Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
4/23/12
The success as well as the future plans of Dr smith
Doing an interview with doctor smith was really interesting. I asked her about her life and background. Moreover, I asked her about the things that she does for Avila University as well as her future goals and plans.
First I asked her about her life background. According to Dr. Lisle Smith she did well in school because she had to plus she wanted to go to college. After high school she had to start thinking about how she could afford to pay for college since she came from a poor family. Her mom worked hard to give her money to go to college plus her mom also went to college when Dr smith was doing college. When she went to college she took her studies seriously. When she was either a freshman or a sophomore she realized that she wanted to be a professor so she needed to learn how to perform as well as look for many scholarships that would pay for her to go to school. Dr. Smith said that the most important thing that she did in her life was to sign up for the speech and debate team in high school. It was because of that that she learned how to speak publicly, make a good argument, think critically, think on her feet, and be entertaining. Also, in those three to four years she traveled the country to compete nationally in debate and speech.
The second thing I asked her about in the interview was what things she does that make her successful at Avila University. According to Dr smith when she first started to teach she taught at bigger Universities, which helped her in knowing how to deal with the students. For example, she let her students do their stuff by themselves. Also, according to Dr smith, she gave her students lots of work to do even though her students didn’t like it. At the end of the day all that work, if done well, will make them not only better in school but also in their lives. 
The last thing I asked Dr smith about in the interview was her future goals and plans. The future goals she mentioned were that she was hoping that her book would be published in a year or a year and a half and that she hopefully would be able to build up the women’s program at Avila University.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Mohammed Al-Abdulla
Rokos life
Roko was born and rise in Japan. She grew up in countryside south of
Japan. Also, she was there until high school. After that she came to Kansas to
study English in central Christian college in Kansas for two years. After that
she transferred to university of Kansas and she started to study applied
behavior science over there. Right now she works as a pre schoolteacher. Also,
another work she does is that she works with people with disabilities.
Her life in Japan was interesting.
She had one sister. Also, she said that her sister was six years older than her
so she couldn’t hangout with her only after she became older. Also, she said
that in Japan her life was different than the United States. For example, she
said that in Japan the society was big. Plus she can’t say what ever she wanted
or do what ever she wanted in Japan because the rules there were very strict.
She said that in the United States she could say and do any thing she wanted to
do.
She liked to do lots of things. For
example, she liked to take pictures. Also, she liked to make albums and script
books for her pictures. Also, the most important thing that she liked to do was
that she focused on socializing. So, she went to events, she did volunteering,
she did events, for the applied English center, and she met with lots of
people. Also, she loved to know about different cultures.
Her future plan was that she wanted
to work with kids, especially the one with disabilities. Also, she had some
experiences that would help her achieve her future plans or goals. For example,
in the beginning she worked as a part time in the cafeteria. It was in the
kitchen area. After that she did a student aid job.
In the end she wanted to talk about
why she came to the United States. She said that she wanted to be a flight
tended when she was a teenager. So, she wanted to study aboard about English.
So, she went to a lecture about study abroad in America. She said that when she
was there was a lady who told about the American life style. After that she
decided to come to the United States. Also, the lady helped her in doing the
paper work, visa, and health insurance. Also, she came with her to Kansas.
Also, the lady checks on her every year. So, that’s why she came to the United
States.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
2/4/12
Seth Brooks life
Seth was a native of Lawrence Kansas. He
was born in nineteen ninety-two and he has lived in Lawrence all his life. His
mom and dad are from California. His dad wanted to go to school here. There are
six kids in his family. According to Seth his life has changed even though he
has lived in Lawrence all his life. For example he was a home-schooler until he
came to the University of Kansas. In his life as a home-schooler his mom taught
him and he also taught himself a lot of the time. He had a friend who lived
close to him growing up that was also home-schooled. They would do their
homework fast so that they could hangout together riding bikes, trading
basketball cards and playing a lot of videogames.
Seth said that there were always lots of
people around his house. He has two brothers and three sisters as well as his
parents and lots of friends that came to visit a lot. Seth likes to be around people.
As he became older his subjects in school started to become harder. He also
started to take classes in groups. For example, he used to take speech class.
