I have great news – I made Student Ambassadors!
I also have not-so-great news – I lost my voice the morning of my first day on the job.
I woke up at 7 AM, ready to be the most enthusiastic new ambassador at the open house. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on my black polo and dress pants, and shook out the nerves. After a final check of my reflection in the mirror, I turned to mutter a goodbye to my half-asleep roommate.
No sound escaped my mouth.
I froze in disbelief and sprinted across the hall into the bathroom. I tried to speak into the mirror. “Hi, my name is Destiny! Welcome to Stockton!” But what came out of my mouth sounded like the rustling of the dead leaves I crush on my Sunday long runs. I whipped out my phone and proceeded to wake up every single current ambassador whose number I had saved. I received the same advice from almost every single one – don’t lead a trolley tour. That sounds easy enough, right?
Except that, upon arrival at the open house, I find out my job is to lead a trolley tour for the day. With no voice, I was in charge of grabbing the microphone and talking over a roaring engine about the wonderful sights to be seen around Stockton.
Thankfully, my mentor for the day took charge and led the tours for me, allowing me a minute each ride to whisper into the mic my name, my major, and a brief apology for not being able to say as much as I’d wanted. Admittedly, I was relieved that I had enough of a voice to even say that, but I have so many needless facts to spill about Stockton that it physically pained me to stay quiet for 15 minute intervals.
So, if you are ever wondering what not to do the night before a trolley tour: DO NOT listen to the first Hannah Montana album on blast and scream-sing the words. It will royally hinder your chances at spewing your eternal knowledge of Stockton facts to your captive audience.

In mid-September, Stockton University invited a lecturer to come in and lead a dialogue session on genocide. Being a school that prides itself on its plethora of resources on the topic of genocide, Stockton had many interested students.
It was one of the first dialogue sessions of the year, and so as expected there were many genocide studies students who expressed their interest by going up to the lecturer before he spoke to share common likes and dislikes. I, the Health Sciences major, of course had no idea where to start when it came to genocide studies. Like most others, I’d touched on the Holocaust in grammar school and have since then rarely thought of the topic.
Ignorantly so, I thought the lecture would be solely about the Holocaust, because that was the only act of genocide I knew existed. It turns out, there have been multiple attempts at mass elimination of specific populations over time. I also learned that concentration camps weren’t the only methods used to enact genocide. Most importantly, I learned that, when going to watch a scholar giving a passionate lecture, wearing running clothes is not the best choice to make. It is a small school; the lecturer will see you.
I rushed out of the room as soon as the lecture ended without congratulating the lecturer on his insightful talk, and surely without getting my participation paper signed for honors. I wish I had worn something worthier of that man’s advanced knowledge. I also wish I could tell him that he did an amazing job, and that – I’m sorry – I cannot for the life of me remember his name because all I could think about was the fact that my hooded sweatshirt stood out like a sore thumb in a sea of blazers and polos.
I highly encourage you, good readers, to attend as many holocaust-related dialogue sessions as you can, because you will learn so much more than you had already known. However, please, for your sake and the sake of your self-confidence, dress like you are at a college lecture, not like you’re going to run a marathon.

Jonathan Pier
11/30/2016
Professor Lenard
Freshmen Blog Assignment Three
The event that I volunteered for was Stockton University’s first annual Rudolph Run, which took place on Saturday, November 19th. This event was sponsored by Stockton University’s honors program students. The run is an annual event for all students that took place in and around freshmen housing. The intent of this event was to raise money in order to help support a local family over the holidays. This involved buying clothing, toys, cards, food, and cards for them. Additionally, the goal was to fundraise for both the honors program and For The Run Of It. The volunteer activities included tabling prior to the run in order to collect donations and help to promote awareness for the run, guiding participants during the run, and even partaking in the race itself. By the end of the event, the Rudolph Run was able to successfully raise $211.37. Despite this not being enough to support an entire family over the holidays, it was sufficient funding to buy a number of toys and board games for the Stockton police department’s Toys for Tots program. The event raised awareness towards those who are not as fortunate over the holiday period and inspired many to do even the slightest thing to help someone in need, while at the same time providing an interactive and fun way for participants to stay in shape and meet new people. Overall, I found Stockton’s first annual Rudolph Run to be a success with loads of potential for the future. Given the opportunity, I would partake in the event again and would even spread the word to my friends having first-hand experience with how enjoyable the event was.

