Part 2: Another Chapter of my Adventurous life: Spring 2013

The Road to Becoming an Italian: Florence 2013

The process to studying Abroad in Italy I’m sure is nothing compared to the process of living there for an entire semester. I was aware it was going to be a journey, and I heard it was a stressful process but never did I expect it to be as rigorous. Someone else may have had a different experience and say, “it wasn't as bad as everyone said”. Not my experience!

“…I specifically chose Italy for two reasons.  As a part of my cornerstone religious studies requirement at Stonehill, I had the opportunity to take a class about Greek and Roman religion. Between the class discussions, and the professor’s stories about his personal travels, I knew I had to go see the famous sights like the Coliseum that I had heard about. The other major reason I want to study abroad in Italy however, is because I am a Studio Art minor. Art is and always has been a large part of my life, and I would give anything to travel to the place where it all started. Not too many artists, especially in the Western world can say they have been to, or better yet, studied in Italy and I would love to be one of the few artists who can testify a firsthand experience of the beauty in art found in Italy.  I have no doubt that studying art in Florence, Italy will transform my perspectives towards life and art.  I strongly believe that this experience can transform me into a unique artist and I look forward to the opportunity to do so…” 

Instead of rewriting why I chose Italy, I figured I would save me time by copy and pasting this section of my abroad essay.

The road to Italy became real when I met with my abroad adviser, Aliki for the first time. I left the room thinking, “damn, it’s really happening!” I went into the application process not sure how I was going to afford it. Have you ever heard the phrase “God will make a way or provide”? Well that was my thinking. I was thinking; I don’t know how I will afford it, but God will make a way, he always does.

It’s alright if you don’t believe in God.  All I can say is, I’m a living testimony of the great things God can do if you trust him. I knew my scholarships and grants were going to transfer to Florence at Lorenzo de Medici. Tuition and housing was never an issue. The real problem was coming up with the money for pre-departure expenses (deposits, plane ticket, application fee) and extra spending while I am there (Food, traveling, books and miscellaneous other expenses).

Because I’m the type to think ahead, I started my process earlier than the majority of other students; I think back in November while others waited until after the winter break. I went to the study abroad fair and got a bunch of pamphlets and handouts on every where that offered a mix of Studio Art and Healthcare courses. Let’s just say, healthcare is not too popular in Europe. Italy did not have many Healthcare related courses and the few countries that provided Healthcare courses I had no interest in. Moral of the story is, Healthcare Administration does not exist much in Europe (at least for study abroad students). Over the winter break, I did a quick process of elimination with pamphlets received from the fair even though my mind was already set on Italy. The question was where in Italy? I was originally thinking Rome but some how my adviser and I decided on Lorenzo de Medici, Florence. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Florence and Lorenzo in the past; I had no reason not to trust her.

The next step after choosing a program was applying into the system. Applying into the system alerted Stonehill that you were interested on studying abroad. You were immediately placed under the radar. The following step was applying into the program GSE (Global Student Experience). I became a little nervous after submitting my application because of my GPA status; very close call. My nerves got to me for no reason because I ended up getting accepted.

"Congratulations, and welcome to the Global Student Experience Florence Fall 2013 program.

Your acceptance is considered conditional until you have visited and been approved by the Stonehill College Office of International Programs. If you have not already been in contact with the Office of International Programs you must do so immediately.  GSE requires that you comply with all of Stonehill College’s study abroad policies and meet all requirements...."

With  the accepted email came the stressful part of the abroad process, the DOCUMENTS! The list went on for dayssssss...! 

Official transcript from home university

GSE Student Code of Conduct Contract

GSE Housing and Medical Questionnaire

One color photocopy of your passport

Four official passport photos

 GSE Transcript Request Form

The happiest day of the semester for me was the day I turned in my complicated visa request to Aliki (Study Abroad Adviser).

One of my biggest regrets at Stonehill by far was not applying for the Gilman scholarship on time. I had planned on it since I found out about it on freshman year. I knew that was my key to my abroad opportunity. Time came and of course I did not meet the deadline. I had everything completed; my essay was tight thanks to my good friend Colleen McBride and her great editing skills. The only document left was my transcript, which I completely underestimated. I wasn’t aware you had to fill out forms and had to present. Talking about rookie mistake huh? It was now spring break weekend and also the weekend before Externship, NYC. The Externship program is a professional networking program sponsored by the career service department and the Alumni network in New York City. Lookout for my next blog for more details.

All I had left of the application was uploading my transcript and it wasn’t due until Tuesday. I emailed the Registrar’s office on the weekend thinking that was all it was going to take. Long story short, I did not have as much time as I thought I had between the demanding Externship schedule and the process it takes to receive a transcript. It was a shame and once again one of my biggest regrets because the scholarship was worth $5,000! Yeah I didn’t get to complete the Gilman Scholarship application but it was a learning experience. I had to learn the hard way, but what is more important is the awareness. Besides just when I thought it was over, I got the surprise of a lifetime at Gillete’s Humanitarian Dinner -- a RBTV event.

The Ron Burton Training Village (RBTV) hosts the annual Humanitarian Dinner at Gillette stadium. I’ve been apart of this event for the pass 8 years. Every year the RBTV also rewards 2 or 3 of it’s graduating seniors with the Ron Burton Scholarship (full ride) of choice. Of choice as in any one of the scholarships on the list (Bentley, Stonehill, Nival Academy, West Point, BC, North Western etc.) I'm not sure where others have went in the past but if you have any interest in getting more details on the RBTV you can either read the blog call Ron Burton Training Village 2012 or check out the official website at http://www.ronburtontrainingvillage.org/

In acceptance of the scholarship, the individual has to give speech about their experiences at the RBTV, a crowd of 500-700 people! Talking about nerve-racking huh? I was once one of those fortunate students. I’m sure you can also find my speech on the website. But I strongly recommend you not to! You have been warned! This year’s event was dedicated to Karen Kaplan of Hill Holiday (Biggest Advertisement Company in Mass). I was once again fortunate to have been one of the main events. I was surprised with the second annual Myra Kraft Community Service Award in memory Bob Kraft’s, owner of the New England Patriots. Along with the scholarship came 5,000 dollars scholarship! I couldn't be more thankful. How amazing is God? One opportunity slip by my finger tips and another came running through the door. You know what they say though right? You win some you lose some. I have Paul Burton to thank for taking a look at my accomplishments over the past few years, my resume and recommending me for the scholarship. I don’t think things would have worked out financially for Italy if it hadn't been for the scholarship. My departure date? August 26! Keep an eye out for many blogs from Italy.

Part 1: Another Chapter of my Adventurous life: Spring 2013

Introduction to the Advanture:

Where do I start? But seriously, what an amazing semester! Yes, I've had my ups and downs so far at Stonehill but what an adventurous semester! So many exciting things happened this past semester, I could literally sit here and write all day, every day about it. But I'm not really a writer so that's not going to happen. Besides, I do not want to bore anyone with a 50-page blog but I will do the best to capture the excitement and make it short and sweet. Rather than publishing everything at once, I will publish each topic as a separate blog. If the topic sounds like something that might interest you, then take the time read it. If you have that much time to read all possible topics then be my guest!

