NYU Steinhardt Orientation 2017

Adopting a good eating habit is the way to wellness. College time can be pretty hectic especially when juggling schoolwork, social life and extracurricular activities. At times, students tend to skip meals such as breakfast or even forget to take certain meals on time and this could be detrimental to the students’ health. Thus, it is imperative for students to maintain a good eating habit, which will contribute to good health as well as sustain a good academic performance.

Going into my first freshman lecture, with 200+ people, I was really nervous. I didn’t know if I would be able to keep up with the concepts being explained or if I would have the confidence to participate in class. But when I first walked into Finn Brunton’s Intro to Media lecture, I was immediately comforted by his enthusiastic and encouraging attitude. He never made me or any other student feel stupid. In every class, even when he was sick, he showed up with so much energy that he could turn a normally boring topic into something super exciting. 

There’s never a dull moment in New York City, there’s always something going on. Last Christmas, I stayed in New York,  went to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center, and right by there, they also had a light show at Saks Fifth Avenue. It was gorgeous, I’ve never seen anthing like it, the pictures below don’t do it justice. 

If you’re ever in NYC during Christmas break, this is definitely somethning you want to go see in person. :)

Throughout my two years at NYU, I’ve had the pleasure of learning from and interacting with the many great professors and faculty members within our university. However, one of them in particular stands out at truly exceptional, and her name is Jamie Bianco.

Teaching a class known as Digital Media: Theory and Practice, Jamie was my professor during my sophomore year of college. When I met her, I was incredibly unconfident with everything to do with computers and digital media. I actually took the class in the first place because I was convinced that I had no skills or talents whatsoever and I just wanted to learn something. Jamie not only taught me how to use things like HTML, Photoshop, and other digital editing devices, but she also made me realize that I was far from incapable. Although I’ve never been assigned nearly as much homework in any other class I’ve taken, I’ve also never have felt more cared for by any professor I’ve ever had.

If you’re in MCC, I could not recommend taking a class with Jamie any more highly, and if you’re not, then I hope that you also have professors who are as kind, encouraging, and determined as Jamie Bianco is.

When I tell most people about the area that I live, they usually have no idea what I’m talking about or where it’s located. Tudor City, despite being located right next to Midtown in Manhattan, is a fairly quiet area that most people know nothing about, but a location that I call home.

Tudor City is named after the English Tudor Dynasty, which is within itself most known for King Henry VIII and his six wives. Originally built as a residential area for workers at a now non-existing power plant and slaughterhouse, it’s now one of the strangely quietest areas of Manhattan that lines the East River and the United Nations Headquarters.

If you’re ever in the area, you can enjoy beautiful views of the East River and Brooklyn from a distance, and you can even hang out in the small park that’s located outside of the apartment complexes! There are even small business run along the streets that range from local spas, delis, and flower shops that you can visit. Although it is a relatively quiet and small neighborhood, it’s a lovely part of Manhattan that you should definitely visit!

Choosing a major can be challenging, scary, and even overwhelming. That is why I was so happy that I already knew what I wanted to do since I was in high school. I want to become a Speech Pathologist which makes me a Communicative Sciences Disorder major (CSD). The only thing I had to worry about was if I would continue to like the major once I started to classes. So far that is not a worry anymore. I loved all my CSD classes and enjoyed working with CSD Professors. But why do I love my department so much?For one, my department is small. The classes are small-medium and all the Professors I’ve had were easy to talk to and always welcomed students into their office hours. They not only provided students with extra help for the class but they also provided students with outside opportunities such as, knowledge of internships and lab work.

One of the perks of being an NYU student living on campus is having campus cable. And included with campus cable is HBO GO!!! Yes, that right. Time to binge watch Game of Thrones, Veep and everything else amazing on HBO!

To login, go to the HBO GO login. Under providers, scroll past the regular cable providers to find New York University. Then, login with you NYU login. And voila, HBO GO! Use it while you have it!

