How do I find and apply for a college scholarships?

 You could be the next student excitedly opening the envelope awaiting the words from your college . . . you have won (a Scholarship)! But, you can't open the envelope if you don't do the preparation of applying for the scholarship! Make today count . . . nobody earns a scholarship just waiting by the mailbox . . . start a search, network with others, write an essay, ask for help!


Go to Mrs. Maria Martin's  blog at www.scholarshipcheerleader.blogspot.com to find helpful tips on finding and applying for college scholarships.

Discover how to get 60 high demand college degrees in our own back yard (Universities at Shady Grove)

The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) is an innovative partnership of 9  of Maryland's top universities offering higher education at one convenient campus in Montgomery County. USG offers more than 60 high demand degree programs: no single campus in Maryland offers the diversity of degrees offered a this one location near us.


For more information including information on "Open Houses" go to:


http://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/prospective-students/meet-usg-representative 


...and start under the tab "Perspective Students"

Thinking about college? Explore the possibilities!

If you're thinking about college, it's also time to start thinking about college majors and careers. Here's the place to explore all the possibilities by going to CollegeBoard and explore your options from many different angles at:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/majors_careers/

Major & Career Profiles

Before searching for colleges by the majors they offer, take the time to learn about some of the majors and careers profiled here.
Major & Career Profiles

All About Majors & Careers

• Major & Career Profiles

Information on Careers

• Hottest Careers for College Graduates New!
• Industries with the Fastest and Biggest Growth New!
• Careers that Fit
• Reading Career Profiles Ten Questions to Ask Yourself
  
• Add Up Your Interests: Career Possibilities
• Similar Careers and the Differences Between Them
• Matching Careers to Degrees

College Majors

• Majors that Fit
• College Major FAQs
• Reading Major Profiles Ten Questions to Ask Yourself
  
• Career-Oriented Majors and Liberal Arts Majors
• Career Colleges
• Choosing Your College Major
• Health and Medicine Majors
• Thinking About Nursing School?
• The Preprofessional Degree: Business
• Justice and Law Majors

Planning for Jobs and Internships

• Turning Interests into Jobs
• Exploring Careers Step by Step
• Reality Checks for Career Planning
• How to Find an Internship

College is a time of discovery - exploring majors is common thru sophmore year

Explore Majors
> information email sent from Collegeboard.com

Did you know that most college students change majors at least once, and many switch several times? College is a time of self-discovery. In fact, chances are your child's future college encourages exploration — often in the form of general education requirements. Students don't have to commit to most majors until the end of their sophomore year, although certain majors have so many required courses that students should start taking them as freshmen.

Most high school students are unaware of the wide variety of majors open to them. Encourage your child to explore the many options on our website. For more in-depth coverage of college majors and an interactive experience that includes a personality test, look into MyRoad™. Your child might already have a free subscription through school or the PSAT/NMSQT® program's My College QuickStart™.

 Free profiles of college majors and related articles
 In-depth coverage of majors plus a personality test

How do I start to write my first resume?

If you have never written a resume before, the website Best Sample Resumes has helpful hints and templates for a good "starter" high school resume  like the one below.  

In a student's resume, you highlight your achievements like your projects, extracurricular activities, summer jobs and any other part time experience. Add a touch of your soft skills that are required in all professional jobs. 

For more basis information about how to write your first resume, go to their website at:

http://www.bestsampleresume.com/

Sample Resume: 

Joshua Jones

321 Waring Ave

State College PA 16801

814.237.2016 (cell)

High School Junior
State College High, State College, PA

Objective 

To get a summer position that will allow me to use and develop my strong organizational skills and people skills while making my contribution to a retail store's profitability.

Educational Credentials

• 3.8 GPA
• Honor Student  (Freshman: Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, Sophomore:  Spring 2010;  Junior: Fall 2010 and Spring 2011)
• Captain of the debate team 
• Captain of the chess team
• Came in third in the state spelling bee
• Won Student of the Year Award in 2009

Sports

• Part of the Wrestling Team, Our team won the district championship
• Reserve on the football team

Extracurricular Activities

• Part of the drama club
• Won the school spelling bee

Organizing Skills

• Helped the teachers organize all the school social functions
• Worked as a subject editor for the high school newspaper 

Work Experience

Giant Food store
Sales Clerk
Duration: March 2010 - May 2010
Responsibilities

• Helped the customers with their shopping
• Helped casher's with bagging customer purchases 
• Helped stock shelves

