Cheer Ashley On!

Hey Champlain can I get an attitude check!?

My name is Myles and I am a fourth year Champlainer taking a joint major in Biology and Philosophy. In my first year I lived right in K/L Tower and then proceeded to be an ISW Team Leader as well as joined College Cabinet as a Social Representative.

But enough about me. I am here to tell you all about an amazing opportunity that we as Champlainers have! Ashley Brzozowicz is a Canadian Olympic Rower and is also our Scholar/Athlete in Residence this year! Right now Ashley is in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and is very busy with preparation and training.  I want to show her that Champlain is behind her 100% for a great Olympic games!

Our College Head, Dr. Mike Allcott, gave Ashley a Champlain scarf before she left for the Olympics, making her an official Champlainer! This means that a Champlainer is in London right now showcasing her skills in front of the world representing Canada. As an official Champlainer we need to show her as much support as we can and also CHEER as loud as we can, something Champlain does best!

Throughout Ashley's time and progress in London I will be posting updates as well as cheers on the Champlain College Facebook page. I want all of you to check out these updates as well as comment your own cheers and "Like" my comments to show Ashley that she not only has Canada behind her but Champlain College as well! 

Thanks,

Myles Latter

Champlain Summer Reading

Second Book in Champlain Summer Reading!

Suggested by Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Head of the International Development Studies Department.
 Written by Tracy Kidder, the book is called "Mountains beyond Mountains"

Haroon describes the book as: “testimonies of everyday acts of conscience that profoundly affect the people around the protagonists in ways that improve their lives.”

Find the book here: http://bit.ly/NCGHq1



Book Summary:

Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House Among Schoolchildrenand Home Town. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the “master of the non-fiction narrative.” This powerful and inspiring new book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.

At the center of Mountains beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer, a physician, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, who was brought up in a bus and on a boat. His life’s calling is to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable and how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results. 

Mountains beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity" - a philosophy that is embodied in the small public charity he founded, Partners In Health. He enlists the help of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, the U.N.’s World Health Organization and others in his quest to cure the world. This book is based on hope and the truth of the Haitian proverb that “Beyond mountains there are mountains”: as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too. 

Mountains Beyond Mountains unfolds with the force of a gathering revelation,” says Annie Dillard. Jonathan Harr says, “[Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it.”

Sourced from Goodreads.com 

Athlete in Residence!

Olympic Rowing! 

In 9 days watch our future Athlete in Residence compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games! Trent University and Champlain College wish Ashley Brzozowicz Good Luck in the Woman's 8!

Find out more about Ashley's journey to the Olympics here: 

Champlain Summer Reading

All Books recommended by Champlain Fellows!The first book is suggested by our College Head A. Michael Allcott. Ph.D

'I Shall Not Hate' By Izzeldin Abuleish

Find the Book Here:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8550813-i-shall-not-hate

Brief Summary:

By turns inspiring and heart-breaking, hopeful and horrifying, I Shall Not Hate is Izzeldin Abuelaish's account of an extraordinary life. A Harvard-trained Palestinian doctor who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and "who has devoted his life to medicine and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians" (New York Times), Abuelaish has been crossing the lines in the sand that divide Israelis and Palestinians for most of his life - as a physician who treats patients on both sides of the line, as a humanitarian who sees the need for improved health and education for women as the way forward in the Middle East. And, most recently, as the father whose daughters were killed by Israeli soldiers on January 16, 2009, during Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip. His response to this tragedy made news and won him humanitarian awards around the world. Instead of seeking revenge or sinking into hatred, Abuelaish called for the people in the region to start talking to each other. His deepest hope is that his daughters will be "the last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."


Source: Goodreads.com 

Louise Baker: Preparing for the new year

Top Five Things New University Students Need To Know

GUEST POST: Louise Baker is a freelance blogger who usually writes about online degrees for Zen College Life.

