College, Career, Military Readiness

Welcome to the South Texas ISD College, Career, Military Readiness (CCMR) Newsletter of the 2023-2024 School Year! This newsletter will contain information related to College, Career & Military Readiness.

College Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) is an initiative introduced by the state of Texas to ensure students are well-prepared for success after high school. The program emphasizes the development of essential skills and knowledge required for college education, career readiness, and military service. It focuses on providing students with comprehensive guidance, support, and resources to explore a wide range of post-secondary pathways.

Students and parents will be able to find important information regarding FASFA, Scholarships, Dual Credit, Testing, CTE Programs of Study and mandatory deadlines.

Every role within nursing requires a minimum level of education for licensing. While entry-level nurses can enter the field more quickly, those with more advanced degrees can often find greater opportunities and earn significantly larger salaries. The level of degree you choose depends on your career goals and the licensing requirements of your state.

LPN programs train students to work under the supervision of RNs, providing much of the same care as CNAs along with some more extensive duties.

An ADN is the fastest track to becoming a registered nurse, a role that can provide more critical care to their patients. Currently, an associate’s is all you need to earn an RN license, though many employers prefer to hire those with bachelor’s degrees.

A BSN can make you more competitive for jobs than you’d be with an ADN. While not a requirement nationwide, certain states will make it necessary for RNs with associate’s degrees to eventually earn their bachelor’s. If you have a bachelor’s in a non-nursing field, you could earn a “second-degree” BSN in a shorter length of time.

An MSN degree is primarily designed for someone who wants to specialize as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN). APRNs include roles such as nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists, as well as RNs who want to move into leadership and administration.

If you want to teach at the university level, work in nursing research, or take on executive-level roles, a doctoral degree might be your best bet. Depending on your goals, there are several options to consider, including a Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Nursing Science, Doctor of Philosophy, and Doctor of Education in Nursing.

1. Texas State University

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) Major in Nursing

http://mycatalog.txstate.edu/undergraduate/health-professions/st-davids-nursing/bsn/

2. University of Dallas

The University of Dallas and Texas Women's University have a cooperative agreement that allows students to pursue a dual degree. This agreement allows students to earn two degrees, a bachelor of arts in biology from UD and the bachelor of science in nursing from TWU

https://udallas.edu/constantin/academics/programs/nursing/index.php

3. Texas State Technical College (TSTC)

TSTC offers this 16-month certification in Vocational Nursing to get you on your way to a career in health care. In this program, students participate in an innovative hands-on training environment that helps develop their caregiving skills. Instruction consists of classroom, simulation learning labs, interactive online sessions, virtual clinicals, and on-site health care clinicals. Whichever you choose, a nursing career is rewarding and awaiting you.

At the end of your training, passing the National Council Licensure Examination will classify you as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN).

https://www.tstc.edu/programs/vocational-nursing/

Degree Plan:

https://www.tstc.edu/curriculum-program/?plan_number=6350681f24c07d9429c3a762&post=42878

• Medical Biosciences.
• Neuroscience.
• Pharmacology.
• Pathology.
• Physiology.
• Toxicology.
• Genetics.
• Immunology.

There are several types of postgraduate biomedical science degrees that you can pursue, depending on your interests and career goals. Some common options include:

🔬Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Science:

This programme typically covers advanced topics in microbiology, genetics, immunology, and other biomedical disciplines. It may involve a research project or thesis and will prepare you for a variety of careers in research, healthcare, or industry.

🔬Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biomedical Science:

This degree program involves conducting original research in a specific area of biomedical science and writing a dissertation based on the findings. It can prepare you for a career in academia or research.

🔬Masters of Research (MRes) in Biomedical Science:

This is an integrated Masters programme with a significant research component, providing training in a range of research-related skills relevant for advanced study in the field.

🔬Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) in Biomedical Science:

This qualification is sometimes offered as a standalone programme or as the first stage of an MSc and provides an early-stage career route into healthcare or research.