In the beginning he hated it but after a while he came to love it. In addition, he learned from a certain
guy many different things. After that he came to be in more classes in groups
with home-schoolers. For example, according to Seth they started to learn with
each other about literature and economics. Also, according to Seth, when he was
doing speeches he met lots of people from different states such as Nebraska and
Minnesota since he traveled for tournaments. Seth said that he went to
nationals last year.
According to Seth one of the big things
was that he was like some of the other people in the United States in growing
up as a church kid. he always went to church and helped out with the youth.
Plus he worked in a coffee shop. When he finished high school he decided that
he did not want to leave Lawrence, he likes the veriety of the weather and he
isn’t in a hurry to get his own house. Here in Lawrence he had lots of options
like Johnson County College and the University of Kansas. So, he went to
University of Kansas. When he thought about what he liked to do he decided to
do public speaking and communications. Right now he works in a coffee shop
downtown where he has met lots of teachers and professors from the University
of Kansas.
His future plans involve figuring out if he wants to study
abroad. Four of the members of his family speak fluent Spanish and he loves to
learn and have conversations in Spanish. He thinks he may want to go to Spain
or Costa Rica to learn Spanish better.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
4/2/12
Ballard community center
Yesterday at Signs of Life there
was artwork from five-year-old children presented by the Ballard community
building. There were two Women who represented the Ballard community center and
the artwork that the five-year-old children do there at Signs of Life. Their
names are Becky and Hannah.
According to Becky and Hannah they
create the programming reporting with the CCO. Becky and Hannah were proud of
everything they did.
According to Becky her favorite
project that was done by the five year old children was story night. The way
the five-year-old children did the drawing was using both paint and flower.
They mixed them with each other to give the paint a different consistency,
which made the art beautiful.
According to Hannah her favorite
project that the five-year old children did was the cup cake project. The way the five-year-old children made
it was by using real cup cake papers. Then they used the paint on top of them
and they used real sprinkles to put them on. Hannah said the children had much
fun doing the project. Also, Hannah said she loved the way the children spend
time in creation.
According to Hannah and Becky the
project was different than art sales. For example, all the art will go back to
the children after they are done showing it to people. Instead of selling the
artwork they put a donations box out so people can give money to the Ballard
community to support the children in the future.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
2/4/12
Signs of Life
According to Seth
and Anne, Signs of Life has three parts. The first part is that there is a
bookstore in Signs of Life. The bookstore sells different kinds of books. For
example, biography books, fictional books and theology books. The second aspect
is that there is an art gallery in Sign of Life. The art gallery has drawings
from local artists and people go there to look at the art. The third aspect is
that they use the art gallery for weddings and other events. On Mondays they
use the floor for tango dances. There is also a coffee shop inside Sign of
life.
According to Seth
and Anne what makes Sign of Life more unique than other coffee shops is that
they are in a very old location. Plus it has an antique setting. Also,
according to Seth and Anne, it is unique because they have a coffee shop, book
store, and an art gallery and the seating is in all sorts different areas. They
also have a conference room in the back of the bookstore where people can go to
study, or people can go in a more secluded area with art and sun shining in.
They can also study in the main entrance where they can see people coming in.
According to Seth
and Anne the members who work in the coffee section in Signs of Life always say
that they are different from Star Bucks because even though they have good
coffee they focus on different things. For example, in Star Bucks they like to
make the coffee really consistently and fast. Signs of Life, according to Seth,
seek uniqueness since they are a local business. Also, they want to be unique
in the kind of coffee they make but at the same time they want to make a really
good quality coffee. The workers learn each step in how to make the coffee
unlike at Star Bucks where you only push a button to make the coffee. Also,
according to Seth and Anne, Star Bucks only has paper cups, but at Signs of
Life they have an Italian style, the Maseiato cups and mugs to put the coffee
in. They can also make art on top of the coffee, for example they can draw you
a tree or a leaf on top of the foam. the employees who work in the coffee
section at Signs of Life know the providers of the coffee and they go and
practice with them. When they go to practice as well as learn from them they
improve their levels in making coffee.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
4/2/12
Pete’s’ life
According to Pete he grew up in
very Christian household. Also, he became Christian when he was a little kid.
He always goes to church because he feels that it is an important thing for him
that he live for right now.
He moved with his family a lot. For
example, he lived in seven states before moving to Kansas. His family decided
to live in Kansas so he did his high school in Kansas. After that he decided to
go to the University of Kansas. He decided to go there because they have a good
basketball team, plus he thought they had a very good business school and he
liked a church in the area. He is graduating in May two thousand and twelve
with an HR degree.
