There is snow on the ground today. It snowed a little bit this weekend and last night half a foot of snow dumped itself into Batavia. Are we really in April? Wasn’t I happily skipping through sunshine-filled fields with just a tee shirt on last week? What happened?

Well according to weather.com, we are experiencing Winter Storm Ursula. Basically, snow and powerful winds are passing over us. Tomorrow should be very chilly and windy as well, so please bundle up G.C.C. The good news is its a quick passing storm, so hopefully we can frolic through the grass again next week.

Just in case you missed it, or if you want to relive a few moments of it, here are some highlights of the Scholar’s Symposium.

The art gallery was filled with beautiful pieces from students. There were paintings, sculptures, and other artistic displays. People mused and circled around the gallery this afternoon, admiring the aesthetically pleasing  results of hard work.

In the theater, Pulitzer Prize winning author Eric Foner (the writer of our HIS 203 and 204 textbooks) gave an informative speech about newly discovered information on the Underground Railroad movement. While sitting there listening, I learned that slaves did not only travel on foot to the free north, but they paid captions to allow them on board their ships and sail them up. Foner spoke about African American radical figures such as Louis Napoleon, who helped a group of 7 slaves become free legally, and of course Harriet Tubman, a successful run away slave who went back into the south many times to help others take their freedom. It was a joy to listen to and I look forward to learning more about the movement as I read his new book, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad.

After Foner spoke, Sonny Mayo, a speech class professor here at GCC, got on the stage and played some music from his guitar. He is a talented musician and I found his songs to be very relaxing and easy on the ears. He played the type of music you couldn’t help but tap your foot or swing your head to.

I enjoyed the Scholar’s Symposium, and I am grateful to GCC and my peers for putting such a wonderful display of talent, intelligence, endurance, and creativity together. TTYL!

Hey guys! Tomorrow is the 2016 Scholar’s Symposium. G.C.C. students have been given the opportunity to present their most prized piece or pieces of collegiate work. They may present school work varying from academic papers to theatrical performances.

The Symposium will begin at 8:15 am and it last until 4:o0 pm. A copy of the event’s schedule can be found here. I’m looking forward to seeing the poster presentations in the Forum at 11, and I’m curious to see Professor Frank Mayo, who teaches Public Speaking, rock out in the theater at 2:30.

Another cool event I’m really looking forward to is listening to the keynote address. If you’ve ever taken HIST 203 OR 204, then the name Eric Foner should sound familiar to you. He wrote your textbook

I’ve taken HIS 203 and enjoyed learning about our country’s history a lot. I think it’s an important topic to study as an adult. We’re the generation that leads today and tomorrow. Studying our nations history of victories, failures and mistakes will help us make better choices as citizens. I enjoyed the way Eric Foner wrote about American history. In my opinion, the textbook was objective, but careful to portray parts of american history such as slavery, racial segregation, the treatment of Native Americans, and the political dominance of big business prior to T.R. Roosevelt as negatives that our country overcame. In history class I learned that all writers, historians included, have personal perspectives that influence their writing and I appreciated Foner’s. He will be giving the keynote address and discussing his new book, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad tomorrow in the theater at 1:00 pm. Rumor has it that the librarians have temporarily removed all of his books from their shelves so that they can ask him to autograph them tomorrow. I will do the same with my textbook 🙂

If you have the time tomorrow, stop by an event and support one of your classmates, students, or faculty members. You just may learn something new. Until next time!

Today was the Fine Art’s Festival at GCC. The Forum was filled with so many children, parents, students, and artist. There were many tables set up for participants to either express their creative side or allow one of the artist to “express” on them. While visiting the festival I made a Chia pet and got a pretty cool henna tattoo.

If you are a resident at college village, tonight is TACO TUESDAY, and you have the opportunity to enjoy a free Doritos Taco Bowl. We will start serving at 5 p.m. Don’t be late or the food may run out!

from recipieshubs.com

Tomorrow Night, also at College Village, there will be a DIVERSITY program starting at 7 p.m. The purpose of this program is to provide students with a space to talk about what makes them unique and it will also be a teaching/learning opportunity for students to appreciate the differences in our community.

