Stephan Brown, Study Abroad-Nicosia, Cyprus (Week 9)

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
-Albert Schweitzer

(Greek:Petra tou Romiou, English:Aphrodite’s Rock)

Photo credit: Caleb Kissiah

       This week we explored Paphos; The birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.  In Paphos the skies are bright blue, the skies are clear and the sites are godlike. The first destination that we explored first was the Kato Paphos Archaeological site. Whats cool about this place is that most of its sites and monuments date back to the prehistoric era all the way up until the middle ages. So every step you take is like walking through history which I find pretty cool.  Also shout out to Vern’s epic photo bombing skills, you made this photo 100 times better! 😀

(Veronica and I at the Paphos Odeon)

While exploring the Archaeological park we experienced huge wind tunnels, sore eyes from all the beautiful views, and laughter from my never-ending karaoke moments (Everyone who knows me knows I can turn just about any moment into a musical and I am proud of that skill XD #KaraokeSkillsOnPoint).

I also want to thank Ryan for being a pretty awesome roommate and a great friend so far this semester! I always enjoy our random conversations about life, traveling and our random adventures!..Can not wait till we experience Northern Europe together dude!

 (Ryan and I)

The next place we went to on our tour was Aphrodite’s Rock. According to legend, Aphrodite (The Goddess of love, beauty and pleasure) was born from the foam of the waters around the rocks, which is why its known as Aphrodite’s rock.

(Joey, Aaron, Caleb and I )

(Aphrodite Rock)

The next day the group and I decided to go on a last-minute jeep safari tour! (My favorite activity of the week!). Our tour guides were full of energy the whole time and we got experience both an on road tour and an off-road tour of Paphos. The jeep that we were in had huge sub woofer in the back, we got to play music our own music at the highest volume, the jeep was super bumpy and our whole ride was just one big party! This tour was 8 hours of pure fun and sightseeing! #Epic

The first place that our tour guides took us to was the Peiya sea caves. You can walk in and out of the caves and enjoy the beautiful masterpieces that god put on this earth 🙂

(Peiya Sea Caves)

The next part of our tour was the walking portion where we trekked though the Avakas George.

Akavas George

(Vern, Abbey, Ellen, Bethany, Tiffany, Caleb, Aaron, Laura, Joey, Rachel)

Then we took a bathroom/lunch break where we enjoyed a lovely game of rock ball on the beach (No one got hurt during this game and all of the equipment were washed up supplies #OfCourseIt’sSafe)

(Joey and Caleb) Hit it out of the park!

Aaron channeled his inner karate kid on top of these rocks.

(Aaron)

and Vern became a “professional” rock sculptor 🙂

(Ellen, Vern and I)

After our break, our next stop was Lara Beach aka the baby turtle beach! If you go during the summer months you can witness the birth of many baby turtles as well as learn about turtle conservation…Aaron was also practicing his inner Gandalf as well.

(Vern and Aaron)

Here’s our random safari jeep picture! Shout out to everyone who survived banging their head every time we drove on bumpy terrain.

(Joey, myself and Tiffany)

Our next and final stop in our Jeep Safari tour was the Adonis Baths Waterfalls. Our tour guides family owned this famous Cyprus location so he got us in free of charge! Legend has it that Adonis (The god of beauty) trained his horses  as well as had many children with Aphrodite at this location.

(Myself, Aaron, Bethany and Ellen)

In the summer time many people come to Adonis falls to cliff dive and swim in its natural waters. Although it was not quite hot enough to cliff jump, my friends still all decided to jump off the 40 ft water fall. (I would have participated, but I just learned how to swim the day before this adventure).(Vern and I #QuenchThatThirst)

Adonis Waterfalls

(Photo Credit: Caleb Kissiah)

Before heading back to Nicosia, we stopped for a few hours in Limmasol. The weather was warm, the waters were blue and sparking and the atmosphere was great.  We explored the Marina, bought some froyo and walked along the boardwalk until it was time to leave. I really enjoyed this week and  really can not believe this is my 9th blog post!

