Friends and Music by Sarah Denike

One of the things that I love about my job as a student ambassador is that I get to take part in many of the school events by observing them and then sharing it with others. Today I went to see an instrumental/ choral concert in R004. It was both fun and pleasant. I love music and those involved did such a great job. We truly have some talented musicians and singers among us.
For the first part of the concert Melvin Williams (part time professor at CCC) directed the instrumental performing ensemble. The audience was treated to melodies that delighted the soul and made you want to dance on a ‘“mountain with its head in the clouds” .Speaking as a fellow partaker of the festivities I found it difficult to restrain myself. One could not help but move one’s own instruments along with La Tarantella as one of the students plucked a delightful instrument that looked like a small guitar. On top of getting to hear a concert I was also blessed to get a historic/cultural lesson in the background of some of the instrumental pieces. For example the latter one mentioned was an Italian song with a chilian twist to it that was played when one got bit by a spider and was shaking in convulsions.

In the middle of the performance there were songs played with select people singing or a soloist involved. One that really touched me was Your Daddy’s Son from Ragtime. In it was told a story about a boys father as his mother buries him in the ground. My heart was pulled as the lines “ I buried my heart in the ground” came into the air as the singer tells the story of this woman that has so much conflict and heart ache with burying her son.

The final half of the concert was kicked of with a glorious Kenyan song called Wana Baraka . The melody was so wonderful that one could almost hear drums in the background to this wonderful piece. Ending the concert was the song “Walk together children” which concluded with the chorus swaying and elevating the joy of its listeners.

Many people I knew took part in this wonderful event and I just want to say “thank you” . Your melodies and cascading harmonies were such a gift to me and i am privileged to call you my friends. Thanks for giving us a great concert .

My CCC Experience By Nick Bonomo

My experience as a CCC student so far has been, in a word, comfortable. For almost a year and a half I've been experiencing the quality education and fun student life that CCC has to offer. As a sophomore, I can truly say that I know a lot about CCC. I have been here long enough to enjoy a lot of student life as well as community outreach. I am eager to come in to school and to create for myself a skill set which prepares me well for my upcoming transfer to CUNY John Jay. I have been given the right amount of support, lenience, compassion and freedom to create my own environment here at CCC. I can see my future being built with every class I take and my short-term goal of getting a college degree is well within my grasp. CCC offers me a rare opportunity to experience college in a cost effective and more transitional way than many other colleges. I feel that I am equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to move on and accomplish my goals, as well as the motivation to do so. My choice to come to CCC was the right one and I am sure that it will serve me well in the future.

- Nick

A Glimpse Into the Life of Nick

My name is Nick and I am a sophomore at CCC. Here's a little background on me: I am a compassionate and empathetic person who loves to understand people and their thoughts. I am in my third semester at CCC and studying Liberal Arts: Humanities and Social Sciences and I will graduate from here with my Associate’s Degree in that program of study. I am planning to transfer to CUNY John Jay to study to become a Criminal Profiler in the FBI and perhaps to teach music theory at a high school when I retire. A hobby that I am extremely passionate about is music. I enjoy listening, writing, playing, singing and generally studying it. I currently have two jobs, one of which is Concession Manager at The Palace Theatre in Corning; the other is Student Ambassador specializing in marketing here at CCC. My biggest aspiration in my life is to someday be a good father.

Summer/Online Courses

It's the middle of summer for many, however, I feel like my summer has ended. Opposed to many, I don't think this is a bad thing. I graduated from CCC last semester. My entire 2 and half years here I have never taken summer courses. Now that I graduated I guess I decided it would be a good idea!

Summer courses are typically compact courses where you do a lot more work in a shorter amount of time. At least that's what it seems like when you get a syllabus! I decided to take Sociology: The Family. I have always been interested in Sociology since my first semester here at CCC but continuing with it had never fit into my scheduling. Now that I wasn't trying to fit things into my schedule so I could graduate, I took this course to decide if I wanted to minor in Sociology when I transfer on to my 4-year school for American Sign Language in a month!

I didn't want to be stuck in a classroom all summer; thank God it was an online course! Did I mention that I have never taken an online course before either? I was worried about how I would do or if the style would suit me. Fortunately, I loved it! After weekly quizzes, weekly discussions, and two major assignments (that were tailored to my interests) I found myself leaving that course with an A!

I had the freedom to work on the assignments when I had time (so I didn't feel I was being robbed of my summer). I also had the freedom to go to Texas for a week (where I wasn't able to get online) and the instructor made arrangements for me to be able to work ahead in the course. I can't guarantee that you'll have this much flexibility if you decide to take an online course in the future, but my advice would be, make sure you stay on task before you ask the instructor for a favor!

Now that this course is over, I am started Contemporary Craft History, also an online course. This course wasn't something I desired to take, but I needed 6 credits in order to be a full time student to receive financial aid (better than 12 credits, which is what is required during Fall and Spring semesters). I had registered for Ceramics (which is another course I have always wanted to take at CCC but had not had the time)... but unfortunately the course did not fit with my work schedule.

