Introverts and Romance in the Office - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Introverts and Romance in the Office - Introvert Whisperer Introverts and Romance in the Office They say you should not mix business and pleasure, but sometimes you cannot go against your heart. In fact, romance in the office is far from an uncommon phenomenon, and there is nothing wrong with it on paper as long as, in case it ends, it doesnt affect work performance and business relationships. However, such emotionally unpredictable situations can take a particularly big toll on the shy co-workers. If you are interested why, here’s what you need to know about the trials and tribulations of introverts and romance in the office. Why is it such a big problem for introverts? By their very nature, introverts are not very motivated to seek out the company of other people, let alone become the center of attention in a larger group. Such forced interactions tend to cause a lot of stress and anxiety in them. On the other hand, even introverts require interaction on a regular basis, and falling for a co-worker is one of those regular things that can happen to anyone. The difference this makes for an introverted person is that, in addition to the anxiety caused by social interaction, they have the “stakes raised” by having a crush on a co-worker. This means that the “social wall” they have to climb over is a lot taller â€" and it can lead to complete avoidance or closing-off when it comes to the person of interest. This is truly counterproductive not only because the introvert suffers, but also because it’s a potentially wasted opportunity if the attraction is reciprocal. Nobody gets out happy out of such a situation.

Ask an Admissions Expert Dr. Oliver McGee

Ask an Admissions Expert Dr. Oliver McGee Varsity Tutors brings you insider tips and advice straight from nationally recognized admissions experts. Dr. Oliver McGee served 5 years on the Faculty Admissions Committee of The Ohio State University. Working in admissions for the largest public university in the U.S. provided him with incredible experience to become an expert on the college application process, as well as a widely known STEM education mentor. He is currently an American Council on Education Fellow at UCLA, where he has gained further insights into all areas of admissions. Dr. McGee has additionally mentored several students who have went on to receive extremely prestigious fellowships. VT: How far ahead of time should a student begin working on his or her college application? Oliver: A student must begin working on his or her college application about a year in advance to gain insights into themselves and their desire for a college education through advice and counsel of parents, teachers, student colleagues, mentors, and extracurricular activity counselors, coaches, and coordinators.The application process falls into 3 buckets of work: 1.High School Classes always select challenging classes.Admissions counselors will read your transcripts very carefully to identify what classes were offered to you and what classes you ultimately chose. If you dont choose advanced courses, but do well on the SAT or ACT, you appear intellectually lazy because you didnt challenge yourselfday-in and day-out in your classes. 2.Summer Activities make sure to spend your summers wisely: volunteer, work, attend college and universitysummer programs, be a camp counselor, ortake summer school classes.Admissions counselors are eager to understand how you spent your time,because they want students who will contribute to their college or university. 3.Researching Colleges plan to spend quality time the summer before your junior year,using tools likeNavianceto research collegesand universities. It isfun andthe filters make it very easy.You can also get a goodintroductorysense of collegesand universitiesby looking at their websites. VT: What are the best ways to go about selecting a terrific essay topic? Oliver: Know thyself before thy write! High school is about developing ones deeper skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Use this liberal education and development process to learn more about oneself through the minds of absentee teachers in great books and great conversations taking place therein. From these great conversations, one can observe and absorb more about ones desires in living a good life and about ones aims in contributing to a good society. A terrific essay must be fully authentic about ones young life lived full out and colleges are interested in young people who aim to turn up the volume in their lives inside their college environment, which can be thought of as parks of beauty, featuring varied longstanding questions and truths taught and researched by excellent faculty and scholars supported in bountiful goodness of extraordinary staff and administrators.Write an essay that tells thereader about YOU as a person.Remember that admissions counselors wi ll already have seen your grades, test scores, and accomplishments. They want to get to know you ona deeper level with the essay.At some colleges, you will be required to write multiple essays. So,make sure they each reveal another aspect of who you are.Makethe essay interesting to read. It isthe story of YOU. So,think of it as the first few pages of a novel.Know that writing the essay will take far more time than you expect. So,allow for this. Let a teacher, counselor or parent read your rough draft and listen to their feedback. Dont be offended or feel overwhelmed,because it will all be worth it! VT: Are there any essay topics you get tired of seeing or would warn students to stay away