Archives for madelynwea

Senior Year!

Well, here we are already several weeks into this new semester and I am writing my first blog! This describes my senior year so far, busy and going by quickly! I have been a blogger since my sophomore year here at Bethel. I will use this entry to talk a little about myself and what I do here.

My name is Madelyn Weaver and I am a senior from Hesston KS. I am majoring in Social Work with a minor in Management. I am involved in

Most of our Women's tennis team enjoying a soccer game!

A bunch of our women’s tennis team enjoying a soccer game!

many activities on campus. I am on the tennis team, a member of the Champions of Character group on campus, I’m in Concert Choir, on Student Senate, a part of the Student Alumni Association (SAA), and a co-coordinator of the Student/Community Action Network (SCAN).

Needless to say, those activities along with the mod of girls that I live with keep me very busy! However, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in so many activities during my college career. That is the nice thing about attending a smaller, liberal arts college such as Bethel. You don’t have to just choose one or two things to participate in, you can be involved in an array of different activities within different disciplines.

 

 

 

I hope to, with this blog, not only talk about specific events/issues/other random things about Bethel, but also include other recent or upcoming events that are happening at Bethel College.

So, without further ado,

Recent/Upcoming Events:

-The football team has their first home game this Saturday at 7:00pm!

-Volleyball also has home games this Saturday at 12:30pm and 2:00pm!

 

Events away from “Home”

–  Weekend – long tennis tournament in Nebraska

– Saturday: Soccer at Bacone College

– Saturday: Cross Country at Southern Stampede

 

Until next time!

Stress Busters: Part 2

As promised, here are some more ways to reduce stress! This time, however, I asked my own mod mates what they do to reduce stress.

I compiled some of their answers below:

Writing/Journaling – Writing and reflecting helps to relax and to put things in a new perspective or help them see things that they hadn’t thought before.

Playing Piano – This can also translate into doing something that you enjoy. Whether it is playing an instrument, playing a sport, reading a book, or anything else that is enjoyable to you that can help you relax!

Cuddle – Sometimes all you need to de-stress are some hugs!

Go running – As mentioned in my previous blog, one of the girls said that they run to help get rid of stress. Again, running has been shown to reduce stress by the endorphins that it releases.

Confide in friends/support systems – This is a tip that one of my mod mates mentioned but also one that is an important way that I de-stress as well. Being able to talk to friends or family about what is stressing me out can help me sometimes in ways that writing or journaling does. Sometimes when I am talking it through I can either see things from a new perspective, or think about something I hadn’t before.

Listening to Music – I also mentioned this in my other stress buster blog but it just reinforces that it is a good way to relieve stress! Listening to music/positive music was mentioned by a couple of my mod mates.

Brain breaks– This tip from one of the girls is also another important way that I relieve stress. Taking a break to go have some social time and visit with friends, or catch up on an episode of a favorite show are all ways to get the mind off of studying for a little while so that we can come back and refocus and be productive!

Good luck to everyone on the rest of their school years! Whether it be taking finals, giving finals and grades, or anyone else in stressful situations, I hope these “stress busters” can help get you through!

 

 

Stress Buster Tips

Today is reading day, which is the day before finals start in which we have no classes and can study and prepare for our finals. It’s crazy to think that this time of the year is already here. To help relieve some of the stress of finals, I find it helpful to remember some easy ways to reduce stress to get me through studying and through finals week.

Five tips  to reduce stress courtesy of  the Huffington post article : “23 Scientifically-Backed Ways to Reduce Stress Right Now”

1. Progressive Relaxation – I have actually used this before and it has been very helpful. You start at your head and move all the way to your toes, tensing and then releasing/relaxing each muscle group. Once the body is fully relaxed, it is supposed to help relax your mind too.

2. Breathe Deep – Yes, sometimes it can be as simple as that!  It has been proven that taking deep breaths lower cortisol levels which helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

3. Listen to Music  – There has been research showing music can help relieve stress by triggering biochemical stress reducers. Another good reason for me to listen to music!

4. Exercise – If you need a brain break from all your studying or work, go exercise! Research says that post-exercise endorphin rush is a good way to sharply reduce stress.

5. Take a Nap If you aren’t feeling exercise for a brain break, try taking a power nap instead! This also has been shown to reduce cortisol levels which aids in stress relief. This tip will definitely come in handy for me personally!

So whether you are like me and studying for finals, or in the education field and rushing to get everything done before the end of the school year, or just having a stressful time in work or in general, remember these easy tips to reduce stress and stay tuned for some more stress-reducing tips!

 

 

Mod Life: Finding Fun Amidst Stress

882371_10154069404795433_9071790254331536409_oThese last few weeks of school each semester can get pretty stressful. Luckily, I have a wonderful mod of girls whom I live with and we have been able to combat some of this stress with some fun activities.

First off, for a whole week our mod lounge looked like the picture on the right indicates. We had a giant sleepover together!

