ENG1121 English Composition 2, SP2020 MW

Eric Martinez-Valerio

ENG 1121 

Professor Penner 

February 24, 2020

Word Count 1389

Discourse community 

When I was first in high school I didn’t really pay attention to sneakers as I thought that we would just wear to just be comfortable when walking. I knew about brands such as Nike, Jordan, and Adidas as those would be the main brands and they were the most recognizable. As I started to work and start gaining money to be able to buy sneakers for myself I started to look more into the brands and the models. Only then I started to see how sneakers have their own culture and that the sneakers we wear each tell their own story. My discourse community is on sneakerheads and the sneaker community. When I first heard about sneakerheads I thought that they had the biggest collections collecting every sneaker that they could get their hands on. I used to think that sneakerheads would only wear one pair of sneakers to conserve the other ones and never take them out of the box to maintain the condition of the sneaker. As I introduced into the sneaker community I was able to see what it means to actually be a sneakerhead. 

What is a sneakerhead? Sneakerhead : One who is in love with but not limited to Jordans, Forces, Dunks, Maxes, etc. That’s the definition provided by the Urban dictionary online. As a sneakerhead now I can attest to that statement and tell you it is not 100% correct as there is more to that when it means to be a sneakerhead. SInce I have friends who have been sneakerheads for a longer period of time overall I wanted to get answers from them as they were more likely to give me in sight on the topic. When it comes to my friends who are sneakerheads I asked one of them what it means to them to be a sneakerhead. When I called my friend Brian over the phone I asked him what it means to be a sneakerhead. At first he told me that “it’s not about having the most amount of sneakers because what defines a sneakerhead is their collection”. Additionally he commented that “the sneakers we have are all unique and they each tell its own story, as a sneakerhead you need your collection to be as personal to you as possible because if you don’t like your collection then what’s the point of even being a sneakerhead if your collection is not about you”. He told me that he wanted his collection to be as distinguishable as possible to be different from others. He didn’t want to be a sneakerhead that purchased the same thing everyone was buying because then how could he be able to distinguish himself from the community. As a sneakerhead I’ve seen that many people incorporate this same concept to always be different and try to stand out with your collection because it’s not about quantity more so quality.When it comes to standing out with your kicks sneakerheads will tend to lace their sneakers up in either a complex or a loose manner, other forms of trying to differentiate their shoe are by changing up the laces on a sneaker or adding shrouds or other small accessories that allow them to express themselves the way they see best. Brian had told me that before going to the city to communicate with other sneakerheads became a thing people would connect online on sneaker forums ( such as nike talk)  and would have conversations on sneaker related topics ( such topics include sneaker releases any possible pictures of an upcoming sneaker that hasn’t yet been announced etc) . Though it hasn’t died out entirely people still use sneaker forums but the more popular choice to communicate with others is for sneakerheads to go to the city. As a sneakerhead going out to the city and talking to other sneakerheads around sneaker shops is now the main way we tend to communicate with each other.When it comes to situations where sneakerheads talk to people who aren’t from the sneakerhead community it’s usually the same form of communication just without the sneaker terminology.Sneakerheads use certain words or phrases that only a sneakerhead would be able know if they randomly joined a conversation. Usually when we are around sneaker shops we like to compliment other people’s kicks because they might style it in a way that others might have not thought of so it looks innovative to us. There’s a couple of sneaker shops that tend to have sneakerheads always return to such as Round Two, Stadium Goods, Origins just to name some areas where sneakerheads tend to go and talk with other sneakerheads. Additionally the sneaker community has built itself such a big community that we even have our own sneaker convention called sneaker-con (so it’s not just limited to sneaker shops) that tends to have sneakerheads from different parts of the country come together for the love of sneakers. 

When it comes to sneakerheads and asking them whether they like to buy sneakers online or in person it was usually split 50/50 as many people would like to go outside and shop at sneaker stores because this way they are able to show the sneaker community the kicks they have as well as being able to have the opportunity to tell whether a sneaker is real or not. Opposed to people who don’t like to shop outside their reasoning for not going outside is because they like to have minimal interaction to be able to prevent people from robbing them when they buy new sneakers though it is rare for there to be a violent interaction . As I continued my interview with Brian I had asked him if there were any differences with how he communicates with sneakerheads and people who didn’t know much about the culture that was sneakers. He responded in saying that when it comes to communicating with people who don’t know about sneakers it’s better they not have conversations about  sneakers with people who don’t know anything about sneakers because they won’t know the correct terminology and it can sometimes be confusing to the other person which leads to even more confusion, leaving them clueless about sneakers, “I personally don’t like to talk about sneakers to people who aren’t sneakerheads because they just won’t understand it” commented Brian which wasn’t surprising as the terminology sneakerheads use can sometimes be confusing as when I first started I was confused about sneaker terminology and would mix up some terms but over time you come to learn the terms about much use in conversations with other sneakerheads. If someone would like to join the sneakerhead community there’s no need for buying a lot of sneakers. To really be a sneakerhead there isn’t really much required as all you really need is a love/passion for sneakers and have the ability to understand the sneaker terminology.Being a sneakerhead is being able to tell a story with the kicks you have regardless of the brand you wear. Additionally to make sure you’re always on top of sneaker news as well as sneaker releases you can always go on to sneaker websites such as kicks on fire, nike sneakers, etc as the sneaker websites are always consistent with information. 

