My New Beginning Starts....NOW!

In case you're from some other planet or have been secluded in the Sahara desert for the past few days, the first part of this blog should catch you up on my life. For starters, I GOT THE POSITION! I am one of seven Community Mentors in the Foster Quad. Here's a fun fact; we are the ONLY Community Mentors on all of Indiana University's campus. None of the other residence halls have a program even similar to ours. How cool is that?! In my previous post, I didn't have a clear idea of exactly what the position was, but now I believe I have a pretty good idea, at least in the general sense for now.

Community Mentor...what the heck is that?!
As previously mentioned, we're first year students taking on leadership roles both on our floors and within the residence center. But what exactly are we doing? What type of leadership roles? Kinda like an RA? Well we work with the RAs and other staff members in Foster..but we aren't in charge of students. We plan "programs" within the residence hall. Over the past couple days, our group of CMs has decided that's a super lame name for it. Programs sound boring and well, just lame. We like to think of it as event planning or something :] We are required to plan a certain number each semester, all with the assistance of other staff members of course. Some examples of what I'm blabbing about include working with an RA to plan a floor program (movie night, tye-dye party, game of dodgeball..all kinds of stuff), working with the entire quad to plan a program for all of Foster, designing and decorating various bulletin boards, pairing up with our CM buddy to design a building-wide program, and designing, organizing, and implementing a Foster program as a group with all seven of the CMs. We have to attend a weekly staff meeting along with a one-on-one meeting with our supervisor every other week. I'm sure this sounds like a ridiculous amount of work and you're currently wondering what the hell I was thinking signing up for this, but really it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. It is entirely what I hoped it would be and I'm excited to start getting involved.

So since I accepted the CM position, I moved in Friday, August 20th. I would say yesterday, but by the time I finish typing this, I'm sure it will be officially Sunday. I'm sure you, as a reader, really care, though. Anyways..I received the confirmation phone call Wednesday, and let me tell you, I sounded like a complete idiot on the phone due to my excitement. Hahaha, I wish I was joking. I actually met a few people on Facebook who also applied for the position, so we teamed up and agreed to post as SOON as one of us heard anything. This was extremely nerve-wracking. I was up early anyways because I was getting ready to go last minute errand shopping with Amanda Laflamme. I brought my laptop in the bathroom as I was straightening my hair, and I heard my computer make a sound that I had a notification. Greg posted on my wall that they just called him and he got it! With only 7 phone calls to make, I knew I had to have one coming soon if I was accepted. I stared at my phone anxiously, stomach in knots. I tried to continue straightening my hair and put it out of mind, hahah..yeah right. Suddenly my phone went off. Damn, just a text message. Then it started ringing and the number calling was from an 812 area code. That's Bloomington's area code! I just about dropped the straightener on my foot. I ran into my room and excitedly answered the phone, "Hellloooo?" The man on the phone asked for Sophie...that's me! I was shaking and trying not to jump up and down. After confirming it was, indeed, me on the phone..he told me his name and that he understood I applied for the position of Community Mentor in the Foster Quad. "Yes, yes I did... (already sounding like a complete, giddy idiot)" "Well, I am calling because I would like to extend the offer." (HELL YEAHHHH! my external thoughts exclaimed) "Ahhhh, really? I'm so excited!" "So I'm assuming you'll accept the position?" "Oh, definitely! Thank you sooo much. Sorry, I'm not even thinking straight right now, you have no idea how excited I am." Complete idiot, right? Hahhah, yepp, pretty much. From there I immediately went into packing frenzy for the next day and a half. Thaaaat, my friends, was absolute insanity. We later found out that in past years the CMs had about three weeks notice, but due to different systems this year and technical difficulties, we were granted about two days notice. I think we go down in history of awesome CMs.

Move in day. I thought all along this would be, by far, the longest and most detailed paragraph to date. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any crazy horror stories at all. I am a complete move-in champ. I got all of my stuff up the elevator to the 9th floor in 2 trips and in about 20 minutes flat...minus the futon. Impressive, right? I know, I know :] It's totally awkward being the only one on the 9th floor besides my RA, but that will quickly change. Tomorrow is the first day people can pay to move in early. While official move-in day is Wednesday, students can pay 30 dollars a day to move in early. From what it sounds like, a good portion of my floor is paying to move in early. I don't blame them one bit; we're on the 9th floor, after all! My roommate moves in Tuesday, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm currently working on organizing my closet and getting settled so her move in is a breeze. Ahhhhh, I'm an official college student at the best University ever! :D

Pictures will be uploaded as soon as I find more time/Mariah and I get settled. Keep reading, I promise to update frequently this week. Welcome week should be very exciting, and I'll be extra involved as a CM!

Countdown to College

Currently I have roughly 13 days to pack all of my belongings and make the big move to Btown. That number could quickly jump down to 9 however because yesterday I was offered an application for some new position titled "Community Mentor." From the sounds of it, it appears this is a somewhat new position, despite the "previous CM's future success." All of my IU friends seem to be absolutely clueless. Assuming you, as well, have no clue what a Community Mentor is, I'll quote the email that was sent to me.


"Each year the Foster Center selects promising residents to serve as Community Mentors. The Community Mentors (CMs) are first year students who take on various leadership roles on their floor and within the residence center to gain experience as a student leader and valuable knowledge of the university. CMs from Foster have gone on to be resident assistants, student government representatives, leaders in Greek life, leaders in the business school, and many other roles.

The CM program works to balance learning with experience. CMs go through a year-long programming model of leadership and development, and learn about themselves and what it takes to be a great leader. With guidance and support from the Foster staff, the Community Mentors are also responsible for Welcome Week Events as well as being part of Community Council and Foster’s Little 500 week events.

In addition to all the great skills you’ll learn as a CM, you’ll also receive a $1500 scholarship that will go towards your housing fees and you will move into the center on Friday, August 20th and start leading right away!"


Well for starters, the $1500 and early move in date sound excellent! Besides that, I think I'm pretty cut out for it. I've been thinking about being an orientation leader next year, so this would definitely be a good "in" for that and for the disney college program down the road. I'm such a college student already, thinking ahead about every little aspect. Goodness. The only bad news is I won't find out if I get the position until the 18th..two days before move-in in that case. Hmph, just a tad challenging. I'm finishing my application today and will obviously keep you posted once I find out for sure. Fingers Crossed! :]

On a much brighter and absolutely positive note, I received an email the other day informing me I have been awarded an additional scholarship through IU. The email explained that I was awarded because of positive academic standing and financial need and instructed me on how to sign into OneStart to accept the given amount. I was extremely excited but was expecting a smaller award, $500 or so maybe? I signed onto OneStart, clicked on the financial aid link only to discover the Scholarship is an additional $2500! Whaaaaaat?! HOLLA, HOLLA! It just goes to show that hard work and good grades actually DO pay off. :D


This post is ridiculously long. If you're still reading, a pat on the back is well deserved! I'm off to pack up even MORE stuff in my newly bought plastic storage. I'm quickly learning to cram stuff in places it shouldn't fit...all preparation for college life. :P