Thankful

When I heard that I was going to be able to travel to Wisconsin to watch Kyle and Keelie run the national meet, I was really excited. This is going to sound stupid, but ever since I was a little kid, I watched these huge college meets on TV, and hoped one day I would get a chance to run in them, and now here I was 19 years old, acting like a kid in a candy store because I got to go watch one. We left early Saturday morning with Shea Jordan Jon and Keenan, all crammed into a small car, it was uncomfortable, but honestly I didn’t care, I was so excited. In high school I ran in some pretty huge meets, but when I got to Oshkosh on that day, I was awestruck by the number of people there, this was Cross Country not football, we weren’t supposed to have fans, but here they were, people from all  over the nation, gathered to watch some of the greatest runners  in America leave everything they had on that course. Kyle and Keelie both did a great job of representing Coe, as Kyle was in the front pack of runners for a very quick first mile, and Keelie showed her amazing track speed with a great kick at the end. After the meet, I got to shake the hand of the overall winner, and talk to a couple of the guys from the winning team, talking to them, and seeing how dedicated they all were really opened my eyes. I knew that in the next three years, there was nothing I wanted more than to get to race at these meets, and show everyone that I too could be great. With thanksgiving less than a week away, I’m thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of a great team, and I look forward to the next three years and know that great things are in store.

Procrastination is not as easy as high school

Friday November 18^th, a day that will live in Infamy! This was the day that my freshman portfolio was due. Since my first day at Coe people from all over have been talking about this freshman portfolio that every freshman must complete in their first semester at Coe. Different people described it in many different ways, but the one thing they all agreed upon was that it was a lot of work! Basically this freshman portfolio was a project for your FYS class, where you are to compile a few of your papers, and write a preface analyzing your own work. From there, three different professors would read and grade your work. Both me and my roommates decided that we were going to start our portfolios early, but then we got a nerf basketball hoop, and concentrated more on that than perfecting our portfolios. So, the Monday before the 18^th, we began to work our tails off in preparation for Friday, using every rescource at our disposal. We both went to the writing center and had conferences numerous times, with fellow blogger Hailley Fargo, and she helped us organize our ideas. Although we were really stressed out, we were able to eventually finish our portfolio, and learn a hard lesson about procrastination in the process!
Until the next adventure, Ryan Rey

Studious Ryan is back and The end of a great season

November 12^th Regionals Weekend                               

After Conference, we had some time off before our NCAA postseason meets began. I chose to spend the two weeks of no meets by catching up on some homework...exciting right? My accounting class was one that i chose to concentrate mostly on. I had some trouble learning the material, but one thing that is great about Coe is that even though accounting is my biggest class, it still only has twenty five people in it, and Professor Hansen is an awesome guy, who is always available after class to help you further understand the material. I've only been at Coe for a couple of months now, but i couldn’t imagine being at a big state school where that teacher student relationship isn’t as prominent. After a couple weeks of being extremely studious....and some pretty awesome pizza breaks all over Cedar Rapids, I was ready to race again! Sectionals was at Wartburg in Waverly, which was an extremely great course. The day of the meet, it was freezing, but as a team we heated up quick, we all rebounded from our poor races at Conference, and we even had two national qualifiers, congratulations Keelie Finnel and Kyle Heineman! Two weeks from now, they will be lucky enough  to run at the national meet in Oshkosh Wisconsin. As for me, my first season as a Kohawk ended that day at the regional meet, but I knew that after a short break to work on my freshman portfolio, I would be right in the thick of things, running hard to make my mark in track season.

               

THE CONFERENCE MEET

      Finally, after a whole season of training, the weekend of the Conference was finally here! The team left Friday afternoon, and made our way to Decorah for our biggest meet of the season.  After stopping on the way at an awesome restaurant, we finally got to the hotel. The nerves were getting to me, and what was actually about a two hour car ride felt like years.  The hotel we stayed at was very interesting, and scary, but that’s Decorah for you:) After getting settled down, we had an awesome team meeting in the lobby in which we all shared motivational quotes and discussed our game plan for the race. The Next morning,  we got up early and went to the course. As a whole, the race didn’t go as well as we planned as we finished 7^th on the guys side,  but I was lucky enough to witness our captain, Kyle Heineman become the first male Kohawk to win the individual conference title.  For me personally it was great to see our teammate succeed, and it really motivated all of our younger guys to step up for the years to come. Apollo Ohno once said “If I have given all I have and still do not win, I haven’t lost , some people remember the wins and losses, but I remember the journey.” Overall it was a rough day, and a poor race on my part, but I learned a lot from the experience, and I know the next three conference meets, I will be able to look back at today, and improve as a runner.

