Last Busy Weekend before FINALSSSSS

This past week was our last full week of classes, followed by the busiest weekend of the semester. There was a lot of Fraternity, as we had our initiation Friday our, elections on Saturday, and our big event of the semester on Sunday. Also this weekend was a huge one for both Cross Country and Track. Saturday morning we had our intersquad track meet, and Sunday we had our Cross Country banquet. Also this weekend there was a midnight movie for Coe students, and a blindspot. It seems like between that and studying for finals, there was absolutely no free time!!!

BEST MOVIE EVER

    After classes on Friday as a fraternity we all went out and braved the cold, and I am proud to announce that we officially have ten new initiates! I know that I will continue to get to know each and everyone of them. We returned to Coe right at about ten, just in time to go watch our all school talent show, Blindspot, and then drive to the Movie theater. About once a month, Coe sponsors a late night movie, where they pay for students to go see a movie, all you have to do is get to the theater. The movie we saw was the new Hunger Games, and it was AMAZING!! If you haven't seen it, stop reading this blog get in your car, and go see it! The only problem with the movie was that it was a little long, and we didn't get back to Coe until about three am!!

Hanging out at the Meet

   The next morning was an early one, we started our intersquad meet at 930. It was my first event as a part of this years track team, and it was great to see so many new faces. We have a very young team, with some outstanding senior leaders. The meet lasted until about 1, then we all stuffed our faces with some pizza. (Who says runners can't be bad eaters??)  After the meet, a few of us went straight to our Phi Tau Elections, where I was lucky enough to be named the Vice President. I look forward to helping our organization grow for the next year and a half! After elections, I took advantage of some much needed free time, and began studying for my finals!

Best Fraternity I could ever ask for

  The next morning was an even earlier one, we had our annual Lumberjack Fest on campus. Lumberjack fest is an event where we cook hundreds of pancakes, wear lots of flannel, raise money for charity and have a giant get together. My favorite part about Coe is how supportive everyone is. Even though it was the Sunday before finals, tons of people came out and supported us! Unfortunately, the cross country team had to leave Lumberjack Fest a little early, to get to our banquet. We walked over in our flannels, and had one last meeting as a full team. We celebrated our successes, and enjoyed spending time together. I will never forget this team!

That is alot of Flannel!

Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

Thanksgiving Break

This past week, I went home for Thanksgiving. This was my first time spending Thanksgiving in Arkansas, as my family has recently moved from Plainfield Illinois to Little Rock. It was a long drive, but definitely worth it. Getting to Arkansas took about 10 hours, but once we got there it was awesome getting to see the whole Family, and eat some great home-cooked thanksgiving food. While we were there, we also got a Christmas tree, and partake in a very strange Arkansas tradition; Pig Racing.

The different Arkansas traditions (and accents) will take some getting used to, but I look forward to getting to spend more time in Arkansas over the year.

Add caption

Until The Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

Classes Next Semester!

Wow! It is hard to believe that I am almost done with my first semester of junior year here at Coe. I just registered for my classes next semester, and it is starting to feel like I'm not a little kid anymore!

Next semester, I am taking

1.)Modern Political Theory

2.) Enivronmental Rhetoric

3.) Organismal and Ecological Biology

4.) Acting 1

5.) Statistics

All of these classes are really exciting, but there is one that is not part of any of my Majors. I am taking acting with about 6 of my friends. We are using this class for a gen ed, but for me it will be my first experience with anything like that. I am lucky that the class we signed up for only has 12 people in it, so other than my 6 friends, there will only be 5 other people and 1 teacher who can see how terrible of an actor I am first hand!

I was also lucky enough to sign up for a May Term Class for the second year in a row. Last year I went to Montana for an environmental studies seminar class. This year I am going on a writer's colony May Term where we go to 20 baseball stadiums, enjoy games, and learn about America's pastime. I have never heard of anything like this class, but I am so happy to be able to take advantage of such an amazing opportunity through Coe.

End of the Cross Country Season

Coe College Cross Country

This past weekend we had our regional meet up at St. Olaf in Minnesota, and two weeks before that we had conference at Central.

