Theta Chi badge and Wagnerstock shirt and street sign

On April 20th, Wagner College held its annual Wagnerstock and Big Name events. These two events are one of the most anticipated activities Wagner plans for the spring semester. Wagnerstock is basically a day out in the Oval, kind of like an Oval Day, but with activities and many free things. Big Name is the night concert that Wagner plans with an artist that is popular right now. This day is basically dedicated to art and music.

Jessica performing.

Wagnerstock begins at 11 a.m. at the Oval. All the organizations, including Greek houses, set up tables around the Oval so people can walk up to them and see what their organization is all about. Most Greek organizations like to display their signature objects and a few photo albums. Once everything is set up, the students are able to enjoy a barbecue on the Oval. Wagner provides hot dogs and hamburger tables for students to make their own creations; and the best part… a big table full of delicious cookies! Once you get your food, you can walk around the Oval and see the different stations. This year, in the middle there was a giant red chair where students would sit with their friends, take a picture, and make it into a key chain. There was also a station where you could airbrush the free shirts you got for Wagnerstock. Although the line was eternal, it was worth it to have a customized shirt for the event. At another station, students could create their own street signs for their rooms. A final station that was there, and it is my personal favorite, was a henna tattoo station. As much as I love tattoos I had to resist the urge to go there, just because I would start getting ideas for my next tattoo; and I think I would give my parents a heart attack if I got another one too soon.

Rozmary performing.

Theta Chi sweethearts with their airbrushed shirts.

During Wagnerstock there were also performers singing at the Oval. The artists performing were Wagner’s own talented students! Two of my favorite sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Jessica Kartalis and Rozmary Ndou, performed and they definitely had the crowd singing and dancing along with them. Rozmary gave the crowd a wonderful pop performance and Jessica sang some of the popular hits with her lovely voice and a spin of her own.

At 8 p.m., students gathered in the Spiro Sports Center to see the Big Name act, Wale. The rapper came and conquered the stage with all his famous tunes. By the end of the day everyone was satisfied with the amazing and successful day Wagnerstock had been. After all this time of waiting for this event it definitely lived up to its standards, and I am sure next year will be even better.

Wale performing

Presenting my poster during the poster presentation session at the conference.

This past Saturday, I had one of the best, well-spent, and enjoyable days I have had so far here at Wagner College.  Never would I have imagined that a science conference was as exciting as it was at Providence College on April 20, 2013.  I had been preparing for this conference since February.  I saw all of my long hours in the microbiology and chemistry labs pay off when I proudly presented my poster at the 67^th Eastern Colleges Science Conference.  A group of about twenty Wagner College science students attended this conference and presented their work through oral presentations or posters.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Ken Miller, a renowned evolutionary scientist who is famous for his biology textbook used throughout high schools all over America, as well as his activism in defending the importance of science in and out of the classroom.

I met many enthusiastic students who were passionate about their research, and exchanged ideas and learned from many people from the colleges who participated.  It was incredible to meet students who met my level of enthusiasm and passion for science and research.  On the bus ride to and from the conference, I was able to talk to my peers from Wagner about their research experiences both at Wagner and from the internships they have participated in.  I was fascinated at the multitude of interests of the science students on the bus, as well as the different topics of research that were conducted during the course of the year.  Attending this conference was a new experience for me, and I not only learned how poster presentations are supposed to be given, but I also learned that conducting research at Wagner is something that I should treasure because at some colleges, research is only offered to upperclassmen.

Now is the final stretch of the semester.  We have about three and half weeks until summer is here.  There is still lots of unfinished business I have to attend to before my summer begins, so I hope you keep following up on my blog and hear the finale of my second year here at Wagner!

Here I am talking with Anna Mulé near Rockefeller Center, right across the street from my building.

I work for Warner Music in the field of Brand Partnerships and Licensing. This may sound really confusing, but it actually is an incredibly engaging field that I have a lot of interest in. What that entails exactly is finding different brands to partner our artists with. If a company like Coca-Cola wants their brand to be paired with an artist or song that works with the brand’s image and personality, we find the artists that are the best match and set up a partnership. An example of this is a Hyundai commercial that the department I work in got paired with the Flaming Lips. Check out the link below:

I find it fascinating that by bringing in artistic personalities, it can really help make a brand such as Hyundai more approachable and memorable. This is one example of the types of things we do, but it has been really great to see the finished products of things I am working on. It shows that doing an internship isn’t just about getting credits and doing the hours. Over the past couple of months I have developed a real understanding of the work and how hard the team works.

