week 9 Thursday, Apr 19 2012

Seeing as how I didn’t go to the altar I can’t really talk about a non-existent visit. But I can talk about how a St. Joseph’s Day altar represents a gumbo. For one thing, a gumbo has all kind of things just thrown into it and so does an altar. Not that things are just thrown together to create an altar. Technically things aren’t really thrown together in gumbo either. Okay, a better explanation would be that the ingredients that are put into a gumbo are selected very carefully based on the type of gumbo you want to make. For example, you would put shrimp or crab or any other type of seafood into a chicken and sausage gumbo. You would put all of the required ingredients that make sense. The thought process is the same when it comes to a St. Joseph’s Day altar. Depending on how you want your altar to look it how you determine what you’ll put on it. Though you can decide exactly what you’d like on the altar, no alter would be complete without breads and the fava bean, just like no gumbo would be complete without roux and rice. So the process of making a gumbo and creating a St. Joseph’s Day altar aren’t really that different. In fact, they are more similar than anyone could really imagine. The average onlooker would simply have to look at the two process and break them down.

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Week 9 Response Saturday, Dec 10 2011

Xavier’s mission states “…contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society by preparing its students to assume roles of leadership and service in a global society. This preparation takes place in a diverse learning and teaching environment that incorporates all relevant educational means, including research and community service”. Although the mission statement mentions many things, I feel that some seniors really do “take it to heart.” I’m a work-study student, and through the program I have been able to meet a few seniors.  Overall most of the seniors I know seem to be somewhat happier than others students. This probably has to do with the fact that they will soon be graduating and moving forward in their lives. However in regards to the mission statement, I feel that over time they have grown to like and respect the mission of the university.  For instance, the two seniors that I know feel that giving to others through community service will forever be a part of them because of Xavier’s mission statement. This is a good thing, because it makes students want to continue to assume roles of service even after graduating. Likewise they also see the importance of continuing their education beyond just an undergraduate degree. In comparison, many freshmen don’t really see the importance behind Xavier’s mission statement. For instance when it comes to the sciences, there is a lot of work, pressure and stress added on students. However even if the work is hard and challenging, I feel that professors truly want students to succeed. I do feel that as time goes on and my class becomes seniors, some people may in fact change how the view Xavier’s mission statement. Nevertheless, I have noticed that some seniors still act is if they have not completely grown up, nor that they really care about the university’s mission statement.

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A senior’s opinion Saturday, Dec 10 2011

So I thought this assignment would be pretty difficult seeing as though I am a freshman, but I forgot that I have all kinds of connections at this school. So I asked a friend of mine what he thought about the mission. It was pretty interesting to here in talk about it too. When I was a senior in high school I know I did not pay any attention at all to the mission statement. I thought that it was my immaturity and the upperclassmen here would think differently and enlightened about the mission. So it was a surprise for me to hear my friend say what he had to say. Basically he said “Oh okay? You are talking about the one that says that xavier students are just and fair and will live in a humane society?” I was thinking umm yes… Is there more than one? but then he continued and said ” yeah I don’t really pay attention to the mission statement. I don’t think any student at Xavier does. It is really the faculty that cares about that stuff. Everybody here is too worried about grades and trying to pass and get out of here. I pay Xavier tuition just like everybody else and really the education is all I care about. The mission statement is just something to hold the school to some sort of prestige, no real importance to the students. You can ask anybody around here and probably half of them won’t even know what a mission statement is.” Those were his words. I dont really blame him though I really did not expect too many people to actually care about the statement. It is funny though, because even though no one cares about it and dont seem to know it they miraculously can recite it when graduation comes around. I guess that is the only time they really care.

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Week 9 Saturday, Dec 10 2011

 

For the week nine blog I did not get a chance to catch up with Xavier senior, however I did get a chance to ask junior Daneeka Dasher a few questions. Daneeka is a junior from Houston, Texas and she is a Bio Pre-Med major. She began Xavier as a business major but she decided to switch in the middle of her freshman year. The reason she decided to switch is because of Xavier’s liberal arts curriculum. She said “ once I took Dr.McFarren I knew I had to switch”. I also asked Daneeka about what she thought about Xavier’s mission and if she thought that Xavier abided by their mission statment. For the most part she thought that Xavier does a good job of preparing their current student to assume roles of leadership. The professor’s that she has had thus at Xavier have been nothing but kind and generous to her. She admire’s how hard the profeesor’s work and how serious they take their jobs. When she was an incoming freshman, her freshman seminar teacher tought her section the meaning of assuming respomsiblity and taking control of their destiny. Since her freshman year she has recieve offers for three intership’s that will began when her senior year. She has also been recently admitted to LSU’s earliy acceptance program for medical school. Overrall she has enjoyed her time at Xavier, she loves the  city and she adores the people. She looks forward to graduating in the Spring semester of 2013 but if she takes additional classes this summer she will be able to graduate in the Fall with honors. Good Luck Daneeka!

