PUC Women's Hoops

Rollin' On ..

2011-12-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

Hey followers!

I do apologize for the long delay with the blog. Things can get pretty hectic here during the season as far as basketball, school, and work. Hopefully I can update all of you followers and get you up to speed about what's been happening here at PUC since Brooklyn and I have disappeared and wrote on here last. I blame her as well for the delay though! ;)

We are currently sitting at a 10-4 record along with being 2-0 in the CCAC. We have continued to work hard in the gym day in and day out. The great thing about this year is that we are getting a good work out in EVERY day and smiling while we're doing it. I would hate to jinx us, but I can't remember the last time we had a bad practice. We have a great squad this year and we constantly push each other every day. This year we have a team and a chance to do big things.

In the national rankings a few weeks ago, we were getting national recognition and votes to be in the top 25. This is the first time since I have been here that this has happened. It's nice to see the work we've put in get a little credit. The objective has been to play teams from different areas to get recognition in other places rather than just in Northwest Indiana. We have played SEVERAL teams this year that have had dominant basketball programs in past years. Those are the teams we need to be playing to make ourselves better.

This week we have two tough teams coming to Hammond to give us a run before a few days off for Christmas. We play two great teams who have received votes to be nationally recognized in the past two vote sessions. These two games will really prove where we are as a team. As good ball teams, we have to respect them, but at the same time play to higher heights and show them how great we want to be this season. You never know what you're capable of until you do it and prove to yourself that you CAN.

Here goes another week of great basketball. I am halfway thru my senior year of school and basketball. It's an emotional rollercoaster, knowing that this is it, but I wouldn't want to spend the past 3 1/2 years anywhere else. I'll always be a peregrine.

Until next time ..

#21

Something New ..

2011-10-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

Well, tomorrow begins something new for the team. We finally have an exhibition game versus Prairie State from Chicago. We have been going hard against eachother for over a month now and I believe we are ready for a change and challenge. Being at practice with the same girls every day, and playing against the same girls, can become difficult. You become robotic, knowing that the offense and defense they are running is the same one you use and is performed the same way. Granted, you do have to become more creative with things, playing against another team will be fun.

Tomorrow is just one step closer to my final season here at PUC. It hits home a little bit. I remember freshman year like it was yesterday. So many different events have occured since then, good and bad. All in all, I have learned a lot in my years here and I wouldn't trade anything for the world. Once tomorrow comes, everything will be a blur for the next 4 months. Time flies when you're having fun!

Above is a picture of most of the team from the pumpkin patch earlier this week. It was a great team bonding day. We picked out pumpkins, got some great food, rode on the tractor ride, and got to look at all the neat items they had for sale.

This year is something new, something different, and something I know I'll never forget. I am excited for what is to come with the squad we have this year. Stay tuned in as the season has now begun!

Upcoming Exhibitions/Games

Oct. 22 Exhibition vs. Prairie State

Oct 31 Exhibition @ St. Mary's

Nov. 4/5 Opening Host Tournament

Hope to see you all soon!!!

#21

What We're Becoming ..

2011-09-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

We're just about through with the first 2 weeks since practice started and boy, has it been rough! We have been working extremely hard, every day. There hasn't been a day where I haven't been sore. We have gone hard for 2 hours straight since day 1.

We are becoming a team. In high school, you have one main scorer or one person that goes hard day in and day out, but at Purdue Cal this year we have 14 girls who do that. It's amazing in 3 years, this being the 4th, how much this program has changed. It's nice.

What we're capable this year is incredible. With the improvements over the summer, we should be able to compete for a conference title. We've had our hearts broken in the tournament, hoping to get the title, but we know that feeling now. It isn't a feeling we want to have again. As long as we keep working hard and set our minds right, we'll be successful.

Let's set some goals for this season:

Respect everyone -coaches, teammates, opponents, etc.

TEAMWORK at all times

Positive attitudes, always

Work hard when you're on the court - in everything!

20+ win season

Conference title

Do something great at Nationals.

most importantly,

HAVE FUN ACHIEVING THESE GOALS.

I'm a Survivor!

2011-09-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

On Friday Sept. 9, the team took on the challenge of the dunes for our conditioning. We did a few warm-up running exercises in the sand, then made our way up the towering sand dunes. We made three different trips up and down the dunes, stopping for a moment each time to enjoy the scenery (and catch our breath) when we reached the top. On our final trip down, the team joined hands and finished the challenge all together, as a team. It was an extremely tough workout. I believe we got stronger not only physically, but also as a team. We survived the dunes challenge!

After the dunes, the team stopped at Redamaks for some pretty stellar food. During the meal, each player, and Medge too, shared their high and low point of the day. We took a few pictures together and just enjoyed each other's company! It was a great time and a great team bonding experience.

This past week, we finished up our last week of conditioning. Tomorrow, we have our first official practice of the season. I'm really excited to get this year started! Conditioning has been going great. We've had the opportunity to get up and down the court together, and we are already starting to mesh well as a team! We've got high expectations for this season, and tomorrow we begin to work towards achieving all our goals. Let the fun begin!

Brooklyn Short #4

Meet The Family ..

2011-09-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!
We've got a full team this season! We will begin the season with 13 girls on the team. Above is the 2011-12 Purdue University Calumet women's basketball team. We look pretty good, huh!? ;) We have 5 incoming freshmen and 8 returners from last season. We landed 4 guards and a post player this year, who will all enter their first year here at PUC.

I'm not so sure what each individual freshman did in high school, but it's a whole different world here playing college basketball. They are adjusting quite well and it looks as if they'll all be making immediate impact. They have shown great determination and look to be focused for the season, which is what we need.

For the returners, they look just as focused. We have 8 returners, but 7 until Savannah Hauter starts practicing with us due to being on the women's volleyball team. We return 2 All-CCAC picks being me and Tierra Turner, as well as Alex Starr and Brooklyn Short who both will be key players for us this year. Amanda Gaskin is showing leadership qualities during conditioning. She is always one to put everything into what she does on the court. Madi Gervais and Lindsey Whitcomb will be our posts this year, who look strong and have established a nice touch over the summer break.

That's the team in a nutshell! We hope to bring a 20 win season home this year. As we begin our journey, we would love the type of support we recieved last year, if not more. Talk is cheap. It's time to go out and do something this year. A conference championship would be a great start to prove to everyone how hard we really did work. But first, we have a month and a half full of hard and challenging practices to get us there. We're ready.

Until next time ..
#21

"THIS IS IT!"

2011-08-26T07:10:00.001-07:00

Hey followers!

Well, yesterday was the first day of my last season here at PUC, and the last time I will EVER have to run a timed mile and do 50 pushups (minimum) for Coach Medge. Kind of sad, yet relieving that it is over with for the rest of the season. Granted we didn't even touch a ball yesterday, it was the first day of conditioning, which is vital as the season rolls around.

The first day was amazing. The team is so determined this year. The incoming freshman are not settling as just freshman. They want success just as bad as the returners. They pushed themselves to the max, which is what needs to happen for us to be successful, as a team. As for the older and experienced girls, they pushed just as much! I don't think coach could of been any more happy with Day 1 results. That says a lot about what everyone did in the offseason ....WORKED HARD.

Realizing I AM a student-athlete I suppose I could chat a little bit about the first week of classes ;) haha. This semester is going to be a challenge. I am taking a load of tough classes, but after I knock this semester out, it'll be smooth sailing in the Spring ..on my way out in May! I am taking a dinner class, where I'm at school for 9 hours and actually serve real guests. It's basically a restaurant ran out of the HTM center. It's pretty neat, but can definitely add a lot of stress. I am also taking Feasibilities, Purchasing, Law, and a leadership class. Not the easiest schedule I've ever had to deal with, but what's the fun if life isn't a challenge?

Next week I will have a lengthy blog telling you a little bit about our team, like last year. Not too much! I'm not sure if rival schools read this or not ;) Can't give away all our secret weapons! Stay tuned and follow us on our journey to success for the 2011-12 season!

Until next time ..

#21

Peaceful Settings ..

2011-08-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hey followers!

So, as I recently moved back into student housing here at PUC and while working 8 hour shifts at the gym, I noticed the dead times and busy times here. For me, I like to workout when less people are around. Being on campus for the past 3 years, I have made many friendships and have met many friends who like to talk, a lot. haha I like to get in, do what I have to do, and at the pace I want to go at.

Last night I had the most peaceful workout I have ever had here at PUC. I am in my last week of training for my half marathon so my running mileage for the week is at its lowest. I had to run 3 miles last night so I did that on the upstairs track over the gym. After my run, I lifted in the gym while having my iPod headphones in the whole time. It was pretty late so there were not many people in there that could keep me from getting off track with my workout. I got a few pointers from one of the trainers I work with, but that is it.

