Reflecting...

Senior Week starts this week and I'm excited to start the festivities! At the same time it's bittersweet- this is the last week I'll be spending with a lot of my friends for I don't know how long.  My good friend Emily, who I've become most close with this semester, lives in Oklahoma and I truly don't know the next time I will see her after she leaves.  I also have many friends who live in New York.  It's hard and kind of upsetting to think about this so I just want to spend as much time with them as I can this last week together.  Thinking about the last four years, I realized how much I have changed and grown.  Freshman year, I joined SGA and I went along with it thinking that it was just something fun to do and to get involved.  I met some great people and continued to do it for the time I have been here.  This past year, I decided to be an RA in order to continue to live on campus, but not only that, I wanted to become more of a leader, develop more, and learn how to confront difficult issues (considering I'm not a confrontational person.)  Along the way I have gained some friends, and lost some friends.  Some friends have remained the same the entire friendship and some have changed and due to that, I am no longer friends with them. 

1. I have never really thought of myself as a leader until this past year.  I took a step back and realized just how much  involved I really am.  I truly do not know how I don't go crazy.  Between

• RA
• SGA
• Tennis
• Tour guide
• Student Blogger
• 5 year MBA program
• Student Orientation Counselor
• Student Alumni Association 

I'd say I really am involved!  Due to this, I was nominated as a potential candidate for Student Leader of the Year and Resident Assistant of the Year!  It was a great honor to just be nominated.  I was nominated by advisers, however, students voted for who they wanted to win.  To my shock, I won both Student Leader of the Year and Resident Assistant of the Year! I was so so so shocked, that I cried! I just could not get over the fact that I had won and that my advisers and peers think of me that way.  It was so nice to see that my hard work and dedication the past 4 years is noticed.
It makes me sad to know that I'm graduating.  I feel like everyone else is so excited about graduation and I'm excited as well, however I'm sad at the same time.  I just feel like I'm so involved in school that after I graduate, what am I going to do with my life?!  My MBA classes do start 10 tens after graduation so I will still be pursuing my masters, but I just don't know what I will do with all of my time.  I didn't receive the position I applied for so I feel that I am in a fork in the road and do not know what direction to go in.  For someone who always know what they have to do and always sets plans, you can see why this is difficult for me.  I know everything happens for a reason, so when an opportunity arises (and I hope soon!) I hope to take it.  In the mean time, I will embrace my last week here as an undergrad here at Albertus and make the best of it.

Here are some pictures from the Annual Student Services Awards Nights:

Kaitlyn Dyleski and Erin Morrell, Assistant Dean for Campus Activities & Orientation & I w/ my awards

SGA board and volunteers

Resident Assistants for the 2012-2013 school year

Me, Maritza, Emily, & AHD & former RA Pedro- we have all won RA of the year the past 4 years!

Erin Morrell & I

After receiving a certificate for participating as a Student Orientation Counselor

Justin Cirisoli, Director of Residential Life & I with my plaque for RA of the Year

Justin Cirisoli, Kim Martinez, Director of Student Life & I

Spring Jam- May 5th 2013

 

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, I have been so busy working, my birthday weekend got me side tracked, prepping students for move out and SGA events!  One of the last events that we hold every year is Spring Jam which was held on May 5th, 2013 (and it also just so happens to be my birthday! 22)  We met up at 10 am to eat breakfast and began set up at around 10:45.  My job was to fill up the water balloons for the water balloon toss, but others set up tables and helped Fun Enterprises set up with their novelties.  Each year we have a different theme; last year it was Olympics (in honor of the Summer Olympics being held in London) but this year it was pirates.  For lunch for residents, we had our annual barbeque outside with burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, chips and soda.  We also had a mechanical shark, for students to ride on, henna tattoos, airbrush bandanas, and photo scope key chains!  It was a beautiful 75 degrees in New Haven that day and many students as well as family members of students came to enjoy the fun.  We also had fun events and contests going on during the day on the former softball field.  We had a water balloon toss, bobbing for apples contest, three-legged race, and a wheelbarrow contest!

