Donations and the Holiday Spirit

Having a break is lovely, but having nothing to do drives me nuts! Berkeley College is having a fundraiser where they are collecting new and used toys. These toys will go to kids in the local area as their holiday presents. This was a great opportunity to clean out my spare closet of all the stuff I never use. I donated about 15 computer games, journals, board games, and 2 HUGE bears!

My day started off with trying to get my car out of the snow and ice which took me about 40 min. It was totally stuck, my dad eventually had to come back home and pull my car out. Because I shoved the 2 huge bears in the back seat and the rest of the stuff in the front, my dad thought I was crazy. He said “What, you need two friends to ride with you in the back?” Check out my new friends!




When I got to the campus it was so empty because everyone is on a break. One thing I noticed was the wonderful pine smell. Berkeley College is located on top of a mountain surrounded by trees of all kinds. Smelling the pines and seeing the snow really put me in the holiday spirit which made me feel even better about donating all these toys.

In With the New

Starting with the new quarter, there is some changes coming along in my life as well. As of January, I am no longer only the president of the International Business Club, but the president of the Student Government Association (SGA) at the Garret Mountain Campus. I decided to do this because I really like to be involved and know what going on where. By holding this position I can organize events, look over other clubs, and be involved with not only one club, but all!

With this position comes a lot of responsibility. Not only am I going to represent Berkeley College, but the student body as well. Its important to be available for events such as Club Convention each quarter, as well as meetings. The SGA meetings will be help every Tuesday at 3:30. If you are interested to join, feel free to show up any time! We have a great Vice President named Edgar and our reliable secretary Travis. We hope to have a fun, eventful quarter.

On Wednesday Ms. Young, Travis, the former SGA president, Edgar who was conference in, and myself had a meeting to make specific arrangements. We talked about what the SGA expects from the new members as well as what Student Development at Berkeley expects from us. It was important to go over rules and steps we need to take in order to be a successful organization.

There is a lot of planning and organizing to do, but for right now I’m going to relax and enjoy me two weeks off on my break! Enjoy!!!

Woo Hoo Fall Qurter is OVER!

Classes are officially over today! I’m so excited because I really need a break. I had a few final papers due which went pretty well. The professors were very nice but still kept us busy all quarter. Next quarter I am taking three classes on campus and two classes online. One of the online classes I was scheduled to take on campus but that class was canceled. In order not to lose those credits, they put me in the online version of the class.

I have never taken an online class because I like the in class experience. In order to take online classes you have to pass a short review online to prove that you have the knowledge of using Blackboard. I’m a person who learns by having someone teach things to me, but since I have no other choice but to take the online classes, we will see how it goes.

The Ms. Berkeley International Pageant is back in action with a new name! It is now going to be called Ms. Berkeley International Celebration. Because the name changes the meaning of the event, we have not yet decided if the program of the event will change. Either way, I’m sure the event will be a lot of fun!

Snow here, snow there, snow everywhere! It took me 40 minutes to dig my car out of snow this morning. I am so lucky I did not have classes or any finals today, because I would have definitely been late!

Fashion!

Interested in the Fashion Program at Berkeley? Well, I'm not a fashion major, but here are some cool displays I see around campus that the fashion department does. I thought everyone would like to see them! Its cool how they change every so often and display different styles and eras.

Pizza for the Class!

Yesterday was such a fun day in class! Since this is the last week of regular scheduled classes, the professors are finalizing things and giving us our last tests. Yesterday was our last day of class for my World Cultures class with Professor Kulik (she raises Alpacas!). It was the day to present our final projects, but the professor was kind enough to buy pizza and drinks for the whole class! I was so glad to hear that because I was starving since I didn’t have time to eat dinner before I came to class.


Our final project was about doing a movie/presentation in either Windows Moviemaker or PowerPoint about an experience with another culture. I did mine about Polish Christmas since that is my favorite event of the year. First I talked about what the holiday is about and what are some of the traditions. This includes Polish food such as pierogi, makowjec, karp, sledzie etc. I then went on to show pictures of my Christmas spent in Poland and how I continue the traditions living in America today.


Other students had very interesting presentations. It’s amazing how culturally rich our class was. Almost everyone had a different country that they presented on. Some stories were touching, some were scary and some were funny. One girl told us a story of when she went on vacation and she was kidnapped in Cuba. I cannot imagine the experience that she must have gone through. She said the reason she survived and they released her was because she gave them money. Another story I found interesting was one about a girl who went to Jamaica with her friend to visit family and spend time at a resort. She explained her culture shock and how glad she is to live in the United States. It really cracked me up when she was talking about cows and goats being used as lawn mowers.


I enjoyed that class very much. It touched on a lot of interesting subjects and the professor uses great methods to teach. I strongly recommend taking this class to anyone who is considering. It’s fun, exciting, and you get introduced to things that you have never known before.

Upset But Happy

Today Berkeley College is having a blood drive which is a great opportunity for students to help the community. I got excited when I found out because I have never donated blood before and I wanted to help out during the holiday season. What better way to help someone than to give them a chance at life?

Well, I went to the Student Center at 10am, just to find out that I cannot give blood! This is because I was born in Europe and have traveled there. They are afraid that anyone traveling to Western Europe may have the Mad Cow Disease. I found this to be very ridiculous.

We have such a diverse student body at Berkeley that they may be turning away so much potential blood. I’m sure a large number of students here have been born, or traveled to Europe within their lifetime. I was told that the Mad Cow Disease is a very rare disease that is normally not found in humans but could infect the human species if they eat nerve tissue (the brain and spinal cord) of cattle that were infected with mad cow disease. I’m pretty sure I have NEVER in my lifetime eaten cow brain nor spinal cord.

I just think it’s really sad that so many people want to donate but can’t. Many people in the United States are dying because of a lack of blood and people are being turned down because of such slim chances of having a disease. At least I’m glad to see that Berkeley is trying to make a difference by offering the Red Cross to come to the school. The blood that they receive will be a great gift for someone who needs it the most. There is no better holiday gift to give than life.

Space for Posters

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

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




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

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

Turkey Day Break is Over

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

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

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

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

Ms. Berkeley International Pageant

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

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

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

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

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

Agrivation Solved!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Agrivation Solved!

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

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

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

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

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

Meeting

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

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

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

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

Schedule is Done!

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

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

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

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

Berkeley College Career Fair

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scheduling Classes

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

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

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

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

Getting Ready for the Career Fair

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

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

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

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

Sick and Still Busy

Sneezing here, sneezing there, I just can’t stop sneezing. The weather has turned to freezing, with this morning’s temperatures in the high 20s and unfortunately some classrooms don’t feel much better, especially at 8am. I’m going to the doctor today after class because I am feeling sick!

This weekend I started working on my Market Research paper which was really fun. I went to Borders with someone to scope out some of my subjects. It was a good idea to bring someone so that they can look at books while I appear as though I am waiting for them. This didn’t make me look as suspicious as standing alone, looking at people and writing things down. It was fun to analyze people and make assumptions about them. It’s kind of interesting how all the people that I analyzed had many things in common. I will write up my paper later on this week.

