How Do Students Prepare for Job Interviews?

The school year is almost over, and many students are ready to graduate and move on to the next stage in life: job hunting.

The Career Planning and Development Center at UNA provides a number of resources to help student prepare for their job interviews, from updating resumes to organizing mock interviews.

One of the most crucial aspects for job consideration is how one does a job interview. Melissa Medlin, the director of the Career Planning and Development Center explains that this can be a difficult task for some.

“Many students have never interviewed before,” Medlin said. “Even those who have interviewed, it may be for summer jobs or something of that nature. It’s not quite the same as a professional interview, so a lot of students have a false sense of security in the fact that they can do well in an interview.”

According to the Career Planning and Development Center 33 percent of employers decide whether or not the person they are interviewing will be hired in the first ninety seconds of the meeting. Additionly 55 percent of employers will hire based on how the person dresses, while 38 percent is based on voice and confidence in speech. Only 7 percent focus on what the interviewee is actually saying.

“Personally, I know that if I was hiring someone I would want to hire someone who looks the part and acts the part for what I’m looking for,” said Coddy Macneil, who was recently hired to be a community advisor for the next semester. “That can be determined very quickly after meeting somebody.”

Medlin encourages students to include part-time or temporary jobs into their resumes so that the employer will see a record of diligence from the employee.

“It also shows that if you have gone to school and have worked part-time that you can manage multiple tasks,” Medlin said. “Those things are very important to show to potential employers, especially for new college graduates.”

Having networks may connect students to their next employer.

“The way the world is today, and really the way it always has been is that it is about who you know and your connections with other people, and that is why your daily life plays a lot into your future,” said Walter Hartley Jr., vice president of SGA Executive Council.

Regardless of statistics, students are always encouraged to bring themselves into the interview.

“People, when they ask questions for an interview, they don’t want someone who is perfect,” Macneil said. “I think they are looking for someone who is more honest, then presents himself as the ideal or more perfect.”

Graduate Student Plans to Teach English Internationally

Brian Mulack, a UNA employee in the Office of International Affairs who teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, is an individual who can relate to many students at UNA. He has a passion for what he does and loves to find adventure.

Originally from Athens, Mulack came to UNA because of its proximity to his home and because he liked the small-town atmosphere of Florence.

As an undergraduate he was active in the Baptist Campus Ministries and worked three different jobs. He worked in philanthropy in Mexico in 2006 and did construction work in New Orleans and also worked in Florence at Cracker Barrel on Cox Creek Parkway.

Mulack graduated from UNA in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He chose this degree when he found that it could open a door to traveling to other countries.

“It’s more for the adventure of it,” Mulack said. “So many places to see and not enough time.”

He worked at an after-school English program for kids in the K-12 system. During this time, he discovered his love for travelling and teaching English.

Mulack said he was particularly impacted by a trip he took to Korea.

“Originally I just wanted to travel,” Mulack said. “Then, I decided to do it long-term.”

He found his passion for students and commented how impressed he was by the motivation and value that Korean students have for education.

“(Korean) students are motivated to study more than American students,” he said. “They are usually very brilliant.”

Mulack has a great love for experiencing different cultures. During his stay in South Korea, he spent his spare time visiting neighboring countries such as Vietnam and China, as it was not too far or expensive to do so there.

“To pick up from one place to another is fascinating,” he said.

Mulack has now returned to Florence to earn his master’s degree in education to teach English to international students at UNA along with his wife Annelise, who he met in South Korea and married last August. Here, he works hard to give students at UNA an opportunity to interact with other cultures. It might be a new environment for him, but it is one that he feels comfortable in, he said.

“I enjoy meeting other cultures and, at the same time, staying in one place,” he said.

One thing Mulack tells students is not to allow bad decisions of the past to dictate the future.

“Don’t limit yourself by the mistakes you make now,” he said.

As much as he enjoys working at UNA, Mulack said it is his “goal to teach internationally again” in the future.

UNA Students Battle Flu Season

Readers take note: I wrote this article earlier in February, so there is no need to worry about any flu outbreak presently as far as I am aware. 

US Navy 021019-N-9593M-007 Flu shot preparations (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many UNA students get the flu shot, but in some do not agree with it as a way to battle flu season.

Doctors highly recommend that people get the flu shot as winter approaches. Amy Seay, the Infection Control Nurse from Shoals Hospital, persists in that very recommendation.

“When you get the flu shot, it develops antibiotics to fend off the virus,” Seay said.

Although the call to get a flu shot is highly recommended by doctors and relatives, many people do not get the flu shot.

“I haven’t had (the shot) recently,” said Lindsay Hanlin UNA health promotion student. “I don’t have the time to do it.”

For many, the flu shot does not make a difference and they get sick in spite of taking it.

