As the cost of a college education rises, Chaldean students are finding ways to foot the bill. Chaldean Students have won scholarships to pay their way through school. What's their secret?

They know where to find scholarships, when to look for them and how to write for them. There's no guarantee you'll win a scholarship, but there are ways to skew the odds in your favor.

Where's the Money: Anywhere and Everywhere

Michigan, USA – The Chaldean Education and Career Center (CE&CC) shares with the Chaldean community middle and high school teachers a wonderful opportunity.  Wayne State University is once again, hosting a Teachers Cultural Awareness Summer Workshop which focuses on Middle Eastern Culture, Arabic Language, and the Intelligence Community. 

Illinois, USA – The University of Chicago joins a handful of other colleges in their effort to create a cohabitation campus.  The college will now allow a male student to sleep in the same room with an unrelated female student.

Amy Batuo says the school has essentially become a whore house and is considering transferring.  “I am not going to pay them to help students hook-up. There is going to be so many reputations and lives ruined.  They have gone way into left field on this one.”

This is not the first time the school has sent shock waves for its stance on sexual promiscuity and promotion.  The campus Student Health and Wellness Fee, which all registered students pay, covers regular contraceptive items like condoms and lubricants.   All are available at its Student Care Center including what the center calls "Emergency contraception.” 

For thousands of years the language of Aramaic has existed, descended from Sumerian and Akkadian roots.  The language is still spoken by the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac people today, and is one of the four recognized languages in the Iraqi constitution under Syriac (Eastern dialect of Aramaic). 

The University of Detroit Mercy has recently established an Aramaic course teaching how to speak, read and write Aramaic, as well as studies pertaining to culture and history. The class starts January 17th and is taught by Mahir Awrahem, who is also a professor at Baker College. 
 
The 15-week is an introductory course  open to all college and high school students.  Prof. Awrahem is excited for the start of the program, “When I lived in Iraq, there was no such thing as learning Aramaic in schools; I am excited to be teaching the language of Christ especially at the University level.

Michigan, USA – St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in Troy, Michigan continues to host an array of services for refugee assistance.  Along with English classes, school tutoring for children, and family support services the church campus will now feature special workshops geared to refugee families.  

“The love and help for us at St. Jospeh and all the churches, makes me thank God every second,” says Habiba Yousip through a translator.  “If it was not for our Church we would all be dead.”

The workshops provide informative sessions to help refugee arrivals transition to life in the United States.  Sessions include knowing your neighbor, taxes and financial planning, keeping your children safe, apartment living, senior housing, food safety, and disaster preparedness.

Michigan, USA – The Chaldean Education and Career Center urges Chaldean parents with sons to take advantage of an upcoming family workshop featuring national best selling author and internationally recognized authority on boys and men, Dr. William S. Pollack, PhD.

The event will be held on November 3, 2008 from 7 pm - 9 pm at the Oakland Schools Building, located on 2111 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford, Michigan, 48328. 

Dr. Pollack's presentation will address the crisis of boyhood in America, specialized techniques for reconnecting with boys, new approaches to "Mothering" and "Fathering", and new models of understanding "What makes boys tick"

The event is free to those who RSVP by e-mailing info@chaldean.org. 

London, UK – Chaldean scholar, author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Dr. Suha Rassam was named as one of the four Catholic Women of the Year at a reception in London this past week.  The founder of the charity Iraqi Christians in Need (ICIN) was honored among an assembly of some of the world’s most notable leaders and in the presence of the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Faustino Munoz.

Dr Rassam is originally from Mosul in northern Iraq. She is a medical doctor and professor of Medicine in the University of Baghdad. Arriving to England in 1990 she worked in London hospitals until her retirement when she took an MA in Eastern Christianity at the school of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London.

Dr. Rassam, author of the book 'Christianity in Iraq' set up ICIN  last year with a group of fellow Iraqis, to provide financial and spiritual support to Iraqi Christians both in Iraq and in countries such as Syria and Jordan, where many are now refugees.

Earlier this year, she visited Iraqi refugee families in Syria to assess how best ICIN could help them. In Aleppo, she met with Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo of the Chaldean Catholic Church and Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim of the Syrian Orthodox Church.  Since then her impact in helping Iraqi refugee families has been remarkable. 

Chaldeans are known for their congeniality and good-nature.  What would seem on the surface to be a wonderful trait, can become a huge risk in a corporate setting.  Chaldean professionals making their way through the corporate maze are forewarned that it’s easy to let imprudent information slip out. 

