TRIO SSS Student of the Month-September 2012

  Congrats to our Student of the Month for September 2012, Valentina Pop!

 

     Valentina was chosen for  Trio’s Student of the Month because of her extremely hard work in the classroom and her dedication to Trio and other students outside of the classroom.

     Valentina is currently completing her prerequisites for Anoka-Ramsey’s Registered Nursing program.  After obtaining her AS-RN, she plans on transferring to the University of Minnesota to obtain her Bachelors degree in Spanish.  After that, she will continue her education at Augsburg College in pursuit of  their Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies.  Her ultimate goal is to become a Physician's  Assistant.

      Valentina is always coming in to meet with her advisor for questions regarding current items and also future planning.  She attends social/cultural events when available as well as workshops to help further her success in college. 

     Along with all of Valentina’s educational pursuits, she has been very involved in Trio.  Valentina is one of Trio’s Peer Mentors and Ambassadors.  As a Peer Mentor, she meets with students that are new to Anoka-Ramsey and helps them through the beginning of their educational journey here.  As an Ambassador, Valentina works at events and represents Trio Student Support Services and lets potential new students know about all that Trio has to offer them.

     It is for all of these reasons that we have chosen Valentina to be Trio Student Support Service’s Student of the Month.  We wish her nothing but continued success in all of her endeavors. 

                                       Congratulations, Valentina!

Do You Need A Costume For These Courses??

With Halloween coming up, Triogenius thought it might be interesting to see what kind of odd courses you can actually take in college---for credit!

Check these out:

The Living and Undead: An Inquiry
       into Zombies in Cinema and Literature    Ole Miss
Harry Potter in Literature                                Ohio State
Elvish: The Language of Lord of the Rings      University of Wisconsin
The Vampire in Literature and Cinema        University of Wisconsin
Things that Go Bump In The Night              Hampshire College
Zombies in Popular Media               Columbia College of Chicago
Invented Languages:
              Klingon and Beyond            University of Texas-Austin
Star Trek and Religion                              University of Indiana
European Witchcraft                                    Oneona College
The Age of Piracy                                     Arizona State University
The End of the World As We Know It          Alfred University
UFOs in American Society                          Temple University


And if you're just looking for something odd..............

The Amazing World of Bubbles                    Cal Tech
Learning from YouTube                                Pitzer College
Underwater Basketweaving         Reed College (Triogenius is unsure if this was a joke)
Circus Stunts                                          Triton College
Scrabble                                               Berkeley
Tree Climbing                                          Cornell
How To Watch TV                              Montclair College
Lego Robotics                                      MIT (No surprise there)
Street Fighting Math                                 MIT
The Joy of Garbage                          Santa Clara University
 The Simpsons and Philosophy      University of California Berkeley
Introduction to Turntablism (OK, this is about being a DJ)    Oberlin

One questions the abilities of those taking.....

How To Learn Almost Anything          MIT
Getting Dressed                                  Princeton (Princeton???)
Stupidity                                             Occidental College

Just for fun: Check out the videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR8yT-Zoh2I

If you prefer Gangnam Style:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57540640/psys-gangnam-style-invades-halloween/


Happy Halloween!! Celebrate all things strange!!

I Want To Go To Electoral College

OK, what's the deal with voting, anyway?

Why aren't the candidates busily visiting all 50 states? Why the emphasis on Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida?

And what the hayfever is the Electoral College? Why do they decide who wins an election rather than how many votes are cast by the people of the United States?

The short answer is: that's the way the Constitution was written.

The popular vote 'counts' because that is supposed to determine how the electoral representative votes. So, if Utah votes for Candidate A, then its electoral representative is supposed to vote for Candidate A.

There are 538 total electoral representatives. The word used for this group of people is a "College." There are 535 electors for the 50 states plus 3 for Washington, D.C.

And Triogenius says what??

One has to wonder why a single city gets 3, the same amount as the states of Vermont or Wyoming. This is the result of the 23rd Amendment. Did you know that Washington, D.C., has tried numerous times to be considered a state? True. However, it has never been successful in that effort. Therefore, even though it doesn't have any separate state representatives, that city is allowed its 3 electoral votes, unless that 23rd amendment is repealed.

How do people become electoral representatives? Usually, they are nominated for it by the parties they work for; so someone who has been a dedicated member of the Democrat, Republican, Green, Independent, or other party may get the job, and are chosen at the state convention of that party. An electoral representative cannot be a Representative or Senator or a high-ranking United States official of any kind. He or she can't have 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion,' according to the Constitution. This person then pledges to vote according to the results of the election held the November before.

But not always. Rarely, but it has happened, an electoral representative can vote against the popular votes. Having done that, the person is usually banished from his or her party. This is called a 'faithless vote.' Check this out: There is no law that requires the elector to vote according to his/her pledge. When this happens they are called "Faithless Electors." Some, but not all, states have laws to enforce that pledge to cast their votes according to the popular results-in North Carolina, for example, the fine is $10,000 for this offense

Each state gets 2 electoral votes to match the number of senators (2 per state). They get additional electoral votes based on their population.  Since the number of electoral votes is so important, you will notice the candidates campaign much more in those states. Such as:

Wisconsin              10
Indiana                   11
Virginia                   13
North Carolina        15
Ohio                       20
Pennsylvania            21
Florida                    29

And what happens with the electoral votes after the election is over? On the Monday following the 2nd Wednesday in December (who thinks these things up???) the electoral college meets at each of their state capitols and casts their votes. The votes are sealed and sent to the president of the Senate.