Finshing the Conference Race

That marks the end of both our Men's and Women's Season. We now get two weeks off before we start training for track.

This was our most successful season on both sides since I have been at Coe, and I am very proud to say that I was a part of it. This was also the closest team I have been a part of.

 Everyone hung out all the time, not just at practice. I think that us being so close made for some great experiences, and allowed us to push each other to reach that next level of competitiveness. If you are a prospective student and are considering running at Coe. I would definitely advise you to at least meet with the team and the coaches. We have an outstanding staff, who really cares about us as people. I cant wait to start track, and continue to grow the program, or family, that is Coe Cross Country.

Goofin Off

Guys team at the Start Line

Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

Homecoming!

Phi Tau's Getting Ready for the Parade!

This past weekend was homecoming here at Coe, it is always one of my favorite weeks on campus, but I would have to say that this last homecoming was my favorite one yet. All week we have events at Coe that are open to everyone. We have a talent show for all of the Homecoming Court, a huge parade, a bunch of free food and carnival games, a football game and a Dance for the whole school.
  This year, the weather was perfect for the parade, and it was amazing to see so many alumni and people of Cedar Rapids out there supporting. All of the Greek organizations on campus walked together and it was really cool seeing all of the different organizations having such a good time working together.

At The Dance!

   The dance this year was at the Clarion Hotel in Cedar Rapids. Coe pays for buses to get all of the students there and it is always just good seeing everyone dressed well. Honestly I wish I could have danced more, but I probably ate 10 pounds of food once I got to the dance, there were so many good snacks!
 
Overall this was the best homecoming yet and it was so awesome seeing alumni from recent years come back and talk about how successful they are doing at the next level. I can't wait for next homecoming, and I know it will be the best homecoming yet!

Until the Next Adventure,


Ryan Rey

Homecoming KING Kobe

Fall Break

6 FLAGS

Early in each fall semester, Coe has one Monday and Tuesday off for fall break. This year for fall break I was lucky enough to travel back to Illinois, and go to 6 flags! It is always great to get to spend time with old friends, and even bring some new Coe friends with.

Portillos

On a Roller Coaster

Six Flags is an amusement park with some intense roller-coasters, and it was a day full of thrills. Other than 6 flags, we got got to eat at some great restaurants, but my favorite is without a doubt Portillos. Portillos is a hotdog restaurant that is only in Illinois, so every time I go home, it is always the first place I go.

I was also lucky enough to go the river walk in downtown Naperville, where we had Ice Cream, walked and enjoyed being outside. Sometimes in the midst of all of the stress that goes along with being a college student, it is great to just step back for two days, and enjoy being young. I love the opportunities that Coe offers all of their students with fall break!
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

RiverWalk

Roy Griak Invitational

Every year, our cross country team travels up to the University of Minnesota, for our first 8k race of the season. This year was a little different, as we are a much younger team, and no one really knew what to expect. There are over 100 teams at this race, so for many of our incoming freshman it was a complete culture shock. They have never experienced a race even close to this size.

    After we all got over the initial nerves, we all started our seasons on a very positive note. Good times were run across the board, and we definitely are looking forward to continuing to build. One thing that really surprised me the most was how close the whole team became after this one trip. As I mentioned before our team is very young, but I absolutely love all of the newcomers, and think that this team has potential to not only be very successful, but also be very close. I look forward to continuing to race with this team, and I know that this upcoming year will be full of great memories.

Summer Recap

    Wow! It has been a while, it is crazy that this whole summer is already over. It seems like just yesterday that I was taking finals, or watching graduation!
    This summer I was lucky enough to stay in Cedar Rapids, and to take a May Term Class where we went to Montana and learned all about policy involving resources in the west.

