Coming up at Berkeley!

Hey everyone! How was your week one? I hope you're enjoying your subjects and accepting all the challenges they might bring. I just got back from school, even though I didn't have class today. The reason I went there was because we had another international student reception! I'm very excited that there are so many new students coming from everywhere.

I keep encouraging all new students to check out the Facebook pages from school to join the cool activities they are organizing. Let me highlight a couple events and see the picture at the bottom for the calendar for next week.

•  H-1B Workshop with Immigration Lawyer (Friday, October 14 / Room B203 at 12pm)

An immigration attorney will come to Berkeley College to discuss H-1B employment, an option that allows foreigners to work in the US, usually after OPT. We invite all students interested in planning ahead for future opportunities. Please note that F-1 employment options (CPT and OPT) will not be discussed.

This looks like a very helpful event. You might not be considering to stay in the US right now, but you never know what the future will bring. Last year I attended a great workshop by our International Adviser Karine, and I got a lot of information about the F-1 employment. This time they are going to be talking about another visa, the H-1B, which can be very interesting for many of the international students. I also hope they will repeat the F1 workshop soon too!

• Making it in the Music Business (Tuesday, October 4 / SAC at 5:30pm)

 Do you have what it takes?
Expert Speaker Panel and Mixer
Tuesday, October 4
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
The SAC

See who's going to be there:

Kirk Ceballos
Senior Agent at Heavy Rotation, LLC
www.hrbooking.com

Michael Glita
Musician and Manager, Love Automatic
Composer, Knights of Paris
Co-founder and Musician, Senses Fail
www.myspace.com/loveautomatic

Syleena Johnson
Grammy award-nominated
R&B and Soul Singer-Songwriter
http://www.facebook.com/Syleena.Johnson.OFFICIAL

Johnny Madera
CEO Sonic Sound Entertainment
Berkeley College Alumnus
https://twitter.com/#!/sonicsoundent

Jason Raditch
Video Coordinator, Video & Content Production at
SONY Music Entertainment
Berkeley College Alumnus
http://www.sonymusic.com/

Dr. Syleecia Thompson
Professor, School of Business at Berkeley College
Author, Music Expert and Professional Speaker
Member of The Recording Academy Founder/Owner of DYG Management Group
www.defineyourgreatness.com

I also attended this event last year, and it looks even better this time! I really enjoyed it. It was an amazing insight in the music business. We got to know the face of the industry that we never see. It's always great to listen to people who know what they're talking about, but when it comes to music and business it's even more exciting to me! I will definitely try to go, even though I have a class around that time so I won't be able to stay for the whole thing... but first things first! Anyways, I really recommend you to check that out on Tuesday at the SAC (43rd St. building)!

Check the calendar above, posted by the Office of Student Development and Campus Life NYC, to find out about the rest (click on the image to see it full size). Let me know how they were if you attend any of them! Have a great weekend!

You can contact me at berkeleycollegelife@gmail.com for any comment, question or suggestion.

Welcome to the Fall Quarter!

Hey everyone! First of all I'm sorry I didn't update the blog last week, but I'm back on track from today! The reason I didn't have time to write is because my best friends from home were here visiting, as I mentioned before, and we had such a blast! We didn't stop doing things, and that's why I didn't had the time to sit and write a post. They were here for only one week, and I wanted to show them everything I know from the city! After over a year living here... trust me, it's a lot! 

However, since we have done so many things, now I have a lot of new stuff to share with you guys. So I will be using all that blog material soon, I took many pictures, videos and info from everywhere thinking that it would be nice to share it with you. Nevertheless, the reason I'm writing today is just to welcome you guys to the new quarter! How are the new classes going? I'm excited for mine, even though some of them are quite challenging. Anyways, since I took the summer quarter of, I'm full of energy now to accept the challenge!

Last Friday I went to school to attend the international orientation for new students, and I was really impressed by how many new faces arrived! There are people from everywhere, and that makes our college experience even more enriching. When I was looking at all their faces I could see myself one year ago. I remember perfectly those first days, with that mix of feelings I had.

