The Day of Service started with all of us meeting in the campus center. There were a lot more people there than I expected. It was very inspiring to see that so many people want to give their Saturday to help others in the community. We got into lines to check in and received surveys that we needed to fill out. After we all filled out our surveys we met in the event room for breakfast. After breakfast we listened to a few speakers, the most memorable being a first responder on the day of 9/11. His accounts were vivid and gave everyone a greater respect for all those who helped that tragic day, such as fire fighters, police officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, and medical staff. They did not get to see their families that day to help others. After his inspirational speech every person gave him a standing ovation as he walked away from the podium.
Each person was then called by service project leaders to their buses where they were transported to their locations. I went to the Atlantic Riding Clinic for Health, a nonprofit riding facility that teaches the handicapped to ride horses, along with other lessons. While I was there I helped out with a few different things. First we painted trim and doors for the horses, which I enjoyed doing. After we finished we washed the brushes and then started cleaning out the shed. We moved the contents out of the shed so that they employees could decide whether or not they were going to keep, donate, or throw them away. Once that was decided we moved some of the items into the classroom. When we finished moving the boxes and other things it was one o’ clock and time for us to leave. On our way out I could tell that the employee’s at ARCH really appreciated everyone’s help that day, even though we were only there for about three hours.
On our way back we filled out a post survey and discussed what everyone did that day. Everyone did different things and I realized that even though there were only three hours, we got a lot accomplished. I truly understood how just a little work can go a long way and it means a lot to someone. The Day of Service definitely inspired me to want to go out and do more community service.

During Welcome Week, I joined my fellow incoming freshmen as we were corralled like sheep from one monotonous assembly to the next, and I looked for every excuse to avoid partaking in the various socially awkward festivities. I settled down in my seat at the Warrior Champions documentary, craving popcorn and praying for an epic film depicting some Roman gladiator’s gallant fight to the death.  Though my wish was not granted in such a gory fashion, my eyes were opened to an entirely new class superhuman fighters- wounded soldiers turned Olympic athletes. I entered the Warrior Champions essay contest on a whim, and was granted a prize far more valuable than any monetary reward. I was given perspective.

A few weeks after entering the contest, I received an unexpected phone call from Assistant Dean of Students Tom O’Donnell, coordinator of Veteran Affairs at Stockton, informing me that I had won. After explaining the rewards I would be granted, he asked if I would mind attending the next Veteran Affairs meeting to take pictures for the newspaper. I consented, but truly had no idea what to expect. I tried on several outfits in search of something appropriate- not too casual, not too formal.  Upon entering the room on the Thursday of the meeting, I was surprised to find so many people that easily blended into the general student population here at Stockton. The room was full of men and women who had served in various branches of the United States Military, and were now attending Stockton in hopes of furthering their education. Many of these students were several years older than me, but welcomed me graciously into their circle. I was the only person in the room who had not previously served, and I felt so miniscule in comparison to such brave people.

Attending the meeting was truly an eye-opening experience for me. Had I not been present, I would be completely unaware of how many Veterans walk in our midst every day. It was extremely humbling to hear stories of the trials they had gone through on tour, as well as the challenges they face at home. Many face financial burdens and academic struggles that seem trivial to the average student, and most of the Veterans expressed interest in making the general population more aware of their presence on campus. Stockton was named one the most Veteran-friendly colleges in the country, but it is shocking to see how unaware many students are regarding the program. At the conclusion of the meeting, I was invited to come back the first Thursday of every month to join in the planning and discussion. I was truly honored to be welcome among such real-life heroes, and that was perhaps the greatest prize of all.

Last month The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s girl soccer team played an amazing game against Misericordia at their home field. My friend McKenzie Lillia and I went to the game about 15 minutes into the first half. There was a lot of support in the stands from Stockton students. Even though neither team scored, it was one of the best soccer games I have watched at Stockton College.
The first half started out as a normal game. There were attempts by both teams to score but all failed. During the second half the game started to get more intense. The attempts from Stockton became more and more frequent and closer and closer to scoring each time. Misericordia scored a few times as well. The teams seemed to be equally matched.
The second half ended with the score still 0-0. The game went into overtime. At this point not many spectators were left in the stands and it was about ten o’ clock at night. A significant amount of true fans were still routing for the team. Stockton got had a few corner kicks giving excellent opportunity to score but still they had no luck. Minutes felt like hours until the first overtime was over. Still the score remained 0-0 so the game went on to a second overtime period. This is when everyone was out of his or her seats screaming for someone to score. Unfortunately that did not happen and the game ended in a tie with zero goals. Even though there was no goals scored it was an excellent game and McKenzie and I had an amazing time watching it.

