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This past fall the Warrior Success Center launched the Warrior Employer Community Impact Program. A program that connects current students with employers and alumni to conduct community service projects together. The service projects allow students and employers the opportunity to network while giving back to the communities they are a part of. This fall Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, Winona Parks & Recreation Department, Thrivent Financial for Lutheran and Habitat for Humanity participated in the program. Thanks to these employers and WSU students, children at the Winona East Rec Center are able to lock up their bikes and use new playground equipment and a home in Utica has new windows. Students who participated in these projects found the experience to be heart-warming, educational, and beneficial to their career goals.
I hope you will join us this spring as we continue to give back to Winona, Rochester, and the surrounding communities!
If you are interested, please feel free to contact the Warrior Success Center, career@winona.edu.
Best,
–DeAnna Goddard
Associate Director for Career Services
Alum ’03
Students help install new windows through a Habitat for Humanity service project.
Students stand in front of the climbing wall they built for the Winona East Rec Center.
On Saturday, October 13th, a group of volunteers from WSU Communications, including myself, ventured to the other side of town to help in the construction of a home for Habitat for Humanity. It was a rainy morning, so we all gathered in the living room and began the process of laying hardwood floor. All newbies to the process, we watched closely as the Habitat for Humanity representatives showed us how it was done. Splitting into two groups and taking on separate halves of the room, we started laying down the flooring piece by piece. It took us about three hours to complete the process – with laying, pushing the panels into place, repeating, and even re-doing (many, many times.) Doing a task such as this would seem long and laborious in most contexts, but when it’s for others in need, it changes. Working in a group to help improve someone else’s life is a very powerful experience, and one that I won’t forget for a long time.
On October 21, 2012, the Adopt A Block program held a city-wide clean up to help with the aftermath of the homecoming activities. We had a great turn out of roughly 70 individuals who volunteered their time and effort. We sent out groups of roughly 2 to 6, with bags, gloves, and their purple shirts, to show our unity. I personally had a community member come up to me while picking up the trash and thank me for our efforts to help keep Winona beautiful. These small efforts make a big difference in our student-community relations found at Winona State University.
Thursday, June whatever (hey – we’re “on holiday”!), 2012
By Logan and Jeff
Greetings Chickens,
After a much needed morning off and ability to sleep in for an extra five minutes the crew separated throughout London going to destinations of their choice. One group attended Kensington Palace to enjoy tea and crumpets at the Orangery with hopes that Will and Kate would be joining them; however, they lucked out and instead were fortunate enough to have tea with the two of us (Jeff & Logan) instead. The other remaining portion of the group went to Oxford Road for some great shopping opportunities… and you know we were not in attendance. Also a few people walked across Abbey Road attempting to dodge the vehicles as they posed like a member of the Beatles. We met for lunch on the bus, heading for Stonehenge, meanwhile enjoying Pret a Manger cold sandwiches, along with “crisps” and sparkling water, which sadly to say is terrible (in my opinion. ~ Logan).
We arrived at Stonehenge proceeding to take the same pictures every ten steps as we walked around the outside of the site. Apparently crossing the rope is frowned upon because people get all sorts of crazy during the summer solstice. A few girls from the group made human “Stonehenges” and pyramids to add some of our own fun to the experience. Many group pictures were taken with the stones in the background, one including the whole group in a line showing off our verticals simultaneously. A few members made their way up a barrow (a burial mound) to get a better look at the many fields around. While that was taking place, the others who stayed back found entertainment in feeding birds with a Special K bar.
After Stonehenge, we set off to a small town weaving on a road that “literally” was no wider than the bus. There were many close calls where the bus and on-coming traffic came within less than an inch of rubbing against each other while they passed. Once we arrived at the town the students and Phil (our newly arrived, sleep deprived faculty member) went into a field that had many more gigantic rocks to take more photos while we waited for our 6PM dinner reservation. Dinner was at a pub which is supposedly haunted. One girl on the trip had an experience during dinner which might make you think that this may be true. Dinner consisted of a main course and dessert, in which fish and chips were yet again a choice. The students came together and got a “Thank you” card along with a picture frame to give thanks to all the supervisors’ efforts and time they have put into this trip for us, before Susan and their son Erik depart back to The States tomorrow. The plan is for the bus to arrive back to the hostel at around 9 pm tonight and many are going to head out to finish a few more attractions off their to-do list.
