Paul Figueroa
Name: Paul Figueroa
Hometown: Simi Valley, CA
Year at Westmont: Freshman
Major: Psychology
Email: admsstu@westmont.edu
Hobbies/Interests: Things I love to do include singing in Westmont's Men's Chorale, acting and dancing (I'm the co-leader of the Swing Club). I'm really social so I always like hanging out with friends. I now have a new obsession with the games Catchphrase and Settlers of Catan. (You can thank my friends for that). Other than that, I love being immersed in different cultures and living life to its fullest.
Bio: I grew up about an hour south of Santa Barbara in Simi Valley. I went to Grace Brethren Christian High School for 7th-12th grade, so right from the beginning I loved a small Christian environment. Right now, I am majoring in Psychology with hopes of going into some type of therapy work. I'm enjoying Santa Barbara life with my friends and taking advantage of all the opportunities I can.
Random Fact: I have a ticket stub collection from every movie, show, and concert I have ever been to.
Blogs
Paul’s Fourth Blog
April 18th, 2008
So the end of the year is finally here and everyone is anxiously counting down the days until summer vacation. For any incoming Freshmen, you will get to see me helping out with your Orientation this summer! So come up and say hi! I almost forgot to update you guys on Spring Sing. This year, The men of Clark Hall were pretty much the best and we even won the category of Best Men. Unfortunately, we did not win Sweepstakes (best overall) but we upheld the Clark tradition of bringing home the Best Men category. If you want to see our amazing performance then just YouTube search: Clark Men Spring Sing 2008. It was a really awesome experience especially since my roommate Emerson and I worked on the choreography. Go check it out!
Last weekend was the Inaugural Gala at one of the resorts by the beach. This year was the inauguration of the eight president of Westmont, Dr. Gayle Beebe. The Gala was to celebrate his inauguration so it was combined with Spring Formal to make one huge event. There was an amazing dinner followed by a night of dancing outside in the rotunda. My advanced Ballroom/Swing class got the opportunity to perform at the Gala. We did a swing dance routine to the popular Jump Jive 'An Wail song. Jessica Drake, another Freshman, and I got the chance to choreograph this routine (starting to see a trend?) That was such a cool experience because being able to design the dance that was being performed at the Gala was such a great honor.
After our class performed there was a Swing Competition (or so we thought) that Jessica and I signed up to participate in. There were seven couples dancing and the music started off being swing music but then the next song that came on was definitely not swing! There were a ton of different songs that were played from disco to hip hop so Jessie and I just went with it. Since we were prepared for solely swing we did the best we could and ended up placing third in the competition. Oh well! We still had a fun time!
The chaos of the last month of school is almost over, but there are still a few events left. This week is the Spring Concert where all the choirs will perform their repertoires at one of the churches downtown. It promises to be an exciting event. This year I am in Men's Chorale so we are performing about five pieces at the concert. Next year I will not be in Men's Chorale but rather I am going to be in College Choir, which is the mixed choir on campus.
This week is also the Fringe Festival on campus. If you have never heard of the Fringe, it is an event where tons of different types of productions are put on during the same week. This year 17 original productions are going to be presented throughout the week all culminating to the Fringe marathon on Saturday where all the pieces are going to be shown back to back. All the shows are completely student-produced with the exception of a few dance performances by some of the classes on campus. This year all of the works are adaptations of the works of Hans Christian Anderson so it should be really interesting.
As you can see by now, Westmont has so much to get involved in. The question now is whether or not I am involved in too much, but at least I am enjoying myself. You might be wondering where school fits in to all of this chaos. Let's just say that when you get to college you need to learn time management skills or else you will drown in all of your work. I'm not trying to scare anyone because it's just a simple matter of being organized and using your student planner. All I have to do is get through one more week of classes, a week of finals and then four months of…SUMMER VACATION!
Paul’s Third Blog
March 17th, 2008
Yes!!!! It's finally here…SPRING BREAK!!! Spring is one of my favorite times of the year and people around campus are stirring getting ready for the break. Westmont offers a lot of activities that students can participate in over the holiday. Potter's Clay is the most popular activity where students go to Mexico for a week and help with construction, Vacation Bible School, and medical work. Spring Break in the City (SBIC) is another popular trip where students go to the urban areas of San Francisco and help with the needs there. I am actually not attending any of these activities this year, but I am definitely going to do Potter's Clay next year. Instead, I am going to my favorite place in the entire world - Disneyland!!! I have been more times then I can count and no, I have not gotten sick of it. Spring Break is going to be a time to recuperate from all the midterms I just got through as well. I can't wait!
After Spring Break, things on campus will be in full swing getting ready for the plethora of events that will be held in the last few months of the year. One of the biggest traditions on campus is Spring Sing. Spring Sing is the event that has the most student involvement (about 80 percent!). This tradition is a competition between the dorms on campus where you have to do an eight minute musical skit showing off your best comedic, musical, and dancing abilities. This is my first Spring Sing on campus and my roommate Emerson and I get to be the choreographers for Clark Hall. I'm really excited for this because it's going to rock. So pretty much, we're going to win!
