Although we introduced ourselves in class briefly, and we’ll introduce ourselves more formally in Project #1, please write an introduction here as a way to help us get to know each other better. Aim to write 250-300 words. This is your chance to say all the things you forgot to say in class, or to say again all the things you crafted and said brilliantly.
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Check back again and reply to at least a few of your classmates, asking questions or letting them know about shared interests.
Hello my name is Latasha Crawford and my major is Health Administration I just came from visiting Coast A Rica it was very fun because I love to travel around the world and see different cultures. I am in school part time so I work once I leave school. I decide to finish my degree this is not my first time in college but this particular course I just overlooked so now its time for me to take the class and get it done. I am really not into writing I like to express my self but I guess my sentence structures on paper does not come out quite well. So now I am taking the class and I guess I will become a better writer on paper. Also about me I am not a public speaker really not my thing I try to opt out of that that’s one thing that I do hate ugh . But other than that that’s me a little summed up .
Welcome, Latasha! I hope your work in this course helps you feel empowered by sentence structure and oral communication. I can only imagine how helpful that will be not only in your coursework here at City Tech but also in your work in healthcare administration.
What’s something you learned or experienced in Costa Rica that you can share with those of us who have never been there?
Hi, Latasha, I also love traveling although I haven’t gone to many places.This winter I plan on visiting Germany and in the summer hopefully Puerto Rico. What was your favorite place that you’ve visited so far?
One of my favorite places was Puerto Rico I been their also I love the water fall and I like the island itself it was a lot of things to see in Puerto Rico I have to brush up on my Spanish. The weather their was very very hot and the food was good met a lot of locals who. We’re very cool now I talk to them at least every other day
Hey Latasha, I just want to say that I admire you for choosing to better yourself even though u have a lot on your plate. This is my first year of college and even though I don’t have much doing outside of school as yet, I am hoping that i could multi task the same way, while enjoying and exploring the world among me by traveling as well.
Hi Latasha I share the idea of writing but sentence structure not really coming out how I wanted because I find that I often write what I feel or what comes to my head and usually have to go back and edit and shift things over but I hope that this class would help fix that as well
I went to Erasmus Hall High School, and graduated in the top ten percent of my cohort. While starting a new school is always hard it was easier because i knew some people there and because of how social and welcoming i am. I started off by joining the track team and did that on and off for two years before i realized i had a heart murmur which stopped me from being so active. Shortly after, i deciding to start swimming just not pushing myself as hard as i did with track, to make it worse. Then i became a cheerleader and i also sing as well so you can say i was just about everywhere, and Erasmus is split into about five different schools so imagine how many people from different schools would be in each activity. While doing all of this i was still able to manage my classes getting high grades in all. Having a great prom and winning prom princess, and graduating pushing my friends along with me. My major is nursing because it’s something that has always caught my eye from a long time because of the idea that you can make a difference between life and death, and Grey’s Anatomy came and i was hooked on figuring out the body and what changes could be made. Also if anyone is taking math 1175 and is using the math in our world third edition amazon is renting it for $19 dollars and that’s for the whole semester.
Welcome, Jade, and thanks for looking out for your MAT1175 cohort! It sounds like you were really active in high school and have many talents and interests. Have you thought about anything you would like to do here at City Tech? There is a club fair coming soon, so look for that to see what extracurricular activities might interest you.
yeah i thought about joining the step team but i’m not sure yet
It’s sad to hear about your heart murmur preventing you from being as active as you would like to be. I experienced some thing similar while playing tennis, I learned that my knee pain was actually rheumatoid arthritis. Hope you can still enjoy yourself without pushing yourself too hard.
Thanks Kyle and were you really intertested in tennis?
Hey Jade,
It’s really nice to hear stories from people like you who don’t let their limitations stop them from doing what they love. I find that very inspiring and motivating. Also, thank you for sharing that information about the math textbook!
Thank you DayDay I really don’t think I could let that stop me because it’s like taking away something I had a passion for.
Hello jade like you I wanted to do nursing also but I decide to do heath Administration instead I like to run the office I may change my mind because I did do medical assistance and I liked it I wanted to specialize in ob gynecology . Oh yeah okay I am taking math 1175 which I hate but we don’t need the book yet so thanks . AND now I know where to go when I want to check out my math book instead of buying it
Lol no problem and you’re lucky to not need the textbook yet
Hey Jade,
its rare to meet a person so dedicated as you. I know college is tough but after reading this, I think your in the right place.
