MAT TIMES

April 2016

The best newspaper for the UTN students

Advantages of this Newsletter

As a student you will find the best information about
UTN, national and international news, interviews with
teachers, advises for new workers, entertainment,
among others.
MAT Times is done by three UTN English students:
Meize Mesen, Anthony Mora and Tatiana Oconitrillo
and thats how our name comes alive, combining the
first initial of our names. We hope you enjoy this edition.

You will find this newspaper monthly.

In This Issue

Phone provided by UTN Magazine University Action.

Articles for you

Entertainment section

UTN news

An interview with the

teacher Cindy Rodriguez.

UTN Popular Dance

Group Present in the
International Day of
Dance Celebration
By Meize Mesen
The National Association of
Dance
Workers
(ANATRADANZA) celebrated
the International Day of Dance
in which the UTN Popular
Dance Group was present.

Obama Criticizes Donald Trump for Plan to Cut

Money Transfers to Mexico
By Anthony Mora
President Obama studied how presidential candidates have
done damage to American foreign policy with their comments.
The president believes that Mr. Trumps proposal is very
aggressive because he wants to block remittances from North
Americans to families in Mexico and this could cause more
illegal immigration from a damaged Mexican economy.

The function called "Steps to

Future" was Saturday April
25th in the Dance Theater, located in The National Center of
Culture (CENAC)
UTN's group, had the chance
to show their work made during
2015. They made two Dances:
"Contramare" and "Al rojo vivo".

Mr. Trump, who is the most popular presidential candidate in

U.S, said we will track every Western Union bit of money that
is being sent to Mexico. When Obama heard the whole
speech, he became extremely worry about the future of immigrants.
In the proposal, Mr. Trump said he would change a rule in the
USA Patriot Act to cut off funds sent to Mexico through money transfers only if Mexico paid $5 billion to $10 billion to
build a wall along the border with Mexico.
This is only one of the radical ideas that has
been expressed by Trump during this presidential campaign.

Technology sale

Well be waiting for you

Phone Number: 2290-0000

UTN graduated
2367 new professionals in
2015
By Meize Mesen
During July and November a total of 2367 new
professionals graduated
from different careers and
degrees.
Including 72 new teachers in a technical specialty, 113 bachelors teachers in a technical specialty, 1279 graduates, 846
bachelors, and 57 graduates.
The total per site is: 1005
Central, 330 San Carlos,
371 Pacific, 284 Guanacaste, 192 Atenas, and
185 CFPTE.
With this results, UTN
contributes to the country's productive development.

Agreement between UTN and Sykes graduated

students specialized in English
By Anthony Mora

UTN and Sykes signed an employability agreement on Friday

April 10th.

UTN, which is a public University graduated the first group of

students. At the moment, the agreement will take place in
UTNs headquarters and in the Puntarenas site. This will increase the English linguistic habilities in more than a hundred
people who has a intermediate level, but not enough to get a
job.
The ceremony took place at UTN auditorium which is located
in Alajuela. Where they enjoy the company of UTNs rector,
Marcelo Prieto; the Sykes general manager, Alejandro Arciniegas; John Sykes, Sykes CEO, and the Senior Vicepresident of latinamerican Sykes operations, Flora Solera.
Luis Fernando Chaves, vice chancellor of Social Extension
and action said, When we have the oportunity of linking up
with a company like Sykes and signing up an agreement with
them, we realized that we move from theory to practice

UTN and Coyol Free

Zone did a cooperation
agreement
By Meize Mesen
This agreement will allow to
enlarge and make strong the
specialized courses and careers capacitation and formation. The ones related to the
Coyol Free Zone business.

Job Hunting in the Digital Age

This Free Zone has 21 medical

and electronic related companies, where 8 thousand employees work.

By Meize Mesen
Nowadays, people applying for job can feel like if
they were in a casting their rsum to the
nothing, while clicking apply online without any
face to face interaction nor immediate or no
feedback at all.

