Self Reflection

Well, Freshman Seminar is finally over. At times it seemed like a burden, especially since it was only one credit, but i learned A LOT from this class. Freshman Seminar allows you to think in different ways and used history to tach life lessons. Throughout the course of this class we learned the difference between knowledge and wisdom and even some new African terms. Knowledge is the acquisition of an education but wisdom is using what we learn in order to better ourselves. The wisdom we learn should then be passed down from generation to generation to avoid the repetition of mistakes.

The presentation that stuck with me the most was where we were told that we should strive to become something bigger than ourselves. This is so true. Our goals here at Howard should not be to simply graduate but to graduate with the intellect in order to transform the world to a better place.




-CarinaF. <3

Post Group Presentation

The research project that we had to complete was very enlightening. It opened my eyes to hereditary diseases that impact the black community. For example, the researcher i chose to study, Dr. George Dickson, does work involving Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). THis disease is a recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy, which results in muscle degeneration, difficulty walking, breathing, and death. The research, led by Professor George Dickson, involved a new genetic therapy called exon skipping. This treatment can restore production of the protein dystrophin. This is extremely important in the black community because blacks with the disease do not live as long as whites with the disease. White women with the disease lives, on average, 12 years longer than black woman with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Without having to do the research in Freshman Seminar, I would have never known about the criticalness of the research being done on this disease in regards to African Americans. This project was more than an assignment. It was EXTREMELY enlightening.

Each group had a different topic and everyone at the presentations were educated in different areas of life in the black community.



-CarinaF. <3

HOWARD HOMECOMING!!

Homecoming week is finally over! This has been the best week at Howard, thus far. There was so much to do and I was never bored once the weekend came. To start off my weekend, I went to Yardfest and to the R&B show. The yard fest was AMAZING! It was way more than I expected it to be. It was encouraging to see all of the alumni with their kids/grandkids. It made me eager to graduate so I can come back and celebrate with my former classmates. The performances were great and the foods being sold were yummy. The R&B show was also more than expected. Although each person had only a short time, I still enjoyed the show! On Saturday, there was the football game, which Howard won, and the Step Show. I didn’t attend the football game, but I did go to the step show, which was VERY ENTERTAINING!! I was excited to see all of the Greeks come together and compete. Even those that weren’t competing showed support. It showed the family aspect of Howard University, which many other universities don’t have. Howard Homecoming > (insert anything) =]

CarinaF. <3

HU..YOU KNOW!!!!

HOMECOMING!!!! This has been the best weekend ever. I had time to spend time with my friends and family. It made me excited to see all the people who come and represent Howard University. The fraternity and sorority reunions on the yard were breath taking. It amazes me how an organization can make people all over unite as one and connect on more than a physical level but a spiritual level. During the week I didn’t have much fun because I had to go to classes but this weekend I really felt like it was homecoming. Beside the fact the Quad couldn’t have visitation other than extended everything went smoothly this weekend. I partied like crazy and relieved my mind of all the stress of school and classes and take time to finally enjoy myself. Now that it’s over I have to buckle down and focus on school. I’m ready to conquer the rest of this semester.

My First HU Homecoming!

Before I attended Howard University I would always hear about the homecomings they have here. I would here about the great shows they have during the week and how yardfest is one of the most fun and interesting events of the homecoming week here at Howard. Although my financial status did not allow me to attend the events I was able to go to yardfest. I must say i had a ball. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. All the people: current students, alumni, babies, people from local areas...just so many great people. All of us having a great time together with great smelling food, delicious fruity drinks, and fried oreos! I did not try the fried oreos I was, honestly, scared to try them but I heard they were delicious. But Howard Homecoming was an absolutely great experience and I seriously enjoyed myself. On top of all of that Howard Bisons won the Homecoming game!!

We Like To PARTAYY!! =]

After much anticipation, HOMECOMING WEEK is finally here! It’s now time to play hard but work harder! As homecoming week begins, many of us may forget the reason we are here at Howard and end up missing classes/assignments because of late night partying. During this week, time management and prioritizing will be the most important aspects! I do plan to go to many of the events, but I also plan to stay on top of my academics. Last night, to kick off homecoming week, Midnight Madness was held in the renovated Burr Gymnasium. It was my first time at Midnight Madness, since I am a freshman, and it was quite interesting. I expected more but it made me even more excited for homecoming and the basketball season. As the men’s basketball coach said, we should all support our teams and Howard University should have the best home court support! As long as I can, I’ll be at all home games. =]

-CarinaF. <3

Crunch Time...