Thank you so much
hey Jade, I am so sorry about your heart murmur , but things like this encourage me to push me to do my best. i admire you for aiming for what you want for yourself. I can also relate to you about wanting to make a difference between life and death. Even though nursing is not my major, i am hoping i could change it soon.
Hi shenelle and are you currently undecided and would you like to change to nursing ?
Hello my name is Shemar Stephens and i went to Harry.S.Truman high school in the Bronx. I still live in the Bronx so my travel time from home to school is about an hour and a half. My major is Computer System Technology otherwise known as (CST). I was born on April 14th 1999 in Belmopan city located in Belize an independent country on the eastern coast of Central America. As i am 18 years old this is my first time experiencing the college life and to be honest it’s not all i thought it to be. However my only goal for now is to learn and graduate. I also prefer to not do presentations and talking in front of the class but if i have to i will.
Welcome, Shemar! I hope you have some good activities for your commute. How do you typically pass the time? You can download some books from NYPL.org to the kindle app on your phone and spend your trip reading. Think of how many books you could finish with that kind of time on your hands!
I know public speaking is stressful for a lot of people. It actually ranks as one of people’s worst fears. I ask students to do presentations to help get everyone more comfortable with them in a less formal or stressful environment. I hope that helps!
I find myself passing the time by listening to music while i scroll through my Facebook feed or by texting a couple friends. However i might start reading as you have suggested seeing as it’s a great way to pass time and improve my reading and vocabulary skills.
My name is Dayana Lucero and I am majoring in Law/ Paralegal studies. I’m the girl whose phone rang in class today which was really embarrassing but embarrassing things like that happen to me every day and always in the worst moment. Anyways, I graduated from Queens Gateway to Health Sciences Secondary School this summer. When I was young I always dreamed of becoming a pediatric nurse but after 4 years in this so called health school I realized science is not for me. However, in my history classes is where I found my real passion, law and history. In history books, we read about many people who didn’t fight for their rights for various reasons but the most common one is fear. However, now we have laws that protect everyone including animals. I want to be able to help these people because I don’t want people to be taken advantage of because I have experienced it firsthand and know how frustrating injustice is. I don’t expect to change the world but I would be pretty satisfied if I could make a difference in someone’s life. On my free time, I like watching videos on baking but the only thing that I bake that actually tastes good is flan. In addition, I am a huge fan of the Jurassic Park franchise and I still haven’t found another person who I can fangirl with. If anyone in this class is a fan let me know because I would love to meet someone else who also loves dinosaurs.
Welcome, DayDay! I hope this class can help you develop your writing further in your goal of advocating for those who need support. Language is a powerful tool in the legal world.
Did you know that regular admission to the American Museum of Natural History is pay-what-you-wish? That doesn’t include special exhibits that require tickets, but you can go walk amid the dinosaurs all you want, or at least their bones, for a nominal amount of money. That seems like a good way to spend a dollar or so!
And thank you for being the person whose phone rang in class. It has to happen to someone every semester on the first day for me to make an example of it!
I agree that embarrassing moments happen omg. I also feel the same about changing what I want. I always wanted to be a teacher from I was younger until I got to high school and that was totally not for me. I’m glad you like baking, I did too at a point but stop because I wasn’t good at much and no was eating my stuff. I believe in you and I think you’ll do great at changing minds greatly.
Hey , I’m also majoring in paralegal studies. What’s got you interested into law ?
Hello, my name is Malik and I went to Holy Cross high school in flushing Queens. I played basketball and soccer for 14 years for travel teams and clubs. I find shark hunting very exciting and wish to travel to Australia for the great whites during migration season. I am majoring in Construction management and hope to be apart of an extensive project in the NYC area. This past summer I had the opportunity to travel to a vacation home in Orlando,FL with family and friends and visit the Disney theme parks. We stayed there for 10 days so we could party and sightsee. Had the chance to spend a lot of quality time with the family under 1 roof. I did some shopping out there while we were by there outlets. When I got back to NY my friend and I went to one of the best tattoo parlors in NYC so we could pick out some artwork we wanted before school started. A few weeks later we took a trip to ATL to help our friend that recently moved get situated and then we looked for the nearest attractions. All of us went to a restaurant that my uncle owns and in our commute we found a good tattoo shop that does discounts for students on special days.
