You’ve Graduated, Now What?

Posted on June 25, 2012 by buzz

College Graduate

By: Brittany Bluford

Millions of college students will walk the stage, get their diploma, and enter the real world looking for one thing…a job. Unfortunately, recent college graduates have a higher chance of being unemployed than finding a job. The typical time it takes a recent graduate to find a full time career is one year, but there are three alternatives for jobless graduates to invest their time in and add to their resume.

Internships

Internships provide on–the-job training in a particular career or field. Although they are common for college students, they are a great option for recent graduates. These on-the job training opportunities have grown in popularity because they offer flexibility experience and look great on resumes. Recent graduates can dedicate a few hours a week to internships and the rest to their job search. Both paid and unpaid internships are available, and there is a possibility of being offered a job at the end of most internships.

Volunteer Work.

There are several local and international volunteer organizations looking for professionals with certain skill sets. Commitment ranges from regularly to once a month, and there are hundreds of volunteer areas. Different areas include: fundraising, administrative and special events. You can choose to contribute to a great cause alone or in a group. Also, your volunteer experience can be included on your resume if it’s relevant to your career goals. Check your local volunteer database for opportunities.

Networking

Have you been lucky to find a great opportunity because you knew a friend of a friend? Remember the girl who got a job because she knew the right person? The saying goes, it’s not what you know, but who you know, and it’s proved to be true in many cases. Life is all about connections: shaking the right hand, starting a conversation with the right person and handing out business cards to the right people. Take advantage of the alumni events your college gives. Also, there are many groups that connect graduates with professionals in their field. Today’s technology allows networking through social media. LinkedIn is a fairly new site designed for students, graduates, group and professionals to make connections. The network also allows your connections to write recommendations for potential employers to view.

These options are a way to occupy time after graduation and still become a more attractive job candidate. Whether you intern, volunteer or network, you are much closer to landing your dream job.

Recent Lawsuits Bring Attention to the Plight of the Unpaid Intern

Posted on June 11, 2012 by buzz

Written by: Kristiina Yang

Interns are expected to work long hours and are often given menial tasks. (Photo: wesleying.org)

With many college students and recent graduates already or soon partaking in summer internship season, several class-action lawsuits occurring over the past year against major companies are bringing to question the morality, legality and future existence of unpaid internships.

In the United States, there are nearly 1.5 million internships offered each year with approximately half of those being unpaid. In the midst of recession and a difficult job market, many companies are asking and requiring their interns to spend long hours doing work that should be tasked to entry-level employees and often with no financial compensation.

Such was the impetus for three major lawsuits filed this past year- beginning with one in September 2011 against Fox Searchlight Pictures, another in February 2012 against the Hearst Corporation (owner of the magazine Harper’s Bazaar), and one the following month against the “Charlie Rose” show.

In each case, former unpaid interns purported that the hiring companies had required them to work excessively long hours with no compensation, violating federal and state wage and labor laws. While these sued companies have denied wrongdoing and the cases have yet to be resolved, such lawsuits are sending a warning signal to both employers who plan on hiring interns and to students considering taking unpaid internships about exactly what will be expected of them and whether such expectations are legitimate or not.

The New-York-City-based law firm Outten & Golden is behind all three of the class-action suits filed so far and have created a website providing information on the cases and calling on former and current unpaid interns to come to their firm with any information and complaints.

Such legal actions are bringing to question the future of the unpaid internship, a rite of passage that has become prominent for both students in college looking to gain experience and postgraduates hoping to get a foot in the door toward a future career. Although unpaid internships have risen to become extremely desirable and competitive in past decades, these lawsuits show that this norm may be shifting.

Despite such increased public attention on the poor treatment of unpaid interns, companies will still likely continue to offer unpaid internships. However, with companies in fear of having to deal with such potentially time-consuming and reputation-tarnishing lawsuits, paid and unpaid internship programs are seeing and hopefully will continue to see restructuring, returning the internship to the valuable educational experience that it is intended to be.

College Etiquette (5 Rules That No One Tells You in High School)

Posted on February 6, 2012 by buzz

written by: Amani Liggett

Some things in life are just learned by experience and observation, and some of the rules of college often fall under this subject.

