Determined Nation Magazine vol. 2 issue 3

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CONTENTS

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4

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SHWEIKI MEDIAAD

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

WORKING HARD OR HARDLY WORKINGW ith the end of the year

approaching and this issue being themed

around entreprenuership, I’d like to take you down memory lane to when you were a kid and Barney and Elmo told you that you could do and be anything you wanted to be. I’d like to say that is a bunch of bull, and at the same time very true. Since you have become a college student you know that you cannot get or become ANYTHING that you want, at least not with-out hard work. You’ve probably come to realize that in order to get something you’ve never had you have to do something you’ve never done, or perhaps, don’t even want to do. So as you finish the year/semester up, and as you may begin your journey into the professional world I want to leave you with two ideas. The first is to either put in the hard work now so you can sleep later, because if you sleep now the hard work is guar-anteed later, and the second is to do what you love and are passion-ate about just like the subject of our cover story. When you do what you love, they’ll love what you do and it’ll be the time that working hard really is hardly working. Make It Happen,

Garrett HayesEditor-In-Chief

STAFFBusiness Analyst and Event Planning: Perez Ansah-Men-sah, Justin Fraizer, Niyankor Ajuaj

Marketing and Advertising: Keenan Bender, Sesugh Tor-Agbidye

Writers: Danielle McConnell, Susanne “Zuzu” Wheeler, L.A. Harden, Moonier Said, Raquel Robertson, Valerie Rammes

Editing: Zuzu Wheeler

Photography: Perez Ansah-Mensah, Danielle McConnell, Jasmine Whitaker, Garrett Hayes

Wanna help with writing, graphics, photos or events? Have art, poetry, or music you want featured? Feel free to e-mail us.

Submissions/Contact Us:[email protected]‘Like’ Usfacebook.com/determinednationmagazineFollow [email protected] Info:determinednationmagazine.com

5www.determinednationmagazine.com

Just when you thought your idea to make millions might be stupid or your peers discourage you from it because they think that it’s a dumb idea, take a look at some of the most ridiculous products to make ridiculous amounts of money.

Slinky

Pet Rock

SolarPowered

Flashlight

Chia Pet

WHAT IN BEN FRANKLIN WERE THEY THINKING?

CRAZY IDEAS TO MAKE MILLION$

Pre Ripped Jeans

Snuggie

“Hey, I have a million dollar idea, let’s sell suckers backwards robes.”

Let’s be honest, the idea of a so-lar powered flashlight is so ironi-cally stupid it’s brilliant, unless of course you didn’t charge it.

Almost like verbally powered cell phones.

We all remember the Cha Cha Cha Chia commercials, but what happens when you finish growing

it, and what’s with this Barak Obama that looks Asian.

Before you get upset about how great the slinky is, lets think about this: it was invented by a person who de-cided that a used spring (that might have tetanus) might

be a fun a safe toy for child. Otherwise, great idea.

If you at any point in your life ever thought about purchasing

one of these, here are the instructions they left out:

1. Open your hand2. Slap the s#!% out yourself

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business

Why pay $40 to $80 for jeans that are already

ripped and painted on? I’ll give you my old jeans

for $5 and for an extra $5 I wont wash them.

Pet Rock: Estimated Profit: $15M in the first six months

Estimated Profit: $250MM

Estimated Profit: $200MM

Estimated profits courtesy of Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com

According to founder, Joe Pedott, 500,000 Chias are sold each year during the holiday season.http://www.smithsonian-mag.com


shear inspiration

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Keenan Bender


Angela McKee Cart-er, entrepreneur and owner of Cit-rus Salon in Fort

Collins, has come a long way to reach her current success and se-renity in life, but her path was no easy journey. Angela was born and raised in Laramie, Wyoming, to successful and academically driven parents. Her father was a physicist and taught at the Univer-sity of Wyoming, and her mother was a nurse. She felt great pres-sures from her parents to pur-sue academia after high school, but instead chose to follow her

dreams of cutting and styling hair in hopes of owning her own salon someday.