The experiences he had were with selling
HR stuff. Also, he worked with a retirement home in high school and he had a
couple internships in apartment leasing.
In the future he would like to get
a job with an HR company. He also would like to move to Tennessee.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
4/2/12
Story one
Seeds
There are many
different kinds of seeds that people like to eat. In Qatar people like to eat
sunflower seeds. In public schools there you will find students holding a small
sack of sunflower seeds in their hands and eating it during their break time.
In homes you can find families eating them while watching television. It is a
popular snack at the soccer fields during the matches as well.
There are several
beneficial properties in sunflower seeds. The sunflower crop is the third most
important oil crop in the world. The American Indians Kdqik used them for bread
and also for the oil, which contains essential fatty acids, mostly unsaturated
fat. Doctors used sunflower seeds to treat malaria and for expelling phlegm. It
is rich in protein and vitamins and contains the elements phosphorus and
glycerin, which is useful in reducing blood cholesterol and preventing the
hardening of the arteries. Many noted dentists in the United States and Britain
have used sunflower seeds to ensure healthy gums and strong teeth because the
seeds contain phosphorus, calcium and small amounts of fluoride, which
strengthens teeth and prevents tooth decay. The seeds also contain vitamins A
and B.
Sunflower seeds
are useful in the treatment of night blindness. They contain an abundance of
nutrients. Individuals with high cholesterol are advised to take several grams
of them before the evening meal because they can contribute to reducing blood
cholesterol. Sunflower seeds contain vitamin E as well as folate, magnesium,
zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper and selenium. Their oil contains omega-threes
that are necessary for the growth of the body and its functions. It has been
found that the consumption of omega threes prevents disease and helps prevent
heart attacks and high blood pressure as well as diabetes, arthritis, cancer,
hair loss and the hardening of arteries and eczema. It also strengthens the
immune system and helps skin and growth as well as preventing damage to body
cells and organs.
Sunflower seeds
are not the only seed that is popular in the Middle East. There are Queen
Roasted Seeds, Watermelon seeds and Melon seeds for example and all of those
seeds have a different taste and their own health benefits but in Qatar
Sunflower seeds are what people like.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
3/22/12
Knowing about Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer
Yesterday meeting with a history
professor Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer was fun. I asked her about how she grew up,
what things did she does for Avila as well as for her family and her future
goals.
We started the interview with how she
grew up. According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer she said that she learned from
her father that words are important. Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer also said that the
love that her father had for gaining knowledge, reading, and writing shaped her
life and made her love writing.
The main thing that she has achieved for Avila University is publishing a book about Race relations between African American and white people. According to Dr Cherry Lamb Schirmer started to explain the book by saying that her book started with her doctorial dissertation. Schirmer also said she did lots of research in books and papers about the attitudes toward Race that she recognized as being apart of her middle class white background. In addition, Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer said she recognized statements about African Americans and she wanted to know where those come from and because of that she wrote her book. Also, she had the ability to make the students love as well as be involved in history, which makes her feel successful at Avila.
According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer the
things that make her successful in her family life come from her father and
grandmother. Her father loved words and her grandmother was really interested
in education. Her grandmother sacrificed tremendously to get all her children
educated including moving away from her husband. She took her children to town
schools instead of country schools because she thought it was better for them.
So, because of that she moved to town with all her children, leaving her
husband by himself to take care of the farm. Also, she cooked and cleaned for a
hotel in town so she could have money to rent a home and provide a good family
life for her children who went to school over there. According to Dr Sherry
Lamb Schirmer, her grandmother’s dedication to education played a part in her
desire to get the highest degree she could get in writing of some fashion.
According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer, she always imagined
herself retiring to some acreage, a place where she could tend the ground and
grow flowers and plant a garden. Now she finds that she can’t do that physically,
plus her voice is getting weaker. So, because of that she has decided she would
like to retire as soon as she can.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
3/21/12
Knowing about Linda Strelluf
Yesterday, getting to know Linda
Strelluf was really interesting. Learning about how she grew up and how she not
only achieved her goals but also became successful in her life made the
interview exciting.
