Experience of a Lifetime

Entering its third year, the Community Relations Facilitator (CRF) program continues to promote inclusive and welcoming communities in the residence halls, cooperative houses, and dining facilities through facilitated workshops and programs.  As a function of University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS) the CRFs work within the residence halls and cooperative houses leading discussions and activities around issues of diversity and social justice. Read the rest of this entry »

Hello everyone!

I am only a week away from summer and I know some of you are already enjoying the rays of the sun and relaxing without any homework or papers to write. It is still surreal to me that school is ending in a week and I will have completed my first year of college! During these past few weeks I have had so much to get done, but I also have attended some great events. First, I had the opportunity to participate in Habitat for Humanity, where we volunteered to help this program finish some tasks they had. This was a great opportunity because not only did it help me bond with my supervisors and peers, but also we helped people who needed our assistance. Another event I attended was, “Noche de gala.” This was an event to award many Latinos on their achievements throughout the year, but before they gave out awards they had traditional Mexican music and food for enjoyment. After all of these events and fun times with great people, it has now come the time to start looking for a new home. As of right now my roommates and I are looking for a place to live next year and it so hard to find an apartment, because many places will not start showing their apartments until school is out. Looking for a new place comes with so many emotions that I never thought I would have because I didn’t realize the attachment I had to my dorm and the friends/neighbors I created in the Finley Hall. Next year is going to be so different and it still hasn’t sunk in that I won’t be seeing these people everyday and I won’t be able to just walk down the hall and be able to socialize or study with them. When I leave here I will truly feel as if I am leaving something great behind, but at the same time I am excited for the new adventure with my new roommates. This year has been such a blast and the ending is bitter sweet for me because even though I can not wait until this week is over, I will not see my new friends for months and they are like my second family. Living in the dorms has helped me create this new family and I think everyone should have this experience and opportunity. Also, living in the dorms your first year gives you the comfort and knowledge of where everything is located on campus. I have had so many experiences this year I don’t know if I could pick a favorite memory to share with all of you, but I will say that one my favorites memories was going snowboarding with my friends I made through a program here on campus known as the college assistance migrant program (CAMP). Through that I found a new sport I really enjoy and became closer with my peers in CAMP. Well I hope that everyone has an awesome summer and that Oregon State becomes your school of choice!

Lizeth Ochoa

(written May 14, 2010)

Hello my friends,

It’s Friday, and I’m done with the day. These weeks are passing so by fast, and even the weeks feel like days to me.  It’s almost the end of the year, and I’m very excited. Today, the weather was so nice, and it was just like a perfect day as my friend Mauricio would say. These days are so nice like to do many things outside; such as taking a walk, going out to the parks, going out with friends and having so much fun. But, unfortunately we have to measure our times wisely, and put first things first. Sometimes we have to say no to things and doing what’s most important, even if we don’t like it. For example, today I had to say no to my performance with my church band. This is really important for me, but since I have too many midterms next week, I had to say no for this time only. But well, I need to get ready for those midterms so can do well on them.

Today, many things happened to me. One of those things was that I realized that there is too much stress going on around campus. I’ve seen people who look stressed, tired etc.  I imagine that it’s because of midterms, projects, work, having a lot of things to do etc.  Especially, today when I went downstairs of my hall I found a friend of mine and I started to talk to her. I asked her about how things were going, and she said “good”, like all people would say. As I engaged more with the conversation I realized that she was stressed and she had many things to do, and big projects to get done. She even told me about how bad she felt from her last midterms which one of them she failed. In addition, she even had to drop out her math class for some reason. She says that she even cried for what she was going through. She looked sad, but I told her not worry too much and start to do what need to do.  I felt sorry for her, and I even imagine all the stress that she went through because I’ve being there too many times. I even thought that I was the only one who was too stressed, but I wasn’t the only one.

