Final Assessment

My first final semester is finally over and i can sit back and relax for a month and think about the upcoming semester.  I felt that i was more prepared going into my first semester because i went through SEOP in the summer time.  SEOP stands for Summer Educational Opportunity Program and it was time that we can brush up our skills.  It prepared me for college and the work load of it.  So coming into the fall semester, i felt academically i would do good at.  Socially, i felt that i accomplish a lot at Southern.  I'm apart of Men About Business, African Student Association, NAACP, and Black Student Union.  I'm also a model in cultural night a fashion.  When it came to time management skills i think i did pretty well at managing my schedule.  I made sure that i had time for fun and studying. 

When it came to my school work my goal was to get the highest grade i can get in each class.  I kind of lost that goal in the middle of the school year but still maintain decent and good grades in my classes.  I was lazy sometimes but still get my work done and try hard in it.  The one class i had a little trouble in was English 110.  I really didn't work hard on my essay and i was getting 70s on it.  I knew i could of worked harder on my essay but choose not to.  That's the one goal i have for next year is to work harder on my essay and better grades on it.  Another class that i was having trouble in was my economic class.  That was my hardest class i had and i fail two of the test i had.  I had to drop the class and i regret that the most.  But i made a ultimate goal that i wont drop another class at Southern again.  I'm going to work hard in each class i get and give a 100 percent in each class.  Overall, my goal next for my studies is to get my old football nickname back.  Back in high school, my teammates called me 4.0 because i had a 4.0 GPA that year.  I'm trying to get that nickname back and i feel like i will. 

Coming into my fall semester, i was very involve on campus.  I was apart of four organization on campus and I'm a model for ASA cultural night next semester.  I have experience a lot being involve in these organization.  For NAACP, i went to Washington DC to attended the Martin Luther King memorial service. It was a great experience to go and listen to different speeches about him.  Another event i went to with NAACP was a speech by reverend run at Yale University.   He was talking about family values etc.  Doing all these clubs and activities i was able to have good time management when it came to my studies.  I was able to do be involve on campus and do my work at the same time.  I made sure that my school work came first they the clubs and organization.  I feel like i was able to balance all of this and still have plenty of time for myself. 


Overall, i feel like i had a great first semester at Southern Connecticut State University.  I reach some of my goals that i wanted but i know i could of reach all of them.  I do feel like i had a great semester was able to experience many new things.  I started doing modeling for culture night.  Something that i never did in the past but started to do now.  Next semester will be a great one because i will already have experience already of college and i can set some high goals for myself.  I want to get all A's in all of my class next semester.  I want to make sure that i excel in academics and social aspect of college.

Final Video Project

Campus Safari-Caribbean Showcase

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One of the artistic performance that i saw on campus was The West Indian Society Caribbean Showcase back in October.  It was a fashion show that they put on for Southern students on campus.  It was a great show to watch.  I'm a part of a fashion show next semester also so It was a good experience to see what i will be doing soon.  The show also had performance by Southern dance team.  The kind of clothes that they displayed was West Indian clothes.  There were male and female models in the show doing runway.  Overall, it was a great experience to attend and i cant wait for my fashion show to come up.  

Learning Community

Having a learning community this year as a freshman was really good for many reason.  We had a opportunity to meet a group of people that we are going to have the same class for the fall semester.  We were able to make friends that will go pass this classrooms.  I felt that we became more closer of a class because of the learning community and more comfortable together.  It was a great experience to be apart of and i feel like the learning community should be use in other college as well.  Also, with a learning community, we were able to have a good connection with each other to the point were we can help each other academically.

Learning community build connection amongst the students in the class.  I feel like as a class, we are more closer then other classes at Southern.  The reason is because we have two class together back to back and we get to know each other more better.  I feel like that's a good thing about the learning community; the connection.  Most classes you don't build good connection with each student so when it comes down to present in front of your class; you get so nervous and don't want to present.  With the learning community, students are not as scared at to present because they know they have friends in the class. 

Overall, learning community are a great experience to be apart of and i recommend it for every college.

Life After College





Life after college is something that all college student has to think about and see what they are going to to do when they are done.  For me, life after college will be working full time in the work force in my career.  I'm a communication major specializing in video production field.  So i expect myself to get in the TV and film business after college.  I also expect myself to eventually move out of Connecticut after college.  I want to eventually move to New York to further my career.    I my goal is to get into the film and TV business and start directing movies and TV shows down the road. 

When i get out of college, i want to get into my career field immediately.  I want to get into the film business as a producer and director.  I want to be able to direct movies and TV shows.  I would like to start off working at ESPN or FOX news station first and then work my way up the ladder.  Thats my ultimate goal when i leave college and go into the work force.  I also want to own my film company one day.  I want to be able to have a film producation company that produce different kinds of movies.  My second goal after college would be to movie to New York to further my career.  I feel like New York is the right place for me and i would have so much opportunity there. 

Life after college is something very important that each college student should think about and have a plan on what they want to do. 

NAACP Safria #17

As a member of the NAACP, we did community work in downtown New Haven back in October.  We help people registered to vote for the upcoming elections.  It was a great experience interacting with people and helping them with the process of registering.  We had to stand outside the circus that was in town that night.  We went up to people and ask them if they were registered to vote and if not they we would encourage them to sign up.  Overall it was a good experience to help others and impact the community.  I would do it next year and the year after as well to benefit others.

