October 18th, 2009

Pressed for cash, but wish to explore Philly? Thanks to Student Activities new,  “Fall in Love with Philly” reduced ticketing program, visiting Philly on a budget is easier than ever. With $3 One Day SEPTA Independence Passes, $5 tickets to the Philadelphia Zoo, and $3 tickets to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, planning a fun-filled day in Philly on a budget, is a cinch. The mission of the reduced ticketing program, is to give you, the student, more freedom and activities during the weekend.  Often, it is easy to get into the habit of staying on campus every weekend; however, this program gives students on a college budget, a chance to branch out and experience the city of Brotherly Love.

To acquire tickets, one must go to the Student Activities Office, which is located on the 3rd floor of St. Joseph’s Hall, with a valid Chestnut Hill Student ID. Students are able to purchase 2 tickets with their ID, but it’s important to note that tickets are distributed on a first come, first serve basis. Therefore, don’t be tardy! Plan on visiting the Student Activities Office early to insure that you get  your tickets. Typically, tickets for a specific date will be sold one month before the event. If you have any questions about the program, feel free call Kim Cooney, the Director of Students Activities, at 215-753-3648, or e-mail her at cooneyk@chc.edu. Similarly, if you’d like to learn more about the various events held on campus, become a fan of Chestnut Hill’s Student Activities page on facebook at: //www.facebook.com/pages/Philadelphia-PA/CHC-Student-Activities/138944257027?ref=ts, or  on twitter at: http://twitter.com/CHCACTIVITIES. 

Tagged As: Facebook, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Zoo, Philly, SEPTA, Student Activities, Twitter
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September 11th, 2009

College is like a tattoo. (Work with me for a minute.) Much like your degree, a tattoo is stuck with you for the rest of your life, for better or for worse. Tattoos are quite common; thousands of people may have the same design. (How many psychology majors do you know? That’s what I thought.) Often, it’s not the tattoo’s design that makes it unique, but where it’s located.

Here’s my point: you’ll find many things in common at every college, whether they be similar majors; esteemed faculty; fierce mascots; or Friday classes. So, what sets a college apart more than anything? Where it’s located. (Not impressed by my stellar tattoo analogy? Read on.)

No matter how large or small your college of choice is, you can’t stay on campus forever. Whether you’re looking for an internship, a part-time job, or just a way to spend Saturday evening, the city surrounding your campus makes all the difference.

With that in mind, my upcoming series (fittingly titled Why Philly?) will give you plenty of evidence proving that Philly is the ultimate college town. I’m going to dive into Philly’s affordable nightlife, fashion, music, internships, food, and more, plus how to access these amenities from CHC.

In the mean time, check out stories I’ve written for AroundPhilly.com (as an intern this fall, nonetheless) for a small sample of what Philly has to offer.

Tagged As: fashion, Food, Internship, Music, nightlife, Philly, SEPTA
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August 20th, 2009

An exciting event of the summer was my purchase of a new car! My dad and I bought a 2009 Jeep Patriot for just around $10,000 after taxes and all extra fees that came with the sale.  With the trade-in of my old 1995 Jeep Cherokee that was my first car (as well as my older sister’s), we got the dealership’s rebate of $3,500 in addition to the government’s Cash For Clunkers rebate of $4,500 AND a $500 military discount for my dad.  We received almost $9,000 for trading in my beloved old clunker, which was actually only worth less than $800 with the lack of air conditioning and a not-so-reliable engine.  My brand new Jeep ended up costing a couple grand less than the used Toyota that my sister bought last year.  My dad did most of the work, but I did a lot of the online research before we went into a dealership looking to buy something.

Here are some tips from me and my dad to remember if you want to get a good deal!

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Tagged As: Cars, Cash For Clunkers, parking permit, SEPTA
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June 24th, 2009

When looking at colleges, you know by now to get a good look at each campus. (You can do so by following Andréa’s helpful scavenger hunt!) However, almost as important as the campus itself is what you find off campus. Your college’s surrounding neighborhood is where you’ll undoubtedly spend the second-most amount of time.

