At about 8:30 PM, in Kobacker Hall on August 27, 2009, Nancy Giles walked out onto the stage to much applause. She seemed to emanate confidence and humility, two traits that not many people possess at once. She spoke about the different acting jobs she had, and even though they were generally not large or important parts, she was very thankful for the opportunities they presented, and was able to laugh and joke about them in a way that showed the confidence I had sensed earlier.
After she told her stories, she opened the floor for questions. People asked about how to get involved in stand-up comedy or voice acting, or asked about how she felt when Barack Obama won the presidential election. The question that made me think the most, though, was when one young woman spoke about Carlos Mencia and how he has the tendency to make white people feel uncomfortable with his jokes or stories. And although Giles did talk and joke about race, she never did so in a way that made me feel awkward. When the majority of people or comedians I know of talk or joke about such touchy subjects, they generally do so at the expense of another. Yet she was able to speak her thoughts and opinions at no one’s expense.
Overall, I really enjoyed the night. Giles was a great person to hear speak and she was full of personality and spunk.
Before August 27th I honestly had no idea who Nancy Giles was. I had never heard of her and had no clue what I was in for when I sat down for her show. She was given a brief introduction where they mentioned some of the work she has done throughout her career. One of the works mentioned was being on the “fresh Prince of Belaire” which she later talked about. I knew the show was going to be very informal right off the bat when Ms. Giles walked out from back stage and didn’t even bother to stand behind the podium that they had set up for her. She talked about how jealous she was that we, music majors in college, actually stuck with music and had the will-power to never give it up. However, the part of her speech that interested me the most was her bit about music today. She talked about how music in the 70’s and 80’s were so layered and full of different instruments, and how music nowadays is nothing like that. She missed listening to R&B that had full orchestras in them. She also spoke of how the well-known show “American Idol” is ruining people’s taste in music and encouraging mediocrity. She hates how in American Idol they sort out great musicians just because they “aren’t pretty enough” , or even sometimes let bad singers go to the next level just because “it’s funny to watch them suck”. Despite how she felt about where music is going today, she did end on a good note. She told us how great it was the we were musicians following our dream, and that no matter what anyone tells us, with lots of practice and focus our work will pay off.
At About 8:30, after hearing an astounding vocal concert performed by the HeeBeeBGs, Nancy Giles began to talk to her audience in Kobacker Hall. Over the course of her talks, Giles Discussed everything from racism and her childhood, to television and dealing with people everyday. Giles used her own personal stories and experiences to illustrate her beliefs and thoughts. She somehow managed to keep everyone in the room highly entertained while still providing sound advice for life in college and eventually life in the real world. One of my favorite stories was about the effect that music has on people. Giles discussed how music could be used on TV to show what would be happening. I like how she summed up the immense power of music in a statement simple enough for anyone to understand.
After she had told her stories, Giles allowed audience members to ask questions, and many people asked a variety of very good questions. over all the night was very enjoyable and completely worth the time spent.
On August 26 I went to meet Nancy GIles and see her art show. She was affectionate, bubbly, considerate, and speaks in a way that it relates to people. She took many questions, told many interesting stories and accepted everyone for who they were. There was even a student who talked about running away from home to join the circus at age 14 and then came out to his family about being gay, and then was afraid to go to college because he was afraid of the “townies”. GIles thought that it was hysterical at first but then accepted him for who he was. She asked him questions about why after all that he was afraid to go to college, and then thanked him for his courage. I personally could not wait to see her perform the next day,
On August 27 I saw her performance at 8:30 pm. She told funny stores and spoke about her roles that she had. There we not any roles that were big and some of them she hated, but she was thankful for every experience she had. It seems that she had extremely hard times but she turned them around and turned those experiences into funny stories that she is now using for her carrier. Nancy Giles is a very inspirational person and enjoyed listening to her very much. Although I loved watching her, I have to say that I enjoyed watching the HeeBeeBG’s more. They were astounding! They put their heart and soul into these songs and were always on key and you could tell that they were having a great time. It was so much fun listening to them I would go see their shows anytime. Overall, those two performances were amazing and enjoyable and I would do it again in a heart beat.
On Thursday, August 27 Nancy Giles visited Bowling Green State University. She discussed the times in her life that made her who she is today. She managed to convey a message to the audience about serious issues, such as racism, in a lightening and comfortable manner. That evening in Kobacker Hall, she entertained everyone, talking about herself as a college student, and as a young actress/voiceover. This evening with Nancy Giles, also benefited many people in the audience, because she answered questions that many young actors/actresses and comedians had. She also gave some wise words of advice to us students. She told us to expand our horizons, for instance, going into an exchange program. This experience was very rewarding because inspired so many people to keep pushing forward even if things are not going your way. For example, her acting career was rocky in the beginning, but now she is making a living on television and radio. The HeeBeeBG’s were also amazing to watch as well.
