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Biography
I was born in Puerto Rico, on September 16, 1986. Everyone in my family was born in the Dominican Republic except me. I was like the odd one in the group. My mother wanted a different life from Dominican Republic, so our whole family moved to New York City. My mother and father raised my two brothers, three sisters and me in the upper eastside of Manhattan. With family members living scattered throughout the New York City area, I was always busy visiting somebody. I went to all my schools in the upper eastside of Manhattan until high School. In 2001 my mother, brother and younger sister and I moved to the lower Eastside of Manhattan next to the Williamsburg Bridge. There I attended in Seward Park high school.
I was always very athletic throughout my child hood, so I decided to join the school basketball team. I was the captain for two years and in my senior year, I lead them to Manhattan B division playoffs. I was very involved in school activities. I ran for president of the student organization my senior year and won unanimously. I organized many events and fund raisers in the school year. I was the first one from my immediate family to graduate from high school and go to college. I now attend Plattsburgh State University in upstate New York. My future aspiration is are to become a CEO of an engineering company. Even though I’m interested in so many things business and engineering are the career that attracts me the most. In four years I will graduate from college and go on to head on for Graduate school.
E.O.P. Journal 2004
July 8, 2004
This is my third day in the Plattsburgh State University E.O.P. summer program. The directors of the program said that we were a special group. This year the program celebrated its 25 Anniversary. Today I started classes in Hawkins Hall, Hudson Hall and in the Learning Center. The teachers handed out assignments and syllabi. It took me a while to get to Hawkins Hall. Unbelievably I didn’t get lost in the morning. I’m friends with a couple of people in the program so far, but looking forward to socialize with everybody. I miss my family and girlfriend a lot, but my roommate Joseph Plante tries to make me feel right at home. My roommate comes from Alexander Bay and the Thousand Islands with a population of 3,000.
July 10, 2004
This first week went by so quickly that it felt like just two days. I took a glance at the work responsible for completing and it doesn’t seem that hard. I thought that I was going to be bombed with American Literature and Calculus.
Today I went on a trip to Burlington, Vermont with four tutor-counselor and fourteen students. I’ve never been to Burlington before, so it was exciting. We took a ferry across the Lake Champlain to get to Vermont. It was a very relaxing experience in Burlington. I went into the Burlington Shopping Center to window shop, and wound up buying shades. I there also was Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop outside the mall. Their ice cream is delicious, especially strawberry cheesecake. Everybody that went to the trip returned to campus exhausted. We walked so much in Vermont trying to find cool stores.
July 11, 2004
Today around twelve students and four tutor-counselors and I took a trip to a private beach called Point au Roche. It was small private beach with volleyball nets and a hiking section. The students and I played volleyball the whole afternoon. The water was too cold for me to swim, so I just rested in the sand and caught a tan. The tutors were bragging because they beat the students in a volleyball game 21 to17. I'm not a sour loser but they cheated. I had a great time in the beach today. After the beach some students were scheduled to take a foreign language exam at seven to find placement for them in the school semester. I was too tired and wasn't scheduled, so I showered started writing in my journal.
July 13, 2004
Today the students in the E.O.P. scheduled to attend a play at 7pm in the Plattsburgh Room. The play was called " Road to Freedom" and was made for us the students to act it out with two other actors. Seven o'clock came in the Plattsburgh room and I volunteered to act in the play. The host or producers of the play gave me the part the of a black man. The part was small and appeared at the and of the play speaking positively to an Indian. To summarize the play, it was very interesting. It revived the actions slaves and abolitionists took to end slavery. I was not nervous at all when my part came to act. The play showed how slaves used the Underground Railroad to escape North to Canada. I learned that many white families helped slaves escape to Canada.
July 16, 2004
I was relaxed all day today because it was Friday. I did all my homework that was due for Monday and set out for the gym in Memorial Hall. There I played basketball for two hours with several six-footers. Afterwards I took a jog around campus to get accustomed with it. A couple of friends and I planned to go to the bowling alleys in downtown area of Plattsburgh. We went and had a blast, even though I bowled in last place. I had a while without bowling and felt kind of rusty. There was no special event scheduled for tomorrow afternoon so my sights are sets for sleeping.
July 18, 2004
Being scheduled to go and hike up the Poko-Mooshine Mountain in the Plattsburgh area kept me anxious. I always loved going out in the woods and experiencing the outdoors and nature. Upon arrival I could see that hiking the mountain was going to be a challenge. the students, staff and I commenced to hike up the mountain rapidly. Half way up, I was still in the hike but looking back everyone was exhausted. I didn't stop, I was determined to be the first on on top of the mountain. In an hour I reached the top and yelled " I made it". Being the first to the top gave me bragging rights so I definitely used them. At the top I took pictures with the rest. We hiked back down and in an hour made it to the vans. I felt so tried when I reached to the campus that I showered and went to sleep.
July 25, 2004
Yesterday was field day for the E.O.P program. The event was organized to have separate teams compete against each other in different activities. The activities ranged from pass the orange to tug of war. I was in kimones team, we were called the Bone-crushers. We came in first place four times but lost in tug of war. Afterwards, we had the talent show in Whiteface Hall. Almost half of the students performed in the show. I danced Spanish music with three other students. students also performed slave dances reflecting the institution of slavery. At the end Marlyne Fields performed a magic show which was hysterical. After the whole show everyone got together in a sing along and sang oldies like "My girl".
July 26, 2004
Today Marlyne Fields and Mr. Papson took the whole program on a Underground Railroad Exploration. The event was organized to visit sights in the Plattsburgh community that slaves used to hide in. I learned that Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery in the United States and that New York was the last. The tour stopped at grave and slave escape routes. I also learned there was only one slave buried with his master in Clinton County. In one of the sights, I entered a cave in which slaves used for shelter for long periods of time with no food, water or heat. I felt the souls of the human beings who suffered in the damp cold cave. I touched and the walls and the floors and said to myself that I had touch history. The last sight I went to was John Browns farm in Lake Placid. I saw his tombstones and house. It is unique how the parks recreational department keeps the house exactly how it was a century ago. All in all, the tour was exciting and interesting. The end of the program is near and miss my home. The summer program has helped a lot. These last three weeks were just the beginning of my college life. I'm anxious to begin classes in the fall. I also feel sad because I'm only going have two weeks to spend with my friends and family over the summer. Its been fun writing a journal pouring my thoughts to piece of paper.