Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Back in the Swing of Things

Keri S.

October 5, 2009 - 12:21 PM

This week I started my senior year. As I said goodbye to my summer, I realize I have done this 17 times now (if you start at Kindergarten). And as a senior in college, this has the potential to be the last time I begin a school year. Although I have plans to continue my education though graduate school, this year has strong potential to be my last.

As a senior, all of my memories are numbered. I already had my last first day of school. I am only 3 games away from my last college football game. Soon, my last fall quarter will turn into my last year at the University. I am only 10 final exams away from graduation! There are so many things still on my to-do list, and I suddenly find myself on a very strict timeline.

But while we are on the topic, lets discuss my last first day of school. I am strangely excited for all of my classes this quarter. Normally, there are one or two required classes that are hard to get thrilled for. But, you suck it up and you take the classes anyways. This quarter, however, I know I am going to really enjoy all my classes. First, I am taking Sports Business 450. This is a class all about how to effectively market a company in the sports industry. My instructor, Whitney Wagoner, has already drawn on her experience working for the NFL for seven years. It is great to hear all her stories and learn from them. I am also enrolled in two Journalism classes for my Communications minor: one class is about the principles of advertising, and the other is all about social media. Both should give me a really good insight to how companies communicate to their consumers, which is what I am most excited about in the marketing industry. My final class is Decision Sciences 340, which explores how employees communicate within an organization, and looking at those tools closer. Again, anything studying communications fascinates me, so it should be a good class.

This term, two of my professors will hold "virtual" office hours. In addition to being available in their office, they will also be available during set times to communicate using instant messenger. This is something completely new to me, and something I think will be very useful. It can be very inconvenient to make it into traditional office hours, as classes and homework normally dominate my weekdays. But with virtual office hours on Sunday, I can talk to my Professors while I work through my homework. It also gives you longer to work through the assignment before talking to them. These virtual office hours are something I hope to take advantage of this term.

So here's to a great last fall term, and the final two terms to follow. My hope is that I can slow down enough to enjoy every minute of it (and of course learn as much as possible too!)