Summer Adventures of 2009

Washington, D.C. May 16th – 21st

My first trip of the summer was to Washington, D.C. for the 2009 Leadership Honors Boot Camp. I went there on a full scholarship sponsored by AAFCS (American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences) because of my national involvement with the organization. I went there having no idea what to expect. I was under the assumption that it was going to be a regular conference with many students from around the nation there. I met my roommate who was from Texas A&M and we figured out that we both had family and consumer sciences majors. So we figured this conference was for those leaders in different FCS fields. While, preparing for the first day of the conference, we walk into a room in a Hilton Suites Hotel to find 11 other students there.

This was a conference like I never had been to in my life. There were a total of 14 students there age ranges from college freshman to a graduate student, and we came from all over the nation. One student was from Washington State, a couple from Texas, a few from Kansas, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Georgia, and of course Indiana! This week-long conference helped me build new leadership skills and helped me understand more about my own personal skills and how they can be useful in a team-building atmosphere.

We did business all day and partied at night. We did things from playing Frisbee next to the Washington Monument to visiting the Holocaust Museum. We went out to eat at amazing places like Sequoia (which is right off of the Potomac River) and the Old Ebb Bar and Grill across the street from the White House. We visited Georgetown University and even went on a night tour of the monuments, riding in style, in a Cadillac Escalade Limo.

AAFCS Conference June 24th- 28th
Knoxville, Tennessee

This was quite a wonderful adventure for me. AAFCS stands for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. I was a national officer last year and this year I was installed to not only be the Chair (President) for the Student Unit nationwide, but I also was inducted onto the Board of Directors for this organization. This is quite a responsibility, but I am up and ready and super excited for this upcoming year.

Here are some pictures taken at this meeting. The student unit (who are mostly comprised of graduate and undergraduate students) sold tattoos at this meeting to help raise money for one of the funds they have for this centennial celebration. We raised over $1,400 dollars!!

AAFCS celebrated it’s 100th birthday at the conference in Knoxville! How exciting to be a part of something that is in its 100th year of existence!

--Larissa

The Enemy = Procrastination

Oh, the irony of Procrastination. I know it’s going to happen before it does because I don’t want to do what I am suppose to do- thus leads to all-nighters, red bulls, coffee, and bulging red eyes.

One recent account was one week ago. I had a HUGE Curriculum Development Project due and I started at 6pm in the afternoon and finally finished 5 coffees and eleven hours later- yes, I finished at 5am. Finished is another word for crashed. I officially finished it about 10 am- after my test in my 9 o’clock power hour.

An example of what I looked like at about 11am could be best explained as this:











The good news…. I FINISHED IT! And I got 100% on it. So the irony is some of my best work comes from procrastination. But this isn’t true in all situations.

So, let this be a warning to anyone and everyone. Procrastination does happen! Just don’t let it happen to you!!

~This has been a public service announcement from the desk of Larissa~


Note from the Webmaster: What Larissa said is oh so very true. The irony is that I have had this blog for a few days and have procrastinated on posting it!