Flunk Day is not Tomorrow!

Dear Readers, Flunk Day was yesterday! It was a great time and I had fun with chatting with current students, faculty, staff and Alumni... oh and did I forget to mention I didn't have any class? I love waking up the the sound of Flunk Day Committee members banging on doors and screaming down halls "it's flunk day". I love smelling the grilled burgers and chicken sandwiches on the quad. What I love most however is how excited everyone is to enjoy some good weather and be with one another. Long Live Flunk Day! Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Talking about Coe when not at Coe

Dear Readers, I hope all is well. This past week was a very exciting one. I spent a lot of time catching up with friends as well as finishing up a few fun class projects. Along with that I was able to go to Chicago for a college fair with an admission counselor. I had a great time talking with all the prospective students from the Noble schools about the great things Coe has to offer. After the fair was over I got back in the car and headed to Cedar Rapids. On the ride back I got to thinking about how much I really enjoyed talking about Coe. I began to think back to all the experiences I had and the one's that made my time here special. I remember when I was a prospective student and my admission counselor was trying to convince me that I should make the trip out to Iowa from Detroit Michigan and here I am now trying to convince students from Chicago to do the same thing. Coe is a place that I am proud to have attended and I feel it is safe to say many of my classmates feel the same way. Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Admitted Student Weekend

Dear Readers, The time for big bands, lots of new faces, and tons of kohawk pride is here! I am talking about admitted student weekend or ASW. I think it is safe to say this is a great time to be on campus, especially since the weather is starting to get nice and everyone will be finished with a lot of their big test. I personally have a soft spot for ASW, when I was a prospective student I came to ASW and I really appreciated what I gained from that experience. During ASW I was able to meet even more faculty and staff, talk to current students, stay over-night, sit in on classes, and even meet my future roommate. Before ASW I still had little to no clue what Iowa and the Cedar Rapids area was like, but after making the trip down I was able to find out more about the city and it's culture. Well Friday is almost here and campus will be welcoming 200+ students to campus and showing them some kohawk pride. An added bonus is the big band we have coming this year We the Kings will be performing in Eby Fieldhouse and is open for all ASW students to attend. I must say they have some pretty catchy tunes. Feel free to check them out before coming to visit http://www.wethekingsmusic.com/ Once again thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

March Madness at Coe College!

Dear Readers, Intramural basketball season is underway at Coe! I am excited to say I will now be adding another weekly workout to my list of things to do and I am happy about it. Here at Coe I would say we have a pretty competitive intramural culture, filled with both men and women who just love to get out there and sweat a bit. I am glad that things have started it is always fun to set a team with some friends or try to get on a team with people you don't really know to well. It is awesome to see some of the relationships that a team sport can develop. One of the more interesting parts to our intramural culture is the amount of people who stick around just to watch other teams play. I would say that Coe is very supportive as far as the community goes in that matter. I have also been doing a lot of Jogging. I have a jogging class Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 8am-9am and I got to say it takes some dedication to get me out of bed that earlier to go and run. It has been beneficial however I feel better and more energized later in the day even though I am getting a little less sleep. Other than that I am just waiting until Presidential Ball this April. I just recently took some pictures for one of the posters that will be hung-up promoting what sort of attire people should wear to the ball. As soon as I get a copy I will share it with you all. Just in case you were curious presidential ball was first started as a dance in honor of the current president of Coe James R. Phifer. This ball has become an annual tradition and one I hope continues late after I am gone! Once again thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Back and Loving It

Dear Readers, I have just returned from what I would like to call an amazing spring break. No I didn't go to Florida and hangout on the beach and no I didn't go on a mission trip (however I have done both of those in the past). This year I went to Nashville TN, and got to experience a very lively music culture and what some would say a slightly southern style of cooking. I enjoyed every minute of it and the best part about it was I didn't have really any homework assigned over break. My professors all seemed to understand the importance in the students taking a little time for themselves. I did however have a project to finish up that I started before break. I was in Nashville from Sunday to Thursday and when I returned to Cedar Rapids I felt right at home, for some reason It was Crunch Berry Day at Quaker Oats so the city seemed to be filled with an appetizing berry smell all morning. Following my return to Coe I found myself hanging out and relaxing in my apartment. It is very nice that Coe offers students the opportunity to stay at Coe over breaks or to return early or leave late. As I look out the window today I am happy to say that it is looking warm outside. I am excited for shorts and tee-shirt weather. It is always nice to be at Coe in the spring, all the trees and flowers on campus come back to life with some very vibrant warming colors and the added bonus of playing outdoor sports with friends and my ultimate favorite which is Barbequing! Once again thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Spring Break Time!

Dear Readers, It is hard to believe that spring break is almost here. I am looking outside right now and there is still snow on the ground and I packing swim trunks. It is fun to hear all the unique places that students plan to travel over there spring break. Some leave the country some go somewhere warm and others like to go visit family and friends. Along with that it is also fun to check out some of the fun trips that are offered through Coe. When have a group of students going to Joplin, MO this year to do some service work, I went to Atlanta my second year here for spring break with the office of Service Learning and my 1st year here I went to Florida with the Coe College golf team. I am looking forward to taking off this year. My goal was to find a way to make spring break cost efficient on my own. I was lucky that I haven't had to spend to much money on my vacations in the past due to Coe's help. This year I am going to Nashville TN for 5 days and 4 night for under $200. I was pretty happy with myself after everything was finalized. I look forward to hanging out on Music row which I hear is pretty exciting. Until Friday I still have to stay focused on my school work. I have a big mid-term test coming up and I just finished up with my off book line run through for my acting class. Once Friday rolls around though it will be bye bye hat and gloves and hello swim trunks! Below I have a few pictures from my Spring break trip to Atlanta. Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Spring Break? Nope not yet