The only advice I could give students was to break all the barriers that keep them away from opening to new experiences. Go to all the activities and speak to people. When I arrived I was quite shy and a bit afraid of my English, but as soon as you overcome all those fears, the experience becomes much more fun. People are really friendly over here and as you could see at the orientation, there are many people in the exact same situation.

With that, let me announce an event they posted on the Facebook page for international students for Friday:

International Student Happy Hour: 

All international students are invited to meet for happy hour at O'Casey's 22 E 41st street

-Everyone will first meet at the International Division (14th floor)
-Jacob will bring everyone to the bar
-Pay on your own
-Must be 21 or older with ID to drink alcohol

For information, contact Jacob Dyer at jdy@berkeleycollege.edu

Link here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203160299751882 . I hope to see you there!

You can contact me at berkeleycollegelife@gmail.com for any comment, question or suggestion.

Changing Lives for 80 Years

Hey everyone! Today I'm very excited for two reasons. First of all, my best friends from back home are coming to visit tomorrow, and I can't wait to have them in the city! It's going to be so much fun to have them here. I don't know how many times we have imagined how it would be to meet in NYC!

Secondly, I got great news from one of our International Advisors at Berkeley College. She's Teresa Michael, and she had the amazing idea of participating at the 80th Anniversary video contest for the school. Her idea was to make a video with the international students at the New York City campus, and it came out really nice. The good news is that the video got the 2nd place in the contest! Congratulations to all! 

Here's the video so you can see it. I hope you like it, because everyone put a lot of effort on it. 

A few days ago, I answered a few questions for the 80th Anniversary website, for the section "changing lives". I just saw that they have post the one about me and reading it reminds me of how lucky I am!

"As a boy growing up in Barcelona, José Navarro dreamed of attending college in New York City. That dream came true when he was accepted into the International Business program at Berkeley College in the fall of 2010.  When he returned to New York City for his second year at Berkeley, Mr. Navarro felt like he was coming home." 

You can read it here:  http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/80th/jose_navarro_profile.htm. Thanks a lot to Vera for the conversation and all the nice things she wrote!

College is a very important part of anyone's life, and it really makes a change. As a proof of that, here you can read many other stories about Berkeley College students, faculty members, staff and alumni. This is the link: http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/80th/index.htm. You just need to click in the menu on the left of the site to check them out. There are great stories told there!

See you soon!

You can contact me at berkeleycollegelife@gmail.com for any comment, question or suggestion. 

Sunrise:Sunset, Anna Coroneo

Hey everyone! So, we're still on Fashion Week and there are fashion events going on everywhere in the city. It's exciting to see so many designers showing their work, especially when they are so young and they are starting their career.

One of the events I attended was Sunrise:Sunset, by Anna Coroneo. I have blogged about her art works before (she's amazing!), but this time the event was focused on her fashion designs. The event took place at the Empire Hotel Rooftop. The place was insane! It was right by Lincoln Center, which I'm pretty sure is the main location for the fashion shows during the week. The rooftop of the hotel was really nice and cosy. There was a live band playing music, which made the whole thing even cooler!

Funny thing that when my friend and I arrived there, the first person we saw was the model for the event which turns out to be one of our friends! It seems to me the world isn't as big as I thought! Anyways, she looked great on Coroneo's dresses, perfect combination. It was nice to see her modeling for Anna.

A little bit more about the artist, you can check the blog about the opening of "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words" (Link: http://berkeleycollegestudentblogger7.blogspot.com/2011/03/picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html), where you can also find a link to a previous blog about the first opening I attended last year called "An Endless Summer". As you can see in the pictures on this post, the clothes have the same designs of the artworks from the galleries. I think it's really cool and they look amazing. 

You can also check her official website here if you're interested: http://annacoroneo.com/.

After the show, my friend and I had a walk around the area. Lincoln Center is so beautiful! The atmosphere was great, because everyone was there waiting for the fashion shows, plus it was a beautiful night. I really recommend having a walk around that area in the evening. I hope you guys are enjoying the week, and good luck for those who are still doing finals! See you soon!

