Voices

What’s up, Lafayette and prospective students? My name is Javauhn Caines and I will be blogging this year about what occurs beyond the brochure and what it’s like to be a Lafayette student.

First, let’s start off with a little background info. I am a senior Engineering Studies major (some people call it “pretengineering” so they obviously haven’t taken any of my classes, hahaha). I am from the Bronx, New York and bleed blue and green for my Yankees and Jets. I still wonder to this day, why doesn’t New Jersey create a big fuss over not having any of the football teams? I mean they both play in their state, so I would be willing to offer them the Giants if they want them.

Alright, back to the good stuff now. I am a Posse scholar, which is a program that offers students from the inner cities a chance to go to a top college campus with a support group of fellow students, also known as a Posse. No one actually uses the term “posse” anymore; however, when the organization was created in the early ’90s, I am told posse was the popular word of the time! So after receiving the Posse scholarship in my senior year of high school, I was Lafayette bound along with 10 other New York City students. While most of them were sad about leaving the city, I was excited to get a new start and some independence from my parents. After arriving in Easton, PA from NYC, it turned out to be just I wanted, a stress free, slow paced environment; the total opposite of city life. Four years later, I still enjoy being in Pennsylvania rather than being in New York City.

The first few weeks of senior year have been pretty stressful, but I still have to make time to have some fun. I have been working as an Intramural Supervisor for Recreation Services and I must say, it has been an interesting experience. I have always been a participant of many intramural sports on campus, but being on the opposite side now offers a totally different experience. So far, I have had to deal with numerous injuries from sprained ankles to broken fingers. It’s sad to see someone hurt, but when you are responsible for getting him or her help, you have to jump into action and get the job done right. It’s always good to walk past one of the kids you took care of and hear a nice thank you from them.

Recently, our campus has been under attack from a couple of viruses going around. I was sick and just thought it was a cold, but after a couple of days my roommates became really concerned about how I was doing and suggested I go to Bailey’s (the health center). I was a little hesitant but realized at the end of the day the only thing it could do was help me get better quicker. After my quick chat with Dr. Goldstein, I was told it was just the common cold and I would be back to normal in a couple of days. Not too long after leaving Bailey’s, I got an email from Bailey’s, which stated that there was a stomach virus going around campus as well. At that point it was just time for me to lock myself in my room and stay there. I already had to miss class and had two exams coming up in my hardest classes, Physics and Calculus 3.

What a stressful week! However, I am back to full health, ready to get back in my classes and ace some exams. After those exams this week seems to look like a great week full of interesting events. Stay tuned for more info about that. Talk to you guys next week.