EDUCATIONAL TALENT SEARCH NEWS For middle school students and their parents Spring 2018 Spring Field Trips and Events ETSU Educational Talent Search ETSU at Kingsport 1501 University Blvd. Kingsport, TN 37660 (423) 392-8041 www.etsu.edu/ outreach Educational Talent Search is a federally funded TRIO program through the US Department of Education. There s no denying it spring has sprung (at least for the time being) and Talent Search staff have been busy taking participants on field trips all over the state. While some of our middle school students have had trips of their own, our high school participants in Hawkins and Sullivan counties recently had the opportunity to tour Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. On May 29 th, our Johnson County high schoolers will have the opportunity to board a bus bound for University of Tennessee in Knoxville as well as spend some time at the Knoxville Zoo and shop at the West Towne Mall! Talent Search staff is tentatively planning an extra field trip for high school participants for this summer. Details regarding that possible trip are forthcoming. Staff Director Dr. Ronnie Gross Associate Director Becky Stout Advisors Aimee Murray Jenny Fain Brandon Howard Executive Aide Lisa Hooven
COLLEGE SPOTLIGHT WCU s main campus sits in Cullowhee, North Carolina, near the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains, fifty-two miles west of Asheville. The location in the rural mountains amidst incredible biodiversity and unique communities creates an opportunity for academic discovery service. The campus covers approximately 600 acres. As the westernmost institution in the University of North Carolina system, WCU provides comprehensive educational opportunities to residents in the state s western region and attracts students from around the globe to explore the region s vast natural diversity. Founded in 1889 as a teaching college, Western Carolina now provides an education to more than 10,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Starting in fall 2018, North Carolina will introduce North Carolina Promise, a program that aims to increase educational access, reduce student debt and grow the state s economy by drastically cutting tuition costs for both in- and out-of-state students. Western Carolina University is one of three North Carolina schools chosen for this program. This enables out-of-state students to attend Western Carolina University for a lowered tuition cost of $5,000 a year. Enrollment (Fall 2017) Total: 11,043 Undergraduate: 9,412 Graduate: 1,631 In-state students: 10,011 Out-of-state students: 1,032 Contact Information: UNDERGRADUATE ADMIS- SIONS 102 Cordelia Camp Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC 28723 1.877.WCU.4YOU admiss@wcu.edu
CAREER SPOTLIGHT Animal Trainers What They Do: Animal trainers train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or assisting persons with disabilities. They accustom animals to human voice and contact; and condition animals to respond to commands. They also train animals according to prescribed standards for show or competition. Animal trainers may also train animals to carry pack loads or work as part of pack team. Some examples of job titles Agility Instructor, Dog Obedience Instructor, Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Instructor, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI), Guide Dog Trainer, Horse Trainer and Service Dog Trainer. Tasks of an animal trainer may include: Cue or signal animals during performances. Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact. Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes. Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care. What They Make: Animal trainers, on average, make approximately $28,000 annually but can make upwards of $58,000 annually. How They Get There: To become an animal trainer, one needs proper on-the-job training as well as experience working with animals. Obtaining a degree in agriculture, biology, animal science, or fisheries and wildlife science would be beneficial depending on the type of animal trainer one strives to be. Job Outlook: Employment of animal trainers is projected at a faster than average growth (from 10-14% faster than the average career). Over 7,000 job opening in animal training fields are expected to open up in coming years. For more information visit https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/39-2011.00
Student s Corner 6 Tips for Preparing for College (and Life) in High School Nicolaus Jannasch TeenLife Blog Having fun in high school is important. You want to spend time with friends and make sure you get the most out of these four years before college. While fun is important, so is ensuring that you prepare yourself for college as well as your career afterwards. Below are 6 tips to help you prepare for college as well as life after graduation. 1. Prepare for College in Advance There is no such thing as preparing too early. College will always seem so far away, especially when you are only a freshman, but not preparing early is a huge mistake. Taking the right advanced courses is one thing, but taking a college s required courses should be priority. Do the research to learn about the different colleges that you are interested in and take a visit when you can. Lastly, you can never prepare for the SATs early enough. Having a high SAT score is one of the key factors of getting into a college of your choice. Don t wait until senior or even junior year to start your preparation. 2. Take Leadership Roles Getting involved in everything is not always the way to win over the college admissions board. What they are truly looking for is quality, meaning a high level of commitment in your extracurricular activities. The best way to show commitment is through leadership. You don t have to be the student body president or the captain of a sports team, but take every opportunity you can to get involved in some sort of leadership role. Quality trumps quantity when it comes to college admissions. 3. Have a Mentor Not having someone to help guide you in the right direction can only make your high school life more difficult. Sure, you can get by without having a mentor, but why pass up on that opportunity? A mentor can help you understand yourself better and show you the best paths to take. Even if it is just your guidance counselor, a parent or even your SAT tutor, get yourself a mentor!