You can contact me at berkeleycollegelife@gmail.com for any comment, question or suggestion.

10 Years Ago, 9/11

Hey everyone! It was difficult today not to think about the 9/11 anniversary, since this is the tenth one, and it's an important milestone. It feels really weird to be in New York City, where everything happened. I remember how I lived that 9/11 ten years ago. I was just a 12 year old kid, and it was an important holiday in Catalonia, the region where I come from. That's the day we call the "Diada", and it's the national day of Catalonia.

As every year for the 9/11, all my family gathered in my grandma's house to have a huge lunch (oh how I miss those!). I remember that the TV was on, and it was around 3pm (Spanish time) when we saw it on the news. At first, no one paid much attention, because we were having lunch and we didn't know what they were talking about. However, the images of the World Trade Center and the planes started appearing on the TV and suddenly everyone got quiet and really shocked. 

The adults of the family wouldn't stop speaking about things that I wouldn't understand, being a 12 year old boy. To be honest, I don't even think they were understanding what was going on. In fact, no one really knew. An accident? A war? An attack? What I know for sure is that there wouldn't be anything else but those terrifying images on every single TV channel for the whole afternoon. 

As I have mentioned in some other posts in this blog, I have had an obsession for New York City since I was a child. I've always had an incredible admiration for the city and I could not believe my eyes when I saw people jumping out of the Twin Towers, the planes crashing against the buildings... I couldn't understand why those New Yorkers were going through all that pain. All the clips they were showing on the news looked like a science fiction movie.

Ten years after I remember how shocked it left me, and I think about how painful it must have been for Americans, and specially for those who had losses. I feel very sorry for all of them. That event definitely changed many lives, and I'm sure I can say it will always be remembered. Watching the news that day I knew that the attack would have huge consequences, and I think it really did change the world. 

As many of you my have seen already in the media, there have been several events today in the city to commemorate the tragic event. I haven't been around the World Trade Center area recently, but I will try to do so soon. I have seen what they are doing there on the news, and I think the fountains are a beautiful way to remember all those people who left our world earlier than they should have. 

God bless America!

Fashion's Night Out 2011

Hey everyone! How did you enjoy Fashion's Night Out last night? I had been all day walking around, so I was pretty tired at night. One of my roommates and I decided to go to Union Square, which is close to where we live, and see what was going on around there. It turns out that there wasn't much going on there (or at least not that we could see), so we decided to continue walking for a bit until we found anything interesting. Well, that "little walk" took us all the way from the East Village to Times Square!

Union Square 9/8/2011

The first event we found was actually a women's perfume store... I know, what are two guys doing there? It was fun! To be honest, I don't think anyone was buying anything there. They were just having a reception with music, food and drinks. However, we obviously didn't fit that much there, so decided to keep walking. We walked until Madison Square Park, where there was a huge screen and people gathered there to watch the US Open, which sounds like fun for tennis fans! 

FNO at Fresh

Since we were already there, we thought it wouldn't be that hard to get to Herald Square (around 34th Street), and so we did. 34th Street between 5th Avenue and Fashion Avenue felt like a party in the middle of the street. Most of the stores had DJ's and even bands playing live. Some of them also had loud speakers in the street, so you could hear the party from the outside. Levis store had an open bar and some shows going on. We missed the shows, because we got there too late, but the store looked like a bar anyways!

FNO at Desigual

After 34th, we thought Times Square wouldn't be that far... so we walked all the way up to 46th Street and 7th Avenue to see what was going on on the last minutes of the FNO 2011. To be honest, there wasn't much going on around Times Square. Some stores had cool activities like American Eagle, where you could take a professional picture and then they would put it on the huge billboards outside. However, I would say there were more things in last year's edition. Perhaps I felt so because I didn't go to the same places, but I ended up enjoying it anyway! 

FNO at Forever 21, Times Square

I hope you guys have fun, enjoy the weekend!

