Berkeley College Alumni Blog

Worth It.

2010-05-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

This was a photo I uploaded to Facebook while we were waiting to go on stage.

Being backstage was pretty cool. I was lined up with people I've never seen before but we all got along immediately. The mix of nerves, excitement and accomplishment gave everyone this special smile. People from the New York, New Jersey and Online campuses with these big goofy smiles waiting for the line to move.

I've been waiting for the walk since the end of my last quarter, which was last September. Like I said on my Facebook, "after 3 years of non-stop all nighters, caffiene binges and insomnia induced wrinkles," we finally made it to commencement.

I felt so great to see so many old friends. Life started after that last quarter. Big new jobs and big new lives. It was nice to get away from that and come back to college life. We met up and hugged and high fived and posed for enough cell phone pictures to blow up Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

College wasn't just about papers and exams. College really is about what you get out of it. You get a sense of responsibility what you would get anywhere else. You learn that you are accountable for everything you do, good and bad. The knowledge gained at Berkeley definitely gives a competive edge against other schools. The business orientation of the school is something that will set you a cut above the rest for any young guns in the business world. Because we're learning for the professors from walk the walk and talk the talk, we're taught how things are in the real world.

Thanks to Berkeley, I feel that I'm prepared to shoot up the ranks in the professional world with my head held high in confidence.

Mr. Dario Cortes mentioned in his speech that most of the 2010 graduating class will be the first in the family to graduate from college. After commencement, my parents hugged me tight and told me how proud they were. I'm the first to graduate on my dad's side. I'm the first female on my mom's side.

So, for my last post, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who read and commented. I had a blast sharing my college experience with you guys.

If the MBA rumors are true, expect me back soon. Maybe I'll have a Berkeley MBA blog. You never know what the future holds.

Summer Interning

2010-04-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting nice. Spring is here! With Spring comes spring quarter. Internship time is looming. Those raining April days will be dedicated to getting portfolios and resumes ready for some potential employment/intern spots. If I were you, I'd be favoriting some listings on Career Zone for the summer.

With Berkeley College's Career Zone website, you're pretty much guaranteed to find a couple of internships in line with your field of study. Along with the advisors and career counselors, you're set for some great "real world" experience. (If you take advantage of all that's offered at Berkeley, finding an internship will be no sweat.)

If you choose to look for an internship outside of what's listed on CareerZone....BEWARE. The New York Times just published an article on how some unpaid internships will be made illegal.

Yeah..illegal.

I know that there are some horror stories of coffee-fetching, dog-walking, errand-running and even babysitting. (Read some here at http://thedailyintern.com/). It's funny...if it doesn't happen to you.

Interning is meant to be real world training for your field of study. An ideal internship would be using your new knowledge in in critical thinking situations. You're supposed to have a supervisor guiding you though it all.

If you feel that you're just free labor, talk to your counselor and see if the internship is legit.

Also, here's the link to the New York Times article.

After I read it, I just had to tell you guys to keep your eyes and ears open.

Interning is supposed to get your ready and confident about post college employment in your choice of study. And c'mon, you don't wanna be free labor. Free interning isn't bad if you're learning something. But free interning is horrible if you're babysitting and making daily trips to Starbucks for bigwigs.

So, good luck and keep your eyes and ears open for some good, legit internships. There's tons out there. You just gotta look and utilize all resources ( like Berkeley's career services. )

Resume Rundown: Selling Yourself

2010-03-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

Graduation is coming up! Unless you took the accelerated 3-year plan in '06 with me, that means that you're pretty close to finishing up your last quarter at Berkeley College. Suddenly, you're going to be flung into the big, bad job market.

If you're done cleaning up the online image, step 2 is obvious. Resume Revision!

At this point, you might have taken Placement Seminar already. This class is pretty much Berkeley's secret weapon. Its a course that tons and tons of job-seekers WISH they could take. You are trained to give a killer interview AND your resume is perfected. You get to build up your portfolio and learn how to exude professionalism. By the end of this course, you usually come out with your eye on the prize, ready to go after any job position.

If you have gotten to this class yet, or if you already finished the course and need some help retooling the ol' resume, we all have access to Berkeley's Career Services department. Whether you're still a student or an alumni, you can help over to get some help on shaping up your resume to stand above the rest!

Lately, a few friends have asked me to give a quick glance over their resumes. Now, I am not a pro at this. I can't say that I know all about resumes. What I can say is that I learned enough from my visits to my Career Counselors to know the standard to resumes. Also, I got to look at a few resumes when I was assisting in picking interns. There were some things I noticed that killed chances and others that had the automatic thumbs up. For example:

Resume Killers include:

Fancy font for your name (keep that for save the dates and birthday invitations.)
Try and keep it to one page. This can be easy if you design your resume for the specific job you're applying for.
Take out info about high school and G.E.D.'s. This is college. All that stuff is trumped by what you've been doing in college.
BAD GRAMMAR!

Resume Stand-outs include:

Prevalence to the position. Describe how you'll be the perfect fit for the job. If you can, add bits of school projects to your cover letter that correlate to the field you're apply to.
Great layout. Make sure you're resume is pretty. Nice lines, good spacing. These count oddly enough. If the page looks jumbled with tight lettering and too many formats, chances are it won't get a second look.
Good paper. Believe it or not, but there is paper out there specifically for resumes. It's ten bucks in Staples. Invest in it. A thicker piece of almost-cardstock resume paper will stand out and look 100% more professional than your standard 8 1/2 x 11in white resume. This isn't completely necessary, but it doesn't hurt to have that extra little touch.

Here are some helpful links:

25 Things You Should Never Include in your Resume

Personal Branding - What We Can Learn from Elle Woods

Resume Paper

The best tip I can give anyone in any college is to go to your advisor/career counselor. This is the kind of stuff their pro's at.

Good luck!

April 30th! Berkeley College Graduation!

2010-02-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late but I just send a bunch of emails and voicemails reminding everyone and their mom about GRADUATION DAY!

That's right. G-R-A-D-U-A-T-I-O-N! I started creating my playlist and figuring out what shoes to get that'll match the gown. *wink*

I have a few co-workers graduating with me (I'm talkin to you, Juan Torres!). I promised I would give him a shout-out.

In a seriousness, this is one of those life defining moments. Walking up to that stage and having a whole stadium cheer for 4 years of hard work...I can just imagine the feeling!

Clean Up Your Name

2010-02-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

"Vanessa Gomez...is waking up in the morning feelin like P.Diddy."

Google your name..your full name. What do you find?

This is one of the first things you should do when starting off your job hunt. Not only will it ensure a squeeky clean "googlability"but, it'll remind you to delete some old accounts you may have forgetted about.

For example, I had a podcast back in high school. I completely forgot about it. I also had a webcam chat account. Totally forgot. It took me about an hour and a half to remember all the passwords and delete the accounts.

Think about this. Do you really want a potential employer to see your status updates? Even it you publicly announce your vices, its still a bad thing to update between the hours of 9a-5p. Then your boss-to-be may think you're always online. Not needed.

Instead of "harvesting your crops" on Farmville or answering Tweets or "Tumbl-ing", amp up your LinkedIn! Google my name and my LinkedIn pops up on the very first page.

This is totally necessary if you're going for a job that's up with the internet times. If the company has different online platforms (website, twitter,myspace, etc.), this is a MUST.

I'm not suggesting you call up your internet provider and cut yourself off from the world. Just keep it clean, kiddos.

And if you absolutely cannot let go of the crazy status updates and photos from last weekend's parties,....use your nickname!

Article to Check Out:

More Employers Use Social Networks to Check Out Applicants

The Scary Plunge into Job Hunting

2010-02-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

Happy February, everyone. After that epic storm we had last week, Verizon finally came around to fixing my internet access. I got my wireless back! (High Five!) Now, I can share my ~job hunt~ experience with everyone!

In the beginning of the year, I made it a point to excel in my career. I will admit that I did get comfortable once I picked up my diploma. I fell into the "eh..I'm done" sandtrap a lot of post-grads fall into. I had my degree and my job. But, as my generation is so known for, I wanted more! I felt that I had done everything that I could do at my former job. It was a great job that gave me excellent skills and experience. I just felt it was time for me to test out the waters in other industries.

I interned and worked in Entertainment for almost a year. It was fantastic. I got to meet and even assist in managing musical artists. I even got to travel around the Caribbean. All that was great. The only tough part were the hours. Sunrise to sunset, pretty much. Since I'm planning on going to Graduate School, I felt that I HAD to find something a little more 9-5 without so much traveling.

Hence, I gave in my two weeks in mid-January.

Two weeks later, I started at my new job. Steady hours, good pay, and coverage! The best thing is that its a 5 minute bus ride from my house. How's that for hitting the jackpot!

I can contribute my easy find to a couple of factors. I'll be dedicating the next couple of posts to some key components to job hunt success. I'm not saying I'm a pro but I did take the points given at Berkeley and applied them to real life.

It'll be a Wednesday thing. Tomorrow, except the first post: Online Clean-Up. All about making your google-ability squeaky clean.

2010 Resolutions and Links

2010-01-06T07:21:00.000-08:00

I know everyone has been saying the same thing all week, but honestly, can you believe its 2010? Besides the letdown that I still don't have a hover-car parked outside, the future is looking awesome.

There's so much to look forward to! Of course, the top thing on my list is the Berkeley College Graduation Ceremony! Sure, I have my degree hanging up on my wall in a fancy frame. I'm just antsy for the tassle and Cum Laude sash.

Along with the new year comes the resolutions. I've set a few for myself that I'm sure everyone has made. I thought I would share my resolutions and websites to help everyone (students and alumni) to make 2010 the best year yet.

Sleep more. (I know that one sounds lazy, but I'm not cut out for all-nighters anymore. Coffee and energy drinks at 2am mean nothing when you're groggy and half-awake in the morning. This link takes you to an article about how lack of sleep affects productivity at work. In this cutthroat job market, the last thing you need is your boss to catch you dozing off at your desk.)

Brown bag. (I was looking through my debit statement and was shocked when I calculated how much I spent on eating out for lunch. Then, I got sick on soups and sandwiches every day. I would complain about this to everyone. That is probably why I got a nice thermos and some storage containers for Christmas. (Not kidding.) Here's a quote for an article in the LA Times that may make you think twice about that morning run to D&D's or Starbucks.
"Cutting back to even three days a week saves you about $8 (assuming you're
buying a latte -- or a coffee and a doughnut). That's about $35 a month, or
about $400 a year." -LA Times

Pinch pennies. (I'll admit that I went nuts with the Christmas presents this year. The money I saved from selling off my text books went to gifts. Now, I gotta cut out the heavy spending and start saving. I'm still a freelancer to taxes are going to kick my butt this year. Also, I'd like to fully pay off my credit card this year. So, I want to share with you a website that it PERFECT for these kinds of goals. The site is studenomics.com. Besides the fun and quirky language, it definitely helps students learn how to manage money in the big bad world.)
Have a laugh. (All the sleep deprevation and soup and salad combos put a damper on my mood in 2009. I couldn't have fun because I wouldn't let things go. I had a case of the Mondays everyday. This year, I fully intend on having a more positive attitude. It's like Oprah's Secret mentality. Think positive and positive things happen. Have a laugh. Hug someone. Sing something fun. There's tons of sites for a little LOL. Buzzfeed, Youtube, Tumblr,...)
KIT. (Keeping in Touch. Now that is something I definitely have to work on. A Facebook wall post doesn't count. Neither does a Tweet. I fully intend on calling (yes, calling and not texting) my friends/family at least once a week. In '09, I called clients more than I called my best friends. This year, I plan on keeping in touch with the world.)

There's more but I read somewhere that you have to keep to-do listed under 7 bullets, otherwise, it overwhelms the brain.

I'm sure everyone has their own resolutions for themselves. If you have any nifty ones, please share! As part of the KIT resolution, I will be to respond to emails and comments much quicker.

Until next time, Happy New Year!

Site Cites:

My First Business Trip

2009-11-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's 2:30am. I can't sleep!

In an hour and a half, I'm gonna be a taxi on my way to the airport. I'll be heading to St. Croix US Virgin Islands for my first business trip!

Not too bad, eh? 9 days in the Caribbean.

TEMPO throws this annual bash called "TEMPO Turns" all along the Caribbean. This year, we're hitting up St. Croix and Grenada with huge headliners from the region. One of the big ones is the band up there, N'klabe.

And thanks to my biligual skills, I'll get to be helpful with translating back and forth with them during meetings and conferences.

I'll try to take as many pictures as I can, but according to my supervisors, I'm gonna be running up and down so much that I might forget I'm in the Caribbean. Because, you know....85 degree weather and blue water is something that's totally forgetful.

I can't wait to bring back some stories. Until the 19th, bye New Jersey!

Stuff After College : The Exit Interview

2009-11-02T23:36:00.001-08:00

I may have been clueless when it came to my loans but, honestly, I thought the way to start repaying my loan was to wait for my 6 month grace period to come up.

Nope. You gotta do something called an "exit interview".

I thought, "okay..what was my entrance interview?"

the entrance interview is the session you have with your Financial Advisor when you're signing those loan contracts. The "interview" is them explaining the terms and you signing something saying you get what they're saying.

The exit interview is similar to that.

Being an advocate for doing things online, I opted for doing my exit interview online. To be honest, I liked it this way. First, you have to read pages and pages about where your loan money was applied to your degree. They explain payment and interests and terms and everything. I decided to print every page out and highlight things I feel will be important in the future. If you take the time to read it, you'll find some interesting tidbits I bet you didn't know about your loan.

For example, with my loan, there is a suprise about taking time off between semesters. If you take time off during your degree program, that time off is taken out of your 6 month grace period you have after graduation. So, let's say I took 3 months off for winter quarter. That means that I have to start paying my loan 3 months after grad instead of 6.

See? It pays to read the fine print.

According to the letter from Berkeley, it said the process can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes. So when you get your letter, grab a cup of coffee and grab yourself a comfy seat because I will take you that long. There is a lot to read and at the end, there is a quiz! (and I thought I was done with quizzes!) It's a good way for them to know you get that you have to pay this money back.

If this sounds a little too nuts to fill out on your own, you know you can always head to school and have a session with a Financial Advisor. Remember, Berkeley services extend past graduation.

The Busy College Grad

2009-10-14T07:13:00.001-07:00

Class of 2009! We did it!

