Written by Shannon Niedzwicki, Director of the Alber Student Center.

As the semester comes to an end, and my first year at the marion campus is wrapping up, it is a great time to reflect on the student center and the awesome students that come in here. This campus has such a wide array of student personalities, majors, and interests. It has been a great year; I am lucky to be able to work closely with these students. Here are the ten students of the student center:

1. The sleeper: This student you will catch sleeping in the student center after a big test, before class or during free time. They are usually on the couches or in the classroom.
2. The world is their stage: These students will break out in song and dance at the drop of a dime. They usually have their own open mic days and plan flash mobs for the campus. They keep the student center in a great mood.
3. The debaters:  You do not want to get into a political talk with this student. They are fierce. They strive to make change a global level and will do everything they can to get there.
4. The engineer: This is the studious student. They are always here early in the morning and have either their math book, calculator, or laptop out. The person is usually the more responsible role model for the student center.
5. The gamer: You will find this group of students in the office behind marion campus recreation. They get there early, and close the building down with the staff. They know everything about gaming systems, software and local restaurants.
6. The participator: This student is down for anything. They always participate in intramural sports, the climbing wall, and anything going on in the student center. They are also known as the cheerleader of the group.
7. Too cool for school: When talking to this student you may think they don’t like the marion campus or college in general; however they are always getting involved, they hang out at the student center all day, and they volunteer when needed.
8. The athlete: This student is the all-around sports player. They will do anything that has a prize attached to it; the more competitive the better. You will always find this student participating in intramural sports.
9. The veteran: You will find these student in our veterans lounge located in the Student Center. They are usually wearing a patriotic shirt and try spread awareness of their organization in the best way possible.
10. The nontraditional: This student did not take the traditional track to college. They come into the student center when it is convenient for them; they usually have a full time job or a family at home to provide for.

Next year we will have new students; maybe some more engineers, maybe a few more participators, but all in all, the memories these kids make in the short time they are here will last a lifetime.

Cheers to a new year!

Well I did it. I am officially done with my undergraduate degree! I will be receiving a Bachelors in English next weekend from The Ohio State University! As excited as I am, I can’t help but be a little sad. Ohio State Marion is not going to be an easy place to leave. This place has been my knowledge center for four years. I have cried here, I have laughed here, and I have made so many wonderful memories. Ohio State Marion has truly built me into the person that I am today. There have been so many people that have believed in me and pushed me even when I felt like I had no idea where to turn. I changed my major four times and yet I am actually graduating on time! I have been told so many times that my degree is too broad and I will have to receive my masters to do anything worthwhile or to even get a great job. I have been told that going to a branch campus would be a mistake. I have been told that you never will experience the world if you do not leave home at 18. To all the people telling college students and graduating high school seniors all of these things, I have a message for you. This degree has prepared me to be able to professionally write in any and every situation. Name one job where there is not some form of writing! Staying close to home was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life. I was able to financially put myself through school with minimal debt. I have had the support of my family every single step of the way throughout college. I have been able to give back to my hometown the entire time I have been in school.  I did this through speaking on behalf of all the students at the Marion campus last year at the groundbreaking of some amazing improvements to this campus. I also represented the Marion campus and Marion itself, as a member of the 2015 homecoming court. Not only was I able to participate on campus, but I also became apart of a local young adult group through Dayspring Wesleyan Church where I was able to meet new people and develop a spiritual support system that I cherish dearly. You do not have to leave home to do great things. You do not have to get the degree that everyone tells you to get. I will succeed and I will use this degree to do great things in the future. Do not ever let people tell you that you can’t do it or you are not making the best decision for yourself. They do not have to live your life, you do. So make every decision for yourself and do not let the idea of a regional campus hold you back from chasing your dreams. I am in the process of chasing mine thanks to this campus and I could not be more excited!

So if you haven’t made it to the library this month yet you might not know that it’s National Poetry Month! The library is taking full advantage of this month! Along with a 2 displays in the Library Classroom building (one featuring the Cornfield Review and the other a Poet-Tree), there’s also a pop up display featuring some poetry books by faculty members, display cubes of famous poets, a children’s literature display, and the main attraction: Magnetic poetry!

Located right in front of the circulation desk there are two magnetic boards with countless little word magnets just waiting for you to come and create your own poem. I’ve spent quite a bit of time arranging and re-arranging words, and laughing with co-workers and patrons alike about random word mashups that sort of just come together on their own. Not only is this entertaining but I find myself sitting in front of the words and just feeling calm. There’s something soothing about a bunch of random words right in front of you sometimes, I guess.

So how did this great activity come to be? The credit goes to supervisor Deanna Bachtell. Deanna has been on board with the Campus Library 5  and 1/2 years as a student worker and 4 years as a Library Associate. Some of her personal creative writing has been featured in the Cornfield Review (2006 and 2007 issues) and she has submitted some of her creative writing to various creative writing journals. I’ve been lucky enough to read some of Deanna’s poetry and I definitely recommend it! Some of the magnets featured on magnetic poetry boards come from Deanna’s own personal magnetic poetry set. Some of Deanna’s favorite poets are Emily Dickinson and Pablo Neruda.  

Stop by the library and check out all the awesome and fun displays, and say hi to Deanna!

“Write a poem
because you’re epic.”