I also have to make my winter schedule this week. I meant to do it a while ago but I was just being lazy. I thought that maybe by now most classes would be filled but surprisingly many classes are still open. Hopefully it can stay this way for another day of two!

Well, its time to get going to my Intercultural Communication class and take a test. Wish me luck!

Whats going on in all the classes?

This week went by fast. There are so many things going on around campus but I feel like I’m missing out on so much because I’m so busy with homework and work. I don’t think I have ever seen so many activities going on. Between plays (Dracula), trips to Philadelphia and Six Flags, a Halloween costume contest, Halloween costume parties, Jazz Music Night, flag football and so on, there is something to please everyone. I just wish I had time!

This week’s classes went by pretty smoothly. In my Business Policy and Strategy class, we pretty much just went over the chapter and talked more about our final paper that’s a huge part of our grade. For some reason I just can’t get into my Intercultural Communication class. I find the book to be very dry and not really interesting. We discuss some things in class regarding the subject but I feel like we’re talking more about differences in culture than communication between cultures. I’m sure some people enjoy the class, but I’m just not one of them.

I really enjoy my World Cultures class though. This week the class was short but we have a discussion board assignment due that was pretty interesting to read. It was about an island there people lived and slowly destroyed the natural resources therefore they had to move away and the island life slowly became extinct. It then brought attention to our current lives and despite humans knowing what they are doing, many don’t care about the environment. Maybe someday humans will become extinct as well. We also had an assignment due where we had to post a presentation of our pictures were going to use for our final project. My project is going to be on Christmas in the Polish culture.

My Market Research class is also going well. We have a very interesting project due next week which I’m actually looking forward to doing. This is the assignment:

Observation Research: Due Next Week in Class

Spend at least an hour at a grocery store, electronics store, book store, or toy store as if you were another shopper. Casually add items to your basket but spend most of your time in one area. In the grocery store it will be in the breakfast cereals; in the electronics store it will be in the big screen TV area; in the book store you will go to the self-help section; and at the toy store you will spend your time in the action toys.

Make notes about who you see there. Be specific as to age, gender, and general appearance. Observe how they make their selections. (MAKE NOTES DISCREETLY.) Is the selection quick? Do the people know what they are seeking and go right to it? What portion of the customers make their selection by comparing two or more items? Can you tell what some of them are thinking about as they decide? Do other people help make the selections or choices? Who is/are they? Can you tell if price is a factor?

The following are all going to be individuals, or a single group. How interesting does that sound? I have never done anything like this before. It should be interesting to see the results!

Time is Flying By

This whole daylight savings time being moved has messed up my whole biological clock. When I wake up in the morning it’s so dark outside it makes me just want to go back to sleep. When I arrive on campus it’s still a little dark. I liked the summer quarter a lot better when it was nice, sunny, warm and bright! I only have one summer quarter left which I’m going to miss greatly.

It’s already time to make your schedule for the winter time. It feels like I just began the fall quarter. I got some forms in the mail from the financial aid office regarding my loan that needed to be signed. I figured it would be a lot easier to just go to the office and hand them in rather than mailing them back out. When I got there everyone seemed to be running around trying to fix something but it didn’t take long for them to take me into their office for assistance. I like how they explained everything to me quickly and I was out of there in a short time. One thing I wish they would have done is closed the door or maybe not talk so loudly about my business. I don’t need the whole waiting room to hear my financial aid business with the school. Some students may have some issues that they do not want everyone to hear.

I’m looking forward to my World Cultures class. I like how the professor is so easy going and is so available to help us. Berkeley College now has something called Pronto which some professors ask you to download onto your computer. It’s pretty much like AIM but your professors use it! You can ask questions and talk to your classmates and professors through Pronto. It’s like having a virtual professor, I love the idea! Anyway, I love the class because I’m really enjoying the atmosphere of the classroom. Everyone is very easy going and the class is open to any discussion. You can express your opinions and get good feedback from other classmates. It’s great that we have such a feeling of openness in our classes which promotes participation.

Time Flies By When Youre Having Fun

“So much to do, so little time” is what everyone on campus seems to be saying. Work is piling up before our eyes and yet we still need to find time for everything else in our life. It’s been a busy week for me. Just when I got one test done, I got another assigned to me yesterday. In my Market Research class, we have a test every week on each chapter.

With the activity day changed to Thursdays I feel like I have been missing so much action on campus. On Thursdays I do substitute teaching during the day and I have a class at night. Since I can’t get out of work, I miss activity period. I always see all these advertisements for activities that will be going on which I’ll miss out on. However, seeing this is still great because it shows that the activity period is becoming so popular.

I have been trying to e-mail Alex, the International Business Club vice president but I haven’t been able to get a response from her. She mentioned to me that she will be there for the club convention but after that I heard nothing. I was hoping that somehow we would be able to run the club with her being in charge, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. I really hope the activity period goes back to Wednesdays in the winter quarter.

A Nice Break

What’s so great about Berkeley? Well besides it being a great school, unlike many other colleges, we had off on Columbus Day! It was really nice to have a day to myself and be able to catch up on my homework. I felt so motivated that not only did I finish all my homework, but I even signed up for a gym membership!

I felt like I had so much to do and I’ve only been in school for two weeks. I have a presentation to get prepared for, a company to research for a paper, an article to summarize and explain to class, an online test to take for Market Research and outline another article for Business Strategy and Policy; the list just goes on and on. Luckily I was able to get it all done thanks to our famous Mr. Columbus.

Tonight is my World Cultures class. I really like the teacher and her attitude about the subject. She makes the class fun and sitting through it isn’t as painful as it could be. Today we have to give our ideas of what we want to do our presentations on. I’ve decided I want to do mine on Polish Culture. The assignment is to pick a culture and then choose an event or a person you want to interview for your presentation. The presentation has to be a short film with music, pictures and our voice guiding everyone through the presentation. I have to find a microphone where I will be able to record my voice for the show. Today I believe we’re having a comp tech or librarian come into our classroom to explain how to add pictures, voice and music to PowerPoint presentations. It should fun to learn something new and helpful that I can apply to my assignment!

Changes

Word of advice: If you want to find a good parking spot, come to class 20 min early! I cannot believe how filled up ALL of the parking lots have been lately. Today was the first time since I’ve been at Berkeley where parking lots A, B and C were all full! I was shocked.

In my previous blog I wrote about how I was having some problems with Blackboard and finding the class’s discussion board and how I had to e-mail my professor. She responded to me within a couple of hours, and I was finally able to do my work. What I did wrong is that I was looking in the discussion board folder instead of the communication folder. Today in class we talked about the work, and apparently I wasn’t the only one having issues with it. Luckily the professor is giving us another week to work on it in case we didn’t have a chance to do so this week.

