I have been a member of the DOW Advantage PR Group at Flagler College for two years. I started off as an assistant account executive for the First America Foundation. I got to assist in some of the planning for the 450th Commemoration Celebration for the city of St. Augustine.
This year I became the account executive for St. Francis House. I have been able to help with various fundraisers that support the homeless shelter. Overall I have got some great experience and some awesome opportunities as a member of DOW.
But this year, I got to help out on another account, Habitat for Humanity. Their account executive needed some of us to help build a house with the other volunteers. At first I signed up because they needed help, not necessarily because I wanted to do it.
So that Saturday morning came and I went to the area of land that Habitat for Humanity bought to build their houses. I got put to work right away and was responsible for completing the siding of the house. I got to use a nail gun for the first....terrifying.
There was two of us on one side and after a few hours, we realized we had almost finished. We had nailed the panels up the side as far up as we could reach. At the end of the day, we stood back and admired our work and I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.
Not only had I been able to help build a house, but that house was going to be given to someone who really needed it. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I was lucky enough to have been able to experience the festivities at the Mayor's Gala without having to experience the financial deficit. I volunteered with the City of St. Augustine through my DOW client, St. Francis House. It was fun to see all of the city officials dressed up, drinking and dancing.
It rained most of the night, but people were so wrapped up in the tradition that they braved the storm. I was almost happy that it rained because the lights were reflecting off of the wet pavement. I imagine that a distant view of the city would have looked as if it were sparkling.
My mom and my grandmother came down for the festivities. It was nice to share this experience with them, during my last year here in St. Augustine. I hope after graduation we can make it our own tradition to come down to visit the city and Flagler, as well as enjoy another Night of Lights.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Life's-a-changin'
So this semester is quickly coming to an end...which means I only have one more semester left at Flagler College.
I have never been good with change. I was always the kid who cried on the last day of school all throughout my elementary years. As an adult, I never cry...at least I never let anyone see me cry. It takes a lot to break me down to tears.
With that said, the other day, as I was driving home from school by myself, Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back" came on the radio. I was singing right along with it until I all of a sudden burst into tears. If you have never heard it, you might want to at least read through the lyrics so you understand this blog post a little better. (Or at least understand what sent me into hysteria..I promise I'm not crazy).
After some thought, I realized that the words in that song really hit a nerve. Kenny sings, "Growing up too fast and I do recall wishing time would stop right in its tracks." In that moment I suddenly felt like I had lost complete control of time and my life was spiraling out in all different directions. I then shook myself out of that dramatic train of thought and rationally thought about what actually had affected me.
I just turned 22 and was a little hard to handle. I had just turned 21! How had it already been a year? But the day came and went and I survived. I'm not sure what it is but the fact that graduation is right around the corner is mind-boggling. I remember the first day of highschool orientation when my principle, Mr Tracy, told us that the next four years were going to fly by and that on the day of our graduation we would all think back to him saying those words.
Well, highschool graduation came and we all sat and talked about the day Mr. Tracy had told us that those four years were going to fly. And fly they did. We all went off to college and I remember my first day at Flagler...the dean said these next four years are going to fly by so enjoy them while you can. Once again, those four years did fly by.
And now it's almost time for everyone I have met and befriended at college to make some very important life decisions: where to move after graduation, what kind of career we want to pursue, what graduate school we should apply to. The hardest part for me to deal with is the fact that we are all most likely going to end up in different places, doing different things.
I am so excited to see what happens in the next chapter in my life. But I am also terrified. For the first time ever I have no idea what is coming next. Will I get a job? Will I go home or move away? Who will I stay in touch with? How do you make friends when you are not in school?
My whole life, all I have known is school. After middle school, I knew I was going to highschool. After highscool, I knew I was going to college. But now what? I guess it is just fear of the unknown, and I do believe that things will just naturally work themselves out, but it is still a really scary feeling.
To wrap this up (sorry to ramble but I had to get it out there), the other day as I was sitting in my Social Media class listening to presentations, I got really sad. I was watching my classmates, who I have been in classes with, worked on projects with, been involved with school clubs and organizations, and I realized that this is it. We will soon all go our separate ways, and only the memory of our time spent together at Flagler College will remain.
So, to the Flagler College Class of 2012, I wish you all the best of luck in all future endeavors. Our generation is pretty awesome and I think we are all capable of doing some pretty great things. I've learned a lot, not just educationally but personally as well. I'm the person I am today in large part to the people I have met at school, and for that I thank you.
I Go Back -- Kenny Chesney
I have never been good with change. I was always the kid who cried on the last day of school all throughout my elementary years. As an adult, I never cry...at least I never let anyone see me cry. It takes a lot to break me down to tears.
