Author Archives: Cambresha Knight

To Get To The Next Level, You Must Read Blessed and Unstoppable

Posted on by
Reply

Photo taken by Cambresha Knight

Clear your mind, and reach deep within yourself in order to vividly dream YOUR dreams because in order to succeed, you need to know what you want in life. This book, Blessed and Unstoppable, was designed to put you in a position to gain strength, a deeper knowledge, and exert your full potential in order to move in greater steps. The author of Blessed and Unstoppable Billy Alsbrooks stated that “My book was written to initiate action, not to just sit back and read.” He also explains that “Each day in my book has self assessment questions that set in motion a change in mindset, to open the mind up in a strategic way so that it can design the breakthroughs required to step into greatness”. I believe this book is about waking up your purpose and the dreams that God has planned for your life. This book is so precious, and points out the fact that the readers of this book have a great deal of potential as well. “If a person wants to achieve the highest levels of success, they must be willing to do the inner homework required” Mr. Alsbrooks says. Therefore, I strongly recommend this book to all students, and staff on campus, as well as the community. This book will take everyone to the next level, and lead you towards your purpose as you answer the questions throughout the book. However, Blessed and Unstoppable is only available for purchase as a physical copy. “On digital devices, it’s too easy to skip past the homework and the action steps laid out in the book,” Alsbrooks said. “I want people to stop and think and then take massive action.” So go now. Purchase the book and get ready for a new change. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Check out Billy Alsbrooks website here, and click this to check out his YouTube channel.

All Aboard for Prague!

Posted on by
Reply

The Career Development Office has been given an opportunity to host a course, and guess what, it’s a study abroad leadership course to Prague, Czech Republic! It’s going to be focused on career development, your own career choices, and how those fit in the global workplace. Everyone who will take part in this amazing opportunity will travel to five industrial sites in Prague where everyone involved will talk with the leadership and human resources teams. Students will also be connecting with Prague college students who will be sharing how they get jobs there. Similarly, A&M students will share how they can get jobs in America. “I am hoping the students that go with us will return back for an internship or a study abroad course over there,” says Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development. She also “hopes it opens up the world a little bit more to students and lets them see how they fit into that global workplace with everything they’re learning right here at A&M-Texarkana.” So if you’re curious and interested in traveling to Prague, Czech Republic make sure to stop by our Career Development Office with any questions you may have.

Need Help With Your Resume?

Posted on by
Reply

The Career Development office here on campus is truly an exciting educational office that educates and teaches students how to get a job. Not only after graduating from college, but through your whole work career. Career Development also teaches students how to conduct themselves around potential employers, professional development, and how to find jobs. So there are many benefits when getting help with your resume on campus. It is accessible to all students and the staff are always here for you. So are there any tips when it comes to creating your resume? Here’s what I found. “One size does not fit all,” Tina Boitnott, Director of Career Development said. “What I mean is that one resume is not good for every job you apply to. Every resume needs to be fine-tuned and tweaked so that it shows relevance to the job that you are applying for, and that’s the one thing that’s sometimes difficult to think about is I need to tweak this resume each and every time.” Similarly, when it comes to students who have little to no work experience there’s a way to work things into your resume. “You have skills that you gained co-curricular, or volunteer out in your community so there are skills set that you’re learning,” Boitnott said. “Maybe you have a leadership role in a fraternity or sorority or student organization, those are good skills that transfer into the workplace. So we just look at what you have done maybe volunteering and not actual pay work.”

In addition to this, anytime a student can show that they’re not only going to school but also work and are active on campus are things employers look at. “They want to be sure that you are well rounded and not just a 4.0 academia and that you’re an excellent student,” Boitnott said. “That’s definitely positive but they also want to know maybe you don’t have much of a GPA but that you are very involved.” Equally important is that a student should at least keep their GPA at a 3.0 since although some of the industries that you go into aren’t going to put as much weight on your GPA , it’s a nice average to have.

Finally, The Career Development are able to help students a lot when it comes to the various workshops offered here on campus. “We will have opportunities where we will invite employers to come in and network with you to teach you how to talk to and approach them, and then when we have the career fairs you’re ready,” Boitnott said. “We’re gonna have a career closet that’ll teach you how to put together a professional interview wardrobe so that when you go to that interview you’re dressed in a way companies and businesses would expect you.” The Career Development staff also goes into classrooms to work with students more one on one to try to create awareness on campus of who they are, and they’re truly remarkable staff. “The Career Development Office at A&M-Texarkana staff wants you to be successful, and the staff wants to help you be successful,” Tina Boitnott said. “We’re not scary, and we’re not intimidating and you don’t know what you don’t know. So why not come in a safe place, learn and get educated on how to do this in a place where people care about you.”