I don't want to think of myself as a person with a great life, because my life is the furthest thing from being great. My family situation is the furthest thing from being great. My financial situation is just as far away from great as the earth is from the sun. Don't get me wrong, I'm also the furthest thing from being poor thanks to my hardworking mother. The perfect word to describe my life is: BLESSED! I am blessed. Not lucky, but blessed. One day I'm at the peak of Mount Everest, the next day I'm emotionally at the bottom of the pole, and the following one I'm back to a happy medium. It could be scary not knowing where I'm going to be at tomorrow emotionally, but it’s also exciting because when I'm at my highest, it's like heaven! It's like, even though I was in the dumps yesterday, it does not matter because I want to keep moving, and I keep getting better, stronger. In other words, my life is a freaking adventure!

I normally like to think about my highs, lows and emotional status as a roller coaster. This past spring semester is what I call an adventure. Now what is an adventure? The dictionary says, “an exciting or very unusual experience.” My definition: taking advantage of every little possible opportunity, making the impossible possible, and of course, how can I forget my favorite quality in life? Not taking “no” for an answer, not feeling sorry for yourself (myself). Sorry about the rambles but I traditionally start with discussing my academic achievements, then everything else (work, activities, cool trips, good or bad random experiences etc). Isn’t it time to switch it up though? You know, talking about everything else then conclude it with academic achievements? Well what choice do you have as a reader? It’s my blog! With that, I would like to welcome you to my first 2013 blog! Sorry it took me so long after the semester to publish a new blog. It’s been over a month in process but the time hasn’t been there. But relax your mind, brace yourself and enjoy the ride. I hope I don’t bore you too much. And oh yeah, warning; I AM NOT A WRITER!

1^st Wrestling Club: It’s only the beginning

If you are a frequent reader you know my last blog was partially about the establishment of Stonehill’s first Wrestling Club. That was, of course, the accomplishment of the century. It only took me about a year and a half, no biggie. This past semester we had our first meetings/practices as a club. The practices took place at Brockton High School and Oliver Ames High School not too far from campus. Transportation was provided by the sports department for practice twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursday, 8:30-10pm). I needed to get van certified in order to drive the van, especially on days when coach (Dean of Admissions, Dan Monahan) either couldn’t make it to practice or needed to drive his own car to practice. On the days coach couldn’t make it to practice, I was left with the responsibility to run practice. I enjoyed every bit of having to run practice and coaching. I approached it as my time to shine as a coach. The guys loved it as well, especially the spontaneous Wendy’s trips on the way back from practice. Not really the healthiest option post practice but it was quality team bonding experience.

For practice, I would write a list of basic moves and drills I felt would help improve the newer wrestler’s skills and give the veterans a solid workout. Let’s just say, it was designed so that everyone can benefit from it. The practice strategy and games like cat band derived from my high school coach (John Kanavich). He is no doubt the most consistent high school coach in Mass. He's very professional, and highly respected by coaches in the New England area. It was certainly an honor getting coached by him. He transformed me from an immature, too cool for wrestling young man I was freshman and sophomore year and into the dedicated captain I was my senior year. On average, we had eight wrestlers and in the end were able to keep everyone. People came and went, did we chase them back on the team? Absolutely not, wrestling is survival of the fittest, only the hungry and dedicated will survive.

We started late in the season so we unfortunately were not able to compete. It was also great because it gave us time to build team chemistry and give newer wrestlers the opportunity to learn basic techniques before competing. On the more positive note, we should have a full team this upcoming season. Because we don’t have our own home space and we are still a new team, we are yet to have a full schedule this season,  but we are going to wrestle in a lot of open tournaments and do a lot of traveling, and hopefully compete in the national dowels . It will be a perfect transition from Italy. Italy? I guess you will just have to keep reading! As of wrestling gears, Coach Monahan is currently working on ordering singlets and head gears for the season! I can’t not wait to see how it is going to come out. Let’s just say I’m going to do a lot of running in Italy to keep up with the guys who are here. It is going to be quite a journey, one I am extremely excited for.



First Wrestling Gear




The Logo!



2012-2013 1st Semester Summery

Introduction

If you are a consistent reader, you noticed I did not blog as much as I did last semester. Last semester I was in a phase I consider the “blogging mood phase”.  Sounds familiar doesn't it? That’s because the “blogging moon phase” was originated from a phase we all know as the “honeymoon phase”. Urban Dictionary calls it “New Relationship Smugness (NRS)”. The honeymoon phase is the time of a relationship I hate the most. According to Urban Dictionary, “they (couples) are poisoned by their own happiness and led to believe they are the "Perfect Couple", after the honey moon phase ends and the healthy relationship begins…” Um…not convinced, never have been never will be convinced by the “honeymoon phase”. Why am I getting so hyped up over the honeymoon phase? I honestly don’t know. Point is, a “blogging moon” phase is basically like being in a honeymoon phase.” I went from blogging half an hour every week to 2-hours or more every other week, to blogging one time this past semester. Was it due to the lack of interesting ideas? Not necessarily. Truth is I was completely swamped with responsibilities this past semester. From Peer Mentoring, to being a big brother in the ALANA program for the first time, to working two jobs (Admissions Assistance & Group Exercise Instructor) and most importantly starting a wrestling club.  The goal for this particular blog is to reflect upon my past semester experiences. From the courses, to jobs and conclude it with my overall accomplishments. 

Semester Courses

I can say I honestly became a business man this past semester, literally. Every single one of my classes was business classes aside from Spanish. Being a liberal arts college, Stonehill requires every sophomore to take a Learning Community (LC). The LC is usually meant to be an experience out of your element. Thing is, not everyone follows the rules. It is Safe to say that sometimes staying in your comfort zone doesn't hurt, especially when there is a GPA involved. For example, a Bio major taking a Bio related LC; “looking into [or] under the glass” I think it’s called. I am and always have been about challenging myself and stepping outside of my comfort zone so I chose to apply for the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) LC. I wanted a challenging LC and I most definitely got my wish.

Under the IMC LC came Marketing Principles, a Public Relations course and the seminar.  The seminar was a combination of Marketing and PR. Between the two classes and the seminar, there were lot of group projects and presentations involved. The LC course was extremely challenging and kept me on toes all semester. On an average week day, I was always either studying for an exam, a group project or working on an individual paper. Although it almost became the death of me, I have to admit I loved all aspect of the LC. I loved being in class and chatting with the professors who are by the way two of the coolest Professors I've had by far. Lee McGinnis who thought the Marketing course was your typical entertainer. Although he was such a straight grader, you couldn't help but love him anyways. Besides, he could care less if you complain or cry, nothing could have ever changed the outcome. His mentality was something like “you will take what you get and if you don’t like it, work harder next time around”. And then there was Mr. Seraphin, the God of Public Relations. This man knows everything there is to know about PR inside and out, and has done it all. From being a pilot in the Navy during the Vietnam War, to working every job in the PR business, to currently being a professor and a part-time singer in a classical band! Classical band! You got to love it. Talking about being a well-rounded individual huh?  

