Monthly Archives: May 2013

CISabroad Offers Multi-Country Summer Study Abroad Programs in Europe

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For students looking for a bit more travel with their European study abroad program, CISabroad provides a unique way to visit several countries throughout the course of a summer. The study abroad organization’s set of multi-country summer study abroad programs, the Discover Europe! Summer Series, allows students to spend time in as little as two or as many as four countries in a six to 10 week period. Students will be able to immerse themselves in the cultures of countries such as France, Spain, Italy, England, Ireland and Scotland, while studying subjects like art, film, history, literature, and language. Highlights of some of the programs include touring through scenic countrysides, experiencing the nightlife of thriving cities like London, Barcelona and Paris; studying the works of some of the most influential artists in history, and getting the rare opportunity to spend an extended period of time in several very different European hotspots.

“The European Experience [Ireland, Scotland, England, and Spain] is absolutely the best way to experience multiple countries during the summer,” said Stacey C., a previous Discover Europe! participant in the European Experience program. “You meet new people when you arrive and you can stay friends and most of them throughout the whole experience along with meeting new people along the way. There’re so many excursions that you get to go on and a lot of free time to explore at your own leisure. It is truly amazing to explore all the cultures of these countries, learning and taking your classroom outside by having hands-on learning. It is a great opportunity to have. There are so many historic monuments, museums and famous sights to see and you can pretty much visit it all.”

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The Discover Europe! Summer Series offers eight unique programs, each of which revolves around a certain theme that aligns with the locations visited:

Summer in the British Isles: Ireland, Scotland, and England
- Travel through the Irish and Scottish countryside and study in the heart of London.
- 9 credits in 6 weeks

European Experience: Ireland, Scotland, England, and Spain
-After your adventure in the British Isles (this is an extension to the program above), spend a month in Spain learning Spanish and losing yourself in the vibrancy of Barcelona!
-15 credits in 10 weeks

The Grand Tour: Rome, Florence, Paris and London
-Learn and live art as you follow in the footsteps of the Masters, on this modern day version of the original study abroad program for the elite of European society.
-15 credits in 9 weeks

Film and Art Spectacular: London and Paris
-Explore and experiment with art, cinema, and film in two world-class capitals.
-12 credits in 8 weeks

Gaudi to Monet: Barcelona and Paris
-Focus on the languages and cultures that gave rise to some of the most influential artists the world has ever known.
-12 credits in 8 weeks

Heart of the Renaissance: Rome, Florence and Paris
-Live in these Renaissance cities and learn about their art and history through the eyes of the Masters.
-9 credits in 8 weeks

Mediterranean Culture: Rome and Barcelona
-Learn how the past influences modern life in these important cultural centers and their surrounding towns.
-12 or 15 credits in 8 weeks

City Expeditions: London and Barcelona
-Get immersed in these world-class cities through coursework and excursions that bring the classroom to the city.
-12 or 15 credits in 8 weeks

In order to showcase each of these unique and engaging multi-country summer study abroad programs, CISabroad has created a Discover Europe! Summer Email Series. These emails include detailed information about each of the eight programs, student blogs from CISabroad participants who are currently enjoying their time abroad, program videos that include interviews with current students and faculty; and application deadline reminders.

In keeping with their commitment to make studying abroad as affordable as possible, CISabroad is also running a Discover Europe for Yourself Sweepstakes, offering a $500 discount to one of the Discover Europe Summer Email Series subscribers. For details and a chance to save $500, please visit the Discover Europe for Yourself Sweepstakes page.

About CISabroad:

CISabroad is a study abroad organization committed to providing affordability, support, cultural immersion and academic relevance to its study abroad and intern abroad participants. CISabroad offers summer, semester, May Term, January Term study and intern abroad programs in 19 different countries around the world. You’re going places with CISabroad! For more information, please visit www.cisabroad.com.

Sheryl Sandberg to Graduates: You Are the Hope for a More Equal Future

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid? – Lean In

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAxQXZbhyvM]

By the time they graduate from college, more men than women see themselves as leaders. Lean In asked women to answer the question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Join the conversation: ifuwerentafraid.tumblr.com.

