Space for Posters

Only few more weeks until finals week and the crunch begins all over again! In most of my classes we have already started presenting our final projects and handing in our final papers. Professors are being really nice and if you did not do too well on your projects, they let you resubmit. I like that they do that because if you did not understand something, you have the chance to correct it.

The Ms. Berkeley International Pageant is moving along great! I have met with Ms. Young and we have finalized the posters that will go up. Since I have 4 days off I have been working on them so that I can post them around campus on Monday. Ms. Young and I set up a meeting yesterday at 10am to prepare the application. We decided to put the application online so that its easier to submit it, and nothing gets lost. Here is a sample poster:




I know I’m allowed to post things in the Student Center but that’s it! I have to go around asking professors to see if I could possibly post something on their office doors, in the ASC center etc. Majority of students barely go into the Student Center so the word really doesn’t get around.

I think a good idea would be for the school to designate space for students to post things. For example, maybe at the entrance of the main building give us a large cork/poster board where we can post flyers for school events, books for sale etc. Students try to get away with posting things in the bathrooms and classrooms but then they just get ripped off. When I first started going to Berkeley, students used to put things on the cafeteria tables and it used to stay there for several days. Now it just all gets thrown out. I think this could be a good idea to bring up to someone’s attention. I cant wait to put up my posters!

Turkey Day Break is Over

I hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day! It was great having 4 days off in a row and being able to relax a bit. Luckily, none of my professors gave me huge assignments that would force me to work the entire vacation. I didn’t go to my Intercultural Communication last week because I was not feeling well after getting the flu shot, and we were only watching a movie. I hope my professor can catch me up with whatever else I missed.

In my Business Policy and Strategy class, we almost got everything done. We handed in our final papers, got our participation grades, and received our final test. Since the whole class didn’t do too well on the only two tests we had, an additional third test is optional. It’s nice of the professor to give us a chance to bring up our grades. My final grade ended up being a B but I’m still undecided if I will take the extra test.

In my Market research class, the professor gives us an online test every week. There are positives and negatives to taking online tests depending on what setting the professor chooses. Sometimes you have multiple attempts at the test, and sometimes it’s a one-time deal. It’s good because you can take it in the comfort of your own home, but the downside is that you have no professor to ask a question if you have one.

Two weeks ago I was having a major issue with my online test. The test is setup so that you can only take a test once, cannot go back to any question nor can you get back to the test. Not to mention it’s timed and you only have one hour to take it! Anyway, halfway through my test, Blackboard stopped working and locked me out of the test! I called the professor at her house, the office and I sent her an e-mail but she did not get any of my messages until after class began and the test timed out. I was so mad because my grade turned out low since I never finished the test! The professor did not give me a chance to take the test over, but she did offer to put an extra test online that will be considered extra credit. Hopefully I won’t get locked out on this test!

Ms. Berkeley International Pageant

I have been really busy with my classes, but I’m never too busy to be creative and come up with ideas for the International Business Club. I have not been able to run the International Business Club for this whole quarter because activity period changed from Wednesday to Thursday which messed up my whole schedule. Luckily, Alex, the vice president has been great with running it and helping me out. She organized a trip to the United nations that will take place on November 30th! I will not be unable to go, but I hope it has a great outcome.

I have come up with an event called Ms. Berkeley International that will be taking place around February. It will be a pageant, where judges will pick a student to be Ms. Berkeley International. This event is still in process of many changes so I do not want to give out too many details just yet.

I wanted to do this so that we can have a fun event and educate students at the same time. The event will include interview, evening wear, fun wear, and presentation of one’s culture. The presentations can include anything representing someone’s culture such as a presentation of ethnic foods, a cultural dance or anything that they feel is appropriate.

I am going to be contacting the fashion club as well as the music club to see if they would like to participate. Maybe the fashion club will want to help our contestants get dressed, advise them in fashion, or even contact a local dress store to see if they would like to donate dresses to help us out. The music club will be very helpful if they can provide us with music entertainment for our intermission as well as music throughout the show.

