Hooray! We’ve made it to the final week of class of a very difficult semester. I am proud of each and every one of you for sticking with it and continuing to submit such high-quality work in both Seminar and Music. If you are feeling burned out and worn out, you are not alone. We are all feeling the strain of the conditions of the semester. We can take heart, however, that the end is near–you are so close to completing your first year of college–and that’s something to celebrate 🙂
End-of-Semester Wrap-Up
Please take a look at your grades in Seminar. They’re updated up to this week, meaning the only remaining grades are the Final Reflection (worth 20%) and the average of your Concert Reviews (15%). If anything looks out of place–or if anything seems confusing, please get in touch. You may also get in touch if you are missing a recent assignment or if you and I have already discussed post-spring break make-up work.
There are so many elements to the grade book, and, as you may recall, the weighting of items was shifted around to compensate for eliminating the group project, so, hopefully, the following breakdown will simplify things:
- Attendance (Jan – March 5): 10%
- Participation (Jan – March 5): 10%
- Participation (March 24 – May): 10%
- Seminar Activities (combined short assignments such as Tiny Desk & Foci of Control): 12%
- Group Proposal: 2%
- Listening Logs: 2%
- Research Table: 4%
- Midterm Reflection: 15%
- Concert Reviews: 15%
- Final Reflection: 20%
Final Reflection
There is no more weekly homework in Seminar! The only thing left to turn in is your Final Reflection, due May 13th. Check out the instructions here.
- You may put both parts in one document with one title page, and use titles/subheadings as needed.
- Don’t forget a creative title for your piece in Part 1.
- Don’t forget to include examples in Part 2.
Optional Grading Tool
If you’re considering grading options for your courses (i.e., traditional A-F grading vs. Pass/No Pass), please consult the following document/worksheet linked here. This is not for a grade or to turn in. It is simply a tool for you to use to help you make an informed decision.
How to Add FYI Virtual Conference to Your Résumé
If you are one of the students who opted to participate in the FYI Virtual Conference, you’ll definitely want to add it to your résumé! Doing so may help illustrate to a future employer, hiring committee, or research assistantship coordinator that you go above and beyond your required duties, you value community engagement, and you’re invested in your intellectual growth.
The following are some tips for adding this experience to your résumé:
- The 2020 Virtual First-Year Islander Conference can go in the Honors & Activities or Academic Publications section of your doc, depending on how you organize things.
- Be sure to spell out the entire shebang and include the date, like this–Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Virtual First-Year Islander Conference, Spring 2020.
- Use strong, action verbs to describe your participation (that’s a good rule for everything on your res.)
- Try words like participated or published.
- Be descriptive but concise in your description. For example: “campus-wide academic conference featuring selected student projects.”
- Tailor the description to the job/internship you’re applying for. How does the work you did for the LC relate to the job description? (Somethings to consider: integrated learning across academic courses; personal responsibility; campus/community engagement; research and creativity; synthesis of academic concepts.)
- General tip: Résumé writing should be in telegraphic, bulleted style with phrases beginning with your action verb. The following example describes a job & duty that would go in an “Experience” section.
- Writer — The Everygirl — February 2016—February 2017
- Contributed biweekly article drafts including web-optimized images. Formatted articles according to specific editorial guidelines. [Notice how I omitted words like “I” and “the” here. This helps the reader quickly digest the info!]
Here’s more info on crafting a resume from the TAMU-CC Career Center.
And Finally, Congratulations for Reaching the End!
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