Two of the focuses of my blog are Business/Entrepreneurship and General Education. Higher Education is big business in the United States. One of the biggest concerns of institutions of higher learning is expansion of their campuses. The following contributed post is entitled, Carefully Extending A University Premises.
As a university faculty, the extreme increase in students applying to follow a course suggests a need for expansion. This can be an exciting prospect. That being said, carefully extending a university premises is often a multi-faceted project that can take some time, and may leave you feeling as though this process is extremely complex. Additionally, students are often fickle and can drop out for any time, or may even transfer to another institution should they feel their needs aren’t being met. This can be the case even if launching a range of excellent and prestigious degrees.
In order to best pursue this extension and to better manage your construction efforts, a careful plan needs to be in the works long before you begin. Additionally, ensuring that the least amount of harmful influence on your daily operation is considered can help you avoid alienating students, and prospective candidates alike. Additionally, a university budget can be a tight thing, meaning that cost-effective managing this process requires a little more forethought. With our advice, you are certain to carry this process out to the best of your ability:
Alternate Lecture Theatres
Finding alternate lecture theatures for your students can be an important first step. After all, it can be hard to lecture and study when large construction efforts are taking place. Additionally, consider the routes to said lecture halls. It might be that you need to subsidise extra coach or train fares to reach a different part of the city, or maybe you need to rent out an entirely new building for six months of the year. It is possible, but you have to manage people and resources carefully.
Reliable Construction Firms
Reliable construction firms, such as Stosius are known for their extremely accurate planning and impressive execution. When you can rely on a service to keep you on schedule, to stay thoroughly communicative of their needs and remain two steps ahead at all times, you can ensure that the practical planning of your own approach can be effectively considered, and this may save you and your faculty a great deal of stress. Additionally, being advised as to the best safety implements and usual requirements will help you curate that former plan of action.
Telegraphing In Advance
If your construction efforts mean that half of your science block is going to be out of action for that year, then it could be that telegraphing this in advance is essential. Students may not withdraw their applications as you may vital alternate arrangements, but letting them know about said work rather than lying in the brochure or somehow deflecting them away from said plans during the tour can be an honest and ethical way of going about things. Financial subsidies, additional investments and potentially the means to rework non-essential course practicalities can enable you to move through this time with care and attention. This makes a difference.
With this advice, you are certain to carefully extend your university premises well.
Three of the focuses of my blog are Career Discussion, General Education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Many individuals don’t understand the multiple career paths they can go into beside becoming a medical doctor. There are actually quite a few options for medical careers. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Medical Careers For People That Don’t Want To Be Doctors.
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Working in the medical industry is an incredibly rewarding career choice because you get the chance to care for people and improve their lives on a daily basis. But a lot of people are put off pursuing a career in health because they think that it means having to do the training necessary to become a doctor. Some people also feel that they cannot handle the stress and long hours of being a doctor or a nurse. But those aren’t the only jobs in the medical industry, it takes a lot of different skills to keep a hospital running. There are so many great medical careers that most that you might not even know about and some of them might be perfect for you. These are the best medical careers outside of being a doctor or a nurse.
Developing new drugs to treat patients is an incredibly important part of the medical industry. Innovations in medicine can save countless lives and the people that are pushing the research forward have a very rewarding role to play. If you have a keen interest in science and you think that you would be well suited to a research and development role, you could consider becoming a pharmacologist. You will need to get an undergraduate degree in pharmacology and possibly a graduate degree as well, so it can be difficult to move into this field in later life. But if you are willing to invest in education, this could be a great career choice for you.
Phlebotomist
Most people have never heard of a phlebotomist but it’s likely that you’ve been seen by one at some point in your life. They are the people that deal with drawing blood, usually for tests or donations. There are some people that are specifically phlebotomists while others incorporate it into a wider role, like nursing. It’s quite common for people to go through phlebotomy training and then use it as a stepping stone to other medical careers. If you think that you might like to work in the medical field but you aren’t quite sure what you want to do, this is a good place to start.
Medical Science Liaison
Medical science liaisons are a middle man between the companies that develop new technology and treatment methods, and the medical facilities that use them. The majority of medical science liaisons are people that have worked in the medical field in a different role already, so this isn’t a great choice if you’re just trying to enter the industry. They require a different set of skills to what you would find in other jobs in the medical profession. A lot of the time, being a medical science liaison is more similar to a sales job, so if you have good people skills and you like a job that gives you the chance to travel around a lot, this could be ideal for you.
You don’t have to be a doctor or a nurse to work in the medical industry, these are just some of the other amazing career choices you could consider.
Two of the focuses of my blog are General Education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). It’s one thing to encourage participation in the STEMs, but another key is sparking that initial interest and growing it. Another is helping children find STEM subjects in school that they’ll enjoy. The following contributed post is entitled, Helping Children Find The Favourite STEM Subject.
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It goes without saying that one of the most significant advantages you can give your children is a solid foundation in STEM and everything it has to offer. Some careers and hobbies can enrich a child’s life beyond measure if you just have the right tools and knowledge to get them on their way. How exactly do we help our children find a love of STEM subjects? Can we leave it up to the education system of course, but is there more we can do to make sure our children have the best chance at learning everything available to them?
Encourage Experiments The first thing to remember when encouraging children to have an interest in any subject is to start them young. The most fantastic thing you can do is allow small children to experiment with textures and how things react with each other. A fantastic development for STEM in recent years has been the rise of slime and how young people are enthusiastically experimenting and sharing their results via Youtube without even realising they are sharing chemistry lessons without even realising. The best thing about this is that people are having fun with this subject and it’s a proven fact that children will always learn while having fun! Of course, the downside to this is the mess these experiments cause will always be inconvenient, but try not to squash their creativity too much. Science can be messy!
Read Books There are so many books available now with subjects such as construction, mathematics and a whole range of science subjects. A child that ‘hates’ Maths may have simply not been introduced in the correct way for them. There are easy to follow books with instructions on how to set up your own projects, and these can be fantastic to explore with your children. Why not take a leaf out of one of these books and set yourself a challenge and see what experiments you can come up with for your family to enjoy together? Ultimately if you show a keen interest and help by giving the children the tools, they need to learn you’re giving them a great gift.
