JANUARY, 2011 VOL 1 ISSUE 7

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How to find the right roommate?

By Ingrid Furtado

You just had a midterm, started

walking into your room and all you smell is

trash in your kitchen, living room and

bathroom. To make the matters worse,

your bills are due and your roommate,

who is also responsible for paying, says

that he is short money. Your frustration

seems it is getting worse as the semester

goes on. Living in a dormitory far from

home can be a nightmare or a dream for

a student. Therefore, making the correct

decisions is crucial in order to find a good

roommate for you. This assessment can

make a huge difference in your campus

life.

The Interim Executive Director of Resi-

dential Life & Housing at University of Hou-

ston Javier J. Hidalgo has vast experience

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JANUARY, 2011 VOL 1 ISSUE 7

in dealing with rooming and advises

that not preparing in advance is one of

the main mistakes a student can make.

“While rooming with another indi-

vidual presents opportunities, room-

mates need to understand that they

are responsible for their space and

what happens in that space. Under-

standing each other needs and ex-

pectation has to be part of that prepa-

ration”, Hidalgo says, on behalf of

housing 6,400 students in eight residen-

tial communities at University of Hou-

ston.

Hidalgo explains that the resident

students come primarily from the

Greater Houston area. However, there are

residents from farther Texas cities and other

states. International resident students corre-

spond to 12% of the total population. “One of

the most com-

mon conflicts

comes from resi-

dents who want

to room with

their friends and

later find out

that they did not have much in com-

mon. There may be boundary issues or sim-

ple incompatibility. While living with a room-

mate presents a series of advantages and

opportunities for personal growth and devel-

opment, these roommates will be spending a

lot of time together so opportunity for conflict

can always arise”, the director says.

Hidalgo also says that for the most part

“we try to make it easier on our residents in

terms of bills by billing them individually; how-

ever, there may be charges that need to be

charge to the room and residents need to

deal with that”.

He believes that is important that the

institution also provides approaches to assist

the resident selection. “Self-selection mean-

ing that a resident request a roommate and

through a selection criteria. In the applica-

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“The key (to find a good

roommate) is to anticipate and

get answers”

Interim Executive Director of Residential Life &

Housing at University of Houston Javier J.

Hidalgo

Image by Javier Hidalgo

JANUARY, 2011 VOL 1 ISSUE 7

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housing offer furnished units and

rooms. Nevertheless, the student still

needs to bring certain items that are not

provided

like bed

liners, co-

vers, and

pillows.

“Try to

engage

with your

room-

mate in

advance

so that if

your

room is a

small

one, you do not end up with two refrig-

erators or microwaves. You could have

problems with circuits breaking due to

current overload. Look for a campus

housing option that fits your needs

(money, privacy, cooking, etc.) The key

again is to anticipate and get answers”,

the director says.

The 22-year-old senior at St. Ed-

ward’s University (Austin, TX) Jessica Ma-

rie Gonzales knows well how important

tion process we try to match students

that have certain preferences. For in-

stance, we will not match a smoker early-

riser with a

non-smoker

late-riser.

We certainly

think that

with proper

preparation

should not

be so hard

to find a

good room-

mate. In

fact, we

think it is an

opportunity

to learn certain skills that you may not

have unless exposed to living with a

roommate”, he points out.

The secret to locate a potential

roommate is also on the internet. Hidalgo

says that social media is getting big in this

area. “Furthermore, we also try to provide

opportunities like mixers that could lend a

hand in finding roommates. Before mov-

ing out, try to ask as many questions in

advance”.

Hidalgo explains that most campus

Jessica Gonzales prefers to live with a roommate than be by herself

image by Jessica Gonzales

JANUARY, 2011 VOL 1 ISSUE 7

is in finding a good person to divide an

apartment in college. She was 18 years

old when decided to leave Houston.

Right now, she is enrolled in her last five

classes.

“I had my doubts about moving

away from home, but the positives defi-

nitely outweighed the negative. This

was a way for me to become inde-

pendent and live on my own. There

were times when I thought I couldn’t do

it or that I would fall behind in my school

work and the courses, but I thought I

should give it try”. Four years later, she

has had two same sex roommates and

interesting experience to talk about.

Jessica says that the main conflict

she has had is cleaning the apartment.

“I am the main one who cleans the liv-

ing room, bathroom, and kitchen. I am

a clean freak when it comes to my

apartment because I hate the idea of

little bugs crawling around in my room

or my apartment. We had a little ant

problem in our bathroom and I freaked

out! I am also the kind of person that

when I see dishes in the sink I clean

them whether I used them or not. How-

ever, my roommate only washes her

dishes even if I have a knife in there. So I

only clean my dishes and she cleans

her dishes”, she says.

Even a simple air conditioner can

also become a problem. “My room-

mate loves it cold in the apartment

even when it’s freezing inside. I would

turn it off or raise the temperature, and

she would get mad because she was

too hot even with the fan on in her

room. Even though we made a com-

promise about the situation, I still feel

like it’s still unresolved because she

gets upset when I touch the tempera-

ture gage”, Jessica says.

