News Roundup: NAEYC Conference, Student Scholarships & Nationwide Career Fairs
By Will Erstad on 12/15/2015
Rasmussen College’s Presence Felt at NAEYC Annual Conference
Rasmussen College’s School of Education was well-represented at the 2015 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) annual conference in Orlando, Fl. The NAEYC conference is one of the largest in the country, attracting around 10,000 attendees each year.
Amy Weaver, a Rasmussen College Early Childhood Education (ECE) student, and Lois Wachtel, a Rasmussen College ECE instructor, each had the opportunity to present to ECE experts from across the country.
Wachtel’s presentation focused on exploring open-ended art and alternative ways for children to paint without a brush. She says the presentation went well and was surprised by the number of people in attendance as a high percentage of the approximately 500 seats were filled.
"Even if you have to save your pennies all year, it's worth it!"
“The response was overwhelming and amazing,” Wachtel says. “I know a lot of the people there saved money to attend and there were a lot of fantastic presenters on at the same time as I was. I felt like it was my responsibility to make this the best workshop they’ve been to.”
Weaver’s presentation focused on ways teachers can use everyday materials in their lesson plans. She explained how these simplified activities and materials can help educators gather a more authentic understanding of how their students learn, store and process information.
This wasn’t Weaver’s first time presenting at NAEYC, but it was her first 3-hour presentation at the event. Despite the seemingly daunting time slot, Weaver feels the experience was a success.
“I was up against some industry heavy-hitters who were sharing my time slot,” Weaver says. “I was pleased to have about 200 participants who stayed through the presentation and received several compliments at the end.”
Both Wachtel and Weaver agree the conference can be very valuable for students to attend.
“Even if you have to save your pennies all year, it’s worth it,” Wachtel says. “The information is so valuable—what you learn in the three or four days you’re there can change how you teach for not only the year, but your entire career.”
Halloween Horror-Themed Webinar Hosted
In keeping with the creepy crawly theme of Halloween, members of the Rasmussen College School of Design faculty hosted a horror-focused webinar called ‘The Dark’ on October 29th.
The webinar explored the history of horror in popular media and how designers visualize our fears in artwork, games and film. State program coordinators Russel Merrit, Kristy Mize & Bill Sattelmeyer set out to show not only what is scary, but how designers can evoke and emphasize that fear.
Viewers also learned about the principles of designing for horror—with techniques like exaggerated perspective, sudden reveals and the use of light and shadow all coming into play.
“Often, in scary media it’s not what you see—it’s what you don’t see,” Sattelmeyer says.
St. Cloud Tech Student Receives Scholarships, Promotion
With two scholarships awarded and a promotion under his belt in the past year, Rasmussen College information security student Parker Theisen is on a roll.
After applying and being awarded a scholarship of $2500 from the (ISC)² organization earlier in the year, Theisen was entered into a pool of candidates and was ultimately awarded an additional $5000 through the Harold F. Tipton Memorial Scholarship.
Theisen says he was blown away by the news.
“The past winner was from a huge school in Florida, so it was really cool for a guy from small-town Minnesota to get this,” Theisen says. “It meant a lot to me and it's really helped me stay motivated to keep pushing through and earn my degree.”
"It's really helped me stay motivated to keep pushing through and earn my degree."
In the midst of all of the scholarship excitement, Theisen earned his Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP) certification. He says the preparation for the certification exam was strenuous, with many hours spent studying in a virtual environment troubleshooting and exploring networking scenarios.
The effort has paid off for Theisen, as he was recently promoted from his role as a network support specialist to a junior network coordinator position for the Monticello, Minn. School District. Theisen says he enjoys the added challenge and is looking forward to learning more.
As for the future, Theisen, an avid 4-wheeler enthusiast, says his dream job is to someday work in a network security position for Polaris. For him, the opportunity to merge his work life with the hobby he loves would be too good to pass up.
Rasmussen College Career Fairs
More than 20 free community career fairs were hosted nationwide on Oct. 21-29th by Rasmussen College.
The events, which had representatives from 600 employers nationwide, presented a great opportunity for students, graduates and the general public to meet with potential employers and refine their job search skills.
Attendees had the opportunity to refine their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and receive pointers on their professional attire. Mock interview sessions were also held for attendees hoping to hone their face-to-face interviewing skills.
If this interests you, be on the lookout for the next Rasmussen College career fair coming soon!
