Over 1,000 Came! The 2013 College Scholarship Conference was a Smashing Success

Category: Features

Published: Oct 30 2013 12:00AM

The 2013 College Scholarship Conference, held on Saturday, October 26 at the Universities at Shady Grove, was a tremendous success!

A record-crowd of more than 1,000 Montgomery County students and families showed up early on Saturday morning to learn about financial aid and scholarship opportunities at Montgomery College and local colleges and universities.

The Scholarship Conference featured 11 workshops on a broad range of topics, including the following: "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math College Scholarships," "If I Knew Then, What I Know Now!" "College and Financial Aid Planning," and "Transferring to Four-Year Schools: Understanding the Process."

Twenty-seven information tables were staffed by representatives from four-year universities, nonprofit organizations, and Montgomery College programs. Representatives from the following organizations lent their energy and expertise to making the day meaningful to students and their families: American University, Esperanza Education Fund, Herb Block Foundation, MC Hillman Entrepreneurs Program, MC Macklin Business Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Maryland, College Park at the Universities at Shady Grove. Attendees had the opportunity to attend two workshops on institution scholarships, financial aid, writing essays, and preparing resumes.

Keynote speaker Marianne Ragins, who won more than $400,000 in scholarships during her senior year of high school, gave advice to a packed multipurpose room of high school and college students for two hours.

A special thanks to the College Scholarship Conference Planning Committee, co-chaired by Jessica Present and Chelsea Waugaman, the Transfer Scholarship Coordinating Committee, and all of the MC volunteers who contributed to make this event an extraordinary one. The conference is co-hosted by Montgomery College, Montgomery County Public Schools, and the Universities at Shady Grove.

Materials from the conference will be posted on http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/scholarshipconference as they are made available.

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Source: Montgomerycollege

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START Program secures Scholars' futures

Thursday October 10, 2013

Charmaine Wilson-Jones, Public Leadership alumna

College Park, Md.-Global terrorism and security issues may not always be at the forefront of the average college student's mind. For Charmaine Wilson-Jones and Ashley Brown, however, these terms encompass their daily lives.

The two junior government and politics majors were recently awarded internships at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a program that engages students in terrorism research and gives them the tools needed to participate in the national security field.

Brown, a Global Public Health alumna, and Wilson-Jones, a Public Leadership alumna, are on the research team for the Global Terrorism Database.

"We read articles about terrorist attacks that happen around the world and categorize aspects about the attack for the database," Brown said.

Wilson-Jones works to input information into the database, which is accessed more than 50,000 times per year.

"This is the kind of internship where what I do matters," Wilson-Jones said.

Ashley Brown, Global Public Health alumna

START, based at the University of Maryland, provides students from all over the country with opportunities similar to those of Brown and Wilson-Jones and pushes students to be successful in homeland security jobs.

Over winter break, Wilson-Jones and Brown will study abroad in Australia as part of START's international travel experience.

Along with internships and study abroad trips, START also provides career enrichment opportunities for its interns, including Excel skill advancing workshops and research roundtables, Brown said.

"I hope that I become fully equipped with the tools I need to enter the homeland security industry," said Wilson-Jones. "They give us more than enough support to be able to do so."

Source: Umd

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Language, Writing, and Rhetoric

The Language, Writing and Rhetoric Group combines faculty and students who are interested in the power of language and writing to shape an audience's view of the world and persuade them to have certain attitudes and to act on those attitudes.

The field of Rhetoric and Composition includes scholars who are interested in the historical tradition of rhetoric, the study of the "available means of persuasion" as Aristotle defined it, from the classical period through the modern era, as well as in persuasive texts and movements analyzed through rhetorical theory. Composition scholars are interested in how writers construct and refine their texts in response to the demands of situations and genres. They also study the teaching of writing, often pursuing student-focused research into best practices for enhancing literacy skills which now include the production of texts requiring visual, audio and video as well as verbal modes of presentation.

