Category: Scott Eisenhart (page 2 of 4)

Brace Yourselves: Fall is Coming

One of the often forgotten benefits of living in the Northeast is that we have the pleasure of experiencing all four of the seasons.  While we take for granted that spring becomes summer, which becomes fall, which becomes winter, there are many Americans who do not know what this feels like.  Ask anybody from the Northeast and they will tell you that they definitely have a favorite season, along with a laundry list of reasons why.  As you may have guessed, I absolutely love fall.  Sure, the many days of summer without school, where the sun is bright and the nights are long, sound really appealing. However in my opinion, summer has nothing on all of the perks of fall:

  • The weather: Not too hot, not too cold.  I like it when things are just right, (So, from now on, go ahead and call me Goldilocks).  I really don’t find the idea of either freezing my butt off or sweating like a pig to be all that appealing.
  • New season = new wardrobe: When the weather starts to cool off, that means it’s time to switch out the clothes in my closet!  I can finally replace those flip flops, tank tops, and neon colors with sweaters, jeans, and earth colors.  Plus, I have always found that it’s easier to add a layer to stay warm!
  • Football: Fall means that the NFL season is officially underway, and my apologies to baseball, but I consider football to be America’s pastime.
  • Halloween: The fall means that it is socially acceptable to play dress up, decorate your home in creepy things, and scare little children (note: I don’t necessarily support this)!  And, it’s also an excuse to eat tons of delicious candy!
  • Pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING: Pumpkin makes everything better, and with the fall approaching, more and more of your favorite foods, drinks, and anything else you can think of will have the wonderful addition of nature’s favorite gourd infused into it.
  • Thanksgiving: The most special of holidays where we have the opportunity to give thanks for all of the positive aspects of our lives, watch various parades/football games, and eat until we fall asleep due to the high amounts of tryptophan (hey, you just learned something!)

And last, but certainly not least, may I have a drum roll please…the single greatest reason why fall is the best season…

It means that Christmas is right around the corner!

Have a happy fall, everybody!

Go ahead and tell me that this DOESN'T look incredible!

Go ahead and tell me that this DOESN’T look incredible!

~Scott Eisenhart

It’s the Best of Both Worlds

While I was reading Heather Brody’s post, I couldn’t help but think of my freshman experience.  It took me awhile to figure out how to live in a college environment, and at times I wondered if I made the right choice by coming to UD.  But looking back on all of the experiences and opportunities that I have been exposed to as a Blue Hen, I know that I made the correct choice.  When people ask me what it was about UD that made me pick it, I usually tell them the same thing: for me, UD is the perfect combination of large and small.  What I mean is that UD has all of the perks and opportunities of a big school as well as a little one.

At over 17,000 undergraduate students, it is safe to assume that UD is a big university.  And with that classification comes certain perks.

  • Familiarity: When I tell people where I go to school, people recognize the name and have actually heard of it.
  • Famous Alumni: The Vice President, Joe Flacco, Chris Christie, and Elena Delle Donne are just some of the famous public figures that have called UD home.
  • Research Opportunities: Undergraduate research is a great opportunity for students to apply their knowledge, and with 75 research centers, UD has plenty of opportunities.
  • Sports: Our football team has on multiple occasions made it to the Division I-AA championship game.  Our basketball team made it to the March Madness tournament last year.  You want top notch sports?  We have them here.

But UD also has many of the benefits of a small school, and this is due, at least for me, because of the Honors Program.

  • Familiarity: With most Honors classes capped at about 30 students, Honors professors are able to get to know students and develop lasting relationships.
  • Fellows: Munson Fellows help build healthy and connected communities in freshman residence halls, and Senior Fellows continue this for upperclassmen residence halls.  And Writing Fellows work with first-year students to improve writing skills.
  • Events: The Honors Program plans TONS of awesome events both on and off campus, and they cover a wide range of interests.
  • High Quality Education: UD gives its students an excellent education, and the Honors Program does that and more.  Your Honors classes will make you work harder, but you will get so much out of them, and graduating from UD with an Honors degree definitely says something in the job market.

