FIFA World Cup: VIU Student Meets Messi

VIU MBA student Ibrahim Elnems had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to volunteer at the FIFA World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa. “It was so amazing to be there with all the players, journalists, visitors and other volunteers!” gushed Elnems, excitement in his eyes. “I worked in the Media Center checking press credentials, interacting with journalists and photographers and making sure everyone knew where to go on match days.” As one of the most active volunteers, Elnems got a chance to participate in the closing ceremony rehearsal, where he even got to hold the World Cup itself – 14 kilos of pure gold! When asked about his favorite moments, he responds that meeting superstar players Cannavaro (Italy), Messi (Argentina)
and Ronaldo (Portugal) and especially getting to hold the actual trophy were the most incredible experiences.

How to Succeed on the TOEFL

The TOEFL® is the epitome of a high-stakes test, used for purposes ranging from college admissions to professional certifications to the satisfaction of visa language requirements. According to the website of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) (www.ets.org/toefl), it is recognized by over 9,000 universities and other institutions as a measure of the ability to “use and understand the English language as it is heard, spoken, read and written in the university classroom.” Hundreds of thousands of people take the TOEFL® every year at a cost of $160 to $250 each time.
The ESL Program at VIU offers a variety of TOEFL® preparation courses. Recently, I sat down with two full-time instructors, Claire Gimble and Lauren Pollard, who kindly shared several pieces of tried-and-true advice regarding how to succeed on this very important gatekeeper. Among the themes emphasized repeatedly by both was the centrality of quick thinking and strategic time management. In short, you may have an impressive level of English proficiency, but if you do not manage your time well enough to demonstrate it, you will not get credit for your ability. Here are some of their recommendations.

1. Repress the urge to understand every detail—be strategic.
On the reading section, managing your time strategically may mean temporarily forgetting some of what you have learned about deep reading comprehension. You will likely find that it is simply not possible to read all of the texts on the TOEFL® thoroughly; thus, even more so than usual, you will need to read with a clear purpose in mind. In many cases, it may help to skim a passage and take in its organization so that you will know where to look in order to answer the questions. With practice, you may realize that you can answer questions despite having grasped only the gist of large chunks of the text.
2. Limit your planning time.
On the writing section, lightning-fast planning is of the essence. If you are given 30 minutes to write an essay, you should spend at least 20 minutes writing your answer and should devote 5 minutes at the end to editing your work. That leaves only a few minutes for initial planning. One way to streamline the planning process is to internalize the structure of a standard 5-paragraph essay. Having that organization in mind can make it very quick and straightforward to plug your ideas into a predetermined template.
3. Develop your ability to think—and type—quickly.
For many students, common roadblocks on the TOEFL® include a lack of experience with impromptu speaking under time pressure and choppy, error-prone typing skills. To improve your ability to speak extemporaneously in a well-organized manner, have friends ask for your opinions on random, unexpected topics, and practice saying as much as you can in 45 seconds. Devoting 20 minutes a day to free writing on a computer can kill two birds with one stone, helping you to increase your typing speed while also becoming more comfortable with getting your ideas out as quickly as possible.
4. Do not worry too much about conveying your true opinions.
Being contemplative and insightful may have benefits in other areas of life, but on the TOEFL® these qualities take a back seat to communicating as much as you can as effectively as possible. The scorers do not care what you think; they care how you express it in English. Considered in a certain light, writing and speaking on the TOEFL® can be liberating! If you are asked to argue in favor of one of two options, identify which side would be easier to speak or write about, and choose that one, even if it contradicts your actual opinion. Your main goal should be to let your English proficiency shine.
5. When practicing, simulate the testing circumstances as closely as possible.
Gain confidence by familiarizing yourself with all sections of the test, proactively planning out exactly how you will approach them, and enacting your plan until it becomes second nature. Decide how much time you will devote to thinking vs. writing vs. editing, for example, and be very strict about holding yourself to the designated restrictions so that you internalize a sense of what the various time limits feel like. Since the TOEFL® is internet-based, practice in front of a computer. The more you can simulate the exact testing circumstances, the better.
And last but not least, considering the cost of the TOEFL®, take the test when you are ready. There are many ways to practice in the meantime! Written by Dr. Rebecca Sachs.

THE FULL TOEFL® PACKAGE
VIU helps students succeed on the TOEFL exam by providing superb TOEFL prep classes as well as having an onsite test center. As an ETS authorized TOEFL iBT® Test Center, VIU holds four to eight TOEFL iBT® test sessions in a month. Our Test Center can accommodate 19 students in each of our TOEFL iBT® test sessions. The test center is open to both VIU students and the general public. VIU’s ESL program also offers TOEFL iBT courses for those who need satisfactory TOEFL scores to meet their academic and professional goals.  Students who are in lower levels and select the TOEFL track may take intro TOEFL courses in which they learn the structure of the test and basic test-taking strategies.  This is where they are exposed to different topics that often appear on the TOEFL.  Those that have already demonstrated sufficient English proficiency to be in the two highest levels are allowed to take intensive TOEFL courses, two of which can be taken per term. However, for those who are interested in pursuing a degree at VIU without taking the TOEFL exam, VIU does not require standardized test scores such as TOEFL or IELTS for admission. Students can easily enroll in their courses after taking the English Placement Test, provided by VIU.