Congratulations, graduates, on this exciting occasion!

I join so many others in celebrating and applauding the hard work and perseverance that earned you your degree. And since no one accomplishes anything all alone, we also congratulate the people who nurtured you along the way—family, friends, and faculty. They share in the pride and joy of your achievements.

If your graduating class is anything like mine, some of your classmates have already pinpointed a path to the future, while others may not even know where to begin. Still, no matter what route you choose personally, I am writing to appeal to you to take on a critically important cause that will improve the lives of all: building a more equal world.

A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. I believe that this would be a better world. The laws of economics and studies of diversity tell us that if we tapped the entire pool of human resources and talent, our collective performance would improve. And studies of home life tell us that families where housework and childcare are shared evenly have happier parents and better outcomes for their children.

Over the past four years, you probably haven’t given much thought to gender inequality. When I graduated from college in 1991—and yes, I realize this was the year that most of you were born—I never thought about it either. My classmates and I believed that the feminists of the 1960s and 1970s had done the hard work of achieving equal opportunity for women. Now all we had to do was seize those opportunities.

But more than 20 years later, we are nowhere near equality for women. In the November 2012 election, women won more congressional seats than ever before, bringing them up to a (non-whopping) 18 percent. A mere 21 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women and the percentage of women in executive roles in corporate America has barely budged over the past decade. The gap is even worse for women of color, who hold just 4 percent of top corporate jobs and 5 percent of congressional seats. This means that when it comes to making the decisions that most affect us all, women’s voices are not heard equally.

The gender biases in our society have already started to affect the way you view yourselves. Millennial women are less likely than their male peers to characterize themselves as “self-confident” and “leaders.” This may be one of the reasons that at the top fifty colleges, despite women comprising more than half of the student population, less than a third of student government presidents are women.

These lowered expectations extend into the workplace. For example, female college students have lower pay expectations than their male peers. Just a few years out of college, more men than women aspire to reach managerial levels. And even before women enter the workforce, they are often worrying about balancing future careers and families.

This generation can make the difference. It won’t be easy. It begins by admitting that we have a problem and committing to solve it.

Women need to believe in themselves, raise their hands, sit at the table, take risks, and support each other. They need to overcome their fears. Men need to support women, too, encouraging female peers in the workplace and doing their share in their homes. If women lean in to their careers and men lean in to treating women as true equals, together, you can end these biases and break down both the external and internal barriers that hold women back.

Let’s keep talking about these issues. Let’s start encouraging women to lead in whatever field they choose. And let’s all—men and women–support women as they do it. You can turn the promise of equality into true equality.

You are the hope for a brighter future.

Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook and the author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Join the conversation at LeanIn.org and ifuwerentafraid.tumblr.com.

STUDENT DEBT IS THE TERRIFYING VILLAIN IN SHORT HORROR FILM

The anxiety recent graduates experience when confronting their loans reappears in “The Red” with advice and tools on how to manage it.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON – Now that graduation has arrived, students around the country are about to be hit with their student loans for the very first time. A campaign by American Student Assistance™ (ASA) just launched to help students and recent graduates manage these loans. Through a short, psychological thriller film, The Red spins a story about the anxieties of being in debt and the relief that comes from facing them. The Red is part of a multi-media campaign created by ad agency SS+K to compel and empower young people to take control of their debt on a practical, day-to-day level.

The Red also introduces SALT™, a free, nonprofit resource created by ASA™ to help students and graduates better manage their loans and enter the real world on more solid financial footing. When signing up for SALT, they can enter for a chance to win $10,000 to pay for college or pay back their loans at FaceTheRed.com.

Nearing a trillion dollars, student debt affects nearly 15 million Americans under the age of 30. Few students and recent graduates even know what they owe – and they aren’t actively seeking advice on what to do about it.

