| Karla Valentin - 4th Floor -
PEACE, FAU GReEn, and Global
Connections |
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Year:
Junior
Major:
Biology
Interests and
Hobbies: I enjoy playing Sports, Movies,
Dancing, Working out, Arts and Craft, Shopping (which is a
girls best friend), Family time, Ice-skating, Listening to
Music, Playing Instruments, Building and Designing, and
Learning.
Clubs
or Organizations: Plumosa Elementary School
(volunteer), Kids Art’s fair, summer tutor, Youth
leadership, Presidential Classroom, Day Care and Band
Box.
Favorite
Memory at FAU: There are so many memories
that I have had within the two years I attended FAU.
However, one exciting day was move in day; on August 21. I
realized I would be living under my own roof without my
parent’s protection. Beside that it was a reencounter I had
with one of my old friends from the previous college I
attended as well it was the chance for me to greet the
friends I have now within the Residential Halls. FAU showed
me how much fun it can be living on campus and being part
of a great University so more memories will be added within
the rest of my following years. |
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| October
09: |
Homecoming Week was exciting there was tons
of activities going all around campus like, Owl Hunt,
Sculpture Contest, SU unplugged, Wipe-Out Wednesday,
Timucua Pageant, Homecoming Parade, Comedy Show, Fall
Family Fest, and the Bonfire, leaving us with our
Homecoming Game. Homecoming was exciting due to it being
our first homecoming in college with all the activities and
gifts’ being given in the breezeway it was very amusing.
High school homecomings are quite different from college,
we didn’t have comedy shows, pageants, hunts, or other
activities that were held at FAU. However, having the
carnival and bonfire is a tradition that is held at any
school level, going to the family fest and having the
bonfire reminded us about our last homecoming at our high
school, cheering our football team to success. Some of us
are involved on campus by attending community council in
our residential hall, RA events, school activities, and
building a stronger community on our floor. As a floor, we
all enjoy each other’s company and make our residential
life and campus life fun by reminding each other the events
that are going on or by asking our RA. Weekends on campus
are not as fun due to the lack of people that stay on
campus and having a smaller amount of activities on the
weekends. To improve campus life on the weekends at FAU we
want more exciting things to do. To improve weekends in
housing we suggest having a recess event every weekend,
having movie nights, but most important having a late night
food center market place.
An RA’s
perspective:
Homecoming is a week of excitement due to
all the wonderful events that are happening on campus.
Learning to have time management in balancing your
schoolwork with homecoming events is important, homecoming
week is time consuming but in the end its worth the time.
Getting involved on campus is extremely important, one
thing I mention to my residents is “To get involved”. By
getting involved they can have the opportunity to meet new
people and get familiar with the school traditions and
campus sites. Getting involved on campus gives you the
feeling of being part of the on campus growth. FAU is
growing a lot through the years and being part of the
legacy is an amazing feeling. As for me every day, I wake
up more excited about the plans for FAU and actually having
a say in what can be improved on or brought to campus is
even better. Improving campus is the best feeling ever, but
to make change you need to be involved. Program Board has
an entire calendar of Late Night Events for evenings and
weekend that I tell my residents about so they don’t feel
like there isn’t anything to do around her, because there
is plenty going on if you know where to look. I encourage
my residents to get involved with Community Council,
Student Government, Mission Green, and Today and Beyond
Wellness. By getting involved with these organization you
can make change on the FAU campus and make us one step
closer to our goal as a University. |
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| September
09: |
The first 6 weeks of school was a bit of a
challenging getting to know exactly where all the classes
are located and meeting different people in class as well
as the professors. Walking through the Breezeway gave us a
sense of independence by allowing us chose what we want to
take forth with our lives. The first month was interesting
because it did not feel like we had a month already in
school, it is intimidating that we are almost done with the
first semester and soon we have to rearrange everything
again like, school, books, professors, and sleeping
methods. Walking through the halls of FAU has been fun so
far seeing all the organizations on the breezeway, getting
free merchandise like T-shirts, bags, bottles, it has been
extremely fun. Time Management has been difficult to keep
up with because of all the different type of classes and
different assignments. To keep on top of our schoolwork we
used a method that our RA. Karla told us, “Make a To Do
List or leaving sticky notes.” Using that method we have
remember to do homework assignments. Exam week was a
stressful week due to all the subjects we had to remember.
We all as a floor decided to make study groups because of
the advantage that we are in the LLC’s program, which meant
we all, had the same classes and professors. Exam week was
stressful since, it was our first time actually
experiencing our first college exam and the professor
teaching style. In fact, some of us were confused of what
type of scantron we had to use for our exams we did not
know that in college you used different scantrons. To
prepare ourselves better for our next exams we know that we
will not be able to procrastinate in studying for our
exams!
An RA’s perspective:
I once was in
their shoes and now they come to me for advice, and by
having the position of Resident Assistant my residents look
up to me a lot. My advice means a lot to them because they
now that I have once been in their shoes and I have
followed my study habits for over two years at FAU. My
residents know that being a Biology Major means a lot of
work and as well being their RA. My residents ask me “How
can I do so much, and complete it?” My advice to my
residents is to have great time management, not everything
in life is as easy as it was in High School. In college,
you have to know how to divide yourself to billions of
pieces and by doing that you need to have an everyday
planner. By having a planner or a To Do List, like I have
told my residents you can complete many task at once. My
suggestion to my residents is that being a great student
does not mean you’re a “Geek or Nerd” it means you’re a
responsible person and being a responsible person in life
can lead you to great success. |
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| August
09: |
The residents of the 4th floor are enjoying
their new found freedom, but still learning what to do with
all of their free time. Making the adjustment from high
school to college can be a challenging one. My advice to my
residents is they should see college as not a challenge but
one-step closer to their goals. College is hard, but making
study groups and seeking the help that FAU offer its makes
the college experience easier. From my experience in living
on campus I advise becoming involved with housing events,
and school wide events. College is fun but you need to have
great time management to know how to combine schoolwork and
activities together. Stay focused on your goals, college
gave me more independence but at the same time, it made me
more responsible I hope my residents have the same
experience as me and my independence.
When I
asked my residents if they are enjoying the Living Learning
Community experience they responded “we enjoy having LLC’s
because we get to be with people of our same interest. We
all live together and we have the same classes as each
other.” FAU is a very diverse campus that brings together
people from all over the state, county, and even the world.
Though living on campus can be an adjustment because you
are living with total strangers, most seem to be enjoying
the new adventure, and spending time getting to know each
other. Some of the women of the fourth floor stated that
“we love living in the Residential Halls because we get to
make new friends all the time and get to visit them.” The
residents of the 4th floor have surely gotten a wake-up
call, despite having administration and staff all around to
help the transition, when it comes to their independence
they are on their own. This first week of school in Fall
2009 has been fun to say the least. From the Opening BBQ to
the Foam Party on Friday night sponsored by Program Board
resident Asher Roth is already saying “I love
college”. |
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| Summer
09: |
| My summer 2009 has been very busy. I did
not have the chance to take summer classes as I wanted to,
but instead I got the chance relax before school starts.
For this summer I went on vacation with my family, got
together with old high school grads, helped my
sister-in-law move, and found out that I got the Resident
Assistant job. With all of this happening, it meant I had a
lot of planning and organizing to do. I am excited for the
school year to begin for many reasons; getting the chance
to be creative with my bulletin boards and programs, as
well as getting involved with helping the incoming freshmen
and getting to see my friends again. Not only that, I am
excited that this year I will have a family member going to
school with me now so I will have a little peace of home
with me. |
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