Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving break in my opinion is probably the best time for a break. It arrives just after a long portion of classes and Christmas is just right around the corner when we resume the semester. Being the chef in the family, when I went home I was busy organizing and cooking Thanksgiving for the family. For me, it is nice to get out of an apartment kitchen and use my spacious kitchen back home. I think I was looking forward to that the most. I guess that is the Hospitality side of me : ) We had a small Thanksgiving this year with just my parents, my brother, and myself. But I really enjoyed my time off to rest and enjoy my time home. I think we played a little too much Monopoly though…

Even though break was nice, it is even better to get back to Purdue. The roomies and I decorated for Christmas and all of us brought back a little something from home to snack on. Now it is time for studying and finishing class projects but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The year is flying by but I am anxious to start the next semester!

Happy Holidays!

--- Megan

Internship

This month has been so exciting while I have been hunting for an internship. As part of my requirements for my major, I have to find a full-time internship in the human services field. I have spent endless hours perfecting my resume and cover letter, searching for organizations on Google, preparing for interviews, and writing thank-you letters. While it was a stressful journey, it was rewarding and I learned so much. So now for the big reveal… I accepted an internship at two elementary schools as a counselor. I could not be more thrilled for this opportunity and the closer it gets, the more excited I become. This is one career that I am so interested in and cannot wait to have hands-on experience. The one downfall will be leaving Purdue. The thought of it makes me so sad, and I have been trying not to let myself think about it. There will be so much that I will miss but I can say that Purdue has prepared me so much and I am finally ready for the real world. But before that, it is time to buckle down, study hard, and finish these last few finals that I will ever take at Purdue (am I really saying that already?)

Boiler up,

--- Jacey

An Interesting Project… “Raise your hand when you hear the beeps!”

As a student in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, I am taking an introduction to audiology course this semester, SLHS 460. I chose to take it as an honors option, so I am required to complete an honors project. For the project, I tested the hearing thresholds of five of my friends, and recorded their results on an audiogram. Just like we were taught in lab, I used the headphones and the bone vibrator to test the sensitivity of the cochlea in the ear. Then, by putting ear plugs in their ears, I retested their hearing to see how it would affect my results. And just as I suspected, the ear plugs created a significant dip in my “patients’” hearing sensitivity. Just like many patients with a hearing disorder in their outer ear, I saw the change on the audiogram. What was interesting is that the ear plugs blocked out more sound in the high frequency range, not evenly for all sounds. As a musician, this helped me understand why music doesn’t sound the same with normal ear plugs – special musician’s ear plugs are much better because they lower the volume of all sounds, not just the high ones. It was so much fun to use the technology in a real situation – I had a blast running the tests on my friends! I present my results next week, and I feel confident in my work!

So far at Purdue, I’ve had many great experiences in the SLHS department. I’ve been able to complete a number of honors projects just like this, form great relationships with my fellow students, and participate in a research lab for 5 semesters. I’ve been given so many great opportunities, and I’m happy to report that I’ve been taking full advantage of them all!

Boiler Up!

--- Laurel Donaldson

Crunch Time

It’s that time of the year again, finals season. Luckily, I have basketball season and decorating for Christmas as my stress relief. As long as I’ve attended Purdue, we’ve been undefeated in Mackey Arena. The atmosphere of Mackey is indescribable, I’d say it’s vital to the Purdue experience to attend at least one basketball game. The Paint Crew is the epitome of school spirit and pride. Aside from basketball games, my residence hall has really gotten into the Christmas spirit. We got to go to All Fired Up! and paint ceramic Christmas ornaments. It was so relaxing to just chill with friends (plus it was free!). I’m just trying to live up every moment of relaxation before the busyness of Dead week and finals hit.

Good luck with finals and Boiler Up!

--- Mary Jacobs

The First Snowfall

Yesterday was the first snowfall of the year. Most people are probably excited, but all I can think of is the cold weather. Don't get me wrong, snow can sometimes be nice, however, when you have to walk to class in it that's when it becomes problematic. Besides that, finals are quickly approaching and I am busy with studying. There are so many things that I have to do in so little time. I can't believe that the semester is almost over and a new one is around the corner. When this semester is over, I think that I am going to read a book that doesn't involve academics and spend a lot of time get some rest.

--- Ciatu Fahnbulleh

Thanksgiving Day

I love Thanksgving Day! It is a time to spend with family and friends and also get a break from school. This Thanksgiving, my sister and I were in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner. My family is pretty big so we spent majority of the day coooking the food. We made traditional African dishes which included Check Rice and Gravy, Palm Butter, Plaintain, and African Fried Rice. Other dishes we prepared were Sugared Donuts, Baked Chicken, Baked Ham, and Cornbread. We also had all types of delicious desserts. It was a great day with my family and friends and I cannot wait until Christmas when we all come together again.

--- Ciana Fahnbulleh