“It isn’t easy to get young people who feel panicked about their debts to do something about it,” said Sue Burton from ASA. “To connect meaningfully with them, we produced something very entertaining that acknowledges how frightening it can be, yet portrays their own power and offers a path out of the nightmare.”

In “The Red”, which premiered in theaters across the country and launched nationally online at FaceTheRed.com, a 20-something girl is terrorized by ominous red smoke. The smoke follows her at every turn, mirroring the suffocating financial strain of a post-college world. No matter how hard she tries, she realizes that there’s no avoiding The Red. The only option is to face it.

“The Red” was directed by the Borderline Films trio of Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin and Josh Mond — the critically acclaimed filmmakers behind the thrillers “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and “Simon Killer.” The filmmakers know firsthand the horror of mounting student debts and the paralyzing fear that it can create. “We know exactly how scary it is to owe a ton of money for school and have no clue how to pay it back,” said Mr. Campos. “This is a story we related to. The feeling of ‘The Red’ made sense. And we embraced the opportunity to work on this project.”

“The Red” premiered in Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. – focusing on cities with a large student population and high percentage of young people with student debt. Beyond the film, a main focus of the campaign is to bring information and resources to students and recent grads through platforms and mediums that they already consume and trust. The campaign includes multiple content partnerships with millennial-focused media outlets like The Onion, BuzzFeed, College Humor and MTV.

About SALT & ASA: SALT is a free educational resource that provides simple, smart, personalized ways for college students and recent graduates to take control of their student debt and manage their finances. With a combination of helpful tools, tailored information, and unbiased expertise, SALT helps young people borrow less, borrow smart and repay their loans in a way that works for them. SALT was created by American Student Assistance, a nonprofit organization with 50+ years experience helping people make better decisions about financing their education and repaying student loans.

About SS+K: SS+K is the marketing/advertising agency that produced the most-discussed video of the 2012 presidential campaign, “Your First Time,” featuring Lena Dunham, and the award-winning “The Most Honest City” initiative for Honest Tea. SS+K helped GM introduce the Volt, and with Pfizer created the “Get Old” campaign. Current clients include VW, the College Board, Wells Fargo, Travelers, Kraft Foods and Fwd.us, the organization launched by Mark Zuckerberg and other technology leaders to promote immigration and education reform. In 2004, working with Nike, SS+K introduced the iconic yellow Livestrong wristband. Founded in 1993, SS+K is partially owned by the Hollywood agency CAA.

Get Published, No Experience Necessary

Publishers Call Out For The Next Bestsellers

By NICHOLAS MILANES
Originally Published in the Fordham Observer
Blog Editor
Published: May 1, 2013

As final exams draw near, easily distracted as the collegiate mind with summer approaching, we have all asked ourselves what to do this summer. Here’s an idea: why not write a book?

Besides being a great way to fill the gap of time between Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, it’s a great opportunity, since publishers like HarperCollins are actively seeking young college-age authors. New Adult Fiction is making waves; HarperCollins wants to help young authors make a splash.

New Adult Fiction is an emerging genre centered on college-age protagonists and characters. While plenty of us enjoy Young Adult (YA) novels like “The Hunger Games,” there’s no denying that as high school shrinks smaller and smaller in our horizon, we all crave something that hits a little closer to home.

“YA has always been really popular, and New Adult is actually a much wider world than YA,” said Tessa Woodward, editor at Avon Books, a HarperCollins imprint. “High school is a very enclosed space—you know, it’s just high school. But once you have these kids get out into the world, there’s such a broader range of things that they can experience. The younger writers aren’t afraid of having crazy emotional backstories for their characters.”

The New Adult Genre is free from the constraints of many long-established genres, but has roots in the “Twilight” franchise, which pushed the boundaries of sexual subject matter within YA novels and led to “Fifty Shades of Grey”—a trilogy whose success lies in its sexual frankness.

“YA is what we call a ‘closed door,’” Pamela Spengler-Jaffee said, director of publicity at Avon. “There might be something happening, but you don’t know, because of the readership of YA, and the rules of YA. For the most part, if they’re having any sort of relations, writers don’t write about it.”

