What is Coe's Center for Creativity and Careers?

By Paige Waskow



Many people know or have heard of C3 here at Coe, but what do they do and how can they help you? How can you get that internship you've always wanted or make a lasting impression at a job? I talked with Joe Demarest, an Internship Specialist at C3, to ask some questions about what C3 does and how everyone can take steps towards having a successful post college career.

What is your job at C3?

So my title is Internship Specialist, but I deal with a lot more than just that. All the C3 consultants help with career exploration and consulting. We all help students get connected to Cedar Rapids and engage with community members.

What can students get help with?

I think it really is about meeting the student where they are at. One of the first questions I ask is: How can I help you? Not every student needs the same interaction and has the same needs. For some students it can be an interest inventory (like looking at majors) or job shadowing. Sophomores and Juniors typically do cover letters, job searching, and networking. It could be making the transition from the academic environment to real world.

What opportunity should every student take at C3?

I think every student should meet with us at least once to see where they want to be in the future. Different career paths may change how much a student interacts with C3. Their experience, if in the hard sciences, may be more professor based versus a student who wants to be in social work and needs help connecting with nonprofits. My biggest fear is a student leaving thinking that they are going to be happy but not having experiences and not having it figured out. Outside input is great for every student.

What are the most important things a student should do each year?

Freshman:

Freshman year is really about transition to college, 1st semester is getting into the new environment, and learning what you need to do to be successful. Asking: what might my future hold? And thinking about thing long term. Freshman should start trying different things and doing networking opportunities through C3.

Sophomore:

Sophomore year can often get lost in the mix. Ideally a Sophomore should start thinking more about how they can do some real exploration along the lines of summer opportunities and research. They should have more conversation about things like LinkedIn and start thinking about audience. Asking: How am I starting to engage? Some themes include: Internships to just get some experience. A working cover letter. More leadership opportunities in clubs. Considering life after college. (Grad school, working, etc.)

Junior:

Junior year is very important, you don’t want to slip through and not pay attention. It is a continuation of what has been done Sophomore year.

Senior:

Senior year is a lot about tying up loose ends such as practicums and ensuring that you are able to graduate. There should be more focus on life after college but still finishing strong.

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In your experience, what kind of students stand out the most when applying for internships, jobs, etc.?

Those that start early (and it doesn’t need to be full throttle but it does need to be engaged.) Acknowledging time and how important it is and how fast it really goes. If you always think you have more time, you don’t realize how quickly it goes until it is gone.

What C3 event should every student attend?

You should attend all of them. The career fair is one that would be really good to go to. Getting to know local employers and opportunities even for 1st year students is very important. Getting on the company’s radar as an interested student and making connections can be really helpful. Sip and Socialize is another good event to attend. So many jobs are being landed through networking and being able to connect with alumni. Data shows that networking is key. It’s also about learning how to have those conversations with professionals when you leave college.

Thanks to Joe for taking the time to answer my questions!

The War on Food

By Paige Waskow

Making healthy choices can often be misleading and discouraging. It can lead to unhealthy diets and obsession with weight rather than health. It can push a person to eat more, eat less, only eat x, not eat y… and on and on it goes. The war on food is tiring and often incredibly inaccurate. We do need to think about food and what it means because what we consume matters. So, how should we eat? These are four tips that can hopefully point you in the direction of healthy food!

1. Eat slow food

Like snails? Maybe. But what I am really getting at here is the less processed food you eat, the better. Processed food is typically full of what is known as empty calories. As stated by Harvard's health website:

'All food contains calories, and we need a certain amount of calories each day. But some foods provide not only calories but also other ingredients that also are critically important, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and others. When a food provides primarily calories, and little else of value to our health, we say that food has "empty calories,"' (Anthony Komaroff, MD).

Heavily processed, empty calorie food is typically made fast and is quickly available to a consumer (ex. fries, soda, and slushies). Additionally, it typically isn't fresh and lacks nutrition that our bodies need. "Slow food" on the other hand, is the type of food that takes a longer time to prepare, grow, and even consume (Slow Food USA). Examples of this could include fresh produce and homemade meals from scratch. To learn more about the slow food movement, check out the Slow Food USA website here.

