U4U College Magazine - Fall 2010 by Liz Reitman

2010

FALL

www.u4ucollegemagazine.com

The rising music sensation on everything from soccer to songwriting

Project Runway Star

NINA GARCIA Talks Fashion

COLLECTING TATTOOS BEYOND the MALL JOB W r i t t e n

f o r

s t u d e n t s,

b y

s t u d e n t s

V I S I T U S AT

Letter from the Editor FEATURES / fall 2010

This is the fall edition of U4U, the magazine written for students, by students. How is it different from other magazines? We let students develop their own story ideas, write from their

2 5

From Runway to Reality

The result: articles that are more personal to the

Project Runway star Nina Garcia talks fashion

As the school year begins and you meet new

My Favorite…

you have in common as college students, you

Green Lantern comic book author Geoff Johns

diagnosed with a massive brain tumor, shares

Who I Am

What I’m Passionate About

writers, and hopefully more interesting to you.

people, you will realize that despite everything

6 10

point of view, argue with us about our edits.

each have a unique story to tell. Caroline Poe, her harrowing personal diary in Who I Am, page 6. Maybe you’re like Mariah Senecal, whose

One student’s battle with a brain tumor

desire to express her feelings and creativity led to a form of art collecting uniquely her own. Read What I’m Passionate About: Collecting Tattoos, page 8. And if you’ve ever fallen in

Collecting tattoos

love with something totally unexpected, or

K’NAAN: The Interview

the author of the Green Lantern series, in My

love comics, read about Sylvia Quintanilla and

The rising music sensation on everything from soccer to songwriting

Favorite: Comic Book Writer Geoff Johns, page 5. While you learn about yourselves and each other, college is also the time to explore your interests and manage practical concerns. Do you need to

Beyond the Mall Job

earn money, even before you graduate? Get great

Making money in college

ideas and resource tips in Beyond the Mall Job: Making Money in College, page 15. And whether you’re a reality TV fanatic or a fashion diva in training, you will be both entertained and informed

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by the interview with Nina Garcia of Project Runway. Read From Runway to Reality, page 2. And then, there’s music—the great divide between the hip—you—and the decidedly not hip—your parents. Read our cover story featuring a rising music star in K’NAAN: The Interview, page 10.

Congratulations to our student writers.

10 a Become Student Writer!

Nancy Rotenier Editor

Want to write for our next issue, spring 2011? Our columns include: Who I Am; What I’m Passionate About; My Favorite . . . ; Travel; Technology; Graduation; Summer; Academics; Campus Buzz; Beauty; Dating; Health; Entertainment; Campus Sports; and Money. Submit story ideas and writing samples along with your full name, college or university affiliation (you must be a currently enrolled student), and expected year of graduation to editorU4U@gmail.com. Deadline: October 15, 2010. For general inquiries, email: magazine@bncollege.com U4U magazine is published twice yearly with a circulation of 1,000,000 and is available at your campus bookstore. A publication of Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. www.U4Ucollegemagazine.com Editor : Nancy Rotenier Design/Layout : reitdesign, inc

K’naan Cover Photo: James Minchin fall 2010

Natalie Rankin Point Park University

Written by

From Runway toReality:

/fashion

An Interview with Nina Garcia

Nina Garcia on

Hyperion/Voice

Project Runway

y of Lifetime. . Photo courtes

illustrations by ruben toledo from nina garcia’s look book

How did you know that you wanted to work in fashion? It was something I knew very early on. When I was younger, I wanted to be a designer. My mother didn’t work in fashion, but she loved fashion. And, I just loved that process of creation.

How do you find a career you’ll love? I would say to find your passion, and you also have to know your strengths. And know your flaws and turn them into strengths. You always have to persevere and believe in yourself.

Your Look Book came out in August. What inspires you? My books all cover different aspects of style and fashion. When I’m doing book tours, so many people ask me what they should wear to different events, such as a black-tie event or to the first date. The Look Book answers a lot of those questions. The purpose of my books is to give women confidence, to help them find their own personal style. And if my books can help as a little reference guide or fashion 101, then I would be so happy.

An “occasion” such as going to class—what would you suggest students wear? Well, you have to ask yourself, what do I really want to say with what I’m wearing? Where am I going? Who is going to watch me? What message do you want to give, if there is a message? Or, is it really that you want to be comfortable and practical? So, it depends.

