Day: April 1, 2020

New Orleans Jazz: Culture & History Come Alive Through Music

Ever since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Brennan Bugbee (Class of ’16) has been curious about visiting the city. Bugbee is a UVM environmental chemistry student with a history minor, and a loyal fan of the New Orleans Saints. When Bugbee learned that he could earn UVM credit to travel to New Orleans to study history and culture, while fulfilling his diversity graduation requirement, he jumped at the opportunity.
Bugbee is no stranger to travel in the United States. “I’ve been lucky to travel with my family,” he says. “Most of my travel experiences have been on the East Coast, but I have gained a little piece of first-hand exposure to regional and cultural diversity every time.” Over the years, he’s explored nearly 25 different states across the country.
Never having traveled to the Deep South, Bugbee wanted to better understand the cultural and ideological differences that sometimes come into play in national politics. “I wanted to know more about what shapes national conversations and policy decisions,” he says.

Gaining Exposure to New Orleans Jazz Culture and History

Bugbee registered for the New Orleans: Music and Culture travel study course last spring with Professor Clyde Stats, a musician. The course met a few times before traveling to New Orleans over spring break to prepare students for the trip.
“The class leading up to our trip really helped me to prepare for the experience,” he says. “I’m a history minor, so I was really interested in learning about the significance of the landmarks we visited.”
The course also explored the transformation of jazz as a musical genre. “We got to experience live performances at music halls all over the city, where we could hear the generational evolution of the music being performed,” he says.
With a historical understanding, the students could situate the different sounds and styles into cultural and historical context. History came to life through music. “I came to understand the concept that music is an expression of cultural identity, which is the product of ethnic tradition,” Bugbee says.
Students develop their cultural competency and understanding through experience. “In studying the history of a melting pot of races, New Orleans’ sociology explains the evolution of the musical genre. We saw how the history, culture, and musical expression are very much intertwined,” he says.
Indeed, cultural studies were infused throughout the experience. With its proximity to the Gulf of New Mexico, New Orleans has a booming fishing industry. Bugbee enjoyed exploring culture through the traditional cuisine of the region; especially the seafood.
“It’s very hard to find fresh seafood in Vermont and it’s probably impossible to find alligator gumbo anywhere around here,” he says, adding that he tried many of the local favorites and enjoyed exploring his palate in a new place. “In my opinion, eating local cuisine is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture because everyone loves food and there are so many different variations to explore. It’s easy to find something new that you’ll enjoy.”
Life in the city was a bit of a change for Bugbee, who grew up in a small Vermont town. It did not feel like an uncomfortable stretch for him to explore the city. “I love people-watching in Burlington, so I felt a similar connection to New Orleans, except that New Orleans is on a different scale. There is just more to see and experience.”
The course mixes traditional classroom learning with field visits, enabling students to learn through experience.
“Everyone I met was very hospitable. Tourism is a main industry for the city of New Orleans, and people don’t seem to mind if you are curious and ask them questions.”
Bugbee suggests that students who are considering a travel program consider their readiness before they go. “To enjoy your trip, you need to be able to handle a new environment far away from home, which is easy if you have the right mind set,” he says. “It’s important to be open-minded to accepting a culture other than your own and interested in learning as much as possible about it.”
Reiterating the value of his experience, Bugbee said, “Travel helped me to discover things I never knew I liked and gain a more global perspective.

HOW I MOVED FROM HOSTESS TO HIRING LEADER

I took my first job out of high school because of tiramisu. Yes—the dessert.
It all started with those decadent layers of vanilla cream, espresso soaked cake and rich chocolate shavings. Let me explain. When I was in school and determining where to apply for a job while in college, I knew I wanted to work for a company that I truly believed in. One whose products I actually enjoyed for myself, and whose people I felt would support me. And the product I loved more than almost anything else? California Pizza Kitchen’s tiramisu. If you’ve tried it, you understand.
I started as a hostess, learning the ropes of how a restaurant works, testing products (lucky me) and working with a team of motivated individuals. Fast forward 13 years, and I was a recruiting leader for CPK restaurants and headquarters, responsible for building the same teams that I joined when I started. When did I take the 90-degree turn toward hiring? And how did I move from hostess to leading this important team, all at the same company? It was all thanks to a wealth of growth opportunities, the desire to keep learning and a whole lot of passion for the company purpose.

