I would like to welcome everyone back to Ferris for what should be my last semester, and will certainly be a very historic time for America and the world.

Things are looking very interesting as I am in the process of applying for jobs after graduation. One company announced on Monday that they are ‘reducing capacity’ by laying off 500 workers, around 5 percent of their workforce to align themselves with the lowered demand from the market (according to an article on whattheythink.com).

I also got an email from them that my interview has been postponed.

Another company has had falling sales this year, despite debuting new products and technology at Drupa, the World Fair of printing last June. Their financial second quarter ending in September, left them with an operating result of -50 million and free cash of -273 million, according to another article on whattheythink.com as well as a newsletter emailed free from their Web site.

I have heard that even though many companies signed contracts for equipment at Drupa, banks are now refusing to lend money so that the equipment can actually be purchased.

“Cost saving measures” have been stepped up from 75 m to 200 m also at this company.

This is what I, and a few thousand others are graduating into this May. Not only do we have to compete with others in our programs for dwindling jobs, but we have to compete with the thousands of experienced workers that are recently out of work.

News sites such as telegraph.co.uk are reporting that Citigroup is parting itself out to the highest bidder. A Jan. 10 article on Bloomberg.com reported a $20 billion loss in the past four quarters.

I am now crossing my fingers that Citigroup will tank erasing the heaps of money they lent me to pay for my time at Ferris.

Celebrating the start of 2009 is a tradition for young and old to cherish. With parties, singing and dancing, this annual event is long anticipated and seldom neglected.

Through the years strangers have gathered in Times Square in New York City to welcome Jan. 1 and millions have watched the ball drop from their television sets, in addition to helping Dick Clark count down the seconds anticipating opportunity to start over and make a resolution for the coming months.

With a new year comes new affirmation that the slate is wiped clean and we can start over. Though Tony Robbins and all of the other motivational scoundrels will tell you their system is best, the core idea behind all self-improvement is that one must actually follow through with it. And, in order to follow through with it one must have realistic and achievable goals.

Numerous reasons can be cited for the failure of these annual resolutions. According to ‘Shine’, an online guide to lifestyle supported by Yahoo. com, there are seven reasons why resolutions fail. These include ‘not reviewing resolutions periodically’, ‘not writing the resolution down’, and ‘not thinking or seeing your resolution everyday.’

I agree fully that many times resolutions fail because the ambition simply isn’t there. But a large part of it is just that we don’t put enough into a resolution. What we are looking for at the start of a new year is change. And great changes in the world don’t come about with resolutions, they come from revolutions! If the French hadn’t had their revolution we wouldn’t have ‘Les Miserables’ and that would be sad. America didn’t resolve their problems with Great Britain, they revolted. The Beatles had a number 12 hit with ‘Revolution’, not resolution, back in 1968.

For this reason I think resolutions are so 2008 and 2009 is the year for making a personal revolution. You don’t need to write it down to remind you or review it because it should be something you are thinking about anyway. As in the example earlier, losing weight is the most common. But results could be more long term and have a great effect if they were more focused on living healthily on not just losing weight. A close friend of mine discussed some of his hopes for the coming year and in the end decided that his revolution would be to “take more action”. This is a great revolution because of its simplicity and effectiveness. It can be applied to almost any life item and promote a positive end experience as the result. Don’t over think what you want to improve this year.

My personal revolution is to ‘be better’. This can be applied to my relationships, studies, work, or even softball pitching. It’s short and applicable to a variety of situations.

The world is a big place and our lives are seldom slow enough o focus so greatly on one specific matter. Losing ten pounds might be great, but it is short term at best. Take this chance to live more healthily forever and forget about ten pounds.

This year, start a revolution for yourself.

I am sure that it has happened to many of us before and it is bound to happen again. If you drive during winter, you may have your fair share of tales about being stranded in the snow. I had my first experience being stuck in a snow bank away from home and it is not one that I wish to repeat.

This year being my first away from home, I am slowly discovering things about life on campus during the winter. Things like dressing like you are going to build a snowman when you walk to class, like buying an ample supply of soup and hot chocolate to help thaw yourself upon returning from class, and like the peculiar way in which Ferris chooses to plow the parking lots.

