Blog Feed

Eoin- Hello, how are you?

Max- I’m good.

Eoin- What is your name?

Max- Um, Max Harris.

Eoin- Max Harris, ok. I’m just going to ask you a few questions about your life here.

Max- Alright

Eoin- So, What is your earliest memory?

Max- Um wow, I’m not sure if I have an earliest memory. Like, I definitely have

memories of going to preschool and crying, uh, it was like, this woman who ran a preschool in her house, and it was called, “Sue’s house.”

Eoin- Ok

Max- Um, me and this one kid would go fishing in a pond in the backyard, well, we just stuck sticks in the water, haha, you know, “Fishing, fishing!” But yeah, I have some,... I have a lot of early memories but I don’t know which one would be the earliest.

Eoin- So, what was the most exciting thing you’ve done in your life?

Max- Oh gosh um, what do you mean by exciting? Like dangerous, exciting like, “Yay!”

Eoin- Like, dangerous, important or...

Max- Ok yeah, um, I mean, I, I don’t know, now that I think about it. Most of the things I’ve done are pretty, I guess, average. I have had some memorable experiences, but I wouldn’t say that any of them stuck out in an incredibly exciting way. I have had some dangerous encounters.

Eoin- Ok, what was the happiest moment of your life, and why?

Max- Um, wow. I don’t know, uhhh. I have had a lot of fun moments. I would say that those are happy, but I have not really had the happiest moment because I feel like, at 14, you probably should not have the happiest moment. I feel like that should be something like, your child being born. But, I have had happy moments with my friends, just doing stupid things.

Aaliyah interview

• So Aaliyah what is your earliest memory?

• Answer: My earliest memory is when it was me my cousin and my dad, and we were at a cookout and after that he took us out to Chuck’e Cheese.

• What does your perfect day look like?

• Answer: My perfect days is me in the house writing about my life and my stories.

• What are your goals and ambitions for the future?

• Answer: My goals and ambitions for the future is to go to college and pursue my career.

Interview with my friend Jorge

If you could snap your fingers and make one thing better in the world, what would it be? Why?

It would probably be how LGBT people get treated because I know that there is a lot of homophobic people out there. I don’t really understand why society just views them as bad people because we’re all humans. We all have the same internal organs inside, we’re all the same inside and out. Obviously we can’t ever live in a Utopia but that would mean a lot to me since LGBT gets discriminated a lot just because they’re different.

Q1: What is your family life like?

Asmar B: Well basically, my family life is normal. I see my family every week. We see each other, have fun, mainly the normal life of a family. We have drama but it’s not too dramatic.

Q2: What makes you happy?

Asmar B: What makes me happy is actually other people being happy because I cant stand to see somebody sad. That makes me feel bad as a person. If I see somebody sad, it makes me want to help them and make sure that they are happy because if they’re happy, I’m happy.

Q3: What inspired you to go to SLA and why?

Asmar B: Basically the science. I loved science when my new school opened up science to me. Now I want to explore science as a career and as a profession.

Q4: What were your previous academic experiences like?

Asmar B: It was rough. I had many tests that i weren’t really prepared for but I did manage to pass some.

Q5: What are your expectations for your personal future?

Asmar B: I want to be successful. I want to have enough money to provide for me, my family, and everyone that I love.

Q6: Does your personal life affect your academic life?

Asmar B: 100% because this school is very social, and most of my social life is in this school. So anything that happens in this school will happen in this school and outside of school.

Q7: Would you say that that is a positive or negative thing?

Asmar B: It depends on the situation. If it is a positive situation that happens in school then it’ll be looked at as a positive thing but if there is a negative situation then it will be looked at as a negative thing.

Why did you choice to be a teacher?

