The Last Post

As apparent in the lack of my last few blog posts, it’s been a crazy few months. I ended my term of service with College Possible in Omaha in the end of June and have been ever grateful for my experiences in the past year.

My favorite moments and memories from this year:

Increasing my student’s ACT scores 13%!

Making new friends that are all service-oriented and come from all over the country.

Going on campus visits with students (their first time on a college campus)!

Buying a car with the help of my awesome neighbors, Jen and Paul (baby Jacob was helpful too).

Moving away from home and being HAPPY.

Battling mice and cockroaches (not a favorite, but significant).

Working with students to become better and stronger writers.

Learning how to be patient. Four months of not having students changed my ability to tough it out.

One of my students telling me that  no one ever believed in her until I encouraged her. I didn’t take no for an answer.

Making a new best friend.

Learning that my passion and my career do not have to be one in the same.

Working with other AMAZING AmeriCorps that were supportive and encouraging in my most trying moments.

Learning how to truly pack up my life into a car (probably the last time in my life that will ever happen).

Living life without regrets.

All in all, it’s been a year of growing up. I wouldn’t go back and change anything. While there were definitely moments of crying alone in my car, I know that I have become a stronger and more faithful in my purpose on earth. Thank you to all of my readers and friends for your support, encouragement, and listening ears. 

This is my last blog post on Kbizz in Home-aha.

Please follow my new blog: Kbizz in the Twin Cities. I am on a personal challenge to post every week, so you know it will be entertaining! 

The Buick is Officially Gone

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since the 94 Buick Century was stolen from the streets of Omaha. After much hope that it would be found in a parking lot somewhere after being taken out for a joy ride, I have come to the understanding that I might not ever see it again. Here are a few parting words...

My fondest memories of the Buick:
Driving from St.Paul to Hudson for the first time without any real brakes in the middle of winter.
Folding my twin mattress in half and shoving it into the backseat.
Driving around in the summer with all the windows down because the air conditioning didn't work.
The clock ALWAYS being off my a strange interval (18 minutes, 1 hr 23 minutes, 47 minutes).
Low-riding in the bench seat.
The built-in ashtrays in the back seats.
No cup holders!

I will now be moving on to a newer car (in the 2000s), but will never forget my good times with the Buick. It will be missed!

Omaha: A Year to Remember

If I were to write a book about my life, I believe I would focus on my time as an AmeriCorps due to the crazy situations I seem to find myself in each week. These are my chapters thus far:

Chapter 1: No office, supervisors, students or functioning cell phone service.
Chapter 2: We have students! Wait, no we don't. Wait, what?
Chapter 3: It's November, and we still don't have students. What have I been doing for 3 months?
Chapter 4: Woah, I have 40 students?
Chapter 5: A mouse in the house. Also, on the nightstand next to my bed.
Chapter 6: Whoops, left my check card in the ATM.
Chapter 7: My laptop's been in repair for a month?
Chapter 8: The Buick was stolen from the streets of Omaha.
Chapter 9: Three practice ACTs in 3 months.

I'm sure that I will add to these chapters by the time my term of service is over in June; there's always a new story to share about my life!

A Summary of My Year

College Possible Blog

Checkout this link: http://blog.collegepossible.org/katie-my-unforgettable-college-possible-momen to read about my Unforgettable College Possible Moment!

Step 1: Increase Math ACT Score

So I have a LOT of reviewing to do. Myself, as a junior coach, is expected to teach lessons on the different sections of the ACT: English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing. We utilize Kaplan ACT prep curriculum, so I have a great starting point to teach. There are also a ton of other resources that past coaches have saved for our use.

I have no qualms about the English section (it’s all review), the reading section (I enjoy reading strategically) or the Science and Writing sections. Math, however, has been messing with me. In high school I was always in the normal math classes and enjoyed learning new formulas and way to solve problems. It was definitely a class that I had to put effort into but I looked forward to the challenge of doing my math homework: there’s always ONE right answer.

Upon planning for my math lesson for next week, I quickly became overwhelmed. On top of me needing to review and practice using these formulas, I now have my student ACT math scores back.  Most of my students struggled in the sections of “Variable Manipulation” and “Coordinate Geometry”. AKA basic algebra and geometry. I’ve been working with a few of my students outside of class to help them get caught up from missing a session and am amazed at how many of them struggle with basic algebraic functions. They don’t know what an exponent means, how to add/subtract from a negative number, and how to solve for a variable. Obviously not all of my students struggle with this, but about 15% need lots of help.

I’m doing what I can to give them their basic math skills, but I know that this section of the ACT will be the hardest to increase their score in. This week, each student will be working on setting their own individual goals for our time together so I’m looking forward to learning what students want their score to increase to. 