Welcome, Techpreneur! I’d love to know more about the portmanteau or Frankenword you chose for your display name. Do you want to explain? I’m also curious if shark hunting is like storm hunting, where you travel in hopes of finding and seeing or experiencing, or if it means you want to kill sharks. Either way, be safe!
Travel can be a great way to see different things, get inspired, and then bring it back to the work you do such as construct new spaces. Plus it sounds like you have a good group of friends and family who can provide you with lots of support as you start your college career.
Omg omg I love sharks so that’s crazy to see someone else interested in that animal. I find it amazing that you did all that traveling in a short amount of time. I want to experience that same thing one day. It’s wonderful you went to all those places because I’d like to go to the same places.
Hello, my name is Edwin Contreras and I am a graduate from Long Island City High School. During my high school years I was involved in many extracurricular activities. Through perseverance and dedication I was able to try out and make it into the varsity baseball team and football team, I was even involved in the schools band having the honor to playing the trumpet along with my peers. During the summer vacation I focused on working and spending time with my family. One of the new passions I acquired during the summer was driving. Since my father owns, in my opinion, a very nice car I like taking it out with my friends and enjoy the open road. Reflecting on my first day of college, I can see the difficulty and dedication I need to have in order to get my work done especially on time. I would like to have fun in class and experience the college life to the fullest.
Welcome, Edwin! I’m glad you see that college will require dedication, but also that there are fun aspects to the experience. I hope this course is both challenging and fun.
A few students have mentioned an interest in basketball. Maybe you could find a pick-up game nearby, like in McLaughlin Park, which is diagonally across the street from City Tech.
Do you drive to school, or is driving just extracurricular?!
Hi my name is Sarique Headley and i recently graduated from James Madison High School in brooklyn. I am 17 years old and my Birthday is December 7th 1999. My sign is Sagittarius and I think that is why i am so quiet and laid back. I also don’t like public speaking, but i know that i will have to overcome that eventually. I came back from vacation a couple weeks back from Barbados visiting family. This is my first time taking any sort of college classes, and this is very different from High School, you get much more freedom but you have to take the work more seriously.. My Major is computer Systems. My writing skills are alright but i hope this class will turn me into a better writer.
Welcome, Sarique! It sounds like you have the right approach to college vs. high school. I mentioned this to Shemar above: you’re not alone in your dislike for public speaking! Hopefully the presentations and class participation required of you will give you the confidence to do ore public speaking and do it more comfortably in the future. Writing, likewise, is a skill you can hone and become more confident with, using it as a tool for greater success.
What’s something interesting you experienced in Barbados?
Hi, my name is Shemika Seaton. I am from the beautiful sunny island of Trinidad. One of its most splendid festivities is Carnival. It has been four years since I have migrated to the United States. When I came to the United States I attended William. H. Maxwell CTE Highschool. During, my high school years I majored in Vision Care Technology and I came to City Tech to further it. I choose this major because I became very passionate with it, I also choose it because it is very hands on and social so I connected with it. However, I am interested in writing professionally and gathering the main points and ideas of a story quickly. I love romantic poems or anything romantic. I tend to struggle with Gothic Literature and I hope I get the opportunity to strengthen it. Sometimes, when I write in my journal I write anything interesting. Some fun facts about me is that I love to travel I’ve been to four countries such as Canada, Saint Maarten (the Dutch side), Trinidad & Tobago, and of course the United States. Some countries I’ll like to visit is France, Jamaica, Guyana just to name a few. I love to dance hangout, and spend time with my family. I am a stepper I love to step and I also joined the City Tech Stepping Team. I love to step and dance because it is using your body to create such beautiful sounds and dance techniques and skill. So that’s all about me for today see you all in class on Wednesday.
Hey , Shamika, i can relate to you a lot. I too love romantic, movies, poems, etc and initially wanted to become a poet. I am from Jamaica, and i love it there. i also had friends who i encourage to travel there and they had a wonderful time. When you do get to travel there I hope you have the same amazing experience.