The campus is starting to look so nice with the fall starting and leaves slowly beginning to fall down. It’s so relaxing just sitting on the benches and doing some homework. I have many projects coming up so I’ll get some time to enjoy working outside before it gets too cold. Sometimes it seems like one day I have no work to do and then the next everything piles up all at once. I guess I just have to stay on top of everything to not get overwhelmed.

Ready for Week Two

My first week back in school was a very pleasant one. It was nice to see all my friends back in class, and got to know my new professors. At the beginning of the week I got to know some new freshmen which were very friendly and nice to talk to. They seemed to be very determined and motivated to be in college.

In my World Cultures class we have a discussion board we have to go to for an assignment but I am having some problems with it. For some reason in my discussion board, there are no discussions going on. This confused me and made me worried at the same time, so I sent an e-mail to the professor so that she could possibly help me out. I’m worried because I got an e-mail from the professor today that I have not yet logged into the discussion board, and that this discussion is part of my participation grade worth 15 points for the week. That’s a lot of points that I don’t want to lose!

This week coming up is going to be busy. Alex (International Business Club Vice President) is going to attend the club convention and run it since I will be unable to make it. It’s going to be hard running the club through someone else, but I’m sure we can do it with great teamwork. I sent her all the information such as brochures and sign in sheets through e-mail so that she can use it during the club convention.

Favorites

I have now had all my new classes for the quarter and I really enjoyed all of them. My professors are very upbeat and pleasant to talk to. The class I have found most interesting so far is Market Research. The professor is very pleasant and I love how she made herself so available to us. For example, she gave us her house number so that we can reach her at any time! She is very flexible and understanding when it comes to the grading policy and attendance. If we have an emergency and we call her before class to tell her we cannot attend, it will be considered an excused absence as long as it is a valid reason. At the end of the quarter our grade is considered a test grade for attendance.

I still have to buy my books for this quarter. I hate buying books because they’re so expensive but that’s just the reality of going to college, it’s expensive! I noticed that some students have posted around the school the books they have available. I wish Berkeley College had a billboard that was meant just for book posts so that they would all be in one spot instead of posted in the halls, bathrooms, classrooms etc. If all the listings were in one place, it would be easy to find and convenient for everyone.

Back We Go

Vacation time is over, and it’s time to get my butt back to school! Vacation was nice but way too short. Yesterday I went to school so that I can help out Berkeley College staff with the Freshman Orientation. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I volunteered.

At first we did a small orientation for the volunteers so that we knew what we were doing and what games we should play as ice breakers. When it was time for the orientation to begin we had several speakers to address the new students. After the speakers opened, the big group got split into two. One group went inside and learned about Blackboard and the second half stayed with us and played games.

My favorite game to play was the Toilet Paper game because it really allowed students to let loose and express themselves. The game starts off with the premise that everyone is living together for a week and each person is to take as much sheets of TP from one shared roll they would need for that week. After each person takes the amount they need, everyone has to share some information about themselves for each sheet of TP that they took. The game was very fun and allowed people to learn about one another, I wish that we had more time for games.

After the games we had lunch which was really good! There were salads, stuffed shells, pasta, subs, drinks and much more. After lunch, the students were allowed to leave and a second session of orientation began. I had to leave for work so I could not stay for the second session, but I did get a free T-Shirt!

Today is going to be my first class. I’m excited because the class sounds interesting. I hope that the professor can make the class interesting for us as well. When I went through my schedule I noticed that two of the professors I’ve had before are going to be my professors this quarter.

I went to the career services link today to see what they have available. I like that Berkeley gives you easy access to different job openings in case you want to find a part time job. One thing I wish they would do is either date the posts of positions or remove ads that are no longer valid. I’ve called a place once just to find out that the job has been expired for a long time and the position has been filled months ago. I felt a little embarrassed calling them and finding that out.

Busy Bee

It has been so long since I have kept everyone updated. I have been so busy between exams and getting my work done that it has been really hard to sit down and write something. This week is finals week and as of today I am done with all my classes. It looks like I am going to get an A in all my classes. This makes me very happy because it’s going to positively reflect in my GPA. Today was my last presentation which was also considered my final. We had to pretend to open a company that supplies vending machines and our job was to use Excel, Power Point, and Word to convince the professor to use our company for her place of business. The task was pretty fun considering I did it at the last minute.

I have been contacting Rowan University about graduate school with some of my concerns that I had with Berkley College. One of my concerns was that Berkeley College goes by the quarter system and not semesters. My second concern was that when graduating Berkeley the summer quarter ends in the middle of September but schools with the semester system start at the end of August. When I got an e-mail back from the school they made me aware that this is not going to be a problem and I can still start graduate school in the fall if I can show that I will be able to provide a diploma at the end of the quarter. This made me really happy.

I sold my books today which made me a little depressed and happy at the same time. Depressed because I spent about $400 on all my books but only got about $90 back and happy because now I’m $90 richer! I have debated buying and selling online but the effort and costs of selling online isn’t worth the price for me. IN addition to that if you buy your book online you then can’t sell it back to the school, you have to go through the effort of finding your own ways of selling it back. I wish we had some student billboard where students could post what books they have to offer and those that they need to buy. This would provide an easy way of communicating with other students about what they have and need.

Changes

Wow, it’s so close to the end of the quarter. The closer to the end I get, the closer to my vacation I get! I’m in my Forensic Science class. Today the CSI sketch is due which is where we pretend to be a CSI and we make our own sketch of a crime scene. I handed in my paper about 2 weeks ago, and I got a 99 even though it wasn’t due till today. Right now, the professor is going over the exam that we will have next Monday. It’s nice of her to do a whole review for the test so we all know what to expect. She’s pretty much giving answers to the test if you know how to take proper notes. Oh, and did I mention that the test is open book AND open notebook? How can you fail?

The fall is going to be so busy for me, that I’m actually kind of dreading it. I already saw a career fair being advertised around campus that I should really attend to. I wish there were more events going on during the weekends instead of Fridays. I as well as some other students have other responsibilities such as work during the week day so it’s hard to attend activities to Six Flags, Mountain Creek, etc. I’m not even exactly sure why activities are usually only on Fridays.

I mentioned in my previous blog, I was interested in doing shadowing of an event planner to learn what work is like for that career. I went to the career services office and spoke to one of the advisors. The advisor for the Marketing Dept was out of his office, but another advisor was very helpful. I told him what I was interested in and he came up with different people and ideas of what/where I could do the shadowing. Within a day or two I got a call back from him which was very nice. In the end, I came to the conclusion that the place the shadowing would take place is a little far from me, and I just do not have time to travel that far to do the shadowing. Maybe in another quarter I’ll consider doing it again.

