My name's Bill Beyer. I grew up in Milwaukee, WI but was born in Liberia
and lived an intriguing life there until I was one year old. It was just
great. I especially enjoyed the fourth month of my life. I don't know exactly
why my parents were there. They may have been some sort of international
spies but I don't think so. My dad, Frederick Beyer, is a banker now and
we all know that bankers make horrible spies. My mom, Leslie Beyer, is a
receptionist now and I think the same goes for receptionists when it comes
to spying. I'm a freshman now but I don't have a major. I'm actually a non-degree
student until next year when I'll be a sophomore if I get the grades for
them to let me in. I graduated from a private high school in '96 but took
a couple years off to travel a little and not think about school. I went
to New Zealand for a month and a half right after high school and worked
at various jobs until last summer when I went around Europe for another
month or two. When I was in England I learned a lot about shoes because
my friend, Gareth, is a cobbler over there and quite good at it. I just
turned twenty-one on the eleventh so now I figure I only have retirement
to look forward to. I enjoy working at different jobs. I've taught swimming
lessons, telemarketed, sold bananas door to door, worked in a coating factory
and an office with my own cubicle. Once I almost even became a part-owner
in a new country-club near Milwaukee called Club Foot. Now I'm in school
and don't do much.
I was born in Margate, NJ on August 3, 1979. Margate is a small town at the shore, on the same island as Atlantic city. I lived there in a house on the water with my parents and younger brother, David, until I was about twelve. After that I moved to Cherry hill, NJ, which was about an hour away. I went to sleep away camp in Oxford, Pa at camp Saginaw. I also went on a teen tour to Italy and Israel. I love traveling and have also been to France, Mexico a couple times, and Canada numerous times. I go skiing every winter break with my family. We have gone to Mont Tremblant, Vail, Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole, and Beaver Creek. I love going to the beach, hanging out with my friends, and spending time with my family. I am majoring in international business, and hope to be working back and forth in Europe when I am older.
Hi! My name is Nona Florence. I'm nineteen years old. I was born on March 17,1979 at Howard University Hospital. I am the oldest of two children. I have a younger brother, Kameron. He and my parents live here in DC. My mom's an attorney and my dad's self-employed. He's retired from AT&T. I have two dogs. One's an English Mastiff He's brown and he's nearly six feet tall when he stands on he hind legs. The other is a Rockwellier mix. I am a freshman is the School of International Service. I live in Leonard Hall, AU's International/Inter cultural Hall. I chose American because of the location and the diversity of the student population and because of the International Studies major. At first, I like the Study Abroad program, but now I'm looking at other options. I want to go into the Foreign Service. I absolutely love to travel. I was born and raised here in DC, but I live for the last three years in the US Virgin Islands and have traveled to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, St. John, and St. Croix. I also love working with kids. I was a teachers aide in high school and have been a tutor for the DC Reads program since last semester. I'm not very athletic, but I want to be more athletic. I'm taking Swimming this semester, and I want to learn "basic" gymnastics and ice skating. I've tried ice skating once. It was hard, but I like it. I even went to see Stars on Ice over Winter Break. I loved watching ice skating and gymnastics for years, and it would be nice to try. My best friend was going to teach me to play tennis over the summer, but we both got so busy. Maybe next summer. I love watching sports. I would love to travel to Greece for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. I'm trying to learn Spanish. I love being around people of different cultures (that's one of the reasons I love living in Leonard) but languages aren't my strong suit. I want to travel to Costa Rica and Columbia, and I want to be able to speak the language. I also love to read and listen to music, especially when I'm trying to relax.
IT'S ALL ABOUT ME
It's difficult to believe, forget even imagine, that my existence began as a sperm fighting it's way to my mom's eggs. Out of millions of other sperms, I made it into the ovaries of Rebecca White Hamilton. Of course, I grew for nine months and came into this beautiful world on March 14 in 1980. My mother always tells me how news reporters for the local newspaper snapped photos of her while I was 24 hours away from being born. She laughs herself to tears because she was so embarrassed from being "big up on the hospital bed" and looking bloated and having this picture printed in the local newspaper. I like to think of it as ironic because journalism is the career I've chosen since I was about 8 or 9.