If you’re headed off to your first semester of university, you’re probably worried about all of the new experiences. Living away from home for the first time, compounded on top of all your new classes, can be quite daunting. However, here you’ll find the top five things new university students need to know. These tips are sure to make your first year at your college or university much more bearable so that you don’t have to feel so much trepidation is getting in the way of your enjoyment of the academic program.

1. Go To Class

For the first time in your life, you’re going to be given free rein as to what you spend your time doing. Though some introductory seminars will still take attendance, as time goes on you’ll realise that there’s less and less accountability concerning whether or not you show up for lectures. As such, it’s important to remember that the main reason you’re in that place is to go to class. Sure, it’s fun to miss one or two classes to get lunch or play Mario Kart with your friends, but after a while you’ll find that you know more about the menus at the local restaurants than you do about your Psychology 1000 class. All in all, don’t skip class unless it’s a dire emergency.

2. Take Care of Yourself

Many people talk about the fact that some people, away from home for the first time, gain a lot of weight within their first semester. If you don’t want this to happen to you, be sure to watch what you’re eating and take some time to hit the gym every once in a while. You don’t need to have a highly-regulated workout regime, but be sure to make an effort to keep yourself healthy. You’ll find that all of your clothes will still fit you by the end of your first term and you’ll be in a much better mental state come time for finals.

3. Use Your Campus Resources

Your roommate has a girl over and you have an assignment due the next day, but your laptop is in the room? Don’t worry, you can easily hike over to your school’s library and finish it in one of their computer labs. When adjusting to a new environment, many freshers forget that their campus has a wide array of resources just waiting to be used by students like them. Whether it’s a quota of paper that they can use for printing, to free software allocated by the school’s technical services department, there are literally hundreds of amenities that come with being a student in a modern university. The only real work that you have to do is look for these resources.

4. Keep a Close Network of Friends

Especially near the end of the semester, it’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed with final projects and examinations that all have similar due dates. This is why it’s important to have a group of people that you trust and feel comfortable confiding in or just generally being around. Even if you don’t feel like you all have the time to hang out and watch a movie, remember that everyone has to eat. Getting together with your friends for a meal is one of the easiest ways to lower your stress during the rush of the end of the term.

5. Don’t Be Afraid of Your Professors

Lastly, you should never think that your professors don’t want to help you. It’s their job to make certain that you understand everything that they’re saying in their lectures and emails. So, if you have a question, just ask! From their viewpoint, they’d rather that you ask them up front than have you fail your exams because you misunderstood something. Show some initiative and let them know if you’re having problems.

Our college ISW website!

https://ccr.trentu.ca/isw/college/champlain.htm

Champlain Canon- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

by Jonathan Alphonsus, CC Intern. Also on my Canon list: 'The Hiding Place' by Corrie Ten Boom

OK, I confess. I just read the first Harry Potter book.

I put it off when it first became the 'HP Phenomenon' because my 11-year old self needed to be 'cool' and stand-offish, thus preferring Manchester United as the logo on my pencil case and not the face of a bespectacled boy with a lighting-shaped scar on his forehead. For the record, Manchester United are still very cool.

Second confession, I've watched all the movies. I even watched the Goblet of Fire (book 4) and Deathly Hallows 2 (book 7) on preview night, ie paid a premium/stood in a long line for a long time to watch them early. I may or may not have enjoyed all these films thoroughly, causing me to always watch them whenever they're on TV. On our first date 10 months ago, my now-girlfriend and I watched Deathly Hallows 1 (I pretended to be unexcited because I wanted to impress her, secretly I was absolutely thrilled. She's still dating me, guess it worked?)

Confession no.3 : Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was. Fantastic.

What a book, super well-written and smoothly narrated. J.K. Rowling has this ability to make you imagine you're right there in Hogwarts. And even though I'm 21 now, I can still relate to the story and the characters, it doesn't necessarily feel like a kids book. I can totally understand how the boy who lived is now the stuff of literary legend. Not to mention financial legend: 120 million copies of book 1 have been sold, in 180 countries and 70 languages. It's interesting that Rowling's first advance for the story was only just over $4000.

Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus