Welcome One and All

Welcome Cornerstone students. Welcome to your new Blogger family as well as to your Interdisciplinary Studies major. We hope that throughout this semester we can impart some of the knowledge and wisdom that we have gained during our own wonderful journeys through our Interdisciplinary Studies majors. We are here, first and foremost, for YOU. If you have any questions at any time on anything we post, please let us know. If you don't agree with anything we say, tell us. The only wrong opinion is that which is never expressed. Challenge us just as you would challenge yourself in the real world, for out of challenge comes true understanding.

We only have a few rules:

• Check the blog frequently. Topics will always evolve. Even if you finish what is “required” for this week's reading, you may miss out on something much greater.
• Complete the postings early on to allow for discussion.
• We can be wrong. It's OK to disagree with us. In fact, sometimes challenging us will lead to the pursuit of a much greater answer.
• Avoid ranting. Discussion can lead to a positive outcome. Ranting, on the other hand, is negative by nature and will only lead to a negative outcome.
• Realize that there is no such thing as a wrong answer except for the one not given.
• Read the whole post. Sometimes we will ask questions at the end. ;)
• Reply by pressing the comment button.
• Please write your name at the end of your reply.

With that, I will like to introduce our team (in no particular order).
Note: We promise not all posts will be this big. ;)

First up, me, Ivan Maldonado:

My name is Ivan Maldonado. My concentrations are Computational Science (why don't they just call it computer science? lol) and Education and my minor is in Humanities. This is my last semester for my current major and I am very excited. I started my original major back in 2001 at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and, after a 6 year hiatus, started school again here in Florida. I went through two majors (Computer Engineering and Mathematics Education) before I found IDS. My passions are technology, education and religious studies so, as you can see, IDS was the perfect fit for me. 

When people ask me what IDS is, I tell them that IDS is the merging of several parts of several disciplines into one new and unique discipline. In my case, my main focus is on how technology merges into education to not only enhance but become part of education itself. This allows me the advantage of understanding how to use Educational Technology to its maximum efficiency to aid students in maximizing their understanding of any applicable subject matter. Of course, there is a downside to this. By specifically targeting both Education and Computer Science, I do become the jack of "this one specific" trade and the master of none. While I can still teach without computers and program without teaching, I am not as efficient in either separate discipline as a dedicated Education major or Computer Science major would be. But, alas, for what I lose, I make up in other areas in Spades (hah! Get it? Jack... Spades... No? Fine... That was a little corny... lol).

Ivan Maldonado

Secondly, we have Suzanne Sanchez:

Hi everyone! My name is Suzanne Sanchez. I am a senior and I graduate in April. My minor is Sociology. My areas of concentration are Public Affairs, and Humanities. I plan to continue my education in the UCF Masters Non-Profit Management Program next Fall. Ultimately I want to work for the Red Cross in disaster field work. I was inspired by my grandfather to go into this area of community service, as he worked for that organization for 40 years.

I was attracted to the Interdisciplinary Program because I liked the idea of having a well-rounded degree and I have many interests. In addition, it was important to me because there is such a competitive workforce and the more experience you accumulate the better your chances are. People always ask me what Interdisciplinary Studies is. I tell them it's a degree where you can have more diversity and choices for your academics. You can greatly benefit from this degree because the employers are looking for more experience in candidates. The only disadvantage is that it is not one specific focused discipline. However, the good outweighs the bad tremendously.

I am really excited to meet everyone, and feel free to “reply” by using the comment button. 

Suzanne Sanchez

Thirdly, Christine Ockunzzi:

Hi, My name is Christine Ockunzzi. I started my UCF career in 1991 (I guess some of you weren't even born at that time! UGH) I worked for Lockheed Martin for 22 years and I hope to resume my career there after graduation. In 2009, I returned to school after a 12 year absence to complete my degree. My areas of study are computational science and humanities and minor is sociology. Having worked on the computational science so many years ago, you can bet those pre-req's were pretty stale after 12 years; this is where IDS came in.

I like animals (dog training especially) and gardening.

