Calling All Homeschooled Students To The Homeschool Information Session!

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April 24th at the Medina Campus Center

Did you know that approximately 150 different homeschool students take the opportunity to enroll as a GCC student? These students get ahead of the game, and take fun and interesting courses to earn college credit, and they contribute to GCC’s dynamically diverse classroom environment.

We encourage all homeschool families to visit the GCC Medina Campus Center on Monday, April 24th from 5-7p.m. to learn more about the great opportunities the College offers to homeschooled students. At this meeting, there will be staff members who work extensively with this population of students, and they will be available to answer any questions. The session will also include a light dinner for all the participants.

GCC offers homeschooled students an extensive opportunity to advance their education at an early stage. There is a variety of classes in multiple subject areas that are offered to those who are in the ACE (Accelerated College Enrollment) Program. Not only do you have the chance to take some great classes, and get ahead of the game, but you also get reduced tuition rate! Dan Snyder, the ACE Program Specialist will be at the session to provide more information about the ACE Program.

You will learn about how the coursework at GCC helps homeschooled students earn the New York State High School Equivalency Diploma, as well as learn about the availability of  scholarships and financial aid including the Genesee Promise Plus Summer Scholarship Program. This allows ACE students to take one or two classes this summer tuition-free at any of GCC’s seven campus locations or online. There are more than 140 courses offered during the summer semester. You will have the opportunity to learn even more about this by attending the Homeschool Info Session on April 24th. Please RSVP your attendance no later than April 17.

The Medina Campus Center is located at 11470 Maple Ridge Road in Medina, NY 14103. You can contact the Medina Campus Center at (585) 798-1688 for more information. For door-to-door directions go to: http://www.genesee.edu/home/about/administration/visit/

We hope to see you there, and in GCC’s classrooms this summer and next fall!

How to Use Different Types of Flour While Cooking

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One of my favorite things to do is cook. I find that it helps me exercise my creative side and allows me to try new things. I like the fact that I reap all the benefits of what I sew and can also share if I feel like it. Since I’ve been on this journey for a while now, I have gotten much more adventurous in my efforts to provide something delicious and nourishing to eat.

In this blog, I am going to incorporate recipes that use varieties of flour that you may not have heard of. Since people who are allergic to gluten can’t eat wheat, alternative types of flour are necessary so they can still have the foods they enjoy.

Almond Flouralmond flour

The first flour I am going to introduce is almond flour. Since it’s highly nutritious, easy to use, and readily available, almond flour is a good alternative choice to all purpose… especially if you’re health conscious. Also, if you’re on a budget, avoid purchasing it in store and buy online instead. The brands I recommend are Honeyville, JK Gourmet, Lucy’s Kitchen Shop, and nuts.com. Note: Stay away from Bob’s Red Mill. This flour tends to leave food runny and messy.

Chocolate chip almond flour cookies

Ingredients:

¼ Cup brown sugar, light or dark

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp butter at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 cups almond flour

½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment
  2. Combine brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter and mix until smooth.
  3. Mix vanilla, egg, and almond flour, stirring to combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then mix for 1 minute at max speed.
  4. Stir in chocolate chips
  5. Scoop the dough one level teaspoon at a time onto the prepared baking sheet. A tbsp. cookie scoop works well too.
  6. Gently flatten cookies to about ½ inch thick
  7. Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes until they are golden brown.
  8. Remove the cookies from the oven. Allow them to cool on the pan.

 

Pecan Flourpecan_flour

Another nut flour that’s good to use is pecan flour. Since pecans are less expensive than almonds, it’s a good competitor. I’m going to give 2 recipes that you may find interesting.

Pecan Crust

This first pecan flour recipe is a pecan crust recipe that you can use with pies. Blueberry, pumpkin, and cheesecake are delicious with this crust.

Ingredients

2 ½ C pecan flour

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 c white sugar

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions

  1. Stir together ground nuts, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix in melted butter.
  2. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch deep dish style pie pan. Chill the unbaked crust in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
  3. Place crust on a cookie sheet and position on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Note: Watch carefully! Nut crusts burn easily; they don’t have to turn black to taste burnt. Cool completely before filling.

