Life involves many ups and downs like a rollercoaster.

But when you need to cry there’s a shoulder to lean on.

Then the phenomenon of pain folds on like waves.

Life requires us to forgive and behave brave.

We just have to make sure our hearts remains engraved with purity & love.

Above us and beneath us theres a pure dove ready to be released to fly.

We just have to let it fly and this will reveal Why we like to lie and hide from pain.

At the end we all gain and vain our most inner humane restrain.

We just have to let our selfs be Kryptonize with disdain.

That will show us who we really are trying to run from pain.

When you think about that question it really makes you think and in a sense it takes a big toll in your life. I do ask myself sometimes this question due to the fact that we always on the run doing stuff for our family, friends or us. But, when you think about it it makes you wonder who are you? What achievements have brought you to where you are now?

In my case theres’ may factors that brought me to be who I am. Not only that, there’s also many things that I really want to do in life, but coming here, learning about the career path, enrolling in college, getting to know new people, and learning from many people around me. You get to learn how many people have grown to be where they at. I come from immigrants parents that barely finished high school and did everything in their hands to put me in school in order for me to have a good education. So, thats when I think and I’m like I really should make them happy and me too. Thats why with the rest of my life I will like to be successful I know there will be many obstacles in my way but, thats what makes you strong. I just aspire to have a stable job that allows me to enjoy time with my family and be happy with what I do. Eventually, I will like to keep growing Economically and Mentally. Growing and being more mature and expanding my knowledge, this will allow me to see the world in a different point go view.

My current major is Human Services & Community Justice and my minor is Accounting. I decided to combine 2 of my favorite things that I enjoy doing due to the fact that I don’t like injustices and love helping my community. I also recently a couple of months ago started to like numbers, seeing numbers increase and have a negative or good impact on our society can be challenging. So, I decided I want to combine both of these factors to one major factor. Which I know will help me be successful. Once i’m done graduating I will like to work with Kids that have been abused or with foster kids. But, if thats not possible I will like to work or have an internship in Wall Street have the knowledge of what involves dealing with financing. I also, would like to work in the Chase banks/ branches. Im trying to finish my last 2 years quicker than ever because I feel like i’m ready to take anything that comes in my way. I probably will like to do 2 more years just to increase my knowledge in certain areas. But, for right now I don’t plan to change my major or minor and don’t plan to do any other jobs if its not what I have mention already.

On Friday, May 19th, 2023 CUNY Peer Leaders gathered at the CUNY Graduate Center to present their final projects for the culminating showcase. At the CPL kick-off leaders choose the topic of mental health to focus on during the academic school year. Through a hybrid style of sessions, leaders met every other Friday from 3-5 pm to discuss professional development, music & mental health, pursuing graduate school versus non-academic careers, self-awareness through Body-Mapping, and sharing their poetry during the CPL Open Mic. We also had a wonderful time during our enrichment activities which included Broadway shows and musicals like The Lion King, and Fat Ham, and a visit to the Museum of the City of New York! CPLs presented fantastic projects during this hybrid-style showcase!  Echoing our various sessions throughout the year, leaders gave another take on mental health awareness with poetry collections and even workshops that can be implemented in their communities. Others presented incredible paintings and lectures that spoke on the social commentaries of child labor and the lack of resources for immigrants and communities of color. Through a myriad of projects, students tapped into visual, auditory, and kinesthetic projects that provided audience members with tangible examples of the kind of work and hope they have for CUNY in the future. Overall, the showcase was a massive success! We are incredibly proud of our leaders and wish them the best as alumni!

Our CPL Application for Fall 2023/Spring 2024 is now open and available here!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpXX7tjGRSUMkTGquhG-dfKRH8Bs_LkCgoFb7vdupVzHzrGg/viewform

This Spring ’23 semester has been emotionally satisfying for me. It is my last semester as an undergraduate student and now that it is coming to an end, I’m finally feeling all my hard work paying off and seeing results. I would describe this feeling as fulfilling, It’s interesting because it feels overwhelming at times, but then I remember these are the fruits of my labor, all my hard work is finally paying off and these opportunities that are being thrown my way are the results of it.

1. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield: This song captures the close of my undergraduate career because it has a happy vibe and explains that there are endless possibilities to your life.
2. Walking on a Dream by Empire of The Sun: I love this song to describe my last semester because it makes me want to dance and it’s a very energetic and happy song.
3. You Get What You Give by The Radicals: This is my favorite song of all time. It is about being true to yourself, staying positive, living your life for you, not caring what others think about you, and chasing your dreams. Also, the comments on Youtube for this song are very inspiring. There were people who said they lost their loved ones and would always play this song for them, or that this song helped them through depression, etc. I highly recommend going through the comments section of this song, it’s beautiful.
4. Can’t Tell Me Nothing by Kanye West: This song makes me feel strong and makes me not want to give up when I am feeling low. It is empowering and fires me up.
5. Hustler by Simian Mobile Disco: This song is very upbeat and motivating. I listen to it when I am feeling discouraged physically and mentally and it makes me want to work harder and harder.

Spring Semester has been an emotional rollercoaster for me. This Semester was full of different experiences from meeting different people to get to be a part of different programs. It has been an incredible journey. This semester is one of the toughest semesters for me because of getting myself involved with so many different things. Such as work, internships ,college works, doing different programs made the journey overwhelming but exciting at the same time. Even though everything is hard to handle, I am grateful. I am grateful for the moments and the opportunities I received. I don’t know what grades I will receive for my classes, but I learned and one of the biggest achievements I felt is I could establish interactions with my classmates. This was something that we needed and also it was hard to do it especially after the pandemic. 

One emotion I would like to highlight is gratitude. Here are the 5 songs I included on my playlist:

1. Rita Ora- Grateful. This song expresses how sometimes we go through the bad times but those bad times are something that we can be grateful towards. 
2. Love you Zindagi which means “Love you life”- It’s a song from a Hindi movie called “Dear Zindagi” which means in English “Dear life”. This is an incredible movie which speaks about the importance of mental health. It teaches one how to appreciate the beauty of life.The way life has blessed me with upcoming summer opportunities which I am waiting patiently to utilize. So, this is something I would include in my playlist so I can remind myself how to be grateful towards life.
3. Perfect- Ed Sheeran. You know, sometimes life is blessed with some people that give us some beautiful memories. It does not matter if they stay or not but the moment you had with them was perfect. This song reminds me how grateful I am towards life for being blessed with some incredible people in my life.
4. Avicii- The Nights. This song always inspires me to be grateful towards the present moment because one day we are going to leave this world behind. So, we should enjoy every single moment of our life.
5. Who says you are not perfect- Selena Gomez. This song reminds me to be grateful about the fact how I am physically fit and the way I am whereas many people struggle with themselves because of being physically disabled. They feel themselves as not perfect whereas we all are imperfectly perfect.

Now dreams
Are not available
To the dreamers,
Nor songs
To the singers.

In some lands
Dark night
And cold steel
Prevail

But the dream
Will come back,
And the song
Break
Its jail.

I chose this poem because the title itself caught my attention and the last stanza said “its jail” and the first line starts with “now dreams.” in the poem oppression Hughes talks about the absences of dreams and songs due to the suffocation of oppression that the were enduring.He illustrates this by expressing they’re in a jail.furthermore, he talks more about the brutality of prevailing the land in everything such as forcing people to be silent and that there is no light but darkness in a way its like finding the light at the end of the tunnel seems impossible to reach.I believe that to know back in the 50s POC were experiencing issues like this. and to know modern day we still struggle to accumulate greatness in this country just shows how oppression surely have not made a jump too far from the tree mainly because we are still at the bottom in a lot of aspects.even in Latin America countries many countries, still have barriers in economic status, skin color, and freedom and we know that’s true because it happened in Cuba with Celia cruz exiled for exposing gov corruption through salsa music and Augusto boal from Brazil also was inprisoned and later exiled. for staging the dictatorship in theater showcasing the injustice.I deeply think that Hughes outlines a powerful message stating that the day oppression is no longer a problem in the United States or in other countries will come to an end.

