You can view the election results video below; this year featured a record turnout at the polls. Guess who will be Student Government President at Nyack College NYC? Special thanks to everyone who participated; they made this election an unforgettable experience.

After it was all said and done, we enjoyed quite a few celebrations. Brenda and I visited a local restaurant in light of the semester’s end; I spent some time in the city with some senior graduates, and my family even threw a dinner for me with relatives as guests.

Brenda and I enjoyed a dinner celebration at The Door Restaurant

Last year I listed a few lessons I learned about taking college classes. Here is a new list with equally relevant info:

• Resolve in the beginning of your education that you want to aim for the valedictorian of your school, and let others know so they can keep you accountable! (If you’re entering Nyack College this upcoming semester, let’s talk! I’m on Twitter: @LelioAD)
• In the fine balance between academics, student activities, work, ministry, social activity, and entertainment, always be willing to sacrifice entertainment and self-gratification first. You can receive gratification from doing well in school and enjoying the company of friends–and don’t forget sleeping after the semester’s over!
• Working hard is (often) the consequence of not completing the work in a timely manner. Avoid procrastination and catch up by working smart, setting realistic goals, and completing your homework and other responsibilities on schedule! Then you can avoid late-night cramming and put quality into your homework efforts.

Celebrating the class of 2012 graduates

I’m especially proud of this year’s graduates, many of whom I’ve had the pleasure to know personally. S.G.A. members were invited to serve at the baccalaureate banquet, a dinner held just days before the actual graduation. As a greeter, I had the opportunity to see many of them off one more time as official Nyack College NYC alumni. Of course we’ll meet again–some sooner than others, as certain students have considered taking job positions at the school.

Now, planning begins to make this summer the most worthwhile and productive one yet. Stay with us; there’s plenty to write about during the break. I’m surely not leaving campus either, as we intend to have S.G.A. meetings throughout the summer semester!

IT. WAS. AWESOME.

When I graduated from High School I knew there was something bigger than that graduation that I would reach. It was a simple rites of passage, but college was voluntary unlike High School. I had a choice in college. It was something I invested in.

Leading up to graduation, I was excited, but in the I don’t know what to expect kind of way. I have graduated before, but would I be nervous, happy, sad? Would I cry? Would I be bored? Would I, like HS regret going because there was no deep satisfaction I’d felt?

The entire weekend was filled with excitement. My parents flew to New York from Florida, and the first time I was able to see them, was when I walked into Pardington Hall for the Baccalaureate. It was amazing to see how proud of me they were. I feel as if I’ve done right by not only myself to get a college education, but also right by my parents. In a family of at least 8 or 9 dozen people, there are less than 10 people who have gone to college. Some families see this as a necessity natural order of life, but in my family this is a big deal and I definitely felt that.

It was also exciting to share this moment with my closest friends…the friends I came into Nyack with…who have been with me in my lowest and highest moments…to sit with each other and have a moment after we received our diplomas and say “we did it” with direct inclination that this here, is the beginning of a lifetime, was a moment to cherish.

Before heading into the center. My friend Chris said something interesting.

He said: “They say college is the best years of your life. Don’t get me wrong, I love you guys, but I hope that’s not true.”

I hope not too. If college was the beginning of the rest of my life, I’d say it was a great start!

We have seen Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, Anything Goes, and last week, Godspell. I didn’t know exactly what to expect. All I knew was that it is based on the book of Mark. Now, I KNOW what happens in the book of Mark but I was a skeptic on how it would be portrayed for a secular audience.

When I walked in, I automatically questioned even the layout of the theatre. The stage was round and small, unlike any I’ve ever seen, and even the first scene seemed overtly artistic, as if the entire thing would be some kind of monologue. I am pleased to say it was not!

The music was fun, the dancing was invigorating. During the intermission we were allowed to dance on stage with some of the performers and the people closest to the stage were brought up to participate. Sounds odd for a Broadway show, but I assure you it was so exciting. These performers did incredibly with their improvisations!