My First Hot Cheeto...

My student were so surprised that I've never had hot cheetos before!

January 28, 2012



Cathedral Flower Festival

On Sunday, January 29th, myself, Kelly and Lydia attended the Cathedral Flower Festival held at St. Cecilia Cathedral. The theme for this year's festival was "Garlands and Garments". 

St. Cecilia Cathedral

Girls Afternoon Out

A replica of Kate Middleton's dress: I did get up at 3 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding.

Of course I had to pose with Prince William and Harry!

Classic Pose, you knew it was coming! 

Baseline ACT Complete!

One of the first major milestones occurred for College Possible Omaha last Saturday: our students took their Baseline ACT. This is VERY important for our students as without this score, we have no idea where each student is individually starting when they enter the program. I actually get to grade my students’ essays so I should get the most accurate understanding of their ACT levels.

Students had to arrive to South High at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday to take the test. This is after only having our programming for 2 weeks! In our other offices, students tend to have at least a month between when we they start programming and take the ACT. I’m very impressed with the level of dedication and commitment that my students are continuously showing in their quest towards obtaining a college degree. I know that getting up at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday to come and take a 4 hour long test was the LAST thing I wanted to do. Especially for a program I just started!

This week we started our official ACT curriculum, and I learned that a few of my students need a lot of extra help in math and even basic grammar. I’m very interested to continue to see the level that each of my students are at in math and reading comprehension as most of their schedules include multiple A.P. classes. I’m starting to get back into my crazy busy mode that I normally function at so I think I’ll enjoy working with students nonstop for this ACT preparation.

We’ve already got our next practice ACT coming up in February so I’m sure it will continue to be crazy for the months ahead. As of today, January 29, 2012, I am officially halfway through my term of service with College Possible Omaha. It’s crazy to think that I’ve lived in Omaha for almost 5 months already!

Five months down, five to go! 

On the news!

For those of you interested in seeing something I've been up to, checkout the video below!

http://www.ketv.com/news/30224791/detail.html

We have Students: the First Week of Session!

Sorry to all of my readers as I seem to have taken a hiatus from posts for a while. Things got crazy in Omaha and all of a sudden it was winter break! Momentous occasions between my last post and today are:

Two of my best friends roadtripping it to Omaha to visit me

Going back to the Twin Cities for Thanksgiving

Hiring College Possible Omaha’s Executive Director

Visiting my grandparents in Phoenix

Seeing friends in Minneapolis over Christmas

Recruiting College Possible students

AND starting my first week of session!

This past Monday, January, 9, 2012 was my first official day of session in Omaha South Magnet High School. The weeks leading up to winter break were spent recruiting eligible students to participate in our program. To be completely honest, MOST students at my school qualify for College Possible as over 90% of the students in school are on free or reduced lunch. I had over 60 students apply to be in the program, but sadly only have spots for 40. It was hard to tell students that they aren’t in the program, as I can tell that they all need guidance in this college process. I had the unique experience in College Possible of actually being a part of the recruitment process for my own cohort. Normally, recruitment is done during the spring of students’ sophomore year so that they can start right away in their junior year. It made having to say no to some students even harder than normal.

The first week of session was awesome! So many of my students are dedicated to this program and see this as their opportunity to pave a path where their parents never had an opportunity.  Every day I’ve been impressed by the amount of questions and interest all of my students expressed in college and what they can be doing right now to get there. It’s only January and I’ve already had multiple students ask questions about summer opportunities. I know that when I was a junior in high school, that was the last thing on my mind. It’s a true reflection of growing up in a privileged home where college was never an option, it was an expectation.

I’m stationed inside the South High counseling office and have a supportive community surrounding me. Each of the counselors have taken me under their wing to make sure that I stay up to date on what’s going on in the school and help me learn more about the background of my students. Working one on one with students has reinvigorated me to work my hardest to help them do well on their ACT. The past few months in Omaha have been rough as I wanted to be in my school with my students so much. The worst was knowing that they need and want our help, but not being able to access them.

Prior to this week, I’ve kept busy with my part-time job at First Lutheran Church working with the kids in my community. I help with Confirmation and Sunday School almost every week and LOVE IT!

I’ve been slowly exploring all of Omaha’s attractions here. Kelly and I finally went to the zoo yesterday, and yes, it was awesome. It was probably the best zoo I’ve ever been to, and I thought I’d been to some pretty good zoos before. We managed to take advantage of the free Community Day yesterday, which made it much more affordable to attend than normal. What a perfect Saturday venture!

Overall, it’s been a crazy busy week being back in Omaha from winter break but I’m loving every minute of it. I can foresee many struggles and challenges still ahead, but no one said starting a new site would be easy. 

Watch for photos and other short updates on my work with my students!