There’s No Place Like Home

Sigh, The Ace semester is over and I miss it already!  I wish I did more with my class and got to know more of my peer mentors…I swear, the things we realize once they are taken away from us!!!

So easily we take things for granted and not realize the how precious time really is.  I specifically remember what I was doing around this time in 2008, and already a year has gone by!  Thanksgiving has just past, and christmas is only around the corner.  It only felt like yesterday I was talking about transferring next semester, and already I’m doing it!  It wasn’t only until recently I realized how valuable time really is.  Now that I’m leaving in about a month, I want to soak up as much Hawaii I can as possible and spend as much time I can with my family.

Have you guys ever noticed how beautiful our home is?  Hawaii is truly ONE OF A KIND.  There is no place like the 808.  The diversity, the clean air, the friendly people, and the awesome food.  I mean, yeah sure.  Sometimes its true…HARD LIFE LIVE HAWAII.  But seriously, where can you beat a place like ours…where the sky is brighter, the waves are bigger, and the girls are better?

So with this blog, I just wanted to share the many places I love, and the things I’m really going to miss about Home.

Alan Davis Beach. It is hidden between Makapu'u and Sandys, and after a 10 minute walk across a dirt road you arrive at a secluded and serene area. This is one of my Ace students jumping off the log.

Kaimanas...seriously one of my favorite spots. No matter the season, this place is always sunny, clean, and flat. Perfect for tanning and swimming.

Waimeas....I have a love-hate relationship with this place. I hate how many tourists this place attracts and they don't know proper parking etiquette...I hate how they still haven't decided to expand the parking lot when its always so packed!....I hate how much of a work out it is getting in and out of the beach..if you've been there, you know what I mean!....I love how much there is to do there...toilet bowls, babies, towers...just hanging out under the cave on a hot day....i love how beautiful it is during the summer. You'll definitely not catch me in the water during the winter time tho unless I'm trying to kill myself... you'll see me at kaimanas instead=)

Pho bistro, located near the convention center. This place seriously has the best pho!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

Shaved ice with cream splash can't do you wrong! Matsumotos is overrated! Aoki's right next door is just as good.

Koko head..Another place I love to hate! But I love it anyway!

Believe me, this list could go OOONNNN…..but I’ll just stop it here because I don’t want my favorite places getting over crowded=)  But mostly because I’m lazy…hehe.  The biggest thing tho that I’m definitely going to miss is my house.  Especially my bed.  Of course my family and friends and my little Wahiawa town.  Oh yeah and my mom’s awesome korean food…I’m really going to miss that=(

Hello from Taylor!!!

Ok so this is random, I never really have been into cats, but I love icanhascheezburger.com!!! It has soo many type of things besides cats though, lolzdogs, FAIL blog, news, celebs etc. This site keeps me going for hours, so I thought I would share this video..its not really funny like everything else but it’s super cute!!!!!

Anyway I wanted to write how I had such a good semester! It went by so quickly, I can’t even believe it! At first it almost felt impossible, but it’s about keeping a balance, because once that is destroyed the world feels like it’s crashing down. Whether it’s looking at silly cats in between homework breaks or going out with your friends, even when maybe you shouldn’t, just so you can jumpstart everything when you get back. Remember life is what you make of it!Have fun!

Cluster 18!

Hi everyone!

Rowelle Leanne from Cluster 18! I was the peer mentor for a pre-business set with 10 students. It has been a little more than a few weeks since we ended classes, and I can honestly say that I miss it. They were an interesting group that were very focused and confident in class. It was a little awkward in the beginning, but I believe that we came to an understanding early on. They weren’t big on energizers, but they would at least give them a chance. We were the prefer to sit and talk class. I had fun in our class! Besides our class, they had ICS and ECON together… some tough classes, but it was easier for me to talk about those classes because I have had both. We were lucky enough that I even had the same professors.

I told them as much as I could remember about the classes, so I hope that what I told them was helpful. I wasn’t much help when it came to ECON, but I had fun with ICS. It was all about learning from each other. Other than that… we ended on a good note! A few of us walked over to Jamba Juice and just sat and talked for a little while. I am happy to see them around campus… the class is over, but they didn’t disappear! So… over all it was a great experience and um… ACE! yay!

