The Lost Files Vol. 17: Things Freshman Need

            Freshman year of college can be a particularly treacherous time of a young person’s life, especially in this snowy winter season. These are some recommended items for freshmen who are feeling the sting of the balmy air and missing their dog.

            The first thing WSU freshmen should instantly get if they do not already have is a comfortable pair of shoes to walk in. WSU students quickly become adept in traversing the rolling hills of the Palouse, which can be made much easier with a comfy pair of walking shoes.

            Next, WSU freshmen should be sure to pick up a sports pass if they haven’t already, which will allow them to attend all home sporting events on campus. There are many exciting varsity sports at WSU beyond just the popular football and basketball teams, from track & field to baseball to golf.

            If you are a Cougar freshman who does not own a good pair of headphones, you are missing out on some quality “me” time. As I previously alluded to, walks to class on campus are long and hilly, leaving plenty of time for students to catch up on podcasts or listen to the newest Now! Music.

            The next thing you should be sure to pick up if you are a freshman at WSU is a hobby or extracurricular activity that sparks your interest. Whether it is a sport, club, job, or any activity outside of class, any time you get involved at the university is positive for both parties.

            Lastly, the most important thing freshmen Cougs should get is the confidence to say what they really feel in front of unfamiliar people. College is a significant growth period for many, a time where you are able to figure out what motivates you and how you can share it with people.

            What follows is a list of additional items freshman students at Washington State should be on the lookout for.

           

·        Lots of socks and underwear so you don’t have to do too much laundry

·        Netflix

·        A winter jacket

·        Those sunglasses that Bret Boone had that flipped up or down

·        Textbooks

·        Pens, pencils, highlighters, notecards- anything from Office Depot

·        A picture on your iMac of Michael Jordan dunking the apple

·        Rashard Lewis retro Supersonics jersey

·        Temporary tattoos of dolphins and stuff

·        A kitten

·        A poster of Bill Murray with a moustache

·        WSU sweatshirt from the Bookie

·        A new lease on life

·        A good routine that accentuates your positive habits and activities

·        A wizard staff of Busch Light

·        Good internet connection

·        Into interesting conversations with classmates and others around campus

·        Crocs

·        Something to look forward to that gets you through all the hard times

·        A nice, sturdy iPhone case

·        That cool haircut that Brad Pitt had in “Fury”

·        Jorts

·        Shants

·        Jeggings

·        Barney Stinson’s suit pajamas

·        Barney Stinson’s sense of composure

·        How I Met Your Mother the complete series on Blu-Ray

·        A Blu-Ray player

·        A bright orange vest like Marty McFly wore in Back to the Future

·        An old man ambiguously related to you who you can yell “Doc” at

·        Pepsi Perfect

·        The Grays Sports Almanac so you can bet on future sporting events

·        A cookbook of roast beef recipes by Jeff Ross called “I Only Roast the Ones I... *inaudible chewing sounds*”

The Lost Files Vol. 16: Doggie Destinations in Pullman

            With warmer weather right around the corner, there is no better time than now to figure out where to take your best friend for a good time. No, I’m not talking about buying shots for Steve at Valhalla or taking Mary to Zeppoz for some late night bowling. I’m talking about Bret Favre’s best friend from the jeans commercials that rides in the back of his truck; and its not Dale Earnhardt Jr.

            It doesn’t take much more than a ball, a couple milk bones, an open field, and the air whistling through their ears for a pup to feel alive. Dogs are forever trapped in the now, as we all are, but they don’t realize it at least as far as we know, a predetermined eternal bliss of sorts. Maybe if we all took a page out of our pooch’s playbook we would realize that “we can’t play the game of life with sweaty palms”, as Dr. Phil once said.

            Here are a few of the many unique spots in downtown Pullman that will make your canine comrade appreciate you.

            There is a large, open grass field for you and your canine to run free in adjacent to the Pullman Community Garden at Koppel Farm. Make sure to bring tennis balls, a rebel spirit, and extra treats for Rover, as you can both wet your whistle with the cool water of the South Fork. Don’t bother bringing a watch because “you don’t need a pack of wild horses to learn how to make a sandwich”, as Phil McGraw famously stated.

            If you and your dog like running around in dirt, walk a little bit down the path toward the baseball fields that occupy the City Playfield. This area is beneficial on brutally hot days where shade can be provided by the luminous evergreens. Remember to pack snacks since one particularly famous TV doctor told me “a year from now, you’re gonna weigh more or less than what you do right now”.

            Across the street from Porch Light Pizza there is a little area where you and your dog can get yourselves acquainted with nature. This space, by the bridge that passes over the South Fork, is your chance to get a slice of the Discovery Channel in Pullman, as well as a slice from Porch Light. Gaze at your reflection in the water because “its hard to see your own face without a mirror”, said the host of the infamous CBS daytime doctor talk show.

            If you would like a more privatized location for you and your canine friend in downtown Pullman, look no further than Reaney Park. Reaney Park offers a quant gazebo if you would like to imagine you are trapped in The Great Gatsby or an HGTV promo. Bring a Frisbee to play catch with Rex, since you “grew up in athletics, where people keep score”, as an impeccable celebrity doctor once said.

