Be Good. Be Orange.

Be Orange. Be Bright Orange.

Riley McCoy

By definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Bright is an adjective commonly connected with the following descriptions: radiating or reflecting, radiating with happiness, beautiful, lively, intelligent, auspicious, and illustrious. To be labeled as bright, you are also being associated with those same descriptions that are considered admirable qualities to most. Using these descriptions as subcategories, I hope bring to light what exactly it means to “Be Orange”.

Before I took this ethics class, the idea of reflecting or reflection to me was its physical properties. The disfigured image of the moon at night shining on a lake, A bike reflector, or even a mirror all bring the word reflect into my mind. But rethinking how to self-reflect was a skill I learned this term that I changed me. Self-mindfulness taught me how to think, feel, and live in the present moment more efficiently. As the term began, the daily task was a struggle; but the struggle transformed into my favorite “Homework” each day. While practicing mindfulness ceased to fixate on the worries bouncing around in my head and instead focused on my breathing, washed the dishes, or played the guitar. Reflecting continues to ease my stress, fine my focus, and increase my happiness. As a construction Engineering Management major, I constantly focus on difficult classes that Oregon State has designed in order to make our engineering degree stand out in the crowd filled with engineers across the world. OSU’s high expectations for us require a lot of self-dedication and sacrifice in order to maintain academic excellence. Learning to take care of myself allows me to excel mentally, physically, and scholastically.

Happiness is another concept that frequently came up to topic throughout our term to ethics. As stated in class, 60 percent of happiness is based off of personal perception. Being happy is something that is based off of personal perception and I believe OSU strives to have a happy university. They incorporate many student amenities to maintain student happiness. Dixon is the campus workout center that allows a variety of activities for all different students to do. Rock climbing, basketball courts, a pool, weights, aerobic machines, and even an indoor track all provide students a place to work out. I personally find Dixons services extremely helpful and go there almost every single day. Being able to use physical activity is a management technique I use to eliminate stress from classes. Oregon State believes in activities students and so they make it a requirement that every student take a Physical Activity Class (PAC) that allows their students to stay active. The mind spa is also available yet much less popular on campus. As a class assignment, we were required to visit the spa to see all the activities offered. I come from a family that has had generations of unhealthy and overweight people. A combination of poor life style habits like smoking, chewing tobacco, and drinking have resulted in my grandpa, two uncles and one aunt all suffering from heart attacks. My grandpa had 3 heart surgeries and lung cancer from his years of treating his body terrible. My family’s past has provided me with the motivation to live a healthy lifestyle and Oregon State provides with the tools to do so.

To be beautiful can apply to so many scenarios but one way that Oregon State incorporates their beauty is how they keep the campus. OSU is an extremely pretty campus. The layout and architectural detail of the buildings are accented by the seasons as the trees on campus change. Going to school at such a beautiful place draws in the attention of out-of-state students as well as international students. Oregon State’s beauty also comes from its diversity. One of the schools goals from its strategic plan is to promote a culture of collaboration across campus. International students, out of state students, in state students, transfer students, and nontraditional students make up their diverse population of students. I, myself am a transfer student from the University of Montana. Born and raised in Oregon, I left the state as a freshman to gain a new experience and challenge my comfort zone. My love for the outdoors drove me to the beautiful state of Montana where I could hunt, fish, hike, bike and snowboard. Ultimately I decided to return to Oregon and attend OSU for engineering. Corvallis feels just like the town of Missoula and offers many of the outdoor active things that I enjoy so much to do. Personally, I believe college is the time when I should force myself to try as many things as I can. I am lucky enough to attend a school that fulfills most of my desires.

Intelligence is found at Oregon State in the academic excellence that is asked out of every student. The university prides itself on producing students who thrive and wear there OSU degree proudly. As an engineer I take extra pride in achieving a degree from OSU. Nationally Oregon State is renowned for the great engineers that they produce. Graduating with my degree is something I hold very valuable to me. I will be the first person in my family to graduate with an engineering degree and the first grandchild to graduate despite being one of the youngest. My family is very important to me and I share most of their same values. My grandpa was a principle/superintendent of Central Point, the southern Oregon town I am from. My aunt and cousin are both elementary school principals and my grandma was a teacher for over 40 years as well, so saying I come from a family of educators is an understatement. To us intelligence comes in the form teaching and caring for those who are being taught.

The word auspicious has additional value to me besides its definition. Growing up my dad constantly said, “You are a very auspicious son.” He repeated this statement more times than I can recall. He did so to instill confidence in me while challenging me to educate myself by learning a vast vocabulary. Oregon State takes people and transforms them into auspicious adults who are more than capable to flourishing after college. A degree from Oregon State suggests that your future will likely be successful; which is definition of auspicious verbatim.

Saying you are an Oregon State student proudly is the goal of the university on a large scale. While their strategic plan gets more precise with specific goals, OSU vows to continue their efforts in producing students who improve the brand name that is incorporated with being a beaver, being part of the Oregon State family, and being Bright Orange.