Holiday Season

The Holiday Season has come and gone and I hope that everyone had a wonderful week. I hope that everyone got to spend the days that are important to them with the people that they love and cherish the most. I am very fortunate to have people around me that care and love me and helped me get to this point of my life.

Sometimes I wish that we were able to have a holiday season every month of the year. It’s interesting how when this time of the year comes around people get together with family, enjoy a time together and take the time out to be grateful for what they have in their lives. We should be happy every day for what we have and the people that are around us. One thing I have to mention that I am most grateful for in my life is my education. When you think about how many people in the world don’t have a chance to go to school yet alone college you begin to realize how grateful we really are. Thank you Berkeley College for providing me with quality education that I can carry with me for the rest of my life.

This Christmas I had a lot of adventures. My family and I normally celebrate Christmas Eve for the Polish tradition of “Wigilia” which is a traditional meal where a family gets together for with specific foods. This year we ended up having Wigilia in Queens, NY and getting there was a nightmare. I had to work until 4:30 therefore by the time I got home and then drove to Queens it was 8pm. I spent a good time with my family and finally got home around midnight. The next morning at 5am we left on our journey to North Carolina to see other family members. The drive was about 10 hours and it was our first time bringing the puppies Ella and Samson with us. Lucky for us we didn’t hit any traffic along the way but we did notice that this year we had a lot more people on the road than last year. Tomorrow we are leaving bright and early at 8am and hope to get home around 5pm.

Once again, I hope that everyone had a great time this holiday season. It doesn’t matter what you celebrate as long as you are surrounded by good people and people that care about you. Be grateful for that you have and not for what you are missing because happiness does not depend on your circumstances, it’s a choice that you make.

Holiday Season

Here in New Jersey we are having our first winter storm today. Some people dislike the idea of snow but for me it means fun in the snow! Living in Central New Jersey is surprisingly much different than living in North New Jersey. We usually get much less snow and the weather is a little warmer. I am ready for the holidays and I cannot wait until the end of this week for celebrations to begin!

Today I was supposed to go to NYC and go see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. I was a little upset to see that its going to be snowing all day and night because it has been my long time tradition to go see the tree before the holidays. If the roads are cleared tomorrow we will see if we can go tomorrow instead of today.

Around the holiday season there are so many things to do and see in NYC. During Thanksgiving you can see the Thanksgiving Parade and enjoy the different holiday decorations in Central Park. Once Thanksgiving has passed the Christmas craze kicks in and everyone gets into the spirit. My two favorite things to do is go see the tree and look at the window decorations at Sacks 5th Avenue. If you are in town or attending Berkeley, Id strongly recommend going to visit.

As an Alumni of Berkeley you have plenty of opportunities to stay connected with people from Berkeley. Every holiday season Berkeley has an event called Breakfast with Santa where past students can get together, bring their families and enjoy some time together. Whether you are a current student or a past student Berkeley always has some type of event for you to enjoy with your peers.

Black Friday Madness

The long weekend that started this holiday season has passed by and now the holiday madness has begun. Most people had a nice 4 day weekend which I was able to utilize very effectively on cleaning and getting all my holiday shopping done! I am very impressed with myself that for the first time in history I have ALL my holiday shopping done the first weekend after Thanksgiving. Impressive right?

As I’m sure everyone knows this weekend was Black Friday. A day that is filled with crazy people lining up in front of stores at 3am for a deal, people willing to fight over children’s toys and totally loose human courtesy to get what they THINK is a good deal.

Friday morning I was off from work and decided go buy some decorations for the apartment since now I live on my own. I wanted to decorate the inside and the outside of the apartment to give us a nice warm holiday feeling. First I went to the Christmas Tree Shop where I bought most of my decorations. Christmas Tree Shop is a really great store where you can get decent quality things for a VERY cheap price. I have never seen a store beat prices of competitors like the Christmas Tree Shop does. The store itself isn’t the best when it comes to customer service or everything being beautifully on shelves but hey you have to sacrifice somewhere for a good price.

After the Christmas Tree Shop I said oh what the heck lets go to Walmart and see if they have any ornaments for our first Christmas tree. When I got to the store they had all this equipment outside of the store to control lines and customer flow but lucky for me most of the crowds were already gone when I got there. The store was a disaster! Nothing was in its right place, people were scrambling for any leftovers of electronics, nothing was marked with the right price so needless to say I got frustrated and left empty handed.

On my way back home I thought back on the prices of things and realized how silly people are on Black Friday. You think you are getting a deal on things but in reality you are not. If you are a smart, clever shopper you know that you can get everything cheaper online these days. Shopping on places like Amazon or E-bay saves you a lot of money if you know how to shop well. For example I am getting my dad a GPS for Christmas. At Walmart the item was $193 but on Amazon it sold for $153.

If you want to be an event smarter shopper I would recommend not only shopping online but to also look for savings coupons on websites such as Dealigg, FatWallet or CouponCorner. There you type in the store that you are sopping at and it gives you all the coupon codes you need to save on certain items. It’s really that simple.

In conclusion on my Black Friday ranting, please do your researches before you buy. Everyone loves savings and if you can save $20 on each gift you guy this season more power to you. You can get yourself something nice with your savings so that you have something more to show off to your friends than grandma’s sweaters! Happy holiday shopping!

Bermuda, Bahama, Come On Pretty Mama...

I haven’t had a chance to write a blog in a while because I have been away for a few days. I have been fortune enough to take a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands. We had beautiful weather and a great ship. The vacation could not have been any more perfect than it already was.

If you are looking to go on a vacation I would strongly recommend going on a cruise. Cruises in my opinion are worth the most for your buck. In one price you get all the food and entertainment for free and you literally have a buffet of food open for you 24/7. Not only do you have unlimited amount of food but you also have entertainment every night also for free. The time goes by slow because you are doing so many things that you don’t notice the time. At the end of the day you realize how many things you have done and surprise yourself that you fit it all in one day.

First we arrived in Samana, Dominican Republic. The country is beautiful but outside of the tourist areas it was very run down and poor. On the boat they offer island excursions but I would strongly recommend waiting once you are off the boat to do tours through the locals. Yes, it may be less reliable sometimes but you almost save 50% on all the activities off the boat. For example a tour on the boat of the island cost $69 per person but off the boat we paid $50 for 2 people. I think that the tour off the boat was a little better because we were shown around by the locals who really know and live the culture they were able to pass onto us.

The second island we stopped at is St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. This island was mostly for shopping and seeing around town. It was basically like Key West, Florida. Since it is owned by the USA, not much was different than Key West. We did some shopping and came back on the boat to explore and spend time in the sun by the pool.

The third island was Tortola, British Virgin Islands. On this island we took a tour with the locals of the island and the island was just beautiful. The island was mostly made out of huge mountains and a lot of palms. When we were driving though the town the roads looks very dangerous. It made things a little awkward because they drove on the opposite side of the road. In addition to that change they didn’t use any road signs like we do. If they were going to pass you on a street or turn you don’t use blinkers you just honk your horn really loud.

The last island we arrived to was a private island called Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. This was by far my favorite island. The water was as clear as post cards truly show it and the water was really warm. We went snorkeling on this island because I couldn’t pass this clear water. Even though we didn’t go snorkeling deep we saw a ton of beautiful fish. I think I even saw Nemo! At the end of the trip I felt that 7 days is a perfect amount of time on a cruise. If I was to be there any longer I wouldn’t appreciate the adventure as much because you get too spoiled.

Tomorrow is back to work day! I probably have a ton of work and e-mails piled up for me so I better lift up my sleeves and get to work! It’s always good to bring your best foot forward after a vacation in a work place so people see that you can handle a large load of work.

Life Lessons

Every day you learn something new that you may not have known before. It always seems that whatever age you are, you know everything but that is far from the truth. College teaches you theoretical things but little do you know how much the work force teaches you. I myself have learned certain lessons lately from watching people and getting involved myself and I have to share them.

Lesson Number One: Promote Teamwork
We were taught since we were children to work as a team, share and that there is no I in team. As we grow up we get teamwork homework assignments, work as teams in groups and learn how to better interact with others. You would think that by the time we reach adulthood we got this teamwork thing down right? WRONG! From witnessing people and seeing how some people really interact in a workplace its difficult to see how people still do not work in teams. There are certain people who will always try to be independent in hopes that it make them look better. There are people who will purposely do certain things to make another person look bad so that they can point out how great they. Little do they know that good managers will always spot the good guy without help from others.

Teamwork gets you further than working alone. When trying to work as a team don't look at each others and what one person is doing wrong versus what you are doing better. What is important in team work that everyone is looking in the same direction. As long as a team has the same goal in mind everything will fall into place. Coaching people along and teaching them what you know shines more to a manager than one person complaining about another. Being a team means supporting one another and making sure the work gets done.

Lesson Number Two: Don't Get Involved in Drama
Nothing is worse in a workplace than drama. Working with students I see a lot of drama on a daily basis. Whether the drama is between two students, students and educators, students and administration or between two co workers. Whatever it may be it never looks good on you. Drama causes issues which causes a team to loose its focus on the goal of the organization. Its one thing to be part of a dramatic event but its even worse when you get involved and its not even any of your business.

All in all, don't get involved! It is much beneficial for you to keep your name clear of drama and issues in the workplace if it does not pertain to you. When it comes to running programs and events your manager will be more opt to choose you for the job because he or she knows that you can get along with everyone. Not being involved in workplace issues shows that you can solve issues easily and you can be relied on. Then when some problems escalate to bigger problems you can feel good that you didn't have to be in the middle of it.

These are my two lessons for today. Sometimes we have to learn these things the hard way and sometimes we are lucky when someone warns you about them ahead of time. There are many times I think its best that we learn some things the hard way but this time, I hope you take my advice!

Berkeley College has been having quite some fun with all the creative ideas that SGA and Ms. Young, have been coming up with! When I was in college we started doing the JDRF walk and collecting donations for JDRF. We had a ton of fun doing this so I noticed that the tradition has continued. I have to find out how it went this year but I love their flyer and they motto that they came up with! Check it out:



From what I can see Berkeley has gone such a far way just from the time I have graduated. When I look at their website it looks so good that I cannot even remember what it used to look like. We now have all these events posted on the website such as plays, career fairs, art galleries, etc. where before you had to log into Blackboard in order to view any events. I am very eager to continue following up with Berkeley and seeing where it goes next.

One thing I have to give Berkeley huge props for is that it never uses models for its advertising to the students. I feel that Berkeley gets its warm feeling and a trusting feeling towards students because it has true Berkeley students that give examples to potential students on what the college is about. The students on the front page are Berkeley students, the career fair pictures are Berkeley students and event the professors on the page and real Berkeley professors.

You know you can feel good about a college when it’s not afraid to show its own students work. Berkeley is proud of the work that it’s done with its students and that makes us as students proud to be Berkeley graduates.

Halloween is Around the Corner!

Halloween is just around the corner, and I have been on a Saw watching spree. So far I have watched Saw I, II, III and IV. Today I should see Saw V and then my life will feel complete! It seems like every year Halloween looses a little bit of its holiday feel. I remember when I was a child everyone went trick or treating with their kids! Our town used to have to set a curfew for kids to stop walking from house to house but last year it was nothing like that. We barely got any kids coming to our house or even walking around the neighborhoods.

I’m guessing since the world has gotten a little more dangerous in the past few years parents are a little more fearful for their kids. First it was the envelope powder that killed people, and then it was contaminated candy and let’s not forget all the kidnapped children that have been all over the news lately. Parents instead of sending their children trick or treating send their kids to Halloween parties with their friends that are monitored by parents. In a way I do believe that is the better alternative but it does lose a lot of the Halloween spirit.

Today is already Wednesday and the week is just floating by for me. I work 2 late days so I could accommodate the evening students and this kind of confuses my life cycle making my week go by so much quicker. On Wednesdays I go over student grades and let them know what they have to do in order to pass. Some students care, and some don’t. Some tell me they will do something about it some tell me they will do something about it and never do anything. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to a tree and sometimes I feel like I just want to bang my head over the wall because you can tell someone something 10 times and then when their dropped they come crying to you. I guess that’s just how the world goes sometimes.

Student Loan Changes

Student loans are something that almost every student has to face unless you are one of the very few lucky ones. Student loans are given to students in need of financial aid based on their income information. Loans com in 3 different ways: Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Parent PLUS loans. The difference between Subsidized and Unsubsidized is that Subsidized is interest free until 6 months after you graduate and Unsubsidized is not interest free.

I have taken out student loans for my education and have finally started paying them off in May. You have a 6 months grace period after you graduate to find a job and get yourself stable so that you can start paying off your loans. When the paying off time comes you have a choice of consolidating your loans and keeping them separate and letting Sallie May send you one statement. Now, the trick with consolidation is that it’s best to consolidate if your interest is more than what is currently offered. For example I have 5 different loans and for all of them I have different interest rates. One has a 2.8%, 4.7% and the rest are 6.8%. It wouldn’t make much sense for me to consolidate my loans right now at 6.8% when I am paying less interest on some of my loans.

The reason I am mentioning student loans is because there have been some changes going on with student loans. In recent months my bank account has been getting charged more from Sallie May than the Sallie May website has been stating. This is like you seeing your credit card bill is $100 but you are being charged $130 a month for your bill. I decided to give them a call and I found that apparently one of my loans has been sold to the Department of Education but Sallie May still manages it.

What this means is that Sallie May is charging my bank account more so that it can also cover the other loan that is under the Department of Education. There is no specific reason why Sallie May has sold certain loans and not the others so there is no need to worry if your loan was sold. They were simply restructuring their company and this is what ended up happening.

If you see any changes in your billing give Sallie May a call as soon as possible so you can find out what is happening to your account. The man I spoke to on the phone said that most people did not get notification about this change even though they were supposed to. It’s important to keep all your information together and keep track of your payments because it’s very easy to lose track of things. Stay on top of your bill and make sure you call as soon as something doesn’t make sense to you about your payments.

Small Thought

This morning I was at the store and I had a small gift card for it. At first I didn't really know what I wanted to get but then I saw some really pretty fountains and smelly diffusers. Then my train of thought was do I want to get it for my house or do I want to get it for work. After pondering for about 3 minutes I had a thought. My thought was did we ever noticed that we spend more time at work than at home? I was thinking to myself where will I get more use out of it home are at work and the answer was very clear! WORK!

Sometimes people think that work is all about making money but is it? If you have to spend most of your time only to earn money are you working to live or living to work? I believe that many people need to ask themselves these questions before starting college. What is it that you want to do? When do you want to do it and how do you want to do it? What goals do you want to achieve in your life? What time frame do you want to achieve them in? Who do you want along with you achieving these goals. its amazing how many jobs you can narrow down by simply asking yourself those questions.

For example if you want to be a business man and own your own business you have to be flexible. You have to have a partner who will want to sacrifice some things with you. You may not be able to take off from your business whenever you want so many vacations may not always be an option. Maybe you want to travel the world so working for a big corporation that allows you to travel and do business in many places is a great option for you. If you enjoy working with children maybe you need to be a teacher. If you like to read maybe you should be a researcher.

