What to do with your tax return? Invest in your career!

The arrival of the first W2 near the end of January symbolizes the start of tax season at my house. We get out a fresh file folder and begin to assemble forms, receipts, and other documentation.

I love the instant gratification of self-service tax preparation software. Within minutes we can have a sense of whether we owe taxes or if we will get a return.

Sometimes, the news is not great and we bust out our checkbook. On these years we wait until the bitter end to fork money over.

By contrast, if calculations confirm we’re getting a tax return, we happily file early and eagerly await the transfer into our bank account. The obvious next step is to start dreaming about how we’ll spend this unplanned windfall…

We could treat ourselves to items we want but really don’t need. While fun for the short term, I’m afraid this course of action doesn't do us any long term financial good.

But line 21 of my 1040 Schedule A has me thinking of another option for spending a refund: investing in work training! According to the IRS, if I itemize my deductions, training to enhance my current career may be tax deductible! I’m thinking this is a positive financial double-whammy. As my skills improve, so will my value to my employer. Then, on my 2015 taxes, I can write off fees, books, and possibly even mileage and travel expenses.

And now for a shameless plug: did you know UNLV Continuing Education offers more than 25 professional development programs to help you enhance your career skills? How about using your tax return to boost your career in one of the well-performing sectors of the Las Vegas economy, like hospitality, transportation, health, and professional and business services? If you meet all the IRS's criteria, you may even be able to deduct your professional training expenses next year!

Give the Gift of Learning this Season

The holidays bring out our generosity as we seek to find the perfect gift for our families and friends. There is always a point during the season, for me at least, when I am stumped on what to get for the person on my list who has everything.

Rather than buy one more item to clutter an already overflowing closet, how about giving an experience? That could mean movie tickets, dinner out, a spa day, or, because this is UNLV Continuing Education after all, how about a class? CE’s new Spring 2015 course catalog is packed full with classes to take just for fun that will appeal to a broad range of people on your list.

My parameters for this list were as follows. The class had to start in January or February so the recipient wouldn’t have long to wait. The price point had to be under $150 (except for the one where you get to take the controls of a plane or helicopter—totally worth a little budget busting!). The class had to look either very useful or very fun. It wasn’t possible for me to include everything that looked awesome, so no more than one class per section of the catalog; I cheated by adding a runner up in the music category because self-imposed rules were made to be broken.

New Drivers: Car Care 101 (begins Feb. 11, $39)
Stop car trouble before it starts by doing your own preventative maintenance. At the very least, they will appear marginally intelligent when they have to talk to the repair technician!

Thrill-Seeker: Introductory Airplane or Helicopter Flight (Scheduled at your convenience, $169)
I’m intrigued by this one. After a one-on-one ground school briefing, the student will take the controls of a Cessna 172 airplane or Robinson R22 helicopter while flying high above Las Vegas. This is a special offer through the host of our new Private Pilot Certification program.

Pet Lover: Pet First Aid & CPR (begins Feb. 26, $89)
The thought of mouth-to-mouth with a dog is gross, but I’d do it if it were a matter of life or death. More likely, pet-parents ought to know what to do when their furry friend slices a paw on a knife while stealing food from the counter.

Shutterbug: Cell Phone Photography (begins Feb. 28, $59)
Instagram can rescue many-a marginal photo, but imagine the time you could save by getting the right shot in the first place.

Budding Artist: Paint Like the Old World Masters (Jan. 24, $149)
Paint Like the Old World Masters is my top choice to gift to an artist because it offers something for both novice and proficient artists. Your artist friends may have read about camera obscura and underpainting, but have they ever tried it? There are so many other amazing choices among our art offerings—acrylics, collage, silk painting, and watercolors also begin in January or February.

Music Lover: Beginning Guitar (begins Feb. 3, $99) 

Runner up: Blowin' the Blues Harmonica (begins Jan. 21, $139)
Wouldn’t it be cool to have someone who could play the guitar or harmonica around the campfire next summer? If someone gave this gift to me, I’d know it was because they would rather hear me play than sing.

Drinking Buddy: Home Brew Workshop (Feb. 19, $69)
If you gift this class to a friend and he or she gets really good at crafting home brews, guess who will probably get invited to come over for taste tests?

Gift certificates for Continuing Education classes are available in any denomination. Call 702-895-3394 or stop by the Paradise campus office to inquire.

The Value of Professional Certificates for Veterans and Service Members

As we celebrate Veterans Day, we thank and honor all who have served in the armed forces. UNLV has been a consistent supporter of active duty, veteran, and military family members. The university recently resumed undergraduate classes at Nellis Air Force Base. It also has been recognized as a military friendly school for the past five years. 

The Division of Educational Outreach has worked to expand learning opportunities for those in the community, including the military, which is quite evident when viewing the professional development certificate programs in Continuing Education. There are more than 20 certificate programs to consider from android development to protective services.