I like to think of myself as a nice and sweet southern belle. I was both born and raised in Georgetown, South Carolina. My mom had already given births to my two older siblings, Leroy Jr. and Christopher. My youngest brother and last sibling is Curtis. Most people back home would say that I'm a spoiled child because I'm the only girl in the family. I beg to differ with them. My parents couldn't have spoiled me even if they wanted to. We had a less than modest income but I never felt like I was poor or "poverty stricken." We always had enough to eat and clothes to wear. For some reason, though, a few childhood neighbors always wanted me to know that I was a little less than they were. I never wavered and never let them penetrate into my iron core belief that I was more than my parents income. I always believed in myself and I refused to let someone else's low expectation of me make me expect lowly of myself. One reason that I was able to believe in myself is due to my love of books. Believe me, books are fundamental! I especially loved books that have a heroine as the main character. Two of my favorites to this day are Lydia and Jane Eyre. I always loved these books because the themes were always about a young girl who had to rely on herself and had to overcome obstacles to achieve a goal. These characters maintain a sense of themselves that is undisturbed by time, changes, people or environment.
Books weren't the only outlets for me to turn to for encouragement and strength. I also love writing. I can't remember a time when I didn't write. I've always kept journals to express myself and I wrote stories for fun when I was younger. Actually, I would stay home from school, pretending to be sick, so I could write stories. I think I owe everything to books and writing. By the way, those kids who teased me are all working in places like Burger King, McDonald's, etc. I don't make fun of them but I find it to be very ironic.
My name is Mitch Herckis. I was born in Stamford, CT, and have lived there my entire life (which isn't quite as horrible as it sounds). Stamford is a fairly large city, and is only a short distance from New York City. I haven't traveled all that much either. I've only been to about 8 or 9 states (and that includes all the little New England states). As far as foreign countries go, I have been to Israel (which was one of the best experiences of my life), Canada, and Bermuda.
For the most part, my life has been quite normal. My family is like most of middle class America, except that my parents are neat freaks. For the most part gets along pretty well. I have a typical Jewish mother, who harasses me to no end. I also have two older sisters, who will both be graduating from different colleges at the end of this semester (NYU Graduate School and University of Michigan).
I have gone to public school my entire life, and have had a little bit of a culture shock here at American. While this school is diverse as far as Universities, my public school was about 55% minority. The entire system is completely different though, so I shouldn't be all that surprised. In high school, people used to know me as the boy with really huge curly hair. I cut all that off, but if you see a picture of me with an afro, it isn't a wig. I also have about ten different nicknames, so I may start to respond to things not directed at me.
I many varied interests. I am a regular renaissance man. I enjoy music and art, mainly because I have about the skill of an infant at both of them. The only thing connected to art that I am proficient at is technical theater lighting design. I also enjoy working with children, and have done several forms of teaching over the past two and a half years. Most of this teaching has been with computers (with adults and children). I have also worked as a computer hardware and software consultant, tutor, and custom system designer and builder.
I've always been very interested in history, politics, philosophy and psychology. I plan to major in political science with a minor in International Studies, American Foreign policy. I haven't actually declared yet, but that's because I'm extremely lazy about such things. I'm not extremely athletic, but I enjoy playing sports. The only sport I ever played varsity was Track and Field (Hurdles and Pole Vault). I especially enjoy roller hockey, mostly because I can't ice skate for my life.
By nature, I am very person oriented. I enjoy interacting with people and helping out in any way possible. Out of all my commitments in my life, my dedication to my friends is truly one of the most important to me. I have a variety of different groups of friends, each with their own good qualities. I also have certain lifelong friends whom I unconditionally trust and depend on. This is a very select group of people whom I truly feel absolutely and completely free with to discuss anything or behave exactly how I want without being judged or thought differently about. Overall, interaction is truly my favorite way of learning and growing.
I grew up the youngest of three children in a rural Massachusetts town. Although neither my mom nor my dad went to college, they understood the importance of a good education. Perhaps some of their enthusiasm for our education comes from their regrets about not having a chance to go to college.
