Preseason 2011

I had the privilege of moving into Stockton two weeks earlier than most other freshmen by attending Stockton’s preseason, or camp for cross country.  Preseason started on August 17th and ended on September 3rd.    It was the most exciting, nerve wracking, physically taxing, and rewarding two weeks I have ever experienced.  When I arrived on the first day, I was beyond nervous.  I ran track for thirteen years of my life and cross country for four years of my life, but felt like none of that would prepare me for what I was about to endure.

The first two days of preseason were spent learning about NCAA rules and regulations, health, nutrition, Stockton’s athletic program and all it does for student athletes.  We also underwent various tests and physicals to ensure we were healthy enough to compete for the fall season.  After all that was well and done, we were able to begin practices.  The cross country team practiced twice a day, Monday through Saturday.  We would start off our morning practices with a two lap warm up around the track then get right down to our form drills.  Then we would typically do speed work on the track, followed by a 4k through the woods to cool down.  Our practices in the afternoon consisted of long runs through the beautiful trails on Stockton’s campus and core work.

After our afternoon practice, the team would get  together for dinner and hang out for the rest of the night playing games, going bowling, and enjoying each other’s company.  The guys and girls teams are a close knit group, like a big family.  Our love for running forms a unique bond that makes us so close.  I instantly felt welcomed to the team and became a part of the family. As a freshman, I benefited from this experience because I learned the campus ahead of time so I felt more prepared when classes came around.  I also learned the importance of being disciplined as a student athlete, and how much fun it can be.  I would recommend anyone who likes to run or participate in any sport to try it out and become a Stockton Osprey.

 

monster.com

During Welcome Week I attended the monster.com presentation in the Performing Arts Center, along with many other incoming freshman. The presentation consisted of informative videos and an interactive speaker that conveyed information about the Monster website and the current job market.

The speaker told us the specifics about how companies have changed the way they hire employees. Instead of reading each resume, they make a first cut of applicants by their GPA. I found this interesting because I have always been told that having good grades was not the only important thing to have when applying for a job. Some applicants will not get the interview even if they have more experience or more service projects. Furthermore, she told us about the importance of internships. Doing multiple internships during college is the best way to gain experience in an intended field. The speaker also gave us the advice to internship for rival companies in the same field to be able to negotiate salary if both companies offer a job in the future.

Moreover, the videos shown were very informative, while also being entertaining. The
statistics in the first video were extremely interesting.

I enjoyed the presentation because the information about landing a job was extremely updated and helpful, so I felt more confident about getting a job after college. I hope to utilize this information in the future.

Stockton’s Day of Service

On Saturday, September 10, Stockton held it’s 8th annual day of service.  At the day of service, students were given an opportunity to make a difference in the community as well as meet and work with other Stockton students and faculty.  This experience was important in teaching students teamwork skills and new ways to help out in the community.

For my day of service project, I volunteered at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.  Here at the wildlife refuge, habitats are protected and managed for migratory birds.  The refuge works to protect and conserve the tidal wetland and shallow bay habitats for migratory water birds, fish, and wildlife resources.  Visitors of the refuge can observe the bird sanctuary through the Wildlife Drive, various trails, and the boardwalk.

My assignment at the wildlife refuge was to weed in the native plant gardens outside the headquarters complex.  The manager of the refuge explained that the gardens were created to demonstrate how anyone could make a native plant garden at their own home.  It was our task for the day to tend to the gardens and remove any unwanted weeds and grass.  Despite having to fend off the hot, summer sun and swarming mosquitoes, I found this to be a highly rewarding experience.  I was able to work with new people who I ordinarily would not have had the chance to meet if it were not for this day of service.  Also I felt a great sense of accomplishment after the manager of the refuge appreciatively thanked each of the volunteers for our hard work, and extended her thanks for the gardening staff who appreciated our help as well.

Stockton Day of Service

On Saturday September 10, 2011, Stockton held its eighth annual day of service.  This day, sponsored by the Office of Student Development, consisted of several different community service projects within Stockton’s campus or near the area.

The day started off with registration and the assignment of the projects.  Afterwards, we filled out a survey that asked us what we hoped to get out of the day.  As I entered the event room to enjoy a continental breakfast, I could see the large group of people already in there, eagerly awaiting a fun-filled day dedicated to service.  Something memorable from that day was when our guest speaker delivered his speech.  He was a first-response firefighter who recounted his experiences of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.  Towards the end of the speech, he stressed the importance of community service and then dismissed us into our groups for the day.

