Spring Formal

Formal is coming up in a few weeks, and everyone is starting to get excited about it now. Formal is the biggest social event at Gardner-Webb all year, aside from the infamous pancake dinner during exams. There is always a specific theme to the event, and the rumor is this year that it will be a masquerade themed event. Though classes are getting harder as the semester comes to a close, everyone is looking forward to this fun weekend.

Easter Break

Gardner-Webb students have just returned from our second major break of the spring, Easter Break. We left school last Wednesday after classes and returned yesterday in time for classes starting today. A lot of people from school went on family trips or to the beach, but I decided that I just wanted to relax at my house for the break, and it did not disappoint. We are now on the last leg of our semester with only three weeks until exams, and I’m sure they will end up being the toughest weeks of the year.

Senior Year

This year is coming to an end, and I’ve realized now that I will be a senior next year! We registered for classes this past week and it looks as if I will be graduating on time next May with my degree in Religious Studies and a minor in Communications. Hopefully, next year doesn’t go quite as fast as this past year has gone, because as much as I’m looking forward to getting out into the real world, college is a blast and I want to enjoy every minute of it.

March Madness

Though our basketball teams are both done for the season, March Madness is still a huge deal for many basketball fans at Gardner-Webb. My hall mates and I are planning to do a bracket challenge to see who can pick the most winners out of the 64 total teams. This has been a ritual for the past three years, and this year is no different.

Spring Break

Spring Break has just officially ended, and everyone is headed back to class tomorrow. Over the break, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida with two of my friends to spend some time at the beach and also see some Spring Training baseball games. We had time to see three games, including the Yankees vs. Tigers, Reds vs. Phillies, and Braves vs. Phillies. The trip has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I was glad to be able to do it this break. The weather was perfect down there and it was all in all a great, stress free spring break!

Mission Trips

Spring Break is coming up next week, and everyone is certainly ready for the break. There are several mission teams going out from our school, including a group to San Diego and to Guatemala. These trips are a great opportunity for students to get connected worldwide and to improve the lives of many in some unique places. Campus Ministries United sponsors these trips, and anyone is eligible to go on them. I had the privilege to travel to Ecuador two years ago to an orphanage into the capitol, Quito. It was a great trip and I hope to go on another one before I graduate next year.

Basketball

Gardner-Webb Men’s basketball has unfortunately come to a close again, but it didn’t finish bad. The team closed the regular season on a good note with a few good wins, and entered the Big South tournament with a decent seed. Unfortunately, we lost a close game to Liberty in the first round and our team was done for the year. We are looking forward to a good season next year, even though we lost two seniors. We’ll have to see how things go, but for the time being, we’ll have to wait until next year!

Moss Lake

This past weekend several friends and I left school and headed about 30 minutes down the road past Shelby to our friends house on Moss Lake. Our plans were to hang out with his family for a few hours and have some supper, then pack up all of our camping gear and take his canoe and two kayaks out to an island in the middle of the lake to camp for the night. We had a great time getting out into the wild, even though we were visited in the night by a possum (we still haven’t figured out how he got to the island). Our fire managed to keep him away for the most part for the rest of the night while we sat around and caught up with our friend who had been in China last semester studying abroad. Moss lake is a great getaway for us, and I can’t wait to spend more time there as the summer comes.

Hammock Time

This past week was particularly different in that we had 70 degree weather every day, in the middle of February! Needless to say, the quad here at Gardner-Webb was teeming with life and gave a nice introduction of what is to come in the spring months. Several friends on campus and I would take advantage of the beautiful weather by setting up hammocks by Lake Hollifield here on campus. There is nothing like relaxing in the sun in one of those hammocks. Hopefully, this warm weather doesn’t stay away too long!

GWU Basketball at it's Best!

Last week the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs Men’s basketball team took on the conference rival Liberty Flames, and what a game it turned out to be! Throughout the game, GWU led by around five to ten points, yet the flames came back at the end of the game and were up by four with almost no time left. But in true GWU fashion, we were able to match a four-point deficit with twelve seconds left. We went into two overtime periods and ultimately came out with the victory. Paul Porter arena was going wild as Gardner-Webb walked out with its most impressive win of the season!

Weekend in Alabama

This past weekend several friends and I took a road trip down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to visit a friend that goes to school at the University of Alabama. The drive down took around 5 ½ hours, and we arrived just in time for a night out in Alabama’s premier college town. Later in the weekend, we were able to see a concert at a local venue that featured Corey Smith, a popular folk/country artist amongst college students throughout the southeast. The weekend was a blast, and it was good to reunite with old friends for awhile; I’m definitely looking forward to making the trip again sometime in the future.

Basketball!

Conference basketball for Gardner-Webb is starting up this semester, and it should be another great year for our Runnin’ Bulldogs. Students are looking forward to the home games we have for this season, two of which have already been played. We lost to UNC-Asheville early in the semester, but manhandled Coastal Carolina just last week. It should prove to be another great season of men’s basketball. Intramural basketball is also in full swing now, and our first game is this Wednesday. Our team, L3, is going to have a great year judging by our line-up. More than anything, it is just fun to compete with other teams in the league, but we hope to take home the bragging rights this season.

Christmas Vacation

We’re back at Gardner-Webb after break now for another spring semester in Boiling Springs. It’s good to be back and see familiar faces, but I can say that after this Christmas break, I was reluctant to leave carefree life and get back to the daily grind of classes and work. On the day after exams some friends and I headed to Charleston to embark on a seven day cruise to the Bahamas. I can honestly say it was the most fun vacation I have ever had. The combination of great weather, delicious food, the islands, and fun people made it an unforgettable trip. It was definitely weird getting back to real life back in the U.S., but it was nice to see family and friends from home. Being home for the holidays is always refreshing and this time around didn’t disappoint. After New Years had come and gone, some of my hall mates and I spent a week at a cabin in the mountains for one last hoorah before classes started. It was a great end to a great break. Now we’re all back at GWU, and it’s looking to be a great semester so far!