Memories

Hallmark 1

• We proclaim by our lives even more than by our words that God is Good

The significance of the artifact that I am presenting is to represent the mass which was held to honor the birthday of La Virgen de Guadalupe. I included this into my portfolio because I have not attended a catholic mass since I was six and this was a was bittersweet experience to re-encounter after so long. The first time being back in a catholic church felt weird yet nice because it brought back memories that I thought I had forgotten. The mass did have a positive impression on me by opening me mind to a old yet new belief that I have not officially practiced or participated in. I know about catholicism and what it consists of in its belief system but I was raised in the christian community which has a few differences but has the same bases as catholicism.

This mass clearly connect to Hallmark 1 because it helped people become closer to God and because it was a part of their developing relationship with themselves, others, and God. The Rosa Virgen de Guadalupe is believed to be the mother of Jesus. The Virgen de Guadalupe is celebrated each year on December 12th but the school church celebrated on Sunday because of finals. This mass was specialized to focus on the honoring of the Virgen de Guadalupe and to making a connection with her and God on the very special holiday. Everyone as well was very welcoming even if someone was not catholic. It made me feel welcomed and not judged because I was not a regular.

Hallmark 2

• We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person

This artifact serves as a reminder of my first college theater experience where I had the chance to see my friend Ari perform. The play was based on a mystery crime which had occurred in a mansion that had held other murders before the one that was being presented.  I chose this artifact to be part of my portfolio because it was one of the first events I attended this school year and I was able to see a very close friend of mine perform and succeed. The play was very well directed and the actors portrayed their characters as if they were them. I enjoyed this play a lot because it something different and something exciting to start off the year with.

This belongs under Hallmark 2 because I personally dedicated time, space, and personnel in support of Ari’s personal journey towards her theater career. Not only did I dedicated time, space, and personnel but as well as parents, friends, and families of the other actors came to the performance. The environment as a whole encouraged the development of the actors in their techniques, their worries, and their confidence. I attended the first three performances and witnessed that each performance improved and each actor showed more confidence each day. That improvement was influenced by the support and encouragement shown by everyone that attended.

Hallmark 3

• We educate for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world

This artifact represents the musical based on the signing of the Declaration of Independence. My roommate was one of the actors which participated in this performance. The Declaration of Independence was created to explain to foreign nations why the colonies had chosen to separate from Great Britain but since the King denied to acknowledge all of their complaints, so they decided to leave as a rebellion. The Founding Fathers wanted to make it a peaceful separation at first but since the King did nothing to fix the situation, the colonies acted upon leaving and finishing the Declaration of Independence.

This artifact belongs in this section because the Declaration of Independence was an attempt to make a peaceful separation because there was no justice being served towards the colonies. This performance educated the audience on the issues that were present during the time of the Revolutionary war and the making of the Declaration of Independence. It also connects with the point in Hallmark 3 that the play integrated learning about the civic and cultural interactions during this time in history.

    

Hallmark 4

• We commit ourselves to community service

This artifact represents the Internship, Career, and Volunteer fair which was held to get students involved with different activities. During this fair I came across an organization called Gateway. This organization has a program called “Turning Disabilities Into Possibilities” which focuses on serving people with special needs and disabilities and prepare, involve, and help each person. I was able to contact them and volunteer in three different events with main children.

This belongs under Hallmark 4 because it is an organization based off of helping the community and being involved. When I went to volunteer it was an amazing experience because I had the opportunity to work with children who had special needs. My mom would always tell me that “Dios los hizo diferente porque ellos tienen el amor más puro del mundo” and to this day I still strongly believe this is true. During this experience reminded me that . They are the real role models of society and I look up to them so much because even with their complications or conditions they manage to be the most happiest people.

Hallmark 5

• We embrace the gift of diversity

The purpose of this artifact was to serve as a final performance for a graduate student who is finishing her American educational studies for a musical major this semester. The singer is from Chinese descent and she has been studying here for her college career since freshman year of her undergraduate stage. I included this artifact to this section because a different perspective of the musical arts which I had not experienced yet. I have always been involved with the arts myself but opera is something that I had not experienced in a personal aspect.

This event connects to Hallmark 5 because the performance itself was based off a diversity of languages, cultures, and aspects within the music. Not only that but the audience itself was filled with a diversity. There were songs in German, Italian, English, French, and Chinese. Each song had a different background story that represented different perspectives, ideas, and customs of each country.

Hallmark 6

• We create community among those with whom we work and with whom we serve

The artifact that I have chosen for this section holds the significance of a very special friendship that I have develop with my friend Annette. I included this in my portfolio because throughout my college experience so far, I have had the amazing pleasure to have met Annette and created a friendship that has brought good memories and good times. Annette and I have made a connection that makes it feel like we have known each other forever. Her character and personality reminds me a lot of my best friend Carmen.

This belongs under Hallmark 6 because it shows the spirit of friendship and the atmosphere of open and direct communication in relationship to friendship. Whenever Annette and I hangout, we have always have very productive and entertaining moments. By productive I refer to talking because we do not get anything done when it comes to homework or studying. But we do have a lot of entertaining moments and its those moments that show the spirit of friendship at its works.

Hallmark 7

• We develop holistic learning communities which educate for life
  This event connected with Hallmark 7 because the RA’s created a “co-curricular interaction that facilitated a student-centered learning environment. It also could be considered to connect with  Hallmark 4 because it drew students to integrate themselves into the co-curricular activity. As well as a connection with Hallmark 5 because it was open for everyone in general which created diversity within the community that was present in the SJ lounge. But I found it best fit Hallmark 7
• The purpose of this event is to bring students together so we can meet new people, make new friends, and just have a relaxed time while enjoying a delicious beverage. It is basically a normal trivia game, but it consists of new team members each time and the group answers questions from a variety of different categories until the winner reaches the point where there is no more questions to answer. These kinds of events are planned out and set up by the RA’s of the campus. Some are honest and say they just plan them because they have to but others say that they enjoy making them because it gets us involved. I personally think it was clever to base the event off of a beverage that the majority of students like.