-Rowelle Leanne

It’s begining to look a lot like Christmas…

It’s hard to believe that DECEMBER is here!  As some parts of the country are getting sprinkled with snow, we fortunate folks in Hawai`i are still enjoying wearing shorts!  Hawaii’s and amazing place in that it’s sunny and beautiful year-round.  Reflecting back to last May when all the Peer Mentors first met to now, the week after class has finished, it’s amazing the progression we all have made.  Each one of us made it through our CAS 110 sections with little to no tribulation, finished CAS 301 on a high note and are now preparing for finals week – yes they are in fact in a week and a half.  I enjoyed listening to section one’s final presentations because the common element to all of the presentations was the friendships made.  I too am thankful for the First Year Program for the ability to develop friendships amongst our peers while simultaneously being a student.  Not only were we able to meet interesting people in our CAS 301 class, but the freshman students we worked with over the past weeks as well.  After working with the First Year Program for two years now, I have made many memories and my college experience has been enriched.  Thank you Leilani, all the Peer Mentors and the freshman students that have made this program what it is and will be for semesters to come.  I wish all of the mentors and freshman the best of luck on your finals and have a wonderful holiday!

-Garritt Visser
December 1, 2009

P.S. Since Christmas is almost here and all…

ACE/CAS =)

Hello everyone!

It’s Chris from cluster 25 and 27 =)

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and boy, I’m stuffed. I hope you guys had an awesome turkey day filled with a lot of food and good times

From Janet’s previous post, we had the privelege of co-teaching for two clusters (Clusters 25 and 27). They are a bunch of great kids. They were the pre-preparatory health clusters that had Chem 151 and Religion 150 together. It’s a bummer that we don’t have CAS 110 and 301 anymore but I’m glad I got the chance to meet new people and make more friends.

At the last day of our CAS 301 seminars, we recieved our letters back when the semester started. I was really surprised with how much I accomplished and got out from the ACE program. It’s really interesting how much you can accomplish and grow in just a few months.

Other than that, I wish everyone the best of luck in everything. Stay safe and take care. Shootz!!

Here’s a link of a random video for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL_JPdYPDVg

xD

-Chris

SAY WHAT…

say what….CAS 301 is pau?!?!?! wow guys this semester flew right past us….CARZY!! CAS 301 monday class was AWESOME everyone has inspired me to pursue my dreams and to have always have fun during my journey. THANKS DUDE & DUDETTES!! My name is toto for thoughs who do not know and I am the proud mentor of cluster #39!!! chhhheeeeehooooo!!! My cluster was pretty diverse and filled with COP class of ʻ09!!! I have learned so many things from my cluster and I am forever grateful. I have become a much better leader and I hope that each freshy in my cluster will become great leaders of their community.

 

CLUSTER #39 Manawa Kupono

TEAM JACOB WOOT WOOT!!!

 

Pre-Prepatory Health Clusters!! :D

Hello Everyone!

This is Janet from the pre-prepatory health clusters!  This semester, I had the privilege of co-teaching two clusters (#25 and #27), and they were both filled with wonderful students taking Religion 150 and Chemistry 151 together.  In fact, they just had a chemistry exam earlier today, so I hope they all did well! What was really amazing was that when Chris and I combined our clusters in outside activities, the students from the other clusters became really close friends and they actually spend time with each other studying and getting through the rigors of college together.

One of my favorite highlights from being a peer mentor was to watch the students get to know each other and form friendships.  This first happened at the beach clean-up community service event that we held for our students on Labor Day.  Even though it was a holiday for them, majority of the students gave up their free day to help clean Magic Island.  Many of them found the typical rubbish, but one student found some chicken bones and a bag with a dead animal in it…o_O .  Afterwards, to reward them for their hard work, we had a bbq so that the freshmen could get to know each other a bit.  It was awesome because some of them went into the water and a whole bunch of them went hiking together after!  Here are some pictures:

Chris and I had a really great time working with these students and we wish them the best of luck!

