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Archive for October, 2007

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Services Resources


Tuesday, October 16th, 2007


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With-Honors
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Van Cleve Construction – Southern Utah General Contractor
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College Ghost Stories Return: Five More Frightening Tales


Monday, October 15th, 2007


Halloween is getting closer, and I've got even more spooky stories from college campuses in my trick or treat bag. Last time, I was just playing around with stories of bumps in the night and benign Casper-like toddler ghosts. This time around, however, I promise scarier, more malevolent ghosts.

Just researching these stories is getting me all jittery. Last night, I was walking my dog at the park. There was no moon out or streetlights on. Even the stars seemed dimmed. Of course, a spectral fog hung in the air- you've got to have the fog. I had rarely seen a night that dark. And I swore I could feel eyes watching me out there in the thick darkness. So I ran around the park, practically dragging my poor dog behind me, scurried into the safety of my house, and watched my kids' entire Care Bears: Season One DVD set just so I could get to sleep. I know, I'm a big chicken.

But I also can't help dishing it out. So here goes another serving of 5 fiendishly frightful forays into that phantom field of the unknown:

1. Bradford College: Unfinished Affairs Now vacant, this college was recently visited by a band of ghost hunters, who discovered more haunting happenings there than they had bargained for. Prior to their visit, they were well aware of two old stories that pervaded the campus about a sordid affair between a female student and a priest that occurred at the Academy Building. When the student got pregnant, she either killed herself or was killed by the priest. A similar but more recent story came from Denworth Hall, the drama building, in which another female student had an affair with a professor and got pregnant. She threatened to tell the administration, and he killed her. Supposedly, her ghost still haunts the theatre, playing tricks on visitors or singing "Hush, Little Baby" from the upper floor.

At the Academy Building, the ghosthunters felt a great deal of negative energy, recorded the trademark cold spots, and saw the forms of two people: a young, blonde female who appeared to be fleeing something and a man in black, overcome with anger. They also recorded a host of other peculiar phenomena throughout the building.

At Denworth Hall, although not expecting to find anything interesting, they encountered the ghost of the female student, singing her favorite tune. Apparently, she started as a shadow then developed into a more visible form. Dressed in Flapper Era clothing, she descended a set of stairs carrying a doll, singing to it mournfully. As the ghosthunters exited the building through a tunnel, they could hear the student screaming out after them, "Wait! Wait! Don't leave!"

This college also houses the ghost of a little boy, a bloody phantom old woman who has a thing for foreign exchange students, a ghost man who haunts the theatre stage, and a dark figure that hangs around the catwalk above the stage. No wonder this place has been shut down!

2. University of Notre Dame: Win One for the Gipper's… Ghost? It would make sense that Notre Dame's most famous graduate ever would continue to grace the university from the grave. No, I'm not talking about Rudy- he's still alive. I'm referring to the Gipper himself of the now immortal "Win One for the Gipper" speech. According to accounts, George Gipp, legendary ND football star of yore, has a habit of hovering over students' shoulders and then dematerializing just as they sense him and turn around. They catch him just as he vanishes into thin air.

The Gipper especially prefers to frighten students working late at night backstage at the university's dramatic theatre department. Which leads one to wonder: Why would a deceased football great hang around spooking a bunch of drama kids? My theory: He's a jock. What jock can refuse terrorizing a bunch of drama nerds- even from beyond the grave? Watch out, chess club. You're next!

Also roaming the grounds of Notre Dame are the restless spirits of the Patawatami Indians who inhabited the banks of the St. Joseph River. Of course, it turns out that Notre Dame was built on, say it with me,… INDIAN BURIAL GROUNDS!!! The ghost Indians prefer to hang around Columbus Hall, where they ride up and down the front steps on ghost horses.

3. University of Georgia: Unhappy Spectral Southern Belles Many of the buildings at this Athens, Georgia, school are old, certainly old enough to hold a lot of secrets. The Alpha Gamma Delta house, for example, is rumored to have been the dwelling place of its founding family. Oh, and it's also the house where their daughter, Susie Caruthers, hung herself in despair over having been stood up at the altar. It just so happens that the house resembles a three-tiered wedding cake. According to legend, passers-by catch glimpses of Susie in the attic window, the room where she killed herself.

As far as the sorority girls are concerned, some prefer to keep the story under wraps so as to protect the sorority's reputation. Other sorority members embrace the ghost and her influence around the house. They speak fondly of doors opening and closing on their own, of the lights cutting off randomly and then coming back on, and of things moving around on their own. Just part of living with other girls, I guess. Girls who live in the "Engagement Suite," rumored to have been Susie's room during her engagement, claim to have incredibly good luck in love, with marriages occurring magically within a year of leaving the room. Word to the wise, ladies: Susie's a good friend to have.