With that said, the other day, as I was driving home from school by myself, Kenny Chesney's "I Go Back" came on the radio. I was singing right along with it until I all of a sudden burst into tears. If you have never heard it, you might want to at least read through the lyrics so you understand this blog post a little better. (Or at least understand what sent me into hysteria..I promise I'm not crazy).
After some thought, I realized that the words in that song really hit a nerve. Kenny sings, "Growing up too fast and I do recall wishing time would stop right in its tracks." In that moment I suddenly felt like I had lost complete control of time and my life was spiraling out in all different directions. I then shook myself out of that dramatic train of thought and rationally thought about what actually had affected me.
I just turned 22 and was a little hard to handle. I had just turned 21! How had it already been a year? But the day came and went and I survived. I'm not sure what it is but the fact that graduation is right around the corner is mind-boggling. I remember the first day of highschool orientation when my principle, Mr Tracy, told us that the next four years were going to fly by and that on the day of our graduation we would all think back to him saying those words.
Well, highschool graduation came and we all sat and talked about the day Mr. Tracy had told us that those four years were going to fly. And fly they did. We all went off to college and I remember my first day at Flagler...the dean said these next four years are going to fly by so enjoy them while you can. Once again, those four years did fly by.
And now it's almost time for everyone I have met and befriended at college to make some very important life decisions: where to move after graduation, what kind of career we want to pursue, what graduate school we should apply to. The hardest part for me to deal with is the fact that we are all most likely going to end up in different places, doing different things.
I am so excited to see what happens in the next chapter in my life. But I am also terrified. For the first time ever I have no idea what is coming next. Will I get a job? Will I go home or move away? Who will I stay in touch with? How do you make friends when you are not in school?
My whole life, all I have known is school. After middle school, I knew I was going to highschool. After highscool, I knew I was going to college. But now what? I guess it is just fear of the unknown, and I do believe that things will just naturally work themselves out, but it is still a really scary feeling.
To wrap this up (sorry to ramble but I had to get it out there), the other day as I was sitting in my Social Media class listening to presentations, I got really sad. I was watching my classmates, who I have been in classes with, worked on projects with, been involved with school clubs and organizations, and I realized that this is it. We will soon all go our separate ways, and only the memory of our time spent together at Flagler College will remain.
So, to the Flagler College Class of 2012, I wish you all the best of luck in all future endeavors. Our generation is pretty awesome and I think we are all capable of doing some pretty great things. I've learned a lot, not just educationally but personally as well. I'm the person I am today in large part to the people I have met at school, and for that I thank you.
I Go Back -- Kenny Chesney
Online Privacy
Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites and is actively used by thousands of people across the globe. While people utilize Facebook for different reasons, it basically serves one simple purpose: to connect and maintain relationships with people online. I mean, they literally say that "Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life," right on the 'About' page.
It may seem like common knowledge not to post too much of your personal information online, or maybe I have just always been told not to so I think it seems like common sense. Regardless, I think a main reason why people feel so comfortable posting some of their personal information on Facebook is because they have set their privacy settings so that only 'Friends' can see. But just how private is private when it comes to Facebook?
Recently, Facebook has fallen prey to a lot of scrutiny surrounding their privacy policies. According to an article called How Facebook Betrayed Users and Undermined Online Privacy, found on Alternet.org, "Facebook first aroused controversy on its violations of privacy with its use of web beacons." Web beacons track and collect your online activity and then send all of your information, primarily used so that marketers can directly sell products and services to you.
After this initial privacy conflict, Facebook gave its users the option of blocking these web beacons. The talk of Facebook's privacy settings, or lack there of, settled down for awhile. Then in May, when Facebook underwent multiple changes, their privacy settings became even more limited. Facebook had implemented an Instant Personalization pilot program that "spins users' personal interests into public websites that are searchable and available for the world to see."
Apparently, the only way to get out of this program and ensure that your personal data was not being sent to other websites was to delete a lot of the information that you had already saved to Facebook, such as your biographical information.
I don't think Facebook is evil and trying to corrupt everyone who signs up. But they are a business and because it is the most visited site, marketers are willing to invest in them. In order for it to be free for all of us, Facebook has to allow marketers to advertise to us so that they can get paid. If they don't get paid, we don't use Facebook for free.
I understand that online privacy will always be an issue of controversy and that there are some people in this world who use the wonders of the Internet to their own personal advantage by stealing people's credit card information or whatever it is that hackers do. But, when it comes to online privacy with sites like Facebook, I do not have as much sympathy for people.
People voluntarily sign up for a Facebook account and then voluntarily post whatever information they choose to their pages. If they have issues with Facebook's privacy settings and are not happy with how Facebook is run, why don't they just delete their account? I do believe that Facebook needs to stay on top of their game when it comes to their privacy control settings, but users need to understand that when things get posted online, they become public information.
