College and Modelling: Student Models Walk the RunWay
March 27, 2007
Models.edu : College students sashay down runways and work it for the cameras between classes. It’s a tough life, being beautiful.
It’s inevitable. Whenever 19-year-old Samantha Olander goes out, she can expect stares, double takes and the question, “Are you a model?”
The embarrassed blonde-haired, blue-eyed junior at Baldwin-Wallace College usually answers, “sort of.” While many college students entertain the notion or delusion that they could be models, Olander is an exception: she balances the difficult life of being both a pre-med student and a professional model for a company in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
But it’s not easy. Olander, a 6-foot, 1-inch runway model, says a fashion show is a major time commitment. Between travel time, hair and makeup styling, fittings, breaks, rehearsal and the actual show, almost eight hours have passed. Though she says “my work is my fun,” she knows she cannot afford to model full-time — school is her job.
“Being a model is being available,” Olander said. “It’s hard for an agency to book me when I put classes before them. Once you refuse jobs [so] much, they’re not going to call you anymore.”
Even though modeling assignments in smaller markets like Cleveland can pay as much as $300 a show, entry into the industry can be expensive. A portfolio of professional pictures can cost hundreds of dollars; and they must be updated frequently. “I didn’t have the money to put into it to get what I wanted out of it,” said Olander, who finances her own education with another part-time job.
She didn’t have the time either.
“Most girls in college full-time can’t really model because it’s a day job,” said Kristi McOrmack, a spokeswoman in the marketing division of Wilhelmina Models, Inc. But college students who model “do exist,” McOrmack said. They just attend school at night, defer college for a few months, or work during holiday breaks and the summer. “The downside is that they won’t be able to work as much,” McOrmack said.
Jose Ortiz, director of new faces at Boss Models in New York City, agrees.
“It’s a major disciplinary situation but it’s possible,” Ortiz said. Models go to class very early in the morning or at night so they can make their day appointments, he said.
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Student Soldiers: ROTC program on College Campuses
March 26, 2007
Student Soldiers : Most students don’t think of ROTC as a campus job that pays for college and guarantees employment after graduation. It does, with a few heavy strings attached.
John G almost didn’t go to college. Growing up in El Paso, Texas, he knew it was a luxury his family couldn’t afford.
“No one in my family had ever done it, and I pretty much figured I wouldn’t be the first.”
But John is now a junior at the University of Texas. What’s more, when he graduates next year he will be guaranteed a career with better vacation, health and retirement benefits than virtually any of his peers.
He’s going into the Army.
“They’ve paid for my education, they pay for my housing, they’re giving me a job. It’s a pretty great deal,” he said.
Like thousands of students at colleges across the country, John is in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corp. In return for five hours a week while he’s in school, and eight years of full service after he graduates, Uncle Sam is giving him a full, four year ride. On top of that, once a week he gets to go to class dressed up in camouflage.
“Yeah,” he admits, “the camo is pretty cool.” The Army, Navy and Air Force all operate ROTC programs. Their purpose is to transform ordinary college students into confident, prepared officers.
And if you don’t mind the commitment, ROTC scholarships are remarkably easy to get. While they vary slightly from school to school, basic requirements include a mere 2.0 GPA, SAT scores above 950 and U.S. citizenship with no outstanding criminal record. In most cases a cadet must also be younger than thirty at the time they are commissioned.
Even with today’s scaled-back military, “there’s a lot of money to be had,” said Gold Bar Recruiter Lieutenant Mattocks of the University of Texas. “Every year we have scholarships left over.”
These leftovers aren’t small scholarships, either. They include up to $72,000 for housing and tuition over four years, in addition to an annual $450 for books and a $150 monthly stipend.
Usually the post-graduate commitment is two years for every one year of scholarship. However, the average officer serves only three or four years of their commitment on active duty. The remainder can be served in the reserves.
The money doesn’t stop coming when you graduate, either. After a short period of active duty and for a longer commitment Uncle Sam will pay for up to eighty percent of graduate work.