Final Video Project

The final video project is more open then the midterm project.  We have to pick a problem that's going on and find a solution for it.  For me, my proposal is campus involvement at Southern.  Southern doesn't have a lot of school spirit as other schools does.  Many people are not involve on campus and barely goes to campus events.  I feel that its affecting Southern a lot.  So in my video I'm going to address all the problems that surround campus involvement.  With that i will bring about a solution to fix the problem.  For the structure of the video I'm going to try and separate it from my mid term video and make it more creative.

For this video, I'm going to have more slides then interview for this project.  The only interview that I'm going to have is with two president of clubs on campus.  I'm going to see what their opinion on the issue and what have they have done to fix their problem so their organization can benefits also.  For my slides I'm going to have different kind of clubs list their membership attendance and events they put on.  I want to see if the clubs are putting on events on the campus for students to attend and are they well attended.  I'm going to try and include myself more in the video then last video.  I want to introduce the issue and conclude also.  When it comes to being more creative with, i want to do like a sit down interview With the interviewers.  I feel that it would be more creative and professional if i structure it like that. 

The final video project will be more better and well organize then the midterm video project.  It will be more structure and creative then before.  I will have a better feeling for it and know what to present it better.  Overall, the final video project will be more creative and well organize. 

Final Video Project Proposal



As for my proposal that I have chosen is a problem that Southern Connecticut currently faces right now.  Its  students getting involve on campus.  As student who is apart of 4 clubs and organization on campus, I see whats goes around campus and I feel that student involvement is a problem that we face.  I will provide different perspective on the situation by doing research about campus involvement in every college.  Plus, interview clubs president at southern to see their view on the issue. 

Tunnel of Oppression

One of the sponsor event that I went to this week of Tunnel of Oppression.   The event was held in the student center ballroom on Monday and Tuesday from 7am to 7pm.  Basically Tunnel of Oppression is a way to see all the Oppression that students go through in terms of the sexuality, weight, etc.  The event was hosted by the women center and men initiative.  So, what happen at the event was we was led into the ballroom where we went to each station and there was a demonstration of different kind of Oppression that student tend to go through.  It was a great learning experience to go through. 

Funding for Arts Program

When it comes to schools nowadays, many of them are not caring about the arts program as much as they used to.  Many of the schools are thing of cutting the program are together to support the math and science programs more.  But, many of the schools don't know how important it is.  On Tuesday presentation, we talk about ways art has impacted your learning and the benefits of it.  For me, it hasn't help me at all but to many other students it has helped them a lot.  For some people it helped them in their math class, history class and even science class.  For some people, they have family members who are art majors and know how bad it would be for them if the arts program was cut off completely. 

For many people arts has help them a lot in their education.  With all the drawings that you do in arts it does pay off.  For example, a student said that arts has help them in Geometry.  Being able to draw out all the different kinds of shape and dimensions.  For some people it helps them visual things much better then before.  Another student said they have a family who is a arts major but it's hard for them to find schools out there with a good arts program.  For some people they would have to drop out of school or try to find another school with a good arts program there.  For me, it hasn't done much at all but i could see how it can help you in math class with all the shapes and size.

The arts program is very important to many people out there and if it was to be cut from many of the schools then it would effect many people in different ways possible.  Many people want to have a career in arts so they would have to find another career to go to. 

Kind of Learner are You

For one of the presentation last week, one of the group talk about what kind of learner are you.  Are you a visual learner, auditoral learner or a kinestic learner.  They presented different kind of facts for all three of the learning aspects.  Visual learner are the ones that need to see things to understand it much better.  Auditoral learner needs to hear information to process it much better.  kinestic learner needs to actually do the work or activity in order to understand it much better.  For me I'm a visual learner but have some traits for kinestic and auditoral as well.  I need to be able to see what's going on in class but I learn better by actualy doing the problem.  Sometimes I do need to hear a lecture on a topic to fully understand it much better.

Ways I use kinestic learning is probaly in math class.  I need to be able to do and workout the problem for myself to be able to understand it.  I have to be able to do some workout problems and exercise in the book.  For math class I'm more of a kinestic learner then the other two learning style.  The ways that I used visual and auditoral learning is in history or lecture class.  In college you have more lecture class then before.  So you have to get used of it and be able to hear and understand what the professor is talking about.  Same goes with any history that I will take in college. 

So when it comes down to different kinds of learning style, I'm a more visual learner but I have traits in the other learning styles as well.

Kevin, Kenny, Merril Group Presenstation

These are the articles that our group came up with about Dorm Life vs. Commuting.

1:http://reflector.uindy.edu/2007/11/07/dorm-life-vs-commuter-life-weighing-the-options/

2: http://www.ecampustours.com/campuslife/livingonandoffcampus/livingoncampusvsoffcampus.htm


-We will also have a debate on whether Dorm Life or Commuting is better.  So pick sides.

Campus Safri-Fitness Center

Southern Connecticut fitness center is for all student and staff at Southern Connecticut to use.  The fitness center is a great gym to use and to get back in shape.  Hours of operation of the gym is Monday through Thursday from 7am to 10pm.  Fridays from 7am to 8pm.  Saturdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm.  Sunday from 2pm to 7pm.  Cost for students in the fitness center is 60 dollars for 1 semester  and 120 for an entire semester.  One class i would like to join is WinterLand of Weight on Mondays from 3:30pm to 4:15pm.  They have over 50 different kind of machine you can use in the center.The fitness center is a great gym to go to if your a Southern student. 