Even if the story you want to write doesn’t involve whips and/or chains, a college-age story is likely to be a little less “Degrassi” and a little more “Girls”. New Adult presents an opportunity for writers to tell stories that are raw and real.

This is not to say a New Adult writer is constrained to college matters. “They’re not all set in colleges; it’s just that age group,” Lucia Macro said, vice president and executive editor at Avon. “Some of them have those situations that deal with college or university, but some of them do not; a lot of protagonists are forced into certain circumstances.” Many New Adult protagonists must skip college and live in the real world. New Adult authors are no strangers to confrontational subjects such as rape and unwanted pregnancy.

New Adult is not only a new genre, but a new form of community. Digital publishing is the lifeblood of the pioneering New Adult author, and blogs are the heart. “There are super readers on Goodreads,” Spengler-Jaffee said. “One is this woman named Maryse. She has a well-followed blog—when she recommends a new adult book, all of a sudden, 500 people put it on their shelves to be read. She’s like the Oprah of New Adult. She’s hosting a New Adult reader festival next month—the Orlando Book Bash. There’s a whole slew of authors confirmed to attend.”

The potential audience is growing alongside the genre. New Adult authors have been self-publishing online, on blogs and dedicated websites where fans can easily access them. Publishing houses are now beginning to distribute New Adult novels in the e-book format, making it quicker, cheaper and easier to get an author’s work in the hands of readers everywhere. A growing number of readers find themselves more willing to pay five dollars to download a book to their phone or e-reader than they are to shell out twenty-some dollars for a hardback.

The possibilities are endless for innovative stories and for publishing opportunities. You no longer need prior publishing experience in order to be published. “People are writing who aren’t necessarily taking creative writing classes. They’re not necessarily learning all of the rules of, ‘well, this is what a story should be,’” and there’s a lot more freedom in that. They say, ‘this is what I want to read, so I’m gonna write it down.’” There’s no better time than now to jot down those ideas that have bounced around in your head for so long. “It’s frontier era here. It’s exciting.”

Aspiring authors, send your submissions to Tessa Woodward, at tessa.woodward@harpercollins.com, or submit directly online at www.avonimpulse.com.

Allegiant Flight Attendants Launch Ad and Website to Rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School — “Let’s set an example for future business leaders”

For immediate release May 9, 2013

Contact: Roger Kerson, roger.kerson@gmail.com734.645.0535

Allegiant Flight Attendants Launch Ad and Website to Rename Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall at University of California, Davis Business School — “Let’s set an example for future business leaders”

Davis, CA — Flight attendants at Allegiant Air, members of TWU Local 577, launched a new ad and website urging students and faculty at the University of California, Davis to participate in the renaming of Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. Hall.

The building, where UC Davis School of Management students attend classes, was named after Gallagher, CEO of Allegiant Airlines and former officer and director of ValuJet, following a $10 million donation to the school. The TWU ad, which will run in today’s UC Davis newspaper The California Aggie, features the headline “Rename Gallagher Hall” and asks:

Shouldn’t the main classroom building be named for a leader who in your opinion has a reputation for high standards and business excellence?

“Let’s honor business leaders who treat employees and customers with respect, while still delivering a profit to shareholders,” said Thom McDaniel, International Vice President of the Transport Workers Union. “We should name buildings after people who deliver value to customers and the communities they serve, while also representing the best values of the University of California.”

The ad encourages readers to “join us by adding your suggestion for a corporate leader fitting this profile” at the new website www.RenameGallagherHall.org.

“This is a step in the right direction for our campus. We need to start naming buildings after people that are community and worker friendly,” said Duane Wright, UC Davis campus chair of UAW Local 2865, the union representing teaching assistants, readers, tutors and other academic workers at the University of California.

Recent news reports about Allegiant have raised concerns about passenger delays, the reliability of the airline’s aging fleet, excessive fees and abrupt cancellation of routes and service to cities formerly served by the airline.