CHC has what we call a “geographic identity crisis”: one side of our campus borders the suburbs, the other borders the city. Not to mention, we’re 100 feet away from Fairmount Park. Our closest neighbor is the town of Chestnut Hill, a historic, cobble-stoned array of shops, restaurants, and beautiful buildings. Get to know it well; it’s where your parents will surely be treating you to dinner every time they visit.

Here are a few of my favorite things Chestnut Hill has to offer:

Two Train Stations
In town, you’ll find two SEPTA regional rail lines: the R7 and the R8 (Chestnut Hill East and West). They provide easy access to center city, Amtrak, or New York City (via Trenton).

Amazing Restaurants
Chestnut Hill is home to some of Philly’s best dining. Every time my parents and friends from home visit, I introduce them to Solaris, my favorite restaurant (the house penne is incredible). The Chestnut Grill and Osaka sushi are other favorites, and even have CHC students on staff.

Indulgences
Whether you’re into pastries, gourmet smoothies, or honey sticks, Chestnut Hill has something for you. A must-try is Bredenbeck’s Ice Cream Parlor, which has ice cream, sorbet, smoothies, and cakes to die for. It’s a little pricey, but well worth it.

I recently discovered The Hill Tea Bar, a bustling tea shop with free wifi, outdoor seating, and delicious iced pomegranate chai.

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Tagged As: Chestnut Hill, SEPTA, shopping
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April 28th, 2009

When I began my college career, I was anxious to get away from home and totally ready to be on my own.   I decided to go to Chestnut Hill mainly because the other contending college was too close to my house.  It’s only about a half an hour drive, whereas Philadelphia is a good three hours or so from my home in southern Maryland.   This puts me at a location far enough away so I’m not really  tempted to go home every weekend, (nor are my parents tempted to visit every weekend) but still close enough so I don’t need a plane ticket or any major preparations when a visit home is necessary.  I love my family and hometown, but really thought I needed a change of scenery after being in the area for ten years.

Freshman year, my parents made the trip to Philly a few times to see my music concerts and participate in events such as Family Weekend.   Outside of actual school vacations, I only visited home one weekend every few months. CHC offers plenty of activities to keep one occupied during downtime, or there’s always the option of visiting the city and going to museums or clubs there.  The train station is just about a 15 minute walk away, or the SEPTA bus will take you up the hill on a lazy day.  Once at the train station, all you have to do is make the decision where to go.  It costs five bucks to get to center city, but if you’re homesick you can get off at 30th Street Station, buy an AMTRAK ticket to your hometown and be on your way to your family in no time.

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Tagged As: AMTRAK, home, homesick, Maryland, SEPTA, train, weekends
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December 21st, 2008

Recently, a few of us CHC bloggers headed out on a mini-adventure into Center City to visit the offices of 160over90, Chestnut Hill College’s branding agency. Leslie Harms, CHC’s marketing manager, served as tour guide for Jarreau, Katie, and I.

Lucky for us, the trip from CHC to 160over90 is quite simple and painless. Leslie drove us the short distance from school to the train station in Chestnut Hill (though we also could have walked or taken the bus). We hopped on a train headed into the city for just $5 a person. About 30 minutes later, we were right in the city, just a hop, skip, and a jump—literally—from the 160over90 offices.

The whole visit to the 160over90 offices was a bit surreal, at least for me. Since I’m graduating in May, the visit was a great opportunity to see a bit of the “real world” (though I think the world I’ve been living in for the past 16 years has been pretty real, too!), but it freaked me out a bit, too. The whole time I was thinking, “There is no way I’ll be this cool or be ready to work at a place this cool in just a few months!”