NYC Is Ready for the Fashion's Night Out

Hey everyone! How is everything going? If you're in New York right now, I hope you're handling the rainy days better than me. It's been raining nonstop for the last couple of days and it seems it won't stop until next week. It feels like summer is over!  However, this is the city that never sleeps and there's something big going on tomorrow night. I'm not a big fashion fan, but I feel the need to talk about all the cool things happening tomorrow in NYC for the Fashion's Night Out. Plus, I know there are many fashion students at Berkeley, who I'm sure will be excited about it. 

To be honest with you, last year I had a lot of fun hanging out in the Fashion's Night Out. It was my first week in New York, so it was very exciting. I wrote about it in my old blog (I wasn't a Berkeley College blogger yet!) and if you want you can check that one out here. I'm not sure what I want to do this year, because I think I can't repeat what I did last one. Not that I didn't have fun, but it was really stressful. Everywhere was really crowded and in many stores we could barely walk. However, there are tons of events, and I'm sure I will find something cool for tomorrow. 

http://fashionsnightout.com

I found a post on the International Berkeley College Facebook page with the official Fashion's Night Out website link. I have been looking at it and, wow! there's a lot of I thinks I'd like to see. This is the link to the page: http://fashionsnightout.com/. If you are close to New York, I would definitely check out some of the events.

If you check the "Events" tab on the home page, you will find a detailed list of all the events and a Manhattan's map to see where they will take place. If you're interested in the whole thing, you can also download an application for your smartphone that will give you all the information to plan your itinerary on the go. For all the Fashion Marketing majors, you should give it a try! I hope you guys have a lot of fun tomorrow, and I will let you know what I find. See you soon!

Labor Day

Hey everyone! First of all, happy Labor Day! For those who are currently working or at school, I bet you're glad to have a day off (sorry for those who don't!). We were talking with some friends last night about the Labor Day, and I have to tell you that none of us knew what this was about. Someone mentioned it had something to do with the war, someone else said it was the day of the workers... but no one really knew why we had a day off this Monday. Let's see what the Internet tells us about this holiday!

I guess the one who said that it's the "workers day" is the one that got closer. According to the brief description in Wikipedia, the "Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 5 in 2011) that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers." Let's see where this holiday comes from anyways.

I found some interesting information in the official website of the United States Department of Labor (www.dol.gov) about the Founder of the Labor Day:

"More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic."

 As you can read, it seems that the origin of the holiday is not that clear. However, they do know that the first Labor Day was celebrated on the 5th of September of 1882. Where? In New York City! As the same article says, "in 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country."

Now we know that the Labor Day celebrates the economical achievements of American workers. However, this year the unemployment rates are quite high, which means many people don't have a job. Then I wonder how unemployed people celebrate this holiday is they are not working. I would say it commemorates workers, and even if unemployed, they are still workers if they are looking for a job or ever had one. Nevertheless, I found a very interesting article online where the Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. Bill Spriggs talks about it, focused on the African-American rates of unemployment. The article is entitled "What’s the Fun of Labor Day Without a Job", which is exactly what I was wondering. This is the link to the article: http://www.bet.com/news/national/2011/09/05/the-black-labor-force-in-the-recovery.html.html. 

Even though the economical situation is not the best, I'm still convinced that every American should be proud of what the country has achieved. I'm also confident that things will get better as soon as possible. However, forget about that today and enjoy the holiday! Happy Labor Day!

Gym Hunting

Hey everyone! Now that the new place is ready, my roommate and I went out to explore the area and find a health club. Last time I blogged about my objectives for this year, and I just realized I didn't mention anything about it. I'm still very young, and I'm not pretending to be the next model for CK underwear campaign, but I guess it's time to start taking care of myself. It's not the first time I go to a health club, but this time I want to add it to my routine, which is easier to do if you commit with your roommate!

