Mark Keske is an Auburn University student in engineering who had the honor of being chosen to go to Germany for the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. Keske, along with 75 other American students, spent a year in Germany. For those who did not know German, the first two months were spent in Saarbrücken. While in Saarbrücken, he lived with a host family and attended language school. The language school was five days a week eight hours a day. “After a month with the host family I asked them to stop speaking English,” says Keske. “I was lucky that my host family spoke a lot of English but I wanted to really learn the language.” In November, he went to Stuttgart Germany where he took mechanical engineering classes (in German) at the University of Stuttgart.

“It was really hard learning new material in German but I had learned a lot of German in Saarbrücken,” says Keske.

He also worked as an intern with Bosch, a major engineering firm. According to Keske, if it wasn’t for having the background in engineering that Auburn provided him, he would not been able to do the job he did there.

Keske tried to take full advantage of being in Germany. This included running his first marathon, visiting Scotland and England, seeing the 25-hour Auto Race in France, going to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, and visiting every German state. “My goal going into this was getting a beer stein from each of the states in German,” remembers Keske. “Most of the Germans I talked to hadn’t even been to every state.” He says that the people who went through this experience with him said they “experienced the entire German life in one year.” “When we were in Saarbrücken it was like elementary and middle school years,” says Keske. “We were just learning how to talk and figure out the lifestyle a little bit. Then we went to Stuttgart where we lived the college years. We also had a job that treated us like grown-ups. At the end it was like retirement because we had time to just travel around. ”

March 1, 2010

Mark Keske :: Auburn Engineering Student Studies in Germany

carrying oncarrying on “After a month with

the host family I asked them to stop speaking English,” says Keske. “I was

lucky that my host family spoke a lot of English but I wanted

All articles by Cari EllisonAll articles by Cari Ellison

Auburn Edition

Badwater is globally recognized as the world’s hardest footrace. It is a 135 mile race in temperatures reaching 130 degrees. The race starts at Badwater, Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere. The finish line is at Mt. Whitney Portals, which is the highest elevation in the contiguous United States. The runners trudge through places with names like “Devil’s Golfcourse” running a total of 13,000’ of elevation. With ground temperatures reaching, 200 degrees the runner’s shoes often melt. This year, Auburn student Will Ansick is competing. In order to qualify, Ansick had to race in two ultramarathons over 100 miles within a year and be on the crew a Badwater racer. “In the release they make you sign there’s a long list of all the things that could happen,” says Ansick. “Everything from Dehydration to hallucinations to renal failure, brain damage, and even death.” Because of the dangerous conditions each runner has a crew. The crew members will each take turns jogging behind their runner administering fluids

and food as well as making sure the runner is lucid. “They’ll make sure I stay damp,” explains Ansick. “The temperatures are so hot that your sweat evaporates. So your crew makes sure you still cool enough. They are there to catch anything that could turn into a major medical problem.” “People’s first question is usually ‘Why?’,” says Ansick. “When I was on the crew for my family friend I knew I wanted to run it. The environment is so harsh and the difficulty of the race drew me to it.” Ansick started running in high school because he was “bored and getting fat.” He started with marathons and triathlons eventually working up to ultramarathons. “Ultras”, as they are called, are races longer than 26.2 miles. “I guess one of the biggest thing about me doing ‘Badwater’ is that there is only one person younger than me that’s finished the race,” says Ansick. “Before last year there had never been anybody younger than 24 attempt the race. This year there are four of us under the age of 24.” Currently Ansick is training 16 hours a week. He increases the time by 30 minutes each week. “I do something with my legs everyday,”

explains Ansick. “But I don’t run every day because I am trying to prevent overuse injuries. I also go to massage therapy at Auburn Bodyworkers. They work out tense muscles so I can recover quickly.” Ansick hopes to finish the race in 33 to 40 hours but will be happy if he finishes anywhere under 48 hours. The race has a time limit of 60 hours. During this time most competitive runners don’t stop for sleep. “The hardest thing will definitely be the mental aspect of it,” says Ansick. “Being able to see exactly where you are going for so far and not feeling like you’re gaining any ground. Just feeling like its dragging out becoming unmotivated.” Ansick explained that the visibility there makes it difficult because runners can see for miles and get discouraged when they don’t seem to get closer to landmarks for hours. “When you’re competing it’s you versus the elements,” says Ansick. “You have to put in the time. If you don’t do well it’s on you. If someone does better than you it’s because they worked harder. There’s no one you can blame but you.”