Build There’s an excellent reason Lego is such a massive success, and it seems like nearly every household owns some at least, that’s because it’s simple, educational and fun! There is an incredible amount of choice available, and most children (and adults!) enjoy building these kits from scratch. This helps develop a fantastic sense of achievement and sets children up for a great start in life. As well as Lego there are some great kits available which include motors and electric circuits that show children exactly how things work. There are even Youtubers sharing information about how to run things from homemade lemon batteries, which, as with anything slightly strange, has captured the interest of many children around the world. All it takes is a spark of interest from the right child at the right time, and you’ll have a little scientist on your hands!
Friends No doubt you will have a friend or family member that works in a STEM profession somewhere, so why not ask them to give your child an insight into what they do, and the many reasons children should study in this field. Sometimes it can be helpful to have an ‘insider’ view of the roles available, and talking to your child about their possible options when they are older, will make way for some potentially great decisions further down the line. Why not get your child to gather their STEM projects to take with them to your friend/ family members house so they can share their fun ideas and what they have learnt so far.
Youtube Of course, Youtube is full of ‘noise’, and we aren’t likely to get around that fact, but there are some great Youtubers explaining science and using it to entertain us via their videos. It’s not just all unboxing videos, if you look in the right places, there are some informative and fun videos that children will love to watch. It saves them watching adverts and adds something to their life, ultimately that’s education, but the delivery of this education will always make a difference to the children watching, and if you’re looking to avoid the need for Debt lawyers such as https://www.mccarthylawyer.com/ then finding out exactly which area of study suits your child sooner rather than later will really save you time, effort and money too. In addition to the entertainment shows surrounding STEM subjects, including swimming pools full of jelly, there are instructional videos that will help with your maths project or your engineering questions too.
Competitions Children can be quite competitive, and quite often there are competitions at school, online or even via local companies that will capture the imagination of children, a little challenge goes a long way and the prizes awarded are a great motivator. Why not find out what local competitions are available near you and mention them to your child. They may decide it’s a great idea and will enter with little help. It may even lead to a life long interest in STEM if nothing else as well!
Exhibitions One way in which children usually find an interest in something they love is via exhibitions touring the country or at museums. Find out which exhibits are visiting your area and see if you get early bird tickets. From planetariums to science fairs, there is something for everyone. It’s also quite common for adults to have just as much fun as the children when it comes to events and exhibitions. These also allow for extra family time without distractions too, so not only are parents helping their children’s futures; it also brings the family closer together too!
Remember that helping your child find their interests is a worthwhile endeavour, and you will all be glad when they find their ‘thing’. Some people admittedly never find that one thing they love and that’s ok, but many people find STEM is the most fantastic thing in the world and can be used for so many good reasons. So know that if your child joins the world of STEM and you encouraged them to find that interest, then you’re doing great things in the world!
Two of the focuses of my blog are Education and Writing/Blogging. Whether going for a Bachelors, a Masters, or a Doctoral degree, many individuals must write a thesis. How do you write a thesis if you’ve never written one? Also, what are the keys to writing and effective thesis? The following guest post is contributed by www.customwritingservice.com and is entitled, How To Write A Very Elaborate Thesis.
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Want to write texts that can attract the attention of teachers? Learn 6 Tips from customwritingservice.com That Can Help You
Within the academic universe, students need to find creative ways to write to attract the attention of the teacher who will correct the text. The author of the paper must come out of common sense and explore arguments and issues in depth.
To increase the reader’s interest, it is essential to develop a well-crafted, specific and complex thesis. This start will be the basis for the whole narrative and will ensure the success or failure of the project. Check out tips for writing a good thesis:
1 – Cheer On Your Theme
The more engaged you are, the better your text will be. Although you don’t like it, try to find a solution to make it creative and interesting. Thus, your performance will be more enjoyable and the reading of the final project as well.
2 – Develop A Strong Opinion
Consolidated opinion is important for the success of the thesis. If you encounter difficulties with this part of the process, read specific newspaper articles on the subject. Also, look for ready-made theses that have something to do with yours, to increase your argumentative base.
3 – Use Good Adjectives
Avoid vague expressions like “good” and “bad”. Explore more elaborate adjectives to emphasize your opinion and strengthen the arguments presented.
4 – Focus The Thesis On A Main Idea
Since the thesis is what gives meaning to all concepts in the text, you must ensure that it does not address many different contents. This keeps the document organized and with a relevant line of reasoning.
5 – Be Extremely Specific In The Thesis
A generic beginning weakens the text, because the reader cannot detect which subject will be dealt with the most emphasis. However, if the thesis presents characteristic details about the arguments, the teacher is prepared for the rest of the content. During the newsroom production period, you can stay focused on the main subject.
6 – Make A List Of Interesting Theses
Add to the list the content available in books or on the internet that can help you create your own thesis . The greater the amount of information, the more easily the text will be developed.
Here Are Some Examples Of Theses:
• Weak:
“North and South fought in the Civil War for various reasons, some being equal and others respectful.”
• Average:
“While two sides fought in the Civil War involving slavery, the North faced the dispute over moral issues and the South to maintain its institutions.”
• Strong:
“While northerners and southerners believed they were fighting oppression and tyranny, the former focused on ending slavery and the others defended the right to self-government.”
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two key focuses are a Career Discussions and General Education. Depending up your career aspirations, a Graduate Degree may be a logical move. The pursuit of higher degrees should be carefully calculated out. The following contributed post is entitled, Why A Graduate Degree Is A Good Idea.
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Thinking about going to graduate school or studying online? Debating an MBA? It’s a great idea for a range of reasons. And here’s why.
Boost Your Knowledge
First of all, a huge selling point for a lot of people, is that you are going to learn a lot more. Maybe you want to go into academia, or you don’t feel as if your education journey is quite over? Or maybe you want to progress in your career, and going back to school to get your MBA can help you to do that? If so, it’s a great idea.
Keep Your Options Open
The next thing reason why going on to graduate school after you get your bachelor’s degree, is so that you can keep your options open. Maybe you don’t know what you want to do for a career right now? Then going on an getting a MBA allows you to learn more and it bides you some time while you figure things out too.