Hi Shenelle, I have a question, did you change your mind from becoming a poet ? if yes and you are comfortable can you share your reason. I too hope to have a wonderful time when I travel there. Sorry for the late response.
Welcome, Shemika! I’m glad you love to write and hope your positive attitude about writing can inspire your classmates. Our reading this semester is all non-fiction, but we can think about the qualities of the Gothic and see how you can use that idea in your writing if you want to get further I to it.
It’s great that you want to travel, like some of your classmates, and I wonder if there are travel opportunities available through City Tech. Maybe the Stepping Team has a tour planned?!
Thank you professor. I will definitely look into those Gothic qualities, and see if my work comes out better.
Yes, I love to travel because I love to learn about different cultures and backgrounds because even myself came from different cultures and backgrounds. Both my parents are from the Caribbean. My mom is from St. Vincent and my dad is from Trinidad. So I grew up with both their cultures. When I came to the United States I saw life differently. Also, seeing how the United States upheld there history was amazing. I noticed that there are similar foods and festivities that are similar to mine and those that are new were pretty good. Knowing this was like there are really more to experience in the world. To me just taking the trains is different to my culture because in my country we take cars and maxi taxies to mainly get around so it is interesting. I will definitely look into the travelling opportunities through City Tech; and I hope the step team have a lot of tours planned for us.
My name is Megan Whittaker and I graduated from The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice which is directly across from city tech. Although I come from such a close high school I feel like city tech is a brand new environment for me and it’s something I have to grow accustomed to. I’m very excited to see what my college journey has in store for me at city tech because it’s so diverse and it challenges me to step out of my comfort zone. I never really enjoyed academics but the 3 classes I’ve sat through so far have me hooked. I enjoy law and everything regarding it. I like debating, posing new ideas or simply doing anything to conjure up the conversation. As you can see my major is law and paralegal studies. I ultimately want to be a lawyer especially for pro bono cases because I feel as if everyone deserves a good lawyer whether you can financially afford one or not. I also feel like many people in this day of age aren’t educated enough on their rights and it would mean alot to me knowing I can provide the knowledge. Other than academics I really enjoy shopping for bags. I like all different types of designer bags , all shapes and sizes. I also like nails as much as I like bags so I tend to spend a lot of my time looking at nail designs on google. The funny thing about that though is when you show the nail technician how you want the design it never comes out the same.
Welcome, meganw! Your interest in law and legal representation for everyone is commendable and a great core principle to bring into your career. What kind of law are you interested in? You’re in good company here, as there are other classmates who are in your major (I’m sure other classmates enjoy your hobbies, too!). I wonder what opportunities there are at City Tech for students to volunteer in the legal field –you might be able to work to help people by interning with a professor or getting active in a student club.
Hi my name is Herson Mark Garcia. I graduated from Flushing High school I’m still currently 17 turning 18 in October. I used to play football for flushing high school’s junior varsity team my freshman and sophomore year. I’m a really friendly outgoing person and i take everything as a joke but i am a very shy person at first. I love reading comics and watching action comedy movies and I love exploring going for walks and just going on adventures and discovering new abandon places or places with nice scenery and taking pictures. I love football and my favorite team are the new england patriots, i like superheros stuff and I recently started working at starbucks. I love traveling and hanging out with my friends and going to car meets. I’m looking forward to college and this semester.
Herson,
I also played Football for my high school. Its a very difficult sport, a lot of people quit during hell week. Hope you enjoy college
What position did you play for your team?
Hey herson , I’m also still 17 but I don’t turn 18 till November. Does your age effect how you feel in the college considering the ages range widely ?
I also started college at 17. I hope you don’t feel like it holds you back from anything! If you find it creates difficulties, let me know and I’ll happily help if I can.
Welcome, Herson! You have so many interests that I’m sure you’ll find ways to have a very exciting, fulfilling college experience. I’m sure you’ll find classmates with some of those interests as well. I’m curious how all or any of these interests cross over with your college or career interests. Do any of your interests cross over to your major?
How did you become a Patriot’s fan living in New York? Do you find that challenging?!