  Sneakerheads want their collection to represent them as a person and it doesn’t mean that you have to buy the most expensive and exclusive sneakers to have the best collection. As a  sneakerhead can customize their sneaker to hold more value than just an aesthetic look as it can also share a moment that only you will be able to remember with a certain pair of sneakers which is far more valued than a price tag. When I first started as a sneakerhead I was always confused about what it took to be a sneakerhead but now after much time being in the sneaker community I can say for certain the connotation when people say sneakerhead is not at all what it seems. As a sneakerhead myself I hope to build my collection to be able to have my own personal experience with each shoe that I buy as a part of a life story. 

  

 

        Works cited 

Balagula, Brian. (Friend) Personal interview (In person) . 20 February 2020.

 

Hana Azzubaidi

Jessica Penner

English 1121

18 February 2020

Word Count: 1079

The Fitness Discourse Community

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”, Micheal Jordan said. In other words, individually one may be strong but as a group you’re even stronger because the bigger the group the stronger the army and the more you’ll achieve. However, this quote doesn’t just apply for athletes but for everyone else as well. Although athletes work in teams/groups and communicate to achieve their goals non athletes do as well, and that’s known as a discourse community. Whether people realize it or not, everyone is part of many or even some sort of discourse community. For example, fitness is a discourse community. When it came to fitness, my initial assumption of the discourse community was that it contained mainly overweight people who were members among that group. On the other hand, after looking more into it and being exposed to the fitness/gym lifestyle, I realized it contained all types of people. For instance, skinny people, fit people, muscular people, etc. were all apart of that group. Also it didn’t matter if you were already in shape and healthy, you could still be part of that discourse community.

When it comes to the fitness community and my involvement; where it all began was school, specifically physical education. In high school, my Phys Ed teacher was also the coach of the sports team in my school. He felt physical education was very important. As he was passionate about our health as well. In which, he was very strict and extra hard on us as if he were our personal trainer . In other words, he treated his gym students as his football athletes. At the beginning I was upset (as were many others) but it began to rub off on me and didn’t seem like I was forced to do the exercise workouts. I noticed I belonged to that discourse community when I began working out at home during my free time. Then later, signing up for the gym over the summer with my sister and cousin.

The fitness discourse community is a group that communicates with one another to achieve their health goals through workouts and exercises. Whether their goals are about their emotional/mental, social, spiritual, or physical health. Through research, you learn that many people workout for a variety of reasons. For the simple fact that; “Exercise benefits every part of the body, including the mind. Exercise can help you look better and help a person to age well. Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases” (Gavin), according to a kids health article. In which, you learn exercising has many long term and short term benefits for all. As stated in a Harvard Health article, “adults of all ages, children and even pregnant women” are able to exercise as it recommends informative specifics of what each should do. Although you learn a lot from articles through research about the group, you also learn through observations as I did myself. What I mean by observations, is through videos and actual physical observations. As I learned that muscular physically fit people can still be in the gym day in day out because people don’t do it only to lose weight, to gain muscle, or only because their doctor recommended them to. But they do it to release stress, boost their mood, for social reasons, for fun and many other non assumptive reasons. Through observation and interviewing you get a better understanding of the fitness discourse community as they communicate and help one another reach their goals. For example, at the gym there were also different classes (e.g. zumba, kickboxing, etc.) at different times that worked on something specific about the health of the body. In which, it had various options and were open to ideas of classes to help them achieve their goals.

When interviewing a gym/fitness discourse community member about being a member, she answered to the best of her ability of the questions asked. And here’s what Shayma had to say… “Our goal was to promote healthy living, develop a routine so that exercise could be our regular lifestyle. Basically to improve our health”. “This group communicates with each other by talking in the gym with other people you would see around especially if you’re regularly attending”. “ Our group primarily would communicate through email be its members to know what classes or instructors are available. It would provide information that would help benefit or make our experience easier and more enjoyable”. “Our group would communicate with outside members by providing deals such as a week free at the gym for friends of members”. “Our group would be very informal when it comes to language. You were talked to as a friend not really a formal professional atmosphere. It allowed for comfort and casual interactions between the group”. “Before joining this group a person should know that it is an enjoyable experience and you don’t need to know someone prior to joining. The atmosphere is flexible enough where you can keep to yourself or interact with others and receive ample assistance and encouragement throughout your process”.

Overall, what the group taught me was although you each may have a different method on what you’re working on, it’s the same result you’re trying to achieve which is some sort of health goal. In addition, what surprised me was the fact that it stated pregnant women should exercise because I thought the whole agenda was for pregnant women to gain weight not lose weight. However, that was before I learned exercising isn’t all about losing weight and more about maintaining consistency whether already being fit and meeting your goal or not. This led me to rethink what I initially thought of the group because I found a passion for it. Also because I like to do my research first as it’s not good to judge a book by its cover without doing a background check first. Instead of thinking, “Why are they in the gym if they are already skinny? Why workout if you’re already muscular? They care about their appearances too much.” You learn that it’s not all about physical appearance and physical health when it comes to this subject.

