Car Maintenance

Alex Newby, Marketing Intern

During your first few years away from home, life can be challenging. Placed in a new environment, most students are learning how to live away from their parents for the first time.

One of the toughest lessons that I had to learn after moving out was how to take care of my car. After years of having my parents keep up with the maintenance, learning to take care of it myself was a big task. A few flat tires and an overheated engine later-- I’d like to think I’ve come a long way. Here are some of the basics I’ve learned for keeping up with your car in college!
  
Change your oil - Most places will give you a windshield sticker to remind you when to come in next, but if not, the standard rule is to have your oil changed every 3,000 miles or 3 months. Older cars might require an oil change more frequently. While there, have them check your other fluids as well. Forgetting to do either can cause your engine to overheat or start breaking down. If you’re planning a road trip home or long trip, check your

Keep a spare - Locking yourself out of your car while running late to work is not something you want to experience. Keep a spare key to your car in your apartment or with a friend so there will always be a way to get in!

Check headlights and brake lights - While most oil companies will check these type of thins for you, it won’t hurt to periodically check your headlights and brake lights yourself. Having either one out can get you pulled over and a ticket!

Keep an Emergency Kit - Even if you’re driving a newer car, you never know when something could go wrong! Keep an emergency kit in your car with jumper cables, an ice scraper, blankets, water, a first aid kit, and different car fluids. Learn how to use the jumper cables before your actual emergency! Placing the cable on the wrong ends can damage your car and be dangerous!

Check your tires - While they can be expensive, keeping good tires on your car is important for helping your car run the way it should. Inspect your tires often for signs of wear and tear and holes and get them rotated whenever you change your oil. Keep a tire gage in your glove box so you’ll know how much air you need if you every need to top them off. To find the proper air pressure, look in your owner’s manual or on the sticker on the driver’s side door. Keeping a spare tire in your trunk can also be a good idea! Driving on a flat tire for even just a few miles can damage your car. Learning how to change a tire is also important! While your parents might still be on speed dial, they may not live close enough to come help you if you have a flat!

Change your windshield wipers - Having bad wipers on your car can do more harm than good. Changing your wipers every 6-12 months is a good idea to help keep them working properly. Wipers are easy to change out and pretty cheap at most auto parts stores. If you don’t mind paying more, most auto care places will offer to change them for you.

Don’t ignore problems- During sophomore year, I drove around with an emergency light on for three weeks before finally realizing it meant “Emergency Brake Failure” and was a warning that my brakes were going out. If your car starts making weird noises, shaking, or doing something that it doesn’t normally do, take it to the shop. Some car issues could get worse if you just ignore them.

Invest in Roadside Assistance - Investing in AAA or other roadside assistance programs is a great idea for students who don’t have family in the area! Some places even offer discounts for students!


More Resources:
Goodyear
http://www.driverside.com
http://ohiovalley.aaa.com

Attire to Get Hired

Arielle Parker, Marketing Intern

Is your shirt too low cut? Are your shoes all scuffed up? Are your pants too long? Do you have stains on your tie? When you are interviewing for a job, one of the keys to success is making a good first impression. That initial first impression starts right when you walk through the door. Dressing for success on a job interview is one of the ways to start your interview off on the right foot. If you look professional and polished, you will more likely land the job than someone who is less appropriately dressed.

For both men and women, the consensus remains the same: dress conservatively. Dressing conservatively gives the impression you are responsible, you care what you look like, and you are serious about the position. Try not to wear anything too baggy or anything that is too tight. Investing in dedicated interview attire such as a well-tailored suit jacket, a pencil skirt and some of the other related apparel listed below, will help you look like the right candidate for the job. However, dress codes differ from company to company. Before the interview, research the company and make sure you are wearing something appropriate for the interview.

Here is a list of some basic interview outfits for both men and women created in Polyvore http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/home.   

Men’s Attire:

•        Suit (solid color- navy, black, or dark grey)
•       Long sleeve button down shirt
•        Belt (brown, black)
•        Tie (professional knot, conservative patterns)
•       Dark socks
•        Dark, leather shoes
•        Professional watch

Women’s Attire:

•        Suit (navy, black, or dark grey)
•        Suit skirt, should be long enough so you can sit down comfortably
•       Matching blouse
•        Shoes, closed toe pumps, solid flats
•        Simple jewelry (pearl earrings, small pendant necklace, no statement jewelry)
•        Neutral or black pantyhose
•       Light make-up and perfume
•        Neatly manicured nails 

Remember, first impressions are key when meeting an employer. Dressing conservatively and looking professional can give employers a positive, long-lasting impression. As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.”

Go Green in Everyday Life

Nicole Brown, Marketing Intern Coordinator

Saving the Earth doesn’t require great sacrifice—making a few small changes adds up, especially when you get other people involved too.

Try some of these suggestions to reduce your environmental footprint, and don’t hesitate to pass them on to your friends.

Reduce.

