I have said it before and I will say it again: sadly, summer is coming to a close. So, there is no time like the present to reflect on it right!? Let’s take a journey through your summer internship. How do you decide if it was worth it? Was it worth your time, your efforts, your free labor? Here are a few simple steps to help you decide.

1. Look at the cost versus the benefit. How many hours did you work? Where did you work? A lot? Not much? Somewhere in the middle? BUT, how much did you gain; either monetary or experience. Personal example my internship called for approximately 10 hours a week, unpaid. However, the experience I gained from the opportunity was priceless. A few things I learned were how to effectively market a product using social networking like Twitter and Facebook; provide feedback as well as look at mock-up websites or product logos with a critical eye; and that it is ok to make a mistake as long as you learn from it.
2. Evaluate your relationships. How would you rate your boss on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best)? We you in agreement with the decisions and business practices of your boss? Did you respect the way situations were handled and did her/her share the same mutual respect for you? Personal example: I felt and still do feel very involved in the company/product I worked with this summer. I receive update emails regularly and have been included on teleconference calls with the board of advisors and was able to speak and share my thoughts. Additionally, I know I have made a long-term contact with not only my boss but with the company. I feel as though I was a part of its building and whenever I look back on it and see its progress I will know I was a part of it and that is where my real hands-on learning/experience began. In other words, I will know who and what to thank!
3. Remain in contact. Once your internship ends, do you feel a desire to remain in contact with your product/task and/or boss? Do you feel connected to it in some way? Personal example: in years to come I plan on looking back on my internship company and seeing how far it progressed after my time. In fact, I plan on checking on it and even using it within the next academic year!
4. Resume. Do you feel as if your resume deserves a new section called Internships? Did you learn enough and perform well enough to add this to your resume and as a possible reference? Do you feel that you, even in a short period of time, required a wealth of skills to utilize in the academic setting but also in the real world (like for your next internship or job)? Personal example: My summer internship was my first formal one. It was a very positive experience and provided me with a  wonderful sense of the real world, accelerating my drive even more to do my best and get out there and make my mark as soon as possible.

All in all, summer and/or any internships are great. They provide everyone with valuable learning experience, especially in the area of communication. However, I will leave you with my one line of caution before accepting an internship: get a BlackBerry before your internship!

Here is a sample schedule for you to try to increase your productiveness and decrease your anxiety:
Tuesday 7/20/10
10PM: Goodnight
Wednesday 7/21/10
8:30AM: Good morning –Try to get up around the same time every day; create a regular sleep schedule.
9AM: Breakfast- eat something that will keep you full for a while so you are not distracted by hunger/snacking. I would recommend a bowl of cereal with fruit with coffee to drink!
9:30AM: Start your studying. Try to study straight through until 12:30PM. This will give you a solid three hours of studying-uninterrupted.
12:30PM: Lunch. Eat a decent size lunch either a sandwich with protein like peanut butter or turkey or a super healthy yogurt parfait. Make sure you munch on some snack foods during lunch so the cravings do not distract you during the rest of your day. Also, if you need to, refill the caffeine with either a second cup of coffee or a cup of tea with honey.
1PM: Relax/Break Time. This is the time to decompress; let your brain take it easy. Watch your favorite shows that you recorded and/or take a short nap. Just relax during this time, until approximately 3PM.
3PM: At this point it is up to you how you spend the rest of your day, but I would suggest the following: 1. Head to the gym. Burn off any excess stress left and get rid of the extra adrenaline which will only cause you anxiety later. 2. Study some more-more review never hurts. Go back to those areas that troubled you (the ones you flagged for review!)
5PM: Dinner time.
6PM: Shower and get ready for bed. I know it sounds really early, but you have had a long day and its nice to be ready early and enjoy that time to relax.
7PM: Until 8PM review what you studied today. Go back and annotate your practice questions. For example, the ones you got wrong, go back and try to figure out why and write down steps. Also, mark questions that still trouble you to come back to at a later time/date with more assistance. Lastly, make sure you know your formulas! Maybe you could create flashcards just for formulas and review them during this time as well.
9PM-10PM: Use this time to relax and to go to sleep in bed. It has been a long day and you are doing it all over again tomorrow morning! Good luck and good night!

America’s most reliable network maybe be Verizon, but YOUR most reliable network is YOU.

You are what you make of yourself. You create your future. You have to weave the web that becomes your catcher’s mitt for contacts.