Works Cited

• Alzebedi, Shayma, Personal Interview, 16 February 2020
• Harvard Health Publishing. “Exercise & Fitness.” Harvard Health, www.health.harvard.edu/topics/exercise-and-fitness.
• “Why Exercise Is Wise (for Teens) – Nemours KidsHealth.” Edited by Mary L. Gavin, KidsHealth, The Nemours Foundation, Jan. 2018, kidshealth.org/en/teens/exercise-wise.html.

Samuel Jean

ENG Comp 2

Old Navy Crew

The discourse community I will present is my job. At Old Navy we do what every retail store does and it’s to deal with people. Our common goal is to provide the best customer and maintain the store. We also have certain language / phases that we use to talk to each other. For example we have different names for sections of the store like “the floor, fitting Room, Cash wrap, and back of house. When I first started my job it was confusing because I wasn’t really trained properly. Also the managers were called with a different term, so didn’t know how to reach them if i had a question for them.

For this project I observed my co-worker on how they move and they speak to customers vs how we talk to another. I realized, we do a lot of code-switching. For example my coworker Odonai, when he’s talking to customers his tone and language would change to sound clear and professional. It’s different how he speaks to us, he would use slang and joke around most of the time. If he would talk to someone outside our group they would be confused about what he is saying because there would be some terms that we only know. 

What makes our group unique is even though we all belong to a big group, they’re still a subgroup we could fit in. For example, all the managers have their own group and the other is separated into whatever your assigned section. I can fit in two other groups which are fitting-room and cash wrap. There’s not much difference between the groups except for the phase/code they use. For example at the cash wrap we have required goals each of us have to meet. One of those goals is to persuade the customer to create an old navy card. If you are successful, you would tell the sales floor manager that you got an ONC. Another goal is for the store to have above fifty percent email capture. If we above or below the goal, the sale for the manager would tell us at the cashiers that, we have this percentage of CIC.

I also conducted an interview with my coworker Cynthia, she the one who trained me on how to do registers and taught me on my first day at work. I asked her a couple of different questions about the community at Old Navy and she replied that we are an interesting and quirky group of people. Since she worked for Old Navy for a good amount of time, she said about every couple of months the community changes. It is either because we have new workers,old one leaves, or the store has a new policy we must follow. I also asked her what we value and told us we value respect for each other. She said the community we have now all way care for each other well being and friendly to everyone. 

In conclusion, I really learned a lot and generally impressed how I adapted to the group so quickly. My first day at work I was absolutely confused on what to do but now it is completely different and I never really reflected back on it until I did this project.

    Work Cited

Peoples, Cynthia.Personal interview. 23 February 2020.         

Nathan Alleyne

02/15/20

ENG 1121

Word Count: 1022

Discourse Community of Nathan Alleyne

Imagine working with and for teenagers your age, dressed in suits, serving and bussing tables, stacking chairs, and snacking on calamari during your break time. Seems like a waiter’s typical shift at the Westbury Manor to me. The Westbury Manor is an event/catering hall on Long Island that hosts weddings, business parties, sweet 16’s and much more. I started working there in December of 2019 as a waiter, and surely gained many friends through my coworkers and supervisors. Initially, I felt I wouldn’t be able to adapt and fit in, or make my way into the friendships that had already been established. For the most part, I thought of this community as a group of people who although do play around often, still respect one another, work well together, and genuinely like each other a lot.

The Westbury Manor wait staff are a racially diverse group of individuals, women dominating men in terms of numbers, but are friends all the same. Also ranging in age, my now inner circle includes those closer to my age, from 16 (my age) to about 19. This “teenage Westbury Manor waiter” discourse community has about 13 people. This group is mainly made up of Hispanic people, but also includes people from African-American, like yours truly, and Caucasian backgrounds.

This group’s usual goal is to basically survive the shift, as they can sometimes be long, stressful, painful, and dreadful. We might not all work the same event, but clocking out afterwards is always a dream whilst working the shifts we do. A second goal that might be a little more delightful for our boss to hear, would be to make sure our customers, who are usually partygoers, brides and their family and friends, or a sweet 16 princess and her ‘squad’ enjoy their night, as it is basically our job to do so. We make sure everything is perfect with our guests throughout the night, or day, no matter the kind of event. Our goals may slightly shift from day to day, but generally remain the same, at least when we are suited up and ready to work.

This ragtag group of waiters communicates with each other in a variety of ways, the first and most relevant actually being not in person, but through text messages. We spend the most amount of time talking to each other via texts about miscellaneous topics, some of them not always being appropriate for the workplace, while some are, such as switching shifts, covering shifts, or confirming who might be working with you. While we are at work, some words may be exchanged passing through the large kitchen, or in the bus stations but unless we are working the same event, we might not get much time to verbally communicate during our shifts. This group of people is slowly becoming my closest group of friends since now that I work, I have less time during the week to go out with other groups of friends I may have met elsewhere. That may sound unfortunate, but this group at least for me, is slowly turning into family, which is a great thing. When we aren’t working, or joking around in our text message group chat, we’re either out living our individual lives or partying together, which only brings us closer.