Her first job was working as an apprentice under current reality TV personality and hair ge-nius, Sharie Manon, back before Manon was a star on Style Net-work’s Glam Fairies. Unfortunate-ly that job didn’t last, and shortly after she had her first child, she moved to Denver for cosmetol-ogy school and rented a booth at Rita B’s Salon. After marrying her love, and having her second child, things were starting to look up un-

Angela Carter turned her love and passion into a business she feels spreads her love and passion to others.


til her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and he moved to Fort Collins to receive better medical treatment. Angela finished school and moved back home to Wyo-ming to be closer to her father where she opened up her very own salon.

Angela’s salon put on many benefit events in Wyoming to raise money for domestic vio-lence victims and uplift her com-munity in Laramie. In 2008, her sa-lon was vot-ed “The Best Salon in Wyo-ming” by Elle Magazine, an i m p r e s s i v e feat. She had as many as eight people working un-der her in the salon and

had become extremely suc-cessful and pop-ular throughout Wyoming and Northern Colo-rado.

At the height of her success, her world came crashing down. Her father be-came extreme-ly ill and passed

away, right around the same time that her husband went to prison and she had her third child. All of her family had moved to Fort Col-lins to be with her sick father be-fore he passed, leaving her alone with three children and a business to run. The loss of her father was the most devastating because he was such a positive role model and source of her determination


and inspiration.

Angela soon realized that the successful salon that she had built from the ground up was go-ing to have to take the back seat to raising her children; she want-ed to give them the family that she herself cherished so much. Angela decided to close down her salon, but not before the last client of the day that she was closing actually bought the salon from her. This business transac-tion allowed her to move to Fort Collins, where her children can be with the rest of their family and also eventually run Citrus Sa-lon.

Although her new sa-lon isn’t as big and busy as the previous, she says that it has helped her realize what per-sonal joy means for her. “Hap-piness is not about being the best; it’s about the small things. I serve people drinks and make time for them; give them a chance for it to be just about them. And now I get to spend time with my kids,” Angela says. Despite all of the hardships she has overcome, Angela has found the perfect balance of true success and personal hap-piness. “Everyone falls down but you have to get back up”.

Citrus Salon is located at 214 S. Mason St. in Fort Collins


advice

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THE COLLEGE FRESHMEN’S GUIDE TO

SECOND

SEMESTERDON’T “F” UPThis is a very broad yet specific instruction where the “F” has so much ambiguity, and yet at the same time, it’s very explicit. We mean it in ev-ery sense. It’s harder to come back up from an “F” in a class or on your GPA than it is to start with an “A.” It’s hard to build your reputation back up when people have seen you always messing up and in trouble. In whatever way you take it, don’t “F” up.

MAKE SURE YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU’RE DOINGYou should be in a major because it sounds fun, it’s what your parents want you to do, or because it can lead to a lot of money. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing now, don’t expect to enjoy it later.

TAKE THE BORING CLASSESIt’s kind of contradictory to put this down right after I said make sure you enjoy what you’re doing, but at some point you will have to do something that’s boring or that you don’t really want to do. Might as well get it out the way and save basketball class for senior year.

BUCKLE DOWN, BUT LOOSEN UPI’m sure that if you were playing around last semester, it showed in your GPA, it’s time to get serious, but don’t stress out. Just because you may have done bad, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Get serious, but also know that if you’re doing what you’re supposed to, there’s no need to worry.

FIND YOUR PASSION AND GET INVOLVEDYeah, yeah, yeah. We sound like a broken record because surely you’ve heard this a thousand times, but getting involved makes the years go by quicker, builds your resume, helps you to meet people, and helps you find something that you enjoy doing, which in the end, is what college is kind of about, right?

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONEDo something you haven’t done before! Whether its on a serious note, such as going to see your teachers during their office hours, or it’s going to a advocacy office event, or just going on the Undie Run, in

the end, this is your college experience! It’s going to be the differ-ence between “DAMN! I did that!” with a smile on your face, or “DAMN! I wish I did that!” with the look of dispair. 12 www.determinednationmagazine.com

“The more challenges I’ve encountered, and the more I overcome things, I feel the more I can believe in

myself.” –Jiar-Lynn Chang

Vibrant, tough, and charming, with a mix of in-telligence and experience, Jiar-Lynn Chang shows us how she has broken through per-

sonal struggles and hardships, with a type of su-per perseverance that can drive us to our dreams.