Stress Level

Being in college makes many students stress out a lot.  There is so much to handle with all the tough academics and social life you are trying to juggle.  You don't have your parents anymore to help you out so you are by yourself.  For some people it's very hard and the stress gets to them.   But there is many ways you can reduce your stress level.  Today in class we discuss what makes college students stress out and ways they can reduce their stress in college.  They could talk to friend or a family member, take a walk, work out etc.  There are many ways someone in college is able to reduce ones stress level.  I think that being in college you have to know how to reduce your stress level because you have so much things on your mind.  Especially when it comes to mid term and final.  That's when their stress level goes up the most because they have so much test and exams to study for and take that week.  For me, there is many ways that i reduce my stress in college.

For me things that make me stress are academics work and my social life.  Trying to balance all of it at the same time.   For many students in are class, they said the same thing to.  Ways that they reduce their stress is by talking to a family member.  For them it reminds them of home and it can relax them as well.  For me, I like to take a walk outside on the campus.  That gets my mind off of everything and I can be by myself for a while.  Another thing that can reduce my stress level is working out in the gym. 

Stress is a big thing in college and many students need to know how to reduce their stress level so they relax more and be healthy.

Video

Critical Thinking Video

http://www.youtube.com/user/MegaEagles19?feature=mhee#p/a/u/0/VTJenBr-GW0

Nutrition Tips

When it comes to college, everybody knows of the freshman 15.  That's when many incoming freshman starts to put on more weight then before.  The reason is because of the good food that the college offers the students.  Plus, you don't have your parents with  you there to monitor your diet at all and tell you what good foods you need to eat.  For the reading in class on Tuesday, it focus on good tips for college student on their diet and what good they should and shouldn't eat.  I think that every college students need this tip if they want to stay healthy in college. 

Some of the tips that the article gave were, eat a regular meal every day.  That means to eat a small meal every 3 to 5 hours a day.  To eat breakfast an hour when you wake up.  They also talk about making healthy decision when you eat.  You should eat dessert after you eat your main meal course.  Don't just skip straight to dessert when you eat.  Make sure that you have some fruits and vegetables when you eat everyday.  Another advice is exercising more often then before.  They say its always good to go to the gym in the school and get a good workout from it.  Try to attend the gym a least 2 a week or more. 

Having good Nutrition in college is very important for every students that goes to school.  You want to make sure you are healthy and you make sure you can keep your wait up at a normal and healthy level.   I know that i try to stay healthy on campus at all time.  I make sure that i have a good workout done every week and is very careful on what i'm eating at school.  Talking about nutrition will benefit many students at campus and make them aware of their health. 

Campus Safari- Career Services Center

Career Services Center provides students on campus with information on different kinds of major that offer on campus, student jobs on and off campus, resume, and career goals.  They also hold workshops and events on campus to.  Like  they have a Resumania in the month of November to help any students with their resume and how to put a good resume together.  They also have a online job seach website for Southern students on helping them find jobs on campus.  They are located in Schwartz Hall 102 on Monday through Fridays from 8:30am to 4:30pm. Going to the career center will benefit every students on campus and they can learn a lot from it.

Campus Safari-Multicultural Center

For this campus safari, I decided to do it on the Multicultural Center.  The Multicultural Center is a place at the university that promotes cultural diversity.  It was established in 1991 to promote different kinds of culture in the school.  They impact African American, Asian American, Latino American and Native American students.  There are a lot of organization on campus that's involve with the Multicultural Center.  There are Men About Business, African Student Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Black Student Union, West Indian Society etc.  Office hours for the center are Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm in room 234.  The Multicultural Center also puts on different events around the schools.

Class Registration

We have reach a point where we have to start to register for our class in the spring of 2012.  And many people are having their advising meetings with their advisor to find out what classes they have to take and the requirements they need.  I have started that already so far.  I went to about three advising meetings so far.  The reason is that I changed my major from business to communication so I need to find out all the the classes I need to take in communication.  I also decided to minor in theater as well.  Many freshman are running around trying to figure out their schedule for next semester and in this blog I will talk about my process so far. 

Since I'm apart of the EOP( educational opportunity program) I have a hold on my account for registration.  I will work with on of the EOP counselor and they will help me out with my schedule and what class I should take for the Spring semester.  My first meeting was with my theater advisor telling that I trying to minor in theater production.  With that they was able to create a list of all the require classes that I have to take in order to continue on in the theater school.  I have to take a introduction of performance the Spring semester.  My second meeting was with my EOP counselor.  In that meeting, I was able to decided on 3 mandatory class that I have to take like Math 102 and English 112 etc.  My third meeting was with my INQ teacher.  She was able to give me my pin number so I'm able to go online to pick out my classes.  My forth meeting will be tomorrow and that will be with my communication advisor.  They will tell me about the require class I need to take for communication and be able to set up my classes. 

Spring Registration is very important for all students because they will be picking out their class and need to be advise on which class they should take. 

