As the first one in my family to go to college my mother was obviously apprehensive by this life changing event. I had never been away from home for more than two weeks and I tried to console my mom any way I could to give her some tranquility. All she wanted was for me to respect the morals and values instilled before my by my parents and by my Catholic teachings. I promised her that I would not forget my teachings and that I would do my best to find and join any Catholic organization or group in college. Here at Stockton exists the Newman Catholic Club/ Catholic Campus Ministry, to which I have recently become apart of with a few of my friends. Their first event consisted of a Catholic mass on campus, to which I assisted in the TRLC main meeting room Sunday September 11^th, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. When I came through the door I was greeted by students and faculty members of the Stockton community that made me feel welcomed and at home. The director of this club, Lois Dark, immediately recognized our presence in the area and took great interest in the new members of the club even learning the names all of the new members by the end of the session which was very impressive. The improvised altar and ceremonial adornment was very charming and the atmosphere in the room was full of amicable laughter and joyful natter, and only adding to the merry attitude was the club’s father, Father Tom. Father Tom makes everyone smile with his good natured jokes and his approachable attitude. I, overwhelmed by the entire experience, immediately volunteered to help Father Tom with his sermon by being a reader at the podium. The sermon was done in an attractive and timely manner, with remarkable refreshments after the service to meet and talk to fellow members and to have a friendly conversation with the director and father. Newman Club also partakes in other religious and fun activities various times in the semester, but we can talk about that in the next blog. In the end it was a fulfilling experience that made me feel at peace spiritually and hopefully reassured my mother of my adventures in college. The service was phenomenal and the friendly attitude of everyone makes anyone new to the club feel spiritually and physically unperturbed.

The Day of Service, run by the Office of Student Development, was overall a very enjoyable experience. It was enjoyable and an excellent way to learn the pleasure of helping others. The only thing that I thought needed more work were the sign in tables. They were rather disorganized and it was hard for volunteers to figure out where to go and what to do.

There were many good points throughout the day as well. Personally I worked with Water Watch to help clean up the area around Lake Fred. Most of the areas that we thought would be full of garbage, were remarkably clean. However, it was surprising to see that there were areas where cigarette butts were plentiful, as though those places were popular smoking spots. It was really disgusting to see them littering the ground when 300 yards away, there was a trash can and a recycle bin. Another surprise that awaited us was what looked like a microwave half-submerged in Lake Fred. That shocked all of us because we all wanted to know what exactly happened that would cause a person to hurl a microwave into the lake. In all it was a fun experience, running around talking laughing, and picking up the various garbage and throwing them away.

Another thing that I thought was a very good idea was the idea of the pre and post surveys being the same. It was an excellent idea because I personally saw how my views changed from before doing the project to after. It was a creative way to see how our opinions and views can change just by taking small steps to help our communities and the communities around us. In all, the Day of Service was a fun experience and I was very proud to have been a part of it.

During the annual Stockton Service Day, September 10, 2011, I participated in the construction of several osprey nests. The project was headed by Jon Rosky, a part time professor at Richard Stockton. He supplied the needed materials (lumber, power tools, screws, etc.) and helped students in the actual construction as well. While we called the finished work osprey “nests”, these were really just a jump start or structural base for the parent osprey to build off of. We constructed a square frame with a partial base to act as a foundation for the actual nest to be built in. On the one finalized nest, we also attached a support pillar, constructed of a large railroad tie. A metal sleeve was placed over a section of the railroad tie to prevent raccoons from getting to the egg laden nest. Two-by-fours were also positioned several inches off of two sides of the nest to act as a means of flight practice for the growing chicks.
All of this was done as part of an effort to help the local osprey population. By creating and installing these man-made nests in the surrounding forests and natural sights, these birds are given a better chance of survival. As an on-campus event, this was just a one-time construction. However, the effort of building these osprey nests is an ongoing project which myself and one other student from that days service project offered to participate in. I myself found this effort very enjoyable and practical. I hope that I will be able to give more aid to this project, and that we can have a positive effect on the local osprey population.

Taylor Lee

Blogging Project

The freshmen students of the Stockton Honors Program saw their fair share of icebreaker activities and Irish dancing on July 10^th at the Stockton Overnight Experience hosted by the Honors Program. The event was an overnight stay focused on putting the Honors students in an environment that would help them to develop friendly relationships with fellow students and gain a comfortable understanding of the campus. Such interactions included volleyball, icebreaker activities, murder mystery scenarios, Irish dancing, and most notably a sleep over. By putting students in the unfamiliar territory of not knowing the people around them, they became more inclined to socialize and familiarize themselves with the other members of the program. This was particularly evident during Irish dancing where students were organized into groups and expected to learn the dance steps in sometimes very intimate situations such as holding hands or dancing with a partner of the opposite sex. As the level of difficulty for each dance increased, so did the level of interaction between partners, and by the end of the session, students were spinning, ducking, and twirling around the room.

After dancing, the next group activities were icebreakers, such as push up contests, animal impressions, and human shape configurations. Meant to be fun and silly, these activities were designed to make students interact in a more comical manner than the dancing.