Earn More
You’ll often find that with the right degree, you can also earn more too. Lots of graduate degrees lead to higher positions and higher-earning roles. Not only that, but you may find that you’re able to get a promotion, or you’re offered a higher tiered salary right off the bat. So if you want to progress in your career, getting a graduate degree like an MBA can help.
For more information on the benefits of graduate programs, particularly the online MBA, take a look at the infographic below.
The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Career Discussions and General Education. While we get trained in our individual disciplines in school, there are other skills that dictate who excels in a particular field in the work world. It’s not always clear when starting our careers what those skills are. The following contributed post is entitled, Top Skills To Learn That Will Help You Professionally.
So, with many college students embarking on their final year, some of you may have already decided that a career in business is the way for you. Whether it be a career in marketing or sales, there are so many options for you to consider. Now, while college can teach you a lot about say marketing, they don’t seem to really teach you much about the personal skills needed to make it in the world of business.
No matter what it is what you do for a living, you probably want to do it as well as you can. This is true for most people, and yet it can be surprisingly hard to know what kind of skills are involved in achieving and getting ahead in any type of business. In this article, we are going to take a look at some examples of the kinds of skills which are likely to be helpful for anyone who considers themselves to be a true professional and wants to get ahead as best as they can in their chosen career path. If you can master all of these, you will almost certainly be able to improve your career to no end, so it is definitely worth looking into at your earliest convenience.
Negotiation skills
Negotiation is a fine art to master. The official definition is “discussion aimed at meeting an agreement.” But there’s so much more to it than that. Negotiation is all about you coming out on top, while still letting the other person think they’ve grabbed themselves a bargain. This process happens day in, day out in business. Quite a lot of companies now even require their employees to have ongoing negotiations skill training courses to make sure techniques are continually being improved. With deals on the line with most companies, it might be worth doing a little research into the art of negotiation.
Communication
Communication skills are probably one of the most essential skills to have. Whether it be communicating with your colleagues to form working friendships, or with customers to establish a rapport. It’s not all just about face to face communication either. When starting a new job, your employer will be keen to know how your email and telephone skills are. Having a conversation with someone that’s not face to face can be hard, as people can’t always tell the tone you’re trying to take, or the facial cues you’re using to show emotion. Wording an email in a way that comes across informative, yet not condescending is a skill some of you may have already mastered due to being at college. But if you feel you wouldn’t be the best at this, you can always take a look at online guides to help you.
Time management
Time management is one you all would have had to master during college. But in the world of business, it’s slightly more serious. If you’re a little late submitting a smaller assignment, it’s not too much bother. But as you know, when it comes to the big graded assignments, if you submit them late, you may run the risk of losing marks or failing the whole unit. The same sort of applies in business, except if you don’t meet deadlines, it could mean deals lost, customers angry, and more importantly, an irate boss. It’s important to realize that in business, it wouldn’t just be you affected as it would with college, there is often a chain of people affected by lack of time management.
Bookkeeping
Being able to look after your finances is always going to be important for your career and your personal life, and especially if you are high up in any kind of business, even if your job role does not technically have anything to do with the finances of the company. Having a solid understanding of bookkeeping is always going to be hugely valuable, and you might be amazed at just how often it is likely to crop up, so you should consider taking an online course in bookkeeping if you want to learn this particular skill. With that kind of understanding of finances under your belt, it will benefit your life in a considerable number of ways, especially professionally.
Public speaking
It is often said to be the most common fear in the world, and it’s easy to see why. Everyone gets nervous when it comes to public speaking, albeit some more than others, but if you manage to master it, then it could make an enormous difference to how well you do in your professional life. If you’re looking to enter a role in politics or law such as a fraud attorney firm, speaking in front of others is part of the job. Everyone who works professionally knows that there are many occasions when you are called on to speak up publically in the office and so on, and if you are able to do so confidently without worrying about it you should find that it improves your business and your career greatly. Remember this, and consider taking a course to make it easier on yourself. You will find the confidence boost it gives you is incredible too.
Creativity
If you can be creative, it means that you can find dynamic and unique solutions to any given problem. This is something which is going to be useful for many people in many professions, and yet a lot of people find their creativity stifled by the professional settings which could benefit from it. If you are struggling to release your own creativity at work, start small and try to build up as time goes on. You will find that it makes it easier to do so and that you can build your creativity as you go along. This will, in turn, improve your professional life hugely, so it is definitely worthwhile doing.
These are just some of the primary skills that the waiting business world with need from you. Some you may already think you do pretty well, but it’s always worth doing a bit of research to find some of the best techniques and interpersonal skills to make sure you thrive in your new careers.
Three focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, Education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). It’s a good time to get into one of the STEM fields. There are particularly numerous career opportunities in the Biomedical Sciences. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Interesting Careers In Science You Should Consider.
The first thing to come to mind when thinking about a career in science is most probably the image of a lab technician in a white coat, mixing chemicals. You wouldn’t be wrong that a fair few careers in science involve this, and they are very much worth considering as a career. You shouldn’t forget that you do have sciences such as medical sciences, theoretical sciences, physical science, life sciences in roles such as zoologists and even some food hygienists need to have a background in biology. The level of education can vary from college level right through to 10 years and up at university levels and often the schooling is continuous is a career in science. Have a look below at three lab coat careers you should consider when thinking about science.
Pharmacist With a wide variety of job role options, a pharmacist is definitely an attractive career option in science. A pharmacist is responsible for managing all the aspects of a commercial or hospital pharmacy. On top of this, they are also responsible for sourcing and dispensing medications, a pharmacist makes sure that each individual patient receives the correct medication and dosage. Often if in a hospital pharmacist will even attend patient rounds to help consult and advise physicians. You can expect to study for around 8 years to reach this level and it’s advised that you look into a college degree in biology, chemistry or pre-pharmacy.
DNA Analyst Often seen and known because of crime dramas a career as a DNA Analyst could be a very rewarding and interesting path to take. It plays a critical role in crime investigation and you will work closely alongside criminal investigations. They are sometimes referred to as forensic biologists, someone in this line of work would look at things such as blood, saliva, body fluids and hair found at crime scenes and deliver the DNA results to the criminologist for their investigations. It’s considered a highly important role, especially as a lot of investigations, now rely on DNA as a reliable source of conviction. Sometimes they are even asked to testify and appear in court and it can become a night and day job as unfortunately, crime doesn’t sleep. A college degree in biology is a necessity for this job. You should also look into taking extra courses in forensics, such as toxicology and drug analysis.
