sophomore
Hometown | Brocton
Major | Communications

Entry: 9/10/2007

Another year has begun and it’s off to a pretty good start!

For those of you who followed my blog last year, welcome back! And for those of you who are just joining me this year let me tell you a bit about myself.

My name is Riley and I graduated from Brocton Central.  I graduated in the top 20% ofmy class and, in turn, I received the USA scholarship which pays for your full tuition here at JCC. It’s my second year here as a communications major. I was very involved while in high school so it only made sense to me that I would continue to be in college.  A few of the activities I’m involved in on campus are: Student Ambassadors (working with the admissions office to connect with prospective students), Leo Club (participating in and organizing community service and charity events) and Phi Theta Kappa (the national honor society for two year colleges).  I chose JCC for many reasons; a big reason was the small class size and also the smaller size of the campus. I graduated from high school with 36 kids in my class so going to a big university was pretty intimidating. JCC provided a stepping-stone for me to continue on to a four-year school.

This year is going to be a bit different than last. First of all I moved in with two of my good friends this year so that will be a change from living by myself last year. I also started an internship this semester that comes with a whole bunch of responsibility. I will be sure to keep you all informed about it! Most importantly, it’s my last year at JCC which means I need to start applying to transfer schools and making some big decisions for my life.

I hope you keep following me throughout the year and if you have any questions or comments feel free to send me an email!

Entry: 6/03/2007

There are no words that can truly describe how amazing my trip to Guatemala was.  Everything was amazing - the food, the classes, our “adventures”, the list goes on. Before I left I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect once we arrived there. Of course everything was different.  I mean, you couldn’t throw your toilet paper down the toilet and the houses were open in the middle but as the days progressed these differences just became second nature.

We all stayed with host families.  The family I stayed with was great. In our house there was the mom and her three daughters, and then her daughters’ three little boys.  As if that wasn’t a full house already, there was my roommate, two other students from different schools, and me.  It was pretty amazing how the family just took us in and treated us like their family for the two weeks we were there.

The first day we were there we met our families and our Spanish teachers.  When I was told there would be one-on-one Spanish instruction, I didn’t realize it literally meant one-on-one.  During class it was just me and my teacher.  My teacher didn’t speak English so it made it that much more challenging and forced me to use my Spanish.  My teacher was very nice.  She didn’t believe me when I first told her I was 18 years old.  She said I was too tall to be only 18.  My teacher’s disbelief wasn’t the last I heard about it either.  The little boys who lived in my house were in awe and some of the other teachers couldn’t believe I was only 18.  This was probably because all the teachers stood at about 5 feet tall and I looked huge next to them.

We started our volunteer work the third day we were there.  We were split up between working at a school, a hospital, and an orphanage.  I worked in the school and specifically the library.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt so important in my life.  There were three other girls and I who volunteered at the same school.  When we walked into the classroom the first day, all of the students and teachers started clapping because they were so excited to see us.  All of the kids wanted us to come and help them with their homework and just talk with them.  You know how it’s kind of hard to understand little kids because their minds are racing and they just talk so fast?  Well, try having a conversation like that in Spanish!!  The way the school was set up was kind of crazy.  There was the main building that had two rooms and a very small kitchen.  Then up the road was the library, across from the library was the recess area, and then up the road a bit more were more classrooms in a garage type building.

Working in the library was great because we sat with the children, read a few books, played with legos, and did some puzzles. It was amazing how just playing with the kids made them so happy.  It was funny because Caitlin (she worked in the library with me) and I actually had three little boys sneak out of their class to come and see us!

The thing about this school is that it is funded through donations and volunteers.  I believe there are only three teachers to hundreds of children.  They really need help.  In the fall, I would like to organize a fundraiser through an organization at JCC to raise not only money for the school and their needed supplies (i.e. pencils, books, clothes), but also to raise awareness of how difficult these children’s lives are.

After class and our volunteer work we had different activities scheduled such as tours, watching movies on the civil war in Guatemala and one night we had salsa lessons (so much fun!).  On the weekend we took a bus trip from Antigua up to Panajachel, an indigenous village.  We stayed in a hotel for the weekend.  We took a gorgeous boat ride across Lake Atitlan.  It was an amazing time and a great break from the normal routine of the past week.

