Join the Business Student Interest Group for NOVA Online. Engage in business related discussions, guest interviews, article sharing, tips, and more- online!
To join or to find out more information contact the group leader, Kaleigh, at kmw2998@email.vccs.edu.
Each year, on the first Saturday of June, thousands of Virginians simultaneously descend on the rivers, streams, and beaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed to remove harmful litter and debris. Thirty-one years strong, Clean the Bay Day is a true Virginian tradition and an annual opportunity for families, military installations, businesses, clubs, civic or church groups to give back to local waterways.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
9:00 am-Noon
Click here to Register —> https://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/
Volunteer at one of the numerous locations around Virginia. Clean up areas are available in every country that NOVA Campuses are located in.
Visit the link below for a full list of areas.
https://www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/clean-the-bay-day-locations.html
There’s more! NOVA Students who volunteer for Clean the Bay Day will be entered into a raffle to win a NOVA Online Tech Swag Bag- includes flash drive, webcam cover, mouse pad, & microfiber cloth key chain!!!!
To Enter the Raffle Follow Instructions Below
For more information contact your Student Life Coordinator at onlinestulife@nvcc.edu.
Finals may be over, but the chance to win a scholarship is not! The NOVA Online Book Club shared this great opportunity.
The Virginia Writers Club is awarding $2,000 to first year students in a writing related major. See details in the link below:
https://www.virginiawritersclub.org/2019-Scholarship
Applicants will write on the 2019 topic:
“Tell about someone who inspired you and the effects of that inspiration on your writing life.”
For more information on how to get involved with the NOVA Online’s Book Club visit:
This Is My Brave is seeking a summer Intern! We’re a mental health storytelling organization (http://www.thisismybrave.org) and are experiencing significant growth.
This Is My Brave, Inc. provides a platform and a community for people affected by mental illness to share their stories through theater programs and community events. Their mission as a new non-profit organization is to ignite and actively promote a positive, national conversation on mental illness to end the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. They believe that every time a story is shared, there’s another crack helping to break down the stigma of mental illness. This is an unpaid internship, but offers excellent experience in a non-profit entrepreneurial environment with the opportunity to contribute your ideas and have your voice heard as a valuable contributor to the team.
Their physical location is Dulles, Virginia, but they mainly work out of home offices so this will be a work-from-home opportunity, with meetings in person (or via Skype) every other week to go over work and set new assignments.
Requirements:
This is an exciting chance to get involved – and have a voice – with an organization which is on the leading edge of social change when it comes to the way society views mental illness.
To apply, please email: jennifer(at)thisismybrave.org and submit your resume and a video clip (can be shot on your smartphone or using a computer’s webcam) telling why you’re interested in joining the team.
To enhance your test taking skills and get that ‘A’, take a moment to review the common test taking errors and tips referenced below.
Read the Instructions/Questions Carefully: You have probably heard this tip a thousand times but failure to read the instructions and each question carefully can result in careless errors. Do not skim—read thoroughly and carefully. Sometimes, wrong answers can be the result of skipping over important directions.
Label Your Test: Make sure your name and student ID are on the test along with any other information required by the instructor or testing center. You would be surprised at how many students, anxious to get started, forget to put their name on the test or the Scantron! Failure to include your name will most likely result in a zero!!
Sequence Errors: Concept errors such as misunderstanding a principle involved in solving the problem or steps involved in the process can create problems in answering the question correctly. When studying, take time to review your lecture notes and textbook carefully to ensure you follow the proper sequence is answering the question. (Use flash cards and/or mnemonics when studying, to help remember and recall the order.)
Missing Problems in the Test: If you are anxious and/or have a tendency to rush, you may miss problems or skip a step. If you are confused on a question, circle it and come back to it later. If you have a tendency to skip the last step or part of a question, be sure to look at this part of the problem first. Always remember to review your test before turning it in!
Spending too Much Time on One Question: If you are spending too much time on one question, circle it, and refer back to it after you have completed the other questions (as you move forward through the test – other questions may prompt you to remember the answer to the question that stumped you). If you are taking a timed test, you may want to consider wearing a watch (testing centers do not allow cell phones at your testing station).
Recording the Incorrect Answer: Accidentally, copying the wrong answer from your scratch paper to the actual test can result in a disaster. To avoid this, strategically plan to compare your answer on the scratch paper with the one on the test.
Review your Answers: Careless mistakes such as forgetting to add two numbers in a long math problem, skipping steps or accidentally missing a question, can result in zero credit or a loss of points. To protect yourself against this common error, after completing each question/problem, review your answers thoroughly.
