At Maria, we are not surprised that the #1 and #10 of “The Best Jobs of 2012” are Registered Nurse and Occupational Therapist.  We want you to know why these healthcare career choices are great!

U.S. News and World Report ranked each of their “25 Best Jobs” by considering average salary, predicted job prospects, and an assessment of job satisfaction. The jobs on their list ranked high in these factors. In the current economy, isn’t it good to know that the nursing and occupational therapy professions have great salary and job prospects through 2020?

It is also good to know that nursing and occupational therapy jobs have qualities that make a good job great.  U.S. News and World Report named four areas that put job satisfaction right up there with salary and job outlook.

Are you interested in job flexibility, responsibility, community, and opportunity? As for job flexibility, there are both part-time and full-time opportunities for nurses and occupational therapists – so home and family life can be balanced with your job schedule.

When you think about variety on the job, it’s hard to get bored in these two professions! Variety can come from working with different populations of people age-wise, to working in different healthcare environments, to working in a specialization area such as community health.

Naturally, helping others in the community is a common thread in healthcare professions, as is the satisfaction in helping people live life to the fullest.

And… the opportunity for you is there!  Opportunities for nurses and occupational therapists will continue to be there at least through 2020! The nursing profession is expanding, and that means great hiring opportunities for qualified RNs. In the immediate future, occupational therapists are especially going to be needed for rehabilitation of veterans and in working with the elderly.

If you want to choose a great job, a great career – choose Maria!

As an added bit of fun, we’re going to take this opportunity to have yet another photo contest! We are asking you to bring your cameras to the BBQ and take some awesome pictures while you enjoy great food and socialize with your fellow students. After all is said and done, choose ONE photo you’d like to enter (multiple entries will be disqualified) and post it to our Facebook Wall (you’ll have to ‘Like’ us first if you don’t already).

The photo that receives the most ‘Likes’ by 3pm on Friday, May 4, will receive a Maria College hoodie.

Good Luck!

MTV’s three-time Emmy-award-winning series MADE is looking for college students from ages 18-26 who want an opportunity to change the rest of their lives. Looking to create opportunities for students, MTV will help you find your path with real world experience.

Do you think you’re the next MTV MADE star? Then come by Maria College on Wednesday, March 28 from 11-3pm, where MTV will be holding open casting.

PLEASE NOTE: Paperwork MUST be filled out prior to attending the casting. Please visit the Maria College Facebook page to download or stop by the Development Office, Room 102 in Marian Hall to pick up a copy of the forms.

We hope to see you there and to help in achieving your dreams. Don’t let this pass you by; this is an opportunity you do NOT want to miss!

This thoroughly researched book by a Pulitzer prize-winning author reflects true storytelling at its best.  America’s first frontier was right here on the East coast.

The clash of cultures, not only between Native Americans and white Europeans,

but also between the cultures within each side — French and English, Puritans and Quakers, Lutherans and Catholics, as well as natives of different tribes — created a violent, merciless and tragic time to be alive in our nation’s history.

Definitely not for the squeamish, historian Weidensaul takes the reader through in astonishing detail the not-so-pleasant facts of America’s earliest days, including starvation, sickness, particularly the devastating impact of European diseases on natives, endless hard work, torture, cannibalism, war, scalping, slave trading on

both sides, and white captivity.  Some, like Mary Rowlandson and Susannah Willard Johnson, survived to write accounts of their ordeals, giving unique insight into cultural contact between the races, as well as religious mindsets.  When intermarriage produced offspring, these individuals struggled to find a place for themselves between two very different worlds in this turbulent young country, where there was constant tension between natives and colonists for control of what each believed was their land.  Occasional, unexpected acts of kindness were documented and are also noted.

Samuel von Pufendorf, a German philosopher and historian, wrote in 1673, “More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature’s causes.”  How

true this was in the harsh and terrifying days of early America.  Highly recommended.

Review by Elizabeth R. Bouchard

Librarian

February 18, 2012

According to the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (Teacher Preparation Research: Current Knowledge, Gaps, and Recommendations), clinical experience may be the most powerful component of teacher preparation. “Learning to teach typically involves spending considerable time in schools participating in field experiences of varying lengths, the staples of teacher preparation programs. “

Experience what teaching is like at Maria!