After my workout, I went into the gym and made 250 shots. Due to having to make 15,000 shots, I have broken down the shots per day needed to make it there. I broke it down to 250 shots made at least 4 days a week. The days that I lift arms I have solely designated form shooting instead of shooting on "The Gun" or "iMake". When I lift arms during my workout, my form and shot always seem off afterwards. Form shooting gets me "back to the basics" and gets me feeling comfortable again with my shot. I have found it to work great for me.

The gym last night was so peaceful. Three-fourths of the lights were off in the gym, all of the bleachers were pushed back, and it was just me, my music, a ball, and a partly lit court. I did my form shooting routine, shot a few roll-out jumpers, and then called it a night -feeling GREAT, motivated, and most of all...focused.

Well followers, I thought I would share my great workout with you all. I can't wait to put this work into games as I approach my last season here. I have had nothing short of an amazing journey each summer I have stayed here. Sadly, this is my last summer at PUC. It was a great one, although I was home for half of it. I have no complaints and I wouldn't trade the opportunities I have been given each summer here for ANYTHING.

Stay tuned as we quickly approach our first day of conditioning!

Until next time ..

#21

Back to Business

2011-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

August is moving right along, which means we will be back at it in no time! Although a couple of the girls are already moved in the dorms, official move-in day for the basketball players is on the 18th. The following day we get the opportunity to meet some of the other students and help them out with the moving process. Classes start up on the 22nd and conditioning starts soon after. It's hard to believe another year is already here, but I'm definitely looking forward to it!

Even though Coach gives us August "off" from open gyms, now is the time we all start to kick it into gear. We have to discipline and motivate ourselves so that when conditioning comes around, we don't have to get into shape, but stay in shape. Each player has to have made 15,000 shots this summer, and we are also going to be tested on our running and push-ups. This is a great way to keep us honest and make sure we have been working at it during the summer.

Although we will miss Jenny and MeMe, we have a great group of freshmen coming in. It's been a lot of fun to get to know the girls and play some basketball with them. We are looking to have a very solid team this year, and I'm very excited about the success that is soon to come our way. Stay tuned as we very shortly begin this journey. Go Peregrines!

Brooklyn Short #4

That's All Folks ..

2011-07-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers,

Well, this week is the end of the official summer basketball workout time period. Coach gives us from the first of the month, until we arrive at school (August 22nd), off from summer workouts. We have had a great summer so far and are looking forward to many things to come from this summer.

If you go to our women's basketball website, you will find our 2011-2012 schedule and roster, if you have been anticipating for it to be on there. Looking at the schedule, we are going to have quite the challenge this year. Nothing we can't handle though! The new roster is up and running with our new recruits listed on there too. We are looking forward to the first day of conditioning as well as the first day of official practice! Hopefully you all check out the schedule and attend a few games this year. We are always looking for new faces in the crowd!

This is all I have for now, but I hope that you all continue to follow as the blogs will get better as we start to actually get into season and things are more fun around here! ;)

Until next time ..

#21

Catching Up ..

2011-07-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers,

Last week was the summer camp for elementary through high school kids that were interested in attending our skills camp to help develop their basketball skills. I had the opportunity to help out with the four day camp again this year. I saw familiar faces, but also new ones that I hope attend next years camp. What an experience!

Each day we worked on stretching and drills we do here on the women's basketball team to help warm up our legs before practice. We also worked on ballhandling, correct shooting technique, shooting (lay-ups & short jump shots), and drills implementing ballhandling while dribbling, such as races. Little kids always enjoy a little bit of competition.

Although the camp was only four days long, you could see steady improvement with each girl that attended the camp. Some mornings the girls would come up to me and tell me and the other camp instructors what they worked on when they went home after camp each day. You could see the difference between day one and day two.

Overall, it was a great experience and I am sad to know that it was my last one here at PUC because I will be wrapping up my four year experience being a student-athlete at the university as of May 2012. I had a great time each year with each and every one of the girls. I hope to hear about them as they grow older and hopefully go on to play basketball in high school and college.

Above is a picture of Ashley, Adrianna and myself holding a picture. Ashley and Adrianna were two sisters who attended the camp. They drew each camp instructor pictures to hang in their lockers during the season.

Until next time ..

#21

Here I Am!

2011-06-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

Well here it goes, my first post! It's an honor to have the opportunity to share the experiences of the season with you all! My name is Brooklyn Short. I'm a sophomore and will be playing point guard for the Peregrines this season. I had a fun first year, and I feel that I learned quite a bit from the seniors and all the players last year! This summer I am working as a lifeguard at our city pool and helping out with my high school's basketball team. 5-0 as assistant coach! :)

I'm really looking forward to this upcoming season. Open gym went great yesterday. We had an awesome turnout. I loved seeing all the girls again! I've missed being away from everyone this summer. It was also nice to meet the new recruits! I think they will fit right in! It felt great to just go out there and just play. It was nice to get up and down the floor again. The new floor looked amazing! They sure do take care of us at PUC. I even got to pick up some Chipotle on the way back home! It was definitely a success!

It's getting a little late (I'm an hour later in Wabash), so I'm going to wrap this up. More posts will be coming soon! Thanks for reading!

Brooklyn Short #4

A New Look ..

2011-06-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

I'm getting good at catching up with this blogging stuff! haha Well, today was the first day back at PUC for everyone because of the remodeling of things. The floor is BEAUTIFUL.. as you can see above. Today we had 12 girls show up to open gym - including recruits who live 3 hours away! It was a nice turn out and I am extremely excited to get into full swing of things. Having recruits from so far away drive up for a 2 1/2 hour summer workout is great. It shows commitment and dedication. I am as excited and antsy and they are to get things rolling.

Above is a sneak peak of our new gym floor - to see more you all should come out and support us when games get started in November! Like mentioned before, Brooklyn will be blogging here soon so stay tuned in!

Until next time ...

#21

Sweet Summertime ..No days off.

2011-06-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Followers!

Sorry it has taken me a great deal of time to blog on here. Although I decided to come home for the summer, life at home is just as busy here as it is at school during the year. There are no days off in the off-season. Whether it is job searching/interviews, playing basketball, doing summer class homework, working out, running, etc. I try to stay a busybody.

Since being home I have found it not as easy to go to the gym and workout/shoot. I have set high goals for myself and the team come season that I am determined to reach. At home, I have been shooting at different parks, drive-ways, and also my old high school to get my shots in. Not all hoops at every gym are the same anyways, right? 10 ft. high is all you need. As for lifting, I have been doing all free weight lifts at my house to keep my strength up, and for conditioning I have been running, biking, and rollerblading. Also, while keeping up with our summer objectives for Coach - I entered myself into a 1/2 marathon in August downtown Chicago. I was a runner in high school and being a spectator at one a month ago, I took interest to enter in one benefited by the American Cancer Society. I have recently paid my entry fee and started training as of this week. I have started a donation envelope at school and with friends/family where I have got over $250 in donations to donate to the cancer society. It's not only for me and my aspirations to finish a half, but for a cause too.

Our gym floor is being redone so summer workouts have been postponed a week or two. It is going to be the best looking floor in the conference - that's for sure! I am excited to get the opportunity to play on it for my last season. Athletics and the facilities around school are really becoming top-knotch. We're all excited to see the finish product once the other sports get rolling and construction is done for our future sports sites.

Soon, teammate Brooklyn Short will be helping me with the blogging for the 2011-12 season. I am excited to share our experiences of off/in-season with you all. Brooklyn will be a sophomore point guard for us this year. Be on the look out for our blogs!

Well, I am off for a workout. I hope you all are doing well and I can't wait for this upcoming season! Thank you for all of your support.

Until next time..

#21

It's that time of the year ..

2011-04-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

I apologize again for the delay of the blog- I know the anticipation has been killing all of you followers ;) haha We're into the last month of school so all of the procrastinated projects and end of the year finals are approaching very quickly. It's hard to think that exactly a year from now I will be on my way to walking as a 2012 Hopitality and Tourism Management GRADUATE. All the stress in homework, class, projects, etc will be all worth it in the end. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Not much has been going on at campus. My teammates and I have been overloaded with schoolwork. We get together on Tuesdays and Fridays for 2 hour open gyms. It's nice to get a few hours of a competitive workout in and see my teammates since I don't get to see them too often as I did during season. Everyone is willing to work hard this off-season and do what coach has asked us to do to be a successful team. Our goal is to have a 20-win season, which is possible. It all starts now.