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity

For this blog, we are allow to talk about anything we want but has to connect to Southern Connecticut in someway possible.  So, I decided that i would take the time and talk about my interest in Phi Beta Sigma at Southern and how I would like to be apart of this fraternity.  I have always been eager to join a fraternity in college but don't know which one.  I'm looking for a fraternity that can impact me personally and professonally.  I feel that Phi Beta Sigma is that fraternity that can do it for me.  It has class and is very respected fraternity nationally.  "Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity is dedicated to strong bonds of brotherhood, living with integrity, serving humanity, promoting quality education and developing leaders"http://www.pbs1914.org/

Joining a Fraternity, you have to be very dedicated to be apart of.  But it's something that can change your life in many ways.  You can learn so much from your fraternity brothers and develop as a person in many ways.  That's something that I'm looking for out of the Phi Beta Sigma.  As a freshman, joinng this fraternity, I can mature so much as a person that come my senior; I can develop as a person in many ways possible." Exhibit integrity and ethical behavior in conducting the Fraternity's business. serving as a model for all Greek-letter organizations."http://www.pbs1914.org/mission/ Being apart of this fraternity, will create so many network for me.  I will be able to meet a lot of people from around the country.  "Encourage a closer and mutually beneficial working relationship with fellow Greek-letter organizations, other community service organizations, businesses and government."http://www.pbs1914.org/mission/

This week blog was very good because I was able to create my own blog post and express what's been on my mind for a while.  Joining a fraternity will benefit me in many ways and a good experience to be apart of.  It will teach you some much about yourself and you will be able to develop as a person in many ways possible.  "Strengthen and serve proactively the brotherhood, as a supportive resource that positively impacts the Fraternity's growth and financial solvency" http://www.pbs1914.org/mission/

Radio Station

Southern Connecticut has their own radio station called WSIN Radio.  Its a student produce radio station where any student is allowed to have their own radio show about anything.  It could be a talk show, music show or sport show.  I decided to listen to some of the shows that they air.  The top 5 shows that I would like to listen to are, 1:Pat in the Mid-Day- Mon 10 to 11am. 2: Sean Carroll- Mon 12 to 1pm. 3:Antonio-Tues 10 to 11am.  4:Jon Rivnyak -Tues 6 to 8pm. 5: Mitch-Wed 2 to 3pm.  The show decided to listen to was Mitch show on Wednesday.  It was a really good show, it focused on music and sports.  I would have to rate it on a 1 to 10 scale a 6. I would listen it again. 

Midterm Grades

Last week was students midterm test for Southern Connecticut.  Many students had test, exams or project for the midterm.  For me, I did pretty solid for my midterm grades.  I got A's, B's etc.  I think that I did pretty will with my class.  There were some classes that I did great and some I need to work a little harder on.  My best class I did in was English and Ant.  The class I did horrible in was Micro-Economics.  There is some work I have to do if I want to turn some of my lower grades into higher grades the rest of the semester.  I know I have to study more harder and make sure I do the homework and hand it in on time.

When it comes to my harder class, that is Micro Economics; I know I have to work more harder in.  I have to study and day for that subject and go to my professor's office to get some more assistance on the work.  I feel like I need to work on some practice problems in the book so it can prepare me for her test that she gives us.  For math, i got a C in the class.  I should of got a A but I did slack on some of the homework assignment in the class.  I felt that if I did more of the homework and study more then I would of have a A in the class.  For the rest of the semester I will be on all my assignment and make sure I study more in those class.  I think if I do that then I will be able to bring up some of my grades in those. 

Midterm grades definitely gives you idea of how you are doing in each of your classes and what grades you need to bring up before the semester is over. With a good work ethic and good time management skills then I don't think I will have any trouble bring up any of my grades before the semester ends. 

Video project

Critical Thinking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTJenBr-GW0

This is the link to my video.

Outside Your Comfort Zone

Going into your first year of college, you try to reinvent yourself from high school.  You kind of want to restart yourself and experience things you usually don't do or didn't do before.  For me I decided to join the radio station on campus.  I'm not usually the person that does live speaking in front of people or broadcast to people.  But I knew that it was something that was new and I could benefit from.  It was something that was new and out of my comfort zone but I knew that it was something that I should get involve.  Jeff and I host our shows on Sunday afternoon every week.

I decided to get involve with the radio club on campus.  At first, i was pretty nervous and scared because it was something that was new to me and I didn't know if i could do it.  I was little shy in high school and always got scared talking in front of a huge crowd.  I felt that if I was able to overcome this obstacle then I would gain more confident in me.  The day of the show, I was very scared because I didn't know what to expect from the radio show.  Will I just sit there and let my other friend do all the talking or will I step up to the plate.  When we got ready to go on the air, I started to realize that I could accomplish this task and do a good job at it.  I started to get more confidence in me and realize I could do a good job at it.  I did a good job at it and felt it was a good experience for me.

I think that it's a good job to reinvent yourself in college.  You never know what you will expect if you go out your comfort zone and experience something that is totally new. 

Professors Office Hours. Safari #1

This week many freshman had midterm conferences with their teachers to see how they are doing in their class.  I had a meeting with my English professor Incampo on Wednesday. Her office is B307 in Engleman Hall.  Her office hours is Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:50pm.  The questions I asked her was what is the next level of English after English 110.  The answer was it's English 112.  The second questions I asked her was what will our final exam be like.  The answer was it will be a memoir essay and portfolio of our time in English 110.  Other discussion we had in our meeting was my progress in the class and my grades so far. I'm doing very well. 

Time Management/Video Production

I have spent many hours, days, and weeks putting this video projects together.  It's been tough to put together but that hasn't stop me at all.  I have spent many hours brainstorming, interviewing, editing and loading up many of my videos to my computer.  It has been a lot of work for this midterm project.  Doing this projects requires good time management skills and being able to get it done.  I had to create my own schedule for this project so I won't fall behind.  I feel like I done a very good job at it.  Following a good schedule will ensure that I will complete the midterm video project on time.  Plus, do a good job with the project.

