Katie At Creighton

Child's Play

christianburk@creighton.edu — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:39:00 GMT

While standing in the check-out line at Target over fall break, a four-year-old girl asked me if the Care Bear band-aids I was purchasing were for my kids. Embarrassed as I was, being a nineteen-year-old caught purchasing a product marketed to your average toddler, I responded with a laugh and something along the lines of “I’m too young to have kids!” But after heading out with my childish novelty, I couldn’t help but think of “my kids” back in Omaha— the students of Jackson Elementary School. Every Tuesday, I volunteer at their after school program with a group of Creighton freshmen. The first day I went, the chaos was overwhelming: the running, the screaming, and the rapid-fire Spanish phrases hurtling around me. But years of babysitting experience left me more than receptive to what those little kids turned out to be best at: lots of hugs and smiles. Every week, within the first five minutes of arrival, I am smothered by affectionate girls…and every once in a while an impish boy named Lulo. He’s mischievous but so cute! Whether it’s coloring, drawing bubble letters, doing homework, or playing games, my short visits every Tuesday usually puts me in a great mood. It’s nice to get away from the stresses of school once in a while and exist in a world where homework takes five minutes and recess is the most important part of the day. So, technically speaking, I might not have kids, but I have become attached to my Jackson elementary students in a similar way— if they were, I would totally buy them Care Bear band-aids.

October Occurances

christianburk@creighton.edu — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:39:00 GMT

I can’t believe the semester is already half over! I’m right in the midst of midterms, but fall break is just around the corner. Now that it’s been a while, I’m finally getting a routine down and considering Creighton “home!” Weekdays are busy—studying, going to class, volunteering, attending meetings—but weekends mean relaxing, catching up on sleep, and hanging out with friends. This Friday I saw The Rainmaker at Creighton’s Lied Education Center for the Arts. It was a charming story about a family waiting for rain on their farm set in western Nebraska. It had a few twists and it was funny, too. One of my good friends, Tyler, was “File”, the town deputy, and he did a great job! He’s trying to convince me to tryout for the spring production of West Side Story. I like that there are so many opportunities to participate in the arts at Creighton even if you’re not a theatre major; for example, Tyler is Pre-Med. I’ll have to think about trying out—it sounds really fun! Meanwhile, I have to get through this semester first. The leaves are turning gorgeous colors and it’s getting a little colder. I love fall weather!

Kie-what? KIEWIT!

christianburk@creighton.edu — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:32:00 GMT

One of our spirited welcome week activities involved a little bit of dorm hall competition. On one of our first days here, all of the freshman dorm residents got together with their RAs and learned their very own dorm cheer. The best dorm by far is Kiewit, which just happens to be mine. Our cheer is pretty catchy--- we were out on the mall that night yelling our cheers to see which residence hall was the loudest! I had been so exhausted from all of the events, but my voice was hoarse from all of that screaming. Kiewit is the biggest all-freshman dorm with about 400 students. The location is great, and the rooms are more than adequate. One of the elevators has been broken for a while, but I’m glad I have to trek up nine flights of stairs once in a while; good way to keep off that “freshman fifteen”! Something else I really like about Creighton dorm rooms that I didn’t see anywhere else were sinks in the actual room. It might not seem like a big deal now, but I’m so grateful that I don’t have to walk down the hall every time I want to brush my teeth or wash my face. My RAs (resident advisors—they are upperclassmen who live on our floor), Colin and Sabrina, are so much fun! All of the people on my floor are in the Freshman Leadership Program, and you can always find someone hanging out in our common area, called the Neutral Zone. It’s usually pretty crazy, so when I need to study I make myself go to the library or my room. But I made sure to stop by yesterday...Hannah had a huge cake there for her birthday. Yum!!

Paper Predicament

christianburk@creighton.edu — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:39:00 GMT

I turned in my first paper for my Theology class last week. I really like the class, but I was so nervous about doing well! It was only a one page response to the novel we were reading, but I didn’t feel like I had enough background information about the first section to have a valid opinion. My heart was absolutely pounding when we got our papers back a few days later. It seemed like forever until he called my name, and as soon as I received my paper at the end of class, I folded it and bolted out the door. Of course, as soon as I left I remembered about five things I had to do, so I stopped at the library on my way down the mall. When I returned to my dorm about twenty minutes later…I realized that my paper was gone! I spent a good portion of the next hour scouring the campus—retracing my steps from class over and over again, but it was nowhere to be found. You can probably guess that I was near terrified when I told my professor that I didn’t know if I passed or failed because I had been too nervous to look at my score before I LOST my first paper. But guess what happened? He laughed! And better yet, he told me I could come in and work on my paper with him before the due date anytime if I was worried or unclear about the assignment. What a relief!

The Purple People

christianburk@creighton.edu — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:03:00 GMT

The thing I remember most about move –in day was purple. Lots and lots of purple. I was nervous to being with; I wasn’t sure where to go, I was worried about getting all of my stuff up to the NINTH floor of my dorm—you know, feeling like a typical freshman: utterly clueless. Well, basically what happened was this: we pulled up in front of Kiewit Hall, opened the door, and were engulfed by purple people. And then all of my stuff was gone, just like that. The leaders of Creighton’s “Welcome Week” moved in every freshman’s belongings—even mine on the ninth floor! But that was only the beginning of the welcoming festivities. We were split up into groups with twenty or twenty-five students and two upperclassmen leaders. Over the next few days, we were kept busy with a ton of bonding activities. As cheesy as they were, it ended up being fun to meet people, for example, while playing the “human knot” game and attempting to untangle ourselves. One of my favorite events was the lip sync contest. Our group wasn’t too serious about it, but Matt’s rendition of “Hit Me Baby One More Time”— complete with a skirt—was hilarious!

Why Creighton?

christianburk@creighton.edu — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:58:00 GMT

I was filled with anticipation the day that I began my college career at Creighton. After several months of filling out applications, visiting campus after campus, and talking to students and admission counselors, I had finally made a decision. Would Creighton live up to my expectations? Would I really be able to feel comfortable here? I had spent so much time perusing the website and reading pamphlets, but this was the real deal. No more talking or speculation; I was here! Being the oldest kid in my family, my parents were totally embarrassing when they dropped me off on move-in day. Mom insisted on documenting the opening of a new life chapter by taking those cheesy pictures of me unpacking boxes. My dad had memorized the entire campus map and asked the technology department about a thousand questions (he’s kind-of a computer nerd!). But the second they left, however embarrassing they had been, I started having second thoughts. I had to remind myself why I was there, why I had chosen Creighton as the best school for my undergraduate education. First of all, it was small enough to be personal, but big enough to give me a full college experience. It was in the Midwest and had a fabulous academic reputation. It also had a strong Catholic foundation in the Jesuit tradition and emphasized education of the whole person through service. And most importantly, as I visited and got to know Creighton, I wasn’t just another face. People knew me and cared about my success—and I wasn’t even I student yet! So now here I am, and as I deal with the anxiety that comes with starting a new school in a new city, I can’t help but feel reassured that this is the place to be!