Make Your Voice Heard and VOTE!

Hello and Happy Three-Days from Election Day!  🗽

Yesterday, October 30, was the last day of early-voting for the 2020 General Election, and if you have not voted yet, make sure to get out there and vote on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Election Day is your last day to actually cast a ballot for this election, but there is so much on the line to not got out and vote, and your voice is so important and should be represented in-line with the values that you and your fellow neighbors care most about. This year is not just the Presidential Election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, but here in Clark County, Nevada, there are about 70 election races on the ballot. This is the time to make your decision on key individuals who will shape American and local legislation that will make an impact for decades. Voting has been made so simple and easy to complete this year with a prioritization on everyone's health and safety, and every registered voter should have received a mail-ballot automatically. This is great because it provides every registered voter the right to vote, by mail or in-person. In fact, over 1 million registered Nevadans have already voted (including in-person and mail ballots returned), which accounts to over 58% of active voters. Election Day Voting will take place from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., and a full list of polling locations can be found by visiting the Nevada Secretary of State website or click “here”.  I have a passion and huge interest in everything related to politics, election tracking, and law, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me :-)

Stress in College Students

After reading many of my classmates’ blog posts, I can certainly resonate. For many of us, not just the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic, but the workload for many of our classes have been oftentimes “too much to handle.” Personally, it feels as though all professors increased the amount of coursework being issued trifold. Nonetheless, I often worry that too much work is programming us to just complete the work, but the rapid pace and switching of subjects does not allow new-learned to completely grasp the concept or ideas being presented. I wish more professors would be understanding that students do have their own personal lives outside of their class. For many, students have families to tend to, they have a job, they are taking several other classes, extracurricular and internship opportunities, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, all while trying to succeed and become an all-around better person in life. For many young adults, especially those in college, there is a growing crisis leading affecting mental health, including suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and depression. In fact, “Suicide is the second most common cause of death for college students, right after accidents. In the period between 2008 and 2017, stress levels have grown exponentially. Consequently, 47% more young adults were having thoughts about committing suicide” (Jacimovic, D., 2019). I have done some research and would like to share below my findings with all of you- my fellow college colleagues of mine. Most importantly, however, if any of my readers ever feel a desire to self-harm themselves, please know that there is 24/7 confidential and free support by calling 1-800-273-8255, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 

Findings:

Maryville University argues that one should prevent stress in college through establishing a support system of family, friends, or professors to provide their advice. Secondly, is to understand your triggers.  This means that you assess and understand what causes stress in your life, and you make those adjustments in your life to avoid stressful situations. Managing your time is also a key to managing stress, and this will allow you to balance a number of things you may deem necessary to attend to. Furthermore, saying “no” is a key responsibility when you feel placed in a stressful situation, such as when you don’t have time to take up another responsibility (Maryville University). 

Moreover, mitigating the effects of stress, according to Maryville University, can be done through getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, partaking in a hobby to distract your mind from stress, having a supportive group, volunteering, meditating, understanding your limitations and being realistic, being organized, and staying optimistic (Maryville University).

My Experience Taking the MOS-100 Certification Exam!

 Hello All,

Yesterday, October 13, 2020, I took the MOS-100 certification exam, and I can officially announce that I passed the exam. This is such exciting information to hear because I am the first student in my class to take the proctored exam, so I was uncertain on what to expect. I will say that the projects and processes were very similar to what was practiced in GMetrix. I was allowed 50 minutes to complete the examination and I was able to finish with 20 minutes left. I spent an extra five minutes reviewing my work and going back to questions I believe I may not have answered correctly. I am pleased that I was able to complete the proctored exam on my Mac desktop, opposed to completing the exam on a small laptop screen which is hard to navigate with a trackpad. The only issue I did have with the examination was during the login process and trying to connect with the proctor. Every time I would login with my Certiport credentials using the hyperlink that was emailed by Certiport to join the meeting, I was met with several error messages (even after refreshing as it instructs). Moreover, it took five attempts for the system to finally work, which was very concerning because the proctor only allows you 15 minutes after the start time to join and if not, you will lose your opportunity to take the exam. Overall, I am pleased with my experience, I am happy to be certified in Microsoft Word, and I look forward to also becoming certified in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. 90% of why I selected this specific class section was to attain these certifications, an option that is not available in all class section offerings; thus, I am ecstatic to attain the first of three certifications in the MOS Associate series.

Advice to Prepare for an Interview

Greetings to my loyal readers,  

Although I am not a hiring-professional (yet!), I do aspire to someday work in a Human Resource capacity. As we are preparing cover letters, resumes, and I believe we will be preparing LinkedIn pages soon, I have decided to assemble some interview tips for you all. You should also check out the hilarious video below on what NOT to do during an interview (source: YouTube).   

Before the interview, the applicant should invest their time in serious preparation by researching the company, preparing for common interview answers and understanding why you are the best candidate, plan to show up early, and plan to dress appropriately. During the interview, although you may be extremely nervous (understandably so, who wouldn’t be? Plus, you’re likely not the only one nervous), you want to ensure you are speaking confidently, clearly, and loudly enough so the interviewers can hear your answers. Maintaining eye contact with all the interviewers is essential, while also initiating the handshake with the secretary who brings you in to the interview and all the interviews is so important as it exemplifies a sign of respect, acknowledgement, professionalism. Throughout the interview, you should be actively listening and ask for clarification or follow up questions if you do not understand a question that is being asked. After the interview, exude your confidence and show your gratitude. Going as far as sending a thank you note is great and will certainly set you apart from other applicants. 

Video of what not to do during an interview link below: 

Bad Job Interview Clips:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEJswfDbXyw