college student life

Get Involved!!!

Jonathan Golding Activities and clubs, Getting involved, What Should You Do , , , , ,

Now that you are in college, it is very important that you do not just sit around and keep to yourself. I understand that there are times you need to be alone (think studying!), and other times you want to be by yourself to read, workout, watch a movie, etc. However, it is VERY important that you get involved in various activities on campus. Even if you have a job, there are sill ways you can get involved to take full advantage of your college experience. As a former 2 and 3 job undergraduate, I can tell you that it was a critical aspect of my college experience to be a part of campus life.

With that said and before moving on to the reasons to get involved, here is one way I participated on campus. As you can see I was the school mascot for my college. Yes, that’s me as the Temple Owl in 1981—hard to believe!!!!

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The key to getting involved in various activities is that it really is the case that college is more than just going to class. College is a time to grow, both intellectually and personally. Getting involved in activities adds to that growth. So, here are 7 reasons for why you should get involved:

1) You will make friends. By joining a club, you automatically increase the chances you will make new friends. Sitting in your room playing video games isn’t going to give you the opportunity to meet others, nor is constant studying in a library study room. Remember, the friends you make in college can last a lifetime. The more people you meet, the more friends you make, and the more you can have fun doing things on and off campus.

2) It is good for your mental and physical health. The evidence is pretty convincing that being around others is good for various aspects of your health. For example, when you interact with others in a campus activity you’ll feel better about yourself, and give yourself potential sources of support.

3) You will actually learn new things. I know you may not want to hear it, but college involves learning both in and out of the classroom. So even when you are not sitting in a lecture with 500 other students, getting involved gives you the chance to learn something new. This may be how to play a new sport if you decide to join a rugby club or what are new methods of recycling if you join a student environmental group.

people-2557396_12804) You can boost your resume. I don’t want to get too crazy about this, but there is nothing wrong with listing various college activities on your resume. You should list those activities that really say something about who you are. Employers and graduate and professional school selection committees look at your college activities. I was in the National Psychology Honor Society (PSI Chi) when I was an undergraduate—listing this organization on my resume was important when I was applying for grad school in psychology.

5) You can get involved with community service. There are many activities on campus that will offer you the opportunity to work in the community. This could include being involved with philanthropic activities tied in to a sorority, campus political organizations that promote citizenship (e.g., voter registration), or various other clubs who work with community organizations (e.g., Habitat for Humanity,). It’s great to know that for many of you who have been involved in community service before college, the chance to continue your involvement in the community can continue.

6) You can gain insight about your ultimate career goal. College is a time to explore possibilities, and to figure out what you want to do after graduation. If you have an interest in something, join a club or activity that matches your interest and see where it leads. It’s possible that your involvement in a particular club or activity will be the catalyst for your future career.

7) You get a chance to experience diversity. In most cases, whatever club or activity you get involved with will involve students of various national origins, color, religion, socioeconomic stratum, sexual orientation, political views, and more. For some of you, this may be your first opportunity to interact with people who are really different than you. Take advantage of this opportunity!

I hope you will take my advice and get involved on campus—you won’t regret it!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.

Dealing With A Death While In College

Jonathan Golding Death of Loved One, What Should You Do , ,

What could be worse? You’re in the middle of the semester, and suddenly you find out that someone you know has died. Of course, you will be in shock and very sad. What makes everything more difficult is that at some point you have to make some big decisions about how to deal with this death amid everything going on with school. I hope to offer you some pointers about this, so that if you are hit with the news of a death you are better prepared to manage things. Keep in mind that these are tough issues to discuss:

1) You will likely need to consider your relationship to the deceased. Is it one of your parents, a grandparent, relative, or a friend? The importance of this question is tied to the degree that you feel you are obligated or want to be involved with things like the funeral as well as seeing and comforting others. For example, if one of the parents died you are going to want to leave immediately to go home. The last thing in your mind is school and whether you have some reading to do or need to take an exam. However, for certain relatives or people you know you might not feel as pressed to drop everything. In fact, you might decide that you do not want to attend the funeral, or that you may attend the funeral but plan on returning right away to campus.

death-cemetary2) At some point it would be best to contact your Instructors or someone from your school. With regard to the former, a quick email is probably enough to let your Instructors understand your situation. If you are able to tell them when you might return that is helpful. But, it may be the case that all you can do is tell each of them about the death, and that you will be in touch with them as soon as possible. With regard to contacting a school official, I have had students do this on several occasions. This can be a good strategy if you want to avoid having to contact multiple Instructors. An email to the Dean of Students or another administrator about your situation will make sure that all of your Instructors are informed of you absence from class or any other activities on campus.

3) As crazy as it may seem, you need to be prepared to show documentation of the death. I know, isn’t it bad enough you must deal with the death and now you have to supply a funeral notice or obituary? I agree, and I do not ask this of my own students. However, I have heard of a number of faculty members who in their quest to document all absences require this information from their students. I should add that I have heard about this more in cases of deaths of friends and somewhat distant relatives. Although you might find being asked for proof of the death to be offensive, the academic rules of your school typically allows an Instructor to ask for this information.

4) Related to #3, it would probably be useful for you to find out what are the rules of your school regarding excused absences. For example, your school may only allow an excused absence when there is a death in your immediate family. This would not include certain relatives or other important people in your life, such as friends. I know this sounds unfair, but you will have to do your best to deal with these rules. For example, you will need to talk to each of your Instructors and see where they stand with regard to the rules about excused absences. If an Instructor plays hardball and refuses to excuse you for work you missed (i.e., gives you a 0 on this work), you will have to decide whether to talk to others about your situation (e.g., the Chairperson of your Department, your Dean, the University Ombudsperson). Talking to another person may help you, but be prepared that these others may simply say that the Instructor of a class has final say on grading issues.

