BREAK IS HERE!!!

So, the kids are finally out! This past Friday night at 6:03 every student was out of my building, except my RA's who were subsequently out by 7:30 p.m. Since then, I've been able to sleep, nap, have a lie in and start reading a book. It's amazing!

It is a little creepy though, now that everyone is gone I can hear weird noises. Hissing pipes and clanging boiler switches... I'm sure I'll get lonely before too long, but for right now I'm loving it.
I'll be heading south for Christmas, which I can't wait for. I haven't been home since this past July and with all the snow that we've been getting here I can't wait to be home on the beach! If any of you are in the area or passing through let me know; we can do coffee or lunch or just chill downtown or at the beach. Can you tell what my mind is focused on... THE BEACH!

Here are some shot from Charleston... my house is like five miles from the island on the left. The on the right is Sunrise from Sullivan's.

Okay, I'll be home soon. I'm hoping to get some sweet shots while I'm there! Peace Out.

Thanksgiving Trip to NYC!!!

Okay, I know I said I was going to start blogging more and that that I was really working hard to make this a priority... I'm not going to say that this time. I'm just going to blog. I think that in the past I have never wanted to write on my blog without having pictures to post. I felt like I had to have something visually appealing to post too. Since the onset of several dear friends telling me to blog I have now realized that I should just create new posts with or without pics so that my loved ones can hear what's been going on in my life.
So, with that in mind: It's black Friday and I just spent the day shopping in New York City. Well shopping might denote buying which would be a misnomer. I actually was checking out tons of stores and hanging with the fam. I am here staying at my Uncle's (Chris) fabulous apartment with my sister-Courtney, mom-Jan, and grandmother "mom"- Barb. We all flew in yesterday morning to enjoy thanksgiving together in the city! We saw the last part of the Macy's Thanksgiving parade (where we also Lance Bass and his man of the month--I actually walked right with/next to him trying to get to a good viewing spot), before I ran into one of my best friends Rachel M. who is spending thanksgiving with her friends from new jersey. It was awesome running into people in the city; it really makes you feel like your not a tourist when that happens. We then had thanksgiving dinner at a great Thai restaurant called "yum yum". After which I went for a run, got a little lost in central park, and then we spent the rest of the night hanging out around the condo.
Today, we started off heading uptown to see Christmas windows, the first 24 hour apple store (which is this awesome clear cube), and had lunch at John's pizza. After lunch, my Uncle, Sister and I headed downtown. We went through Chinatown hit up little Italy, and then hit tons of stores! One of my favorite places was Unico... not sure about that spelling.
Okay, So I just spent half an hour on Google trying to find this store. I found an article talking about its opening a couple months ago. Here's what it said:
"The fabric of modern Japan is being woven into the streets of New York! With the autumn opening of UNIQLO's highly anticipated new global flagship store, SoHo will finally get to experience the contemporary Japanese style that has long been missing from this hot, international fashion mecca. UNIQLO is Japan's most popular apparel retailer and a worldwide leader in casual wear. The brand's mission is to empower all individuals through the clothing they choose to wear. Rather than become characterized by a brand, UNIQLO encourages its customers to integrate its pieces into their own unique style."
yeah... it was awesome! And my favorite part might have been how beautifully organized it was, you all know how OCD I am. I was like Lindsay Lohan in vodka shop... work that one out. Long story short I'm going back on Sunday to get some goods. Alright kids, well i need to hit they hay cause tomorrow is Cirque du Solei! Until next time, thanks for your continued support friends. Oh, and Clapp: It was great having you out in the BF. Hope your trip back was good!

Energy in Congress

Hey guys. Wanted to share an interesting article I found through a friend's blog. I heard a lecture at the end of the year all about the integration of a hydrogen economy. It was really cool to hear about the advances in using green hydrogen as a source of energy, but what was even more interesting was to hear and think about the possible implications for our world if we shift from a petroleum based economy. What do you Think? Is the energy crisis for real? What is our response as the largest users of this type of energy in the world? How involved should we be in securing free energy for developing countries? Check out this article....
www.opencongress.org/articles/view/214-Energy-Before-Immigration

The Catch-Up

So for those of you who don't know, I was working this summer in our Masters of Higher Education Department--which was great! The summer weeks were crazy so let me catch up a little.

It started with going to ACSD, a huge student development conference which was being held in Minneapolis this year. I was recruiting, attending, and presenting at the conference. The conference was really good, and I had a blast in all three areas of responsibility. I had a ton of fun telling people about our Higher Education program and well very pleased with how my presentation went. I was presenting a workshop on the research I did for my Master's thesis. I got very positive feedback and even a bite in the publishing arena. I'll let you all know if things progress with this.

After ACSD, I flew straight to the" Big Apple", where I got to stay at my uncle Christian's, see two really good friends from high school that are now living and working there, and then met up with about 15 friends from College. We all went to a Pirates Yankee's game. The Pirates sucked big time, but it was great to hang out in Yankee Stadium before its torn down. It was awesome to look on the field and know that Babe Ruth played there.

