Happy Thanksgiving!

From GST student Md. Zahidul Haque, on the origin and celebration of Thanksgiving:

Americans celebrate this public holiday as a harvest festival on the 4^th Thursday in November each year in the United States. The First Thanksgiving day was celebrated by the Pilgrims in the new world in 1621 after their first harvest. After the USA became independent, Congress recommended one day each year as Thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. Canadians also celebrate this day on the second Monday of October. Up to today, we believe that this day is for the celebration of Pilgrims and offering foods to Native Americans. It is also a day of gratitude as well the respect to Native Americans for teaching the Pilgrims how to cook. At that time the pilgrims couldn’t survive without the help of Native Americans.

In New York City, my family and I celebrate this day by joining with our child’s school or family or friend’s homes. For this year’s celebration, we will get together in a common place for dinner. We will make traditional food like carved turkeys, pumpkin pie, corn, vegetables, fruits, as well as some other Indian fried dishes, then serve each other and have dessert at the end of the meal. So every year we are waiting for this day to celebrate.

Wishing everybody a happy, safe, and delicious Thanksgiving weekend!

All Touro library locations will be closed 11/22-11/23.

3 Reasons To Love Istanbul

(CCO Image via Pixabay)

The following has been contributed by  author Semih Gencer. Semih is an international student, originally from Turkey, currently attending the Touro Graduate School of Business.

“If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

My hometown of Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans two continents: Asia and Europe. The Bosphorus River, meandering through the heart of the city, combines the waters of the Black Sea and Marmara Sea. For that reason, as one article describes, for thousands of years, Istanbul was one of most aspired to cities in the world. It was a city that everyone wanted, and it was all because of its location. We can say that Istanbul has for a long time been the heart and soul of Turkey. It has a huge history. Istanbul has been the capital city of four empires: the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires. Istanbul has a rich history, and so much remains of each of these empires that you can still see. There is much interesting historical information about Istanbul, but if you ask me why I love Istanbul a lot, I have strong reasons to explain in the following parts.

Insights from Touro Graduates

It might only be September, but it’s never too early to think about what you’re working towards
(image © Touro College)

If you’re just starting college, or even if you’ve been at it for a few semesters, you’ve probably gotten advice from lots of people – professors, friends, parents, acquaintances – whether you wanted it or not. Librarians aren’t shy about handing out advice either, but for today, we thought we’d share some words of wisdom from those most likely to know what you’re experiencing, because they’ve recently been right where you are. Here are excerpts from the speeches given by the valedictorian and salutatorian of last year’s graduating NYSCAS class, Yasmin Itshakov and Eleanor Moquete. We hope that you’ll find inspiration and guidance for a successful fall semester and along your path to your own moment on the graduation stage.

Touro PT Students Share Health Information Worldwide in Wikipedia Editathon

This real time counter logs each edit to Wikipedia, including those by our own PT students

Drs. Shira Wiener and Yocheved Bensinger-Brody hosted their second Wikipedia Editathon for their Doctor of Physical Therapy Program students of class 2019 on April 4^th.  Like last year, in this three-hour long session, Lane Rasberry, the Wikipedian-in-Residence first briefly explained the nature of Wikipedia as a free encyclopedia that can be edited by anybody. At the same time, he clarified, Wikipedia is not a chaotic space and once an article is written or edited, its dedicated volunteer editors will check on the accuracy of any new information that has been added to Wikipedia. This is how Wikipedia controls its quality, he said.

Student Post: I am a New Yorker

NYC skyline (CC0 image via Pexels)

This post was contributed by: Mao Mitsuya, student of the Touro Graduate School of Business.

My biggest dream was to live in New York City. I kept dreaming it every single day and telling everyone for 7 years. I finally made it come true last September, and I’m living my dream now.

Student Post: Visiting the Amish in Lancanster, PA

This post was contributed by: Karlene M. Williams, MHRM candidate 2017, Touro Graduate School of Business, originally from Grenada.

Karlene Williams (photo credit Shawn Davis)

For the past three years, I have enjoyed visiting the Amish in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, which occurs on the second Saturday in November. I first participated in this trip in November 2006 with some family and friends, and it has become my favorite pre-Thanksgiving activity since I moved to the United States in 2013. You may ask yourself, why a trip to the Amish? For me it’s about getting away from the hustle and bustle of New York City for an entire day and appreciating the way of life of a religious group that has preserved its identity in the midst of technology and a fast-paced world.

International Student Visas

(via Flickr)

This post was contributed by Shaileshkumar Solanki, student at Touro Graduate School of Business.  

I was very excited to study in the U.S.A. I landed at Detroit International Airport on May 20, 2015 at 2.00 pm. As per the rules, I had to complete the formal Port of Entry procedures. It was the biggest interview of my life. My Port of Entry interview has started at 2:30 pm and finished at 8:00 pm (almost 5-6 hours). But based on my documents and the conversation between me and the Immigration office, I successfully landed here. So, based on my experience, I would like to share some information for all the students who want to study in United States of America.

Exercise Is The Best Medicine

(CC0 image)

This post was contributed by:

Meihua Li, a Pharm.D. candidate class of 2017, Touro College of Pharmacy, with a Ph.D. in Pharmacy from Seoul National University, South Korea

If you are a healthcare provider, if there was a prescription that could prevent and treat many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, would you prescribe it to your patients? Exercise is one of the most effective and affordable medicines, and the benefits of exercise are far beyond control of body weight.

Why I chose an MBA in Healthcare Management

(CC0 image via Pixabay)

This post was contributed by Touro Graduate School of Business student Rauwolfia Mannan.

A Master’s in Business Administration has been an in-demand degree for a long time, but the specialization for healthcare management is fairly new. Although a recent innovation, healthcare management is a strong and growing market. Healthcare is a demanding field, and with all the improved technologies, the competition gets tougher every day. Before, a regular MBA would have sufficed for a good position in a hospital management career, but now with the latest technology and competition, people with a specialized degree and credentials are greatly preferred. 

“If you can make it here…”: Culture shock and international students

Welcome to JFK! (CC0 image via Wikimedia)

Contributed by: Lebogang Matome, a student in the Touro Graduate School of Business class of 2017, working towards her M.S. in International Business & Finance.

From home America, was a dream. Being awarded an opportunity to come study in America, one can only dream of and plan all the places that they want to see, in New York particularly. What a bonus to come to NYC I thought, hoping to see all those places where some of my favorite movies and reality shows where based. I had expectations of celebrities on every corner and paparazzi everywhere, with the thought of photo bombing a celebrity. It’s a place where one is given the impression that money could actually be growing in trees. It seemed that everyone who lives in New York must be a celebrity with a luxurious life, and every day is a holiday, and every time you are sad, by some coincidence it will start raining while you are walking to catch a taxi and a soundtrack will come on. But then you arrive and finally get to discover that Hollywood is in another part of America, far from New York.