Fannin Middle School spends a Friday at Northwood.

About a week ago, Fannin Middle School stopped by Northwood for a visit. The kids (who ranged from 6th to 8th grade) had a day of fun on campus with counselors, ambassadors, and students.

The day started off with a presentation about college. This included everything from scholarships to Northwood’s majors. Our counselor Phylecia did a great job making this interactive and informative for the students.

Next, we had a student panel. Along with four other students, I answered questions that the kids had. It’s always encouraging to see young kids want to know about our lives and what we’re doing to better ourselves.

After our student panel, we all split up for tours. The kids in my group seemed really interested in the campus and college life. They loved the dorms, especially Cassie’s. (Our ambassadors that are residents offer up their dorms to show during specific months. This month was Cassie.) Between the dorms and the Student Activities Center, I could see how excited they were to be getting a tour.

Once our tours were done, we settled in for lunch before we had time to play some fun games! Check out the pictures!

At the end of the day, I found out through one of the teachers that this was the first glimpse of college and the future that many of the kids had gotten. I was glad to be a part of that. I wish I had known from a younger age about college. I still ended up at a great university, but I’m the first in my family to go to a university. So it was hard going through this on my own during junior and senior year of high school. I do have to add, though, that I was really lucky because I had a job on-campus in the Counselors’ Office at my high school. So I always stayed in contact with my counselor, who helped me so much!

  

So if you’re looking at your future post-high school, keep in touch with your counselor. Be aware of what credits you need to graduate on time. Also, always, always, always keep deadlines in mind. It would be terrible if you didn’t get into your dream school just because you missed a deadline.

Along with keeping in touch with your high school counselor, make sure you know your admissions counselor at whatever school you’d like to attend!

If you’ve applied or are interested in Northwood, you can call the school at 972-293-5400 to speak with whoever your admissions counselor is. :) Better yet, schedule a visit to see us in 2011! Come to a myMonday and experience the school as a student for the day. You can register for myMondays at http://northwood.edu/forms/admissions/tx/mymondays/.

It’s been great getting to give all of you a glimpse into the first half of junior year here at Northwood! I hope you have a fantastic New Year, and I can’t wait to see you at a visit next semester!

Erica Garcia :)

Oh, and as promised, the print screen of my final grades.

An Intern's Perspective

Hey Everyone!

I don’t know about you, but this fall semester just flew by! It’s hard to believe it’s almost 2011! As I get ready to move on after college and pursue my career after my graduation this May, there have been several things that I have done to help prepare myself for the “real world.”  One thing that has been extremely beneficial is working as an intern this past summer, fall, and this upcoming spring. 

Promoting "Tails on the Trails" for the Houston Arboretum.



As a marketing major with an advertising concentration, I was very interested in exploring the different fields of marketing before entering the workforce.  I thought it may be helpful in order to get a better idea of what I want to do professionally.  My summer internship was at Lydia Baehr Public Relations in Houston.  LBPR works with several performing art companies and venues, Houston area museums, and non-profit organizations.  As a former ballet dancer, working with the fine arts was definitely a plus! It was such a blast and I learned a ton! A large part of what I did there included promoting our clients and events through various social media avenues, working press releases, and even appearing on the morning news (on my first day, to be exact!).  We even made a fun rap music video to showcase our clients and highlight a few of the things we did at LBPR. If you’re interested in checking it out, here’s the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP1oO6b1pqQ  It’s definitely entertaining!  Overall, my experience there was fantastic.  It was a great way to establish connections in the Houston area, as well as learn about the culture of a small, private company.

This fall, I started an internship with Moroch, an advertising agency in Dallas. Moroch is one of the most prestigious agencies in the city, with clients such as McDonalds, Midas, the Travel Channel,  20^th Century Fox, Tia Rosa, Mrs. Bairds, Make-A-Wish, and AMC Theaters – just to name a few. Below is the link to their website, where you can view award winning ads, commercials, and even get some career advice and job searching resources: http://www.moroch.com/.

