Let's Go Fly A Kite...

Well, we are officially on the third day of EYW, and things are going great! Due to camera issues and some spotty wi-fi here at Dry Gulch, I'm just now posting about what happened on Wednesday, which was the beloved KITE DAY! (I'll post about what happened today tomorrow, and so on.)
Ask almost any upperclassman, and they will probably tell you that this was their favorite part of EYW. Every year, the kids from Stanley Hupfeld Academy at Western Village come to hang with the freshmen and staff and fly lots of kites on campus. We love the kids, and they love coming to OC!



Lining up to make a really long tunnel for the kids and teachers to walk through.




The freshmen try to remember how to fly a kite!







Even though we lost the wind a couple of times, some of the kites got really high in the air!
We're having a great time up at Dry Gulch, which you will find out about...tomorrow! :)

It's HERE!

Ladies and gentlemen, Earn Your Wings 2011 HAS BEGUN! My feet hurt, my voice is shot, and I am so happy!

The evening began with every freshman filing into the auditorium amongst a crowd of screaming, dancing, clapping, tie-dye-clad upperclassmen. We then proceeded to dance our little OC-lovin' hearts out for the freshmen, and lead them on a photo scavenger hunt!






Yay directors! We love these people.


I think many people wish their school was this cool.



I don't know this guy's name yet, but I like his excitement!


This guy has awesome hub pride!


Trying to get all those photos taken as fast as possible!

The evening ended with worship and a great message from OC's own Chance Vanover, as well as a late-night pancake breakfast in the caf! Tomorrw: Kite Day! We're all so excited to meet the kids, and I promise there will be lots of pictures!

Dear Future Eagles...

It came to my attention this summer that I am 1/4 done with college. This revelation managed to make me sad, excited, nervous and extremely nostalgic at the same time. My first year went by so fast, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I’ve missed out. I have studied till the wee hours of the morning, I have slept till 11, I have taken more notes than I thought possible, I have rolled out of bed 20 minutes before class and still made it, I have guzzled SO much coffee. I have written a paper in a day (Amanda and Caroline FTW), I have aced tests, I have failed tests. I have laughed so hard I cried and my sides hurt, I have cried my eyes out on friends’ shoulders, I have given about a million hugs, I have taken hundreds of pictures. And I have come to love OC, and know for sure that I couldn’t spend the next 3 school years anywhere else. I can’t believe that I will be one of the “old pros” this year, and that there is already a new group of freshmen coming in.

So here's my letter to the next generation of OC Eagles:

You’ve picked such a great school. I’m so happy you want to come. You couldn’t ask for a closer community, better teachers, more stupidly fun activities or more spiritual growth opportunities. I hope you’ll take a soon-to-be-upperclassman’s advice and have a wonderful freshman year.

First off, during Earn Your Wings week, stay out of your room as much as possible. You’ll have plenty of time to chill in your dorm once school starts, and your dorm meeting will give you a chance to meet the other girls. But for the first week, get out and meet people! Stay out on the commons till curfew, playing name games and tag. Get excited about your hub activities. Go to Wal-Mart and make your first “shopping trip” as a college student just because you can. Enjoy the fact that you don’t have homework and go lay in the grass, get sunburnt (and if you’re like me, acquire a nickname due to said weird sunburn), take pictures, be in pictures and go to all your hub meetings!

During EYW, make the most of it! Cheer loudly till you have no voice. Learn that cheesy hub chant, and don’t worry about looking stupid because nobody cares about that. Have fun with your little kid on Kite Day. Be nice to your hub leaders, they like you. Please, please ask a sophomore about the Amy Kelly chant. It will make us happy. Wear every OC t-shirt you have. (This school is the best about free t-shirts. And cute merchandise.) Be in the hub video. Wear comfy shoes. Join the dance parties at Dry Gulch. Learn the alma mater–WITHOUT the whoop. President O’Neal hates the whoop. Participate in the theme days like there’s no tomorrow. And enjoy it, because believe me, you’ll want to go back and do it all over again.

Once school starts: don’t stress. Go to class…I cannot even tell you how much it hurts you to skip class. (actually, I can. It makes all those aced tests kind of pointless if you skip a lot.) Ask for help. TAKE NOTES. Don’t stress. Get your homework done as soon as possible or it will come back to bite you in the butt the night before it’s due. Study with friends–much more fun and, as long as you actually work, it can be a lot more helpful. Have a planner. Use it. Use your awesome computer and your iTouch or iPhone to your advantage. STUDY. That paper that’s not due till the end of the semester is due sooner than you think. Learn to like coffee. It is your friend. And remember, when confronted with a gen-ed that you can’t stand, no matter how much you hate a class, it will be over in a couple months. You can do it.

