Curtain Call

Over the past year I have been writing this blog for Appalachian Admissions. The objective of the blog was to give prospective Appalachian students an insight to life as an Appalachian student. However, it is this past semester that I have really brought into my task, and this is due to the fact that this semester is my last attending Appalachian. Therefore, I felt as though it was time I recognized all the influences that brought me here and exhibited my appreciation to the people who have shown me such a wonderful time.

This task I completed for Appalachian Admissions was far from tedious, as one might think. In fact I have found it a pleasure. I feel fulfilled that I have been able to publicly display my affection to those who have had such a significant impact on not only my undergraduate career but my life. Additionally, I hope by recognizing these various influences and people I have provided prospective students a positive insight to Appalachian and perhaps one that might entice them to join this tremendous family.

My blog posts over the past semester have included:

- Forget Bean-town, Belk Library is the Hub of the Universe! - How Belk Library has shaped me as a person.
- Why Am I Here? - How I ended up student-teaching at Ashe County High School in the final semester of my undergraduate career.
- The Real Football - The role of soccer in bringing me to Appalachian State.
- Do Work Son! - How giving back has enabled me to somewhat pay back ASU and its people for what they have given me.
- PETE Showed Me the Light - The significant impact the Physical Education Teacher Education has had on my educational career.
- Love of Learning - How Appalachian developed me into a lifetime participant of learning.

As a wise man once said, “all good things must come to an end,” and unlike a good journalist, I have run out of material to provide commentary on. However on the other hand, I feel as though I have acknowledged those who deserved to be recognized and I would be bluffing if continued to make pieces up. Therefore, I hope there is honesty and integrity to my thoughts.

Finally, although I may have a couple of more posts describing Appalachian, I think my time of recognizing my significant influences through this medium is over. Additionally, although my time as a blogger for Appalachian Admissions is drawing to a close, I have communicated a desire to the Admissions people that I would like to keep my blog for personal use and have it as a form of an electronic diary that I can look back on years to come. It is my hope that it will become a more visited resource for friends and family to keep up with my comings and goings while I am away from them and New Zealand.

Good luck with your future endeavors. Appalachian has been a fantastic experience for me; however, make the appropriate choice for you – “everything happens for a reason.”

Until next time, whenever that may be.

~Cam

Forget Bean-town, Belk Library is the Hub of the Universe!

A significant experience on my Appalachian career has been working in Belk Library. Although at times this work was monotonous and tedious, it is the people I met through this job that are the people I speak about when I comment that the people of Appalachian State are so wonderful and great.

Out of the eight undergraduate semesters I spent at Appalachian, I spent six of them under the tutelage of Connie Pendley, Pat Farthing, and Sue Hisle in the I.M.C. (Instructional Materials Centre) and I am spending this semester with Jack Love on the circulation desk (I didn’t work my first semester as a freshman – I was still acclimatizing myself to the United States and life as a college student.)

Since day one when I showed up looking for a job with my Trinidadian teammate, Connie and company were absolutely brilliant to me. Connie worked with my varying schedule due to athletics and other commitments and she created an atmosphere that made coming to work enjoyable. In addition to these positives, research and longitudinal studies have proven that Mrs. Connie Pendley is in fact the nicest person in Belk Library.

Jack is also one of the finest people in Belk library. I owe Jack a great deal of gratitude for allowing me to work for him this semester, although this is my student-teaching semester and finding time to work is tight.

Although there are many times in the library when hard work is required, I like to think at instants a bit of fun was had. The most memorable moment from my Belk Library experience is as follows:

One of my main jobs in the I.M.C. was to deliver library books to faculty members who requested them. On this one particular day the sky was overcast and grey, and consequently, Connie had given me a garbage bag. Now because the sky looked rainy and I didn’t have a rain jacket I presumed that this garbage bag was for me and I proceed to make a neatly fitting poncho, with openings for my arms and head. So here I was, already to walk out of the library, ready to take any elements Boone was prepared to throw at me and Connie stops me. To my bewilderment, the garbage bag was actually for me to wrap the books up in so they didn’t get wet while I delivered them, not for my personal comfort. To this day I still get ridiculed for the day I made the poncho. However, it’s all in good fun.

In my opinion, I believe that working in the library is quite possibly the best job on campus. The pay rate is basically the same as any other campus job (and consequently this is not great because in reality you are working for the state) and shelving books has its limitation as a gratifying experience. However, like I said above, the people who you meet in the library are second to none and you couldn’t ask for anymore as a colleague and friend.

As a final note, I would just like to take this moment to thank everybody I had the delight of interacting with in Belk Library, and this includes library faculty, staff, custodians, and fellow student-assistants. You all made a significant impact on my life and I will never forget you and the laughter we shared. The pleasure was all mine.

Like last post, I’m not sure what experience I am going to write about in my next trip down memory lane. I am hoping that to receive a flash of inspiration, like I did for this post, before the next two weeks is up. Fingers crossed this happens.

Until next time,

~Cam