It was also Corbin Blue’s first performance on the show and he played Jesus. I was not sure who he was but I soon found out, from the Freshman who were apart of his time, that he is from High School Musical. He did great! We were also able to meet all of the performers afterwards. I even got an autograph from my personal favorite Wallace Smith who played John the Baptist and Judas.

Afterward, it was a blast to catch up with some of my classmates that I haven’t seen in a while since we’ve all been taking our major classes or, like myself, live elsewhere. We talked about the show, our opinions of the portrayal of the story at large and of course, which song we liked best.  I’m going to miss these shows, but it only means that I need to go off and watch a few Broadway shows on my own time. Perhaps with my siblings, or maybe even with some friends! All I know is that this annual trip to Broadway must not end here.

Students are really getting into this one. First it was the flyers letting students know that Student Government applications were available in the library and at the Student Development office. Conversations broke out around the school between those who knew about the elections and those who were just finding out.

By the way, I’m definitely running for S.G.A. President for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year! Wish me… uh, godspeed?

Then flyers started appearing for the new presidential candidate, Rolando Rozales. He started appearing in classrooms, sharing his vision for the school. Next thing you know, it was debate time! We had a healthy turnout as the two presidential candidates answered questions from the Dean of Student Life and the students.

Rolando (left) and I participate in the April 18th Presidential Debate. Exciting stuff!

Now here ‘s the thing: I’m not really the “talk about your ideas and accomplishments” person–at least I wasn’t before this election. I’m well accustomed to taking the background, having been Vice President of the Business Club, Vice President of S.G.A.,  Assistant Editor of my community newspaper, and Executive Assistant of a startup Christian music company. I’ve had the opportunity to serve in all sorts of ways, from folding chairs to piecing together large events.

Now, be the face of an organization? “Nah, I’ll pass,” I’d say, “(he or she)’s got that.”

But Nyack College’s President, Dr. Michael Scales, said something prominent during a past Nyack Experience that I still remember: “You don’t take a position because you want to, but because there’s a need.”

Deep, huh? It’s also true; because I’ve been given so many opportunities to practice leadership at Nyack College (I’m even taking classes on leadership development and organizational behavior), I know a lot about how to make a difference:

• It starts with the organization. If your team is dissenting, you’ll make little to no progress.
• You must have respect for everyone, not just those who can help you out.
• Be a listener more than a talker. Always take opportunities to learn.
• You can never have enough knowledge and wisdom to lead efficiently. Stay reading, especially the book of Proverbs!
• It’s not about the position, but serving God through whatever position He gives you that counts.

I could go on and on about leadership–don’t get me started! But the one experience that really motivated me to speak, campaign, and maintain a vision was a conversation I had with a fellow, non-traditional student.

She shared how she was also a background person, until she realized the organization she volunteered in was in disorder. She had built relationships with people in that organization, knew the needs and the solution, and was ready that week to take up the mantle and become its president.

Although neither of us were seeking presidency (I wasn’t seeking Vice President of S.G.A. either, another good story for another time!), we were being redirected. “Sometimes He pushes you into the position,” she explained, “and you just have to be ready.”

So, may the best man win! Like Bill Clinton said in a 1992 interview, “I stayed in [the presidential race] because I thought I could be a force for change… and I wanted the voters to make up their mind. If the voters say, ‘Hey, we think some other person will be a better president,’ I will go home a happy man to the life that I’ve got, it’s a wonderful life. But I would have been a gutless wonder to quit… in the face of the convictions I have.”

As I think more deeply about how much my life will change in the next few weeks, I consider my relationships that I have built, not only at Nyack, but also in high school and at church.

Recently, two of my best friends from high school have moved to NYC. It has been amazing to reconnect. It is great to have those friends that you may not always see, and you may not text every day or even every month sometimes! The three of us have changed so much but it’s refreshing to still be able to maintain a friendship. Sadly, although Nyack isn’t so far away, it’s like I’m leaving them RIGHT when we’ve all been reunited.

(High School Bestie and I reunited and walking the Brooklyn Bridge!)

And this theme seems to persist. Right as I will be getting back to Nyack, the friends I’ve made that came in my year will be transitioning out too. Back home, overseas, and across the country. My hope is that we stay connected even though our lives will be changing drastically.