My team, which consisted of myself and six other students, headed to the African American Heritage Museum located in Newtonville, NJ.  Throughout the whole day, we were supervised by Mr. David Pinto, the Director of Stockton’s Library, who is also a member of the board of the museum.  On our thirty minute commute there, he told us how we would be helping the members of the museum unload and take inventory of Jackie Robinson’s memorabilia.  upon arriving there, the founder of the museum, Ralph Hunter, warmly greeted us and without hesitation began to give us a tour.  As he took us around to see some memorabilia of famous African Americans, I could see the joy in his eyes as he proceeded to tell us the significance of the items.  Not only was he excited that we had volunteered to help, but I could sense that he was extremely proud to be collecting some priceless objects in history.  He would have preferred to show us around more, but Mr. Pinto said that we needed to start to work because of the time schedule we were on.

Our team helped life and unload crates of timeless memorabilia with many other volunteers.  As part of the process, we took pictures and accounted for them in inventory until we were finished.  As the day came winding down, some of the volunteers uncovered a signed baseball bat from Jackie Robinson himself, an item so valuable and preserved throughout history from such a major sports icon.  By the end of the day, I realized that I had met some great people from my time spent there and that we had all helped the community.  All the volunteers at the end had a picture taken together in front of some collectibles in the museum.  Before I knew it, it was already time to return to Stockton to reflect on our day and have lunch.

I personally enjoyed myself because I learned a lot about some of the major pioneers in our country during a time of segregation and oppression.  I am very grateful for having had experienced this and I realized how many opportunities there are around Stockton to make a difference and how easy it was to participate.  I look forward to next year’s Day-of-Service at Stockton very much.

 

 

Day of Service

On Saturday September 10, 2011 I attended my first Stockton Day of Service.  The experience thrust me into an unfamiliar environment and challenged me to do new things.  I was assigned to help out the ESWA, or Eastern Service Worker’s Association.  The organization offers aid to local low income workers and seeks to help them in any way possible.  The ESWA fights for the lowering of costs of utilities like electricity and gas.  The ESWA allows workers to join their cause for only an optional cost of 62 cents per month for dues.  The organization meets often and discusses other ways it can help its members.

I arrived at the headquarters of the ESWA having no idea of what I would be doing for the day.  I learned my task would be to go door to door in a neighborhood and spread the word of the ESWA to those who may be in need of its services.  Everyone broke off into teams of 3-4 to accomplish the task quicker and with more efficiency.  My team’s leader had previously done a door to door scenario and guided us along.  Many houses we stopped at had no one home or nobody answered the door.   We were however successful in getting information out to several people who seemed to be interested.  While others flat out said no, we were not discouraged and managed to cover a large area in such a short time.  The experience was definitely good for me and helped me to get a look into the lives of those who are not as fortunate as me.  The service project which I was assigned was not really what I was used to or expected after filling out the short survey online for pre-registration.  Thought, at the end of the day I was just glad that I could be of assistance to an organization that fights for the people who need help the most.

 

Day of Service at the Absecon Lighthouse

The Stockton Day of Service on Saturday September 10, 2011 was sponsored by the Get Involved Club on campus.  This was a campus-wide event that occurs once every year as a Day of Service with a Reflection Barbeque afterwards.  Students are assigned to various service projects based on their interests, some of which include cleaning the Absecon Lighthouse or Lake Fred.

Some students, including Honors students, were assigned to the Absecon Lighthouse project.  This project consisted of weeding the grounds around the lighthouse, which were heavily covered.  Students also cleaned the lighthouse’s insides.  All of the stairs and landings were covered in a fine dirt layer, and the cleaning was very meticulous, for the paint and brick had to be preserved from deteriorating during the cleaning process.  The cleaning consisted of gently wiping a spot with a wet paper towel, then wiping it with a small amount of cleaner fluid, and letting it air dry.

The History majors were also given a treat.  The curator of the lighthouse’s museum inside gave History majors a special opportunity to look at and inventory a historical object.  The object was a pressed glass paperweight with a 1930s print of the lighthouse inside of it.  The student was taught how to inventory, what to look for when doing inventory, and what certain parts of the object were called.  This aspect of the Absecon Lighthouse project was used to open History majors up to the idea of museum work and internships.

All in all, I found this experience to truly amazing, for I was the only History major in my group to experience what a curator must do on a daily basis.  It also fills one with a sense of satisfaction when they can look out at those patches of ground without any weeds and know that the grounds are beautiful again.  This project opened up new doors to different service projects, different internship opportunities, and different jobs that I can have a career in with my history degree.  I definitely recommend the Day of Service to any other students in order to broaden their horizons and open their minds to new career and service opportunities.

