Saturday, May 14th's Open House Recap!

Hey Berkeley! This quarter has been my busiest by far, so let me first apologize for not keeping up to date every week! This past weekend I helped host the Berkeley College Open House on the Garret Mountain Campus. It was great to see all these students come out to visit the school and get an idea as to where they wanted to go after graduation. I am not sure on how many students we had, but it seemed like every time I returned from giving a tour to one group, there was another group waiting to go, so overall, you can say it was a very successful day.

As I was giving the tours on Saturday, I was thinking to myself, this use to be me. Scared about going to college and not knowing who I may meet or where I would end up. The thing I was able to incorporate into my tours was the fact that Berkeley doesn't make anything scary and there is ALWAYS someone there for you if you needed help with something. Surprisingly, I didn't have one Marketing Major in any of my groups, which I was kind of bummed about, because I wanted to have a little Marketing talk! LOL But that's ok. The students I did meet were very cool and seemed to love all that Berkeley had to offer. As I was walking through, I was wondering what drew some of these students towards Berkeley. I had a range of different answers, which I thought was great! Some students said they liked the programs that were offered. Others said they liked that the class sizes were smaller compared to big lecture halls with over 100 students in them. I definitely made sure to point out the small class sizes because it really gives you that personal connection with your professor and plus if you have a question, you won't have to worry about it not being answered, because the professor will know you personally and can answer right in class if time allows. Overall, everyone had a good feel about the school and after the tour, I had a lot of good feedback from the parents on the information I provided, which was rewarding for me!

Another point I made sure to point out was the benefits of Career Services and the Academic Support Center. Many students worry about a job after they graduate, but as we all know, Berkeley College is there for life. It's not guaranteed they will find you a job right away, but they will be there for you through the whole entire job search, which many schools don't even offer. They give you a degree and out the door you go. Luckily, Berkeley cares and many of the students were impressed with that fact, even the parents were very happy to hear that! I encouraged the students to get started with the Career Services early on this way when the time comes, they are ready to rock and roll!

Also, the Academic Support Center was another key note I made. FREE TUTORING and lots of computer access! I can't even tell you how many parents said to me, "Wow, you guys offer a lot of computer access." They are just a beneficial learning tool we like to provide to our students, and again, the parents and the students LOVED that!

Students in their college searches don't know what they want,but they want to know what each school will offer them. I had a few students in my groups who were still Juniors in high school, narrowing down their lists. Hopefully I was a good enough tour guide and gave them all the ins and outs about Berkeley to help eliminate some other schools. In the end, it's the students choice, but I'm glad I was able to give my input and share some of my experiences with Berkeley!

Tomorrow's adventure is the Berkeley College Commercial shoot, which I will be taking part in! I am so excited and will definitely be blogging about that in the days to come! I hope everyone has a great week! I know it's crunch time for me. 4 research papers due so you can only imagine how stressful my life has been. All of that plus interning, life is just throwing it all at me! That's ok, I'll take it as a life test and just chug on through it all!

April Showers Bring MAY Flowers!

Have you looked around you lately? Everything is in bloom and it looks so pretty! I guess the saying is definitely true: April Showers Bring May Flowers!



We have successfully completed yet another week at Berkeley and it's the dreaded mid-term week for many of you coming up in week 6! I know for me I will be working on some papers and finishing up my accelerated course, which runs for the first 6 weeks of the quarter. Then I only have to finish up my 4 other classes. I will still be pretty busy, but having one class done will be a HUGE help!

So are you interested in making some cash or winning a trip for two? Then you definitely need to check out the Berkeley College video contest! Read below for more details so you can learn how you could be eligible for these cool prizes!

"Berkeley College has been changing lives for 80 years. Now we are asking our students, alumni and associates to tell us how Berkeley College has changed their life by submitting a video sharing their experiences through original song, poem, work of art, on-screen text or an essay. The video must include a specific explanation, either in text or in audio, of how Berkeley College changed their life.

Simply complete and submit the online entry form.

The Grand-Prize winner will choose between a cash prize of $1,000 or a 4-day trip for two to selected destinations. Runner-up will receive an Apple iPad. Grand-Prize and Runner-up videos will be posted on BerkeleyCollege.edu and the Berkeley College YouTube channel."

For the complete list of rules, please visit the following site: http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/80th/video_contest.htm

This is a great event to become involved in so get creative and show us how Berkeley has changed your life! I have decided to enter myself, so I am in the process of working on my video as well. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Graduation took place last week and again, Congratulations to all of our grads! I can't believe that my time is coming up as well! People I haven't seen in so long can't believe I am already graduating! ME EITHER!

Also, real quick! Any students out there looking to attend Berkeley, I will be helping host the open house next weekend, May 14th, from 9AM to 1PM! Please come by and take a tour of campus (Garret Mountain in Woodland Park,NJ) and see what Berkeley has to offer for you!!

