Fall is in full….spring?

So the fall season is upon us and while it’s a little rainy today, the weather has otherwise been great. But enough about weather. Week 6 of the quarter means the work has started to build up. Weekend all day hiking trips are no more. But what else should one expect from grad school?

Fall also means Halloween. The Josef Korbel School holds a great Halloween party at a local bar. Last year was a great time and this year looks to be the same. What’s even better is that the school picks up the first round of drinks and appetizers. This year there will be prizes for Best Overall Costume, Most Creative, Most Authentic, and Best Collective Costume (couple or group). So you all better get your thinking caps on and come up with an epic costume.

Oh, and The Walking Dead is back!

Oktoberfest, etc.

This weekend Oktoberfest came to downtown Denver. A couple blocks were closed and instead tents were put up and beer and brats were aplenty. There was some music and games, including zorbs, which we were able to talk our friend into doing. Very funny. There were no hills involved, though, only a pool.

Since it’s important to exercise both the mind and body, a group of us like to take a break from school work on the weekends and play ultimate frisbee. We had an excellent turnout this week. Any current students reading this who may be interested in playing, join our group on facebook.

For the fifth consecutive week I was able to get up to the mountains. No hiking this time, instead I went horseback riding. It was a beautiful day. The trees are starting to turn so I look forward to getting back to Rocky Mountain National Park next weekend for the view. My friend has been keeping track of our hiking stats:

Miles:                  Elevation Gain:

M:                                         35.1                                       8088
EL:                                          9.0                                       2044

E:                                          66.8                                     15366

J:                                          71.3                                      16326

 

It’s week three of fall quarter so pretty soon the workload is going to build up and I’ll have to cut back on play time. I don’t look forward to it.

A much needed update

Well my first year of grad school ended back in June. As one can imagine from my lack of updates, it was quite hectic (ok, ok, I’m just not good at keeping up a blog). Let me recap my last week in Denver back in June. Thursday I finished my last paper. Friday I moved into a new house with some fellow Korbel students. And Saturday I moved to St. Louis for my internship with the federal government which started that Monday. Busy.

The internship went well. Pardon me for not sharing more about that. St. Louis wasn’t my favorite place but I had some fun with the other interns. Fourth of July under the arch was pretty cool. I also went on a canoe trip which was great. Ted Drewes has the best ice cream i’ve ever had. Well, technically it’s frozen custard. If you’re ever in St. Louis definitely stop by for some of that.

After a little more than 12 weeks in St. Louis I arrived back in Denver at the end of August. And I was so excited to get back. The two weeks I had before school started was my first break since December (I worked full time over summer). It was a much needed break. Now that I’m back I’ve been doing a lot of grilling. Some of my fellow Korbelers moved into a house this summer and decided to host “Steak Fridays” to include lawn games and such. I’ve also been doing a lot of hiking. Some friends and I opted to get a season pass to Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s beautiful there. We saw quite a few elk on one hike. If you’re new to Denver, the altitude may take some getting used to. But once you adjust, definitely get up to the mountains. I went again over the weekend and it’s starting to cool down up there. I look forward to going when all the trees change color. Which will be any day now I imagine.

School started last week. I’m taking two required courses, Foreign Policy and Major Issues in Int’l Security and also Int’l Terrorism. I was also able to transfer my internship in St. Louis to the local office so I’ll be working there this school year.

I think that’s about enough for now. I’m going to try to update this blog a couple times a week this year. Let’s see how that goes.

Grad students go to prom, too

This weekend was the Korbel Prom, a fun little formal event that consisted of an open bar and a dj in downtown Denver at the Curtis Hotel.  It was a great time and we danced the night away. That’s about all I can say about that

Since it’s the first week of the quarter there’s more time to go out. On Friday I went bowling for the first time since moving to Denver. At least I broke 100. While I may stink, my friend got a turkey, which was fun. I like to make people do a dance when they get strikes because it adds to the enjoyment a little. But then we extended it to gutter balls and even spares, so I’m sure we looked like the silliest group of people at the alley.

