Student Blog

Stop by and check out what our clubs and organizations are up to. There will be FREE entertainment including “Make Your Own Bumper Stickers” and a “Cappuccino Cart, as well as a Chili Cook-off Contest.” SGA will be selling hot dogs and drinks to support the Single Parent Scholarship Fund.

You will find us in the Student Union Courtyard (east side of bldg. 14) from 10:00am to 1:00pm. See you there!

This semester I elected to take SPC1608. For those of you that don’t know, SPC 1608 is a speech class. Most of the students in the course are taking it simply because they need to fulfill the General Education requirements for the AA Degree–but there are some students that chose to improve upon their public speaking skills on their own.

Regardless of the reason for taking the course, all students have one thing in common. We must all get in front of the class, and speak. Multiple times!

After discussing this with my classmates I came to the conclusion that not only myself, but everyone was nervous about this. We have no problem giving a speech to a family member or a friend, but when a group of fellow classmates is in front of us we freak! My professor has spent the first 4 weeks of this semester preparing us for the dreaded moment, and it seems as though it’s not really all that bad after all.

After coming up with my own presentation, making the slide show, rehearsing it, and stressing the entire time, I can speak from experience when saying “You can do it.” Last week I nervously gave my first speech in college, and it was actually quite fun! I will admit, I was very nervous, and I will probably be nervous when the next speech comes around… But it was a great learning experience and I think it is something everyone should try.

The first thing I learned would be practice. I rehearsed several dozen times, and I swore I knew my speech by heart.. (and I did.) When you get up in front of those folks and try to focus, it’s easy to get off topic and forget what you were supposed to say. Luckily, I have experience making powerpoints (or slide shows, if you will) so I was able to use that as a crutch to keep myself on track.

The second (and most significant) thing I learned when presenting to the class, is to bring water! I thought a bottle of water would be enough to get me through a 10-15 minute speech.. I was wrong. The bottle I had brought with me was gone before it was even time for me to start speaking! The reason you get to be so thirsty when it’s time to present, is because of adrenaline. Your body takes different priorities when your adrenaline is pumping, and keeping your mouth moist is at the bottom of the list. (This is related to the “Fight, flight, or freeze” theory, of which I can vouch is 100% accurate.) So, bring LOTS of water and be sure to drink it when you need to. It helps keep one less thing off of your mind while you are presenting, and it helps the audience understand you better when your tongue isn’t sticking to the roof of your mouth.

The third thing I learned about speaking publicly is that I’m not the only one who’s nervous. The audience knows just how I’m feeling when I’m in front of them, and informing them about a given topic. They aren’t there to try to embarrass me, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Your classmates are your friends, and they all want you to do well. So, you really don’t need to be worried in the first place. It’s not like they are all judges on American Idol, and your speech will determine whether you go to Los Angeles or not.  Granted, you are being graded on your speech and overall performance, but it’s not something you will be judged on by thousands of people!!

The semester is quickly passing us by, and every day I am learning something new. The everyday experiences we have continue to teach us many things. I know now that my next speech will be a lot easier than the first one, and I believe that the more we are in front of people the better our experiences will be.

What are your experiences with Public Speaking? Drop me a line and tell me your story by emailing me at studentblog@scf.edu

Hello from the office of Student Life. Wednesday Sept. 12 and Thursday Sept. 13 from 10am-1pm on the Bradenton Campus and 9am-1pm on the Venice Campus your SGA will be sponsoring Club Rush. This is a great opportunity to see what clubs and organizations are on campus as well as find out how to get involved in extra and co-curricular activities.
Come out have some fun and get involved with Student Life at SCF!!!

We will also be raising funds for our Single Parent Scholarship fund through food sales and donations.

Herschel Johnson – Coordinator of Student Life

Ah Labor Day. We all know it, and love it.  It marks both the end of the precious freedom  summer vacation brings, and the beginning of another year at school. Although we are already entering our third week of school this semester, there are a large number of students who have begun school today.

Personally, my summer break was well needed. I do hold a job, so it was not much of a ‘vacation’ per se, but it did give my brain a chance to recoup. I am now refreshed, and ready to learn. In fact, I have already learned quite a bit in only the first few classes.

The first few weeks can be extremely tough. Forcing ourselves back into the daily grind can be difficult, but it is possible. Thankfully, most students are able to make the transition quite well. Some tips to help get you back into the swing of things are:

• Stay Interested! One of the easiest ways to ease yourself back into the swing of things is to be interested in your class. History may not be your favorite subject in the world, but it is fascinating to see what has made your country the way it is today!