So, what I’m trying to say is that when it comes to colleges, UD is the best of both worlds (no, not the Hannah Montana theme song).  As an Honors student, you will have all of the positive aspects of a large university, but you will also have that small school feeling because of your involvement in the Honors Program.  When I first came to UD, I was not aware of this.  But now, I have really come to appreciate the uniqueness of the university, and I intend on getting as much as I can out of my college experience!

Don't these nifty nerds look like the best people ever?! (Spoiler alert: they are!!)

Don’t these nifty nerds look like the best people ever?!    (Spoiler alert: they are!!)

~Scott Eisenhart

Hooray for OCNJ!

My family and I have certain time-honored traditions when it comes to summer.  We always go to a ball game, the house always gets cleaned, and we always plan a vacation to the beach.  And as many of you know, in order to have the perfect beach vacation, you need to pick the right beach.  Although we have experimented and tried new places from time to time, this year we decided to stick with a classic; a place that always produces days filled with laughs, memories, and fun…Ocean City, New Jersey: America’s Greatest Family Resort!

My family and I have gone to OCNJ for almost all of my life, and I have also managed to convince my friends as well that this beach town is different from the rest.  As soon as we cross over the bridge and arrive on the island, it feels like I am returning to a place I love, and while Newark, DE is my home away from home, OCNJ is only just slightly behind.  This year, due to everyone’s hectic schedules, our vacation was not as long as it usually is.  But, our itinerary did not suffer, and we managed to check off all of the usual things that happen on an Eisenhart beach vacation:

Saturday:

We arrive in OCNJ and quickly drop off all of our belongings at the hotel.   Then, we change into our bathing suits, put on the SPF-gazillion sunscreen, and head on over to the beach.  The water is always cold upon first entering, but soon feels oh so relaxing.  My father and I toss the football around in the water, and I pretend I’m an NFL superstar every

Ocean City, New Jersey. For some it's just a beach, but for me, it's THE beach.

Ocean City, New Jersey. For some it’s just a beach, but for me, it’s THE beach.

time I dive into the waves in pursuit of a pass. Then it’s sandcastle-making, boogie boarding, and just messing around in the water.  Soon enough, Mom is calling us in to go back to the hotel, shower and change, and go out to eat.  The place we always hit up is Manco and Manco Pizza, the best pizza in the world (New Yorkers, don’t even try to convince me otherwise).  It is heavenly, and just writing about it makes my taste buds cry out for more.  After dinner, the rest of the night is spent walking along the miles of boardwalk and checking out all of the T-shirt shops and various boutiques.  The night is officially over when we stop and order a favorite late-night snack: deep-fried Oreos.  Yes, I was once skeptical too; an Oreo is already perfect, why would somebody feel the need to fry it?  Well, it is actually really tasty, and even though your doctor may not like your decision, your stomach certainly will.

Sunday:

The family and I wake up early, pack up the car, and check out of our hotel.  Then it’s a hearty breakfast in town of homemade doughnuts and omelets (my personal favorite: ham, hash browns, cheese, and mushrooms).  We then take one last walk around the boardwalk, and stop by Congo Falls for a round of mini golf.  Despite my employment at a mini golf course, my game is mediocre at best, and once again, I fall short of beating Momma Eisenhart.  Sadly, we had to start our return trip home after mini golf, but as I said, we managed to do everything that we wanted to do in a short amount of time.

I had such a blast at OCNJ this year, and I am really glad that that my family and I were able to take some time off, albeit very briefly, to just enjoy each other’s company.  I am already eagerly looking forward to next year’s trip!

The Summer Reunion

Ah, summer is just around the corner.  All that stands in your way are a couple of monsters known as “final exams”, but even those are no match for you. 

You pack up all of your stuff, cram it into the back of Dad’s truck, and are on your way back home.  You can’t wait to just lie down, sleep, and relax after a long and difficult semester.  But before you do that, you need to start planning a crucial event in your young life: the summer reunion with all of your hometown friends.