 

Carrot Cakecarrot cake

This recipe takes a spin on a good classic.

Ingredients

3 c pecan flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

5 large eggs

½ c honey or agave nectar

¼ c coconut oil, melted

3 c carrots, grated

1 c raisins

1 c walnuts

Cream cheese icing

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  2. In separate bowl, mix together eggs, agave/honey, oil.
  3. Stir carrots, raisins and walnuts into wet ingredients.
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry.
  5. Transfer batter to 2 well-greased 9 inch cake pans
  6. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.
  7. Cool cake for 3 hours then remove from pan.
  8. Ice with cream cheese icing and serve.

 

Vegetable flours are used in a variety of foods… for humans and our pets! The next recipe I am going to talk about is one that I absolutely love to make for Clark, my cat. He loves it too!

Dry cat foodcat

This recipe calls for pea flour. You can buy it online or make it yourself from dried peas. All you have to do is grind the dried peas in a food processor until it’s a soft, fine substance. That’s all!

Ingredients

1 c cornmeal

2 c pea flour

3 c whole wheat flour

1 c wheat germ

1 can salmon with no bones

5 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp cod liver oil

1 c fat free milk powder

½ C Brewers yeast

2 C water

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, take the fish, oil, and water and mash it all together. Then, in a large bowl, mix all the other ingredients together. Next, mix both bowls together evenly. Make the dough by mixing it by hand and roll it to a thickness of about ¼ inch diameter. Use a knife to cut small ¼ inch pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put the bits onto a greased baking sheet; put into oven. Bak for 20-25 minutes while tossing around the bits so they brown evenly from all sides. Let the bits cool completely before removing from the oven. Refrigerate the kibble by transferring them to an airtight container. It won’t spoil for a long period of time.

 

Coconut flourcoconut flour

Coconut flour is surely growing in popularity as more people are using it for it’s many health benefits. It’s delicious, gluten free, and a healthy alternative to other flours. Try using it in this next recipe I have typed for you below.

Coconut Flour Brownies

Ingredients

½ C plus 2 tbsp coconut oil

¼ C cocoa powder

3 large eggs

½ C plus 2 tbsp honey or agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ C minus 1 tbsp coconut flour

½ tsp salt

1/3 C chopped walnuts (optional)

1/3 C mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 inch glass baking pan.
  2. Melt coconut oil. In large bowl, combine cocoa powder, and melted coconut oil, and eggs with an electric mixer until combined. Add in honey (or agave) and vanilla extract. Mix again. Add in coconut flour and salt and mix again until batter is combined.
  3. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
  5. Cool and serve.

 

I hope this motivates you to get a little creative in the kitchen. We are not all made the same way, therefore we should try varieties of foods to find what we truly enjoy. Good luck!

A History of Denim

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Seeing that denim jeans have been a clothing staple for men since the 19th century, the jeans that I’m wearing right now are a lot different from the denim jeans that my grandfather or even my dad wore.  According to sources, before the 1950s most denim jeans were crafted from raw and selvedge denim that was made in the United States. But in the subsequent decades, as denim went from workwear to an everyday style, the way jeans were produced changed dramatically.

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With the implementation of cost cutting technologies and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to developing countries, the quality of your average pair was greatly reduced. Changes in consumer expectations altered the denim landscape as well; guys wanted to pick up pre-washed, pre-faded, pre-broken-in, and even pre-ripped jeans that looked like they’d been worn for years.

So what is denim? Well, according to Quality Logo Products, denim is a woven fabric commonly made with a blue cotton warp yarn and a white cotton filling yarn. When it was first designed, denim was primarily used to make work clothes and tough clothing like overalls, but today it is used for everything from purses and skirts to denim jackets and other fashionable clothes. Denim is so popular in the twenty-first century that you can hardly walk into a store without seeing it on racks and displays.

You might also ask, how is denim made? Checking out the complex pattern of the fabric on denim jeans, that pattern is referred to as “twill weave,” and it is caused by finely-interwoven yarns. The white cotton filling yarns run the width of the fabric and interlace at 90-degree angles with the blue cotton warp yarns, which also run the length of the fabric, and therefore produce the fine lines you see on your denim.