That’s why I say that here around campus there is a lot of stress going on. You know, I think that’s the true reality about studying here at college, “nothing will be easy”, but in some way we have to resist and keep moving forward, and the result will be even better. Therefore, we need patience, hard work and dedication on everything that we do.

We always will be learning new things as we go through life, and now I learning how different is to live away from home, and have to take care of myself by my own. I’m learning to put myself in other people shoes, and understanding them better. Sometimes I ask myself about “why, why do we have to go through hard stuff, in order to accomplish something.” Even though I haven’t live enough but I realized that the answer to this is that the hard stuff makes you wise every day, and we learn from our mistakes, and as a result it makes us stronger as a person. So my message today for everyone is to never give up and keep going. Remember that “your greatest weakness becomes your greatest strength.” In addition, Like Rocky Balboa says, “it doesn’t matter how hard you can hit, what matters is how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.” So, I motivate everyone who is reading this blog to keep working hard and do the best you can on your classes. Good luck!

Roberto

As UHDS’s dietitian, probably the most common question I receive is, “What foods are healthy in the dining centers?” If you ask ten different people what healthy eating is, I guarantee you will get ten different responses.  For some, healthy eating is a diet based in vegetarian, sustainably produced foods.  For others, healthy eating is a diet low in fat and calories.  Others believe that Mediterranean foods, largely plant based and rich in healthy oils, represent a healthy diet.

The truth is, all of these diets can be healthy. According to the USDA, a healthy diet is based in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, legumes, beans and vegetable protein sources as well as low-fat, calcium rich options.  To some, achieving a healthy diet may seem overwhelming in the dining centers. However, there are a few simple strategies that you can try in the dining centers to improve the “healthiness” of your meal:

1. Eat more fruit and vegetables!   Make half of your plate fruit and veggie based and eat a variety of colors.
2. Go whole grain!  Substitute processed grains for whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa and barley
3. Eat more plant based proteins like beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.

Looking for healthy and delicious fare?  Give these options a try!

Marketplace West:

• Ring of Fire’s Pho bowls, a Vietnamese Pho soup available with tofu, chicken, shrimp and a variety of fresh vegetables
• Serrano’s Mexican burrito, filled with your choice beans and vegetables all packed in a whole wheat tortilla;
• Tomassitos’ whole wheat pasta and pizza crusts
• Cooper Creek’s tofu jambalaya
• Calabaloo’s Pacific City Salad made with local pears cranberries and fresh spinach
• Clubhouse Deli’s roasted portabella vegetarian panini on a whole grain roll.

Arnold Bistro:

• tofu panini with pesto and sundried tomato
• entrée salad made from an expansive salad bar that includes fruit, vegetables, lean meats, tofu, beans and seeds
• whole grain and legume special of the day

At Bing’s Café

• build a whole wheat sandwich with healthy toppings like balsamic marinated and grilled chicken, fresh spinach and sweet bell peppers.

McNary Central

• Boardwalk Cafés Indian curried chickpeas and char-grilled sole
• Deli’s whole grain sandwiches with your choice meat or hummus and vegetables
• Raintree’s locally made whole wheat bagels
• Casa Della Pasta’s whole wheat pasta with pesto, artichokes and sautéed vegetables.

UHDS encourages guests to make informed food choices based on individual needs.  Nutrition information, ingredients and allergy information are transparent and available on line at the UHDS website (http://oregonstate.edu/uhds/dining/menus/

If you have any questions or suggestions about the nutritional quality of foods available in UHDS operations, don’t hesitate to contact the UHDS dietitian, Tara Sanders at 541.737.3915 or at tara.sanders@oregonstate.edu

Be Well!

