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.

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.

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.

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! :-)

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.

An Army of One

Let's face it, everyone is not on team positivity. When you decide to go after a lifelong dream or a more recently conceived goal, not everyone will be wishing you the best. Maybe you have decided to go back to school, change jobs, start your own small business, etc. Unfortunately, when you excitedly share these hopes with your friends or family they may not always see your vision the way you do. They may voice opinions that leave you feeling inadequate. This is when you have to become an army of one.

In his article, "5 Ways Your Negative Friends Can Drag You Down" Robert Pagliarini helps readers to recognize when people are trying to sabotage their goals, and offers a way to overcome the criticisms.

In the end, Pagliarini tells us that we must not allow the negativity of others to keep us from our dreams. Whether they say that we aren't good enough for what we want, that our plans won't work, or that they think our ideas are plain old dumb, we must push forward. If that doesn't work we could also do as Pagliarini says in his article, "When You Should Breakup With Your Mother" and breakup with negative friends.

Growing up I used to hear a saying often that said, "Not everyone can go where you are going." That is never more true than when you attempt to improve your life.

Love Your Body Contest



If you speak with almost any woman she will tell you that there is some part of her  body that she doesn't like. Many people blame the media for their portrayal of women as inadequate because of their body size, skin color, or hair type. The pictures on the fronts of magazines are often unrealistic and unattainable for the average woman which leaves her feeling like she is not enough just as she is.

The National Organization for Women Foundation is looking to break this cycle by holding the 2012 Love Your Body Campaign and Poster Contest. For the contest you must create a poster that is graphically appealing that opposes the current idea of beauty plastered on every magazine on the newsstand. The winner will receive $200 and will have his or her poster featured on the web, at Love Your Body events, and displayed in schools, and other public places.

For all of the artist out there, now is the time to use your talents to make a difference in the lives of girls and women everywhere.

Visit the Love Your Body site for more information on the contest today!