Holiday Christmas Party for the Kids

This Sunday I volunteered with the National Council of Negro Women for the annual Christmas party that is put on for children in the Philadelphia community. The even was held on campus and about 100+ kids attended. There was food, entertainment, and gifts for them. Of course the food included all the favorites by kids like hot dogs, pizza, chips, and juice. After the eating was done they watched performances by different temple dance groups and a step by a fraternity on campus. There were also painting stations where the students could get face paint done. Perhaps the most entertaining act was the clown and her 3 parrots. She had all the parrots come on the gym floor and did silly things with them. Among the silly things done one was doing various dances to make the “parrots dance.” The kids did the wobble which is a popular line dance and the new dance craze that has hit the scene called gangnam style. I joined in with these dances as well. A children’s choir also performed a few Christmas songs for entertainment as well. After the festivities needed each child picked a pre-wrapped gift and got to take it home. It was truly a beautiful thing seeing all the children able to leave with something. I think the Temple Community truly helped make their Christmas a little brighter.

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

Thanksgiving break was last week and it felt great to be at home in Maryland. When I got home my mom made homemade cinnamon buns and I felt like I was in heaven. She then proceeded to cook ribs, chicken, potatoes salad, and string beans for dinner. This meal was so delicious it just made me more excited for thanksgiving dinner. On Thanksgiving Day we went to church then came home and cooked. My mom made all the usual thanksgiving wonderful food turkey, ham, stuffing, etc. However this was the first time she let me make the macaroni and cheese (it was delicious). When it came time to make the desserts I watched my mom work her usual magic. She made a 3 layer yellow cake with chocolate icing and 4 sweet potato pies (again all were delicious). After dinner was cooked we headed to my grandmother’s house for family dinner. Being around family is always wonderful and finally got to see my baby cousin, she is three and full of energy and never stop’s talking. After family time was over I enjoyed a nice long night sleep on a full tummy!!!! I ended the week at home by attending my little cousin’s birthday party. He turned three and we celebrated over pizza and cake. All and all being home was great and now I am even more anxious to go home for winter break!

 

Post Graduation Job!

In this day and age a  fear that many college students have is “will I be able to get a job after graduation.” I always  planned on being in the healthcare field so I assumed I would be able to find some type of job after graduation. This was confirmed for me by an article posted in the US News Best Colleges magazine,  2012 edition . In the article Health Inforamtion management was identified as one of the top 20  fastest growing jobs. This article  projects that the Health Information Management profession will have a 20% increase by 2018. They are expecting over 35,000 new openings in 212,000 positions. This news makes me feel secure in my major choice. I graduate in 2014 which is the year all medical systems will be required to switch to ICD-10 and have an electronic health based system. With these changes in the field many doors will be opened to new graduates. In a way the people who graduate with a degree in Health Information Management in 2014 are the future of the healthcare system. Yay Me!

 

 

History for a Second Term

On Tuesday November 6th, 2012, history was made in America for a second time. President Barack Obama was re-elected as the 44th president of the United States of America. This was a huge accomplishment for people who have ever faced any type of oppression in life. I cried tears of joy watching the election result because I was a part of making this happen. This was my first election I was able to vote in and it truly felt amazing. A lot of people did not want to see President Obama get re-elected for a second term but the majority really stood up came together and made the decision that was best for America. I just want to encourage people that we can all do whatever it is that we want. Many people told the highest elected official in our Country that he would never be president let alone be president for two terms. He proved them all wrong and gave all people hope. I put together of collage of my family exercising our democratic right enjoy!!! And remember anything is attainable.  

*Disclaimer this post does not reflect the views of  Temple University*

Absentee Voting

A few weeks I cast my absentee vote. For everyone that doesn’t know, I am from Maryland and after graduating from Temple I do plan on returning back to Maryland for good. I am a big fan of absentee voting. I could have registered my address I have at school and voted in Philadelphia but I think it is so important to stay in tune with the issues that are affecting your home state personally. Even though I will be in Philadelphia for the next four years the 18 years I have living in Maryland do not just leave me. This year was my first time being able to vote so it would have been nice to stand in line and actually go to the voting booth but I felt I had to stay true to Maryland. This year it was very important to me to vote for Maryland because there is a question on the ballot regarding same sex couples. You hope that the state you live in reflects your beliefs and views in the best way possible and the only way to do that is to let your voice be heard through voting. I am very satisfied with my decision and now the only thing to do is wait for the results on November 6th! Remember you have no place to complain about anything if you do not vote!!!!!

