Thavanvotey Luong '19

As you may have seen in the news about the campus-wide ENGAGE Summit: Where Do We Go From Here? that happend at Holy Cross on Friday Nov. 16 after an Oct. 27 assault that has left our community shaken. To Quote the Boston Globe,  “Holy Cross cancels classes to hold summit on confronting hate, fostering tolerance.” This event all started with a discussion in my Createlab class around this issues. The discussion compelled many students and community members to sign a letter (that was written by one of my createlab professor, Leah Cohen) addressed to the President of the College, Fr. Boroughs.

 



The two pictures above were taken a few days prior to the ENGAGE summit. I was impressed by the involvement and the engagement of our student body at the event.

 

The following photos captured different moments on campus that I thought would be nice to share with you all!

One of the college’s acapella groups performing at Coolbeans at 10 pm!

I proudly took a selfie of a poster I created for the Senate Intellectual Life committee to advertise the academic services and learning resources.

One of the RAs in our building baked about 22 pies for us!

Dear friend Jerome cut up turkey for our Senate thanksgiving dinner!

Enjoying some late night Friendsgiving dinner with Edith!

Friends came over to take part in my town’s parade (and to support my little brother’s boyscout).

Mother prepared us hot soup after the parade! Our friendship “from passport [program] till now and to many more years”


That’s it for now! Stay warm!

 

Votey

Even after three and a half years being on Mount St. James, I am still heavily bleeding purple! As I am wrapping up my last fall semester at Holy Cross, I would like to share with you FIVE things that I have learned (thus far) as a senior on campus:

1.   Senior year is a marriage between excitement and anxiety! One big happy family!
I am so excited to take on my post-undergraduate journey and to experience everything that the adulthood has to offer, but at the same time, I can’t help feeling a little anxious about uncertainties. Fortunately, I am pretty good at trusting my own judgement and I am confident in the education that I have obtained here at Holy Cross. I know that everything will work out for the better! Plus, uncertainties are things that make life more exciting anyway!


Dear old Friend Georgina and I representing the marriage between excitement and anxiety

2.   It is never too late to foster new friendships. Never too late to rekindle old friendships.
Senior year is weird. It’s the weird transition between college-hood and adulthood. I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever see some of my classmates again after graduation- especially those that became closer over the years.


3.     Balancing was KEY before—Balancing is EVERYTHING now. 

Academics have always been my first priority. But goodness. I had to learn and take a few steps back the hard way. It is so easy to get overwhelmed on a campus like ours due to the academic rigor, standards, and expectations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s bad, but hey. When will be the next time we get to experience life as a college senior year again? We only have a few years in the early 20’s, right? Come on; live a little (in a safe and responsible manner, of course).

Decided to join friends for dinner at Williams Hall instead of locking myself in the basement of Dinand Library

 

Edith’s 21st birthday! I’m spending more time talking with Edith (my friend and roommate) instead of rushing to go to bed early each night

 

Allowing myself to indulge in friends and their companies at the dinner table instead of rushing back to the Science library each time

4.    This is the year where I MAKE TIME for different undergraduate extracurriculars.

I have to admit that I have been on the email list for some of the clubs and organization since freshman year, but never really made the time to attend the events or meetings because I was always “too busy”. Well, I went and tried out the HC Ballroom Dance club the other night for the first time in three years and boy oh boy… I wanted to kick myself for not showing up earlier in my academic career. Luckily, it’s not too late yet for me! I have about half a year left to try out more things!

Made time to practice and take parts (as a model and one of the MCs) in a FASHION SHOW! Best decision ever!

Made new friends along the way!

 

Grandfather, father, and little brother came to support me at the DESI’s fashion show

5.    Senior year is the year to become even more INSPIRED (by others and self!), AWESOME, and COMPASSIONATE! 

Alright. Fall semester is realllllly close to the end. I’ve been on campus for a while now; I had and (hopefully) done with the stressful/awkward period where I had to “figure out my self” (aka- major, and other “college-stuff”) so I can definitely use this time to focus on something else that benefits me both academically and personally. I finally realized that maybe it’s about time to really reflect and focus on my well-being and happiness on a different and deeper level!

