Unexpectedly Greek!When I first came to campus, I was not interested in Greek Life at all. I wanted to be independent and find my own path through Purdue that wasn’t already set out for me. But then I realized that being at college isn’t about doing what you had originally expected of yourself. So I went outside of my comfort zone and “pledged” a Latina based, inclusive sorority. I spent nearly the entire semester learning about Delta Phi Mu (the first Latina sorority on Purdue’s camps), learning about the active and alumni sisters, and creating a bond with my “school” sisters.
There were times were I definitely thought I had bitten off more than I could chew (with 16 credit hours on top of the process), but on April 19 it all was worth it when I finally “crossed” the line between non-Greek to Sister. This summer I’ve been spending a great deal of time planning on how to make this next year successful with activities, fundraisers, and recruiting. It’s our 20th anniversary on campus and we want to go big! I am really proud of my decision to join Delta Phi Mu and am looking forward to experiencing the second half of my Purdue career with these girls and leadership opportunities.
Spartacus: Siberian Husky PuppyI had been relentlessly teasing my boyfriend for a while about getting a puppy and then when he showed me pictures of Siberian Husky puppies that were on sale, I hardly thought he was being serious about actually purchasing one. But a few weeks later we were the proud owners of a six week old husky we named “Spartacus”.
We were at first wanting to name him after the infamous Balto but then decided Spartacus just had a special nerdy ring to it. At first all he did was want to sleep, which was really boring, but now we wish he wouldn’t mind sleeping a little more! He would bark at his food, refuse to go up and down the stairs, and he whined all night. But he was just too cute to get annoyed with. He does something to make us laugh every day and he’s already gained at least ten pounds in the two months we’ve had him. He’s having a really difficult time with this hot weather and his two layers of fur, though. A considerate amount of my pay checks have been spent some way on him, and I’ve had to budget a lot more this summer because of him, but he’s definitely made my summer enjoyable. I’m glad we made the decision to add Spartacus to our lives and I’m excited to watch him continue to grow!
Internship with Little CaesarsI’ve worked with Little Caesars since my senior year of high school in Lafayette, making this my third year with the franchise company. I was debating whether or not to come back this summer because I felt that maybe I should do something a little more pertinent to my career of dentistry. After thinking about it I decided that Bill, the franchise owner, could teach me a lot more about owning a business (one of my goals) than I could learn filing papers at a clinic. So this summer I have been managing and doing an internship with Little Caesars.
One of my first tasks was to organize a fundraiser for Diamond Blackfan Anemia. DBA is a type of iron-resistant anemia that is characteristic of its absence of red blood cells. Bill’s grandson is diagnosed with this disease and all of our funds were going towards research to DBA. With my connection with the Lafayette Jefferson Marching Band I put together a pep band to play at the event. There was also a moonbounce, face painting, a fire truck, tricycle races, a pizza walk, and a lot of raffle prizes. Our grand finale was the raffling off of a Blu Ray player. For its inaugural year, I’d like to say that we did a good job. Our goal was to raise $500 and we got just around $425 all together.
Other assignments I’ve had through this internship have actually opened my eyes to all the workings of owning a business. I’ve also chosen the new commercial and radio promo that Lafayette will be running for advertising, I’ve designed a new menu in English and Spanish to hand out at all the stores, and I’ve made progressive graphs detailing customer trends over the year too. I’d like to think that this was a good decision on my part to continue on with Little Caesars and I’ve enjoyed the impact I’ve been able to have on the community in just one summer.
Dental ShadowingDental schools now suggest that you spend at least 40 hours shadowing in dental offices before applying. Since I wasn’t taking any summer school, I felt that this would be the summer to get all of those hours taken care of.
I’d heard mixed opinions as to whether it was advised to spend all forty in one office or split them among different ones. I have no idea yet if I want to specialize or stick with general dentistry, so I thought it was a good idea to see some different areas so I could get a better idea of what I’d like to do. I spent a day at an orthodontist/kid specialist and saw a great deal of filings done.
Then I visited a dental surgeon for two days and I saw some awesome procedures. A week after that, I spent the remaining time with my family dentist in Crawfordsville. She gave me a lot of insight as to what the field was like for women thirty years ago and the whole experience was really inspiring and motivating. I even got to witness a night guard being made. I’m still not quite sure as to what specialty I might like to end up in, but the time spent with these dentists really confirmed my goal of getting a degree myself.
--- Kathryn Stwalley
