The last time I blogged it was Holy Saturday. Jeez, that was a while ago. We had our Easter egg dying program and that evening I attended the Easter vigil. It was a beautiful Mass (my favorite all year). I went to church then again on Easter Sunday and then we had a wonderful Easter dinner with the hall. We had over 30 people there! It was a lot of fun and it was great to have some many good friends to share the holiday with when many of us were unable to go home. April 1st we had another snowstorm (not a April fools' joke!). That next week I had another husky host and then the following weekend I made a surprise visit home :) I surprised most of the family and had a fun time. On that Sunday I helped in celebrating my friend Josh's accomplishment of becoming an Eagle Scout. All of my "brothers" and I are now Eagle Scouts :) :) :) I was happy to be able to come home for the ceremony. Shout out to my sister Rachel is needed at this time....she's now 17! Yikes! I also need to take a moment to mention that we have added another vehicle to the "Yarusso Fleet." A beige 2004 Buick Rendezvous now takes its place among the Odessey, Vana White, the purple plum, and Rory. He has yet to be named :) I will be using this new vehicle this summer and next academic year. Thanks Dad :)
I returned to Houghton to lots of snow and cold. That next week I got things straightened out in regards to my fall position as an RA at Fall Camp. Again, I will explain Fall Camp later, but it is a part of my academic program/degree and I will live and go to school there next semester. It is about 45 minutes south of Houghton. I will be an RA in the residence hall while I am there. That next week I also had outdoor lab for biometrics, where we went timber cruising (tree measuring). April and it was still snowshoe weather....
Over the past few weeks we have continually gotten snowstorms periodically. Just when we think that we had the "last snowstorm of the season" another seems to crop up. Overall we have exceeded 300 inches, or 25 feet, for the season. That Thursday evening we had the Forestry Department end-of-the-year banquet, called Overstory. Anna and I and it was held at the Magnuson Hotel downtown Houghton. It was a wonderful evening with friends, good times, and good (free) food :) Yet another snowstorm hit on the weekend (April 12-13th). Some friends and I took advantage of the on-going winter and went sledding and I attempted snowboarding. It was hard to believe it was April 12th and the snow was peacefully falling like late December....
I had my first bonfire of the year on April 13th atop a snow-pack of about three feet. Some friends and I went to Redridge Dam in Freda, MI and had a fun time singing around the campfire, making s'mores, and having a snowball fight :) That Sunday there was a soccer tournament that TreeHouse had a team participate in. Let's just say they had to plow the field.....
The next Wednesday (April 17th) we had a Wads Learning Community Transition dinner, where the Wads LC staff from this year and the staff for next year had dinner together. It was great to see next year's staff and to chat about the job. This week was also really busy with final projects, papers, exams, and end-of-the-semester shenanigans. That Friday the 19th we had another major snowstorm, bringing another foot of snow and bring our snow total for the season to over 300", or 25 feet. But, keeping in mind that Michigan's Upper Peninsula weather is bipolar, the next day was 40 degrees and sunny. Some friends and I took advantage of the nice weather and went north to Eagle River to the waterfall and the beach. We had a great time playing with the ice and the melting snow (see pics). And, before you know it, that Sunday we had our last mandatory hall meeting explaining to the residents end-of-the-year procedures....yikes! After the hall meeting we attempted to bring spring to life by painting flower pots and then planting seeds.
As I said before, the next week was also filled with more exams, final reports, lab practicals, and final projects. That Wednesday was my last meeting for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) as a 2nd year representative and my time on the Ways and Means Committee. I am now a non-voting member (Associate Member). I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years on the University's student government and can definitely say that it has helped me accomplish things and make an impact on campus. Last Thursday we held our TreeHouse gag awards show, properly called the Arbor Awards. It was a lot of fun and everyone got an award.
And if I haven't mentioned it enough, it continued to snow, more and more. It seems as if spring will never arrive at this rate. That Friday (April 26th) we had our staff banquet. It was a lot of fun and the last "hoorah" as a staff. Hannah and I were awarded the "On the Right Path" Award, one of four special staff awards that were handed out. We are grateful to our peers for recognizing our work.
I returned to Houghton to lots of snow and cold. That next week I got things straightened out in regards to my fall position as an RA at Fall Camp. Again, I will explain Fall Camp later, but it is a part of my academic program/degree and I will live and go to school there next semester. It is about 45 minutes south of Houghton. I will be an RA in the residence hall while I am there. That next week I also had outdoor lab for biometrics, where we went timber cruising (tree measuring). April and it was still snowshoe weather....