Jiar-Lynn Chang is one of CSU’s finest when it comes to life accomplishments, ex-

perience, and drive. Through adolescent struggles with the lack of encouragement from her parents and complete ab-sence of any support, it’s no wonder when asked who her sole motivation is, that the an-swer is, “I am.” She states, “I had to struggle financially, and emotionally to remove myself from an abusive, vi-

cious cycle and become the person I wanted to

be.” It’s amazing to see how someone

can stay on their feet no mat-

ter what type

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WORLD WIDE WOMAN:JIAR-LYNN CHANG

Interview byValerie Rammes


of path they’re taking. No matter how hard it ever got for Jiar-Lynn, she never let it stop her from tak-ing big steps. “I was an orphan even though my parents still lived. I was constantly pushed down by my parents and physically and emotionally abused. I became in-dependent at the age of 18 and had to assume adult responsi-bilities and continue to pursue my dreams.” Now she is only about a year away from being what she has dreamed of since the age of 14.

Jiar-Lynn is currently pursuing veterinary medicine at Colorado State University and expecting to graduate with her DVM in 2014. She looks forward to being able to exercise her ability to help animals and being part of the health pro-fession. She feels that with this job she will be contributing back to life and advocating for those who

can’t speak. She mentions, “I get to help people in distressful mo-ments and heal their pets. I get to ease people’s suffering as well as animals’ suffering.” With this future job she will also be prevent-ing the spread of diseases and assuring the health of the popula-tion, both human and animal. Be-coming a veterinarian, her plans for the future are to have her own hospital and make it a specialty multi-doctor practice. Jiar-Lynn mentions how she’s wanted to do this since she was a child and has always been working toward this goal.

“I saw a documentary when I was a child of deforestation and poaching. The end of the docu-mentary ended with an interroga-tive: “If these animals that live and eat out of Earth are dying, who do you think are next?” This led me to a sense of responsibility and in


debt with nature and life.”

When asked what her biggest ac-complishment is, her response was, “Being here today and still able to dream.” Jiar-Lynn has an interesting range of experience and accomplishments, especially for only being 29 years old. Pre-vious to her current ambition, she has gained much knowledge in her field and also dipped her foot in a few other things. Her first de-gree was in cosmetology, which she received from the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus in 2003. She then became a Mor-tuary Affairs Specialist in 2004 for the US Army in Fort Lee, Virginia. In 2005, from the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus,

she received her bachelor’s in bi-ology. From the same university she received her bachelor’s in vet-erinary technology in 2007. In the past, she has worked as a veteri-nary technician for four years. Not only is she accomplished, but she is still motivated to do more!

Recently Jiar-Lynn has had an amazing, life-changing experience overseas. She had the opportu-nity to work with orphans in Cam-bodia, help with the infrastructure, and aid in public health with the community. She and her group provided personal hygiene items, toys, and they also built a house and garden to help all the families that lived in that village. “Since I was the only ‘med’ person, I be-


came the ‘American Doc-tor’ and ended up treating members in my group as well as the local Cambo-dians,” Jiar-Lynn says. While in Cambodia she also worked with Asian elephants. Their group was helping to reintro-duce them into the wild. They got to bathe them and treat them for para-sites and foot abscesses. Being so far away from home, this experience was just another addition to Jiar-Lynn understanding herself even more and pushing herself to-ward her dream.

Despite any difficulties in her life, Jiar-Lynn created her own person, worked on her purpose, and is ful-filling her place in life. Her dedica-

tion precedes her, and success is her reward; inspi-ration is ours. She gives wonder-ful words of advice:

“Everything is possible if you put your heart into it. Nothing is free in life and you must learn to pay the price of sacrifice.”

