Happy Hiking!

Posted on February 26, 2019 by USG

This Saturday, it was rainy, cold, and miserable. Driving around the DMV was an absolute nightmare. 24 hours later, it seems like nearly everyone is outside taking a walk, grabbing a bite to eat, or just being outside to be outside because suddenly, it was 70 degrees and sunny. This is typical Maryland weather.

Though a quick walk around the neighborhood or downtown is a great way to soak up the random sun, we are also within a relatively close distance to tons of great hiking spots that can be a great last-minute vacation on a sunny day. I’ve been waiting for the weather to be dry for longer than 24 hours so I’m not hiking in mud, but those days are coming before we know it!

In no terms am I an avid hiker. I am definitely a novice, with maybe 4-5 hikes per year, depending on the weather. However, these are my top two hikes for random sunny days:

Annapolis Rock: The elevation for this hike is pretty mild (around 800 feet), but it’s definitely a longer hike if you want to go the whole way. However, it’s a relatively easy one with little to no scrambling, but different trail types so that it’s still fun and interesting. Best of all, this one had an amazing view (pictured). Be sure to go early in the morning and be patient if there’s some fog! It’ll eventually clear up. While this hike is a bit further away from the area, it’s well worth it and one I’ve returned to several times.

Sugarloaf Mountain: Going towards one general mountain, there are multiple ways to get up and down from the amazing view. If you’re really feeling a challenge, try going the red trail on the way up or green trail on the way back. I have a coworker that hikes up there just to grade some papers. The top of the mountain has plenty of space to sit and relax! If you live near upcounty MoCo, the drive is very convenient.

 

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Expanding Your World

Posted on February 25, 2019 by kirstenan98

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Hello! 안녕하세요!

When you walk through the streets full of excited crowds, do you hear the variety of languages spoken? Whenever I do, I get so curious and enamored with just how many languages there are in the world, decorated with their own dialects and ways of speech. Even if I were to dedicate my entire life, I wouldn’t be able to learn all the nuances of every language. It’s a never-ending journey that I can’t wait to dive right into!

What made me think of this more and more had been that USG offers Course Sharing where you can take courses from the other institutions on campus. I had been looking at the site to see what courses there are and from what institutions, to branch a little away from business courses. I definitely think it’s great to be able to expand your world through small steps like this even, taking new courses and meeting new people you might not have otherwise.

A few courses that are available this Spring 2019 had been –

  • COMM 398V – Translation and Interpretation (UMD)
  • EXSC 490 – Advanced Exercise Physiology (Salisbury)
  • HIST 468 – The Age of Enlightenment (UMBC)

There are many courses you can take in a variety of departments so check them out! They can be great as electives and a way to take a little break from your major courses.

history

For me, I had chosen accounting as my major. I enjoyed the courses and having an internship solidified my interest and enthusiasm! Outside of courses though I love history and learning about what events have crafted the world in which we live today, so I had been so excited to see that USG offers UMBC history courses for other students as well. I hope to be able to take one or two in my senior year to gain more knowledge, meet new people, and expand my world.

Good luck everyone!

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Abadá Capoeira DC at International Night

Posted on February 22, 2019 by USG

Last night, I participated in a special performance during International Night here at USG. Hosted by the Center for Student Engagement, the event brought out a diverse representation of our student body. The Universities at Shady Grove is the home to nine different higher education programs, and students with backgrounds from all across the world came together to participate.

Last semester, I wrote a detailed post explaining my background with training capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art including elements of dance, acrobatics and music. I have been an active member of Abada Capoeira DC for nearly four years now, and it was so exciting to share the stage with my teacher and friends. Our group has weekly classes in Rockville, Germantown, and Fairfax, and anyone is welcome to come and join us sometime!

I feel so grateful for the opportunity to share my love for capoeira with the community here at The Universities at Shady Grove. For the last part of my Exercise Science program through Salisbury University, I have been completing a physical therapy internship. It was nice to reconnect with some of my classmates in my program, and I was even able to recruit one of my friends into joining us on stage at the end of our performance!

