Monday, August 30, 2010

Heat Wave!


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It's going to be one heck of a week!!

Hey Guys! Happy Monday and Happy Week 9!! Remember this is the last week to drop any classes!!! I suggest you try to stick it out but if your already on bad terms in the class, then please visit Advisement ASAP to do the steps for withdrawing!

I received an email in regards to becoming a Peer-to-Peer Mentor for the Fall Quarter for the new online students! I read over the information about it, and decided I had a great interest in applying to be a part of this. Basically, the Peer-to-Peer Mentor program is to connect with the new Freshman students who are starting their degree online. As for those of you who are taking online courses, you know it's not very easy to adapt to such a big change. After being in classrooms for most of our education, and then switching to being a solely online student can bring along a lot of frustration. As part of the program, a student will be assigned a freshman student who is participating in the online degree program. For the first six weeks of the Fall quarter, I would send out an email to my assigned student to check in and see how they are doing and if they have any questions about Blackboard or just the online experience in general. After the first six weeks pass, I would transition into emailing the student every other week, just checking in again and making sure everything is going well.

I personally think this would be an awesome experience for me. I remember when I first started taking a few online courses as well as a few on campus courses, I was thinking to myself, "What am I getting myself into?" Because I was once in the shoes of these individuals, I think I could help talk to them and address all of these concerns and worries about the online environment. Even with my blog, I try to do my best to address concerns that I hear students speak about. This is part of the reason why I also engage in getting students to interview about their college experience, because others can learn from it as well. We shall see what happens though! Fingers are crossed!!



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So I have to admit I was extremely frustrated this weekend. I had been working on my crisis management paper for my Public Relations class as I had mentioned. I started researching my selected topic of 9/11 and wrote about 3 pages into the paper out of the 6. So I was halfway done, right? I had such a bad feeling about the paper and was driving myself crazy. It was a moment where I felt like I was on the right path, but then the other half of me, was second guessing it. I then decided, I can't take this stress and should run it by my Professor. Well, thank goodness I did! It turned out that while I had selected a good topic, it wasn't so much public relations related. I totally ignored the fact that while public relations deals with media coverage, I lacked to concentrate on a particular person or company. Think about it this way, when Michael Jackson passed away, he was a client in the case, in which PR was hoping to elicit sympathy and acceptance. In my 9/11 case, I lacked having a client. I could have used the government, but even then my Professor thought it would be a little tough to do that.

After conversing with my Professor, I found a much better topic, the Exxon Valdez oil spill from back in March 1989. About an hour later, I had found about 8 new sources, all filled with information ranging from Public Relations issues to the strategy and action plan they implemented during the oil spill. My Professor gave me the thumbs up and thought this was an excellent topic. I never knew much about it, but after my research it was very interesting. There is also a tie to the current oil spill with BP because while BP is struggling with their cleanup efforts, they should have learned from the Exxon Valdez crisis the proper way to handle this situation. Unfortunately, they did not!!

I guess a lesson can be learned from my personal experience. If you don't feel good about a topic or about a project you already started, EMAIL or SPEAK TO YOUR PROFESSOR! I think I just saved my grade big time! LOL

Well, that's all for today! I hope you all have a successful Week 9! I'm working on getting another video edited! Just wanted to get some more video coverage over at the Bergen Campus and hoping to get some filming in at the Freshman Fest on September 1st! I'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for reading! :)


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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day!

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What a gloomy past couple of days this has been. We kind of had a break yesterday, but then it was right back to the rainy business. Of course, they say it's suppose to be nice, and yet, it's just as gloomy as the past couple of days!

Luckily for me, we had a break with only a few showers here and there, but nothing major to affect my filming. Rocky and I headed over to the Bergen campus yesterday to do some filming like we did for Garret Mountain. That was my first time walking through that campus and I have to say, it's very nice. We got some good footage, but not many students were up to being interviewed on film. We did some coaxing for a few of them. I guess that's an advantage to being a people person! It's a busy area down there, but there is lots to do. We unfortunately didn't get to film everything we wanted, but we did get to mention some of the main things. As part of the filming experience, we visited the Van Saun Zoo right down the road from the Bergen campus and spent a little while visiting all the animals. I'll post some pictures below. It was a good time and I am looking forward to seeing the edited footage!

