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Springing into New Changes!

Only four weeks until the end of the semester! We had a great virtual open house event on Saturday with lots of prospective students. We have several more virtual events planned throughout the spring and would love some of our wonderful students to serve on panels. If you are interested in speaking on a panel at a future admissions event, please reach out to Anna Harris at anna.harris@salem.edu.

The Office of Admissions is working hard to recruit more Salem Siblings this spring. We began offering on-campus tours to prospective students a few weeks ago, and this has been an exciting step in our safe return to normalcy. We are continuing to offer daily personalized, virtual tours with the help of our awesome Admissions Ambassadors. If you are interested in becoming an Admissions Ambassador, please reach out to us! You can email Joanne Reed at joanne.reed@salem.edu.

Salem has accepted some very promising students and we are excited to keep admitting more! Our new focus on Health Leadership is going to be a great tool for recruiting dedicated scholars. If you know a student who would be a good fit for Salem, please send her our way! We would love to introduce her to the Salem that you know and love.

Ray Celeste Tanner
Assistant Director of Admissions and Communications

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10 Steps to Ace Your Video Job Interview

As we move deeper into job interview season, and with many companies still working completely remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, more and more interviews are happening in our virtual online world. From Zoom to Meet, Teams to WebEx, having a game plan to ace your virtual job interviews will help you come out on top!

  1. Test your Technology 
    It is crucial that you are comfortable with the interview platform. Make sure you download any necessary software and give yourself a trial run to make sure you know how to turn on and off your mic and camera, share your screen, and send a link if necessary. Also, make sure you know whether your interview will be with an actual person, or if it is a series of recorded questions (more companies are moving towards this model).
  2. Set the Scene 
    Your visual background is key to having a successful interview. Make sure the light is not casting any shadows on your face and remove any busy, visually distracting elements from your screen’s view.
  3. Minimize Distractions
    TURN OFF YOUR PHONE! Don’t let a random phone call break your interview stride.
  4. Sit Down Prepared
    As with any interview, doing your homework is key. Make sure you understand your potential new company and have done your background research on the position and the people you may be working with.
  5. Practice, Don’t Memorize
    Even though video interviews can be clunkier than an in-person option, you still want this interaction to feel conversational and relaxed. Practice what you hope to share but try not to memorize your potential answers. You want to sound polished, not robotic!
  6. Post-It Notes Are Your New Best Friend
    One silver lining of virtual interviews is that no one can see what is around your computer screen, so use sticky notes to jot down all the key phrases you want to make sure you say. No one will know they are there, and you can relax a bit knowing you won’t forget to share them.
  7. Dress the Part
    And dress from head to toe. It will boost your confidence!
  8. Pay Attention to your Body Language
    We get fewer non-verbal clues through a computer than we do in person, so make sure you are using your hands and face confidently and appropriately.
  9. BE YOURSELF!
    This is your chance to show them who YOU are! Be boldly and confidently you, so you can also gauge if their company is a good fit for who you truly are (when not working through a video screen).
  10. Follow Up Immediately
    Send a thank you email within an hour of ending your interview and drop a handwritten thank you card in the mail that evening if possible.

Follow these 10 steps to ace your next interview! And if you ever want to practice before your next big interview, please feel free to reach out to me at collier.lumpkin@salem.edu for a trial run.

Collier Lumpkin
Executive Director – Global Leadership and Career Innovation

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MEd Graduate Student to Attend Special Olympics With Students

Hello Salem Sibs! I am a graduate student in the Master of Education (MEd) in Educational Leadership program at Salem College. I have been a special education teacher for eight years, and I currently work at Ledford High School in Davidson County, where I am also the club liaison for our Unified Champions Club.

In August 2020, after an intense application process, we were notified that our school had been selected to be recognized as a National Banner School by Special Olympics North America for exemplifying and fostering an inclusive school culture through academics, athletics, and youth leadership. Becoming a National Banner School is one of my greatest accomplishments as an educator, and with this incredible honor, amazing opportunities have presented themselves this year.

I have had the opportunity to host a number of virtual youth leadership events for other schools across the state this year. It has been such a wonderful experience to see so many students with and without disabilities develop into such wonderful young leaders.

Earlier this month, I received a letter from Special Olympics North Carolina that one of my Unified Pairs (students with and without a disability) and I had been selected to represent the state of North Carolina at the Inclusive Youth Leadership Experience at the Special Olympics USA Games in June 2022 in Orlando, Florida!

Special Olympics International will host more than 5,500 athletes and coaches from all 50 states and the Caribbean who will travel to Florida to unite in one of the country’s most cherished sporting events. I could not be more excited to represent my school, community, and state, but also to represent Salem College and the Educational Leadership program as well. I will spend the week among some of the greatest leaders in the nation as I am immersed in the Inclusive Youth Leadership Experience. As a future school leader, I know that this opportunity will allow me to continue to develop into the most inclusive school leader that I could possibly be.

Savannah Sperlazza
Graduate Student in the MEd in Educational Leadership Program

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The Archival Facebook Page Has Been Revived!

This spring, you might have seen a familiar name on your Facebook Feed. The Archives Facebook page is back up and running as part of my virtual spring internship with the Salem Academy and College Archives. My name is Markl Ryals (they/them), and I am a History and Race and Ethnicity studies double major.

As part of my internship project, I have been curating content posts for the Archives Facebook page. Beyond just sharing a slice of Salem’s history, the goal of these posts is to highlight one mission of the Archives: “taking in and documenting the present because in a generation, this will be our past” according to our Archivist and Acquisitions Librarian Donna Rothrock. These posts are selected to connect Salem’s past to our present, displaying the continued resilience of students, staff, and alumnae throughout our almost 250 years. If this sounds like something you would love to see in your newsfeed, follow this link to the Archives Facebook page and give our page a Like!

Markl Ryals
Salem Academy and College Archives Intern

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Get to Know the Salem Board of Trustees 250th Subcommittee

This week, we are pleased to profile the final member of the Salem Academy and College Board of Trustees 250th Subcommittee in We Are Salem.

Mary Lou Ford Stott C’69, lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has worked from 1982 to the present in the insurance industry as a licensed sales agent, concentrating in the areas of employee benefits and as a financial and Medicare consultant. Her professional designations include Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Certified Senior Advisor (CSA).  She is an active member and choir member of Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem including serving on their board for two four-year terms.  She has been a volunteer with numerous nonprofit and charitable organizations including Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem, Imprints, the Salem Band, and many more.

This Week on Your Salem Campus

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