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Author: Teodora Pasca

  • Freshman Prep: Getting Ready for University

    Freshman Prep: Getting Ready for University

    Post-secondary is a big step, and definitely a big change from high school – which is why it’s more important than ever that you start your first year prepared and ready to learn. The transition to university can be daunting, but you can bridge the gap by putting in a little extra work before your first day of class. Whether you’ve been planning all summer or are just getting started, it’s never too late to get in the right mindset for another productive and successful year.

    Here are some things you can do to prepare for your first year in university:

    Get to know your routine.
    You’re going to need to revise some of your old habits to adjust to a brand-new university schedule. Maybe you have night classes, or have to factor in travel time to and from class as a commuter student. Maybe you have to make sure you grab lunch between lectures, or figure out just where that seminar is being held each week. Get out an agenda and write out a weekly schedule (include study time, meal breaks and whatever else you think might come up). Once classes start, you can revise your ready-made schedule as needed to suit your new routine.

    Refresh your memory.
    Chances are you’re taking some courses you’ve already completed the high school prerequisites for – and chances are you may have forgotten a couple of things over the summer. It never hurts to crack open your old schoolbooks and review previous material. Try some of those old algebra problems, or see if you can remember how to conjugate a few French tenses. You may be just a bit out of practice: consider making some review notes to bring to your lectures in the fall if you really feel you need the help.

    Do your research.
    You chose this university for a reason (and are paying hefty tuition fees for it!), so why not make the most out of your experience? Check out events happening on campus, clubs that fall in line with your interests or upperclassmen who can offer a second opinion about the school’s programs. Got some tough classes? See if you can contact your professors and shoot them an email about how to prepare for the semester ahead. Most importantly, make sure you’re on the mailing list for any newsletters your school sends out (whether they’re for academics, events, sports, etc.) – that way you’ll always be in the loop.

    University is a difficult transition for most, but if you get yourself properly ready for it your first year might go over easier than you expected. Keep these tips in mind and show up for your first class confident and prepared for what lies ahead. Let’s make this your best year yet.

  • Managing Your School and Life Schedule

    Managing Your School and Life Schedule

    People of all ages have routines. For young children, these routines are usually set by their parents or other caregivers. As they grow up, they have increasing amounts of responsibility for organizing their own lives. For some people, maintaining a balance between work or school and everyday life can be a challenge as they take on new responsibilities and try to manage the old ones. Are you already feeling pressured by all of the things you have to do? You might not be able to eliminate the stress from your life, but you can learn to balance your school work with the rest of your life.

    Are you the kind of person who likes to be busy all the time? Do you fill your after-school hours with as many activities as you can manage? Or are you the kind of person who likes to have a lot of free time? Either way, you might have a hard time (or an easy time) finding a balance between school and the rest of your life. You might feel stressed and overwhelmed to the point where you think that you can no longer manage. When that happens, what do you do?

    Almost everyone feels stressed at some point. For people who love to keep themselves busy with all kinds of projects, it might be when they take on too much to handle effectively. For people who try to avoid stress, it could be when an unexpected task cuts into their precious free time. Everyone is different. Knowing your limits is the first step towards living a balanced life. Do you work well under pressure? If so, you might be able to take on a lot of activities outside school. On the other hand, does pressure cause you to crumble under it? If so, you should limit your after-school activities and give yourself enough free time to relax.

    Part of understanding your limits is learning how to use your time efficiently. For example, what do you do if you your teacher gives you class time to finish your work? Do you try to finish your assignment or do you spend the time doing something else? Doing as much work as possible at school will help you keep more time free in the evenings and on weekends. If you help with an after-school project, do you go to the meetings with all of the supplies you need? How much time could you save by being prepared for all of your activities? You can even use the time you spend in line or waiting for your friends at the mall to plan an assignment or to write down a schedule of activities for yourself.

    Even when they schedule their time efficiently, people can have trouble balancing work and the rest of life. However, you can still try. Find out what you have to do to keep yourself healthy and happy and then work from there. That way, you have a good chance of managing both school and everyday life.

