My First Year at CMC

I learned a lot during my first year at Colorado Mountain College.

Academically,

Intro to Ski Area Operations: There really isn't one thing that sticks out in my mind as far as what we learned because we learned so much about so many different things. It is definately a good introductory class to the program.
Leadership Development: I learned a lot about different leadership styles.
Outdoor Emergency Care: I learned a lot about first aid and had a lot of fun doing scenarios. However, I had no desire to continue studying medicine- one doctor in the family is more than enough.
Technical Math: I loved this class for the sole reason that I actually understood what it was that I was doing. We did a lot of algebra type of stuff, which I never did grasp in high school.
Heavy Equipment Operations: I learned how an engine works- at least sort of. I also learned how to operate a backhoe, a bulldozer, a compactor, and a giant machine (whose name I do not remember) that moved with incredibly jerky movements while I was trying to operate it. At times I really wondered why I was in the lab, but I think it helped me a lot in the class, and some of it transferred to Grooming class too.
PC Applications: I learned of the cost savings of buying textbooks online.


Ropeway Operations: I learned how gondolas, chairlifts, and surface lifts work. I probably should have taken the lab also because I didn't always grasp concepts as well as I maybe could have. Refer to "Words of Wisdom" below.
Events Management: This was my favorite class this semester. We organized and put on a rail jam. The class had multiple stressful moments and there were times where I honestly expected Paul to be yelling at us for how disorganized we were, but he never did and the rail jam went well.
Public Speaking: I learned that classes are not always what they sound like. For example, I spent more time writing in this class than I did speaking.
Trail Grooming: We were told how to groom different types of snow, taught about the evolution of grooming, and learned about the job in general.
Ski Patrol: I think one of the most interesting things I learned were the day that we learned about avalanches. The day that the avalanche dog came in was also fun.
Food & Beverage: This was another class that I really enjoyed this semester. It was an online class and was completely reliant on the textbook, review questions, and weekly quizzes but as long as I got everything turned in by Friday of each week, it all worked out.


Word of Advice: Take the labs. I did not take Ropeways lab because I did not think that it sounded that exciting, but it probably would have helped me in Ropeways lecture, plus you get to ski at several different ski areas in the state.
Note to future students: do not procrastinate. If Paul tells you that you should start working on a project now, you should probably take his advice. When he tells you that you should work a little bit on the project each week, do so.



Other lessons, which I learned outside of the classroom, have also proven to be useful.


Lesson #1.
There are college professors with facebook. These professors just might read your status messages. Even if you are 21, they probably do not want to know if you have been drunk for 15 nights straight. During class, if they have recently read status messages such as the one I just mentioned, they will remind you that employers may look at your facebook and that such messages do not look so good. After awhile, these reminders get old, so for your classmates sake, please do not write such messages on your facebook. If you want to write such status messages, might I suggest that you not add your professors as friends on facebook.

Lesson #2.
Do not think that just because this is college, there is no drama. CMC Timberline is a small campus. Along with drama, the small campus makes for some interesting rumors. If you just go along with most of it, life is easier. Heck, at times it is even amusing. "I'm dating who?"

Lesson #3.
Avoid sitting at a level lower than someone holding a solo cup because it is quite probable that the contents of the cup will end up on you. If you are like my mom and do not know what a solo cup is, it's those red plastic cups. Now use your imagination to figure out what might be in those cups.

Lesson #4.
Believe it or not, not everyone at college drinks every night. After all, someone at the party has to be the DD. There are even people that do not drink at all, and yes, these people still do manage to have fun.

Lesson #5.
There are alternatives to beer pong. Such as "white grape cocktail" juice pong. Although, less exciting tasting, there is also water pong. Water is good- drink lots of it- like 3x as much as you think is necessary and then some.

Lesson #6.
Professors like you more if you actually talk to them once in a while and it definately makes your life easier. Oh, and refer to your class schedule before making travel plans.

Lesson #7.
Buy an ethernet cord before arriving in Leadville. Your roommate will think you're really clever for thinking of such a thing and it's a lot more enjoyable then getting there, finding out you need one, going to Alco and discovering that they are out, suffering from Facebook withdrawal, and not getting a cord until a week later when you have made the trip to Frisco to go to Walmart.

Lesson #8.
This is not high school. You do not need a notebook for every class. It's more like a notebook per semester. Unless you are in math class, then you actually need a notebook for that specific class. If you buy a notebook for every class, you will end up coming home with almost as many notebooks as you went to school with. Also, invest in a USB drive before getting to Leadville, it'll save you a trip to Walmart. Why a USB drive? College professors tend to not want to decode your horrible handwriting, so they make you type up all of your out-of-class assignments. Even if you have a laptop, you will still need a USB drive for PC Apps and just generally running around campus with random documents (save your ink- print your assignments in the library or a computer lab).

Lesson #9.
Wii bowling may become way more entertaining than you ever thought possible. Start practicing now.

Lesson #10.
Do not wait until the last minute to sign up for a class that you really really want to take. You will likely end up on the wait list. When you do sign up early and get that class you really wanted, pay your bill right away so that you do not get bumped out of the class by not paying your bill.

Lesson #11.
Do not bring a whole bunch of skirts, dresses, or other nice clothes. You will not end up wearing these clothes. One nice outfit is probably a good idea, but you don't need any more than that one. Also, you do not need to bring your overflowing closet of clothes. You will end up getting to CMC and realizing that your clothes do not fit in your closet.


Well, now I'm back in South Dakota and currently making an effort to recover from yesterday's drive home that got me to my house at 2AM, so it's off to bed for me. Hope to see you on cmapus next semester.