At Moroch, I am an intern in the Account Service department for the Oasis Brands Account.  This sector is more on the managerial side of advertising, rather than being strictly creative.  We focus on making sure everything goes according to plan and, most importantly, that the clients are happy.  Specifically, my duties include competitive tracking, trend research, and administrative work.  Blogging has been a huge part of my job and since Oasis Brands is getting ready to launch a new product line (keep your eye out for the brand PASEO!) I’ve had the opportunity to see the full cycle of production for print ads, radio, and television commercials.  It’s pretty exciting stuff! J  I will be returning to the same account for a spring internship and I cannot wait! It has been a wonderful opportunity to experience such an energetic, friendly, and exciting company culture in a larger setting.

Testing out Fusion Taco with LBPR for a client's event -Yum!

I would strongly encourage each and every one of you to do your best to work or intern for a company in a field you are interested in pursuing. Not only will you gain valuable work experience, but it can be a great transition into the working world, help you figure out exactly what kind of work and company culture you’re interested in, open the door for networking opportunities to connect with professional men and women, and apply what you’ve learned in the classroom. And if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get paired up with other eager fellow interns and work with a great team of adults who can take you under their wings and show you the ropes.  

If you’re interested in interning in the future, start searching and making connections NOW!! Mention to anyone and everyone that you’re looking for work and people will be more than happy to help if they can.  We also have Dr. Silva in Career Services who is always extremely helpful and provides excellent advice and assistance.

It’s my hope that this post has encouraged you to pursue an internship experience.  It’s hard work, but it is definitely worth it and can be very enjoyable.

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!

~Natasha

(Guest Blogger)

F A L L semester wrap-up!

Hey everyone! It’s Erica here. :) Before I start my blog, I’d like to apologize for not updating! Melissa’s been doing a great job of posting what’s been going on around Northwood. Sorry I’ve been absent on the blog. Between the last week of school and finals, then finally being on new schedule for Christmas break, it’s been pretty hectic.

But now I’m finallyyyy relaxing! So let the blogging continue!

I’ve been out of school since Tuesday; and every day, I’ve been obsessively checking Blackboard to see if my finals grades are up. While two of them have yet to post officially, I know that I’ve gotten three As, and two A-. So I’m really excited about that!

This semester was really hectic. I had two part-time jobs: working in the Admissions Office and blogging. I continued being a part of Green Group (this year, I’m the Secretary), while being active in Royal Ambassadors. I gave my first official tour of the school. I did some volunteering for various events, including Mock DECA, Distinguished Women, and the annual Special Olympics dinner. All of this happened while I was taking five classes: Creativity, Sanitation, Business Law, Human Resource Management, and Financial Management.

So while I always had something to do, I was really excited to be busy. I’m not going to lie: things get stressful. But looking back, everything I did was an experience that has helped me grow.

Some word of advice: BE ACTIVE IN SCHOOL. Not only will you probably meet new people and gain some good friends, but it’ll prepare you to be a little more social in college. Also, you can find the college-level of many of your high-school clubs. For example, if you’re in DECA in high school, you can join College DECA. Some colleges even have BPA; and, of course, if you are in Student Council, you can look into joining Student Government. It’s all about really networking. If you get the chance to tour Northwood, ask the students about the organizations. Most of us are involved in a club in some way or another, so we can definitely give you our perspectives on them.

So, as you can tell, this blog was a little bit more about housekeeping. I hope it gave you guys a good overall view of my semester. I’ll be posting a print screen of my final grades soon, to prove that if you work hard, you can get As. I know some kids are just really nervous about their GPA dropping or about doing bad… but you just have to apply yourself and work hard!

Oh, and here’s a few pictures… they are of my planner, which has become my best friend.

September 2010.

October 2010.

November 2010.

I didn't put December up there simply because I was only at school for two weeks.. it wasn't too busy. It was stressful, though! :P I was finishing up projects, and having my finals.

More advice! Buy a planner! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly forgotten something until I looked in my planner. Most of the time, I would looked at it carefully on Sunday night, so I could know if something was coming up that Monday. I can’t tell you how many times this saved me! :)

Talk to you all soon!

Erica

Christmas at Northwood!

(The students of SGA with Santa Clause!)

As mentioned in my previous blog, Student Government hosted a Kid’s Christmas party on Saturday! And I must say, it was a definite success – especially if success is measured in glitter. (That stuff gets EVERYWHERE!)

  

(Creating cotton ball crafts!)