A view down Avenue of the Americas, where I spent most of this semester

There are a lot of fun times as well. I have gotten to attend meetings at agencies, go to record release parties for pop duo Tegan & Sara and the Flaming Lips, and this week I am going to help out with a Michael Buble event downtown. These are a lot of fun and let me gain exposure to some really important people who work in the field. I also get to listen to a lot of music that I may not have discovered on my own, which is really exciting. Overall this has been a great experience and I am sad it has to end. I highly recommend going out there and exploring opportunities that you may be interested in.

I have found this semester that if you work hard, keep striving, and open your mind, you can learn a lot and really be a part of the city and the incredible opportunities it holds! This is what the Wagner Plan is all about, and it is just as effective as any classroom.

Also, check out a few clips of my trip in this great video by  Anna Mulé, the director of digital and social media at Wagner College.

Talk soon Seahawks!

The Theta Chi brothers and their choreographers.

My favorite time of year came and went so fast; we danced, we sang, we joyed, we sweated — Songfest was a blast! All the Greek organizations, along with Nubian Student Union and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, were part of this singing and dancing competition. Each organization had a total of 8 minutes to put on a good performance, and I must say that they all were fantastic. The crowd went wild every time someone danced to a popular song. A special congratulations to Alpha Omicron Pi for winning first place!

But Songfest was not just one evening. It took a lot of planning. Theta Chi had a total of 23 participants competing in Songfest, so coordinating that number of boys and having them all together for rehearsals was a big challenge. We started planning March 8th, the day before Spring Break, and it was a little hectic because some of us had to plan during our Spring Break (and you know where I was over break!). By the end of that first day, we had our theme established: “I Wish I Was Cool.”

The girls amazed by one of the popular kids.

I began to choose songs that could  fit into that theme, and rounded up a total of 322 songs. We were only allowed to submit 35 songs, so I had to delete quite a lot. Once we had our song list established, we submitted it for review and received back a list of approved songs.

Then it was time to pick out 10 songs to put into a storyline that appealed to the audience. The songs we picked were: Hey Mickey, Dancing With Myself, American Idiot, La Macarena, Thriller, Pop, Pop Lock and Drop It, Just Dance, Magic, and Moves Like Jagger. Here’s the storyline we came up with (follow me here):

The nerds dancing with themselves.

These four nerds walk into a dance and see four very attractive girls, and they decide to talk to them. The girls, seeing that they are not cool, reject them instantly and go dance with one of the popular kids (Hey Mickey). So the nerds were left by themselves (Dancing With Myself), wishing they were cool. All of a sudden, one of the kids at the dance tells them that in order to be cool, they need to know how to rock and roll (American Idiot). One of the nerds tries a very generic and popular dance to be cool (La Macarena), but is not successful. After seeing this poor attempt, another kid steps in and shows them how to dance to Michael Jackson (Thriller). Another student steps in and tells them that Thriller is overdone and that boy bands are what makes people cool (Pop). After this song, the most popular kid walks in and teaches them his cool way of dancing (Pop Lock and Drop It). One of the girls then realizes that everyone has their own way of dancing, so she decides to encourage everyone to just dance (Just Dance). The next number portrays the transformation of the nerds into Theta Chi brothers because they realized that they were cool all along (Magic). The finale was a big dance number were the nerds dance with the four girls they had seen at the beginning, and demonstrate that they had all the moves from the very beginning (Moves Like Jagger).

Moves Like Jagger.

Rehearsals to pull this off were intense, and we ended every night drenched in sweat. During the final two days we finally had everything put together and the happiness we felt was incredible. Our energy was very high before we went on stage; we gave it our all and could not believe it was over that fast. Once the competition was over, the judges handed out awards for small categories, and Theta Chi won “Crowd Favorite.” We were so happy for this award — it meant that we did what we wanted to do: entertain the crowd. I cannot wait for next year’s Songfest!

The nerds become Theta Chi brothers!

I had invited Mrs. Tricia Baker from Attitudes in Reverse (AIR) to participate in the health fair.  I was honored to meet the two service dogs who represent AIR, Miki the pomeranian (the Eukanuba National Champion of service dogs) and Misha, an old time scotch collie! These were the cutest dogs I have ever met thus far in my life, and I hope that I will see them again sometime on campus in the future. I must say that other Wagner students would be ecstatic to see them again as well. In addition to promoting awareness of mental health, AIR strives to rescue dogs and pair them up with people who struggle with anxiety, depression, or mental disorders and promoting pet therapy as a way to help people who struggle with these conditions.

Teammate Meredith Ketchmark and me holding Miki and Misha at the AIR table.

Founders of AIR, Kurt and Trisha Baker, who came to participate in Wagner’s Health Fair with Miki and Misha!

