OC VB summer check in from Rosie!

Hellooo Yeowomen! I hope your summer’s are off to a fantastic start! Mine is, and I still have a lot to look forward to (i.e. camp, i.e. where my heart lives).

For me, this week is one of tying up loose ends and making last-minute visits with friends before I go off to be a camp counselor all summer. I’m still un-packing from college because that enterprise was interrupted two weeks ago by a (fantastic) camping trip to the beach at Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Simultaneously, I’m packing up for camp. Needless to say, my room is a mess. I wasn’t able to make any progress there last week because Daniel, my boyfriend who goes to Oberlin, visited then and we were busy making bagels, playing Ultimate Frisbee, visiting friends, making jam, watching the NBA finals, exercising on the stationary bikes in my basement, selling strawberry shortcake at my (Quaker) Meeting House’s annual Strawberry Festival and eating pizza with my brother and parents (see picture). Daniel left this Monday for Hong Kong, where his family lives, and my life resumed a more relaxed (boring?) pace of packing and cleaning.

I have done some fun things this week, though. I made a compost pile for my house, which I have wanted to do for some time now. I also made vegan carrot cake with my friend (delicious; just ask if you want the recipe to any of these foods!), visited my high school art teacher, saw a really great movie about street art (“Exit Through the Gift Shop”), worked out, read, made postcards and…watched more NBA finals (go Celtics?). Plus, now I’m pretty much packed for camp!

This weekend, my parents, brother and I are visiting my grandparents in NJ for my brother and dad’s birthdays. It’ll be a great celebration then I’m off to camp the very next day for canoe instructor training (!!) before actual camp starts. I can’t wait.

Happy Summer y’all!

OC Volleyball welcomes Kristen Johnson

OC Volleyball is excited to announce Kristen Johnson to our 2010 roster. Kristen comes to us from Decatur, Georgia. Kristen is a 5'10 Middle Blocker. Kristen also plays club ball as well for Cyclone Volleyball Club. Along with playing volleyball Kristen is also a member of the tennis team and is very involved in her school. She sent us an update on how her senior year is wrapping up."Our drama club just finished its production of a vampire spoof that was hilarious. I was a stage manager and lighting designer/operator for the show. It got to be pretty stressful, especially a few days before opening night when it seemed like nothing was coming together. We were spending long hours in rehearsals, which severely deprived me of sleep and sanity. But it seems like it all came together, and it ended up being a success. Its funny how thing all seem to fall into place in the end…And to be honest, I’m a little bit sad that its over now.

Prom was typical of any high school dance. I mean, there was a whole lot of hype surrounding it, but it turned out to be only marginally fun. My friends and I still made the best of it though. It was a lot of fun getting ready and dressing up. And after prom, we all went back to my house and hung out. So it still turned out to be a really fun night.

I graduate in ONE WEEK, and I couldn’t be more excited. Classes pretty much ended for me on April 30th because exams started the next week. Those have been pretty stressful. I’ve finished all of my history and English exams. The only ones I have left now are three biology exams and one math one, and then I should be completely finished. So I hope that this next week will fly by, because I am SOOO ready to graduate.


Highlights of my high school career….well, I was captain of the team this year. I led the team in both blocks and kills, and ranked in to county’s top fifty for blocks and kills as well. Last season my team placed first in our region, qualifying us for the state tournament . In state, we made it to the second round before losing a tough match that went to 5 games. And that’s pretty much it."

"OC volleyball is excited to work with Kristen and have such a well-rounded athlete come to our family. Kristen will step right in and make an impact with our team. She brings a very upbeat attitude to the program along with a great work ethic. We are looking forward to challenging and pushing Kristen to the next level as a volleyball player," Said Head Coach Carey Cavanaugh.

Maggie gives update from France

French Volleyball

Halfway through the semester, I joined my Sciences Po’s volleyball team. We practiced only once a week and played in tournaments when it seemed to work around our schedules, making the ambiance quite difference from any American volleyball team. Though the atmosphere was more social than competitive, playing for Sciences Po was a great way for me to make friends and memories! Because my school has a lot of international students, half of my team was French and the other half German. Communicating on the court was interesting, not only are volleyball systems and styles different across countries (and continents), but communicating in a foreign language when a game was close was an added challenge! You don't exactly learn volleyball vocabulary in French class. However, volleyball is still volleyball no matter what language or country it’s in.