What kind of clothes did you wear in college? I went to school in the northeast part of the U.S., and I came from Colombia, so there was a bit of culture shock when I arrived in this country. In South America, people tend to get very dressed up. And I think in America, it’s very casual. So, I wasn’t used to the casualness.

Do you have a fashion idol? Yes, I have many. Jane Birkin comes to mind. Maria Callas. Of course, Kate Moss. I think she’s got that effortless chic. That is the 21st century—it’s not about getting so dressed up, it’s not about trying so hard. It’s something a little more effortless.

So, The Look Book talks about picking outfits for different occasions. What occasion might give you trouble? Meeting the queen? No, I think we could handle that. Cold-weather dressing probably is the most challenging. If I were to go to some below-zero environment, I would have to just think about the practical sense and be very, very warm. We could work with the fashion sense, some Nanook of the North, but that, I think, is a hard one.

U4ucollegemagazine.com

Has being on TV changed your life? Yes. TV’s a very interesting platform. Because a lot of people see you, you connect with so many people. It has changed my life. It’s allowed me to do many things that I love to do, like the books. In a way, it’s been great.

Fashion is very competitive, and many students are studying in competitive fields. How can you stand out? Always be prepared, especially when it comes to fashion, which I think people think is so superficial, but it really isn’t. You have to have a real good understanding of culture—music and art and film and literature. It’s important to have a good liberal-arts strength but also to have a good connection with pop culture. And I think that goes for any job. You want to be current, to know what’s happening, and stay one bit ahead. Especially now.

Does pop culture inspire fashion or the other way around? I think it’s a constant interplay between pop culture and fashion, and that’s what makes them both so exciting and dynamic.

Have movies inspired your style? I don’t know if they’ve inspired me directly, but there’s some fantastic movies that have been so inspiring in terms of fashion: The Thomas Crown Affair, Love Story, The Great Gatsby. Even new movies, like Avatar. It feeds off itself, fashion and pop culture.

What are three things you would never leave the house without? My cell phone. I need to be in constant communication either with work or with my home. Lip gloss, I won’t leave my house without. What would be the third? I think it would have to be makeup as well.

Being a fashion victim, wearing head-totoe labels. I think that’s a tragedy, because you’re really not being true to yourself. You’re just looking like an advertisement.

What is your favorite pair of shoes? A pair of heels from Christian Louboutin.

Why is fashion important? Fashion is a reflection of our times; it’s a reflection of our culture; it’s a reflection of what’s happening around us. I think it’s extremely influential. It’s a $180-billion industry that employs a lot of people. It’s also a creative field, it’s close to the arts. I think it’s a wonderful industry.

If you could give your college self some advice for the future, what would it be? Oh, wouldn’t I love that. I wanted to graduate so badly, because I wanted to work so badly. I don’t know if I paid as much attention as I should have. This is the most wonderful time of your life, when you don’t have any responsibility but to study and learn from these fantastic professors. Work will come. Enjoy that time. Appreciate it.

What was the best class you took? I had a fantastic professor that gave this film class. We analyzed the old movies and the directors. It was one of my favorite classes. I also had a very good psychology professor. You remember the good teachers. They really make an impact.

amazing. The Targets, the H&Ms, the Uniqlos are making clothes that are fashionable and cool for reasonable prices. So, invest in a few things that require a little more money, and keep the rest very moderate.

How do you relax after a stressful day? I have a three-year-old, so it’s not the most relaxing. But I work, so for me, relaxing is spending time with him. Going home and just hanging out with him, even though he’s a ball of fire. I love spending time with my family. That’s my relaxation, and it just brings me back to normal life.

Natalie Rankin is a sophomore at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. Majoring in photography with a minor in film and video production, she is interested in journalism (particularly of the gonzo variety) as well as fashion and design. She is obsessed with movies of all kinds, especially those made by Quentin Tarantino. Upon graduation, Natalie hopes to rule the world, or at least have made a short film.

Nina Garci a judging on Project Photo court Runway. esy of Lifeti me.

