Research Papers / trying to make a survey (information on tutoring during summer) [2]

Hello everyone, I am trying to develop a survey to ask students if they received the proper resources they needed to have a chance at succeeding in summer school courses. Summer school courses are already stressful enough being so compressed and the combination of this and not having proper resources may lead to (trying to determine this through the survey) students doing poorly.

Background: With any university, there are going to be less students during the summer then the fall and spring semesters. With that said, their are less resources in the summer which means there's less tutors available for students struggling to understand the subject.

I am wondering if you can please give me any feedback to potentially help clarify a question or take out pieces of information you feel is irrelevant etc. Also, if anyone would recommend a website to create the online survey (I don't mind paying for it) I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

Your feedback is strictly confidential and anonymous. This will solely be used to improve the summer courses offered at BLANK University.

1. What summer school course(s) are you taking or already taken? (please indicate what course)

Summer I Summer II

2. Did you try to seek help through tutoring for the course(s)? If so, please specify through what resource. For EX: SLAC

Yes No, but did need help. No, didn't require help.

3. If you did seek help, did you receive the help needed to succeed in the course?

Yes No

4. How would you rate the availability of tutors during the summer sessions?

Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Somewhat Satisfied Not at All Satisfied

4. What grade are you making in the course(s) or grade for completed course(s)?

A B C D F I'd rather not say

5. Please use the space below to give any feedback you may have to improve on campus tutoring during summer sessions.

Scholarship / (SACUCCA) scholarship essay. How you have utilized your career service office? [2]

so I'm applying for the San Antonio College and University's career Center Association scholarship opportunity and the essay they require is the following topic: a one-page essay that describes how you have utilized or plan to utilize your career services office to achieve your career goals.

any suggestions you may have as far as grammatical, structure, clarity etc. would be very much appreciated on my part. thank you and God bless

On April 18, 2010 I started the long and common task of packing my belongings to prepare for my trip back home to Texas after being away for nearly five months. This was the longest time I had ever been away from home. I was departing from our nation's capital where I had the privilege of attending Georgetown University while also interning for the United States Coast Guard as part of the Fund for American Studies program. I bumped into Sen. McCain at a local coffee shop and casually chatted about health care reform. Probably a pretty typical occurrence for many people living in DC. I also was able to observe the Pakistani Chief of Navy Noman Bashir visit the US Coast Guard.

Once I arrived back in Texas, I began to immediately look into which institute of higher learning I would be interested in attending. The only two public universities in Texas that offered international studies with a focus in Middle East was the University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University in San Marcos. So those were my two choices in my goal of obtaining a Bachelor's degree. I scheduled a campus tour for both universities at the first opportunity since I was scheduled to go to my parent's homeland of Palestine in only a few days. I first visited UT and spoke with a number of political science professors. It was a really nice department. When I next drove to TSU, I must have taken a wrong turn and ended up at the Career Services Office to ask for directions.

As I was listening to a student worker give me directions, I noticed his last name was of Middle Eastern descent. I decided to introduce myself, "As-Salamu Alaykum" I said or Peace Be upon You in English. It was nice to meet a fellow student who spoke in my native Arabic. Similar to my own dreams, he aspired to become a medical doctor and serve some of the poorest areas in Lebanon. As an international studies major, I understood where the student was coming from. I also have a dream of working for the Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer to perhaps help with the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. I know the world has the potential to live in peace and harmony so that Israeli and Palestinian children can play side-by-side without fear of bombs and a constant threat of death. This world is tolerant and charitable, welcoming all nationalities to prosper side-by-side on its land. The student I met began to share with me all the wonderful opportunities Career Services had to offer. After seeing on my resume that I had worked with refugees in the past, he suggested I apply for a job shadowing position with the American Red Cross International. I did just that. During the past Winter 2010 holiday break, I had the chance to shadow with people who did some incredible work for three days with Sudanese refugees. We brought them food, clothing and other everyday essentials we sometimes may take for granted. The gratitude on the refugee's faces is something that makes me more confident in my dreams than ever before.