(Caleb, Bethany and Rachel)

(Limassol Marina)

(Rachel, Myself, Caleb, Bethany,Ellen and Abbey)

Go Pro Selfies for life!

P.S. Shout out to all them pears!

Remember if anyone has any questions about anything study abroad related feel free to email, Instagram or tweet me!

Email: stephanbrown15@gmail.com

Instagram: epic_steff

Twitter: Epic_Steff

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I Can Do This

As we get into the final few weeks of the semester, we wanted to share something with students to help you all stay motivated and focused.  The last weeks of a semester are always a flurry of activity- club elections, finals, presentations, preparing for what you’ll do over break or after graduation. It may seem overwhelming, but it’s important to remember that YOU CAN DO THIS.  You CAN finish those Calculus problems, you CAN pass your Biology final.  From our perspective, you CAN connect with those professionals over LinkedIn, and you CAN do well in your interview. You CAN get that job or internship.  It’s important to remember to use your resources- your career center, your professors, the tutoring center- the get you the help you need to turn “I’m afraid I can’t” to “I can do this.”  We know you can!

Stephan Brown-Study Abroad, Nicosia, Cyprus (Week 8: Italy!)

During the summer of 2011 I met a girl from Italy named Sara while working for the free library of Philadelphia. We instantly became friends the first day she starting volunteering at the library and after her first day we ended up hanging out 24/7. She was the first European I met and she taught me something new about Italy and Europe everyday that we hung out. We went on a new  adventure everyday and we always had a good time party rocking around the city. unfortunately, all the fun and good times came to an end when she had to go back to Italy. For four straight years we kept in contact over Skype and we always talked about me coming to visit her home some day. Sara was my biggest inspiration for wanting to study abroad in Europe and she is the main reason why I choose to study abroad in the first place. Now I’m proud to announce that after four years, I’m finally reunited with her in her country; Italy. This was not only the highlight of my study abroad experience, but this was also one of the best moments of my study abroad experience!

(Myself, Sara and Cam back in 2011 when we first met!)

 (Sara and myself 4 years later n 2015!)

So for all those who know me, you know that anything that I do involves a struggle, either at the beginning, middle or end of my experience. Well my struggle began once I landed in Rome and realized that I had no idea where to find my bus to the train station.  I looked around for a good ten minutes before asking anyone for help and when I did ask, a lovely group of girls from London helped me find the bus station. My bus arrived 30 minutes late and took almost an hour to arrive at the train station (My train departed at 3pm…I did not to get to the station till 3:40pm!). I once again became lost and a random local missed her train to help me find the gate I was supposed to  (Thanks so much random woman!). Since I missed my first train, I had to wait in a long line to switch my tickets and the whole process almost caused me to miss my train.When I got to the train station, I couldn’t believe that I arrived in Milan. I was looking in all directions and almost forgot to look for my friend who was waiting for me. When she saw me, we gave each other the biggest hug and I had the biggest smile on my face! When we arrived at her house, I met her parents and her siblings and they made me feel right at home. Later that night, Sara introduced me to her friends and they took me out for traditional Italian pizza.  We spent a good while getting to know each other more as well as getting a better understanding of each others culture and lives.

(Myself, Caterina, Marta, Sara and Andrea)

The next day, Sara gave me an awesome tour of Milan. When you first arrive in this city, you notice a giant needle and thread sculpture stretching across two blocks. This sculpture pretty much represents that Milan is the fashion capital of the world!

As we continued to walk through the city, we came across Sforzesco Castle. The Sforzesco Castle has been around since the 15th century and was created by Francisco Sforza, The duke of Milan. When you walk inside you notice many people, nice architecture, beautiful art and a beautiful park on the other side.