Hello, my name is Derick Morales , I’m 19 years old , I’m Honduran-American and I graduated from Sunset Park High School. Some of my favorite hobbies that I like to do is to play basketball , go to the gym, listening to music , and computer coding. If I had to pick three trait that identify myself , it would be adventurous, passionate , and adaptive . I consider myself adventurous because I’ve been to lots of different states like Virginia , Texas , Nevada and etc.. But I have also traveled to other countries like Puerto rico and Honduras. In the future I hope to travel more counties like Japan, Brazil, England and etc.. I say that I’m a very passionate person because I always put my all to everything. Like I just started computer science this summer and I fell in love with it because I was always surrounded with technology and now I’m hungry for more knowledge. Hopefully once I get my masters in software engineer, I would like to move to Japan for a sometime and work for Sony, Microsoft, or Google. The reason why I say I’m adaptable because I’m willing to learn the language and the culture .
Hello Derick,
I feel like you have a taste for adventure, I wish you luck with your goals in moving on to the major corporation.
How are you? Derrick, it’s nice to know they are others in the class that’s going for they’re masters in software engineering. I also have the wish to travel the world but when I’m finish with school. How was it like in Puerto Rico and Honduras? I’ve never been here but would like to in the future.
Welcome, derick! You’re in good company here as many of us enjoy traveling. How do you make your trips adventures?
It’s great to bring passion into your major, and to have a vision of where you want to go with your degree. There are great experiences you can have while you’re still a student, so look for summer programming internships–or Google Summer of Code–that can offer you hands-on work in interesting places to visit.
Hello, I’m Kyle Jung Ly. I’m 18 years old and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School. Contrary to popular belief I am not Korean. I am half Vietnamese and “Hong Kongese”. I speak Cantonese and English. Cantonese was my first language but I’ve practically forgotten most of the language after being raised in New York City. I am currently undecided and have no idea what I want to major in. I have strong interests in the arts and music, but I’m looking for a more viable interest to invest in while I take general education classes at City Tech.
Several of my interests outside of school consist of Jazz/Pop guitar and painting. I’m kind of all over the place in terms of hobbies. I’ve tried everything from tennis to music to crochet. However, as of late I am heavily invested in music. I spent all four years of highschool actively interacting in my choral program.
So far I don’t really enjoy the environment at City Tech. It just feels like a bigger version of the high school I just graduated from . I’m not sure exactly how to feel about it, hopefully it improves or I find a better environment at another CUNY. But I’m definitely going to give City Tech a solid chance.
I look forward to sharing my writing with you all. I view sharing writing as a very intimate and trusting activity. I hope we all improve and enjoy each other’s writing.
Welcome, kylejungly! I wholeheartedly agree that writing is a personal, intimate means of expression, and that to share it in the group we need to establish trust. This is why respect for each other is such an important principle in this course. We will conduct peer-review sessions and do critiques in class and on our OpenLab site, which we’ll learn how to do respectfully throughout the semester.
I know that commuting to college can make it feel similar to commuting to college, but your interests are the way college can be different than high school. Find fellow students who like what you like! There are clubs, both formal and informal, for some of your interests. And where there aren’t, you can make one yourself! You can start a club on the OpenLab and get other students to join based on their shared interest in music, guitar, crochet (I might even join that one!), or the desire to improve their Cantonese. I’m sure some of them are in our class.
Hello, My name is Atasha and I am 18. I was born in Guyana which is located in South America. I went/graduated from Transit Tech High school. Starting college is very different from high school which caught my attention like for example high school i was more laid back but now in college I  got to be more serious about my work. Growing up I would always want to help/take care of people especially babies , therefore coming into college I chose Nursing as my major.However I don’t like science or math but there both a requirement in my major and i hope i can pass these classes.I’m not sure what field i want to go in as of yet maybe pediatric or neonatal nurse. Well somethings about me is that I’m shy and very quiet person. I enjoy is listening to music and traveling in NYC with friends and family.One thing i don’t like is presentations, I get really nervous to speak in front of people but I know i have to get over it. Well that’s all !
Welcome, Atasha R! I’m sure your interest in taking care of people will be an asset in our course, which asks students to collaborate on projects and to offer each other help for developing our writing. Our goal with presentations is the same–to provide a safe, welcoming space to get more comfortable with presentations. I hope that will help you. If you like helping people and want to work in the health care industry but don’t want to take as much science and math, there are other fields or jobs for you–like health care administration or health advocacy.