So anyways, I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend, especially with your mom! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, and a big shout out to mine!



Have a great weekend everyone!

Prayers to those facing the devastation of the tornadoes....

This week has been devastating for many states as these strong storms have passed through. Many lives have been lost and my prayers go out to all of these families who were affected by these tornadoes that passed through this week. Before I came onto my blog to post, I came across an article on Yahoo! that shows video footage and photos from this devastation. It really makes you think and realize that anything can be taken from you at any moment. It really upsets me that after the storm, the sun always shines and what are these people left with? Nothing. No homes, lost family members, and just a pile of debris. It's very upsetting and I wish I could change everything for them, but unfortunately I can't. Please send your prayers to all of these families who were affected by these tornadoes. To read up on the devastation, visit this Yahoo! link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110428/ts_yblog_thelookout/watch-tuscaloosas-terrifying-tornado

Sorry to start off with such depressing issues, but they are serious and need to be given as much attention as possible. Together if we all work together, we can help these families get back on their feet and help to rebuild their homes!

So this week seemed to just fly right on by. I have successfully registered for my final classes *sniffle, sniffle* and I am all set! Just have to finish up the Spring quarter and the finale starts for my college education! I actually went to visit my high school 2 weeks ago and my teachers I had were like "Oh my goodness, you are graduating soon!?" Yeah, I can't believe it myself! I even popped in to visit my guidance counselor and he was even amazed at how fast it all went. I have to laugh a bit though too because they all ask what I am going to do after graduation, and of course I have to reply with "Well, I have my degree, what else do I need to do?" The funny thing is they give me these looks that you can read what they are saying: "Are you serious?" It makes me laugh and then of course I tell them my plans and it's all understood, but you have to give them something to worry about. After all, they did help prepare me for college! A big thanks to them of course!

My internship is going well so I am very happy with that! We are actually really busy so there is lots going on and a lot for me to become involved in. I was there yesterday and I will also head down that way tomorrow as well! We are preparing for a big trade show so there is lots to be done and lots of proofing of presentations to do. It feels good to be under some pressure! It also helps me prepare for when I am in a situation like this in the future, I'll have a better idea of how to respond and not completely freak out! So, so far so good! YAY!

My accelerated course, Feminist Thought, is wrapping up in 2 weeks and we were assigned a biography paper on a women who made significant impact in woman's history. I decided to go with the one and only Eleanor Roosevelt. She is so inspirational and I think her story is a great one to tell! Time to hit the books and research! Of course I will also be using the handy dandy library resources on blackboard to help with my research as well! (Check it out too if you have never used it!)

I hope everyone had a great week and enjoy the weekend! It's suppose to cool down and we will have some sunshine for once, so ENJOY!! Till next week....

Happy Easter!

I'm a day late on this one, but better late than never! Happy Easter Berkeley! I hope everyone had a nice day with their families and that you are ready to jump into another week! Week 4 is already here! How crazy is that?!



I'm actually a little sad because today I begin registration for my last classes here at Berkeley. Graduates get first pick for their classes and well graduation is right around the corner for me. I'm actually really sad about this, but excited all at the same time! For my last quarter, I will be taking 4 classes, including my internship! It just all came way to fast!!

I believe the schedules are posted for all other students but you will have to wait for your enrollment appointment to start scheduling! It never hurts to get an idea, so take a look! Simply visit the community tab on Blackboard, click advisement, and then course schedules on the left side! If you have any questions, advisement is always there to help!

I hope everyone has a great start to week 4 and I'll catch up with you during the week! Bring on the warm weather too! I took out all of my spring clothes over the weekend and my flip flops! I am set, so let's go!!

Check out our newest blog addition: Career Services!

As a student blogger, it's my mission to attract people to my blog and share helpful information by letting my fellow classmates in on some of my own experiences while attending Berkeley! Many of you have reached out to me, and I enjoy being able to interact with all of you!

This morning an email came through that I had a new comment on my blog I posted a few days about kicking off week 2! If you have been keeping up with my blog, you will have seen that I have been blogging about my internship and the career services department here at Berkeley. Here is the very nice comment I had for approval in my inbox this morning: "You inspired me to start a blog for Career Services! Check us out and we can follow each other!"

I thought that was such a great comment and I was definitely excited to learn that Berkeley would now have a blog for this department. I popped on over to the Career Services blog and there is a lot of helpful information posted on their blog already. I think it's really important for those of you who are nearing the end and need to get ready for your internship! The latest blog, which I actually giggled about, is what to avoid during your internship? Of course, Facebook was mentioned, which was no surprise to me! The reason I giggled is because I actually was asked to play around on Facebook, BUT on the company's profile! So that was totally acceptable! I can't even begin to tell you though how many times I have heard of people getting in lots of trouble at their jobs and possibly fired for being on Facebook. I understand it's addicting, but seriously, the workplace is not the time for it! So I totally agree with staying as far away as possible from Facebook when you are interning as well as when you work a full time job!