A majority of flight attendants at Allegiant voted in favor of TWU representation in December 2010. More than two years later, flight attendants still do not have a first contract agreement.

The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) represents 200,000 workers and retirees in commercial aviation, public transportation and passenger railroads, including 11,000 flight attendants. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

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THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR APPLICANTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

First ever crowd-funded transcontinental train journey seeks to empower 100 young artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs during 10-day train journey to help move America forward.

Washington, D.C. – Today, The Millennial Trains Project (MTP), a non-profit organization that leads crowdfunded transcontinental train journeys for enterprising, creative, and civic-minded Millennials, announced it has begun accepting applications for its inaugural journey from San Francisco, CA to Washington, DC (August 8-17, 2013).

In partnership with City Year, McKinsey & Company, National Geographic Traveler, Opportunity Nation, and the Startup America Partnership, MTP will turn a caravan of refurbished mid-20thcentury train cars into a mobile innovation lab, campus, and dormitory.

“Journeys build leaders – and Millennials are the new pioneers,” said Patrick Dowd, the Millennial Trains Project’s 25 year-old founder and CEO, “I started MTP to create a platform for people my age to explore their own personal, professional, and creative frontiers on a national scale – and to better understand our country in the process.”

To get on board, applicants will use MTP’s crowdfunding platform to propose and build support for a project that they intend to advance in each community where the train stops.

Applicants have until July 1st to reach a $5,000 fundraising goal, which covers the cost of their participation. Since the application process is a race, those that apply early have the best chance of getting on board. Anyone age 18-34 is eligible to apply, and the public is encouraged to visit the MTP crowdfunding platform to support applicant projects.

Traveling from San Francisco, CA to Washington, D.C. over the course of 10 days, 100 participants will have the opportunity to learn from on-train mentors, explore local examples of innovation, and advance their projects. Participants will be evenly allotted among the following ten professional tracks:

• Advocates: Community organizers, non-profit leaders, changemakers, lobbyists, lawyers;
• Entrepreneurs: Job creators, disruptive thinkers, risk-takers, founders, soon-to-be founders;
• Explorers: Mountaineers, conservationists, astronauts, park rangers;
• Intrapreneurs: Anyone leading within an established company or non-profit organization;
• Innovators: Inventors, hackers, engineers, scientists;
• Makers: Architects, designers, writers, filmmakers, poets, journalists, craftsmen;
• Performers: Actors, singers, dancers, musicians, comedians;
• Public Servants: Political staffers, teachers, enlisted soldiers and law enforcement officials;
• Students: Anyone enrolled in college or grad school, research assistants, fellows;
• Veterans: Anyone who served previously in the military.

“Long before the Internet brought the world to our fingertips, trains served as vehicles of discovery, connection, and economic opportunity,” said Dowd, “we intend to use them for this purpose once again.”

ABOUT THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT

THE MILLENNIAL TRAINS PROJECT (MTP) is a non-profit organization leading crowd-funded transcontinental train journeys to empower diverse groups of Millennials to explore America’s new frontiers. Stopping in 10 cities in 10 days, MTP’s mission is to help participants and virtual audiences to identify, evaluate, and explore emerging opportunities and challenges in the communities where our trains stop – and advance a project that benefits, serves, and inspires others. The inspiration for the Millennial Trains Project comes from a similar train journey, theJagriti Yatra, that founder Patrick Dowd helped lead as a 2010-11 Fulbright Scholar in India. Learn more about the Millennial Trains Project at millennialtrain.co. For the latest news and updates, follow MTP on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

For press inquiries, please contact Jessica Straus (jessica@millennialtrain.co or 203-219-8666).

For more information, visit http://millennialtrain.co/.

SpareFoot Infographic Highlights College Class of 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUSTIN, TX—A new infographic from SpareFoot, the nation’s largest self-storage finder, provides all sorts of facts and figures about the College Class of 2013—from their job prospects to their living arrangements.

Two tidbits from the infographic: An estimated 1.8 million students from the Class of 2013 will earn bachelor’s degrees, and 51 percent of college graduates plan to move to a new apartment after school ends.

