Hey everyone!! This is going to be my final post for the semester and for UT because…I AM GRADUATING ON SATURDAY!! I have had so much fun blogging about campus-life events and, as with everything else in my life right now(including my last trip to the Straz laundry room), I am becoming nostalgic about my experience. These past couple of days my mind has been filled with thoughts of everything I have experienced in college and because of this, I have decided to  impart my very own wisdom on you, which is why I entitled this blog:

Words of Wisdom From A Graduating Senior!

1. Though four-years sound like an incredibly long amount of time when you are a freshman, IT’S NOT! Time goes by more quickly than you can even imagine. So join a club or take a class you never thought you would-DON’T BE AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW!! And please be sure and really take the time to love and be loved, to laugh, and to make memories with all of those amazing people in your life that you call your friends!
2. Make sure you HAVE FUN! There is no other experience quite like college, so make sure you ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE it while you are here. Make the time to go to the beach with your friends and do crazy- fun things with the amazing people in your life(all while being responsible lol)…don’t be afraid to BE A LITTLE CRAZY SOMETIMES and really have fun-if you wait to long, it will be too late.
3. STOP CARING SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU!! This is a BIG one! College is a time to learn about yourself and for you to grow into the person you were meant to be! If you are always worried about what other people think, you are denying yourself this chance! Once you learn to let go and JUST BE YOU, you will soon realize that more and more people actually accept YOU FOR YOU and think you are amazing just the way you are! LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU ARE ALREADY AWESOME!!
4. DON’T WASTE TIME IN 1-SIDED RELATIONSHIPS! Be it a friendship or a romantic relationship, if you are doing all the work-it’s not fair! ALL relationships are about GIVE AND TAKE and there needs to be a balance. If you find you are doing all the work, SPEAK UP!! If the person truly cares about you, they will change, and if not, they are not worth wasting your time over!
5. NEVER GIVE UP!! This applies to all aspects of life and if you are ever feeling like you can’t do it…here comes my short and sweet pep talk…YOU CAN!!! Whether it be a class, a relationship, a job, a family issue, or anything else in your life, YOU CAN GET THROUGH IT WITH PERSEVERANCE! There are so many people in your life,that you don’t even realize, who care for you and will help you get through whatever life throws your way. College is a built-in support system, so take advantage! With your never-give up attitude and your college family, you CAN GET THROUGH ANYTHING!! (Also don’t just give up in your classes! Get help from your professor, a tutor, a friend, or a UT provided service! Once you ruin your GPA, it is really hard to play catch up in order to build it back up!)
6. CHERISH YOUR FRIENDS AND BE A REAL FRIEND! This one needs no explanation-just do it!!
7. DO SOME GOOD! I know we are just “college students” but we have a LOT more power than we think we do! Start up and organization or volunteer for the P.E.A.C.E. center, lend a helping hand to a person in need, or say hello to that person you normally wouldn’t( a little hello goes a long way)-all of these are good deeds in one way or another! Doing good will not only make you feel good, but it can change lives! YOU HOLD THE POWER TO HELP CHANGE THE WORLD AND NOW IS THE TIME TO DECIDE TO USE IT!!
8. DON’T BE AFARID OF CHANGE! Change is a normal part of life. Seasons change, tides change, people change, life changes. Learn to embrace change rather than shove it away! And don’t freak out to much about your future-YOU WILL FIGURE IT OUT!! EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON AND IF YOU WORK HARD, YOU WILL END UP EXACTLY WHERE YOU WERE MEANT TO BE!!

• “Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.” ~Victoria Holt

• “Life is too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly.”   ~Anonymous

• “Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.”  ~Marie Beynon Ray

That was the wisdom I wanted to pass down to all of you so you can make your own college experience the best it can possibly be! Good luck on the rest of exams, safe travels, and have a great college career!

