Hey everyone! Ahh its been a while! I hope your semesters are all going great and your midterms are moving along well =)
I've been starting to get stressed myself with all the work! Balancing 6 classes and student council is not as "alright, I can do it all" as I thought at first.. Haha time management has definitely the key thing that's helping me out now. But I do tend to slack at times =( Not the time to do so, especially during midterms time!
Anyway ,the purpose of this blog post is to tell you about an extraordinary event I attended last Thursday night. John Jay College held an "Educating for Justice Gala" I was invited by Ms. Vielka Holness of the Pre-law Institute, and I was definitely glad that I attended! The event was held in honor of a phenomenal company and individual; IBM Smarter Cities Initiative and Frederick "Fritz" A.O. Schwartz, Jr. and inn celebration of the IBM smart classrooms. "We honor them because they share a commitment to improving the way government works to promote justice and improve the safety of New Yorkers and others around the country and the globe" (President Travis).
Last year, IBM launched a nation wide program called Smarter Cities which was desighned to assist cities incorporate intelligence into the way they go about their everyday life.
The night started with a brief meet-and-greet in the theater lobby of the T-Building. Students, faculty, government officials, honorary guests, members of the board of trustees and many more were in attendence to get to know each other and the networking opportunies were endless! After the meet-and-greet session among everyone, we all headed into the lobby where President Travis addressed all the guests and a powerpoint about IBM Smarter Cities was shown. There were a few honorary guests who spoke and introduced themselves to the audience. During the middle of his presentation, President Travis took a break and musician, Predro Pablo Marinez came on stage to perform with his band. From the reaction of the audience, it was clear that I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the performance and extremely impressed with them! After they performed, President Travis resumed with his remarks.
When he was done, everyone headed to the 4th floor gym for dinner. BELIEVE ME when I tell you, the 4th floor gym looked AMAZING. Haha and I mean amazing! I have never seen it like this. It looked completely transformed. The lights were dimmed to look like an actual restaurant, the table arrangements were beautiful and the food was phenomenal! The rest of the dinner was filled with great food, good conversation, amazing people. This night was such a beautiful night, and I cannot be more happy that I went! That was my night at the, Educating for Justice Gala and it was a great celebration for the IBM Smarter Cities program!
Also on a side note, there is a learning communities showcase on December 2nd. For all the freshmans/faculty/interested student that will be participating or attending this semester, I'll be stopping by for a little bit. I hope to meet some of you there! =)
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Her Movement Against Injustice
Hi again everyone! So in the last post- I touched briefly upon my new club, "Her Movement Against Injustice." In this post, I'm going to tell you all what it actually is. This club was started at the beginning of the school year and we've had 2 meetings since. Let me tell you- it has been crazyyy hectic trying to find a faculty advisor, talk to people who can help us get the club going, promoting, the budget, etc. The club is still in the process of getting certified, but we're making sure we make good use of the time while we wait. The founders of the club is Angela Ayed (president), Stephanie Colon (vice president), Jessica Cotto (treasurer) and me, Michelle Tsang (secretary). The group was founded through a massive amount of interest on very taboo topics. After learning that this there was no club about these topics... we created one! =]
"Her Movement Against Injustice" is an extremely powerful group. In this club- we focus on domestic violence, female genital mutilation and sex trafficking. The main goal of this club is to raise awareness. As I mentioned, these topics are very taboo and controversial and even though people may wonder.... they dont necessarily do anything to find out the facts. Our club is to raise awareness and talk about it to let people know that just because it is not talked about- it doesnt mean it doesnt exist. We will let you know what is really going on and what's happening. Some of the information that we discovered was just... wow... the girls and I were speechless at some of the facts and stories we found.