One of our goals for this course is to explore the area around the college, so your interest in traveling throughout the city will be a great asset!
Hi, my name is YuQing, but I prefer to be call Tiffany and I am very indecisive. I was born in China and spend half of my life there. I am currently majoring in Fashion Marketing. I was struggling to choose between either normal Business major, Fashion Marketing or Education. My mind change every three seconds. I used to work as a after school tutor helping the students with their homework and review their lessons. Working with students gave me the idea of being a early childhood teacher. However that thought didn’t last for too long. I quit the job after a year and a half. Even though working with students really entertain me but I also want to extend my experiences for future references. Not long after I quit the job, I enrolled into a position in a grand open cafe as a barista. I started from the bottom learning all the basic knowledge of a espresso and coffees, after a month and a half I started to do Latte Arts. It surprises me how barista makes beautiful Latte Art by just pouring milk and it gains my interest. I want to major in business is because I hope I can open up my own cafe in the future but at the end I chose to major in Fashion Marketing. I have a huge obsession with the fashion industry ever since I was young. I want to see how far I can go in the fashion industry. The cafe dream is still living in my heart, maybe someday I will grant that wish.
Welcome, Tiffany! Even though you describe different interests, do you see anything in common among them? I love the commitment to learning you demonstrated by learning latte art, and how you see the importance of beauty in everyday items. I’m glad you’re bringing those interests to our class! You’re not the only barista in our class–maybe you and Herson can share your coffee knowledge with the class. Or you can learn more about the coffee industry’s history in Brooklyn.
Hi Tiffany I have always had a liking with the fashion industry but fell in love with the medical field also the latte arts they always seem to catch my eye and I have always wanted to learn
Hello my name is Casylee Rivera. I’m the girl with the glasses and the short hair. I am 18 years old. I am currently employed at Chipotle. I have been working there for almost a year and two months. Most people ask me if I love my job and what I tell people is that it’s a job.  As long as I’m getting paid then there’s no complaining. When I was in high school I  was very active, I played soccer and softball. Soccer was actually my favorite sport it still is, till this day, I just don’t play it because I’m to busy. I started playing soccer at the age of 12 or maybe 11 don’t remember the exact age. I started off as being a forward my freshman and sophomore year of high school. From there I became a midfielder my junior year of high school  and it was actually my last year. With softball I only played my sophomore year. I like to eat junk food and love to laugh a lot. Something that I do love to eat is onion rings and pizza. I don’t like beans or vegetables that much. When I was younger I use to do my own nails with no tools. People were amazed and advised me to work with other professionals that are good with nail design. The reason as to why I stop doing my nails was because I never had time to do them. I probably suck if I tried today. It wouldn’t be perfect but it also wouldn’t be horrible. Well I hope this gave you guys an idea of how I am and I hope this little paragraph help you guys to get to know me a little. Thanks for listening,
Welcome, Casylee! I see you have some similar interests to other classmates–like soccer and nail design–but also that you don’t find the time to do these things that you enjoy. College definitely demands your time, but there’s a value in finding time for things that make you happy, active, etc. I hope you can join a club or a team while you’re a student at City Tech to get the most out of the college experience and to enjoy the personal benefits those activities can offer.
Hi Malik I saw that you played basketball and soccer for 14 years I was wondering if you could tell me what position you played in soccer?
Kyle, it’s cool how your hobbies range from so many different things but is there one hobby you have participated in that unexpectedly became your favorite ?
Hello, my name is Michael, but prefer to be called Mike. I’m 19 years old, I recently graduated from FDR high school and spent a year trying to figure out what I wish to do in college. my nationality is Dominican American, I am currently looking for a job. I spend my free time doing my hobbies such as, skating, making music, or building computers. I am currently trying to major in computer science to further increase my current knowledge with programming, hopefully helping me in the long run to make better music is my motive for taking the course. One thing I wish to improve in the class is my handwriting. since it’s not very neat. I usually keep to myself and if group projects are needed to be done during this course I’m willing to work with others just to get the job done.
