Eye on the Storm: The Official Undergraduate Admissions Blog of the National Leader in Experiential, Hands-on Learning

Keuka College isn’t located in the heart of a big city, nor is it minutes away from a sprawling mall with more than 100 stores. Instead, Keuka is located near many other attractions sure to fulfill just about anyone’s desire to get off campus for awhile.

From taking in the campus’ spectacular lakeside view to visiting nearby flea markets, pick-your-own-fruit spots, and countryside diners & restaurants, there’s always something for you to do. Here are nine of my favorite things to do during the weekend.

The Windmill

Located on N.Y. Route 14A about 15 minutes away from Keuka’s campus, the Windmill is a quick ride away and is one of those places you could spend hours. They have live entertainment and all sorts of vendors who sell many different things for you to buy and eat.

You’re sure to run into a couple Keuka students any given weekend, and the fact they’re open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. every Saturday makes it easy to discover something new.

Keuka Sporting Events

There are always teams in season playing on campus or nearby. Grab a couple friends and head up to the Weed Physical Arts Center or the Jephson Athletic Complex and support our teams.

Intramural Games

Intramurals at Keuka are always a big draw. You and your friends can easily get in on the action.  Students go head-to-head against each other playing flag football, soccer, dodgeball, kickball, softball and even participate in special events such as the annual Keuka Olympics.

Campus-Wide Club Events

We have more than 50 clubs and organizations, and many hold weekend events. Events range from dance parties, bonfires, festivals (sometimes with live music), arts and crafts nights, and fashion shows to off-campus events such as paintball games, cycling events and white water rafting.

Our Campus Activities Board works in association with the Office of Student Activities to bring events to campus such as game shows, magicians, hypnotists, Bingo, comedians, and casino nights.

Off-Campus Excursions

Offices such as Student Activities and Multicultural Affairs work in conjunction with Campus Safety to put together Saturday trips to malls and local attractions.

While they often go places such as the Waterloo Premium Outlets and Eastview Mall, on occasion special trips are planned to places like the Corning Museum of Glass, Niagara Falls, museums, and state parks. Dahlstrom Student Center is the best place to check for trip announcements and schedules.

Point Neamo

The Point, as some students refer to it, is a great place to go and take in a great view of the lake and catch some fresh air – if it’s not too cold, of course.

Located just behind Norton Chapel, Point Neamo is just a 3-5 minute walk from nearly anywhere on campus. Bring a book or a couple of friends and hang out on the deck or walk down to the waterfront. You’re sure to see at least some Keuka students running by or a friendly neighbor kayaking or ice boating in the water.

Pick Your Own Fruit

Just up the road from campus—and many other places not too far from here—you’ll find many farms that allow people to come in and pick produce.

For a small fee, you and your friends can walk around an apple orchard or a grape vineyard and pick fruits to take home and enjoy. It’s one thing to go over to P&C to buy a fresh apple, but it’s a totally different experience to go out and pick it yourself. Try it sometime; it’s a lot more fun than you might think.

Movie and Game Nights

One thing Keuka has quite a bit of is accessibility to comfortable lounges and TVs. Got a large group of friends and you need a place to watch a good movie or TV Show? Grab some DVDs and head over to your nearest lounge.

It’s a sure-fire way to meet new people and have a good time. There are also tables and chairs, so you can bring out board games too! In some lounges you also have access to pool, ping pong and air hockey tables.

Penn Yan, New York

There wouldn’t be a list without the town that Keuka’s campus is closest to. Penn Yan may be small, but there are quite a few things you can do there. There’s a bowling alley, go karts (in season), mini golf and ice cream, various restaurants at cheap prices, a movie theater and even a place to rent movies.

There are certainly more things that you can do not too far from Keuka in other towns and cities, but here’s what you can find right around in the Keuka Park community. Don’t be afraid to go exploring because you never know what you may run into along the way.

During the fall, high school students have the chance to visit college fairs in their schools and neighborhoods. Admissions representatives from colleges all over the country travel to college fairs to meet future students. Why do we come to your high school? To talk to you! If you are a high school student, all it takes is 5 minutes to approach an admissions counselor, introduce yourself, and ask a question about the college. What should you ask? The possibilities are endless. You could ask about a major you are interested in, a particular club or sport, or you could ask about what types of scholarships the college offers. Chances are the admissions counselor you approach will be thrilled to talk to you and you will get important information directly from the source.

