Hello, everyone! My name is James Negri, and I am 25 years old. I was born in Delaware where I lived until my family's house was foreclosed on! I then moved with my family to Middlesex where we lived with my Grandma for a few years, and after moved to Bridgewater where I have lived off and on since. I was home-schooled from 1st to 12th grade and decided to join the Marine Corps as soon as I could!

In the military I lived all over the country, but for the most part stayed in Southern California! Life in the military was full of challenges, but I am grateful for the ways it has developed me. The united states is a beautiful place, and I believe I've visited at least 30 of the 50 states! While in the Marines I was deployed on a big boat to the Pacific Ocean!

While on this deployment I spent a month in Djibouti, a month in Singapore, a week in Oman, and 3 days in Hong Kong. Seeing the world vastly expanded my views of it, and helped me to understand that the culture in the US is such a small aspect of the world. Once out of the military I decided to become a graphic designer! I love art, and I love making things simple. In addition I thought it would be a great way for me to see a culture that was very different from the military culture! I did miss the world travel though, and just recently went on a mission trip to Ghana for two weeks! I hope to continue to see the world, and remind myself of how small I really am in it! I also
love video games and talking about deep subjects like what happens after death!

Intro

Introduction

 Hey! My name's Evan Mercado. I'm currently in my fourth year here at Rutgers University, majoring in Video Production. I've lived in the small town of Secaucus for as long as I can remember and it holds plenty of moments that helped shape who I am today. I grew up with four brothers that taught me the importance of family and roughhousing, which led to a lot of fun and yet a lot of trouble. We grew up on video games, comic books, and professional wrestling and never lost that sense of enjoyment from either.

 Overtime, I gained interest in making stop-motion animations thanks to the various films by Ray Harryhausen. I made a few small projects as a kid with wrestling action figures and wanted to see how I can improve them. This eventually led to my major in Video Production and my first steps into Rutgers University and while I was able to become a student, it was incredibly difficult to maintain that status. As time went on, my family couldn't afford the expenses to support my education, which caused me to take a leave of absence for about a year. My Mom was devastated by this and felt more upset about it than myself. I told her that day that I'll somehow make it back, no matter how long it took and after a years worth of work, I was able to return.
  Overall, I like to think I'm a hard worker. Maintaining a full-time schedule for work and classes is not the easiest thing to do and I know I'm not the only one attempting the same thing. As long as the struggle may seem, I believe where the destination leads to is definitely worth it. With all of the effort I put into coming back to Rutgers, I can't stop now and can only move forward.

 

Filming for an Awards Show in Newark

Introduction

My name is Luis Reyes, I am a 22 year old male finishing his junior year. I am majoring in Graphic Design and completing a minor in Art History. I like to play video games, watch movies, and waste excessive amounts of my day on social media like mostly everybody my age. In various aspects of my personality I always seems to have two contrasting motives. For example sometimes I can be very introverted but also extroverted depending on the people around. I like to keep busy by having many interests and hobbies, that change almost monthly, to lazing around and having absolutely nothing to do. I kind of like that since I myself never know what I am going to do next.

On a bigger scale I am a son, a younger brother and, if I could say so myself, an amazing friend. My friend group is probably one of the most important aspects to me. We all have a mutual love and respect for one another that I have recently noticed was always there but never truly noticed until now. The different experiences that I have had with my peers shaped me into the person I am today. They have taught me to be patient, empathetic, loyal, and absolutely hilarious since we all have extremely similar senses of humor and truly I really think that is the secret to getting along but I will settle for great communication skills as well. More importantly they taught what a community truly is.

On an even bigger scope I am a Hispanic male and that comes with already a pretty dense culture. Not only dense but also very diverse different races can make up the Hispanic ethnicity. The reason I chose a still of Grand Budapest Hotel is because from an early age, television, film and media inspired me creatively. Also I chose to use a stock image of "friends" since I only have very ugly and embarrassing photos of my friends and probably not very family friendly.  Just like many others my age but growing up with the internet and being exposed to an endless amount of media shaped how I view the world. There is no limit on what I can do or achieve just like there is no limit on what one can learn or draw inspiration from.

Who I Am

My name is Layla Abdallah and I am a senior majoring in journalism and media studies with a minor in general history. I would describe myself as a passionate leader and community activist committed to making change in regards to hyper local issues such as the lead in Newark water and the gentrification of my birthplace. I was born in Newark and raised in East Orange and Jersey has always been my home. I love both cities and will never forget my roots. 

On a macro level, I am a Black woman dedicated to my job, my education, and my community. Currently, I work at a bookstore that specializes in being accessible to the special needs community. As a member of multiple student organizations at Rutgers, I have had many opportunities to enhance my interpersonal skills; which I take pride in. I am the middle child of three which makes my life exciting all the time. In my free time, which is rare, I watch football, read tons of books, go to the movies, and I have recently gotten into painting. Taking 19 credits, working 23-32 hours a weekend, and maintaining my E-board positions has made me appreciate all the time I spend with my family and friends more and more as I aim to graduate this May.

