Blog Post 3, (#2)

To begin with, after reading, "What is Plagiarism?" and "How to Avoid Plagiarism," I learned what a huge deal it is to copy someone else's work on college campuses, even if it is just paraphrasing. Personally, this is something I have never done. I find no reason not to cite my work; it shows that you have evidence to support your claims in a science paper and quotes to back up your thesis in an English essay. On top of that, though, there is nothing wrong with taking someone else's ideas and using it to make a point (as long as you cite it after) because it shows how connected human beings are. We take ideas from the "350,000,000 pages on the Internet" ("What is Plagiarism?") because we believe they are articulated well and present intellectual ideas; it is essentially a method of learning.
Right now, I am going to copy the definition of plagiarism: "Stating someone else's ideas in your own words" ("What is Plagiarism"). But, what did I do? I put quotes around the sentence and cited it right after. It takes five extra seconds to add that citation and it saves the student the possibility of suspension of even expulsion for plagiarism. It was really interesting getting that visual of the proper ways to site things in "How to Avoid Plagiarism" through examples. That, along with the explanation after each citation, was definitely helpful!
That's all for now.
Xoxo,
Ariana

Blog Post 3, (#1)

I know we should not prejudge situations, but I honestly thought the librarian's talk would be one of those boring 50-minute sessions where I quietly sit there and discreetly online shop on my phone. Boy was I wrong! The librarian's talk was so fun and interesting! She is such a kind person and it is obvious how much she cares about the well-being each college student on this campus. Her motherly instincts, such as bringing healthy snacks to pass out to students during finals weeks, is so very touching, especially since all my family and friends are so far away. I loved the part of her talk where she showed us pictures of all the different activities the library offered; my personal favorite was when they let students relieve stress by graffiti-ing the library walls prior to reconstruction.
In addition, the Career Counseling center was great because now I won't have to search for it all over campus if I ever need to go there...and honestly, I am positive there will come a day in the near future when I will be there! My favorite part of this presentation was when the lady showed us the online test that tells a student which careers would best suit him/her. Right now, I am a science major, but this may change and I personally believe taking a test like that can be really helpful in choosing the right career.
That's all for now.
Xoxo, Ariana

Post Number 2!

We are 18, we are legal, we are in college…and we attend UCSB!!! Life just doesn’t get better than that and UCSB is clear proof of that. These past three weeks, I have met a vast number of people from all walks of life—a guy from London, a girl who attended a private school right next to mine, and a goofball from Texas who never says “howdy.” More specifically, I have met students interested in rushing Greek life, running for hall council and student government, and competing in various sports. It has been a pretty incredible journey so far!

Something we talked about at our last INT 95 section meeting was the meaning of being resourceful. Personally, I believe being resourceful means to utilize one’s available resources, seek help from one’s peers and professors, and be aware of one’s surroundings and environment. One way I have done this at UCSB is through attending the office hours of my Intro to Ethics class and exploring the Student Resource Building (SRB).

To begin with, I visited the Cultural Resource Center at the Student Resource Building. I learned that this room holds approximately fifteen people in it and is a great space for clubs to meet and groups to hold culture-themed events. Bigger groups and organizations use the Multi Purpose Room, a place where students can host an event, such as movie night, hold a dance event, and have a guest speaker. My personal favorite part of this building, however, is the Greek life office on the first floor. Rushing in the fall is something I am really looking forward to, so visiting this office was definitely exciting!

Lastly, I went to Career Day today and learned a lot about the various different majors and minors UCSB offers. Some of the desks I visited were that of chemistry and biochemistry, psychology and the brain sciences, economics, and environmental science. As a biology major, visiting the science-orientated tables was of utmost importance to me. From this visit, I realized I that need to change my major from biology to biopsychology in order to pursue the field of neuroscience (researching Alzheimer’s disease, to be specific).

That’s all for now.

Xoxo, Ariana 

INT 95 Blog

Hello, I'm Ariana Malek! I'm from the suburbs of NorCal, from a city called Sunnyvale, more popularly recognized as a part of San Jose. I attended a private Catholic high school called Archbishop Mitty, so coming to UC Santa Barbara and being greeted by such a vast number of welcoming faces is not something I am entirely accustomed to, but it has been absolutely incredible so far!
Growing up, I have always been extremely involved in various activities, although a great level of unwanted stress also came from that, as I had to balance extracurriculars with academics and social stuff too. For instance, I competed in swimming and played on a soccer team for the past ten years, and still truly regret quitting before I was presented with the opportunity to pursue an athletic scholarship and get recruited by universities nationwide. I am also absolutely obsessed with music; I play the piano and will listen to almost every genre of music, with the exceptions of heavy metal and screamo. Recently, I have become really into country music... where are all my Luke Bryan fans at!!! Another one of my hobbies is traveling; I have been to nine different countries and hope to travel the world one day. Ironically, I have never been to Hawaii though :(
As a student, I put my academics first. It is of utmost importance to me to succeed and I am naturally very driven and hard working. If I must stay up until five am to finish my homework, I will do it. If I have to skip a party to study for a test, no questions ask, you will see me in the library that night. I chose to attend FSSP because I feel like I will benefit from completing credits early (almost a guarantee that I will graduate in four years, which seems to be a bit of a challenge at UC's these days) and getting comfortable with my new surroundings before the mass of new freshman students rush in during the fall quarter. I also really WANT to be here at UC Santa Barbara and more specifically, FSSP. I want to get my Bachelor's of Science degree in biology at the second best research institute in the nation. I want to meet new people, make new friends, and have a blast this summer; and for those of you who do not know me well, you will soon realize that I am quite social and bubbly. I want to live beside the ocean, which is my favorite place in the whole wide world. And lastly, I want to make these next four years the most exciting, wild, carefree, and regret-free years of my life!
I hope that this gave you all a glimpse into my life and I look forward to getting to know each of you better as FSSP continues. That's all for now.
Xoxo, Ariana