This is a very good story I was a Sociologies In a Spanish country in a Latin american country. I got a job in st Diego I worked like a social worker in Diego like homeless family they were living in a out sick like in canyons. I was working with them till I moving into an apartment with someone from Mexico. In part of that I help set up an after school program where I was touring kids. These times were the best part of my day I had fun with the kids I was good at it I felt like I really belong here. At that time I was not married my name was Kara Mullarky. I was trying to decide weather to go back to Philadelphia and go back to school and get teaching degrees and teach kids. But in a second thought that will be a big change and I really love it here but I did not think I had a future here. I was very very poor at that time. One day I went to the library on my way there I said to myself that if I were to become a teacher it will have to be a sign from god. “When I walked in the library I saw a book the title says that Ms. Mullarky can’t be in room one o one today.  The name Mullarky is not a name like. When I saw that I just said to myself it is a sign that I should be a teacher”.

What or who inspired you to come to SLA @ Beeber to teach.

“ Mr.Roy is my husband best friend he is the one who inspired me to come and teach here”. He is the one who told me that he really love it here and the kids are very very smart and that they really want to do work. I wanted to work with kids that wanted to learn. That is the very reason why I choose to teach ESOL or ELL kids because I know that they really want to learn. For example you, you want to learn.

Does your personal life affect your academic life?

1. What was the biggest lesson you have learned

• Honestly, I think its to make the best of your time and not waste your time doing things that aren’t important, so pretty much prioritizing.

2. How do you want to be remembered

• I want to be remembered as an innovator, as a leader, but also as someone who just lets things happen and ah, conservative.

3. If you could redo one thing in your life, what would it be and why.

• I would redo my Halloween night, i mean because dad died on Halloween night, or the night --- The morning after that and I would spend that day with him.

Interview with Eoin Kelly

Question 1-

Max: What is your earliest memory?

Eoin: I was in preschool, I was about 4 years old, and it was like recess time and we were too young to go outside so we had to stay inside, and I remember this kid Christian, and I looked at him and I walked over to him and he said "Don't even think about it". So, I walked away and played with the Play-Doh. And it was really fun actually, it was very fun.

Question 2-

Max: Who is your biggest influence?

Eoin: I'm gonna say it has to be my brother. Even though we fight a lot, it's just he teaches a lot, he is a learning person, he teaches lots of good life lessons.

Question 3-

Max: What is the best thing about being a teenager?

Eoin: The best thing about being a teenager is like, walking up to someone and say "Yo what's up, I'm a teenager".

Q1. Describe your perfect day.

A1. I would say my earliest memory in Puerto Rico would be when I was a little girl and me and my dad were walking on the beach of Yabucoa and he got this rock and knocked it on a coconut, cracked it open. We ate it but I accidently threw away the piece you were supposed to eat. He was like what're your doing and I was like, I am sorry I didn't know I was supposed to eat that.

Q3. What would you perfect day look like?

A3. My perfect day *pauses* I would say my perfect day would be if all my my mom and dad's family would take like a trip to either a like, a nice little island or Puerto Rico because even though my mom's family has been to Puerto Rico, none of my dad's family have been to Puerto Rico. They are always saying like, "I want to go to Puerto Rico, I want to go to Puerto Rico" and my grandfather from D.R., he says that before you know he passes away he wants to go to Puerto Rico. So, I would say like we would have a nice day in Puerto Rico more (drama) just everybody having fun, everyone interacting with each other.

Q2. What does your future hold?

A2. I would say my future..my future holds what I tell it to hold. Like, what I want my future to be like is I would like to become a marine biologist. Or if I don't pursue that career, I would like to do culinary arts.

What’s the best thing about being a teenager? The worst?

“You get to do a lot of stuff. Uhh… for example you get to go out, you get to shop for yourself, you get to do your work, or get a job, yeah.

How different do you think our generation is from others?

“A lot. This generation is getting dumber than it used to be ‘cause smart phones are becoming smarter.

At what age did technology become integrated into your life?

 Ms. Guarino

What is the most exciting thing about you?

“The most exciting thing about me?... Maybe that I… teach. I think teaching is really exciting! I think think getting to hang out around kids all the time as your job, is a pretty exciting thing. So that’s probably what I talk about a lot when people ask me’’.

How would you describe yourself as a person?

