The Best Buddies Program

The Best Buddies Program

Best Buddies International is a nonprofit organization creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This organization serves people with Down Syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and others.

Best Buddies is a great program because it helps people with disabilities form meaningful relationships with their peers and help them feel included. Not only is it great for the students with disabilities, but it very rewarding to the volunteers as well.

College sophomore Emma Whitner participated in this program while she was a high school student. During her junior year, she and another student volunteer were paired together with an entire middle school class so she had the opportunity to work with multiple students. During her senior year, she had the same system but was paired up with a high school class instead. This is one way the Best Buddies program works, but volunteers may get paired up one on one with someone as well.

Best Buddies International not only offers these friendship programs, but they also offer leadership development and integrated employment opportunities as well. The purpose of the leadership development program is to allow people with special needs to gain public speaking skills and confidence. The employment program seeks to find jobs for special needs people to suit their interests and talent. 

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity in your life that is rewarding and fun, Best Buddies International would be a great program to look into. Not only will you be positively impacting a person’s life, but will you will make lasting friendships in the process.

Internship Advice for Collage Students

Any college student understands the struggle of landing a summer internship. It doesn’t even matter what your major is, internships are very competitive amongst students. Most students won’t do their first internship until at least the summer after their junior year, and sometimes not even until after they graduate.

Not only are internships difficult to land, but sometimes they aren’t even paid! It’s hard living in a world where you’re expected to have 5-7 years’ experience to get a job as a “recent graduate.” Every college student is trying their hardest in school to make getting a job after school as easy as possible.

Emma Whitner, a sophomore at University of Florida, managed to land her first internship the summer after her freshman year, which almost unheard of. I asked Emma for some advice that she could give to college students to help them get an internship.

Emma’s list of recommendations is:
1 Make connections in your major, whether it be professors or people in that profession outside of your school. Emma really made an effort to reach out and make connections with people that her father knew and worked with. This helped her in the long run.

2. Visit the career center on campus and talk to them about your options. Not only will they know about companies looking for interns, but they will also be able to offer you advice on your resume and interviewing skills.

3. Speaking of resumes, Emma says to make sure that your resume is always up to date and professional-looking but creative enough to stand out in a crowd. It is also important to make sure you have a good list of references ready, these could be an old teacher, coach, or a professor for example.

4. Be persistent. Emma said that after she applied for internships, she followed up with them to make sure that the HR department received it. This shows that you have a lot of interest in that position. She also made sure to send a follow up email after the interview thanking them for the opportunity.

5. Get a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is an incredible resource for making connections with people, has helpful articles about interviewing and applying for jobs, and it’s an easy tool for job searching.

6. Finally, Emma says to apply for every internship that sparks your interest. You’re more likely to get an interview if you apply to more places.

These tips can help students stand out during the internship hiring processes. This advice is great for not only students looking for internships, but anyone who is looking for a job. It is certainly not easy to get an internship, but being proactive and persistent will help you stand out in a crowd.

Student Athlete Advisory Council -Press Release Note

Karen Carter

Press Release

Media Contact: 513-226-5542

The University of Florida offers a committee that student-athletes can join called the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This committee is comprised of at least two students from each of the University's sports. Student-athletes on this committee are expected to be a liaison between the athletes and the coaching staff. One of the other purposes of this committee is to help organize major events with student-athletes, such as the Florida Letterman Awards.

In this photo is the 2017-2018 diving team at the 2018 Letterman Awards. From left to right: Alex Farrow, Boni Trinter, Brianna Felegi, Miranda Goss, Teya Syskakis, Brooke Madden, Emma Whitner, Abby Howell, Dalton Goss

The Florida Letterman awards is a night for student-athletes, coaches and staff to celebrate their accomplishments. During this event, athletes have the opportunity to win awards such as Athlete of the Year, Performance of the Year, and Scholar of the Year, to name a few.

Another purpose of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is to help organize philanthropy events throughout the year. An example of one of these events is the Annual Climb for Cancer Foundation's Brandon Ling Memorial Sports Camp. Climb for Cancer is the name of a non-profit that helps raise money for families battling cancer. The event is an opportunity for kids with cancer to play sports and have fun with student-athletes from the University of Florida.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is a great way for student-athletes to get involved with their community and interact with students from different sports.

If you really enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends, colleagues and students group who truly need an advice on starting a UF diving athlete career. The University of Florida offers a committee that student-athletes can join called the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This article will enlighten all the students and aspirants who are interested and looking forward to a diving career. This will be the adding the greatest values too! Thank you for your time.

Debutante Emma Whitner- A Must Read!

On June 15, 2018, the Jacksonville Debutante Coterie was announced and 16 young women made the cut. These women will have their final presentation on December 22, during their Christmas Ball. According to the dictionary, a debutante is an upper-class young woman making her first appearance in fashionable society.

The traditions of debutantes are traced back to the Victorian Era, where young women were presented to society with the intention of them meeting a husband of similar social status. These women would dress in a gown similar to a wedding dress and carry a bouquet.

These days, debutante balls are less about a woman finding a husband and more about living a certain kind of lifestyle. Debutante women are focused on living a life of elegance, grace, and proper etiquette because these ladies are upheld to a high standard in society. To even become a debutante in the first place, a woman must be nominated by someone in the community.

 Being a debutante means different things to different people. For example, to Emma Whitner, a sophomore at the University of Florida and member of the Jacksonville Debutante Coterie, being a debutante is something very personal to her. Three of Emma’s aunts were debutantes and some of her friends from elementary school. 

“The debutante season has been really enjoyable so far and it has been so nice for me to be able to spend time with this group of girls most of which I have not seen since elementary school. I am honored to be part of this group because of the tradition,” says Emma.

Emma is also very excited for the Christmas Ball coming up in a couple of months and is hoping that her three aunts will be in attendance to relive their days as debutantes.