Good Friends Eat Burnt Caramel

 It’s true. You know you have good friends when they don’t mind that you burned the caramel.

In the spirit of fall festivities, Abby Sapadin and I decided to make caramel apples after the community meeting on November 21st. We bought apples and cider at the Farmer’s Market (buy local!), and caramel from Kroger’s.I didn’t plan this particularly well, because I volunteered to facilitate the meeting as well, so I couldn’t stir the caramel. Aaannnd I forgot to add the water to the caramel. Anyways, I got a volunteer to watch it during the meeting, but 20 minutes later…

“It smells like burning.”


“It smells like SOMETHING, that’s for sure.”


“It smells good!”


“Is anyone stirring the caramel??”


“Ummm…”

This was followed by a rush towards the kitchen, to discover that the caramel was indeed burning. I frantically grabbed the open bag of caramel to figure out what went wrong, which is when I figured out I forgot to add the water. Great. Now this would be a complete failure. “Does anyone have a microwavable bowel??” I called out. None of the Elliot guys do. (LAME.) But soon there were people crowding into the kitchenette, peering over my shoulder.

“Oh, that doesn’t look bad!”


“Can I just have an apple? These apples are delicious!”


“Just take the caramel off the top, it’ll be fine.”

And then everyone was asking for apples, sticking them with broken chopsticks, and swirling them in the half burnt caramel. It turned out that it didn’t taste so bad after all. The burnt stuff kept it from being too sweet, they said. :)

We hung out in Elliot for half an hour or so, just chatting, eating caramel apples, and drinking delicious cider.

This is why I love Scholar-Leader, I thought. We do fun things, we love hanging out together, and we eat the caramel even when it is burnt. We’re friends.
-Sarah Rings

Homecoming Week Decorating

One of my favorite activities that I have taken part in this year as a Scholar Leader has been working together with other Scholar Leaders during Homecoming Week to decorate the two buildings, Stoddard and Elliot, for the Hall Decorating Contest. We went all-out this year trying to make it memorable and better than ever. In honor of the theme for homecoming, Reinvent Red, we decided to make decorations representing “old Miami, new Miami” like the lyrics of our alma mater. Since Elliot and Stoddard are the oldest residence halls on campus, we thought it would be appropriate for us to try and highlight Miami’s history and how we are constantly “reinventing red”.

We had a lot of fun blowing up bright red balloons which we put on the railings outside the buildings with crepe paper, making paper redhawk cutouts to put in the shutters, painting and hanging large paper banners out of the windows, hanging red streamers from the windows, putting ribbons around the pillars and, my favorite decoration, hanging a large “M” in between the two buildings that students could walk under on their way to class.

I was really proud of how great the buildings looked and of all the hard work that people put into it. We did not end up winning the hall decorating contest, but it was a great and memorable experience for all of us and a lot of fun!

-Charlotte Freeman

EDL 206: Unconventional Learning

Though it is right in the middle of dinnertime and lasts for 2 hours, EDL 206 is probably one of the most valuable classes we can take during our time at Miami. I say that because at least for me, in most of my classes I learn about things: foreign policy, microbiology, economics, Spanish, etc. But in EDL, we are learning how we fit into all of these things. In essence, how we can relate to the world around us and how we can change this world for the better. I really learned a lot from the concept map activity last week. I had never taken the time to look into the way my environment and my up-bringing shaped my values and my aspirations for the future. Also, it was so interesting to see other people's concept maps and hear how passionate they were about what they wanted to achieve. The open and accepting environment that is present in the class is allowing me to understand so much more about my peers. As a result, we are able to lead more effectively. I think in the past I have underestimated the power of reflection. Usually I am always occupying my mind with one thing after the next and never really have the time to sit down and think about what I am actually doing and why. So I’m just curious, what has been everyone’s favorite activity in EDL?

-Kelly Muenchen

Rubber Duck Regatta

Every time I open my computer I can almost guarantee I will have e-mails about the Scholar Leader Community. Some remind us to submit agenda items for our weekly meetings, others talk about assignments for our EDL 206 class, a few are friendly reminders for us to check our mailboxes, and some are about cool things going on at Miami. While all of these e-mails can be annoying at times, I love getting them. I get to hear about all kinds of great things that are happening on campus, and I get invited to participate in cool events.

Back in August, I got an email over the listserv about volunteering for the Rubber Duck Regatta. I, along with other Scholar Leaders and other Miami students, drove to Cincinnati on the Sunday before Labor Day. Each year Cincinnati has a big festival and fireworks for Labor Day. Included in this festival is a fundraiser for the Freestore Food Bank called the Rubber Duck Regatta. To raise money, the Freestore sells rubber ducks to people in the community. On race-day the Food Bank drop them all into the Ohio River, and the “owner” of the duck that wins the race wins a car. It’s an awesome fundraiser for the Freestore Food Bank and some scholar leaders got to be a part of it.

When we arrived downtown we were given matching blue t-shirts and giant fishing nets. For the next hour we scooped 100,000 rubber ducks out of the Ohio River. Even though it was hot and we were all sore, it was a ton of fun. After we finished helping with the ducks, some of us went to Newport on the Levy to eat dinner and then later watch the fireworks on the river. I got to know some scholar leaders really well because of this experience. From waiting for food, to waiting for the fireworks, to driving home, we all spent a lot of time talking and it was a great way to meet people living in my community. The day ended up being way more fun than I ever expected. I really loved getting to volunteer with fellow scholar leaders and also get to know more people in the community. I am looking forward to more great experiences like this in the future!

- Rachel Barr

Scholar Leader Pre-Semester Retreat

The retreat that we had at the beginning of the semester helped me get a better understanding of the different aspects of leadership. I was an excellent opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of individuals from all different backgrounds. By engaging in this type of community and interacting with a new group of individuals, it helped me realize what kind of personality and correlative leadership style that I personally possessed. I felt as though I was surrounded by like-minded individuals who were interested in community involvement and making a difference. It allowed me to realize the ultimate potential that a group of devoted individuals can posses. The smaller, group energizer activities reinforced the idea that when all of us come together we can accomplish something great. They were also a fun way to continue to meet everyone in the community and have fun. It was cool to come back to school early and not have to worry about academics, homework, or other obligations on campus and thus facilitated a more focused environment. We got to go swimming during and relax, have fun, and hang out, too. Topping it off with a bonfire that night, it was a great way to kick off the school year and the start of the Scholar Leader community! 


-Melanie Swartz 

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