Random But Awesome Archives

Random But Awesome

Watsi: Funding Hope Through Healthcare

Shay Davis — December 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

Non-profit organization Watsi has only been up and running for three months and has made a big impact in a small amount of time. So far, 34 people’s lives have been changed in developing countries because of the medical treatments they have received through Watsi donors. Watsi seeks to not only leave a lasting impression on the patients who receive treatment but also on the people who donate and spread the word to others looking to save precious lives. I spoke with Howard Glenn, Watsi co-founder responsible for finances, about the success of Watsi and how they plan to fund more treatments and positively influence more lives.

Shay Davis: If you were to describe Watsi in a few words what would they be?

Howard Glenn: Personal, direct and tangible

SD: If you wanted people to know one thing about Watsi what would it be?

HG: Watsi is the first online peer- to- peer fundraising platform that allows donors to fund life changing medical treatments to people in need.

SD: Have you personally encountered the people that Watsi has funded medical care for?

HG: Personally, no. I have had direct contact with the executive directors of the clinics that we work with but the patients individually, no.

SD: What makes Watsi different from other non- profit organizations who help people in need?

HG: I would say the most obvious thing about Watsi is its direct impact that you can feel. I don’t feel there is another organization out there right now that does this with the healthcare space, which is as direct, tangible and personal as donating on Watsi is.

SD: What makes Watsi so personal?

HG: I like going back to something that we’ve referenced numerous times and it’s called the collusive action. Numerous studies have shown that if a person can easily and quickly understand the impact of their donation, then they’re more likely to donate. So what we’re trying to create with Watsi is fostering that compassion on a global scale.

SD: Why not use Watsi to help people in the US instead of in developing countries?

HG: That’s a really good question. While I do feel like there are a lot of problems in the US with our healthcare. I do feel that there is more potential for growth and scalability internationally for Watsi.

SD: What has been the biggest benefit so far from Watsi?

HG: Funding 34 life changing medical treatments to date.

SD: Has your life changed at all since co-founding Watsi?

HG: Yeah, I had already planned to go to business school here at SC for Watsi and started working on it. Since starting working with Watsi the amount of work doing school and Watsi at the same time has grown exponentially. With the growth of Watsi, I’ve had to pick up responsibilities and duties and things like that so at times my head is on a little bit on a swivel and life gets a little hectic. But it’s worth it to make sure that the whole thing keeps going and running and getting funding to that we can keep going.

SD: If someone was unsure about donating to Watsi how you would convince them to donate?

HG: Just go to the site. I feel that the stories and the pictures and just the usability of the site speak for itself.

SD: What’s next for Watsi?

HG: Right now, we’ve kind of done our proven concept phase so we launched it back is late August. We wanted to get a few months of user interaction of donations and kind of go through the whole process to make sure it works before we go out to organizations and individuals to donate money to scale and grow. So right now it’s all fundraising getting “x” number of dollars so that we can hire “x” number of people etc. But once we do get that funding number one goal would be to add features to the site to make it more of a community feel and ramp things up. We have some ideas for ambassadorship, which is the first person who donates to a profile would be the ambassador and it would be their responsibility to make sure that it gets funded. For example, we did a private pilot for our first 3 patients and we only used our personal friends and family of the people that worked at Watsi. It was a great reception and everybody donated and all of the profiles were funded pretty quickly and that’s because each one of us was an ambassadors for those 3 profiles. We went out to our individual networks and made sure that they at least looked at the profile and then decided rather or not they wanted to donate. So if we can get that so that every person that comes on and donates is the first person to donate is the ambassador and deals the ownership of that person getting funded, then we feel like profiles could fly off the site.

SD: How have you guys gotten this fair with funding and getting the word out?

HG: Word of mouth has been the biggest thing. We’ve had some success with our facebook page and twitter, more so with Facebook. I think we have around 1800 likes or so, which is pretty good for an organization only 3 months in. We’ve won some contests and we’ve raised some money but nothing significant so far.

To learn more information about Watsi and to donate, visit their website. Currently there are five people, four of them are children, on the Watsi website who need life-saving medical treatments. Be the one person who donates and tells another person about the importance of Watsi and their mission.