from? Oliver: Stay away from inauthentic essays submitted, which are far away from how a student will be transformed into the clearing of possibilities possibly achieved from a possible college education, in order to take advantage of what President Obama recently stated in his second inaugural address that possibilities are limitless in America.Avoid writing about how someone inspiredyou,because the risk is that you will spend most of the essay writing about that person rather than about yourself. This wont help the admissions counselor get to know YOU. VT: What is the biggest mistake a student can make on a college application? Oliver: Lie. Why start out one's college career with academic misconduct? College is a momentary detour of thought and reflection on the journey and game of life. Why rest one's generous thought and reflection on a lie? Its unstable ground.Also, avoid these 4additionalmistakes: 1. Submitting the applicationon the deadline.For many colleges, the application deadline is December 31st.Why would you wait until 11:59 pm to press the send button on your application? This just increases the likelihood for problems as collegesand university admissions teamsmust print your entire application. And, givenmanyothersstudents procrastinate, why place your application inside that last minute company. 2.Writing less than the maximumnumber of words on the essay.If the maximum number of words is 250, then dont write 100 words! 3.Skipping the Optional Essay.Why miss the opportunity for the admissions committeeto get to know you better? 4. Forgetting to proof read!Have your parents readyour essay backwards to look for spelling errors. And ask your parentsto read youressaysa couple of times for grammatical errors. VT: What is the typical process an admissions officer goes through to evaluate applications? Oliver: Generally, there is an extensive reading committee of each application. Not only in consideration of meritorious excellence alongside diversity and participation goals of the college/university mission and strategies. But also, in consideration of a seven-step flow process with automatic applicant-qualifying typical seven-exit points into direct early admissions, with the last exit point falling into a more extensive review by a centrally-based faculty review committee on admissions. The final decision of this committee determines whether an application is finally accepted or denied admission. Of course, a plethora of varied appeal processes may and often do exist, consistent with the American principles, rules, standards, and values of complete fairness and due-process. VT: What do you think is the single most important thing a student should make sure they present in the best possible way on their application? Oliver: The essays are king. Please know that all essays are read by the reading committees very carefully these days. Especially so given the growing number of applicants that one must compete with for a valued-seat in the freshman class of an American college or university.Write the essay in your own voice.Admissions counselors can quickly spot the voice of an adult. Also, make sure that you meet as many people who will evaluateyour application as possible.Personally meet with the admissions counselor within the scope and geography of your colleges and universities of interest.Attend local presentations by the colleges and universities of your interests. If aninterview is offered either on-campus or off-campus, do it. VT: How should students go about determining the culture of a university, and whether they would be a good fit? Oliver: Visit the college or university campus. I call them churches of higher education or open parks of quiet beauty enjoyed by surrounding communities and neighborhoods. Some colleges and universities are actually cities within a city with all the amenities and public works enjoyed inside most urban centers across America. College and universities nowadays are widely branded online. Also, they have a sense of place that must be experienced by parents, teachers, counselors, and students. Because, above all, a higher education is as much an experience in its diversity and participation, as it is a mission of service of philanthropy to the American experience. This must be felt by parents, teachers, counselors, and students physically, in person not just virtually online. Remember, a prestigious, often highly selective, freshman class is an implicit promise of a four-year annuity to a college or university that must be taken as an intangible goodwill of the college or university br and. Parents, teachers, counselors, and students must experience the goodwill and implicit promise on the promise of what I call a dream-paper awarded to a student upon experience and completion of four-years of a higher education on how to live a good life.Trust yourself.You will know if there is a fit.If possible, visit the college, spend the night in the dorm, and spend the day with a student in hisor her classes. VT: Early-action, early-decision, binding/non-binding, regular decisions...With so many choices when applying, what do you recommend to students? Oliver: Do it all respect the process participate in it all early-action, early-decision, binding/non-binding, regular decisions if one wants something in life, one must not wait until it is given to you. One must in life, know thyself, next go for what you want, make your case, establish your support, and then ask for something in life you want. A higher education in life is a wonderful moment when it is all about you. And, what you want and need to fully prepare oneself for a good life is all about how to make