“ I think I am a kind person. I think that’s one of my best qualities about me, that I really am nice, I think which you don’t always find in everyone. I think that I try to be funny, but sometimes  I’m not funny. I think that I am a loving person, I think that comes from coming from a big family. So I think those are my three biggest qualities”.

How would you feel about being engaged?

“ Oh pretty exciting, I was very surprised!. So I’m still a little bit shocked, but I’m feeling pretty happy about it, everyone in my life is really happy about it. So that makes it a little exciting too.”

Interview with Robert

Interviewer: Radiatou Diarra

What is the biggest thing about being a teenager?

"The best thing about being a teenager is having the power over my siblings".

Describe a perfect day

"A perfect day for me will be a day where I stay at home and play video games all day. Another perfect day will be where I get to school with no problem and do all my work".

What do you think your life will be like when you get older?

“Very peaceful and relaxing”.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

Interviewer - Epifanio Rios

Interviewee = Mr. Pilla

Bolid = Interviewer talking

Unbolded = Interviewee talking

What are you proudest of in your life?

“I think the thing that I am proudest of was taking a really big risk when I was twenty six years old. I left my job at Lockheed Martin for a year to go to Chicago as part of this volunteer program and when I was in Chicago for the year, I actually got a volunteer placement working at a school and thats what put me down the path of becoming a teacher.”

If you could snap your fingers and make one thing better in the world, what would it be? Why?

“I think that I would want to make just prejudice and racism kind of go away because I feel like that just creates barriers for allot of people that are just are too hard to overcome.” Do you think if we overcome those barriers the world would just be a better place? “I think that would be one potential solution, yea its tough to say.”

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

“I think the biggest influence on my life probably was my uncle because growing up my uncle was actually also an electrical engineer and thats what got me interested in electronics when I was really young, which then lead me to college for engineering and that definitely had a profound impact on me.”

What are the most important lessons youʼve learned in life?

“Well interestingly, I feel like one of the most important I’ve learned has been, sort of in the last five to ten years and that has just been to, in some respects, do as much as possible because I feel like the more things you get involved with, the more people in that working so that you can accomplish, and that just opens up opportunities and ideas to do things with your life that you probably never would have considered.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 20 years?

“In ten years, I think I would, hopefully, like to see myself still working at SLA. In twenty years, I think I would like to see myself, possibly running some sort of business on my own.” Why do you see yourself there? “I just really like different things. I think there is something to be said about changing what you do, hence why I started as an electrical engineer and now I’m teaching and I am not 100% sure that I would like to spend the rest of my working years as a teacher, I might want to try something else.”

How would you like to be remembered?

Me: What Is your earliest Memory ?

Kevin: My earliest memory is running across my back yard to my grandmother house butt naked.

Me: What are you proudest of in your life ?

Kevin: The thing I am most proud of in my life is me getting into high-school, making it to see another day, and getting a chance to go to a college recruiting basketball camp.

Me: Where do you see yourself in 10-20 years ?

Kevin: In 10-20 years I see myself living lavish all types of fabrics you know, I just want to able to say I made it.. you know, take care of my family.

Interviewer: Epifanio Rios

Interviewee: RaVaana

What is the most exciting thing you’ve done?

The most exciting thing i have done was rowing. -   What about it was exciting? Everything. The most exciting part of it is getting to race. What did you like about it? I liked the feeling of beating someone, I can explain but i would say was, how hard i pushed my self and getting eat after the race.

What is your earliest memory?

My earliest memory is when my parents and I have went to florida, you know those beach bikes on.  what makes it so memorable?  The fact that it was at night.

What does your perfect day look like?

Is getting everything I ask for, i guess, everything going my way.    The thing I worry about the most is my hair, if it is messed up I will have a horrible day and if I do not eat I will cranky.

How would you like to be remembered?

as a kind and happy and sometimes weird person.   Because that how I see myself as and I would like others too.

Describe your relationship with your family.

