My New Job - Ice-skating Coach!

I started a new job today!

I was at the Center Ice Arena in Ontario, California in November for an APU broomball game when I saw a picture of my classmate, Catherine, on the wall of ice-skating coaches. I started talking to Catherine about skating, and she told me that the rink was looking for assistant coaches. I talked to Catherine again yesterday, she called her boss, and within 10 minutes, I had a new job!

I'm going to be an assistant coach for the Tot level group skating classes, helping 4, 5, and 6 year-olds learn to skate, march, and of course, fall and get back up again. I'll be working at the rink every Saturday morning for a few hours, and I'm hoping to get back into lessons myself since I'll be at the rink so much anyway. I'm so excited to actually get to teach! Who would have guessed that my years of lessons at the Inn at the Seventh Mountain in middle and high school would turn into a job during college?! I'm so excited!

High Sierra Semester Spring 2007

I'm currently in the process of applying to attend APU's High Sierra Semester this Spring. High Sierra is a semester held in Yosemite at a summer camp leased by APU during the school year. The program is limited to 30-50 participants each semester, and students live together in close community while learning in the beauty of the Sierras! Each student is required to take a class in outdoor leadership and participate in activities such as camping, backpacking, hiking, and rock climbing. The camp is somewhat isolated, so recreation time includes typical summer camp activities such as wake boarding, as well as many fun and creative events planned for the students. I'm actually also applying to be a Resident Advisor for the High Sierra semester. This is different in many ways than being an RA on campus, so I'll write more about this part of the program when I learn more about the specific duties of an RA at High Sierra.

I've been sitting at Starbucks for the past hour working on my application essays, and I think I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I would LOVE input on the essays though and suggestions for improvement. I liked the questions and had fun coming up with answers to them. Let me know what you think!

Love,
Kimberly

To learn more about the High Sierra program and read more about what I'll be doing there, click here.

My roommate from last year, Cassie, hanging on to a rock at High Sierra this semester


Essay Questions

Why do you want to participate in this program?

This past year, I’ve fallen in love with nature and the outdoors. Growing up in Central Oregon, an outdoorsman’s paradise, I’d always taken the beauty around me for granted. Moving to APU last year opened my eyes in new ways to the world in which I’d grown up. When I returned home for the Summer, I had a new appreciation for pristine pine trees, snow capped mountains, clear blue skies, and wild rushing rivers. As I began to really explore the wilderness around me, I discovered something that I hadn’t expected to find. The more time I spent in the quiet stillness of nature, the more I felt God’s presence around me and the more I stood in awe of His power, magnificence, and beauty. The intricacies of every leaf, the heights of every mountain peak, and the songs of every bird in the sky speak a language of God that I’d never fully understood before. I love the way that God reveals himself to me through the majesty of His Creation. I want to spend a semester in Yosemite, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, in which I can fully bask in the glory and beauty of God’s Creation and continue to draw closer to Him in new ways.

I love people, and I love sharing life with others in close community. One thing that draws me to High Sierra is the opportunity to live in close relationships and contact with my fellow students and professors. So many lessons in life can be learned from listening to the unique stories, journeys, joys, and struggles of each person. I love seeing others grow and experience new things, and I love seeing how God works in the lives of each of His children. I’ve heard so many stories about the close relationships formed at High Sierra and the amazing opportunity to share a semester with such a small group of people in community. I want to attend High Sierra because of the fellowship experienced among the students, staff, and professors.

Whether in activities, relationships, or academics, I love being challenged. In an environment as intimate as High Sierra, each student is challenged to perform at academically high levels and is stretched to think and learn in new ways. I believe some of the most valuable lessons of college can be learned from one’s peers, and I enjoy and value classes with high levels of discussion and participation. I also enjoy being challenged to try new things and develop new skills. I don’t have a great deal of experience with outdoor activities, but I have an enthusiasm and love of learning that make each new task a chance to grow and develop both physically and mentally. I’m looking forward to the unique opportunities for adventure, learning, and recreation that Yosemite affords.

What does it mean to be a Christian scholar?