a difference in others life through ones life and the lives of others. This is why college, as a uniquely American experience, is so beloved an institution of this country. Inasmuch as the university is such an interconnected American institution alongside family, church, state, corporation, and philanthropy. Applying to a college or university embarks students along the path of respect for American institutions. So, respect the process. Its fun! And, the process is full of enlightenment for parents, teachers, counselors, and students.Early decision is binding,while early action is not. So,you can only apply early decision to one school.Applying early decision significantly increases your chances of acceptance.If you need financial aid, your parents must submit paperwork on early decision timing.Your acceptance letter will include specifics of your financial aid package contingent uponfinal tax documents.Not all colleges offer early action, but many schools have a rolling decision process. So,it is always best to submit your application as early as possible. VT: How important are grades and standardized test scores when admissions decisions are being made? Oliver: Grade point averages and standardized test scores are extremely essential in respecting the process of college and university application and admissions. Such application and admissions are, in consideration as stated earlier, of the meritorious alongside diversity and participation goals of the college or university mission and strategies. And, these application and admissions are, in consideration once again, of a seven-step flow process with automatic applicant-qualifying typical seven-exit points into direct early admissions.Your grades andtest scores are very important. But,the classes that you choose are also extremely important (referto my answer to question #1).Dont make the mistake of getting so involved in extra-curricular activities that you neglect yourgrades.Admissions counselors want to make sure that you can do college-level work. VT: What tips do you have for students asking their teachers for letters of recommendation? Oliver: Do not ask teachers for letters of recommendation that have little idea about you as a person, your scholastic achievements, your extracurricular interests, intermediate goals in college, and your long-term goals in life. Ask teachers to shape questions for you to examine that are related to varied fields of study, not only you desire to explore deeply in a college education, but also you desire to do as a vocation in life. If what you plan to do in life does not match your inner desires in life, then how can you turn up the volume in your life? I believe college is a place where one can turn up the volume in ones life in order to make a difference with integrity and trust, responsibility and accountability, and self-expression and generosity. Forasmuch as college does works as partners with government, industry, and philanthropy to contribute knowledge. So, young people can come out well-prepared to embark upon a good life of understanding others. And hopefully, read, write, listen, and speak to persons of wisdom. And, eventually become a wise man or a wise woman in the grace of ones almighty in spirit. So, be sure to ask teachers for letters of recommendation, who have shaped your questions into your truths, beauty and goodness to achieve more knowledge and fuller understanding about your path to wisdom. This takes a lifetime to do. Ask carefully from your teachers a letter of recommendation, not just about your college admission, but also about your life path to wisdom. Those letters I assure you will definitely shine through the many others read by the college or university reading committee. Such letters, I assure you, will spiritually move these reading committees. They will accept you.Select teachers who know you well and ask them to write yourletter early in the semester.You want to make sure they have enough time to craft a quality letter so dont wait until the last minute when they are besieged by other requests. Visit OliverMcGee.org for more information. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Statistics Answers - Online Math Tutoring

Statistics Answers - Online Math Tutoring Definition: - Statistics is a group of methods used to collect, analyze, present, and interpret data and to make decisions. Every day we make decisions that may be personal, business related, or of some other kind. Usually these decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty. Many times, the situations or problems we face in the real world have no precise or definite solution. Statistical methods help us make scientific and intelligent decisions in such situations. Example: - Opening a large store with or without assessing the need for it may affect its success. Other example: - We may want to find the starting salary of a typical college graduate. To do so, we may select 2000 recent college graduates, find their starting salaries, and make decision based in this information. Types of statistics:- There are two types of statistics: Descriptive statistics Inferential statistics Descriptive Statistics consists of methods for organizing, displaying, and describing data by using tables, graphs, and summary measures. Inferential statistics consists of methods that use sample results to help make decisions or predictions about a population. This branch of statistics is also called inductive reasoning or inductive statistics. Note: - In statistics, the collection of all elements of interest is called a population. The selection of a few elements from this population is called a sample.

