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KAREN JAEN 4503 Fontana Street Orlando, Florida 32807 karenjaen10@gmail.com (321)-442-7365
May 27, 2010 Kalpana Malshe Head Instructor Kumon Learning Center 1700 N. Orange Avenue Orlando, Florida 32804 Dear Mrs. Malshe, With my ability to multi-task, organize and communicate well with others I feel I am qualified to apply as an instructor at the Kumon Learning Center. My quick grasp at different tasks allows me to become proficient in any task I am assigned, which can be of much value to the center. I’m writing because I am very interested in working with young children. As the current baby sitter for my neighbors and my young cousin, age 6, I have learned to manage well with children. I understand how to help the children by being patient and keeping an organized schedule to keep them entertained. I joined the William R. Boone High School Hi-Lights Newspaper Staff in 2008. The staff has helped me develop organization skills and fluent communication skills. I have held an editor position for two years and have earned these positions because of my ability to grasp skills quickly. Through the interviewing process, required by every article written in the paper, I have learned how to communicate well with others and really understand what others are trying to communicate to me; I feel like this skill would be effective in trying to understand where a child may be struggling. Although the accompanying resume illustrates my background well, I feel a personal interview would better demonstrate my knowledge and abilities. An interview would also gives us the opportunity to become familiar with each other. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you at convenient time. Thank you for your review and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Respectfully yours,
Karen Jaen Enclose: resume
KAREN JAEN 4503 Fontana Street Orlando, Florida 32807 karenjaen10@gmail.com (321)-442-7365
OBJECTIVE To enhance my knowledge in journalism fields such as writing and design through constant daily practice. EDUCATION Completed three years at William R. Boone High School Graduation Date: June 2012 GPA: 3.1 EXPERIENCE Hi-lights Newspaper Staff Member, William R. Boone High School
• August 2010- present. Campus and Local editor of the campus newspaper.
• August 2009-June 2010. Entertainment editor of the campus newspaper. • August 2008- July 2009. Researched information for news articles using Web sources. Composed and edited information articles, editorials, features stories and reviews. Kumon Learning Center, 1700 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, Florida, 32804
• October 2009- present. Front desk manager and instructor at the center. Managing work received and given while instructing children ages three to fourteen in both math and reading.
RELEVANT HIGH SCHOOL STUDIES Journalism I, II, and III; Multimedia Technologies. These classes provide knowledge of Adobe Indesign and Adobe Photoshop CS5, Wordpress and other Web software. HONORS, AWARDS, AND MEMBERSHIPS
•Florida Scholastic Press Association Excellent Award
• 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown for Hi-Lights Newspaper One of three schools awarded in the state of Florida • 2009 Columbia Scholastic Press Association for Silver Crown for Hi- Lights Newspaper
• Florida Scholastic Press Association Honorable Mention
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Journalism is one of the most important aspects of my high school life. It has become an essential part of my education and my appreciation for it has grown immensely. I feel like journalism is very important and it has given me a foundation for deciding my future. I don’t think I ever planed on practicing journalism before I joined staff. Journalism was simply an opportunity tat was presented to me at random. In middle school or even as a child,I never imagined myself as a journalist; when the Hi-Lights newspaper was introduced to me, I saw it as an opportunity to experience something new and to try to find my niche in high school. To succeed in journalism I had to become very dedicated and well-organized in order to accomplish the required tasks. I’ve learned skills such as time management to help me balance all the work journalism requires. Consequently, I have also learned that to be successful I have to always be willing to sacrifice my time and have the ability to take on any last minute work in order to get the paper to press. I’ve come to understand that organization is a must in journalism; without a to-do list I would’ve never been able to meet all deadlines or obtain all elements needed. Finally, journalism is not simply just a skill, but it’s a way of life. The skills learned from journalism will definitely benefit me in other aspects of my life such as in college or in my future career.
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This year on staff, I have learned several new skills in order to improve and complete the paper. I feel like my production skills have improved since I joined staff my freshman year. I have developed an efficient and effective method for working and this has allowed me to complete all the tasks I am assigned. I feel like I have become much stronger in the sense that asking questions is no longer dreadful and horrifying. Also, many of the tasks associated with a story, such as interviews, no long hang over my head while I procrastinate on them. Whatever is assigned to me I always complete no matter what the circumstances are. As far as deadlines, this year was a bit difficult when it came to meeting them. Unfortunately, my junior year consumed me with work and I sometimes struggled with finishing my work for the paper. However, I never allowed my work to be so behind to the point where someone else had to take over. Whenever I begin to feel the pressure of deadline week, I always push through my work as quickly as possible without skimping on quality. In most deadlines, I found myself finishing my stories and having to find ways to help others. As a team player, I feel like I work well with all the other staffers. Since my three years on staff, I have never had a problem or confrontation with any staffer. I feel like I always step up as far as teamwork in the sense that I try my best to pick up other’s slack and help those who need it. I’m always taking any last minute assignments because I understand how severe not accomplishing a story is to the completion of the paper.