It is really good, but i do not keep in touch with many of my cousins, like when we go to family reunions it is like meeting each other for the first time again.   I would say this because my mom doesn't really like the neighborhood and would rather much have them come to us. Allot are older than me so basically i'm the youngest.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I dont really know, I would hope to have my career in business and have the hair salon I always wanted. I was about 7 , because it was the first time I played with one of those hair makins, I used to play with them allot and i managed to cut all the hair off, I thought I knew what I was doing, i was trying to give it a short cut but it kept coming out uneven so I thought if i did this it would come out even.  

Who is the biggest influence in your life?

I kind of think it would be my brother, but i dont know how to explain.   So he hates when I have chipped nail polished so he influenced me to not walk around without my nails being done. He taught me how to do my hair kind of, tie my shoes, write in cursive, he taught me to draw stars and hearts when I was younger. My mother was very busy with taking care of my older sister, and my dad was not home allot, He was also my favorite sibling. Yes. Hmh when he went to college I cried a lot when he came to visit and had to go back I would cry a lot. Yes. Idk, very.

What makes you happy?

Allot of things make me happy. being able to be myself around friends makes me happy, having friends who understand me, they call me weird but I like being weird, also applesauce makes you happy.   Because I mean everyone needs friends to make them happy, i guess.

If you could change something in the world in a snap, what would it be?

Better living conditions for everyone and every being equal. Because I feel like some people who live in bad areas do not get as many opportunities as people in  the suburbs or treated unfairly or that currently they are seen as though they matter compared to someone with allot of money.   I think it is this was because money equals power.

Tell me a story about your name?

When i was about to be born my parents were in the elevator with my aunt but my mom wanted to name me Raven, but my dad said like in the bible a raven is a dirty bird, then my aunt came up with the name RaVanna.  There was this boy in school this boy kind of made a nickname and called me RaVanaa Donna, and my mom and my sister started calling me that.

Interview with Radiatou

• If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

• “I would travel to paris because I have family there.”

• Who is the biggest influence in your life?

• “My mother because she always been there for me.”

• How would you like to be remembered?

• “I dont want to be remembered as bad I want to be remembered as good.”

• How do you describe yourself as a person?

“Loving, caring, understanding…..I treat people the way I want to be treated”

• What is something that has impacted you significantly?

“My life experience has taught me what to do and what not to do."

• How do you want to impact the world and why?

“Just treat people the way you want to be treated. With all the hatred and violence, I just want to live a peaceful life. And I wish everyone around me would do the same because it’s so dangerous now”

• What does the word happiness mean to you?

“Happiness is an inside job. I believe that happiness depends on how you feel on the inside. If you’re okay on the inside, then you show it in the way that you live, things that you do, the way you treat people.“

• What’s the most important thing in life to you?

I guess if I had to say one thing, I would try to help better communities of poverty and try to eradicate that, and try to raise tolerance for different types of people, and try to help people in need. [Because] I don’t think it’s fair how people get discriminated against by something as arbitrary as their race, gender, sexual orientation, status, economic status, or, you know, race or stuff like that.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 20 years?

I guess having minor success. Doing something that I find interesting, making some money, maybe in a relationship. I don’t know. Whatever - whatever comes my way. Who cares? Life is life. (20 years…) Oh god… I hope I don’t get hit by a care by that time. I’m serious, like, it’s so scary. 20 years? Well, by that time I’ll be 36 so I will definitely need to have my act together. Hopefully be in a serious relationship, or I mean at least a minor relationship, a relationship of some sort. Having like a happy - be happy, that’s the most important thing even if I don’t have a relationship. I mean, I don’t define myself by who I’m with, but I guess just happiness.

How do you describe yourself as a person?

I don’t know. Good. I guess, hopefully, nice, I don’t know. Interesting, maybe? Whatever. 

How do you want to impact the world and why?

A good way. I want to impact it, so that way when people like my friends, children, maybe my children if I have any, and their children’s children have a better space that’s safe and, you know, good, nice for them to live in.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life?

That’s a tough question. Probably my family because they've molded me to be the person that I am and I love them and hopefully they love me. I’m just kidding [of course they do]. Yeah, probably them. I couldn't sum it down to, like, specific people. I just had like a group. 

What’s the best thing about being a teenager? Worst?