No Shave November

The shoe movement, TOMS, has started Movember (TOMS with little moustaches that raise awareness of cancers that specifically target men.) Currently we are celebrating Snovember in Bluefield. As folks were putting the last of the turkey on a sandwich for their paper bag lunch this morning, we were scraping ice and snow from our windshields.

On top of Snovember at Bluefield, the college has been celebrating No-Shave-November. Male students, faculty and staff have been competing to see who can grow the fullest, most manly, amazing beard possible. October 31st they had to shave their faces down to a baby soft consistency. They were not to bring a razor to their face lest they be disqualified. Tonight they are judged and the winner shall be crowned.

You might ponder, “What does the winner receive?” Glory. And a sweet participation t-shirt.

Remember at Bluefield College: When it grows cold, our beards grow bold.

To see before and after pictures and to learn the results visit: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bluefield-College-RA-Mondays-RAM/293524297326279

Liberal Arts: Worth Every Penny

Stores are littered with back-to-school products. Virginia just finished up their tax-free back-to-school deals. Commercials are airing with High School Musical-esque dance numbers that showcase the most stylish fashions for youth. We are heading back to the daily grind of education while Wal-Mart and Target are making a killing on plastic bins, pens and denim.

I spent the weekend with my mom and we browsed over the newspaper’s front page that read “Back to Back-to-School Shopping.” Mom told me that back-to-school gear for her 3 children, circa the 90’s, cost $300 a year. She spent money on anything from replacing cheap backpacks to pens to athletic wear. I asked her if she regretted it and she replied; “I never regretted anything that had to do with your education. However, I like having that $300 lying around nowadays.”

My sisters and I have all graduated from 4 year colleges and not one of us is in our field of study. I asked my mom if she felt like it was a waste of her money used on our educations. Once again, she told me that she regretted nothing about spending money on our educations.

The fact is; a Liberal Arts education is, of course, designed to train you in the major that you desire, but it also trains you in so much more. I would not be able to stand before a bunch of teenagers in a lecture hall and tell them about BC without my public speaking class. I learned how to deal with difficult situations and people in my psychology class. I am able to write this blog because of my Argumentative and Analytical Writing class. My algebra class did not kill me, so it only made me stronger. My education was well rounded.

My sisters and I are employable not because we majored in Fine Arts, Urban Planning or Sociology. We are employable because we earned Liberal Arts educations. So, my parents are 100% right in having no regrets about our educations.

~ Maggie Lavoie

Passion

Bluefield College is always asking: “What is your passion?”

Is it a passion to learn…
…a passion to compete…
…a passion to serve?

Bluefield not only asks students this question, but prepares them with a way to answer their God-given calling.

Dr. Harry Snodgrass is a professor of Business at BC. He teaches students the savvy techniques of entrepreneurship, accounting and basic business principles.

What makes Dr. Snodgrass stand out is not only what happens in the classroom but what occurs beyond the lecture. He and he wife show up to nearly every home athletic event, student concert, play and convocation. He is a mentor and a friend to the students.

One student particularly that Dr. Snodgrass has encouraged and inspired is May graduate, Brittany Garton. Brittany is a literal person who sees everything in black and white. So her hypothesis was:

“If you go to college to study business, then you go find a job… in business.”

However, she had this ache in her heart for the children of Romania. She told Dr. Snodgrass about the dilemma of her head and her heart. With his guidance and faithful prayer she made the decision to deviate from the business route and go into full time missions.


A few weeks after graduation she boarded a plane with a one way ticket in hand to Romania. She is now a resident missionary at the Ruth School in Bucharest. Her job is to teach the precious Romanian and gypsy children the love of Christ and others, as well as basic gardening and play skills.

If you were to ask Brittany right now what her passion is, a one word response can be guaranteed, “Romania.”

Dr. Snodgrass is not the only professor or staff member at Bluefield College who will inspire a passion within you. You will find Godly guidance anytime you ask for it, and sometimes you will receive it without having to ask.

So: What is your passion?

Winter Blast 2012

B. Reith has been booked for Winter Blast 2012.

Get more info at http://www.BCwinterBlast.com

Like Winter Bast on Facebook too!

Maggie's Trek 3- Growing Up

I used to wear these amazing (in my 17 year old point of view) khaki JNCOs. My shirts came out of the Goodwill 99¢ tee-shirt bin. On Wednesdays the new shirts would arrive and I would spend my time before youth group digging through the bin. I quickly developed an impressive tee-shirt collection. I wore a grungy hemp necklace and hemp anklet. Leather American Eagle clogs clad my feet. I was a certified hippy-snowboarder.



I headed to BC and became a bit more refined. My JNCOs turned into bootleg jeans. I realized that clogs made my feet wicked hot and smelly so flip flops replaced them. The hemp necklace was retired (yet not forgotten… it is still in my jewelry box.) But I still rocked the sweet retro graphic tees. However they were often covered by a North Face style (I wish it was a real North Face… one day I will break down and buy one) black fleece.