-Janet

CLUSTER #19!!!!!

Hey Hey Hey everyone!!!

This is Liz here from Cluster #19 pre-business! I have a great cluster full of 11 students; 9 from Oahu, 1 from Kauai, and 1 from New Jersey! We are a pre-business cluster taking SP 251, ECON 131, and HIS 152. In our cluster there are many different ranges of ambition for the business world. During our career exploration presentations, the students had interest in jobs such as being an entrepreneur, lawyer, nurse, Human Resources director, and bodyboard shaping. Though some of them were shy in the first couple classes, they have seem to get along real well and become friends outside of class (I have seen them at lunch together! .

I am sad that our semester is almost over but we had a great 11 weeks together! I think an important aspect that I tried to incorporate in every class is icebreakers. Our class was at 9:30 AM so it was natural that some of them were tired for their first class. We had many different icebreakers but I think  one of the most popular ones was ʻtelephone for the hearing impaired.ʻ Another item that seemed likeable was giving candy and sugar away! I was very proud of my cluster when they invited the Speech TA. We all met up at Paradise Palms for lunch and found out that there were 3 vegetarians in the group and should have gone to the sustainability courtyard! On a side note my favorite place to eat on campus is Da Spot

Well I hope that my cluster has learned some new tips and resources for being a college student! I know they will keep in touch with each other and I even have some of them on facebook Have a great Spring 2010!!!

<3 Liz

CLUSTER 17!!!

Yo yo yo whats up everyone! This is Aaron Hubbard from Cluster number 17!

We from the 17 are a smaller group with only 5 students mixed with students who are local and from the mainland and from all different backgrounds. We’re a pre-business cluster but as the semester progressed some of us have learned that they are more interested in other fields like ICS. I was highly impressed by my groups initiative in wanting to meet with one of their professors who turned out to be Ms. Henriksen. We had a great lunch with her and I think we all learned a lot from her including myself.

Ha, I think the hardest part about this class is staying focused in that our group always has something interesting to talk about and we love to talk story. Its hard to tell who learned more this semester me or my students because these guys have taught me some pretty good lessons even if if they don’t know it. I am confident that everyone in my group will go on to have a successful college career as they have already demonstrated life skills and taking up responsibilities beyond their years. I am sad to see everyone going but know that I will still see them around and I rest assured knowing that they can do just fine on their own.

I will see them all again next weekend when we go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay! I’m really excited to go!

Other reminders  THE ACE BASH IS TOMMOROW NOVEMBER 10th

The theme is CASINO NIGHT so it should be a blast! Hope to see all of you guys there!

This is peer mentor Aaron signing off. Over and out!

Hey Guys! This is Matt from the Awesome cluster #33 (pre-health). I hope everyone’s Halloween weekend was full of fun and exciting moments. I cant believe that it is November already and we only have ONE CAS110 class left! I guess time just flies by when you’re having fun. My last class with my Awesome cluster is tomorrow,  and I just can’t believe that it came so fast!

Let me just tell you guys about our cluster. We have 11 students in our cluster and you can see them all in the picture with Prof. Kaiser at Yogurtland. Not all of them are pre-med, but they are going into a science related field. At first no one in the class wanted to talk, but now I have to get some of them from not talking too much. I could see how the class had grown over time and they just keep getting better and better. We seem to have an adventurous group here, cause for their extra curricular activity, they decided to go kayaking as a class. Sadly I wasn’t able to go, but from all the stories I’ve heard, they seemed to have a really good time.

Even though the time has come where we wont be having any more CAS 110 classes anymore, hopefully cluster #33 will stay in contact and be good friends. If anyone else wants to join us, we’re having a cluster outing at leaping lizards, which if you guys do not know what it is, its pretty much a huge bouncy playground for adults and kids.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the semester and stays stress free.You guys should watch this funny vid <http://www.pp2g.tv/va3t4YHM_.aspx>

Cluster 33 chilling with Professor Kaiser at Yogurtland