You-aight mate,
Logan and Jeff
Today was the Amazing Race around London. We broke up into 5 teams of 5 people and received clues at every stop to continue on towards the finish. Susan and Brian said that this wasn’t a race, but some teams became very competitive and ended up running to each location. Below is the list in order of all the stops.
We then had a three course dinner near St. Paul’s Cathedral. No one felt guilty about consuming so much food because of the workout that Susan and Brian put us through. Although it wasn’t really a competition, team “Inner Chi” won, consisting of Stephanie, Rebecca, Krista, Amy, and Amber. Team Inner Chi even had matching shirts that read, “I love London”. No prize was awarded =[. After dinner, everyone went their separate ways in order to cross off various sites that they wished to see before leaving London. Seven hours of the day consisted of running/fast walking and by the end everyone was exhausted and ready to go to bed.
Cheers,
Stephanie, Rebecca, and Krista
By Krista, Stephanie, Rebecca and Amber
Today we were up and ready to leave at 8am to head out to East London to see the Olympic grounds. Our tour guide, Colin, was not able to get us too close to any of the buildings for security purposes but we still got some great views of some really architecturally impressive structures. We also got to see Europe’s largest mall, where about half of us got to stay to eat and shop.
The other half of us jumped a bus, a train, another train and another bus, to get to the Harry Potter Studios to tour the sets and stages where the movies were made. The studios were incredible and there was so much to see from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor Commons to Hagrid’s Hut, Diagon Alley and more. They even had the giant model of the exterior of Hogwarts used in the movie for all the exterior shots. As we rounded corners jaws dropped and chills went up our spines. We all earned a greater respect for all the people who work in film making and all the details they put into their work. We all want to have a movie marathon of all the Harry Potter movies when we return to The States. While one group was at Harry Potter the other half of the group had tea at Kensington Palace and then spent the day doing other assorted activities that suited their interests. We all split up and had dinner in small groups before returning to the hostel for the night.
By Krista, Stephanie, Rebecca and Amber
We began this day by returning to the Tower of London after seeing it locked up the night before. We were able to tour around the historic buildings and see Beefeaters and soldiers with the big furry black hats. Also located here, are the crown jewels including a 530 carat diamond at the top of a septor. The sparkles were breathtaking and it was ridiculous to see that many of these priceless crowns and jewelry had only been worn once.
We walked across the Tower Bridge and ate at pub called Horniman’s and then proceeded to The Old Operating Theatre. There we got to see old herbal remedies and medical tools used in the 1830’s some of which looked pretty intimidating. This operating theatre (or operating room) was located in the attic of a church that had been walled off for years before being discovered. After that we broke off into small groups and the majority went to ride on the London Eye, which is a giant ferris wheel near Parliament and Big Ben. We were able to have all 21 of us in one car with plenty of room to spare. The views stretched all across London and we got plenty of pictures, except for Jeff who was too afraid to leave the bench in the center of the car. At this time a few others went to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. After that everyone split up into smaller groups and went to dinner in various places, many went to Piccadilly Circus and did some shopping before returning home and sleeping like babies.
DAY 7
By Kate
Today was our last morning in Manchester. We left around 8am for the two hour coach bus ride to Warwick Castle. There were different activities to do at the castle. We could walk the wall of the castle which contained 530 stairs. What a workout!! It offered gorgeous views of the city from the tops of the towers. There was also an eagle show where two bald eagles and a sea eagle were shown. They were trained to fly low to the ground in high spaces so the crowd could see them. They said some eagles can live to be 60 years old! We could also watch archers shoot homemade arrows. There was a dungeon tour, a ghost tour, and a wax figure tour. The wax figures were creepily lifelike…kind of scary! We saw people trying to talk to them to see if they were actually alive!
After a few hours at the castle, we were free to walk around the town. Some of us toured St. Mary’s Cathedral. The cathedral had lots of stained glass and art inside. The cemetery outside had some very intricate headstones as well. The oldest one we saw dated back to 1819, but some of them were hard to read. We learned that back at that time they would bury a few generations of the same family on top of each other, and then every 100 years or so they would cremate the remains so that they could continue to bury members of that family at the same grave site. Finally we went to lunch at the Warwick Arms Hotel where we ate a pre-ordered meal. Everything was delicious!