UTN's rector, Marcelo Prieto,

said this is an historical agreement since it's a step between
UTN and the Costa Rican productive sectors.

The digital age has made the employers change

their ways to hire people. Now there are some
ways like a round of robots that scanned each
rsum looking for keywords; recruiters use an algorithm to find the perfect hire; iCIMS a type of talent acquisition software, to sort through volumes
of candidates, generally 50,000 a month, and identify those who meet five or so minimum requirements; and a first interview via video.

your content. White space

gives the user an opening into
your information. Dont be
afraid to leave spaces open.

Some important keys are:

Use Keywords
Before a person applies for a job, (he or she
should check the job requirements and description
to align his or her experience and skills. In this way
the recruiter looking through many rsums can
easily distinguish the ones that are more suitable
for the position.
2 for1

Be a Full Orange with our online

dating services
Phone Number: 800 000 000

Fullorange.com

Most Needed Careers in Costa

Rica
By Meize Mesen
Costa Rica is compiting
with a globalized world
where technology is
the main character.
According to a study
about the human capital demand done by
CINDE (Costa Rican
Coalition Development
Initiatives) applied to
several
multinational
enterprises operating in
Costa Rica. They have
identified ten universitaries areas.
The Top ten in Services Sector is:
1. Software and Computer Engineering.
2. Business Administration.
3. Accounting.
4. Industrial
Engineering.
5. Electronic
Engineering.
6. Graphic
Design,
Digital Animation,
Audiovisual
Production.
7. Electrical
Engineering.
8. Electromechanical
Engineering.
9. Mechatronics Engineering.
10. Economy.

Stay Current
Maintain your online rsum updated, every time
you get a new course update it. So when the recruiters are looking for candidates they can take
your application into consideration.
Be careful with what you put in your social media
sites, since recruiters also check those sites.
Be Camera Ready
Some employers conduct an interview by webcam
in sites like Skype before meeting face to face. Or
they might send some questions and the applicant
will need to videotape himself with the answers
and send it to the recruiter.
Go Offline
Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be
Rich, says that its better to avoid the apply online completely. He also says that its better to
know the company and someone inside first, also
considering that most of the times that a person
applies online get no response.
A good advice is not to use only one method, you
dont need only to apply online. Try talking directly
to people youll might get surprise with a positive
answer.

Yolanda Oreamuno centenary will be celebrated

with an exposition
By Meize Mesen

This Costa Rican writer was

born on April 8th 1916. This
exposition will show to different communities who
Yolanda Oreamuno was,
her life circumstances, how
this influenced her writing
and what her importance for
the Costa Rican literature is.

Women speak out about the sexism in the Architecture Business

By Meize Mesen

In United Stares, according to a study done by the American

Institute of Architects, theres not gender equality in the architects industry. This study is also backed up by Zaha Hadid
opinion, she said, For a woman to go out alone in architecture is still very, very hard. She was an architect and won the
Pritzker Prize in 2004.
Some experiences in the profession from female architects
are:
Pushing Through Assumptions
Yen Ha from New York said, that she usually needs to start
by introducing herself, in order to avoid assumptions from people. They often think she is the assistant, decorator or intern. When she has to introduce herself or remind someone that she is the
lead architect, it causes different reactions since
she is none of the preconceptions of what an architect might be.
Farida Adu-Bakare from Atlanta said, AfricanAmerican women are a rarity in the field, since
they represent less than 0.3 percent of the architecture industry. So its even more difficult for people to correlate her career with her demographic.

The Boys Club

You will be able to see 32

Art Deco panels, videos, an
animation and some objects
part of Yolanda's life and
work.
The exposition will be in
April from 8 to 28 in Alberto
Canas Theater, located in
Barrio Escalante.
Schedule: Monday to Sunday from 8am to 6pm.

