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.

Some Changes

I am so thrilled to say that I have been chosen to give a short speech at graduation for the graduating class. I sent an e-mail to Dean Hughes asking him if it would be possible that I give a speech to the students. He responded back to me that he will give me an answer as soon as he can. About a week later I get a call from the Dean telling me that I will be able to give my speech. The funny thing is that little did I know they were debating about having a student speak at graduation already. I didn’t know that I was one of the choices so it was funny that I e-mailed about it. My intuition was speaking to me.

I went on the Berkeley website the other day and I was just messing around with it to see what’s new, what’s old, and what’s going on around the campus. I came across the employment section and I noticed that Berkeley is hiring for a Social Networking Coordinator position. I got really excited and decided to send in my resume. I enjoy what I do now, but since I can do that in the evenings being able to work with Berkeley would be great. It would be very exciting.

I wanted to apply for the position because I miss Berkeley dearly. I loved being involved, loved being around the students and being able to influence students around me. Social networking is so important in today’s world that it’s great to see that Berkeley is keeping up with the times and staying on top of their game when it comes to students. I teach during the days right now anyway at a high school so being able to do something for Berkeley instead would be very rewarding for me. We will see how things turn out. It would be funny to see my blog turn from a student’s point of view to an emploee’s point of view.

Today is the first day of spring. Do we see spring? Absolutely not, it snowed this morning! Winter gives spring yet another punch in the nose. Just as it was getting warm and nice out winter comes back in full swing. I can’t wait till the nice weather approaches again. I actually took the top down off my car the other day when it was 65 degrees and tried it out. My favorite part about spring is finally shedding the layers. Don’t need to put on a coat, wear 5 layers of clothing and just being able to go outside without worrying if you’re going to be warm.

Graduation Speach

I sent an e-mail to Dean Hughes and Amy Young about graduation. I asked them if it’s possible that I could speak to my fellow students at the graduation ceremony at the IZOD Center. Many people tough it would be crazy to speak in front of that many people but having the satisfaction of saying motivating and inspiring words to my fellow Alumni is very rewarding and beats any fear I may have.

I think that this would be a great addition to graduation. Last year I was at the graduation because as the student body president I guided them into the IZOD center for them to receive their diploma. The graduation ceremony itself was wonderful and very meaningful but I felt it needed something more. It was great that the interim president at that time spoke to us as well as the different people on the board of trustees. The Dean also said many meaningful words but I still felt like something was missing.

I thought about it for a little bit and thought that maybe we need a student to speak at the graduation as well. I think it would be great if we could hear something from someone who is going through the same motions and changes that they are. It could be very meaningful to the students. I want to leave the students with a few words that will set them on their way and make them look forward to the future with their chin up and hopes high. I should be hearing an answer back from Dean Hughes sometime this week so I will keep you updated on what will happen with that.

Benefits of Being an Alumni

This weekend was the Berkeley Leadership Retreat. Thought I don’t know many details from it just yet, but I am very eager to find out how it went and the things that they learned. Last year the Leadership Retreat was in Princeton, NJ. It was a lot of fun because in the evening we all went out on the town and enjoyed time with our friends. We had a pool, hot tubs, karaoke machine and great food. They were definitely times I will never forget.

About a week ago I got the March Alumni Newsletter. It’s great that we can still stay connected with Berkeley after graduation. There were some opportunities for graduated to come back and give speeches to current students as well as other Alumni. Everyone is involved in different careers and it’s great to see where the students have gone and what they are doing. Nothing is better than learning from our fellow Alumni about what they have learned in life.

I filled out a sheet where if they ever need a speaker I am always available to come back and talk. Often my company and I do seminars at churches, schools, or different organizations where we educate people about ways to create a budget, how to effectively save for retirement and best ways to start saving for college and different simple concepts that could help you be more efficient in life. In today’s world everyone is looking for a little bit of guidance and it feels great to give people that help.

I also mentioned that I am able to offer internships to students who are interested in management and building their own business because we have a system that will actually have a simulation of building their own business. Berkeley is a big business school and many students would eventually like to start their own business. In this program they would master discipline, following up, looking for leads, and advertising. It’s a really great opportunity for students who are looking to build.

Tips

We are getting closer and closer to graduation which makes me very excited! In this blog I wanted to go over some things I learned when I was in college. I wrote about this at the beginning of my blogging career, but I think it’s very important to go over again. These guidelines can save you time and money in your college career. The Career Counselors at Berkeley always go over these things with you but sometimes it’s good to hear it from another student.
TIP 1: Keep track of how many credits you are taking and if you are on track.
As you know, you need to reach a certain amount of credits in order to graduate. When I was a student my maximum credits that I could take without paying extra was 18 credits. One summer I decided to only take 12 credits because it was my first summer in college and I wanted a little bit of a break. Some quarters I chose to only take 15 credits or 16 because I didn’t always want to max out my potential. Eventually what I realized was that because of doing that my graduation date was being moved back. I could have taken more than 18 credits in a quarter after I realized that but it would have cost me a lot more extra. Once you fall back it’s not that easy to get back on track. Lesson in this is to make sure that you are on track with your graduation date. Dont fall behind!

TIP 2: Take advantage of the language tests!
Berkeley College is filled with students with different nationalities, cultures, and languages. Berkeley offers you a test that you can take to eliminate 12 credits from your requirements. I speak Polish so I chose to take this test. You can take the test at the Berkeley campus or you can take it at New York University. The test costs about $300 and it takes 3 hours. After you pass the test you can get up to 12 credits towards your degree. That many credits can be considered a whole quarter! Think of how much money you could be saving by paying for this test instead of paying for a whole quarter. This test is what saved me from having to move my graduation date to a later date.

TIP 3: Get involved!
I cannot stress enough how many opportunities being involved has given me. I was able to travel, meet different types of people, participate in interesting projects and create memories I would not have normally had. College is not just about education, it’s about the experience of meeting people and being exposed to different situations that make you grow stronger. Don’t miss out on your opportunity and experience.