within this past year I also read his book, The Shame of the Nation. I only wish politicians would also read these...

2.) Write & illustrate a series of childrens books. I miss creating art & I enjoy writing, so why not combine the two interests?! :) FYI: It won't be any Berenstein Bears or Curious George! :(

3.) Go to the Summer Olympics. I love sports and the fact that most nations gather during this time for a few weeks of PEACE!

4.) Go to at least 1 of every major sports championship. I repeat, I love sports!! :0P

5.) Visit as many of the 1,000 Places to See Before I Die as I can. My parents gave me the book for Christmas & I've started highlight the places I've been. Thankfully, my traveling for work has helped me with this dream! Travel is important to me & I wish money didn't always have to be an obstacle! Oh yeah, and the Iowa State Fair is one of the places included in the book!

6.) Host a foster child. I want to help someone finally feel "at home." There are too many children in this world who are in need for me to pass up this opportunity...

7.) Walk a marathon. Yes, I said "walk." ...no, I'm not lazy, I just have terrible knees, asthma & zero tolerance for pain! :(
** My father & brother are my inspiration for this goal. My dad has run 7 marathons prior to a severe heart attack at the age of 47 years old. Since then he has also had stints & a defibrilator put in. This didn't stop him! He has completed 2 full RAGBRAI rides (bike ride across the state of Iowa) & continues to jog. Although it's scary, his perseverence is amazing! My brother has completed 2 marathons within 2 years with challenges - the first, his knee gave out in the 2nd mile & the second, his asthma took his breath away on mile 22. He never gave up!

8.) Learn to ballroom dance. I grew up dancing & figured maybe if I could no longer pirouette, I could ballroom dance when I'm an old woman...I refuse to polka or square dance! :0P

9.) Teach or counsel students overseas for at least 1 year. Prior to getting married, I planned on doing this...hopefully I still can someday!

10.) Go to a NY Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game @ Yankee Stadium! I am a die hard Yankees fan, no, not a bandwagoner...it's inherited from my father. ...and we are very anti-BoSox!

11.) Be a "Price is Right," "Wheel of Fortune," or "Family Feud" contestant. Unfortunately I didn't make it in time to meet Bob Barker, but I have always loved that show - it's so exciting & I'm pretty much a master at every game...they'd regret not to calling me to "Come on down!" Sidenote: They missed their opportunity in hiring me as Barker's replacement...my "assistants" would have been called "Hummel's Hunks!"

12.) Coach a Little League baseball or softball team. I'm sure you've already noticed a recurring theme...sports. I grew up playing softball & watching my brother play ball year round, so I think it would be a ton of fun! I always love watching the Little League World Series on t.v. each year.

13.) See a space shuttle take off in person. It just doesn't "do it" watching it on t.v....

14.) ...

I would love to hear what is on your Life To-Do List...feel free to share it with me in a "comment!"

Super Saturday!

This past Saturday was the biggest day of the year (& an absolutely beautiful one at that!) for not only myself, but also all the first-year students arriving on campus...to stay! I've been working with my students for the past year or two & so it brings me such a sense of accomplishment & excitement to see them all happy to be at Simpson! The College will be a better place because of these students - each of them bring something different, interesting & impressive to Simpson - I can't wait to read about them in The Simpsonian, in the athletic box scores, on performance programs and on our website! I always say it makes me feel like a "proud mom" to see them do so well. Ha! :oP

Each year Move-In does bring back memories of my first day in my new "home." I lived in Kresge Hall Room #234 back when Kresge was all women & not only freshmen. I did have a slightly different experience than most students since I roomed with my best friend, Stacy. We've been friends since kindergarten & despite the thoughts of most people, we're still friends today after rooming together. :P Thankfully we new what bugged each other & were much alike, so we survived without killing each other - Ha. It was less nervewracking to move in with someone I knew, rather than someone I had never met. We had so much fun decorating our own space! Kresge also didn't look as nice as it does now - we had old (since the 1970's) metal bunkbeds that could not be lofted, only a few rooms had a window air conditioner, the floor was not carpeted & the furniture was an ugly yellow/brown color! We ended up buying some of that sticky contact paper with a design to put all over our furniture, so it didn't feel like we were sent to prison rather than college! Kresge & Barker Halls are so nice now after being remodeled. I know the fall athletes are quite relieved that they are also air conditioned! Besides the crazy move-in day & saying our good-byes to our family, I remember my floor-mates, too! Interestingly, there were two distinct groups of friends on the floor & we had two awesome R.A.'s (now C.A.'s), Katie & Sara. Stacy & I became real good friends with two other girls across the hall from us (Brett & Alaina), who were also high school friends. I am still good friends with Alaina, who unfortunately moved to New York City after graduation. My Liberal Arts Seminar class was Intro to Art with Janet Heinicke & although I really liked her, it was challenging to have an hour & 15 minute 8:00 class with her very soft-spoken lecture voice!