Hi Everyone

For the past two weeks it has been nonstop homework and studying, but now that I have started to meet different people on my floor they have been able to help me with the problems I have been having with my homework. Winter term has flown by also, in just three weeks we will be going home, and once again be reunited with our families. I have missed mine so much and this term has been tougher than the last. This week I attended the 20th annual recycle fashion show. If you ever attend Oregon State University I think it is an event that everyone must go and see. They had all kinds of awesome and very well designed outfits and dresses. There was a large spectrum of how the designs were made. They ranged from a Caprisun dress to a bridal gown. My personal favorite was the bridal gown, which was made from dryer sheets! The designer used the dryer sheets to make origami roses to make the bottom of the dress and made over 500 of them. It was a well-organized event and I enjoyed it a lot. As I am writing this write now tsunami waves are hitting Hawaii and I hope everyone makes it out ok. Have a good weekend!

Lizeth

I had a busy week this time, and even overwhelming. But I think it’s good because that means that I’m working and maintaining myself busy.

I had my first midterm on Monday for my chemistry class. The test was pretty intense but I felt confident doing the test.

Even though I felt confident about that test, when the result came out, they were different than my expectations. Because of that I was questioning myself of why did that happen? I felt ready for that test, and I felt that I did well. But it turns out to be the opposite.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a really bad grade but I was expecting a higher grade. When I was eating lunch at McNary dining with a friend of mine she was talking to me about how she was facing the same problem as me.

She got a poor grade on her midterm even though she wasn’t expecting it.  She studied a lot, and at the end it happen all the opposite. In my opinion, it happens, and sometimes the things aren’t always the way we expected; sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.

But I think the key is to never stop trying, and that what will help us to prevail here at College.

I remember every time went to bed, I was exhausted, and the good thing was that my bed in Callahan was soft and comfortable to sleep.

That’s the good thing about living in dorms.  I like my room, and I think it’s a good option to live in dorms.

Also, during this week I had to write my first paper which was very frustrating  because I didn’t know how to start my paper, and I was confused. When I realize that I didn’t know what to write about I just start to watch some episodes of Dragon ball GT, my favorite cartoon, on YouTube. That might sound funny but I got kind of relaxed after watching  that program and I then I felt less frustrated when writing my paper.  That’s my way to get relaxed, and everyone has their own ways too.

Its been a tired week like all of them because I have to do my homework, take care of my internship and try to stay on top of everything.   This coming Monday I’m having my first midterm for my chemistry class, and so I have to study a lot, and get ready for that test.  It’s my second term here at Oregon State University as a freshman student, and it has been two weeks since I just started my Winter term. Unfortunately, I didn’t begin the term the way I was expecting; however, I would say that I’ve learned my lesson. I think that even  though everybody makes mistakes; the good thing about it is that we can learn from them. I started to get behind on my math class for I did my math homework on the same day it was due. I didn’t have enough time to do it, and today I got the results which were not that satisfying. I think it happens, and I have to learn from this lesson.

These days, I’m starting to catch up on my homework. This experience totally woke me up and I will try not to procrastinate.

Now that I have a time to think about why I chose to live on campus, I would say that one of those reasons were because I wanted to live in place close to my classes so wouldn’t have to travel that much to get to my classrooms. Back when I lived in Hillsboro, I remember when my older brother Gregorio who goes to Portland Community college in Portland, traveled for about half an hour to get to school.

Traveling took a very huge part of his time. I saw how he struggled to woke up early in the morning to go to school and I realized that the best way to save time was by living on campus.

The first time I move to Corvallis, which was about 6 months ago, I remember I felt nervous, scared and excited at the same time. I didn’t know almost anybody, except my friends from the CAMP program.

Every place I went, I saw orange colors all around, and I realized that Oregon State colors were very popular. Also, I felt so keyed up to begin a new stage of my life, and knowing that I was going to meet a lot of people and take very hard classes. Today I can say that I was right, because in the Hall where I live which is Cahalan Hall, I have met a lot of nice people and especially my floor.  When my parents came to visit me during the second month after I moved, they were so surprised that almost everyone in my floor knew me. Even my mom told, ?Ya te volviste bien famoso?, ?You have become very famous?  Hearing that made me started to laugh, and I was happy to realize that I wasn’t a stranger here at OSU anymore.