Here's some photos from throughout the day:

Novelties and mechanical shark in the Tiers Parking Lot

BBQ in front of Aquinas Hall

Activities on the field

Fellow RA Sharinna and I- each student received a Spring Jam shirt but SGA members received bandanas to wear

Getting a "Big Girl" Job

I had my first job interview last Thursday, and honestly it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be!  Of course I dressed professional and brought my resume, cover letter and padfolio (if you don't have one, you should get one!)  The two women who interviewed me were very nice and I was asked some tough questions but I was able to answer them.  I feel that they knew I was a bit nervous, and this kind of helped me because right when I came in they told me that I didn't have to be nervous because it would be a bit informal.  I was called Friday afternoon for a second interview and went yesterday (Monday) for the second interview with the president of the company and the vice president of finance.  I was so nervous but we did the interview and I received a tour around the office.  It was cool getting to see everyone's little cubicle because I had never seen something like that before.  The company is very small, and I feel as  if this would be a good transition for me, considering that Albertus is so small.  Going from a small school to a small company would help me ease into the job better.  They are still interviewing other applicants, so I'll find out soon what the end results will be.  I know regardless of what happens, I will find a job where I can learn and grow and gain experience.  I think being involved so much on campus has definitely helped me as well.  I was actually nominated for Student Leader of the Year and RA of the year, so I will find out if I won those next Monday at the Student Services Awards Ceremony.

Comedian/ Magician John Cassidy

Last night we had our first magician of the year come to school and entertain the students!  John Cassidy is a world known magician, comedian, and balloon artist who provided lots of excitement to our student body.  We had a great turn out, and that was due to lots of advertising.  For bigger events, we use chalk to write on sidewalks so students can see it when entering buildings, as well as hand out flyers, write on sandwich boards and white boards.  We had about 40-50 students attend the event and I was happy to see that everyone enjoyed themselves.  It gets hard towards the end of the year, especially when spring is here because finals are coming up and the students get restless.  John asked for volunteers throughout the show and performed magic tricks with them.  He also made amazing balloon animals like nothing I've ever seen!  He actually holds the world record of creating the fastest balloon animal and is even in the Guiness Book of World Records!  He made Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, flowers, giraffs, a zebra, a turtle, a monkey on a tree, a butterfly, a huge dog, and so much more! John even blew up a huge balloon with a blower that is used to blow leaves and actually fit himself into it to find a card while doing a magic trick.  He had an empty bag that had a zippor and showed us the inside of it which was empty.  He then pulled out a dove, which is his bird named Steve.  Overall, it was a great event and many students enjoyed it, especially because they got to take home huge balloon animals.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any pictures because at John's request, he did not want any video or pictures taken, but I was able to find some online:



  He actually performed for Michelle Obama!

Internship Opportunities

Have you looked around for an internship with no luck?  Well that's me lately and it's discouraging!  For every job that I have been applying to after I graduate, it says that you need 1-2 years experience.  How am I supposed to find experience when no one will hire me?!  It's so frustrating, however I decided to use connections.  By using people you know, you never know what door will open for you.  I went from having zero options to having three!  I contacted a friend that I knew when I was a freshman at Albertus.  She was a senior and on SGA and I was close with her.  I haven't talked to her since freshman year, however she did an internship at Bill Miller's Castle located in Branford right after she graduated.  I know I want to go into event coordinating, so I figured I would give her a call and see if she could find me an internship opportunity.  It turned out that she was able to and also gave me some advice.  The next day, I received a call from the owner of Bill Miller's Castle and set up an interview for the next day!  I went to the interview, which was pretty casual and she showed me around the place.  It was cool to see what the castle looked like inside- it is typically used for weddings and other banquets.  I was offered the position, however I probably won't start until the summer.  I also heard about another internship opportunity through my advisor at school, Tim Raynor.  He sends out emails weekly about internship or job opportunities that have recently opened.  The third internship opportunity was sent to me through Stefanie Seslar who works in the alumni office.  Being on Student Alumni Association, Stefanie sent me the link to the internship via email.  The internship would allow me to work in the alumni office and learn about marketing and alumni relations.  It would be 100 hours to complete and it would be a paid internship which would be awesome to save up money for graduate school.  I feel like whatever decision I make, it will be for the bettering of myself.  Ultimately, I need to realize that I need to make myself happy.  Sometimes I feel as if I push myself too far, or do things just to please other people even if it is at the expense of my happiness.  I'm only 21 and I want to ensure that after graduation, I have something set up for myself. 

