New quarter started....

So I'm going over information for Finance 400, and there are so many different types of taxes that are involved in so many different transactions. So far, I've learned about excise taxes, income taxes, use taxes, gift taxes, and the like. Gift taxes are taxes that are paid on the transfer of a gift to another party during the owner's life; whereas a death tax is a tax paid on the transfer of a gift to another party after the owner's death. This is important if one is considering leaving his or her loved ones an inheritance. The closer one is to a relative, the lower the tax levy will be.

In Business 220, we had to fill out forms pertaining to our first internship. Again, I'm excited and nervous to see how this will go. I typed out the application and stated that I would need assistance in job placement as far as my internship. I would hope to be able to do my internship at my own place of employment; however, it is a not-for-profit organization, and my field of study is in Finance. The only way I could see doing my internship at work would be to work under the accountant in her office; I may suggest this and see what happens. Either way, I will work to face the challenges ahead of me. Graduation is well on the way, and I don't want to do anything to ruin it for myself.

So I lucked out this quarter....

I ordered my books for the summer quarter at Berkeley, and I paid less than one hundred dollars for my books. I lucked out, because I already had one of the books from last quarter, and my Business Placement Seminar class doesn't require a textbook. So I only had to order two used books from amazon.com. I verified the texts to make sure they were the right ones, and then I placed my order. I've already received one of the books, so tomorrow I'm gonna study the chapter for the first week and get started on the assignment(s) that are associated with it.

My Business Placement Seminar class should also be pretty interesting, what with learning how to market oneself in the job market. I've already mentioned some of the tasks we'll be completing, so I'm just going to print out copies of the documents posted to the Course Documents section so that I'll be able to complete the assignments in a manner satisfactory to both the professor and myself. Turns out I have the same professor for this course that I had for Business Math. I look forward to conversing again with my fellow Berkeley students and getting their perspectives on certain readings, and with the Oral Communications class, I look forward to getting to know my classmates via video and the discussion board.

I'm also going to frequent Career Services now more than ever as a result of taking the Business Placement course, just to see how I can apply what I've learned and will learn. I saw some of the same documents in our Course Documents folder, and I feel a little more confident that I'll be successful in the job market and subsequently, the workplace.

New quarter starts next week!!!!

I just got my new text book for Finance 400 this afternoon, and I'm going to try and start on some of the assignment this week; that way, I won't have quite as much to do next week. I'm also taking Business 220--Business Placement Seminar. This course is going to teach us how to search for a job in today's market. We're going to learn how to put together resumes, cover letters, and thank you letters. We're also going to learn how to have a successful interview and about blunders that can keep us from landing the job of our dreams.

This all brings me back to my initial concern: How am I going to do my internship while I'm still working? Will I have to take a leave of absence for school purposes or not? Will I find an internship that will allow me to work around my current schedule? Well, I'll have twelve weeks to figure it out; in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy learning how to be successful in the business world and learning how to market myself. I am also signed up for English 111--Oral Communication. I am going to find out how to download the camera software to my computer so that I can record and post my videos to the discussion board (this is how our discussions will be performed). I have a few days to figure that out, as well. Well, here's to a new and successful quarter, Berkeley students.

Final discussions and next quarter...

So our final discussion in feminism was regarding feminism in film. I cited three films where I felt that women were portrayed as real, having feelings that many of us in the real world have. I talked about such films as "The Accused", "Waiting to Exhale", and "Juno". I think a lot of my classmates could totally relate to the title character portrayed by Ellen Page, because she didn't represent some cookie-cutter image of young teen girls that are often seen in teen movies regularly. In my experience, the only way that the girl gets noticed--or receives any type of respect--in these movies is not because of her intelligence or what she brings to the table in terms of personality, but it's usually her looks. Interestingly, Page's character is pretty, but not in a conventional way. It's her personality and smarts that attract her suitor to her initially as her best friend; their relationship dynamic changes when she learns that a one-time "encounter" has resulted in a pregnancy. The film also touched on the issue of choice: should Juno abort or carry the baby to term? What I liked about this film--and I shared this with my classmates--is that the choice was totally Juno's; once she'd made up in her mind that she was going to carry the baby to term and give it up for adoption, she was supported by her family. We were all able to come up with a movie or two that we felt related to feminism in one way or another and showed a woman either on equal footing with a male counterpart or being supported by a male figure in her life to achieve what society tells her that she cannot.

