Hi All,
As I sit in my dorm room and type on my computer for the final time this semester, I would like to take a few moments to reflect on the past academic year. I just completed my freshman year of college, two semesters that seemed to fly by, and experienced a great deal of new and exciting things.
I learned a lot, made a lot of new friends, went to a great deal of Penn State football games (including when I flew out to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl), saw the Penn State Men’s Basketball team win on numerous come from behind occasions and buzzer beaters, went to Madison Square Garden (twice) to see Penn State be crowned champions of the National Invitational Tournament, participated in the largest student run philanthropic effort in the world (THON – a 46 hour straight no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon which raised $7.49 million for pediatric cancer research), saw Sarah Palin speak, shook Bill Clinton’s hand, listened to Madeline Albright, started throwing in field events, competed in field events in Myrtle Beach (and will compete in Oklahoma in June in field events and handcycling), played Wheelchair Basketball on a team for the first time, and improved my skiing greatly.
That is a great way to live life – take the lemons that life gives you and make some delicious lemonade. I would have never done a quarter of the aforementioned things had I not followed the above philosophy.
I think I took advantage of almost everything college could throw my way. I hope that I have half of the great opportunities again when I return to Happy Valley in the fall.
College is truly a great thing – not just for the academics, but for all the opportunities and challenges it presents you with. It prepares you for the game of life.
I challenge all of you to take advantage of the opportunities that life throws your way and see how far you can go.
- Tracker
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“Many of life’s failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas A Edison
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Quick Update
Hi All,
It has been steamy out here in Happy Valley over the past few days! I am very happy that my dorm is one of the few that has air conditioning!
This weekend, we had our annual Blue & White Weekend where the athletic department hosted a carnival, football scrimmage, and other events. It was a great weekend and very nice to walk into Beaver Stadium for the first time this semester.
I found out that I got 1st Place in the discus and javelin and 2nd Place in the shot put down at Myrtle Beach. I am very satisfied with that as I was not expecting to place at all!
I also found out that I am going to the Endeavor Games in Oklahoma in June for field events as well as a handcycling race! I am looking forward to that!
Finals week is next week here at Penn State, so we are all starting to buckle down and start studying for our many exams! I have two final exams in class on Thursday and Friday, one exam on Monday, and an exam on Tuesday. I hope I do well!
I also have a home field meet on Tuesday after my exam, so after that meet I will officially be a sophomore! It is hard to believe that a quarter of my college career is over. It seems like just yesterday that I decided I was attending Penn State! It is amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun!
I will update you after finals week!
- Tracker
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" You must motivate yourself EVERYDAY!" - Matthew Stasior
It has been steamy out here in Happy Valley over the past few days! I am very happy that my dorm is one of the few that has air conditioning!
This weekend, we had our annual Blue & White Weekend where the athletic department hosted a carnival, football scrimmage, and other events. It was a great weekend and very nice to walk into Beaver Stadium for the first time this semester.
I found out that I got 1st Place in the discus and javelin and 2nd Place in the shot put down at Myrtle Beach. I am very satisfied with that as I was not expecting to place at all!
I also found out that I am going to the Endeavor Games in Oklahoma in June for field events as well as a handcycling race! I am looking forward to that!
Finals week is next week here at Penn State, so we are all starting to buckle down and start studying for our many exams! I have two final exams in class on Thursday and Friday, one exam on Monday, and an exam on Tuesday. I hope I do well!
I also have a home field meet on Tuesday after my exam, so after that meet I will officially be a sophomore! It is hard to believe that a quarter of my college career is over. It seems like just yesterday that I decided I was attending Penn State! It is amazing how fast time flies when you are having fun!
I will update you after finals week!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
" You must motivate yourself EVERYDAY!" - Matthew Stasior
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Southeast Wheelchair Games: Day 1
Hi All,
I am writing from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the Penn State Ability Athletic Team's suite on the 18th floor of a hotel on the beach with a balcony that has a view of the vast Atlantic Ocean.
This is my first time traveling on a trip to a competition and staying overnight and I must say that it is a great experience. We left Happy Valley yesterday at around 4:00 PM and drove a little less than half way before we stopped in Richmond, VA for a bit of a rest. This morning, we drove the final five and a half hours before arriving at Myrtle Beach. It was a very tight squeeze in the van as we had five people, five suitcases, a few backpacks, two wheelchairs, two throwing chairs, and a racing wheelchair.
When I got here, we registered for the competition right away and myself and another new athlete, Jake, had to be classified. Jake's classification was pretty cut and dry because his is an above the knee amputee without any other complications and he was very happy with his classification.