Jonathan Pier

10/24/2016

Professor Lenard

Freshmen Blog Assignment Two

The event that I attended was Stockton’s event to create cards and miniature gifts for homeless children, which took place on September 14th, 2016. The event was a one-time event for freshmen that took place on campus with the intention of providing incoming freshmen with a fun and interactive way to create cards and gifts for homeless children for their birthdays and the upcoming holidays. This event consisted of multiple different activities with the intention of making little knickknacks such as cards and  foam toys. Led by the guidance of volunteering upperclassmen, attendees were allowed to pick which item they wanted to create, and used items such as foam, scissors, stickers, and cardboard paper to create cute and happy-looking presents. This service event was beneficial because it offered students a chance to help and put a smile on the faces of these children, who otherwise would not have had much of a reason to think anybody cared about them, or even enjoy the holidays or their birthday. The event was followed by a dialogue that expanded on the purpose of the event, with students discussing their feelings on how lucky they are to have a roof over their heads in the coming cold months, as well as providing a perspective that made everyone thankful for what they had in life. The event was overall very enjoyable and made me want to spend more time helping homeless children find a reason to smile during a period that I want to be smiling as well.

Help Our Heroes
The Help Our Heroes event took place on November 9, 2016, which, not so coincidentally near Veteran’s Day. The event took place in The Townsend Residential Life Center (TRLC) at eight pm, and was intended to gather students and staff interested in supporting veterans who have served our country.
Technically, the event started a day early for me as I helped work on the poster for my floor. We brainstormed the night before and then created the poster the next day between classes. Now, our (super impressive) poster is hanging up in the TRLC and acts as a physical representation of our support for veterans. While at the actual event, which was set up nicely and run efficiently, a lot of the people present were freshmen. The event started with making cards for wounded veterans, and a large array of craft supplies was provided. Most people managed to make about five well thought out cards a piece, and the overall turnout was wonderful. There had to be over a hundred cards in the end, and the creativity put into each one was apparent.
While the volunteers were making the cards, an informational video played about veterans and what they endured in the past as well as what they endure in the aftermath. It is really shocking to see how little attention is paid to the people who risk their lives protecting this country. Actually, most people I was sitting with agreed that they never thought much about how people with missing limbs and physical disabilities due to war went on with their lives. As the video played, we finished our cards. The entire time there was also refreshments and snacks, which is always a great way to get young and broke college kids to volunteer and consequentially learn about a good cause.
Overall, the event was run thoroughly and was an excellent combination of informational learning as well as active participation. Not one person went who didn’t put time into making posters for the cause or making cards, and the feeling of gratitude towards those who protect this country was tangible in the room. It was a very good event to attend especially during the election when many people in the country are against one another. While appreciating veterans, people ignore these aspects of politics and instead feel grateful to have a protected country.

Gillian Ranes
Gen 1033: Life of Mind
Freshmen Blogging Project: Dialogue Session
Dialogue Session: “La Chancleta: Discussing Discipline vs. Child Abuse”
The event/ dialogue session I went to was called “La Chancleta: Discussing Discipline vs. Child Abuse.” It was held on Tuesday, October 11th in F111. The event was presented and made by members of the Stockton’s Latin American Student Association and Lambda Tau Omega Sorority, Incorporated.
The objective of this dialogue session was to discuss methods of discipline by parents in the Latino culture. Students shared personal anecdotes, statistics, videos, and valuable information on the Latino heritage, discipline, and child abuse in general. Students who attended this dialogue session engaged in lengthy debates on whether their personal experiences or experiences seen in the videos presented on Youtube were either discipline or abuse. Answers were extremely varied, but there was a general consensus among students that there is a fine line when discipline turns into abuse.
I enjoyed the presentation so much because I learned so much about topics that I never really thought about before, such as when discipline turns into abuse. I also enjoyed the session since I find it very important to learn about cultures that one is not necessarily a part of. This is important because so as members of society, we can all share a deeper level of understanding and empathy for one another.

