BMCC OpenLab | Raquel Neris | Activity

Raquel Neris created the site Afro-Latinx Leadership Alliance

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 21:42:34 -0400

Raquel Neris joined the group BMCC Open Knowledge Commons

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:16:44 -0400

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post Nonlinear journey to teaching in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 18:46:36 -0500

Nonlinear journey to teaching In this episode, Iqra Sheik, from the OpenLab team, interviews Lucas Wissell, a secondary education major at BMCC. Lucas shares […]

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post Why rushing? in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:57:12 -0500

Why rushing? In this episode, Iqra Sheikh, from the Openlab team, interviews Katherine Gerasin, a psychology major at BMCC. Katherine talks […]

Raquel Neris created the site BMCC Voices Podcast

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 11:19:40 -0500

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post The benefits of joining a club in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 23:40:07 -0500

The benefits of joining a club In this episode, Iqra Sheikh, from the Openlab team, interviews Riley and Keba, two engineering students and leaders of the […]

Raquel Neris and Lance Haldeman are now friends

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 23:48:21 -0400

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post Join Season 3 of the BMCC Student Voices Podcast! in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:27:39 -0400

Join Season 3 of the BMCC Student Voices Podcast! Are you in your final year at BMCC? Have you navigated the twists and turns of college life and found a direction that […]

Raquel Neris and Kar Rosen are now friends

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 15:17:27 -0400

Raquel Neris joined the group BMCC 24/7 Book Club

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 15:24:47 -0400

Raquel Neris and Grace are now friends

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:24:06 -0400

Raquel Neris joined the group BMCC 24/7 Book Club

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:42:10 -0400

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Reads: A space to share our love for reading in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 13:00:00 -0400

BMCC Reads: A space to share our love for reading Image credits: jean amaral. BMCC Reads is a community for you to share your love of reading and thoughts about books. […]

Raquel Neris's profile was updated

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:26:54 -0500

Raquel Neris posted a new activity comment

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:14:58 -0500

😀 BMCC students are our true stars!

In reply to - Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 4 – Just Get Involved! in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 4 – Just Get Invol […]

Raquel Neris posted a new activity comment

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 16:14:14 -0500

Thank you, Beatrice!

In reply to - Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 – Making Your Way Through Cinema in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 – M […]

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC OpenLab Student Voices Podcast is now on Audio.com! in the group BMCC Voices Podcast

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 14:00:00 -0500

BMCC OpenLab Student Voices Podcast is now on Audio.com! Exciting news! The BMCC OpenLab Student Voices Podcast is now available on the streaming platform Audio.com. Audio.com […]

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 3 – Finding Angels: Navigating BMCC's Supportive Network in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:38:15 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 3 – Finding Angels: Navigating BMCC's Supportive Network In this episode, Iqra Sheikh interviews Djibrilla Hamani, a Business and Administration Major at BMCC and member of theRead More »

