Tag Archives: College

Tangled Slinky: The lies in higher education and beyond

11 Oct

A post like this one has gone on by for too long.

My so called University (if you do extensive research, you will figure it out, but that is NOT the point), has the audacity to lie to me about my financial aid. Ok, so apparently, I was quote on quote “missing” a document. A verification worksheet document. I find out today that this document, this flimsy sheet of paper, is to verify my government standing based on my status as a student and how much money I actually make.

A week ago, my mom told me that I was missing a part of my financial aid packet and it was this Verification Worksheet. Well, I go to the office and the counselor ( I actually forget her name) informed me that “Oh, Bernard. I am sorry but looks like we lost this sheet when you filled it out before.”

Well, the Bernard who expects everything to be in order at all times courageously speaks up and asks for his file. The file comes and no verification form was present in there for this school year. Ok, maybe there was another office mess up. Of course. Every year there has to be something wrong with financial aid. Does anyone else have these problems? Leave a comment!

After I get a copy of this document, which mind you is on a piece of cardstock, I just had various flashbacks to the summer. My mom is into scrapbooking so feeling the weight of this paper immediately transported me back to when I was home in the scrapbooking room. My summer had some rumblings of family affairs, that honestly are out of my control and I am giving it all back to Mother Earth to deal with, because I choose not to.

So with the frustration of having to fill this sheet out to verify my life and to tell my mom that I needed her signature and then realizing afterwards we are not rich just hit me all at once. Yes sometimes, I wander outside of myself and believe that my family is secretly hoarding millions of dollars. Nope, not at all! My mother doesn’t have a fax machine and doesn’t work, so I am glad this school believes in a high-class lifestyle. I simply forget that it is a private school, and rich kids go here. Silly of me to have amnesia when it comes to class warfare. Well, I called my mom to tell her what happened and to get a signature nonetheless. We poor folks rely on the U.S. Postal Service, which in itself is a joke because they will shred your headphones if you mail them. So don’t mail your headphones!

Literally, my boyfriend (yes I am gay) received his headphones in the mail cut apart. Logically thinking would tell me that squishing would have flattened the buds, not slice wires into two pieces. Nope, the wires have been sliced! And I sure as hell did not do it. If I was angry or upset with him ( my Self-Observation skills are impeccable see Chakra Awakening to understand) he and everyone else will clearly feel the wrath of this fiery Aries more in-depth and it does not require destroying headphones to make my point clear. Yes, so I am not sure who exactly chopped up my boyfriend’s headphones, all I know and sense is that corporations, government, and ignorant (in its truest form) people are not reliable and we need alternative humanistic metaphysical practices to transform these times.

Coming back, from a small tangent, well in the course of a week. I learned much more about this paper and this school. I learned that the school will lie to its students in order to get a paper completed. I also learned today that this paper was to be  filled out not only because it was lost or misplaced, but because I was “randomly” chosen to verify my standing in money. I don’t know how accurate random means in this regard, because I am aware that governments, corporations, and mean people will do anything sneaky and clandestine without proper communication. 

All I know is that lies are being told instead of the truth, and this situation just proves to me that if you fall into the category of being “uneducated” then ignorant people, government, and corporations will assume you are stupid and just a number. So my advice is you need good self-observation skills and strong communication skills because anyone ignorant will abuse you and surround you with negativity so that it consumes your life and they will make sure you are in living in a fearful and oppressed state. 

If you ever had similar experiences, please do share, because you are not alone! 

The sweet tales and tears of Milton Hershey School

9 Sep

I finally had the chance to watch the entire Milton Hershey School (MHS) documentary that Academy Award (R) winning documentary director and cinematographer, Cynthia Wade has so truthfully woven together. Depicting the lives of several MHS students from enrollment to graduation, this film captures not only the impact that the Hershey, Pennsylvania private-boarding school offers to low-income families, but it reveals the soul and light that becomes the students. They find themselves.  To commemorate 100 years of the Milton Hershey School, this documentary hit me hard as I connected with my own memories of those final days before graduation and to sympathize with student home rules, homesickness, and the pride it takes to join clubs and organizations much like the students in the film. This documentary is a true depiction of what a student and their family can go through, but nonetheless MHS is a once in a lifetime opportunity and absolutely rewarding for all the resources available to its students upon arriving to the school and departing after graduation.