Together they were the dynamic duo, the ultimate tag team of the century.  I loved everything about the LC but unfortunately I had to take exams, and I completely sucked! The very first couple exams were the wake-up call of the semester. I mean going into the semester I knew Business or Communications wasn't my thing, and I was also fully aware I was going to have to work harder than majority of the class. My classmates were Communications, Business or Marketing majors. Here I was a Healthcare Administration major, Studio Art Minor who has always been about the Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, taking Business courses for the first time. This is why the very first couple exams were a wake-up call that I never asked for. I was no longer in my comfort zone. I soon then realized that it wasn't a matter of working harder than my peers, it was my approach on the course, my way of thinking. In other words, I could no longer study like I did for a Biology exam. I couldn't just memorize key terms. With Marketing and PR, I had to apply everything I was learning to reality, to real word examples. I realized my old study method was no longer effective  Thank God I realized that early enough before it was too late. When I did make the change, I got better results on exams and I felt like I was actually learning, not just memorizing terms. My overall goal for the Integrated Marketing Communications LC was to gain as much knowledge as possible about becoming a successful business man. I personally have a lot of individual business goals and I knew this class was going to provide me with the basics. I needed to learn how to work closely with customers for personal training and how to create a successful website for my art work. Thanks to the IMC LC I am in a better position of becoming a personal trainer. I am also in a better position now to build a professional website, not a mediocre website. Aside from my personal goals, I learned about Personal Branding, Elevator pitches, a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Objectives, Threats and Opportunities), Endorsement and writing Press Releases. 

As for Elementary Spanish and Microeconomics, I am glad I don’t every have to deal with it again. Well, not quite because I have to take Spanish II this semester. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love taking Spanish.

I've taken Spanish since 7^th grade and it has always been a success. You are now probably wondering, then why are you taking Elementary level Spanish? I mean, I did say I love taking Spanish and it has been a success, I didn't exactly say I was a Spanish expert. If I was an expert I would have been fluent by now, with the amount of years I have under my belt. But I am not, which is why I requested to take Elementary instead of Intermediate. After 2 years of not taking Spanish, I went to my academic adviser said, Sir I can’t do it, and it’s been too long! Who can I talk to? Now here I am, just had my first Spanish class in almost 3-years. How did it go? Not exactly the easy “A” I was hoping for. Matter of fact, I didn't even get a B, thanks to mister not so nice Professor De Mattos. Spanish is not a difficult subject; I had a difficult professor who was rude most of the time. Think I’m just talking trash about a professor, well how about this example. Before I go into the incident, it is important to know a not so fun fact about De Mattos; he never gave quizzes the day he said he’s going to give them, only on days that no one is prepared.  And of course for that reason, majority of the class struggled on quizzes. Another not so fun fact, I truly believe Rudy takes pride in failing his students. Why do I make such accusations? Ask my good friend and housemate Tom Wood, he would testify. While passing out quizzes, Professor looked at Tom’s quiz and shout out to the rest of the class, “this is what you don’t do!” He then walked up to me, holds up my quiz and said “see, this is what happens when you don’t study”. Now that you've gotten a glance of Professor Rudy D; would you like to know my true opinion of him? Nothing negative really, especially since my blog is public. But honestly, I personally think he is a disrespectful professor and I am glad I don’t ever have to sit in his class again.

Micro is hands down the hardest class I've taken by far at Stonehill.  Entertaining professor, but difficult class and terrible grading system. We had two exams all semester, a midterm and a final. A class this difficult shouldn’t have two grades an entire semester. You don’t learn anything!  I believe this system generally sets you up for failure never mind in a challenging course. As a student, you are already at a disadvantage from the start. I know for a fact I was because went into the semester with no business background, specifically Economics. And over all that, I am notorious for sucking at math. I just wish I had some type of a grade (projects, quizzes, etc.) in between to fall back on. But hey, we don’t always get what we want in life. Most importantly, I passed the class and I learned from the experience. Besides, the class was a prerequisite for Healthcare Economics so I now at least have an idea what I’ll be getting myself into. 

Work (Admission Coordinator Assistant & Group Exercise “Crossfit”)

Work for me this semester was a complete blast! It kept me moving constantly but that’s what I love! That’s my life and I couldn't ask for any less. My man Lecrae (Christian Rapper) stated in one of his newest songs (“Lucky Ones”) “ Ain't saying I am always right, I ain't saying I am perfect and I ain't saying I deserve it, but I am glad I have this life”.  He  couldn't have said it better. It may not be the most relaxing lifestyle, but once again THIS IS MY LIFE AND I LOVE IT!  This past semester was my second semester working as an Admission Coordinator Assistant. I guess I can say I have been with them for a solid school year. I can’t express enough how much I love this job. So what’s my typical day like? I honestly can’t tell you because I never know what exactly the new assignment is until I get there. As an assistant, my working day depends on the status of the Admission staff. Something new needed to be moved around in the basement? “Hey you got the guns”! I am there moving boxes to make space. Too many Inquiry cards, I am on the computer screen for hours doing data entry. Too many unalphabetical (if that’s a word) documents lying around? I am there doing alphabetizing for the day. Too many alphabetized documents lying around, well I guess I am filing for the day. Excess papers flooding the office? Well, I guess I have a date with the shredding machine. “Thomas you need a break? Wanna take a walk?” Yup I do it all, I love it. Aside from the work, I am in an environment with the greatest people. Very busy people but personal, always willing to chat it up. 

This is a little project I worked on in the Assistant Dean’s office. I call it: Downtime entertainment

Group Ex-“CrossFit”

For the first time this semester I worked as a Group Exercise instructor. You know, the Burtons always told us (campers/leaders) about the importance of networking. Well coming into my sophomore year I decided to step my networking skills up to another level. During the summer orientation as a first year Peer Mentor, I approached the head of Sports Department with the intent to get hooked up with a job at the sports complex. I had heard it was one of the hardest/most exclusive jobs to get on campus and I am less likely to get it as a sophomore. I already had an exclusive job working at admissions so my thinking was basically, “what do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing!” So being the rebel I am, I decided to try my luck.  Went up to him, gave him a firm hand shake and the conversation went something like this, “hello sir my name is Thomas and I am looking to get a job at the Sports Complex next semester. I’m currently working at Admissions and now looking to find another job around campus”. His response? “Oh yeah of course. You are a Peer Mentor right? Just shoot me a text when you are back on campus, remind me who you are and I’ll get you started”.  I did’t only get a job at the sports complex, I was hooked up with a more exclusive job than expected. Later that week I found out two of my fellow mentors, Julie Mills (J-Millz) and Colleen Marie worked as Group Ex instructors under Leahy. I immediately jumped on that opportunity as soon as the semester started. I looked more into the process and discovered that all I had to do was make a 9 or so minutes demo and do a tryout performance. I simply followed the instructions, went to the tryout and did my thing. I knew I had somewhat of a background in crossFit and years of experience in exercising so I did my demo on the little I knew about Crossfit workouts. I knew my style was different but I didn't expect her (Susan Matters-the boss) to fall in love with it. It was unique, it was something new, and it wasn't Zumba related, for once! She loved it so much she hired me on the spot and everyone else had to wait to get their results for a couple more days.  SWAGGGG! Oh yes I felt like a “G” alright, not even going to lie. Like my peoples would say, I was gassed! 

