Student Tracklete

Shavonna Hinton

After several weeks of trying to avoid this topic, I’ve finally realized it was inevitable that I was eventually going to have to write about it. Ever since I’ve been in middle school I’ve always been known as the “tracklete”. I was hoping I might be able to shake this title once I got to college but sadly, I haven’t.  I’m not saying I don’t love the sport I just feel as if there’s so much more to me as a person but everyone always gets hung up on  the fact that I run track. However, being in college I’ve learned to embrace my role as a student athlete.

From my first day at Bing I was already at an advantage socially considering that my roommate was also a runner, which made the bonding process a little easier. Not to mention the fact that I would also be instantly connected to a group of 90 plus people all just by being on the team. I’ve grown to respect and admire many of my teammates for the hard work they put in on and off the track. Whenever I’ve had any questions about academics or finding a balance in college I could turn to someone who had gone through similar experiences and who could guide me through it all. I know it’s a cliché but my team is like a family. For the most part we are a pretty tight unit and we look out for each other. We celebrate each other’s victories and help each other out when someone might be down.

When I tell people I’m an athlete they’re usually very impressed with the fact that I’ve chosen to make a huge commitment aside from being just a student. Additionally, I hear you earn big points with job recruiters because of all the life skills you learn to develop as a student athlete.  All in all, being a student athlete is a badge of honor at Bing and I’m proud that I get to represent this college every week when I step out on that line to race.

Astronomy 100 to Management 580

Mike Madarasz

There are a handful of classes I have taken in my college career that I would consider vital moving forward into the professional world.  The Excel classes I have taken have no doubt made me proficient in a very important program. 

However, realistically, in my case a good percentage of the things that I have learned in college are not going to be overly relevant when I get my first job, whenever that may be.  Any kind of elective I’ve ever taken automatically falls under that category.  Nothing against astronomy but unless there is a company camping trip it’s very unlikely that it will be pertinent to a job in marketing.  This could even be said for some material in SOM classes that I have taken (professors, notice the emphasis on some).  For example, case studies and class discussions can be very valuable in obtaining an understanding of a subject.  However, I don’t see myself pulling out the “Four P’s” of marketing very often in a real business setting. 

That being said, college, and especially grad school, have provided me with skills that are much more important than much of the concrete knowledge I will come away with.  For example, I would say I have done upwards of thirty presentations in my life.  Public speaking is one of the most desirable traits for an employee and college has gone a long way in helping me perfect this skill. 

I can’t say enough about the communication skills that I will leave school with.  In grad school especially, group work is constantly required.  It forces you to be in constant communication with your group and make sure everyone is on the same page.  Not only that, in a competitive school such as Binghamton you are constantly working with very intelligent people and there is something to be said for that as well. 

Finally, if nothing else, college has taught me to be organized and on top of things.  Especially as a grad student with a 19 credit schedule, you need to manage your time in order to be successful.  You always have to be aware of what’s going on and have a plan for everything.

I may be graduating after five years with a significant amount of student loans to pay back but I think I can justify them pretty easily. 

Don’t “Be You” at BU, but “Find You” at BU

John Minami

If you looked into my closet, you won't find a single Binghamton University hoodie.  Looking at my friends and random students on campus, it appears that almost everyone has a university hoodie.  There are probably a multitude of reasons why everyone has one: it was on sale, it was supposed to be for a family member, they have a lot of school pride, etc.  As for me, I never really got around to getting one.  I've always wanted one, but various reasons (low cash, school store was closed, too lazy to walk to the school store, etc.) have always prevented me from making the purchase.

Since my time at Binghamton University, I have acquired these two hoodies.  The left one is from the Korean-American Baptist Organization or KABSO for short.  The other one is from the Binghamtom Crew team. 

To me, these are more or less my "Binghamton University hoodies".  You see, for me, Binghamton University isn't about the buildings or the classes or even our prestigious name.  To me, Binghamton University IS KABSO and BU Crew.  Without these two organizations, Binghamton University would cease to be what it is.  Both organizations have had such a profound impact on not only my first year of college, but my first year living on my own.