By Rose Hernandez

Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

I chose this poem because of its simplicity yet deep life lesson. Dreams are something everyone has and when you cannot make those dreams come true, it seems like you have lost your purpose and are stunted in your growth. It is like a fish without water, or a bird with broken wings as Hughes describes. It is the consuming feeling of hopelessness when everything you desire and envision for yourself fails to manifest. It is the part of life everyone tells you to be ready for but never what to do when it comes. I feel it is the forced redirection of reality, when you “fail” or when your dreams don’t come true, remember that life is a barren field frozen with snow, and when that snow melts, you’ll be able to grow. There is beauty and teaching in every life experience, you should not let circumstances make or break you because tomorrow will be another opportunity to achieve all that you hope and dream. I feel Hughes intended to illustrate the emotions we feel when things don’t go our way, the urge to quit, but subtly highlights the importance of patience, telling readers to hold fast to dreams, be patient, don’t lose sight, in due time things will unfold. This is something I have to remind myself of often because I find myself getting stressed or anxious about the future and achieving certain goals and dreams instead of appreciating the present and trusting the path that I am on, while giving myself grace.

“Hey Black Child”

Do you know who you are

Who you really are

Do you know you can be

What you want to be

If you try to be

What you can be

Hey Black Child

Do you know where you going

Where you really going

Do you know you can learn

What you want to learn

If you try to learn

What you can learn…….

This poem resonates with me because it reminds that during a time when black people identity was stolen because of slavery and poor living conditions. Reminding black people that regardless of their economic situations you can be somebody important in the world. Don’t let a white person take your dignity to learn, read and write! The poem also tells me that black people can learn anything with courage and knowledge from books. READ READ READ and go to school because its important.

I sat down to write this entry on Thursday night, anticipating that I’d finish it on Friday afternoon before CPL’s viewing of the Lion King. That is, until three o’clock Friday, when I found myself standing outside Columbia Presbyterian’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) facility. The hallway was my home that day– outside patient rooms, ER wings, lobbies, and CPEP. The hallway left many hours and much space to stand, stare, and think. I watched as patients and scrubs moved down their days. I thought about my friend behind the hallway– and I dreamed of a day where she wouldn’t dream of becoming dust.

When the world strips us of all we thought we knew, its easy to think that there’s nothing left. But as Langston Hughes– someone who had so much taken from him– writes, we still have our dreams. And they are “not for sale.”

DREAM DUST
BY LANGSTON HUGHES

Gather out of star-dust
Earth-dust,
Cloud-dust,
And splinters of hail,
One handful of dream-dust
Not for sale.

I’m still a little hazy from the day to write cohesively about my thoughts on this poem, so I decided to write poem of my own instead:

A DAY SHE DREAMS

She’s the one who never listens
To the girl with open ears
She’s the one who swears she fine
To the lady who can’t lie
She says –she’s the one who’s waiting to die
To the woman who lives

Lives out here
With her dreams wrapped ‘round
Her shoelaces
That she wants to steal
She’ll share her plastic soaked slice of bread
Unseasoned rice
And chicken with a spoon
She’ll go on dreaming into the lonely lights
Of brick walled basements
And roaming lonely souls

She’s the one dreaming of a day without dreams
Without the splinters of life digging into her hips
Into her wrists
Into the folds of her tired skin
But she’s the one
Too tired of this waking life to say goodnight to her dreams

African Americans have various impressions that are inscribed in people’s minds; however, which impression and expression are the right answers for them that can represent accurately? The answer is the poetry that belongs to Langston Hughes, who explores and initiated African American cultural revolution in the 1900s in Harlem, New York, and who also kindles the light of generations of African American spirituals. The poetry from Hughes can shape and express numerous African Americans’ life experiences during the 1900s, such as “Our Land,” “Shadows,” “I, Too, Am America,” and “I Dream A World” are impressive poems from him. Langston Hughes’ poems depict and represent an identical portrait of what African Americans had been through from the past two hundred-year of modern history to contemporary times.

