Tag Archives: graduation

100 days until Graduation: Money Management post-graduation

Posted on by
Reply

Graduation 2022 is coming upon us this winter as our seniors get prepared with caps, gowns, and more. I am one of the several students that will graduate this year. Many seniors will have a lot of plans. However, they may not know the importance of keeping finances in check. Otherwise, the future will likely promise slim chances of sustaining aspiring careers besides the increases of life’s calamities. That is why this ongoing event will provide insight and support towards life after graduation.

The 100 days until graduation event involves a social meeting between graduates of two semesters and the host, Dr. Juan R. Castro. Dr. Castro is the executive director of the CBET. The meeting shows us how to correctly manage money after graduation along with supporting details to aid us with this new pursuit.

Here are the 4 main tactics for currency management in the most secure and beneficial ways:

  1. Building a Positive Net Worth
  2. Emergency Fund
  3. Control and save the expenses
  4. Learn to Invest’

Net worth is the total amount for an individual and such, with reporting of assets and liabilities included. Liabilities are what you owe from your properties or assets. In turn, the knowledge of what you have and owe makes out the budget, describing the possible net worth. One aid to prevent any disastrous outcomes is too not buy expensive goods like glamorous cars. Having this kind of luxury will guarantee in owing much more than its base price. We would not go far with other financial goals if buying an expensive car is a part of the plan. It may sound depressing, but it is much better to be stable than regretful with that irresistible mistake.

If any disasters occur even if the finances are efficiently managed, be prepared with emergency funds. With those funds, there is coverage for any damages such as job loss, sudden health expenditures, and replacing household necessities. Plus, it further supports financial security and stability.

A quote to recall from the event: “Remember, the poor is not the one who has little, but the one who needs a lot.” Regarding sustainability of money, poor is the one who spends more of their income. If anyone is not in control of their debt or their spending, this error will run your life. It is best to focus on the expenditures while overseeing how much is spent.

It is important to build an investment. There are four common misconceptions and mistakes that will trample stability if a young graduate is careless.

  1. It is easy for a prime adult to ponder about retirement near the end of their careers. But withholding the idea for that long period is likely to stop the contentment of maintaining the lifestyle when reaching senior age. Instead, they need to think about retirement while they are still working, even if it sounds too early. 2. There should be a plan for investment. Otherwise investing is just a fleeting thought. 3.When a graduate begins the plan, start gradually to attain knowledge so the process is proper. It is advised not to jump into the plan without learning anything. 4. Lastly, pay attention to retirement accounts while working your career. Ignoring them is another determent in the retirement plan.

Those are the most integral points that I wanted to discuss from the lecture. All of this may seem a lot to take in yet learning how to use your money along with managing it is more than helpful when going out into the world after graduation.

The Commencement of the Rest of Your Lives

Posted on by
Reply

Alyssa Bertrand

“May all the students of the class of 2015 please stand” is what everyone will hear at a graduation. These words mean more to each person than the people of the audience. These words will last forever in their minds. They know they were able to complete one-step of their lives and are now able to see what the rest of their lives has in store for them. Graduation is a special ceremony for all the students that have completed the required elements. There are some items that people fail to mention, when speaking about graduation, and that is the behind the scenes work that the staff does in order for graduation to run smoothly.

Texas A&M University-Texarkana has two main people in the graduation department. Kristie Avery and Karen Dukes are the ones who put in a ton of hours outside the office. To make sure the processing and the real ceremony is correct and able to run as it is supposed to. More staff members help of course. Avery and Dukes are the women behind the curtain. The process is long but these woman are the best in town.

Applications start flowing in at the start of the semester, and some before that. From the moment the first application is sent, the physical time of TAMU-T staff is filled. Avery has expressed that she spends many hours on graduation work outside the office, however she would never miss an important event with her family. She makes sure she is still able to help her daughter with homework, or make it to school events.

When it begins, there are many items that one must to keep in mind, when processing the application. First, one has to make sure the application is correct and every part is filled out. The next step is when the hard part starts to happen. After printing the application, they first look at the major of the applicant and print out the individual’s DegreeWorks. One must make sure that they have all the credits they are supposed to have and look at how many upper level division hours one has. The credits are important, but making sure one has all the classes one needs is harder than finding the credits. Sometimes, one may have the correct number of credit hours, but may be missing one or two classes. The graduation staff have to make sure that the applicant has the correct number of residence hours, which is the number of hour and time spent enrolled in the university.

After checking, the application, the reviewer, will call if they have a question about the application. The staff will work and try as hard as possible when making sure that every detail is in place. There have been times when a student may have all the credits but are missing one class. In this case, they will either try to put them in that certain class or look at the DegreeWorks and see if the student has taken a previous class that would equal the class needed.