At the Phi Mu house, following incidents of phantom crying being heard from the top of the stairs, a Ouija board revealed that a girl named Anna Hamilton was haunting the building. Students also uncovered a tale of murder and secrecy in which Anna's fiance was killed before her eyes and his body buried beneath the front steps of the house. Creepy! The students tried to investigate the alleged murder with people who knew Anna but to no avail. They remembered Anna but grew upset when asked about any murder. Hmmmm… Sounds like it's time to call Scooby and the crew or Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Also at U of Georgia, the ghost of a Confederate office, Major Charles Morris, likes to rock in his old rocking chair at the president's office and roam the halls of the administration building. Sounds like a fun place!

4. Montclair State University: Bad Boogeymen at Clove Road The Clove Road Apartments on this college's Montclair, New Jersey, campus are apparently a gateway to Hell. Not really, but there is definitely some scary stuff happening there. Starting things off on the wrong foot, this place was built on, of course,… an INDIAN BURIAL GROUND!!! I mean, that just opens the door for killer clown puppets, scary, staticky TV screens, people peeling their faces off in the bathroom sink, and the undead marching out of your swimming pool. The American Founders should have put a footnote in the Magna Carta or something about not building on Indian burial grounds. Everyone's lives would be a lot easier. But, oh well: hindsight is 20/20, I suppose.

Anyway, back to Clove Road. This place is bad news. Tenants have reported electrical appliances turning on and off of their own accord, lights on the second floor flashing on and off by themselves, disembodied knocks on bedroom and bathroom doors, "unearthly" noises emanating from the woods behind the apartments, and, get this, shadows lurking around in the woods. Uh, I think I would have demanded my deposit back from the landlord by now and checked into the Motel 6 across town. I mean, "unearthly" sounds? Lurking shadows? Hello! Red flags all over the place! But, alas, I digress…

It gets better (or worse, I guess). Tenants reported being overcome by an "unsettling feeling or nausea" whenever they discussed the strange phenomena at their apartments. The roommates, best friends when they moved in, had inexplicably negative feelings toward each other and would often fight and squabble. Their apartments would be chilly even though the thermostat was set at 80 degrees (aka cold spots). We know what cold spots mean. Cold spots equal dead people. One female tenant told of waking one night to find a man dressed in 19th century garb standing over her bed, staring at her lovingly. Thinking it was her roommate's boyfriend mistaking her for his girlfriend, she told him he had the wrong bed. The man suddenly disappeared into thin air.

I say, kids, it's time to find another apartment. I don't care if you like the cheerful peach decor. Get yourselves out of there before everyone starts growling evil incantations and spewing green slime. Seriously…

5. Drew University: Ghosts Getting Religion? One of our stories comes from this Madison, New Jersey college's theological school. It seems funny that a church or a seminary would have ghost stories. I mean, it's a church. Aren't those supposed to be free of, like, spooky stuff? Evidently not. One student reports hearing the sound of breathing in the otherwise empty chapel while he was saying his prayers. He got up and looked around the small room and found no one, nothing to explain the breathing sound. The sound grew louder and heavier. Thoroughly frightened, the student took off like a bat out of… heck.

Other accounts tell of mist-like apparitions forming on the second floor of Asbury Hall. Witnesses are certain the mists are not steam or tricks of light. But they do recall being gripped by fear in their presence. According to rumor, a seminary student hung himself from the attic rafters, and the mist is his despairing disembodied spirit still roaming the halls.

Also at Drew U, the ghost of Roxanna Mead Drew, wife of the original founder, makes spooky appearances now and again. Madison firefighters tell the story of the fire at Mead Hall, started by a painter's torch, in which two firemen spotted a woman walking unphased through the raging flames. They moved toward her and called out to her. Suddenly, they realized she was dressed in old-fashioned attire, and, a second later, she vanished before their eyes. Apparently, Mrs. Drew just decided to show up for the burning of her namesake.

