Laurie Van Damme, a perinatal nurse navigator at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, takes her job in patient care seriously. She has a knack for compassionate care that touched the heart of one very special patient. Patricia Bery received frightening news during her first pregnancy. Her baby’s kidneys developed at different rates, which made her pregnancy high-risk. After delivering the news, doctors left her alone, and Laurie came in to comfort her. “I was sitting there in tears, and she was like, ‘Let’s get you something to drink,’” Patricia told Today. “Miss Laurie stopped everything for me. I’ll never forget it.” Laurie Van Damme’s Kindness Changed Patricia Bery’s Life Patricia Bery knew, as she bonded with Laurie Van Damme, how lucky she was. “This is more than a job for Miss Laurie,” Patricia said. “She doesn’t just see a patient, she sees the whole person.” Just weeks before her due date, Patricia was in a car accident. She contacted Laurie, who advised her to go to the emergency room. Staff waited for her arrival, including Laurie. “Her being there with me made all the difference,” Patricia said. She got pregnant with her second baby a few months after giving birth to her first, and once again, Laurie was with her. Patricia Bery knew she wanted to do something special for Laurie Van Damme. “They always say you remember how people impact you, but you forget their names. I didn’t want to forget hers,” she recalled. “God placed Miss Laurie in my life, and I want to always remember her.” Patricia Bery named her baby girl Nhori, in honor of Laurie Van Damme. “She has all the qualities I want my daughter to have — compassionate, consistent, truly caring — and that’s the kind of character I hope Nhori grows into,” Patricia said. The gesture meant everything to Laurie Van Damme. “Patricia wanted to carry a piece of someone she felt was filled with goodness and light with her family,” Laurie said. “I had tears. As a nurse, you don’t expect to be a permanent part of someone’s life, and to have them want that it’s humbling and beautiful. I still get choked up thinking about it. I feel so blessed to do this work, to focus on people, not just numbers. That’s what nursing is really about.” You can find this story’s featured image here.

It seems kids are becoming less and less welcome in public spaces. For one thing, fewer Americans are choosing to have children at all. Couple that with social media, and the trend has only served to amplify the disruption kids cause in traditionally adult spaces like breweries and brunch spots. An eternal struggle exists between busy parents with no babysitter who still want to enjoy avocado toast and the folks who’d prefer to do so without noisy kids around. But surely, one place where families are always welcome would have to be church—the original community gathering space. A place where all are not only welcome, but embraced. Even loud kids. However, this has turned out not to be strictly true either. Over the years, many churches have separated children from the main worship space and instead provided them with age-appropriate activities. It’s a noble idea, but many parents say the practice feels exclusionary and forces families to spend that time apart. Even in the supposedly loving environment of church, there are plenty of folks who want to hear the service without the wail of a toddler in a tantrum. Julie, a blogger and pastor’s wife, writes, “If you walk into a church that doesn’t have a heart for kids, you’ll know almost instantly. Congregants will look annoyed at childlike behavior and sounds, they’ll strongly discourage children from staying in the worship service, and folks will appear generally disinterested in them.” One church is going viral for its cleverly worded “new policy” when it comes to noisy kids attending services. Many churches don’t allow children in the main worship area, or at least frown upon it. Photo credit: Canva First Baptist Union in Union, Mississippi, recently posted an announcement on its Facebook page regarding loud kids at church. “There have been updates to the Loud Kid Policy at FB Union,” the post read. “If you have a loud kid, then this is for you. I know it might ruffle some feathers, but we had to do the right thing.” The whole memo has to be read to be fully appreciated, but in short, church leaders announced they would offer “five” options for families who wanted to visit with loud children. With a little clever wordplay, all of the options amounted to the same thing: Bring them. “We believe the sound of children in worship is not a distraction. It is evidence of life, growth, and the future of the church. If your child makes noise, you are not bothering us. You are blessing us.” The post was a viral hit. Not only was it re-shared hundreds of times by the Union community, but it also reached far beyond Mississippi. The original memo and slight alterations of it were posted by churches across the country. Reactions were largely positive. Many parents and church members chimed in to comment on how much they appreciated the tongue-in-cheek gesture: “I’m not even a member of FBC so I’m unsure as to why I’m seeing this, however, this is great. A pastor once said that a church without children is the signs of a dying church. Bring in the little ones!!” “A friend shared your post with me and wow! What a relief! Someone from leadership [at my church] called me and told me that my 18month old foster son was very distracting and then he asked me 1) Do I know we have a nursery? And 2) Why am I not utilizing it. I was livid.” “I once heard a preacher say, ‘If I can’t preach over a crying kid, it’s time for me to stop preaching,’ when someone got up to take a loud child out of the sanctuary.” “Not a member but I love this. When I first came to our church I was so worried cuz all of my kids are loud. When they would be loud id look at the older adults and would see smiles. Now I bring our baby in and they all love seeing him. Its so nice not to feel like I can’t sit thru a service because my baby is fussy.” However, not everyone was on board with the sentiment, especially as the announcement began reaching a wider audience. After New York Times columnist David French reposted it, a few folks took