With the midterm project, I always spend at least two hours a day working on the project.  I made sure that I give myself enough time with the project.  I don't want to rush the project at all because I that means that it will be a horrible.  I had a outline plan when I started to brainstorm the project.  I created over 12 questions to ask my interviewer and made a list on who I will be interviewing.  That only took me a half hour to do.  It took me a couple of days to do my interview.  I made sure I interview everybody weeks a head of time so i will have a enough time to edit it.  When it came to the editing part, that was the longest part.  I had to know how to use imovie editing system before I started to edit my videos.  That took me a couple of hours but I learned how to use it.  I think I did a pretty good job at managing my time with the project.  I had a specific time and days to do what I needed for my project.  I think I was able to use my time wisely for this project.  Some things that I could of done differently was not be lazy sometimes.  I always kind of push back some of the days for my project so I could change that.  With that, I would of had more time to do more improvement with my project.

The midterm project has require good time management skills in order to finish the project and get a good grade on it.  You had to create a good schedule for yourself and management good.  I think I did a good job at it.

Troubles With Video

While working on the Midterm project, I knew that the troubles that I will have on the projects would have to be the technical part of it.  When it comes to the Mac computer, the imovie is pretty confusing to understand and try to edit my videos.  Another problem that I had with the video project was the youtube account.  We must upload our video until youtube and send a link to our blogs.  I don't have a youtube account so I don't know how to use youtube.  So that's going to be a problem for me.  The last problem that I had was with the text.  I didn't know how to add text to my videos.  With all the troubles that I had, I was able to find solutions to it.

When I first started to work with imovie on the Mac computer; the editing system was very confusing to me.  It was more undated then the windows movie.  In the beginning I had many problems with the editing and didn't know what to do.  I had trouble uploading the video and adding different scenes in the movie.  I didn't know how to had a theme to my video.  I decided to go to the help link in imovie.  I used their tutorial workshops.  That taught me how to upload, add theme and put in different scene to my video.  It became more easy for me to edit my video know.  When it came to the youtube account, that was a problem.  I didn't have a youtube account and never upload video before so i didn't know what to do.  One of my friends had a youtube account, so I ask her for some help.  She was able to help me upload any video I wanted to my account.  Plus I also look visited the help link in youtube and it showed me how to upload videos and anything else.  That last problem i had was with the text.  I had trouble adding text to my video.  I wanted to create some slides for my movie.  Once again I need to watch the tutorial videos to get some help and I did.

This midterm project has brought difficulty and joy to me.  It's challenging but fun at the same time and I'm enjoying every of it. 

Granoff Student Health Center: Safari



Granoff Student Health Center is the Southern Connecticut health services.  The center is there to help you with any medical needs for the students and advice about good health.  In the health center, I found many informations about good health for students.  How to stay healthy on campus.  What kinds of food you should eat to be healthy.  I also found out information on some health problems that college students face.  Information on STDs, and HIV/AIDs.  Granoff Health Center has many health information that each students know about for good use.  Granoff is located on Wintergreen Avenue near the residence hall.  It's open Mondays to Fridays from 8:30 to 4:30. 



Video Projects

For our midterm projects, we must create a 8 minute video surrounding the topic critical thinking.  We have to go around campus and interview students and faculity on critical thinking.  We have to try and come up with different kind of questions that goes deeper in the meaning of critical thinking.  Our first draft of our video is due this thursday.  I already started working on by project and what I want it to look like.  My topic will be what is critical thinking in their opinion and how can you use critical thinking in the field of business.  I already have all the people I want to interview already.

I made some progress in my video already.  I already know who I will be interviewing.  I will interview up to five people for my video.  Two undergraduate, Jon and Jeff two upperclassman in Joy and Maayra.  I'm going to interview my english professor Incampo.   I'm going to ask them different kind of critical thinking and how they can use that in the field of business.  I haven't develop some of my slides yet but I have a written outline of how I want to produce the film.  Some troubles that I have in producing the video is how to upload the  video on the youtube.  The reason is because I don't even have a youtube account in the first place.  The second trouble is how to burn our video on to a cd.  I dont know how to burn a video on to a cd so that would be the difficult part of this project. 

In general, I think thatIi'm making good progress with my video so far.  I am creating a good outline to my video so when I start to upload it on to movie maker I will know what to do with it. 

Works Cited

                                                                           Works Cited

Churchill, Mario.  "5 tips for Using Critical Thinking for Business Success."  Ezine Articles. Publish 7 August 2005.

Ask.com. "Definition of Critical Thinking".  Ask.com. Publish 2011

Critical Thinking in Business

Last class we went to the libary to learn more about research and how to look up books.  We all had to find and check out books on critical thinking for our video projects.  Since i'm a business major, my projects is going to be about critical thinking in the world of business.  So what is critical thinking?  "Critical thinking in general, refers to a higher-order of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true."(ask.com)http://www.ask.com/wiki/Critical_thinking.  Critical thinking is basically problem solving.  In business, you have a lot of problem solving to do and trying to figure it out.  So i will be asking my peers on what they think is critical thinking and how does it relates to the field of business. 