The bottom line here is this- take advantage of college fairs at your high school and in your community. Attend the fairs, approach the college tables you are interested in, ask good questions that will help you learn more about the college, and make sure you introduce yourself to the admissions counselors. It’s your chance to make a good first impression and get all the information you need to make a good choice about where you will attend college.

The Rev. Dr. George Harvey Ball founded Keuka College and Institute on Feb. 18th, 1890, and he served as our first president until his death in 1907. A baptist minister, his vision was to provide a high-quality education to all deserving students, regardless of their economic background; that’s a mission our 18th and current president, as well as the Ball Family, still champions. The College’s original building, which was renovated in 2007, bears his name.

In keeping with Ball’s vision, Keuka College has been cited numerous times by U.S. News and World Report as having graduates who carry some of the least debt loads when compared to the baccalaureate colleges in the north. George’s mission stays alive through the George H. Ball Achievement Award which recognizes high school seniors with solid academic records and involvement in the school and community who demonstrate the importance of social responsibility.

We thought you’d like to get to know George–who he was in 1890 and what his legacy is today. The admissions team will be posting to our Facebook app wall in George’s name to keep his voice alive, honor our past, and remind you why his 120-year-old grand plan is so important today.

And as for the bizarre-looking hat, well, it was just the style back then.

Mid to late October is the time when many students begin to complain about the weather being too cold or class work being too much of a hassle. Being New Yorkers, we know what cold is and October is nothing compared to the December or January frigidness. It is true that midterms are tough, but students need to take the time to breathe and readjust before becoming too overloaded. Here are some reasons why the fall season should help relieve stress:

1. We Are Located on Keuka Lake

Neamo’s Point is beautiful during any season and by just taking ten minutes to look out at the lake and the scarlet and golden leaves surrounding it, stress should be lifted off of your shoulders almost instantly.

2. Search for That Last Pumpkin

Even though pumpkin season is nearing its end, it’s never too late to search for a good pumpkin. Take an hour or so to forget about your schoolwork and find that remaining pumpkin.

3. Attend a Haunted House

This is the time for Haunted Houses and Hayrides. Nothing says stress-relief better than a good scream.

4. Be a Kid – Roll in the Leaves

Take time to be a child again and roll around in a pile of leaves! Keuka has big, beautiful trees so why not take advantage of what they produce. Bring some friends along and be a kid again.

5.  Take a Relaxing Walk

Bundle yourself up in a hoodie and scarf and walk around campus. If you are one of those efficient students, bring a few note cards along with you and glance at them once and a while.

I wouldn’t say that I am the best student at Keuka College, but I have gone to just about all of the workshops on how to improve your time management skills.  From those workshops, I can say that  I’m pretty good at knowing what works and what doesn’t.  I’ve developed a list of tips on how you too can be a pro at managing your time.

1. Make a ‘To-Do’ List. Every Day.

Put the most important thing first and make sure you get it done. Preferably use this strategy in the beginning of the day, so you’ll be less stressed later on. If you need to break down your “to do” list into smaller tasks so you can have more things to do, you’ll be able to check more things off quicker. It’s easier to keep something on your list when you see that you’re making an impact in what you have to do for the day.  MOST IMPORTANTLY. When you are done with the day, get rid of your to do list and start a new one for the next day. You can copy over the most important things you need, but have a new list with no marks on it at the beginning of each day.

2. Plan Out the Times You Have Between Classes

During my sophomore year, my adviser told me this strategy during a meeting and it’s a great idea. Every morning (or even the night before), plan out little small tasks that you can do between classes, like a worksheet that you could fill out, an outline you could start, or even just a chapter you can read for a class.  Keep these items in a folder in your bag during the day. Between classes, or while you’re waiting before a meeting, you can pull that work out, and get a little something done in your extra little free time. It definitely adds up.

3. You Don’t Have to Say ‘Yes’ to Everyone

This is important. I had a friend that had a really hard time saying ‘no’ to people when they would ask her for help. She was offered quite a few jobs on campus as a tutor, and she just didn’t have to time for it. She had a very difficult time putting herself before someone in need, but she finally realized she had to in order to keep her grades up.

4. Review Your Notes Every Day

You’ve probably heard this before and thought it was bogus  or a waste of time – that’s what I thought.  You learn so much more when you take the time out to actually review your notes. Your little notes in the margin will make sense if you go over them the day that you wrote them. I’ve found that typing out my notes and putting them on notely.com is really helpful.

