My Iowa State Adventure
- Lexie Ruscheinski
- Jun 22, 2019
- 5 min read
When they say choose your adventure at Iowa State BOY THEY WEREN'T KIDDING!!
I could go on and on and on and ON about how much I love Iowa State University and I will in this post. I cannot say enough about this incredible university. I have personally grown so much as a woman, student, leader, and researcher. I made the most amazing memories with the most amazing friends and organizations and I discovered what I was passionate about. Some of my favorite things I will ~lightly~ touch on in this post include:
*Sorority Life
*Football Games
*My Favorite Classes (the inner nerd in me and work hard play hard am I right?)
*Hilton Magic
*The faculty and Leadership teams
*Other organizations I had been a part of (Dance Marathon, PINK Iowa State, Circle of Sisterhood, Phi Upsilon Omicron, etc.,)
*Traditions
Sorority Life:
Joining Alpha Chi Omega Sorority was truly one of the best decisions of my collegiate career. I always knew I wanted to join a sorority since I was young. My mom was an Alpha Chi Omega, making me a legacy, and Legally Blonde is also my favorite movie and Elle Woods is my hero so Duh. I always knew I wanted to get involved because I had always been involved in numerous clubs and activities throughout my whole life, but I NEVER thought I'd be as involved and passionate about Alpha Chi as I had become. I even thought about becoming a chapter consultant for a hot minute! During my four years as a member of Alpha Chi Omega, I served on the executive board as Vice President of Membership Programming, Risk Management Committee-Junior Representative, Recruitment Day Co-Chair and Bid Day Co-Chair.
Football Games:
I have always been a BIIIGGG football girl. I am a huge Chicago Bears fan and would watch football with my family all the time. Not going to lie, I really wanted a college with a pretty decent sports program because I love the atmosphere that sporting events bring. I always knew that Iowa State was more of a basketball school and Hilton magic was all the rage, but let me tell you, there is something truly magical about watching a team go from 3-9 and pretty pathetic to having a winning record and becoming BOWL ELIGIBLE AND RANKED. Those last two seasons were a special ride! Games at Jack Trice were electrifying and fans stayed no matter the outcome. Gives special meaning to "Loyal, Sons, Forever True".
My Favorite Classes:
Nerd alert and full disclosure I LOVED my major and classes. I've always been a bit geeky, but in college my true school-loving self came to bloom. My major was Child, Adult, and Family Services with an emphasis in Child Development. For a while, freshman and sophomore year, I wanted to change my major so bad to anything from Elementary Education to Public Relations to even Event Management. I had a lot of interests. What brought me back to my major were these fabulous classes with phenomenal faculty who were in the field and passionate about what they were teaching. My favorite classes included Education of the Exceptional Learner in a Diverse Society, Guidance and Group Management in Early Childhood, Children, Families, and Public Policy., and Literature for Children. These classes helped to foster my love for working with families and not just because of the content, but because of the highly driven professionals who wanted us to succeed and shard their experiences.
Hilton Magic:
Enough said. There is no atmosphere like Hilton Colosseum and Cyclone Men's Basketball. Hilton Colosseum ranks up there with Wrigley Field in terms of my favorite sports arenas/fields. If you are an ISU student you HAVE to experience Hilton Magic at least once if not a few times throughout your college career regardless if you're a basketball/sports fan or not. The atmosphere will make you feel like you could run through a brick wall!
The Leadership and Faculty Teams:
Iowa State has a student population of over 36,000 and you'd think you would be just a number and gone with the wind when it comes to ISU faculty and YOU BE WRONG. I was prepared to be treated like a number, but the complete opposite happened. From my advisor, to the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Engagement, and to other faculty I have come in contact with on campus, they have wanted nothing more than to develop their students into leaders in their own respective right. They wanted to know them on a personal level rather than just a number, and that to me is special as someone who came from hours away to attend this university, they truly made you feel at home.
Other Organizational Involvement:
My inner workaholic LOVED being involved in college. It helped to not only build a resume and manifest certain passions of mine, but I made the most incredible memories and made some of my best friends through this involvement. I joined Dance Marathon my freshman year (which if you know me, you know how much I LOVE DANCE MARATHON AND CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS AND THE FAMILIES AND THE KIDDOS WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING!). Dance Marathon helped manifest my love for children and families and grow my desire to one day work in a Children's Hospital (Hello Doctorate Degree). Joining VS PINK Iowa State my junior year fueled my love for event planning and all things girly, I was accepted into Phi Upsilon Omicron Honors Society to connect with individuals in my major and other faculty for professional development, and I did Greek Week Central because Greek Week at Iowa State is the BEST and truly the best time of the year and I wanted to connect with others in the Sorority and Fraternity Community.
Traditions:
OKAY this post is becoming Avengers:Endgame long so I'll wrap it up here with my favorite Iowa State traditions I took part in!
* Getting painted in head to toe cardinal and gold house paint for moving onto the 2nd and 3rd round of Yell Like Hell.
*Spending my first hallow/homecoming weekend with Alex and sharing a kiss under the camponile with fireworks going off in the background (Very Nicholas Sparks-esque and what makes it even better was we were being punny dressed as the mattress and the roommate back in boulder from Closer by the Chainsmokers)
*Participating in Greek Week with Lip Sync (even as a supporting role one year!), PARTICIPATING IN MY FIRST POLAR BEAR PLUNGE WITH FREEZING COLD WATER FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS, and participating in Special Olympics/ESPN's Unified Fest with other members of the Sorority and Fraternity Community to support the special olympics athletes.
*Smile-A-While with my fellow Alpha Chi's (if you know, you know).
So there is my Iowa State adventure in a nutshell! It's hard to believe the journey is over, but it was one of the best rides of my life thus far. Was it perfect? No, but I grew from every hardship and situation I was ever put in and I am thankful for those trying times. They tested me and I rose from it. So if you're at Iowa State or your respective university, ENJOY IT! Find your niche, have a bucket list, be involved. You seriously won't regret it.
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