So critical thinking is problem solving in many cases.  You have to be able to figure out what is true or what is false in many cases.  You have to be able to apply, analyze, critize and solve a problem.  In business, critical thinking is very important for success.  There are 5 tips you need in business using critical thinking.  1.  Know the difference between fact and fiction.  "Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction - even in the business world - but there's nothing else to do but believe it if it's indeed the truth".(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/471726).  You have to be able to make sure any of your information you get is correct and accurate or its not.  2.  Always verify your source.  Every informations that you have has to have a source to back it up.  Always good to make sure you have a source and if it's reliable and verifiable.  3.  Don't Stop Asking Questions.  In business, you always have to ask questions on everything that you do.  "No matter how great the alternative or solution sounds, don't take it at face value. Question everything"(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/471726) If you keep on asking questions you will get more informations and reliable facts.  4. Verification isn't Enough.  Check Your Accuracy. Its always good to make sure that all your informations that you get is accurate and not made up.  Its always good to do a lot of research on your source for accuracy.  5. Pride Cometh Before a Fall.  "Lastly, don't allow pride or ego to influence your position"(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/471726). Everyone in business as some ego of sorts.  Don't let that get in your way. 

Critical thinking plays a huge roll in everyday life.  You need critical thinking in order to be successful in life.  Being able to go out on campus and interview people on their own definition of critical thinking is very good.  I'll be able to get different views and opinion on the topic and see how people use critical thinking in their everyday life. 

The Writing Center

It was my first time going to the Campus Writing Center at Southern Connecticut.  I had a five page research paper I had to revise.  Going to the Writing Center was very helpful for me.  I was able to get a second opinion on my paper and made sure I could correct all my mistake I made.  My English professor was the one that I worked with at the Writing Center so that was helpful for me.  They help me on my thesis and topic statement in the essay.  So I was able to get a better outline of my paper.  I will definitely go again to the Writing Center.  It's very helpful to me and I be able revise and my paper much better. 

Stress Relief

When it comes to college, stress is a major thing for many students.  You have to battle time management, your classes and all the work you have to do.  For some people, it's very difficult for them and they become stressed out because of it.  With stress, there comes health problems along the way.  Many doctors would always say to find something that reduces your stress level.  With all the test and midterm exam coming up; it's good for a very students to find something that relieves stress on them.  So when I become stress, I always try to take a long walk outside, go work out in the gym and play some football. 

When  is bugging me or when I getting ready for a test; I always take a long walk along the campus.  That helps me take my mind off of everything and just relax.  To me it works a lot.  I'm able to calm myself down and get a way from all the academic work and social life for a while.  This method is very good because no one is with you when you take your walk; so you could be by yourself and think.  The second thing I do when I'm stress is work out in the gym.  That's something I always like to do when I'm feeling bad or when something is overwhelming me.   Just being in the gym and lifting weight reduce a lot of my problems and make me think also.  The last thing I do to relieve stress is to play a pick up game of football.  That's something that many college students should do when they are stress is try to have fun.  Get your mind off of what is hurting you. 

Stress is something that all students have to over come in college at some point.  Being able to find out methods to reduce your stress level will help you in the end.

To be healthy in College

When you are in college you don't have your parents looking out for you anymore.  It's your responsiblity to take care of yourself now.  We all had our parents always tell us to put on a coat when it rains or not to go outside unless you dress warm.  They made sure you eat healthy, take care of your body hegine etc.  For most people that's very  difficult for them and need some assistance on it.  So coming to college, students are more likely to get sick more easier then before.  So they should take more precaution now that they are in college.

Tips on how to keep healthy when you are in college is to make sure you have a good body hegine.  That means make sure you take a bath everyday and brush your teeth in the process.  Many students probably would wake up and go straight to class and thats not good because you will get sick along the way.  Another tip is to always keep your room clean.  I know thats hard for many students because you used to have your parents always tell you to clean up your room everyday.  Cleaning your room will prevent many sickness that comes.  It's Always good to clean up all the trash and dust in your room.  The most important thing is to always dress up warm when its cold and raining outside.  When you start feeling sick go to the campus health place to get it check out.  Do let it get worse at all,  you dont have your parents anymore to tell you to go to the doctors. 

Doing all these steps will make sure that you won't get sick at all the times and miss classes.  When you keep on missing all these classes then your assignments will keep on piling up and you will be behind in all your classes. 

Safari #4 CC

I live in Wilkinson hall and my CC(Community Coordinator) is Sheldon.  I was talking to Sheldon this week about his job and some of the responsibilities that he has as a CC.  His main responsibilities is to provide leadership to undergraduate residence hall floor community of first and second year students.  He also is a desk attendants at some time.  That job is to supervise the hall and help any students with guest questions and concerns.  I also asked him how can anybody become a CC.  To become a CC you need to have 12 SCSU credits for applying and 24 credits for employment.  But many people start off as a desk attendant first and work their way up the ranks.

The marshmallow question

The topic that has been bugging mean for a while is the marshmallow debate.  There was a study that happen to little kids.  They would put marshmallow in a room of four kids and tell them not to eat it.  If the ones that obeyed would be more successful in life and the ones that ate the marshmallow would not be successful.  The kids who ate the marshmallow will have bad behavior and horrible grades.  The ones who didn't eat the marshmallow will have excellent grades and be well behavior.  So i told many of my friends on campus about it and ask them do you agree that the marshmallow debate is accurate or not.  I want to see other people view of the debate and see their opinion on it.