New Yorkers, far from what most of the people usually think, are generally very concerned about their health. Perhaps that's the reason why there are so many different health clubs in the city. Trust me, you can find the right one for you. Finding the right gym hasn't been an easy task anyway. There are many things to keep in mind when joining one of those clubs. 

Clubs offer a lot of different services. Some of them are just a fitness room, others even have swimming pools and spa area. I was just looking for a simple place where I can do my workout, I didn't need saunas, steam showers or anything like that. However, what I was worried about the most is the gym to be close to my place. Some people don't mind walking for a while or even taking the subway or the bus to go work out... but I know I do! Maybe the first couple of weeks I would do it, but then when it starts freezing and snowing, I'm sure I will stay home. If it's just down the corner, then I don't have an excuse!

Let me give you the links of the health clubs we were interested in:

Bally Fitness: http://www.ballyfitness.com. It has several locations in New York, but I was interested in the one located on 6th Avenue and 20th Street. They have great offers, and the price is very competitive. However, it is quite far from my place. Otherwise I would have chosen this one!

New York City Sports Club: http://mysportsclubs1.reachlocal.net/regions/NYSC.htm?WT.svl=Header. This one has a lot of locations around Manhattan, and I'm sure you might find one which is convenient to you. It is located about 15 minutes walking from were I live, which is not bad. It's a bit more pricey than the other one, but it offers many services and classes. They also offer different kinds of memberships, one of them allows you to use any of their locations around the city, which can be interesting if there's one by your work or school and another one by your place.

Planet Fitness: http://www.planetfitness.com/. A friend told me about this one, because the price is just unbeatable. They offer a simple fitness room, but for only 10 dollars a month. I wish I had one close, but unfortunately I don't. They don't have any location in Manhattan, but they do have some in other neighborhoods. You may want to check their locations on the website in case you have one close.

Oval Fitness: http://www.stuytown.com/amenities/oval-fitness.aspx. Finally we decided to join this one. It's really close to our apartment and it offers everything we need. It's a bit more pricey, but I know it's worth to have it down the corner. Moreover, we got one hour with a personal trainer for free. I was very happy for that... until I woke up the next morning and I couldn't move any single muscle of my body without feeling pain! 

Oval Fitness

I hope you have great plans for this long weekend! Take care and see you soon!

Happy New Year!

Hey everyone! No, I'm not going crazy, I know it's not the first of January yet. It is first of September, and this the real beginning of the year for me since I'm a student. It's different in every country, but Summer holidays in Spain for students are very long (usually between 2 and 3 months). As a kid, I remember being extremely excited to go back to school by mid August. Call me a nerd, but September always brings me back great memories, and I loved going back to school after a long summer. Let me share some thoughts.

Right now I could say I'm having the same feeling. That's the moment when I start thinking about what I expect from this upcoming "year" and what I can do to make it happen. As usual, I have millions of plans going through my head. Last year I needed time to adapt to the city, and the main goals were to get used to NY and above all, to do well at school, which I think I did! However, this is already my second year at Berkeley and living in NYC, so things are different. 

I'm really eager to take advantage of all the opportunities that the city offers. To be honest with you, this has a lot to do with the economical situation of my country, and of course many other countries that are struggling too. I read everyday in the news how unemployment rates are increasing, and it's actually quite scary. However, it makes me think I can't waste my time. The bad situation is just another reason why young people need to focus even more in their education. The more we do now, the better chances we will have. Or at least that's what I like to think! Then I don't have any time to waste.

That would be my main objective, but I have less serious ones as well. This year I'm improving my cooking skills! We have a great kitchen at our new place, and we have to take advantage of it. Last year I was living in a dorm, with a common kitchen that was rather limited. After the dorm I moved to a small apartment, but the kitchen wasn't mine neither. Now I can finally do it! My roommates and I have actually cooked something already, and I must say we got great results. Whenever we get to prepare a nice decent meal, I will share it! I would also be happy to accept any suggestion too!

I hope you guys are having a great week and start making plans for the long weekend coming up! Feel free to contact me for any question, comment or suggestion you have at berkeleycollegelife@gmail.com. See you soon!