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The following entries were made by sophomore Rebecca Olek.

May 28, 2010
My May

Wow. I feel like I haven’t written a blog in a while! But that doesn’t mean that nothing has been going on here at Mater Ecclesiae College! On the contrary, life has kept me on my toes! In this past month my sophomore class in particular hasn’t had a moment to blink. Since the very beginning of May with the ground breaking of our new library one event after another has found its way into our calendar. Some include contemporary socio political course with professor Dr. Donald DeMarco, our last cultural visit to NYC Metropolitan museum of art, a May crowning with our neighbors, and a  movie forum… all with final exams looming right around the corner.

Going to the MET seems like a strictly academic event, but not with my sophomore class! Of course we discussed and critiqued the art we saw (I think I have been converted to Impressionism, not so much Picasso, there was actually a special exhibit of his art, but more of Seurat and the pointillists) but we equally enjoyed the three hour drive to NYC.

The weather has cooperated and we have been able to have picnics outside all together. One such picnic the entire college sat around with President Luly Fernandez and Mónica Treviño, our vice chairman of the college’s board of directors, for almost two hours just talking. My Mexican companions call moments like that “chorchitas” (translated “little chats”) – we have many such moments.

I think that all the freshmen and sophomores have a special place in our hearts for the month of May because in the Catholic Church it is the month of Our Lady (alright, so all the student body and faculty here at MEC loves May, but the freshmen and sophomores have a special reason to love it.) Everyday we set aside a time to pray the rosary together and to sing songs to Our Lady. We’re not the most musically talented generations (the juniors definitely have the most musical ability) but just to spend time together sharing our faith is worth more to me than anything.

I am so grateful to all the students at MEC for being for me- and for everyone who steps foot here- a wonderful family. Most especially I am thankful for my sophomore class – if any of you are reading this blog:  THANK YOU!

March 9, 2010
A Peak Into the World of Art

I really wish I could have written his blog from the top of Mount Manadnock, the very summit that myself and all the students of ME College climbed to today!

It was great and it brought back memories of our last Easter climb to the top. It seems that it is becoming a tradition to go every year to climb this mountain during Easter Week – a tradition I am definitely not opposed to!

Today was different from the start. Right after our daily Eucharistic Celebration we packed our bags and headed out. We ate breakfast in the car and stopped to buy some cappuccinos (almost all of us wanted French vanilla, so by the end of our little stop the flavor was gone)!

When we got to the mountain we split up into small hiking groups. My group was made up of a freshman Danae Spieles and sophomores Laura Kulhman and Therese Maher, with a special guest hiker, ME College alumni Lori Lively. Lori is great; she has so much energy and enthusiasm that she motivated us all to be the first to the top, even though we were about the last group to start up. Every time we approached a group that was ahead of us, Lori would whisper to us, “Remember out unspoken objective! Let’s go!” We all understood that as the signal to form a single file and run ahead. It was tough at times, especially when the trail was nothing but rocks. It was funny, but throughout the hike our motto was “We’re not a team, we’re a family!” (Sometime as we were climbing someone quoted this from the movie “Miracle” and it stuck.) It was really motivating because it kept us going together.

When we reached the top we found a junior and a senior sitting together; they had left their group behind and made it up alone. That didn’t spoil our enthusiasm in the least – we had said that we would be the first group, family if you will, to the top, and as those two were missing half their group we could say in truth, “Mission accomplished!” (Ironic though it may seem, we were actually one of the last “families” down because we got a tad lost… I say we were only extremely disoriented, but maybe it’s because I was leading and am in denial that anything went wrong!)

The day ended at a favorite college location: Cold Stone Creamery – well almost ended. As soon as I finish these last lines I am off to bed. After a full day of family, fun, and being non stop on the go, I am really looking forward to my pillow!

Happy Easter!