This year in the world of cinema, viewers have had their fair share of excitement and disappointment. It

seems as though producers, writers, and directors are losing the scope for new fresh ideas and instead regurgitating that which has graced movie screens in the past.

Visits to our movie theaters presented a mix of unfortunate attempts at “part two” or trilogy continuation types

of films. For instance, Expendables 2,

which forced its. Viewers to gaze

at a screen for two

hours of painfully

portrayed action scenes

and lines. This

movie stood as a framework for a bunch of senior actors to attempt at reliving their prime years and showcasing to the world that they really just may not have it anymore. One also cannot forget to mention the not so popular Bourne Legacy. Movie goers had to not only cope with the loss of the beloved Jason Bourne for a new and different agent, Aaron Cross but also the loss of intellectual and plot engaging scenes that we are so used to. In their place were drawn out chase scenes that had no relevance and just opened the door for almost forty five minutes of unnecessary filming.

The flip side of action movies this year revealed that there may still be hope. Films like Safehouse and Hunger Games opened the door to thought provoking scenes, while enticing the viewer with strong plots and acting. Of course Twilight cannot be overlooked with its Vampire/werewolf house divided tendencies. It can easily be

A LOOK BACK AT THIS YEAR’S

MOVIES

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said that this will be one trilogy that continues to have a strong following.

There has been an interesting surge in the remakes department, specifically along the lines of 3-D films. This is my own personal mentality but I feel there is very little necessity in participating in the viewing of films like Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, or Titanic just because they are now 3-D. Who honestly cares. Well I guess maybe the kids that were not around for the first round of these childhood favorites or historic love tales. I would honestly appreciate if Disney, Pixar, and whoever else is responsible for these monetarily wasteful ideas to contribute to something new. In regards to that point, I do believe it must be said that Brave takes the cake for best Pixar movie this year. Although it lacks in comparison to Pixar films we are used to like Toy Story and Up, it creates an endearing tale of a relationship between a mother and her daughter. It also goes against the grain of the typical prissy , love-struck, or poison struck fairy tale princess we are so accustomed to.

Hopelessly romantic film of 2012 that failed its viewers, The Vow. Coming out on the biggest day of love, The Vow was expected to present that “awww” type love story similar to the film “ Valentines Day” which came out last year. Instead, viewers were taken on a

spin of events that created a beautiful love, destroyed it, erased the memory of it, replaced the lovers, and then gave no hope for it ever being the same. From my perspective this may have been the last movie to go see on Valentines day. It was a tear jerker for some, and at the same time reminded us that some love stories are just not meant to be.

Perhaps the biggest arena of film potential this year existed within the realm of superheroes. Fans of marvel and the cartoon superheroes that dominate our childhood, had a strong fix in theaters. Movie goers were given Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, and Batman to name a few. It must be said that the films were drawn out, but in that same respect, viewers were definitely given a great reminder of superhero history. Two of these films, The Avengers and Dark Knight Rises, grossed the most money this year, showing that the majority of society is still loving the irreplaceable superheroes of the world.

The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises went head to head this summer for best and

highest grossing movie of the summer 19www.determinednationmagazine.com

1. What is an impromptu portrayal without rehearsal or preparation?

a. Intent b. Illusion c. Improvisation d. Impression

2. The main character is also known as?

a. The hero b. Protagonist c. Antagonist d. Villain

3. Voice and diction: which of these is NOT key to a good speaking voice?

a. Diction b. Accent c. Pitch d. Volume

4. Which of the following is a character part?

a. The good, “the good, the bad, and the ugly” b. Margot Kelly Wendis, “Dial M for Murder” c. Tevye, “Fiddler on the roof” d. Norman Dale (coach), “Hoosiers”

5. Which of the following is NOT part of the “structure of drama”?

a. Exposition b. Motivation c. Plot d. Theme

6. Comedy or tragedy, which is tragedy?

a. “The importance of being Ernest”, Oscar Wilde b. “Cujo”, Stephen King c. “Take that, Jack”, Barack Obama d. “Gulliver’s Travels”, Jonathan Swift

7. Make-up: which of the following is NOT a necessity in your beauty box if you are a man?

a. Spirit gum b. Mascara c. Bandages d. Lipstick

8. Lighting and sound: which one is NOT a standard type of light for theatre?

a. Flood b. Gelatin c. Back d. Side

9. Stage setting: which of the following is NOT important to the set design?

a. Lunch b. Proportion c. Screens d. Balance

Could you be the next great

actor or actress???

