Honors Program Scholars Spring 2015

Transcription

1 Honors Program Scholars Spring 2015 Ricardo Arias Beatriz Correa Rokia Diabi Fabian Francis (June 2015 Graduate) Diana Herra Jennifer Jarrin Daequan Leslie Raquel Melendez Analilia Mendez Ramah Sharaf Alassane Thera Feissal Traore

2 Acknowledgements Honors Course Spring 2015 ENG 111H- Professor Michael Cisco VPA 192H- Professor Alisa Roost MAT 210H- Professor Tanvir Prince Honors Contracts Spring 2015 Fabian Francis- Tanvir Prince Feissal Traore- Tanvir Prince Beatriz Correa- Professor Kate Wolfe Daequan Leslie- Professor Terence Brenner Alassane Thera- Professor Anna Manukyan

3 HONORS PROGRAM PLEDGE Adapted from Macaulay Honors College Integrity Pledge The Hostos Community College Honors Program considers honors not only academic but the ethical and personal growth of the entire person. Therefore, I pledge as a member of this Honors community to engage, think, and learn to the very best of my abilities, both in and out of the classroom; to establish an academic environment that allows members to grow academically and personally in a spirit of cooperation and fellowship; to work to better our neighborhoods, communities, and the world around us; to uphold the values of honesty and integrity in and beyond the classroom; and to treat all humanity with civility and respect, regardless of national or ethnic origin, religious or social affiliation, heritage, disabilities, sexual orientation, race, gender, or political affiliation.

4 Ricardo Arias: As an honor student we are required to complete a certain amount of community service work each semester. Working as a volunteer was not exhausting, on the contrary volunteering had the reverse effect on me and served as an invigorating, refueling experience. I believe I can attribute this effect to the random nature of the volunteer work. Random in the case that the work involved was either unexpected or mind numbingly distractive, in a good way. Upon reflection, volunteering provided a new and different type of stimulus that forced me to comport myself in a way I hadn t done in the past. For instance I volunteered to assist in a Health and Wellness Festival. There, I was assigned to Jessica Lappe who was manning a table of hummus, a healthier condiment or dip alternative. But when I first arrived, she wasn t there so I took it upon myself to learn all there was about the hummus in a span of three to five minutes and promote the product. I did such a good job that Ms. Lappe, upon her return was so impressed with my performance that she herself was uncertain of who I was, so much so that she believed me to be a corporate representative. I did not expect that I would have behaved as I did in those enjoyable handful of hours that I spent assisting them. Beatriz Correa: Something I have really enjoyed this semester has been the Colloquiums we ve had....one of my favorite colloquium was based on racism and being biased. At this colloquium I learned so much about not only myself and how the things I do and say affect others, but it opened my eyes to thinking before I speak now. The main thing I took away from this was how our micro-aggressions towards others affects the stories we create for them before we even get to know them.i m working now on not jumping to conclusions so quickly about others when I first meet people or see people passing me on the streets. It was also important for me to learn that people may not take things I say the same way I might intend them to be taken. Recently I also participated in some community service which I found to be fun. I have never done any community service and was surprised by how good it made me feel. We went to Brook Park and helped clean up the garbage and plant vegetables. Community service is something I enjoyed doing and hope to do again soon.

5 Rokia Diabi: We watched a video about an MIT student she talked about MIT and how the school destroyed everything she thought she knew about herself. She had to rebuild herself and face whatever situation she found herself in. I related to her because being from a different country, I found learning a new language to be very difficult. The [change in] culture takes a little bit of time. The educational system here is also different. In America you choose your own schedule for school and your own professors. This gave me a lot of responsibility [for my own education]. In my country, you base your major on the schedule you are given. Our third workshop was about prejudice and racism. The workshop taught me a lot about myself. We learned about micro-aggressions and I learned that even I possessed some. I learned that whenever we feel there is a racist undertone, that we should confront the person right away. I learned not to assume stories about people that I did not know, I have to take time to get to know the person. I also discovered a brilliant African author named Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is an amazing speaker and I have become a fan since that workshop. The way the African community sees things is completely different than the way Americans see those same things. We have different cultures and value systems I have learned a lot about people around me and I understand now that we are different and our differences make us unique. Fabian Francis: Classes aside, I found the work I did outside the classroom just as important. I ve been to many Honors Program Colloquia over the years, but they never fail to be interesting. The Honors Program provides many thought provoking lectures. My favorite this semester was the lecture presented by Benny Vasquez. I liked being challenged not to consider a person by a single story of them and to recognize the biases I didn t realize I had, Colloquia teach you a lot about yourself in the process. Being an active part of the Hostos Community has also been a great experience. Whether I was attending school events or participating in community service, I felt a sense of involvement in my school. Hostos was searching for a new president this semester. Hearing those involved in the college ask questions to potential candidates gave me a sense of what is important to our faculty, staff, and students. Before this semester I had no idea that there were local farms in the Bronx. Helping restore a sense of agriculture to my favorite borough was a great experience.

