Scholars pursuing interdisciplinary work are invited to apply for a semester-long Quadrant Fellowship at the University of Minnesota to be held in academic year 2010-2011.
Deadline: November 20, 2009
Quadrant is a joint initiative of the University of Minnesota Press, a leader in interdisciplinary scholarly publishing, and the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), a catalyst and incubator of research and discussion across disciplinary boundaries.
Complete applications should be sent to the postal address given below and postmarked by November 20, 2009. Please note that the fellowship may not be used for work toward a degree and is not open to faculty or staff at the University of Minnesota.
During their semester in residence at the IAS in Minneapolis, fellows will receive a stipend of up to $30,000, depending on rank and experience; fellowships include medical and dental coverage. At the IAS, fellows will participate in weekly lunches, coffees, and public lectures with a lively interdisciplinary community that includes University of Minnesota fellows and other Quadrant fellows. They will also be involved in at least one of Quadrant's research and publishing collaboratives: Design, Architecture, and Culture; Environment, Culture, and Sustainability; Global Cultures; and Health and Society. Fellows will give a public lecture and will present a work-in-progress in a workshop setting with their Quadrant collaborative group or groups. In addition, they will work directly with an editor from the University of Minnesota Press to develop their manuscripts for submission. Manuscripts submitted to the University of Minnesota Press will undergo standard peer review and Press board approval process.
Application Procedures
To apply for a Quadrant Fellowship, please submit five copies of the following materials to the mailing address given below: Your research proposal (no longer than 1,500 words). Describe the research or creative project you will undertake during your residence. Indicate which of the four Quadrant Groups you would like to join; if you would like to join more than one, please indicate this. Include a discussion of how participation in an interdisciplinary setting as part of Quadrant would advance your work. An abstract of your proposal (200 words), a curriculum vitae. In addition, ask three people familiar with your work and this project to submit letters of support directly to the address below.
All application materials, including letters of support, should be sent to the following postal address and postmarked by November 20, 2009:
Professor Ann Waltner,
Director Institute for Advanced Study University of Minnesota
131 Nolte Center
315 Pillsbury Dr. SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
Fellowship offers will be made in February 2010, pending renewal of funding.
Quadrant is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
For more information, please visit these pages:
About Quadrant http://www.ias.umn.edu/quadrant.php
About Quadrant’s Environment, Culture, and Sustainability Group http://www.ias.umn.edu/quadrant.php#environment
Call for Applications http://www.ias.umn.edu/quadrantapply.php
If you have questions, please contact the Quadrant Coordinator, Anne Carter, at cart0227@umn.edu.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Newhouse Resident Fellowships 2010-2011
The Susan and Donald Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College is pleased to announce the Newhouse resident fellowships for academic year 2010-2011.
Deadline: December 1, 2009
Newhouse Faculty Fellowships are open to both junior and senior faculty members at other institutions. In addition to salary-replacement stipends of $50,000, Newhouse faculty fellows will receive up to $3,000 in research support. It is expected that external faculty fellows will combine their Newhouse Center stipends with support from other granting agencies or their home institutions.
The Susan and Donald Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College was established by a generous gift from Susan and Donald Newhouse in 2004. The Newhouse Center aims to promote excellence and innovation in humanistic studies. The Newhouse Center occupies a central space in the Wellesley campus and hosts eight to ten resident fellows each year. Wellesley faculty members on sabbatical and visiting scholars from other institutions. In some years, the Newhouse Center is also able to host Mellon Postdoctoral fellows, but these postdoctoral openings will be advertised by individual academic departments or programs: the application procedures below are for Newhouse Faculty Fellowships only.
Resident fellows will devote themselves primarily to their own research, but will also participate actively in the intellectual life of the institution, participating in programming and events as appropriate, sharing their work in progress, and serving, if they choose, as mentors to student research assistants. Beginning in 2010-11, Newhouse Faculty Fellows will be given the opportunity to work with the Director to design a program in which to present his/her work to the larger community while in residence - e.g. short lecture series, interdisciplinary panel, min-conference, etc.
Applicants for Newhouse Faculty Fellowships should submit by December 1, 2009 1) a research proposal of no more than 1250 words, describing the project and plan of research for the proposed residency; a brief bibliography may be appended; 2) a brief description of a broad programming vision in which to present his/her work while in residence; 3) a curriculum vitae; 4) the names and contact information of three referees, and 5) a cover letter that makes clear the applicant’s reasons for wishing to work at the Newhouse Center and that also makes clear whether the applicant is willing to be considered for an unstipended as well as a stipended fellowship. Applicants should contact recommenders directly and ask them to submit their letters by the December 1 deadline.
Applications can be submitted by regular mail to The Newhouse Center for the Humanities, Wellesley College, 106 Central St. Wellesley MA 02481-8203; or by email to nch@wellesley.edu. For further information, consult www.Wellesley.edu/NCH online, or write tonch@wellesley.edu.
Wellesley College is an EO/AA educational institution and employer. The College is committed to increasing the diversity of the college community and the curriculum. Candidates who believe they will contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: December 1, 2009
Newhouse Faculty Fellowships are open to both junior and senior faculty members at other institutions. In addition to salary-replacement stipends of $50,000, Newhouse faculty fellows will receive up to $3,000 in research support. It is expected that external faculty fellows will combine their Newhouse Center stipends with support from other granting agencies or their home institutions.
The Susan and Donald Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College was established by a generous gift from Susan and Donald Newhouse in 2004. The Newhouse Center aims to promote excellence and innovation in humanistic studies. The Newhouse Center occupies a central space in the Wellesley campus and hosts eight to ten resident fellows each year. Wellesley faculty members on sabbatical and visiting scholars from other institutions. In some years, the Newhouse Center is also able to host Mellon Postdoctoral fellows, but these postdoctoral openings will be advertised by individual academic departments or programs: the application procedures below are for Newhouse Faculty Fellowships only.
Resident fellows will devote themselves primarily to their own research, but will also participate actively in the intellectual life of the institution, participating in programming and events as appropriate, sharing their work in progress, and serving, if they choose, as mentors to student research assistants. Beginning in 2010-11, Newhouse Faculty Fellows will be given the opportunity to work with the Director to design a program in which to present his/her work to the larger community while in residence - e.g. short lecture series, interdisciplinary panel, min-conference, etc.
Applicants for Newhouse Faculty Fellowships should submit by December 1, 2009 1) a research proposal of no more than 1250 words, describing the project and plan of research for the proposed residency; a brief bibliography may be appended; 2) a brief description of a broad programming vision in which to present his/her work while in residence; 3) a curriculum vitae; 4) the names and contact information of three referees, and 5) a cover letter that makes clear the applicant’s reasons for wishing to work at the Newhouse Center and that also makes clear whether the applicant is willing to be considered for an unstipended as well as a stipended fellowship. Applicants should contact recommenders directly and ask them to submit their letters by the December 1 deadline.
Applications can be submitted by regular mail to The Newhouse Center for the Humanities, Wellesley College, 106 Central St. Wellesley MA 02481-8203; or by email to nch@wellesley.edu. For further information, consult www.Wellesley.edu/NCH online, or write tonch@wellesley.edu.
Wellesley College is an EO/AA educational institution and employer. The College is committed to increasing the diversity of the college community and the curriculum. Candidates who believe they will contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply.
Fellowships in Sustainability Science Harvard University's Center for International Development
Fellowships in Sustainability Science Harvard University's Center for International DevelopmentDeadline for application: December 1, 2009
The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University's Center for International Development invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the University's academic year beginning in September 2010. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. Applicants should describe how their work would contribute to "sustainability science," the emerging field of use-inspired research seeking understanding of the interactions between human and environmental systems as well as the application of such knowledge to sustainability challenges relating to advancing development of agriculture, habitation, energy and materials, health and water while conserving the earth's life support systems. This year we will give some preference to applicants who address the challenges related to meeting human needs for water or food/agriculture/land use in the context of sustainable development. In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. The Sustainability Science Program is directed by Professors William Clark and Michael Kremer, and Nancy Dickson. For more information on the fellowships application process see http://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship.
Applications are due December 1, 2009.
Jon Marco Church Giorgio Ruffolo Doctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Sustainability Science Program
Center for International Development
Mailbox 34
Kennedy School of Government
79 John F. Kennedy St.Cambridge, Mass. 02138
+1 (617) 496-0739
+1 (617) 496-8753 (fax)
jon_marco_church@hks.harvard.edu
www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci
Doctorant en sciences politiqueUniversité de Paris 1 - Panthéon-SorbonneCentre de recherches politiques de la Sorbonne
jon-marco.church@malix.univ-paris1.fr
http://crps.univ-paris1.fr
The Sustainability Science Program at Harvard University's Center for International Development invites applications for resident fellowships in sustainability science for the University's academic year beginning in September 2010. The fellowship competition is open to advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students, and to mid-career professionals engaged in research or practice to facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective interventions that promote sustainable development. Applicants should describe how their work would contribute to "sustainability science," the emerging field of use-inspired research seeking understanding of the interactions between human and environmental systems as well as the application of such knowledge to sustainability challenges relating to advancing development of agriculture, habitation, energy and materials, health and water while conserving the earth's life support systems. This year we will give some preference to applicants who address the challenges related to meeting human needs for water or food/agriculture/land use in the context of sustainable development. In addition to general funds available to support this fellowship offering, special funding for the Giorgio Ruffolo Fellowships in Sustainability Science is available to support citizens of Italy or developing countries who are therefore especially encouraged to apply. The Sustainability Science Program is directed by Professors William Clark and Michael Kremer, and Nancy Dickson. For more information on the fellowships application process see http://www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci/fellowship.
Applications are due December 1, 2009.
Jon Marco Church Giorgio Ruffolo Doctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Sustainability Science Program
Center for International Development
Mailbox 34
Kennedy School of Government
79 John F. Kennedy St.Cambridge, Mass. 02138
+1 (617) 496-0739
+1 (617) 496-8753 (fax)
jon_marco_church@hks.harvard.edu
www.cid.harvard.edu/sustsci
Doctorant en sciences politiqueUniversité de Paris 1 - Panthéon-SorbonneCentre de recherches politiques de la Sorbonne
jon-marco.church@malix.univ-paris1.fr
http://crps.univ-paris1.fr
The Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Initiative (SDEP) at the Beckman Institute
The Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois offers a three-year, $52,000/year post-doctoral fellowship. Applicants interested in an association with The Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Initiative (SDEP) at Beckman are encouraged to apply. For information on the post-doctoral fellowship and application procedures, see
http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/fellows/postdocfunding.aspx
For information on SDEP see: http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/sdep.aspx. SDEP faculty at Beckman Institute include Professors Tom Bassett (Geography), Ashwini Chhatre (Geography), Brian Dill (Sociology), and Jesse Ribot (Geography).
Please circulate this announcement to any interested colleagues.
Please include all the information (not just the URL) since this information is essential for applicants.
Many thanks,
Jesse Ribot
Jesse Ribot
Associate Professor
Director, Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Initiative
Department of Geography
School of Earth Society and Environment and Beckman Institute
University of Illinois
220 Davenport Hall, MC-150
607 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
Email: Jesse.Ribot@gmail.com mailto:Jesse.Ribot@gmail.com
Phone: 1 (217) 333-7248 (no voice mail)
Messages: (Geog office): 1 (217) 333-1880
http://www.geog.uiuc.edu/ http://www.earth.uiuc.edu/
http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/sdep.aspx
Check out the current SDEP speaker series: http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/climateandsociety.aspx
http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/fellows/postdocfunding.aspx
For information on SDEP see: http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/sdep.aspx. SDEP faculty at Beckman Institute include Professors Tom Bassett (Geography), Ashwini Chhatre (Geography), Brian Dill (Sociology), and Jesse Ribot (Geography).
Please circulate this announcement to any interested colleagues.
Please include all the information (not just the URL) since this information is essential for applicants.
Many thanks,
Jesse Ribot
Jesse Ribot
Associate Professor
Director, Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Initiative
Department of Geography
School of Earth Society and Environment and Beckman Institute
University of Illinois
220 Davenport Hall, MC-150
607 S. Mathews Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
Email: Jesse.Ribot@gmail.com mailto:Jesse.Ribot@gmail.com
Phone: 1 (217) 333-7248 (no voice mail)
Messages: (Geog office): 1 (217) 333-1880
http://www.geog.uiuc.edu/ http://www.earth.uiuc.edu/
http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/sdep.aspx
Check out the current SDEP speaker series: http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/strategic/climateandsociety.aspx
Auburn University Engineering Graduate Research Fellowships
Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering awards several lucrative research fellowships to graduate students each year. Now is the time to begin preparing your application. Applicants to the following engineering disciplines offered at Auburn are eligible for the fellowships: Aerospace, Biosystems, Chemical, Civil, Computer Science and Software, Electrical and Computer, Industrial and Systems, Materials, Mechanical, and Polymer and Fiber. All engineering applicants are automatically considered.
Priority Deadline: 15 January, 2010. Preference given to early applications.Below are descriptions of the fellowship funding levels and requirements:
Dean’s Fellowships
● Doctoral candidates
● $32,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
● Expected: 3.5 GPA, combined GRE 1300
College Fellowships
● Master’s or doctoral candidates
● $24,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
● Expected: 3.5 GPA, combined GRE 1250
Departmental Fellowships
● Master’s or doctoral candidates
● $20,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
Tuition Fellowships
● Provides full graduate school tuition
● Available to students with:
- Graduate research/teaching assistantships
- Dean’s, college, and departmental fellowships.