DegreeWorks is an online processing page that allows someone to get access to his or her classes. It makes it easier to see what classes one needs to take and tells them what they already have taken as well. This site will also allow the student to see the percentage they are to their degree and how many credit they are lacking. Avery says, “I didn’t have DegreeWorks when I graduated (Web for Students was just really getting started and there wasn’t an email program like Ace Mail when I graduated). DegreeWorks works, so that’s one thing that makes the process easier.”

A graduating student must consider their GPA in three different parts they will need to see if there is any hold on the accounts and see if there are any outstanding balances on their accounts as well. There could be a part that will need a transcript so one will have to see if one will need to be sent to the graduation office.

Elaine Willis has recently graduated from TAMU-T; she explains that it is very stressful but would not change that for the world. Her friends from the university helped and motivated her to help finish the class she needed and she did. She says the process was long and stressful to make sure everything is okay with the application. One part being incorrect or have a missing part it could mean you either graduate or do not. Now, she could not be happier with her life. She wears her class ring every day.

Willis and Avery both have graduated from TAMU-T and they both wish there was a way to make the process easier and better to work with. Right now, the process must be completed by hand. If the process were available electronically, it would make it faster and easier for the students and the staff. “Just making students more aware of their graduation status and prohibiting the phrases “I didn’t know…. ” Or “No one told me…” this is the one thing that Avery wants to happen in the future.

Our Graduation Specialist

Posted on by
1

Alyssa Bertrand

“I have a problem: it’s called logic!” something we all think at some point, but Kristie Avery admits she has said it many times. Kristie Avery will celebrate her birthday in the winter when Christmas cheer is all around.

Avery has been married for 23 years to a wonderful man named Doug. Doug is a captain for the Texarkana, Arkansas Police Department. He has been a part of the police department for 25 years. Through the love from Doug and Kristie, they brought two more lives to into the world. Their son, Tim, 20 years of age and currently attending Henderson State University. Tim plays baritone in the band and will major in music education to become a band director. Heather, 18 years of age is attending Henderson State University alongside her brother. Heather plays the trumpet in the university’s band but majors in nursing.

Avery’s life in Arkansas began 23 years ago, after moving from southern California where she was born and raised. Her commute from her home to the Texas A&M University-Texarkana campus is only about 10-12 miles.

Avery is now a Graduation Specialist at TAMU-T. She underwent a year and a half of training before receiving the title. Avery loves her job now, but this is not what she wanted to be when she was younger. Her dream was to become the next Christine Amanpour, a reporter who traveled the world to cover stories. She was on and off the camera. Amanpour was Avery’s idol at the time. In order to reach her dreams, she continued her education at Texas A&M University- Texarkana. After earning her Mass Communication degree from TAMU-T, she took her journalism degree and went for the big goal. Her dream was to be a traveling journalist and adventure all over the world. She wanted to be an on camera reporter. After being on the staff of a local newspaper, Avery’s mass communication degree took her to work for a local television station as a reporter/photographer for two years. Then she decided to work for a local newspaper for three and a half years before returning to work at her Alma matter. Avery did not start out as a graduation specialist. She started by helping with the long graduation process. While doing so, the people around her began to realize she was good at her job and she was able to start training for the actual job title. As a graduation specialist, one must be able to put in long hours in order to pull graduation together. The process is long and has to be looked over multiple times.

When first applying for graduation, one must apply online, the application is then emailed to Mrs. Avery, and she will then print off the application. A few items need to be checked and in place before the process can continue. These are; make sure one has the correct number of credit hours, how many upper and lower level classes compared to how many one must have to graduation. To graduate, one’s GPA must be at a certain point and one needs to have a amount of resident credit hours as well. Avery has to be able to see if one is missing any classes and then help the student as much as possible to earn those credits for a certain course.

After printing out the application, she will attach one’s degree works to the application itself. She will then make sure she notifies the applicant if any items are missing or if she has any questions. The process of looking over the applications could be examined many times before one approves it for further processing.

To prepare for the day of graduation, not much is left to do. Avery and her fellow coworkers goes to the venue the day before to get some rows roped off, signs in the right places, and then the day of graduation ensuring every person has the correct name card. As graduation gets closer and closer, the more time everyone must spend outside of the office. Usually nine to ten-hour days become necessary. When asked how her family felt about the long days she responded, “My husband is not too happy about me being gone, but he knows it is for the students. I am always at my children’s events no matter what goes on at work”. No matter how many hours she clocks in at work, she will always make time for her family.

Avery does not see free time as much as she would like, but when she does have it, she likes to spend it with her family. She enjoys attending band events for her children and constructing jewelry. In the future, she has a desire to make the process for graduation easier for all students.

As a graduation specialist, Kristie Avery sees and hears many stories that are inspirational to her. One story stood out to her. It is when she was able to see the oldest person from TAMU-T walk across the stage. The woman was 70 to 80 years old. Seeing her graduate showed everyone is able to complete one’s dream. Not one thing in this huge world is out of reach. Even if one is 80 years old and finally graduating, one can achieve if one believes.