Make time for your friends, too. Your college friends are a second family, no joke. They can make this one of the best school years of your life if you make time to develop close relationships. You CAN develop a close group of friends without being a “clique”. But do make an effort to get to know a lot of people. Sit with someone that you don’t know in chapel or the caf and introduce yourself.

Go to chapel. Seriously, it’s only 20 minutes. You can do it. Save your absences for when you need them–for when you don’t feel well, for when you forgot to print that Bible assignment, for when you forgot that room check is right after chapel and you haven’t washed your dishes. It really is worth it.

Beware the hot water in Gunn-Henderson dorm. It heats up FAST.

Make your grill points last as long as possible–the caf food isn’t bad, but it gets old after a while.

Don’t forget to leave a note on your door if you’re not in your room at curfew-check. Your RA doesn’t like searching for you. (it took me a long time to remember this--sorry, Shayna.)

Always, always sleep with shoes, a jacket if it’s cold, etc. close by. We have sensitive smoke detectors. And some girls don’t know how to work microwaves. Catch my drift?

And above all, enjoy being a freshman. Yes, I know you have curfew, and you want to rush a club, and you can’t wait to be done with your first year so you can move out of Gunn and Warlick/Fails, but believe me, you will miss it. Freshman year is wonderful, so make the very most of it. I can’t wait to help you all get started on this awesome journey called college.

Love,

Caroline

Meet your male AD's!

You met the girls, now here come the guys!



My name is Jared Payne, I am 21 years old and i was born and raised in St.Louis, Missouri. I like long walks on the beach, shiny things, and world class spartan training on the weekends. One of my favorite places in the world besides OC (which is my favorite place in the world) is my church camp, Camp Ne-O-Tez. I am going to be a junior at OC and this will be my third year being involved with EYW. My favorite memories i have had about EYW have all been during the Summer Singers concerts. That concert is a really great time to just hang out and have fun while listening to some of your fellow talented students. I have met a lot of new people the last two years at the concert and I look forward to this year. As I mentioned earlier OC is my favorite place in the world, no joke. My favorite thing about OC is that the entire campus seems to operate together. The teachers are involved in the students lives and the staff is at all the events that are hosted on campus. This really helps the campus operate smoothly because everyone knows each other and is focused on how to help make the campus better for each other. I also love the sporting events at OC--I encourage all the incoming freshmen to be involved and come support all the athletic programs. When I first came to OC I only knew a few people but I really got involved with EYW and that helped me get to know all my awesome friends I have today.



My name is Jacob White. I am a super senior liberal arts major. I am also going to be the president of a super club for a super second year in a row. I transfered to this super University as a sophomore so I really have no insight as to what it means to be a super OC freshman. Although, I have super Christian liking for Amy Kelly. She is a strong, bold, wise, and super sister in Christ.
Good luck getting those super wings to fit. They run a bit small.




Hey my name is Caleb Shough, I am a "super" senior accounting major. I would say that my best qualities are responsibility and an uncanny ability to make good decisions. My favorite thing about OC is our brand new police department! My favorite OC memory is Delta rush I got to meet a lot of my current friends and did really fun activities. I do not really remember much from my freshman year Earn Your Wings, but I do think that it is cool that for one week you can go around and talk to anyone like you have known them all your life and it is not weird at all. Good luck, have fun freshmen.




Hey guys! My name is Caleb Mitchell. I’m a senior Bible and Psychology major from Broken Arrow, OK. I have been at OC since the beginning of college, and have loved every year. I love extreme sports like skydiving, white water rafting, and I got my scuba diving certification this summer! And I especially love traveling and Harry Potter! One of my favorite memories of EYW was crowd surfing for the first time at the Summer Singers concert, but also meeting hundreds of people who believed things like me and just wanted to have fun. It’s truly made OC amazing. This year is going to be an awesome year, and I'm excited to meet all of you!



Hey guys, my name is Blake Mullins. I’m really looking forward to being one of your Assistant Directors this year. I’m a 5th year senior from Chicago, IL, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I love to read and I also really like to go rock climbing. If I could only choose one favorite memory from EYW, I’d have to say it was during my freshmen EYW at Dry Gulch. If you’ve never heard of Dry Gulch, it’s an old-western-style camp that has tons of sweet outdoor activities. Unfortunately, however, it rained the WHOLE TIME we were there. But yes, I am talking about my favorite memory. To make the most of our time there, three other people and I went to one of the arcades/billiard rooms. Playing pool and arcade games all day was just okay (we did take a break at one point to go jump in puddles, though), but what makes the memory so great is the fact that those people and me are still friends to this day. This goes right along with my favorite part of OC. I love how much of a community OC is. You always see someone you know walking around campus, whether it’s a student, professor, or even administrator. I’m pumped for you guys to be part of our community soon!