Learn more: www.eng.auburn.edu/graduate
Priority Deadline: 15 January, 2010. Preference given to early applications.Below are descriptions of the fellowship funding levels and requirements:
Dean’s Fellowships
● Doctoral candidates
● $32,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
● Expected: 3.5 GPA, combined GRE 1300
College Fellowships
● Master’s or doctoral candidates
● $24,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
● Expected: 3.5 GPA, combined GRE 1250
Departmental Fellowships
● Master’s or doctoral candidates
● $20,000/ year minimum renewable stipend plus tuition fellowship
Tuition Fellowships
● Provides full graduate school tuition
● Available to students with:
- Graduate research/teaching assistantships
- Dean’s, college, and departmental fellowships.
Learn more: www.eng.auburn.edu/graduate
Master’s degree program in American Studies at the University of South Florida
The Master’s degree program in American Studies at the University of South Florida is actively seeking international applicants. The program offers advanced training in American literature and culture and American Studies methodology for career educators. This is a two-year program; the requirements for graduation are the completion of 9 graduate courses and a Master’s thesis. Minimum requirements for admission are a Bachelor’s degree and scores of 500 and 4.5 on the Verbal and Analytical Writing portions of the GRE.
More information is available on our website, http://www.cas.usf.edu/humanities/grad.html.
We have Graduate Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships available to support international students. The applicant entering in the fall of 2010 who scores highest on the GRE will receive a one-year, $10,000 fellowship. In addition, all students accepted will receive positions as teaching assistants, if they wish, provided that they have these minimum TOEFL scores: Reading: 20; Writing: 24; Listening: 20; Speaking: 24. Teaching assistantships include a tuition waiver and a stipend. This stipend is $2270 per semester in the first year and $5200 per semester in the second year, and there are three teaching semesters per year. However, the tuition waiver does not include the waiver of student fees, which amount to approximately $2000 per year; and the cost of living in Tampa is estimated at $12,000 per year.
Daniel Belgrad
Associate Professor and Chair
Humanities and Cultural Studies
University of South Florida
813-974-9388
More information is available on our website, http://www.cas.usf.edu/humanities/grad.html.
We have Graduate Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships available to support international students. The applicant entering in the fall of 2010 who scores highest on the GRE will receive a one-year, $10,000 fellowship. In addition, all students accepted will receive positions as teaching assistants, if they wish, provided that they have these minimum TOEFL scores: Reading: 20; Writing: 24; Listening: 20; Speaking: 24. Teaching assistantships include a tuition waiver and a stipend. This stipend is $2270 per semester in the first year and $5200 per semester in the second year, and there are three teaching semesters per year. However, the tuition waiver does not include the waiver of student fees, which amount to approximately $2000 per year; and the cost of living in Tampa is estimated at $12,000 per year.
Daniel Belgrad
Associate Professor and Chair
Humanities and Cultural Studies
University of South Florida
813-974-9388
SUNY Plattsburgh- Update and Scholarship Information for International Students
Again, SUNY Plattsburgh has been named among the top schools in the 2009 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, as well as one of the "100 best values" among public universities in the United States by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. I am very proud that we received special recognition in U.S. News & World Report for our large and diverse international student enrollment. As a matter of fact, we enroll approximately 400 international undergraduates (more than 7% of our total undergraduate population) from 60 countries.
International undergraduate applicants now have two options to apply for admission - the Common Application and the SUNY Plattsburgh International Undergraduate Application. Links to both of these applications are available on our website:
Common Application - https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx
SUNY Plattsburgh International Undergraduate Application - http://www.plattsburgh.edu/admissions/international/apply.php
This summer, we began construction on a new, earth-friendly addition to Hudson Hall. Housing the Center for Earth and Environmental Science and chemistry and physics programs, Hudson Hall is one of the two main science buildings on campus. The new addition is slated for completion in 2012.
Furthermore, President Obama has named SUNY Plattsburgh Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Nancy Elwess a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
For your students wanting to find out more about SUNY Plattsburgh through videos or social networking, here are links to our YouTube channel and Facebook page:
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/sunyplattsburgh
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/sunyplattsburgh
We use rolling admission so there is no specific application deadline, but we encourage completed applications by no later than April 1 for September entry and November 1 for January entry. We begin reviewing applications for fall enrollment in November. For the fall 2009 semester, we were "full" before May 15.
I look forward to hearing from you. And I love *old-fashioned* email and phone calls!
Sincerely,
Ms. Jackie Girard Vogl
Director, International Student Services State University of New York - Plattsburgh
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901 U.S.A.
Email: jackie.vogl@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: 518-564-3287
Toll-free: 1-877-877-5170 (in U.S. and Canada)
Fax: 518-564-3292
Web: www.plattsburgh.edu/international
International undergraduate applicants now have two options to apply for admission - the Common Application and the SUNY Plattsburgh International Undergraduate Application. Links to both of these applications are available on our website:
Common Application - https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx
SUNY Plattsburgh International Undergraduate Application - http://www.plattsburgh.edu/admissions/international/apply.php
This summer, we began construction on a new, earth-friendly addition to Hudson Hall. Housing the Center for Earth and Environmental Science and chemistry and physics programs, Hudson Hall is one of the two main science buildings on campus. The new addition is slated for completion in 2012.
Furthermore, President Obama has named SUNY Plattsburgh Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Nancy Elwess a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
For your students wanting to find out more about SUNY Plattsburgh through videos or social networking, here are links to our YouTube channel and Facebook page:
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/sunyplattsburgh
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/sunyplattsburgh
We use rolling admission so there is no specific application deadline, but we encourage completed applications by no later than April 1 for September entry and November 1 for January entry. We begin reviewing applications for fall enrollment in November. For the fall 2009 semester, we were "full" before May 15.
I look forward to hearing from you. And I love *old-fashioned* email and phone calls!
Sincerely,
Ms. Jackie Girard Vogl
Director, International Student Services State University of New York - Plattsburgh
101 Broad Street
Plattsburgh, NY 12901 U.S.A.
Email: jackie.vogl@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: 518-564-3287
Toll-free: 1-877-877-5170 (in U.S. and Canada)
Fax: 518-564-3292
Web: www.plattsburgh.edu/international
City University of Seattle Scholarships for International Students
City University of Seattle (www.cityu.edu) announces a scholarship program for new international students which will annually award twenty $3,000 scholarships to applicants currently residing outside the US and admitted to City University of Seattle. Successful candidates should demonstrate current community involvement, good academic standing, and how earning a degree at City University of Seattle will impact their future plans. Scholarships are awarded four times each year. More information about the scholarship, the application process, and requirements is available at: www.cityu.edu/internationalscholarship.
Dmitry Sherbakov, PhD
Associate Director of International Recruitment,
International Student Office
CityUniversity of Seattle
11900 NE First Street
Bellevue, WA 98005
USA
Tel: 1.425.709.5307
Fax: 1.425.709.5319
dsherbakov@CityU.edu www.CityU.edu
Skype: dsherbakov
City University of Seattle is a not-for-profit and EO institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
Dmitry Sherbakov, PhD
Associate Director of International Recruitment,
International Student Office
CityUniversity of Seattle
11900 NE First Street
Bellevue, WA 98005
USA
Tel: 1.425.709.5307
Fax: 1.425.709.5319
dsherbakov@CityU.edu www.CityU.edu
Skype: dsherbakov
City University of Seattle is a not-for-profit and EO institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
University of richmond scholarships
Richmond is a top-ranked private liberal arts university where students learn from gifted scholars, engage in rigorous interdisciplinary study, pursue undergraduate research, and gain real world experiences through internships, study abroad and civic engagement opportunities. Richmond’s strong academic reputation and extraordinary student life opportunities have led outside evaluators like U.S. News and World Report to rank Richmond #30 among National Liberal Arts Colleges. In addition, BusinessWeek magazine recognized our Robins School of Business among the top 12 undergraduate programs in the nation.
The University of Richmond is pleased to offer scholarship opportunities equal to full tuition. 45 students in every first-year class, of which 10-12 are international students, are awarded a merit scholarship through the Richmond Scholars Program
http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/scholarships.html
Recipients have demonstrated extraordinary academic achievement, exceptional personal qualities, and potential for ongoing contributions to society. Additionally, the Presidential Scholarship http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/scholarships.html#presidential rewards students who have achieved a superior high school record in a rigorous curriculum as well as outstanding standardized test scores. The scholarship funding provides up to $15,000 per year for four years of undergraduate study at the University of Richmond. There also are partial scholarships available in areas ranging from art to community service. The Bonner Scholarship in particular rewards students who have been active in community and volunteer service
http://engage.richmond.edu/programs/bonner/prospective.html
Deadline for University of Richmond Scholarship consideration: December 15
Attached is information on the University of Richmond’s scholarships programs. Also, following is the link to the our YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/universityofrichmondThank you and do not hesitate to contact our offices if you have any questio
The University of Richmond is pleased to offer scholarship opportunities equal to full tuition. 45 students in every first-year class, of which 10-12 are international students, are awarded a merit scholarship through the Richmond Scholars Program
http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/scholarships.html
Recipients have demonstrated extraordinary academic achievement, exceptional personal qualities, and potential for ongoing contributions to society. Additionally, the Presidential Scholarship http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/scholarships.html#presidential rewards students who have achieved a superior high school record in a rigorous curriculum as well as outstanding standardized test scores. The scholarship funding provides up to $15,000 per year for four years of undergraduate study at the University of Richmond. There also are partial scholarships available in areas ranging from art to community service. The Bonner Scholarship in particular rewards students who have been active in community and volunteer service
http://engage.richmond.edu/programs/bonner/prospective.html
Deadline for University of Richmond Scholarship consideration: December 15
Attached is information on the University of Richmond’s scholarships programs. Also, following is the link to the our YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/universityofrichmondThank you and do not hesitate to contact our offices if you have any questio
Grand valley State university- news and scholarship
Grand Valley State University, in Allendale, Michigan, established new undergraduate programs for Fall 2009 in Radiation Therapy, Radiologic and Imaging Sciences, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Supply Chain Management.Grand Valley is the only university in Michigan to offer diagnostic medical sonography as a bachelor*s degree program, and the only university in the country to offer pediatric echocardiography as part of a bachelor*s degree program.We also have expanded our scholarship opportunities for international students. All admitted international students are automatically considered for our International Merit Award, which is worth $5,000 per year and is good for up to 4 years. For Fall 2009, nearly 30 percent of new enrolled International students received the International Merit Scholarship.
For any questions:
Christopher HendreeGrand Valley State UniversityOffice of Admissions1 Campus DriveAllendale, MI 49401
Phone: 1 800-748-0246
Fax: 616 331-2000
Email: Hendreec@gvsu.edu or Global@gvsu.edu
Website: http://www.gvsu.edu/
For any questions:
Christopher HendreeGrand Valley State UniversityOffice of Admissions1 Campus DriveAllendale, MI 49401
Phone: 1 800-748-0246
Fax: 616 331-2000
Email: Hendreec@gvsu.edu or Global@gvsu.edu
Website: http://www.gvsu.edu/
Albion College international student scholarships
Albion College international student scholarships
Albion College, a top 100 Top Tier Liberal Arts College in Albion, Michigan is proud to announce International Student Scholarships of up to $19,500 per year for accepted international students. Students who demonstrate the highest academic potential and bring significant co-curricular interests to our campus will receive the greatest consideration for these awards. In awarding scholarships, Albion College also considers an applicant's financial need upon review of the application, as well as other requirements. Every international student who is accepted and meets the criteria for admission will be award a scholarship up to that amount.
Notification of a scholarship is made at the time of admission, and will be noted in your acceptance letter. For more information, please contact Lewis Cardenas at lcardenas@albion.edu or visit: www.albion.edu/admission/internationalstudents
Lewis Cardenas,
'02Associate Director for International Student Recruitment Admission Counselor for Americans Living Abroad/TCKs
Albion College
mailto:lcardenas@albion.edu
Phone:(00+1) 517-629-0610
Fax:(00+1) 517-629-0569
Mobile:(00+1) 517-936-6475
Albion College International Admission Website
www.albion.edu/admission/internationalstudents
Albion College Facebook page
www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Albion-MI/Albion-College-Admission/40972256971?ref=ts
Skype ID:lewis.cardenas QQ ID: 1146349071
Albion College, a top 100 Top Tier Liberal Arts College in Albion, Michigan is proud to announce International Student Scholarships of up to $19,500 per year for accepted international students. Students who demonstrate the highest academic potential and bring significant co-curricular interests to our campus will receive the greatest consideration for these awards. In awarding scholarships, Albion College also considers an applicant's financial need upon review of the application, as well as other requirements. Every international student who is accepted and meets the criteria for admission will be award a scholarship up to that amount.
Notification of a scholarship is made at the time of admission, and will be noted in your acceptance letter. For more information, please contact Lewis Cardenas at lcardenas@albion.edu or visit: www.albion.edu/admission/internationalstudents
Lewis Cardenas,
'02Associate Director for International Student Recruitment Admission Counselor for Americans Living Abroad/TCKs
Albion College
mailto:lcardenas@albion.edu
Phone:(00+1) 517-629-0610
Fax:(00+1) 517-629-0569
Mobile:(00+1) 517-936-6475
Albion College International Admission Website
www.albion.edu/admission/internationalstudents
Albion College Facebook page
www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Albion-MI/Albion-College-Admission/40972256971?ref=ts
Skype ID:lewis.cardenas QQ ID: 1146349071
University of Evansville (Indiana) EducationUSA Scholarship
The University of Evansville (Indiana) is again offering its competitive scholarship for students coming through EducationUSA Advising Centers (In Taiwan please contact: Foundation for Scholarly Exchange or AIEF). Advisors may nominate students (one per center) for the $14,000 per academic year scholarship. To receive the scholarship, students must be academically eligible for admission to the University and have the EducationUSA advisor's nomination. Students may begin either in August or January. Conditional acceptances are available for students who do not yet have the necessary English proficiency; they may begin in our Intensive English Center and transition into undergraduate studies when ready. This scholarship is renewable each year for 4 years. For a pdf of the nomination form, email Rebecca at: rp50@evansville.edu.