When in this profession, one is usually expected to properly conduct themselves sophisticatedly, courteously, mannerly, and diligently. Us waiters when dealing with customers, or guests, are always meant to be time-efficient, politeful and be ready to aid them in any way we can. To maintain the status of the institution, we are trained to move quickly, work rigorously and to simply just be nice to anyone who may not work there, whether it be shoppers, those that come in to view the venue before making a decision, or guests that come for the events that are held there. We are to be on our best behavior when interacting with and when in the sight of anyone that is not employed at the Westbury Manor. This group, for the most part, is also very much polite and friendly toward other employees, such as older waiters, captains, chefs, maitre’ds, hostesses, receptionists, and other forms of administration.

Before someone can join this group, they would need to first be around our ages in order to really be a “full” member, but really, they must just be willing to be comfortable around us in and outside of work, since Westbury Manor is not the only place we see each other. Granted having had already got the job, training, and experience to be up to par with us who have been working for a longer period of time, that person would already have as much as they need to be a member of this discourse community as we do. Our community also shares a lot of beliefs, likes and dislikes. These may include our tastes in music, television, and pop culture. We also, and you must swear not to tell, all secretly despise some of our supervisors and coworkers, shh!!!

After speaking to a fellow coworker and member of this community, I was made sure of the dynamic of this group. Elizabeth Gilbert, a 19 year old waitress at Westbury Manor called our friend group “a big dysfunctional functional family.” Through her words, she made it clear that although we might not always get along, the love is still there and and we always manage to get the work done.

In the end, I was able to realize that I was pretty much right about my guesses about this community. Being teenagers, it was slightly obvious how they would act around each other, swearing and play-fighting, but always managing to literally get the job done, no matter the intensity of the situation or the severity of the change over, which is the reset for the next event that would be coming up after ours. Discourse communities are all around you, just look around!

Work Cited

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Personal interview. Feb 2020.

Jose Camacho

English Composition 2

February 24, 2020

Word Count: 1053

Discourse Community: High School Program (P-Tech)

The American education system is one of the most important tools in our society, yet it is one of the most flawed systems in the country. The education system does not teach younger generations how to gain and use real world skills such as analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills. If you were in charge of this flawed system, do you think there is a solution to the problem? One of the solutions to the problem was to make a school that focused on the skills that were not being taught to help students. One of the first high schools that addressed the problem is called Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-Tech) which is the discourse community I am apart of. My initial assumption about the school was that it would be an amazing school, especially for students like me who are first-generation college students who did not think going to college was even an option post-high school.

The goal for P-Tech’s discourse community is to help minorities branch out of an ideal occupation and allow students to discover and pursue careers in the STEM field as stated by current P-Tech student Kenneth Louis. In addition, the school helps minority students by allowing them to acquire an associate degree and high school diploma simultaneously at a cost of zero dollars. Students who attend a traditional high school take four years to graduate and an additional two years to complete an associate’s degree. The benefit of being a part of P-Tech’s program is that students are able to go at their own pace which means that if they are able to complete the program as early as four years! Due to the problems that the current education system has, P-Tech also offers first in line jobs to their students at IBM to acquire skills that would be used in the real world. Former P-Tech graduate, Emily Gonzales, stated that throughout the internship, students gain experience and have the opportunity to network with experts in the field that they are trying to pursue.

Once someone is part of this discourse community, there are various methods used for communications. One of the prime forms of communication with teachers and mentors is through email. Both P-Tech students stated that another form of communication is through text messages. This could be through having a phone number or through different websites such as LinkedIn and Mentorplace. The forms of communication that were stated above are most useful if students are not able to speak in person due to classes overlapping with their mentors or teachers schedule. The primary form of communication is speaking with members in-person to help students with any questions that they might have.

P-Tech is a unique program amongst all the high schools in America. Due to the school having a unique program, it has many visitors around the world. As a result, there are schools around the world that are implementing the P-Tech program. The prime example of the discourse community communicating with the outside world was when former president, Barack Obama, visited the school and mentioned the program in his speech. As a result, there were articles made about the program and news reporters such as CBC News discussed the program with the outside world. The last way that the members of the school communicate with the outside world is through IBM, where commercials are made and shown on television.

Once people join the discourse community, there is no particular “language” that is used for the members that are within the group. The members speak casually to one another to make sure everyone feels comfortable as stated by Kenneth. There are different ways for a person to be part of the discourse community. The first method to be a member is to be accepted and attend the school. Another way to be a member is to work for the school or work for other groups that are connected to the high school. For example, a person could be a teacher at the school. Another example would be to become a guidance counselor to help students in their academic and personal life.Thirdly, a person can become a college professor at City Tech which are one of the most important members in the community since professors open the eyes of high school students to see what they will expect to do once they make the transition from high school to college. Lastly, a person can work at IBM because the company is one of the many partnerships that the school has.

