student life

Life in Married Student Housing as Parents

My name is Faith Soles and my husband Zach and I became parents on November 6th to a handsome little boy, Levi Jedidiah. Zach has been here at LeTourneau since Fall ’07 and we were married June 21st, 2008. Levi is obviously our first child and with our family all the way up in Michigan we knew that we would be relying on the Lord for more than just spiritual guidance and support, we needed wisdom from those who have had children and knew how the system worked: how to prepare the house, the finances, the medical details, etc. At first, to me it seemed like there were a lot of tasks to be done before we were ready, but that is because I am kind of what you call a detail worrier. But God definitely took all our worries and used our spiritual family here on campus and our church family to encourage us and direct us in those little details. God is good and so faithful! (Ps. 100:5) We do our best, pray that it is blessed, and trust God to care for the rest.

Life for us as married students is busy, but it is best described as BLESSED! The community here at LeTourneau and in Longview, TX is so amazing. They threw us baby showers and even a “Dad Party” to celebrate and encourage us as new parents entrusted by our Lord to raise this precious child. The night I went into labor our pastor and his wife came the moment we called. A big group of campus friends were there to welcome me and Levi when we come out of the delivery room. And all that weekend and the following weeks we had numerous excited visitors to share with us in our joy. Zach is anaeronautical science majorand at the end of the Fall semester, Zach was a bit stressed with responsibilities, but he was able to relax with us and enjoy time with Levi during our dinners that were generously provided by our church andLETU Married Student Housingneighbors for the first three weeks.

With Levi, every day is similar but different too because he is a growing baby who needs constant attention. Diapers, naps, feedings, baths, burping, increase of laundry with a decrease of sleep. Getting Levi into a routine so that Zach and I can return to a routine isn’t as easy as we had hoped. I’ve learned that expectations are logical and somewhat necessary, but enjoying every minute of Levi in this young stage is important as well as fun. It’s a new life being a parent (of course, haha) and not really one that we expected for while we were in school, but we know that God is going to teach and equip us, His children, with what Levi needs from us. I love that there are other mothers here on campus that have experienced all this before me, and some even with me, so I have a community of mentors among friends to answer any questions. We love it here! But we pray each day for wisdom in how to prepare for the next season of our life- nine months came so quickly and babies grow up quickly too. God keeps us on our toes and knees almost simultaneously, but gifts us with joy that imprints a permanent smile on our hearts. We don’t know where we will be going after LeTourneau, but what we have learned in our 18 months of marriage is that a lot can happen/change in a short period of time. If we abide in Jesus, we will be ready for the next season, whatever and wherever that may take our family.

- Faith Soles
LETU Married Student Housing Resident

Christmas with AO

Thanksgiving had just barely ended, but already the Christmas bug had bitten the members here at the Alpha Omega society house. As the last week of classes took place and finals loomed in the distance, the membership still took time out of their busy schedules to honor the timeless tradition of decorating the house. Its hard not to be infected with the Christmas spirit as carols on the radio mixed  with the sweet scent emitted by a freshly cut Douglas fir in our lobby floated through our hallways.

Christmas At AΩ is not celebrated like Christmas at home. First, we sing several Christmas carols followed by a Christmas Devo given by our house Chaplin. Then, instead of giving each other traditional gifts you might typically expect to receive, we give gag gifts to each other, poking fun at specific traits that the recipient has exhibited throughout the year. This exchange is always a time filled with laughter and the sharing of good memories together, as we are all humbled for things we have done in the past and reminded of what we can do better in the semesters to come. I loved being at home this Christmas break celebrating with my family, but I am so thankful to God for the opportunity to celebrate Christmas here at LeTourneau University alongside my brothers at Alpha Omega.

- Paul Christophersen
2nd VP Alpha Omega
 
 
 

Experience the Flavor of East Texas!

 When I decided to come to LeTourneau, one of the things I wondered was what students here did in their free time.  Coming from the Washington DC area, I was used to a lot of cultural activities and things to do on the evenings and weekends.  What I didn’t realize was that LeTourneau University and the area of north-east Texas has its own exciting and interesting culture.

 

Besides spending time with friends and classmates on campus, there’s a lot to do around Longview.  The closest Sonic is open 24-hours so it’s always available for a snack after late-night studying, and there’s a multitude of fun and affordable restaurants like Double Dave’s Pizza and Bodacious Barbeque.  Around town, there’s bowling alleys, a laser tag compound, and of course shopping.  And I’ve been surprised at how many festivals there are in this corner of Texas!  I was curious about exactly how many events were held throughout the year, so I went to the website of the North East Texas Tourism Council.  I counted up all the entries on their “Festivals and Special Events” page, and found almost 170 events listed for 2009.  That’s a lot to do!

