Life at Mines

Note to self: Pumpkins in dorm rooms are NOT a good idea. I got to go home a couple weeks ago and carve a cute pumpkin with a Hawaiian girl face on it, and of course I had to add it to my collection of dorm decorations! Unfortunately, the next morning, I woke up to discover a ½ inch layer of mold in it…and by 6 pm that night it was looking rather droopy…needless to say, the microwave and fridge got a good scrubdown and the pumpkin ended up in the dumpster VERY shortly after that. I will miss that pumpkin, but I also have lots of other happenings to distract me from my loss.

Cross country season is beginning to wind down, and with regionals on Saturday, we will be following the “Train hard, rest hard” regimen…mostly the resting hard part this week. It seems like this season flew by, but I think my body is ready for a rest. Our runs along the creek path in Golden have been getting a bit chilly, but the beauty is phenomenal. Golden really is turning golden with leaves, or at least it was until we got our first real snow last week! A friend and I made snow angels by our dorms, and I have to take a moment to appreciate the 12 foot tower of snowballs sitting on Kafadar Commons. The stuff engineers do in their free time…

That is, of course, when we have free time! At Mines, there is not really any such thing as “I’m done with all my homework,” just “I’ve done enough homework to have a thorough grasp of the material and get a decent grade” and “I’ve done so much homework my brain is fried and I can’t do any more until tomorrow.” The good news is there are lots of smart cookies here that will help you with whatever you need help with, and I managed to average a 93 on my first round of tests. Plus, you get to feel super smart when you type a problem into your calculator using nothing but variables and it takes up 4 lines…and the answer is right! Ah, the sweet physics buzz…far better than any other types of buzzes they catch on *other* campuses.

But besides just doing physics, people at Mines really do know how to have fun. Several of my friends and I are going to be the characters from Clue for Halloween (I got Mrs. White if you were wondering). So far, the best costume I saw was a group of girls from my dorm who dressed as the Minions in Despicable Me by wearing yellow shirts and chemistry goggles. But Halloween is Wendesday, so we shall see!

Most importantly, I feel like I am finally getting a hold of myself and my time so that I can take care of what really matters in life. I got to go downtown and serve a meal to the homeless and bake some pumpkin bread for a fundraising bake sale, and helping people with physics helps me remember that “we cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love” (Mother Teresa). Bishop Conley is celebrating his last mass in Denver at Mines today, so the FOCUS group is really excited. It’s reassuring to know that I have such a strong support group who demonstrate how to lead a life well lived.

But in the meantime, I’m off to go enjoy some cereal for dinner.

May the mass*acceleration vector be with you!

Well, it’s been about a month since I started college, and I’ve already: watched someone solve a 5x5 Rubik’s cube, stayed up late crying because I had so much homework, gotten into the ultra-hip study parties on campus, gone a full day without having to open a door for myself, and watched The Big Bang Theory for 2 hours straight.  Welcome to Mines.

It’s true what they say: Mines is tough.  It’s definitely a bit of a shocker when you come from a high school where you were the smartest kid in the class into a college where every kid was the smartest kid in the class.  Everyone warned me about how challenging Mines is, but I have to admit it still caught me a bit off guard when I couldn’t get a single problem of the physics homework without going in for help.  With that being said, though, everyone here is in the same boat, and they all understand what you’re going through.  It’s not looked down upon to go in for help, and in fact every successful student I’ve talked to has done so at one point or another.  This is really nice because you can open up to new challenges that push you to become the best you can be, and you can tell everyone here really wants you to succeed.   People actually go to study groups, and the third floor of Morgan hall shuts down completely from 6:30-9 the day before an exam just because everyone is studying so hard.  Everyone is so disciplined, and you can’t help but go along with them.  So really, the tough classes just keep you from getting lazy or bored.

And if the academics aren’t enough to keep you from getting bored, there’s plenty of clubs and organizations to keep you busy.  As a varsity cross country runner for Mines, I do find a lot of my time taken up by practices, meets, and team dinners, but I love the sport so it’s all worth it in the end.  Everyone on the team understands the workload and is willing to help each other out.  Nothing bonds you better than running 7 miles together every day … except maybe a covalent bond J I’ve also found a lot of friends in the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) who share my beliefs and values and just like to have fun.  We’ve gone on night hikes, had movie nights, thrown surprise parties, and studied physics together.  I go to ballroom dancing club a couple nights a week, which is pretty much the only place on campus there is a 1:1 male/female ratio.  At Mines, there is a group for anything you might be interested in—everything from “the Slackers” slack-lining group to the Linux Users Club.  Yes, there is a Linux Users Club.  Welcome to Mines. 

All of the organizations were out on campus one day for the Celebration of Mines.  This was a great opportunity to sign up for professional organizations like the American Society of Chemical Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers, to get free water bottles and caramel apples, to sign up for all the clubs you want to join, and to just get information on things you’re interested in.  I found out that our Engineers Without Borders group sends 8 students per semester down to Nicaragua to build a bridge for impoverished communities … for free (to the students)!  Also, there is a foreign exchange program that sends students all over the world for no more than the normal cost of tuition.  I am looking into getting myself to Germany next year.  No matter what you want to do, there is a place for you at Mines.  Everyone understands your stupid chemistry jokes (and laughs at them), everyone is overwhelmed, but everyone gets each other through it.  So far, my experience has definitely been worth it.

And one more thing: absolute zero is the Coolest. Thing. Ever

Peace

Kaylie