My Capstone

The beginning of conversations now:

Me: What's your major?

He/She: Biology, Nursing, or Business...etc................ But I don't know

Me: What you mean?

He/She: I don't really even know if I want that to be my major. That's just the first thing that popped into my head.

Me: O ok, but don't you think that you should be deciding soon on what you going to do before you waste time and money in classes and then decide to change your major.

He/She: Yeah I know.


          Concluding that, my capstone project involves how before one chooses a career he/she should have the right to find out what that person really does. I say at the end of 2 years after most of your basics are done your advisors should require you to go and do your research on the career by writing a paper and going and spend a week with an experienced person to see if that's what you really want to do almost every day of your life. This is my overall idea.

        In my visual aid I began with a high school student and he had just graduated chose a career and a school. He decided he wanted to be a doctor. I chose to make him want to be a doctor because a lot of people are just like him they want to title of doctor and think that it is easier enough to achieve. The guy in my visual aid though forgets one thing about a doctor he doesn't like which is the sight of blood; so now that this comes upon him he realizes that a career change is in order. He decides to choose business as a major and decides he actually likes it. He finishes school and is able to get a job doing something he feels comfortable with.

        I researched this particular topic because I know a lot of people that sit on wasted degrees. Researching this topic was at times difficult until I ran upon this thing that PBS is trying to do with the younger kids and even teenagers. They are trying to get them involved with their likes and if they don't have anything certain they are to take aptitude test in which your results will place you somewhere and it's up to you to decide if you like it or not. That got me to thinking; if someone could do that for the younger it has to work for the ones that are older and not so sure that they chose the right career. To see the visual aid I worked on click on the link below.
http://www.glogster.com/ketab/capstone-project/g-6l4e2l2k1m7iuv1bmnpv6a0

Reflection

 

          Before this class I didn't really know that much about blogs because that wasn't a major source for me. Now that I am in the class we had to be able to write our own blog post every other week. During this process I learned that there are different ways to write blogs and they are still relevant to today's news media. I also learned that they can be quite interesting when given a chance. My top three blogs just happen to go in sequential order; they are Blog Post#2, #3, and #4.

 

          For my reflection over all of my blogs I would like to start with my first official real blog which is Blog Post #2, which is Why College? In this blog post the goal was to explain in detail why did I go to college. For me this was a question that I knew the answer to but I had never sat down and formulated a complete thought about how to explain everything. So for me this topic was interesting because it gave me the insight to put my priorities together and make sure I really knew what I was talking about. I remember doing this blog like it was yesterday; I remember this because I bought the topic home and made it personal and that's what I think was my strength. My weakness was not being able to develop things as well as the others; there was a whole bunch of words no separation, graphics or links.

 

       After this blog we had to post about the reason for the generalization of college. The name of this blog was College...Why? It is basically saying, what is the point of college? In that I said that not everyone needs college but it is a good thing to have. My graph showed that people that have degrees have a generalization of making more money than others. I also talked about some successful people that made it without a degree. This was also one of the first times that we had to add links from websites and incorporate it with graphics. I think this blogs appearance was a lot better because it had the separation of paragraph that the other blog before that didn't have. My weakness was the way I incorporated my links into my blog, but again I was still learning the process of blogs.

      I don't know if this is my proudest blog but it sure is one of my favorites. It reminded me of my high school days because it's one of those things that we would have debated in class. When I read it over it sounded like me talking. In It's Up to You I talk about whether or not college is enough. As you can see by the title I talked about how it really depends on the person and what he/she decides to do with what they are given. I think I liked this blog because I agreed with what I said, in which, one has to push forward in what they really want and not let anyone tell them what they can and cannot do because at the end of day it's up to you. My strengths that I've been told, is my originality and how it was different than everyone else's.
     
      Overall in this course though I think I have learned a lot about blogging and will definitely look into them when doing research. I found out that blogs are actually interesting sometimes because it mixes facts with opinion and gives one the option to choose which side he/she wants to be on and I like that.

