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!

One of the most important places on all of Stockton’s campus is the tutoring center. Here is where I now spend most of my time. I recently discovered this hidden treasure which many students don’t take advantage of. Stockton pays student employees who are knowledgeable upon a variety of different subjects, to tutor students. While classes may be two or three days a week, it is tough to fully understand all of that information in a matter of an hour and fifteen minutes. As a matter of fact it is impossible to retain all the information you learned in class without putting it into practice. At the tutoring center I get to practice whatever I may be working on, and I have friendly tutors who help guide me in the right direction on problems. The center is filled with computers, books, scratch paper, chalkboards, whiteboards, and of course tutors. They are open Monday – Thursday 9am to 6pm, Friday 9am to 2pm, and Sunday – Thursday night 7pm to 9pm. The day sessions are in room J-108 and the night sessions are at the TRLC. I do not think there is not a better resource out there to help me with my studies and I encourage you to come too!

I believe one of Stockton’s simplest yet greatest features is the Argo. If you don’t go to Stockton you might be wondering to yourself, what is an Argo? The Argo is none other than Stockton’s own newspaper. Every week or so, a new edition of the paper comes out. It is always filled with tons of useful information. On the inside cover, there is always a letter from the Stockton College Campus Police Chief. He always writes about something that applies to the well-being of the Stockton community. This is followed by a police blotter, which gives you statistics of the funny or not so funny things that may have occurred on campus. I myself got to be in the paper along with the Stockton Innovations team (Stockton Innovations is a new undergraduate research e-zine coming soon). The newspaper describes events that have happened recently or are on the horizon. One of my favorite sections is the Poor Man’s Palate where they showcase a local restaurant that satisfies your appetite without putting a hole in your wallet.
My favorite edition of the Argo was the April Fools edition. It was full of funny jokes and gags, for example the coffee from one of Stockton’s eateries was found to be brewed with dirt not coffee grinds. They have a funny sense of humor over at Argo headquarters. All in all the Argo is a great resource to see what’s up in the Stockton community and learn about different events. P.S. You can also get a job writing for the Argo. I have a friend who does it and he loves it. So if writing is your thing, check it out!

I figured since this is a topic many college students care about I could write about it. The topic is staying in shape. Especially since I’m writing on the Stockton honors blog, we all know how time is a crucial factor in our lives. With tons of classes that amount to thousands of tons of homework, finding the time to keep ourselves in shape seems a little out of reach.
One positive is, if you live on campus there are 3 gyms within walking distance! If you find an extra half-hour that you would have spent playing words/hanging/scramble with friends, get to the gym instead. A little bit of activity each day can really make a difference. One trick I use is when I’m studying I will study for half an hour and then workout for five minutes. Whatever works for you, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, the exercise doesn’t have to be elaborate or even have to be done at a gym. Yes, you can work out in other places then the gym. Another smart idea is to join forces with a friend who also wants to stay in shape. Motivation and friendly competition are a smart way to stay focused. Now imagine if Honors kids could be the smartest and most fit kids on campus!
Another key factor in your health is sleep. Don’t waste time all day just to pull an all-nighter. Although pulling an all-nighter before some big tests is sometimes unavoidable, don’t make it a nightly ritual. Try to get 7-8 of sleep per night this also helps you stay in shape!

Welcome Week Volleyball Tournament
The first event that I ever encountered at Stockton as a student was the “Welcome Week” volleyball tournament. I figured there was no better way to make friends than to bump, set, and spike as a team. I was slightly nervous attending an event where I would not know anyone, but within minutes of arriving the counselors made me feel like family.
I didn’t have a pre-registered team, but I met five freshmen that were in the same boat as I. A perfect six! We decided to call our team “ Team Zebras ”, based on the fact a few of us were wearing zebra printed clothing. Before the events began, we met a new group of friends who invited us to practice with them. We practiced right up until the first game started. As “Team Zebras” we lost both of our games, but we enjoyed ourselves in the process. After all winning isn’t everything!
During the tournament, there was a huge, delicious barbeque filled with great food and snacks. One item that raised a few questions was the vegetable hotdogs. They looked like raw hotdogs, but someone explained that the chefs went out of their way and prepared a meal for the vegetarians. I thought that was very thoughtful of the chefs to do that. My favorite item was the macadamia nut cookies. I couldn’t stop myself from getting another of a newfound love on campus.
Overall, attending the “Welcome Week” volleyball tournament was an awesome way to meet new friends, eat a large portion of great food, and get acquainted with Stockton.

April 10 was Stockton’s first annual Celebration of Service sponsored by Service Learning.  The event was from 10am-2pm in lower F wing outside of the library.  Students were able to showcase service, internships, projects, club service/projects, etc. for anyone to see.  There were some students presenting, but I mostly saw posters around the area.  Some posters did not really look like service at first, but then I realized some of the projects had been used to educate the community for free, so they were indeed service.

For instance, there were posters educating people about problems college students have.  Some of use have cognitive disabilities that make it difficult to study up to date on whatever tests/quizzes are coming.  As college students, we all share stress, and I learned it causes headaches, nightmares, depression, insomnia, etc. and to combat it we must have sleep, quiet time, exercise, organization, etc.  Also with no stress, we have a better immune system, low blood pressure, happiness, better judgement, etc.  This entire project was shown to the community to educate college kids on problems they may have and how to fix them to get the most out of their college experience.

