I'm currently
enrolled in the University of Notre Dame du Lac, more commonly
known as Notre Dame (pronounced Noe-derr Dame), home of the
Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame,
Indiana. It's a beautiful campus made up of more than 20 dorms,
2 lakes, a basilica, and one beautiful golden dome just to name
a few.
Right now, I'm taking a Biology lecture on the theme of human
evolution, a university seminar in English with the theme of
biographies and autobiographies, Economics, Calc I, Psychology,
and PE(w/c is a Frosh req). As a Business major, my courses and
schedule for this first year are quite relaxed. This is so, as
the requirements of my major involve courses available only in
2nd year. I'm really glad for that, especially when I see the
Pre-Professional students - w/c is most of the student
population - looking frazzled and stressed every single day. My
schedule allows me to attend home football games slightly
worry-free.
As for extra-curricular, I'm involved in hall council as one of
the section representatives in my dorm , Breen-Phillips Hall. I
basically plan and execute activities for my corner of the dorm.
Such activities can vary from simple dinner dates with a guy
dorm section to dorm-wide dance parties. Also, I'm part of 3
cultural clubs, that each have a presentation to the student
body in the Asian Allure fest around mid-November. I also am
part of High school Ambassadors, which is an arm of the
Admissions Department which helps in answering questions that
prospective students from our old high schools may have.
I'm definitely loving Notre Dame, despite the bad football
season. There's such a great sense of community among the
student body that you just can't miss. And I love that the most.
Go Irish! Guen Panopio Class of 2007
I'm currently
enrolled in Boston College located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts,
a suburb of Boston. Chestnut Hill is beautiful; very typical
New England with big colonial homes and trees everywhere. The
BC campus is even more beautiful. It's a very hilly campus,
with plenty
of open space and gorgeous architecture. In fact, BC has been cited
as having the best collegiate gothic architecture. Boston itself
is amazing. Because we're not in the city, we're secluded enough
that we can have a real campus (compared to BU which
is literally a collection of buildings down a big avenue) and be
away from
the hustle and bustle of city life, but we're close enough that we're
only a 30 minute train ride to downtown. Academically, BC is great. I'm currently declared as a
Political Science
major, but I hope to get into the International Studies major (which
is by application only). I'm currently taking 6 classes: History,
Writing Seminar, Calculus II, French, Fundamentals of Politics,
and Cornerstone (an advisement block). As you can see, only
one of my courses is directed towards my major--that's because BC
has a core curriculum which aims at broadening our interests and
introducing us to a truly liberal arts education. The
professors are all
amazing and very accessible; in fact, they lure students to
their office
hours with food (yes, professors get a budget to take students out
to lunch!). My classes are a good mix of big and small; my biggest
class is my History class which is in a big lecture hall with about
150 students. My smallest class is a 12 student
advisement group. The workload is moderately heavy. Sure, we
have essays and tests here and there, but the real killer is the
reading. Assigning a
book to read over a weekend is a totally normal occurrence.
I would definitely say that IB has accustomed me to the
workload, though. While we do have more work here in college, I
would surmise that the IB curriculum made me accustomed to heavy
workloads and analytical thinking which is what college is all
about. Outside of the classroom, there are a dizzying number of
activities available.
For Model UN, I was just involved in a conference this weekend,
where I won the "outstanding delegate award." Just last week, I
attended a talk by former Massachusetts Governor
and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Some words of advice to the seniors: do not take the SATs
for granted!
Don't stress out too much over IB exams and the grades you get
in them if you want to go to a US college. Get involved in
clubs and
community service (especially show commitment throughout high school). If any of you out there have read this and have any
questions about BC
or college in general, please feel free to send me an email at krunden@gmail.com:)Kris
Munden Class of 2007
I go to
California State University- Northridge. It's located in the
San Fernando Valley, which is 20 miles away from LA. It's a
pretty cool city, very chill and fun. We have a lot of clubs
and organizations going around school. We actually just had
a concert last weekend, featuring Ne-Yo and Living Legends.