 

 

 

 

           

That's Interesting

That's Interesting

 

    Have you ever been made to read something? Well I read Share or Die and it's a book that consists of essays about people and how they did or did not survive in today's world and society. As I was reading I came across a specific essay; the title of it was Unprepared by Sarah Idzik. In this essay there is a girl/woman that has decided to go to college far away from home. Actually she decided to move from Pennsylvania to Chicago, which was a huge jump. This article drew me in because I didn't move to a whole other state but I am still a long ways from home. A lot of the things that she referenced to like being smart in high school applied to me in a way as well. We both had good grades, but when she came to college it was a whole different experience because she was a fish in a lake instead of a pond. I guess this made think about me and my experience because just like her I had opportunity to go to colleges close to home but just wanted something completely different. I am still learning how to adapt and do things. The image above says it all. There is no way to make sure any one somebody becomes successful beause at the end of the day it depends on you.

       Now, I like the essay and it applied to me but after that not so much. Sarah was one of those people who couldn't find a job that was worth her degree. She had to settle with what was offered to her. I don't mean to sound vain because that can happen to the best of us, but there is always another answer or choice. I may jinx myself but I'm going to say it anyway. I'm determined not to be that person and I'm not going to let anyone tell me that I can't do what I want to do; or what I went to school to do. See I know that it may seem as if I'm missing the whole point but in reality I'm pointing out a whole other point. When Sarah was discouraged she let that affect her future, when she should have kept pushing stronger. She could of not let that one job make her life miserable. When first entering into the job world she admitted she was naive and she compared herself to everyone else; comparing oneself to someone else is the first mistake. I know firsthand that there is always better but I also know that I can keep up with the best. When someone decides to compare he/she forget his/her own worth because everyone has something.

 

 

        I'm going to kind of get off subject but I'm going to give an example/story. When I was in high school I saw all types of brains and minds. There was a smart guy that had plenty of book sense little common sense and I'm pretty sure no street sense. There was another guy that had all three and had the potential to be smarter than the "smart guy." In saying that it's just to say don't knock down your own worth cause at the end of the day it makes you the most qualified.

 

I want to say that I don't blame Sarah because she went through her trails just as we all do. I understand that things can happen that can hinder anyone. All I'm saying is that when you fall get back up. At the end of the day you will not only be happy but you will be proud because you didn't let the economy or anything else determine your life; because guess what, the economy is going to always fluctuate and there is going to always going to be debt. So just make sure that you are able to live with whatever that happens.

 

It's up to You....

It's Up to You

When you were younger and your parents taught you right from wrong, correct? While saying this you also know that you didn't always do what was right or what they taught you. Well college is similar to that because it doesn't matter how much the professors teach you or how much training you go through at the end of the day the real life situations are going to be different. I think that John Coleman had a couple of points one of them being the question on whether or not things like leadership can be taught. The blog by, John Coleman, in particular hit home for me because I am majoring in the business under finance and I want to one day be a CFO so that argument is legit on whether or not everyone can do something. Back to the topic at hand, I think having an actual skill that is natural is far better than being taught. To continue with things about how someone is raised I'm going to say that I believe only certain things can be taught; for instance, you can be taught to say yes ma'am and no ma'am but your parents can't teach you how interact with their friends and how to be social. This means that there are such things that need to be learned by experience and experience only.

 

I think that this illustration is what John Coleman's example about Joey meant. See Joey had book sense and he was confident in his degree but he didn't have the wisdom to listen to someone else's advice and consider it. There is another point that can be proven too which is people don't thrive as much when they are forced into doing something. For instance, parents may give you advice, but most of the time it's a command; I say that because everyone knows that their mother/father have a look and those looks can make you reconsider whatever decision you were about to make. Let me elaborate, you are a freshman coming to college, because that's what you were expected to do; and you choose a major, that you don't necessarily want, because you don't want to disappoint or let anyone down. Well lets just say that you graduate with that degree you like it but your heart is not in it. If at the end of the day you don't want to be in your profession then most likely you won't learn and thrive in it. I'll Never Go Back to School is a story done in a blog and it sums up what I've been trying to say in a nutshell. Experience can tromp formal education any day that's why it takes more than getting a degree.