Throughout this semester- we have just been getting things together to get this club running. Sheesh.. I had no idea creating a club would be this much work! But come next semester- this club will be good to go. The girls and I have big plans for the club! We will be holding fundraisers, getting guest speakers, going to events together, etc. It's something that we are all excited about. The date of our next meeting is still uncertain- but keep an eye out for flyers around the school and check it out! I'll keep you all updated! Talk to you all soon! Byee =)
"Her Movement Against Injustice" is an extremely powerful group. In this club- we focus on domestic violence, female genital mutilation and sex trafficking. The main goal of this club is to raise awareness. As I mentioned, these topics are very taboo and controversial and even though people may wonder.... they dont necessarily do anything to find out the facts. Our club is to raise awareness and talk about it to let people know that just because it is not talked about- it doesnt mean it doesnt exist. We will let you know what is really going on and what's happening. Some of the information that we discovered was just... wow... the girls and I were speechless at some of the facts and stories we found.
Throughout this semester- we have just been getting things together to get this club running. Sheesh.. I had no idea creating a club would be this much work! But come next semester- this club will be good to go. The girls and I have big plans for the club! We will be holding fundraisers, getting guest speakers, going to events together, etc. It's something that we are all excited about. The date of our next meeting is still uncertain- but keep an eye out for flyers around the school and check it out! I'll keep you all updated! Talk to you all soon! Byee =)
Teacher Assistant for ETH 125 =)
Hey everyone! I hope you've all had a restful, fun and hopefully (though unlikely) homework free Spring break! Im sure you all agree with me that this was a MUCH needed break... especially with the beautiful weather we've been having these past few days. Unfortunately I have 2 papers and a bunch of Math homework to do haha. After midterms, im sure all of you were like me and just wanted spring break to come and sit back and relax! Haha, but now that spring break is over... time to focus again! =) (And a side note- I hope you all did well on all your midterms!)
Let me just fill you all in on what I've been up to besides doing mad work trying to keep up with the reading haha. Well, one thing that I am super excited about is that I am now one of your Sophomore Representatives for next year! =) I look forward to helping you all. Another thing was that at the beginning of March, I went to Towson for another debate tournament. This tournament was really fun. Despite not winning any rounds- surprisingly I learned A LOT, more than I did the past 2 tournaments, which is awesome. We also have a John Jay Debate Tournament coming up towards the end of the month, which I am so stoked about! It is basically where all the debaters just go up against each other, so I cant wait for that! Another thing that's been going on is that my friends and I have been really getting the new club together and organizing meetings. I'm not sure if you all have seen flyers around the school, but my friends and I have started a new club called "Her Movement Against Injustice". This is an extremely powerful club and I'll touch more on it in my next post! =]
So today, I'm going to tell you about something I've been involved in. Since the semester started- I have had the opportunity to become a student assistant for an Ethnics 125 course with Professor Navarro. Let me start out by saying- this experience was something I definitely did not expect. It's such an amazing chance to really see things from a different view, and I'm totally serious haha. My job is to just help the professor if he needs help and be there for the students if they need help with anything as well. I think this is a wonderful experience because I am actually able to see the class from a "assistant" perspective, as well as the students themselves. Being a student assistant, I understand the professor's view more (in the sense of how they see things) and at the same time... I understand how the students view topics as well. Another thing that I enjoy is just being in the setting and hearing different opinions! Last semester- I took an Ethnics 125 course with Professor Hodges... so I think its really interesting to just compare and contrast in a way the views of the students and what they feel about certain topics. Another thing is that I am extremely interested in race and ethnicity in general. And for me to be able to help out and be there for the students is great. I have been a bit quiet in class, but when I get to know the students more, I'll get more adjusted and speak more. But I do feel a connection with them when we do group work which is great. On top of that- Being a teacher assistant is just fun and I do love helping people haha =) I am there to help the professor and share my opinion, but at the same time... the pressure of actually being graded academically is off my shoulders. I look forward to helping out more and just being there for Prof Navarro and my classmates if they need me! =) Until the next post everyone... take care!