Auburn Student To Compete in Extreme Race “In the release

they make you sign there’s a long list of

all the things that could happen,” says Ansick. “Everything

from Dehydration to hallucinations to renal failure, brain damage, and even

death.”

William Ansick to compete in the AdventureCORPS Badwater Ultramarathon

April 25, 2010

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Erin Hutchins graduated from Auburn University last spring with bachelor’s degrees in political science and English. Even though she had many options after graduation, she chose to stay and attend Auburn’s public administration graduate program. “I truly believe that Auburn is a family,” says Hutchins. Hutchins had no previous connections to Auburn. No one from her family nor any of her friends attended the university. “I really had no idea where I wanted to go college,” says Hutchins. “I applied to 10 places but only visited Auburn.” Hutchins and her mother traveled from her hometown, Anniston, Ala., and attended a men’s basketball game against the University of Florida. “I knew that this was the place I wanted to be,” explains Hutchins. “Everyone was so friendly. Everyone was coming up and talking to us.”

During her visit, a freshman living in the Quad even let Hutchins take a look around her dorm room. Hutchins says it gave her “a better feel of Auburn.” Hutchins was extremely involved during her years as an undergraduate. Her freshman year she joined the Student Government Association’s Tiger Tuesdays Emerging Leaders Institute. She enjoyed being involved so much that she soon joined the University Program Council, where she was first a committee member and then joined council for 3 years. She was also a Success Strategies and Auburn Experience peer instructor, a Camp War Eagle counselor, High School Leadership counselor, and a member of Multicultural Affairs and the Welcome Week leadership team. “My favorite was definitely being a Camp War Eagle counselor,” says Hutchins. “I knew I wanted to do since I came to Camp War Eagle as a

freshman. I stayed connected to my group and my counselor so I had a really great experience.” The biggest piece of advice that she offered to her campers is something she knows about: Be involved and have fun. “My favorite thing about Auburn is that if you really have some opportunities to do something with your life there are a lot of people who will be on your side here,” says Hutchins. “I truly found a family here. There are so many people that I care deeply about that I would have never met if it wasn’t for student organizations.” After graduation Hutchins plans on going to law school. She wants to start and manage her own non-profit organization. When asked if she likes Auburn, Hutchins always laughs and says “I love it! And I believe in it.”

April 28, 2010

Erin Hutchins :: Auburn University Graduate student talks about being involved as an undergraduate

“My favorite thing about Auburn is that if you really have some opportunities to do something with your life there are a lot of people who will be on your side here,” says Hutchins.

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Stamp owner, Eric Stamp, is gearing up to open his newest shop, Camp Stamp, two doors down from his original store at 109 N. College St. The store will sell recycled and upcycled products. “One thing that will make us unique is that we don’t want to buy the stuff and have it shipped here. We want to make it or have local artists make it,” says Stamp. Camp Stamp will sell T-shirts, handmade jewelry, buttons, knitted hats and scarves as well as home décor such as bowls, posters, paintings , notebooks and printsStamp said the idea for the store came from the recycled, upcycled stuff that they were making at Stamp already. “This is just going to bring it on a larger scale and encourage others to make things as well,” says Stamp. “We just didn’t have the room in Stamp to sell everything we wanted to.” The store already has some local artists products ready to sell but is encouraging anyone who has an idea to come out and show them what they’ve got.

