Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Making a Difference in Cool Way

Published on May 26, 2011 in Fun Stuff, Medical, Medical Mission to Africa and Schooling. Closed Tags: , , , , .

The mission of Ascovime is to provide rural populations in Cameroon with healthcare and educational supplies, all free of charge.  Ascovime functions to achieve this goal in a rather unique way compared to other humanitarian organizations – all members contribute on a volunteer basis, so all the money raised goes directly to those who really need it.  With this model comes the need for great grassroots efforts from all over the world.

Cool Students in Yaounde

One such project has been that of Dawn Hansen, a first grade teacher at the American School of Yaounde who is originally from Wisconsin.  In just a few weeks, she has crafted over a hundred “Cameroonian Coolers,” bandanas filled with crystals that can absorb and retain cool water, thus keeping one cool in the hot African sun.  Dawn’s has lasted for over 10 years! At the moment, this great effort has raised almost $500 and counting!

Here’s where you can support Ascovime through a donation.

How Ascovime Operates

Published on May 23, 2011 in Medical, Medical Mission to Africa and Travel. 2 Comments Tags: , .

If you’re wondering how Ascovime does its work on the ground, this video pretty well encapsulates it.  The scenery, music, makeshift equipment and transport, and a jovial attitude are all represented in this fine work.  Credit to TristanChampion for putting this video together.

Ascovime Paris

Published on May 22, 2011 in Medical, Medical Mission to Africa and Travel. Closed

For those of you that understand French out there, here is a nice little slideshow that was put together by the folks in Paris.  They are the original Ascovime and have been working diligently throughout the years to support the medical teams on the ground in Cameroon.  Check out the slideshow!

I Graduated! Now what?

Published on May 13, 2011 in Fun Stuff and Miscellaneous. Closed Tags: , , , .

Right about now, there is a plethora of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed graduating seniors on college campuses everywhere.  However, as they all slowly return from the four-year stupor in  which they became experts of herbal experimentation and yeast-based inebriation, the realization will come that the $100,000 in debt needs to be paid off somehow, and soon.  Perhaps it wasn’t the best decision, see alternatives.

New York Times Bestseller

What this means for most is finding an arrangement where you exchange your services for money, most typically a job.  At this time last year, I was in this boat for the most-part, and I had little idea how bad the job market was outside of my collegiate bubble.  So after about 4-months of grueling job hunting, basically that was my full-time job, I eventually got an offer that I was happy with.  Yet, I would say I was pretty lucky, many of my classmates weren’t as fortunate.

While I was on the hunt, I documented the process: successful and unsuccessful techniques, interviewing, cold-calling, and using LinkedIn.  I’m constantly skeptical of any of these so-called “social media” sites, but much to my surprise, LinkedIn was what ended up getting me a job.  So, naturally I decided to share my methods so that more graduates can get some straight advice from someone who’s gone through the process of finding a first job.  The book is called LinkedIn Distilled: A Recent Graduate’s Guide to Landing an Entry-Level Job and can be found on Amazon.  It’s short, uses simple language, has lots of diagrams, and is available for Kindle, PC, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and iPad.  Check out the reviews, enjoy and be sure to write a quick review too!