Women Art
Curators
By Meize Mesen
It's the first time that
the three main art
museums in Costa
Rica have women in
charge of making the
artwork dialogue with
the public.
They are Maria Jose
Chavarria, Maria Jose Monge and Adriana Collado.
What they have in
common it's the fact
that they studied Art
History
in
UCR
(University of Costa
Rica) and a second
career (graphic design,
anthropology
and cultural management). They are almost the same age
(in a 4 years range).
In summary they are
three brilliant, sensible and have a singular
consciousness
about themselves.

HJ Kim said, subcontractors are surprise when she gives

them solutions, since for them women dont even know how
to change a light bulb. They correlate women in that field with
interior designers.
From North Palm Beach, Amanda McNally said, in the construction sites its very common to find men who think in a
woman as an intruder in a boys club. She tries to changes
this by treating them with respect. She sees them as an opportunity to learn since they work with materials daily. Also
she realized that being a woman can work as an advantage,
since some clients feel more comfortable working with women.
The Road to Success
According to Flavia Quintanilha from Brazil, she decided not
to swim against the tide by partnering with her husband.
Sometimes she uses him to open the road for her and he is
fine with that.
From Bloomington, Christine Matheu told a story that she
lived, she was hire to do an exhibition design in New York
and when the Century Club found out they didnt allow her to
do the exhibit. At that time the Club didnt take women as
members, so she decided to strike out. Now she has 20 years
of working by her own.
There are many stories where its clear that women have a
serious challenge trying to open their own way in predominantly male fields. While some keep fighting face to face,
some others look ways to avoid this confrontation by working
alone or joining forces with their husbands. They even confess that their husbands worked as a mask to prevent loosing
clients that ran away due to their genre.

Zika Alert: WHO declares global health

emergency
There have been serious birth
defects in South America suspected to be related to the Zika
virus.

Food companies in Costa Rica pledge to reduce

salt in products
By Tatiana Oconitrillo
Leaders of the Costa Rica Food Industry Chamber (CACIA)
have agreed to reduce average salt/sodium levels by 15 percent in their products by 2018. Everybody knows that the excess of salt in the food is dangerous for our health, and we try
to cook in the healthiest way possible, but the food that we

buy already has a big percentage of salt.

Fernado Llorca, who is the Health Minister, signed the agreement with the food industry group last week with the goal
of getting people to eat more healthy food and promote better
lifestyles. The list includes various types of breads, pastries,
cookies, sauces, and condiments.
The plans main objective is to reduce sodium intake among
Costa Ricans as a measure to reduce deaths from chronic

diseases such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease,

linked by various studies to high salt intake.
For example in a cheese burger which has around 0.60% of
salt, with this law itll decrease in a 0,45% or less.

This birth defect is known as

microcephaly, a condition in
which a baby is born with an
abnormally small head and
brain.
Costa Rica has reported some
Zika Virus cases, neither of
which were contracted in the
country.
WHO has strongly agree that
the most effective form of prevention is getting rid of stagnant water and using personal
protection against mosquito
bites.

Costa Rica is
among
healthiest, most
comfortable retirement destinations
Costa Rica ranked
fourth overall in International Living's 2016
list of Best Countries
to Retire.

In
the
magazine
Healthy Lifestyle, it
also ranked fourth.

Since Costa Ricans habits need to change immediately, the

Foreigners currently
living in Costa Rica
say they have a
healthier lifestyle here thanks mostly to
being more active
and having an improved diet.

Health Ministry has prepared brochures and other print docu-

The publication said

retirees in top ranked
countries will find
not only a more relaxed
and
lessstressful lifestyle, but
abundant fresh air,
produce, and many
opportunities
for
exercise and adventure.

also promotes physical activity: Cajas survey found that 60

The model used to

score and rank countries was developed
by brand strategy
firm BAV Consulting
and The Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania.

ments such as the Dietary Guidelines for Costa Rica, which

are distributed in public hospitals and Health Ministry offices.
The Dietary Guidelines include recommendations for maintaining adequate blood pressure levels and advice on the benefits of reducing daily intake of salt, fat and processed foods. It
percent of the population age 20 years and over do not exer-

cise regularly. Whoever eats less salt and does exercise regularly should have a good life and health.