Let me just fill you all in on what I've been up to besides doing mad work trying to keep up with the reading haha. Well, one thing that I am super excited about is that I am now one of your Sophomore Representatives for next year! =) I look forward to helping you all. Another thing was that at the beginning of March, I went to Towson for another debate tournament. This tournament was really fun. Despite not winning any rounds- surprisingly I learned A LOT, more than I did the past 2 tournaments, which is awesome. We also have a John Jay Debate Tournament coming up towards the end of the month, which I am so stoked about! It is basically where all the debaters just go up against each other, so I cant wait for that! Another thing that's been going on is that my friends and I have been really getting the new club together and organizing meetings. I'm not sure if you all have seen flyers around the school, but my friends and I have started a new club called "Her Movement Against Injustice". This is an extremely powerful club and I'll touch more on it in my next post! =]
So today, I'm going to tell you about something I've been involved in. Since the semester started- I have had the opportunity to become a student assistant for an Ethnics 125 course with Professor Navarro. Let me start out by saying- this experience was something I definitely did not expect. It's such an amazing chance to really see things from a different view, and I'm totally serious haha. My job is to just help the professor if he needs help and be there for the students if they need help with anything as well. I think this is a wonderful experience because I am actually able to see the class from a "assistant" perspective, as well as the students themselves. Being a student assistant, I understand the professor's view more (in the sense of how they see things) and at the same time... I understand how the students view topics as well. Another thing that I enjoy is just being in the setting and hearing different opinions! Last semester- I took an Ethnics 125 course with Professor Hodges... so I think its really interesting to just compare and contrast in a way the views of the students and what they feel about certain topics. Another thing is that I am extremely interested in race and ethnicity in general. And for me to be able to help out and be there for the students is great. I have been a bit quiet in class, but when I get to know the students more, I'll get more adjusted and speak more. But I do feel a connection with them when we do group work which is great. On top of that- Being a teacher assistant is just fun and I do love helping people haha =) I am there to help the professor and share my opinion, but at the same time... the pressure of actually being graded academically is off my shoulders. I look forward to helping out more and just being there for Prof Navarro and my classmates if they need me! =) Until the next post everyone... take care!
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Second Semester @ JJAY
Hey! It has been so long since I have been able to update on the blog! I have been so caught up in the world of John Jay (well, more of the work) that I barely have had time to take a breather. The workload is incredible! Like Michelle had said in her earlier blog, its the reading that takes up the most time. If even by one assignment you fall behind, you might never catch up again! haha. Currently, I have fallen behind on my reading for my Government 101 class, and let me tell you its no walk in the park! The professor sometimes will assign 100 pages on Tuesday night and that reading has to be done by Thursday afternoon, because we never know when we are going to be getting a pop quiz on the material for the reading. I try to stay ahead of myself in the readings, but that's more work than anything. I practically read on the train, bus, and sometimes even walking to class.
Classes overall aren't so bad. Not as much notes to be taken down if the reading is done. Some of my professors are awsome, then there are some I just feel like ripping my hair out when I go to their classes. As of right now, Spring break has began (whoo!), but its a relief for me so I can catch up on what I have fallen behind in the past few weeks.
I have also changed my major to forensic psychology. I have found that psychology has a lot of research and learning that can be done and I find that really fasinating. Criminal Justice, my original major, was also interesting but I found that I wasn't able to expand to my fullest potential. So you can guess what class I am going to be getting an A in this semester :) haha.
Well, that's all for now...I just thought I would update my fellow readers on the life as a second semester college freshman haha!
Until next time...enjoy Spring Break, if I don't get a chance to update later on!
Classes overall aren't so bad. Not as much notes to be taken down if the reading is done. Some of my professors are awsome, then there are some I just feel like ripping my hair out when I go to their classes. As of right now, Spring break has began (whoo!), but its a relief for me so I can catch up on what I have fallen behind in the past few weeks.
I have also changed my major to forensic psychology. I have found that psychology has a lot of research and learning that can be done and I find that really fasinating. Criminal Justice, my original major, was also interesting but I found that I wasn't able to expand to my fullest potential. So you can guess what class I am going to be getting an A in this semester :) haha.
