My Final Post of the Semester!!!

I truly cannot believe that this is my last post of the semester! As I mentioned in my last post, I have learned so much between observing and my classes! I also very much enjoyed spending time with all of my friends this semester and I was able to travel to many places and experience many new things! Today I took three of my finals and I also have three more to take, but then I am done with exams on Thursday!! After two more nights of studying, I will finally get to relax! I wanted to thank everyone for helping me throughout the semester and I cannot wait to see you all again in the fall!!!

Reality Check!!

I honestly cannot believe that today is the last day of classes! This semester has flew by so fast, but it has definitely been an eventful semester! This semester I have met so many great people, I have got to work with so many excellent teachers and students, and I have completed many, MANY assignments. I always get sad at this time of year because I am going to miss all of my friends from Caldwell who live very far away, but I am excited to see some of my friends from high school and go on vacation! Also, I am working at Camp Hope again this summer and I am extremely excited! It is so rewarding to work with these special needs children and young adults each day! Although the days are long and each of the campers have their own bad days once in a while, I do go to my job each excited about seeing the campers! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer! I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall!!! :)

The Beginning of the End!

I cannot believe this is the last week of classes! Before the beginning of this week, I had a crazy weekend! I had a tons of papers to do this weekend, and my laptop began to give me problems, hence why I could not post on my blog until today! Thursday night I had a ton of work to submit online, so I did not hang out with my friends, but instead I stayed home the night doing homework. Then, on Friday, I spent the entire day completing a reserach paper! But, Friday night was great because I went with all of my friends and my boyfriend to Caldwell's Spring Formal. It was a lot of fun and it was a great way for all of us to de-stress because we have been so swamped with work! On Saturday, I went to Caldwell Fest and worked a table for CCEA. It was a lot of fun because all of my friends were there and there was a ton of great food and fun activities. Saturday night, I went out to dinner with my family, and on Sunday, I spent the entire day doing homework yet again.

I have my final papers due for all of my classes this week and then it's on to finals week! Hopefully, my finals will not be too hard, but I plan on making the most of the rest of this week with my friends. Although this has been a very stressful semester, it has been very rewarding in the sense that I have had great professors and I did get to spend a lot of time with my wonderful friends. I am looking forward to a very relaxing summer and hopefully a exciting semester in the fall as well!! 

My boyfriend and I at formal!

The lovely group of ladies!

Kristin and I at Caldwell Fest!

Inspiring People!

Yesterday I had a great experience with some very inspiring people! Meghan, the coordinator of Campus Ministry here at Caldwell, approached me and some other members of campus ministry at lunch the other day and told us about a new program Caldwell is going to begin. Horizon School, which is a school in Livingston for students with cerebral palsy, wants to begin a program with Caldwell College so that some of their students are able to understand what college is truly like. Yesterday, four students from Horizon came to Caldwell and we gave them a tour of the college and had lunch with them. It was a really great experience because although some of the students at Horizon have mental or physical disabilities, they are truly inspiring because they have such a positive outlook on life!

I was really happy to be able to be a part of this experience because lately, my education classes have been becoming very difficult and I am nervous about the future. But when I was showing Caldwell to the students from Horizon, I realized how blessed I would be to work with students like the students I worked with from Horizon each day. Hopefully, my education classes will become easier over time. But I know that being a teacher is what I truly want to do, so all of my effort in my classes is worth it!

5K Weekend!!!

Hi everyone! So this has been a very interesting week! I was so excited because for the first time, I was able to register for all of my classes without a problem!!! Even though I had to run around campus and get many different signatures in order for this to happen, it worked out well! I am excited because this Saturday is the 5K run for the Autism and ABA Center on campus! This is one of my favorite events of the year!! My favorite part of the event is the fun run that is at the beginning of the event for the children to run! It is great to see them also participate in the run! This year, CCEA is also having a sand art table, which will be a lot of fun!!! Helping students and children with special needs is something very close to my heart and that is why I love the 5K so much and why I think it is so important! So far, the Autism center has raised a lot of money to use for the center through the run and hopefully more people will register that day! Hopefully everything goes well!!

Planning for the Future!

It's that time of year again - registration! Ever since my freshman year at Caldwell, registration has always been the most stressful time of the year! I feel like because it is going to be the beginning of my junior year in the fall, I am now under a lot of pressure to finish taking all of my required classes! A lot of people told me it is impossible to finish studying elementary education, special education, and English within four years, but I am going to try my best!!! Next semester, I have decided to take nineteen credits, including a biology class and a scholars course, so I am extremely nervous! I will also be observing a lot next semester so I made sure that I will have Fridays off. I also thought about taking summer classes, but they are extremely expensive! Also, this will be my sixth summer at the camp I work at with special needs children and young adults and I cannot imagine not working there in the summer. It is such a rewarding experience and I love working with all of the campers! At this point, I am keeping positive! Choosing classes is always stressful, but I am sure it will all work in the end! All I can do is plan as much as possible and hope for the best! :)

Spring Fun!!