• Plan Ahead! Student agendas are a great way to plan ahead. It lets you write down your assignments, plan out your week, and lets you relax, knowing that you have successfully planned out everything that needs to get done. Believe it or not, once you develop this habit, it’s very motivating. Who doesn’t like crossing things off their list?

• Questions, Questions, Questions! It may seem obvious, but asking questions is another way to get back into the swing of things. You may initially feel that questions make you look inferior, but it’s quite the opposite. Your fellow students will appreciate your drive, and it lets the professor know you are interested in the subject. Answering the questions asked by your professor is also a great way to learn. You may get stumped, it may be difficult, but it is one of the best ways to show your interest for the class.

These tips are pretty simple, and pretty easy to follow. Once you get into the groove, you’ll be back on track, learning, and loving every second of it! To be motivated will not only help yourself, but will also help other students understand and enjoy the material covered in class.

What tips do you have for succeeding in school? Shoot me an email with them, and I will include them in my next blog!

studentblog@scf.edu

Well, it’s that time again. Just about every 16 weeks we experience it. That’s right. Finals week. They can be extremely stressful and sometimes you may be asking yourself “WHY!?!?!”

Fear not! I have some suggestions that may help you get through this week, and prepare for your finals.

1. Get organized. Use your student planner to your advantage. Plan your study times ahead of schedule. I find that after a weekend of review for all subjects, studying 2 days before your exam for your specific class can really help. This is not to be confused with cramming… Assuming you know the material, and have been reviewing ahead of time, a quick recap the 2 days before is ideal. It lets you review those items you didn’t really do so well on before, and if you have any last minute questions, you will probably have enough time to get them squared away.

2.  Generalize. Take a look at your previous tests and quizzes for your class. What questions are asked more often than others? Is there anything you went over extensively in class? These are all hints to what you will find on the final exam. Don’t try and study every single thing you went over in class during the last 16 weeks.  Summarize the most important things in your own words, and review your summaries. I find it helps extremely well, because not only do you retain information you have written down better, but you also have to think about how you will rewrite the given material into your own words. Having things in your own lingo will stick better than bland textbook material, even if it covers the same topic!

3. FLASHCARDS!  This is almost the same as generalizing, but it helps with the more specific generalizations. (Oxymoron.. I know.) What i mean by this is, items you may have struggled with in your overview! Put those suckers on flashcards, and have at it! Bring them with you. A trick I use is, whenever I want to turn on or off a light, or change the channel on the tv, I have to recite something on one of my flashcards before I do it. You’d be surprised how fast you learn the material that way.

4. SLEEP!!! My personal favorite, and possibly the most important of them all, is getting enough sleep the night before. It doesn’t matter how much you study or think you know the material. Fail to get enough sleep the night before, and you will be only hurting yourself on the exam! Think of it like this. If you don’t get enough sleep the night before, (you shouldn’t have been cramming, since you planned ahead and scheduled study time anyway!) you will be a walking zombie at the worst possible time to be one. (Halloween is the only good time to be a zombie.) So, the day before your exam (I said DAY!!) get some exercise. Play with your pets, go for a run, bike ride, whatever you do. Wear yourself out. But not right before bed! If you exercise right before bed you will not be tired. In fact, you’ll be roaring to go. Not exactly the ideal scenario when you have an exam at 7:30 in the morning!!!

Relax.  You’ve studied your behind off, and now you sit at your desk staring at that dreaded test. Don’t stress! You did well. Not only did you study ahead of time, but you also took care of any other questions you had, and you got a good nights sleep, along with a healthy and hearty breakfast. Take your time, and most importantly take your test!

I know it’s easy to do, but stressing is unhealthy. Try as hard as you can not to over stress yourself. Some anxiety is normal, but you shouldn’t get so worked up you turn purple during the exam. Take a breath, count to 10, think of a cute little puppy, or a kitten, frolicking in a beautiful meadow, and then resume your test. You can do it.

Question of the day: What do you do to maximize your studying time? It would be interesting to see how others study, and see how not only myself, but everyone might be able to improve their strategies. studentblog@scf.edu

This week has been one of the most stressful weeks of the entire Spring 2012 semester. It is just part of schooling though.. I personally have a lot going on in each of my classes. It seems that since school is coming to a close, all of the classes have projects to complete or exams to study for all at the same time! UGH!!!
I know it can be stressful.. But think of it like the storm before the calm! (I know it’s normally said the other way around, but hey.. I make it work!) We have all of this work to do, exam after exam, and next week this time, most of us will be done with school. I know I am SOOO looking forward to this well needed break. I still will be working, but hey, it’s a break for my brain, and it sure does need it.