Well, that's all for now...I just thought I would update my fellow readers on the life as a second semester college freshman haha!
Until next time...enjoy Spring Break, if I don't get a chance to update later on!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
"From Blogs to Blockbusters"
Hey everyone!
This past Wednesday, I was invited to attend a very interesting event called, "From Blogs to Blockbusters". Ms. Jessica Wells Cantiello of FYE invited me and several other bloggers to this event at the JCC in Manhattan. "From Blogs to Blockbusters" is an interview that was conducted by Abigail Pogrebin. She had two special guests on the show in which she interviewed about how they went from simply blogging to big success later on that developed off the blogging. The two guest were Julie Powell and Gretchen Rubin.
In this series of interview, Powell and Rubin were able to tell the audience about their experience regarding their success. Ms. Powell spoke about her blogging and how that eventually led to her expedition towards cooking. She also spoke about her book, "Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously", which was eventually made into a movie back in 2009. Ms Rubin spoke about her quest to find happiness and how it all started while she was stuck in traffic one day! Haha I found that extremely interesting. Rubin also spoke briefly about her book and how she got where she is today.
I actually got a lot out of this interview series (even though I was only working off 3 hours of sleep and a lot of stress that day haha)! One thing that I got out of this is to blog often! Now, I knowww I am totally doing the opposite and I truly apologize for that =( I've just been so caught up with school work- I haven't had time, but I will definitely keep more posts from now on... or at least i'll try my best to do so =] The reason that Ms. Rubin said we should blog often is to keep the readers into the blog. By posting often, people will actually follow the blog and be interested in what is going on. I want you all to know about my experience as a first year student at John Jay so I will do my best to keep you all updated.
Another thing I got out of this interview is that what to just live life and be happy. When Julie Powell was telling the audience what happened to her and how people viewed her as a "skank" after her movie, she told us how she didn't care and simply continued to live life. I think this is extremely important. I'm sure all of you had heard this before... not to care what others think and its easier said than done. I know this myself. But if you all really think about it, its true. What others say is THEIR opinion... dont even bother listening to them because it is your life and if you let others get to you, it will hold you back. Powell is still probably more successful than any of those people who criticized her and she didn't let those comments get to her. She knows it's not true and she'll live her life as she would without them =)
Also, I learned that in life, we should just enjoy the fun of failure. Life is trying your best to accomplish what you set your mind on, but if you fail... embrace it and learn from it to pick yourself up and do better the next time. Don't give up. My corrections professor (Professor Kimora) bought up something that I go by day to day. "It's only a mistake if you don't learn anything", and I find that so true! This event was a very good experience and I'm definitely glad that I was a part of it! Until the next post everyone, have a good night! =]
This past Wednesday, I was invited to attend a very interesting event called, "From Blogs to Blockbusters". Ms. Jessica Wells Cantiello of FYE invited me and several other bloggers to this event at the JCC in Manhattan. "From Blogs to Blockbusters" is an interview that was conducted by Abigail Pogrebin. She had two special guests on the show in which she interviewed about how they went from simply blogging to big success later on that developed off the blogging. The two guest were Julie Powell and Gretchen Rubin.
In this series of interview, Powell and Rubin were able to tell the audience about their experience regarding their success. Ms. Powell spoke about her blogging and how that eventually led to her expedition towards cooking. She also spoke about her book, "Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously", which was eventually made into a movie back in 2009. Ms Rubin spoke about her quest to find happiness and how it all started while she was stuck in traffic one day! Haha I found that extremely interesting. Rubin also spoke briefly about her book and how she got where she is today.
I actually got a lot out of this interview series (even though I was only working off 3 hours of sleep and a lot of stress that day haha)! One thing that I got out of this is to blog often! Now, I knowww I am totally doing the opposite and I truly apologize for that =( I've just been so caught up with school work- I haven't had time, but I will definitely keep more posts from now on... or at least i'll try my best to do so =] The reason that Ms. Rubin said we should blog often is to keep the readers into the blog. By posting often, people will actually follow the blog and be interested in what is going on. I want you all to know about my experience as a first year student at John Jay so I will do my best to keep you all updated.