How online tutoring enhances professional development of your child

How online tutoring enhances professional development of your child 0SHARESShare Today, the education industry has widely adopted online learning and distance education. Most of the schools partner with online tutoring services to facilitate their students with extra help and assistance from trained and professionally skilled online tutors. Online tutors are competent enough in their content knowledge and pedagogical skills that use effective methods which benefits lot of private and public schools and college students. High performing online tutoring programs not only focuses curriculum but targets initiation of critical thinking, problem solving and real-world investigations among the students right at the school level. Today, reputed online tutoring websites are initiated by education reformers. They target to serve every need of all the students belonging to small and big schools, colleges and learning communities with personalized tutoring. They have designed broader programs catalog that benefits student with special education, credit recovery, advanced courses, thus make them ready to meet skills of future workforce. The interactions that take place in online learning are at the heart of enhancing professional development of the students. Expanded tutoring time and initiatives to access quality online programs build high level of student’s engagement. The skillfully blended digital instructions, resources, assessments and dynamic interpersonal interaction build the sense of community. Similar to traditional classroom, online learning get boost up when online tutors actively remain involved in learning process, guiding through lessons and clarifying each instructions to the student. Frequent communications, scheduled and instant tutoring, feedback, skill checking improve student’s learning. Each of this pedagogy enhances professional development of your child. [starbox id=admin]

10 Mind-blowing Research Findings to Supercharge Your ESL Lessons

10 Mind-blowing Research Findings to Supercharge Your ESL Lessons Research Findings I presented the following 10 research findings at the Rascals Conference in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, on June 4th, 2018. The handout is here. Get the error correction card game that I described. The PowerPoint and references are below. I have created a web version of the talk that I gave and uploaded it to YouTube so that if you missed my talk or want to share these mind-blowing findings with your colleagues, you can. I have included 9 x 2-minute discussion questions to stimulate discussion and help you supercharge the ESL pedagogy in your at your school. Please share and comment. It is difficult to improve without feedback, so please let me know how I could improve my talk. Research Findings 1. Teachers are inept and deluded (Kruger Dunning, 1999). More than 90% of teachers think that they are above average (Cross, 1977).Teachers are inept at recognizing our ineptitude because we don’t know what we don’t know and because we interpret the absence of complaints as a success.We underestimate how long it takes to learn skills we ourselves have mastered.We overestimate what our colleagues and students know. 2. Effect-size indicates that some interventions work much better than others, despite what teachers believe. Smaller class sizes (20-30 students) learn more than class sizes of about 80 (d=0.21) because smaller classes permit group work and more feedback on classroom behaviors (Hattie, 2009).Computer-assisted learning (d=0.37) is 75% more effective at improving student performance than a smaller class size because of the volume of timely feedback it can deliver (Hattie, 2009). 3. Firing 10% of the worst teachers will dramatically improve education (d=75) and stimulate the economy (Hanushek, 2011). Firing 8% of the worst teachers in the U.S. would raise the level of education to that of Finland.Replacing an average teacher with an above average teacher adds $400 000 of value to the economy every year based on calculations of derived demand. 4. Degrees and experience have no effect on teacher quality Degrees and experience have no effect on teacher quality (Hanushek, 2011).Teacher quality only improves in the first 3-5 years of a teacher’s career unless other measures are taken. 5. Teacher quality is best improved by making 3 changes to the way you teach: video-recording your teaching to watch and analyze for improvements (d=88)maximizing the clarity of your feedback by refining your instructions and explanations (d=0.75)and developing good student-teacher relationships (d=0.72) 6. Teachers routinely sabotage student learning: Using textbooks and lessons with irrelevant colour pictures compete with the text for the student’s attention and activate the wrong schema, making new information irretrievable (Harp Mayer, 1997; Mayer, Heiser, Lonn, 2001).Over-emphasizing formal registers in courses for non-fluent (100 101) learners reduces integrative motivation when those students are placed in informal social situations (Segalowitz, 1976).Prioritizing argumentation and debate in ESL reduce interest-based motivation to speak, group cohesion, and therefore group productivity (Poupore, 2014).Prioritizing argumentation instead of narratives in courses for business students leaves them unprepared for the most common business communication tasks in corporations (Jameson, 2001).Teaching the 5-paragraph essay encourages anti-scientific thinking (Berggren, 2008), and its overemphasis at college leaves students unprepared for the range of writing tasks they will face in the workplace and universityâ€"and teaching onl y the 5-paragraph essay has a deskilling effect on teachers (Moss, 2002).Failing to align objectives, instruction, and evaluation tasks reduces achievement by up to two standard deviations (Cohen, 1987). The failure to align CEGEP ESL courses is most evident in the continued use of discrete-item grammar tests and academic writing tasks to test a range of verb tenses. Academic writing contains only a high frequency of simple present verbs (Biber et al., 1999). In contrast, narrative writing tasks containing quoted speech can reliably elicit modals, simple present, present continuous, simple past, past continuous, present perfect, and future (will and be going to). 