Faculty in Language, Writing and Rhetoric support the following programs:

• An undergraduate emphasis within the English Major by offering courses in advanced writing and editing and in Composition theory; in the history of the English language, in varieties of English and theories of grammar; in the history of rhetoric and rhetorical movements; in visual rhetoric and verbal/visual texts.


• A Rhetoric Minor taken by students in variety of majors (e.g. Government and Politics; Journalism; Marketing) who fulfill the requirements for the minor with


• An MA with a Concentration in Rhetoric and Composition
  


• A PhD for students who choose to pursue a dissertation project in rhetoric, composition or language in fulfillment of department and campus requirements for the PhD in English.

Faculty and graduate students in this area pursue research and teach courses on topics such as the following:

• Composition theory, the Teaching of Writing, Writing Center Pedagogy


• Writing addressed to different audiences, especially Professional Writing


• Rhetoric, the theory of persuasion, in its various forms through history, including the history of women's rhetorical theory, African American women's rhetorical practices, ancient and medieval rhetorical theory and educational practices


• The rhetorical practice of different groups of speakers and movements (e.g., the Abolitionists)


• The rhetorical dimension of visual practices


• The nature of language, especially persuasive language


• The role of rhetoric in religion


• Language: Its forms and uses; History and varieties of English


• Usage-based grammatical theory; Conceptual semantics and pragmatics


• Linguistic stylistics


• Language practices in religion, politics, humor and other special uses

Because of their interest in practical, functional persuasive writing, Rhetoric, Composition, and Language scholars are involved in the University of Maryland's Writing Programs and support their courses, curricular initiatives and outreach to the campus and community.

Source: Umd

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Silver Chips Online : Blair holds "Los Padres" meeting

On Saturday Feb. 9, parents of Hispanic students had an informational meeting about the college admissions process. The event included a question and answer session and a discussion with the selected panel.

The panel consisted of Alyssa Perez, who graduated from Towson and now works for her alma mater's Office of Admissions, Jihan Asher, a representative from CASA De Maryland, Jennifer Romero, a University of Maryland student and Marcy Campos, the mother of a college student.

One of the most heavily discussed topics in the meeting was obtaining financial aid and scholarships. Many parents were worried that even with the right grades, their kids would not be able to go to college due to lack of money to cover the expenses. "There are many scholarships that are given to high school students. The fact that they don't have money isn't an excuse to not go to college," Romero said. According to the panel, the first option for financial aid that students should look into, was the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) . According to their website, Federal Student Aid, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation.

Alicia Deeny, one of the coordinators of the event, repeatedly suggested that parents talk to Career Center coordinator Phalia West in order to get more information more specific to individual students. West, Deeny said, along with the student's counselor, can find scholarships and colleges that are suited to the individual.

The panel also discussed the requirements for college applications. Perez placed an emphasis on the importance of grades as well as the essays that have to be written as part of the application process. According to Perez, although grades and the SAT are important parts of the process, they only show the numerical value an individual has. The essay shows the personality and passion of the student. Perez suggested writing about a topic that reflects who the student is as a person. The essay is an opportunity for the student to sell themselves. "Its like a puzzle and some puzzle pieces are bigger. Once you put these pieces together, you'll be able to market yourselfno one else is going to do it for you. You have to be your own advocate," CASA de Maryland representative Asher said.

The whole panel stressed that the parents should remind their students to take their time with applications. "Just know that it's a really long process. In 11th grade just map it out for yourself. There are a lot more resources, more access to scholarships and more information, [so] the longer you give yourself, the better," Deeny said.

According to Deeny, the ideal scenario would be starting applications the summer before senior year. It would also be beneficial for the students to ask for recommendations in the summer or early senior year, out of consideration for the teachers since they will have many other recommendations to write. The panel told the parents to get a head start on visiting colleges, planning financially, and reminding their students to start the application process early.

The next panel meeting will be April 3 in the Blair library.

Source: Mbhs

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Get Paid to Go Away: Tell Students About the Eighth Annual Scholarship Conference Oct. 13

Category: MC Events

Published: Sep 9 2013 12:00AM

Learn all about transfer scholarships and Montgomery College financial aid at the 8th Annual College Scholarship Conference.