Preparing for Future Quizzes/Tests: Once you have received your quiz/test back, be sure to review it and look up every question that you missed. Determine the reason why you missed the question and learn from it so you will understand the concept(s) and be able to apply the correct information on your next exam.
If you have questions or would benefit from additional strategies, reach out to a NOVA Online Success Coach today by emailing onlinesuccess@nvcc.edu. From test taking strategies to time management, we are here to answer your questions and help you access resources that will empower you to navigate the semester and pave your way to a successful academic journey.
Here’s an Info-graphic with a short summary!
Amber Dunn is an online student working towards a degree in Film Studies. She shares her experience spending Spring break with Student Life in order to volunteer and give back to the community!
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Spring Break. A time to catch up with your friends. Maybe you and your besties hop in the car and go on a road trip. Or, your family might decide to soak up some sun rays on the beach. Whatever you do, you are having fun. Making memories with the people you hold close to your heart. Would you ever consider spending Spring Break with people you didn’t know? I’m talking about complete. Strangers. Would you be willing to spend Spring Break working? How would you feel if part of your Spring Break was spent getting dirty?
I was a little hesitant when the words “Alternative Spring Break” popped up on my screen. I thought, ”spend part of my time doing labor!” My best friend, Heather, convinced me. She exclaimed “Come on! It will be fun!” I decided “More time with my best friend, why not.”
The night before I left for the trip I was contemplating attending. At the time I was enrolled in an online course, and had a ton of work due plus an exam. I was worried I was not going to be able to finish the assignments, and adequately study. Then I reflected on the past month. I spent the entire month writing essays, and applying for what felt like 100 universities! I told myself, “you need this break.” The next morning, I was on my way to Roanoke, VA.
I did not except my life to be impacted within the three days. The first day we helped clean Mt. Zion AME church and settled in. The second day we helped Roanoke Rescue Mission. We helped package and give out food to families in need. It was a life changing experience because the quality of the food was superior. I have helped give back to families in need before, and the food these families typically received was non-perishables. The food Roanoke Rescue Mission gave out to their community in need was perishable and non-perishable. Food that had quality. Plus, they also provided dog or cat food. I was blown away by the food the community received. It was food with love.
Later in the day we went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. While we were there we helped clean the store, rearrange books, and move shelves. The best part was learning about the mission of Habitat for Humanity, and hearing about the lives it has changed through ReStore.
The last day we spent going to church for six hours. You read it correctly. Church, for six hours. Now, now. You are probably thinking, “Church? Six hours?” I know, I know. It was wonderful. The reason we attended Church was to experience a different element. Personally, attending Church spoke to me. Spring Break was at a time, two years ago I applied for nine universities. I was devastated my applications did not turn out the way I envisioned it. I did get accepted into one school, Spelman University, but I couldn’t attend due to a promise I made to myself over eight years ago. I promised myself I would graduate college debt free.
As I sat in Church I reflected upon how I improved since then. I made tremendous progress. I saw how all the rejections came together and led me in a better direction. After Church we went back to the Rescue Mission to help serve food to homeless families. One thing I noticed as I served these families was how polite and thankful they were. It warmed my heart when people looked me in the eyes and said, “Thank you. God Bless.” I could feel the sincerity behind their words.
Once we were done serving Pastor Ziglar took us on a mini-tour of the city. We drove to The Roanoke Star. As we approached the star we witnessed a breath-taking view of the city, and its life.
After we gathered our breaths, we grabbed ice cream and headed back to Mt. Zion. The next morning it was time to depart. By the conclusion of the trip I got to know my trip members better and see a new community. In fact, I was bummed the trip wasn’t an entire week. It felt amazing giving back and meeting new people. If you are ever given the chance between Spring Break or ALTERNATIVE Spring Break, take the latter. You never know how your life might change.
Amber Dunn aed2543@email.vccs.edu
Did you know you have access to Mango Languages, a fun & interactive language-learning software? Log in with your VCCS email, then you can use Mango Languages online or via mobile apps for Apple & Android.
Languages available include English, Spanish, Japanese, Farsi (Persian), Arabic (Modern Standard, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Levantine), and even Pirate! For a full list, see https://learn.mangolanguages.com/welcome/language/all
Brought to you by NOVA Libraries.
Check out this week’s Student Spotlight blog post from Monica Lizarazo. Monica is an international student studying English. Group projects are never easy, but stepping up to take a leadership role within your group can be very rewarding. Monica shares three concepts that spark successful group leadership.
Becoming a Leader in Group Projects
We all want to be a leader at some point in our lives, and it may be more important to want to be a leader while in college. You feel you need to lead group projects, participate a lot in your classes, explain lectures to other classmates or listen to your teacher, hey! Great job. All of these are signs you are loving that course. Thus, do not stop or get frustrated because your group does not work as well as you would like. Remember, leadership could be harder when you share different cultures, ages, and backgrounds. The key is to train your native leader to manage team-work based on three concepts: empathy, problem-solving, and synergistic communication.