I have been extremely busy during these couple of days that we have had off for Easter break! On Thursday, our first day off, my brother and I went shopping for our mom and dad to buy things to put in their Easter baskets! On Friday, a local youth group that I help with on the weekends reinacted the Living Stations. It was a lot of fun because we had practiced the Living Stations for several weeks now and it was great to see their final performance! Many people were so pleased with the reinactment and this made the students very happy!! On Saturday, I spent the day with a friend of mine and at night, my family went to the Easter Vigil at our church! The Easter Vigil is always one of my favorite masses during the year and it was still beautiful this year with the choir and all of the people who attended the mass! On Sunday, my family came over to my house for a ham dinner that my mom worked hard all day to prepare! It was so much fun to spend time with my cousins and to catch up on what each of us are up to!

The Easter eggs my family dyed!

My cousins and I at Easter dinner!

My brother and I Easter morning!

This whole Easter week,  I have realized how blessed I am to be surrounded by such wonderful people in my life. Between the reinactment of the Living Stations, the Easter Vigil, and spending time with my family, I realized that the most inspiring people are the people that surround you everyday. At the Easter Vigil on Saturday, the priest spoke about how it is so important to help others because Jesus devotes his life to helping other people. During the forty days of Lent, I tried to help a person each day, and in many ways, I saw this happen. But I think that I will continue this idea even after Lent and Easter and try to help people as much as possible each and every day.

The Beginning of the End of the Semester

Hi everyone! Like many people, I have had a crazy week being overwhelmed with different projects and tests for my classes! I am nervous about all of the things I have to complete before the end of the semester! On top of that, I am almost done with the 65 observation hours I had for my elementary and special education classes. It is bittersweet because I love the students and I really enjoy being in their classroom! I am really happy because I talked to the classroom teachers and they invited me to come to help out in the class even after I have completed my hours!

The only thing that I am upset about is that in order to complete my observation hours on time, I have to observe this Friday and miss out on Caldwell's Service Day, which is one of my favorite days of the year! I know my observation hours are more important, but I really enjoy Service Day! Last year, I went to another church in Caldwell and I cleaned out one of their supply closets. I truly bonded with the other people that I was sent to the site with and all of the people at the church had nothing but great things to say about Caldwell College! They also really appreciated all of the work we did because we helped to create more room for different activities, such as their Sunday School classes.

Although I love observing, I am going to miss participating in Caldwell College's Service Day this year! I hope that everyone who does participate in Service Day has a lot of fun and truly enjoys the experience! Through service, I have found out that the best way to become a better person is to help other people.  

Having a Great Day!

This week, I have been very stressed with the four different midterms I had!! It was hard for me because I had to study a lot for my exams during Spring Break and then I was very stressed studying this week! I am so happy that as of today, my exams are over! This morning, my day became even better when I was tutoring. As many of you know, I plan to be a special education teacher and work with students with special needs. Even though I have been working with children with special needs since I was fifteen, many people warn me that it is going to be a lot of hard work. I understand that my job may not be easy, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to help these children and make them happy.

Sometimes, when the responses people give you fill your mind with doubt, you need to be reassured that you are making the right decision. Today I had one of those unexpected moments when someone reassured me that I am making the right decision. As one of my jobs, I tutor students throughout the week. Today, I tutored a student who has a disability. I helped her to complete her homework assignments as I usually do and after we finished her assignments, we began to discuss our plans for the future. When I told this young girl that I hope to be a special education teacher one day, she was overjoyed. She said that because she had been in special education classrooms all throughout her life, she knows that they need new teachers to help improve the system of education for special education students. She also told me that she can see from the way I help students during tutoring that I will be a great teacher!

Right before the student left, she turned to me and said, "Thank you for helping people like me." When she said this, I was literally left speechless. I thought it was so thoughtful of her to say and I also appreciated her very kind words. Sometimes, when we have a difficult week, we become discouraged and fear that the career path we are taking may be too difficult or may not be the correct plan for us. I was having one of those difficult weeks this week and this student reassured me that I am choosing the perfect career choice for me. I find nothing more rewarding than the feeling that you know that you have helped someone, such as a student with a disability, that you know is sometimes overlooked in our daily lives.





This is an image that is used to promote disability awareness.



