Profile Story

There is a student that is different than most at Avila University. His main language isn’t English like the others. He has only been in the United States for a little over two years. His name is Yhonny Sterling and he has a pretty impressive life.

He has lived in Pacasmayo, Perú for most of his life. He has four other siblings that have been with him through out his entire life. When he was young, both his mother and father died of tuberculosis. Him and his family were then found by a missionary in the mountains and brought to the orphanage in town. It wasn’t anything that he wanted to do, but felt that the orphanage would be the best place for him and his family to survive. He took over the role as the father figure because his siblings didn’t have anyone anymore. He had been praying for most of the time he was there that someone would give him a family. He was longing for someone else to be the parents and for him to be able to live his life.  A missionary from the United States came down to the orphanage and invested in the lives of the kids down there. Yhonny became really close with him and they were able to talk about things that Yhonny wanted. He told this missionary that he wanted someone to adopt them and to help him accomplish this. The missionary quickly sent out an email to friends and family from home with pictures of this family and asked if anyone was willing to be their mom and their dad. Adopting five kids was a big responsibility for people and he didn’t think anyone would really take on the challenge. “I was up for the challenge, I knew that we would be a huge family and that all things would work for the better.” Said Scott Sterling, the new dad of all the siblings.

A couple of weeks later the email that was sent got a reply. A couple from Blue Springs, MO said that they would like to be the parents of this sibling set. The process was able to begin and it was long and hard. “We didn’t know what would happen, we just knew that we wanted them and wanted them to have a better life. “ said Lauren Sterling, the new mother of the siblings. Yhonny didn’t know how long this was going to take or who these people were that wanted them. The unknown seemed frightening to him and he wasn’t sure what to expect. All that he knew was that he wanted to take care of his siblings and do what was best and this seemed like the best opportunity for them.

Two years pass and there is still no real improvement in the adoption process. Yhonny began to think that they weren’t coming and that it was just a joke. But as soon as he began thinking this way, something amazing had happened. He was playing outside and all of a sudden, an American couple walk into the orphanage. It was his new family.

            There was a rush of emotions as he began to think about. Would he like it in the United States? Would leaving what he knew as home be okay? There were many others that he chooses not to go back to.

            He was starting his new life. It was his first time on an airplane. It was the first time he had been out in other areas of Perú. He remembers being excited for the opportunity to be a new him. He was able to just relax and let someone else be there for his siblings while he got to be a kid again.

            Yhonny and his family were here in the United States for just a little over two months when something amazing happened. A show in New York, called The View, wanted him and his whole family to come there to talk about adoption. They flew them all out there and had them on the show. While on the show, the president of Avila University presented him and all his siblings a $500,000 scholarship to share between them all. He explained that this was one of the coolest experiences and biggest blessings that had happened.

            He didn’t realize all that would happen since moving to the US. One of his brothers had an ailment where he couldn’t walk or run well. At night, he could barely move his body. Yhonny’s brother had been living with this since he was six years old. After a few appointments, a doctor found the solution that changed everything. “I never thought that I would change, I just thought this was my life and I would deal with it as best as I could.” Said Yhonny’s brother Gerson. His brother just has to take a pill a couple of times a day and now he can do anything he wants to. He now gets to play soccer and do things he always wished he could.

            Yhonny says that there is many more blessings that have happened since moving but that he just gave us a few of them. He’s thankflul for all that he has been given and can’t wait for what is to come.

There was a video done about Yhonny Sterling's family. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/lEeAylXm3xA

My "BEAT"

          What is a “beat”? What is your “beat”? Well a beat is the place where you spend most of your time here at Avila University. It is the place where you get most of your thinking, homework and thoughts all together. My beat happens to be the library commons. It is one of those places where you can come and let out all of the stresses and anxiety to work to eliminate them. It has various tools that help you get the things you need done. Eleesha Finell, an avid library user, said "I like going to the new library because it gives the students more options to study or work.

         When I need to use the computer, they have plenty that are always open. I can grab an empty seat in front of one and work on my homework til it is finished. They also recently got MAC computers, which are nice because you can do a lot more on those. My personal favorite thing about this place is that all the computer tables have round foot rests underneath them. Talk about ultimate comfort right there. It takes a lot for me to not fall asleep in my Beat location. When I need to study, my beat has small, glass study rooms. These rooms have dry erase walls and a table to do your homework or studying on. These are really beneficial because I can write down what I am trying to study in order to learn it effectively. The environment is so quiet too, that you are able to think without distractions. An Avila student, Logan Arcano, said, “The small study rooms provide the ideal environment a college student needs to be successful in studying.” It seems to be common thought between a lot of students here at Avila.

         The library commons has really stepped up its game with technology purposes. Each study room, or just room in general, has a TV in the wall. You can connect your computer to the TV and display whatever you choose. They are really nice for when you have a presentation and need to practice it. An Avila student, Yhonny Sterling, said “the TV’s really help me practice and get my presentations almost perfect, they are really useful.”

