On September 12, 2015, Stockton hosted their 12^th annual Day of Service. For many, today was an opportunity to learn about the South Jersey community, and about the things that we, as college students, can do to help under privileged people in our community and to help our environment. I was on the purple team, and while we spent the day being talked to by guest speakers about the ways we can impact our community, I do wish that the event would have been a little more hand on with the “service” aspect of service-learning. The keynote speaker this year was Todd Bernstein, the founder of the MLK Day of Service, who spoke to us about the importance of service in every community and the impact that we, as students, can make on our country and the world.

Stockton also had the honor of having the president of ACUA, Rick Dovey, speak to us about the recycling, sewage treatment, trash collection, and sustainable energy facilities in Atlantic County. Besides that, the student representatives of Water Watch taught us about the dangers of single-use plastic water bottles and their adverse effects on our bodies, environment, and economy. (This is the cue to head to the bookstore and buy a reusable water bottle OR see the Water Watch table during the Get Involved fair for a free one!)

I also had the chance to help box up books for an on campus organization called Books Without Borders, which helps stock under-funded libraries, schools, and universities. The Campus Center theatre stage was covered in books from every subject imaginable, and I can only imagine the benefit of them once they all get to where they are needed most.

Today, students also had the opportunity to register to vote, if they had not already done so, and learn a little bit more about our legal system in the “civics” portion of the day. “Hot topics” such as the death penalty and the search and seizure of cell phones were discussed in my group, which led to my mind opening to the opinions and beliefs of others. It was very evident today, if not always, that every single Stockton student has a very important voice and that, if not shared, can go unnoticed.

My favorite part of the day was the Hands-Only CPR training I received from Stockton EMS. I was CPR certified when I was younger, but Hands-Only CPR is a little bit different. Because of the lack of rescue breaths, more people are willing to perform life-saving CPR on a stranger than before. Knowing that I at least have some training in how to do CPR, use an AED, and save someone from choking makes me feel better prepared for the times where I might be the only thing between someone and death.

Stockton’s Day of Service gave me more than just a free t shirt and some food. It gave me the information I need to continue to reach out and help my community, useful life-skills, a chance to help under-privileged libraries, and the chance to listen to some very interesting guest speakers.  I definitely look forward to participating in the 13^th annual Day of Service, and today made me much more interested in joining Circle K.

Dr. Melaku Lakew’s dialogue presentation on “Globalization and Migration, Income Inequalities” helped shed light on the economic disparagement that has only become a larger issue over time. He discussed the need to allow refugees to improve the populations in other parts of the world –a need which is restricted by many national policies. During this presentation I thought of my Honors course this semester, The Global Community, taught by Francisco Javier Sanchez. In class, we often discuss issues that occur around the world. The issue of restricted immigration has yet to come up in class; however, colonization has been a class discussion topic.

I noticed the juxtaposition between the presentation and our class discussion. Dr. Lakew represented the positive benefits of globalization and interspersing peoples while our class dwelled on the negative impacts that non-native peoples have had on the social, political, and economic structures of various societies. The people migrating, the scale of migration, the time period, and the destination all deeply influenced the conversations, but ultimately I saw a connection between the constant need for human migrationary patterns. No matter the time or the place, throughout history, humans have constant needs for relocation. This dialogue prompted me to analyze various components and allowed me to make connections to the other dialogue I attended –in addition to the connections I made with my Global Community course.

Today I completed by formal recruitment experience and was offered a bid for Stockton University’s chapter, Zeta Tau Alpha. I recommend anyone even slightly considering greek life to take part in this process. The first round let’s you meet all five of the panhellenic sororities and each round both you and the sororities rank one another and are matched up in a computer system. You may not get called back and have your recruitment end if none of the sororities see you as a potential member or you can always drop and end the process if you don’t see yourself in greek life.