Are you scared yet? Did you have to call a friend or relative into the room to keep you company while you finished reading? You big baby. Honestly, there are some spooky things out there, especially, it seems, at college. And I'm not just talking about the sorority girls. I just hope you're scared so I'm not the only one. But, as spooked out as I am, I'm not done yet. Get ready for more college ghost stories coming your way every week until October 31 (that's Halloween, by the way). Until next week, let's hear some of your ghost stories. Scare me. Come on, I dare you to…

About the author

Marcus Varner earned his BA in English from Brigham Young University with a Creative Writing emphasis. He is currently in his second year at BYU's lauded MBA program studying Marketing. He blogs, writes fiction and screenplays, loves movies, and can't resist playing superheroes with his kids.




Finding the Right Career in 5 Steps


Wednesday, October 10th, 2007


"What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's a familiar question. But somewhere between elementary school and your senior year of college, your answers to this question change from fantasy ("I want to be a secret agent-ninja assassin-space freighter pilot-NFL quarterback-millionaire.") to acceptance of bleak reality ("I guess I could be a call center supervisor.") or just plain cluelessness ("I dunno.").

Greater numbers of college seniors than ever before don't know what they want to do when they graduate. Heck, greater numbers of mid-life professionals don't know what they want to do. You've probably heard that the average working American will change careers three times within their lifetime. I've heard other estimates as high as seven or eight times. Because we have more opportunity and flexibility than any previous generation, we wrestle with the burden, the ambiguity, the stressful exercise of settling on one thing to do (pansies!). It just seems so final, like picking that special someone you will spend your life with.

The good news is, you can keep switching until you find one that really fulfills you (with romantic relationships, this could get tiring or troublesome). True, there are some downsides to switching careers. And finding the right one sooner rather than later is preferable. To help you pick the right career the first time (or the second, third, or seventh time), the following 5 tips are offered:

1. Know thyself. According to statistics, Americans spend more time at work than their counterparts in any other country on earth. Work is a big part of our lives. We make money, make things happen, rise in status, and enjoy contributing to the bottom line. Call us crazy, but we just have to work. When we introduce ourselves, we often tell people our occupations. So, considering the importance of our jobs in our lives and identities, it makes sense that our jobs should match us, our interests and our strengths. Therefore, to know which job would fit you best, you should start by knowing yourself.

Everybody has certain preferences, things they like or despise, things they can enjoy doing day after day, and activities that put them into a comatose state within 30 seconds. Everybody has things they excel at and things they stink at, strengths and weaknesses. At our core, everybody has a set of beliefs about what brings happiness or constitutes success. What do you want in life? What are you hoping to achieve? What motivates you? What makes you happy? Write these down. Make a list and make sure you have them down pat. You will want to have the answers to these questions on hand as you move into choosing a career. These, combined with the steps below, will help you find a career that most closely matches your unique combinations of talents, interests, and goals.

They will be especially useful in avoiding dead end jobs. For instance, let's say you've always loved being around people. You thrive on talking with them, doing special things for them, and making sure they have a good time. Your mind is constantly thinking of new ways to do these things, whether at home, in the car, or playing around. You would rather be out with friends anytime instead of being at home alone. You also have a keen interest in decorating and fashion. You've always believed that making people happy is the key to a good life. You want to be comfortable financially but don't really care about being filthy rich. Relationships are what matter most to you.

Now let's say your career options are laid out before you. There's accounting, marketing, dog grooming, military, law enforcement, wedding planning, … whatever. Well, if you've kept in mind those things above, you can look at accounting, for example- lots of lonely hours auditing, cranking out spreadsheets, etc.-, and know immediately that, despite the appealing paychecks, it's not going to work for you. You don't even care about making insane money anyway. You want to be with and help people, and you won't find that in accounting. Move on.

You do the same thing with the rest of the choices. Some of them are possibilities, they kind of fit. But then you come to wedding planning (which, in an odd coincidence, is on the list). You go down your list. Being with people? Check. Making things special? Check. Decorating? Check. Fashion? Check. Makes enough to be comfortable? Bingo! Looks like you've found a potentially perfect fit. This step isn't all, but it is a crucial foundation to work from. Check out the next step…

2. Research, research, research. Once you know yourself, it's time to dig in and learn all you can about your prospective careers. You want to answer questions like: "What would I be doing every day? What are some of the difficulties associated with this career? How many hours does a _______ usually work per week? How much do they make? What are the benefits of this career?" The closer you can get to the actual experience of working that job 24/7 the better.

You will probably find that the, ahem, internet is an abundant source of information on careers. Not all sites are reliable, however (except me, of course), so you will want to take your research a bit farther. Be wary of information from recruiters as they are usually presented through rose-colored glasses.

One noteworthy source of information is the interview. Although it may seem to be a bit of a production, the best way to learn about a career is to sit down with someone who has already walked the path and ask them questions about it. They will usually be happy to share their experience with you and you will add another friend to your network (for more on networking, click here).