Biomedical Engineer If you’ve dreamt about changing the world or finding the next big cure in medicine, then this is the career for you. Using sophisticated technology and equipment such as test tubes, DNA extractors and a 96 well plate in research facilities, laboratories and hospitals to conduct research biomedical engineering is a type of science that is continually developing and adapting to find the next solution. Some people choose to use their knowledge to educate in teaching positions and pass on their skills. You will need a high level of education for this type of role and you can expect to study continuously to adapt along with science. Looking at an array of courses is ideal for this role such as chemistry and physics. You may also find it beneficial to complete an internship in a biomedical engineering laboratory to gain the essential practical experience to you will need for your own lab.
Do you have any other careers in science that should be on this list? Please share them in the comments section below.
A key focus of my blog is General Education. Many people have to decide whether or not to further their educations. Today it’s a particularly important decisions as the cost of education has become costly. What are some reasons to further your education? The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Reasons To Further Your Education.
If you’re considering starting your education but you’re unsure if it’s the right decision for you, you have definitely come to the right place. With so many things to consider before you get started, you need to be sure you’re making the best possible decision for you. Whether that’s moving to a new city or studying online, finding your ‘why’ is important. With that in mind, here are 5 reasons to further your education:
– It Can Help Further Your Career
If you’re looking to further your career and feel as though you can’t move any further unless you further your education, a degree may be the next best step. Whilst often education isn’t vital to progress, having that extra bit of knowledge and theory to put behind your experience can go a long way. In some cases, jobs will ask for you to have a minimum of an Undergraduate Degree in order to apply. For more information when it comes to applying for jobs, you can visit this site here.
– You Could Increase Your Earning Potential
One of the great things about getting a degree and furthering your career is that you automatically increase your earning potential. Although it may not happen straight away, getting a degree and furthering your education is a clear indicator to your current and future employers that you need a pay rise as not only are your skills more in demand, but you will also be able to back them up with theories and studies.
– You Can Learn From Absolutely Anywhere
If you’re looking to study for your Undergraduate or Master’s degree but you don’t want to uproot your entire life in order to do so, you may want to consider doing an online degree. Not only will you be able to work from the comfort of your own home, but you’ll be able to work in your own time too. This means that you will be able to fit your degree in around both your professional and private life. For more information on studying online for degrees such as a Masters in TESOL online, you can visit this site here.
– You Can Learn New And Transferable Skills
Another great thing about furthering your education is that you can learn transferable skills. To put it simply, these are skills that you can take with you no matter what job you go into. Whether you’re gaining report writing skills or improving your skills when it comes to giving presentations, there are lots of things that can be transferred across hundreds of different industry. To find out more about the key life skills you learn whilst studying, you can visit this site here.
– You Can Meet New People
Finally, another incredible aspect of furthering your education is that you will meet lots of new people. It is often said that the people that you meet whilst you’re studying are people that will become your friends for years to come, especially as you have to go through some incredibly stressful times together. Make the most out of it, speak to everyone and make some amazing new friends.
Are you considering furthering your education? What benefits could it bring to you? Let me know in the comments section below?
A key focus of my blog is General Education and Current Events. Though often overlooked, our military veterans are essential to the privileges and freedoms we enjoy here in the United States. As such, the right thing to do is to honour them, and take care of them as best we can when their service is over. The following contributed post is entitled, Why We Should Be Honouring Our Veterans.
While it’s great that we have a Veteran’s Day to honour our veterans, why is it just the one day? What about the other 364 days of the year? Are they not veterans then? Should we not honour them and be thankful for them every day?
Veterans are expected to go back to civilian life dealing with the mental and physical disabilities they got from their time in the service. There are a lot of people who do try to help them by making care packages for soldiers overseas and helping the veterans in their community. It is because of veterans that we can sit here today with no restrictions on what we can write or say.
Of the 21.4 million Veterans in the USA, still, six-per cent remain unemployed after they leave the service. 3.2 million soldiers have had to leave because of a service-connected disability and a quarter of million veterans enter the civilian world each year. They can fill in a VA form 21-4142 and hopefully get some disability benefits, but is that enough? We all know what happens to a football or basketball star after a career-ending injury, but do we know what happens to our heroes? It is our responsibility as a country to make a gesture of thanks, to remember those who served for us and asked nothing in return. Living under a flag that represents the freedoms so many others across the world are forsaken would be impossible without them.
Thanks to veterans, we are able to fight for the rights of waiters and bar staff and whether they deserve $15 an hour or not and how that will affect our economy.
Because of veterans, our children are able to play outside, and all they have to worry about is whether they can stay up late or have ice cream for dinner.
Sometimes our veterans have no one. We need to support them as far too often they are alone and find it too tough to get through the hard times. Too many good lives are lost because of this.
We need to look out for our veterans because far too many of them are sleeping on the streets while we sleep in our warm beds. They are not seen for the true heroes they are, and our children don’t realise that these people on the streets are the ones they should be looking up to and not down on.
Without support, society will continue to sweep veterans under the carpet as it is easier to hide them than to actually do something to help them, so we must support our veterans.
Most importantly, we need to look out for our veterans because they have been looking out for us our entire lives, and it is the least we can do.
This is the conclusion of my two-part interview with Niagara Falls LaSalle High School basketball legend, Carlos Bradberry. In part one, Carlos discussed his background, how he started playing basketball, and how he became one of the legendary point guards in the LaSalle basketball dynasty. In part two we talk about his senior year at LaSalle where he led the Explorers to Glens Falls, his college career, and then life after basketball.
The pictures in this interview come from an archive of Section VI basketball, carefully assembled over the years from issues of the Buffalo News, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and Section V and VI playoff programs by my first Coach at Hutch-Tech High School, Dr. Ken Jones. Other pictures were generously shared by Carlos himself, and his Head Coach at LaSalle Senior High School, Pat Monti. Click on any of the images to enlarge them. This interview and others were created for the love the game but also to promote my book project entitled, The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story.