The first round is to meet all of the sororities and talk about your interests and academics while you also ask the sorority questions so you get to know each other. The second round is dedicated to the philanthropies so you can learn about the organization that the sororities are dedicated to funding. Preference night allows you to see your top two sororities and make the decision of which one you want to receive a bid from. And Bid Day is the final step in which you finally find out which sorority has requested you to join. The process of formal recruitment allows you to open yourself up to an friendly environment and meet a lot of amazing people that you may one day be able to call your sisters.

On the morning of August 25^th, I, along with 300 or so of my peers, packed all of my things, not only for college, but for the camping trip of a lifetime. SOAR, or the Stockton Outdoor Adventure Retreat, is an amazing program for incoming freshman, where they go away to Camp Ockanickon for three days prior to the traditional freshman “move-in day” and the beginning of Welcome Week activities. While on this camping trip, Stockton’s newest ospreys gained leadership skills, discussed the pros of a diverse community, and had a ton of fun doing so. Everyone in attendance had expected this type of instruction it was basically the tagline for SOAR. But the best parts of SOAR were the things we didn’t expect.

I didn’t expect to meet my best friend at SOAR. Within minutes of saying goodbye to my parents and siblings, the girl standing next to me, who I would soon call my best friend, and I bonded instantly. All around us, I could see, and feel, the friendships, and even relationships, forming between people who had just met. We were all being thrown into the wild with a bunch of strangers, so it was only natural for us to find people with whom we had something in common with, and stick with them.

My favorite part of SOAR, and, upon talking to some of my fellow “tribelets”, their favorite part as well, was getting to know our TALONS. The Activity Leaders Of New Students practically ran SOAR with the help of Jennifer Radwanski and the staff from Camp Ockanickon, but they did so much more than that. They gave very sound advice about college, from unspoken N Wing etiquette to how to save the most money on textbooks and everything in between. With the help of our TALONS, Stockton became a less intimidating place and moving away to college seemed like an easy tasked compared to the “Leap of Faith” that many, including myself, did while at camp.

SOAR was so much more than a leadership retreat or a chance to meet new people and make new friends. SOAR was a chance for many freshman to ease into the college experience. It helped to grease the gears of new friendships, and made the task of talking to new people less daunting. I hope to return to SOAR one day as a TALON so that I can help freshmen transition into life here at Stockton, because what my TALONS did for me is something I cannot thank them enough for. So, I say again, thank you TALONS, and thank you Jen Radwanski, for giving me the experience of a lifetime and allowing me to truly soar.

While media depictions of sorority and fraternity life are amusing –at best– they are obviously hyperbolic exaggerations that do not reflect the true qualities of sorority life. As someone who deeply cares about both academics and service, the panhellenic community offered me an opportunity to come together with young women to passionately stand for those values while being introduced to the individual cultures of each group and welcomed into a wide network of resources.

The panhellenic community –and each sorority– has a GPA requirement in order to join. While involved in greek life, students are encouraged by their chapters to maintain their academic life while introducing an additional educational element. Each chapter has its own history that each new pledge will have to learn. Each chapter also has its own philanthropy that it supports via fundraising and service efforts. The latter mentioned is what primarily motivated me to consider greek life.

In Formal Recruitment, the women who sign up get to meet each sorority throughout a series of rounds and each time, you interact with less chapters. Each round narrows your options until you’re left with two and in the final round, you’re offered the bid of the sorority that’s right for you! I couldn’t be more excited to wait to find out which chapter I will be a part of for the next three years!

Although the first semester hadn’t even ended, people were excitedly discussing the housing arrangements for next year! In order to be eligible, I had to attend a housing renewal session. During this session, I learned about how I can do every step to increase my chances of preferred housing next year at Stockton.

The main benefit I received from attending this session were the great tips I learned about the process. Planning early is a must! I didn’t understand why everyone was trying to get their groups together early, but the most credits that your group has total, the better your time slot is to sign up for your housing. I also know that my group leader has to be timely and organized because s/he has to complete each step of the progress on time or else the entire group will be punished with unpreferable housing. The session also warned us to make sure our group leader would listen to our preferences and accurately represent what the whole group agrees on.

