Heading to Tampa Bay for NCECA

I am currently sitting in the Cedar Rapids Airport waiting to fly out to Tampa Bay, FL for the 45th Annual NCECA Conference.  NCECA stands for National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.  Fellow senior art major, Mitch Iburg, Coe Art Professor, John Beckelman and myself will be in attendance with approximately a few thousand other people from today until Saturday.  Mitch and I wrote grant proposals to the art department for McKean Family Fine Arts Helping Hand Grants to be able to go to this conference.  The art department at Coe reviews proposals for McKean Grants every semester and awards money as they see fit.  Students apply for money to go to academic conferences, to study abroad, to pay for extra materials or for other special projects.  

At NCECA, top ceramics artists, graduate schools, residency programs, and people who just love ceramics gather to talk about art, show what they have been doing over the last year and discuss the future of the field.  There are hundreds of presentations and demonstrations.  So much occurs at NCECA that I am not quite sure what to expect even after looking at the schedule.  But, I am very excited to see what kind of art other people are making and maybe find some new inspiration for my own work!    

Formal and Polar Plunge

Yesterday and today were very busy for me.  Last night was my sorority's formal.  This year it was at the Marriot in Coralville, Ia.  We got all dressed up, had a nice dinner, took pictures and danced the night away.  

This morning, as a sorority, we participated in the Cedar Rapids Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics.  The Special Olympics is one of our national philanthropies and participating in the Polar Plunge has become a tradition for our chapter.  To be in the Polar Plunge you have to have a team of at least 10 people and each person needs to raise $60.  This year we raised over $1,000 so a lot of us were able to plunge!  Plunging consists of dressing up and running into a freezing cold lake as a team.  As a senior, I decided that I definitely needed to take part again (I did last year too)!  There were hundreds of people there and at least a hundred plunged.  It was quite cold but its all for a good cause!   

All of the ASA girls at formal.

Plunging!

Alpha Sigma Alpha 10th Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday, my sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha, celebrated our 10th Anniversary of being at Coe (it was technically on March 3rd) with a dinner and reception at the Clarion Hotel in Cedar Rapids.  It was great to have so many alumnae in the same place and I really enjoyed seeing old friends who have graduated in the last three years.  Our current chapter president, the alum chapter president and the founding president of Theta Alpha Chapter each gave speeches telling us what the sorority means to them, how it has influenced their lives, and what they hope to see happen with our chapter in the years to come.  Overall, a lot of fun was had by all!  The event was a great success and I look forward to more anniversary celebrations in the future!

      

Two of our chapter advisors/alumnae at the
10th Anniversary Celebration

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2011

Yesterday, a group of Coe students, staff, and Charlie the Kohawk participated in the 2011 St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown Cedar Rapids.  Channel 9 News in Cedar Rapids estimated that 25,000 people will in attendence.  We all wore green and ran around passing out green tootsie rolls and beads.  Fun was had by all.  It was very neat to get to represent Coe in the Cedar Rapids Community.  My favorite part of the experience was hearing multiple parents tell their children that Coe is where their mom or dad had graduated from.     

Nafla and Katie with Charlie Kohawk.

The group of students from Coe who walked in the parade.

Jenny in her 4 Leaf Clover Costume. 

Nafla is putting a St. Patrick's Day tattoo on
Cassie before the parade.

New Ceramic Sculptures

Here are some of my recent ceramic sculptures that I have been working on for my Senior Thesis Exhibition in April!

Adventures of the Coe College Tennis Team on Spring Break

This morning our spring break in Orlando ended and we headed back to Cedar Rapids.  It was quite the week.  We played a lot of tennis but also managed to get in some team bonding time and many fun activities including going out for dinner many times, a trip to Old Town Kissimmee and Fun Spot Theme Park, a Braves Spring Training Game and a shopping trip to an outlet mall in the area.  Below are some pictures of tennis and the places we went.   

Getting ready to ride Go Carts.

Hannah and Sara on the "Slingshot"
at the Fun Spot in Kissimmee, FL.

The Men's and Women's Tennis Teams
after our matches with The College of New Jersey.

Michelle and Tai playing during one of our 5 matches. 

Tennis Spring Break in Florida Begins...

Yesterday, the women's tennis team flew into Orlando to join the men's team for spring break.  It was 80 degrees and sunny when we got here.  We checked into our hotel and hit the practice courts right away.  It was strange yet nice to be playing tennis outside again (since we've been on Coe's indoor courts at Clark Racquet Center since late October).  

Today we played The College of New Jersey (Ranked 17th in the the country).  We lost 4-5.  After  today and losing 4-5 to #22 Wheaton last weekend we definitely see that we have improved tremendously and have a great spring season ahead of us.  Tomorrow we play Meredith College from South Carolina.  

Below are some random pictures I've been taking on the trip.  We are staying at a new hotel this year that sits on a lake and has a boardwalk where people are constantly running or walking.  After our match today, a few of us walked around it.  Its a very relaxing area to just hang out in.  After a couple hours of relaxation 30+ (men's team, women's team, and many parents) Coe tennis players and fans went out to dinner near our hotel.  We try to do this the majority of the nights we have in Orlando.  Its always a good time!  

A look at Orlando from the airplane as we got into the city.  

The view from the boardwalk outside our hotel.

Spring Break is Finally Here!

I am officially done with mid terms and critiques until Match 14th.  I am so happy to have a week off and not have to worry about school for a little while.  Today, the Women's Tennis Team hosted Illinois State, a Division I program, in a non conference dual.  The Illinois State coach called Coach Rodgers early this week and asked if we wanted to play tomorrow.  Although it was surprising, Coach Kris and I said it sounded like fun so we said, "Sure!"  We lost 2-7 but it was great experience and I think everyone competed well in each match.

Tomorrow, the women's team, along with Coach Kris, heads to Orlando where we play 5 schools from other regions of the country.  Friday of next week is our "non tennis day" in Orlando.  We're already making plans to try to get to the beach, Universal Studios, Disney, or a water park for the day.