IEP News

CULTURE SHOCK EXPERIENCE – BY INES CHEN

“Culture shock is a surprise that I love to experience. During my study in Spain, I experienced it a lot. First of all, the way to say hello to friend is very different in Spain than in Taiwan. In my country, we usually just say “hi” and give a pleasant smile to friends; however, Spanish people give two kisses on your cheek when they encounter you. Unforgettably, the first time a Spanish boy brought his lips close to my face, I felt frightened and asked him what he wanted. Another difference is dinner time in Spain, which starts about ten o’clock. That felt incredibly late as I was waiting four hours in my homestay family’s room! Furthermore, Spanish attendants look almost comfortable in doing work. For example, a bank attendant, no matter whether they know you or not, chats with you. If is your turn, you may feel sweet; in contrast, if you are standing in a line, this can drive you crazy. In fact, every country has its unique customs, and culture shock is an experience all foreigners will have. It is unfair to judge or criticize different culture. For me, culture shock in Spain will always be a lovely experience in my memory.”

RESUME TIPS – BY TARANA PATEL

Putting your life achievements on one page

Consider these questions:
§ What is my dream job and how do I want to work towards achieving it?
§ How can I design an effective resume?
§ How can I put down all my achievements on one page?
§ How do I decide whether something I did was an achievement or just something to kill time?
§ What did I really learn from a particular job that affected my personal and professional development?

If you are in the job market or applying for a higher education degree, these are some questions you need to answer while designing your resume.
A resume is essentially a persuasive summary of your achievements, on one page.Writing your resume is not an easy task. However, if you have good knowledge of the resume-making process, it can prove to be a soul searching and self awakening experience. I always hear from my Business English students how much they enjoy designing a document that shows what they have achieved. IT makes them feel accomplished and, most importantly, good. Hence, a resume not only draws a picture of your professional self for your potential employers, but also lays out a path for working towards your future professional goals.
As the world gets smaller with technological advancement and globalization, resume formats are getting more and more standardized and transparent. Resumes are used in most employment situations today and are usually one page long. They main purpose of a resume is giving the potential employers a bird’s eye view of your personal and professional achievements and showing them how well you can fulfill the needs of their organization. Thus, a resume is a marketing tool for letting your future employers know about your skills and abilities.

In order to design an effective resume, you need to consider three major points – a clear understanding of the job you are applying for, a consistent format for presenting your information, a clear idea of which achievement you want to highlight in the resume to attract the reader’s attention. Below are some resources that will help you with designing your own resumes. Remember, it is important to be conscious learners. Even a fast food job can teach you many things like working under pressure, multi-tasking, and managing cash register. All these are important skills for any management job as well. Begin by listing all your professional and educational achievements on a page and then follow the tips from the resources below to design a winning resume. Feel free to come to my office (Rm 229) if you have questions or need more materials to guide you. Good Luck!

Resources:
1. http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/CareerBytes/Headway0900.htm: 15 Tips for writing winning resumes
2. http://www.fedquest.com/resource/15manual.htm#Pages : 15 Minute Resume Manual
3. http://www.itmweb.com/essay504.htm : A good article on Resume Writing from the University of Southern California
4. http://www.e-resume.us/tomecv/default.asp : Free online resume builder

MEMORIES OF IEP – BY CHARLENE PRATT

“IEP began in 1975 with only 25 students—all from Saudi Arabia. These students were the freshman class of the King Faisal Medical University that was being built in Saudi Arabia. KFMU wanted to open its doors with both freshman and sophomore students; therefore, they sent their freshman class to UCR to study English and basic science. What a fun year that was! We all had a wonderful time learning about the Arab culture and visiting places all around Southern California together. Many of the students came with their wives and children and it was like having an extended family. , the director of IEP, Suzanne Hartzell, the coordinator of student services, her husband Chris Hartzell, TESOL instructor, and I all began the program together. Chris had just returned from teaching two years in Korea and I had just returned from teaching 3 years in West Africa. It was an exciting time learning and laughing together.