But overall, she believes that living with

a roommate has its perks. “I would ra-

ther live with someone than live on my

own because I get scared easily. It is

nice to have someone there at night

especially when the apartment com-

plex is in the way back. It’s also nice to

have someone to talk to and go out

with”, added Jessica.

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PIVOTAL CHANGES

~ LIFE AND BUSINESS

COACHING WHEN THE STATUS QUO IS

NOT AN OPTION

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Image courtesy of http://education-portal.com/articles/Where_to_Find_Free_Math_Courses_Online.html

Hints of Math

Orders of Operation

By Edward Garcia Jr.*

Many students still get the order of

operations wrong. In a problem they

want to jump into the equation and try to

work it the wrong way because they for

get the order to do it in. The best way to

remember the order of operations is by

this simple little phrase: “Please Excuse My

Dear Aunt Sally!” Now let me explain

what this means.

Parentheses: ( ) This is the first thing you

look for.

Exponents: 3² Second thing you look

for.

Multiplication: 1 x 4 Third thing you look

for.

Division: 6 / 2 Fourth thing you look

for.

Addition: 6 + 6 Fifth thing you look for.

Subtraction: 0 – 0 Last thing you look for.

Hint: Multiplication and Division are

interchangeable. Once you get this far

you read the equation like a book from

left to right and do the operation that

comes first either multiplication or division.

The same goes for addition and

subtraction.

Examples:

100 / 5² + 4 x (5 x (4+2)) = ?

Parentheses:

100 / 5² + 4 x (5 x (4+2)) Do inside

Parentheses first!!!!

100 / 5² + 4 x (5 x 6)

100 / 5² + 4 x 30

Continues on next page

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*Edward Garcia Jr. is a

graduate from the University

of Houston- Downtown with

Bachelor’s in Science for

Applied Mathematics and a

Minor in Statistics. He enjoys

the objectivity of Math and is also one of the FES

tutors.

Exponents:

100 / 5² + 4 x 30

100 / 25 + 4 x 30

Multiplication or Division: Do

operations from left to right!

100 / 25 + 4 x 30

4 + 4 x 30

4 + 120

Addition or Subtraction: Do

operations from left to right!!!!!

4 + 120 = 124 and you are done!!!!!!

Another hint:

When you have operations within

parentheses you go through the order

the same way you would if you did

not have them.

Example:

(3² / 3 + 3)

Parentheses:

(3² / 3 + 3) Go through the orders again!

Exponents:

(3² / 3 + 3)

(9 / 3 + 3)

Multiplication or Division:

(9 / 3 + 3)

(3 + 3)

Addition or Subtraction:

(3 + 3) = 6 and you are done!

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*Roberto Noce is recognized as an accomplished

and respected executive with nearly two decades of

marketing and management experience. He is a

professional engineer registered in the state of Texas and

an active member of numerous professional

organizations. Roberto is the owner and founder of

Pivotal Changes. He is a professional who chose

coaching as a means to share his insight and expertise

and help others live their passions.

roberto.noce@pivotalchanges.com (713-505-5576

Make Your Glass a Half-Full One

By Roberto Noce*

"Great leaders are capable,

visionary, and inspiring. That does not

mean they're rational. I happen to

believe that those who accept the

madness in themselves may be the

healthiest leaders of all." - Manfred F.R.

Kets de Vries, Director of INSEAD's

Global Leadership Center.

I wish to share with you excerpts

from a very interesting article written by

Professor de Vries. It emphasizes the

importance of honoring who we are in

our work.

Healthy* leaders are able to live

intensely. They're passionate about

what they do. That's because they are

able to experience the full range of their

feelings - without any color blindness to

any particular emotion.

At the same time, healthy leaders

strongly believe in their ability to control

(or at least affect) the events that

impact their lives. They are able to take

personal responsibilities; they are not

always scapegoating or blaming other

people for what goes wrong.

Healthy leaders don't easily lose

control or resort to impulsive acts. They

can work through their own anxieties

and ambivalence. Healthy leaders are

very talented in self-observation and self

-analysis. Healthy leaders have the

ability to deal with and work through

the disappointments of life.

Very importantly, they have the

capacity to establish and maintain

relationships. They are creative and

inventive and have the capacity to be

non-conformist.

Creativity is at the heart of Prof. de

Vries' speech, and this is what I invite all

of us to do: create our own lives, filled

with love, passion, and fulfilling work

that develops not only our talents and

skills, but our character.

Whether your glass has

Prosecco, beer, or super sweet Texas

iced tea, I invite you to conclude this

exciting and challenging year by

looking at the glass half full. Start now

on creating a prosperous 2011.

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Houston, TX 77027

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comments concerning the

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JANUARY, 2011 VOL 1 ISSUE 7 Educational Headlines

The following are headlines found in international, national, and local newspapers and

magazines concerning education in today’s world.

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60 First graders, 4 Teachers, One Loud New Way to Learn by The New York Times

UStudy Finds Family Connections Give Big Advantage in College Admis-

sion by The New York Times A Researcher Finds Easy Solution for Test Anxiety

by Education Week