The poem “Our Land” indicates the intuitive perception of African Americans’ experiences. Hughes refers to a realistic imaginary picture to deliver what African Americans’ lives were like. Hughes figuratively expresses his anger, despair, and hope. He metaphorically analogizes the land of the place where he is living as “cold” and “wrong.” He figuratively points out that the land is not a place where African Americans can live with their aspirations and dreams. Throughout his poem “Our Land,” he unambiguously condemns the unfair social racism ideology among blacks and whites during the 1900s in American land, where the hierarchy of white men treated African Americans unequally and inequitably. He entails:

We should have a land of sun

Of gorgeous sun,
And a land of fragrant water

Where the twilight. (1-4)

Hughes emphatically depicts and perceives what the land should be where he would love to spend time living. “a land of fragrant water” reflects that delightful and spectacular African American artistic culture should be allowed for them to spend their lives on them, which are the same rights that white people have. Later, he analogizes the land that does not have a way to be joyful. He pinpoints: “Ah, we should have a land of joy / Of love and joy and wine and song / And not this land where joy is wrong.” He connotes that there is no way to have human rights in the land where African Americans live because the government’s propaganda does not allow it. His aspiration of having joy is not permitted. Hughes demonstrates that institutional racism is an intruder who invades and takes away human rights from them. On the contrary, in Harlem, New York, the real intruders are those white genteel hierarchy people who interfere with their artistic performing clubs and invade their “New Negro” creatures. Racism existed in Harlem, where African Americans endeavored to inaugurate their peaceful space. The despair still strikes them, like a predator surveillant its prey. The phenomena of the images in the past, which exactly are happening in modernity, considering nowadays, ironically, people still have these experiences that happened to African Americans past historical events in the United States, but they are repented in other ways. We could think about the Lynch Law and the segregation would never have been ended; in another formation, they are implemented in our modern society. For instance, the enforcement of police officers’ indifferent arresting and execution of African American citizens and the biases between racial groups still exist. Those historical “Lynch Law” and “Segregation” are still embedded inside people’s minds, but our government’s propaganda attempts to make them invisible.

My name is Lucas, and I am currently majoring in Computer Science at BMCC. This is the second year that I have spent my time at BMCC. Also, it will be my last year studying here. It has been a busy period since the Spring semester started, and the more I learned from my classes, the more substantial confidence and certainty I gained for my future career in my mind. For my field study, we need to have the skill in our hands and keep updating our knowledge to qualify for our position for our future work. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to pick up where I left off for my academic future in 2020. Everything was going smoothly, except sometimes I loaded too many things on my plate simultaneously; however, I enjoyed my busy and challenging life.

It is too early to say there is an inevitable future behind me after I graduate college because, in my field of study, I haven’t touched the deeper context of what we will do for our future job. Maybe when I am in a four year college, I will see the full of picture of my career. In the meantime, the open AI company just published Chatgpt, and it blows people’s minds. There is a predictable pattern of future for countless programmers that with the AI technology coming up, people will lose theirs jobs sooner or later.

So instead, of worrying about uncertainties, I will live in the moment and try to strive for my unpredictable future.

Dreams 

By: Langston Hughes 

The theme for CPL this year is mental health, and I read the poem through that lens. In this context, a dream can refer to a reason for getting out of bed in the morning, whether it be to hang out with friends or to accomplish a goal you’ve been striving towards. Without purpose (a dream) life becomes restrictive, which can allude to getting stuck in a routine and days that seem to keep on repeating. This was a reality for me when I worked as an After-school teacher (for middle schoolers) for 5 years. Since I went to work right after school, I finally got back home at 6 pm but by then I was too exhausted to move and some days I would cry on my way home. The days were so long and emotionally/physically draining that I had no energy left to do anything but mindlessly scroll through TikTok or Instagram, which didn’t help my mental state. Since I was at that job for so long, I felt obligated to stay and didn’t look for any other jobs or positions because I became complacent with where I was. I was just thinking about that moment in time and forgot what I wanted for the future. My life was like it was moving in slow motion, the days felt longer but the time that I treasured was mere minutes.