I've been a graduate for about 2 weeks, now. I just hit me today that hey...I have a Bachelor's Degree! I have a full-fledged, legitimate, college degree! I was all smiles this morning with a little pep in my step walking to my bus stop. I had accomplished that many take 4 to 5 years struggling to obtain. I did it in less than that. Only 36 months and I'm glad to say that I feel a little more prepared for the workplace than those graduating for other schools.

I'm telling you, Placement Seminar is the Berkeley Advantage. Without it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to land in my internship. A lot of schools offer programs to learn how to interview and how to prepare a superstar resume. It's just that not a lot of people take advantage of it. Having this as a course is what truly separate the Berkeley Bulldogs from everyone else.

With this, I would like to welcome everyone to the Berkeley College ~Alumni~ Blog!

I'll be changing the layout and content a little. I will be keeping this site helpful for perspective students and yes, I'm still gonna put up some helpful tips for freshmen and upperclassmen. College never ends. Neither will learning.

Now, I'm off to work and later, rent a bunch of post-grad movies like "Reality Bites" , "Post Grad", "Adventureland", and "Post Grad".

Internetless

2009-08-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

So here's an update on what's been going on recently.

As you all know, my financial stability is as level as the Medusa rollercoaster at Six Flags. Its up and down and up and down. Well, with the house being foreclosed and all, my brother and I decided to move into our own apartment. I used my ~Intro to Finance~ skills to budget our lives. This is month one and all monies have gone to where they were suppose to.

We just had our TV and phone installed. Now, internet on the other hand...that doesn't kick in until September 1st. So, I'm mooching off free internet at McDonalds and Pollo Tropical in Clifton. : ) I'd rather get free internet and smell like grilled chicken than pay 5 bucks for 2 hours at Starbucks. For now, at least.

Accelerated Classes are over. They lasted six weeks. Six- very accelerated- weeks. Assignments came as quickly as they went. I would suggest them for the student who can keep up with reading assignments and homework as it comes. There's no delay when it comes to accelerated. Good for those just wanting to get the class out of the way. Bad for those who sometimes delay on starting their assignments. (Like me!) I managed to pull off a B on those classes. I really wanted an A, but then again, you really can't get A's with a week of missed assignments. That grade was a total result of senioritis and lack of funds for internet service.

But, the grass will be greener in less than 3 weeks! (21 days until I get my Bachelor's!)

Stress Management in Newark Campus

2009-08-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

I might end up going to this on Wednesday. I'm not saying I'm a ticking timebomb. I'm more of a ....wind-up toy thats slooowwwlllyyy turning off.

I know we're all on the same boat. We're the Ipod generation. Insecure, Pressured, Overtaxed and Debt-ridden In my case, I'm working 72 hours a week, trying to keep a high GPA and now, I have to find an apartment in 3 weeks because my mom's house just got foreclosed! Ain't that something!?

So now I have this weird twitch going on in my eye. I grew my first grey hair! I'm sure I have more coffee than blood running through me. You can laugh. It's kind of funny. But it means I'm stressed out.

I'm just glad I'm taking online courses. If I had to squeeze in an on-site class, I'd probably go nuts! Thank goodness for online classes.

I did check out the Newark Campus music event in at NJPAC last week. It was pretty festive! I bolted before the rain began but I enjoyed it. Newark is full of summer activities so there's always something to do near the campus.

How's everyone else doing? We're in the humpweek of the Summer Quarter.

Online Classes ACCELERATED! / Freshman Questions

2009-07-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Two out of my four classes this quarter are accelerated classes. Do you know what that entails? 4 Discussion boards, 3 GHAs and papers due every two weeks. Sure its stressful but it only last for a couple of weeks. Instead of the regular quarter-long class, these courses run for 8 weeks. That's 4 weeks without the extra homework!

Right now, I'm in the middle of finishing my paper for one of these classes. I figured I would tell you guys about accelerated courses. Let me go on record that its totally worth it. You get your classes done in less time than usual. That means I only have to worry about one class and internship once September comes. Good Deal!

The shirt up there is from what is probably my new favorite website, ThinkGeek.com

SideNote: I've made a sidebar of archives entrys new and perspective students might find helpful. It even includes the famous Berkeley Bluecard explaination post! Next week, I'm going to make a post answering questions a lot of freshman/perspective students ask (like where are the M rooms in Garret Mountain?, Who's my Career Counselor?, What's a Berkeley Blue Card?, What times do the shuttle buses run?) If you have any to add, feel free to email me at Vanessa-Gomez@mymail.berkeleycollege.edu

The Corzine TAG Cut

2009-07-15T10:43:00.001-07:00

This post is going out to all the Berkeley Jersey students.

If you've opened up your Berkeley email within the last couple of weeks, you've gotten the TAG emails. Sadly, despite the numerous petition signatures and letters, TAG got cut. Berkeley College President Dario Cortez sent out an email about it.

I haven't received a letter yet. Although this is my last quarter here, the TAG cut will effect my pursuit for a Master's Degree. Also, I have a few friends who still have a few months left before graduation. I know this is affecting them too.

Berkeley is committed to helping all students afford tuition. I remember when I was enrolling, my financial advisor bent over backwards to help me out. So if you're worried about your finances for school, talk to the financial advisors. Trust me, I've spend hours in their offices to make sure school is taken care of. And they're nice, too. They won't kick you out after 3 hours. I know from experience. : )

Summer Books

2009-07-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Quarter Everyone!

This is my last quarter at Berkeley College. As excited as I am about getting that sweet sweet degree and diploma, I'm just as psyched about getting my foot into the real world workplace. The statistics and unemployment reports don't scare me anymore. I believe that all the skills I'm developed at Berkeley is giving me an upperhand! Some friends are mine feel overwhelved by the workplace job search. They feel unprepared. Thanks to Placement Seminar and popping my head into Career Services once in a while, I feel that I'm topdog when I walk into an interview.

Since it is my last quarter, I'm putting my textbooks on supersale! If you've followed this blog for the past couple of years, you know I love a sale on textbooks. Rather than waiting for September to sell them, I want to get a headstart. Here is my eBay link. http://shops.half.ebay.com/vanygomez_W0QQmZbooks I'm moving so you'll also find some fun books to read like Chuck Klosterman books and that favorite "Skinny B..." book combo everyone went crazy for.

I'm glad to say that I only need two textbooks this quarter. :D I busted my hump with 21 credits last time. This time, I took it easy with a 17 credit quarter. I'm still at my Tempo Networks internship. I'm hoping I'll see a Berkeley intern soon. If you're still looking for an internship, I would suggest Tempo. Not only do you learn hands on, but you get to listen to music all day!

We'll Tweet all in your Facebook and Myspace!

2009-06-19T15:28:00.000-07:00

Finals are right around the corner. If you're on online student like myself, that means that our keyboards are about the melt from the feverish typing going on.

Since online classes don't really have a set time to meet for a Final Exam, we are usually assigned papers that involve tons of critical thinking and cumulative knowledge for the subject. I have a couple of papers half way done. I have this weird thing where I have to work on several things at the same time to get them done. They're all done a day before I can review them before submission. My super technique has been working pretty well here at my internship.

Speaking of internships, you know how on those Berkeley College commercials, the protagonist always gets a corporate job or something? Well, its pretty legit. I'm here at my internship and they did offer me a job! Granted, I have been working hard since the first step in here. But it definitely has paid off. I would show you pictures of my nice desk and everything, but you could take my work for it, right? So yeah, they offered me a job! I would be an "Administrative Assistant." It's exactly what I majored in, too!

Aside from the commercials being so true, they're also getting kinda funny. I guess the marketing department figured out that people remember funny things. I mean, check out this commercial for Berkeley's Online Courses.

And yes, I really do throw my arms up in the air whenever I finish a challenging Discussion Board topic. Again, funny but true!

Get ready for a total technology takeover at Berkeley. We're everywhere now! Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, TWITTER! (Yeah, I said it. Twitter!) The links to all the sites are right here. Get connected! Stay connected!

Facebook!: www.facebook.com/pages/Berkeley-College/105652961998
Myspace!: www.myspace.com/berkeleycollege
Twitter! : www.twitter.com/berkeleycollege

Expect a whole lot of videos, photos and posts by real Berkeley College students.

Up and Down and Up and Down

2009-05-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

Life has been loopy in the college student's life. It's up and down and up and down. I got to watch my boyfriend graduate from Montclair State on Friday. That's an up! The next day, the power was shut off at my house. It took two days to get it back. That's a down. Then I get offered more hours at work. That's an up! I got my power and internet back on Memorial Day. Another up! My internet isn't working at home so I have to head over to Starbucks to upload my homework, which was a one and a half late. That's a down.

Other than the trials and tribulations of power and electric corporations, my classes have been pretty interesting. Advertising and Marketing has been opening my eyes on the competitive sides of plain old commercials. It's really interesting to know what intentions are behind the messages given out. Also, I feel it has made me a smarter consumer. I pay more attention to true value of products without having their catchphrases getting in the way.

My internship has been fun too. I get to be a big part in planning out the marketing blitz for a new up and coming musical artist! How cool is that? I'm not too sure how much I can talk about the plans but I know I can mention his name. His name is Ziggy Rankin and he's a nice guy with a crazy TOUGH voice. Haha.

Happy week 8 everyone!

Grads of 2009!

2009-05-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

Congrats, Berkeley's class of 2009! The whole ceremony can be seen online. Just head over to Blackboard and follow the link. I watched it and cheered (from my bedroom) for fellow classmates. And, like the dork that I am, I texted saying "I just saw you graduate!"

I can't wait to do the walk. I'm done with my classes in August so technically, I am part of the 2009 class. I took the 3-year curriculum so I've been a student non-stop since 2006. Some of you might think that's crazy but I think it was definitely worth it.

A bunch of my friends are graduating in a few days and it took them almost 5 years to get their Bachelors Degrees. I'm earning mine in 3. That's 3 years less tuition and 3 years headstart in the job market than the rest of my age group. Gotta be quick and smart. That's the Berkeley way!

Right now, I'm on my 'last sprint' of my college career. I'm on my toughest classes and every grade counts. I'm trying my best. 3.6 isn't too shabby.

Also, I'm LOVING my internship at Tempo Networks. I'm learning so much and get to be part of some great projects in New York and in all the Caribbean Islands. I'm planning on doing both my internships at Tempo. I can't think of anywhere else where I can have such a hands on experience in the real business world.

I have to say that these last quarters at Berkeley at definitely my favorite.

SIDENOTE:

(Apparently, this is the official class of '09 hand sign. Cute, ain't it?)

Moving On Up at the Internship

2009-04-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's my third week at Tempo and guess what? I'm guessing they like me because I got moved up to the corporate level of the building. I am the CEO's intern now! (That's him in the photo.) How cool is that? I'm still helping out with project here and there but most of my assignments are coming directly from him. I dig it. Everything's so fast paced and one day is never the same as the other.

I'm hoping I can do my 2nd internship here. I'm headed up to Garret Mountain next week to talk to my advisor if it can happen.

Aside from that, I've been staying on top of my assignments. I credit this to my giant dry erase board where I write EVERYTHING down. Its impossible to forget a deadline when it's written in purple green and hot pink.

Let the Juggling Begin!

2009-04-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of the Spring Quarter. Yay! I mean, the weather didn't really yell out spring (cold winds and thunderstorms and such), but logging on to Blackboard and seeing all new classes sure did.

Yesterday also marked my second week of interning at Tempo Networks. I've gotta say that it sure feels like to be in a corporate setting once in a while. I get to use what I've learned in all those years of computer classes and business management courses.

It's only Tuesday and I've already come to a hurdle. One of my courses will have a quiz on Saturday that will only be open from 6pm to 9pm. Unfortunately for me, I work a 9 hours shift that day starting at 1pm. (I had to take less days and longer shifts at work to make room for school and interning.) I already emailed my professor well before Friday so it doesn't look like I'm being a whining slacker. Hopefully, there can be some kind of arrangement done. I mean, I took online courses because I though it would be convenient to be able to do my work when I have time during the week. I mean, isn't that why online classes were invented?

Unless I'm reading it wrong. It says "6:00 to 9:00pm" ...If she means 6am, I'm saved. If she means 6:00pm, I'm in a rut.

Maybe I'm stressing out too much? (You tell me.)

So, I'm here crossing my fingers that I can still be able to take this test.

And it's only day two of Spring Quarter. Man, oh, man.

So readers, how's Spring Quarter working out for you? Send me an email. I always read 'em.

Oh man! I Got the Internship!

2009-03-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

This is the company I will be interning for starting on Monday! Tempo Networks is a Caribbean tv station and online station set on bringing together all of the Caribbean Islands and establishing the culture in the world today.

I'm so excited for this intership! During the interview, I got a tour of the Tempo Headquarters. It's huge! There's studio room where the entire room is green (thus, the green screen) where the shows are filmed. There is also tons of editting rooms, libraries, offices, everything! The place was buzzing with people running left and right. They all took a second to introduce themselves to me which was really appreciated. I can't tell you how excited I am to help out with such a cool company.

Also, it's in Newark! So, I'm a mere 10 minutes away from headquarters! (I live in the next town over in Belleville.) How great is that? I can keep my part-time AND intern AND go to school *(thanks to taking all my classes online this quarter.)

I'll be posting a whole bunch during these next couple of weeks since I'll be glue to this computer for assignments, lessons, and keeping a log of what's up at Tempo.

Big Thanks to Ms. Ortega-Cubas and Mr. Castro in Career Services for finding me this little gem of an internship!

Placement Seminar is the Berkeley Advantage!

2009-03-22T20:23:00.001-07:00

So far, I've received straight A's! A good amount of peeps happened to have done pretty well this quarter. I think it finally hit everyone how you have to stay on top of your game if we're gonna do well after graduation.

Also, my interview for interning at Tempo Networks is on Tuesday. Nervous?...Kinda. Placement Seminar was a big help in improving my interview skills and the way I present myself. They taught us stuff you usually have to learn from mistakes in real life. For example, when being interviewed, don't get super personal (because this person is not your buddy, they're your potential boss.) Also, always bring enough (meaning many) copies of your resume because you don't know how many people will be meeting with you that day. When you take Placement Seminar, take it seriously. The class is there to help! It's a Berkeley exclusive! Take advantage!

Yeah, I finally got what that whole "Berkeley Advantage" thing means now. : )

Chillax Week AKA Last Chance Week!

2009-03-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

To be honest, this is the most pressure I've felt during a pre-finals week. Interships must be finalized and its my last chance to do the GPA pickup. I've been doing pretty good on that one. I've been pulling A's in all my classes! (internet high fives, everyone!)