Our Maria College Education students have just finished up their in-school observations and are excited to begin their Observation Participation Training (one half day per week) during the spring semester. At Maria, weaving theory with experience has always been at the core of our education program. These experiences reveal what the job of teaching is really like. As a result, our future teachers better understand curriculum and instruction, and gain classroom management skills while doing it!

Go make a difference – be a teacher!

Did you know that Maria offers two paths to reach your goal?

The Early Childhood Education Degree program prepares you to work with young children and families, in both educational and social service settings. It offers an excellent opportunity for transfer to four-year colleges and universities, making this two-year degree an exceptional, cost-effective alternative to advance your education.

The Education Transfer program prepares you for transfer to four-year institutions to pursue childhood, middle childhood or secondary education degrees and certification. You take courses in educational theory and practice, including field observations and participation. A considerable amount of liberal arts courses are taken, too. The result is a well-rounded experience at Maria, ensuring successful transfer to an education or liberal arts four-year degree. At Maria, you really can start here and go anywhere!

Is this the job for you?

It is if you like being in close contact with people, if you are sensitive to others’ needs, if you have the ability to teach others how to do something, and if you are capable at verbal communication. This is the job for you if you want to help improve clients’ quality of life and ability to perform daily activities to increase their independence.

In New York State, the average salary was $45,390 in 2010 (the latest figure available from the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Maria sets the stage for your success.

Day and weekend options empower you to manage your own education. In Maria’s accredited Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, you will learn in the classroom and in fieldwork placement as you prepare for the national certifying exam. Your success awards you the title Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).  It is perfect training for someone who wants to begin working right away after completion of the degree. Transform your learned skills into caring service in the workplace and the community. Choosing a college? Choose Maria!

Students are hard at work on their final research papers for the semester. They have chosen to research some fascinating topics such as non-pharmaceutical treatments for fibromyalgia, the effects of parental favoritism among children, and what nutrition is best for a successful workout.

Writing research papers is a fact of college life, but did you know that those papers have a really important impact on finding a job after graduation?

According to Katharine Hansen, Ph.D., and Dr. Randall S. Hansen from the Quintessential Careers ® website at http://www.quintcareers.com, three of the top skills most sought after by employers are communication skills: “By far, the one skill mentioned most often by employers is the ability to listen, write, and speak effectively. Successful communication is critical in business”; analytical/research skills: “Deals with your ability to assess a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more information if necessary, and identify key issues that need to be addressed”; and computer/technical literacy: “Almost all jobs now require some basic understanding of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email.”

Wow! Academic research papers develop all three of those skills! To all of our Composition I students, I say, “Write on!”

Anne Devlin, Composition I instructor

Did you know…

New York is one of the top five states for earning potential for paralegals and legal assistants? In the Capital/Northern New York Non-Metropolitan area, the average salary was $54,230 in 2010 (the latest figure available from the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Where will you work?

Paralegals are essential support to law firms, corporate legal departments, and government offices. As the U.S. population expands, more legal services will be sought-after. You can serve the workplace and the community as you work side-by-side with lawyers in areas such as healthcare, elder issues, environmental law, criminal law, and intellectual property.

Maria will get you there.

At Maria, you have your choice of two paths to this career. Our Paralegal Degree Program leads to an Associate’s Degree. It is perfect training for someone who wants to begin working right away after completion of the degree.  Our Certificate Program is just right for someone who already has a college degree.  Both paths lead to a rewarding career with room for continued learning on the job, and advancement with experience.

You’re made for online courses

If you’re a millennial, you’d benefit from exciting and active learning in our online courses.  They are so much more than you think!  Multimedia technologies engage your “techy side” and keep you interested!  Interactive communication gets you connected with the professor and others in the class. Think of your online class as social network! And on top of all of this – you’re learning!

There are more nursing job choices than you might think! The intellectual stimulation and satisfaction of nursing is yours in so many different environments.

Hospital departments are so varied

From the maternity ward to geriatrics, from the emergency department to the intensive care unit, from the medical-surgical unit to the operating room. But exciting and rewarding opportunities go beyond the hospital!

Serving in the workplace and the community

From here, Maria nursing graduates can go anywhere, bringing the excellence of their education with them to …

• School nursing
• Patient care settings – physician offices and surgical-centers
• Dialysis centers
• Flight nursing
• Home health care
• Hospice work
• Drug and medical companies

These can be in your future, and Maria can set it in motion!