A tradução deste artigo se encontra no nosso site: mvtimes.com/category/portuguese—translation/.
This week’s column is another attempt to help folks in the community with helpful information that might help alleviate all the stress and chaos that 2020 is bringing in — non-stop, it feels — to our lives. It has been my experience that channeling my frustrations into projects, getting things done, learning/studying, and volunteering has helped me shift my perspective and maintain hope.
I want to continue to encourage every American citizen once again to register to vote. I keep reading on various platforms that we need to vote as if our lives depend on it, and I really believe in this. I am also thinking about this tiny little life I am going to be responsible for very soon and my earnest desire to do everything I can to make this world a better place — for her and every other kid. The deadline to register to vote in Massachusetts is Oct 24, and early voting begins Oct 17. Again, if you have any questions or need help registering, understanding the process, email me, and we will do it together, no questions asked, regardless of who you are voting for, my email is juliana@mvtimes.com.
COVID-19 Course
Have you ever heard of Coursera? It is a website that allows you to take courses on nearly every subject, and most of these courses are free and give out certificates. If you are looking to enhance your skills, build your résumé, or learn something new, it is a great resource. I recently took a course on COVID-19 Contact Tracing. Not because I want to do that but to understand better how it works and build vocabulary in English and Portuguese on a topic we will be discussing for a long time. John Hopkins University offers the course, it takes seven hours to complete it online, and you get a certificate upon completion. There are subtitles in Arabic, Portuguese (Brazilian), English, Spanish, Nepali. Here is the link for more information: coursera.org/learn/covid-19-contact-tracing.
Lifeology
This site/app is another excellent resource for learning all things science in a very accessible way. So many of the mini-courses offered are in other languages, including Portuguese. Here is an example: bit.ly/30ykDtq. This one is 41 slides discussing COVID-19 in Portuguese. There are many different courses related to science with the option of taking them in Portuguese. It is worth taking a look. Options for adults, teenagers, and kids. I recently checked “how do vaccines work” on the platform, and it was very comprehensive: bit.ly/3d1tSqL.
CLEP
CLEP is one of the best-hidden secrets out there. I am talking about CLEP because many of my former students are back on the Island, and many decided to take the semester off. If you would like to accelerate the amount of time you have left in college and save money, taking a CLEP exam is a great solution. The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) has been around for 50 years, 2,900 colleges and universities accept the exams, and the closest testing center is at Bridgewater State University. For more information or to schedule to take the tests, here the site for more info visit bit.ly/36zAagf.
This testing center will only be administering CLEP exams Monday through Wednesday. Their staff will be working Thursdays and Fridays remotely to answer emails and voicemails. To make an appointment for a CLEP exam, you can email testing@bridgew.edu or leave a voicemail at 508-531-1780, and someone will return your call within 48 hours. Clep allows students from various ages and backgrounds to demonstrate their mastery of introductory college-level material and earn college credit. Students can earn credit for what they already know by getting qualifying scores on any of the 34 examinations.