Pictures from Van Saun Zoo w/ some music!!! WOO!



While I was stressing over two assignments last week, I got some feedback today, and I stressed for nothing. Both assignments I pulled off with an A, so you can imagine my relief. I always get such a nervous feeling when the professor posts, "I graded your assignments. Please review my comments." It's like oh great! This time around, I did better than I thought, so I am relieved. Now I just need to stress over these 2 huge term papers that I am slacking a bit on! Note to self: STOP SLACKING! :)

Because I know it's tough to stay focused, especially since summer is wrapping up and we are approaching the end of the quarter, I just want to give some tips so that you don't lose yourself in your classes over these next 3 weeks.

For starters, final exams are approaching. We all hate final exams, but unfortunately, we have to work through them. If anything, now is the time to really start asking your professor about the exam, what is going to be on it, and begin reviewing for it NOW! The sooner you start going over the material, the more confident you will feel when it's time to sit down and take the final.

Secondly, just because the end of the quarter is approaching, doesn't mean you should stop focusing on your homework. I know several students, including myself, that just by doing their homework, they saved their grade tremendously. It may not seem like it counts as much, but believe me, it adds up!

Third, if you feel like you are falling behind and really need a pick me up, speak with your professor and ask for help. Also, you have the opportunity to go to tutoring,so that you can get help in any subject you need.

Lastly, STAY FOCUSED. Make sure you eat and get plenty of rest each night before a class, especially before your final exam. Studies have shown that if you don't get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night, you will be dragging your feet the next day. I think we all know what they feels like!!

There is always someone there to help you out, so take advantage of it. It's not easy going to school over the summer, but it benefits you in the long run!!

Stay dry and enjoy the rest of your week!!

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Monday, August 23, 2010

Monday, Monday, Monday!

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Who me? Yes, that is right, I am guilty of having a case of the Mondays! I don't know why, but it took me forever to get my act together this morning. I had to work this morning and then come home and do some homework, and I was just not in the mood to do so.

It's going to be crunch time for me these next two weeks. I have two term papers due, which are going to drive me crazy until they are completed. My sociology paper is going to be based on MS and Stem Cell Research. That one should be fairly easy for me since I know a lot about MS and the research being put towards stem cell. Part of the paper is an interview, so I am also waiting to get some answers back on my interview questions. That part makes up a good part of the paper, so it's essential! My other term paper is for Public Relations in which we were asked to pick a crisis that has occurred in the past and analyze its crisis management and the publicity that occurred with that particular crisis. I finally decided on my topic and that is 9/11. The publicity for this crisis was HUGE, so there is a lot I can analyze. The one problem that is easily identifiable right off the bat about the publicity was the fact that so many rumors were spread during this time. It drove people crazy because we were always worried that something else was coming or could get worse than it already was.

I know I stress out too much during the writing process, but as I work my way through it, I ease up and get it done!! It's just a vicious cycle I must work through!

I was checking out Blackboard, and noticed they are making several changes to the Career Zone. Many of you were experiencing trouble and they are ready to listen! They have asked if you have any other suggestions or issues with Career Zone, to please make them aware. Here is the information to do so: Please be advised that enhancement changes have been made to CareerZone. We are aware that the job postings under the Berkeley College Career Zone Jobs section of CareerZone are not properly aligned. We are currently working on resolving the issue. If you have run into any other issues with CareerZone please submit an email explaining the issues to jur@berkeleycollege.edu. Make sure the email contains your full name.

The quarter is quickly wrapping up. It's hard to believe that we are in week 8 and in 3 more weeks, we will be done, for a week at least! I am so looking forward to that week of freedom. I think this has been by far my busiest and most hectic of all quarters!

I am also working on some more filming, this time down at the Bergen Campus in Paramus! I am hoping that the rainy weather disappears for the day tomorrow so I can get that done and have a new video up and ready to viewing! The Garret Mountain video got a ton of hits on YouTube, which is great! Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback and watched the video!

So as we chug through week 8, keep you focus on and just think the end of the quarter is near!!! Also, please remember, if you did not schedule for your classes for next quarter, DO SO IMMEDIATELY! Classes are filling up and especially if you need to take a class, you better make sure you get in there before it's too late!!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The week is quickly wrapping up.....

And I couldn't be happier!!