                          

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2. Taste the rainbow

(Not like Skittles!) Eating in color can help you balance your meals. For example, many a high school lunch contained something like the following: a breaded chicken patty on a bun, canned peaches, and corn. Notice anything strange? All the food is a slightly different golden-y color. This isn’t a very balanced or nutritious meal. By eating according to color, you can get a better balanced meal and more of the stuff your body truly needs. Fruits and veggies are especially colorful and that is a good thing! Get some green, yellow, purple, and red on your plates.

One thing to add is that this doesn’t mean processed foods with artificial colors. Yes, M&M cookies and Airheads have a lot of colors, but they are most definitely not a balanced meal. For more information about the science behind color in food, check out this cool website from the Food Network here!

                                        

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3. Eat more whole grains

Grains can be good for you, but it depends on the type. There are two types of grains, whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains are not altered and have many vitamins and fiber whereas refined grains are essentially processed to only provide carbohydrates (Bjarnadottir, 2017). This means that refined grains can be considered as empty calories, and you aren't really getting much out of them.

Want to take a wild guess at the kinds of foods that contain or are refined grains? If you said pop tarts, white bread, bagels, and cake, sadly, you'd be right. Anything that contains white flour is refined, and you aren't getting your bang for your buck in the nutrition department. Can this cause further problems?: Yes. As Adda Bjarnadottir of Healthline says, "Refined carbs cause rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels, and only make you feel full for a short time. This is followed by a drop in blood sugar, hunger and cravings," (2017).

So, can you still eat grains and avoid refined ones? Of course! Whole grains are typically labeled as such and include foods such as popcorn, oatmeal, bread, and pasta. The more processed a food is, the more likely it isn't a whole grain.

4. Try new food!

Everyone has that one food they have never tried and yet, it is surely has to be the most disgusting thing in the world. I am guilty of doing this, and my "no" food is beets. I've only had beet juice (why would they do that!?), which wasn't a great experience (it tasted like sweet dirt), and I have yet to attempt them in solid food form (I really don't want to). I often see them at the Caf, baked or sauteed, and I refuse to put them on my plate. So, I definitely need to try my own tip.

Trying new foods is a great experience, even if you don't end up liking the food. I discovered a few years back that I love brussel sprouts. They are now my favorite vegetable. Ever. Had I not tried them at a friend's house, I wouldn't have known that I was missing out (and that I could eat something healthy that I really enjoyed). My point here is that trying new foods doesn't hurt you. Yes, you may rush to get some water, but you also might find a food you love. It's a great way to expand your palette, eat more colors, and discover something great.

                       

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Please note that this isn’t a perfect guide (especially if you have a dietary constraint) but rather some direction to eating well. Everyone’s bodies are different! My intention is additionally not to body shame or suggest dieting to “fit” a societal beauty standard. Things like weight do not determine how healthy someone is and should never be the basis of how someone is viewed in society (although we seem to struggle with that).

Thanks for reading!

References:

Bjarnadottir, Adda. “Why Refined Carbs Are Bad for You.” Healthline, Healthline, 4 June 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-refined-carbs-are-bad.

Komaroff, Anthony. “Understanding Empty Calories.” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, June 2016, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-empty-calories.

Slow Food USA. “About Us.” Slowfood USA, 2019, www.slowfoodusa.org/about-us.

Television Food Network. “Eating by Color.” Food Network, 2019, www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/photos/eating-by-color.

Advocating Info Graphic

By Paige Waskow

As a follow up to the previous post on advocating for yourself, this info graphic is a quick guide that sums up what you need to know!

View here!

If you have any questions or other tips for advocating for yourself, please leave them in the comment section below.

Resources:

Choi, Lily. “How to Advocate for Yourself as a Woman of Color in the Workplace.” How to Advocate for Yourself as a Woman of Color in the Workplace, The Everygirl, 20 June 2018, theeverygirl.com/being-a-woc-in-the-workplace/.

Patel, Deep. “10 Powerful Ways to Stand Up for Yourself in Any Situation.” 10 Powerful Ways to Stand Up for Yourself in Any Situation, SUCCESS, 4 April 2017, www.success.com/10-powerful-ways-to-stand-up-for-yourself-in-any-situation/.

Galinsky, Adam . “How to Speak up for Yourself.” How to Speak up for Yourself, Ideas.ted.com, 17 Feb. 2017, ideas.ted.com/how-to-speak-up-for-yourself/.

McLeod, Lea, Feeling Frustrated? How to Advocate for Yourself at Work. The Muse, 5 July 2013, www.themuse.com/advice/feeling-frustrated-how-to-advocate-for-yourself-at-work.

