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