7. Disciplinary removal is ineffective at teaching the social curriculum (Skiba Peterson, 2003). The social curriculum is more effectively taught through presentation of positively framed rules, practice, and feedback, and by using colleagues to communicate expectations to students 8. Production (even silent mouthing) enhances explicit recall better than silent study (McCleod et al., 2010). Circling, underlining, and highlighting have only a small effect on explicit recall compared to saying words aloud, miming, drawing, or mouthing words. 9. Reciprocal teaching has one of the largest effects (d=74) on student learning (Hattie, 2009). Learning effectiveness pyramid Getting students to teach each other has three times the effect of smaller classes. Rather than trying to reduce the student to teacher ratio further, it is much better to get the students to take turns teaching each other by leading discussions on weekly readings. The effect comes not so much from the pedagogical skills of students but from their desire to master the material when it is their turn to teach. 10. Self-reporting grades (d=1.44) and formative exams (d=0.90) have the biggest impact on student learning of all the interventions reported in the scientific literature (Hattie, 2009). Simply getting students to predict their score on an exam makes them work harder to achieve that score. Self-reporting grades is a kind of goal setting activity that has about twice the effect size of reciprocal teaching.The second best classroom intervention imvolves giving formative exams. Getting forewarning about ones performance on an exam allows the student to concentrate on areas of weakness that were not visible to them before. PowerPoint Presentation This is an embedded Microsoft Office presentation, powered by Office Online. References Berggren, A. (2008). Do Thesis Statements Short-Circuit Originality in Students’ Writing? In Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/dcbooks.5653382.0001.001 Biber, D., S. Johansson, G. Leech, S. Conrad and E. Finegan (1999), Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Harlow: Pearson Education. Cohen, S.A. (1987). Instructional alignment: Searching for a magic bullet. Educational Researcher, 16, 16-20. Cross, P. (1977). Not can but will college teaching be improved? New Directions for Higher Education, 17, 1-15. Duxbury, A. R. (2008). Speaking my mind: the tyranny of the thesis statement. NCTE English Journal, 97(4). Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/journals/ej/issues/v97-4. Hanushek, E. A. (2011). “The economic value of higher teacher quality. Economics of Education Review 30: 466-479. Harp, S. F., Mayer, R. E. (1997). The role of interest in learning from scientific text and illustrations: On the distinction between emotional and cognitive interest. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 92-102. Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London, UK: Routledge. Jameson, D. (2001). Narrative discourse and management action. Journal of Business Communication, 476-511. Kruger, Justin; Dunning, David (1999). Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing Ones Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. American Psychological Association. 77 (6): 1121â€"1134. Mayer, R. E., Heiser, J., Lonn, S. (2001). Cognitive constraints on multimedia learning: When presenting more material results in less understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 187â€"198. MacLeod, C. M., Gopie, N., Hourihan, K. L., Neary, K. R., Ozubko, J. D. (2010). The production effect: Delineation of a phenomenon.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36(3), 671-685. Moss, G. (2002). The five-paragraph theme. The Quarterly, 24(3). Retrieved from https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/download/nwp_file/467/The_Five-Paragraph_Theme.pdf?x-r=pcfile_d Poupore, G. (2014). The influence of content on adult L2 learners’ task motivation: An interest theory perspective. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics: 17, 2: 69-90. Segalowitz, N. (1976). Communicative incompetence and the non-fluent bilingual. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 8(2), 121-131. Skiba, R. Peterson, R. (2003). Teaching the social curriculum: School discipline as instruction.Preventing School Failure, 47(2), 66-72. Please follow and like us:

Do I Really Need to Know the Krebs Cycle

Do I Really Need to Know the Kreb's Cycle MCAT Medical School Admissions Since the introduction of the biochemistry section to the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), premedical students across the country have bemoaned its addition to the exam. As a first-year medical student who just finished my biochemistry block, I am coming to realize the importance of learning the Kreb’s cycle and other seemingly arbitrary facts. This article is intended to provide tips and tricks on how to learn and memorize some of the more complex portions of the biochemistry section of the MCAT. I also hope to provide some clinical relevance to help motivate you in studying this dense material. Memorizing biochemical pathways such as glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle can be intimidating just based on the sheer volume of information. The key to memorizing these pathways is to first identify the important steps. These often coincide with the use of molecules such as ATP, GTP, NADH, and NADPH due to their irreversible or redox reactions. The highest yield studying comes from knowing these steps cold on your MCAT. Location also become an important factor physiologically. For example, the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase is only found in the liver, meaning that glycogen can only be broken down in the liver. Lack of enzyme activity from glucose-6-phosphatase or glucose-1 phosphatase for example result in glycogen storage diseases such as Von Gierke’s or Pompe’s disease. These enzymes are critical for storage of glucose in glycogen or release of glucose from glycogen. There are many diseases linked to glycolysis, glycogenesis, glycogenolysis, Kreb’s cycle, urea cycle and many ot her biochemical pathways that are life threatening and require a strong understanding of how