So I got the job, but limited CrossFit equipment to work with. No cattle bell, no ropes, no monkey bars, nothing. What do you or can you do when you’re put in a situation like this? Well here are your options: you can simply not take the job, complain to the boss, complain about your job and how you don’t have the appropriate equipment to do your job, or just take the job pretend you like it and look forward to the pay check. Want to know my approach? I took the job and swaged out the workouts T-Noah style. I used the basic Crossfit based workouts and concepts (squats and Burpees) and made it into a circuit based workout routine. Not even sure if anything I just said made sense but just pretend you know what I’m talking about. Point is, I made a workout routine based on the limited equipment I had. You know what they say; “when life gives you lemon, make LEMONADE!” I squeezed every bit of juice I had out that pitiful lemon and it was a success. It was a challenging class but like every Crossfit related workout, it’s made to get results. I mean that’s why there’s Zumba, anyone can survive. Not everyone survives a crossfit class. It’s all about the survival of the fittest. The fittest were the few committed girls I had during the last couple weeks. They knew what they wanted which was success. Talking about success, I started this one minute push-up contest every two weeks. Very self-explanatory. I gave them a minute to do as many push-ups as they could and kept record of it. There is nothing better than seeing visible progress. I encourage everyone that read this blog to really take it into consideration. Writing everything down and keeping note of your progress in the gym. It really keeps you focused and motivated. So of course it was a brilliant move on my part because the girls got to see for themselves why they were taking the class, why I was making them do the workouts they were doing. Because it works! All the ladies  who stayed with the program saw a huge improvement, at least 20 pushups more. I had one girl, Jackie who started the class at 25 and did 50 push-ups by the end of the program in a minute!  I mean, how else can I express the importance of what I do? The number 50 is the prove I need. Not that my statistics matters but I personally improved tremendously. I went from doing 40 on the first week to 80 by the end of the program. The overall class was a total success and I cannot wait to get it started again! And this time, the class is called T-Noah’s Boot camp/crossfit! Please don’t kill the messenger, I am just taking orders. These are the direct quotes for this coming up season from my boss Susan Mathers; “Thomas- Bootcamp*-please do more bootcamp style vs cross fit. Throw in some drills and make it hard cardio.”  Once again, please don’t kill the messenger, I am just following the Boss’ orders, just doing exactly what I was told, being the obedient employee I amJ! 

Talking about direct quotes, here are some quotes from two girls I had the pleasure of  working with this past semester, Krista Chouinard  and Gina Battinelli;

“The class is really good cuz it works every part of your body which I don’t have the chance to do with my regular workouts and the pace of increasing difficulty had been challenging. As an instructor you not only instruct but actually watch to make sure we’re  doing it in an effective way which is comforting and beneficial”  Krista

“I enjoy group exercises a lot better than going to the gym and using a machine. I joined the class because the class atmosphere attracted me. I feel like we all struggle as a whole and I feel better struggling as a whole than by myself on a machine.

I think that you are a good instructor (not just because you are my friend) but because you push me. You are kind but you never take "I am struggling and cannot do it" for an answer or excuse. It's like having a personal trainer and I think you are fair in your workouts “ Gina

One of the assignments this past semester in PR was to write a news release. I chose to write about my  crossFit class so I requested that the girls give me their opinion of the class and me as an instructor. After hearing what they had to say, I’m 100% convinced I am doing something right. So proud! The numbers are not always Zumba status, but that’s because physical training is not made for everyone.  

Wrestling Club

 The last and final piece to this long blog is about the establishment of the new Wrestling club at Stonehill. Things weren't always as smooth as it seems now. It was not an easy process either. First of all, what were my reasons for starting a wrestling club a Stonehill? Well it all started on my junior year when I finally decided to join my High School Wrestling team (Framingham), led by one of  the greatest coaches in Mass, Coach Jon Kanavich. He had been trying to convince me to join the program since my freshman year, but because of my immature mindset, I chose not to do so for 2-years! I thought I was too cool for Wrestling, only wanted to play football. Not realizing Wrestling was going to shape me into a better athlete and a person. And because I was so “cool” I did not wanted to be seen in a singlet. I thought wrestling was as “gay” as it gets, excuse my language. Rewinding 2-years later, I realized not wrestling for the first couple years of high school was one of the biggest mistakes I've made in life. One of my biggest regrets in life. For the two years I wrestled, I accomplished more than I ever dreamed of. I made the varsity team my first year, got my ass handed to me by every kid I got on the mat with. With only 6 or so varsity wins out of an entire season, I continued to work my butt off. I was voted the Captain’s choice and then voted a captain by the team. I knew I had the support of the team, but never expected the Captain’s choice trophy. I went into my senior year with 50 or so off season matches with the intentions of going out my senior year with a bang. I finished off the season at 26-14. I accomplished a lot with the two years of wrestling but I didn't want it to stop there. Could I have become a state chap with one more year of wrestling experience? I will unfortunately never know. I wanted to wrestle in college but for some bizarre reason Stonehill did not have a wrestling team, not even a club. My wrestling coach told me I could start a club if I really wanted to. I took my coach’s advice and started looking  into it. I knew I had to get some adult support, so I brought up the idea to Father Mark Cregan (president) and Dan Monahan (Senior Dean of Admissions) and his assistance Joe Dacy. They all loved the idea of having a wrestling program. Dan then made an agreement with me that if I do get the program started he will coach it. How great is that?! I had the President’s support and now a coach! Now what? Well the next thing on my check list was to email the Director of sports, John Leahy. This was John’s exact response to my email:

“Hello, Thomas. While a Wrestling team is at the top of our list to add to our sport clubs, we are currently at our limit. We have explored the possibility of having wrestling. Because of budgetary concerns, we cannot support an additional sport club at this point.

Thanks for your interest. You may direct any further questions to Jose Gomes, our Sport Club Coordinator.”