In the meantime however, I personally have:

1 Poetic Literary Analysis Paper to write for English, and a project in English to do too.

A Chemistry Lab Practical, a Chemistry Lecture Final exam, both of which I am going to be heavily studying for.

Test number 4 in my Precalc Algebra class, then after that, comes the Final!

2 Projects for my computer class.

What does all this add up to? Stress. Haha. I am not the only one in this boat. In fact, it seems as though there are so many other people in the same boat that the boat is starting to sink! (Oh no! Not another Titanic! So close to the anniversary too.. )

I am going to spend this weekend studying. I have even requested a day off of work in order to make sure I am fully prepared to take all of these tests, finals, and practicals, as well as get all of my projects done that need to be completed.

So what are your final couple of weeks looking like? Are they as stressful as mine? More so? Maybe you have the same classes I have? If that’s the case, shoot me an email, and we can prepare together! studentblog@scf.edu

Well good afternoon/evening/night/morning! (Depending on when you might be reading this, I want to be sure to greet you in the correct manner, so I made sure to say them all!) Hopefully you had a good weekstart!

You may be saying.. “Steve.. what is this “weekstart” thing that you speak of?” Well, to that I answer this: It is what I call my weekends! I would rather think of the week starting off with a couple of days free of work or school, rather than ending with them. It helps me get through the week without losing too much of what little sanity I may or may not have left.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who can tell when it’s Monday. Things seem to want to be as difficult as they can. Buttons not wanting to be pushed, phones not wanting to ring, cars not wanting to start, you get the picture. It’s funny how that works isn’t it?  Not always a bad thing.. After all.. We wouldn’t really have Fridays if we didn’t have Mondays right? I always try to look towards the “full” side of the glass, whether or not is a large or small one!

With me personally, getting up for those lovely 8AM classes is always sort of a struggle, especially on Mondays. My mind says to my legs “Hey! No! Don’t move! If you don’t, then I don’t have to leave! So Stay HERE!!!” However, the alarm clock always seems to drown out my brain, and I get up regardless… eventually.. (lol)

Most of the time, I tend to have a hard time being able to focus in class when it’s Monday. I just want to go home! Hahaha. After about 20 or 30 minutes though, I tend to realize that no matter how much I want to leave, I need to stay to better myself. Soon, I am back into the swing of things, and am studying and doing homework after the class is over, like normal.

What do you struggle with the most after your weekstart is over? Like I said above, mine is surely having the mental mindset of being at home, brain numb to any learning-(heck.. anything at all! haha!) How do you cope with the week starting, and resuming classes like normal? A large mocha? Some 5 hour energy? A Monster? On my way to school I normally listen to my country music and sing along. (Very poorly I might add.) But that’s ok, nobody else can hear me, so it is nothing but practice! >:)

Let me know how you get your week started. Who knows, maybe I will try your technique and see if it will help me improve my weekend mindset. studentblog@scf.edu

For my final presentations in my senior year of high school, I had to do two forty-five minute presentations (each was in a group of three, so really only fifteen minutes of talking time per person). I’m SO GLAD to have been put through this! Besides the fact that the presentations themselves were unusually long for a high school assignment, one of them was presented under the ultimate task-mistress of powerpoints. If you did not do your powerpoint correctly, you lost a lot of points. She explained it to us and that was that. Her way or fail.

This probably sounds overly harsh, especially considering that as long as the powerpoint looks good, who cares how its put together? Well, either way, her methods have gotten me through many presentations since and I’ve gotten an A on every one of them. So I’d like to share her guides with all of you!

• More pictures, less writing!
  Now, this doesn’t mean crowd each  slide with too many pictures, make sure to keep it classy. Overlapping images usually look dumb but more pictures is always more aesthetically pleasing and interesting than blocks of text.
• Don’t use full sentences
  Think bullet points! The powerpoint is there to back you up, not the other way around. If there are full sentences, people will be tempted to read it rather than listen to you. Bullet point your ideas so that people have to pay attention to you.
• Start with the built-in templates
  It can be tough, figuring out what background, text color, and font that you want to set your powerpoint up with. And sometimes the colors can get jarring or hard/unpleasant to read. Use the built-in templates as a starting point in order to avoid this.
• Know your stuff
  Make sure you know what you’re talking about. If you made your powerpoint correctly, the bullet points on the screen are only mere hints towards what you are going to expound upon. By making your presentation good, you have removed a crutch for yourself (but really, nobody likes to watch somebody read off the screen so this is a good thing).

And thats pretty much the basics! If you have any questions on how to use powerpoint, remember that the program has a great help section. Microsoft’s website also has a whole section dedicated to how-tos on using their programs. If you have any questions about designing a powerpoint, feel free to drop me an email at studentblog@scf.edu!