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 2 – Resilience and Transformation in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:35:32 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 2 – Resilience and Transformation In this episode, Raquel Neris interviews Alan Cata, a BMCC graduate, a member of the Out in Two Program, and a shining example of resilience and transformation. Alan Cata’s Interview Interview highlights Check out more information about organizations that Alan mentions in his interview: Out In Two Program UMLA Phi Tetha Kappa Honor Society National Society of Leadership and Success Achievers Transcripts Raquel: WELCOME TO OPENLAB STUDENT VOICES, THE PODCAST WHERE WE AMPLIFY THE STORIES AND EXPERIENCES OF OUR BMCC COMMUNITY. I’M YOUR HOST, RAQUEL NERIS, AND TODAY, WE HAVE A GUEST WHOSE JOURNEY IS VERY INSPIRATIONAL. HIS NAME IS ALAN CATA, A BMCC GRADUATE, A MEMBER OF THE OUT IN TWO PROGRAM, AND A SHINING EXAMPLE OF RESILIENCE AND TRANSFORMATION. LET’S LISTEN TO HIS STORY. __ Raquel: Thank you so much for being here and collaborating in our OpenLab for Students community and also podcast. Uh, the idea today is for you to share about your story as a BMCC student and also as a member of the Out in Two program. So let’s get started. Please share your story as a BMCC student, why did you come to BMCC? Alan: Um, long story short, my journey coming to BMCC started about maybe a year or two before I came to BMCC. I was actually in Sing Sing Correctional Facility, and I was like at the very end of a 20 year prison sentence. And I actually, um, started to correspond with an organization stationed in John Jay College, uh, known as college initiative. After my release from Sing Sing Correctional Facility on August 10th, 2000 and basically a month later, um, college initiative pretty much filled out all my paperwork that got me accepted in CUNY, had to start with remedial classes, which I think they recently removed from BMCC. It was the CUNY Start program. It was the Summer semester I started in BMCC, which was the semester right before they opened up, uh, the BMCC for in-person classes. So I started off the first semester as a freshman of the Summer of 2021. When the semester opened. I mean, when the campus opened for in-person classes by the Fall semester 2021 I was one of the first picks for the bash ambassadors to work with public health and safety. Um, yeah, so that was the first in-person semester where I did five classes. I had one of the highest GPAs, of 4.0. I actually was requested by UMLA to join. Um, and I actually was the one that revamped and revitalized, uh, the clubs for UMLA. I became the first, um, person to retake, uh, the president’s spotter, their club, known as the National Society of Black Student Scholars. And I also helped restart the UMLA Club, which is the other club for UMLA. That semester. I also was given my first invitation, Phi Theta Kappa Society, which I didn’t actually join right away. It was the next semester I joined Phi, the De Kaa Society. Um, I think it was the same year that I joined Phi Theta Kappa Society. I was in also inducted into the Out in Two program, um, through, uh, her name is, uh, Maria Ramirez. Raquel: Yes. Alan: Who became, yes, who became my new academic advisor, who also is the one that wanted me to participate the podcast. She was looking for somebody to do it. And um, yeah, I just pretty much did accomplishment after accomplishment. I mean, I definitely had a rough last two semesters, mental breakdown and all that. Probably at one point version of suicide. Uh, but I’m a very resilient person, and pretty much. I made Out in Two look good, I made Phi Theta Kappa Society look good. I ended up becoming an impact mentor as well as a delegate for the National Society of Leadership and Success. And I’m, now I looked at my degree works this morning and I’m an official graduate. Raquel: Wow. Congratulations. Congratulations. You have an amazing journey and wow. I’m, I wasn’t expecting to, to listen to this amazing story. I’m very impressed and now I understand why Maria said you need to have Alan in your podcast. Uh, I wanted you to, if possible, talk a little bit more about the Out In Two program. Uh, like what is the goal of this program? Alan: Well, first of all, not everybody could get in the Out in Two program. There’s different organizations and, and, and, and BMCC that not everybody could get in. Um, that would like Kappa Society. Not everybody could get in there. National Society of Leadership and Success, not everybody could get in here. There, Achievers, you gotta have a 4.0, so definitely everybody can’t get in there. It’s a requirement for our Out in Two students to get their associates within two years max. Out in Two, you’re required to make sure you fulfill the criteria of getting your associates in two years. So it’s definitely a motivational program. If you are a person that doesn’t wanna stagnate or digress, Out in Two is gonna push you. And with that they’ll like to open the doors. They have a, they pretty much, um, give you, uh, $1,600 grant every semester. Not every year. Every semester they fund people with $1,600 grants. And, um, pretty much they open doors. I think everybody in Out in Two pretty much passes and graduates. Raquel: How many, how many members do you have right now at this, in this program? Alan: You know, um, I can’t give you a number, but I have to get that from Maria. But we’re, we’re a small group, cause like I said, we have a high GPA standard. I mean, this is not saying that a person has to be a genius to get in it. I mean, I’m a person that did 20 years in prison, but saying is if you are a person that wants to strive for greatness, You’re gonna end up in Out in Two. It just, it just goes hand in hand. I mean, certain things, everyone’s like, part of almost every album, two members also Phi Theta Kappa Society, like the president for Phi Theta Kappa Society was also one of Maria, uh, Ramirez’s, people that she was a advisor for. The thing is, is is like as an undergrad, um, a lot of times you’re not pushed the way other colleges gonna push you. Like when you get to like your Hunters, your Baruchs, your NYUs, your Columbias, whatever, you’re gonna get pushed to another level. Like then you’re not gonna have time to slack and digress. Raquel: Yes, of course. And as you’re a part of a group, a selected group, and everyone is focused, everyone has to achieve this, uh, this high level quality of production of having success and maintaining a pattern of a high standard. Alan: And these things is like no one should be insecure thinking they can’t do it. __ Raquel: ALAN’S TRANSFORMATION FROM INCARCERATION TO BECOMING A BMCC GRADUATE AND MEMBER OF THE OUT IN TWO PROGRAM IS TRULY INSPIRING. ALAN’S MESSAGE ABOUT STRIVING FOR GREATNESS, OVERCOMING FEARS, AND THE POWER OF AUTHENTICITY IS A VALUABLE LESSON FOR US ALL. IT’S A REMINDER THAT EDUCATION AND RESILIENCE CAN LEAD TO REMARKABLE PERSONAL GROWTH. NEXT, ALAN SHARES HOW NETWORKING WAS FUNDAMENTAL FOR HIM TO PURSUE HIS DREAMS. __ Alan: I basically had a rough two semesters on a mental level. Um. Unfortunately, the mental breakdown, I stopped attending many meetings on all levels, but when I was going to meetings, it’s a roughly like. Of every family type of group, you know, a small group, family group, everyone smiles and encouragement and praise. Everybody’s pretty much uplifting each other. No one’s better than no one. Everybody’s on equal grounds. That goes for the students as well as the academic advisors. Um, everybody’s pushing each other for greatness. Everyone’s given praise and accommodations to everyone else. And, um, like I said, pretty much that. That group is also associated with many other groups, Achievers, um, Phi Theta Kappa Society, National Society, Leadership Success, uh, Impact Peer Mentoring. So yeah, it’s definitely like one thing I learned about college and especially going to, uh, groups like Al Suez. The main thing I get from the guy from college is the ability to network. But