My Journey, Fueled by Tiramisu

When I entered CPK as a 17 year old, I wanted a job I liked. Plain and simple. As a college student in Southern California, I was looking for energy, friends and a steady income to support my life outside of class. Starting as a hostess, I figured the job would be pretty simple: greeting and seating guests; managing reservations; collecting menus. But right off the bat, I learned everything one could ever need to know about being a hostess. I tested menu items to make sure I could describe our cuisine; I learned the order of service so I could project wait times, help fill in when I needed. and juggle many people and many tasks all at once.
Eventually, I saw an opening for a serving position, and I took it. I began training new servers and hosts that came in, moved locations (more than once) and was encouraged to apply for a restaurant management position by leadership. With training in place to bridge the gap between running a section of tables to running a shift and overseeing a restaurant, I was able to make the transition to restaurant management. It was a major responsibility that I enjoyed and was grateful for—but ultimately, I had to choose whether I was going to continue in restaurant management or try my hand at something new.
A favorite manager of mine told me about a position in recruiting that had opened up at the company—and all of a sudden, it just clicked. The importance of creating a company environment that people wanted to be a part of was not lost on me—in fact, I lived it. And building the kinds of opportunities that I had at CPK for others would be perhaps the most meaningful way I could spend my days. So I interviewed, got the job, and worked my way up from there.

The Value of Potential

I could sit here and chalk up my ladder-climbing to personal tenacity, hard work or a headstrong desire to always keep moving. And sure, maybe some of it was that.
But really, it was the internal mobility that CPK offered me and the rest of its employees—the fact that they not only trusted, but invested, in my potential. According to a Gallup study from 2016, 87 percent of the working millennial population says that professional development is crucial in a job. As the number of workers who stay at a job for more than four years decreases, companies have to work with employees to build careers on their terms—or else they’ll just leave. And contrary to popular belief, most employees don’t want to jump ship: In fact, a Cornerstone report found that 66 percent of people look internally for a new position first. The problem? Only 32 percent of employers encourage people to work in other departments.
I was lucky to work at a company among that 32 percent for my first job, and it’s something I’ve continued to value in an employer at every step in my career. Companies like CPK—then Oakley, and now Cornerstone OnDemand—trained me for what I could be in the future and gave me the skills I needed to take the next steps, whether that was a server, a manager or even a recruiter. For CPK, they held onto an employee that was passionate, engaged and skilled—and in today’s constant hunt for quality candidates, those employees can be hard to find.
As a Director of Talent Acquisition now, I understand why this approach worked so well. My employer showed me my value, when they could’ve just shown me the door. In a market that feels scary, huge and impersonal, a company that treats employees as individuals and invests resources in helping them find their place (continuously) is one that breeds happy workers—and always has a full pipeline.

Vermont Eighth Graders Rank High Globally in Math, Science

A recent U.S. study shows that eighth graders in three states, including Vermont, outperformed most students across the world in math and science.
Vermont eighth graders placed fourth globally in science when ranked against the 49 states and 47 countries and jurisdictions. Only Singapore, Massachusetts and Taiwan ranked ahead of Vermont. In math, Vermont eighth graders came in at seventh, behind No. 1 South Korea and then, in order, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Japan and Massachusetts.
The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education, and compared the 2011 test scores of eighth graders worldwide. American eighth graders take the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Outside the U.S., students take the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In 2011, students in only nine states took the TIMSS. In order to compare the scores of states and countries, the study used the NAEP scores to predict how well the American students would do on the TIMSS.
“This is an important study because it is one of the first studies that links federal NAEP test data by state to the TIMSS results,” said Dr. Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin, associate dean of the University of Vermont’s College of Education and Social Services. “It shows that national policy arguments suggesting that the U.S. education system is failing are unfounded. Instead it shows that some individual state education systems are incredibly successful while others are struggling.”
Gerstl-Pepin was “not surprised at all” by Vermont’s high ranking.
“Vermont consistently has set high standards for teacher preparation, what students should learn and how they show what they learn (in terms of assessment/testing),” she said.
It makes sense to use NAEP and TIMSS tests for comparison because both require high-level thinking, Gerstl-Pepin said, similar to Vermont’s New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) tests. Other states’ tests, however, are arguably much easier, she said.
“The fallacy of No Child Let Behind is that it allows states to have lower standards and to use state assessments/tests that cater to those low standards,” Gerstl-Pepin explained. “Vermont education leaders have consistently had high standards for teachers and students, and the NECAP tests used to assess students in Vermont consistently reflect those high standards.”
Going forward, comparisons among states should become even easier.
“The new Common Core Standards mean that state education systems are expected to use one of two national assessments: the Smarter Balanced Assessments or the Partnership of Readiness for College and Careers,” Gerstl-Pepin said. “Vermont has chosen the Smarter Balanced Assessments because the tests are more sophisticated. They do not just tell you whether a student is meeting standards but can also be used by educators to inform how they can help a student improve.”