Nina Garcia, Michael Kors, and Heidi Klum in the jud ges’ chairs. Pho of Lifetime. to courtesy

The similarities are that my work at Marie Claire is to nurture young designers, to get them into the pages of the book, to see what everyone else is doing, to seek out this talent, and have a relationship with the talent that is already there. Which is very similar to Project Runway. We see designers, we support them, we nurture them. The difference is in Project Runway, I get to be more assertive in my comments. In the real world, unless a designer really asks for my advice, I’m not going to go, “Well, I don’t think that you should do it that way.” So, I have more time with the Project Runway designers to voice my opinion about their collections and to be helpful when needed.

What do you consider the biggest fashion faux pas?

Hill, m, Faith Runway. eidi Klu t arcia, H end of Projec Nina G the at rs Judges Ko e. ichael and M urtesy of Lifetim co Photo

What is the difference between being a Project Runway judge and being a fashion director for Marie Claire?

What items should every college student own? A leather jacket is something you wear a lot. You can dress it up or dress it down, and it’s that cool style. A button-down shirt always helps. Again, it can go casual or be dressed up. A good bag, something practical but stylish. You can keep it to basics as the underpinnings and have a good coat that is warm, that looks good. In the winter, that’s what people see you with the most. And some good shoes, a practical pair of boots, good flats that can get you around.

Many students are on a budget. What are good ways to not spend too much? Don’t spend a lot on basics. Don’t go buying a $100 t-shirt that’s pima cotton from Tibet. Splurge on some items, like a good coat, a good pair of shoes. And don’t spend much on your jeans, your t-shirts, your sweaters. You can find at Uniqlo a great sweater for very little. Or you can find something at Target for very little, and it’s going to look great. That’s what happens in fashion often that’s so

Fashion is a reflection of our times, our culture, and of what’s happening around us. ce

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MY FAVORITE Written by Sylvia Quintanilla New Mexico State University

hen you think of DC Comics, you think of superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Their legends’ reach is global, and great writing will ensure that they live on for generations.

For comic book readers both novice and seasoned, Geoff Johns has ushered in a new generation of heroes for all to follow. In 2005, Johns relaunched the Green Lantern series, originated by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 in the 1940s, also published by DC Comics. In five short years, the franchise has given birth to a darker side of the DC Universe outside of Gotham thanks to Blackest Night, which has propelled the Green Lantern and his alter ego Hal Jordan to major superhero status. Johns has plans to do the same for the Flash and Aquaman. I was introduced to the world of comics in the summer of 2007. My boyfriend brought me along on his weekly trip to Dave’s Comics and Games in Las Cruces, N.Mex. This was a side of him I had never seen before, and I was tickled that he chose to show it to me. As I wandered around the aisles with white racks full of comics from the silver age to modern, I was less than impressed. I did help him when he called for

titles of comic books he wanted to buy that week and was blown away by the amazing art of Adam Hughes. The ultra-glossy lips drew me—the classic pin-up had taken on a whole new life. Here was Catwoman, in the midst of breaking into a safe, holding a photo frame in front of her. How did he get her to look so innocently sexy? The DC Comics 2007 annual summer event was at the peak of the Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps Wars popularity. I went with my boyfriend, who showed me the latest issue of Green Lantern. I was intrigued. Being a writer myself, I love great storytelling, but I hardly expected to find it in a comic book. I made my boyfriend track down all of the back issues; I couldn’t get enough of Johns’s writing. The sheer dark tone was something entirely different from anything else I’d read. There were times I had to put the comic down, too creeped out to continue.

/my favorite

COMIC BOOK WRITER

Although I was a fan of Johns, I didn’t consider myself as committed as the hundreds of others who filled the room; their anticipation was palpable, while I was still upset about missing the Twilight movie panel. When Johns stepped out from behind the curtain, however, his mere presence made me forget about vampires and werewolves. I hung on every word, every story about his life as Richard Donner’s assistant, and the advice he had for budding writers. And my local newspaper, the Las Cruces Sun-News, linked to my blog, ComicClog, which brought the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con to the Mesilla Valley as dozens of pages of notes were transformed into nightly blog posts.

I love great storytelling, but I hardly expected to find it in a comic book. For the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, an annual summer comics convention held in July, I purchased tickets for my boyfriend (now fiancé) and me. Although I had whetted my appetite for comics, the real draw for me was the question and answer panel for the Twilight Saga: New Moon. However, the panel reached its 64,000-attendee capacity by 4:00 a.m. the night before. Having my plans for the week ruined, I went to my second choice, “Spotlight on Geoff Johns.” Johns was in the middle of the biggest story line event for the DC Universe, Green Lantern: Blackest Night, and that’s including three other giant story lines for Superman and Batman that were, in a way, overshadowed by Johns.