what I’m saying is, um, That, um, like is, I learned one thing I did get out that I didn’t know how to do before I went to college in BMCC or before I met people like Maria Ramirez. I didn’t know like the, the purpose of networking or how to network. And that’s something I definitely learned how to do because one door opens another door Raquel: Yeah, absolutely. What are your, uh, plans for the future now that you’re graduate? Alan: Well, I’m actually already a Pre-Law student in Hunter already. My major will be Political Science. My minor will be, uh, I think it was Legal Studies. Also, I’m gonna be a student for German courses that I was already offered the German course cuz they’d seen I was looking for law. And basically German, the German language and law for whatever reason go together. I wouldn’t know why, because actually most law legal language is Latin, but they say it’s good to learn German when you go to law school. So yeah, I’m, I’m actually practicing going for be a pre-law student. So there was an individual that was incarcerated on Rikers Island. He was a felon and he somehow overstepped the bounds and had got a law degree and actually passed the bar even though he was a felon. And that actually went to many courts, and this was years back. The rapper 50 cents had made a show about it about less than10 years ago. But the case was older than that. But anyway, as of, I think it was like five years ago. 47 states in America, felons could actually practice law. Of course, it’s harder for us to pass the bar because we literally gotta get more references than the average person would. And my thing is I love to defy the norms. So I already defied the norms. I literally was institutionalized more than half my life. I come from a street culture, gang affiliated gang leader. Um, and I pretty much overstepped the bounds of expectations of society. I went from a gang leader to a convict to a person before I was even a convict, was doing time in juvenile detention. So a person that became under BMCC, top students, uh, no street size, no gang affiliation. My way of defining the norms is I actually wanted to become the first felon to become a district attorney. So I plan do be a prosecutor. I don’t plan to challenge, um, any officers. I’m actually a Republican actually, so I actually support police, I support prisons, all that. Just bec I’m not the person I was yesterday, so I don’t think like the person I am yesterday, I’d tell kids that if you know something, corroborate with the police, it’s the right thing to do. I could honestly say if i didn’t go to prison, I probably would’ve been worse than I was before I went to prison. That’s me as a person. That was them yesterday. So yeah, I speak as a person. I don’t really sympathize with anyone that breaks the law. So I’m very much a promoter of the law and I could easily prosecute a person to sleep at night. I wouldn’t be able to defend a person that I knows that’s going to do worse tomorrow. __ Raquel: DESPITE FACING TOUGH TIMES AND MENTAL CHALLENGES, ALAN FOUND SUPPORT IN THE BMCC COMMUNITY. HIS JOURNEY FROM A TROUBLED PAST TO BECOMING A PRE-LAW STUDENT WITH THE GOAL OF BECOMING A DISTRICT ATTORNEY IS AMAZING. HIS WORDS SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT PERSONAL GROWTH AND CHANGE ARE POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE WILLING TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS AND CHALLENGE THEIR PAST. AT LAST, ALAN SHARES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BMCC STUDENTS. __ Alan: Most people in existence are scared to be themselves for whatever reason, because most of the time, we always thinking about what other people are thinking. Oh, How were they? How were they? We we’re, we’re trying to be a part of something. Everyone wants to be a part of something. Everybody wants to be accepted by someone or a group. Um, it starts before the childhood. We do things to please our parents and be accepted by, and loved by our parents. Then we go to school, we wanna be accepted by our peers and our teachers. It is just a, it is just something that, that, that starts and, and, and what I call that as wearing a mask. Most of us wear masks. And once you are one with yourself and one with the universe, the universe is yours for the taken. Um, one thing I learned when I was in prison, it runs, of course, my mind more than ever, is the five watches and it went, watch your thoughts, your thoughts become your words. Watch your words, your words become your actions. Watch your actions. Your actions. Become your habits. Watch your habits. Your habits. Become your character and watch. Your character becomes, your character, becomes your destiny. Your. Wins and failures is all starts with your thoughts. If you think you’re gonna win, you’re gonna win. If you think you’re gonna fail, you’re gonna fail. It only takes a little doubt and you’re failing. Um, I became a great fighter, not cause I was the biggest guy. I became a great fighter. Not because I was not scared. I’m actually scared a lot of times of a lot of people and a lot of things. The thing is, is I always challenge my fears. I, the, my biggest fear is to be scared of anything. So therefore, rather than stay scared and run away from something, I run into it. I mean, that’s how you get over phobias. If you’re scared of heights, what you gotta do, you gotta go to a high place and get over your fear heights. Raquel: Get over it. Yes. As long as you move away from your fears, you’re always gonna be scared of something. Alan: Yeah. Um, so, um, and really, if I could go back, I probably wouldn’t have committed a crime at all, but, um, I don’t dwell on the past. What’s done is done. All I could do is move forward. But the point I’m making is that a lot of kids could avoid the consequences I faced or the consequences some other people faced. So a lot of people are dead though. I mean, so a lot of people didn’t believe I was gonna live to 21. Here I am about to turn 44. Um, the point is, is that. I don’t, I’m not sitting here speaking as I’m better than anyone. Actually, what I’m saying is a lot of kids could be better than me, cuz the thing is, is that I had to become 40 years old or older to become a man. A lot of the people that’s probably listening to this are in their teens or twenties. So rather than take this as me schooling you or belittling you just take this as the key to become better than me because you’re still a kid in many ways. You’re not even an adult, fully, mentally until you’re 25. Take that and basically run with it and become the next president of the United States. Whatever you want to be, the world is yours for the take. Just be yourself and the world’s gonna come to you. Don’t go to the world. Raquel: Alan, thank you so much for your contribution to this podcast. Your story is very inspiring and I hope to see you soon and I hope that, actually, I’m certain that this episode is going to inspire many BMCC students, so thank you so much. Alan: You’re welcome. __ Raquel: THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US ON THIS PODCAST EPISODE FEATURING ALAN CATA AND ME, RAQUEL NERIS. IN OUR CONVERSATION, ALAN’S SHARED AN UPLIFTING JOURNEY FROM INCARCERATION TO EMBARKING ON A PRE-LAW EDUCATION. HE ALSO GAVE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT AUTHENTICITY, CONFRONTING FEARS, AND ASPIRING TO GREATNESS. HIS STORY PROVIDES INSIGHT AND MOTIVATION FOR ANYONE WHO FINDS THEMSELVES ON THEIR JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION. THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR SECOND SEASON CALLED MAKING MORE OF YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE, IN WHICH WE FOCUS ON HOW JOINING BMCC INITIATIVES, SUCH AS CLUBS AND PROGRAMS, CAN HELP STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US AND, IF POSSIBLE. YOUR EXPERIENCES IN OUR PODCAST. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I WILL SEE YOU IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE OPENLABRead More »Episode 2# – Resilience and Transformation