One of my favorite tournaments we played in was an all-sport competition between all of France’s Political Science Schools in Strasbourg, France. The rivalries were intense (I don’t think I’ve ever been heckled so intensely!), but after the games all of the fans and players were joking around and laughing with each other. And of course winning the volleyball championship was awesome!

--Maggie

OC Volleyball welcomes Meredith Siefert

OC Volleyball program is excited to announce Meredith Siefert to our 2010 roster. Meredith comes to us from Rye, New York. Meredith is a 5’10 MB/RS hitter and has been playing volleyball since seventh grade. Along with high school experience Meredith has club experience playing this past season for Alpha Gamma Volleyball Club 18’s. Meredith has also excelled in track in field, breaking the school record for discus her freshman year. Meredith is coming into Oberlin with a great work ethic and a desire to succeed that will put her right into the mix with our athletes.

Meredith is very dedicated off the court as well. She has a special passion for the Spanish language and culture. She has had the opportunity to spend time in Roatan, Honduras with her church helping out schools and building a hospital. This has helped developed Meredith into the well-rounded person and volleyball player she has become. She has also won awards in Spanish honors class, math class, and one for a literary magazine. In her free time Meredith enjoys reading and has taken an interest in Italian so she started an Italian club at her school. She is looking forward to pursuing a degree in communications or anthropology.

"The OC Volleyball program is thrilled to have such a great student-athlete and person join our family. Meredith will make an immediate impact in the program because of her athletic ability and positive energy. We are excited to have the opportunity to challenge her daily and see her excel at the collegiate level," said Head Coach Carey Cavanaugh.

Update from Maggie in France

Hello again from Paris! I just finished up with my midterms week which involved 15 mintue long oral presenations and a 3 hour long saturday morning exam. I'm glad that's over. Today I'm going to talk about English. Strange, I know, I'm in France, but the American influence is everywhere. For me, it's not strange to walk into a store and hear songs in English on the radio. I hear everything from Whitney Houston to Akon. Also, American movies are really popular. They are either dubbed over into French or subtitled with the original English sound still playing. (My French friends think it's way cooler to see the versions with the original voices). Because English has become the international language and is also the working language of the European Union, a lot of French people are very eager to brush up in their English. In fact, at my school to get a diploma, you have to pass an English language exam! One of my favorite activities involving English is teaching a group of seven eight year olds English as part of an after school program. Of course they only know simple things like colors or food, but hearing duck, duck goose with French accents is quite an amusing experience.

Eric Stark, former assistant of three years, has accepted a job as the top assistant at Eastern Michigan. Eric was not only my assistant but also a dear friend. He brightened up the office and was a hard worker. I'll miss playing starky and ping pong but I'm sure he won't miss losing:) Eric left big shoes to be filled, who can I play one on one in the office with now?? But on a serious note, I want to thank him for everything he has contributed to this program over the last few years. I know he will do well in the next step of his career. Good luck Eric we miss you already!

Update from France!!!

Just like Oberlin, after a few weeks of classes, the assignments start coming. The past week I've been in the library researching for papers and presentations. No matter how hard I try, I can't find a twist to make studying sound more exotic. I've been working mostly for one of my classes on the European Union, which is a topic full of controversy. At the beginning of the year, huge changes were made in the organization and more big decisions loom concerning the possible bailout of Greece. The controversy makes the EU an exciting topic to study and because my school has a lot of international students I get to hear all sorts of opinions and perspectives. However, the construction of the EU is so complicated it makes United States government seem like a piece of cake!

For those of you who suddenly have the image of studying abroad consisting of living in the library, don't worry, I get plenty of time to explore the city. One thing I love about Paris is the rich history and culture that can be found in both the museums and casual strolls down the winding streets. Example: Last week while out running, I passed the house where René Descartes lived, the house where Marie and Pierre Curie lived, and stumbled upon a 2,000 year old Roman Gladiatorial arena which was being used as a make shift soccer field for a game of neighborhood pick-up.

Now back to paper writing...
--Maggie