Steph's Spot

At What Cost? I hate the cost of college. Whether it’s a public or private university, or a community college, the price is absolutely outrageous. I understand that this level of schooling allows you to specialize in a certain field, but how is spending 40k a year going to “pay off” in the years to come? Higher education is expensive as nards, and there are many causes for this. As the cost of college keeps climbing, it’s challenging to understand the exact reasons why. One justification universities might use, is the cost of living. Rooming in dorms is popular, which can add to the overall funds needed. Another reason might be due to the fact that the education is specified, and helpful in order to get the type of job one aspires for. There are many dangers in regards to the cost. Many cannot attend higher education institutions, or the one they dream of, because of how expensive is. Because college education is expected when entering the job field, those who cannot afford i...

Within the past couple of weeks, I've made the aggressive and undeniable realization: Lewis is not the school for me. Yes, I'm here for athletics, and yes I'm here to start my journey to become a doctor, but how did I end up here? Almost exactly a year ago I got a call from the swim coach here and within 2 weeks I had a recruit visit, scholarship offer, verbal commitment, and signed my National Letter of Intent. Two weeks. I had offers from other schools and recruit visits planned, but I think I was just trigger happy and just said whatever and signed with Lewis. I didn't realize everything else that was out there...even the opportunity to swim BIG10 or SEC. I can easily blame myself for making the decision too quickly, but now I feel stuck. I live around 45 minutes away, but don't have a car. I'm locked in to swimming 20 hours a week, when I could easily have a job in that time or even be able to study. This has be a very stressful time for me, trying to decide...

Depicted above is something that never fails to move me. This is the University of Iowa fans turning away from the football game after the 1st quarter of the Big 10 football game, to wave to the patients watching from the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.  I think it's incredible enough that Iowa placed the children's wing to overlook the football field, but to then have 70,000 fans turn and wave is absolutely amazing to me. I've watched some videos on this event from the perspective of some of the kids in the hospital watching, and they said it's "life changing" and "means so much more than just a wave", and that just gets me right in the heart. I think that since schools have shifted so much of their energy to athletics, the fact hat they're able to use their platform in such a positive way is great. The wave happens at every home game, after the first quarter, and the whole stadium participates, fans, players, coac...