The Brotherhood Spring College Tour 2010
by Alberto Alcantara
On April 1st, 2010, The Brotherhood traveled on a college tour. The two chapters attending were Strive 2 Thrive Cipher and United Warriors. Fifteen young men and their three chapter leaders and facilitators Enmanuel Candelario, DaMond Taylor, and Nando Rodriguez departed early on that Thursday morning in two vans to travel to Washington, D.C. to see four different colleges: American University, Howard University, Georgetown University, and George Washington University.
Each college was different, in terms of the campus, the diversity of people, and the price of tuition. At American University, the campus was pretty big and it wasn’t very diverse, with mostly White students and only a few Black, Latino, and Asian students. At Howard, I was honestly surprised to see that the campus had a few issues with cleanliness, but it was nice to see the large population of Black and Latino students, due to Howard’s status as a historically Black university [HBCU]. Georgetown’s campus was enormous and very heavily populated by White and Asian students. The cost of tuition at Georgetown was almost double that of Howard’s. Finally, George Washington University had a middle-sized campus in the heart of D.C., and seemed to have a good mix of White, Black, Latino, Asian, and other students.
In my opinion, the most interesting schools that we saw were Howard and Georgetown Universities. At Howard University, there were many beautiful young women and the dorms are co-ed. The guys had a positive reaction to the social atmosphere at Howard. At Georgetown, although areas of the campus seemed pretty quiet, and the standard at the college is pretty high. It seemed like a school where you would be expected to stay focused on the task at hand.
During the college tour, The Brotherhood met with Eric Hoover, a journalist for The Chronicle of Higher Education. The publication was interested in doing a feature that focused on young Black and Latino men, and their experiences in higher education. Anthony Keller (from United Warriors) and I (from Strive 2 Thrive Cipher) were interviewed. The journalist asked us what we thought about the schools in Washington D.C., the city itself, and how it differs from the schools and city scenes we know in New York City. To tell the truth, D.C. was very different than we had expected. We all agreed that it seemed much more peaceful in Washington D.C. than it is here in New York, without all of the noise outside. Check out the article here!
Overall, the college tour was a great experience. It was wonderful to be able to get away from New York and be able to see new things and reflect on how different it is in other places. Everyone enjoyed their time over there, and I know I’m not the only who wants to go back to D.C. And although we do get lazy at times, we agreed that everyone from both chapters has to step his game up and make sure we get the grades that we know we are all able to earn. I’d like to say thank you to our chapter leaders Enmanuel, DaMond, and Nando for giving us that experience. I can’t wait for the next college tour.
Alberto Alcantara is a sophomore at Mott Hall High School. He is also a member of The Strive 2 Thrive Cipher and the Media Team.
College Life: Three Ways To Keep The Peace Within
by Jennifer Watkins | originally posted on March 8, 2010
Have you ever said to yourself, “I need some alone time”? We tend, as humans, to engage our focus in aspects of life like school and work. In many cases, when that happens, we begin to lose focus of ourselves. When I first started as a new college student, I began to evolve my life around school. Whether it was doing work or joining an extracurricular activity, I was engaged in it 24/7. It wasn’t until the end of my first semester that I realized that I was overworking myself to the point where I was always sleepy, and I began to prefer keeping to myself. I decided that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have a good experience in school, I needed to find time to just relax. So I decided to come up with some steps to help myself and other college students focus in school, and have a good time. By managing your time, finding a support group, and having fun, you will be on your way to a happy and productive college experience.
Manage Your Time
Before starting school, people always told me that I would be surprised about how much time I would actually have on my hands. It came as a complete shock to me when I found out that I would be attending classes every other day, with multiple breaks in between. I noticed myself staying up late at night to study, and going to sleep late. Because I was going to sleep late, I was waking up late and becoming late for my classes. I learned that as a new student, the best thing to do is to use that free time in the day for work. I began to use my free time to do homework and study. I decided to make a schedule where I use my breaks in between classes to do homework and study, and spend an hour or so after school. This became successful for me because I was able to analyze the information that I spent all day learning, and let it marinate, instead of cramming the information in at the last minute before an exam, where it would just go into one ear and out the other.
Find A Support Group
This step is a very important step, especially if you are a person who keeps emotions and feelings to yourself. College life can become very overwhelming. It can push you to a point where you feel ready to give up. Having a support group to back you up when something is wrong, or just having someone there to talk to can relieve a lot of stress for a person. During my first semester, I experienced an ample amount of personal issues that affected my performance in school. It was because of my peers that I was able to continue my semester without having a meltdown. Whether it’s helping you with tutoring or just having someone to talk to, surrounding yourself with group of close people that you are comfortable with goes a long way.
Have Fun!
Most people go to college to further their education. And in most cases, that is exactly what they do. They go to college learn new experiences within the classroom. But a lot of times, students don’t recognize that there are many things to learn about outside of the classroom. I am a big fan of social networking. College is the best place to find people who will become resources to you in the future. By attending campus events, joining clubs, and socializing with your peers, you will be surprised to find out how valuable people can be. So it is very important to engage in different activities at your school.
College life can be a exciting and difficult experience for many. But if you want to enjoy your experience, you need to create an action plan for yourself, and stick to it. Managing your time, having a support group, and having fun are some of the key components in have a successful college experience.
Jennifer Watkins is a freshman at St. John’s University. She is also an alumni member of Cherished Phoenix chapter, The Liberation Program, and she participated in the International Study Program trip to Brasil [2009].
Bro/Sis Photo@Random
