Monday, August 31, 2009

Late Night!

It's late on Monday evening, but I figured before I head off to bed, I would post! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did! Tomorrow I have an interview/meet and greet at another State Farm office. For those who didn't know, I work as a part time assistant at State Farm already, but it's been a little slow, so my boss offered me the opportunity to go check out another agents office and possibly work there a few hours a week, as well as at his office. I thought this was a great opportunity, so tomorrow I find out all about it and all the details. I think this would be pretty cool, especially since I know the system already and would not need to spend much time on training. Each office functions differently, so of course I would need to learn about that!

I will treat tomorrow as if it is an interview, which I feel will give me more experience with them. I tend to get nervous, in which my nerves will get the best of me, and then I just feel so uncomfortable. I definitely feel as though I have been better as far as that, but you never know what nerves can cause.

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We are actually talking about anxiety and things of that sort in my psychology class, and I found it rather interesting. I came across social anxiety, which semi-fits my issue with nerves and what not. We were discussing this as a class in our discussion board and one of my classmates actually had an issue where they had a fear of talking to people, even those who were their friends. I could not believe that, but they went out and found someone to talk to about it, and have come a long way. They suggested I go and talk to someone, which will help me overcome my nerves, but I know if I work at it myself, I can hopefully overcome such issues.


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So back to my interview, I am really excited! I have heard great things about the agent, so that makes it all the better. At this point, I need to just stay positive and confident, which I'm pretty sure I can handle. Everyone has nerves and I think even talking about this and letting it off my shoulders will bring me good luck for tomorrow! I will keep everyone posted for sure! Wish me luck! Goodnight!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Home Sweet Home

Hey! Sorry about the week of disappearing! I went away to Wildwood and just got back last night! Hope everything is going well! I am happy to be back home, except for the fact that its raining. It was beautiful down in Wildwood, so I'm really missing that!


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Anyways, ending week 8! Only 3 more to go, maybe 2 for some of you! If your an online student, you probably noticed that the Course Evaluations have been posted, and need to be completed ASAP! On site students will receive the surveys in their classes, so keep an eye out for those.

A month from today, the new students will be starting here at Berkeley. I was glad to have the opportunity to chat with a few of them and address any concerns they had. I thought this was a great idea, since many new students are always worried about what to expect! Travis gave a great handful of advice in my last post, so please check that out if you have not! As always, I am open to any questions or concerns anybody has, so please drop me an email if this is the case: lyndsay-wright@mymail.berkeleycollege.edu

Next semester I will be taking an accelerated course, which I did not realize until last week. I have heard about them, but was not exactly sure how they work. Here is the deal! Accelerated classes allow for you to complete a 12 week course, in only 6 weeks. The downfall to this, is that you need to fit 12 weeks worth of work into only 6 weeks. I am usually very good with keeping on top of my assignments so I am ready to take on the challenge. If anyone is interested in these accelerated courses, make sure you have completed the Road To Success, which allows you to take online courses, and then when you schedule for them, it will say OLA or OLB. OLA is the first half of accelerated courses, and then OLB is the second half, which starts a new 12 week course in 6 weeks. If you are still confused, I would advise that you speak with Advisement and get the whole scoop. I am only taking on accelerated course for now, since I would like to see how it works out!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! Hopefully the rain disappears as well!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Let's Meet Travis!!

As everyone knows, I have been interviewing students who will be starting here at Berkeley in the Fall and addressing any concerns or questions they may have. To switch it up a bit, I asked Travis, who is well into his college experience, to provide a little insight for these new students. Travis was my group leader at Freshman Orientation last year, and we began to talk several months after. He is actively involved at the Garret Mountain campus and is a great person to speak to! Let's see what he has to say!!


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My name is Travis Helmka. I am 20 years old and I am in my seventh quarter here at Berkeley College (Junior). I was born and raised at the Jersey Shore, where I currently live when I am not staying on campus. I grew up in the family business, a chain of liquor stores by where I live, and I learned almost everything I know from there. At the very least, everything I knew before I came here.

I think just about every new student is nervous because they don’t know what to expect. Don’t worry! Realize that everyone is just like you and no one knows what to expect at first. You have to realize that everyone feels the same as you before you can truly become comfortable with the situation and make friends. YOU WILL MAKE FRIENDS!