There is always something interesting happening at our college, or at College Village. That’s one thing I really appreciate about our school. The Faculty and Staff at our school and College Village really care about the well being of us students. They put a lot of effort into providing us with fun and social activities. This is really an important element to have as a college student who often stresses about grades and money.  Thank you Genesee Community College and thank you College Village.

Until next time guys!

Heads up! Tomorrow during common hour (12:30 pm – 1:30 pm) there will be a lot of fun
activities happening in our gymnasium. The purpose of this events is to raise money for United Way which is a non profit organization that collects and distributes funds to charities local to a specific area. Each year Genesee Community College sets a goal amount of money that they’d like to donate to United Way. So stop by the gym tomorrow, give a dollar to a good cause and be entered into a raffle drawing to win one of three special prizes.

At 12:30 sharp the Spring Pep Rally will begin. Let’s cheer our athletes on for the season! There will be a Hot Shots competition between three extremely competitive college faculty members at 1 pm.  And after that, anyone can play for a $1 donation. Miniature golf will be set up on the east end of the gym, also costing a $1 donation to play. Did I mention when you donate a dollar to play or just to give, you will receive a raffle ticket?

Hang onto it because toward the end of the common hour three tickets will be pulled out randomly and three people will win a prize. The first prize won will be a football autographed by Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills.

The second is a Jack Eichel’s Buffalo Sabres jersey and the third will be a backpack filled with gifts from the GCC Barns & Noble store.

Hello! Iesha, here. For those of you who are frequent readers, and to serve as a brief introduction to some, I’m the girl who used to write blog last semester, often about nature walks, poetry, spirituality, and events happening around the school. I am a resident assistant at College Village, a lover of math, a member of the C.S.U. club, and my career goal is to become a dentist who travels to poor countries. But enough about me, let’s talk about something cool happening at our school!

Last semester College Village, our on campus residential community,  finished the construction of a spacious recreational center located in the basement of Hemlock Hall. Upon it’s completion, it was dubbed The Root by a resident, due to each building being named after a tree, and it’s been used ever since to host all sorts of programs from dance parties to cooking classes. College Village is always updating it’s new space, and has just recently added some more features to The Root. Let’s take a virtual tour of the place, shall we?

First stop the eating area:

Here we have some high chairs and tables, along side the windows.

Here is a more “cafeteria style” eating area with plenty more tables and chairs. These come in handy for Thanksgiving and Easter programs, when College Village cooks or orders enough food to feed 500 residents.

Next, we have our seating area, equipped with comfy arm chairs, and leg rest. Need a nap? You’re in the perfect spot.

To our right are some things that every college student needs: Computers and a printer! Resident do not have to walk to the library to do school work if one of these PCs are open. The Root is not the only place in College Village with computers for resident use. There are two computers in the study room of Hickory Hall and two other computers in the basement of Collage Village’s main office.

Right behind the computer stations are four vending machines. What would you like? Chips? Water? Soda? A Hot Pocket? These machines take credit/debit cards and we have a microwave nearby.

To our left is the College Village mini library. Residents are free to leave a recreational reading book, or to take one. Come by this table and find something interesting to read. If you come on Thursday grab a cookie too.

There is someone down here. Who can it be? Oh wow, it’s M.C.(aka Mary-Claire). She is our Student Success Coach. Her office is right next to the CV mini library and she’d love to talk to you about classes, careers, grades, and answer any questions you have about opportunities at the college. She host workshops to give Financial Aid advice, and to educate on other helpful topics. M.C. likes to meet with every new resident, so make sure you check your mailbox to see if you’ve received a request from her to meet you. We all could benefit from the guidance of someone who has been through what we’re going through.

Are you the type of person that needs a quiet study environment? Ask M.C. and she will unlock a study room for you, or for your study group. There are two study rooms available and one of them is usually always open.