Their changing the activity period! Freshmen now have Wednesdays off and classes on Fridays, so they’re moving the activity period to Thursday. This change messed up my whole schedule and I wish I knew about the change when I made my schedule for the fall. I found out when I went to Mr. Maher to have him approve my brochure for the International Business Club. I didn’t see any forms by the library to prepare my schedule with (this form shows when the activity period is), the advisor didn’t tell me about the change, and they haven’t changed it in such a long time, I had no idea. I’m not sure how this will affect my participation in the International Business Club because on Thursday I have night classes. I originally planned on maybe running the club at 3:30 on Thursdays but most students are already gone at that time. I can’t come to school during activity period because I do substitute teaching, so I will be busy during the day until 2:35. I’m going to have to talk to Mr. Maher about what I can do to hopefully work around this.

Shadowing

I am so sleepy! Its nine fifty in the morning and I am sitting in my Statistics class waiting for the professor to show up. My Forensic Science class let out early today so I have a little time to spare. Today was a very interesting class. We learned about DNA and also got to watch the OJ Simpson trial. The movie was a bit long but it was a lot better than taking notes all class! Before we started watching the movie the professor gave us all the details of the trial and all the mistakes that were made. It was amazing to me how many mistakes were actually made for this trial when it came to collecting evidence and preserving them correctly! Next week were learning about finger printing and more details on DNA. That should be exciting!

I wonder what we’re learning in Statistics today. Last class I had to leave early to prepare for the Freshman Fest so I didn’t get all the notes. In class today I asked Maria to lend me her notes and luckily they were very neat and easy to follow. It turns out I ended up only missing a small part of the lesson which made me relieved.

Recently I have been having a lot of thoughts about my career, and where exactly I would like to go with it. I have had a lot of thoughts of starting a business of event planning. I’m a very organized person, I have always made appointments, been good with following up on things as well as I have always loved working with people. I like the idea and think it would be fun, but things in theory often sound a lot different than things turn out in reality. To pursue something like this, I’ll have to contact the Career Services Department and see if they offer something along the lines of job shadowing. I know it’s similar to an internship, but it’s a lot less formal and likely not a whole quarter commitment. I did something similar in High School when I was interested in starting a fitness center. When I actually shadowed the owner of a fitness center I totally changed my mind about wanting to own one! Shadowing is a quick way to find out if what you are interested in is really what you want to do. Hopefully I can get some insight to my new idea!

Well, the professor has arrived, so I have to go do some learning now!

Confusion

Freshman Fest was so much fun. Right before the event I had to leave class a little early to go print out brochures and get make copies. Then when I got outside I saw Mr. Maher and asked him to make the copies for me. Next I searched for the table that was set up for the International Business Club. I was so glad that the tables were set up in the shade! Activity period started at 11am, but students didn’t actually start to arrive until about 11:30ish. Many students had to go back to class at 12, so many new students didn’t have a chance to learn about different clubs if they arrived after 12. I had to leave because I had to go to work, but I’m sure I will be able to meet more new students during orientation.

There seems to be a lot of confusion going on around Berkeley about the Berkeley Blue Card. I got a comment on one of my blogs that somewhat explained the card better to me. I read that the card is not a credit card and it does not affect your credit score. The confusion is most likely caused by the MasterCard logo on the card because that logo is typically associated with credit cards. I got a call earlier today informing me that I can call a number to learn more about the card. I called and left a message earlier, but I did not hear back from anyone yet. As soon as I hear something I will post the information that I have found out.

Strongly Disliking the Berkeley Blue Card

I am really starting to dislike the whole Berkeley Blue Card. The other day I finally made my fall schedule, and then I had to go clear myself with the Accounts Dept. When I got there, I found out that I got a refund which made me happy, but then I was told that I cannot get it unless I activate my Berkeley Blue Card! I did not want this card, and I still don’t, but now I feel that I am being forced to open one just so I can get my refund. I then got an e-mail that the college does not know how to give me my refund until I activate my Berkeley Blue Card. All I wanted was to get my refund as a check. This card does not make sense to me because once I activate it, I can still get my refund by check which is one of the options that you can choose. So why activate a card that will affect my credit report when I can still just get a check? I don’t think it’s fair for us to be forced to open an account just to get our refund.

So the other day I went to make my schedule for the fall. I could not take some classes that I need because they are not running in the times that I need. With my graduation date closing in, I am limited to certain classes that I can take. In addition to that, I also have my work schedule to work around as well as other activities. I ended up with Market Research, Business Strategy and Policy, World Cultures and Intercultural Communication. The advisor that helped me schedule my classes was very helpful and even recognized me from being a blogger. Since I already had all my classes picked out, it went by pretty fast and I was done in about five minutes. He was very helpful with questions too. I was looking through the Berkeley College website and I went to look at how the tuition rates have changed. Then I noticed that the amount of credits you can take before having to pay extra has changed from 18 to 16. He assured me that I can still take 18 since I was enrolled in college before the change.

Tomorrow is another club convention for the new incoming students. It should be really interesting to meet new people and see what the new crowd is going to be like. I have to remake our clubs brochure and find an attractive way to bring in new members. Maybe some students will recognize me from being a blogger!

Think Vacation!

I’m going to FLORIDA!!! I am so excited. I love the fact that Berkeley College has a break between every quarter. That means I get vacation while almost every other college is back in school. I can tell all my friends that I’m going on vacation while their stuck in a classroom! Want to hear another great thing? September is the best time to travel because everyone is back in school and at work, therefore all the resorts and tickets are all discounted because they don’t have many travelers. I get to go away for a whole week! Now I just hope the weather will be perfect.

The Fall schedule for day students has finally been posted. I have been procrastinating at making my schedule but I’m hoping to get it done today. I have to hand in a take home midterm exam today for my Graphical Business Presentation class. Last week in class, we did our presentations on where we would like to go on vacation if we had an unlimited amount to spend. Of course, I did a presentation on my favorite place Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where I’m going in September! I was hoping that I would be able to get my grade for my assignment, but it has not yet been posted on Blackboard.

Tomorrow Alex and I are hoping to meet and prepare for the freshman orientation on August 15th. I am looking into making new brochures and posters for the club. I’m sure we will also discuss other options of how to advertise. I think that students need an incentive to join the clubs at Berkeley. Many of those incentives include recognition as well as pride for their work. Hopefully we will be able to come up with something productive.

Mid terms already?!?!

Mid terms already? That’s right! It’s that time again to prepare and cram as much as we can. I feel like I have just started the summer quarter and now it’s almost half way over. This week is going by pretty slowly. Last week I had to skip one of my classes because my grandmother came to the USA from Poland. It was my Graphical Business Presentation class, and I had to e-mail my professor. She was so understanding, and e-mailed me all the information I need to catch up on my work. I was surprised she was nice enough to do that, because the information is also posted online on Blackboard.

Last Thursday was very exciting too. Berkeley College asked me to do a commercial for the school. I believe the commercial will be posted online on the Berkeley College website, so look out for it! We got to go all around the campus and speak about the different classrooms, classes, and services the Garret Mountain Campus has to offer. I was shocked at how many takes some parts took to get through, but it was really fun. I got to meet some great people and working together was really fun. Around noon we took a break and had lunch all together. I never really saw what the dorms at the Garret Mountain look like, and I was pleasantly surprised. I wish I could live on campus but I only live about 30 minutes away from the school.

