Advantage Testing

Happy birthday to anthropologist, educator, and museum director Dr. Johnnetta Cole! Born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1936, Dr. Cole’s love of academic study was showcased early on. She was only 15 when she was accepted to Fisk University. However, she received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College in 1957 and then pursued graduate study in anthropology at Northwestern University. In 1967, Dr. Cole obtained her doctorate in anthropology and applied her background and ...experience to work in higher education. Dr. Cole taught at Washington State University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Hunter College before beginning her role as president of Spelman College. She was the first African American woman to hold the position, and she worked at Spelman College for ten years before returning to teachingthis time at Emory University, becoming the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Women's Studies, and African-American Studies. Dr. Cole’s commitment to education is reflected outside of her professorial roles. In 2004, she became the first African American chair of the United Way of America and, in 2009, the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art. Dr. Cole has also dedicated her career to providing resources and educational support systems for people of color. For this reason, she was awarded the Alston-Jones International Civil and Human Rights Award along with many honorary degrees from prestigious institutions like Dartmouth College, where she was named a Montgomery Fellow.

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! The movement to reframe the federal holiday known as Columbus Day began in 1977 at a conference sponsored by the United Nations and held in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference focused on the discrimination indigenous communities in the Americas were facing. However, it was not until 1992 that activists in Berkeley, California, successfully campaigned against Columbus Day and convinced the Berkeley City Council to celebrate October 12 as a "Day o...f Solidarity with Indigenous People." Since then, states and individual cities across the United States have opted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a way of honoring the indigenous groups in the Americas and around the world. It is also a day of reflection and awareness, meant to inspire people to learn more about the history of the Americasfrom the perspective of the indigenous communities that lived on the land before the European colonizers arrived. To learn more about Indigenous Peoples’ Day and next month’s Native American Heritage Month, visit https://illuminatives.org/beilluminative/.

Happy International Day of the Girl! On October 11, 1995, nearly 30,000 men and women from around 200 countries around the world congregated in Beijing to attend the Fourth World Conference on Women. The goal of the conference was to raise awareness of the obstacles women were facing in their search for empowerment and equality. On that day, the most comprehensive policy agenda for gender equality was created, known as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In the 2...5 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women, women’s rights activists of all ages have fought for progress and continue to press for true gender equality. UNICEF designated October 11 as the International Day of the Girl to highlight the impactful work of young changemakers, like Malala Yousafzai and Fatoumata Touréboth advocates for education and a universal right to learn. This year, UNICEF is organizing a digital activism campaign that will be launched on the International Day of the Girl. The campaign will be run by young activists from all over the globe and will bring attention to the valuable projects these activists are working on, including equal representation in the legal profession, in sports, and in government. To learn more, visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/girl-child-day.

On October 8, 2004, Kenyan activist Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, making her the first African woman to receive the honor. This was not the first milestone in Maathai’s career, however, as she was also the first female scholar from East and Central Africa to obtain a doctorate in biology. Incredibly, she also became the first female professor in Kenya. Professor Maathai was an environmentalist and an advocate for just and free democracy. She was active i...n Kenya’s journey toward democracy, boldly speaking out against Daniel arap Moi’s oppressive political regime. Her work in sustainable development and peace led her to win the Nobel Prize. In 1977, Professor Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which aimed to combat climate change and deforestation, as well as promote gender equality. Her movement encouraged women to pursue education and empower both themselves and their children, the future leaders and changemakers of the world. To learn more about Professor Wangari Maathai, visit https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2004/maathai/facts/.

Attention SAT students: the registration deadline for the November 7 SAT and SAT Subject Tests is Wednesday, October 7. The late registration deadline for registrations made online or by phone is October 27. Keep in mind that a late registration requires an extra fee of $30. On the November examination date, students have the option of taking any of the following SAT Subject Tests: Literature, U.S. History, Mathematics Level 1 and 2, Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics, French with Listening, German with Listening, Spanish with Listening, Chinese with Listening, Japanese with Listening, and Korean with Listening. To sign up for your exam, visit: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register.