It's been such a hectic week on my end, and tomorrow I get to go to the beach and chill out for my best friend's birthday! It's like a tradition now. Every year we go to the beach for a good part of the day and then on our way home, we stop at Outback for her birthday dinner! It's a lot of fun!

So this week was probably my busiest week of all. I even had to cut my hours a little shorter at work this week because I was so bombarded! I have officially completed my literature review for my sociology paper and successfully created a news release for my public relations class. Luckily, I only had one discussion board for this week, so I didn't have to respond to anyone, which was a total time saver!

It's so scary how quickly this quarter is wrapping up. Next week is already week 8, which means it's going to be crunch time! My biggest things I need to get done will be my sociology paper and another paper about crisis management. I'm slacking a little on that paper, but I will be starting that probably this weekend! I don't want to fall so far behind that it will take me forever to catch up! I really don't have forever!

I hope everyone got a chance to see our video from the Garret Mountain campus. Next week, we will hopefully be over in Paramus and creating another very informative video for you guys, with a bit of humor of course! It's definitely been a great experience with videotaping, and it brings everyone in on a different level to see what Berkeley is all about! I'm really enjoying myself, so I hope you are as well.

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So how is everyone's quarter going? Fast, slow? Hopefully everyone is keeping up with their grades and doing the best that they can. Now is the time to kick it up a knotch and make sure you end the quarter on a good note!

Also, a reminder, PLEASE REGISTER FOR YOUR CLASSES! Waiting until last minute will not be a good idea since those that took the summer off, will be wanting to get into their classes and all the campuses will be hopping again once Fall comes! It's right around the corner, so don't forget! Also, the last week to drop classes is Week 9! If you are not sure about dropping a class, speak to advisement, and also speak to your professor. If you're having a hard time, it's not too late to get some help, so please do so!

Berkeley will be getting ready to welcome more new students in the Fall! If you see these new students around campus and see they need some help, please lend them a helping hand. We were all once in their shoes, so why not help them out?!

I actually am applying to be a peer mentor for new online students. If I end up getting selected, I will be emailing the new online students each week to assist them with any issues they may be having! I really think this would be a great thing especially since when I started online, I wasn't so confident that I would be able to succeed in online classes. I love them now!!!

I hope everyone had a great week and remember to stay focused as we approach the end of the Summer quarter! 3 more weeks! Hang in there!!!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Garret Mountain Campus Tour!

Here is the video I promised everyone!!!

This is a tour of the Berkeley College Garret Mountain Campus to inform students of what is available to do on and off of campus. Berkeley College blogger and student, Lyndsay Wright, and Berkeley College student, Rocky Muscia, take you on a journey throughout the wonders of Garret Mountain, located in Woodland Park, NJ.




It was a great day of filming and a special thanks goes to Rocky for helping with the editing!! More to come soon! Enjoy!!!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

What's going on this weekend?!

Hey guys! So you have officially made it through midterm week, which is, as always, a breath of fresh air! Like I mentioned, I didn't have any midterms, but I did have several tests this week. It was craziness, but for the most part I did well. I felt a little bombarded and stressed this week, which is why I wasn't able to pop on here and update everyone. Between school, work, and I recently just started going to the gym, I am always running around. It's totally worth it though.

In the mail this week, I received two letters from Berkeley. One congratulating me on completing half of my degree (WOO HOO) and the other to congratulate me for making the President's List (WOO HOO again) Whoever said hard work doesn't pay off??? I actually had a conversation about my schooling yesterday with my co-workers. One of them left our office yesterday, so to honor his leaving, we all went out to lunch. Many subjects were being spoken about around the table and then all the sudden I get pinpointed about my schooling. So of course I explained everything and my boss goes, "I'm really impressed, I really am!" Those types of remarks make you feel good, you know? The man who is leaving our office, is younger, about 27, and he is going to be returning to school this upcoming Fall I believe. He was surprised I was chugging right along in 3 years because he feels that you miss out on a lot of your younger 20's by going to school and getting out ASAP. I have mixed feelings to his response and I'm sure when a lot of us were deciding about Berkeley, we were faced with the 3 or 4 year decision.