At 8 pm the HeeBGs opened Nancy Giles’s event. Their three songs set a good mood for the entire night. They cleverly added lyrics about CBS, which Giles works for. Of the three pieces, their second, “If I had a million dollars,” was my favorite.
Giles’s first story was of an experience at a summer camp. She sang “Power to the People” while holding hands with her friends in what she later found to be a “honky-we-hate-you-camp.” This was an amusing start to a night full of jokes. Most of her stories had to deal with race.
Giles talked on some key points in academic life. She explained that race has nothing to do with what, where, or who you should be. Her experiences at Oberlin College as a creative writing major were a major factor on how she shaped herself. She did what she wanted and dreamed of doing and did not give in to peer pressure. Although, she was trying to be herself with her writing, her professors did not like any of her pieces until she made fun of her culture by writing a paper entitled “I Hate You.”
After her time in college she held parts in some movies and was thought to be a cross dresser by an employee from the movie set. She turned this horrifying experience into a comedic one when she wrote for CBS. She ended up blaming her bad experience on her high heels and got a job at CBS. She tied this all together by informing the audience that any experience, good or bad, my help you get your big break one day.
Last Thursday, August 27th I sat in Kobacker Hall while the seats filled up around me. The people around me seemed to know who Nancy Giles was, but I had absolutely no idea who she was or what she was going to talk about. Little did I know, I was in for a real treat that would alter the way I looked at music.
Giles knew that the majority of the students in the audience were studying music, she took special care to tell us her history with music as well as get to know our stories. She told us about her own trials and tribulations on the Viola, and how she loves music but was not good enough to pursue a career in the field. She then went on to talk about the different ways that music is available to us today. She recalled when she was younger and listening to an entire album and experiencing the journey that the artist was taking us on. She contrasted her experiences with ours, being able to digitally choose only the songs we want, and felt that we were missing out on experiences because of this.
This concept began to change the way I thought about music today. This meeting with Giles made me think about all the different kinds of music. The thought came to my mind that one day I might have a student that enjoys a particular type of music, and if I were to ignore that type all together I could miss out on connecting with that student on a different level. This experience with Nancy Giles has prepared me to be a better teacher in the future, and Giles will never know she changed my mentality in this way.
When hearing we had to see a required speaker in my BGEX class, I was annoyed and thought that this Nancy Giles character was going to be some uptight woman talking to us about making good choices and other droll themes that are often pressed upon us freshmen college students.
At 8:00 I went down to the basement of Compton and took a sit waiting for this meeting to be over quickly so I could go back and watch my much anticipated second season of lost. Well when she finally appeared, with her black fro and laid back attire, I started to feel instantly at ease. She seemed pretty cool as everyone gushed over her with applause.
She was enlightening. Her words were not peppered with verbose phrases and her stories seemed real and worth listening to. She admitted to have made mistakes in college and she told tales of how she learned from them. Nancy Giles also discussed the much tiptoed- around subject of racism in the entertainment industry.
Giles also discussed the arts with a familiar air that I enjoyed. She went on about how music is everywhere and how passionate you can be with it and go far in today’s world with it. She also talked about playing the Viola and how she regrets that she did not pursue it further but that was a lesson worth learning from.
I enjoyed our seminar with Nancy Giles. She was real; funny, perky, and educated in the arts. I will think twice next time I hear the world required speaker because they are required for a reason and sometimes its worth finding out why. Thanks Nancy Giles!
On Thursday, around 4 pm, I came in contact with Nancy Giles and I was unaware how much she would change my outlook on life. When I left the room I knew that great things would happen in my future. Nancy Giles is an incredible woman who has so much to share with the world and I’m glad that she chose to come to our university to speak with us. She was funny, caring, thoughtful, and enlightening. She really cared about what was going on in our lives and she gave us advice for our future. She had made mistakes just like the rest of us and it made me feel like she related to us and wasn’t just some celebrity. Although it’s pretty cool that she was on the Fresh Prince of Belair (or according to her the FRENCH Prince of Belair haha). But now I know that my future is in my hands and no one can take it away from me. I can do what ever I put my mind to and every one of us is special. I know that she can’t read our blogs but I would like to say thank you to Nancy Giles, for everything.
August 27th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Rachel Killoren
At about 8:30 PM, in Kobacker Hall on August 27, 2009, Nancy Giles walked out onto the stage to much applause. She seemed to emanate confidence and humility, two traits that not many people possess at once. She spoke about the different acting jobs she had, and even though they were generally not large or important parts, she was very thankful for the opportunities they presented, and was able to laugh and joke about them in a way that showed the confidence I had sensed earlier.
After she told her stories, she opened the floor for questions. People asked about how to get involved in stand-up comedy or voice acting, or asked about how she felt when Barack Obama won the presidential election. The question that made me think the most, though, was when one young woman spoke about Carlos Mencia and how he has the tendency to make white people feel uncomfortable with his jokes or stories. And although Giles did talk and joke about race, she never did so in a way that made me feel awkward. When the majority of people or comedians I know of talk or joke about such touchy subjects, they generally do so at the expense of another. Yet she was able to speak her thoughts and opinions at no one’s expense.
Overall, I really enjoyed the night. Giles was a great person to hear speak and she was full of personality and spunk.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Before August 27th I honestly had no idea who Nancy Giles was. I had never heard of her and had no clue what I was in for when I sat down for her show. She was given a brief introduction where they mentioned some of the work she has done throughout her career. One of the works mentioned was being on the “fresh Prince of Belaire” which she later talked about. I knew the show was going to be very informal right off the bat when Ms. Giles walked out from back stage and didn’t even bother to stand behind the podium that they had set up for her. She talked about how jealous she was that we, music majors in college, actually stuck with music and had the will-power to never give it up. However, the part of her speech that interested me the most was her bit about music today. She talked about how music in the 70’s and 80’s were so layered and full of different instruments, and how music nowadays is nothing like that. She missed listening to R&B that had full orchestras in them. She also spoke of how the well-known show “American Idol” is ruining people’s taste in music and encouraging mediocrity. She hates how in American Idol they sort out great musicians just because they “aren’t pretty enough” , or even sometimes let bad singers go to the next level just because “it’s funny to watch them suck”. Despite how she felt about where music is going today, she did end on a good note. She told us how great it was the we were musicians following our dream, and that no matter what anyone tells us, with lots of practice and focus our work will pay off.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Brian Hannen
At About 8:30, after hearing an astounding vocal concert performed by the HeeBeeBGs, Nancy Giles began to talk to her audience in Kobacker Hall. Over the course of her talks, Giles Discussed everything from racism and her childhood, to television and dealing with people everyday. Giles used her own personal stories and experiences to illustrate her beliefs and thoughts. She somehow managed to keep everyone in the room highly entertained while still providing sound advice for life in college and eventually life in the real world. One of my favorite stories was about the effect that music has on people. Giles discussed how music could be used on TV to show what would be happening. I like how she summed up the immense power of music in a statement simple enough for anyone to understand.
After she had told her stories, Giles allowed audience members to ask questions, and many people asked a variety of very good questions. over all the night was very enjoyable and completely worth the time spent.
August 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
On August 26 I went to meet Nancy GIles and see her art show. She was affectionate, bubbly, considerate, and speaks in a way that it relates to people. She took many questions, told many interesting stories and accepted everyone for who they were. There was even a student who talked about running away from home to join the circus at age 14 and then came out to his family about being gay, and then was afraid to go to college because he was afraid of the “townies”. GIles thought that it was hysterical at first but then accepted him for who he was. She asked him questions about why after all that he was afraid to go to college, and then thanked him for his courage. I personally could not wait to see her perform the next day,
On August 27 I saw her performance at 8:30 pm. She told funny stores and spoke about her roles that she had. There we not any roles that were big and some of them she hated, but she was thankful for every experience she had. It seems that she had extremely hard times but she turned them around and turned those experiences into funny stories that she is now using for her carrier. Nancy Giles is a very inspirational person and enjoyed listening to her very much. Although I loved watching her, I have to say that I enjoyed watching the HeeBeeBG’s more. They were astounding! They put their heart and soul into these songs and were always on key and you could tell that they were having a great time. It was so much fun listening to them I would go see their shows anytime. Overall, those two performances were amazing and enjoyable and I would do it again in a heart beat.
August 31st, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Adam Young
On Thursday, August 27 Nancy Giles visited Bowling Green State University. She discussed the times in her life that made her who she is today. She managed to convey a message to the audience about serious issues, such as racism, in a lightening and comfortable manner. That evening in Kobacker Hall, she entertained everyone, talking about herself as a college student, and as a young actress/voiceover. This evening with Nancy Giles, also benefited many people in the audience, because she answered questions that many young actors/actresses and comedians had. She also gave some wise words of advice to us students. She told us to expand our horizons, for instance, going into an exchange program. This experience was very rewarding because inspired so many people to keep pushing forward even if things are not going your way. For example, her acting career was rocky in the beginning, but now she is making a living on television and radio. The HeeBeeBG’s were also amazing to watch as well.