Jobs and Career Outlooks with a Healthcare Administration Degree

There has never been a better time to pursue a healthcare administration degree. As the “Baby Boomer” generation retires, they create a two-fold need for qualified candidates entering the field of healthcare. Retirees leave their positions wide open for the next generation of healthcare administrators and – as they age – they create a larger demand for employees in all aspects of healthcare. Whether you plan to begin your career in the field of medicine and work up to an administration position, or plan to enter the field of healthcare administration directly after obtaining a degree, your job and career outlooks are resoundingly positive.
What can you Do with a Healthcare Administration Degree?
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Handbook projects employment rates for healthcare administrators will grow by 17% over the next eight years. This is significantly faster than the average job growth statistics for other careers. In addition to the rising Baby Boomer population, rapid technological changes put additional pressure on hospitals, doctors’ offices, and medical clinics to hire healthcare professionals with the most current and in-depth understanding of medical coding and classification software as well as electronic health record (EHR) systems technologies.
In order to have the best prospects of securing a job in the field of healthcare administration, candidates need to be educated at accredited universities offering a variety of classes designed to support well-rounded graduates. Healthcare Administrators do more than just “manage.” They are responsible for:
  • All aspects of day-to-day healthcare facility management
  • Keeping up (and adhering to) the latest healthcare legislation and policies
  • Employee hiring/firing, creating and sticking to budgets
  • Acting as public relations representatives for their healthcare facility.
That’s a tall order for any employee which is why finding the right candidates can be incredibly challenging.
Landing a Job as a Healthcare Administrator
There are several things you can do to increase your chances of landing a job directly after graduation.
  • Attend an accredited college with a reputation for graduating competent and prepared graduates with a healthcare administration degree.
  • Take classes with a wide subject base to show future employers you are not only a successful healthcare manager, you are astute in the areas of accounting/finance, technology, and customer relations. They need to know you can jump in and perform competently on multiple levels.
  • Take advantage of any career experience opportunities your campus offers so that you can become educated in a variety of healthcare arenas. You never know whether your degree will take you to a large urban hospital or a small rural non-profit clinic. The more experience you have the better.
While nobody would say healthcare administrators have it easy, the position can provide a lifetime of both personal and professional satisfaction.

Start off the Semester Right with our Online College Supply List

It’s that time of the year again where the nights are getting shorter and colder. Parents and college kids alike are running to the store to get their last minute school supply shopping done, since fall has finally arrived.  A new semester offers a chance for some to start over and for some a chance to get their life back in order. To start the semester off the right way, I wanted to come up with a list of supplies and tips for online students. This way when you are running around grabbing all of the crayons, highlighters, pencils, paper, and folders for your kids, you will have a list for yourself to make sure you are prepared for the long semester haul.
Green pen making a checkmarkIf you are thinking of attending college in person, this list works for you too but if you\’ve thought about college online, check out all the degrees we offer here.
Supply your Study Space
The first thing you need to take care of is your study space. Make sure you have a quiet work space that you enjoy being in. If you surround yourself with a positive environment, you are more likely to be able to accomplish your work. One idea that I have always liked is having pictures of your supporting cast, maybe you are going back to school to help out your family, friends, or even yourself. Having pictures of your family and friends will allow you to always remember what you are working for. It could also help you get through those late night assignments. It isn’t a bad idea to have a picture of your favorite vacation spot or a dream vacation spot, just something that can maybe take your mind off of your homework and allow you to reset your brain. If you have kids, it isn’t a bad idea to try and do your homework while they are at school themselves or once they are asleep.
Stock up on Snacks
Now it’s time to go back to basics. While taking online classes it is always a good idea to have the same supplies a traditional college student has. Whether you like to drink coffee, soda, or of course energy drinks, caffeine becomes one of the most important food groups for many college students! Many college students, including myself, owe thanks to the great people at Starbucks and AMP Energy drinks for helping us get through those late night assignments.
Technology Supplies
Of course you need the good old basics like paper and pencils, but with online classes the list varies at this point. We all know it is mandatory to have a computer and internet and this is especially important for online classes. You can also find a list of other mandatory computer components on our technology requirements page. The most important on that list is a printer. Printing copies of homework assignments, papers you have written and lectures is a great way to stay organized and on top of your school work. Make sure you have a binder or folder to keep all of your paper work in order. It‘s not a bad idea to have a filing cabinet or a filing box in your workspace either. Other computer essentials are speakers, a webcam, a microphone, a flash drive, ink, and printer paper. These are all required or highly recommended to stay on top of your assignments.
When I sat down to write this I said that I wanted to make sure I made your life a little easier by giving you a last minute school supply shopping list. Hopefully with these supplies, you are now in the position to succeed and turn over a new leaf.  Here is your shopping list; now it is just up to you to find the time to do some shopping.
  • Pens
  • Paper
  • Binder
  • Folders
  • Books
  • Book bag
  • Filling Cabinet or Box
  • Laptop Tray
  • Ink
  • Copy Paper
  • Flash Drive
  • Printer
  • Webcam
  • Speakers
Feel free to add additional items in the comment section of items you think are important for college students especially if you\’re studying online.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

