Category Archives: Neighborhood

Greenpoint Farmers Market

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Today I visited Greenpoint, Brooklyn for my group neighborhood project with Anna and Cheryl. We took the ferry into Manhattan and the subway into Brooklyn. We dIMG_8290ecided to take a walk through McCarren Park. During our walk, we discovered a farmers market.This is the first time I have ever been to a farmers market.

The Greenpoint Farmers Market was filled with lots of fruits and vegetables. Milk and yogurt were packaged in bottles. Meat from grass fed animals such as beef, pork, chicken and rabbit were also available. Honey, jams and baked goods were plentiful. The different colors of foods and the aroma in the air was overwhelming. Farmers came from different places in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The market was packed with couples, families and dogs gathering groceries.

IMG_8292Not many people know but, food stamps were accepted! Every $5 spent in EBT spent, customers would receive a $2 coupon to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables.

After visiting the farmers market, we walked into the park. There were many people having fun, playing sports and getting some exercise. Games of softball and soccer encouraged the community to get active. Overall, the Greenpoint Farmers Market encourages the community to outside  and enjoy the crisp fall days of October. 
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Port Richmond Visit

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This Friday some of my classmates and I took a visit to Port Richmond High School as part of our experiential learning mentor project. I sat in on my students cooking class and was totally amazed. We watched the final preparations of Chinese chicken fried rice. Mixing the chicken with the rice and the veggies, the students handled the assignment with ease. I was completely awed by how easily cooking was for them. As someone who is not very often found in the kitchen, I was taken back that even though they are younger than me, they were much more experienced in cooking. I went to the high school thinking I was going to be a mentor, be in fact I learned a lot from the students as well.
I was also glad to have gone on Friday, since it was the day that the meals that were prepared all week were tasted. The high school students gave the Wagner students samples of their chicken fried rice and it was very good! I had a great time at Port Richmond and look forward to going back again.

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My Port Richmond High School Experience.

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The Raiders is the mascot of Port Richmond High School

Being a native of Staten Island, I am shocked that I have never visited Port Richmond High School. About two weeks ago, I had my first chance to see Port Richmond High School when my classmates and I went to the school to introduce ourselves to the students that we would be mentoring who are in the school’s culinary program. I’m not going to lie and say that I was not nervous to meet the high school student that I would eventually have to form a relationship with. I always come across as a shy and quiet person and I thought that it would be difficult for me to talk to a person that I had never even met before. Luckily, I did not have to make the first move because a student named Erik came up to me and just started to talk to me. From that point I was able to talk to him non-stop and shockingly I learned that we both have a lot in common. One of the things that I learned about Erik is that he loves to play basketball; basketball is the sport that has been a huge part of my life ever since I was three years old and I found out that Erik is trying out for the school’s basketball team. The other aspect of our lives that we have in common is that we both want to work in the medical field when we are older. I told Erik that I was going to school to become a nurse and he told me that his dream was to get into John Hopkins University’s medical program; he also told me that if he could not achieve this, he would be satisfied going to a different school that would help him further his education and push him to strive for success. Even though he is just a sophomore, hopefully I will be able to give him advice about what it takes to get into college and how to manage his time once he is in college. I can not wait to see what my future visits to this school has in store for me.

This is the front of Port Richmond High School

 

 

Port Richmond Mentee Visit

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On Friday, I met up with my mentee for the first time since we had first been introduced to one another. We decided to go as a group and meet with out mentees, in order to avoid any awkward pauses and make everyone feel comfortable with one another. While we started off having discussions as a group, we all soon ended up having one on one conversations with our mentees. My mentee and I had a lot to talk about. We discussed everything possible under the time restraint that we had. From where we both lived, to family to different classes we’re both taking and which ones we like or dislike. We even spent a good amount of time even discussing pastries (my mentee wants to become a pastry chef) and which ones were our favorite. She told me how she had taken on the role of making pastries which she would do with her grandmother. We ended up talking about cupcakes and trading ideas on new ways to decorate them now that the holiday season is coming up. This week, the kids were cooking chicken stir fry. I still cannot get over how easy they’re able to make cooking seem, since I’m not much of a cook.  Since it was Friday, we were able to taste what the kids ended up making and it was delicious. Now that my mentee and I are comfortable around one another and enjoying each other’s company I can’t wait to go back!

Mentor to Mentor

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Exterior of Port Richmond High school.

Today was the first day I was able to meet with my mentee from Port Richmond High School. It was actually quite fun so I thought I would write about my experience and give some advice to those that have yet to go from this program at Wagner or anyone that is about to mentor someone.

My first piece of advice would be to not go alone on your first meeting with your mentee. I went with three other mentors: Allison, Shannon, and Kim. Although later on you may want to meet with your mentee one on one, a bigger group at first can make them feel more comfortable and relaxed. One of the mentees was very shy so having more people around helped to get him to talk more. The four of us and our mentees were able to sit down and talk for a period and get to know each other. We learned so much about them. Where they live, their family life, sports they play, television shows they watch, and many other little facts. We also discussed their love for cooking, which brings me to my second piece of advice. Don’t assume they want to pursue a culinary career. Many of these students are in this program because they enjoy cooking as a hobby. So when mentoring them about college, make sure to talk about all possibilities and not just a narrow frame for culinary careers.

Whether or not you go alone, my last piece of advice is to think of some questions you’d like to ask them before going. Having the conversation flow easily will relax your mentee and make them open up more. Ask them a mix of questions about themselves and about cooking. For instance I asked them a question about their favorite sports team and then Kim asked about their favorite dish to prepare. We went back and forth with different questions. We also asked them if they had any questions for us about ourselves or about college. We told them about our college experience thus far and asked them what their plans are for the future so that we can help them prepare and give some advice. I believe it was a very successful first meeting and hope all of you have a similar experience.

