Home Blog Page 800

Choose Well

Once upon a not-so-long-time ago, college seemed a simple question of getting there. But in an age of austerity and a challenging economic environment, getting there and making it count has made one of the biggest decisions in a young person’s life that much bigger.

Matt Eaton of Northeastern State University’s Office of High School and College Relations says choosing a college and major hinges on many factors.

“The biggest questions we get are cost-related questions,” says Eaton.

While costs play a major role in choosing a college, Eaton also emphasizes that considering the total experience is key in the selection process. It is vital, he says, to get a physical feel for a candidate college.

“Go take campus tours. I feel that is where you’re going to get a feel for the school,” he says.

Choosing the institution is the easy part. Choosing the major, however, is where the wheels hit the road. While modern economic realities have put a premium on choosing a major that will provide long-term financial benefits, Stephen Crynes, University of Oklahoma’s University College Assessment director, suggests selecting a major based on economics alone can prove a poor approach.

“It’s dangerous picking strictly on a job market,” says Crynes.

Crynes says a little self-analysis can go a long way in choosing a major. He urges students to consider their natural skill sets, goals and interests in declaring a major, even if their head tells a tale that their heart may not want to hear.

“Not everybody can be engineers even if they want to,” he adds.

Earl Johnson, associate vice president for Enrollment and Student Services at the University of Tulsa, says choosing a major comes down to one basic question; “What is it that you are interested in studying?” Test scores, he says, tend to point to a fulfilling field of study.

“Students tend to demonstrate a strength area,” Johnson says.

While some fresh high school grads know exactly what they want their lives’ work to be the minute they show up on campus, many don’t. For those seeking direction, most colleges and universities do not require an immediate major declaration and provide resources to assist students in that life-defining decision.

“You’re talking about what your major is going to be that is going to stick with you for the rest of your life,” Eaton says. “I think one of the biggest things you can do is make sure that is what you want to do.”

Crynes explains that time as an undeclared major gives a student an opportunity to explore diverse fields to which they may have not been exposed before arriving on campus.

University of Tulsa students have until the second semester of their sophomore year to decide on a major. At Northeastern State, students normally declare a major after 15 hours of coursework, while the average University of Oklahoma student has declared a major after completing 24 academic hours.

Ultimately, however, college is about more than solving a campus and major equation.

“It’s part science and part art,” says Eaton.

Bridging The Gap

In 2008 the nation was in the midst of what would become the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression, with rampant unemployment. At the same time, wind energy was very exciting. The entire industry was ramping up, promising to be a very apt employer. Our wind-rich state had no training programs to create workers for this new industry.

Oklahoma City Community College saw this gap and worked with local wind energy experts to create the state’s first wind turbine technical program, providing both the opportunity for Oklahomans to be marketable job candidates and also a desirable workforce for the industry.

Oklahoma now ranks among the top 10 states for wind energy production, and projections put Oklahoma on the fast track to second in the nation.

OCCC’s wind turbine technical program is just one of many examples of continuing and adult education programs around the state that work to fill gaps in workforce skills.

Corporate Learning at OCCC works with industry and the workforce to create training for the ever-evolving job market. Programs like eMarketing Essentials, Green Energy, Oil and Gas Accounting and Social Networking for Business offer a number of opportunities to add skills that strengthen one’s current job or provide resources for making a career switch.

Changes In Economy Change Business Practices

As the economic climate changed over the last four years, businesses have really had to buckle down, refine processes and reduce waste.

“Businesses and organizations are requiring employees to do more with less,” says John Claybon, a consultant with Corporate Learning at OCCC.

He says skills and certifications in project management and other soft skills are very big.

“People who have a lot of communication, leadership and problem solving skills are in high demand,” Claybon says.

The University of Tulsa is working with engineers to beef up soft skills and make them more ready for management roles.

Within three to five years of entering the workforce, engineers are generally put into a management position of some sort, says Pat Hall, associate dean of TU’s Continuing Engineering and Science Education program. Engineers are very high performers, she says, but most have no management, leadership experience or training at all.

“Engineers are people who are very smart, but they need soft skills,” Hall says.