5) If you are allowed to make up work because your Instructor excused your absences due to the death, try to deal with this work as soon as possible. I know this may be difficult because your head just isn’t into it. Still, if possible, get this work done so you can get back on track and not fall too far behind. I will add that if you really are having a difficult time getting back to your studies you might considering withdrawing from school for a semester. This would a very difficult decision, but for your own mental health and to avoid receiving low grades because you just were not ready for school after the death a withdrawal may be the best alternative. This course of action would delay you only a bit, and you could come back the next semester stronger than ever. Finding out about this option will likely require you talking to an academic advisor or even the school Registrar.

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6) Do not be afraid to seek counseling to help you deal with the grief of losing a loved one. Regardless of who died, you will likely be affected in many ways. The effects may include difficulty in concentrating and sadness. Remember that a person who is aware that they need help in dealing with a difficult situation is showing strength, not weakness. There are likely to be resources on your campus that are available to you as far as helping you deal with this loss. These typically include a counseling center or other mental health professionals. You do not have to deal with your grief alone—others are there in your corner.

In closing, I hope you do not have to face the issue of death while you are in college. If you do, I hope the points I raised above will help you better understand the issues that you will face, and that the impact of this loss will be minimized as far as your college career.

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.

 

 

Highlighting 5 Big Differences Between High School and College

Jonathan Golding What Should You Do, Working with Your Instructor ,

About a month ago I was talking to a class of rising freshmen, and I asked them if anyone had a question about how things work in college classroom. A hand went up and I was asked a question I had not heard in my 28 years of teaching: “What do you do when you need to go to the bathroom?” It was such a simple question, but it was the ideal question for a student trying their best to be prepared for the new world of college. At first, all I could think to say was “Great question!”. Then I proceeded to talk about this question and introduce several other issues that college students and faculty alike take for granted but are not usually known by students who three months ago were still in high school

Here are 5 critical issues (there are more) that I feel every incoming freshman needs to be clear about:

1) In college there is nothing like a hall pass, let alone a bathroom pass. You are free to go to the bathroom whenever you like. However, there are always classroom rules of etiquette. For example, if you get up in the middle of a lecture (large or small) do it quietly, walk to the door in a way that does not cut across the Instructor or makes you more salient than you already will be. That is, whenever someone gets up in class or comes into the classroom late everyone is going to look. The key is to be the least disruptive to the class as possible. I will add that this kind of free movement in and out of class may not only be for a trip to the bathroom, but if you do not feel well, to get a drink, or other reasons you may have for entering or leaving a classroom.

2) It is important to know what to call your Instructor in person or in an email. The way you know what to call them is either because they specifically tell you or you understand to follow certain unwritten rules. With regard to the former, some Instructors will tell you to call them by their first name. That’s fine, but quite honestly I do not feel you’ll get that too often. With regard to the latter, keep in mind that unlike high school your Instructor will typically have a doctorate degree (e.g., a PhD). If they have their doctorate degree it is generally the case that you will call them “Dr.” as in “Dr. Golding”. Some students say “Professor” (“Professor Golding”), but either is acceptable. Let me add that if a student called me “Mr. Golding” it would really be no big deal. However, I know that being addressed this way would appall some of my colleagues. If an Instructor does not have their doctorate degree you should call them “Mr.” (e.g., “Mr. Smith”) or “Ms.” (“e.g., “Ms. Jones”).

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3) In each class, you will need to take a seat—somewhere. It is almost always the case that you can sit wherever you want. I would caution you to try and sit near the front to (a) allow you to interact with the Instructor and (b) to keep more focused on the lecture (i.e., you can’t look around the room as easily.) However, I am finding that more and more classes have assigned seating. The Instructor may assign the seats from Day 1, or (as I have done) you choose a seat by Day 2 and that is your seat for the remainder of the semester. You may think that assigned seating is taking you right back to high school, but assigned seats allow an Instructor to more easily learn the names of students and can be very helpful to an Instructor in bookkeeping as far as grades are concerned. Also, the reason I feel OK about my Day 2 plan is that I have found that most students choose their seat and then keep it through the semester even when I do not make it a class policy.

4) The days of constant exams and homework in every class are generally over. There are some classes that will have a lot of graded work (e.g., Math, foreign language), but in general graded work is way less than you had in high school. For example, your classes will typically have 1-4 exams. It is possible that you may have a class with only a midterm and a final. Also, a lot of classes have no actual graded homework or assignments. That is, your exam grades are your only grades. Finally, be prepared for semester-long projects that are worth a significant portion of your grade. Let me add that the fact that you will likely have less graded work is not necessarily a good thing. It means that everything that is graded is worth a lot more. Therefore, you really have to put major effort into everything that gets graded.

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5) In general, your grade is your grade. What I mean by this is I typically get students who did not do well on a graded assignment or exam and ask me if they can do something extra to raise their grade. I have learned (partly from my own kids) that teachers in high school will offer extra credit on an individual basis. However, it is my experience that this kind of individualized extra credit rarely occurs in college. There may be extra credit opportunities, but these are usually points that can be earned the entire class.

As is often the case, the differences between high school and college are quite large. Remember, you are in a whole new world. You need to understand what is expected and how the college system works. Sure, there will be times when you are confused and frustrated. Keep calm and know that you, like countless others before you, will learn the ropes and will end up being a successful college student. Good luck!

Please note that the comments of Dr. Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.