As coach pointed out, players get better in the off-season. It's proven. If you are willing to put in the time and dedication the rest comes easy- or easier I should say. There are numerous players this year in the NCAA that had a tough off-season to better themselves and their statistics showed just that.

Sorry this is just a "catching up" blog. I promise to be a better blogger when school comes to a close for this year! Hope all is well!

Until next time..

#21

SPRING BREAK!

2011-03-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

It's spring break-finally, a week off from school! I feel like I have been waiting for spring break to come ever since we had Christmas break. haha After spring break we will begin our off-season workouts. So far, a lot of the girls have been shooting and lifting but as of the first week back after break we have to start recording everything we do. Made shots, cardio, ladders, etc.

Our off-season goals are to make 15,000 shots up until September 13th- the first week of the 2011-2012 basketball season. Also, we have to set ourselves up to run a 6:15 miles and 50 consecutive push ups. There are a few other goals, but the main goal is TO GET BETTER. At this time next year- we want to be at the NAIA National Tournament. It is possible.

Hope everyone enjoys their break!

Until next time..

#21

The Bigger Picture..

2011-03-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the bigger picture and don't take things for granted. Above is a picture of a senior basketball player on scholarship, but has a heart condition which has inabled her to play her 4 years at Dayton University. She was given the opportunity of her life when Coach Jabir asked her to start on her senior night as he drew up a special play for her to score her first and only basket as a Flyer. She missed the first lay-up but with just over 18 minutes left in the first half she hit a layup and her defining moment was cherished with tears and smiles.

On another note, a high school basketball player in Michigan hit the game winning shot for his team to remain undefeated in the regular season. He was just 16 and one of the most pretigeous athletes to ever come through his high school-also being the football quarterback. Wes Leonard later collapsed after the celebration of the victory where he later died. An autoposy is being performed.

In Tennesee, at Middle Tennessee State a star point guard on the women's basketball team got in a fight with her roommate-whom later stabbed Tina Stewart to death right before the conference tourny that is scheduled for Sunday-where her teammates will still play and wear a "20gether" patch in her memory. Middle Tennessee State is the number one seed going into the tournament.

At BYU the star post player has been suspended from the team as he acted against school policy. BYU is ranked 3rd in the nation with hopes of a number one seed in the national tournament. There is a strict honor code at BYU-which the player agreed upon coming to BYU. He went against his word and broke that code letting down his peers, coach, and teammates.

Why am I blogging this? Why does it matter? It's taking opportunities and life for granted. You never know what is going to happen to you or when. It could be as small as getting into an accident and surviving or it could be the passing of the rest of your life. It's small things like this that motivate people to be better-to better themselves. Maybe there is more to these stories that we don't know, but given the opportunity to play a college sport on scholarship is one of the most honored oportunities a student athlete should respect. To learn at the highest level and excel in a sport is a gift. Some of these stories couldn't stop the outcome-which is sad, but it's a knock on the head saying: Don't take things for granted.

Coach always mentions this every year. From the smallest example to not hustling in a drill-at some point we all take life for granted. We have been given the opportunity of a lifetime and we still at one point take it casually. ALL of us. We're all guilty-speaking for myself too. Life is full of unexpected surprises...good and bad. Abide the rules, stay healthy, respect your surroundings, and stay away from negative influences in life. You control your own mindset and your own destiny. Take it to heights that you only dream of. Anything is possible.

Until next time..

#21

The off-season begins..

2011-02-28T15:24:00.000-08:00

Once you lose that last game of the season-regardless of how many months you spent every day in the gym with the same team and the same coaches..you really do miss it. Whether it's right away, a week later, or even a month-you can't wait for next seasons games to begin.

Today, I began my first off-season training. I only lifted today, but it was nice to get back into the routine knowing that it will benefit me and my team for my senior season of basketball in college. I am no Michael Jordan and no professional athlete, but I will say that off-season training does pay off. Last summer I emphasized shooting more 3 pointers than usual and doing different drills for my 3 point shot. My percentage improved almost 15% this season. The hard work DOES pay off. No, I wasn't the best shooter in the nation, but it benefited my team and my confidence from the arc knowing how much time I put in this summer.

At one of the last season games I was asked what it takes to be good-the only answer I had to that question for a little girl in middle school was to be in the gym when others are not. There are no days off and if you are in the gym at the same time as your opponent-WORK HARDER THAN THEM. You could have the most talent in the world, but if you don't work at that talent your talents will just stay stagnant. There is always room for improvement-in every aspect of life. There is a difference between good and great..

This is just a few basic thoughts about off-season training. You can be good, but it takes hard work to be great. Not every teenager and young adult want to put in that effort to get where they want to be. Nothing just comes to you-you have to go out and get it. My team and myself-we want to be great. I believe next seasons team is ready to take the time and effort to be that great team for the 2011-2012 season.

Until next time..

#21

Not the end, but a new beginning..

2011-02-25T09:20:00.001-08:00

It was an emotional year and an emotional last game for the team last night as we took a heartbreaking loss in the semi-final game versus Cardinal Stritch. It is always a hard time taking a loss versus a team like them, but you have to give them credit for being a great team that they are. They have won conference numerous years in a row under one of the best coaches in NAIA women's basketball. The good thing is-time moves on and there's always another chance. Maybe not for my fellow teammates and graduating seniors- Meme Harris and Jennifer Britton, but PUC women's basketball will always have a next time with them.

Playing in my last game with those two graduating seniors was one of the hardest tasks I've been through in my basketball career. You could see the passion and heart in each of their steps. They didn't want it to be their last and it's so unfortunate to lose such great all around women as them. In my 3 years playing with these two- I have developed MANY memories with each and hopefully everlasting friendships. I adore each girl and they will forever be my teammates. They have helped me learn and grow as a person and a player. I couldn't ask for anything more. This isn't the end, but a new beginning for you and your careers. Which I know you'll succeed in.

On the statistic note, we ended our season 17-13. The best record we have posted here at PUC since Coach Medge has came here. I believe this is all due to the fact of simply recruiting great talent and great people. There is not another girl I would want to share that record with. This is my second family and I am sad that the same group of girls will not be returning. Yes, we only lose two players-but those two players have made such a dramatic impact for the team since they have been here.

The time is finally here where I am a senior and after last nights game I know that it will be quite an emotional year. I am ready for next season already and I can't wait to bring in our new recruits to get going on my final season of basketball, ever. It is a scary thought, but I couldn't be happier being at the university I am with the people that are here.

Overall, I am pleased with this season. Yes, you can always do better but we are going in the right direction. I cannot thank the support enough. From the coaches, players, fans, score table workers, administrators, and staff-there are no words to express how much you have influenced our team. I hope to see you all again next year.

Until next time..

#21

What It All Comes Down To..

2011-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

The time is finally here..

Every sprint, every sand dune, every lift in the weight room, every offseason shot..

It all matters now. 40 minutes of solid basketball. All you've got-just to get to the next game. This is it. You get 40 minutes at a time and if you don't pull it all together-that loss means the most. The end of the season..

We've come a long way. So far, since I have been here we posted the best regular season record at 16-12 with some wins that we could of won-we just didn't put it together for the total 40 minutes. Maybe it was for 39 minutes, or 38. It doesn't count. It has to be 40.

This is the CCAC tournament. A title of CCAC Tournament Champions gives us a free birth to the National Tournament in Iowa-what we have been preparing for the last 6 months.

I hope to see EVERYONE at our conference opener versus Judson at 7 pm on Tuesday Feb. 22nd! We need YOUR support. You fans are the ones who make the atmosphere the way it is.

Until next time..

#21

Where Are We Now?

2011-02-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

HEY EVERYONE! Sorry it has taken quite a long time for me to blog for the women's basketball team. This semester has already been a crazy one so time management takes a bit to get used to. Classes are pretty challenging and definitely time consuming to say the least. Hope everyone is doing well!

As of right now, we stand at 15-12 and 6-5 in the conference. Come Saturday, we are going into our last regular season game at Calumet College. The last match-up was sent into overtime-where unfortunately Cal College took over and beat us on our home floor. It was a hard fought game and that is a time where you are happy to have a second round in CCAC conference play.

Next week is a huge week for all NAIA basketball. The conference tournament is where you put the whole season together for 40 minutes with no regrets. Everything you have worked on for 6 months comes down to this last week. If we were to sweep the conference tournament it'll put us right where we have been working towards this whole season-at the NAIA National Tournament.

I'll be sure to keep everyone posted! Hope you have all been following our games via internet with the game articles provided after each game-if not, here at PUC live watching us. It is always a great atmosphere. Thanks for following and once again, sorry for the long delay on the blog!

Until next time...