Most denim jeans you buy today have been pre-washed to soften up the fabric, reduce shrinkage, and prevent indigo dye from rubbing off. Raw denim, sometimes called “dry denim” jeans are simply jeans made from denim that hasn’t gone through this pre-wash process. Because the fabric hasn’t been pre-washed, raw denim jeans are pretty stiff when you put them on the first time. It takes a few weeks of regular wear to break-in and loosen up a pair. The indigo dye in the fabric can rub off as well.

It is said that Raw denim (all denim actually) comes in two types, sanforized or unsanforized. Sanforized denim has undergone a chemical treatment that prevents shrinkage after you wash your jeans. Most mass-produced jeans are sanforized, and many raw and selvedge denim jeans are too. Unsanforized denim hasn’t been treated with that shrink-preventing chemical, so when you do end up washing or soaking your jeans, they’ll shrink by 5%-10%.

sanforized-vs-unsanforized-denim

Raw denim is dark denim and dark denim is probably one of the most versatile pieces of clothing you can own. Raw denim jeans look much sharper than a faded pair of Wranglers, and not only can you wear them with a t-shirt and a pair of Converse, you can also pair them with a dress shirt and a sport coat for a night on the town.

 

Author: Terrell Poole

Professional Salesperson, Joseph Chappius, a Financial Advisor of Northwestern Mutual, visits Professional Sales Class

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Joseph Chappius, a Financial Advisor of Northwestern Mutual, Buffalo NY, volunteered to give his advice in the Professional Sales class which is taught by Professor Dudkowski. Chappius, who lives in Albion, saw himself as a salesperson through his finance internship, many years back. He sees sales as a combination of “Art” and “Science”.

When he wanted to make sales, he followed a 10:3:1 ratio, he will talk to 10 clients and select 3 clients who he thinks he had the opportunity to make a sale to. He also stated that “Time is money” by that he means he will spend the least amount of time with the client that he thinks would not be interested in buying or investing. He stated, “I’d rather spend my time with clients that he likes and the clients who has the willingness to invest”.

Chappius shared his selling experiences with the students in the class. He mentioned that he received more “No” than “Yesses”. He said a successful salesperson had met many failures before he or she succeed. He looked at failing as “keep going”. Every time Chappius failed to make a sale, he will do a “self-reflection” and ask “what do you want for now and your future” and always “Think Big”. He said as a salesperson “you don’t want people to tell you, how much you are worth”. You want to be worth as much as you want, you do rely on a fixed paycheck. Chappius mentioned “the more people you talk with, the more customers you are going to get.” When he talked to his clients, he focused on three criteria, “Are they nice?”, “Do they want to be helped?”, and “Do they have the capacity to save?”

Chappius gave his final advice to the students in the class, which was “be a person, be yourself, know your products, never use “Me” and “I”, and always listen to your clients. After this presentation, students were given the opportunity to ask Chappius questions. At the end of the class, Chappius was given a GCC Plaid Tie as an appreciation for coming to GCC and sharing his experiences with the students.

On behalf of the class, I would like thank Mr. Chappius for his time and advice on how to be a successful salesperson. We learned a lot from him.

Kah Chan “Kevin”
President of PTK – Alpha Iota Upsilon

Eurybia: Seafaring Vagabond

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Eurybia is an ancient sea goddess daughter of Gaia and Pontus.  Some sources claim that she is obscure and insignificant but that cannot be right because she was given protection over the ocean waters by her parentless, primordial Earth Mother.  She has dominion of the deepest parts with “a heart of flint” and who knows what Shimmers Down There with sunken civilizations and sea monsters as well as vast reservoirs of undiscovered energy — certainly an impact upon the climate.

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There seems to have been a coup d’etat  by later sea deities and the  male dominated shipping commerce–especially in the 18th century.

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The oceans erroneously referred to as the “seven seas” are actually five:  Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern.  These “great waters” embody the principle of the sacred feminine as originator and sustainer of all planetary life so women should reclaim their right to journey there.  In ancient times, there were several sets of “seven seas” and this voyage will follow the Mediterranean Herculean Route along the cote d’azur from the port of Barcelona, Spain to Rome, Italy and on to Athens, Greece.