After interviewing current and former students, what surprised me is that students are not the only people that are part of the discourse community. There are more people that help lay the foundation of the program and those that help motivate students and support them academically and personally. Everyone in the community is like family, helping one another from student to student, teacher to student, and alumni to student. What also surprised me is the different answers I received for the same questions which show that students have different views on the school even though they go through almost the same experience. What made me rethink the way I looked at the group initially is being part of it. The program has its flaws, however, I do think the discourse community did accomplish the goals that they intended to fulfill. Many members agree on the discourse community having problems that need to be resolved. However, members within the community are unsure as to how to resolve the problems. Current members want students that will go into the program to not face the same problems so the discourse community can get better. Another thing that confused me while doing this project was that I interviewed two students, one that finished the program and another that is currently in it. I wondered if the answers were different because of how far they got within the program. This project was an eye-opening experience because I did not realize how vast and important P-Tech’s discourse community is. It is important to be in a welcoming discourse community as students are learning and maturing as humans, transitioning from teens to young adults.

Works Cited

Gonzales, Emily. Personal interview. 14 February 2020.

Louis, Kenneth. Personal interview. 14 February 2020.

 

Petagaye Copeland

2/10/2020

ENG 1121

Word Count:1008

My Discourse Community

When I first started working at Salvation Army Gains Sunset park, I noticed that there were children of different cultures mainly Hispanics and Mexicans so I did not really think that we would get along. I was more on the shy side when I first started the job but I realized all the children were nice to me and got to know me within my first week. Before I started to work at this after school I did not know where Sunset park was located or even how to get there. But I’m glad that I got the job because working at this after school has opened my eyes to learn about a lot of different cultures and having to work with people older than me. Not to mention, being the youngest staff member is my biggest obstacle that I face every day when I was introduced to my group (4^th-5^th graders) I realized this was not going to be an easy job in other words 4^th and 5^th graders are not easy to handle eventually the children got used to me which made my job much easier.

Salvation Army Gains is in Bush wick, Bed ford, Brownsville, Sunset Park, and Harlem each site runs its program different but under the same rules and regulations some after school sites even go up to middle school but at Sunset Park site goes from K-5. Our program is the smallest site but still, we have one of the best staff and get the best ratings when we get visits from DYCD (Department of Youth Community Development), which is great because that looks good for our site and we get more supplies and funding for our program I’ve learned a lot of things from working in this program for one is how to write a lesson plan, as a group leader each group has to write four in total Culture arts, STEM, Literacy, and Gym the groups are K-1st, 2nd-3rd, and 4^th-5^th its two group leaders per group and we have to write a lesson plan once a week so we can teach it to the children after they have completed their homework. Making the lesson plans can be difficult because there are guidelines that you have to follow also when I speak with the children they open up to me and they teach me how to be a better group leader because when I see them intrigued in the lesson that tells me I did a good job with the lesson.

My team and I communicate by meetings or we text in our workgroup chat, in meetings we talk about how the week went and what we have to look forward to for the upcoming weeks and for our group chat we discussion which child isn’t going to be picked up, when we have to work on holidays and when lesson plans are due and what group is missing what lesson. During work, we use a walkie talkie to ask each other for supplies when we need it when snacks have arrived and one person from each group has to pick it up, we let each other know when dinner is ready for the children when it is dismissal and a child is going home we just say their name on the walkie. In addition to, the way we communicate it is plenty of steps to become a group leader with Salvation Army Gains; you have to apply, get an interview, the director should call you back after your interview telling you got the job, need to get fingerprinted to see if your background check is clear, wait to be put on the payroll, lastly, you need to get clearance to start the job. Our main goal at my job is to make sure each child is well-taken care for each day also see to it that they are getting their homework done and correct every day, we value each child’s well being because some of the children have many obstacles to face at home but have to put on a brave face in school and in after school despite how it makes them feel they always have to stay positive. After schools are an impact to the community because kids need a place so that they can be themselves; with my after school program it’s free we provide pick up from the schools and bring the kids to the building where our after school program is being held and have the kids do their homework make sure they are feed and have a place where they are most comfortable. My staff and I also put our own money into providing for these kids just to make sure they had a good day that what matters to my community to know that my kids in my program are always safe for example, when we decide to throw parties for the kids the money comes out our pocket and not the funding from Salvation Army or when we need supplies for our lesson plans, so that makes us so close to the kids and make them want to be with us all the time and tell us what happens in their day which makes me feel good as a person and group leader.

As a final point, Salvation Army Gains program can be rough at times but if you work with the right people have a good relationship with the children the job will get better, being in an after school job with kids will prepare you for the teaching field and get used to being around kids and learning different traits and actions about each child you encounter to find that every child isn’t always happy the way they portrait it to be it is always something deeper I learned that from working with the children in my after school.