(Sforzesco Castle)

Our next stop on our tour through the city was the Milan Cathedral. This church took six centuries to complete( It’s still in construction) and it is the fifth largest church in the world. When I entered the church, the first thing that I did was look up at the ceiling. The church is so big that it literally took my breath away with every step that I took. This place is definitely a must to visit if you ever come to Milan!

(Duomo di Milano)

Our final stop in my Milan tour concluded at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the worlds oldest shopping mall.  The place is filled with expensive brands like Gucci, Prada, Armani as well as thousands of tourists!…Oh yeah, Sara also introduced me to her Italian friends who grew up in the U.S and Italy. You do not understand how shocked I was when they spoke perfect Italian and switched over to perfect English . They are literally the coolest people and I enjoyed meeting the both of you!

(Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ll)(Sara’s friends and I)

On the next day we took a road trip to Mantova, Italy which is located about two hours from Milan. This town is a hidden gem in Italy and when you go here it feels like you took a trip back in time. The first thing we did once we arrived was try more authentic Italian food (Which I do not have a problem with at all). Sara and Andrea convinced me to try pumpkin filled ravioli and although it sounds strange, it was actually pretty good (Now I need to figure out how to find pumpkin ravioli in the states. After we finished eating, we headed down to the Castle of Saint George. The Castle of Saint George has been around since 1406 and is the main attraction of Mantova.

(Myself, Sara, Andrea)

(The Castle of Saint George)

(Clock Tower)

(Rotunda of San Lorenzo)

(Cathedral of St.Peter the Apostle)

They also had a really cool flea market were you could buy vintage items that your great grandparents probably owned! Like seriously check out these cameras, I really wish I bought one 😦

We ended our trip in Mantua by visiting the Palazzo Te. This place is filled with classic and modern art and every room has a different architecture that takes your breath away. Each room also gives a story about all the art within the room and once you step outside you are surrounded by beautiful scenery and sculptures.

(Palazzo Te)

During my last two days in Italy I got the chance to experience the day in the life of an engineer in Italy. I followed a few college classes (They were all in Italian) and I met more of Sara’s friends.  Let me tell you that physics in Italian is not fun and I do not even need to understand it to know that the struggle is real XD.

Final Goodbyes and Thank You’s

The first set of people who I want to thank are Sara’s parents for allowing me to stay at their home for the week. You both made me feel like I was at home and I really enjoyed all the Italian food and coffee.  Sara’s parents are some of the nicest European parents that I met so far and I really appreciate everything you did for me.

The next person that I would like to thank is Andrea for showing me around Milan, Pavia and Mantua. I know it was hard for us to communicate with each other (English/ Italian language barrier) but, we still managed to talk and become good friends by the end of my stay. You are really nice and your home is really awesome and I hope to see you again soon! Good luck in aerospace engineering! Thanks for everything dude.

I also want to thank Damiano for showing me around his favorite places in Milan. I enjoyed getting to know you more over art, Pizza, crazy clothing stores and ice cream. You are definitely one of the coolest people I met during my stay and I enjoyed your company! Also congrats on your acceptance to The University of Santa Monica! I really hope you accept the offer and once you do, I will be visiting you!..Live it up, Soak up the sun and enjoy California.

I want to thank Caterina and Marta for being so nice to me from the first day I met the both of you. You two are smart, funny and cool and I am really impressed that you all are engineers! Good luck with everything in the future and I hope to see you in Italy soon.

(Myself, Caterina)

I want to thank Elisa for all our awesome kitchen conversations and for making me laugh whenever we talked to each other. You have the happiest personality and that will really take you far in life. Good luck in Spanish class and See ya in Philly this summer hopefully!

Thanks again Sara for a wonderful week and lets hope that will see each other again sooner!

P.S. I am really gonna miss this Sara’s brother! He spoke very little English and I spoke no Italian, but we somehow managed to communicate through video games! He is the coolest kid ever!

