College is hard enough. Have you ever thought about online college?

Online schooling is a modern solution to earning a degree in the comfort of your own home.  For many years, students have taken college classes in a classroom during the typical school hours. For whatever reason, if a student was busy during the day, evening classes were offered as well.

Kassidy Clark, who is pursuing a General Studies degree through Erie Community College’s online program, said “One of my favorite parts of being an online student is that I get to stay in my pajamas all day and take my time with things. I also don’t have to stress about getting to school, or dorming. Also, tuition for me is cheaper than if I were to physically attend college.”

Now today’s students are lucky to be able to take classes online if they so choose. Although online college has been around for years, it is now more advanced and user-friendly than ever before.

According to Statista, in 2016 over 31 percent of college students are taking classes online. That is almost a 6 percent increase from 2012.

Online students must listen to advice that specifically pertains to online education. Advice such as “Be on time to class” and “Make sure you bring all your materials to class” would be useless to online students. Instead, they must keep an ear open for useful information that would benefit their online college experience and overall education.

Clark said it’s important to stay organized when taking online classes, suggesting that students have a checklist, get a notebook and write down what is due within that week.

“It is important to not rely 100% on Blackboard,” Clark Said. “Sometimes professors are not as accustomed to blackboard as other professors, and they forget to put every assignment that’s due that week. If you rely on Blackboard alone, you will find this out the hard way and could possibly receive a zero for an assignment. Instead, make notes of everything that your professor mentions that is due in the online lecture, and check things often like the syllabi, emails, and anything else that you have available.”

The qualities that an online student has is quite different than those of a typical classroom student. When asked of these qualities, Clark said: “It is important to be oriented and comfortable with technology, and to be okay with not having face-to-face contact with your professors and classmates. Also, students are even more responsible with their learning. We must be more self-sufficient and in turn, self-taught with our learning.”

There are many fascinating aspects of Nature. Even some of the minutest things offer a lifetime of discovery and a plethora of ways to embrace ones love for nature.

Mother Nature is a part of life that countless people have an appreciation for. Whether that interest is just the feeling of tranquility when you enter a forest, surrounded by the wind in the trees and the chirping of birds, or if people find the different species in nature to hold great interest towards them.

Eddie Williams is a successful Youtuber with over 3,200 subscribers and a wildlife biologist in the field of environmental consulting  working in San Diego, CA.

Williams, a self-described born nature lover, said he has been an avid birder from the age of 17.

“Birdwatching is the greatest hobby in the world,” Williams said in an interview with the Scribe.  “When many people think of birdwatching, they think of senior citizens dressed in dorky vests and wide-brim hats crowding around each other to get a look at something far off in the distance that no one else knows nor cares about.  This stereotype is true only to those people who have seen the hobby from the outside and never tried it for themselves.”

There are possible Doctorate degrees in the fields of Entomology (study of insects), Botany (study of plants), Ichthyology (study of fish), Dendrology (study of trees), Herpetology (Study of reptiles), mycology (study of fungi), and of course, Ornithology, the study of birds. Those are just a few of the branches of science in nature.

Ornithology is quite popular in the United States. According to Statista, in 2017 over 12 million people participated in Bird watching.

In 2011, a movie was even made about bird watching, called the Big Year. It stars popular Hollywood icons like Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, and Jack Black.

What makes Birdwatching, otherwise known as Birding, so interesting? It is a blend of many different hobbies, and it has a few challenges as well that are self-paced, making it ideal for anyone, anywhere and at any age.

Birding is ideal for fans of photography, nature, hiking, and other interests. It involves skills such as identifying different species of birds by sight or sound, the ability to take a good photograph of a bird, and learning the correct time and place to find a certain species of bird. It is a very self-paced hobby, resulting in it being stress-free, or if the birder wants, can be a competitive sport as well.

Williams said his best advice for anyone looking to get into birding is to dedicate a good amount of time to the hobby.

“My biggest piece of advice for beginner birders is you need to spend time out in the field getting experience,” Williams said. “Just like anything, practice makes you better, and the more you get out into the field, the better you will become at identifying birds.”

Hilbert student Cassandra Hadaway lead the charge for this year’s Agape Latte speaker series, a popular event at the school.

Agape; Greek word meaning, “kind of love that seeks nothing in return,” Hadaway explained.

“Agape Latte is when professors, faculty and staff come in and talk about how faith impacted their journey and how they made it to where they are now,” Hadaway said “If they had any struggles in life, they can talk about it with students. It’s a coffee house kind of feel for students to feel comfortable to come and listen.”

Agape Latte ran throughout the semester, and has one speaker per semester. This year’s speaker was Randy Zimpfer; an adjunct instructor in criminal justice and forensic science.

