Month: November 2017

About a month ago, I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET). Although I am not passionate about paintings and sculptures as much as I am about other forms of art such as music, I appreciate the grandeur of the art in the museum, as well as the skill required to make such a work of art. In addition, I appreciate art because, like music, it has the ability to convey and/or illicit emotion that words cannot.

It was raining, so there was a lot of people on the line going in, it was wrapping around the trees which cover the block. However, the line moved fairly quickly and I was able to take a look at some of the pieces and leave. One of the pieces that I looked at which was especially beautiful, in my opinion, was Cristobal de Villalpando’s Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus. 

My first impression of this piece was “Damn, thats big!” It is over 28 ft tall and 18 ft wide. Villalpando was a Mexican painter who painted during the Baroque period, when paintings and music became grander, more opulent. The subject matter was one which many Catholics knew and believed, the Bible. What struck me about the painting was the scope of the work of art, and how Villalpando was able to connect two seemingly unrelated stories from the Bible almost seamlessly. The brazen serpent, built by Moses based on God’s instructions, is depicted on the bottom. On the top is transfiguration of Christ as He goes to Heaven. They are both related in that the brazen seprent on the cross is a foreshadowing of Christ’s death on the cross; in other words, they are both means of salvation.

Overall, the painting and the other works of art were beautiful to look at and they represent ways in which any emotion can be conveyed, even without words.
         

 

This past Thursday I attended Starr’s LinkedIn event. Here they taught us how to create the best type of online profile to appeal to the career and motive of your choice. Although I already have a pretty strong LinkedIn profile, I thought it would helpful anyways. The first thing we did was look at different types of profiles. We looked at profiles that weren’t necessarily good or bad, but different in their intent. For example, some people had every category of their profile filled out, but some people didn’t because those areas of the profile didn’t pertain to their intentions. The purpose for my LinkedIn account isn’t necessarily for the purpose of growing my network, but rather to re-establish it. The people I have connected with on my LinkedIn include past employers, alumni, and companies that I have worked with. I hope that people I have on my LinkedIn will see my profile and remember my accomplishments for any future hiring opportunities or for referrals to others in the future. I have a strong network of people from Buffalo, people from my Vietnamese Catalyst Foundation, and some in the dance field. I definitely have to remember to keep my LinkedIn updated when certain interests and intentions for its use change.

Last week I attended a Star Career development workshop. The workshop was taught by Ricki Weitzen. At the workshop I learned how to make a cover letter and what it is. A cover letter serves as your formal introduction and first impression on a potential employer or professional contract. For this reason, it is very important that you send a very well written cover letter with a very thorough resume when applying for any professional position. A cover letter is often required and can act as a writing sample for positions that require strong writing skills. A cover letter is a one-page statement of objective that should demonstrate to your employer that your skills and strengths will make you a good match for the organization, corporation or desired position. At the work shop I learned the proper way to write a cover letter and what not to do. I attended this Star Career Development workshop with two friends who also needed to attend it for their freshman seminar class. I already started working on my resume and my cover letter.

Last week I went to the metropolitan museum of art with two of my friends whom also needed to go for their freshman seminar class. Otherwise known as the MET. The metropolitan museum of art is the biggest art museum in the United States of America. There was on oil canvas that really stood out to me. The picture was of a man getting executed and had multiple colors that stood out and called my attention. The canvas was The Execution of Saint John the Baptist. It was painted in the year 1770. This work, by one of the leading painters of the eighteenth-century Bologna, is an oil sketch for a major altarpiece in the church of San Michele, Vercelli, Mid way between Milan and Turin. The painter was Ubaldo Gandolfi. He is an Italian Painter Ubaldo Gandolfi has endowed the scene with a visionary quality, as angels appear to the saint. The contrast between of the executioner rolling up his sleeve and the prayerful attitude of the saint is especially effective. As you can see from the canvas described you can tell why I would be intrigued and fascinated by this painting.

This Thursday I attended a CUNY EDGE workshop being run by Rebecca Marrero. The workshop goal was to teach and inform about proper business etiquette. From the workshop I got information that I already knew and information that was new to me. The information that I already knew was like basic obvious things. Such as be professional at all times. Other information that I already knew about was stuff I learned previous workshops and programs. An example of that is to use a subject, so as to make sure that your email gets read. So it just re-instilled the truthfulness behind the advice. The information that I did not know until the workshop feels that they will come in handy in the future when I am in a professional setting. One that I did not know is that you are supposed to introduce the most important person or the highest ranking first. I had no idea and I will most likely need that in my future line of work. Another thing that I learned is that you should use a signature in your emails. Stating your name and contact information, and also stating that I am an undergraduate and my class (i.e 2021). The instructor gave us a email template to have us write a email for a scenario. Which she used to show us what is good to do and what we should avoid in certain scenarios. She also had volunteers come up,I didn’t want to but she called me out because no one else wanted to. She gave us a task and it was to have one volunteers to introduce the other to me. The setting was an office party and we each had a ranking. She did it to have a visual example of business etiquette. At the very end of the workshop she gave a pamphlet.