While I miss my family, it is nice to be back at my home away from home here at Mines. Classes have started back up, and while my schedule is slightly lighter than last semester, these first weeks have been hectic for me in the rush of getting my books, getting started in my classes (I’m also proud to say I am getting ahead of some of my classes to save some trouble later for when it may come up) as well as recruiting for my family away from my family, Phi Gamma Delta. Still, while I have been immensely busy, the dust is starting to settle and life here at Mines is returning slowly to normal, or at least for what passes as normal here.

I know a lot of people coming into Mines are very surprised to find out they have to do any sort of writing here (as I mentioned before when talking about the EPICS program), but the fact of the matter is, here at Mines you do write, but on the upside it is the writing you would do as an engineer (in the case of EPICS) or writing that will practice your ability to communicate details rather than practice your ability to see esoteric details in hundred year old literature as English classes tend to do. The latter of these abilities comes from Nature and Human Values (NHV for short), the ethics and writing course I am taking in addition to my other classes. It seems like the English classes you are avoiding here, but it ultimately isn’t. Studies have shown that employers want more engineers that are able to communicate their ideas better than they are now, which is where NHV and EPICS comes in, no matter how you don’t want to think that way, and I know you think that way, because I thought that upon first hearing I would have classes that are writing intensive.

Even in the midst of new classes, I have still found time to spend time with a good seventy of my closest friends this past week in the form of Fiji, the fraternity in which I am a member of.  Greek life here at Mines is a very enriching experience in terms of growing as a person, getting study help from one of the many people who have already taken your courses, as well as providing a way to remove and deal with the stress that comes with a school such as this one. I can honestly say it has been a wonderful addition to my life here. This week can be stressful, as I am required to be at the Fiji house everyday in order to help the recruiting process. It isn’t too bad as this has involved getting to meet many wonderful people who want to join us as either brothers, or just join us for the free food, board games, mini-golf, and/or bowling. Whether you feel Greek life is for you or not, I highly recommend to all incoming freshmen to attend a recruitment event or two to get an idea of what Greek life is at Mines since it may or may not be what you think it is. For that matter, give anything a chance at Mines. The school of so wonderful at allowing organizations to flourish, you are bound to find some group that shares an interest or promotes a cause that you do too.

And with that I must leave you until February, as I must go prepare pancakes for about a hundred and fifty people before bowling night. So long and enjoy your last semester of high school before your voyage to Mines!

  Pizza Hut Express opened over the break!"