Posts filed under 'Careers'
Want college success? Find a mentor.
Mentors can be students who are older than you, a minister or Rabbi, or your boss in a part-time job. But often you can enlist a professor to become your mentor, and it’s one of the reasons why class size (for your major) is important.
One of the best opportunities to find a mentor is in a smaller class where the instructor can get to know you.
My professor and mentor, Conrad Fink, a former foreign correspondent and executive for The Associated Press, inspired three decades of journalism students at the University of Georgia. He sadly died this month after battling cancer, but he taught me a lot. Among his lessons, I learned some of the key things you can look for when choosing a mentor.
Professor Conrad Fink (seated, left) sitting next to me when I was a student at the University of Georgia.
1. Respect.
Some students were fearful of Fink at first because of his gruff nature and intimidated in a way by his long history in the industry, where he covered wars and other major news events. In the small classes, you couldn’t hide from Fink and what he had to say about your writing, or avoid being questioned during class discussions. But any intimidation soon turned to admiration and a desire to make him proud of my accomplishments as a student and journalist.
2. An open door.
College professors will let you know about their office hours, and you’ll want to take advantage of that. With Fink, we could stop by to soak up his “war stories” or to get his thoughts on where he saw us finding our place professionally. I also noticed that former students always visited to catch up with him – it showed the special relationship he had with his students. I often stopped in, even when I wasn’t taking his classes. As an adjunct professor now at UGA, I appreciated my chats with him and was always hoping he would be proud of where I had taken my career.
3. A challenge.
He always pushed me to work harder and do better as a student journalist and after I graduated. In the days after his death, many of his former students have referred to one of his quotes: “The door is always open, the traps always set.” The mementos that lined his office walls, from photos to excuses why students couldn’t make it to class, also showed us that we needed to keep entertaining him and hold his interest.
4. A generous spirit.
When Fink got annoyed at his students, he showed it by kicking our desks or narrowing his eyes and trademark bushy eyebrows at us in frustration. But those actions showed me he cared about more than giving me a grade. He wanted me to mature as a person and as a journalist. His generosity was evident in how he provided opportunities for us to network with other journalists, and made it possible for us to attend industry events across the country. When I expressed interest in a certain area of journalism, he connected me with his brother who could provide insight. At the same time, when I backed out of an internship he helped set up for me for an opportunity at a magazine, I had to mend the relationship by letting him know I appreciated his help, but believed this was the right choice for me. (He still thought I was wrong, though, but he respected my decision.)
5. Relationship beyond the semester.
It will be rare for you to find a professor that you will keep in contact with after the semester is over, or after you graduate. But if you can find one person who will be there for you, they can provide amazing counsel as you mull job offers or take steps in your profession.
College gives you access to the best minds, but it’s up to you to seek a relationship that goes beyond your grade. Carving out a mentor relationship can be well worth the time and effort it takes, so give it a shot.
-Lori Johnston
January 23rd, 2012
During the summertime gap between high school and college, you don’t need to completely stop learning. Avoid having brain freeze in the fall by finding ways to educate yourself this summer as you work, vacation with family, and hang out at home. Need some ideas? Here are five ways college students recommend to keep learning during the summer:
1. Brush up on skills at work
Even if you’re in a restaurant job or washing cars or mowing yards, use the time at work to improve your skills, from math to learning about different management styles by watching your bosses. Babysitting is a great way to better your communication skills, too!
2. Read a book
If your fall syllabus (typically available online) for American literature, history, or another course already lists the required reading, get a jump start on one of those books. Or download on your Kindle or check out from the library a biography of someone successful in a career field of interest to you, and get the inside scoop about that profession. Want to read something lighter? Then go for the latest beach read–reading IS reading, after all. Reading books or magazines will improve your comprehension skills, so it won’t feel so weird once fall comes to pick up a book again.
3. Travel abroad
If you’re heading to another country with your parents or friends, or maybe were lucky enough to get a graduation present to Europe or another beautiful location, embrace learning about the world, too. Bringing back your knowledge of sights, history, languages, and different cultures can help you as you enter college. A global perspective is beneficial in classes ranging from political science to business.
4. Help others
During the college application process, you saw how schools sought students who were involved in the community. Now that you’ve been accepted, don’t make volunteering part of the past. Continue to volunteer or get involved in a new organization. Understanding the challenges facing people in our society today is knowledge that you can bring into possible class discussions this fall–and at the very least, you’ll impress your professor.
5. Learn online
Signing up for an online course will help you knock out one of the required first-year classes and give you a head start in your college education. You’ll learn not only the course material, but you’ll also learn what it takes to motivate yourself. And that could be the greatest lesson you learn this summer – how to get motivated, without your parents, to study and complete college assignments when so many things serve as distractions.
How are you learning and still enjoying the summer?