It may seem like common knowledge not to post too much of your personal information online, or maybe I have just always been told not to so I think it seems like common sense. Regardless, I think a main reason why people feel so comfortable posting some of their personal information on Facebook is because they have set their privacy settings so that only 'Friends' can see. But just how private is private when it comes to Facebook?
Recently, Facebook has fallen prey to a lot of scrutiny surrounding their privacy policies. According to an article called How Facebook Betrayed Users and Undermined Online Privacy, found on Alternet.org, "Facebook first aroused controversy on its violations of privacy with its use of web beacons." Web beacons track and collect your online activity and then send all of your information, primarily used so that marketers can directly sell products and services to you.
After this initial privacy conflict, Facebook gave its users the option of blocking these web beacons. The talk of Facebook's privacy settings, or lack there of, settled down for awhile. Then in May, when Facebook underwent multiple changes, their privacy settings became even more limited. Facebook had implemented an Instant Personalization pilot program that "spins users' personal interests into public websites that are searchable and available for the world to see."
Apparently, the only way to get out of this program and ensure that your personal data was not being sent to other websites was to delete a lot of the information that you had already saved to Facebook, such as your biographical information.
I don't think Facebook is evil and trying to corrupt everyone who signs up. But they are a business and because it is the most visited site, marketers are willing to invest in them. In order for it to be free for all of us, Facebook has to allow marketers to advertise to us so that they can get paid. If they don't get paid, we don't use Facebook for free.
I understand that online privacy will always be an issue of controversy and that there are some people in this world who use the wonders of the Internet to their own personal advantage by stealing people's credit card information or whatever it is that hackers do. But, when it comes to online privacy with sites like Facebook, I do not have as much sympathy for people.
People voluntarily sign up for a Facebook account and then voluntarily post whatever information they choose to their pages. If they have issues with Facebook's privacy settings and are not happy with how Facebook is run, why don't they just delete their account? I do believe that Facebook needs to stay on top of their game when it comes to their privacy control settings, but users need to understand that when things get posted online, they become public information.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Conflicts in the Digital Age--Cyber Warfare
The Digital Age, specifically the growth of the Internet, has brought with it many positive aspects. The technology that people use today has exceeded many people's expectations. The Internet allows us to communicate with people across the world, complete a college level course, spend money we do not have on things we probably do not need, watch movies, download music and an infinite number of other things.
But with the good, also comes the bad. When so many people in the world have access to the Internet, it has to be almost expected that things are bound to go wrong. One negative aspect of the use of the Internet is cyber-warfare. Cyber-warfare and cyber-attacks are acts of stealing information from other people, companies or countries over the Internet, and obviously, some cyber-crimes are much more serious than others.
Cyber-warfare between the military forces or governments of two countries is probably the most dangerous of online attacks. The information stored in a military database of a particular country is secured for a reason: they do not want other countries to use their "secrets" against them. While the Digital Age has given military forces more possibilities to safely store information on say, weapons of mass destruction (in case they are ever needed), it has also raised the threat and opened the door for cyber-attacks on those military systems.
Because of the possibility of cyber-warfare, the United States has developed a way of identifying threats and determining which are harmful and which are harmless (or at least less harmful). According to an article, Confronting the Cyber Threat, on the website, Council on Foreign Relations, "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designates at least five primary cyber threat sources...most observers acknowledge the greatest and most persistent threats are cyberespionage and cybercrime."
Cyberespionage is the act of obtaining secrets or data from groups such as the government while cybercrime is any crime involving a computer against the government, corporations or individual people. When the U.S. looks for cyber-attackers or threats, they focus primarily on the following: National Governments, Terrorists, Industrial Spies and Organized Crimes, Hacktivists, and Hackers. They also use what is called a GOA Threat Table, which organizes the specific kind of cyber-threat and what exactly that threat means.
While there has not been an actual cyberwar launched against the United States, it is definitely a possibility. After doing some research on how the U.S. seeks to protect its government, military and the nation as a whole, I do not personally feel threatened, nor do I think that the country is in danger of such attacks. At least not yet. My only fear is that as time goes on, technology will continue to grow and expand, and attackers will be more knowledgeable when it comes to the Internet. As long as the U.S. security forces keep up with the changes that are to come from the Digital Age and beyond, I feel that cyber-warfare is not something of a threat at this moment.
But with the good, also comes the bad. When so many people in the world have access to the Internet, it has to be almost expected that things are bound to go wrong. One negative aspect of the use of the Internet is cyber-warfare. Cyber-warfare and cyber-attacks are acts of stealing information from other people, companies or countries over the Internet, and obviously, some cyber-crimes are much more serious than others.