(Mateo and Myself)

Hello everyone!!! My awesome roommate Caleb has entered a photography competition here in Cyprus. It focuses on the beauty of nature. What’s amazing is that the top three winners get their work printed on the packaging of the 6-Pack Kykkos water bottles for 1.5 months AND they reward the winners with a flying drone that can be used with your GoPro!!!! The winners are decided by judges and most importantly, FACEBOOK LIKES!!!! So please, like his entry! Share it! Tell your friends!! All you do is click the link, and under my entry (it should be the only one on the page) you will see a heart button that you can press to like my piece. It’s all in Greek but all you need to know is how to like the image. Thank you so much for your support, It would be awesome if won! Click here VOTE FOR CALEB!

Don’t Slouch! And Other Signals

Surely at some point in your life you’ve heard about body language and how others may interpret your behaviors. It’s possible that your parents told you not to slouch, or a teacher graded you on your eye contact during a presentation. These, and many other behaviors, are important as they can convey a negative attitude. Through an article on LinkedIn, Dr. Travis Bradberry highlights 15 behaviors that successful people DON’T use, because they want to portray positive body language. Here are some of the behaviors of which college students should take note:
1. Slouching. Ok for when you’re tired in an 8am class. Not ok when you’re in an interview! Slouching indicates that you are disinterested in what is going on around you.
2. Watching the clock. Again, ok for when you’re tired in an 8am class. Not ok when you’re in an interview, or at a networking event- it shows you just want to get out of there!
3. Crossed arms can be interpreted as literally closing out other people, as if you don’t care what they have to say.
4. Avoiding eye contact can be perceived a few ways, most often that you are either hiding something or don’t have confidence in what you are saying.
5. Poor handshaking, either too weak or too strong, can be negative. A weak handshake shows a lack of confidence, while an overly-strong handshake can seem too aggressive.
Although these are suggestions for college students to note, it’s important to be aware of all 15 behaviors so you can be better prepared to show your most open, confident self in the workplace. Read more about all 15 here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-body-language-blunders-successful-people-never-make-bradberry?trk=hp-feed-article-title

Stephan Brown-Study Abroad, Nicosia,Cyprus Week 7

“It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you’ve known forever don’t see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on.” – Nicholas Sparks

This week I want to dedicate my blog entry to all the friends that I made in Global Semesters as well as everyone that I met in Cyprus. I want to thank every last one of you for showing me what real friendships are. I want to thank you all for making me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, for building my self confidence and I want to thank you all for giving me the college experience that I always wanted.

(Photographer: Caleb Kissiah)

This week started off with a bro adventure to a Japanese restaurant and noodle bar called Wagamama. We all ordered a different flavor of ramen noodles (Well Joey was the exception) and we all finished our noodles like it was the last food left on earth. Every bite was like heaven and I even managed to eat most of my noodles with chop sticks! (That’s a big accomplishment for me). We will definitely be returning back to Wagamama with the whole Global Semesters crew next time!

(Joey, Caleb, Myself and Aaron)

(Chicken ramen!)

The last place that I ate at before arriving in Cyprus was a Mexican burrito restaurant called Chipotle. I discovered about a week before I was leaving the U.S. that Chipotle does not exist in Cyprus and it literally broke my heart….Well this week on a random walk through Nicosia, my friends and I discovered a place called “Canteen” that sells burritos just like Chipotle, and that literally made my life here 80 times better!!

(Aaron, Caleb, Erin, Joey, Myself)

 This week we also took a very spontaneous trip to the Camel Park in Larnaca. We rode camels, held baby goats, petted donkeys and relaxed on a hammock.  We all smiled pretty much the whole time and I definitely will consider this the best spontaneous trip we took while in Cyprus.

(Thanks Caleb for this awesome photo of me!)

(Ultimate camel riding GoPro selfie!)

(Joey, Aaron, Erin, Isabella, Myself, Caleb)

(Baby goats are my life and holding one literally put me in a happiness coma!)