So i went on campus and asked a couple of my friends what they think of it.  My first friend i ask was Jeff and he said that he dosen't agree at all.  He thinks that its to early to predict a kids future based off of a study you did.  He thinks that there will be many factors that will determine what a kid will do.  I agree with him on it.  Just because a kid ate the marshmallow dosent mean in the future they will be disobedient and have poor grades in school.  A couple of my others also agree as well.  They were pretty shock when i told them it and showed them the video.  They feel that they are to young to know whats right from wrong and basically the you will be tempting them by putting the marshmallow in the room.  I think that all their answers just shows you that predicting anybodys future will not be accurate and wont work at all.  My opinion is the same that you shouldn't do study on kids who are 4 about the future because anything can that change their results.

I kind of knew that my friends answer will be the same because i felt that is pretty obvious that the marshmallow study would not work at all.

Time Management



Coming into college as a freshmen; one of my big concern I had was time management.  How was I going to be able to handle my social and academic life.  Back in high school you already had your parents managing your schedule for you so going to college I was going to be on my own.  Time Management is going to be challenge for every incoming freshman. 

When conducting my time management study I realize I had many free time on my hands.  When it comes to my study/homework I spend up to 26 hours a week on.  I think that it's a good amount of hours I spend on my work during the week.  I always try to study two hours for each subject that I have each day.  I usually try to work on 2-3 subjects each day to balance it out.  Some of my biggest distraction would have to be hanging out with my friends.  I always try to work first and play later.  That's something that I learned from high school by my teachers.  If I'm able to do that then I wont have to much distraction in my life.  For my social life I spend about 30 hours a week on.  I'm decided to join flag football and many clubs on campus to keep me involved at Southern.  I feel I spend the most time on is academics and socializing.  I feel I able to balance both of them.  I feel that I need to improve on decreasing my social hours a little to get more work down.  I feel that if I do it then I have a way more better time management habit.

Time management is something that is going to be hard on any freshman that is coming into college.  Its something freshmen need to learn so they could have a successful first year.  Being able to have a schedule that has your class and activities list will help you out a lot.

Southern Connecticut destroys Pace

http://www.southernctowls.com/news/2011/9/23/FB_0923115302.aspx

I was so excited for my first college football game as a freshman.  Usually I would be playing in a school football game so it was kind of strange at first but I adjusted to it.  Since it was my first college football game; I didn't know what to expect from it.  I saw many tailgate outside, people wearing face paints and going nuts.  It was a whole new world and it was all great.  The game was awesome, Southern owls destroyed Pace by 61-0.  Southern Wilie Epps had two touchdown in the game that helped the owls with their win.  Their defense made two interception with one for a touchdown.  It was a great experience attending the game as a fan and cheering on with all my friends.  I will always go to their home football games. 

True A

Being able to pick from all the INQ students blog is very hard.  All the blogs are amazing and interesting in their own way.  I had to try and read as many blogs and pick the three that I felt is the the true A in the class.  The first blog i choose was Nicole's blog about what do you know about sneaker, the second blog i choose is Kyre's blog about the commuter lounge is where it's at".  Lastly the final blog I thought was amazing is Bobby's Safari SCSU Football 2011.

I found Nicole blog about sneaker interesting because I felt her connection for shoes.  She is a sneaker head, very into all kinds of sneacker as am I.  She was very knowledgeable about sneackers and know the history of sneacker from way back.  Another the reason I felt her blog deserve an A is she made a personal connections with the blog.  She gave her thoughts on the blog and connected with her life.

The second blog that I read was Kyre's blog about the commuter lounge.  I like how he was able to record a video of the communter lounge and what it's like.  Each of his viewers will be able to experience the lounge just buy reading his blog.  He was able to describe the lounge and what it's like during school.

The third blog that I read was Bobby's Safari blog SCSU Football 2011.  I like this blog because I was able to relate to it because I usef to play football in high school.  I like how were able to see his perspective of the event from sideline and how it impacted him. 

NFL Blog/Republican Voice

The first professional blog that I found was the NFL blog.  It talked about whats going on in the NFL and go in depth about each game of the season.  Many fans also gave their reaction and opinion on each game.  This specfic blog that I did is about Michael Vick consussion he suffered in the Atlanta game. 

Michael Vick, quarterback of the Eagles sustained a concussion in the game.  He was carried out of the game and never returned.  This is very serious because Michael Vick is very valuable to the Eagles and if they want to win a SuperBowl this year they need Vick the be healthy at all times.  Also in the blog, it discuss how Vick wanted to come back in the game after suffering a concussion.  Vick was eager to come back but was not allowed.  The author of the blog is Jason La Canfora and his style of writing for this blog is very basic.  The way he wrote his blog wasen't at all fancy to me.  It was a regular post about the game and his thoughts.  The setup of it was in paragraph form with a introduction, body and conclusion.  This blog caught my eye in many ways.  First I'm a big Eagles fan and Vick fan so thats why I was interested in this blog.  The second reason was I watch Vick get injured on the field and I wanted to find out more on his injury.  Many people will like this blog because of how popular the topic is.  Michael Vick is one of the most talked about player in the NFL so people will find many interest in the blog.  Plus, people will be able to comment of the blog and see other people reactions and thoughts about his injury. 

 The second professional blog that I read was about Republican disapproval of Obama.  I found this blog on the New York Times.  This blog talked about the Republican view on Obama stewardship of the economy and how his job plan is being received.  We get a good look at what Republican think about Obama and how good/bad of a job he is doing.

Allen Hulshizer who is a Republican said any Republican that gets nominated is going to be better they what we got now. 

