Caitlin's blog
Class of 2008, Business Adm. Major, from Crystal Lake, IL

First of all, so to let you know the girls bball team did AWESOME they beat Stevens Point for their first playoff game (which was something that was an upset) but the girls did a great job of stepping up and controlling them throughout the whole game and ended up beating them by like 10!! GREAT job girls!!
Once that week was over I was home free (kind of)… I had two exams, paper and work but it was all worth it for SPRING BREAK!! Three of us were off and went to Cocoa Beach, FL, it was so nice – the weather was awesome minus one overcast day (which we deemed as our shopping day) otherwise it was spectacular. Half the week we spent at a hotel but then the other half of the week we stayed at Nicole’s aunt’s house – it was a ton of fun hanging out with the family – hot tubbing, going to the beach, belly surfing and surfing, Ron Jon’s, going to Longdogger’s for wing night etc. We then got back on Saturday to O’Hare and we were exhausted… we woke up at my mom’s on Easter and all looked for our Easter baskets  then slept most the day. We ended the night with a big dinner and then we were back to school. It was great to see the fam even if it was only for a day (and most the time we were sleeping). Once we got back we heard that the hockey team won that night in N.Y and are now National Champs! So needless to say Monday while I was working it was busy!! The boys got off the plane and were escorted (police and everything) back to campus, after that the celebration began!
Classes then began on Tuesday and man was it rough to come back to the cold and to classes – hopefully this cold weather thing is going to leave soon and spring will come. Which means CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS!!! This year Rachael and I get to put them on – p.s. they will be Sunday April 27th – should DEFINETLY tryout – it’s a blast and I have made some of my best friends here at college because of it. I can’t believe that it is almost over too… it’s nuts your time here really does FLY by. Only 6 weeks till I graduate and become a big kid, it’s crazy. I have finalized all my plans for living arrangements, a car, a job (most importantly), etc. I did though create a new email address (you know, a professional one) and make profiles on both careerbuilder and monster – so I feel ok at this point! Well there are a ton of things coming up in these next few weeks that I have to prepare myself for: Next weekend I will be going to Omaha with the SHRM e-board (minus Jackie – bummer) for the regional HR Games and conference, then the following weekend I will be off to Hilton Head Island to help my uncle and cater for the Heritage PGA Golf Tour. It’s going to go super fast and hopefully I can keep you updated with what’s going on – Have a great week!

So I last left you when I was going to the SHRM sponsor a student dinner, leaving for Milwaukee for the Job Fair at Marquette and that weekend being my 22nd Birthday!! First of all, the sponsor a student dinner was a lot of fun; I was teamed up with Jenny Lowe (J. Lo), SPHR an HR manager for Imperial Supplies LCC, who is just a ball of fun! It was held at Brett Farve’s Steakhouse and there was a great guest speaker whose topic was “ I Win, You Win – Bridge Building Negotiations”. Then on the following day I drove down to Milwaukee for the Job Fair held at Marquette. It was nice because I went with some friends and there was a good turn out of employers there in search for new hires. It was intimidating at first but then I got use to going up and introducing myself. It was a very good experience and I actually have had a couple people email and set up interviews with me! Nevertheless on to the good stuff… that weekend was my BIRTHDAY!! It was extremely fun the girls and I went to Nakashima’s which is sushi and hibachi grill place, we went for what I call the cook top table! It was a blast; a couple of the girls had never been to one before so that was even more interesting to see how they liked it. After that we headed out for a night on the town! That next night we went to the Hockey game and then my buddy’s girlfriend was up so we had a little fun girls time and then it was someone else’s birthday so another night of fun! Since then I have basically been working at my internship and at the bar, I’ve also been counting down the days until I leave for spring break!! (in case you’re wondering there are 6 days until I am on the beach! – I can’t wait to be in the SUN!!) My dad actually came up for my last basketball game! The girls did awesome and won the conference tournament and now they are off to Steven’s Point for an NCAA playoff tonight – GOOD LCUK GIRLS! But it was nice to have my dad here for my last home game, we went out for sushi and then spent the night at his favorite pub (the Abbey – where I work) Classes have been good; jam packed with homework and tests but good. A lot of the professors like to have an exam or paper due right before spring break so this week and next are a little hectic. Sadly Cheerleading is ending, but because the girls have an NCAA playoff I get to cheer one more time! Otherwise, we already had our end of the year party, which is always a great time. This year Cheryl made us dinner and then she presented us with our senior 4-yr. Blankets!!! They’re great, she also always gives us a CD with all the pictures she has taken over the season – it is funny going back and looking at a whole seasons worth of pictures and what big goof-balls we all are. We also just did a service project as a team! We went and volunteered for the Girls Night Out program at the YMCA. It is a program for 6th grade girls to go to the Y and spend time with girls their age as well as learn valuable lessons. This week we learned about Friendship and what/ how to be a good friend. Then we taught the girls a cheer and two dances, after that we kind of showed off our stunting skills for them (it was a nice example of trust and how we’re all friends!) So now I am off because I have a phone interview in 15 mins and then I am heading off to Stevens Point to cheer on the Girls Bball team! Have a great weekend everyone!