The other day I was walking by the library, and I noticed that Berkeley College started a new thing where they give away free newspapers at the library. Even though it’s such a small thing, it really made me happy that I don’t have to go out of my way to look for the paper. The paper that they are offering is The Record and The Herald News. I like reading about things that are happening locally, and seeing what is new in the world.

Because of the summer time the International Business Club is somewhat suffering. Many students have left school, some have work, and some members don’t come because the weather is nice. I spoke to Mr. Maher about the problem, and he said he is not surprised and that this happens every summer. He advised me that on August 15th there will be a club convention again for the upcoming freshmen. It’s on a Wednesday and its being held at the same time as activity period is. I hope to meet some new people and hopefully get many new members into the club. I may change the fliers we have into brochures. This way it may be easier for students to keep them around and not lose them. In addition when Alex and I get together, hopefully we can also come up with new activities that the club can do.

Well, it is time for me to get ready for bed! I have a busy day of going to Mountain Creek, then class and then possibly out with friends afterwards. This is why I love having night classes! I can do whatever I want during the day AND get to class!

Its Going by Fast

Time is flying by so quickly! I feel like I have just started this quarter and right now we’re already in week 4. So far I have had two tests one in my Statistics class, and one in Forensic Science. Since Blackboard allows us to view our grades online after the professor posts them, I was already able to find out that I got A’s on both. That made me excited!

Almost every day I am noticing positive changes going on at Berkeley College. At first I noticed the new parking lot being built and then the recycling project. The new thing I noticed is that we are also getting a new bathroom in the Registrar building. I hated those bathrooms for being so small before and I’m very glad to see it get a facelift. One thing I hope that Berkeley does down the line is create a sidewalk from the parking lot to the main building. Right now there is just a road or cars and people just sneak by on the side or on the grass. This is terrible when it’s raining and the sides flood with water. Then you have to watch out for cars splashing you when driving by as well as being careful not to get ran over!

We have some really interesting events going on this quarter. Some events that caught my eye include a trip to the Montel Williams show as well as a play put on by one of Berkeley’s professors. The only problem I have with the events is that they’re on Fridays and not on weekends. I have work and other activities during the week day, so sometimes I feel like I’m missing out a lot since I cannot attend certain activities. The International Business Club is currently looking into planning a trip to Mountain Creek. Its summer time and taking a nice trip to a water park would be so much fun! We need to try and find some group discounts and forms of transportation. I love the fact that Berkeley College is conveniently located next to everything!

Major Improvements

It’s raining, it’s poring, the old man is snoring! Today is a pretty gloomy day and I am so sleepy! I went to my Forensic Science class this morning a little late because of the traffic, but I wasn’t the only one coming in late. We got to watch a movie about serial killers. It was a little creepy, but woke me up. Following that class, I went to my Statistics class but our professor never showed up. I’m assuming that he got stuck in traffic somewhere since a lot of the roads were flooded. Least I got to skip our first test today!

Today is Wednesday, which means activity period. This week will be the first one where clubs meet. I have prepared something for our meeting which is in an hour. This is the third week of the quarter, which means we only have 7 meetings left. I’m not sure yet of what activity we will be able to run because of the small amount of people as well as lack of time. In the summer time many people take a break and we have lost some members until the fall quarter. Despite this setback, I’m sure that we will come up with something fun.

Berkeley College is doing a lot of changes this quarter. First off, remember the construction I wrote about a couple of blogs ago? Well, we’re getting a new parking lot!!! With a high increase of students at Berkeley, parking has become a bit of a problem. You usually don’t have a problem parking when you have an early class, but if you’re coming in around 10am, you have to park quite far away. The location of this parking lot will be very convenient because it’s right between all the main buildings.

New Parking Lot Construction


Another thing I am very excited about is that Berkeley College began to recycle! They call it the Project Green Path. So far I have only seen containers in the hall ways. I hope that we get more containers to put in classrooms as well since that’s where most papers get thrown out. Even though the school cut down many trees for the parking lot, I’m glad to see they are helping the environment by recycling.

Recycle Poster

Club Convention

Week two has already approached, and it seems like this quarter is going faster than the previous one. The summer quarters have one less week than any other one, so we lose a week of classes. Due to the lost week, professors are more flexible with testing. They give students more take home tests, and sometimes even allow take home final exams! Yesterday in my Graphical Business Presentation class, our teacher realized that this quarter is shorter and decided to give us a take home midterm and a take home final exam! This made me very excited.

Today was the Club Convention at Berkeley College. My Statistics class got out a little early so Alex and I were able to get there and set up our table ahead of time. I was surprised that we had the convention outside instead of the Student Center since it was so hot and humid out. Luckily we were able to get a table in the shade. Activity period lasts an hour from 11am to 12pm. Since it is a summer quarter we didn’t have as good of an outcome as we would have liked to. Many students take a break, and some want to do as little as possible because it’s the summer. In the fall we are hoping to have a much greater outcome with new freshman, and people coming back to school.

After about ten minutes into the Club Convention, pizza arrived! Berkeley College bought pizza for all the students that attended the Club Convention. It was a very nice gesture, and everyone enjoyed it.

Alex and I


Alex, the clubs Vice President


Myself, clubs President


Pizza Mob!

Back to School

Wow, I haven’t written on here for a while. That’s because of my break from Berkeley as well as my mini vacation I took camping. The Berkeley College break lasts a week, and it was a nice break from everything I had going on.

So, several new things have been going on around the campus since I left. The newest thing that has entered the campus is a Berkeley Advantage Card. With this card, students can use it as a credit card, learn to manage their finances with an easy to operate online account and parents can also put money on the card for you. These are only a few of the benefits that it offers. Another beneficial thing I noticed about the card is that it is really easy to use and register online.

Since I took an interest in the card, I decided to speak to some other students about the Berkeley Advantage Card. To my surprise, students were not all that thrilled about it. Some felt that they do not need the card because they already have other credit cards with advantages that fit into their lifestyles from other companies. They felt that they should have had an option of signing up for the card instead of cards being mailed straight to their homes with their name on it. Many were confused, concerned that the college gave away their personal information to credit card companies and that’s why they are receiving the card. However, some students may not have noticed that the card is not activated until you go through an activation process. Some students felt that the card really has no advantages for them and some were even confused as to where this card even came from and what it does for them. I guess everyone has a different opinion when it comes to this card.

The other day I was walking from class to another class, and I noticed that a whole wooded area was chopped down behind one of the buildings! There was a gazebo by those woods, and I’ve seen some students sit there sometimes with their friends. I remember two or three quarters ago we filmed a project for one of our classes in that area. It’s really sad to see it go, but I wonder what they are going to be building there next.