In Informative, Inspiring, Interview, Random But Awesome

Meet the President: An Interview with Harris Pastides

Kiante Chapman — November 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

When Harris Pastides first became president of the University of South Carolina, he did so with the goal of increasing student engagement and providing opportunities for leadership.

That was four years ago and that goal is stronger now than ever. Pastides, USC’s 28th president, maintains his vision for the university through initiatives like Palmetto College, Back to Carolina and Gamecock Gateway. And with the success of the University’s Honors College and business school, I’d say he’s not far off. This week, I sat down with our president to discuss USC’s future and how he motivates students.

Jumping right in…

Kiante Chapman: Describe your presidency in one word.

Harris Pastides: One word? I would use the word privileged. I was going to use challenging as my word but I thought it might give a negative connotation, a more fearful or frustrated tone. It is challenging, that’s a good word, but I like the challenge. So if I say to you, how’s your calculus course and you say challenging, I would think that you’re struggling with a C. By saying privileged it gives a different tone. I said privileged but challenging is a good word too.

KC: So challenging in a good way?

HP: Yes! Challenging in a good way, correct.

KC: When you and your wife first came to USC, did you guys have a specific vision or is there something in particular that you wanted to have happen or to do?

HP: We wanted to make an impact on students mainly and on the university community and we wanted to work together. We’ve never worked together in our lives. We’ve worked separately and we wanted to work together as a team.

KC: Do you believe that that has happened? Have you guys been able to do that?

HP: Definitely. We work together as a team. We do things separately but with one common purpose, which is to advance the university.

KC: So do you guys brainstorm on issues then branch apart? How does that work?

HP: No, we don’t brainstorm together. If I’m having a challenge I may consult with her like President Obama would with Michelle. And if she is confronted with a challenge, I consult with her. We don’t have to do that very often, though, because there are very few issues that she and I are co-leading.

Evolution

KC: How do you hope that the university will continue to evolve?

HP: I hope that it will evolve both as an accessible and affordable place for working class families to send their students but also continue to evolve as one of America’s top academic universities with the Honors College and the Moore School of Business and journalism and so many other top programs. So both, evolve to be increasingly accessible and increasingly academically superior.

KC: Is there a particular aspect of the university that you believe draws people here?

HP: The culture. We have a positive culture at USC so while we are large and public and growing, we have not lost that small college charm and feel and the culture of saying hello to each other, greeting each other, supporting each other. Marcus Lattimore is a good example of that. We came out as a family to support him in his time of need. So the culture, I think, is what is a special characteristic.

Downtime

KC: What do you in your spare time, if you ever have spare time?

HP: I read the New York Times for a longer period of time. I work out for a longer period of time. I read books, which I don’t get a chance to do very much. I read a lot but not necessarily books. If I had a lot of time, I would travel, certainly. Get to see some interesting places more than I get the opportunity to do.

KC: So is that how you see yourself spending your time once your presidential duties are completely fulfilled?

HP: Yes. I would take more trips to visit my granddaughter in California and my son and daughter, travel a little more leisurely, spend more time abroad, but otherwise wake up and do the same things that I do now, probably.

Word to the Wise

KC: What is the best piece of advice that you have been given?

HP: Be yourself.

KC: Why does that stick out? Is there someone who told you that and that made it special?

HP: Many people have told me that. I wouldn’t give credit to any one person. When you become a president, well, I read a lot of books about leadership and successful people but you really can’t follow anyone else’s footsteps. I’m going to be myself. I’m going to be the president but I’m going to be my own person. And if you try to be someone else people will sniff it out right away. They’ll know you’re somewhat of a fake.

KC: What would you tell someone who aspired to be in higher education or become the president of a university?

HP: I would suggest that they do a lot of volunteer work. Always say yes to challenges that are presented to them, opportunities to take on more and be a leader. It may be more work, may be more money or not more money. Start moving up where ever you are. And then, of course, read. The Chronicle of Higher Education, it’s a newspaper that comes out everyday. Become more familiar with the challenges that are in higher ed.

photos from sc.edu

In Informative, Interview, Random But Awesome

Collegiate entrepreneurs enter ‘The Proving Ground’

dashia — November 12, 2012 — Leave a comment

Throughout the years, the advancement of technology has given a way for new and creative ideas to make life easier with the click of a button. With the entrepreneurial competition, ‘The Proving Ground,’ students and faculty have a front row seat to what innovation could be next.