#21

What It Takes To Be Great

2011-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

After reading an article I took interest in what it takes to be great. So here is what type of insight I gained from reading: It's always been said that there is no substitution for hard work. If you look at the greatest players in the world-yes, they have talent but to keep that talent from folding into a normal athlete they practice what they are good at repetitively.

All humans were born with a natural talent that they are able to do better than anyone. For some it is in athletics, but it could also be at work, in school, hobbby-related, etc. It is just a natural talent, but to be the best at it you have to practice until you're great.

Consistency is crucial. It isn't practicing and shooting different each shot, but making the shot and using the same fundamentals each time are extremely crucial. You can practice the same shot over and over again, but if you miss every time and don't practice it the right way it is useless. It is said that the people who excel best at what they do, spend 10,000 of deliberate practice in their life.

The mindset of someone trying to excel in a certain activity has to be nothing but positive and focused. If something doesn't go your way you cannot pout and get a negative attitude. It is just something that should motivate you to practice harder on that aspect. It's your weak point and in order to make yourself the best you have to be great in EVERY aspect.

A perfect example of a determined player is Michael Jordan. Most people have heard the story about him getting cut from his high school team. MJ then went on to be one of the greatest players of all times in the game of basketball. With his positive mind frame and hard work-anything was possible. The only person that stopped MJ from being great was himself.

This isn't everything it takes to be great, but overall what I've learned from life is that attitude is everything. If you think you can do something you're probably right, if you think you can't you're probably right also. If you want to be the best and if you invest all your time in trying to be the best-most likely you'll become the best.

Until next time..

#21

Oh, the peaks and valleys..

2011-01-19T10:31:00.001-08:00

Wow! I can't believe it is already the start of a new year. Already so far, we have had an up and down year. I hope everyone is having a great start to another year we are given. Hope you are keeping up with your resolutions too! ;)

Well, since I haven't posted recently let me update you on the happenings around campus. First and foremost, school has started back up so things have been more busy than ever. The first week is always so tough getting back into the swing of things. As an HTM major I can gladly say SO FAR I love all of my classes and professors. Honestly, there hasn't been a class in the HTM program that has disappointed me. It's a great major, but most importantly it is FUN and you learn a lot.

On the basketball side of things, we are currently 10-8. This isn't necessarily where we want to be as of now, but every team has their peaks and valleys. For awhile we were in the valley, but a great team like us can get back up to the peak and do big things. We have only 10 more regular season games left! It is crazy how fast my junior year has flown by. It is kind of depressing! There is nothing more that I look forward to most than tying up my shoes and going to practice or games. The excitement and adrenaline is just a great feeling. And to support the university I will be representing after college and out in the real world with my BIG girl job-it's all great.

Well, I know it has been a long time since I have blogged but I'm off to lunch and then practice. I hope my followers are still following even after I have slacked :) You guys are the heart of our fans and I hope the blog helps you understand more of the student-athlete spectrum. Our next game is Thursday @ Robert Morris at 5 pm and then the next home game is Saturday January 22 @ 1 pm. Hope to see you there! Stay warm and safe with these crazy weather conditions we've had. Be blessed!

Until next time..

#21

IT'S CONFERENCE!!!!!!

2011-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

2nd SEMESTER CONFERENCE KICK OFF STARTS TONIGHT!!!!!

5 PM VERSUS DEFENDING CONFERENCE CHAMPS-CARDINAL STRITCH!!!!!!!!!!

ONE TEAM-ONE GOAL-OUR YEAR!!!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

#21

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2010-12-30T12:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from the Women's Basketball Team!

As the new year approaches, we leave 2010 at a record of 8-6. We have had some great wins, some rough losses, injuries, and a lot of fun during the first half of our season. Like every team and just like life-we have had our ups and downs. We leave 2010 on a win against Goshen College in our own Holiday Classic- it was a great mark to add on the last few days of the year.

With 2011 coming in, we have some challenges. We still have 14 games before tournament. This is the time where games mean just a little bit more, conference time. We hope to win the conference so we are able to host the conference tournament come late February. We will continue to prepare ourselves for each and every game and have fun doing it. There isn't another group of girls I would want to bring in the new year with than my teammates and coaching staff. I am thankful for all obstacles and positive happenings that occured in 2010 and I surely hope they continue on.

Our first 2011 game will be on Wednesday, January 5th versus defending conference champ, Cardinal Stritch. It will be a tough game, but with the next few practices preparing us-we will be just fine and hope to get a win on our home floor! I hope to see EVERYONE who follows the blog at the game. Tipoff is at 5 pm and the men's game follows.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Until next time...

#21

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-12-29T06:55:00.001-08:00

EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COME TO OUR GAME!!!!!!!!!

DECEMEBER 29, 2010 vs. GOSHEN COLLEGE AT 3pm!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BRING CANNED GOODS AND GET IN FOR FREE WHILE HELPING A CAUSE!!!!!!!!

#21 :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays from the Purdue University Calumet Women's Basketball Team!!!

Hey everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season! As the snow falls and it starts to look like Christmas, I hope you all stay warm and safe. There is nothing like driving in the holiday rush of traffic!

Currently we are 7-4 coming off a home victory against Viterbo yesterday. We put 40 minutes together and came out with a "W". It was a good win to take us into a tough match up @ St. Francis (Fort Wayne) on Wednesday. They are a tough team and they have had successful seasons leading up to this one. We'll take a bus 3 hours east and hopefully bring a win back to PUC before heading into a few days off for Christmas. What a gift that will be!

On that note, what IS the meaning of Christmas? Is it just receiving gifts, quality time with your family, giving, music, food, or the celebration of Christ? As Christmas morning approaches do you get excited more for the gifts or the time with your family? Some answer will vary and some will surprise you. What is your answer? Christmas is the holiday for giving and to me, the holiday for appreciating what you already have or have had in the past. Not everyone gets what they want and not everyone gets what they NEED during this season. Much like Thanksgiving, you should be VERY thankful for the blessings you have received day in and day out. Maybe share with someone who hasn't had that blessing? Just an idea to think about..

Once again, Happy Holidays and stay warm!!!!

Until next time..

#21

Tis The Season

2010-12-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! As the holiday approaches-that means the first semester of school is finishing up! It's great to finally be able to say that. Four months of school, basketball, and work is tiring! A month break will be great and it'll enable us players to focus on just family, basketball, and work. For all of you followers, don't forget we DO play games over break. We have 5 games including a home tournament December 28th/29th. We would love to get the same turn out as the first tournament hosted!

To update you with the team we are currently 5-4. We lost a heartbreaker at Olivet last Tuesday by 6. We played solid basketball for 40 minutes, but just came up short. We were well prepared credit to Coach Megyesi going into the game. You can't win them all, right? Tomorrow we have a conference game where we travel towards my hometown-Holy Cross. It'll be another tough game just like every other. We hope to bring a win back to Purdue Calumet.

Well, for all you student followers I hope you finish strong on your finals-best of luck! Also, to our fans we hope to see you soon at our next home game-Decemeber 18th. It's been too long since our last home game! Bring your friends and come support your lady peregrines versus Viterbo. Tip-off is at 3pm!

Until Next Time..

#21

And Then There Was 10

2010-12-03T20:12:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay on blogging. These past few weeks sure have been hectic with the semester ending. We have dropped 2 games in a row putting us a 5-3 so far this year. We have had many injuries and nagging pains that have set us back a little. We've had concussions, knee problems, shoulder problems, deep bruising, back problems, ETC! It is a rough season and come conference time we need ALL 10 players healthy and at their best.

Our next game is Tuesday at Olivet. They are always a great team with a 90 second sub rotation, playing 15 girls. They like to trap and press and shoot the 3. The speed of the game will be VERY uptempo. We have been preparing in practice this week to get us the much needed win on the road.

Sorry this is so short, but back to the grind. Due dates for projects, studying for finals, and doing online quizzes are calling.

Until next time...

#21

HOME SWEET IOWA

2010-11-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! This blog is going to be written by THREE of us :) Jenny Britton, Alex Starr, and myself, Stephaine Beck. We have reached our destination in Iowa. We had a great shoot around and a yummy dinner at Ryan's steakhouse. It was like a family dinner :)

The dinner was by far one of the funniest experiences ever. We had one of the most outgoing waitresses, her name was Judy and she did a chant for us. It was a tremendous chant, buttttttttt she called us "PAC" instead of "PUC" hahahaha She loved her job, definitely.

Back at the hotel room now we want to tell you about our sweet SUITE. haha Umm, first off-it's HUGE and spacious. Not to mention, we got a FIREPLACE!!!!! We have a kitchen, 2 tvs, a bedroom with 2 beds, a bathroom, and the livingroom is gigantic with a separate pull out bed. Oh, and Alex wants you all to know there also is a dishwasher! Even though we won't be doing any type of housewife chores here.