Nunez, Vivian. “Self-Advocacy Is A Learned Skill.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 June 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/viviannunez/2016/06/17/self-advocating-is-a-learned-skill/#13e24f787f14.

How do you ADVOCATE for yourself?

By Paige Waskow

Advocating for yourself can often be really hard. Like, really REALLY difficult. You may have to talk to a boss, a professor you dislike, or a friend who is making you uncomfortable. It may be as simple as asking your roommate to turn off the light at a certain time or as complicated as asking for funding for research. Yet, we need to advocate for ourselves. It is an incredibly helpful skill to have and will help you move forward to do the things you want to do. You will be able to gain confidence and compromise with others, while pursuing your goals and needs. By starting now, you will benefit yourself in future jobs and interactions with people.

Here are three tips and reminders about advocating for yourself:

(In addition, look out for more tips in an additional posts coming soon!)

1. It might be uncomfortable or put you in an awkward position, but that is okay

Standing up for yourself is often uncomfortable. It is an active action and requires stepping out of passivity and not accepting the current situation to ask for what you want. It may not be received well or you may not get the answer you want. The goal is not to change everything to be perfect but to address a particular need or concern. In addition, talking about a problem when it first comes up allows for you to hopefully avoid further complication and make your insight heard.

2. You need to actually do something about it

It is really, incredibly easy to do nothing at all. It is even easier to gossip about a problem and perpetuate how upset you are about it. This may be obvious, but this solves absolutely nothing. If anything, it may make your problem worse. The person may take offense to gossip and make it harder for you and your wants to be acknowledged and taken seriously in the future. It takes courage and uncomfortability to talk to someone, as mentioned above, but it is your best chance at getting an outcome that is favorable to you. Without taking that step, the situation you are in will continue to be the same.

3. Advocating for yourself will get easier with practice and is a learned skill

Small steps:

Although you may and can accomplish a big advocating goal whenever you want to, it is often helpful to get in the practice of starting small. Practice figuring out what you want or what you see a problem with. This is not to say you should always feel the need to address everything, but if you have a legitimate opinion or concern about something, have the conversation. This will help you prepare for the future, become more comfortable talking to others, and build the habit to address a pressing concern.

Small wins and compromise:

Not every conversation will go well or how you want it to. Perhaps your teacher did not understand why you think that their homework assignments are sporadic and do not help you learn. Or maybe, your boss will not change your shift exactly how you want it. This can be extremely frustrating, as we often have one idea of the perfect situation, however, small wins can be a big deal and so can compromise. By creating even that small change, you have changed something. And now, the person you talked to knows it is a concern to you! Your situation will most likely be more in your favor. In addition, remember that you have the right to ask and your concern is legitimate.

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I want to add that this may be particularly difficult for many people in society and in certain situations. There is often a lot of backlash or disregard of importance when a person tries to advocate for themselves. Being a woman, person of color, part of the lgbtqia+ community, physically disabled, pregnant, Muslim (or of another religious group), or having social anxiety can affect how people are treated and viewed when speaking up (and this is not a complete list).This is not to alternate confidence of speaking up but to address that this is a real problem we have in society. The more we address it and talk about it, the better we can support ourselves and others to be more confident in how we advocate for ourselves.

Resources:

Choi, Lily. “How to Advocate for Yourself as a Woman of Color in the Workplace.” How to Advocate for Yourself as a Woman of Color in the Workplace, The Everygirl, 20 June 2018, theeverygirl.com/being-a-woc-in-the-workplace/.

Patel, Deep. “10 Powerful Ways to Stand Up for Yourself in Any Situation.” 10 Powerful Ways to Stand Up for Yourself in Any Situation, SUCCESS, 4 April 2017, www.success.com/10-powerful-ways-to-stand-up-for-yourself-in-any-situation/.

Galinsky, Adam . “How to Speak up for Yourself.” How to Speak up for Yourself, Ideas.ted.com, 17 Feb. 2017, ideas.ted.com/how-to-speak-up-for-yourself/.

McLeod, Lea, Feeling Frustrated? How to Advocate for Yourself at Work. The Muse, 5 July 2013, www.themuse.com/advice/feeling-frustrated-how-to-advocate-for-yourself-at-work.

Nunez, Vivian. “Self-Advocacy Is A Learned Skill.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 June 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/viviannunez/2016/06/17/self-advocating-is-a-learned-skill/#13e24f787f14.