In KABSO, I was able to discover a new support system of emotional ties that act as my "pseudo"-family when my real family cannot be with me.  Without it, I don't know what I would do.  Sharing not only a faith, but also feelings and problems with this group has been an amazing experience for me.  Being so far from home, it is difficult to find people who truly love you. Luckily, I was able to find those people in KABSO. 

In BU Crew, however, I have found a different sort of support system.  Whereas, KABSO catches me when I'm down, BU Crew does something slightly different.

BU Crew pushes me past my limits.  When I am tired and dying, it drives me to continue moving.  Rowing every morning makes me believe that I can do anything.  If I can wake up at 5:00 AM every morning to kill myself for an hour or two BEFORE going to classes, I think I can pretty much do anything.  You know those billions of e-mails that SOM students receive from Christina Whitney?  I apply to every single one that doesn’t have a credit restriction.  Even though, my chances of getting that internship or job are slim, I persevere regardless because that’s what Crew has taught me to do.  It doesn’t matter how the odds are stacked against me, I just keep moving forward, doing my best.  I believe this determination will get me far in life.  Heck, it got me into EY Connect, which I never had believed I would be good enough for.  I also decided to double major in English because of Crew.  The workload will be hard but it is something I want to do, so I will reach for it with all my strength and effort.

To me, college isn’t about a time for getting good grades or a degree.  It’s about exploring yourself, and discovering parts of you that you never knew existed.  It’s about finding out how much you really miss your family and crave a close emotional connection.  It’s about realizing your full potential when you try your hardest. 

I’ve learned a lot about myself this freshmen year, but I’m still not done. I still have 3 more years to learn even more about myself.  And I can’t wait.

It's That Time of Year

Mike Madarasz

This is my fifth year in school and I can see a way too familiar time of year right around the corner.  It’s that time of year when the weather gets nice, academic motivation suffers and it becomes exponentially harder to bring yourself to be a diligent student.  It’s when you begin to see that stereotypical college scene of kids laying out and playing Frisbee on the college green.  I don’t know what it is about nice weather that makes college students “lose it”, but there is definitely an inverse relationship between temperature and academic achievement. 

I would be lying if I said I have not been guilty of this in the past.  Once the weather gets warm, I can’t help but let my mind wander to the golf course while sitting in class.  Whatever the topic in class is that day is not nearly as important as what I’m going to shoot on 18 holes later on.

After careful review and scientific analysis, I think I can partially explain this phenomenon.  First, suffering through winter comes with going to a school in upstate New York.  There are only so many weeks of good weather during each school year and students feel like they have to take advantage of them.  Also, by the time April comes around everyone is just plain tired of class.  I don’t feel I need to elaborate on this point.  Finally, everyone can taste summer right around the corner and the anticipation alone is enough to make students “lose it”.    

That being said, I have a tee time to make.

Crew Took the "Break" out of "Spring Break"

John Minami

While all of my friends were chilling and relaxing back in New York City, I was down in South Carolina going through one of the toughest weeks of my life.  I was attending the annual Binghamton Crew Spring Break Camp.   All of the upper classmen on the squad, who had been on the team for years, promised us, the novice team, that we would die at camp.  They weren’t kidding.

At the start of every day, we would force ourselves out of bed at 6:00 AM sharp to go for a “light run” before breakfast.  Unfortunately our coach’s idea of a light run was a six mile jog down a dusty road.  The captain of our team had a bit too much fun during the run as he chased those of us who were slacking off with a giant stick.  There is a lot of incentive to run faster when seeing a shirtless, muscular man running towards you with a stick.

After the run, we would eat a light breakfast.  I emphasis “light” because right after breakfast we were expected to jump into our boats and row for about one-and-a-half to two hours.  Anyone who decided to stuff themselves at breakfast were punished with nausea and stomach cramps. The rowing was intense and we were barely given any breaks while on the water. After all, we had each paid $450 to attend the camp; we were definitely getting our money’s worth.