 (Aaron and Joey)

Towards the end of the week we ended up going to two different beaches in two days. On the first day we went to a beach in Larnaca where we literally just sat back and relaxed on the sand. The second day we went to a beach in Aiya Napa followed by a walking trip to Cape Greco. The beach had crystal blue water with the cleanest sand and Cape Greco was an amazing site filled with caves, lizards and a beautiful view of the ocean.

Towards the end of the week we ended up going to two different beaches in two days. On the first day we went to a beach in Larnaca where we literally just sat back and relaxed in the sand. The second day we went to a beach in Aiya Napa followed by a walking trip to Cape Greco. The beach had crystal blue water with the cleanest sand and Cape Greco was an amazing site filled with caves, lizards and a beautiful view of the ocean.

(Tiffany, Bethany, Aaron, Caleb, Myself)

P.S. Remember to never let anyone bring you down. Never let anyone’s words bring you down. Fight to achieve your goals and delete all the negativity holding you back. Life is to short to be miserable and stressed.

Tour of Edinburgh’s Underground World

My pals and I in St Giles Cathedral taking selfies before the concert.

Hello Everyone,

So my time here in Scotland is fleetingly coming to a close. So I’ve tried to pack in as many things as I can with the time I have left. Last weekend my friends and flat mates Oscar Newlands, Pierre Park, Benjamin Moody, Amir Botros, and I all went out to take a tour to see Edinburgh’s old Underground world. The name of the place is Mary King’s Close, and it is a warren of underground streets and spaces.  It can be a strange concept to understand – back in the 1600’s, Mary King’s Close and neighbouring Closes were at the heart of Edinburgh’s busiest and most vibrant streets, open to the skies and bustling with traders selling their wares to the Old Town’s residents. Why would this street find itself underground 400 years later?

The entrance

For years, the hidden Closes of Old Town Edinburgh have been shrouded in myths and mysteries, with blood curdling tales of ghosts and murders, and of plague victims being walled up and left to die.  Research and archaeological evidence have revealed a truer story, rooted in fact and – as is so often the case – more fascinating than any amount of fiction.

With a costumed character tour guide based on a one time resident, we were led through the underground site, and heard so many fascinating stories. When we went down in there it was like entering another world. My lads and I had an awesome time and we’d recommend it fully to anyone planning to visit the city of Edinburgh. It is very dark and dank but it all adds to the ghostly feeling of the place, and there is even supposed to be a ghost of a young girl who was a plague victim in the 1600s. That could definitely be possible because Edinburgh is known as one of the most haunted cities in the world. But all in all, is was an excellent time and we really enjoyed ourselves.

A miniature recreation of what Mary King’s Close looked like before it was built on top of.

The ye olden folk ready to give us a tour of there old homes.

Ancient dark rooms underneath the city

A picture of the street underground from a balcony.

My friends and I wearing plague doctor masks

Picture of all of us underground using a UV light so see if ghosts would appear haha!

Afterward we went out and stumbled upon a concert in St. Giles’ Cathedral (which is the main cathedral in the Church of Scotland also known as the Presbyterian Church). There we heard the Edinburgh Quartet play very relaxing and beautiful music for about an hour. Then our last stop for the night was a chicken wings place to get some grub. I ordered a garlic parmesan sauce on my wings and it immediately reminded me of The Goose bar back in Pennsylvania, close Albright College. My friends and I used to go to The Goose every Friday to get wings, so when I had that same sauce here in Edinburgh I hit a real nostalgic moment. Haha nothing like getting nostalgic over a wings sauce. But with my return to Albright quickly nearing perhaps when I head back to The Goose it will remind me of times here in Edinburgh.

St. Giles’ Cathedral

In St. Giles’ Cathedral awaiting the concert to begin

The Wings place with my pals!