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 – Making Your Way Through Cinema in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:33:20 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 2, Episode 1 – Making Your Way Through Cinema We are starting season two, called Making more of your college experience. In this episode, Iqra Sheik interviews Jasmine, aRead More »

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 5 – Creating a Community as an ESL Student in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:30:41 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 5 – Creating a Community as an ESL Student Is being an ESL student a problem to create a community at BMCC? What are the programs and resources that can help? In this podcast episode, Luis Garcia, a Psychology major from Honduras, shares about how BMCC supported him in improving his English proficiency and how he managed to avoid isolation by using campus resources. Luis Garcia Interview for the Student Voices Podcast Interview highlights Check out more information about the resources that Luis recommends in his interview: BMCC CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP) BMCC Fitness Center Interview transcripts Raquel: WELCOME TO STUDENT VOICES, A PODCAST THAT PRESENTS INSPIRING STORIES OF BMCC STUDENTS. THIS SEASON, WE ARE LAUNCHING A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. IN THIS EPISODE, IQRA SHEIK, FROM THE OPENLAB TEAM, INTERVIEWS LUIS GARCIA, A STUDENT FROM HONDURAS THAT JOINED BMCC TO STUDY PSYCHOLOGY. IN THIS INTERVIEW, LUÍS GARCIA SHARES ABOUT HOW BMCC SUPPORTED HIM IN IMPROVING HIS ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND HOW HE MANAGED TO AVOID ISOLATION BY USING CAMPUS RESOURCES. NO MORE OF ME TALKING. LET’S GO TO LUIS’ STORY. ___ Iqra: I am going to do a quick introduction. My name is Iqra. I am the Student Outreach College Assistant for the Openlab. I am here with…? You can introduce yourself. Luis: Hi, my name is Luis, Luis Garcia. Some people call me Lucio, that means Luis in so many countries in Latin America, and my major is Psychology and, yeah, I really like this major. Iqra: Nice. Cool. So, yeah, I’m going to get started with the questions. So, why BMCC? Why did you choose this school out of all the CUNY’s? Luis: Well, I remember I started to go to BRONX community College in 2020, in the beginning of 2020, and than the pandemic came, everything closed, so it was hard to continue learning English, all this stuff. And then I got an email from BMCC where it said I could be part of this college, so I applied and here I am. Iqra: Yeah that’s cool. The next question that I had is, “do you feel connected to the school? Like, do you have a routine here? Like, do you just come to school or do you do other things at school? Are you part of any projects or student clubs that you are involved in? Do you have your group of friends that you can just come to, when you come to school? Or do you feel isolated, do you just come to school to come to school? Luis: Well I remember my first semester was…I was kinda isolated because I didn’t know almost anyone. I’m gonna be honest, I’m super shy at talking to people. At the half of the semester, the last semester, I started to talk to more people during my free time and go talk to them and have a good time. Also I go to the gym here. There’s a fitness center here. Iqra: Oh Yeah. That can be fun. Luis: Yeah it is…it is. Iqra: I used to go to the gym here and it is so cool. Because it’s like downstairs on the same floor as the pools, you know? And the basketball courts. Yeah. When I used to go to BMCC, my favorite spot was to go to the gym. I also was very alone here, I felt isolated but, there were things that I used like the library, or the gym, or the writing center. So, when did you transfer to BMCC? Like, when did you come here? Luis: Well, my first semester here at campus was last year, in the fall semester of last year, as I went to CLIP in 2021, in Fall. Iqra: What’s CLIP? Luis: CLIP is a language program to improve the English, to improve writing, reading, and critical thinking in English. So, I went there for two semesters, Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. So the instructor helped me learn my English, so.. Iqra: In order to come to BMCC. Yeah. My friend Danny, well, Chang Min, he was a foreign student from Korea and he did Kingsborough, but he had to do this language part of KIngsborough in order to begin his associates. Yeah, I feel like that was brutal to do that because you don’t get any credits for doing that, right? Luis: Yeah, you don’t get any credits. Iqra: But I guess you are gaining something by learning the language, you know? Like, you get to just enhance it more? You know? Which is good because it can probably help you. I have spoken English my whole life and I am still terrible at it. [LAUGHTER] — Raquel: CLIP STANDS FOR CUNY LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAM, AND THEY OFFER ESL STUDENTS INTENSIVE INSTRUCTION IN ALL ENGLISH SKILLS. AS LUIS MENTIONED, THEY HELP IN READING AND WRITING, AND THEIR GOAL IS TO HELP STUDENTS GET PREPARED FOR CREDIT-BEARING COLLEGE COURSES. BMCC CLIP CLASSES ARE LOCATED HARLEM. THE REQUIREMENTS TO ATTEND CLIP ARE: BEING A FRESHMAN OR TRANSFER STUDENT FROM BMCC (OR FROM ANOTHER CUNY COLLEGE) WHO DIDN’T PASS THE CUNY TESTS BECAUSE ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE; AND HAVING A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ESL DEPARTMENT OR FROM A COUNSELOR. IF YOU ARE AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT WITH A STUDENT VISA, YOU MUST GO TO THE BLIIS PROGRAM INSTEAD, WHICH STANDS FOR BMCC LANGUAGE IMMERSION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. —- Iqra: So, are there any changes that you’d like to see here at BMCC? Luis: Probably…when they do events… Iqra: You want there to be more events here? Luis: No, like, when they do events, they do it at the same time. Like, when they do an event… let’s say there’s an event at 2pm here at the Main Building and in the Murray and there’s probably something going on in Fitterman…. It’s kind of hard… Iqra: You want there to be more events or you don’t? Luis: I would like to have events but at the same time. Like, but to schedule it in. Iqra: Oh, yeah, because they cram it in. Yeah, like club crawl…and, yeah…well, Wednesdays there are the club hours. Luis: Yeah. Iqra: So, okay, one last remark to make BMCC a better college is to not have all the events at one same day. There’s just too much to handle like that. Ah, ok, so, thank you so much for your time, Luis. It was a pleasure. I’m glad that you wanted to do this because, you know, you said earlier that it was hard to meet people, but, you know, you are doing this, and this is pretty bouldzy. You know, like, you are getting out to this isolation, and you are participating. You are doing as much as you can. —- Raquel: IN THIS INTERVIEW, LUIS OVERCAME HIS SHYNESS AND TALKED ABOUT HIS CHALLENGES IN CREATING A COMMUNITY AT BMCC AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT AND ENGLISH LEARNER. HE ALSO POINTED OUT THAT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THE CAMPUS RESOURCES, SUCH AS THE FITNESS CENTER, IS A GOOD WAY TO MAKE FRIENDS, RELAX AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. FURTHERMORE, HE SHARED THAT HAVING DIFFICULTIES IN CREATING A COMMUNITY IS NOT DUE TO THE LACK OF EVENTS. ON THE CONTRARY, BMCC OFFERS MANY EVENTS, BUT SOMETIMES THEY OVERLAP, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE THEY SHOULD ATTEND. THIS COMMENT PROVIDES A VALUABLE INSIGHT FOR DEPARTMENTS AND PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE THEIR COMMUNICATION AND PLANNING. THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR PODCAST SERIES ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS INTERVIEW, AND PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US. YOU ARE ALSO INVITED TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN THIS PODCAST. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I AM RAQUEL NERIS FROM THE OPENLRead More »BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 5 – Creating a Community as an ESL student