It was fun. College life is very different from high school,
because in college you have so much freedom, that you have
to be responsible for your own actions. Like for example,
you can skip class whenever you want and the teacher won't
care, as long as you can manage to catch up and possibly get
a good grade in class. Also, when choosing your major,
there's a lot of options that you can do, if you can't
decide on what to pursue on like me, you can have double
major or have a major and a minor. Just be open and things
would be fine!
I miss high school. I miss the Philippines. But, I'm loving
it here. So, my advice to all those seniors and other people
getting ready to go to college, consider Cal States or other
public universities, because they're not actually that
different from privates ones. Also, choose your colleges
wisely, just pick five to seven schools, that you really
would want to, because like me, I ended up paying so much
for application fees on colleges, that I wasn't even
interested in. Lastly, just have fun! Enjoy SENIOR YEAR.
It's bittersweet, but it's a blast. ;) Jamille
Lirio Class of 2007
I'm at the University of
British Columbia, in my first year, hoping to major in Honours
Physics and Astronomy or Honours Physics and Math. I see now
what it means that IB is a good preparation to University.
Everything is going fine, except midterms have come along and
while they are not particularly as hard as the IB exams (on a
'per grade level basis'), they are graded harder, and the
subject matter is harder. The teachers here are amazing, the
physics teacher and math teacher go really fast when they go
through subject matter, and the things covered are very new.
Although University is good, since there is a lot more
independence involved, I really miss Brent. The other day I got
told off by one of the science desk advisors saying that she
wouldn't check if a certain class was full (i.e. "Nope! Go check
it yourself") because I could check it on my own. She was right,
but I'm sure advisors and teachers at Brent would be more
accommodating (hehe). My classmates are really friendly, and
although they're extremely intelligent, they won't hesitate to
help each other if we want to check HW. I find the atmosphere,
at least in the peer-to-peer level is a lot like Brent. Another
thing- the opportunities to learn outside the classroom are
endless. Every other Wednesday the Physics Society invites a
speaker to talk on current issues in Physics. The last two were
about "Charge Parity Violation" and searching for life on other
planets using the "MOST" satellites.
Hope everything is going well in Brent! Good luck to all the
Seniors! I hope they enjoy and cherish and treasure and hold on
and remember their wonderful high school days. Philip Mar Class of 2007
Greetings
from San Jose State University!
I do find myself missing Brent sometimes. But overall college
life is a Blast!
I encourage all current seniors to contact their potential
universities and learn more about it. All campuses have a
different environment. In San Jose State University, its a
multicultural environment. Loads of fraternities and sororities
to join. Loads of different clubs to join also. We play
division 1 basketball and football. I encourage all seniors to
look into the California State Universities. :) Work load is a
bit more tougher than high school, but it can be done through
time management. You must attend all classes if you are
aiming for an A in a class. College is hard work, but it can be
oh so fun if you get involved in school. :)
Enjoy High school. Trish Avondo Class of 2007
Hello Mrs.
Levno, I am in my second year here at University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. I started as a Biology major (Bachelor
of Science) during my first year; however, I decided to change
my major to pre-nursing first year second semester. I got into
the nursing school in UNC-CH this year. It is an accelerated 2
year program that admits a little over 100 students a year for a
Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing which prepares students
for the NCLEX board exams to become a registered nurse (RN).
There are many professional schools or programs in Carolina that
prepares committed undergraduate students earlier towards their
careers. Many great professional schools are in the
health-related fields but the Kenan Flagler Business School is
also well known. Aside from that, Carolina has manyX100 students
and the opportunity of meeting a genius is small but likely!
That's what makes school life so interesting at times! I
actually have a friend who started off as Junior as soon as she
entered college and she's graduating this year. Because Carolina
is a public school and manages a big student body, personal
attention is sometimes not given to students; however, except
for a few professors that I have met, most professors are more
than willing to help students out and are very approachable and
friendly.
I am looking forward to my first year in Nursing school next
year and I am visiting Brent this May! YAY! So see you then~
Jiwon Lee '05
I just
finished my first year of college at De La Salle-College of St.
