Pleasant is the word of the day. With temperatures approaching 70 and sunshine, Marquette is a pleasant place to be.
The lilacs are nearing the end of their bloom and most UP lawns have greened up with the recent rains.
Haven't heard many reports on the flies/mosquitos issue, yet.
By all indications, June has been pretty average.
And sometimes average isn't bad.

The ceremony will be followed by a Homecoming block party outside the Superior Dome, leading up to the NMU-FSU football game.

For a complete look at the Homecoming 2004 schedule, click here.

In his second year as the Detroit Lions head coach, Steve Mariucci is serious about building a winning team.
When Steve welcomed NMU alumni and friends to the Detroit Lions Practice Facility in May, his dedication was evident as he spoke optimistically about the upcoming season.
But Steve also has a great sense of humor and we are talking about the Detroit Lions, after all.
To say they have struggled of late is an understatement.
As you are probably aware, NMU alumni are not shy about expressing their opinions.
Before we headed to Detroit to see Steve, Sonya Chrisman from WNMU-TV 13 rounded up some football fans and they shared their (tongue-in-cheek) advice for Steve.

What can Steve Mariucci do to improve the Lions?

“These guys are America ’s best boxers; this team is the cream of the crop,” said Al Mitchell, technical assistant for Team USA . “What we are doing at this training camp is concentrating on fine-tuning each athlete’s technical skills. With the speed they've got, they’re going to surprise a lot of people. I guarantee you that in five years, every one of them is going to be a superstar."

Mitchell has been the USOEC head coach for the past 15 years. He served as the head coach of Team USA for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games when David Reid won a gold medal. This time he is assisting head coach Basheer Abdullah with a new crop of nine contenders. Team captain Ron Siler, a 112-pound light flyweight from Cincinnati, said training in Marquette offers some advantages.

“You can be more focused here because you don’t know anyone and there aren’t as many distractions,” he said. “We have a great coaching staff and Al is working with me on the technical drills – speed and footwork and things like that. We are working as a team, motivating each other.”

The week of training at the USOEC will help prepare Team USA for the Titan Games being held in Atlanta, June 17-19. That competition will be the last time the team is together as a whole before the Olympics.

In a series of special reports for this newsletter, ASNMU President Rebecca Thompson is writing us from Washington D.C. where she is taking part in NMU's Washington Center Program. The program, funded with the help of the NMU Annual Fund through the generous contributions of alumni and friends, allows current juniors and seniors to spend the summer working as an intern in DC.

As she reported in her earlier work for us, Rebecca was assigned to the Department of Homeland Security.
She talks a bit about that this week, but begins with her thoughts on the state funeral of Ronald Reagan.

WNN: What was it like to be in the city during a state funeral?

Thompson: It was an unreal experience being here during Ronald Reagan's funeral. I was on Constitution Avenue just feet away from where Reagan's casket was placed on the caisson. There were thousands of people there trying to get a glimpse of the casket and Mrs. Reagan. It was an experience that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. The worst part about being in D.C. during this event was getting around the city. Several streets were blocked off and there were police everywhere!

WNN: What are your first impressions of your internship now that you've been on the job a couple weeks?

Thompson: My first impression of my internship at the Department of Homeland Security was that the work was overwhelming. One of the first projects that I was assigned to involved me reviewing over 400 applications for the Naval Post Graduate School Master's Degree Program. While the work was tedious, I was praised by my supervisors for getting the work done so quickly.

WNN: What have you had the opportunity to be involved in at Homeland Security?

Thompson: Besides working on the NPS program, I have had an opportunity to work on some Technical Assistance Programs offered by the Office for Domestic Preparedness. I can definitely say that I am not the kind of intern that just makes coffee and copies.

WNN: Is there something in particular you think alumni would be interested in reading about?

Thomspon: I would like for Alumni to know that The Washington Center is a rigorous program that demands a lot from their interns. Living and working in Washington, D.C. is no easy task and I believe that it is important for NMU interns to get as much support as possible from their home institutions and alumni. We are required to work 36 hours per week, attend a 3 1/2 hour class once a week, attend congressional breakfasts and presidential lecture series every week, as well as complete portfolios, and even community service requirements. DC is one of the most expensive cities in the country to live in (I am living in Georgetown) and we are responsible for every cent of our living expenses. I would like to encourage alumni to support the NMU interns participating in this program, whether it be financially or otherwise, but any help would be appreciated.
I would like to thank those who have made it possible for me to participate in this program. With the help of the scholarship that I received from the Development Fund, I am having a great experience in D.C.

To read Rebecca's comments in the previous article, click here.