Mr. Bigler's Searching Project

If I was looking for information on what my job is going to be like, I would start by looking for what jobs are out there. I could do this with the websites on the right or something like www.indeed.com

Using the buzz words of the trade, I could Google search for other things. Knowing what COMPANIES are excellent will tell me who knows what's what. They'll also teach me before, during, and after the classes that I sit through.

In addition, by looking at jobs, I'll know what SKILLS and LICENSES that I will need for them. Without a license, you may not be hirable. Really.

Nevertheless, if I'm not interested in what I'm reading about, I might find that I want to be an X not a Y. It's better to know now before you waste a few weeks, months, or years in training and find that the job just wasn't what you thought it was. Besides, that's why Mr. Bigler gets you into labs early - real life experience that you have with a job is everything.

That said, some of the best websites for each field are the ASSOCIATIONS and ORGANIZATIONS of the trade. I'm not here to get you into one or not into one, but TRADE UNIONS are great for telling people what's current in TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS and POLITICAL + SAFETY concerns regarding the field today.

Most students really want to be in the up and coming jobs, and I don't blame them. We're going forward in history - not backward. Thus, you might want to look for all things GREEN. This doesn't mean that you do or don't have to believe in global warming, but a lot of people who are building do believe in this. In addition, the government pays for environmentally-friendly rennovations in tax incentives.

Mr. Bigler is all about TOOLS of the trade. He is a contractor and a professional teacher at Thaddeus Stevens for many years now. He knows what people need, and the ability to own and use tools will make or break your days on the job.

Finally, CODES and REGULATIONS guide all of the things that we do in the field of technology. The government will expect that we're complying with laws and standards. Our professional organizations will make sure that our ethics and workmanship are equal to those people that we work beside. Really. There are no Lone Rangers.

Finally, going to You Tube for HOW TO VIDEOS makes learning and trades come alive. Really.

This project may seem difficult, but this project is essential to being the kind of employee that Thaddeus Stevens is training to be successful in the 21st century job world.

BETHANY HERR

Prior to being a math tutor at Thaddeus Stevens, Bethany Herr grew up in Lancaster County and graduated from Donegal High School.  Afterward, she attended York College of Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Mathematics Education.  During her last semester of college, she began  her experience in the classroom when she student taught 8^th Grade Mathematics/Algebra in Morganton, North Carolina.  Many people from Pennsylvania may not be familiar with this location, but Brittany was intrigued by her experiences with the southern culture and the ability to live in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. 

Following graduation, she worked as a high school geometry teacher at Garinger High School in Charlotte, NC.  This past summer, she returned to Pennsylvania to work on her master’s degree in Mathematics Education at Millersville University. 

Beyond working and studying, Bethany loves to travel around the United States and internationally.  Her most memorable trip was to Egypt in 2010, where she spent several weeks exploring the country and interacting with the people living there.  Highlights of the trip included climbing inside the Great Pyramid of Giza and completing a night hike to the top of Mt. Sinai.  Beyond travelling, Bethany enjoys kayaking, backpacking, and spending time outside.  This past summer, she spent a week hiking the Rocky Mountain National Forest.   

She looks forward to seeing everyone in the math lab this fall semester! J

KEVIN MCCULLEY

Kevin McCulley is very excited to be tutoring at the Math Lab at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. Prior to coming to Stevens, Kevin graduated from Ephrata High School in 2005.  He then went to Grove City College to get his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education. Afterward, he has been a substitute teacher who has educated students at many different high schools in the Lancaster area. 

Last spring, Kevin's came to be a part of the Thaddeus Stevens family when his mom, Mrs. Linda McCulley, a math teacher at the school, informed Kevin that the school was looking for someone to watch the lab on Tuesday nights. Kevin quickly jumped at the opportunity, and he has been there ever since. 

This year, the ACT 101 grant that has provided additional tutoring hours to Thaddeus Stevens students he allowed him to increase hours in the lab to 2-8 Monday to Thursday and 10-2 on Satursdays. As a result, he will be available for tutoring five of the 6 days of the week that the lab proudly serves the students of Stevens.