The Agape series is about understanding the Franciscan heritage and how it fits into campus life at Hilbert, Hadaway said.

“Agape Latte fits into the Franciscan heritage because it’s about service and joy, our Franciscan values,” Hadaway said “The professors bring it into their speech and talk about how joy, service, and all those values that we talk about that we really emphasize. This allows us to understand how Franciscan, St. Francis helped them through what they believe in.”

The Hilbert College Community celebrates Fraciscan tradition through Agape Latte, Hadaway said.

“Students come and have door prizes available,” She said “When it first started, we didn’t think we would have a big turnout but we had about 50 people come to our first Agape Latte which is big for a Hilbert event. People come and drink coffee, eat food, we have them listen to their professors and then after, we have games for them play and music if they want to hang out.”

by Tony Nally

Joseph Venezia joined the Hilbert’s Adventure Club two years ago after hearing about the amazing places they are able to go. Venezia, a junior political science major and criminal justice minor, took over as leader of the club this year. The Scribe was able to sit down with him to discuss plans to grow Adventure Club and the trips that are on the docket this year.

The Scribe: As the leader of adventure club this year, how do you feel about the club and what are your plans?

Joseph Venezia: Our plans for this year is to start by growing the club. There are currently only three people in adventure club and I would like to get the club to its stature in previous years where there was over ten people in the club.  We are also currently planning out little trips that we want to take and we always do one big trip during the semester as well.

TS: How would you compare adventure club this year to past years it was held? What kinds of trips did the club go on in previous years?

JV: Since last year, the size of adventure club has dwindled down mostly because many of the people that were in charge of the club in the past have now graduated. I plan on getting the word out to students on campus within the next week that adventure club is back and that we will be going on exciting trips. Last year the adventure club went to some places that were closer to school such as Griffith Sculpture Park, Allegheny State Park, Franklin Gulf and after doing some fund raising in the past spring semester, we ended the year with an awesome trip to Cedar Point in Ohio as well.

TS: What places are you most excited about going to this year with the club?

JV: This year I am excited about getting back to the roots of adventure club and making it more of a club where we spend our time outdoors as opposed to going to places such as Lasertron and gaming places indoors. I would really like to have some outdoor experiences such as hiking, snowshoeing, and fall activities since that season is right around the corner. Some specific places that I am looking forward to going are Zoar Valley, Letchworth State Park, Franklin Gulf, Chestnut Ridge and possibly planning another big trip for the club.

Basketball has sprung into season, and Hilbert Sports Industry Management students got into the spirit by putting on a successful  fundraising event.

The Sports Events and Operations class raised money to benefit veterans, with a three vs three basketball tournament. , “Veterans One Stop of WNY; is an organization that works to bring people, organizations and resources together in time, space and effort to effectively improve the well-being of all WNY veterans of the Armed Forces and their families.” said Chad Goodwin.

The event took place on Sunday November 10^th, at 10am in Hafner Recreation Center. Three students ran the event from SIM 410. Two seniors, Hunter Martineau and Ian Moran. Also junior Dan Munn was involved.

“I thought the Hoops for Hero’s was a success.” said Martineau. “We had eleven teams come out; raised a little over $300 from team registrations, concessions, and raffle prizes. I don’t think there were any problems, which I can conclude it as a success. I come from a basketball mind as well.”

“Personal experiences kind of goes in my everyday life. It is a hard tournament to get organized, just because you are not entirely sure who will participate. I kind of relate it to my life, because I took initiative in it. My dad is a veteran, so trying to make sure that I can now only just spread the awareness just for him.” said Ian Moran.

“We are trying to replicate involvement in sports management.” said Professor Roland.

“Sports Events and Operations, I would consider a good class.” You learn behind-the-scenes, that goes behind trying to market your event.” said Moran.

Another semester at Hilbert College has come and gone. The fall came with many changes to the campus, physically and academically. Now, as the college wraps up the semester and prepares to enter their spring 2020 semester, faculty and staff are reflecting on what went well and what could have been done better.

Gregory Roberts, Hilbert’s Dean of students said, “I think the fall semester has gone very well.”

One part of the semester Roberts highlighted was the Hilbert Reads program, in which all first year students are required to read a specific book and reflect on it in their classes.

“I had the chance to interact with quite a few students,” said Roberts. “It went very well for the students.”

Hilbert’s President, Dr. Michael Brophy said, “We opened the semester very positively.”

Highlighting a few good things from the semester, Brophy said, “We had a good orientation and we had an increase in the number of resident students. We also did a bunch of projects on campus over the summer, which I think were pretty well received by students.”

The school also saw academic changes and according to both Roberts and Dr. Brophy, these changes went well.

“We’re in our first semester of having classes five days a week,” said Brophy. “Friday is definitely more active on campus, which is good for prospective students to see. It was also good for faculty because it was a way for them to teach three days a week if they wanted to.”

