Respond to Your Opportunity!

For those who work hard would deserve successful career path, I am writing this. I do not mean that I am on successful career path, but I would still like to share what happened to me for the last few days. Last week, I set up my Career Connections Opportunity Board and updated the necessary documents to apply for an internship I was interested in, and I got the opportunity!

You may have some friends around you who are doing internships or working, or you may be the one who is doing so now. It often sounds challenging for International Students to get an internship or work offer due to foreign status. However, there are still many opportunities around you. Regardless of the firm size or renown, I would like to recommend you to challenge the internship if it is related to your career path because there are a lot of things to learn at a real firm.

To make these things happen, you will want to search Career Connections Opportunity Board. You can use search bar to find the webpage below, and click the black box with the Career Connections sign to go onto the next picture 



 

You will be able to see this page now if you have clicked the Career Connections Opportunity Board box. If it is the first time that you are trying, you would see 0% profile complete (mine shows 83%). Click the %, then it will navigate you to what needs to be done. Here is another amazing thing I would like to share.  I updated my resume and cover letter a few weeks ago, and Career Connections gave me advice via email after looking it over. I can revise it either by myself at home or with an adviser at the office. I think this system is efficient in that it does not bother my time but helps a lot.  

Once you are done with creating your profile, click Jobs and see what are the opened opportunities for internship and work.



If you do part-time CPT (Curricular Practical Training), it will not affect your OPT (Optional Practical Training). If you can do CPT while you are studying at PLU, I believe you can build more experience and enrich your skills for your  next career path.

Shivani's Exciting Summer Travels!

Hello again! We're back this week with another edition of Guest Blog Posts! This time, we'll introduce a fellow Lute, Shivani, who just returned from her Summer break back home in India. Shivani recalls her experiences below:

Hi everyone, I am Shivani Muthyam. I am currently a senior at PLU. I am majoring in Business administration with a focus in finance and I am from India. I came to the United States in the year 2014 and I have been living in Washington State for the last three years now.

In the summer of 2017, I had to visit India for family reasons. It has been a very long time since I last visited home. Staying abroad for a considerable amount of time made me see my home in a very different perspective. I was perplexed, as I was subconsciously juxtaposing everyday norms, practices, and expressions of the two different cultures. When I reached India, I still remember how excited I was to meet my family at the airport. I stepped out the airport and gazed the city and realized that the city I grew up has been extremely changed. I saw what I didn't see before; Huge buildings, more automobiles, and people glued to smartphones, but it was reassuring to see the heart and spirit of the city remain the same.

Furthermore, I was able to relinquish the homemade Indian cuisines. I had a chance to travel Kerala. It is a state which located in southern part of the India and it is three hours away from my hometown. Kerala is also known as Devakulam, which means “God's own place”. It is the home of ancient Temples and scenic beauty. I had a chance to explore few of them. It is strange that I never actually traveled most of the India yet I traveled countries outside the Indian subcontinent. When I traveled to Munnar a city in Kerala I was flabbergasted by the effortless scenic beauty of the hill stations. The palm trees and the backwater boat rides added allure to the city’s grandiosity!

Moreover, the place is known for its historic splendor and traditions. It was amazing to see dancers perform an ancient dance form called "Kathakali" originating some 1500 years ago. It is also believed that the world's oldest martial art known as “kalaripayattu” is widely practiced in this place.

Finally, I had a chance to visit a coastal town called Kanya Kumari which is located on southern tip of peninsular India. In KanyaKumari, there is a place known as Triveni sangamam where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet together. The transparent and clear water, surrounded by the ocean breeze was the ultimate moment of the trip.

I have to admit it, even now when I close my eyes, the nostalgic scent of the tepid raindrops and the sound of the water diverging front the shores of the Kanyakumari still haunts me.

In conclusion, although it was just a short trip it was an experience to cherish. Experiencing the vibrant culture and the misty hazy hilltop view of the hill station was best. The trip was a huge stress breaker, and a perfect trip to rejuvenate my mind.

Soon after, this wonderful trip I returned back to Washington for fall semester feeling better than ever.

Moon Festival in Kreidler Lounge

Hello everyone!  Long time no see since last Winter break if anyone cares.  I am back to the US in the summer and now on campus again after a life changing study away experience. 

This year I’m back to the Moon Festival again, yayyy~ So Kreidler Community had an event in Kreidler lounge on October 4th this year to celebrate Moon Festival.  It’s actually an idea by one student staff in our office, Camille.  (She is also my roomie ) And so to complete a part of me being away from home and my tradition, I came to support her and had a great time making a lantern and eating moon cake~

Here is my lantern haha..

 It's not the best lantern but I tried guys.  We have it in the office too so swing by to see the prettier versions of my boss Heather and Camille. 


Me trying to have a cool picture with Cheong Wun and Yohei. 

 If you missed the event, Camille is holding again in Kreidler lounge on Oct 6 from 5.30PM to 7.30PM! Come, have fun, and celebrate a little late Moon Festival (but it's the celebration that counts!). 

Best,
~Cloud~

Joel's Summer Training + Back to School!

Hello again!

I had a bit to say last week, when I introduced my good friend and ex-staff member, Harald Overa's guest blog post. We actually also celebrated Harald's 22nd birthday on Saturday, so the past week was definitely an eventful week for him!

A happy bunch celebrating Harald's 22nd!

Anyways, let's rewind back to this Summer. This Summer was really eventful for me, I attended Cadet Summer Training 2017 (Advanced Camp), visited Los Angeles, CA, Vancouver, BC and also Tanzania on a Cadet Training Deployment.

Advanced Camp is a commissioning requirement for all MSIII Cadets. It is held annually at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and cadets have to endure the summer heat as well. In other words, it was a big deal. We had to endure a month of physical, tactical and mental challenges in order to graduate and pass camp. As a MSIV Cadet this year, I am also tasked with managing the PLU ROTC Battalion and Advanced Camp has allowed me to hone my skills and apply things I've learned here. I have less than 8 months before graduating from PLU and commissioning as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army so I can't wait for that!

Graduation March - Cadet Summer Training 2nd Regiment Graduation

After Advanced Camp, I got to return to WA for 11 days and relax. During that time, I visited Vancouver, BC and Los Angeles, CA with buddies! It was a great time to just recuperate and chill as my body was not only physically exhausted, but mentally tired as well.

11 days later, I returned back to Ft. Knox, Kentucky in order to prepare for my training deployment to Tanzania. I was in Tanzania for about 3 weeks, and it was an amazing experience. My team mainly taught English to students in a local school, but we did get to meet Tanzanian military personnel and also had the American Chargé d’Affaires, Inmi Patterson come visit.

Not only did we immerse ourselves in the culture, we also learned Ki-Swahili for an hour every workday. We spoke basic Ki-Swahili by the time we were done with our mission.

Soccer with the local teachers in Tanzania!

 

Tanzania Team 7!

After all my experiences and travels during the Summer, it was eventually time to return to PLU! I was involved in the New International Student Orientation and the New Cadet Orientation Program at PLU during orientation week, so that was a busy time. I am now about a month into school, and everything's going great. I'm busy with school work and ROTC, but every day's a great day!

Take care for now!

Joel Goh