            Lastly, the corner of McKenzie and High Street is especially rampant with squirrels and other woodland creatures. Make sure to hold on to Brutus’s leash tight, lest he runs into a tree and bonks his head in pursuit. Be prepared for Brutus to take chase and “don’t wait until you’re in a crisis to come up with a crisis plan”, as the great Phil McGraw once said.

            Those were just a dozen or so of the best places in Pullman for you to take your dog for entertainment. Like Dr. Phil always says, “I just am not good at math.”

The Lost Files Vol. 14: WSU Alive! Orientation

            Whether you are a lentil farmer, an app developer or a lentil app developer, evolution is the key to keeping up with the ever changing technologies of our time.

            If it is societal changes, new platforms to communicate with the world or just a new Starbucks in town we live in an unstable world that is ever growing.

            I spoke with Amanda Morgan who has been the Director of Alive!, the incoming student orientation at Washington State University, since 2013 and working for the program for ten years. She touched on the importance of changing to stay in line with the needs and demands of your target audience.

            In the case of Alive! Amanda Morgan talked about the significance of finding out what your audience wants and transforming your organization to fit these desires. “Alive! uses student and parent evaluations at the end of the program … they were pretty robust,” Morgan told me referring to the general positivity of the results in her years as Director.

This can be defined as a retroactive marketing plan in that it relies on results of events that have already occurred.

            “Students want a shorter program so we cut back half a day from the freshmen program and condense the information,” the Alive! Director discussed.

I am fascinated by the successful revolutionaries like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King Jr., who bucked the trend by being ahead of the change curve. In other words, proactive marketers. These visionaries were able to rock the world with their ideas, not because they yielded to how the world was changing at the time — we know their names because they correctly forecasted how the world would change in the future.

How does this relate to the Alive! program at Washington State University? What about the power of first impressions? Why is being ahead of the change curve the most crucial thing you can do to be successful?

More importantly in what ways does shortening the length of an orientation program that welcomes incoming students to our university improve their experience? It seems that this action would have the reverse effect and not give students as much time to ease into the college environment.

While Alive! meant well when they reduced the length of their program this move did not do anything to make the experience better for incoming students and parents.

           

What Alive! needs to focus on is the preferences of high school students and all individuals who are considering going to Washington State University but still making up their mind. By adjusting their program to cater to the desires of students who had just gone through the program, Alive! is using retroactive marketing practices. They should be more proactive by marketing themselves to students who are still considering what university to attend with Pullman being amongst the options.

Alive! can accomplish this by being more active on Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and other social media applications dominated by millennials. Alive! should also strive to include the opinions of high school kids and all prospective Washington State Cougars when designing their orientation. Alive! representatives should make traverse varying high schools around the country selling students on all that Washington State University has to offer.

My main plea to Alive! is don’t market yourself to the audience you already have; target the individuals who are still trying to pick a college by differentiating yourself from the pack.     

The Lost Files Vol. 13: Horticulture Club

Dig up some dirt with WSU Horticulture Club

The WSU Horticulture Club is not just for green thumbs and cactus enthusiasts; it welcomes students from all backgrounds.

            “Our main focus is to teach students more of a business setting for greenhouses.” 2016-2017 club president Aaron Appleby said. “We learn from the beginning planting seed to ordering cuttings to making the baskets.”

            “The WSU Horticulture Club teaches you what people are buying and what times of year you plant things if you want to sell them at a specific time.” Appleby discussed about the business aspects of the club.

            How did Appleby discover the “Between Two Ferns” of student-run clubs at Washington State University?

            “I was taking Jamie Holden’s    Horticulture 357 Greenhouse Management and really liked the class” said Appleby. “After class Holden (club advisor) mentioned he had a Horticulture Club and they plant flowers and use the greenhouse across the street from Ferdinand’s.”

            “Horticulture Club is a non-discriminatory club so you don’t have to be a Horticulture major to join, hang out and work with us” said Appleby, who is an Organic Air Culture major. Organic Air Culture either sounds like a major at Washington State that offers promising scientific career opportunities or the worst Indie Garage band ever.

            “Our club gives the opportunity for anybody to come learn about plants and about the business side of plants.” Appleby said about the WSU Horticulture Club whose greenhouse doors are always open to Pullman residents except for the Palouse’s scourge of vermin.

            “We also have to combat pests in the greenhouse so that gives you some opportunity to scout if you are interested.” Appleby said.

            As for how the club earns money to keep afloat in this dreaded economy, they mainly rely on proceeds raised from plant sales.

            “The Hort. Club has the Mom’s Weekend sale, the graduation sale and two sales right after that.” Appleby said.

            So what are the most popular selling floras on the organization’s menu?

            “Our hanging baskets and deck planters bloom all summer long all across Washington. They are so popular people will often make a trip across the state or from many parts of Idaho just to purchase them.” Appleby wrote in an email after the interview, emphasizing the significance of the point.

             But what herb sounds the most like it came from a table write of The Game of Thrones?

            “We have a flower that not a lot of the industry sells; the ‘Salpiglossis sinuata’ or ‘The Painted Tongue’ which is a vibrant focal point in our baskets.” Appleby revealed. I heard rumor that Jon Snow was supposed to be eaten by a “Salpiglossis sinuate” in season three but it was written out of the script.

            Horticulture Club at WSU offers a bevy of plant activities as well as free pizza on the regular; if you are not drawn in by this offer than you do not understand the power of free pizza.

Email aaron.appleby@wsu.edu to join the Horticulture Club