Tip for all those studying abroad: don’t waste any time because time does go very quickly, so try to get in as much as you can. Even though you may feel tired and exhausted from seeing so much, push yourself to see more and you will surely thank yourself in the end.

Cheers Everyone, Alexio

Victoria Sweeney, Internship – Fromm Electric

One key skill to have in the workplace is flexibility; be able to work with whatever comes at you. I learned a lot about being flexible this week…

I hadn’t been to Fromm in the last week and a half before this week because of exams and the weather, so I knew I would probably be pretty busy this week going in. It was rotation time so I was officially going to be put in the Marketing Department but when I went in on Tuesday I found out that the Marketing Manager called in sick, so the plan for the day was still kind of up in the air. After talking to all the other departments and looking into the day, it was decided that I would just work in the Human Resources department for the day and hope that the Marketing Manager would be better to come into work on Thursday. A day in the life of Human Resources…Newsletter Publications, Health Insurance, Hiring Documents, and Payroll galore! It was fun to play around with their monthly newsletter and including awards given out that month and various events and meetings that were going to be happening in the future. The most exciting part of the day though were the meetings that I was able to sit in during the afternoon. It was interesting to see how the meetings and presentations were handled by the company and meeting the representatives coming in.

Thursday comes, and the Marketing Manager, Edward, is finally feeling better and can come into work so I can finally start my rotation in Marketing! There are only 2 people that work in marketing, Edward, the manager, and Kyra, the assistant. Pretty much right away I could tell that this was going to be a fun few weeks. The day started off with anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Computers were acting up, software wasn’t working, printers were jamming, but between the three of us we figured it out and were good to go. (Flexibility, remember?) After everything was fixed and squared away, I was able to do some market research on a few magazines, requested some quotes from various places for marketing material and catering, and did a few other little things throughout the day.

I learned a lot this week while shuffling around departments and just going with whatever came my way. I know that Marketing is going to be a great experience and I am going to have a lot of fun with these people…so bring it on!

Have a great Spring break!

To Negotiate, or Not to Negotiate?

At this point in the semester, many seniors have already started their job search process. With that comes extensive research on companies, a deeper understanding of what benefits are, how much money is needed to cover rent and student loan payments, and what a fair salary should be. There is sometimes an unrealistic expectation- “they can’t possibly expect me to take a salary THAT low!”- and sometimes negotiating a salary could be beneficial. Jobipedia once again shares insight from hiring managers, this time from Hersheys and Pitney Bowes, regarding salary negotiations.

The first step is always to do as much research as possible. Determine the cost of living for the area, research the company, and use tools online like salary.com to find an appropriate range of salary expectations. Make sure you don’t set your sights too high so that the company feels offended, and make sure to bring up the discussion in a timely and tactful manner. Moreover, make sure you understand all of the benefits and not just the final number on your paycheck. It’s important to see if the company may also offer insurance, a retirement plan, or flexible scheduling to balance out what they offer to their employees. Other practical tips include:

– Remember, wait until an offer is made before discussing salary negotiation
– Moving quickly. Don’t make it seem like you are buying time or wavering on your decision
– Trying to negotiate in person to prevent any miscommunication
– Being gracious for the opportunity. Out of everyone who applied, they chose you, and that is something to be grateful for
– If you truly feel the salary and benefits aren’t up to par, before you turn down the offer, make sure to evaluate how important this position is to your long-term career goals, not just day-to-day bill paying

For more detail, read here: http://jobipedia.org/Blog/Post?id=how-to-negotiate-an-entry-level-salary-9451

Stephan Brown, Study Abroad-Nicosia Week 6

“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place” – Miram Adney

Words can not describe how thankful I am to have been blessed with the opportunity to be in Cyprus. Each and everyday I wake up without stress, worries or cares and all my days are filled with an adventure.  I learned that friendship comes in many different colors, ages, cultures, religions and locations. I learned that a smile can be the greatest gift to everyone and I learned that kindness is the key to living a good life. Europe is shaping me into a better person and I can not wait to see the person I will become by the end of my study abroad experience.