After lunch we hopped back on the bus and rode to London. After settling in at the hostel, we received a mini lesson from Brian about the tube (subway) system, and then grabbed a bite to eat. Later at night was our “tube assessment” to make sure everyone understood how to navigate the tubes. Brian and Susan had a couple surprises up their sleeves for us! First we walked around Picadilly Circus which is sort of like a theatre district. Then we headed towards the Tower Bridge to take part in the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, this is where the royal family stayed for hundreds of years (they now stay at Buckingham Palace). This is something that needs to be applied for over 6 months in advance, and they picked us! It is a group of about 60 people who are fortunate enough to witness this historical scene. It is a nightly tradition of locking up the grounds for over 700 hundred years! To end the night we took the tube to see Big Ben and the House of Parliament. From here we could also see the London Eye. Everything was beautiful lit up at night on the river! There were lots of pictures taken, and we stayed long enough to hear Big Ben ring at 11:00pm. We can already tell London will be a fun-packed week!
by Rachel Kleinertz, Brittini Hoosier, and Katie Lieder
Unfortunately, due to England’s rainy weather and severe flooding, we weren’t able to go to the Lake District as planned. Instead we headed to Wales and Chester! We took the coach bus to Wales which was a 2 hour bus ride. When we arrived we were all amazed by the view. We got to see (and put our feet in) the Irish Sea and view the huge cliffs. It was absolutely breathtaking. Some of us attempted to take a trolley to the top of the cliff, however it was a very windy day and they weren’t operating. We were also able to walk on the pier where there were little shops and places to get food. We also got to explore the town and stopped at local restaurants for lunch.
After that we headed to Chester, which was a cute little town. It still has a wall surrounding the town built by the Romans. While we were there, there happened to be festival which included a parade! The people in the parade were decked in crazy outfits and all floats were pulled by man. While in Chester we got to take a typical tourist picture in a red phone booth! We also walked around and shopped in the many stores there.
After getting back to the dorms, we had time to rest and pack our bags so that we were ready to head to Warwick Castle and eventually London the next morning! Some people headed into town to grab supper and explore downtown Manchester for the last night. Off to London, cheers!
by Stephanie, Rebecca, & Krista
Today the nursing group went to a private hospital called Spire. While there, the general hospital manager (CEO) gave us a talk about how the private health care system in England is funded and run in relation to the public hospitals, like Salford Royal where we have been the past two days. One thing really interesting we learned about surgeons in England is they are offended if you refer to them as Doctor. You are supposed to refer to them as Mr. or Mrs. instead. Because doctors sign the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” and surgeons technically do harm during surgery, they therefore don’t like to be referred to as doctors. After the talk, we toured the hospital and noticed that this hospital was much nicer and more inviting than the hospital in Salford. We ate lunch in their cafeteria and left to head home, stopping at Julian’s home on the way. He let us take a look around his house and we got to meet his little Cavalier King Charles named Monty. Monty loved all the attention. Julian’s house was one of the bigger houses in the area and was detached from any other housing, unlike most houses in Manchester. We tried to get permission to use the hot tub in the backyard, but I don’t think he took us seriously.
Meanwhile, the sport group made their way over to the University for a research day. Phil, a staff member at Salford, gave us a short lesson on the technology available in their physiology lab. We experimented with the high speed cameras and reflection devices to recreate a 3D skeleton image of a dynamic movement. The program that we were using closely resembled the one they used to create Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Stephanie was selected to have the reflectors placed on specific spots on her body. For us, it was a challenge to see if the program could recreate a gymnastics skill that she performed within the camera space. After identifying each body part on the computer, the program reconstructed a 3D image of a skeleton doing gymnastics without a head. Several students also took turns jumping on the force plates. The goal was to determine if each leg had symmetrical input in the jump.
After our morning activities, we headed back to the dorms to pack up our duffle bag that we would leave in Manchester while traveling to London and Dublin. Our next stop was Trafford Centre, a huge ornate mall in the city of Manchester. Here we shopped around for a few hours and ate dinner. We noticed that stars and stripes were the “in” fashion. Several stores featured tables and racks of anything American. A quick ride brought us to the Salford City Reds stadium, home of the Reds rugby league. Although it had been raining and cold all day, it let up for just enough time to watch the game. The Olympic torch was making its way through Manchester, and we were able to take a group picture with one of the 300 torches around Great Britain! The rest of the night was free, the group stayed in and played cards to settle down for the next day’s activities.
Cheers! – Stephanie, Rebecca, & Krista