umbrage. “I don’t love it at all. If your child is being unruly, loud, or disruptive during a church service, you should be considerate of everyone else and step out with them. If they’re old enough, they should be disciplined appropriately. Assuming it’s acceptable to let a child scream and whine through the service is ridiculous.” “No. When the Word of God is preached, we should have an environment that eliminates distractions. I have 5 beautiful children, but if they’re starting to fuss, or just be a normal 2-4 year-old, we remove them and take them to children’s church or out in the foyer.” With its post about loud kids at church, First Baptist Union unintentionally sparked a fascinating debate about the presence of children in public, even in family-friendly spaces. Whether we like it or not, children come pre-packaged with noise, movement, and disruption—and it’s not always the result of poor parenting. Whether you find their childish chaos beautiful and invigorating or extremely annoying is a matter of personal taste. One thing is for sure. With more and more breweries outright banning children and airlines separating young children from their parents during the seating process, thereby sparking wars in the economy section, it’s refreshing to see at least one place take a stand and allow kids to be seen and heard. No matter how loud. The post Mississippi church posts new ‘loud kid policy’ on Facebook and people are raving appeared first on Upworthy.

As workers struggle to land good jobs and employers struggle to find ideal candidates in the ever-changing job market, a new trend is emerging. Many applicants are turning to artificial intelligence to give them an edge—with mixed results at best. Because interviews are one of the most stressful parts of the job search, it’s become common for folks to input questions into ChatGPT to find the “perfect” response. However, a former recruiter warns that this is a bad idea, noting that you end up “sounding so fake” when using it. Former recruiter turned career coach Madeline Mann showed an example of why ChatGPT shouldn’t be used to answer written interview questions. In a TikTok video, Mann shared a ChatGPT response to the question, “Why did you leave your last role?” ChatGPT replied with the following: “I decided to move from independent work to a team environment so I can build deeper lifecycle expertise and learn from a strong mission-driven leadership team.” @selfmademillennial It is common to use AI to help write your job interview answers, but often they are sounding too verbose and not human. If you are reading your interview answers from a script, you are likely to be rejected in the job interview and not get the job offer. Here is an example of how to sound more normal and like a coworker during a hiring process. Follow for more job interview tips, and job search strategies! #jobsearch #jobsearchtips #jobinterviewtips #jobinterview ♬ original sound – Madeline Mann Did that sound like something a human would say? Mann argued that ChatGPT used so much professional jargon that it sounded like a robot wrote it (because it did). Mann said that in interviews, it’s best to “sound like a coworker.” “If you do not already sound like their coworker, they will have trouble picturing you as their coworker, and they won’t give you the job offer,” said Mann. Mann said that a better response would be a quick and simple: “After freelancing for X years, I really missed being on a team.” She said that a reply like that is sincere, direct, and more like how a person would normally speak to a coworker. She added that if you were to use AI for interview responses, you should edit them down and remove any “bungle” to “talk like a person.” @thatgirlgetshired Job interview AI tool lol #jobinterview #ai #jobopportunity #foryou #viral ♬ original sound – That Girl Gets Hired AI experts and employers weigh in Upworthy spoke to AI pros, business leaders, and recruiters about using artificial intelligence for job interviews. The majority arrived at the same conclusion: If you choose to use AI, it can be a useful tool for interview preparation. However, it shouldn’t sub in to do the actual interview for you. “AI can be a useful tool for preparing for an interview,” said Megan Sweeney, public relations director at the American Staffing Association. “However, at the end of the day, the interviewer still needs to know you’re capable of doing the job.” “If a company requests written interview questions, then using AI as a starting point is fair game in my book,” said Russell Taris, an expert on how managers can best use AI in the workplace. “The key statement, though, is ‘as a starting point.’” “Candidates should use AI to organize their thoughts and firm up their language, but the examples and experiences need to be their own,” said Taris. “Managers can now tell right away when someone submits a response straight from ChatGPT without any editing. Smart candidates use AI the way you’d use a good friend who happens to be a great editor.” Authenticity is key “The problem is being authentic,” said Magical Brands CEO Mark Coffie. “Candidates who prepare and deliver scripted, overly polished answers tend to fail when asked questions spontaneously. You can use AI to outline your ideas but speak and answer questions in your own voice. That’s different from reading something generated. Interviews are a testing of judgment, communication, and problem-solving…Technology cannot substitute for that.” “Using AI to pressure test your answers ahead of time can truly benefit candidates,” said Taris. “Run your ‘Why did you leave your last role?’ answer through it and ask it to poke holes, or practice your ‘greatest weakness’ answer until it’s specific and honest. The best answers I hear in interviews aren’t the most polished; they’re the ones where the candidate clearly thought it through beforehand and can go deeper, if needed. AI is one of the best prep tools available right now, and most candidates aren’t taking advantage of it.” “Using AI for interview prep is helpful, but you will be the one being evaluated,” concluded Sweeney. The post Job recruiter says people will never get hired if they keep getting this easy interview question wrong appeared first on Upworthy.