Cherry Blossom Festival

 

Today was such a beautiful spring day!  I finally feel like spring is here- let's just hope that it is here to stay!  Every semester, the honors club picks an outing to go to so we can all bond and have fun together.  This semester, we decided to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival which is held every year in downtown New Haven near Wooster Square.  We plan on going this Sunday April 14th.  If you live in the area and want a fun outing to attend, you should go!  There will be a variety of food booths, art-related events, activities for children and pets, and lots more!  There will be live entertainment as well as going to see the cherry blossom trees which are so pretty.  Wooster Square park is about a 5-10 minute walk from the New Haven Green.  You can park anywhere on the street and just pay the meter for as long as you think you'll be there.  Along with the festival, there are many shops and restaurants to stop into.  You truly can find anything in Downtown New Haven as long as you look!  There are so many hole-in-the-wall places that you really have to keep your eyes open otherwise you will miss it.  Hopefully you can attend and have a great time!  For more information you can visit their website here

Are you "LinkedIn" ?

This week, I created a LinkedIn account on www.linkedin.com.  This is a great website to show potential employers what you've got!  Signing up was free and you create your own page.  It's almost like creating a online resume that everyone can look at.  You can connect with people and explain how you know them through networks you have worked at or organizations you have both participated in.  You can list your job experience, what you want to get out of having your LinkedIn page (summary), organizations or experience that you have earned,  awards or honors you have received, skills and interests, or even courses you have taken.  Once you've "connected" with people, these individuals can endorse on your page your skills that you have.  So, for example, if you connect with your manager, they can endorse you for having customer service skills.  This shows to potential employers that someone has noticed you have these type of skills.  You can even see company officials and view their LinkedIn accounts.  I checked in on my LinkedIn account today and it said that the Senior Vice President for Diversity at Abercrombie and Fitch looked at my page- pretty cool!
I really would suggest creating a LinkedIn page, especially if you are graduating in the near future.  Not only does it put your name out there, but you could connect with others and find some job opportunities.

The end will be here sooner than I think...

Who can hear the music that they play at all graduations? Because I can and I'm trying to plug my ears because I don't want to believe that I will be graduating in 2 months!  When I think about it, I can't even believe that I will be graduating.  I feel like my time here at Albertus has flown by.  I remember being a freshman commuter student and feeling so scared because I didn't know anyone.  It's hard to believe how different I am from when I was a freshman- shy, timid, didn't want to get involved.  Now, I still am shy at times, but I am so involved and I feel that this has helped break me out of my shell.  My advice to any college freshman would be to get involved.  I think that it helps keep you organized, prioritize what you need to do, as well as make friends and have fun!  I gained so many friends from joining SGA my freshman year, and even though I don't really talk to those people anymore (they were seniors when I was a freshmen,) I think that it helped me learn where my path would be at at Albertus.  This past week, there was a Graduation Fair for all graduating seniors and graduate students.  You could purchase your cap and gown, learn some information about the Alumni Association, as well as do your financial loan exit counseling where you learn just how much loans you have taken out, how much you owe, as well as how long it will take you to pay back your loans.  Student loans are a big part about college so make sure you try not to take out too many!  You don't want to get stuck with an astronomical loan debt that you will have to pay for the rest of your life!  I would recommend trying to get as many scholarships as possible.  Search on Google and you'd be surprised to see how many grant/scholarship opportunities there are out there! I purchased my cap and gown at the Graduation Fair (picture is above) and it was bittersweet when I was doing so.  I'll be wearing my cap and gown on May 19th, 2013 and will be graduating from Albertus with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management with a concentration in Marketing :)

3rd Annual Albertus Got Talent

This past Wednesday, we held our third annual Albertus Got Talent located in the BCR of the campus center!!  This event was through the roof with excitement.  There were so many people that attended; being on SGA I have seen many events have poor attendance but this one had at least 200 people in attendance!  We had Jason LeVasseur, a singer come in and he hosted the show.  Jason has come to Albertus in the past and we thought it'd be pretty fun to have him host the show, sing some songs, and introduce our acts!  The audience really took a liking to him- he sang some of his own original songs as well as covers and the audience got into it.  We had 10 performing acts over all.  There were singers, contemporary dancers, a mime/comedian act, a drummer, a slam poet, dancers, and even sign language to a song.  I can honestly say that I think everyone did a great job.  I give them a lot of credit going up in front of so many people and performing their talent. We had 3 judges:  Pedro Suncar, who is an alum of the college as well as the Graduate Intern for Residential Life and an Assistant Hall Director, Stefanie Seslar who works in Alumni office, and Stefanie's husband.  The three judges helped decide who the winner would be, however at the end of the show, students were allowed to tweet at @Albertus_Talent and tweet the number of the act that they wanted to win!  It was something different, many students participated in the tweeting action and I think it definitely helped with deciding who the top 3 winners would be.  We even had different contests going on throughout the show.  At one point, we had a dance battle with 4 girls, and who ever danced the best, won money.  The audience decided on who the winner would be.  We also had a rap battle between this girl Amber and a boy named Tre.  It was so funny to see them rapping against each other and Amber actually ended up winning.  My favorite act was the last one, a group of dancers who danced to a mix of different songs.  It seemed like the audience loved them- their dance was at least 10 minutes long.  In third place came Erin Boyd, who is an RA and performed a song.  Second place went to Rob Augustine who performed poetry that he created himself.  The first place winner was the last act, the dancers!