Welcome, Mike! It’s great to see your interest in your intended major in Computer Systems Technology stems from your music-making hobby. Other classmates wrote here about their interests in that major and in music as well–though I don’t know if you share a common interest in bands. We will work with each other in pairs, groups, and as a whole class, so I’m glad to know that you can get comfortable with this kind of collaboration.
Neatness, particularly in penmanship, is always appreciated, but not a requirement for this course. Although you will do some writing in class, the majority of writing for our class will be done on a computer–so you won’t necessarily have much handwriting opportunity in our course.
I’m glad we’re getting to know each other in class and here online, and to see your shared interests. So many of you expressed your interest in the arts: visual, musical, literary, culinary, and in sports: basketball and soccer, and in a myriad of other things. All of these interests will contribute to this learning community, either in the work you do or in the passion and creativity you’ll bring with you.
Hopefully you’ve gotten to know me a little bit just from our first class and from the syllabus and other materials on this site–our writing style says a lot about us–but allow me to introduce myself more fully. I’m a native New Yorker, and have lived in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island–and though I’ve never lived in Queens, it holds a big place in my heart (any guesses why?). I’m an associate professor in the English Department at City Tech, with a Ph.D. in English and a certificate in Women’s Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center in midtown Manhattan. My undergraduate degree from Brown University is in both English and Biology. As a college student, this combination often confused people, and they would ask “What are you going to do, write science textbooks?” No, that was never an interest of mine. I do use a lot of science terminology and metaphors in my writing, both in my creative writing and in my scholarly work.
Here at City Tech, I’m involved in a number of interesting projects. I won’t list them all, but I’ve been one of the OpenLab co-directors since it launched in 2011, and am conducting research on interactive technology use in education. My scholarly work focuses on narrative theory, gender and sexuality studies, and literature of the 20th century. I’m active on the Undergraduate Research Committee, so let’s talk if you’re interested in conducting research. I’m one of the faculty mentors for The Buzz, a student-run blog that pays bloggers to contribute as the voice of City Tech. Find them on the OpenLab and read each of their different contributions–and respond with comments, too!
Outside of work–if we can ever really separate the things we do into work and non-work categories–I’m an avid knitter and crocheter. I’ve been known to quilt. I love to cook. I want to learn how to use a letterpress. As you can see, I like to make things! It’s so satisfying to see a project through from start to finish, and to have a tangible object to show for it. I like to bring my love of making things into the classroom, creating projects that don’t just ask students to do what they’re used to doing but to experience things, have a tactile encounter with our surroindings, and to make things, too.
I love to look at old maps and photographs of New York, and often incorporate them into my courses. Although I’m an amateur and don’t have fancy equipment, I am always amazed. Y hjow much better my photographs look when I get a new phone with an even-better camera. I love to take photographs when I travel, whether to far-off places like Amsterdam and Iceland or here in New York while commuting. Lately, though, I’ve passed on the opportunity to take photos while riding the Staten Island Ferry or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge in favor of enjoying the view.
And I’m a bleed-blue-and-orange Mets fan.
My name is Janin Goodwin. I’m currently a freshman majoring in Liberal Arts. I chose this major with the intention of transferring to another university for the latter half of my college years to pursue a bachelor’s in either economics, political science, or history. The reasons for these particular fields goes as follows:
Economics is in every facet of life, from your purchasing of a candy bar at the store to government subsidies being given out to promote, bolster, and support small businesses.
Political science catches my eye because of how elaborate of a puzzle the world of politics is. The idea of having to factor in so many variables (such as a cost-benefit analysis of things like tax breaks/hikes, how a certain policy might impact the social climate, races relations, quasi-utilitarianism within the government in which a policy appears to benefit all/most but only benefits a small minority of people, etc) is interesting and something to truly marvel at, whether you like politics or not.
And as for history, the development of society, religion, politics, warfare, and differing ideologies and how they’ve led to the creation of the world we (and others whom of which we’ll never meet) live in. For example, a major reason why American values are rooted in that of Judeo-Christian values is because of the Romans’ takeover of much of of Europe and the spreading of Christianity.
A little about me:
I enjoy reading and writing. I read both fiction and nonfiction and my favorite fiction books are those that are allegorical tales. One that I recommend is Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin, the writer of The Game of Thrones. He wrote Tuf Voyaging while using Plato’s Republic (something I recommend as far as non-fiction books go) and the ideas presented within it to talk about who should rule and to what end. In the end however, he, like Plato, was unable to answer the question of who should rule. Very interesting, I highly recommend it.