Here are some tips to master the art of networking:

1. When you meet a good contact, KEEP it. Make sure you always follow up and never let an extended period of time go by without contact. Always send an update and let them know that you are thinking of them and have their best interest in mind. Never forget about the RELATIONSHIP. Never be selfish; do not focus on yourself! Put your customer’s/contact’s needs FIRST. Make sure they know you have their best interest in mind. Never lose track of who you are trying to please… THE CUSTOMER, not yourself!
2. Keep your address book safe! Once you have developed a reliable and respectful list of contacts (it will always be ongoing) make sure you keep your records straight. Make sure you know a bit of history of the contact, get the spelling right, and make sure you keep the email address and phone number safe!
3. Speak the same language as your contact. No, this does not mean literally, but more important, figuratively. If your contact is working with you on a business endeavor, and is a computer wiz, make sure you know a little bit about computers! Personal example: Working with TestSoup and being responsible for a lot of web marketing such as Twitter, I knew it was an subject area I was unfamiliar with. So, I did some research and bought a book written by TK (General Partner of WV,LLC) called Web Advertising and Marketing. I have been reading it and it has genuinely improved my knowledge and understanding.
4. Make a killer FIRST and ALWAYS impression. (Notice how I did not say LAST)! Always dress in Business casual. For example, you can wear jeans, but pair them with a pair of heels like dressy ankle boots (for females!) and or dressy flats. Try to arrange a top that is accompanied by a blazer or tailored jacket. Make sure your hair is in place and makeup neat. Accessorize with jewelry and maybe a scarf but do not be overly gaudy or flashy. You are not going out to a party, but to a business meeting. Try to dress and act on the same playing field as the person you are meeting with. Last but not least…always be prepared!:

• Have all recent emails printed out in date order
• Turn your cell phone on SILENT and put it away
• Have plenty of highlighters, pens, and post-its
• Have your planner out and ready to schedule a next meeting!

5. Be sure to begin and end the meeting in a professional manner. Greet your company with a firm handshake and close the meeting by thanking your guest for their time and remind them what a pleasure it is working with them. Be sure to remind them that you will be in touch!

From a very young age it is so important to have a goal in mind whether it is athletically, academically, or socially. Goals are what you get places in life. Without goals, we would not have motivation.

Here are a few ways to draw your  personal, educational  roadmap:

1. Select an ultimate destination. For example, Harvard Business School.

2. Learn everything you can about the destination like:

• Where is it?
• How long does it take to get there?
• How do I get there?
• How long can I stay?
• What does it have to offer me?
• What do I have to offer it?

3. Using step two, find directions.

•  Seek out a great high school: public or private. If you know you want to study business, research schools that specialize in business tracks. For example, each high school in my district specializes in one area of study like Global Studies, ROTC, Humanities, Business, Law, Communications, etc.
• When you arrive at your respective layover (high school), take as many additional specialized classes as you can to further your knowledge base. For example, don’t stop at Microeconomics…take a Marketing elective or a Website Design class.
• Once your reach that crucial junior year in high school: BE PREPARED for the SAT/ACT. By that time, TestSoup will have its’ SAT/ACT flashcard system up and running!
• After you dominate the college admissions tests, you begin the search.

4. Repeat step 1-3 but this time as it applies to College. Extra Tips:

• Research alumni networks; measure the strength
• Research job placement rates
• Research graduate schools alumni attended
• Read Extra! Extra! Be all about it: The First Year College Experience

5. Arrive at your destination and share your experience with others!

College is no easy transition…for anyone! New place, new people, new opportunities! The key: never let the door close…always OPEN it!

Now that you know how to tackle your anxiety and manage your time, you can certainly MASTER your first year of college. Here are a few tips to guide you to the top (academically, professionally, and socially):

1.Check your email! The first week of school is PRIME time for clubs and activities to solicit you to join them! Actually READ your email! You never know if you only read the subject line! *Personal example: First week of school, I checked my email and found out about SIFE(Students in Free Enterprise) which soon granted me the opportunity I have today working with TestSoup!

2. Read your school’s newspaper/magazine. Even if you only scan the top story headlines, at least you will know what is going on around campus. If you have mastered planning, it is likely that your friends will look to you for plans and or advice around school. You can be the one who is the responsible source for information.

3. Form relationships with your professors up-front. Make it a point to attend their office hours to introduce yourself and do not be shy: ASK QUESTIONS! Professors are passionate about learning and even more passionate about students who crave the same educational success they do. Students can also help professors and educators improve their teaching style and influence the way they approach topics.

4. Always be ahead of the game (sometimes even the professor!) Never wait until the last minute to complete an assignment! Always do it as far in advance as possible, this way if any confusion arises, you can clarify it! You may also save the rest of the class (and maybe the professor) from making the same mistake you did (ie. Typo or unclear directions).

5. Do not be shy as a freshman, or any college student with inexperience. In college, drive matters more than age. Just because you are a freshman, it does not mean you cannot be a leader. Go the extra mile and put yourself out there. If something interests you and you feel passionate enough about it, go for it! *Personal example: September of my freshman year, I became Project Manager overseeing 5 teams (20 total people) working on 5 of Wasabi Ventures, LLC startup companies (TestSoup included!). It was great experience and led me to become co-President of SIFE for the upcoming academic year.

6. Participate! In class, especially in a bigger school, make sure the professor and classmates know your name! A name to a face is very important now and down the road. Participation also demonstrates confidence. A student with confidence is one to admire.