I also checked out football practice Saturday & took some photos that I included in this blog...I'm very excited for the sports to start again, so I can look forward to another possible Admissions Storm Chasers Road Trip to a game or tournament! I anticipate another excellent season for our soccer teams, volleyball, women's golf, basketball & softball - GO STORM!

KUDOS to Greek Life for helping families haul there stuff in on Saturday - it made a BIG difference & was greatly appreciated!

Did You Know?
For her part in uncovering a new species, '01 Simpson graduate Emily Kissinger has a rare tropical plant named after her, known as Anthurium Kinsingeriae Croat.

"Unfortunately due to terrible weather in the Chicago area and loss of electricity in our home, my husband was unable to make the trip to Simpson and I had to bring my daughter to school by myself. I feared move in wondering how we would manage by ourselves?

However, I pulled in the parking lot and was greeted by 20 students who unloaded our car within 10 minutes! I am not sure who I should send my thanks to, but once again we were totally impressed with Simpson College! I have never seen anything like that!! Those students helped relieve a stressful situation for us!

Could you please convey our thanks to all those wonderful students who spent their day helping us out and all those other families that day. We were very touched by their motivation, energy and kindness!"

- Donna, mother of a first-year student

RoCkStAr Weekend in Minnesota!

a math equation:
a quirky, blonde-moment-prone, giggly Admissions Counselor + a rookie, Kathy Griffin: Life on the D-List addicted, super fun Admissions Counselor + famous actor/model wannabe, car music D.J.in', life-lovin' Ambassador = an EntErTaInIng, funny, YouTube-quality August weekend!!

No joke - we had a complete blast roadtrippin' North for Simpson's Minnesota Send-Off in the Twin Cities! Although it felt as if we had entered a completely new climate from one hour to the next (sunny & 90 degrees in Iowa to terrential downpouring 55 degrees in Minnesota!), we made the most of it both Saturday & Sunday. We decided to head up Saturday so we wouldn't have to do an 8 hour trip up & back in one day. It was SO nice having company along this time, since I'm usually driving alone...it went a LOT faster having a couple cool peeps to chat with & sing with! Drew brought his tunes along - a sweet mix of this summer's hottest hits (you have great taste Drew!) & a CD of our fave - Mika. ...which Jamie quickly fell in love with as well! We did make a pitstop in northern IA for Drew to get his pic taken under a town of "Manly" sign. ;P We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon, checked in & then drove our starving tummies to "Noodles & Company." Yes, I pretty much INHALED my Wisconsin Mac 'n Cheese - it was muy delicioso!

Drum roll please...

IKEA TIME!! Drew had never stepped foot in this worship-worthy store, so we spent a lot of time there gauking at all the things we really wanted, but couldn't afford or fit in my car. :( We've decided we'd like to open an Iowa IKEA...to LIVE IN! Following that, we headed across the street to the Mall of America, which of course was jam-packed due to the nasty weather outside. After a bit of shopping & a snack, we returned to the comfy, warm hotel room for a marathon of MTV reality shows & MSNBC's Dateline: To Catch a Predator, RAW!, which was pretty disturbing, but irresistable.

We got to sleep in Sunday morning - yay! I went for a dip in the hot tub & then started to get ready when... the Tiff Travel Tales began... I FORGOT MY DRESS CLOTHES!! 4 years of traveling with this job & I've never forgot my dress clothes! I had even remembered 2 swim suits - Ha. Oh, it didn't end... I hopped in the shower & was running my packing process through my mind, not paying attention, when I realized I was washing my hair with my shower gel?!?! WOW. So, we revisted the Mall of America for me to find a new outfit to wear to the Send-Off & eat lunch at Kokomo's.

Send-Off Time! We went to a store to pick up centerpiece flowers & then went to set up the reception, using newspapers as make-shift umbrellas as we unloaded. The Minnesota Send-Off was a success! It was great seeing my students & their families again, talking with some alumni & seeing everyone excited about the year to begin. It's such a nice way for incoming students to meet others starting college with them, so I'm excited to start this event in other cities someday, too!

The trip home consisted of rain, rain & more rain, but thankfully we had the Book of Questions to entertain us...we learned a LOT about each other, had fun eating our junk food & energy drinks to stay awake, shared many laughs & bonded...awwwww. ;P I can't wait to roadtrip with Jame-O & D.J. Drew again!

Later Taters.

Did You Know?