  • Study Smart: Tips for Academic Success This Year

    Study Smart: Tips for Academic Success This Year

    I hope you had a great summer, because it’s September: back-to-school season. Whether you’re just entering high school or brushing up your last year in post-secondary, you’ve probably got a whole lot of work ahead of you. You’re probably already familiar with 1000-word papers, 3-hour exams, and PowerPoint summative presentations, and no doubt you’ve spent (or should have spent) ages preparing for them. But how do you know if your study tactics are truly hitting the spot?

    Everyone has a unique style of learning, and it’s important to establish this long before you hit the books. For instance, you’re writing that test and are stuck trying to remember a history date. Maybe you remember what the textbook page looked like, or what your instructor’s voice sounded like, or maybe you don’t remember any of that, but you definitely remember writing it down. Most people are primarily visual, auditory or hands-on learners (and many people are combinations of the three!). Whether you have to use colours and shapes, audio-record a lecture or write out all your notes by hand, your study habits should reflect your learning style.

    How much work, exactly, should you put in to achieve maximum results? Oftentimes, when it comes to studying, it’s quality over quantity. You could do eight straight hours of polynomial factoring, but if you’re still getting incorrect answers after the umpteenth attempt, chances are your studying habits are not working. Mix it up a little—approach concepts from different angles, in different ways, in order to find out what works best for you. Use media, too (instructional videos, scholarly articles, or even good old flash cards can work wonders). Each field of study offers different ways to learn its material, and you ought to test-drive at least a couple of them before you devote your time to studying in a single way.

    I am a student, and I’ve had my fair share of study experience. What I’ve discovered is that nothing helps me prepare for a test or exam more than explaining the material to someone else. Set up a study group for a class you’re having trouble with—or even a class you excel in, because others could use your help. If you’re stuck on a problem, chances are someone in your circle knows how to find the answer. Come test time, even if you don’t find the solution right away, you’ll remember how you helped (or were helped by) someone else, and the answers will come back to you in no time.

    Best wishes for a productive semester. Study hard, and study smart.

  • Financial Help for Students

    Financial Help for Students

    Whether you’ve landed a part-time job or are looking into a student loan, money is a part of everyday life. Especially during back-to-school season, it’s important to start thinking about how to handle the money you’re making (or spending). Financial matters may seem complicated and intimidating—but if you’re looking into a post-secondary program (or have already begun to invest in one), understanding how to manage money is one of the most important things you’ll have to learn this year.

    There are key steps you can take to make sure you’re truly getting your bang for your buck: consider the following tips the next time you’re headed to the bank.

    Outline basic expenses.
    What are you going to need, and when? Establish some weekly, monthly and annual expenses and see what you can do to stick by your budget. For example, if you’re living on your own, you’ll probably be spending roughly the same amount of money on groceries each week and will have to make monthly payments on rent. Make sure these recurring bases are covered before you put your cash towards something else.

    Shop smart.
    Draw up lists – and make sure you’re specific. Set out to buy only what you’ve established you need first before you spend all your money on more “fun” things. It’s also a good idea to research before you shop. Are certain stores having sales you can take advantage of? Is a certain brand more expensive than another? Be informed about what you’re spending your money on and be prepared to justify expensive investments.

    Prioritize—or compromise.
    If you’re going out to eat one day, pack a lunch the next. If you don’t spend most of your wages one week, treat yourself with something special the next. You can have fun and be money-smart at once; it just requires a bit of calculated give and take. What’s most important is that you make sure you can afford what you’re spending. Consider looking into cheaper alternatives for the things you want if you can’t make room for them in your budget.

    Save something.
    Make the decision to put aside a portion of your earnings every payday (for example, a third of every cheque can go into a savings account). Work around these savings—spend whatever you need to, but don’t touch the money you’ve set aside. It’s smart to reserve some cash for special occasions or emergencies because things happen. You never know when you’re going to need it.

    When you’re doing financial planning, try these tips out—and as you go, incorporate some of your own strategies. Customize your student budget to suit your personal needs and get ready to reap the payoffs.