Now that I have an office job, I wear pencil skirts every day to work with a cardigan and flats. On the weekends I wear skinny jeans, blouses and my loveable Rainbows (hemp Rainbows… old habits die hard.)



Change is inevitable. There was a Christian song that played in the 90’s that said: “I believe in evolution. I believe in state of change.” This song had nothing to do with Darwinism, but it had everything thing to do with spiritual change and growth.



Like my wardrobe, my spirit and walk with Christ has changed greatly since I was 17. Then, I didn’t see myself as the Christian College type. I saw myself as a loner, who believed in a mighty God, but a God who had better things to do than look after me.



At 17 I believed this because on September 11, 2001 I walked into my senior English class and saw Mrs. Law crying at her desk. Feeling awkward we all quietly sat down at our desks. Minutes later an IT staff member brought a TV into our classroom and flicked on a random channel, because every channel was showing the same thing. At that moment I took off my rose tinted glasses and I began to see the world as hurt, broken, sick, and so full of hate. God was big, but was he big enough to have time to worry about me?



I stopped having spiritual goals; I stopped praying, reading and studying. They say coffee will stunt your growth. I was drinking some kind of metaphorical coffee and my spiritual growth was being stunted terribly.



Thankfully, I was a broken girl who was granted God’s grace when He opened the path to BC. Because of what I learned here, every day I grow in Christ. Some days I am the queen of walking with my Lord and other days I fail Him miserably. But I am always learning. Basic and groundbreaking principles were placed in my life by BC faculty, staff and students. Bluefield was my place of evolution. I am forever changed because of it.

Maggie's Trek 2- Cinco de Mayo

I visited Bluefield College on Cinco de Mayo, 2002 with a bit of trepidation. My mom and I pulled up to campus around 10am. It was snowing (May 5th mind you) and there were students crawling out of the cave on campus.



A few things to know about me before I continue my story:



1. My parents’ only idea of outdoor fun is skiing. Family vacation is always a wintertime event in my household. Don’t get me wrong, I love skiing too, but I as a kid and teenager I was always wanted more of the outdoors. I was intrigued with the idea of backpacking, camping, repelling and white water kayaking. My parents… not so much… at all.



2. I think this has to do with my love for skiing and snowboarding: I love snow.

I love shoveling snow.

I love snowball fights.

I love watching my dog play in the snow (She loves snow too.)

I love watching it fall.

I love it when it snows in October.

I wrote a song about how much I love snow.

I love snow storms late into the spring. Got the point yet?



What’s this? Two of my favorite things occurring simultaneously the moment I arrived to BC. I immediately became excited about this college visit.



I toured campus and I fell head over heels in love with Bluefield College. Everything felt like home to me. I met Walter Shroyer, head of the Art Department, and he showed me around Cox Studio (such an amazing facility.) I saw that the dorms were suite style so I wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with a billion other girls whose hygiene habits were unknown to me.



Things bigger than snow and outdoorsyness (according to spell check, I just made up a word) started to fall into place for me. From the academics that were offered to the relaxed Christian atmosphere, I knew that BC was the place for me.



Obviously BC was a perfect place for me because I am still here. (For those of you with concerns with this fact, I did Graduate… with honors… in 2006) I came back to campus to work in 2008 with the Admissions Office. I love to share my college experiences with students, so please don’t hesitate to ask any questions!



Please come and visit us too. It is so important to make sure BC is a good fit for you.



And for snow haters, I haven’t seen it snow in May since then. You will be ok!

Maggie's Trek- Now What

Hi I am Maggie Lavoie. This is my story about how I ended up at Bluefield College in 2002:

I grew up in the 90’s. While most current college freshmen were in the infant stage, I was memorizing every word to The Lion King. A phrase from that movie that I lived by was “Hakuna Matata.” It means: no worries. If you ask a close friend of mine or a co-worker, they will let you know that I say this phrase at least 1-10 times a day.


Unfortunately I take that phrase a little too seriously. I procrastinate… a lot.


Picture this: I sat at McDonalds with a chicken sandwich one lovely spring Wednesday night after youth group. It was tradition for the entire youth group to take over our local Mickey D’s after worship. My buddy since kindergarten, Fredrick, and I were sitting in a corner booth chatting and he asked:


“Mags, where are you going to college?”


“Psh, duh,cough, uhhhhhh…” I expelled with embarrassment.


Let me give you a history about Fredrick to explain my embarrassment: He was top of his class at a very well-known private high school that excels in academics. It was the kind of school where all the kids drive Audis and BMWs. Fredrick planned on going to Georgia Tech in the fall of 2002 to study Nuclear and Radiological Engineering. He sure enough finished with that degree at Georgia Tech and he is currently working with a prestigious nuclear science firm.


Here I was, in April, without a college in mind. After my stutter-fest, I let Fredrick know that I had dropped the ball and had procrastinated with filling out applications and visiting colleges.


Fredrick took on the role of my guidance counselor and proceeded to tell me about this small Christian college that a few of our friends were going to.


“You should go check out Bluefield College. I think it would be a good fit for you.”


So I visited…



… to be continued…