Port Richmond Partnership Panel

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Last Monday, the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement held a panel to discuss the Port Richmond Partnership. Many of us packed into the room and attentively listened to what the panelists and guest speakers had to say in reference to their hopes and dreams for the neighborhood. It was truly inspiring listening to how passionate each panelist was discussing their hopes and dreams for the betterment of the neighborhood. Although I have lived on Staten Island all my life, I did not know about the neighborhood of Port Richmond that well. I found the presentation on the history of the neighborhood to be very interesting. I never realized what a cultural melting pot Port Richmond was due to the influx of immigrants. I would have never thought that Port Richmond was the center for immigration or even commerce. I was a little taken back to see how Port Richmond went from such a thriving, commerce filled area to a poor neighborhood.

I am happy that I attended this panel. It has extended my knowledge of this neighborhood as well as given me a sense of the area that I will soon be spending my time in as I work as a mentor for a student at Port Richmond High School. Having a background on the culture of the area will help me understand the perspective of my student. Background knowledge of the environment the student encounters on the daily basis will hopefully assist me in forming a bond and create a level of mutual understanding.

Port Richmond Highschool

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On October 8th, my classmates and I visited Port Richmond Highschool. Our learning community teachers have required us to be mentors to Port Richmond students. Arriving at Port Richmond Highschool we were taken on a tour of the school, mainly focussing on their culinary program. Students once a day have a cooking class where they cook various meals. Monday and Tuesday the students discuss the foods they will be making, Wednesday and Thursday they begin cooking and on Friday they all eat.  As a student coming from a private catholic highschool this was an extremely different environment. I never had the oppurtunity to be in a culinary program in my highschool. These students were able to make various foods that i can not even make, i find that amazing. My job as a mentor is to help these students and guide them into college and their future. Walking into the classroom i was nervous because i had no idea what to say to these students from the minute that i was in their shoes a couple of years ago. I found a group of students and i started a conversation with a girl named Allison. She was extremely welcoming and opened towards me. Im excited to mentor Allison to be able to guide her in her path to college because i know the process can be extremely stressful. I enjoyed my trip to port richmond im excited to go back.

Port Richmond High School Experience

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My visit at Port Richmond High school was very pleasurable. Being a private school student my whole life, walking into public school and getting to know what it has to offer was very knowledgable. I was in shock when I saw the culinary class they offered because my school never had such a class. I assumed the students just learned easy food dishes inside a regular class room but I was wrong. The culinary room had stoves and many utensils for the students to use. I was also intrigued when I saw the garden the culinary program and Wagner nursing program had started because it allows the students to grow their own food and use it in their cooking class.

Before walking into the class room I was some what nervous because I didn’t know what I would talk about with my mentee. I knew I was in their positions just 2/3 years ago which allowed me to feel connected to them in a way. But once I assigned myself to a group I was able to jump right into talking. I enjoyed all of the students because they were very welcoming and opened to meeting up during the week..

I think this partnership with Port Richmond High school is a great thing because we are able to help these high school students get an idea of what college life is about and assist them in finding a career path they are interested in. I also like the idea of being there for them during a time when the college process very difficult and they are able to ask us questions in order to help them. I am really looking forward in meeting up with my men-tee and being involved in this partnership.

Port Richmond HS Visit

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Last Thursday, our learning community arrived at Port Richmond High School. This was part of our experiential learning and our task was to mentor the students in the culinary arts program at the high school. At first, I was nervous. I didn’t know what that entailed. How can I mentor someone in the culinary arts when I wasn’t too familiar with the topic? Would my mentee even listen to my advice?

When we first arrived we were given a tour of the program and got a look inside the kitchens and the garden outside. I loved the whole aspect of the program and would have loved to partake in it if it had been available at my high school. When we were introduced to the class we were going to mentor, it was a bit awkward, but I realized they were just as nervous meeting us. I introduced myself to one of the girls at a table in the back. Her name was Maya. She was extremely sweet and I realized that we even had a few things in common. Both of us are picky eaters and we both enjoy baking. It was then I understood the purpose of the mentor-mentee relationship. We were both supposed to learn and grow from our experience together this semester. This Friday, my friends and I coordinated to meet with our mentees together. I can’t wait for the opportunity to get to know my mentee even better.

Port Richmond Partnership

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The Center for Civic Engagement recently held a Q & A Panel discussing their mission. By attending this session I received a different perspective of Port Richmond. The night began when we were first introduced to the panel and each individual shared their mission for the future of Port Richmond. Everyone was so passionate in creating change through leadership and community building.

One of the main aspects that i enjoyed during the night was when the history of Port Richmond was told. It was interesting to learn how the influx of immigrants made Port Richmond a prosperous location. This area was the center for commerce and immigration.  Over the years, Port Richmond has become a poor neighborhood, losing most of its capital. This area now houses the impoverished people living on Staten Island. I can’t believe how fast this drastic change took place.

I left this presentation with one piece of information that really struck me. The Staten Island community is almost as diversified as Manhattan. I couldn’t really believe it until the professor provided statistics. Living on Staten Island for many years, I have never realized how many cultures make up our neighborhoods. Some of these nationalities include Italian, Asian, Hispanic, African, Philippine, Polish, and many more which can be seen here. After this presentation, I am excited to be working with the Port Richmond Partnership. I hope that through peer mentoring, I will help others but also have learn from my mentee.