Senior Spotlight: Mariah Baker

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Mariah Baker. Mariah is majoring in psychology. When asked about the following she had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Gained interpersonal skills

Joined a literary society and improved my public speaking beyond the classroom

Increased my awareness of national and international life”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“Take a year off, get hands on experience, and then go to graduate school for a Master’s in Clinical psychology.”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“A home. People I can talk to, feel comfortable around, and feel supported.”

Senior Spotlight: Shakora Winkfield

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Shakora Winkfield. Shakora is majoring in sociology. When asked about the following she had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Graduating

Making connection and networking

Making new friends

Chi Beta”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“Working part time until I find a full time job.”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“A support system”

Senior Spotlight: Hailey Phillips

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Hailey Phillips. Hailey is majoring in biology with ecology concentration. When asked about the following she had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Beta Beta Beta Biology Honors, Lambda Pi Eta Communication & Rhetorical Studies Honors, Alpha Lambda Delta Honors, Orchid Germination Independent Research, Yates Teaching Fellow, Vice-President of Chi Beta Literary Society, President of Active Minds (now Mental Health Advocates), Vice-President of Student Senate.”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“I have a job at the St. Louis Zoo working as a head camp counselor with children and educating them on the importance of animals and conservation.”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“TRIO has played a vital role in the various achievements that I have obtained. They were always such a great resource for tutoring, mentoring and overall just friendly individuals. Since day one here at Illinois College, TRIO has always been in my court and have made sure that I as an individual achieve great things, so thank you TRIO for that.”

Senior Spotlight: Alex Payton

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Alex Payton. Alex is majoring in Psychology. When asked about the following she had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Student Worker for Campus Services

Rec and Leisure Chair (SAB)

President (SAB)

Resident Assistant for two years  

TRIO Scholarship Recipient 2x”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“I have accepted a position at Mooseheart as a Live-in Family Teacher”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“TRIO means the world to me. If I was not involved, I do not think I would be as successful during my time here at IC. TRiO has been there to help me not only academically, but also personally. I was here for the Yates program and I was able to  gain many connections through the TRIO Program.”

Senior Spotlight: Brian Kruzan

 

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Brian Kruzan. Brian is majoring in sociology. When asked about the following he had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Grow as both a student and a person, meet and make friends with new people.”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“Going into Law Enforcement and becoming either a correctional officer or a police officer.”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“It has meant everything to me. It has made me the person I am today, and I have grown into a more confident and determined individual.”

Senior Spotlight: Ellen Sadler

 

Meet the TRIO Senior Spotlight, Ellen Sadler. Ellen is majoring in english. When asked about the following she had this to say.

-What were some of your achievement while here at IC?

“Yates Member and Forte Editor”

-What are your plans for after graduation?

“I’m still job hunting, trying to find that perfect job for me and my family. In the meantime I’m focusing on being the best mom I can be to my daughter.”

-What has TRIO meant to you?

“It has meant help from my advisers when I was at a complete loss and bringing strangers closer to be friends through fun events.”

Research, Citations, and Papers OH MY!

Starting your Search

• Figure out keywords
  • Internet is really good at finding key terms as generally searched
• Use limiters/ find full text
• Identify permalinks/ stable URLs

Getting into Research

• Create a “Research Notes” document
  • to organize what you have found from your research
• REMEMBER to always check the auto generated citations
• Again, record permalinks/ stable URLs

Saving your Research

• General Principle of Organization applies to all platforms (file explorer, google drive, etc.)
• Save and Label all PDFs
• Numbers keep things in order
  • Dates instead of months → chronological
  • See example:

If you have any further question talk to your TRIO academic counselor or go straight to the experts aka the librarians!

 

Outstanding with Outlining

The importance of outlining:

• Organizes your thoughts
• gives you a place to start
• Alleviates the stress of starting a paper
• And it can show you how much work is already done 🙂

When starting your outline

• look for target words within the prompt to further understand what it is the your professor wants
  • Persuade
  • Narrative
  • Argumentative
• Brainstorm ideas
• “Write a shitty first draft to get shit out”- Erica Salmonson, visiting instructor of English

Don’t forget transition words, here are just a few:

• First of All
• Therefore
• In conclusion
• Lastly
• Afterwards
• On the other Hand
• In Addition

“Google is your friend” – Erica Salmonson 

Click on the link below to download your own working outline template!!

Creating an Outline

If you have any further question talk to your TRIO academic counselor!

Credit Scores

Credit Reports are a Transcript of your Credit

• • Credit Scores are your GPA
  • Scores are somewhat hard to move up but very easy to move down
  • lead to :
    • Different approvals (Jobs)
    • Different rates (Salaries)

Understanding Scores

• • • 3 Different Reports
      • Experian
      • Transunion
      • Equifax
    • Different Scores
      • Depending on who is looking, scores could be different
    • Black Box
      • Formula not Public

#1 Check Your Credit Report:

Identity theft and false information can ruin your credit without you doing anything wrong

Sample Credit Report: What to look for

https://www.experian.com/credit_report_basics/pdf/samplecreditreport.pdf

Terminology

• • • Late Payment
      • Being late on a payment that is reported
      • Most significant way to hurt score
    • Credit Limit
      • How much available credit you have
      • Lenders want to see you not utilizing it all
    • Average Age of Accounts
      • Shows history of using credit well
      • Better to start now rather than later
    • Hard and Soft Pull
      • A check of your credit
      • Hard is when you initiate. Soft is when you don’t.

 

Scores Tell Lenders if they Can Trust You!

 

#2 Build Your Credit:

Starting now with easy things can help build a history of being trustworthy

What you can do now!

• • • Appy for a credit card (secured)
    • Buy at least a few things each month and pay it off every month
    • Never carry a balance (treat a card like a debit card)
    • Set up AutoPay!

Benefits

• • • Approved for Things
      • Smaller Security Deposits
        • Apartments
        • Utilities
        • Phone
      • Loans
        • Home
        • Car
        • Personal
    • Rates are lower & Advantages are better
      • Credit Card
        • Rewards
        • Low/No Fees
        • Purchase Protection
      • Pay less on a mortgage
      • Pay less on a car loan
      • Pay less for insurance

#3 Take Care of Report and your Score Will Follow

All the things you are doing are to make a more attractive history (transcript) to show lenders. Score is just a number!

Student Spotlight: Brian Kruzan

Meet the TRIO Spotlight Brian E. Kruzan, Brian is a senior majoring in sociology. Another place you might see Brian is at Intramural sporting events. Brian’s favorite TV show is Blue Bloods. Brian’s most rewarding moment was “I think being accepted to go to college and becoming the first person in my family to ever go to college.” When asked if he could travel anywhere, where would he go and why? “I would probably have to say Ontario Canada. The reason being is because I am a huge fisherman, and I have heard they have an excellent muskie, crappie and smallmouth bass fisheries.” And finally Brian loves TRIO because, “It means everything to me. If it was not for the TRIO program and the fantastic people in it, I would not be in college today. It is a place that allows shy and scared students like I once was to express their self and their self doubts. It allows students to grow not only as a student but also as a person. Programs like this are great because the people who work in these programs are concerned and determined to make sure you succeed inside and out of the classroom.”