         The library commons is a great Beat location because of its useful tools it possesses. I think that it is a place that many people will choose to have the Beat location. You can almost do anything there. The best part about my Beat location is that sometimes there are donuts!

heres a video: https://youtu.be/Hw-XSlh1Qqs

Avila Event Story

        I got to experience the student appreciation carnival. It was scheduled on a beautiful day and took up the whole campus outside. You walk out and the first thing you see is the big, red inflatable chair that stands about as tall as the building behind it. If that didn’t draw your attention then the sweet aroma of the food being served would surely attract you. The lines continued to keep growing in that food line with poor college students looking forward to the free meal they were about to indulge in. There were hamburgers, veggies, and of course many other types of food. No microwavable lunch meals for these students today.

          A current Avila student, Yhonny Sterling, said “Events like this are always the best because of the free food.” As they finish eating their spring meals, there are a multitude of tents surrounding the area. You could first attend the photo booth where you can capture the joyous moment of the free meal on camera. Put that one in your scrapbook for a great college experience. But maybe you find the big, red chair a better photo opportunity than the booth. So you and your friends could go climb into the seat of it and take a great photo and pretend that you are in your own episode of Blues Clues.                

      Now you are tired of taking pictures and want to find something else to do that would be fun. Luckily there were balloon animals and swords ready for you to have. You could tap into your inner child and have a sword fight all with your best friends. Or you could play house with your little baby animals that don’t seem to move like real ones. There was also another fun tent where you can make your own license plates. What a unique idea that only happens at the spring carnival! And last, but not least, there were plenty of carnival games to play, which gives you flashbacks of your old elementary school carnivals.

       “My favorite part was the carnival games because they brought back memories for me.” Said Eleesha Finell, a current Avila student. The whole event was centered on community with your peers and enjoying the weather. There were tables and chairs all over, for the food, but also for the opportunity to sit with your friends and maybe some people that you just met. This event was successful in bringing together the people on campus, even the commuters. Often times the commuters don’t attend much because they go home after their classes, but this event was in the middle of the day which gave them the option to stay. Logan Arcano said, “I love when Avila gets all of its students together for a fun event.” This was a great way to bring fun and community to the campus here at Avila.

Here's a video of the event: 

Is It Ever OK To Cheat

Honestly, I never think that it is okay to cheat. Cheating is mostly used when studying wasn’t done for the test or the person is too lazy to look up the answers. I know from experiencing a friend or other classmates cheat in class, it was always because of pure laziness and lack of preparation. It doesn’t show that you have learned anything. I don’t think that it is ever okay.

The Oscars

The Era Of Lady Gaga

Who is Lady Gaga? She is a well-known artist in today’s music culture. She has been known for her outrageous outfits that she wears at major awards shows. Some consist of dresses full of different meats and out fits that cover her entire body. She has been known for pushing the boundaries on what people thought were acceptable. She has been an icon for people because of the message that she brings. Her songs have always been popular but their messages sometimes make them even more relatable. She has helped the LGBT community with her “Born This Way” song. She has always helped those who feel like they don’t belong and that they are too different. She is giving children and adults a confidence in being different and living their life because they should.

 Lady Gaga was all over the tabloids all the time when she first was coming to fame. The outfits and the songs were topics that people were talking about. We never really saw her as just herself. In the last year or two, she has been pretty silent. We haven’t heard new music, haven’t seen crazy outfits, and she isn’t the topic of the tabloids. The Grammy awards this past February Lady Gaga performed with Tony Bennett on stage. She had her natural hair color, stunning white dress and was performing with such elegance. This was a sight of Lady Gaga that we haven’t seen before. This was just a glimpse of the amazing performance that she would stun the world with at the next awards ceremony. 

The Oscars was this past Sunday. It is known for being a respected one that isn’t known for pushing limits but has prestigious events. Lady Gaga was one of those events this year. She did a tribute to Julie Andrews, from The Sound Of Music, and it was one that people will not forget. She used full vocals that many of us never knew that she even had. She did several songs that were favorites to the fans of the movie. She wasn’t wearing anything that took the attention off of the performance. She had a white gown on and was very much like her Grammy performance. All in all it was amazing all around and stunned the viewers. Lady Gaga before this showed us that she can put on a show and make a performance out of it. After the Oscars she has now shown us that she is the whole package. This couldn’t have been more brilliant for her career. She came onto the scene and attracted fans and viewers because of her different style. Then she stepped out of the limelight for a few months and came back with such a glamorous comeback. She has won respect and attracted fans that she hasn’t had before. She has had a great career and has learned how to use the awards shows, like the Oscars, to further her on. The Oscars was great this year because of this artist.

http://youtu.be/Dvg_bwdirxQ