EC Fredonia visits SUNY Fredonia’s Before I die… wall. The social project was started by artist Candy Chang in New Orleans, and has since gone global.  After a dear friend passed away, Chang decided to reach out to her community in a display of anonymous connectivity.   She painted an abandoned house in her neighborhood with blackboard paint, and a simple statement: Before I die, I want to ________.   Passersby used multi-colored chalk to fill in the blanks and create a rainbow of hopes and dreams. The Fredonia wall, like so many others around the world, lets us all admit a real desire and find solace in the admission of others…not so different from ourselves. Today EC Fredonia students left their mark. http://www.ted.com/talks/candy_chang_before_i_die_i_want_to?language=en http://www.fredonia.edu/library/  

Getting to know all about you: A Brief Proust with EC Fredonia Faculty and Staff   What is your idea of happiness? Daniel, Center Director: Putting one foot in front of the other and never looking back all while living in the present. Marisa, Head Teacher: Relaxing, dancing, wine, friends, family Robyn, Student Services Coordinator: The feeling you get on beach days, where all the rest of the world disappears, and you are both present and absent at the same time. Sandra, Teacher: Having a loving person you can trust. Michael, Teacher: Happiness is a full schedule with no idea of what might happen. It’s the open road, and the opportunity for adventure, excitement, and all things unknown. It’s a good book of poetry I haven’t read yet on a spring day under a tree with a cup of tea and a cigarette. Claire, Teacher: Happiness is being content in all circumstances.     What characteristic do you most appreciate in others? Michael, Teacher: Honesty, and I don’t mean that in the simple way of being honesty. Rather, I mean a commitment to truth, a commitment to seeing the world as it is and being in that world as you are. Sandra, Teacher: Responsibility and timeliness. Daniel, Center Director: Love, unconditional love and appreciation for others regardless of race, creed, or religion. Claire, Teacher: Empathy, good listeners! Robyn, Student Services Coordinator: Curiosity and cleverness Marisa, Head Teacher: humility     What ability would you most like to have? Claire, Teacher: I’d like to be able to add more hours to the day! Sandra, Teacher: To paint and draw with talent. Daniel, Center Director: To be humble in all aspects of the word. Michael, Teacher: What more can I ask for ;D Robyn, Student Services Coordinator: telepathy, definitely telepathy with a … Read more

GUIDED SELF STUDY AT EC FREDONIA Being on campus is a wonderful opportunity for EC students. It allows them to engage with American students all the time, in fun activities, sports, coffee meetings etc. Sounds fun to be in a college environment. Well, let’s talk about studying 🙂 . There are so many fun things about the college life-style, but we know there is a lot of hard work too.  So, we use our university connections to make work fun! Everyone has homework and projects, and we all know practice is the key to language success. Thanks to some volunteer graduate students in SUNY Fredonia, we were able to start our Guided Self Study Program.  Twice a week, EC and international university students meet with EC teachers and graduate students for personalized help.  Students get one-on-one attention with any work they bring and specially designed exercises to build their skills. What our tutors have to say: “Tutoring at EC English is one of the highlights of my week. I love getting to know the students on a personal level and they are so motivated to do their work and to perform well in and out of the classroom- GSS is a great program!” says Tina Schwartzmeyer, graduate student in the TESOL program on campus. “It is amazing to work with students from so many different countries. I learn just as much from them as they learn from me. It is truly a great experience.” says Shannon Farrell, graduate student in the MA TESOL program here at Fredonia.

EC SNOWDONIA ACTIVITY Before spring break, EC Fredonia caught the perfect weather for snow tubing. For those who don’t know about snow tubing, it’s like sledding, except on an air-filled inner tube-type-device, which reaches adrenaline-pumping speeds. It can be done on a normal hill or it can be done at a ski resort. There is truly no skill needed for tubing; all you need is a group of friends, and some warm winter clothes.   There are some variations that make snow tubing a very interesting activity. Some ski areas, for example the one we went to with EC Fredonia students, offered several lanes. This helped those who wanted to engage in a downhill race. It was so much fun getting ready on the top in a line with 5 or 6 people and wait for the green light to start tubing and at the end you want to do it one more time. We had fun for almost 4 hours in NY, Glenwood Kissing Bridge  Thank you guys tubing like crazy with us.

Hello and welcome to the first posting of the EC Fredonia Blog! On-Campus at Fredonia (State University of New York) gives you the unique opportunity to combine English language learning with an all-American university lifestyle, thorough preparation for university education and a direct route into Fredonia and the entire US university system. On this site, you will find updates both on EC school  and SUNY Fredonia news and when they happen. You’ll also be able to find what social activities are planned, testimonials, any academic news and what’s happening in Fredonia.     Be sure to keep checking back with us for the latest posts and pictures!