 This was when I realized that people have tried in the past and fail miserably. I was a little discouraged so I forwarded the email to Dan (this was before we were on first name basis by the way. He was known as Mr. Monahan then). Anyways, Dan read the email and came to a conclusion that Leahy’s response was pretty much the same excuse they gave to everyone who attempted in the past. He then told me to keep pushing and try to get more people involved. Sophomore year came around and I did exactly what I was told, I kept pushing. I got in touch with many of my connects about other ways of starting a club on campus. My search was narrowed down to going through SGA. I thought, why didn’t I think of this before? I am a Peer Mentor and 99.9% of SGA members are Peer mentors! I had all these sources but I was not taking advantage of them. I got a team of 4 guys together and went on a mission, a mission to rebel against the sports complex. My board members consisted of  myself (obviously), Eric Vanderpool, Ryan Heimroth, and Logan Turnball. With the help of the guys, and the support of Father Mark, Dan, Joe and the student activity staffs, we were determined to beat SGA’s provisional process. As part of the provisional process, we needed to host an event open to the general public.

Together we came up with a brilliant idea, to host an open mat event. An event where experienced and inexperienced wrestlers or anyone interested can experiment with the sport and ask any possible questions. I asked my high school Coach (Kan) to come run a clinic and he agreed! This idea was grand, but we didn't have access to mats! Where are we going to get mats?! We thought; those things cause 5K used! I emailed every local program (colleges or high schools) with wrestling, asking if we could borrow their mats for a day. Of course the response was “No, No, not interested; I can’t help you, no!” The search for mats was a complete failure. Just when we thought it was all over, we got the publicity of a lifetime.  My boy Shane McDonald who was helping on the side with the production had posted a comment on the Mass Wrestling site requesting for used mats. Somehow words got out to Leahy about the request and so he forwarded the email to Jim Hermelbracht (head of student activities). Jim then forwarded that email to Patrick Keaney who finally forwarded it to me asking that we get in contact with Jose Gomes from the Sports Department. That was really when we realize that we cannot start a wrestling club without the support of the Sports Department. Although the possibilities of becoming an SGA club were higher, they as a department do not have the appropriate equipment for a Wrestling Club. We needed Mats as well as space to practice and the Sports Department could provide it. It was a battle to get the attention we needed but it worked out for the best in the end. It came to a point where they could no longer ignore us. From that moment I started to work closely with both Jose and Leahy to make the wrestling club possible.  We were able to solve the problems with storage for mats and space to practice. Jose worked his magic with Brockton High school and they agreed to let us use their wrestling room and equipment for only about $100 a night. Also because they are in season, we couldn't get the mat to practice daily. Instead, we were given the mats on Tuesdays and Thursdays nights from 8:30-10:30pm. The plan is to practice at Brockton High until the renovation of the Ames Sports Complex. When is this possibly going down? I have no clue but from what I heard, by the time it is completed I will have graduated. I could care less about practice locations or when the new Sports Complex will be completed. My mean concern is that Stonehill will have a full team by the time I graduate and that a room is dedicated to the wrestling team in the Sport Complex. As of now we don’t have a full team and we don’t have a home mat. No worries though, because we are going to take it one day, one step, one practice at a time. I’m just thankful to have gotten this finally established after 2-years. I am also very thankful to Dean of Admission and my Boss Dan Monahan for volunteering to coach the program. I know how busy he is with traveling, recruiting and such. Looking on the bright side, I know we will have some great recruiting and a solid team of hard working wrestlers in the near future. So what’s the moral of this story? What did I learn from this whole experience? Persistence! Dedication! And oh yeah, never taking NO for an answer! If I had given up like every other student who gave up in the past, there wouldn't have been a Wrestling Club at Stonehill College in 2013.  

What? Are you looking for more to read? That’s it! Woof… didn't think you were ever gonna stop reading huh? Well I am honored that you took the time to read about my life this past semester. Every semester so far at Stonehill has been a roller-coaster  So many highs and lows, but I am a believer. I am a survivor. This is nothing new to me. But guess what? At the end of it all I become smarter, bigger, stronger, and more appreciative about life. I could go on all day about my personal growth but I’ll let you go with a quote from the legendary Professor Dahlin; “Drive fast and don’t wear a seat belt!” No worries, that is pure sarcasm because Dahlin is legit God’s gift to college students.  