There are many career options for everyone but first you need to ask yourself some very basic simple questions. Doing what you choose to do will take a lot from your life so make sure you re doing something worthy and something you really enjoy. Money is not the most important factor in your life and when you are in a store looking a fountain to put on your desk, make sure its a desk where you enjoy spending time at.

Interesting Weekend

The weekend has come and gone and its time to get back in business. Saturday my school had a show called "Beauty Within". We decided to run a hair show for family and friends to raise money for Domestic Violence Abuse. The show went really well and the students really had fun with it. My Sunday on the other hand was not so good. First thing in the morning I realized my long time fish named Jimmy died. He was happy swimming in the morning and then by the time 10am came around he wasn't really swimming anymore. I cried, I pouted but in the end everything was ok. I knew he was in a better place.

Later on that day I decided to go to the pet store and see if I like any other beta fish to replace my Jimmy. The fish tank looked very sad and empty without him so I needed to replace him quick. Once I was at the store I walked around and came across one of those large talking parrots that hang out on a stand and talk to you. For some reason this parrot was looking at me strongly and swaying back and forth. At first I didn't know what that bird was doing so I just went to turn around and walk away to keep looking for a pretty fish. As soon as I turned around the bird jumped off the stand and started flying towards me! it clawed its feet in my hair and attached itself to me! Now this bird was about one foot long and quite heavy! I ran around the store screaming because I had this huge bird stuck in my hair!

When the clerk came out he took the bird out of my hair and said the bird has been doing it all week. I thought to myself that maybe they should tie this bird down since they know the issue that's going on with this bird! Apparently the bird got attracted to my neon green ski jacket and my long hair that was down. He must have thought I was a friend or something! So not only did I loose my fish but then I got attacked by a bird too!

So I thought that was the end of my bad luck but little did I know. Later on I decided to go get a small bar table so I can put my wine on it and my wine glasses. I went to the store, got one and it took me about an hour and a half to put it together. This little bar table was really a pain in the but to put together. When I was finally done I wanted to go it a test run and come to find out that the bar does not hold standard wine glasses, it has a be a specifically fitted glasses! I was so frustrated at that point I just took the whole thing apart again and returned it.

Lucky for me Monday was a lot better. On a better note, whenever the weather gets cooler and the leaves start turning colors I get in the holiday spirit. Before we know it all those holidays will be around the corner and we will all be in a celebration mood. I think that my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I think its my favorite because I never got to celebrate it in Europe and now its like an additional holiday I get to celebrate. I love getting the family all together and talk about things we haven't had a time to catch up on all year. its great having those people around you that get together with you at least once a year to show you that they care.

Log In

Yet another week has passed by and today is finally hump day. For the longest time I didn’t know what people meant by hump day but I finally asked someone and got my answer. Wednesday is called hump day because it’s in the middle of the week. It’s that day where we are finally half way through the week and we are getting over the hump of the week being almost over. The answer was so simple this whole time and I can’t believe I didn’t get it.

For some reason I sometimes have issues logging into my Berkeley account after I have not logged into it for a while. The other day I was trying to log in and it was not allowing me to. I knew that Berkeley has created new passwords for students where the password is more complex and not so easy to crack, but my new password was still not working. The good thing about Berkeley is that they always have help available.

When I couldn’t log in I simply went to live chat help on the Berkeley website. They transferred me to the right department and I got to talk to a woman that was very helpful. She reset my password and within 5 minutes I was able to log into my account without any problems. I was able to do all that without even picking up a phone. Just a few clicks and my problem was solved. Many times I hate talking on the phone, staying on hold, and having to explain my situation 5 times to 5 different people. This service was great and very helpful.

There are many events going on at Berkeley all the time but one caught my eye that I am very interested in. Berkeley is presenting a play called B Free Franklin that is acted out by students of Berkeley College. This play is playing on many dates and everyone should come out and see this play to support Berkeley students.

Media Everywhere

Ever notice the power of online media these days? Who would have thought that college, stores and almost anything can be ran online just a few decades ago? Today the possibilities are really endless. What is most important today that each company stays on top of its game and Berkeley is doing just that.

Ever notice all the websites that Berkeley is on? Here is just a few to give you an idea: MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, and Blogger! I think it’s a great idea that Berkeley stays connected to its students not only on a student level but a personal level too. I have always said that college is not only bout the education but about the experience as well. Students like to stay connected and it’s important that the college stays connected with its students.

Today I was reviewing my college statements online and seeing what I paid for my tuition. As we all know Berkeley is a large investment just like any college and then it made me wonder where did all that money go to. I pondered and it didn’t take me long to realize all the benefits that I got at Berkeley versus a typical state college. First off you will never get the small classes you get at Berkeley at a typical state college. Professors are great and they always had time for you to meet one on one. In addition to great education you had great activities too. College is what you make of it and if I didn’t participate as much as I did my memories would not have been as fond as they have been.

I am very grateful for the education I received and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love to stay connected and see how much Berkeley is still changing today. I love getting e-mails that new career fairs are being planned out and that new events are going on for not only current students but alumni too. Stay connected online and check out all the benefits that Berkeley has to offer through many channels that Berkeley offers.

Wear Sunscreen

I was driving to work the other listening to a radio station and I heard a very interesting song. This song is called “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen” by Baz Luhrmann and I was shocked how much meaning this song really had. Please view this video here or look it up on YouTube.




When I first heard this song it made me laugh a little. When they said stretch, I stretched, and I bet you did too. When they said floss I thought about how much I hate flossing but do it anyway. One thing I noticed about this song is that no matter what age you are this song will still have a meaning to you. When you are older you will realize how this song was really true. When you’re younger you will think about the advice its giving you and see how it can apply to you.

This song really motivated me on the day that I was driving to work. Whenever I drive anywhere now or have a bad day I try to listen to this song to put a smile on my face and I wanted to share it with you. In case you can’t view it here are the lyrics:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97. Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you one tip for the future, sunscreen
would be it. The
long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the
rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my
own meandering
experience... I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh,
nevermind, you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until
they've faded. But trust
me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself
and recall in a way
you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous
you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that
worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by
chewing bubblegum. The
real toubles in life are apt to be things that never
crossed your worried
mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle
Tuesday

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't
put up with people who
are reckless with your's.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're
ahead, sometimes you're
behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with
yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the
insults. If you suceed in doing
this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank
statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do
with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22
what they wanted to do
with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still
don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're
gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll
have children, maybe you
won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40. Maybe you'll dance
the funky chicken on
your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do,
don't congratulate
yourself too much or berate yourself either - your
choices are half chance,
so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be
afraid of it, or what
other people think of it... it's the greatest instrument
you'll ever own.

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in
your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines they will only make
you feel UGLY.

CHORUS
Brother and sister together we'll make it through.
Someday your spirit will take you and guide you there.
I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you.
And I'll be there just helping you out whenever I can.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they
might be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they're your best link to your
past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that friends come and go, but for the
precious few you should
hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography
and lifestyle because the
older you get, the more you need the people you knew
when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes
you hard. Live in
Northern California once, but leave before it makes
you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths. Prices will rise,
Politicians will
philander, you too will get old. And when you do, you'll
fantasize that when
you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians
were noble, and children
respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe
you have a trust fund,
maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never
know when either one might
run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're
40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with
those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past
from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly
parts, and
recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

CHORUS

Everybody's free. Everybody's free.