7. Communication is KEY: with friends, professors, advisors, etc. Socially, keep in contact with friends and develop relationships. Relationships and your own support system are very helpful in college when discussing goals, personal lives, and during stressful exam times! Academically, keep in touch with your most talented and influential professors-you never know when you will need a reference or a friendly face to chat. In terms of advisors, especially if you hold a leadership position of any sort, retain contact and always encourage new ideas and never stop developing new ideas. Most of all, don’t forget about your forever-supportive family at home

8. Back to Planning is Proactive: PLAN AHEAD! Bring an umbrella, always have your graphing calculator, and highlighters are MUST! Most importantly, combine your Time Management skills with these new skills and prepare for ALL EXAMS/Quizzes/Papers AHEAD of TIME! For example, by Junior year (if not sooner) start planning for Graduate School. Create a favorites folder in your web browser for top B-Schools, Med Schools, or one of your choosing.  In accordance, plan for your admissions by seeking references, editors/critiques for résumés, and admissions essays. Last but certainly not least, prepare for ENTRANCE EXAMS such as GMAT, GRE, or even AF PDG in advance! Your best resource is for this kind of test prep is TestSoup. TestSoup provides AFFORDABLE, FAST, and ACCESSABLE test prep with its web and mobile based flashcards: BlackBerry ready(iPhone and Android coming soon!) Check it out! Try 25 Free today! www.testsoup.com

1. In order to manage your time effectively (and to reduce stress), invest in a 15-minute or hourly planner.  This will enable you to set a rigid study schedule for months ahead of time! I know it seems intimidating at first, but trust me it will change the way you live your daily life (for the better!)

 2. Establish a routine (this goes along with the idea of the planner); get up around the same time everyday and get to bed around the same time. When scheduling your study time, try to make it around the same time each day, for the same amount of time.

 3. Post-Its are my best friend. I believe they are a necessity to life. Post-It flags come in very handy when studying for big standardized tests such as the GMAT. You should flag* the pages, questions, and/or topics that you need to review and write tips, tricks and notes you thought of while studying. This way you do not waste time figuring out what you already discovered! *Make your life even easier…utilize TestSoup’s flag for review feature on their web and mobile based flashcard system!

4. Stay focused. If your planner says to study for 3 hours; study, and study ONLY. That means turn off and displace your cell phone, and disable your facebook. Isolate yourself from all distractions and keep it that way until you are done! That also means no snack breaks…come prepared to “preparation site” with a bottle of water and eat a healthy snack/meal beforehand!

 5. Keep “tabs” on where you left off in your previous day’s studying. The best way to keep track would be to create a comprehensive study guide and check it off with the date completed when you feel confident enough. The topics that continue to trouble you, circle and review them until you master them. It is important to outline the main ideas of each topic and record equations on a formula sheet so as you are doing your final review, you can quickly go over everything and dive deeper into the areas that do not jog your memory as quickly.

Test anxiety is a horrible thing. However, I have found some ways to overcome it:

1. The source of your anxiety is likely the extra adrenalin you have in your system. The more you have the more you will worry. Thus, working out is a great way to rid yourself of extra adrenalin and make you tired enough to go to sleep early. If you find yourself getting anxious during your practice/studying take a minute and go run up and down the steps or do jumping jacks. I know it sounds ridiculous but it really works. It took me too many years and too much stress until I finally figured that out. Once I implemented the above strategies, my grades went up and my stress levels came down.

2. Try to get up and get to sleep early. Your body is up and functioning for 16 hours. Try to make your sleep schedule work accordingly. Try to get up no later than 8:30AM and bed no later than 11:00PM.

 3. Make sure you know the basics. The core concepts are the key to your success on the exam. Flashcards are the best way to review I find. I would try TestSoup-you can even study with BlackBerry and iPhone apps, on the go, to keep your mind busy. Best of all, TestSoup is affordable at a cost of only $9.95/year.

4. When you are studying, if you are easily distracted, turn your phone on silent and put it away (unless of course you are using the TestSoup mobile apps!). Something that helped me was listening to classical music; I created my own station on Pandora and just listened wherever I was to stay focused.

5. Get PLENTY of sleep the night before. Also, the night before, do not touch a book or any exam prep materials. Schedule your time so that you have completed all of your studying and reviewing prior to the night before! The night before you need only to RELAX. Take your mind off the exam. By that time, you either know it or you don’t. So just try to keep your anxiety to a minimum by watching your favorite movie or tv show. This helps, trust me!

 6. Eat a big healthy breakfast before the exam…the last thing you need is an empty growling stomach before or during the exam!

 7. Visit the test center at least a week ahead of time so you are familiar with it and its location. On test day, make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to arrive. I would arrive to the test site at least 30 minutes early.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Here in New Hampshire, winter lovers still are waiting for the temperatures to drop. It is simply too warm for snowfall and frozen water. When the snow falls and the temperature drops, opportunities for winter fitness activities open up. Some of these activities inherently allow you to burn more calories. Here is a list of winter activities from least to most demanding. (All calculated values are based on a selected weight of 135 pounds):