As I am walking back from Pierce dining hall on Sunday, I see a group of my peers grouped together - stretching, sporting headbands, pulling up their socks...
And then I realize what all the hulabaloo is about.
TAU BETA PI is an honorary engineering society involved in community-based public service projects. On Sunday, they hosted the Pi Mile Run. Registrants gathered to run 3.141592 miles to help raise money for the Hoboken Boys and Girls Club!
Whew.... Unity is over!! Smiles AND Frowns for that one...
While we're (e-board) glad its over, the end of Unity marks the culmination of our one year election period for the Ethnic Student Council... So if I may, I'd like to give a quick shout out:
... for a fantastic year... from Chip & Dip, Casino Night, Fright Night, to our very 1st Diversity Conference and Unity Carnival/Show! You all were brilliant. Now, get some rest and study for finals :-p
Behind the mega event were: many sleepless nights, late-night meetings, large cellphone bills from coordinating vendors (& coordinating ourselves!), heated conversations, many trips to the Student Life Office to finalize details, a lot of Adobe Photoshop and Video Editing... and that's just from the perspective of the E-board...
The performers practice relentlessly - the freshmen witnessing the meaning of passion and perfection from the returning students who are fighting hard to win the Unity 2009 Title! Months/Weeks of practice and sweat later...
...We present to you... Unity 2009!
Last time we talked, I was on my way to travel 6800 miles across the globe with my brother to celebrate my spring break in Egypt. I will begin by telling you that is was simply awesome! It is still very surreal to me that I was riding horses and camels against the backdrop of the pyramids (and even climbing one of them!) and sailing down the Nile River (significance of which in shaping ancient cultures... yadda yadda... I've learned so much about throughout grade school). The accounts of my trip could fill an entire papyrus journal - so I will spare you all the details.
But as soon as I landed back in Hoboken, NJ, I hit the ground running! These are some of the highlights:
Opening Remarks: Dean Nilsen; Workshop; Workshop; Panel Discussion
Ad in the Stevens Stute; Make up Trial Run
Whew.... so there has just been so many things going on... And oh my goodness... school is almost done! Last day of classes: APRIL 30!
^April 30... sigh, i remember the days where the last day of classes wasn't until June (back in high school)!
Of late, unemployment rates have done nothing but caused even greater widespread fear of the economy. No doubt this fear has trickled down from those having jobs to those in search for them to even those who will be searching for them soon - us, college students!
Many of us remain sincerely concerned of the outlook this whole mess will bring 6-12 months from now, when we ourselves will be in the position of looking for employment opportunities. And while no one can predict the future, we all can certainly try our best to prepare for it, perhaps even striving to advantageously situate ourselves for the future...
The Co-Op program is a curriculum centered around the integration of academic and work experience. Students will switch off semesters of regular university coursework with industry jobs. The advantages are many:
So it came as a relief to many, that even despite these debbie-downer-news headlines, Stevens students were still seen paving their own paths.
The Annual Spring Career Day took place just this past Wednesday, followed by the popular Co-Op Interview Day today. Good to know, that as we continue to strive for excellence in our classrooms, recruiters are still here looking for talent!
And with that good news, I am ready to kick off my spring break! I will be traveling to Egypt for the next 9 days, and will continue blogging on my return. Write to you all in a bit!
The Hello Movement ran on throughout this past week... students receiving silly smiley stickers and nametags to ready their demeanor to simply be friendly :-)
What is the Hello Movement, you ask?
Its a week long event where everyone makes an extra effort to say "Hello" to their fellow students.
The movement was sponsored by our Gear & Triangle Society, an honor society founded on the principles of Honor, Fellowship, and Spirit - all essential for a successful man or woman at Stevens Institute of Technology.
I tried to say hi to as many new faces as I could... interestingly though, there weren't THAT many to begin with. If you're involved around campus, you'll come to find that you'll come across most of the 2000 undergrads here at some point in time... and well, if you hadn't before - The Hello Movement may have inspired you to do so!
"Poetess Murdered at Turntable Meeting" reads the front page headline of The Open Book, the town's newspaper since 1899.
"Charity Homes, 43, acclaimed local poetess whose works have been published in seven countries, but never in the United States, was murdered at the Poets Turntable meeting last night."
As the evening unfolded, students were to remain acute to details and gather evidence to solve this crime scene.
Last night, the Entertainment Committee hosted a murder mystery dinner in Jacobus Hall. Actors remained in character throughout the evening, reciting their works as poets - sneaking in clues with their play on words.
We enjoyed a delicious dinner and had a great time solving the case before us. The "goody bag" was a cleverly packaged bag of Lucky Charms, as it was Friday the 13th...
Wall Street Journal, 2.5.09
Just as the "intriguing factor" of a government or political science class is greatly augmented during election years, so it is for a business or finance class during such economic situations as we are currently weathering.
intriguing factor: propensity for a student to remain fully attentive during hours of scheduled class.
As a Business & Technology student, we are required to read and familiarize ourselves with the information presented in the Wall Street Journal, daily. That is Step 1 of immersing ourselves into the world of business. So for the past months, we've been reading about the the dire company earnings reports, forced mergers, and more recently newly proposed government action to the banking crisis. Step 2: analyze the information we read, from all angles, to better understand the complete impact of the issue. Thus, last week, in groups, we focused on the 4 main viable schemes, all of us striving diligently to defend our own given solution:
We presented on Insurance. The idea is that government
could offer guarantees against losses on assets that would be "ring-fenced" but
remain on bank balance sheets, a tactic the government has used to help
Citigroup and Bank of America. Just like an insurance
company that insures a house that then burns down, when the creditors
default on an insured bank loan, almost all of the loss would be borne
by the government (tax payer).