Three nights a week for eight months, engineers learn communication, management and leadership skills.

“They learn how to be a leader and understand their team,” Hall says.  

Getting Experience Through Continuing Ed

Often those who do not have job experience can become attractive to future employers or for promotions in their current positions with a boost from continuing education.

Southern Nazarene University offers a Master of Business Administration degree tailored to meet the needs of working adults.

“The experience you gain is way more important than the paper, but the paper is what people look for,” says Cheryl Soerensen-Tuck, marketing and enrollment manager for graduate business programs at SNU.

The MBA in Health Care Administration, she says, has become particularly valuable, as employers have needed people who can understand health care reform and stay abreast of policy changes.

The MBA program takes 22 months to complete and is broken into six-week classes that are taken at night.

“It’s not just reading and taking a test. It is hands-on activities,” Soerensen-Tuck says. “They are actually doing the job.”

The way the classes are structured strongly encourages student interaction. Students are also learning from each other and sharing their experience from the industry they work in, she says.

Additionally, students in some cases are able to cash their work and life experience in for college credit by writing a paper about the experience.

Catering to the Adult Student

Continuing education programs are trying to make education more convenient for working adults through opportunities like leveraging valuable work and life experience as well as online courses and flexible programs. Further moving these classes away from the traditional lecture model and into hands on lab style to provide a more valuable experience.

“Most working professionals like to have hybrid or online courses because it allows for flexibility,” says James Pappas, Ph.D., vice president of University Outreach and dean of the College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

OU’s College of Liberal Studies offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in a number of formats.

As unemployment rates soared and the job market became increasingly competitive during the economic downturn, simply having a degree was important. As a result, Pappas says about 60 percent of people in programs in the College of Liberal Studies at OU have started a degree at some point and are now trying to finish it.

Pappas says degrees that offer a broad range of application for students after graduation are very popular. The bachelor’s or master’s degree in Administrative Leadership, he says, gives students skills to work in a variety of industries and areas.

Mind The Gap

Continuing and adult education programs at colleges and universities keep abreast of employment and training gaps and create programs that meet the needs of both students and industry.  

When the College of Liberal Studies at OU has identified a gap, a demographic study is conducted to see what is happening within that gap to determine if and how relief could be provided through a continuing education program.

Pappas says this process recently revealed the need for a program in prevention science. There was a movement of people with clinical degrees who wanted to be a part of prevention, not just treatment, he says. The school developed an online Master of Prevention Science degree to give the training needed for people to specialize in this area of health care.

Likewise, these programs work directly with employers and industry to find out what they need in a workforce. OCCC created a speech pathology assistant program as a direct response to need for help with speech pathology in K-12.

Energy Shield

Oklahomans have been largely protected from the recession due in large part to the booming energy sector. Almost all colleges and universities with continuing education programs have some course of training, instruction or certification to build skills for Oklahoma’s energy industry.

Cross discipline programs at TU can help people who’ve worked in banking or accounting get an understanding of petroleum engineering. People who work in petroleum engineering can get a basic understanding of geology.

“It helps people switch jobs or helps them learn more about what they need to know in their current position,” says Hall.

OU has worked with the petroleum and energy business to create training programs that are not degree-based. Conferences and courses in oil well blow-out, gas compression and corrosion control provide workers skills and information they need to do their job.

OCCC’s wind turbine program gives students a number of certifications and skills that are widely applicable, particularly in safety.

“When someone has enough safety credentials, employers want you and don’t care what else you know,” says OCCC’s Claybon.

Fill The Gap

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama pointed out the need to fill skills gaps. He urged institutions to educate the nation’s unemployed to fill the numerous jobs that were open as a means to ending the nation’s high unemployment rate.

In Oklahoma, the job market is wide open for those in nursing.

“In Oklahoma, if you are a truck-driving nurse you have your ticket written,” says Dustin Pyeatt, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Labor.

The top certifications in demand in Oklahoma are in health care and commercial driving, according to numbers provided by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Jobs in repair, sales and accounting also have large numbers of openings.

Continuing and adult education programs position people to take advantage of these gaps. Colleges and universities are making these programs more and more accessible for working adults.
 