 

Ramesh Ponnuru's, "The Case Against College Education", brings up a question that has been debated over for a while now; which is, Should we help more kids go to college? Or should we make it easier for people who didn't go to college to make a living? That question is tricky but my answer to that is that we should help those who want to go to college, whoever they shall be. The latter question is a little more difficult because I agree with the fact that if you went to college you should earn more; I think that life should be more sustainable for those that didn't go to college. For instance, I think minimum wage should have one more bump, making it at least $9/per hour; that is decent for the average life. I have said before that I believe that an individual is in control of his/hers own outcome so if someone who didn't go to college wanted to make more they could all it takes is applying themselves.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with people that want to please their parents but, in my opinion, someone who cannot stand up to their parents probably isn’t going to be a boss; everyone is not meant to be a boss but sometimes just an employee. I think this is more or less what Mark David Milliron was trying to say in his article on his blog about what he look for in students and what others want in theirs as well. Me and him agree with a lot of points which is one ought to be able to stand up for him/herself.

 

 

 

 

The illustration above shows the meaning of my references earlier about how your parents raise you. If you are raised to things from birth it is more instilled within you. It also shows that after college it's time to decide the next move. Afterwards it's time to see what that college degree is going to actually do for you.

The question, Does College Matter After You Graduate? Asks some very interesting and valuable questions that I think should be left open for whomever to answer because again it's all up to you." In a world that's growing ever flatter and more complex, we need societies full of capable leaders.” says John Coleman. In saying that I totally agree be who you are whatever it may be. When you do it do it well and at the end of the day you are doing you.

 

To add on to this, people usually don't tell you the positive things that happen. When anyone looks at the news today all you see is stories about killing, robbing, politics, and lies. No one ever hears about the graduate student actually graduating and being rewarded with a decent job, even though it happens. No one hears about how the park stays clean due to garbage men, even though it happens. Or the assistant finally moving up and getting a better job.

When saying this we have to realize that it's not always good being negative. I'm a college student and there is a long list of people before me that have come along and have done the same thing as I. While saying that I also know that there were some success stories amongst the failures, but no one ever hears about those because they are too busy trying to be negative or just plain out listening to the news. The election is going on now and a lot of topics have been bought up including jobs. Studies show that college students of this generation are probably not going to be able to find jobs. I think that is a wrong assumption, instead people should start framing things to say that college students are going to have a hard time finding jobs because we, as Americans, have hired people from foreign countries to come do jobs that our people weren't qualified for. I say it's going to be hard because you are going to have to fight for what is rightfully yours. If more students would actually graduate and stop listening to the negatives they could target certain jobs and make that job there’s. Why? Because the only excuse companies had from the beginning is unqualified people, but you just changed that so that job should be yours right after all you did earn it.

In the long run that could eventually make the United States a stronger nation because we want have to rely on foreign workers who probably contribute as less as possible to our economy. We already rely on them for everything else, so we shouldn't have to rely on the people to.

College....Why?

   College....Why?

    College is a place for people that decide that they need to further their education. The decision is usually made in order to get a degree and make more money. I for one am a firm believer in that you get out what you put in; therefore, those who actually go to college not only benefit themselves but their family as well.Who knows one person could change a community or even the world. That's why I think that  Russell had some valid points when he writes the article on whether or not college is coming to an end; he had some ideas that I didn't agree with though because I think that society needs to have expectations(goals) in order to function properly or people won't have the intiative to do things. NPR's  and  Cyrn's article on debt also coincides with Russell's because it kind of gives the reason that people don't want to deal with college. They were right when they said that we have to be careful because debt can consume us causing there to be further problems in the future;they will not only suffer financially but also emotionally. I can understand why some people would just choose to just not go through with the whole college thing, but in my opinion college has way more perks.

