Busy weekend

Working hard(or hardly working) during the visit weekend

           This past weekend was a huge visit weekend for Coe College. Every time there is a visit day, it seems like the whole campus is busy helping host prospective students, give tours of campus and donate their time helping with registration for the large number of visitors. Personally, I love seeing all of the current Kohawks during big weekends like this. It would be easy for students to avoid the crowds and just hide in their rooms, but instead everyone is so friendly and willing to answer any questions our visitors have. Seeing this enthusiasm, I know that four years ago I made the right choice by coming to Coe.
 After a very hectic Saturday full of visitors, all of campus was quiet on the following Sunday. One awesome tradition that happens every Sunday is half priced wings. A few of us will spend every Sunday afternoon at a local restaurant getting a good deal on some great food! I love spending my Sunday's with some of the greatest people on campus, and am gonna miss this when I graduate!



Until The Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey

Last Semester!

           It is crazy to think that this is the beginning of my last semester ever as a college student. We are about 2 weeks in, and I am really enjoying all of the classes that I am taking. One awesome thing about Coe is that I have never just taken required classes. I have always tried to branch out and take classes that are not just Business or Environmental Studies related. This semester I am taking a class that focuses on the chemistry of food. I am a terrible science student, but am definitely benefiting from the small class sizes. There are only eight other students in my class, and it is nice having an instructor there making sure I don't pour the wrong chemicals together! 

Supporting Our Favorite Diver!

           
 It is cool that at a smaller school like Coe we as students are able to enjoy the small class sizes while still having the large support group at absolutely every campus event. This past weekend I went to support our swimming and diving team at one of their home meets, and then the following night I went with some friends to a Cedar Rapids RoughRiders hockey game in town.

RoughRiders Game

  I love the balance of small school in a big City, and I have been lucky enough to reap the benefits from being in Cedar Rapids for the past four years. I look forward to using my experience as I begin the next step after graduation in May!

Until the Next Adventure,
 Ryan Rey

Study breaks

Into the Woods at TCR

These past few weeks have been filled with stress. Being a senior is a lot of fun, but with that fun, there is also studying to be done, and papers to be written. Instead of simply stressing out, it is always good to step back and take some study breaks. Being in a town as large as Cedar Rapids is great, because of all of the awesome study breaks available to us.

    About a week ago, I was lucky enough to go see a production of Into The Woods, that was put on by Theater Cedar Rapids. Both of my parents were really into theater and musicals when I was growing up, and Into the Woods has always been one of my favorites. The show was great, and because I am a Coe student, I immediately received a discounted ticket. Later in the year I hope to take advantage of some more great shows.

PKT and Tri-Delta at the Haunted House

Making a new haunted friend

      I was also lucky enough to spend some time at a local haunted house, called 'Circle of Ash". I went with a big group of fraternity brothers and one of our sororities on campus. I had never been into a haunted house before, and would have been super scared, but I went with a group of people who did a good job of warning me!
  




There are also some pretty tremendous study breaks that take place right on Coe's Campus. I spent one night in our gym, watching our Coe College Women's Volleyball team take down the reigning conference champions and remain undefeated in conference play. It was a great game that went to 5 sets before Coe was able to pull away. I have never seen a gym so full of excited fans! I can't wait to see what that team does as their season continues.
 I know that as I continue to study, I will always have some pretty great excuses to take breaks, and enjoy my last fall here at Coe with such a great group of Kohawks.


Until the Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey

Last Home Cross Country Meet Ever

Coe College Cross Country

            This past weekend, we hosted our annual cross country meet called the "Lamb-Kohawk Invitational". Since this is our only home meet each year, it is a huge deal for our whole team. For me as a senior, I know it was my last race at home ever in a Kohawks uniform. it was a day full of mixed emotions, it was bittersweet knowing it was my last one, but I loved seeing not only the whole team out there racing, but seeing all of the support we had. The whole park was packed with current Kohawks, and alumni all out there cheering us on. As a whole, both our Men's and Women's teams had fantastic races, and we even ended up having one of our runners be named the Iowa Conference runner of the week.

Showing some support for Coe Football Kohawks Fly together

Runner of the Week Austin Springsteen

            










After the race, we had one big picnic for all of the Alumni and families, and we celebrated what has been a tremendous start to the season for our Coe Cross Country Teams, before returning to Coe and watching our football team take on a conference rival.

Hanging out at the post-race picnic

 I started this day feeling very overwhelmed about getting old and finishing up my last cross country season, but after a day filled with support, I started to realize what it really means to be a part of this Coe Community. I have spent the last four years surrounded by the most supportive and genuinely caring group of people ever. If they come and cheer on  the boring stuff, like a 5 mile cross country race, imagine how loud and enthusiastic they are for football games. I know that even after I graduate, I will always be a Kohawk, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

The real Coe College Cross Country Team

Until the Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey





    
             

Midterm Week at Coe

Selfie Before the Meeting!

This past week has been a very busy one. We are about halfway done with our semester, so of course we all had our midterm exams this week. Three of the four classes I am currently taking had tests on the same day, so I spent way too many hours this week in the library.
  

Midterms clearly got the best of us

After finishing the final one, I was lucky enough to attend a Coe College Board of Trustees meeting as a member of the Coe College Student Senate. Myself and one other senator got to get all dressed up, and spend our morning with a great group of people who love Coe as much as we do. I am excited for what the rest of this semester brings, and hopefully I never have to take 3 tests on the same day again!
Until the Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey

The Beginning of Senior Year

       This past summer, I was lucky enough to stay at Coe, and work in both our admission and advancement offices. Although it was awesome to be able to stay on campus, it was also important to get off campus, and see other parts of the United States. During the month of May, I traveled around the Western United States with 7 other Coe Students  and an adviser for a class called Writers Colony. On this trip, we went to 16 Major League Baseball stadiums and saw games at each of them. I am a die hard Cubs fan, so nothing will ever compare to the beauty of Wrigley Field, but it was very interesting to see each of these new stadiums. I will one day be able to tell my kids about this road trip, and all of the all time greats I saw in person.

Outside of Twins stadium

It is crazy to think that this is the beginning of my last year here at Coe. I am running Cross Country, as well as taking four classes including Environmental Law and Policy, which is becoming my favorite class. It is so nice having everyone back on campus, and I would not trade the family environment that is present here at Coe for anything. 

Last Homecoming as a Student!

This past weekend was Homecoming Week at Coe, and the cross country team had a meet in Illinois on Saturday morning. We all ran very well, and were able to return to Coe in time for the big homecoming dance at the Doubletree in downtown Cedar Rapids. Everyone gets dressed up, and enjoys the free food and dancing. I will miss these homecoming dances after I graduate, but I also began to notice how many Alumni were present during our homecoming weekend.   I know that no matter where I am in life, I will always come back for the best weekend of the year, Homecoming weekend at Coe. 

Until the Next Adventure,

Ryan Rey 

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