One Sunday afternoon in mid-September, four of my friends and I drove out to the East Texas State Fair in Tyler, TX.  It was an incredibly fun evening!  We got to see some prize-winning artwork that one of the girls on my floor had entered.  We saw goats and sheep in the livestock show, sand sculptures, and of course we tried the fair food and rode some of the rides!  The food at fairs never ceases to amaze – at this fair, I saw not only the usual funnel cakes, hot dogs, and fried oreos, but also some things I had never seen before.  One vendor was selling personal-sized pies, filled with everything from berries and puddings to mincemeat and chicken.  I witnessed what fried cheesecake looked like, as well as fried butter.  I can’t imagine who would eat fried butter, but I guess someone likes it!

“The Greatest Show on Earth” was there performing at the fair, so some of us got to see one guy swallow a sword, and another guy eat fire and have a rope pulled straight through his neck!  The last show we got to watch was a unicyclist achieving multiple and seemingly impossible tricks on his unicycle.  He juggled balls, canes, and hats, sang, and danced, all while seated on his unicycle.

One of the unforgettable moments of the night was when my roommate announced that she had never ridden a roller coaster.  All of the rest of us were shocked and convinced her that she needed to go on at least one of the thrill rides.  We chose “the Kamikaze,” a ride that went up high as well as upside down.  She thought it was awesome, and was laughing the whole time.

 

We spent about five hours there at the fair.  On the way home, I thought about how I had worried that there would be little to do in East Texas, and I realized just how wrong I was! Part of the culture here is an abundance of fairs and festivals that offer some pretty amazing things.  As a student, I’ve been delighted that it’s incredibly easy to get some friends together and go take advantage of the many special events presented by the local area.

- Trisha DeGroot
Accounting Major

A Lesson in Time Management

One of the first things they tell you about college is that it will be the time of your life.  True.  The second thing is that it will teach you time management.  Also true.  You have to learn to prioritize your time between classes, homework, friends, sleep, sports, dorm activities, a job, workouts, keeping up with people back home, Facebook, and whatever hobbies you have in addition to those. (Whew!)

Upon entering college freshman year, I felt more than prepared to take on the time-management challenges that college would through my way.  I had always been a good student, very active in school and church activities, and played 3 varsity sports.  And indeed, I found that I was able to mostly keep that precarious balance between all the activities college threw my way (although, admittedly, sleep was the first sacrificial offering).

And so it came to pass that my senior year arrived this fall (it’s been three years already?!?).  Time to get involved in all those things that I always wanted or needed to do before I graduate from college.  Of course I could handle it all … I considered myself a pro in the art of time management.  And so somehow I found myself embroiled in all of the following activities: 22 credit hours, 2 part-time jobs, bible study, LEGS internship, developing a non-profit company, Investments Club, job-searching, a new marriage, and a puppy.  That’s not to mention the normal activities like sleep and trying to make it to the gym, spending time with the Lord, and not dropping off the face of the Earth socially.
 
I guess that doesn’t sound like much on paper, but let me tell you—there just have not been enough hours in any day.  Although I’m making it through, it has not been without major sacrifices to some of my relationships, to my sleep schedule, and to the quality of the work that I have turned in.  Needless to say, I’m counting down the days until Christmas break!!!

Regardless of time management skills (even if you had an overly high opinion of yours, as I apparently did) there comes a point when it’s just too much and you have to say “no” to some activities.  It’s an age-old lesson that suddenly hits home when it happens to you.  Get involved in school and thrive to be active, but not to the point where all you are doing is barely surviving.  Honor God with your time and activities.  Sometimes that means taking on a few less things to be able to do your best in everything you do.

- Kalyn Stralow

Get involved!

This is my third year living on the second floor of Gilbert Hall, also known as G2 M.E.D.S. I have never been involved with my floor as much as I have been this year, and it has been filled with days and weekends of fun and spontaneous activities. The girls on my floor are very friendly and caring for each other. I have never had any sisters, but if I had, I would imagine it being like living on G2!

 

Having an amazing brother floor 41 (second floor of Thomas Hall) only adds to the fun. I’ll be honest…my first impression was that they were nerdy and really yellow (floor t-shirt color). My first impression wasn’t wrong, but I have learned that nerdy guys can be fun (not all guys on the floor are nerdy), and yellow isn’t such a bad color after all! Since the beginning of this semester, we have gone out to Shreveport and Dallas on weekends and breaks; 41 threw a party for us in their lounge; we have gone outside randomly to play frisbee or volleyball together; and every Thursday night has been “Man Your Mug” where we have a brother-sister floor coffee/study party.