  • How to Design Your Class Schedule

    How to Design Your Class Schedule

    In the first seven or eight years of school, choosing what subjects to study is usually fairly easy. The choices are limited and usually the set of required courses, like history or math, take up most of the school day. Later, however, choosing courses becomes an important way to achieve educational and career goals. Learning how to design a good class schedule is the best way to make sure that each year goes as smoothly as possible.

    How much control do you have over the classes you take? You might not have much yet, but that will soon change. In high school, students normally have some options, but the choices are often very limited. When students get to college or university, they usually have much more freedom to choose the courses they want, but they also have the responsibility to monitor their own education.

    Students’ experiences with course choices can vary. Some programs, especially those that lead directly to employment in a certain field, such as nursing, tend to have a large number of required courses that often need to be completed in order. In more general programs, such as the studies leading to an Arts degree, the requirements are much more flexible. In both types of programs, however, students still need to find the best schedule to suit their needs.

    The first step in designing a class schedule is finding out which courses are essential to your goals and which are optional. Finding time for the program’s required courses should be your priority. Often these required courses can be spread out over a few years, but not always. The next courses on your list should be ones that are prerequisites (first requirements) for other courses you want to take. If you want to study German, for example, you should take the introductory courses as soon as possible. Classes that are offered only every two or three years should also be a high priority in case you can’t take them later in your studies.

    After you have selected the required or time-sensitive courses that you want, you can fill your schedule with other classes that interest you. You might even want to consider doing an internship or taking a special one-on-one study course to learn about an area that you think might be useful in the future. You might choose courses taught by an interesting professor, or you might avoid ones that fall either early in the morning or late in the evening. You might design your schedule around your part-time job or choose whatever happens to be available. Using a computer template to help you design your class schedule might help you to fit the courses together into a manageable timetable.

    Before you start to design your course schedule, you should learn as much as you can about your program and decide on your own priorities. That way, you will have the knowledge to plan a schedule that suits your needs while you finish the courses you need to complete your studies.  Happy scheduling!

  • Dream Job: Sports Coach

    Dream Job: Sports Coach

    Many people dream of becoming great hockey players or tennis stars. A few of them manage to fulfill their dreams and to play in the sport they love. However, the career of an athlete is usually fairly short. Depending on the sport, athletes might be finished by the time they are twenty-five or thirty years old. What can they do after that?  Some of them get into an entirely different type of work, like teaching or accounting. Others, however, stay in their sports through becoming coaches. That was the case for Michel Therrien, coach of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team.

    If you play on a sports team at school or a community centre, you probably know a bit about what coaches do. Basically, they help the athletes in the sport to play better than before. They might help players improve a certain part of their style, such as how they hold a hockey stick, or they might just generally encourage them to keep on practicing. Often, being a coach involves making decisions about who will play and for how long. Being a coach involves an ability to deal with people calmly and to make good decisions quickly.

    Normally, coaches work in sports that they also have played in the past. Michel Therrien, for example, used to be a player for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. Now he is the team’s coach. His experience as a player is useful in helping him understand how players can improve their hockey skills. He also knows how to advise the players on the best way to play their game. For example, he might see how a really fast skater can help someone who is slower but very good at getting goals. He can see when a player is working well with the others and when someone needs help. Michel Therrien has experience with both the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and everything he has learned has helped him to become a better coach.

    The requirements for being a coach can vary a lot. Coaches for school teams are usually teachers with degrees in education, and many coaches take courses to become certified in their area. Through these programs, they learn different coaching techniques and ways of dealing with people. Experience, however, is often the most important way to learn the work. Many people start out as assistant coaches and learn from someone who has been doing the job for a long time. Michel Therrien started his coaching career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he coached two teams before becoming a professional hockey player.

    If you love sports and dream of playing them for the rest of your life, becoming a coach just might be the job of a lifetime!

  • Career Profile: Telephone Repair Technician

    Career Profile: Telephone Repair Technician

    Learning to use something that is constantly changing can be a challenge. Have you ever learned to use a new phone, only to have the technology change as soon as you learned it? Telephone repair technicians often face that challenge. Their work is changing all the time and they constantly have to learn new methods to keep up with the new technology. For people who like technology and enjoy working with their hands, however, working as a telephone repair technician can be a good and fulfilling career.