(courtesy of funtrivia.com)


As we all know, with Decem-ber comes finals and the end

of another semester. If you haven’t already recognized that it’s time to buckle down, you should. Here is a little motivation for those of you that feel like giving up or who are having a hard time finishing up. Remember some goals that were set at the be-ginning of the semester, along with your reason for attending college, whether it was family, friends, or per-sonal reasons. Also read inspirational things to help you continue to push.

One inspirational quote:“Recipe for suc-cess: Study while others are sleep-ing; work while others are loaf-

ing; prepare while others are play-ing; and dream

while others are wishing.”

~William A. Ward~

This is a significant quote because it

brings up the idea of success. Every-one wants to be successful but has a hard time taking the steps to get there. College is a little piece of your success. If you see your roommates or friends doing something more in-teresting, it may be tempting to join them, but think of this quote to help you fight the urge to join them.

Another inspirational quote:“People doubt their beliefs,

but believe their doubts. Believe in yourself and the

world will believe in you.”

Believe in yourself before anyone else can. No one will be able to tell you anything different if you stand firm in whatever you may believe. If you believe in yourself you will be able to accomplish anything you put your mind to. So, as the semester is coming to an end, BELIEVE that you will pass your finals and BELIEVE that you will finish the semester with the grades you want.

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FINISHINGSTRONG

Raquel Robertson


CLEANCUTVISION

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Keenan Bender


Born and raised on the crime ridden streets of Chicago, Malvin Lee quickly found his passion for cutting hair

as a teenager, practicing on his little brother and cousin. Chicago is known for its unique culture of barbershops as well as having a barbershop on every corner so the competition for Mr. Lee was extremely stiff; however, his skills proved worthy when he opened his own Mr. Lee’s barbershop in Chicago and soon started gain-ing the popularity and reputa-tion as one of the best. Before he owned his own barbershop he

had worked at various hair cutting places but they were all special-ized to certain hair types and tex-tures; none of them could cater to everyone. In addition, they never made any effort to teach or learn different hair types. From that point, Mr. Lee dedicated himself to learning how to give any person of any race, creed, color, or hair type a top of the line haircut. Manag-ing a barbershop amidst the crime in Chicago was hard work for Mr. Lee. Police searching your barber-shop for notorious gang members and arresting people in the chair while they’re getting their hair

After 15 years in the barber service, Malvin Lee isn’t only serious and passionate about his craft, but makes sure to

be meticulous with each cut.


cut—you could imagine—would be bad for business. Last year, Mr. Lee felt like a change of scenery and decided to move to Fort Col-lins to pioneer the Chicago barber-shop culture in a brand new place. Lee’s Barbershop at Sola Salons on Harmony and Mason not only offers a one-of-a-kind haircut regardless of your hair type, but also a one-of-a-kind expe-rience of that unique Chicago culture. “I am still Chicago in so many ways

because of my style. Various tastes in music, clothing, and art makes me who I am today”, says Lee. Mr. Lee’s Barbershop is the only black-owned barbershop in Fort Collins but is also the only barbershop that provides a welcoming envi-ronment for people of all diversi-ties and the experience to give anyone a good cut. Lee said, “A crucial fact that I have observed is that there is absolutely no bar-bershop or salon that creates an environment where people of all diversities are welcome or feel comfortable in doing the hair of people from all walks of life. My goal for Mr. Lee’s Barbershop is to provide that type of environ-ment, to bring a more diverse and trendy place for people of all rac-es, creed, and color. To all aspir-ing barbers, Mr. Lee suggests you actually go to Barber school and become a licensed professional. To those cutting hair and charg-