One of the things we learned was about attendance. When we first began, we did not have an attendance policy. We thought we didn’t need one because we were a university. Towards the end of that first quarter, the teachers would often be the only ones in their classes; the students just didn’t bother to come. That’s when we decided that we had to be a bridge between the students’ families and the university, and we developed an attendance policy.

One of our biggest challenges came after the Northridge Earthquake in January 1994. The dorms at Cal State Northridge had been severely damaged during the quake and Cal State called us to see if we could take 125 Korean kids for a 5-day program—with only 24 hours notice! Well, we did. We put together housing and classes for the students and gave them a great program. The students had visited Universal Studios the day before the quake and they thought that the shaking of their dorms that night was just something the university had done for their amusement, just like the earthquake scenario at Universal!

A year after we began, we got our first Japanese student and we all felt as if a rare bird had flown into our midst—one Japanese among all our Arabs! We slowly grew to the point where we now are, having taught more than 50,000 students from over 100 different countries. When U.S. immigration policies tightened up, we expanded our view by saying, “If the world can’t come to us, then we will go to the world!” Thus, we now also have centers in Seoul, Korea, and Beijing, China.

What I enjoy the most is getting to know and working with all the different nationalities. What I like the least is when our favorite students leave. So, we try to keep as many as we can! Here are a few of our past students who are now our present staff here at IEP. Guilherme Almeida from Brazil is now our Assistant Director and head of marketing and finance. Monica Gargicevich from Argentina is our Cultural Activities Coordinator. Majo Gasparini from Argentina is the Assistant Cultural Activities Coordinator. Tulga Erarslan from Turkey is our IT Coordinator. Elton Marks is our Assistant IT Coordinator. Wan Sun Kim from Korea is our Homestay Coordinator. Honorio Komori from Brazil is our Human Resources Coordinator and Edmund Buenrostro from the U.S., who was a student in our TESOL program, is now our Transportation Coordinator. We also have at least a dozen student workers from six different countries helping out in our offices. These individuals bring a wonderful perspective. They came here just as you did and they know the challenges you face and how they can best assist you to meet those challenges.

We have also had many marriages resulting from this program. Suzanne and Chris met and married here. They have 2 children and their daughter is a senior at UCR and works here. Guilherme and Monica met here, married and now have 5 beautiful girls. Majo met her husband here and they now have a beautiful little girl. Tulga met his wife, Amy, here. Honorio met his fiancé, Jung, here when she was our student. There are many more examples like this and it’s another reason why this program is so enjoyable to work in. It’s like a mini-United Nations and people from all over the world get to meet here.

Teaching ESL and working with international students is really a pleasure. A majority of the students really want to learn and the international atmosphere that they create makes for a rewarding and stimulating work environment. I have often said that I have the best job in the world—and it’s true, I do.”

THINGS TO DO IN RIVERSIDE

Entertainment
Presidential Lounge at Mission Inn
Downtown Supper Club
Sevilla

Shopping
Antique Row
Main Street Mall
Galleria Mall at Tyler
Ontario Mills

Museums
The California/UCR
Museum of Photography
Riverside Art Museum
Mission Inn Museum
Sherman Indian Museum
Orange Empire
Railroad Museum
March Air Field Museum

The Arts
California Riverside Ballet
The Philharmonic Symphony

http://www.riversidecb.com/interface.asp

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Participate in the
ORANGE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL!
Downtown Riverside
May 21-May 22

Volunteer to help at the UCR Citrus Variety Tasting booth
And/or
Participate in the Parade with the
International Relations Council of Riverside
Go to Room #242 and get more information!

CABARET
Where: University Theatre
When: May 6, 7, 13 and 14
Fri & Sat: 8PM
May 14 – Matinee 2:30pm
For more information please call:
(951)827-4331

QUOTES

“If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.”
Edgar Watson Howe
US journalist (1853 - 1937)

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”
Dale Carnegie

“A weak man has doubts before a decision, a strong man has them afterwards.”
Karl Kraus
Austrian author and journalist (1874 - 1936)

We would like to thank Ines (500 level) Bonnie, Tarana and Charlene
for participating in the IEP NEWSLETTER.

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN US?
If you want to help us with the IEP NEWSLETTER, Please, come to Rms. 241/242 or send an email to cpaiva@ucx.ucr.edu