Beginning of Conference Week

Conference Meet at Luther This Weekend!

This coming week is the Conference Cross Country Meet at Luther College in Decorah.  There will be eight schools at this meet, including Wartburg, Cornell, Simpson, Central, Loras, Luther, Dubuque and COE!!!!!  It's Thursday today, and it's amazing how many people have come up to me this week to wish me good luck!  Coe is really like one giant family.  I love how all of the teams support one another.  Thanks to everyone for wishing the team good luck; it's really going to help come Saturday!  Until the next adventure.....Ryan Rey

Ryan and The Writing Center's Excellent Adventure to Madison

Madison, Wisconsin is a fun place for a Writing Center Conference!

They have a BIG CHAIR in Madison, Wisconsin

This past Thursday, a group of Writing Center Consultants left to go to Madison, Wisconsin for a Writing Center Convention.  We were there to give some presentations about research our writing center had done and to see and maybe steal ideas from other writing centers in the midwest.  One conference that really stuck out in my head was given by the writing center at Notre Dame University.  They talked about how writing formally and informally is basically two different languages and I'd never really thought about it like that.  Because I sat through this presentation, I know that it definitely made me a better writer.  After the conferences I was lucky enough to meet up with some friends who live in the area.  I was very lucky to get a real tour of Madison, which included storming the Capitol Building (just kidding; but we did get to go inside), eating at Five Guys, sitting in a giant chair and purchasing a monocle.  Sadly, the day had to come to an end and we headed back to the hotel knowing that our own presentation was looming the next day.

The next morning I woke up and I was extremely tired because I'd let my roommate/teammate Jon Ameling talk me into staying up until 4 in the morning watching "Scream", so we could find out who the bad guy was.  (I still can't believe it's Shaggy from the Scooby Doo movies:  he seemed like such a good guy!)  Luckily, Mountain Dew came in to save the day again, and our presentation went very well.  We returned to Coe shortly after our presentation, tired but happy it was a success!  I can't wait until the next writing center trip two weeks from now in Miami!  Until the next adventure.....Ryan Rey

Cross Country Meet in Osh Kosh and Fall Break

Running at the OshKosh Meet

This past weekend, we were able to travel via coach bus to another gigantic Cross Country meet in Oshkosh , Wisconsin.  One of my favorite things about going to all of these meets is the food!   On the way to Oshkosh, we stopped at a place called "Noodles and Company" which I had never been to before!  It turned out to be the best spaghetti I have ever had!  Besides the food, this meet was really exciting for me because lots of my teammates from high school were also going to be racing at this meet.  Some of these teams included the University of Wisconsin at Osh Kosh, Benedictine University, Aurora University, and North Central College.  Even though it was ridiculously windy, I ran my personal best by about a minute.

After the meet, my dad picked me up and brought me home to Plainfield for fall break.   Fall break means no school Monday and Tuesday!  It was nice to see everyone in Plainfield and run with my high school Cross Country Team and have my mom cook and clean for me again.  (Just kidding; she can't cook!)  Lucky for my parents, another freshman at Coe was nice enough to give me a ride back to school.  So here I am, Sunday night, waiting for another adventure to begin and packing for my adventure to Madison later this week.  Until the next adventure.......Ryan Rey

Midterm Madness :(

This week marked the halfway point of my first semester in college.  Time really flies when you're having fun, but I knew it was time to crack down because I had midterm exams and papers due this week!  The first exam I had was in Accounting and I was really nervous.  I studied for this midterm harder than I'd ever studied for any test in my life!  I'd like to give a "shout-out" to the makers of Mountain Dew for making this studying possible!  Overall, my studying paid off and I got an "A."  Also, I had to write two papers, one for my FYS class and one for Western Masterworks and had another exam for my Politics class.  Basically, all of my teachers decided to pile on the hard work this week!  So far I would have to say that my FYS class is definitely my favorite, and not just because Professor Hayes reads my blog!  Until taking my FYS class, (which is on sustainability) I never realized how much we can do to help our environment and the generations of the future.  I look forward to the rest of the semester!  Luckily, after seven difficult days, the midterm week was finally over.  I know next week will be much more exciting!  Keep reading!  Until the next adventure......Ryan Rey

Friday Night: Feelin' Like a Kid Again!