Other than that, interships have me worried. I had one lined up but it ended up not working out in the end. Ain't that somethin'? Well, I entered my resume into CareerZone and applied to places here and there and all over NJ/NY. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get a ~great~ one with tons to learn!

For everyone stressing out about the grades, ASK FOR EXTRA CREDIT! The worst thing that can happen is a professor saying "no." No biggie. You'll get 'em next time. Just remember to do better! Attend those 8am classes and submit those assignments on time!

Time to hit the books. Week 11, hello spring!

25 Copies of your Resume for FREE!

2009-03-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/business&id=6700693

Today (meaning, right now) , Kinkos has a promo where you can print out 25 copies of your resumes! Their stance is that they understand that ink isn't cheap and neither are 25 printing credits. So hurry over to a Kinkos with your flashdrive and get your resumes!

My mom just went and printed hers out. They were nice enough to give her my 25 copies since I'll still be on campus by the time they close.

So hurry! Free stuff!

Sleep is Good. Really!

2009-02-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks went by like a blur so sorry for the lack of updates. Works piled up like crazy and my job slammed me with some crazy hours. Can't say its been boring though!

Today marks day 17 of the Omega 3 Challenge and I have to admit, except for the fishy burps, not much have changed. Then again, these pills are more for a preventative purpose than healing or rejuvenating purposes. Its an investment in my future health. B12 vitamins, on the other hand, are the nifty little pink gelcaps that give me a little pep in my step in the morning. 5am wakeups are less and less difficult and I'm not passing out by 10am.

Also, I've given myself a curfew.
That's right. 21 with a sleep curfew. Sleep is so important for us college students. Sure, all-nighters are a common thing but man, a night without sleep stinks! Check out WEBMD.com's list of effects.

Decreased Performance and Alertness: Sleep deprivation induces significant reductions in performance and alertness. Reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%.
Memory and Cognitive Impairment: Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness impair your memory and your cognitive ability -- your ability to think and process information.
Stress Relationships: Disruption of a bed partner's sleep due to a sleep disorder may cause significant problems for the relationship (for example, separate bedrooms, conflicts, moodiness, etc.).
Poor Quality of Life: You might, for example, be unable to participate in certain activities that require sustained attention, like going to the movies, seeing your child in a school play, or watching a favorite TV show.
Occupational Injury: Excessive sleepiness also contributes to a greater than twofold higher risk of sustaining an occupational injury.
Automobile Injury: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.

There' s a reason why the new couches in the student center as so comfy. That's right. ~ naps ~

The Omega-3 Challenge!

2009-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

According to good ol' WebMD.com, "...the benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to reduce symptoms of hypertension, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain skin ailments. Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from an array of illnesses including Alzheimer's disease."

So I'm, participating in the Health and Fitness class challenge. A couple of people are doing in from the 8am class and the 9:30am class. It's the "Omega-3 Challenge!" All we have to do is take a supplement of Omega-3 once a day and jot down any positive or negative changes in mood or energy. This is my day one.

Day One: I burped and it tasted like nori (seaweed used on onigiri and sushi). That's it so far.

Tax Time

2009-02-02T06:47:00.001-08:00

If you know what's good for ya, and you receive Financial Aid to go to school, you're going to get up and do your taxes right now.

I did my taxes this past Wednesday. It was pretty quick and painless. (And I'm not getting paid to say this or anything but Jackson-Hewitt has a pretty good student discount on filing taxes.)

All you have to do is make sure you have all your W-2's and school documents if you pay anything out of pocket. According to my tax guy, that's a big mistake a lot of students make. If you pay any part of your tuition out-of-pocket, bring it up during your tax filing! It's probably a good idea to google "college student tax filing" to see if you get any special deductables. C'mon. A little prep work can go a long way (especially if it means a bigger return.) Remember, this is your own money you're getting back. Why not try to get as much as you deserve?

Right now, I'm updating parts of my FAFSA online. That's another helpful hint, FAFSA online saves the info you put in last year to make filling it out this year a lot faster. All you have to do is update your income info, update scholarship info and anything else that's changed financial between this year and last year. All you need is your PIN and your 1040 (and maybe your parents' tax info if you're still living at home.)

Don't wait for your Advisor and Financial Aid Counselor hunt you down to file this stuff out. It's fast, it's simple, and it's a great way to get rid of that giant "finance for school" weight off your shoulders.

Thank You, Mr. Castro, For the Wake-Up Call

2009-01-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, the career counselor in my placement seminar, Mr. Castro, said something that picked my hopes up with the whole "oh man, am I gonna have a job after graduation?" freakout. He said "Okay. 7% of the country is unemployed. You know what that means? That means that 93% have jobs!" He pointed out that there are jobs out there. You just have to find them.

After that, I did a little search on job placement. Apparently, only about 3% of available positions are posted online. A huge reason why people hear about jobs are either physically search the field or word-of-mouth. Newtorking, people! It' s more important than you think!

It was Obama - Rama!

2009-01-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the Inauguration poster 10 minutes after the MSNBC broadcast. The student center was packed! By 11:30, all the seats were filled and students were squeezing into the room so we could watch history happen. I sat with my friends and we were all excited to hear that our brand-new President had to say. There were a few giggles when Aretha Franklin's hat popped up on the screen but the room roared once the president's pledge was over. During the speech, you can see eyes glaze over and faces look up in hope that everything's going to be alright. Having everyone in the college that close to each made me realize that the change is real. If everyone in that room, and the rest of the country, puts a little effort towards change, there's nothing this country can't do. We can get outta this slump. We can get back to being the land of the free and the home of the brave. You know what I mean? His speech made me so hopeful and optimistic! I wrote that on the poster. :D
Afterwards, there was buffet that included pizza, cake, cookies, chips and tons of bubbly soda. There were glittery red white and blue hats, and Obama '09 bracelets.
Besides being part of one of the biggest days in American history, it was nice to feel like you were part of something bigger than yourself. Everyone in the school was cheerful and smiling. It was great.

Recession 2009: Will My Degree Really Mean Anything?

2009-01-17T07:46:00.001-08:00

Every morning, America wakes up to the news that Asian markets are plummeting, and their status acts as a forecast as to how our markets will do once they open up. There's no denying that the recession is here and its all over.

This national crisis has been hitting everyone's lives. Some of my family and friends have been laid off from their jobs in companies that we said to be "recession proof". Sure, there are some great sales going on, but what difference does it make if there's no money to be spending?

From the looks of things, I would have to say that my careerpath might be put into a halt for now. Business magazines and newspapers are reporting that the job market is progressively getting worse in all sectors.

What does that mean for the graduation class of 2009? Are you guys as worried as I am?
Send an email or leave a comment with your thoughts.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but this is serious business, people!

New Year, New Quarter, New Everything!

2009-01-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy New Year Everyone! Hope 2009 has been smashing for you. Mine has been pretty fun. My winter break mainly consisted of lots of sleep, work and family funtime. This year, we were lucky enough to have a long winter break. High five all around!

Yesterday was my first day for Winter quarter. I woke up early, prepared my backpack and headed out the door with a fresh motivation to take on this quarter. As soon as I stepped off the train in downtown Paterson, I saw the Berkeley shuttle...and it was surprisingly packed. You don't expect the 7:30am bus to be so full! Poor Mr.Pete (the morning shuttle driver) had to leave a couple of students behind. He did call for a backup van to come pick us up, but either way, we were going to be late for our 8:00am classes. :-\ I texted a friend of mine to save me a seat if the class started filling up. At around 8:15, Mr. Willie showed up and gave us a few laughs on our mad dash to the campus. I ran into my Business Strategy and Policy classroom and luckily, my friend saved me a seat in a full class. I spoke to my professor and he was pretty cool about my lateness. Hopefully, the shuttle will start either getting a little less packed or they'll start sending down BOTH vans rather than making some students miss classes, buses and trains because we have to wait for the second trip from one van. (Hint hint.)

The rest of the day went as scheduled. My second class, Health and Fitness with Dr. Williams, already blew my mind. We get to make weekly presentations on anything related to health. As soon as he mentioned the assignment, I came up with a bunch of topics! Most of my Christmas presents were vegan cookbooks so I have a few things in mind to present.

My third class is Global Social Change. Unfortunately, the computer was down so the first day was only a general overview of the quarter. The lessons are gonna be based on current events so we will be relying on new articles and weekly journals for resources.

My last class is probably the one I'm most nervous about. Placement seminar is the class you must take before internship. This is where we learn how to survive in the business world. Everything from attire, resumes and speech will be taught, reviewed and polished. Placement seminar, for me, marks the beginning of my career path. At least, thats what Dr. Belowich and Mr. Castro made it feel like.

It was a great first day back. Winter Quarter '09 is gonna be nuts!

P.S.
Did anyone see that new TV in the student center?! WHOA.

Week 11 Cram!

2008-12-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Once again, its week 11 and the Garret Mountain library is super packed with students either finalizing their papers or trying to figure out where to begin! The cafe has an extra pot of coffee in anticipation for caffiene zombies slumping in for a liquid reboot.

My secret weapon is LAST.FM Last.fm is a website where you can type in the name of your favorite artist and listen to a custom made radio station based on the artist or band you typed in. My favorite studying soundtracks are the Vampire Weekend radio station and the MGMT radio station. A good idea is to listen to something chill. Pop songs might be a bit distracting. It's hard to write an in depth paper about the WTO's Doha Round while singing "if you like then you shoulda put a ring on it."

I feel like I lucked out this quarter. My political science final wasn't too bad. It was cumulative but it was one of those "based on your educated opinion" types of papers. It mostly focused on the election and civil rights. I'm pretty confident I'm aceing the course. Thumbs up!

International finance, on the other hand,....ugh. There is so much involved with it that one paper sucked up a week and a half of my life. 12 pages on the World Trade Organization. It was tough but I stuck to it. And yeah, I did hand it in late. I get 10 points off for every day I was late. But then again, I would have rather get an 80 and hand it in late than submit a 65point paper on time. Know what I mean?

My feminism final is this coming Wednesday. This one is actually kinda fun. I get to watch a movie (from a list of about 100) and write about the feminist experience depicted in the film. I haven't pick which film to write about. I've watched most of them. I'm stuck between Ghost World (one of my FAVORITE movies ever!) or Chocolat (another one of my favorites!).

Things looks good from my end, though. I'm going to enjoy the upcoming break. I'm going to sleep and sleep and sleep. Next quarter, I have an 8am course...meaning I have to be out of my house and at the bus stop at 620am. Oh man, winter quarter, gonna be a trip!

Note to commenters!: Thanks for all the emails! I love hearing from you guys! Keep 'em coming and if you get the chance, leave a comment here so we can get some conversations going. :D

World AIDS Day is Tomorrow

2008-11-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

" According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done." - Avert.org

Tomorrow marks World AIDS Day. This is serves as a reminder that there's things more important out there than door-buster sales and holiday calorie counting. The world still needs our attention.To commemorate World AIDS day, you can wear red, get yourself a little red ribbon somewhere or donate to charities benefiting AIDS awareness.

If you celebrated national Talk Like A Pirate day, I'm pretty sure you'll have to problem with wearing a ribbon around for a day. Besides...this is college. This is the time where we are suppose to open our eyes to the world and expose ourselves to what is reality. AIDS is real. This is prime time to be reading into causes and helping the world out. With a little effort, we can make change happen. Heck, look at the election! That was just one day! Imagine what we can do for AIDS in a day...or a month...or a year!

Help bring awareness to Berkeley by wearing red. And if it's not in your ensemble plans for tomorrow, just bring it up in conversation. The worst thing we can do is ignore it.

Have a Happy December 1st, Everyone!

Quick Post before the Multicultural Festival

2008-11-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

The Multicultural Festival is in about a half hour. I finished all my homework for the day and I didn't eat a thing all day so I can hound on some international goodies. The food festival is a celebration of the diversity we have here at the Berkeley College Garret Mountain campus. We have a little bit of the entire world on one campus. Its great. You know what else is great? International food!

The plate is only $3. Donations are welcome though. All the proceeds will be going to the American Conference on Diversity.

Not only will there be food, but there will also be a fashion show! Music from around the world will be the soundtrack for the night.

There's more info right HERE on the Multicultural Festival's FACEBOOK page. (That's right, we're cool enough to have it as a facebook event.)

See you guys there!

Yes, We Can!

2008-11-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I feel like my voice was heard yesterday, and I feel that I played a part in history! According to new sources all over, the young vote is what turned this country blue. I'm just glad that there was a young vote to begin with. The line at my local voting polls looked like a high school reunion. There was a huge line outside, and more than half of those in line had to have been 25 or younger.

Our generation was getting a bad reputation, being named "Generation Who Cares?" As of yesterday, that's changed. We are now looked at as proud, young Americans who can really bring change to the world. And it all starts with picking a leader that we felt represented us, President Obama.

So high-fives all around everybody! Whether you voted republican or democrat, we were heard! We made a difference!

I included an MSNBC report on how much of an impact we had on this election.

Surprise! November Midterm Time

2008-11-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

This week is a busy time for Garret Mountain. There's flyers all over the place including the library, student center and hallways. I don't have class on that Wednesday but I'm definitely gonna make it to the scholarship seminar. If there's one thing I'll wake up early and commute for 2 hours for, its the opportunity for scholarships. I'm coming up on intership time so I'll be needing all the help I can get with finances!The Accounting / Finance club is perfect for those who have no idea what to do after graduation. I have a very...fuzzy...vague...idea so I'm gonna try to make this meeting also.

But don't forget. Its week 6. Midterm time! I have general overview of my assignments and exams. A few papers here. A test there. Nothing too overwhelming, thanks to the online classes. The whole "study on your own time" lets me finish things early and also gives me extra time to work on things I might need a little study time with. For example, I usually finish my marketing homework early because I find the subject a little easier to understand. International trade, on the other hand, requires 2 or 3 days of studying before I can start the assignments. So I get to take my time on whatever needs more study time.

I'm telling you, take the Online Efficiency exam so you have the "online classes" option open. It's the best decision I made this year at Berkeley.

Get Ready for the New Look

2008-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a new layout for the good ol' blog here. If you've been to the new Berkeley websites, you've noticed all the cool new links and flash testimonials on the front page. I'm hoping to do the same with this blog. Also, I want to make it more interactive. There's nothing better than getting feedback from you guys. Freshmen, persepective students and current students email me every week with questions and comments. I want to thank all you guys for that and would appreciate it if you kept them coming!