Next up, our capoeira group has many exciting events on the horizon. Tomorrow, many members of our group will be meeting at the American Red Cross to donate blood. In March, Professora Yara and some of my fellow classmates in Abada Capoeira DC will travel to Mexico for the North American games, and we will also visit New York to support our the Batizado event for the Abada Capoeira Brooklyn group. For months now, many members of our group have been training hard to prepare for our own Batizado event, which will be held from May 2 – 5th, 2019. Finally, in August, our group is planning to travel together to Brazil for the Jogos Mundiais or Abada Capoeira World Games. Please visit our website at http://www.abadadc.org for more information about our mission, class schedule, and more.

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Brunchin’

Posted on February 21, 2019 by USG

For those of you who follow up with my blogs – you know I’m a huge foodie! I sat here and thought about what I could talk about and the only thing that kept popping into my head were the restaurants I went to this past weekend. So, let’s talk brunch!

I absolutely love brunch. Everything about it is perfect. It’s not too early but not too late and you get the best of both worlds! There are your sweet dishes like French toast or pancakes; as well as your savory meals that don’t include eggs or bacon on your plate. It’s a meal that can satisfy whatever mood you’re in. I did some research [it wasn’t too hard since I have a slight obsession with trying new places] and found some spots near USG!

  1. First Watch – this one is a personal favorite! I love their inclusion of locally grown foods and fresh outsourced ones as well. I’d tell you what my favorite dish is, but I have way too many to choose from! They’re strictly a breakfast/brunch place because they close at 2:30 pm!
  2. MoCo’s Founding Farmers – I have yet to make an appearance here! But after a quick review over their menu and pictures of them…I will be sure to make it a point to go! Based off their reviews – the chicken and waffles look spectacular.
  3. Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar – this spot is to die for! I had the Brazilian Biscuits and Chorizo Gravy. The gravy was seasoned to perfection and the chorizo had a good amount of spice to them. Also, you can’t go wrong with bottomless mimosas!
  4. Crepes – A -Go- Go – this one is a bit more on the strictly “breakfast side” but there are savory crepes which makes it “brunchy”. You can build your own crepes, have a “mega” crepe, and there’s also gluten free options!
  5. Matchbox – uh oh, did someone say unlimited brunch? Sounds like a steal to me! They have a huge selection from breakfast pizzas to mini sandwiches. The idea is to share with everyone at the table. I don’t know about you, but I hear different plates to taste in one sitting.

Now I need to figure out what my next meal is because I just spent a good amount of time looking at all these yummy foods!

As always, thanks for reading and ‘til next time! 😊

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Job Hunt 101

Posted on February 19, 2019 by USG

Next week, I will be starting a new nursing job. It seems like yesterday that I started classes at USG. Those two years went by fast! For those who plan to graduate this spring, I thought it might be helpful to share some job searching techniques that just might help you land your dream job.

job-hunting-over-50

Let’s focus on the basics of the job hunt as most of us forget that it should be a simple process. I found an article by Jenny Foss that effectively outlines things we may have forgotten about the job search. Here are some tips I love:

  • Since most resumes are seen first by ‘gatekeepers’ (i.e., not the actual people who can hire you for the actual job), you must make sure your resume mirrors their wording in the job description. It will not seem creative or clever, but if these gatekeepers (HR professionals, administrative assistants, etc.) see the exact words mentioned in their ad, they will be most likely to send your resume on to the next chain in the process. It is particularly important when applying for government jobs as they are often screened by a computer that looks for words that match the job description.
  • Did you apply for a job online? If so, it pays to follow up with the company. You may have to call the human resources department multiple times to make sure they received your inquiry. Do you know someone who works for this company? Reach out to see if you can come in to learn more about what they do and see more of what the company is all about. Even if they are not doing the actual job you want, it is a good way to get one toe in the door and most people are flattered when someone asks them for an informational interview. My sister found her current job by reaching out to the director of the company. Even though the director told her they were not currently hiring, my sister still said she would love to come in to meet her and to find out more about what the company did. Turns out, they were so impressed with her, they created a job just for her.
  • After an interview, do you send notes or emails thanking every person you met? If not, you should. Most people do not do this crucial step which means that your thank you will stand out even if your interview was less than stellar. It says a lot about someone who takes the time to write and thank someone for their time. And it is perfectly acceptable to email a thoughtful note. After my nurse externship, I sent thank you’s to my preceptor, the nurse manager and the directors of the program. It is a great way to be remembered by people who are super busy.

And what about social media? A friend of mine interviewed for a public relations job after graduating from college. She did not get the job and when she called her contact to thank them for the opportunity, the contact told her that they had looked at her Instagram account and were turned off by what they saw. When my friend went back to look through her account, she concluded it must have been because of photos of her drinking at fraternity parties as well as her posts containing profane language. The bottom line is to just make sure that what you share on social media, would be something you would not be embarrassed for a future employer to see. Check out these tips for tidying up your social media accounts.

cleanup-social-media

There are so many resources for the job searcher. I hope these simple and straight forward tips help get to on the right track to finding  a job you love.

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Spread the Love

Posted on February 18, 2019 by USG

I hope you had a wonderful Valentines Days weekend. I had a great weekend with my mother and sister. We went to the Boyz 2 Men Concert yesterday at Oxon Hill. For those who were not born in the 90s or not familiar with this group, Boyz 2 Men is a group who sings mostly love songs. Growing up in the Philippines with a teenage sister, I heard songs by Boyz 2 Men, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Spice Girls, Aaron Cater, etc. Let us say that Filipinos are huge fans of love songs. My family is no exception. I would say that I come from a musical family because we all love to sing and dance (to some degree). Anywho, I bought the tickets for my sister and my mom’s birthdays last month. I was glad that I bought the tickets because it provided us with an opportunity to spend quality time with each other. Because we are all busy, I always appreciate it when we have the chance to have some time for our selves. The timing of this concert was perfect because it was the valentines day weekend. I was able to give them both a birthday and valentines day gift in one.    

To me, Valentines Day is about spreading love and providing an excuse to give a gift to your loved ones to express how much love and care for them. Speaking of gifts, I love personalizing them because, to me, gifts should be meaningful. I thought I would share some ideas with you in case you are interested for next year’s valentines day since this post was published after valentines day.  

  • 100 questions –  You can write out 100 questions that you and your partner can take turns answering. This is a great activity to do to ask questions that you may not normally ask and get to know your partner more.
  • Special dinner – I love cooking so preparing special dinners is a must. If you do not cook, you can order your partner’s favorite foods as a treat!
  • Heart shaped balloons with your favorite memories portrayed in pictures – This is a great way to reminisce of the great times that you have and tell your partner why you chose the pictures on each balloon.
  • What I love about you heart-shaped sticky note – Yes you read it, it so simple, but so sweet. Write out what you love about your partner and place the sticky notes in a heart shape somewhere where they can see it.

I would definitely suggest going to Pinterest (my favorite) to get more ideas for gifts for other occasions. The idea is that you put thoughts and efforts into your gift because it is not about what you gave them, but it is the love that you put in it. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any ideas for personalized handmade gifts, please comment below.

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My busiest week

Posted on February 15, 2019 by USG

Next week, I am super busy.

I have 2 exams, and 2 interviews. I will be doing what I have always been doing, study 2 weeks ahead of time for both exams, and prepare for my interview.

If you were me, how would you prepare for your interview?
I have decided to go to CISC for some interviewing tips that can make me successful.

Wish me luck. I will let you know how it goes on my next blog.