Pop's Hardware Store

Part-time Salesman
Duration: November 2009 - March 2010
Responsibilities

• Sold hardware equipment
• Wrote correspondence letters
• Maintained the daily cash book
• Showed customers how use the hardware equipment

Other Qualities

• Extremely hard working 
• Sharp memory
• Good writing skills 
• Good communications skills
• Enjoy interacting with people
• Good athlete

References

Available on request

Passion and Focus (John Piper's post - Steve Jobs: "He knew the Couple of Things He wanted to Do")

John Piper's reflections on Steve Job's focus in life helps encourages us to:

Get the wisdom of the house of mourning. Learn from the shadow of your own funeral. One thing matters. Whether you make an iPhone, or use an iPhone, let every breath, every thought, every deed be one thing-the "work of faith"-the work of the Lord.

Read on for what our focus should be as we pursue vocation that honors God and serves others taken from the following link:

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/steve-jobs-he-knew-the-couple-of-things-he-wanted-to-do

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Steve Jobs: "He Knew the Couple of Things He Wanted to Do: by John Piper | October 25, 2011

Steve Jobs, the biography by Walter Isaacson, went on sale yesterday. In an interview Isaacson commented on the effect Jobs' cancer had on his life focus.

He talked a lot to me about what happened when he got sick and how it focused him. He said he no longer wanted to go out, no longer wanted to travel the world. He would focus on the products. He knew the couple of things he wanted to do, which was the iPhone and then the iPad.

Wisdom in the House of MourningI just preached at a funeral. Funerals are high privileges for me. "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting" (Ecclesiastes 7:2). So much wisdom is to be had there. "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). This is what the house of mourning is for: Lessons in mortality and the learning of wisdom.
Sometimes God makes us go to the house of mourning. He decrees cancer. We are forced to live in the shadow of our funeral-the school of wisdom.
The wisdom Steve Jobs learned, he said, was this: Do a couple things, and do them well. You don't have time for much. And most of things are not lasting. So do two or three things, and do them amazingly.
Not a bad lesson. In fact, really good-as far as it goes.
What Matters Is United in One ThingBut when Paul described what he learned in the long shadow of his own funeral, it was based not merely on the inevitability of death, but on the death of death. "Death is swallowed up in victory"-through Jesus Christ.
Here's the lesson: "Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
There is one thing, not two or three, that matters. All is united in one thing: "The work of the Lord." It might be computers. It might be conversions. Whatever it is, in the shadow of your funeral, let it be "the work of the Lord."
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23). "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). "Whatever you do, do everything in the name of the Lord" (Colossians 3:17). By faith in Jesus, every act becomes this one thing-the work of the Lord.
Let Us LearnGet the wisdom of the house of mourning. Learn from the shadow of your own funeral. One thing matters. Whether you make an iPhone, or use an iPhone, let every breath, every thought, every deed be one thing-the "work of faith"-the work of the Lord.

Secular work is sacred - What we learn from the story of Dorcus

For the source of the post below, go to:  


http://msg1svc.net/servlet/Pv?c=703d63676926733d3738313236266d3d31323926743d4826723d4e2664613d30

Work Rewards
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
12-23-2011
"For He repays man according to his work, And makes man to find a reward according to his way." (Job 34:11 NKJV)
There is a belief held by many in the body of Christ that says "If I'm not doing something that has an inherent spiritual value, then it has no value at all." This sacred/secular dichotomy impacts believers everyday as they go into their secular workplace. They believe what their secular work is simply a means of supporting the real ministry carried out by local churches, ministers, missionaries, and vocational ministries.
However, this has no biblical basis. Some of the most important leaders in the early church had secular jobs. And, they did not see them as jobs only to support other ministry. They considered their own jobs as ministry.
Consider Dorcus (also known as Tabitha), who was a clothing manufacturer who was "abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did."(Acts 9:36)
When Dorcus died it was immediately brought to the attention of Peter which tells us she was very important to the early church leaders. "Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcus had made while she was still with them" (Acts 9:39). Dorcus was known equally for her business as well as her ministry among the people. However, she was about to be known for being raised from the dead!
"Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, 'Tabitha, get up.' She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord" (Acts 9:40-42).
What type of ministry in the workplace do you suppose Dorcus had after this event? Dorcus is a great reminder for every worker in the secular marketplace that "He repays man according to his work, and makes man to find a reward according to his way."