    There are a lot of people in the world that are smart enough and have the potential to be some of the most brilliant people ever; the problem is that society has set a standard, in which, we feel as if we don't have to believe what you say if there's not a piece of paper to back up statements. Also many researchers have been able to prove that going to college has its benefits as the picture below shows:

Adam Looney and Michael Greenstone, the Hamilton Project

 

"Of the Americans who earn over $150,000, 82 percent had a bachelor’s degree. Just 6.5 percent had no more than a high school diploma. And while there are lots of stories about broke college grads, people with higher education are much less likely to have low incomes than those without degrees.
Sure, you say, but people graduate from college with a lot of debt, which must surely wipe out their higher earnings!"(Rampell, Catherine)

     When the concept of college is actually thought about Bobby wrote an article that is meant to make college students feel better about things concerning college. In his article he gives advice in telling that's okay for to be apprehensive because it's normal. In saying that, it makes it easier for college students to deal with the debts and obstacles of the college life.

  Saying all of that is just support for my earlier statement which consists of why college is good for you. What it all comes down to is that there are way more pros than cons to going to college. When someone goes to college they not only get to further their education but they get to experience life from a different view. Things are so different in college, example:social life, when someone enters college they experience things that they probably wouldn't without college. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference because for one by going to college you mentally prepare yourself to deal with all type of people, which can go a long ways in one's career choice.

Rampell, Catherine. "College, Still Worth It". Economix.The New York Times. 12 September    2012.http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/college-still-worth-it/.17 September 2012.

SheketaBryant Blog Post #2

Why College?

 

My answer for why I decided to further my education is based on exactly that furthering my education and deciding to do something better with my life; some teenagers decide to go to college for the parties and the social aspects and such, all that is good but that not and shouldn't be my main purpose. Me wanting to go to college and actually get a degree in something stimulates from my upbringing. I grew up in a small town, community, and school; it had a lot of people that had the opportunity and potential to a lot of things but never did anything with it. It was either they went to college lost their focus in the limelight and flunked out or said they were going to school and just never made it. Those same people who could've been the best at anything they wanted to be end up working at a fast food restaurant ( not that there's anything wrong with that because everyone serves a purpose) and if there lucky they get to work at ROCKTENN and make a decent living. I loved my upbringing because it taught me values and morals, but most of the time people didn’t get a chance on how things could be if they only applied themselves. I know some people I went to school with were smarter than me but just didn’t want to go to college because they were tired of school. In my opinion, that doesn’t mean that he/she won’t be successful because there are many ways to succeed without a college education (ex. Mark Zuckerberg & Steve Jobs, 2 individuals that weren’t fond of school); at the end of the whole thing though they decided to still attend a college whether it was before or after their success because whether or not it’s right or not people will believe and listen to what has to be said if they can see a piece of paper saying that you are certified. I happen to disagree and agree with that but that’s another discussion; so as I grew up I knew if I wanted people to listen to me and not doubt my abilities college would something I wanted in my life. I’m determined not to be a statistic of a young black woman with no further education than high school. I want to be a part of a statistic that says people with a college degree earn more than those with just a plain high school diploma, if that. I watched my mother work a basic 8 to 4 shift my whole life and almost half of hers. If she had had the choice and opportunity that I did I'm sure she would’ve done the same thing and work for what she wanted but she took what she had to because that’s what was there for her. Don't get me wrong she had some college under her belt that’s why she isn't working minimum wage but as I was saying for me I just want more out of life than the basic house and just getting by. I want to be able to have money saved up in the bank and something to give my kids a future that doesn't involve seeing me struggle financially. When I was younger it was a dream of mine to go to college and I'm here; in order to get here though I contributed a lot of hard work and long hours to ensure that my dream would be a reality not just some pipe dream that I’m going to be left with when I’m older. I plan, not dream this time, of being successful and one day. When I finish school there is a lot of things that I could do with a finance degree but I think I’m going to either be an entrepreneur or I’m going to become a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and be able not only give myself but my mother and my family the life that was always wished and deserved.

All about Me: Keta B

Introduction of myself to the class \

My name is Sheketa Monique Bryant and I'm a freshman at JSU. I am from a town named Forkland, AL in Greene County; for those who don't know where that is it's west central Alabama.I am my mothers youngest child and I'm the middle on my dad's side. I graduated from Demopolis High School which was about 10 minutes from my house. I was highly involved in my extracurricualar activities at my school and hope to transfer it on to some things at Jacksonville. Speaking of Jacksonville I am 3 hours away from home and I am majoring in Finance. Well thats the basics about me.