"From now on, I hope always to stay alert,
to educate myself as best I can. But lacking this,
in future I will relaxedly turn back to my secret
mind to see what it has observed when I thought I
was sitting this one out. We never sit anything out.
We are cups,constantly and quietly being filled.
The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over
and let the beautiful stuff out."
-Ray Bradbury
1998 Drake Relays, 800 meter invitational
Hi, I'm Jess Hoey, a public relations major at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
As far as colleges go, Drake's a pretty good place. In fact, we even have the Drake Relays, one of the biggest collegiate track events in the United States.
For more information about Drake and its Relays, look at the school's website.
Even though Drake
provides a great education
and more than enough activities
to partake in, I'm ready to move on
with my life. Or as Ray Bradbury would
put it, I'm ready to tip myself over and let
the beautiful stuff out. Knowing I'll be
graduating in a year is exciting
and scary at the same time,
but I feel prepared based
on the foundations
built throughout
my life.
The Missouri State Capitol Building, Summer 1997
I grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri,
a small town next to the Missouri River
that serves as the state's capital. When Harry
Truman was president, many people in the East
didn't understand how he could be so down-to-earth.
But if you get to know any Midwesterners, you'll soon
understand that being direct and down-to-earth is anything
but out of the ordinary. We appreciate our roots and try to relate
to those around us. Maybe that's why Bob Dylan's music means
more than a guitar and lyrics to me. Dylan embodies the
mouths of people crying out to be heard for who they
truly are. His voice resonates with a uniqueness
that seems to accommodate even the least of
us all. For more information about
Dylan and his upcoming tour
with Paul Simon,
look at http://www.expectingrain.com/
For more information about Jefferson City,
look at http://www.jcchamber.org/
At the top of a mountain on Dog Slaughter trail in Southeastern Kentucky. From left, Caroline, myself, Pem, and Ellie. Hiking up a mountain on a hot,humid day for about four hours may not seem like your idea of a good time, but we had a blast.
I spent the fall 1998 semester in
Southeastern Kentucky taking classes
and working at a substance abuse house.
The Appalachian Semester Program at
Union
College in Barbourville, Kentuckyoffers undergrad students a chance to
not only study sociological theories in
an Appalachian setting, but to see those
theories come to life. For more info
about the Appalachian Semester, look
at Union College's homepage at