81 Behrend Beacon
March 19, 2010
I yyww.thebehrendbeacon.com
MY VOICE
"Live Like You
Were Dying"
Lately, I keep hearing people
say things such as, "what
would you do before you die'.’"
or “live like you were dying."
These messages might be
everywhere, but not many peo
ple actually do this. People
don’t have time.
Recently, on MTV, they had a
show called The Buried Life.
It’s a show about four boys who
made a list of 100 thing's they
wanted to do before they died.
The show documents the boys
trying to accomplish some of
the things on their list.
Realistically, no one does
this. In my opinion, they did it
because MTV was going to pay
them to have a show. Who
wouldn't want a show on MTV?
Some of the things on the list
that they did or wanted to do,
seem so unn
playing bask<
ident Obam,
makes me ri
was only dom
was paying t 1
show.
People don
if they were'
or actually
the thing:
they say the;
want to do be
fore they di
On The Bur
Life, for
thing the bo;
they helpi
stranger a<
something oi
By doing thn
made a few pi
happy, but th:
this just don’t
today's sociei
There are
songs that pr
sage as well,
“Live Like You Were Dying,
being one of them. McGraw’s
song is about a man who knew
THE EDITOR’S BLURB
The Internet is not
that peaceful
What’s the first thing you
think of when a person says.
"Internet?”
Regardless of what you might
have thought. I'd imagine that
the one word that did not come
up is “peacemaker."
So imagine my surprise when
I caught wind that the Internet
was nominated to win the
Nobel Peace Prize.
If you are like me, then each
of your brain cells just simulta
neousness imploded on them
selves, causing a cornucopia of
miniature blackholes to erupt
within the confines of you skull
and open your mind to he won
derous world of quantum
physics only realize that it
makes no sense.
Acid trips aside, this idea was
introduced by Wired magazine
in Italy, claiming that the Inter
net is helping to advance "dia
logue, debate and concerns,"
However, anyone who has ever
played online video
knows that the only thing
vanced in those lobbies is t
development of creative nev
racial slurs and terrifying new
ways to defile one's mother.
Hell, whenever 1 play Left 4
Dead online. I feel like I’ve time
traveled back to the 1920 s and
that everyone has been
stripped of their frontal
Some of you may
agree with Wired, and
to you 1 ask, “Have you
been on the Internet
lately?"
Just check out
4chan.org or the com
ments on any You Tube
video. If you can find
one that doesn’t turn into
a hateful word war, I’ll per
sonally give you a dollar.
Doubt my claim? Try it!
Mock a person on a forum or
just misspell the word
“they’re.” All you have to lose is
any scrap of innocence that you
have left.
And if that didn't emotionally
scar you enough, just search
any of the Web’s 48 billion
fetish/porn sites. The things
you might see will ha;
dreams for the rest of your life.
After that, just head right
he was dying and the song lists
everything he did before he
died. These songs are more of a
fantasy than reality. If you
knew that you were dying, you
wouldn't be out trying to do
daring things.
I think one of the main rea
sons for this is that people don’t
care, nor do they have time. Al
most everyone today is too
busy to be attempting to do
things they want before they
die. We are more worried
about a lot of different and
more important things.
I think the idea in general is
a good one, but 1 think it trans
lates more to live life to the
fullest.
You never really plan your
death, and most say it’s bad to
even think about. So if we
HEATHER VROMAN
down to Personal Counseling
and make an appointment.
You're going to need it.
Granted, the Internet has
done a lot of good for the
world. By connecting the
world, it has positively im
pacted nearly everything. We
can keep in touch with friends
like never before with social
networking sites. It also has
created limitless outlets for cre
ativity. Imagine how lame life
would be with out You Tube or
College Humor!
I will give credit where credit
of due. Our lives would be ter
rible without the Internet. I
honestly couldn't function.
What would 1 do with my
time, if I wasn't answering
inane questions on Social Inter
view in a passive aggressive at
tempt to get attention?
However, all jokes aside, in
the quest for peace, there must
be much more deserving candi-
NEIL JAMES
opinion rilitnr
MY VOICE
We are college students. By
definition this means that we
are devastatingly poor, danger
ously overworked, and con
stantly sleep-deprived.
Giving back to the commu
nity is for other people, right?
What can we possibly have to
give when we ourselves are just
barely hanging on by a thread?
We have no time to volunteer,
no money to offer. Maybe altru
ism is just going to have to wait
for our post-graduation lives.
Sometimes, though, a little
goes a long way. If you know
where to look, there are a hand
ful of opportunities that allow
nearly everyone a chance to
give back.
The campus is hosting a Red
Cross Blood Srive on Friday,
March 26, from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Most students are eligible,
but remember to eat foods that
are high in iron leading up to
the blood drive, and make sure
you stay well hydrated that day.
After you donate, make sure
to stop at the refreshment table
for some juice and cookies, and
refrain from heavy lifting or in
«Sjfeg»\
MY VOICE
Want an
AHMEDABDALLA
t nnlnhutmi’ w titer
What I’m going to tell you is
a method that I think can help
you get into any or at least one
company of your choice.
Have you ever wondered
what kind of students do and
don’t get internships? Are the
people that land internships
super amazing with obnox
iously cool accomplishments
on their resume? Did they save
the Amazon rain forest, find a
cure for cancer, or create artifi
cial ozone in their basement
during high school?
No, they’ve done none of
that.
But, how is it that there are a
few lucky college students that
are making serious dough with
the raw education or skill they
have?
The answer is simple and it
comes down to something
you’ve known about all your
life.
The secret is in connections
and good networks.