Five Possible Worst days: Kidney Stone ordeal

My Kidney Stone Ordeal: The Five Possible Worst Days of My Life

You know, I understand that life is “not without a struggle”, but why can I not live my life in one piece more than a whole year without any obstacle?! My experiences by far at Stonehill have truly been some of the happiest days of my life.  At the same time, it has also been a true roller coaster! For a period of time, life is great and the people around you become even greater.  You find yourself high off life; floating like a butterfly, you become invincible (at least you think). And then the next moment, you get a rude awakening and it brings you back down to reality. It is almost as if God is telling you to stop getting too far ahead of yourself. But anyways, enough of the philosophical talk. The point is, my experiences at Stonehill by far have been bitter sweet. What are the sweet times? Becoming a member of ALANA-A Big Brother Big Sister (ABS), the Peer Mentor team, and getting to experience the 2012 Spring break in NOLA New Orleans. And then came the bitter, the rude awakening of a lifetime; losing a friend/hall mate in the worst way known to man. Like DAMN Stonehill, what else do you have in stored for me over the next few years? I mean, should I even be looking forward to my junior year? Absolutely! But seriously, how annoying! At the same time who or what should I be annoyed by? God? The world? Society? My immune system? I can’t really say God because God is after all the reason I’m still here in the first place. The reason I am able to keep pushing through my struggles. I can’t really blame my immune system either. Well, because it’s not always that I get that sick. As a matter of fact, never have I been that sick, at least as long as I can remember. Kidney stones? What the hell is that? My usual illness is coughing my life away once every random period of the year. Colds don’t even have a chance because I usually kick it to the curb. And then all of sudden Kidney stones? I guess I’m not nearly as immortal as I think I am after all. My unusually painful discovery of Kidney stones was that reality check I needed, unfortunately. A few Wednesdays ago, the 19^th of September was truly one of those days I’ll never forget. Sitting in my Elementary Spanish class, waiting for the last 20-minutes of class to end, I started feeling a pain in my lower abdominal, Physicians would say.  I completely underestimated the pain, even after class. Went to get breakfast, a cup of fruit to be exact, no help. Used the bathroom, no help. Took my keys and decided to take a trip to the health services. It became the longest 3-minute walk of my life. I had to stop twice to make sure I wasn’t going to lose my balance; by the second stop, the pain had moved to my left lower back. Oh boy, I thought that was the end of time for me. I walked into Health Services and within 5-minutes they called the ambulance and I was admitted to the hospital. Admitted to the hospital? In an ambulance? When had that ever happen to me? Never! Like they say, there’s always a first time for everything. There surly is a first time for everything because from the uncomfortable ambulance ride, with IV stuck in my arms and oxygen in my nose even though I didn’t even need it; to life in the ER for about 5-hours. After rolling around for a solid half an hour, I was finally given meds to slow the pain. During the 5 hours I was in the ER, I came across about 5 or 6 different physicians, all specialized in different things. From an IV by a student nurse, to a blood drawing, to a urine test, to a CAT scan. The CAT scan and the Urinary specialist who was my main nurse were my personal favorites. They had personalities much like mine; relaxed, friendly, outgoing and always wanting to get to know more about someone on a personal level. I pretty much became best friends with the CAT scan dude. Quick facts: He was this small built man, born and raised in Haiti until his sophomore year of high school. He played soccer for a couple years and could have gone on to play in college but chose not to. He chose to focus on the academic aspect of college instead of the social life of a varsity athlete. This was where we connected because I personally also had the choice to play a varsity sport, football but I chose to focus more on the academic and leadership aspect. He then went on a rant about how I made the right decision because of how short an average football player career is, and how even with college football you aren’t guaranteed a spot at the pros. He then made a very important point about how he’s been in the business for 12-years and can go on for another 30-years if he wants to, unlike a pro football player. So how did I find the time to know all this about the specialist and have such a life conversation? Well, this all happened between him giving me two giant plastic bottles of what he called “banana smoothies” and the trip to the CAT scanning room, and in the middle of undergoing the treatment. I am not sure if this was all to distract me from the pain, but it most definitely worked. As for my lady nurse she just wanted a pee sample and I just could not pee! For hours and hours of being drugged up, I just kept knocking out and waking up. I felt like I needed to pee but it just wouldn’t come out. She would come in like, “do you have to pee yet?” The usual response was “nope!” I was then finally discharged with Percs for the pain and who knows what else, to smooth out my 2-millimeter Kidney stone. The nurse came in once again like “still haven’t peed yet? All I want is a tea spoon!” This made me laugh a little even though I wasn’t in this best mood to laugh. She sounded somewhat frustrated but I did end up giving her what she wanted and got out of there as fast as I could. What amazed me the most that day was the amount of teamwork it takes to diagnose a problem. Everyone came in, did what they needed to do and left. It was pretty cool to see everything I’ve learned in healthcare so far in full action. I mean of course I would rather not have seen it take place on me, but hey what other options did I have? What I did take away at the end of my overall ER experiences was how terrible of a customer care system the Good Samaritan Hospital has. It wasn’t necessarily the specialists, because they were all great people, it’s the hospital system. I haven’t been to enough hospitals to judge based on all hospitals, but from my short-terms personal experiences, I am willing to make the judgment against the Good Samaritan. I realized that my second trip into the ER for extreme nausea. For a solid day and a half I could not stop throwing. I probably puked about six times between Thursday night and Friday until I left for the ER. I thought it may have been from the hard medications, but nope, according to the doctor it was effect of the pain. Throwing up is apparently a usual reaction to pain caused by Kidney stones. Well it surely was great to hear that, because my girlfriend (MaryCharlotte Buck) and Stonehill’s health services thought I was dying or something. Well anyways, now that I was back in the ER, I could not get a bed! I waited for a solid TWO hours along with my friends who I feel like I owe my life to: MC, my roommate and brother from another mother Austin Alfredson, his girlfriend Tori aka Vicki Kane and Julia Kennedy. While sitting around waiting for medical attention, the meds had worn off and the pain had kicked in. The longer we waited the more the pain progressed. I suppressed the pain, took a nap, woke up, and still no help. When I finally did get a bed, it took me another couple hours to see a doctor.  I got there at 5-ish and didn’t see a doctor until 10:05PM to be exact. All I wanted was quick medical explanation to why I had been puking my life away and how to prevent it. A process that could have been dealt with really within 20-minutes! Such torture I went through that night. I understand that with hospital systems, services are not always given on first come first serve basis. It is mostly based on the intensity of a situation, or who is in need of the most medical attention. Which is completely understandable as a Healthcare Administration Major, but all I wanted was some type of meds to knock me out! I didn’t mind lying there peacefully or waiting patiently until those who needed more medical attention were taken care off. The problem was it was not a peaceful wait! As my girlfriend saw, I was rolling around on the bed, in pain like I’ve never had before this whole ordeal! I would love to have been exaggerating this situation, but exaggeration is the farthest thing from the pain I felt those first couple days.  There’s really no way to actually describe the kind of pain Kidney stone patients endures. A student IV nurse told me he’d met a few parents who have had kidney stones in the past who said it was more painful than giving birth in most cases. That is pretty much the best way to articulate the pain caused by kidney stones. Looking on the bright side, that night was really the last night of the most painful stages of my kidney stone experience. I do remember the nurse stating that the pain level would drop as soon as the stone falls into the bladder. What she did not specify was how I was going to feel next.  UTI anyone? Urinary Tract Infection? Yes UTI! Men much like me before this experience, wouldn’t know a thing about UTI, but women can surely attest to everything I am going to say about UTI. So after my last night (Friday) at the ER, I realized the difference in pain. It was no longer the giant cramp kind of feeling down my lower Abs; the pain became more of a constant burning sensation. The most uncomfortable stage of passing Kidney Stones; From Saturday morning until the passing of the Stone on Monday evening, I felt as if I had to pee every second. Imagine the feeling you usually get in the middle of the night. The feeling of wanting to pee really badly. The experience that causes you to wake up in the middle of the night and run to the bathroom. Imagine that experience but every second of the day.  And did I also forget actually having to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes of the day? And waking of 3-4 times a night to use the bathroom? How else can I express how miserable I felt? The Monday evening after my Urologist appointment, I passed the stone. No pain like many people expected. What shocked me the most was the color of the fluid I saw coming out of my body. It was not pee for a fact. Someone once told me it may have been blood; it did not look like blood! This fluid was more mud water looking than anything; brown! With the brown fluid came the Stone of course, which I was able to keep track of. I had to pee in a medical funnel for the entire five days. Attractive isn’t it? I did not use it at all times of course because I refused to take it with me when I finally left the house. I just hoped it didn’t pass when I was out; the physicians wouldn’t have been so happy with me. What I found even more interesting was the before and after effect; the night and day feeling. I came from having this painful sensation in my bladder to being alive again! All within seconds. That particular experience was quite strange, but it made me the happiest man alive. So why and how did I get a Kidney stone? Long story short, it is really a matter of luck. Luck because Kidney stones are made from a high consumption of calcium. Since when have calcium been a negative effect? Dairy products? Ice cream? Vitamins?  What?! Did I also mention high consumptions of proteins? I am African for Christ’s sake. All we do is eat meat! Well according to the Urologist, I have a 10% chance of getting another one within the next 10-years. His recommendation? Drink, Drink and Drink! Not alcohol of course, but lots of fluid. You don’t have to tell me twice! Not going through that again.