At the panel, Johns explained why he took the position as writer for the monthly Green Lantern series: “I believe in the thematic of overcoming fear.” Eddie Berganza, editor at DC Comics, who sat on the panel with Johns, recalled first meeting him at a Comic-Con years ago. He remembered Johns as full of enthusiasm, a trait Berganza said was still much in evidence. ”DCU has become the Geoff Johns universe,” Berganza said toward the end of the panel. In the past year, Johns has become my favorite writer and an inspiration for the caliber of storyteller I aim to be.

Sylvia Quintanilla is a senior majoring in journalism with a minor in creative writing at New Mexico State University. Since the summer of 2009, she has been a freelance writer for her local paper, the Las Cruces Sun-News. She hopes to find work as a journalist after she graduates and possibly attend graduate school at Arizona State University in the near future. Her main goal is to one day work at ESPN. She and her fiancé, Chris, own a Siberian Husky named Timber. fall 2010

july 2007

December 2007

I am home from college for the summer. I am taking classes online. My parents have just gone through a divorce, so everything in my world has been turned upside down. I realize around this time that I might have some sort of anger issues that I can’t seem to explain. This is not like me. I really don’t feel like myself. My headaches have become too common; I wish they would go away.

I come home for Christmas break, and I don’t remember much of it. I experience my first panic attack over something minor. Throughout break, I see many doctors. The eye doctor to see if the headaches mean I need glasses. No. Next, the neurologist. She sends me for an MRI as a precaution but says I probably just need migraine medicine.

December 28, 2007 September 2007

The day that changed my life forever.

I like spending most of my time in my room by myself now. I am withdrawing from most everything. This just isn’t me, I don’t understand. I am having lots of headaches, which I attribute to stress. I have started to vomit fairly often for no apparent reason, and it’s really embarrassing, because it usually interrupts my classes.

9:00 a.m. My mother and I head to Dallas for my MRI. During the scan, I notice that the room where the radiologists are examining the scans gets a bit busier. I assume the three other radiologists are in training. They tell me I will receive a call the next week and have a great day.

October 2007

2:00 p.m. My mom and I decide to have a girls’ day. After we have our nails done, we go to a movie, our phones on silent. Afterward, we see numerous missed calls from many different numbers. Once we are in the car, I call my father, and he immediately tells me to hand the phone to my mom, but I hear the words “BRAIN TUMOR.” I cry for about thirty seconds. The neurologist says I have a very large tumor in my left frontal lobe with massive swelling around it. That weekend is one I am sure my family will never forget. I don’t remember it at all.

One of my friends comes to visit, and we go to see Across the Universe. Driving home, I start seeing lights in my peripheral vision. This has been going on awhile, but this is different—the lights are psychedelic! I call my mom, and of course she tells me to go to the E.R.—but I don’t.

november 2007 The children I babysit for everyday notice changes in me. When I bring them home after school, I lie down on the couch and sleep until I leave at 6:00 p.m. I am having an unbelievably hard time trying to study and focus on schoolwork. Most of my symptoms seem related to migraines; they run in my family.

U4uCOLLEGEmagazine.com

December 31, 2007

The day arrives, and all I remember is being in a pre-op room for anesthesia. As I lay there, family and friends come to give good wishes and love. The surgery will be approximately four hours, and Dr. Samson apparently never comes into the waiting room to report on a patient’s progress.

/who i am

January 3, 2008

Caroline Poe Texas A&M University

In search of a second opinion, we locate Duke Samson, a neurosurgeon at UT Southwestern Hospital. He reviews the MRI and then outlines his plan of attack. He is so detailed, even telling me what could go wrong. I like that he seems to care about me personally. I decide to use Dr. Samson, and my surgery will be January 3rd. This is definitely the most unusual New Year’s Eve ever.