During the summer after my
freshman year, I had an intern
ship at GE Transportation, and
1 was walking with my manager
from one building to another on
the way to a meeting.
We started talking about how
people get into large corpora
tions whose headquarters are
the size of campuses (like GE).
My manager, Todd Kindel,
told me that the Human Re
source team hires people who
have a champion.
What? 1 was confused. A
champion?
He explained that a cham-
What do we have to give?
tense exercise for the rest of the
day.
Every two seconds someone
is in need of a blood transfu
sion, and each donation can
save up to three lives.
It’s a great way to contribute
if you feel that you have little
else to offer.
The donation process will
only take a few minutes, so stop
by between classes if you get
the chance, and keep a lookout
for more information.
Ever heard of microloan?
This is one new way where a lit
tle money can go a long, long
way.
Jump online and check out
Kiva.org, a nonprofit organiza
tion that loans money to entre
preneurs in developing
countries. With these loans,
business people are able to buy
what they need to start their es
tablishment.
For example, one entrepre
neur needs a sewing machine
to launch a tailor’s shop.
In many cases, this can be the
first step to getting these people
and their families out of
internship? Follow my lead.
pion is someone inside the cor
poration who promotes the po
tential hire’s application to the
company. That is, a champion
is a connection of the potential
hire.
This person could be a family
relative, friend, or old acquain
tance. Someone who’ll go up to
bat for you. They’ll tell HR that
they’re willing to take a bullet
for you and you should really
get hired.
But most students don’t know
people inside the companies
they want to work at.
How can you solve this prob
lem? Don’t give up. This is es
sential to successfully
garnering the internship of
your dreams.
My former manager told me
that HR doesn’t like to just pull
resumes off the Internet and
call people cold.
Think about it. With the mil
lions of people searching for
jobs online and an endless sea
of resumes out there, it’s often
too hard and unrealistic for HR
teams to reach out and inter
view someone on the mere
basis that their application on
Monster.com looks flat out
amazing.
I mean, how you can even
trust people online?
My suggestion for people to
get an internship is to start by
building relations with people
inside the company you desire
to intern for.
When I was a senior in high
school 1 shadowed an engineer
at Lord Corporation.
It was mostly set up by my
high school (one of those op
portunities structured by the
poverty.
So far, Kiva has loaned
$126,128,535 to 317,779 entre
preneurs in 194 different coun
tries.
It doesn’t take a lot. Most
loans in full are about $4OO, but
if you donate $5O or $75, it will
be lumped with other small do
nations until a loan can be
funded. And the best part is
that these entrepreneurs will
pay you back.
Kiva currently boasts a 98%
repayment rate. Once you put
$5O into the system, it will keep
coming back to you and you
can continue to jump-start busi
ness after business with no fur
ther damage to your bank
account.
How’s that for a smart invest
ment? Also, if you run into a lit
tle bit of free time, you can
always drop by the Smith
Chapel and see what volunteer
opportunities are available.
The Center for Service is
there to connect you to an op
portunity that suits your abili
ties, schedule and interests. For
example, right now students
THIS FPOM A GUY
WHO ' DUALLY
CAP!
OUP
school for you to find your field
of interest, and blah blah blah).
My suggestion? Go out and
shadow companies (that is, em
ployers in companies).
Shadowing a company in the
field of your interest is the eas
iest and friendliest way to get
into a company.
Just call up or email their HR
department and with lots of in
nocence and serenity, tell them
that you’re interested in pursu
ing this career path and ask if
their company might be able to
give you the opportunity to
shadow a person in the same
job position so you can learn
about what you want to get
yourself into.
Trying this method gives you
several advantages.
1. As I mentioned earlier,
you’ll get into a company on a
friendly basis. The people will
be welcoming, friendly, and in
trigued.
2. You’ll have a warm rela
tionship with Human Re
sources.
HR people usually meet out
siders in times of tension:
heavy paperwork, interviews,
busy schedules, positions need
ing filled.
So meeting a person outside
of these modes is only a good
thing!
3. You get inside the com
pany, HR connects you with
someone so you can make a
connection! This is when you
use your people skills.
Connect with the employee
your assigned to shadow, meet
All profile photos taken by Daniel Smith / Behrend Beacon
can volunteer at Heartland
Hospice, the Big Brothers Big
Sisters program, or Therapeu
tic Riding Equestrian Center of
Erie County.
Studies have shown that peo
ple who give what they can to
others tend to be happier peo-
Ptwo AjORUIV TTJPAYJfTr
cas:*:** TOONS.COW njjfo
the people in his/her office
place, get a good rapport with
them, try hard to establish a
good relationship and then af
terwards follow up with that
friendship to make it more solid
via e-mail or a phone call.
Then update them on you
and how much of a good time
you had, all the stuff you
learned.
Of course, I can’t guarantee
it’ll work, but your chances are
a lot better than submitting
your resume to databases and
waiting for the responses that
may not come.
The tough part is getting in
side a company. No company
has any reason to help you
learn about them.
You’ll most likely get rejected
from shadowing from compa
nies due to company rules,
busy schedules, or information
privacy, etc. But you can try to
grease your way in.
Tell the company you’ll write
about your time with them in to
your college/local newspaper,
blog, or whatever. Use your
creativity here.
If you’re looking for an in
ternship and don’t believe there
are a lot of opportunities out
there for you, I want you to try
this out:
Whatever your major, be it
engineering, business, meteor
ology, sports broadcasting, I
want you to call a work place in
your career field and tell them
you want to shadow someone,
even if they don’t offer intern
ships.
You never know, they might
make an exception for you!
inion
( ontnhuW)" wiitor