Roberts talked about the new biology programs that have become available at the school.

“From an academic standpoint, that would be the biggest change on campus,” Roberts said, noting that the new labs built for the biology program were “about a half a million dollar project.”

Fall 2019 was just the beginning. Spring 2020 is going to come with even more changes, Brophy said.

“Over the next 12 months we’re going to go big with online learning,” he added, saying the school will offer more opportunities for people to take classes from all over the country.

The major concern administrators are trying to address and do better with next semester is the school’s online services, Brophy said.

“We can do a better job with technology,” he said. “Students should be able to take care of their finances online and we don’t have a way for you to do that yet.”

Roberts and Dr. Brophy also pointed students to surveys available to provide feedback on what they want to get out of their Hilbert experience. The surveys are very important to helping the college understand how to do a better job overall, Roberts said.

“If students are honest in filling these surveys out, they can be very helpful,” he added. “Questions need to be answered in the right tone, remembering that it’s all about making things better.”

Brophy agreed.

“Every faculty member gets that feedback and takes it really seriously as they improve their work for the following semester,” he said.

Hilbert College students, as you are wrapping up your fall 2019 semester, consider filling out the surveys on your Blackboard account. Voice your opinions and help the school make your spring 2020 semester even better than your last.

Hilbert College holds held it’s annual Wellness Fair last month, an event aimed at helping students maintain good health and well being throughout the stresses of the semester.

A variety of vendors that specialize in financial, medical and mental health information set up shop in Franciscan Hall in an effort to help students and staff members achieve health and wellness in their academic or home lives.

Barbara DeLaRosa, the administrative assistant to Dean of Students Greg Roberts, was one of the organizers of the event. She said the gathering, now in its 11th year, is meant to help the campus community get through the semester happy and healthy

“The Wellness Fair is held every year for students, faculty and staff to come a get information about any type of wellness such as financial, medical, and mental health,” DeLarosa said. “It’s such a good way to obtain such valuable information.”

Dietra Steed is a marketing specialist for Best Self Behavioral Health, a mental health and substance abuse clinic that provides many services for people of all ages. She said her company values coming to the health fair because it helps them get in from of people who might need their services, but don’t know where to turn.

“Best Self is an organization that provides services to those how have mental or substance abuse disorders, including people of all ages, and in different stages in their recovery,” Dietra said.

Sade Garcia, a Hilbert Campus advocate whose main goal is to help Student that have suffered from sexual assault or domesticated violence, said she hoped the fair would help raise awareness about her presence and the services she offers to the campus community.

“We are trying to eliminate the stigma pertaining to suicide prevention, domestic violence, daily violence, and sexual assault, Garcia said. “How this is done is by outreaching to students and making them aware of the resources that are available to them. I find it helpful to the student for me to start the conversation regarding their problem that is being addressed so the student may feel comfortable talking about the problem at hand.”

After years of struggling on the field Hilbert Athletics officials are hoping that new fields being built as part of a deal with a developer will help them build success in the baseball and softball programs.

Both teams have not had much success for the last decade: below .500 records, no real playoff success and have not had a good reputation for building a winning culture. Now athletics department officials say the new fields are a good first step to turning things around.

Last May, the college reached a deal to have contractors build a new baseball and softball complex right on campus behind trinity hall. A developer stepped in and purchased the land where the baseball and softball fields are in order to build on the front half of the land. In exchange the developer is building new baseball and softball fields for the college.

The hope is that the new fields will help the programs regain a winning culture and start obtaining some success on the fields, which are supposed to be ready sometime in December, making the complex ready for conference play next spring.

Head Baseball Coach Drew Fittry said the new fields are a huge stepping stone in getting athletics to the next level at Hilbert College.

“Ultimately we have struggled to play games on campus in recent years and with the field we want to show the players that they have support,” Fittry said. “Hopefully this will create a home field advantage and a sense of comradery “.

Last year, the baseball team only played two home games and they had to drive 45 minutes to Niagara University for home games, eliminating home field advantage.

“A new field will also help for player development, being able to get out on a field and get daily work in whether coaches are there or not,” Fittry said.

The new field will also show the support the athletic department has in the baseball and softball programs, hge added.

“Our big thing here is trying to increase enrollment, especially in athletics and when you have a nice facility to show a recruit it definitely helps,” Fittry said.

Freshmen baseball player Colin Windle said the players are looking forward to using the new fields next semester.

“The whole team is extremely excited for the new fields as well, and this is adding to the anticipation surrounding the upcoming year,” Windle said. “A new field signifies a fresh start for Hawks baseball and softball and will allow to us get better every single day as we can be on it and utilize it to our advantage.”