I am happy to say that the full-length documentary Living the Legacy: The Untold Story of Milton Hershey School is now available at YouTube.com or you can watch the film below. 

For more information about Milton Hershey School, please visit the school website to get more information or APPLY ONLINE to enroll your child into the most life saving and sweetest school there is in the United States.

Bernard receives The Sophomore Leadership Award

9 May

And the award goes to…

On the evening of April 29, 2011, at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, the former Hilton, located in Pittsburgh, PA, excelling Point Park University students and prestigious university faculty members as well as notable administrators smiled and posed for photos on the red carpet as they checked-in for the 2011 Outstanding Student Awards, an evening to celebrate student achievement.

And there sat at table number 20 a boy with his soft auburn hair and tie dyed hands from the earlier end of the year festivities of dying shirts and bags, Bernard along with friends munched on some fine salad and were astounded by the pure elegance of the hotel ballroom, but certainly Bernard and his table mates did not know what to expect of his award nomination for the Sophomore Experience in leadership.

The evening began with some funny and inspiring YouTube video clips that involved Point Park students from the powerful dance flash mobs of the G-20 summit to some of the Pittsburgh Playhouse performances like Thoroughly Modern Millie and Carousel. But the excitement of the evening certainly took Bernard by surprise as he watched the video montage capture his first ever Pittsburgh Light Up Night debut!

I did not know they even did this. I am slightly embarrassed, but truly happy that it was displayed to more than 100 people in the room. This means I got exposure!

And he certainly did.

Point Park University President, Paul Hennigan and Senior Vice-President for Academic and Student Affairs, Karen McIntyre welcomed the evening with some delightful campus-wide achievements as well as some reflective moments that various students have about Point Park.  As the night progressed with award presenters and happy recipients, there the nerves just bubbled inside of Bernard and his award category for The Sophomore Experience Leadership Award was called upon.

As the community director and The Sophomore Experience coordinator, Katie Munsch described the achievements of the award recipient having  helped the visually impaired at the Job and Intern fair, the amount of fireworks that went off in Bernard’s head was unimaginable and all sound left his mind as he turned deaf in recognition. With tears in his eyes and excitement in his heart, Bernard walked eagerly to the stage and shook the president’s hand and accepted his award.

I just remember feeling really excited and completely deaf to what was going around me. This is my first award ever to be formerly received and I am on a cloud right now.I just remember going back to my seat and asking if I smiled and if there was clapping, I feel like I just had an outer body experience.

Even though Bernard did not literally leave us for some astral plane expedition, he did manage to dance as he exited the stage with his award in hand and a mile long grin on his face. The energy just seems to not escape from this future television talk show host.

The evening did continue with more honorable awards like Outstanding Advisor, School-based awards, and even the highest achievable award, the President’s Award which the recipient gets an engraved bison-statue. Which graduating senior, Veronika Panagiotou accepted for an overwhelming impact on the quality of life at Point Park through her dedication toward service, leadership, and contributions to the community.

As the night ended with an ice cream sundae buffet in the ballroom lobby, Bernard did manage to take more pictures with the president of the school for his award and congratulated numerous award recipients and nominees.

It was truly blissful to see the excitement and joy in their eyes. I felt the energy in the room and it was certainly positive. I know what award I am going after in the coming years, that is another reason for coming to these events. You get to see what is offered to you and then you can work hard toward achieving it.

There were no acceptance speeches provided by any of the award recipients, most likely due to time constraints, but Bernard did manage to express his utmost gratitude for his accomplishment on his personal blog on Tumblr and you can read his thanks and understand better of why this evening was so inspiring to him.