A 19-year-old who gave up his supermarket job for a side hustle as Spider-Man now earns in one hour what he used to make in a full 8-hour day. Nate Frindall started his superhero gig three years ago after he dressed up as the character to see the latest film. When he arrived in costume […] The post He Earns More in an Hour as Spider-Man Than a Full Day at Old Supermarket Job appeared first on Good News Network.

Oh, Olive Garden. The hold you have on our American souls. We know it’s about as authentic to Italian food as Taco Bell is to Mexican food, but does that make the breadsticks and Alfredo sauce any less addictive? No, certainly not. Still, one cannot expect an actual Italian person to hold the same fondness. And yet, one American host mom insisted on introducing her Italian exchange student to it anyway. In a hilarious three-part series, we see Rhonda, an American, tell Alessandro, an Italian, “Today’s your lucky day! We are taking you to dinner at a very special place!” She then does her best to coax Alessandro out of the car and into the Olive Garden where they’re currently parked. Alessandro was “not mentally ready” for Olive Garden @italiangirl1130 @alessandro.salimei trying @Olive Garden for the first time @It’s the one and only Jade @Lou Pimber @Muahdp #foreignexchangestudent #olivegarden #foryoupage #funnyvideo #fyp ♬ original sound – Italiangirl1130 Alessandro, however, is NOT feeling it and even asks if there was a McDonald’s nearby where they could go instead. He then declares, “I’m not going anywhere.” After several pleas, all to no avail, Alessandro eventually gives in. Though he clarifies, “This is something against my will, just so you know,” as he passes the “Benvenuto!” sign. Scouring the menu, poor Alessandro can’t help but exclaim, “Mamma mia! Why am I here?!” When Rhonda suggests getting the fettuccine Alfredo, he looks downright appalled. You can actually catch his nostrils flaring. @italiangirl1130 @alessandro.salimei @Olive Garden Part two taking our foreign exchange student to Olive Garden… #houston #italy #foryoupage #funnyvideo #foreignexchangestudent ♬ original sound – Italiangirl1130 The real history behind the very American fettuccine Alfredo As Rhonda points out in the video, Alfredo sauce would not be found in Italy—at least not the thick, cream-laden version we know here in the United States. The original Roman dish, made by Alfredo di Lelio around 1908, was simply butter and Parmesan tossed with hot pasta water to create a silky coating. As legend has it, silent film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks—one of Hollywood’s first power couples—tasted the dish while in Rome and loved it so much they popularized it back home. With the American mentality often being “more is more,” the recipe eventually evolved into the heavier, cream-based sauce known today. Another theory is that Italian immigrants adapted the recipe to American tastes. Either way, American sensibilities are to blame. Back to Olive Garden… Holding his head in his hand, Alessandro eventually orders the fried mozzarella and calamari (honestly, solid choices), which he seems to enjoy well enough. He also tries the fried ravioli. Though he cannot quite comprehend why ravioli needed to be fried in the first place, he graciously labels it “interesting,” which feels like the international diplomatic way of saying, “I only tolerate this.” But you know what? He absolutely DEVOURS those breadsticks and Alfredo. @italiangirl1130 @alessandro.salimei trying @Olive Garden #foreignexchangestudent #funnyvideo #foryoupage #fyp #houston @Lou Pimber ♬ original sound – Italiangirl1130 “I feel like I’m betraying Italy right now,” he says, clearly enjoying the salty, creamy, oh-so American indulgence. Alfredo di Lelio must be rolling in his grave! The series ends with Alessandro being forced to reconcile with what we Americans know to be true: Olive Garden is in no way, shape, or form authentic, but it is super tasty nevertheless. He may never admit this back home, but in that booth, surrounded by unlimited carbs and a very pleased host mom, he cannot deny the appeal. Wonder if he’ll ever be brave enough to try the chicken parm… The post Italian exchange student ‘forced’ to try Olive Garden for the first time. His reaction has people rolling. appeared first on Upworthy.