Finally around one we would pull back into shore, ragged and sore from our first two practices, and head to lunch.  Everyone had seconds.  The food was only slightly better than Sodexo food but to us, exhausted rowers, it tasted like rainbows and chocolate milk.  After our fulfilling lunch, guess what we did.  If you guessed anything other then “row more” you’re wrong.  After all, we are a crew team.

So after lunch, we went for our second row of the day, this time rowing about two-and-a-half to three hours.  This row was the worst part of camp.  Pulling that oar after the earlier workouts, feels like trying to lift a tree out of the ground.  It was pure hell.  But luckily after that row, all we had was dinner and then the rest of the night was ours.  We had initially expected to stay up all night to talk and hang out but almost everyone started to pass out around eight. 

Crew Camp was definitely a lot of hard work, but the accomplishments feel amazing.   Over a six day period, we covered a little over 80-miles of water.  That’s more than 10-miles a day!  Plus every member on the team was able to grow closer together and improve their techniques.  Binghamton Crew is an amazing team to be a part of and I am so glad I joined it this year. I can’t wait to give up my next Spring Break.

My Wild Spring Break

Shavonna Hinton

With only a few weeks left in my first year of college, I’m realizing now more than ever how much my life is really starting to change. Maybe change isn’t the word I’m looking for but I guess it’s just that it has finally hit me that it’s time to grow up.

Usually for spring break I’d spend my days waking up late and going to bed even later, usually just wasting hours away watching TV not actually doing anything really productive. Doing schoolwork was usually out of the question until the final day of break and typically teachers were nice enough to not assign us with anything. Oh how I wish I spent my spring break like that this year. Some college students travel to Cancun or Barbados or go on some wild adventure in the Adirondacks, but I spent my break right at home.

My time at home was consisted of applying to 20-something different jobs, looking for summer internships and finding more scholarships for college. If I wasn’t doing that I was studying for a test or writing a paper. By the end of the week, I felt somewhat accomplished with what I got done. I also realized that life as I had previously known it was slipping away. Sure it may sound a bit dramatic but it’s true. If I want money for college next year I need a job, if I want to do well on my finals in a month, it’d probably be best if I started to prepare now. Professors don’t care if you stay home or travel the globe for break, if you have a paper due, that’s that. You have to find time to get it done. 

Overall I can say I enjoyed my break, I did find some time to catch up with some old friends and family but this break was definitely another one of those learning lessons that showed me “Hey, you’re not a kid anymore and you’ve got to start being an adult now.” To me being an adult is simply being responsible enough to realize that you’ve got to make decisions and actions that further benefit your life. Would I say I’m an expert on that yet? No. But I’m definitely working my way towards getting there.

Jobs!

Mike Madarasz

I can’t wait to get a job.  The biggest reason is because then I won’t have to go through a grueling job search again for a long time (unless I get canned).  For those that have not gotten to this point yet, it is every bit as time consuming and stressful as you hear about.  First of all, it’s difficult enough just to find a listing that you think is worth applying for.  On sites like Monster or CareerBuilder there are going to be hundreds of listings to pour through. 

For most listings you then need to write a cover letter.  It doesn’t sound like much except that writing letter after letter gets very tedious very quickly.  Many companies also require you to register with their website.  You are required to enter all your personal information as well as past education and past schooling.  Once again, this becomes very repetitive. 

If you’re lucky enough, the next step is usually a phone interview.  This obviously requires some preparation as well familiarizing yourself with the company.  Assuming you didn’t royally screw up the phone interview, they will probably ask you in for a real interview.  A lot of times for me this means making the trip from Binghamton to Manhattan.  Fortunately, route 17 is lovely this time of year.  Obviously this interview takes much more preparation and practice while really getting to know the company as well.  Once you get your haircut, shave, print your resume, figure out how to get there and iron your suit, you can proceed with the actual interview.  

It’s that easy folks!