Meet Mr. Alfredo Noodle, or Alphie for short. Alphie constantly makes me laugh. He dunks his entire head in the water bowl to take a drink and frequently attempts to add me to the stash of toys he hides under the dresser.

Ferrets are happiest when kept with others, so I soon adopted Hershey. Hershey’s favorite hobby is burrowing under blankets, in drawers full of clothes or in the pit of dry beans I made especially for him.

The two quickly accepted one another.

When a friend contacted me for help rescuing a litter of newborn kittens, I took in Daphne when she was only a few weeks old. Daphne learned many behaviors from her brothers and acts more like a ferret than a cat. 

I have since adopted Pretzel as well. Pretzel loves tunnels. Even though he has several perfectly sized tunnels, he will try to squeeze into any cylinder and is known to get stuck. 

When the ferrets are not jumping around and causing chaos, they are sleeping.

I have also recently rescued another kitten whom I have named Chicken. Chicken is my spunkiest animal. She loves to play with her brothers and break into cabinets.

With three ferrets and two cats surrounding me, my household never lacks affection and is certainly never bland!

The photos in this feature were provided by the author.

But after many years of avoidance, I finally mustered up the courage to take a long-awaited family trip. The wonderful spring-like weather in early February allowed the perfect chance to avoid the unpleasant sweatiness. Not only that, I was excited to see the new aquarium building! In September of 2023, The Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium introduced The Sobela Aquarium to the public (along with a name change). Although I didn’t make it to every part of the park, I made sure to check out the aquatic habitats along with a few surprise mammals.

My first stop was the Stingray Bay touchpool to pet the Cownose rays and Southern stingrays. I wasn’t sure what they would feel like at first, but after petting the first one, I felt a little dumb for thinking they would be anything but slimy!

Next, I walked around the Australia section of the Zoo. Here, I got to see lots of birds, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, camels and more! Most of the animals in this area were napping, but I had a silly interaction with an Australian Straw-Necked Ibis.

Around the corner from “Australia” was the Tiger Trail, home of the new Sumatran Tiger, Phoebe. She was very vocal since it was time for her lunch, and as she grew more and more impatient, she even tried opening the door herself!

Down the path from Phoebe’s habitat, I had the strangest experience of my life. At the Orangutan exhibit, I think I made a new friend. As Kalijon the orangutan spun around on her makeshift swing, she and I made eye contact. Next thing I knew, with my hand on the glass, she gave me the best high five!

After such a bizarre interaction, it was finally time to loop around to the Sobela Aquarium building with 34 different habitats. Here, I immediately fell in love with a cute sea turtle. Everything looked so relaxing. There were so many different styles of tanks: overhead tanks, cylindrical tanks, circular window tanks, and tons more — all wonderfully decorated.

My absolute favorite part of the Sobela Aquarium was the jellyfish room. Here, I saw five species of jellyfish, but the ethereal South American Sea Nettle mesmerized me.

Of course, I couldn’t conclude my visit without a trip to the gift shop! Although there were so many options to choose from, I settled on a sea turtle plushie to remember the sea turtle I saw in the aquarium and a wolf plushie because I thought it looked cute.

This was one of the best visits I’ve ever had, and I will definitely be going again very soon! I can confidently say that I no longer dread the Zoo. I can’t wait to see Kalijon again and make friends with even more animals.

Luckily for me and everyone else, we live on a beautiful campus that is surrounded by nature. After a long day of classes and homework, I usually take a short walk to relax and digest my dinner. I have found that walking helps me tremendously and gives me more energy to finish my homework at night. Based on my experience, I present a small collection of pictures to show the beauty of nature around Jewell. 

The first walk I recommend starts at  the bottom of William Jewell College’s infamous long and steep stairs. Instead of walking up the stairs, you can take a right turn about halfway up and follow the sidewalk. This direction leads you to a small but pretty trail right behind the old science building – Marston. Across from Marston, you can find a small brick building – the Pryor Leadership Building. If you have time during working hours, you can stop by for a short self-tour. It is truly a nice, old mid-western building with great views outside the big windows. 

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Sadly, the part that leads you all the way up to the entrance of White Science Center is currently closed. However, that part of the trail will be open soon as the construction finishes next year. 

If you decide to go up the stairs instead of turning right, you will walk up the long stairs until you reach Jewell Hall. Standing at the top of the stairs, you can find yourself witnessing a breathtaking sunset and the Kansas City skyline in the distance over the trees. From there, you can take a loop around the Quad and enjoy the green grass and trees. This might be a boring walk for us students as we walk on the Quad to go to our classes everyday. However, if you have a visitor, they might be appreciative of taking a short tour of our main buildings around the Quad. 

Away from the main academic buildings, students will find a walk from the Union to the upperclassmen dorms. You first will encounter the Grand  River Chapel that lays a bit higher on a small hill. This is my favorite spot at Jewell because there are always colorful flowers with bees and butterflies. Next to the chapel is a small and old-looking water fountain. Thanks to our landscapers, the flowers are always blooming and the water is always crystal clear in the summer and fall seasons. Sometimes, I feel like I am lost in a secret garden, where I can listen to the relaxing sound of the water falling and enjoy looking at the busy bees stopping by those beautiful flowers. 

Facing away from the front of the Chapel, you can find an old school house and a swing if you look to the far right. I have heard that the school house is an original building for a school in Liberty. It is kept intact to represent the reality of the past – so much so that when I walked in, I found myself going back in time and attending classes in that small school house. The wooden swing next to the school house, despite its ordinary looks, is believed to hold a powerful spell that affects romantic couples. There is a long-lived tale saying that if a couple sits on the swing, they will be “stuck” with each other for their entire life. I think it is time for Jewell students to test the accuracy again!

I have introduced all of my favorite walking routes at Jewell. Maybe now, you can share yours  by writing an article for the Hilltop?