6 Diana Herra: Engaging in community service was a refreshing experience. I enjoyed working together in a group with a common goal of helping others. I didn t know which park I would be volunteering with, but it turned out to be across from my old middle school. I always passed by that park and saw that it was unmaintained with piles of dead leaves. It felt like a time machine where I could see myself passing the park once again. They had a mountain of chipped wood and at first I was in charge of showing the volunteers where to place the wood. I felt as though I was leading a group of people to execute one task as a whole, which did give me a whole community vibe. It was comforting that other members came to help me with my own little project even though they may have not known, that the park had sentimental value for me. By the time we were done it looked amazing, it almost looked like a new park. I wish it looked this beautiful when I was young. I m glad to know that fellow Honors students helped with my extra project, even though they didn t even know why I was doing it. I had the privilege to help make a difference around my community and made the park better for the newer generation passing this gate. Jennifer Jarrin: Among the extracurricular activities, I was given the exceptional opportunity to go on the Cambridge Trip. I must say that this trip to Boston was one of the best trips of my entire life. It took me back to my high school years, and I immensely enjoyed it. I could learn and share more with my school fellows, as well as with our coordinator Karina, and Professors Jones and Professor Anderson. I was so thrilled the moment we finally arrived at Harvard and MIT. Regardless of the fact that a few of us got sick, and the trip back from Massachusetts to NYC lasted forever, we all certainly had a great time, and I personally would love to go again. Last but not least, was our Honors Day event Once again, I have to admit that I had doubts about participating in the event since I am not a great speaker, especially in front of many people. Nonetheless, one of the things I have learned from the Honors Program is to get rid of my shyness. Hence, I went for it and I shined. It turned out to be an amazing experience. Overall, the Honors Program has given me strength and self-confidence. It has also encouraged me to keep going with my goals and to never again doubt my potential and abilities as a student.

7 Daequan Leslie: After my first colloquium with the Honors program, I knew it was something special. I felt that I was always a risk-taker, however, I did not consistently take risks and, as a result, lost key opportunities. Through the Honors program, I learned that it was okay to standout and instead of feeling that I am hurting others by at times answering all of the questions, I am actually the protruding light that is guiding and giving other fearful individuals the power and courage to do the same. I saw people in my ensemble taking risk and being vulnerable, which made me want to do the same. It affected my performance in the classroom. I became more aggressive with answering something I knew and asking questions of things I was even skeptical about. I consistently took over class discussions and helped other students with their studies. I am very grateful for my experience so far with the Honors program and speak very highly to my peers of my Honors program experience. Raquel Melendez: The Scottish philosopher, Thomas Carlyle once said Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: it is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong from the weak. One thing I ve learned is that the key to success is to not allow failures to define one s character rather than letting those experiences give birth to a persistent spirit that overcomes failure and rises above it. Upon entering Hostos Community College last semester, I discovered my second home. Having missed several educational opportunities in the past, I came with the mentality to take advantage of all the enriching programs Hostos has to offer like the Honors Program. This is my first semester as a member, and it has been a positive element to my experience here at Hostos. The colloquia, club meetings and college trip have stimulated in me a desire to become more involved in school events and activities. It has also painted a picture of the important factors I ll be seeking for when applying to 4-year institutions next year. For instance, the college trip to Cambridge opened my eyes to take notice of the rising potential I contain. Even though I will not be applying to Harvard or MIT because I prefer smaller institutions. It still didn t take anything away from the possibility of being accepted into a competitive college. Before being admitted to the Honors Program, I wasn t sure if I d be able to withstand the rigorous coursework universities like these offer. However, the honors courses are a perfect preparation.

8 Analilia Mendez: I was able to attend one of the most important presentations in my school for Earth day. I wouldn t had come if I wasn't in the honors program because before being part of this I thought those presentations were not important or I couldn t learn anything new. The discussion was about how we live in a food desert, in our community and we don't have fresh food or organic food. The food we usually eat is conventional food which doesn t have the benefits as organic food. Genetically induced food is bigger in size such as the meat, fruits and vegetables. We have a great population and we need food that is accessible for every one and unfortunately organic food is not. It s higher in prices and faraway. I would like to make a change based on what I learned at the presentation. I also learned about activism and how if we want to make a change we should all unite to make a difference They have inspired me to engage in the current problems our community is facing. Alassane Thera: The benefits that I gained from the colloquiums are limitless. They taught me how to value myself as an honors student and at the same time how to provide courteous behavior to my peers honors as well as the coordinators of the program. I have learned from one of the wonderful colloquia this semester not to think negatively about different people based on the little information I ve heard about them. Therefore, I was taught the best way to collaborate with any kind of people, was to show love to others instead of hatred. No matter what gender, color, race, ethnicity, or religious belief they are. The honors contract has been extremely precious to me. It has been my first and most important research paper since I have started the college. I liked the topic of the research, which was The Correlation between Temperature Increase and Earthquake Frequency. Professor Anna Manukyan was very happy to work on this paper with me. She encouraged me to work hard and led me to have a deep insight about the research topic. She was always available to discuss the progress of the research with me and assisted with the paper when needed. She encouraged me to make a poster with my contract and present during the Hostos Earth Day Event, which was successful and appreciated by participants.

9 Feissal Traore:...I joined the Hostos Community College Honors Program this semester after taking an honors course the preceding semester in Mathematics Calculus 1. The quality of the teaching and rhythm in which we did the class was fabulous. It got us to challenge ourselves to prove a lot of equations and as a consequence, master the materials since we understood the roots so well. We had to do a long project, and the best one from our class would have it published this May in the Hostos Mathematics Journal. My project was chosen as the best, and I can only feel honored to have my name in an article in that journal. That was just the beginning of my adventure in the Honors Program. This semester, at the first colloquium, I felt a family spirit between all of us students and our coordinators and directors. I had to take an honors project since I was not enrolled in any honors class this semester. One again I had to challenge myself, do research, learn new things, and all of that is further enriching my ability to solve problems. My honors project is researching the size of the pictures taken by a digital camera with various zoom settings. I am already done, and I am looking forward to get this piece published in a journal as well/how awesome is that? I am living my dream! I Am Hostos Honors