Wanna Study Abroad? Here Are Some Things You Need To Know.

Posted on by
Reply

Jennifer Felps, Director of International Studies. Photo by Cambresha Knight.

Do you want to travel to other countries, try new foods, and embrace the culture you are living in? Get ready for A&M-Texarkana offers a lifetime opportunity. Our university offers a variety of short term and long term for students looking to study abroad. For short-term programs, these components range from one week to three weeks however, for the long-term program, A&M partners with some study-abroad providers, such as (CIEE), who offer programs where A&M students can enroll as a full-time student and take classes abroad for a full semester. If there is an internship option in the student degree plan, the university will allow the student to pursue an internship study abroad. Within the study abroad preparation, the university will ensure that the internship options prepared is directly related to the student’s career field. For example, a Mass Communication student may be engaged in local news stations, local radio stations, or some type of company marketing. History student may work in an art gallery or as a tourist guide in a museum. “It is very important for our students here at A&M-Texarkana to be ready for the global society that they are going to enter, and we offer such opportunities here on campus,” says Jennifer Felps Director of International Studies. Ms. Felps also went on to say that “We have international faculty, international students, we celebrate international education week but for a student to actually receive academic credit and go abroad and experience that culture it can open their world.”

So what are the requirements to meet before studying abroad? What should a student do if they are interested in the campus study abroad program? “The program has to count towards a student’s degree plan and the student must have at least a 2.5 GPA,” Jennifer Felps said. Ms Felps continued by saying that “If a student is interested in going abroad, they should stop by the International Studies office. We can begin the process discussing what their major is, what their favorite location might be for them to study abroad, and then how we can find a program that would fit into their degree plan.”

International students from the Education University of Hong Kong. Photo by Jennifer Felps.

Felps also had a fun experience meeting international students from Hong Kong two summers ago at A&M-Texarkana. “We had a group of doctoral and master students come from the Education University of Hong Kong to A&M-Texarkana,” Felps smiled showing the photo that was taken that day. “This is a picture of our Hong Kong students at State Line. We did a cultural excursion with the students and also held an education workshop that was put on by our educational faculty here at A&M-Texarkana. All of these students were pursuing masters and doctorates in education and so they were able to come to A&M-Texarkana for a short-term program straight from Hong Kong. They visited UT Tyler and then our university to learn more about the educational aspect that we pursue here at A&M-Texarkana.”

So take a little courage, prepare yourself and go out there. “If you are fearsome or worried, come talk to me. I’ll put your mind at ease about things but just understand that you do not need to be scared to experience a new culture, the best way to break the walls around you is to be confident in the life you are trying to pursue” as Felps would say. Thank you for reading. Stay safe and have fun.

Are You TRIO Ready?

Posted on by
Reply

Hello A&M students! I would like to inform you all of TRIO upcoming applications for next semester. TRIO is a grant program, that has been in place for four years, which helps students with academic and financial interests and is on their five-year grant cycle program. TRIO also organizes a variety of workshops for its members in a variety of ways, such as financial literacy, stress management, testing anxiety, workshops over transferring to graduate school, study abroad and many more. TRIO also offers services and benefits to low-income students, first-generation students, and students with documented disabilities. There are also academic coaching, online tutoring for TRIO members, a computer lab with free printing, and helpful staff. As you can see there are many benefits when it comes to being apart of TRIO, such as professional development and scholarship opportunities. “I would like students to know that TRIO works and we have lots of opportunities and services for our students to be successful in their academic career” says Brittany Barnett.

There will also be a lot of exciting things in TRIO next semester. In February, TRIO will be inviting a renowned guest to speak at the Literacy Workshop. Her name is Ja’Net Adams. “She’s going to bring a lot of good information about financial literacy, and how she overcame hers in a short amount of time that she accrued in college,” Barnett said. “We hope to have her book that she has available and to have everyone meet her. All of our TRIO participants are invited to come, see and hear this wonderful lady that is going to help everyone overcome financial barriers.” Ja’Net Adams also owns a company called Debt Sucks University. Click here to check it out.

Do not forget everyone. Please mark your calendar for the next semester. It will be here before you know! “I’ve been here since May 16th of 2016. It’s been a really good experience,” Dustin Nix said. “Please come see us anytime, even if you’re not a TRIO student, we’re here to help.”

Photo taken by Cambresha Knight.