16 Weeks Already?

Well my first semester at SBCC: Done... or almost. With just one day of classes left, I'm feeling particularly emotional that my journey here at SBCC is progressing at the quick rate it is. It's definitely been a ride, but I've still got one more semester to go before I'm even over the hill. A lot of things have accumulated to develop my feelings towards the school and my life outside of academics. Through being a student, a friend, an athlete, and an employee, I've grown a lot these past few months as an individual and am extremely pleased with my decision to study and live here.

As a student, I have loved all my classes. My teachers are awesome and are super understanding when it comes to anything I approach them with. I thought that maybe taking Express to Success would give me too much on my plate with two math classes, but I totally lucked out with my Professor Gabe Pretel who's done a great job making sure students understand the material. In fact back in high school I got a "C" in algebra, so getting an "A+" this semester was a surreal feeling knowing my hard work had paid off.

My marketing class has been super interesting as well, we've had a few video projects due throughout the class which I love since I took photography in high school and use to make videos in my free time, so it didn't even feel like I was doing assignments, but just doing what I love. English Honors has also been awesome, the concepts we discussed were both deep/intellectual but also relevant to the real world which is what I love most! Applying things in the real world that are relevant to the classroom in an academic way. The teacher, Ryan Harrison has been super influential in his philosophical teaching style. By opening our minds and thinking about the "next step" while also obeying the Honors Program unofficial motto "Do More" and covering all the bases to create powerful writing pieces. I think Professor Harrison's class has taught me more than all of my high school teachers put together. All-in-all, a challenging, yet very enlightening semester at SBCC, leaves me eager for the next one!


As a friend, Santa Barbara has opened my social circle quite a bit. I live at Beach City, which totally promotes social events. Not to mention, Isla Vista is a short Uber ride away. Living with roommates has been interesting and has given me a lot of great stories, I can laugh at. I definitely think living with other people opens up your mind and I recommend everyone tries living with other people at some point just to get the experience. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't make friends while attending a two-year college. Starting off only knowing four people and not to mention, there isn't greek life! Now, I've got some great people here in Santa Barbara and I'm forever thankful for.

The typical state of the kitchen... 

Athletically, I'm a little out of shape, not going to lie. After running cross-country and playing soccer in high school, discontinuing my training after graduation has taken it's toll, but nothing a little gym class next semester can't fix. On the flip side, although I can't run a five minute mile anymore,  I'm getting some five star performances out in the pacific. Almost every surfing session, I notice myself improving, so I hope I maintain that progress and keep learning. It's pretty hard to beat the feeling of carving up and down a wave during sunset on the Californian Riviera.

Job wise, I love what I do. Social Media Marketing for SBCC is awesome, especially after my Snapchat takeover! Most people around campus (or at least young people) now know who I am and it's fun to get out and go to school events and promote them to further strengthen my love for the school. Blogging is fun for me too, but sometimes I wish I had more to share with you guys. My schedule is pretty similar from week to week between waking up, cooking my scrambled eggs with bell peppers, to drinking my morning coffee to either grinding hard at the library or shredding down at the beach for the rest of the day if I'm not in class. So I can keep doing the things I love, I will pursue a restaurant job as a food-runner or possibly a server next semester. I think I will be able to handle working 3-4 days a week on top of school. College has steadily drained my bank account and I really value money in a new way.

It would be an understatement to say the first few months of college have been awesome! I'm really looking forward to the next ones on my journey through adulthood. Santa Barbara is the perfect place for me to find myself and follow my passions while pursuing academic responsibilities and having fun in the life, I can only live once. This place has no doubt made me a better person than the day I step foot here.

 I really mean it when I say this, but this place is a hidden gem and I'm grateful to say I'm a Vaquero.

John

Why the Express to Success is the move

I think it's fair for me to say my love for Santa Barbara wouldn't be what it is if it weren't for the school. Apart from being footsteps from the beach, SBCC offers an array of programs and student services to help students succeed. Services ranging from the Transfer Academy, Writing Center, and to my personal favorite the Express to Success Program.

All student services here at SBCC are no doubt valuable, however I believe the Express to Success Program(ESP) is particularly beneficial. In short, the program enables students to take either two math classes or two english classes simultaneously during a semester. Meaning you can kill two birds with one stone in a sense. The classes are no doubt rigorous as you'll have class 4 days a week, but the results are worth it. I'm currently enrolled in the ESP Math 107/117 class and must admit that I wasn't too excited to have class everyday, but I believe it's led me to strengthen my math skills and also really like the subject. By having class 4/7 days a week, you truly get to know your professor and your professor really gets to know you. I think this allows the professor to better understand the needs of the student allowing them to teach in a more personalized way to confirm student understanding.