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 4 – Just Get Involved! in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:28:41 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 4 – Just Get Involved! Are you taking the best of your two-year college experience or are you taking for granted this opportunity? In this episode,Read More »

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 3 – Adapting to a New Life as an International Student in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:26:21 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 3 – Adapting to a New Life as an International Student What are the challenges that international students face when starting their BMCC journey? In this podcast episode, Cindy Pierre, a nursing major from Haiti, shares about how she overcame her challenges to achieve her dreams. Cindy Pierre Interview for the Student Voices Podcast Interview transcripts Raquel: WELCOME TO STUDENT VOICES, A PODCAST THAT PRESENTS INSPIRING STORIES OF BMCC STUDENTS. THIS SEASON, WE ARE LAUNCHING A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. IN THIS EPISODE, IQRA SHEIK, FROM THE OPENLAB TEAM, INTERVIEWS CINDY PIERRE, A NURSING MAJOR FROM HAITI THAT CAME TO NEW YORK RIGHT BEFORE THE 2020 LOCKDOWN. CINDY’S STORY IS INSPIRING, SPECIALLY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS GETTING STARTED IN THEIR BMCC JOURNEY. LET’S LISTEN TO HER STORY. ___ Iqra: We can start off with a brief introduction with who you are. So if you want to introduce yourself… Cindy: Oh yes, definitely! My name is Cindy Saintine Pierre. Married and twenty-seven years old. I’ve been in BMCC since January 2020 actually I mean 2021…2022 yeah because I came here in 2020 and one very funny fact is that I used to be a radio presenter back in my country so when I received this message, I was like oh it’s some opportunity to like to you know-to get a mic… but yeah, I think that’s pretty all. I’m waiting to get into the Nursing program so that I can become a nurse umm maybe for like four to five, eight years. And after that I will do what I really want to do. Iqra: Nice. Yea I saw from your instagram that…are you an artist? Cindy: I am not an artist. What do you mean by that? Is it because of my artwork? Iqra: Yea…yea your Instagram is filled with artwork …so Cindy: I do like-I do love artworks but I am not an artist myself. I get them from Haitian artists. Iqra: Okay. So you’re a collector. Cindy: Exactly. Iqra: Ok you’re a collector. Now I understand. Cindy: Hahaha yea. Iqra: Umm…okay umm…so why BMCC? Why did you choose BMCC and why are you declaring your major to be nursing? If you want to share that. Cindy: Of course. Umm…BMCC was not my idea, it was my husband’s idea because he lives here in the States and I came here back in 2020. So I spent like one year at home with the Pandemic. But he loved BMCC. He was way more excited than I was actually. He loved the school. He was like “you’re gonna love this school…I know you’re an outspoken person, you’re gonna love it”. That was his idea because he had a cousin that went to BMCC, but so far it is good. It is great for me. But I was scared in the first place because back in time I didn’t know English and I’m still learning. And people at home, they speak Creole-Haitain creole all the time. They don’t speak English. For my first class, I had an asynchronous chemistry class. Haha, and then I learned what asynchronous was on the first day, I learned that I would have to learn everything by myself then just come to school for the lab. And I was like, I don’t speak English. How am I going to do that? And since I made it happen, I was like “ok, then I can do whatever I want. If I did this, I can pull off everything that I want to”. And this is why I decided to do nursing. And I also want to do nursing so I need to give back to my community back in Haiti and I really need to create a community. And I think that they need help in the healthcare system so maybe if I do nursing here or public health and things like that I can go back home from time to time to help people, to train and to raise awareness about health in the country. Yea. Iqra: That’s awesome. Cindy: Mhmm. Iqra: You’re like a superwoman. Cindy: I am, I am. __ Raquel: IN CINDY’S EXPERIENCE, WE CAN NOTICE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FACE WHEN STARTING AN ACADEMIC JOURNEY AT BMCC. IN ADDITION TO QUICKLY EVOLVING HER ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ADAPTING TO NEW LEARNING METHODS, CINDY OVERCAME THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OF ALL: LEAVING BEHIND HER FEARS AND HAVING SELF-CONFIDENCE. WE CAN ALSO SEE HOW THE IMPACT OF HAVING A CLEAR PLAN FOR THE FUTURE GAVE CINDY CLARITY ABOUT HER DAY-TO-DAY DECISIONS. LET’S ALSO REMEMBER THAT CINDY CAME A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN. THINGS WERE HARD AT THAT TIME, SPECIALLY FOR INTERNATIONALS WAITING FOR PAPERS TO BE RELEASED. ___ Cindy: I didn’t have any friend. I didn’t have anybody. And I sped one, almost two years waiting for my paper because I came here with a VISA fiancée, so they give you the VISA at home, then you get married within 3 months following you come in here in the US, and then after that they start sending you your Social Security Number, work paper so you can work, while you are waiting for your official paper, like a Green Card. But guess what, I came here on February 13th, two weeks later we got the lock down. So I spent one and a half years at home. So once I got my green card I was like “no. I’m going…im going to school.” Even if I have to go like tomorrow i’m going to school … which school can take me now…what is the process? My husband was like “go to BMCC. I love it. I have a cousin that goes there, she loves it. So I think you’re going to like it because of the community.” And then the spot because it’s right in the middle of Manhattan and I only had to take like 1 train. And I didn’t know that much about New York city so I had to take one train that goes very close to campus…that was the ideal for me back in time. Iqra: So it was just convenient…? Cindy: Convenient, yes. Iqra: You mentioned something about community. Do you feel that BMCC has a community there? Like do you feel that you belong? Cindy: I do. I do. Not totally but I do. I really appreciate the effort that students are making at BMCC to make everybody feel…you know…to give the best that they can about the experience at the school. Cindy: But I don’t think there’s a haitian community. This is one thing I would like to work on maybe this upcoming semester since I’m going to have less classes. Iqra: So what advice can you give to students enrolling into BMCC? Or those thinking about coming to BMCC? Cindy: For BMCC you don’t need to have it all figured out. You know exactly what you’re going through. I think when people are coming to BMCC, I think the first thing you should do is know what state you are in…what is your position…are you still looking for what you really want to do…do you know what you want to do…are you open to changes? Once you know these kinds of things, you know exactly which people you should get around you because this is very important. Cindy: Something that I saw that was very overwhelming for some students…in the beginning is you have a lot of offers… a lot of clubs… a lot to do for your first semester so pay attention to that. You really analyze the offer that you have and decide how you’re going to umm…you-know organize your time to know if you’re going to be part of this or part of that. And also about the classes…when people are choosing classes, I don’t think people should…even if you are an advisor… I think the question I would like someone to tell me to ask in my first semester is “what does this class will require in terms of effort, in terms of time” For the past semester I had biology and I know that biology is a lot and since English is definitely not my native language… I’ve been speaking this language for only two years and I was like ok…I’m going to be dealing with the language itself and the biological term so that’s going to be a double effort for me as an immigrant. Iqra: I’ve definitely gone through something like that…like in my first years of college which was at BMCC…I took fifteen credits and I just took as many classes as I could and I couldn’t handle it. All of them were so different and hard all at the same time that my mind was everywhere all at this…you know… Cindy: Exactly…and it can make you doubt yourself. Like what you are, what can you do, what can you actually—it can be very…like overwhelming. So I think every decision that people make in BMCC, go with what you have and go with what you need and the way you know. Not what other students are doing…not what works for previous students but what do you have…where are you, and where do you need to get to where you want to—to where you want to be… Iqra: To me this also sounds like a lot of … like the advice to me sounds like when someone says don’t compare yourself to someone else you know…because you have to figure out how you can work and what is best for you. ___ Raquel: IN CINDY’S STORY, WE COULD LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN ADAPTING TO A NEW LIFE AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AT BMCC. WE COULD ALSO SEE HOW FOCUS AND GRIT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN ACHIEVING SUCCESS. THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR PODCAST SERIES ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS INTERVIEW, AND PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US. YOU ARE ALSO INVITED TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN OUR PODCAST. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I AM RARead More »BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 3 – Adapting to a new life as an international student