So far I have had three classes for this quarter. Thursday is going to be my last class that I have not yet been to. This quarter I am taking Forensic Science, Statistics, Graphical Business Presentation and Macroeconomics. So far my professors have been really nice and very understanding. Sometimes professors tend to not be reasonable, but Berkeley College professors are very easy to talk to. Hopefully this quarter will go as well as the last one has!

All Done

Well, the spring quarter has officially come to an end. So far I have found out that I have an A in Abnormal Psychology and a B in Algebra. This morning I took my math exam, it was 33 multiple choice questions. I thought it was going to be a bit harder, but I handled it pretty well. When we were done with the final exam we were allowed to leave class and go home. My plan was to stay in school until my second final exam at 6pm but it didn’t work out that way. I have Bronchitis and I forgot to take one of my pills so I had to drive all the way home and come back.

I really enjoy staying around campus. Not only because it’s really pleasant and nice, but because you can always find someone to talk to. When the campus is pretty empty, there are tons of things to do around it as well. For example, all within a 5 mile radius you can go to the mall, movies, mini golfing, food shopping, and so on. Back in the day when I was not involved in any clubs, my friends and I would always go to the mall during activity period and then come back for our next class.

When I came back to school around 5pm, I decided to sell my books back. I hate selling my books. It’s depressing knowing you spent $120 on a book but you’re only getting $40 back. I learned something I did not know today though. The school is only allowed to buy back a certain amount of books back from students per quarter! I wish I would have known that earlier, then I would have sold my books back on the first day I could have. I found this out because my Abnormal Psychology book was the last one that was accepted and my Algebra book could no longer be taken back. After asking some students about this, I realized many are getting confused regarding the procedure with books being outdated. They think that their book is outdated and cannot be sold at all instead them trying to sell it again next quarter. Now I know not to procrastinate when it comes to selling my books back!

After I sold my books, I went to class about 40 min early. Luckily my professor got there at about the same time I did, and I was able to take the exam early. This exam had 42 questions and it was also multiple choice. I finished the exam in about 20 min, and I was done before the class even started. I finished just in time before the rain came, so I didn’t have to walk to my car in the rain.

This quarter has come to a happy end. I’m proud of my grades, but I think I could have put more effort into my work. I was so occupied with everything like work, substitute teaching, the International Business Club, and much more so it was hard to find time to put the extra work into my school work. In the summer I will have a lot less activities going on, so hopefully I will be able to dedicate more time to class work!

Finals Week!

It’s finally the Last week of the quarter! Monday was our last day of regular classes. Two of my professors were great, and gave us our final exams during the week of regular classes. We were able to hand in our final work early because of this. Blackboard is very helpful, I was able to check my grades, and now I am certain that I got A’s in two of my classes.

I only have two finals left. One is in Advertising and Promotion and the other one is in Algebra. On Monday I took my final test in Abnormal Psychology. The teacher was very helpful by giving us a whole review right before the test. This reminded us a lot of what we went over in class, as well as made it easier for us to understand the test questions. The professor let us out early, so I had some time to finish up my Algebra review packet.

The weather was so nice that I couldn’t resist going outside. The Garret Mountain campus is a beautiful one, with trees, plants, and walkways. They also have some picnic tables out on the grass where students can relax and sit. Since it was so nice outside, I took my laptop and homework, sat on the bench, and did my work there. It was so pleasant. I wish they had more benches out there so that more students have places to relax in the open.

Algebra class on Monday went well. Since I finished my practice packet, I was able to ask the professor questions that I did not understand for the final exam. She was very helpful to everyone in the class. After answering individual questions, she slightly went over each chapter. This really helped me remember everything we have done up to this point. I can’t wait till the final exams on Thursday just to get them done with!

Prep for Finals

Week 11, and the countdown begins! Well, actually the countdown for the end of the quarter has begun 3 weeks ago, but now I’m starting to get anxious. I’m sitting in a classroom at my old High School because I do substitute teaching and trying to work on my final paper for International Marketing. As I was mentioning in my previous blog, the professor never posted the final paper online for us to do. When I had the class on Tuesday, he said that he mixed up the posting dates and it never got posted. I now have to do this paper in 2 days and hand it in tonight instead of having a full week to do it. The paper is 5 questions and it has to be about 5-6 pages single spaced.

On Wednesday we had our last International Business Club meeting. We talked about what we liked and disliked this quarter as well as what we can do better next quarter. Since we got a lot of different offers from other clubs to join together, we think it will be a good idea to work together. We thought of doing another car wash, but I know some clubs get offended when other clubs steal their ideas, I know I would be!

The other day I got a message in my e-mail about a meeting this Friday that would be a continuation of the Leadership Retreat I attended in February. I only received the e-mail around Monday or Tuesday, so I likely won’t be able to attend because of work. If I knew about the event earlier, then I would have taken off from work. Hopefully people that do attend will be able to fill me in on what went on afterwards. I also hope to attend next year!

Pizza and Movie

The International Business Club event Pizza and a Movie went great! We didn’t have as great of an outcome as we have wanted, but we still got a lot of people to come. I left class a little early so that Alex and I could set everything up for the event. She met me in the Multimedia room around 10:30am, and at that time I went to see Ms. Tripp to find out about the pizza and drinks that she has ordered for us. She said that the pizza may be about 15 min late, but luckily they got there just in time for the event.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, the posters I had made for the cafeteria were thrown away and there were no announcements on Blackboard about the event. To make up for that, I went to school early, ran to the computer lab, printed out about 10 copies, and hung them up on walls wherever it was allowed. After that I ran to my first class and luckily I made it on time.
Almost all of my papers for my finals are done, except 2. I still have to do a paper for Abnormal Psychology as well as finish a take home multiple choice test for International Marketing. There is only one problem with the International Marketing exam. Our class was on Tuesday, and our professor said he would have the test posted by Wednesday, noon at the latest. It is now 11:20pm on a Friday and the test is still not posted! My issue is that I hope he doesn’t post it at the last minute and think it will be get done by Tuesday. The test has 100 questions!

Next week is week 11, and the last week of classes before the finals. My Algebra teacher gave us extra credit problems to do, so I need to get cracking on those. I didn’t do as well as I wanted to on one of the tests, so I have to bring that grade up a little bit. Next week we will all start talking about summer activities for the International Business Club. We have gotten a lot of offers from other clubs to work together on projects for the school. I think it is a really good idea, and it will be a fun opportunity to meet other people. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I will keep you updated…

Connection!