(2008-2012 Honors retreat with some great friends…)

I have the least concern for the friendships I’ve made with my “brownies” at church, but as we each discover and go after our calling, there has been a lot of rumor of moving. What is with all of this movement! I’d like to argue that I have the best of friends, and I know that every season will come and go which means that people may walk in and out of my life. As heart breaking as that is, I am determined to trust God with the friendships I have, which will be used to make me into the person I am supposed to be. I will also trust that as my friends make different friendships and the dynamic of any relationship changes, that it is the best for both of us, no matter how difficult it is to lose one another.

First, awesome news (that I shared on that beautifully edited video blog) I got a job! I start next week after many weeks of paperwork and fingerprinting and I am so excited! I am confident I’ll do great, but it is always nerve wrecking to think about not only what is expected of you for the position, but also, this being a full time job, if I’ve got what it takes to be, well, an adult! Again, I know I’ll be fine, but you can’t help but wonder!

Secondly, I was accepted into NYU! It’s still weird for me to say out loud, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that being at Nyack has made me into quite a student! I’m so nervous about transitioning into graduate school, but again, I’m confident I’ll do well. I’ve decided to defer and take a year off so that I can better prepare One transition at a time, PLEASE!

Lastly, I am graduating!! And with that comes a few things.. the final ceremony from the “Women’s Rites of Passage” that I have mentioned in previous blogs. I have to dress up (like a princess) haha, share something from my heart that I have gained from this journey of woman (which I decided would be a poem) and really own this title of woman! I’ll be sure to share pictures and perhaps the poetry as well.

And of course, the graduation ceremony in it self. Being a twin, I have never been celebrated with out sharing the limelight. It will probably be a little overwhelming, but joyous all the same to have people celebrate me. I’m not usually into that. The amazing part is that my family will be there, and that is everything I could ask for…

So how do I feel about these next steps…. SO EXCITED!!!!

What is The Story of Love? It’s a play produced by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Drama Company annually, about, well, the story of love–God’s love for mankind. This play takes it back to the beginning, showing how events from creation to our current society relate.

As the title reads, BT decided to go all out with this production. It’s not mediocre by any means–with an amusing light show, detailed costumes for each individual, and live singers from the choir (plus much more), the play is a phenomenal work of art that gets better every year!

My friend Jason and I in our disciple attire.

After giving our all to the rehearsals and mustering as much quality into the play as we could–there was even a choreographed fight scene when the soldiers led Jesus out of the garden–it was time to go live. We performed five times between Tuesday April 3rd and Sunday April 8th, relying on God’s grace to portray the ghastly nature of the crucifixion and the rapture of witnessing Jesus’ subsequent return as best as we could.

The most important part for the cast and crew was the altar call. To see so many lives dedicated to God was a true blessing–the sole reason we put so much work into the play.

Next time the drama company has a production, I’ll be sure to blog about it before it takes place as incentive for you, the readers, to come through and enjoy it yourself. Don’t forget, each performance is totalmente gratis–absolutely free!

Susan Cain in this video does a great job bringing a clear distinction between introversion, extraversion, a new idea known to me called ambiversion. I’ve been thinking a lot about personality over the last month on top of what I talked about in my last blog entry. I really wanna tie this idea of personality and our identity in Christ. I will first talk about myself. When I was young, I didn’t go out and hangout with  a lot of people. I wasn’t a loner but I definitely did not spend a lot of time with a lot of people. Something happened though when I first started college back in 2002. It’s like I entered  a social experiment where I was always around a lot of people. This went on till for the most past probably till recently. I realized that I was missing a big part of my life. I was missing the rest that comes in solitude.

Many times some behaviors are learned and kept do to insecurity. Many times people who are really introverted try to become extraverted or at least on the outside because they don’t know who they are and how they were created. Susan Cain mentioned this how this happened in her own life. I believe that happens to many people. About a month ago, I was talking to a friend who told me that most of his life he was always tested as extraverted until something happened. He had experienced a time of freedom of some issues in his heart. He told me that he realized that much of his life he actually dealt with an attitude of people pleasing. Once he overcame this issue in his life he became and even tested as introverted. He told me that he was missing solitude in his life and once he entered into solitude he was so much more whole in his life.