This theme of being trapped/restricted is something that a lot of people with depression, anxiety, and ADHD/ADD struggle with in their day-to-day. A routine can help get someone moving but it may not always help with motivation. Living isn’t thriving, so instead of relying on the monotony of every day,: ”Life is a barren field, Frozen with snow.” (Hughes 7-8)

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

I chose to focus on this poem specifically by Hughes because I love the metaphor of climbing the stairs, and though the climb is rough, the top of the stairs will be such an accomplishment once one makes it there. The title itself clearly shows a mother is teaching her son, and I love how she is telling him that she has been through so much on the stairs, yet she is still going. This poem screams perseverance. It is essential that it is a woman telling a man that she has had such a hard time on these stairs (life), it shows that women have it just as hard as men, and everyone should anticipate some “splinters” while trying to climb the stairs (trying to get through life and be successful). Langston Hughes writes from the perspective of people who have been disadvantaged for centuries, understanding this adds to how much accomplishment means to these people specifically, especially because they were always deemed “less than”. The mother in this poem is telling her son he will be facing a very difficult path, but nevertheless, he must persist, just like she has. I specifically love the part when the mother says “don’t you turn back”, it reminds me of that quote “don’t look back, you’re not going that way”.

This is very relevant to the experiences of minorities and anyone who is not a rich white person in the world. People are disadvantaged and have to work harder simply because the color of their skin, and sadly, the color of their skin affects their income, causing them to be a lower class. Langston Hughes is revealing that these people are doomed from the beginning, but they must still keep climbing the stairs, despite how hurt they get on the way there.

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

So, hold on to your dreams and never give up, for they are what give life meaning and hope.

~L. Huges~

Langston Hughes is actually one of my favorite poets. Ever since I came across his work in high school I have been obsessed. So you can imagine my delight when I found out our CPL group was diving into his work! He was a prominent African American writer and poet of the 20th century. He is widely recognized for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement that celebrated the art, music, and literature of black people in the 1920s and 1930s. In his poem “Dreams,” Hughes encourages his readers to hold on to their dreams and never give up, even in the face of adversity.  Three main points that truly resonates with me are ;

1. Dreams are essential to the human spirit. Hughes argues that dreams are a vital part of human existence and that without them, life loses its meaning. He suggests that it is our dreams that give us hope and keep us going, even when we face obstacles and setbacks.This is super important and true because many times in my life when I have been down and out. This poem has lifted my spirits and gave me cause for hope. It reminded me that dreams are worth holding on too no matter how far fetched they seem
2. Black people have often been denied the opportunity to pursue their dreams. Throughout history, black people have faced systemic racism and discrimination that have made it difficult for them to achieve their goals. Hughes acknowledges this reality in his poem, but he also encourages his readers not to give up. He suggests that black people should hold on to their dreams and continue to strive for a better future, even in the face of adversity. Good old school fashioned grit is key, this poem oozes this characteristic.
3. Finally dreams can become reality with perseverance and determination. Although the road to achieving one’s dreams may be difficult, Hughes believes that it is possible to overcome obstacles and make dreams a reality. He suggests that it is important to keep pushing forward and to never give up, even when the journey seems impossible. For black people, this message is particularly relevant, as they have often had to work harder than others to achieve their dreams.

Langston Hughes’s poem “Dreams” is a powerful reminder of the importance of holding on to one’s dreams and never giving up. For black people, this poem is particularly relevant, as it speaks to our struggle for equality and the challenges we have faced in pursuing our dreams.

The first impression I had when I first read the topic of the poem is that it expresses my inner voice about America. This poem is a strong poem about how America should be. Often every single day, when I travel through the subway, I encounter lot of helpless people who needs some professional help. I see a lot of people who are on the streets asking for help and no one is there to help because we are now scared of them. We are scared to help people and they receive no professional help from anyone. That’s not how America was before where people had to suffer out of hunger. Every single day, I see the store has locked their basic items because of shoplifting where America used to be considered the safest country to be. The freedom of speech is no more freedom of speech anymore. People used to be able to express their words and points earlier and they didn’t used to feel scared of being attacked by ordinary people. Now America has become such a place where if you try to raise your voice for something you have no idea you might get shot on the spot. The police are going to just come and report but at the end you would question the pledge of allegiance you took. The pledge where you go saying, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all”. But now you end up questioning where actually justice is.  The poem ‘Let America be America again” really reflects the way America has to restore itself again to be considered as America. The line where it said, “I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek” expresses how important the land of America is for certain groups of people including immigrants. It’s one of their places of hope of getting their life back.

