Puerto Rico

Our team traveled to Puerto Rico to play in the Puerto Rico Classic, December 19-23.  We played some great competition, came away with two wins, spent a lot of time together as a team, and explored a bit while we were there.

Once we arrived on Day 1, we had to check out the beach right away.

We played Randolph-Macon College at the University of Puerto Rico - Bayamon and the University of Scranton at the University of Sacred Heart. The picture above was taken outside the gym at Sacred Heart.

After we played Scranton, we spent the rest of the day exploring Old San Juan.  It was a beautiful drive along the coast from our hotel to Old San Juan.

Our Team taking in the sights

We checked out the Fort San Felipe del Morro.  It was built in the 16th century. 

After checking out the Fort, we walked around Old San Juan.

The following day, we explored El Yunque National Forest.  It is the only rain forest that belongs to the U.S. Forest Service. 

All in all, it was a great experience.  You can check out more pictures of our trip on our Facebook page. 

Another Kind of College Sport

Check out this opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer written by F&M President Dan Porterfield. 

Last Week of Class

We are down to 4 days left of class this semester.  It's hard to believe how fast time has gone by.  Our players are putting a lot of time into their end of semester projects and papers while preparing for their final exams next week.  During the midst of this extremely busy week academically, we have two games on the road.  We take on Gettysburg tomorrow and then travel to Haverford on Saturday.  Both are tough conference opponents.  Follow our great game coverage on GoDiplomats.com!

Player Spotlight: Colleen Bott '13

Colleen directing runners at the Race Against Racism.

What do you love about F&M?

The beautiful campus, great professors, challenging academics, and all my friends on the basketball team.

Who is your favorite professor and why?

Professor Kurland - she is always teaching us new things in fun ways and always willing to help students in and out of class.

If someone was going to portray you in a movie, who would it be and why?

Bethany Hamilton in Soul Surfer because I have a passion for surfing!

If you could travel any where in the world, where would you go?

Australia - great waves and beaches to surf and a beautiful place to explore. 

Who is your favorite athlete?

Kelly Slater, won his 11th World Surfing Title this year and he is one of the world's best surfers.

Player Spotlight: Tracy Hahn '13

What do you love about F&M?

Tracy during our Minute to Win It competition last year.

I like the diversity of students.  There are so many people with different backgrounds and stories from which to learn.

Who is your favorite professor and why?

Professor Hawkins is my favorite professor because he made lectures interesting and told us his funny stories from working in Tunisia.

If you could travel any where in the world, where would you go?

I would want to go to Damascus because of the history and culture.

Who is your favorite athlete (past or present)?

Kyle Singler is my favorite athlete because he is an all-around great player.  He always works hard the entire game. 

Centennial Conference Championships

Good luck to our volleyball and field hockey teams this weekend.  Volleyball is the number 2 seed heading into the championship weekend.  They take on Gettysburg tonight in the CC semi-finals.  Our field hockey team finished their conference regular season schedule undefeated and will host the CC Field Hockey Championships this weekend.  Tomorrow they play Haverford in the 1-4 matchup.

Go Dips!

Big Night

Tonight is a huge night for our fall sports teams.  Men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball and field hockey all take on Gettysburg today with playoff berths and playoff seeds hanging in the balance.  Follow the great coverage on GoDiplomats.com.

Go Dips!

Favorite Class - Kara Bacile '15

Kara is in her first semester at F&M and already has a tough time deciding what her favorite class is so far.  After she narrowed it down to two - she decided on her foundations class Living Well.  According to our course catalog: "Foundations courses seek to foster free inquiry in fundamental areas such as the individual, society and the natural world. These courses focus on questions and ideas that are central to human thought, perception, expression and discovery."  Kara's Living Well class combines Philosophy and Psychology.  Students have been discussing what makes people happy and recently have examined whether money affects a person's happiness.  According to Kara, Professor Merli is really funny and keeps the class interesting. 

Keep checking back for more favorite classes.

What a Great Weekend!

Wow!  What a great weekend. The combination of Family Weekend, Homecoming, and the Inauguration of our 15th President, Dan Porterfield, was a huge success.  Over 2,000 people were on campus for the weekend which was filled with countless events. 

On Friday evening, our team spent some time with members of the 1987-1988 women's basketball team before they were inducted into the F&M Athletics Hall of Fame.  

Immediately after, the 1987-1988 team headed over to the Hall of Fame Induction Reception and Dinner.  A big congratulations to the whole team - Head Coach Mary Fleig, Asst. Coach Lee Anne Grow, Chris Ditzler, Karin Henrikson, Michele Fisher Grubb, Monica Stockman, Anne Krumrine, Cathy Belser McBride, Carrie Scranton Johnson, Elise Reveno Crichfield, Patty Borosky Asinski, and Tracy Brundage.  They are just the 9th team inducted into the F&M Athletics Hall of Fame.  A very well deserved honor. 

On Saturday, our team was up bright and early for the Fummer 5K.  We ended up with 64 racers.  The weather held out, and while the course was definitely a little wet, I think a great time was had by all.  We hope the event will be even bigger and better next year. 