“One year I got the flu shot, and (my whole family) got the flu,” said Karla Burdette, assistant director of the Baptist Campus Ministries. “There are so many different types of flu, so the vaccine used is only for a certain type.”

Medical experts argue that those who get the flu after taking the flu shot get it due to exposure to the virus within the time that the vaccine takes to reach its full potency.

“It takes up to two weeks to get the full effect of the flu shot,” Seay said.

Many people like nursing Brittany Harris observe that the flu virus comes in many strands. As a consequence, the strand that affects people each year “is not always the same every year.”

In order to control this hazard, doctors do what they can to determine what flu virus strand will occur each year. They carefully examine their patients and determine what vaccine will work for them.

“(Doctors) will do a nasal swab to test what kind of flu strand you can be prone to,” Seay said.

Even so, there is no assurance that the vaccine taken will protect one from any other strand.

Other reasons that people may obtain the virus in spite of the vaccination are suggested to be a health hazard based on the individual.

“My mother cannot get the flu shot because she gets the flu anyway,” Burdette said. “Her doctor gives her every other vaccination, but she cannot get the flu shot.”

In spite of what people have experienced in the past concerning the flu shot, medical experts are still convinced that the shot is the best way to fend off the virus.

In addition to taking the flu shot, people are also highly recommended to maintain personal hygiene in order to stay healthy by washing hands and covering coughs.

“Hand washing is probably one of the most important things,” Hanlin said.

Other important ways to stay healthy that people like Seay and Hanlin suggest is to get plenty of rest, drink water and avoid people who are sick. If one already has the flu, this person is recommended to stay at home to avoid the spread.

Picky Eating: Genetics or Choice

You may have done it as a child, or even today, is to not eat foods that are unfavorable, also known as picky eating.

Picky eating is often seen in young people who show distaste for certain vegetables, meats, and other foods.

“My best friend doesn’t eat anything if it’s touching,” said Stephanie Wilbanks, a culinary student at UNA. “If her macaroni is touching her green beans, then we are not eating that section of the food.”

Recent research has considered that there may be a genetic aspect to picky eating. It suggests that food preferences are passed down from ones parents.

Katrena Bass a culinary student with three daughters, has a certain food that she does not like and that her children take after. She is unsure if it is because of genetics or just situational.

“My girls won’t eat peas,” Bass said. “I didn’t eat them; I had them try them as a kid and when they spit them back out I did not make them eat them. I don’t know if that is because I don’t like them so they don’t like them or if because they heard me say I did not like them so much that they picked up on it.”

The study conducted by the USA Today Educate found that from a sample size of 66 sets of identical and fraternal twins, 72 percent of that had hereditary habits.

This research refers to what is called food neophobia, or the fear of trying new foods. Dieticians worry that this habit can be linked to obesity and other food displacement problems. Research found that children whose parents had high body mass index (BMI) were most likely also be high if they were picky about their diet.

Expert opinions theorized a potential evolutionary link to the habit of food neophobia. They claim that humans had to be careful when finding what was safe and unsafe to eat.

More students are convinced that food neophobia and picky eating may come from the basis of personal experience.

“I got sick off of chicken salad one time, so I will not be eating that again,” Bass said. “You kind of link your experiences to the food that you had during that time.”

Some have suggested that picky eating may be the result from ones parents, but not genetically, rather based on what has often been placed at the table at home.

“I think that if the parents are picky eaters and they’re controlling what the kid eats, and they develop what the kid wants to eat then the kid will want what is normal,” Wilbanks said. “So then (the kids) develop those same things.”

Many who admit to picky eating often do so to promote their own health.

“I generally don’t like anything unhealthy,” said Brittany Leach, a freshman student of UNA. “It’s not that I really don’t like them, but it makes my body feel weak.”

Humility in Racing

I have had some friends question my sanity when I tell them that I like to run. I have been active in running events like cross country and track and field since high school. I run so I can build endurance to long distances ranging from 1.5 to 5 kilometers. Now in college, I do not participate in a team, but I do try to maintain my speed and endurance by taking time to run at least twice every week. Any time I hear of a five kilometer race I will try to plan it into my schedule to go.

Last weekend, for example, I returned from a leadership conference with the Baptist Campus Ministries, one hour before the Student Government Association’s annual 5k race began. Quickly I registered at the door, got my running clothes on and began to warm up with the little time I had. That week, as much as I anticipated the race I was unprepared. I had not practiced all week, or the week before due to demanding class assignments, and while at the leadership conference, I had a big lunch six hours before the race. It was not a situation that I would prefer before running, but for the love of the sport I went on. Although I came in five minutes behind my personal best, I held to the goal to not slow down and walk and keep looking ahead.

As much as I love running, however, that does not mean I am the best when I compete. Running may actually demonstrate my greatest weakness than my strength. I was always the slowest runner on my team. In some many of the races that I participated in I came in last and I was the co-captain that year. What was more discouraging was that during high school I developed some knee trouble that limited me from my full potential.