In addition to enjoying the company of two fabulous dogs, I had a lot of fun trying out the various activities when I was relieved from my duties of running the table. One of my favorite activities was the miniature obstacle course.  It was run by the Alcohol and Other Drugs Awareness club. Participants had the choice of different types of goggles which mimicked the feeling of being slightly drunk, wasted, or being on a drug. I chose to be “wasted” for the obstacle course. It was funny to go through it with some friends, and I found myself completely incoherent, unable to successfully place a ball inside a cup. Having fun with this activity also taught me to be a responsible person when I become of age to drink, as well as to be careful and take care of friends who do choose to drink beyond their limit.

Trying to find the cones but failing to successfully go around them.

I want to thank all of the clubs and active club members who took their time out of their day to make this event successful. Another thank you goes to Call it a Wrap for providing tasty wraps, smoothies, and salads for everyone, as well as the Vitamin Shoppe.

Most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the people who have held meetings for the past two to three months who helped make this event possible:

Director: Philip Fomina – Pre-Med – ’14

Coordinators:
Enri Citozi – Pre-Med ’14
Mahdey Tallat – Pre-Med ’14
Radislav Meylikh – Pre-Dent ’14
Gregory Balaes – Pre-Dent ’13
Elizabeth Harrington – Nursing ’13
Noelle DeNome – Nursing ’13
Christina Guerriero – Nursing ’13
Stephanie Hopkins – Nursing ’13
Ashley Jones – Nursing ’13
Marcel Kaganovskaya – Nursing ’13

Upper faculty involved:

Dr. Nancy Cherofsky B.S., M.S., FNP
Dr. Nora Lowy Ph.D, MPA PA-C
Dean Patricia Tooker B.S.N., M.S.N., FNP
Linda Morris

For those who missed this event, there will be another one next year, and I hope you won’t miss the chance for some fun on the oval!

Today we received news of the bombings in Boston. I hope by the time this is published we know who is responsible for the tragedy and that they have been brought to justice. But all day the nation has come together with our good thoughts and prayers directed toward the people of Boston, the victims of today’s events and their families. I’ve spent the day on the phone with friends and family, sympathizing with those affected and expressing our love for one another.

My Hurricane Sandy companions. Class acts.

The thing about being 800 miles away from home is that when tragedy strikes, we are reminded how far away from our loved ones we are. Most days we’re distracted by tests and parties, just as they continue on with life at home. But when we take a moment to stand still we remember that you can’t hug your little brother every night before he goes to sleep and that the next time you see him he will have grown half a foot.

I’m not saying to stay home, reader; it’s important to be away. Most days I feel so lucky that I get to work in New York City and learn alongside people from all different walks of life. But I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that some moments when the world becomes quiet I miss the thought of being surrounded by the people I love.

It’s important to have family in New York and this girl is as close as I get to it.

Not to say I haven’t had the chance to expand the list of the people I love here in New York. I’ve had the chance to meet people I am happy to say I plan to know a long time. Friends that I have survived hurricanes with, professors who are happy to just listen to me crack jokes for 45 minutes, and of course my HawkTalk family who is a special kind of wonderful.

When tragedy happens our faith in humanity can be shaken. We ask ourselves, who in the world has this much hate? So much hate that they feel the need to harm others? But I ask you dear reader, don’t try and understand hate. Don’t let it become what we focus on day to day. Frankly, cable news will do that for you. Look around at the love that surrounds you, all the people who you are lucky enough to call friends and family. That’s love and faith and hope and everything.

A message from home.

Tonight, after you’ve heard all the bad things in the world, turn off the news. Take a second tonight to call someone you love. I don’t care if it’s a parent, a spouse, a friend or all three. Let that be how you end your evening, how you see the world and how you judge humanity.

It was Anne Frank who said, “Despite everything, I believe people are really good at heart.” I agree with Ms. Frank and ask you to try and do the same. Thank you dear reader, and know that I love you. I don’t even know you and I love you. Because in the end, love is what really matters.

Love, love? Thought this was too damn sappy? Have an idea for a post? Comment below! And for your viewing pleasure here are some of my friends and family.

“Hard Times Come Again No More” by Stephen Foster preformed by Iron and Wine. Click and take a listen. Might just lift your spirits.

Try not to hate on our beauty. See a family resemblance?

These are my parents. Sorry if we’re too cool for you.

Saturday night I attended an event called Songfest. Songfest is a dancing and singing competition for organizations on campus who compete for the top three spots for the best performance of the night. It was an evening full of spirit, music, cheering, singing, and dancing.  My fellow HawkTalker, Christian Grotewold, as well as some teammates and friends of mine, braved the stage last night and put on memorable performances.

Every year, there is a theme for the show. This year’s theme was “I wish…” The top three winners of this year’s show were Alpha Omicron Pi (1st place), Alpha Delta Pi (2nd place), and Tau Kappa Epsilon (3rd).

