Statistics, Spaghetti, and Squid at UT Tyler

"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

"Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil." ~ Some T-Shirt I saw once, I think. maybe it was a bumper sticker? The point is, get those brain's a'crack'n and build the next anti-cancer drug. Or a death-ray powered by sharks. Just keep studying!

    Humans are creatures who are capable of great variety of skills including ( but not limited to! ) making sense of the senseless. We are capable of looking into the most bizarre labyrinths of madness ( the plot of Lost, the entire Affordable Care Act bill, or the ingredients list for Big Red soda ) and finding patterns; we look at that which we can't understand and we try to see meaning there. 

The process of Citizenship!

Recently, I was interviewed by USCIS (U.S Citizenship andImmigration Services) for my citizenship. Thought I would share the process of interview for the international students.

I first applied for my citizenship in first week of April, but I didn't know that the process was going to be this fast. They sent me a letter in July for my interview on August 6, 2013. So from April till July, I had to memorize 100 civics test questions. This was not too bad actually because I loved US history in High School, so it was basically a review for me.

So at the day of my interview, I was a bit nervous because I didn't know what to expect. Oh, and my interview was held at Irving, TX. After driving 2 hours, I was really nervous for the actual interview process. But as I was called in by an officer, I was actually feeling better because the officer was really nice and friendly. As we walked in to her office, she asked me my name and general information, and begun the interview with the civics test. Basically the way civics test works is out of those 100 questions that I was supposed to memorize, she asked me 6 of them and luckily I got all of those right, but if people miss couple of questions, then they ask 10 questions and you have to get 6 of them right.

After the civics test, the USCIS requires a reading and writing test to make sure the applicant knows English. And that was a piece of cake for me, because the reading and writing test was a 1^st grade test, where they give you a sentence to read and to write.

The next process after the interview was my oath ceremony, which was also held in Irving, TX on August 12, 2013. The oath ceremony was pretty nice; it was about an hour long with about 40 other applicants from different countries.

So the overall process was really memorable for me and I am glad that its over with before fall semester started.

For any international students who are planning on applying their citizenship process, don’t have a panic attack because it sounds harder and longer than it actually is. 

Forever Alone!

          So today is Valentine's Day here at UT Tyler, and love is in the air. Unfortunately for me, I am left yet again single on this one horrific day of the year. Like most people left single on Valentine's Day, I despise everything that has to do with love today.
          Well, that's not completely true. I do enjoy receiving candy and chocolate and food! So anytime somebody offers any of the above things to me, I quickly accept and consume. But hey, I always convince myself that "It will be different next year, Chandler. I Promise." But every year always turns out to be the same. Only this year, I can't even get candy from my parents. But hey, I won't let that bring me down! So far, today has turned out to be one of the better Thursdays of the year so far!

          In the words of my history professor, "Valentine's Day doesn't always have to be about romantic love!! It can also be about the love that you have for your friends and family!" And I totally agree. If couples can express their love for one another, then why can't I say how I love my friends? After all, it IS Valentines Day! So just so all of my friends know, I love you.
          Later tonight, the staff and RA's at O-Hall are throwing a Singles Party, or otherwise known as a "Forever Alone Party." It starts at 8 pm, and they will be celebrating being single by playing games, eating food, and watching movies with other single people! Everyone will be together alone! :) Hope all of you singles out there can make it!
And I'd like to thank Megan E. Allen for bringing us pizza and Valentines cards! :D

Tell us how you're spending your Valentines Day this year! Leave a comment below!

Semester Number Two

                Hey guys! Well, the spring semester of my freshman year here at UT Tyler has officially begun! I can already tell that this semester is going to be a lot more difficult than my last semester was. It’s not at all a bad thing, and I actually think that the classes that I am taking are going to be much more exciting than all of my previous classes were.

                As some of you may know, during the fall semester I took a math class. I really don’t like math, which is weird because my major is currently management! Now I’m not taking any math classes at all, and so far I found my classes to be much more appealing than before.  Now I’m taking courses like History, English, and Politics. So far, they all require a lot of reading.

                In addition, I am now officially a part of the UT Tyler Wind Ensemble! It’s all very exciting for me! I honestly feel like I’m finally doing something right in school by being in this ensemble. Everyone that I’ve met in the wind ensemble is all very nice and funny, just like how I am. I really missed band being a part of my life when I graduated from high school. Maybe I should reconsider what my major is, maybe.