Among Midwest colleges and universities, The University of Evansville ranks #2 in Best Value, and #10 overall from U.S. News & World Report's latest "Best Colleges" issue. This year, a new category was added to the rankings of universities with "A Strong Commitment to Teaching", and the University of Evansville was listed at #6 in that category as well. In addition, UE has been awarded the American Society of Civil Engineers’ prestigious Walter LeFevre Award for 2009 as the number one civil engineering program in the U.S., among small universities. The School of Business boasts AACSB International accreditation and the College of Engineering and Computer Science, ABET accreditation.
Beverly Fowler
Director, International Admissions and Recruitment
University of Evansville
1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
phone (812) 488-2146
fax (812) 488-6389
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Scholarship for International Students II
INSTITUTE OF HUMANE STUDIES JOURNALISM INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Deadline to apply for a spring IHS Journalism Internship: November 15, 2009.
Our program offers paid internships at media networks, think tanks, and newspapers. You could set up interviews for an experienced broadcast producer. Investigate a government program for a policy organization. Or cover the political beat for a local paper.
The program provides a generous stipend and a travel allowance. Plus you’ll attend our summer journalism workshop. After your internship, our program director will help you strategize your job hunt.
I’m happy to report many interns from last summer were recently hired by Fox Business News, the Los Angeles Times, the Jacksonville North Carolina Daily News, and The National Post in Toronto.
Learn more & apply today!
Spring deadline: Nov 15
Summer deadline: Jan 31
Contact:
Keri Anderson
Student Coordinator
Institute for Humane Studies
journalism@theihs.org
http://www.theihs.org/
http://www.theihs.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=538&utm_source=Prospects%20Jintern&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Prospects%20Jintern%2010-15-09&utm_campaign=Jintern%2010%20Spring
Scholarship for International Students I
THE 2010 GOOGLE ANITA BORG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP -
$10,000 FOR THE 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR
Deadline to apply: Monday, February 1, 2010.
Dr. Anita Borg devoted her adult life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Her combination of technical expertise and fearless vision continues to inspire and motivate countless women to become active participants and leaders in creating technology. In her honor, Google is proud to honor Anita's memory and support women in technology with the 2010 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. Google hopes to encourage women to excel in computing and technology and become active role models and leaders in the field.
Google Anita Borg Scholarship recipients will each receive a $10,000 award for the 2010-2011 academic year. A group of female undergraduate and graduate students will be chosen from the applicant pool, and scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of each candidate's academic background and demonstrated leadership. All scholarship recipients and finalists will be invited to attend the Annual Google Scholars' Retreat in Mountain View, California in 2010.
Who can apply?
Applicants must satisfy all of the following criteria to be eligible:
• be a female student entering her senior year of undergraduate study or be enrolled in a graduate program in the 2010-2011 academic year at a university in the United States;
• be enrolled in Computer Science or Computer Engineering program, or a closely related technical field as a full-time student for the 2010-2011 academic year;
• maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or 4.5 on a 5.0 scale or equivalent in your current program.
• Citizens, permanent residents, and international students are eligible to apply. Past applicants and finalists are also encouraged to re-apply.
· Contact an EducationUSA Center for guidance on finding and applying to an accredited U.S. college or university (http://www.educationusa.org.tw/).
Deadline to apply: Monday, February 1, 2010.
For more information, write to:
anitaborgscholars@google.com.
http://www.google.com/anitaborg/
$10,000 FOR THE 2010-2011 ACADEMIC YEAR
Deadline to apply: Monday, February 1, 2010.
Dr. Anita Borg devoted her adult life to revolutionizing the way we think about technology and dismantling barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields. Her combination of technical expertise and fearless vision continues to inspire and motivate countless women to become active participants and leaders in creating technology. In her honor, Google is proud to honor Anita's memory and support women in technology with the 2010 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship. Google hopes to encourage women to excel in computing and technology and become active role models and leaders in the field.
Google Anita Borg Scholarship recipients will each receive a $10,000 award for the 2010-2011 academic year. A group of female undergraduate and graduate students will be chosen from the applicant pool, and scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of each candidate's academic background and demonstrated leadership. All scholarship recipients and finalists will be invited to attend the Annual Google Scholars' Retreat in Mountain View, California in 2010.
Who can apply?
Applicants must satisfy all of the following criteria to be eligible:
• be a female student entering her senior year of undergraduate study or be enrolled in a graduate program in the 2010-2011 academic year at a university in the United States;
• be enrolled in Computer Science or Computer Engineering program, or a closely related technical field as a full-time student for the 2010-2011 academic year;
• maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or 4.5 on a 5.0 scale or equivalent in your current program.
• Citizens, permanent residents, and international students are eligible to apply. Past applicants and finalists are also encouraged to re-apply.
· Contact an EducationUSA Center for guidance on finding and applying to an accredited U.S. college or university (http://www.educationusa.org.tw/).
Deadline to apply: Monday, February 1, 2010.
For more information, write to:
anitaborgscholars@google.com.
http://www.google.com/anitaborg/
Sunday, October 11, 2009
International Student Scholarship Aids in Diane Pego Attending Oregon State University
Oregon State University is the place Diane Pego chose to attend.“I’m from Brazil and back at home we were going with the education system here and so I came here three years ago as an exchange student and that really help me to figure out what I really want to do and where I want to study and I feel in love with the American system and you guys are very organized and everything works smoothly,” she says.
So I am attending Oregon State University in Oregon and I actually chose it by internet because I live back in Brazil and I talked to my dad and my mom and we decided that I was going to come here and there are so many universities in the United States to choose from and I just fell in love with the campus, the teachers at the campus, then I started to talk to people and email people and ask them questions like why should I choose their university.So I emailed like five or six universities and they emailed me and the people from Oregon State were just so friendly and so engaging and welcoming I just had the feeling that this was the right place and I was right!”
Choosing to major in Business, Diane says she will gain the knowledge and skills needed to eventually one day apply them in the business industry.“My major is Business for now, but I want to pursue an international business degree because I have always wanted to work with international affairs, international business I just think the thing that amazes me the most and that I always get excited about so I thought that Business would most likely take me to the path I want to go like an international path so I can travel a lot with a company or something.”
Diane says her time spent at Oregon State University has been good and she says the scholarship she received gives her an opportunity to share about her culture. “It’s been great. It’s just the way I imaged it.I love the campus, I love people here.People here are very friendly and we as international students we sometimes have a hard time making friends and getting involved, but here on campus it is so easy to get involved,” she says.
“There are so many activities and events and I have a scholarship, it’s called International Cultural Service Program and it’s a scholarship that is for international students and what we have to do is to give presentations and just share about our culture with the community and through that we do a lot of international things.We help with any international events when we can and through that I would meet so many people from different countries because here on campus we have I think about one thousand international students [on campus]. [Those] who have this scholarship would be about forty so we get to help with culture events and to give presentations either off campus or on campus and through this scholarship I’ve me so many people and have had so many great experiences just sharing about my culture and interacting with people from all over the world which is what I want to do with my life,” she says.“It is a great scholarship.It is a great experience.”
Receiving a scholarship Diane says has also kept her and her family from having to find ways to pay for her education here in America.“Also, it pays a big chunk of our tuition which is really good too and that is something that international students is always need and that is because the dollar rate always change every once in a while so that is something that most international students are worried about and here in the United States there are so many opportunities to get scholarships and that is one of the greatest scholarships they have here, so I am really glad to have that” she says.
“And my friends here, I live in the dorms also and it is a great way to get involved here on campus if you live in the dorms because you are interacting with peoples either American or other people from other countries too so it are just great.”
Graduation is a few years away for Diane; however she already has ideas as to what she would like to do.“I intend to graduate in 2012 hopefully, but I really don’t know I might stay longer because I have so many plans I want to study abroad first and go up to Germany because I’m learning German now and after I graduate as I said I want to work in international affairs international business so I think that my dream job would be to work for a company where I can travel and go to another countries and sell businesses and things like that and just help people too. I would love to go to parts of Africa, or to Asia where people sometimes struggle and help people through the company or something like that,” she says… that would be the job that I want, so there are a lot of things that I want to do.”
So I am attending Oregon State University in Oregon and I actually chose it by internet because I live back in Brazil and I talked to my dad and my mom and we decided that I was going to come here and there are so many universities in the United States to choose from and I just fell in love with the campus, the teachers at the campus, then I started to talk to people and email people and ask them questions like why should I choose their university.So I emailed like five or six universities and they emailed me and the people from Oregon State were just so friendly and so engaging and welcoming I just had the feeling that this was the right place and I was right!”
Choosing to major in Business, Diane says she will gain the knowledge and skills needed to eventually one day apply them in the business industry.“My major is Business for now, but I want to pursue an international business degree because I have always wanted to work with international affairs, international business I just think the thing that amazes me the most and that I always get excited about so I thought that Business would most likely take me to the path I want to go like an international path so I can travel a lot with a company or something.”
Diane says her time spent at Oregon State University has been good and she says the scholarship she received gives her an opportunity to share about her culture. “It’s been great. It’s just the way I imaged it.I love the campus, I love people here.People here are very friendly and we as international students we sometimes have a hard time making friends and getting involved, but here on campus it is so easy to get involved,” she says.
“There are so many activities and events and I have a scholarship, it’s called International Cultural Service Program and it’s a scholarship that is for international students and what we have to do is to give presentations and just share about our culture with the community and through that we do a lot of international things.We help with any international events when we can and through that I would meet so many people from different countries because here on campus we have I think about one thousand international students [on campus]. [Those] who have this scholarship would be about forty so we get to help with culture events and to give presentations either off campus or on campus and through this scholarship I’ve me so many people and have had so many great experiences just sharing about my culture and interacting with people from all over the world which is what I want to do with my life,” she says.“It is a great scholarship.It is a great experience.”
Receiving a scholarship Diane says has also kept her and her family from having to find ways to pay for her education here in America.“Also, it pays a big chunk of our tuition which is really good too and that is something that international students is always need and that is because the dollar rate always change every once in a while so that is something that most international students are worried about and here in the United States there are so many opportunities to get scholarships and that is one of the greatest scholarships they have here, so I am really glad to have that” she says.
“And my friends here, I live in the dorms also and it is a great way to get involved here on campus if you live in the dorms because you are interacting with peoples either American or other people from other countries too so it are just great.”
Graduation is a few years away for Diane; however she already has ideas as to what she would like to do.“I intend to graduate in 2012 hopefully, but I really don’t know I might stay longer because I have so many plans I want to study abroad first and go up to Germany because I’m learning German now and after I graduate as I said I want to work in international affairs international business so I think that my dream job would be to work for a company where I can travel and go to another countries and sell businesses and things like that and just help people too. I would love to go to parts of Africa, or to Asia where people sometimes struggle and help people through the company or something like that,” she says… that would be the job that I want, so there are a lot of things that I want to do.”
Friday, October 2, 2009
Scholarship From Country Sends Student to Youngstown State University
Its all because of a scholarship which is why Abdul Aziz Almoajil is in the United States.“I’m from Saudi Arabia and I decided to come to the United States because in Saudi Arabia right now they are now offering scholarships for us to study in the United States. The Saudi Arabian government started this program, King Abdullah scholarship and they are sending students to a lot of countries the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, parts of Europe I’m not sure which countries they are sending students to and they are paying everything.”
Abdul attends Youngstown State University located in Youngstown, Ohio. He has completed his sophomore year and he says that several factors came into play as to why he chose this university over many others. “First, I didn’t know anything about Youngstown State University.I was looking for a university that was not highly competitive like something in between….not so hard, not so easy,” he says. “Also, the admission was easy and the student body is not big or small, but like in between and the most important thing was no Saudis in the university so I can learn English.
Having some skills in computers made it easy for Abdul to decide to major in that field.His biggest challenge he says has been the English Language. “Its computer science and I’ve choose my major because anybody can program me, I’ve grown up using computers all day like since I was eight or nine, I was fascinated by them,” he says.“I have some programming experience in high school. At first I was a little bit anxious everything was new for me, but I’ve learned a lot of things like how to make contract for the dorms and language was at first an issue for me, but then it became easy after I learned the language issue.”
There is no question for Abdul that having good English skills is important. He says that alone is one reason why studying in the United States is essential to him. “Right now most companies even out of the United States one of their requirements for employees is to have good English skills so it’s so important for me so I can improve my English and also it has one of the best universities.”
Adbul says he will graduate in 2011. He says he may continue his masters studies here in the states, but he isn't too sure just what he will do. Another, however he has a few ideas in mind. “I think I’ll like when I graduate I have to go back to Saudi Arabia because I am a scholarship student, but I will try to apply for an optional training program if they allow me, the American government I will work for a year under the optional training program and if they don’t I will go back go to Saudi Arabia and find a job.”
When asked what advice he would give other international students about studying in the United States, Adbul says... “I advise them not to hesitate at all, not to feel any fear of being over here and being alone, not having any fear of the language, people over here are very friendly, they communicate very well they are willing to help and I really encourage them to come over here and improve their English and if they don’t have any at all to learn English and to graduate from over here.”
