Music is Medicine, Music is Sanity

Violinist Robert Vijay Gupta joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 19. He made his solo debut, at age 11, with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He's got a master's in music from Yale. But his undergraduate degree? Pre-med. As an undergrad, Gupta was part of several research projects in neuro- and neurodegenerative biology. He held Research Assistant positions at CUNY Hunter College in New York City, where he worked on spinal cord neuronal regeneration, and at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine Center for Neurologic Diseases, where he studied the biochemical pathology of Parkinson's disease.

Gupta is passionate about education and outreach, both as a musician and as an activist for mental health issues. He has the privilege of working with Nathaniel Ayers, the brilliant, schizophrenic musician featured in "The Soloist," as his violin teacher.

Do you have an E-Portfolio?

Very simply put, a portfolio is a collection of evidence that is gathered together to show a person’s learning journey over time and to demonstrate their abilities. Portfolios can be specific to a particular discipline, or very broadly encompass a person’s lifelong learning.

An e-portfolio can be an interactive, modern way to show off your work experience to potential employers. Don't worry if you are not entirely web design savvy. You can still create a portfolio that is simple but speaks volumes about your talent and accomplishments in your career field.

If you want to establish your brand on the Internet; showcase yourself, your talents or your academic work, e-portfolio is the digital age information system to use.

Have you considered starting an E-portfolio?  Take a look at this video for some inspiration.

Also, here are a couple of links to E-portfolios for you to do some further research.

http://sampleportfolio.blogspot.com/
http://students.ed.uiuc.edu/kkramer4/eport/

SSS Career Week - March 29 - April 2

If you are looking for a summer job, NOW is the time to begin. If you are about to graduate and need help with preparing a resume or practice interviewing, here is your opportunity.

• Job Search Tips
• Interviewing Skills
• Career Exploration
• Resume Writing
• Cover Letters
• Internships
• Creating an E-Portfolio

We have set aside the week of March 29th—April 2nd to help you get prepared and ready to land the job of your dreams! Contact your SSS advisor today if you would like to schedule an appointment to receive some individual assistance with developing your job skills.

Black or African American? by Tremaine Smith

The following article was shared by an SSS student, Tremaine Smith, and was written for her Intercultural Communication class.

Adekanbi said she has been rejected by Black Americans and has not felt connected with that community, although she has become an American citizen. She said she has had negative experiences with Black Americans, such as being called names because she is from Africa. “The African students' community, regardless of being from West Africa or East Africa, even though we are very different, we are like brothers and sisters of one people," Adekanbi said. "But I don't think that passes over into the African-American community (The Brown and White)." Judging by this story, I do feel the same way. Back in the day all black people were united as one but for some reason something caused Black Americans to judge one another to make them feel superior to Africans, making black people and also Africans think that we are two different races instead of one race.

Little Known Facts about Southeast Texas

The Port of Beaumont is the second largest U.S. military port in the world. About 48 percent of military cargo shipped overseas for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq passed through the port.

The Port of Beaumont is a leader in world commerce. Figures show goods flowing through the port were exported to 37 countries in 2008. Imports came from 21 countries. Port business activity generates about $11.6 million in state and local taxes and $23.3 million in federal tax revenue.

South Africa, Venezuela, Iraq, Qatar and Italy were the top five destinations for cargo leaving the port in 2008.

Recent economic impact statistics show the Port of Beaumont produces more than 1,860 jobs. The port generates more than $129 million in personal income for Southeast Texans.

The Port of Beaumont made aviation history when a Zeppelin shipped to the port took off for California on October 17, 2008. This was the first Zeppelin flight in U.S. skies since the Hindenburg crashed in 1937.

The Ronne Expedition, the last privately sponsored U.S. research mission to Antarctica, departed from the Port of Beaumont on January 25, 1947.

Source  - http://www.portofbeaumont.com/

Name the SSS Pet !!

You found us!  Welcome to the SSS blog !!!  We have so much good information to share and fun things to do on our SSS blog that we wanted to make sure you knew about us and that we want you to interact with us. Let's have some fun searching for the new SSS pet found somewhere on this blog and then suggesting appropriate names for him / her.  Here's a hint: Our new pet loves to interact with your "mouse" !   Write your suggested name in the comments section below and tell why you think this should be the official name of our SSS pet.

SSS students attend Leadership Conference

SSS participant Brandon Anderson writes "The SELU Leadership Conference on March 6, 2010 was the absolute best experience I have had since attending Lamar University. With this conference I had the opportunity of meeting lots of new people whom I thought I would never associate with also I became closer with people I knew already. This conference taught me how to be a leader, what i need to do as a leader, what kind of leader I am, and how I can affect people as a leader. This trip was the absolute best and I cannot wait to see what next year's conference will bring!"

The Psychology of Love

Dr. Frank Conner presents "The Psychology of Love: Do Opposites Attract or Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together?" as part of the 2009-2010 Psychology Lecture Series.

Trip to KFDM and Beaumont Chamber of Commerce

How to Avoid Studying Without Really Trying

Don't have the appropriate materials that you'll need. This will allow you to get in a lot of conversations with others who live on your hall.

Realize after you begin studying that you need to go to the bathroom, or are hungry, or that you need to write a letter, or that you aren't clear about an assignment, or that you have to find out the details of a friend's date.

Dwell on how dull the course is and thoroughly believe that if you just had a half-way decent instructor all the material would be easier to understand and be more interesting.

Have you considered a career in technology?

Did you know that studies have shown that girls are 5 times less likely to consider a technology related career?

The INcreasing Student Participation In REsearch Development (INSPIRED) Program is designed to increase the participation of women and minorities in computing. The program targets female and minority computer science (CS) undergraduate students, but also includes some outreach components for middle and high school students. The goal is to demonstrate that engaging underrepresented students in the INSPIRE program can 1)retain more of these students; 2)help transition them into advanced study in computer science or computing careers; and 3)attract more females and minorities to the field.

INSPIRED students are paid to perform research and participate in mentoring and outreach functions for an average of fifteen hours per week. They work in teams under the direction of Computer Science faculty members who serve as mentors and role models. The teams include students from all levels, freshmen through seniors.

The program helps prepare new computer scientists for participation in the global workforce by having them work in teams that are very diverse, including both men and women from different ethnic backgrounds. It enhances Lamar's infrastructure for research and education by providing for a dedicated research lab that will be used for INSPIRED research and related classes. It benefits society by enabling women and minorities to attain fulfilling careers in computer science, which in turn strengthens the discipline by the infusion of their diverse ideas and perspectives.

For more information about the INSPIRED program visit http://cs.lamar.edu/inspire/Content/inspired.htm