 

LeTourneau, or any university for that matter, can be tough, filled with days and nights of hard studying, difficult classes, and times when we just want to give up. But that shouldn’t be an excuse not to hang out with the people around you. Some of the huge encouragements during the tough times for me have been the girls on the floor and the guys on my brother floor. I am excited to spend the rest of the school year with these amazing people surrounding me!

- Maasa Magita
Accounting Major

Cross Country 2009

This was my first time to ever run cross country. This was also LeTourneau’s first time to have a cross country team.

I absolutely love running, but I had never been given the opportunity to run with a team. Our team was composed of ten runners, four seniors, five sophomores, and one freshman. Being on this team together strengthened each and every one of our relationships. It taught us how to push through the pain that comes along with running and strive to give our best for both ourselves and the team.

We competed in five meets this season and trained hard to get better every race. This cross country season was an experimental season. I believe our girls are the proof that we are ready for next year and the opportunity to compete again!

- Sam Reyna
B.A. Christian Ministry, Cross-Cultural Concentration

 
 

Library Fun

As I sit here in the quiet comfort of the LeTourneau University library, I can not help but remember my view of this building before I walked in for the first time.  I would always joke about students spending their entire lives in the library studying and how they would never see the sun.  I didn’t think that I would ever feel the need to enter the library, but it did not take long until that changed.  I was intimidated the first time I walked in; however, that changed shortly after entering.  Now I spend a lot of time in the library.  I know this sounds crazy, but the library can be fun. 

Early this semester, I had forgotten about a lengthy assignment for one of my classes that was due by eight the next morning.  I went to the library hoping that I might get it done.   I walked in to find most of my class, with books open, trying to finish the same assignment.  Soon homework became an event as we helped each other find resource books, talked (but not too loudly), and took pictures.  Last minute study times happen on occasion but when it is with friends in the library they tend to be more productive and fun at the same time.

During my casual trips to the library, I see people doing everything from students intently studying to students catching a quick nap (or a long one).   Some people go in to get work done as others just relax and read a magazine.  The choice is really yours.  As long as you are not disrupting anyone else, no one will disturb you.

Some of my more entertaining days are when one of my friends has gotten a package and opened it in the library.  It seems almost like Christmas when someone gets a package because they rarely know what is inside.  It may be an old t-shirt or pictures of family but it does not take much to excite most college students.  A time of quiet frantic whispering usually follows as the recipient tries to explain why they are red-faced and giggling.

Whether you are looking for a place to hide and focus on your studies or a lounge to relax and spend time with good friends, the library is a wonderful place to go.  You will not instantly become a social outcast or even a devoted student.  You will leave the same person as you were when you walked in.  The library is just another place on campus that you are free to be yourself.
 
- Charles Mosiman
Mechanical Engineering

TOGAS ANYONE?

What crosses your mind when you hear the word “Toga”? You might not even know what a toga is. I hope you do, because everyone at Letourneau gets a chance to wear one at the annual toga party! This is the one opportunity you have to sport a toga in style and not get laughed at. Okay, maybe you’ll still get laughed at, but oh well. Togas come in all shapes and sizes: small togas, big togas, some are fancy, some simple… whatever fits your taste. They even come in NEON YELLOW! So you’re probably wondering… a blog on togas… WHY? Well, read on, my friend.

It all started a couple weeks before the party. I was talking to some of the guys on my floor and mentioned the toga party. Several of them said they were planning to go wrapped in bed sheets. I did some extensive research and after half an hour of searching the web was a self-proclaimed expert on togas. I convinced them to buy fabric at Wal-Mart because it would make better togas. Little did I know of the events that would unfold… On the night of the party the seven of us went to Wal-Mart to look for fabric. First we looked through the expensive cloth. But obviously it cost too much, then the Christmas fabric. How awesome would that be, a Rudolph toga? Um, no. Soon we came to the sale racks, now that is the best place to find toga material, cheap and a good variety. That was when I picked up the neon pink bolt and asked who wanted it. Of course no one did. Then one of the guys pointed to the neon yellow and said that he wanted to wear it. He didn’t know that we would take him seriously… 10 minutes later… we walked out of Wal-Mart with two bolts of neon yellow cloth some plastic leaves for a garnish and a package of safety pins.

 

Now, if you have never wrapped a toga before, you might want to practice before you actually need to wear one. After much difficulty and lots of pinning, we were all ready, except Sean. His toga did not want to stay on. Finally, after rewrapping it and lots of safety pins, it was satisfactory. Then it was photo shoot time! Now most people just walk to a toga party, but that didn’t float our boat, we rode in style in the back of Tyler’s jeep. Just imagine 7 guys crammed into a jeep all in bright yellow togas, yeah quite a sight!