    Telephones, especially these days, have a lot of technology in them. Cell phones can be especially difficult to fix, but even the older styles of phones can have a lot of small parts and tricky connections. Telephone repair technician have to be good with their hands and to be able to work with very small objects without dropping or breaking them. They also need to understand the technology to be able to fix the problems. They have to know how traditional landlines work and also have an idea of how signals connect with cell phones so that people can talk with each other.

    Some telephone repair technicians learn about their work from experience or from other people on the job. Sometimes, a high school diploma and a few years of experience can be enough for telephone repair technicians to get good jobs. However, many employers now want technicians to have professional certification, which involves learning about the different parts of the job and then passing a special test.

    Another way for telephone repair technicians to get to know their jobs is through apprenticeships. This way, they get to see first-hand how to work with telephone equipment and with the wires that connect home phones to the outside lines. Many telephone technicians also work with installing phones and also cable television or even satellite equipment. They might also need to know about how fax machines, pagers, and other pieces of equipment work.

    Working conditions for telephone repair technicians can sometimes be difficult. Often, they have to work outside, repairing phone lines that have been brought down by storms or icy weather. They might have to climb high on telephone poles to work with wires that could give them electric shocks if they move them the wrong way. The need for repairs can come at any time, and technicians often have to work days, evenings and weekends. However, the pay is generally higher than for similar jobs, and some workers can make $25 per hour.

    Being a telephone repair technician can be a good job for people who enjoy the challenge of dealing with equipment.  Does it sound like something you want to do?

  • The Road to Self-Acceptance

    The Road to Self-Acceptance

    How’s your self-esteem doing? If you’re like me, you tend to see the best in others—and the absolute worst in yourself. Self-acceptance can be a difficult concept to wrap your head around when you’re constantly beating yourself up for every little mistake. There’s good news, though; you aren’t alone by a long shot. By considering your lapses in self-acceptance, you might start to find that the people around you are in the exact same predicament.

    Maybe you’re hung up over your poor marks in Spanish, or you think you look “fat” today. Maybe you couldn’t run the ten-minute mile, or your shirt doesn’t match your shoes. Well, odds are – and it’s kind of funny if you think about it – the people around you probably won’t even notice. It’s not that people don’t care. But did you ever stop to wonder that you aren’t the only one who’s preoccupied with your own flaws? Just as you can’t stop thinking about what you’ve done wrong, the people around you are too busy wrapped up in their own shortcomings to really identify yours. Here’s what ends up happening: each individual person sees themselves as the odd one out, when in actuality, everyone is in the same boat.

    You’ve probably heard the (albeit cliché) phrase, “Nobody’s perfect.” Everyone has flaws, weaknesses, spots for improvement—but there’s no need to focus on those. The next time you find yourself hung up over your lesser traits, try redirecting your thoughts to something you actually like about yourself. “Maybe I’m not great at sports, but I have straight A’s in math.” “Maybe I’m a little shy, but I’m excellent at reading people.” It is important to acknowledge your shortcomings, but it is much more important to remember all the great things you have to offer. And when you’re trying out this little mental compromise, your good traits should always win out.

    You must realize, by this point, how damaging it is to sell yourself short. Time passes, things change, life goes on—basically, you are the only constant force in your life. Why not respect yourself for who you are? It’s normal to feel conflicted at times, but you should never feel like you don’t matter, and by obsessing over every little flaw, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice. The next time something goes wrong, instead of attacking yourself, focus on what you’re doing right. If you start to wean yourself off self-criticism, slowly but surely, those negative feelings will start to go away.

    As for myself? Well, I’m a work-in-progress too. But I know that I deserve more than to be constantly criticized and mistreated – even if it’s coming from my own head. The road to self-acceptance is a rewarding process, and in order to become stronger people we all have to overcome our insecurities. The self-hate stops now.

  • If At First You Don’t Succeed…Try Something New

    If At First You Don’t Succeed…Try Something New

    We are always most comfortable doing what we know. It’s easier to invest time into something you’re already familiar with and it’s safer to avoid taking the risk that comes with learning new things. For these reasons, we generally like to abide by our normal routines. We walk through familiar neighbourhoods, we talk to people within our regular circles and, of course, we don’t learn anything new.