There was a lot of bonding, pillow talk, and studying done together out in our lounge or makeshift “giant bedroom.”

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We also have been taking advantage of the nice weather and doing or homework (or not) while laying outside in the mod courtyard on blankets!

The girls in my mod are definitely not the only people laying out and doing homework outdoors either. A lot of other students have been doing the same!

Our mod has also been celebrating birthdays, going to half-price apps, attending other events on campus such as: The Cinco de Mayo event that Student Senate put on (guacamole, salsa, refreshments and salsa dancing!) the Woven concert (which was amazing) , Jazz on the Green, senior recitals, and more!

It is hard to believe that we are officially done with classes and that all we have left are finals to study for and take. In the next few days you can expect from me some “stress buster tips” or ways to get yourself (and myself!) through the last days of school, or if school no longer applies to you than stressful days at work!

 

Late Night Against Procrastination

IMG_0890This past Wednesday we got to experience a new event on campus which was very successful!

Paige Townley, along with many other faculty helped put on the event “Late Night Against Procrastination”. A college in Germany apparently started this idea.

This event was hosted in the library from 9:00pm – 1:00am. It was designed so that students could come into the library with their unfinished assignments to work on them. Not only this, but there were faculty, tutors, and professors there to help answer questions, edit papers, help with researching, provide moral support and fun brain breaks including Minute to Win it and yoga! Not to mention they provided lots of delicious food and drinks along with free printing all night!

I, along with several of my mod mates went to participate in this event and I was surprised with how many people showed up! I would guess there were about 50 students who came to partake in this event. It was definitely the most amount of people I had ever seen in the library at one time!

When we got there we signed in and wrote down on a sticky note what our goal for the night was. After writing the sticky note, we placed it on a dart board and our goal was to move our sticky note to the “bulls eye” which means we finished our goal. Awaiting us were healthy snacks like carrots, cheese, sugar snap peas, and apples, along with Mojos cookies, coffee, and tea!

There were professors roaming around to see if people needed assistance, ranging from the business, social work, english, and music departments to name a few. Librarians were also there along with Paige Townley and other faculty willing to come out and help.

At 10:00pm they brought in pizza and pop, at 11:00pm we had a yoga break led by Barb Thiesen, at 12:00am people who wanted to played Minute to Win it, and at 1:00am students who were still there got t-shirts for either staying the whole time or completing a goal!

I thought it was a great idea and a fun way to help students get projects done and have assistance there for them if they need it. Since there was so much of a turn out, I (along with everyone I have talked to) hope that this event continues to be a tradition, (maybe even twice a semester?)

The End of a Tennis Season

This past weekend were the conference tournaments for the men’s and women’s tennis teams. The men played on Friday at Genesis East and the women played on Saturday indoors at Genesis West.

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The women’s tennis team

Unfortunately, neither team made it to nationals but that does not discount the great and successful seasons they had.

The Bethel men played McPherson in the semis of the conference tournament and lost in a heart-wrenching 4-5 dual. That is as close as they come! They all played so well and gave it all they had, and should look back on this dual with feelings of success because they improved this duals score when comparing it to their in-season score against McPherson 2-7. The Bethel men ended up third in their conference.

The women played Ottawa in the semis and dominate 5-0 (in the conference tournament you stop as soon as one team gets five matches). This was a great way to start off the tournament for the women and that took us to the finals with confidence. We then faced McPherson in the finals. Our in season score against them was also 2-7, but we knew there were five matches out there for us to win. Unfortunately, Saturday was not the day for that to happen. The McPherson team played close to flawless in doubles winning all three matches. This meant that we would have to win 5 out of our 6 singles matches. We had a player tied in a three setter, a match two points away from Bethel winning, and one match just beginning when McPherson got their fifth point. Again, I could not be more proud of the women’s team, we gave it our all and unfortunately it just wasn’t enough on Saturday to get us to the National tournament. The Bethel women ended up second in their conference.

We are also saying goodbye to some great seniors: Stephanie Shogren, Clinton Chlumsky, Wesley Goodrich and Kris Dubach. They have all been great players and great supports to our team throughout their four years and we will miss  them greatly.

Look for us this fall as we begin our next season, and my last!

 

 

Masterworks! The End is in Sight.

Today is an exciting day for the choir and orchestra members of Bethel College. At 4:00pm we have our Masterworks concert where the orchestra will be performing the first half  of the concert and the choir will sing the Messe De Requiem along with the orchestra and four soloists: Doyle Preheim (Base) , Joshua Powell (Tenor), Monica Schmidt (Alto) and Soyoun Chun (Soprano). This piece is wonderful and beautiful and I am excited to be able to share it with our community this afternoon!

Another exciting part about this Masterworks performance is that Tim Shade is back on campus to direct! It has been fun to work with him again, and I am looking forward to the performance with him and hope you are able to come out and enjoy the music.