After our home meet, I spent the night finger painting in the U (the cafeteria) until 1:00 in the morning! This was a program put on by the Student Activity Committee (SAC) with coloring, projects and snacks. College is so awesome; it's like being in kindergarten all over again!  Also, stay tuned because I have lots of awesome adventures coming up, including going to Osh Kosh with the team, going to Madison with the Staff of the Writing Center and then going to Miami (yes, Miami, Florida!) with the Staff of the Writing Center.  Until the next adventure.......Ryan Rey

Week of the Home Meet

Charlie Kohawk Came To Our Home Cross Country Meet!

The week of September 25-30 was full of awesome things (and makeup work).  (I had makeup work to do because I had missed the Friday before in order to run at the Griak meet.)  I am going to concentrate on what happened at our home Cross Country meet that Friday.  That Friday afternoon, Coe hosted a Cross Country meet against cross-town rivals, Mount Mercy University.  More importantly, this meet was also against the Coe Cross Country alumni.  I was so excited; I had raced in home meets in high school but had never seen so many of my classmates at a Cross Country meet.  Everyone came out to support our team; Charlie Kohawk was even there!    It was a great race and meeting the alumni was an awesome experience.  After the race, everyone on our team headed back to Coe for Senior Cross Country banquet at the PUB.  When most people say "banquet" you think dressed up, fancy food, etc.  but this was so much better!  Instead of getting dressed up, we wore our sweats from the meet and instead of having that cruddy fancy food, we got cheeseburgers!  The thing that really stuck out in my mind about this banquet was at the end when all the Seniors had a chance to speak.  Their assignment was to talk about their last four years here, running for Coe and offer some advice to the current underclassmen.  At this point it really hit me that Coe College's Cross Country team is building more than just runners, it's building leaders and people who are going to be successful in the next stages of their lives.  I know I made the right choice in choosing Coe!  Until the next adventure....Ryan Rey

Coe College's Adventure to Minnesota

A bunch of us with ROY GRIAK!

Sponge Bob and I at Mall of America

The weekend of September 24th, the whole Cross Country Team traveled to Minneapolis for a giant Cross Country meet.  At this meet, there were over 300 colleges and thousands of high school and college runners competing.  This meet was named after legendary retired coach from the University of Minnesota, named Roy Griak.  Coming into the meet with that many people, the chances of me getting to meet Mr. Griak were slim to none, but after hours of searching and running around meeting new people, I was finally able to meet the LEGENDARY Roy Griak.  Overall the meet went pretty well, but the highlight was really getting to meet Roy Griak.  After our meet on Saturday, our team got to go to the Mall of America and I was so excited!  Most people spent their day shopping, but instead of shopping, I spent my day at Camp Nickelodeon riding the rides!  It was lots of fun!  On Sunday we had the long bus ride back to Coe.  One thing that is really great at being at a school like Coe is how close our Cross Country team has gotten.  As the season has progressed, we have become more and more like a family.  Until the next adventure, keep reading, or until anyone else gives me a better tag line......Ryan Rey

Homecoming Week at Coe

Cheering on Coe's Win at the Football Game! We look really enthusiastic!

My Tie Looks REAL Cute.  Right?

This past week Coe celebrated Homecoming.  Some of the big parts of the celebration included; sidewalk drawing competitions, (the track team took 2nd <3)  a giant pep rally, the annual follies celebration with the Homecoming Court, crowning the Homecoming King and Queen, the football game (we beat Simpson), and the Homecoming Dance.  For all of you high school students out there who think you know what a Homecoming Celebration looks like, think again!  This dance was so much better than anything that a high school could put on!  (And I did go to a high school that puts lots of time and effort into Homecoming.)  I was considering not going to the Homecoming Dance but, in the end, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to suit up.  I'm so glad I ended up going; it was so much better than I expected and I met lots of awesome new friends!  Unlike high school, everyone goes to the dance together, instead of having to go with one specific date.  The thing that really amazed me about Homecoming week was that, even in high school (my high school was bigger than Coe), everyone kind of did their own things during homecoming week but here at Coe, everyone was together the whole week and I've grown so much closer to my classmates and friends.  That's something that I really don't think happens at big state schools.  Overall, it's been a great first month at Coe; thank you so much for reading my blog.  To all the Kohawks reading this, thanks for letting me be a part of your family!  Until the next adventure.......Ryan Rey

P.S. -  Just realized how lame my tag line sounds, any suggestions for a new one?  Please email me at rcrey@coe.edu

First Couple Weeks of Classes

Working on Time Management......