Benilde. I only applied to this school because it was the only
one in the Philippines with contemporary arts courses, and
before I entered the school I had my doubts just on how good
this school even really was, based on its reputation for being a
school for high school drop-outs. However, after a year there I
can say that the school doesn't live up to its reputation and
its arts courses are actually pretty good. The new campus is
going to be used next year and I am looking forward to that. I
am currently majoring in music production and I have really
learned a lot this past year. The choice you make for your
college can only go so far, but the choice of course is the most
important decision you have to make upon entering college. Who
cares about the location, the people, how dirty the campus is...
My school doesn't even have tissue dispensers in the
bathrooms... I have to buy my own tissue every time at the
vending machine. Sad, I know, but what matters the most is that
you are doing what you wanna do. I don't regret applying to a
school like mine, because I am learning what I want to learn and
having fun at the same time. The first few weeks of college are
always pretty tough... but it will pass by quickly. That's
pretty much it. Oh and Mr. Atkins -- I learned the most from
your HL English class... it has really helped me a lot,
seriously. I'm at the top of my English class. And to Mr. Rebs,
even though I don't remember what we studied in Filipino class,
what we'd talk about outside class helped me in living the
college life in the Pinas. Marunong na ako mag-commute, yes !!
All you Brent kids take care now... and make the right
choices... you don't wanna switch courses in the middle of your
college life and start all over again. Peace. Pat Sarabia '06
.Hi Mrs.
Levno, I'm attending the University of New South Wales, studying
a double degree in B. Law/B. International Studies. I was very
pleased to get accepted into my preferred course.
My regards to Mr. McKenzie and Ms Pozon. Ruth Arimado
'06
Hi Mrs.
Levno, I am studying in La Salle University in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am double majoring in
Marketing and Management and probably minoring in
International Studies. I got into this exclusive
business program called the Business Scholars Co-Op
Program due to the high GPA I worked hard for in my
first semester of college. Being in this program means
that I will be able to complete my college including an
internship in four years, it will also give me the
opportunity to network with business professionals which
will also help me build skills that can not be learned
in a classroom environment. The class sizes here are
small as it is a private institution, as a result
teachers are very personal and they are available for
help outside the classroom.
Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, it is a nice
city with plenty to do both on-campus and off-campus. It
is home to the famous Philly Cheese steak and many other
culinary delights. It is also near the second largest
mall in North America, The King Of Prussia Mall.
As a Brent Alumni, I have some advice for current Brent
students.
My first piece of advice is that students should
continue to study hard even in college, as some colleges
do kick people out or put students on probation,
potential employers look at your college grades, and
studying hard will lead to admittance to great graduate
school.
My second piece of advice is that students should find a
college where they feel they will succeed. Aspects that
should be considered are class sizes, school size,
location, support services offered etc.
My third and last piece of advice is to get Facebook the
moment a student accepts a college acceptance and
receives a college e-mail address, this will give the
opportunity to meet classmates beforehand online!
Oh yeah and students should apply to La Salle University
in Philadelphia, haha!
Regards, Raymond '06
Hi Mrs. Levno,
I'm here studying in Arizona State University. I've been here
for a little more than two months now and I'm loving it here. It
was a big shift from Brent, however, I was surprised how fast I
got used to everything. To think that I had no idea how Arizona
looked like. I met Gloria Hardy, another alumni from the batch
before mine. Some advice I would like to give to students who
are going to college in the future is to get FACEBOOK! It helps
so much when keeping in touch with friends! I talk to my batch
mates who are now in Canada, other states in the US, other
countries and back home in Manila everyday! We see the pictures
they post up of their new dorm rooms, their new friends and how
they are doing in their new school. I was undecided till I
realized I wanted to do justice studies as a major. I just
thought of a major last week. I still need to take general
freshman classes though. Anyway, I hope Brent is as great right
now as it used to be. Regards, Stacey Menez '06
hey Mrs. Levno,
I am doing good here! I currently am going to John Brown
university in Siloam Springs Arkansas. my major is construction
management which I will receive a BS in Construction management
and a minor in business administration. so all is going well.
before going to John Brown University I spent a year in Florida
going to a Bible school there. so I was able to transfer some
credits to JBU. life here is going pretty good and classes
are going fine. Brent sure did prepare me with the academic
standard I needed for school here.
some advice I have would be to learn as much as possible while
in high school because it makes college life sooo much easier!
especially English class!! Mr. Atkins did a GREAT job in
preparing me with all the papers I need to write! I hope all is
well over there in the Philippines! send my regards to everyone
there please! In Christ, Jeremy Fogle '05
Hello Ms. Levno!