#LastSemester #TimeToMakeMoves #DressToImpress #SpeakToImpress

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Looking through rose colored glasses!

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Sumaira

Valentine’s Day! the most romantic day of  the year! spring in the air, smiles on faces, and young lovers uniting over the most fragrance filled day wearing their rosy colored glasses. Okay STOP!

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This is  is how we think its like. In reality, the day is kindaa.. just like any other day! especially if its a random Thursday, like today. You’re off to your work/classes, and had made plans with your significant other. If you don’t have one, you shop, take advantage of all the ‘deals’ out there. If you have plans for dining you are planning way ahead to make reservations. Leave early as the traffic is gonna get you. If you have kids, like I do, you have already done a trip to Target and had bought all kinds of cards to be distributed for your kids class. Random Valentine’s day party that needed to be attended by you, or you have already attended, are not necessarily are happening on the Valentine’s day. You…. rushing everywhere, to be everywhere.

Valentine’s day as materialistic as it has become, sometimes makes us forget what it is actually about. This day is to love and honor your soulmates and this is the day when one gets to honor their significant others. Relationships are not easy and one can only understand that, when one is in it. I saw a lot of my classmates prepping for today, and it was more evident for me that today, they are trying their best to keep their messy relationships aside, over come their long distances and plan ahead to they can beat their schedules and spend time with each other. Its all in the small things!

 

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A brief list of tips for school laptop usage/preparation

Posted on February 13, 2019 by USG

Congratulations – you’ve just acquired a laptop to use for your studies. You may have bought it at a store like Microcenter or Best Buy, you may have gotten it as a hand-me-down from a sibling, or you might have borrowed it indefinitely from someone else – regardless of how you got it, it’s yours now, and it’s time to make sure both you and it are ready for school. Here’s some tips.

  1. Keep drinks away from your fancy new folding computer. The last thing you want to do is spill coffee into the laptop’s integrated keyboard and make it explode. If you’re going to have drinks near it, have them in seal-able containers like bottles or those fancy Starbucks drink cylinders.
  2. Eliminate the extra. If there’s preloaded programs on the laptop, whether it’s the previous owner’s video game collection or some factory distributed bloatware, get rid of it. If there’s a bunch of junk files – like a forgotten family photo collection – delete them, anything taking up surplus storage is cluttering your virtual workspace.
  3. Get Microsoft programs. Whether you want to buy the student 4pack (with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) from the Microsoft website or just use a student Office365 account, it doesn’t matter – get Word on your computer at the very least. Google Drive is great, but it isn’t perfect and it lacks a lot of functions you’ll find through trial and error to be essential to specific projects. Also, it never indents properly for some reason.
  4. Organize your files. Lets say you’re in a two year program at USG. Make a folder in your documents that says “School,” or something like that, and then within it make individual folders for each semester. In each semester folder, as you go through them, make folders for each class you’re taking. Within those folders, make folders for each week of material. Most of the class schedules/syllabi tend to be organized by week content so you’ll be able to label each week something specific and be able to refer to your notes more easily.
  5. Other essential programs: If you’re doing photo editing at all, GIMP is a good – and free – choice. If you’re doing basic audio editing, Audacity is a good – and free – choice. Are you seeing a trend here? We’re in college, we have to keep things cheap. Adobe Reader is honestly the best way to read PDFs on your computer – it’s much cleaner than using a browser window and allows for more interactivity. Speaking of browsers – I recommend Firefox Quantum instead of Google Chrome, and I say that as someone who used Chrome for years. It’s just faster, plain and simple. What else – Kindle is good if you’re using virtual textbooks, like the Nurses’ Pocket Guide, Discord and Skype are both good for group projects and making conference calls, and the Twitch client can be good if you like to watch streams in the background of studying or while taking a break from studying.
  6. Programs you SHOULD NOT GET ON A LAPTOP: Anything that is Adobe that isn’t Adobe Reader. I’m not kidding, folks – Adobe Photoshop works best with enormous excess storage space and your laptop likely isn’t going to have that unless you’re using an external drive which can be quite expensive. If you want to use Photoshop, use a desktop. The same goes for things like FLStudio9 – it’s just best to do any heavy editing on desktop computers instead of laptops. I know I mentioned Gimp and Audacity – that’s lightweight stuff compared to Photoshop and FLStudio.

