Writing an Introduction
This semester, we will work collaboratively in ENG 1121. To get to know each other better, please add a comment (here’s some help if you need to learn how to add a comment) to this post introducing yourself to the class.
You could include your academic interests, why you chose your major and what your focus will be, what you enjoy reading, listening to, watching, and doing in your spare time, what you like to cook or eat, what the furthest away you’ve ever traveled, where you like to spend time, or anything else you want to share; include your pronouns, if you wish. This post and the comments you make on it are visible to anyone on the internet, so keep that in mind as you choose what to include.
Your introduction can include images and links as well as approximately 150 words.
Some suggestions
- Remember that you do not need to use your real name in this comment–if you are signed in, your display name will be autogenerated as the author of the comment, so no need to add it.
- Also, remember that even if you don’t have an OpenLab account, you can still complete this assignment because you can still add a comment! If you haven’t been able to sign up for an account, you can still do this work by adding your comment and filling in the Name and Email fields–the name you use will show publicly, so feel free to just use your initials; your email address will only display for the course instructor.
- As you read our introductions, add replies to point out connections, ask a question, or offer insights to foster community in our class. Also feel free to comment on your own if you realize something you would like to add.
- Share your introduction by Friday, 1/31, at 12:00 pm. Before we meet in person on Monday, Feburary 3, please add your replies.
Photo credit
“Hello My Name Is” by Travis Wise via Flickr under the license CC BY 2.0 DEED
Yousoufu Jalloh 
Tequia Williams 
Nalah Ettienne 
Francine 
Aniyam 
” alt=”wooden bench slat covered with yellow and blue-grey lichen”>
” alt=”double rainbow against blue sky”>
33 Comments
Add Yours →[…] class, join in our Introductions discussion by following the instructions included in the post. Please add your introduction early enough in […]
My name is Chantal De La Cruz, I am freshman at City Tech. My major is nursing. I am from the Dominican Republic, my favorite music and food are dominican. I like to read fiction and love stories.In my spare time I like to sleep and go to the gym.
Welcome, Chantal! I love reading, too–what are some books you enjoyed recently? I just finished reading Guilt and Ginataan, which is the most recent book in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery series by Filipina-American author Mia P. Manasala. There are love stories in them, too–and lots of descriptions of delicious foods that main character Lila Macapagal makes for her cafe or enjoys elsewhere–alongside a murder mystery. Looking forward to your recommendations!
My name is Yousoufu Jalloh, and I am a freshman at City Tech. My major is Data Science. My home country is Conakry, Guinea, in West Africa. My favorite music is hip hop in English and French, and my favorite dish is Attieke. I enjoy playing soccer and working out. In my spare time, I enjoy watching soccer games, MMA (UFC), and going to the gym.
Hi Chantal De La Cruz. I too in my spare time sleep and sometimes go to the gym.
— Ivy
Hello, my name is Tequia Williams. My academic interest is nursing. No, I don’t read but I do like to bake. My favorite food is Carribean food. I like to dance, sing or simply listen to music on my free time. I chose to become a Pediatric Travel RN because kids and I, simply connect. And I love to travel so why not put the two together.
Welcome, Tequia, and nice avatar! I don’t know if you saw my comment to Chantal, but I was mentioning a book I just finished that has lots of great food in it–the whole series always includes recipes at the end that baker/main character makes by infusing bakery favorites with Filipino flavors (while also solving murder mysteries). What are some of your favorite Carribean recipes?
Hello, since I’m made up of different ethnicities, I love doubles, Pelau, roti and curry chicken, Mangu and arroz con gandules
Mmm!
Hello! My name is Nalah, I’m a freshman in my second semester at City Tech. My major is nursing, not only because it is a well-paying job but because I really want to help people those who are scared to speak up about underlying things going on in their body. I love listening to music and dancing with my friends, we love to have a good time because we’re all Caribbean. I love to cook especially for holidays, even though it’s a lot of work. I honestly don’t read as much as I should, I mostly just write in my journal. The furthest I’ve traveled is to my country Grenada that I go to every year. I lovee spending quality time with the people I’m closest to, so going out to eat, binge watching movies with my mom, or doing a fun activity are my favorite things to do! Lastly, in my spare time I literally just find something to do even if I should be doing homework sometimes, but I love doing my hair and nails it makes me feel better.
Welcome, Nalah! I loved reading about all of your interests–and seeing the shared interests and backgrounds in our class. What’s something that you made for the holidays that was labor-intensive but totally worth it?
Writing in a journal can be such a valuable practice–I would love for us to talk about this as a class.