A few other clubs brought their posters and presentations, including Water Watch, and there were some students who did individual presentations that I unfortunately could not see because of class.

This did seem quite interesting, but I believe next year there should be more actual presentations instead of posters, and perhaps we should get even more people involved!  I believe this day has great potential for the future.

It’s been a few months since I started this project, but I’m going to write about it anyway. If you guys remember, I asked you to write letters or make cards for valentines day for a nursing home that I have been volunteering at for years. Well, the project was a success. I didn’t expect the overwhelming response from the high schools around the area, from the clubs that I had been a part of and from Stockton itself and I would like to thank everyone for that. The residents loved it.
I have been delivering the letters, and it’s a slow process because I have to sit there and read the letters myself, then since I’m a talkative person, we kind of just have to get into a conversation. That is just an unavoidable thing. Then we end up talking for like 20 minutes and 3 letters later I’ve already spent an hour at the nursing home. The people who work there are helpful as well and my best friend came in one day and helped me out.
The residents respond differently. Some know what is going on and appreciate it. Some are confused but at least they are entertained for a few minutes by someone who is reading something to them and they are probably thinking “who is this girl?” Others have been meaning to write back. It’s hard trying to keep it all organized, while balancing my school work but I’d say I’m doing an ok job.
In the future, I managed to ask Stockata, and Stockapella to come and perform at the nursing home and it seems as though they are interested. Though I don’t have a final answer from them yet, I’m very hopeful and I’m pretty sure they’ll be visiting the nursing home at the end of this month. I can’t wait. Maybe next semester, I can organize a talent show. The thing is, the residents are all alone and bored because most of the time they don’t have anything to do so any kind of entertainment or visit is appreciated.
Thank you guyssssss for all of your support and love.

First of all, I would like to give a shout out to Momina for planning this, it really was great. Next, I have to say Stephanie Reda is going to be the best freshman ever! I absolutely loved her. We had a really busy day ahead of us and she was up for it and very easy going which made everything infinitely easier.
We started off by going to the biology 1 lab that I TA for, and she helped me with my job which is always nice. I told her about what it’s like to be a TA and how she could apply. She also got a taste of the bio 1 lab which was great since she’ll be taking it next semester. She was very good at the microscope.
Next, we had 20 minutes to get food. So we ran to the campus center, got food and even had 1 whole dining bucks left over. Then we ran into the other incoming freshman who were sitting at a large table with all their mentors eating. I kind of felt bad that she didn’t get to sit with them, but we had to be on our way to the tutoring center cause I had to work from 11:30-12:30. Again, being the best freshman that she is, she was ok with it and came to the tutoring center. Met some great people and got a taste of what the tutoring center is like: a bunch of easy going, fun nerds. We had a chance to talk about the program that she was interested in and what she was doing in high school and how AP exams were right around the corner and that she should kick butt on those.
Next, the poor girl had to come to physics II with me. I told her before hand that she should take physics for life sciences, then right before physics II started I said “remember when I told u to take the life sciences one? Well, now im going to prove to you why.” Physics was hard, as always. Then, I had permission to take her to the chem II lab. She helped me with my experiment, which was great again cause she got a taste of what chem II would be like as well. Then we took a walk around Lake Fred, realized that we are basically the same person and went to meet her parents around 5:30 (honestly, I didn’t want to let her go home). I had actually met her parents in the morning. They were waiting outside meeting room 5 to make sure she was ok. That is exactly what my parents would have done so I totally related to her on that level, and I also knew that my parents would have wanted the mentor I had to talk to them and tell them whats going on, so I did. Then we laughed about how similar our parents are. Anyway, I just love my freshman and I cant wait till she gets here next semester. 

On April 10, 2012, Richard Stockton College held its annual Celebration of Service. This event was located in the lower F Wing of the main campus building, and lasted throughout the day. This even gave students the opportunity to showcase the research, internships, and volunteer activities that they have recently participated in, or are currently undertaking. Dozens of posters and presentations were used to show passing faculty, staff, and students what interesting and captivation work is being done by the college’s students.
Many different forms of posters could be seen lining the hall of lower F Wing, including those for campus clubs such as Circle K, Water Watch, and Energy Corps. Also included were posters to inform passers about the college’s offered services such as learning access programs and counseling. There were also posters for Strategies to Develop Comfort in Social Situations for College Students, Coping with Stress, and Resources at Stockton. Posters created to bring current problems to light, such as a lack of physical disability accessible resources on campus (i.e. bathrooms, water fountains, computers, etc.), were also presented. Posters were also presented to raise awareness for Alternative Spring Break programs, Books without Borders, the Campus Kitchen, and the Children’s Museum in Jersey Shore.
Overall, Stockton’s Celebration of Service offered a great opportunity for these students to show off what they have accomplished, explain what they are currently involved in, and raise awareness of what should be done in the future. This event allowed for students and faculty alike to see what was, is, and should be going on at Richard Stockton’s campus, hopefully allowing us all to come together and make it a more beneficial and productive environment for current and future generations.