From Texas to Tulsa

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Rachel

A year ago, I was sitting in your shoes. Actually if you want to get specific, I was sitting at home in Austin, Texas on my laptop perusing the Tulsa website and thinking, “I have never even heard of this school, but I guess it won’t hurt to apply.”

Fast forward a year and here I am, after months and endless months of uncertainty, confident that I could not have made a better choice for my college education. Over this next year I want to show you why I absolutely love Tulsa, give you a glimpse of what it is like to be a TU student, and help you envision yourself here on this gorgeous, vibrant campus.

First, a little about myself: I am a freshman at TU studying Exercise and Sports Science. I live in Lottie Jane Mabee, the all-girls (and most awesome) dorm on campus, and I am a walk-on for the Tulsa Women’s Rowing Team.*

(right to left) Me and my roommate at our first TU football game!

Stay tuned to hear about all of the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you could be having this time next year at the University of Tulsa!

*Did you know that you could be too? More on that soon!

Welcome Home!

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Thomas

I find myself sitting in the Allergy Clinic of Tulsa with nothing to do so I suppose that this is the perfect time to create my first blog post! Let me introduce myself, I am Thomas and I am a Freshman studying International Business and Spanish. I am from Tulsa and attended Jenks High School. My main point today is going to be why I love TU and why I believe that you should too.

Let’s start with a background of my high school experience. Jenks is a large school with around 3500 students and faculty. I absolutely loved high school and I like to think that I had a lot of good friends! Eventually, however, I reached that inevitable time where I had to start my college search. It is a well known fact that every high school has a corresponding college which EVERYONE goes to; I know that you understand what I’m talking about. My graduating class, for example, had around 716 students and nearly half of them went to the same school. For the purpose of this post we will refer to this school as “Jenks 13th Grade.”

To be completely honest, I seriously contemplated going to “Jenks 13th Grade” instead of TU. The difficulty of this decision was compounded by the fact that my best friend and my girlfriend were both going to “Jenks 13th Grade.” I visited the campus of “Jenks 13th Grade” and planned out where I would room with my friends and what campus life would be like. But deep down I just wasn’t satisfied. “Jenks 13th Grade” lacked that essential feeling with which TU abounds. For the longest while I did not know how to label this feeling. I couldn’t tell if it was fueled by the atmosphere of the beautiful and relaxing campus, the rigorous but supportive academic environment, or the incredible student and faculty body. I finally discovered what this feeling is in these past two weeks.

I have gone through several hardships this September including the death of a friend. Over the second to last weekend of September I drove to “Jenks 13th Grade” to visit my girlfriend. While I was there some complications arose and to make a long story short, the distance was too much to handle-so we broke up. So guys, there I was… driving back to Tulsa at midnight feeling like my world had been torn apart. As I dejectedly circled Tucker Drive, approaching my dorm (Fisher South is the best), I remember thinking to myself *sigh* “home…” That was when it hit me- TU is not just a college destination for me, it is my home. These perfectly manicured lawns and beautiful buildings, the academic intensity and support, and the incredible people from all walks of life and all corners of the world all come together to create this phenomenal cosmic feeling of “home.”

It is a difficult thing to stray from the beaten path, to leave your friends, and to go somewhere that you may feel alone. And while there may be a feeling called loneliness I can assure you that you will never be alone at TU. Whether you come with all of your friends, or some of your friends, or none of your friends and whether or not you have a significant other there are an infinite number of opportunities and relationships waiting for you here. Thank you for reading my first post ladies and gents! There will be more to come! This is Thomas wishing you a warm welcome to TU and a warm welcome home.

Stay classy Tulsa.

Booker T. to Tulsa U

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Andres

Buenos dias, Konichiwa, hello, my name is Andres. I am originally from San Antonio, Texas, but I have lived in Tulsa for 8 years now. I am a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School Class of 2012 and an IB Diploma Scholar. I’m currently a freshman here at TU and my major International Business and Language-Spanish.I have long been exposed to TU, as they have worked with me since I was a junior in high school. Truthfully TU was my first and only choice for a university once I nailed down what I wanted to do with my life, and TU did I fine job of assuring me that such was the case.

I’ve found myself completely immersed in campus life as well as other exciting activities. I’m a member of the Sound of the University of Tulsa (the marching band), a pledge member of Phi Mu Alpha, and Big Band Jazz. I’m sure you’ll hear more from me throughout the year. I’m looking forward to posting more.

I’m the with the curly hair. This was at the Phi Mu Alpha pinning ceremony.

Freshman year: check!

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Sarah

It’s official. I just took my last exam, submitted a final paper and have begun the slow process of packing my things and loading up my car. Freshman year: check! Time flew by and all I can think about is how grateful I am for this experience.

The University of Tulsa. It was always on the list for me. I visited campus, I applied and was accepted, and with great excitement I chose TU last spring! I had this vision of what college would be like thanks to movies and the experiences of those of my family and friends. So in many ways Tulsa is just what I expected it to be, and in others it is totally different- in a good way, of course! It’s not possible to understand the Tulsa experience and the community of amazing friends that comes along with it, without trying it for yourself. Here’s a little taste of this past year for you though:

This photo is move-in day last August! I was on quite the emotional roller coaster that day. I was sad to have left the comfort and familiarity of home, family and high school friends, but at the same time so PUMPED to be at this amazing university! It was really happening. Here’s a picture of myself (maroon shirt) and my family that day. Next up was wonderful Orientation camp! I loved my group and am still close with every one of them. Classes began and weekend-fun did too! There were football games, concerts at Cain’s ballroom, movie nights, trips to the fountains on campus in our swimsuits, and the list goes on. I never thought it was possible to have so much fun!