As for school, its been pretty dandy. I'm officially a huge fan of online learning. I feel that I have a much better understanding of the subjects since I'm responsible for all the reading and comprehension.

My Feminist Theory and Political Science are also pretty cool. They're critical thinking courses where you have to read some essays and stats and make your own opinion based on the readings. In feminism, I get to read about women in the past who fought for my right to vote, choose and say what I want. And what better time to take Political Science than September to December. I get to learn about the government during the biggest political event in our young lives! This is my first time voting and I can honestly say that my vote will me an educated choice. :D

Speaking of voting, I'm actually anxious about it. The closer the date comes, the more nervous I get. I'll admit that I'm still undecided. I still have about 2 weeks to make a decision but wowee...I'm still in a tossup.

In not asking who you're voting for, but is anyone else in the same boat? Don't know who to vote for yet? I mean, there so much pressure right now for all of us to choose one of the other. Sometimes, its hard to cut through all the propaganda and make our own decision. It's a lot of pressure, you know?

Leave your opinions in the comments section or send me an email. I know I can't be the only one super excited/freaked out about voting.

Studying Makes a Difference

2008-10-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not gonna lie. I'm not one to study. It's never been " my thing". Usually, I would just listen to what goes on in class and get all my information from there. But lately, that hasn't been working.
Why?
Two words.
ONLINE CLASSES.

These classes are entirely up to you for learning. You are in charge or reading the chapter and you're in charge of making sure you have a grasp on all the materials you'll be tested on.

The first week, I thought I could pull off a good grade by skimming the chapter, getting the key terms and reading the chapter summary. Boy, was I wrong! I got a 55 on my graded (and timed!) assignment. It stunk.

The next week, I stayed in the library after all my classes and got down to actually reading the whole chapter. It only took my an hour. (Remember, I'm not much of a studybug so this short time of reading kinda surprised me.) Then, I did some of the review questions at the end of the chapter to make sure I can all the materials down. The next graded assignment, I didn't even need the book to refer back to! I got an 85 all by myself. And yes, I did give myself a pat on the back.

So, studying made a HUGE difference.

If you're not much of a studybug either, I suggest trying to stick to the Berkeley Library for studying. There's tons of cubicles here in the Garret Mountain campus where you can cut off the rest of the world for an hour and get some work done. It makes a really big difference. Trust me. ;-)

Wake Up and Register!

2008-10-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Alright guys. We have until the 14th of this month to register. If you haven't yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

If you're not too sure on how to register, I'll break it down for you...
-Go here. (www.rockthevote.com)
-fill out the questions
-print it out
-send it through snail mail.
DONE

You don't even HAVE to vote in November but its a pretty good idea to register anyway. If by chance, one day you wake up with the sudden urge to choose our new President, you'll have the option to do so.
Remember,
IF YOU DON'T REGISTER, YOU CAN'T VOTE.

Fall 2008! Hello, Everyone.

2008-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's fall quarter 2008! Welcome back everyone! and Welcome all Freshmen! Hope you all enjoyed the summer weather because the cold has made a comeback this week!

I'm taking a little break from my reading to catch everyone up on what's up with little old me. This is currently my last fall quarter! I'm a hop, skip and a jump away from completing school and graduating with my Bachelors! But first, back to reality. :) I decided to condense my school days into on-campus Tuesdays and Thursdays. This way I can balance work, school and my family with ease. I dedicate the onsite days entirely for school. From the moment I step foot on campus (8:30am) until 7pm, I will be getting all my homework done. I want to take advantage of having all the books and references I need to do my assignments in the library.

Tomorrow, I'll be finishing up my first round of assignments for my new classes. I love my classes this quarter! Here's the line-up. Political Science, Feminist Thought, Consumer Behavior and International Trade. The onsite ones are very interactive. They're primarily forum based so it's professor-to-student and student-to-student talks.

Im looking forward to classes tomorrow! Summer was very slow so Im glad to have a bustling, full campus around.

By the way, has anyone seen the new Berkeley website? Isn't it very Myspace looking? It's so much easier to navigate through. Thumbs up to the web designers!

Nothing Like It

2008-09-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a kick in the butt from a friend to break a bad funk. I'm not gonna lie. I've been seriously slacking off in my studies. Last night, my friend shook the dumb out of me and gave me a whole new drive to do my best. I want to leave my mark here in Berkeley! I took today as the first day of the rest of my senior year.

During the JDRF tie-dye extravaganza outside today, I told Amy that I'm gonna try my best to support the shuttle bus proposal. All we need are signatures of students who NEED this bus to run more often. I want to get some of the signatures down before Fall Quarter. October is when all the new students come in and jam into the tiny shuttle. Most of them catch the second departure. If you've ever ridden the shuttle in the fall, you know how we turn that little van into a clown car. There's students that pile in there by sitting on each other and sitting in the aisle of the van. It's a very uncomfortable ride up but its either 15 minutes of getting punched in the bottom by the van or being 15 minutes late for your morning class. LET'S GET THE BALL ROLLING ON THIS, PEOPLE!

Tomorrow I'm hopping over to the Newark campus for some heavy duty reviewing. Finals are less than two weeks away! I need to catch up in one of my classes. All that slacking has definitely caught up! Thank goodness for that shakedown last night. Otherwise, I don't know WHAT my grades would have ended to be. Jeez!

I'm blaming the summer air for my laziness. Now that fall is in the air, its all about Berkeley. :)

By the way, has anyone seen those Berkeley ads at Garden State Plaza? Imagine how cool I looked when I was wearing the white sleeveless Berkeley College tee while it was on the billboard. Mm-hmm. First, Myspace. Now, the mall. What's next?

The Bald Soprano

2008-08-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE FOR THE FLYER for
THE BALD SOPRANO.

Check that out! The entire cast is comprised of Berkeley students! And there's 7 performances. That means there no excuse for you to miss this show. I'm acutally pretty excited about this one. If you haven't checked out any of the past Berkeley performances at Garret Mountain, you've missed out on a pretty good time. Don't make that mistake again!

Professor Farrington's got me all hyped up for it.

Not only do I get to see my classmates act, I also get a little insight on how talentedhis campus is. We have actors, musicians, dancers, artists, poets, lyricists, everything! Lately, the activity period events have provided outlets for students to relieve their stress by expressing their creative sides.

So come check out "The Bald Soprano". It's free for Berkeley students.

New Berk Alert!

2008-08-06T11:43:00.001-07:00

Remember back in the high school days when having your cell phone on you was an absolute no-no? Well, this is college. Cell phones are darn near necessary this day and age. Almost all professors list their cell numbers on a syllabus as a way to contact them in emergency situations. Students can use their cell phone calenders are reminders for exams and quizzes. Now, Berkeley has come up with a way that our small little cells can save our lives.

Last month, Berkeley College introduced us all to Berk Alert. If you're part of the college. chances are you received a voicemail, a text and an email as a tester to see if you can receive alerts.

If you didn't receive all three, I suggest you update your information on Blackboard. This stuff is pretty important. Lets just say there was a natural disaster, a bad situation or an alien attack at one of the campuses. You would be informed right away through email, text and calls.

I have to say this is one of the coolest things Berkeley has cooked up. I feel a lot safer knowing that I'll always be in the know if something were to ever happen on campus.

Now if only other organizations would do the same. (-coughcoughNJTRANSITcoughcough-)

Murphy's Law

2008-07-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

"Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way"

I am living proof of Murphy's Law. This past Tuesday, I went to the beach with a couple of friends. We sunbathed, skimboarded and had our fun in the waves. I thought I had water in my ear so I wasn't too worried about that weird pressure in there. Who hasn't had water in their ear? Well, it turned out that it wasn't water in there. Saturday afternoon, I was admitted into the emergency room in Hackensack Medical. My ear went ballistic! It turns out I had half of Long Branch Beach inside my ear. It was horrible. I spent the night there.

That's the worst way part. The worst time part is that I had an assignment due on the 19th! I couldn't submit it! The thing about online assignments on Blackboard that really cinches it is that the assignment submitter is closed after the due date. I have my assignment but the submitter is gone. What I'm going to do is email my assignment and save my little hospital tag as proof that I couldn't submit my work on that day. (Hackensack Medical's computers don't have USB ports. Trust me, I checked.)

My lesson after this? Beware Q-tips and submit homework ASAP because you never know what might happen later on in the day.

First Week of Summer Quarter: Done

2008-07-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sure, I only have two days of school during the week but my Mondays and Wednesdays are jam-packed! I go from one class to the other to the other. I kinda like it. It keeps me focused. Besides, I'll always get a break on Wednesdays on Activity Period. Summer activity periods are really relaxed so I'll get to go outside for some fresh air and maybe catch a bit of color before heading back to the grind of an International Business class.

If you have the opportunity to come to school in the summer, I suggest you do. If you think about it, 3 months off school is pretty dramatic. You can lose a lot of what you've learned all semester in one summer. It's not like I'm missing out on summer fun by going to class. Half of my friends are still asleep by the time I'm done with all my classes. (You know everyone sleeps in during the summer.) I'm glad I've been coming to school in the summertime. Not only do I get to graduate a year early (think about it, 4 summers equals one year of school), I also get to keep all my classes fresh in my mind. I won't forget important skills and information I've learned from prerequisite classes because of a 3 month intellectual hiatus.

Also, summer quarter is only 11 weeks. So why not?

Right now, I just finished my first set of summer assignments. I will admit that professors are a little more lenient on homework in the summer. We get to work in class though. Most of the work is done in the classroom. The nice, cool, air-conditioned classroom. :-)

Now, I'm off to get my free Slurpee. It's July 11th (get it? Seven Eleven?) and most 7-11's are giving away free slurpees. Don't believe me? Check out this link and run to 7-11!

Tornado in Jersey? No Way.

2008-06-13T11:28:00.000-07:00

WAY. (Click this link so check out what happened.)

A tornado hit my town on Tuesday night. It was pretty intense. There were trees and garbage cans flying in the air! Before I knew the severity of the storm, I was making jokes that my house is going to the Land of Oz. Well, that night, it looks more like a disaster zone than Oz. Powerlines fell and there was no electricity anywhere. Trees collapsed on houses and cars. Streets were closed and there were small fire everywhere. There was flooding and electrical wires everywhere. The town told residents to either stay in their homes or evacuate immediately. No one was allowed to drive around. That night was full of sirens from the patrol cars making sure everyone was alright. My mom decided to take my brother, my sister and I to a hotel in Secaucus to be safe.

The next day, we came back home and started helping with cleaning our block. We moved giant branches out of the street and made sure everyone was alright. The town told my block that we wouldn't have power until Friday.

This new freaked me out because reviews are this week! I had no way of getting to school because a powerline fell in the middle of the road where I take my bus. Also, NJ Transit trains were down. I was crossing my fingers that my professor's would understand that I was in a disaster zone.

Yesterday, I took my laptop to the nearest McDonalds I can find that had power. (They have free WiFi and good Sweet Tea for a buck. Its a win-win.) I sat down and sent an email to all my professors about what happened. Luckily, they all responded quickly with emails containing the reviews I missed and "good luck" messages. Also, a couple of classmate knew what town I lived in and heard about the tornado. They were nice enough to send soem additional notes from lecture. I'm so thankful for Berkeley email. Now, I can review! I saved the computer and headed home, relieved that I won't be missing anything for the finals.

It's now Friday afternoon and, although some parts of my town still have trees all over the streets, my power came back. I just wanted to share my little story and show everyone how helpful everyone at Berkeley is. It's such a tight-knit campus in Garret Mountain. If something happens, you know your friends and professors have your back.

I'm so ready for finals now.

Berk Perks!

2008-06-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

I finally got my camera to work so expect a bunch of photos to accompany posts.

A Berk Perk that we got was a chance to go see the Yankees play! I was lucky enough to get four tickets. I called a bunch of buddies and we hit the game. I wish my batteries didn't run out as soon as we got there! But it was pretty spectacular...and loud. I've gone to my fair share of music festivials and lemme tell you, the volume at a Chiodos concert is nothing compared to the roar of Yankee Stadium. Thanks to Berkeley for such a great opportunity to visit Yankee Stadium while it's still here.

Yesterday, my finances got packaged. I'm ripped, roaring and ready to go for summer quarter! I got my hands on a couple of scholarships this year so my out-of-pocket came to a a whopping total of...$9.80. That's less than the price of dinner! Now I won't be worrying about summer quarter during our 2 week break.

I'm starting to sell my books now because most of my finals are based on exersices and comprehension more than definitions and memorization. I guess that's a good way to determine whether you grasped the concept of the course. If anyone is taking Graphical Business Presentation, I have both books you'll need if you wanna make a trade or buy them. Chances are I'm just going to sell it at BuyBack. There's a pretty good deal with BuyBack this year. When you sell your book, you automatically get signed up to win a free iPod nano. Lemme tell you...this little thing rules. They hold movies, music videos, games, music, photos, and everything. If you're gonna sell your books online, at least sell one back to Berkeley for your chance at winning one. (There's four that are up for grabs.)

Berkeley College: Faster Than Your Pizza Delivery Guy

2008-05-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

For the record, I'm going to try to use a little more discretion on what I write down here. Unfortunately, something was taken out of context from one of my entries and it was what I liked to call "much ado about nothing." To make a long story short, sorry to my professors who were a little freaked out this week but thanks for understanding.

Again, if anyone has any questions or concern about what's up at Berkeley or in this blog, don't hesitate to leave a comment or (if you wanna be more private), send me an email. All the contact info is on the right-hand tabs.

By the way, if you're in any of my classes, our grades are up on Blackboard now.

I was a little freaked out by how quick the school took notice of my opinion. My friends usually complain that their universities don't hear what they have to say. I'm lucky enough to have blogger, which is like a megaphone for my thoughts as well as the thoughts of my peers. Berkeley also have SGA, which have made great strides in the school in a short amount of time. There's so many ways to put your two cents into what goes on around here. I guess that's what so cool about going to a smaller college. Your voice won't get lost in a crowd.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this school is full of incredibly helpful professors and administators. Any problem you might have, they're with you every step in the way.

Did You Memorialize on Memorial Day?

2008-05-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pretty great. Memorial Day is a day to honor the troops, right? Right. I spent most of the day getting a care package ready for my best friend who's stationed in Iraq right now. Its a little bundle with music magazines, an iPod and letter with doodles to keep his spirits up. Sure it won't get there for a couple of weeks but I'm sure when he gets it, I'll get a facebook message full of thank you's and "<3" signs.

