Berkeley College 7th Annual Charity Car Show!

I was a happy attendee to the 2011 7th Annual Charity Car Show at Berkeley College on Sunday, October 23rd! Once again, we reached astonishing numbers in the number of cars that came through the entrance to take part in this continuously growing car show. Last year we had just about 250 registered cars, and this year we reached 345 registered cars! That is so awesome! Thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting such an important cause!

Throughout the day, there were lots going on! There was a live band, lots of food choices, a bouncy house for the kids, and lots of Halloween decorations and festivities for everyone to enjoy! It was great to see the kids dressed up in their costumes and it was also great to see the owners of the cars decking the cars out in Halloween decorations and making it have that spook-tacular feel!

This was my second Berkeley College car show that I have attended and from those who have attended the others in the past, they say it just gets bigger and bigger, and I can definitely see that from the turnout we had yesterday! Everything was put together and planned really well so I send a huge THANK YOU to all the students and staff who were so willing to put this together and volunteer throughout the day! You guys did a great job and you make everyone want to come back each year!

As I was walking around, I took video and photographs of the cars. The photos can be seen below and I will be working quickly to get the edits done to my videos so I can share that with you as well!

I want to say thank you to everyone who was able to come out to the Berkeley College 7th Annual Charity Car Show yesterday! We were all able to come together and raise awareness for a great cause! Hope to see you next year!

The Alumni Life....

Hi everyone! Well, it's been 2 weeks since I've been living the college alumni life, and it certainly feels so weird not logging onto Blackboard everyday and checking to see if there are any updates or announcements from my professors. I guess what I am trying to say is, I miss Berkeley already! Although I am finished, it doesn't mean I won't stay involved in some of the events that are going on. I will definitely be attending the Berkeley College car show, which is coming up on October 23rd! I will attach the flyer below so that everyone can get a feel for how great this car show really is. It also is a charity event and Berkeley raises a lot of money for a great cause, so I encourage everyone to come out and have some fun! Hope to see you there! Check out this flyer for more information!



So being that I am an alumni, I have been on the hunt for a full time job! You start to realize it does put up a challenge, but with patience and dedication to finding something that suits you best, you will achieve what you set out to achieve. Everyone I have spoken to about a job, have all told me to remain patient and calm because if you rush, rush, rush, you will feel overwhelmed and you may miss out on some opportunities that would be right beneath your nose! I've been paying close attention to my resume and updating anything that needs to be updated and also focusing on making my cover letter very strong and to the point as well. To all my fellow grads out there, just keep your head up and stay focused on looking for the job that suits you best! A job you LOVE, leads to a very happy life, so don't settle for less when you have lots of potential for bigger and better. My other word of advice would be to never get discouraged if you can't find something right away. You just have to keep looking and also, Berkeley is here for you, so you can ALWAYS contact career services and ask for some job assistance! They are here for life, so always remember that!

I am looking forward to keeping up with my blog through my alumni life and sharing all of the experiences I have with my ob search and interviewing processes! I wish all of the new and continuing students the best of luck this Fall quarter and I am looking forward to seeing some of you at the Berkeley Car Show on October 23rd!

And I would like to send my condolences to the family of Steve Jobs, who has passed away last night due to his long battle with Cancer...May you Rest In Peace Steve and thank you for all the great products you have introduced us to...http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/steve-jobs-earned-place-american-business-pantheon-001840746.html

We did it!

Congrats everyone! We have successfully made it through the Summer Quarter and sadly, this was my last one of all! Hard to believe that 3 years ago, I was just getting ready to start college and now, I am walking away completely done! It's actually kind of sad when I think about it because while you always wait for the day to come, you never really want it to because now it's time for the real world!

I finished up at my internship today where they took me out to a very nice goodbye lunch and just wanted to let me know how much they appreciated everything I had done for them. It was tough. As I'm saying goodbye, I was holding back the tears because it really was a great opportunity in my life and I will miss them a lot!

The grades I believe are to be posted by tonight or tomorrow, and then that is it! I hope everyone did well on all their final projects and their exams! I have been on my job search for the past few months, and I got some bites here and there, so I am just really hoping something comes along now that I am officially done! I want to also remind everyone, who is done with school like me, to definitely contact Career Services if you have issues trying to find a job or need help in the future. They are there for life, so take advantage of it! All they want to do is help, help, help!!!

