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Whew!

Well, that was a crazy two weeks! There truly is never a dull moment in the life of Tony Lyen.

In two weeks, the OGLs and I have successfully hosted not one or two…but THREE SOARs! Two were overnight First Year Orientations, and the other SOAR was a single day orientation for transfer students. Words cannot properly describe how much work and effort was put forth for these events. Everybody here was working harder than an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

The Transfer SOAR went really well, and I’m excited to see new faces on campus that are closer to my age group! The First Year SOARs, on the other hand, are quite a lot of work. A two-day overnight orientation is not an easy thing to plan and set up for, but none of the other OGLs were willing to quit. I mean, we’re not LeBron James, am I right?

The work was totally worth it. I could tell by the look and comments I received from many students that we put on a great orientation! This upcoming class of 2015 looks like an amazing group of students. There’s a lot of maturity, intelligence, and fun in this group, and I can tell they will represent the Lewis community well! I’m hoping the next two First Year SOARs have just as many awesome future Flyers as the last two!

One more thing I’m incredibly excited about is the new elevator connected to the Learning Resource Center. I’m attending the dedication ceremony this Friday, and for some odd reason, I’m really excited. I want to be the first person on the elevator, but I think that honor may go to Brother James Gaffney, our school’s president. He’s pretty cool, though, so I guess I’m okay with being the SECOND person on the elevator. In all seriousness, I think it’s really great that the faculty here heard the needs of the students (in this case, a new elevator) and acted on it. It truly shows how Lewis cares about the students!

Well, I should probably split. Kenny, my fellow OGL who lives across the hall from me, is playing guitar, and I think I might belt out some Rebecca Black.

These last few weeks at Lewis have been a little crazy with all of the orientations going on, but it has also been a lot of fun! I have loved meeting all of the new students, and I can guarantee that we are going to have some awesome people joining the Flyer community this fall. So far we have held two freshman SOARs (Student Orientation Advising and Registration) and one session for our transfer students. These days are the perfect time for everyone to register for classes, meet new people, and also learn a little more about Lewis. We are all working hard to make sure that everyone’s questions are answered and that they are all ready for fall semester. Freshmen get to spend a night (whether you are a commuter or will be a resident) in some of the residence halls and see what life is like on campus. Everyone is anxiously awaiting their housing assignments for the fall, which the Office of Student Services sent out earlier this week! We are also getting ready for our first Summer Preview which is going to be June 29^th. Talk to you all again soon!

Seeing how it is 90 degrees out, perhaps I will post another blog to avoid the sweltering heat.
While at work this morning, I was asked to run some things over to the President’s Office over in Stritch Hall. As I walked from the Student Union, I was able to witness some of the construction taking place on the new Science Center. Then, as I went to lunch later on, I saw several bulldozers by the practice soccer field, where a new track and field/soccer complex is being constructed. It’s so cool to see how Lewis is willing to expand for the needs of the students!

As for OGL life, things have been getting more and more hectic. This Wednesday if Lewis’ first Transfer student SOAR, and next week we have not one…but TWO First Year Student Orientations! These next two weeks are going to be a ton of work, but the outcome will totally be worth it. All of us here are so excited to meet the hundreds of new students waiting to start class in the fall! If you’re a Flyer, then you’re good to me! (Except if it’s a Philadelphia Flyer. I’m a Blackhawks fan and don’t take kindly to the Broad Street Bullies.)

Well, I should skedaddle. We have to get ready for SOAR in the morning, and Dawn of the Dead is on SyFy. As you can tell, I am quite busy. Talk to ya’ll later!

Hi everyone!

I’m very excited to be writing this blog! I love talking about Lewis and how awesome it is, so this is your warning that I will probably do that a lot. I am originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and I will be starting this fall as a sophomore. I am currently a social work major, and I am considering adding a psychology or Spanish minor. Many people ask me how the heck I heard about Lewis being an out-of-state student, and that question has a few answers. First, I went to a Lasallian high school so that is one connection. I was also lucky enough that two of my favorite people from high school happened to be a sophomore and a junior here at the time. Some of my favorite things about Lewis is all the green space on campus and all of the people were so welcoming that I felt right at home the minute I got here. I am really looking forward to this summer because I am living and working here on campus as an Orientation Group Leader- we are all getting really excited for SOAR sessions!! We can’t wait to meet all the new students

Talk to you all soon!!