TODAY - Students Considering a STEM major/career - CollegeWeek Live Virtual Fair

I got an email from the folks at CollegeWeek Live about a new Virtual College Fair for students interested in pursuing a STEM program.   It's going on today May 9th.

Release is below:

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EVENT INFORMATION & REGISTRATION PAGE

http://www.collegeweeklive.com/en_CA/Guest/STEM_DAY/?utm_source=CWL&utm_medium=PR&utm_campaign=STEM

Interested in Science, Engineering, Technology and Math, aka STEM? Attend a Virtual College Fair May 9^th at CollegeWeekLive to Learn More

College Admission Representatives and Students Available to Chat Live Online About STEM Majors at CollegeWeekLive

Needham — CollegeWeekLive, the leading channel where students and colleges meet online, today announced CollegeWeekLive STEM Day, an online college fair scheduled for Thursday May 9^th from 2:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern. The virtual college admissions event offers high school students interested in science, technology, engineering, or math the opportunity to chat live online with admissions representatives and current colleges students who will be showcasing their institutions’ STEM majors and research opportunities.

For high school juniors beginning to consider college and future career options, CollegeWeekLive offers a convenient way to research higher education, and CollegeWeekLive STEM Day features live video presentations and interactive Q&A with presenters who will be sharing their personal experiences and expertise.

For example, Lauren Drell, a campaign editor at Mashable, will be discussing the wide variety of careers a STEM major might lead to, such as professional hacker or driver for Curiosity, NASA’s Mars rover that landed on the red planet in 2012. David Thielen, CTO and founder of Windward Studios will share his passion for coding and will describe the surprisingly collaborative nature of software development.

Please visit the CollegeWeekLive STEM Day agenda for the latest schedule of presentations, which currently includes:

All Times EDT

3:00 PM  From Aerospace Dev to Evangelist - A Quick Story of My Technical Walkabout, Dion Hutchings, Microsoft Technical Evangelist

There can more to being an engineer than just writing or testing code.  Dion will share his experiences entering the workforce as a software engineer for a military aerospace project, working with displays (HMI), radios and missiles, to delivering a fun presentation on new technologies in cloud and mobile app development to students, and lots of odd jobs in between.  Gain a different perspective on how your skills could translate to all corners of a business: Marketing, Sales, Business Development, R&D.

4:00 PM  The Coolest Jobs IN STEM, Lauren Drell, Campaigns Editor at Mashable

When one thinks of someone who codes, they may picture a person hunched over a laptop in a dark garage. But today, some of the most interesting and innovative careers require a background in science, technology, engineering and math.

5:00 PM  Why STEM Means Jobs, Brian Kelly, Editor and Chief Content Officer, U.S. News & World Report

STEM is a simple acronym for a complicated issue. Science, technology, engineering and math provide a starting point to think about course and career options that include everything from literal rocket science to new age manufacturing. As the world becomes more technology-driven every day, employers in industries ranging from software to health to retail are clamoring for graduates with even a basic understanding of STEM subjects.

6:00 PM  Juxtaposition: To Generalize or Specialize in IT, Neil Carter, Microsoft Technical Evangelist

Web, Server-Side, Application, Cloud Computing … Technology workers often feel pressure to be the expert of all domains.  Is that feasible?  Neil will share his experience moving from a specialized web developer to IT business generalist.  In this talk he will review some of the pros and cons to each option, and will discuss strategic career planning.

7:00 PM  Forensic Science: Education and Employment, C. Ken Williams, M.S., J.D., Assistant Laboratory Director, New Jersey State Police North Regional Laboratory

                  This session will provide a little insight in the fascinating world of Forensic Science.  An emphasis will be placed on the educational requirements and possible career choices.  A portion of the session will also address a few of the myths associated with the C.S.I. Effect.

8:00 PM  The Exquisite Joy of Creating Amazing Code, David Thielen, CTO and Founder, Windward Studios

Most programmers would be programming even if it paid minimum wage. Why? David will dive into what makes creating software so compelling. In this talk he will dive into the collaborative nature of software development, the power in working with others who are as talented and driven, and the many facets of the job. David will also talk about code wars and hackathons, events that are so much fun that students give up a weekend of partying to work together and write an app.

