Anthony Gingerelli
Event Blog 3
11/19/15
Book without Borders is a fun community service based club. This club is very active at Stockton University and impacts people all over the world. The purpose behind Books without Borders is to supply books to those less fortunate, allowing them to further their education by supplying them with books. The meetings are very relaxed as there is a lot of brainstorming and planning occurring during the entire time. Students will plan events, review future “days of service” and collect any books people have brought in to store in the trailer. These events they plan are called “days of service.” These days are scheduled on their own or in conjunction with Stockton’s day of service. There are several steps involved in this community based service from planning to shipping. At these events students move the books from the storage and bring them into the school. They then organize the books into the categories and genre. After reorganizing them, we repack them so they are ready to be shipped. Then the books get shipped out to a variety of locations, depending on the need at the time. We send them to local Stockton communities, to other New Jersey locations as well as across the country and world, where people are desperate for books.
In addition to the meetings and days of service, they will have club meetings which take place in the actual warehouse. Here students are proactive and get a head start to reorganize the books so when the scheduled days of arrive, all the books will be packed and ready be carried out and sent to the shipping location. This makes the process much faster and efficient for the club and everyone in it.
Books without Borders is one of the most active clubs on the Stockton campus. Not only being one of the most vigorous clubs, it is one of the most prominent clubs. They have a significant impact for people not only in our local area but across the globe. Joining Books without Borders would be a great way to impact others who are less fortunate but choose to be educated and make a better life for themselves.

Anthony Gingerelli
There are so many clubs and organizations at Stockton and ping pong club caught my interest. I figured it would be a fun recreational activity that would be enjoyable way to take a break after a long week of classes.
Ping Pong club is a fun club with players that fall in all different ranges of skill. Some players are competitive and others are there for recreational fun. It was interesting to see the two different paces of the game. I originally went to for some relaxed fun but ended up playing some of the more skilled players in the club. I lost my first games to these players but everyone there was encouraging. They began showing me and the other less experienced players the strokes and techniques on how to return the ball. It was an enjoyable experience to participate in this club and I really enjoyed a night of play ping pong.
After playing several games for the day at the club, you receive a rating which matches you for your next games the following week. If you have intentions of becoming skilled, you can progress to win matches and move up in rating scale or just continue playing at the recreational level. Having so many players of different skills allows options for everyone who had an interest in playing so everyone would be equally matched. This vast range in skilled and non skilled players allowed people to take part in the club as they pleased. They could become a focused player and attend all the meetings and challenge themselves to play more skilled players to advance themselves. On the other hand, another option includes students who join the meetings as an outlet to play and have a way to relax and escape the stress of college.
Going to the ping pong club was a decision I will not regret. It is fun and it is a great release for me. It is nice to have a change in pace from my routine schedule instead of going back to my room after class. The enjoyable light hearted mood helps create a pleasurable atmosphere. Although the games can become intense, I personally feel it is a great social club, whether you choose to be competitive or just take it slow. I would encourage everyone to come and try the ping pong club or at least attempt a new club in which they may have an interest. Sometimes these trials or adventures may become a new and challenging interest because they might find out they love it.

Anthony Gingerelli

S.O.A.R was an event offered to incoming freshmen to allow them to get to know other freshmen.  S.O.A.R took an interesting perspective on how to make unfamiliar freshmen bond with each other.  Even though it seemed as if there would be an endless amount of ice breakers, the Talons lead many other meaningful and fun activities.  We learned how to trust and rely on others to complete activities that we were unable to do alone.  Along with the Talons leading activities, the people working at the camp also initiated many activities as well.  We were able to participate in games and trusting exercises, similar to what the Talons had been teaching us. The difference was the camp leaders brought the experiences to a whole new level.

The workers at the camp gave us challenges as simple as untying a rope with no hands to the extreme challenge of having several people holding a rope and supporting you, as you scaled a rock wall.  Trust was a big factor in many of our activities and sometimes difficult to hand over to a complete stranger.  After realizing that there were so many friends that could be trusted, we were able to break down barriers and create new bonds and friendships.  Many of us would not take that initial step on our own, so this was a great way to bond and break away from our “freshman shell.” The S.O.A.R. experience was a unique one that will never be forgotten for me personally.  This is not only because of the bonding exercises we participated in, it was the free time and other opportunities that were available.  During free time there were many fun activities to choose from and participate in. The activities included archery, swimming, canoeing, community service, and freedom to just walk and explore the campsite.  I would have not chosen this type of trip if given a choice, but for sure, I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate.  It opened my eyes to new activities, new endeavors and new friendships.  Trying to immerse myself in all that was offered allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, along with many other freshmen, creating conversation, alliances and comradely.

While all this was enjoyable, there is nothing like a little friendly competition. The students were broken up into eight different tribes. These tribes would create chants, dance and compete against each other in games. To determine the winner, each tribe was scored for each activity performed.  Also in the competition, each tribe had flags which were occasionally stolen from another tribe to assert dominance.  These competitions gave everyone more motivation to compete and try a little bit harder.  Adrenaline was surely pumping!  It created unity, teamwork and strategies for each tribe.  Tribe members grew stronger in their competition against one another.

The S.O.A.R. experience is an opportunity every freshman should take advantage because it is a great time and a great place to make lots of friends.  It was a wonderful way to start my journey at Stockton University. Starting my freshman year with this much fun and excitement only makes me look forward to what else Stockton has to offer me and the many other incoming freshman.