Angelica's World

I know I posted earlier this past semester about applying to be an RA (Resident Assistant) for my senior year and I believe I also posted when I was accepted as an RA in the Weinstein Freshmen Residence Hall on the NYU CORPS Explorations floor--one dedicated to community service and activism.

Last Wednesday I was able to go into the city (I'm living at home for the summer) to read the applications of those people who applied for various Explorations floors for the 2008-2009 year in NYU Housing. Explorations are themed floors throughout many NYU residence halls that enable students to have a common bond and a shared experience, one that is somewhat different and perhaps even more expansive than the other students in the building.

There are a large number of Explorations floors for the upcoming school year and many freshmen applied to be a part of the experience so on Wednesday some people in Residential Education as well as Explorations RAs gathered to read apps. There were some really amazing applications for my floor which got me really excited to be a part of it this year. There are so many involved and interested students who will likely be living on my floor and I really think we are going to have a great year. I'm sure I'll have numerous posts about all the cool things we'll be involved in!

As much as I love NYU, I have a huge connection to my high school. I had an absolutely amazing four years there and still keep in touch with a lot of the faculty. Naturally, then, I went back to visit two weeks ago to say hi to some people and my cousins who now go there.

The weirdest part though, was when I went to the graduation this past Saturday. One of my cousins just graduated from there and will be attending Mount St. Mary College in NY in the fall. I surprised her and attended the graduation. It was so strange to be going back to the graduation three years later, and to be on the other side of the stage. It also showed me how much my high school really means to me--it was great to be back!

After almost a year of planning and creating our organization, our first season of Challenger Baseball finished today. This, our first endeavor for Play!, has proven to be a huge hit and a great opportunity for many of the children. We tripled the athlete involvement from last year with the Little League we worked with and we were able to have a 1:1 volunteer to athlete ratio at each game. It's so strange that we're done with our first season but it's really exciting that we were able to pull it off and with what seems to have been a strong impact on a lot of people.

And, thanks to word-of-mouth, we have more than 110 volunteers on our contact list and a team of about 25 children who played baseball this year! So, if you'd like to add to this number and get involved in Play! (which is in the process of becoming incorporated and gaining non-profit status) please send an email to playnewyork@gmail.com. We will begin planning the theater portion of our program in the next month or so.

This summer I am fortunate enough to be one of about 25-30 Steinhardt Orientation Leaders for the incoming students--both freshmen and transfers. We have successfully completed our first round of orientations for each group of students within the past few weeks.

It has been so much fun getting to work with my peers from other departments who I otherwise probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet. We have such a great group of OLs--we all get along well and seem to work well together. We've also been able to work closely with some of the Steinhardt faculty which is always nice.

This past Tuesday and Wednesday was the first Freshmen Orientation session. We split each session of students up according to the department they are in. Teaching and Learning had 38 students who definitely knew how to have fun. The Orientation is a 2-day program (we all stay in the Brittany Residence Hall for the 1 night) in which students meet faculty, their advisors, get tours, and register for their classes. But, perhaps the best part of the program is the DANCE PARTY that they get to go to on the first night. To be honest, I don't know who enjoys the dance party more--the freshmen or the OLs. We had so much fun that night and the Teaching and Learning department DEFINITELY represented by staying on the dance floor almost the ENTIRE night.

So basically it was a really fun two days and I was able to meet some great new students. I definitely can't wait till two weeks from now when we get to have a transfer session and a freshmen session all within a few days of each other! Then we have to wait until August for the last one :-\

PS: The moral of the story is that Orientation is a lot of fun and being an Orientation Leader is definitely one of the best, most fun summer jobs out there!

This summer I am working at home on Long Island at an alternative treatment center for children who have disabilities--specifically Autism, PDD and ADHD. I have been learning so much and hope to continue that over the next month and a half that I am there.

This past Thursday, the entire office staff went to a charity event to raise money for children who have Autism. The event was sponsored by The Golden Fund for Autism and was completely sold out with over 300 people present (tickets were $125-$150 a head). It was the first of what the founders hope to make an annual event. It was a Casino theme with numerous different tables for people to gamble at and earn "money" that could earn them prizes at the end of the night--and each table was sponsored by various local organizations. There was also a silent auction with some great gifts and tons of sports memorabilia and they also auctioned off two paintings that were created by people with Autism.

It was an extremely successful event and it seemed that everyone there really enjoyed themselves. It was great to hear that most of the money raised will be coming back to the company I work for. The Golden Fund's goal is to create scholarships for children with Autism and their families so the children can receive treatments not typically covered by insurance and after Thursday night, I definitely think they made huge progress towards that goal!