Informational Interview essay instruction PURPOSE: Informational interviewing is a process by which you can collect data about jobs, occupations, and organizations by interviewing people in their respective fields. It should not be construed as a job interview! It may result in a valuable job contact, but for the moment its purpose is to obtain information and career advice. Dr Negar is an Educational Consultant, who currently works in her own company which was founded in 2013, Global Student Placement Network (Global SPN), Is an international consultant Offering a wide range of academic and educational services to individuals, institutions, companies and organizations. Services include International Education Consulting; College Placements; Campus Tours; High School and English Language Program Placements; Employment and Career Coaching; Postdoctoral Support Services; Student Recruitment and Marketing. I chose Dr. Negar Davis as my mentor because of her great knowledge and expertise in public/student affairs. I met with Dr. Negar Davis on Saturday, October 29th to interview and discuss some questions and obtain information and career advice from her as I chose her to be my informational interview mentor.. I drove from Los Angeles to San Diego to meet with Dr. Negar as she invited me to her place at 8941 Gowdy Ave. The questions that I came up with and that Dr. Davis responded to were: · What knowledge, skills or experience are necessary to qualify for your position? First, you must have the passion for what you do and do the best at it. Initially, the knowledge comes from the theoretical aspects of learning the scope of the work and understanding the fundamental skill sets. Second, you apply those theories to practical real life situations and step-by-step one grows and develops in the profession. Theories learned and applied in the classroom become second nature to what needs to get done in the moment of time when decisions have to be quick, concise and most important right. Working in higher education doesn’t suit everyone as with any other profession. In higher education, one is surrounded by lifelong learning which can be a challenge for some but excitement for others. Hence, for those who thrive in higher education the skills keep growing and are never ending which add to the experience that keeps growing with time. Consequently, there is never a moment that you think you have seen it all and know it all. You simply don’t as every day brings a new surprise and a new situation that one has to once again think and act quickly to make it a win-win for everyone involved. · What are the skills and abilities that are needed to be effective in your job function? The most important skills are to be a good listener and observer to fully understand the needs of the students and able to work well with people from different cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Other skills would be interpersonal communication and flexibi.

1. Informational Interview essay instruction
PURPOSE: Informational interviewing is a process by which
you can collect data about jobs, occupations, and organizations
by interviewing people in their respective fields. It should not
be construed as a job interview! It may result in a valuable job
contact, but for the moment its purpose is to obtain information
and career advice.
Dr Negar is an Educational Consultant, who currently works in
her own company which was founded in 2013, Global Student
Placement Network (Global SPN), Is an international consultant
Offering a wide range of academic and educational services to
individuals, institutions, companies and organizations. Services
include International Education Consulting; College
Placements; Campus Tours; High School and English Language
Program Placements; Employment and Career Coaching;
Postdoctoral Support Services; Student Recruitment and
Marketing. I chose Dr. Negar Davis as my mentor because of
her great knowledge and expertise in public/student affairs.
I met with Dr. Negar Davis on Saturday, October 29th to
interview and discuss some questions and obtain information
and career advice from her as I chose her to be my
informational interview mentor.. I drove from Los Angeles to
San Diego to meet with Dr. Negar as she invited me to her place
at 8941 Gowdy Ave. The questions that I came up with and that
Dr. Davis responded to were:

2. · What knowledge, skills or experience are necessary to qualify
for your position?
First, you must have the passion for what you do and do the best
at it. Initially, the knowledge comes from the theoretical
aspects of learning the scope of the work and understanding the
fundamental skill sets. Second, you apply those theories to
practical real life situations and step-by-step one grows and
develops in the profession. Theories learned and applied in the
classroom become second nature to what needs to get done in
the moment of time when decisions have to be quick, concise
and most important right. Working in higher education doesn’t
suit everyone as with any other profession. In higher education,
one is surrounded by lifelong learning which can be a challenge
for some but excitement for others. Hence, for those who thrive
in higher education the skills keep growing and are never
ending which add to the experience that keeps growing with
time. Consequently, there is never a moment that you think you
have seen it all and know it all. You simply don’t as every day
brings a new surprise and a new situation that one has to once
again think and act quickly to make it a win-win for everyone
involved.
· What are the skills and abilities that are needed to be effective
in your job function?
The most important skills are to be a good listener and observer
to fully understand the needs of the students and able to work
well with people from different cultural, ethnic and linguistic
backgrounds. Other skills would be interpersonal
communication and flexibility in dealing with situations as
needed. In general, leadership and organizational skills are a
part of being effective and efficient in handling the
responsibilities.

