Spring 2009 Students

Dear Spring 2009 Students,
Let me start by saying that Angie is a baller professor! I would not use that terminology in a business writing assignment but let's face it, she is! Business Writing was fun and very helpful. The main thing that I would tell you to do is to be organized! There are several small assignments due here and there and it is best if you keep on top of them. She has already organized your assignments out very well but just remember to keep up and try not to fall behind. I really enjoyed doing the client project. It's an opportunity to learn while actually helping someone in the process. Don't let it become a hassle because it is meant to be an enjoyable learning experience. Just make sure you communicate well with your group members and that everyone pulls their end of the load. The portfolio can be a little difficult to learn if you don't have experience with that. Angie is more than willing to help with any of that so when you get stumped just ask her. Save everything in the same place so that you can easily upload it onto your portfolio. There is a blog due each week and I would suggest to do that at the beginning of every week instead of scrambling to find a computer at the last minute. Like everything else in the class, nothing is a hassle unless you get behind and make it a hassle. This is a great class with a lot of great learning opportunities. Make the most of it by engaging in the activities, staying on top of your work, and being organized. Good luck! :)

Client Project

This project has been very beneficial and very much a good learning process. I have learned from working with my team members that we each have our strengths and weaknesses and when we combine all of our strengths a lot of success is found. I have really enjoyed working with my group members a lot. All of them are great students that are a lot of fun to interact and work with.The best thing about this project is knowing that we are doing something for the better of someone else. It's not just a project that we're doing ourselves and we only benefit from, but we are able to help others in the process. That makes the project so much more worth while and gives us a lot more motivation. Our biggest challenge has probably been the final editing of our brochure because it was created on an Apple computer that we no longer have access to. This project has required us to be organized and that has reminded me how much easier things go and how much smoother they are when you are organized and do things bit by bit. Although it may be annoying at the time, it is very helpful to be organized and work gradually on something.

Dual Coding Theory

This words in this Nike ad jump out at you, initially triggering the first system which processes language. The words are so large and they immediately capture your attention. When I first looked at the ad all I could see were words and then I was able to see the image after reading the words. In seeing the image I was able to activate the second system which processes visual displays. I think the image is of a locker room possibly for a high school football team. The third system activates the first two as it activates the mental representation of what is being read.

Miscommunication

Two summers ago I was filling in for the office manager at a non-profit organization. It was the summer after my freshman year and I was a little inexperienced in the setting that I was placed in. I took on a lot of responsibility and had a lot of new tasks that I had to learn how to do and remember doing. I am a pretty quick learner but have a terrible memory and sometimes it takes me a little bit to catch on to something. Since it was a non-profit organization we received several checks in the mail. With each check I had to record them, stamp them, and deposit them. I did this for several weeks. About half way through, the president of the organization asked me if I had been making copies of the checks. Ofcourse my heart sank and I was mortified. I had not been making copies of the checks that I had been depositing. I thought I was only supposed to make copies of the checks that we wrote. Somewhere there was some miscommunication in either it ever being given to me or me receiving it correctly. Fortunately, this was not too big of a deal and she was able to go back through and cover my steps but this could have been an ordeal. The miscommunication could have been prevented by either me writing down those important steps and following a checklist until I had the hang of it or her emphasizing the importance of this to me.

Mock Interview

I was very nervous before and during my interview. I tried my best to remain calm and stay cool and not lose my composure. Lucky and not so lucky for me, our teacher is an expert in my field which is education. It was so good for me because she was able to ask me very real questions that could be included in an interview one day. It made the mock interview a little more nerve racking but it was such a good experience because she was asking things that I needed to think about and look into knowing for an interview. I was definitely thrown off at how well she conducted the interview and the great quality of questions she asked. I tried my best to keep a good spirit and rack my brain to fumble for a decent answer. If I could do the interview again, I would be a little more prepared for my expertise and be ready to answer for difficult questions concerning education such as, "How do you plan to manage your classroom?" or "Which theorists did you derive your philosophy of education?" I learned so much from this experience. Angie asked me some great, tough, and thought provoking questions. I learned areas that I needed to be more prepared in and a little bit of what to expect. Kudos to Angie for being such a great interviewer. :)

Presentations

This week we are doing presentations in class. I really liked Lauren Adams, Morgan Mays, and Kelley Regele's presentations so far. Lauren gave a really comical presentation called, "How to Efficiently Facebook Stalk..." This was quite humorous because most likely this is something that all of us have done at some point in time. Whether you are burning time or procrastinating, everyone who has a Facebook account has probably been guilty of this before. She did a great job presenting and handed out a pocket guide of six steps to efficiently Facebook stalk. Morgan's presentation was really cool because each year for Christmas, her family goes on a trip instead of having a traditional Christmas at home. She did a good job informing the class of things that are necessary in order to travel and travel well. She showed some really pretty pictures from some of the trips she had been on. I was definitely envious of this fun family Christmas. Kelly did a great job presenting about the benefits of dark chocolate and she gave us each a yummy piece of Dove dark chocolate. Her presentation was very informative and very interesting. She talked about how it lowered blood pressure, contains antioxidants, and reduced LDL cholesterol. I especially liked hearing this because I like dark chocolate and to know that it is good for you is a great thing! Everyone did a great job presenting, these were just a few of them! 