The heated competition will take place on Tuesday, November 13 at 6 p.m. in the Lumpkin Auditorium.

Tailoring the television show, ‘Shark Tank,’ each of the seven 10 minute presentations will display groundbreaking innovations to a panel of judges that will act as investors.

This year, Dean Kress, associate director of the Darla Moore School of Business Faber Entrepreneurship Center, says that the judges are searching for “innovative concepts that will knock your socks off.”

Greg Hilton, executive director of Center for Entrepreurial and Technological Innovation (CETI) and Kress began the competition in 2010 with 22 presentations and $3,000 to award to winners. For this year’s presentation, $30,000 and $10,000 of start up support is at stake.

Each seven entrepreneurs will be competing in one of three categories:

The SCRA Technology award that rewards $15,000 to the business with a high technology concept.
The Innovista Innovation award gives $10,000 to a “more traditional business with an innovative twist on it.”
$5,000 goes to the winner of the Maxient Social Impact award for the business that solves a social issue.

This year’s judges include Chase Mizzell, student body vice president; Bill Kirkland, executive director of USC Columbia Technology Incubator and co-founder of 52 Apps; John Hackler, USC Alumnus and founder of Spanish Vines; and Aaron and Candice Hark, founders of Maxient Technologies.

“We’ve got some very entertaining judges. I’m sure they’re going to ask some very sharp questions and you will see some sweating from our finalists,” Kress said.

The competition began in 2010 with Marty Bauer creating RidePost, a ride sharing service that encourages students to reach out to their peers for cheaper, shared rides. In 2011, Stephen Bateman won with the creation of Garnet Report, highlighting fashion, sports, and ‘Random, but Awesome’ events and interviews in the Columbia and USC community.

“Both of our previous winners are living, breathing entrepreneurs,” Kress said.

Programs and Communications Manager of Innovista, Lauren Edwards believes that this year’s competition gives students the opportunity to see ideas that aim to solve current social and business problems.

“You’re looking at kids that could be the creators of Gatorade, or Facebook, or any of these ideas that all started in college and universities,” Edwards said.

Edwards explained that each concept must create a business that has the capability of making an impact not just to the local area, but globally.

“We what all want to do is create and accelerate an entrepreneurial culture at the University of South Carolina,” Kress stated. “We want this to be the place that people who feel like they’re entrepreneurial want to come to school here and be part of this community.”

In Events, Random But Awesome

What’s next for the re-elect?

dashia — November 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

The race for the White House is over with President Barack Obama taking office for his second term. The President raced past the 270 electoral votes to 303, claiming a victory against Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

“Tonight, in this election, you the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come,” the president stated in his victory speech.

With the race over, American citizens are now questioning many issues and challenges that still exist in the nation. Most importantly for us, what does it mean for college students?

ECONOMY

With a better future promised by both candidates, the top pounding issue for students is employment after graduation. With the national unemployment rate at 7.9 percent for October, reality in finding a job that compliments the degree is scarce. President Obama plans to continue his journey for job growth with the American Jobs Act and working towards successful initiatives to add to the 2009 automobile bailout. The bipartisan plan to create jobs while modernizing America includes the following.

Reforms and tax cuts to help small businesses grow.
Veterans receive tax credits to help provide employment.
Renovating 35,000 public schools to prevent laying off 280,000 teachers.
Improving roads, railroads, airports, and other modes of transportation while creating jobs and rebuilding homes, businesses, and communities.
Extending tax cuts for families making less than $250,000.

The POTUS plans to fulfill these and other economic growing initiatives through funding by the ‘Long Term Deficit Reduction Plan’–reducing America’s spending. With the stimulus plan taking more than four years to show its effects, hopefully, college students will see Obama’s plan take action during his second term and provide careers for college students.