“Any Republican who gets the nomination, whether it’s my first choice or not, is going to be better than what we’ve got now. By the time you get down to the final selections, any one of the top contenders will certainly be better than Obama. Right now the top contenders are Perry and Romney and either would be fine.”(By Marina Stefan of the New York Times "The Caucus")http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/republican-voices-express-disapproval-of-obama/
There are many Republican who gave their opinion on Obama and how he is doing his job.  Its a very negative opinion about him.  The style of this blog is more interesting then the other blog I previous read.  The way this blog is setup is people give their opinion about the topic of the blog.  People are giving their opinion on Obama.  The reason the blog caught my eye is I like politics and have a good interest in it.  I like how we were able to see other people views and thoughts in the blog. Many people will find this blog interesting because they will be able to see other peoples opinion on the topic and get different perspective of the issue.

Safari #2 Kennedy Brothers

For my second safari blog I choose to do it on the library; searching for the Kennedys.  It wasen't hard to locate the book in the library for me.  I was always good at finding books in the library because I was able to track down their call numbers on the side of the book.   So it was easy for me to track down the book without any help.  It was located on the second floor with a call number of E841 .T29 2007.  When browsing and reading the book I found out more information on both of the Kennedys.  You kind of get a retrospect of both of their life personnally and professionally.  I was searching to see both of the brothers life and find similarites and differences of both of them growing.  It was kind of like the Wes Moore book were we was able to see both of the Wes Moore like be connected between each other.  That's what I was looking for in the Kennedy brothers.  The class that this book relates to is my english class.    We are writing a profile paper on famous brothers and I choose the Kennedy brothers.

Hunt for a teacher/Deep Thinker

Every incoming freshman coming into college should be fimilar with Rate My Professors site.  http://blog.ratemyprofessors.com/  This site would be helpful to find out some information about your teachers and what former students think about them.  The second advice would be for students to take composition course even if they have tested out of it. 

For the first advice which was to learn more about your teacher skills and style; i'm all for that.  Even though i still haven't done that myself its still a good idea.  Having a better knowledge of your teacher could help you pass his/her class.  Knowing that a teacher is very strict on homework completion or that your math teacher wants you to show all your work even with a calculator could save you a letter grade.  When i first heard about rate my professors site i didn't know what to expect at all.  I thought that it was just a fun website to make fun of your teachers that you didn't like.  When i found out more about the site  I soon found out its more helpful then I thought.  When it comes to the second advice that students should take a composition course, I'm neutral about that.  The reason is that if you already have the skills to not take the class then why bother taking it.  Wouldn't it be a waste of time to take the course.  At the same time, whats wrong with brushing up on your skills.  Its only going to make you much better at writing.  I'm turn between that issue but both side are both valid reason.

       Deep Thinker                  

"they have trained their mind to think hard, produce subtle, nuanced arguments, and find deep connections between ideas"(How to Become a Deep Thinker at College by: Study Hacks).  http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/24/how-to-become-a-deep-thinker-at-college/  What are the ways to become a deep thinker in college.  The first step is to choose a mixture of courses that all seems interesting to you.  The next step is to calcuate the number of hours per week for workload.  The last step to mange the number of hours for free time. 

I never knew that there were steps on how to become a better thinker in college. But I guess there is and its not a bad idea at all.  I kind of view  deep thinking like critical thinking.  They want you to go beyond the topic and go deep into it.  Example, when talking about a topic don't just give the basic answer or the obvious answer to the teacher.  Try to find out the true meaning to the answer.  Thats what inquiry is all about, making us a better thinker in college.  Not just to give a high school answer but to give a college answer

The marshmallow myth/DNA Crush

When you think of marshmallows you think of a camp fire or little kids eating a marsmallow sandwich with grand crackers.  But, there is a new way to use marshmallow and its not for eating.  A study shows that if you put kids in a room with two marshmallow and tell them not to eat it then they have a better rate of being successful.  But if some of the kids eat the marshmallow then they have a lesser chance of being successful. 

This kind of study is debating in a lot of ways and i don't support it at all.  They say in 15 years the kids that didn't eat the marshmallow will have a better chance at being successful then the ones that did eat the marshmallow.  But in my view how can you base a prediction off of marshmallow.  Just because a four year  old disobeys and eat a marsmallow doesn't hurt his chance of being successful.  People change over the years and other factors may change their behavior also.  Plus, most children isn't develop yet to know from right or wrong and you kind of put them in a no win situation.  I can connect to this situation because when i was young i had a bad behavior and people based my future off my bad behavior when i was a kid.  But things change and i was able to turn my life around and end up where i at today, in college. 

I don't support this marsmallow experiement that they try to do on the kids.  15 years is a long way to go and there are different obstacles that the kids are going to face that will change their behavior and who they are.

When it comes to college, many students already have their major they wants.  but some do enter college being undecided not knowing what they want to major in at all.  Thats complety find because many people change their major after their first year in college because they fall in love with someting else.  That happen to one student at her college.  She enter Harvard collge as a math major and eventually switch to science because of a DNA lecture that she listen to. 

This is something that is very common in college because there is so many classes and opportunity that is thrown at you.  I think that people should be more open minded when it comes to their classes because you never know what will interest you.  College is variety of different careers and majors that each students should explore and become familar with.  Going undecided is not a bad route to go and i would encourge many incoming freshman to go undecided so they can have the opportunity to see different other avenue go down. 

Who knows you may fall in love with DNA or something similar to it that makes you want to change your major and go down a different road.  By all means go for it