Other than that, I spent my weekend at home. I had a break from work (surprisingly) so I spent the whole time with my mom and siblings. We ate pasta and watched National Treasure 2. I'm glad I spent the break home. My skin isn't sunburnt and I don't have a cold from the chilly beach nights.

This holiday didn't really mean much to me until after high school when a good portion of my core friend group joined the armed forces. Some are still around while others are on the other side of the world. I'm pretty sure everyone knows someone in the armed forces. If you didn't take a time out during our 4-day weekend, take some time now to appreciate them. Even if you don't believe in the war, tip your hat for their sacrifices. They miss our birthdays, fun holidays and all days in-between. Appreciate them on Post-Memorial Day.

Happy Siete de Mayo!

2008-05-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Siete de Mayo, everyone. I know it makes no sense but Berkeley decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a little later in the week for Activity Day. It was like our own little holiday here!

There was tons of food, an art area where you can make and paint your own maracas (mine came out pretty sweet if I don't say so myself), frozen maragaritas and daiquiris, quesadillas, music, dancing, singing, jumping, pinning tails on a donkey, piñatas, candy, etc. It seemed like the whole campus (including professors and some administration) came out for the hour and partied it up.

It was nice to take a break today. Some classes are still testing for midterms so the tension in the hallways are pretty intense. Thankfully, tons of sugar, some music and a little bit of sun got everyone to relax and smile. Honestly, I don't remeber the last time I laughed so hard. The piñata contest was hilarious. There were several photos taken by students so I'm pretty sure they'll turn up on Facebook and on the campus photo collage.

On My Way to Online Course

2008-05-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in the process of writing a couple of essays for my online course exam. I'm getting closer and closer to internship time, meaning I'll have to start figuring out how to take a class off-campus. The exam isn't too hard so I'm confident that I will pass. The test is primarily an evaluation on how well you can work Blackboard and how well you can format and write essays using MLA. I'm revising my essays so I can get a high score in wrting. Hopefully, I'll have time to submit it tonight after work. It takes about two days for the test to be graded and the results to show up.

Once I pass, I'll be able to enroll to online courses for the summer. I already have a schedule for summer but its only 12 credits since I'll only be on campus twice a week. I'd prefer having 16 or 18 credits so I don't fall behind once Summer 2009 is here.

It's hard to believe that in exacting one year, I'll have my bachelor's degree. College is going by so fast! I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

The Calm Before the Midterm Storm!

2008-05-02T21:37:00.001-07:00

Next week, all my classes are going to have their midterms. Its Friday night and I just finished my round of studying. I've decided to study a little every night instead of cramming everything in on Sunday night. Its one of those promises I made to myself on the "Stop Procrastination" seminar. So far, its been going well. On Thursday, I stayed in the library for hours and hours getting all my homework done so I'd have the weekend to study. That worked out well also.

A bunch of my friends from other schools have their finals either this week or next week. They're all worried and stressed trying to cram a whole semester's worth of notes into their caffiene-driven brains. Luckily, I'll be learning from their mistakes. I'm studying an hour every night so I can pick up my grades and rock these finals. I'm more determined that ever to shine on my finals.

Just because I study like crazy doesn't mean I've missed out on anything. This past Wednesday was Collage and Karaoke day. The machine was out til 3pm because of all the singing that was going on. It was hilarious and fun! If you're lucky (or unlucky, depends on how you look at it), you caught my rendition of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated". This week is Siete de Mayo! Last year's Cinco de Mayo was hilarious and fun with all the hats and smoothie margaritas and nachos. I can't wait. These Activity Day events are exactly what students need during the summer time. A little sun and a whole lot of fun.

Midterms??! Already?

2008-04-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

The weather has been getting really nice outside. The flowers are all blooming and everyone with a convertible is driving with their tops down. You know what that means? Midterms! Usually, I'm cool as a cucumber when it came down to midterms. My classes were relatively simple so the tests would be okay. This time around, I'm driving pounds of coffee to stay up and study. The class material is all brand new to me so I won't be able to get by with mere memorization. I'm actually getting down to understanding and utilizing the material in real world situations. (Pretty much what you're suppose to do with that you learn in college.)

This new and improve motivation to study came from a seminar I attended two weeks ago that was held in the Student Center. It was a self-improvement type of thing. The focus was on breaking the bad cycle that procrastination gets you in. I realized the only thing holding me back from doing any of my work is myself. I learned to put aside distractions and get to what needs to be done. The seminar really did help. At the end of it, everyone had to sign a little contract to themselves. It was a promise to take control of our own lives. I taped it next to my mirror so I would have to look at it every day and remember that.

I was so inpired by the lecture that I decided to try to take an online course. I've heard a lot about how difficult it is with all the reading and self-motivation thats involved in trying to be your own teacher. I'm up for the challenge. Since registration has already begun for summer students, I figured now is as good a time as any to try out an online course. Right now, I'm in the testing phase to see if I'm even qualified for the course. I'm one essay away from submitting the test. I'm just doing a couple of revisions here and there. Hopefully, I'll do well. Less time on campus will mean more time for work and family. Also, I'll save a bunch on transportation costs. With this hike in gasoline prices and repair work on the NJ rails. public transportation has been a nightmare!

Well, I'm gonna stop complaining. At least the rail is still working, right? I'm off for some mooore studying now that Gossip Girl is over. (If its one thing that can disrupt a study session, its the TV show, Gossip Girl.)

Lack of Clubs? / Getting Rickroll'd

2008-04-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

I would have taken photos yesterday if I had remebered to charge the batteries on my digital camera. Not so smart.

I noticed that there was a significant decrease in desks this time around for the club convention. I wonder why. Anyway, I joined the accounting/finance club. My professor is one of the advisors so it should be kinda cool. (Yeah, I used cool and professor in one sentence!)

Something that I did manage to take a picture of yesterday via my cell phone.

This is the photo of a massive "Rickroll" my entertainment studies professor pulled on the entire class. It was pretty hilarious. The rest of the day, I was humming "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. If you're not too sure on what a Rickroll is, read the Wikipedia article here and find out. Its pointless but totally funny.

We did go on with the lecture but I thought it was a great way to bring back the attention during a split period. Activity period cuts the class time right down the middle so student usually come back tired or completely off off the classroom mindset.

17 Credits in One Quarter

2008-04-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I was going to have a hard time juggling 5 classes in a week. It turns out that its not that bad! Sure, there's tons of studying involved but most of the work is done inside the classroom. That's something I appreciate about going to school here. The lecture classes have a back and forth format where a professor explains a concept and the students can ask for help on it right after class rather than waiting for an appointment. I've been asking tons of questions in my financial class. (Word to the wise: You might want to take Principles of Finance and Statistics together. They have a lot of the same concepts and financial formulas.) I haven't fallen behind in any of my classes either. 4 out of 5 have assignments that are done online. This is a HUGE convenience for me. My time on campus is more limited than ever thanks to my new job. Any time I have on campus is dedicated for gathering tons of notes and grabbing something to eat before crunching in a 4pm to close job. I'm not complaining about that though. Its helping me develop time management skills.

As for tomorrow, its the first activity day of the Spring Quarter! The weather is supposed to be great so I'm guessing that the Club Convention will be an outside event. These are always fun. The tables are set up outside and everyone on campus gets to see each other and see what's new on the club roster in campus. One club I'm really interesting in is the Finance/Accounting club. Call me a "geek" but I like the sound of it. Also, I might rejoin Music Club. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to more meetings (and get my guitar fixed on time.) I'll try to take a camera with me and snap a few photos here and there.

Can't wait to see everybody there!

By the way, if you see Professor Fabes anywhere, give him a pat on the back. He had a major surgery last week and somehow managed to come to school and teach his class one week later. That's major. Props, Professor Fabes.

Berkeley's Facelift

2008-04-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

My first class was on the third floor. I had no idea the entire floor was revamped. When I opened the door from the stairwell, I thought I was in the wrong building! It's so bright and shiny and new! I almost got lost a second time when I was looking for room 013. Since when did we can 0 rooms? I went asking around and it turned out the that D rooms are now 012 and 013. (FYI for anyone who hasn't had a class there yet.)

Also, the new student bulletin board in front of the library. It full of flyers for upcoming events! This week is an "Activity Period-less" week. From what I saw on the calender, this quarter's activity periods are gonna be nuts. There's tie-dying, siete de mayo, and my personal favorite, more KARAOKE! I'll have the dates up soon. (Trust me, you'll want to take a study break and hit up the student center for these events.)

This quarter kicked off pretty amazingly. My first class was like a big high school reunion! After class was dismissed, 2 people yelled out my name. I turned around and its two friends I haven't seen for years! Then I step outside and another friend I haven't seen in years emerged! It turns out that a lot of people from the Paramus campus are now attending Garret Mountain. I went to high school in 3 different schools in Hudson and Bergen county so it was about time I saw a familiar face or two.

Also, the classes are great! I have a feeling that I'm gonna rock this quarter. I didn't make it to my 3.8GPA goal last quarter, but this time I'm definitely gonna reach my goal. I'll be kicking my butt every day to keep my grades up AND hold my new job.

Hope everyone's first week is just are amazing. By the way, Happy April Fools Day!

I Wish I Could Chillax Tomorrow

2008-03-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, for all those with time, head over to the Student Center during Activity Period for some mocktails, painting and ~chillaxing!~

Instead of sipping on a strawberry drink out of a crazy straw, I'll be rehearsing lines from A Midsummer Nights Dream for my drama final next Tuesdsay. I'll be playing Demetrius. We have to make a set, memorize lines, design costumes, make a playbill and perform without the aid of index cards. Now, if you ever read Shakespeare, you know why my group is taking all the time we can get to rehearse this.

Also, I had to miss my Statistics class on Tuesday because I had to catch up on so much work. I forgot to hand-in an assignment so I dedicated yesterday and today to catching up. So far, I'm up to date with everything except Statistics. I'm stuck in this subject. Instead of handing in a blank sheet, I'm handing in a sheet full of work that I think is correct. I'm not too confident about it. This weekend, I'm locking myself in my town's library and studying hard for the final. Its cumulative so I have to make sure I have a firm understanding on every little definition, formula and theory.

Man, this quarter went by pretty fast. I can't believe finals are already next week!

And Spring Quarter starts on the 31st! (I gotta get to work on getting those new textbooks!)

If you need any of the books for these classes, feel free to contact me.
Statistics
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Drama

STATISTICS IS THE TAMING OF RANDOMNESS

2008-03-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

The title of this entry from the Gallery of Statistics Jokes. If you've taken the course. you will probably understand some of the joke. If you haven't, I doubt you'll understand any of them!

Im in the ASC center in Garret taking a break from my Statistics homework. Honestly, this is the most difficult course that I've taken so far. Its all probabilities and guesses. Nothing is definite in statistics. Even the answers given for homework and tests aren't definite. They're usually given in ranges. I spent 40 minutes on just one problem! My brain is fried at the moment so I'm taking a break. I have a happy Bright Eyes song playing on my iPod. I should be ready for round two of homework after I'm done with this entry.

Middle States has invaded Garret so all the professors and administation are running around the campus. Some classes had to be postponed or put online because the professors had to attend meetings. The Administation Building is full of unfamiliar faces. At least after today, the whole college will have a giant weight off their shoulders. Everyone has been really uptight about Middle States.

Also, check out Blackboard for a whole list of upcoming events like Berkeley Night at NJPAC (Hip-Hop: Out, Loud, and Proud) and the Breast Cancer Walk/Run in Branch Brook Park (which I'll probably be volunteering in.) I'll have a full list of event and details for you tomorrow.

For now, I gotta get back to work. Wish me luck on Problem two.

Train Turmoil

2008-03-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

If you live around Essex and Hudson county, you probably know that the weekend storm left plenty of floods and power outages to make the Monday commute all kinds of fun. Luckily, I didn't have a problem getting to school. I can't say the same for my professor. Poor guy takes the trains from Penn Station. Amtrak and NJ Transit had a bunch of trains completely shut down because of the aftermath from the storm's wind and rain. He was a little late for class but still managed to make it. Snaps for the professor! Good thing too, because we had a big chapter test. I studying my brains out last night and it would have been a shame if that "I'm ready!" feeling wasn't satisfied with the test.

Tomorrow, I'm in Garret and the first thing I'm doing is marching up to Student Accounts and paying my bill for the next quarter. Honestly, I don't know how I forgot that I still owed money! If you haven't paid your bill, you probably get this weird pop-up window on Blackboard too. Good thing it was there. Otherwise, I would have forgotten. Ugh. I can't believe I forgot. Note to all: Check your balance. The last day to pay is in about two weeks. Checking right now will give you enough time to rile up enough money to pay for next quarter.

Adding One More Thing to Juggle

2008-03-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

Today marks my third week at a new job. I needed to add the the household income. We're hitting some hard times right now so I felt the need to chip in a little more than usual. My job is all kinds of fun and fits into my crazy schedule. Sure, I have to sacrifice a few weekends here and there but, hey, that's life, right? I'm not a wiley 15 year old anymore.

Another plus is that this new job fits into my schedule for next quarter. How awesome is that?

Of course, with every good thing comes a bad thing. I'm coming up on my 7th quarter and I'm starting to worry about internship time. I don't know how I'm going to juggle classes, a job and an internship. I don't have a car, so night-time and weekend classes are out of the question unless Berkeley coincidentally start a shuttle service for those days. If I don't find a way to get to school and back on those times, I won't know what to do. Taxis like to overcharge students like crazy. I don't think I can do $24 roundtrip every night and weekend.

I'm planning on bringing up the shuttle bus idea to the Garrett Mountain SGA and see what can be done about it.

Man, do you know how many students would benefit from something like that? Dorming students can leave the campus to go shopping (for personal items and other things) and be able to come back the same day rather than waiting for the commuter times. I know a whole bunch of students who ride the commuter bus with me that have the same worries about intership time.

I'm crossing my fingers some could be worked out. Otherwise, I might have to transfer to New York or even out of school! All because I can't make it to campus.

Oblivious to Everyone!

2008-02-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

Photo from JessicaLynnJohnson.com

Sunday was the performance in Knupple Hall. I'd like to describe everything that went on in there from 3-6 but it was one of those things where you had to be there yourself. Just so you're not missing out on anything, I'll try to recap all the craziness.

First off, the turnout for this play was HUGE. I've never seen Knupple Hall's community room that full of people. This was a pretty big event since, well...it's an off-broadway play on OUR campus. And it was free for students! Usually, tickets for these kinds of things are pricey.