With that being said, there are many benefits to going to school in 3 years. Yes, maybe you lose out on some things you could do, but with today's economy, you want to get out there and start making money. Personally, I am going into a field that I have passion for, that I know I will love to do, so to me, it's going to be a great experience. Maybe going to school for 3 years isn't your cup of tea, but if you are persistent with your work and feel like you are on a roll with everything, then why stop? I eventually would want to go back to school for my masters, but until then, I want to get out there and start doing something I love. We come to school so that we can take everything we learn and apply it within our careers. Maybe those of you who are going to school in 3 years, want to take that last year off and then go out looking for a job, and that's totally your decision. Everyone is different and I am not saying I disagree with taking a year off, it's just a tough decision.


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In the works are some video blog ideas, and I don't wanna share any of the details just yet, but it's in the works. I was scheduled to video tape on Thursday but of course it rained all day, so now it's rescheduled for Monday, which I heard more rain, but hopefully I'll get lucky. A good friend of mine is going to be helping me out with editing and I am so excited to get it up and running as soon as it's edited! So look out for that next week!!!!

It's suppose to be a gorgeous weekend so get off your behinds and go enjoy it!! Monday will be here before you know it, and then we were all me groaning once again until we reach FRIDAY! Have a good one!!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Midterm Week!

We have finally made it to week 6 and many of you are preparing for those wonderful midterms this week. While I don't have any midterms, I do have 3 exams to take this week in 3 of my classes. Go figure, out of the 4 I am taking, I have exams in 3 of them! Lucky for me. I am sure there is someone out there who has exams in every class, so I guess I really shouldn't complain! Let alone, they might be midterms, which count way more than my weekly tests. Yikes!

I am happy that my demonstrative speech is over and hopefully many of you got a chance to check it out. I am going to get into the whole video blogging over the next couple of weeks. I am in the process right now of planning something, so we will see how that goes and it will be up on my blog as soon as its completed.

I want to share something with you guys this week from one of my class assignments. It's for the discussion board, and it really hit me from left field. I had such a strange reaction, something I never felt before and it made me kind of sick. Not sure why. This assignment is for my Sociology class and it has to do with The Milgram Experiment. I will share with you what my professor has shared and then provide you with the link to a video.

"The Milgram experiment was a series of social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram , which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience . Milgram first described his research in 1963 in an article published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, and later discussed his findings in greater depth in his 1974 book, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.

The experiments began in July 1961, three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem . Milgram devised the experiments to answer this question: "Could it be that Eichmann and his million accomplices in the Holocaust were just following orders? Could we call them all accomplices ?"

Check out this replicated video done on a British Reality show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GxIuljT3w




Respond to the video. What do you think you would do in this circumstance? Why is it that we tend to conform more to authority even when we are seemingly putting others at risk? Do you think this experiment could help explain the apathy that many German citizens (who were not directly impacted) displayed while they watched the atrocities of the holocaust?"

So that is my assignment and I just completed it this afternoon. This is my response and I am curious to see how others feel about this.

"This video shocked the heck out of me. I couldn't even imagine being a part of that experiment and listening to the other individual on the other end screaming in such pain. I felt what they were doing was extremely wrong and unpleasant to have to listen and watch. In this circumstance, I would stop the experiment as fast as I possibly could. I could not sit there, listen to a person answer a question wrong, and then shock them because they were wrong. I just would need to get out of there ASAP.

It seems that we tend to conform more to authority even when we are putting others at risk, because we were always taught to listen to the higher up than us. Just like when we were younger and our parents told us to stop doing something because it was wrong, we had to listen to them because they were the authority. In this case, the individuals in this experiment had to listen to the authority, who was the man in the white lab coat. Whenever they said they wanted to stop or that they couldn't do this any longer, the man told them that they had to.

Yes, I do feel that this experiment could help explain the apathy that many German citizens displayed while they watched the atrocities of the Holocaust because they really had no say to stop the German authorities from displaying their hatred and anger during the Holocaust. It was part of their job and they couldn't go against the authority. Some of things are nature to them because they are use to looking up to the authority as the decision and power maker, so the Germans really had a lack of concern during these horrific Holocaust times."

These types of assignments are good to have because they help you learn about all different things that have happened in the past. I don't mind learning about it, but this one kind of hit me in a different way. I know we don't particularly see these individuals getting the electric shock, but hearing them and watching the participants keep going is bizarre.