I would have to say that my favorite part aside from the volunteer work was when we climbed Pacaya, one of the five active volcanoes in Guatemala.  It wasn’t easy getting up the volcano by any means, but once we got there it was well worth it.  As we climbed farther up the volcano, it got warmer and warmer.  The volcano had actually just erupted last year so we couldn’t climb all the way up to the top but, instead, we got to climb about two thirds of the way up to a crater that was created when the volcano erupted.  We were only 10-15 feet from hot lava.  It was an absolutely unrealistic experience!

Going to Guatemala really changed the way I look at the world.  It’s given me a completely different perspective on life.  I also got to meet a lot of great people while on this trip.  Not everyone was from JCC so it was great to be able to meet different people from different colleges.  It was an amazing experience and I hope they continue this program in years to come.

So now I’m finally done with classes and it’s time for summer!  Hopefully next year will be as eventful and exciting as this past year has been!

Until next year

Entry: 5/13/2007

It's coming down to the wire here. I have four more tests and then I'm done! I really can't believe I'm done with my first year of college. It doesn't seem like it's been a year since I graduated from high school.

It's been an exciting and intense two weeks. I've had tests and papers due all week and I've been working like crazy to get them all done. I gave my final speech in my public speaking class. It went pretty well. I was a little under time but other than that it was good. I spoke about the marketing concept of "sex sells" in advertising but I showed how it really doesn't make your product sell any better -- it is actually just degrading. It was cool to do it on stage with the little remote for my slide show and everything!

I got to give a tour to a group of students from Brocton (my hometown) this past week. It was fun. I got to see two of my former teachers.

So I've finished up two classes so far and I have four more. I don't have a final in the two classes I've finished so that's really nice. I have a final in social psychology, aerobics, and interpersonal communications. Then I have one makeup test in history from when I went to Ireland and I'm done. It's a good felling to be this close to the end.

But these past two weeks haven't been all work and no play. We had an ambassador luncheon that was fun. We got all the ambassadors together for one last time as a lot of them ar graduating next week. We also had a campus barbecue. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, and other food. There as the hot dog run at the same time that I ended up not having to participate in for my aerobics class. It's a two-mile run around campus that a lot of people participate in. It was a really fun time having everyone together for one last big event before the semester ends. I think that's something that is really nice about JCC. We're a pretty close college. We do a lot of activities together and that is something a lot of big universities don't have.

Some of my friends at other colleges have started coming home for the summer. I'm so excited to be done with the semester. It's looking like a promising summer!

Oh, and only TWO weeks until I leave for Guatemala!

Entry: 4/30/2007

It’s been one insane month - Ireland, school, softball, and a new job. I can’t believe the semester is almost over! Just 2 more weeks of classes, finals and then we’re done. This entire year went by so fast! Well, here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been doing this past month:

On the 29th of March I left for Ireland and got back on April 8th. It was absolutely amazing! Ireland it gorgeous and I can’t wait to go back (hopefully!). I went with my family and we had a lot of fun. We did a lot of things; we kissed the Blarney Stone, got a carriage ride through Killarney National Park, and went to the Guinness Factory in Dublin to name a few. We did not have one boring day! The food there is delicious as well. Everything is so fresh when you eat it - it’s amazing. We also got to visit Trinity College. I would love to see if I could get a scholarship to study abroad there. The college is hundreds of years old and is as beautiful as ever. I really hope I can go back some day.

The rest of spring break was pretty relaxing. I didn’t really do much but since school started back up, free time has become pretty scarce. Getting so close to the end of the semester is great because school is almost over but it’s also very hectic with finals and end of the year papers/projects due. It’s been a little crazy for me especially because on top of school and softball I just started a new job. I now work at CVS. It’s pretty sweet. I get to work in the photo lab so that makes me very happy! Now it’s all about time management. I’m going to try to make it to all of my games but I am a student athlete so my studies come first and my coaches know that.

In my public speaking class we just have one speech left and then we’re done! This speech is a little bit more intense than the others. This time we’re on stage in the Scharmann Theater! I can’t wait. I think it will be fun - especially because I’m preparing a power point presentation so it will be projected of the big screen behind me on the stage. It should be interesting!