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 2 – Making Connections by Exploring Spaces in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:23:49 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 2 – Making Connections by Exploring Spaces How has the COVID-19 Pandemic affected the learning experience of BMCC students? What are the outcomes of exploring BMCC campuses and their surroundings? What are the benefits of diversity in a class environment? In this podcast episode, Brian Ortiz, a jazz and pop major and creator of the Universe of Music at BMCC community, discusses these and other relevant topics. Brian Ortiz Interview for the Student Voices Podcast Interview highlights Check out more information about the resources that Brian recommends in his interview: BMCC Associate of Science (A.S.) degree program in Music Brian Ortiz on Instagram Interview transcripts Raquel: WELCOME TO STUDENT VOICES, A PODCAST THAT PRESENTS AWESOME STORIES OF BMCC STUDENTS. IN THIS SEASON, WE ARE LAUNCHING A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. IN THIS EPISODE, IQRA SHEIK, FROM THE OPENLAB TEAM, INTERVIEWS BRIAN ORTIZ. BRIAN IS A TALENTED JAZZ AND POP MAJOR, SONGWRITER, DANCER AND GUITAR PLAYER. NO MORE TALKING, LET’S JUMP TO HIS INTERVIEW. ___ Iqra: Let’s start off with who you are, what school you go to, which is, we already know what school but, let’s just start out with that. Brian: Hello world, welcome to anyone who sees this in the near future which probably, hopefully a lot of people Brian Ortiz here. I go to BMCC, I’m 22 years old. I’malso a Music major if anyone needs to know yeah there is that. Iqra: Ok, alright. In a few sentences, how would you describe yourself? And share your greatest interests and one fun fact about yourself. Brian: In a few sentences, how I would describe myself… I would say I’m a very caring and protective person, especially when it comes to friends and family. In any way whatsoever, I’m very caring. I’m also very open to listening, I’m like a POV. I always hear it from two stories, I don’t take one side or the other. It’s always both ways. Hum… and yeah, I would say that I’m pretty considerate towards others. Hum… how do I share my interests… well, if you go through my Instagram, it’s all I can literally do at the moment is to just take the camera, sit in front of the camera and sing in front of the camera Yeah… that’s what I do, I’m an open book, so I just share a lot in the world for people to see, and you know, it’s fun. I love it. And some people, some people like it, some people don’t, you know. If they don’t, that’s them, I’m just living life to the fullest and as long as I’m happy, it’s all I can ever ask for. It’s all we can ever do on this planet, it’s just to be happy for what we got and with the time that we have. What was the last question again? Iqra: And share one fun fact about yourself. Brian: Umm, fun fact… I have never ever tasted, what was the one thing… actually, no, this is gonna shock everybody… I can’t— I’m allergic to chocolate. Like, I can’t eat chocolate, any piece of chocolate. I cannot. I will die in front of you. Literally. Iqra: Wow. So that’s a fun fact. Brian: Yeah. Iqra: That’s a very ironic fun fact! [laughter]. Iqra: What led you to enroll into BMCC? Like, why BMCC? Brian: Well, when I was obviously searching to colleges in high school, which was in 2019– 2018 because I was junior, 18 years old… I was looking for something… music. I always wanted to be in a music major, and schools that were, well, you know, they were very expensive, there was SUNY, and I was, no, I can’t. We gotta start very small. And not a lot of CUNYs have open doors for music that I know of… that I knew of at that time. Cause I was in highschool full of athleticism, and academics… and that was just not me. Ahn… obviously, academics, I was pretty smart, but I wasn’t as smart as all the other brainiacs but… I knew music was my thing. I knew creativity was a part of me and will always be a part of me and that was something I wanted to explore more out into the world, share more out into the world, and I’m glad that I took that step, because I kept searching and searching until I found here, and I was like, oh! Something small, something simple, and the music program is great in BMCC. Like, it’s fantastic, you know, this is the first step, and I’ll just keep going from there. I know this is going to be a start of a wonderful journey. And it has been, it has been wonderful. Besides the pandemic, that’s when I had to like shut it down and then… I was like, I can’t come back to the school because I can’t focus doing this… like what we were doing online…you know, it’s hard to receive information and process it. And, you know, it’s better to be in person to do that than over the phone… Brian: I mean, like, learning wize. Like, learning wize, like, things that we needed to learn and could’t really do. A keyboard, like a keyboard class, we had a keyboard class. I couldn’t go and buy a keyboard for a small apartment in the Bronx and then expect to find a place to put it away and I was like yea no i’m going to end up failing all my classes. I just dropped it and I came back when school reopen and we did hybrid and then, you know what, I’m gonna do the same thing. And then I did it. So I came back 2021, 2020… 2021 basically. Iqra: Yeah, like, when COVID, I was still at BMCC, and that was in 2019, right? Brian: Yeah… No, it was in the beginning of 2020, because I was in the spring semester of 2020 when that occurred. I remember 2019, because in 2019, I had literally just been fresh out highschool, so… __ Raquel: THE COVID PANDEMIC IMPOSED REAL CHALLENGES, SPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. IQRA REMINDS US OF THE THINGS THAT SHE EXPERIENCED DURING 2020, A STORY THAT REPRESENTS WHAT MANY OF US HAD TO GO THROUGH. __ Iqra: Oh, yeah. 2020 I was still at BMCC, and, ah… I remember when COVID, you know, when it was in the news, I didn’t think much of it, and then later I got to a point where I had to take classes online and it was hard. Definitely, at some points, I felt like I wasn’t even learning, I was just writing just to write and to get by and not, you know, but hum… I changed, like, I look at it now, and I’m like, I did try my best, you know, and everyone was going through such a hard time, you know, especially, like, the schooling system, like… my little brother who was five at the time, his school was online. Everyone was going through such a hard time, and… ugh, yeah… Anyways, just saying that I totally agree with you, it was like, being super hard to, like, feel like you’re in school when its all online. Hum… but, oh yes, I wanted to ask, like, so what kind of music, like, is that the right answer to ask like, a music major, what kind of music do you make, or, like, what kind of instrument do you play, or… Brian: Yeah, yeah, there are lots of different players of instruments here. There are piano players, guitar players, clarinet players, trumpet players, the list will go on, I’m gonna stop there. Iqra: What do you fit? Brian: My main instrument is voice, and I do play a little bit of guitar, because I do have guitar classes here. By the way, if anyone from BMCC is watching this, and you are a psych major or just letting you know that if you want to learn an instrument as an elective, take Guitar 101 or 102, for music, very important. Just saying, if you want to learn an instrument, you wanna learn guitar, that’s the class for you. 101 and 102. Iqra: So, could anyone just enroll into those classes? Brian: Yeah, it’s an elective. Iqra: Wow. I wish I knew that when I was a student. — Raquel: AT THIS POINT, BRIAN ALSO SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE IN ATTENDING CLASSES IN PERSON. HIS CURIOSITY WAS KEY TO LEVERAGE HIS LEARNING JOURNEY AT BMCC. — Brian: You’re lucky you didn’t meet me. I was like the guy… I was the guy… anyone who can do knows me, hangs out with me and will tell you: “This kid knows the buildings inside and out.” And I did it since 2019. When I first arrived, freshman year, I was curious, I was in Manhattan by myself… “I was like, for the grace of God, I was like, wait, I’m alone in the world, finally.” And So I said, I’m gonna take it by myself to explore the city… in doing so I explored the buildings, I found shortcuts to get to spots in the