OK. We have now finished our class meetings and will be working on our group projects. I honestly can say I might be a bit afraid of this project. I have not gotten the chance to know my group members yet so I am not sure of their interest or majors or anything really. This scares me because we might all have an academic leader in mind that we would love to research about, but hopefully we will be very adult about this project and get it done. Other than that I am excited for this project and the new information we will obtain.

On a different note, this week is homecoming week! They have already started off the festivities with midnight madness at Burr Gymnasium. This will be my first homecoming at Howard U and i must say i am very excited. Although homecoming is here this is also the time i must put most of my attention towards my academics. It is the middle of the semester and i do not want to become lazy and end up failing. I need to find the balance between fun and my studies, especially this week. I hope you all have a great homecoming week!

-Kapri

MIDTERMSSS!

I realized that college is not what I thought it would be. I have never in my academic career struggled in all my classes like this. Everything is moving to fast for me. I miss my family and I can’t keep up with my class work. But I know that God wouldn’t have brought me this far and put me through difficulties I couldn’t handle. I’m trying my best to stay on top of my game in class and I’m not going to give up. Being a Nursing major is no joke and it’s only going to get harder. I love Howard and I realized that what ever I’m going through is not because of the school it’s because of me, and what I can manage. I received all satisfactory grades on my midterms but I know I have to work harder. Getting a 4.0 is harder than what I thought and at this point I’ll be happy if I received a 3.0. I can’t wait for homecoming to come so I can get a break.

SPECIAL EVENTS 2 - MS. EVERS' BOYS

First off, I would like to say that the “Ms. Evers’ Boys” production was amazing. Had it not been for the requirement of Freshman Seminar I probably would not have attended but I’m glad that I did. This play showed the talent of the students at Howard University. They did a great job reproducing this play. The set for the play was remarkable and everything seemed as if I were actually there. The play was told through the eyes of Ms. Evers and based off of a study called the Tuskegee Study. Ms. Evers had to take care of the black men that were in this study and they were no only patients but also friends to her, hence the name “Ms. Evers’ Boys”. I really enjoyed the played and it turned out to be more than just a class assignment. The emotions of Ms. Evers could have been felt throughout the play and I would recommend this play to anyone who is looking for GREAT entertainment.

- CARINA F. <3

Ms.Ever's Boys

This show was absolutely amazing! It was a tear jerker. I feel bad for Nurse Ever's because she was really playing tug of war with her self. She was trying to help the boys and and do her job at the same time. I know she had so many burdens on her back. I just wish the boys could be as understanding as Ben was. I loved the set also. The whole production felt more like a movie than a play. It was so real, the emotions, the characters, the conflicts, everything. It was amazing to see what talent we have here at howard. I really enjoyed the little comedic lines they had to lighten up the show, such as the time when they were talking about how they had "obligations" to fill and giving blood would take away that "obligation". It took me a while to get used to the time period of the play. When they talked about their education and how Mr. Ben couldn't write his name. That was absolutely sad to me that at 50 years old he wasn't educated. All in all I would love to see the show again.

-Kapri Robinson

Practices of Freedom and Justice

Our presenter for this week was Dr. Leslie T. Fenwick, the dean of Howard University’s School of Education. She began her presentation with a series of questions, requiring us to think on everyday topics. The one question that stood out to me was: “Which group scores higher on college entrance exams? African American males or females?” Surprisingly, according to the national data acquired from college entrance exams, black men score higher than black females. If this is true, why are black males underrepresented in the college community? Why aren’t more black males striving to be greater than they already are?

The goal of a Howard graduate is not to merely get a degree, but to transform and empower the world. To do so, we must know statistics, including the underrepresented data. In order to help our community, we must KNOW about our community. We must think about experiences in our community, and the world as a whole, and raise research questions. How can we help this? How can we change this? What must be done in order to get certain results?

Dr. Fenwick took on this challenge in her book and we should do the same.

-CarinaF. <3