Traditionally, women have been considered trouble at sea but the Male Sailor needs to get over that.  There are many ways for a woman to experience the romance and adventure of the high seas (after carefully researching and assessing the risks, of course).

In a legend as old as time, a Fisherman Wife can wait on the wharf.

Or, have a Selfie Retreat in a cottage or beach resort.

Or, Work the Crew of a merchant or research vessel.

Or, be a Honeymoon Bride on a cruise.

There are several ports of call, including:

Stepping out at Monaco, and…

Sightseeing in Marseille.

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After arriving in Rome, an additional trip will return the ancient goddess to Athens Nightlife.  From here, one could cruise up the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic or depart on an island tour of the Aegean Sea.

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Our Seafaring Vagabond wants to explore the “Seven Seas” of the Black, Caspian, Arabian, Aegean, Red, Adriatic, and Indian Ocean.  There are high risks and rough spots ahead but she is going to ease into it by touring the islands of the Aegean:  precinct of the sun’s renown.  Elysium!!!

One must be confident, well-packed, and non-flirty to “step out on the waters”  and  go beyond.

Author: Nadine Jeffery

Do You Want To Be The Next Face of GCC?!

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Are you interested in being one of the faces of GCC? Well we have the perfect opportunity for you!

Calling all GCC students and alumni!

Next week photoshoots for the new GCC faces will begin. If you would like to be one of these faces then email marcom@genesee.edu with your full name, email address, your program of study, and preferred time slot! After that you will get a confirmation email for your time slot along with an attached file of your model consent form that must be filled out and brought with you on the day of your photoshoot, or feel free to stop by and drop it off ahead of time in the MarCom office.

The time slots are:
Monday 4/10: 11:30am-2:00pm
Wednesday 4/12: 8:30-10:30am
Thursday 4/13: 11:00am-2:30pm
Tuesday 4/18: 4:00-6:00pm
Friday 4/21: LAST CALL! 11:00am-1:00pm

Your image could be used for various marketing purposes, including displays in the cafeteria above the vending machines and on our website! Please feel free to bring props that show who you are whether it be your future profession or a passion you have. Also make sure to look fresh, this could be scrubs, a uniform, GCC gear, anything to do with your profession or passion. Have fun with it! Your photo will be sent to you to keep for personal use as well.

The photoshoot will be held in the TV Studio (T137) at the Batavia Campus. It is next door to the Online Learning Office on the first floor of the technology building.

This is a great opportunity and totally free, plus you get to be in one if not many of the GCC advertisements! We hope to see you there!

The Official Flyer: Faces of Genesee flyer_2017

The BEST Study Tips For College Students

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Finals are slowly creeping up on us, and before we know it we’ll be preparing for finals. Unfortunately not everyone knows how to properly study which can be a fatal to your grades. You have all of the material, you just don’t know how to study it. Here are the best study tips to help you conquer any exam!

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1. Be Organized

So often people underestimate the importance of being organized. This is not only helpful as a student, but it will also be helpful in your future endeavors.

    • Have a study time scheduled in your day. This is the best way to ensure that you will study, if it’s scheduled into your day you are less likely to get distracted and it ensures that you will get to it because you’ve set aside time to do so.
    • Refer to your syllabus. Your syllabus is a free tool that you didn’t have to do any work to get, and sadly so few people use it. The teacher takes the time to layout everything you need to know for the semester so why not use it?! This is your guide to success in your class, and if you use it to your benefit it’s almost difficult to not succeed.
    • Write everything down. You’re probably really tired of hearing about agendas from me, but I cannot stress the benefit of having and using one. Your agenda can be a great tool if utilized correctly. I use mine to write down homework assignments to do, upcoming tests, due dates, work schedule, everything can easily be accessed in one place; your agenda!

 
2. Only Study What You Need to Know

A lot of the time your exams are broken up containing only a few chapters, or your professor will tell you prior to the exam what you need to know. So instead of going through and rereading every single chapter or studying all of your notes. Study what you need to know. Don’t fill up your head with a ton of information that will be completely useless on the exam. College students tend to make things 10x’s more stressful than it needs to be.