The first semester drew to a close and that month off for Christmas rocked! Although I was definitely ready to come back to Tulsa to see my friends in January! Second semester was even better than the first. My schedule got busier and classes got harder, but I became closer with my friends and fell even more in love with Tulsa. I became a University Ambassador, continued to meet new people, and really figured out how to balance school, work, campus involvement and free time. Here’s a picture of a color paint fight we had a few weeks after returning to Tulsa after spring break. It was so awesome!

And now the semester is really over and I’m both relieved and sad. I not only made it through my first year of college, but I made the most of my time here at TU and loved every bit of it! Not being around my favorite people in the world 24/7 is going to be a weird adjustment, but I’ll get by. Camp counseling the entire summer will definitely be memorable! I can already tell you though that I will be counting down the days until I return home to TU in the fall. So here’s one final picture. I may look like the same girl who moved into Fisher South in August, but I can tell you I’ve changed. I’ve faced a lot of challenges this year, grown even when I was unaware of the growth, and am now a better person thanks to the University of Tulsa and to the people that surround me everyday. I LOVE my Tulsa family!

We love our Seniors

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Sarah

Entering week four of the spring semester now. Even though I have been spending a lot of time studying for exams and writing papers, life is good. I’ve been reminded a lot lately that graduation is just around the corner for our seniors. Prep for Student Association’s Graduation Party that honors and celebrates TU graduates this May is under way and I have the privilege of working on this project. In addition to Grad Party festivities, I am also planning Senior Week for my sorority. I am particularly excited for the seniors to give their Tulsa and sorority t-shirts away to us that week. I love t-shirts, especially when they’re free! It’s so awesome that as a Freshman I have multiple opportunities to acknowledge the achievement of some of the best role models on campus. It is clear to me that they love Tulsa and will be sad to leave this spring.

In the mean time I am focused on staying involved on campus (Presbyterian Leaders and Scholars, Greek Life, and Student Association) and staying on top of my school work! When my senior year arrives I plan on looking back and knowing I made the right college choice (woot woot TU!), I made the most of my time, I made lasting friendships, and I set a good example for underclassmen.

Salutations

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Aaron

Hello everyone, I’m Aaron. It’s a pleasure for you to meet me. Not trying to be conceited or anything, only honest, because I’d be lying if I said I was pleased to meet you, as the nature of blogs presents a rather one-sided conversation that prevents me from actually knowing anything at all about the reader of this post. Instead, I’m forced to talk solely about myself and my experiences, something which I would normally rather avoid. Be that as it may, I’m thrilled to be able to share my thoughts/happenings/comments on life here at TU, specifically from the point-of-view of a student-athlete (and occasional nighttime musician). I’m flattered if you made it through this opening paragraph without scrolling down the page to look at someone else’s, so I shall do my best to keep this as lively and whimsical as is possible without losing my (vice-like) grip on what relevant, helpful information I’m trying to convey. Wish me luck.

Seeing as how I’ve never written for the TU student bloggers (or really any blog) before—in fact I can’t recall ever writing anything longer than my brief (but extremely sincere and from-the-heart) “thank you” notes to relatives and relations after Christmas/my birthday—I figure it’d be best for all of us if I just took a short 30 seconds of your time and 20 minutes of my time to properly introduce myself. Like I already said, my name’s Aaron. (I figure it’s important enough to merit repeating.) I hail from Kansas City, Kansas (Lenexa, if you want to be specific), I love using parenthesis (love!), I’m a second semester freshmen, and I run cross country/track here for Tulsa. I particularly enjoy the taste of refrigerated chocolate milk, and I’ve played the piano for approximately 11 years and three months (plus or minus eight days). I generally enjoy reading and writing (yeah…that part about the thank you notes was a lie…sorry) and I have zero pets. I speak English proficiently (or at least I’d like to think so), Spanish un poco, and have about 23 other languages currently on my Wish List. In my spare time, I study Chemical Engineering at TU’s picturesque library. (Seriously, it’s very picturesque: I’d wager an estimate that 96% of all TU paraphernalia involving photos has the mammoth stone library somewhere within its boundaries.) When the library’s closed, which isn’t actually all that often, my dorm room is always kind enough to offer itself as a comfortable working space. Sometimes it’s a little bit too comfortable, however. I’d advise against the “Oh I’ll just lay down and read this book from my bed” approach. Studies have shown that it is historically not a very effective method of studying. My own personal studies have confirmed this. I think that’ll about do it for the introductions, and I think that’ll also about do it for this post. The semester has just started, and it already carries with it a whirlwind of promise. I’m looking forward to keeping you (pl.) updated as this year transpires!

P.S. While I’m getting started on this whole blogging thing a bit late (one semester to be exact), I figured you might want to know all about my first semester of college! But unfortunately, I don’t have the time, energy, motivation, and/or a large enough character limit to tell you all about those five-ish months. So instead, allow me to sum it all up in the form of some life advice for the average college student: speak softly, sing softlier (else people look at you weird), carry a big backpack, and love your dorm neighbors as yourself.