With those general tips out of the way, here’s a brief list about how to take notes during class – some different methods of doing so.

  1. The “OneNote” method. OneNote is literally made to take notes. If you need some help figuring out how to use it to the fullest, make an appointment with OIT or CAS and they’ll help you figure it out. I typically find it best to use OneNote for things that do not have accompanying documents like PowerPoints, although it will still work for those things.
  2. The “Word+PowerPoint” method. This is my go-to method for anything that involves a PowerPoint. You open PowerPoint on one side of your screen, and Word on the other.
    1. Then you just bullet point notes down and down the word document.
      1. With subsections for individual topics of interest.
        1. Typically I just have one long list of numbers that match each slide number with a title, and then off of that I branch into the topics within that slide and have it all contained slide by slide.
  3. The “Word Only” method. A classic – you just have word open and you just bullet point notes without having the PowerPoint on the screen to refer to. This can work if you’re just watching some presentation without a PowerPoint, or if you just prefer to have Word be the big thing on your screen.
  4. The “Photosynthesis” method. You close your computer and stare at the presentation until it burns into your eyes and imprints on your brain. This method tends to fail.

In all seriousness, with all jokes tossed by the wayside, if you want to get your laptop working the best it can then OIT is your best bet in making that happen. The people behind the desk in the OIT know what they’re doing – and they’re there to help you for as long as they’re open. Just walk in.

 

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“What’s your five-year plan?”

Posted on February 12, 2019 by USG

I hadn’t heard that question much since I started teaching three years ago. Back then, I could answer pretty confidently.

Fast forward about two years into my teaching career. This summer,  I took five post-its and laid out my new five-year plan. I put it on the wall, right in front of my work-space. It included professional goals and personal goals.

Just six months later, last weekend, I took down those post-its. It honestly takes me 5 to 10 minutes if I were to explain all the possibilities. This time next year, I’ll be applying to several different jobs, both in and out of the classroom, and several different Ph.D. programs. I have no idea what comes next, where I’ll be, or what I’ll be doing.

It’s moderately terrifying. It’s not just having a plan and a back-up plan. It’s kind of like that scene in the last Avengers when *SPOILERS* Dr. Strange is floating around, overwhelmed with all the possible outcomes for the fight against Thanos. There are so many different possibilities–none of which I favor over the other. This cross-roads felt so much more overwhelming

As a teacher, I know that from an early age, we are taught to have goals. By high school, we are encouraged to have careers picked. As adults, people constantly ask us when a child, marriage, or the next step of your life is coming up. We are always asked to think ahead. Last night was the first time I managed to feel okay about the predicament I’m in. I managed to give myself three reasons why this was totally okay.

 

  • So much less stress. I no longer have to worry about larger decisions in some “grand scheme” of things. There’s no wondering “but will x affect y and change my five-year plan?” There’s no anxiety with actions or reactions because there is no plan to worry about having to re-write.
  • More productivity. In the last 24 hours, I’ve found myself way more focused on my weekly/daily to-do list at work and at home than I have in recent weeks. Before, I’d kind of stop and get side-tracked, going down a rabbit hole of research about option A or option G. Now, I’m letting it go because I realize there’s really no need to know everything about one option or another as I don’t need to plan it all out.
  • Truly enjoying time with my friends. This was a big one. Catching up with friends a month or two ago started with them asking how I’m doing, eventually asking about plans for the future. It’d either send me into a rant or force me to awkwardly change subjects while my brain persisted on thinking about that five-year-plan the rest of the day.

 

 

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