Nonetheless, it was obvious to my new friend that I still had reservations. He persuaded me to express my concerns. I said, "I must do extremely well on the Foreign Service Exam to get into the State Department with all the other applicants applying." He grinned and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear, "Ridiculous! Are you trying your best? If it doesn't work out this time around, when you do decide to try again, do you think your performance will improve?" I answered, "But I have to become a great diplomat in order to stabilize the Middle East. If I do not achieve all these lofty goals in my life, I will disappoint my family. He retorted, "The only person you're truly competing against is yourself. I know it sounds corny but you have to measure your successes and your failures within, not by what I or anyone else may think". I never knew I would walk into the Career Service Office at 12:30 afternoon on a mere fluke and walk out a renewed man with a new perspective on the goals I hope to achieve one day.

Having experienced first-hand the effects of the seemingly endless violence in the Middle East, I feel compelled to try to help lessen the suffering of families and communities in the troubled region. The path I travel has been paved by many before me and the challenges ahead will no doubt be difficult. At my weakest moments when I hear discouraging news such as Mid-East peace talks breaking down, I am reminded of the words my friend at TSU said to me in a calm and assuring voice, "Hakim, don't strive to be something great, just look deep within your soul and be who you are, who you really are. From that point, once everything is said and over with, let history judge you accordingly. After all, it is history that is and shall always remain the ultimate judge of us all". After seeing how kind and interesting the students at Texas State University were, it was an easy decision to make Texas State my university.

Scholarship / "both my parents had diabetes + Palestine homeland" International Affairs Scholarship [2]

I'm applying for a scholarship at my university. A two page, type-written essay that describes your career goals... please let me know what you think. Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

My name is Hakim Husein and as the youngest of six children, I enjoy a special relationship with my mother. My deceased father worked eighteen-hour days at a convenience store for ten years in one of the most dangerous parts of Houston to provide for our family. This hard work allowed me the chance for a good education, something my parents could not dream of in the homeland of Palestine.

I was only a child when I first learned that both my parents had diabetes. I was in my early teens when I realized the full implications this had on me. When I was twelve years old, my father had his right leg amputated due to an infection made worse from diabetes. After my father's leg was amputated, he was forced into a well deserved retirement. For the first time in his adult life he did not work long days and I had a father around.

I always imagined the day when I would graduate and get to thank him for being the strength I needed. Unfortunately, April 2, 2001, would rob me of that wish, as my father unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack in his sleep. At thirteen, I lost a father that I had only just begun to get to know. It took the horrific event of 9/11 and the subsequent heroic acts of Americans for me to break out of my pain. I could either wilt away from my pain or make my father proud. I chose to make him proud.

I am interested in continuing my studies and obtaining an advanced degree from Birzeit University in Ramallah, West Bank, Israel. This opportunity would allow me to become more familiar with my culture and heritage and gain valuable experience in my field. My long term goal is to become a United States diplomat. As a diplomat, I hope to contribute to an eventual solution to the on-going Middle East crisis and bring about peace and a better world for all its citizens. Similar to my hero Martin Luther King Jr., I too have a dream. I imagine a world at peace and its peoples living in harmony. I see Jewish and Arab children playing side-by-side without fear of bombs and a constant threat of death. This world in my mind's eye is tolerant and charitable, welcoming all nationalities to prosper together on its land.

As an International Affairs major, I hope to contribute firsthand to this vision by becoming a United States diplomat to the Middle East. As a first generation Arab-American, I believe I bring a unique perspective to a very complex situation. Having experienced personally the effects of the seemingly endless violence in the Middle East, I feel compelled to attempt to end the suffering of families and communities in the troubled region. The path I travel has been paved by many before me. It begins with tolerance for one another and can only end in peace.

The summer I visited Palestine, the homeland of my parents, is where I learned that hate is not something men are born with but instead a bad habit taught as children. The endless fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians was a common theme during my childhood. Around the age of eight, I remember waking up in the middle of the night after a bad night's sleep for a cup of warm milk and seeing my parents huddled up close to each other crying as they watched the news on CNN. I did not immediately comprehend the situation and assumed they were watching some sad movie. Instead, I saw children as young as six or seven throwing stones at massive tanks while Israeli soldiers were shooting at them in the middle of the street they once played in and now died.

