Tag Archive for 'Collegiate Career Coach'

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Financial Aid is Not Free

One day I was talking to one of my students outside of the classroom. He was not performing well in class, and I was offering him tutoring services from myself or the tutoring center. He said one of the main reasons he was not performing well was because he worked a lot.

While I was talking to him about options of balancing between his job and school, he said, “I’m not paying for school anyway.”

I said, “Oh really? What methods do you use to cover your tuition?”

He said, “I’m on financial aid.”

I said,” You do know you have to pay financial aid back….don’t you?”

“No I don’t,” he said,”that’s why it’s called aid.”

Let me dispell the financial aid myths for you right now. This stuff can be extremely confusing for both students and parents. There are three types of financial aid and there are huge differences between each of them.

1. Grants: This is the free money you aren’t responsible for paying back. This free money is usually awarded if you get a scholarship, you have exemplary grades, or you qualify to be in extreme need of the money based on you or your family’s financial situation. You can also get a grant if your employer provides tuition reimbursement.

2. Most students take out loans without even realizing that they’ll have to pay this money back. Popular loans are from Sallie Mae, Stafford, Perkins, and Plus loans. Approximately six months after graduation, the loan companies start sending you bills for the money you owe. The interest rates on these loans are usually rather low. The ideal behind them is that when you graduate, you’ll be able to find a job and pay them back. The loan companies tend to be flexible in working out payment plans, as long as you are responsible in paying on time.

3. Another way to pay for school is to find out any work study your school might have to offer. They don’t normally pay too much, but it’s at least something you are paying off gradually while you are in school, instead of the lump sum you’d be asked to pay six months after graduation.


Published on Monday June 28, 2010 in Broadcast and College Success. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Join Me on Ustream.tv for The Dream Purposeful Phenomenon

Join me live on Tuesday, June 22nd at  9 p.m. EST for The Dream Purposeful Phenomenon. Please note the time has been pushed back due to time convenience requests from many of my clients, family and friends. Simply click on the following link to join me: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/create-the-career-of-your-dreams-phenomenon

Why join a collegiate career coach tomorrow night if you’re already working in a career?

There’s a few reasons you definitely want to catch this event!

1. You might be thinking about going to college, and you still haven’t chosen a degree program.

2. You might want a career change, and you’re not sure what career field you’d like to transition into.

3. You will gain clarity about what life coaching actually is and understand how it can be an asset in your life or in the life of someone you know.

4. You’ll get some tips from the self-discovery process my clients have the opportunity to experience and get to see the obvious benefits.

5. You’ll get a chance to hear more about the energy leadership assessment and debrief I offer that will literally change your life forever.

6. You might be a personal family member or friend and know that your support is important to me.

Published on Monday June 21, 2010 in Broadcast, Dream Purposeful Phenomenon, Energy Coaching, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

You Are Your Friends

If you show me who you associate yourself with, I’ll show you who you are. Believe it or not, your social relationships have a lot of influence in your life, which is why you need to choose your friends carefully.

Like attracts like. What do I mean by that? It’s this simple. If you choose to hang out with people who get into trouble, you’re very likely to get yourself into trouble too. If you choose to hang out with people who are ambitious, then you’re probably an ambitious person too. There’s much to be said for the saying, “birds of a feather flock together.” It’s true.

The qualities that my friends possess are very similar to qualities that I possess – both the qualities I like in my friends and the qualities that I don’t like so much. If you pay attention to your likes and dislikes in your relationships with your friends and family, realize that somewhere within yourself you have that quality as well. That’s why you notice those qualities in others.

Many of my closest friends are driven in their careers. We strive for the very best because that’s what we were taught to do in the environment in which we grew up. We’re adventurous, like to have fun, and expect the best out of life.

While MOST of my friends are like what I described above, I do have some childhood friends who complain alot. It gets under my skin. Sometimes I’ve asked myself, “Sheesh…can’t (so and so) ever be happy about something?” Then I realized something about myself. When I get in a cranky mood, I find myself complaining too. And when I’ve gotten in these moods, I’ve tended to call my complainer friends because I know they’ll jump right into complaint mode with me.

What did I learn from this? I’ve learned that complaining never helps me out when I’m in a difficult situation. And while I never realized I can sometimes get into a complaining mood, it’s never ever helped me get out of a difficult situation. In fact, it’s when I’m able to lift my positivity level up that I’m on top of the world.