Personally, I had arrived at the Stockton campus at 9am and felt reasonably uncomfortable because I didn’t know anyone, but as I participated in the dancing and other activities, I began to meet new people. In addition to making friends, the various activities located throughout the campus gave me a sense of direction. I started understanding the names and locations of certain buildings around the school and the overwhelming feeling of being on a college campus went away. When it came time for parents to leave, this new found feeling of comfort and trust made it easier for me to accept the Stockton campus as my new home and to feel comfortable sleeping overnight. Contrary to my original belief, sleeping at school was the most exciting part of the experience and it was while in my room that I felt most at ease because as I introduced myself to my roommate and we quickly found things in common. Through a developing conversation I learned that he lived about 5 minutes away from me off campus and that he planned to commute to school just as I was doing. I also learned that he felt the same way I did about the activities, that they were sometimes awkward but ultimately served a positive social purpose; giving us a real look at the camaraderie in college living and a positive outlook on our futures as Ospreys. The day as a whole was a success because if it weren’t for the Honors Experience, I would not feel the sense of belonging to the college and the Honors Program that I do now. However I will admit that I prefer never to get involved in another icebreaker activity in my life because I’ve had enough to last a lifetime; hopefully my college memories will last the same.  If it weren’t for the Honors Experience, I would not feel the sense of belonging to Stockton and the Honors Program.

By: Stephen May

The event that I attended was the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s 8^th Annual Stockton Day of Service, which was held on September 10^th 2011, hosted by the college’s Office of Student Development. Held in conjunction with various community organizations, the Day of Service took place at locations spanning across Stockton’s beautiful campus as well as around the surrounding areas and communities. The Day of Service provided rewarding opportunities for Stockton’s students, professors, faculty, as well as local community members to come and work together to better the college, benefit the local community, as well as provide aid to those in need.

The Day of Service was so unique in that it provided such a wide range of experiences and opportunities for those participating, allowing participants to work in areas relating to their area of study, non-academic pursuits or hobbies, or simply a random project that sparked their interest. These opportunities included such things as preparing and delivering food to local pantries, landscaping and maintenance at local landmarks and parks, numerous projects on campus, as well as many more. It was great to see participants eagerly undertaking their tasks and the gratitude expressed by those they helped, and just as importantly, the new friendships and lasting bonds that were formed between participants as a result. The barbeque/picnic held after the event’s conclusion was a wonderful outing to celebrate and reflect upon the recently completed service as well as to give thanks to those who provide such aid and services daily around the nation.

On a personal level, I was able to do my service at the National Wildlife Reserve in Oceanville, working to maintain the bountiful landscape of the area. It was such a fulfilling experience and, though at times we had to battle some fierce mosquitos, it was truly a joy to work with my fellow students and learn so much about them. I am extremely grateful not only for the opportunity to be able to give back to the community and clean up the reserve, but also for the chance to form new friendships, many of which you I would not have been able to pursue if not for the Service Day. Everyone I spoke to about the event had terrific and rewarding experiences with their service, and was glad that they had the opportunity to give back to Stockton, their new “home away from home.” I look forward to participating in this event again next year, as well as other events like it that Stockton hosts, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (held annually).

I had the pleasure of attending the new campus center’s inaugural event.  It was the magician Michael Kent’s magic/comedy show on September 7th.  It started off quite exciting; pulsating music and a standard ‘run onstage’ entrance.  Kent took the opportunity to complement our school and simultaneously insult the audience, but all in good humor.  It lightened the mood as he went into his interactive tricks, calling several people up to help him perform.  He stopped quite frequently for short comedy segments and his comedy style reminded me somewhat of Dane Cook.  One person’s phone went off in the audience and he took the opportunity to enclose it within a balloon he blew up.  He promptly removed it, telling the audience member to not be afraid and that the moisture on the cell phone was in fact “magic juice.”

I came to this show skeptical, thinking it would be your standard magic tricks that we’ve all seen before.  Yet, the tricks were original and kept the audience’s attention.  He did things such as cut a rope in half and moving the knot back and forth. One trick that stood out was him somehow producing a card that an audience member picked from a locked box that had been sitting in the audience from the beginning of the show.  However, as he was telling his audience member assistant to check the boxes, she had a look of skepticism.  Of course he readily downplayed and skipped over her raised concern, so it brought me back to reality and the belief that magic is not real!

Towards the end of the show, the audience was alerted that we had a magician among us that actually goes to Stockton.  The crowd urged a magic battle and ‘Magic Dave,’ as he is called walked gladly up to the stage.  Anyone who attended the show would agree that his trick was more than satisfying and left everyone in awe, although it required a subsequent amount of math skills.  Kent referred to him as a “living, breathing, Harry Potter,” and Dave gladly accepted as he took his seat.  Kent closed the show with asking everyone to remember the troops and follow him on Twitter, which makes me realize how dependent advertising is on social networking sites now.  All in all, I was very pleased and entertained with the event and would gladly attend it again if he returned.