I come from a farm on the Lake Michigan shoreline and I am no stranger to snow and winter driving. In a town that doesn’t start plowing the roads until after the high school students are already in class I learned how to battle my way to school in my small car.

I learned that if you aren’t sure your car can possibly make it through the three and a half foot snowdrifts looming ahead of you- drive faster. Also I found that the combination of young drivers and old beater cars (that sometimes have what seems to be the original set of tires) can result in quite a few “dents” in the vehicle.

When you are driving close to home you are always within “rescue” distance if you have an unfortunate mishap. When I lived at home I could simply call my dad and he would show up with a tractor or his four wheel drive truck to help me out.

But all that changed when I moved a hundred miles away to attend Ferris. I quickly learned how to become resourceful when in a pickle with my car.

For instance, I discovered that a simple stick can be used as a shovel, pick, bridge, or broom.

When I found myself stranded in the parking lot last semester at Ferris I thought “well it could be a lot worse.” My beloved car was hung up on the mound of snow shoved behind the row of cars by the plows. I tired to no avail to ram my way out by going backwards and forwards but eventually abandoned my car to find a shovel.

While laying in the snow digging out my car, students would walk by and drop comments such as “that happened to me all the time last year” or “I got stuck exactly like that last week.” Some would attempt to push it out and others offered to help shovel.

I was grateful to all of them for the advice and assistance and even joked with one who said, “Ferris should put a shovel on the list of college essentials when students get their parking passes.” Finally after shoveling for nearly 40 minutes two strong gentlemen were able to push it out.

Needless to say when I returned to campus this semester I came equipped with my very own travel shovel. So, a word of warning to anyone who drives: if you have been fortunate enough to avoid the ditch or snow-bank thus far, beware, your time will come.

Also, if you have the time and ability to help a stranded driver, please do so. I know I was grateful to have someone to talk to if nothing else.

The internship is one of the most important and valuable experiences a college student can have. Internships can instill knowledge and lessons a student would not get in a classroom. They also help to ensure students’ employment after graduation.

Internships are crucial to a student’s career and future, however many internships are unpaid. This causes many students to graduate without having an internship. Students often feel that the costs of an internship simply outweigh the long-term benefits. Without the invaluable experience of an internship, a college graduate prolongs periods of unemployment. This is why unpaid internships are unethical.

During an internship, students work long hours and sometimes work twice as hard as regular employees. The intern has to constantly prove themselves to colleagues that often do not view them as an equal. Interns must commonly relocate to receive their experience. As a former intern, I know what it is like to work a 12 hour day with no funds to show for it. Although the experience looks nice on my resume, the internship roundhouse kicked my bank account. Sure, hard work is what adulthood is all about, but the hard work is a lot more rewarding when accompanied by a paycheck at the end of the week. And relocating without being paid seems hardly worth- while.

If more companies had paid internships, then more students would apply. I believe that companies could part with some minimum wage funds for a couple of months. Maybe if they limit the amount of intern positions per-semester, then they could pay interns.

Some employers do not see the benefits of paying interns.

However, if interns are paid, then it could increase employment of the company. It could also boost awareness of the company, which will enhance its reputation. It is unfortunate that students are dissuaded from internships because the positions don’t pay (monetarily). It is also unfortunate that employers miss out on excellent employees because unwillingness to reward them with the pay that they deserve.

Some think that unpaid internships help these young professionals evolve and that the jobs thicken interns’ skins. Actually, work without pay is just down right discouraging.

Sure, interns have to earn respect, however I do not believe working for free is the way to do it. Unpaid internships are only a small grade above slavery. The only difference is that student voluntarily signs up for unpaid mistreatment that looks good on a resume. Interns now are not just running out to get coffee and lunch runs for their superiors. They are actually challenged with real work. And that real work should warrant some real pay.

Unpaid internships should no longer exist. The point of the internship is to boost the intern’s image within the working world, not to demoralize and exhaust them without proper restitution.