I considered my racing problems while I was icing my knee and doing homework, and then I read 2 Corinthians 11-12, the chapters where Paul talked about boasting in one’s weakness. Paul had a lot that he could complain about, and provided a lengthy description of what he went through as he followed Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-29). Paul continued in the next chapter where he described his struggle with a thorn in his flesh. Whatever this thorn was, Paul used it to illustrate our weakness as humans, but was reassured in his vision when Jesus said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, and my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

As I read this, it gave me a new attitude to what I raced for, so I allowed God to take control and use my weakness to make His power perfect. Racing has become a test of perseverance rather than a test of speed and strength. Some have ridiculed me for being a slow runner, but I saw God glorified in my humility. By some miracle, my last year on my cross country team, I won the ‘Most Inspirational’ award. I now keep that trophy to remind myself what God is able to do in my weakness.

Even more I continue to compete in a bigger race called life. There are many obstacles down the trail, but I am ready for them. I follow the same principles in this race as I have with all others, and let God have it and take control. This is not for me alone, but for all people. The author of Hebrews writes, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

Out of the Hobbit-Hole

Bag End, as used in the Lord of the Rings films. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the end of the school semester is fast approaching, the last thing on most students mind is the preparation for years ahead. “And why should I be concerned about that?” one might ask. “After all, it was a hard enough to get through one semester, was it not? Does not my brain need a break from it all?” It might, but then again, who knows what to expect.

I first considered this reasoning at the end of my fall semester at UNA. Ironically, that same weekend, the cinemas everywhere released the long anticipated movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. This movie began as a book by the famous J.R.R. Tolkien and serves as a prelude to The Lord of the Rings trilogy also written by Tolkien and became a blockbuster a decade ago as directed by Peter Jackson.The story begins as Tolkien describes the hobbit as a small humanoid creature that lives a peaceful and unadventurous lifestyle. Such can be said of Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist, until the wizard Gandalf arrived at his door and recruited him on a quest where Bilbo finds himself running with a band of dwarves to go and reclaim their kingdom overtaken by a dragon.

When my semester finished last fall, I thought of how hard it was for me and all the complaints that I had toward the work load. I had enough reasons to complain as papers, projects, tests and other assignments were thrown at me all at once it seemed. At the end of it all, I wondered if we perceived our lives so difficult because we do not prepare for those difficulties. In times when there is no immediate responsibilities like school or work we tend to get comfortable and complacent, and suddenly, there is a challenge that waits for you outside your door, and you are to answer it whether you want to or not. There is a lot that goes on in the world that we are not ready for, but we must look at the situations that we are faced with, not becoming paranoid, but rather wary and prepared for them when the challenge does strike.

There is no shortage of examples in the Bible where people had to get out of their comfort zones to do God’s will and meet the challenges before them. For Abraham he had to leave his country to receive a promised inheritance from God (Genesis 12:1-3). Moses had to give up his title as a prince of Egypt to lead Israel from bondage (Hebrews 11:24-26). David was on the run for much of his life before he became king of Israel (Psalm 59). Even the disciples of Jesus were persecuted in their faith and met great challenges of their own (Acts 5:40-41).

I think that life is meant to be adventurous, and we should not be like hobbits who sit idly blowing smoke rings and eating six meals a day routinely. Perhaps we should take on the habits of dwarves or rangers instead of hobbits. The challenges that we face today may not be as severe, but I think we should consider and anticipate challenges to come.

Mason Rogers Committed to UNA Golf

Mason Rogers is a sophomore at UNA who plays for the golf team.

Rogers developed a love for golf as a child and became more competitive when he was 10. He showed his talent and his passion for golf through the golf team at Boaz High School under coach Eric Whaley.

“It’s really challenging,” Rogers said. “You’re not always good and not always bad.”

He was given an offer to play for Auburn University but turned it down to be a part of a smaller community. UNA was able to provide that for him along with a better scholarship.

At UNA, some of his great accomplishments include tying for fifth in the TVA Credit Union Invitational, 11th at the Kiawah Island Invitational in South Carolina and 12th in the AFLAC/Cougar Invitational.

Rogers pledged to Kappa Sigma and is studying sports management. Outside of class, he is devoted to golf.

“I’m either on the golf course or on campus,” Rogers said.

Rogers works at the Turtle Point Country Club, the No. 2 private golf course in the state. Rogers is confident the job will bring him to a great future career, stating that “it will look good on offers.” He works for a master professional at the course.

Rogers’ goals include working as a swing instructor at a teaching facility where he can teach rising golfers the fundamentals of the sport, and playing on a professional level as well.

“I always concentrated on golf because that’s what I want to do in the future,” Rogers said.