The first thing you will have to account for is being on time to class. It is important to make small notations about which professors have specific rules about getting to their class on time, as some may even lock the door after a certain amount of time has passed. Generally, it is an unwritten rule that if you are going to be past 15 minutes late to class, it’s best not to show. This is unless you have already cleared it with the professor ahead of time that you will be coming in late. Coming in late is distracting to everyone, and in many older lecture halls, the doors tend to echo loudly when opened or closed. It is best to find a friend in the class who can give you the day’s notes and a brief summary. Or better yet go to the professor’s or TA’s office hours and explain that you didn’t want to disturb class by coming in late and ask for a quick review of the lecture.

Don’t be the one to monopolize lecture time with your discussion points. Please don’t be this person. This person always seems to be missing an essential social filter that leads them to believe his or her opinion out-ranks the professor’s. It is very annoying and time-consuming to have to listen to this person’s diatribe about their own personal experience in the matter. Also, if you are one to skip ahead in the reading or the coursework, there is no need to announce it to the class by trying to discuss ahead of the day’s curriculum. If you’re in a Mystery Fiction class, don’t spoil the ending and say who the killer is just to prove you’re a fast reader.

The third rule relates to the first in that actually getting to class on time can be a bit nerve-wracking. This is especially true on a large campus around noon. Everyone is trying to get to class on time at the exact same time as you, whether by walking, driving, skating, or biking. The rule is simply to be courteous to others. Don’t zoom by with no respect to other’s safety, even if you are late. We all want to get to class in one piece!
Keep you’re religious and political beliefs to yourself. Maybe it was cool to be outspoken in high school, but unless you are presently sitting in a religion, political science, or philosophy class, try to keep it to yourself in college. Even if you are burning with the desire to say something, chances are, no one wants to hear it. And the professor will inevitably get annoyed at the student that starts an off-topic debate that goes on for twenty minutes because everyone gets all riled up. It goes without saying that you do not want to annoy your professors or get on their bad side. Who knows when you might need a recommendation letter?
Lastly, there is food. This is important. Most high schools do not allow any type of food or drink in class, so the tendency when one gets to college is to overdue the new privilege and bring whatever you want to lectures. Try to keep it mostly at small snacks; foods that wont produce a strong odor, or result in messy or noisy eating. Also, be prepared to share. Bringing shareable food, such as crackers or candy, to a classroom where half of the occupants may have skipped breakfast in order to sleep a bit more may result in moochers. Beware the moochers. Good luck!

Drake Sells Out UC Davis Show for Big Bucks

Posted on February 6, 2012 by buzz

written by: Amani Liggett

Renowned hip-hop artist Drake is scheduled to perform a sold-out show at UC Davis’ Pavilion on March 7^th. While student discount tickets are advertised for selling at $49.50, many students and non-students alike have parted with $100-$200 to snag tickets for this popular performer’s Club Paradise tour. Drake will be playing songs from his latest album Take Care, with opening acts from Kendrick Lamar and A$AP ROCKY.

Both general admin floor ($79.75) and upper level ($59.75) tickets have already sold out.

Many students considering themselves big hip-hop fans scrambled for the former, higher priced standing option. Unfortunately for Davis students, the student discount was offered for the upper level seats only, which let’s face it, is a little less glamorous.

For those desperate to see the popular Canadian recording artist, there are still tickets available from scalpers online on websites such as StubHub and TicketsMore. The prices for these are considerably higher; an upper-level ticket going for around $130, while a standing floor ticket going as high as $350. The UC Davis Pavilion emphasizes that those who seek tickets from these sites buy at their own risk.

Despite this, student’s excitement about the performance seems to be over ruling

any sore feelings about high prices. Post-UCD grad Maral Pirinjian offered the reasoning that “I love Drake so much, I didn’t even care that it was $100 for the ticket.”

An understandable explanation when looking at Drake’s popularity and history working with other big-name hip-hop artists like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z. Drake has also been nominated for several Grammy awards, and was a main performer at the 2010 Grammy awards. Other UC Davis students commented on Drake’s acting work on the pre-teen show Degrassi in 2001 as reason to why he has such a loyal fan base.