Being in the Classroom

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This week, during Spring Break, I spent a lot of my week observing in a second grade classroom at St. Cloud school for observation hours! Even though it was hard waking up early, I really enjoyed going spending time in the classroom more throughout the week because my schedule only permits me to observe every Friday. When I walked into the classroom on Wednesday, it felt great because many of the students were excited to see me! All week, the class was working on a project for their bulletin board for St. Patrick's Day. They wrote stories about how they met a leprechaun! I really enjoyed working with the students on this project because I saw them first write their "sloppy copies," then I helped them edit their writing, and it was so rewarding to then see them hand in a perfect copy of their paper! After the students finished writing their mini-essay, they also each colored a pot of gold to put on their bulletin board. The final product was so cute! I love observing and I cannot wait to have my own classroom and spend time helping students and doing what I love each day!

My little cousin Elizabeth and I at the parade!

I am also very excited because my family is celebrating St. Patrick's Day today! Due to the fact that everyone in my family is Irish, it is a big holiday for us! My whole family goes to my uncle's house and we eat corned beef and cabbage and celebrate our Irish heritage! My family really began celebrating St. Patrick's Day last week because we also attended the St. Patrick's Day parade in my hometown! It was a lot of fun! I hope that everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day and enjoys the rest of spring break!

The Flag of Ireland!

 

Preaching in Action!!

This week, I made some very exciting plans for the summer! As some of you know, I went to a Dominican high school, and that was one of the main reasons I decided to attend Caldwell! I am so glad I did choose to come to Caldwell College because I have had some of the best experiences and have met the most wonderful people here!

When I was in high school, I attended something called the Dominican Preaching Conference. At this conference, my high school met with many other Dominican schools across the United States. It was so interesting to meet students my age from all over the country! We talked about different campus ministry events each school did and we became very close with one another by the end of the week. It was a week full of prayer and service. It was one of my best experiences in high school!

This summer, I am lucky enough to attend the Preaching in Action Conference! Each year, Caldwell sends two students to this conference and it is like the conference I went to in high school, but it is for Dominican colleges. A lot of my friends have already attended this conference and they say that is is an amazing experience. I loved the preaching conference in high school, so I am sure I am going to love it in college, too! Plus, the conference is taking place in Chicago and I have never traveled there before, so I am very excited!

Here are some pictures from when I attended the Dominican Preaching Conference in 2008 in Michigan. I am so excited to go on the college conference!!

Doing the Small Things

Today, my brother, who is a sophomore in high school, came home and told me about how he volunteered at a food pantry this afternoon. I thought that was so great and I was jealous I was not able to help myself! He went with a couple of his friends for service hours that they are required to do at school. He told me that he was really excited to help people who were in need of food or other items. But he then told me how he was upset because when he went to the food pantry, instead of helping the people, he and his friends were sitting in one of the offices at the pantry and they were putting labels on envelopes that would be sent to people asking for donations. I definitely understood why my brother was disappointed! Then, I tried to put things in perspective for both him and myself. If he and his friends did not put those labels on the envelopes, no one may have donated to the food pantry. Then, many people who are in need would not be able to come there and receive what they need.

Sometimes, when people volunteer, they expect to directly reach out to other people and somehow change their lives. I do think that is great if that can happen, but as I have become older, I realize that it takes a lot of work behind the scenes to make something happen. In reality, envelopes do have to get sent out to ask people for donations. When I talked to my brother, I encouraged him not to give up and to return to the food pantry. I told him that eventually, he will get to meet and talk to the people who come there.

The little things that we do each day are usually the biggest help. One day, smile at someone who looks like they are distressed, hold the door for someone who looks like they are in a rush, or listen to the person who is upset and needs a friend to talk to. I have realized that this can make the biggest difference in someone's life, but we may not even realize it. During this season of Lent, that is one of my goals - to try to help someone as often as I can during the day by doing the simple things. These things honestly do make a difference in a person's life.

Helping the Homeless

As many of you know, last week I wrote about how excited I was to go on a Midnight Run with Campus Ministry. I had been on one Midnight Run before, but I did not get to talk to as many of the people we helped as I would have liked. So this run, I made sure that I talked to many of the different people we helped. I spoke to the man who organizes the Midnight Run before the people came for food or clothing. He explained to me that he was at one time homeless because he worked in a factory, and at one point he became very ill and due to the fact that he was not working, he did not get paid. Then, he found himself living on the streets of New York City. He organizes the Midnight Runs because he explains that many people who have had an education or had a job at one time may become homeless due to different reasons that people are not aware of. Many of the people that we provided food and clothes for explained that although they are thankful that they currently have a roof over their heads, they are not always able to eat everyday and they are sometimes cold because they do not have enough blankets to keep them warm.


Talking to the people on the Midnight Run was truly an eye-opening experience for me because many people feel that the poor are lazy and do not try to find a job. By talking to the people on the Midnight Run, I realized that everyone does not know the history of the person standing next to them, and it is important to help your neighbors because one day you may need help too. I am so thankful to have had this wonderful experience and I definitely plan to go on more Midnight Runs in the future.  