Last week I had the wonderful chance to experience the International Festival on campus and all I can say is WOW! I found it so interesting that many different people found this event to be something that they wanted to be a part of. There were many families who had brought their children, there were high school students, and college students, and many different representations of culture. I had no idea that this event was something that had become so important to the community! This was completely inspiring to me. I figured that it would be mostly OSUM and MTC students but that was not the case at all! It was mostly families! Do you know what this means for this campus!? It means that we are reaching out and inviting people of all ages to come and be a part of what we are, and they are taking us up on the offer! They are feeling comfortable here and wanting to come learn here! We are inspiring young learners to not be afraid to learn about those different than you. If that is not inspiring and encouraging, than I do not know what is!

I’m not sure if this was planned or not… but I’d like to think that the people in my class just love being a Buckeye! I was wearing my Ohio State hoodie that day; I could’ve been the Scarlet to their Gray.

Professor Turner’s Chemistry 1220 class

Brutus Buckeye definitely approves

With the school year coming to a close it’s time to make that one last effort to meet new people. Take it from me, someone who met all of his friends this year during the last two weeks of my freshman year.

My schedule last year was quite different, as I had one class in the morning/afternoon and one at night. This left a lot of dead time between the two classes and often times if I didn’t feel like going home I would simply just stay at the school and sit by myself. Now as someone who considers them-self outgoing I was often times very board just sitting around though. I can remember it like it was yesterday when Matthew Meade and Nic Pomeroy invited me to come hangout with them in the current Veterans Lounge. It was pretty evident early on that our personality types mashed and we started to hangout on a more regular basis. I had never seen those guys around the school. If it hadn’t been for the student center i would have never met my two current roommates.

Luckily for any students looking to meet new people you don’t have to sit around and wait for someone to invite you hangout with them as there are plenty of activities going on in the student center. For example this Wednesday the student center will be holding a “What Not to Wear” fashion show at noon. Maybe you’ll see someone one you’ve never met or have always been interested in getting to talk to there.

The student center offers things far beyond just a friendly environment. Take the Job and Internship fair that’s going on this Thursday this is a tremendous opportunity to advance your career in whatever field you plan to pursue. My Dad always told me, “It’s not what you know in life but who you know”. Thanks to the student center you may just meet someone that can open a door for you that you would have never found.

What makes the student center so welcoming is the staff that runs it. All of the staff that works in the student center office go to OSUM or MTC. In fact if you are looking for another way to get involved you could apply to work in the student center.

The student center truly is the epicenter of campus and offers so much to every OSUM or MTC student

What better way to introduce this year’s Campus Campaign than a cheesy promo video? Donations this year go toward replacing the furniture in Morrill Hall’s student lobby. To learn more about Campus Campaign, visit here.

Disclaimer: not scripted, entirely improv with Amanda DeJonge behind the camera.

https://vimeo.com/157476063

Over the weekend, my boyfriend Jacob and I decided to treat ourselves to a little adventure with a hobby we’ve shared together over the past few years: geocaching. I’m careful not to give too much away to the “muggles” of the geocaching universe, but it’s much like treasure-hunting: follow a map, GPS, or compass to an exact location, and search for the goods. We decided we wanted to make our way from our hometown of Upper Sandusky to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Powell, stopping to hunt for geocaches along the way. Of course, there’s no way we would be skipping out on the treasures of the Marion campus – I attend The Ohio State University at Marion, while my boyfriend, Jacob, is a Marion Technical College graduate. Turns out, there are four geocaches waiting to be found on our favorite campus. We only found three, but it wasn’t the geocaches that made this day memorable for me.

I’m no researcher, but I’m willing to bet that the number one question asked to high school seniors is, “where have you decided to go to college?” It’s at least in the top five. In my experience, answering “The Ohio State University at Marion” was often followed by someone chiming in, “The Ohio State COMMUTiversity.” I was always told that commuting to my university would result in missing out on “the college experience.”

The college experience consists of so much more than living in a residence hall, and if Ohio State Marion has taught me anything, it’s that the college experience is what you make it. In my time here, I’ve learned how to research, speak a foreign language, think critically, appreciate the Earth, learn from the past, form connections with professors and peers, and discover myself as a student and as a human being.

The Marion campus is a homey, community-friendly one. It’s a place to take a walk on a Saturday afternoon, have a picnic with friends, or geocache out on the Prairie. It’s a place that reminds me to appreciate all the things I love about a small town, and all the people my university has connected me to, allowing me to pursue my dreams as an undergraduate and as an entrepreneur.

As I made my mark on the slip of paper left for me to discover on the Prairie, I couldn’t help but think about the mark Ohio State left on me. I couldn’t imagine my college experience turning out any better than it has. So here’s to you, current and future Buckeyes, because if the college experience is a quality education, a plethora of opportunities, and a journey of self-discovery, you’ve come to the right place.

When all students are away for the break of spring, some of us stay and work throughout the week. This means that we must provide our own entertainment and joy while in Marion, OH when we could be away on a sunny beach in Florida. We create this joy in making wonderful cups of Hot Chocolate in the Admission office while stuff 250 bags for potential students. We listen to summer tunes while we stuff 500 scholarship letters in envelopes for students this upcoming year. We are able to stay behind and help prepare the office for the last half of the semester, and for all the upcoming new students.  Although we do not get away for Spring Break, We still allow ourselves to escape through our sweet tooth and our sweet tunes!