In addition to making his own music, Drake has also written for other artists in the industry such as Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx, and Mary J. Blige. He also tends to feature or remix tracks that he has written for other artists such as Unthinkable Remix by Alicia Keys. Drake and Lil Wayne have both also written for Dr. Dre together.

The last big name hip-hop performer to grace the UCD campus was Snoop Dogg, for a Valentines Day show last year at Freeborn Hall. Similarly, students threw down big bucks for last minute tickets to see the artist.

Drake’s performance in Davis starts at 8pm, and it is recommended to get there early.

Zinch Scholarship for Creativity

Posted on January 22, 2012 by buzz

Written by: Jill Heagerty

Zinch is offering the opportunity for talented artists, enrolled or intending to enroll in college, to showcase their work. The winner is the candidate who displays the most creativity, and he or she will receive $5,000 for school. Tuition costs are astronomical, so any money a student earns can go a long way. This particular scholarship is refreshing to see in comparison to most scholarship applications that include a GPA, SAT scores, and writing a formal essay about a completely cliché topic such as, “What is the most important lesson you have learned in life and how has it made you the person you are today?” There is nothing wrong with those typical scholarships, like I said any money can go a long way, but they are tiresome and do not accurately access a candidate’s worth and potential. Winners could be students who are very practiced at knowing what to write for those types of essays, without their own sense of self or originality. This isn’t always the case, but it is highly likely in most situations.

Art is typically placed on the backburner in the education system, with traditional subjects emphasizing math, science, and formal writing in the forefront. That is why the requirement for most scholarships are a decent GPA, a minimum SAT score, and the banal essay I mentioned before. The question is: why isn’t there more value placed on artistic abilities? If a person can think creatively and make something out of nothing, that shows the person is smart and can succeed in college, a career, and life in general, using a part of the brain some can’t even fathom to use. That creative individual is a worthy candidate of a scholarship, more worthy than a person who can just write a decent essay about a life experience.

So if you’re attending a university for the next academic school year, I encourage you to access the link above and look into applying for the scholarship. Your creative vision should be honored and awarded. The type of artistic work that will be judged includes digital art, animation, film and video, music, photography, multimedia, illustration, interior design, graphic design, and more. Even if you’re a good writer who usually flourishes with the typical essay in most applications, there is a place for you as well to show off your artistic scope that would otherwise be ignored.

Marketing a New Informational Website

Posted on January 17, 2012 by buzz

by Emayeneme Gbemiye-Etta

The easiest part of creating a website can be its creation and then the harder part comes, how do you create a path to your website so that you can get the traffic and therefore the advertising and revenue? One always has to keep in mind that there is a difference between traffic to your website and creating an income from that traffic.

What you want to make sure of when you are bringing traffic to your website is that they not only visit but that if you have anything to sell they are either buying from your website or that they are subscribing to your website. People, subscribing to your website ensures that they are more than likely to come back. This means you have a dedicated audience and therefore a reported audience for people interested in advertising on your website.

What are the different ways that you can draw traffic to your website?

Create a buzz by writing articles or comments that ensure that your article comes up in the top ten searches on a search engine.

Create a profile for the website on social media websites like LinkedIn and face book.

Use twitter to provide timely and regular comments about any subject matter and/or articles that are on your website.

Create a blog where relevant and innovative information related to the information on your website is posted on a regular basis.

Develop partnerships and links online that bring a targeted audience to your website.

Embed videos that provide short clips on the subject matter on the website on YouTube but also make sure the video is embedded on your website and at the same time there is a link from YouTube to your website.

Market the website with a number of innovative marketing strategies that include:

Using key words that are searched enough but are not in competition with large and competitive websites.

Make sure the target words on your website are targeted to the traffic that will find the information on your website relevant.

Provide interesting and different data that when people find your website they will realize you have relevant information for them and the information will keep them coming back.

For any website you are launching you want to make sure that you are marketing to a targeted audience because in some cases there is nothing worse than having people who are not interested in the subject matter coming toyour website. You want interested people who will help with increasing your revenue.