Midnight Run!

I thought it would be a wonderful idea to write about Midnight Runs today because I will be going with the Caldwell College Campus Ministry on a Midnight Run tomorrow night! Midnight Runs are a program that was developed to help the poor people of New York City. My freshman year at Caldwell College, I went on one Midnight Run and it was an amazing experience! During the Midnight Runs, Caldwell College works with other colleges to provide food and clothing for the poor people who do not have a home and are forced to live on the streets in New York City. There are several locations in which we stop at and the people in the area are informed that we are coming. During the Runs, the people are usually able to choose one or two warm pieces of clothing to wear and there are also some sandwiches and soup that they can eat. I think it is such a wonderful experience because the people truly appreciate what you are doing for them. Sometimes the people also like to talk to the people who bring them food and clothes on the Midnight Run and some of their experiences are heart-breaking. I am so excited about participating on the Midnight Run tomorrow and I cannot wait to blog about how it went!   

Helping Our Neighbors

Just the other day, I was thinking about how many people are willing to donate to far away areas such as Darfur, but they do not donate to people in the surrounding areas. Personally, when I am walking on the streets of New York City and someone asks me for a dollar to buy dinner, I am always hesitant because that one question pops into my head - "Is this person truly going to use the money for something good?" In reality, many people that we see every day may be in need, but we just do not realize it.

One example of when a lot of people in our area of Caldwell were in need was when Hurricane Irene hit New Jersey this past October. When Hurricane Irene hit, a lot of families struggled because their houses were damaged. Through Campus Ministry, I also found out that the food bank in Caldwell was extremely low because so many people were struggling after the storm. To be completely honest, I had no idea that Caldwell even had a food bank! I thought that Caldwell was such a beautiful town and there would never be any person or family here in need! After the hurricane, Kristin and I volunteered to stand in front of Shop Rite in Caldwell and asked people to donate food items to Kiwanis, who would be donating the items to the soup kitchen in Caldwell. After that event, I realized that there are so many people right around us every day that are in need! I hope to be able to do more to help people in our surrounding area who are always so supportive of Caldwell College!  

Children with Special Needs

Today, I thought that it would be great to talk about children with special needs! When I was fifteen, I volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs, simply because I needed to complete service hours for my high school. I was actually very nervous about volunteering at Camp Hope because I had never worked with children with special needs before. What I did not know was that this experience was going to change my entire life. When I volunteered at Camp Hope for that one short week, I found a new passion for working with children with special needs. Although some of the children had either Downs Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy while other children were Autistic, I realized that they were so appreciative of someone who would play with them or someone who simply has the patience in to help them to complete an art project. The children at Camp Hope have helped me to become the person I am today and they taught me to appreciate everything and everyone in life. After my first week at Camp Hope, I realized that I would want to become a special education teacher.


As I had mentioned before, children with special needs love when someone spends time with them by doing something fun, such as reading them a story. There are many volunteer opportunities to work with these children. Caldwell College has a Center for Autism and ABA that looks for volunteers to come help with the children who attend the center. Also, now that I am returning for my fifth summer at Camp Hope, I know that they are looking for volunteers, and I have never seen a volunteer leave without looking at the world around them from an entirely different perspective. Lastly, never be afraid to contact your local community center in your home town because I am sure there are many events for special needs children! 

Helping Others

Since I created this blog yesterday, I was thinking about the various topics I could write about. During winter break, I spent a week in West Virginia volunteering at Bethlehem Farm. Bethlehem Farm helps with home repair in Appalachia, which is one of the poorest areas in the United States. At Bethlehem Farm, I helped with home repair at different houses and I also learned how to better care for the Earth. During the winter break, I also traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the Students for Life Convention and the March for Life. At the Students for Life Convention, I was introduced to new information about abortion in the United States and the different ways that the Students for Life club at Caldwell College is able to help end abortion in the United States. At the March for Life, hundreds of people from across the country joined in a peaceful protest to end abortion in the United States. Through all of my experiences throughout my winter break, I realized how much I love helping other people and volunteering.    

I would like to end my post today with a quote from St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine once said, "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." When people volunteer, they are able to do something they love while helping others. I know that every time I volunteer, the people I am helping usually teach me something and help me to become a better person. I also realize that in volunteering, although you are giving of yourself, you are receiving back much more in return. In this blog, I would like to draw attention to many inspiring people who devoted their lives to helping others. I would also like to discuss the many different people who are in need not only in our world, but also in our own country.  

Welcome!

Hi everyone! My name is Melissa and I am a sophomore at Caldwell College. I love to write and I hope to one day teach children with special needs. I hope to write about many different topics that many of my readers will find interesting! :)