Pages

Monday, August 29, 2011

Online vs. Classroom




In the past few years online education has begun to dominate higher education. Still a lot of people have never tried an online class. Every student learns differently, so it's important to know which mode of learning will help you to successfully complete your degree.

Check out my latest article, "Online vs. Classroom: Which is Right for You?"  over on Fastweb.com to learn about the pros and cons of both classroom instruction, and online learning.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Scholarships




Since my article, "What to Know Before You Borrow" went up on Fastweb I've had a lot of readers ask me about scholarships.

 Fastweb is a website where you can search for scholarship opportunities.There are scholarships for just about anything you can imagine. Scholarships based on your age, interest groups you belong to, race, religion, sports you may have played etc. You simply create a profile and Fastweb sends you emails about new scholarships that you may qualify for. There are so many scholarships available if you do your research. Some scholarships never get awarded because students don't apply for them.

I thought this would be a good time to revisit some of my past posts about scholarship opportunities and compile them. Some have deadlines that are approaching soon.

-- Xerox Technical Minority Scholarship

--Love Your Body Contest

--Foundation for Global Scholars

--The Pedro Zamora Public Policy Fellowship

Check out Fastweb today for your own personalized scholarship search.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Before You Borrow

Student loans can often be confusing to college students. For adult learners student loans may be even harder to resist. You need money to pay for college tuition, yet because you work a full-time job you may not qualify for need based grants. So what do you do? Check out my article, "What to Know Before You Borrow" over on Fastweb.com that gives you a heads up on student loans.

Friday, August 12, 2011

The Library

The other day I took my nearly two-year-old niece to the library for the first time. A lover of books it seems from the time she was an infant, nothing made her happier than being read a book. (Even if it was the same one over and over again.) As we made our way into the Columbus Metropolitan Library the look in her eyes can only be described as shock and awe. There were books everywhere she seemed to be thinking as she snatched her hand from mine and raced towards the shelf nearest us.

"Mine." She said as she grabbed down a book with colorful bears on the front cover. "My book!" She yelled as she snatched down yet another. We settled ourselves onto a couch and I read her book after book. As soon as we were finished with one she would jump down to pick another. I too have always been a lover of books, so I understood her elation. I began to think, however, about all of the children who don't have a plethora of books available to them.

In Zambia, Professor Mwizenge S. Tembo saw the need for a library in his village, so he started one. In his article, " A Professor Helps Raise a Library in His Native Town in Zambia"  Ryan Brown tells the story of Tembo who grew up without books himself, seeing his nephew  up late one night reading with a night light. He writes, "Curious, Mr. Tembo, who is a professor of sociology at Virginia's Bridgewater College, asked the boy the next morning what had kept him up so late. "Reading," he said. But when Mr. Tembo asked what book, his nephew shook his head. He didn't have any books, he explained. His reading material was the stack of notes he had taken that day in school."  Tembo decided right then that the children and his village needed a library.  Together Tembo, community leaders, and students in the small town of  Bridgewater, Virginia got together, raised money and collected books for the new library.  Of the new library  Tembo says, "The idea was not to build a monument, but something the community will use."

Even in the United States a lot of libraries are in trouble due to budget cuts, some have closed completely. Let's not take for granted something other people would readily pay to have. Support your local library by researching volunteer opportunities and ways to donate.  And return your checked out materials on time! :-)


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Be Your Own Boss



Just about every person I encounter wants to start his or her own business. Who wants to work for someone else when you can be your own boss? The idea of making your own hours, coming and going as you please, sleeping in, or taking vacations whenever you want is appetizing. There is, however, a lot more that goes into starting and running a successful small business.

In his article, "Are You Ready to Start a Business" Jeremy Reis writes about what it takes to really run your own business. He asks a series of questions to help readers really assess if being their own boss is realistic. 

In the article he says that business owners need to make decisions quickly, be able to deal with difficult personalities, and have the physical and emotional stamina to run the business.

If after reading the article you are positive that  you have what it takes to be your own boss, visit learnthat.com, a site run by Reis that allows users to learn about a variety of subjects for free, and begin to work on creating your success story.