Happy birthday to lawyer and legendary activist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi! Born in Porbandar, India, in 1869, Gandhi grew up as part of a privileged caste and received a strong education. Though he was not passionate about legal study, Gandhi pursued the career at his parents’ behest. He began his studies at University College London in 1888; instead of falling in love with law, he developed a great interest in the philosophical study of religions, including Hinduism, Christ...ianity, and Buddhism. Upon his return to India, Gandhi accepted a position at an Indian law firm based in South Africa. Gandhi spent 21 years living and working in South Africa, which was governed by the oppressive apartheid system. Experiencing firsthand the injustices of apartheid motivated Gandhi to become a civil rights activist and a voice for the subjugated. He founded the Natal Indian Congress to fight segregation, advocating for pacifistic civil protest. In 1916, he brought his impactful sociopolitical movement to India, where British colonialism reigned and a similar oppression to apartheid was felt by the Indian people. As Gandhi’s ideology spread so did his fame. He was soon referred to as Mahatma Gandhi, a name that signified Great Soul. In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi’s primary goal as the head of the Indian National Congress was to obtain political independence for his country. The boycotts and mass civil disobedience Gandhi championed led him to be arrested for sedition, and he was forced to serve two years in jail. Despite the pressure he faced from British authorities, Gandhi never wavered, and his resilience led to India finally gaining independence in August of 1947. Mahatma Gandhi was, unfortunately, assassinated in 1948. Nevertheless, Gandhi’s lessons of peace, perseverance, and justice will live on forever.

Happy birthday to physicist, inventor, and engineer George Robert Carruthers! Born in Cincinnati in 1939, a young Carruthers made his devotion to science clear when he built his first telescope at the age of ten. It was no surprise then that he would choose to study physics and nuclear engineering at the University of Illinois. In 1962, a mere year after graduating with a bachelor’s degree, Carruthers earned his master’s degree in physics. Two years later, he obtained a PhD i...n aeronautical and astronomical engineering. The scientist decided on his postgraduate plan quickly, accepting a position at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., that same year. Dr. Carruthers was equally interested in invention and innovation, and he first showcased his inventive prowess in 1969 with his Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph. The device could examine atmospheres in space, such as that of Earth. Carruthers’s invention was used in 1972 by the crew of Apollo 16, allowing NASA to examine the levels of pollutants in Earth’s atmosphere and observe a wide array of stars, nebulae, and galaxies nearby. For his groundbreaking invention, Carruthers was awarded NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. In the 1990s, Carruthers was a member of the team that consulted on the Hubble Space Telescope Project and he collaborated on several research projects at NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory. The celebrated physicist was also actively involved in educational development, and he helped launch the Science and Engineers Apprentice Program. The program gave high school students the opportunity to work at the Naval Research Laboratory. He also taught a course at Howard University and, to this day, continues to promote the value of a strong science education. In 2003, Carruthers was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and was awarded the 2012 National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Obama. To learn more about George Robert Carruthers, visit https://nationalmedals.org/laureate/george-carruthers/.

In continuing with Advantage Testing’s Tutor Spotlight series, we have asked our tutors to speak about their favorite books. In this way, you get to learn more about our wonderful tutors, and you may even feel inspired to use their recommendations for some of your own quarantine reading! This month we have Aranya Jain, tutor at Advantage Testing in New York. Aranya grew up in London, and then came to the United States to study English at Princeton University, where she gradu...ated cum laude. After school, she spent a year in Cross Asset Sales at Goldman Sachs. She is currently pursuing an M.F.A. in Fiction at Columbia University and working on a novel. This month, Aranya recommends Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. My favorite book is Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. In the book, explorer Marco Polo describes a series of fantastical cities he has visited. A city where the narrator is perpetually chasing a mysterious woman through winding streets. A city of walkways and ladders suspended over a chasm. A city where every inhabitant resembles a dead person the narrator once knew. Each city-story is extremely short (one to three pages), inventive, and brilliant. Plus, it’s the most physically beautiful book I own (check out the Mariner Books edition!) -Aranya Jain To learn more about Aranya, visit this link: https://www.advantagetesting.com/tutors/aranya-jain

Happy birthday to trailblazing director Esther Eng! Born in San Francisco in 1914, Eng’s interest in filmmaking and the arts was inspired by her family background. Her grandparents had immigrated to the U.S. from Taishan in southern China, and Eng loved the language and culture of her grandparents’ homeland. She spoke Cantonese and enjoyed the Cantonese Opera, which she attended often in San Francisco. In 1933, Eng began working as a producer for her father’s newly formed fi...lm production company. She flourished as a producer, soon taking on a more significant, multifaceted role in the company’s films as a director, writer, distributor, and producer. Esther Eng’s films were primarily romantic dramas, all with women as protagonists at the center of the plot. In 1939, she directed It's a Women's World, which had an all-female cast and told the stories of 36 women from diverse professional backgrounds. The pioneering filmmaker was well-known in Hollywood as well as the Hong Kong film industry because her films were in Cantonese. Esther Eng was fearless in every project she took on, and her films were a form of social commentary. Eng promoted women’s rights and respect for the LGBTQ community, being a proud lesbian woman herself. She also showcased diversity within her films, hiring Asian actors and actresses to portray stories that resonated with Asian and Asian-American communities. Her last film was released in 1961. Her incredible legacy can be traced not only in the film industry but also in the gastronomical industry as Eng was also a restaurant owner, owning and operating a total of five restaurants in Manhattan. To learn more about Esther Eng, visit https://variety.com//lesbian-filmmaker-esther-eng-1203248/.