2 for 1 in
Wilmart

M AT T I M E S

Entertainment

Activities
CIENTEC and Pro Zoos Foundations joined forces to offer
an evening lunada at
the Simon Bolvar Zoo.
When: Saturday, April 16.
Summer Festival 2016 in the
National Museum, you will see
from the University of Costa
Ricas hip-hop group to karate
demonstrations to a cosplay
competition.
When: Sunday, April 17.

Come and enjoy with all your family.

Location: San Jose

Clash Royale the

New Popular and
Entertain App
By Anthony Mora.

Clash royal has overtaken the expectations of the creators;

the application just
went
online
last
January 4th and it
has reached more
than 1.7 million subscribers to this day.
The new game was
developed by the
creator of clash of
clans. It is available
for IOS and android
mobile systems.
The game consists
on a card based PvP
brawler. The plot
consists in collecting
Clash troops, and
using them to wreak
havoc on your opponents towers. Also
the mobile game has
its own TV channel.
TV Royale aggregates the latest and
greatest Royale replays. By searching
for unusual decks,
upset matches and
close calls, TVR
features only the
most heart pounding
Arena battles. Flip to
TV Royale for strategies and card previews.

Dissatisfaction with Batman v Superman

By Tatiana Oconitrillo

One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was an audacious
effort by Warner Bros, but what is people saying
about this movie? One of the comments was, I had

more expectations about the movie. The New York

Times said, "The entertainment is less than the target
product, its creative exhaustion becomes increasingly
evident."
Only in the first weekend, this film collected $424 million around the world; however, it was not a good
number because it represented a 68% decline in comparison with other superheroes movies.

Zack Snyder, who was a director of the film, did a

big effort doing this movie, but he and his movie will
need to generate at least $800 million.
Fortunately for Warner Bros, Batman v Superman is
perfectly capable of making more millions in merchandising and home entertainment, despite its bad
reviews.

Art Festival will have

two international editions in 2017 and 2018
CEPAC (Artistic Production Center and Culture
Ministry), announced that
this year 2016 the activities will be in the South of
the country, August from
5 to 14.
An insight soon to my 30 year old birthday
By Meize Mesen
I realized that the things I used to react dramatically, now
they do not have the same effect on me. So I did an insight in

The Festival will have two

international editions, but
until 2017 and 2018. The
present year will be national only.

my life checking what changes I have noticed.

Here are some of them, any similarity with your life is purely
coincidental:
1. Even in 2016 people keep pushing to have boyfriend/
girlfriend, then husband/wife, and finally kid(s).
2. Anything you eat is bad or healthy. So I decided to eat
anything I want.
3. Friends are difficult to maintain and not always worth keep
trying.
4. Reach success it is pretty difficult, but it is worth keep
trying.

5. Success it is not only related to work, but also to help others and this not always means with money.
6. The peaceful country that I used to know, it is fading away
every day faster.
7. Even finishing my career, I will never stop learning.
8. I have less patience for fake people.
9. I have realized how short and uncertain life is. So I try to
slap myself every day to enjoy each minute.

In order to know the artists who will be part of the

activities, you can visit the
website: www.cpac.go.cr

Writing Space
Poem
Deep Down
By Meize Mesen
Asphyxiated
No air
No lungs
Life without breathing
Impotence
Still like a rock
Ideas without talking
Ideas without moving
Strength without
muscles
Strength without acting
Asphyxiated
Anger without heavy
breathing
Fear in being
Being in fear
Asphyxiated resentment
For every little stupid
thing
Resentment
A whole heart but no
lungs
A whole brain but no
lungs
Beating without
breathing
Thinking without
heavy breathing
Feeling without being
With only mind words
Asphyxiated

What is the Paleo Diet?