Vermont Eighth Graders Rank High Globally in Math, Science

A recent U.S. study shows that eighth graders in three states, including Vermont, outperformed most students across the world in math and science.
Vermont eighth graders placed fourth globally in science when ranked against the 49 states and 47 countries and jurisdictions. Only Singapore, Massachusetts and Taiwan ranked ahead of Vermont. In math, Vermont eighth graders came in at seventh, behind No. 1 South Korea and then, in order, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Japan and Massachusetts.
The study was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education, and compared the 2011 test scores of eighth graders worldwide. American eighth graders take the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Outside the U.S., students take the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In 2011, students in only nine states took the TIMSS. In order to compare the scores of states and countries, the study used the NAEP scores to predict how well the American students would do on the TIMSS.
“This is an important study because it is one of the first studies that links federal NAEP test data by state to the TIMSS results,” said Dr. Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin, associate dean of the University of Vermont’s College of Education and Social Services. “It shows that national policy arguments suggesting that the U.S. education system is failing are unfounded. Instead it shows that some individual state education systems are incredibly successful while others are struggling.”
Gerstl-Pepin was “not surprised at all” by Vermont’s high ranking.
“Vermont consistently has set high standards for teacher preparation, what students should learn and how they show what they learn (in terms of assessment/testing),” she said.
It makes sense to use NAEP and TIMSS tests for comparison because both require high-level thinking, Gerstl-Pepin said, similar to Vermont’s New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) tests. Other states’ tests, however, are arguably much easier, she said.
“The fallacy of No Child Let Behind is that it allows states to have lower standards and to use state assessments/tests that cater to those low standards,” Gerstl-Pepin explained. “Vermont education leaders have consistently had high standards for teachers and students, and the NECAP tests used to assess students in Vermont consistently reflect those high standards.”
Going forward, comparisons among states should become even easier.
“The new Common Core Standards mean that state education systems are expected to use one of two national assessments: the Smarter Balanced Assessments or the Partnership of Readiness for College and Careers,” Gerstl-Pepin said. “Vermont has chosen the Smarter Balanced Assessments because the tests are more sophisticated. They do not just tell you whether a student is meeting standards but can also be used by educators to inform how they can help a student improve.”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1

DON’T BE AFRAID TO HIRE SOMEONE WHO’S CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED

It’s easier to get a new job when you already have a job. We all intuitively know this to be true, but why is that the case?
If you ask recruiters and hiring managers why they don’t hire individuals who are unemployed when they apply for a role, it’s usually because they’re basing their decision on some preconceived notions and biases:
  • If you’ve been fired from one job, there must be something wrong with you.
  • If you quit without a new job lined up, you must not be a dedicated employee.
  • If you stayed at home with your kids, you’ll always be running out the door early.
  • If you were out for health reasons, you’ll get sick again.
In reality, most of these reasons are excuses for hiring managers to avoid critically evaluating all applicants and opting instead for the easy route. Ultimately, hiring managers prefer to recruit and hire employed versus unemployed candidates simply because they assume someone else already evaluated them, hired them and values their work enough to keep them.
But this is not a good reason to overlook the currently unemployed. This mentality can cause you to miss out on a great employee who could be unemployed for a number of completely valid and understandable reasons. Sure, some people lose their jobs because they’re bad workers, but more often than not it’s layoffs, medical problems or the need for child care that can cause someone to lose or leave their job.

