Tag: college

Passions & Motivations

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Beyond MLEC

Last year, I interviewed three students on campus and asked them about their major, their passions, and what motivates them. Madison, Omar, and Kesya all have varying passions but they all have one thing in common: making lives better. 

Though it took me a while to come back to this project, I’m so happy that I did. Omar, Maddy, and Kes are three wonderful, ambitious people and I’m excited to share part of their stories with you. Below is what they have to say about their passions and motivations:

Maddy: eDucation & Support Systems

“My name is Madison. I am [now 20] years old. I am an elementary education major. I want to become a teacher. Things that motivate me when I’m at my lowest are my friends. They are some of the most, how do I say, helpful people that I have around me at this point. They push me to do the best that I can and be the best that I can for myself and the people around me. As well as my parents, you know. They’ve always wanted me to do the best that I could and have always been such a good support system in my life. [They have] inspired me to do what I’m most passionate about, which at this point I would say is education. 

Education is very important to me because I have been watching the state of education decline throughout my life and I’m seeing things happen around me where I feel like a lot of the teachers that we have at our schools are not motivated anymore and aren’t happy with their job. For many different reasons… [Education has]  always been something that I’ve been very passionate about. In terms of education, [I care about] making sure that I provide an equitable education in my classroom, as well as in my school, in the county… and making sure that our students have everything they need to be successful and as happy as possible in my classroom and in education as a whole. 

I just think that having passionate people in the classroom with the children is one of the most important things to their education. Because at the end of the day, if you’re not passionate, they’re not going to be. And they should be. It’s their education. Kids are not going to want to listen to you if you’re not going to give them a reason to listen. So I think having a motivated person in front of your students, whether they are in kindergarten or highschool, is one of the most important parts of their educational career. So that’s why I am very passionate about [education] and I think that over time, I’m going to become more and more passionate about it. 

Recently in school and stuff, I have really shown myself that this is something I want to do. And it’s more than just an idea. It’s actually something that I’m really passionate about.” 

Omar: Acting, Role Models & Family

Question: When did you realize that you want to be an actor?

“This was during my senior year in high school. I went to Miami Lakes Tech. I used to dress up as Spiderman a lot back in high school and I remember doing it for multiple pep rallies [and] multiple events like spirit week. And I remember I once [dressed up as Spiderman] for the kids there because at our high school we had a daycare. I remember dressing up for the kids. They asked me to do the favor, me and my other buddy, and [the kids] loved it. It was seeing all of them happy. So then I thought about it. I said, ‘you know, I think I’m perfect for this.’ I think I have like the right energy and all that for the entertainment field…  I love making people smile. I love making people happy. So yeah, that’s what made me want to be on the big screen. ” 

Question: Who (or what) motivates you? 

“One of the people who inspires me alot [is] Kobe Bryant. There’s no doubt in my mind that Kobe Bryant has made me a better person just because of the way he was. He didn’t give up, he loved challenges. And I used to not challenge myself back then, but I once started to know more about him, and just became a fan overall… I love to challenge myself now and have the same mentality as him. He’s one of my biggest inspirations… 

My family. Yeah, I mean one thing I want to do is – I want to make my family proud of me. I know they support me and all, but I really want to show them that I can succeed with all these goals and dreams.. I want to make them proud, you know? Especially my little brother. I want him to like look up to me and say “he’s a good big brother, you know?” 

-Omar, 22

Kes: Protecting Our Home & Future Generations

“My name is Kesya. I am [now 20] years old. I go to Florida International University and study Sustainability and the Environment. I’ve really had sustainability and environmental issues in my life for a long time. I remember as a kid, like since childhood, we’ve always done recycling and went to different [environmental] events and stuff like that. So it’s kind of been incorporated into my life, for my entire life. I’ve always been aware of these issues and I guess that was kind of rooted in me wanting to study it in my future as an adult. Because it’s something that’s really important and affects us everyday. The world is changing, not in the best ways, because of current situations, so we want to try to find solutions to fix that and make the world a better place in the future. 

A sustainable world, to me, is people actually caring about our home. We only have one earth and we have to try and preserve it and try to save it. So I feel like if everyone tried, even if it’s in the smallest ways… Even recycling more, which is surprisingly not as common as people think. A lot of people don’t recycle in their homes. So people can start doing more of that, or trying to save power, saving water, just trying to not be so wasteful and being more aware of the things we do that affect our environment. 

