Even though it was a busy day, my mentee and I attended the Celebration of Service very briefly. The event was coordinated by the office of Service Learning and we stopped by and said hello to Daniel as well. I figured, since my mentee would have to do the service learning projects, it would be great if she could meet the man in charge of it all and the man that she has to go to if she has any problems at all. The Celebration of Service was a day dedicated to something that very much sounds like its name: celebrating the service that our fellow classmates and friends have done for the community. Being the part of the honors program, I feel like we can all relate because we each have to do our own service learning project every semester.
I have always been a strong supporter of volunteering and its great to have a day dedicated to celebrating the people who dedicate their time to help out in the world. There was plenty of posters showing different ways that students can get involved. This was great for students who had an interest in dedicating their time to volunteering but wouldn’t know where to begin. Or in some cases, it presented ideas that some students might have never thought of on their own and this way they would get a chance to broaden up their horizons and think of new things they could do to help the community.
Though we stayed for a few minutes, the celebration of service looked like it had a busy crowd going in. After all, being in front of the library right in F-Wing would get a good flow of traffic, meaning more students would be able to take advantage of what the celebration of day of service is about: celebrating people who help their communities while having the opportunity to get involved themselves.

I attended Richard Stockton College’s First Annual Celebration of Service. This event was run by the office of Service-Learning. It was a day to celebrate and recognize the service that is done by our friends, peers, and neighbors. The key word here is recognize. There are so many people doing great things among us and we don’t even realize it. We are so caught up in the busyness of our day that we don’t stop and see how we can lend a hand to help.
There was a plethora of posters and presenters explaining how they give back to the community and how one can join. As we all know, usually service actually helps the person giving, more than the person receiving. As much as we can contribute to a cause, the cause usually contributes much more to us. There was an alternative spring break stand where instead of spending spring break doing whatever it is you might do, you do something to help others. For instance, you might help build homes for the underprivileged and return to school feeling a lot better than you would have if you wasted your spring break on the couch.
All in all Stockton’s Celebration of Service was a great idea to showcase the service that occurs right in our midst. As always the office of Service-Learning did a great job. Although this was only the first Celebration of Service, I know there will be many more to come. P.S. They always have great snacks and giveaways!

I recently got to attend one of Stockton’s Wellness Days. Boy was this a treat. They had posters and presenters on almost every aspect of health you could imagine. I went with one of my friends to survey the event and we were amazed. The whole side of the Campus event room was full of health conscious people!
The main part that I loved was the giveaways. I left almost every station with something in my hand. There was a chiropractor giving out massage hands and awesome wood pens. There was a stand giving out protein shake samples. I even had my blood pressure taken in between! There was also a huge assortment put out by Chartwells with stuffed mushrooms, spinach and artichoke dip, and different salsas.
This was a great way to learn more about caring for our bodies. There was so much useful information at this health fair. I think that it should be mandatory to learn how to take care of our bodies at health fairs like these. This would sure help us stay healthy and save us money on medical bills down the road. Simple life changes can make a big difference in your health. For instance, no more soda!
P.S. I have previously written two blogs about staying fit in college, check them out!

A teacher named Jeremy Newman presented the event I attended. He presented his montage of the Air Victory Museum. The video was fast paced, energetic, and had rocking background music. Somewhat the kind of music you would hear in an 80’s fighting montage. The video contained all aspects of flight from early airplanes, to marine helicopters, all the way to N.A.S.A. videos.
The Air Victory Museum is located in Lumberton, New Jersey. For those not from West Jersey like myself, that is near the Cherry Hill/ Medford area. It is volunteer run mostly by veterans. They are not funded by the state. They run entirely on private donations. If you’re ever in the area, there are tours Wednesday through Saturday, from 10am to 4pm. The tours are fairly inexpensive.
Jeremy Newman was looking for a way to give back to the community and volunteer. He stumbled upon an Air Victory Museum article in the newspaper. He said he loves airplanes, so this was right up his alley. I admire Jeremy’s passion to help others, especially veterans who fought and served for our country. What I learned is there should be more people who are selfless in this aspect to volunteer their time and skills to those who need them.

I had the privilege to do service with the Water Watch/ Energy Service Corps club. Over the year I became friends with a girl from my biology class. She is a freshman like me, and loves the sciences. Little did I know, she was elected president of the Water Watch Club. This is an awesome feat for a freshman, to run a science-based club at a heavily science-based school.
At any rate, I was introduced to the Water Watch club from the future president. She invited me to join an activity the club was doing called Lose the Lawn. This is an activity where native trees are planted to help stop pollutant runoff from reaching the major waterways.
It was a fun experience to put on the old gloves and thrust the shovel to break the ground. We planted all different kinds of trees. To me, there is something humbling about planting a tree that will continue to grow and help the environment for years to come.
I am so happy I got to do this service with Water Watch. Being a prospective biology major, I am considering joining Water Watch permanently. Whether you are a science major or not, if you enjoy the outdoors Water Watch/ Energy Service Corps is a cool club to try out.

