STEM

 Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

  

      Once a week our lesson or activity for the day will be focused on STEM. As an important part of the TEAM curriculum, STEM provides students with valuable information about an area so important in school, society, and in everyday life. Science, technology, engineering, and math are growing fields of study that continue to improve lifestyles around the globe.

      One STEM activity involved students from USU coming to teach the Logan High students about the brain. They brought a sheep's brain and taught about the structure and uses of each part. They then dissected it to really give the students an idea of what the inside of a brain looks like.

                                                      For another activity the students learned how to make lava lamps using canola oil, water, Alka-Seltzer tablets, and food coloring. By combining these ingredients in a plastic bottle, they were able to see how the elements reacted together to form what resembled a lava lamp.

     Activities such as these provide a great learning atmosphere while also proving a lot of fun for the students!

Scholarships

Although college is expensive, there are many ways around the financial discouragement of having the opportunity to attend. One of these ways (and the ideal way for most) is through scholarships.  Scholarships are academic allowances given by certain companies or organizations, either local or national, to students of outstanding achievement. There are many different types of scholarships, all of different amounts and requirements. Some require a high GPA while others look more at the extracurricular activities one participated in. Some are based on ethnic race and others look at writing ability or even strange talents! The options are truly limitless when it comes to finding a scholarship right for you.

Here is a website to search for a scholarship match for you personally:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search

Here at TEAM, we do our best to make sure all our students are prepared for their future education by helping with scholarship applications. If needed, we advise through every step of the process to make sure these kids stand out amongst the crowd of applicants. We really gain satisfaction in seeing all students succeed in obtaining their dreams! We are keen to listen and advise with anything we can while being certain we are giving the students their own voice throughout the process.

FAFSA and Financial Aid

Paying for college is often the biggest barrier separating people from a degree. At TEAM we teach the students about the various forms of aid available to them so they know that college is attainable for all. Through FAFSA and financial aid, the US government, states, and colleges themselves  make college affordable for students from every background.

 

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The application can be found and completed easily online.  It is the form that students must submit to determine need analysis based on their family’s financial information. Through this application, examined by federal processors and sent to the student’s chosen colleges, the colleges will then determine eligibility for state, federal, and college financial aid.

 

Financial aid comes in a number of forms:

·         Grants and Scholarships: The preferred form of aid would be grants and scholarships because they do not have to be paid back. Grants are awarded solely on the basis of financial need. Scholarships on the other hand can be awarded based on need, academics, interests, service, area of study, and various other measures. In each case, an institution simply gives the student money to finance their schooling.

·         Loans: Another form of aid that allows students to earn college degrees is student loans. These loans can be either federal or private, but regardless, must be paid back, and often with interest. Loans require the individual to enter into a binding contract in which he or she promises to repay the borrowed money after a specified amount of time, generally in the years following graduation.

·         Work Study: The final form of aid available through the FAFSA application is known as work-study. This program provides part-time employment for a student at their college to help them finance their education.

College is expensive, there is no denying that. It is important that high school students learn that through scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study, financing such an endeavor is possible for all. The education one gains at the college level will create opportunities that make obtaining a degree worth every penny.

What I gained from Tutoring

When I signed up for TEAM Mentoring in March, one of the first things I learned I’d be doing was tutoring. This made me extremely excited because I felt the opportunity to help younger students with subjects I had previously been through was one of the best ways I could give back to my community.

School was always kind of fun for me, although I struggled in technical subjects like Math and Science, I felt I could contribute to most other subjects. Little did I know, however, that a lot of the mentors were strong suited in the same subjects as well so sometimes I was partnered up with a student who needed help in Geometry or Algebra. Now, I wasn’t terrible at these subjects in high school, it sometimes just took me longer to figure out the problems. This refresher was really good for me and made me think a little harder than if I were to have always helped students in English or History.

Thus far, TEAM has pushed me to want to be better in certain areas in order to help others succeed. It really is such a satisfying feeling to sit down with a student, tutor them on a concept at hand, and seeing their faces light up with excitement when they understand. I definitely now understand why teachers do what they do and why many of them try to push their students to the limit. I think sometimes as students we think our teachers gain satisfaction in killing us with a what-seems-impossible workload.  But really, they are simply preparing us for the big professional world!

What I Gained From Tutoring

I am fairly new to the TEAM mentoring program. Having joined in March, I was only a mentor three months before summer came and ended our regular sessions. However, in just those three months I came to really enjoy being part of something so great.

People always say that helping others is where you find yourself. This couldn't be more true for me as a mentor these past few months. I originally joined TEAM because I saw a poster on the USU campus that advertised a program where one could mentor high school students. Because I'm going to school to become a high school guidance counselor, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get some experience and see if my chosen career path is one that I would really enjoy. TEAM validated for me on a whole new level that the decision I made was the right one.

When I was a junior in high school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Yet, college application deadlines were quickly approaching, where I knew I had to declare a major. After much thought on the issue I began to wonder why I had not received more guidance on exploring career options and forming life goals earlier in my high school career. I began to think that there most have been more someone could have done to help us prepare for life beyond high school. Therefore, I decided I wanted to become a school guidance counselor to help students realize their dreams at a time most critical to their futures. And even more than that, provide the resources and support to help them get there.

TEAM is a program that does exactly that, and more, for the students at Logan High School. Academic tutoring makes sure students will graduate. College readiness (ACT prep, scholarships, FAFSA) ensures that they will get into and be able to afford the college of their choice. Teambuilding encourages friendships and builds life skills of cooperation. STEM teaches them about various fields of study so they can discover what interests them. Service and civic engagement not only build their college applications but teaches them the importance of charity and being involved in ones community.


