OC VB summer check in from Anna in Dairyland

Hey Guys!
Anna here, checking in from America's Dairyland. I'm here in Madison, Wisconsin this summer working as a neurogenetics intern in a lab in the genetics department at UW Madison. We are working with Drosophila (fruit flies) and trying to determine the genetic factors that influence the development of the neuromuscular junction (the place where the brain talks to the muscles). I have a lot of independence in the lab this summer, which is nice. I am planning my own experiments and so far have been fairly successful. The internship is a lot of work, but it is motivating me to work even harder in school. Other than the job, I have spent a lot of my summer writing essays for fellowships that I am applying to in the fall and studying for the GRE which I will take right at the end of summer.

I have had some time for fun, though. Madison hosts the Midwest's largest fireworks display which called Rhythm and Booms. The fireworks display starts with a true military F16 flyover and the whole show is set to music which is played over the radio on a local radio station. They shoot the fireworks over the lake, but people gather with their radios in different places all over the city to watch. My friends and I took some canoes out on the lake this year and had a picnic on the water while watching the fireworks right over our heads. I couldn't believe how close they looked! I also had the chance to go to Summerfest last week. Summerfest is America's largest music festival and it goes on along the lakefront in Milwaukee with 11 sound stages playing simultaneously. I headed over with some friends for a few days of food and fun, and I got to see Usher, The Heavy, The Bravery, Modest Mouse and a couple of others (the picture above is from The Bravery). This weekend, I am heading off to California to visit family and soak up the sun. Hope all of your summers are as good as mine!

OC VB summer check in from Wong and life in the pageant world!

What have I been up to this summer?! I don't even know where to begin. I am the current Miss Huron County and have had to opportunity to compete for Miss Ohio, the official preliminary to Miss America. It has been quite the experience. It was only my first year at states and I have learned so much. I made a few errors but minor glitches that can be fixed for next year. I am truly blessed to have competed. Our first day we had rehearsal after rehearsal. Day two, I was a part of a fashion show at the mall. I sported a bohemian look and totally rocked the runway. Then it was back to rehearsal in the freezing cold theater. Day three, was the parade. I sat on the back of a convertible and waved to the hundreds of Mansfield locals. My title was on a sign on the side of the car and they announced me as I hit certain spots on the parade route. Day four was all about rehearsals. We learned three opening number routines and a production number. The production number was AMAZING! We did Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and got to create our own costumes. My outfit was equipped with soda cans in my hair. The next day was celebrity waitressing at Applebee's. Basically, we had to ask people to buy paper crowns to support the program. Amanda (teammate support here!) came and supported me at Applebee's and allowed me to eat some of her delicious food. For some reason, the Miss Ohio program thinks girls our age LOVE chicken salad...because it was served to us at EVERY meal! On Tuesday, was my interview. My interview went really well and I felt very comfortable in front of the judges. That night was the teen pageant and the girl that won was a doll. She is so sweet and beautiful. Cecili most definitely deserved it.
Wednesday night was the first night of preliminaries. I, being contestant number one, had talent first. I did a lyrical routine and felt rather good about it. Being a volleyball player, I did not think twice about the massive bruise and floor burn I walked away with after my dance. Thursday night was swimsuit. It's my favorite part of the competition because I know I work out haha. My swimsuit was red and I felt comfortable strutting my stuff. Friday night was evening gown and on-stage question...here is the where the learning experience comes into play. My evening gown went well. I walked a bit fast but I felt like a star in my gown. On-stage question stressed me out. My question was super easy and I just choked...Thank goodness it's only 5% of your score! My answer was downright awful. I panicked, but at the end of the day, I learned from it and can laugh at it now. Saturday was finals night and although I didn't make top 10, I was proud of what I accomplished and I'm proud to have represented Oberlin. I'll definitely be competing at locals again this coming year in hopes to pursue my dreams of becoming the next Miss Ohio.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I cannot wait to see how awesome our team looks come the fall. I'm back to working out at full force and am enjoying spending time with my mom and my fellow teammate, Amanda. See you in August!

OC VB summer check in from Lizzie

Hi OCVB world!


My summer has been extremely busy and fun so far! I have been reaping the benefits of living in Manhattan everyday. I went to see a Broadway show, Promises, Promises, and went to the new Yankee stadium (we won!) I have been going to a bunch of concerts: Jordin Sparks, The Neville Brothers, James Taylor & Carole King, and the New Kids on the Block. I saw Cynthia Nixon on the street right outside my house, which was fun and unexpected! I spent a weekend in Boston visiting an Obie friend and am taking the bus down to DC to visit my roommate in a few weeks.


I started my job this week and I love it! Essentially, I am teaching literacy to inner-city youth as well as coaching them in baseball to learn real life skills. It's a three week training, which is really intense, but I am learning so much about kids. I've been doing some really serious workshops about how to be an effective sports coach (watch out Troy and Carey!) and how to reach kids in a real, effective manner. Everything so far is going well and I can't wait to update y'all about my summer again soon!

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.