A Job In Any Other Language

It is nice to be able to order a drink or find the restroom in a foreign country. But is it necessary for famously monolingual Americans to have full command of a second language? The answer increasingly seems to be, “yes.”

“For every language you add, there are millions more people you can work with,” says David Crawford, senior academic counselor for the College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University.

He works with students who are majoring or minoring in one of OSU’s foreign language programs as well as students who are interested in taking a few classes to gain marketability in their industry by learning a second language.

Of the nearly 20 languages taught at colleges and universities around Oklahoma it might be hard to determine which is the most beneficial.

Dr. Perry Gethner, the department head of Foreign Languages and Literatures at OSU, says the answer to this question varies largely on an individual’s goals and career path.

“Some languages are considerably more useful for people than others,” he says.

Gethner says Spanish overtook French as the most common language taught in schools in the 1980s. However, both remain valuable languages.

Crawford works with many students who are preparing for jobs on oilrigs and want to add Spanish to their credentials. He says many of his French students have been able to work in Haitian communities. Additionally, students in the school’s large hotel and restaurant management program benefit from foreign languages in an industry that serves tourists from all over the world.

“There are pockets of foreign language all over the nation,” Crawford points out.

People with a second language are open to options in these areas that their monolingual peers are not.

“Having another language can really make you a (hot) commodity,” Crawford says.

For practical purposes, one could also turn to the list of languages the United States Department of State has classified as critical need. The need for people fluent in these 13 languages exceeds the number of people who are bilingual in them. Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian are five languages from this list taught at colleges and universities in the state.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education has placed an emphasis on global competency with the goal of producing college graduates who are more aware of other countries and cultures, says Ben Hardcastle, the director of communications for the State Regents.

Learning a second language can greatly contribute to creating more globally aware graduates, Gethner says. “It contributes to open-mindedness and broadening horizons.”

Further, he says learning a second language is very good for developing the mind.

 “Students (become) better writers in their first language and more careful about accuracy of expression and grammar,” Gethner says.

Recently published studies by Canadian research professor Ellen Bialystok do, in fact, show that people who speak two or more languages have increased ability to pay attention, organize and even have delayed onset of dementia.

These enhanced communication skills, Crawford says, serve students well in the job market even when they are not speaking the foreign language at all.

Mad for the Mile High City

Arriving on a Friday evening permits you the chance to settle into your accommodations and familiarize yourself with your immediate environment. If staying near the popular lower downtown area (LoDo), you might want to dip into the nightlife with a visit to Beat-era pub My Brother’s Bar (“Brothers”), hipster haven Double Daughter’s Salotto or the beer enthusiast oriented Falling Rock Tap House.

Saturday after breakfast, it’s time to take in Denver’s cultural and historic attractions. The primary must-see destinations in Denver include the Denver Art Museum and its world’s greatest collection of Native American art, the new History Colorado Center, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and its impressive dinosaur collection, the innovative Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the 23-acre urban oasis that is Denver Botanic Garden. For lunch, grab a burger at Cherry Cricket and pile on the oddball toppings. Okies might also enjoy a stroll down memory lane at Denver’s cavernous Casa Bonita. Blue Bonnet is another good choice for casual Tex-Mex. For the ubiquitous tour of the region, head out in the afternoon to Golden and take in the Coors Brewery tour. Back in the city for the evening, consider dinner at the spectacular Mizuna, brainchild of chef-owner Frank Bonanno, or at Fruition, where chef Alex Seidel has made a significant name for himself. Dance the night away at Beta nightclub downtown or the more Country-Western themed Grizzly Rose.

Sunday might be the perfect time to take in one of the region’s vaunted festivals if one is taking place – and in temperate months, there usually is one. Otherwise if weather permits, the occasion might call for enjoying Denver’s wonderful lush out of doors. City Park offers 330 acres of outdoor fun and relaxation and is home to the Denver Zoo. Cheesman Park is half the size, but its Acropolis-inspired pavilion has a commanding view of the Denver skyline. Alternately, you might enjoy one or more of the theme parks in the vicinity – including both the huge Elitch Gardens and the decidedly less posh but more historic Lakeside, with its 1940 Edward Vettel-designed wood roller coaster. Shop LoDo or Larimer Square before you depart, to take home remembrances of your trip to the Mile High City.