I just started Contemporary Craft History and am already loving it! One of my assignments is to visit Corning Museum of Glass. This course is definitely not something I would have taken toward my major, but I'm glad I am allowing myself to expand my knowledge past what I think I'd be interested in. That's the point of college, right? I'm enjoying these last courses at CCC before I leave for my 4 year school.

-K8

Clear skies get here soon! by Kate

Being a student at Corning Community College has its perks. I’ve graduated after two and a half years and regret not taking advantage of these perks in my early days as a student. Now that I’m taking summer classes, I decided to look into these perks before I ship off to a 4-year school.

Even before I considered attending Corning Community College, my mother had told me how much she enjoyed coming up with her mother as a child to the Planetarium and Observatory located here on campus. She always hinted that she’d like to go again someday. About a month ago I texted my mother and asked her if she wanted to go with me. She replied with, “YES!!!” She was ecstatic! What a great daughter I am.

I brought my mother and other family members up. Doors open at the Planetarium at 7:30 PM every first and third Friday of the month and the show starts at 8:00PM SHARP! Apparently, if you show up 20 minutes late, they won’t let you in. However, they were nice enough to take us up to the Observatory, show us the telescope and give us an interesting info session of the history of the Observatory.

As interesting as this was, the sky wasn’t clear enough for us to look through any of the telescopes! Unfortunate, but I was willing to try again. Last Friday I brought my mother up again. We arrived at 7:45 PM! There was no way I was going to miss the show again. Not only did I get half off tickets into the Planetarium with my Student ID, but my mother did as well for being with me. Talk about VIP!

We walked in and others were already seated and waiting for the show to start, some with their seats reclined. We sat in the back, middle section. I wanted to recline my seat. I struggled and struggled to get my seat reclined. I’m a bit over dramatic, I’m pretty sure everyone could tell my determination to recline my seat… The woman who checked us in came in and informed me that only the first three rows recline. I’m giving you fair warning, so you don’t look as foolish as I did!

The show was informative, funny and entertaining. I won’t ruin it, see it for yourself. The next showing is next Friday, June 18th at 8:00 PM SHARP! They have a new show each month. I will say, the star globe (I don’t know if that’s the technical term) was extremely fascinating! And I know this wasn’t planned, but it began to down pour in the middle of the show. The sound of the rain on the dome was relaxing and the seats were extra comfy (even though mine didn't recline). But, I’m a person who sleeps like a baby through thunder storms.

Obviously, with the rain, the skies weren’t clear enough for us to look through the telescopes. Maybe you’ll see me there next week! After all, the Observatory is free. After the show we strolled down to Market Street to get some Atlas Pizza (one of my mom's favorites). It was a great friday night out. Maybe take a family member, a date or a friend? I will say, it was a lot cheaper than dinner and a movie (which some may argue is the only thing to do in our area) and a lot more entertaining.

Transfer - Words of Wisdom by Julie

It's not easy getting ready to transfer to a big, 4-year school. There are times in the process when, to me, it didn't even seem logical. I was never very good at the whole "hurry up and wait" thing. I found out recently that I was not accepted into the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations, one of the most competitive of all of the schools at Cornell, so Social Philosophy at SUNY Cortland will be an excellent backup. As much as I love Corning Community College, it is time for me to move on and achieve all of the bigger things I have planned for myself.

Since I am about to complete the process, I want to share some words of wisdom for students who will be transferring later on.

First, talk to an advisor. Talk to any advisor. Just make sure you are comfortable sharing things about the process you are going through with them. Remember that they are here to help and guide you if you will let them, and take advantage of that. Advisors have all sorts of information and contacts that you will realize you never even thought of. They will be there if you need a shoulder to cry on or a congratulations on your acceptance to a school. Your advisor understands that transferring isn't always easy.

Don't be concerned about knowing what you want to spend the rest of your life doing when looking at schools. The Director of Admissions for one of the schools I applied to gave me some great advice in an email. He said, "If you are sure what you want to do for the rest of your life right now, you likely will have a difficult time in college. Your college experiences will change you and as a result your interests might change. No one should waste that much money if they aren't happy. And who says that you ever have to make a decision? You could paint for a while, teach for a few years, and retire from a long and successful career as the CEO of an up-and-coming company that produces the next iFad. Go to school for what pays the bills but if that doesn't make you happy, make sure you find something that does to participate in on the side." I completely agree with him too. Being open-minded leaves more room for opportunity to come a-knockin'.

You can apply to as many schools as you want, but you need to have a plan, a backup plan, and a Plan C so you know that you won't let your future fall through the cracks. Many students apply to at least one "reach school", a school they have a chance of getting in to but their grades or test scores are a bit lower than the average usually accepted. Cornell ILR was my reach school. Make sure that the backup plans you have will satisfy you too. If you don't make it into your reach school, it is so much less stressful being content with a second choice school you have gotten accepted to.

Those are the three most important things I've learned in my time as a student who is actively looking to transfer after my graduation in a few weeks. Always remember that your education is primarily for your benefit and then secondarily for the benefit of whatever industry you plan to go into. Use the resources available to you. There are plenty of them out there if you are willing to take the time to look.

And as I often say: We don't find ourselves. We create ourselves.

Good luck, all!