Another thing I got out of this interview is that what to just live life and be happy. When Julie Powell was telling the audience what happened to her and how people viewed her as a "skank" after her movie, she told us how she didn't care and simply continued to live life. I think this is extremely important. I'm sure all of you had heard this before... not to care what others think and its easier said than done. I know this myself. But if you all really think about it, its true. What others say is THEIR opinion... dont even bother listening to them because it is your life and if you let others get to you, it will hold you back. Powell is still probably more successful than any of those people who criticized her and she didn't let those comments get to her. She knows it's not true and she'll live her life as she would without them =)
Also, I learned that in life, we should just enjoy the fun of failure. Life is trying your best to accomplish what you set your mind on, but if you fail... embrace it and learn from it to pick yourself up and do better the next time. Don't give up. My corrections professor (Professor Kimora) bought up something that I go by day to day. "It's only a mistake if you don't learn anything", and I find that so true! This event was a very good experience and I'm definitely glad that I was a part of it! Until the next post everyone, have a good night! =]
Friday, February 26, 2010
And the Workload Starts to Build Up...
Hey everyone! Ahh its been a while. I'm soo sorry about that!
But, I'm sure all of you know what the workload is starting to build up. Even though it's the second semester of college- it still takes some adjusting to. My main problem right now isn't even the papers surprisingly... it's the readings. There is just so much reading to do and it's hard to keep up! All your professors expect you to read read and read at least a chapter for next class... and it makes me think.. "ughh how many pages is this chapter?!" =( Haha i'm sure you all can relate though.
Also, I have my first exam of the semester next week! I have a math test and I dont know about you all- but math has NEVER been a strong point for me haha. All the numbers and everything... GAHH! Wish me luck!
Haha but other than that... my courses are going well so far. I did learn from last semester to keep up with the school work, focus in class and keep on top of everything going on. This semester, i'm just nerding it up 2x! Haha I find myself always in the library, or reading or doing some type of work for school.. but it's all good =] I'm determined to bring my GPA up and work my hardest to get into law school in 3 years. It's a long stretch of time, but success takes time. Good luck to you all trying to keep up with your work as well! And comment if anything to let me know what's going on with you guys. Until the next post, take care everyone!
But, I'm sure all of you know what the workload is starting to build up. Even though it's the second semester of college- it still takes some adjusting to. My main problem right now isn't even the papers surprisingly... it's the readings. There is just so much reading to do and it's hard to keep up! All your professors expect you to read read and read at least a chapter for next class... and it makes me think.. "ughh how many pages is this chapter?!" =( Haha i'm sure you all can relate though.
Also, I have my first exam of the semester next week! I have a math test and I dont know about you all- but math has NEVER been a strong point for me haha. All the numbers and everything... GAHH! Wish me luck!
Haha but other than that... my courses are going well so far. I did learn from last semester to keep up with the school work, focus in class and keep on top of everything going on. This semester, i'm just nerding it up 2x! Haha I find myself always in the library, or reading or doing some type of work for school.. but it's all good =] I'm determined to bring my GPA up and work my hardest to get into law school in 3 years. It's a long stretch of time, but success takes time. Good luck to you all trying to keep up with your work as well! And comment if anything to let me know what's going on with you guys. Until the next post, take care everyone!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Second Semester of College?! =]
Hey again everyone! Ahh can you all believe that the second semester of college has started?! First semester was a bit hectic with the transition from high school to John Jay, but now that we all kind of got into the hang of things... there is definitely much more to look forward to from my perspective! I'm also so hyped that I actually finished my first semester of college! Ahh! =]
My first day of class was on Thursday and I thought that it was quite successful! I had math and english and it seems like I'll get a lot of these courses.