The first two years of ROTC are spent developing general skills, such as how to read a map, operate a radio and perform first aid. Physical fitness is also emphasized. The third and fourth years are focused on more specific abilities that an officer must possess.
For those who would like to dip their feet in without taking the plunge, ROTC can also be taken as a normal elective class for up to two years without any obligation.
“For students who do not want to go into the military, it gives them an extra curricular activity that looks good on their resume,” said Mattocks. “They can develop practical leadership and management skills, and then have an opportunity to exercise those skills.”
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Caffeine Zone: Experience of a College Student working in a Coffee Shop
March 26, 2007
The Caffeine Divas : Bow down and worship, the high priests and priestesses of Temple Caffeine will now hear your prayers.
It’s 25 below zero, 5 a.m. and pitch dark. The streets are silent besides the crunch of my coffee-stained sneakers on the snow. Is this a bad case of somnambulating? A meditative moment in the winter wonderland? The last resort after a failed all-nighter?
No, I’m just on my way to work at the coffee shop in Northfield, MN, home of Carleton College.
Goodbye Blue Mondays is where students, professors and locals gather to sample the best warm beverages and exchange conversation in an atmosphere of intellectual and social stimulation rivaling and reminiscent of Parisian salons in the 1920’s.
For the early morning opening shift, I brew eight airpots of coffee, put freshly baked scones and muffins in baskets, bring the New York Times in from the snow-covered entryway and wait for the regulars to come for their first daily dose of caffeine. I foam milk madly, pump to go’s and for-here’s, and make myself the perfect cuppa Joe. And as the day wears on, I hear the clink, clink of quarters piling up in the tip jar. Ahhh, the life of a coffee shop diva.
But, are a few handfuls of sweaty coins divided between all the divas on duty enough to draw students to coffee counters nationwide, begging for work? What makes coffee shops such desirable workplaces? The preponderance of crossword puzzles, Scrabble and chess? Debates on Hegelian dialectics, Thomas Pynchon’s postmodernist revisionism and Virginia Woolf’s early example of the gender-*uck? The beloved, and perhaps physically necessary, combination of coffee and cream (or faux cream)?
My theory is that the coffee shop is a version of home, and that seems to be the first step in attracting so many folk to work in them. The summer before I worked at Goodbye Blue Mondays, my off-campus house had burned and wasn’t habitable when I returned to school. I camped out in the backyard and adopted the coffee shop as my second home. Many others do this too, less out of necessity than choice.
Coffee and Karma
Support progressive coffee shops featuring soy milk and organic and shade grown coffees. Shade grown coffee is grown in clusters interspersed with other trees and plants rather than in typical monocultures. This method deters plagues and blights that affect monocultures and supports the habitat of many tropical birds that cannot live in large monoculture plantations. (This will become an increasingly interesting issue as both Honduras and Nicaragua try to replant coffee to replace what was destroyed by Hurricane Mitch.)
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March 25, 2007
The Wedding Spinner: With a tuxedo and a smile, the wedding DJ plays “Superfreak” for the happy couple, the crowd of drunk twentysomethings and their parents.
Forget the bride and groom. At a wedding reception, the DJ runs the show.
If your musical knowledge predates “Ice Ice Baby” and you have a game show host’s personality, working as a wedding DJ can be a great way to pick up extra cash between classes or after you’ve graduated.
The simplest way to break into the business is through a local DJ company. They provide the music, equipment and planning; all you have to do is pick up the equipment, put on a show, return everything intact and pocket some cash. DJ companies typically charge couples $450 for a four-hour reception. The DJ gets about $25 an hour, plus tip.
Interviewing at DJ companies is more casual than corporate interviews. A wedding entertainer wannabe will be tested on musical knowledge ranging from your parents and grandparents’ generation to the latest My Chemical Romance release. DJ companies want people with quirky and exciting personalities. It makes it easier to do the “Hokey Pokey” with a group of 6-year-olds.
Wedding Party Tales
Being a wedding DJ gives you entry into some of the strangest weddings you’ll ever see.