This year's Curlfest was Curly Girl Collective's third annual beauty festival aimed toward celebrating natural hair! The event is free to attend and boasts workshops that teach techniques to care for natural hair as well as vendors of products made specifically for natural and curly hair. There was so much energy and positivity, I couldn't help but feel like:

No matter what you're interested in, there is a community here for you to get involved in. NYC had countless events geared towards celebrating diversity and promoting self-expression.

One of my favorite events run by NYU is the annual talent competition called Ultra Violet Live, which is run by the Inter Residence Hall Council. But this isn’t your average school talent show - it’s a super exciting, huge production that brings in some big-name judges. Last year the event was hosted by drag queen, Alaska, from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and was judged by Todrick Hall, Kimiko Glenn (from Orange is the New Black), and Sasheer Zamata (from Saturday Night Live). While it’s amazing and inspiring to hear the advice from the judges, the real spotlight is on the incredible talent here at NYU. During the evening, you might hear performers sing, present some slam poetry, beat box, or perform some other unique talent. It’s a great opportunity to see what your fellow classmates might be doing outside of the classroom. Plus, if you want to get involved - auditions are held in several rounds which take place in each NYU residence hall, so keep an eye out during the spring semester if you’re interested. Otherwise, be sure to come to actual show to root on your friends and classmates!

University dorms aren't known for being the most "warm and cozy" places. It's hard to make it feel like home when the walls are bare white and the air is stale. I remember really struggling with homesickness my first semester at NYU and dorm life did not help. Some ways to combat the dorm and homesickness blues are by hanging up pictures of friends, family, or of cool photos from the internet (I suggest Pinterest), and hang small twinkle lights instead of having to deal with the harsh, fluorescent lighting all the time. My personal favorite room pick-me-up was to get fresh flowers for my desk once a week. It really brightens a room and leaves it smelling fresh. Pretty soon, my dorm became a cozy den, my home away from home.

My favorite professor in the whole NYU Community would have to be Prof Domingo Pinero.  Professor Pinero is the Undergraduate Advisor and the Director of Undergraduate studies in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at Steinhardt. He is also a Clinical Professor teaching courses like Intro to Human Physiology and Introduction to Global Issues in Nutrition: Shanghai (Honors Seminar). I first met Domingo during my New Student Seminar and my first thought was that he was such a funny and charismatic person. Over the years, I got to work with him and one thing that I really appreciate about him is his audacity of speaking out if he thinks something is not right. His constant support to his students and his genuineness are, in my mind qualities that make him awesome. He is also the person who taught me that dreams do come true (I know it’s such a cliched thing to say but he is the one who taught me that anything is possible). I took his Intro to Physiology class during my sophomore year and even though, there’s a general consensus that it’s a hardcore science class, I would not mind taking it again :)  I will truly miss him when I graduate from NYU.

There have been so many hilarious moments during my college life from mistakenly placing trash in front of my RA’s room (ps. I thought it was the trash room) to having strangers on the street telling me to “focus on the street” instead of looking at myself in the shop windows. However, the funniest thing that I ever did during my freshman year was to enact the horror scene from the movie ‘The Ring’. My suitemates and I decided to enact one scene from the movie: our common room looked like a professional studio. We had so much fun but afterwards, we were so scared. I could not be in my own room all by myself; I needed my roommate to be in there with me and that night, we went to sleep at 2am! :)

One of my favorite NYU events that I attended this year was FYRE Olympics. FYRE Olympics is a day where all of the first year residence halls compete in a variety of events to determine which hall is “the best”. There are is also a raffle where students win things from SoulCycle gift cards to Liquiteria gift cards. The events include things like trivia, tug-of-war, knock out, and a mystery game. 

I lived in Founders Hall this past year and Founders had never won FYRE Olympics so this year we were determined to win. The night before FYRE Olympics anyone who wanted to come met in the lobby and we tie-dyed a bunch of t-shirts. The morning of we all met in the lobby in our shirts and we had face paint, stickers, and more to help us get into the spirit. Then we walked down 3rd avenue waving our Founders flag as we walked to the location of the event. 