Stay In Style

Denver has a wide array of accommodation options, including these:

The Ritz-Carlton Denver is in the heart of downtown and just minutes away from Lower Downtown, known for dining, shopping and nightlife. A total of 202 rooms and suites features signature posh features, from 400 thread count Frette linens to oversized tubs and state of the art tech amenities. The Forza Fitness Club, indoor pool and indoor basketball court are just the flagship attractions for a luxurious hotel that meets the needs of business and pleasure travelers alike. www.ritzcarlton.com/Denver

The Four Seasons Hotel Denver’s luxurious environment and state of the art amenities are juxtaposed against a design theme that emulates the natural beauty of Colorado, complete with large windows displaying mountain scenery. A seasonal outdoor pool and cabanas, a comprehensive 24-hour fitness center and a full service spa pamper guests. Twenty-four-hour room service, an excellent restaurant and a chic popular bar contribute to a convenient and well-rounded stay. www.fourseasons.com/Denver

The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa has been attracting well-heeled guests and dignitaries for more than a century. The Italian Renaissance landmark famously features onyx walls, terrazzo floors and gold leaf accents – as well as a nine-floor atrium lobby complete with stained glass canopy and other period touches. Completely modern services and amenities abound, and include a full service spa, fitness center, full-service concierge, dry cleaning, beauty salon, florist and several restaurants to choose from. www.brownpalace.com

At a Glance

Access: Most major national carriers service Denver International Airport. Alternately, Denver is just under 700 miles via automobile from Oklahoma City.

Population: 600,000-plus in city limits

Climate: Mild, generally sunny, with four distinct seasons, cold winters with considerable potential precipitation.

Main Attraction: Denver’s scenic location and Western history are intrinsic attractions, but its wealth of arts, culture, cuisine and nightlife also provide it all the appeal of a major cosmopolitan city.

Hot Picks

Ride: Denver is far more cyclist-friendly than many major cities, many streets have bicycle lanes and it’s a great way to see and traverse the city. For recreational biking, main trails run along both Cherry Creek and the Platte River. A citywide bike-sharing program makes it particularly easy.
Hipsters: Denver’s Mercury Café is a well-known and loved social center – a restaurant/café/event center that regularly presents entertainment with a distinct counterculture feel. It’s a must-see for those wanting to familiarize themselves with the offbeat culture of the Mountain West capital.
Buy: Although Cherry Creek, LoDo (lower downtown) and Larimer Square have most exquisite and routine shopping options, check out Colfax Avenue and Capital Hill for more eclectic wares from vendors such as independent books and music shops, movie posters, etc.

Visit Online

www.denver.org

Light My Fire

When one imagines the great culinary cities of the United States, Oklahoma City doesn’t usually spring to mind. Recent additions like Flint, however, are poised to change all that, igniting the taste buds of diners looking for an upscale, yet comfortable, eating experience.

Located inside downtown Oklahoma City’s historic Colcord Hotel, Flint reflects the marriage of classic sophistication and contemporary luxury that has made the building one of downtown’s most tempting attractions. The restaurant serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, catering not only to hotel customers from around the nation, but also offering elegant, everyday options for downtown’s ever-growing business and residential community.

Flint is just one more spark fueling the explosion of culture that has occurred in downtown Oklahoma City over the past decade. “Because (the Colcord Hotel) is an historic building and one that everyone knows, we take a lot of pride in being a big part of the downtown renaissance and being a part of such a bright future for our city,” says Andrew Black, executive chef at Flint and vice president of culinary operations for Williams and Associates Hospitality.  

Black, a native of Jamaica, has brought a lifetime of global experience to bear on Oklahoma City’s latest word in fine dining. “I have spent most of my culinary career traveling the world, cooking at resorts and hotels in the Caribbean, Cuba, Negril and others,” he says. “I have always felt that cooking is an art. Have fun with it. Through my experiences, I have seen endless opportunities to create new recipes in a globe-trotting array of cuisines, from French and Mediterranean to Japanese and Southwestern.”

