Jessica Danson

8/14/08

My Exciting Summer

From exhilarating experiences abroad to calm days at home, a little bit of everything happened during this sunny summer. In May, I traveled with Global Service Learning, or GSL, to Nicaragua where we served, worked, and lived for a week and a half, speaking Spanish with locals, building walls with freshly concocted cement, and engaging kids at school. Not only did we become closer with every member of this dedicated, selfless group, but we also gave and took experiences and perspectives from our interactions with Nicaraguans. It was a worldview widening week and a half.

When I returned home I went straight to work at my law firm. I’m a runner, general assistant, and occasional Starbucks order taker. I have a great time learning about the court system, networking, and being active. There’s never a dull moment where I work! But even if there were, I also took a summer independent study with Rita Lester, the chair of the Philosophy and Religion department at Nebraska Wesleyan. I read multiple books on Liberation Theology, particularly Women’s, Latin American, Palestinian, Jewish, and African America Liberation Theologies. I highly recommend studying the subject! I rode my bike about 30 miles every Monday/Wednesday/Friday to and from class and work, which was a blast. Not only did I save a lot of money on gas, I tried to neutralize my carbon footprint and burn calories. On top of working at the law firm and working on homework, I volunteer for the Friendship Home, which is Lincoln’s only comprehensive shelter for abused women and children. Out of everything I have ever done I feel most strongly about this cause and never hold back when it comes to assisting this organization.

And, of course I’ve spent my free time with friends. Some of my friends go to college out of state and summer days are scare, so we waste no time having fun. We love hanging out downtown, shopping at the local boutiques or drinking coffee at The Mill. One of our favorite things to do is watch movies. (I, personally, see almost every movie in theatres). Besides that, we just relax at parks or ride bikes on the trails. My summer has been enthralling, boring, time pressed, lazy, chill, and HOT… a little bit of everything. And truth be told, I can’t wait for school to start.

10/10/08

Staying involved is so easy!

So far, this school year has been beyoooooooooond busy. I’m taking 18 credit hours of classes, which is busy but doable. But, I’m also super involved with campus activities. This year along with being a member of GSL and a Senator on Student Affairs Senate, I’m also the Multicultural Awareness and Minority Viewpoints Chairperson, a member of the Committee of Chairs on Senate, on the President’s Council of Cultural Diversity, a member of the Wolf Fund Allocation Committee, a Peer Review Board member, a Huntington pen pal, etc. Staying involved with campus is so easy at Wesleyan that it’s really just a matter of picking what you don’t want to do or have time for.

I’m really looking forward to fall break, because I’m going camping. Camping Camping, the real kind. The kind with a tent and no electricity. So exciting! But, the highlights of my year thus far have been introducing Angela Davis at Visions and Ventures and NWU participating in Safe Quarters for the Friendship Home. There was a great turn our for both events, which was incredibly exciting to see!