Getting Money for College Is Easier With the Internet

Posted on January 16, 2012 by buzz

By EMAYENEME GBEMIYE-ETTA

In this day and age and even with the sources available on the Internet so many students are still taking out loans for college when with a bit of planning and work beforehand they could possibly come out of college without any loans at all even without the help of their parents. In fact there is a program airing on Maryland Public television that provides some good information to get started. The show airs on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 2pm.

The average student still feels that loans have to be a part of their path to getting a college degree which is not the case. What students need to realize is that there are so many options available online for scholarships and grants and the process can be started by the parents of the students as early as when they are babies and it can continue even if they have already started college, it is never too late.

Students need to be aware that other than the resources listed below students can also look to their Church or religion for scholarships and or grants. A couple of sources to use for religious scholarships include: Religious scholarships; Catholic scholarships.

Sources of Financial Aid

FinAid!
Provides information on financial aid resources to students and parents.
FastWeb
This site provides information tat on free scholarships and matches te student’s background against its database of over 600,000 scholarships.
Embark – Provides tools, scholarship search, and advice students and parents and elp wit the financial aid process.
U.S. Department of Education
Maryland National Guard – Provides an alternative form of financial aid.
The College Board – Review the section on the plan for college and click on “Paying for College”.
Peterson’s/Thomson Learning – Features financial aid calculators and search engines for scholarships.
College Savings Plans of Maryland

In so many ways students do not make full use of the resources and money that is available to them. There are many sources for grants and scholarships and they are very easy to get because since they are not well known there is limited competition for them. For most of these rants all they require is an essay and usually filling out a straightforward and easy form.

Sometimes these grants and scholarships are a onetime thing but sometimes the can be easily renewed ever year and just require re-applying before the due date.

Another option for students is to start out at a community college and keep their grades up and be able to get a full scholarship when the transfer to a nearby college. College is expensive but it is doable even for the independent student.

Sources

1. MPT

Alcohol – The Forbidden Fruit

Posted on January 9, 2012 by buzz

Written by: Michael Arnold

College and drinking. The words have almost become synonymous. We’ve all seen National Lampoons, Animal House. But in American colleges this sort of exaggerated lifestyle has become pervasive.

National Lampoon's Animal House

How often are college kids drinking, and what are the real effects? Has the use of alcohol transformed from a casual party starter to an unhealthy way of life? In fact, it has.

Studies have shown that 31% of American college students currently meet the criteria for alcohol abuse. The consistent use of alcohol sustained for four years can easily become habitual and lead to alcoholism after college and throughout life.

The serious danger of alcohol abuse doesn’t only apply to the long-term. A 2009 study reported that 97,000 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-induced sexual assault or rape. A startlingly large figure that will only increase as college communities continue to embrace excessive alcohol consumption as a premier social hobby.

Despite schools’ exhaustive efforts, each new class of college freshmen extols binge drinking as the god of socializing. It is a reality that will never go away unless if one thing is changed – the drinking age. Although an irony, a lower drinking age will actually change the image of alcohol for many youths.

American universities are the only institutions that deal with the trouble of excessive on-campus drinking, because they exist in a country in which the legal drinking age is 21.

European universities don’t experience these problems because the culture forces youths to mature at a younger age. With a barely enforced legal drinking age of 18, France’s adolescents generally have their first experiences with alcohol well before the average American. By the extension of this fact, when they are of university age French youths tend to have already learned how to drink and how to behave with alcohol.

At the Cité Internationale Université de Paris, a large public college on the outskirts of Paris, binge drinking is virtually a non-issue. In fact, students are even permitted to drink publicly on-campus. This notion would be far-fetched to an average American student.

That’s because alcohol has become the forbidden fruit at American colleges. Binge drinking and excessive partying is not only fun because it alters one’s senses, but also because it is taking a risk and doing what’s against the rules. The result: churning out year after year of Americans damaged mentally and physically by years of excessive drinking.

If lawmaker’s would realize that a 21 drinking is not going to change college atmosphere’s, but actually continue to downgrade them, then perhaps there would be a noticeable change in the college party culture.

Top Five Free Android Apps for Serious Students

Posted on January 2, 2012 by buzz

Written by: Tamar Auber

This year, many students will find a new Android tablet under their Christmas tree or exchange their Hanukkah gelt for a trendy new tablet. While Android tablets are usually hyped as entertainment systems intended to play Angry Birds, watch videos or check your e-mail, serious students can turn their new toys into a power study tool with free apps that can help make cracking the books a little easier.