“As the Class of 2013 prepares to head into the ‘real world,’ this infographic from SpareFoot will give soon-to-be college graduates—and their parents—a glimpse at what the world will really look like,” said Chuck Gordon, CEO of SpareFoot.

An embed code at the bottom of the infographic allows anyone to post it on a website at no cost.

To view the infographic, visit www.sparefoot.com/consumers/tips/college-class-2013-infographic.html.

About SpareFoot

SpareFoot, based in Austin, TX, makes renting self-storage easy. Our free marketplace lets customers find and reserve storage units online. We have the largest inventory of storage units in the U.S., with a network of more than 6,500 facilities, ranging from mom-and-pop to publicly traded REIT. We reach millions of people who need storage through exclusive partnerships with brands like SelfStorage.com, Apartments.com and Penske Truck Rental. SpareFoot brings consumers and facilities together to deliver the most convenient and enjoyable storage experience possible online, offline and via mobile.

For more information, visit www.sparefoot.com.

Media contact:

John Egan
SpareFoot
512-799-1022
jegan@sparefoot.com

Next Step Realty & WilliamPaid Help Graduates Find Apartments and Build Credit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Olivia Segarra | Next Step Realty

646.568.1312 | Olivia@thenextsteprealty.com

(New York, NY) Next Step Realty and WilliamPaid today announced a partnership to help recent college graduates find their first apartments in New York City and build credit history while paying their rent online.“By collaborating with WilliamPaid, Next Step Realty hopes to help recent college graduates address the challenges of not only finding a first apartment, but also navigating the world of personal financial responsibility,” according to Next Step Realty CEO Blair Brandt. “We are committed to offering our clients an efficient, quality, price conscious apartment search, and this new suite of tools ensures that our support doesn’t end when you receive your keys.”

WilliamPaid will track and record on-time rent payments to be included in a traditional credit report, which may help customers build their credit history.

“We are thrilled to be working with Next Step Realty, and providing recent graduates with an opportunity to make their rental payments matter, starting with their first apartment search and onwards” said Jeffrey Golding, President and Co-Founder of WilliamPaid.

About Next Step Realty New York

Founded in 2010, Next Step Realty New York, LLC is a real estate brokerage firm designed to help recent college graduates find their first apartments in New York City. Annually assisting around 3,000 graduates and growing yearly, Next Step aims to provide a user-friendly experience for recent grads that in the past have been burnt by inefficiency, unqualified brokers, inaccurate online listings, and overpriced fees. Next Step contracts appropriate rental agents that are like-minded to their graduating clients, strategically matches individual graduate clients with the right in-house broker, and automatically discounts broker fees by 20-40% to kick start post-college savings. The company’s in-house, up-and-coming agents are given the opportunity to increase their short-term income potential, gain more experience in the field, and maximize the quality and size of their long-term client base, while recent graduates receive cost-effective and professional guidance throughout their first apartment search.

About WilliamPaid

WilliamPaid, an electronic rent payment processor, is the easiest, most efficient way to pay rent by providing convenient and flexible payment options that work with any landlord. Users can pay online via credit card, debit card, bank account or any combination of the three, or in cash at over 45,000 locations nationwide — giving renters the power to pay on their own terms. Renters are also given the option to schedule automatic payments with Autopay and the ability to split and track payments with roommates.

 

For more information on Next Step Realty, visithttp://www.thenextsteprealty.com/ or call 646.568.1312. Next Step can also be located atfacebook.com/TheNextStepRealty, and @NextStepRealty on Twitter or Instagram.

 

For more information about WilliamPaid, visitwww.williampaid.com, their Facebook page atfacebook.com/williampaid, Twitter page attwitter.com/williampaid, or call 877.894.5542.

 

For press inquiries, please contact Olivia Segarra at Olivia@thenextsteprealty.com or 646.568.1312.

Next Step Realty New York |   21 W 46th St  |  16th Floor |  New York, NY | 10036