SUNYUlster, Author at SUNY Ulster News Blog

5 Tips for Managing Your Finances While in College

August 2, 2019 by SUNYUlster

College is expensive. Even with great scholarships and programs like Excelsior, College Scholars, and federal aid, you still have to pay for housing, food, transportation, textbooks, and more. How can you make sure that you can afford it? Learn about managing finances! Here’s how:

Figure Out Your Budget

Take a realistic look at all your expenses. If this is your second year of college, figure out how much you spent last year, and plan to need at least as much this year, if not a little more. If you haven’t started college yet, just figure out your current budget and research common costs for college for others with your major/living situation. Don’t hesitate to overbudget; it’s better to have too much than too little.

… And Stick to It!

If you can’t pay for it and it’s not in the budget, don’t buy it! Things like new gadgets and electronics, clothes, and getting food and drinks at restaurants should be put on the back burner at this time. Buy used and dependable electronics on eBay, find clothing and room decor at thrift stores, learn to cook, and make your own coffee. These simple changes can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Plan to Save

If you expect to pay out of pocket for tuition at a four year school, start saving now. Every bit you set aside will lower the cost of the loan you have to take out, be it for tuition, housing, or something else. Check out our tips for saving money to get started! Even if you don’t have something you need to save for anyway, try to set aside a little bit as an emergency fund. If you don’t have emergency money and you find yourself in financial trouble while at SUNY Ulster, contact the SUNY Ulster Foundation about Lights for Learning.

Pay Attention to Your Credit Card

Credit cards are usually good. Some offer great rewards programs, and it’s nice not to have to carry a bunch of loose change around all the time. Where you may run into trouble is the “credit” part; just because your card has a super high limit doesn’t mean you should hit it! You should use your credit card just like you would a debit card: be careful where you use it, and don’t spend more than you have available in your bank account. You should be paying off your bill in FULL each month to avoid charges and make the most of your credit card benefits. Doing so will also earn you an excellent credit score for when you actually need to take out a loan or apply for a new apartment.

Manage Your Debt

This is something you want to avoid if it all possible, but you may have to take out a loan, or you may have already accrued some credit card debt. How should you tackle it? It’s recommended that you pay off at least your interest each month, so you prevent unnecessary compounding. Avoid debt by getting scholarships; there’s one for almost everything you could need while a student! Check out SUNY Ulster scholarships whether you’re a new, current, or graduating student, and contact the SUNY Ulster Foundation in Clinton 203 if you need help or have questions!

It can be hard to establish good financial habits, especially if you’re not used to careful budgeting. With a little bit of effort and practice, however, you can achieve all your financial goals and come out ahead!

Preparing for College as an Adult Student

July 19, 2019 by SUNYUlster

If you’re an adult going to college this semester, congratulations! You’ve already taken the first steps toward your future. Now it’s time to get ready. Whether you’re returning to college after a few (or many) years out of academic life or are beginning your college journey for the first time, there are a lot of things to take into consideration when starting. Here’s how to prepare yourself!

Map Your Degree/Certificate Program

Want to stay on track? Even when you know exactly what you’re going for, unexpected things can pop up that make it hard to get all the credits you need. Make a tentative schedule now, before you start, of exactly what courses you need to take and what semester you will take them, based on how many you would like to take per semester and allowing for prerequisites and fall or spring-only classes. If you need help with this, talk to your academic advisor!

Make a List of What You Need to Buy

No matter what your major is, you will need a few things you probably haven’t bought or budgeted for in a while: notebooks or notepaper, pens, pencils, your textbooks (find out which ones you need from your syllabus or by going to SUNY Ulster’s bookstore), a pack to carry everything in, and, if possible, a personal computer or laptop. You may also want to get some hand sanitizer, food for lunches or dinners, and other personal items to take with you. Depending on your classes, you may also need things like specific calculators, special software, tools, or other major-specific supplies. Refer to your syllabus and professor for the specifics of each class!