–Lori Johnston
July 11th, 2011
I believe I was only person from my high school graduating class to attend my college. I graduated from a high school in suburban Chicago and had friends heading off to schools such as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University. My decision to attend the University of Georgia was based on my family’s Southern connection and the fact that I felt its journalism program was strong enough to kick-start my career.
So it’s interesting to hear the recent debate and data about whether it really matters where you go to college. The New York Times has covered the college choice topic in depth with viewpoints from a variety of college officials and higher education experts, and it’s really interesting to read their perspective.
One study cited by the Times and other publications involves recent data by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which determined that students graduating from a college known for high SAT entrance scores didn’t benefit from higher post-graduation income. In fact, the study found that students who chose not to attend or who were not admitted into elite schools are more likely to earn high incomes later than students who do.
Schools tout top rankings and other measures of their success – and it’s a barometer that you and your parents may be using. Sure, it’s impressive to say you graduated from an elite private school on your resume. But when it comes to your college choice, it’s not about the prestige, the high rankings that a school holds, or its famous alumni (remember that some celebrities, politicians, authors, and others attended schools that are not household names, too).
In short, it’s what you make of your education, not where you go to get it, that will define your success.
Attending an elite school – or any school, for that matter – and not getting involved in campus or career organizations is a big misstep. It’s just plain lazy. Saying you’re a graduate of a certain school likely won’t matter if you haven’t done anything with the opportunities you were provided. Instead, embrace those campus experiences! Look for a school where you can be active in your major by taking challenging classes and taking advantage of opportunities for jobs or internships that are related to your potential career.
Being active as a student at the University of Georgia helped me throughout my career. Yes, I have used my school’s name to connect with alumni for jobs, but those connections were a result of my hard work in college–and that ended up being more important than the school’s reputation alone.
–Lori Johnston
December 20th, 2010
Our service men and women deserve more than just one day of gratitude per year, but Veterans’ Day is the day when we, as a country, offer our official thanks to the sacrifices they have made for our freedom.
If you are a college-bound student who is thinking of joining the esteemed ranks of the Armed Forces one day, then we salute you, too. But it’s not a decision to be made lightly, so we hope that you are carefully researching your military options, whether you are looking to enter a military academy or a school with a noted ROTC program.
Here are a few websites to help you out. Don’t forget we’ve also got articles on military schools as well, so be sure to read all the info and ask questions. Good luck!
Army www.goarmy.com
Navy www.navy.com
Air Force www.airforce.com
Marines www.marines.com
Coast Guard www.gocoastguard.com
National Guard www.nationalguard.com
–The CollegeBound Network
November 11th, 2010
Last weekend, I returned from BlogWorld & New Media Expo, which also happened to be my first trip to Vegas. I knew that I was going to be busy with conference sessions and networking events, but I made a pact with myself that I would not leave until I saw the Beatles-inspired LOVE, a Cirque du Soleil production that is in residence at the Mirage hotel and casino.
Had I known the good and generous people at Cirque du Soleil would be giving out free tickets to BlogWorld attendees and that I would be one of the lucky recipients, I would have set my Sin City sights higher. As in, “I’m not leaving Vegas until I win $10,000 on roulette” or “I’m not leaving until I get a role in The Hangover 2” or something like that.
Just kidding. I felt like I hit it big anyway when I was ushered to my stage-side seats in the Mirage’s theatre. It was a little nerve-wracking to be up that close, sort of like sitting in the exit row on an airplane. I realized that should a stunt go awry, there could have been a very good chance that I would be the one to cushion the fall of one of the performers, or “artists,” as they call them in le monde of Cirque. Luckily, the show was flawless, and I didn’t end up as part of it.
You don’t have to be a huge Beatles fan to get swept up into the magic of LOVE. True, the music of the Fab Four doesn’t immediately evoke women soaring on trapezes or men flipping about the stage on trampolines. But it’s all just groovy, baby. It’s breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and at times, in true Cirque du Soleil fashion, just plain weird. But there’s a reason that there are seven separate Cirque shows playing in Las Vegas: Cirque du Soleil is truly a spectacle beyond words, and you need to see it for yourself to understand what the big deal is.
I admit that there were plenty of other, um, shows that I could have seen while I was in Vegas. But I was there to blog, folks, and to be honest, I had been waiting to see LOVE for several years now, especially since one of my college friends is a stage manager for the show.
Aha! There’s the Cirque-college connection, my friends. That’s right—I went to college with not only one of the stage managers at LOVE, but also one of those at Ka, which is in residence at the MGM Grand. I was an English and technical theatre major at Wagner College, and although I opted for the writing life over the dramatic one, many of my friends are working actors and technicians in theatres all over the world. I have lost count of how many backstage tours, house seats, and autograph sessions I have been privy to over the years–and honestly, it never gets old to have friends who are working in the theatre.