3. · What are the possible career paths opportunities in this field?
This work requires international education skills working in
academic or student affairs as an administrator, advisor or
faculty. The benefits of working in higher education are that
there are many paths to choose from although the bulk of the
work is serving students.
· Who do you interact with on a regular basis and how often?
I interact with students and their families, administrators,
faculty, admissions officers, company leaders, advisors,
counselors and other student service providers depending on the
situation I am dealing with. Working with students and their
families is the most rewarding as the work is to provide advice
and much needed assistance in making the right choices.
· What salary ranges are associated with jobs in this field?
In the U.S. salaries in higher education are generally lower than
in industry. However, depending on the level of education and
experience the salaries could range from $80,000 to $160,000
per year.
· What is the most challenging thing you face in your field?
What do you like and not like about this field?
As with any job and dealing with people, one can occasionally
deal with difficult people who can be demanding and at the end
never happy with the outcome. In order to avoid this it is
important to have an assessment of the person and the needs and
making the process clear from the beginning. Also, because of
time spent it is important for the client to understand how much
work to expect and where the limit is.
On the positive side, it is the most joyful experience to see the
excitement of the student and the families and especially when
they successfully complete their education and enter the
workforce.
· How has your field/job affected your lifestyle?

4. As an employee or business owner, you have to give it all you
have in order to see success. The difference though is that as a
business owner, you will never stop working as even during
your downtime you keep thinking of how to take the business to
the next level and make it more efficient. Hence, there is
absolutely no free time which naturally affects the lifestyle.
· What are the educational requirements for entering through
this field? What other credentials/license are required? What
type of training do we experience in this field?
This field requires international relations, teaching,
communication, counseling degrees and depending on the types
of work it will require a master’s or doctoral level degree.
Entry-level positions require some college or certificates. It
will also help tremendously if the person has experience living,
working or studying abroad as it will enhance the intercultural
communication skills. The training typically happens on the job
by shadowing an experienced staff and gradually working
independently.
· What special advice you can give me in order to qualify for
this field?
I would recommend an internship where you would get hands on
experience and understanding the nature of the work.
Internships oftentimes lead to full-time positions within the
same companies. If internship is not an option, then I would
start as an advisor or student recruiter as entry level positions.
These experiences will quickly lead into becoming admissions
or college counselors. This will then lead to higher positions
within student or academic affairs.
· What is something you wish you knew or a skill you wish you
had before entering this field? What do you wish you had done
differently starting out?
As a business owner, you must understand business practices
and your competition regardless of the work. You must also be

5. able to understand the markets and how to penetrate into the
market and brand your name. Understanding the work you do
and how to do it is most important but equally important is the
business development and marketing of the business.
· Is there anything else you think I need to know?
You should decide as early as possible the kind of work you
would like to do and how. For example, some people do not
like to have a fixed schedule whereas others cannot be without a
set structure. You need to decide only the type of work and
environment you prefer and go after that dream. Never give up
the passion and lose sight of the passion for what you want to
do.
· Who else would you recommend or refer to me to speak with?
I suggest you speak to staff at the International Admissions or
Student Services Offices to get a feel from their work and
experiences. This will give you a good perspective between
working in higher education as an employee or establishing
your own business providing educational services.
Write approximately a 2-3 page summary of the interview in the
body of the paper (after you read that all what I have mentioned
above, THEN write the summary of the interview using the info
I gave you. SINGLE SPACED 2-3 PAGES!

6. Nigeria – King Sunny Ade
3. “Ja Funmi” (NYC, 2016)
Ja Funmi is actually a type of what is called, Juju
Music. King Sunny Ade dropped this song in 1982 in hopes to
modernize this music. This form of music is popular in Nigeria,
and it is derived from Yoruba praise singing. King Sunny Ade
added more instruments and integrated rock and funk into the
music to make it more relatable (Zhou. 2015).
King Sunny Ade was already famous in Nigeria when he
made his way to the international stage. His record company,
Island Records, wanted him to become the next Bob Marley.
They dropped this persona after realizing a couple years later
that King Sunny was not making as much money (Zhou, 2015).
In July of 2016, King Sunny Ade came to New York
City to perform at the Central Park Summer Stage. In an
interview with Afropop, King Sunny Ade was saying how he
considers NYC to be a nation because there are people from all
over the world. He called it the “land of opportunity” and that
everyone is “more or less free. It’s a free united city in the
United States” (King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview).
That emphasis on freedom makes me think about this song. Ja
Funmi means fight for me. Perhaps to King Sunny Ade, he is
fighting for his freedom in Nigeria or maybe just singing about
his ancestors fight. I have been doing a lot of research, and I
haven’t found much about what the other lyrics of the song
mean. Recognizing that this song is about fighting for yourself
is enough to understand that this is about oppressive times in
Nigeria. The readings from this week state that music can be
used as an outlet for when people are feeling oppressed, and
that they can use it as a way to communicate to bring the
community together. Some people have also stated that this
song is about an internal fight, as well. There are a couple