But enough of my thoughts—on with the nitty-gritty details! We ate some DELICIOUS pizza from a nearby pizza place while we chatted marketing, the real world, pop culture, and everything in between with Ryan, 160over90’s account executive for the CHC account. We checked out some samples of 160over90’s awesome work—ranging from American Eagle to the Woodmere Art Museum (right up the street from CHC) to the city of Boston—and the views of the Philly skyline from the 160over90 offices. From their offices, you can see just about everything in the city, including into some offices, apartments, and University of the Arts dorm rooms. The 160over90 offices are great for people watching.

In the center of their office space is, well, what I dubbed “Heaven”—tons of books and magazines on advertising and design and anything related to their clients’ businesses. The comfy couches, “boomerang table,” and kitchen just add to the awesomeness.

The only potential downside to the visit was when we got stuck in the elevator on the way out of the building… but you’d never know anything was amiss from the photos! We just laughed and posed for pics until the elevator finally deposited us on the first floor.

Tagged As: 160over90, adventure, Center City, real world, SEPTA, trip
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December 9th, 2008

Last week I underwent a series of unfortunate events. It started when I took my first AMTRAK trip from 30^th Street Station in Philadelphia to Washington DC to go home for the weekend. The train was overbooked and my traveling partner and I had to sit on the ground for the first few minutes of the ride until other passengers got off at the next stop. Luckily, my duffel bag was actually a pretty comfy seat.

My weekend at home was very short, but still decent enough. The AMTRAK ride back to Philadelphia was a lot better too, until I transferred to the SEPTA system to get from 30^th Street back to Chestnut Hill. After getting off at my stop, I suddenly realized that I didn’t remember where I had last seen my cell phone. I went through all my things and still couldn’t find it. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized my Chestnut Hill ID card (needed to get into my room at Sugarloaf Lodge) and my credit card were missing as well. What a combo! I didn’t have my ID to get into my room, and I didn’t have my phone to call my roommate to let her (or anyone) know, and my credit card could have been providing someone with a desirable shopping spree, for all I knew.

I got into my room with the help of a security guard and a master key, and promptly emailed my family about everything that had happened. My mom cancelled my credit card for me, and one of my friends helped out by calling SEPTA to check for a lost and found. I was very distressed about everything.

Miraculously, I was brought up to speed the next day and found that my friend was now in possession of all my belongings. He informed me of the story as follows: The ticket collector on my train found my stuff and turned it in to SEPTA authorities. A women working for SEPTA then called my mom from my phone to inform her of its whereabouts. Since my friend lives very close to the station where everything was found, he collaborated with my mom and the SEPTA employee to pass my things on and get it all back to me. My dad keeps emphasizing that I’m so lucky everything worked out, and that Philadelphia is indeed the city of Brotherly Love. Everyone’s efforts to return my belongings simply reminded me to have faith that there are good people everywhere in the world, even in Philly!

Tagged As: AMTRAK, Lost and Found, Philadelphia, SEPTA
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October 21st, 2008

Autumn at Chestnut Hill is probably one of the most beautiful things one can experience. The trees start to change colors and leaves of vibrant oranges, reds, and yellows begin to fall to the ground, creating bright carpets of all different shades and hues. I get overexcited at the sight of yellowing leaves because it means that my favorite season is just around the corner. I’m completely over bundling up for cold mornings and then sweating through hot days and humid air once the sun is high in the sky. Bring on the snow already! Thankfully though, (for cold weather-lovers, like me) the temperature has finally started to drop bit-by-bit. The changing weather also has made me more willing to make the walk up the street to the train station more frequently as well. Chestnut Hill’s R8 SEPTA station is about a 10-20 minute stroll up the hill (but it’s a lot easier to walk back down), depending on how briskly or leisurely you take it. From there, you can ride into the city or another destination for just a few bucks. The most I’ve had to pay is 5 dollars, or $3.50 if I buy my ticket before getting on the train. For my next trip into the city, my potential activities include either the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Art Museum, or the zoo. Whatever ends up happening, I know it’ll be a blast. And if not, there are plenty of other attractions in Philly that I can visit instead!

Tagged As: Autumn, Fall, Philadelphia, R8, SEPTA, Train Station, Weather
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