Written by

My family piles into the car for an early morning trip to Dallas to speak with the neurosurgeon. Without hesitation he explains that I have a large malignant brain tumor that needs to be removed immediately. I laugh. After the surgeon explains the surgery, my father and I leave to explain everything to my little sister, while my mother stays to ask questions. Her first? “Why did my daughter just laugh when you told her she had a brain tumor?” His answer: “It is the brain tumor, not her.”

8:00 a.m. Surgery begins. 10:30 a.m. When Dr. Samson enters the lobby with his facemask still on, my family thinks the worst. My mother pushes him, saying, “Not here, not right now.” But unexpected news—my tumor appears to be benign. 12:30 p.m. ICU—I don’t remember much about the next few days other than an allergic reaction to Dilaudid (a pain medication) and nightmares about palm trees trying to kill me. The pain is horrible—I have about fifty staples in my head, and my incision runs from above my left ear all the way over above my right eyebrow. My left eye becomes extremely swollen from the skin flapping over during surgery.

January 8, 2008 Home five days after surgery. Quick, right? Life is extremely different. My days are routine: eat at the same time, watch the same show, drink the same Venti Coffee Frappuccino, and feel worse. I can’t sleep at all. I wait for sunlight to come in through the living room window and then go wake up my mother (I feel guilty, but she is more than glad to help). The steroids are making me as hungry as a teenage boy. I begin to realize I’m not as emotionally stable as I was before—I am experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Luckily this would go away in time.) For the entire semester, I live at home on an extreme emotional rollercoaster.

January 15, 2008

Epilogue I am now epileptic and must take seizure medication for life. I also regularly deal with anxiety, but close family and friends are always there to help. School is tough. It was difficult going back and trying to be the same kind of student, but I am doing my best. I plan to graduate in December 2010, just one semester late. The most amazing experience throughout this ordeal was God’s comfort. I have been told that this happened to me for a reason, and that it will take a lifetime to piece together why. In the past 2 ˙ years, though, I have come a long way.

The day I am due to receive my pathology report. Thankfully UT Southwestern mails it early. I’m not sure I want to look, even though I have a good feeling about it. Result: low-grade brain tumor, cancer free.

Caroline Poe is a senior at Texas A&M University majoring in sociology. Her passion is anything and everything magazines. With the chance to write for local magazines, her love for writing has only intensified. She interned at a book publishing boutique, BenBella Books, in Dallas, Tex., during the summer of 2010. With graduation looming, she is determined to follow her dreams to the publishing/magazine world.

fall 2010

from the time i was old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve carried a sketch pad in my backpack. I was fascinated by art—the actualized self-expression, the emotion conveyed through image. An artist captures what will never happen again: a moment, a thought, a feeling. For someone whose ideas race and always hover at her fingertips, I’m drawn to the tangibility of art. It’s like waking up and trying to hold onto a beautiful, fleeting dream. 8

U4uCOLLEGEmagazine.com

A few months later, I added a background in honor of my father and all the time I have spent with him. Blue Sky Basin in Vail, Colo., is one of his favorite places, and some of my favorite memories are from our time there. For him, I added color—and an additional three hours under the needle. Tattoos three and four were acquired in October. On my feet in script: “Keep Your Feet on the Ground,” a song lyric by my favorite band, Brand New. Their music speaks to me on a very personal level, has brought me close friends, and I wanted to pay tribute to something that has influenced me so strongly. It also reflects my most personal life choice— straightedge, meaning I do not drink or do drugs. I am substance free. The tattoo is a permanent reminder to stay true to myself. And despite everyone predicting that I would sell out in college, I haven’t. It’s been a year, and still I vow that my peers will not shake the foundation holding my feet in place.

“I am an art collector in the most tangible sense.” Why a tattoo? Three days before my birthday, I woke up with an image that nagged at me. I doodled it on everything. Its symbolism? That we let mistakes and problems, ours and the world’s, weigh us down, preventing us from doing what we know we should because we assume it won’t make a difference. About to graduate high school in the small town of Cato, N.Y., I was very afraid of being lost in a sea of others where nothing I did would be meaningful. This tattoo was exactly what I needed. It affirmed for me that regardless of my mistakes, I would have another chance to make something of myself. Tattoo number two took shape that August before college—four birds in flight, spiraling up my right side. I was coming off one the most difficult periods of my life. I was having issues dealing with who I was and what was truly special about me, when I had a near-death experience with a car accident. Just outside my small town, I was involved in a three-vehicle accident that left me with neck and back injuries. The car totaled, I was

/what i’m passionate about

I started my collection June 6, 2009, the day after I turned 18. I informed my mother, and she didn’t try to stop me. I was halfway out the door as she said that if I didn’t like it, she would pay to have it removed. How reassuring. With my best friend for company, I spent the next 3˙ hours having my left side inked with a sunrise and silhouetted tree. I was told I was “a trooper.”

