Summer Is Around the Corner...

I'm looking forward to the summer. We are not "off" like I was when I was teaching. If the students are in school, including summer sessions, we still have events taking place during the week. There will be a weekly TNL (Thursday Night Live) at 7 pm on Thursday nights...it will be at Cafe Chi Alpha instead of on campus in the student union. During the summer, staff and student leaders take turns speaking. It is more laid back, casual, and of course, there is always a fun time afterwards...which usually includes a volleyball game at our own sand volleyball court.
There will also be Life Groups which will meet during the summer for the students who stay around. These are also different than during the semester...and a lot of fun for all who are involved.

It is just a more laid back season of the year, with more time to dream about what we want to happen in the fall semester. We actually start dreaming before the summer, but during the summer it is the time to make those dreams a reality. We take the steps necessary to make our big events at the beginning of the fall semester happen.

Another thing that Lee and I get to do during the summer is meet students at New Student Orientation. We go to the student union for the New Student Expo, where the new freshmen can see many of the organizations on campus (to see the list of Student Organizations at UL click here.) This is one of our first opportunities to make a huge impression on the 3,000 incoming freshmen. Each orientation has about 350-400 students...and we have about 30 minutes during the expo for all of them to "Experience" Chi Alpha and that's only if they want to.
When Lee and I first did orientation, we met several students that we reconnected with when they returned in the fall. This was exciting for us. Not last summer but the summer before, I personally met 3 girls at orientation who are now student leaders in our Chi Alpha group. And we know that there are more...That's just exhilarating!!

So, for this summer, I'll be working with my babysitting crew at the Chi Alpha house, and I plan on being a part of orientation. This helps me feel a lot more connected to the ministry. I know that there are students who I will meet this summer who will be a part of our student leadership team in the future, and this gives me a unique connection to them. It helps me to have an idea of who Lee will be talking about when the fall starts up.

We are finishing up our 3rd year on staff...our 4th year of being here at UL...it has been an exciting adventure! And the best is yet to come...