What about the deficit and ‘fisical cliff’ that has Americans worried? With the House of Representatives being held by Republicans and the Democrats taking the Senate, President Obama must work to create bipartisan agreements. With the Democrats and POTUS fighting for an increased tax for the wealthy, it is unclear how both parties will move forward to cut spending. Tax reform will affect job creation for small businesses and individuals.

HEALTHCARE

One of the main issues that President Obama has prided himself over in his term is ensuring that citizens have healthcare without tactics from the insurance industry. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” strives to make healthcare more affordable and securing health insurance for those preexisting conditions.

The bright side for college students is that they may stay on their parent’s insurance until the age of 25. For students seeking medical degrees, it could mean less take home pay in the future because of new regulations.

One catch to healthcare reform is funding. The President has said that the money will come from a new tax on the wealthy and cuts from Medicare. There will be a tax increase of 3% for individuals who make $200,000 or more a year and on families who make a combined $250,000 or more a year. Although individuals will have healthcare, it could come at a cost.

Here are a few parts of Obamacare have already gone into effect:

Children are allowed to stay on their parent’s insurance until they are 26
Children can no longer be turned away from insurance companies because of preexisting conditions
Sick uninsured people can buy coverage in high-risk pools set up by the government
Allows The Food and Drug Administration to approve more generic drugs

Opposition comes from the individual mandate that will begin in 2014 that requires individuals to have healthcare or be required to pay a tax. Opponents of Obamacare make the point that the government should not regulate a service that is up to consumers and their insurance companies.

EDUCATION

What affects students most within the next four years is the cost and quality of education. The POTUS plans to double pell grants, help college students manage their debt after graduation with the ‘Pay as You Earn’ plan, and keeping student loan rates low. However, after working with Congress to extend the current interest rate, it is highly likely that the rate will increase in 2013.

In regards to public education, Obama’s ‘Race to the Top’ allows schools to compete for grants based on reform plans, standards, and assessments, giving students quality public schooling through additional funding.

IMMIGRATION

In June, President Obama declared a directive that placed provisions of the DREAM ACT into effect. The POTUS has allowed immigrants who came to the states illegally to stay under certain conditions including pursing an education or serving in the military. The directive also allows immigrants to gain legal documentation. With Obama being reelected, the directive stands. Although the provisions do not answer every question in regards to immigration, it shows that the issue is being tackled.

So what?

With President Obama serving as his second term, he hopes to finish the job that he started in 2008 by continuing to exercise his plans to rebuild America. As students and citizens in general, we can only hope that these initiatives bring quality education, a lower unemployment rate, careers that support the degree earned, and affordable healthcare. Stay informed!

Check out more of what’s expected for the POTUS and a campaign recap

CNN.com: Obama takes key battlegrounds to re-election

HuffPo: Election Results

Contributor: Shay Davis

College Conversion is a feature of The Garnet Report that informs college students of the successes, challenges, and issues of our community and campus. We hope to present news and analyze reports to highlight valuable information to help students learn and engage in their campus, communities, and country.

In Informative, Random But Awesome

Beauty vs. Brains

Caroline Hafer — November 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

It seems like girls are always smart until a cute boy comes around. But when that certain someone appears, they instantly can’t remember how to talk, let alone their names. These girls are not necessarily freezing up under pressure but instead, there is this idea that boys are attracted to the unintelligent girls. Beauty, in this world and culture, seems to be valued over brains. But I can tell you right now, good guys do not prefer the unintelligent. It doesn’t matter if these girls are the prettiest you know. While guys might be instantly attracted when they first encounter and interact with them, the way the girls act can and will eventually change their minds. In meeting a potential girlfriend/boyfriend the initial attraction is, of course, the first and most important aspect of the future relationship. And this need for attraction is not a bad thing, but there is more to dating than that. Thus, I have come up with a dating point system.

How Does the System Work?

For the purpose of illustration, lets take an anonymous girl named Jessica. Jessica is an attractive girl often described as cute, so we will rate her a 7 on looks. But Jessica is also smart and extremely sweet. This will giver her two more points, taking Jessica to an overall 9.
Let’s also take another anonymous person named Jimmy. Jimmy is what his guy friends call a “stud” and a perfect 10 on the looks scale. But Jimmy is also a serious jerk who always thinks of himself before others so it’s a 5 for him. Even though Jimmy is extremely intelligent and “book smart,” he often acts stupid (somehow believing girls are attracted to that) so we will take him down to a 2. Obviously this is not very great.