these pathways operate. After you have memorized the key points in biochemical pathways, there are a few ways to fill in the blanks and memorize the remainder of these pathways. An easy way to memorize these pathways is to find steps that make sense intuitively. For example, citrate is synthesized from oxaloacetate by the enzyme citrate synthase. A more complex example is that isocitrate converted into alpha-ketoglutarate through a dehydration reaction by isocitrate dehydrogenase. As you go through the pathways, try to use your vocabulary and understanding of structures developed in organic chemistry to make these steps more logical rather than using brute memorization. You will remember the steps better and it will reflect in your MCAT score. Finally, when all else fails utilize the memory palace! The memory palace is a favorite tool of medical students and can be found in a great Ted Talk (click here). To keep it simple, the memory palace is a way of linking words to visual cues. Typically, the person memorizing uses a place that is familiar to them such as their childhood home and mentally walks through the house as you go through the steps of memorization. For example, as you progress through each step of the biochemical pathway, you enter a room with visual cues that remind you of the molecules and enzymes linked to those. This technique is used by professionals who compete in memorization competitions and has been shown to be very effective. For example, if I was trying to memorize glycolysis, I would imagine myself at the front door of my house holding a bottle of ‘glue’ which sounds like glucose and on the front door there is a hexagonal wreath which represents the enzyme hexokinase. As I reach to knock on the door I see the number ‘6’ on the knocker which represents that my glue will become ‘glucose-6-phosphate’ when it interacts with hexokinase. I’ll stop here and let you continue to play with this technique on your own. Studying these pathways now will prove to be a great asset to you both in improving your score and when you begin medical school where you learn at a very rapid pace. Put in the time now and you will be glad you did later on! About the Author Jordan Salley is one of MyGuru's most accomplished MCAT tutors. Clickhereto learn more!

San Diego the Ideal City for the Learning Experience

San Diego the Ideal City for the Learning Experience The birthplace of California, San Diego, is a place of many guises. It is not only a major economic center, an important naval base and a fertile agricultural area, but it also has a prominent art, culture, recreation and scientific research community. The idyllic climate, 70 miles of sandy beaches and an array of world-class attractions, including Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego, make San Diego one of the best tourist destinations worldwide.   The area of San Diego has a vibrant historic background. It was inhabited by the Kumeyaay people for more than 10,000 years; it was also the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States and a scene of numerous important historical events.  The Spaniard Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to set foot on California when his ship entered the San Diego bay in 1542. Now San Diego is a location for leading businesses for biotechnology, software, electronics, aviation and other major industries and has more than 1.3 million residents. Being the eighth-largest city in the U.S. and the second-largest city in California, San Diego preserves  a comfortable, small town atmosphere. It is a great place to live, study and work. In 2006 MONEY Magazine rated the city as the fifth-best place to live in the United States. Education is a top priority industry in San Diego and the city provides wide opportunities for the learning experience. Recent legislation stipulates major improvements to all public schools in the City with new facilities, repairs and upgrades. Class sizes from kindergarten to third grade were reduced to less than 20 students per class. More than 250 new teachers have been hired and new schools are funded for construction in order to achieve the smaller class size. Now teachers are able to give more personalized attention to each student which contributes to a general raise in quality of education. The student to teacher ratio in San Diego for public schools is 19:1, which is 15.9% greater than the National student to teacher ratio. For a population 25 years and over in San Diego: 86% of residents completed at least  high school, 41.3% of people hold a bachelors degree or higher and over 13% of San Diegans have a graduate or professional degree. San Diego has the highest percentage of college graduates of any city in the country and also tops all other U.S. cities in the number of Ph.Ds per capita. The San Diego Unified School District, which operates the majority of the public schools in the city, is the second largest district in California and serves about 132,000 students in pre-school through grade 12. It employs more than 7,000 teachers and includes 9 K-8 schools, 118 traditional elementary schools, 24 traditional middle schools, 14 atypical/alternative schools, 26 high schools and 44 charter schools. There are also a number of parochial and private schools throughout the City of San Diego. Major universities in San Diego include San Diego State University (SDSU), the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and the University of San Diego (USD). San Diego State University, the oldest and largest university in San Diego, has an enrollment of nearly 31,000 students. SDSU offers bachelors degrees in 84 areas of study, 76 masters degrees and doctorates in 21 areas. It is home to nationally recognized academic programs in international business, entrepreneurship, speech-language pathology, biology, geography, psychology, nursing and other areas. The most popular degree programs include management, business administration, computer science, public health and biology. The University of California at San Diego, one of the University of Californias 10 campuses, has six undergraduate colleges, five academic divisions and five graduate and professional schools. Total campus enrollment is over 29,000 students. The university offers 125 bachelors degree programs