Milestones

Hello everyone! Summer is gone and the weather is getting colder by the day. I was almost surprised how after Labor Day fall made an entrance right away and didn’t spare the summer any time. It’s officially been a year since I have graduated college and boy what a journey it has been. I was lucky to still be able to participate in a lot of Berkeley activities which made me feel like I was still in college but now that I’ve moved away it’s a lot different.

Many times people feel that once you hit 21 all your birthday milestones are over. First you become a teenager, then you have your sweet 16, then you become legal and turn 18 and lastly yours 21 and now you can drink and get into every bar and club (Except boys, sometimes they require you to be 23! He he). From my experience yes, your age milestones are over but you are far from finishing reaching certain milestones.

Now I totally see why people should go to college right after HS rather than work and then go. Once you start earning that money and you get the taste of that money it’s hard to set it aside. Once you earn money you have the tendency to spend it. Maybe you will move out, maybe you will spend it on something that needs monthly payments and then you can’t stop working to go to college because those payments have to be made. Word of advice, if it’s possible, go to college right away!

My latest milestones have been getting my first full time job, getting your first out of college car and moving out on your own. Getting my first full time job was very liberating. I now support myself and I no longer rely on someone else to care for me. Getting your first car feels very achieving because you know you earned it. It’s your baby and you now care for it more than any other car you have had before because you know that you’re responsible for it. If you break it, you have to fix it!

Moving out on my own had definitely been the biggest step for me by far. It has its good sides and it has its bad sides. The good side is that it’s very freeing. You can do what you want, when you want, don’t have to tell anyone where you are going, when you will be back etc. You do things as you please and you have all the freedom you want. On the downside it can sometimes get lonely. I’m very family oriented and sometimes it’s hard for me not to have them around. Another downside is now you need to make rent payments and buy food! You never know how much living on your own costs until you do it so throw those estimates you may have made away!

Life has been really good to me though so I really can’t complain. I have great people around me that do help me get through certain things when life gets tough. It’s very important to keep people close to you and never burn bridges because this world is small and you never know who you may need.

New Job

In my graduation speech I said, “When one door closes, don’t get discouraged because life is just waiting for you to open a better one”. This statement is so correct that it encourages me every day. As you all know I have been job searching for quite some time, and I’ve come across many different obstacles. Many times you feel really discouraged and sometimes even depressed that you may not be able to find anything. All I have to say is that being patient really is a virtue and if you work hard enough your work will pay off.

Beginning of July I started my new job as a Student Service Coordinator at Concorde School Of Hair Design. Concorde is a school for students who are looking to become a cosmetologist and want to get their license. My job is to be the student coordinator and take care of various duties for the students. Majority of my time is spent counseling students about their grades, attendance, and student problems. A big part of my job is also creating school activities, fundraisers, and anything that may make the school more fun and enjoyable for students.

The best part of the job is that I get to have fun on the job! I feel like I am right back in college creating events and running activities for students. Being the SGA president was just that and lucky for me I can bring a lot of that experience into Concorde. Prior to me the school did not have a Student Service Coordinator so it’s great to be able to start from scratch and create everything new that surprises the students.

Now, all fun and games aside, I have to stress to you how important it is to network and always put your best foot forward. The Executive Director of the school knows me from Berkeley College because she used to work there. All my work with the school, volunteering, representing the school and even blogging gave her a good picture of how I am as a person but also as a worker. Every time you do something remember that someone is watching. It may not be a pay off right away, but everything will come back to you in time.

Now as I mentioned my quote earlier, remember everything has its place and time in your life. If a certain door does not open it simply means that it is not meant to be. I have interviewed for many jobs that I would have learned to like but I knew from the start it was not my ideal job. Then came around an opportunity where I knew the job would be something that fits into my life well and something that I would really enjoy.

Back In Business

Hello everyone once again! It has been a while since I have written a blog but I have a good excuse! There have been a lot of changes going on in my life and catching up to them has been quite a challenge even for me. For starters, as I mentioned I got 2 baby puppies who have been growing quite fast. They sure are a handful but they bring many joys to my life. I have moved to Matawan, NJ where I live very close to the beach and enjoy it very much. My last change is that I have found a new job. In addition to that I will be having a lot of visitors starting next week so it was important to get the new apartment put together fast so family and friends can have a nice place to stay.

I'm going to start off where I left off last and try to bring you back up to speed. Last time I wrote Berkeley was still struggling to keep its TAG grant because congress tried taking financial aid away from proprietary schools. One morning I got a random call from Dean Hughes asking me if I was busy and if not if I would be available that day. Lucky for me, I was available because I was still in the midst of a job search and I had the afternoon available.

That day, which was a Wednesday was the last day that we had a chance to meet with the governor of NJ and tell him how we feel about him taking away financial aid from Berkeley. It so happened that this day was New Jersey's birthday! There was an event going on in Trenton where Governor Corzine would be at. Wwould try to speak to him then because this would be the last day before a decision on the budget would be passed. I got to Berkeley around 10:30 am and we left to drive all the way to Trenton. We got there about 3 hours early but we definitely got a good seat. By the time the event started there were about 300 people there.

When the event ended I was on a mission to find the governor and try to speak to him. I knew that he was going to cut the cake that was in the shape of NJ, so I went by the cake to wait for him. At first I thought I probably looked a little ridicules but then I thought of how many students I am doing this for. He cut the cake and started to walk away. I got in line of where he was greeting people and I finally got to speak to him when he came towards me.

I expressed to him how important TAG is to students and what a difference this fund makes to the students. After he found out what I wanted to talk to him about he tried to ignore me. I caught up to him again and told him that its not fair that he is singling out Berkeley College and that he should do something about that. He said that he will "try" even thought I knew he was just saying that to get me away from him.

I was not happy with how Governor Corzine treated me and Berkeley Students. I don't know where he gets the idea that our students are not good students and don't deserve this financial aid grant. Later on in the week I found out that he did pass the budget but without Berkeley in it. I was disappointed because I know many students will have to drop out. Some people are so closed minded and it worries me that people of that kind of power like Governor Corzine is one of them...

What's Important in Picking a College?

Picking a college can be a very challenging process for both parents and students. There are a lot of factors that count and what’s challenging is that students and parents find different factors to matter more than others. For example a student might want small classes and fun activities while a parent might want good price and well educated professors. In the end everyone has to be happy with the decision if parents are helping you pay for college.

It seems like with different generations important factors change over time. Today I believe that for students college is no longer only about education. College is about meeting people, having fun activities, opportunities to grow among your peers, developing good relationships and networking. In life education is only half of what you need. Creating good relationships and networking is very important especially when you graduate college. I never understood why everyone always kept telling me how important networking is. I always thought, “Oh, if I meet this person today they will never remember me in the future”. I never thought that I would need contacts where I could refer to down the line. When I graduated I realized how important networking and creating relationship really is.

The beauty of Berkeley is that it allows students to get a great education and have networking opportunities. Activities between students are very important because you get to meet people with the same goals as you and you are on the same level. Never burn your bridges, you just never know who you will need in life. I have already helped two past Berkeley students get a job with my company where they are thriving and building their business.

Berkeley had a great event called the Spring Soiree. It was like a semi formal dinner/dance where certain students got to go to and networking with other staff members and teachers. Check out some of the pictures:

Change

Change is something that happens to all of us at some point in our lives. Change can be small, or change can be big, it can be good or it could be a bad. Sometimes we decide to go through change where we don’t really know where it’s going to lead us but we are taking a risk in hope for something good. No matter what kind of change it is, we all handle is differently.

Transitioning from being a student to a graduate is a huge change in our lives. Graduating college is always a good change, but what’s waiting for you outside may not always be. You worked hard for 3-4 years to achieve your college diploma and now what? You go out into the work force all excited just to find out that nobody is hiring. You spent $50,000-$100,000 for a degree and it’s not doing anything for you right now. This can be a very scary experience.