If you are already in charge of a group, the first step you should study is empathy. This skill means to approach to the others’ thoughts; colloquially, being in others´ shoes. Consider that a project´s success will not be measured by the number of directions you could give to your classmates. This depends on how understanding you can be with them because they struggle as much as you do, but; you are their leader. Think in some questions such as who is my group? What are their other roles? Do they work or are they only students? Are they Americans or from another country? What are their majors? As much as you know your partners, you will get good ideas about their capacity and interest in the project to do the best team-work.
Besides understanding your team, if something falls on the way, you should never blame someone. You make them work together to figure out possible solutions, you are the problem solver. One more question is, ask yourself in silence to think better, what happened? Why did not we understand our goal? What are our options to fix it? Looking for someone to blame won’t help you, but it will make you waste time. Mohandas Gandhi said, “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him” (qt Borton). If she or he did not send their part of the assignment; well, you are the leader. Did you have a plan b? For example, if you know who they are, you may have known she or he works and has a family (husband, wife or children). It meant they could not get on time to the presentation. Did you ask him how she or he was doing? Try always to be the problem solver and move on. Sometimes, they just need some support and they will do as much as they can.
Likewise, communication implies different levels and synergy infers to transmit a message from the receiver’s world. You cannot assume they understood your ideas only because you talked or wrote about it. You need to figure out how they communicate to create your own proper ways of communication. For example, if one of them learns by listening, you should verbally explain and call her or him. If the person does not speak English as a first language, you explain and email her or him. The synergistic communication allows you to make the others feel an important part of the group dynamic because you are giving a message in a way they enjoy. You will see you are a synergetic communicator when the project is done. Keep in mind, you are their leader, you need to take the initiative and work with your team.
Identification, solutions and active communication are keys to help you become a respectable leader. Although there are diverse leadership styles, you should choose one that best reflects your personality. However, you would not forget to enjoy the process because you are still in college. While you are studying, you have the right to make many mistakes that in real life may have bigger consequences. Your errors will always make you a better professional and human being. I loved to be the chief in charge when I studied my bachelor’s degree in Colombia. Now, I am starting over, so I am the listener.
Work Cited
Morton, Brian. “Falser Words Were Never Spoken”, published in The New York Times, 29 Aug. 2011. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html. Accessed 12 Mar. 2019.
This weekend Student Life participated in their third annual Alternative Spring Break Volunteer Experience. Students from every campus, online learners included, rode down to Roanoke, Virginia to stay with Mt. Zion AME Church. They were able to donate their time and energy to The Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter, Habitat for Humanity, and to various projects around the Church. They immersed themselves in a different culture by staying in a city surrounded by The Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. Students reflected on the privilege they all have and how important it is to serve others. The experience was an exploration of personal heritage and values while learning about some of the social justice struggles in the United States.
We are so excited online learners participated in this valuable experience! Learning online does not exclude you from getting involved with Student Leadership and College Engagement.
#NOVAServes
Taking online courses does not exclude you from these opportunities. Not only can you take advantage of campus based events, you also have Student Life Online opportunities available to you.
There are a variety of ways to find out about engagement opportunities. See below where you can find information about Student Life.
A physical Student Life Office is located on all 6 campus. For online students, a Student Life Coordinator is available virtually and via email. Typical Student Life staff is available 9am-5pm, Monday through Friday depending on what events are taking place.
View Student Life locations and contact information HERE.
Never hesitate to stop by a Student Life Office or email the staff! We are here for YOU!
An updated list of programs is sent your student email (@email.vccs.edu) from Brian Anweiler every Friday during the Fall and Spring semesters.
Every campus, NOVA Online included, is updated weekly. There is a lot of information on the email, but you can pick and choose which opportunities you want to follow.
NOVA Online has a Twitter and Facebook account @NOVAElife
Flyers, updates, and other important information is shared regularly through Social Media. It’s also a great way for you to communicate directly with staff and other students!
Don’t forget to also follow NOVA’s main account at @NOVACommCollege
Other Campus Student Life Accounts can be followed at: @AL_Student Life , @ANStudentLife , @MAStudent_Life , @ShoutoutLoudoun, @NOVAWoodBridge , @NOVAMEC
The NOVA Events Calendar is found at https://calendar.nvcc.edu/ You can even narrow your search by selecting a campus, topic, or event type.
There are tons of ways to get involved at NOVA weather you are taking online classes or traditional classes, there is something for every one. #GetInvolved #DontBeBored!