organized into six disciplinary divisions: Social Sciences, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Science/Math, Humanities, and Arts. UCSDs graduate and professional schools include: Scripps Institution of Oceanography (one of the oldest and largest centers for marine science research in the world), School of Medicine, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jacobs School of Engineering and Rady School of Management. UC San Diego was ranked the 1st in the nation by the Washington Monthlys 2011 College Guide and the 36th best university in the world by Times Higher Education in its 2012-13 “World Universities Rankings”. The University of San Diego is a private, nonprofit, Roman Catholic university, which enrolls over 8,300 students. USD is well regarded for its outstanding undergraduate liberal arts education, and for its masters and doctoral programs in business, law, education, nursing and peace studies. There are 8 community colleges located throughout the San Diego area, as well as many private institutions of higher learning and business and vocational schools. A large number of research centers located in San Diego are specialized in such areas as nuclear energy, oceanography, biological sciences and astronomy. The most prominent of them are the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, focused on molecular biology, neuroscience, genetics and plant biology; and the Palomar Observatory, a center for astronomy research. San Diegos strong economy, unique combination of high-tech industry and recreational opportunities, great educational and research institutions, highly-educated population result in unsurpassed quality of life of the city’s inhabitants and make it the ideal place for business, education and life. Visit TutorZ.com to find a private tutor in San Diego, CA.

Things No One Tells You About Being an Intern

Things No One Tells You About Being an Intern Image via Isorepublic.com   The first few days will be an overwhelming information overload… Be prepared, because the first day of your internship will be an information overload. You will likely go to orientation and social events, where you will be given many instructions and meet many people. You will likely sit through multiple presentations. You might even be given some reading material to help you get started in your position and to learn more about the program or company you will be working in. The first day of your internship will be fun and exciting, but it will also be hard for you to remember everything. To help you remember what you learned, you should bring a notebook and pen to quickly jot down notes about who you met and what was discussed during orientation meetings. It’s also a good idea to bring a folder to store any papers you might be given, since you don’t want the papers to get lost at the bottom of your backpack. Having these supplies within your reach will help you prepare for the fun, overwhelming, information-heavy first day of your internship. …But you will become a pro in no time! Don’t get discouraged or overwhelmed by all the information you need to take in on the first day. Similarly, don’t be discouraged if you do not understand things the first time around. You won’t be like your co-workers, who have been in that workplace for a longer period of time. You should not expect yourself to have all the skills and knowledge on the first day of your internship. Isn’t the whole purpose of the internship to give you those skills and knowledge? Instead, focus on improving yourself during the internship. Throughout those few weeks, you will see how much you learn and grow (not only as a young professional, but as a person, too!).  Throughout your time at the office, you will practice the skills you have learned until you become so good at it, it will become second nature. By the end of your time at your internship, you will become a pro at what you have done there. However, this will not happen overnight! Give yourself time to learn, and you will become an efficient, skilled worker. Don’t be afraid to ask questions Especially on the first day of your internship, you will have a lot of questions and will need some guidance to start your project. Do not be afraid to ask for guidance or to ask any questions you might have. When people say “there is no such thing as a dumb question”, they are right! You will be a better worker if you have your questions answered. It’s better to ask a “dumb” question than to make a mistake on a project because you did not ask for help. Instead, ask for help when you need it, particularly when you are first starting out and still learning how things work at the office. Asking questions will save you lots of trouble throughout the course of your internship. Infographic by Alyssa Laffitte It’s important to have a mentor Your mentor is likely the person you will go to with your questions, so it is important to have a mentor to help you out. Your mentor does not necessarily need to be your boss. In fact, you might not even see your main boss every day, so your mentor will need to be someone who is in the office with you day-to-day. Specifically, your mentor should be someone more experienced in the field, who is available and can dedicate time to train, coach, supervise, and guide you. This person will help you when you get stuck, and make sure you are learning what you need to learn. Specifically, they should be available to train you during your first few days at the office. Your mentor will be a resource to help you be successful in your internship. Forming a relationship with a more experienced co-worker that can help you throughout your internship will make all the difference in your internship experience. You should use your internship as a networking opportunity Of course, a major part of an internship is gaining experience in your chosen field. However, another important part of an internship is to network with people who have already established themselves in the field. The people you meet at this company could help you find a job in the future, or they might introduce you to someone who will (OR, you might help them!). It is always a good idea to expand your professional network. Part of networking is maintaining the relationships you formed during your internship even