Hanae Ishikawa blog: April 2015

My Event Story

On April 29^th, 2015, Wednesday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. I went to one of the school event at Avila University. It is “Free neck and back massage”. This event is one of the stress relief week’s event. This event was sponsored by Wellness, GAP, Student Senate & RHA at Marian Center Lounge. There were 6 licensed massage therapists, and it took about 15 minutes for 1 person. Actually cycle was so fast in a good way, so most of the students did not need to wait for the massage for long time. I personally wanted to go to this event so bad, because I seriously needed the massage. I was having a serious headache and the cause was coming from neck and shoulder. So when I see the posters for this event, I decided to join for sure!

When I went there, I interviewed some people who were waiting for massage and people who was just done from the massage. The first person I interviewed with is Emily James, nursing major at Avila University. I asked her, “What do you think about this event?” She said, “Having neck and back massage for stress relief week, I think this is really great event and it really helps. This massage is relaxing and very calm, I think everyone needs to take a break, and refresh the wrong head. That’s great.”

The next person I interviewed is Yesenia Beltran, Junior, Nursing major. I asked her, “What do you think of the massage?” She said, “I think students stress relief week is really nice, and it helps you relax. I got a massage and it was super nice, so I recommend it.”

I interviewed Haley Baer next. She is also nursing major at Avila University. I asked “What do you think of this event?” She answered, “I think these massages are great, because it reliefs all the tensions you built up and stressful finals, and it’s just a good twenty-minute break."

The last person I interviewed at the event is Conner Hetzler, theatre major and dance miner. I asked her, “How did you know this event?” She answered, “I’ve seen it on posters, and I got an email about it. And I definitely wanted to get here because I need it.” Then I asked her, “Do you want this event more often?” She said, “Yes, I think definitely they should keep this around. Actually this is really good stress relief, and I think line moves fast so it’s really helpful.”

As you can see, obviously this event helps students to relief stress. After getting massage, I felt so much better and refreshed. This is final week, and everyone has stressed. So it is very nice to join like this event and relax. Also it helps get organized for coming final exams!

My Beat Story

When I thought of my “beat”, one of my very good friends came across my mind. His name is Ali Alshagrawi. He is from Saudi Arabia, and sophomore in Avila University. His major is Advertising and Public Relations. I met him almost two years ago when he transferred to Avila University from Canada. I chose him to be my “beat” because he is such a unique person. He always make people laugh and also he has a great leadership. When we hang out with friends, he is the one who make plans and let people know about the event. I was very interested in his roots and how he became the person who he is right now, so I decided to interview him first.

Ali Alshagrawi

I asked him to introduce himself. He answered, “My name is Ali Alshagrawi, 26 years old. I grew up in Saudi Arabia. I worked twice in my life in a company called Samrif, and I used to work there as an operation man for 2 years after my high school graduation. I’m a simple person, and I like to be kind, happy, and I love my family.” And secondly, I asked him how come he decided to come to the United States. He said, “I wanted to be an educated person. Then I heard about education in the United States is great, so I made some researches, and I heard from agent that I could come to Avila University. I also heard from my friend that Avila University is a great school. This is how I decided to come to the United States.” I asked him about his personality next. I asked, “Were you a happy person all the time like now when you were a child as well?” He said, “Yes. I was active and I loved playing with friends a lot.” I asked him, “Is there any advice you got from your parents for living your life?” He answered, “My parents advised me to be a good person, and be so kind and good with people. And also work hard to achieve my goals and to have a good future.”

Ali and his best friend Zeyad Alammar

After interviewing Ali, I decided to talk to one of Ali’s best friend in Kansas City, Zeyad Alammar. He is a student at Avila University also, and majoring Computer Science. I asked him how he met Ali for the first time. He answered, “I met Ali like two years ago. He and I were taking a same class together. We have so much in common, so we became close to each other naturally.” Then I asked him, “What is Ali’s personality like to you?” He said, “Well, Ali is a very respectful person, but at the same time, he is so funny. I just like to chill with him.”