Abdul attends Youngstown State University located in Youngstown, Ohio. He has completed his sophomore year and he says that several factors came into play as to why he chose this university over many others. “First, I didn’t know anything about Youngstown State University.I was looking for a university that was not highly competitive like something in between….not so hard, not so easy,” he says. “Also, the admission was easy and the student body is not big or small, but like in between and the most important thing was no Saudis in the university so I can learn English.
Having some skills in computers made it easy for Abdul to decide to major in that field.His biggest challenge he says has been the English Language. “Its computer science and I’ve choose my major because anybody can program me, I’ve grown up using computers all day like since I was eight or nine, I was fascinated by them,” he says.“I have some programming experience in high school. At first I was a little bit anxious everything was new for me, but I’ve learned a lot of things like how to make contract for the dorms and language was at first an issue for me, but then it became easy after I learned the language issue.”
There is no question for Abdul that having good English skills is important. He says that alone is one reason why studying in the United States is essential to him. “Right now most companies even out of the United States one of their requirements for employees is to have good English skills so it’s so important for me so I can improve my English and also it has one of the best universities.”
Adbul says he will graduate in 2011. He says he may continue his masters studies here in the states, but he isn't too sure just what he will do. Another, however he has a few ideas in mind. “I think I’ll like when I graduate I have to go back to Saudi Arabia because I am a scholarship student, but I will try to apply for an optional training program if they allow me, the American government I will work for a year under the optional training program and if they don’t I will go back go to Saudi Arabia and find a job.”
When asked what advice he would give other international students about studying in the United States, Adbul says... “I advise them not to hesitate at all, not to feel any fear of being over here and being alone, not having any fear of the language, people over here are very friendly, they communicate very well they are willing to help and I really encourage them to come over here and improve their English and if they don’t have any at all to learn English and to graduate from over here.”
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Stanford Graduate Receives Fellowship to teach Mathematics to high school students
Growing up in India, Deepti Gupta realized the importance of education. She is a recent graduate and she tells us a bit about her background. “I was born in India and I lived in a small town called Allahabad it’s in Northern India and I moved here in two thousand with my family when I was thirteen and since then I have been in the San Francisco Bay area except for when I went down to University of California, San Diego to get my undergrad in Math and then I came back up here to go to Stanford University to get my teaching credentials and I just graduated from there a couple weeks ago,” she says.
“Now, I am just relaxing and preparing for full time teaching. It will be my first year teaching Math. I’ll be teaching ninth and tenth grade Algebra One and Geometry this year in Redwood City California.
Deepti is also one of the recipients of The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation or KSTF. She says although the selection process is rigorous she knows the fellowship will be of great support through her teaching career. “KSTF stands for The Knowles Science Teaching Fellowship and I was chosen through a rigorous process of letter recommendation, essays, transcripts, college transcripts and all that work and then an interview process which I flew off to Philadelphia for and it was a whole weekend long interview,” she says.
“This fellowship was established in 1999 to support, sustain and inspire high school science and math teachers that are just starting on their careers and that need a lot of support to stay in their career because approximately half of all secondary teachers leave the field within five years so the KSTF fellowship seeks to reverse the trend that is not just in the Bay area in California, but all of over the United States and they want to keep teachers in that field because it is so important and so that is why I decided to apply for the scholarship because I am a new Math teacher and I need that kind of support too,” she says.
Along with receiving pay from the school district where Deepti will teach in the fall, KSTF teaching fellows also receive tuition assistance of up to ten-thousand dollars per year for up to two years as well as a monthly stipend and financial support for summer professional development. Deepti says now, she wants to aspire her students. “My parents have always instilled the value of an education in me and my brother that it can help in social mobility, it can open up lots of opportunities in life and you won’t have to worry about what you are doing, your money and your family and everything if you get a good education and then a career,” she says.
“So that is why I became a teacher to help other students in the next generation. Also, I realize the value of education and how important it is to having a good life and my goal and hope for my students is to prepare them for jobs that probably don’t even exist right now, that they don’t even know about because we are a growing population and we create new opportunities for our students everyday and I also hope that my students become efficient communicators and logical thinkers and critical thinkers because that is what we need in this cut throat market and economy today.”
Deepti says she is committed to teaching mathematics in the United States high schools. Her advice to other students who may be considering teaching as a career after college. “Math and Science both are definitely important because it is not about the Pythagorean Theorem or the formula for the area of a triangle, but it is about the way you think. That’s what employers are looking for. They are looking for that edge if you have it. You know are you able to solve a problem. Are you able to think out loud or think outside of the box and that is what we as Math and Science teachers are trying to help our students do,” she says. “Who cares if you don’t have the area of a triangle memorized? Do you know what a triangle is? Do you know what area means? It’s the deeper concepts behind them is what is important,” she says.
“So, with my credentials from Stanford I am able to teach all levels of Math in high school up to Calculus, AB and BC and I enjoy Mathematics because it makes so much sense and we see it everywhere where ever we go in the world, so if anybody is thinking about teaching I would definitely encourage them to go to the website, its KSTF-dot-org and check it out and see if you want to apply if they would like this kind of support because it is wonderful and it is up to five years and then also talk to their teachers, talk to their professors and see what a day in their life is like if that is what they really want to do.”
“Now, I am just relaxing and preparing for full time teaching. It will be my first year teaching Math. I’ll be teaching ninth and tenth grade Algebra One and Geometry this year in Redwood City California.
Deepti is also one of the recipients of The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation or KSTF. She says although the selection process is rigorous she knows the fellowship will be of great support through her teaching career. “KSTF stands for The Knowles Science Teaching Fellowship and I was chosen through a rigorous process of letter recommendation, essays, transcripts, college transcripts and all that work and then an interview process which I flew off to Philadelphia for and it was a whole weekend long interview,” she says.
“This fellowship was established in 1999 to support, sustain and inspire high school science and math teachers that are just starting on their careers and that need a lot of support to stay in their career because approximately half of all secondary teachers leave the field within five years so the KSTF fellowship seeks to reverse the trend that is not just in the Bay area in California, but all of over the United States and they want to keep teachers in that field because it is so important and so that is why I decided to apply for the scholarship because I am a new Math teacher and I need that kind of support too,” she says.
Along with receiving pay from the school district where Deepti will teach in the fall, KSTF teaching fellows also receive tuition assistance of up to ten-thousand dollars per year for up to two years as well as a monthly stipend and financial support for summer professional development. Deepti says now, she wants to aspire her students. “My parents have always instilled the value of an education in me and my brother that it can help in social mobility, it can open up lots of opportunities in life and you won’t have to worry about what you are doing, your money and your family and everything if you get a good education and then a career,” she says.
“So that is why I became a teacher to help other students in the next generation. Also, I realize the value of education and how important it is to having a good life and my goal and hope for my students is to prepare them for jobs that probably don’t even exist right now, that they don’t even know about because we are a growing population and we create new opportunities for our students everyday and I also hope that my students become efficient communicators and logical thinkers and critical thinkers because that is what we need in this cut throat market and economy today.”
Deepti says she is committed to teaching mathematics in the United States high schools. Her advice to other students who may be considering teaching as a career after college. “Math and Science both are definitely important because it is not about the Pythagorean Theorem or the formula for the area of a triangle, but it is about the way you think. That’s what employers are looking for. They are looking for that edge if you have it. You know are you able to solve a problem. Are you able to think out loud or think outside of the box and that is what we as Math and Science teachers are trying to help our students do,” she says. “Who cares if you don’t have the area of a triangle memorized? Do you know what a triangle is? Do you know what area means? It’s the deeper concepts behind them is what is important,” she says.
“So, with my credentials from Stanford I am able to teach all levels of Math in high school up to Calculus, AB and BC and I enjoy Mathematics because it makes so much sense and we see it everywhere where ever we go in the world, so if anybody is thinking about teaching I would definitely encourage them to go to the website, its KSTF-dot-org and check it out and see if you want to apply if they would like this kind of support because it is wonderful and it is up to five years and then also talk to their teachers, talk to their professors and see what a day in their life is like if that is what they really want to do.”
Monday, August 10, 2009
For Inventor-Entrepreneur Dean Kamen, the Future is Now
Dean Kamen's name - and his list of patents - are almost legendary among today's inventors and entrepreneurs. But the general public may know him best as the creator of the Segway Personal Transporter. Designed for a single, upright driver, the two-wheeled, self-balancing electric device can move across almost any level surface.
When it was introduced in 2001, some predicted the Segway would revolutionize how people get around. That hasn't quite happened. Yet Kamen continues to invent devices, mostly for the health care field.
"Actually," says Kamen, "the Segway grew out of one of those devices."
Ten years in development, it was called the "iBot," and its purpose was to revolutionize the way the disabled get around. The iBot looked like a very sophisticated wheelchair, but in contrast to traditional wheelchairs, it enabled people to be at eye level with their non-disabled peers and to climb steps and street curbs.
"In order to do those things," says Kamen, "we needed to figure out how to restore [synthesize] human balance."
After 10 years in development, the iBot was brought to market in 2003.
Innovator gets an early start
Kamen's career as an inventor began when he was only 5 years old, when he devised a system of knobs and pulleys that would straighten the sheets and blankets on his bed each morning automatically.
In high school, Kamen devised a groundbreaking audio-visual system that he eventually sold to planetariums worldwide. After a stint in college, he teamed up with his brother - a medical student at the time - to develop the world's first automatic syringe for premature infants.
"But soon we found we could build these little pumps, and instead of [just] putting them on these babies, we could [also] put them on the belt of a full-grown adult and deliver insulin to diabetics, which became a very large opportunity for my little company."
Kamen eventually moved out of his basement laboratory at his parents' Long Island, New York home and sold that business to a large pharmaceutical company in order to move on to invent new devices for the health and medical fields.
Health care inventions help people lead fuller lives
One important innovation by Kamen's company, DEKA Research and Development, was a kidney dialysis machine patients could use at home. Until Kamen's "Homechoice PD" was introduced in 1995, most people suffering from kidney disease had to be in the hospital several times a week to flush out the accumulated toxins in their bodies.
Recently, Kamen and his team of engineers also created the so-called "DEKA Arm." It is a bionic, or electro-mechanical, arm capable of movements so precise it allows upper-arm amputees to grasp small objects. The arm is also powerful enough to lift objects weighing up to 18 kilograms. The DEKA Arm is now in being clinically tested.
"One of the great things about working on medical products is you can 'do good while you are doing well.' It's a good business, and somehow at the end of the day, when you are going to bed tired because you have really tough problems… you go to bed completely happy, because you are going to be giving health and life to people."
Device could bring clean drinking water to millions
One essential ingredient for health and life is clean water. Yet around the world, lack of access to clean drinking water puts the lives and well-being of millions of people at risk. So Kamen and his engineers designed a small, portable water purification machine that could be brought to any village or urban slum in the world. It's a simple device with two hoses in it.
"You stick one hose into anything that looks wet, no matter what's wrong with the water," says Kamen, "and out the other hose comes out absolutely pure water. The device can make a thousand liters of water a day, while using less total electric input than a handheld hair dryer.
"Now we have to figure out how to get these boxes put all over the world."
Inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs
Kamen says his most gratifying invention to date isn't a machine, but an educational foundation called FIRST, which is an acronym meaning "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." Kamen explains that the organization is devoted to bringing hands-on science and engineering education to young people who may be more interested in basketball and pop stars than the next great life-saving device or renewable-energy source.
The foundation's main activity is a competition for high school students that Kamen calls a "varsity sport of the mind." To participate, student team are given a bag of assorted parts and told build a robot that can perform a certain task of Kamen's choosing. At the premier FIRST Robotics Championship in 1992, 28 high school teams competed in a gym. In 2009, nearly 1,700 teams and their mentors competed at the 72-thousand seat Georgia Dome stadium.
"I started FIRST because I believe that if you can show kids just a little bit that science and technology is accessible, it is rewarding, it is fun, by putting them in a venue where it is presented as entertainment, they'll never go back."
Instead, he hopes, "they will start a serious life of starting to think about science and technology, studying math and physics, and they'll become the next generation of great innovators."
Today, Dean Kamen is a wealthy man with two large houses, two helicopters, a private jet, and millions of dollars in the bank. But Kamen measures his true wealth by how much he's been able to help others.
"I hope," Kamen says, "that someday people will say of me, 'He put back more into the world than he took out, and he took out a lot!'"
When it was introduced in 2001, some predicted the Segway would revolutionize how people get around. That hasn't quite happened. Yet Kamen continues to invent devices, mostly for the health care field."Actually," says Kamen, "the Segway grew out of one of those devices."
Ten years in development, it was called the "iBot," and its purpose was to revolutionize the way the disabled get around. The iBot looked like a very sophisticated wheelchair, but in contrast to traditional wheelchairs, it enabled people to be at eye level with their non-disabled peers and to climb steps and street curbs.
"In order to do those things," says Kamen, "we needed to figure out how to restore [synthesize] human balance."
After 10 years in development, the iBot was brought to market in 2003.
Innovator gets an early start
Kamen's career as an inventor began when he was only 5 years old, when he devised a system of knobs and pulleys that would straighten the sheets and blankets on his bed each morning automatically.
In high school, Kamen devised a groundbreaking audio-visual system that he eventually sold to planetariums worldwide. After a stint in college, he teamed up with his brother - a medical student at the time - to develop the world's first automatic syringe for premature infants.
"But soon we found we could build these little pumps, and instead of [just] putting them on these babies, we could [also] put them on the belt of a full-grown adult and deliver insulin to diabetics, which became a very large opportunity for my little company."
Kamen eventually moved out of his basement laboratory at his parents' Long Island, New York home and sold that business to a large pharmaceutical company in order to move on to invent new devices for the health and medical fields.