ESP allows it's students to get up to speed and even get ahead on their journey to complete their necessary course requirements for transfer or complete their degree/certificate. Additionally, the program comes with specialized counselors who are always ready to help along with a private study area and on-site tutors.

For any SBCC student, current or future I strongly recommend this program to help you on your journey to transfer or earn a certificate/degree!

Till next time!

Up, up, and beyond (SBCC Colloquium)

Earlier this week SBCC hosted its final faculty colloquium of the semester, and was quite a thought provoking one to say the least. The colloquium discussed the future of space exploration which is quite closer to becoming a reality than most might think, it certainly surprised me. The colloquium was led by two SBCC professor's Dr.Kelley and Dr.Young, who did a great job demonstrating the actual probability of going to space.

First of all, as a business major I can only help but think of all the business opportunities that come along with space exploration and inhabiting another planet, essentially creating a whole new economy. But I'll keep those ideas to myself for a bit.

However, along with the ideas that came into my mind, it was also quite fascinating to hear the statistics given by Professors Kelley and Young. I have never been too interested in space travel or at least going into this faculty colloquium, but after I've definitely put a lot of thought into it. After researching Space X's plans to send two rockets to Mars in 2022 and another four rockets in 2024, I'm excited to see the accomplishments of the human race are on a universal scale. Though some of the statistics the Professors shared were almost scary in a sense that space is so vast, yet we are so tiny really gave me a new perspective.

However, I think if our tiny race(relative to the universe) can accomplish such an achievement as becoming a multiplanet species it would be the greatest advancement of our existence. Which actually reminds me of a Mark Twain quote that applies to such a concept: "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" Go humans, and go Vaqueros!

My love affair with coffee

On the rail because you know how I do

Well week 11 of the semester did not disappoint. More specifically Halloween was Tuesday, which meant I had to get all my work done so I could go out with my friends. We ended up going to a concert which was particularly fun because the music they played is similar to the music played at a music festival I'm going to this New Years in Lake Tahoe, CA. I actually went to the same festival, Snowglobe last year and had so much fun I have to go again. Therefore the concert Tuesday served as a nice little taste for what's to come this winter break. Not to mention the photographer of the concert snapped this cool shot of my high school friend, Will and I gigin' on the rail which he ended up posting on the concerts Facebook page. So what's new? I'm on the rise to fame;)

But back to the real world of being a college student, I managed to rally for my 8 am class the following morning and finished an English paper shortly after. How? Let me tell you the secret of my success: Coffee. 

Now there are two types of people in this world: coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers. And as I'm sure many of you know, once you start drinking coffee it's hard to stop. So before college I never had any interest in coffee. Simply, I thought it tasted disgusting and saw no use for it. Now however, fast forward to homestretch of my first semester of college, and I drink at least one cup every day and sometimes two if I know I'm going to be up late doing work. Don't get me wrong, it still tastes gross and I suffer with every sip, but it does help me jump start my day to get me going. 

What I think is an awesome asset to our school, that many don't know about is the on campus Starbucks located inside the Campus Store. Starbucks is awesome and has many different types of coffee beverages to choose from. Trust me I love Starbucks, but as a coffee drinker if I don't get my coffee in the morning then I know its going to be a hard day for me. Im sure all the other coffee drinkers understand that. The problem with this is after going to Starbucks everyday and consistently buying coffee, it really takes its toll on my sensitive college budget. But here's the solution: 

A KEURIG!!

Let me tell you how much I love this thing: It saves me money, makes got coffee in minutes, and did I mention it saves me money? Not going to lie, its nothing special just your average coffee machine, but do I have some memories with this thing. From 8 am classes to midnight papers this KEURIG is always there for me(unlike Starbucks which closes at 4:00) and is far cheaper too. The average coffee drinker actually spends $780 a year on coffee from nationally recognized coffee shops according to an CBS report and through using a KEURIG, the average coffee pod costs 0.58$ and the machine is about $80. So once you pay the $80 for the machine itself, thats only $200 a year on coffee pods. I'll take that deal any day. Not to mention the accessibility of having coffee whenever you want.

The introduction of coffee into my life has surely benefited me, apart from the occasional struggles of going to sleep at night, I'm allowed to get out the door on time to class ready to be engaged in those early morning classes and tackle my day. Overtime of course, the taste  gets better and therefore I can more easily cope with the challenges of being a college student. Coffee also provides many health effects which benefit it's user and lead to a healthier lifestyle by increasing fiber intake and lowering risk to many diseases.

Anyways, coffee is a big help in college, so hopefully from this blog for those of you current coffee drinkers I've opened your eyes to an alternative to the expensive Starbucks coffee as well as an option that's accessible no matter the time of the day. And as for those of you non-coffee drinkers, perhaps you'll give the lifestyle of bouncing off walls from productivity a chance, and also lower your risk to disease simultaneously. 

Till next time! Go Vaqueros!