One might ask what do veterans and service members gain from earning a certificate? I recently read an article where former military personnel discussed the value of a certificate program.

1. Show what you know. A certificate in a specific subject shows employers you have completed the necessary training in this area.
2.  New knowledge has power. A certificate provides "recent and relevant education in terms that a civilian employer looks for.”
3. Time is on your side. A certificate can be completed in six months. Plus you can apply what you have just learned from a certificate program on the job right away.
4. So many choices. There are many certificates for veterans and service members to choose from, with human resources being one that should be seriously considered.
5. Leader of the pack. Veterans and service members are unique job candidates, and the right certification could separate you from the rest of the pack.

Dan Munson, senior director of Six Sigma Programs - Online at Villanova University, believes certificates provide an application of knowledge that has power. "The world views veterans as individuals who have learned attention to detail, teamwork, respect for hierarchy, work ethic, and an appreciation for the notion of 'rank has its privilege,' “ Munson said. "Add to that a certificate or two, coupled with an applicable degree and the veteran has a higher probability of being a part of the stack - the short list - when being considered for a position."

If you are a veteran or service member, visit http://continuingeducation.unlv.edu/certificate-programs to view a list of the comprehensive, career-oriented courses and certificate programs offered at UNLV Continuing Education. Also, check out our Spring/Summer 2015 catalog later this week to learn more about the new certificate programs in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drones), Nurse Paralegal, Private Airplane or Helicopter Pilot, and National Academy of Sports Medicine certifications in corrective exercise and fitness nutrition.

Savor the Flavors this Fall

It's that time of year when the weather is starting to cool off and you want to find your stove again. Every semester UNLV Continuing Education offers classes to tempt and entice your palate. I think of Chef Les Kincaid as our “resident expert” since he has taught cooking and wine appreciation for Continuing Education for more than 25 years. We have learned to make hearty soups, crafted our own sushi rolls, and matched artisan cheese with craft beers. Now Chef Kincaid wants to expand our knowledge on wine and cheese and liven up our traditional holiday meals.

On Oct. 22 Wines & Cheeses of the World gets underway. This two-week course is held at Total Wine & More in Summerlin, with the first week focusing on French wines & cheese and the second week on the Spanish ones. Chef Kincaid is very knowledgeable about winemaking and speaks extensively about how the landscape & weather affect the grapes and why cheeses and wines from the same region complement each other so well. He talks about the proper temperature both red and white wines should be served and that all cheeses should be served at room temperature. With the attention to detail that Chef Kincaid provides, you will enjoy your holiday cheer. 

Speaking of holidays, in my household Christmas dinner is very eclectic, featuring dishes from around the world. Last year, my brother who lives in China brought home a Chinese dish that had potatoes, fish sauce and those tiny hot peppers (yum!). The main dish was a German roulade, with a Buche de Noel (French Yule log cake) for dessert. I can’t wait to find new ideas for this year; I like surprising my family with a tasty new recipe. If you’re like me you may want to check out a New Twist on Traditional Holiday Recipes, where you can spice up your holiday parties with fresh ideas on the tried-and-true recipes. The class is for main dishes with tips to make your holiday meals a success. It meets on Nov. 18 from 6-8:30 p.m., just in time for the holiday season. 

At Home in the Mojave

Giant Joshua tree south of Las Vegas in Mojave National Preserve

Here in Las Vegas, we live in the middle of one of the hottest, driest desert ecosystems in the world. We post photos of our car thermometers showing 120 degrees as a badge of honor. Rain is always a notable weather phenomenon; we post pictures of it, too, in a show of desert-dwelling solidarity.

Beyond our annual vacillation between gloating (on winter days when it is 80 degrees and sunny outside) and loathing (when it is 113 in July and we are stuck inside on summer break with a hot, bored family), though, how much do most of us actually know about our home in the Mojave?

There is so much more to the Mojave than blazing hot summers. If you, like me and three-quarters of Las Vegans, grew up elsewhere and know more about pines and oaks than Joshua trees and mesquites, invest some time getting to know more about our extreme desert ecosystem. Continuing Education has several educational opportunities planned to help you learn more about the desert environment in which we live—join us for one or more upcoming adventures.

In recognition of what I hope are the final 100+ degree days of summer, I give you a few quick factual nuggets to broaden your knowledge of the Mojave.

• Joshua trees are one of the easiest ways to know you are in the Mojave Desert. They aren’t naturally found any other place in the world. If you are impressed with the specimens found out at Red Rock, you will be truly wowed by the Joshua tree forests of the Mojave National Preserve. Explore the Mojave National Preserve and Palm Springs with naturalist/geologist Nick Saines this November to learn more about the Mojave’s plants, animals, and geology.