Besides all that, tomorrow is what we came here for. We play a tough Mount Mercy team at 1 pm (cst). According to the scouting report they have great shooters, they run a fast break, and they are good rebounders. We are without one of our post players tomorrow unfortunately. Lindsey Whitcomb suffered a concussion last game. Even though we don't have her she still came here to support us and we'll have others step up to fill in her shoes.

Well, we're going to do a little homework, watch a movie and head off to bed. Hope you all check up on us Saturday night or Sunday morning to see how the game went, if not we'll be blogging again soon!

Until next time..

#21..#11..#10

The Road Less Traveled.

2010-11-25T20:52:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got to spend time with their family members, friends, and all other great people!! I can honestly say I am extremely thankful for every opportunity I have gotten being a PUC student-athlete. There is nothing I would change and I couldn't be any more happy at another place. Anyway, I got to go home and see my family in Mishawaka. It was a GREAT time. There is NOTHING like family. Now back at school Thanksgiving night- it is time to prepare for a game in IOWA.

Tomorrow we will depart for Iowa at noon for a 4 hour bus ride and an overnight stay to play on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm versus Mount Mercy. I do not know much about them, but we will bring our 'A game' and show up ready to play. We have continued to prepare ourselves for upcoming games. This week we are coming off a big win as we were victorious against IUSB, a division 1 team. We are now 5-1 and still hungry for more wins. We have a chance to do something extremely special this year and that is where our focus is.

Hopefully this isn't the only time we travel on the long road that not many travel on this year. Each day I tell myself and remind my teammates that we CAN make it to nationals. Not only to instill in their heads that we are good enough, but to remind them we have an opportunity of a lifetime to do big things with this group we have and become something special that the PUC athletic family will never forget.

Time to pack my bags!! Thanks for following and I'll be writing again to tell you all about the trip to Iowa.

Until next time..

#21

NEW DAY

2010-11-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

First loss of the season is always hard. 4-1 isn't bad, but 5-0 is better. We will see how everyone responds in practice today. The ONLY good thing about losing is that you can improve on the areas you didn't perform well in the night before. We have to refocus and regroup and bring it again on Tuesday night. Like mentioned before these games we play now are to help us prepare and peak for conference. Not saying wins and losses don't matter, but they enable us to get everything out so we look sharp come conference time.

Even the greatest players in the game of basketball lost. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, etc. You can't go undefeated your whole career, BUT it's how you respond to a loss that truly makes a great player

NEW DAY = NEW OPPORTUNITIES.

Until next time..

GAME DAY!!!!!!

2010-11-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

It's that time again...GAME DAY!!!!

Purdue University Calumet (4-0) vs. Bethel College (4-1)..tipoff is at 7 pm!

This is a BIG game! LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you can't make it to the Fitness and Rec Center then you can watch it at:

http://www.livesportsvideo.com/golive/goliveevents.asp?q=PurdueUniversityCalumet

4-0

2010-11-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this is where WE want to be in March-Sioux City Iowa!!!!

Hey everyone! Thanks for following the blog. Currently we are sitting at 4-0 with winning last nights contest 102-60 in Michigan. Arguably it was probably one of the hardest games yet because of the 4 1/2 hour bus ride. The beginning of the game was extremely sluggish and it wasn't until half time when Coach Medge got on our cases that we turned a switch and started playing OUR game. For future recruits, don't get 2 fouls in the first half of play or else you have to sit the WHOLE time and definitely never get 2 fouls the first 3 minutes of the game. Needless to say, I learned to hate that rule real fast last night ;)

Tuesday is a BIG game. We play on our home court versus a solid Bethel team. This game is a big game for us because they usually are a nationals team and also for me because the college is back in my hometown of Mishawaka. I don't recall the last time we've beat them, but it certainly hasn't been since I've been here. It'd be a great win for the program. We have to stay focused and stay hungry! Each player has to continue to contribute in every aspect that they have because we NEED ALL 11 players to be victorious.

Hope to see everyone at 7pm on Tuesday night!!!! GO PEREGRINES!

Until next time..

2010-2011 TEAM INTRO

2010-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! My name is Stephaine Beck and I am a junior from Mishawaka, IN on the women's basketball team this season. Just like Mike Patton on the men's team I am PROUDLY a part of the Peregrine Posse as a Vice President. Basically, I pick up Mike's slacking ;) I encourage EVERYONE to join this club!! It's fun and only $5 to be part of the growth of our student fan club here on campus. It's the most rapid growing club on campus with 180+ official members!!!! The $5 cost is to pay for the shirt. HOW CHEAP, HUH?! Be a part of the club and show your school spirit!!! Athletics is quickly progressing since I've been here in all aspects. PUC is heading in the right direction, fast!!! This is thanks to our chancellor/vice chancellor, athletic director, sports information director, all coaches, athletic office workers, athletes and our fans.

Just to update some followers if you haven't been reading we are currently 3-0 playing all 3 games on our home court. This Saturday we take on Michigan-Dearborn in our first away game of the season. This game is important just as any other game, but it'll be our first test to see how we face the adversity of playing in a different environment. The support we have gotten over the years is appreciated and the amount of fans at ours games over the past 2 1/2 years that I have been here has turned for the good. WE ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!!

The team this year has a little bit of everything. We have 4 starters back, a deep bench and a great coaching staff. We were pre-season ranked 2nd in conference with 1 all-conference player (MeMe Harris), 1 honorable mention (Me), and a freshmen of the year (Tierra Turner) award winner in the 2009-2010 season returning. Incoming freshmen Brooklyn Short and Madison Gervais have made immediate impact, while IWU transfer Lindsay Whitcomb gives us great height under the basket. Savannah Hauter joins our basketball team after a long season with the volleyball team. She brings great work ethic in. Alex Starr has been an immediate impact for our team on the wing since her freshmen campaign last year. She is a tremendous shooter and has added to her game over the summer. Chrissy Lobo is a strong, but small post for us along with Amanda Gaskin playing at the same spot. They are both on the blocks, but play BIG for us and contribute. Senior wing Jennifer Britton is as always a great shooter and by my opinion the best shooter in our conference. MeMe Harris is coming off of an ACL injury, but has fully recovered and still one of the fastest point guards in the CCAC. Lastly, Tierra Turner is also on the block for us this year. We don't have too much height so just like the others she is a small post and last seasons freshmen of the year in the conference. We have worked hard in the off-season and during the beginning of this season thus far. Our goal is to win conference and advance to the national tournament hosted in Iowa in March, but until March it's one game at a time. With the talent, motivation, and heart we have this year it could be THE year!! We hope to see YOU at upcoming games. We appreciate all the support!!!!!! GO PEREGRINES!!!

I'll end on a quote by the best coach in the country (well, behind Coach Megyesi, haha) ;

"A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play." -Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University Men's Basketball)

Until next time..

PS-I'm new with this..so keep following and we'll keep you up to date with the "happenings" around here :)

#21

(BRIAN BOYLE) Thursday June 27th

2010-09-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Nadia Mitchem was our first speaker of the day. I had spoken with her at the reception on Monday and was excited for her presentation to us. Nadia is a senior officer, of corporate partnerships with the American Red Cross. She also has worked in disaster fundraising to support emergency and crisis relief efforts around the globe. Some of the corporate partners Nadia works with are Land Rover, Sears, State Farm, and Fortune 100. The reasons she chose the Red Cross to engage in her profession is because of community engagement, the humanitarian role, and she looks at the vision/missions of companies. She spoke to us about recognizing opportunities and to use time management. After speaking to her, I made up a list of things I would like to accomplish in the next few years including, travel to different countries, get more involved in the Red Cross or another philanthropic organization, learn another language, and to become more organized! I really enjoyed listening to Nadia; she has such a passion for her job, it is contagious!

After Nadia spoke to us, Paula Boggs came in for a while to speak with us. Paula is the Executive Vice President, and General Counsel and Secretary of Starbucks, and she is also a part of the American Red Cross Board of Governors. In this role, she leads the Law and Corporate Affairs department, advising a wide range of Starbucks partners on legal and business issues. Her legal career began as a United States army officer assigned to the Pentagon. She also worked as a staff attorney for the White House before leaving the service in 1988. Paula is also a singer and songwriter and recently has released an album titled, “A Buddha State of Mind.” Her opinion of winning the day includes “focus and just wanting it more!” Paula was very upbeat and interesting to hear from!