I know at my State Farm job, they actually have restrictions on websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and even Yahoo mail. Just recently I learned that my boss has access to all the sites we visit during office hours, so it just comes to show, there is technology out there that can track your every single move in the workplace, so BEWARE!

With that being said, I would like to welcome you all to visiting the Career Services blog! If you have any questions or concerns, this is the place to go! You can also check out the recent job and internship postings to get an idea of what is available to you. And as always, you can always visit the Career Services department on your campus for further information!

Here is the link so you can visit today!

http://berkeleycollegecareerservices.blogspot.com/

I hope everyone's having a great week and just think, TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! ENJOY!

Week 2 Kickoff!

Just one week ago I was blogging about the start of our first week of the Spring Quarter! Can you believe we are already at week 2? How was everyone's first week? Busy? Confusing? Did you meet some new friends!?

My first week was pretty good. It's just a matter of getting use to new classes and what the professors expect of you each and every week. Now that I am fully an online student, it's a lot different than being on campus. You have to have certain postings by certain times and you need to respond to a few people throughout the week. I've gotten use to that, but every professor is different when it comes to weekly discussion boards. I picked my publicly traded company for my big presentation in my capstone class. Has anyone else taken a capstone class? They are designed to incorporate every other class you have taken related to your major and apply it to a big project for the end of the quarter. My project is to make a strategic plan that is shown in a powerpoint presentation as well as a 10-15 page paper. I wanted to do Apple, but someone had already chosen that company, so I decided to go with Sony because I have been a Sony fan for a long time. I plan on getting a HUGE head start on this so that when it comes down to the deadline, I will just have to make the finishing touches. Being that my schedule is much busier than normal, it's my best bet to get going on these things much sooner.

The internship is going great so far! I sat in on my first marketing meeting the other day to cover some promotional items for an upcoming event. It's so exciting to finally be involved in these types of things because I always wondered how the process goes. It seems to be a little stressful because while the marketing department discusses their ideas, they then need to present them to their big boss, and well, he is not always in favor of their proposed ideas, so it's back to square one. That is actually the issue at hand now, so this week will be a little bit hectic, but I am looking forward to it. It's really funny too because people there know me as "the intern" so the girl I work with says, she has a name you know! It makes me laugh but everyone is super friendly so it really doesn't bother me!

Yesterday I participated in the MS Walk at Waywayanda State Park. I had such a huge turnout for my team and it's just so remarkable to see everyone come together to make strides towards finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. I have been going on 3 years strong now and have been feeling better than ever! It just makes me so happy to see everyone come together that I love so much! Here are some photos from the walk!

So let's kick of week 2 and make it a great one at that!!

Welcome To The Spring 2011 Quarter!

Welcome to all new students and welcome back to continuing students! Today kicks off the first day to the Spring 2011 quarter here at Berkeley College! I hope everyone had an enjoyable break and I hope you are all ready to get back to work! I know I am considering I only have one more quarter to go and then graduation will be here! This quarter is going to be by far the busiest quarter for me since I will be taking 5 classes, one of which is accelerated, and I will also be working at my internship one quarter earlier so it's busy, busy, busy for me!

I spent yesterday reviewing all of the syallbus' for my classes and getting a feel of what is expected of me. The one thing I found that I am not exactly happy about is a 10-15 page paper, but it's a capstone course, and it will give me the opportunity to take everything I have learned in past classes related to my major and apply it within this paper and presentation. Of course when you see an assignment like that right off the bat, you get a little stressed, but I am sure everything will go smoothly once I get working on it and have a better understanding of what is expected.

So far, everything looks pretty good and I actually was able to get a head start on some assignments today because it was my day off. I don't get many of those anymore, so it was definitely a good head start on my behalf. I will also be participating in the Honors class this quarter, which like last quarter, is very beneficial to my learning. I have met some really great people within the program and I look forward to being a part of the honors program!

I am interested to hear how everyone spent their break and what classes you will be taking this quarter! Is anyone else close to graduation? What about after graduation...what are you hoping to do? I would love to hear from you guys!

As we kick off the Spring Quarter, make sure you remember to get all of your books and to make sure you go to class prepared! The weeks fly by so make sure you don't slack in the beginning. It will only make it harder to catch up at the end. I also want to remind everyone to take advantage of the tutoring available at Berkeley. Everyone is here to help you, so please don't forget that!

Have a great week and GOOD LUCK! Have a successful quarter!!