What should you expect? Classes aren’t that big, so you will get to know a lot of people right away. A lot of freshmen have to take the same classes, so you will most likely see some people a couple times a day. Get to know them! Part of the reason that I was so successful here is because I forced myself to come out of my shell. Do things that make you uncomfortable, it’s part of developing.
Expect a lot of people to be there for you. All of your teachers want to help you, whether they show it or not. They won’t treat you like a kid anymore, but they will always work with you.

My biggest tip would be to realize that College should be one of the best experiences of your life, depending on how you use it. Certain people will go to class and then leave. What is wrong with that? You miss everything in between!
Join a club, join an organization, and make a difference! Some of you will do all of this and be that much better for it. If a club doesn’t find you, find me and I will!
I want you to realize that college is only about half in the classroom. If everything you learned came from the classroom, you missed out. College is also about developing social skills, networking, becoming comfortable with yourself and growing as a person! Oh yeah, HAVE FUN!!

If you ever need anything from me, my email is
travis-helmka@mymail.berkeleycollege.edu

Great advice from a great person! Thank you Travis! He is right! If you are interested in finding a club to join, he is your man to contact!! Thanks again!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Cash For Clunkers

I was listening to the news today and lately I have been hearing so much about the Cash for Clunkers. I even notice dealerships with huge signs promoting this, but what is the real deal here? Unfortunately, Cash for Clunkers will be ending on Monday. From what I heard, the dealerships are getting fed up because the paperwork process is taking forever and they have yet to receive their money. This is a huge deal because they are selling lots of cars, and without the money, they are starting to worry.


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Has anyone gone through with Cash for Clunkers? If you have any interest, below is what you need to do, to follow through with this. The weekend is going to be busy at the dealerships, but hopefully you can get yourself a good deal. Here is some information in regards to this:

* To participate in the CARS program, you do not have to sign an agreement to pay back the dealer the CARS credit amount if the deal is rejected.
* You are required to leave your trade-in vehicle at the dealership and sign over the title to the trade-in vehicle at the time of the deal.
* The dealer must give you the new vehicle at the time of the deal.
* Your vehicle must be less than 25 years old on the trade-in date
* Only purchase or lease of new vehicles qualify.
* Generally, trade-in vehicles must get 18 or less MPG (some very large pick-up trucks and cargo vans have different requirements).
* Trade-in vehicles must be registered and insured continuously for the full year preceding the trade-in.
* You don't need a voucher, dealers will apply a credit at purchase.
* Program runs through Nov 1, 2009 or when the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. (WHICH HAS NOW BEEN CHANGED TO MONDAY, AUGUST 24th at 8 PM)
* The program requires the scrapping of your eligible trade-in vehicle and that the dealer disclose to you an estimate of the scrap value of your trade-in. The scrap value, minus $50 the dealer keeps for administrative fees, will be in addition to the rebate, and not in place of the rebate.

I feel that this program is pretty awesome, and it really did make a big impact on the American population.

Here is some information I found from CNN Money:

Officials decided to wind down the program, which Congress passed to spur flagging auto sales, after determining that it would soon run out of money.

As of Thursday, the program has recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates.



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The expected number of transactions that are expected by the time the weekend ends is over 750,000. There are many different sides to this topic, since some feel that doing this, will now lower car sales for quite some time and put us into a bigger ditch, while others feel this is a start to something big and better. Who knows! Only time will truly tell!

JetBlue was doing something too with flights. You could buy a whole package of flights for a month, for only $600 I believe. They are bringing that to an end as well. It really makes people jump when they see deals like the Cash for Clunkers and the Airline situation.

The economy has been hurting, so it will be interesting to see how things shape up in the long run!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Star Ledger Article

Not sure why I didn't blog about this sooner, but something big and exciting happened to me a couple weeks ago! Mrs. Covino, who has set me up with the blogging, asked me if I would like to do an interview for the Star Ledger about student blogging! This was my first big interview for the paper, so of course I was nervous, but also excited! I couldn't have been any happier to be chosen, so thank you Mrs. Covino for this opportunity!