I want to wish everyone a very happy vacation and remember classes start again on September 26th! Hopefully I will be able to keep you updated about my life as an alumni and all my new updates regarding my job search! And also congrats to all my other fellow grads!! We did it!!

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

That's right! We all get to enjoy a lovely 3 day weekend all thanks to Labor Day! Looks like the rain is holding out for the most part, so we are lucky for that! I hope those of you who were affected by the storm last weekend, were able to recover and enjoy this weekend.President Obama set out to visit the devastation in Paterson today and the surrounding areas. The news broke my heart this past week to watch, but he is going to do his best to help those in need.

Some good news for us Berkeley students though, only 2 more weeks until we wrap up the Summer quarter and for me, only 2 more weeks until I am college free! I have been on my job hunt so I am hoping to come across something soon! In the meantime, I have just been staying on top of all my work and finishing up with the end of quarter papers and projects.

I didn't get the opportunity to intern last week due to Hurricane Irene, so I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things this upcoming week and next before I make my departure from there. I've definitely learned a lot in my internship and I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to intern before graduation. There are some schools who don't require an internship, but I honestly think it's such a great thing to offer students before they graduate. It will allow them the opportunity to enhance their skills and also allows for them to learn how to apply their given and learned skills to a real position. This is a great thing Berkeley offers and when it comes time to find an internship, the career services staff is more than willing to help you out!

As we wind down these next two weeks, watch out for the faculty evaluations that will be coming around whether you're an online student or on campus student. As an online student, we fill out our evaluations right within our course. I haven't been on campus in a few months, so I am not sure how much the evaluation process has changed there. It's important to fill out these evaluations so your professors know where they need to make improvements, if you can suggest any at all. They don't take your feedback as criticism because it allows them to better plan for the next quarter.

Since you know the end is near, don't start dragging those feel. Just keep up with everything, and finish out on the best note! Finals are also quickly approaching so just remember the ASC (Academic Support Center) is always there if you need some assistance!

GOOD LUCK & Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

Stay Safe This Weekend....

So it first starts with the ground shaking mid week, and now we end the weekend with Hurricane Irene...Can we catch a break? The major part of the storm has moved out of my area finally, but the rain and wind is still present. My brother and I went outside before to see the damage and it's not too bad. We have a stream behind my neighbors house that is running into the road and we also saw a crayfish battling the wind and rain out in the road. I will post some photos below!

I am hoping that everyone received the Berk Alerts throughout the weekend so you took all the necessary precautions to stay safe. You may have also received emails from your professors letting you know that if you lose power or if something were to happen, to take all the necessary actions and whatever work needed to be submitted, they will deal with that. Hopefully you have reached out to your professors already if there is an issue at your home. First thing first is your safety!!

Although the gist of the storm has passed, there are still the issues of flooding and trees coming down so please be careful if you go out to travel. I have been keeping up with the news and seeing what is going on, and they are urging everyone to just remain indoors, so please listen to them!

We are transitioning into week 9 this week, which means only two more weeks till the finish line! This week may put a damper on your work, but push through and do your best to get it done. Like I said, your safety is your first priority!

Everyone stay safe this weekend and I will keep you all posted as we progress through the week!

Halfway through Week 7

Hey guys! I know, I know, slacking on my postings again! This quarter has been kicking my butt between interning and keeping up with everything, but I am happy to say that everything is going great and the nerves and pressure of graduation are setting in!

I've been applying to some jobs already, hoping to land something close after graduation, so I still have my fingers crossed in that area! I know I always have the Career Services area available to me at Berkeley for any career assistance! It's great to know that you will always have someone there to help you out when you are really in need of it.

I want to make note of a posting this week on our facebook fan page "Give me one word that describes Berkeley College... -Angie Marie" As I was reading all of the responses throughout the day, they were the same exact things I was thinking to myself: Professional, Family, Success, Convenient, Opportunistic were among the many mentioned!

When I started at Berkeley, I loved the fact of how professional everything was handled. From the registration process to the enrollment of classes, it was just so great! You got to know your admissions rep, your advisement rep, and everyone you saw on campus were so friendly and ready to help you in any way they could. Everything was handled very professionally and if something fell through the cracks, they were sure to pick it up and correct the issue!