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I think that also ties in with dedication because I devote most of my time to the paper; I am always present at all workdays and stay after school whenever I can. Advertising for me was not as strong as last year. I did sell 75 percent of my ads but I felt like struggled to reach my goal. I could have done much better and stayed much more persistent in my sales. Concerning journalism ethics, I feel like I have grown to understand how important following the rules is. As a journalist, I must have guidelines that have to be followed to achieve quality work. Ethics must be followed to assure that all the information presented in an article is accurate and sources can be cited. This will help me in the future when I am asked to complete some tasks; having good ethics will assure that all my work is done correctly. All of these skills I have grown in will allow me to be able to do well in my future job, whatever it may be. It will assure that all my work is done accurately and efficiently as possible.
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My most significant piece of work for the paper this year was my article on how social networking may affect college admission and jobs, My purpose for this story was to inform readers of the consequences of social networking in their future, school wise and career wise. The story transformed greatly from the first draft to the final draft. In the beginning, I didn’t have a human element to the story, It was just filled with statistics and quotes from advertisers, there was no emotional attachment to the story. I had an extremely difficult time trying to find a student that would be a great example for my story. The topic in the story was relevant to the school but its prevalence was not as known. Eventually, I did find someone to use in the story; her story gave me a foundation for what turned out to be fantastic lead and an interesting story overall. Compared to my first draft, the story had changes so drastically. Instead of just spitting back facts, there was an appeal that engaged the reader and allowed he or she to really comprehend the topic. Due to this story, I learned that finding an emotion appeal for any story is possible. The story also made me realize my ability to combine a story full of statistics to support the points I was making. I really ended up loving this article because it shows my strength as a writer. I felt like this issue was difficult to write in but it was my ultimate satisfaction when I received a Excellent Florida Scholastic Press Association Award for it.
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When I first was assigned this story I was extremely distraught by it. It was one of those stories that has to be written, it wasn’t my choice to write it. I found it difficult to find an interest in the story because it was never a topic I would write about. In the first draft, I think my lack of interest was evident. I didn’t have any quotes and a lot of the facts in the draft were unclear. I had a lot of trouble trying to understand the story and what my goal was when writing it. After spending time researching the topic and gathering reliable statistics to support my story, I began to have a better foundation for my story. Eventually, the story did evolve and became a lot easier to read. The facts I was placing the story were clear and the sources I used were reliable. I feel like after I spent more time researching the topic, I had more knowledge and ability to develop the story. However, I feel like the story could have been even more developed. I thought the topic was difficult to write about because it wasn’t going to be interesting to most students; I think to make the story interesting, another info graphic or visual element should’ve been added to it to appeal to readers. Another visual element would have definitely attracted more readers because it would’ve been appealing to them and interest them in the topic. Overall, I did like the way the story printed but I definitely would have added a way to make the topic more interesting.
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Re 3 The reason I really like this picture is because I feel like it captures the moment so precisely. This picture has a lot of emotion in it shown by the puffing of the actresses’s cheeks and her positioning. I feel like as far as color, the black background allows the figure in the picture to stand out. The couch is also dark-colored which allows for the purples, grays and whites in the actors’ clothes to be bright. The picture is somewhat in rule of thirds. The actress is in the middle but she is facing towards the monster who stands on the right side, making the picture somewhat off center. MMT, Sound slides, Drama, 76655
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I feel like I was great asset to the Hi-Lights staff. Since joining the staff, I have become very dedicated to the work needed to be done. I always take on any last minute work that needs to be done before the paper goes to press. No matter what position I’m in as far as how much work I have to do; I always take more work and I always get the work done. I feel like that last-minute work is very important and most of the time, there is no stepping up to take it. I also feel like I was an asset because of my time commitment to the paper. Whenever, I was needed to come work on to finishing anything, I was always available. I was always open to help out with the paper, even with the smallest details. I think my skills in design and writing have grown greatly. By having a good knowledge on how to get things done, I’m able to help a lot of staffers. Most of the time, when a staffer is stuck on a problem I am always able to assist them. I feel like this is important because the paper is all about teamwork and by helping others, it allows the paper to be completed. A specific example was when I took on a second story in March. I took over the 5th Quarter story and immediately got to working on interviews and getting the story complete. I did finish the story and it ended up being one my favorite and most praised stories published in the paper.