 

Honors Experience

Being accepted into the Honors Program I was invited to stay overnight on campus during the summer for the Honors Experience and orientation the following day. So on July 10th I arrived on campus early and was instantly greeted by students and staff directing me where to go. There was a whole day planned with different events for my parents and I to enjoy. After dropping my belongings off in the dorm I would be staying at that night we made our way to the new Campus Center where they held breakfast and a short introduction to start the day. After breakfast we attended an informational meeting and then were separated from our parents. We were then split into groups and current honors students led icebreakers and other information sessions. There was a time we were able to ask the current students any questions we had and they gave the best answer they could or found us help if they could not provide the answer. Before we went to lunch we had a volleyball game going on, which was the most fun we had all day. Also, throughout the day we took pictures for our student id and got information on how to pick classes. Later that night the current honors students held a murder mystery, which was entertaining and you could tell they put a lot of working into it. After this we got to go back to the dorms and use our free time how we wished. I spent a lot of time outside talking to the upperclassmen that night about their experiences on campus. The next day, July 11th, other students arrived and we went on to our regular orientation. We went to more informational meetings and got to pick our classes. Overall I enjoyed getting to have this overnight experience. Everyone participating was helpful and answered all my questions.

 

Stockton Blood Drive

Tuesday September 20, 2011, I volunteered at the Blood Drive being held at Stockton’s Sport’s Center (Big Blue). This blood drive was headed by the Red Cross in a continuing effort to spread aid to those in need. During the drive, students, faculty, and residents alike all came to show their support and donate blood for this great cause. It was encouraging to see how many people came out and took the time to donate. So much so, that the future planned blood drives to be held at Stockton can already expect a large turnout of students and others (who could not be fit into the donation schedule this week).
During the blood drive, I spent most of my time helping those who had just given blood. Once one has donated, it is common for reactions such as light headedness, dizziness, and nausea to ensue, along with the possibility of more severe reactions such as syncope (passing out) or convulsions. To attempt to prevent or lessen these reactions as much as possible, myself and several other volunteers provided water, juice, and food to those who donated blood. A close eye was also kept on the donators to ensure they were not bleeding, and were well enough to leave when ready. While there were several cases of new donators passing out, we were lucky to avoid any consequential injuries, or more harmful reactions.
I myself very much enjoyed being able to help at this blood drive. I was happy to be able to help those who donated, especially knowing how much help their blood would be giving others. Knowing how much of a difference this will be making to those in need is very reassuring, and makes the time and effort put forth completely worthwhile. I hope that all of the future events hosted by Stockton can have the same results and further our positive impact on our surrounding and distance communities.

8th Annual Day of Service

On September 10th, I attended the 8th Annual Day of Service, which was my first service
project at Stockton. It was an eye-opening experience that made me realize how financially
fortunate I really am. The group I had the opportunity of working with was Stockton’s very own Circle K, which is a volunteer service club. There were many things I could have done, like write letters to terminally ill children or soldiers, make hangers for seniors at a nursing home, make blankets for sick babies with parents that do not have the means to provide their infants with blankets, or make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for homeless people at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. I regret that I didn’t have the chance to participate in all activities, but I did enjoy making a blanket for a baby girl and a whole stack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It doesn’t sound like much, but I was happy to help out in any way that I could. Every little bit counts. The biggest challenge for me was cutting the most even pieces of fabric I could for the baby blanket and using a sewing machine. I had never used a sewing machine before, and I was scared I would mess up, but I did the best I could, and it wasn’t half bad. I may have only made one blanket, but that’s one more blanket than there would have been had I not tried at all. For those few hours I served I couldn’t help but think how lucky I am to come from a family that could provide for me, a family that didn’t rely on a place like the Rescue Mission for every meal. A sense of guilt overcame me and I questioned how I could be blessed enough to be born into such a privileged family. Nevertheless, I learned to appreciate what I have and to not take anything for granted. I’m excited to contribute more during my time here at Stockton.

Stockton’s Day of Service

On September 10, 2011, The Office of Student Development held its Eighth Annual Day
of Service. More than three-hundred students came to volunteer, exceeding the
maximum capacity of the event. Everyone was able to sign up for a specific area
of volunteer work, even though there were more students than expected. Most of
the events ended very early. Some students were pleased with this because they
had other things to do, however others were disappointed they could not help
longer. After everyone came back from their separate events, there was a
reflection barbeque. Although most people knew that there was a barbeque, few
people realized that they were supposed to be reflecting on what they had done.
There were blue cards with questions on the table, but they were not read
because people were too busy eating and socializing.

Along with experimenting in a different
field of community service, students were able to meet upperclassmen and learn
about an organization that they would not have appreciated otherwise. My field
of community service was the Lake Fred Cleanup. The leaders of that group told
us all about the Water Watch club and the Internship opportunities with
AmeriCorps. I enjoyed walking around outside with other students, cleaning up
the lake. After Stockton’s Day of Service, I decided I wanted to join Water
Watch, and I am sure that was the case with many other participants. Overall,
Stockton’s Day of Service was very helpful to both the community and the
volunteers.

Megan Cohalan