Week 5

The FYRE program utilizes several theories from both the Sociology and Communications concentrations. The theories that I will highlight are Emile Durkheim's sociological theories of dynamic density and collective conscience and the Communication Theories of Communicating through informational technology and interpersonal communications. Dynamic density is the theory that a large number of people in a given society can cause transformation in that society. According to Dirkheim, large numbers of people are not enough to induce change. A second factor must be in place. That important second factor is that there must be an increase in the interaction that takes place among most of the people that live in that society. As a FYRE Paraprofessional I have been able to witness this theory in person. One of my responsibilities is to increase the amount of interaction among the freshman in my dorm. By doing this there is an increase in change from isolated living to group living which is beneficial to the University in the rate of returning students. Durkheim also argued that many members of a group, a tribe, or a society are more knowledgeable, more powerful, and more productive than an individual. This is called collective conscience. In my residential community I strive to involve as many students as possible in group activities such as study groups, intramural sports, and events.

Week 4

Reviewing many meanings explaining the difference between a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach I have come to the conclusion that being multidisciplinary means many different branches are involved in the process of achieving your outcome. Interdisciplinary means that however many levels or branches are involved working together to achieve an outcome is the vision. In the First Year Residential Experience we take an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. The reason I think we use both is simple. The interdisciplinary approach comes into play when performing our workshops. We have to go through alot of training to present an excellent workshop to students. In that sense we are rehearsing what we had already learned. We use a multidisciplinary approach by having to work with people of all ages. Our boss is a PhD student, our mentors are all Graduate students, and we are undergraduate students. We combine to make a small team of professionals who have the same goal which is to help first year residents enjoy their experience and want to return to Arizona State University the following semester. I believe our department is in a type of hierarchical position. A FYRE "Fellow" is hired as a undergraduate student, specifically a junior or senior student. Our mentors are graduate students, and post undergraduate graduation we have an option of remaining within the FYRE staff as a graduate student so there are many different positions of hierarchy. As I continue into graduate school I would love to stay with the FYRE program. Thus far I have developed some great friendships as I do my best at being a big brother to First Year Residents.

Hi! My name is Joey Palazzolo and I am a senior at Arizona State University. I am majoring in BIS with my two concentrations being Sociology and Communications. I became interested in Sociology when taking a Sociology of Work course at Arizona State University. I eventually took another and decided to make Sociology one of my two concentrations. I have always been interested in Communications whether it is Relational or Interpersonal. I may continue to pursue my MA in Communications through Arizona State. These two concentrations are reflective of my identity due to my outgoing personality and my ability to communicate with anyone on almost any subject that comes about. I have many friends not only local but global. My applied study will be at Arizona State University on the North Campus. I will be a FYRE Fellow. FYRE stands for First Year Residential Experience. I will work as a liaison between the first year residents living on campus and the university. This includes establishing and making connections to the ASU community, gaining affiliation and connections to other students across campus, utilizing academic support and co-curricular resources, increasing awareness of cultural and diversity issues and improving the overall management and wellness of each individual student. I will also be giving success workshops on test preparation in various residential halls across campus. At my site I hope to increase the knowledge of first year residents on where to go on campus to get involved and become more successful in school and life. So far I feel that I have accomplished the most important aspect which is getting myself known to the residents so that they feel comfortable enough to come to me with any questions or concerns. I would say that the responsibilities that I have taken for my internship are related to what I have been studying through communication. If there was no communication on my part for my internship there would be no progress. Being able to relate and blend in to an environment I might not be comfortable in relates to knowledge I have grasped from my Sociology and Communication courses of study. My future goals after graduation include continuing my education in a field of study that highly interests me. At this time I am still figuring out what field of study that is. I really enjoy the type of work I am doing for my internship and I would love to see where it goes because I could see myself working in a field similar to this since I love working with and helping others.

My URL

http://bis401experience.blogspot.com/