Student Blog

This morning I woke up to an email in my inbox. It was from the school, and it brought exciting news. Apparently, just released is an app for both the iPhone lovers, and the Android junkies too. It’s called SCFmobile.

Once I opened up the App Store on my iPhone, I looked it up and downloaded it. I can honestly tell you that it does indeed make life a LOT easier.

You know those times where you are anxiously awaiting your grade to be posted on ANGEL, and you try and get your grade from your phone? This app is great because it has an interface, that takes you straight to SCFconnect with literally one tap! From there just sign in and proceed to ANGEL just like you are on the good old desktop. It really makes it easy to check your grades, send email to your professors, or just keep tabs on things around the school.

There are also other icons I find useful. They include a staff directory button, where you can simply search for your professor and make a call or email to them without the hassle of getting to a desktop to do the same deed. It’s great how now the functionality of the SCF website has just grown.

Other great features of this new app include Courses, Maps, News, Videos, Images, an Emergency Contact for the school, and even access to the SCF Library. This app is amazingly useful to me, and I already find it hard to believe I was able to function without it.

Seriously though, cliches aside, this is a great app. Plus, at the stunningly low cost of FREE, you can’t beat it for what it is. Who knows, maybe with time they will even include a SCF Blog button!

I know that I find this app to be very useful, and I’ve only just heard about and downloaded it. I know once you give it a try, it will be on the main screen of your phone, as it is on mine. Let me know how much you love this app! studentblog@scf.edu

Is the health care debate wearing me down? Is it the recent norovirus flu I had that is messing me up? Am I lazy? overloaded/worked? anxious to graduate? What is it that is causing me to fall behind is just about EVERYTHING! Am I just looking for a way to not do work, or am I really overloaded with work? I feel stressed out, and I swear I am doing the best I can.

I never tried to push myself to the limit, though. I never added more and more on until it was too much. Thus, I have not known just how much I could handle until now. This, of course, is pertaining to responsibilities of work/school load. Trust me, I have had heavy loads before – as we all have. It seems heavy loads is a way of life.

I try to balance my responsibilities vs. entertainment. It seems responsibilities are so great and in such large quantities that I have no entertainment time; and yet, I force entertainment time. I refuse to not be entertained.

I apologize for being quiet this month. I am doing what I can.

Pizza with the President on the Venice campus has been cancelled at this time. It was supposed to be Tuesday, March 23rd. I have not heard of a new date yet.

I hope no one else feels stressed like I do from the work load. Six more weeks left; that’s all! (Seven if you include Finals week.)

I am graduating this semester, but it feels so far away even though it is seven weeks away.

This blog seems just as sporadic as my semester is/has been.

     SCF has added a new facet to their website called SCFconnect, or The Portal.  I personally like the word portal better, because it makes me think of teleporting myself.  In a sense, the new portal does just that.  When I first logged into the new system and looked around, it struck me: there is so much that SCF was doing that I didn’t know about!

     The first thing that stuck out was the email.  I didn’t have to sign into my email account separate, it was right there in a box on the screen!  When I get a bill from my car insurance company, however,  this isn’t quite as exciting.   Then I switched tabs to the Student section.  I found a lot of helpful links, like Angel is there front and center.  I’m told that we won’t have to log in to Angel anymore either, once they progress to the second step of SCFconnect.

     The part that I really geeked out on was the announcements in the Student section.  I scrolled down and saw info about the Student Wellness Program, which I’d heard about but never gave it much thought.  It turns out you can participate in health events (exercise, fundraiser walks, dental cleanings, etc) and earn points which you turn in at the end of the semester for prize drawings and tuition drawings!  Turns out I do need to clean my teeth every few years, and I love to exercise.  I literally got out a notebook and starting taking notes on this program.

     To further my journey was the Student Finances area that had a really helpful little spot for financial aid.  Actually the whole page had FAFSA facts, deadlines, and links to SCF foundation scholarships which I was amazed to find so many listings of scholarships available.  They’re available to students transferring out of SCF as well!!  Deadlines for that are April 1, 2010 and March 14, 2010 respectively.

     Then I went to the Library tab, where I found the online databases right there for everyone to see.  Not hidden away anymore, within a series of clicks and quirks.  Ah, researching will now be a breeze.

     The last section is the My Tab.  Hehe.  I was able to go in (under the tiny link at the top called ‘content layout’) and put the “Word of the Day” in there, the Wellness Program, and the weather.  I religiously check the weather every morning, so that will be handy.  I just have to figure out how to paste a picture of myself in the middle of the screen now.

     Oh man, I could talk about the portal for quite awhile.  The new change was a fantastic one.  I can’t wait to see how else they fine tune it, and what else will be added.  I’m sure I’ll have more to say, once I stumble onto the other points of the portal.  In the mean time, it will be 74 degrees on Monday, and I won’t be stranded indoors.  Mwhahaa.

     I remember my first semester at MCC.  I’d selected four classes and felt a little in the dark over which ones I needed for my degree.  At the end of the semester I went to see a Student Development Advisor to ask for help on classes for the following semester.  I came to find out that most of the classes I took I didn’t need to take!  Granted, I did change my degree after semester two… but I should’ve gone to visit the Advisor before I started my first semester.
      The Advisors are located in buildings 1 and 100 - the same place you go to register as a student.  They help you with choosing your classes in order to graduate in your major.  They also help you to choose your major when you’re unsure, as well as electives you may enjoy even if you’re fulfilling a liberal arts degree.  Another extremely helpful thing is that they can look into the University you plan to attend next and make sure you take the proper classes for a smooth transfer!
     One last word of advice on the subject is that you need to visit the Advisor every  semester!  You can even visit them now to plan for next fall or summer courses.  They may be quietly stashed away in the Student Services Buildings but they can do so many things for your future career.

Wow! What a week, I feel like I’m the busiest I’ve ever been. I can’t believe this semester is already down to the last several weeks. I’ve found my time being consumed with more projects and already concerning myself with preparing for finals. I have also taken on additional responsibilities concerning work, which has been stressful but exciting.

This week has also been exciting with signing up for new classes. I love planning and figuring out what’s next to keep reaching my goals. I mostly love the planning part of this time of year. I have been known to help friends figure out the classes they need to take and the schedule that works best for them. I have found that it is so important to stay focused and organized during this time of year and at this point in the semester especially considering that the holidays are right around the corner. So let’s try to stay focused and finish successfully in the end!