Also, no offense to any of my professors last semester... but let me say, I am so grateful for ratemyprofessor.com. This was my first time using it and SO FAR- it seems effective. Haha even though certain professors I had last semester were okay (as professors in general)... I just didn't quite grasp their teaching method and I didn't learn much from them. Don't get me wrong- they were all really nice people... but I just did not understand from their method of teaching. This semester, hopefully things will get better.
With this new semester quickly approaching... I am both as excited as can be and as nervous as can be! I am extremely excited because it is the start of a brand new semester.. I'm sure this happened to you one way or another last semester. But at first... I was on top of all the reading and assignments. But eventually- I fell behind and I was stressing to catch up, but that only added to more stress and falling behind even more because I wasn't grasping the concepts. With this new semester- I'm determined to stay on top of my work and work hard to succeed. I'm also excited because who isn't excited to start something new (a new semester I mean). Now that I finally got into the hang of "college" - I am more comfortable with things and I've adjusted. So time to go back, work hard and focus! =]
I'm also crazy nervous about this semester as well. One reason is because of some of the courses I'm taking. I know some of these classes require A LOTT of reading and the reading is what I have to keep up with in order to know what's going on in class. So I'm a bit scared about that =/ I'm also nervous because it's that bittersweet feeling again. As I mentioned in my excited part because of a new semester.. I'm also nervous because I don't know what to really expect. Also, I want to get my GPA up this semester, so I'm stressing myself to do the best that I can.
Coming back to school after a month break- I'm excited to see everyone again and just be back into "school mode" haha. This is soo different from high school! Winter break and having no work was nice- but personally... I feel its good to just get back into the swing of things and go back to school and have classes and all that- after being on break for so long. Not so much the workload, but you get what I mean =) I'm a bit of a nerd, as you can tell haha. But I like school and I'm really looking forward to working hard this semester. Anyway.. I wish you all the best of luck with the new semester and I'll keep blogging throughout =)
My first day of class was on Thursday and I thought that it was quite successful! I had math and english and it seems like I'll get a lot of these courses.
Also, no offense to any of my professors last semester... but let me say, I am so grateful for ratemyprofessor.com. This was my first time using it and SO FAR- it seems effective. Haha even though certain professors I had last semester were okay (as professors in general)... I just didn't quite grasp their teaching method and I didn't learn much from them. Don't get me wrong- they were all really nice people... but I just did not understand from their method of teaching. This semester, hopefully things will get better.
With this new semester quickly approaching... I am both as excited as can be and as nervous as can be! I am extremely excited because it is the start of a brand new semester.. I'm sure this happened to you one way or another last semester. But at first... I was on top of all the reading and assignments. But eventually- I fell behind and I was stressing to catch up, but that only added to more stress and falling behind even more because I wasn't grasping the concepts. With this new semester- I'm determined to stay on top of my work and work hard to succeed. I'm also excited because who isn't excited to start something new (a new semester I mean). Now that I finally got into the hang of "college" - I am more comfortable with things and I've adjusted. So time to go back, work hard and focus! =]
I'm also crazy nervous about this semester as well. One reason is because of some of the courses I'm taking. I know some of these classes require A LOTT of reading and the reading is what I have to keep up with in order to know what's going on in class. So I'm a bit scared about that =/ I'm also nervous because it's that bittersweet feeling again. As I mentioned in my excited part because of a new semester.. I'm also nervous because I don't know what to really expect. Also, I want to get my GPA up this semester, so I'm stressing myself to do the best that I can.
Coming back to school after a month break- I'm excited to see everyone again and just be back into "school mode" haha. This is soo different from high school! Winter break and having no work was nice- but personally... I feel its good to just get back into the swing of things and go back to school and have classes and all that- after being on break for so long. Not so much the workload, but you get what I mean =) I'm a bit of a nerd, as you can tell haha. But I like school and I'm really looking forward to working hard this semester. Anyway.. I wish you all the best of luck with the new semester and I'll keep blogging throughout =)
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