My writing is about the same in that I write allegorical tales. I’m currently working on a piece called Agria, which about religion and the concept of theocracies and using the concept of divine rule.
I look forward to getting to know everyone and what they enjoy reading/writing about.
Welcome, JayG! It’s great to read about your interests, academic and otherwise. As you develop your focus in your major, you will have the opportunity to take courses in all of the fields you mentioned, which will help you decide your intended path for your next degree. What role do you think your interest in reading and writing historical fiction will play in your choice of field? As I mentioned in an earlier comment, you might want to take advantage of downloading ebooks from the New York Public Library (nypl.org) to your phone via the Kindle app or another–all for free with a library card. It’s a great way to gain access to more reading material!
My name is Raees Mohammed, I graduated from The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School in 2014 and originally wanted to become a veterinarian. However I soon found out that it would take about twelve more years to be able to do so. I did not want to be in school till I was thirty years old.
I then went into the security field and have worked as a security guard, a fire guard and a body guard. As of now, I am a security guard at JFK airport. I play many games on my free time on both the XboxOne and on the PC. I mostly play RPGs though ranging from The Elder Scrolls series to Mass Effect to many others.
My major is computer systems technology, I chose this major because I spend lots of my time on the internet which eventually led me to the DarkNet. The things that are on these sites are something that I would like to help put an end to. With my degree I hope to get into cyber security and keep my friends from exposing so much of their information online as it has become easy for people to buy and sell your personal information.
Welcome, ANewHopeIsHere! It’s interesting how your work in security and your online habits have lead you to future goals in cyber security. And that in protecting people from and putting an end to the DarkNet, you be kind of like a Jedi!
You can still help animals even if you choose not to sacrifice your 20s to veterinary school and training. Would you be interested in pursuing extracurricular activities to help animals?
Hello! My name is Ashley, my user name is LeDimples because people often spell my first name wrong like this: Ashely. So I put Le because the ‘L’ always goes before the ‘E’ and Dimples because, well, I have dimples! Anyways, I am eighteen years old and I love music. I can listen to just about anything as long as I like it, it doesnt matter what language it is or what type of music.
Coming to City Tech wasn’t my first choice but I will make the best of what I have now, being here is a somewhat different environment since I went to an early college high school I knew what having college classes was like. However, its still different because its simply not high school anymore and its a little hard transitioning from high school to college but ill try my best anyways.
Hi Ashley I agree with the listening to music no matter what language as long as the flow is right and the transition is a really big change
Welcome, LeDimples! Thanks for explaining your name and for introducing yourself. Some of your classmates also wrote about their passion for music–I wonder if your tastes intersect.
Early college high schools are such great opportunities to show you what college course materials will be, but you’re probably left to yourself more in college–would you agree with that observation? Which school did you attend? I hope you find that you have more organization and time-management tools from your high school experience. I don’t know if you started at City Tech with college credits, but if you did, we can talk about how you can use that to your advantage when planning your course choices.
Hi, my name is Brandon Casimir and I’m a college freshman here at City Tech. I recently graduated from John Jay Secondary School of Law which is in Park Slope. I came to City tech to obtain a degree in Computer Science hopefully to go far in the tech industry. I aspire to work for big tech companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. In the future, I also plan on travelling all over the world to places I never been before like Japan, Africa, France, etc. It sucks that I’ve never even been on a plane before. Hopefully that would change soon. This is my first year in college and so far, I’m loving the experience. It’s completely different from high school. Teachers aren’t on your back, constantly asking for homework. College is stricter on absences and being late. Also, I realized that procrastination is the worst thing you could ever do while just starting college. I’m already missing a couple of homework’s because of that which is not good. It’s hard to keep track of all the homework’s I get because some are posted on blackboard and some I have on open lab. I have high hopes for myself when it comes to receiving good grades at the end of the semester. I’m aiming for 3.0 GPA or higher. The class I enjoy the most so far would be psychology. Mainly because it’s a new subject that I haven’t really learned this in depth before and my professor is good at teaching it.