We continued the weekend with the Tailgate Extravaganza.  Our team had time to chat with alums who were back on campus as well as the family members of our players.  Then, during half time of the football game, the 1987-1988 Team was recognized with the other members of the HOF Class of 2011. 

The weekend was brought to a close with the inauguration of our 15th president, Dan Porterfield Ph.D.   Mary Shapiro '77, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was the keynote speaker.  Shapiro made the point in her remarks that while she certainly learned a great deal in her academic endeavors at F&M, it was her athletics experiences playing field hockey and lacrosse that gave her the confidence and leadership skills to put what she learned in the classroom into practice in the real world.  

Many more pictures from the weekend are on our Facebook page.  Check it out!   

Thank you to everyone who traveled from near and far to return to campus this weekend.  

Go Dips!

Favorite Class?

Check out this new short video from the F&M website.  We will soon be posting the favorite classes of our players to go along with it.

3 on 3 Tournament

Last night, our team hosted a 3 on 3 tournament for the F&M community.  We had 14 teams sign up, with close to 60 participants.  Some teams brought their own cheering section and one even brought a coach!  Emily Johnson '12 did a fantastic job organizing and running the tournament.  Our bracket guru for the evening was Tracy Hahn '13, who very aptly guided teams from game to game.  It was a fun night, and hopefully an event we can continue to grow.  Check out our Facebook page for more pictures. 

Start of the Year

This morning the college community gathered together for Convocation - to formally open the beginning of the year and to welcome the Class of 2015 into our academic community.  

During the ceremony, each College House presented their elected leader for this school year.  Each of the five college houses have their own governance system - a extraordinary opportunity for leadership and management that is rarely available to undergraduates.  Each House government has it's own social programming budget and are responsible for planning, organizing and funding a wide-range of activities within the Houses. 

It was a beautiful morning and a great way to kick off the start to the year!

 

The Class of 2015 processes through a tunnel of faculty members

A Look Ahead at the Stage

President Porterfield came down from the stage to directly address the Class of 2015

Fummer 5K

Join us on Saturday, September 24 at 9am for our Fummer 5K.  The race will take place out at Baker Campus on F&M's cross country course.  Runners of all levels are welcome and walkers are encouraged to participate.  All proceeds will go toward our trip to Puerto Rico in December.  We are very excited about this opportunity to bring together students, alums, parents and members of the Lancaster community.  We have great prizes lined up and there will be a tasty post-race spread.

There is a ton of stuff going on September 23-25 on campus as it is Homecoming, Family Weekend, and our big Inauguration Celebration of our 15th President, Dan Porterfield.  It will be a great weekend to be here.

We look forward to seeing you there!  Registration information is online.

A Look Inside the BOS Department

Allison Bauer '12 gives us a quick look inside the BOS Department in the Harris Center.  Business, Organizations and Society is a popular major at F&M and each year, national and international companies and corporations send representatives to campus to recruit our graduating students.  Learn more online: www.fandm.edu/business.

One of My Favorite Quotes

I like to use quotes a lot with our team - I put them on their lockers, put them on scouting reports and I give them a quote at the end of practice each day during the season.  One of my favorites (and I have a bunch of favorites) is a good one for the summer:

The best kind of pride is that which compels a man to do his very best work, even if no one is watching. - Anonymous

Summer Update by Emily Johnson

This summer I am working as a Program Manager for the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster. This job was offered to me after I spent about six months volunteering at a local middle school. I started volunteering once a week for about an hour for a school project on effective mentoring styles. After the project was over I decided I really liked the kids and the program, so I added a few hours and a few days as a volunteer. This ultimately led to a job. The program promotes "community schools" which allows the students to combine a school day with homework help, physical education, various enrichment clubs, and a chance for another meal. The summer provides the same basic opportunities, but without a school day. So far this summer we have done science experiments, made tie-dye t-shirts, cleaned up the community, gone on field trips, and planted flowers for the local women's shelter. Best of all, we play basketball everyday. Although basketball is a group favorite, I could really use a break from knock-out! :)

Summer Update by Allison Bauer

This summer I am a Summer Analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), an investment bank. I am working in the Global Banking and Markets portion (GBM) on the Capital Markets side. Capital Markets is basically the liaison between the markets side (sales and trading) and the companies or countries who want to issue bonds. When a company wants to raise funds in either the short or long term, they come to us with an idea of how much they want to raise and we work with them in help them decide on the correct price guidance and underwriting of bonds. Once this is done, we also allocate the number of bonds to different investors. So far this summer I have rotated through the high yield desk, investment grade desk and recently I started on the frequent borrowers group. I have learned a ton and although the hours are rough and the commute is too, I love it. I really can't wait to get back to school though, and especially for the season to start!