Great Group of People to spend May Term With

 It was awesome being able to learn about all of these policies, but instead of just learning about them, we actually got to experience them first-hand. The drive out to Montana was a very long one, but it was cool that we had such a great group go. It was great getting to know people who have similar academic interests as me. When we arrived in Montana, we traveled around, and got to meet some pretty awesome people. We not only met people who work for Yellowstone National Park, but we also got to meet some Coe Alum, and it was interesting to sort of see how many cool opportunities they were afforded after graduating from Coe. For me personally, the worst part about this May Term would have to be the drive back. It is tough leaving a place as beautiful as Montana, but I know that I will one day be able to return, maybe even for school after Coe!
   

Gonna miss views like this!

  When we returned to Coe, I began my summer jobs here at Coe. I was lucky enough to have quite a few jobs. I worked in our Writing Center all summer, as well as in our admissions office as a telecounselor. My favorite job this summer was actually only a one week job. I was asked to be a counselor for a Coe Cross Country Camp. It is always lots of fun to see so many young people interested in running!

There is always some sand volleyball going on at Coe during summer!

     At first, when I decided that I was going to be staying at Coe all summer, I was a little nervous. It was my first summer completely away from my family and friends back in Plainfield, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I sort of thought that no one would be around, and I would be pretty bored. I was so wrong! Coe is awesome because there are always so many students that stay all summer, so there is always fun stuff going on!
Also, just because I decided to stay in Cedar Rapids, doesn't mean that I didn't get to go on some awesome trips!  Early in the summer, I got to travel to California, and meet up with my family. We spent a week there going on some gorgeous hikes, and spending some great time together. It was awesome seeing everyone, and being able to just relax and reestablish myself as the best ping pong player in the family.

After California, I was able to get back to Plainfield for a
few visits. I absolutely loved seeing all of my friends, and catching up on! What is cool is that no matter how many miles apart we are I know that these are the people that I can always come back and have by my side. I know that this next school year will be full of visits to see them, and them coming to Coe, and I can't wait. 
The second time that I visited, I got to spend a night at the most wonderful place in the world, Wrigley Field, and weirdly enough, out of the thousands of people there I ran into another Coe student, who had an internship in Chicago all summer. Even though the Cubs lost to the bad guys from St. Louis, it was awesome to spend time with all of my closest friends, and enjoy an outstanding game!

What an awesome game with some outstanding friends.

Small world running into Coe Students Everywhere

     Other than trips back home, I also went on some pretty awesome adventures in Iowa with Coe friends. I went to an amusement park called "Adventureland" with some friends, and it was cool to ride all of the roller-coasters. I also got to spend time doing fun things in Cedar Rapids, like going out and supporting another Coe Student in her water skiing show. It was my first ever ski show, and it was so intense to watch!    

Going up!

Ski Show!

Also, one of the last weekends of the summer I got to travel with many Coe people to the beautiful town of Pella, Iowa, for a close friends wedding. It was a beautiful wedding, and it was so great to see two perfect families come together to celebrate. I loved not only getting to see the families celebrate, but to get to reunite with many Kohawks and all have an awesome weekend. 

Marcus the Groom

Coe family, goofing off at the wedding!

      Finally, the last thing I did this summer is something that I have been lucky enough to do for the past few summers, and that is the long weekend spent down at a lake near Galesburg Illinois. Every year, the 5 of us are able to sort of put our lives on hold, and just spend a weekend riding tubes, laying on boats, and having bonfires together. In all honestly this is an awesome tradition, and I spend the other 51 weeks of the year looking forward to the late summer weekend where we are all together again!

Tubing Fun!

Close Friends

Overall, it is clear that my summer was full with some great adventures, but I am so excited for the next

few days when people start to move back in, and campus is full again. I hope that everyone else's summer was excellent, and I look forward to the start of another memorable school year!

Until the Next Adventure,

Ryan Rey

Study Breaks

Watching a track meet with some pretty awesome friends

Wow! It is crazy to think that it is May already, and that means that finals here at Coe are quickly approaching! There are only four days till finals start, which means that the last week has been pretty jam packed with studying! In this last week, I was also lucky enough to get to take a few pretty awesome study breaks! On monday, I actually got to go home and watch a track meet, and hangout with all of my great friends from home. It is always nice to be able to get away, especially during times like this, where the stress is overwhelming. While I was home, I got to eat some great food, and even help decorate a cake, before going on a downtown Naperville adventure!
The next day when I returned to Coe, I got back to intense studying, and working on Final projects. After all of this hard work, I again found myself needing a study break, So I headed to the our writing center, where I found a bunch of our freshman also in need of a break, we ended up goofing off and listening to some Taylor Swift ( I am in love with her) to get our minds off of finals. We also talked alot about all of our summer plans, which will be included in my next blog (Keep Reading!)