Success is something I am going to experience very soon with graduation approaching. Yes, I have succeeded in a lot already, but walking away with my Bachelors in Marketing, will be a huge part of my success here at Berkeley. The faculty and staff were there for me 100% of the way. Even with being a part of the online family, the differences in support were very minimal.

So when I read all of these terms being used to describe Berkeley, I couldn't agree more! We are all in this together and we all have a lot to be thankful for because of that!

As we wind down on week 7, I want everyone to look at how far you have come, whether you are a new student, or a continuing student. I am now looking at everything 3 years later and it's such a great feeling to know that I have been able to successfully obtain a degree that will help me land the job of my dreams.

I am still interning as well, which will be about another 4 weeks, until we close out the quarter. It's been a little hectic there because we are trying to organize and manage the database, and since there are so many contacts within, breaking it apart has been a nightmare, but we are all working together to sort it out. I work with such a great group of people, so each day I intern is always fun and exciting. I am also doing a lot of work with the marketing materials that go out and learning all sorts of different programs that could be in handy in the future!

All is good so I am lucky for that! Hang in there everyone! Only a few more weeks, and you get another weeks vacation! You can't beat that!

Oh, We're Halfway there....

We are wrapping up week 5 and moving on to week 6, which means HALFWAY THROUGH THE QUARTER!!! And only 5 more weeks until I am a college graduate! Yikes! Everyone I talk to keep asking if I am on the job search yet and yes I am!! I'm trying to get something set up for right after graduation and I have sent my resume all over! Just waiting for the bites to begin. I did get a few so just waiting to see what happens!

I hope everyone is having an excellent quarter so far! I know it's summer and you really don't want to be going to school, but just think how much it is going to pay off. I am in this one class online and our discussion board is EMPTY. I feel like a loser being the only one posting, but I want a good grade. It's just boring talking to yourself after a while! LOL How is everyone's classes going?

It was yet another week of interning and I was a busy bee this week! Here is my journal entry for the week that shares what my tasks involved:

I had my work cut out for me this week and I actually got very stressed. This week I had to pick apart this HUGE, and I mean HUGE Excel sheet with information on pricing for all the products. The problem with the Excel sheet was it wasn’t very organized and the format was off. When I was first given the task, the directions were not very descriptive so I found myself staring at this Excel sheet saying, “Now what?” I asked my co-worker, who had assigned the task, for some assistance. She rolled right over and had no problem. I was showing her what I was trying to do and even she was like “Oh no!” We ended up having to change the formats of the cells and make a completely new sheet to get it to work. I think I even stressed her out too, but we managed to get through it. As soon as we got the formats changed and set up in the new sheet, I was able to begin picking it apart, labeling things that needed to be labeled, deleting things that did not apply, and just cleaning up the file so that it was presentable.

I found myself a couple of times stepping away from the sheet because there was just so much going on at once that my eyes were going crazy and I just needed to recollect myself. My co-worker made sure I was ok, and kept checking in because she knew it was a very frustrating sheet to work with. The deal with this huge Excel sheet was that we need to submit it to the government so show our prices and what products we are still selling. Since they run it through a system, a lot of the things in the Excel sheet would cause it to error, so I had to make sure it was clean enough so that when it went through their system, it wouldn’t bounce back at us. Instead of running into issues right off the bat, we wanted to alleviate them and clean it up in advance.

While that was the major project of the week, I also did some lighter tasks including entering more contacts into our database system and cleaning that up. I also sent out marketing materials to the people who came in as leads for our products. I sent out the brochure and made sure I included all the contact information if they were to have any further questions.

My final task of the week consisted of exporting our database again and organizing an Excel sheet so it listed just the Canada representatives. After exporting, I then added them to a website known as Constant Contact, where those individuals working there now organize and put them into our bigger database. It's pretty much the back up system in case ours crashes.

This week tested my Excel abilities, and I was glad I was able to get through it. I learned that no matter what, my co-workers are there to assist me and that I just need to take everything one step at a time and I will be ok!

I'm going to be sad when I have to say goodbye to my internship, but it's been nothing but great experiences so I am so thankful for that. I will walk away with great skills that will benefit me when I start my career!

I will be heading down to Atlantic City this weekend, so I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!