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My biggest hardship this year was definitely meeting deadline. Although I was never so behind on deadline to the point where I needed someone else to take over my work. I feel like with all my schoolwork I got a little distracted with my priorities for the paper. I struggled to find a way to balance all the work that was handed to me along with the work for my stories. To get through this problem, I tried my best to accomplish on my goals on my to-do list; such goals included interviewing, writing, researching, etcetera. Eventually, I did find a way to balance my schoolwork and writing my story. I tried my best to keep myself organized and accomplish as many tasks in class as I possibly could. Using my class time to the fullest was the secret to moving forward at deadlines and accomplishing my work. I also learned that a lot of tasks that could be done sooner should be done first. There is no reason to wait to do something if you are completely capable of completing the task the same day. If this problem arose again, I would simply have to step back and re-organize myself. Taking a look back at all the tasks I have to do helps me realize how much time I have to do those tasks. Overall, I feel like I took a smart approach by writing down everything I had to accomplish; this way I had a way of documenting what I had to do and it was also a way of congratulating myself when I did finish a task.
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At the midterm, I had expressed three goals I wished to achieve by the end of the year. One of those goals was to become a better overall designer. Unfortunately this year my section was small and at the beginning of the year I only designed one to two pages every issue. However, by March, I had more than just one page to design. This gave me more freedom in designing because it had been the most amount of pages I had designed all year. I tried my best to work with the people on my page to get an understanding of what they were visualizing for the story; from there, I took their vision and incorporated my own, then I designed a page that both of us were pleased with. Another goal of mine was to show the staff that I was capable of becoming editor-in-chief. As time passed, I became extremely committed to the paper. I spent as much time as I could working on my stories trying to finish them before deadline. I kept myself occupied by helping others with tasks needed to be done and even took on any extra work. I did achieve this goal and I feel like my staff looks up to me as a leader. My final goal was to meet all the following deadlines. Although I did note exactly achieve this goal, I worked hard and spent time as needed to finish all my stories. Like I mentioned before, I never let my work get so behind to the point where someone else had to take over.
N2 In depth news/feature story “True story inspires film, community” March 18, 2011 I believe that this piece represents my ability of incorporating an emotional story while still keeping a news angle. I feel like my writing reaches the reader through my voice. The topic gave me a lot of inspiration and I feel like it was one of my strongest pieces I had ever written. N12 Personality Profile “1 in 3,000: Shooter aims for Olympic Team” March 18, 2011 This story represents my writing in features. I feel like my writing makes a clear connection with the reader and really gives some insight into the featured person’s life. I think I did an exceptional job when it came to capturing Sarah Chipley’s hobby and her lifestyle.
N34 Information graphics “Millage tax supports schools� Dec. 17, 2010 Both information graphics on this page I believe add a good visual substance to my article. The graphics represent and explain the concept of the millage tax. They also allow the reader to view statistics from the story to give further insight on the topic.
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Karen Jaen
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I feel like I have grown immensely since my freshman year on staff. I remember I used to find everyone intimidating and asking a question was always a fear. Over the years, I feel like I have become a much more vocal and leading figure on staff. I’m no longer scared to voice my opinion and express any new ideas or suggestions. In contrast to my first year on staff, I communicate well with others. In more of a journalistic aspect, I have become much more fluent in the Adobe programs, especially Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Pages I used to wish I could design have become very possible for me to create. I have learned a numerous amount of tips and tricks for design in places such as camp and by playing with the programs with myself; these tricks have helped me when designing my section and being able to create visually interesting components that can be added as secondary coverage to articles. My writing has also become varied and I now have a better ability at handling any kind of story. I have expanded and have been able to write everything from editorials to features stories. My diversity as a writer has helped me approach some of the more difficult topics such as drugs and social networking. My writing has become better in the way I communicate my voice to readers, I feel like compared to my freshman year, my articles have much more impact on my readers. In relation to my portfolio design last year and the previous year, I feel like accomplishing my exact vision is much more attainable. Last year, I hand drew my shapes and later placed them in Photoshop; but this year, I used Illustrator to create different vectors with different effects in them. I feel like my overall understanding of the use of color and placement has developed well. I can definitely see maturity in comparison to my past years.
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