Simpson alumnus Kip Janvrin '88 participated in the Decathlon at the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

"80% of the final exams will be based on the one lecture you missed & the one book you didn't read." - Unknown

cheese curds, mini donuts & road trip OH MY!

So, I'm totally pumped about tonight...I'm headed to pretty much THE coolest thing in this underrated state of IOWA! Yes...the IOWA STATE FAIR, yay! Hey, it may sound cheesy, but it is the largest State Fair in the country and listed in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die ...in the world! :P Here are my top ten reasons I look forward to the fair, despite a 100 degree heat index:

1.) Scrumdidlyumcious homemade cheese curds.

2.) Cup 'o cookies - a dozen little chocolate chip cookies right outta the oven.

3.) Cinnamon mini-donuts. Thank you God!

4.) Picking up all the free junk & signing up to win stuff in the Varied Industries & Tourism Buildings.

5.) Checking out the Carnies in the Midway. Gross, but entertaining. :P

6.) Running into old friends.

7.) Riding the Double-Ferris Wheel & Giant Slide. I'm still a child at heart! :)

8.) Looking at the Cultural Building's photo & art displays.

9.) Bill Riley's Talent Sprouts Countest. They're SO cute!

10.) THE BEST: People-watching! Every "population" you can imagine is seen at the State Fair...

Besides my annual trip to the State Fair, I get to road-trip to the Twin Cities this weekend with "The Rookie" Jame-O from Admissions & Ambassador Drew (a.k.a. Future Winner of the yet to be created t.v. reality show America's Next Top Actor)! The Admissions Office & the Alumni Relations Office are hosting the Minnesota Send-Off Sunday evening for the incoming Minnesota students, area alumni & current Simpson students. It's so fun to see all my students make connections before moving in next weekend! Not only am I excited for that event, but I can't wait to eat at one of my favorite restaurants "Noodles & Company," which they don't yet have in Des Moines. The Wisconsin Mac 'n Cheese ranks right up there with the NY Yankees in awesomeness! Anyway, I look forward to having the company on the trip up & chattin' with Drew before he becomes a Londonite soon.

SHOUT OUT to Sabra, the winner of my favorite t.v. show "So, You Think You Can Dance!" I was SO happy to see her win - she's definitely THE best dancer & most beautiful gal I've ever seen! :)

Did You Know?

'99 Simpson graduate Coulter Allison landed a role on the hit show Dawson's Creek.

"I used to keep my college roommate from reading my personal mail by hiding it iun her textbooks." - Joan Welsh

Iowa Private College Week @ Simpson: One Hot Week. One Cool Time. One GREAT Location!

Greetings! Well, I'm one of the newest Simpson Storm Bloggers, which is quite appropriate since I graduated from Simpson, work for Simpson and pretty much bleed red & gold! Ha :) I'm very excited to share my experiences of being an Admissions Counselor & more specifically, a Road Warrior! I anticipate you'll hear some pretty interesting stories after a few embarrassing moments happened with my past year of travel...like accidentally tearing my jeans completely open in front, down my thigh, exposing everything to the several people around me in Rocky Mountain National Park...or having an entire box of a hundred brochures break open & roll down an airport escalator, spilling everywhere, having to push the emergency stop button & running up & down to gather them all...oh, the journeys of an out-of-state Admissions Counselor. Ha! :P At least I can laugh at myself.

Anyway, to move on to what my blog's title actually indicated...last week was the annual Iowa Private College Week, which despite the repetition of 10 sessions, I was completely re-energized & pumped up about this upcoming year from meeting some of my "new" students! They pretty much rock! What I love about my job is that even though the cycle is repeated from year to year...I get to meet new students & families every year! They all bring something different & interesting to Simpson. So, IPCW was a big success for us, with nearly 400 students & parents attending! I met a variety students from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota & Nebraska - some music students, some athletes, a dancer, one interested in environmental science & political science (wanting to eventually work for the Sierra Club possibly) & even one who wants to be our mascot! The heat & the storms didn't keep 'em away...yay. :) It was also nice to spend a week with my work friends since I normally work from my home over by Omaha. I'm so lucky to have such a great group of co-workers! I did include a few pictures from IPCW at the top of this blog...

With that said, I hope to entertain you, inform you, get you excited about Simpson & college life in general, with a few chuckles here & there...

Following each blog, I would like to leave you with a quote & a random "Did You Know?" Simpson fact you may not see in a brochure or hear about:

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men. - Bill Beattie

The Simpson Storm Women's Golf Team has won a record nine Iowa Conference Championships, had 15 NCAA National Tournament Appearances & 93 Tournament Victories since 1989, 6 All-Americans and 6 NCAA National Tournament Top 5 Placings!