When I was thirteen, I went to visit Palestine for the first time and was shocked at the things I witnessed. I overheard a 2nd grader singing a horrible song that translates into English as:

"Mother and Father please buy me a gun
Oh how the Jews took over my holy land and
How they torment me so
You Jew!

Who told you to come in my homeland of Palestine?"
Surprisingly, when I asked the 2nd grader what the song meant, he replied, "I don't know, it's some song we sing at school." When he told me that, I just felt helpless and sat on the curb of the street thinking how a small-minded, hate-filled teacher could spread such hatred to a group of innocent children. I worry for the day that young boy will grow into a man and understanding what those words meant. I knew in my heart that this ignorance would not lead to peace in the Middle East and a new generation of terrorist, extremist Muslims, and other confused, disillusioned people would be created. These acts degrade the true nature of Islam. Monsters are not born, they are made.

After 9/11, I aspired to one day become a United States diplomat. My goal is to leave this world a better place than I found it. Unfortunately, after debating with many people, including my parents, through the years, I have often heard, "It's a lost cause, it's a hopeless fight, the cycle of violence just can't be broken." and so on. For those people, including my parents, my best and only argument has to be dedicating a lifetime to at least trying to bring this "hopeless" notion of peace to the Middle East.

I once had a conversation with my 95 year old grandmother and could hear the resignation and misplaced hatred in her voice. "How the Jews stole OUR land, and killed our young. They don't deserve the shirt on their backs," she said. I wanted to respond with, "What an ignorant thing to say, it's people like you that will never accept a peaceful compromise between Israel and Palestine." Instead I remembered my visit to Palestine, the land she spent her entire life in, and looked at my grandmother again before responding. I did not see an old woman wrinkled with bitterness and aged scorn. I saw the misguided little girl singing that hateful song of Israel. I placed my hand on her knee and met her gaze with unwavering, if newfound, strength. "Grandmother, today we are not children throwing rocks at tanks. Today our weapons are education and we fight with our mind and words. You speak from fear and memories of your painful childhood. But that kind of hate will only guarantee that my children will grow up as you did. And I know you don't want to see that day."

There is nothing in the world I would rather do than help people in distress. I have dedicated myself to my community and to the greater good. I have trained to be a crisis counselor for the Greater Houston United Way and was actively involved with the Student Government Association at my community college. This group sponsors an annual charity event that raised $1,400 for the Jori Zemel Children's Bone Cancer Foundation in 2009. I have also gained strong leadership and independent thinking skills in my term as student council president.

I am confident that I possess the aptitude and skills to excel at my chosen major. I have been acknowledged by my peers and educators for my diplomacy and ability to relate to people from all walks of life. Sometimes it is important to just listen and have an open mind. My greatest desire is to make a difference in this world. If I am selected to receive this scholarship, I pledge to serve this great country, my fellow peers, and my community with the very best of my abilities.

Letters / Coast Guard internship interview questions. Does it sound okay to you? Thank You [NEW]

So I'm applying for various positions within the military branches, one of which is the United States Coast Guard. They sent me an e-mail with the following questions for me to answer. Here are my answers. In your opinion, do my answers seem well written and do they answer the questions accordingly? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you kindly for taking the time to review my thread.

What interests you about interning for the United States Coast Guard?

As someone who is interested in majoring in international relations and has high aspirations of becoming a United States diplomat to the Middle East, I feel as if the United States Coast Guard offers a uniquely different perspective than any other military branch on international and domestic missions. The USCG is a military multimission service, committed to protecting America from harms way. The Coast Guard has a broad range of missions which span from patrolling the sea for possible drug cartels to keeping our borders safe from international terrorism. That is why the Coast Guard has often been thought of as America's Shield of Freedom. That is why I have taken an interest in interning for the United States Coast Guard and believe that this experience would very much be beneficial to my future ambitions in life. As the Coast Guard motto goes, "Semper Paratus" I too am ready and willing to serve if selected for this honorable opportunity.

What are your career goals after graduation? How do you think an internship with the Coast Guard may help prepare you to meet these goals?