Grateful to have been invited to join this year HC Alumni Association dinner and to have met such inspiring individuals!!!

 

Senate weekly meeting featuring in this photo, our guest, Dr. Mark Shelton (director of Holy Cross libraries)

 

Student Government Association fall retreat

Bonding time at the SGA fall retreat!

Research Symposium ’18 with Friends!

 

One of the cool stuff we did in lab!

Roomie and I at the senior ball! AKA “college prom” or “college pramh”

Sandy’s smile can heals all wounds

That’s it for this week! See you all soon!

 

Stay awesome,

Votey

View from the Hoval at 12 am on a random Thursday night

Greetings!

I hope you all are doing great! My semester is off to a wonderful start, and I am grateful- more than ever- to be spending another semester bleeding purple!

What I wake up to every morning!

It is really exciting to finally be an upperclassman (less than two years away from graduation!), but it is also sad that I only have two years left being apart of this awesome campus community!

Date night with my roommate, Edith at one of our favorite Phó restaurant

 

Celebrated our friend, Greg’s 21st Birthday!

 

My Friend, Josh walked all the way from our science library to his dorm (through a summer’s humid) to bring me his physics textbook! #HCKINDNESS #<3

 

My third-year attending the midnight theater

Currently, I am holding two work-study jobs on campus as a writer’s consultant and as a student employee at our very own science library!

Posing in front of a poster at work in the SCILI (Science Library). P.S I spy two Voteys

I am still participating in the Student Government and I am very proud to say that our SGA members are working very diligently to serve and to represent our student body.

The Student Government Association (SGA) annual retreat!

I have a very packed schedule this semester; I love all of my classes and I cannot describe how wonderful and dedicated my professors are in teaching those classes!

We visited the Art Studio for my English 399 Thoreau: Now and Then class

Classmates and my O’l Friend, Georgina <3

 

We went on a walk for my Thoreau: Then and Now Class

Though my semester has been very busy, I was still able to have some family quality time!

My parents and my little brother, Victor

 

I went home to visit my grandparents who flew all the way from Cambodia (over +8000 miles) to visit us here in Massachusetts

 

My mom threw my grandparents a surprise anniversary party this weekend

 

My grandparents’ 40th anniversary

 

I also went home one weekend to celebrate one of my best friends, Jane’s 21st birthday

That is all for now! Take care and as always, please leave me a comment below if you have any question!

 

Stay Awesome,

Votey

A piece from my personal photography project, Photovoice

Hello, Everyone!

I hope you all had a nice, relaxing summer! I decided to spend most of the break taking a summer course at a local university for one of my pre-med requirements. I was also very fortunate to receive an offer working as a student mentor for the TRIO program in my hometown. TRIO is a federally funded program that provides equal educational opportunity to First-generation, Low-income, and Disabled individuals.

My Summer job/internship Co-workers

Though, there were days where I had to hectically run from work to lab and to class, in addition to balancing it all with the nice weather activities and… sleep… I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to meet such amazing people this summer! 

My wicked awesome lab partners, James and Will!

 

My summer classmates (and friends), Madu and Zara!

I met up with my friend, role model, fellow- HC Senate, Holly (’17) before she was off to Taiwan on a Fulbright scholarship!

 

Helping my parents (and little brother!) wash our cars on a typical summer day!

Friends reunion with my Cambodian friends! #Sincejuniorhigh

 

Made the time this summer to get in touch with my spiritual side

 

Bonfires! Love love love!

Celebrated the Fourth of July and my birthday with my family

Even though I had a productive and fun summer, I miss being on the hill with all the resources our campus has to offer. I especially miss the gorgeous sunset views overlooking the city of Worcester that Holy cross has to offer.