Hi my name is Francine. I’m Guyanese American. My major is Business and Fashion Management, I’m focused on wanting to manage the online aspects of a clothing business in the near future. I do enjoy listening to music on my free time, sometimes watch shows on netflix and also youtube. I really do enjoy doing makeup and hair on my free time, I was self taught. I usually eat a lot of west Indian food, which is apart of my culture, so my favorite would have to be curry goat or cook up rice which is a mixture of meats, rice, and peas. But I also find interested in trying out other foods in different cultures. I’ve only ever traveled to Guyana and Canada, but I’m opened to traveling more throughout South America and Europe.
Hi Francine. I too can relate to your background about being Guyanese and eating the same cuisine.
—Ivy
Welcome, Francine! Seriously, all this talk of delicious Caribbean food makes me think this class should collaborate on writing a cook book or a food blog! I’d love to learn more about your aspirations for a clothing business.
Hey. My name is Samuel Cordova, I’m a freshman in my second-year semester at City tech. My major is CTTE (Career and Technology Teacher Education). I’ll be honest, I’m still hesitant on pursing the major due to personal reasons but I hope I commit to it. I’m from a Mexican background. I listen to any kind of music that I find amusing. In my free time, I usually go to the gym, work at my job, and occasionally go out. I like eating. I don’t read but I want to get into it.
Welcome, Samuel! I haven’t encountered many CTTE students, but I’m interested to know more about what subjects you would be interested in teaching–and if you ever want to talk about pedagogy, I’m up for it!
About getting into reading–this is a topic I’m really passionate about. The short version is that getting into reading is hard but worth it, and it takes patience because we’re used to reading social media or websites, short things that change quickly and include lots of other stimuli. Pick something that you’re really interested in, start really small (read a paragraph or a page) and increase incrementally until you want to binge more at a time. We should talk more about this as a class!
Hello everyone, I am Ivy H. The reason why I chose to major in Hospitality Management is that one day I would love to get a business in the food industries. I hope in the summer I get better at playing basketball. The fruits I love to eat are papaya, mango, pomegranate, and soursop. I love to watch the Druski and Kai Cenat with Kevin Heart Stream on YouTube. On the other hand, I love watching The 100, Vampire Diaries, Through My Window, and Prison Break these are some of my favorite shows I have watched. I would like to spend more time in a place where there are fewer people and their hills and lakes and a farm on the east and nice female trees. THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTEN.
Welcome, Ivy! I love your description of a place you want to spend more time. Do you ever get out of New York City? Even if not, there are places in the city that can make you feel far away from urban life. Let’s brainstorm together as a class for places to visit by subway or bus that offer a change of pace.
I love fruits, too, and am sad that persimmon season seems to be over.
Hello my name is Jayden, I am a freshman and this is my second semester at City Tech. My major is Hospitality Management. I don’t read like I used too but in my free time I like to play basketball, watch sports, and cook. My favorite food to cook and eat are chicken alfredo and macaroni. My favorite basketball players is James Harden and Kevin Durant. I watch movies and anime such as One piece and jujstu kaisen. I listen to many different genres of music but my favorite artists are Carti, Future, and Lucki. Other geners than rap I listen to are pop, r&b, and punk rock ranging from artist and bands such as Chris Brown, Rihanna, SZA, Justin Bieber and GreenDay. I also recently just started listening this UK punk rock band called ” The Chisel” the other day.
Welcome, Jayden! Thanks for sharing about your different interests. How did you get interested in the UK punk rock band?
Since you mentioned a favorite dish to cook, I have to ask–are you interested in the culinary side of Hospitality Management? I haven’t visited the dining room at City Tech in a long time, but it used to be great to go and experience what students in HMGT could do in all the different aspects of serving a meal.
Hey, my name is Monzer and I’m a Paralegal Studies major in my 2nd semester at City Tech. I chose my major because I’ve always liked humanities, and the law was something I found interesting from a young age. Outside of school, some of my interests are cooking, learning about fashion history, and just spending time with my friends and siblings. My family is from Sudan, so I’ve traveled there as well as Egypt a couple of times. My pronouns are He/Him. Nice to meet everyone!
Welcome, Monzer! I’m glad that you can pursue a field that has been interesting to you for a long time–is there a particular field in paralegal studies that you think you’ll want to pursue when you get a job?
Teach us something from your interests in fashion history! I’d love to know more!
Hey my name is Ayo Taiwo and am an IT major in my second semester I’ve always liked programming language and I aspire to become a software developer , something I found interesting from a young age. Outside of school, some of my interests are dancing, playing soccer, and also playing games , and just spending time with my friends and siblings. My family is from Nigeria , so I’ve traveled there as well as and I have also been to Egypt . My pronouns are He/Him. Nice to meet everyone!