I have been doing quite well these days! I am now a second year
student in UBC. Right now, I am working on my portfolio, in
hopes of getting into the Environmental Design program
(pre-architecture). Aside from that, I also work for the
Development Office as a fundraiser; so I pester alumni for
"support", hehe.
Well, school started last week, and it has been quite hectic-
buying textbooks and running to class. This year, I am taking a
lot of courses from different faculties, just to get a bigger
sense of what is out there. UBC is a particularly good
school for a broad range of studies.
One thing that I wish I focused more on in high school, is
taking risks in the classes that I picked and also paying more
attention to my inclinations.
In the end, it wasn't so much the mark that I got, I realized
that its more on what I learned about myself and what makes my
heart race- whether its photography or computer science..."take
a chill pill (or two)" - Audrey Young '05
Hey there,
I'm still in the same place; Arizona State University. I
love it here so much. I understand that a recent graduate
from Brent is attending school here too, I would like to
meet her, and help her out, make her feel comfortable if you
know what I mean. First year here is rough especially for
international students. How is Brent doing? Mr. Mac? I will
most certainly check the Brent website out to see what all
this is all about. Take it easy!
peace, - Rix Fernandez '05
Hi. I'm studying at University of Waterloo, majoring in
Mechatronics Engineering with a Business management
option. University of Waterloo (UW) isn't really known
to most Brent students. at least when I was there. This
school is known for engineering and computer science
programs and has unique school curriculum. as result,
I'm still a first year student. But once you are here,
you know whatever you do will pay off you well. anyways,
Currently, I'm working at Cygnal Technologies as IT
developer. while I'm taking 2 online courses. If anyone
wishes to contact me, contact me at hiinsu@hotmail.com
or call Cygnal. number's on Cygnal.ca and my extension
is 6526. Here's some info:
1. UW Engineering is 56 month long program meaning 1
school year is 16month or 4 semesters (2 academic and 2
coop semesters) until 3rd year. and 4th year is 2
academic semesters. This varies between programs. But
they all totals up to 56 month.
2. If registered in Engineering program, there's min of
36hr average of 40hr lecture per week. and in a semester
students take about 5 ~ 7 courses which totals up to 3
credits a semester. also, depending on courses, you will
have minimum of 2 hr tutorial session every week. This
session is not for tutorials, but 2hr long QUIZZES! and
aside from registered courses, students have one or two
seminar sessions every week. These seminar sessions
don't count toward final grade, but VERY important.
3. students have alternating academic term and work
term. so, it is a must to apply for jobs during the
academic term. so, it is pretty common to miss a number
of lectures due to job interviews. hence, it's quite a
bit of work to catch up.
4. for boys, you will have max of 10 girls in your class
unless you are in chem. engineering. and in one class
there are apprx. 120 boys!.
5. unless you are taking Chem. Eng. Do not take
chemistry. It is good background to take chemistry but
exception of stoicheometry, you won't make any use of
it. all other engineering course has about one or two
chem. courses and you will be studying everything but IB
chem.
6. It's very easy to fail a course if you slack off..
about 80% of your class have at least one academic
scholarship. and every year, there are about 10 to 20
returning students (who failed a course or two).