I shall speak to you all very soon and as always, if you have any questions, please leave me a comment below!
Stay awesome,
Votey

 

 

Hi, Everyone!

I cannot believe that I am almost done with my fourth semester on the hill!

I am proud to say that I am re-elected as a class senator for the 2017-2018 term.

Thanks for the support, Keyshawn!

Thanks for the support G.Matt!

 

Though I am beyond excited for the next term to begin, I will definitely miss all of our graduating senators.

 

Courtesy of the Senate Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HCSenate/

Besides being in the Student Government on campus, I am still working as a writer’s consultant at our resourceful Center for Writing. I love my job and I love being able to start a conversation with my peers about their writing process.

A typical day at the workshop

I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am to have a group of wonderful friends here on the hill being my family away from home.

Florence and I gave John one last hug before he leaves for the South Korean military

 

Georgina and Sandy!

 

Sweet sweet Minh (aka. Mint)

 

Laura!

James and I! (AKA EN and LL)

 

Tesa!

Laura, Andrew, Sandy, Georgina, and James!

 

Sci li= Science library

Laura, Sandy, my flautas and I 

 

Lexi!

 

Yankelly!

 

Brendan got me chocolate because I had a bad day!

 

My creation at Kimball dining hall

 

Three scoops of ice cream and Angie is all I need to get through a long night!



Promised Hawar that this picture will make it to my blog! Haha

I hope you enjoy the pictures! As always, please leave me a comment down below if you have any questions!

Votey’s rolling out… this week’s post!

 

Stay awesome,

 

Votey

Views from Easy St. on Mount St. James

Views from Easy St. on Mount St. James

Hi everyone!

It has been a while, but I am finally back! I have been very busy lately, but my second year on Mount St. James is going great so far!

I am still working my way through the Pre-med requirements, but I recently declared as an English major! If you remember from my previous posts, I was planning on majoring in either psychology or biology when I first came to Holy Cross, but it is interesting to see how things have changed in the past year! I kept an open mind as I went through my first year here and I am happy to say that I have found something that I am not only passionate about, but something that I believe could help me improve as both a student and a person!

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Student Government Association SENATE

I have been in many forms of student government, but I have never been in an organization that is as diligent, dedicated, and professional as our Senate here on the hill.

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My roomate and best friend, Lexi and I dressing-up as two characters from one of our favorite shows on Halloween!

 

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Study night with Sandy!

 

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Study night with Sandy and Georgina!

 

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Cell Signaling activity in Introduction to Biology 161

 

Biology Study Group!

Biology Study Group!

 

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Sandy came by during one of my shifts at the Science Library with two pieces of fruits!

 

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Cammie and I on my first day working at the Writer’s Workshop!

 

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Our living room!

 

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Our living room!

 

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Our living room!

 

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My desk!

 

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Our bedroom

 

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Our room!

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My side of the bedroom!

 

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Lexi and I spreading roomie love!

As always, please let me know in the comment if you have any questions!

 

Stay Awesome,

Votey

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Hi, Everyone!

I hope you all are doing great! I apologize for my absence; I have been very busy lately, but I have returned!

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A performance of Holy Cross WOC (Women of Color) Group

I, however, have been collecting pictures of my experiences on campus during my absence to share with you all!

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Dinner with Professor Kristina Reardon and my fellow classmates

I mentioned earlier this semester that in order to become a consultant at Holy Cross Writer’s workshop, we are required to be enrolled in English 387: Composition Theory and Pedagogy. As one of the six Freshmen in the class, I can confidently say that we are so grateful to have received all of the guidance from our professor, Professor Reardon! Because of her ongoing supports, we are now equipped and ready to take on any challenges we will encounter in the workshop!

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English 387 practicum week with two of HC future consultants, Katherine, and Aidan!

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Our trip back from NEWCA , a Writing Center conference!