Brotherly Love

by Langston Hughes

[Dr. King and Langston Hughes maintained a friendship for years. Hughes wrote this poem in 1956 during the 13-month Montgomery bus boycott. Day after day, Negroes walked miles to work instead of riding the buses, and Dr. King first emerged as a leading force in the civil rights movement.]

A Little Letter to the White Citizens of the South

In line of what my folks say in Montgomery,
In line of what they’re teaching about love,
When I reach out my hand, will you take it
Or cut it off and leave a nub above?

If I found it in my heart to love you,
And if I thought I really could,
If I said “Brother, I forgive you,”
I wonder, would it do any good?

So long, so long a time you’ve been calling
Me all kinds of names, pushing me down –
I been swimming with my head deep underwater,
And you wished I would stay under until I drown.

But I didn’t!  I’m still swimming!  Now you’re mad
Because I won’t ride in the back end of your bus.
When I answer, “Anyhow, I’m gonna love you,”
Still and yet, you want to make a fuss.

Now listen, white folks!
In line with Reverend King down in Montgomery –
Also because the Bible says I must –
I’m gonna love you – yes I will! Or BUST!

The central theme of the narrative is that we are all members of one people, one nation, and one destiny regardless of our skin tone, racial background, or place of origin. Even though he had talked about the difficult love, it is still very difficult and challenging in this country today because there is still violence, crime, racism, and fighting between individuals. However, our identity is not defined by the people around us because one day we will all stand before God for judgment and give an account of ourselves. God doesn’t consider flaws, eyes, skin, or immigration status in this country, nor does he consider any other physical characteristics.

However, this poem and Langston Hughes’ “I, too, sing America” are comparable because they both describe how white people discriminate against him. When they have guests, they make him leave the room, and they wish he would stay under the water until he perishes. Both poems demonstrate how he rejects these kinds of discriminatory behaviors and thoughts despite tolerating them. As stated in the poem above, he can laugh about it and “keeps swimming” even though the white people wanted him to perish. He strives to make the most of his current circumstances by finding strength, hope, and goodness in them.

Brotherly Love, by Langston Hughes, is a poem about the discrimination of blacks by white people in Montgomery.

What matters to him most is the heart and what is inside. I’m glad I had the chance to choose a poem and speak about it because this really resonates with my idea of what brotherly love ought to be like. The biblical concept of brotherly love is an extension of the natural affection associated with close family members toward the larger community of fellow believers. It goes beyond the simple command in Leviticus 19:18 to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and manifests as “unfeigned love” from a “pure heart,” which extends an unconditional hand of friendship and loves when not reciprocated, gives without expecting anything in return, and constantly seeks out the best in others.

The tenet of brotherly love states that “Wisdom is man-loving, and the righteous must love ALL MEN.” The love of God and the love of all people are taught in the Patriarchs’ Testaments. addressing the directive to love one’s neighbor.

Thank you!

I am a finance major on the hunt for an internship and, let me tell you, it is difficult. I hope to have secured an internship by this summer or fall of 2023. I chose to minor in Italian and not go the traditional business school route to minor in fields like Economics, Finance, Poly-sci, and Accounting. With that being said, I surprisingly want to pursue Zicklin’s finance Ph.D. program. This program would be an amazing opportunity for me to try and achieve a Ph.D. I know I will regret giving up this opportunity which makes me excited for beginning it after undergraduate school.

I will bring fashion with me to every stage of my life. I am a very creative person and I try to put a little of myself into everything I do. Fashion is timeless, it will be with me forever, changing every day, and allowing personal expression and creativity into my outfits. Being in the business realm surrounded by the same suit and tie gets boring. The business field lacks creativity and I know to stay happy within myself, I would need to continue creating and wearing my fashion pieces. 

I haven’t decided if I will graduate early or delay my time to be able to study abroad, either way, I’m excited for what’s to come. I would love to experience college in another country and meet people from around the world with similar interests. I have a lot of learning to do and experiences to endure. 