Work Cited

Cabral Estrella, Aleysha. Personal Interview. Feb 2020

Reyes. Bethany. Personal Interview. Feb 2020

Deoki. Catty Ann. Personal Interview. Feb 2020

Garcia. Nahomi. Personal Interview. Feb 2020

 

 

 

 

Harold Rojas February 19 2020
English 1121
Word Count: 1039

Discourse Community
When I first got into College I noticed that there was a program to help students in college called “SEEK”. I didn’t know much about it until I asked my college counselor and he said that SEEK helps students academically, financially and socially. My initial assumption about the SEEK program was that it was a program to help students enter college that otherwise wouldn’t because of their SAT or GPA.
SEEK stands for “Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge”. It is a program designed for students who have the potential, but would benefit from enhanced academic support and financial assistance. I have researched the SEEK community by interviewing my counselor (Kisha Swaby), observing how the SEEK community works by going to the SEEK office and telling everyone there that I was doing a project for my English class, and that I need to ask them a few questions about the SEEK program. The people in the office were really nice to let me interview them.

The goal of the SEEK community is to help students in college succeed. They do this by providing free tutoring for courses like English, Math and Science, where students can do a Walk-in tutoring or they can schedule one with a tutor from the SEEK program. They also have a Computer Center which is a computer lab dedicated for SEEK students only, so that students can get unlimited access to iMac’s, PC’s and up-to-date software. SEEK students can also have access to Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite and more. Students can use the computers in case they need to use a special software like “Autocad”, “Solidworks” or “Mastercam” to do their homework or if they need to do something quickly, the office is open Monday-Wednesday 9-6pm and Thursdays 9-5:30pm. Additionally, they have academic coaching which is one-on-one assistance to SEEK students who wish to become better in their study skills by learning successful strategies for tackling the challenges students may face during college. Lastly, SEEK students have access to one hour workshops covering a variety of topics to help the students be more efficient during their college career.

The way this group communicates is by email, so that when there are workshops or to remind students of a special event they need to attend. Also, we communicate by meetings so that we can let our counselors know how we’re doing in college and life in general. It’s a magnificent way to express how we feel academically and analyze important aspects of our life to see the correlation of how we do in class. Another method we use to communicate is by one on one appointment. This group primarily communicates via email by sending important information about events, workshops or meetings. This group communicates with the outside world by students talking to their families about the program they are in when they get home from school. The language we use in our group is English, since it is the most spoken.
A person needs to know what benefits the SEEK program offers and also they need to know that they are only accepted if they are a first time freshman or previously enrolled in an HEOP or EOP program which are equivalent to the SEEK program (HEOP at private colleges) and (EOP at SUNY colleges). Also, they need to check and see the requirements for their family income to see if they qualify for it as a student.
When I interviewed my SEEK counselor about the SEEK program I asked her to describe SEEK at New York City College of Technology, to tell me why students should join the program and how SEEK is a community to the students. Her response was the following; “SEEK at City Tech is a program that helps students who are financially needed with academic and financial support. Students should join the SEEK program because it gives them the help they need to succeed in college, and SEEK is a community to the students because it has the common goal of helping students succeed by helping them with academic support such as tutoring and notetaking skills. It also helps us with counseling when students have a problem with the college or life in general we can always talk it out with the student so that we may arrive to the best solution possible to the problem. Lastly it gives them financial support with books, fees and transportation.”

Something that I learned about the group that surprised me was that the SEEK program came out of struggle in the 60’s when people fought for more colored people to be included in higher education and so people decided to set up a program under which they would have criteria that would enable the people to be admitted to the City University and it first started at the City College of New York. What confused me about the program was that initially I thought that the SEEK program was a special type of college at different CUNY schools but then I realized that it’s just a program inside the schools. I also learned that Percy Ellis Sutton was the man who founded the SEEK program in 1965, who was an activist in the civil Rights Movement and was also the legal representative for Malcolm X.

Works Cited Page
Harold Rojas, Re: Interview Questions Received by Kisha Swaby “SEEK at City Tech is a program that helps students who are financially needed with academic and financial support.Students should join the SEEK program because it gives them the help they need to succeed in college, and SEEK is a community to the students because it has the common goal of helping students succeed by helping us with academic support such as tutoring and notetaking skills, it also helps us with counseling when we have a problem with the college or life in general we can always talk it out with a counselor so that we may arrive to the best solution possible to the problem and lastly it gives us financial support with books, fees and transportation.”  Feb 10,2020

www.citytech.cuny.edu/seek/history.aspx by the City University of New York , February 15,2020

Michael Militano

2/16/20

ENG1121

Word Count: 721

My Discourse Community

A discourse community is a group of people that are a part of a group, and talk about a specific topic. One of the discourse community’s that I am apart of is a basketball discourse community with my friends. In this community we talk about all things basketball from the NBA which is professional basketball to us playing in the park outside in real life. All of us in this community are involved and interested about the sport of basketball and that is what makes us a discourse community. I believe that this is a really cool community to be a part of because it is something that me and my friends can all connect on and relate to, and it makes us happy.