One of the most visible changes you notice about the campus during this time of year is that all the flowers are in full bloom. Sometimes it feels like I'm in the Garden of Eden. Because Westmont is located in the mountains there are so many activities that you can do. There are a ton of trails that are right within your reach which you can explore and have a great time with friends. Something I find interesting is that there is so much exploring you can do within the campus itself. There is a creek that runs down the middle of campus that you can spend hours exploring. I remember one time there was a scheduled blackout so a bunch of us decided that we were going to go exploring the creek bed on campus. First of all, it was pitch black and second, I was wearing sandals in the creek. Not the best idea. I had no idea were I was stepping and there were definitely things crawling on me that should not have been. It was an awesome time, though. Let's just say that it was an adventure; one of many that you can have at Westmont.
So, I showed up for work the other day and the door was locked, so Kat and I were wandering around waiting for our boss to unlock the door. We went behind the building and lo and behold, there was a forest right there. Kat said it looked like something out of Bambi because all the yellow flowers were out and there were butterflies everywhere. There happened to be a trail that led into the mountains, so my curiosity got the best of me and I went exploring. Before I knew it, I was staring at a waterfall and it was beautiful. There was a lot more trail left, but I decided I would save the rest for another day.
This is why I love Westmont so much. The fact that you can have so many cool adventures with your friends right in your own backyard really helps foster the sense of living in community with one another. You get the opportunity to learn from one another in one of the most unique and awesome places in the world. I don't think I would be growing as much as I am now if I was in another location because Westmont encourages students to reach out and explore new things.
Paul’s Second Blog
February 21st, 2008
Wow! This year is going by so fast. So far, my first year at Westmont has been great. The transition to college life went smoothly and I now feel really comfortable here. The thing that is awesome about Westmont is they really help incoming students get adjusted to all the changes they experience. There are a lot of resources on campus that help out a lot. For example, your R.A. (Resident Assistant) is a student that lives in your dorm section that you can go to if you need help with anything. My R.A. is great. I would have to say the best part of college life is living in the dorms (I guess classes are cool, also).
This year, I live in Clark Hall. There are two Freshman dorms on campus - the other being Page Hall. I guess you could say there is a friendly rivalry between the two dorms that keeps things interesting around campus. The thing I like about Clark is the way it is arranged. I like the different balconies, courtyards, and lawns which give it an ‘outdoors’ type of look. When I need to study, I just get a lawn chair or a blanket and lay out on Clark Beach (that's what we call the big lawn outside of Clark).
Speaking of the beach, we had an abnormal rain storm a few weeks ago. Here at Westmont, we utilize the resources God gives us - so we didn’t let all that good rainwater go to waste. A bunch of us got trash bags, put them on, and had the ultimate slip-n-slide down the lawn! The lawn is on a slope so you FLY DOWN!! It was so much fun (even though I'm a little sick now).
I have made some awesome friends with the people in my dorm and it's great to always have someone around to help with my studies or life in general. I have had some of my deepest conversations with people staying up late in the dorms. This has really caused me to grow spiritually because I am being challenged with issues of my faith. I see my new friendships lasting for a long time. Well, that's pretty much what I've been up to. I'll continue to keep you informed!
Paul’s First Blog
January 25th, 2008
Go Warriors!!! This is my first year at Westmont and it's been great. I love the school and all the opportunities it has to offer. The college search process wasn't easy, though. In fact, it was grueling...I had so many decisions to make and so many schools looked appealing that I just could not make up my mind. I went to a Christian high school and I wasn't quite sure if that's what I wanted for college. I had never heard about Westmont until my mom brought the school to my attention. She said she really wanted me to go to Westmont, but I wasn't sure. I kept looking at other schools but Westmont was always there in the back of my mind. Then I heard one of my friends talking about Westmont and how she was going there so I decided to research the school a bit more. The minute I went to the website I knew that this was the school for me. I didn't even need to go the school to realize that this is where I wanted to go. People say this all the time about Westmont, but I'm going to say it again…you need to see the campus! I appreciated this college so much more once I visited campus.
So, I recently finished my first semester of college and it was great. Everything went fine and I grew so much because of it. College has really changed me for the better. I have grown so much more academically, socially, and most importantly - spiritually. The emphasis on spiritual growth on campus is amazing as it allows you to grow as a whole person. What's funny is that all of this has taken place over the course of only one semester! I remember coming to Orientation and how nervous I was. I was afraid I wasn't going to make any friends and I really wanted to make a good first impression. Then I realized that everyone else was in the same position I was. Nobody knew each other and we all wanted the same thing. I found itamazing how quickly I came to make friends at Westmont. The sense of community at Westmont is awesome because everyone welcomes one another and I can say without reservation that I could make friends with anyone at Westmont. I can't wait to see what else I have to learn and the new experiences I will encounter as a Westmont Warrior!