Nothing was too much or too circuitous when it came to our education. My mother's main goal was to make us well rounded. My father's main goal was to make us happy and then self-sufficient. Their desires as much as I hate to say it, make up almost entirely who I am my beliefs, prejudices, attitude, et cetera.
My childhood, from birth to now, is much like the majority of kids I know in a few ways and different in some others. I went to a Montessori pre-school, a Christian school from K-8, an elitist all girls catholic high school for two years, my public school for the last two years of high school, and now American.
Much of my energy in the past was dedicated to my mother's goal to make me well rounded. I started playing the cello when I was five. I took lessons every week. Cello is probably one of the only things that I have stuck with, besides sking for longer than 10 years. From seventh grade until my Junior year, I practiced about four hours every day, traveled 45 minutes once a week to play in a youth orchestra, and drove an hour to go to my lesson once a week. I hated playing the cello but kept with it because I had no choice. I was good at it. I placed within the top four every year at districts and went to all-states twice. I can't tell you how many times I sat down to practice and tears would just stream down my face, yet I suffered through junior high and high school so that I could put it on my college resume and hopefully get into a good college.
This dedication, commitment, and competitive edge has guided me in almost every aspect of my life (by no means am I praising these western qualities though). Around the same time that I started playing the cello I also played soccer, took gymnastics, swimming lessons and went skiing with my family as often as we found time. (It's about the only thing we can do together and still look like a pleasant family!)
I started running cross-country in sixth grade. I was horrible at it, but by eighth grade I was on the high school varsity team and competing in districts and states. My parents and I had high hopes that this "God given" talent would get me into the right college. Running was something that I could shine at alone. While my sister had her horse and my brother his brains, I had my legs.
From junior high I moved on to an extremely competitive high school where only 80 kids get in out of 300 applicants. (I'm not really sure if that's the truth or not. I find that people like to exaggerate the truth to make it seem better than it actually is.) I traveled about an hour every morning and night just to go to the "right school". I left my house around 7:00 every morning and did not get home until around 6:00 every night. From there I went to my room and studied until around two or three in the morning and then started the whole routine again. I was secretary of my class, on varsity cross-country, indoor track, track, in the orchestra, and in a chamber orchestra. Needless to say, after two years, I was mentally drained and still not happy. I was frustrated with learning and the absolute laws that many schools impose on kids. I found that I was trying too hard to be running in a little circle. So, without much thought and more to make my parents mad I transferred to my public school.
I lived the life of a busy student for two more years trying to balance running, playing the cello, and AP and honors classes. I still had not learned my lesson. I still did not realize that what I really needed was to calm down and value the true necessities of life which are by no means being the best in everything. By my senior year I was like a chicken with its head cut off.
I applied early decision to American for a couple of reasons: to piss my parents and academic advisors off by not reaching for a more challenging school; to eliminate time and frustration spent applying to a million different schools just to get rejected; and to run in a non-stressful running program. I didn't think much about college I was too busy being well rounded (how ironic). I figured it was the right distance from home. It's very foolish, but that's what I ended up doing.
It was probably one of the best decisions I could have made. In the last year I have changed my outlook on life and on learning. After a week of running cross-country I quit and started doing things I am interested in. I don't think that I would like American as much as I do now if not for an extremely good roommate. We have done quite a bit a very interesting things in the last semester. From going to embassy concerts to volunteering at charity balls, I can safely say that I have enjoyed living, learning, and struggling in DC.
My name is Nehemias Lima, I was born in El Salvador on February the 5th, 1979. I came to the United States on April 24th, 1995 and now I live in Washington, DC with my family. I went to Bell Multicultural High School a beautiful school with people from all over the world just like American University. I have two brothers and two sisters. I am member of the youth committee in Pentecostal Church of God Emmanuel located in 4411 16th Street N.W. Washington, DC. I worked for La Nacion Spanish Newspaper for 2 years, I used to write the Community and Cultural calendars. I helped with the paste and typesetting of the newspaper. I like to play soccer, I have been playing soccer since I was 6 years old and it is my favorite sport. I also love to take care of my brothers and sisters.