Health care inventions help people lead fuller lives
One important innovation by Kamen's company, DEKA Research and Development, was a kidney dialysis machine patients could use at home. Until Kamen's "Homechoice PD" was introduced in 1995, most people suffering from kidney disease had to be in the hospital several times a week to flush out the accumulated toxins in their bodies.
Recently, Kamen and his team of engineers also created the so-called "DEKA Arm." It is a bionic, or electro-mechanical, arm capable of movements so precise it allows upper-arm amputees to grasp small objects. The arm is also powerful enough to lift objects weighing up to 18 kilograms. The DEKA Arm is now in being clinically tested.
"One of the great things about working on medical products is you can 'do good while you are doing well.' It's a good business, and somehow at the end of the day, when you are going to bed tired because you have really tough problems… you go to bed completely happy, because you are going to be giving health and life to people."
Device could bring clean drinking water to millions
One essential ingredient for health and life is clean water. Yet around the world, lack of access to clean drinking water puts the lives and well-being of millions of people at risk. So Kamen and his engineers designed a small, portable water purification machine that could be brought to any village or urban slum in the world. It's a simple device with two hoses in it.
"You stick one hose into anything that looks wet, no matter what's wrong with the water," says Kamen, "and out the other hose comes out absolutely pure water. The device can make a thousand liters of water a day, while using less total electric input than a handheld hair dryer.
"Now we have to figure out how to get these boxes put all over the world."
Inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs
Kamen says his most gratifying invention to date isn't a machine, but an educational foundation called FIRST, which is an acronym meaning "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." Kamen explains that the organization is devoted to bringing hands-on science and engineering education to young people who may be more interested in basketball and pop stars than the next great life-saving device or renewable-energy source.
The foundation's main activity is a competition for high school students that Kamen calls a "varsity sport of the mind." To participate, student team are given a bag of assorted parts and told build a robot that can perform a certain task of Kamen's choosing. At the premier FIRST Robotics Championship in 1992, 28 high school teams competed in a gym. In 2009, nearly 1,700 teams and their mentors competed at the 72-thousand seat Georgia Dome stadium."I started FIRST because I believe that if you can show kids just a little bit that science and technology is accessible, it is rewarding, it is fun, by putting them in a venue where it is presented as entertainment, they'll never go back."
Instead, he hopes, "they will start a serious life of starting to think about science and technology, studying math and physics, and they'll become the next generation of great innovators."
Today, Dean Kamen is a wealthy man with two large houses, two helicopters, a private jet, and millions of dollars in the bank. But Kamen measures his true wealth by how much he's been able to help others.
"I hope," Kamen says, "that someday people will say of me, 'He put back more into the world than he took out, and he took out a lot!'"
Sunday, July 19, 2009
US College Teams Invent for a Better World
Twelve teams were selected from 100 applicants to participate in the March Madness for the Mind. The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, or NCIIA, sponsors the event, which takes its name from the annual collegiate basketball tournament in the United States known as March Madness.
While inventions ran the gamut from a 3D imaging system to device to diagnose dizziness, many of the projects targeted the developing world. "I really think it is a testament to students in the U.S. today that there is a lot more awareness of global issues," says Humera Fasihuddin, a program manager at NCIIA. "There are students working on some pretty big problems."
Telemedicine in East Africa
Problems like a lack of doctors in rural East Africa, where they have one doctor for every 50,000 people. Julia Wittig of Pennsylvania State University. "A lot of times making the decision whether to go to the doctor or not is one of the most important [decisions they make]," says Julia Wittig of Pennsylvania State University. "If you are living in a rural area, it takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money."Wittig and other students from Pennsylvania State University developed a global telemedicine system to address that issue by using a laptop and cell phone connection to transmit data from rural communities to a Web server. "Doctors around the world as well as local doctors can access [the data] and provide feedback." Sensors that measure heart rhythm, temperature, and blood pressure can be connected directly to the laptop. The data is recorded and transmitted to the Web server, where a doctor can review it and determine whether the patient needs to be seen in person or not. Wittig's team went to Tanzania last summer to do feasibility studies and will test the system this summer in Kenya.
A new lantern and a human-powered water pump
Cooper Union's team traveled to Ghana to assess needs there. The community they met with asked them to design a better source of light. "Currently charities go over there and give away a lot of lanterns, but they pretty much break after six months," says Anurag Panda. "We provide a small kit and the community builds their own lantern, learns how to use the equipment, so it's a self-sustaining project."
Agriculture was the focus of the engineering team from Washington State University. Brendan Dallas says they traveled to Malawi to test their water pump, which is so easy to use, even a child can operate it. "We specifically designed it to be used [with] human power, because electricity isn't an option," Dallas says. He notes the pump is made of materials that are readily available in the regions where it will be used. "That means more jobs in those locations." Although the pumps are designed to handle heavy use and rugged conditions, using materials that are readily available also means they are easy to repair if they should break.
Wheelchairs from bicycles
Easy repair was the primary concern of a team from the California Institute of Technology that developed a design for a wheelchair. "If you have a wheelchair that can be repaired in country, you can get it repaired cheaper and faster," says Daniel Oliver, executive director of Intelligent Mobility International, a non-profit organization he and several friends formed after graduating.
Their wheelchair is made from bicycle bearings, wheels and tires. "If any of those parts wear out or break, the user can take the chair into any bike shop, which are prevalent throughout the developing world, and get them fixed instantly." Like most of the projects on display at March Madness for the Mind, the wheelchair originated as a class project. Oliver says the class Engineering for the Developing World was a way for him to use his engineering skills "to instantly make a difference." Intelligent Mobility International is already producing its wheelchair in Guatemala. The other teams are still fine-tuning their projects, but hope to have them in communities where they can make a difference soon.
While inventions ran the gamut from a 3D imaging system to device to diagnose dizziness, many of the projects targeted the developing world. "I really think it is a testament to students in the U.S. today that there is a lot more awareness of global issues," says Humera Fasihuddin, a program manager at NCIIA. "There are students working on some pretty big problems."
Telemedicine in East Africa
Problems like a lack of doctors in rural East Africa, where they have one doctor for every 50,000 people. Julia Wittig of Pennsylvania State University. "A lot of times making the decision whether to go to the doctor or not is one of the most important [decisions they make]," says Julia Wittig of Pennsylvania State University. "If you are living in a rural area, it takes a lot of time and costs a lot of money."Wittig and other students from Pennsylvania State University developed a global telemedicine system to address that issue by using a laptop and cell phone connection to transmit data from rural communities to a Web server. "Doctors around the world as well as local doctors can access [the data] and provide feedback." Sensors that measure heart rhythm, temperature, and blood pressure can be connected directly to the laptop. The data is recorded and transmitted to the Web server, where a doctor can review it and determine whether the patient needs to be seen in person or not. Wittig's team went to Tanzania last summer to do feasibility studies and will test the system this summer in Kenya.
A new lantern and a human-powered water pump
Cooper Union's team traveled to Ghana to assess needs there. The community they met with asked them to design a better source of light. "Currently charities go over there and give away a lot of lanterns, but they pretty much break after six months," says Anurag Panda. "We provide a small kit and the community builds their own lantern, learns how to use the equipment, so it's a self-sustaining project."
Agriculture was the focus of the engineering team from Washington State University. Brendan Dallas says they traveled to Malawi to test their water pump, which is so easy to use, even a child can operate it. "We specifically designed it to be used [with] human power, because electricity isn't an option," Dallas says. He notes the pump is made of materials that are readily available in the regions where it will be used. "That means more jobs in those locations." Although the pumps are designed to handle heavy use and rugged conditions, using materials that are readily available also means they are easy to repair if they should break.
Wheelchairs from bicycles
Easy repair was the primary concern of a team from the California Institute of Technology that developed a design for a wheelchair. "If you have a wheelchair that can be repaired in country, you can get it repaired cheaper and faster," says Daniel Oliver, executive director of Intelligent Mobility International, a non-profit organization he and several friends formed after graduating.
Their wheelchair is made from bicycle bearings, wheels and tires. "If any of those parts wear out or break, the user can take the chair into any bike shop, which are prevalent throughout the developing world, and get them fixed instantly." Like most of the projects on display at March Madness for the Mind, the wheelchair originated as a class project. Oliver says the class Engineering for the Developing World was a way for him to use his engineering skills "to instantly make a difference." Intelligent Mobility International is already producing its wheelchair in Guatemala. The other teams are still fine-tuning their projects, but hope to have them in communities where they can make a difference soon.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Number of Foreign Students at US Universities Increasing
After the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the number of foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities dropped off, mostly due to tightened visa restrictions. But the numbers have now rebounded, and foreign students are entering the U.S. education system at record rates.The number of international students at American colleges and universities increased by seven percent last year, to nearly 624,000, according to The Institute of International Education.
Foreign students contributed more than $15 billion to an economy in dire need of their money.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
GREEN REVOLUTION: GROWTH IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AT US UNIVERSITIES
In recent years, a number of majors, minors and concentrations with names like sustainable food systems, organic agriculture, and agroecology have cropped up in colleges of agriculture nationwide. Not simply synonymous with "organic," but incorporating that aspect under its umbrella, sustainable agriculture programs are often interdisciplinary in nature.
Developed to varying degrees in response to rising student interest in all things green, a changing food industry, and diminishing enrollments in more traditional agricultural programs, "these programs are one of the latter indicators of things changing because they require acceptance by faculty and administrators," says Damian Parr, a doctoral candidate in agricultural and environmental education at the University of California at Davis.
What programs exist in this field?
The University of Maine, it's fair to say, was way ahead of the pack; the university launched a bachelor of science degree in sustainable agriculture in 1988. There, too, sustainable agriculture was seen as an antidote for declining enrollments.
Meanwhile, Montana State University's sustainable food and bioenergy systems undergraduate major is brand-new, having been approved by the Board of Regents in November. The B.S. degree is jointly run by the College of Agriculture and the College of Education, Health and Human Development, which houses nutrition, explains Mary Stein, the program coordinator. "I think this program does a nice job addressing not only the agricultural production aspect but also the implications for human health, for local economies, for farm viability, preservation of farmland. I think taking a systems approach to these problems is really a strength of this program."
In 2006, as part of a larger curricular effort to emphasize whole agricultural and food systems, Washington State University created a new major in organic agriculture systems. Undergraduate certificates are also available, and in 2008 the university launched a graduate certificate in sustainable agriculture, says Jessica Goldberger, an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Rural Sociology. In assessing the various programs, they've found that students "are very much enjoying the hands-on learning experiences,"
she says. "And I think you see that across the country, this demand for more out-of-the-classroom, practical learning experiences.
Students are very much enjoying these kinds of classes, especially since a lot of the students that are attracted to sustainable and organic agricultural programs don't necessarily have agricultural backgrounds."
Developed to varying degrees in response to rising student interest in all things green, a changing food industry, and diminishing enrollments in more traditional agricultural programs, "these programs are one of the latter indicators of things changing because they require acceptance by faculty and administrators," says Damian Parr, a doctoral candidate in agricultural and environmental education at the University of California at Davis.
What programs exist in this field?
The University of Maine, it's fair to say, was way ahead of the pack; the university launched a bachelor of science degree in sustainable agriculture in 1988. There, too, sustainable agriculture was seen as an antidote for declining enrollments.
Meanwhile, Montana State University's sustainable food and bioenergy systems undergraduate major is brand-new, having been approved by the Board of Regents in November. The B.S. degree is jointly run by the College of Agriculture and the College of Education, Health and Human Development, which houses nutrition, explains Mary Stein, the program coordinator. "I think this program does a nice job addressing not only the agricultural production aspect but also the implications for human health, for local economies, for farm viability, preservation of farmland. I think taking a systems approach to these problems is really a strength of this program."
In 2006, as part of a larger curricular effort to emphasize whole agricultural and food systems, Washington State University created a new major in organic agriculture systems. Undergraduate certificates are also available, and in 2008 the university launched a graduate certificate in sustainable agriculture, says Jessica Goldberger, an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Rural Sociology. In assessing the various programs, they've found that students "are very much enjoying the hands-on learning experiences,"
she says. "And I think you see that across the country, this demand for more out-of-the-classroom, practical learning experiences.
Students are very much enjoying these kinds of classes, especially since a lot of the students that are attracted to sustainable and organic agricultural programs don't necessarily have agricultural backgrounds."
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Biomedical Research Interests Student Studying at Columbia University
Profile of Enkelejda Bashllari - Download MP3
Listen to Profile of Enkelejda Bashllari
Enkelejda Bashllari came to the United States as an exchange student on an academic program when she was seventeen. Now, the Albania native is in the city of New York furthering her education. “Currently, I am a PhD candidate at the Columbia University Medical Center studying for a very inter-disclipinary program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biophysics. I do Biomedical research and I am on a full scholarship to attend Columbia University.”
The field of science has always interest Enkelejda. The twenty-five year old says her major gives her a sense of satisfaction to be learning so much about it. “Biomedical research makes me feel intellectually satisfied. It challenges me, perplexes me, but at the end of the day it makes me fulfilled,” she says. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. This is in addition to the fact that I have always had an interest in Science. I have always been very curious since I was very young,” she says.
“I think my parents, especially my father based on my questions at a very early age about how things worked felt that his daughter was going to be a scientist.”
Working with prominent leaders also has been rewarding. “Columbia University is a very good institution and has a collaborative environment and for the program that I study it is one of the best in the world,” she says.
“Here we have two noble prize winners for medicine, Dr. Kandel and Dr. Axel and many other very prominent scientific leaders in the community such as the person that I work with right now, Dr. Oliver Hobert.”