The human mind is an amazingly complex instrument with incredible capabilities and capacities. The mind can be used for good or evil and can be exercised or wasted at will. When we surrender our hearts and minds to God as His followers, we have the responsibility and privilege of using our minds to bring Him glory. To be a Christian scholar is to use one’s mind in a way that maximizes the intellectual gifts of each individual to glorify God and impact the world for Him. Christian scholarship involves diligence, discipline, excellence, courage, humility, and obedience. It is the sharpening of one’s mind and one’s views in ways that align the heart and thoughts with God’s. Christian scholarship means being able to think critically, speak confidently, and love deeply through a greater understanding of the world and our part in the world.

Oooo, Oooh, Ahhh, Ee

Yesterday was my first voice lesson with Brenda Reinebach, the previous head of the APU voice department, considered by many to be the best voice professor at APU. I was so incredibly nervous!!! Mrs. Reinebach is quite a character! She's amazingly talented, passionate, and loves her students, but she's very intense and can be very intimidating. I wanted to study with her because I know that she's tough and makes her students the best that they can possibly be! Mrs. Reinebach requires her students to practice 10 hours a week, so studying with her will be very demanding, but I know it will also be very rewarding.

My voice lesson was really, really good. It was probably the most physically difficult and exhausting lesson I've ever had, but it was fun because I knew that I was learning a lot. We worked a lot on tongue and jaw placement and proper body alignment and stance. I never realized how precisely the tongue can be manipulated to create more space and a bigger sound! Mrs. Reinebach also made a comment that I thought was interesting. She talked about the structure of my face and the fact that it has excellent shape for singing performance. She said that I have a wide eye box, very bright and round cheek apples, and a sloping jaw which are all physically desireable qualities that people like to watch when a singer is performing! I thought it was funny to learn that my face is biologically designed to perform! Funny, huh?

I'm really excited to be working with Mrs. Reinebach, and I'm really excited to improve this year as her student!

Blessings Pour Like Rain

I just finished my first month at APU, and I'm just amazed at how much God has blessed me here this year. Yes, this year has already had its rough spots and illness and stress and loneliness, but it's also had some of the most fun times with amazing people and lessons learned from God every single day! I'm amazed how even disappointments seem to work out and turn into blessings. This weekend is a perfect example.

I was supposed to go to Yosemite with APU to spend three days in the mountains and hike Half Dome. I've been looking forward to this for the last six weeks. However, I am severely allergic to Southern California and have been sick the entire time I've been here. This week, my cold progressed to a deep chest cold with shallow breathing and coughing. I had to cancel my trip to Yosemite. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I now have a whole weekend free to relax, catch up on homework, organize my apartment, go to the gym, and spend time with God. God knows that sometimes we just need down time to relax and be rejuvinated.

I came back to APU so excited to see my best friend, Jenna, and pick up our friendship where we left off in May. Unfortunately, Jenna was busy with Alpha leader training and bonding with the other Alpha leaders and spending time with her team from Thailand. At first, it was really hard for me to deal with the change in our friendship. Since I wasn't spending time with Jenna, I was able to spend a lot more time with some of my other friends from last year who are all rooming together. I became so much closer with them and now have four more amazingly great friends! While I still don't see Jenna as much as I did last year, we're back to being good friends again now too. If Jenna and I had remained close from the start of the semester, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to become such good friends with with Jenn, Stacey, Laura, and Ashley!!I love these little blessings in disguise that keep pouring out.

So this blog is a new way for me to keep contact with everyone from home. I'm going to update this with little stories and random thoughts from this semester. I love how the Internet helps people stay connected! ;o)

Here are some pictures from this year so far:

My amazing Strengths Group during Training in August

On the way to Redondo Beach for Lauren's birthday two days before school started

Standing IN a fountain at Downtown Disney with Jenn for my birthday

At Two a Tea in Glendora with (a different) Jenn and (a different) Jenna for my birthday

An African tree at the LA Arboretum on my birthday weekend

My favorite tree at the LA Arboretum

The LA Arboretum waterfall...so beautiful!

I Love Reading About People I Love...

Well, I decided to make this Blog just so that I can comment on the blogs that my friends write. I have so many friends who have gone abroad and use this site to keep in contact with family and friends. I love reading about their adventures and travels, so I thought I'd make my own account so I can leave them all comments. So, don't expect any incredible posts written on this page by me...