Also, knowing that it is the time of the year for Masterworks, it makes me realize that the end of the school year is about here! It never fails to sneak up on me, and it always brings a lot of emotions: excitement (its almost summer!), fear (I have so much to do!), sadness (I only have one more year left with the wonderful people at Bethel College), but then more happiness (three months with no homework!).

Well, that is enough for now, I had better stop procrastinating on the fear (I have so much to do!) part of the end of the semester.

Look forward to more stress buster tips from me as finals and end of the semester business starts creeping its way into the lives of the people at Bethel.

Tennis at a Glance

Like I mentioned in my previous post, this tennis season has been a unique one. Many matches at the beginning of the year were cancelled due to the bad weather. However, the weather is finally cooperating, our season has finally started picking up,  and today was the first conference match!

So far, the record for the men’s tennis team is 6-0 and the women’s team is 4-2. After the first conference match against Friends both teams are 1-0 in conference! The men defeated friends 7-2 and the women defeated them 9-0.

It is hard to believe that there is only about one more month left of tennis because it feels like it only just started. The remaining matches I have posted below.

April 7: 10:00am @ Ottawa vs. Ottawa University

April 10: 3:00pm @ Salina vs. Kansas Wesleyan University

April 12: 9:00am @ Bethel vs. McPherson College

April 14: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Southwestern College

April 17: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Tabor College

April 19: 9:00am @ Lindsborg vs. Bethany College

If you are interested in tennis, we would love for you to come out and support the teams!

If you want to see full detailed results on each match, go to the Bethel athletic page at: www.bethelthreshers.com

Late Start to Tennis

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Who needs a weight room when we’ve got snow to shovel?

This tennis season so far has been quite an interesting one. Due to the crazy weather and the lack of indoor facilities nearby, there has not been a lot of time to practice and our first few matches were cancelled. Some of our practices included shoveling snow off the courts so we would be able to practice sooner!

Finally we were able to have our first tennis match of the spring season on Friday for men and women against Baker University!

It was a very successful and chilly day, with the men winning their dual 8 matches to 1, and the girls winning their’s 7 matches to 2. Although our season got off to a late start, we definitely started it on a great note!

This season we also have a lot of home matches and would love to see anyone who is interested come out and support. If you are interested to see our current schedule I will add it below.

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Working hard! We also had a few extra non-tennis workers who volunteered to help!

March 25: 4:00pm @ Bethel vs. Southwestern Christian University (Men)

March 26: 10:00am @ Bethel vs. Oklahoma Baptist

March 28: 4:00pm @ Bethel vs. Evangel University (Women Only)

March 29: 2:30pm @ Bethel vs. Doane University

April 1: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Concordia University

April 4: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Dallas Baptist University

April 5: 9:00am @ Wichita vs. Friends University

April 7: 3:00pm @ Ottawa vs. Ottawa University

April 10: 3:00pm @ Salina vs. Kansas Wesleyan University

April 12: 9:00am @ Bethel vs. McPherson College

April 14: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Southwestern College

April 17: 3:00pm @ Bethel vs. Tabor College

April 19: 9:00am @ Lindsborg vs. Bethany College

 

Stress Busters!

As I mentioned in my previous post, this blog contains tips to relieve stress because this is a busy week for Bethel students, staff and faculty as they are wrapping up the end of the semester. Also, even if you aren’t at Bethel, people deal with stress in their lives each and every day. I hope you find this blog relevant and helpful for you! Even if you have heard of these tips before, sometimes it helps me to be reminded of them!

The following are tips that  I found from an online article at Webmd.com.

The first tip is to Meditate. This only takes a few minutes out of your day. In this article it states that there is research that suggests daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways. This altering makes you more resilient to stress.

The second tip is the simple task of Breathing Deeply. This task also does not take a lot of time out of your day. When you get to the point of very high stress, take a step back from what you’re doing and concentrate on breathing deeply with your eyes closed. Inhale through your nose and then exhale out of your mouth. Breathing deeply helps slow your heart rate and lower blood pressure which helps counter the effects of stress.

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Another helpful hint mentioned in this article was to Reach Out. Being able to talk to people from your support system is a very important resource for dealing with stress and is a tip that I persona

Another easy stress reliever is to Be Grateful. How does being grateful help relieve stress may you ask? Well when you are thinking about the things you are thankful for it cancels out the negative thoughts and worries. I know I have a lot to be thankful for so this is an easy tip for me!lly use a lot. I have a great family and a great mod full of girls that I can talk to when I get stressed and need to vent!

The last fun stress reliever tip that I will leave you with I also found on Webmd.com. This article listed foods that also reduce stress as well! These foods include:

– Complex carbs (whole grain breakfast cereals, breads, pastas)

– Oranges

– Spinach

– Pistachios

– Avocados

– Raw Veggies

-… And More!