Speaking of supports, I just wanted to mention that the friendships you will make here at Holy Cross will last for a VERY long time! Below is a picture of two most awesome people I have met so far on this campus; Josh is an alumnus and Lauren is an alumna-to-be. They both were always there when I needed them and well… trust me, my first year on the hill would not be the same without them.

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I shall leave you for now, but I will attach several more pictures down below! Feel Free to check it out! As always, let me know in the comment if you have any questions!

 

Stay awesome,

Votey

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Basketball Viewing at Crossroads

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Basketball Viewing with friends!

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Midnight theater!

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Midnight theater with friends!

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My friend and future roommate, Alexa!

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Off the Record performing at Agape latte!

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Representing at the Montserrat debate

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Cinco de Mayo event with MECHA

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Casually taking impressions in HC dorm room

College of the Holy Cross Winter '16

College of the Holy Cross Winter ’16

Hello, Everyone!

I hope everything is going well! I decided to dedicate this week’s entry to several pictures I took of our campus, two of my classrooms and our wonderful community. Enjoy!

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We had two snow storms the past few weeks and I cannot tell you how gorgeous Holy Cross is with all the snow we had! Though it got a little bit cold and a little bit slippery on the hill, I felt like I was walking in a winter wonderland the whole time!

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It was too pretty, I can’t help it!

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The storm made my “journey” to classes EXTRA interesting!

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Friends!! Snow!! 

Speaking of classes, as you may already know from my previous entries, I am currently taking four classes: Montserrat: Exotic Encounters, English 387: Composition Theory and Pedagogy, Organic Chemistry 1, and Introduction to Psychology! I thoroughly enjoy them all!

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My friend, Jerison and I at the lab

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Say “YES” to Chemistry!

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Fun! Fun! Fun!

We, as students, are so grateful to have amazing Professors who will go out of their way to help us understand the class materials.

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In-class activity with Dr. Chaudoir, Intro to Psychology

And it is even more awesome when everyone in the class is enthusiastic about learning!

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My friend and a fellow student blogger, Katrina Black!

As always, please feel free to leave me any questions or comments down below!

 

Stay Awesome,

 

Votey

 

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Another pretty day on the hill

Hello, Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break! I had so much fun visiting Cambodia and South Korea over the one-month-long winter break we had. Even though I had such an amazing time with my family abroad, I am thrilled to be back on campus and to begin the new semester!

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My first week back on campus!

Before classes started, I went on a retreat with my Summer Passport program and it was very nice catching up with everyone there! The retreat was such a peaceful and a fun experience; I was able to not only reflect on the past semester, but I was also able to spend my weekend with such a great group of people!

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Passport Retreat

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Passport Retreat

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Passport Retreat

Passport Retreat

Passport Retreat

Passport Retreat

Passport Retreat

Passport Retreat

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Activities at the Passport Retreat

On the first weekend of classes, I went on a field trip with my Montserrat Class to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. It was definitely a different experience to go on a field trip with my college classmates!

A piece of Cambodian temple at the MFA

A piece of a Cambodian temple at the MFA!

Another cool object at the MFA!

Another cool object at the MFA!

Good luck and as always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Stay awesome,

 

Votey

 

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Taken from Hogan Fall ’15

The enrollment period has ended! I am indeed very pleased with my spring semester classes!

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A Selfie before Chemistry!

To celebrate the diversity on our campus, the Diversity branch of the Student Government Association has hosted a Unity Week event that encourages everyone to keep learning and exploring different cultures on campus.

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The Standup comedian

There is always something to do at Holy Cross during the weekends. I recently went to a comedy stand and a performance by one of our acapella groups!

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The Acapella sings in front of the bookstore.

For my Montserrat cluster, we had our annual cook-off a few days ago and though it was a little bit stressful, it was very nice to have something like that built into our academic courses.

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My lovely teammates

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The cook-off

If you’re wondering, our team won a box of delicious chocolates as the honorable mentions! 🙂

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As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave it down below on the comment section!

 

Stay Awesome,

 

Votey

 

 

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Thavanvotey Luong '19

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