This is a change that I am currently going through in my life. I am moving June 25th, and actively searching for a new job. The downside is that there is not much out there. Nobody wants to hire you for a lower end job because you are overqualified. The employer knows that as soon as you find something better that you will quit on them and the time they invested in training you has been wasted. The positions for college students are being filled with people who have a lot experience because they have been laid off from their higher end jobs. I feel like I am stuck in a vicious circle that is not getting me anywhere.

The most important thing is that you stay positive during this change in your life. If you are positive people notice this about you, and it may put you ahead of the game when it comes to job searching. Finding a job is almost like dating! Nobody wants to be with someone who is desperate and who looks miserable all the time. Same thing goes for employers. Nobody will want to hire you if you look miserable and complain all the time.

A book that I believe everyone should read is called “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. It’s a short book, about 90 pages that you can finish in one night. This short cute story is about 4 mice that had their cheese moved on them. The difference between these mice was how they handled this change. This book will really make you relate this story to your life and hopefully help you make certain changes that will help you along the way. Right now my cheese is being moved on me and I am learning how to deal with it too!

DON'T Take the TAG!!!

My plans have changed yet again and now I will be moving to central New Jersey instead of south New Jersey on July 25th. We have found a great two bedroom apartment about 15 minutes from the beach, hardwood floors and each apartment even has its own little yard which will be perfect for the puppies. I had to shift my job search from south New Jersey to central New Jersey. I am still very excited.

About two weeks ago I was at the high school and I received a call from Dean Hughes. At first I was a little confused as to what could he be calling me about but I was happy to hear from him. As everyone knows, TAG is being taken away from certain proprietary schools so that they can fix the budget problem that they have created. Without this grant, many students will have to drop out of college and lose their hopes of finding a good job. For some people this may mean creating higher debt, and having a hard time paying it off after graduation.

When I received the call, Dean Hughes asked me if I would be interested in going to a dinner where we can speak to senators and express our opinions and views. TAG is very important to all of us so we wanted to have the most outspoken people there to represent Berkeley. It was held at the beautiful Sheraton hotel in the Meadowlands. When I came in I automatically spotted Dean Hughes and about 10 other Berkeley students.

First we went to cocktail hour where we networked with other business people, telling them our reason for being here and finding out what it is that they do. After that we went into a small banquet hall and sat down in our assigned seats. Each table had a senator assigned to it, so we could discuss with them our reason for being there. As we were eating dinner certain senators went on stage and discussed their views on certain things and what they hope to accomplish.

Some senators were very determined to make a change and some of them sounded like they really don’t care about what the public wanted. It was very discouraging to see how ignorant some of these people could be when they represent our state. TAG is very important to students and I do not agree that it should be taken away from only certain schools. It’s not fair that some colleges still get to keep the grant and it is being taken away from others. If you’re going to create a change, do the change equally for everyone!

Something New

Life can sometimes become very routine. You get up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat, watch TV, sleep and the same thing happens in the next day and the day after. Even though it may not be so straight cut, sometimes we can get bored of our lives and have a need for something new. That something new could be the smallest change but it can give us a whole new outlook on life.

That’s how I have been feeling for the past few months. My life has become very routine and nothing really changed. After a while of feeling like this you get really bored with yourself and always feel like there is something missing in your life. I didn’t want to feel like this anymore so I did something about it! I got TWO baby Maltichon puppies!

I have wanted a small puppy for a while. Every time I thought about getting it there was always some sort of a BUT. If you think about it every time you want to do something in life there will be some sort of a BUT. Sometimes you need to just go out on a whim and do it. At first I thought to myself OMG what did I get myself into? How am I going to care for these two little faces? Am I going to have enough time to spend with them? The list goes on with the doubts I was having afterwards.

As time went on, the little rascals grew on me. Everything fell into place and we all adjusted to our new lifestyle. They are very cute and fluffy. I ended up getting two because they were brother and sister and I wanted them to keep each other company when I was not around. The girl is named Ella and the boy is named Samson. Samson is a very mellow sleepy little guy and Ella is the little firecracker. Weighing at only 2lb, she is more hyper than any other dog I have ever met in my life. They really bring something new to my life. The laughs that I experience with them were worth every penny and I would not trade it in for the world.

I believe that sometimes you need to make yourself uncomfortable to find motivation in doing things. I was very comfortable at my job and I was slowly losing my motivation because everything became such a routine. Getting the puppies gave me something to work towards so I could feed them and take care of them. It’s almost like having a small child, you can just leave these puppies home alone for a short period of time!

Good Things of Bad Times

Everywhere you turn around you hear nothing but depressing news about the job market and how everyone is suffering. The other day I read in the paper an article that talked about how this is one of the worse times for students to be graduating from college because there are no jobs available. This is actually the worse job situation that we have has since 1983, or so I have read. So what can we do about it?

There are many choices that we can make during this time. We can stay depressed and complain how nothing is going our way, or we can do something about it. One thing I noticed students doing is continuing their education. Since there are no current available jobs now they choose to continue onto their Bachelors degree, Graduate degrees and even Doctorates. They are hoping that by the time they graduate the job market will be much more stable and they can gain back the money that they invested into themselves.

If you can’t find a job, why not make one yourself? Most people are successful not only because they have worked in corporations but because they opened their own business. There is a lot potential if you have a good plan and idea on what it is that you want to do. Beginnings of starting you own business is hard but there is nothing good out there that was easy to accomplish. Sometimes you will have to make some sacrifices, other times you will have to give up everything but if you have a good plan you can trust yourself that everything will work out fine.

The message I am trying to get across here is choose your attitude wisely. Don’t waste your time on negative energy that is not going to get you anywhere anyway. Try only to spend about 10 minutes or so screaming and complaining to get it out of your system, but make sure that’s not all your doing. You attract what you constantly think about so many sure what you are thinking about is really what you want.

Dont Take TAG!!!

I am still a bit angry and fuming about what happened to me and the company that tried to steal my identity. Just when you think you can trust someone you really can’t. We are entering a new crime opportunity and I hope that it doesn’t explode into a new form of identity theft. All I can say about it now is that I’m glad I was smart enough to stop it, and learn from the experience.

Berkeley has been trying really hard to keep the TAG for students. TAG is a government grant to students who meet the income requirements for a grant. Students who would not normally be able to afford going to college get this grant to help them with school expenses. It’s a great gift to students who are really trying to do something with their life. If Berkeley loses this grant many students will likely have to drop out.

The other day I received an e-mail from Berkeley asking the Alumni to stand up for current students and try to save the tag. You can go to a website and let the local governing offices know that students need this and they depend on it. Click here to get the message across

Berkeley students attended Trenton to fight for TAG. Check out their pictures of their time there:

CareerBuilder Fraud and Identity Theft

I have to address something to everyone because it happened to me and I want to prevent this happening to other students. As everyone knows the job market has been really bad and everyone is looking for jobs. Some people are very desperate for jobs and they are willing to do anything just to get the position. In this time, many BAD people have recognized people’s vulnerability and they are taking advantage of it in this time.

I am currently looking for a job in the South/Central Jersey area because I am looking to make my move. I have been applying to jobs on CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, and many other websites. Well on Friday I got a response back from a company which looked perfectly legitimate that they were impressed by my resume and they will like to start my probation employment for 2 weeks to see how I perform. I got really excited but little did I know…

I started asking questions and the job seemed too good to be true. When that starts to happen that should be your first sign that something is up. It was work from your home location, $52,000 a year, paid vacations, health benefits, and the whole 9 yards. The man named Frank who is supposedly the supervisor asked me to contact a woman named Emma who is another manager that will be in charge of my training. I contacted Emma and usually all the e-mails between me and the managers I always got a response within 30 minutes or so.