“We really want to push not only ourselves creatively, but the Auburn community as well,” Stamp says.Customers will also be able to make their own buttons, T-shirts or bags. “We found these great screen prints that were left by the last owner of Stamp. They are really vintage; straight from the ‘60s and ‘70s,” says Stamp. Customers will have a wide variety of T-shirt colors and bags to choose from. They will also sell vintage shirts that are from the original owner. Camp Stamp customers will also be able to design custom shirts and have them printed on organic, recycled or vintage shirts in the store. “The store will always be changing and evolving along with the artists and customers that come into it,” says Stamp. “You’ll never know what you are going to get.”

February 25, 2010

War Eagle Dining Hall reopened this semester with new restaurant options and updated look in Foy Hall. The dining hall now features four new restaurants: Southern Grill, Salsarita’s, Mondo Subs and Wild Greens.Foy underwent major renovations. The building now features a modern feel utilizing bright colors, diverse seating, and warm lighting. Southern Grill serves home-style southern cooking, including biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, and various vegetables. The menu changes every day. “Sometimes you just want cooking like you get at home,” comments Jason Gordon, an Auburn University student. Mondo Subs offers a diverse menu including hot and cold sandwiches as well as homemade chips. Some favorites are the All-American, Buffalo Chicken, and the Turkey Melt, according to manager Shelley Marble. “I like their idea with the whole different chips everyday. It’s really cool,” says William Greene. The flavors change daily and range from red pepper and basil to lemon pepper. Wild Greens is a new concept to Auburn’s campus. It is a self-serve salad bar with different lettuces as well as many topping

Camp Stamp to Open in Auburn

Old Foy, New Optionschoices. Wild Greens has various vegetables, cheeses, meats and dressings. “They can put anything on their salad that they like for 49 cents an ounce,” says employee Shaquetta Ray. “Once they’re done building the salad they take it up to the cash register and they weigh it.” The clear favorite of the new restaurant options is Salsarita’s, according to employee Patricia Spence. Salsarita’s is custom order Mexican food. “It’s kind of like Moe’s except they have seasoned chips,” remarks Greene. They make quesadillas, burritos, tacos and salads. All can be ordered with chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp. Their side items include chips with salsa, guacamole, or queso. “I’ve been waiting for something like this to come on campus,” says student Meredith Perry. War Eagle Dining Hall also has a soup bar which features three soups from Au Bon Pain. They also havepremade sushi. War Eagle Dining Hall is open Monday- Friday from 10:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.

Eric Stamp plans to open new store

Foy Hall reopens with new dining options

February 1, 2010

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around 8 a.m. and ended in the evening around 6 p.m. Auburn wasn’t the only place getting snow. All 50 states, including Hawaii, had reports of snow, according to the National Weather Center. Taking full advantage of the class cancellations, Auburn’s students looked like kids playing on Samford Lawn, Donahue fields and everywhere else in the area. Snowballs flew through the air hitting there targets as students and families alike took pictures in front of the iconic Samford and Auburn University sign. Garbage lids and cardboard boxes were transformed into sleds as students looked for hills with fresh snow. Snowmen took residence on everything from front yards to the tailgates of pick-up trucks. There were even reports that if that Aubie was wearing boxers by Jordan-Hare Stadium and taking pictures with lucky onlookers. Some critics said that the anticipation of snow should not mean the university should shut down. In this case, the university knows best. They were just deemed a StormReady school by the National Weather Service on Feb. 8, 2010. In order to be StormReady, a university must meet preparedness criteria. Auburn is one of three universities in Alabama to receive honor.

On Thursday evening phones rang and emails dinged all over the Auburn area. They may not have been able to be heard over the shouts of happiness from students and faculty alike. The AU Alert program at Auburn University was telling everyone that school was cancelled due to expected snow. And snow it did! Around three inches of snow was on the ground, according to the OA News. It started in the morning

Snow on the PlainsAuburn, Ala. gets 3 inches of snow

February 17,2010

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