gatlinburg getaway

This weekend I took a road trip out to Gatlinburg, TN for Phi Sig Formals. After spending an entire week working on the best (and only) cooler I have ever made, I couldn't wait to get out to the mountains.

I have never been to Gatlinburg before, and let me tell you the place is a trip! First we drove through Pigeon Forge, which is pretty much indescribable. And not necessarily in a good way. Basically it is a town consisting of motels, themed restaurants, amusement rides, "As Seen on TV" stores, pancake houses, mini golf...the list could go on forever.

But once we got through that interesting part of town, we drove up the mountain to get to the Gatlinburg Falls Resort. We stayed in gorgeous cabins that sat on top of the Smoky Mountains.

Some of my favorite parts of the weekend were:
1. Getting my YOLO hat and Gatlinburg tank from the shark mouth store.
2. Seeing Carly get Phi Sig Sweetheart at the banquet dinner.
3. Eating lots of grilled cheeses and velveeta shells.
4. Going to the Gatlinburg Falls pool (hello tattoo man and babies galore).
5. Dancing to the same 15-song playlist all weekend.
6. And of course, spending time with my favorite people in the world.

oh, the weather outside

April SNOW showers...still bring May flowers. Don't let this snowy day in Blacksburg keep you from living like it's Spring! Happy Monday everyone!!

sunday night surprise

This evening I received a very formal email from Austin saying that I was instructed to be at Suite 380 at 10pm. When I arrived, I was ushered into the suite by the men of 380. After undergoing some Rituals and secret ceremonies, I was initiated as the first and only Suite 380 SUITEHEART!!

Thanks so much boys, I know that the competition was fierce and I am honored to hold this title. I will do my best to represent the suite well!!

in 30 hours...

...Relay For Life at Virginia Tech will be taking place on the Drillfield!!

As the clock dwindles down, I have been taking the time to reflect and recognize just how proud I am of my big, Anna Tobia (the DIRECTOR of this year's Relay For Life). She has shown an unending passion for this event since this time last year.

In order to support her as well as my many friends and family members that are battling or have battled cancer, I have created a personal goal to raise $750. I am just $70 away from reaching that goal. Every dollar counts when it comes to fighting cancer. We WILL find a cure in our generation. So why not make it happen now? You can make a difference!

My team, Alpha Phi 2, is one of the top fundraising teams this year for VTRelay. And I could not be more proud! Please support me in my last 30 hours of fundraising!

Here is a link to my personal page: Support Christine in her fight against cancer.

NO-DUH in DELA-WHERE?

This past weekend the student leaders and staff of Virginia Tech New Student Programs traveled to the University of Delaware for the annual NODA (National Orientation Directors Association) Conference.

We had the opportunity to interact with many other universities in Region 8, watch presentations given by other schools, learn lots of new icebreakers, and the OAs and I even got to present a session called "Peer Leadership in Orientation".

Along with all the informational aspects of the conference, it was also a great time for the Hokie Camp Student Directors and Exec, TOGLs, and OAs to bond. We went ice skating, out to dinner in Wilmington, DE, spent about 14 hours in vans together, and of course, celebrated Carly's 22nd birthday on Sunday!

NODA was a great getaway from the craziness of school and everything else going on during the month of April in Blacksburg. We really got the chance to focus on Orientation and how we could be better peer mentors to our teams of OLs. After all, THIS IS WHAT WE WANT.

the big event

I realize that this post is a little late considering The Big Event at Virginia Tech was well over a week ago at this point. However, while uploading pictures from my camera this weekend I uncovered some great memories from The Big Event that I couldn't pass up sharing and posting about.

The Big Event at Virginia Tech is one BIG day of service that the students participate in. We work on hundreds of projects all over the New River Valley, with the sole intention to give back. Virginia Tech's school motto is "Ut Prosim, That I may serve". So that is exactly what thousands of students intended to do on this early March morning.

This year I participated with Alpha Phi. Collectively as a sorority we were assigned about 10 projects. I went out to Christiansburg with a group of girls to wash windows and do some weeding. When we arrived at our project site, we were happy to find Ruth so anxiously awaiting for us. We washed the windows and did some yard work and were done relatively quickly. So we ended up sitting on the porch with Ruth listening to her life stories. It was amazing!

Once we were packing the car to head back to Tech, The Big Event Staff approached us at Ruth's house and asked if we would be willing to do another project a few miles down the road. Of course, we were pretty tired at this point, but we went to the site anyways. How could we say no to service?

This next project site was at a church in Christiansburg. We did a lot of mulching and yard work for about an hour. It was amazing how much we were able to accomplish in just one hour of hard work.

There is no better feeling than giving yourself up for a day of service. Ut Prosim.

happy easter!

Happy Easter from the Terminello's!

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful Sunday, wherever you may be.

pit stop at JMU

Whenever I drive from NOVA to Blacksburg or Blacksburg to NOVA I always stop halfway at JMU. I stop at the same Salad Creations or Subway, which are located right under KZ's apartment complex. Of all the times I have stopped at JMU, I have yet to see my bff or her apartment.

Earlier in the week, KZ asked Kelsey (who goes to UVA) and I to make a pit stop at her place for the night while driving home for Easter. So we both went on Thursday night! It was so great to finally spend a night with my best friends at JMU. We haven't all been together since Winter Break, believe it or not. So we made dinner, brownies, and watched a movie that night and then woke up early the next morning for breakfast at The Little Grill in Harrsionburg. Then we all hit the road for home.

It is so wonderful to be back at home for Easter. Last year my family came to Blacksburg for Easter weekend, but it just wasn't the same as being home sweet home. I look forward to enjoying my short weekend here before heading back to Blacksburg to finish off my junior year. Happy Easter everyone!