So I want to celebrate people who are looked down upon for their introversion. As Susan Cain says the world needs introverted people. I just want to champion those people who do not want to be around people all the time. They are the thinkers of the world. Many of them have been the world changers of the world. They are the ones that actually want to see change in the world not by trying to overload people but because they want to do what is right. I still consider myself somewhat of an extrovert but I challenge extroverts out there to look for that introverted part of yourself and listen to it. No in the world is purely introverted or extraverted.

Susan Cain talked to the people who have the best of both worlds. The Ambivert. As I look at Jesus’ life, he was the most perfect and balanced human being ever to walk this earth. He was always with people teaching, ministering and discipling. However, he would wake up early in the morning to go into solitude away from the disciples. Jesus knew who He was and what he needed to do to be himself. I’ve seen in my own life that when freedom truly comes in your life, you start embracing the parts of you that you either ignored or seemed liked the unpopular thing to do. All of this can be fixed once we truly know our identity in Christ. To tie this my last blog entry, let us find freedom first in our identity in Christ and then and only then can we embrace the way we were made.

I watched and often discussed the 2000 Presidential election in my little Dunbar apartment, arguing my uber-conservative Libertarian viewpoints against my semi-conservative and liberal friends.  The “me” of 2000 would hardly recognize the social-activist liberal “me” of today.

And I think that speaks volumes about college life and beyond.

I arrived at college in 1998 thinking that I knew pretty much everything.  I figured I would roll through college, maybe learn a few things, then graduate and get a job.  There is no way this wide-eyed, neatly Republican high-school graduate could have known how Nyack College would change his life.  Virtually every aspect of my life changed within the first year.  Influences from my friends, professors, coworkers at Temptations Cafe, or even books I was reading all conspired together to take me from immaturity to maturity, from simplistic in my view of the world, to seeing the complexity.

By the time 2000 rolled around, I was a self-described social Libertarian (i.e., VERY conservative), having shed my high school Republican persona, and now I had arrived!  I concluded my college experience with student-teaching in New City Elementary, a nice suburban school, and ultimately graduated from Nyack in May of 2002.

I began my teaching career in September 2002.  Once again I entered into teaching thinking that I knew pretty much everything (you’d think I’d have learned my lesson).  I was teaching in an urban New Jersey school district that was vastly different than my prior experience in New City.  And, once again, my life would be drastically changed within the first few years.  Seeing the needs of impoverished students had an impact on me in much the same way my college friends and professors had.

What I’ve learned is that changing your way of thinking based on new evidence does not make you weak.  Seeing things in a new way is a catalyst for growth.  It takes integrity and intellectual honesty to always seek the truth, even when the truth you find contradicts the truth you thought you had.

I won’t be surprised if, 10 years from now, I’m writing about the 30′s “me” with fond memories of my own naivety.  And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

When reading and listening to music, opt for music without lyrics to focus on the book's content.

Lately I’ve had quite a few reasons to read books, mostly due to class assignments and certain people’s recommendations. Hence, I’m returning to my former ways as an avid reader. Up until last year, I assumed that I was too busy to read, but one of the leadership tips I received from a school seminar was to “never stop reading.”

So far so good–I’ve read several books this semester, some alone and others along with my girlfriend. In this post I’d like to highlight some of my favorites. If you like what you read below, consider reading some of the books for yourself! The topics are very diverse, from love to leadership, so there’s a title here for everyone.

Ronald Takaki – A Different Mirror

Need a reference for solid, well-documented facts about U.S. History? Want to learn about the country from a quality, unbiased, and engaging source? Look no further than Dr. Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror. Takaki spent a lot of time collecting research and seeking primary sources backed up by historical evidence to piece together this thorough work. His purpose was to tell American history, not from what he calls “The Master Narrative” that casts the 400-year old country in a positive light from a majority perspective, but from “A Different Mirror.”