We started the
interview with how she grew up. Linda Strelluf mentioned that she was lucky
because she is the only child from a working class family. She said that her
dad built lines, meaning that he fixed machines. She also mentioned that her
mom stayed at home with her and that she had lots of attention from her family
which she considered special for her even though her family did not have lots
of money. She did not have a dog or a cat. She went on family trips. Her life
was a typical American one in an old fashioned house. All those things shaped
the way she grew up. She likes to read and watch movies. Also, she always liked to make her
parents happy and not disappointed.
The thing that she
thinks has made her beneficent and successful in her life, both career and
family, is that she always listens and pays attention to what people say.
Paying attention and listening to what people were saying and remembering it
during growing up helped her a lot. She also said that listening and paying
attention is one of the most important and underrated attributes a person can
have. The more you listen the more you know about the people around you both in
friendships and at work which helps you be more successful in your life.
When her children
where small, she decided to take a break from her career and stay at home with
her children to raise them. She stopped teaching and she went into business,
which she could do at home. When she did that, she learned how to manage time.
She said that even though she had lots of things to do, still she took care of
her family. She believes that those things were really important. She also mentioned that a negative side
of that is that she is behind in her career. She could be at a big university
or a head of a department, but in her mind she believes that taking care of her
family comes first and that it is a worthwhile achievement.
One of the achievements that she
wants to make in the feature is that she wants one of her students to get
recognition. Also, she wants Avila to be known for more than being a nursing
school. Instead, Linda says she wants Avila to be known as a school that
produces very well educated professional students that would help Avila to
succeed. Although she would like to take time to travel more she is happy with
what she is doing.Monday, March 5, 2012
he State of the Union was impressive; it clearly explained the policies that the president would like to use to help the problems that Americans have been worried about. The president encouraged acting together as a team.
The first theme was sharing responsibility through taxes. For example, everybody will pay the same percentage of taxes, not excluding the rich.
Another idea was creating jobs within the country, minimizing international dependence. Instead of USA investing in business outside the country, the business would be invested inside it to benefit the people here.
The final important idea was education. For example, helping to make school tuitions more affordable for the general public and improving education to help citizens improve knowledge.
According to Lauren who believes that the president is right to ask both parties to work together and that if people put aside their differences, things happen. She was in favor of fair tax percentages and also mentioned approving of creating jobs here by making outsourcing more difficult and less profitable.
If jobs move back to the states it will create more opportunity for Avila students. Also, if the tuition fees for education decrease, families will be more able to afford to send their children to school. Focus on creative and effective education will help new generations become more effective in global society.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
2/16/2012
English club activity
The staffs of the English club at Avila University meet in the second floor lobby of
Carondelet dorm at seven in the evening and go until nine thirty. The members of the English club as well
as some of the students in the dorm love to play fairytale because it makes
them happy.
Also, I enjoyed meeting with
different people there like Joshua, Jacob, Kat High, Dani, Dom, and Chris. Each
one has a different opinion about the game. According to Joshua he loves to
play the game because he plays it with his best friends. Dani says she likes to
play this game because it makes her laugh. Dom states that she likes it not
because she likes the game but because she prefers to go with the flow. Kat
High is the English club president. She said that she likes to play it because
she likes to socialize with people plus it is a way to enjoy every moment of
her time. According to Chris, he likes to play this game because he is with his
friends and helps him be himself. Jacob says he likes to play this game because
he likes food and to spend his time with his best friends.
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
2/17/2012
Meeting the president of the English club.
My meeting with the president of the English club was fun
her name was Kat High. Interviewing her was very interesting.
She started by
telling me when she joined the English club and what position she has.
According to Kat High, she has been in the English club for two semesters and
she is now the president of the English club.
The second thing I asked her about was what she does for the
English club. Kat said that she tries to do different events with the club.
Also, she said that she and her staff are trying to get more things done on
campus for the English organization.
The third thing I asked her about was what other things she
is interested in and likes to do. She answered that she likes to read as well
as write and also to work with a non-profit called Prodeo.
Next I asked her why she is interested in working with the
Prodeo specifically. According to Kat High, Prodeo serves to create a safe
environment for local youth. She does this to prepare for the work she would
like to do someday as a teacher.
Then I asked her about what she wants to do for the English
club in the future. Kat said that
she is going to start to meet with international students. She also said that
they are going to have an event that coincides with the play Jekyll and Hide.
Moreover she said that they would start writing letters to the soldiers.