Colleges with robust STEM programs from across the country will have admissions representatives available to chat live with interested students. Participating colleges include:

American University in Kosovo	Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	Oregon Institute of Technology
CUNY, Hunter College	Philadelphia University
DePaul University	Platt College
Dillard University	Roger Williams University
Florida A&M University	Saint Louis University
Frostburg State University	SUNY, College at Brockport
Grove City College	Temple School of Pharmacy
Heidelberg University	Texas Tech University
Indiana Tech	University of Advancing Technology
Iowa Lakes Community College	University of Notre Dame
Jefferson College of Health Sciences	University of the Sciences In Philadelphia
Keiser University	University of Tulsa
Lawrence Technological University	University of West Georgia
Lipscomb University	University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Michigan Technological University	USMA West Point
North Carolina A&T State University	Utah Valley University
North Carolina State University	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Norwich University	Yale University
Oklahoma State University	Youngstown State University

To register at no cost, please visit CollegeWeekLive.

ABOUT COLLEGEWEEKLIVE

CollegeWeekLive is the leading channel where students and colleges meet online. More than 1,200,000 students from 192 countries rely on CollegeWeekLive to help navigate college admission. This live channel provides unprecedented access to expert presentations and enables students to have unscripted conversations with hundreds of colleges.

Students turn to CollegeWeekLive to gain insights from current students, admission representatives, and leading experts, whether they are narrowing their choice of schools or making post admission decisions. Through live text and video chats, students, parents and counselors engage directly with colleges at every stage of the enrollment process with CollegeWeekLive.

Teens Battling Cancer to Get Free College-Planning Help

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. and SACRAMENTO, CA. – May 1, 2013 – Battling cancer doesn’t stop teens from going to college. But costly medical bills can make it difficult to afford college. The National GRACE Foundation (Growing, Recovering and Achieving College Education) and college cost-estimation expert Student Aid Services, Inc. are teaming up to help 200 pediatric cancer fighters find universities that fit their career goals and family bank account.

Starting May 1^st, high school juniors working with GRACE may receive for free a personalized College Cost and Planning Report^®,which compares an individual’s eligibility for institutional, state and federal financial aid and calculates a reliable estimate of their out-of-pocket costs, based on each student’s specific financial and academic circumstances. Each custom report is a graphical workbook that provides detailed, comparative information about 10 colleges of a student’s choice. Besides a personalized, side-by-side comparison of each school’s cost, Student Aid Services’ College Cost & Planning Report^® profiles each college, providing often hard-to-find information that influences student choice, including graduation rates, retention rates, and the rate at which a college’s cost have increased.

“The College Cost & Planning Report is the perfect tool for families starting the college-admissions process because it gives them insight into their real cost and requirements at the colleges their student is interested in before they apply to schools,” said Anthony Gallonio, co-founder of the two-year-old National GRACE Foundation.

Unique Tool Compares Colleges’ Affordability

One out of every 300 U.S. children, an estimated 12,500 a year, will be diagnosed with cancer by their 20^th birthday, according to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

“Pediatric cancer survival rates continue to increase, but medical care typically eats into a family’s budget,” said Gallonio. “This breakthrough college-planning tool can help identify affordable colleges that also meet a student’s academic needs.”

To participate, families may contact GRACE by calling 401-793-6337 or by sending an email to agallonio@graceamerica.org.

“We’re honored to help families, who are trying to deal with the difficulties of cancers and their treatments, find ways to pay for college by providing accurate financial aid and cost comparisons so they can make smart choices academically and financially,” said Matthew Summer, Student Aid Services’ vice president of business development. 

The College Cost & Planning Report^® demystifies costs, financial aid, and education loan payments after college as well as provides a personalized college-planning timeline, admissions criteria, and college demographics. It even calculates the distance from a student’s home and selected colleges.

About the National GRACE Foundation

The National GRACE (Growing, Recovering and Achieving College Education) Foundation was established in April 2011 by Anthony Gallonio and Michelle LaRiviere of Rhode Island to help pediatric cancer fighters to go to college. Named for their daughter Grace Gallonio, who was diagnosed with cancer as an infant, the foundation provides free college-counseling services including assistance with applications and applying for private scholarships as well as acting as a liaison to colleges for its students. In its first two years, the foundation served 300 high school students nationally and advocated for more than $100,000 in grants and scholarships for them. For assistance, please visit http://www.graceamerica.org/home.html or https://www.facebook.com/nationalgracefoundation.