This event will be taking place around February towards the end of the winter quarter. It will be fun to involve other clubs and work together to get something achieved. Everyone has been very helpful in helping me come up with different ideas, the budget, prizes etc. Ms. Young and Mr. Maher were very welcoming and sat with me one on one to work on the event. I will keep everyone updated on the process and details as I found out more. I hope it’s a great outcome and everyone enjoys the show!

Agrivation Solved!

So I have finally figured out why certain classes that I wanted to take I could not. The Advisement department was kind enough to leave me a comment on one of my blogs and explain it to me. This is what they said:

Each year, a new catalog is introduced and students beginning in January of that year follow those program requirements. All courses listed on Blackboard are available for all students from all campuses unless they are reserved. Reserved courses are listed as such because they are held for a specific population of students. The GEC courses, which are General Education Core courses at the 100 level, are now in the new 2008 catalog. Unless students are beginning their program in 2008, these courses are unavailable to them.

I was very agitated that I couldn’t take certain classes because I’m getting close to graduation and I need certain credits fulfilled. Now that I totally understand why! I’m glad to see that Advisement is so on top of getting things explained to students.

As everyone knows making your schedule can be a frustrating, annoying, and aggravating process but now you can get advised without even waiting online! I was told that now there is help online! You can go to the Berkeley website, log on, and speak to a REAL person in the advisement department. You can ask them questions regarding classes, where their run, when their available, if their filled, reserved and so on. Because of the FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) which is a federal law and protects your privacy you cannot ask specific questions to your records. For example, they cannot answer questions such as when will I graduate, how many credits do I have left, or what kind of classes you should be taking.

This is great because many freshmen and students that are new to the school may not know how things work yet so this is a great, fast, simple way to get help without wasting much time. This is how you can log onto the live help:

You have to log onto Blackboard->Community->Advisement->"Click Here For Live Help" icon, (first announcement on the page) and chat with a Live Person Advisor. They are available to you from Monday through Thursday, 9am to 6pm and Fridays 9am to 5pm. Hope you find it helpful!

Agrivation Solved!

So I have finally figured out why I could not take certain classes that I wanted to. The Advisement department was kind enough to leave me a comment on one of my blogs and explain it to me. This is what they said:

“Each year, a new catalog is introduced and students beginning in January of that year follow those program requirements. All courses listed on Blackboard are available for all students from all campuses unless they are reserved. Reserved courses are listed as such because they are held for a specific population of students. The GEC courses, which are General Education Core courses at the 100 level, are now in the new 2008 catalog. Unless students are beginning their program in 2008, these courses are unavailable to them.”

I was very agitated that I couldn’t take certain classes because I’m getting close to graduation and I need certain credits fulfilled. Now that I totally understand why! I’m glad to see that Advisement is so on top of getting things explained to students.

As everyone knows, making your schedule can be a frustrating, annoying, and aggravating process but now you can get some advisement without even waiting in line! I was told that now there is help online! You can go to the Berkeley website, log on, and speak to a REAL person in the advisement department. You can ask them questions regarding classes, where they’re offered, when they’re available, if they’re filled, reserved and so on. Due to FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) which is a federal law to protect your privacy, the online advisor cannot answer specific, personal questions related to your records. For example, they cannot answer questions such as when will I graduate, how many credits do I have left, or what kind of classes I should be taking.

This is very convenient because many freshmen and students that are new to the school may not know how things work yet. The online advisement provides a great, fast, simple way to get help without wasting much time. This is how you can log onto the live help:
You have to log onto Blackboard->Community->Advisement->"Click Here For Live Help" icon, (first announcement on the page) and chat with a Live Person Advisor. They are available to you from Monday through Thursday, 9am to 6pm and Fridays 9am to 5pm. Hope you find it helpful!

Meeting

Last week on Wednesday I had a meeting with two individuals who are responsible for hiring the new president for Berkeley College. Nine other students and I were invited to speak to these people on behalf of the students about what we are looking for in a new president and what we expect of them. The meeting started at 2pm and went on for about an hour.

When I first got there, we were offered pizza for lunch and as a small thank you for participating which was really nice. We had to meet up about 45 minutes early so that we could discuss answers to questions that would be asked and share our ideas with each other. Each person had interesting input and we were able to come up with a bunch of constructive things to say.

