www.theeasttexan.comThursday, Dec. 3, 2009Page 4 Campus LifeCampus Life

JOSH LAWSTAFF WRITER

From Nov. 13-15, the backpacking class from Texas A&M University-Commerce went hik-ing and camping on the Ouachita Trails in Oklahoma. The Ouachita Trails are located in the Ouachita Mountains approximate-ly 150 miles northeast of Commerce. The students hiked a portion of the trail approx-imately 10.5 miles in length that wound its way around several moun-tain ridges, over several streams, and even over a river. The purpose of the trip was to provide the basic lessons needed for camp-ing and backpacking in the wild. One of the key elements of the trip was the concept of “leave no trace.”

“The biggest thing that we learn is to ‘leave no trace’,” Assistant Director of Climbing and Outdoor Adventure at A&M-Commerce, Todd Grier said. “The reason behind this is we lessen the impact of camping and hiking on the environment when we enjoy the wilderness.” This concept was a cen-tral theme the students practiced throughout every aspect of the trip. They picked up trash along the trails, disposed of all of their food and bodily waste properly, and raked leaves back over any areas not meant to be trails so new environment was not disturbed. In addition to “leave no trace,” other lessons were incorporated into the class that prepared them for the trip. “How to set up tents, start fires, various cooking lessons, proper backpack

packing, and even the lost art of map reading are taught,” Grier said. “Basically, all of the skills that are necessary to make camping and back-packing easier for them should they go do it on their own.” Although preparation and training are keys to success when going out into the wild, not every-thing can be learned in a classroom. Some aspects have to be experienced first hand in order to be understood fully. “I learned that hiking is not as easy as it seems, especially up a mountain,” Jared Peakham, a fresh-man pre-veterinary major at A&M-Commerce said. “I also learned that water is a valuable resource, and to go to the bathroom before you go out [on the trails].” Heavy packs weighing in excess of 40 pounds,

higher altitudes with less oxygen, and never being exposed to camping before were just a few aspects of hiking the class had to deal with. The weather was good for camping, with the tem-peratures ranging from about 50 to 70 degrees and no rain in the forecast. The mountain trails were also covered with leaves as winter approached, which made the scenery and mood pleasant for many of the students who participated in the event. “I love getting out into the wilderness and hiking, especially in the moun-tains,” Jon Athan, a senior wildlife management major at A&M-Commerce said. “One of my favorite parts of this trip was the practical application and execution of land manage-ment ethics.”

JARED WATSONONLINE EDITOR

As graduation moves closer and students think less about passing classes and more about what they will do with their new degrees, guidance can be hard to come by. The office of Career Development, located in the Student Access and Success Center, is designed to give students a place to get the assistance they need. Career Development offers a wide variety of one-on-one services, including resume and cover letter consultations, mock inter-views, and career assess-ment and counseling, all designed to allow students to polish their communi-cation skills and practice presenting themselves in a business-like manner. “Our mission is to make the connection for the student, to take the student to the employer,” Coordinator of Career Development Gregory Shirley said. “It is to edu-cate our students on how to be professional, how to conduct yourself in an interview, how to write that perfect resume, how to engage a conversa-tion on an elevator with a potential employer, or how to conduct yourself in a business meeting.” In addition, Career Development offers the “Lion Tracks” program, which is an online data-base of job openings and employers. “That database has about 408 employers on it,” Shirley said. “They post full-time, part-time, co-op and internship jobs for our students.” According to Vice President Dr. Mary Hendrix, the success of the program comes from giving students concrete objectives to achieve. “Once you have goals, they become much easier to reach,” Hendrix said.

“Students will be pleas-antly surprised.” To begin, students can go to the Career Development homepage at www.tamucommerce.edu career assessment tests. Once the tests are com-pleted, students may begin sessions with the Career Development staff. “The assessments take about 45 minutes total,” Shirley said. “Once you have taken them, you can either schedule an appoint-ment over the phone or come in person.” In addition to one-on-one sessions, Career Development hosts numerous events on campus, including Professional Development Week, job fairs and the upcoming Groundhog Job Shadow Day. Many of the events have never been held on campus, which can lead to confusion to those unfa-miliar with the office. “There’s never been a business etiquette dinner done before,” Shirley said. “There was never a fash-ion show. There was never a ‘Do You Want a Job or Not’ seminar. Everything we’re doing is so brand new that people are really going to like us because they like what we do, or they’re really going to scratch their heads and wonder why this office is doing something.” In the Business Etiquette Dinner, for example, par-ticipants ate a full six-course meal while learning to interact with prospec-tive employers in a formal dining setting. Details such as proper silverware selection were discussed, as well as an event called a “Mock-tail.” “We practiced toasting and drinking cocktails,” Career Development Graduate Assistant Katrecia Sandlin said. “We used grape juice.”

go to www.theeasttexan.com for the full story

Backpacking class learns key camping skills

Approximately 20 students form the backpacking class at Texas A&M University-Commerce attended a hiking trip on the Ouchita Trails in

Oklahoma from Nov. 13-15. The students learned basic lessons needed to camp in the wild.

