Summer of 2016 was not an average summer for me. After hearing a presentation from a former NVC student, Marcus Nejera, in Dr. Zhou’s Introduction to Engineering course that talked about the importance of searching for internships.

I felt inspired to search for one myself. In that process I applied to various companies, including some located in Asia. To my surprise, I was accepted to intern over the summer with an EPC company by the name of Toyo-Thai Corporation Limited (TTCL). TTCL is in Bangkok, Thailand. They also have an American division that goes by the name of Toyo-Thai United States (TTUS).

In this internship, I was chosen to be the first western student to train with the company. I was offered compensation for my work as well. So, I accepted and immediately following the end of the spring semester, I flew to Thailand where I would spend the next three months. I worked with the instrument department of the company, and was given two projects to work on. The two projects I worked on were for PPG chemicals, and two chemical plants they are building in Southern Thailand.

As a computer engineering major, I learned a lot of valuable things, involving control systems, and instrumentation. The projects I worked on were real projects the company was doing for customers, so I got the full experience.

Aside from the learning aspect of the internship, I also made many new friends and got the opportunity to travel across southeast Asia, and throughout Thailand itself. The opportunity I got was a great eye opener for me, and has given me more motivation to continue my education, and to search for more opportunities. It taught me that putting yourself out there is important if you want to find opportunity, and success. If you don’t try, then you can never succeed.

Bobby Reyes—Current Engineering Student at NVC

What goes into a blog post? Helpful, industry-specific content that: 1) gives readers a useful takeaway, and 2) shows you’re an industry expert.

Use your company’s blog posts to opine on current industry topics, humanize your company, and show how your products and services can help people.

It’s the last few weeks of school before summer and I took on a lot of new opportunities this semester, and I’ve already agreed to take on a few more next semester, but that’s kind of the point isn’t it? Well, for me it is.

This is where that growth from living life on my own terms and paycheck to paycheck becomes full of meetings, classes, fundraisers, more meetings, New Student Orientations, homework, presentations, more meetings, and so forth. You can’t always do your first choice, even if it’s your favorite thing in the world. Instead you have to set very specific goals, because in the end this is where all the skills required for that dream career are built.

Trust me, there is no satisfaction to be gained from living paycheck to paycheck. Or I should say, no long-term satisfaction. It’s fine for a little while, but then you’ll wake up when you’re 29, like I did, and realize this is not what you had in mind.

Fortunately I figured it out real quick, and am now in a situation where every minute of my day must be accounted. Time management is the only way this works, and the best advice I can give is keep a calendar. Also, make sure you use it not just every day, but throughout the day. Whenever you’re presented with a choice, choose very carefully, and make absolutely certain it is the right choice. Once the decision’s been made that’s it; you’ve committed.

By NVC Student Bryan McCluggage

The second best decision I’ve ever made, right behind the one that got me in college, was the decision to become involved. I remember in 2008 seeing a picture of a bunch of protestors upset about the bank bailouts and not being able to find a job. One person held a sign that said, “I have $80,000 in debt, a 4.0 GPA, and no job. Where’s my bailout?”

My first impression was that there was definitely a number of logical fallacies in play here, which could be an entire essay in itself. One of them, however, was that I knew it was somehow the former student’s fault and certainly not the government’s. After that, I wondered how someone could get into that much debt. Then I thought about what it would take to have that great a GPA, and yet have no job? What was this person’s degree?

I did some research and came to the conclusion that it was a very complicated process, and while I understood this process, I didn’t really have a personal connection to it. Then I got here and began to see it all for myself. I realized that not just anyone can get great grades, but plenty of students can.

The truth is often quoted, it is as true today as it was in that former student’s time in college, and will continue to be true going forward. If a student doesn’t demonstrate the willingness and ability to extend themselves beyond the classroom by taking on leadership roles, then there’s a near perfect certainty that when they go up against someone who did, they’re going to lose.

The reality is harsh, and too few students fully understand the weight of its meaning. It’s trying to teach a lesson to someone who has no grasp of possible ramifications, nor the perspective necessary to see beyond the moment.

College is an opportunity to expand what is called ‘human capital’ in economics. It’s the idea that you build your potential through education, work, training, and so forth. This is what the former student holding the sign missed.

My resume will shine, and when I’m ready to find a real job, I’ll hopefully have one waiting for me before I ever step across that stage. Why? Because I got involved.

By NVC Student Bryan McCluggage

Its half-way through the semester! Are you feeling stressed out with homework and studying? Here are two massages you can easily do yourself to help with tight muscles and headaches.

Hand Massage

Your hand can definitely need a good massage from writing papers or typing documents. It could use a “recharge” on energy to write that mid-term paper.

How to do it:

• Use your opposite hand and place your thumb with the nail facing upwards on the palm of your other hand.
• Press gently and work your way up to the tip of your pinky finger. Start over from the middle of your hand to your pinky again, but this time, apply medium pressure. Then start over again, but use hard pressure.
• Repeat the steps you did for your pinky finger, but apply them to the rest of your fingers. Then switch hands and start the whole massage over.

Neck and Shoulder Massage

Your neck is the No. 1 place to hold the entire stress of your body. If you have a constant problem with headache, massaging your neck is the answer to relieve the tension in those muscles.

How to do it:

Place both of your hands on your shoulders on the bottom of your neck. Gently squeeze and hold for about three seconds. Continue to do this up to the top of your neck where your skull is, making little circular movement with your fingers. The muscles right under your skull is mainly where tension headaches come from, so make sure you massage them well.

If these instructions didn’t work for you, here a video you can follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-DtnHFvpL0

As you do these massages, please don’t apply too much pressure as you can harm your muscles instead of relaxing them.

By NVC Student Tamara-Davida Lopez