These widespread influences have led to world-class dishes the likes of which have rarely made appearances in Oklahoma City’s restaurant scene, such as seared day-boat scallops with celery root pistachio puree; pumpkin kabocha squash gnocchi served with edamame pesto and shaved goat cheese; jalapeno hush puppies served with gherkin aioli and sweet Thai chili sauce; and branzino with Yukon gold potato cream, broccolini and a Chardonnay citrus reduction.

But while the food may sound complex, Black maintains that the philosophy behind Flint is straightforward. “We take a simple and direct approach to cooking using the best available ingredients,” he says. “Stay true to the ingredients and the product and let them speak for themselves. At the same time, introduce items that are not widely used in our city, but are rather popular in the culinary world.”

Other pillars of the restaurant’s virtually instant success, of course, are service and ambience. “We have a very strong relationship with our guests,” Black says. “They have told us many times that the biggest draw is the combination of the space’s modern and cool, yet simple design, the great fun food and beverages, and our upscale, but yet casual approach to service. A lot of our guests tell us that it has been a long time coming for a venue to open here locally that combines those attributes, and it is almost like being in another city.” 15 N. Robinson, Oklahoma City. www.flintokc.com

The Pour

Late summer is the last time most people want to deal with heavy mixers. Fortunately, the abundance of local produce and a little imagination make it possible to create light, refreshing drinks ideal for three digit temperature afternoons. Here are a few suggestions to keep summer cocktails breezy.

• Lose the ubiquitous sweet and sour mixer for the summer. Make your own lighter version by combining the juice of lemons, limes and a little orange juice, combined with simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, well merged).

• Squeeze and juice fresh fruit for sweet-tangy refreshment in your cocktails. Consider summer strawberries, pureed and then strained to remove the pulp. Apply the same treatment to local peaches, berries and even watermelon, for a lovely change of pace. Combine with light rum or vodka and garnish with fresh mint.

• Muddle fresh ginger, mint, rosemary or fresh basil to add zip to a cocktail of gin or vodka and soda water or tonic mixer.

• Other produce popular for cocktails includes cucumber, tomato water and rhubarb and plum syrups made from fresh fruit.

A refreshing take on cocktails is one way to make even Oklahoma’s scorching summers a little more tolerable.

Stand Back

Some thought it an odd pairing – Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks on an 18-arena tour of the U.S. The 2011 double-billed show, however, was beyond successful, and the duo is traveling again for another round of their Heart & Soul Tour.

The question is, “Which is the heart and which is the soul?” Decide for yourself when the duo arrives in Tulsa to play the BOK Center stage on Aug. 8. Nicks opens the show with a set of her iconic hits, and Stewart closes with his fans’ favorites. When two such distinctive voices share the stage, you can be sure it will be unforgettable.

Over five decades, Stewart has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, had 18 Grammy Award nominations, two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Faces and as a solo artist). He also has a Commander of the British Empire title from Queen Elizabeth II.

For the future? Stewart returns to Las Vegas to resume his show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. He also has a memoir and a Christmas album scheduled for release in the fall.

As a part of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist, Stevie Nicks has amassed more than 140 million album sales since she joined the band in 1974. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours – which Nicks’ song Dreams was the first and only No. 1 hit in the U.S. – is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Nicks, who is concurrently touring on her In Your Dreams solo show, recently shared that Fleetwood Mac plans to reunite for a tour in 2013.

For tickets and other information, go online to www.bokcenter.com.

Taste Gallery August 2012

Park Harvey Sushi & Sports Lounge

this sports-centric bar-slash-sushi restaurant located in Oklahoma City’s bustling business district. Rolls are served at a lightning-fast pace during the lunch rush, and often accompanying a beer or glass of wine in the evening. The odd combination of sushi and sports may raise some eyebrows, but then again, why not combine the two for those Oklahomans who love catching a game on the big-screen while dining on sophisticated cuisine? Sample the sushi bar’s signature roll, or try a traditional California roll or, for a sporty twist, the Durantula, named after our most loved Thunder player. 200 N. Park Harvey, Oklahoma City. 405.600.7575