Over the past few weeks we have continually gotten snowstorms periodically. Just when we think that we had the "last snowstorm of the season" another seems to crop up. Overall we have exceeded 300 inches, or 25 feet, for the season. That Thursday evening we had the Forestry Department end-of-the-year banquet, called Overstory. Anna and I and it was held at the Magnuson Hotel downtown Houghton. It was a wonderful evening with friends, good times, and good (free) food :) Yet another snowstorm hit on the weekend (April 12-13th). Some friends and I took advantage of the on-going winter and went sledding and I attempted snowboarding. It was hard to believe it was April 12th and the snow was peacefully falling like late December....
I had my first bonfire of the year on April 13th atop a snow-pack of about three feet. Some friends and I went to Redridge Dam in Freda, MI and had a fun time singing around the campfire, making s'mores, and having a snowball fight :) That Sunday there was a soccer tournament that TreeHouse had a team participate in. Let's just say they had to plow the field.....
The next Wednesday (April 17th) we had a Wads Learning Community Transition dinner, where the Wads LC staff from this year and the staff for next year had dinner together. It was great to see next year's staff and to chat about the job. This week was also really busy with final projects, papers, exams, and end-of-the-semester shenanigans. That Friday the 19th we had another major snowstorm, bringing another foot of snow and bring our snow total for the season to over 300", or 25 feet. But, keeping in mind that Michigan's Upper Peninsula weather is bipolar, the next day was 40 degrees and sunny. Some friends and I took advantage of the nice weather and went north to Eagle River to the waterfall and the beach. We had a great time playing with the ice and the melting snow (see pics). And, before you know it, that Sunday we had our last mandatory hall meeting explaining to the residents end-of-the-year procedures....yikes! After the hall meeting we attempted to bring spring to life by painting flower pots and then planting seeds.
As I said before, the next week was also filled with more exams, final reports, lab practicals, and final projects. That Wednesday was my last meeting for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) as a 2nd year representative and my time on the Ways and Means Committee. I am now a non-voting member (Associate Member). I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years on the University's student government and can definitely say that it has helped me accomplish things and make an impact on campus. Last Thursday we held our TreeHouse gag awards show, properly called the Arbor Awards. It was a lot of fun and everyone got an award.
And if I haven't mentioned it enough, it continued to snow, more and more. It seems as if spring will never arrive at this rate. That Friday (April 26th) we had our staff banquet. It was a lot of fun and the last "hoorah" as a staff. Hannah and I were awarded the "On the Right Path" Award, one of four special staff awards that were handed out. We are grateful to our peers for recognizing our work.
That Friday was the last day of classes...wow, time flies. The next weekend was heavy on the studying sprinkled with study breaks of frisbee and walks here and there. I had three finals; GIS, US Environmental History, and Institutions. They all went fairly well and I should end the semester with an improved GPA!
Finals week was fairly quiet. I had my three finals and helped my residents and friends move out. The hall became increasingly quiet as people moved out, and with that my music got increasingly louder :) I enjoyed having time to myself the last few days, packing and getting ready for summer. It was bittersweet helping to shut down the hall for the summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Program Assistant of TreeHouse this past year and working for Michigan Tech Housing and Residential Life. It is sad to see this year end, but I know that it only opens the door for even more great opportunities to present themselves and more fun memories to be made.
Finals week was fairly quiet. I had my three finals and helped my residents and friends move out. The hall became increasingly quiet as people moved out, and with that my music got increasingly louder :) I enjoyed having time to myself the last few days, packing and getting ready for summer. It was bittersweet helping to shut down the hall for the summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Program Assistant of TreeHouse this past year and working for Michigan Tech Housing and Residential Life. It is sad to see this year end, but I know that it only opens the door for even more great opportunities to present themselves and more fun memories to be made.
Dad and Angela came to help move me out on Sunday morning and I moved some of my things to a storage unit in town (I have a lot of stuff :) We loaded up and I finished some last minute PA job stuff. Again, it was bittersweet turning in my staff stuff, but I know that many great things are yet to come and this job and past year were just one part of my life's plan.
Now I find myself back in Lake Elmo, MN (home) for a week. I have just enough time to unpack, repack, and run a few errands before I'm off to Hawaii next week! I am going to visit my friend Anna, who is working in Hawaii currently as part of a SURF grant. She is studying invasive rats and how they affect birds. It should be a trip of a lifetime!
The week following that I am headed to Boulder Junction, WI for a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. It is a course on emergency situations and first aid training for remote locations. After that course I am headed to Ely, MN, and then ultimately Atikokan, Ontario to work for Northern Tier - Boy Scouts of America as the Business Manager.
The plans are set....let the adventures begin!!
P.S. - Be sure to follow me regularly now, as I will be in six places in six weeks and will blog after each!
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