August 31st, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Joseph Boldt
At 8 pm the HeeBGs opened Nancy Giles’s event. Their three songs set a good mood for the entire night. They cleverly added lyrics about CBS, which Giles works for. Of the three pieces, their second, “If I had a million dollars,” was my favorite.
Giles’s first story was of an experience at a summer camp. She sang “Power to the People” while holding hands with her friends in what she later found to be a “honky-we-hate-you-camp.” This was an amusing start to a night full of jokes. Most of her stories had to deal with race.
Giles talked on some key points in academic life. She explained that race has nothing to do with what, where, or who you should be. Her experiences at Oberlin College as a creative writing major were a major factor on how she shaped herself. She did what she wanted and dreamed of doing and did not give in to peer pressure. Although, she was trying to be herself with her writing, her professors did not like any of her pieces until she made fun of her culture by writing a paper entitled “I Hate You.”
After her time in college she held parts in some movies and was thought to be a cross dresser by an employee from the movie set. She turned this horrifying experience into a comedic one when she wrote for CBS. She ended up blaming her bad experience on her high heels and got a job at CBS. She tied this all together by informing the audience that any experience, good or bad, my help you get your big break one day.
August 31st, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Last Thursday, August 27th I sat in Kobacker Hall while the seats filled up around me. The people around me seemed to know who Nancy Giles was, but I had absolutely no idea who she was or what she was going to talk about. Little did I know, I was in for a real treat that would alter the way I looked at music.
Giles knew that the majority of the students in the audience were studying music, she took special care to tell us her history with music as well as get to know our stories. She told us about her own trials and tribulations on the Viola, and how she loves music but was not good enough to pursue a career in the field. She then went on to talk about the different ways that music is available to us today. She recalled when she was younger and listening to an entire album and experiencing the journey that the artist was taking us on. She contrasted her experiences with ours, being able to digitally choose only the songs we want, and felt that we were missing out on experiences because of this.
This concept began to change the way I thought about music today. This meeting with Giles made me think about all the different kinds of music. The thought came to my mind that one day I might have a student that enjoys a particular type of music, and if I were to ignore that type all together I could miss out on connecting with that student on a different level. This experience with Nancy Giles has prepared me to be a better teacher in the future, and Giles will never know she changed my mentality in this way.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:39 am
When hearing we had to see a required speaker in my BGEX class, I was annoyed and thought that this Nancy Giles character was going to be some uptight woman talking to us about making good choices and other droll themes that are often pressed upon us freshmen college students.
At 8:00 I went down to the basement of Compton and took a sit waiting for this meeting to be over quickly so I could go back and watch my much anticipated second season of lost. Well when she finally appeared, with her black fro and laid back attire, I started to feel instantly at ease. She seemed pretty cool as everyone gushed over her with applause.
She was enlightening. Her words were not peppered with verbose phrases and her stories seemed real and worth listening to. She admitted to have made mistakes in college and she told tales of how she learned from them. Nancy Giles also discussed the much tiptoed- around subject of racism in the entertainment industry.
Giles also discussed the arts with a familiar air that I enjoyed. She went on about how music is everywhere and how passionate you can be with it and go far in today’s world with it. She also talked about playing the Viola and how she regrets that she did not pursue it further but that was a lesson worth learning from.
I enjoyed our seminar with Nancy Giles. She was real; funny, perky, and educated in the arts. I will think twice next time I hear the world required speaker because they are required for a reason and sometimes its worth finding out why. Thanks Nancy Giles!
September 1st, 2009 at 3:22 pm
On Thursday, around 4 pm, I came in contact with Nancy Giles and I was unaware how much she would change my outlook on life. When I left the room I knew that great things would happen in my future. Nancy Giles is an incredible woman who has so much to share with the world and I’m glad that she chose to come to our university to speak with us. She was funny, caring, thoughtful, and enlightening. She really cared about what was going on in our lives and she gave us advice for our future. She had made mistakes just like the rest of us and it made me feel like she related to us and wasn’t just some celebrity. Although it’s pretty cool that she was on the Fresh Prince of Belair (or according to her the FRENCH Prince of Belair haha). But now I know that my future is in my hands and no one can take it away from me. I can do what ever I put my mind to and every one of us is special. I know that she can’t read our blogs but I would like to say thank you to Nancy Giles, for everything.