When the two individuals showed up they were very friendly and easy going. We first went through a series of introductions between the individuals and students before proceeding to the main discussion. Due to their easy going approach, the students were able to speak up and say what was really on their mind. I’m sure this helped them gather a lot of good feedback and will aid in making a decision in support of what the students are looking for in a president. I really enjoyed my time, being able to network and provide input towards the process to hire a new president, it was a great experience!

Last week on Wednesday I had a meeting with two individuals who are responsible for hiring the new president for Berkeley College. Nine other students and I were invited to speak to these people on behalf of the students about what we are looking for in a new president and what we expect of them. The meeting started at 2pm and went on for about an hour.
When I first got there, we were offered pizza for lunch and as a small thank you for participating which was really nice. We had to meet up about 45 minutes early so that we could discuss answers to questions that would be asked and share our ideas with each other. Each person had interesting input and we were able to come up with a bunch of constructive things to say.
When the two individuals showed up they were very friendly and easy going. We first went through a series of introductions between the individuals and students before proceeding to the main discussion. Due to their easy going approach, the students were able to speak up and say what was really on their mind. I’m sure this helped them gather a lot of good feedback and will aid in making a decision in support of what the students are looking for in a president. I really enjoyed my time, being able to network and provide input towards the process to hire a new president, it was a great experience!

Schedule is Done!

So I was finally able to get my schedule done. On Monday morning I went to the advisement department and luckily for me no other students were there, which is surprising for a Monday morning. Mr. Van Der Beek was very helpful and got my schedule all figured out. My course selection for next quarter doesn’t fit my schedule as well as I would like it to, but in order to take all the classes I need to take, it has to stay this way.

The only problem I really have is on Tuesday because I need to take Placement Seminar in order to have my internship in the spring. Due to this requirement, I have Placement Seminar at 2:25-3:15 (or around that time) and then I have to wait around for my next class which isn’t until 6pm. I can’t go home because of major traffic on Route 23, and by the time I would get home I would have to leave to come back to school. Placement Seminar is a very popular class, so I think they should offer it at more times. The first day that classes were available to book, Placement Seminar was already booked up!

Since Placement Seminar is only one credit, I need to take additional classes in order to not be stuck at the end with a bunch of classes before graduation. I had to take an online class because there was nothing that I could even take during the day that I haven’t already taken. I heard some students have to commute to a different campus just to take one class which I would hate to have to do. Especially commuting to the NYC campus with all these toll hikes that will be going on!

So my full schedule includes only one class on Monday and Wednesday because I couldn’t get another Liberal Arts elective in there, Tuesday a class around 2pm and another class that isn’t until 6pm, an online class, and finally a class on Thursday at 6pm. At least the classes I’m taking sound interesting and fun.

Berkeley College Career Fair

In my last blog I was in a bit of a rush so I was unable to give you the details of the career fair. So I will do it now.

My friend Pam came over my house so that we can take one car to the fair which was a lot of fun. We went to get breakfast first because we didn’t know that Berkeley was going to provide us with breakfast before the career fair. It was very nice of Berkeley to offer a free breakfast for students who came early, I didn’t expect that. Another great thing that surprised me was that the Berkeley library was there too! Students had access to computers if they needed to look something up or do some research.

When we got there we were greeted by Berkeley staff and asked to sign in. After signing in, we had to go into a small room for a little presentation that prepared us for the career fair. He went over how to act around the companies, what to expect and what not to expect from a career fair. One of the things that surprised me is when he said not to expect to get a job from this career fair. I was almost positive that I went there to get a job but apparently not. He explained that this is a place to network and meet people instead of finding a job. Don’t get me wrong, if they thought you were amazing they pulled you to the side and had a mini interview with you, but I only saw that happen to two people.

I don’t remember all of the companies from the fair, but to give you an idea of who was there, I recall Commerce Bank, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Party City, the FBI, as well as other banks but that’s all that I remember. Before our little presentation ended we had bags handed out to us that included information about the companies and a new flash drive! The information provided was very useful. It helped me understand what the companies did and what industry they were in so that I wasn’t clueless when I talked to them.