I researched the group by looking at old text messages in our group chats, and talking about it with one of my friends who is also in the chat. When I was researching this discourse community I noticed that we all mostly communicate through text messaging in our group chat. When messaging each other in the group chat I notice that the things that we mainly talk about are when we are going to play? , where are we going to play? , how good or bad we did that day, NBA player trades, and NBA news. We also communicate through calls or in party chat on our PlayStation 4s. Another thing that I notice when I was looking through our old messages is that we used to go play basketball almost every day, especially in the summer time. But now that we are all in College and have different schedules we play probably once or twice every two weeks, unless if we are on a break or something like that.

This discourse community is very unique in its own way, the reason why is because all of us in the community are very different. We all like different NBA players; different NBA teams, and we have different play styles in real life. Some of us share similarities outside of basketball but the one main thing that we all love and can connect to is basketball. The things that matter to this community are having basketball knowledge, the love for the sport, and friendship. I believe that all of us value our friendships with one another, our loyalty and the game of basketball.

In order to become a member of this group you would have to be one of our friends and connect with us, enjoy the sport of basketball as much as we do, and you would have to know how to play basketball. There is not really any type of process to joining this community, all you really would have to do is connect with us and become one of our friends. The type of language that we use in this community is informal language because we are all friends just joking with each other and having fun.

Throughout all of the research on this community the one thing I learned that I never noticed until now is how much all of my friends in this community love the sport of basketball. An example of this would be when a crazy NBA trade happens, we all go rush to message each other and start talking about if we think it was a good trade or not and if they fit their new team that they are on. Also when one of their favorite players has a bad game our competitive nature kicks in and we all make fun of them for it. Also when we go to the park to play and we have a bad game we all talk about what we could have done better to win, and when we do good and have a good game we all start bragging about the things that we did and how cool we were. All of these things are what made me rethink the way that I looked at the group and they showed me how much fun me and my friends have by just talking and connecting over the sport we all love called basketball.

 

Work Cited

 

Rodriguez, Xavier. Personal Interview. Febuary 2020

Zamir, Sheryar. Personal Interview. Febuary, 2020

 

Ivania Esteban

English 1121 ( Mon-Wed 10am-11:15am)

February 15, 2020

Professor Penner 

Word Count : 1057

Discourse Community of the Emergency Management 

Let’s go back in time before 9/11,  such things as FEMA and Emergency Management did not exist in America or were not taken seriously at all. FEMA and Emergency Management didn’t exist until post 9/11. That is when the city decided to take action and take Emergency Management seriously. What Emergency Management is where everything is controlled by in any incident. If there’s a fire in your building, emergency management is there notifying the fire department, police department, red cross, and the ambulance. They are the one behind the scenes, making plans to help solve any emergencies. It is crazy because if we had this way before there could have been a high possibility that 9/11 could have been prevented or there could have been a better plan to save more people and it could have been taken care of in an efficient way that could have saved more lives. 

Majority of us in NYC have been in a DOE public school before in their lives. In the DOE offices there are many people in charge of things such as transportation, food, books, etc… Somehow we forget about an important role in the DOE and that is the Emergency Management Unit. 

Being in the Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management, I had noticed that emergency management is not really acknowledged as much and it should be… people should know what to do when their life could be at risk or when unexpected events happen they need to take action. In highschool I had gained the opportunity to be an intern in the summer  at the Department Of Education, Emergency Management Unit. I gained this opportunity by a recommendation from a friend that was already an intern at the time and my well written cover letter. Being apart of this internship has taught me so much and helped me acknowledge and care more about the emergency management system. 

Being in the internship we focused primarily on making every school ADA (American Disability Act) accessible. My friend  and I had created floor plans , created and organized spreadsheets for each school and filed reports on what the school needed to work on to make their school ADA accessible. We focused on where we should apply a ramp, bathrooms and elevators for people with disabilities to make their life easier in school. When we were done with a school we would write on a huge white board in the office the schools we have completed and that was a way to notify the people in the office which schools are done. Doing this job had to be done very carefully because not only was the reports and spreadsheets are seen by our boss but also seen by the contractors and other units working along with them to make sure that every school in every borough was accessible to people with disabilities

When we were not in the office we would go to different places. We were given a schedule every week on the locations we would need to meet up at, and also communicated through a group chat to know where to meet and keep in contact. We would go visit schools that were on our list to give us a better vision of how we can make it accessible. We were also taken to an Emergency Management warehouse where they keep emergency equipment such as boats, and other vehicles in case of any city emergency. We also had a couple of meetings in the OEM ( Office of Emergency Management)  building which is actually a block away from City tech. We would have meetings with people from different operations such as FEMA and red cross and we would discuss different ways to mitigate a certain disaster or incident that can happen in NYC. Throughout this internship we communicated over text messages with our boss and other co-workers in the office with us.

In this internship I was paired with my friend and we shared this experience together. I asked my friend Natalie some questions about the internship. Before taking this internship she was kind of doubting this internship. Natalie said being in the Emergency Management Unit internship at the DOE was an experience that was out of her comfort zone. She claims “As a student that didn’t excel in the class that correlated with this internship, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be much help. Working in an office space was also something I was in fear of when I applied to this internship because I felt as though I’d have to be in a professional state at all times and not get comfortable with anyone there” but as soon as she started working there her attitude towards this internship changed. This internship helped her realize that communication and asking for help when needed is very important. Our supervisors were not just boring and professional all the time they were actually fun to be around with and very helpful.