One service project I did this semester was Read Across America. This project was run by an upperclassman who is on the Honors executive board. She has been volunteering at AtlantiCare for eight years! This is why she set up an awesome service project at AtlantiCare Kids. The project was reading Dr. Seuss books to young children on Dr. Seuss day. The kids’ ages ranged from 0 to about 5.
I was partners with two other honors freshmen. They are both speech pathology majors, so Dr. Seuss’s rhyming schemes were no trouble for them. The book we had was titled Oh Say Can You Say? written by none other than Dr. Seuss. We read a few pages a at a time, then handed the book to the next person.
At first, I admit that I was a little nervous on how these hyped up four-year-olds would react to college students coming in to the classroom. To my surprise, many of the children made a circle around us and put on their listening ears. Of course there were the troublemakers in the back of the classroom, but the majority were focused on the three unfamiliar faces reading a rhyming, colorful book. The children loved the book and they even were hugging us. It was nice to see kids so inclined about a book. This was beneficial in the sense that kids got to spend time with and interact intelligently with college students. But I believe that we gained more from the experience. We learned how to interact with the children and teach them. I would love to visit these children again.

The following are some tips that I find useful to help incoming college freshman. The transition from high school to college is definitely not easy. Many are leaving their hometown where they know everyone and everyone knows them. Now you are thrown into a new sea of faces as you enter college. Don’t be afraid to talk to the person next to you, chances are they are looking for a friend too. Try new things, go to different events on campus, and you are guaranteed to make friends.
Another important thing is organization. High school might be been slightly easy enough to pass by without having yourself organized. Set up a simple calendar or your wall, or if you’re a techy kind of person plan your days ahead on your phone or pda. So when you do have those mornings you wake up later than expected you don’t have to worry because you know what your day holds. Also this helps you keep track of assignments due and testing days.
Another important tip is to learn how to study. Learn which way works best for you. Study in groups, study alone, don’t waste your time or money. Ask around to see how others are studying. Studying doesn’t have to be boring! Personally, I found that working out in between making/reading note cards works best for me. Do your homework. Give your classes all you got. You will leave these four years behind with a sense of accomplishment and dignity.

In January I participated in one of the many blood drives the Red Cross does at Stockton each year. I have never donated blood previous to this experience. To be honest, I was always a little scared that I would have passed out or something. But being almost 200 pounds, that’s highly unlikely.
One of the smartest decisions I made was to sign up early with the Honors students who were tabling, because if not I would have had to wait a long time. But because I had a prearranged time I was moved to the front of the line. You have to answer a bunch of questions for pre-screening before you give blood. They do this as a precaution to make sure the blood is not defective in any way. Don’t worry, they test the blood before it is ever transfused.
I was happy I did something that could possibly save someone’s life. I know if I ever got in an accident I would hope there was someone who gave blood for me. I think this is a great way to give back to the community. All it costs is time!
Also, as with any blood drive, if you donate you get to refuel with some goodies such as pretzels, cookies, and drinks. Hopefully you can sit at this table and not have to lay down like many thin, brave boys and girls who have to recover for a while after giving blood. If you make the blood mass index to give blood by .1% and still give blood, I give you props!

I recently attended of the Stockton run parties near the freshman dorms. As a commuter, I don’t usually get to enjoy the many extra-curricular activities occurring on campus. As I was walking to the Honors dorm to finish a lab report with one of my friends, I noticed that the common grounds seemed different to say the least.
There was upbeat music pumping through two big speakers. There was a D.J. running the show with his MacBook laptop. All around it looked like a carnival, with huge blow up toys. There was a sock em’ boppers station where you could duke it out with your best friend, (or enemy). Also there was a bungee station, where two players were tied to one end and had to race with bungee cords around their waists. Many players were pulled straight back. This was comical to see!
The best part had to be the food. There was a giant barbeque next to the TRLC building, which is the center of freshman life. They had burgers, hotdogs, and of course veggie burgers to suit those who don’t eat meat. The most important to mention had to be Stockton’s famous cookies. With tastes as delicious as these, I had to go up for seconds! After a long day of classes, this was an especially amazing treat. Thank you Stockton!

This blog coincides with another blog I wrote about staying in shape. The topic of this blog is eating healthy in college. For many students eating healthy in college is a difficult task. Trust me, I know the freshman fifteen all too well. Being a wrestler in high school I was usually in pretty good shape, but when I entered college I had to loosen the belt a little bit.
I was making frequent trips to the all you can eat buffet that Stockton offers. While this may be a nice place to dine, you really shouldn’t eat all you could eat. All the pasta, pizza, burgers, and ice cream you want is a tempting offer. The variety of sodas and sugary drinks add to the lure. It was like the buffet was calling my name as my stomach growled. As I mentioned before I was a high school wrestler, so buffets weren’t usually in my weekly schedule. But sooner or later I had to shape up and take control of my body.
So how do we eat healthy in college? It doesn’t mean you have to stay in your dorm room locked up with a blender and funky protein powders. Limit yourself to one or two “junk” food meals a week. Make sure you eat breakfast, preferably something like eggs and whole wheat toast. Yes, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For the rest of the time eat in smaller portions. This can be with salads of all kinds, turkey sandwiches, and possibly some sushi. By now we know the difference between healthy and non-healthy foods. And most importantly don’t get stressed and eat bad when your studying, find a healthy snack such as a fruit and vegetable. It can be done!