On Thursday, October 20th, the Honors Program had an event called “Pizza and Pong” at Lakeside. The occasion was to dress up for Halloween while getting to know the other students in the Honors Program. This event was open to both upperclassmen and underclassmen. The night was filled with funny and frightful costumes while everyone had fun playing water pong or simply just enjoying each other’s company. Many pictures were taken with everyone in their costumes, but more importantly these pictures hold the memories that we shared as a group that night.

I am glad that I decided to come to this event since it was nicely organized by the upperclassmen. They included upbeat music along with a variety of food and refreshments. The upperclassmen were also friendly and very open to talking to the incoming freshmen. I appreciated the fact that they asked us if we had any questions about the Honors Program or Stockton in general. It was comforting to know how friendly everyone was. I instantly felt welcomed into the group and even made some new friends.

At the end of the night, one of the upperclassmen mentioned that there will be another Honors event next month. Together, we discussed possible plans for the next meeting. Potential ideas included a giant game of twister, a scavenger hunt, or a movie night. I am definitely looking forward to attending the next one. The Honors group truly is a warm and close-knit community. Attending the “Pizza and Pong” made me even happier with my choice to join the Honors Group.

On the morning of September 8^th, 2012, I arose from bed with every intention of going gardening in Absecon. I donned the oldest clothes I could find, laced up an over-worn pair of running sneakers and threw my hair into a messy ponytail, justifying to myself that no one would see me behind the layer of dirt with which I would surely be decorated. After blindly boarding a shuttle bus I assumed would take me to pull weeds or plant flowers for a few hours, I was informed that I had been assigned an entirely different agenda. In the words of my activity leader, “We’re going to be throwing a picnic for about twenty emotionally and physically disabled men.”

It didn’t take long for the initial panic to set in. Emotionally disabled? I immediate sought out the emergency exits. Maybe I could hitchhike back to campus? Before I had the opportunity to fully develop my escape route, we had arrived at Lake Lenape alongside a bus very similar to our own. Our bus contained three rather small, terrified college girls and one equally apprehensive group leader, while theirs contained something far more impressive: a lesson.

Spending the day playing picnic names and grilling burgers with the men of Community Quest was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. As the minutes passed, I became more comfortable and ever more ashamed of myself for casting judgments in the first place. We filled that pavilion with laughter and something those men appreciated more than the food and games. Our presence brought friendship and real human interaction into the lives of people who are often looked down upon because of their hardships.  Whether it was watching Russell, a man with severe Down Syndrome, score his first points in the bean bag toss or conversing with Tim, whose disability remains undetectable to me, I am unable to put into words how deeply this experience enhanced my understanding of my own life.

I have known for a while now that I want to be an occupational therapist, but my unexpected Day of Service only confirmed that vision. I was able to see that the purpose of my life might not necessarily be to make the most money or receive the highest acclaim, but to help others feel whole again. I am reminded of a familiar quote when I look back on this day. Brandi Snyder said, “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” Though I may not have my own television show or run for President, I recognize now that I can make a difference by simply passing on a smile.

There was 15 minutes left in the second half, we were beating the Mercy Mustangs by a score of 7-1. Michelle, our head coach, looked at me and said,”Sara, go warm-up.” I put my helmet on and had a pass with the Deb, the goalie coach. Then, I was ready to play in the game. Michelle then told me to go in at the 11 minute mark. For the next two minutes all I did was stare at the clock, waiting for my time. The ref blew his whistle and said “goalie sub.” I then stepped on the field during a game for the first time all season. As I ran onto the field I felt the butterflies in my stomach.
During the first minute I was on the field a ball came rolling into the circle and I cleared it out wide to the other defensemen. Stockton then drove the ball up the field and got a corner. On the corner, we passed the ball to the top of the circle and took a quick shot on goal, which was deflected by Cassie into the corner of the goal and the score was now 8-1. Mercy then took the ball down the field and found an opening in the defense. It was then a one-on-one, and I ran out to meet their left wing at the top of the circle, she hit the ball ahead of herself, and I used that as my chance to dive and clear the ball back out to the 25 yard line. After that play, I got up and ran back to the net. It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and the butterflies started to go away. Stockton then took the ball into the offensive circle where Sierra took a rocket of a shot and scored to make it 9-1. For the last couple minutes I only had one more shot, which I cleared wide.
After the game, I was very excited and could not take the smile off of my face. It felt so good to finally play in an actual game. Everyone came up to me and said nice job or way to go. The only thing that would have made that day better was if I shared this moment with my mom. My mom has gone to every home game to watch the game and wait for the time I was going to play. Unfortunately, that time came at the only home game she could not make. After the game, while I was sitting in my car ready to leave, I called my mom and told her about it. She was very happy for my and she wished she was there to see it.