Prepare a Study Space and Time

As an adult student, you often have responsibilities at work and with your family beyond what a college student straight out of high school would, like a full-time job, children, or aging parents. This makes it all the more important that you set aside a time and place now where you will have as few distractions as possible for studying and writing. While this isn’t foolproof, having a typical schedule and room/cafe/library where you can go get work done will help you stay on track in classes. You can get creative as well, like sitting around the table with your children and doing your homework while they do theirs (provided they aren’t prone to getting distracted).

Plan Finances and Make a Budget

College costs a lot; in addition to your tuition and the items mentioned above, you’ll need to have housing, food, and transportation. If you have children, you may need to pay for childcare. On top of all the additional expenses, you may have less money coming in if you aren’t working as much. Set aside emergency money for things like car and house repairs, and plan out your monthly budget. To help with costs, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Ulster Community College Foundation. They can help you find scholarships that will help!

Get in the Mindset to Learn and Have Fun!

You can do any number of things to physically set up your new college life, but if you have a negative attitude going in, you’ll have a much harder time. Get excited about learning new things, meeting new people, and starting your path to a new career! College has a lot to offer, through intellectual pursuits and new friends to make (yes, you will find plenty of other adult students to connect with and support). It may take a bit to get back into the swing of things at college, but that’s okay. You’ve got this!

Yes, You Should Go Back to College!

June 21, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Adult student sitting in library with laptop

Whether you’re a recent high school grad, a retiree, or happily employed, you should still go back to college! That’s because you can take a number of great credit or non-credit courses that will enrich your work and personal life. These courses allow you to build new skills, earn microcredentials, or start a whole new career. You can meet new people, learn new things, and have many experiences you never would have expected. This is true whether you’re 18, 81, or anywhere in between!

Learn a New Skill or Hobby

You’ve probably heard about the arts and crafts classes offered at places like Michaels, but did you know that SUNY Ulster offers some that are very similar? In the last few months, we’ve offered watercolor, perspective drawing, and sewing classes for the community! If you’re not interested in art, you can always learn how to fly drones, speak a new language, or start a blog! The possibilities are endless with the SUNY Ulster Office of Continuing and Professional Education, where we offer a wide variety of credit and non-credit classes that can teach you new and valuable skills.

Earn a Valuable Microcredential

Nowadays, it’s unusual to go to college, earn your degree, get a job, and continue doing the same job that you studied for year after year until retirement. Microcredentials give you the opportunity to expand what you already know and give you an added edge in the workplace. Check out our full list of microcredentials, and read up on the most recent microcredential we created in partnership with Mohonk Mountain House!

Pursue Your Career Dreams

Whether you’re an adult learner interested in trying college for the first time or already have a degree and want to pursue another, there’s no reason not to try college! Take the first step by entering a program to follow that dream. Whether you want to go through a regular degree or certificate program or earn a certificate or trade license through Continuing Education programs, you can make your career goals a reality at an affordable price.

Now Discover Your Potential!

As you can see, there are many reasons to go back to college, whether you’re planning a new career or not! Check out all the classes, programs, and events SUNY Ulster has to offer students and community members on our website.

What are some classes/programs at SUNY Ulster that you recommend? Let us know in the comments!

How to Build a Great LinkedIn Profile

June 14, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Now that you know why you should join LinkedIn, you may be wondering where to begin. If you’ve signed up for the site and glanced over your profile, you can see that the information you include and the layout of a profile page differs a bit from other social media sites. That said, it’s pretty simple to fill in once you know what to do with each section!

Use a Picture

As long as you have no privacy concerns, you should add a nice, professional picture of yourself to your page. The key is professional, but that doesn’t necessarily mean boring! For most careers (think business, computer science, accounting, marketing, etc.), the ideal profile picture will be a clear and well lit picture of you in business attire, but there may be leeway with some other careers. For example, someone in vet tech may have a picture in scrubs with an animal, and an artist or someone working in arts may be dressed in clothing appropriate to their work and have some filters or edits to their image.

