life at eiu

It’s that time of year again. Trees are all barren; snow is in and out… it’s cold, very cold. That means one thing to me, finals! Since this is my first year here and I have to adapt to this new form of finals. It shouldn’t be too bad, because most of my classes are easy enough to handle.

Let’s talk about what has happened since the last time I posted. Since then I am part of the Jazz program here at EIU, playing the drum set in the Jazz Lab Band, under the direction of the one and only Paul Johnston, if you don’t know who he is, you have really missed out on a great instructor and person. Check him out (and the band) out next time we have a concert.

I am in the Percussion Ensemble, which takes up a lot of my so-called "free" time. We just had our first concert of the year and it went really well. Mr. Jamie Ryan has taken over the position of instructing the percussion majors and minors and thus far, I am very pleased with his ability to play, but his ability to teach is great as well. So, if you are interested in coming here for percussion, I would definitely talk to him.

Overall, I am very pleased with all of the faculty here, especially in the music department. Barry Houser is fantastic at his job as the Marching Band Director and Basketball Band Director. He brings a welcoming spirit to all involved and has the energy of a 5 year old, in my personal opinion, I don’t think he sleeps… just a thought. And Mr. Johnston and Mr. Ryan are both fantastic instructors. Dr. Borah, my professor for both music theory and aural training is wonderful, he really knows how to talk to students and makes the material understandable.
So like I said earlier, about a dozen times, the faculty here is AMAZING I can’t stress that enough, they are one of the many reasons I love this school.
That’s all for now…
-Jake

Hello there,
For those new to the blog, my name is Dan Rolando and I am now a senior physics and economics major at EIU. I’m also in the University Honors Program. A few of the things I do around Eastern’s campus are Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a social Greek fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, a co-ed honors fraternity, Knights of Columbus, a Catholic male social and fraternal group, and I’m a Resident Assistant in Douglas Hall.
So, another school year and another set of challenges rises up before me. I am facing my toughest academic semester yet as I move into all of my senior level physics and economics classes. I am also looking to do departmental honors for physics and economics so that means I have even more extra research on top of those other classes. I can handle it though, and it only goes to show you that EIU has something to challenge even the most academically oriented students!
Aside from my schoolwork, I am trying to enjoy my senior year a little bit. My fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, just received its charter this past summer after two years of proving ourselves as a colony here on Eastern’s campus. Along with this charter came a renewed sense of pride and motivation for my fraternity brothers and me. We had a great pledge class this fall and nearly doubled our numbers! Things are looking as we get ready for Greek Week in the spring. SAE is looking to turn some heads this year for sure.
I am working on balancing being president of three organizations: SAE, Phi Sigma Pi and Society of Physics Students, along with all of my schoolwork. This has been quite rough. I’m seeing a lot less free time and a lot more pages in my books, but the key component has been enjoying all of my involvements. Even though I have a meeting literally every single night of the week, every organization is important to me and I have fun with the people involved, so it barely seems like a responsibility at all. The one piece of advice I would offer anyone-freshmen, transfer students, or even seniors who’ve been at EIU their whole college careers-is to think about your future commitment to an organization before joining. I have been lucky to become involved with many things that I find I have a passion for and a commitment to. But I have seen many people join clubs thinking that it’s right for them only to become burnt out with the responsibilities later. Some chose to quit the organization, or even worse, stayed in and just had a miserable time.
That being said, DO go out and get involved because the more you involve yourself outside of the classroom, the better college experience you will have. When President William Perry says that he wants Eastern Illinois University to be the best college in the nation at integrating the academic and social development of its students, I can say with confidence that we are well on our way. At Eastern, there is a true dedication to the student above all else, and this is why I love EIU and hope everyone else can share my same experience with this university!
Dan Rolando

My summer finally has ended and school has started for me again. My second year at Eastern has started somewhat ok, although I have had a rough couple of days; however it has slowly gotten better. The drive down with my mom is so long because we live right outside of Chicago and that means the drive is three hours long. When I arrived at EIU and saw my friends the stress just melted away.

In the first weeks, I lost my Panther card, my favorite sweater and I burned my thumb getting stir fry at Carman dining center. All that bad luck made me feel like the end of the world was coming. Luckily, I found my panther card but after I had paid $20 for a new one (still did not find my sweater!). When it comes to school, I have some really good teachers, but some challenging courses this semester. My friends have been really helpful and without them I would be lost. Registration for classes next semester start next week and so I hope my schedule will be a good as my fall classes. Crossing my fingers!
Until next time!