Happy New Year from the Campbells

I have seriously neglected my blog this semester, but I'm hoping I will resume blogging regularly in 2013!
As I reflect on 2012, I feel a mixture of sadness and excitement as it ends. 2012 was a difficult year, but our little Campbell family experienced so much joy as well. Here is our recap of 2012
In May, Murad passed his licensure exam and is now a licensed master social worker! This was truly an exciting day for him and his hard work paid off tremendously. Since earning his license, Murad switched careers and is now a hospice social worker. Working in pallatative care can be exhausting, but Murad is gifted in his care of individuals and families experiencing this difficult time in life. Murad has also become more active in social and professional groups around Dallas. He enjoys the opportunities given to him to network and volunteer in our community
In May, I also experienced a career change as I left K-12 public school teaching after seven years. While I enjoyed enriching the lives of young folks each year, my passion changed once I became a mom. Not wanting to be far from education, I now teach developmental writing part-time at a community college, and serve as a teaching assistant for an online university. In addition to that, I started a small resume-writing service. Working from home and part-time has allowed me to spend more time at home with Joel while still keeping my foot in the door career-wise.
This year also marked a big change for me as I did the "BIG CHOP!" I had been going natural for almost two years, but having long, curly hair was not for me! I was forunate enough to have the support and encouragement of my husband when I decided to do it!
Well, Joely had an exciting year as well. In February, he was kicked out of daycare. Yes! You read correctly. At first, we were bummed, but we later figured out that his care-providers were not as compotent as we thought. He now is with Rebecca who is wonderful! I had the pleasure of teaching Rebecca's children years ago. Her son Austin is a freshman at Richland College and her daughter Shelby is a freshman at Berkner High School. Shelby often baby-sits for us on date-nights too. Both "kids" are the kind of children who make parents proud! While with Rebecca, Joel has mastered baby-sign language and is now beginning to talk. Rebecca also takes Joely to a preschool program called "Gym Dandies," and he loves it!
In May, we celebrated Joel's first birthday with two birthday parties!!! His New Jersey grandparents hosted a baseball themed party in their home, and we hosted a Sesame Street themed party in our home. Both parties were amazing!
Since entering his 2nd year, we have seen more of Joely's little personality come out--good and bad! He imitates his father, but loves on me! He is obsessed with Sampson & Maya. He imitates their growling, tries to eat their food, gets in the cage with them, kicks them and chases them. Fortunately, they love him too. I think our neglected pups are just glad to get some attention again! Since the weather is cooler, I've started walking with them.
What is in store for 2013? Murad will continue working as a social worker. I will change gears a bit and teach developmental reading for a small, Christian university. Joely will turn two (help!). Sampson and Maya might get a break from Joely once he figures out that he's not a dog! We plan to travel and hopefully do some remodeling on our home. We are looking forward to the new year!
Happy New Year from the Campbells!

DEFINITELY

Not definately!

Remember, the word definitely comes from definite (we could break it down even further to finite). Also, think of infinite. We wouldn't spell its adverb infinately! Infinitely!

This website should help you to remember!

the teaching of writing

For the past month, I have been heavily involved in the teaching and tutoring of writing. Not only, I have taught and tutored students in a traditional classroom, but I have also taught and tutored students online. I'm continuing to expand my "practice" as I like to call it. This little Ashlea Campbell Writing stuff is taking off, as I am giving more seminars and workshops as well.

I continue to provide writing assistance to those outside of academia, usually in the form of resume help. I charge a small fee (very small compared to resume-creating companies I've researched), but I started to wonder why we don't have community writing centers.

In almost every major metropolitan area, community literacy centers exist. These centers might carry the name "Adult Literacy center," but the mission is still the same: teach community members to read. The name literacy is somewhat misleading because it implies that reading and writing will be taught together. This is not the case as most exclusively help community members to read.

While it is imperative to have reading skills in order to think critically and secure and maintain a job, isn't developing writing skills just as necessary? What are writing centers limited to postsecondary institutions? What if adults could come to a place where they could develop their writing skills. In that center, adults could receive FREE, quality resume help. In fact, a writing center is just the kind of place our economy needs to get people thinking, writing and working. I thought I'd share a link the the Albuquerque Community Writing Center. I only found two writing centers like this when I did a quick Google search. Hopefully, more will spring up around the nation. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the gumption to start one here!

In an effort to promote skill development in writing, I will post links to some of my things from time-to-time. I cannot post too much because I am attempting to go through the publishing process again. This time instead of focusing on reading activities for middle school students, I hope to publish some the original writing tools I created for college level developing writers.

For now, I leave you with a link to APA running head formatting. This has been an ongoing issue with many of my online college students. It is such a tricky thing to master as the rules seem to change, especially if you are like me. I was an English Education major. All of my English papers had to be formatted to MLA standards while all of my Education papers had to be formatted to APA. Luckily, when I entered graduate school, I was exclusively APA.

Great Verbs for Resumes

Check out "My 380+ Favorite Verbs"

Health Educator Sample Before & After Resumes

Never Say These Five Things in a Job Interview

Great article! Great tips!

Never Say These Five Things in a Job Interview


"Humility is a great trait, but going out of your way to be self-deprecating is an interview turn-off.

You should always be candid about your role, but your interviewer doesn't care about your team dynamics or organizational chart. He wants to know what you did. He wants to know how you think. He wants to know about YOU."

5 Reasons Why You Never Hear Back After Applying for a Job

This article really highlights some of the pitfalls to avoid when job searching. I cannot stress enough how important networking is in finding and securing the job you want. Don't limit yourself to traditional networking. Social media allows HR departments to exist everywhere. Utilize LinkedIn to maximize your networking experience.

I also strongly agree that looking for a job is a job! Take it seriously. Devote a certain number of hours each week to looking for a job. If you can, spend an hour a day job searching. You may want to avoid doing this on your current employer's time. Limit your search to the newspaper and use your home computer or PDA.

While it is okay to look for new job while you're still employed, avoid job-hopping. Be proactive, but do not walk away from a company just because you think you can find something better. Potential employers do look at things like longevity and loyalty.

Remember to update your resume periodically. If you need assistance, please email me for help! writingbyashlea@gmail.com