 

The party was great, Kabobs and nachos (yeah not quite Greek, but still good). Lots of people were wearing different style togas. Some were bed sheets, some fabric, some bright, some not. There was even a guy wearing a cape. Yeah, don’t know what was going on there… I guess who am I to talk, I was wearing a neon yellow toga!

- Thomas Oskamp
Mechanical Engineering Major

Locks of Love

When I hang out with three other girls on a Saturday afternoon, a typical reason is to catch up, eat some food, and maybe shop. Well, September 26th was not typical for me. Brittney Haynes, Jennifer Holland, Jessica Kirschman, and myself left LeTourneau’s sunny campus at noon and returned a couple hours later with a couple feet less hair.

Earlier that month, Brittney told the girls at our floor devotion about how September was cancer awareness month and how she was going to donate her hair to Locks of Love at the end of the month. Locks of Love is an non-profit organization that takes hair donations and provides hairpieces to needy children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Two others from my floor, ELH1, and myself all decided to join her.

This was not an easy decision for me. I had been growing my hair out for years and loved my long hair. But, shortly after I was presented with the idea and initially thought no, I realized how much power I had given my hair in determining my beauty. I knew this way of thinking was completely wrong, so, to rebel against this thought, of how external beauty effects self-worth, I committed to joining the group. I am so happy with my decision, not only did I contribute to a headpiece for a less fortunate child, but I also bonded with the girls on my floor.

The four of us are so much closer now after sharing this experience. I am so happy that I donated to Locks of Love. My hope is that others in the future can bond through serving as well.

 

- Christy Grider
Accounting Major

Cornerstones Campout

“Freshman Retreat” (a.k.a.- the “Cornerstones’ Campout”). Two words that some new freshmen were dreading earlier this semester. Those two words were vague enough that only speculation fueled the meaning behind them. To most it meant camping by a lake, with people you barely knew, and probably playing the usual “ice breaker” games. But our group’s redemption came in the form of an announcement- we were to “camp” in our mentor’s backyard! It wasn’t just any backyard, but one with a pool, a beautiful porch, a hot tub, a fire pit, a trampoline, and these really cool hammock swings! So within two minutes, the dreaded two words brought only anticipation.

When the day finally arrived, everyone in my group was excited. Homework and electronics were banned. We would have to survive the evening, night, and morning without them… well, the forbidden homework was not going to be a problem at all. Once we arrived, our mentor, Dr. Olson, had us divide into groups for meal/setup responsibilities. I was on the cookie crew which turned out to be the best team (of course)! Our job was to make the cookies for dessert. We wanted to be creative and put something “surprising” in them, but it was decided that for the best of the group, we would forgo that idea. Too bad for the tea… it would have made an interesting flavor…

After dinner we did in fact play a game, but it was a very entertaining one! Everyone linked arms in a circle and began to jerk each other. The goal was not to break the link or touch the box in the middle of the circle. It soon became fairly competitive when it got down to three people; it only ended when our peer advisor threw the box on one of them! We had a group worship and discussion time later in the evening which provided a good opportunity to hear some of the other students’ view points on certain subjects. The rest of the evening was filled with swimming, cards, singing, and conversation.

 As it got later, people began finding places to crash for the night. I fell asleep around 1:30am-ish on the porch swing. The next morning I was amused to discover the various places people had decided to sleep. There were several sleeping in the yard, some on the living room floor inside, one in a hammock, and several guys on the trampoline. One guy seriously looked like he had tripped and fallen asleep where he had landed! The ones on the trampoline learned quickly that when you choose a trampoline to sleep on you should never sleep later than some of the other guys in our group. It was quite comical to see two of the guys become jumping “alarms.” The rest of the morning mainly consisted of conversation, eating some of the fluffiest pancakes ever (props to the breakfast crew!), swimming, and just hanging out in general. Several of us began a game of Catch Phrase that soon included most of the group.

After a late lunch we had to face the harsh reality that homework was awaiting. But at the same time, there was the realization that I knew a little more about the people around me and the future would most likely hold many more fun memories with them. I can safely say it has not been a disappointment yet. College is place of learning, discovering, and growing, but even more importantly it is about the relationships you make with other people. Letourneau proves themselves again as a university that educates the “whole you” by requiring a course like Cornerstones. I know that, at least for me and my group, it has been our favorite and one of the most beneficial classes this semester!

-Dana Edwards
Business Marketing