3. Turn Off Distractions

I’m pretty sure you’re not going to be as productive or truly be studying to the best of your ability if you’re blasting music, watching Netflix, or on your phone. Turn your distractions off! I know it’s a crazy concept in 2017 to put your phone down, turn off the TV, and just focus on school work, but it is possible and it will benefit you. The truth is multitasking is actually more harmful than helpful so just try to remain focused on one thing, what you’re trying to study. But if you do need to listen to music or at least have some sort of noise I would suggest listening to calming music without lyrics, this will be the least distracting and still allow you to study effectively.

4. Test Your Knowledge by Trying to Explain the Concept

I love this technique because it truly allows you to understand what you know, and what you need to work on. Whether it be with a study partner or your sibling or parent, sit down and explain a concept on your upcoming exam to them. If you can fully explain every point and the entire concept to them then you are golden, if not just jot down what you still need to work on and study, study, study!

5. Personalize Your Studying

The same method of studying does not work for everyone, so personalize it to yourself and make it work for you. At the end of the day no one study method is going to work for every college student in the world, you have to just find out how your brain works, and how you learn best. Just be willing to put in the time and effort, and it will work out.

That’s all I have for study tips, I hope this was helpful and I wish you all the best on finals!

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

-Jimmy Johnson

–Danielle

Spring Trends 2017

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Spring has just begun, so that means we must prepare for new fashion trends and styles.  No matter how many clothes you have in your closet, you’ve probably felt like you just can’t figure out what matches, or what really compliments each other. This is when monochromatic colors come into play.  Leave your dark colors in the fall, and switch to brighter & more fun monochromatic colors for spring. Next time when you don’t have time to put an outfit together, try putting some of the same color pieces together. It’ll save you the time and hassle, while still allowing you to look trendy.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen mini skirts, now they’re back in season. Though, the weather isn’t too hot right now, that shouldn’t stop you from wearing a fashionable mini skirt. You can wear a mini skirt tomorrow and pair it with a simple pair of leggings. Denim skirts are also still trending. Any season is a great season to wear denim, but it just depends on how you dress it up ranging from overalls, jackets, jeans, and more.

Switch out your bomber jacket for a varsity jacket for when the spring weather tends to get confusing.  A blazer doesn’t have to always be used for formal occasions. Take an oversized blazer, button it all the way down, and you now have a trendy D.I.Y dress for the spring. Gingham is another print that’s coming back into style.  No, you won’t look like a walking tablecloth, this will be our new warm weather print. I believe yellow is the top color for this spring, all shades of yellow.  This color will get you noticed.  It brings on sunny rays with good vibes.

There’s no way you can fail with a matching set, for example, track suits have been worn by a couple celebrities throughout the week. You can also never go wrong with a graphic tee with bold statements, a shirtdress, a fanny pack, oversized clothes, fishnets, bright tights and much more. Basically, you can wear whatever defines Spring to you. Enjoy!

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Author: Lorraine Aryee

Professor Bucki’s Keys to a Successful Interview

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IMG_20170308_085622Professor Bucki, the Director of GCC’s Information Technologies Department, attended my Professional Sales class as a guest speaker to discuss the side of the job interview process that usually isn’t covered, that being what does an employer actually looks for and consider during an interview. He lead into his presentation simply titled “The Interview” with some humorous personal stories as well as an inspirational story about a lumberjack. Some key factors he shared were:

  1. Develop your self-brand
  2. A good Resume and cover letter can take over 100 hours to perfect and should always be changing as you gain more skills and experience
  3. Most employers spend less than 30 seconds looking at your resume
  4. The point of the interview is not just to see if you have what it takes to do the job, but finding out who you are and if you’ll fit in culturally as well
  5. Easiest ways of killing your interview
    • Trashing a previous employer
    • Ignorance of the company
    • Not having questions
    • Bringing up vacation, promotions, and salary
    • “BSing” your way through the interview
  6. Most common and important interview questions
    • Why should I hire you?
    • Tell me one of your weaknesses
    • Tell me about a time you failed
    • Tell me about your greatest success
  7. How to beat nervousness
  8. Make sure to follow up or send a thank you letter

Special thanks to Professor Bucki for bringing such a unique and exciting viewpoint to our classroom. The presentation was full of valuable information that we can all incorporate into our future job searches.