🔬Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) in Biomedical Science:

This qualification is the next stage after completing a PG Cert, sometimes offered as a standalone qualification or as the second stage of an MSc and provides an intensive, focused education in biomedical science to prepare you for a career in healthcare or research.

🔬Professional Doctorate in Biomedical Science:

This degree programme is designed for working healthcare professionals who wish to pursue advanced research and clinical practice in a specific area of biomedical science.

1. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV)

https://www.utrgv.edu/hbs/undergraduate-programs/bs-bmed-hybrid/index.htm

2. Texas Tech University

https://www.ttuhsc.edu/biomedical-sciences/program/default.aspx

There are different types of professionals who play important roles in eye care. The levels of training and expertise are the major difference between the types of eye care provider. An ophthalmologist is a Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) who specializes in eye and vision care. An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery and prescribes and fits eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems. An optometrist (OD) is a healthcare professional who provides primary vision care ranging from vision testing and correction to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of vision changes. An optometrist is not a medical doctor.

Ophthalmologists complete 12 to 14 years of training and education including medical school and are licensed to practice medicine and surgery. Typical training includes a four-year college degree followed by at least eight years of additional medical and surgical training. Ophthalmologist may choose to specialize further in a specific area of medical or surgical eye care. This person is referred to as a subspecialist. Subspecialty requires one or two additional years of school, a fellowship with more in-depth training in one of the main subspecialty areas such as glaucoma, retina, cornea, pediatrics, neurology, oculo-plastic surgery or others.

An optometrist receives a Doctor of Optometry degree after completing 2 to four years of college level education, followed by four years of optometry school. Optometrists are licensed to practice optometry, which primarily involves performing eye exams and vision tests, prescribing and dispensing corrective lenses, detecting certain eye abnormalities, and prescribing medications for certain eye diseases.

Many ophthalmologists and optometrists are board certified. A board-certified ophthalmologist or optometrist has passed a rigorous examination given by the American Board of Ophthalmology or Optometry designed to assess their knowledge, experience, and skills.

1. University of Houston

The University of Houston College of Optometry provides several post-baccalaureate degree and certification programs in Optometry, Physiological Optics, Clinical Residency training and Advanced Practice Fellowships. Links to the application portals for each program are provided below.

Doctor of Optometry Program (O.D.)

https://www.opt.uh.edu/education/degree-certification-programs/

2. University of the Incarnate Word

Rosenberg School of Optometry

https://optometry.uiw.edu/

Website: https://www.securityfirstcu.com/scholarship-program

Security First Scholarship Program is offering a scholarship opportunity through their annual Scholarship Program for students throughout the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). Membership is required to apply; however, the length of membership does not factor into the scholarship decision. You are eligible for membership if you live, work, worship, or study in the four Rio Grande Valley counties – Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy. If you move outside the RGV, the great news is that once you are a credit union member, you are always a member!

The scholarship application program ends on January 31, 2024. Selected scholarship recipients will be notified no later than March 29, 2024, by email. https://www.securityfirstcu.com/scholarship-program

Website: www.elks.org/scholars/

The Elks National Foundation awards 500 competitive, four-year scholarships ranging from $1,000/year to $12,500/year. Applicants do not need to be related to a member of the Elks. Applicants will be judged on scholarship, leadership and financial need. To be eligible the applicant must be pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis at a U.S. college or university. The applicant must also be a current high school senior who is a citizen of the United States on the date their application is signed; permanent legal resident status does not qualify. ACT/SAT score requirements are being waived until further notice. Applications are available online August 1 and must be completed and submitted by the contest deadline on November 15.

For more contest details and to apply online, visit our website at: www.elks.org/scholars/. Contact scholarship@elks.org or enk@elks.org or call 773-755-4728 for more information.

Website: https://www.dellscholars.org/scholarship/

Application Opens: October 1st, 2023

Application Deadline: December 1st, 2023

Amount: $20,000, Laptop (4-year warranty),

- Selection based on merit and financial need

Eligibility Requirements:

• Participate in a program-approved college readiness program in grades 11 and 12
• View list of approved CRPs: https://www.dellscholars.org/scholarship/crps/
• Be on track to graduate from an accredited high school in the current academic year
• Demonstrate a need for financial assistance
• Be eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant in first year of college
• Plan to enroll full time at an accredited higher education institution in the pursuit of a bachelor's degree in the fall directly following high school graduation
• Earn a minimum of a 2.4 GPA

Website: www.hsf.net

Application Opens: TBD

Application Deadline: TBD

Amount: $500 to $5,000

- Selection based on merit. Award amount based on relative need.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be of Hispanic heritage

• U.S. citizen, permanent legal resident, or DACA

• Minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for high school students

• Plan to enroll full-time at an accredited, public, or not-for-profit, four-year university, or graduate school in the U.S

• FAFSA or state-based financial aid forms (if applicable)

Students must pass five end-of-course assessments to meet the testing requirements for graduation. Those tests cover Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History.

Access the online released tests and practice sets on the Practice Test Site. Access answer keys, item rationales, and student expectations tested at STAAR Released Test Questions.

the policy definitions for the four performance categories are as follows:

Critical thinking is a habit where you observe your own thought process and find ways to improve it. By analyzing your thoughts, you can improve how efficiently you think, how intuitively you organize your thoughts and how often you recognize your biases.

When you think critically, you can study arguments, analyze what evidence supports them and make a reasoned decision about whether the arguments are correct. Adopting critical thinking as a long-term practice can help you consider the perspectives of peers more often, become more honest about your mistakes and commit to the process of lifelong learning.

Critical Thinking is a mode of thinking, compared to problem-solving, which is a set of solution-oriented strategies.

1. Identify: During this step, you can identify what parts of your thought process you want to improve, like how you structure arguments and how you evaluate sources during research. Consider what factors could lead to the most impact if you improve them, whether they're consequences of a larger issue and how long it might take to improve them.

2. Investigate: You can research and collect resources after you've identified what parts of your thinking process you want to improve. While you conduct your research, consider collecting arguments, data and opinions from a variety of different sources so that you can lessen your chances of making biased assumptions.

3. Analyze: Once you find helpful and relevant sources through your research, you can analyze them to determine how credible the authors are, how up-to-date their citations are and how accurate their data is. You can also compare arguments to your own and find ideas you might adopt in your thinking process.

4. Reflect: After analyzing all of your research, you can determine whether the most credible sources are useful for creating a plan of action. During this stage, you can create mind maps to understand the benefits certain plans might have and imagine what your plan might look like in the short and long term.

5. Decide: Once you've reflected on what your plan might look like, you can decide which plan of action is most beneficial to your growth as a critical thinker. If you're struggling to decide between several plans, consider creating a list of pros and cons for each one and asking trusted peers for their opinions.

Problem-solving is a skill you can use to find solutions to challenges. You can use problem-solving when you want to understand the cause of issues in your personal and work life and organize a plan of action.

Since you might use problem-solving when unexpected events happen, it often requires the ability to identify factors that influence these problems and the ability to improvise effective strategies that resolve them. By strengthening this skill, you might be able to find creative solutions more quickly, visualize problems more accurately and conduct research more effectively.

Problem-solving is a set of techniques you specifically use to find effective solutions, as opposed to critical thinking, which is a lifelong practice you use to improve your thinking process.

2 - Plan: The second stage is to write a program that outlines the steps needed to solve the problem. This plan of action serves as a roadmap that guides us toward a successful resolution.

3 - Implement: The third stage is to execute the program to obtain the desired results. By doing so, we can confirm that our solution is indeed effective and meets the requirements of the problem.

4 - Evaluate: Lastly, we match the results of the program with the desired output to determine if the problem has been successfully solved. This allows us to verify that our solution is accurate and meets the expectations of the stakeholders involved.

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