Complete Your Introduction and About Section

The first thing people will see after your name on LinkedIn is your introduction, which includes a headline, relative location, and a summary bio. Your headline is generally what you do, but you can spruce it up by adding pertinent adjectives. If you’re between positions, say something like “Accounting Professional in Transition” or “Marketing Specialist Seeking Challenging Employment Opportunity.” Your summary “About” section should detail your history and skills, as well as what your goals are for the future. This is possibly the hardest section to write, but there are many tips and guides for what to write out there, and you can always look at your connections and others in your industry to see what people are using for this section!

Work and Education History

Naturally, one of the most important parts will be your work and education history. Design this similarly to your resume: keep details simple, and use bullet points to give added information. There is even an option to import your resume, if you want it to be identical. If you have any pictures or websites you can link to, be sure to do so. For Education, you should add any significant clubs, student government positions, honors programs, or awards you may have received, and if you did exceptionally well, you may want to add your GPA. Make sure you add SUNY Ulster to this section! In addition to the main two sections, you can also add languages, volunteer, and projects sections to better highlight your skills and accomplishments.

Skills & Endorsements

Think about what you do at your job. What can you confidently say you’re good at? Are you a videographer who knows Premiere and Vegas inside and out? Put that down. Are you a business student with team management skills? Put that down too. If you’re a writer with great editing and grammar skills, add that. Really any program, competency, or specific skill you’ve acquired can be put down here. Your connections can vouch for ones that you have put down through endorsements, so don’t hesitate to put yourself out there!

Now Make It Yours!

It’s important that your profile reflect who you are as an employee and individual, as well as what you bring to the table. Don’t hesitate to write about your skills, positions, and activities that make you unique and which you are passionate about.

How are you using your LinkedIn profile? What tips and tricks do you have for other users? Let us know in the comments!

New Customer Service Microcredential with Mohonk Mountain House

August 5, 2022June 7, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Mohonk Mountain House Hotel overlooking pond

SUNY Ulster has opened registration for a new 15-credit Customer Service Microcredential! We’ve collaborated with Mohonk Mountain House to offer students and community members the opportunity to earn and learn by taking a series of five classes, including a paid Mohonk internship! This is a fantastic opportunity for those interested in the hospitality field.

The Customer Service microcredential consists of five courses, including the paid internship (based on interview). All classes other than the internship can be taken online, at the Stone Ridge Campus, or at the Kingston Center of SUNY Ulster, so there’s always a fit for your needs and schedule.

Just like with our other microcredentials, students will receive a web-based Digital Badge which allows employers to learn about the skills the student has gained through the program. Microcredentials like this one can give you an edge over the competition when applying for jobs. Check out one of our past blog posts to find out what else microcredentials can do for you!

Find out more about the Customer Service Microcredential or our other microcredentials by visiting our microcredentials page, contacting Admissions by phone at (845) 687-5022, or emailing admissions@sunyulster.edu. Students are now being admitted for the fall 2019 semester, so register today!

Computer Science Students Develop Web Application for Vet Tech Program

May 24, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Each spring, second year Computer Science students in Theory and Practice of Object Oriented Programming work on a team project to develop a software application for a SUNY Ulster campus customer. This course, taught by Professor John Sheehan and Dr. Lou Thomason, provides an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in software development while also giving back to the college community. This semester, Team Ellie ++, which consisted of students Leonard Carcaramo, Dominic Cerchia, and Eryk Cole, worked with the faculty in the Veterinary Technology program to update a web-based tool for tracking student veterinary skills assessments.

The Vet Tech program is required to keep track of which students have completed a set of veterinary skills and must be able to provide these records when they have accreditation reviews by the AVMA. They previously tracked these records on paper and kept large binders of books for all their students, which needed to be kept on file for a long time. The Vet Tech faculty were unable to enter student skill information into the existing electronic system fast enough for it to be worth using over the paper records.