• Electricity or gas
• Turn off lights and appliances when you leave the room. All the energy that the lights, the television, the Xbox and your other electronics use while you’re out of the room can really add up. 
• Reduce your energy bill and your impact on the environment.
• Unplug appliances when they aren’t in use. A phenomenon called vampire power means that electronics, even when they are turned off, still use a small amount of electricity if they are plugged in. Unplugging these items stops vampire power use.
• Keep the thermostat cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer to reduce heating and cooling costs and environmental cost.
• Water.
• Take shorter showers. Not only does it reduce the electricity or gas used to heat the water, but also reduces the amount of water used.
• Flush the toilet only when necessary—you don’t really need to flush every time you pee.
• The average toilet uses gallons of water per flush, so each flush saves a lot of water.
• Turn off the faucet when you aren’t directly using it. This means not leaving the water running while you’re brushing your teeth or scrubbing your face.
• Drive only when necessary.
• Walk or use public transportation, when possible.
• Carpool. Have class at the same time as your roommates? Drive to campus in one car. Going out or going shopping? Ride together!
• Food
• Buy only what you’ll eat! You can always go back to the store and get more, but if you buy too much and throw it away, that food and money are both gone.
• Eat less meat and dairy.
• Raising livestock has a much greater environmental impact than growing produce, so reducing your meat consumption, especially of red meat, reduces your environmental impact.
• Read more about the environmental impact of meat here.
• Cook at home.
• It saves the gas you’d use to go to the restaurant as well as saving you money.
• Buy local and in-season when possible.
• These foods don’t have to travel as far to reach you, reducing the environmental cost of transporting the food.
• Whenever making a purchase—be it jeans, food, or anything—make sure that you will actually use the item before buying. Throwing away items fills landfills and wastes your money.

Reuse.

• Shop second-hand or borrow from your friends.
• Need a dress for a special occasion, but you know you’ll never wear it again? Borrow one from a friend or buy one from a consignment shop instead of buying a brand new item.
• Reusing already-produced items saves the materials and energy used in the production process and reduces the costs and waste associated with transporting and packaging. 
• Donate or sell clothes, toys, furniture and other items that are still in good shape, but that you don’t need or want anymore.
• This not only gives others the opportunity to make use of your old items, but either raises money in your community or helps pad your own wallet.
• Repair rather than replacing.
• Have a hole in your jeans? Patch them rather than tossing them and replacing them! It’s cheaper and better for the environment.
• Replace disposable items with reusable ones.
• Exchange disposable plastic water bottles for a reusable one. 
• The type of bottle is up to you; just pick one that you like.
• If you aren’t sick, reuse it for a few days before washing it. If you aren’t feeling well, don’t risk the germs—wash it every day.
• Use Tupperware instead of plastic bags. 
• Tupperware will be more expensive upfront, but the ability to reuse it ultimately makes it cheaper. 
• Choose reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones. 
• These can be purchased at nearly any large store, usually relatively cheaply. This one-time cost is often eventually offset, either by a small discount given for using the reusable bags instead of plastic ones or by avoiding the fee that some stores charge for using their plastic bags.
• Save cardboard.
• Use the same cardboard box for storage and transport multiple times. Get a package in the mail? Keep the box to reuse it next time you need to send something.

Recycle.

• Recycle everything that you can! In Lexington, recycling bins are free and get picked up weekly on the same day as trash.

For more information, visit these websites:

• http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/changing_the_way_we_live/cities/top_ten_ways_to_reduce_your_ecological_footprint.cfm 
• http://www.smcm.edu/sustainability/_assets/pdf/greenlivingtips1.pdf
• http://www.goodguide.com/slideshows/2009/4/11/reduce-your-environmental-footprint 

Camp Counselors

Alex Newby, Marketing Intern

Every year around this time, summer camps across the country start the hiring process for camp counselors. Whether you’re applying to be a counselor at science camp or for an all-girls recreation camp, be sure to weigh the pros and cons to see if being a counselor is the right job for you!

Pick the Right Camp: 
There are thousands of different camps across the country that have different schedules and different focuses. To really enjoy being a camp counselor, be sure to choose one that fits with your personality. For instance, there are some camps that are only open during daytime hours. A big pro of working at one of these day camps is that your weekends are usually free! If you’d rather stay at the camp full time and are okay with only a few trips home, pick a camp that goes for longer. While most camps will employee counselors for the entire summer, the duration of time that campers are there can range from one to six weeks.

Think about your wallet:
Being a camp counselor may or may not be a well-paid position depending on where you work. Many camps offer counselors minimum wage in exchange for the free rent and meals they’ll get at the camp! Make sure before you take the job that your pay will cover all of your expenses and don’t necessarily plan on saving huge amounts of money. Most students would say the experience is worth the low pay, but it doesn’t work for everyone.

Morning Person vs. Night Owl
Most camps have an early wake-up time and have campers on a long schedule throughout the day. When you’re applying, read the job description carefully and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Getting 15 campers up and ready by 7:15 a.m. could be harder than you think. Josh Eversole, a senior ISC major at UK, had to get up at 6:00 a.m. every morning and hated the long hours working outside. If you’re more of an indoors person, or don’t like to be up early, consider getting a different job or seeking out a summer internship.

Weigh the Rewards
Fellow UK student, Amy Baker, had a much different experience than Josh! “I worked at Camp John Currie in Marshall Co. KY and I loved being a camp counselor! It was literally the best summer job. I really enjoyed getting to know the kids. My favorite part was watching a camper improve throughout the week! ... It is so fun to watch them grow and get confidence!” said Amy.

While some students choose to spend their summer taking classes or doing an internship, the rewards from being a camp counselor can be just as great. Learning to drive a boat, teaching kids to canoe, or getting to be a part of a camp-wide Dodgeball tournament is something you may not have otherwise gotten to do. Learning to be a leader and role model for kids is also a pro that makes being a counselor worthwhile!

If you’re interested in being a camp counselor this summer, there are already plenty of camps hiring! Check out these websites and for more information and job opportunities!

http://voices.yahoo.com/ten-reasons-why-being-camp-counselor-great-463057.html

http://www.acacamps.org/jobs

http://kanakuk.com

http://www.summercampstaff.com