My name is Lindsay Maggio. I was born on January 30, 1980 in Long Branch, NJ, a town right on the beach at the Jersey Shore. I was the first of two daughters born to Sharyn and Tom Maggio. My sister, Amy, is two years younger than I. At the age of 11, I and my family moved to the town I currently reside in, Little Silver.
My mother is a forensic accountant. She is constantly in and out of court, testifying as an expert witness. My father owns an audio recording studio. He is currently taking classes to get a degree in computer engineering. My sister is a junior at Red Bank Regional High School. She plans on being a veterinarian when she grows up and hopes to attend University of Pennsylvania.
I began taking ballet, tap, and gymnastics classes when I was three years old. I decided to continue with the gymnastics and stop the dance. I trained for four years, and finally during the fourth year, when I couldn't even do a back walk over, I decided gymnastics just was not for me. I went back to dance. For about nine years, I studied ballet extensively, and also participated in jazz and modern classes. Unfortunately, during my junior year of high school I had to stop dancing because of a money conflict.
This was very heartbreaking, but during my high school years, and even in seventh and eighth grade, I found another interest. This was theatre. I became very active in theatre, especially in musical theatre. I loved performing most of all, but I also tried my hand at production manager, and I even co-directed a 15 minute spoof off of Hamlet.
I have spent a large part of my life on the stage. I guess I just love entertaining people, even when I'm not in the spotlight. Theatre and dance have been a large part of my life for a long time. I would absolutely love to dance with the New York City Ballet, or perform in a Broadway musical, but my chances of that happening are very slim. Instead, I want to be a doctor.
I am completely fascinated by the human body and all the science involved with it, not to mention the fact that I want to help everyone and heal the world. I have always excelled in my science and math classes, and I always dreamed of being a doctor. But what little child did not want to be a doctor? For me, medicine is more than just a six-figure paycheck. It is healing people and understanding the most intriguing topic, human life. My passion for understanding the mechanisms of the human body is extremely great.
So, here at American University, I am taking all the required science
classes so I can get into medical school. I have not done any dance or theatre,
but hopefully in the near future those things will change. Meanwhile, I
am just enjoying life without 100% parental supervision.
I'm Anthony Mantia and I am a freshman in CAS. I'm eighteen (10/06/80), and come from Swampscott, Massachusetts (suburb of Boston) which is the best area of the world when it's not cold. I have two sisters, Andrea, 21 and Cheryl, 26, and my parents' names are Catherine and Anthony, his father's name was Anthonyguess what his father's name was-Anthony! Guess what my son's name is going to be-not Anthony! My younger sister is a senior at the University of Miami, speaks Spanish perfectly, and also does the play-by-play for Hurricanes' baseball.
Anyway, I love music. It's basically my entire life. I worked at a record store(Sam Goody) back home and now work at the one at Chevy Chase Pavilions down Wisconsin. Ave. Because of the discount I get their, I waste ALL my paycheck on CD's. The latest count was 424. I've played guitar for 5 years now, I know who to play the piano but have no access to one at school, plus I'm not that good. I also just have a radio show on WVAU with my friend Mike L. If you want to listen, it starts Tues. Feb. 2 at 10 PM and goes to midnight (610 AM). Then it's on every Tuesday after that. I'll apologize in advance if it's bad. We've never been on the radio, but I can assure you, it will have the best variety of music on campus.
That's about all I can really say. Whenever I start writing or talking about myself I just keep writing so I'll quit now. Hope you all have a great semester!
My name is Celina Martin. I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. Excluding my sixth through tenth grade years when I lived in Philadelphia. I enjoyed living in Philadelphia, I believe that it gave me a new outlook on life. Even though I didn't move outside of the country, the way of life is very different. I know that if I had never lived in Philadelphia, I would have never thought about leaving Washington State for college. I like my hometown, but at this point in my life, it is not where I want to be living.