Anwar Dunbar: After the season-ending loss to Greece-Athena your junior season, what was your mentality going into your senior year? Was it, ‘Glens Falls or bust?’
Carlos Bradberry: Yes, it was Glens Falls or bust. There was no other thought in our minds besides getting to Glens Falls. We weren’t thinking about local teams. Our biggest rival was Niagara Falls Senior High School, and everybody thought it was a huge game. It wasn’t for us at that time. Our whole goal was Glens Falls from day one.
AD: Well, I recall you guys having one shocker against Kenmore West in league play.
CB: It was almost two. They played us really close in the sectionals too. They were a good team. They had Rob Fitchlee, Shawn Bryan and Joe Thomas – they were stacked. I think we played them three times that year, and I’d say that all three games were close and none of them were blow outs. They were really good!
AD: Well you know that was the big story and it was like, ‘LaSalle lost!’ So, it sounds like they were legitimately talented, and you guys didn’t just overlook them.
CB: No. They were loaded. They would’ve gone to Glens Falls almost any other year. They ended our win streak. St. Joe’s had a ‘monster’ win streak of their own with Eric Eberz and Jeff Muszynski. Kenmore West ended theirs as well – both in the same year. That was Dick Harvey’s team.
AD: I was watching the 1993 Class B-1 sectional final between Amherst and Kenmore East once again at Alumni Arena. Towards the end of that game, you guys walked in as a group and sat right in front of me. I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh boy. LaSalle is here!’ Just as that game was ending, you got up in a business-like fashion and went on to defeat Hamburg and the rest is history.
So, your team beat Kenmore West in the Class A semifinal 61-51 and beat Hamburg 61-42 in the Class A final to win Section VI yet again. Did you feel confident matching up with Section V’s McQuaid? That game was at Rochester War Memorial Arena. Aside from losing Shino Ellis and Willie Cole, you basically returned with the same core group with the addition of Tim Winn.
CB: I’d say confident, but for me leery. My last memory of McQuaid was going out there and getting ‘stomped’ a few years earlier. I wondered how good these guys were and I knew that they had a big guy. I think his name was Jay Wandtke or something like that and he was 6’6” or 6’7”. Obviously, he wasn’t on John Wallace’s level, but I was thinking they had a big guy and I wondered how we were going to match up.
AD: So, it did end up being a close game. The Buffalo News reported that Todd hit a last second late shot and –.
CB: Yes. Todd hit a huge shot from the elbow to give us the 46-45 win.
AD: And you guys advanced to the Final Four in Glens Falls where you matched up with Hempstead from Long Island. You lost a close game to them, 70-67. What was it like getting there? Was it, ‘We’re here,’ and you were happy to just do that or –.
CB: No, we wanted to win. It was huge for us to get there, but as soon as we won that McQuaid game, our focus was, ‘Man you know what, let’s go down there and win this thing!’ I’d never heard of Hempstead before, but I’d always heard about how good Mount Vernon was. Our mentality was to go down there and beat Mount Vernon or whomever we were going to play. All of us were beyond happy to get to Glens Falls, but we weren’t settling for that.
AD: Obviously you want to win the whole thing, but the way it ended, were you satisfied with your senior season?
CB: I was satisfied, but I hate to lose so that last game wore on me for a long time. I probably sat there for a week or two and thought of every play I could’ve done differently. I still remember it to this day. We lost by three points and I missed five or six free throws. I said to myself, ‘If I’d made those six free throws, we would have won the game!’
For me it was bitter-sweet because we got there and showed well, but I thought we could have gone one step further. What made it worse was, I think Hempstead either won or had a very close game with Mount Vernon. I thought we could’ve been the state champs if I’d played a little bit better.
CB: I think we just came out and got into a hole. I think we feared their size and played zone against them. We didn’t really think they could shoot it, but they came out and shot it in the first half. We eventually went to our ‘pressure’ defense and they started turning the ball over left and right. Looking at them warmup, how athletic they were, and how quick they looked, that was one team I can say that I was intimidated by. But man, once we started playing and we got through that lull where they jumped on us, I thought from that point we could win. I thought they had some Division I players and some good guards, but I thought as a team we were better.
AD: Before we move on, how did Coach Monti pick his captains? Was it his best two players? Was it his most senior players?
CB: I’m pretty sure it was always upperclassmen. It wasn’t a team vote or anything. In my freshman year I want to say that it was Milo Small and Duke Davis, who were seniors. Sophomore year it probably fell to Modie, Scotty Rose and my brother. It was always your junior and senior guys who’d been through it. In my junior year I was a Co-Captain with Shino.
AD: Who was Co-Captain with you in your senior year?
CB: I believe it was myself, Chris Frank and maybe Curtis Ralands.
AD: When we played you guys in the 1991 Festival of Lights Tournament, I remember you consistently ‘slashing’ to the basket. What was your game like by the time you graduated from LaSalle?
CB: I spent a lot of time over the summer shooting and I came back as a ‘respectable’ three-point shooter. I was hitting a couple of threes every game, so I was mixing it in more than my junior year when I was just getting to the basket. I knew for me I wanted to play at the college level. It was funny because we would go down to the YMCA and we used to have these unbelievable runs on Saturdays with guys who were in their 30s and 40s. I’d go to the basket every play and they would just ‘hammer’ me. They’d say, ‘Listen, you’re not going to be able to get to the basket on everybody! You’re going to have to learn how to shoot!’ Those guys had a point and it made you get in the gym and work on your jump shot.
AD: Do you remember what your best game was?
CB: One of the games that sticks out was against Lockport. It was probably my junior year. We were down 10-12 points in the third or fourth quarter of a sectional game. We were going to lose and that was huge because we hadn’t lost a game up to that point. They had a guy on their team named Calvin Shellman who was really good. I scored 17 of out of 30 points in the fourth quarter to help us come back and beat them. That’s probably the game that sticks out to me in high school, just off the top of my head.