7. know how to cook! at UW, if you don't bring your
lunch, you will spend min. of $10 (about PHP 500 ) just
for lunch. (hot chocolate is $3)
- Best of Luck to all seniors and juniors! In Su Lee '05
Hi, Ms Levno
My name is Seong Ho Kang or John Kang, and I attend
Purdue University. It's my second year attending this
university and I'm in the school of Mechanical
Engineering. Purdue is in West Lafayette, a small city
in Indiana just below Chicago. I recommend people to
take IB. because it is really helpful for you in a lot
of ways. and I must agree with Yong Wang on the website
(if any of you are going to an engineering school, TAKE
CHEMISTRY!!!!!) because it was really hard for me and I
did not take chemistry back in high school. And finally
if there is one thing that is different between high
school and Universities its that you really have to use
your time wisely. This was the first thing I learned
living in a new location with no one I know and it was
my first time to live alone. well then this is it, thank
you -John- '05
Hi Mrs. Levno long time no
see I did received u r mails but I didn't had time to reply to u
sorry but I have a time so I m writing to u am I m doing fine
here in Singapore my school is also fine and I started the
internship in a Chinese restaurant which is inside the six star
hotel . My course is culinary Arts so basically the school
teaches me safety from accidents and all kinds about
meats. its starts at 3:15 and ends at 9:30 that's long time for
me to listen to teacher lecture. in my class there are two
Filipinos and 7 Indonesian and I m the only Korean. and the
school is not that big or small its nice place. before my school
use to be a cafe but now they changed as an culinary school. My
schedule goes like this from Tuesday to Wednesday I go to school
and Thursday to Sunday I go work and on Monday is my off day (
rest day ) . my working place is Chinese restaurant most of them
are Chinese and I have a difficulty understanding because they
cant speak English well even the executive chef couldn't speak
well so I cant talk with them well.
the place is very big and huge . they have not thought me much
yet except peeling green beans.
Sometimes I like don't like my work place compare to my
classmates workplace , well she works in SATS ( Singapore
Airline ).
Any way I m living fine in here but the prices are more
expensive than Philippines.
I miss the Philippines the cheapest country.. BYE
Tae Hoon Rhew ( Kevin ) '05
¡Hola! Greetings from Saint
Louis University, Madrid :)
SLU is a small, cozy school of only 600 students and a very
international student body! I like it here because its somehow
similar to Brent! It's got a small campus, and classes
consist of about 20 students only. So far, I've already
met people from Bulgaria, Romania, Venezuela, Nicaragua,
Singapore, Canaries, and so much more that I can't remember.
It's a great international environment for me and I would
recommend it to Brent students who are ready for exciting
experiences. Madrid itself is a great place! It's a
city full of life and culture--from its parks, gardens and
world-renowned museums to its happening nightlife at clubs, pubs
and plazas. I hope I'm not sounding too much like a travel
brochure, but its true! Its great here and I've had an
interesting 2 months so far :)
Right now I am planning on signing up for the 4year
International Business course that they offer here. I've
also been interested in helping in their charity service
projects, which raise money for disaster victims (e.g. Pakistan,
Guatemala, etc etc). Lately, I've just been busy with my
studies since midterms are here once again.
Anyway, some words of advice for these year's seniors :)
Don't watch so much TV! There are so much more productive things
to be done with your time! Develop a hobby, or help your younger
sibling with their projects, or start a charity service group
that'll help communities there in Manila! It will have great
impacts on your life in the long run :) I've learned that
here. I only watch TV for the news and the occasional highlight
movie for a bit of easy entertainment, but that's it. Read a
book, or get creative, do anything! (as long as it has positive
effects). Then you'll realize how much time you've
actually wasted in front of that screen.
And of course, have fun :) Enjoy high school while you still can
because it'll be over before you know it! Be responsible
and mature individuals, and take the opportunities that come
your way :) Good luck batch '06! Much love to you all! :D Lorelie Abad '05
Hello Mrs. Levno
College life has been - well - strange. I must say that the
biggest change is definitely the fact that now I go to an
"American" school, and not an "International" school. People are
different, and in my opinion much less internationally minded,
not to say that they're not friendly though; also there's
definitely less of a variety in terms of where people come from
and such. I'm in NY state right now, going to a school called
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It's a small college, but it
offers good education.
At the moment, I'm going in the direction of majoring in
mechanical engineering, so all my classes are physics oriented
and math oriented. It's actually really interesting if you're
into machines and stuff. On the other hand though, it's really
challenging. My advice to students about to go to college would
definitely be to check out their possible schools first, because
education may come first, but the environment is just as
important.
I made that mistake, and got the worst dorm in the whole school:
It's really shabby and has no air conditioner or heater, but
that's besides the point.
