-Saint Augustine
Long time no talk, but I figured I'd enlighten you with my upcoming travel plans
and a past trip that I have yet to cover on Ritzee Rose.
In November, I traveled to Chicago for the first time EVER.
Ohio University's OMSAR (the Office for Multicultural Student Access and Retention) chose 12 scholars to take to the Leadership and Diversity Conference at North Park University.
 |
| How could I resist a shameless selfie on the way to the windy city! |
 |
| As night fell, we were almost to Chicago and ready to get some food! |
 |
| Kihrisha, me, and Dan, a PhD student in the OMSAR office who led the trip, all chilling out late night at TGI Fridays. |
Afterwards, we settled into the hotel and got our beauty sleep,
in preparation for the conference the next morning.
On Saturday, we were off to the conference at 8am.
The morning entertainment included two African dance groups based out of Chicago, two step teams, and Reverend Kanyere Eaton, pastor of Fellowship Covenant Church in the Bronx, New York, as Saturday’s keynote address.
In the afternoon, there was a carousel of speakers.
There were three time slots to fill and many different topics to choose from.
I attended:
Slot 1 - "I Don't Care Where You Come From: A Conversation about Race and Culture"
with speaker Carlton Mitchell, Director of Student Support Services at LeTourneau U. in Texas
Slot 2 - "Between Barack and a Hard Spot: Multiethnic Leadership in an Era of Trayvon Martin, a Black Presidency, and White Nationalism"
with speaker Dr. Daniel White Hodge, Director of Center for Youth Ministry studies at North Park University
Slot 3 - "Understanding the Complexity of Hip-Hop Culture: Implications for Understanding the Experiences of Black Males in Schools and Society"
with Dr. Daymond Glenn, Vice President for Community Life and Chief Diversity Officer at Warner Pacific College in Portland
 |
| In front of a gorgeous statue on North Park U.'s campus. They certainly had a beautiful campus and a nice small-town feel just like Athens. |
After the conference, we headed to a small pizza shop in Chicago called Gino's East,
famous for their Chicago deep-dish pizza pies.
They're considered one of the best, if not the best, pizza places in Chicago,
so they were the perfect place for my first deep-dish experience.
 |
| Just seeing this picture again makes me hungry! So delish! |
 |
| Goodbye for now Chicago! |
That trip was a blast and a great mid-semester treat.
I'm definitely hoping to return to Chicago in the future to do some more exploration,
but the year of 2014 is practically booked with travel plans.
I don't want to divulge all of those right now, but I will leave you with some news,
in preparation for more posts next week.
It's currently finals week here at OU, the week to end all weeks,
the day (or should I say week?) of reckoning.
The week you finally find out if you've learned something . . .
anything at all in the last 15 weeks.
And next Sunday, I will be headed to New York City for the 3rd!!! time this year.
(Can you tell it's my favorite city?)
I am currently 1 of 9 scholars in the Ohio Fellows program at Ohio University.
Next week, the Ohio Fellows will travel to NYC for some serious adventure time.
More on that next week!
Happy Studying, Bobcats!
And may the odds be ever in your favor!