5. Keep a Notebook Handy with a Pen

When you’re doing your homework or studying, odds are you are going to think of something that you have to do. It will bother you and prevent you from focusing on what you need to be doing. With the notebook you are keeping with you, you can write down what you need to remember to do and then forget about it until you’re done. Just make sure to always review that notebook and add things to your ‘to-do’ list.

Most high school students get their first glimpse of a prospective college campus via a brochure or Web site. When they visit the campus, what they saw isn’t always what they get. Then again, love at first sight is possible.

Keuka College held its annual Fall Open House Oct.15 and despite rainy weather, a record 150 high schoolers and their families made the trip to Keuka Park. Students had the opportunity to tour the campus and meet with professors, coaches, current students, admissions counselors, and financial aid representative.

This is important part of open house at any college, because these are the people you will be interacting with on a daily basis. So, it’s a good idea to get to know and make an impression on them because they will be sure to remember you when you come to school as a freshman. This is especially true at Keuka, where we never forget a face.

Open house is often the first opportunity for students to “try us on for size.” At Keuka, students and families checked out all of the student clubs and organizations on campus after enjoying a delicious meal in the Geiser Refectory. And speaking of food, my favorite part of open house actually happens at lunch time. I enjoy seeing the real-life interaction between students, something a college cannot recreate in a brochure.

When visiting a campus, you should try to imagine yourself living there. Look at all the posters around campus; really see what is going on. And, of course, the golden rule: ask as many questions as possible when on tour. How often do get the full attention of a current college student for an hour at 9 a.m. on a Saturday? Take advantage of it.

1. Visit The Windmill – like a giant farm, food, and craft fair. Go hungry – the food is awesome.

2. Go to Seneca Farms – best homemade ice cream in the world & wonderful chicken too

3. After all this eating, go hiking! The Outlet Trail from Penn Yan takes you along the outlet that leads from Keuka Lake to Seneca Lake. Or go to Watkins Glen and hike the gorge and see the waterfalls (especially pretty this time of year)

4. Pick some apples or pumpkins at one of the many farms in the area. Buy some apple cider – yummy! The Wager Cider Mill also makes their own homemade cider donuts – my mouth is watering just thinking about them. Go to a corn maze and outrace your friends to the finish.

5. Outrace your friends (or your dad) at the Go Karts

6. Ride your bike around the roads surrounding the campus and the lake - do your own leaf peeping tour while you get some exercise and burn off all of the calories gained from the ice cream and donuts mentioned above.

7. Travel to Hammondsport at the southern tip of Keuke Lake. Nice shops and good places to eat (check out the candy at The Cinnamon Stick).

8. Enjoy a boat tour of the lake.

9. Go to Hayes Auction Barn just north of the hospital in Penn Yan. They serve wonderful pies and you can get some great deals on things (the people watching there is really fun too – I love to see what people are so intent to buy that they go into a bidding frenzy!)

10. Attend some of the many festivals in the area - The Grape Festival, The Appleumpkin Festival, The Scarecrow Festival – like everything else mentioned above – really fun and feature the most important item – great food.

Early in the semester, students always hear stories about the professors on campus. Who lets you use your notes on tests? Who gives the most extra credit?  Where’s Socrates? From there, students either beg their adviser to slip them into a class with their favorite educator or push aside their wishes and go with whomever is available. Keuka College has a remarkably talented group of educators and each individual has their own unique way of teaching a class.

By asking students about their favorite professor, it allows others to get some insight into who may be right for them next semester, next year or years down the road. Below are 11 Keuka College students who took the time to discuss their most-noted professor and what brought them to the campus in the first place.

Shannon Slater ‘12

Favorite Professor: Mrs. Jennings
What’s Your Major: Early Childhood Education
Why Do You Like Keuka? “I like Keuka because it’s far from home.”

MaKenna Moon ‘12

Favorite Professor: Dr. Leahy
What’s Your Major: Political Science and History
Why Do You Like Keuka? “It’s full of awesome people!”

Ashleen Betts ‘11

Favorite Professor: Dr. McKenzie
What’s Your Major: American Sign Language
Why Do You Like Keuka? “[Dr. Mac] makes boring classes interesting!”

Ben Ternosky ‘12

Favorite Professor: Dr. Dickinson
What’s Your Major: Occupational Therapy
Why Do You Like Keuka? “The class size and scenery.”