An Android tablet can be a powerful study tool.

While not a replacement for a laptop, the touch screen capability and portability of a tablet makes it the perfect take along study aid. In addition, while lacking the cool factor of an iPad and the Apple store, Android users will be pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of applications available, often for free, in the Android Market.

As a graduate student and researcher, my Acer Iconia tablet is my go to gadget for reading files, keeping notes tidy, and even scanning documents during my hours of weekly library research. Want to put your tablet to work on campus this semester? These five apps can help you make the most of your study time and your tablet.

iFlashcards- If you are studying a subject that requires memorization, this is the perfect app for you. The iflashcards app allows users to create cards, sync cards with the web, and even transfer them between devices using an sd card, so that you can practice using your phone or computer as well as your tablet. Last semester, I put this handy little free app to great use memorizing dates for history and verb conjugations for Hebrew class.

Evernote-Evernote is the ultimate note taking and filing system for your tablet. While my tablet will not allow me to take notes directly on the touch screen, I can snap a picture of my handwritten notes or type with the on screen keyboard and Evernote quickly files it away for safe keeping and exam time. You can also install Evernote on multiple devices and work with your stored information from several locations, great when you have a term paper to write or a final exam information to cram.

Repligo Reader– This free app is buggy at times, but it is still my favorite pdf reader. With Repligo, I am able to download all of my semester’s articles from my course web site onto a thumb drive at the beginning of the term and open the files with ease on the week the readings are assigned. Repligo also allows me to annotate files, turn pages easily, and access multiple articles quickly. The downside is that occasionally Repligo ‘forgets’ that the thumb drive is docked in my tablet, and I have to exit the program and try again. Repligo will also work if you do not have a USB drive, but requires more work since you have to e-mail yourself the article first.

CamScanner-I was skeptical of this free app. However, the fact the ancient scanner at my school’s library was always down encouraged me to take the risk. I was very pleasantly surprised. Camscanner works just as promised, allowing me to use my tablet’s camera to snap pictures of documents, pages in reference books or anything else I need to keep handy. An added benefit, CamScanner works keep track of quotes and sources for term papers, simply snap the page where the information is found and the title page.

Google Books-For students of history, literature any many other fields, Google Books is a must have in your study arsenal. The free app, pre-installed on many tablets, offers thousands of searchable academic books, many of which can be viewed in their entirety. Looking for a specific phrase or keyword? No worries, Google Books will allow you to search inside the texts and show you exactly the page on which the phrase is found.

These free apps can turn your Android Tablet into a hardworking student tool that will help you keep your notes and research organized and study time more productive, leaving more free time to enjoy Angry Birds or your favorite movie on your new tablet.

College Dining Halls Evolve to Serve Healthy Minds and Bodies

Posted on May 7, 2010 by buzz

They’re not your parents’ college cafeterias anymore, limited to globs of ambiguous meat and a smorgasbord of starch. Today’s dining halls have evolved to meet the demands of a more sophisticated student population who expect healthier and fresher options, including entrees for vegans, gluten-free alternatives, and organic selections. Ethnic cuisines, access to local farmers’ markets, and free WiFi have transformed the old-school dorm cafeteria into a convenient and functional international food court with a focus on more nutritious fare.

That is not to say that the “freshman 15” isn’t a factor anymore. College dining halls still routinely offer tempting fattening foods such as burritos, fries, and ice cream, and not all students make disciplined choices living away from home for the first time. But at least the opportunity for better judgment exists.

College students enjoy healthier dining hall choices

Dormitories themselves have taken the tact of providing kitchens for students who prefer to prepare their own foods. Mini-refrigerators, microwaves, and George Foreman Grills are as vital as laptops in college dorm rooms. A great accompaniment to these appliances is “The Healthy College Cookbook” first published ten years ago by Williams College students and recently updated to accommodate vegan and other nutritious dishes.

Sharp minds demand nourishing fuel. It’s not about filling up on Top Ramen anymore.

: College dining hall students enjoy healthier food choices

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