Amber and Tre rapping against each other

Jason LeVasseur performing a song

Mod 4

 

So I have officially started my second MBA class in Mod 4 at Albertus. The class is called Human Resources in Management.  In this class I'll be learning about ethical dilemmas in the work place such as discrimination, unlawful acts, violence in the work place and compensation.  Because the mods are so much shorter than semester (8 weeks each,) we already chose on the first day what our research papers and presentations would be.  Before the class started, I read through the syllabus and found that I would be doing a 30-45 minute presentation!! We all know how much I love doing presentations (not,) so I emailed the professor and told him my worries.  He was so nice about it and it turns out that because there are so many people in the class, I would only have to do a 15-20 minute presentation!  Even though I still hate presenting, I can handle a 15 minute presentation, especially because I could use videos and other media outsources to present my case.  I have decided to focus on discrimination and how it ties into the work place.  I know many retail stores do discriminate based upon looks, so I know I will be able to found law suits and cases that will support my case.  Once again, I'm the youngest one in the class, making it a little intimidating.  Everyone has real world experience and has a "real" job while I still work at a retail job.  I just have to keep telling myself that it will be worth it in the end! 

Spring Break 2013

Helllllo all!! I am back from Spring Break and tan as ever 8o).  This year was the first "official" spring break I have ever been on!  I went to Miami, Florida with 7 other girls!  3 of the girls are RA's while the others are close friends.  The trip was planned very last minute, but we had the time of our lives.  I've been so depressed the past few days because I want to go back so bad!  The weather was SO warm, in the 70's and 80's almost every single day.  We left last Thursday and arrived that night.  We stayed for 6 days and came back Wednesday night.  If you visit Miami, there are some hot spots that you need to stop at.

We stopped by the tattoo shop Miami Ink.  This tattoo shop was made popular after the hit television show on TLC.  Kat Von D, a famous tattoo artist was on the show and made the show a success.  Even though she doesn't work there now, it was pretty cool to take a peek in and see where the show was filmed.

We also stopped by the shop DASH Miami located on Washington Avenue, a long strip in South Beach with many shops and restaurants.  Did you know that there are only 3 main streets with clubs, restaurants & entertainment for tourists and everything else in South Beach is residential?  DASH Miami is one of the stores owned by the Kardashian sisters.  Being a big fan, I stopped in to see what they had.  I have already visited the DASH store in New York, so everything was pretty much the same ( and way over priced as well!)  I didn't buy anything, but it was cool to stop in and take a look.

On one day, the girls I was rooming with and I decided to go on a day tour.  The tour included a city tour, where we were driven around in a bus and learned some facts about the city of Miami, a boat tour of downtown Miami where we saw Star Island, a famous island in South Beach where the celebrities live, and also went to the Everglades!  The first picture was taken at the Everglades where we saw lots of alligators!  I've never been so close to an alligator before and it was amazing to go on the boat and be so close to them.  Above is a mansion that we saw on the boat tour.  The mansions on Star Island are huge!! The one above is a picture of P.Diddy's mansion, however some famous celebrities that live on this island include Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Shaq, Vanilla Ice, and you can even rent a house for $2,000 a day!