About Student Aid Services, Inc.

Student Aid Services, Inc. is the leading provider of college-cost estimation and enrollment-enhancement services and technologies that help students and families understand how to plan and pay for college. Its custom, online calculators are used by nearly 700 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Student Aid Services’ predictive technology offers prospective and current students accurate need, merit and military aid eligibility; net price; and out-of-pocket cost estimates that are reliable for education planning. Its StudentAid.com Web service provides the innovative College Cost & Planning Report^® to prospective students. Student Aid Services is a private company with headquarters in Sacramento, CA, USA.

Lights. Camera. Action!

It's primetime for CPAs.

Once again, Start Here. Go Places. is challenging you to think creatively about a career in accounting. This year, we want you to channel your inner television writer and come up with an idea for a hit TV show — starring a CPA.

If you convince our judges that your show has potential, you’ll get a chance to prove it — on camera! Winners take home some serious scholarship money. 

Sound like fun? Check out your official challenge.

  http://www.startheregoplaces.com/projectinnovation/

Summer Again - Keep in Touch 2012

Another school year has come to an end. I can always tell, not just by the weather but by the ever increasing returned email saying, “XYZ High School is on Summer Break. See you in August and have a great summer!” We decided some time ago to take that advice. But before we sign off for that much needed break…


There’s a lot we’ll be doing this July on the web site, along with some other projects. We will be updating our web site with news so you can check for updates http://www.hscounselorweek.com/. We also will be tweeting over the summer. You can follow us on our twitter page:http://twitter.com/hscounselorweek. We’ve also been writing a blog on Kaarme.com. So check us out there, too:http://kaarme.com/hscounselorweek. That should keep us busy. So we’ll see you in August and we will do our best to have a great summer. You do the same.



- Gene

New Book - Ready, Willing, and Able:

I got an email from Mandy Savitz-Romer, PhD about her new book.  Here's what she said:


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Dear friends and colleagues, 

I'm very proud to announce that the book I co-authored with Suzanne Bouffard, Ready, Willing, and Able: A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success, is now available from the Harvard Education Press. Designed for practitioners, policymakers, and other leaders, the book describes the developmental skills and competencies that young people need to plan for and succeed in higher education. We describe why college readiness efforts need to go beyond academic, informational, and financial preparation to reach more students, especially those who don't already see themselves as college goers. At the heart of the book is our firm commitment to helping young people who are underrepresented in higher education, especially first-generation college-bound youth, succeed. 

Please feel free to share this with those you think might have an interest in the topic.

For more information or to order a copy, visit http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/160/ReadyWillingAndAble (You can also order the book on Amazon.) 

To see our related commentary in Education Week, visit: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/14/24bouffard.h31.html

Best,

Mandy 

Project Innovation: The Start Here Go Places. Competition of Creative Excellence – Deadline approaching

If your students haven’t entered the American Institute of CPAs student competition yet, don’t worry, there’s still time. Now through February 6, students are encouraged to work in teams and come up with the next big thing for the award winning website StartHereGoPlaces.com. There are scholarships and school funds at stake for the most original, creative ideas. Plus, the idea selected will become a real feature on StartHereGoPlaces.com. For more information on the competition log on to www.StartHereGoPlaces.com/projectinnovation.

The deadline to enter is February 6^th.

A Unique Educational Experience for You and Your Students

The American Institute of CPAs announces a great opportunity for you and your students.

Project Innovation: The Start Here, Go Places.^®Competition of Creative Excellence encourages students to work in teams to come up with the next big thing for our website to make it even bigger and better than it is today. What do they want to see on www.StartHereGoPlaces.com? The AICPA wants to hear from your students, and they’ll reward them—and your school—in return.

Students behind the most original, creative ideas will be awarded scholarships, and their schools will also receive funds. Plus, the idea selected will become a real feature on StartHereGoPlaces.com. For more information on the competition log on to www.StartHereGoPlaces.com/projectinnovation.

But hurry! The deadline to enter is February 6^th.