Enkelejda says international students as well as scholars attending Columbia play a big part in the community. “Well, Columbia University is a very international community and it brings together some of the most amazing people from all over the world. I have met here amazing students which have done so much with their life and have so much to talk about and tell about and they come from so many different countries,” she says.
“Right now some of my closest friends, one is from Tokyo, Japan and I never thought that one of the people that is closest to me would come from a culture that is so different from mine," she says.
"Also, I met several people from southern India. So, I think that is definitely Columbia’s greatest thing, its international community that it offers. You meet so many people with so many diverse backgrounds in this community of great scholars.”
This is Enkelejda's third year in her PhD program. She says once she is finish she is willing to work anywhere and will probably be doing some kind of research. “I think I would like to see myself doing some kind of research and I think that is what is going to happen is that I am going to be doing research, I don’t know in which kind of environment if it is going to be academia or industrial or maybe if … I am interested in also international because of my background and because I have had so many experiences in different countries I am also very interested in international policy of research,” she says. “How policies are made. That is also an interest of mine.”
Her advice to others interested in attending college in the United States is..”Things are not good or bad. They are just different. So I think that is the best advice that I can give to the coming international students who are coming to the United States,” she says. “It is a very different society.
It is a very different culture and they should not judge based on their ideas on their previous definition of (I don’t know) morality or just because things are different therefore they are bad, no that is not the case. It is not good or it is not bad. It is just different. So I think that is very important.”
Listen to Profile of Enkelejda Bashllari
Enkelejda Bashllari came to the United States as an exchange student on an academic program when she was seventeen. Now, the Albania native is in the city of New York furthering her education. “Currently, I am a PhD candidate at the Columbia University Medical Center studying for a very inter-disclipinary program in Cellular, Molecular, and Biophysics. I do Biomedical research and I am on a full scholarship to attend Columbia University.”
The field of science has always interest Enkelejda. The twenty-five year old says her major gives her a sense of satisfaction to be learning so much about it. “Biomedical research makes me feel intellectually satisfied. It challenges me, perplexes me, but at the end of the day it makes me fulfilled,” she says. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. This is in addition to the fact that I have always had an interest in Science. I have always been very curious since I was very young,” she says.
“I think my parents, especially my father based on my questions at a very early age about how things worked felt that his daughter was going to be a scientist.”
Working with prominent leaders also has been rewarding. “Columbia University is a very good institution and has a collaborative environment and for the program that I study it is one of the best in the world,” she says.
“Here we have two noble prize winners for medicine, Dr. Kandel and Dr. Axel and many other very prominent scientific leaders in the community such as the person that I work with right now, Dr. Oliver Hobert.”
Enkelejda says international students as well as scholars attending Columbia play a big part in the community. “Well, Columbia University is a very international community and it brings together some of the most amazing people from all over the world. I have met here amazing students which have done so much with their life and have so much to talk about and tell about and they come from so many different countries,” she says.
“Right now some of my closest friends, one is from Tokyo, Japan and I never thought that one of the people that is closest to me would come from a culture that is so different from mine," she says.
"Also, I met several people from southern India. So, I think that is definitely Columbia’s greatest thing, its international community that it offers. You meet so many people with so many diverse backgrounds in this community of great scholars.”
This is Enkelejda's third year in her PhD program. She says once she is finish she is willing to work anywhere and will probably be doing some kind of research. “I think I would like to see myself doing some kind of research and I think that is what is going to happen is that I am going to be doing research, I don’t know in which kind of environment if it is going to be academia or industrial or maybe if … I am interested in also international because of my background and because I have had so many experiences in different countries I am also very interested in international policy of research,” she says. “How policies are made. That is also an interest of mine.”
Her advice to others interested in attending college in the United States is..”Things are not good or bad. They are just different. So I think that is the best advice that I can give to the coming international students who are coming to the United States,” she says. “It is a very different society.
It is a very different culture and they should not judge based on their ideas on their previous definition of (I don’t know) morality or just because things are different therefore they are bad, no that is not the case. It is not good or it is not bad. It is just different. So I think that is very important.”
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Princeton University Gives Research Skills To Student From Singapore
Profile of Sara Oon - Download mp3
Listen to Profile of Sara Oon
Profile of Sara Oon - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Sara Oon
Sara OonSara Oon is a sophomore at Princeton University. She says education is something that is important, both in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. “Well I think education is necessary process that you have to go through in order to gain the skills that you’re required for the rest of your life and in the process it keeps you thinking and gets you in the habit of being more acceptive of learning,” she says.
"To me education is not something in the classroom or what you learn from your professors, but also learning about people through talking to others, interaction with others, learning about different cultures, different beliefs and in the process become more understanding, more worldly kind of person," she says. “It is not just what you get out of a textbook, but how to survive.”
Selecting Princeton as the place to study happened while going on a college tour with her parents. “I’m from Singapore and I knew that I would get the best education here because I like the liberal arts education as oppose to in Singapore where it’s the British system, so you have to choose your major before you apply to an university and you have to stick with the same subject area for the entire studies while at the university,” she says.
"My parents took me on a college tour of a few universities in the U.S. and out of all those that I visited I liked Princeton the best."
Sara is 19 years old. In high school Sara did a paper, which led her to her major now which is Operations Research and Financial Engineering. “I read up quite a bit about Operations Research before because their optimization seems to fascinate me and I also did a research project on it in high school and I managed to get my scientific paper published so I have quite a bit of background in operations research and now I am hoping to move towards finance side of that subject.” Sara says one of her challenges since being here is adjusting to the education system at Princeton. “Well it is a very different experience from the Singapore system and at first it was quite difficult adjusting not just to the culture, but also to the education system. We learn different things in school so when everyone from different high schools got together they talk about what they learn and it was a lot more similar than what I had learn and the education system is different because in Singapore we are use to having a big exam at the end of two years so we have been studying and none of the test in between count at all towards our grade,” she says.
"Over here it is different because participation counts, you have your midterm assignments and everything counts in a way towards your grade so it small for a consistence effort, but in Singapore its completely different so at first I wasn’t use to it, but now I am getting the hang of it after a year."
One thing Sara says she has come to realize is the wide variety of cultures and international scope many students have that attend Princeton. “Officially, they say that ten percent of students here are international, but I think that a lot of students at least fifty-percent of students here have some kind of international experience or a perspective, because I have met so many people who are not considered international sense because they graduated from local high school, but they spent part of their lives in other countries or their parents are from another country so they know a lot about it or they have traveled very extensively or some of them who were born here and studied partly here and partly overseas all these people have contributed to diversity and a very international campus,” she says. “One with a very global perspective and a very rich variety of cultures.
Graduation for Sara is in 2010. She says she is considering graduate school. “I’m thinking about going to professional possibly business school or maybe get an MPA, Master’s in Public Administration. I think my major is very versatile so I can do basically anything I want with it,” she says. “Most people go to the finance side of the job, and that is definitely a possibly for me, but I think I am open to a more any kind of prosessional.
Listen to Profile of Sara Oon
Profile of Sara Oon - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Sara Oon
Sara OonSara Oon is a sophomore at Princeton University. She says education is something that is important, both in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. “Well I think education is necessary process that you have to go through in order to gain the skills that you’re required for the rest of your life and in the process it keeps you thinking and gets you in the habit of being more acceptive of learning,” she says.
"To me education is not something in the classroom or what you learn from your professors, but also learning about people through talking to others, interaction with others, learning about different cultures, different beliefs and in the process become more understanding, more worldly kind of person," she says. “It is not just what you get out of a textbook, but how to survive.”
Selecting Princeton as the place to study happened while going on a college tour with her parents. “I’m from Singapore and I knew that I would get the best education here because I like the liberal arts education as oppose to in Singapore where it’s the British system, so you have to choose your major before you apply to an university and you have to stick with the same subject area for the entire studies while at the university,” she says.
"My parents took me on a college tour of a few universities in the U.S. and out of all those that I visited I liked Princeton the best."
Sara is 19 years old. In high school Sara did a paper, which led her to her major now which is Operations Research and Financial Engineering. “I read up quite a bit about Operations Research before because their optimization seems to fascinate me and I also did a research project on it in high school and I managed to get my scientific paper published so I have quite a bit of background in operations research and now I am hoping to move towards finance side of that subject.” Sara says one of her challenges since being here is adjusting to the education system at Princeton. “Well it is a very different experience from the Singapore system and at first it was quite difficult adjusting not just to the culture, but also to the education system. We learn different things in school so when everyone from different high schools got together they talk about what they learn and it was a lot more similar than what I had learn and the education system is different because in Singapore we are use to having a big exam at the end of two years so we have been studying and none of the test in between count at all towards our grade,” she says.
"Over here it is different because participation counts, you have your midterm assignments and everything counts in a way towards your grade so it small for a consistence effort, but in Singapore its completely different so at first I wasn’t use to it, but now I am getting the hang of it after a year."
One thing Sara says she has come to realize is the wide variety of cultures and international scope many students have that attend Princeton. “Officially, they say that ten percent of students here are international, but I think that a lot of students at least fifty-percent of students here have some kind of international experience or a perspective, because I have met so many people who are not considered international sense because they graduated from local high school, but they spent part of their lives in other countries or their parents are from another country so they know a lot about it or they have traveled very extensively or some of them who were born here and studied partly here and partly overseas all these people have contributed to diversity and a very international campus,” she says. “One with a very global perspective and a very rich variety of cultures.
Graduation for Sara is in 2010. She says she is considering graduate school. “I’m thinking about going to professional possibly business school or maybe get an MPA, Master’s in Public Administration. I think my major is very versatile so I can do basically anything I want with it,” she says. “Most people go to the finance side of the job, and that is definitely a possibly for me, but I think I am open to a more any kind of prosessional.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Student Studies Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth
Profile of Tamara Miskovic - Download (MP3)
Profile of Tamara Miskovic - Listen (MP3)
Receiving support from the University of Minnesota Duluth is the reason Tamara Miskovic is attending the university at this time. “I am from Bosnia and Herzegovina actually from the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina name Sarajevo and I came to the United States two months ago starting my social work master’s program here. Then I had an interview with the Dean of UMD,” she says. “Actually, I came here because people from the University of Minnesota Duluth were willing to support me because for young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina it is very difficult to afford money and to come abroad to study. So I got support and that was the main reason for my decision to come and study at the University of Minnesota.”
As the twenty-seven year old works towards a master's degree in social work, Tamara says her interest in the field started back home after realizing that her peers as well as herself needed basic services after the war there. "Actually, I finish social work at the university in Sarajevo and that was after the war. I was a kid during the war so social work is a human science and it attracted me to start changing not only something for myself, but also for the community and my peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” she says.
“So after the war there was a huge rate of unemployment. No one guaranteed that they would find employment when they finish studying. Also, if I go back to my country with my master’s degree no one will guarantee that I will be able to find work. We can always work but voluntary. Also, these days there is post-traumatic syndrome with kids who are growing up divided between religions Catholic Bosnia’s is what we call them or orthodox so the country is divided. "I work there on integrating and reconciliation through different projects and activities to save those kids there,” she says.
“Also, people are in state of basic social needs or basic human needs. They need food. They need clothes and they need it now immediately and society has bigger problems and can't give support to kids so we have to do something for ourselves and care for ourselves so that is one of the reasons and how I decided and started with social work.”
Tamara says the university is a great place and she likes the diversity among students as well as the flexibility of the professors. “The first thing that I realize immediately when I came to the university was the differences and diversity among students and for me to be among those things was a huge and very big deal,” she says.
“I liked it so much and the other thing is the program and how it is created. How theory and practice are very integrated, but sometimes we lack in other countries so I got the opportunity immediately to implement everything that I studied. Also, flexibility and openness of professors is another thing that I like so much so I have to study hard, but that is something that I like and that gives me an opportunity to learn as much as possible.”
As an international student, Tamara says one thing she would like to achieve is meeting and becoming friends with American students. “This year I was thinking I was not culture shock, but again I had to go through the process and also I am alone here I don’t have any family," she says.
"Actually I have a host mother who helped me and with whom I live now, but international students are alone here when they don’t have their community then it is more difficult for them to deal with the culture shock,” she says.
“The question I am asking people around is how to make friends with American peers, with people from America who study with us. Sometimes what I see at the university is that there are multi-cultural clubs, but I am just afraid that it is only multi-cultural people that I see there. I would like more Americans to be involved with us and to be with us and I would like us to become friends.”
As for graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Tamara says...”If everything is okay I should graduate in May 2009."
Profile of Tamara Miskovic - Listen (MP3)
Receiving support from the University of Minnesota Duluth is the reason Tamara Miskovic is attending the university at this time. “I am from Bosnia and Herzegovina actually from the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina name Sarajevo and I came to the United States two months ago starting my social work master’s program here. Then I had an interview with the Dean of UMD,” she says. “Actually, I came here because people from the University of Minnesota Duluth were willing to support me because for young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina it is very difficult to afford money and to come abroad to study. So I got support and that was the main reason for my decision to come and study at the University of Minnesota.”
As the twenty-seven year old works towards a master's degree in social work, Tamara says her interest in the field started back home after realizing that her peers as well as herself needed basic services after the war there. "Actually, I finish social work at the university in Sarajevo and that was after the war. I was a kid during the war so social work is a human science and it attracted me to start changing not only something for myself, but also for the community and my peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” she says.
“So after the war there was a huge rate of unemployment. No one guaranteed that they would find employment when they finish studying. Also, if I go back to my country with my master’s degree no one will guarantee that I will be able to find work. We can always work but voluntary. Also, these days there is post-traumatic syndrome with kids who are growing up divided between religions Catholic Bosnia’s is what we call them or orthodox so the country is divided. "I work there on integrating and reconciliation through different projects and activities to save those kids there,” she says.