<3 Mari

Hey everyone! So it’s that time of year again-textbook buyback time! But, unfortunately,  we all know that there are always those certain books that are the wrong edition or cannot be sold…so what do you do with the unsellable? RECYLE!!! In order to preserve the wonderful world we live in, we must start thinking smart about how to reuse what can be reused. Things like books ending up in landfills is absolutely atrocious! Books are great things to give to other people and are full of recyclable materials i.e. PAPER!!! So please do not let your very own reusable materials sit in a landfill polluting the earth. Do something good with the books you can’t sell! You never know what amazing things your very own recycled and reused books could get used for! To aid in this process, the Faculty Sustainability Committee has teamed up with Book Drives Inc. to create a textbook recycling program. All books donated through this program are guaranteed to either be sold or completely recycled, ensuring that no books end up in landfills. For every book that is sold, a tree will be planted through the program “Trees for the Future” and a small percentage of the proceeds will be returned to the university to support other sustainability programs. Recycling your textbooks will help to conserve our existing forests and each of the planted trees will help to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Collection boxes for the textbook recycling program will be in these places until May 9th:

  Vaughn Center

o   Spartan Club food court

o   West entrance from Vaughn Center Plaza

 Stadium Center food court

Macdonald-Kelce Library

Please help out the environment and go green by doing something good with the books you can’t sell!! Happy recycling!

The closing of Spring semester is upon us! Make sure you don’t forget to take care of all your closing information if you will be leaving campus at the end of this week. Here’s a few reminders…

• Study hard for finals!
• Dorms close on Saturday, May 7 at 11am for all students who are not graduating.
• Make sure your room is clean and all move out policies that are listed in your halls have been followed.
• Don’t forget to check out with your R.A. or your buildings front desk and return your keys!
• Books can be sold back in the bookstore, upstairs by the Vaughn Computer Lab.
• Recycle Textbooks that you don’t want to sell or keep in various locations around campus (Spartan Club food court, Vaughn Center, Stadium Center and the library)  All books donated through this program will be sold or completely recycled. For every book that is sold, a tree will be planted through the program “Trees for the Future” and a small percentage of the proceeds will be returned to the university to support other sustainability programs.

Hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer wherever you may be headed! As for me, I will be heading back to Maine for the summer. This will be my last blog for the University, keep your eyes out for a new round of bloggers starting next semester. See you all August 29th for the start-up of Fall 2011!

We all know that Florida’s got a lot of sunshine and we love it! Come out to the pool this afternoon fr0m 12pm-2pm and join the UT Wellness Committee to learn more about sun safety and how to avoid the dangers it can bring. Students will learn about how to be smart in the sun and avoid the risk of sun cancer. There will be “quizzes” to test your sun safety knowledge and a dermatologist with a Derma Scan machine that will show your current (or lack there of hopefully!) level of sun damage on your skin. And of course there will be free giveaways such as sunscreen and beach towels! Take a break from finals, enjoy the outdoors and learn valuable heath information at the same time.

Come see the amazing traveling dance show Spring Dance Happening tonight or tomorrow night at 8 pm!! This high-energy student dance show will start at 8 pm in the Edison building(the dance building across the North Blvd. from the Thomas Parking Garage) and then move to the Plant Hall Verandah for the second half of the show! The show is a compilation of student and faculty choreographed work that features UT dancers at their best! The styles range from classical ballet to jazz to tap to hip-hop! You will get a taste of every dance style and see how truly talented our UT dancers really are. But more than that, this show is just a GOOD TIME!! It’s free and open to anyone who wants to attend, you get to watch amazing high-energy dances while listening to your favorite songs, and you get to be with your friends and enjoy a beautiful Tampa night out on the Verandah! Please show your support to our wonderfully talented UT dancers by coming out to the Spring Dance Happening tonight or tomorrow! Hope to see you there!

Here is a video from last year’s Spring Dance Happening!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152129008191423&index=1

Are you a HOTT MESS? Do you know someone who is a HOTT MESS? Well, then you should come see HOTT MESS tonight @ 8pm or tomorrow @ 2pm in Reeves theater! The show is completely free and is sure to entertain!  HOTT MESS is a compilation of student written and produced works along with some hilarious improvisations in between the works. The show is special because it has something for everyone! It has comedy, drama, romance, it’s a little inappropriate at times, and is a tad crazy. HOTT MESS is creativity and experimental theater at its best! This production has given our very own UT students a chance to get creative and write and produce their own work. You wouldn’t believe how many talented writers and actors have contributed to this show to make it great! I can’t give away anything big about the show, but be prepared for anything and EVERYTHING seeing as this is experimental theater! HOTT MESS is a show that should surely not be missed! Hope to see you there!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104917202919718&index=1

