S2 / Episode 4 – Choosing something different

RAQUEL: WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF BMCC OPENLAB STUDENT VOICES. I'M RAQUEL NERIS, AND IN THIS EPISODE, IQRA SHEIKH, FROM THE OPENLAB TEAM, INTERVIEWS WILLIAM APARICIO, A LIBERAL ARTS MAJOR, MEMBER OF THE OUT IN TWO PROGRAM, THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION AND THE GUIDE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. IN THIS EPISODE, WILLIAM TALKS ABOUT HOW TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BMCC RESOURCES CHANGED HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT BEING IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE. LET’S LISTEN TO HIS STORY. — Iqra: Hello! Hi everyone, my name is Iqra Sheikh and I am with the OpenLab Team. Today I have… William: William Aparicio Iqra: William Aparicio is a student at BMCC. This episode will basically be…revolve around his experience at BMCC. So the first question that I’m going to ask is, why BMCC? William: Yea so I’m from Long Island…I’ve lived there for most of my life and I wanted something different…I wanted to go to school in the city. I had a lot of mutual friends who went here and they really raged about it so just applied. Iqra: Nice! I have a very similar experience. I’m from South Brooklyn and that’s basically the suburbs of Brooklyn and I also wanted to be in the city. Like I was very close to the Brooklyn College and everyone was like, just go to Brooklyn College and I’m like no I want to go to the city. And this is a beautiful campus…Like you're in Tribeca…there's so much to do here. Okay. So you wanted a city life. Nice. Okay. Now the second question, it would be what's your major? William: Liberal Arts. Iqra: Nice. What do you plan to do? And what class has stood out to you? William: So all my English classes, my ethnic studies classes. Iqra: Awesome. Yeah. Okay. Iqra: Okay…so are there any programs that you're in? William: Yeah Iqra: Okay, which program? William: Yeah. I'm in the Out in Two. Oh, Out in Two. Iqra: Okay. Yeah. Iqra: I'm also a Guide Scholar. And… Iqra: What is, what do both programs entail? William: So Out in Two is like, it's given to about 25 students per semester. Iqra: Wow! William: You get $1,600 per semester. And starting in the Spring, you get a MetroCard. And you get a personal advisor. Iqra: Oh, I love that…I love that. Personal MetroCard, that's great. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So that's Out in Two. And what's the other one? Guide…? William: Guide. Iqra: Guide. What do you do for that? William: Guide is five recipients every year. Iqra: Wow. You should feel lucky. William: Yeah. You enroll in a class in NYU as a visiting student. Iqra: Oh, sick. Yeah. I remember. Yeah. I tried applying for that when I was here. William: Yeah. Cool. Iqra: I didn't get in, though. Anyways, but you can keep going. Yeah. So. So what do you do in NYU? What are you taking? William: So I just took my class there in the Fall. I took a class at Gallatin. It was the Colonial Invention of Race. Iqra: What's the Gallatin School of? Is that the Liberal School? William: It's a school of individualized study. So you make your own major. Iqra: Oh, wow. So this is…so this class that you chose, was it something that you created? William: No. Iqra: Okay. William: Yeah…You create your major. But there's classes and… Iqra: Okay. I think I get it. Yeah. Nice. So how was that class? That sounds really cool. William: Yeah. It was really great. Iqra: 1492. Columbus. When he discovered "America”. William: Yeah, we learned about, obviously, the invention of race. And it was something I had maybe not, I had a lingering interest in from my other classes at BMCC. Iqra: ethnic studies… William: And I wanted to expand on that. Iqra: Wow. William: I wanted to know why certain things happen. Iqra: Oh, yeah. Me too. William: And I think the invention of race is one of the biggest whys of why, like, systemic racism in a lot of things unfolded. Iqra: Yeah. William: The invention of race. — RAQUEL: IN THIS CONVERSATION, WILLIAM TALKED ABOUT HOW HIS JOURNEY FROM LONG ISLAND TO THE HEART OF THE CITY SPARKED HIS DESIRE FOR CHANGE. BY SHARING EXPERIENCES IN USING RESOURCES, JOINING PROGRAMS, AND PUTTING EFFORT IN HIS ACADEMICS, WILLIAM’S STORY IS AN INSPIRING CASE. NEXT, WILLIAM TALKS MORE ABOUT HIS PLANS FOR THE FUTURE, HIS EXPERIENCES IN MAKING NEW FRIENDS ON CAMPUS AND A COUPLE OF ADVICES FOR CURRENT STUDENTS. ___ Iqra: You know, BMCC has a segway with NYU. William: Yeah. Iqra: Okay. Is that what you're trying to do? To go there? William: So for the Guide scholarship, so if you take the class and you do well in it…And do well in NYU and the NYU community, they said.. yeah. Iqra: Like, if you do well and you apply, they'll be like, oh, yeah, that's that kid who took the