On Thursday, September 15, the Stockton Ospreys Field Hockey team had a home game versus the Gwynedd-Mercy Griffins. We arrived at the field a little over an hour before the game and met as a team in the trailer. Once Coach Andre came in and gave us our pre-game speech, we knew we were ready to play.

A couple minutes later we took the field for warm-ups. Warm-ups take about 40 minutes and once that buzzer went off, we were ready to take the field. We get in line and follow the refs out to the center of the field. Then, they announce the starting line-ups for both teams. While they play the National Anthem, we stand front to back holding the hand of the person in front and behind us, to demonstrate that we are one team. Then we run back to the bench and it was time to start the game.

The first half was a battle; both teams had multiple opportunities to score. Unfortunately, the Griffins were first to get a point on the board. We never gave up because we are a team full of heart. We kept pounding on their doorstep, but the ball couldn’t find their cage. Gwynedd-Mercy scored again to make it a two goal deficit going into the second half. They outshot us 17-5 through the first half. During halftime, Coach talked to us about what we were doing wrong and how to fix it. We knew the game wasn’t over and we could still win.

At the start of the second half the Griffins were playing more physical, but it didn’t bother us. About 10 minutes into the second half, Jenny scored to make it 2-1. At that moment we knew we were going to win this game. We were dominating this half, and with two minutes left in the game one of their players received a yellow card, which means she had to sit out for eight minutes and her team was a man down. Less than a minute later, we scored to tie up the game. Then the buzzer sounded and we were heading into overtime. A week before this, we also had a game that went into overtime and we won it less than two minutes in and we knew this game was going to end the same way. We scored only 2 minutes in. As soon as we heard the ball hit the back of the cage, we charged onto the field and congratulated Suzie, the goal scorer.

After the game, we knew that nothing could stop us and if we keep our head in the game we can and will do anything.

On Tuesday, October 16^th, Stockton College was honored with an extraordinary performance by the Koresh Dance Company. The event was held in the Performing Arts Center from 7 to 9 p.m. Stockton’s theater was immediately crowded with eager students and teachers, as well as many older individuals. Tickets were priced at $45 for Orchestra seating, $25 for Mezzanine seating, and $10 for children. A $5 discount was kindly offered to senior citizens, while students also received reduced prices.

The Koresh Dance Company originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1991, and is headed by the choreographer Ronen Koresh. Raised in Israel, Koresh first learned Yemenite folk dancing from his mother. As he matured, Ronen Koresh continued his pursuit of dancing, and eventually branched out into genres such as ballet, jazz, and modern. Upon immigrating to the United States, he began to choreograph his own performances. Each piece incorporates various types of dancing. His brilliant shows combine multicultural music with emotional and innovative movements. The company is made of a diverse group of dancers, each with extreme precision and agility. These trained professionals utilize their bodies, vocals, and facial expressions to narrate a story. Together, they work to transport the audience to an alternate world.

Koresh performances detail many serious life issues, including domestic disputes, love, and rivalry. Conversely, many dances involve humorous aspects, in which the dancers mock societal rules and expectations. One specific dance shown at Stockton involved two females, in oversized tutus. During their performance the women frolicked about without care, displaying sarcastic smiles upon their faces. The music that played was similar to that of a circus. It seemed as though they were creating a caricature of dancers in a world of strict rules and stereotypes.

The dances shown were excerpts of Koresh’s previous performances, ranging from 1992 to 2012. Although quite different in meaning, the routines meshed together to create a profound, impacting storyline. I greatly appreciated the time and effort put into the Koresh Dance Company performance, and plan on buying tickets in the future.