Songfest program

The Spiro gym’s atmosphere was charged with full-hearted support from friends. I loved the song choices of all of the organizations that participated.  From all of the performances, I saw that all of the performers had a lot of fun working on their dances.  I also saw how all of their rehearsals brought them closer as a team, and they all had made incredible memories from this night and all of the time they took to practice their numbers. Their hard work was paid off because the crowd went wild for each and every organization. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed watching from the stands. Watching all of the dancing made me want to get up and dance with them.

Following this exciting night, my Sunday was full of shouting and cheering on the pool deck. The Wagner water polo team had their senior night today and played against Marist.  It was an important game, and the Wagner water polo team pulled a win during overtime. Wagner fans came out to support our amazing water polo team. All of the attendees were on their feet, encouraging and cheering on our team from start to finish. Their championships are coming up in two weeks, and I wish the Wagner water polo team all the best!

Staff and faculty members from the biology department attended the ceremony, as well as friends and family members of the newly inducted members.  The current president of Tri Beta made the opening remarks, and from there the new members learned the history of the Tri Beta Biological Honor Society.  As new members, we were asked to take pledges and understand our responsibilities as members of the society. Then each of us signed the member book and received our certificate as official members of the society.

The new officers of 2013-2014 were then called onto the stage and were told of their responsibilities and duties as new officers of the Wagner chapter of Beta Beta Beta. Each of us agreed to our duties as officers, and then the senior members of the society were acknowledged and given their cords.

It was a very nice ceremony and a very nice way to meet new people who are dedicated to the sciences. I am honored to be part of this society here on campus, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for our chapter!

I have the pleasure of taking this class this semester, and I am taking it with one of my favorite professors at Wagner, Robert Williams. As usual, everyone was nervous at first, but the way he introduced the course made all those insecurities go away. He came to class with a smile on his face, his positive energy could be felt in the entire room, and his humor made everything even better. The first thing he told us was, “the first rule of public speaking, in this class, is… There are no rules.” Quite a rule for public speaking, I may say! How could it be possible that there are no rules? But I understood what he meant once we gave our first speech, a speech about ourselves. He told us to get creative with it — come in through the window, stand on a table, sing a song, anything.

Professor Robert Williams

Our first speech went pretty well. You could tell who was a little shy, since they went last. But by the time it was their turn, they had seen all the crazy things the rest of the class had done, so they were not that nervous. Professor Williams told us the fears everyone has when giving our speeches, and the biggest one is fear of what people might think of us. In our class, there is no worry about critiques; we all have grown so fond of one another from the powerful and emotional speeches, that we only give suggestions as to what to do next.

I consider myself very confident, but there was always part of me afraid of giving speeches. Professor Williams was able to get rid of those insecurities. I truly believe that Wagner does the right thing by having this course as a requirement; not only do we learn how to be good public speakers, but we defeat our fears and learn how to control them. This class is one of my favorite classes I have taken so far at Wagner, and for those of you who are coming here, I highly recommend taking this class with professor Robert Williams.

Milan, Italy

On Saturday, April 6, Wagner College had its annual Admitted Students Day. We welcomed students from a wide range of places; one even had Guatemalan descent like me! This day was dedicated to all those students who have gotten an acceptance letter from Wagner College, and they were welcomed to spend the day on our campus. Admitted students began their day with a nice brunch at our dining hall, which was accompanied by a welcoming speech from President Guarasci. After this, the admitted students were split into groups, each to different panels around campus.

Grenada, Spain

I had the pleasure of being part of the Study Abroad panel, and we welcomed two different groups into the conference room to talk about our experiences. I have not really gone abroad with Wagner College, but by being an international student I guess I am studying abroad. I provided the view of someone who is not from this culture and how I adapted to it, and how I am really happy with it. Along with me were four more students, each of whom have been abroad at some point with Wagner College. One of the students went to Costa Rica, another went to Spain, and another to Jerusalem. The fourth student was actually skyping in from Morocco — he is currently studying abroad in Milan, but went for a holiday in Morocco.

Jerusalem

As each of us talked about our experiences, we all gave insights into what Wagner does to keep students happy, even if they are on the other side of the planet. We talked a lot about the amount of care Wagner takes with students. Veronica, the student who went to Jerusalem, spent some of her days in a war. This truly was a horrifying event, but she said that Wagner stood by her side. In fact, according to Veronica, none of the other students’ colleges contacted them to see if they were okay; only Wagner did. We were ready to fly Veronica out of Jerusalem and bring her back to America if anything went wrong.

Costa Rica

Including a student who is currently studying abroad was a great touch for the panel. It made the panel feel real. Both Chris, the student who is studying in Milan, and I could provide good examples of how we both love being abroad. Studying abroad is an experience that I highly recommend to everyone and to anyone that wants to learn more about the world.

Now I leave you with a little video called “Be Part of Wagner” — you might recognize several faces! And welcome to Wagner College!