Student s Corner Cont. 4. Read More Your English teacher assigns you certain books for a reason. They not only help you think and write more intellectually, but they also help you to get into good habits for college. When you are in college, (no matter what the subject you study) there will be A LOT of reading. Get into the habit of reading on a regular basis. Not only is reading books required for your academics, you will also find yourself connecting with many strangers due to the books you have read in common. 5. Give up Social Media Social media is an integral parts of everyone s lives today. That being said, do not waste valuable hours playing around on your Facebook and Instagram. This is precious time that you can use to get out and play sports or do something more productive. Who cares about having a thousand followers on Instagram take it down to a bare minimum. Focus on building real relationships outside of your social profile. 6. Do Not Cram for Exams This is the worst habit to develop during high school because you will carry it with you into college. In college, you will be hit with one exam after another and cramming will only make your life miserable. Cramming not only makes you more tired and inattentive in class, but it will make you miss questions that you would have known the answers to had you not spent the night before studying and avoiding sleep. Give yourself enough time to study in advance, especially for important tests like AP exams. Do something on a daily basis the week before important exams like studying for one hour a day. Do whatever it takes to avoid developing the habit of cramming. For more, please visit https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/8-tips-preparing-college-and-lifehigh-school
Parents Corner Show interest in what your teen is learning at school You probably ask your teen how she s doing in her classes. You may ask how biology is going. Or if math is getting any easier. But many parents admit that what they really want to find out about is their teen s grades. Grades are important, but so is the learning process. Make sure you show interest in what your teen is learning not just what her report card says. Ask your teen about: Any experiences in class that have changed her way of thinking. You may be able to share some of your own experiences that had a similar effect on you. The book she is reading. What questions does she have about the story? Does she relate to the main character? Does the book remind her of any others she has read? Her accomplishments. How did she handle the most difficult problem on the science test she recently aced? How did she feel after finishing that research paper? Her most recent test. Does she think the test was an effective way to measure how well she knew the material? Questions like these show your teen that you are interested in what she is thinking. They also show you are monitoring her development. Both of these reinforce the message that education is about more than just grades. Reprinted with permission from the April 2018 issue of Parents Still make the difference! (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2018 The Parent Institute, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.
Parent s Corner cont. Ninth-grade performance may predict success in later grades Want your teen to do well as a senior? Then pay attention to his grades in ninth grade. There s strong evidence that freshman grades, rather than test scores, can predict success. Researchers in Chicago looked at the grades of more than 180,000 ninth graders. They found that freshman-year grades were strongly related to how well students did in high school and college. Grades show more than just how well a student is doing in class. They also reflect things like attitude, attendance and behavior. Grades can also signal how hard a student is working. Does he turn in homework? Does he take part in class discussions? Ninth-grade teachers notice the students who do well. Often these students are encouraged to sign up for advanced or honors classes. And research shows that a teacher s expectations of a student often come true. So students who are expected to do well often live up to that belief. Students who do well in their first year of high school gain confidence. Their feelings of success also lead to future success. The researchers noted that not all teachers grade the same way. Even so, grades in freshman year turn out to be a good predictor of the future. This does not mean that students should take easy classes so they can get higher grades. Colleges and employers still want to see that students are challenging themselves. But parents should pay attention to how well their teen is doing right from the start. Reprinted with permission from the April 2018 issue of Parents Still make the difference! (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2018 The Parent Institute, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc. Source: J.Q. Easton and others, The Predictive Power of Ninth-Grade GPA, UChicago Consortium, niswc.com/high_grades-predict.
Volunteering can give teens valuable work experience Your teen has tried to get a job but he s never had a job. How can I get work experience if no one will hire me? he asks. The answer is volunteering. While he helps others, he will also develop a set of skills that may show a potential employer that he can do the job. A teen who is responsible about meeting commitments when he s not getting paid is even more likely to meet them when there s a paycheck involved. Your teen could: Parent s Corner cont. Work in a hospital. If your teen is considering a medical career, he should check out your local hospital. In many hospitals, volunteers are able to interact directly with patients. Create a website or establish a social media presence for a local organization. If your teen has computer skills, he could support a small volunteer organization that doesn t have a large enough staff to do this. Help the local library. In many places, library budgets have been cut back. Your teen might be able to plan a story hour for young children. He could create a book group for elementary school students and their parents. If he is considering a career in education, this would be a great start. Reprinted with permission from the March 2018 issue of Parents Still make the difference! (High School Edition) newsletter. Copyright 2018 The Parent Institute, a division of PaperClip Media, Inc.