Happy birthday to mountaineer, author, and educator Junko Tabei! Born in Fukushima, Japan, in 1939, Tabei’s passion for mountain climbing was evident at an early age. When she was only 10 years old, she signed up for a school trip to scale Mount Nasu. In 1958, Tabei attended the Showa Women’s University to study English and American literature, intending to begin a teaching career. However, she continued to climb mountains in her spare time. To do so, she joined various climb...ing clubsmen’s climbing clubs. At the time, mountaineering was a male-dominated sport, and Tabei faced many obstacles as a female mountain climber. Nevertheless, Junko Tabei dedicated herself to the sport she loved and climbed all the famous mountains of Japan, including Mount Fuji and Mount Kita. In 1969, she established the first female-only mountaineering club in Japan, naming it Joshi-Tohan (Women’s Mountaineering). At the same time, she worked as the editor of the Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, which allowed her to fund all of her and her club’s expeditions. The Women’s Mountaineering Club, headed by Junko Tabei, undertook their greatest challenge yet in 1975: Everest. The group reached the summit of Mount Everest, Tabei becoming the first woman to climb the highest mountain on Earth. She continued making history with her climbs. In 1992, she became the first woman to scale the highest mountain peaks of all seven continents (Everest, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Vinson Massif, Elbrus, and Puncak Jaya). She also considered the environmental effects of her beloved sport and publicly declared that Everest had become crowded and polluted by too many climbers. To learn more about Junko Tabei, visit https://www.outsideonline.com/22529/junko-tabei-anniversary.

Attention LSAT students: the registration deadline for the LSAT-Flex exam offered during the week of November 7 is this Wednesday, September 23. Keep in mind that first-time test takers will have the option to preview their scores before deciding whether to keep them. If you are a first-time test taker who has chosen the Score Preview feature, your LSAT score will be released only after you have chosen to have it released or at the end of the Score Preview period if you have not canceled the score. Additionally, test scores will be released by LSAC only after you have a completed LSAT Writing sample on file. To register for your LSAT-Flex, visit lsac.org/jd/lsat/test-dates-deadlines.

Happy birthday to journalist, writer, and political activist María de la Cruz Toledo! Born in Chimbarongo, Chile, in 1912, she discovered her talent for writing at a young age, expressing her thoughts through both prose and verse. In the 1940s, she published a poetry collection (Transparencies of a Soul) and a novel (Dawn of Gold), and then became both publisher and editor of the magazine Light and Shadows, which raised awareness of issues faced by visually impaired individua...ls. María de la Cruz Toledo was an outspoken critic of sociopolitical conditions in Chile, specifically gender inequality. Through her daily radio program, María de la Cruz Speaks, she would advocate for greater female participation and representation in government. In 1946, she founded the Chilean Women’s Party and was one of the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in Chile. Her efforts helped pressure the government to grant women their right to vote in 1949. María de la Cruz Toledo’s political career was brief but impactful. In 1952, she worked as presidential candidate Carlos Ibáñez del Campo’s campaign manager, and when he won, he offered her the role of Minister of Education. She refused, nominating María Teresa del Canto from the Chilean Women’s Party to take her place. María de la Cruz Toledo then set her sights on the senate and ran a successful campaign that won her a seat in 1953. She became the first female senator in Chile’s history, serving only eight months due to a contrived scandal. After her time in the senate, María de la Cruz Toledo continued writing and ran her radio program until she passed away in 1995. To learn more about María de la Cruz Toledo, visit: https://www.bcn.cl//rese/wiki/Mar%c3%ada_De_la_Cruz_Toledo

Attention ACT students: the registration deadline for the exams offered on October 10, October 17, October 24, and October 25 has been extended from this Friday, September 18, to next Friday, September 25. ACT has announced that students will not be charged the $30 fee during this additional week of registration for the October examination dates. To sign up for your exam, visit: https://my.act.org/account/signin