The play itself was nothing short of awesome. The whole thing is based on one therapy session with the main character, Carrie. From there, the audience is taken through a channel-flippin' nightmare of an identity crisis. There's tons of funny stereotypes but also tons of issues that come from these stereotypes.

There were giggles and in some cases, there were tears.

For a little preview of the play, click here to check it out. And if you get a chance to see it, GO! It'll probably make you want to chuck your sidekicks, burn anything with a label and cancel your cable.

An Online Store! and More Berkeley Events!

2008-02-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

If you've been on Blackboard lately, you've probably noticed something a little different about the Student Store tab. Its been taken off. Why? Well, starting February 25th, the Berkeley Student Bookstore will be online! Now, people won't have to walk around with 5 brand new giant textbooks on the first day of the quarter. Also, this will cut down on how many books will be sold out. You now have the option of buying the brand new textbook either on campus or online. Now you can order and have your book just in time for your first class. Lately, a lot of my classes have had requirements where you had to have a chapter or two read in time for the first day of class. Before, that used to be a problem because I didn't have a way of getting the book before the quarter began and the on-campus student store would open (which is usually around 10am or 10:30am).

The Berkeley store doesn't only sell books, you know. They sells mugs, sweatpants, pullovers and little teddybears with the Berkeley logo. You know how parents and family members love things with school logos on it. Its a good way to show off that you're a college student. :D

Events for Today/Tonight:

Tonight is the Berkeley Fashion show at the The Venetian! (546 River Drive, Garfield, NJ) Last year's fashion show was a huge hit. This one should be just as big. There will be Lord and Taylor Evening Gowns, Spring 2008 Ready to Wear collections and Fabulous Jewelry from The Diamond Exchange!

Ticket Price $35 Students, $45 Non-Students (all proceeds to be donated to Shelter Our Sisters (http://www.shelteroursisters.org/)

There will be a social hour and a dinner. The dress code is semi-formal attire. There will also be a Berkeley Raffle!

For tickets contact: Neddie 201-967-9667 ext. 1736 or Amanda 201-887-8772

Berkeley Events!

2008-02-16T17:24:00.001-08:00

This is what Valentine's Day karaoke looked like on Thursday in Garret Mountain. Whoever came up with the idea for karaoke is a genius!

It was so much fun and hilarious. This is just the kind of events that Berkeley students need in order to wind down from some grueling midterms. The stresses from the wacky weather in the beginning of the week and the tons of exams and homework assignments went away for an hour on Activity Day. There were cupcakes and chocolate and tons of free goodies from the Dream Team.

There were flyers for JUNGLE FEVER, being held by the Dream Team on Thursday, February 21st. Its in the Knupple Hall Community room. Entrance is $3 with jungle attire, $5 without. (College ID a must!) The dance runs from 8:00pm to 12:00am. First of all, I love anything themed so I'm kinda amped out this. If I'm off of work on time, I might consider putting on some camo and heading to this event.

Lately, Berkeley's been throwing some amazing events after school.

On Sunday February 24th, Oblivious to Everyone is hitting the Garret Mountain campus.

Image from JessicaLynnJohnson.com

I'm excited. There's flyers around campus announcing it. It has tons of awesome reviews from Fox 5, NY Press, The Village Voice and more. The seats are filling up fast so I sugges that if you plan on going (which I think you SHOULD because its free from students with IDs) you should RSVP some seats. Its a One Performance Only event. Again, its February 24th in the Knupple Hall Community Room at 3pm. Free with ID, $15 for all others. Make your reservations at tf@berkeleycollege.edu .

Stranded in Town

2008-02-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

My roads weren't plowed again. Big suprise! I had to miss my accounting class. It stinks because I did really well on my homework and wanted the professor to see that I understand what's going on. Oh well. All that extra time let me work on my Midsummer Night's Dream project for Drama. Its a group effort and every member has a specific part to the ONE HOUR presentation we have to make on the 21st. Im in change of media. So far, Im about half way done. This gives me some free time for Activity Period!

Since tomorrow is a holiday, of course Berkeley's going to have a big event!

Karaoke! Paparazzi! and Chocolate! All in the Student Center during Activity tomorrow. This is the best break to have between classes. Activity Period cuts through my Statistics class. Stats isnt' the easiest subject in the world. The lessons and lectures are quick and full of info. Its nice to take a break from the constant note-taking. By the time activity period is over, I'm ready to get back to work.

I figured out that Statistics is the kind of subject you need to take extra time on. I studied exta hard from my text and ended up getting a 28/30. The two points were taken off because of my less-than-impressive graphs but other than that, all my work and numbers were right! I also did really well on my first Micro exam. I got an A! These grades totally made my week. Things are going well on my quest for that 3.8 GPA..

Maybe a Snow Day??

2008-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Its the middle of February and North Jersey is finally experiencing some decent snowfall. Of course, this has to come as the most inconvenient time. The snow began falling as soon as my Microeconomics class. The windowshades were down so no one had a clue about that was going on outside. The sound of cars wizzling by distracted some students. Two girls decided to look out the window and freaked out. There was already and inch and a half of snow on the ground. The professor decided to finish class a little early so people wouldnt be rushing on the roads. Luckily, my mom offered to pick me up. She didnt think the weather was going to be so gnarly. Route 46 was backed up for miles. We took route 80 to go home. It was probably the most terrifying car ride I've ever taken in my life. There were cars whizzing past us one minute, and the next we're passing that very same car while its being taken away by tow truck because of an accident. I saw 4 accidents on the way home. I only live about 10 miles away from campus! It was so scary. As soon as I got home, I started shoveling and putting salt down for the snow.

It doesnt look like its getting any better outside. I hope everyone from campus got home alright. Garret is mosting commuting student with cars. The way things are going, it looks like there's going to be a delay or cancelled class. Either way, getting to school will be quite an adventure tomorrow.

$500 Scholarship and the Economy

2008-02-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

If you avidly check your Blackboard (like me), you've noticed that big sign offering a $500 scholarship. That's what my focus will be on today. Its about $400 more than what I need to clear my Spring 2008 schedule but there's no way I can make $100 at the moment. My job hunt hasn't been going very well. I blame the economy. This is my theory with what's going on.

The government wants to keep the unemployed...well...unemployed. You know those uber-hyped rebate checks going on in May and June? Well, as well all have heard on the news, that money is intended to make the public go out to malls and shop 'til they drop to boost up the plummeting economy. If the unemployed get jobs, they will most likely use their wages as spending money and use the rebate to pay off debts and put into savings accounts. This is the complete opposite of the purpose of the rebate.

That's my theory. I've been following the economic reports closely since a big amount of my family and friends have been either laid off or had hours cut. My Microeconomics class taught me how to read, understand, and analyze the market. Its pretty cool to use the things you learn in class in real world scenarios.

A Whole Day of Classes Cancelled.

2008-02-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

Usually, at the time on Thursdays, I'm waiting on Market Street for the Berkeley shuttle bus. Well, today, it just so happens that my first class isn't meeting. I took the extra hour of sleep this morning and took my time getting ready. I check my Blackboard email before I leave and see that my second class is also canceled due to illness. My third and last class of the day doesn't meet on Thursdays.

Not having to come in for lecture doesn't mean that I'm taking a break. These professors don't let you off that easy. I have a couple of pages to read and exercises to do for Micro, as well as pages and pages of accounting to do. Since I'm pretty much dressed in my school attire, I'm thinking of just going to campus anyway and doing my work in the library.

Either way, I will be in Garret tonight to attend the performance of Waiting for Godot. Its free with a Berkeley ID.

Oh! Here's a note to all! RENEW YOUR FAFSA! Letters have been mailed out by Student Accounts reminding everyone to renew their applications. The applications can be found in the Financial Aid offices. Mine is already in my trapper and ready to be filled out. I just have to wait for my taxes to be done.

I did finish changing my major and scheduling my classes. I'm officially majoring in Business Administration. I'm pretty excited about it. This major leaves my options open to what I want to get my Master's Degree in. So far, I'm planning on getting my Master's in Marketing.

Monday: A Prequel and an Aftermath

2008-02-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Super Bowl. We all know how that resulted. There were fireworks in my town. People were driving up and down the streets honking their horns celebrating New York's victory. All that noise made it hard to do some studying for my accounting test. In the end, I decided to hit the hay and wake up a little earlier to study some more. Thanks to some power problems in my town, my alarm clock reset itself. My cell phone rang at 8:00am thanks to a friend of mine dialing the wrong number. I managed to study on the bus to school. I took the test and got a B+. Its good but it's a drop from my last grade. I got an A- last time. Next time, I will definitely get an A or better. I don't care if a Cloverfield situation is outside my window. I will study!

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday! Time to vote, everybody! I was a little late with registering so I'm doing an absentee ballot. It still counts. So, if you're over 18 and a citizen, vote vote vote! People fought for this right. People lost their lives for this right. The least you can do is get yourself to a voting box and fill out that little paper.

I have to find a way to fit voting between tomorrow's 3 exams and volunteer work. Either way, it will get done!

BerkeleyBlue Card (Trouble) is Back

2008-02-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

The refunds went out this week. Thinking that the card would be the easiest way to receive my money, I signed up for the card. Unfortunately, there are so many steps with verification that its taking me longer to activate the card than it would have taken for the check to get to my mailbox. There's all these IDs I have to make copies of and mail, and if I don't do so in 18 days, my money will be held as a penalty. I thought I would be able to switch my preference so I can receive a check rather than the card credit but the change in preference won't come into effect until the next refund. The site says I can verify my ID in Student Accounts on campus. Monday, I'n going to do that. As soon as I get the verifications sorted out, I'm terminating my account. I read up on the FAQs on the website and it says that the account must be at $0 for me to eliminate my account and that there will be a fee. Honestly, I don't care about the fee. I just don't want this card to be bugging me. Its going to be hard enough to verify my ID, so imagine the hassle of maintaining the card? No thanks!

If any of you guys are having an easier time with the card, feel free to write down your positive experience in the comments section of this post. I want the positives and the negatives to be out there for people to read. So, if all is going well with your card, tell everyone about it.

A Little Rest Before a Big Week

2008-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for Spa Day to be here! Spa Day is a special event going on tomorrow in Garret Mountain for activity period. There's going to be massages, make-up and hairstylists! This is just one of the cool activities that Berkeley has been running during activity period lately. I'm going to take full advantage of Spa Day. Next week's schedule is going to start off really busy.

Monday, I have my second accounting test. I studied really hard for my last one and received a 90. Now, I'm striving for a 95. After that, I'm going for my big job hunt. Of course, we all know that the economy hasn't been so great so companies are cutting hours left and right. My family has started feeling the effects of these cuts so its my turn to jump into what will hopefully be a successful job search. First, I'm going to check out Career Services and see if they have anything available for me. They helped me a bunch with choosing my new major (by the way, I chose Business Administration) so I'm sure they'll be a big help with my job search.

Tuesday, I have a big test in every class I have that day. Starting tonight, I'm going to be studying Hamlet in Drama, re-reading 3 chapters for my Statistics and review about 20 pages of hand-written notes for Microeconomics. I'm really determined to increase GPA from 3.7 to 3.8 . Why? Well, why not? I know I can improve my GPA by trying a little harder in my classes.

Also, I'm planning on attending one of the performances of "Waiting for Godot" being held in Knupple Hall next week. There are flyers all around campus for it. It's free with a Berkeley ID. I've heard a lot of good things about the plays at Berkeley, so I'm sure it'll be great.

Call Me Lucky

2008-01-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

This week I had a chance to speak of advisement about changing my major. At first I was concerned because the switch from Management to Marketing could mean losing credits. Well, my advisor started checking off classes that I have already taken and passed to see if they can be transferred to a Marketing major. (Sidenote: Its easier to switch when you're a freshman, but I am half way done with getting my Bachelor's so I was thinking it may have been too late to switch.) So, he was checking things off here and there and I was wishing and crossing my fingers that no credits will be lost. Well, call me lucky! I can a choice of switching to Business Administration or Business Marketing withou losing credits! So, I'm giving myself time to think about this change. I have until January 31st. That way, I hve print out my new Degree Audit in time for daytime scheduling for spring quarter.

Aleksandra (check out her Berkeley Blog here) left me a comment telling me she was in the same position I'm in when she was a sophomore. I'm sure I'm gonna annoy her with all these questions during the one week I gave myself to decide. Haha. I'll make sure to keep the questions to a minimum.

This is the perfect time to mention SGA! The meetings are held on Tuesdays at 3:30pm in the Multimedia Room. You've probably have see the announcements on Blackboard about them. I'm planning on attending as many of those meetings as I can. They keep you involved in school events and let your voice be heard on concerns you might have as a student. Hopefully, I'll be able to find enough people to be nice enough to give me a ride to the trainstation because the meetings start at the same time that the last shuttle bus leaves the campus. I definitely gonna mention something about added shuttle times that include one more after all the afternoon classes are done and maybe one for the nighttime classes. If there isn't a shuttle bus in service for night classes around my 10th quarter, I'm going to have to find myself a gas-powered scooter or something.

Berkeley is Taking Over Your Myspace!

2008-01-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

If you have a myspace, chances are that you have seen the new Berkeley College ads in your homepage. See anyone familiar? If you go to one of the Jersey campuses, you probably recognize the young man in the ad. Here's the picture.

The first thing I thought when I saw this was "hmm...why is Berkeley becoming the college of choice?....Because Kris goes here." I said this outloud with my brother next to me. He was suprised when he found out that the guy in the ad really was a student. I explained to him that almost all the faces in the ads are actual students. Another one of my friends, Sabrina, appeared in a Berkeley College commercial.

You know, I'm in the NJ Campus tour video along with fellow students Kris and Aleksandra. We filmed it this passed summer. Its still being editted but as soon as its up on the website, I'll have the link for you guys so you can check out Garret Mountain campus.

There's a Big Change Coming!

2008-01-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been reading tons of "College to Career" books and almost all of them start with the same tip. "Do What You Like." I've been thinking about that tip a lot. I'm a sophomore in Berkeley and have been studying Management the whole time. But...I think I want to change it.

Of all the classes I've been taking in school, my favorites have been my economics classes. I'm good with charts and numbers. I learn pretty quickly in those classes, too. And lately, people have been telling me that I'm pretty good at changing people's minds. Its like that quote in the movie Tommy Boy, I can "sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves." So, I'm thinking of changing my major to Marketing.

