The Universities at Shady Grove (USG)

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful winter break. I always enjoy spending time with my family and friends and getting some relaxation time before classes start; those are the reasons why I always look forward for the holiday seasons. In this blog, I thought it would be interesting to share with you some of my family’s Christmas and New Year traditions that we carried over from the Philippines.

Christmas

For Christmas, we would go to midnight mass on December 24th then a meal called “Noche Buena”. This year, instead of having the Noche Buena, my family, my uncle’s family, and my fiance’s family decided to have a lunch celebration to combine our Christmas celebration and my cousin’s birthday, who was born on Christmas day. We had Filipino foods, such as pork menudo and so much more!

New Year

I love New Year’s Eve with my family. Filipinos have various New Year’s Eve traditions and superstition. I thought it would be interesting to share some that my family do practice.

1. My mom would instruct us not vacuum after 12am because she would say that we would drive away  “gracia” or blessings

2. We would place money trails in the house to invite good fortune and energy throughout the house.

3. We would wear whatever lucky color is lucky for the upcoming year based on the Chinese zodiac sign.

4. Open your wallet and have money and coins in your pocket before midnight strikes to ensure that you have money throughout the year.

5. When midnight strikes, children would gather and a grown up would throw money in the air. Then, the children would collect as much money as they can because we believe that the money are lucky. Also, the children are to jump three times so they will get taller.

6. You have to have 12 different round fruits in the house before midnight. It is for good luck for the whole year.  

Although my family and I have been living in the US for over a decade, we still maintain part of our Filipino identity. This ability to main our heritage and culture is a huge part of me. Therefore, I would love to be able to pass it down to the future generations in my family especially the idea of how food brings everyone together. 

Speaking of food, did you know that you can get your food at four different locations at USG? You can always find more information through the USG website under Campus Resources.

Green Grove Cafe

You can get burgers and fries from their City Grill, sandwiches from their Upmarket Deli, great pizzas from their Pizza Villaggio, soups, and build-you-won salad from their Salad Bar. Don’t forget to check out their weekly menu specials.

Cafe Hours

Mon-Fri: 11:30AM-2:30PM
Sat & Sun: Closed

Corner Bistro

The bistro has great grab-n-go foods as well as cold and hot drinks. They serve Starbucks coffee, espresso and Tazo teas.

Bistro Hours
Mon-Thur:
8:00AM- 6:00PM
Fri: 8:00AM-2:30PM
Sat & Sun: Closed

Bookstore

The bookstore has variety of snacks and drinks and other school supplies. Check out the USG Bookstore website to browse through their selections or to view your course textbooks.

Library Market Stall

The library recently opened their new market stall located in the printing room in the library. If you want food and the cafe, bistro, and bookstore are closed, this would be a perfect alternative place to buy food. For more information,  view my fellow blogger’s blog about the Market Stall.

I wish you all good luck on your spring semester!

In these tumultous times we live in it can be easy to point fingers and ridicule others for things we deem innapropriate or unfair and injust. We are quick to see flaws in others, but not ourselves. Before we pass judgement on others, we should work to become more self-aware of the subconscious layers of “self” that comprise a human being and their actions.

About a month ago I stumbled upon Project Implicit. Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and internal collaboration that uncovers interesting findings in the realm of social cognition. Project Implicit provides free online tests that tell you more about your implicit biases. Do you prefer “skinny vs. fat” or “abled vs. disabled” people? Sounds kind of deep and scary, right? I’ve spoken with some people about these interesting tests, and it has come to my attention that, yes, these tests can provide somewhat shocking results.

Self-awareness is a path to inner peace. Self-awareness also happens to be one of life skills that matter not only personally, but professionally. So why not try a test or two?

Directions:

1. Click this link
2. Continue as a guest (bottom left dropdown menu) and click “go!”
3. Agree to the terms
4. See all the tests available!

This test was made known to me by a Harvard Business Publishing reading we had to do for my Leadership Development class – so all is good if you’re uncertain about accessing the site.

This is definitley a great conversation starter with your friends and family. I’d highly recommend checking it out!

For many, our time at a university/college defines us. It dictates who we become and what we will do with our lives. We learn who we truly are during the hardships we face while completing our higher education. We, who call ourselves college students, come from all walks of life. Some of us are parents with children of our own at home. Some of us have had accomplished careers but decided to walk a different path later on in life. Some of us are still trying to figure out what life means and what we want to do with it. These are the students that call the Universities at Shady Grove their home campus.

No matter where we come from, we all arrive at USG with aspirations and the determination to accomplish them. As a campus, USG has many resources that all but guarantee success and a unique student culture that allows diversity and the exchange of ideas to thrive.

This first semester at USG was rough for me, having made the transition with a lot on my plate, but the resources available here have made my transition as easy as possible. I aspire to become a family physician and one day work with Doctors Without Borders, providing healthcare to those in need globally. I am a medical scribe, a volunteer member of the Takoma Park Fire Department, a blogger, a Student Ambassador, and most importantly, a Biological Sciences student at USG.

During my short time here at USG, I have met many amazing people whose determination parallels my own. While they may have different dreams, they have the same desire to succeed and move forward. I have met Criminal Justice majors, Communication majors, Business majors, Nursing majors, and so many more who are all at USG to work hard for a bright future. I have utilized countless resources here such as the library course reserves, the study rooms, the classrooms, the writing evaluation through CAS, and much more.

Whether a prospective student, or a student already at USG, you can rest assured that there is something for everyone here. The Universities at Shady Grove was created as a campus for the students, and continues to be so. There are many experiences waiting to be had, and USG is the best place to have them in my opinion.

Happy Holidays to All!!

Thanks for taking a moment to ponder.