Also for the students at Brent, they should know that IB.
definitely prepares them for college more, especially for the
more challenging colleges (if any of you are going to an
engineering school, TAKE CHEMISTRY!!!!!). All in all, life is
good over here in college, but Brent students should definitely
cherish every single moment in high school - I know I did, and I
do not regret going to Brent one bit; it was the best
experience, and it gave me some of the best memories of my life.
GO LIONS!!!!
Also wanna give a shout out to all my homeboys in Brent (I hope
this gets posted): Sup to Kailan, Yao, Ali, Ali (girl version),
Santi, David, Jared, Gerick, JR, Maria, Big one, Little one,
Cheenee and Charlotte, Keno, Erren, Ruthie, Dominic, "poodle",
all the former freshman boys (now sophomore) - you know who you
are, and of course the teachers: Mr. Atkins, Mr. Calson, Mrs.
Floresca, Dr. Casinova, Mr. B and Mrs. Blancaver. Thanks to all
of you for the good times. - Yong Wang '05
Hey!
I'm in UBC right now and I am well adjusted. University is not much
different to high school everything's just bigger. Class curriculum
is not that difficult, partly because I learned most of the stuff in
IB! GO IB!!
Actually the grading is similar to IB most of the marks are based on
the exams so just study well for them. Not much homework I have
loads of free time!! :D Oh yah and my profs are pretty good as well.
Oh and the first noble gas compound was discovered in UBC. I think
it was Xe something I forgot haha well the guy had to go to the
hospital after cuz I think it blew up or something. Teams are harder
to join in university, but they have a "drop-in" schedule where you
can play volleyball, basketball, and badminton so that's pretty fun.
UBC is pretty prestigious actually so more brentonians join the
fun!!!! haha.
Oh yah and
in the start of school first years participate in this huge pep
rally were different faculties have cheers and chants! Pretty cool
actually. -Kyle Mar '05
Looking back on BrentSchool, it seems
ages away from the calm and cool sway of Swaythling in
Southampton, where I now reside. Life after Brent hits
you like a two ton steamer; the change is radical and nothing can
prepare you for it completely. Brent and the IB will give you a
great head start on your journey, in terms of appreciating the
effort that goes into a project, the degree of independence and an
appetite for anything new! Currently, I work for an
International Company 'Connell-Mott MacDonald', based in Croydon in
the UK
but with branches throughout
Bahrain,
Hong Kong, Karahnjukar,
Kabul,
Beijing
and the Andes.
I, however, am working in the more modest highways division in
Stoneham,
Southampton,
where we carry out road survey and design schemes. The work is
exciting at times, laborious at others, but always challenging.
Outside of the office (a true legacy of Brent), I've learned to get
involved in a wide variety of activities which include: Skulling on
the river Itchen, playing Rugby for the local Trojan Club and
exploring the UK.
So far I've been to the Fringe Festival in
Edinburgh, The Highland
games in Crieff and have been through
New Forest by bike.
Brent is slowly developing a network of Alumni in Europe whom are
more than happy to get together in their respective countries for
long weekends (Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the UK so far) and
many trips are on the to-do list! While this feels far off to
you, as the heavy weight of the IB is bearing down on you all, you
need simply focus on the work at hand. Any advice I can offer you
would be simply to learn to enjoy the work you do: it's going to be
there for you no matter what. The IB gives you the flexibility to
make projects interesting to you personally; take advantage of that!
Learn to be independent as you study, you'll stumble more than you
succeed at first but after a while you'll catch on to ideas much
faster. Don't wait for your teacher to feed you the
information, the books are there ... read them! Get your extended
essays more or less done BEFORE senior year. If you chose the
topic right it won't be work at all! To keep your sanity during IB,
learn to prioritize your work. Sometimes one subject has to
fall behind another, accept the consequences as it just seems to be
the best way, don't use it as an excuse, and try to catch up when
you can. And finally, the most important thing I think I
learned from IB was not to waste time. Take the time for
everything it's worth working hard and playing hard! All the
best of luck to all the Juniors and Seniors, take it easy ...