Saturday I had a meeting for my upcoming trip to Guatemala. If I didn’t seem excited before, I am now! We got our schedules for the 2 weeks we are there.  We go to class 4 hours a day and we do our volunteer work after school. Some days we have tours scheduled such as Chichicastenango to the Mayan markets, Atitlan, and we even have a dance lesson while we are there! I can’t believe it’s less then a month away!

That’s been my life for the past month. I can’t wait for the end of the semester!

Entry: 4/18/2007

I'm so excited to hear from someone who is going on the trip too! We're staying in Antigua I believe. I don't really have too many details yet but we're having a meeting April 28th and 11am in room 224 in the arts and science building on campus. If you could make it to that meeting I'm sure it would be a lot more imformative than me!

Entry: 4/17/2007

Hi, Riley! I'm going on the Guatemala trip, too, but since I go to SUNY Fredonia, I'm out of the loop- can you tell me what city we'll be staying in? I'm going a few days early and staying late. Does the group from school leave on Saturday, May 26th? Thanks for any info you can give me.

Entry: 3/26/2007

So this week went by pretty fast! I have a lot to do because I’m leaving for Ireland on the 28th so I have some extra work I have to make up before I go.

I had my meeting with my transfer counselor today.  She was a big help!  We talked about why I wanted to transfer to San Diego State and how I could make it possible.  We talked to the admissions office over in California about the general education requirements for California.  After we did some digging around we finally found a list of their requirements online which makes it much easier to find which classes I will need.  I’m not completely set on San Diego State yet.  I’m also looking into Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.  It’s closer to home and they also have an excellent communication program.  I still have to look into each college a little bit more to actually decide.  I’m really glad I went to the transfer counselor because now I have the tool necessary to be able to transfer to San Diego if I choose to!

Our softball team traveled to New Jersey to play a double header on Saturday.  We left Friday afternoon and got in around 12am and went to bed.  We got up and went to the field the next day around 10:30am and started playing at 12pm.  We lost both games (5-1, 1-0) but it was the first time we’ve been outside all season and the first time we’ve seen live pitching. The other team has already played about 5 games already and they’ve been practicing outside for weeks. We played really well for not being outside prior to the game and for only having 9 girls with us!

I’m so excited - I’m leaving for Ireland in 3 days!!!!!!!  I cannot believe it!!  I’ve always thought about going and now I am!  I leaving Wednesday to drive down to my aunt and uncle’s and then we leave Thursday night! This doesn’t even feel real yet!  I’ll be sure to fill you all in on the happenings when I return!

Entry: 3/21/2007

We just had a meeting March 14th. We discussed some ideas for service projects and some other general things. We have not set a date for our next meeting (to my knowledge).

If you would like to be a part of Leo Club send an email to one of our advisors. We are looking to get 15 members because then we will be charted through the Lions Club and we would be the first college in New York State to do so.

Don Dove -  donrdove@yahoo.com 
Sarah Becker – sarahbecker@mail.sunyjcc.edu
Rick Rupprecht – rickrupprecht@mail.sunyjcc.edu

If you send an email to any of them they will send you more information.I hope to see you at our next meeting!

Riley

Entry: 3/21/2007

Riley, I would like more information about the Leo club. I read about it in your blog on the JCC website. I was part of the Leo club in high school at Allegany-Limestone and I am really glad to hear that the club is meeting at JCC. I would like to know the meeting times and other pertinent information!
Thank you,

Valerie

Entry: 3/20/2007

This week was pretty slow.  I gave a pretty nice speech in public speaking on Thursday.  I talked about declawing cats!  The assignment was to give an informative speech and not many people actually know how cats are declawed so it was pretty interesting to see their reactions.  I really love my public speaking class.  It’s a lot of fun to get up there and speak in front of everyone.  It’s really exciting for me!

Next week I have a meeting with a Transfer Counselor in our Counseling & Career Development Center to discuss the possibility of transferring to San Diego State University and a few other colleges.  I want to find out about the transfer process to San Diego in particular and a lot of other things.  If I really move all the way to California I want to make sure everything works out!

I found out this week that we’re going to New Jersey for a softball tournament! Cross your fingers that we actually get to go this time!  It should be fun.  We’ll leave the 23rd and come back late on the 24th.  I can’t wait!

I’m going to go and apply ice to my face now…I got hit at softball practice!