Our next speaker was Brian Boyle. Earlier in the trip, we had been given a book that Brian had written, so at night I had been reading a little bit of his book. Now, he has to be the most inspirational person, EVER!! I will always keep his book with me because my challenges are so miniscule to the battles he has endured in his young life. Brian is an American Red Cross volunteer but when he was 18, he was in a terrible car crash and was told he would never walk again. From his accident, he had lost over 60% of his blood, his heart had moved across his chest, and his organs and pelvis were pulverized. In 2007, Brian Boyle staged what many consider to be one of the greatest comebacks in sports history when he crossed the finish line at the Hawaii Ironman just three years after leaving the Intensive Care Unit. Brian’s story is such an inspiration and meeting him and his parents was a great experience! One of his favorite bands is also my favorite, 311 which is awesome as well! What I took from Brian’s presentation is that mind over matter wins every time, that people underestimate themselves, and to never hold a grudge.

(CAPITAL HILL) Wednesday, June 16th

2010-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

In the morning, we continued to work on our strategic plans and by now, we were just putting the finishing touches on everything. At 11:00 we came downstairs for a catered luncheon, where we had the privilege of eating with and hearing from Dr. Allan Goldberg, Chair of Quality and Regulatory Compliance Subcommittee and member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee for the American Red Cross National Board of Governors. Dr. Goldberg was a very nice man and it was such a privilege to speak with him not only as a board member, but also as a blood drive leader at Merck, an international pharmaceutical company. I was especially interested in Dr. Goldberg because my cousin has been working as an engineer at Merck for the past 18 years! So I have been to the absolutely monstrous facility and its surrounding areas in Philly.

After lunch we had the opportunity to tour the United States Capital building, which was a really neat experience. It was absolutely breath-taking how beautiful the architecture was. My favorite part of the visit, though, was when we made it to the Senate Chamber. The senators were in the process of voting on something (I’m not sure what), and it was incredible to be in the same room with well-known political figures such as John Kerry and the Indiana senators Evan Bayh and Dick Lugar.

When the tour was finished, we all headed out to the front of the capital building for some pictures, and they were hilarious! We tried the jumping picture thing again, and it was basically an epic failure, but we got a few good ones and it was a lot of fun!

After the tour, our group ended up splitting in half. Half of the group went to the National Archives and the other half of us could hardly think of walking any further so we headed into Union Station. We grabbed some delicious Chinese food and relaxed for awhile and then did a little shopping before heading back to the dorms to sleep!

(MEETING THE PRESIDENT AND CEO) Tuesday, June 15th

2010-08-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, we started out the day listening to Julia Wulf speak to us about maximizing the blood region experience. Julia is the Chief Executive Officer of the Lewis and Clark Biomedical Services Region (the Utah, Oregon, area). She has been the CEO since 2004. She gave us some great tips including leadership according to Julia: “find your passion, be prepares, team diversity, work/life balance, value kindness, and leading vs. managing.” We also asked her how she wants to be remembered. She responded by saying, “I want to be remembered as a leader who cared and had great ideas and her region wouldn’t be where it is at without her.” She was really inspirational and I really enjoyed hearing her input and leadership advice!We then had another workshop with Rob Haworth, this one focusing on growth mindset.

Fixed mindset is when you believe intelligence and talent are fixed, whereas growth mindset is when you believe intelligence and talent can be cultivated. Having a growth mindset will get you places; on the other hand, fixed mindset may get you nowhere. Intelligence and talent are important qualities to have, but if you don’t believe you can get smarter or become better at what you love, you’re crazy! Rob also spoke to us about covenants. A covenant is a solemn agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing. At first, I didn’t really know what to think of the idea, but the more the group talked about it, we decided we would build our own covenant for our 2010 class of student-athletes. We thought of different things we would all agree to do at our separate schools and we filmed them and presented the covenant to Brian and Jennifer on our last day at work.

We then had lunch with Rob and Staci again before heading down to the headquarters office where we could get to spend a few moments with Gail McGovern, the President and CEO of the American Red Cross. Gail has also help top management positions at AT&T Corporation and Fidelity Investments and she has also taught at Harvard Business School. In 2000 and 2001, Gail was recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the top 50 most powerful women in corporate America. Gail was by far my favorite speaker, and even though we got to spend only a few minutes with her, her thoughts and advice I will always remember. She said “if you want it, you can have it.” Although, that is a little farfetched in some aspects, I think it is inspiring because if set your goals high, your life will be full of possibilities and opportunities!

After work, I was so exhausted; I went back to the dorms and passed out for a few hours. After getting some beauty rest, the girls headed out for an ice cream run; this time Conie Island was our destination! There was a park nearby, so we went there and ate our ice cream. Before you know it, with all the cheerleaders in our group, we were learning cheerleading moves. What a sight! It was so much fun, and the girls in this group are especially close!

(WORKING WITH OUR CEOs) Monday, June 14th

2010-08-20T11:33:00.001-07:00

The first day of week 2!! It has come to the point that all of us are so close, it’s crazy! Monday morning, we were all pumped up for our workshops with Rob Haworth. Rob is the vice President for Champions of Character and has been since July of 2008. Before his role as Vice President, he was the superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools in Warsaw, Indiana. Rob spent the morning with us focusing on the Core values of the NAIA and also on finding our locus of control. The core values of the NAIA are integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. I think these values are what makes the NAIA so great and what separates us from the NCAA. I really enjoyed Rob’s workshop with us and a quote that I grabbed from his presentation was “if character development is not your first priority, then all your other priorities are at risk.” This quote will definitely stay with me for years to come!

We then worked on our strategic plans for an hour before our lunch with Rob Haworth and Staci Schottman. Our plan was coming along very well and we had just thought of a interacting game for our presentation. After lunch, Sharon Jaksa was our next speaker. Sharon graduated from Michigan State and she currently is the Chief Executive Officer in the Great Lakes Region in Lansing MI with the American Red Cross. Sharon talked to us about maximizing the blood region experience and her insights were helpful for what we should and shouldn’t do when conducting our blood drives.

We then were each filmed for the NAIA student filming. We were asked to repeat a long phrase and then speak about what the NAIA Champion of Character core values meant to each of us. I get so nervous when I have to speak in front of people, so it was extremely nerve racking in front of a camera! We the continued to plan for our presentations for Friday until about four when we headed back to the dorms to get ready for the reception!

The reception was so much fun. There were so many interesting people to talk to; it was a great networking event! Sam and I worked the room real good, we had awesome conversations with everyone especially Nadia Mitchem, who would be speaking to us later in the week, and also with Sharon Jaksa’s daughter who was heading to Africa to work in an orphanage that next week. It’s amazing how one conversation could get you that big interview in a few years!

After the reception, we went back to the dorms, changed and decided we needed some Ben &Jerry’s. At this point in the trip, I am starting to love all our ice cream runs and all the different flavors at Ben & Jerry’s. Since I’m so picky and like only cheesecake flavored, Ben and Jerry’s is amazing because its strawberry cheesecake! YUM! Later in the night, Jon and I decided we were hungry so Jon, Patrick, and I headed out to find some food! We ended up eating at this little hole in the wall, Lindy’s pub and grill, but it was delicious!

(SHOPPING) Sunday, June 13

2010-08-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Since Sunday was the only day in the trip that we were given the day off, I used it to my full advantage to sleep in. My roommate Amber and I both woke up around noon and received a text that a group was heading to The Hard Rock Café in about a half hour. We got ready quickly and along with Olivia, were out the door in fifteen minutes. Hard Rock Café was awesome! I had only been in one other one in Puerto Rico so it was a ton of fun for me! I bought the souvenir cup for my mom and a shirt for myself!

After lunch, Amber, Olivia, and I grabbed a cab and headed to Georgetown for some quality shopping! After shopping for a few hours, we headed back to the dorms to regroup with everyone to head to Arlington Cemetery before dinner. We were a little rushed at Arlington since it was a little longer walk than expected. But after watching the changing of the guards, we headed back to our metro stop-foggy bottom. We then walked the few block and met up with Brian, Jennifer. We had dinner at Bertucci’s, an amazing Italian restaurant with Rob Haworth (Vice President for Champions of Character at the NAIA) and Staci Schottman (Director of Public Relations and Communications at the NAIA). Rob and Staci had pre-ordered our meals and they were delicious!! Having dinner with Rob and Staci got everyone excited for the next two days we would be spending with them.

(D.C TOUR!!) Saturday, June 12th

2010-08-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

We headed out from the dorms around 9:30 to start our tour of Washington D.C. We went everywhere you could imagine that day. I loved it! We started on the metro station and got off at Union Station where Jennifer handed each of us questions and we started our tour at Union Station where there was a lot of history.