End of the best tour of Naperville ever!

Writing Center Family

Even though everyone here at Coe is stressed out about finals, I love the fact that we are all still close and able to work through our stress together. I am lucky to have a pretty great place to escape to back in Illinois, but I am also lucky to be surrounded by some amazing people here at school. I know that a week from now all of the finals will be over, and the study breaks and great relationships are what we will all remember years from now. I know I am lucky to have a great group around me, who are always willing to get breakfast together, or walk a block to the Dairy Queen, and I wouldn't trade that for anything, even if it meant not having to take finals ever again.
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

Flunk Day

All of us, with our free sunglasses!
 

Coe College has some pretty awesome traditions, but in my opinion our best tradition is one that happens once every spring semester; Flunk Day. Flunk day is a day on campus where our president rewards us for all of the hard work we have put in throughout the year, and suprises us by cancelling classes for a whole day! This years flunk day came on the first really nice day of the year, and it was beautiful outside! It was awesome to get to spend so much time just hanging out on the quad with everyone. There were alot of great activities on the quad, free food, sunglasses, bags, face painting and balloon animals, that we got to spend the whole day enjoying. It is really just cool to see how close everyone here at Coe really is, and I love how warm weather and cancelled classes really bring out the best in everyone!
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

Phi Kappa Tau Luau!

Hula Hoop!

Dj Lockdown!

This spring, our fraternity has been focusing on one huge event, and that is our Luau that took place yesterday in the PUB! It was the first time that we have done this Luau, so no one really knew what to expect, but it was a huge success. At our event, we had so many things to do, we had snocones, a limbo contest, a fashion show, a hula hoop contest, and a giant dance with a real DJ. It was really great to see so many Coe students come out and support us, and have an awesome night. I'm excited to see our Luau keep growing year after year, and hopefully continue to be more and more successful!

Until The Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey






Crazy Weekend!

       This weekend was one of the best, and most event

Gotta love free food!

filled weekends I have ever had in my LIFEEE! On thursday night, I went to Panchero's in town, where I got a free burrito! This was just the beginning, but it was clear that if my luck continued, it was going to be a great weekend.

Pretty impossible to turn down a chance to be here

        The next day, I had class, and it was a beautiful day on Coe's campus. After my classes, I went to practice, and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with some close friends, and even got to see a really funny comedian, who came to perform at Coe. After the comedian, we all went to Jimmy Johns, where we were given about 15 extra loaves of bread! I also got a call from one of my close friends at home, who said that they had an extra Cubs ticket, and it was mine if I could get down to Chicago on Sunday. Being from a suburb of Chicago, there are a few things you learn immediately, and one of those things is that no matter how bad they are, or how many games out of the playoffs they are, there is no experience in the whole world that even comes close to a sunday afternoon game at the most beautiful ballpark in America, Wrigley Field. I immediately bought my mega bus ticket for sunday!
         The next morning, we had a meet at Luther College, in Decorah Iowa. I ran the mile and the 800, and I felt smoother racing than I had since I have been back, and overall, even though it was a little cold, we as a team had a great performance!  It was also great to get to explore Decorah a bit, and goof off with the team!

            That night was Presidential Ball, which is a giant dance that takes place in our gym, that the whole school and faculty all goes to. It was nice to get to dress up, and spend a little time with the whole school, before going to sleep really early, and preparing to spend my Sunday in the most beautiful place in America.

always great to get to see family!