“Also, people are in state of basic social needs or basic human needs. They need food. They need clothes and they need it now immediately and society has bigger problems and can't give support to kids so we have to do something for ourselves and care for ourselves so that is one of the reasons and how I decided and started with social work.”
Tamara says the university is a great place and she likes the diversity among students as well as the flexibility of the professors. “The first thing that I realize immediately when I came to the university was the differences and diversity among students and for me to be among those things was a huge and very big deal,” she says.
“I liked it so much and the other thing is the program and how it is created. How theory and practice are very integrated, but sometimes we lack in other countries so I got the opportunity immediately to implement everything that I studied. Also, flexibility and openness of professors is another thing that I like so much so I have to study hard, but that is something that I like and that gives me an opportunity to learn as much as possible.”
As an international student, Tamara says one thing she would like to achieve is meeting and becoming friends with American students. “This year I was thinking I was not culture shock, but again I had to go through the process and also I am alone here I don’t have any family," she says.
"Actually I have a host mother who helped me and with whom I live now, but international students are alone here when they don’t have their community then it is more difficult for them to deal with the culture shock,” she says.
“The question I am asking people around is how to make friends with American peers, with people from America who study with us. Sometimes what I see at the university is that there are multi-cultural clubs, but I am just afraid that it is only multi-cultural people that I see there. I would like more Americans to be involved with us and to be with us and I would like us to become friends.”
As for graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Tamara says...”If everything is okay I should graduate in May 2009."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Rahul Keerthi Gets an Education and Much More at Brown University
Profile of Rahul Keethi - Download mp3
Listen to Profile of Rahul Keethi
Profile of Rahul Keethi - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Rahul Keethi
Twenty-three year old Rahul Keerthi attends Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. So what is it like there? Rahul says....” I say lively. I say active. I say challenging in the sense that it challenges the way I think because of all these thoughts I have around,” he says.
“It is also challenging in that it really pushes me, it is really frustrated me at times being here, but that is how I grow you know when you are challenged, when you are really pushed to your boundaries and you are really forced to sit down and question say ‘why am I doing this,’ or ‘what does this mean’ that is the kind of environment you want to be in and I just think that really what Brown is. It’s lively and it is such a warm place despite the weather here at times it is a very warm place,” he says. “I love about all things the people. The people that I have met here at Brown, they are just wonderful, wonderful people.”
The third year junior is majoring in Commerce, organizations and entrepreneurial ship (or COE), which is a relatively new track at Brown University. Rahul says his specific field is organizational behavior. Exactly what that entails, he tells us. “Organizational Behavior is interesting in that its kind of a business perspective, but because Brown is a liberal arts university and intends for all of its students all of us to have a very broad base understanding of all of our subjects, what COE does is that it gives us a view of organizations from all sort of perspectives,” he says. “
So I have taken courses not just in Sociology where I look at like groups in organizations or how managers and leaders run their organizations, but I have also taken courses in Engineering to understand how technology impacts companies or courses in Psychology and Economics to understand the basis of which firms make decisions and things like that,” he says. “So because of the nature of the university, COE is actually a unique program here and it is really enjoyable for me to take it because I don’t feel like I am being constrained to just one way of thinking about business.”
Rahul says hearing about Brown University and the open exchange of thoughts one can experience when receiving an education in the U.S., he says he looked forward to leaving home and coming here. “I was born in 1984 in Madras, India and I barely lived there actually, my family stayed there for about six months before we moved to Germany and then I lived there for about five years and then from there we moved on to Singapore where I lived ever since,” he says.
“So I was pretty much raised and brought up in Singapore. Educated there all my life and I am pretty much a Singaporean now and the reason why I came to the United States is actually I heard a lot about the universities here in the U-S and the nature of the curriculum and the nature of the education here that there is always an open exchange of ideas, or thoughts and that you have the best and the brightest minds that congregate here especially in the northeast where I am I have heard so many wonderful things about this place and I just had to experience it for myself,” he says. “So when the chance came up to apply to a university here I jumped at it.”
Attending Brown University has been very rewarding for Rahul and he says he is proud to be an international student on that campus. “I’m very proud that I bring an international perspective to the university. That I come here as an international student not just to take the education that the university provides, but also to give back and so I do feel like an international student and I do have that feeling because I am proud to be one and I want everyone to know that I am one,” he says. “That I come from Singapore and that I have grown up in these countries and I have experienced a few things and I can share it with them and I also want to learn where they are from and what they have to give to our society, to our community, to our university.”
Graduation is only two years away and Rahul wants to work in the consulting field. “I’m planning to graduate in two thousand and nine. I actually have no idea what I am going to do when in graduate, but I would love to start working for a company that really involves itself in business,” he says. “
So when I graduate I’m actually hoping to try my hand at consultancy because I feel like it is very interesting and a growing field. There’s so many different perspective that come out every year about how businesses should be run, how people should grow their businesses for the people who work for them and for the people that they serve and that is something that I want to commit and dedicate myself to.”
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sixteen Prestigious U.S. Universities that Offer FREE Online Classes
Information technology has revolutionized how we find and share information. These progressive institutions have taken the first step by making their class free for anyone to use online:
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. New York University
3. Vanderbilt University
4. Stanford University
5. Yale University
6. University of Notre Dame
7. Carnegie Mellon University
8. Tufts University
9. University of Washington
10. University of California at Berkeley
11. Johns Hopkins University
12. Berklee College of Music
13. Gresham College
14. Open University
15. Utah Valley State College
16. Utah State University
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2. New York University
3. Vanderbilt University
4. Stanford University
5. Yale University
6. University of Notre Dame
7. Carnegie Mellon University
8. Tufts University
9. University of Washington
10. University of California at Berkeley
11. Johns Hopkins University
12. Berklee College of Music
13. Gresham College
14. Open University
15. Utah Valley State College
16. Utah State University
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sharisma Sawyer Studies Communication and Fashion Design at Savannah State University
Profile of Sharisma Sawyer - Download mp3
Listen to Profile of Sharisma Sawyer
Profile of Sharisma Sawyer - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Sharisma Sawyer
Sharisma SawyerAttending a historically black college or university and finding a university she could financially afford, Sharisma Sawyer chose Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia. “First of all I wanted to originally attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and I had a friend who attended the college and they told me that (Savannah State) they are really about diversity," she says.
"(And) after spending a year at the college they offer international students a wavier, that really helps out paying the tuition because we (international students) don’t get financial aid,” she says. “So most of us really aren’t wealthy so it really benefits us.”Sharisma Sawyer desires to become a film screenwriter and a fashion designer in life. The twenty-one year old college student says she wouldn't be able to study in this field if she went to college back home. “I’m from Nassau, Bahamas and I chose to come here for college because at home our main careers are mainly doctor, lawyer, teacher, police so the career choice I was interested in the college at home don’t offer those type of classes and also the career choice that I chose is I want to be a screenwriter and a fashion designer, but the thing is it is not widely known back at home.”Mass Communication is her major and Sharisma has chosen Art as her minor. Having flexibility to utilize all of her skills is important to her and just from the classes she already has taken in film; she realizes she can expand her skills in that area as well.
“I originally chose Mass Communications because I wanted to be a screenwriter, but after taking different classes in video editing and film directing and using the camera, I really expanded my whole career choice and more than being a screenwriter I think I want to be part of everything in a film industry,” she says. “I want to be a director, producer, a cameraman. So the classes have really expanded my knowledge in that area.”Also, I am an artist because my father is an Art teacher so I grew up drawing and painting and everything. When I was in eighth grade, I just started sketching clothing design and it has stuck with me up until now and the interest really grew,” she says. “So I really found an interest in fashion design and I think I can make a profitable career out of it. So I don’t want to be in one area. I want to expand and I want to do different stuff.”There are quite a few students from the Bahamas as well as other international students at Savannah State University. Sharisma says she likes the diversity there and how her professors interact with her. “I like it a lot because the school is really about diversity. My professors treat me like I am a regular American citizen and a lot of them do not know that I am from the Bahamas, so it has been really good to know that there is no discrimination and there is no second thought about grades or whatever, so I like my professors.”
Sharisma says being away from home has helped her to grow up and become dependent on herself which is important to her. Also, is receiving an education at Savannah State University.
“At home we have very few career choices and most of those careers do not entail going to college, so a lot of people at home really do not attend college,” she says. “A lot of people I graduated with they really are not interested in going to college because they figure that they found their way of living. They are working at food stores cashing and I don’t image myself doing that for the rest of my life. I really want to be an entrepreneur so I think an education is very important because with an education especially being an international student you really get far with it.”Receiving a scholarship to pursue her master's degree is what Sharisma hopes can become a reality if she continues to do well with her studies now. She says....”I will be graduating next December. When I graduate actually I want to complete my masters. I want to attend Savannah College of Art and Design and I want to do my masters in film and television and I also want to focus more on the fashion design.
Listen to Profile of Sharisma Sawyer
Profile of Sharisma Sawyer - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Sharisma Sawyer
Sharisma SawyerAttending a historically black college or university and finding a university she could financially afford, Sharisma Sawyer chose Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia. “First of all I wanted to originally attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and I had a friend who attended the college and they told me that (Savannah State) they are really about diversity," she says.
"(And) after spending a year at the college they offer international students a wavier, that really helps out paying the tuition because we (international students) don’t get financial aid,” she says. “So most of us really aren’t wealthy so it really benefits us.”Sharisma Sawyer desires to become a film screenwriter and a fashion designer in life. The twenty-one year old college student says she wouldn't be able to study in this field if she went to college back home. “I’m from Nassau, Bahamas and I chose to come here for college because at home our main careers are mainly doctor, lawyer, teacher, police so the career choice I was interested in the college at home don’t offer those type of classes and also the career choice that I chose is I want to be a screenwriter and a fashion designer, but the thing is it is not widely known back at home.”Mass Communication is her major and Sharisma has chosen Art as her minor. Having flexibility to utilize all of her skills is important to her and just from the classes she already has taken in film; she realizes she can expand her skills in that area as well.
“I originally chose Mass Communications because I wanted to be a screenwriter, but after taking different classes in video editing and film directing and using the camera, I really expanded my whole career choice and more than being a screenwriter I think I want to be part of everything in a film industry,” she says. “I want to be a director, producer, a cameraman. So the classes have really expanded my knowledge in that area.”Also, I am an artist because my father is an Art teacher so I grew up drawing and painting and everything. When I was in eighth grade, I just started sketching clothing design and it has stuck with me up until now and the interest really grew,” she says. “So I really found an interest in fashion design and I think I can make a profitable career out of it. So I don’t want to be in one area. I want to expand and I want to do different stuff.”There are quite a few students from the Bahamas as well as other international students at Savannah State University. Sharisma says she likes the diversity there and how her professors interact with her. “I like it a lot because the school is really about diversity. My professors treat me like I am a regular American citizen and a lot of them do not know that I am from the Bahamas, so it has been really good to know that there is no discrimination and there is no second thought about grades or whatever, so I like my professors.”
Sharisma says being away from home has helped her to grow up and become dependent on herself which is important to her. Also, is receiving an education at Savannah State University.
“At home we have very few career choices and most of those careers do not entail going to college, so a lot of people at home really do not attend college,” she says. “A lot of people I graduated with they really are not interested in going to college because they figure that they found their way of living. They are working at food stores cashing and I don’t image myself doing that for the rest of my life. I really want to be an entrepreneur so I think an education is very important because with an education especially being an international student you really get far with it.”Receiving a scholarship to pursue her master's degree is what Sharisma hopes can become a reality if she continues to do well with her studies now. She says....”I will be graduating next December. When I graduate actually I want to complete my masters. I want to attend Savannah College of Art and Design and I want to do my masters in film and television and I also want to focus more on the fashion design.
Friday, January 30, 2009
English and Writing Prepares University of Minnesota-Duluth Student for Many Career Choices Back Home in Brazil
Profile of Mariana Osorio - Download mp3 - Download (MP3)
Profile of Mariana Osorio - Download mp3 - Listen (MP3)
Finding employment in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil is quite challenging says, Mariana Osorio. Attending college in the United States is not only important for Mariana's future, but essential for her to later be able to go back home and work. “In Brazil where I am from it is extremely hard now a days to find a job and companies are extremely picky and I have experience in a different country especially in the United States plus to be fluent in English and writing and also in speaking is extremely important for you to get a better job,” she says.
“They value a lot this experience because I have also been here alone so I had to go through a lot of things and I had to make decisions by myself. I don’t have anyone that can help me with that because my parents are really far away,” she says. “So you also develop skills like how to handle situations, how to think fast, how to not depend on anyone so these are some skills that companies are looking for now a days especially with globalization we have a lot of international companies in Brazil so we would be dealing with different cultures, different countries and they want people that can live for a while in other country or maybe know how to travel to a different country and how to communicate and everything else.”
Mariana already has one degree. Now, she is working on a post bachelor’s degree, which she explains. “I decided to come to the United States to have my post bachelor’s in professional writing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD). It is a post bachelor’s. It is not undergrad and it is not a master’s program yet, but it is a post bachelor’s a program that you do after you graduate from undergraduate and it is more specific because I already have a degree in journalism and in my country for you to get a better job it is extremely important for you to be fluent in English.”
In 2006, Mariana was here studying English. The twenty-four year old says her coursework at the University of Minnesota-Duluth now consist mostly of professional writing and communication classes. “This program is a thirty credits program and inside of the composition and inside of the communication department at UMD they focus on speech classes and all writing classes so I have classes such as Business, Arts and Letters, Speech classes, Web Design classes and also I needed an internship too to get my certificate,” she says.
