In the Mind of Mike

This past weekend ShredMC, our ski and snowboard club sponsored a trip to  Jay Peak . The best part is that it included a free ski pass, water park ticket and transportation. Thats well over a $100 value which is pretty awesome since I really like skiing Jay and wanted to try out the water park. Since it was such a good deal signing up was competitive. We had to sign up at 7:45am in the student center. I got there at 7:40 and got the third to last spot. Since the demand was so high then ended up getting another bus so that eighty people could go. I went with two sophomore friends Brendan and Greg. Greg hanging with a tree. We all fell but it was like falling on pillows. The conditions were great in the glades. Jay has some really long and nice glades which were a workout but a blast. The other trails were tricky at the top since the visibility was really low in open areas. But we were more than happy staying in the trees. Since the runs were so long and we wanted to go to the...

These last few weekends have been pretty great. I'm so excited that it has been cold and snowy for an extended period of time. There are lots of fun things to do in the winter at Saint Mike's and around Burlington. Last weekend Smugglers Notch was finally 100% open which was awesome since I had not been able to ski the glades at all this season yet. I was able to get off campus by 11:30 on Friday which allowed me to get to Smuggs by 12:30. Even though I got there pretty late I was still able to get in eight solid runs. Being able to go to my class and give a tour in the morning and still get in a decent amount of runs in the afternoon is one of my favorite things. It feels so good to get so much done by 5pm in one day. Sorry for the hand but still a good view from the chairlift! On February 8th I participated in my first Penguin Plunge which is a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. It consists of people running into Lake Champlain which is kind of crazy seeing as it is so...

This semester I only have class Monday, Wednesday and Friday which means most days I'm not in class. I've been keeping busy though with my internship and other activities. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have my internship with  350 Vermont . I'm the tar sands free intern so I work in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont to organize resistance to the possible pipeline reversal. My role consists of calling and emailing volunteers, updating the website, making presentations and getting to know the Northeast Kingdom. I've really been enjoying it so far. I'm never in the office and we are always going to new places which I really enjoy. View from the chairlift with Stowe in the background Then of course there are no classes on the weekends so I tend to go do something outside on Saturdays then keep Sundays free for relaxing and doing homework. I've gone skiing twice so far this semester which isn't too bad seeing how busy I've been. I also went snow shoeing a few ...

The MOVE  program has been one of the most important parts of my time at Saint Mike's. I've had the privilege to go on an extended service trip every year and each trip has been a great experience. I did environmental work in Texas, worked with Habitat for Humanity and kids in Immokalee, had a life changing experience in the Dominican Republic and just got back from a week of working in a middle school in Buffalo. Trip to Niagara Falls  This year I applied to go on a trip like everyone else but was actual selected to be a trip leader since they always need to pull up a couple of people since there are more trips than there are extended service committee members. I was a little nervous at first since leading a group of ten people for a week seemed a little overwhelming but as soon as I met with my group I knew it would go well. I had an amazing group and we all became really close over the course of the week. First day of school! We worked at the  NativityMiguel...

Just like that I'm done with my last fall semester at Saint Michael's. Somehow time seems to keep speeding up every year. The last week was full of studying for finals and writing papers but I also had time to do some other more exciting things. On Saturday I went to  Smuggs  for the first time of the season. There weren't a lot of trails open yet but one of the many benefits of getting a $65 season pass thanks to the Wilderness Program is that you can go on days with okay conditions and not waste any money. For the first week though it wasn't too bad. It was icy in some spots but there were more trails open than usual. A picture the crew at Smuggs took this past week. Winter is here! I also went to the Asiana house in Burlington for the first time. It's a sushi spot right near Church St and the food was really good. I got the White Tiger roll which is spicy scallop wrapped in rice which is fried then topped with unagi and spicy teriyaki sauce. On Wednesday ...

One of my favorite things about Saint Mike's is how great it is to be on campus before Christmas. It has always been my favorite holiday and Saint Mike's sure knows how to make you get into the spirit.  As soon as we get back from Thanksgiving break the two big trees near the library are all lit up in lights, christmas trees show up all around campus and if we get lucky the whole campus is covered in a light layer of snow. It's this time of year that I feel the most at home at Saint Mike's. I think the best way to describe it would be by saying that all of campus feels cozy. Since this time of year is filled with finals and end of semester projects things may get stressful but a quick trip to the library walking past the decorated trees, getting free cookies and hot chocolate and seeing all my friends there trying to get work done makes everything so much less stressful. I really can't express how much better this time of year is due to all the decorations and holid...

Two weeks ago I went Tilley's which is a bar right off campus. Every Thursday night they have Buzz night which is sponsored by a local radio station Buzz 99.9. They always have free pizza (my main reason for going) and fun games with prizes. I decided to sign up for the frozen T-Shirt contest. This consists of two people being given folded frozen shirts and they have a contest to see who can put it on first. My friend Jenna was the other person picked but I ended up winning and got tickets to see Paramore in Montreal. I had an extra ticket and decided to take my friend Justin since the whole reason I signed up was so that he might be able to go. I'm really bad at concert photos The next week our friend Sarah won tickets but couldn't go so Jenna ended up taking them along with our friend Kristen. Just like that we had a group of four people to go on a road trip to Montreal together. The concert was on a Monday so we drove up after class and drove back down after the sh...