Mi Familia

This week was my dad´s 58th birthday and this weekend we are going to the mountains to celebrate it so I am going to write about my family. There are a total of five people in my family. My mom, dad, brother, sister, and me. My parents met in college and got married right afterwards. My dad furthered his education in optometry school and then they settled down in a small little town to raise children. First came my brother whom is nine years older than me. He lives in the mountains of North Caroline with his Australian Shepherd dog, Payton. Joe is somewhat of a free spirit, not in the spiritual sense but he just likes to do his own thing when he wants to do it and how he wants to do it. Consequently, he has not yet found a young lady to accompany him in his mountainous lifestyle. We are hoping that this will change. :) Next is my sister Rebekah whom is six years older than me. She just got married last August and lives with her husband in Greenville with their little dog, Bela. Payton and Bela will both be accompanying us this weekend in the mountains and they are quite humorous together. Bela is about a quarter of Payton's size and Payton tries to herd her around because of her natural animal instincts. I am looking so forward to seeing my family this weekend! We don't all get together that often anymore so the times that we do are very special. I absolutely adore my family and hope that everyone is able to experience that kind of love in life!

Coverletters

It was helpful to read these articles about cover letters. I was surprised that not many people read the cover letter. The author of the first article shares that he has only read about ten thousand out of sixty thousand cover letters. It was insightful to know that the cover letter should be about the company instead of yourself. This would be a good way to cover grounds with the company by showing them that you know about their company and are interested in them. I was also surprised to find out that mass mailing, e-mailing, and posting cover letters has low odds for success. I thought that it was helpful to do that but according to the first article it is not. The checklist was a good reminder of all the things that you need to include in your cover letter in order for it to be complete. The Sample Cover Letter was also good to look at because it was a visual of what a cover letter should look like. Overall, I found these readings very useful and informative for writing cover letters.  

The first article I read was Caroline Lebchuck's, "How to Deal With Interview Stress." This article was very helpful for me because I tend to really stress out in situations like these. She gave a few pointers that were very helpful in dealing with stress for an interview. The first technique she offered was the importance of arriving 10 minutes before the interview. I definitely agree with her because that's just the right amount of time needed in order to adjust to the setting and environment but not so much time that the interviewer is waiting around and becomes antsy and too nervous. Lebchuck suggests to mentally picture yourself in a stressful situation and visualize how you would handle yourself and that relaxing is key so that you appear to be confident. Lebchuck sums up the article by suggesting the interviewer to pause and not panic. I definitely think that is good advice.  Pausing for a moment can definitely help an interviewer regain their composure in an intense situation. 

The second article I read was Erin Hovanec's "Minor Matters That Make Your Interview." I thought this was a great article because it is a good reminder of the smaller things that are so important in an interview. It is so easy to get caught up in the big picture and forget about the minor details that play a big role in an interview. Hovanec suggests to get all of your interview gear ready. It is important to pick out everything you are going to wear, make sure it is neat and clean, and compile everything together that is needed for the interview. She advises interviewees to eat a good meal and cover your tracks with mouthwash and a thorough teeth brushing. An interviewer does not want to be hungry but also should not eat such a heavy meal that they are tired and sluggish. She notes the importance of being familiar with where you are going and allowing plenty of time to get there. I definitely agree with this because it seems like every time I do not do something like this I end up getting caught up in all kind of delays that I never planned for. Lastly, she adds the significance of being conscious of your professionalism as soon as you get to the parking lot. It is very professional to be kind and considerate to everyone you encounter and to also have good manners and turn off your cell phone. I think that this was another well written and concise article that is very helpful for someone about to go into an interview. Both of these articles were very insightful and helpful. 

10 Years From Now...

What would I like my life to be like ten years? That is a very good question! As of right now, I am a second semester junior at Clemson University. I am an elementary education major and I plan to graduate in December of 2009. After I graduate I would like to do some international mission work, which will hopefully involve children and teaching. I am not sure what part of the world the Lord will lead me into but I am excited about whatever adventure He has up His sleeve. If I end up becoming involved in long term international mission work, I would prefer to be married so that I would have someone along with me. It is also very possible that I could also stay in the United States and work as a teacher. I would like to teach the 2nd grade and I do not have a preference of where to teach. However, I would prefer to teach at a low economic income level school. Impoverished children have stolen my heart and I would love to pour as much love as I can into each and every one of them. I would love to have at least three children, no more than four. I would also enjoy adopting one or two children. It does not matter where they are from, I just want to take in an infant that does not have a home. I could be happy doing many things in life but my heart has always had three primary passions: being a teacher, a mother, and a missionary. Who knows what ten years from now will hold. All I know is that I want to grow in my relationship with the Lord and allow Him to guide me throughout an exciting adventure in my life.