Three Ways to Get More Open-Minded About How You Hire

What can you do to make sure your unconscious biases don’t keep you from hiring the best person for the job, even if he or she is currently unemployed?
1) Seek—Don’t Avoid—the Unemployed   
It’s a tight labor market right now with a relatively low unemployment rate. This is great for the economy, but tough for recruiters. Try adding a note to your job description that says, “People who are currently unemployed are encouraged to apply,” so you can reach people who were nervous about filling out the application. Then, if an unemployed individual applies, interview them! Don’t focus on why they are unemployed — but do ask. Chances are you’ll learn that their current situation is a result of an unfortunate circumstance or a personal choice, rather than previously poor job performance.
2) Consider the Value of Personal Experience
You may be tempted to exclude a stay-at-home-mom or dad for a job because they’ve been out of the workforce for ten years, but this is a missed opportunity. Rather than dwelling on skills they’ll need to catch up on or learn, ask instead about their strengths and what they’ve learned about themselves over the years. Someone with the right attitude and history of success will get up to speed quickly and could bring a passion or desire to learn that you might not find in a worker who hasn’t had any time away from a nine to five.
3) Have Some Compassion
You could be the next person to get laid off. Your mother could break her hip and not recover well, and you’ll need to take two years off to take care of her. You could have a baby and want to stay home. And someday, in each of these scenarios, you may want to return to work. Look at the candidate as a whole— not just the past few years.
Hiring is hard, but excluding a large group of qualified people because they are currently unemployed makes it even harder. Beat out your competitors by looking for the best candidate— not only the most obvious one.

Instructor Blog: Practicing Professional Communication

As instructors, we are here to help, and are happy to answer your questions and address your concerns. Many of my best students are the ones who email the most. They are quick to ask for clarification before an assignment is submitted, or for clarification on a graded assignment. Reaching out to instructors shows that you are taking responsibility for your learning. These kinds of professional communication skills and techniques can be acquired during a business communication class or any class. You just need practice.
While it can seem intimidating, think of your relationship with your instructor as practice for a relationship with a supervisor in your field. If you had a question about how to complete a project, would you email for clarification, or take a guess, submit the project and hope it is correct?
A professional tone is critical when contacting a supervisor. Maintaining a professional tone when emailing instructors will give you valuable practice. Here are some guidelines:
  • Avoid focusing on emotions. While phrases such as “I am frustrated” may be appropriate, stating much beyond that will detract from the issue.
  • Clearly state your question on concern. For example, saying “I am unclear about my grade on the week 3 activity” allows the instructor to address your concern more quickly.
  • Avoid making assumptions and focus on your question or concern.
  • Can the answer be found elsewhere? At Bryant & Stratton, you don’t need to contact your instructor to find out your grade. Similarly, there may be information in a work environment that could be found in a policy handbook.  Being proactive and finding what you can on your own will better prepare you in your course as well as your career.
  • When emailing, take advantage of the option to review your email. Ask yourself: Was I courteous and clear? Did I present myself in the most professional way possible?  Would I be embarrassed if anyone other than the instructor saw this?
Each of these guidelines will help you in a professional environment. In a work environment, an email may be forwarded without your knowledge. If you are professional and courteous, you will have nothing to worry about!
Another great option is to hop on Skype. Many instructors, myself included, have office hours on Skype, or similar platforms. This is a great way to create a more personal connection. Also, it is great practice in getting used to technology you might need for a job interview.
At Bryant & Stratton College, we pride ourselves on preparing students for their work environment. Learning how to reach out to an instructor, even if it feels uncomfortable, provides you valuable experience in professional communication whether your focus is on professional communication techniques or not. A proactive, professional attitude will help you stand out against the rest!
For more information on business communication classes and other programs designed to improve professional communication skills, contact the Admissions office at Bryant & Stratton college.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCzOJDJZHoBttdHAjJsnN9w?sub_confirmation=1