From my personal experience doing this made me feel good to help out people and to help them get their education too. This internship taught me as well that I should ask for help when needed. Any time a problem would rise at a meeting that my bosses would be in and we’d hear about it, they’d always communicate amongst each other to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Even while working with Natalie on the reports, anytime one of us did not understand something we would always help each other. When we both didn’t understand something, our supervisors were always willing to clarify anything at any time which was something I’ve appreciated because usually i’m someone who will just figure it out on my own instead of bothering someone for help. Natalie and I appreciate  Keith Grossman, our main boss who hired us, not only did he take us by the hand in this job, he treated us with high respect and made us feel at home even though we were just interns. By the end of this internship I think we can both say the saddest part of it all is that it was just seasonal and it didn’t last longer. 

 

Work Cited 

Ahorrio, Natalie. Personal Interview. 16 February 2020.

Joseph Rodriguez

February 20, 2020

Eng 1121

Word Count: 1006

My FIRST DC

My discourse community is FIRST robotics, basically it’s a high school club that consists of 30 students (female and male) and 10 mentors who work together to create a functioning robot starting the first Saturday of January. On that day, the game is revealed by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) which shows what this year’s game consists of, how the game is played and what type of robot you need to create to play the game at its fullest potential. Each participating team is given 6 weeks to create and finalize their robot. After the 6 weeks, over 100+ competitions take place around the United States. This is the time when you take your robot that you’ve worked on the 6 weeks prior, to compete against another club’s robot. The winners of the competitions get a spot to participate in the FIRST Robotics Championship at Detroit, Michigan where you play against other winning robots on the first week of May. This makes it a discourse community because everyone in the club has to work together to build a robot to compete with. My initial assumptions about robotics were a bunch of nerds building on a robot and people who are the smartest in the school can only join.

I researched this group by going through my text messages and remembering previous conversations with other members in the robotics room. Through the process of gathering information, I learned that the conversation that has occurred was mostly through text messages about helping each other out with our class so we can keep up with the rest of our class when we leave for competition. More specifically I remember a text message from my friend Edison (personal communication, March 24, 2019) saying that he would send me photos of important notes for the upcoming exam that he already took earlier in the day. Which I realize now that we as a club did everything as a team not just in robotics but also in our classes. We helped each other out to get the best grade possible and if we had no chance at getting the best grade, we would take the hit on our grades together, and laugh about because we know that once competition ends we would help each other boost the grades back up to high 90%. This community changes your lifestyle in a good way. The people in the club make it feel like a second home; you always have someone to talk to; about anything like personal issues and school struggles. You created unbreakable bounds with people because you get to see them everyday of the week in the robotics classroom. It goes further than just hanging out with friends in the classroom, you start to hang out with them in your free time when you are not at the robotics classroom. You go through many hardships, happiness with each other and sometimes you can meet the person you love in the robotics club. This community is more than a club; it’s a family. In robotics, we love engaging with our community by doing free science fairs where we show kids and parents the things our robots can do. We guide kids on how to control the robots and answer any question the kids or parents have and we educate the people what FIRST Robotics is, how the skills you learn while being in the club can be useful to the real world. We also do services like feeding the less fortunate and  cleaning parks. Our community values having a good reputation, being responsible, reliable, respectable, and trustworthy. If you want to become a member, you have to be interested in the robotics club and have the ability to make friends and work with others. There is a small formal process. Basically you just have to apply on a google form which is displayed around the school then you attend an informative session. Then you get interviewed, after that’s done. You’ll be emailed back if you got in the team, from there you’r an official member. Then you undergo basic tool guidance, which you are taught by a mentor on how to use a drill, sewing machine, and how to locate the common tools used in the robotics classroom. Then you will be tested on those things, if you pass; you are allowed to use the tools in the robotics classroom, if you don’t pass; you will not be allowed to use any of the tools in the room until you pass the test. So the members communicate by talking in person in the robotics room. When the members aren’t at the room working, they communicate through an app called GroupMe where we have a group chat with all the members and mentors so any member can get in contact with anybody in the club to talk about anything at any time.

In conclusion, from doing this project I learned that the robotics club welcomed me with open arms by always having my back in any way possible, they never left me on my own to go through multiple school struggles like keeping up to date with my homework and helping with my exams while we were traveling for competition. Also the way people cared for each other within the club was surprisingly confusing to me because I would never think the people that I  build a robot with knowing nothing about the other people would care about my life in general or my school life. The people’s selflessness is what made me rethink the way I initially saw the robotics club which was a bunch of nerds working on a robot but it’s much more than that. Most importantly, the people in the robotics club are the most selfless human beings I have ever met, they would sacrifice anything for me and I would do the same. They have made me a more selfless person than I will ever be and I wouldn’t change it, thanks to FIRST robotics.