Party in the Park 2011 is finally upon us! After voting and awaiting the news of the band to be performing, this Sunday UT’s students, faculty and staff can come out enjoy a night of great music, free food and giveaways right on campus. Each year student production’s concert board works hard to bring a major artist to campus to perform at the end of the Spring Semester. After hearing input from students the board gets to decide, book and bring this great artist to campus! As already announced, B.O.B will be performing as the main act.

Doors will open at 7:00pm on Sunday, meaning entry into Plant Park will be allowed starting at 7pm. At 7:30pm 20/20 Boulevard will open. This is a band made up of students from the University of Tampa. Each year the many bands composed of UT students compete to get to be the opening act for the Party in the Park major artist. At 8:15pm Playboy Trey will be the second opening act. And finally at 9:30pm B.O.B will take the stage to rock UT.

The concert is free for UT students, faculty, and staff. If you have friends in town that want to attend guest tickets can be purchased for $10 in the Vaughn Lobby from April 25-29. Each UT student can only buy ONE companion ticket. Remember, once you enter the concert you cannot leave and re-enter! Come out to Plant Park at 7pm on this Sunday, May 1st and enjoy this amazing free concert!

Come out and learn more about how to prevent domestic violence, while enjoying a fun UT event. This Thursday, April 28th at 8:00pm in the Vaughn Courtyard  the fourth annual Take Back the Night program which aims to raise awareness about domestic violence will be taking place. The event will include speeches from survivors and allies, performances by our talented musical fraternities and references to help those in need, a candlelight vigil and a moment of silence. There will also be competitive activities and prizes! This event provides free entertainment and activities and is a great cause for supporting an end to domestic violence. There will be local women’s centers and crisis centers will also be at the event. The University of Tampa has been named one of the 10 points of light which includes universities and schools across the nation. These points of light will all be having candlelight vigils and Take Back the Night events to inspire putting a stop to domestic violence.

For more information go to www.takebackthenight.org

So it’s that time of year again…the time when moving out of dorms is steadily approaching and you have twice as much stuff in your dorm room as you had when you moved in. This is the  perfect time to declutter and get rid of all those things that you no longer need! Doing this will not only make packing and moving out easier, but it will change lives! Goodwill will gratefully be accepting donations of things like housewares, collectibles, home décor, clothing, books, and shoes that are in good condition. HOWEVER, they CANNOT accept TV’s, mattresses, or box springs. All donations are tax-deductible and Goodwill will provide a receipt. You can drop off your donations in the parking area in front of John Sykes College of Business April 29th through  May 7th from 9am to 5pm. If you do happen to have clutter and things you don’t need anymore, please take advantage of this awesome opportunity! Goodwill will be right on campus so donation drop-off is made easy and in return you can change lives! The jacket you never wear anymore could be going to some family that is in need and just may be the thing that keeps a child warm throughout the winter. So please take advantage of this wonderful chance brought to you by the PEACE volunteer center to help others as well as yourself! For future donations, please visit new donation bin at advanced Auto 2813 Kennedy Blvd.

Any Questions? Call Donations: 727-523-1512 x 1440 or contact Shantel Webster at shantel.webster@spartans.ut.edu.

Hey everyone! So who knew that UT used to have a college TV network? They used to air student info, films, and shorts and have decided to bring the network back! The College Television Network will air on channel 95 over the weekend. I think this station is going to be a great asset to UT for many reasons. A huge reason is that the network will be able to keep us informed of all that is going on at UT and reach a lot of students at the same time. The College Television Network will also give opportunities to students who want to be involved  and get experience in television and film. It will give students a voice as well as allow short student films and documentaries to be seen by all UT students. A show called “The Juice” will air  on the network and this will bring students the latest trends in the Tampa Bay Area! If you want your stuff to get on, contact Anthony Rodriguez at anthony.rodriguez@spartans.ut.edu. Take advantage of this awesome experience by either being a part of the network or by watching it!