But there’s always reading to be done. I’m currently reading Ike’s Spies by Stephen Ambrose for my Strategic Intelligence Problems class, which is what I’m going to get back to right now…

Spring Quarter

So as you can probably tell from my lack of updates, grad school is a busy experience, especially when on a quarter system. So I finished up a hectic winter quarter last week and was able to get a few days rest before beginning spring quarter on Monday. One highlight of last quarter consisted of a tabletop exercise in my Homeland Security: Prevention and Mitigation class. The scenario consisted of native Americans and Canadians disrupting shipping lines in the Michigan/Ontario areas and demanding land back. The exercise progressed to the group placing a truck bomb on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. Each member of the class was given a role to play. I was assigned Michigan State Police while other members of my class were the U.S. president, DHS, governor of Michigan, Canadian prime minister, in addition to various others. It was a great practical exercise in which we were able to use the knowledge we learned in class in an attempt to mitigate this fantasy scenario.

Needless to say, finals week was hectic and consisted of little sleep and lots of paper writing. But I successfully completed papers and presentations on lone wolf terrorism in the United States and on the role U.S. military presence in the Muslim World plays in contributing to terrorism. Another paper on the Middle East rounded out my final week.

Winter quarter was tough and I’m excited for what spring quarter has to bring. I’m taking two intelligence course, one with Peg Sanders, formerly of the CIA, and the other with Bruce Boevers. I figure the intel courses will better prepare me for my internship this summer with the intelligence community. My other class is the National Security core class required of all security students and is with the always entertaining Lewis Griffith.

I’m still making sure to maintain a good work/life balance. Hockey nights are over now that DU is in the NCAA tournament but we’re still doing ultimate frisbee every week, in addition to game/movie/poker/trivia nights. I’m also making sure to enjoy the great outdoors that Colorado has to offer, and going hiking tomorrow at Eldorado Canyon.

Until next time…

 

Aaaaaand we’re back!

First quarter of graduate school – done. Actually, that happened back in November before Thanksgiving. The 6 week break was quite long. The quarter system is definitely something to get used to. I went home for all of break. Next year I plan to stay in Denver for most of it and work on my Arabic language skills so I can pass the exam to graduate. The Berlitz program is in Denver, so I’m planning on doing that.

I spent New Year’s Eve in Denver with my grad school buddies. We had a great time. School started a couple days later and now that we’re in week two it’s time to get into full-school mode. This quarter I’m taking Middle East and US Security, Homeland Defense: Prevention and Mitigation, and Advanced Security and Defense Analysis Methods. The latter class is a required skills class for security students but the former two should be quite interesting.

Halloween, BBQs, and International Security

As it was Halloween weekend, it’s been an eventful couple of days. Saturday was the annual Josef Korbel School Halloween party, hosted this year at Hanson’s Grill and Tavern, where the upstairs was rented out for the Korbel party. It was quite the turnout which saw the likes of General George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Maverick and Iceman, a gnome who couldn’t keep her beard to herself, the always elegant Audrey Hepburn, Captain Kirk, who fortunately kept his gun on stun mode, and obviously far too many others to name. If dressing up isn’t your thing, that was cool, too.

And in taking advantage of the fantastic Denver weather where everyday is sunshine, today a group of us had a barbecue.  A friend decided to spoil us and cook up kebabs, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, and chicken wings (thanks, Tom!). It was also a great way to share our adventures from the night before.

Now, to get to some business. I’m requesting input from the blog readers (that means you). As I work for the Office of Admissions, one of my main duties is to portray to prospective students what the Josef Korbel School has to offer. Well, on the main page of the school’s website, you may notice that the Security program isn’t really advertised. The rotating photos all seem to represent the school’s Human Rights and Development programs. What do you think is a good photo to depict the International Security program? You can either link a picture or describe one (istock is one example of a site that provides royalty free images).  Or offer advice on what not to use. It would also be beneficial if non-security students chimed in with their ideas. Hopefully we can come to a consensus on a good photo or two and will see them up on the site soon.