At a Goth wedding, the groom wore an ornate 15th-century style suit to go with his half-shaved head. Earrings ran up and down his ears. The music was a mix of disco and standards (picked by the parents) and Goth dance re-mixes (picked by the bride and groom). For the first dance, the couple requested the “Dark Garage Mix” of the Sneaker Pimps’ “Spin Spin Sugar.” Startled guests watched in disbelief as the bride and groom whirled like Goth dervishes for nine achingly long minutes.
At a traditional Italian wedding, the groom’s parents and their friends danced a frenzied polka to “The Tarantella.” After an hour, the groom was plastered. He stumbled around with his vest and coat off and his shirt untucked.
Another fringe benefit: the free meal. While most are rubbery stuffed chicken dinners, the occasional nine-course traditional Vietnamese wedding banquet makes it all worth while.
A DJ’s gig starts an hour before the reception, when he or she sets up the equipment and changes into formal wear. Receptions are meticulously planned, and the DJ works with the wedding coordinator to make sure there are no last-minute surprises. The DJ’s job includes announcing the parents and the couple by name, introducing the ushers and bridesmaids and making sure the caterer and photographer are doing the right thing at the right time.
Most music is chosen by request, but the bride and groom provide a list of songs they don’t like. Selecting songs is hard because the audience ranges in age from 5 to 95, but here’s a secret: everyone loves Motown. Big band and jazz is great for cocktails and dinner, but after dessert the DJ must lure people to the dance floor with lively music. Selecting the right time to play cheesy crowd favorites such as the “Macarena,” the “Electric Slide” and the dreaded “Chicken Dance” is a skill best acquired over time.
Working as a wedding DJ is a great side job while you’re trying to start your entertainment career. You’ll lose some weekend social time, but you’ll get paid to attend happy parties filled with dancing, drinking people. You’ll also feel better for not selling your soul as an investment banker or a consultant though you might have to DJ one of their weddings.
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March 25, 2007
Code Blue : Security telephones, with their cool blue lights, are all over campuses. But they’re rarely used, officials say.
Campus security telephones, often topped with signature blue lights, reassure students that help is always nearby. But they don’t make campuses safer, according to college public safety officers and students, many of whom have never used the telephones.
“They seem to make people feel safe,” said Mike Irwin, a senior at Yale University, where the security telephones are prevalent. He said he’d never used one.
“Students have indicated that they feel safer that blue light phones are there,” said Skoulfos, a former director of security services at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s a psychological thing, like walking down a lighted street versus a dark street.”
In an ironic twist, seeing the phones can actually give the students a false perception of safety, which could make the area less safe for students if they let down their guard.
“I feel more secure in their immediate vicinity,” said Cathy Abrams, a senior at Brown University. “But when I see one a few blocks away, I don’t feel so secure because now I’m thinking about safety and I see the phone a few blocks away.”
“I try and tell people this is not going to save your life,” Skoulfos said. He said officers usually respond to calls from the telephones in an average of three minutes, which can be a long time if you’re in real physical danger.
“There’s a comfort level of having them there,” said Ken Finnegan, assistant director of security at Columbia University. Located in an urban environment known for high crime, Columbia has security phones both on campus and neighboring blocks.
But in his four years at Columbia, he couldn’t remember an incident when police intervened as a result of a security phone call, nor did he know of any arrests. He estimated that the telephones are used for just five to 10 actual emergencies each year. In fact, only one security administrator that AskStudent.com contacted, an assistant police chief at Northwestern University said he knew of an incident where campus police stopped a crime in progress because a student used the security telephone.
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March 25, 2007
Weird Science: Mad premeds, power tools and a limitless supply of rodents and rubber gloves. What twisted experiments are young evil geniuses conducting this summer?
In high school, summer used to mean ice cream trucks and rocket pops.
But now, summer means a mad scramble to find a job. Some students seek internships with prominent corporations, honing valuable photocopying and filing skills in high rises across the country. Others return home, paying bills by working in retail or perhaps the expedited food service industry. Many students, though, are drawn like moths to the fluorescent lights of research laboratories.