A quick flight back to Pittsburgh, brought me home to get right back to work. For two weeks we were been busy with summer institutes. My friend Andy and I were organizing a lot of the social events for the students after class. We ended with huge banquet held this place called Shakespeare's, which is this huge recreated castle. We decided to do a murder mystery with everyone and the theme was a masquerade. Yours truly played the murderer! It was so much fun! But all good things come to an end.

After institutes I got the sweet chance to work with Dr. Guthrie some some cool research and publishing projects. With the end of July came the beginning of RD training, RA training, Freshman Orientation and the first weeks of the Semester... funny how two months can be so concisely summed up!? When in reality all those things were life-consuming for me.

I'm glad to share now that the semester is off to an fantastic start... problems and all. My staff of student leaders are great, I love them dearly, and Memorial Hall is rockin' it out! My staff has lots of stuff planned already for this semester so I'm sure you'll be seeing great footage about that. I also have a new digital camera, so if I can figure the tech side of it out I hope to post some video blogs too!

Thanks for reading... and Thanks for all the encouragement you guys give me to keep blogging... its cool to hear from you all. Just make sure to live your life in the real word over the virtual... Cause the real us is way better!

School's Out For Summer

Okay, so again it has been a while since my last post... but SO MUCH Happened!

The school year ended, I finished teaching, grading, oh and Finished my Masters. Which means I also finished my thesis, presented it, and passed! Actually, I ended up recieving the Masters of Higher Education Excellence in Scholarship Award... which included a small cash prize too.

All in all, the school year has passed along greatly. As I compare my last two years out of school, and my first "real" job, I don't think things could have been more different. I'll be honest my first year working at Geneva was harder than I ever immagined and I know that my family can attest to the many times I thought about throwing in the towel. This year has been the exact opposite. I love my job. I had an amazing staff of students working for me, and really was passionate about not only what I was doing, but the progress that was being made. It was truly amazing to see God bless my obedience, and it makes me look forward to next year even more. It also encourages me to remain obedient in the current trial of life. I have found myself so many times thinking that i am just tired of fighting with my sinful nature; seeing how God is faithful with such little things is an amazing representation of his promise to be faitful and miraculous in the big things too.

Another picture of God's faithfulness has been in the coming of spring and summer. I was blown away this year by how late into spring it was snowing. I dislike cold weather so much, and was continually upset by the surroundings I found myself in, but it has made me really appreciate how beautiful God creation is when the winter breaks. In the last three weeks I've been booked for two paid, YES PAID, speaking engagements. I've noticed when I am working on developing talks or even lectures, I am always searching for cool stories or metaphors that illustrate the points I'm working on. I guess I've just been in that mood lately, because everytime I walk outside I am blown away by the physical representations that God gives us with the world around us. Its like all of creation is an object lesson. Man, God is a a good teacher! Here take a look at some of the shots I grabbed today.

This one is Dave- he's been my house guest this past week as he waiting for his summer apartment to come open.

Rediculous Craziness

So, yesterday we had record highs here in the BF (Beaver Falls). The temp soared into the low 80's and it was wonderful! I felt very at home and was really enjoying the beautiful day.

Today it is wet, colder, and rainy.

Tomorrow it is supposed to snow.
And snow.
And snow.

The good news is that my final research project is going great. I am almost finished with the most stressful writing part (the Literature review) and I've already received 150 surveys back from my project. My target was 100... praise Jesus! I am hoping to get a lot of work done over the little break. Please pray that I cover a lot of ground and feel free to call me up for a study break. By the way, it gives me great pleasure to announce that yesterday (barring my final project) I turned in the last paper for my Masters. You gotta love the little victories in life.

Spring Break Begins

After many hours of travelling and a layover in Vegas (Vegas, baby, Vegas!) I am finally in gorgeous Santa Barbara! I'm staying with one of my best friends, Danny Clapp, and we are just getting ready for my first morning here -which means we've had pancakes, gotten ready and are about to head to the beach!

The weather is amazing and I'm glad to say that the terrain actually reminds me a lot of South Carolina. I'm also really excited to see Westmont's Campus and look forward to getting to explore their Residence Life program while I'm here. Well, I'll be in touch about our adventures I brought my camera and my journal to record everything. Hope all is well where all of you are. If you're on break too: Have fun, relax, and abide in God's greatness and peace.

Amazing Grace

I think this is the most important post I have ever written.


Hello everyone, sorry I haven't written in a few weeks. Lots of great things have happened in my life. My birthday was a lot of fun, my building beat another guy's dorm in Broomball, and the snow has been falling like crazy around here. But today I want to write to you about what I have experienced this past weekend.


I have just returned from Jubilee. Jubilee is a conference put on by the Coalition for Christian Outreach (an organization that many of my friends work for and that I proudly support in many ways). This conference is designed to help college students understand how they have been specifically called by God to be in the world and reformers of it. It specifically seeks to empower people to serve God and bring restoration to the world through their chosen vocation.


