What a Week!!!

Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a good week! I heard some really shocking news over the weekend that had me and my whole workplace absolutely floored. I have been working at a car dealership for a little over two years and have worked as both a receptionist and a service cashier. I had worked with a service advisor that had been there a little longer than I had, and he was just the sweetest guy to work with. He was always so good with the customers and everyone that he worked with. He just recently left our dealership to work with one about 15 minutes away, so I haven't seen him recently. However, while watching the news yesterday morning I learned that a man was riding a bicycle late one night and was struck and killed by a drunk driver. The driver drove away from the scene was caught a few hours later. The driver of that car was (allegedly) my former coworker. I have been in a state of shock ever since I saw this story. I have so many mixed feelings, this coworker was a very dear friend of mine. My heart is also so heavy for the family of the man that was killed. He was a father of four who had been riding a bike so that he could save money for his children, he had three in college and a special needs child at home as well. Its just such a sad situation for everyone involved, so if anyone in the class does pray, please keep everyone in your prayers. This is a good man, however, justice must be served to punish him and help bring some kind of closure for the family, it is just hard for me because he has always been such a good friend. I hope everyone has a good week, and I will see everyone in class! Here is the link to the story if anyone would like to read more: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/26657256/detail.html
Gale Pressley

Crazy Life...

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! Life these past six weeks have been crazy for me! I have been stressed to limits I never knew I had. It has been so difficult to balance my family, school, and work life. My father has been battling some health problems and I am in the process of getting my transitioned from his current speech therapy into a local school system based therapy. It is similar to an early preschool program, he will go to school with other children and will get speech therapy and help with any other learning delays he may have. It will be so good for him, however, having to deal with all these appointments can be very time consuming! I stay at home with both of my children during the week and it is very rare that I ever get time alone, except on Saturdays which is the one day a week that I do work. Like a lot of my fellow classmates, my schoolwork has taken a hit lately due to all the circumstances in my life right now. My grades have fallen slightly, and sometimes I barely get my work in before the deadline. I chose to attend Kaplan so that I can show my children that they can do anything they set their mind to and that its never to late to achieve their dreams. I plan to go further as soon as they are both in school, I want to eventually get my master's degree in nursing and become a midwife someday. I know its a long shot and that it will take a lot of hard work to get there, but attending Kaplan is a great start! I know that finally having a career will help my family out a lot and will make me great about myself. I just have to remember that my kids are my main motivation for attending school, and try not to let all the circumstances in my life stand in the way of achieving my goals! :-) Hope everyone has a great week and good luck on the draft!!!

Gale Pressley

Academic Life Thus Far...

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a good week! I have been out of high school for almost six years now. It took me a while to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. After graduating, I took a few classes at a local community college but I never really had any direction. After much prayer and research, I finally have decided that I want to be a registered nurse one day. However, it is virtually impossible for me to go to college full-time. I am a stay at home mom to two very young children and my son is currently going through speech therapy so a lot of my time is spoken for :-) (but it is very worth it!) I decided to look into different online schools so I could go ahead and take some classes and discovered Kaplan University and realized that I could get my associate's degree for medical assisting online and wouldn't have to worry about getting back and forth to school and worry about who is going to take care of my children! Since starting my classes back in April, it has changed me in so many ways! I am much more motivated now and it has also helped me to become more disciplined as well. I want to show my kids that you can do anything you set your mind to, and I hope to be a good example to them. I can't wait to get my degree, and everytime I get an assignment turned in I know I am getting closer and closer to that goal. :-) I hope everyone has a great week and I will see you all in class!!!

Gale Pressley

My Thoughts on Plagarism

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a good week! I briefly learned about plagiarism while I was in high school. At the time, I never really understood the seriousness of it. After learning more about plagarism in college, I understand how wrong it is. If I put a lot of time, effort, and hard work into writing a piece, I would want someone to give me credit for my work. If a student were to plagiarize a paper, it could have serious consequences ranging anywhere from failing a class to being expelled from the school. I don't believe you are really learning anything anyway if you just copy someone else's work. Citing your work is also very helpful to the reader of your work. If the reader wanted to go back and read more on a subject, having that reference makes it easier for them to look that information up. I would hope that if I ever wrote a piece that someone would give me credit for all my hard work, and not just copy it. :-) Hope everyone has a good week!!!

Gale Pressley