    While there is nothing wrong with sticking by a certain routine, it’s also unwise to be inflexible: by staying in your shell, you could be missing out on a world of opportunities. Think about the last time you really stepped out of your comfort zone to try something new. Whether you picked up a book you didn’t think you’d like, unexpectedly signed up for an audition or decided to wear different-coloured socks, no matter how insignificant or trivial that distinction may seem, even the tiniest bit of change is refreshing. It’s good.

    Trying new things is especially important in light of the back-to-school season. Perhaps you’re all set for another year of the regular stuff, but why not try and incorporate something you aren’t as ready for into your schedule? Most high school, college or university programs have electives you can select alongside your regular courses. Maybe you’re required to take calculus, chemistry, biology and physics—but if you have a couple of spots free, sign up for classical literature or a foreign language. These elective courses may surprise you…and it may surprise you how well you do in them. Exposure to new material opens up even greater possibilities for your own research. You might even find yourself a new hobby.

    Of course, there are other ways to try your hand at something new. Clubs and extra-curriculars are not only fun and productive, but they can help you connect with people who share your interests (or people like you, looking for something new to do). New courses, new pastimes and new peers – that sounds like a sweet deal. All you have to do is put yourself out there.

    Yet most people are afraid to take even the slightest risk, worried that they won’t be good at what they do, or worse – that they’ll be made fun of for their efforts. In anything you do, there’s the possibility of failure, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try anything. Avoiding life is a waste of your time and talents, and believe it or not, people can be surprisingly supportive and understanding. So what if you mess up a little? If you want to commit to something, like any one of your current interests, it’s going to take a little work before you get comfortable with it.

    Maybe you won’t be good at what you try (at least not off the bat). Maybe you won’t even like it. But at the very least, you can say you tried. Then it’s up to you to decide whether you want to stick by it or not.

  • Money Management

    Money Management

    If you are anything like me, you will often find yourself thinking, “Just one more small purchase won’t matter.” And if you’re even more like me, you will soon realize that maybe that small purchase did matter when you discover that your bank account is now empty. It would be silly to think that one small coffee made you broke, but when you figure out that maybe having one every day is a little excessive, you have the first step toward money management down: awareness.

    Take stock of your funds. Figure out how much you will earn each month, and write it down. Next, find a little notebook and start keeping track of everything you buy. Write down where you bought it, on which date, and how much you spent. This serves the purpose of telling you where all the money goes. It might even serve the extra purpose of telling you that you have a caffeine addiction, and maybe you should cut back a little. Starbucks four days in a row, five dollars each time? There are twenty dollars, gone. Kind of scary, isn’t it?

    Keep that spending diary for three months so that you can get a good idea for the average you spend on each kind of purchase. Doing so will then assist you to start making changes in your lifestyle: this is where you have to start limiting yourself and have self-control.

    Trust me; I know it is not easy to break a spending habit. When you do something so often that it becomes routine, breaking that routine throws off the rest of your day. That being said, it is now time to break out a coloured pen or highlighter. Circle or highlight every habitual purchase you made in the last three months, and calculate the total cost. Then think of how many hours it took to earn that money. A little sobering, right? Once you realize that your time equals money, it becomes a lot easier to make good decisions regarding your spending.

    Now that you have figured out what you can cut back on, it is time to make a budget. Figure out the main categories your purchases fall under. For some, those might be their cell phone bill, car payments and gas, entertainment such as movies, music, and video games, going out to eat, savings, and so on. Certain bills will always remain the same, such as car payments and your cell phone bill. Some put 10% of their entire paycheque into a savings account which they do not use under any circumstances. With everything else, though, allocate a certain percentage of your remaining funds to each category.

    For example: let’s say that you make $750 per month. 10% of that is $75 which goes into your savings. Your car insurance payment costs $100, so now you have $575. Your cell phone bill costs $50, and the remainder is $525. Now you can assign a percent to everything else. You may calculate it so that you have extra money left over for emergencies or unexpected nights out. As long as you never go over your allotted limits for each category, then you won’t find yourself with an unexpectedly empty bank account again.