With this problem in mind, the Computer Science students built a web application that tracks these students’ accredited skills online, providing the Vet Tech program with a much more efficient and environmentally friendly record keeping system. The project was first started by a team of students in 2018, but required some fine tuning. This spring, the new team made some critical improvements to the project by adjusting the existing system so that entering student skill information could be done easily and quickly. They also made a number of small fixes to make the application more robust. Throughout the project, the team worked closely with all the Vet Tech faculty to ensure the system would meet their needs.

Leonard Carcaramo, student leader of Team Ellie ++, says, “The Theory and Practice of Object Oriented Programming course goes above and beyond how to code, and teaches Computer Science students how to work in a software development team similar to how software development teams work in the industry.”

A big thank you to these students for their hard work helping the SUNY Ulster community! Check out some of the other ways Computer Science students are going far.

Meet the Kingston Center Enrollment and Success Team

May 3, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Celeste Hackenberg and Charnikia Pinesett with KCSU sign

Charnikia Pinesett, Student Success Program (SSP) Counselor

“Your success is directly proportional to the number of lives you have touched for the better.”

This quote by Vishwas Chavan sums up my philosophy for both my personal and professional life. I have worked with students throughout the Hudson Valley region for over 13 years to help them reach their academic and career goals. To date, I have had the privilege of assisting over 1,500 students with pursuing higher education. I currently oversee the Student Success program of SUNY Ulster as the College Entry and Student Success Counselor. The Student Success Program (SSP) is designed to guide students through the college application process, as well as help them access scholarships and develop leadership and social skills. SSP is currently offered at Kingston, Ellenville, and Onteora high schools. I can unequivocally say that mentoring, encouraging, and inspiring students to reach their highest potential is one of my greatest passions.

When I’m not working with students, I am writing and singing gospel songs, binge watching Forensic Files and Family Feud, or catching up on much needed rest. I also enjoy special, soul food family dinners with my seven siblings and amazing mother.

Celeste Hackenberg, Enrollment & Success Counselor

I came to SUNY Ulster in December 2018 from Borough of Manhattan Community College, where I worked as an academic advisor and teacher for two and a half years in a pre-college program called CUNY Start. My driving force in working at a community college is having experienced firsthand what a life-changing experience it can be. Earning good grades and making connections at community college can literally take you anywhere you want to go—a rewarding career, your dream school, you decide. After a lot of false starts and stop-outs because of limited financial resources and indecision, I finally completed my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at UC Davis in 2014 and my Master’s degree in Writing at Sarah Lawrence College in 2016. Prior to that, I attended two different community colleges—one in British Columbia, Canada and another in Sacramento, California. When I am not at work, I am working on my poetry manuscript, cuddling with my cats, and going on adventures with my fiancé, exploring the gorgeous Hudson Valley with all of its natural beauty.

My office is in Room 208A. Come by, have a cup of coffee or tea, and chat with me about your goals and how a SUNY Ulster education, with all of its financial, academic, and advisement supports, can help you reach them! You can also reach me at (845) 688-1560 or hackenbc@sunyulster.edu.

Why You Should Be Using LinkedIn

April 19, 2019 by SUNYUlster

You’re probably familiar with major social networking sites like Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook. One other platform that you might hear about is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is possibly the most valuable of all the social networking sites when used correctly, as it focuses on something that young adults need when getting a job: connections in their industry. Whether you’re just beginning your college journey or you’re graduating this semester, you should join LinkedIn right away! Here’s just a few reasons why:

Connect with Professionals in Your Field

You may enjoy checking your friends’ stories on Instagram or catching up with far-away family members on Facebook, but in most cases that won’t be too helpful when getting jobs after graduation. That’s where LinkedIn comes in. LinkedIn works similarly to these “just for fun” platforms in its ability to connect, but while it could be awkward to add your boss on Facebook, on LinkedIn, that’s exactly what you SHOULD do. You see, LinkedIn gives you the chance to connect with people who can help you throughout your career, be it old or current bosses and coworkers, professors you established good relationships with, or other professionals you met through networking events in person or online. These are all people you can count on when applying for jobs, and in many cases their shared knowledge pool can help you while you’re employed, too.

Find Jobs or Internships (and Apply for Them!)