There are at least nine things Chaldeans or any professional minded go-getter should always keep to themselves at work. While some of these points are obvious, anyone who’s spent any time at all in an office can vouch for the fact that this advice bears repeating, and that heeding it could avoid a whole lot of unproductive drama.

Michigan, USA - Sister Beth Murphy, the Volunteer and Community Outreach Coordinator of the Refugee Services Office in the Archdiocese of Detroit is looking for two dedicated volunteers who can assist their staff with the important task of helping Iraqi refugees adjust to life in the United States.

Chaldeans are invited to this uplifting and rewarding opportunity of sharing their gift time and talent for the benefit of the hundreds of refugees who are arriving in the Detroit Metro Area.  The Office of Refugee Services has already resettled more than 700 refugees this year, improving the quality of life for many Chaldeans.  The office anticipates another 200 refugees by the end of this year. 

The Archdiocese of Detroit is looking for fluent speakers in English and an office assistant to help with clerical work.  Both positions require less than a few hours a week. 

California, USA - Catholic Answers Live invites Chaldeans to a number of possible job opportunities with Catholic Answers, the largest Catholic apologetics and evangelization organization in North America.  Catholic Answers has reached out to www.CHALDEAN.org asking for assistance in promoting a number of fantastic positions within their organization. 

One position invites Chaldeans to consider being a radio host.  Based out of El Cajon, California Catholic Answers is seeking a radio host for their Catholic Answers Live daily radio program. 

Catholic Answers is also offering Chaldeans around the world five other job opportunities in IT and customer service. 

Parents of children who attend private schools are more satisfied with their schools than parents of children in public education settings, according to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics, while parents whose children attend the public school of their choice are more satisfied than those whose children attend an assigned public school.

"Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 2006-2007 School Year," said that 82 percent of parents whose children attended a private, nonreligious school and 81 percent whose children attended a private religious school described themselves as "very satisfied" with their schools, compared to 55 percent of parents whose children attend an assigned public school and 63 percent of those whose children attend a public school of their choice.

Released in August, the report is based on telephone interviews with parents conducted in the first half of 2007 on a wide range of topics: school satisfaction, parental involvement in schools, school-parent communication, satisfaction with teachers, discipline and homework levels. While the specific numbers varied, more private school parents than public school parents were very satisfied with teachers, academic standards, discipline, and school/parent interaction.

Other findings:

Surrogates from both the McCain and Obama camp have approached Chaldean community leaders hoping to gain their support.  In Michigan, issue advocates like CatholicVote.com have reached out to Chaldeans with a special issue announcement.    

The Chaldean Caucus of Michigan will be hosting the first presidential debate viewing at Mother of God Church Hall in Southfield, Michigan this Friday, September 26th beginning at 7:30 p.m.  Supporters of both candidates are invited to attend.  Refreshments will be served and lively discussion will follow immediately after the debate, moderated by Chaldean Caucus regional leaders. 

Chaldean family businesses present a unique set of conflict resolution strategies at the workplace.  Conflicts at home or at the business, whether they’re interpersonal or purely business, are an unavoidable fact of the Chaldean family business life.

 But a disagreement doesn’t have to end with hardship and hurt feelings. Employing smart psychology can help younger Chaldeans handle conflict wisely with their seniors and end up with a solution that works best for everyone.

Dr. Nabil Rafou, a Chaldean social psychologist who is an expert in conflict resolution, negotiation, mediation and leadership, shares some of the tactics that work among Chaldean family businesses.  “These ten tips work particularly well given the Chaldean cultures blended history,” Dr. Rafou says.  

Maryland, USA  - Habib Habib.  Sounds like a musical, but the story of the Neumann College freshman with the duplicative name reads more like a documentary.

Habib came to the United States in 2005 as part of a youth exchange and scholarship program, living in San Diego with his aunt while attending school.  Typically, students return home after one academic year, but in Habib's case, home meant Iraq, where his Catholic family had been living in fear of extremists since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

That fear intensified when word began to spread in Baghdad that Habib was not, as his family claimed, studying in neighboring Jordan but rather in the U.S.  "When word got out, I was forced to stay in the U.S.," said Habib, who was granted asylum in 2006. "It was too dangerous to go home. I would be dead."

Michigan, USA - The Chaldean-American Ladies of Charity (CALC) is looking for a new Director. 

Responsibilities include program development and implementation, effecting and carrying out programs for fundraising, special events, major gifts and assist in grant writing.  Good writing and computer skills needed.  This position requires close coordination and communication with CALC’s Executive Board and is the liaison between the Board and other community organizations.  To view the entire posting visit our website www.calconline.org.