class and did well…? William: Yeah. So you get a full ride. Iqra: Okay. Wow. Sick. So is that what you're trying to do? William: Yeah, that's, yeah. Iqra: Okay. What's your GPA now? William: I got an A in NYU class. Iqra: Oh, beautiful. That's all you need. William: Okay. My GPA now is a 3.89. Iqra: Oh, beautiful… 3.89. Wow. It has a good sound to it. That's almost a 4.0. Anyways. Okay. I have no problem…Like, I know you're going to get in. Okay. You're going to get in anywhere you apply for. Okay. So you have that. What about, like, in terms of your friend life here? Do you have a friend life here or not really? Because I didn't really have one. My friends were my professors. William: Yeah. So all my friends are on Long Island. Oh, okay. I kind of just come here for schooling. Okay. I don't know. I'm really shy and it's kind of hard for me to open up and I'm just, like, used to my friends. Iqra: Interesting. So what made you to want to do this episode? William: I'm not that shy. Iqra: Okay. William: Yeah. No. I have some friends here, but they're not like…I don't think I have, like…any best lasting friends here. Iqra: Oh, okay. William: Not shade on anyone. Iqra: No, yeah. It's just acquaintances, people who you meet. William: But there is a lot of people that I've met here that I really like. Iqra: Okay. That's good. William: Yeah. Iqra: Um, do you like the food at the cafeteria here? William: I've ate it twice and I don't love it. Iqra: It's expensive. William: Yeah. People say that a lot. It's expensive as heck. So I'm in the Student Government. I'm the secretary… Iqra: Fix the prices!!! William: Yeah…! That's a big thing that the students say. It's expensive. Iqra: Yeah. So it's a bit expensive. I think, like, two pizzas are like $8. William: Yeah. That's bad. Iqra: Bro… that's $2.50…Even in Tribeca, they're $2.50. There's a, there's a deal on, uh, what's the one? Chambers Avenue. You get two slices and a soda for $5. William: Yeah. Iqra: Okay. Okay. So you're also an SGA. Yeah. Wow. Wow. You do a lot. William: Yeah, I try. Iqra: Yeah. I got to make the most out of it. Okay. I have one last question. And the question is, if there's any advice you would give to future students enrolling or considering BMCC, what would you tell them? William: Definitely do it. Uh, go. Before I got to BMCC, I had that negative stigma of community college. Iqra: Yeah. William: A hundred percent. Uh, I was actually really upset to be going here, but that changed in maybe like less than a month… I got really amazing professors my first semester.. Iqra: Yeah, they are all good. William: And my following semesters, and it's just been really great…Uh, just be open to learn and make sure this is what you want to do. I feel like a lot of people go into college just because their parents say to go to. Uh, that's not necessarily bad, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do. Right. Especially if you, if you're going to come here and not do well, uh, that's not saying college is not for you. Just make sure you're in a good, uh, headspace to be in college and… Iqra: Do something you want to do. You want to do…Yeah, I agree!...Yeah. Like my, my oldest brother who was the one to, who started the, the familial line to go into college, he did, you know, what was required…like…so he did the STEM field. And I saw him, you know, stressed out and me, I did the arts and because my heart was there and I'm like, I'm going to go for me. And I feel like it's very similar to what you're saying. You have to go for you because then you can really put your all, but I don't know, I feel like it varies. Is there anything you would like to say to, I don't know, to the audience of this podcast? William: Uh, no. Iqra: Okay. All right. Thank you so much. Um, yeah. Looking forward to, uh, our next episode with another person. Sorry, William, but thanks for this one!! Ok… ____ Raquel: THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON THIS PODCAST EPISODE FEATURING WILLIAM APARICIO AND IQRA SHEIK. IN THEIR CONVERSATION, WILLIAM EXPLAINS WHY HE CHOSE BMCC AND TALKS ABOUT HIS MAJOR IN LIBERAL ARTS. HE ALSO SHARES CURIOSITIES ABOUT SOME PROGRAMS HE IS IN. WILLIAM ALSO ADVISES FUTURE STUDENTS TO BE OPEN TO LEARNING AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE PURSUING WHAT THEY TRULY WANT. THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR SECOND SEASON CALLED MAKING MORE OF YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE, IN WHICH WE FOCUS ON HOW JOINING BMCC INITIATIVES, SUCH AS CLUBS AND PROGRAMS, CAN HELP STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH US AND, IF POSSIBLE. YOUR EXPERIENCES IN OUR PODCAST. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I WILL SEE YOU IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE OPENLAB STUDENT VOICES PODCAST.