On Ocean Drive, there's lots of restaurants and clubs on that strip.  We stopped at a famous local spot called Mango's.  Mango's is a restaurant during the day time and at night, turns into a club.  At around 8:30 pm, they start checking ID's so if you're not 21, they will kick you out!  We stopped at Mango's 2 nights because it was so much fun!  They have live entertainment every 15 minutes.  The picture above is of some of the bartenders dancing to a song.  All of the bartenders that work there perform at least once during the night whether it be dancing a routine or singing.  They also play a lot of Latin music, and a lot of the locals go here to have some fun.  The first night we went as a group, but the next day, only me and a co-RA Emily decided to go.  We left our hotel at 12:30 am and didn't get back until 5:15 am!  It's crazy how much the nightlife is different down there.  You don't start going to the clubs until 12 am where as here in CT, you go out at around 9 pm and the clubs close at around 1 or 2 am.  After going to the clubs down there, I don't think anything will ever compare.  I really did have the time of my life, especially at Mango's, so if you go to South Beach, Mango's is a must!  Yummy food, yummy drinks and overall a good time :)

Visiting the beach of Miami is a must! The water is so crystal blue and you could see right through it.  I wish the ocean up here in CT could be like it!  It's always breezy on the beach so you never feel too hot at once.  Make sure you wear your sun screen though- you don't want to be like me and get sun poisoning the first day you are there!

The last day we were in Miami, there was a Victoria's Secret PINK party!  It was held at a hotel right off the beach and we were able to stop by by showing a text message we received.  Being able to go to this dance party was the one of the best parts about our trip.  We received free PINK beach towels and while leaving, received a free mini speaker amplifier which makes the music on your iPhone louder.  There was a ton of people there, including the boy who plays Peeta in the Hunger Games and even 2 Victoria's Secret models!  We even participated in a huge Harlem Shake video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMqVrcxuY4

Make Things Happen!

 

I officially finished my first MBA class and it's a great feeling!! It's not that I didn't believe in myself that I couldn't do it because I knew I could do it- however with 4 other course loads it's a lot to handle!  Everyone in the MBA program is older and they are only taking 2 courses at a time leaving them ample amount of time to get all their work done.  Me on the other hand- I HAVE to stay on top of my game in order to make sure I get everything done!  It's such a great feeling knowing that I have one class done because there have been people that have told me that I wouldn't be able to handle it.  When people said this to me, it did hurt me, however on the other hand I used this as my motivation to keep pushing myself and prove them wrong! That's exactly what I did because I ended up with and A in the course!  I'm not one to boast about myself, but it's a good feeling knowing that in a year I will have my masters and also I'm making my parents proud by completing the 5 year MBA program.  My advice to people that feel let down when people tell you you can't do something- don't listen to them.  People are always going to try and put you down however if you know what you want with your life, you're going to keep pushing and prove them wrong! It's always a good feeling to know that you proved someone wrong even if you don't say it out loud.  So pat yourself on the back because you deserve it! 

SURVIVOR: AMC Edition!

This past Saturday, The RA's put on their second event of the year:  Survivor: AMC Edition.  This event was held in the Behan Community Room (BCR) located in the Campus Center.  We had teams of 3 come down and battle each other which left the crowd asking:  is it better to be the best team, or the best on the team?  Different components were applied to this game:  memory, agility, stamina, balance, knowledge and accuracy.  When signing up, each team member had to choose 2 components that they believe they would be good at, however they did not know what task they would be given.  3 teams competed against each other at first.  Each station had a different task according to what component you signed up for.  The first task was to walk a line with a book on your head.  The next one was a matching game where you had to match playing cards together.  The next task was to stack Solo cups on top of each other having at least 7 cups on the bottom.  The next task was to throw 6 balls into a bucket while standing a reasonable distance away from them.  The next task was to pick up an envelope and there would be an exercise that needed to be done whether it be 20 push ups, 50 jumping jacks or 50 sit ups.  The last task in the first round was to answer Albertus facts correctly.  The tasks that I did in the first round were throwing the balls into the bucket and answering the Albertus facts (thanks to my tour guide knowledge!)  3 teams were eliminated the first round because their times were not fast enough  The next round was more difficult.  We had to put a basketball in between our knees and walk to the next partner, and without using our hands, transfer the basketball into our partners knees! You could tell how this looked..  The second task was to put a spook in your mouth facing out.  An egg was placed onto the spoon and with only having 2 fingers on the spoon, transfer the egg onto your teammates spoon without using your hands!  It was pretty difficult and thankfully no one dropped their eggs.  The last task in this round was to sit in a line, one behind the other.  I was shown a picture of a sun and I had to "draw" it on the back of the person in front of me.  He had to draw it on the back of the person in from of him and that person had to draw it on a  piece of paper.  Whatever picture looked closest to the one I was shown, passed.  Unfortunately, my team was not fast enough and we got disqualified.  The last round had a twist to it.  The winning team all won $25.  Now, they were challenged against each other and had to complete the first round by themselves.  The last part of that round, they had to chug ice cold water which led to major brain freeze.  The winner of that round won an additional $25.  This event was something different & something we've never done before but I believe the participants enjoyed themselves.