Welcome, Ayo! I hope that your work on the OpenLab will boost your studies in software development, since the OpenLab uses WordPress, a very widely used open source software. You might even want to become an OpenLab intern as you progress in your studies.
What kind of games do you like to play–video games, or more old-school board games, or something else. I love puzzle games.
Hello, my name is Devon Collington, I go by He/Him. I am currently a high school student who is taking college courses through the ECI program. I was born right here in the borough of Brooklyn, New York. I tend to be caring a lot of the time and I’m more than willing to help other out. I am a transit enthusiast who likes to be creative and sort things out. I am currently going for an AAS in Construction Management and Civil Engineering and Technology. Although, I am looking forward to learn more of the fundamentals of writing in this course.
Welcome, Devon! I don’t know what the ECI program is, but I’m glad that you’re getting a college experience while still in high school–and hope that gives you more insight into your college choices when you’re applying.
I would love to talk transit stuff with you sometime! Have you been to the transit museum right near City Tech? Or seen the masstransiscope when riding from DeKalb to Canal on the Q?
Hello, my name is Aniya Martinez, pronouns are She/her, and I am a high school student taking early college classes. I plan on majoring in civil engineering in the future. My family is from Trinidad, Honduras and Venezuela. Outside of school I enjoy doing my nails, hair and putting outfits together. I also like exploring the city and trying new food spots with my friends. My favorite foods are roti, doubles, macheteadas (only made by my grandma) and almost any pasta dish.
Welcome, Aniya! Are you and Devon in the same early college program?
I love being a food tourist here in New York–or anywhere I travel! Aside from your grandmother’s kitchen, where are some places to find the favorite foods you mentioned?
Hi everyone! I love getting to know each of you better and seeing points of connection among students in the class so you can make connections and friendships that last all semester and beyond. I hope this helps you get to know me better, too!
My name is Jody R. Rosen and I use she/her/hers pronouns. I usually use my middle initial (R) because there’s another Jody Rosen who writes about music and pop culture, but I’m not him! Also my middle initial is in my City Tech email address, so I think that keeps things clearer.
I am a native New Yorker and love seeing new places and taking photographs, using skills I learned when I taught an ENG 1101 course in a First Year Learning Community with a photography class in my first few years teaching at City Tech. I don’t have to travel far to enjoy seeing new things or seeing things from a different vantage point. I love photographing things that don’t always mean to be beautiful–like the lichen that grows on trees and wooden benches and rocks; flowers and plants; interesting juxtapositions or vantage points; and other things that catch my noticing eye.
But also things that are beautiful, like this double rainbow I witnessed in December!
I’m one of the OpenLab co-directors and a professor in the English Department, and I have a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center with a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. But as an undergraduate at Brown University, I double-majored in English and Biology. People used to ask me if I wanted to write science textbooks, seeing that as a way to combine my majors. I had no interest in that, but I do like using science in my creative writing, and as a metaphor in my literary and gender-studies scholarship (mostly focused on the early 20th century fiction). My research lately focuses more on teaching and learning and on open digital pedagogy and the OpenLab. I’m also researching detective fiction. That started with an interest in detective fiction set in the 1920s, but has morphed more broadly detective fiction and television with a focus on community. I’m always interested in mentoring undergraduate research projects on any of these topics.
If you have any questions for me, want to learn more about what I do, or just want to talk, feel free to reach out to me, or reply to me here!
My name is Elijah Archer. I’m a freshman and this is my second semester at City Tech. MY major is Graphic Design, Web Design, or just design in general. I want to focus on creating something that can please the public eye. Plus coming up with a design for something sounds interesting and a lot of hard work that sounds rewarding. Plus, with these skills, I can try and become a person who’s creative when coming up with a design. Spare time I can play video games which is my fav pass time.
Welcome, Elijah! I’ve worked closely with students and faculty in COMD, and I hope that our version of ENG 1121 complements your design goals as well as advances our course goals. We’re definitely going to have the opportunity to incorporate visual components into our writing to create multimodal texts.
Do the video games you play match with your design aesthetic?
My names Mahendra, and im currently studying Communication Design after switching majors from Architecture to Communication Design, in my spare time im usually either working out or spending time with my friends and family. I also love baseball, lets go yankees!
Welcome, Mahendra! You can see from some of my other comments that I see important crossovers between the work we’ll do in this class and the work you’ll do in a design major. I’m excited to see how you work that crossover.
As a lifelong Mets fan, I’m going to focus on our shared love of baseball rather than on our team allegiances. Are you excited for spring training to start in a week from today?!