After my phone conversation with Mrs. Covino, she forwarded my number to Josh from the Star Ledger, and the next day I received a phone call from him. He was very welcoming and the interview went smoothly. He asked me general questions about blogging, if I think it appeals to students in the college/outside of the college for recruitment. I really enjoy the blogging for the fact that I can connect with my fellow peers. I think its a great idea and can really bring our school a long way.

After I was finished with the interview, I was waiting for the article to come out! I was worried I didn't say enough, or that I said too much! My nerves were taking me over! Finally, August 2nd the article was published! I had one of my Professor's email me about seeing the article, which was pretty cool! I have the link to the online article and one of my mom's friends just gave us the paper this afternoon, so it's pretty cool to hang on to for my scrapbook.

This was a really great experience and I hope that the students who read all of the blogs, take the experiences into their perspective and learn from what we have to say!

Here is the link to the article and enjoy! http://sections.nj.com/SS/Page.aspx?&secid=67704&pagenum=1

Friday, August 14, 2009

Next Week: Freshman Fest 2009!

First off, TGIF! The weekend has finally arrived, although I think these weeks are going by way too fast! Next week is Week 7! 4 more weeks to go!

As you have noticed, I have taken the time to interview a few new students who either have started already, or will be starting in the Fall. I thought this would be a great time to address any concerns they may have about starting their new experience.

The main concerns seem to be with meeting new people and how the professors are going to be. Everyone is different, but it also depends on the student. With that being said, Freshman Fest is approaching, which is where all our new students will meet with their new classmates. I remember last year when I did this, I was so nervous since I only knew a few people!

The following are the dates for the Freshman Fest at the different campuses:



Garret Mountain Campus

Friday, August 21st • 11:00 AM



Bergen Campus

Wednesday, August 26th • 11:30 AM


Please make sure to check this out! It is a great time to meet new people and begin making new friends! I hope everyone has a great weekend!


Middlesex Campus

Thursday, August 27th • 11:30 AM

Monday, August 10, 2009

Happy Monday!


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I'm glad to see we got a break from the rain, but here comes the summer heat! I hope everyone is all ready to tackle down Week 6! We are almost there! I still can't believe we are almost done! A year ago I was getting ready to begin my whole college experience, but now I'm living in the reality of it.

So I had put out an email to another individual to ask if I could interview them and get some feedback about their concerns about starting at Berkeley. I came across Nick Hill, who began his college life this summer! I was wondering what he was worried about and how things are working out for him so far, so let's see what he had to say!


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"Well my name is Nicholas Hill, I'm 18, and I have just recently started college here at Berkeley College. I am majoring in financial services and will be graduating with a bachelors degree when it is all said and done. I am a musician, I play the keyboard and I also an all around sports player. When I began the school quarter i was nervous and afraid. I didn't know what to expect and I thought the people where going to be a lot meaner than what they are. I am enjoying this experience with my fellow college peers. I especially like how there are various activities to participate in and the people are all kind and willing to help with no problem. Overall this college is providing me with great experiences an great opportunities and I am thankful for such an opportunity."

Thanks so much Nick! A lot of students who are starting college are afraid of what to expect, but being open and willing to talk to people, will bring you a long way. I noticed as well that the students and staff at the Berkeley Campuses are always looking for a way to help you out. I agree with Nick as well, that there are so many activities going on around campus making it so that there is always something to do! Just another friendly tip for those who will be starting in the Fall! There is nothing to fear about college! Nerves will get the best of you, if you allow them too! I'm not saying don't be nervous at all, but after your first day, you will feel in your place!!

Nick, thanks again and best of luck to you and your future endeavors!!!

Friday, August 7, 2009

New Students: Thoughts and Concerns


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As many of you know, Berkeley has been connecting with students on facebook and myspace. I decided to check out the myspace “wall” and touch base with a few students. I emailed a few students who will be starting their college experience this fall. I was wondering what they were looking forward to and any concerns they may have. This was I can speak about their concerns and help them get through it.

My first responder was Charline. Here is what she had to say:

“hey I’m Charline I will be attending Berkeley college in the fall and I’m looking forward to meeting new people learning about fashion marketing and management that’s my major I’m looking forward to meeting new teachers my worries are the classes are they going to be hard or easy are the teachers nice I’m just looking forward to the whole college experience I want to join clubs and etc.”