I think the future of our planet is what motivates me. ‘Cause I just want a future, especially for my kids or my grandchildren, people that I care about that are going to live through the planet in the future. I want them to have a healthy and thriving home. I don’t want them to grow up and live in a place that’s slowly decaying. So I guess thinking about future generations is what inspires me to try harder and learn more about the world and find more things to improve it. 

Something else I realize I like to do a lot – When I learn about news topics, I like to learn more about them, explore them more, and try to learn as much information about it. I don’t know if it’s considered a hobby, but [I like to] just learn more information and do research on stuff. I’m a big researcher and I like taking on projects that involve researching and learning about new ideas and things.”

Reflection

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Experience

High School Graduation and Summer 2021: A Reflection

On June 2nd, 2021, I graduated High School. It felt kind of surreal, honestly. I made it there a few minutes after the ceremony started (I was supposed to be there one hour before it began), and had to quickly find my way to the other graduates so that I’d make it time for the march (which was, let me tell you, very stressful). So while speeches were being made, I was part listening and part recovering from the stress and the rush that came with being late.

From the handing of the diploma cover, to the picture taking, everything went by so quickly, and then suddenly, without enough time to process it all, I was a high school graduate. I went home that evening, took some more pictures, took all my regalia and graduation stuff off, changed into something else, and just sat there. It was weird.

Then, not even two weeks into my summer break, I attended orientation for my summer job as a camp counselor. Two weeks after that I had already started my summer class. A few weeks into working 40 hours a week and taking a class, I started working on co-founding an organization with a wonderful group of people located in different parts of the country. Needless to say, before I could even let it all sink in, I already immersed myself in other things (which also means this is the first time I’m actually sitting and reflecting about everything).

So here I am, on my bed, typing away and not knowing where this piece is even going. Most of what comes to mind is that two months after graduation, I am quite aware that I’m no longer a high schooler, but I also don’t really feel like an adult either. It’s like I’m in limbo, between what was my life before and life I’m about to live. I don’t really know what’s next, or if I’m even prepared for it, but I’m excited.

Before I close this out, here are a few things that I learned/ realized this summer.

  1. Working with kids after a year of being around little to no people can surely lead to one getting sick. Twice. It was a learning experience though.
  2. Interacting with other people is people is pretty cool. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. However, a lot of interacting in a short period of time can get draining.
  3. Mental health days are important and should be normalized.
  4. Trees are cute. I realized this a long time ago, but I just wanted to put that out there.

That’s all from me.

‘Till next time ❤

In Touch

by Rhobie Toussaint, posted in Articles, Feature

Going the Extra Mile to Keep A Friendship

Originally published in the Harbinger

As the school year comes to a close, a great fear approaches for seniors: separating from friends. It may feel like graduation will hold the last memories of hugs, conversations, and friendship; however, this doesn’t have to be the case. If both parties put in effort to keep the treasured bond, distance will no longer be a determining factor within the friendship.

Social media is becoming an integral part of the lives for many, and friendships can both be initiated and maintained through it. You can send snaps to your best friend and vice versa, showing how one another’s day is going or laughing at memes sent through the DMs of Instagram.

“We have a streak on snapchat and send each other posts on Instagram and Twitter,” said Alexandra Roberdeo, a MLEC alumnus and freshmen at Hamilton College, about her ongoing friendship with Daylin Delgado, a MLEC alumnus and freshman at Amherst College.

When you’re miles apart from each other with different schedules, talking to your best friend everyday is nearly impossible. But catching up once a week or every other week ensures that you keep in touch.

“We don’t call often but we’ve also never been the type to call all the time. We do update each other or ask each other questions like once a week,” said Daylin.

If you and your best friend are in different states, or even just different schools, there is always something new to talk about, ranging from teachers to mini adventures to relationships.

In trying to keep your bond, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity and never hesitate taking the time to tell your best friend about all the mishaps and exciting things that happened throughout the week.

And although busy schedules and distance may make it difficult to see each other often, try and make room for a visit or two. Perhaps this can be done spontaneously, on a weekend when you both are free or for special occasions such as birthdays.

“It’s not like the distance can get in the way. Last semester, I felt myself missing home a lot, so I took a train to Massachusetts and surprised Daylin,” said Alexandra.

It is also important to understand that while some friendships work out after high school, some simply don’t. It happens. However, it doesn’t hurt to try, especially if your friend holds great significance to you.

“Don’t worry about it. If it’s meant to last, it will. You can’t force something to work, but you should definitely work for it if it’s important to you,” said Daylin.

As the final days of high school approach, remember that with some effort, surprise visits, snap sending, and meme sharing, the bond you share with your best friend doesn’t have to end.