Summer Update by Megan Pauley

This summer I am a marketing intern in Villanova University's athletic department.  I work with two other interns to promote Villanova athletics around the greater Philadelphia region.  I research, schedule, and attend events that will help raise awareness for Villanova's athletic program.  I have been to a number of events so far including sports camps in the community, 5K races, and the Wawa Welcome America Party on the Parkway in Philadelphia on the 4th of July.  I have also attended Villanova sponsored events, like their various sports camps around campus and alumni weekend.  My internship has allowed me to meet a number of Villanova athletes and coaches, and I am learning a lot about the marketing aspect of collegiate athletics.

The Mindset to Make a Difference

F&M's new President, Dr. Dan Porterfield, has been on the job for about 3 1/2 months and recently sat down with the Lancaster Sunday News to discuss his impressions of F&M and his goals moving forward.  Check out the article.

Camp

We finished a great week of camp today.  Throughout the four days, we worked on ball handling and shooting, rebounding, on the ball defense and many other skills.  We played a number of competitive games and had a lot of fun in the process.  Tuesday was our Olympic competition day - teams chose a country to represent, dressed in the country's colors, and even brought in some fun facts.  Today, we finished the afternoon with the Tournament of Champions - using all the skills we learned in a competitive way.  Thanks to all the campers for a great week!  We are looking forward to next year. 

Team Jamaica made their own shirts for our Olympic Competition Day!

Reunion Weekend

This past weekend was the 2011 Reunion Weekend on campus.  Classes ending in 1 and 6 were back to celebrate with their former classmates.  It was neat to see so many people on campus, reuniting with folks they haven't seen in some time.  I also love to see alums walking around with their family, proudly giving a tour to their children. 

The weekend was packed with events and a good time was had by all!

CAMP!

It's hard to believe that it's about time for basketball camps to begin.  We will be running a skill development day camp June 13-16.  Check out our camp website for more information.  It will be a great week full of individual skill instruction, competitive drills, and lots of fun.  Please contact me with any questions.  

Class of 2011

Saturday's rain moved commencement inside but it did not dampen the spirits of the Class of 2011. The crowd celebrated the 541 graduates including our Class of 2011 women's basketball players, Ali Menna and Amy Chabitnoy. Both Ali and Amy played a huge role in the success of our 2010-2011 season and I know the alums are looking forward to adding some recent grads to the Odd Years team in the alumnae game.

During the ceremony, President Porterfield had some wonderful remarks about the making of meaning. Check it out online.

Despite the rainy weather, it was a great day. Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

 Amy Chabitnoy gets ready to walk across the stage to receive her diploma. 

Ali Menna receives her diploma.

The Class of 2011 celebrates. 

Race Against Racism

On Saturday morning, our team was up bright and early to volunteer at the 13th Annual Race Against Racism. The race is a local 5K that raises money for the YWCA and it's social justice initiatives. First, our team helped with the Kids Fun Run. There were three age groups - all were adorable. Then we got swept down the block to the staging area where our players helped get the runners organized by how fast they would run the race. Finally, we finished the morning helping fill and cap what seemed to be thousands of water bottles. It was a beautiful morning and great to be able to give back to our local community in this small way.

NCAA Hall of Champions

When I was in Indianapolis at the beginning of the month for our National Coaches Convention and the Final Four, I had the opportunity to spend some time at the NCAA Headquarters and the Hall of Champions. It is definitely worth a stop if you are in the Indianapolis area. Check out their website: www.ncaahallofchampions.org. New NCAA President, Dr. Mark Emmert, spoke to our group from the convention, then we had time to explore the Hall of Champions. Below are a few pictures.

Dr. Emmert speaks to our group.

The NCAA banner above is made of all these small squares depicting NCAA athletes.

TeamWork

Hundreds of student-athletes, coaches, members of clubs and campus organizations joined other members of the College community for TeamWork VIII on Sunday. In groups, we fanned out all over the neighborhoods surrounding campus to do litter sweeps, clean up projects at schools and churches and other neighborhood beautification projects. This was the 8th annual TeamWork, an event started and run by our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Our very own Allison Bauer is a co-president of SAAC this year and was instrumental in the event's organization and success. It was a great afternoon to spend together as a team while contributing to the greater good around campus.

Junior Allison Bauer gives instructions to the crowd.

Part of our team following the completion of our litter sweep.

Final Four

What great final four games! I just got back from Indianapolis where I attended our WBCA Coaches Convention and the Final Four. I heard some really insightful speakers during our convention that got me thinking about some new things we can do for our team and how we can continue improving all aspects of our program. The Final Four games were both fun to watch, especially when Notre Dame upset UConn. That set up a very exciting National Championship game that was back and forth until Texas A&M hit the game winning shot with time ticking down. Check out the pictures from Indy!

Early Saturday morning hundreds of people participated in the 4Kay Run/Walk to benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. This year the race was one lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was really neat to be out on the track and take in the sights.

You can almost get a sense of how banked the turns are at the track. It gets really steep in some spots.

At Conseco Fieldhouse

The National Anthem before the Championship game

Texas A&M vs Notre Dame

Texas A&M wins it!

The National Champions celebrate!