March 9, 2010
A Peak Into the World of Art

Last weekend Mater Ecclesiae College emptied out: the freshmen to a day of fun in the newly fallen snow, the juniors to Boston to see the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, and the seniors and my own sophomore class to the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Each and every moment of that day was an invitation to learn something new, starting even before breakfast! The night before President Fernandez had told us that we might have to cancel the planned trips due to the weather forecast: snow, snow, and more snow. I know that the freshmen like snow, but for this once I was ready to say a prayer against it! So that morning as I entered the dinning room I heard the announcement that made my heart leap; the cultural visit was on!

My class was going specifically to view medieval art through renaissance art. So as soon as we arrived I immediately started looking for the collection of knights in shining armor. And I found them; a whole marching cavalry, ready and eternally waiting for the joust! Despite my desire to remain amid these artifacts of feudal Europe, my small group of four sophomores managed to stayed focused; we found paintings by Giotto and Duccio, Van Eyck and the Florentine school; we saw Rembrandt and Caravaggio and commented awhile about the chiaroscuro technique. We even saw several of Vermeer’s paintings. By the end of our three hour visit my head was spinning and I was ready to sit down in the car again and discuss all that I had seen with my classmates.

Driving back to Mater Ecclesiae College that night, more than anything, I was in awe by the great skill of man down through the centuries. The paintings that I saw, the sculptures, the tapestries – all reflected a picture of the sublime. All the artists sat down  to create something beautiful; I don’t think any of them said “Today I will create the most hideous painting ever, one that will be remembered down the ages.” When I was talking with the other sophomores, most of us agreed that we felt edified by the faith of the medieval artists; people who were unafraid to spend their lives to glorify a god that they couldn’t see, but who they knew to be beautiful.

So there’s a real lesson that I took from the day: beauty is a reflection of God. Another fruit of my philosophy studies – maybe. But a point that was driven home in a NYC art museum!

February 12, 2010
New semester surprises!

Well, it’s a new semester and that means some new classes and new teachers. One of my new professors is Dr. Stephen Schwarz; he teaches me Philosophical Anthropology. He is a real gift to the Mater Ecclesiae College staff in more ways then one. Not only is he an excellent professor, answering all of the questions that my class can throw at him and in such a way that makes us reflect and learn more, but he is also father to another one of our faculty members; Professor Mary Schwarz!

Yes that’s right; the sophomore class is graced with a father-daughter teaching duo! Between western civilization class with Professor Schwarz and Philosophy with Dr. Schwarz, the Schwarz family is keeping my mind at an intellectual high. What’s especially great about having two related teachers, though, is the special insight we get into their lives … it’s like we almost become part of their family! In our very first class with Dr. Schwarz, he told us part of his life story and passed around pictures. I quickly learned that my new professor had more than just your ordinary story! He was born in Germany to a family who valued greatly the powers of thought. His father was a close friend of both saint and philosopher Edith Stein. His mother’s family was friends to Einstein, and Dr. Schwarz recalls his mother telling him stories of going on boat rides with the great scientist. Later, after he and his family escaped from Nazi Germany they came into contact with the Von Trappe family. Dr. Schwarz continues to tell us bits of his story in class and I can tell you it is one of the highlights of my week!

However, Dr. Schwarz’s story isn’t just one of impressive names and places, but of a true search and longing for the truth; a truth that he found answered in Philosophy and deeper still in the Catholic Church. This thirst for truth and knowledge has been well imparted to Mary Schwarz, and I have only gratitude for both of them for wanting to help me on my way towards that truth as well.   I’m thoroughly enjoying my classes already and I can’t wait for the surprises this semester still has in store!

December 10, 2009        
Where Was Winter Hiding?

When December 1^st rolled around and the weather was still about 50 degrees, I had to ask myself, “Where is winter hiding?” I’ve been in RI long enough now to know that winters here are nothing compared to those in my hometown in upstate NY – but to still be able to play basketball with my companions, outside, with no coat on, in December made me raise my eyebrow and a prayer.