In addition to tutoring at the Math Lab, Kevin plans on continuing to substitute at the local high schools of the area. In his free time, he also enjoys juggling as part of the juggling duo, The DKers.  In addition, he has also started a Survivor Fantasy Football League in the Lab. Should you want to be a part of this competition, feel free to come in and get in on the game! Finally, Kevin wants the students of Thaddeus Stevens to know that if anyone is interested in joining an indoor soccer team this winter, then they can let him know since he is looking to start one.

Kevin looks forward to working with you at the Math Lab in the near future.

STEVE STURGIS

The newest tutor in the Math Lab is Steve Sturgis.  Steve is a professional engineer with licenses in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He's originally from the Reading, Pennsylvania, area, where he graduated from Governor Mifflin High School.  He also graduated from Lehigh University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Science in Management Science. 
In addition to his education in engineering, Steve was an ROTC student on campus. After this, he then spent four years in the US Army, where he was stationed in Savannah, Georgia, and the Washington DC area.
Prior to helping tutor Thaddeus Stevens students in the maths and sciences, his business career encompassed 24 years of service with M&M/Mars, working in manufacturing plants in both Hackettstown, New Jersey, and Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania until he retired from Mars in 2005.  In addition to this, his career advancement with this company took him to the M&M/Mars National Office. When his job ended, Steven kept working as a PC Technician for Lancaster General Hospital for 3 years. Here, his roles included that of Industrial Engineer, Shift Manager, Contract Packaging Manager, and Personnel Manager.

Now that his work responsibilities have changed, his dedication to others still goes on. In the past few years Steve has been volunteering as a Mentor at Donegal Middle School, working with 6th and 7th grade students in Math classes. He looks forward to making a difference in your math abilities as you take advantage of all that the tutoring center has to offer you.

HOW TO NARROW YOUR SEARCHES IN EBSCOHOST AND OTHER DATABASES

First and foremost, putting quotes around terms means that you will search them out IN THAT ORDER ("Reading High School" instead of all high schools that have a reading program).

Second, by looking for full text, you won't get abstracts (150-250 word summaries of what you're reading). This is a very good practice to get into (unless you are trying to figure out if a study will tell you what you want it to).

Third, by looking for articles with references, you will find that you can look up all of the sources that your article used. This is useful for studies on things (for example, seeing the study on Autism that your author is writing about).

Next, by looking for peer-reviewed articles, you will get scholarly documents written by PHDs and guys and gals with masters degrees. This is useful, but this might be a lot of terminology from the field that you aren't familiar with yet. Know what you're using. Make sure that just because PHD Smith knows it, you know it, too. If you don't understand it, it's useless to your cause. Really.

ALSO:

Use AND or + (depending on the engine) to connect words that must be there. (Steroids + baseball)

Use NOT or – to connect words that should not be there. (Titanic – movie)

Use OR if only one of the words must be there in the search.

Use an asterisk (*) to show that any letters can be there after the initials letters. (biolog* for biology and biologists)

DAN GLASS

Dan Glass is also very excited to be a new English tutor at Thaddeus Stevens.

Originally, Dan grew up in Berks County; however, he was able to experience the world when he joined the Air Force and was stationed in the United Kingdom for the better part of 5 years. After getting out of the military, he stayed in country and continued to experience all of the things that England had to offer until he returned to the America that he grew up in 8 months later.

From there, he pursued an associate degree at Reading Area Community College, which he used to complete a bachelor's degree in  high school English education at Alvernia College (now University). In 2010, he also completed his master's degree in education at Alvernia University. Combining these degrees with 3 years of high school education experience and over eight years of college education experience at various schools in the area, Dan has a strong desire to share his love of writing, research, and education with students everywhere - namely the students at Thaddeus Stevens, who he hopes will take advantage of all of the opportunities that the school has to offer them.

In addition to working at Stevens, Dan is an afficianado of travel, hiking, and photography, and he especially loves to explore the many waterfalls that our state parks have to offer. He has seen many of these great natural monuments of Pennsylvania, and he is always trying to find ways to take his wife, Heather, to more of them on their many trips throughout the area. In addition, he is a huge baseball fan and reader / writer / music listener / explorer of American history and culture.

He hopes that he can inspire your educational and / or road trip journeys with the knowledge that he has gained from his many years "on the road!" All it takes is a single step to start your journey, no matter how many steps you have to take!