Overall I had a great experience at the Berkeley College Career Fair. I talked to many companies but I doubt any of them will really remember me when the time comes for me to find a job. When we talked about our experience in my morning class on Monday, people had very different opinions. Some felt the companies were mostly looking for graduates and people with experience and others felt that because they have a lot of past experience companies were very interested in them. Some companies were there to hire people for customer service, cashier positions, etc. but students felt they are going to college to move beyond working in those positions which do not require a college education.

Personally, I did not find anything that really fit what I was looking for. I wish there were marketing oriented companies there for the marketing students versus just regular companies with possible marketing departments. Even though I did not find what I was looking for, I still enjoyed my time and it was very educational. I am looking forward to my next career fair with Berkeley!

Scheduling Classes

Last Tuesday I tried to make my schedule in the evening but the line was so long and only one advisor working so I wasn’t able to make it. I went again on a break between my classes but the advisor was still busy with someone. Then a woman came out of one of the offices and told me to leave it in the advisors box and she will call me to tell me if anything is wrong. Finally after filing on Tuesday I got a call back on Friday morning that one of the classes I had chosen I cannot take because it is reserved for freshmen only. Unfortunately, I could not take her call because I was at the career fair in the morning.

I was confused when Ms. Alexander told me that on the voice mail message because the classes I have chosen were my Liberal arts electives that I need to take before graduation. I don’t understand why freshmen would have classes reserved when it’s the people getting closer to graduation that need to take certain classes first. Freshmen have all 3-4 years to take those classes. I called her back at 10am and left a message to call me back as soon as she gets a chance because I have work at 3pm and I cannot take calls at work. So at what time did I get a call back? I got a call back at exactly 3:10 after I clearly said I need a call back before 3pm. This made me a little frustrated because from 10am to 3pm there is a long time to return a call and then getting a call at 3:10 right when I was unavailable was frustrating.

Ms. Alexander then left me another message to now come to her office and discuss the schedule and go over classes in person or try to get in touch with her again. I don’t want to keep playing phone tag because classes are getting filled up fast and I don’t want to get stuck with a class I don’t like. The whole point of leaving it in a mailbox was to omit the long wait on the lines but now I guess I’m going to be stuck doing it again. Hopefully I will get lucky with good timing during my next visit.

The career fair was very nice. We had a nice little orientation at the beginning where Berkeley College staff explained to us what to expect, how to act around company representatives and what to look for. It was very informative and we even got a free flash drive! Even though I did not find any companies that were really interested in marketing major students, I still enjoyed the fair and the free toys we got!

Getting Ready for the Career Fair

The Week is slowly coming to an end. Today I’m substitute teaching at my old high school so I will have time to work on finishing up my paper on the people I observed at Borders. Last week in my Market Research class only 3 out of 6 people showed up to class so the professor just went over the project and let us go home. I found out from another person in the class that she was very upset at the 3 students that did not show up and is requiring them to write apology letters of why they did not come to class. I’m not really sure what to think of that. I mean yes, they should have came to class but at the same time they are paying for the class so it should be their choice if they want to come or not. There are only 6 students in a class so when only 3 students show up it doesn’t seem like a lot, but technically that is half the class.

I finally decided on what classes I want to take next quarter. I came to school an hour early to make my schedule but there were about 11 students waiting to do the same thing I was and only one advisor was working! There is not much earlier that I can come to school to wait in line, but I knew that I was not getting it done on Tuesday.

When I went to class the teacher was having some technical difficulties with the computer and the IT guy came to help her, so that bought me some time to sneak away and try to make my schedule. When I went down there again the advisor was still with someone and a woman from another office came out and told me I can put my chosen classes in an advisors mailbox and they will e-mail me if there are any problems. I thought to myself cool, I don’t have to stand in line! Then I realized, she will e-mail me if there are any problems but I won’t know if my schedule got done unless I clear financial aid, etc. in order to see my classes. Well, needless to say I still haven’t heard from them. So I will have to wait on the line today to double check that my classes got reserved for me. Hopefully I won’t lose out on a class I want to take because my schedule didn’t get done.

On Friday there is a career fair! My friend Pam is coming over my house early in the morning so that only one of us has to drive to the hotel where the event is taking place. I’ve gotten repeated e-mails about the event which is a good reminder. I hope to see many people there! Oh yea, if you’re part of the few first people there, you get a free flash drive! Woo Hoo!