As much as I wanted to see snow I was also getting impatient for the freshmen from Mexico who had never even seen it before. I thought of how frustrating it must be for them to be so well into winter without any sight of snow! Not to mention that with the constant drizzle of rain we had been getting, anyone could have mistaken the campus to be located in Ireland.

But the glorious day finally came and with it a lesson that I will never forget. It was December 5^th. I had spent the day in Providence, RI with the rest of the sophomore visiting the Cathedral and the art museum at Rhode Island School of Design. In the evening as I was walking outside to get to my classroom my mind was so focused on the events of the day that though I was happy to see the snow, it didn’t even faze me. But the happy laughter of two Mexican freshmen, Pili and Alexa, I had to stop and watch. I watched them make their first snowballs and taste their first snowflakes. They were fully enjoying something I had taken for granted since the first moment my I could play outside in the winter. “It’s just like being in the Narnia movies!” Pili laughed, and I had to laugh with her.

At that moment, a phrase from our first philosophy lecture at the beginning of the year, came to mind: “Wisdom begins in wonder.” Snow is so familiar to me that I had forgotten how to wonder at it! Well, I finally understood that very first lecture on the day of my last philosophy class of the semester! When I can stop and look with the eyes of a child, with all the wonder, with all the simplicity, with all the joy at the very ordinary things in my day; when I can be grateful for everything; when I can stop and marvel at a snowfall, then, maybe then I’ll really start to be wise!

And I have my freshmen companions and the first snowfall of the season to thank for that! 

November 3, 2009        
Celebrating a Catholic Halloween!

I don’t think anyone who grows up with the excitement of Halloween could ever forget October 31^st. Dressing up, trick-or-treating, eating lots of candy, staying up late, all of that sound like a child’s dream to me (at least it was mine!). But how often I forget where Halloween originated from… All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saint’s Day, November 1^st, and All Souls Day, November 2^nd.

All Souls Day here is a special day for all the students but this year was especially meaningful for me. As a student body we follow the tradition of the Church and visit a cemetery to pray for all the souls of the deceased. I remember that last year we went to visit the cemetery where Mrs. Mee, an older consecrated woman and resident of Mater Ecclesiae College, was buried. She died in 2007, a year before my freshman year, so the upperclassmen and faculty members knew her well. Visiting where she was buried was like entering more into the family here at Mater Ecclesiae College because the whole car ride there the Sophomores told stories about Mrs. Mee, some funny, some deep, but all of them painting a beautiful picture of who this woman was.

This year I found myself doing the same thing with the freshmen. Though I had only met Mrs. Mee once or twice before she died, she still managed to impact my life and knit me more tightly to a place we both call home and with people we both know as family. I hope that this year’s freshmen experienced the same family spirit through Mater Ecclesiae’s Catholic Halloween!

October 1 , 2009
Geography Showdown!

Today we had our first contest of the year; a freshman-sophomore versus junior-senior geography showdown! We’ve been preparing for the past month using packets that our study advisors put together for us specifically on the geography of Central and South America and Oceania.

In the second week of the contest senior Sonia Baldwin from Australia and academic advisor Lisa Small from New Zealand, prepared presentations about their countries and showed us many pictures from their homelands. That got me really into the contest, not so much to compete, because now I’m really interested in knowing where my fellow students have come from! I was talking to a freshman from Colombia, Cata Melo, and she was so excited that I even knew where Bogota was and that it was the capital of her country (and then I really impressed her by telling her the whole name of the capital: Santa Fe de Bogota!). 

If I thought the preparation for the contest was great, really, it compared nothing to the actual contest. The dynamics were so well prepared and there was such a good variety of individual and team activities that I was really able to see how much I knew and what else I need to keep reviewing. The best part though was when Tanielle Tucker, one of the administrators of the college, came up and gave us a presentation about her home county of the Bahamas!

I really enjoyed this contest; it has opened my eyes to seeing just how important it is in our relationships with other to know and appreciate where they come from. I wouldn’t like to be lost on a map without an identity; so I don’t want to lose others on a map either!