                If I stay on track this semester and step up my A game, I really think that I can really excel in all of my classes this semester! I have set a standard for myself to do the absolute best that I can in everything that I do. I’ll be sure not to disappoint myself!

                Also, I got a new camera for Christmas, so now I can record video blogs in better quality! I am really looking forward to being able to use it! I came up with a small list of videos that I think will be fun and interesting, so be on the lookout for any video blogs on our page in the future! If you have any video blog ideas for me, I would absolutely love to hear them! If you do have any, please leave me a comment below, or anywhere on our Facebook app! As long as I can get to them!

                How is your semester going so far? Leave us a comment below too! Be sure to subscribe to our blog too! We would very much appreciate it. :) Happy 2013!

-          Chandler Upchurch 

Keerin’s Brand New Job: The Prologue

Seated in a cushy office chair in a room down the hallway and to the left, in a little corner of The University of Texas at Tyler, there is a Nineteen-year-old girl with warm brown hair and bright blue eyes frantically banging away at the keys as she wonders how best to make an impression on her brand new audience. Her hands are trembling, face a little flushed, expression tight with absorbed musing. That girl is… Me.

Okay, Okay. Maybe I’m over thinking this a little bit. Let me just begin with my name. I’m Keerin deWet, and I suffer from consistent mispronunciations of both parts of my name, but it’s okay. I am used to a little variation. Here’s a picture of me to help put a face to the name:

I have lived in Tyler all my life, but my family moved to the United States from South Africa several years before I was born. I am going into my fourth semester as a student here at UT Tyler and I am an inaugural member of the new Global Awareness Through Education (GATE) Program. Just before the end of the Fall 2012 semester, I finally decided that I was going to major in Political Science and double minor in Psychology and International Studies.

Sounds a little crazy, right? Well, I have a wide variety of interests that plug into that decision, but all of it pools into wanting to someday go out into the world and foster happy and healthy relations around the world between businesses and Non-Government Organizations. I love cultural studies of all kinds, helping people work through their issues and coming up with solutions, and looking for new experiences of all kinds. These three components spawned my plan to someday become a mediator in the international sphere.

Until I get there though, I’m here attending school so I can chase those dreams and meet new people. I also have lots of other interesting hobbies besides people watching and cultural appreciation, though!

Here’s a little list of some of my other interests:

•     Reading and blogging about fiction novels, especially fantasy!
•        Writing fiction for fun
•        Playing video games
•        Cooking and food
•         Dancing
•     Coldplay and classical music
•      Drinking tea
•     Surfing the web for interesting but possibly useless information
•     America’s Funniest Home Videos 
•     Daydreaming about anything
•     Being helpful

I guess I could list a couple of things I hate too (math, stranger danger, drama, movies about war, etc.) but let’s focus on the positives, right? I am so excited to be joining the crew here at the UT Tyler Admissions Center to help dish out the inside scoops and help give advice to make your journey into college and beyond that much less scary. Stay with me at the UT Tyler Blog and see what we get up to this semester! It’s a pleasure to meet my readers, and I hope all of you will let me know what you want to see from me in the comments as I bring you more blogs!

New Semester

New Semester!

   This new semester is (thankfully) starting off much easier than the last one and I for one and super thankful. My last semester consisted of all my worst subjects, rolled into a squishy ball of “I hate my life.” This semester is two English classes ( yay! ), one Bio course ( ~_~ Boo! ) and an online cinema class where we watch films. No kidding!

   What makes me excited about my English courses is that they are Graduate Level courses so I will have to read/work my behind off, but I am happy to be starting the Graduate process. My other interests of mind-controlling-severity will include:

-          -Take/study the GRE test

-          -Write/commit-to-concept papers for Grad Submissions as Writing Samples

-         - Apply for other colleges

-        -  Keep on top of my Grad classes

   My book purchases this semester were also the lowest ever here at UT ( 60 bucks! ) however is because [ so far ] I only need books for one class. Not too bad.

   Despite a possible hiccup in Financial Aid, everything got fixed up very well and my funds released today. I paid for books, my storage unit, and also got myself a new laptop.

   Last semester was particularly troubling ( well, for me anyway in regards to this problem ) because I had quite a few online components and class projects which was not workable from an iPad. I rented an e-textbook which had no NOOK support on the device, thus it was for all intents useless.

   This semester while I am on campus I’ll have access to a real laptop so I can use a full version of Office, watch the films I’ll need to see for class, and upload/submit my WORD document papers, etc…

   In all, it will be a difficult semester, but only because of the extra-curricular stuff that will be possible because my physical course-work is so agreeable.