The Day of Service started with all of us meeting in the campus center. There were a lot more people there than I expected. It was very inspiring to see that so many people want to give their Saturday to help others in the community. We got into lines to check in and received surveys that we needed to fill out. After we all filled out our surveys we met in the event room for breakfast. After breakfast we listened to a few speakers, the most memorable being a first responder on the day of 9/11. His accounts were vivid and gave everyone a greater respect for all those who helped that tragic day, such as fire fighters, police officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, and medical staff. They did not get to see their families that day to help others. After his inspirational speech every person gave him a standing ovation as he walked away from the podium.
Each person was then called by service project leaders to their buses where they were transported to their locations. I went to the Atlantic Riding Clinic for Health, a nonprofit riding facility that teaches the handicapped to ride horses, along with other lessons. While I was there I helped out with a few different things. First we painted trim and doors for the horses, which I enjoyed doing. After we finished we washed the brushes and then started cleaning out the shed. We moved the contents out of the shed so that they employees could decide whether or not they were going to keep, donate, or throw them away. Once that was decided we moved some of the items into the classroom. When we finished moving the boxes and other things it was one o’ clock and time for us to leave. On our way out I could tell that the employee’s at ARCH really appreciated everyone’s help that day, even though we were only there for about three hours.
On our way back we filled out a post survey and discussed what everyone did that day. Everyone did different things and I realized that even though there were only three hours, we got a lot accomplished. I truly understood how just a little work can go a long way and it means a lot to someone. The Day of Service definitely inspired me to want to go out and do more community service.

Last month The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s girl soccer team played an amazing game against Misericordia at their home field. My friend McKenzie Lillia and I went to the game about 15 minutes into the first half. There was a lot of support in the stands from Stockton students. Even though neither team scored, it was one of the best soccer games I have watched at Stockton College.
The first half started out as a normal game. There were attempts by both teams to score but all failed. During the second half the game started to get more intense. The attempts from Stockton became more and more frequent and closer and closer to scoring each time. Misericordia scored a few times as well. The teams seemed to be equally matched.
The second half ended with the score still 0-0. The game went into overtime. At this point not many spectators were left in the stands and it was about ten o’ clock at night. A significant amount of true fans were still routing for the team. Stockton got had a few corner kicks giving excellent opportunity to score but still they had no luck. Minutes felt like hours until the first overtime was over. Still the score remained 0-0 so the game went on to a second overtime period. This is when everyone was out of his or her seats screaming for someone to score. Unfortunately that did not happen and the game ended in a tie with zero goals. Even though there was no goals scored it was an excellent game and McKenzie and I had an amazing time watching it.

On Thursday, October 20th, the Honors Program had an event called “Pizza and Pong” at Lakeside. The occasion was to dress up for Halloween while getting to know the other students in the Honors Program. This event was open to both upperclassmen and underclassmen. The night was filled with funny and frightful costumes while everyone had fun playing water pong or simply just enjoying each other’s company. Many pictures were taken with everyone in their costumes, but more importantly these pictures hold the memories that we shared as a group that night.

I am glad that I decided to come to this event since it was nicely organized by the upperclassmen. They included upbeat music along with a variety of food and refreshments. The upperclassmen were also friendly and very open to talking to the incoming freshmen. I appreciated the fact that they asked us if we had any questions about the Honors Program or Stockton in general. It was comforting to know how friendly everyone was. I instantly felt welcomed into the group and even made some new friends.

At the end of the night, one of the upperclassmen mentioned that there will be another Honors event next month. Together, we discussed possible plans for the next meeting. Potential ideas included a giant game of twister, a scavenger hunt, or a movie night. I am definitely looking forward to attending the next one. The Honors group truly is a warm and close-knit community. Attending the “Pizza and Pong” made me even happier with my choice to join the Honors Group.