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3 Lessons The Right Internship

Can Teach College Students

Sometimes what you learn outside the classroom in college can be  more important than what you learn  inside  the  classroom.

In the summer of 2004, Ryan Coon decided to intern at College Works Painting (www.collegeworks.com), a company that hires high-achieving university students and trains them on the basics of managing a business from start to finish. Each selected intern oversees the marketing, sales, production management and customer relations of a house-painting business. Coon took on the internship as a freshman at University of Illinois.

The experience changed his life.

“I managed a territory in the suburbs of Chicago for College Works Painting,” Coon says.  “I learned a lot that summer and it helped me in some ways I didn’t even realize until years later.”

Coon says he learned three important lessons. 

• Focus is important. “There are a lot of distractions,” he says, “so when you own a business you need to ignore the distractions, remove the stress and get it done.”
• Persistence pays off. “It takes a lot of nights to be an overnight success,” Coon says. “Everybody said Uber was an overnight success but it didn’t make it big until it was in business for 10 years.” 
• Select a good team. “You have to be able to trust your team,” Coon says. “Having a great team is very important.”

Today, Coon is co-founder and CEO of a company called Avail, an online property management platform for small, independent landlords. In February 2011, he left a career in investment banking to pursue his entrepreneural dream. Coon says his experience at College Works helped prepare him to take that leap of faith.

More than 50,000 students apply to intern at College Works Painting annually just like Coon did, yet only 2,000 interns are hired.

Matt Stewart, entrepreneur and co-CEO of College Works, says over 90 percent of their alumni find college-graduate-level jobs within three months of obtaining their degree.

“It’s an incredibly difficult challenge, managing your own business – and that’s what our interns are doing,” Stewart says. “Participating students emerge from the experience with a robust skills set and a competitive edge that sets them apart in a widening field of job applicants after graduation. We’re building a stronger workforce, better prepared to create a stronger economy.’’
 

Young people won’t gain these necessary skills from an easy internship, he says. These days, the company name on your resume holds little to no weight. It’s not who you interned for, but what you did during your internship that matters, Stewart says.

Coon says the skills learned in the right internship are critical to success later in life. 

“It gave me a good foundation in business principles that I am still using today.”

About College Works Painting

Matt Stewart is co-founder of College Works Painting (www.collegeworks.com), which provides real-world business experience for thousands of college students each year. The award-winning program offers high-quality house-painting services for homeowners and is in their 25th year of business

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reading Horizons to Host Second-Annual Online Dyslexia Summit

During the free online event, experts, educators and authors will showcase the latest research on how to support the 1 in 5 students with dyslexia

(Salt Lake City, UT) October 10, 2018 — To help teachers identify, accommodate, and support students with dyslexia, is hosting its second-annual Online Dyslexia Summit on Thursday, October 18. During the event, top dyslexia experts will showcase the latest research and best practices to address the needs of the 10-20% of students who have dyslexia.

Free registration is open until the summit begins at 10 a.m. MT. The summit starts with presentations from prominent authors of books researching the importance of identifying and accommodating students with dyslexia.

• Louise Spear-Swerling, a professor of special education and area coordinator of the graduate program in learning disabilities at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, and author of The Power of RTI and Reading Profiles: A Blueprint for Solving Reading Problems, will be speaking about using case studies to understand dyslexia.

• Dr. Mark Seidenberg, a Vilas Research Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It, will be holding a Q&A and live recording of an episode of the podcast Podclassed.

Following the speaking sessions, three Reading Horizons reading specialists will hold a panel discussion. Panelists include:

• Shantell Berrett, MA: Using her experience as a dyslexia specialist, English teacher, reading/dyslexia tutor, and mother of a child with dyslexia and dysgraphia, Berrett provides consulting support for schools across the nation.
• Donell Pons, M.Ed., MAT, SPED: A reading and dyslexia specialist, as well as a certified dyslexia screener and consultant, Pons started her career in education when her youngest son was diagnosed with dyslexia.
• Laura Axtell, M. Ed: An educational specialist with Reading Horizons and host of the podcast Podclassed, Axtell has spent the last year working with experts to develop a free dyslexia screener for districts across the country.

