Chris Juro, the Magician

Chris came to Stockton last night to perform a magic show for us and he is actually a Stockton graduate himself. He has been a two time survivor of cancer and has started his own foundation that is a nonprofit organization.

He is actually the youngest person to perform magic at the White House, in Washington D.C. He was also recently featured on the show Criss Angel’s Mindfreak. He started off his routine with just a few simple things like juggling and a Chinese yoyo. He was very entertaining and really engaged the audience. He used many volunteers in order to keep everyone awake.

He somehow managed from an invisible deck of cards to find a real deck of cards and pick out the correct one. He also made a $50 dollar bill turn into a one dollar bill and then he cut open a lemon to find the original fifty, but the catch is that a girl in the audience was holding the lemon since the beginning of the show. I am really surprised and intrigued as to how magic actually works. He even had a girl pretty much levitating on stage! It was definitely an event that I would recommend to my friends and I would go to again if I was ever given the chance.

Service Learning

After the headache so to speak of the first semester Professor Rosner smoothed things out with the Service Learning Office in order to make our honors experience much better. We have a paper that needs to get signed whenever we go to a dialogue or reflection the staff member from service learning signs it. This helps alleviate the added stress of being a guinea pig from the fall semester. In the fall semester we were required to go to three dialogues and two reflections; now we only have to go to one dialogue and two reflections. I think that the two-page write ups after the service learning projects are extremely helpful because they help you reflect the most. You get a sense of exactly how important your service is whether it is on-campus or off-campus or short-term or long-term. Any amount of volunteering is beneficial to both the volunteer and the organization. I have always enjoyed volunteering but I never sat down and thought about the difference that I make during my volunteering. I also think that the service learning aspect of the Honor’s program is an awesome thing to be able to put on your transcript because it shows that you went above and beyond the call of duty during your four years of college. Not every school offers the same opportunities that Stockton College does. I also think that Stockton does an excellent job making your volunteer idea come to life.

MLK Day of Service

On January 16, 2011 the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service kicked off with a huge turnout.  However, not all students contributed by participating in service per say.  Some very talented dancers and singers opened up the MLK Day of Service to show their appreciation for Martin Luther King Jr. and those being able to do the service itself.

There were several keynote speakers and performances done for the nearly 500 students participating in the service day.  Awards were given to children for a picture contest, speakers spoke of service and such, dancers did interpretive and group dances to songs about power and service, and various members of Stockton A Capella sang a moving song, “We Shall Overcome.”

The arrangement was simple but beautiful and moving.  Accompanied by Beverly Vaughn, the members of Stockton A Capella sang this moving song of overcoming struggle and hardship, which Martin Luther King Jr. did so many decades ago for the civil rights movement.  The few short verses were full of power and unity, especially evident when the members of Stockton A Capella held hands and the crowd joined in.  With everyone hand in hand and singing, I believe Martin Luther King Jr. would have been very proud to see so many different people together and preparing to do service.

I was fortunate enough to be part of the MLK Day of Service as a member of Stockton A Capella, and I hope next year to be an even bigger part of it when I perform service to the community as well.  All of the students seemed very empowered by our song, and I know that all went well that day with dedication to unity and service in their hearts.

Stockton A Capella Concert

On November 30, 2011 a glorious a capella concert put on by Stockton A Capella was performed in the Campus Center Theater.  Stockata (the all female group), Stocktones (mixed group), and Stockapella (competition group), all performed several songs from several different eras.

The members of Stockata were introduced as the Rising Stars with their colors being black and purple.  Their a capella arrangements included Firework by Katy Perry, Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri, Fallin’ by Alicia Keys, and Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye. I was a soloist for Grapevine. There was some choreography involved, and even though there was no bass because there were no males, the arrangements were both beautiful and sophisticated.

Stocktones were the Underdogs in blue and black and sang many different songs as well.  The most notable were 21 Guns, Black Bird, and a mashup by the Jackson 5.  They had a bit more choreography and a few more songs that the new Stockata group, and their talent was just as magnificent.

Stockapella were the Undefeated in yellow and black. Their opener, One Day, had an amazing soloist and plenty of choreography.  They even lifted a girl into the air!  Their beat boxers were also right on target.

A beat box battle ensued at intermission with the audience being able to participate, and at the end, all of the groups sang Happy Ending.  There was so much energy and talent that night!

It was amazing to start my first semester of college as a member of Stockata.  Even though we had to see our president go (with a gift of flowers from all of us), it was a glorious experience to have such a great concert!  Hopefully the Spring concert is just as amazing!

Circle K-Project Linus

I worked with Circle K and I made hand-stitched teddy bears for terminally ill children. This is just one of the many projects that Circle K allows for volunteers to engage in on our own campus. Some of their other activities include on campus service on Wednesday nights, volunteering with beagles on Saturday mornings and they serve food in Atlantic City at a soup kitchen.

In order to be able to participate in this activity I attended Circle K’s first meeting for the spring semester and I signed up to make bears for terminally ill children because I love kids and I felt like this opportunity was the most appealing to me. I went to the upper level of the Campus Center and picked out some blue-tie-dyed fabric. In order to make the bear I had to pick up a template and then fold the fabric in half in order to lay the template on top of it. I pinned the template on the fabric and cut around the edges very carefully because I did not want to have an imperfect bear. Then I took the template off pinned the fabric back together and picked up my needle and thread. I threaded the needle with blue thread and tied my knot to ensure a tight, everlasting stitch. Once I finished sealing the edges I turned the teddy bear inside out and began to stuff him. After the teddy bear reached his fill I sewed his last little opening up and drew eyes, a nose, and a mouth on his face.

I felt a sense of completion after I had invested about two and a half hours into this little teddy bear; in a way I felt attached to it. I had sewn the teddy bear with my love and care for a child. I can only imagine this child’s reaction upon receiving my little, fluffy creation. I wonder if a boy or girl will be the new owner, but it does not matter because he or she will greatly appreciate this bear.

 

Blog 11: Hypnotist

On January 31st, Stockton had the honor of hosting a hypnotist in the Campus Center.  He began by wowing the crowd with a card trick and a volunteer from the audience.  Then he asked for volunteers to be hypnotized.  My friends and I eagerly ran up to the stage.  I think I was hypnotized but I still remember everything that happened.  First he took a long time putting us to sleep.  It was very relaxing actually! I slumped forward in my chair while the people next to me began to sleep on me.  When he first started telling us things to do I was too tired to respond. Eventually I started doing little gestures.  I knew everything he said wasn’t real, but I could see some of the scenes he described to us perfectly, like the beach or flying the plane.  He told us to imagine an animal we want on our lap and I saw a baby unicorn!  I knew these animals were imaginary, but when someone said they had a tarantula I jumped on my friend next to me in fright!  I could hear all the silly things go on, like a guy giving birth, but I had trouble opening my eyes to see it all.  All in all, I wasn’t really hypnotized, just extremely sleepy.