Great news! I got a new laptop. Ok, so maybe it’s great news for me, but now I can tell you how great Berkeley’s wireless connection is. Today I brought my computer to school for the first time for a trial run. I am the least computer savvy person you will ever meet, so I knew I should go to the library for my first run. Once I got there I started it up, and of course I couldn’t figure it out so I went to the front desk and the woman helped me log in. I was so thrilled it worked! Berkeley College has wireless everywhere so later on when I went to the cafeteria to eat some food, I was still able to chat online with friends.
After I ate, I went back into the library because the air-conditioning in the cafeteria was so strong that I could not sit there any longer. Remember that big paper I had to write for International Marketing? Well, after a weekend of doing nothing but procrastinating and doing homework, I finally got it done, totaling 13 pages single spaced. Come to find out I have totally forgotten about the presentation that was due today as well. So around 5pm, I started making a short PowerPoint presentation to help me present my project.
So 6pm rolls around, and I go to class. As usual we don’t start till about 15 minutes after because everyone slowly strolls in late. When the professor started to speak, he somewhat upset me. He let some students slide with out having to hand in the paper until next week! I worked all weekend to try and get that paper done, as well as rush my presentation so that I can have it there on time, only to find out some students didn’t have to. Maybe I’m just acting childish but I don’t believe that’s fair.
Tomorrow is the big day for the International Business Club. We are having our Movie and Pizza Day! I printed out the posters and went to Ms. Tripp to get them approved so that I could distribute them. I put many on the cafeteria tables as well as on the bill board, but I noticed today that all of the ones from the tables were gone! This means that I will have to get to school extra early tomorrow and try to print more before the rest of the students get there. I asked Mr. Maher if he could get the message out on Blackboard, but I didn’t realize he sent me an e-mail back asking me what movie we were showing until today. Because of this the message did not get posted, so I hope that we will still have a good turnout after all.
The weeks are rolling by, and now we are already at the end of week 10. The other day I went to look at new classes that are offered in the summer time once again to review everything. They now display the classes in a better way than in the past. You can now view which classes are filled, and which are still available. This is convenient because now you don’t have to waste your time making a schedule that won’t work. I only had one problem with it. I noticed an online class I was interested in taking and it was not yet filled. So the next morning I rushed to the Advisement department so that I could get the class, to find out that the class is being only offered to the online students. They need to come up with a way to show which classes are available for everyone versus ones for online students only. It got my hopes up, but maybe next quarter I can catch the class again! Only 2 more weeks left, I can’t wait for my break to start!

Essays!

Finals week is slowly approaching once again. It seems like all the work is piling up all at once, but I know it’s my procrastination that’s to blame. This weekend I am taking off from all my usual activities to work on my final papers and all the work that will be due next week.

For my International Marketing class, I am excited about doing the final paper because I feel that I will be able to learn a lot from it as well as have fun at the same time. The professor went over a lot of information last class that I can use for the project as well as worked one on one with each student to help them out. The project that we have to do is create an International Marketing Plan for a product and company of our choice. The company I have chosen is Pepsi. I chose this company because it is a large company and I think can have a lot potential in different countries. Since I have always been interested in New Zealand, I want to advertise my product in that country. I have not yet come up with a product, but I hope that an idea will come to be soon!

In addition to the International Marketing Plan, I also have to write a paper on NuVim. NuVim is a health drink that boosts your immune system, as well as helps your muscles and bones. Our professor introduced us to this product by bringing in a speaker into the classroom that is responsible for the Lipton/Pepsi partnership as well as the inventor of NuVim. I already have some ideas on the ad posters I can make, but the essay part of the project I will work on this weekend.

The International Business Club is working hard on setting everything up for the Movie and Pizza Day. I wrote an e-mail to Mr Maher about posting the event on Blackboard, and he was very helpful to me in the process. We got our movie on hold for next week and as far as I know, the Multimedia Room has been booked for the day of the event. All I need to do now is get a hold of Patricia Tripp so that she can help me arrange the budget and make orders for the pizza and drinks. I am very excited in doing this event because everyone in the club has been working very hard to make the event successful. Our posters look great and everyone is excited!

Zootopia!

I mentioned I would be attending the Z100 Zootopia concert in my past blogs, well last Friday I finally had the chance to go. I’m not sure why we had to be there so early, but the winner of the Z100 contest at school and I were advised that the limousine will be leaving the campus at 2pm when the main show did not start till 7pm and the doors did not open till 6pm. We arrived there at about 3pm and as we were pulling up, we missed one of the pre shows. I could not believe how much of a temperature change it was coming from Garret Mountain, NJ to Long Island NY. It was extremely windy, chilly, and it sprinkled some rain. Despite the bad weather, we didn’t let it get to us.

There were some booths set up around the pre show area which we visited that had samples and information on products from Zootopia sponsors, we even ran into the Berkeley College booth. I got really excited because I ran into my friend Monica that I met back in February when I went to the Leadership Retreat in Baltimore, Maryland. She goes to a different campus, so I had not seen her since the trip. The Berkeley College booth was giving away information about the school as well as giving away free lip balms. Thank goodness for that, because that day I forgot mine and my lips where chapped from the cold wind!

Walking around from booth to booth took up about an hour of our time, and then we went inside of the building to hide from the cold and kill two more hours. Luckily one of the booths were giving out In Touch magazines, so at least reading something made the time go a little faster. At 6pm the doors finally opened and we went to our seats. Even though our seats were on the upper level, we had a pretty good view of the stage. When the show started at 7 the place was not as filled as I thought it would be but I heard once the show started they gave away a lot of free tickets at the door.

The lineup consisted of Daughtry, Hillary Duff, Rhianna, Fergie, Maroon 5, Robin Thicke, Omarion, Katherine McPhee, Hinder, and Gym Class Heroes. My favorite performers were Hillary Duff and Rhianna since both of them currently have songs out that I really enjoy listening to. Each performer did about three songs which was nice. One of the ladies of the Z100 morning show had a birthday so Roin Thicke sang Happy Birthday to her which was very nice of him.

The show ended at 11pm, but we left around 10:30 since the limo driver called us to let us know that he was there to pick us up. We also wanted to leave a bit early so that we don’t run into the whole crowd coming out all at the same time in the end. Overall the show was really great, and we all had a great time. It was a nice experience and maybe I will do it again next year.

Summer Quarter is Coming

I have not yet had a chance to go make my summer schedule, but I’ll try to go today and get it done. I have class at 6, but if I get to school early, I may be able to get it done if the line isn’t too long. I usually like to get to school early on my night class days because it’s easier to find a parking spot, as well as review some things for other classes in the computer labs.

The international business club is doing well, and we’ll have a meeting tomorrow to speak about other activities that we can possibly do for the following quarter. We were thinking of doing a BBQ with the accounting club, but walking around the campus I noticed some other club that has already planned something along those lines. We could possibly do something like that in the summer or the fall, but for this quarter I don’t believe the idea is going to work. We still think that we’ll try and pull off our game show ideas, but because this will take a lot of planning and organizing, it may take a few weeks to accomplish that.

I’ve been thinking of possibly having the club meet more than just once a week so that planning things isn’t so hard by having to cram everything into one meeting. The only problem with meeting more than once a week would be to try and get everyone together since everyone has such different schedules. During activity period everyone is usually off from class and has a short break at the same time, therefore it’s not as hard to make that happen if scheduled around that time.