As we begin Week 6, I hope you continue to study for those midterms and earn an A!! It doesn't hurt to get a study group together and work on things like that as well. It can be extremely beneficial to you! GOOD LUCK!

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Demonstration Speech=SUCCESS

All that stress and worries over my speech and I finally did it today. I took every ounce of confidence along with me. Even though I did a million takes before I got it just about right, it was well worth it! So on behalf of my completion, I am going to post it on my blog for everyone to view.

Not only will you be able to watch my speech, but you will also get some helpful tips. My topic is writing/preparing a well structured resume! Please provide any comments you would like to make about my speech. I am open ears when it comes to improving my speaking! Enjoy!!!




As we approach the middle of the week, things have been pretty quiet for the most part. Just working on all my assignments for the week and preparing for a big research paper in my Sociology class. I am doing Stem Cell Research and a cure for MS. This week we had to come up with questions to ask someone we are going to interview, so here are the following questions I came up with:

Research Paper: Stem Cell Research & MS
1) How do you feel about the current research and studies going into stem cell research to hopefully find a cure for multiple sclerosis?
2) Do you feel there is potential that this type of research will come a long way and help cure MS?
3) Are there any specific times when you remember hearing news about stem cell research and MS, in which you became nervous or worried? Be specific.
4) Based on the research already conducted, would you consider having a stem cell transplant if it were to be approved and promising for MS patients?
5) What have you heard about stem cell research that has altered your position to be or not to be keen on the idea of stem cell treatment in MS? Be specific.

I am not sure if any of you have really read up on stem cell research, but it truly is a fascinating topic. I am looking to use this topic for my informative speech as well since there is a lot of information that can be relayed to those who aren't really familiar with the topic.

I hope you guys take the opportunity to check out my demonstration speech and provide me with any feedback! I would appreciate it!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Ready for August?

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I am, I am!! It's officially the first day of August, which means the first month of school is down! Hopefully all of our new students have adjusted to Berkeley and are having a successful quarter thus far. A lot of new stuff is going to be happening this month and from here on out. I want to encourage everyone to start following my blogs on a constant basis and following me wherever else I may pop up. You will start to see me popping up on Twitter and also voicing myself on our social media sites such as Facebook! After several conversations, it has become apparent that students who are attending Berkeley and those who are looking into attending Berkeley, are looking for the voices of the students, and I would love more than anything to lend out a helping hand in that area!!

With that being said, why do you feel that social media sites are helpful in reaching out to the students and people in general? Why all of the sudden are people turning this way for information? Well, think about it; more and more people are logging onto their computers every minute of the day. Yes, we still go out, see billboards, hear radio ads, and things of that sort, but we also have sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Blogger offering a variety of information pertaining to everything! We are logging onto search engines, such as Google and Yahoo! We are also browsing the web for instructions, or for recipes, and we come across so many different things. Have you ever just logged onto the internet with a specific search and up seeing something along the way and completely ignoring what your original intention was? I know I have!!

I also want to start getting into a habit of posting a video blog once a week, whether it be from my house or down on the Garret Mountain Campus or if I am visiting any of the other campuses. It's time to step the blog up a notch, what do you think?!

So aside from my little rank, I got back comments for my demonstrative speech outline, and I am good to go. My professor and classmates acknowledged my idea of speaking about "Preparing a well-structured resume." When you think about it, how many of us have actually spent a great amount of time structuring a resume? It definitely motivated me to start working on mine, that's for sure. I have a basic one but it needs some updating!!! Some of my classmates are hoping that I can offer some helpful tips, so now the pressure is on! I hope I meet their expectations and walk away with an A for this speech. It's going to be different talking into the camera and not in front of a class, but I'm sure I will pull it off! Confidence is a must!

As for the weekend, what did everyone do? Me, a whole lot of nothing! Just kidding! I actually went to a car show last night up in Sussex at the Chatterbox restaurant and guess who was there signing autographs???? THE FONZ from Happy Days! Unfortunately, I didn't get his autograph because the line was wrapped around the restaurant, but it was cool, because who didn't love Happy Days?!
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That's the best shot I could get of him! He was swamped with people around him, so this is the best I could do! How cool though!! That was my fame for the weekend! LOL

Well, let's get ready for hectic Monday and have a successful Week 5! We are getting there, so hold tight!!!

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