Get Smart

For people who are trying to get into college, figure out what to do after college, or just survive their education, I’ve covered a wide range of topics when it comes to books, papers, and dirty looks (from teachers or bosses). These articles about education and career have been featured on SheKnows, MSN, AOL, Disney’s Family.com, and in Northern Virginia Magazine.

Getting Into – and Paying for – College

Facebook in the College Admissions Process

How to Ace the College Application

Career Payback: Loan Forgiveness Programs (PDF)

School, Work… and Parenting

Hey Mom, Stand Up for Yourself!

The First Year of College – A Survival Guide for Parents

Fail-Proof Tips for Adults Back to School (PDF)

Work-at-Home Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms

Must-Have Children’s Books: An Age-by-age Guide (PDF)

High-Tech Education

High-Tech High-Schoolers (PDF)

The Real and Virtual Education Worlds Merge (PDF)

Classroom Bullies Haunt Second Life (PDF)

Choosing a Career

Resume Tips for New Grads (PDF)

Boring Degree, Amazing Job (PDF)

Professionals Shift from Desk to Kitchen (PDF)

Plastic Beauty… If You Can Afford It

For some reason, I’m incapable of watching plastic surgery shows on television without turning away. But to write this article I actually stood in the operating room, mere inches from the slicing and dicing. The nurse had smelling salts for me, just in case, but I’m proud to say I didn’t droop one bit. We even listened to a little Frank Sinatra as this brave woman got herself a fresh face.

On the corner of Dr. Csaba Magassy’s desk in his McLean office stands a miniature statue of Venus. The plump, fleshy icon, Roman goddess of beauty and love, is an anachronism in today’s Barbie-doll slim ideal of proportion and beauty. For Ann Boyer, neither the mythological nor societal vision of beauty makes any difference to her. “I want to be who I am,” she says.

Originally from Britain, she is a 59-year-old educational consultant who lives and works in McLean. She is also a devoted patient of Dr. Magassy, one of the region’s most highly-regarded plastic surgeons.

On the first of November, Boyer indulged in an $11,000 birthday gift from her husband.

Featured in the print and online versions of Northern Virginia Magazine. Read the full article.

Smarter Than a High-Schooler?

Let’s face it, kids these days are way more adept at technological advances than most adults. So that means schools have to keep up with the smarts of their students. This article examines how educators are making it happen. Also featured is a look at the sometimes creepy 3-D world known as Second Life.

Many of today’s teens soar heads above adults and professionals when it comes to computers and other technological gadgetry. While many public schools are working to increase the availability and use of technology in the classroom, area private schools are making their mark on students by implementing technology throughout the whole of their curriculum.

Programs, equipment and attitudes are shifting to reflect the changes of a constantly evolving society that demands technologically savvy people. At private schools, teaching curriculums are geared specifically toward preparing students for college and beyond. Computers and technology are one of the biggest factors of that equation.

Featured in both the print and online versions of Northern Virginia Magazine. Read the full article.