Mariah Senecal LeMoyne College

When I was little, I remember being fascinated by the design on my aunt’s hip, wondering why she was lucky enough to be born that way. Many years later, when I was deemed “old enough” to hear about her college years, she explained the design had been born on spring break in Florida. Although I disdained her flower as cliché, it lit the spark that would set my forest ablaze. I wanted my own designs, my own stories.

lucky to be alive. And it was a blessing in disguise—a shock to my system that snapped me out of my funk. Life was worth living, to the very fullest! Rebirth is often symbolized by birds, and I wanted to show that nothing was going to hold me back; nothing was going to make me feel less than beautiful, less than extraordinary.

Written by

My art obsession continues. I am a collector. Not hoarding bits and bobs until I’m discovered on my deathbed with newspapers and magazines obstructing the windows. I am an art collector. Not filling my walls with canvases or sculpture or prints. I am an art collector in the most tangible sense. I collect tattoos. I design them, imbuing each with the utmost personal meaning. I have become a walking museum, slowly cataloguing the meaning of my life.

Enter tattoo number five, done in February—a feather encircled with “Birds of a Feather” in script. This piece is my last, for now. It is for my flock, the people who have influenced me, who share my beliefs and values, who have supported me on my life’s walk and have not opposed my choices. They mean more to me than life itself, as they have shaped my life and molded me into the person I am today. People stare, they ask questions, they stop me on the street. But like a museum, I can’t hide the art I’ve emblazoned myself with. This art has opened me up to the world in a way I couldn’t have predicted. People smile and nod confusedly, or there is the “oh” moment and they get quiet, lost in thought. I am an art piece, confusing and deep. I’ll continue to add as I see appropriate, each piece meaning something to me, never superficial. I am an artist and an art collector. I collect and create beauty and depth, to forever hold them close to me and to eternally remind me of exactly who I am and what I have chosen to be.

Mariah Senecal is currently a sophomore at LeMoyne College. She is majoring in psychology and minoring in religion and business. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, her family, and her friends, while creating art, writing, baking and cooking, biking, going to shows, and singing.

FALL 2010

Cornell Wedge Florida A&M University Written by

/music

elle Revere Photo: Gabri

U4ucollegemagazine.com

10â&#x20AC;&#x192;

W E I V R E T N I THE “Wavin’ Flag,” the World Cup theme song, is quite a deep song about freedom. Where did you write the lyrics to the song? What inspired that? I remember writing the original melody at the Sony Theater in Manhattan. They have torn it down now. But I remember walking around in that area, and it had just rained. So, it was warm and damp, and the melody just came to me. So, I went back in the studio and started working on it and put the record together.

Are you a soccer fan yourself? Yeah, I used to play when I was younger. I don’t have the footwork or skills I used to have, but I am still a fan of the game.

I assume you are not political all the time. So what comes up in a normal conversation with you?

What made you decide to settle down in Canada after all the moving around you have done in your life? It was not really my decision. I came from Somalia during the war and then went to New York. That was just luck. Then I moved from New York to Toronto because of an immigration issue. It was always an inconvenient circumstance.

You won artist and songwriter of the year in Canada for the Juno awards. So do you feel a Grammy is coming soon, or are you content with making good music?

“I couldn’t imagine so many people supporting it (my album) since it was so different from what is out there.”

I’m not serious most of the time. I think my music is a reflection of the feeling I have of humanity rather than the positive matter. But usual conversations are comedic with me. My whole crew and band are guys that I been friends with for about ten years. So we are a lot funnier guys than people know.

In Somali, K’NAAN means traveler. So where do you enjoy residing the most? Toronto is a pretty great city. I also love New York. East Africa is great also. I have not been able to live anywhere outside of Somalia in East Africa, but if I could, I would live in a place like Zanzibar or Massa near the ocean scenery. It feels really good there.