Presidential Visit: Brazil

In an effort to promote Virginia International University’s global partnerships and at the invitation of several prominent universities, VIU President Dr. Sarac visited four states and five cities in Brazil this Spring. The number of South American, and specifically Brazilian, students at VIU increased steadily over the last several years, resulting in the Brazilian trip. VIU alumna Camilla Nunes accompanied the President and served as his translator on his trip to her homeland.

Centro Universitario de Belo Horizonte

Their first stop was in São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, where Dr. Sarac and Camilla visited the bilingual school Colégio Belo Futuro Internacional and officials from EducationUSA, who advised them on VIU’s enrollment in the “Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program” to allow more Brazilian students the opportunity to come to VIU. Dr. Sarac met and signed agreements with rectors of several other universities, both federal and private, including Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP) in Minas Gerais, UNISUAM in Rio de Janeiro, Universidade Positivo in Curitiba, and Grupo Anima, a group that supports three private universities in Belo Horizonte.

Rio de Janeiro

Between meetings and visits, Dr. Sarac had the opportunity to go on sightseeing tours and see the astonishing diversity of the country, with scenery from flowered mountains to skyscrapers; from baroque architecture to beautiful beaches. Dr. Sarac was very impressed by Brazil’s nature as well as its people. The VIU community looks forward to fruitful partnerships and welcoming more students from Brazil.

NEW COLLABORATIONS
Virginia International University participates in several valuable collaborations with other universities and organizations worldwide. Through these collaborations, VIU undertakes joint educational and research initiatives, creates international opportunities for students and faculty, and works with likeminded institutions on best practices in university development. VIU also offers joint degree options to students of several collaborating universities, both at the graduate and

Centro Universitario Augusto Motta

undergraduate levels. Each year, VIU hosts many students from collaborating institutions in all of its degree programs, as well as in ESL, summer programs, and short-term trainings and workshops. VIU’s collaborations expand annually; currently, VIU collaborates with institutions on five continents! The latest collaborations are with institutions in Romania, Germany, Thailand, Tanzania, Korea, and Brazil.

The Purple Cow: How to Get Noticed by Employers

According to the Digest of Education Statistics, more than 250,000 students are currently enrolled in MBA programs and about 157,000 MBA degrees are awarded annually, thus making MBA graduates one of the most competitive conferred classes in the marketplace.
How do you stand out amongst the vast numbers of MBAs? How do you get potential employers to notice you over others? You need to be remarkable and unique. Being good is, well, not good enough. You need to be the purple cow. Imagine going home on route 66 East heading towards Washington D.C, you suddenly noticed 20 cows and one of them happens to be purple. (Cows are normally black, brown, white or mixed colors). What would you do? Let me guess – you will take a second and look again just to be sure you’re not hallucinating, you will probably take out your phone and snap some pictures, and you may even post the picture on your Facebook, rush home and tell your friends. Why? I assume it is not because you have never seen cows before but because you have just seen a unique cow – a purple cow.  Yes, the purple cow is not like its brethren, though a cow; it is a remarkable, unique and different cow. The uniqueness (purple color) is the magnet that attracts attention and gets this cow noticed from the rest. You must be a purple cow MBA to be noticed in the marketplace. So, how do you become an MBA purple cow?
First, recognize that you’re uniquely different, there is no one like you and identify what makes you unique. Maybe you have a style, a way of perceiving ideas; it could your background, or your experiences. Whatever it is that sets you apart must be identified. You can’t present yourself as remarkable and innovative if you’re eating the grass like other cows or mimicking what other people are doing.
Second, leverage your uniqueness by using this formula: YOU + Other person + The Situation = Uniqueness. Successful MBAs are those that take advantage of the opportunity the first time. In most cases, it’s the combination of your interaction with a recruiter or a potential client and how you handle the encounter (situation) is what makes the experience remarkable. Common interests, a shared sense of humor, a way of connecting emotionally – the more you can capitalize on your uniqueness, the more memorable you will be.  I remember, once, at Booz Allen Hamilton, we had invited about 25 new MBAs for project management positions for our London Office. None of these MBAs has less than 3.5 GPA, and all of them knew how to apply SWOT, cost/benefit analysis, competitive analysis and all that, but one student was remarkable – Mohammad Abere. Mohammad knew all the soccer teams in England, all their historical scores and standings, and he knew the championship history of the English premier clubs. The Booz interviewing team hired Mohammad because of his uniqueness that had the potential of increasing the firm’s market share. The Booz consulting business is relationship based, and nothing builds better relationship in London than football.
Third, let your uniqueness to be an asset. Gone are the days when corporations would hire you and train you - no more. Many organizations expect you to be ready on the first day to contribute to organizational growth. The most effective way to be an asset is to know the organizational problems and propose solutions. Companies hire because there is a problem that needs some degree of solution. If you don’t know the problem, you can’t solve it and therefore you’re not an asset. One of our MBA graduates was recently hired by BlueCross as an Operational Manager because he successfully identified some of the problems in the billing department and showed how his unique experience would help speed the billing cycle.
In reality, being a purple cow is not a one-time activity; rather it is a constant way of thinking creatively about the individual interactions you have every day. So what are you reading? What are you thinking? The only way to become remarkably different from other MBAs is for you to know your uniqueness, leverage your uniqueness and turn that uniqueness into an asset. Written by Dr. Stephen Onu.