Who is the president of the Senate? Anyone? I hear crickets........

Hint: the president of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States. Please tell me you know who that is.

The ballots are opened on January 6 and read in the presence of both  houses, the Senate and Congress.

For more confusion ...or possibly clarification, try:

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/index.html

http://votesmart.org/education/electoral-college

http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20010911/ElectoralCollege.htm

Election Day is November 6 Two weeks from today.......Find your polling place and cast your vote!

Sky Dreams

Have you ever considered a career as a pilot?

Here are some basics about the requirements:

You may take flying lessons at age 18, and with 40-60 hours of flight time obtain a pilot's license; however, if you plan to become a pilot as a career, flying passenger planes or other types of planes, the requirements become more stringent:

You must have a 4 year degree, preferably but not exclusively in Aviation. You must also.....

• Obtain a 1st Class Medical Certificate from an FAA medical center
• You must get your private pilot's license first
• Then you must be certified in commercial and instrumentation flight
• Complete the certified flight instructor rating
• Then, begin working at a flight school
• Work on your multi-engine Certified Flight Instructor rating
• Airlines that fly passengers typically require you to have 3000 hours or more of flying experience
• The first 1 to 5 years you will be a flight engineer
• After flight engineer, you may advance to 1st Officer
• After 5 to 15 years as a 1st Officer, you may be promoted to Captain, also depends on seniority
• Captains must be experienced in night flying as well as 'instrument flying' (to be prepared for flight in bad weather)
• You must pass psychological tests to prove you can handle the stress
• You must pass an eye examination (if your vision can be corrected to 20/20, you can be a commercial pilot. If you needed glasses, however, you cannot be a pilot in the military-check with your choice of school to be sure)

The different types of piloting include:
-Private, where people simply fly for convenience and no money is exchanged
-Recreational, where planes fly for fun and do stunts
-Agricultural, planes flown to spray crops or to help put out fires
-Flight Instructor
-Charter-This includes 'hiring' a plane and pilot for a specific trip
-Medical/airlift (a type of charter)-This includes transporting people to medical centers, and also human organs for transplants
-Corporate-When companies own planes to fly clients and staff
-Commercial-planes used for business, such as FedEx



-and the 'top of the line' job: Airline Transport Pilot, which is someone who works for a major passenger  airline. This pilot has passed the most demanding training and certifications.

What schools offer degrees in Aviation?
Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University in Florida      http://www.erau.edu/
Ohio State                                                             http://www.aviation.ohio-state.edu/
St Cloud State University, St Cloud, Minnesota      http://www.stcloudstate.edu/aviation/  

Check out the FAA (Federal Aviation) website for more job info:
http://jobs.faa.gov/

After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree, pilots can also be trained in the Air Force, Navy, Marines, or Coast Guard. This training typically takes a little over 12 months. There is quite a variety of different planes and helicopters used in the Armed Forces, and pilots will often specialize in one particular type, including: Trainers, Transport, Fighters, Reconnaissance, and bombers.

Here is the Air Force website for more information: http://www.airforce.com/?m=2011EASearch&pl=Google&med=CPC

If you're into planes but don't necessarily want to be a pilot, here are some other careers that are related:
Air Traffic Controller
Flight Attendant
Airplane Mechanic or Engineer (may design planes)
Marketing/Sales
Computer Technology with an emphasis on aeronautics
Airline Security

If this is something you're interested in, do some more exploring. You might find a good fit...in the sky.

Is the FBI Your Most Wanted Career?

So, you think you want to bring down the bad guys on a national level? Think about a career in the FBI.

You must be an American citizen, between the ages of 23 and 37, and have a bachelors degree. You must also have 3 years work experience. While a degree in law enforcement or psychology is the obvious major, you may also be employed by the FBI with a degree in:

Biology (forensic science)
Accounting/CPA (useful in tax fraud)
Language/Translating
Computer Science
-Or if you have a military background


Once accepted to the FBI training program, you will spend 21 weeks training at their facility in Quantico, Virginia. You will have to pass a rigorous physical, and will have random drug testing throughout your career with the FBI, once permanently hired. You will also be required to take a lie detector test before you are offered a position. Anyone and everyone you know will be profiled (checked out) by the FBI: parents, aunts and uncles, siblings, friends--everyone. Should one of them not have a clean background, you may be rejected as a candidate because you have associated with them. This background checking will likely not be known to the people it involves. Out of 10,000 applicants received, typically 500-750 of those people will be hired.

As an FBI agent,you may be in danger some or all of the time during your work. There can be high demands on your time and involvement, so it can be difficult to maintain a 'personal life' while you are an agent. However, you would be working with the most qualified in your field, and would use the most sophisticated technology. You would likely travel  in the U.S. and overseas. You'd be constantly challenged and always be learning on the job. 

The FBI is charged with investigating ..

tax fraud
bank fraud
online scams
extortion
threats to national security
smuggling
election fraud
espionage (spying)
terrorism, both domestic and international
serial killers
kidnapping, especially children under age 12
cyber crimes
stalking
organized crime
drug trafficking


Here is the government's website:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/faqs/faqs

*Note: The CIA is a separate department from the FBI; the FBI has an enforcement component that the CIA does not have (the CIA is for gathering intelligence).

Think about whether you have what it takes to work at the FBI, and if you do--Go for it!