Working in lab may or may not be the most exciting, entertaining or stimulating job, but it does pay pretty good. The rewards of lab work are measured differently. Not only do you get unprecedented autonomy in a summer job, not only can you take part in cutting edge research that might cure the most devastating diseases on the planet, you also get an unlimited supply of rubber gloves. Cool.
Surprisingly, there’s a wide variety of jobs available in laboratories. The term “lab” is roughly equivalent to “business” in that it incorporates hundreds of different pursuits in one word, (albeit a shorter one with fewer s’s). Students doing lab work could be unraveling the mysteries of DNA, working on the cure for cancer or studying the pigments in a Monet. Sounds a hair more enticing than photocopying, right?
The first student I talked to was Nathan. Nathan was part of a team attempting to convert anthrax toxin into a magic bullet to target and attack diseased cells in the human body such as cancer cells.
First, a little background on this amazingly cool project. The anthrax toxin is composed of two basic parts: a toxin (bad) and an injector. When proteins in the injector align, a hole forms and the toxin enters the targeted cell. Schmitt’s group hoped to replace the lethal toxin with a therapeutic compound. Essentially, the converted anthrax toxin would work as a mini hypodermic. It would be injected into a diseased person (by a big hypodermic) and the treatment would go throughout the body and wipe out diseased cells. Nathan was in charge of figuring out how the protein changed shape during the injection.
Although he checked in with a mentor occasionally, Nathan designed experiments and was his own boss. Instead of worrying about someone peering over his shoulder the entire time, he could make his own decisions and act on them. There was one definite drawback to Schmitt’s research, however. In social settings, whenever Schmitt mentioned he worked with anthrax, people tended to flee.
Another researcher, Chris, who requested that only his first name be published, worked with rats to discern how learning and memory function. He injected a protein responsible for memory into different regions of the rats’ brains and monitored how the rats’ memory was affected. His first shock in lab came when his co-workers handed him one of those Black and Decker 2000 function tools and asked him to drill into a rat’s brain for an assay. Apparently that was function number 1789.* But Chris used other tools as well.
“I almost had to draw the line,” Chris said, “when they handed me a pair of scissors and told me to cut the rat’s head off … almost.” Chris also enjoyed a remarkable amount of freedom in his research, conducting his experiments as he saw fit.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Experiences of a College Student working at an Auto Shop
March 24, 2007
Crash Test Dummy : On the road of summer jobs, there are drivers and passengers. The author doesn’t want to be either.
When I set out to find a job this summer, I had a single objective in mind — to earn more than minimum wage. After spending the previous summer scrubbing popcorn, gummi bears and unidentifiable goo from a movie theater floor, I realized the purpose of minimum wage labor is to utterly destroy the human spirit. While the same might be said for work in general, I’d rather be paid more than $5.15 an hour for the destruction of my spirit.
Intent on my noble purpose, I tried networking with every rich person I’d ever met. I used to be a Boy Scout in a fairly affluent part of town, and this guy I knew from there offered me a job in his auto shop.
I should say I know absolutely nothing about mechanics. Anything more complicated than a see-saw is beyond the realm of my comprehension.
Furthermore, I hate cars. I hate them with a passion. I hate car commercials, I hate car races, I hate it when I get trapped in one of those guy conversations about Z3s and X1000s and all of those other cars that somehow appeal to primal male desire. I don’t even have a driver’s license — I’d rather ride the city bus than mess with horrible automotive things.
But Mr. Wallace offered me more money than anyone else. So I took the auto shop job.
Actually, it was a little more than an auto shop. Like Tom Cruise’s character in “Rain Man,” Mr. Wallace imports cars from foreign countries for extremely wealthy individuals who want extremely nice cars. Mr. Wallace’s auto shop modifies them to conform to all kinds of U.S. standards for emissions, instrumentation, door beams, etc. so the cars can be legally driven on the street.
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