In addition to the tips I learned, I also realized something during the session: to stay relaxed. It’s really a very simple process and if you follow the steps, you’re most likely going to get the housing that is most optimal for you!

In Stockton’s own Holocaust Research Center, I attended a Dialogue which identified the “forgotten Holocaust” of Roma and Sinti peoples post World War II. Like most people, I was relatively unaware of this mass minority population, commonly referred to by the –offensive and inaccurate– term, “gypsy.” The Roma –who live throughout Europe– and Sinti –who live in German and German-speaking countries of Europe– are both without a home country and are therefore minorities wherever they go.

Lacking a national identity, they remain persecuted throughout history and in contemporary European territories such as Poland. The most powerful example of historical disrespect that the guest speaker, Joanna Kwiatkowska, explained was in town, Lety. An area that used to be home to a concentration camp for Roma and Sinti people has not been preserved as a museum or center for remembrance, like many other sites that have seen tragedy. Lety is currently has a pig farm on the land of the camp.

Ms. Kwiatkowska even explained the challenges in her own life and a modern Roma person as she struggled to stay in her Polish school –regardless of academic potential, racial tensions cause most Roma children to be viewed as “incapable” of learning as quickly as the Polish children, causing them to often attend schools for the “slower” and often disabled children. This issue –to which I was previously blind– has opened my eyes to another culture in the world and another example of human injustice. After attending this dialogue, I feel confident in the future of developing awareness for the Roma people to end the hostilities against this minority culture that has already suffered enough.

As part of the Honors Program, I am required to take a few core classes of the program and this semester’s is Honors: The Global Community. Taught by Francisco Javier Sanchez, the course explore various global and history themes via a collection of photojournalistic pieces from a book titled, What Matters and literature of both poetry and prose to illustrate themes such as poverty, genocide, and race in society.

This class is driven by group discussion of articles and readings and ultimately encourages everyone to get involved. My favorite thing about the course, is its applicability to history. Because we are discussing themes and trends, many issues resurface throughout time. For example, while we read one piece about the conquistadors, a classmate made various parallels to the fascist movement in the nineteenth century. As an avid lover of history, I enjoy tracking these trends throughout the earth’s timeline to better understand their impact on the “global community.”

I can’t wait for the final project and presentation because I already have an idea of how I want to connect Transcendentalism to the unity of nature to display how perceptions of environment come into play in this same “global community” that we spend the semester discussing.

This weekend, snowstorm Jonas turned Stockton into a winter wonderland! Although the school had our safety in mind when recommending our evacuation from the campus, those of us who remained on campus had a great time enjoying the long-awaited winter weather. My friends and I built snowmen, trekked to Lake Pam to see the water, and of course drank plenty of hot chocolate to keep warm! I was so thankful that my mom reminded me to get a new winter coat; however, I couldn’t help but think of our homeless population that isn’t as fortunate. For most, the snow is a time of play and fun.

The Honors Program encourages service throughout the year and the winter weather is among the greatest hardship that the homeless population has to face. The Covenant House –an organization which deals with displaced youths– and the Red Cross –which often runs coat-drives to support the veterans– both contribute massively to alleviating the burden of the cold for those less fortunate. When I get home, I’ll certainly be sorting through my jackets and donating as many as I can.

Today, during my Honors: The Global Community class, Dr. Rosner came and did a group service learning meeting. I know that there will be semesters ahead in which I have private meetings to set up my service goals; however, I do look forward to the future classes I’ll have in which the group service learning initial meeting will act as a substitute. I really loved hearing what everyone was dedicating their time to this semester and I got to hear about a lot of different service projects for the first time.

Some organizations weren’t so unfamiliar, such as Circle K. I worked with this group at Stockton’s Day of Service and loved the various projects that they had going on! Now that I know I have a classmate who works regularly with Circle K, I know who I can contact when my class-work lightens and I find more time to volunteer. I thought today’s group initial service meeting was a great way for me to learn more about my fellow Honors students while additionally providing me with more resources to access in my future service endeavors.