Also, a game against Niagara Falls in my sophomore year sticks out. Modie had an ankle injury and no one thought we could win without him. I was scared out of my mind because Modie was our guy. I played shooting guard that season, but I had to play point guard in that game. It was a low scoring, tight game. I went to the free throw line with zero seconds on the clock and hit two free throws with all the Niagara Falls High School fans lined up under the basket to win the game. It was crazy because they stormed the court and thought they won the game. Then the court had to be cleared and I had to shoot two free throws with no one else on the court.
AD: Based upon the way that the players were brought up and the way Coach Monti ran the team, it sounds like your teams had good ‘chemistry’ together, and that you guys were a pretty tight group.
CB: The majority of us were always together doing something. It’s funny now because you see some kids and teams that are really disconnected. We were sort of like a family. There were always four guys over my house, or I was always over someone else’s house – nine out of your 11 guys were doing something together.
AD:Tim said that he was over at your place playing video games regularly. It’s strange. I don’t know if it’s organic, but on some teams if no one explains it to you, you don’t realize that chemistry off the court is important as well.
CB: It’s huge! It makes you trust people. It makes you like people more. It makes you want to make something happen for that next guy and they become more than just some guy you’re playing basketball with for two hours a day. They’re almost like you brother or your cousin. Me, Jody, Shino and Fat Jack were all inseparable – we were always together. I wanted to see them do as well as, or better, than me or anybody else.
AD: You said it was yourself, Jody, Shino and who else?
CB: It was me, Jody, and Fat Jack – Tim. (“Fat Jack” as we called him).
AD: Why did you guys call him Fat Jack?
CB: Oh, that’s his name. Everybody knows him as Fat Jack. If somebody calls him Tim, it’s rare. If you’re around Niagara Falls or Buffalo, he’s Fat Jack. That’s been his name since he was younger which was funny because he was the skinniest kid growing up. But those were the guys. Obviously, Shino is a year older than me, so he graduated a year earlier; and Curtis, obviously. That was our other guy. It was crazy how we were all close.
AD: Was there anyone you looked particularly forward to playing against?
CB: Definitely, Calvin Shellman. He was younger than me by a year and played at Lockport, but he was amazing. I don’t know if you remember Anthony Scott from Grand Island. He went on to play football at the University at Buffalo (UB). He was the biggest trash talker in Western New York, so I looked forward to playing against him. We were friends, but those were two of the guys who I looked forward to playing against.
Eric Eberz, from St. Joe’s, was a guy I looked forward to playing against, but never got to play against him in high school. We used to play on some ‘travel’ teams together, and we always used to talk about who was better between St. Joe’s and LaSalle. However, we never got a chance to play each other. So probably, it was those three guys.
AD: Now the Buffalo News captured how fierce the Niagara Falls High School-LaSalle rivalry was and your team owned it for the most part. I read in one of the clippings that at one point a fight broke out. What was the most surprising thing you saw when you played at LaSalle? Was it the fight? Was is someone getting cut? Was it playing against John Wallace? Was it something else?
CB: The rivalry with Niagara Falls was different than anything. A lot of things stuck out. You had hundreds of people outside the gym who couldn’t get in. You had guys looking through windows to try to watch games. That’s something you didn’t see every day around Western New York. Even though we had good crowds, that game was just different. To us it was crazy because we felt like we were never going to lose to Niagara Falls High School.
We had the confidence. We knew the guys and we played against them every day, so we knew we were the better team; but when you got into that environment it was just nuts. It was people on top of people. People stand on the baseline, and it sort of made a lot of the games ugly. We probably didn’t play some our best ‘LaSalle’ games, because at that point you hear everybody in the town screaming and yelling your name. and everyone was trying to make a name for themselves. That’s what sticks out – those Niagara Falls High School games for sure.
AD: Does that mean that during those games, you guys ‘freelanced’ a little bit more and broke from the structure?
CB: Yeah, and I’m sure that Coach Monti would agree. I don’t think he was happy with some of those games. Some of them were ugly and they were the one game out of the year where we didn’t follow the game plan to a ‘T’. The one we played during my sophomore year – that’s when we had Duke and Milo. Niagara Falls High School complained that we always played in our home gym just because it was so much bigger and could accommodate more fans. And they had a right to complain. Their coach at the time kept complaining and we finally played at Niagara Falls High School which is another one of the more meaningful games that sticks out.
We went there, and this was a team with Willie Cauley, who was unbelievably talented. We walked into their gym – the little ‘box’ that they had, and it was supposed to be a close game. We ended up beating them by 40 points. We just ran our offense to the T – everything we did was perfect and after that, they never asked to play there again. It was crazy.
AD:Coach Monti did say that their teams were bigger and more talented, but you guys still owned the rivalry/series.
CB: They were always bigger and had a few better athletes. Willie Cauley was on their team all our years and he was the best player on the court talent-wise every year. It was amazing.
AD: What kind of student were you when you were at LaSalle? It sounds like Coach Monti kept a tight rein on how his players performed in the classroom.
CB: There were progress reports every week that you had to turn in – even when it wasn’t basketball season.
AD: Really? Wow.
CB: You had to be on top of your grades and it wasn’t just your 65s, getting by and passing classes – it was basically to your ability. If you were a 70s kid, Coach Monti expected you to get 70s. If you were an 80s kid, he expected you to get 80s. I was an ‘80s kid’ in high school. I know Jody was a 90s kid and if he had brought in 80s, Coach Monti probably wouldn’t have been happy – do you know what I mean? There wasn’t one grade that everyone had to get. He knew what kids were capable of and that’s what he expected you to get.
AD: When did the colleges start recruiting you?
CB: I was a ‘late bloomer’ – it was the end of my junior year and really it coincided with the start of AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball. Mickey Walker used to run “Upstate Basketball” which was basically an AAU team. He took me on my first few tournaments going from my junior to my senior year. That’s when I really started to get interest from some schools.
I wasn’t heavily recruited. I had around seven interested schools. Most of them were from going out just that little time in the summer with Mickey. I know Fat Jack (Tim Winn) ended up playing later for him as AAU kept getting bigger and bigger. So basically, it was more the middle of eleventh grade.
AD: Obviously, one of them was Niagara University. I remember going to Buffalo’s Memorial Auditorium your freshman year and seeing you play against the University at Buffalo. Were there other Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schools interested in you?