Gillian Ranes
Gen 1033: Life of the Mind
September 29th 2016
Event: Freshmen Convocation
I enjoyed hearing Ellen Forney speak. I liked more things than I did not like. If I had to mention something I particularly did not relish the most, it would be that in general it is difficult to sit through hearing anybody talk for over almost an hour so at certain times it was difficult to pay attention too however the topics that Forney went into were very interesting.
I liked hearing Forney speak about “the language of cartoons.” It seems that there is not only a literary sense to it but also a science to cartoons. The words go hand in hand with the drawings to tell an unexpected story. The cartoons enhanced the book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian so much, I probably would not have enjoyed it as much if the cartoons were not included. I could tell that even though the book was loosely based on its author’s Alexie’s life, Forney heavily identified with Junior as well because both, Forney and Junior, use cartooning as an emotional outlet. I had no idea comics could be so complex but as Forney and Sherman Alexie have both said: art can express what words cannot.
My favorite thing that Forney talked about was her own book: Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me. I liked how she was so open about her struggles with bipolar disorder. Removing the stigma related to mental illnesses is also an important topic to me as well. I can really see the beauty in using her disorder to work for her advantage by drawing in different styles to show how her mania and depression effect her differently.

Gillian Ranes
Freshmen Honors Program Blogging
Knock Out Opiates Day- October 6th 2016
The event that I attended was called “Knock Out Opiates” and it was a volunteer activity for the R.I.S.E A.B.O.V.E (Rise Above) club. Rise Above is a club that I am an active member and it stands for: Ready to Inspire Students to Excel And Better Our Various Experiences at Stockton University. The event was held on October 6th, which is national “Knock Out Opiates” day. The purpose of the activity was to raise awareness about the over-prescription of opiates, which are drugs with morphine like effects. The over-prescription of opiates usually leads to an addiction, no matter the age or socio-economic background of that person. Opiates are very expensive drugs, so the dependence often leads to an addiction to heroin, which is a cheaper and more easily accessible version of expensive, prescribed opiates such as Codeine, Vicodin, Oxycotin, Percocet, and more.
The event featured driving over to the Sun Rise Bay apartment and condominium complex, where many Stockton University students reside, and walking around to every apartment and car to hang up door hangers that said “Knock Out Opiates” on them. The door hangers also featured many useful and intriguing facts about opiate use and the situation going on in America regarding them.
I found the event to be very useful because I learned so much and hopefully other people, who live in the Sun Rise Bay apartments, will as well. This national problem is an issue that is very important to me and I feel as though the prescription of opiates should be limited made into more of a national priority.

Gillian Ranes
Gen 1033: Life of the Mind
Freshmen Blogging Project: Stockton Events
Event: “How to Maximize Your Buzz” and Get Involved
The event I went to was called “How to Maximize Your Buzz” and Get Involved. It was held on Monday, September 5th in the Campus Center Event Room. This event was a part of the mandatory/ passport event series for all freshmen during welcome week, which was the first week of college.
The objective of the event was to influence positive decision making from academics to social networking. Students were educated in a very interactive and entertaining manner with a program about the powerful and harsh realities of alcohol. The philosophy behind the program was repeated heavily throughout the whole event which was, “Alcohol is not about drinking; it’s about who you are.” The objective of the event was not entirely focused on influencing incoming college students to completely abstain from drinking alcohol, but it provided personal accounts, statistics, and information on a variety of topics including how to stay safe if one makes the decision to drink, the dangers of alcohol, what to do if put in a dire situation involving alcohol, and other ways to have a fruitful college experience without drinking.
I wholeheartedly enjoyed the presentation. I found the information extremely useful and I know I will carry this knowledge throughout my college career as well as after I graduate from Stockton. It was a thought provoking and intriguing presentation that appealed very well to people my age

I did not attend any events for the 2016 presidential election that were hosted by Stockton University. Instead, I watched the debates with my friends in our dorms. Prior to this election cycle, I had never watched a debate. I watched these debates because it was required for class and because I did not want to miss anything Donald Trump might have said. It was interesting to watch the debates with other people my age because for the most part, our political opinions were similar, even though there were some individual differences. We discussed points brought up by the candidates as we watched. Sometimes, it was like we had our own smaller debate if there was a topic we disagreed on. The people I watched the debates with were all Honors students, so we were able to continue the discussion the next day in class. We did the same thing for the election coverage on November 8th. We watched the electoral votes come in and voiced our opinions about what was occurring and about what would need to happen for Clinton to catch up. Even though I did not attend debate parties or other events, I still liked the fact that Stockton hosts these events. Elections only happen every four years and Stockton took advantage of this by hosting election events to get students more involved in American politics. I am sure it would have been interesting to attend a debate party and hear even more opinions on politics. I hope Stockton has similar events for the next election cycle. I might actually consider attending one.