In addition, various other third party sources exist to help career-seekers investigate. The average public library will usually have books on different careers and sometimes indexes of contact information for various companies. Websites like Vault.com and Hoovers.com are also extremely good resources. Researching potential careers takes a lot of work, but it will save you the trouble of trying each one out in the real world. Do the leg work now. You'll be glad you did!

3. Remove salary from the equation – at the beginning. As I began my career search during my senior year (way too late, by the way), I went to websites that listed the highest paying jobs in America. Naturally, I just took my finger to the top of the page. "Ah, CEO of a Fortune 500 company. $100 million per year. That sounds good." After all, I had a wife and a son to provide for. And I started making plans to take the corporate world by storm.

Well, let's just say, so many years later, that CEO position has been slow in coming, and the corporate world turned out to be… less than desirable for me. Making money is great. And I'm sure making insane amounts of it would be really great. Maybe I'll know what that feels like someday. But let's face it: money isn't the only factor. In fact, for many people, it is ultimately not the most important factor.

A mentor of mine, who made so much money at age 30 that he could retire and never work again, told me the story of a friend of his who was living the good life in Southern California. His friend worked as a CPA and made massive amounts of money, enough to own a mansion in West LA and three vintage sports cars and buy a Mercedes for each of his three children. But he worked like a dog, never got to enjoy those sports cars, and watched as his wife spent away his paycheck month after month on Rodeo Drive. One day, this man told my mentor, "You know what I would really love to do? Coach basketball." My mentor asked him, "Well, why don't you?" His friend responded sadly, "I couldn't possibly afford my house payment and all my car payments on a coach's salary. I'm barely making ends meet."

Is this possible? Yep, and it happens all the time. You can make six or seven figures and still be quite unhappy in your job and barely make it. The truth is, research has found no correlation between salary and personal satisfaction. This means that how much money you make doesn't matter either way. Doesn't make you more or less happy.

My suggestion when you're choosing a career: take salary out of the equation- at least at the beginning. It will allow you to see those things that will contribute to your job satisfaction clearly without money in the way. Of course, money will play a significant role later on in the process, especially if you are a breadwinner for a household or you live in an expensive area. But in order to be happy with what you do, your choice has to first be a choice of the heart. Money won't change that.

4. Swallow your pride – at the beginning. After doing all the research and narrowing down your list of careers, don't expect to get the corner office just yet. For starters, you may need to take a low-paying, or even no-paying, job in that field. Internships sometimes don't pay. Temp positions pay very little. But both can be great ways to immerse yourself in those fields.

As an intern or a temp or a grunt, whatever the position may be, you will mingle with professionals in those fields, build your resume and skill set, and learn more about what it takes to accomplish your goals. These bottom rung jobs tend to be "rites of passage" for some industries, like production assistant positions in the film industry. Also, these low-commitment positions can be good ways to find out you didn't like the career you chose after all. Better sooner than later.

My point is, once you have an idea of a good career, don't be afraid to swallow your pride, roll up your sleeves, and work for nothing. The best thing that could happen is that it could be your foot in the door to a long, satisfying career. The worst is that you hated it and avoided a costly mistake. Get through these low-paying jobs while you're young and relatively commitment-free. It gets harder to do these as you get older and take on more financial obligations.

5. Just do it. Despite all the research, soul-searching, and experimenting, an element of risk exists in any career decision. I mean, the opportunity costs of deciding to be an entrepreneur instead of pursuing a career on Wall Street can be very high. And you never really know if you're going to be successful in your chosen career. You could end up as the founder of the next Google or you could end up bankrupt.

What do you do when you think you've found a career track that fits you well but all of the risk is also staring you in the face? Just go for it. Jump right in. Commit to your choice. I may be wrong, but, as far as I know, no one has ever died from choosing the wrong career. And you can always start anew if you find that your choice was wrong. The worst thing you can do is never start. The second worst thing you can do is to pursue it half-heartedly. If you do things halfway, every path will be the wrong path.

So, find your career path and chase it with all you've got. These are my pearls of wisdom. What do you think? What have you experienced in searching for the right career? What methods have you used to pick a career? Share your experiences and thoughts here.

About the author

Marcus Varner earned his BA in English from Brigham Young University with a Creative Writing emphasis. He is currently in his second year at BYU's lauded MBA program studying Marketing. He blogs, writes fiction and screenplays, loves movies, and can't resist playing superheroes with his kids.




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