So I took my old college friends Mary and Becky to lunch while I was there. We caught up on our lives, and of course, I asked them about their work with Cirque. I was less curious about the performance on stage than I was about the performance backstage—as in the work they do on a daily basis as stage managers.
Check back in with me on Wednesday for the second part of this blog and I’ll spill the details of our conversation. If you’re an aspiring theatre major, you may want to share this with your parents, too, to prove that “starving artist” isn’t your only after-college option– there ARE long and fulfilling careers to be had in the theatre.
–Barbara Bellesi
October 25th, 2010
In Eclipse, the much-anticipated third movie in the Twilight series, Bella’s biggest choices upon graduation are deciding whether to marry Edward and to become a vampire.
Attending college in Alaska is the alibi Bella uses when she sees her mom because it’s far from her mom’s house in Florida and she knows she won’t be able to see her parents anymore when she becomes a vampire.
Bella doesn’t care about college, because her focus is on becoming a vampire, and since she’ll always look like a high schooler, she figures she doesn’t need college – she just needs Edward. But the movie doesn’t completely ignore the fact that college is still an option for Bella and her friends. Her friend Jessica is valedictorian, and during her speech, Jessica encourages her classmates to not rush into things and use the next phase of their lives to figure out who they want to be. She tells them:
“This isn’t the time to make hard and fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love … a lot. Major in philosophy because there is no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind, then change it again because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can so that way when they ask us what we want to be, we won’t have to guess; we’ll know.”
While Jessica’s speech is supposed to make Bella rethink the vampire route, it also makes the viewer think again about college. You’ll want to be prepared and focused during college, but let yourself explore your options, meet new people, and learn about different career paths during your college experience.
What choices are you faced with before you head off to college?
July 6th, 2010
Last night’s premiere of “Lost” was a bittersweet event for fans of the ABC series. Yes, there was plenty of excitement in the air as the show FINALLY returned after a long hiatus, but knowing that this is the final season for the show has got to hurt a bit for those whose Tuesday nights revolve around intriguing characters and crazy plot twists.
So what will “Lost” fans do once the show ends? One can only hope that another show that is half as mind-bendingly addictive takes its place. Sure, there’s plenty of stuff to watch already, but there are some shows out there that are the equivalent of eating an entire pint of ice cream by yourself—good at first, but then you feel really, really bad about yourself later on (cough “Jersey Shore” cough).
For those college-bounders who are waving their hands in the air saying, “Yes! I know what people want to watch!” then perhaps you’ve applied to or are planning on applying to schools with a television production degree program. But if you’re thinking that the only way to make it in the biz is to pack up your stuff and head to Hollywood, think again. There are plenty of options in television production outside of La La Land.
Remember, every state and major city or region has at least one television station to produce the local news. So no matter what state you go to for college, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to hone your skills behind the camera. Consider some of these schools:
Brooklyn College. This school, which offers a major in TV and Radio Production, is part of the esteemed City University of New York (CUNY) system. This means public school tuition for a top-notch education that can really make you go places in the industry. Plus, Manhattan, which is home to major TV networks, is just a subway ride away.
Emerson College. USC and UCLA have met their match with this school situated on the corner of the Boston Common. Rumor had it that the school’s state-of-the-art Visual and Media Arts department has seen some Hollywood bigwigs coming in for a visit to see how it should be done.
Arizona State University. The Film and Media Studies department in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is a good way to learn TV techniques to be used in the Grand Canyon State and beyond.
University of Central Florida. At this third largest university in the country, chances are you’ll have good company in the radio and television undergraduate program. If you’re a baseball fan, spring training in Florida might be a good chance to learn a few techniques out of the classroom.
Michigan State University. Michigan is known for its colleges and universities, so Michigan State University would be a great place for just about any major. But it just so happens to have a pretty large Communication Arts and Sciences department that has several programs in media studies.
Why stop at five? Because there are so many schools, both large and small, that offer programs in television production. Be sure to consider all of your options when choosing the place where you’ll major in television—LA is awesome, but certainly not the only way to go.
Stay tuned to this blog for more info coming soon about television and media programs.
–Barbara Bellesi
February 3rd, 2010
Today is the day that we honor our veterans, but truthfully, those brave men and women deserve our thanks every day of the year. Many of these individuals got their start in their branch of service because of their college’s ROTC program. If you want to serve the U.S., but also want to go to college, read on.
What is the ROTC? The ROTC stands for Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. It is a program offered by many colleges and universities across the country that prepares students to become commissioned officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines after graduation. (The Coast Guard has its own academy plus an Officer Candidate School, but no ROTC). For those who are already enlisted, the ROTC offers opportunities to earn a college education and a commission as an officer during active or inactive duty.