I asked Emma questions such as
Where do I submit my tax information for payroll?
How is most communication held, e-mail/phone/instant messenger?
How will assignments be delegated and delivered?

I got a response back but none of my questions were answered. Instead Emma told me a little story about herself and what she wanted from me. When I was reading what requirements I needed to provide I was appalled. First they wanted me to sign and send back a signed employment agreement that they provided for me. Then she told me I need to find our things from my bank such as how much can I transfer each day? What are the charges for me to transfer money from one bank to the next? How late is my bank open? What’s the banks address?
Then they actually had the nerve to ask me my bank name, account number, pin number, name on the account, what kind of account it is, wire routing number and ACH routing number. I was told to deliver all that information to them as soon as possible and they will then continue with my employment.

Now, needless to say if I gave them ALL that information my bank account would likely be empty when I went to check it. I knew better, but many people don’t. Some people are very desperate for a job where they would give all that information just so that they don’t sabotage their chances of getting the position. I learned a lot from this experience.

I would strongly recommend being careful what’s out there. Technically when you send your resume to someone you really don’t know where that resume is going. I have even stopped putting my full address on my resumes. There is no need for an employer to know my home street address unless he already hires me. You may be sending all this information to someone without even knowing who they are. If I didn’t know any better my identity would have been stolen. They would have known my whole address, my employment history, my bank account information and who knows what else.

I have filed complaints about this company in different places. The company’s name is P&A Properties and they supposedly invest and buy properties around the world. I filed at the Better Business Burroughs, sent a complaint to CareerBuilder where I found the position, RipOffReport.com and Fraud.com. I want to prevent the problem before it happens to others. After I told them that I appreciate the opportunity I was not interested because I don’t feel comfortable, I no longer for a 30 minute response back. Read over the e-mails I have received to be aware of what to watch out for:

During your trial you are supposed to handle at least one transaction. Let me make this point very clear using our current assignment as an example. P&A Properties needs to receive a deposit payment for the sold property. The buyer has confirmed that the payment is scheduled to go through within these few coming days. Once the transfer is made and funds are available in my account I have to forward it to the property owner.
Normally it’s done via bank transfer. But sometimes property owners prefer another way of receiving funds - money transfer systems like MoneyGram or Western Union. In such cases I have to physically withdraw cash from my bank account and then send it to the assigned
destination via Western Union or MoneyGram. I’m yet to hear back from them as to which method of payment they prefer.
P&A Properties provides an escrow services for the investors – that’s why these transfers are not being made directly to the property owners.
Anyway you should be able to send payment using any of the above methods, and here’s what we’ll do to avoid possible mistakes.
1) You need to find the nearest locations of both MoneyGram and Western Union and email their addresses and phone numbers to me.
2) You should call your bank to find out:
How much you can withdraw from your account per day (via ATM and in person via the counter). The limits may be too low without you even knowing it, so please check this out.
Check with your bank if you can make international transfers and how much this will cost you.
If wire transfer has been made - does it go directly to your bank account or does it go thorough the correspondent bank?
3) I will provide the client with the banking details of yours for the transfer I’ve mentioned earlier so the details required from you are as follows:
Bank name:
Your Local Bank branch address:
Account holder name:
Account type (checking, savings etc.):
Account number:
Wire Routing:
ACH Routing:
4) I’ll need your current address to complete all necessary paperwork for the hiring process.

Washington DC Trip

Right after graduation I drove down to Washington DC. I decided to give myself some type of reward for achieving what I have achieved and I thought that’s a nice trip that’s not too far away and would be perfect. We ended up leaving at about 2pm and didn’t actually get to Washington until 8pm!!! I was so exhausted I was very happy to find the hotel we stayed at was very nice and welcoming.

We stayed in Virginia and took the Metro into Washington DC. We chose to do that to save time and money on finding parking and gas. We drove to Washington DC with the top down the whole way so I had a very weird tan. We arrived at the Union Station the next day and the first thing we did was take the DC Duck tour around town to see where everything was located. The weather was REALLY hot!

After the Duck tour, we walked around the park and looked for Cherry Blossoms. Washington DC is known for its Cherry Blossom festival, but when we arrived there most of the Cherry Blossoms were already bloomed and gone. I wish I could have seen them but at the same time I’m glad they were gone because Stephen had very bad allergies. When he started sneezing it was like 8 sneezes at a time! It drove me crazy. Newark is also known for Cherry Blossoms. There is a park in Newark that actually has more Cherry Blossoms than Washington DC. It’s hard for me to believe because I know how many Washington has, but it would be very nice to see.

Berkeley has a campus in Newark. I think it would be a great trip to take and let students relax with classmates around the Cherry Blossoms. I know that Berkeley has a Nature class where they focus on being “Green” and Berkeley is slowly transforming into being a “Green” school as well. We recycle paper, bottles, and plant trees during Earth Day. Last year we made grocery bags so that we don’t waste plastic bags and tie dyed t-shirts and represented how “Green” we are.

Something sad I noticed about Washington DC is all the homeless people. Our country always comes to the aid of other countries but yet we are struggling in this country. You would think the US Capitol would not have so many homeless people but that is the reality. Sometimes I wish I could do a documentary about homeless people. Nobody ever really talks to them. I wonder what their story is. How did they get to be where they are today? What events took place in their life to make them end up where they are today? Teaching HS students I think it would be a great reality check for them to see the mistakes people make. How quickly can your life spiral down from one simple mistake that you may have made? Maybe it’s something I will do one day.

Speech

I had some students ask me to post my written speech on my blog because they wanted to print it out. I was told they found it very inspiring and would like to print out the words. You can also view the video of the speech on my last Blog as well as the recording on the Berkeley website of the graduation ceremony.
Here it is…
-Good morning fellow Graduates! As your student body president I would like to congratulate all of you for accomplishing your goal and achieving a college degree.
-First, I would like to speak on our behalf and thank everyone that helped us get to this point.
• Administrators, you were always there to help us in any way that you could,
• Professors, you set us on the right path by giving us knowledge, and
• Parents, you helped us when the going got tough.
-I would like to say a special thank you to my dad and Stephen for always being my rock when I was feeling shaky.
-Now, let’s take a look at the road ahead of us:
-Berkeley gave us the foundation, but what happens from this point on is what will leave a permanent fingerprint on our souls. Follow your heart and don’t spend your time trying to win over your critics because your destiny is determined by YOU, not your critics.
- You were given one life, so make the best of it. Respect others but most importantly respect yourself because every one of us has something to offer that nobody else can.
-Strive for self improvement. Instead of trying to break bad habits, try replace them with good ones. Happiness does not depend on your circumstances; it’s a choice that you make. Live your life in a positive way and smile because a smile is a cheap way to improve your looks.
-When one door closes, stay positive because life is just waiting for you to open a better one. Don’t get discouraged, faith does not instantly deliver to you, but it does carry you though.
-Lastly, you attract what you constantly think about. Stay passionate about life and be grateful for what you have, not what you are missing. Take each battle as a challenge and not as a problem and you will grow strong.
-Remember, learn from life, smile and appreciate the journey. You only have one chance to do so.
-Your first journey with Berkeley is over, but it doesn’t have to be your last one. Become proud Alumni and don’t forget that Berkeley is here for you!
-Congratulations class of 2009!

Graduation!

Graduation went great!!! The overall ceremony was really nice, everyone had fun and we all got some great pictures. The whole ceremony lasted about three to four hours but it went by so quickly we barely noticed the time go by.