“So it is extremely interesting because I already have a degree in Journalism, so I am focusing on writing and English and how to deliver speeches too like to prepare PowerPoint and presentations and how to write reports, memos, everything so it is really interesting.”
Mariana says socially it was challenging for her to make friends, but once she did it has added to her university experience. “At the beginning it wasn’t easy I was extremely shy. My English is wasn’t very good and people couldn’t understand me very well because of my accent and my vocabulary was very poor at that time, but now I had to be friendly to meet new people, to make more friends and it wasn’t easy, but you get use to that and then you just have to go and start talking to people and after you start meeting people it is great!”
Culturally though, Mariana says it is totally different. “Well, it was really hard because I am from Rio de Janeiro. I live at the coast and it is a big city around seven or eight million people and I came to Duluth and that is really small, less than one hundred thousand people. We don’t have a lot of things to do and their winter is really hard and the food it is different, sometimes I am depressed because I miss my friends and I miss my life in my country, but on the other hand I am experiencing things and its different having fun with different things that I never thought I could have fun to before.”
Mariana will graduate in May this year and then she will return to Brazil.
Profile of Mariana Osorio - Download mp3 - Listen (MP3)
Finding employment in Rio De Janeiro in Brazil is quite challenging says, Mariana Osorio. Attending college in the United States is not only important for Mariana's future, but essential for her to later be able to go back home and work. “In Brazil where I am from it is extremely hard now a days to find a job and companies are extremely picky and I have experience in a different country especially in the United States plus to be fluent in English and writing and also in speaking is extremely important for you to get a better job,” she says.
“They value a lot this experience because I have also been here alone so I had to go through a lot of things and I had to make decisions by myself. I don’t have anyone that can help me with that because my parents are really far away,” she says. “So you also develop skills like how to handle situations, how to think fast, how to not depend on anyone so these are some skills that companies are looking for now a days especially with globalization we have a lot of international companies in Brazil so we would be dealing with different cultures, different countries and they want people that can live for a while in other country or maybe know how to travel to a different country and how to communicate and everything else.”
Mariana already has one degree. Now, she is working on a post bachelor’s degree, which she explains. “I decided to come to the United States to have my post bachelor’s in professional writing at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD). It is a post bachelor’s. It is not undergrad and it is not a master’s program yet, but it is a post bachelor’s a program that you do after you graduate from undergraduate and it is more specific because I already have a degree in journalism and in my country for you to get a better job it is extremely important for you to be fluent in English.”
In 2006, Mariana was here studying English. The twenty-four year old says her coursework at the University of Minnesota-Duluth now consist mostly of professional writing and communication classes. “This program is a thirty credits program and inside of the composition and inside of the communication department at UMD they focus on speech classes and all writing classes so I have classes such as Business, Arts and Letters, Speech classes, Web Design classes and also I needed an internship too to get my certificate,” she says.
“So it is extremely interesting because I already have a degree in Journalism, so I am focusing on writing and English and how to deliver speeches too like to prepare PowerPoint and presentations and how to write reports, memos, everything so it is really interesting.”
Mariana says socially it was challenging for her to make friends, but once she did it has added to her university experience. “At the beginning it wasn’t easy I was extremely shy. My English is wasn’t very good and people couldn’t understand me very well because of my accent and my vocabulary was very poor at that time, but now I had to be friendly to meet new people, to make more friends and it wasn’t easy, but you get use to that and then you just have to go and start talking to people and after you start meeting people it is great!”
Culturally though, Mariana says it is totally different. “Well, it was really hard because I am from Rio de Janeiro. I live at the coast and it is a big city around seven or eight million people and I came to Duluth and that is really small, less than one hundred thousand people. We don’t have a lot of things to do and their winter is really hard and the food it is different, sometimes I am depressed because I miss my friends and I miss my life in my country, but on the other hand I am experiencing things and its different having fun with different things that I never thought I could have fun to before.”
Mariana will graduate in May this year and then she will return to Brazil.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
International Student Pursues Finance and Marketing Degree at Villanova University
Profile of Sultan Tawfik Alkusayer -Download mp3 - Download (MP3)
Profile of Sultan Tawfik Alkusayer -Download mp3 - Listen (MP3)
After many of his family members traveled to the United States at one time or another to pursue education interests, Sultan Alkusayer made the decision to do the same thing. “I’m Sultan Tawfik Alkusayer. I come from Saudi Arabia and I decided to come to the United States probably because most of my family, my father, my mother, most of my other relatives came and pursue their studies in the United States and of course the education system over here is considered excellent compared to other countries.”
Sultan is nineteen years old and Villanova University, located in Villanova Philadelphia, is the place for him due to its high ranking and community environment. “Right now I go to Villanova University, I have chosen Villanova and I am in the Business school Villanova’s Business program since they have been ranked number twelve in the nation. One of the good things about Villanova in the pass few years it’s ranking has gone up and in the coming years by the time I graduate it is going to better and higher,” he says. “By its ranking and by the place it is great.” “
One of the great things about Villanova is its community. The staff members, the students I like how they were very welcoming and relaxed. The first day when I came on campus I really felt it through the students and through the staff members that helped me and through the professors. The professors were really kind and I got lots of extra help and assistance.”
As an international student, Sultan says there are a good number of other international students there. As a freshman, one transition for him was the language; however living on campus helped him adjust to being a college student there. “It is great so far.
One of the first difficulties you could have is about the language, in Saudi Arabia it is Arabic and over here is English so with certain subjects you could have a lot of problems of course with writing essays and other things,” he says. “You could also have some difficulties and some limits.” “One of the good things about living on campus is it helps a person socialize better than being a commuter. I see some international students who choose to be a commuter they don’t seem to be more into the school life especially socializing in the community. They seem to be a little to far from the community, so I think I made a good choice by living on campus.”
Finance and marketing are the subjects Sultan is planning to major in. He says his interest in those fields’ stems from early on in his life. “Since I was in Saudi Arabia I was thinking about pursuing and taking a careering either in Engineering or in the Business world and I ended up choosing the Business. When I graduated from high school I took one year off and I worked at a financial firm and that by itself made me see myself in the business world and helped me choose this as a career for the future.”
Sultan has several more years before he will graduate in 2011 from Villanova University. His advice to other students interested in going to college there or any other university is.... Even my friends in Philadelphia I highly recommended that they try and apply to Villanova. Some of them in other neighboring colleges, but I think it is a real good choice especially if you want to pursue a career in Business and cultural wise I think anyone can get use to any new culture and culture differences.”
Profile of Sultan Tawfik Alkusayer -Download mp3 - Listen (MP3)
After many of his family members traveled to the United States at one time or another to pursue education interests, Sultan Alkusayer made the decision to do the same thing. “I’m Sultan Tawfik Alkusayer. I come from Saudi Arabia and I decided to come to the United States probably because most of my family, my father, my mother, most of my other relatives came and pursue their studies in the United States and of course the education system over here is considered excellent compared to other countries.”
Sultan is nineteen years old and Villanova University, located in Villanova Philadelphia, is the place for him due to its high ranking and community environment. “Right now I go to Villanova University, I have chosen Villanova and I am in the Business school Villanova’s Business program since they have been ranked number twelve in the nation. One of the good things about Villanova in the pass few years it’s ranking has gone up and in the coming years by the time I graduate it is going to better and higher,” he says. “By its ranking and by the place it is great.” “
One of the great things about Villanova is its community. The staff members, the students I like how they were very welcoming and relaxed. The first day when I came on campus I really felt it through the students and through the staff members that helped me and through the professors. The professors were really kind and I got lots of extra help and assistance.”
As an international student, Sultan says there are a good number of other international students there. As a freshman, one transition for him was the language; however living on campus helped him adjust to being a college student there. “It is great so far.
One of the first difficulties you could have is about the language, in Saudi Arabia it is Arabic and over here is English so with certain subjects you could have a lot of problems of course with writing essays and other things,” he says. “You could also have some difficulties and some limits.” “One of the good things about living on campus is it helps a person socialize better than being a commuter. I see some international students who choose to be a commuter they don’t seem to be more into the school life especially socializing in the community. They seem to be a little to far from the community, so I think I made a good choice by living on campus.”
Finance and marketing are the subjects Sultan is planning to major in. He says his interest in those fields’ stems from early on in his life. “Since I was in Saudi Arabia I was thinking about pursuing and taking a careering either in Engineering or in the Business world and I ended up choosing the Business. When I graduated from high school I took one year off and I worked at a financial firm and that by itself made me see myself in the business world and helped me choose this as a career for the future.”
Sultan has several more years before he will graduate in 2011 from Villanova University. His advice to other students interested in going to college there or any other university is.... Even my friends in Philadelphia I highly recommended that they try and apply to Villanova. Some of them in other neighboring colleges, but I think it is a real good choice especially if you want to pursue a career in Business and cultural wise I think anyone can get use to any new culture and culture differences.”
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Studying International Business Gives Rusbi Andana Tools to Help Women in Guatemala
Profile of Rusbi Andana - Download mp3
Listen to Profile of Rusbi Andana
Profile of Rusbi Andana - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Rusbi Andana
Rusbi Andana initially thought going to college would not be for her because of English being a second language for her. However, she came to realize that going to Alverno College is for her. Here is here story. “In the beginning I was thinking I don’t want to study anymore. I only have [gone to] high school in Guatemala and it was hard to think that at my age and I know that here in the United States that the age is not important, but for me it was because it would have to be in a second language and I thought I would not be able to go to the classes and be able to understand and that was one of my moments I was thinking no at my age it is not good because I knew a little English wasn’t enough to be in class,” she says.
“But then deciding to be in class it helped me because I have teachers who always are friendly in the way that they are always open and that helped me a lot and I feel free to ask questions if I don’t understand or I am able to go to them and say I don’t know what you are talking about and I want to understand so can you can talk slowly…that kind of thing because learning English at my age is not easy, but I am trying to do the best I can.”
As Rusbi mentioned, she is from Guatemala and it was her community along with receiving a scholarship that helped Rusbi go to college. “I came here in two-thousand and four and I am a school sister at Saint Francis and my community is part of this college and they are the ones that invited me to come and that was the reason I decided to stay at this college Alverno because of the offer I had and I am apart of this community that is the main thing that I have this opportunity.
This is Rusbi's first year. The thirty-three year old says the method in how she is able to learn and understand is different from back home and she definitely likes it much more. “Right now I am going for International Business and I am in the first year of being here and I really like the college because of the way they teach here is very different than Guatemala because in Guatemala you have grades and have to be able to pass the class and here we are developing different skills to be able to demonstrate that we are learning,” she says.
“I like it because here they call it assessment, but it is a good way of being able to learn and being able to demonstrate that we are learning in class and that we are learning for the society and not only for ourselves.”Rusbi still has several more years before she finishes, however going back home to tell others how important education is to all people in her country especially women. “I’m thinking that when I finish I want to go back to Guatemala and work with the people because one thing I want to do is to help others understand that education is very important especially for women,” she says.
“A lot of people say ‘no’ women have to be married or go to college and I think even at my age or if somebody is married they can get their education. That is one of my things because women have the right to have education and I know because I am going for International Business,” she says. “I’m willing to have a different view about what it has been and then go back and help people in understanding that it can be good if they want and that is one of my goals in going back to help my sisters in Guatemala.”
Listen to Profile of Rusbi Andana
Profile of Rusbi Andana - Download Real Audio
Listen to Profile of Rusbi Andana
Rusbi Andana initially thought going to college would not be for her because of English being a second language for her. However, she came to realize that going to Alverno College is for her. Here is here story. “In the beginning I was thinking I don’t want to study anymore. I only have [gone to] high school in Guatemala and it was hard to think that at my age and I know that here in the United States that the age is not important, but for me it was because it would have to be in a second language and I thought I would not be able to go to the classes and be able to understand and that was one of my moments I was thinking no at my age it is not good because I knew a little English wasn’t enough to be in class,” she says.
“But then deciding to be in class it helped me because I have teachers who always are friendly in the way that they are always open and that helped me a lot and I feel free to ask questions if I don’t understand or I am able to go to them and say I don’t know what you are talking about and I want to understand so can you can talk slowly…that kind of thing because learning English at my age is not easy, but I am trying to do the best I can.”
As Rusbi mentioned, she is from Guatemala and it was her community along with receiving a scholarship that helped Rusbi go to college. “I came here in two-thousand and four and I am a school sister at Saint Francis and my community is part of this college and they are the ones that invited me to come and that was the reason I decided to stay at this college Alverno because of the offer I had and I am apart of this community that is the main thing that I have this opportunity.
This is Rusbi's first year. The thirty-three year old says the method in how she is able to learn and understand is different from back home and she definitely likes it much more. “Right now I am going for International Business and I am in the first year of being here and I really like the college because of the way they teach here is very different than Guatemala because in Guatemala you have grades and have to be able to pass the class and here we are developing different skills to be able to demonstrate that we are learning,” she says.
“I like it because here they call it assessment, but it is a good way of being able to learn and being able to demonstrate that we are learning in class and that we are learning for the society and not only for ourselves.”Rusbi still has several more years before she finishes, however going back home to tell others how important education is to all people in her country especially women. “I’m thinking that when I finish I want to go back to Guatemala and work with the people because one thing I want to do is to help others understand that education is very important especially for women,” she says.
“A lot of people say ‘no’ women have to be married or go to college and I think even at my age or if somebody is married they can get their education. That is one of my things because women have the right to have education and I know because I am going for International Business,” she says. “I’m willing to have a different view about what it has been and then go back and help people in understanding that it can be good if they want and that is one of my goals in going back to help my sisters in Guatemala.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)