When the kids arrived, they were immediately able to get into the Christmas spirit. Throughout the afternoon, participants were able to decorate cookies (sprinkles galore!), create Santa Clause out of a paper plate and cotton balls, design one-of-a-kind Christmas cards, receive a gift from Santa, play games, and hear some classic Christmas stories! The kids and volunteers alike had a great time.

(Cookie decorating with Lisa Nguyen!)

Not only was the party funded by the donations given at the Ice Skating party, gifts given by Santa were part of an Angel Tree program the students of Northwood also participated in. Each child had three Christmas wishes, and students could choose someone to adopt and grant one of their wishes! It was definitely fun to see their elated reactions and watch them play with their gifts.  

(The 'angels' receiving their gifts from Santa!)

Also, I would like to thank all of our student volunteers who helped make this event possible! Whether it was handing out goldfish, taking pictures, or sweeping glitter out of the floor’s cracks, the students were a key component in the afternoon of fun festivities. 

I hope next year we can reach out to even more kids, in an even more impactful way!  

Merry Christmas!

~Melissa

Skating for a Good Cause!

(Competition got pretty intense!)

With Thanksgiving in the past and Christmas just around the corner, it was time for Northwood’s annual Ice Skating Party! Dozens of students came out to The Parks Mall in Arlington yesterday for a late night skate.  The rink was filled with fun, as students competed in broom ball and laps around the rink. (Those Canadians sure can skate fast!!)

 

(Ice skating!!)

While eating dinner in the cafeteria, the upcoming ice skating event was the talk of the table. I can’t even remember all the people who expressed their excitement, as well as their fears of falling and making a fool of themselves! (I will say – there were some pretty intense wipe-outs!!)  Who knew ice was so slippery?

But aside from all the fun that was experienced, students were also able to contribute to two great causes. Christmas cards were available for students to embellish with encouragement and holiday wishes for soldiers. In addition, admission to the event was a $5 donation, which is going to be used to help fund a Kid’s Christmas Party. This is an annual event thrown by the Texas Student Government Association for the children of Kids College. We will be hosting it Saturday – so look for another upcoming blog reporting all of the afternoon’s festivities!!  

(Some students from the SGA)

I hope this blog will inspire you to get out on the rink this holiday season! Every year I forget just how much fun ice skating can be.

~Melissa

Truly Learning in the Classroom

We all try to avoid certain topics when having conversations with others, such as abortion, the death penalty, and money. That is exactly what one Marketing Research Seminar class failed to do this semester. Or, based on the data, perhaps they succeeded? 

Under the guidance of Jack Allday, a group of about twenty students spent several weeks of their fall semester developing questions that would shed some light on how students at Northwood value various issues. The questions ranged in topic, from honesty and sex, to abortion and marriage. The results were then compiled and presented, with each question’s results compared by gender.

But before the survey was drafted, the students went through the rigorous process of developing the questions. It started by creating a list of categories that the students wanted to cover. Next, they had to create the actual survey. As one of the students in the class, I can speak from experience when I say that this was a surprisingly daunting and long-winded task. 

 

When composing questions, you must “wear several hats,” if you will, in order to try and determine the many ways respondents will perceive the question and what it is truly asking. Each question had to be phrased in a way that would allow respondents to use a likert scale to indicate their answers (Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree). The smallest word change can make the world of a difference in the way the question is comprehended – it can come off as positive, negative, or neutral, and sometimes even point the respondent towards a certain answer. 

After results were presented, it was interesting to analyze the various aspects of the data. One thing that several students noticed was that the number of males and females who “agreed” or “disagreed” with topics was similar. They did, however, differ in the severity of their agreement or disagreement. For example, the question “The love I have received from others has helped define who I am today” had almost the same percentage of males and females who agreed (79 and 80 percent, respectively). However, three-quarters of females felt that they “strongly agreed,” while three-quarters of males only stated that they “agreed.”

Overall, the results were very interesting. But perhaps the aspect that taught me the most was the process of developing the survey, conducting it, and then analyzing the results. I feel like this is a valuable skill that will transfer over well into the business world. In addition, it taught a lot about conducting projects in large groups. Most of our team presentations or projects have three to five people; working with a group of twenty individuals is completely different.

So while I not only learned some interesting facts about Northwood students, I also learned some real life tools that I can apply after graduation. 

~Melissa