AMC Dodgeball Tournament

On Friday, March 1st, we had our very first Dodgeball Tournament at Albertus!  This event was sponsored by SGA and allowed students to sign up with teams of 7 to play against other teams.  The sign up sheets went up in the dining hall a week before hand and people signed up.  The event was held in the Athletic Center, something that we don't usually do.  Our events are usually held in the campus Pub so it was nice to change it up a little.  Over all, we had 6 teams sign up and the way the game was designed, one team had to beat all of the other teams in order to win.  Each person on the winning team received $20.  Ultimately, a team with the baseball boys one!  It was kind of cool to watch the baseball team and the soccer team play against each other since they have an "unspoken rivalry" between each other but overall it was all good fun!  Some of the pictures below were taken during the event.

We had 2 referees, Matt Brancaccio and Erika Blechert, who supervised the games

Many spectators came along to watch the fun

The Baseball and Soccer team "battling" each other

Need Creative Ideas?

So I started using the website Pinterest last year out of mere curiosity.  Everyone had kept talking about Pinterest and how amazing it was so I wanted to see what the hype was about and decided to join.  However, because so many people want to have a Pinterest account, you sign up with your email and they get back to you at a later date to "give" you your account- it could take a day or months.  Mine took about a month and a half until I could actually have an account and start pinning.  When I first started, I had no idea what I was doing but after a while, I got the hang of it and I'm obsessed!  It's basically like a Tumblr (from what I hear from people that use both Tumblr and Pinterest) where you re-post pictures that you like.  On Pinterest, you can have different boards for each group of pictures- like I have a board for arts and crafts,  fashion, tattoos, food and drinks and even a resident assistant board.  I've gotten so many fun ideas to try, recipes to attempt and just cool pictures to look at through this website.  It's amazing what people can come up with.  Being an RA, we have to do one social program and one educational program a month.  After a while, coming up with ideas can get hard; you want to do something that's fun, entertaining and that the residents will want to come to.  By "pinning" photos to my resident assistant board, I can keep track of things that I want to do for my social program.  Coming up on February 27th, I'm having my social program which was supposed to be D.I.Y. Sharpie Mugs.  However, when I went to the dollar store to purchase the mugs (hey I'm only working with a maximum of $40 here!), they didn't have any plain white mugs! I was really upset but knew I needed to improvise instead.  I saw small white plates that I figured I could get instead and I also bought some glasses if students want to decorate that instead of the plate.  I also bought various colored Sharpies that will not come off of acrylic of glass once written on so they can decorate it! I hope some residents come down to enjoy themselves and take home a craft as well :)  

If you're interested in signing up for a Pinterest account, you can follow the link Here

Blizzard Nemo 2013

Nemo, the blizzard that brought us nearly 37" of snow has gone but it's effects are still taking its tolls on New Haven.  The storm began Friday morning and didn't stop until Saturday morning but it hit us hard.  I think we all thought that we would get a decent amount of snow but none of us would have thought that it was as much as we really did get!  Waking up Saturday morning, I was amazed because I just never saw that much snow in my life before.  We were lucky that the Chartwells workers at our school were able to provide us with brunch and dinner every day.  They actually slept here for four nights before they were even able to get home!  That is dedication and they kept a smile on their face the whole time.  I think everyone here truly appreciates their efforts considering they didn't have a bed to sleep in.  Walking down to brunch and dinner the first few days were horrible!  Nothing was plowed yet so we had to walk through all of the snow.  At one point, the snow was up to my waist!  The next day, my co-RA and I decided that we should go and attempt to shovel our cars out- bad idea.  We got about half way down to where our cars were parked and couldn't do it anymore.  The snow at that point was up to our waist and was in our boots so we "ran" back to our building to thaw out.  When we finally did reach our cars the next day, we shoveled a bit around it but we weren't able to get out because the parking lot wasn't plowed yet.  We were finally able to get out Monday but some roads are still bad.  Dixwell Avenue, which is a main street in Hamden, is only one lane, causing excessive traffic.  It always seems like people forget how to drive or abide by traffic laws when things like this occur so I'm trying to stay off the road for as long as I have too!  We didn't have it as bad as other people did because we still had food, heat, power, and water.  The wind was very strong as well.  The wind made the snow drifts even harder to deal with and would push the snow into huge piles!  I felt like you could never accurately tell how high the snow really was because the wind kept blowing it around.  It's like the world stopped for a little while and we didn't know how to deal with it:  schools got closed, work places closed.  After a few days I got restless and my residents did as well.  I'm just glad it's over and life can get back to normal!
Here are some pictures of what Nemo caused:

This one made me laugh :)

Valentine's Day Spectacular

 

On February 2nd, we had our first annual Valentine's Day Spectacular event in the campus Pub.  This event was set up and run by Residential Life.  At the end of last semester, the RA's were assigned different dates on the weekend where they would have to think of any type of event and go forward with it.  Myself, Shaun, and Alex who are all RA's were chosen for this date and because February is known for Valentine's Day, we decided to do a Valentine's Day event.  We bought various crafts from a website called Oriental Trading.  This website is great for novelties, crafts, party favors, & decorations!  If you need to buy anything of this sort I would recommend buying them from there because they have anything and everything you can think of for holidays and everything in between.  Also, they send you various coupons to use towards your purchases.  We bought heart magnets, love bug pins, and mini candy foam pieces for the valentines.  We also played the move Valentine's Day and the students were able to make Valentines for their friends or loved ones.  I also found an organization Give 2 The Troops which accepts letters.  I thought it would be nice and something different to have the students make valentines for the troops.  A lot more people did valentines than I expected them to and we plan on sending them to this organization so they can send them over to the troops overseas. 

Heart Magnets

Difficulty with courses

 

This semester, I started taking an online course called Money and Banking.  I thought that the class would be a breeze because:
A. It's online
B.  I've had the professor before
C.  I'm a business major so I've learned about banking systems from Micro/Macroeconomics.

However I was wrong!  The class is pretty difficult and it's taught through an outside sector called Aplia.  I didn't really need the course to fulfill a business requirement; I simply just took it because I felt like it would be good to know and it wouldn't be too difficult.  In the mean time, I found out that my friend Olivia who is also a student blogger is in the class.  We have decided to try and meet up at least once a week to study and attempt to do the assignments together.  Each of the questions on the Aplia website are different from another persons, so Olivia and I never get the same exact question even though we will be working on the same chapter.  I feel that having a study buddy though has helped me in the class.  If I don't understand something, Olivia is right there to explain it to me and vice versa.  So one tip if you are having trouble with a course:  Get a study buddy! It really helps when someone explains how to do something instead of reading it out of the book sometimes.

When Olivia and I couldn't meet up one day but I wanted to get the assignment done, I decided to meet with my professor.  She has designated office hours, where if you don't understand what's going on in the course, she'll help you (just one of the small perks of attending Albertus- small school equals professors knowing you and being able to help face to face!)  My professor helped me with some of the questions on the quiz and also on one of the assignments.  It's crazy because even some of the questions she was stumped on!  Even though the work was difficult, she was still able to help me and I got the assignment done.  So tip Number 2:  If you need help, ASK for it!! There is really no harm in asking or letting a professor know that you don't understand something.  They are here to help you learn so never be too scared to ask for help because it will do nothing but help you do better in the course!

MBA course

 

I have officially started my first MBA course at Albertus and it has been a experience so far.  At Albertus, we do have a Accelerated Degree Program where if you decide later in life that you want to go to college, you can do so.  The program is set up for working adults to attend class once or twice a week.  The classes only last for 8 weeks (hence the "accelerated" part in the name.)  We also have a graduate program at Albertus, set up the same way.  They are 8 weeks each and at an accelerated pace.  I started my first MBA course called "Ethical Issues in Business" about 2 weeks ago.  It is a blended course which means we only meet once a week, but you must post your assignment and forum online to get credit for the second online virtual class.  I'll be honest, the class is definitely not what I thought it would be!  I'm so used to being in the undergraduate program and knowing everyone in my classes, having people to talk to, and knowing the professor.  I walked into the class for the first time and I was so intimidated!  Everyone in the class is significantly older than I am- probably in their 30's-40's.  I also didn't know the professor because she is an adjunct professor so she is not always on campus.  After the first class I was feeling really uneasy about the course.  I wish I had someone in the course that I actually knew, and I felt like I couldn't keep up at the accelerated pace.  We go over 2 chapters each class via Power Point and it's a lot of lecturing.  After meeting with my advisor, he told me to keep the course and that I could push through- it is only 8 weeks!  Today was the third in class meeting we had and I'm feeling better about the course.  I do have to do a 8-10 page paper and a presentation on a case that is in the book we purchased which is due by March 4th so I need to get moving!  It's weird because I thought that this would be my easiest semester, and I feel like it's my hardest one so far!  Even though the class is difficult, this really is testing my time management skills as well as my ability to prioritize and organize.  I just know that by May I'll be ready to walk across the stage and receive my bachelors and by next May, receive my Master's degree.  Hard work really does pay off in the long run, and even though I may be struggling now, having a Master's degree will help me excel so much further in life :)

How to Go to Infinity & Beyond with your Resume!

