Students return to to face second act of 07-08 school year

It is official. Winter quarter has begun. Winter quarter always brings about a variety of mixed emotions. As the days get shorter, the hours of classes consequently feel longer, and that first period class becomes increasing unattractive. In contrast, the holiday season brings about a sense of excitement. Around campus, Christmas trees begin to appear, the residence halls have a decorating contest, and the annual lighting of campus ceremony occurs. It is also the season of giving. Nearly all of the organizations on campus begin to collect funds for those in need.

The passing from one quarter to the next is bittersweet. Some friends leave to pursue other opportunities, while others come back with amazing stories of studying abroad and fascinating research. Other students graduate and begin their new lives outside of Rose. The freshmen have just become accustomed Rose’s culture and are beginning their first quarter as experienced Rose student. Freshman mechanical engineering major Anastasia Tarpeh stated, “First term went well. It didn’t take long for me to adjust to Rose, especially because of the endless resources here to help you. I’m glad second term has started. Now I officially have only eight and a half more years!”

Another difference on campus is the faculty members. Some faculty members are sitting out the quarter, while others have joined. Alan Czyzewski, a professor from Indiana State University, is teaching Managerial Accounting two days a week on campus. Czyzewski explained that teaching at Rose provides “a different school, different students, at a different point in the program.” Czyzewski said that this experience would provide him a refreshing change from the normality at ISU. He generally teaches required accounting classes for business majors at ISU. At Rose, he is teaching a class that students elected to take.

Other students are excited about upcoming challenges. Senior software engineering and computer science major Bryan Musial stated, “Senior year is exciting! In addition to working on challenging projects and course work, seniors also begin the job or graduate school search and start looking towards a new chapter in our lives.” Junior civil engineering major Tim Sliwinski added, “It feels good to finally be back in the groove of things. Extracurriculars are beginning to get interesting, and I’m starting to research graduate school. Boy has time flown by!”