Crystal Rosario

The decision to enter college comes from the want and the expectation of graduating and gaining a successful career. Students experience excitement for that beginning semester, anxiousness after reading the syllabus and wondering “Can I even do this?”. To the fear of midterms and finals and the sigh of great relief when a semester is complete. This is a cycle until completion with a degree. When that is over you come out of college enthusiastically ready to take on the world. However, we tend to forget the process of getting a job. We would all love it if we could just be accepted with arms wide open in the career we chose but we must go through the daunting process of the dreaded interview. The process in which you must outsell yourself and prove why you are the best fit and how you will benefit the job you are applying for. The video From Classrooms to Careers, does an amazing job giving insight on the in between process of graduating and then going into the work field.

The listening sessions provided a great amount of advice for students going into prospective careers. Each individual that spoke gave great advice on how to prepare yourself for the interview process. I appreciate all the advice that was given but the one take away that truly spoke to me was when Juvanie Piquant spoke about knowing who you are and what you will bring to the table. We often get so focused on the process itself and wonder if we are enough, we forget we put in the time and energy to get to this point. Having the confidence in the hard work you put into going to school to better yourself would instantly release the fear of rejection when going into an interview. When you are confident in yourself and the work you have done you know what to do to be prepared. You know to gather all of your research before an interview, you know what questions to ask to make sure this job is the best one for you. Knowing your worth and potential shifts your attitude when going into an interview. 

After watching this listening session I feel confident moving forward with my degrees as well as a job. I realize simply being a part of this program was one great step in networking with exceptional individuals. This session gave me the confidence and knowledge on how to be fully prepared whether or not I am applying for a job or another program in school.

Dear Me,

It’s the year 2023 now, and we’ve named it “the Year of Change and Transformation”. 2023, the year for me! You made, for the very first time, a vision board on Canva, and honestly, it came out much better than you could have anticipated! A colorful collage of all your dreams and goals for the new year illustrated in cutouts of cute cartoons and images taken from Google. Ranging from a letter that states “Congrats, you’re accepted!” to a flashy red car honking to the Scripture verse from the Prophet Habakkuk that reminds you to ‘write the vision down… so that one may easily read it’, these images capture what’s on your heart. 

If I hadn’t told you before, I’m proud of you, you know? You have truly come a long way, thanks be to the grace of God. Four years ago, at 20 years old,  did you know you were going to take the daring and bold step to transition to Nursing as your career choice? Bet you didn’t think that would happen, Miss I-Want-To-Be-A-Doctor-Since-The-Age-Of-Ten. Did you know you were going to attend Hunter, not having a clue about what you were doing, where you were going, but end up majoring in Human Biology and Sociology, and wind up loving them? Thank God for that advisor who told you that Human Biology was the best major for Hunter’s pre-Nursing students! You ended up loving your classes, and excelled in many of your classes like your Capstone Seminar, Microbiology, Nutrition, and Medical Sociology-kudos to you! Now, for Sociology I REALLY bet you NEVER thought you’d want to go into that field, right? Did you know that after the events that took place in the Summer of 2020, you became more interested in racial & criminal justice, which pushed you to venture into policy and criminology classes. It is interesting how when you joined more groups and met peers with fresh and new ideas, it awakened new passions you never knew you had! Right now, you are at a point where you know you want to go to Nursing school, but you also have such a huge interest in community organizing, food insecurity, prison justice and reform, public policy, student and youth activism- basically everything! You feel like you have a clear idea of what you want to do, but which avenue to take, that is the question. Do you take the traditional route and jump head-first into your career choice, or do you choose the “road less traveled by” as Robert Frost once penned down, and absorb all the experiences life can throw at you or gift to you instead? On top of that, you also have dreams of getting your Master’s in Public Health! Crazy, right? Who would have ever thought you wanted to go to graduate school, in hopes you could study health disparities to learn how to deliver better healthcare services to folks who look like you, communities that represent you. Hopefully you can go to CUNY (third time in a row, fingers crossed!) It feels scary but exciting, all these different pathways and new opportunities you’re trying out. You have been to Albany and Washington DC to advocate for the behalf of fellow students’ well-being, participated in life-changing internships and programs, made new friends, started your own advocacy project, met amazing mentors, leading your very own business, learning to appreciate your progress and simply having fun! If anyone hasn’t told you yet, I am proud of you and can’t wait to see the next steps for you!

XOXOX!

Love,

Onye