• The world’s highest verified temperature ever, 134 degrees, was recorded at Furnace Creek, CA (Death Valley National Park) in 1913. Spend two days immersed in the geological and astronomical wonders of Death Valley National Park. Travel is scheduled for January, when temperatures are much more welcoming and the nights are long and clear.

• The Mojave was home to Native American communities for thousands of years. Learn the secrets to their survival by attending Native People & Plants in the Mojave Desert at Clark County Wetlands Park on Sept. 27.

• The Mojave Desert is home to many endemic plant, insect, and animal species (“endemic” means they live nowhere else on earth). Many of the endemic species are concentrated within one of four National Wildlife Refuges located with a few hours’ drive of Las Vegas. Fall day trips to area National Wildlife Refuges are already full, but there are still some openings in a new Introduction to Bird Watching course on Oct. 11 where you will learn to spot both native and migrating bird species the next time you are out exploring the desert.

For the Love of Beer as a Hobby or Career

For the Love of Beer as a Hobby or Career

From simple kits that allow you to mix and ferment to growing your own grains, home brewing is a rewarding hobby that can be as easy or as complex as you would like. It can be just as rewarding as a career. No matter which, it is important to remember to enjoy the process. Many aspects of brewing such as standing over a hot kettle with a countdown timer waiting to add an ingredient at the perfect time can be pretty tense.

Charlie Papazian, the author of The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, coined the mantra "Relax. Don’t Worry. Have a Home Brew.” He offers great insight.

Relax

Basic beer starts with four simple ingredients: malted grains, hops, yeast, and water. The malted grains are converted to sugar and, in a process called fermentation, yeast eats sugar to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. It is that easy. Each of these ingredients can be altered to create vastly different beer styles.

Malted Grains

Cereal grains are malted in order to develop enzymes that can convert the grain’s starches into sugars. Roasting the grains leads to darker beers. These grains are then crushed in hot water to convert starches to sugars. Beginning home brewers tend to bypass this process by using a malt extract. These extracts come in many varieties and can be pre-hopped thus simplifying the brewing process by eliminating the need for hop additions.

Hops

Hops are cone shaped flowers from the hop plant that are used to flavor, aroma, and preserve beer. Hops add the bitterness that can be used to balance out the sweetness from malt. Beginners tend to use dried hops that have been processed into pellets.

Yeast

Brewer’s yeast is a fungus that consumes sugars and creates alcohol and CO2. There are many strains of yeast that vastly affect the style of beer produced. There are two types of brewer’s yeast -- ale yeast and lager yeast. Ale yeast thrives at higher temperatures (60-85°F) whereas lager yeast thrives at lower temperatures (40-55°F).

Water

Water is an often overlooked, but critical ingredient to the brewing process. Minerals in water can affect the rate of starch-sugar conversion, and traditionally added regional characteristics to beer. As a general rule if the water tastes good, it should make a good beer.

Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew

When combined, the four ingredients will make beer. Your beers will not be perfect, but that is part of the fun. Flawless beers can be purchased at a store. Your beer might be cloudy, flat, over-carbonated or have any number of off-flavors, but it will be beer.  Stick with it and each batch will be better than the next.

While brewing can be a fairly simple process it helps to have a friend guide you through the first time. UNLV Continuing Education and UBottleIt are teaming up to offer a Home Brew Workshop for Beer Lovers September 18.

Interested in becoming a beer expert? Check out the Beer Steward & Connoisseur Certificate Program

Art classes with UNLV Continuing Education

 Now that the fall catalog for Continuing Education is out, you should take some time to explore the descriptions for Arts & Crafts courses. We have everything from drawing to stone carving and silk painting to woodworking.

Discover your artistic talents by taking Continuing Education’s Drawing: Beginners. The instructor will lead you through exercises that will train your eye, hand, and imagination to work together. Learn about shapes, shading, and negative space.

Watercolor or Acrylic Painting would be a great next step after drawing. The techniques are so different for each style; which one to take really depends on the medium you prefer. Of course, nothing is stopping you from taking both!

In Acrylic I the instructor will cover brush and non-brush work, color mixing, transparent and opaque application and much more. During Watercolor: Basics you will learn to accept the luminosity and versatility as an art medium that watercolor can be. In class, you will discuss materials, tools techniques, color, and composition. Instructional time will be followed by studio time, where you will translate your techniques onto paper.

I am looking forward to instructor Gabbie Hirsch’s Holiday Ornament Painting Workshop. Class participants will create heirloom ornaments and take home a new skill. The instructor will teach simple designs such as names and basic themes, or she will help you tackle a more complex image like a landscape. These would make great presents for the holidays.

To see a listing of all our arts and crafts classes, go to: http://continuingeducation.unlv.edu/catalog/arts-crafts