7. different interpretations.
“In some parts of Africa, praise singers, known locally
as jali, jeli, or griot, compose songs to praise patrons and also
to keep the history and genealogy of a community” (Online
Readings). King Sunny Ade felt like he had the same
responsibilities. He said that since his heritage has been passed
down to him, he needs to “maintain the image of ancestors” and
that he needs to be careful that he represents them correctly
(King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview). He also needs to
continue on their story so that people will never forget where
they came from. This is true because as our readings from a
few weeks ago said, music can be used to preserve a memory.
Ja Funmi has tons of instruments in it. King Sunny Ade
said his guitar is attached to his hip and that it is the “gateway
to [his] living” (King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview). In
the New York performance, there are at least 4 guitars and 3
drums on the stage. I tried seeing what exact drums were on the
stage, but the video was a little fuzzy. There was a typical drum
set and then what looked like talking drums because they were
being struck by a curved stick (Agrawal, 2010). “Ade and his
band African Beats [have] modernized the bucolic juju sound by
getting rid of the accordion and adding pedal steel guitar plus
multilayered electric guitar” (Tarte, 2003).
The music itself is rhythmically complex and dense.
Most African music is like this because they have so many
elements going on in the songs. African music tends to have a
buzzy timbre, but when I listen to this song, I think it is brassy.
That may sound strange but the guitars sometimes sound like
saxophones to me. This song could be an example of
homophony because it is accompanied by an instrument like a
guitar, but I also think it could be polyphony because it is hard
to follow the melody. There are different people singing all the
time and different instruments being played. It’s almost hard to
focus on the song. The song is a great example for strongly
metric because there are people dancing on the stage as well as
in the crowd.

8. I really enjoyed this song and learning about King Sunny Ade. I
hope you feel the same!
References:
Agrawal, N. K. (2010, July). The Glossary Of World Percussion
Instruments - DRUM! Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2016,
from http://www.drummagazine.com/hand-drum/print/the-
glossary-of-world-percussion-instruments (Links to an external
site.)
King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview. (2016, October 11).
Retrieved October 31, 2016,
from http://www.afropop.org/32106/king-sunny-ade-afropop-
video-interview/ (Links to an external site.)
Tarte, B. (2003, May 15). Raw and Uncooked. Retrieved
October 31, 2016,
from http://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/raw-and-uncooked-
6348068 (Links to an external site.)
Zhou, M. (2015, August 23). The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s.
Retrieved October 31, 2016,
from http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9700-the-
200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/?page=2 (Links to an external
site.)
Objectives:
· Demonstrate your ability to conduct research on a musical
culture you have not learned through a lesson in this class
· Engage in an educated, in-depth conversation about a musical
culture
Overview: In this assignment you are expected to watch one of
the assigned recordings and do the research necessary to explain
and discuss the sound and behavior of musical example and how
they relate to the concept of the music.
Be sure to read this week’s assigned online lessons before

9. reading this discussion board. In particular, focus on the Music
and Memory page of this week’s lesson to prepare for this
discussion.
MUSIC AND MEMORY
We have been talking about music and memory as a central
theme in the ballad tradition. But what exactly is the connection
between music and the preservation of memory?
When it comes to preserving and evoking memories, music can
be very powerful. Some music and songs we intentionally
commit to memory, while some music we just "pick up"
subconsciously. But most of us find we have songs that we
associate with certain times in our lives, or certain places or
persons.
Music, however, does not just help us reminisce. Music can be a
very effective tool, aiding memory in several different ways,
including the following:
· Influencing and Reenacting memories: Music influences the
way we remember things and allows us to reenact memories of
the past. For years music therapists have benefited from the
ability of music to retrieve seemingly lost memory in patients
who have suffered both long term and short term memory loss.
This leads music therapists to believe that music memory might
function differently than other types of memory, such as
linguistic and personal recollection.
· Commemoration: Music commemorates significant people and
events in our lives and in history. It has the ability to create an
air of great solemnity, if it is appropriate to the occasion. Music
also has the ability to express great emotions such as sadness
and grief. Thus it is typically used in occasions such as funerals
and candlelight ceremonies or vigils that observe significant
(and often sad or terrible) events, such as deaths or violent acts,
such as murders or assassinations. Popular examples of music
used for commemoration are "Taps" and "Amazing Grace.
· Preservation of information: Music aids memorization of facts
(people, places and events) as well as text (stories). Music
functions very well as a mnemonic device. Many people find it

