Schoolhouse Rock: The Preamble

Most Americans recognize the opening words to the Preamble to the Constitution:

We the People, of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility…

However, while most American recognize the words, they might not recognize that the words are from the Preamble to the Constitution. According to the U.S. Senate Reference, “the Preamble explains the purposes of the Constitution, and defines the powers of the new government as originating from the people of the United States.”

If you need a refresher on the significance of The Preamble, this oldie but goodie Schoolhouse Rock song can jog your memory.

Happy Constitution Day!

September 17, 2014, marks the 227^th anniversary of our nation’s founding document.  On September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution.  Constitution Day has shared some really interesting Constitutional facts:

• The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world."
• The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).
• Although Benjamin Franklin’s mind remained active, his body was deteriorating. He was in constant pain because of gout and having a stone in his bladder, and he could barely walk. He would enter the convention hall in a sedan chair carried by four prisoners from the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia.
• When the Constitution was signed, the United States’ population was 4 million. It is now more than 309 million. Philadelphia was the nation’s largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
• Four of the signers of the Constitution were born in Ireland.
• There was initially a question as to how to address the President. The Senate proposed that he be addressed as “His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties.” Both the House of Representatives and the Senate compromised on the use of “President of the United States.”
• A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give “thanks” for the new Constitution.

If you’d like to learn more about the Constitution, visit Constitution Day.  Here you can read the Constitution and Amendments, the Declaration of Independence and learn more about the different facets of our government.  You can even discover your inner founding father and test your Constitutional IQ.

Happy Constitution Day!

Powerful Reasons for Completing your CCV Associate Degree

FACT:  60 Percent of Jobs by 2020 Will Require a College Credential

Students who complete their associate degree can expect to earn as much as $8,000 more per year and about $400,000 more in a lifetime than a high school graduate.

People change jobs up to 10 times in their working lives – and when you are job-hunting, a college degree will always give you an edge.

People with associate degrees are more likely to retain jobs.  Unemployment for community college graduates is typically 30% lower than for high school grads.

Research shows that students who transfer from a community college to a 4-year institution are more successful and more likely to earn their bachelor’s degree if they earn their associate degree before transfer.

Associate degree holders open doors for their children.  Children of college graduates are more likely to graduate themselves.

Associate degree holders gain the personal satisfaction of reaching an educational goal and having something tangible to show for it – something valued by employers, scholarship officials, and transfer recruiters.

The health of degree holders and their families’ health will improve.  Research links greater educational attainment to longer life, healthful eating, exercising, and avoiding risk factors.  

You’ll be an educated, prepared, and higher-paid employee, helping the national workforce be competitive and productive in a global economy.

Congratulations on your commitment to earning a CCV Associate Degree.  If you have not yet registered for fall courses, register now!

 

Adapted from http://www.cccompletioncorps.org/.

6 Reasons You Didn't Get the Internship (& What to Do Next Time)

(from Vermont Business for Social Responsibility; adapted from www.hercampus.com) 

You've spent the last few months sending out countless resumes and cover letters, you've interviewed with hiring managers and you dutifully followed up afterwards with polite emails. But before you know it, summer is around the corner and that internship offer you expected to have is nowhere in sight! What happened?

We all know that the internship world is extremely competitive, and trying to land a summer gig at a great company can feel like trying to get an acceptance letter from Harvard. Even if you feel like you have the total package, there are a few things you might be doing (or not doing) that are standing between you and an offer. Read on to find out which mistakes you might be making during the internship application process and how you can step up your game next time to make sure you get the job!

1. You didn't research the company beforehand

One major thing that employers look for in a potential job candidate is knowledge of the company and the position you're applying for, so getting caught off guard by a basic question about the company's values or mission statement is going to raise a red flag.

"A candidate can look fantastic on paper, but preparing for the interview is critical," says Alicia Rodriguez, director of employer relations at the University of Miami's career center. "Recruiters look for candidates who know the organization in and out and can speak to how [their] skill sets can benefit the organization."

Tip for next time: Research, research, research! Knowledge is power, and knowing as much as you can about the company you're applying to work for can only help you. Familiarize yourself with the company's mission statement, know who the head of the company is as well as other important employees and be prepared to discuss the company's values (and how they line up with your own). A great place to find this information is the "About" section on a company's website, as well as its LinkedIn page.