Some people might think this is a shallow system, but I would disagree. Yes, looks are added into the equation, but that’s only because you’re not going to date someone you’re just not attracted to. This system ultimately allows you to look past appearances and let other aspects about the person decide if you are truly attracted to them or if they are worth your time. Everyone needs to find someone well-rounded and compatible. Like for me it would be Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Clarification:

Now when we took 3 away from Jimmy it wasn’t because he’s stupid, but it’s because he acts stupid. He makes questionable decisions, and doesn’t take anything seriously. He plays people and doesn’t realize his actions have consequences. There is a huge difference between the two. I mean, it’s not like your GPA and SAT score is added into the equation, but it is just a little ridiculous when smart girls start asking questions like “Are these really buffalo wings?” or “I believe that our, I, education like such as uh, South Africa, and uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as,…”

Result:

Please don’t go out and buy fake glasses to make yourself look smarter. Simply be yourself. And don’t put on a show to attract people. You can’t fake being something you’re not, and what girl wants to act life a ditz for the rest of her life. I don’t.

Also, in a direct call out kind of way, I saw a USC student (male) on a moped, wearing a robe and slippers and broken down on Assembly yesterday. Not the most genius decision he has ever made.

In Beautiful, Fashion, Style Guide, Uncategorized

Catching up with Patricia Moore-Pastides

Kiante Chapman — November 1, 2012 — Leave a comment

Regal. Top-Notch. Sassy. Just a few words to describe our first lady. There’s lots to be expected of this author, cook, and teacher. This week, I sat down with Mrs. Moore-Pastides to discuss her views on healthy eating and her life here at USC.

Jumping right in… Continue Reading…

In Interview, Random But Awesome

Star Wars 7 is coming in 2015…

Stephen Bateman — October 30, 2012 — Leave a comment

Well, LucasFilm is selling out, literally.

Disney just announced that they are acquiring George Lucas’ company for roughly $4.05 billion in cash and stock. In addition to acquiring the company, they announced a seventh Star Wars movie.

(At this point, if you’re not a fan of Star Wars, this story is over for you. It gets SUPER nerdy, consider yourself warned.) Continue Reading…

In Informative, Inspiring, Random But Awesome

“Change.Progression.Growth”: an interview with Bryant White

Kiante Chapman — October 26, 2012 — 1 Comment

One of the most important facets of attending college is campus involvement. As students we should find an organization — much like Garnet Report (hints) — and get invested. Senior Bryant White understood this and with lots of support and encouragement, created A.Bevy.Productions, an organization targeted toward self-discovery and development. I got to speak with Bryant about his vision for A.Bevy and how he plans to take it above and beyond. Continue Reading…

In Interview, Random But Awesome

How to Whiten your teeth (for Cheap!)

Stephen Bateman — October 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

A few days ago, I realized that my love for coffee was quickly having some unintended consequences: coffee teeth. There are a few things that I committed to never let happen in my life:

I will never buy a Nickelback CD
I will never watch the second Twilight
Coffee teeth are unacceptable.

I brush my teeth twice/day, but coffee often comes after brushing so I was fighting a losing battle. After my crisis, it was time for some investigation. My budget was $1. What I discovered were two very simple options for whitening your teeth cheaply:

In Informative, Inspiring, Random But Awesome

TED Video: Ben Zander on music and passion

Stephen Bateman — October 10, 2012 — 2 Comments

ben-zander

Ben Zander is incredible. He totally changed the way I think about music. I’ve shown this video to about two-dozen people, and they’ve all loved it. It isn’t so much about classical music as it is about life.

From the TED talk:

Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.

A leading interpreter of Mahler and Beethoven, Benjamin Zander is known for his charisma and unyielding energy — and for his brilliant pre-concert talks.

Even if classical music isn’t your thing, you NEED to take a few minutes to watch this video. Grab your roommate too.

Video after the jump. Continue Reading…

In Beautiful, Inspiring, Music, Random But Awesome, Video