Many of us have observed people who haven’t quite fully assimilated to American culture and assumed they aren’t “from here.” Takaki seeks to help his audience recognize all United States citizens as “real Americans.” His book doesn’t hold back any punches either–it speaks of the atrocities that countless people suffered for this country to become a world power. If you’re looking for a horror story and a story of perseverance, you’ll soon realize that you won’t have to look any farther than unfiltered American history!

Ben Carson – Think Big

Francis Bacon observed that “worthy books are like mentors–available as companions and as solitude for refreshment.” This is one of those titles–Ben Carson lays out everything he learned that ushered him to achieve self-actualization. This includes the people who instilled into his life at crucial points, the lessons he learned from his experiences, and even his faith that grew while witnessing miracles at the medical center. Carson went from worst in his class during grade school to a world renowned brain surgeon, all because of faith and mentorship. I’ve learned all sorts of lessons reading the facts he lays out, particularly the ones he picked up from his mother’s wisdom.

According to Mr. Carson, you T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G. when you: “T is for Talent/time: Recognize them as gifts. H Hope for good things and be honest.  I Insight from people and good books. N Be nice to all people. K Knowledge: Recognize it as the key to living. B Books: Read them actively.  I In-depth learning skills: Develop them. G God. Never get too big for him!” So, are you ready to T.H.I.N.K. B.I.G.?

John Maxwell – Developing the Leader Within You

John Maxwell reflects that God desires for all of us to be leaders. So why then do only 2% of our population shape our culture while the remaining 98% are “culture zombies?” Leadership is developed, not innate; like many characteristics, hard work, discipline, and mentorship will produce a capable leader. Maxwell describes leadership simply as “influence,” but the process of influencing others starts with personal growth. If you desire to achieve new heights and influence those around you to do the same, this book is for you!

I found this work particularly helpful with my life’s work ethic as well as my participation in Nyack College NYC’s Student Government Association. In fact, what I learned from this book I put to use right away. Chapters cover thought-provoking subjects like self-discipline and integrity–fields we can all use growth in. Now in S.G.A., we cover a chapter of this book at the beginning of our meetings. Simply put, I couldn’t recommend “Developing the Leader Within You” more.

Gary Chapman – The Five Love Languages

What I love about all the books I’ve listed in this post is that they will change you if you let them. This title is no exception. Dr. Gary Chapman examines relationship(s), gives a name to the specific desires that when met fulfill couples, and admonishes the reader to meet the significant other’s need on her terms (and vice versa). The five love languages couples speak and understand are gifts, quality time, acts of service, physical touch, and words of affirmation. Not all of these languages are as straightforward as we think they are, but in this book we’re given the tools to learn and put them into practice.

The outcome of learning to “speak” your beloved’s primary love languages? Causing her or him to feel truly loved with a desire to reciprocate that love. When you go all out to appease the needs your spouse developed from childhood, you will have one bundle of joy on your hands. Fail to meet your lover’s needs, and, uh… well, Dr. Chapman is also an experienced counselor. But let’s choose the former, shall we?

God Inspired – English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible

Why am I blogging about the Bible, you may ask? This post isn’t so much about reading the Bible regularly as much as how a study Bible can augment your reading. My parents gave me a study Bible for my birthday in February with the intent to help me better understand the text. Mission success! Having a study Bible really makes the Word make sense, all the time. When we don’t understand what we’re reading, we tend to lose interest and miss out on the whole experience, right? This dilemma is a thing of the past when you use an ESV Study Bible to enhance your reading.

The study Bible comes with explanations for the chapters and verses, cross-referencing to show which verses are related, and a detailed summary of each book. Charts, maps, timelines–you name it, the study Bible has it. What are you waiting for? Get deep into the Word with a study Bible in your choice translation!

Each one of these books has mentored me in some form. I hope you accept the challenge to consider reading one or two; I can definitely testify that my mind has improved as a result of reading these books. Plus, how else will you be able to say that you’ve been mentored by Ben Carson, Gary Chapman, John Maxwell, and Paul the Apostle?