I am Mexican and Filipino. At times I find it very difficult to be of two races, especially among my family. When I was younger, both sides of my family would speak to me in Spanish and Filipino, and I would sit there in confusion and embarrassment from not speaking the language. However, I am proud of my cultural background, especially because of the great food I get eat during the holidays and family get gatherings. It is also amusing when people try to figure out my ethnicity. I have been asked if I was almost every kind of race. Then once I tell them what I am, I get an ?oh, okay, I see it.? I am an only child, and I live with just my mother, Linda Martin. My mom and I are very close and it has only been just the two of use ever since I was capable of memories. I am closer to my mom's side of the family, (the Mexican side). Our family is very close-knit. At times there are conflicts, but for the most part we are a very close family.
I am a second semester freshman in the school of communication. I am looking towards sports broadcasting, however I have many other interests in the communication field. I enjoy participating and watching sporting events, especially college basketball. I have been in athletics since I was very young, and I plan to always stay active until I die. Because of my love for sports, I am considering in minoring in physical therapy, or athletic training.
When I am asked to describe my personality, a few characteristics come
to mind. I am easy going, relaxed, caring, and a good friend. I do not easily
get angry, it takes me a few times in order for me to get upset about something,
otherwise I am able to let things go pretty easily. I am also very proud
of the characteristic I have of being a good friend. I believe that it is
very important for me to be someone my friends can trust, talk to, and depend
upon. I have never had a fight with any of my true friends, actually I have
never been in a fight when I think about it. So am very proud about that.
As a whole, I see myself as a person who is easy to get along with.
In order to describe myself accurately, I would have to describe my family first. I have an older brother, my parents and our family dog. My brother, "Mr. Perfect", is the smartest person I know. He was a valedictorian in his High School and recently he graduated number one in his graduating class at Towson University. My brother has been a major influence in my life. My love for languages started because of him. He was an interpreter from English and Japanese into Russian and me, being the competitive person that I am, I just had to study languages better. And I did. I speak four languages right now and am planning on studying more languages. I'm really thankful to him for always being there for me to try to beat. My striving for success in every aspect of my life is due to him. I knew I couldn't let him or my parents down so I had to learn to work hard.
My parents are also both valedictorians of their High Schools. They always thought that they have to bring their children up without praising them. They are under the impression that if they always encourage us to do better, they will help us succeed. Little do they know that while helping us, they are also diminishing our self-worth. I feel like everything I do is not enough and I'm the worst at everything.
We came from Kiev, Ukraine in 1994. My mother was Jewish, which allowed us to come to the United States. For Russians leaving the country at the time was impossible. My mother had her sister and parents living in Maryland, so we made the decision to come to Baltimore. This decision changed our lives completely. I had to quit dancing. At the time I was Ukrainian National Junior champion so everyone was telling us to go to New York so I'd be able to continue dancing, but we did everything our own way.
After four years of gaining and losing weight, I thought dancing was out of my life forever, when suddenly a friend of mine asked if I want to take beginning classes with her. That class was very frustrating for me. I couldn't recognize my body. It betrayed me. I wasn't as flexible, or as quick as I used to be. It took me over a year to get back into normal shape. In addition to those troubles, I had to go through three partners to pick a perfect one.
My partner is another story whatsoever though. Her parents are 1978 and 1979 World and 1980 Olympic Ice Dancing champions and right now are the best coaches in the world. They coach top three couples plus Oksana Baiul and Iliya Kulik. They introduced me to Oksana that was exciting for me since she is also from Ukraine in addition to the fact that she is an Olympic and World champion.
Now because of the influence of my partner's parents and the fact that we became Olympic hopefuls with national coaches always calling us, I have tremendous pressure to succeed. However, I am willing to work for this my whole life. I know that I'm getting chances that most people are only dreaming of, so I'm not about to waste them.
My name is Nehemias Lima, I was born in El Salvador on February the 5th, 1979. I came to the United States on April 24th, 1995 and now I live in Washington, DC with my family. I went to Bell Multicultural High School a beautiful school with people from all over the world just like American University. I have two brothers and two sisters. I am member of the youth committee in Pentecostal Church of God Emmanuel located in 4411 16th Street N.W. Washington, DC. I worked for La Nacion Spanish Newspaper for 2 years, I used to write the Community and Cultural calendars. I helped with the paste and typesetting of the newspaper. I like to play soccer, I have been playing soccer since I was 6 years old and it is my favorite sport. I also love to take care of my brothers and sisters.