Our next stop was the Supreme Court; we didn’t get a chance to go in but we took pictures outside. After that, we went to the Library of Congress, which was my favorite building in all of D.C. It was absolutely beautiful inside and all of the books! I was in heaven! At the Library of Congress, I bought a book on Martin Luther King Jr., and also a silver pendant. We then walked past the Capitol where we learned that the Armed Liberty faces the east because the sun never sets on freedom. We also learned that the Lincoln Memorial faces General Lee so he could get his revenge on Lee. Lee is buried on his land plot which is also Arlington Cemetery so he can look at all of the graves for eternity. JFK was also at Arlington days before his death so he is also buried above Arlington. We then went to the Botanical Gardens, which were gorgeous! We tried some jumping in the air group pictures and failed miserably before heading to the National Art Gallery for lunch.

After the National Art Gallery, where we took some great pictures, we headed to the Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust Museum was, if I had to make a choice, my favorite part of the entire trip. I learned so much that I believe I would have never learned from a history course, it was so real.

Amber, Patrick, Sam, and I ended up being the last ones out of the museum so we headed back to the dorms together. We were sort of looking for food and shopping, and we ended up being a very long ways away from the dorms! Patrick started a little documentary on his camcorder device of our death march back home. It was about 95 degrees and so humid that day and we had already been outside or walking since 10 am. We finally got back to the dorms around 6 o’clock after walking for over an hour! The rest of the night we all just hung out.

(LAURIOL PLAZA) Friday June 11th

2010-07-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

We started off the morning with a guest speaker about our age. Bianca Kahlenberg is the co-chair of the National Youth Council and also President of her Red Cross Club at the University of Florida. She spoke to us about all the do’s and don’ts to starting a Red Cross Club on our campuses. Her information was very real and informational.

After Bianca spoke to us, we worked on our strategic plans until lunch. Following lunch, Jackie Battle came in to say a few words to us. She gave her blood recipient story and it was very emotional. At the American Red Cross, Jackie is a senior administrative specialist in sales and marketing within the biomedical services. Jackie is also a part of the donor recruitment committee at the Red Cross.

For the rest of the afternoon, we worked on our strategic plans and then straight from work to Lauriol Plaza where we were going to have dinner. It was such a nice Mexican restaurant and the food was delicious! I had a chimichanga, and it was also a great time for everyone to get to know each other as well. Brian was so generous and paid for our dinners, Thanks Brian! After dinner, Katie( one of the bosses, part of the leadership program last year), Jon (from Bethel College), Patrick ( from California), and Jennifer (the lady who put this whole trip together, aka amazing person!), and I decided we wanted ice cream! So we went to Ben & Jerry’s, where I had strawberry cheesecake ice cream of course! After ice cream, we all just headed back to the dorms where we all hung out until bed.

(DIVERSITY AWARENESS) Thursday June 10th

2010-07-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

We started off the morning with a diversity awareness session with Tim O’Malley. He is the Founder and Lead Consultant for Fios Consulting. His work focuses on culture change and transition, the integration of diversity into business processes, multicultural education, team development, and leadership development. This diversity training was one of my favorite parts of the week. He engaged the group in different activities including a card game when each of us were playing a version of Spades. But we didn’t know that each table had a different set of rules. So when the winners and losers switched tables, we all assumed we were playing the same game. It was so frustrating because we could not talk and had to figure out what was going on. Eventually, one person just took over and dictated each table and that person was the winner. At my table, Hanna and I dictated who won each hand, but I ended up winning the game. We basically just made our own rules to each specific table and made it work.

After lunch, we had a few more speakers, the first of being Vicki Thomas. Vicki is the director of the Sales and Marketing sector of the Biomedical Services at the American Red Cross. We learned the tagline, “the need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.” Vicki spoke to us about banners and logos for the Red Cross. I never knew there were so many rules and that we can only use certain colors! She also spoke of common barriers for our age group the first few including: we’re too busy, we have a fear either of needles or the unknown and temporary deferrals.

Our next speaker was Kelly High. Kelly is in the marketing and information technology sector of the American Red Cross. She spoke to us about competition on our campuses. I honestly had no idea that there were other blood services besides the Red Cross. Growing up, I have always been surrounded by the Red Cross. She also gave us tips to making blood donors lifelong donors. Some of these tips include the following: make it fun, create a theme, special treatment for first time donors, and recognition and appreciate.

After Kelly spoke with us, we headed upstairs to the 9th floor to the office to work on our strategic plans some more. Our group seemed to lean toward doing our own thing. We split the work up and went with it. The plan seemed to work out well, because when everyone else was nervous about presentations, our group was calm and collective because we knew we had everything put together nicely.

After work, some people decided to stay in but the rest of us went a few blocks down to the Farmer’s Market. I had never been to a farmer’s market like this before. This one took up a whole block and there were so many vendors; it was really cool! I tried some milk that was straight from the cows and very good! Also in the park, there was a reggae concert going on which was awesome, because I love reggae.

After listening to some reggae, Jessi, Steven, Jake, and I headed out to do some more sightseeing. We first went to the White House, because the first time when we went, we didn’t bring out cameras for security reasons. So we took a bunch of pictures outside of the White House and then headed to the Washington Monument. After the Washington Monument, we went to the World War Two Memorial, and then continued up the path to the Lincoln Memorial. Jake almost got us kicked out of the Lincoln Memorial because he was being loud and you’re supposed to keep your voices to a whisper within the memorial. After we hit up the gift shop, we started walking back to the dorms looking for food. Steven was trying to find us a restaurant using his amazing Droid phone and we got so turned around, it was hilarious! Finally we asked for a good restaurant, and there ended up being Tonic right down the block from our dorms. That restaurant was amazing!

(WHITE HOUSE TOUR) Wednesday, June 9th

2010-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday afternoon we learned that our “special tour” on our itineraries was a tour of the White House! At 8:30, we all met in front of headquarters, and as group walked the few blocks to the White House together. Of course, me being my forgetful self left my driver’s license in my room so I had to run back to the dorms, in heels, and then catch up with the group. The tour itself was amazing! After multiple security checks, we finally got into the White House. We got to visit the downstairs area including the library, the vermeil room, the china room, the east room, the green room, the blue room, the red room, and the state dining room. My favorite room was the state dining room because of the flowers on the tables. We learned that a florist has a shop in the basement of the White House and switches up the flowers every 2-3 days and also makes the flower pots. We were the first group of NAIA students to get to go on the tour, so thank you Jennifer Lourie for making that happen!!

After the tour, the group headed back to headquarters to get started on our work for the day. Katie and Tori shared their experiences from last year with us and what they did at their blood drives. They told us what worked for their campuses and what didn’t. Their presentation really helped us to see how much of a difference we can make and that we must never feel discouraged! We took a long break for lunch and then resumed our day with Dr. Richard Benjamin. Dr. Benjamin was one of my favorite speakers in all of the two weeks! He is the Chief Medical Officer for Red Cross. He told us so much useful information for our blood drives. Our current blood drives are on the third floor which is not a good idea at all. Although, I do not know where else our drives could be so that donors have easy access. I asked Dr. Benjamin why women have a tendency to get deferred often because of their iron level. He replied that different ethnicities have different amounts of iron in their bodies and the standard for giving blood is based on Caucasians. I thought this was interesting because I have always thought my iron was low, but from Dr. Benjamin I learned that it may not be!

Our next speaker was Gloria Huang who is a social media specialist for the ARC. She spoke to us about Facebook, Twitter, and blogs that could assist us in gaining support for our blood drives. After her presentation, the group went upstairs to work on our strategic plans! My group consisted of Olivia Goodall (from Atlanta), Kayla Anderson (from Kansas), and Jake Fox (from Oklahoma). Our topic was Support and Sustainability on our campus. We were to discuss how we can gain the support for our blood drives and how we can sustain our success after we graduate in a few years.

After working on our strategic plans until five, the group headed back to the dorms to get ready to go out for the night. A couple of people got suggestions for restaurants from locals so we all decided to go to Nooshi, an Indian restaurant a few blocks away. I had sushi for dinner and it was delicious! Larke, from Mississippi, was sitting next to me and she had never had sushi before so I had her try mine since it was a pretty basic combination and would be good for someone’s first time. I will never forget her face! She was trying so hard to keep it down, she absolutely hated it! That is the last time I will ever suggest somebody try something new!!

After dinner, Amber, Steven, and I went across the street to a sports store. I was in desperate need of a jacket since I forgot mine at home! And they had special edition flat billed Nationals hats so I could get my boyfriend a present! After we made our purchases, we were making our way down the street to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and all of a sudden we were told to stop walking. So curious as we were, we waited right there and a man was rushed out the door of the Palm Restaurant surrounded by security guards and ushered into his black SUV with extreme tinted windows. Turns out, it was the President of Georgia that I was so lucky to get a glimpse of!

