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Alberto Puertas

 

 

 

Thursday, December 16, 2010, 10 am Pacific, 11 am Mountain, noon Central, 1 pm EST, 2 pm Atlantic, 7 pm Zurich, 8 pm Istanbul


International Humanitarian Service as a Marketing Tool for College Students

 

Humanitarian service at times is not recognized for the tremendous aggregated values it has to college students' personal and career development when they go around the nation or the globe.  Globalization is here to stay and students who take advantage of this new global environment will benefit greatly. Not only they will have the personal satisfaction of having made a difference in another human being's life, but students will add to their marketable skills so needed in today's world.  An international humanitarian experience provides an opportunity to bless people's lives and one's life as well.
 

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Bio


Alberto Puertas is a career/academic counselor for the Counseling and Career Center at Brigham Young University.  His current responsibilities include: serving as the International Advisement Specialist at Brigham Young University, teaching courses in career strategies, career exploration and effective learning, mentoring students at risk and assisting the University in promoting career development issues and objectives.  In addition, Alberto Puertas has mentored many BYU students doing humanitarian work and internships abroad.  He has presented workshops and seminars in the United States, Canada, and South America. His outreach to local and international community projects is an important component of his contribution to society at large.


He is a Member of the Board of Directors for Southern Cross Humanitarian, a member of the Domestic Micro-loan Committee of Eagle-Condor,  and a Member of the Advisory Board for the BYU Hispanic Management Society.  In his presentations and daily work, Alberto emphasizes the relationship between meaning, spirituality and career development.  He also stresses the benefits and challenges globalization presents to vocational guidance in the international arena to this new millennium.  Alberto served in the National Career Development Association as the International Career Issues Committee Chairperson and as a Member of the Board of Directors.  In his free time Alberto enjoys soccer, reading, good cuisine and spending time with his family and friends.

 

Contact

T. Alberto Puertas, MS
Academic/Career Counselor
International Advising Specialist
Brigham Young University
2500 WSC Provo, UT 84602
(801) 422-9072 (work)

alberto_puertas@byu.edu

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2 BYU college students doing humanitarian work in Cusco Peru

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Peru sxhu: young BYU married couples Humanitarian work in Cajamarca, Peru.

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BYU college students doing Humanitarian work in Trujillo, Peru

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Exercise:  Preparing for an Experience Abroad

 

As college students prepare themselves for an experience abroad, there are some basic fundamentals they need to understand about themselves.  The following questionnaire will clarify a few considerations before embarking on an abroad humanitarian services project. 

 

  1. What are the five things that you are most looking forward to about an international experience?
  2. What are the five things that concern you most about going abroad?
  3. What are the five things that you believe you will miss the most while you are abroad?
  4. What are the five things (people, places, activities, etc.) you believe you will miss least while you are abroad?
  5. List five personal characteristics you feel will help you most for an experience abroad.
  6. List five contributions you are planning to make during your experience abroad.
  7. Your greatest single challenge overseas will be...
  8. Your greatest overseas achievement will be...

 

 

 


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Opening Instructions for Listeners

Before we begin, here are a few instructions for listeners:

  • If you have a question, press 5* on your phone.
  • Directly after the interview, be sure to fill out the evaluation linked to your call-in instructions, especially if you want to earn CEUs. 
  • Please register at least 24 - 48 hours before the interview so we have time to send out the call-in information.
  • If you'd like to listen to more of these tele-interviews, and your organization is not currently a subscriber, contact me with someone I can talk with about subscribing your organization so you can listen for free (except for the cost of your distance provider). Email info@ careerwell.org or call 415.312.4294.

Introduction

 

This is Dr. Sally Gelardin with Careerwell Tele-Interviews. Our guest today, Alberto Puertas, is a career/academic counselor for the Counseling and Career Center at Brigham Young University.  He serves as the International Advisement Specialist at BYU and has mentored many BYU students doing humanitarian work and internships abroad.

 

Alberto, I just read an article on the Futurist.com website that predicts China's economy will be 3 times larger than the U.S. economy by 2040. The author pointed out the need for the U.S. to heed changes in the international scene. To start coming up with viable solutions for the U.S.,  what have you learned  from your international experience working with students who volunteer aboad?

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Interview Questions

 

  1. What is the difference between a volunteer, an internship, and a study abroad experience?
  2. How did you become interested in humanitarian service abroad programs?
  3. I've heard that fewers students are travelling abroad than in the past.  Is this your understanding?  If so, why and what can be done to increase student abroad programs? 
  4. What is the number of American Students who go abroad? What do students who do internships abroad generally do when they graduate from college? What percentage of students who go abroad as part of their academic experience graduate?
  5. How will a student add to his/her marketability with an experience abroad?
  6. Many students view an experience abroad as a “life changing” experience?  Would you agree?
  7. How can a college student prepare for an international humanitarian opportunity? What would you recommend when it comes to majors? How could students fund their abroad experience? What qualifications or characteristics should somebody have when considering an internship or volunteer experience abroad?
  8. Who should not consider such an experience?
  9. What kinds of student tend to choose to do internships abroad?
  10. How do they go about choosing an internship program?
  11. What kinds of things do they do in an internship program?  Could you give examples of students you know?
  12. What is special about your univeristy's internship program?
  13. Could you summarize a few tips for doing internships abroad?
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For our last tele-interview of the month, scheduled for December 30, listen to Ellen Weaver-Paquette talk about her experiences teaching the International Career Development Facilitator training in the Middle East.  Ellen will take us a virtual tour into challenges and strengths of the Middle East, touching on geography, economics, education, and culture. Until then, happy holidays!

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