Many individuals looking towards careers in the military opt for campuses with an active ROTC, because admission to the program ensures that most or all of their college expenses will be paid, in addition to a modest monthly stipend. In exchange for their scholarships, ROTC students must agree to serve their chosen military branch for a certain number of years, usually at least four.
If you are ready to search for colleges with ROTC programs, The CollegeBound Network can help. Check out our articles and directory of colleges that will help you make the very important decision to serve in the U.S. military.
–Barbara Bellesi
November 11th, 2009
Most educators are drawn to their careers because they seek rewards other than a fat paycheck. But when it comes to higher education, there are some who break out of the confines of a low pay scale and make some MAJOR coin. I’m talking about college presidents, and a recent report shows that there are a growing number of college and university presidents who take home a cool million each year.
So how does one become the president of a college or a university? As seen by the top five highest paid college presidents below, there’s no exact formula, nor is there a specific degree program one should follow. In fact, there is very little these people have in common, except a love for academics and a will to make their institution the best it can be.
1. Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, $1,598,247. As an African-American woman, Dr. Jackson’s place at #1 of the list signifies the breaking down of more than one barrier in the working world. Dr. Jackson is a physicist by trade; she earned her undergraduate and doctoral degrees in physics from M.I.T. Dr. Jackson’s background is in teaching and research, two things that RPI is known to do very well. 
2. David J. Sargent, Suffolk University, $1,496,593. It’s hard to believe that out of all the colleges and universities in Boston that it is unassuming Suffolk University that makes this list. David J. Sargent, a Suffolk University Law graduate, first returned to his alma mater as a law professor, then dean. Now at the helm of the school, Dr. Sargent is proof that Suffolk does an excellent job of preparing its students for great things.
3. Steadman Upham, University of Tulsa, $1,485,275. It’s hard to say if Dr. Upham knew his destiny when he pursued his undergraduate degree in English and Spanish Literature at University of Redlands, but his graduate and doctoral degrees in anthropology—the study of humans—at Arizona State University prepared him from working many students, faculty, and administrators, first as president of Claremont Graduate University and then at the forefront of the University of Tulsa.
4. Richard Meyers, Webster University, $1,429,738. Dr. Meyers is now the president of Fielding Graduate University, but his salary at Webster still makes the list. Dr. Meyers has an interesting academic background; he earned his undergraduate degree in music and psychology at DePaul University, then a master’s in music and a PhD in Instructional Technology and Psychology from the University of Southern California. His varied academic interests combined to give him a career as a college president; he has enjoyed the title at five institutions of higher ed, including Western Oregon University.
5. Cornelius M. Kerwin, American University, $1,419,339. As an undergrad at American University, Dr. Kerwin may have envisioned returning to his campus for Homecoming, but it took him a while to realize that he would return as president. With a master’s in political science from the University of Rhode Island and a doctorate in political science from Johns Hopkins, Dr. Kerwin taught for a decade before becoming an administrator. He was a dean and provost at Johns Hopkins before making the shift to American presidency, as it were.
–Barbara Bellesi
November 4th, 2009
Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, a former University of Tennessee president, is bringing the idea of three-year degrees back into the news with this week’s column in Newsweek.
As a parent of a 3-year-old, I’m already dreading how much it’s going to cost to send my son to college and applaud any plan to cut those expenses, which will continue to escalate. From a financial standpoint, the idea of three-year degrees, which a College Bound previously pointed out is already offered by some schools, has some merit.
But one benefit of the four-year degree is that it benefits self-starters and highly focused students as well as those who are lacking direction during their first couple of years in college.
Some students are able to gain duel degrees or even start working on post-graduate work with the four-year scenario, allowing them to squeeze every drop out of their college career. Others arrive from high school unsure of a career focus and it takes time for them to determine their major or to develop a passion in a particular area.
Packing a college education into three years also could hinder opportunities to study abroad, and some schools have significantly increased those programs in the past decade. I’ve seen students travel around the world, to destinations as varied as England, China, Italy, and Antarctica, and come back not only with new relationships, but also a more worldly view that aids them in their studies and career paths.
Most students I know already don’t pursue internships until between their junior and senior years, and the possibility of losing out on those opportunities could be harmful upon graduation in the form of closed job doors. Those experiences are crucial, I believe, to getting hired and being competent to handle the first year in a career.
Alexander advocates steps such as making summer classes mandatory as ways that would enable students to graduate earlier. As I see college students stress about their weekly load of tests and projects, I fear that being forced to go to school year-round could lead to burnout. They need those breaks, even though as a working professional, I’m envious about those long naps and the possibility of even just a week of nothing to do but watch movies or read.
The three-year degree’s financial benefits are obvious, but to reach to that point, more would need to be done, starting as early as the middle school and high school level. The main question is how to get students focused on their careers earlier so that they enjoy a fun but knowledge-filled college education that sets them on a professional path earlier than their parents, siblings and bosses.
–Lori Johnston
October 22nd, 2009
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