         The next day, I woke up really early, and began my trip back home for the Cubs game. I arrived in the City pretty early that morning, and was able to get an awesome breakfast with my Family in the city, before taking the train to the game. It was great getting to spend that time with my family, and I love being only a few hours away from them. After breakfast, I went to Wrigley Field for the game, where I met up with my friends, and we watched an incredible Cubs game. Unfortunately they lost in extra innings, but I still have plenty of faith that this is their year! After the game, I ended up having a few free hours before having to head back. I am extremely lucky that I also have some great friends in the City. I ended up meeting with my friend, and we hung out and had some awesome pizza as she showed me how awesome going to school in the City really is.
  For me, what really sticks out about this whole trip for me is all of the thinking I did on the long car ride back. I love the city of Chicago, and I would love to maybe even study for a whole semester there. Coe is awesome because it has a program where students can study in Chicago for a whole semester, which is an opportunity I am definitely interested in exploring. It was great to get to be home, and see all of my family and friends. I am ready to get back to school, and begin focusing on my finals, as the end of the semester comes up.
Until the Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey
       

Picking Classes and Declaring my Major

         This week has been a really big (and stressful) week on campus! It is that time of the semester again, where everyone picks all of their classes for next semester. It is crazy to think that I will be a junior next year, it seems like just yesterday that I was coming to Coe as a freshman. Also to add some pressure to the situation, I guess that since I am a sophomore, it is time for me to officially declare my major!! One thing that is great about being at a school the size of Coe, is the personal attention that every student gets from teachers. Before I officially chose my major, I was lucky to get to meet with three different teachers, and my advisor, and sort of get their help on choosing the right one. After all of these meetings, I officially declared myself as a Business Administration and Environmental Studies double major, with minors in Economics and Politics. I am really excited to get to continue to take classes in all of the fields that really interest me. The classes I picked for next semester are Business Law, Human Resource Management, Money and Banking, and European Politcs! I can honestly not wait for next fall! Until then it is time to start buckling down, and then enjoying my May in Yellowstone! Keep reading!
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

First Race Back!

So good to be back!

This past saturday, we had our first outdoor track meet at Augustana! I was finally cleared to start racing, which means that this was my first race since conference for cross country, which was in October. Being injured has been pretty miserable, and there were even times where I thought about just giving up. Saturday morning came along, and we were pretty worried about the weather, but luckily it was mostly sunny, with just a little wind. My race wasn't until 4 in the afternoon, so I had some waiting to do! Like always, it was great to get to watch all of my other teammates race, and support them.


Awesome having a close friend supporting me at my first meet back<3



 At this meet, I was honestly more nervous than I have been in a very long time, what if my leg got worse? What if I couldnt even finish the race? What if I got last? When that gun finally went off and the race started, all of those stupid thoughts just became so trivial. In the past three months, I forgot how great it feels to race.  When I looked around during my 3k, I saw so many people cheering me on;  teammates, parents, coaches, and I realized how lucky I was to be a part of this team. Whether I am racing for a win, or racing to beat my own time, I know that I will always have  this great team and coaching staff behind me one hundred percent. I look forward to the rest of the season, and getting back into shape!
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey






Still have some work to do!

 

Formals

Best looking family ever!

     One thing that is really exciting about the spring here at Coe is all of the different fun events! We have our Pres Ball, we have a giant concert, graduation, earth day dance and each greek organization has a formal. These past two weeks, I was lucky enough to get to go to two different Formals. The first weekend was my Formal, at the Clarion in Cedar Rapids. We all went swimming early (where i got to show off my life guarding skills). Afterwards we all got really dressed up, and went to a great dinner and dance. I loved getting to hang out with all of my brothers and their dates. Overall, after that formal we all learned two things, Phi Taus clean up really nice, and no matter what when you put 32 brothers together, we are going to have a great time!

Dinner table!

Kayliee

The next weekend I was lucky enough to get invited to the Alpha Sigma Alpha formal. This formal took place at the Marriot in Coralville, and unfortunately at this one, we didnt get to swim:( My teammates and I came straight from a track meet, and made it just in time for a great dinner. It was again a great night, with alot of great friends, and I already cant wait for formal season next year!

Best Friends since day 1

Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey

The 2 best tour guides in Coe history!