Other speakers at the summit will include acclaimed artist Madalyne Marie Hymas, author of The Dyslexic Advantage and dual-language teacher Scott Mills, and John Therrien, author of Learn About Dyslexia: Noah Teaches, a book that explains dyslexia to kids.

“Legislation that would require teacher coaching for identifying and supporting students with dyslexia hasn’t quite reached every state,” said Tyson Smith, the president and CEO of Reading Horizons. “With the number of students struggling to read, this summit is for educators who want to strategically provide an equal opportunity for every student to reach their full potential.”

Summit attendees will earn up to 5.5 hours of professional development credits. All registrants will receive links to each presentation following the live broadcast. Interested educators can watch a video of last year’s summit here.

About Reading Horizons
For more than 30 years, Reading Horizons has dedicated its time and efforts to perfecting a reading system that makes learning to read simple and enjoyable for beginning and struggling readers. All of Reading Horizons’ products are based on a method that provides explicit, systematic, sequential decoding instruction. The Reading Horizons method has been proven successful for beginning readers, struggling readers, and students learning English. For more information, please visit ReadingHorizons.com.

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When is a Reverse Mortgage the Right Choice?

Non-profit credit counseling agency Take Charge America shares considerations for senior homeowners

PHOENIX – (Oct. 10, 2018) – With today’s booming economy and rising home values, many seniors are considering a reverse mortgage to increase cash flow during retirement.

Zillow reports that home values are increasing at the fastest pace since June 2006. Meanwhile, retirement and healthcare costs are also on the rise – and seniors may feel the pinch.

“Many seniors are house rich but cash poor,” said Mike Sullivan, a personal finance consultant with Take Charge America, a national non-profit credit counseling and housing counseling agency. “A home equity conversion mortgage – commonly called a reverse mortgage – may provide quick access to cash, but it’s important to consider all of the factors.”

Reverse mortgage loans, available through HUD-approved lenders, allow homeowners 62 and older to convert part of their home equity into tax-free cash. But, like with any loan, there are expenses, terms and other fine print to consider:

Sullivan offers six considerations for seniors considering a reverse mortgage:

1. Fees: Upfront fees, including mortgage insurance, origination fees and closing costs can be significant. However, the fees can be wrapped into the reverse mortgage, which increases the loan amount but helps borrowers avoid out-of-pocket expenses at closing.
2. Existing mortgage: Seniors with an existing mortgage – or any other liens against their home – must pay off the loans with the reverse mortgage. In other words, seniors can’t have a traditional mortgage and a reverse mortgage at the same time.
3. Taxes and insurance: While seniors don’t have to make payments against a reverse mortgage, they still must pay property taxes and homeowners insurance – or they risk foreclosure.
4. Home maintenance: Seniors must pay out of pocket for home maintenance or repairs. They can’t take out a home equity loan or second mortgage to cover these costs.
5. Repayment: The loan is due when the borrower sells the home, lives away from the home for 12 consecutive months, fails to pay property taxes or insurance, or passes away. Given the costs of a reverse mortgage, it may not be a good option for a senior in very poor health or someone who intends to move within a few years.
6. Equity: The home equity is reduced by the amount of the loan. Typically, the funds are repaid when the heirs sell the house. If they elect not to sell, heirs are responsible for repayment of the loan.

To obtain a reverse mortgage, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires seniors to undergo reverse mortgage counseling from an approved third-party organization like Take Charge America. Certified HECM counselors help seniors understand the loan terms, financial and tax implications, and alternatives. To learn more, call Take Charge America at (866) 528-0588.

About Take Charge America, Inc.

Founded in 1987, Take Charge America, Inc. is a nonprofit agency offering financial education and counseling services including credit counseling, debt management, student loan counseling, housing counseling and bankruptcy counseling. It has helped more than 1.6 million consumers nationwide manage their personal finances and debts. To learn more, visit www.takechargeamerica.org or call (888) 822-9193.