Recently I have been thinking of starting a Marketing Club. I’m not exactly sure how I would go about that yet, but I think it would be a good opportunity for many students in the Marketing major. In this club, we could help other clubs market their club to get students to join, make advertisements, help them create different marketing tactics and make their club successful.

In addition to helping out our students and other clubs, we could also market ourselves to local businesses and help them advertise for free. Most small businesses don’t have a marketing department, therefore getting free services from college students can be very beneficial to them. This would give marketing majors, as well as other people who would like to join the club, experience in the marketing field and the knowledge of how things work in the real world. I will have to find Mr. Maher and speak to him about this since it could be a great experience for me, and other Berkeley College students.

Finally, there are less than four days left until Zootopia, and I’m very excited! I have finally found out the name of the other winner of the two tickets, but I’m not sure if I know the person from just hearing their name. I’m waiting for an e-mail to let me know the time that we have to be at the school for the limo to pick us up. I hope everything works out well, and that we have a great time.

New Classes Already!

Well, that time has come again to select new classes for the upcoming summer quarter. Yesterday I went onto Blackboard and printed out the times and days of all the classes being offered next quarter. I’ve decided to take four classes over the summer because it fits well into my schedule. Once again I decided to take two night classes and two day classes. This will give me some free time to lay by the pool and relax before classes. I was hoping that I would be able to take some classes online but I found out that they are already all filled up! It seems like in the summer time there is less of a class selection. Now that I am getting closer to graduation, the classes that I need are becoming very specific, and soon it will become very hard to schedule classes.

We have finally got a date for our pizza and a movie day. It’s going to be on June 6th because all of the Wednesdays for this month are already taken up for different events. Last week I was unable to get to the meeting because I had to take care of a different event, and then I had to go see some people to take care of other things. Alex, the vice president went over with everyone what the game plan will be for the event and how we should run everything. Since not that many people showed up to the meeting today, I just spoke about the day we have as well as what we will be doing next week.

There was a bake sale being held on the campus this week. All the cookies and baked goods looked so nice and tasty. The club that was running the event had speakers outside and everyone was listening to music, enjoying the nice weather and relaxing on a small break between classes. It’s nice to see that the school can come together and create a very welcoming atmosphere.

On Thursday, in my Advertising and Promotion class we had a guest speaker. I called him Mr. Nuvim because he was the creator of the drink Nuvim as well as the person responsible for the Lipton Pepsi Cola partnership. I was surprised that our teacher was able to get him to come to speak to us since he is such a busy person. He spoke to us about the drink Nuvim which we have to do a paper on, due June 7th. I found the information he gave us very interesting because he did not only speak about the product, but different ways of marketing that he found interesting throughout his career. This information will not only be good to know in order to do my paper, but to also have something to refer back to as I start my own career.

Z100

I feel like week by week my days are getting busier. I have recently started substitute teaching since I’ve gained my sixty credits from Berkeley College. I was able to start earlier because Berkeley goes by quarters and not by semesters, giving me more credits faster. I got to go back to my old high school and the teachers are quite surprised to see me back so soon.

On Wednesday Z100 came to our school which was pretty interesting. They set up some speakers outside of the student center and played some music for the campus as well as gave away some stickers. They had a raffle going for two more tickets they were giving away to Zootopia. I was supposed to meet up with Ms. Tripp who works in Student Development, but after looking for her for a while, I was told that she wasn’t there that day. I was supposed to do something with her and the Z100 representatives then meet the other two winners so that I would know who I’m sharing the limousine with. I then tried to look for Mr. Maher to see if maybe he knew anything about my meeting with Ms. Tripp, but he didn’t.

I was unable to go to my International Business Club meeting this week, but I left instructions for Alex, the club’s vice president, instructions on what are important subjects to discuss. I asked her to make a game plan for the “pizza and a movie” day as well as discuss what country each person would like to research for our game show. We thought it would be creative and fun if we did research on the countries that we originated from. Our “International” club's membership this quarter is quite diverse, each of us is actually from a different country. I will find out better details about how the meeting went next week

Zootopia

It seems to me that the weeks in school go by so much faster ever since I started taking night classes. It felt like I barely had time to do anything before, but now the feeling is worse. I had an exam to take on Thursday which only took me sixteen minutes to complete and then I was able to go home. I like it when professors let us go after exams because it’s a nice way to relive stress and not waste time. My International Marketing class teacher was supposed to post the exam on Blackboard but he hasn’t done it yet. I hope that he has changed his mind because his exams are quite long and it would be difficult to cram and get them done by Tuesday. When I say long, I mean ten pages, single spaced assignments!

In the International Business Club we have decided that the event which we’ll organize for the school is pizza and a movie. Yesterday I filled out all the paperwork to hand in, but my only issue is I still to find a movie to show. I will have to run to the library sometime tomorrow to see if maybe the librarian can help me pick something out. They are usually very helpful when it comes to searching for something.

I recently found out something that’s very exciting and I’m all psyched about! The radio station Z100 will be coming to our school on Wednesday and giving away tickets to Zootopia, which is a very popular concert in the tri state area. Since I was asked to write about the event in my Blogs, I am one of the lucky people that will be going with one of my friends. I will have to ask the Vice President of the Club to cover for me this week so that I can attend this event and help out. Should be interesting and fun!

Events

The weather was looking nice for a couple of days but now we are back to rain. I was starting to enjoy walking through the campus and relaxing outside at the picnic tables between classes. I can’t believe the quarter is almost half way done with and before I know it, it’ll be time to do my schedule for the summer already.

Today was a very sad but meaningful day in the eyes of Berkeley College students because we had a memorial ceremony for the victims of the Virginia Tech School incident. A lot of people showed up for support which was very nice to see. They mentioned the names of all the students that lost their lives, and then we had a moment of silence for everyone affected by the tragedy. Following the moment of silence we had one of our students sing the song “Amazing Grace”.

On Tuesday I had a meeting with Ms.Tripp because she wanted to have a talk with me regarding the International Business Club. I let the club vice president know of the meeting but I could not find her in the Student Center where we were supposed to meet, so I went on my own. Ms.Tripp explained to me how every club needs to organize an event for the school on a specific day. I know we have had some events in the past few quarters but I was not sure if they were mandatory.

After the memorial ceremony I had to go to my club meeting today. I presented them with several ideas of what we can do as our mandatory event, and we decided upon showing a movie and providing pizza to the students. We still need to come up with a plan of how to keep the students in the room so they just don’t eat the pizza and then leave as they have done in the previous quarters. I hope that this event will help us bring in members. We have not yet decided on what specific movie we’ll be showing since the movie has to be educational but fun at the same time.

I’ve spoken to the accounting Club president, and we think that it would be a good idea to bring our clubs together to try and make an event as well. We were thinking of doing something along the lines of a BBQ for the school. Since we are both small clubs, we could join forces and work together as a team to achieve something. This can be a fun way for us to meet new people and learn about other clubs in the process.