Semester in Review

Hello! This is looooong overdue — you would think that a three week-long winter break would mean that I would have plenty of time to write, but alas, here we are. Wednesday, I began the spring semester of my junior year, and I’m so excited! But we’ll get to that later. First, I want to recap five of my favorite parts of my awesome fall semester:

Awakening and Newman
- I’ve been going to the Newman Catholic Student Center since I was a freshman at Carolina, but it wasn’t until this past semester that I really got involved in Newman’s campus ministry. This year, I’m leading a small faith group with my lovely pal, Emily, and we meet once a week to discuss the upcoming Gospel and life in general! It has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the week. In November, I went on Newman’s annual retreat, Awakening, and it was life-changing! The weekend was full of meeting amazing people from UNC and discussing how God works in our lives and it was easily my favorite part of my semester for sure! Newman has quickly become a place to hang out, study and pray with a great group of people that have already helped me grow in my faith.
Kappa events
- Kappa is always a highlight of the semester without fail! We had a great philanthropy event in September called Q for the Cause, which raised money for Earlier.org, an organization that supports earlier breast cancer detection. There were several social events that I really enjoyed as well — it’s always fun to embarrassingly dance with your friends!! Kappa continues to be a source of light in my life.
Public Relations classes
- This past semester, I finally started taking classes specific to my major (public relations) and I’ve already learned so much! Public Relations Writing taught me the basics for all of the communications pieces and media kits that I may need to produce in a future job. In Case Studies in Public Relations, we analyzed PR situations that landed companies in hot water and how they handled them. I also learned a few graphic design and video production skills this semester in a digital programming class. I’m so excited about what I’ve already learned and what else there is to learn during the rest of my undergraduate career!
My Internship
- This fall, I was very lucky to be an editorial intern at Chapel Hill Magazine and Durham Magazine! I gained experience writing, editing and seeing how a magazine works behind the scenes and it was so much fun. The people there were incredibly welcoming and helpful as I learned the ropes, and I’m excited to come back for the spring semester and continue to contribute to the magazine. If you’re ever curious, sometimes I write posts on the websites about what’s happening around town for the weekend. (www.chapelhillmagazine.com and www.durhammag.com)
Friends
- The only thing better than going to school in the southern slice of Heaven is sharing it with so many wonderful people. Making new friends and keeping up with old friends is always one of my favorite parts of the semester, whether it’s playing Wii Tennis over and over again, playing basketball at two in the morning, sharing a meal on Franklin or just chatting, I am so grateful for the people I have met at Carolina.

Well, there you have it, about a month late. I’m really looking forward to everything this upcoming semester has in store, with four new classes, continuing my internship and whatever else God has planned — I will be sure to keep everyone updated (in a more timely manner, hopefully.) Go Heels!