Next person I interview with is Salman Alghamdi, Radiologic Science major. He is also an Avila student and one of Ali’s closest friends. I asked him, “How did you meet Ali for the first time?” He said, “It’s been like a year for now. We were at my friend’s house, and then I met him. We hang out together for 2 weeks or something like that, and we became close to each other. Then I asked him, “What is Ali’s personality like to you?” He answered, “He is funny and so active, and whenever I need him, he just helps me. And he is like the closest friend, and he is a good guy.”

Ali's best friend, Salman Alghamdi

My Profile Story

This time, I decided to interview three people who have different races. All three people are students at Avila University. The first person I interviewed is Gabriella Garcia, 20-year-old nursing major. I asked her first “What is your greatest fear?” She said, “My greatest fear would probably be ending up alone. Like without family or without a husband or without parents. Sometimes I think about it because people are focused on their careers and they don’t have time for anybody else like other people in their lives. So that is my greatest fear.” Then I asked her, “Which words or phrases do you most overuse?” She answered, “I definitely say ‘bro’ too much, ‘dude’ too much. I say it to everybody even to my professors. But I do say it to my friends a lot. Even to my parents sometimes and they don’t like that.” And she laughed it out. I asked next question, “Which talent would you most like to have?” She answered, “OMG. I would definitely love to be a performer, so singing and dancing. I feel like music is so important and it gives you so much freedom. I wish I had the talent to be able to do the right music.” I asked her, “Is there any person that you would like to be?” She answered, “I think about Alicia Keys or Beyoncé. They are so beautiful, so talented, and so smart. I mean I admire them.” I asked her favorite music next. She said, “My favorite kind of music is rap and R&B, and Drake is my favorite rapper.” Then I asked her, “What is your favorite food?” She said, “Hmm… My favorite food… well, anything my mom cooks is good. But I really really enjoy eating tostadas. Tostadas are my favorite.” During this interview, she was wearing her favorite t-shit, so I asked her why it is her favorite one. She said, “V-neck shirts are my favorite. Because it’s so comfy and you can dress them up and dress them down, and you can wear them with a lot of things.”

Next person I interviewed is Salman Bin Rawyah, 25-year-old, and he is studying Software Engineering. First, I asked him, “What is your greatest fear?” He said, “I think my greatest fear is losing someone I love so much and I got to spend time with… This is my greatest fear.” Then I asked him, “Who is your greatest love of your life?” He answered, “I think my greatest love of my life is my mom because she is always there for me, and gives me the best advice, and she cares about me more than anybody else. So I’m sure that my mom is my greatest love of my life.” I asked the final question to him, “Where would you like to live after the graduation?” He said, “I’m not really sure. But there’s possibility to go back to my country and have career, and get married.”

Last person I interviewed is Djoudy Saint Paul. His major is Psychology/Pre-health. He is a good friend of mine. I have never taken same classes with him, however, we became really good friends. He always hangs out around Eagle’s Nest, and when I go there, I sit with him and talk about what is going on in my life and his life. He is graduating from Avila University after this spring semester. I asked him some of the 35 Proust Questions first. “What is your idea of perfect happiness?” He said, “Yeah, my idea of perfect happiness is peace. If someone has peace, then they will be happy. Without peace, there is no happiness.” And I asked him, “If you could change on thing of yourself, what would it be?” He answered, “That would be actually telling people the truth. I tell people the truths whatever it is, and they get upset. Because sometimes the truth hurts.” Then I asked, “What is your favorite apps?” He said, “My favorite app is Facebook. Because I can post anything. And also, ‘Candy crush’. When I’m bored, I play with it, but I’m so bad at it. Yeah that’s it.” And finally I asked him, “Why is that your favorite t-shirt?” He answered, “Because this is very comfortable, and this is my favorite color which is green. This was only t-shirt that I found with green and white stripes, and I really like it.” He also mentioned that this was the second time for him to wear that t-shirt. Because he doesn’t like to wear his favorite t-shirt a lot. He likes to keep it in the closet, and keep it clean.

It was fun to interview my friends, because I could get to know some stuff about them that I didn’t know before. They have their stories behind of the favorite things, and I enjoyed listening to them.