Like Albert Einstein said, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” This statement means a lot of things to me. One of them is if a problem arised out of negativity, I surely can’t fix it from a negative mindframe or out of a complaint.

As a result, I choose to spend most of my time around positive people. They inspire me, and I inspire them. 

So be sure,  to pick your friends wisely and carefully because they truly do influence you, whether you realize it or not. Remember that none of us are perfect. We are all human beings. Yet, choose friends that embrace not only who you are now but who you strive to be.



Published on Sunday June 20, 2010 in Broadcast, Life Purpose, Self-Discovery and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Body Sensations and Vision Board Building: Who Knew?

For those who’ve never heard of a vision board or don’t know what one is, it is the process of cutting out pictures and captions of your deepest desires and goals and then posting them on a board. The idea is that you will attract those goals and desires into your life.

I made my first and only vision board about five years ago, and I must say that most of the goals I planned to accomplish were, in fact, accomplished. Some….not so much. It wasn’t until I read, “The Vision Thing,” by Martha Beck in this month’s issue of O Magazine that I realized there are some new techniques I’d like to try on my next vision board.

First, Beck talks about cutting out images that connect with your inner self. How do you know if it connects with your inner being? Beck says that you’ll know when your body responds to the image. Just like that, I knew exactly what she was talking about. There have been times that I’ve gotten ideas or have seen images and my heart beat a little harder or my stomach got butterflies. And it’s then that I know that I’m REALLY onto something. This is my first pledge to building my next vision board.

My second pledge is to follow Beck’s second piece of advice. She says to not put so much visual attention on the vision board, meaning not to look at it everyday. My last vision board was plastered on my wall. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up every morning. Since my recent relocation to Orlando, Florida, I decided to not unpack my vision board. And that’s what I plan to do with the next vision board I plan to make. Even in The Secret, one man told a story of how he created a vision board, put it away, found it a year or so later, and found that he had accomplished ALL of his goals

So what are you waiting for? As you randomly scroll the pages of magazines, newspapers, pictures, etc., take notice to what your body responds to. Then build your board and put it away. I know I’ll be doing the same.


Published on Friday June 18, 2010 in Broadcast, Life Purpose and Self-Discovery. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Become a Networking Pro

“Only 13.2 percent of external hires in 2009 were made via job boards, according to a corporate study done by staffing consultancy CareerXroads,” said the U.S. News & World Report. The article entitled, “Why Job Searches Should Start-But Not End-On the Web,” gave shocking information about how job searches online are essentially not as effective as many people think (http://www.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/05/04/why-job-searches-should-start-but-not-end-on-the-web.html).

The conclusion of the article was simply that job counselors and career coaches agree that networking is the way to go.

You don’t know how to network? Well, take notes and ask questions because job seekers MUST know how to network and network well if they want to be ahead of the game.

1. Do look for local networking events that are specific to your career field. You can use any search engine and type in your career field and the keyword “networking,” and you are bound to find some events. Also, look in your local newspaper.

2. Do not go in handing your resume and business card to everyone you meet. Networking is not an “all about me” type of event. It’s about making connections, getting to know people, and allowing them to get to know you. But don’t push yourself down people’s throats.

3. Do get to know the people in the room and figure out what their needs are. You may be able to connect them with someone you already know or another contact you’ve met. People like to talk about themselves. If you listen, they’ll want to hear more about you and may know a contact that will land you the job you want. If you connect them with a job, imagine how willing they’ll be to help you out.

4. Do not let fear get in your way of meeting new people. If you’re shy and hesitant to introduce yourself to other people, take someone with you who is more outgoing, whether he or she is in your industry or not. At least you’ll have someone with you of whom you are comfortable around, and that can ease the stress of feeling by yourself. Just make sure you don’t tell people that’s why your friend came with you…lol.

5. Make sure that as you collect business cards,  jot down notes on the back of that card to help you remember something about the person you just met. Write down something that made this person interesting to you and would make you to contact him or her.

For more networking techniques and practice, contact The Collegiate Career Coach.



Published on Tuesday June 15, 2010 in Broadcast and Choosing a Career. 0 Comments Tags: , , .