It is great to be recognized for those things among great artists. My focus has always been to create something that is a pan of myself and hopefully the rest of the world sees it as well. When I was recording Troubadour [released in 2009], I couldn’t imagine so many people supporting it, since it was so different from what is out there. I just want to continue to be honest musically.

How did you become friends with some of the artists featured on your album, Troubadour, such as Adam Levine and Kirk Hammett and Mos Def? There are artists I have had friendships with for awhile and a musical connection for awhile. Mos Def and I, for example, have been making music together for longer than people think. The same can be said with Damian Marley. There are songs we did years ago that just appeared on his latest album with Nas. We are like supporters and fans of one another. There has never been a business arrangement.

fall 2010

What do you want your listeners to take away from your music? Everyone takes something different from the music and songs. I don’t really write to dictate what the fans should feel from the songs. Everyone has their own translation. Usually the fans do get some type of hopeful and emergence type of feeling, which I like.

What words of wisdom would you give aspiring musicians? The favor musicians can do for themselves is to create something unique and something that is incredibly you more than anything else. If you do that, you end up with something that people can get behind. As long as it is more than what everyone else does.

Have you had time to work on your new album? No, not really, I have not had any time. But I make time by taking a few hours from where I am supposed to be or a few hours on the plane. I have a mobile computer with me, so I have been writing down a few songs and ideas. I feel like I am in gear right now to record, but it does not come that easy because of my tour.

The journey never ends. Cornell Wedge is a fourth-year broadcast journalism major from the Washington, D.C., area. He credits his passion for writing to his beloved grandmother as well as his parents, who sat him in front of the television with the sound off while the radio played in the background. Hence, his extensive love for musicians such as The Stylistics, James Brown, and Parliament. These people and many others molded him to be the great young man that you see today in this magazine.

Are you thinking about releasing some free music before the album? I don’t know. I have not given that much of a thought. A few months ago, I did the Messengers 3 [a free album dedicated to Bob Dylan, made with the help of producer J. Period], which was 18 songs that we put out for free on the Internet. I might do another mixtape album. I don’t know yet. It depends on what the feel is really.

Do you feel free mixtapes are killing hip hop and album sales now? I think album sales are declining because of the technology shift, not so much because of creating new ways to release music. Mixtapes are a response to the technology shift. That technology change was expected. Artists just have to figure out how to change with it.

What was the first song that made you decide to create your own music? Nas’s “N.Y. State of Mind” from Illmatic.

“I think my music is a reflection of the feeling I have of humanity.”

U4uCOLLEGEmagazine.com

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Melissa Brabham SUNY-University at Albany

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BEYO ND THE MAL L JOB

f I’ve learned one important lesson in college so far, it’s the importance of having a job. By sophomore year, my parents refused to continue serving as a perpetual piggy bank, and since refund checks from the Bursar’s Office didn’t last long, I had to find a job.

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arn Pottery B orked at w ner I ig if s e re idn’t ca d up a t D store. I d e mall. ll. I woun ry th fu e t k v a n e t ta rk a my g a s n g e r wo cations so I no lo out appli and keep ll, filling ha n g e d , eekends a c w b hunt. e m n v jo e a o r h th y u y trolling pand yo y to part nal goals x e rs e io n u s o o s to h m fe t le om? If an h n b ro g h guru.c es availa that mea e s and p it ith enou ti in rc t, w w ri u n s t e o o e b n ri s d m u jo p o re f tu l ly llege s nancia e s and mber o ld supp p a n a cc niless co ow, my fi of websit a va s t n u that wou setting u make N r t b . ra e u to y o ff jo o n g o b th a a a y in le lb d e k Fo r a p e n p ante all in A ply loo k? How rces, th re are a Gap, I w Faceboo ry, or sim nal resou ssgates M h a mall job, the or Baby art histo ection of s traditio se in Cro s it s to u e w le o c e g h c la n re n re a tp a ie ro w ebook Marke uter sc Sh o e W nothing t and Fac m co m p eds? The e there’s Craigslis fields fro e classifi h in th g r e u And whil o c o n t h s e lt li ri Craigs n up. A in expe scoured then liste ing to ga u’re look n to you, Have you o ig y . r re h e fo rc th s a e un d S o wh your se of this so dustries. jumpstart ferent in e tips to s e th t many dif u o sh , ch e ck ready ca