My morning started very interesting. I accident set my alarm clock for 6PM instead of AM and my alarm clock never went off. Lucky for me I’m used to waking up at 6AM to teach so I woke up anyway. I got ready and I left the house at about 7AM. Hit a little bit of traffic but I knew I didn’t really need to be there until 8AM. I was worried that it would be complicated to get there because I have never been there but it was quite easy. I figured they have to make the stadium pretty dummy proof since it is made for the public.

I got there at about the same time that Ale did. We ended up walking in together and greeting everyone. It was great to see everyone because we have not seen them in a long time. When it was time to line up Ale and I had to separate. She had to go on the line to sit with the graduates while I sat up front since I had to give a speech. My dad and Stephen sat very close to me at the bottom so it was very easy for them to take pictures. Everyone looked so good!

The ceremony started off with talking from different board members and deans. After that we got right to handing out diplomas to the graduates. Sitting up front I felt like I was at a shoe fashion show. Some girls wore beautiful shoes and some wore crazy shoes that made you wonder how they don’t hurt. When it was finally my turn to get my diploma my biggest worry was that I don’t trip. Lucky for me I did great, but I did see about three girls almost fall if it wasn’t for Mr. Wood catching them at the bottom of the stairs.

Following the distribution of the diplomas was my time for the speech. I was very nervous but I don’t think I showed it. I walked up the stage and stood right behind the podium. My feet were wobbly all over but I had a great smile on my face. I had to make sure I’m not speaking too fast or too slow and that everyone got the message across. I think I did a good job. When I was done I got a loud cheer and a lot of clapping. It was a great feeling. On my way down from the stage my sleeve got stuck on the railing and I had to unhook it! It seemed like everything went in slow motion for me. I remember every tiny detail of those 3 minutes that felt like 3 hours.

After the ceremony was over Ale and I had to find Ms. Young because she said she had something for us. Ms. Young has done so much for us already that I was surprised that she had something else for us too. We got really nice Berkeley Alumni t-shirts with a graduate picture frame and a card that was signed by everyone at the Garret Mountain campus. It was a really nice surprise. My dad and Stephen got me two dozen of roses and my friends got me cards. We took a ton of pictures and the event went really well.

I am so excited that I have finally completed everything there is to college. Done with classes, got my diploma, and now walked graduation. Even thought the economy is not doing too good for current graduates we have to stay positive and take this as a learning experience of how to get though in hard times. Its better we learn now when most of us don’t have many responsibilities like mortgages, families etc. Eventually everything will turn around for us, but for now, let’s be happy and excited that we have completed a very important step in our lives!

Pictures!!!

Bad Economy Hitting Me

One more day until graduation day and I am slowly starting to get anxious. Lucky for me I don’t really get nervous, I just get anxious and excited. I never had a hard time talking in front of people and doing presentations. I know for some people it’s a very hard experience to go through and it creates a lot of problems for them. I hope that I can sleep well tonight so I am well rested for tomorrow morning!

The economy has been doing very poorly for a little over a year now where people have been really feeling the stress of everything sinking. People can’t retire because their retirement plans sunk, families are losing their homes because they can’t make payments, children are living in stress because they see their parents worry and cry and the nation is suffering. It seems like everything just turned sour with a snap of a finger.

The poor economy has not been affecting me personally because I am fortunate to have a good job, a home to live in and I am still able to bring in a paycheck each month. This all changed yesterday when I got my first punch from the economy. For the first time I saw people I know and care about get fired right in front of my eyes because of the economy. Two days ago was the budget election for public schools to see if the budget passes or fails. The budget ended up not being passed and some teachers had to be laid off. The high school was already going to lay off 7 people because of lack of funds but now they have to lay off even more. There were three additional people that I know of that got laid off all in the same day.

It was such a hard sight to see because I know and care about these people. Some cried, some looked very upset and some just tried to laugh it off but you could see that they were really hurt and devastated on the inside. Some of them were very good teachers but when it comes to jobs its last in first out. If you were to last one to be hired, you are likely to be the first one fired. It’s a really scary world out there. You are living paycheck to paycheck and you don’t even know if you will have a job next month to take care of your family with.

I hope that things change soon. We are bailing out these huge companies where the CEO’s and owners are sitting happy and won’t contribute any of their money to fix the mistakes they made. While all these bailouts are going on people are starving and losing their homes because the money instead of going back to where it came from (taxpayer’s money) it’s going to companies that many of us are not even associated with.

Lower Your Interest Rate

The other day I have received my first loan payment for my student loan that I have taken out. I ended up with about $17,000 in student loans. It’s a large number but when I think about what kind of loans other people have it doesn’t make me feel so bad. The original plan was that my family was going to help me pay for the student loans and I wouldn’t have to worry about them. What happened was that I needed a new car because my other car broke down and we switched responsibilities. My family paid for my car and I took on my student loan because the interest rate was much lower than I was going to get for the car.

My payments are about $200 a month which is not that bad. I will likely pay much more a month to get rid of the payment faster, but it still ends up being a lot in the end. Something really interesting I learned this week is that if you set up an automatic payment plan you can lower your interest rate. How cool is that? When you get your first payment you have an option of paying three ways. One, you can pay by check. Second, you can get e-mail reminders and pay online. Third, you can have automatic payment set up. Check out this link for LOWERING YOUR INTEREST RATE. It’s located on the right hand side and it says Lower Your Interest Rate. I have not yet don’t it so I don’t know how much my interest will go down but I will keep everyone informed.

There are many people who struggle with student loans these days especially in this economy. Something as small as a change in interest rate can help you make the payments each month. Many people don’t know that even if you file for bankruptcy you cannot get rid of your student loan. It is a government given loan and you cannot get rid of it until you pay it off. It’s a loan that sticks with you but many students would not be able to go to college without this loan.

I heard that the state is trying to take away they TAG grants for students. TAG is a government program where they give money to students in need. I know many students who get it and without it they would likely not be able to go to college. Next Tuesday the SGA of Berkeley is going to Trenton, NJ to try and fight against them taking away the loan. Too many students rely on this money. The government is bailing out companies where the CEO’s are going on vacations but yet students are struggling daily to make ends meet. I hope something can be done about it.

Career Fair Spring 2009

Only three days left until graduation and I have finally started practicing my speech. I know it’s late but I have been very caught up with other work where it was hard to find the time. I invited everyone that I could think of and I’m very excited to see everyone there. I will be going to JCPenney’s to have to graduation pictures taken because it is much cheaper. They only change $3.99 for a sheet which includes any type of pictures that can fit on a piece of paper. They really have a great deal. Here is the link for their Photo Studio.

Last Friday was the career fair which was held at the Radisson Hotel in NYC. The location was beautiful and I had a really good time. I woke up early so that I could get to the bus station and for some reason I felt very draggish all day. I was debating with myself about 10 times if I want to go or not even thought I knew that I had to go. I got to the bus at about 9am, and I arrived in the city at about 9:45. I got really lucky because the day was beautiful.

The hotel was very easy to get to from Port Authority. Google maps helps when it comes to directions. Not only can you get driving directions but you can even get walking directions too. It took me about 15 minutes to walk to the hotel. I arrived there and at first I was confused where to go but then I asked the front desk. The career fair was on the second floor in a very large rooms. There were about 50 different companies there. A lot of them were fashion companies, state and government jobs and then there were a fair amount of private companies as well.

I knew that I would likely not find a job there because I am looking to relocate to South Jersey but I figured I would go network and give it a shot anyway. I spoke to many students because I wanted to let them know that my company is expanding as well. I was unable to have a table at the career fair because Berkeley already had a company that covered the financial field. I didn’t mind walking around and talking to students because it seemed much more personal than just sitting down and expecting people to come to me.

