Sneak Peak: May RUN

So here is a sneak peak at my article in the May edition of the Regent Undergraduate Newsletter (RUN).

Thank Goodness for Mom

For a split second, and I really mean a split second, I thought I was going to be an RA in the Regent Commons next year. For those of you who do not know what the Regent Commons is, it is the undergraduate/graduate student housing Regent provides to its on-campus students. The few moments I thought I was going to be an RA were exciting. Of course, they were followed by an unexpected afterthought of anxiety as I realized that for nine months I would be playing activity planner, hall-monitor, confidant and friend to about 15-20 girls. This requires a great deal of maturity; it is sort of like being a mom.

I thought a good way to begin being mature would be to ask the girls I knew what they would like to do for fun activities next year. A number of ideas came up – ugly sweater Christmas parties, weekly bible studies and door decorating parties. The list of fun things to do was endless. I had my list nearly complete and highly professional written in orange colored pencil on piece of paper I tore from a notebook when someone said to me, “It would be nice if you would do something to recognize good deeds, like give awards or gift certificates somewhere for people who do nice things for each other.” The same girl followed up with a comment suggesting that sometimes she felt like no one ever recognized her or saw her.

A part of my heart sunk to my intestines. No one should feel invisible, especially not at Regent where there are so many opportunities to be noticed. Another part of me, the cynical part, cynically thought, Isn’t this life? Meaning, we all have to try hard to engage and get noticed and yes sometimes it is hard. It is not an RA’s job to make sure everyone feels secure and plugged into their individual niche where they will be appreciated for who they are – that is like asking them to play God.

After this conversation I sulked back to my room. I knew the feeling the girl was talking about and I think a lot of people know how it feels to be invisible. It is hard to feel unique when everyone shops at SuperTarget and works in a state-of-the-art, grey cubicle. I have felt invisible before but never did I extend myself past my own self-centered bubble to realize that a lot of other people feel this way too. The invisible feeling is an isolating one; it makes you think no one feels the same way you do.

This week I was not invisible. I won an essay contest. I got to read my essay in front of 20-30 people in the Regent University library and then sit on a panel of professors to discuss the essay topic. Things like that make you feel like life is moving forward and the invisible feeling fades for a moment. No one person has stood by me as I have developed my writing talent as much as my mother. She knew me when I was a squirrely seventeen year-old emitting teenage emotion all over MySpace in blogs. She knew me when I had my first journalism course at college that I nearly dropped because my grades were so bad. She is there now, when my writing is beginning to develop into something good, something that I can use.

The morning I won the contest, she was the first person I called. On the phone she said, “Julie, you have a gift here, but no one said it would be easy.” The wise words were a little searing to my ears. No one did say it would be easy. Now I understand what that means. It means working day and night towards your goal, being secure in both failure and success. It means staying with things when there is no recognition for your efforts and learning to wait when you have done all you can and there is no indication that anyone will ever see you.

When I become a mother, I will tell my children that no one said life would be easy. If my split second as an RA would have lasted nine months, maybe I would have said this to some girls, not as their mother, but as someone who was trying to conjure up enough maturity to act like a mother. I am lucky I have a mother to say this to me. My mom is really good at what she does, if she wasn’t I would have quit writing a long time ago. Thank-goodness for mom, right?

Regent University National Library Week: April 11-17

Regent University celebrated National Library Week last week and I won the university-wide student essay contest. The essay addressed the question,what is the role of Wikipedia in scholarly education? Here is a copy of my essay, what is your opinion on Wikipedia in higher education?

Starting Points

When a student enters the Regent University Library website and clicks into the databases icon, they have the option to begin with “starting points.” What is a starting point? It is a place to begin. New media technologies are re-creating the academic environment and Wikipedia is a leader in this online learning. There is no resisting the change that new media is bringing to academia and technology will continue to change academia’s environment. In the online world of articles, books, blogs and wikis, a place to begin is crucial. Wikipedia is that place to begin.

The historic Socratic method teaches that discussion, including question and answer, is the method that best highlights new ideas and brings greater understanding to an audience. This kind of learning occurs through the sharing and discussing of ideas. Wikipedia serves as a communication technology that allows for the sharing and critiquing of information about various topics. It is a place where all can come to edit, share, gain and critique information. Wikis have made the goals of post-modernity possible by allowing for the voices of many people, educated or not, to be heard. Culture is an influential and ever-changing factor in academic study and Wikipedia’s open environment allows for a more culturally influenced perspective. It does not limit information sharing to a particular group, educated or not. The presentation and critique of various ideas is a cornerstone in higher education, and technologies like Wikipedia help make new ideas and perspectives available.