Upon entering AU's Bender Library, you notice an attractive shelf in the corner labeled, "New Arrivals." While panning your selection, you find that beside a book entitled, Y2K-The Beginning or the End, is one you had recently heard a lot about entitled, The Autobiography of Joyce A. Prempeh. Although the initial purpose of your trip to the library was to find three books on the life span of a mayfly, you grab the last copy without delay, and run to the check out desk. Having found your favorite, quiet spot on the third floor, you begin to read the first chapter where the author elaborates on her first years of life
"It was a cold, yet pleasant morning in Fairfax Virginia when I, Joyce A. Prempeh, entered the world on February 20, 1980. Though born in Fairfax Virginia, I spent only the first three and a half years of my life in Virginia. Near the age of four"
Although first page of her autobiography appears incredibly boring, you are somehow moved to continue reading. Yet, to make it a little more bearable, you skip to page thirty-four where she describes her life when she moved to Hyattsville, Maryland.
"At that time, my older sister Shirley was eight, and I was about four years old. Our relationship then was just as close and warm as it is now. When my little brother was born in 1986, we both grew attached to him immediately. However, over the years, he seemed to pull away from this "mushy" relationship with his sisters, as boys often do.
Growing up, I attended all my neighborhood schools, and graduated from High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland , June 1, 1998. During high school, I was part of many clubs that reflected my interests. I was in Junior Civitan (a community service club) during ninth grade, and the SADD and SHOP organizations ( Students Against Drunk Driving and Students Helping Other People) the following two years. In eleventh grade, I was in the International Club, which is similar to a multicultural club I joined in ninth through eleventh grade called United Youth. Finally, I became a Student Government Representative my senior year. Along with these clubs and organizations, I also tutored throughout my high school career in both French and Math, while in the French Honors Society, and the National Honors Society.
Maintaining what I considered descent grades in High School, I knew that still, it would take only the intervention of God to get me into a good college. During my senior year, I applied to American University, George Washington University, and University of Maryland, and was accepted to all three.
However, I fell in love with AU's campus and was drawn to become a part of its community.
After reading about the author's smooth adjustment to college life, you decide to skip a few chapters in order to read about her general interests and hobbies. For, the library lights have already blinked once signaling that it will soon close.
"Recently, I discovered a characteristic about myself that I had never quite acknowledged before. I found that I really enjoy new experiences. I've always enjoyed reading books, writing poetry, and music or taking long, quiet nature walks. Yet, recenly, I've developed the desire to go skiing, horseback riding, and tennis playing. Most of all I desire to travel to Paris next spring, by the grace of God.
However, more than anything else in my life, my greatest love is found in my Lord, Jesus Christ. I enjoy going to church because it is an opportunity to join with other brothers and sisters to worship the Lord together, and to hear His excellent Word. The biggest priority, necessity, and love of my live is growing in the knowledge of Christ each day so that I may share the gift of His grace with "
"Excuse me, were you aware that the library was closing, mamm?" Totally, embarrassed, you explain how you got carried away and lost track of time, while the officer escorting you to the exit. Having left the book on a stool, you stop to remember the chapter you were to begin. It was one concerning the author's great interest in social work and her intended major in psychology. With that in mind, you open your car door with a smile on your face, deciding that after lunch tomorrow, you'll definitely check out those books on the mayfly, and then pick up where you left off in The Autobiography of Joyce A. Prempeh.
Hi! My name is Linda Rodrigues and I'm a freshman in the School of Public Affairs (SPA). I am from a Long Island suburb called Mineola, which is about a half an hour out of New York City. I live with both my parents and my brother, who is a junior in high school.
I am Portuguese. Due to the nine years I spent attending Portuguese School, I am fluent in Portuguese. I can read and write and of course, speak. Being Portuguese has a great impact on my personality and how I see myself, and my place in this world. I am very involved in the Portuguese community back home and all over the Tri-State area. I am also involved in a Portuguese folklore dance group.
My interests vary a great deal, therefore making it difficult for me to actually list them, but the most important thing is my interest in music. It has been an enormous part of my life. I play several instruments, which include the flute, saxophone, and percussion. However I know the clarinet the best (I've been playing for 11 years).
