It’s beginning to look a lot like…

...Winter! Well, for some Midwestern folks, maybe not so much. Our weather lately has been pretty fantastic. Not too cold, not too hot. Just today our high is 43 F with rain. That’s right, it's raining, not snowing. A huge reason why I love and voluntarily moved to the Midwest is due to the beautiful seasons, my favorite being fall and second favorite being winter (due to the snow of course). Snow is something that I’m very much looking forward to seeing this winter, but since we currently do not have snow in Oxford, going to hockey games makes it a lot better! This past Friday & Saturday, our No. 7 ranked hockey team played against the No. 9 team Michigan at our Goggin Ice Arena. Kudos to them for playing an outstanding game and winning 2-0 Friday and 2-1 Saturday. For highlights of the game please visit http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/mioh-m-hockey-body.html.

Also playing this weekend was our women’s basketball team, 2008 MAC Tournament Champs! These women not only played a great game, but also had an outstanding victory against IPFW (Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne) 73-57. Go RedHawks! For highlights of that game you can visit http://muredhawks.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mioh-w-baskbl-body.html.

Saturday, as well, we had 32 high school juniors and seniors on campus. These students were here as part of the Multicultural Leadership Program-Summer Leadership Institute (MLPSLI) “Reunion.” MLPSLI is an intensive residential, pre-college program during which academic, leadership, and career-choice activities are explored through collaborative work with our corporate and other educational development partners.

***These are some of our MLPSLI students during their "Application 101: session and "How to understand your Financial Aid" presentation as well as a picture of the women's basketball game we attended.

MLPSLI participants must meet the following criteria:

• Student from an underrepresented population or who has a commitment toward promoting a deeper understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity
• Completion of the high school junior or sophomore year (preference will be given to current juniors)
• Completion of a challenging high school or college preparatory curriculum (AP, Honors, IB, post-secondary courses etc.)
• Leadership talent demonstrated in both school and community activities
• Good academic standing, most successful applicants have a minimum 3.1 cumulative GPA; however, students who have less than a 3.1 cumulative GPA but rank in the top 20 percent of their graduating class are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested in participating in the program for this summer, applications will be available sometime in early 2009 or visit our website at www.muohio.edu/mlpsli.

I hope everyone has a outstanding Thanksgiving this Thursday, and if you go out shopping this Friday for Black Friday, be safe. I definitely know firsthand how crazy it might get! Let me know what you’re doing. I will be here in town eating a feast with my partner and his family.