Being a part of TEAM proved to me that my goals were not unfounded or unrealistic. Helping youth through the various obstacles and challenges associated with high school and future planning  is so needed and so fulfilling. Tutoring allows you to help others, learn about yourself, and form wonderful friendships in the process. I'm grateful to be a part of such an amazing organization that allows me to get so much through giving.

A Favorite Team Building Activity and What I Learned From it

At TEAM we begin each day with  a team building exercise. Often times these activities take the form of games. Therefore they prove a great way to have fun while working together and learning more about one another. One such game that I really enjoyed was a human art project game. With our bodies we had to form a statue of sorts. We were placed in various poses where each person was touching at least two others. One individual would place another in a particular pose. Then the posed person would choose another to pose the person who had just posed them. This continued on until the first person to be posed called that time was up. 

If you gave someone a hard pose, such as a push-up position, they would pick someone to pose you who they knew would give you a harder pose back. In this sense the game related to life: the way you treat people often reflects the way they treat you in return. I have seen this in my life with co-workers, fellow students, and family members. Being kind to another will create a relationship wherein each person is willing and eager to help the other person, not make life difficult for them. In essence it portrayed the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Furthermore, many poses were hard to hold for such an extended amount of time. There was a great deal of muscle shaking and yelled versions of  "Come on! Let's end this!" However, we were able to help each other by sharing the weight and pass time more quickly by laughing with each other instead of focusing on how uncomfortable we were. This too reflects reality wherein struggles are easier to bear when you learn to lean on friends and find the good amid the bad. We all know that life can be so hard at times. I've learned that when I rely on friends and family, and take time to have fun and laugh when I'm overly stressed, things always turn out okay. 

Not only are team building activities enjoyable, but they remind us all the importance of working together and realizing each other's strengths to get past our weaknesses. 

America the Beautiful

As citizens experience hardship in today’s economy and as acts of violence and terrorism seem to occupy much of the media today, it makes it difficult for anyone to remember what made our great nation one of the strongest, most respected countries in the world. The appreciation I hold in my heart for all, both past and present, who have acted with integrity and bravery for the benefit of my beloved country cannot be sufficiently expressed.

Having the opportunity to visit several different countries in Europe was one of the biggest eye openers for me. It put a whole new perspective on how I view the world and gave me a greater appreciation for my homeland. I witnessed struggle. People on every street corner begging for anything you could spare. People along the sidewalks in bitter cold conditions with children and elderly that had no more than the shirt on their backs and maybe a thin blanket to keep warm, most with no shoes. I know that much of it was honest struggle, I saw too much of it for it not to be. So, with that picture now implanted in my mind, I have developed a new love, a new respect for America and the opportunity and the freedom she offers to all.

Although it is difficult to keep in mind at times, especially in our current economic state, we really do live in the greatest nation. I truly do believe America’s creation was divinely inspired. She was created with the intentions of freedom, justice, and liberty for all citizens. She grants people the freedoms to speak freely, practice one's own religion, and publish writings such as what I deliver to you today. America is created on the foundation of opportunity, honesty, and hard work. May we, as responsible citizens, never abuse what our remarkable nation offers us.

 Freedom to me means the freedom of choice. The freedom of what I want in life and having the opportunity to take me there. The freedom of being a woman without worry of restrictions that would hold me back from my goals and dreams. There is nothing more comforting or inspiring than the thought of my freedom. So today, as we celebrate the first and most important historical event as the United States of America, let’s not let our thoughts be so preoccupied with the annual social events and activities that we forget about exactly what made America the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

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What America Means to Me

Stars and stripes. Baseball and barbeques. Ford and fireworks. These are the things that I immediately picture when I hear the word America. Yet, when I ponder what America really means to me, abstract adjectives replace rather basic nouns. America truly means freedom, bravery, and pride.

 

The association of America with freedom is so common as to seem cliché, but freedom and equality will never be overused or go out of style. America was founded as a place where the individual could think freely and live according to his or her own beliefs. It served as a land of opportunity where hard work would merit profit. Both of these ideals still hold true today. People came to America seeking freedom of choice, and that’s what they received. For me this means I can practice the religion I want, attend the school I want, and attain the career I want. Living in The United States of America allows me the privilege of fating my own life.

When acknowledging the true meaning of America I can’t help but remember and appreciate those whom I owe for the freedoms I spoke of above. From the founding of our country, through two world wars, to current political problems across the globe, countless men and women have fought to protect the land we hold so dear. American heroes embody bravery. Acknowledging the lives lost, picturing the countless memorials erected for them, and thinking of all they gave up to stand for something great, I can’t help but associate our nation with courage and valor.

 

 

It’s no secret that Americans are a group who love their country. The countless flags hoisted around the nation provide proof of the patriotism so prevalent. The silence of great crowds when the National Anthem is performed at various events is evidence to me of the respect the American people hold for the nation. I can honestly say that I am proud to be a part of a country that grants so much and for a people that acknowledge its good. Pride in this nation for freedoms and opportunities, and those who made such possible, will forever be a defining characteristic of the American people.  

Lee Greenwood summed up America in its true form- freedom, bravery, and pride- perfectly in but a few short lines: “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.” I love and hold gratitude for this beautiful country we live in. This time of year reminds me of how lucky I am to have been born in The United States. The Fourth of July, Independence Day, gives us all a chance to celebrate America and what it stands for. However, I do think we could all aim to remember, even just a little more frequently throughout the year, what America really means.