- Alex McLaren '05
Hi Ms. Levno,
UNC is a beautiful place. There are trees EVERYWHERE and the weather
is really nice. So far I've been here, I've only encountered bright
and sunny days like in the Philippines. The sky is oh-so-ever blue
and it is just soooooo beautiful here. This place is full of
Caucasians because of course, it is the Southern part of the United
States but here and there, there are still Asians and Africans
Americans all around. The population is quite diverse. I'm in the
Freshmen Orientation called the CTOPS at the moment and there are A
LOT of out-of-state student from all over the United States.
This only makes me feel better about the school because these
students chose UNC over the other great schools in their home
states. The students are among the best they say (I bet they all say
that in all schools but it seemed like UNC had quite some pride)
because UNC doesn't really pick that many international or
out-of-state students.
The people here are really nice and I still do remain cheerful and
carry around the oh-so-joyful smile that I've always had in Brent.
The campus is incredibly big and it takes me approximately 20
minutes to walk to classes everyday but it is very worth it because
walking to class, I feel like I'm one with nature. The food is good
although it is a little fattening because the meals are prepared in
a buffet every single day.
I'll email you some time after classes start. So far it's been
great! I hope that helped you a bit about how UNC is!!! ^-^ Take
care! - Jiwonee '05
dear mrs.levno! so nice to hear from you. I really miss Brent, and
everyone .... but life has been wonderful! I am currently living in
LA where I am a drama and film student... life has been great, to
experience new things and meet new people... I moved in with 2 of my
new classmates, a girl named Christiana Simon from New York, and a
boy named Hamish Menzies from Scotland... the three of us live in a
three bedroom place in LA, we are pretty much best friends at this
point... I never stop talking about Brent and all the wonderful
memories I took with me from school.... my advice to anyone who is
still in Brent is simply ; SOAK IT UP...EVERY DAMN SECOND....CHERISH
IT ... before you know it, its gone... sometimes the work can be
annoying (yes I know, TRUST ME! ..sitting next to marga in all my
classes got me through those long days where being in class was
simply the last place I wanted to be...) but we all have those
days... over all, Brent can be the most life shaping experience one
can have, just appreciate it in the right way ... use it your
advantage, the teachers and faculty truly just want to help you, and
make you reach your greatest potential... not every school has that
environment.. take advantage, grow..learn.... take it ALL IN...be
grateful for being blessed with the opportunity to have such a
wonderful learning environment...stop bitching, if you hate it that
much, then don't go to school... remember, the teachers are there
for YOU.... Brent played a major part of turning me into who I am,
which is far from perfect, but at the end of the day, I like what I
see and who I am.... so just soak it all up, don't take any second
for granted....
thank you for writing is mrs.levno! hope all is well with you and
everyone there...love to all the faculty... give Mr. Mackenzie a hug
from me please...
God bless ! always, Rocio Cristina Olbes '05
Hi, Well I'm in California right now. Attending Skyline College in
San Bruno just outside of San Francisco. Taking up 17 units, 5
courses. College is fun, more relaxed and chill. Met some new people
and saw some old friends. It wasn't easy the first week, kind of
confusing to be honest, but I got used to it and am enjoying now and
having fun. This first two weeks went by really fast. I missed San
Francisco, a lot has changed since I was last here. But everything
is going great. I'm planning to go to LA by next year or the year
after. Depends on what I am doing by then. I was with Kaveen this
week. He flew in on Sunday and left on Wednesday. We were able to
catch up before he left for North Carolina. He's flying back to SF
by December 16 and we will head to the Philippines for X-Mas break.
Well that's about it.
-Carlo Santos '05
Hi Mrs. Levno!
Greetings from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Ithaca is
just a tiny city, with only 1 main indoor mall and 1 main outdoor
shopping place, and the Cornell campus is half as big as the whole
city. This was a bit shocking for me, having lived in the city
almost all my life, but the scenic views of Cayuga lake and the
gorges, and of course the fresh air more than compensate for this.