CB: Locally it was Canisius College, where John Beilein coached, that showed me the most interest from day one. St. Bonaventure recruited me, but they didn’t make me an offer, and that’s where I wanted to go locally. I probably wasn’t an Atlantic 10 Conference-level kid, though I didn’t know it at the time.
I was more of a MAAC- level kid, which included both Niagara University and Canisius College. There were some teams from outside the MAAC like Marist and Maryland-Eastern Shore. Canisius and Marist were probably the earliest in terms of recruiting me.
CB: This is a great story as well. I loved Canisius, Coach Beilein and Coach McDonald who is now a local Head Coach at Daemen College, but I was young, and I was waiting for that big school to come, which was never coming. It was getting late, and Canisius had been recruiting me for my whole eleventh and twelfth grade years and I think it was around the time of the Final Four.
I talked to another one of the coaches and he said, ‘Hey, we’ve got another guy on hold for the whole year. You’re our No. 1 guy,’ but they wanted me to give them a commitment and it was halftime of that Final Four game and I kept going back and forth on them. I called Coach McDonald after the Final Four game the next day because I was going to go to Canisius. I told them, ‘Hey, how is everything going?’ He said, ‘We really didn’t think we were going to hear from you, so we signed another point guard.’ At that point they said, ‘Your offer is still here. We want you here,’ but then I called Niagara a minute later and just told them I was coming there.
And the other thing – the sticking point for me, which was just being young and dumb, was that Canisius had a good senior point guard that I knew I was going to have to play behind named Dana “Binky” Johnson. Coach Beilein let you know, ‘You’re going to come in and you’re going to learn as a freshman. You’re going to play under him, but we’re going to groom you to be our next point guard!’ Niagara University had just lost their point guard – a kid named Lloyd Walker and they told me, ‘Hey, you can come here and start right away!’
So that’s where I was torn. As a young kid all you want to hear is that you’re going to go to a college and start right away. So, while my heart sort of knew that Canisius was the right place and I loved Canisius, Niagara came into the picture later. With a coach coming and telling me that I would start my freshman year – I just went with it.
It was funny because guys like Coach Monti – he wouldn’t tell me what to do, but he told me, ‘Hey I think Canisius is a good fit for you.’ My Dad also said Canisius was a great fit and I thought it was a great fit too. It’s just that when you’re a kid turning 18 years old, you just want to play, and you don’t think about all the other stuff involved. I ended up leaving Niagara, but I loved the time that I was there and the guys I played with were great. I don’t regret anything about the way that it worked.
AD: Well, hey man, after talking to Jason Rowe and Tim Winn, it sounds like there are a lot of moving parts and a lot of things to consider when kids are getting recruited. Playing time was one thing you described as important, in addition to how much the schools seem to want you, while also recruiting other players at your position.
CB: Yes, it’s confusing especially for a kid – you sort of want someone to make that decision for you. My Dad told me what he wanted, but he said, ‘Listen, you’ve got to make this decision on your own! I’ll tell you what I think, but you’ve got to make your own decision!’ Sometimes when you’re 17 and 18, you’re not going to make the right decision.
AD: When you went to New Hampshire, you were obviously with another coaching staff. Were there major differences in playing at New Hampshire versus playing at Niagara?
CB: Oh yeah! It was just a whole different approach. I’m not saying one was better than the other, but it was two different systems. One was ‘night’ and one was ‘day’. It’s tough because I had a to sit out a year and when you sit out, you get ‘rusty’ because you don’t really play. You practice, but you don’t play in games for a whole year, and then you come in and you’re in a whole different system. It was a different role than I ever had to play before when I ended up at New Hampshire.
AD: Were you playing the ‘point guard’ position, or did you slide over to ‘shooting guard’?
CB: I played the point guard position at both Niagara and New Hampshire. At Niagara you’re young and dumb. You’re playing in front of your hometown and friends are telling you stuff. At Niagara I had a ‘long leash’ as a freshman and as a sophomore, but maybe I wasn’t doing as well as people thought I was as I wasn’t putting the numbers up. I thought I could and should be doing more so I wound up leaving and going to New Hampshire where the coach was more of a ‘You’re going to be more of a guy to set up our offense and get us into this spot,’’ -type of guy. I learned how to play it in two years and I don’t regret going there either.
CB: No. At Niagara University we were young. We would have been good if everyone had stayed. In my freshman year, we brought in seven freshman which was nuts. Three or four them ended up starting. I think if we could have stayed together until our junior year, we would’ve had a special group at Niagara, but four of the seven ended up leaving. At New Hampshire we just weren’t a very good team. The America East was just a really tough conference and we were a few games under 0.500, so we never got the chance to go to the NCAA Tournament.
CB: Yep. Malik Rose was Drexel’s big man and he was a ‘monster’, but yes, it was tough conference.
AD: Well, you know coincidentally, the first time I ever saw Malik Rose play was the opening round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament when Drexel matched up against John Wallace’s Syracuse team. What did you major in?
CB: Social Work.
AD: Did you have any aspirations of playing professional basketball the way Tim Winn and Jason Rowe did?
CB: No, I had no aspirations to play overseas at all. Nothing interested me about going to another country to play ball.
AD: Is Social Work what you got into once you graduated?
CB: No, I came back and started working in the school system in the Department of Special Education. Unless you get a Master’s Degree, you’re not making too much money in Social Work. My wife is also in the school system and it’s good for our family – to work for the school district and to have our kids come through it. We always have an eye on them and it’s been great.
AD: Okay, well I guess this is a good transition into your kids. We’re Facebook friends now and it looks like your son is following in your footsteps. Did you have expectations for him and put the ball in his hands as a baby? How did he start playing?
CB: So, Jalen is my middle child and he’s a ‘basketball nut’. He played in his first tournament at six years old, and he’s been playing ever since. I’ve got a daughter who is older. She was never really into sports. My younger son never really got into it. My things is that you can’t make kids do something or put them in something they don’t really want to do. My middle one just picked up on it early and loved it.
AD: I saw the video footage of you working him out, and I saw that you took him out to Syracuse for a camp I believe. Are you ‘hands off’ father, or are you ‘hands on’ and coaching him all the time?