The last thing I asked her about was what things she wanted
to do on the 16th of February. She said that they planned to have a
game night and the games would start at seven thirty and go until nine-thirty.
The games that they would play were traditional games but are modified to
involve literature.
The students at Avila University should go to the club
meeting on the 16th of February to join the English club in the
activities that they plan to host that day.
Mohammed Al-Abdulla
3/3/2012
Voices from Arab America
Today
was a special event at the Thronhill Gallery at Avila University. It was called
Voices from Arab America given by Diana Helwani, the author of Sophia journal,
and Joan Mandell who makes films exploring the Arab American experience.
In
the Interview with Mandell I asked her about what she felt when she came to
America from Palestine. According to her She answered that she wanted Americans
to understand the common humanity of Palestinians, the harshness of military
occupation but also the joys of Arab cultural heritage.
Next
I asked Mandell and Helwani how their life changed after September 11, 2001.
According to them, they responded that life became more complicated. During
that time in Kansas City there were a lot of people reaching out to the Islamic
community including the Catholic school across the street from the Islamic
school. The kids there sent cards to the Islamic kids saying they would support
them and that they knew that they were good people and not like the terrorists.
They also had good communication with local churches, the police force and
other members of the community.
Another
thing I asked about was if they believed that the Arab community has become
acceptable in the United States.
According to Mandell and Helwani they believed that the Arabic community
had a long way to go to become completely accepted by the people in the United
States and that it’s the responsibility of Muslims to represent themselves well
so that people have a good example of what a Muslim is. They also expressed
that they believe it is important for the Muslim community to find a balance
between maintaining and showing its identity while still engaging with the
local community.
Mandel
and Helwani also discussed feelings they had about September 11 at the time.
Their hope, at first, was that it was not a Muslim attack. When it was
confirmed they felt very sad, they felt that it would be like another Watergate:
feelings between the Muslim community and the rest of the country would never
be the same.
We
also discussed the difficulties of finding marriage partners for Muslim in the
United States. According to Mandel and Halwani it is difficult to get married
in the United States especially these days.
According to
Mandel and Helwani about Americans, identity here in the United States due to
different values and community organizing.
Asking Dana
Halwani in becoming an American Muslim was interesting. According to her, was a young married woman who wanted to
convert
her husband to Christianity. In trying to find the weaknesses of Islam,
she was convinced and converted.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Mohammed AL-Abdulla
2/28/12
English club are focusing on international students.
According to the English club members and leadership, as of
February 28, they are all still working on ideas for how to get the
international students interested and involved in the English club. Also, in
making different activities or think in different ways to get international
students involved.
According to Kat High, the president of the English club,
she and her staff are still working on bringing international students to the
English club. Also, according the president of the English club, they are
starting a new sub group within the English club called Lead Circle. This group
will start off by focusing on literature and also on learning more about culture
and language through culture. According to the president of the English club is
by learning more about culture and language it help us in brining the
international students to the English club.
According to Renee, another staff member of the English
club, they will be starting on a lead circle to engage international students
in the club. They hope to do this through the use of fairytales and also just
general discussion about that and other sources of literature. Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Mohammed Al-Abdulla
2/23/12
English club progress
Today the English club has met at
11 to 12 pm at the
theater building on the bottom floor in one of the room called Borserine. There
are other new students who joined the English club.
According
to the English organization they have couple of new stuffs that they are going
to do. One of them is meeting with the international students on Tuesday. Also,
when they meet the international student on Tuesday they will discuss
literature with them. Moreover according the English club they will start
digging into books that has interesting materials in it to make international
student feel interest.
To
know more about it, the new students have a strong impact about the plan that
the English club is doing next week.
According
to Joshua Murphy he said that today we have done lots of things today. Also, according to Joshua he say that
we had a big subject to do to
adjust that the need to do for the meeting next week which will be for the foreign language literature. Moreover
he feels that he as well as the staffs with him will be succeed in it.
About
the topics of books that they have choose to read to the international student.
According to Joshua Murphy he says that he and the members with him have choose
good topics of books to talk about or to discuss with the international
students.
According to Miri Duston is that
she is satisfied that she and the English club members accomplish today.
According to Miri Duston she wants to see what kind of things that will come
out of with litsicecles that will be starting on Tuesday as well as working
with the international students and students that who want to be more involve
in English club seen and learn more about literature.
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