NYU Secrets

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[nyusecrets-blog]

Top 14 Secrets of 2014

#14.

#13.

#12.

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Top 12 Posts of July

#12: This would have been a top 10 list but I wanted to include this one.

#11: Noo-Dahda-Doo

#10: Professor/Faculty submissions are my favorite.

#9: Explains the sass on the page.

#8: There's always Josie's. 

#7: The one that somehow made a top-12 list.

#6: Just one of many secrets about Israel/Palestine that reminded us of the tensions at NYU and prompted a response from me banning all posts about the conflict until further notice.

#5: A nice bit of shade to ward off the summer heat. A Sternie's response.

#4: A common mistake.

#3: Classic mom.

#2: Yeah, fuck 'em.

#1: Is mayonnaise an instrument? 

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Top 6 Posts of June

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#5:

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#2:

(Sorry!)

#1:

To my recollection, this is the most liked post of all time on NYU Secrets. 

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Top 10 Posts of May

Runner Up: 

#10: 

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Frequently Asked Questions

"How do I post a secret?"

Currently, the only way to submit a secret is to directly message the page. 

"Why didn't my secret get published?"

After getting asked this for a year and a half, I've decided that I will attempt to semi-codify criteria for publishing secrets. That will be coming soon. 

"How do I report someone who's being abusive/offensive/mean in the comments?"

While the balance between free speech and respectful, inclusive speech is a hard balance to maintain in a public forum (especially for one person), I will respect almost all requests to have hateful speech removed. You can report as spam via Facebook, but I'm pretty sure it's much quicker to just message me with the secret # and comment in question. 

"How many secrets do you get a day? How many are published?"

The amount of secrets submitted per day varies greatly. Some days it's as few as 20. Other days extend past 100. I joke that NYU has a higher acceptance rate that NYU Secrets, but I'm pretty sure it's true. I'd say ~10-20% of secrets get posted on any given day. 

"When do most secrets get published?"

The start of the semester, the end of the semester, finals week, and midterms week(s) are the period of highest activity.

Monday to Thursday are the busiest days of the week.

Almost all secrets are posted between the hours of 8am and 11pm.

"How often do you post?"

Daily. Only two days have ever been skipped in NYUS's history.

"What official social media accounts does NYU Secrets have?"

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nyusecrets

Tumblr: www.nyusecrets.tumblr.com

There are no Twitter accounts for NYUS run by me. 

"How many people run NYU Secrets?"

Just one. It's only ever been one and it will always be just one. 

"Who are you?"

A student, just like you.

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Jordan Chude

Jordan Chude is a "19 year-old hip-hop artist from Baltimore who began, after four years of writing poetry, rapping at the age of 16." Jordan studies Music Business in Steinhardt.

Of his aspirations, Jordan writes: "I auditioned to the Music Business program as a rapper (through rapping for my audition) and hope to use my major to not only help advance my own career but also the careers of those around me."

Jordan released a crowd-funded album called Dark Matter last summer. Above is the music video for a song off the album called Night Night. 

Jordan writes of his music that he is "truly passionate about my music. As a new age hip-hop artist, I want to deliver quality music while keeping my lyrics raw to my own life. I have something to say and I am waiting for my opportunity to spread my message."

You can view his website here. 

Want to submit your Hidden Talent or nominate a friend? Check out the criteria here and submit to [email protected]. 

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Matthew Glaser

"Since the beginning of fall semester, every Thursday I have been teaching cooking classes to high school juniors from the Summit School in Queens with learning disabilities," says Matthew Glaser. 

A Brooklyn native, Matthew came to NYU after completing a year of Culinary School at Johnson and Wales University and now studies Politics in the College of Arts and Science. 

"Before college, I attended high-school at the Summit School in Queens, which is a school for students with learning disabilities. I personally have writing dysgraphia and vision convergency as disabilities."

Even after leaving his high school, Matthew wanted to give back to the school that he came from.

"The classes take place at Monte's Trattoria Restaurant, in the West Village, near our NYU campus. The cooking course that I teach is part of the students' high-school curriculum, as they are learning how to cook in a professional kitchen. They have learned to make dishes such as Piccata, Marsala, Scarpiello, French Onion Soup, flowerless chocolate cake and more."

Want to submit your Hidden Talent or nominate a friend? Check out the criteria here and submit to [email protected]

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Sarah Ong

Via Sarah Ong

"More often than not, when I tell people I'm from Brunei, I get the response 'where is that?' or 'I've never heard of your country before, no offense,'" writes Sarah Ong, a full time grad student in SCPS who interns part-time and pursues photography and videography freelance. "My country, which is located on the island of Borneo is very small, with a population size of approximately 400,000 people."

Sarah, a "third culture kid" who was "born and raised in Brunei Darussalam but spent 5 years in Melbourne, Australia before moving to New York," is one of the "few Bruneians at NYU."

Via Sarah Ong's video

Her goal in the above video is to "offer students a glimpse of what my country is like and open their eyes to a culture they may have not otherwise known of. The video can serve as a reminder of how truly multicultural, diverse and inclusive the NYU community is (which is why I love this university so much!)."

Sarah has a stunning portfolio website here and a Tumblr blog here. 

Want to submit your Hidden Talent or nominate a friend? Check out the criteria here and submit to [email protected]

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Helen Hu

For this Hidden Talents, I'm spotlighting Helen Hu for outstanding vocal recordings. Helen was nominated by a friend and studies Psychology in the College of Arts and Science. A member of the co-ed national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, Helen's nominator describes her as "a very simplistic, modest, and down-to-earth woman whose music is a reflection of her charming personality."

Her friend writes of her music: "[It] is not only a soothing source for those who seek serenity, but also for those who find subliminal happiness in simplicity. It would be such a blessing if I can share with others a voice that speaks ever-so-comfortably to another’s soul."