building, I would make different routes to myself to get around the buildings. Chambers, Fitterman, Murray, all that … so basically now I’m a walking tour guide, for anyone new coming in. And it’s fun, it is fun. And then I would go out to different places in the city near the school, and I would find, like, there is a bagel shop here. Oooh, there is Chinatown, not so far from here… like you can even walk to the Brooklyn Bridge, and I found so many cool places, and I was like, you know what, I will stay here forever. But not, not the school, but like, near the area. Yeah, there’s that… Iqra: Ok, I’m gonna get my other questions. Do you feel connected to the school? Does BMCC give you that college experience you want? Yea… you’re nodding your head yes. Brian: Yes, hundred percent. I mean obviously in the beginning not because you’re fresh out of high school and you’re still feeling like a child. So kind of had those child-like tendencies—to act like one. But then later on, you get a little older and you start to processes things a lot more easier. You start to see things for how they really are and you’re like wow this is how it is to be an adult—you know coming out into the world. You gotta come out here, I know leaving the house all the time, I gotta come out here with a certain amount of money because if not, i’m not eating for the day…um…you know you learn different things, you learn to read people, perceive people, that’s one thing. You learn to-how to move around you know alone in life which I don’t think a lot of people do-can do nowadays, especially now the youngsters nowadays being behind the computer they don’t-you know they don’t really go out to perceive the world and it’s fun to do that. It’s fun to go out and to see the people who are well attended and who are not. It’s fun to learn that. Iqra: So you’re saying because you had the experience of attending BMCC in person, you gained a lot of value from that. You know you learned how to literally go outside in the world alone because you have to go to school alone into a neighborhood that is not near you. So like you’re doing that extra leap…you know… to have to continue your life which means traveling to a whole different borough you know and then learning that neighborhood. Iqra: But other than that, do you think the school as an academic system is providing you with the needs that you want for a college experience? Like, you can answer yes or no. It’s an open-ended question. Do you feel…did you…do you feel a sense of belonging? Like when you are in BMCC do you feel like “yea I belong here. I-I am welcomed here.” Brian: Literally when I enter or when I’m right across the street from Fitterman hall, I literally say, “I’m hooommee.” It’s so crazy that I do and I say “I’m back, im back.” Every semester when it ends and re-opens I say “I’m home! Yes! Yes”. And I get excited to come back every time because not only do i get to see the people that I care about, I get to see the teachers that-like-taught to me so much—that i’ve learned from and you know even if its on an everyday basis and yea there are days where you’re like “ugh, I don’t wanna go to school” I have those days, but I still come to school and I come with the biggest smile on my face because its a joy just coming here-just being able to learn the things that you need to learn, And you know what, make your schedule around maybe make yourself have a little break here and there so that way you can explore. Just to let the people know, they gotta know, you need to explore. But yea, I would say yes. I feel very well connected, especially the times when…I believe it was last fall…no last spring semester, sga had a lot of different events and I performed at some events singing wise and dancing wise and it’s-it’s-it’s fun. It is fun to like you know to be one of the people that are like “oh we know that guy. He’s done this and that and the [not audible enough to transcribe]’. Um…I would say for myself and I think a lot of people know me, this-one right next to me in particular would say “I know-I’m pretty much famous at the school. Quote on quote as I can’t be around one person for 10 minutes without me being recognized. And I was like hmm is this true. But then again it has happened. Funny story, I was with a friend at shake-shack you know, there’s two, the one in Battery Park and the one at the Fulton center and me and friend Clarice, who goes t the school as well, we’re going to get shake shack and we had perceived four people and it was literally the time frame of like maybe 5-10 minutes had noticed me coming and going back and she was right, you can’t go without 10 minutes of saying hi to somebody at least. Iqra: YeaIt sounds like you definitely have a community. Brain: Yea. Iqra: You have your people. Brian: Mhmm. – Raquel: TO FINISH THE INTERVIEW, BRIAN SHARES SOME VALUABLE ADVICES FOR STUDENTS ENROLLING INTO BMCC. – Brian: You’re not alone, you’re literally not. There’s so many different people coming in here of all ages. You would be- I was surprised. When i first got here i saw a very very old lady. I know I don’t gotta say it but that’s what she was, an old lady taking a voice class. I was in my first semester so I was very shocked. I was like, “what is happening”? ‘Cause I didn’t know at that age you could still keep going to college. And it’s very cool to see that. It encouraged me–it encourages me to like keep going. Like yea, I keep going and who knows I can go for more and more degrees if i want to besides music. I believe I also had a classmate who was 63 years old, his name was sam. He came back to BMCC twice. He came back for a music degree and I did not know you could do that and it was cool because I was in shock. And also for my dear freshman, when you get here I know it’s exciting but please go to your classes. I know you’re going to be like, Ahhh-oooo It’s like a shiny new toy…You know you’re like It’s new its wonderful, it’s amazing, I have to explore. Yea you do, but like if you make your schedule, make it to be like that…that you have that time to explore. But also have that time to go to your classes and also to learn because some days, like what i said, when you come out high school you still have those child-like tendencies — you still have those you know child-like absences like oh I wanna skip class. Don’t do it because you could miss something very important. I remember I got sick, and I missed a class. Tsss I had missed a very-I had missed so much information that I got lost within one class and for the rest of the semester I was just lost. Iqra: wow Brian: I was lost and I didn’t ask for any notes because maybe I could just catch up. But nope, that was not ideal. Not at all… Iqra: You are doing everything that you can to really be acknowledged in this school into every activity the school in offering you. Ah… ok, I think that’s it. We covered all of the questions. I also want to say thank you so much for, you know, giving me the time to talk to you and to like ask you if you want to be in this podcast series and you were really helpful and just very outgoing and, yeah, I feel like I really appreciate that because there’s not a lot of students like that, so… Brian: Not a problem. Literally. It is nice to talk about the school, being able to talk to people about the school and let them know, “hey you can come here. It’s amazing, it’s fantastic. Just push yourself to learn and you’ll love it more and more everyday”. __ Raquel: EXPLORE THE CAMPUS AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, MAKE YOUR SCHEDULE, AND GIVE VALUE TO CLASSES. IN THIS INTERVIEW, BRIAN MAKES US THINK ABOUT HOW THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE IS UNIQUE AND THAT EVERY STUDENT SHOULD TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THE FULLEST. THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR PODCAST SERIES ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING A COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS INTERVIEW, AND PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US. YOU ARE ALSO INVITED TO SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES IN OUR PODCAST. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I AM RAQUEL NERIS FROM THE OPENLABRead More »BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 2 – Making connections by exploring spaces