I had my first Ben & Jerry’s experience that night, with strawberry cheesecake ice cream and it was delicious! When going to an ice cream place, I learned quickly that you don’t have many options if you don’t like chocolate! Afterwards, Sam, Jake, Larke, Hanna, and I took off for a late night jog down to the Washington Monument. It was so beautiful at night!

(NATIONALS GAME) Tuesday June 8th

2010-07-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

We started off Tuesday morning by meeting the Executive Vice President of Biomedical Services, Chris Hrouda. He is the man who does all the work while Shaun Gilmore oversees and is the brains behind the whole operation at the Red Cross. He was very influential and encouraged each one of us to take on a challenge!

Next on our list of speakers was Eva Quinley, who had some last minute obligations to her family in Tennessee so she gave her presentation via conference call. Eva is Senior Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at the Red Cross. Eva is a specialist in blood banking and taught us everything we need to know about blood. An interesting statistic she passed along to us said that out of the 60% of Americans who are able to donate, only 5% of them do.

Our next speaker of the day was Jan Hale from Oklahoma. She is a communications manager for the southwest blood services region. She manages all internal and external communications and public relations activities for the state. Her presentation was very fun and interesting and the point of hers was for us to be creative and put our personalities into our blood drives!

After Jan Hale spoke to us, Chrystel Bell came in to make a presentation. Chrys is an account representative for the Great Chesapeake and Potomac Blood Services Region for the ARC. She shared her story with us of having to receive four transfusions to aid her during the birth of her daughter. She spoke to us about how to make our blood drives better!

Our last speaker of the day, in the office, was Cameron Branock whom I met before my D.C trip. He is a Donor Recruitment Representative for the Indiana-Ohio region and was also a part of the NAIA/Red Cross Collegiate Leadership Program of 2008. He spoke to us about his experiences both of his D.C trip and of his experiences once he went back to his campus to begin the blood drives. His main focus was on the TEAM acronym standing for Together Everyone Achieves More. He also spoke to us about how to make our blood drives more successful.

After Cam spoke to us, the group headed back to the dorms to change and get ready for the WASHINGTON NATIONALS GAME!! Everyone was extremely excited for this game since Stephen Strasburg was premiering in his first major league game. Once we arrived at the stadium around 4:30, the area surrounding the park was already packed! We waited around a while and then Israel Negron came out to meet us to give us our tickets before taking us up to the executive offices.

Waiting for us up at the executive office, was the executive vice president of the Nationals, Bob Wolfe. He is in his fifth season with the Nationals and before coming to Washington, he served with both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, including over a decade as the Braves’ Sr. Vice President of Administration. Bob Wolfe was an inspiration, he told us to do what we love and the way he spoke to us was so uplifting and filled with enthusiasm. He made the Nationals game more than I ever thought it would be (not being a baseball fan at all!) The game itself was AWESOME! We witnessed an amazing game and an emerging great player! Stephen had an awesome game and we were a part of that sold out crowd and also a part of history in the making! The game was so much fun!

(INTRODUCTIONS) Monday, June 7th

2010-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

Amber and I woke up around 7:30 in anticipation for our first day at the National Headquarters. Fortunately, headquarters was about two blocks from where the group was staying at George Washington University. The group arrived at Headquarters together at about 8:55. We learned quickly to always arrive early! We received name tags, access passes (to get in the building and for the elevators.) Then we had a welcome introduction and met Brian Hamil, the man behind this whole program!

Our first guest speaker was Michael Brown, Vice President of Corporate and Foundation Partnerships at the American Red Cross. He really set the tone for our time here in D.C. He was energetic and passionate about what he does every day. His enthusiasm got the whole group very excited for what was to come! A quote he said to us by John Wooden stated, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.” This quote is so true, many people are so caught up with what other people think about them when they should be more concerned with their life and living it to their potential regardless of what others think.

Our next speaker was Gerald (Jerry) DeFrancisco, who is President of Humanitarian Services at the Red Cross. I loved his presentation because he showed me how amazing international services are and made me want to join the Red Cross or Peace Corps and leave the United States for the while and be a volunteer and make an impact in a third world country.

After Jerry’s eye opening presentation, Shaun Gilmore, the President of Biomedical Services at the Red Cross came to speak to the group. He oversees all of the biomedical services at the ARC so he is a huge deal! His job as President of Biomedical Services is to grow the business and to provide leadership. His attitude is that at every opportunity, he asks himself “How can I make a difference?” I think that is a great way to look at life and I plan to strive to take that quote to heart.

After Shaun’s presentation, we walked a few blocks to the other buildings of ARC National Headquarters and received a tour of that area. We went into a beautiful room where we learned that our reception would take place there. After the tour, Katie and Tori brought the group upstairs so we could get settled at our desks in our office. And it was a beautiful view! We could see the Washington Monument right from where we were sitting, it was amazing!

We left the office around five, and headed back to the dorms to get changed to go to dinner. We went to Baja Fresh, sort of like a Chipotle for dinner, and it was good! After dinner, we relaxed and just got to know each other better as we walked to the Harbor (on the Potomac River). We met Brian there and also one of our speakers for the next day, Cameron and his wife, Sam, for gelato at the harbor. I had never had gelato before and it was delicious!

Around 10, a group of us girls decided we wanted to go running. Sam, Larke, Kayla, Becky and I headed out for our first tour of Washington D.C. We all tried to stay together as a group at first, but then Sam and I broke off a bit to release some of our energy. We were trying to run to the White House, but since it was dark we ran right past it and just kept on going. What was meant to be a thirty minute run ended up being over an hour! It felt great though, running in a beautiful city, I thought I could run forever!

(ARRIVE!) Sunday June 6th

2010-07-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

I arrived in D.C around 4 p.m. to be welcomed with a text from Katie asking how my flight was. Although, I had no idea who Katie was at the time, because I didn’t receive the email from her and Tori. Katie and Tori were the two girls from last year's program who were asked to come back and take our group under their wing, and show us around D.C after work. I took a taxi to New Hall where I met Larke, Kayla, and Samantha. We waited in a line forever to get our keys, but it gave us a chance to get to know each other. Once we finally got to the dorms, I met a few more people and then we all just chilled before we went to Potbelly’s for a snack while waiting for Becky and Jessi.

After everyone except Jon arrived, we went out for a late dinner at Johnny Rockets. That first night, I knew that this group of people were going to be so close after the end of the two weeks. That first night we all interacted and came together so well even though we were complete strangers.

WELCOME!!

2010-07-07T07:10:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Peregrine Fans!
I am Alex Starr, a member of the women's team here at Purdue Calumet and I am going to keep you updated with our team and all the goings on at Purdue Calumet! First, Let me introduce myself:

I am Alexandria Starr, number 10 on the basketball team, I am a sophomore shooting guard majoring in biology (pre-optometry). I am from Plymouth, Indiana, where no one has ever heard of. It is about an hour east of Merrillville on 30! I grew up in a small town and I am ready to move to a big city like Chicago, Philadelphia, or D.C once I graduate! Right now, I am headed to Optometry school after I graduate, but plans are never definited. I would love to travel while I can!! I love to run, read, golf, and just relax. I have been playing basketball all my life, but I never really became coordinated and expressed a love for the game until high school. One of my role models is Andrew Woodrich, one of my AAU coaches in high school, because I think between him and my mother, they helped me have a passion for this game. My favorite color is purple, my favorite music is a random mix of everything from 311 to Bob Marley to Drake and Alicia Keys. I love to eat so I have many favorite foods like strawberry cheesecake, cheetos, spaghetti, and filet mignon! I have a nice obsession with shopping, and I especially love shoes! I love everything for Jordans to boots to sandals to flip flops! Right now, my current obsessions are heels and high tops :)

Well that's all for now. Soon to come will be my Washington D.C trip and the annual Purdue Calumet/Powers Golf outing!!!

Until then here is a quote I stumbled upon this morning from the national chair and the leader of my Washington D.C trip, Brian Hamil:

"Leadership can't be claimed like luggage at the airport. Leadership can't be inherited, even though you may inherit a leadership position. And leadership can't be given as a gift-- even if you've been blessed with an abundance of leadership skills to share with someone else. Leadership must be earned by mastering a defined set of skills and by working with others to achieve common goals."
-David Cottrell

#10

Welcome Peregrine Fans!

2010-06-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

PUC women's basketball player Alex Starr will leading us through her recent trip to Washington, D.C. as part of the prestigous NAIA/Red Cross Leadership Program. Alex will be posting her journal online in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned to the Peregrines' Women's Hoops blog for more information on her trip.