Rachelle's Introduction Blog

Name: Rachelle Thomas – phonetic spelling (Ra-shell)

Preferred email account: rthomasUCF@gmail.com This is my e-mail account for school related information and I will respond within 48hours

What are your areas of concentration for IDS major? What is your minor? Health/Behavioural & Social Sciences & Criminal Justice

When do you anticipate graduating? December 2009

What's your favourite subject of study and your least favourite? Psychology/Humanities

Want to share your age? 24

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go? I’m a beach lover so I would love to see the beaches of Fiji

Do you have any pets? I have 2 dogs, both of them are boxers one is a female(Zoey) and the other is a male (Fletcher)

What's your favourite book & movie? I’m not much into books or movies because I have A.D.D. and it’s difficult for me to focus for long periods of time, I like watching surgeries mostly and documentaries.

What's your favourite food/dining experience? My favorite cuisine is Italian I love anything with pasta and cheese, but it isn’t on my diet so I don’t get to indulge very often.

What do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies? I work out on a daily basis, it’s my release and my passion, I am very health conscious. Other than that I enjoy arts and crafts such as scrapbooking and painting.

Beach, mountains, or city? City. Beach for sure, I was born and raised in Florida, I just got back from a trip to New York and I couldn’t stand it, I need the sunshine on a daily basis!

How many other classes are you taking & what other obligations do you have? Would you like to share anything else? I am taking a total of four classes this semester in order to complete my B.S. by December 2009. My other obligations are taking care of my house, working part time for Cornerstone Hospice and working out on a daily basis.

Activity #1: MapQuest
I’d like you to go to www.mapquest.com and find a not well known town in any US state. Identify how far it is from Orlando, Florida. Find two to three interesting facts about the town to share with us.

I located Endicott, NY because I just got back from visiting my friends that live there. It isn’t at all what I thought New York would be like since it’s out in the country. It is 1,155 miles from Orlando, Florida. An interesting thing about Endicott is they have this meat marinade phenomenon called “speidie” that originated from the town and everywhere you go in the market places and restaurants they sell a variation of meats marinated in speidie sauce. Another interesting fact is that they are a leader in clean industry and are home to large corporations such as IBM.

Activity #2: Wal-Mart
OK, we’ve all been to a Wal-Mart. I want you to provide three items that can be found in a Wal-Mart that describe you in some way. Please give a reason as to why the item describes you. www.walmart.com

MP3 Player: It is a must have item for me because I’m at the gym everyday and music motivates me to workout harder and longer. I used to play percussion and have always loved music so I couldn’t imagine it not being a part of my life.

Digital Camera: I love capturing my experiences in photo’s and being able to look back on the memories I have created and the places I have visited. Luckily technology has made photography so much more convenient.

Sundress: Sundresses and flip flops are my way of living the Florida lifestyle, I have visited so many places and just couldn’t see myself living anywhere but here, I love the weather and the light airy clothing that you can wear all the time.


Updated * Questions *
What made you choose interdisciplinary studies as a major?
I had so many college credits, it was the fastest way I could use what I had and graduate as soon as possible. It was also offered online which made it a much easier choice for me.

For what reasons did you decide on your focuses/minor?
I already had credits for the Health portion and I was interested in Psychology so that is why I chose Behavioral/Social Sciences. I had previously enjoyed criminal justice courses which is why I chose it as my minor.

Have you had experience with online learning before?
My entire degree is online so this is my 3rd semester of online courses.

What concerns do you have about online learning?
Honestly it's remembering the timelines for all of the different courses.

Do you think the interaction between Cornerstone & Capstone students will be useful?
I hope that it will be useful and it's nice to have a guiding hand with this course since it is demanding.

How productive do you think the mode of delivery (i.e.: blogging) will be?
I think it makes it a little more difficult to keep up with because it's just one more aspect of the course to try and remember to keep up with.

What is your grade level (Freshman - Senior)?
Senior

Any further questions or comments?
I have issues understanding e-portfolio, will help be offered on that subject?