This week in my ENC 1102 class, we started reading poems. I personally am not much of a poem type person.. Roses are red, violets are blue (you’d think they would be violet, not blue..?) Anyway.. Not much of a poet.

We started on what poems tend to be written on the majority of the time (in my opinion anyway): Love poems! There are of course the typical love poems you would think someone like Romeo would recite to Juliet, or something along those lines. Today however, we were assigned to read about love poems of a different breed. I’m not even sure how to convey the type of poem to you. It most definitely is a love poem, but it is not the kind often associated with the word. I wish there was a way to describe it. Well, I can try!

We were assigned to read five poems and take notes if we chose to, to come back to class with a good understanding of each poem. The first poem I have provided below. It is extremely beautiful, and it kind of makes me sad inside, but in almost a good way.. Kind of one of those axioms that nobody can describe but everyone understands.

This poem is surely a love poem, but it is not typical. It talks about the love of the mans first child.. Talks about his memory and love for the boy.

This is only the first poem, but as you can see it is quite serious as compared to the contrasting side of “love.”

Several others go on to talk about the love of other family members lost, be it a wife, son, grandfather, etc. Several also talk about the love of ones childhood, and boy did that bring back memories for me personally. It’s amazing how detailed and specific these poems are. I constantly find myself amazed at how well they are written, and can even achieve describing something as difficult to define as “love.” (Try it! It’s not something you can easily define.. But again, it is sort of an axiom that everyone understands and doesn’t need to be described.) But hey, I guess that’s why it’s in the course curriculum right? Haha. Anyway.. I just found myself to be more interested in poetry than I previously envisioned myself to be. Who knows, maybe I will end up being a poet! Let me try!

Roses are Red,

Violets are Blue,

… Still got nothing..

Oh well. I tried.

What is your favorite poem? Do you not have any specific faves? Maybe a favorite poet? I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.

Hit me up!

studentblog@scf.edu

We’ve all got hair issues, I think. Some people lose hair, some people’s hair is too brittle. Some people wish their hair was straight, some wish for curly, some wish for different colors. Thats a lot of insecurities, and sometimes keeping up with making yourself feel better about them can be really time consuming. Who has the time and the money to dedicate towards “fixing” all of these issues? It can be a real challenge! So many of us are on campus every day, we have homework, tests, and projects, not to mention work. Alongside that, books are not cheap! And neither is the gas it takes to get to school. The drive alone is thirty-five minutes for me, and I know that personally, my days are chock full as it is.

Well, sometimes it doesn’t have to be as hard as you think it might be! If you just change up your routine a little bit, you could save a lot of the dollars and hours spent in hair salons. First off, its important to make sure you pick out shampoo/conditioner that suits your needs. Sound expensive? Have no fears! You don’t have to buy salon brands like TreSemme to get products that treat you well. It may cost three or four dollars instead of one, but lots of stores have shampoos, conditioners, and styling agents that are specified to different types of hair (long hair, curly hair, dry hair, flat hair, etc.). Meanwhile, there are home remedies that also work well. You might have heard of women putting mayonnaise in their hair and wondered to yourself, “Why would they do that?” The answer is actually quite simple! Two of mayonnaise’s main ingredients are eggs and oil, both of which are very good for hair. For those who don’t relish the idea of putting a condiment in your hair, consider this: Heat 1/4 a cup of olive oil in the micro then mix it with a beaten, raw egg. Gently rub it into your scalp and roots, lightly through the length of your hair, and into your tips as well. Let it sit for 30-60 minutes. Go do some homework or cook dinner while you let it soak! It may sound a little gross, and it may not feel too great when its all over your fingers, but after you wash it out with shampoo and conditioner, you hair will feel healthier already.

For those losing hair or have hair that breaks too easily, go to your doctor and ask if it’s a reasonable worry that you might be iron deficient. My hair is naturally very thin, so I’m of the opinion that that is why it breaks. But sometimes not having enough iron in your diet can also cause this, and as long as it is doctor approved, you can go out and purchase iron supplements. Another option is a vitamin called Biotin! These vitamin helps strengthen the keratin your body produces, making it good for hair and nails!

When you’re a student, its always a great idea to look into the less-expensive options. High quality boxed hair dye, vitamins, and home hair treatments are all just a few things that could help you out! Why dedicate an hour or two alongside $70 at a salon when you can accomplish the same results at home, while getting school work done at the same time.  Have you tried any of these home ideas? Or have any other suggestions? Drop them into an email to studentblog@scf.edu, we’d love to hear about them.