CB: Well (laughing), I had an AAU team for years and I had the chance to coach a lot of really good kids who are mostly now juniors and sophomores in high school. I started the team probably when our kids were around fifth grade and I coached a group of really good kids from Niagara Falls and Buffalo. You know what, when you get to a certain point, you’ve got to let go of coaching your own kid, being the Head Coach and doing the whole thing.
My goal was to let that go once he became a freshman which was last year and have him go play for a bigger program that’s not a local program and not me coaching him. So, this last year he started playing with the “Albany City Rocks” which is our only Nike-sponsored team in the state other than teams in New York City. So, he started playing with those guys.
AD: And it looks like Jalen is playing for Niagara Falls High School?
AD: Does he know how good you were? Has he heard the legends of Coach Pat Monti, the LaSalle Explorers, Eric Gore, Michael Starks and the ten-year dynasty?
CB: He hears about it and I wouldn’t say that I’m hands off. We were in the gym just before you called. I’ll get him in and do his workouts. I’m basically his ‘rebounding machine’ – I’ll run around and chase his balls for him. I’ll do that, but other than that, at this point you want to get him around other people. He’s older and it’s time for me to turn it over to somebody else.
AD: On Monday, I saw you say that you had a game. Was that him playing or do you still play?
CB: For Niagara Falls High School, I’m going to be an assistant coach. A couple of kids are coming from Jalen’s old school and it’s good that we got them in a league so that they can start to mix in with the other players and get a feel for each other. Hopefully when November comes, everybody will know each other a little bit better. I was previously an Assistant Coach at Niagara Falls High School and I took a couple of years off when Jalen started middle school.
AD: Okay, Carlos, we’re almost done. I can see from Facebook that you still literally eat, sleep and breathe the game, and I see you frequently posting about today’s players, their skill level, and what kids don’t know how to do. How has the game changed since the early 1990s when we were out there playing? Is the game more about shooting like Steph Curry and the Warriors? What are you seeing? Are the kids less tough?
CB: It’s funny, because I get into arguments with guys about this because I say that I know that if I was in high school right now, with the same skill level I had in high school, I would’ve never been a Division I player today. These kids are so skilled at a young age now that it’s unbelievable. So, when I say that to the older guys and they start talking about Jordan and Bird – yeah, pros are pros – pros are going to be unbelievable – they’re all skilled and they’re all great.
I tell guys that, to me, this generation is so much more skilled than ours. Now the flipside, and I’ll probably get a knock for this, I think our generation was intellectually more ahead of these guys. I think so much time gets spent today on skill work and one-on-one training that it doesn’t translate into ‘team’ basketball. You’re individually always working with a trainer, working on your handle, and working on your shot. You’re working on all of these individual skills, whereas back in the day we were just playing, so we just learned how to play the game a little bit better.
So, I think they’re more skilled. They’re way stronger than we were – the athleticism is just ridiculous across the board and that’ my take on it. The younger kids’ skill level is just ridiculous compared to what we were back in the day.
AD: Interesting.
CB: And just watching my son and other kids – we have a lot of other kids who are amazing. You go to some of these events and you have younger and older kids. I can tell you right now that we weren’t playing against kids that were doing some of the stuff these kids are doing now.
AD: In terms of athleticism and dunking?
CB: I’m talking about skill set. You’ve got 6’9” guys who can handle the ball like point guards. The post-game isn’t seen anymore, which I think is a bad sign, but I just think individual skills are way higher than they were back when we played in high school. I look at the teams we played on, the guys I played with, myself included – I couldn’t do half the stuff I see ninth and tenth graders doing now.
AD: Where were you when you heard LaSalle was going to be demolished and how did you feel about it?
CB: Ah man. When was that, 2000? I was back here from New Hampshire and I was devastated just because LaSalle was so much more than a basketball team. It was like a family and I don’t mean just your basketball guys. It was a family in terms of your friends and the people you grew up with. LaSalle was a tight knit school. There wasn’t much violence or fights or all that crazy stuff going on. When you heard that it was breaking up, you felt like things were going to change. I’m not just talking about basketball, but in general; it was just something that I felt was bad for our city.
AD: So, aside from the LaSalle basketball dynasty going away, has there been an effect on the city?
CB: When you’re relating it to sports, I look at it as having a negative effect. It’s funny, because every year you hear parents, friends and people who have issues and say, ‘Hey there’s a lot of favoritism going on at this high school because our kid didn’t make the team, or this kid didn’t make that team!’ They don’t realize that you combined these two schools (LaSalle and Niagara Falls Senior High Schools) so you used to have 24-26 spots, and now you can only grab 12 kids.
I think it has taken away from our kids from an athletic standpoint where you have a lot of kids walking around that high school now that are really good at some sports, but unfortunately, there are 12 guys better than them. Do you know what I mean? I think it’s just negatively impacted it in that way and I thought just having the option of two different schools was something that gave a lot of kids more options and a better chance than they have now.
AD: Okay. For any youngster aspiring to play basketball or to achieve any other life goal, what advice would you give them?
CB: The first one is that you must have the books over everything. Being from Buffalo and up in the Falls, you see so much talent wasted because kids aren’t there academically. There are a million stories of guys who didn’t get out (of the neighborhood) and were amazing in any sport, and my thing is that education must be first. You’ve got to get that education and you’ve got to work hard in the classroom.
Then obviously, with the sports part, you can’t cheat it. There are those rare guys who are born good at something, but you can’t cheat the process. You’ve got to get into the gym, and you’ve got to work at it. It’s a grind and you’ve got to be in there really working at whatever your goal is almost daily now. And really those are it. I think we’ve had a lot of guys from around here go off to college and play and it shows that if you really put your time in and you do your work in the classroom, you can get out of here.
AD: Is there anything you would change about your playing days?
CB: My playing days? No, nothing at all.
AD: Well, Carlos, unless you have any other comments or stories, we are at the end. I really appreciate this. One thing that will be evident from my interviews with you, Tim and Coach Monti, is that while you guys were the team that everyone was trying to beat, I developed a lot of respect for LaSalle basketball and what you all accomplished. I’ll also try to catch a Niagara Falls High School game when I’m back there over the Holidays.
CB: Okay, great, thanks.
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