e. cal choic e a practi day, b a n a rs c u it o r eight h the mall, fo t m e o fr fe r d to an on you portation standing ing trans mmit to id o v c u ro o p y s you can e ebook . our city, re. Before ny colleg ed arch the plug in y gs or Fac e With ma n u don’t ne s ti o r u s y u li o r o y b e y end worr y— aper’s jo area. Aft ’t p r n s u o w o D e y But don’t n t? in l a cco u n e/. ts jobs t the loc ce b o o k a ebook lis arketplac ch e ck o u have a Fa on of Fac k .com/m ’t ti o n c o e o b wa nt s e D e c . c y a etpla dustr you don’t ://apps.f The Mark ugh jobs in any in spaper. If e , and o to http n w g li e t n n s o l a Ju n . c o ro ce formati f your lo o in browse th s the Marketpla n e o m ti a c s e ce s nd the ifieds s one to ac ou can fi the class ich in luck . Y tion. source is e ’r b u jo o t y a ffice, wh r, a gre rvices O ay pape ss the n e d S n ro us jobs Another u r c p e S a m s y re a k g a e ch u n at the C b openin nts. On-c s e jo u d p ts tu s m s li a to buy th y c om es is on ork-stud verusa.c b resourc n’t exclusive to w pennysa d best, jo re n a a t t, a s e th e larg itions One of th t on-campus pos u o hours. b h a it s w w kno re flexible o m e b tend to

wor k r u o Y : r e b m “R eme uilds your b e c n ie r e p x e kill set. s d n a e m u s re g to If you’re goinurs a week spend 20 ho y to make wor king, tr ile.” it worthwh

FALL 2010

Unless you win the lotter y or inherit a for tune, chance working for the res s are you’re going t of your life. I wish to be I could be a poet/ The reality: I will artist, but I need try to find a caree to eat. r I like, where I ca n also earn a living So, we may have . to make comprom ises if our first-cho the financial supp ice career does no or t we need. Same t provide goes for jobs in co always have the lux llege. As students ur y of turning do , we don’t wn gainful emplo meet all of our cri yment just becaus teria. In fact, I used e it doesn’t to take the job off or worked best wi er that either paid th my class schedu the highest le. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choo se carefully. Befor make sure it’s go e you accept a job ing to meet both offer, your needs and yo possible. If you wo ur personality as rk better at night, closely as then don’t accept mornings. Rememb a job that requires er: Your work expe early rience builds your you’re going to sp resume and skill end 20 hours a we set. If ek working, try to make it worthwh ile.

It is impossible to tell exactly which jobs are best for yo total package—fle u. A few, howeve xible enough to wo r, have the rk around your cla training; and have sses; provide pro some added bene fessional fit in addition to the salar y. One suggestion: a job with your ca mpus’s Departmen hires students to t of Residential Lif work in the dorm e, which itories and on-ca likely to receive fre mpus apartments e room or board (m . You are eals) plus a stipe nd. Another option: Ka plan Test Prep. So me of their position they also offer job s are administrativ s to college stude e, but nts to serve as on The job includes -campus represen attending Kaplantatives. sp on sored events and students as poss signing up as ma ible to take free gr ny aduate entrance money, you’ll also exams. While you’r sharpen your comm e earning unications and ma rketing skills. I’ve saved my best suggestion for las t: a paid internship. for you to gain rea Internships are a l-world experienc great way e in the field in wh Websites like fas ich you are earning tweb.com and co a degree. llege.monster.com is The Internship Bib are good resource le, which lists intern s. Another ships across the U. Also, check out Bu S. related to every siness Week’s list major. of the top 100 int ernships in the U. You can also searc S. h company webs ite s in the career se you’re researching ction. Even if the doesn’t list intern company ships, be proactiv human resources. e and contact some Not all internships one from will be sitting on make your own op a website or in a portunities. book—so

Melissa Brabham is 21 and a native of Hempstead, Long Island in New York. A senior at SUNY-University at Albany in upstate New York, she is pursuing a degree in journalism and a minor in education. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to earn a master’s in either public relations or business administration. In her free time, she likes to play volleyball and watch reality TV. Her ultimate career goal is to produce documentaries and to own her own perfume business.

U4uCOLLEGEmagazine.com

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