Entry: 3/14/2007

As you all know, I had been looking forward to my softball tournament but unfortunately, because of the weather it was cancelled!!  They said their fields weren’t playable.  It was a pretty big disappointment!  We are scheduled to play on April 7th but I’ll be in Ireland so I will miss the game!

I’m really excited for Ireland!  Only 2 more weeks to wait!  My sister and I talked for hours yesterday about what we want to do and how excited we are.  I am still kind of in shock that I’m really going!  :-D 

I’ve really started to look at colleges to transfer to lately.  I know I’m not graduating for another year but I want to be prepared.  I have an account at www.FastWeb.com.  It’s a great site to look up scholarships opportunities.  All you have to do is sign up and fill out some of your interests, what majors you might be looking at and what kind of colleges you would want to go to.  I signed up my senior year of high school and found out a lot about different colleges before deciding on JCC.  It also gives you a list of scholarships ranging from local to international.  It even sends you an email to remind you when the deadlines are getting close!

While searching for different colleges I found San Diego State University.  It has every major I’ve ever thought about: public relations, advertising/marketing, international affairs, and the list goes on!  I was pretty excited granted it is really far away but it would be an adventure!  My favorite part about the website is all the information about the colleges it gives you, anything from cost, how many students, majors offered, and even statistics about the college.  I still have a lot of research to do before I decide to move across the United States, but it’s a good option!

Entry: 3/5/2007

This week went by really fast but it was pretty exciting!

The high school boys’ basketball playoffs for section 6 were held at the JCC gym this week.  I didn’t know until the day of the game but my high school team was playing in the semi-final game.  I went and they won!  They played again on Friday at JCC for the championship game. It was really nice to see so many people from Brocton there to support the boys’ team.  One of the things I loved about growing up in Brocton was how much the people there support each other.  We ended up losing the championship game but it was still an amazing game to watch!

Around campus there have been signs telling about a trip to Guatemala. I didn’t really look at them until the other day and now…I’m going on the trip!  It takes place in May for about 15 days.  I will travel to different places in Guatemala while going to classes (and earning 6 college credits!) and I will also be involved in career-related volunteer work.  I’m so excited about this!  I’m really glad to be taking part in this opportunity but it still hasn’t sunk in that I’m really going!  It seems kind of surreal.  I’m just now getting used to the idea that I’m going to Ireland over spring break with my family and now I’m planning a trip with JCC to Guatemala!!

Also, I had my Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society induction ceremony on Saturday. It was a nice ceremony and it’s great to be able to be so proud of something I’ve accomplished after my first semester in college! 

Entry: 2/26/2007

We didn’t have school Monday or Tuesday this week. So it was a pretty short school week.

I’m taking an aerobics class this semester and it is intense. I had 2 knee surgeries in the past year or so, and I wanted to get back in shape like I was before. Right now we’re doing boxing training! It is so much fun. At first I wasn’t so sure about it but now I love it. It’s a really intense work out too. We learned how to hit the heavy bag and the speed bag. It’s a really nice way to work out and take out a bit of stress from the week. We just started this workout 2 weeks ago and I already feel more in shape - it just takes some work to get there!

On Wednesday we had a hypnotist come to the Student Union during activity hour. He chose a few people from the audience and my friend was one of the people he hypnotized! It was probably the funniest thing I’ve seen in a very long time! I think the best part was when the hypnotist made them rap in Japanese – well, what they thought was Japanese! It was crazy!  They stood up and just started rapping like they knew what they were doing! When he woke them up none of them remembered anything! It was ridiculous and absolutely hilarious!

We got more information about our tournament in Maryland for softball! I’m so excited! Our first game is in 2 weeks!!

Entry: 2/17/2007

Another week down! This week was all about good news for me! To start the week I received my Deans’ list certificate. I had known I made it based on my grades last semester but it seems much more official now that I actually have the certificate! Then a few days later I got my acceptance letter to the JCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. It’s a National Honor Society for college students. This is great because it opens up a lot of scholarship opportunities for when it comes time to transfer!

My classes were great this week too. I got a great grade on my history paper which is really good because history… is not my best subject. It’s a really good confidence booster for me!             Then the best news of all came on Wednesday…SNOW DAY! J   It was so nice to be able to relax for the day and catch up on some reading for my classes.