I also was able to share what I learned and took away from my finance class; I was able to realize that financial management is important in all that we do, whether it's simply to manage our personal finances or it's to run a business. We cannot do either without first learning where to start. This course was a good one; I only wished I'd done better on the last GHA. I got a decent grade, nonetheless.

I also learned a lot from my CIS 203 class dealing with advanced databases. I learned that if I should ever go into business for myself, I'll know how to keep an organized record of customers/clients and how to get rid of any records that have no use.

War-gasms and nature rape...

So this is the topic being discussed this week in Feminism, and the reading gave us an interesting perspective. The parallel noted that those who engaged in war compared the conquering of countries and leaving them virtually lifeless to that of a sexual act. What I picked up on right away was the suggestion of force to achieve these means. Unfortunately, this is what men have done to nature; they have torn apart every vestige of nature until it no longer can sufficiently provide what we need. Much the way a rape victim cannot fully recover from being raped, this earth cannot recover from repeated abuses by men who seek to conquer the earth, rather than understand it.

What we also discussed with regard to the earth is how this topic is related to feminism, in that men oftentimes are forceful in their methods to gain success and/or access to something, instead of seeking other means to acquire what is desired. My suggestion was that men should seek to not only bridge the gap between male and female, but between humans and the earth by extension.

One more week of classes....

I can't believe it; it seems like I just started my Access class, and now it's over (I just turned in the final reinforcement). I have a couple more assignments for other classes, and then I can relax for the next couple of weeks until the summer session starts. Everyone at work and at home keeps asking me when I'm going to graduate, and I keep telling them the end of the year. I think they're as excited for me as I am for myself. After having worked hard to get myself back in school, and as much as I enjoy it, I'm looking forward to graduation and seeing the payoff of all my hard work: a great job in my field of choice. I really am looking forward to something in the financial field; however, having taking the computer technology courses and other courses, I feel that I could easily adapt to any working environment.

So I just read Vanessa's blog, and I'm very excited for her. Again, she is an example of one of the sharp minds of Berkeley College students. AND she's a young person who is on a fast track to a great career path. She's taking both her school and work responsibilities seriously, and I am as proud of her as if she were a family member of mine (well, in a way, she is, because I consider Berkeley College students one big, happy family). It's also nice to see Aleksandra still posting here on the boards, even though she's graduated. When I read about how she's doing in her job, it's very encouraging. She, like Vanessa, is a young person who forged ahead and got her education and is now reaping the benefits of her hard work and dedication.

Excitement and challenges....

So we're nearing the end of another quarter, and I can hardly wait for the next one. And then I have one more quarter before I graduate. Exciting, isn't it? I'll FINALLY be able to see the West Paterson campus of Berkeley College. But before that, I still want to be able to get involved in some school activities (besides the online clubs). I also still want to look at Career Services and see what types of jobs are being offered, so that I can explore my options for when I graduate....

...which brings me to the challenging. So I know that I'll eventually have to do my internship for school, and this presents sort of a special challenge: how to go about fulfilling my internship requirements and my work responsibilities. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but my stomach is already in knots, just thinking about it. Things like this are good for lots of thinking over, but the fall will be here shortly, and I don't want to be scrambling at the last minute, trying to figure it all out. I need to make my plans in advance, giving my employers notice and all that and seeing exactly how many hours I will have to do for my internship. So, it's a cause for concern, but a good concern...AND it's exciting. I'd considered doing my internship where I work, but we're a not-for-profit organization, and I really don't see where else they'd put me besides the front desk (which is where I am now). I'll voice my concerns to Advisement, and see what they come up with. So while I'm concerned, I'm not overly worried. I'm sure it'll work out.