This year the convention boasted an incredible list of keynotes: JR Mahon, Steve Garber, Mark Rodgers, Shane Claiborne, Gary Haugen, and even Barbara Skinner. This amazing group of people shared some of the most impassioned speeches encouraging the attendees to fully incorporate their faiths and beliefs into the actions of their lives. Seeking Justice is one of the phrases that have stuck out to me. While I am still processing much of the information that I gleaned over the weekend, and am planning on sharing that as I am able with you I wanted to focus on one part of this idea in particular. Did you know that in the world today there are twenty-seven million people in slavery.


Yeah did you hear that? 27,000,000 Million People in slavery today!


If you are unsure of this stat check it on Google... its unfortunately very true. This means that there are 27 million people who are literally in bondage, they are considered to be an object--not human. Most of these people are women and children, and they in all reality have no concept of their preciousness.


This Friday an incredible movie is being released called Amazing Grace. It is the story of William Wilberforce, the politician responsible for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833. Beyond this movie being one of the most incredible stories of all time, it is completely true. I had the privilege of seeing an advanced showing last night. This film has gripped my soul and burdened my heart. How can I exist as a Christian in a world where slavery exists? I can't; therefore, I must do something to stop this. I am not sure what that means, and I am just starting to see how I can help. But here's what I am finding out, there are tons of ways to get involved. We have been deceived to think the problem is too big, too mammoth for us to do anything about it. Wrong. God has said you bring what you have and I will do the rest. We just have to start. If you're interested, do something little: GO see this movie! It will be one of the best decisions of your year, maybe your life. If your still interested check out http://www.ijm.org/ . This is an organization that seeks justice all over the world. International Justice Mission is lead by Gary Haugen, you've probably seen him on 60 minutes, or Today, or Oprah, or CNN, tons of places. Gary used to be one of the lead prosecutors for the Department of Justice for the United States and IMJ has been the lead organization in stopping human trafficking and child prostitution around the world.


Amazing Grace opens at limited locations on Friday, February 23rd. If your in the Pittsburgh Area the AMC Lowes at the Waterfront is showing the movie. If you're in Charleston, SC, so far Greenville or Charlotte are the closest... call your local theater and ask for this movie! Here is the official site so you can check out the trailer and such: http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/


What I have realized is that I must act. God has given us the job of taking care of creation and He has faith that we will be up to the task. We are it. We are the plan A for God's restoration of the earth, and there is no plan B. Wake up and realize that you, YOU ARE GOD'S ANSWER TO THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS. God has faith in you, have faith in Him and yourself. I can not live in a world where this is taking place and sit by without doing something. If you have the ability to read this, then you are one of the most wealthy people in the world. We must realize the ability we have to do something, no presidential candidate will fix things, we can.... will we?


Sometimes when we are faced with the world's devastation we are immobilized. Our command is just this:

He has shown you, O People, What is Good and what the Lord requires of You;

But to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. ~Micah 6:8

Bring what you have in obedience to the Lord and he will do miracles. Your fish and loves lunch can be used to feed five thousand.

Please friends help and join with me, because I know that we can change the world.

~Travis York

Winter Finally Came!

So the snow has been falling non-stop for the past few days. And two days ago it finally started to stick! Here are some shots I grabbed earlier, although we've added another inch maybe two by now. Enjoy, and those of you in warmer climates... please pray that God would either strengthen or move me. By the way, I just posted yesterday, I might just be getting into this blog thing.

Black and White Ball

So this past Friday, my staff along with our sister staff McKee Hall put on quite the program! We had our first ever Black and White Ball. It was fantastic. There were about 200 people in attendance, and they were all dressed to impress.

We decided to hold the event in our newly rennovated Brig, we moved a lot of furniture out and created a sweet little venue that really can best be described as "swanky".

As you can see we had a lot of fun. Every thing was black and white except our Red Roses, which was a really nice touch! We had great food with a decadent chocolate fountain, and we also had four dealers running poker tables.

But my favorite part of the night was our Mocktail bar. Sam, one of my RA's had great time mixing up tasty drinks for everyone. See...

The one of the four of us is me, Kristin my sister RD, Mike her fiance, and Rachel my former sister RD and good friend. You can also see a great shot of Sam and I shaking not stirring drinks. But my favorite of all is the sketch of me from one our students.

A New Year and Great Start

Hey Guys! I've settled back into work and life in Western PA, or at least as settled as I can be here. Things are going really well! Last week we had Winter training for the RA's and I was on the committee of RDs that helped plan the events. We decided to try a different approach this year and made training more like a conference with seminars the students could choose. It was a great success and just plain fun! After training was over my guys and I decided to have a movie marathon with a snack fest. It was great and there more than enough pizza roles to go around. I wish I had photos for yeah, but right now I can't quite place my camera... And I'm not sure how to get my pictures from my phone to my computer. Still workin' on that one. Hopefully I'll find things soon, because right now we're working on the Memorial McKee Black and White Ball. This is going to be a sweet event with semi-formal dress (in black and white of course), live music, classy horderves, a mocktail bar, and casino style activities. I'll be sure to post pics of that! Until then you'll just have to wait with anticipation for the magical festivities.