The Semester Of Seven (Classes)

Yes, you read the title correctly: I am registered in seven courses, and have not received a warning or withdrawn from any as of this blog post. Some might wonder why I would do such a thing. Well, I decided the minute I stepped foot on the North Shore campus, I didn't want to be a average student. I wanted to take the road less traveled, and not take four courses here and four courses there (mind you, I decided with the horrible economy, finding a job in these tough times would be hard) so this isn't a decision just anyone can make. But, like the old phrase "you can do anything you set your mind to" has never been so true. I had my doubters, more than a few, and I decided it was one of those things if I was going to do, I was going in full tilt. And full tilt I mean doing all my work. Not making excuses to professors about missing things, and getting it done. Some might still think I'm nuts, but believe in yourself and you can do anything you want to.

If anyone would like to hear abut time management and how I actually survived this endeavor, please feel free to leave comments and I will happily reply.

Arts in April Blog

Last Thursday, as a part of Arts in April here at the college, Iranian-American Poet Roger Sederat came to do a reading on his poetry and a question and answer session with students and professors.

I will be the first to admit that upon hearing this is what we were doing for my 11 o'clock literature class last Thursday, I was instantly considering who I would text, what blogs I would read, and who I would try to sit next to. To most who know me and my characteristics this is par for the course. But, to shock the masses, my phone didn't leave my pocket till the very end when I had to check to see what time it was. I'm sure your curious why it didn't move and I'll tell you: Mr. Sederat, while everyone was finding seats, was mentioning how Iranians are playing in the NBA. Now to some, this might sound like a small thing. But, it already proved to me Mr. Sederat understood college students and what they are interested in. As Mr. Sederat read his poetry, he referenced his musical background and how he found a big influence in rap music. To everyone's shock, he was quite familiar with Lil' Wayne, and even threw out this Notorious B.I.G.: "Livin' life without fear / Puttin' 5 karats in my baby girl's ears" which open a lot of eyes, proving that his knowledge of rap went beyond one major artist. I for one, have a strong belief that some college professors do not understand the students they are teaching. Mr. Sederat proved this isn't always true.

His poetry was also very good. Although hard to relate to, it was very interesting to learn he, as a passport holding dual citizen of the US and Iran, he has been advised not to return to Iran for fear of government reaction to his poems (which I am told points to several Iranian government officials).

Once again, the college did a great job of bringing in a speaker that challenged and brightened the horizons of the students.

Mentors

When you join the elite group of President Scholars, you are assigned a mentor who you meet at the luncheon before the school year starts. Each scholar is given a mentor, usually someone of high capacity at the college [some even with three funky letters at the end of their name], to which they meet with and discuss everything from life at school to things bigger than North Shore (life skills to be exact). My mentor happens to be a very busy man at North Shore, so when we are able to meet, I like to squeeze every last drop of information out of him. This week, I had a issue with something at the college, something that I really didn’t know how to deal with without offending the professor I was dealing with. So, I did the adult thing, and seeked out my mentor, with who sat me down and give me one of the best lessons in life you can be handed: when dealing in a situation like this, you need to craft your words so carefully so that you can get your point across, not offended the other party, and find a resolution that fits both parties. After being told this, I realized how valuable that lesson from the my mentor was. 

Dealing with difficult situations is a fact of life, but dealing with them respectfully and in a proper manner can make all the difference in the end result. Its get better though. I found out that day I had two mentors: I walked across the hall to check in with one of the three-at-the-end-of-her-names and asked her opinion. This young lady stressed something that my other mentor stressed: grades aren’t everything. They aren’t the end all be all. Its what you take from the class and can go forward with that matters at the end of the day

The Promient Dean

As a Presidential Scholar, I get asked to go to many different events on and off campus. These events can range from open houses, to chamber breakfasts and to special events that don't occur often. Today, I went to a event that is very near and dear to everyone at North Shore's hearts: a welcome dinner for the accreditation team that will be accrediting North Shore over the next few days. This event was very interesting in many ways, because going into the doors at the Sheraton, I had no idea what to expect. After walking around for a few minutes, I finally found the reception and met up with President Burton and the accreditation team, I was introduced to several members of the team and made small talk with them, comparing North Shore to their colleges. It was interesting to hear about various programs and events they have or about their expansions/renovations. As we started to come together to break bread, I saw a seat open at the table with a prominent Dean at the college at decided to take a seat next to him, and get to know him quite well. Turned out, that was my smartest decision of the night, besides turning down the fried chicken at dinner. This prominent Dean, happened to be quite the interesting character. I knew very little about him before I sat down next to him, and walked out feeling like I had just made a friend on the spot. This Dean, who holds three degrees from Ole Miss, was a great resource to discuss every aspect of school, and the future. This Dean projected a very important point to me: no matter what you get degrees in or take classes in, you never know where you will end up.

A Quick Change of Scenery

As I sit here on the brisk first day of October, a lot has changed since I first arrived on the Danvers campus a month ago. On the first day, anyone that took a second to look around would see people fighting for “primo” parking spots, Campus Police trying to catch students parking on lawns, shorts and t-shirts, new students rushing to find their first classes before the Professors start their lectures and a sense of wanting to go out and sit on various walls and lawns between classes to catch a breath of the summer air. Today, upon arrival, I noticed people journeying way into the deep woods of the campus to the already paved parking spots, and Campus Police at ease. Shorts and t-shirts have been replaced with jeans, sweatpants, and of course, “Uggs” boots for the female population. No longer are their students with lost of confused looks on their face, only looks of “I should have studied longer last night but fell asleep on Facebook”. Lastly, the walls and lawns looked very bare today. It seems as though North Shore does not have a outside heater for students to use while catching a wisp of the brisk fall air. As we roll into fall, Professors get more and more intense, and thoughts of mid terms and final exams are on the horizon. As a reader, what part of North Shore inside or outside of the classroom would you like to hear about? For this interested in the inside, here is a snippet of a Professors quote on the first day of classes referring to final grades “I drink wine the night I figure out final grades”.