Fourth up to the plate, Tamara Groom:

My name is Tamara Groom and I am a non-traditional student (I just turned 35) who has commuted to UCF from Brevard county for the last couple of years. I am finally a senior IDS student. My focus areas are engineering and computational sciences and my minor is digital Media. Since I concentrated primarily on computer courses in both of my focus areas and my minor, it’s easy to explain my Interdisciplinary Studies path as being one in which I took as many computer courses as possible to become computer savvy, but that’s just part of the story. I also took journalism courses for my elective credits.  And marketing... And visual communications... And some more digital media... In this multi-media world of ours there are all kinds of things that I want to accomplish and I felt that I should try to gain as many skills as possible. The disadvantage to that in an Interdisciplinary Studies approach is that you don’t learn programming languages in as structured of a way as you might if you were in a computer science program. The advantage to it is that I don’t have to specialize in one language and now know I have the ability to learn any language. Welcome to IDS. Ask me anything.

Fifth up, we have Antonio Hermida:

Hello my name is Antonio Hermida and my areas of concentration and minor are commerce, social science and mathematics respectively. I chose interdisciplinary studies as my degree because I liked the flexibility that it gave me to customize my studies. When other people ask me what is it that my degree consists of, I always tell them that it is a bachelor’s with concentrations in commerce, social science and mathematics. The disadvantage about the IDS degree is that it is relatively new and people think that it is not specific enough. The advantage is that as long as you know how to market yourself to a prospective employer you will come across as a knowledgeable person with aptitudes in different disciplines. What I would like to do with this degree when I graduate is to apply the acquired knowledge to a job that comes along as interesting to me. A job that will allow my growth in both career and spirit.

Sixth up, we have Maegan Anderson:

Hello, my name is Maegan Anderson. I am graduating this semester with a focus in Mathematics and Education with a minor in Business. I am aspiring to be a high school Athletic Director and possibly teach math. I have been volunteering all throughout my college career in education and sporting events to help with my goal of becoming an Athletic Director. I plan to get a sports internship this summer and then start my career in the fall at a high school. After some work experience, I plan to go back and get my masters in Business Administration. I chose the IDS major because it helped me use all of my credits wisely and allowed me to be well-rounded in three areas. When people ask me what is the IDS major, I tell them that I basically have three focuses and am able to apply a perspective from each. I look forward to this blog. Please feel free to ask me any questions. Let’s have a great semester!

Last, but not least, we have Jeff Popluder:

Hey Everyone, My name's Jeff, I’m 22 and these four years at UCF have been the greatest experience of my life. I’ve made friendships for a lifetime, taken opportunities you could never dream of and received the best educational background for my personal needs. When first attending University of Central Florida I was very passionate about Engineering then shortly realized all the math classes weren’t for me so quickly changed my major to Management Information Systems (MIS). This degree breached Business Management and Information Technology and that encompassed a curriculum that I was extremely interested in. Shortly after, the program had budget cuts and the degree was removed. My next option was to become a general business major and have no path or swim with the big fish and create my own destiny.

I made the best decision to this day and became an Interdisciplinary Studies student. Not only was I able to create my own course guide but it opened many doors in the sense of internships, campus involvement in SGA and it also landed me a job my senior year of college and most likely an amazing job when I graduate. I decided to intertwine the curriculum from MIS taking related courses in Business and IT and those are where I choose my fields from the majority of those classes. Secondly, I took behavioral science classes to learn the studies of humans and their interactions in the economy and interpersonal communications. Pretty much I’m an average college student who likes to explore their opportunities and become involved in everything to play as many cards as possible. I’ll cherish this last semester here at UCF and hope the best for everyone else that is on a similar path to success. Please feel free to email me with any general or personal questions I am still very knowledgeable with SGA if you have any related questions involving Senate.

Now it's your turn:
Feel free to introduce yourselves and your minors/areas of concentration.
Why did you chose this as your degree?
How do describe your Interdisciplinary major to others?
What do you feel are the disadvantages or advantages in Interdisciplinary Studies?
What would you like do with this degree when you graduate?
Please feel free to add anything else or ask any questions you have. We are here for you.


We're looking forward to hearing from you!