I totally like the dining Halls, and my favorite place to eat is McNary Dining because the food there is good and above all, it is right in front of Callahan. That means that don’t have to walk very far to go to eat, because the food is right in front of me. As well, inside McNary I love to go to eat to the Boardwalk place, and my favorite food is Chinese food, especially Teriyaki beef with brown rice.   I love that plate and it makes me happy after eating it for like my grandpa says, “pansa llena, corazon contento”– “stomach full is a contented heart.”  One final thing, have you realized that the time is passing by so fast? The answer is yes, and we can’t waste our time doing nothing. That’s why my goals for this term are to stay on top of homework, and  enjoy life here at college in every way I can, like going to church, and get involved in school and do all the things that will shape my life.

(Lizeth & Tay, before “The Event”)

Hi everyone! This week has been a very stressful one, but also has had some exciting activities occur. DEAD WEEK is what OSU calls the week before finals. During dead week there is no time to waste because studying, homework, and meetings take over your life. Everyone is tired and stressed by Friday. The semi-good news is that the upcoming week is the last week of the term and the following week you get to go home. Also, during this week, there were a couple of events, which were really fun. The first was called “The Event” it was a dance, put on by our hall council, which is similar to a high school homecoming. It gave us the chance to relax and not think about finals or homework and to let us dress up and not forget that college is not always about work. It is also about finding new friends and new experiences. The other event I went to was cultural, but reminded me of home. It is called “Posada Night” and in Mexican culture it is a tradition to sing, eat, and pray during the last two weeks of December. Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the Holidays.

Lizeth

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a good and fun Halloween weekend. College has really been going by fast. I am already looking for my new classes and seeing my advisor to talk about my career path. My life in Finley Hall has been really fun and has been a whole new experience. Living here is like gaining a whole new family, who helps you through the ups and downs of college. The resident director, J, and the resident assistant’s have really done a great job putting on events for us.

During the weekdays they have two separate rooms where we can hangout, do homework, play ping-pong or pool, or just watching some movies. They also have a piano, who some people decide to play and helps relax you during stressful times, like midterms. For academics and knowledge about global issues they hold tutoring sessions, awareness talks, and many other resources where you can get the most from your college.

During the weekends the hall council, who are students, makes decision on what happens during the weekends. There are Halloween and Southside dances, sport events, movie nights, and this weekend they are making all sorts of pancakes, which we get to eat watching cartoons J. It can’t get any better than that. It is just like home sweet home. Events like these also provide a chance for you to make new bonds with people whom you have not met yet.

Well I hope you all have a good weekend!

-Lizeth

I live on campus in Callahan Hall; I like that everybody is real social and friendly. Corvallis is way different than from where I grew up. The weather in Corvallis is different because it rains a lot. Where I come from, Nyssa, it is hot and dry in the summers and in the winter it is really cold. In Nyssa it doesn’t rain often, I guess rain in Nyssa is like snow here in Corvallis. When it snows here in Corvallis people’s reaction is like “Oh it’s snowing? WOW!” and rain in Nyssa is vice versa. I miss my mom’s cooking, Mexican food.  I found a good place that is on fourth street called “La Rockita,” I eat lunch there on Saturdays. I usually order a chicken Chimichanga, that place is good. If you’re feeling like eating Mexican food you should definitely consider going to La Rockita.

What excites me about being in this new place is that I’m setting myself up for a good future. I’m excited to get a degree and finish school so I can get a good job. I’m excited that I’m attending a university and not a college because there are so much more people I can meet here. Maybe the basketball players I meet today will be NBA superstars in five years. I’m not just excited for me, but also for the other students because later in the future I can say, “Oh I know that Doctor or I know that football player”. I’m excited to see what the outcome of my generation will be.