Raquel Neris wrote a new blog post BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 1 – Is Networking Really Important? in the group BMCC Voices – Audio & Podcasts

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:18:30 -0500

BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 1 – Is Networking Really Important? What are the benefits of networking during college? How to overcome the challenges in creating community as a BMCC student? In this podcast episode, Kendice Marshall, president of the Spirit of the Panthers Club, gives us the answers by sharing her inspiring story. Kendice Marshall Interview for the Student Voices Podcast Interview highlights Check out more information about the places and resources that Kendice recommends in her interview: BMCC Library Fiterman Hall Study Room Center for Career Development Interview transcripts Raquel: WELCOME TO STUDENT VOICES, A PODCAST THAT PRESENTS INSPIRING STORIES OF BMCC STUDENTS. IN THIS SEASON, WE ARE LAUNCHING A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH ONE MAIN TOPIC: THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. IN THIS EPISODE, WE HAVE THE INSPIRING STORY OF KENDICE MARSHALL. KENDICE’S MAJOR IS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND SHE’S ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SPIRIT OF THE PANTHERS CLUB. SO, NO MORE INTROS, LET’S GO STRAIGHT TO HER INTERVIEW. — Raquel: It’s a real pleasure to have you, Kendice, here in our interview. So, to start, in a few sentences, how do you describe yourself? You can share your greatest interests and also a fun fact. Kendice: First I would describe myself as a powerful leader, as a compassionate person as well. And, hum, what was the second question? Raquel: A fun fact. Kendice: So, a fun fact about me is that I’m trying to put together a BSU, which means a Black Students Union. So… Raquel: That’s nice! Well, what motivated you to become a BMCC student? Kendice: Well, when I was in high school, I really wanted to go to college, obviously. Honestly, I couldn’t decide where I wanted to go completely, but I looked at BMCC and I had a thing for libraries and I loved BMCC’s library. So, as I graduated in 2021 during COVID, so, for what I could see in the virtual tour, I really liked what BMCC had to offer. I liked their extra curricular regarding leadership and things with that nature… and it seems to be something I really can get involved with and also I strongly believe that it is better to go to community college and get your associate degree and see what college is like for the first two years and then decide if you want to move forward and get your bachelors degree and continue to go to college. I feel that a lot of students, they just go straight to the four year and they drop out within the second year. So it makes a lot more sense to meet personally to come to a community college, get that experience a little bit and find out a deeper learning experience. — Raquel: JUST A QUICK COMMENT: KENDICE SHARES HERE SOME VERY GOOD ADVICES. THERE IS NO POINT IN MAKING SUCH A BIG COMMITMENT WHEN YOU STILL DON’T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT WHAT IS TO BE IN AN ACADEMIC ENDEAVOR. AFTER THAT, SHE SHARED HER EXPERIENCE IN CREATING COMMUNITY AND BELONGING AS A BMCC ESTUDENT. — Kendice: So, creating a community in BMCC is really hard at first. You come here and you don’t know where to start. You go to classes but the thing about classes is that, especially in person classes, that you meet people, sometimes you make strong friendship with that… like, I’ve met my first friend when I met here and we started to go around all the time, going to restaurants, eating, just having deep conversations overall… and you can make connections with many different people, like, I personally, I’m a member the Brooklyn Branch and some of the people that are actually members of that, they work here as well. One of them, she works in the study abroad department and… yeah, also when I started to put together the Cheerleading club, it was kind of really, it was really hard to get people in the beginning, but I found people that I really got close to, that we hang out all the time… and we talk all the time, we talk everyday, whenever we need each other, we definitely connected to each other… and yeah, you’ll always gonna meet people, you’re always gonna find people that actually understand you, people that you can have deep conversations with…ahn… this one, I met during this semester and I really like this friend because it’s a friend that I can grow with and mature with as an individual. If you’re gonna have friends, have friends that will influence you in a positive way and grow with you. So definitely, BMCC brought with me a certain level of maturity and BMCC brought me a level of understanding when it comes down to people, connections, networking and academics at the same time. Raquel: Wow, nice, very nice. Actually, like, being part of a student club played an important role, like, in your experience creating community, right? And you’re the leader of it… Kendice: Yeah, I’m the president of it. I’m also in different clubs as well. I’m in the Pre-law Society club, I just joined the Psychology club… obviously, Cheerleading club, and I’m also a student representative of SGA. Raquel: That’s awesome! Kendice: Yes, and I’m creating another one, next semester, as well, with one of my friends at this moment right now. — Raquel: DEFINITELY, KENDICE IS A VERY ENGAGED STUDENT, A REAL LEADER. THAT’S A GIFT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT’S ALSO SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ALL DEVELOP. AS A STUDENT CLUB PRESIDENT, SHE HAS THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING CONNECTIONS, ENABLING PEOPLE TO SHARE THEIR IDEAS AND VOICES, AND BE OPEN TO CREATE THINGS BASED ON STUDENTS PERSPECTIVES. BASED ON HER EXPERIENCE, KENDICE ALSO SHARED SOME VERY GOOD ADVICES. __ Raquel: What advice would you give, Kendice, for new students, as they start their journey here at BMCC? Kendice: I would definitely say be open-minded. I would tell them to be open-minded. Find a safe space for you. In my process of trying to put together BSU, which stands for Black Students Union, my objective, along with my friends, is to create a safe space with students where we can talk about black issues and things that affect them. So I want future students to find a safe space for them. Find a small family, you don’t need a bunch of people to be your friends, to connect, you know. I think it’s absolutely, find at least one person that can help you to grow as a person, that can help you get connections. College isn’t just about getting a degree. It’s about networking. Without networking, you’re not gonna go anywhere. A lot of people, they come to college, and they spend all their money, especially with student’s loans, they have all their money, and they didn’t network, when they could have networked and have those connections to take them somewhere. Another advice that I would give them is to take advantage of the spaces that BMCC provides to them. The library is there for a reason. The study hall, which I’m in right now, is there for a reason. The small areas, like empty classrooms, are there for a reason. Take that opportunity to sit there, get some work done, and really study, you know. Don’t just sit there and do nothing. Study, learn, what type of learner you are. I’m the type of learner that if I read something, I want to go over it again and try to analyze it and write it down with post-its and everything. You know, take that opportunity. And, in regards to, like, school and academics, don’t pay for any books, because, BMCC library… I haven’t paid for one single text book, I haven’t paid for any time of a book. I go to BMCC library, and that’s what it is. And if you want a study room, go to Fiterman. Fiterman is one that has many study places. They have a study, like, three floors of study rooms, and they have a bunch of private study rooms where you can go to study. Find a study room, don’t pay for books, go to the BMCC library. On the website, they have virtual PDFs and stuff like that. Network, network is definitely key and also, mainly, be yourself, don’t change for anyone and… academics have to be your number one focus. Because, even I, as much as I’m involved as I am, sometimes I slack in my academics too, so number one for sure. And also, use the resources! They have a lot of advice, but use the resources the career and development… they are on the third floor. They helped me with my resumée on multiple occasions. They helped me with my cover letter on multiple occasions. I’ve recently got a call from the Mayor’s office for an interview, and if it wasn’t for, you know, that department, to help me with, like, my resumé, I wouldn’t have had that. And also the internship office on the seventh floor. They helped me even get that possibility, so, use all of your resources, network, be yourself. Everything I said. You probably can’t fit that into what into whatever you’re gonna use this for… Raquel: [laughter] Kendice: But I definitely say use that, you know. — Raquel: USE RESOURCES, MAKE CONNECTIONS, BE OPEN-MINDED, BE YOURSELF. THESE ARE SOME GOOD ADVICES, ESPECIALLY FOR NEW STUDENTS. IN OUR CONVERSATION, IQRA SHEIK, RESPONSIBLE FOR STUDENT OUTREACH IN THE OPENLAB TEAM, ASKED A FINAL QUESTION FOR OUR INTERVIEW. — Iqra: What are your future steps after you graduate BMCC? Are you going to a four year college college, and what is going to be your major… Kendice: So, I currently major in Political Science at BMCC which is actually a new major and actually it has always been my major choice from even before I reached BMCC, so…once I heard that their major was in process, I jumped from major to major so that’s where I wanted to be, so… After this, I want to go to Howard University, which is in HBCU in Washington DC. I want to still study Political Science, and after that I want my masters degree. I’m still deciding where I want my masters to be, but I want to major in Political Science and Minor in Legal Communications in Howard University. After I get my masters, my bachelors, I want to get my GAD and my LLM at Law School. JD is Jurist Doctorate and LLM is Masters of Law, but it’s like, hum, the exact acronym, is something in line, I forgot what it stands for, but, I want to get that, so.. The only last name I worry about is JD [ laughter ]. Hum, and after that I want to become a civil lawyer, civil rights lawyer, then a politician, and after politician I want to go ahead and start a non-profit that will help in creating better jobs. A lot of times in our economy we have jobs that would only fit the price of living but in New York is like, three thousand dollars, and fifteen dollars an hour, which isn’t enough so, I would create jobs, I would create better affordable housing, because that the cost of living is too much, we want it to be affordable, and the housing, it would be actual houses so that the people can get that and I’ll be creating my own school so that way we can teach that financial literacy that a lot of schools do not teach. And I was fortunate enough because when I went to high school they actually had a class with taxes and stuff like that but that was only my freshman year, so by the time I graduated, I didn’t remember anything. But yeah, I want to be able to create change in America, create change in my world and do all of that. My mission is really long, it’s gonna be hard, but as a leader, I feel like I’m a leader, I’d say, I would leave with compassion and that’s my whole thing. Iqra: I feel like you’ll do all of those things that you have said… Kendice: Thank you. Iqra: I look forward to your future endeavors and also I look forward to seeing you. This is an awesome start. You’re so passionate and filled with so much light and joy and, you know, you are already doing this, you’re obviously gonna do more. I feel like you are so young too, like… awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time to be in this interview with Raquel and I… Kendice: No problem, no problem. And don’t take time for granted, because there’s only 24 hours in a day. Honestly, honestly, and it goes by fast. Everything closes at 5pm, so you have to get up early, early, early and make sure you get there. Do what you have to do. –- Raquel: DON’T TAKE TIME FOR GRANTED, FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS, DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. THESE STATEMENTS HELP US THINK ABOUT HOW WE ARE USING THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE IN LIFE. THIS WAS THE FIRST EPISODE OF OUR PODCAST SERIES ABOUT THE CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING A SENSE OF BELONGING AND CREATING COMMUNITY AS A BMCC STUDENT. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THIS INSPIRING STORY AND PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT IT. IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCES REGARDING THIS TOPIC, WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO INTERVIEW YOU. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. THIS IS RAQUEL NERIS FROM THE OPENLAB TRead More »BMCC Student Voices Podcast: Season 1, Episode 1 – Is networking really important?

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