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First off, thanks Charline for your response! I felt the same way when I started at Berkeley. It’s a series of events with meeting new people and wondering how the professors are going to be. On the first day of classes, you will get a feel for how your professors are going to be. The number thing is to be respectful and they will respect you back. You never want to get on their bad side that is for sure. As far as the classes go and their difficulty, really depends on how well you prepare yourself. Making sure you take good notes and study, will determine your difficulty in a specific course. In college, it’s more on your part to stay focused and learn the material. In high school, we knew we got the little push on assignments, but that is no longer the case. Don’t worry though. If you are having difficulty, Berkeley offers an Academic Support Center, which helps you if you are having difficulty understanding a subject. Best of luck to you! You will be fine, so let go of all those nerves!!


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As I keep stressing in my posts, keeping a to-do list will really help in the long run. It sounds silly, but by writing down everything you need to do,it really helps with the progression of things. I am hoping to hear back from a few other new Berkeley students who will be starting in the fall, this way I can address their concerns and hopefully point out some tips for them!


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Also, registration is still going on! If you have not done so yet, now is the time! Classes are filling up quickly so remember!!!


I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!


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Thursday, August 6, 2009

New Students

In about a little over a month, we will have a whole new crowd of individuals beginning their college experience. Instead of waiting until last minute, I wanted to share some things about Berkeley College and what we have to offer. By now, those who are attending in the Fall, have most likely been to the campus, and seen where the buildings are and which ones contain admissions/advisement/student accounts/financial aid. If you would like, there are videos that give you a tour around campus. The link below will direct you to the information/video about the Garret Mountain Campus. If you are attending another campus, you have the choice to select another. http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/campuses/GarretMountain.htm

This video will give you a feel for the campus and where you will need to go for classes. Also the information that is provided, will give you an idea of where everything is and how the departments can assist you.

Berkeley is very involved in the community, so as new students, now is the time to get involved! Also, we have soccer and basketball teams that you can join! I was looking into joining the basketball team, but unfortunately was unable to with my schedule and all. If you are planning on living on campus, I suggest checking it out. There is always something new and exciting going on!

One of the most important things in college is to be on time to your classes. Professors can not stand when the students stroll in late, especially when they are beginning their lecture. It shows disrespect and can also hurt your grades, so be on time and be prepared. Also, it isn't high school anymore, so yes cell phones are allowed, but its a good idea to silent them or at least put on vibrate. If the call is absolutely necessary to answer, please get up and walk out quietly. Everyone has emergencies every once and a while.

You will meet a lot of new people so just keep a positive approach to every new thing that comes your way. Its always good to make friends on campus, especially if you have an abundance of time between your classes.

I was nervous as can be on my first day of college. Even though orientation was the first time, it was nerve wrecking not really knowing anyone except a few familiar faces from high school. Orientation is great! You meet many different people and play ice breakers to get to know and meet people. Once you start your classes, you will meet those same people and even more. I remember the ice breaker i did at my orientation. You were asked to take as much toilet paper as you think you would need if you were stranded on an island. I just kept taking more and more off that roll, but then I came to find, for every piece of toilet paper I had, I had to tell everyone in a group about myself. Needless to say, I was there for a while, and started breaking up my sentences with every piece I had!

College is a great experience and the best time to get involved. Even if you weren't big on getting involved in high school, now is the time to break that habit! For the next couple of weeks, I will be posting some blogs about starting your new journey and also going to check out our facebook and myspace page to track down some new Berkeley students who will be starting in the fall!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Ever wondered...

what makes me want to blog? I have had my friends and family question why I take blogging so seriously and why I even do it.

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I kind of just laugh and ask if they have ever tried it. Blogging opened up a lot of new opportunities for me, not just because of the fact that I can communicate and connect with Berkeley students and potential students, but the fact that I can share my experiences.

In life generally and in college, we will all makes mistakes. No one is perfect as we have noticed, and if we were perfect, we would never learn anything new. Whether I share an experience where I made a good choice, or an experience where I made a bad choice, I can share these things and add how I was able to continue on, even with a bump in the road. Blogging reflects a series of thoughts and experiences, and I feel that it's important to be able to express myself.