 

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Interview a Xavier senior about his/her thoughts on Xavier’s mission and blog about what they say. Friday, Dec 9 2011

Daniel McCoy is a senior pharmacy student at Xavier University. Daniel is from Marietta, Georgia but currently lives in an apartment in New Orleans. “I choose to come to Xavier to take advantage of the notoriety of the pharmacy program. Growing up in a house full of women gave me the determination to work harder because I was the man of the house and it has always been my nature to do well for my mother and sisters. My interest in medicine lead to the Xavier and Xavier has providing everything that I expected and more.” “Their mission represents the belief that a strong educational background is the pathway to a successful life. The students at Xavier uphold to those beliefs by striving towards academic excellence. Xavier is a school of excellence that provides the right materials for each student to be successful and participating in the opportunities that are available. The Expectations in Xavier mission makes it nearly impossible to attend this school and not achieve any academic accomplishments. I am very pleased with Xavier and what it has to offer. With its professors being experienced in each field that they teach, it makes it possible for all the students that attend Xavier to get feedback from an expert in the field. With Xavier’s sense of tradition and history the students get to experience a rich background of a college whose atmosphere has been known to be ideal for education. There are very few universities that offer the type of experience offered here at Xavier. After hearing the opinion of Lamar Peetie, a senior, at Xavier, I was also convinced that Katherine Drexel would be pleased with the education that Xavier provides to its students. It is Daniel’s belief that Xavier University means business when it comes to ensuring students receives a quality education.

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Friday, Dec 9 2011

I don’t know too many seniors here at Xavier, but I did find a junior that I was particularly close to. I interviewed my cousin and I asked her what she thinks about the school’s mission statement. She replied and said that it was one of her main reasons for choosing to attend Xavier. She believes that each and every person should hope and strive for the best and at Xavier those things are possible. She said she likes how there are students of many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds becoming leaders in their community. She said everyone who attends Xavier should believe in the mission statement because it gives its students leadership positions and the ability and power to accomplish any and everything they wish to accomplish.

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Week Nine Thursday, Dec 8 2011

Xavier Senior: None.

Quite Honestly, I know no seniors and I’m much too intimidated to go out and try to speak to one of them. That’s just awkward and I’d rather not get denied and get a less than adequate answer to my question.

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Senior Interview Tuesday, Dec 6 2011

I recently interview a senior about Xavier’s mission and he knew what the mission was but had to read over it.  He believes it makes sense but not all of the students will be able to fulfill the mission. He said, “Sure, Xavier wants students to come and wants us to become successful in our life and prepare us to make a just and humane society but it’s not very possible because someone will have to screw another person over to get what they want in life. For example, if a student majors for business, they can’t be nice and get the job. They would have to eventually screw someone over to get what they want. It’s just how they would have to act to be a good businessman. He said most of the other students don’t even know what the mission statement is even though they had to read it for Freshmen Seminar class. Xavier wants every student to work hard to become successful to become leaders in the future one day but competition will be hard and you would have to do whatever it takes to become a leader. He said overall Xavier wants students to be great students and graduate but it just isn’t possible for everyone to make society more just and humane. A few students will be able to fulfill Xavier’s mission, but many will fail to fulfill it. Prepare students to make the world is a just and humane and to make the great overall world. He told me of another example about homeless people in the streets. If Xavier’s mission would be fulfilled by every student, whenever someone sees a homeless person in the streets they would help them out. Every time he sees a homeless person in the streets, he pretends to dig in his pocket for change even though he knows he only has a debit card in his pocket.  He just believes in this society, being nice will get you nowhere. You sometimes have to do what you have to do to get what you want.

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Week 9 Monday, Dec 5 2011

I recently interviewed a senior today about Xavier’s mission that is a part of SGA and I got a positive review from them. She basically said from the day that she got here on her first day of orientation like we had a couple of months ago, that she saw Xavier’s mission being displayed everyday by students and faculty. She just by seeing all the upperclassmen that replicate distinguished leaders. The first thing that caught her eye was the numerous amounts of students already accepted into Secondary education. Whether it was being accepted into medical or dental school it inspired her to know that if they can do it, then she could do it as well. She recently got accepted into a couple of dental schools. Then she moved on to the service part of the university. She said that is one of the biggest things that she saw was the stressing of community service in the community of New Orleans. Similar to our freshman orientation she said that they had to participate in Service Saturdays where they would go out into the community and complete various jobs. She also referred to the MAX volunteer club on campus, which has different volunteer clubs like Men on the Move, American Red Cross, and Girl Scouts at Xavier. She said that she was happy and proud that she went to a university that really replicates what their mission says. She is also happy that she will be one of the students that Xavier sends out into the world assuming leadership roles.

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Week 9 Monday, Dec 5 2011

Interview a Xaxier senior about his/her thoughts on Xavier’s mission and blog about what they say

I do not know that many seniors at Xavier but the few that I know are on the sports team. So I interviewed a senior that’s on one of the sports team. They told me that: “Xavier is a great school, and will get you where you want to go in life if you do the hard part which is the work. Always study, manage your time wisely, and use the tutoring labs especially since they are free. It’s not easy but it can be done, and has been done. College is the complete opposite of high school and the only way that you won’t be successful is because of your own self, not anyone else. The mission statement is a good example what Xavier teaches and expects of it’s students.”

 

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