I'm finally getting into the swing of things here at Coe, after having completed my first couple weeks of classes!  I am taking four classes, and so far my favorite class is definitely my FYS (First Year Seminar) course with Professor Hayes.  I am interested in my FYS class because we are learning about sustainability, which I think is something that we all should care about.  One of my first assignments was to take an inventory of everything I brought to college, which made me realize that lots of things I use on a daily basis aren't that great for the environment.  (It also made me realize that bringing 60 t-shirts might have been a little bit of overkill!)  So far everyone here at Coe has been really awesome with helping me adjust from the high school to the college workload.  It is definitely different in college; there is much more homework, but, at a small school like Coe, they do everything they can to help you stay comfortable and focused.  A little over a month ago, I never thought I'd be in a completely new place, with a completely new group of friends, managing to balance running 70 miles a week, working 8 hours a week for my work-study job, working another 6 hours a week in the Writing Center, taking 4 full classes, and doing endless amounts of homework, while still finding time to eat and sleep.  Thanks to all of the amazing new friends and professors I've met, and some short nap breaks (see picture), college is definitely manageable and a ton of fun!  Keep reading!  Until the next adventure......Ryan Rey

P.S. - I'm still waiting for some emails with questions about life at Coe!

Classes Begin for the Kohawk Class of 2015.........SCARY!

(Above:  Our Freshman Class on our first day here at Coe!)

Classes Begin:  The last thing our freshman class did as a part of Orientation was to individually meet with our Advisors about choosing our classes.  My Advisor was super-awesome and told me which classes I would definitely need to take in order to graduate, even though I'm not completely sure what I plan to major in yet.  After we picked our classes, we got to enjoy our last weekend together as a class before the "real world" started and classes began.  I am taking a politics class, an accounting class, my FYS class about Sustainability, an English class, and a Writing Class.  (for the writing center)  Most of my classes fall on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, so I originally thought that maybe Tuesdays and Thursdays would be my days off.....boy was I WRONG!  It turns out between homework, writing center, my work study job, eating, Cross Country practice and doing my own laundry there's no such thing as that "day off."  But I love it anyway!  College is a great experience so far and I look forward to the rest of the year for sure!  I love the fact that everyone at Coe is already like family; from the Cross Country Team, to the staff in charge of my work study, to all the other freshman, to my awesome CAP group (the extreme heat), to our CAP leader brooke, to my random new friends, to the whole Writing Center staff and Dr. Bob, to my advisor, Professor Hayes.   Everyone here in Iowa is so friendly and I know I've made the right choice!   Thanks for reading my blog, and if you are a prospective student or parent or a friend of Coe that would like to see any specific questions answered, please email me at rcrey@coe.edu.  If not, I may be forced to make up my own ridiculous questions and answer them, so please consider emailing me!  Until the next adventure......Ryan Rey

My First Two Weeks as a Kohawk!

Last Few Weeks of August 2011:
Welcome to my blog!  My name is Ryan Rey and I am a freshman from Plainfield, Illinois.  I hope that reading my blog will tell you a little bit about Coe College, and about my adventures as a new student here!  I got to Coe a week before the rest of the freshmen, for Cross Country practice.  I think this was a good thing, because it gave me plenty of time to move into my dorm and get settled before everyone else got there.  The Cross Country team is awesome!  I have only been at Coe for a couple weeks, and the team already feels like family!  I also attended Writing Center Orientation during my first week here, and I am enjoying being part of the Writing Center Staff already.  If you're not a runner or a writer, I highly recommend you get involved in whatever activities interest you, because there are so many fun things to do here!  After my initial week here, my parents came back so we could all be part of the first day of orientation and the actual move-in day for students.  The picture above is of me ringing the Victory Bell on the first day of Freshman Orientation, which is a big tradition here at Coe, that students get to do when they enter as a freshman, and again on their graduation day.  The orientation for freshman lasted about half a week, and was full of awesome activities!  We got to play kickball, paint the windows in Gage Memorial Union (where the cafeteria and bookstore are, among other things), go Ice Skating at the Rough Riders stadium, see a Hypnotist, go to all kinds of presentations, and - best of all - participate in the Dragon Boat Races.  (Extreme heat, sorry we couldn't pull out the win, but it doesn't matter, because we're still the best CAP group<3)  In case you were wondering, your CAP group is a group of freshman that you spend your whole orientation week with and that are all in your First Year Seminar Course.  Each group has a CAP leader who is an upperclassman that is with you the whole time.  In any case, it was a very busy but great week and I'm looking forward to more fun activities at Coe!