I was classified in a much higher category than I expected (about 15 to 20 classes higher) and tried to appeal it. When I went back down tonight, they were able to move me down one level. They said that my disability, Arthrogryposis, has symtoms that are all over the place and I was very hard to classify. This means that I will have to throw a heavier shotput than I was practicing with and that I will have much stiffer competition than I would have had if I got into the lower class.
Tomorrow, we have our throwing competition at 9:00 AM at a local high school. Myself, Jake, and a double amputee, Rohan, are throwing the javelin, shotput, and discus. Then, tomorrow night Jake and Rohan have a powerlifting competition. On Saturday morning, our final athlete, Maggie, has a series of wheelchair races to participate in.
I will update my blog tomorrow night to let you all know how we do representing the Nittany Lions!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------
"We all have our own little quirks. Some of our quirks are just more visible than others." - Anonymous
I am writing from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the Penn State Ability Athletic Team's suite on the 18th floor of a hotel on the beach with a balcony that has a view of the vast Atlantic Ocean.
This is my first time traveling on a trip to a competition and staying overnight and I must say that it is a great experience. We left Happy Valley yesterday at around 4:00 PM and drove a little less than half way before we stopped in Richmond, VA for a bit of a rest. This morning, we drove the final five and a half hours before arriving at Myrtle Beach. It was a very tight squeeze in the van as we had five people, five suitcases, a few backpacks, two wheelchairs, two throwing chairs, and a racing wheelchair.
When I got here, we registered for the competition right away and myself and another new athlete, Jake, had to be classified. Jake's classification was pretty cut and dry because his is an above the knee amputee without any other complications and he was very happy with his classification.
I was classified in a much higher category than I expected (about 15 to 20 classes higher) and tried to appeal it. When I went back down tonight, they were able to move me down one level. They said that my disability, Arthrogryposis, has symtoms that are all over the place and I was very hard to classify. This means that I will have to throw a heavier shotput than I was practicing with and that I will have much stiffer competition than I would have had if I got into the lower class.
Tomorrow, we have our throwing competition at 9:00 AM at a local high school. Myself, Jake, and a double amputee, Rohan, are throwing the javelin, shotput, and discus. Then, tomorrow night Jake and Rohan have a powerlifting competition. On Saturday morning, our final athlete, Maggie, has a series of wheelchair races to participate in.
I will update my blog tomorrow night to let you all know how we do representing the Nittany Lions!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------
"We all have our own little quirks. Some of our quirks are just more visible than others." - Anonymous
Sunday, April 5, 2009
WE ARE....NIT CHAMPS!
Hi All,
What a week here in Happy Valley. The Penn State Men's Basketball Team won the first championship of a national tournament in program history. While it was not the NCAA, the NIT still gives students a team to rally behind.
On Tuesday, our team headed to Madison Square Garden to play Notre Dame. Over sixteen busloads of students (myself included) made the five hour voyage from State College to New York City to watch Penn State beat the Irish! We were all excited after we won!
On Thursday, our competition was a bit stiffer. Over 36 busloads of students (myself included again) made the trip to Madison Square Garden to watch Penn State knock off Baylor in a come from behind 69-63 victory to win the NIT Championship! It was such a great experience to watch my team hoist a trophy and cut down the nets in the mecca of all sports, Madison Square Garden!
On top of that, the #40 recruited player for 2010, Taran Buie, brother of our co-captain, Taylor Battle, committed to Penn State after we clinched the NIT championship! We are so excited for what our program may become - Penn State will always be a football school, but basketball is definitely on the rise!
As far as my life is going, I am in the middle of the final stretch of tests before a break before finals week. I have been averaging three to four tests a week and can't wait for the summer to have the burden of school lifted off of my shoulders. College is fun, but is also a lot of work. It is all about maintaining that balance of work and fun - I had my fun last week with Penn State winning the NIT and now it is time to start buckling down for the home stretch of my freshman year!
- Tracker
------------------------------------------------------------
"Numbers, you can beat numbers sometimes. Records can be broken, but legacies, they live forever, and that's what I want to leave with." -- Jamelle Cornley (Penn State Forward; Senior)
What a week here in Happy Valley. The Penn State Men's Basketball Team won the first championship of a national tournament in program history. While it was not the NCAA, the NIT still gives students a team to rally behind.
On Tuesday, our team headed to Madison Square Garden to play Notre Dame. Over sixteen busloads of students (myself included) made the five hour voyage from State College to New York City to watch Penn State beat the Irish! We were all excited after we won!