You should also find out if the company has been in the news recently for any major accomplishments. Not only is this a great talking point, but showing that you've read up on the company is a surefire way to impress your interviewer. 

2. You didn't seem passionate about the company

Career Wisdom: The Value of an Internship

Do internships really offer job seekers a competitive advantage?  According to career counselor Peter Vogt, the answer is  -  absolutely.  In his book Career Wisdom for College Students, Peter provides reasons employers tend to make positive assumptions about students who have completed internships:

1.   Students who have completed an internship are more committed to their chosen field.  A 2005 survey of employers  found that 88% who hired college graduates who completed internships report that those hires who have internship experience stayed in their jobs longer.

2.   Students who have completed internships have developed the essential skills and traits they will need to succeed.  In addition to providing students opportunity to hone the hard skills associated with a profession, internships provide students an opportunity to cultivate soft skills that are so incredibly important to employers, skills such as communication, collaboration, research, critical thinking and problem solving.

3.   Students who have completed an internship will have references that can be specific versus general.  An instructor can tell a prospective employer how you perform academically and how you collaborate with other students in your classes; however, an instructor cannot speak to how you perform in the workplace.  Intern supervisors and colleagues can serve as strong references by providing relevant workplace examples to address specific questions posed by prospective employers.

4.   Students who have completed an internship understand the demands, stresses, rewards and ambiguities within a profession.  Internships provide students an opportunity to observe and navigate office politics, to understand the hours required to do a job successfully, and to experience, first hand, the fun and the challenges that can come with a career.

Now that you’re sold on the value of an internship, you might be wondering what kinds of opportunities are available in Vermont.  I recommend you start by exploring Career Services at CCV.  To find internships that provide rich learning opportunities, search listings on CCV Career Connections and Vermont Internships.

When you find an internship, we'd love to hear about it.  And for those of you who have had internships - do you have any advice to offer for a successful internship experience?

Qigong: A Student Friendly Practice

 Below is a guest post from CCV Student Eleanor Kinsey.
So your friend tells you her grandmother is doing Qigong (pronounced “chee-gung”) every morning because it helps her manage her pain. You say, “Oh cool,” and pause a moment, wondering whether you really want to admit that you have no idea what she's talking about. Finally, you ask, “Is that like yoga?”

Though Qigong is growing in popularity, many people still don't understand what Qigong is all about. Looking it up on the internet, people find pictures that range from classrooms full of elderly people with their arms raised to what look like old scrolls depicting Chinese monks in various poses. Many people think that it looks like Tai Chi, and in a way, they would be correct. Tai Chi is the martial arts form of Qigong, a practice with as many teaching varieties as yoga.

Three Study Strategies

Below is a guest post from the author of Community College Success, Isa Adney. You can connect with her on Twitter @IsaAdney or Facebook.com/CCSuccess.

Ask Isa: 3 study strategies that helped me get 100's on exams

From the Ask Isa inbox:

Dear Isa,

This semester has started and my classes are pretty hard already. I looked at my syllabus for each class and I notice there are a lot of days where I have two or three tests from each class on the same day. 

How do you manage to study WISELY for tests that are packed on the same day? What type of study habit do I need to go through? I've never been in a situation like this.

Sincerely,

Too Many Tests

Dear Too Many Tests,

This is a great question to ask - as exams can often fall in the same day, especially at the end of the semester. 

Below are the three things I did to manage many tests. 

I became a master test taker - me, who did NOT get a good SAT score. But I often got 100's on my tests using the methods below. I really hope they help you as much as they helped me - because one of the best feelings in the world is approaching test day with confidence. 

1) Study every day
There wasn't a day in college that I didn't study. And no, I didn't spend hours and hours in the library. And yes I did have a social life. When I say "study" I don't mean staring at your textbook for hours. That doesn't work. 

Instead, I developed a habit of getting to every class at least 10 minutes early. During that time I would review the notes I'd taken so far in that class, as well as scan the reading.  

During these short reviews if there was something that wasn't easy for me to grasp I'd make a note of it and schedule time during my professor's office hours to ask about the concept.

That kind of studying never took more than one hour each day, and it made studying for the exams the week  before test week almost feel too easy.

2) Meet with a study group
Study groups aren't for everyone, but they were huge for me. The biggest mistake students make with study groups is thinking they will get major "studying" done during that time.