 

 

Ron Burton Training Village 2012: Part II

RBTV Messages, The Great Paul Burton

If I am not mistaken I did mentioned a little about motivational speeches as one of RBTV’s common activities. Well these speeches are mostly prepared and presented by the great, the one and only, the legendary Paul Burton. A quick bio about whom this man Paul is. Paul Burton is the youngest of the Burton brothers and sister. One of the hardest working men I know. Why is he such a hard worker? I mean, his educational Statistics prove it all. He has “BA in Communications, Masters in Journalism, and Masters in Divinity and Doctorate in Ministry”. Anyone who is associated with the Burton camp and is familiar with PB’s camp responsibilities and commitments would wonder, when and how in the world did he find the time? As a journalist, Paul is the major face of Ron Burton Training Village. If Paul isn’t doing his normal everyday motivational speeches, he is either preaching his one of a kind sermons on Sundays, recording camp activities for the end of the year conclusion video, organizing important camp events like Ron Burton Day (Mr. Burton’s birthday celebration with all sponsors), or even mowing one of RBTV’s 300 acres lawn! Taking about humility huh? Did I also mention his yearly Boston marathon running events in behalf of the camp? Well there you go; he truly is the face on the Ron Burton Training Village. Aside from being the legend that he is, Paul is personally my mentor, my father figure, my go to guy, my friend, and my inspiration. Clearly someone I want to be like when I grow up. Anyways, just thought I should display how valuable PB is to the Burton camp before talking about the messages, his messages that had made such a great impact on many of our lives over the past years. For as long as my young mind can remember, Paul has always been the major motivational speaker at camp. One of my favorite messages of all time by Paul is “stepping in the wheel barrel”. The message behind this quote is about trust and faith. Never in life are you given a visual outlook of your future. Even more profound, life doesn’t guarantee success. As any good individual, you learn to live life according to faith, hoping and trusting that your hard work and dedication will pay off. The key words are Hope, Trust and Faith. By stepping in the when barrel, you are basically saying yes, I am willing to have faith in God and trust that he will make it happen. Whenever the word faith comes to mind, I think walking in the maze of life, blind-folded. You can’t see anything, but you just hope that you are walking towards the right direction. This message was presented my possibly 2^nd or 3^rd year of camp and it stuck with me all these years. Proximately four years ago, PB discovered the idea of creating a yearly theme. Themes such as “Not Without A Struggle” “Maximize The Moment” and “Embrace the R.A.C.E (Reaching After Christ Everyday)”. This year’s theme was “The Urgency of Now” The urgency of now in my understanding is basically maximizing the moment. Realizing that life is short; I mean, according to the books, “A man’s life is nothing but a breath”. Literally, a BREATH. In other words, any second can be the end; so why not live best of the life that was given? The URGENCY, meaning now! Not next year, not next week, not tomorrow, but now! Wanting something, now! Setting a goal and going after it now! There’s really no other way to explain it. How does he come up with these themes? I have no clue but it really gets you thinking about your place in life; where you belong and how you’re going out. AKA your legacy. I guess that’s where Masters in Divinity and Doctorate in Ministry takes you.    Throughout the five weeks, Paul incorporate messages in his sermons relating to the theme; messages that would allow campers and staff to fully comprehend the true meaning of “Urgency of Now”. “Living on both sides of the fence”; “you have one walk in the garden (the garden of life). If you do it right, one walk is all you need”; and my personal favorite, “Busted and Disgusted!” These are all my favorite quotes from this summer’s sermons. Living on both sides of the fence is phrase for lukewarm Christians; living a double life. This phrase pretty much relates to all young adult Christians. Paul’s explanation was, basically one moment we are living a holy life, we are the perfect child at home, in the presence of our parents; the second we leave the house, back to school, at parties, everything changes. “You become the master your domain”He said. The truth and nothing but the trust, what else can be said? Reality check really. The garden walk quote really goes back to the urgency of now. We realistically don’t have many lives, neither are we always given second chances in life. The first walk you get in the garden might be your only walk. And like Paul said, if that walk is right, one walk is all it takes. And there is “Busted and Disgusted!” a phrase supposedly used back in the days at camp when a person was caught in the “act”; the act, meaning doing something wrong of course. The word “disgusted” in the phrase on a personal note is the overwhelming feeling you get after being caught in the act. The guilty, uncomfortable feeling no one ever wants to come across. This phrase is pretty much what happens when we’re caught on the wrong side of the fence. “Busted and Disgusted!” And of course I’ve abused the phrase all summer and I most likely will all year for my own amusement. Got to love it!

Huddle 5: 2012’s Best Huddle!

Going a week late to camp this summer from orientation as a Peer Mentor, I did not know what to expect. I felt anxious, I felt excited. Excited for what the 2012 summer was to bring.  I was excited for who I was to have in my huddle, my partner or partners for the summer as well as my roommates. My hopes were really for a great group of guys on and outside the field. 14 group of guys who are willing to be good listeners, hard workers and great competitors. Everyone knows I hate to lose. Upon my arrival, people told me, you have a good huddle but your co-huddle leader is a clown. “He jokes around a lot, he acts like another camper”. My response was pretty much, “we’ll see”. When I finally got to meet with my huddle members as a group, I promised them we were going to be the best huddle at camp despite what other thought. And if they do their jobs as campers I was going to do my part as their huddle leader and nominate them for whatever award they felt like they deserved towards the end of camp. Not to be cocky but we were sure enough one of the best huddles at RBTV 2012. Realistically we were not perfect of course. We did not always have neatest beds, nor did we have the best bunk area. We may not have come first in order for breakfast every morning but we sure were up there majority of the time! And yes, at RBTV we eat in the order according to how neat and uniformed our huddle’s beds are. Bed making and good hygiene is one of the major disciplines at camp, an everyday norm.  Besides, I did not promise them perfection. Being one of the best I believe doesn’t mean perfection; it means consistently competing to be on that podium when appropriate. It might not always means first place, but at the end of the day you should make that podium no matter the cause; and that’s what we did, majority of the time. As for my co-huddle leader Dorian Hunter, he turned out to be nothing like everyone said. I mean, he is naturally a jokester; that’s his personality and it should not be taken away from him. When it mattered he stood up and did his job as a leader, better than I ever expected; especially as a young leader at that rate. I could not have asked for a better partner to replace by brother from another mother and ex-partner of two years Austin Alfredson. Well “replace” is not the exactly the right word to use because two years of sold brotherhood can obviously never be replaced. But only an upcoming junior in High School, Dorian was there whenever I needed him. I did not ever have to tell him what to do; he knew his place as a leader. Almost as if he read my mind every time. The communication itself was off the chart! It was over all an outstanding partnership between Dorian and I and it could not have gotten any better.