10. easier to remember words and ideas when they are set to music.
Music has served as a tool for teaching and memorizing for
generations. Most children of the English language learned the
alphabet to "The Alphabet Song. There are also songs taught to
children to help them learn their numbers, days of the week, the
fifty States, the books of the Bible, etc. It is in this same way
that music helps ballad singers remember long, complex stories.
Here are directions that will apply to all Groups and all
discussion boards:
Since each Group will be participating in only two discussion
boards throughout the semester, every participant will have time
to craft a thoughtful initial post of approximately 300 words in
length. Think of the discussion board as an opportunity to write
a mini-essay. Choose your approach, identifying specific
musical characteristics, instruments, vocal styles, as well as
behaviors and how they relate to the music. You may discuss
the entire video or focus on just a portion of it. (Use
parenthetic times to clarify points in the video.) I recommend
that you prepare your post as a Word document, so that you can
polish your writing before posting it. (Make sure you have
edited your writing to remove spelling and punctuation errors,
sentence fragments, typos, etc. You can then copy and paste
your text into the discussion board.) These discussion posts are
more about quality than quantity.
IMPORTANT: In your post, as well as in your responses, use
the appropriate terminology that you are acquiring from the
lessons. The goal of this assignment is to begin to distinguish
between your personal reactions to music and the scientific
study of music using musical terminology and Merriam’s model

11. in examining the material.
Use the Topic number and title as the title of your initial
post (e.g., "Benin - Angélique Kidjo, “Batonga").
In this week’s lesson, we focused on South Africa. In this
Discussion Board we will be exploring the musical traditions of
other African cultures. Specifically, the topics for Discussion
Board #5 are:
Traditional Music:
· Zimbabwe – Mbira –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS5ASXu44bQ (Links to an
external site.)
· Cameroon – Baka women yodellers –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cATZe_jlc9g (Links to an
external site.)
1. Baka gathering –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5JbHIKXvgo (Links to an
external site.)
· Nigeria/Benin – Yoruba Talking Drum Ensemble –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0L2fhqFzKU (Links to an
external site.)
· Ghana – Ashanti Drumming –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeFtlcwuOZQ (Links to an
external site.)
· Ghana – Kpanlogo –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ja4WVzv__A (Links to an
external site.)
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LR-aiV8H8 (Links to
an external site.)
Contemporary Styles:
· Nigeria – King Sunny Adé,
1. Traditional setting –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USrjNW6XH-I (Links to an
external site.)
2. “Ja
Funmi”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQL0CSasuI (Links
to an external site.)

12. 3. “Ja Funmi” (NYC,
2016)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVdA06jyi_8 (Links
to an external site.)
· Senegal – Youssou N’Dour,
1.
“Birima”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w5AQsi7moM (Li
nks to an external site.)
2. "#Senegaal rekk
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaxsAqj-uZU (Links to an
external site.)
· Benin – Angélique Kidjo,
1.
"Batonga"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duiyobfigfo (Link
s to an external site.)
2. "Malaika"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eQ0J1ycO-
0 (Links to an external site.)
3. “Afirika” –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZLt1ldggRs (Links to an
external site.)
Special Note to Group Memory members: The musical examples
listed above were carefully and purposefully chosen. Please
take some time to do some research into the culture, genre,
artist, and/or specific song represented in the example you have
chosen as you prepare to write your initial post.
Regarding your responses: Offer substantive responses that
address the thoughts and observations of your Groupmate who
has made the initial post. (Avoid general "value" statements,
such as “interesting” or "nice," which contribute nothing
substantive to the conversation; the quality of your comments
will be reflected in your grade.) All Group members are invited
to contribute additional replies on topics that interest you. And,
sooner is better. That way, there is more opportunity for
discussion.