Kimberly Notebaert ‘11

Favorite Professor: Dr. McKenzie
What’s Your Major: Social Work
Why Do You Like Keuka? “I finally found a place that makes me feel like I belong.”

Emmalee Pearce ‘11

Favorite Professor: Dr. Shepardson
What’s Your Major: Unified Childhood Education
Why Do You Like Keuka? “The small family-like atmosphere.”

Paige Snyder ‘13

Favorite Professor: Dr. Holloway
What’s Your Major: Psychology
Why Do You Like Keuka? “Close to home.”

Kristen Amidon ‘13

Favorite Professor: Dr. Holloway
What’s Your Major: Occupational Therapy
Why Do You Like Keuka? “Friendly, family setting.”

Diamond Booker ‘11

Favorite Professor: Dr. McKenzie
What’s Your Major: Business Management
Why Do You Like Keuka: “It’s beautiful.”

Jing ‘Potato’ Lin ‘10 (left) Carol Yu ‘10

Potato

Favorite Professor: Mr. Perryman
What’s Your Major: Business Management
Why Do You Like Keuka? “The lake and ice cream.”

Carol

Favorite Professor: Mr. Perryman
What’s Your Major: Business Management
Why Do You Like Keuka? “Nice people and the lake.”

Cecilia Chen ‘10

Favorite Professor: Mr. Perryman
What’s Your Major: Business Management
Why Do You Like Keuka? “The beautiful lake.”

Ahh. This is both my favorite and least favorite question to answer. It is my favorite because I could talk about it for days, and therefore also my least favorite. SIFE has often had the reputation of being just a business club. Now comes the part where I squash all the rumors: SIFE is more than just a business club! There. SIFE is an acronym for Students In Free Enterprise.

(On of life’s harshest lessons: just because you know what an acronym stands for, does not necessarily mean that you understand it.)

SIFE is a worldwide organization with teams in over 40 countries. There are about 1000 teams in the United States. At Keuka College, you will find one of the 48 best teams in the country (results per 2009 national competition). The great thing about SIFE is that every team is different. I will tell you a little bit about what the Keuka SIFE team is all about.

Our team has around 62 members this year, and 16 projects. Essentially we have one goal: to make the world a better place, beginning with our own backyard of Yates County, NY. We have a variety of educational projects that we target to youth in our area. Our team spends time in local classrooms promoting the principles of Free Enterprise. Some of these include ethics, financial literacy and environmental sustainability among other things. Most people will agree that these are all issues where education is vital. You don’t have to be a business person to understand how to manage your money or be ethical. We are all consumers in the long run, right?

And of course our other main goal is to help local entrepreneurs succeed. We accomplish this by providing and marketing seminars, developing marketing plans for local businesses, and sharing what we learn in the classrooms with business owners. The relationship we have with local businesses benefits all parties involved. They are able to receive assistance from an outside source, and we as students get to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it in real life scenarios. Experiential Learning at its finest? I think so.

I wish I could tell you all of the advantages of being on a SIFE team, but they won’t let me write forever. But I can tell you that it is the most important part of my resume. I will be sure to update you more about what our team is doing this year.

I’ve decided that I might as well start off this year with the lessons that Keuka has taught me in the past two(ish) years.

1. It’s never too late to change your major

1.5 You can finish a major in two years if you have all your gen eds done.

2. In about three months the new friends you meet will suddenly feel like best friends.

3. Sleeping with a stuffed animal is really actually not that weird.

4.Facebook is the reason for procrastination.

5. The library is a beautiful thing!

5.5 They have syllabi in the library, so if you lose yours, THEY HAVE ONE. How awesome? Now you don’t have to ask the teacher.

5.5 Part Two: And sometimes, they have the books you need for class on reserve. Ergo, You don’t necessarily have to go all the way back up to your room, you can just go ask to borrow it for two hours.

6. Using food in presentations is how you get an A.

7. Happiness is your choice. No matter where you go, you’ll find someone you don’t like. Don’t let it bother you, and just keep swimming.

8. Take time out of every day for yourself. Going down to the lake during downtime is wonderfully relaxing.

9. Time management is the key to eternal happiness.

10. Always make sure you have friends that aren’t just your roommates.

11. I should not be an English major. Communications is so much more fun. For me.

12. Make time to exercise. Even if you don’t really want to.

13. Don’t forget to clean out your fridge. Or put the twisty tie thing back on the bread. Bad bad things will happen.

14. People care about whether you call it pop or soda.

15. DO NOT wait until ten minutes before an exam to study.