I listen to all kinds of music, varying from Classical to Modern and Portuguese music. Billy Joel is definitely my most favorite artist and I tend to make that very widely known (Forgive me if I become obsessive).
I'm never quite sure how to describe myself as a writer. For the most part, I'm very critical of myself, so I don't usually like anything I write. Although, I do like to write, it sometimes poses some level of difficulty for me.
Hello! My name is Lauren Christina Schalk. I was born on June 6, 1980, and am the daughter of Russell and Darlene Schalk. I come from the small town of Baldwin, Maryland, which is about 25 minutes north of Baltimore. I graduated in May from Notre Dame Preparatory School, an all-girls, private, Catholic school located in Towson, a suburb of Baltimore. Needless to say, my first semester at American University has been quite different for me.
I have just one sister, Jillian, who is 14, but my extended family is quite large. My father is the eldest of five children, and my mother is the eldest of seven. I greatly enjoy the times that I spend with my family because we are very close knit. On my momís side, I am the oldest grandchild of ten. Six of my cousins are under the age of five, which makes celebrating the holidays with my family a particularly festive time, and one that I cherish very much.
Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved to travel, and have had an intense interest in the languages and cultures of foreign countries. I feel that this is due in large part to the fact that my father works for Sunbelt Motivation, an incentive travel company. As a result of his job, my family has had the opportunity to visit countries such as Austria, France, Spain, Hungary, Morocco, China, England, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, and Italy. I cannot imagine how different my life would be had I not had these opportunities. They have had a tremendous impact on my life, influencing me in more ways than I could ever imagine. I have learned an enormous amount not only about the countries I have visited, but also about myself as an individual. For example, I have found that I am not afraid to try new things, and that I relish any chance I have to meet new people. From watching my father, I have been able to learn the workings of the travel industry, and have realized that it is an industry in which I hope to someday have a career. I also believe that traveling has given me a strong sense of independence, as well as contributed to my knowledge of current events. Most importantly, I have discovered that I cannot imagine a future in which traveling would not be a central part of my life.
By far my favorite country to visit is Austria. I consider it to be as much my home as the US. When my mother was a sophomore in high school, she began a pen-pal relationship with Elfi Heinrich, from Gross St. Florian, Austria. The two have continued to write on a regular basis, and in fact, this past October marked the 30th year of their correspondence. The first time that my family met Elfi and her family (husband - Walter Kropfl, and son, Dietmar, age 23) was in 1982, when I was two years old. Since then, my family has vacationed with the Kropfl family every summer. We have visited many beautiful places, but the best part of these vacations is just being together and enjoying each other's company. Because of the times we have spent together, I have come to regard Elfi and Walter as my second parents, and Dietmar is like a brother to me. Even the friends of the Kropfl family are very close to my family as well. I have taken a great interest in all aspects of Austrian culture, to such an extent that I sometimes think I know more about Austria than I do about the US.
My traveling experience has also helped me to develop my love of languages. I have taken French since the age of 6, and have also had classes in Spanish and Italian. This year when I came to American University, I decided I wanted a change, so I began studying German, and I absolutely love it!
Traveling and languages, however, are not my only interests. I love to write letters to friends in Austria, and I also write to a friend who lives in Nancy, France. I play the piano, and I also love sports. I have played tennis for 11 years, and at the junior level, I earned the ranking of #21 in the Mid-Atlantic region. I also enjoy figure skating, both as a participant and a spectator. I follow the competitions closely, especially my favorite skater, Ekaterina Gordeeva. I also love European football, particularly the Austrian team SK Sturm Graz. In addition, I like to watch College Basketball - I am a huge fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels!
Here at AU, I plan to major in Foreign Language and Communications Media. I am also planning to study abroad during my junior year at Karl-Franzens Universitat in Graz, Austria. I love Washington, DC, and am enjoying the many opportunities that come with living in such an international city. I am extremely grateful to my parents for supporting my decision to attend AU, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. I am enthusiastically looking forward to the years ahead of me!