I have no shame in sharing bad experiences because I obviously have learned from them. We all have dealt with procrastination, but after a while, we learn that waiting until last minute, does not give us the grade we should have got if we spent the time on doing the assignment for more than just a couple of hours.

We are going to be starting the Fall Quarter in about a month, and we will be introduced to new freshman students who are adventuring into the college life. I hope for these students to pay attention to their surroundings, and take a note of things they should avoid. Mistakes are going to happen, as well as misjudgments, but they will learn eventually.

Since my start here at Berkeley, I have had such a great experience. Then the blogging opportunity came along in February and I absolutely love it. Although I am only an online student at this time, I can not wait to get back on campus to see what is going on there.

I hope that my experiences and follow ups about the courses I have taken, help other students out in the long run! If there is anything in particular anyone wants me to discuss, please do not hesitate to email me! lyndsay-wright@mymail.berkeleycollege.edu

I have been up since the crack of dawn, literally! 5:30 AM my little eyeballs opened and I don't even know why! My new dresser came yesterday so today will consist of putting my room back in order! Then essay time with my lovely Ernest Hemingway book. I can't complain though, I actually enjoyed Hemingway. He put up a fight to understand his stories, but it was more about breaking down specific phrases and examining words and images he used in his writing!


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Monday, August 3, 2009

Half-way there!

That's right! Week 5...has finally arrived! I still find it hard to believe, but hey I guess I should be happy, right? For it already being the midpoint of the quarter, I have a pretty light week as far as homework and such goes. I better not jynx myself yet though.

Hopefully by now, most of you have selected your classes for next quarter. I logged back onto the course schedules again today for the online classes, and three of them that I was looking to have online, have opened up, so I was very happy! Make sure you keep an eye on everything, since that's the best way to go.

I am currently in the middle of moving my room around, so I feel weird sitting at another position at my desk. This time I'm in a corner. I feel like a teacher since all I have on my desk right now are school papers and books. I get a new dresser tomorrow, so I am thrilled about that.


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One of my assignments on my discussion board this week in business communication as to discuss email communication and I figured I would talk about this a little bit. I am all about email, since it's the best way to really get in touch with me, besides cell phone. I check my email everyday,multiple times. The discussion board is the discuss if email is appropriate for positive, neutral messages. I agree that it is appropriate if it is a positive message, due to the fact that the tone can easily be recognized. Unless of course, the opening line is not direct or leaves the receiver confused as to what the tone is. If we follow a direct plan, we will know that the main idea needs to be placed early, this way it will attract the receiver and encourage them to read through entirely in case there is a benefit or supporting details to be offered.Also, if the message is positive, its easier to accept and take in. I know that if I received a negative email, I would not necessarily want to read it, but I may be curious as to what was being sad and whether it was about performance in the workplace or not meeting numbers/goals.

I know email is very popular so I was just stating that if you promote your tone earlier in the message, it will most likely help to engage the receiver into reading it into depth. Just wanted to put that out there. Obviously not all emails are going to be put in a positive tone, but if this is the case in a negative message as well, just make that clear in the beginning. A person is going to choose whether they truly want to continue reading it. I do believe though that if it is a positive message, they will finish it!

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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Searching Around

I was looking around this morning on the Berkeley page, and I remember last quarter that there was filming going on for the Berkeley commercials. There are 3 of them that I just finished watching and figured I would share them with you!







If you have trouble viewing them, this is the link to where they are on the Berkeley site: http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/podcasts/commercials.htm

I kept watching the tv hoping to see them pop up, but I have not seen these yet. I remember seeing one a couple months ago. I feel that these commercials are perfect and really help you get a feel for the college. Just wanted to share these with everyone and get a little feedback on what others think.

This type of recruitment is great. I especially like how they mention the fact that the classrooms are smaller so there is more attention given to the students. Also, showing the classrooms and the Professors teaching, is a great idea as well. I still suggest that students picking out a college, to visit the campus and get a feel. You always have a gut feeling if something is right or wrong, but the commercials show a positive environment.