after you leave; specifically, the relationships with your co-workers and your boss. This can be as simple as sending a quick email every few months giving them an update on your life. Keeping in contact with your internship network might make them more willing to write you a recommendation letter when you need to apply for jobs or graduate school. Similarly, if you want to work at the same company, they can put in a good word for you. These are the benefits of knowing many people in the field. While you are completing your internship, make an effort to get to know people in the workplace and keep in touch with them even after you leave. You never know if you will need each other in the future! Effective communication is crucial in the workplace You have heard this many times, but communication is crucial in the workplace. Effective communication will form you into not only a good worker, but a good friend, too. You must mean what you say and say what you mean. Similarly, you must make an effort to be sure you understand what other people are saying. This will prevent misunderstandings that will lead to problems. Here are some general tips for effective communication: Ask for clarification when you do not understand something. Just as you should not be ashamed to ask questions, you should not be ashamed to ask someone to clarify the message they want to communicate to you. Use the “parrot” technique. The “parrot” technique involves repeating back to someone, in your own words, what they said to you. This will give the other person the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings you might have. In other words, it ensures you received the message the other person was trying to convey. Think before you speak. Before you say anything, take a second to think about the best way to convey your message. It may sound simple, but it is very important! Ask if the other person understood you. Following these tips will help you communicate well, and in turn, avoid misunderstandings in the workplace. You should treat your internship like a real job Although your job may “only” be an internship and you may “only” be an intern, you should treat your internship like a real job. In other words, you must take it seriously. You must arrive and leave on time, keep lunch breaks to a reasonable length, follow the rules, respect your co-workers and boss, and genuinely try your best in your work. These are all things you will need to do when you have an actual job. If you treat your internship like a real job, you will be more likely to be a successful intern. You will produce high-quality work and gain the respect of your co-workers and boss. They will see your true potential, that you will be a fantastic worker to have on their team! Distractions will be a big problem, but you can avoid them Part of respecting your workplace and treating your internship like a “real job” is to keep all distractions away. For example, even one notification on your phone can ruin your momentum. Scrolling on social media for just one minute will do the same thing. These distractions will keep you from doing your work. They will break your workflow and your concentration, and it is scientifically proven that it will take you a few minutes to return to your original level of focus. Also, if you have already been distracted, it will be difficult to break away from your distraction and return to work. For that reason, it’s better to avoid the distractions in the first place! To avoid distractions, you should keep your workspace as clean as possible. For example, do not have unnecessary tabs open on your Internet browser. (If you’re like me, those “unnecessary tabs” are likely social media websites, which will be very tempting to open when you are bored at work.) Similarly, you should physically stash away distractions, too. If your work does not require it, do not use your computer. If you must use your computer, download a browser plugin that will block certain websites during work hours. You should also physically stash away your cell phone, too. Although distractions are tempting, they can be avoided with those tricks. When you avoid distractions, you will be a more productive worker. In turn, you will gain more from your internship experience. On the last day of your internship, you should ask your boss for feedback When your internship comes to an end, it would be a good idea to ask your boss for feedback. Asking for feedback shows you are eager to learn and continue improving yourself. Your boss will appreciate that. Specifically, you should ask about the areas in which you need to improve. Don’t take this feedback too personally. Instead, use it to become a better worker for your next internship or job. Additionally, you can also ask about the areas in which you performed well. You will know to continue doing these things. Your boss’s advice can help you grow to become a better, more productive worker. Image via Isorepublic.com Your internship is a valuable learning experience At the end of the day, your internship should be a learning experience above all else. You will learn not only the technical details and the day-to-day life of someone who works in your desired field, but you will also learn how to be a good worker, connect with others in the field, and decide if it is for you. You will learn a lot about yourself as a person, too. For this reason, you should take a few minutes after you finish your internship to reflect on your experience. Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? Could you see yourself doing something like that for the rest of your life? If you liked the industry, could you see yourself working full-time in that workplace? It’s okay if you ended up not enjoying your internship experience. An internship is a great way to decide if you want to stay in an industry or not, and if you didn’t enjoy it, maybe you should consider pursuing a different field. It’s better to switch majors now than to change an entire career path later on in life (although it can be done, it’s better to find out sooner rather than later if you do not like a specific field). All in all, see your internship as the learning experience it is. Use it to guide your next steps in life as you discover more about yourself and your field of interest.