By Meize Mesen

Paleo diet has become a trend, not necessarily because its

healthy, but for its easiness.
Its about an effort to eat like we used to long time before, this
means anything we could hunt or find (meats, fish, nuts, leafy
greens, veggies, seeds).

Zucchini Pasta Recipe

Interview with Cindy Rodriguez

When did you decide to become a teacher, and why did you choose this field?
Well, I did not really know what to study. When I passed UCR test, I chose English Teaching
because I knew some English already and I thought I could get good grades and then move
to what I wanted to study, but I never knew what to study!, so I continued studying English
and I happened to LOVE it and truly enjoy it! I do not even see it as work!!
What interests do you pursue outside of the classroom (hobbies)?
Resting and relaxing outdoors (nature). I also love exercising while being in nature.
How long have you been teaching English?
This is my tenth year.
What is the most difficult aspect of teaching today?
I think the hardest part is trying to take the best out of the class, and thinking how to articulate
personal beliefs, course objectives, students needs and curricula requirements. All that is time consuming, and that time consumed per class planned can be a lot. Besides that, I really
do not like checking written assignments or quizzes.
What do you enjoy the most while you are in front of your students?

Seeing students connected, constructing and actually learning in the class.

What courses do you prefer to teach?
Courses where oral communicative skills need development. At ILE Integrated Courses, Oral
Expressions, and Oral Communications. But I also enjoy grammar courses, and pronunciation. At ILE I do enjoy any course I get though.
According to your knowledge, what is the better way to learn English?
Learning through experience, by being exposed to authentic and very close to authentic scenarios, with the student as the center and the teacher to the side (mostly with her/his mouth
shut). No matter what course.

UTN announcements

In the UTN website

you can find the
Preliminary Registration Dates for the
Second Quater.
Registration dates:
First week of May.
Revocatory:
April
12-14.
UTN-SYKES Registration
Academy:
April 25 to May 6.
Start: May 9.
Cost: $180.
Schedule: M-F 8am
to 12pm.
More information:
utnacademy@utn.ac.cr
Students who receive PARE need to
present the documentation no later
tan: April 29 until
5pm.

What changes would you propose to improve the ILE major?

Specific changes are difficult to address because they need to be
thought through the different courses; but when it comes to a more general suggestion, I think that having more authentic situations where the
student is actually exposed to the language, and where not only knowing
the mechanics of the language is necessary, but also the development of
communicative skills. By authentic situation I do not necessarily mean
speaking with native speakers or doing field trips, but having classes designed to address situations where students have real life scenarios and
tasks to work on. All of that means that the teacher role would be more
active in the preparation and designing of the class than in the class
itself.
Another area that I consider needs more improvement is quality, timely
and detailed feedback for the students, for them to use it and reflect on it
as deeply.
In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses in the ILE
major?
Strengths:
Well- thought distribution of courses (however there is always improvement).
Flexibility for students.
Having courses that are cyclical which allow students to continue
studying without falling behind too much.
Flexibility for the teacher to implement new ideas.
Open to initiatives and self-organization from students and teachers.
Weaknesses:
Students can be a little bit passive in terms of self-organization.
There is a group of students who think they can learn English just with
what they do in classes (and they do not always go to classes)
Being still young at been a university (which could also be a strength)
Having the presence of "lets-get-done-with-this" mindsets.
What advice would you provide to the students who want to be
teachers?
Not to see themselves are "teachers" but as designers and developers of
learning spaces for others to learn from the experience, from themselves
and from others rather than from a teacher.

Contact Us
If you would to be a contributor for MAT Times:
Alajuela Downtown
UTN Headquarters
Alajuela, CR 020101
(506) 208-9999
MATTimes@utn.ac.cr
Visit us on the web at
MATTimes.com

MAT Times

Creative Writing:
Meize Mesen
Anthony Mora
Tatiana Oconitrillo