Everyone presented, highlighting the pros of their own solution and cons of the others... and now we await the Professor's call as to who was able to defend their position most effectively.
Might
I add that, in reality, the government is proposing a combination of
the Insurance and Good Bank, Bad Bank schemes...i'm just saying...
"How many students present in this room actually use their land-line telephone provided to them by the University?"
Of the 150+ attendees, one measly hand rose to affirm his use. Well, it was no biggie as to why, after the follow-up question confirmed that approximately 80% of the room possessed some sort of Smart Phone that could enable internet use along with the standard function of communication with others.
That was exactly the point - a simple exemplification of the change in technology and the trend of the marketplace, right before us. We now live in an era of instant gratification -- anything can be made available and accessible at the click of a mouse or press of a keypad (internet technology via cell phones).
That was the essence of only one of four factors Mr. David Rose described to us about the continuously evolving dynamic of the business industry during his presentation. Mr. Rose was a part of the Howe School's A. Roy Heath Leadership Seminar Series, designed to give the Stevens community an opportunity to listen to,
and learn from, the experiences of corporate leaders in business and
industry. Mr. Rose is the CEO and founder of Rose Tech Ventures, an early stage investment
fund and incubator dedicated to
"finding, nurturing and launching the next generation of world class
ventures."
And so as this angel investor, who thumbs over hundreds of business plans a year, and turns into reality the ones that he believes has the most potential, who better to deliver his perspective of what the market wants and where the next business opportunity may lie?
Following the lecture, Q&A, and discussion with my professors also attending, I walked out of the Lectrue Hall 122, invigorated, into the grand Babbio Atrium, looking all around me through the glass walls overlooking the New York City skyline - and decided that I needed to start my own business... like today! tonight, actually! Things are happening, and people are making moves... it's either move with them or get left behind...
Then why did I sacrifice the comfort of my cozy bed, much enjoyed sleep, and warmth of my nicely heated home to witness, first hand, the 2009 Inauguration Opening Ceremony, and to watch Barack Obama as he spoke to the sea of Americans gathered before him? I mean, with the advent of HD technology, I would've seen the same thing, and actually even clearer, bigger, and warmer sitting right at home sipping a nice cup of warm hot chocolate.
...
At a school where some professors even give out their cell numbers to students to encourage contact for homework help, it was no surprise to me that upon emailing my professors to notify them of my absence from class on Tuesday, January 20 (to attend Inauguration in DC), I received immediate acceptance of the idea and great encouragement to experience this historic event LIVE.
Of course words like "historical," "epic," "civil rights," "freedom," "new era" all characterize everything that has been spoken on CNN and amongst other commentators. But beyond inspiring the entire nation at large, how does the grand notion of this phenomenon, that IS Barack Obama, relate to a single individual?
Per aspera ad adstra... Through adversity to the stars - the Stevens motto and an apt theme that seems to resound through many success stories of great people. Obama's cocaine abuse, his "un-Americana" family structure (parents' separation, father's early death)... some may deem them as sob marketing soundbites - but whatever you title them... to Democrat or Republican, I do sincerely think they offer a reminder to all to reflect on one's own life. Obama stood confident before millions of people today, able and ready, despite the hardships that he endured throughout his own life, addressing the nation as their First African-American President of the United States... THE highest position of leadership one could attain in all the land.
February often marks the beginning of neglect for many a new years resolutions (finding more excuses to not go to the gym today). I feel it is very easy to lose sight of your original ambitions after a period of initial self hype, so it becomes increasingly important to find that source of motivation to sustain yourself throughout the journey... Now my own aspirations may differ than those of President Barack Obama, but this phenomenon reminds me to rediscover my own convictions and dreams. My father has always told me to "find a passion. passion drives people beyond their capabilities."
And so as I stood, quite literally freezing my toes off in Washington DC, trying hard to peer through heads to catch a glimpse of Barack himself, I did in fact feel a few goosebumps (yes, some because of the frigidness), and a little invigorated. I found myself chanting "O-BA-MA" in unison with the hundreds of thousands around me, caught up with the energy of the crowd. And as this new Spring semester begins, I ask myself what I can do this year to reach closer to my own goals.
Just a FEW of the Guests...
When you're so close to NYC there are a few things one simply MUST do during his/her time in the area around the holidays season:
After the two week long finals period, my friends and I celebrated the end of the semester and [hopefully] the fruits of our labor by crossing off #3 and #4 on our life's-long TO DO List...
After a SPLENDID dinner at Klong (Thai restaurant in Saint Marks Pl), we hopped on a few subways to find our way towards Rockefeller Center: sight of the infamous Christmas Tree of NYC (apparently lit with approx. 5 miles of lights!). After experiencing the essence of the holiday spirit amidst the crowds of people gathered from near and afar snapping photos relentlessly, we made our way to the main event of our night: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, featuring the ROCKETTES!
It was a fantastic show! The show is so deeply rooted in tradition, that it truly reinvigorates the joyfulness of Santa and his little elves. Dancing giant teddy bears, incredibly in sync toy soldiers, and of course the famous footwork of the rockettes kept us thoroughly engaged.
The show was great, HOWEVER, a message of caution to those of you who go: DO NOT BUY THEIR HOT CHOCOLATE. There are 2 levels in the Radio Music Hall. The first level sells heavily watered down hot chocolate (which tastes awful). The 2nd level concession stands sell "gourmet" hot chocolate. Those employess will even affirm that the hot chocolate on floor 1 is terrible, and will continue to market their own gourmet status... DO NOT BE FOOLED! They are both bad. They do have cotton candy bags though, that provide a sweet treat for the show!