LinkedIn has a space in its site just for job seekers. In this area, you can find, view, and even apply for jobs posted on the site. It works like Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster, or any one of the other job seeking sites out there, as you can search for a variety of jobs based on profession and area. If you want jobs to come to you, you can always turn on the “Let Recruiters Know You’re Open” feature.

Get Extra Info for an Interview

As every good job applicant knows, you should do some background research on an organization and your potential boss before the interview. LinkedIn gives the perfect opportunity for that! Find out more about your interviewer or future employer by visiting their LinkedIn page. LinkedIn will alert a person when you view their profile (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, they often take it as a sign you’re doing your research), but if that makes you nervous, you can always turn on Private Mode.

Keep in Touch with Your Alma Mater

After graduation, it’s easy to get caught up in everyday working life, but it’s good to see what’s going on at your old college so you don’t miss out on job fairs, networking events, and other opportunities geared toward alumni. LinkedIn will help you connect with your college as well as other alumni and students, so you can stay updated with what’s going on and meet others in your field with the same educational background. That’s important, because you never know when you could find a great job just because you went to the same college. When you make an account or update your current one, make sure you follow SUNY Ulster!

Kickstart Your Tech Career with a Computer Science Degree

August 18, 2022April 5, 2019 by SUNYUlster

Student working on a computer project in class

If you’re interested in technology and want to work in a field with great employment and financial opportunities, a Computer Science degree from SUNY Ulster may be for you! Computer Science students prepare for a variety of software related careers, including Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Game Design, Mobile Application Development, Web Development, and many others. The job market for Computer Science graduates has always been excellent, and projections show future demand will continue to outpace the number of students receiving Computer Science degrees. As a result, starting salaries for computer science and engineering graduates are among the highest of all majors.

The Computer Science program at SUNY Ulster offers an Associate’s degree in Computer Science which can be taken on campus or fully online. This degree prepares students to transfer and pursue further Computer Science degrees or go directly into the workforce. Alumni have gone on to complete Bachelor’s degrees at schools such as SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Albany, Brooklyn College, RIT, and RPI. Alumni going straight into the workforce can be hired for a variety of positions through both traditional routes and SUNY Ulster partnerships, including the one recently developed with IBM as part of their New Collar Jobs Initiative.

Computer Science alum Jesse Thibault graduated in 2014 and went on to earn a Bachelor’s from SUNY New Paltz; while there, he participated in an internship at IBM that led to a full-time position. He now works at Microsoft in Washington as a software engineer. He says, “I still follow the principles taught in the software engineering class even now, and I refer to the notes from the foundation classes when I refresh my data structures knowledge. Thank you for the education!”

Students who want to take a small number of courses within computer science can earn up to three microcredentials in Computer Game Design, Mobile Application Development, and Web Application Development. SUNY Ulster Continuing Education also offers a Web Developer / Fast Track Mini Boot Camp program that’s ideal for working professionals who would like one or more evening courses in topics important to Web Development. Students interested in computer topics may also find their place in two other closely related majors at SUNY Ulster: Computer Engineering and Computer Networking.

John Sheehan, Computer Science Department Coordinator, says, “The SUNY Ulster Computer Science program is a great option for any student, whether just graduating high school, seeking a new career, or just enhancing skills in an existing career. Between on campus, online, and continuing education, we have options available for all scheduling needs. This is a great opportunity for anyone, anywhere, to become a part of the exciting and ever changing world of computer technology!”

SUNY Ulster Nursing Students and Alumni Study Abroad in Durban, South Africa

March 22, 2019 by SUNYUlster

SUNY Ulster students and alumni pose with members of a South African village

From March 9-17, 2019, a group of nine SUNY Ulster nursing students and alumni traveled to Durban, South Africa with Dr. Ellen Tangney, Associate Professor of Nursing, for a study abroad opportunity. While they were there, they visited fellow COIL collaborating students at Durban University of Technology (DUT), traveled to nearby health clinics, met traditional village healers, and visited a few of the local attractions!