This year, the Lunar New Year began on Monday, January 23, 2012 and we are celebrating the Year of the Dargon! Specifically, the Black or Water Dragon, which only comes once every sixty years. Descriptions and interpretations of this Black Dragon vary, but all seem to agree that 2012 is to be a very lucky year. We wanted to share with you how some members of our TC community celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Ivana, an alum of our Developmental Psychology program and a current staff member in our office, has shared with us how she will be celebrating and preparing for the New Year. For Ivana, it is traditional to have a family dinner and to clean and shower on Sunday, in preparation for the new year. Monday is a day to wear something new, perhaps a new shirt, and to relax and eat vegetarian food. On Tuesday, it is traditional to eat fish. During this time, young children and those who are unmarried collect red envelopes, filled with money to start the new year with. Pictured below, you can see some of the envelopes Ivana has collected over the years. Ivana also suggests wearing red during the new year, as red symbolizes wealth and good fortune!

TC’s Future China Initiative will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, January 31st from 7-9pm at the 2012 Columbia Night – Spring Festival Gala. Festivities will include traditional and modern songs, dances, drama and Orchestra performances to celebrate the year of the Dragon. Special Guests will include Mr. Savio Tung and his wife – Columbia University Trustee emeritus, the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra, Peidong Xu – CPPCC National Committee, CFLAC vice president, Executive Vice Chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association, Kun Jiang - CPPCC National Committee, Secretary-General of Chinese Literature and Arts Foundation, Shuangbai Feng - CPPCC National Committee , Chinese Dancers, Association Executive Vice President, Junjiang Yu -  CPPCC National Committee, CFLAC performing arts center director, Ailian Chen – Chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association, Guoqiang Tang and Tieling Zhang – CPPCC National Committees, and Kung Jiang, child star Alpha, Okawa country music.

New York City is also celebrating the Year of the Dragon. In Chinatown, there will be a Lunar New Year Parade & Festival and a firecracker festival on January 29th beginning at 1pm. Each year, the streets are packed with family and friends who come to see the parade!

Columbia University

Over the course of three days, I was able to watch fascinating presentations by art educators and art education historians about the evolution of visual art and the implications in today’s schools and classrooms. Additionally, I was blown away by the exhibits and pieces developed by the students in TC’s Historical Foundations of Art Education course (all of which are currently on exhibit at our Macy Gallery!). Not only was I able to delve into content that was new to me, but I was also able to draw upon my own experiences and create connections between the historical role of art in society and the roles of creativity and imagination within my own general elementary classroom.

After two days of presentations, things got a lot more hands on. Following a lecture about the role of art education in the fabric and materials industry at the turn of the 20^th century, we hopped on the 1 train and headed down to the Lower East Side to visit the Tenement Museum! There we explored the preserved remains of a small tenement apartment that was owned by a family of Eastern European immigrants and used as a garment sweatshop in the early 1900’s. I often get so caught up in the fast paced lifestyle of New York City, that I forget how much history there is right under my nose, whether in a building that was condemned and abandoned from 1920 until the mid-80’s or in the hallways of TC, established in 1886.

After an amazing tour, we walked a few blocks over to the Abrons Art Center, which is part of the Henry Street Settlement. The center has a long-standing relationship with the TC, as our students are viewed as great candidates for internships and job positions. The Abrons Art Center is unique in that it is part of a settlement organization, which is not something you might expect for a contemporary art center. It was refreshing to see a variety of cutting-edge performances, exhibitions, classes and workshops being provided to enrich the lives of children in the Lower East Side community. In addition, the center offered social services and health care to the Henry Street Settlement. On this visit, we used glue and paint to create a collage, reflecting on our experience in our community! Overall, it was a great weekend. I got to explore a program outside of my department, experience history first hand, and connect with an amazing community resource serving a diverse neighborhood of NYC!

Low Memorial Library.

Adjusting to a new school certainly takes time. In college, I would say I spent the entire first semester adapting to my new environment. Of course, once I was settled, I still had three and a half more years to enjoy my school. When I came to TC, I was thrilled that my program was only one year in length and since then, I have been eager to begin my career and excited for what is to come after graduate school. However, I am realizing that my time here is so short and very precious. While my first semester was a great one, I know there are ways to broaden my experience in graduate school, and have therefore, set goals for my second and final semester at Teachers College.

Attend more on-campus events – Balancing an internship and full-time coursework sometimes makes it difficult to participate in extracurricular activities. However, Teachers College provides so many amazing opportunities for students to attend lectures, social events, and free classes (such as this week’s “Mindfulness and Meditation Series”). This Spring semester, I plan to attend more of these events!

