RJ’s Blog

I have been a soccer fan since the day I can remember. I started playing back when I was four years old and have continued playing to this day. My dad passed on his love of the game to me, and I plan to continue this family tradition. It can really frustrating for my mom, who wants to watch TV and my dad and I just keep it on the channel that shows soccer all day. Anyways, I took over as Assistant Coach for the girl’s team at my old high school. It’s been really great so far, but the one thing I miss, is that I don’t get to compete. I can give them an example, teach them the rules, and scrimmage with them every now and then but it’s just not the same.

One of the things we stress as a tour guide is the importance of getting involved on campus. We have somewhere around 80 student organizations and what’s nice is anyone can start a new one anytime. Well, if you take a look at our APSU Athletics website (www.apsugovernors.com), you’ll notice that we don’t have a men’s soccer team. In fact, there are no varsity men’s soccer teams in the entire OVC. So after some research, I decided to take it upon myself to attempt to create the APSU Men’s Soccer Club. Starting a new organization requires that you write a constitution, create by-laws, and find potential members. If everything goes well, we’ll be playing this fall and be able to travel and compete against other schools. We should be able to dominate the intramural sports season as well. So, if you’re a soccer player and are dismayed at the absence of a men’s team. Fear no more. The future is bright for futbol on the APSU campus.

So just a little side note about me, that those who already know me are well aware of. I am a huge pop culture fan. I love movies, music, and television. It doesn’t really matter what it is or what it is about, I’ll watch it or listen to it. I want to work in the entertainment industry in some way later on in life, so I figure that this is good practice.

Well, to make a long story short, I have a huge celebrity crush on the one, and only, Beyonce. Recently, I had the opportunity to see her in concert in Nashville, which ended up being one of the greatest nights I’ve ever had. To start off, my seats were up in the second level. That’s not too bad, but it wasn’t great either. So, after the opening act, I go to get something from concessions and there in front of me, just walking down the hall, is Beyonce’s dad. Now, it wasn’t her but I was still a little starstruck. I stopped, asked him for a photo, but he politely refused. He then asked me if I was sitting up in the second level (I said “yes.”) and proceeded to offer me tickets for better seats. I was speechless. So I shook his hand, told him thanks and that he had a beautiful daughter, and proceeded down to the first level. From then on the show was awesome…and Beyonce didn’t even trip down the stairs. (An event that was heartbreaking for me.)

Later this summer, I’ll be going to see John Mayer. I expect it to be just as great a show as Beyonce, but for me, he just isn’t as good to look at.

So while all of the non-college kids are out of school for summer, a lot of us students here at Austin Peay hang around the campus during the summer months. Funny thing is, it can actually be fun to be around school in the summer.

First off, even after school ends there are still sports. The Austin Peay baseball team turned a few heads this summer while competing in the NCAA tournament. They almost upset #1 Vanderbilt in their first game. Then they came back and put on a clinic against Memphis, destroying them 18-7. But, alas, we were handed defeat by Vanderbilt again, ending our season. However, it was a groundbreaking achievement for the Bat Govs and gave some national attention and credibility to the university and their athletics. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the games (they were sold out). But I had a blast watching them on TV in my basement.

Secondly, we’ve been having our summer welcomes for freshman. When it comes to registering approximately 400 new students a day who have no clue what they are doing, it can get somewhat hectic. The differences between high school and college responsibilities are immense and orientation just gives you a little taste of those differences. However, the stress and frustration that could accompany such a day are balanced out by the awesome group of students I get to work with. The Orientation Coordinators and Assistants are one of the closest groups on campus and one of the best to get involved with. We strive to make it fun for each other and make it especially enjoyable for the new students. First impressions are always important.

One of the most intriguing things Austin Peay has to offer is the chance to earn a minor in Leadership. You can probably imagine that nothing else would look better on your resume sent to potential employers. For someone in the mass communications department like myself, that minor can really set you apart from the numerous other people in your same field of study. Being involved in the leadership classes at Austin Peay opens up a lot of other opportunities on and around campus. A lot of these opportunities deal with organizations, such as becoming an orientation leader, a Peer Mentor, and a member of Student Government. Then there are opportunites like the one I had a couple weekends ago that really had little to do with actual campus life. I was greeted with the chance of being a counselor for approximately 35 high school students at a summer leadership camp. The RYLA leadership camp was sponsored by rotary clubs all over middle and western Tennessee. The great thing was, the kids had a great time, but I probably learned just as much as they did (if not more). The training they received came from an instructor who trains large corporations and organizations in team management and leader-follower relationships. We got it for free, when they have to pay thousands of dollars for the same stuff. Plus, I got a few free dancing lessons from a few of the students during our free time. Priceless information.

There’s a few pictures from the weekend…more importantly there’s one of me trying to dance.

With the end of the spring semester comes new responsibilities and endeavors. First, for some of us, classes never end. With the option to take summer classes, a lot of work can get done when you have a lot of free time. This, in turn, frees up a lot of time during your regular semester. I’ve used the summer option for all the summers I have been enrolled and it has been extremely beneficial. There’s no better feeling than scheduling for your Senior year and realizing you’ve run out of classes to take. One, it reminds you that you’re almost done. Secondly, it gives you the opportunity to take classes you used to only be able to read about.

Along, with the summer class comes the Summer programs I’m involved with. I’ll be working in the APSU Admissions office as both a student worker and a tour guide. This means that if you want to see the campus, you may be able to meet me in person. Along with that, I’ll be working as an Orientation Assistant for Summer Welcome programs and Freshman Convocation. This means that if you are coming to APSU as a new student this fall, you’re gonna be able to meet me. If you do venture into either of these events, please ask me some questions. I get paid to answer them and it makes the whole thing a little bit more interesting. Finally, as next year’s SGA vice-president, I’ll be putting in some hours in our office. If you have any concerns about the school, we can help you out.

So, all of you intuitive readers have probably realized that I pretty much am at APSU all the time. It’s okay though, because I really enjoy the time I spend on campus. You should probably come check it out.