Then there is my huddle! Huddle 5, 2012. I cannot express in words how much I love those kids and their personalities. We had our ups and downs, we fought like every brothers do, but by the end of the day we were family. But then again out of every great family, is a black sheep. And out of every delicious garden, is a bad apple. Why the analogy? Well…that’s exactly what happens. There is always that one kid who drags the rest of the group. That one kid who refuses to follow orders, that one kid who refuses to cooperate, that one kid who is always negative, and then there is that one kid who’s constantly starting a fight. Oh my goodness, headache! This little individual truly tested my patience as a leader. I loved this kid to death, but I hated his rebellion ways! I just couldn’t get him on my side. It came to a point where I was like, “you know what, I give up. You’re on your own buddy; I no longer have your back. You do what you pleased and if you do get kicked out, then let it be”. But then I couldn’t do it, I didn’t have the guts to look him in the eyes every day and just not care. I remembered telling myself, Dorian and the rest of the huddle towards the last couple days of camp, “There’s is no way on this planet is he getting an award, he doesn’t deserve it!” But then once again, me and my soft hearted self couldn’t commit. As we went down a long list of awards, we couldn’t find any award that represented this little individuals’ character. Not sportsmanship, not sweetness, and God knows not Ron Burton award! And then there was “Ironman”. The Ironman award is presented to someone who pretty much is physically an Ironman; someone who goes hard on the run, on the obstacle courses, and someone who consistently goes hard in the gym. Well, although this little trouble maker wasn’t consistent on the run, he no doubt was an Ironman. If there was one award he deserved, it was the Ironman award and I could not deny him of it. I somehow managed to convince my co-huddle leader Dorian and the nomination became official. But then of course the award wasn’t guaranteed because it still had to go through the Burton family and the rest of the head staff. Apparently they did agree with me because at the end of the ceremony Mr. Ironman came up to me and said, “Thank you for the award!” It was almost as if he was also saying, thank you for not giving up on me. What do you say to that? I don’t even remember what exactly I said to him but I surely am glad I did not give up on him. I am not sure if he took anything away from this entire experience but I know I did. What did I learned? I learned that I am one step mature than last summer and I am a better leader and overall a better person than I was a year ago. As for the rest of my campers, I would love to talk about every one of their individual personalities in details but that’s just craziness. There’s way too many of them, 10 to be exact. Shout out to huddle five! Dorian Hunter (Ohio), Zac Coaston (California), Owen Boucher (Newton), Sabree Edwards (North Carolina), Leo Kotomori (Boston), Nate MacDonald (Hopkinton), Angel Machicote (West Borro), Kane Medina (Newton), Luis Rivera (Boston), Freddy Simones (Framingham) and my big boi aka future NFL star, Jeff MacArthur (Natick)!

Ron Burton Training Village 2012: Part I

Ron Burton Training Village From My Perspective

Introduction:

Ron Burton training village (RBTV) has been my save haven for the past 9-years. 5-years as a camper and 4-years as a leader. Located down in the jungles of Hubbardston Mass, the RBTV is one a kind. Literally, the only training village in the world. Kids from all over the U.S and of all sports and all skills are invited. Well that’s’ if you’re blessed enough to make it pass the 2-years waiting list. The RBTV is a Christian based training camp with great morals and values. Morals like “God first, Others second, Me third” and “Love, Peace, Patience, and Humility”. Because it is a training camp after all, we wake up at 4:30 in the morning, run 7.5-miles a day, 5-days a week, for 5-weeks. Yes everyone is required to run. From an 11-years old going into middle school to a senior in High school. As long as you are an athlete you are obligated to do the run despite your individual sport. It can be golf, tennis, and swimming, or baseball, football, basketball, track or wrestling, everyone means everyone. Even as a leader in college you are strongly recommended to run. Why? Well because that’s what great leadership is; leading by example. Why is it an obligation for campers? Because the 7-mile run is really more than just a morning run. It’s all about mental toughness, going the extra mile, pushing on to the finish line even when your body says no and of course never giving up. As an 11, 12, or 13 years old, it is a challenge understanding from this perspective, but as the years go by and as puberty and maturity kicks, you start to see things differently. That is really when the real camp begins. It becomes more than just having fun for five weeks with 130 friends, it becomes more about training for the next level of life, mentally, socially, academically, athletically, and of course spiritually. Behind the morning run, there are trainings like the obstacle course, clinics for individual sports, stations on rainy days, sprints in the form of cat and mouse, four corners, relays and more. Aside from the physical aspect, there is reading time for younger campers, who unfortunately have to deal with the struggles of summer reading, and SAT sections for the older campers, from freshman year and up. College recruits, sponsor visits and motivational speeches are all a common way of life at RBTV.  Singing praise songs, praying before every meal as well as 15-minutes of quite time to focus on God, meditate on everyday life privileges and struggles are common spiritual activities at the Ron Burton Training Village. And of course, Church on Sundays and nightly Bible study. Not your typical summer camp huh? Absolutely not!

Limitless Opportunities:

The opportunities provided at RBTV are truly limitless. I mean, what other camp in the world do you wake up at 4:30am and run 7.5-miles anyways? Where else on the face of the planet do kids go away for 5-weeks and train physically, mentally, and spiritually? But then again where else are kids given 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th chances in life and are fully loved despite their past? Finally, what other summer camps that exist at this moment where campers get to be recruited by some of the top colleges in the country for the opportunity of a full ride, all based on their individual characters?  There’s truly none. The opportunities really are endless when the kids choose to grasp it. I know I did, and my life was forever transformed. How so? I mean, I am on a full ride at Stonehill College, my dream school for as long as I’ve been associated with the camp; only because of my character.  Only at the RBTV would you fine such an opportunity I believe. This past summer was hands down one of the most exciting summers I’ve spent at RBTV. For the month I was at camp, I got the opportunity to meet the President of Reebok worldwide, the President of Hill Holidays (the biggest advertisement company in Boston), the President of the Yawkee foundation for the second time, and many more important business owners. People who really have been there, done that, and now are living their dreams. I also got to meet, trained and lived with representatives from the Naval Academy, West Point, and the Air Force Academy. One of my favorite things about getting to meet these individuals is getting to listen to everyone’s stories and experiences. Basically how they get to where they are, and what it’s like being where they are.  Once again, only at RBTV. On the 20^th of July, a week before camp, we went on a fieldtrip for the first time in ages. We were fortunately invited to the Reebok headquarters, the home of cross-fit fitness for a full day experience. While there, we got a taste of a typical cross-fit workout and participated in a friendly competition in sports such as volleyball, soccer, kickball and basketball. I personally took part in a game of volleyball on a team with a reebok employee who was once a volleyball star. I played next to this beautiful Sweden lady not realizing how big of a deal she was. She was literally a boss. After getting to talk to her at lunch, I discovered that she was the boss of Reebok’s advertisement department. She basically over sees everything associated with Reebok worldwide, having to do with posters, logos, billboards, and TV commercials. Like I was saying, only at RBTV would you get such an opportunity. In closing of the Reebok adventures, we were surprised with a special guest; a future hall of famer and member of the Reebok family, Demarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys. One last time…Only at RBTV! Well not exactly, but the point is very obvious. The opportunity truly is endless and I am blessed to have been part of it for the past 9-years of my life.