National Council of Negro Women Tea Party

Last night the National Council of Negro Women, Temple University Section had our annual “Hats Off” Tea party where we honored Dorothy Height who served as president of the organization for over 40 years. This is an organization that was started in 1935 that fought and advocated for African American and Women rights. This is my first year serving on the executive board for the organization so it was a wonderful experience planning the event and seeing the amazing outcome. We had a full house and we surprised our present adviser and past adviser with gifts. We also had members of the Philadelphia Chapter of NCNW come and support us. Another magical moment in the evening was when we surprised all of our new members with NCNW, TU section pins that they can now wear on there clothes. We also had Temple Gospel Ministries perform a wonderful selection for us. Overall it was a wonderful experience that allowed us to truly honor the wonderful women that came before us and paved a way for us in this wonderful organization.  

Passion Leads to Progress!!!!

 

yay me 100%

I am in my junior year at Temple and am finally into my major. The first two years my semesters were filled with general education requirements and satisfying pre-requisites for my major courses. This year I am actually in all classes that pertain to my field of Health Information Management. I truly love this major because I can impact someone’s life through improving the quality of healthcare they receive. I believe with passion comes success. Although I have strived in my class work during my time here at Temple being into the Heart of my major just makes me want to do better. I made this come true yesterday when I received my grade back on my Healthcare Statistics exam. It was a perfect 100%. This has never happened to me on a test here so I was thrilled needless to say! It just shows when you really are passionate about what you are doing you will always do well!

First Week of Class and Relational Databases

So the first week of school is officially over and I already am swamped in work! I’m very excited to dive into my major and I am quickly seeing how much work I am going to have to put it. I am taking a class called Healthcare Database Administration. In this class I will build a database from scratch. This weekend I started building the database using a program I had never used. Microsoft Access was a little tricky at first but after spending most of my weekend with it I feel like I have mastered it. Although this isn’t ideal on how to spend a weekend the since of accomplishment I received after completing my task was a wonderful feeling. I feel even more confident in my choice as being a health care managemenet major now!

Welcome Freshman!!! Bye Summer

This week the Temple University Freshman class moved in! This week has been full of balloons, tours, unpacking, and student organization recruitment. Approximately 5,000 incoming students moved in so needless to say we were busy. All the student organizations had tables that lined our main walk way through campus. Students got to see a taste of our over 300 different clubs and organizations that we have to offer here at Temple. Although this is a fun time it also means summer is coming to an end. This is the first summer I have worked full time with Undergraduate admissions and it was a wonderful experience. I will miss working with the same people every day but I am ready for the semester to start. Junior year for me (first day of classes for everyone else) is scheduled to start on August 27th! The second half of my undergraduate career is only 3 days away! I’m so excited!!!

 

Face Painting on the JOB!!!!

Throughout the school year Temple will request students for various photo shoots they do throughout the year. Last week they were in need of students to be a part of their “painted faces” campaign. The project manager reached out to my boss and asked if he could use some tour guides for the photo shoot. I never have problems with taking pictures I am very photogenic but I wondered just what “painted faces” meant. Naturally I thought they would paint a little Temple T or owl on our cheeks and we’d smile and have our pictures taking. This assumption was very wrong. When I arrive to the photo shoot I was surprised and a little nervous when they said they would be painting our entire faces. Since this was technically what I was getting paid to do that day I agreed and let the painter work her magic. When she finished my entire face was painted cherry and white (even my lips). I then took some pictures with photographer. I had a great time because I got to make silly faces and loud noises to match the wild poses throughout the photo shoot. At the end the acting President of Temple University, Richard Englert even came and took pictures with us. It was a fun experience and my pose maybe on the next billboard you see driving in to Philadelphia promoting my wonderful school Temple University. 

 Me as the Temple T takes over my face

 Me and Maggie showing our Temple Pride!

 Our Eyes just say “Temple We Love You”