Office gives career opportu-

nities to students, alumni

BRIANNA JACKSONSTAFF WRITER

This year Thanksgiving is on Nov. 26. On the Texas A&M University-Commerce campus, the residence halls will close at 1 p.m. on Nov. 25 when most students will be heading home for a tradi-tional Thanksgiving feast with their family. However, the “tra-ditional” feast of today bears little resemblance to the original colonial feast the European settlers shared with the Native Americans over 400 years ago. According to www.history.com, the History Channel’s Internet site, the pilgrims and the Native Americans sat down to a feast that would probably seem a little odd sitting on the average American’s dining room table come the 26. Ham, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie were most likely not the menu shared on the first Thanksgiving Day. However, there was a surprising array of sea-food visible that day. Lobster, clams and eel were all present, most like-ly due to Plymouth’s East Coast location. In fact, seal was the sta-ple meat for the fledgling Plymouth colonists (per-haps in lieu of ham) at the time. While all of these menu choices seem uncon-ventional to the modern American’s sense of tradi-tion, there is evidence they at least had turkey. Back then, the turkeys were

wild and shot in the sur-rounding woods. They were a wel-come source of food for the struggling colonists, though a Wal-Mart grocery aisle would have probably been helpful. A Wal-Mart in Western Africa would also have been helpful come the hol-idays, according to sopho-more English major, David Bush. David Bush and his family lived in western Africa for three years on a missionary trip. “Half of the time we lived in a missionary camp and sometimes we lived in the village in a mud hut,” Bush said. “Thanksgiving was very different because we didn’t have access to all of the traditional foods and things you usually have. You have to make due with what you have; we usually had some chicken, but almost never turkey. Most animals, if they were at least the size of a squirrel, were killed off in that area for food.” Even stateside, not all families sit down to turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and other holiday goodies. For example, vegetarians are somewhat left out of this meat-dominated holi-day, but several find ways to cope. “I am a vegetarian and so is my aunt,” junior Elementary Education major Danielle Carter said. “So while there is turkey for others in my family, for us the main course is potatoes. It’s a big carb fest for me.”

Holiday meal varies

CAITLIN MASONSTAFF WRITER

Texas A&M University-Commerce offers on-cam-pus housing for students who wish to stay at the uni-versity over winter break. There are eight residence halls students reside in at A&M-Commerce; how-ever, not all eight halls are open during winter break. If students would like to stay on campus dur-ing winter break, and their current hall assign-ment closes during the break, then they have the option to stay in New Pride, Prairie Crossing or West Halls. “Students wishing to stay on campus have to apply for a room at the Department of Residential Living and Learning locat-ed on the first floor of the Haliday Student Services Building,” Residential

Advisor of Whitley Hall, Alex Gardner said. “There is an $85 fee for break housing, and students who do wish to live in break housing must have a roommate.” When it comes to stu-dents storing their belong-ings over winter break, they have several different options to choose from. “Students can store all of their belongings in their regular housing during the break and just take what they need to their break housing, or they can take their belongings home,” Gardner said. “They also have the option of mov-ing all of their belong-ings to break housing and then moving it back to their regular residence hall when break housing is over.” Although break hous-ing is an option for most students, not all students

have the ability to reside in break housing and or have the luxury of resid-ing in halls that remain open during winter break. Many students are has-sled, especially students who work on campus or in Commerce, when they have to move out of their residence hall for a month. “I live in one of the sorority houses, and it’s a huge inconvenience to me when it closes over winter break,” health education major, Amanda McGill said. “I work on cam-pus, but I live two hours away. So I can’t work over breaks. I realize I could live in selected campus housing for a month, but why would I pay for more campus housing when I am already paying to live on campus?” Students are hoping to see an increase in the amount

of campus housing open during winter break. “I live in New Pride, and it’s so convenient for me not have to move half of my room home during winter break,” environ-mental science major, Julie Gorka said. “I think it’s a little ridiculous that stu-dents pay for nine months of housing but have to move out during winter break, unless they’re lucky enough to live in New Pride, Prairie Crossing or West Halls, and they don’t have any access to their residence hall until they move back in for the spring semester.” For more information on break housing, con-tact A&M-Commerce Department of Residential Living and Learning at residencelife@tamu-com-merce.edu or 903-886-5797.

Campus offers limited break housing