Tomorrow, after I'm done with my test in Newark, I'm going down to admissions and talking to my trusty advisors, Kaersten, to get some help on how to go about doing this. When I get all the info I need, I'm going to head over to West Paterson and change everything around. I'd rather go there because I know the advisement department a little better and most of them know how I am about details and step-by-step instuctions.

I know I'm probably gonna have to take a few more credits and pay a little more but it will definitely be worth it.

So, there's my first step in "college to career"! I'm going to major in Marketing! I'm excited!

"Stormwatch" 2008???

2008-01-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

My town was pretty jumbled after the lack of snowstorm this morning. There were shovels and salt setup on the streets. I saw people putting them away as I walked to my bus stop. You were either angry or happy that nothing happened.

Today was review day for the first big test in my Accounting class in Newark. I stuck my head my the textbook Sunday night so I can understand what was going on. There's a huge gap between the time I took Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting. I had to refresh my memory on debits and credits and all these accounts. Good thing I kept my notes from the other class. There's a bit of advice! Always keep your notes from past classes! You'll never know when they'll come in handy. So the review went great and I'm completely confident that I'm going to do GREAT on Wednesday, the day of the test.

I also found something out about my Berkeley ID card. I got my card before the Newark campus opened so my card wasn't updated with the security in Newark. I was trying to figure out why the security doors wouldnt open for my card. That's why! I was starting to feel weird about waiting for someone to open the door to get to class. Now, I can get in on my own. Thanks to the security guard lady in the front desk for explaining it to me. I was starting to think that I had to replace my card!

By the way, last week was the club fair. I forgot to mention it. Last week was such a mess that I missed it. My schedule is so tight that I might have to leave Music Club for a bit. The meetings are from 3 -5pm in Garret Mountain to anyone who's interested. They're a great group of musicians with passion an talent. Unfortunately, I dont have very much time this quarter to regularly attend. This is only a hiatus though! I will definitely be back next quarter with (hopefully) a new guitar.

Also, I'm starting to whole "College to Career" thing but I'll tell you more about that in my next entry because its pretty huge and Berkeley College's Career Services Department plays a HUGE role it in. But again, I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Right now, I have some major statistics homework to finish up.

Meanwhile, Back at Garret Mountain...

2008-01-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm back at Garret Mountain, I feel like I'm back at school. Newark is great and everything but Garret is definitely my kind of campus. Its a little more like a big community of students. Most of my buddies are here and I know where I know my way around. I mean, I guess its the same feeling when you go anywhere new. I just feel comfortable where I've been the longest.

Anyway, I'm here in the library borrowing textbooks like mad because none of my books have showed up in the mail yet! That's the downside to ordering things online. The wait is really stressing me out though. All my professors have assignment homework that involve the books. I only have one hour between the time the library opens and the time my first class starts. I kind of gave up finishing my statistics just now because...well, I only have a few minutes before class and the problem I was working on would take me at least 15 or 20 minutes. I'm not saying its okay to give up, but man, some things are just impossible. But at least I did all I could.

My classes are great though. I have Drama with a professor who's PASSION is drama. He already told us that there is a field trip involved so I'm really amped for that! (I didnt have any fieldtrips in high school so I get happy when these things come up.) I also learned a lot on the first day of class. Then, I have statistics. The first hour of class already has me freaked out. I'm terrible with formulas and numbers and guessing. After that is microeconomics. Usually, I tend to lose focus and doodle during business classes. (I have a hard time focusing on something for 2 hours straight.) Luckily, I got an enthusiastic professor for this course. He gets really excited and fully explains every tidbit of information he gives out. Seriously, I took like 5 pages worth of notes on the first class session. I have a good feeling that there will be absolutely no doodles in my notebook this quarter.

Tuesdays are so busy!

"Welcome Back to School, Everyone!"

2008-01-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of class. Yeah, I'm sure you think its kinda weird to start a college class on January 2nd but hey, that's how we do at Berkeley. I like it because if I was out of school for more than a month, I can guarentee you that my brain will erase all memory for previous classes.

Today was also my first day at the Newark campus! Its officially my favorite campus. The bus stop to get there is right down the block from my house. The trip is only 15 minutes and the bus drops me off right at the door of Berkeley! Today was freezing so I really appreciated the 4 seconds it took me to get in the building. The security is really tight also. You have to present your ID as soon as you walk it. I came to school a few minutes early so I can wander a little and check out the building. Its pretty plain and simple. Take the elevator up or down and walk up and down the hall. The first thing I did was head to the library. As soon as I walked in, I was glad that Winston was there! He's a librarian at Garret Mountain. I was so glad to see a familiar face! The first thing I did was borrow an accounting book so I can take notes before going to class. The accounting syllabus said that the classes had to read two chapters by the time classes were in session. I ordered the book online so its going to be a while before it arrives. I didn't want to come in completely unprepared so I did and quick skim and jot.

The note taking was genius. The professor got straight down to business once it was time for class. It already felt like it was the second week with the pace we were going in. Again, I liked it. It kept me awake and alert! I learned a whole bunch in that short 2 hours class. I learned the difference between managerial and financial accounting and the different types of costs and what operation in companies are catagorized under what kind of spending. All this on the first day! I took super sloppy notes but I'll re-write them once my book comes in.

So, after class, I start packing up and saw yet another familiar face. A girl from my middle school had been in my class the whole time! I was in the back so I didn't recognize the back of her head. I didn't get to say hi but I will next class. Its so weird seeing old classmates from years ago in college. And after that, I saw yet ANOTHER familiar face. Kaersten (my favorite counselor/advisor ever!) works in the Newark campus now! Seriously, she is the reason why I was into Berkeley. We had a nice little conversation in the lobby while I waited for my ride home. (The campus is so close to my house, my mother insisted on picking me up since it would only take about 10 minutes in a car.)

I was back home by 10:30am! I still had the whole day ahead of me! I'm thinking this is the perfect schedule to have if I want to look for a small part-time job. I'm going to time everything next week so I can be sure what times I'll be available for work on days I'm in Newark.

Obviously, I'm VERY happy with my experience in Newark. :D

Tomorrow, I'm back in Garret. I'm sure I'll have tons to write about.

Also,
Happy New Year, everybody!

Selling my Books...Again

2007-12-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well, week 11 is officially over. You know what that means. Its book selling season again! Instead of making an entire list of books that I had, I've decided to start a Half.com account. I've sold two books on it and its been pretty good.

This time, though, I'm bringing my books to the Student Book Store on Monday December 10th because I'm in need of money right now. Its the Christmas season and I'd rather get some immediate cash for my books than to wait around for someone to buy them online. Way to go Berkeley! Thanks for the instantaneous money back for books. Sure, its gonna be a pain to carry 10 books to school on Monday but it will be well worth it.

In other news, I don't know if anyone has noticed the pretty flyers around with the picture of a tiara on it. Its a sign for the Ms. Berkeley International Pagaent! How cool is that? A pageant! The only one I've seen was the Mr. CP pageant in my old high school. Now, there's a college one. Its looks like fun actually! I wish I could at least try it out but since my schedule is so back and forth next quarter, its going to be difficult keeping track of what campus I will be in and on what day.

So, ladies, if you have any talent, take a shot! Its sounds like tons of fun. I think this is the first pagaent ever so imagine being part of that!

Chillax Day!

2007-12-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

Its this awesome or what? I don't know about everyone else but I am definitely stressed out about Finals next week. All my classes are wrapping up and I'm already starting to studying and review my notes from the past couple of months. I just finished up writing a 5 page paper in the ASC center and figured I would take some time to update before I head over to the Student Center for some "mocktails."

This week has really been bananas though. Yesterday, I had to rush to Manhattan to finish a project due for Humanities in the Media. I kind of left that part of my project at the last minutes so that was entirely my fault. One thing that turned out to be pretty cool about it was that I got to check out the Berkeley's Manhattan campus. I wanted to go in and check it out but I had to concentrate on my project.

The weather is starting to drop pretty quickly around here. A few students have been laughing that they almost slipped on ice coming down the hill. But hey, thats what happened when you wear shoes with absolutely no grip on the bottom. Even the professors have been shocked by how cold it has gotten. Again, I'm super thankful for Berkeley's heating system. And all the soup that the cafe has been serving. :D

NOW I get it!

2007-12-05T19:43:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to point out any professors on my blog so I'll make this very suggestive. :D

I'm finishing up my College Algebra course this quarter. This course 3 month class pretty much wrapped up and clarified all 4 years of high school math I had. Throughout high school, I kind of understood what was going on in my classes. All I had to do was remember a formula or two for a test and then forget about them once I got my grade. That method worked pretty well in high school, but this is college. College is completely different from high school. In College. you have to be sure and know what you're doing.

This is where my professor comes in. He makes sure everyone in the class understands what's going on. He offers personal tutoring before and after class if anyone needs any help. You don't even have to make an appointment. You just show up with your questions and there he is to help.

No joke, thanks to him, I understand EVERYTHING that's going on in my math class. Not only do I commit formulas to memory but I understand what the formulas mean and what they do! How great is that? Its makes me feel like a genius. :D Thanks to him, I've gotten straight A's on all my exams and midterms. I'm not even worried about my final because I know I'm going to rock it. I know what I'm doing and man, it feels great to say that.

This guy is going to one of those professor's I'm going to try to have for the rest of my math courses. I'll trail him so much that he'll be sick of me by graduation.

You're Reading a Newark Campus Student Now!

2007-11-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

Whoo! I'm officially taking a class in Newark! A whole new campus! And only a ten minute bus ride from my house!

It was so easy registering for a class in a different campus! I did it here and it was just like signing up for a class in your regular campus. I just went up for Advisement and asked to be signed up for Accounting in Newark and BAM!, I was in! I'm really excited for this for many many reasons.

Now I get to check out Berkeley's newest campus!
Its only 10 minutes from my house
New friends! (and familiar faces because most of the people I knew in high school that go to Berkeley attend the Newark campus.)
Easy transportation = Less communiting time
Less commuting time = more time devoted to a job!

Lately, I've been checking out the Career Services tab for a part-time job. I found a perfect one in the listings. Valley National Bank is hiring part-time tellers. I have applied before but they said they needed someone with more time during weekdays. So, I'm think since I'll be around my town on Mondays and Wednesday, the chances of me getting this job are better! When I get home, I'm going to change up my availability schedule on the application and hopefully, have a job for the winter!

If that doesn't work, I'll take a trip to the Career Services office and get some help with my resume. I've had job experience (being a waitress, hostess and customer service rep.) so I'm thinking that maybe the jobs having been dropping on my lap because my resume is all messy. I don't know. I'm thinking I should just go and get help with my resume tomorrow. The sooner, the better, right? Besides, the service is right there. And its not like I have to pay extra for resume help (unless resume services online.)

So I guess you know where I'll be tomorrow during Activity period. :)

Campus Change?

2007-11-26T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm considering taking a class in Newark. The Newark campus is only 10 minutes away from my house. I can practically ride my bike there. The reason why I attend school in West Paterson is because one of the scholarships I received from Berkeley was only applicable if I attended this campus. I still have this scholarship so I don't know if that'll bar my from taking a class in another campus. I'll still be taking 3 classes here in Garret but I don't know if I'll have to pay extra or something if I want to go to Newark twice a week.

Tomorrow I'm coming to school extra early so I can figure all this out with Advisement. Hopefully, I won't have to bounce back and forth between campuses just to sign up for one class. I would ask some of my friends how they managed the whole "going between campuses" deal but its different for them. They have cars. I do not. Good thing the bus to the Newark campus is only a block from my house. :-)

Thanksgiving Just Kept on Giving

2007-11-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been terribly sick since Thankgiving. I ate like a fiend and all that gluttony took a toll on my health. I've been in been since Thanksgiving night and today, I finally felt good enough to get out and get some fresh air. It kinda sucked that I had to spend my break in bed but there's only two weeks of school left! That sums up to only 4 sessions of every class.

I barely have any assignments due this week. A few essays here and there but its nothing to lose sleep over. For my Oral Comm class, we have two write two speeches. My first speech is about veganism/vegetarianism and the second is about the D.A.R.E. program and how it doesn't work. The D.A.R.E. speech is the longest speech that I've written for the class. Lately the speeches have been getting more provocative and worthy of 20 minutes full of reaction and discussion. Hopefully, mine will spark up some good discussions.

4 more classes. Man, Christmas break is so close!

Back to Normalicy

2007-11-21T17:11:00.001-08:00

So more than one person noticed that I haven't updated in a while. Nice to know some of you guys care if I just poofed from existance. Haha. But really, I've been a little slow with updating blogger. Sorry. I'd love to give you a bag of excuses but what happened was seriously and I'd rather not plaster it on the internet. All that matters is that I'm back and I have tonnnnsss of school crazyness to tell you about.

I'll start off this stream of daily posts by telling you about my Macroeconimics class. I figured it was going to be an easy course to just fly through for requirements. It has actually turned out to be one of my favorite classes. My professor uses real life examples for our assignments so we can stay updated with what's really going on in today's economy. Sometimes, what you find out about the US economy is scary. If you take a look at the business section of the newspaper, you'd be suprised at the amount potential increase in prices in the US! We learn about how the government is supposed to figure out and fix the nation's deficient and also, we learn how to use our money to its full potential. I try not to miss Macro because every class session is a new and crazy lesson on how money works. I wonder if Micro's going to be just as eye-opening. Im taking that class next quarter.

Man, there's one TWO weeks left of classes! This quarter breezed pretty quickly. A bunch of my professors thought it was a shortened quarter. I admit, it certainly felt that way. I mean, I just took my midterms and now I have to start preparing for finals!

I'm getting started on all my final assignments early so I won't be freaking out during finals week (which happens to start on my birthday.)

Well, Tomorrow's Thanksgiving and since I'll be home cooking up a mean Tofurky, I'll be sure to update with some note about my big project for Humanities and the scholarship meeting from last week.

Making Your Schedule is like Playing Tetris

2007-11-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

Think about it. In Tetris, you have to plan out where you put the blocks so you can perfectly fit other blocks and make a row. Its the same concept with doing a class schedule. I have to plan the time of one class so I can fit another class within a given time. Since I depend on the shuttle bus, I HAVE to be done with my day by at least 2:10pm everyday.