Dear Readers, I hope all is well. I have been having a pretty good week. My classes have been going very well, this week I went on two field trips to one of the local gymnastic studios in Cedar Rapids. It was nice knowing how alive gymnastics is around here and to be able to use some of the equipment and learn a few new skills along the way. Along with this I have been able to pick up a new skills in my topics in graphic design class. It has been very exciting seeing the different task and projects have been able to complete. This weekend also been a big one for my acting class as well. Just yesterday I had to perform one of my scenes in front of the whole class. I'm very glad that I decided to take this class for has helped me improve on my body language and verbal communication skills. It is nice non-they call as a liberal arts institution and being able to see exactly where I'm benefiting from this type of education. For instance at some of the other schools that I was looking at going to from undergraduate career I would have never had the opportunity to take a acting course or graphic design course. While other than that there are few other things I'm looking forward to. Intramural basketball should be starting up soon, and I can't wait to get my team together and hopefully take home a championship my senior year! Also in a couple more weeks I will be signing up my jogging class every Monday Wednesday Friday at 8 AM. This will be a good way to get myself the shape for intramural basketball and also to make sure I don't pick up too much weight. I look forward to telling you all more about my graduate school decision in the upcoming weeks. It will be exciting to see how this whole process pays off. It is great to know that my college education here at Coe college has prepare me for the road ahead. Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Professor Understanding

Dear Readers, I hope that everything is going well. I have been having a fantastic week and have learned a lot in my classes. I am in an acting class here at Coe and I have found that the more we do the more I learn about myself. I have found that this class often requires me to go a little outside of my comfort zone which I find to be a pretty exciting experiences, to me it is always fun to push my own boundaries. Other than that I will be having a short week. I am leaving very early Thursday morning to head to my assistantship interviews for graduate school. It is still a very awakening feeling, just knowing that I was even accepted into these schools. This week I had to send some emails to my professors letting them know I would be leaving. They were able to let me know all of the work I would miss and filled me in on some of that material. The nice thing about Coe is how personal the faculty and staff are, it feels like I am at home. Being an out of state student that was a very important part of my college search and I am happy to say that I'm glad I found that here at Coe! I will be sure to let you all know how my trip goes next week and will update you on some of the fun stuff headed Coe's way! Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Another Day at Coe College

Dear Readers, This past weekend I sat on a panel for Coe. I was able to sit in front of a big group of prospective students and talk to them about some of my experiences at Coe. I have done several panels in the past however, this one was very different. I was sitting on the panel with several students that I had never done one with before and I have to tell you, it was a great time. Getting to hear from other students some seniors also, was very eye opening. I will be graduating in just a few more months! Well I guess at this point I am more than ready for it. Coe has did a fantastic job at preparing me for the road ahead. I just recently had the chance to speak with a buddy of mine who graduated from Coe. He currently went back home to Nepal and is becoming very successful. It was great to be able to reach out to him and hear of all the things that have been really helping him now. I hope that I have someone to reach out to after I graduate and share those same moments with. The one thing I am learning now is how much Coe has given to me, and how important it will be for me to give back to Coe. Wherever it is that you go for college I hope that you find as awesome of a place as I have. I also hope that you can one day if not already find the value in giving back. Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Hard work pays off? I Had No Clue

Dear Readers, Glad that you all could join me once again. Since the last time we spoke I have received a lot of good news. I have been accepted into two graduate schools already one of those being the second ranked program in the nation. I am currently waiting to hear back from the third school I applied to and am looking forward to my upcoming road trip for graduate assistantship interviews. Other than that I have just been focused on finishing out strong. I still have lots of homework to do and lots of activities to keep up with and I am not in any sort of rush to wish that away. I love it here at Coe and it is somewhat crazy to think that in just a few more months I will be walking across a stage waving good bye. With all that being said I will make sure to ride this last wave all the way out. I enjoy the classes I'm taking which is good and I enjoy being a senior so I will make sure that I don't let a day pass me by. On another note, this past weekend I got to go to a Cedar Rapids Roughriders game. That is the hockey team out here. It was a pretty fun experience. I went with my job however it was also Coe night at the Roughriders stadium so I saw plenty of Coe students out and about. I also went to the movies several times this past week. It is nice that we have several movie theaters in Cedar Rapids, it is even nicer that the discount movie theater is close by (college students dream). I hope to watch a lot more movies this semester. I just finished watching an old Clint Eastwood movie today "Fistful of Dollars" that's a classic. Well once again thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III

Time for Books!

Dear Readers, Glad that you all were able to make it back to my blog just as I have made it back for another semester at Coe!I had an awesome winter break, I spent some time in Des Moines and I also got to go back to Michigan for a bit to see my family and friends, even got to go to a pistons game. I do have to say that I managed to spend a fair share of my break at Coe though, I just couldn't get away.

I am also glad to say I had a great first week of my last semester. I enjoy all the classes I am taking and look forward to getting a few A's (hopefully). Along with that I have been spending a lot of time finishing up graduate school applications as well as waiting to hear back on decisions. I just recently heard back from my first school and I got accepted! This past weekend I did however manage to put down all my applications and have a little fun. I got a group of my friends together to go play some paintball. We have an awesome paintball facility in Cedar Rapids and it seemed everyone had a great time. It was a nice way to relax after the first week of classes.

Thank you for your time, Charles E. Cotton III