Every month, a requirement to being an RA means that you have to do a floor function.  This semester, we are required to do two for each RA (a total of 4 floor functions for my building.)  My co-RA Alex and I typically would always do the floor functions together and because we are so close, we decided we would still help each other out at these events.  We are required to do one educational program where the residents are learning something and one social, where the residents have fun and get to know each other.  Tonight is Alex's floor function "How to go to Infinity and Beyond with your Resume" (notice the cheesy Toy Story reference!)  Her event is an educational one and we planned it together.  We thought about what is something that many residents may not know how to do.  I thought about when I was a freshman/ sophomore and I remembered not knowing how to write a resume or a cover letter.  We decided to plan an educational session where they will learn the fundamentals of writing a perfect resume and cover letter.  We bought Albertus folders from the Albertus bookstore and cut out slips of papers with the steps to writing a resume/ cover letter.  Which ever group puts these papers in order correctly, gets a folder.  We are also going to provide them with pizza.  I hope this educational program will go over well and the residents will learn something new!  In order to advertise, Alex made shooting stars and posted them all around the building.

Toy Story hall decorations

I haven't blogged in a while and I apologize for that! I've been sooo busy with R.A. training and starting classes!  I thought that because this is my last semester, I wouldn't be so busy or my course load wouldn't be so hard but I feel like it's the hardest it's ever been.  I'm trying not to let the stress get to me because I know that I just need to get done what needs to get done. 

For RA training, we had about 5 days of training- just basically going over all of our procedures again, having some fun, and doing hall decorations!  Overall, I think my co-RA and I spent a good 26 hours working on hall decorations in total!  So crazy but we decided to go all out on hall decorations this semester because we knew it'd be both of our last times being able to do so.  In my previous blog, I gave you a little hint as to what the theme was.  Figure it out?  If not no big deal- the theme was Toy Story!  Toy Story is a movie that everyone has seen at least once so we thought that our residents would like it.  We started with the common room and made it "Sunny Side Day Care" from Toy Story 3.  We cut out rattles, toy blocks, a big tree and made a sign outside of the common room saying "Sunny Side"

 

 

 

Sunny Side sign outside the common room

Also on the first floor, we had a hard time picking what the theme would be for the floor because there aren't really any flat walls on the first floor.  Due to the fact that the building is so old, many of the walls are ornate and have designs on them.  We decided to go with something simple and put cowboy boots, stars that said "Deputy" on them (for Woody) and put planets on the walls as well (for Buzz.)  We also put quotes from the movie around the walls.

Going up the stairs, we cut out clouds because in the movie, Andy's room has clouds all over the wall.  Leading up to the second floor, we cut out a big sign and wrote "Pizza Planet" on it just like the first movie.  We decided to make the second floor alien themed.  We cut out stars, space ships, and I made aliens (which took me at least 5 hours to make only 15!)  We also made a huge claw machine.

Claw Machine

On the third floor, we made it Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head themed.  We made and cut out huge Mr. and Mrs. Potato Heads and also cut out eyes, noses, ears, and shoes and put them all along the wall. 

We also had to cover the two bulletin boards that we have in our building.  We made the second floor one a toy soldier themed one that has Albertus facts on it and made the first floor one an upcoming events bulletin board.

Upcoming events bulletin board

Toy Soldier bulletin board

We also had to make door tags for each of the residents.  For this, we just printed out pictures of characters from the movie and glued them on construction paper and put their names on it.  There was enough characters for everyone to have their own door tag and we didn't have to repeat any characters.  It was A LOT of work but it was fun to bond with my co-RA and once we got into it, we kept thinking of great ideas.  Most nights we stayed up until 1 am making things and on the last night we stayed up until nearly 2:30 am putting everything up!  Even though it was time consuming, everything turned out great & we will find out next week if we won the competition for best overall theme!