I was looking over the schedule I picked out for Winter quarter and realized that what I thought was going to work was all wrong. I would end up waiting in the snow for the bus that never shows up on time every day. (AKA the 74 bus at 3:10pm)

I rechecked the online scheduled classes and noticed Managerial Accounting was open! YES!!! So tomorrow I'm getting to school bright and early so I can exchange my 3 credit class for a 4 credit online course! I've never taken a class online so this will be something new. I've spoken to a few students who have taken Accounting online and they told be to be ready for tons of reading and homework. Well, I'm totally ready for it. Since there is no lecturing in a classroom, of course Im expecting tons of reading. If I run into a problem, I'll just go to the ASC center for some tutoring.

I just hope the class is still open tomorrow morning. I know online classes fill up really quick so I'm gonna be waiting outside Advisement bright and early to nad a spot in a class.

Seriously, I didn't plan on having another 3 hour break and everything else I found wrong in my first planned schedule. Good thing I made mine early. If I would have waiting, I'm pretty sure I would have been stuck with a completely messed up schedule full of overlapping classes and late dismissals.

And then there's the whole "make sure you took the prerequisite to the class you want to take now" thing. Ugh!

My word of advice to you: Double check your schedule and make sure it works.

Scholarship Day on Thursday (Free Money and Free Pizza!)

2007-11-06T18:02:00.000-08:00

This is up on Blackboard too but I thought I'd add it here, too.

Join us at the Garret Mountain Student Center
and learn how to
GET MONEY
for school!
Come to SCHOLARSHIP DAY
in the Student Center at Garret Mountain
Thursday, November 8th
11:00AM - NOON
Featuring special guest, Berkeley College
graduate, Natalia Novoa!
Pizza will be served, and you'll get a taste for what you can
win!

I'm definitely going. I'm always down for free money. I have no idea who Natalia is but if she can gimme tips and tricks on getting some scholarships, I'm there. Not to mention the fact that there's pizza! XD!

Man, free stuff rules. Today, there were free iced coffee drinks from Cinnabon in the Cafe today. It was soooo good. :-)

Staph is Everywhere!

2007-11-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

Maybe not "everywhere" but its definitely all over my town. There have been rumors that schools will be closed on Wednesday for sanitation. My little sister's school was hit with Staph so I had to stay home and take care of the little one. I missed my Algebra class. I really hate missing class (because participation notes and the whole missing-an-entire-two-hours-of-math thing) but sometimes, I have no choice but to stay home.

I know Im going to be absent a lot during the winter. My little sister get sick a lot and since my mom works during the day,I would have to stay home and tend to my sister. I tried getting into an online course but almost all of them were closed by the time I printed out the availability list.

I'm going to be filling myself with Vitamin C pills this week because I feel a cold coming on. This crazy weather is taking a toll on my immune system. Last week, I was sniffling throughout my classes. Today, I'm sneezing non-stop. Man, I REALLY don't want to miss anymore classes.

Music Club Schedule

2007-11-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I'm a member of the Music Club. I'm trying to get hella more people to come and check it out. Remember, its not genre-specific. Anyone with any music preference and come and show off some skills. It can range from rock guitar,to traditional gypsy baritone ukelele (which I'm try to get a hold of and learn to play) and polka accordion (not sure I spelled that right). Violins and woodwinds welcome! Seriously, I want everyone to just show up and have some fun at Music Club.

I'm actually jotting down a few words and tunes to tryout for the next meeting. The performance two weeks ago has got me amped to get up on stage and play something.

Here's a schedule of the next two weeks. They're all in the Knupple Hall Community Room. Just come right down the stairs and there we are!

Monday November 5 from 3-5,
Wednesday November 7 from 3-5,
Monday November 12 from 3-5
Wednesday November 14 from 3-5

Whoo! $62 refund!

2007-11-03T15:10:00.001-07:00

Thursday I did my schedule. No school on Mondays and Fridays! Woot woot. In order to see my schedule on Blackboard, I had to clear my account at, where else?, student accounts. This is always kinda scary because sometimes, you can owe $700 out of pocket because you forget about financial aid things. I kept on top of my finances so luckily, I owed nothing. Not only that, Im getting a refund!

I already chose my preference on the Berkeleybluecard website but I think I'm gonna change it to direct deposit. The paper check took forever to show up last quarter and I'd like to have my money now than later.

If you haven't done your schedule yet, I suggest you get to steppin' and go do it ASAP. A lot of classes are filling up fast.

A Case of Paranoia

2007-11-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since the gas leak in school, I've been pretty paranoid about anything that might seem out of the ordinary.

For example, when the shuttle bus was riding into the parking lot of the school, I noticed a lot of students were leaving campus. There were carpools and people walking out of classes to their cars. Usually, I would think this is no big deal. It was the end of 2nd period so people usually leave for a late breakfast or something. Instead, I started sniffing around and calling a friend making sure that we still had class.

Another thing I'm freaked out about is the outbreak of Staph in my town. Two elementary schools and the middle school were shut down for sanitation. Now, I walk around with a bottle of Purell in my bag. Im wary when it comes to passing papers out and hugging random strangers.

Im sure my super paranoia will pass soon enough. Im just not gonna be in the computer rooms touching keyboards for a little while.

What's that Smell?

2007-10-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

Man, today was bound to be bad. There were signs everywhere telling me not to go to school. My alarm clock was disconnected, the train was super late, and the printers in school wouldn't let me print out my Student Audit. It was just a series of events saying that I shouldn't be in school.

Then, 10:15am the fire alarm blared. I was in my Oral Communications class. It seemed like it was a normal fire drill. Farrington even joked about it. It was all jovial until we got outside and were hit with a strong smell. The smell of gas was everywhere. You saw everyone's faces get serious. Some people let immediately. They jumped into their cars and jetted out of there. The rest of us stayed to see what was going on. It wa pretty bad because of the worried looks on the faces of the professors, administration and security guards. Everyone trying to get on campus was redirected. They had to turn around and leave. Almost 40 minutes later, it was official. All day classes were cancelled and everyone had to leave. I was lucky I had a buddy with a car. I didn't hear anything about transportation for shuttle people. Most of the cars had at least 3 people in them so I'm sure everyone found a ride.

Text messages were sent out by the school a few minutes ago announcing the cancellation of day classes. Hopefully, everyone who dorms is alright.

Registration for Winter Already? Wow.

2007-10-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

We're already half way done with the quarter! Can you believe that?

Today, I saw a bunch of people lined up at the Student Accounts hall. That pretty much an indication that its time to register. I looked up my progress report and figured out a way to only have class twice a week. I kinda wanna try this out. It'll give me a chance of maybe holding down a normal part time job for the rest of the 5 days of the week.

I'm not too sure what'll go on with this but I'm gonna try it out. Hopefully, it'll pan out alright. My credit card bill needs paying and I have to start making some kind of money for a car! So far, the 4 days a week/getting out at 2 schedule setup has made it impossible for me to get back in my town before 5. Maybe with this two day thing, I'll have a better chance at a steady job.

Anyone else out there do the carless two-days a week thing?

The Music Club concert was Great!

2007-10-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the show on Thursday! I thought I made enough cupcakes for the audience but we got a pretty big turnout! So, if you got a cupcake, you were lucky!

The Jazz band was amazing. Its was so much fun because the show was totally interactive. You could sing and clap and dance along. If you had the guts, you could have even gone up and duet to any song! There was a sing guitar and bass battle.

Hopefully, this got the music club enough exposure so the whole school knows we're here. Its open to anyone who wants to join. We do all and any kinds of music. If you're interested, look around for the club president, Travis, or the vice-prez, Brian.

Here's the facebook link for more info. You can check out announcements and some photos from our practices. There's even one of me trying to remember how to play a Weezer song on bass.

Tomorrow is Super Busy Thursday

2007-10-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Even though its only Wednesday morning, I'm already prepping for what will be one of the busiest Thursdays ever.

Tonight, I have to finalize my oral communications speech. Usually, that'd be an easy process but I decided to completely change the focus of my subject. Then, I have to write 3 two-pages essays for humanities in the media, based on the movies we watched in class. I was absent during one of those days so I didn't get to finish watching "Wag the Dog". Thank goodness for IMDB.com. After I'm done with that, I have to start baking cupcakes. Yeah. Baking. I'll explain that one in a minute.

Tomorrow morning, I get to present my oral comm speech. Right after that class is activity period. I have to head over to the Student Center for the "What Not to Wear" presentation that the Fashion Club is having. There's also a raffle going on in the presentation. The winner of the raffle gets to have a complete makeover. I bought my ticket last week. :-D Who wouldn't want a makeover? Okay, after that, I have to hand in my essays and start studying for midterms. After class, I have to run home and finished up decorating my cupcakes.

The cupcakes are for the Music Club presentation being held in the Community Room at 7pm on Thursday. I didn't get to make it to a couple of the practices and since I didn't think I was stage-ready yet, I opted for making cupcakes for the audience.

Busy busy Thursday! So, in case you didn't catch all the activities going on, here's a rundown.

What Not to Wear at the Student Center (Activity Period 11am)
Don Carter Jazz Trio and Berkeley Music Club concert at the Community Room (7pm -9pm)

Please please come to the concert on Thursday night. C'mon. Cupcakes! You'll also get to check out Berkeley's talented students do their thing on stage. And its free!

Great Feedback from Readers

2007-10-22T11:22:00.001-07:00

I'd like to thank everyone who's been commenting and emailing me through this blogger. Its good to know someone out there is reading this thing. :-)

Remember, all my info is on the right side of the page so if you have an questions concerning Berkeley (anything from admissions to which bathroom is the cleanest), just click on my email link and send me a note!

I'm updating right now because my Macro class was cancelled early. My professor had a meeting so its a perfectly valid excuse. Usually, I'd run to catch my seat on the 2:10pm shuttle, but today I'm sticking around campus for a Music Club meeting. (By the way,if you're reading this and you're still on campus, Music Club meeting in Community room today from 3-5. My bad for the late posting.)

Since the last shuttle leaves at 3:20pm, I'll be left to walk around Garret Mountain. Its cool. Im actually kinda looking forward to it. I have my sneakers on and the weather is nice. I haven't really wandered around over here so today, I'm planning on walking through the Garret Mountain Reservation and catching my bus on the other side of the mountain (the Montclair side). Maybe I'll spot a deer.

Dracula Was Postponed :-(

2007-10-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Bram Stoker's Dracula was to be performed today at 2pm in Garret Mountain. According to Blackboard, ALL the performances are being postponed.

I'm still planning on going to see the play. Its free with your Berkeley ID and $10 for everyone else. Its being performed in almost all the Berkeley campuses so that's pretty spiffy. Hopefully, the show will be back soon.

Shuttle Bus Cram at 2:10pm

2007-10-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

If you're on the 2:10pm shuttle bus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you know exactly what I'm taking about.

Since there was a surge in enrollment this quarter, of course you expect large class counts and overbooked dorm rooms. One thing that someone forgot to think of was the packed shuttle bus!

The shuttles only run during 1:10, 2:10, and 3:20 (I don't know when they changed that one but I think I was one of the last to know.) Almost every Tuesday and Thursday, the bus is packed with no room to spare. Sometimes the driver says there's room in the back but he tends to forget that the students need room from books and, I don't know, breathing? Usually, the 2:10pm leaves early to drop off the first students who got there. Once the bus is emptied out, it comes back and picks up the rest.

This is all fine and dandy if it wasn't for the fact that I have to miss my 2:30 train every time I don't catch the first bus. I end up having to take a two one-hour buses home because if I wait for the 3:20 shuttle, I'll miss the 3:30 train and I'll be stuck wandering around downtown Paterson until 4:30. I would leave class earlier to be one of the first on the 2:10 bus, but I'll end up missing 20 minutes of class.

I think I might start walking down to Paterson from campus. Maybe then I'll be able to catch my train.

College Veg Pledge 2007

2007-10-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this isn't directly related with Berkeley College itself, but it is a college thing and its something I'm really passionate about.

I signed a pledge on CollegeVeg.org that says the following:

"As a university student, I realize that I am a leader for my generation
and an example for society. I am concerned about the inherent cruelty of
consuming animals for food and the impact meat has on global warming, the
environment, and my health. By signing my name, I pledge to abstain from
consuming meat on November 13th, 2007, and commit myself to exploring a more
ethical diet in the future.”

If you're interesting in joining in and leaving out the ham in your sandwich for a day, feel free to sign.

I'm not planning on shoving all this vegetarian-vegan stuff into anyone's face. I'm just doing my normal college activist thing and letting people know about the things I care about.

By the way,
Did everyone remember to register to vote in '08?

Double Presentation Day Tomorrow

2007-10-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I have two presentations for two different classes.

The first of the day will my "first draft" speech about Andy Warhol in Oral Communications. I wrote about the downfalls of 3 of this "superstars" and how the events could have be linked to the artist himself. I know its not that good of a description, but its only a rough draft so in reality, I'm not even sure what my speech is about.

:-P

My second presentation was in Humanities in the Media. My class was broken up into groups. Each group was in charge of outlining and presenting certain chapters from the textbook. Our mindterm, which is the first week of November, will be based on each group's presentation. Needless to say, these presentations have to be pretty good since everyone is going to be studying them for midterms. Talk about pressure!

Crazy Movies in Humanities in the Media Class

2007-10-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

We finished watching a movie called "The Name of the Rose" in my Humanities class. What a crazy movie. It deals with censorship back during the Inquisition days. After this movie, we're watching two more. We have to write essays about each movie and hand them in at the end of the third one. Im starting to write my essay on The Name of the Rose today. I have terrible memory so I might as well get all this written down before I completely forget the film.

Tomorrow is the first music club meeting! If you didn't sign up on last Thursday, show up anyway. Im taking my little sister to this one because I got stuck with babysitting duties at the last minute. I already asked the head of the club and he's cool with it. The first meeting is like a "Hello. My name is _______" kinda thing. I think we're also trying out some instruments. Lets hope I still have a drop of guitar skills left from high school. If I completely reek at it, I'm cool with playing the triangle or kazoo.

JDRF Walk with Berkeley College

2007-10-10T14:14:00.001-07:00

JDRF is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Their mission is to find a
cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. If you
have diabetes, or know someone who does, you know just how important this is

Pretty much half my family had Diabetes. This is a pretty important run for me. As soon as I can secure a ride from a friend, I'm signing up for the walk. I might even get a couple of friends to come along for it.

There's a bunch of flyers all over campus for more info on the walk. There's also a website (http://www.walk.jdrf.org/) AND there's a window full of info for the walk on the homepage of Blackboard. I know a lot of students work on Saturday mornings, but if you have nothing to do on the morning of the 21st, come to Franklin Lakes and get to steppin' for the foundation. If you can't join in the walk, sponsor a walker!

:-)