Cyber-warfare between the military forces or governments of two countries is probably the most dangerous of online attacks. The information stored in a military database of a particular country is secured for a reason: they do not want other countries to use their "secrets" against them. While the Digital Age has given military forces more possibilities to safely store information on say, weapons of mass destruction (in case they are ever needed), it has also raised the threat and opened the door for cyber-attacks on those military systems.
Because of the possibility of cyber-warfare, the United States has developed a way of identifying threats and determining which are harmful and which are harmless (or at least less harmful). According to an article, Confronting the Cyber Threat, on the website, Council on Foreign Relations, "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designates at least five primary cyber threat sources...most observers acknowledge the greatest and most persistent threats are cyberespionage and cybercrime."
Cyberespionage is the act of obtaining secrets or data from groups such as the government while cybercrime is any crime involving a computer against the government, corporations or individual people. When the U.S. looks for cyber-attackers or threats, they focus primarily on the following: National Governments, Terrorists, Industrial Spies and Organized Crimes, Hacktivists, and Hackers. They also use what is called a GOA Threat Table, which organizes the specific kind of cyber-threat and what exactly that threat means.
While there has not been an actual cyberwar launched against the United States, it is definitely a possibility. After doing some research on how the U.S. seeks to protect its government, military and the nation as a whole, I do not personally feel threatened, nor do I think that the country is in danger of such attacks. At least not yet. My only fear is that as time goes on, technology will continue to grow and expand, and attackers will be more knowledgeable when it comes to the Internet. As long as the U.S. security forces keep up with the changes that are to come from the Digital Age and beyond, I feel that cyber-warfare is not something of a threat at this moment.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Halloween Hauntings
Autumn is by far my favorite season for a few reasons. I am from a small town in Massachusetts and the fall months in New England are perfect. The air is crisp and cool. The leaves change from green to a beautiful crimson and gold. Apple picking is always fun, no matter how old you are. My birthday is in October. And so is, of course, my second favorite holiday after Christmas, Halloween.
There is a haunted house my friends and I used to go to this time of year when we were in high school. It was known as Livingston Street, which is a long, dark, deserted road. It was scary, but nothing we couldn't handle. We would almost always dress up for Halloween. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop trick-or-treating until I was 18 years old.
I came down to Florida to go to school and haven't really been able to celebrate Halloween since. I have either been working or haven't had time to do anything Halloween-y. Last year, I did go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando, but there were so many people there and it wasn't as scary as I had hoped. (I am one of those people who enjoys scaring themselves. Why? No idea.)
Anyways, since it is my senior year in college, I figure it's time to go big, or go home. So, in true Halloween spirit, I really want to go to Warehouse 31. It's a haunted attraction in St. Augustine and they always have some good deals. As a broke college kid, I would do almost anything to get discounts. (Almost anything.)
Warehouse 31 will take $3 off your ticket if you go to CVS or Gate, buy a Monster Energy drink and bring the empty can to their ticket gate. Or make a video of you scaring one of your friends and you could win a Warehouse 31 prize package that includes: 2 Triple Terror Heart Bypass Tickets, 2 drink coupons, WH31 shirts and a case of Monster Energy drinks. This contest ends October 10 so hurry up and get 'er done!
Warehouse 31 has all this info on their Facebook page and Twitter account. Happy Halloween:)
There is a haunted house my friends and I used to go to this time of year when we were in high school. It was known as Livingston Street, which is a long, dark, deserted road. It was scary, but nothing we couldn't handle. We would almost always dress up for Halloween. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop trick-or-treating until I was 18 years old.
I came down to Florida to go to school and haven't really been able to celebrate Halloween since. I have either been working or haven't had time to do anything Halloween-y. Last year, I did go to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando, but there were so many people there and it wasn't as scary as I had hoped. (I am one of those people who enjoys scaring themselves. Why? No idea.)
Anyways, since it is my senior year in college, I figure it's time to go big, or go home. So, in true Halloween spirit, I really want to go to Warehouse 31. It's a haunted attraction in St. Augustine and they always have some good deals. As a broke college kid, I would do almost anything to get discounts. (Almost anything.)
Warehouse 31 will take $3 off your ticket if you go to CVS or Gate, buy a Monster Energy drink and bring the empty can to their ticket gate. Or make a video of you scaring one of your friends and you could win a Warehouse 31 prize package that includes: 2 Triple Terror Heart Bypass Tickets, 2 drink coupons, WH31 shirts and a case of Monster Energy drinks. This contest ends October 10 so hurry up and get 'er done!
Warehouse 31 has all this info on their Facebook page and Twitter account. Happy Halloween:)
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