Hi my name is Bhavit Sheth. I'm 18 years old and come from Coventry, England. I only arrived in the US about six months ago. The reason for my being here is that I wanted to try something new. The experience of living far away from home and learning different things appealed to me greatly, so here I am. I have lived my entire life in England and love this little island dearly but I needed to do something different as my horoscope told me and so decided to pack my bags and enter the US.
My parents are both self employed and own a small business selling things to people. I also have a younger brother who is 15 years old and quite annoying but generally a nice person.
My main interests are following soccer especially my home team, The Sky Blues. I also enjoy playing this game a lot. My other favorite sport is Rugby of which I am a follower and player. For the past seven years I have played this game at high school and loved it. My other pastimes include driving around in my Ford Fiesta, reading and listening to music. My favorite bands include Oasis, The Verve and the Lightening Seeds.
My favorite food is Fish and Chips or Kebabs.
I am a freshman at AU and my major is probably chemistry or biology.
I have no idea as to what I will do with this degree but I'm sure I shall
think of something. So far I like the US but some of the laws are quite
annoying. My favorite saying is "If there's a will there's a way."
My Biographical Sketch
I was born Anthony Roman Vacanti on November 19, 1979 to Joseph and Sue Vacanti. From the very beginning I was blessed with the best parents in the world, who would install in me work ethic, morals and faith in life. I have one brother named Joe, and a sister named Diane. They are 17, 15, respectively. The closeness in age has brought some difficulties over the years between us, but deep down we are a really close family.
I have spent all my life in Erie, PA, which is in the Northwest Corner of Pennsylvania, right on the shores of, you guessed it, Lake Erie. Erie is the third largest city in PA, about 250,000 people. I believe it gave me enough shelter to be safe, but yet enough opportunities to experience the "real world."
I went to grade school at Sacred Heart School, which was a small Catholic school in the city. There, I was really shy and didn't develop many social skills. Because of financial problems, I had to attend McDowell High School--which luckily happened to be one of the top public schools in the State. There, my personality flourished--both athletically and socially. By my senior year, I was an All American Swimmer, Student Body President, and a member of numerous clubs. I believe my involvement and experiences in those activities have made me more aware as to the proper way to live and enjoy life.
In the summer, I work two jobs, totaling around 75 hours a week. It takes up a great deal of time, and responsibility, but in the end it will pay off. I am head coach of the Kahkwa Country Club swim team, a team with about 120 swimmers ages 5-17. Needless to say it is quite a learning experience! It is through this job that I have realized how much I love kids, and how much patience one must have! To me, just to make a positive difference in a child's life is reward enough.
I also work as a server at the Erie Yacht Club in the evenings. I wish I could say I enjoy this job as much as the coaching job, but that would be totally wrong. It is good pay, but a lot of work! If there is anything I can comment on this point, it would be to always be kind to your server!
Well, that leads up to where I am now: here at American University in
Washington, DC. My love for politics (and, unfortunately, my ex-girlfriend)
has led me here! I am currently a second semester freshman in the School
of Public Affairs. I am currently planning a double major in Political Science
and Philosophy (what extremes there !). I am interning on Capitol Hill this
semester with Senator Santorum's office, which is an awesome experience!
I am also working at the Bender Library and am Head 8 and Under Coach
for the Curl Burke Swim Club. I know this all seems so busy, but I love
to have a good time too! I believe that the combination of all these things
are giving me the experience and foundation for a very successful future--and
I can't wait!
My name is Mufyn Watts and I am a second semester fresmen. I am the oldest fo three children. The two younger ones are twins and we are pretty close. My sister, Joi, is the apple of my eye (we just started to like each other)! My little brother has a good laugh waiting for everyone. My family is close knit and i'm very close with my grandmother and my godmother's mother. My mom is my best friend and my dad is who I talk to about school (he's the levelheaded one in the family)!
My boyfriend, Daniel, is the sunshine of my life and he's wonderful!!
He's my confidant, my constant, and I love him very much. My best friend,
Sha'Donna keeps me sane and helps me find my balance between being a teenager
and being somebody's mother...at least some of the time!!!
| Administrivia | ||||
| Syllabus |
Back Home