Football, Family, and Food. Those three things have shaped me into the woman I am today and have solidified what I want to do with my future. After college, I plan on working as a sports journalist and then pursuing my dream of going to law school. My goal in life is to be remembered as someone who made a change for their community and the youth of inner cities. 

Hello

Hi all,

Camp friends make the best friends.

Drawing made on train.

My name is Emily and I am Junior here at Rutgers majoring in Graphic Design and minoring in Art History. I was a transfer student from Raritan Valley Community College, coming back to school after taking a gap year to work at an internship program hosted by my typical summer employment to be their in-house graphic designer, an opportunity that I was glad to have taken. Originally, I started out as an Environmental Science major but I enjoyed art, drawing, and design too much not to pursue my true passion, much to my parents dismay at first, but ever since have not looked back knowing that I made the right decision for myself which ultimately, in the end, is what matters the most.

On a micro level, I'm an individual who tends to stay mostly to themselves though, in recent years have learned to break out of that shell and approach more and more people. One can typically find me with headphones in listening to my same Spotify playlist on repeat for the hundredth time sketching away either digitally or traditionally when not working on assignments. I'm an avid collector of books (Harry Potter will always be my favorite series), an owner of pets ranging from dog to rat and a ukulele enthusiast. When it comes to working I am very detail oriented, determined and in the moment yet willing to go with the flow as I have learned from being a camp counselor/director as well as being a free lance designer.

Giant's Causeway July 2019

On a more macro level I have loved exploring the world and different cultures other than my own. Growing up my pool of interaction was limited and small but since 2014 I've traveled to the Netherlands, England, Italy, Costa Rica, Ireland and in a few months Japan. Traveling has made me realize and see that what seems like such a big and trivial problem is truly insignificant when you are traveling above the ocean and crossing the globe because adventure and new experiences wait just around the corner. Another level of this idea of macro is the environment I work in during the summer as a camp counselor/director, through this experience I have made life long friends who have opened my eyes to new ideas and thoughts and have come into contact with so many people and kids with so many different stories yet, they are are, typically, connected through their faith, being a christian based camp, as well as just being human and looking for that interaction. That's what it is all about in the end--interacting with one another, sharing experiences and looking for adventure all while staying true to ones self.

Jeremy

My name is Jeremy Frederick Leonard McGhee, I'm 26 years old, the youngest of three brothers, and somewhat recently the uncle to an amazing child. My heritage is fairly mixed with my family coming from Poland, Austria, as well as being part Native American. I tend to be on the quiet side most of the time but will talk for hours if the conversation can hold my interest. Speaking of interests I would have to admit that mine tend to fall on the more nerdy side of culture from videogames, StarWars, fantasy, and superheroes.

My interests likewise have a wide range, as far back as I can remember I've had a love for rock centered music which since then branched out to include rap, pop, and other genres. Because of that one of my favorite things to do when I can is to attend concerts. Within the past few years, guided by my girlfriend, I began an exploration into the world of cosplay and conventions. A natural move for me due to it combining my passion for making with my love of various pop cultures all coming to fruition every year at NYCC. Another large fascination that I've held for the past ten or so years is that of horology which has led to me building a small collection of watches of a few different styles and even modifying one myself.

In school, I had a long-running issue of finding what I wanted to do. I attended a technical high school where I studied engineering but lost most interest by my junior year. I attended Bergen Community College where I studied Architecture as well as taking art electives. When I transferred to Rutgers I thought I wanted to do computer engineering and programming, but quickly learned that I felt very confined by it creatively. Finally, I realized that a future in graphic design would be perfect for me by combining the creative traits I admired from the other courses of study I had followed while also allowing me to follow a creative message. That's where I stand now, set on the path of graphic design with no desire to swap again.

Introduction: Imani Hayes

 Hi, my name is Imani Hayes and I am ?? years old senior,  majoring in Journalism.  I'm originally from Norfolk, Va.   I enjoy writing, watching television and keeping up with pop culture.  Life has gotten in the way as far as me continuing my education so late in life.  I am a cancer survivor and may possibly be in the mist of a new battle with the frustrating diagnosis. I pray and plan to graduate in May 2020 and to start a career with "Bossip" or "TMZ."  I also have aspirations of working for People magazine.
        I identify as a sister, daughter, aunt, niece, and a mother to my Shih Tzu, Kevin.  I identify

as a fiancé and future wife to the love of my life, Elijah Cuffy.  I love my family and would do anything for them.  I am a very giving person and would give the shirt off my back for them.  It is important to know that I identify as a proud transgendered woman who has revamped and turned her life around.  I am unapologetic about who I am as a person. 
        I know that I have many challenges that lie ahead of me mainly my health.  I'm optimistic about my future because like with anything, there are many uncertainties.  My goal is to graduate from Rutgers University-Newark and make may family proud. Once again, I don't know what this next chapter of my life will read. Hopefully, it will say that Imani Hayes came, saw, persevered, and conquered life, as we know it, on this earth.