I chose Helen because these songs are genuinely beautiful renditions of the source material. You can listen to all of Helen's work on her Soundcloud. 

Want to submit your Hidden Talent or nominate a friend? Check out the criteria here and submit to [email protected]

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Nick Rasdal

What would you do if you only had a day to live? Get your first kiss? Go skydiving? 

The second Hidden Talents will spotlight Nick Rasdal, a freshman in Tisch. Nick's name and work was passed on to me by a friend of his. He currently studies Film and is from San Diego, CA.

Photo (c) Nick Rasdal

In "Seven Bridges Home," Nick asks the above question--and he delivers a powerful answer, too. This is one of those films that's the definition of "you'll laugh; you'll cry." You'll mostly cry. 

Seven Bridges Home from Nick Rasdal on Vimeo.

Yes, because of privacy settings, it can't be played on this website. But I'd highly encourage you to check out this short film. As a fan of incredibly short videos myself, I put off watching the near-ten minute video for a couple days. But it was totally worth it.

Photo (c) Nick Rasdal 

In my humble interpretation, Nick's film uses only still photography and sound to illustrate what it means to live (and die). 

His friend, Nick Champa, wrote a bit about him. "The kid lives for film.... He just has so much passion for what he does.... Nick puts so much of himself into his writing." 

Photo (c) Nick Rasdal

Champa, Rasdal's actor, writes that "all I could think about what how nervous I was to live up to his high expectations. But as an actor, he lets you do what ever you want and guides you through how the scene should play out, while also leaving that are of grey that the actor can work with. It makes what I do a lot more fun when you have a person like Nick directing the project. I'm just so thankful I was able to play this character and be in a project that meant so much to Nick."

Check out Nick's film Seven Bridges Home. 

Want to submit your Hidden Talent or nominate a friend? Check out the criteria here and submit to [email protected]

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NYUS: Hidden Talents--Jesse Wheaton

The first Hidden Talents segment will spotlight Jesse Wheaton. 

Jesse is a Fine Arts major currently switching to a Gallatin concentration in The Crossroads of Theoretical Mathematics, Fine Art, and Psychology: A Study of the Language, Beauty, and Interpretation of Pattern.

Jesse is currently "compiling [his] best work into a non-profit portfolio book of [his] art for the NYU community." Each book will also have a hand-painted spine so no two books will be the same.

"A really awesome team of NYU students is working together to independently publish this book within the NYU community, so here’s a shout out to Sebastian VH, Naafeh Dhillon, Celina Ward, and Nicholas Giroux-Doehring!"

He hopes "some people could relate to the paintings, photography, and stories inside. Some of the artwork was a part of an NYU art show in Barney last year, some of the book is about NYC, and some of it is about adventures at NYU."

Says Jesse of his work: "My paintings and my life are scattered across the world: I'm traveling in Thailand, my latest painting is in Saigon, and anything not sold yet is divided among dozens of friends' apartments across NYC and SF. So I’m excited to put something together that’s polished, something can be held that has everything I've done so far, that I can share with people, that holds within it all my best ideas and inspirations. It also allows me to share what I've done and hear what people think, to decide what I should create next."

If you peruse Jesse's website (www.jessewheaton.com), you can see that he explores several different types of art: painting, photography, sculpture.

Jesse is immensely talented, having been a part of several exhibitions on both coasts of the US. He is well-reviewed and for just cause--his work is powerful and beautiful.

From his website, Jesse lists two reasons why he paints: "it's a meditative and creative process that allows me to contextualize my life. Secondly, I hope to influence the lives of others by creating a discussion, articulating my perspective and experiences and letting you interpret it in your own way."

All work displayed here belongs to Jesse Wheaton. Check out him and his book at www.JesseWheaton.com.

If you think you or someone you know deserves to be recognized on NYUS: Hidden Talents, check out the Submission Information HERE.

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I'm going through some submissions.

So much talent in my inbox right now. It's crazy. I'm listening to beautiful music and looking at beautiful art.  You're beautiful, NYU. I can't wait to see where this takes us. 

[nyusecrets-blog]

Welcome to NYUS: Hidden Talents

What is NYUS: Hidden Talents?

NYUS: Hidden Talents is an independently run program in which students with exceptional talent can reach an audience of over 20,000 people.

Who are you?

The NYU Secrets guy. 

Why are you doing this?

NYU Secrets has, I believe, shown all of us that we are a powerful community. With NYUS: Hidden Talents, I plan to take that one step further. I want to show everyone that not only are we a powerful community, we are also made up of some of the most talented young individuals in the world. 

What kind of talents are recognized?

All kinds. Currently, they're grouped into 6 categories that you can view here. Even if your talent doesn't exactly fit into one of these categories, submit anyway!

How can I get recognized?

Submit yourself to [email protected] OR someone else can nominate you.

You can also submit through the main NYU Secrets Facebook page. At the beginning of your FB Message, make it clear that you're writing for NYUS: Hidden Talents rather than just NYUS. Add [HIDDEN TALENT] to the start of your email, for example. 

What do I need to submit?

Your name.

Your school/major/year.

A personal bio of 3-5 sentences.

3-5 sentences on why you should be featured and how you've made a difference. 

A photo of you (optional). 

Evidence of your craft--do you dance? Send a video. Have you built community? Send how/where/why. Do you have a blog? Post a link.

What if I'm nominating someone else?

Their name.

Their school/major/year.

3-5 sentences on why they should be featured and how they've made a difference.

A photo of them (optional).

Evidence of their craft. 

What do I get out of it?

A personal write-up displaying your talent to the entire NYU community. 

Coverage on the Tumblr page.

Coverage on the main NYU Secrets Facebook page

A digitally personalized one of these for your corresponding talent.