Did I mention the CV 1 Classroom? Many things take place in this room due to the wide screen television display and the dry erasable marker painted walls. Classes are host here, Just Dance Now is often played here, Poetry is spoken here, and building meetings also take place here. If you’re registering for classes and you see CVR1 as the class location, that means that you and your classmates will be meeting here. It’s convenient for College Village residents.

Our final stop is The Root Kitchen. It’s a spacious and modern kitchen, equipped with plenty of counter space, an induction stove, fridge, and a dishwasher. Residents can meet the RA’s down here for a cooking class or dessert program.

Thank you for allowing me to give you a sneak peek tour of College Village’s new addition for residents, “The Root“. It has plenty more to offer residents living at College Village and we are excited to see what CV will do next. This concludes my blog, until next time!

Genesee Community College is offering 13 courses for students to take over the winter. The courses are all online and vary in subject from Business Communications (BUS 106-66) to History of Rock and Roll: Blues and Beyond (MUS 203-66).

The Winterim term begins December 14th, which is 3 days after the last day of Fall classes. It lasts for 3 weeks and 4 days, ending on January 8th; eleven days before the first day of Spring classes.

ENG 101-66 : College Composition

English 101, a required course for graduation. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and reflective writing. If you haven’t taken this course yet, you have the opportunity to take it over the winter break.

HIS 105-66 : Western Tradition 2

This is actually a course I’m taking right now. In this class you can expect to learn about European and American history. Some historical periods we’ve covered in class were the Reformation, the Glorious Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, and the American Revolution. We’re covering the French Revolution now. I find it to be an interesting and enlightening course and you take it over the winter if you’d like.

CIN 242-66 : Female Role in Film

If you need to fulfill a humanities credit, this course is an option for you. Students will study film from the 1920’s to present day. Analyzing how women have been depicted in film, and how that depiction has changed over time. Sounds interesting!

MUS 203-66 : History of Rock and Roll: Blues & Beyond
When I read this course title I hear the guitar part to “Carry on My Wayward Son” by Kansas. I know it’s way before my time, but Rock Band featured it their video game! This course sound engaging and delightful. It fulfills a humanities credit as well.

MET-101-66 : Introduction to Meteorology

Are you interested in tornadoes and thunder storms? Taking this class will teach you how the weather works. If your in love with natural phenomena, or aspire to be a weather man or woman, you can take this course over the Winterim term.

Neissa Azor is an 8 year old girl from Haiti. She was 3 years old during the 2010 Haitian earthquake, and it was after that disaster that her mother, Fernande, noticed a little bump that had grown on the right side of her daughter’s face. The bump kept growing, and it eventually became so large, it protruded out of her mouth, displacing her upper teeth and palate, and blocking her airway.

A kind surgical technician happened to spot Neissa and her mother one day while she was going to work. She asked Fernande if she wanted help getting treatment for her daughter. She said yes. The stranger contacted many doctors she knew, and eventually found a board chairman at Baptist Hospital in Miami, FL who was willing to help.

A team of doctors, including Oral Surgeons, made models to understand how to remove the tumor and engineered Neissa’s treatment plan.

This past September Neissa received a 2 part surgery that removed the tumor, reconstructed her face, and saved her life, all for free.

“It took a medical team about 12 hours to saw and chisel the tumor away, reconstruct her jaw out of rib bone and skin from the leg, and close up the incisions. Seventeen Baptist doctors were involved with her care, along with nurses and many others.” Christina Veiga, Miami Herald,  http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article39313206.html#storylink=cpy

After Neissa was given time to heal from the surgery she was presented during a press conference. She said, “Thank you! God Bless you!”, and Her mother said that Neissa is going to be a maxillofacial surgeon one day, so that she can give back.

I think this story is amazing. Not only am I awed by what modern surgery can do, I am also inspired by the giving spirit of everyone who helped this victorious event take place.

All photos here were taken from the Miami Herald’s article page.