(Buffavento Castle: 3116 ft above sea level)

This week we dedicated our time to exploring 2 of the 3 castles located in Northern Cyprus. The first castle we visited was the Saint Hilarion Castle located in the Kyrenia Mountain ranges.  This castle is 725 meters (2,378 ft) above sea level and its said to have been the inspiration for the castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie.

(St. Hilarion Castle)

(Veronica, Joey Myself)

(Myself, Miguel, Veronica)

(Bethany,Joey, Miguel, Myself, Veronica, Aaron)

(Myself, Miguel, Joey)

(Top of Saint Hilarion Castle: 725 meters above sea level!)

There is so many rooms to explore, so many stairs to climb and an amazing view to see from every direction. Once you reach the top you will be surrounded by crazy wind speeds and a sign saying you have reached the highest point of the castle (725 meters). I am terrified of heights so once I reached the top I just sat in pretzel style and took my photo :).

This week I also got introduced to a new genre of music called future soul. My new friend Lukas from Lithuania got the opportunity to DJ at Square ( A bar in Nicosia) and it was an awesome experience. One of his goals for the night was to open my mind to new music and you have done that successfully! Thanks for being one of my favorite people that I met in Cyprus and I look forward to your future shows and to go on many adventures with you.

(Lukas and I)

Oh yeah I’m also a new DJ in training! Get ready for Stephan aka DJ Epic to blow your speakers in the future!

(Lukas and I)

Our last adventure of the week was a trip to the Buffavento Castle. This castle is 930 meters above sea level and is the tallest Castle out of the three located in Northern Cyprus. The Buffavento Castle is also featured in the video game, Assassins Creed: Bloodlines.

(Buffavento Castle)

Once you reach the top of the Buffavento Castle you will feel like you are the king of the world because you can literally see everything from all directions!

(Miguel and I)

(Miguel, Luara, Tiffany, Abbey, Myself and Caleb) 

(Karolis, Dainora, Augustas, Myself)

Also I want to give a special shout out to my new friends Karolis and Dainora. I only known them for a few days, but I felt like I have known them longer. I enjoyed comparing the U.S to Lithuania and I also enjoyed our rooftop wine session about life. You taught me a lot culturally in the last week and you will be greatly missed when you leave on Sunday! Hopefully I will see you both again in the future! Thanks Augustas for introducing me to them 🙂

P.S. I’m traveling to Italy next week so get ready for an epic blog post!

Time to Freshen Up Your Resume?

We’re trying to think warm thoughts as we head into March and hope we soon see signs of spring! Many people will soon be starting to spring clean, and it’s also a good time to spruce up your resume, no matter where you are in the job or internship search process.  The HR Policy Foundation hosts a wonderful website called Jobipedia, and last week employers gave feedback on 5 ways to improve a resume.  These suggestions could be helpful to you as you review your resume!

1. Stick to one page.  As you progress in your career, 2 pages will become more acceptable.  But for an entry level position, streamline what is relevant for each position you apply for, and keep the resume to a single page.
2. Be thorough in your job duties.  Although titles are important, what you have accomplished and what you have gained in your previous experience are even more important.
3. Tailor each resume to each job posting.  It’s not uncommon for companies to use keyword tracking software, so whenever you can incorporate key words from the posting into your resume, do it! It’ll help you stand out from other candidates who use generic resumes.
4. Highlight volunteer leadership.  This is important for many reasons- it shows you care about the world around you, that you have skills beyond what you learned in the workforce or classroom, and that you have developed leadership ability even without typical “management experience.”
5. Don’t forget your job on campus or at Burger King.  Many, many students work through school.  This stands out to employers, since it shows your work ethic, your desire to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals, and your time management ability.

To learn more, read here: http://jobipedia.org/Blog/Post?id=5-ways-to-improve-your-resume-9418