Discus Awards

About the Author

You want the credit card companies to refer to you as a ‘deadbeat’ or a ‘freeloader’. That may not sound like a good thing; but it is. That is how credit card industry insiders use to refer to people that did not carry credit debt and paid off their balance in full each month.

To know why these financially savvy customers are referred to as ‘deadbeats’, we need to look at it from the credit card company’s point of view. Credit card companies want customers that are ‘revolvers’. Revolvers are customers that carry credit card debt; that’s how they make their money. Their ideal customer is one that makes the minimum payments. These people will have carry credit card debt for a long time. Depending on the interest rate, if you make just the minimum payments, it could take you more than 15 years to pay credit card debt off.

Credit card companies also like customers that frequently make late payment and go over their limit. Just by paying late, credit card companies can jack up your interest rates and charge you additional fees. Going over the limit can have the same consequences. The credit card companies may force you to pay the balance below the limit or you risk having these fees add up month after month.

So strive to be a ‘deadbeat’ and ‘freeloader’. Be the credit card company’s worst customer! This is the first step to long term financial success planning.

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Filed under: Money XLive • Money XLive

Maria Pascucci is a national student leadership speaker, author and the CEO of Campus Calm™. If you’re tired of stressing over school, you can join the club … literally! Unite with students around the world at www.campuscalm.com and receive your free Student Leader Success & Happiness Kit. Learn more about Maria on her About the Author page.

Success Starts with Self-Love - Maria Pascucci, CEO, Campus Calm

Discus fans: Subscribe to Campus Calm TV by visiting www.youtube.com/campuscalm, then e-mail maria@campuscalm.com to let her know. To thank you for subscribing, she will e-mail you a free audio coaching mp3 class called “The ABC’s of Creating Credit Card Calm” from the Campus Calm™ store, a $15 value.

Filed under: Maria Pascucci • Campus Calm • College Prep

About the Author

Networking is one of the most important skills you can have in today’s age. “It’s all about who you know” – that statement isn’t 100% accurate but knowing the right people is very important. Networking is an important skill that will help you in every area of your life. It can help you find a job, start a business and it’s always good to build long-term, trusted friends.

Networking Tips:

- Set clear business and career goals for yourself. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do start with the things you enjoy doing and put your focus on thinking about how you want to live your day-to-day life.

- Be able to share your business goals in 30 seconds. Your ‘elevator pitch’ should be well polished and clear so when people ask “what’s up” your prepared with an answer that will help you reach your goals.

- Educate yourself in the areas you want to excel in. Know enough to hold a good conversation.

- Look for ways you can help others accomplish their goals while you accomplish yours. Always be looking for ways to mutually benefit each other instead of just asking “how can they help me”.

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Filed under: Money XLive • College Prep • Money XLive

Maria Pascucci is a national student leadership speaker, author and the CEO of Campus Calm™. If you’re tired of stressing over school, you can join the club … literally! Unite with students around the world at www.campuscalm.com and receive your free Student Leader Success & Happiness Kit. Learn more about Maria on her About the Author page.

Through the power of Facebook, I was able to recently reconnect with a friend from high school. We were best friends in 9th and 10th grade, but as things tend to happen in our teen years, our friendship fell apart. I was devastated. I wrote through my pain even back then. I recovered. I lost other friends through the years as I transitioned into college, and later, as I transitioned into the woman I am today.

Each time I lost a friend, I learned a new lesson:

Accept what you cannot control. Did you have a falling out with your friend? Have you tried to apologize to no avail? Are you spending all your time focusing on how angry you are with your friend because she hurt you, or perhaps you hurt her and now one of you refuses to try to forgive the other?

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Filed under: Maria Pascucci • Campus Calm

Bryce Walburn was the recipient of the final 2009-2010 Discus Scholarship awarded in June 2010, and what a way to close out the first year of the Discus Awards program. The Discus Awards recognized Bryce for his outstanding achievements in academics, arts, and community service. I spoke with Bryce about his past, present, and future, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share what this remarkable young man has to say. Enjoy!

Discus Dan: Let’s start with the present. What are you up to this summer?

Bryce Walburn: A little bit of everything. I am giving private music lessons to one saxophone student and one trumpet player. I don’t actually play the trumpet, but I’m teaching a kid for marching band at school. I also got a job at Babies “R” Us, helping with moving boxes and stocking shelves.

For fun, I took a vacation to Acadia National Park in Maine with some friends. We did some hiking, some kayaking, and a little bit of the sightseeing you can do up there, too. Next week I’m going to the Outer Banks in North Carolina with some friends.

DD: Sounds fun. Looking ahead a little now, what are your plans for college?

BW: I’m attending Drexel University, but it doesn’t start until mid-September, so I haven’t really put a whole lot of thought into that yet.

DD: Did the mentorship program you participated in at Drexel in high school play into your decision?

BW: The mentorship program really sold me on the school. Drexel wasn’t my first choice, but I’m really happy that I’m going there. It’s going to give me an opportunity to excel and take advantage of opportunities like the Honors Program and the Advanced Degree programs that may challenge me a bit more academically.

DD: What advice do you have for students who may not get into their college of choice?

BW: I was actually waitlisted at 2 Ivy League schools and when I was waitlisted, I went through that personal struggle where I started to think, “Maybe I’m not good enough for my favorite school.” Ultimately success is determined by how hard you work, though, and as I mentioned before, I’m going to have an opportunity at Drexel to really challenge myself through their Honors and Advanced Degree programs.

Basically I would say don’t give up. You can always transfer to the school you want to go to and there’s always grad school. Besides, your life isn’t going to be determined by where you spend 4 years of your life.

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Filed under: Discus Dan • All-Around High School Students • Meet the Winner