On Thursday, our competition was a bit stiffer. Over 36 busloads of students (myself included again) made the trip to Madison Square Garden to watch Penn State knock off Baylor in a come from behind 69-63 victory to win the NIT Championship! It was such a great experience to watch my team hoist a trophy and cut down the nets in the mecca of all sports, Madison Square Garden!
On top of that, the #40 recruited player for 2010, Taran Buie, brother of our co-captain, Taylor Battle, committed to Penn State after we clinched the NIT championship! We are so excited for what our program may become - Penn State will always be a football school, but basketball is definitely on the rise!
As far as my life is going, I am in the middle of the final stretch of tests before a break before finals week. I have been averaging three to four tests a week and can't wait for the summer to have the burden of school lifted off of my shoulders. College is fun, but is also a lot of work. It is all about maintaining that balance of work and fun - I had my fun last week with Penn State winning the NIT and now it is time to start buckling down for the home stretch of my freshman year!
- Tracker
------------------------------------------------------------
"Numbers, you can beat numbers sometimes. Records can be broken, but legacies, they live forever, and that's what I want to leave with." -- Jamelle Cornley (Penn State Forward; Senior)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hartman Race
Hi All,
This past Saturday the Adaptive Sports Foundation hosted the annual Ralph Hartman Tribute Race. It was a great event and fun was had by all! I saw the best conditions that I have ever seen for a Hartman Race and it really allowed everybody to showcase the improvements they made over the course of the season! I finished with a silver medal and am already looking forward to next season!
I am now back in Happy Valley after my Spring Break, so I've been very busy with work as I had to give a speech on Tuesday and a big test on Thursday. Now that the week is over, I can breathe a bit easier and look forward to the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Penn State Men's Basketball Team got robbed of an NCAA berth and wound up with a #2 seed in the NIT as our consolation prize. Some students are extremely disappointed, but I have chosen to move on and enjoy the fact that we have a postseason. Also, a huge plus to being in the NIT instead of the NCAA is the opportunity for home games.
Since we were the #2 seed, we played George Mason at home on Tuesday. George Mason was a #7 seed that gave us a run for our money! We almost lost and, as a matter of fact, trailed for the majority of the second half. With 4.8 seconds left and George Mason up by one, we fouled one of their players who made both of his free throws. Down by three, our star player, Taylor Battle, got the ball and ran down the court and released the ball with under a second left from beyond the arc. The ball went in and the game was sent into overtime! We wound up winning that game and moving on to the second round! It was a great game to be at!
The second game was held last night (Thursday) and was against Rhode Island, a #6 seed that we lost to earlier in the season. Many people blame our loss to Rhode Island as one of the many reasons that we did not get an NCAA berth. The game was marketed as "REVENGE" and it was revenge that we got! We never trailed in the game and won by 11 with a final score of 83-72. We thought it would be a bit closer as one of our captains did not play as he injured his shoulder. Our underclassmen stepped up and the game was a pleasure to watch! I had great seats for the game as I was in the first row of the student section at center court. I was literally right between the two TV announcers and was on TV for the pregame and halftime talks. It was so cool!
We play the winner of Florida and Miami (a game that is on ESPN U at 7:00 PM tonight). Ideally, we want Miami to win because Florida is the #1 seed which would mean we would have to travel. If Miami wins, we get one more home game this season. If we win our next game (whether it be home or away) we are in the final four and play at the Madison Square Garden!
As you can see, ski season may be over, but I am still extremely busy between schoolwork and sporting events! I am already looking forward to ski season next year, but am kind of excited for the warmer weather and baseball season.
I hope everyone had as great of a season as I did!
- Tracker
------------------------------------------------------------------
"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb
This past Saturday the Adaptive Sports Foundation hosted the annual Ralph Hartman Tribute Race. It was a great event and fun was had by all! I saw the best conditions that I have ever seen for a Hartman Race and it really allowed everybody to showcase the improvements they made over the course of the season! I finished with a silver medal and am already looking forward to next season!
I am now back in Happy Valley after my Spring Break, so I've been very busy with work as I had to give a speech on Tuesday and a big test on Thursday. Now that the week is over, I can breathe a bit easier and look forward to the weekend.
Unfortunately, the Penn State Men's Basketball Team got robbed of an NCAA berth and wound up with a #2 seed in the NIT as our consolation prize. Some students are extremely disappointed, but I have chosen to move on and enjoy the fact that we have a postseason. Also, a huge plus to being in the NIT instead of the NCAA is the opportunity for home games.