The Cornell campus is amazing and extremely big! I am staying at
Balch Hall, an all girls dorm – considered to have the nicest and
biggest rooms. I am staying in a triple with 2 other girls, which is
actually quite fun and a good way to make instant friends :)
I just completed the first full week of classes (which actually
started last Thursday, aug. 25), and the workload is already very
heavy. You have to do all readings prior to lectures and
discussions, and rely on a lot of self learning. And there are a lot
of readings and for each course! Also, there are so many clubs and
activities but I have to be really selective with which I want to
join because of the workload. Time management is key in college and
IB is great practice for that! I love being busy because it keeps me
from getting homesick… hehe.
Courses are divided into a lecture class and a section class.
Lecture classes typically have 300+ students and are taught by the
professor; section classes are where the 300+ students are divided
up into classes of 20-ish, and are facilitated by a TA (who is
typically a grad student). These section classes are helpful
where we can discuss and ask for help. I love the classes here and I
find the professors and TAs very knowledgeable and enthusiastic
about their field. You can ask for help anytime, and there are tons
of references to go to if you do need help! But it’s up to you to
take initiative to find help if you need it, unlike in high school.
I am taking 5 courses and 19 credits – general chemistry,
microeconomics, introduction to international relations (a
government course) and beginners Spanish – which could be enough to
graduate in 3 years. Freshmen are required to take a freshman
writing course and a PE class -- which for me is performing arts in
southeast Asia and volleyball, respectively. I had trouble choosing
which classes to take because over 2000 are offered, everything from
ancient Egyptian (a language course) to encryption (a math course)
and even Swedish massage (a PE course). Thank goodness we have
academic advisors who help us! We have an academic advising dean,
advisor and peer – which shows how dedicated Cornell is to their
undergraduates.
Also, I had a one week orientation for int’l students and another
one for freshmen. This may have been long and sometimes boring but
really helpful!
Another piece of advice, take advantage of all the resources offered
at college. After all, you are paying quite a bit of money for it.
Other than the academics, food at Cornell is really good. There are
6 all you can eat dining halls, and I am worried about the ‘freshman
15’. There are, however, 6 different gyms to go to and tons of
fitness classes – but again its hard to find time for that. I cannot
stress enough how important time management is around here! Anyway,
hope this is useful for the underclassmen back at Brent. - Elise Gonzales '05
P.S. The Cornell alma mater song sounds a lot like Brent's... same
rhythm and melody but different lyrics! :)
hi Ms. Levno
I am doing fine so far here in china..... well nothing special so
far.... but start learning some real Chinese and stuff but I am
just wondering how you are doing and most of the Brent students.....
please say hi. But what I really wanna say is that.... I am
still regretting that I ended up here in china.... because there
were a couple of opportunities to enter Canadian college..... but
it's ok right now....if ever I change my mind I might transfer....
anyway..... thank you for your e mail.... I really appreciate
it.....I have to go right now.... and I shall talk to you some other
time.... bye bye Lim Yoo '05
Hi Ms. Levno,
I'm doing great. I'm currently enrolled in a program called ASSIST
in UBC, which is a program to help the transition from high school
to university. People I've met so far in this university are
open minded. They accept new cultures and are very interested to
know more about them. I found this very interesting. They also
have respect for others. There was a student who stuttered a lot,
but people were listening carefully to him with respect. I found
this very different from high school. UBC places high emphasis
on the ability to write well. So brentonians should be well prepared
to write well before coming here. You also need to take
initiative. THANK goodness I learned this from Mr. Yap during my
student council year. Since the school is huge and everything closes
at about 4.30 PM, you need to take initiative. If not, then it's too
bad for you. Also, taking IB helps a lot because you don't
have to take all the required courses. Ask a lot of questions!
Go to office hours! Make yourself known to the professors! Mr.
Sutherland's TOK class helped me a lot in this case because you NEED
to participate in his class and make yourself known to him.
If you think Brent is a diverse place, think again!!! When I was
there at Brent I thought it was a very diverse place with people
from all different countries. But now that I am here in UBC, it's a
huge and more diverse place. I found that I was a frog in a small
pond.
It feels like Brent was a small heart warming community. So take
advantage of it while you're there! also, take advantage of seeing
familiar faces! I miss seeing familiar faces!
- Nara Lee '05