As of right now I am at a community college in Houston, Texas, but transferring to the University of Texas at Austin. While at my stay at the University of Texas, I plan on majoring in international relations and minoring in Middle Eastern history. Once I have graduated with my bachelors degree, I looked into temporarily relocating to Israel where a majority of my family still live. I did some research on the OneVoice Movement organization; which is a nonprofit organization with the goal of empowering Israeli and Palestinian Citizens toward a Two State Solution and would very much like to be involved in this most worthy cause. My overall career goals is to one day work for the Department of State, my dream is to become a United States diplomat seeking a more stable Middle East and a safer world for all to prosper. As an international relations major with ambitions of becoming a United States diplomat, firsthand experience would play an invaluable factor in my decision making career path. Working for the Coast Guard would provide me a uniquely rare opportunity to take a glance at my future career path I plan on pursuing, an opportunity I would not experience in any other military branch.

An internship is a two-way street. As such, what do you expect to gain from the U. S. Coast Guard during your internship?
My goals for this internship is receiving firsthand experience at my chosen major and career path I have chosen to pursue. To be able to have a sneak peek at your career is an invaluable opportunity, and would like to reap the benefits as much as I'm able to. I would also very much like to test my abilities to do the work and live up to the responsibilities that go along with my chosen nature and career path. Working for the Coast Guard would be fantastic experience and would very much like to help people, as that is and always will be my top prerogative.

What areas of U. S. government interest you? For example, the Department of Defense, Department of State, or maybe the Department of Homeland Security? What about NGOs and public-private partnerships?

Since the horrific tragedy of the September 11 attacks, I have known the importance of international diplomacy, as well as National Defense. As someone who has the best of both worlds, being born and raised in the United States but also being of Palestinian ancestry I feel I have invaluable experience and exposure with the complex challenges facing the United States when dealing with international situations of the Middle East. I have taken a particular interest in such organizations as the Department of State, Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland security as well as the CIA. I am confident that I possess the aptitude and skills to excel at my chosen interests. For instance, I have gained strong leadership and independent thinking skills in my term as student council president. I have been acknowledged by my peers and educators for my diplomacy and ability to relate to people from all walks of life. My greatest desire is to make this world a more peaceful place, for my children and their generation.

What unique opportunities or events would you hope to experience during your time in Washington, DC?
As a student of history, I have always wanted to visit Washington, DC and experience all of the wonder of our Nation's Capital. Washington, DC offers a wide variety of places to visit. I have particularly taken an interest and would very much like to visit the Washington Monument, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorial, the Supreme Court Building and last but certainly not least the White House where I will be absolutely thrilled to meet and shake hands with the President of the United States.

Letters / Does my resume look alright to you?? any help would be great! thank you soo much [3]

Education
San Jacinto College: Houston, TX 2009

Relevant Experience

President 2007 to 2008
Student Government - San Jacinto College, Houston, TX

Internship
Pete Olson for Congress 2008
District 22: Houston, Texas
Successfully supervised and coordinated 20+ volunteers throughout a highly competitive congressional race.

Accomplishments

2008 Outstanding SGA Officer Award

2008 Spirit of San Jacinto College Award

The Student Government Organization sponsored charity event, which raised $1,400 for the Jori Zemel Children's Bone Cancer Foundation

Honored by the Houston Police Department as I worked alongside the HPD in our community

Guest speaker- San Jacinto College, Pasadena, TX graduation ceremony. (1,000 in attendance)

Experience in working with community colleges bond issues/elections

San Jacinto Times: Wrote an opinions article 'Al Jazeer changing Mid-East'

Community Activities

AmeriCorp Volunteer 2009 to 2010
The Arab-American Cultural & Community Center: Houston, Texas
Coordinated many out-reach events to the community such as The National Serves Day, The 9/11 Day of Serves Project and the 8th Annual Health & Safety Fair. Was rewarded a $5,000 scholarship to any school of my choice.

Crisis Counselor 2008 to Present
United Way: Houston, Texas
Currently serve as a Crisis Counselor on the suicide hotline at the United Way Foundation.

Tea Room Volunteer 2008 to Present
Hope Village: Friendswood, Texas
Supervise, coordinate, and socialize with special-needs children of varying ages in Tea Room restaurant.