Face it: you haven’t kept in great contact with your hometown friends.  Sure, you told yourself you would and sure, you did a really good job of it during the first few weeks of the semester, but now, during the heart of the academic year, when exams and papers have replaced your friends, you’re anxious to hear all about their crazy college stories, and to share your own.  You set up a group chat and start planning the logistics of the event.  Right off the bat, you face the difficult task of coordinating when everyone’s coming home.

Similarly to real estate, the location of your reunion is critical to its success.  Backyards are good, backyards with fire pits are great, and backyards with fire pits and pools are perfect!  Picking the right food to have is also important.  Chances are that your mother, in her happy state due to your return from college, will probably agree to make anything you little heart desires.  But just to be safe, have all your friends agree to bring a dish.

 

Your tedious planning has paid off.  The day of reckoning is here, and your friends will be here in any minute.  You are anxious to see them all, and you are curious to see what all has changed.  Your guys friends will probably be spotting some sort of facial hair in celebration of their collegiate independence, and your lady friends may have a new hairstyle.  Personalities may also differ.  You best friend might now be a devout fraternity brother, and the friend that did nothing but schoolwork in high school might now be Mr./Mrs. Involved-in-Everything.  But what’s troubling you the most is how your friends will feel about you.  You’ve heard horror stories of how high school friends have gone off to college and hated each other upon arriving home, and you hope this isn’t the case for you and your friends.

 

Gasp, the doorbell!  Your friends are here, and the moment has arrived.  Time to re-connect. Even though you were nervous about how college had changed everyone, you remember that these people are your friends for a reason: because they like you.

 

Have a happy summer break, everyone!

~Scott Eisenhart

 

What You Need to Know for this Summer’s World Cup

I cannot wait for summer.

Yes, I know that pretty much every other human being shares this feeling, but let me elaborate.  This particular summer excites me even more so than usual because the world will unite for an epic event that only occurs once every four years.  Of course I’m talking about the FIFA WORLD CUP!

June 12th-July13th: Experience the world's game at its greatest splendor.

June 12th-July13th: Experience the world’s game at its greatest splendor.

Ask anybody, and they’ll tell you that I am a huge soccer nut (yes, I know that the rest of the world calls it “football”, but I live in ‘Murica).  I love watching it on TV, and even moreso playing it in my dorm room (the trick is to not hit my roommate’s lamp).  Naturally, my loyalty lies with the U.S. national team, and I am beyond stoked for this year’s tournament.  Jürgen Klinsmann, the team’s coach, has put together an exceptional squad, and they are poised to take on the rest of the world.  Despite the talent of players such as Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey, the U.S. will need its other players to step up and deliver.  The U.S. drew an especially difficult group draw for this year’s tournament.  Along with the U.S., the group known as the “Group of Death” contains Germany, Ghana, and Portugal.  While many in the international community have already written the U.S. off, I can confidently proclaim that we will prevail!

The location of this year’s World Cup, Brazil, currently struggles to deal with controversy.  Last year the country experienced nationwide protests by demonstrators who accused the Brazilian government of spending more money on the World Cup than on helping the poor and needy.  To make matters worse, at the time of this article’s publication, the Brazilian government hadn’t even completed all of the stadiums to host the matches!  This has caused FIFA, or le Fédération Internationale de Football Association, to consider other venues for this year’s tournament.

Regardless of where the games will take place, I know that when the U.S. game comes onto play, I will plant myself in front of the TV screen, cheering my heart out for the Red White and Blue squad.  My one hope for the U.S. team (besides ultimate supremacy) will be to win another close game on a crazy goal.  This dream of mine came to reality during the 2010 World Cup match between the U.S. and Algeria.  Landon Donovan’s come-from-behind game winner solidified itself as the greatest sports moment I have ever witnessed, and has been coined the most dramatic moment in U.S. soccer history.  In addition, sports commentator Ian Darke’s famous call of “You could not write a script like this!” sends shivers down my spine to this day.

So, this summer, while you’re hopefully lounging about and relaxing, make certain to follow the action down in Brazil and cheer on our boys to bring home the gold!

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