Since we were the #2 seed, we played George Mason at home on Tuesday. George Mason was a #7 seed that gave us a run for our money! We almost lost and, as a matter of fact, trailed for the majority of the second half. With 4.8 seconds left and George Mason up by one, we fouled one of their players who made both of his free throws. Down by three, our star player, Taylor Battle, got the ball and ran down the court and released the ball with under a second left from beyond the arc. The ball went in and the game was sent into overtime! We wound up winning that game and moving on to the second round! It was a great game to be at!
The second game was held last night (Thursday) and was against Rhode Island, a #6 seed that we lost to earlier in the season. Many people blame our loss to Rhode Island as one of the many reasons that we did not get an NCAA berth. The game was marketed as "REVENGE" and it was revenge that we got! We never trailed in the game and won by 11 with a final score of 83-72. We thought it would be a bit closer as one of our captains did not play as he injured his shoulder. Our underclassmen stepped up and the game was a pleasure to watch! I had great seats for the game as I was in the first row of the student section at center court. I was literally right between the two TV announcers and was on TV for the pregame and halftime talks. It was so cool!
We play the winner of Florida and Miami (a game that is on ESPN U at 7:00 PM tonight). Ideally, we want Miami to win because Florida is the #1 seed which would mean we would have to travel. If Miami wins, we get one more home game this season. If we win our next game (whether it be home or away) we are in the final four and play at the Madison Square Garden!
As you can see, ski season may be over, but I am still extremely busy between schoolwork and sporting events! I am already looking forward to ski season next year, but am kind of excited for the warmer weather and baseball season.
I hope everyone had as great of a season as I did!
- Tracker
------------------------------------------------------------------
"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow." - Proverb
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Back to Back Races
Hi All,
I have my Spring Break this week - smack dab between two of the ASF Race Team's races. Unfortunately for me, it actually feels like Spring out there and not Winter. The snow is really starting to melt away which makes it very difficult for those of us with outriggers to ski in because it is so thick. Oh well - snow is snow (even if it is melting)!
This past Saturday we had our Michael Gray Memorial Race which is in memory of a Windham Mountain Instructor who passed away a few years ago. While the conditions were variable, the race team made the best of it and we enjoyed our second to last race of the season.
I won the silver medal and ASF Race Team newcomer, Jake Cassidy, won the gold medal in the Physically Disabled category. My father made his racing debut and came up with a lightening fast time of just over 40 seconds. It was certainly a great time had by all!
Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ski on Sunday because I caught a nasty bug that forced me under the covers for 21 hours straight!
This coming Saturday is the big Ralph Hartman Tribute Race and Pasta Dinner. Over 80 disabled racers usually compete in the race which is for everyone from beginners to experts! I can't wait for this race because it truly represents what the Adaptive Sports Foundation is all about and embraces the DSUSA motto, "If I can do this, I can do anything!"
I will update my blog again after my last tracks of the season, so have a great week!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------------
"You carry on no matter what are the obstacles. You simply refuse to give up - and, when the going gets tough, you get tougher. And, you win." - Vince Lombardi
I have my Spring Break this week - smack dab between two of the ASF Race Team's races. Unfortunately for me, it actually feels like Spring out there and not Winter. The snow is really starting to melt away which makes it very difficult for those of us with outriggers to ski in because it is so thick. Oh well - snow is snow (even if it is melting)!
This past Saturday we had our Michael Gray Memorial Race which is in memory of a Windham Mountain Instructor who passed away a few years ago. While the conditions were variable, the race team made the best of it and we enjoyed our second to last race of the season.
I won the silver medal and ASF Race Team newcomer, Jake Cassidy, won the gold medal in the Physically Disabled category. My father made his racing debut and came up with a lightening fast time of just over 40 seconds. It was certainly a great time had by all!
Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to ski on Sunday because I caught a nasty bug that forced me under the covers for 21 hours straight!
This coming Saturday is the big Ralph Hartman Tribute Race and Pasta Dinner. Over 80 disabled racers usually compete in the race which is for everyone from beginners to experts! I can't wait for this race because it truly represents what the Adaptive Sports Foundation is all about and embraces the DSUSA motto, "If I can do this, I can do anything!"
I will update my blog again after my last tracks of the season, so have a great week!
- Tracker
---------------------------------------------------------
"You carry on no matter what are the obstacles. You simply refuse to give up - and, when the going gets tough, you get tougher. And, you win." - Vince Lombardi
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