Language Skills: Speaks Arabic

Undergraduate / "my abilities and talents" - UT Austin statement of purpose. [4]

Hey everyone! I am applying to transfer to UT Austin this spring semester:

AACCC - If you were the one to decide whether or not to receive the scholarship

This is my essay, thank you kindly for any feedback...

When I was twelve years old, my father had his right leg amputated due to an infection made worse from diabetes. After my father's leg was amputated, he was forced into a well deserved retirement and for the first time in his life, did not work eighteen hour days. For the first time in my life, I had a father around. The first weekend he was home from the hospital was also the weekend I was practicing around the clock for the upcoming junior high basketball try-outs.

My oldest brother had promised to come home for the weekend to help with my practice, but he had called to say he had to work. As I hung up the phone, I turned to find my father in his wheelchair holding a basketball. "Right," I said. He threw the basketball at me, and with that, began the greatest weekend I would ever spend with him. For two days, we did drills, told stories, hung out, practiced more and at one point, I got tired and he had to encourage me to continue. Imagine that, a perfectly healthy kid being encouraged by his seemingly disadvantaged father. That is what type of person my father was, and the heart my father had.

When I sat down to write this essay, I struggled to remember if I made the team or not. It wasn't a fraction as important as the time I spent with him. That next year, the last of my siblings would graduate and go away to college. I was the youngest of six children, but suddenly an only child. My academic work became more challenging, as I discovered later that year I was dyslexic and with no one at home to help, I turned to my father again. English was not his first language, but he would stay up with me late nights, until that book report or history paper was done. I always imagined the day when I, too, would graduate and get to thank him for being the strength I needed.

April 2, 2001 would rob me of that wish. At five o clock in the morning, I was awakened by my mother's sobbing. I walked into the living room as my mother held my father's lifeless head in her hands. "What happened?" I asked. "He's not waking. He's not waking!" she repeated, over and over again. I don't remember calling 911, but I must have because the ambulance arrived in minutes. That's where my memory becomes segmented, though. I remember holding his hand, before the ambulance. I remember being pushed aside as these men attended to him.

I remember the funeral, where my three brothers and I lifted his coffin to his final resting place. At thirteen, I lost a father that I had just only begun to get to know. It was unfair, and I had the kind of deep anger that can only come from sadness. I stopped going to school regularly, and when I did go, my work was less than acceptable. No one could get through to me. I missed him. I didn't know how to talk about my pain, and for that first year without him, I just became more angry and isolated. It took a horrific event and the subsequent heroic acts of Americans for me to break out of my pain.

September 11, 2001, I stayed home sick and was flipping through the channels when the image of an airplane colliding into a building stopped me instantly. Soon, I along with the rest of the world would learn that this was an intentional act of terrorism that robbed nearly 3,000 people of their lives. As the world learned more about the firefighters, police officers, doctors, civilians and so on who risked their lives, often giving their lives, so that others may survive, I realized that pain and grief were universal. The loss of a loved one was very familiar to me, and the grief of the fallen that day should not be in vain. For all the evil in the world, there had to exist good. And I could either wilt away from my pain or make my father proud. I chose to make him proud. That's the day I decided to bridge the gap between the Middle East and the United States, in hopes that knowledge would pave the way for peace.

I have since dedicated myself to my community and the greater good. As such, in the 2008; 2009 year, I served as a crisis counselor on the suicide hotline on weekends for the Crisis Intervention of Houston. During the week, I was an AmeriCorps volunteer for our very own Arab-American Cultural & Community Center where I contributed to the successful charitable events to the community such as The National Service Day, The 9/11 Day of Service Project and the 8th Annual Health & Safety Fair. In addition, I was actively involved with the Student Government Association at my college, which sponsored an annual charity event that raised $1,400 for the Jori Zemel Children's Bone Cancer Foundation.

Receiving this scholarship from the AACCC would greatly assist me with my future endeavors I have chosen to pursue in life, am confident that I possess the aptitude and skills to excel if given the opportunity. I have gained strong leadership and independent thinking skills in my term as student council president. I have been acknowledged by my peers and educators for my diplomacy and ability to relate to people from all walks of life. My greatest desire is to make a real difference in this world. If given the opportunity, I pledge to serve this great country, the Arab-American Cultural & Community Center, and my community with the very best of my abilities.