Once we got to the event we split our team up to determine who would do what events. Don’t worry, if you don’t want to actually take part in an event at FYRE Olympics you can be part of the group that cheers on your residence hall. The mystery game that was revealed was human hungry hungry hippos. This event would ultimately determine the winner of this year’s FYRE Olympics. 

After a long day Founders ended up winning. When it was announced that we won, everyone from team Founders ran towards the trophy and it was such an exciting moment. We started chanting Founders and everyone was on cloud 9. 

I highly recommend taking part in FYRE Olympics because it is a great way to bond with people from your residence hall and meet people from other halls. The entire day ended up being so much more fun than I had thought it would be. Go Founders!

Before coming to NYU, I was having trouble deciding between schools and decided that I would visit my top 3 one more time and decide where I felt most at home. I am a very indecisive person, so going based on feeling seemed like it wouldn’t work. Yet, when I came to Weekend on the Square, I just KNEW that NYU was the place for me. I felt a sense of community that I didn’t feel at other colleges. Everyone I met was so open and welcoming, and I quickly made friends with some people who are still my friends to this day. 

That same feeling was reaffirmed during Welcome Week. Once I went to the Dean’s Welcome, I knew I had made the right decision. Welcome Week helped me make new friends, get accustomed to the campus, explore NYC, and just feel comfortable in my decision! I wouldn’t trade the experiences I had during welcome week for anything!

Lourdes Castro is an adjunct professor within the department of Nutrition and Food Studies at NYU Steinhardt. She also happens to be a notable cookbook author of three fabulous cookbooks that are all about Latin Cuisine! Her first cookbook Simply Mexican (Ten Speed Press, 2009) was voted as one the 25 best cookbooks of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine; while her third, Latin Grilling (Ten Speed Press, 2011), was among iVillage.com’s 2011 selection of best cookbooks. 

All of Lourdes’s love for cooking really shines through in the classroom. In fact, it was seeing her in the kitchen during Weekend on the Square that made me want to join NYU’s Nutrition and Food Studies Program! Unlike at any other school, Lourdes was clearly not afraid to be hands on with her students and to interact with them one-one-one. By the end of our 20 minute kitchen session that weekend, I was working with Lourdes side by side, and actually LEARNING about the food I was cooking as we went along! That fall, when I enrolled in her class, “Introduction to Food Science”, I only saw more of Lourdes excitement for the material, during both lecture and lab. This course was by far my favorite class as a first-year student! Hopefully, I will be fortunate of having Lourdes again at my time at NYU. 

When I first arrived at NYU, I had no idea how expensive New York was compared to my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. Annapolis and its surrounding county are notorious for being very expensive, so I figured it was similar to NYC - how wrong I was. My normal McDonald’s meal at home was $5-6; in New York, it ended up being $10. And don’t even get me started on the grocery store! 

When I came to NYU, I worked out a deal with my family where they would help with my loans and my tuition as long as I paid for all my other expenses (food, textbooks, and fun) while I was there. At first, I didn’t have a job. I blew through about half of my savings by October, and decided to get a part-time job at Starbucks to help off-set my coffee costs while hopefully actually earning money. I ended up earning almost exactly what I needed to cover my expenses every month, but I also followed these rules for myself:

~ Use your meal plan whenever possible - don’t waste money on McDonald’s when Weinstein is right there!

~ Don’t go shopping unless you’re looking for a specific piece of clothing. Of course, sometimes it’s nice to splurge, but it’s always good to have goals in mind of what you need to splurge on!

~ Don’t spend more than you’re earning. I had a rewards credit card that I put most of my purchases on to earn more points, and while that was nice, I saw how easy it was to get carried away and spend over my budget.

Making friends in NYU is easier than you can imagine, despite our size. 

Take advantage of your welcome week activities to meet some new and cool people! There are departmental meetups so you could meet some of your future classmates and there are school-wide activities to go to! 

Download NYU Welcome Week Guides Be sure to download the NYU Welcome Week Scheduling System & Steinhardt Welcome Week Guide