By Gabrielle Dillard
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Valencia Community College's Dean of Students, Chris Klinger, is passionate about money. That is to say, he's passionate about helping Valencia College students manage their funds. On Thursday, Klinger held a lecture at VCC's Osceola Campus entitled "I Owe How Much?!?" that was all about helping students identify and deal with their financial debt.
"The most important part is planning," said Klinger. "Students seem to be afraid of that word, planning, but it's just so important."
According to Klinger, the number one reason for college drop-outs in America is financial commitment. He said during his lecture that education is one of the best reasons to create debt, but as some recent graduates soon find out, bad credit after graduation due to debt accrued in school can affect job placement. "Student loans never go away!" Klinger warned. "Sometimes not even after you die!"
During the Thrsday lecture, Klinger touched on some of the warning signs of impending financial trouble which include over-use of cash advances, returned or "bounced" checks, using one credit card to pay off another and delaying medical or dental attention for lack of funds. Klinger was particularly adamant about this last one, noting that it's often college students who choose to forgo their health in favor of a night out with friends or course material for their classes.
Noemi Rodriguez, one of the students who came to the event, was particularly interested in finding ways to pay down her credit cards. "Honestly, I originally came here because it was required," Rodriguez confessed. "But I have 2 credit cards that are maxed out and I know that's not good."
Another student, Omar Cooper, had a slightly different story. "I'm not in debt right now, but I'm worried that I might get there eventually," said Cooper. "I guess it's just better to be safe than sorry."
The lecture also included some useful information on where to go for financial assistance such as the Central Florida chapter of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) and Valencia's own web site. Thus far these finance lectures and workshops are only being held at the Osceola campus, but the goal is to eventually expand the seminars to students at all four campuses.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Genealogy Branches Out in Kissimmee
By Gabrielle Dillard
Kissimmee, Fla. - Ann Bergelt spends hours every week pouring over decade old tax forms and century old birth certificates. The dedicated librarian is also a very avid genealogist and research instructor here in Central Florida.
As Bergelt explained, "Genealogy is learning our family history, our family backgrounds," which is precisely what she helps amature genealogists do once a week on Thursday evenings. At the Hart Memorial Central Library in Downtown Kissimmee, members of the public can come seek advice from Bergelt and her contemporaries in the Genealogy Lab. The small room in the back of the sprawling library is crammed with large leatherbound books filled with statistics dating back over a century.
But with the advent of the computer and internet databases, what's the point of trolling through all those dusty, decaying books? Perhaps Bergelt put it best when she said, "Internet and new technology makes searching quicker, but there are many documents out there that still have to be tracked down the old-fashioned way."
Still, the internet may be a good starting point for those would-be genealogical sleuths with no clue where to begin. Websites like Ancestry.com and Genealogy.org are a great resource to help fill in those bare family trees, if you don't mind paying a fee for the premium versions of the site.
But for the people who come to Bergelt and The Genealogy Club of Osceola County for help, digging through family albums and yellowed letters might be more satisfying because of its personal nature. One new comer to the Thursday night meetings is Susan Rhodes of Kissimmee. Rhodes' decision to learn more about her ancestral roots came from a very personal place - her daughter.
"My daughter had a family tree assignment last week in school. She asked me a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to, so I decided to go find out," she explained.
The Genealogy Club of Kissimmee meets on the first Sunday of every month at the Hart Memorial Central Library in Kissimmee. Membership is required for these meetings. Volunteers also provide research assistance every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening in the Geneology Lab at Hart Memorial that is open to the public with no membership required.
Kissimmee, Fla. - Ann Bergelt spends hours every week pouring over decade old tax forms and century old birth certificates. The dedicated librarian is also a very avid genealogist and research instructor here in Central Florida.
As Bergelt explained, "Genealogy is learning our family history, our family backgrounds," which is precisely what she helps amature genealogists do once a week on Thursday evenings. At the Hart Memorial Central Library in Downtown Kissimmee, members of the public can come seek advice from Bergelt and her contemporaries in the Genealogy Lab. The small room in the back of the sprawling library is crammed with large leatherbound books filled with statistics dating back over a century.
But with the advent of the computer and internet databases, what's the point of trolling through all those dusty, decaying books? Perhaps Bergelt put it best when she said, "Internet and new technology makes searching quicker, but there are many documents out there that still have to be tracked down the old-fashioned way."
Still, the internet may be a good starting point for those would-be genealogical sleuths with no clue where to begin. Websites like Ancestry.com and Genealogy.org are a great resource to help fill in those bare family trees, if you don't mind paying a fee for the premium versions of the site.
But for the people who come to Bergelt and The Genealogy Club of Osceola County for help, digging through family albums and yellowed letters might be more satisfying because of its personal nature. One new comer to the Thursday night meetings is Susan Rhodes of Kissimmee. Rhodes' decision to learn more about her ancestral roots came from a very personal place - her daughter.
"My daughter had a family tree assignment last week in school. She asked me a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to, so I decided to go find out," she explained.
The Genealogy Club of Kissimmee meets on the first Sunday of every month at the Hart Memorial Central Library in Kissimmee. Membership is required for these meetings. Volunteers also provide research assistance every Tuesday morning and Thursday evening in the Geneology Lab at Hart Memorial that is open to the public with no membership required.
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