Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
The CoOp program: The Hidden Treasure of VSB
Interested in coop opportunities once you are in your second semester of sophomore or junior year? Do you even know what a coop is? Well if you thought a coop was the same thing as internship, you were just like me before I attended the coop panel in Bartley which explained all the great things about partaking in these programs. The program works where you work for a company for a period of six months. There are opportunities in a variety of places, whether it be in downtown Philadelphia, New Jersey, or even Massachusetts. At the end of the program, not only do you have real job experience, you get six college credits.
There a variety of firms offering jobs in the program however Villanova has core requirements for participating in the program. In order to be eligible for the program, you need a 3.0 GPA, and your major or minor must have relevance to the program. For example, if you are an accounting major interested in a career in law enforcement, the Delaware county district attorney’s office offers a job for students who are accounting majors. After checking your eligibility, you have to meet with either Kate Grady or Jenna DellOrfano, members of the professional development staff. A key thing in the application is deciding between the fall term and the spring term. The fall term runs from the start of July to the end of December. The spring term is from January to the end of June.
A real interesting thing about the panel was that the representatives for each job were actually students who partook in the programs. Travis Bucknall, a business school upperclassman, talked about his time working for Johnson and Johnson. He was able to help manage funds and work in a variety of departments. Overall though, he talked about how he truly felt that he was making a significant impact on the firm. He contrasted the coop program with his internship where he felt that it was so short that he had little to no impact at all on the firm.
After Travis, a student named Ella talked about her experience working in forensic accounting at the Delaware county district attorney’s office. She was given the opportunity to work on a variety of cases, specializing in financial crime. Ella said the program gave her great exposure to the forensic accounting field and plenty of experience.
All the students that talked about their experiences in their programs had no regrets in partaking in them. While six months may seem like a lot, you are getting college credits in addition to being paid while you work for the firm. The one drawback is the time commitment, your daily schedule is basically just class and work. Unfortunately for any students on sports teams, you will not be able to do the programs.
After leaving the panel, I definitely began to consider applying for the programs next year. You get plenty of experience over the six months, college credits, and even a salary! Next time there is a coop program information session, I would highly recommend attending and hearing what they have to say.
More info about the program can be found at
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Liam's Blog 