ing people for that service, you are illegal! That is a crime and is punishable by law. “Like all licensed individuals of any profession, we took the time and dedication to learn our craft by schooling. Scalp dis-orders, hair textures, skin dis-eases, disinfection practices and a host of other things are taught, which you need to know. Once you become licensed, continue studying trends, styles and techniques. Learn about all hair, not just what you find easy or are com-fortable with. Become familiar with your clients lifestyle and way of life. This will help you suggest products, styles and care of their scalp, skin and hair. Talk to as many people about what you do and keep your card

readily available to invite them to your place of business. Treat


every haircut as if it’s your very first haircut, first impressions are everything! I have been a li-censed barber for 8 years now. I have been cutting hair for over 15 years. However, my real education did not begin until my first day of barber school”.

Mr. Lee’s Barbershop is located on Mason just south of Harmony at Sola Salons right behind the Pizza Hut. Stop by for all of your hair care needs regardless of your race, creed, or hair type.

Cover stories and interviews by Keenan Bender

For all of your hair care needs regardless of your race, creed, or hair type, come to Mr. Lee’s Barbershop for great

service and a great cut.

Being an entrepreneur means takingeducated risks and having imagination

There isn’t a person in the world that doesn’t wish they could be the next Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, or Larry Page (creator of

Google). It seems every day the world is struck by yet another seemingly com-mon idea that introduces the next “tril-lionare.” An entrepreneur however, goes beyond the mere face value of a poten-tially brilliant project. These successful individuals developed a strong ideology of what it would mean to have a busi-ness, social, or political concept and as-sessed the risks that may come as a re-sult.

The examples above are seen in some ways as accidental masterpieces. Steve jobs started the Apple frontier in his garage; Larry Page created Google as a thesis project. One thing can be said, these individuals represent a strong

demonstration of determination and focus. Many would say that these two attributes stand as the backbone for any entrepreneur. Even Oprah, the current “tabloid talk show” powerhouse started out working the bottom of the barrel in her field. She now holds countless titles and is known for seeing her skills, strength-ening them, and displaying them to the world to showcase her success.

The goal of entrepreneurship is mainly to combine new resources that will in one way or another create change. The laptop of our time began as a simple system that combined the needs of ev-

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Danielle McConnell

Being an entrepreneur means takingeducated risks and having imagination

eryday individuals and placed them in one easy, square casing. This would later

prove to be seen as obsolete when Steve Jobs entered with the Apple system. A lighter, faster, even more compact sys-tem and consumers of course could not turn down that combination of past re-sources with newer innovations. That is entrepreneurship; take what you see in the world and work to make it better.

On a daily basis, whether on the college campus or off-campus, we are struck by ideas that could change the world. We all have something to contribute, to change. Within this generation entrepreneurship has escaped the constricted definition of “start-up companies” and began explo-ration into political and social forms of activity. The point being, find your niche and run with it.

Best advice to leave you with after read-ing countless entrepreneurial savvy arti-cles and blogs; do what you love and take it seriously. Always prepare yourself to deal with the struggle, as well as the suc-cess. Last and probably most important, always trust yourself.

Every successful person begins with a vision, and every vision is successful because of a burning desire.

Liquid Plummer:Warning: Do not reuse the bottle to store beverages.

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Tesco’s Tiramisu dessert: (printed on bottom of the box)Do not turn upside down.

500-piece puzzle:Some assembly required.

Matches:Caution: Contents may catch fire.

Komatsu Floodlight:This floodlight is capable of illuminating large areas, even in the dark

Christmas Lights:Warning: For indoor or outdoor use only.

Sleeping Pills:Warning: May cause Drowsiness

Hairdryer:Do not use while taking a shower.

Wet-Nap:Directions: Tear

open packet and use.

Little Ones Baby Lotion:Keep away from children

Windex:Do not spray in eyes.

WTF:RIDICULOUS WARNING LABELS

AND DIRECTIONS FOR PRODUCTS


Determined Nation Magazine vol. 2 issue 3

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Transcript of Determined Nation Magazine vol. 2 issue 3