Why Plagiarize?

As college students, there are many assumptions we make about what is and isn’t acceptable when turning in your work with the potential of it being plagiarized. Many people have gone through different experiences with plagiarism whether or not they’ve committed it themselves; so either way, it’s a pretty relatable subject for all college students. These two articles we were asked to read were very thorough and made cohesive arguments about how to avoid plagiarism even if it is not your intention. One section that drew my attention in “What is Plagiarism?” was the idea of having your roommate write, or at least help out, with a piece of work. In fact, last week, I had a paper due for Shakespeare and wanted one of my hall mates to read over it as another pair of eyes. As the master of the paper, I made sure that she was indicating her edits with a different color font and wasn’t searching for any other sources. It was my job to control the essay while letting her use her perspective on the paper. It’s definitely an essential as a college student to actually understand WHAT plagiarism is and HOW to avoid it correctly. Especially going to a high-performance research institution, citing your work (from quotes in a book to short footnotes in an article) should be done efficiently. Just a tip for everyone citing their work as they start writing research papers: don’t wait until 4am the morning your paper is due to write your works cited/bibliography page! Chances are you may forget a couple of websites or articles that you came across, and you’ll definitely get docked points. As you research each day, make sure you create a works cited page as you write your essay.

From the Library to Career & Counseling

To be quite honest, the librarian’s life story was more intriguing than the actual structure of the library. Who lives in different parts of England every other year in their childhood?! I sure wish I could do that.   I want to be able to wake up one morning, go on a run by the Santa Barbara coast, and finally arrive to a revelation of what I want to do for the rest of my life. It wasn’t anything random either – she had surrounded her life around books since she was a little girl. For her, it seems like reading was an underlying passion that was became a conditioned routine in her life – she didn’t even realize how much reading and the art of literature was integrated in her life.

Going to the career counseling office truly instilled in me a great happiness about going to UCSB. Even though there are so many stereotypes about going to a big public school and how a student doesn’t get enough attention – SO NOT TRUE! There are so many resources just in this office that made me feel so much more comfortable with my decision to go to UCSB and my future to come. They provided flyers on almost every major and the popular career choices students make when graduating with that major. What I also loved was that the advisor gave each of us a career manual that listed information ranging from how to write resumes to interviewing for jobs. Not only did I learn about the great opportunities I have to get jobs or internships through Gaucholink but I also learned about what awesome of a school I go to – DUH! 

Diving In

As a college student, there are many responsibilities we are asked to stand by in the next four years: to study efficiently, get involved on campus, thoroughly use your common sense, and HAVE FUN! With all these responsibilities and commitments comes along stress. However, a great institution like UCSB offers many programs, seminars, and workshops in order to beat the college stress. Being resourceful college students means taking advantage of all the opportunities that graciously help use become better students. Even if we may be taking an extremely easy class, office hours only enhance our relationship with our professor and further develop our understanding of concepts from the class. Using the CLAS workshops help to improve study skills and may give us insight on different ways to proceed with time management, tests or writing papers.  Taking the extra mile in all aspects of our college lives will pay off in the long run.

I'm the type of person that is very comfortable with meeting new people. As I write this from the laundry room, I've already introduced myself to three different people. These past two weeks, I've become more and more eager to meet new people wherever and whenever! From parties on the weekends to small discussion sections, it feels good to be able to build my life at UCSB knowing that I can be as open as I let myself be. At the Academics Fair, I wanted to familiarize myself with some of the key players in each of the majors that I was interested in: Economics, Political Science and Sociology. In a short 20 minutes that I had to spare, I found out that I could achieve graduation in four years as a double major in either of the subjects AND study abroad both in the Poli Sci UCDC program and EAP. It opened my eyes to the different routes I can take in the next four years and how there are so many people that I can reach out to for guidance.

Last time we met for INT 95 section, Zack took us to the SRB (Student Resource Building), and our job was to search for about five things that we found interesting. I walked right in and found that the directory was right in front of me. How convenient! As a first year and barely knowing my way around the campus, having the directory to such a resourceful building is extremely helpful. What I also love about the building is the overall setup: all the doors are open for the various departments. Right by the EOP office was a Soles 4 Souls Donation box which was awesome. It's great to know that there's always a community service opportunity available. There was also an OSL flyer that was titled, "What Do I Do If A Student..."which listed different situations in which a UCSB student would encounter and gave them resources to reach out to. Now I know where to call if I have test anxiety or someone close to me expresses financial difficulties. As I walked out of the building, I spotted a small gay pride flag hanging right by the info desk. It made my realize how fortunate I am to go to such an open-minded and accepting institution. In total, I really couldn't see myself anywhere but UCSB.

GO GAUCHOS!

Let Me Introduce Myself

Well, hello! *virtual, firm handshake along with a luminous smile* I'm Ava Rezai. No, it’s not the popular “Ayyyy-va” pronunciation but rather, “Awwww-va” like avocado. I’m a first year student at UC Santa Barbara originally from Tarzana, which is part of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. As a proud Iranian-American with a relatively large immediate family, I spend tons of time eating Persian cuisine and hanging out with first and second cousins. I venture out in the world as an avid concert-goer and tea addict while eating fro-yo and acai bowls with my roommate, Natalie. Along with that, I dedicated my entire middle & high school career in building programs and volunteering for the Alzheimer's Association, a cause that's close to my heart due to my grandfather's diagnosis six years ago. 

Welcome to my blog, specifically dedicated to my upcoming experience in FSSP, or the Freshman Summer Start Program at UCSB. Throughout my blogs in the next weeks, you'll catch more of a glimpse of who I am, where I come from and how I see the world.

Walk to End Alzheimer's in Los Angeles, November 2013 

My current aspirations as a first year college student revolve around truly discovering what I want out of life. I’ve grown to know the person I am, day by day, and realized that my future career will include working for and with others towards a goal – big or small. Working for the United Nations has been part of “the plan” since I was a junior in high school, when I first studied about the function and purpose of the UN. I began doing more research and communicated with plenty of executives with various backgrounds in the UN – from biology to economics.  As of now, my major is Sociology but I hope to incorporate Economics with a minor in Global Studies – that’s if it’s even possible to graduate in four years with a vision like that!