Softball is going pretty well. We’ve had a few practices so far. We got our game schedule and we have a tournament in Maryland the 10^th-11^th of March! I’m very excited!

And to end my week, my weekend with my boyfriend and my friends in Rochester was amazing! Everything was perfect!!! I had a really great time.

This week was great and I really hope things just keep getting better!

Entry: 2/11/2007

This week wasn’t too bad. Nothing really special went on. I had a few tests this week so I pretty much spent my time studying and rereading the chapters. I think I did well on my test so I’m glad. I had to give my first speech in my public speaking class! I really enjoy that class - it’s a lot of fun. It was our introduction speech. We had to talk about something we like to do or something we believe in. It was a pretty broad topic. I talked about growing up in Brocton and how some people think it’s a really horrible place to live but how I absolutely loved it! I think it went over pretty well.

On Saturday I went to the cafeteria to help bake cookies! They’re starting a new club at JCC called the Leo club. It’s really interesting, we do volunteer work for and donate money to different charities. We sold the cookies and are donating the money to the pediatric cancer research center at Roswell Park. We just started the club and we already have a few other things planned for March.

So it’s been a pretty mellow week but I’m definitely looking forward to next weekend!! Two of my friends and I are going to Rochester and we’re going to meet my boyfriend who is in the Navy up there (he’s currently stationed in Virginia). I haven’t seen him in awhile so it’ll be a lot of fun! I just hope this coming week goes by fast!

Entry: 2/6/2007

So this week was interesting. I finally got settled back into my apartment and then it started snowing. It’s not the snow that makes me upset, it’s the freezing cold weather. My apartment has a little problem keeping the warm air in and the cold air out. So this week my project was to get weather stripping for the door and windows and then put it into place. Learning to deal with these problems on my own definitely makes me feel more independent. So now my apartment is a lot warmer and I’m much happier!            

Anyway, this week we had our Winter Welcome. It’s an event that the Student Senate put on to welcome everyone back this semester. It was a lot of fun! They had the rock ensemble play a few songs and the cheerleaders did a routine. Next, they had a lip syncing contest and they had some of the faculty and staff members judge (this was by far my favorite part)! My friend was in it and she “sang” If You’re Not the One by Daniel Bedingfield.  It was hilarious and then she had to do another song as her encore because she ended up winning! After the contest was over we went to the mall to spend her winnings!             

Softball starts next week and I’m pretty excited! My friend from high school is on the team also so it should be a fun season. We have to practice inside for the next month or so because of the snow but we’re trying to raise money to go to North Carolina for a tournament. It would be a lot of fun if we can go!           

I’m really happy with my classes this semester. I’m taking two communication classes which is nice seeing how it is my major. In my public speaking class we have to give our first speech next Tuesday. I’m kind of nervous - not because of being in front of people speaking but because I’m not sure what to write about. I think I’m going to write my first speech (a self introduction) on how much my close friends mean to me and how growing up in Brocton helped me form those relationships. It has potential!?

Well, I should probably get started on that speech…

Entry: 1/23/2007

Hey, my name is Riley. I graduated from Brocton Central School last year.  I was involved in a lot of things in high school. I was on student council, a photographer/writer for our school paper, the president of my class and also honor society. Working on the paper got me involved in journalism and being the president of my class got me interested in public relations so I decided to become a communications major when I went to school.This is my first year at JCC. I’m a full time student which can get a little hectic at times.  It’s so weird to think that this time last year I had no idea what I was going to do after high school but now I’m doing great and I’m happy with the choice I made!  I decided on JCC for many reasons.  I knew I was interested in communications but there are so many different fields within the major so going to JCC let me check out all my options.  Also, I got the USA scholarship that pays for my full tuition which is really helpful!

It’s the second week of the semester so I’m still getting settled back into my apartment after being home over break. It’s so different living on my own.  In addition, classes started last week so now we are really starting to get into the material.  My teachers are all really nice and I’m hoping for another good semester.

We have a lot of different clubs at JCC.  I’m a student ambassador.  We help prospective students get a closer look at JCC by giving tours, sending letters and other things such as this blog.  I’m also trying to win a seat on the student senate which is the student government on campus.  They oversee, approve and plan most of the events on campus, as well as many other things.

Over all it’s been a pretty exciting week and I can’t wait for what might come next week.

Riley

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