Saturday, October 26, 2013
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Universities at Shady Grove
9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

This annual, free event features scholarship related workshop sessions (each offered twice), information tables including representatives from local universities, and the dynamic Marianne Ragins as the keynote speaker. Marianne is an expert and author on finding and winning scholarships.

This event will prepare high school and college students to make themselves the most competitive scholarship candidates possible. The one-day event will cover information about financial aid, admissions, and college funding.

Please encourage your students to attend this conference.

Sample workshops include:
* University of Maryland, College Park Merit Scholarships
* How to Write a Scholarship Winning Essay
* STEM Scholarships--a panel discussion on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math scholarships
* Transferring to Four-Year Schools: Understanding the Process
* Universities at Shady Grove Scholarship Opportunities
* MC - Paying Your Way: Student Financial Aid Programs
* A Student Panel of Scholarship Winners

Students can speak with representatives from:
* American University
* Frostburg State University
* Morgan State University
* Stevenson University
* Towson University
* University of Akron
* University of Maryland, Baltimore County
* University of Maryland, University College
* The Universities at Shady Grove

The conference is co-sponsored by Montgomery College, the Universities at Shady Grove, and Montgomery County Public Schools

Online preregistration for conference is highly encouraged, register at http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/scholarshipconference.

Questions? Contact conference organizers The Transfer Scholarship Coordinating Committee at scholarshipconference@montgomerycollege.edu.

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Source: Montgomerycollege

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The Josh Burdette '98 Student Entertainment Events (SEE) Memorial Scholarship

Josh Burdette embodied a Terp through and through. A committed undergraduate, Josh graduated in 1998 from the Honors College with a degree in psychology and always made sure to stay connected to the University. As an undergraduate, Josh was an outstanding classmate and student leader through Student Entertainment Events (SEE). It was his experience with SEE that inspired Josh to pursue a career in the entertainment industry after graduation. It was this same commitment and passion for UMD and SEE that kept Josh coming back to his alma mater to support and mentor current students. He could be found on campus each year doing security trainings and inspirational speeches about the importance of safety at shows. Josh left a big impression on the Maryland community. Many of his fellow classmates and faculty members would describe him as a compassionate, friendly and caring individual.

These are a few excerpts from an article honoring Josh's memory written by the Washington Post's Adam Bernstein:

• Behind the imposing facade, Mr. Burdette was widely regarded as a gentleman and a gentle man in the role of gatekeeper. "I have a degree in psychology, so I watch people - it's what I do," the University of Maryland graduate once said. He sparingly resorted to toughness to resolve disputes. He prided himself on identifying troublemakers before they could act.



• Joshua Burdette weighed 10 pounds at his birth Sept. 4, 1976. Growing up in Kensington, he was urged by his father, a Methodist minister and family counselor, not to use his physical might to bully others.
  

  "He grew up in an environment that taught him the way the world gets along best," Robert Burdette, his father, told the Diamondback newspaper at the University of Maryland. "At home, at school, at church...he was taught that [his size] was extra responsibility, not more privilege."

  
  

  There were times, he said, when other boys tested him, tried to lure him into fights, even got in a few punches. He said he would grab hold of the offending boy until school security arrived.

  
  

  Mr. Burdette once said he "made a lot of choices that set me aside from general society." They began with tattoos at 12 or 13, followed by piercings once he entered the University of Maryland. He graduated in 1998 as part of the university honors program. He told the Diamondback that he earned extra cash by "basically just sitting out on the front porch of these frat parties in College Park" in case security was needed.

  
  


• Marc Roberge, lead singer of the rock band O.A.R, said Mr. Burdette "made bands like us feel welcome at a place we'd always dreamed of getting to. Sometimes when you get to a place you've always tried to play, they shut you down and you can really feel it. He represented the 9:30 Club with such a good vibe, they could not have chosen a better person to be a part of the history of that place."

Josh touched so many lives through his time at Maryland and at the 9:30 Club. His friends and family hope to leave a lasting legacy through this scholarship among future generations of University of Maryland and SEE students.

Source: Umd

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