Everyone seemed to be so excited about the graduation. They all couldn’t wait to walk up that stage and show everyone what they have accomplished. I ended up leaving the career fair around 12:30. I took a slow stroll through the city, eating my Nuts 4 Nuts peanuts, relaxing and enjoying the pace of the city. This was my first experience going to a career fair in NYC and it was a great one. I look forward to attending another one.

Benefits of Being Involved

When I was in college it seemed that students thought that getting involved in their school was a waste of time for them. Since Berkeley College is mostly a commuter school students were in and out and didn’t do much more besides go to classes. When I look at students at Berkeley now, I see a totally different atmosphere around the campus. There is a much better attitude among the students.

I always loved getting involved because it kept me occupied and I was able to stand out among my peers. I was able to participate and be involved in great things that many were not. These things involved Leadership Retreats, Leadership seminars, meetings with the President as well as various Board Members and much more. All the experience that I got was very helpful to my resume.

I still try to get involved today and reap the benefits of it. The other day Amy Young, the Student Development Director, asked me if I would be interested in a ticket to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the NJPAC. Jesus Christ Superstar is a musical that was very popular about 30 years ago when a group of people tried to remake the story of Jesus into a fun and entertaining musical. They got a lot of negative feedback because people were offended about what they have done but they kept the show going anyway and made it into a very popular musical that is back today. Of course I said that I would go! The show was on Saturday and it was so much fun. I got to see a lot of Berkeley students I have not seen in a while and chat about what is new on campus. We had really good seats, front row on the third tier. I didn’t end up getting home until about 11pm, but it was very well worth it.

Only two more weeks until graduation! I still have not practiced my speech but I will get on it today. I don’t want to over practice it because it won’t sound natural if I have it memorized like a poem. I still have to let everyone at work know about the graduation and that they are all welcome to come. I can’t wait, I am so excited.

Eva's Village

This week was a breeze because kids had spring break so I did not have to teach during the week. I actually spent my week down in South Jersey where I am planning on moving and trying to do some job searching. I also contacted career services to see how they can guide me since that service is available to me.

Thursday I had Amy Young, the Student Development Director contact me if I would be interested in coming back and participating in an activity since they had some spots. I said of course I could! The activity was one that Berkeley has been doing for quite some time, Eva’s Village Soup Kitchen. When I was still the president we did Eva’s Village Trips very often but I was always unable to go because it would conflict with my work schedule.

When I arrived on Friday at 10am I met Amy and everyone else in the Student Center. We all got to wear Berkeley t-shirts to show where we are from. We arrived at about 11am and we got right to work. First we put the napkins, rolls, cups, and each person got a desert too. Then Mike, who was the person in charge, took us to tell us about the program and how well it has been doing. They are the only program that has been running for 25 years solely by food donations from Private businesses. I was really amazed. They offered us all the food for us to have a little bit of a snack and then we got back to work!

Everything seemed to be so well organized. When time came to let the people in, they only allowed 8 people in at a time to sit at each table. Everyone sat quietly and was very respectful. I was in charge of coffee for my row of tables. It was really nice to greet everyone as I was passing out their coffee to them. For lunch that day they had Tuna pasta salad which was REALLY good! After everyone ate we cleaned up and ended the day.

It was such a great experience especially right before the holiday. It makes you count your blessing and not complain about what it is that we don’t have. I met really great people who showed me how important it is to stay on track in life. You just never know what life is going to bring your way, so be prepared for anything!

Check out the pictures from the event:

Online Help For Students

I’m not sure how many students really know all the benefits that Berkeley really offers. Whenever you need help with anything you always have someone there to answer your questions. If you have writing questions you go to the ASC Center, you have activity questions you go to Student Development and if you have technical problems you call the IT department. Everything is made so convenient for you.

About a week ago I was trying to log into my Blackboard account and it was just not allowing me to log in. I was getting very frustrated and I finally gave up thinking that Blackboard might be having some issues. About a week later, which was yesterday I was once again trying to log into Blackboard and I was unable to do so. I tried it about 5 times thinking that I was putting in the wrong password since Berkeley changed all of our passwords to more secure ones. The passwords used to be our last 4 digits of our social security numbers but now they are a certain code that you use within Berkeley. I like this system a lot better.

I really needed to get into Blackboard because I needed to look up some staff e-mails. I knew that I had to contact the IT department but I really didn’t want to sit on the phone. Well a great feature that Berkeley has is that you can get any help that you need right online! It’s like talking on AIM to the help desk where they will answer any of your questions. I spoke to someone named Greg and they were very helpful. He was able to reset my password within 5 minutes and I was able to log into my account without a problem.

A few minutes go by and I checked my e-mail. In my e-mail I was e-mailed the whole conversation that I had with Greg. This shows me that Berkeley is so confident in their services that they have no problem e-mailing you proof that your problem was solved properly and efficiently.

Graduation time is getting closer and closer! On Monday all the students that will be walking graduation gathered at the Student Center to pick up their cap and gowns. I came around 6pm because at 5:30 I met with Dr. Farington to talk about my speech and ways to improve it. It was so great to see everyone there! I saw Amy Young, Dean Hughes, different professors, and all my old friends that I lost touch with.

When you come into the Student Center first thing you did was pick up your tickets. Each student got 6 tickets, but you can really bring unlimited amount of people because tickets are not checked at the door. The IZOD Center is really big, so I highly doubt that they would ever run out of room for all the family members. As you walked around the student center, you saw different other things that you could get to enhance the look of your diploma or get your pictures taken. You also had the option of getting a college ring. I saw many students filling out the forms to get their college rings, but I was not get one of them.

They also had a broad range of entertainment for us too. We had snacks, fruit, and best of all my FAVORITE peanut butter cookies. Berkeley never fails me with their peanut butter cookies. We also had a caricaturist. He drew really nice pictures of the students who had the chance to get a drawing. Here is mine and Ale’s:

Before we left we had to have our picture taken with Dean Hughes and Amy Young. We all worked so close when we were there that we wanted another picture for a lasting memory. Check it out!

Bergen Campus

In my previous blog I mentioned that I was going to apply for a position at Berkeley which I did. I got called in for an interview and I have to say that I had a great experience. I had my first interview on Monday and my second interview on Tuesday. After I finished the interviews I had to go home and do a one hour test online that they give to all applicants to see if they really are as good as they say they are. The test cracked me up a little because I felt like I was taking the SAT’s. It tested your honestly, grammar, spelling, math skills, and other things too. I think I did well!

I have not heard back from anyone yet, but I am hoping for the best. It would be really great to work for Berkeley. One of the fun things about the interview was that I got to see the Bergen campus for the first time. I have never been to that campus because I never had the need to take any classes there. The campus is significantly smaller than Garret Mountain but it’s still a very nice campus. The building and the rooms have a very modern feel to them. The ceilings and doors are very tall which gives you a perception of a very wide open space.

There are a lot of administration offices and departments there too. You have the marketing department, accounting, payroll, admissions and much more. Carol Allen Cavino gave me a whole tour of the building. What I really liked seeing is the lab classes for sketching and drawing. In these classes students have the ability to draw designs and then bring them to life by making their creations. Our students have great talent from the artwork that I saw in some of the classrooms.

I have been working hard on my speech for graduation. I am constantly adding things, taking things out, and every time I read it I see something that can be changed. Sometimes I feel like it will never be finished. There is less than a month left till we walk down that arena with our friends and family members around us. I am slowly becoming very anxious.