Write about issues that most interest me – This semester, I had three opportunities to choose my own paper topics. I first wrote a literature review about undocumented students in relation to in-state tuition and financial aid policies, incorporating the DREAM Act, and the many issues on both sides of this controversial topic. I then wrote about the experiences of transfer students on college campuses and the practices student affairs professionals can use to support these students to make their transitions as smooth and successful as possible. Lastly, I wrote about the experiences of Transgender students on college campuses and how higher education institutions can create environments that are safe and supportive for this population. All three papers provided me with the opportunity to read current research and consider how I, as someone who will likely encounter all of these populations in my career, would best support these students and understand the issues they face. This semester, I hope that I will have the opportunity to further research these topics, as well as dig deeper and explore issues outside of those we regularly discuss in class. For example, I’m very interested in learning more about the experiences of Transgender students at women’s colleges, a topic one of my peers recently investigated.

Find a job – It’s both frightening and exciting to think about the fact that my job search begins NOW. I will certainly be taking advantage of the contacts and resources Teachers College offers in Career Services. I’ll keep you all posted – wish me luck!

Get lunch from a food truck – Despite the fact that many of my co-workers dine at food trucks on a regular basis, I have yet to experience the food truck phenomenon first-hand. This is definitely something I plan to do before the semester ends!

Visit more museums – Since I live close to NYC, I have visited many of the museums this city has to offer. However, I’ve never been able to do so for FREE! TC students have free admission to many of the city’s museums, something I have already taken advantage of. Earlier this semester, I visited the Museum of Art and Design and was pleasantly surprised to find that my admission was free. I hope to take advantage of this wonderful benefit a few more times before graduation.

Use my student discount – Teachers College is always advertising discounted tickets to Broadway shows or other events/places in the city. I have yet to take advantage of any these amazing opportunities, and I definitely plan to do so this semester!

We’ll check back on graduation day to see how successful I was in reaching my goals this semester!

Have a wonderful week,

Gabriella

TC’s Home – West 120th Street

My name is Dana and I’m a second year student pursuing my M.S. in Speech & Language Pathology (SLP) at Teachers College.  I attended Wheaton College in Norton, MA, where I received my B.A. in Psychology.  I’m originally from downtown Manhattan and am happy to be exploring NYC again while I attend TC.

This January, I am traveling to Ghana with the SLP program.  Including myself, there are eighteen students and three supervisors going on the trip.  Over the years, TC’s SLP program has established strong relationships abroad, which has allowed the program to work cooperatively with colleagues overseas to offer SLP students the opportunity to gain practical field experiences in Ghana, Bolivia and Cambodia.  The Ghana program takes place each January for approximately two weeks.  During this time, students and supervisors work at sites in Accra and Kumasi.  Sites in Kumasi include the cleft palate team, the outpatient unit at Kombko Aokye Teaching Hospital, and the Effiduase School, which serves children with developmental disabilities.  Participants in the program also spend time in Accra working at Korle Bu Hospital with their outpatient facility and their cleft palate team.

In preparation for the trip, I’ve bought lots of medicine in case the food doesn’t agree with my stomach, received all required vaccinations and acquired my visa.  I will be meeting my travel companions at JFK airport on December 30th to begin our trip. I am excited to ring in the New Year in Accra before beginning two exciting and exhausting weeks of work.  I look forward to sharing my experiences when I’ve returned to TC for the Spring 2012 semester.  For anyone interested in following our travels in Ghana, please check out our “Gone to Ghana 2012” blog: http://gonetoghana2012.blogspot.com/.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

-Dana

To be considered for Federal need-based aid for the 2012-2013 academic year, students must complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA, (available as of 1/1). In order to be considered for institutional scholarships, students must complete the TC Scholarship Application, located within the Online Application.  This scholarship application will be available on January 15th. Types of scholarships and grants available at TC include General Scholarship, Minority Student Scholarship, International Student Scholarships, Endowed Scholarships, as well as Internships, Fellowships and Research Assistantships. We advise students to complete these applications as soon as possible!

Please visit our Financial Aid Website for more information.

Happy New Year!

This is a friendly reminder about our upcoming EdD deadline! For most of our EdD programs, the deadline is this Monday, January 2nd. Please keep in mind that all of our deadlines are in-house deadlines, which means that all materials must be received by the due date.  Since the Office of Admission is closed on Monday, January 2nd, we will honor application materials received until January 3, 6:00 p.m.

Make sure to check the Interactive Online Program Guide for any supplemental application requirements, such as GRE scores or Academic Writing Samples.

Good luck everyone!