Still, Wikipedia is not peer-reviewed or mediated. The only mediation is the editing available to everyone at the click of a mouse. No standard specifies what can or cannot be written or what topics are appropriate for discussion. Therefore, a Wikipedia user accepts the risk that information found on Wikipedia is possibly erroneous. It is not appropriate to cite Wikipedia information as bona fide knowledge or as a primary source in research. Even Jimmy Wales, creator of Wikipedia, did not create Wikipedia to be used as a scholarly source. He claimed, “The goal is to give people a free encyclopedia to every person in the world, in their own language. Not just in a 'free beer' kind of way, but also in the free speech kind of way.” The goal of Wikipedia is to provide information to everyone as an avenue of free speech, not necessarily a scholarly source. A student who relies on Wikipedia as a primary source in their research is not being scholarly but instead lazy.

Wikipedia is not a qualified scholarly source, but is best used as a place to begin. Today, research occurs more often at a computer than in rows of books at a library. Wikipedia is an excellent place to begin. It allows for a broad perspective on information sharing for a student to define a niche and begin research. It is a starting point, not an end point.

Whales, Jimmy. “Encyclopedia Quotes.” Brainyquote.com 2010. BrainyMedia.com 09 April 2010. .

Lady's Night Regent Style

Meet Dr. A.

Excuse me, Dr. Attanasi, Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy in Regent's Undergraduate Religious Studies program, for those who like ornate titles.

Dr. A is on the left-hand side of the table, one person away from the wall. Just to be vain and let everyone know, I am the one sitting directly to Dr. A's left (which would technically be her right) in the white sweater.

The female students who have had Dr. A in class were all invited to dinner at CiCi's Pizza, off of Kempsville Road and Centerville Turnpike and this night was ladies night. There was no particular reason for the event, just for some good conversation outside of Regent's own four walls. We discussed future plans, academics, everyone held the baby in the stroller and ate as much pizza as an all-you-can eat buffet will supply for just over $7.

Girls from all academic studies attended, anything from English to Communications to Religion majors attended. I might add it was a good night of discussion and fellowship and good food! Good food seems to accompany all good Regent Events. It is nice when you are a broke and starving college student.

Dr. Attanasi is a Harvard grad finished her Ph. D. at Vanderbuilt University in Tennessee. She has travelled extensively and spent one year working as a journalist. I think this explains why I enjoyed her teaching style so much, I can identify with her stress on strict observations from the texts we would read. Learning (and good journalism) is all about learning to observe, and in Dr. A's class observations of all kinds were welcome.

It was a good night and I think just about everyone in the picture could agree.

Easter with a Ph.D.

I am a tele-counselor in the Regent University Undergraduate department. Basically, I call 17 and 18 year old kids and try to convince them that Regent University should be in their future and then I talk with them a little bit about what they want to major in and generally do with their lives. Most of the time I get the apathetic student who would rather talk to the wall in their bedroom than discuss their academic future.

Occasionally I do get an interested student who likes to talk. What do they ask me? They ask, "Why do you like Regent?" As my superiors teach me to do, I have about five stories lined up to share about why the Regent experience is the best experience.

I do love Regent; it has been a God-send to me as it has been to many others. What I love most is when I am here on Easter Sunday in Virginia Beach hundreds of miles away from home and a fellow student invites me have Easter dinner with their family. They invite me into their home, give me food, laugh and let me hold their children. They treat me like family when my my family is far away. It then that I am remember that I am surrounded by people at Regent are nothing ordinary and actually quite unique.

I am reminded of this when the famous undergrad professor, Dr. William Lyons, Ph.D., invites me over to his house on Easter Sunday to have chai tea with him and his wife and other students. We talked religion, school and food. Then, of course, we ate dinner and talked more. . I believe this is the definition of going above and beyond. This is something Regent asks of all her students in their individual studies, so it is nice to see our faculty lead by example.

Each moment I am at Regent, despite the times when school is hard and it feels like a fishbowl because of the small size, I am reminded on days like this that choosing Regent has made a difference in the direction of my life and I am so glad I did.