Get to Know Candice Love!

As I have mention in previous posts, a young woman named Candice Love has come to nearly every meeting, teaching the students about Essay Etiquette and prepping them for their future college essays. After last weeks meeting, I briefly interviewed Candice concerning her interests, hobbies and life goals.

Candice is 19 years old and entering her sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis. She attended a boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy, from 9th-12th grade. Although she attended high school in New Hampshire, she was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended elementary school in North County. During her senior year, she worked as an intern for the United States Senate in Washington D. C.

Candice is currently majoring in English and hopes to become a teacher in an urban setting. She also has a strong interest in politics and is a proud libertarian; she is a writer for Washington University's political magazine. Fun fact: Candice is a fanatic Cardinals fan!

Ms. Love has been an essential member of this program and words cannot express how grateful we are to have her!

Week 4 of Summer Seminar!

July 16th, we had our fourth meeting. Summer Seminar is slowly becoming more rigorous each week! Last meeting, I asked the students to complete a small worksheet about the extracurricular activities they participated in during the 9th and 10th grade. This week, I presented a small power-point pertaining to college resumes. Also, Candice Love came back to discuss, what she called, 'Essay Etiquette.' Participants learned about basic essay format and specific Microsoft Word configurations.

Previously, on July 2nd, Candice had the students write a half-page essay to use as a diagnostic exam. During her free time, she read and corrected these writings. She planned to come back this week with a new prompt based off of their original papers, however, there were too many technical problems at North Tech. We switched rooms 3 times, and due to construction, the network connection for all of the computers was dysfunctional. I had also planned to help them utilize their worksheets to build their college resumes. Unfortunately, this also required computers and was not able to be completed. This weeks meeting, while productive, was very difficult and we were not able to accomplish all of our goals. Next week, we will have a guest speaker and catch up with writing!

Also, Candice Love will be highlighted this weekend! She has been so helpful with the program and I look forward to more of her lessons!

Up-And-Coming Feature!

From this point on, I will showcase a student every week! Summer Seminar requires a lot of time commitment, in and outside of the weekly meetings. Students displaying dedication and care through attending meetings, completing assignments and showing enthusiasm will be highlighted. Also, I will not only elaborate on their accomplishments in the program; I will interview them and get their picture!

The first person featured will be posted soon.

Third Meeting, Hello Ms. Irving!

July 9th, our guest speaker, Ms. Jennifer Irving of BJC School Outreach, spoke to us about careers in health-care and ways to explore our interests in the medical field. She explained that, while the internet is a great source of information, shadowing and volunteering can offer hands on experiences you cannot receive in front of a screen. After explaining some of the well paid, lesser known careers in heath services, she discussed resources available to students through BJC Health Care. She provided us with volunteer forms, brochures and her contact information. Students now have the opportunity to not only shadow physicians, but any career in health care! The visits can range from following a doctor in an ER to witnessing a surgery. We are so excited!

Second Meeting, the Writing Begins.

July 2nd was our second meeting! More students attended and participated than the first meeting. A friend of mine, Candice Love, came to discuss the importance of writing. She attends Washington University in Saint Louis and is majoring in English. After her presentation concerning the different styles of writing, she had the students choose one of three prompts and write a half page paragraph. She is currently using this as a diagnostic essay to determine how to best aid the development of their writing skills!

Next week is the moment we've all been waiting for: Jennifer Irving will be attending Summer Seminar! Mrs. Irving works with BJC School Outreach and will discuss shadowing opportunities.