Get Dat Gold

This past week has been very exciting. As I said in my last post, I went at Atlanta this past weekend. Before I get to talking about my Atlanta trip, I would like to share a video with you. It's a video that was made at the Highlands Project (the afterschool program) and now it is on YouTube. I warn you though. Make sure your volume isn't too loud. It's quite comical and we had a fun time making it.

Now that you've watched that, on to the Atlanta trip. We left here on Thursday afternoon and drove to Ophelia, Georgia. On the way, we ate at a delicious Italian restaurant with Dr. Reiff's mom and dad. Then, we went to their house for birthday cake because it was Dr. Reiff's birthday. It was a good time.

Friday morning, we woke up and drove on into Atlanta. In addition to being plagued with kidney stones for the duration of the trip, I also ruined one of Dr. Reiff's handkerchiefs due to a random bloody nose. We went straight to St. Paul United Methodist Church which we called our home for the weekend. It was beautiful. It was built many years ago and the stained glass windows were amazing. We met and talked with the Pastor and she gave us a little bit of history about the church then just kind of hung out with us for a while. Soon thereafter, we left to go to the Gateway Center. The Gateway Center is a community outreach program run by the city of Atlanta to eradicate homelessness and assist those who may be facing homelessness. After taking a tour of the place, we played games with some guys who were residents there. It was great getting to talk to them. I learned how to play Chess! The most eye-opening part of the Gateway Center was walking through the women and children room and seeing lots of kids toys laying around in the make-shift bedrooms. It hit me hard. Later that evening, we went to a choir/orchestra concert and Emory University. It was good.

Saturday was the best day. We first went to Emmaus House. This place operates outreach programs to the youth in the area. The main thing we did was head over to a community center to assist with a community cook-out. It was great. There were a few community organizations there such as the YMCA and YWCA and they allowed kids to go around and learn about summer programs they offer and they could sign up for them. Here is the deal with this community: I looked around and we were the only white people anywhere. Normally, I would feel uncomfortable because of where I'm from. But, I didn't. I felt so welcomed. It was definitely a great feeling being welcomed into that community and I enjoyed that. Below is a picture of our group at the community center, and also a picture of us on the steps of the Emmaus House.

Later that night, we went to a friend of Dr. Reiff's house who he knew from seminary. The church she is a pastor at (Brookhaven United Methodist) does a lot of recovery ministries for recovering addicts. She had four people speak to us who were recovering addicts and at some point had a run-in with homelessness. This was very eye opening and I enjoyed it.

In retrospect, this trip was amazing. It was probably the best trip I have been on since I came to Emory & Henry.

This weekend, I am packing my stuff and heading to Cincinnati to hang out with my friend Colton. We're doing Cincinnati's Relay for Life (which I'm excited about because I haven't done Relay since high school), going to a Reds & Braves game, and just walking around the city some. Everyone knows my love of walking around places. I'm very excited about the weekend.

Below is a picture that was taken by my friend Alex. I really liked it and figured I would share. I hope everyone has a great week and weekend. Happy Earth Day tomorrow!

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Off to Atlanta

I'm off to Atlanta for the weekend with my Church & Community class! I'm really excited about this trip, although I'm going to miss my inauguration as student body president. It's ok though. I suppose I'll survive.

I will update when I get back. Here is a picture of me and Josh from this past week. He is the kid I work with at Highlands Project on campus who is now like my little brother. It may possibly be my favorite picture from this year. I'm gonna miss hanging out with him this summer while I'm in Ecuador and California.

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Easter & Good News

Hey everyone! This past week has been great. It was one of the most hectic weeks of my life, but maybe the most rewarding since I have been here at Emory & Henry. I, along with my good friend Rachel Preston, were elected President and Vice-President of the student body. It is going to be a large undertaking but I feel as if it will be well worth it. Our campaign picture is at the bottom of this post.

I leave for Ecuador exactly 4 weeks from today. I am getting slightly nervous. I need to make it a point to sit down and learn a little bit more Spanish. I found some podcasts on iTunes and I have been learning some from them. Although, the man teaching it is scottish and he has a strong accent and pronounces it differently than what I as an American would pronounce the words. It is helping me to learn greetings and such though.

I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me. Most of my upper level classes are not requiring me to take a final exam. Only two of my five classes I have final exams for. Most people would be excited about this, but with no final exam comes multiple long papers and projects. They are all due about exactly two weeks from now. I'm leaving this Thursday to go to Atlanta for my Church & Community class until Sunday. Then, the weekend after that I am going to Cincinnati to visit my friend Colton and plan our trip across the country.

I am getting very excited about the summer. I can't believe it's only 4 weeks away. It will fly by. Maybe something will come along later this week and I will have some good dough for a blog update.

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.

Future Prez & VP

Homeless, But Happy

Hey everyone! I just got in from an afternoon run and figured I would update you on the happenings of my life. This week has been exciting. Each year, our campus sponsors Cardboard City. All week, there is a group of cardboard boxes that students sleep in to promote awareness of homelessness here in our area. Well, I've been sleeping there for the past 3 nights...and tonight will make my fourth.

Monday was cold, Tuesday was rainy. I woke up at 5AM to the loudest crack of thunder I have heard in my life. The ground shook. I told my friends my heart was beating fast because it was so loud. About that time, rain began to downpour. We stayed dry for 2 or 3 minutes and we thought our box was going to make it. Then, water began to seep in. I was trying to find my shoes and my blankets and stuff was getting soaked and we were all freaking out. In the midst of things, I accidentally knocked the support stick out from under the roof and the roof collapsed. It was traumatic. My sleeping back and everything began to flood. At 5:15 in the morning, I was standing in the middle of a lawn in Emory, Virginia with my backpack and all soaked by the rain. I can only imagine what homeless people go through when things like this happen...regularly. Homelessness is an issue that needs to be addressed. There is more to it than people think, but that is for another day and another post. I have put some pictures of my cardboard house that was destroyed by the storm at the bottom of this post.

I have been working with Highlands Project, and afterschool public education program, all this semester. It has turned out to be one of the best things I have done while I have been here at Emory. I am a mentor on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings from 3-6. I have been working with Josh, the kid in the picture with me down below. It's kind of scary how much he and I have in common, now and even when I was in the 5th grade like him. He's a fun kid to work with and I kind of dread the year ending and not getting to work with him this summer. It will be hard. But, there is always next year! Below the pictures of cardboard city is a few pictures from the Highlands Project.

Everyone have a good evening! I'm off to visit a couple of my cousins and the back to cardboard city for the last night! It is supposed to rain. Oh goodness.

My house that collapsed during a severe thunderstorm.

Me laying in my cardboard house.

Standing on a shovel at the Highlands Project.

Our group after we caution taped a car.

Me and Josh playing with dirt...what?

Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.