SJC Student Blogs

So this blog is due to a presentation that I have to give tomorrow for my core 6 class. It also got me thinking of how little high school prepared me for the amount of presentations I have to give in college. Most of the times the presentations you give at SJC deal with a paper or a topic that you have written. So hopefully the content should not be an issue. If you have to give a presentation based on someone's past work, like mine is for tomorrow, it may be a little tricky. This blog is going to over some tips that can help you in preparing for a presentation or any kind of speech really.

1) Dress professional.
I am not saying dress in your finest three piece suit or an evening gown. What I am saying is do not give a presentation in sweats and a hoodie. Nothing bothers me more than when an individual is giving a presentation and it looks like they just rolled out of bed. But it is up to the professors jurisdiction, because some professors deliberately say to not dress up, but that is very rare. My mantra is when in doubt, go all out. Its always nice to make people think you know what you are talking about based on your appearance.

2) Have visual aids.
Nothing is worse than listening to someone talk when your eyes cannot focus on something. By having visual aids like a powerpoint or something, it allows the audience to actually visualize what you are talking about. This allows them to pay attention instead of being lulled into a bored stupor.

3) Notecards
Always write the main ideas of each slide on a notecard. What I like to do is have a notecard per slide and write down the gist of what i need to cover for that slide. But, there can be a negative to notecards. Do NOT write your whole speech on your card, so you are basically reading it to the audience. That shows that you are not enthused about your topic and you really do not know much about it yourself.

4) Relax
Speaking in public can be really frightening. The best advice for this is to just take a deep breathe and go for it. You can only prepare so much, so just make sure that you say everything you wanted and try to keep an even pace when speaking.

Hey everyone, sorry for the long absence I have been really busy this past week. I have been studying and getting hw done like crazy because I have three exams next week. I do not know why science classes love doing this but usually they all coordinate and have their tests on the same week. It can be hell at times, but I will survive. Also I am feeling really under the weather as of late. But that is my fault due to the fact that i walked around without a jacket for a while on Saturday night...whoops. Oh well, I will write another longer blog when I am able to focus on things other than studying.

This past weekend SJC had one of its two presidential scholarship competitions. So it just dawned on me that I should write a blog about the kinds of scholarships SJC has to offer. SJC offers many different varieties of scholarships and all of them have their own qualifications.

Presidential Scholarship:
This is the scholarship that I have. The Presidential scholarship is a full tuition scholarship for your four years here at Saint Joseph's. It is only offered to three incoming freshmen and is highly competitive. How you are chosen to be a presidential scholar is based on how you perform in the competition. In January you will be invited to take part in the presidential scholarship competition. The competition has three parts. First we will write an essay and be judged on your work. Then you have an individual interview with two faculty members, that will ask about your accomplishments in high school. My tips for this is to just be yourself and make sure you tell them about what you have done. Try not to be shy and just talk about yourself, but that can be difficult if your nerves get to you. Then after that you have a group interview with either two current presidential scholars or a faculty member. This is the same as the individual interview, except it shows how you work in a group. Like I said this scholarship is highly competitive but so worth it if you are chosen.

These next scholarships are based on your high school GPA and standardized test scores:
Please go toSJC Scholarship Calculator if you wish to know what kind of scholarship you will be offered at SJC. All you have to do is plug in your GPA and test scores to see how much money you can be awarded.
Honors Scholarship: Up to 17,000
Dean's Scholarship: Up to 15,000
SJC Scholarship: Up to 13,000
Puma Opportunity Grant: Up to 9,000
Access Grant: Up to 5,000

Also SJC offers many other scholarships that can stack on top of the academic ones:
Alumni Grant:
$1,000
Be a dependent child of a Saint Joseph's College graduate
Have a grandparent, aunt, or uncle who graduated from SJC
May not be combined with Family Tuition Grant

Family Tuition Grant:
$1,000
Almost the same as the Alumni grant but is given to people who currently have a sibling enrolled at SJC

Performance Scholarships:
These scholarships are for people interested in participating in Band, Choir, Theater, Dance, Cheerleading, Color Guard, Radio/TV, and Student Athletic Training.
This scholarship is for $2,000 a semester and you have to participate in this activity for the whole year.

Well its already the second week of classes here at the Joe. And I can tell that some students have not returned mentally from break. They are still in far away lands doing anything but their schoolwork. Coming back from a long break can be extremely difficult. I remember that in middle school I would actually forget the pledge of allegiance over the summer. Which is really embarrassing. So here are a few tips to try to recover your work ethic and become productive in the beginning of the semester. Now I need to follow these tips, instead of procrastinating by writing this blog...I kid, I kid.

1. Make sure to stay on top of assignments
This is where procrastination starts. Its the first week of classes, so you figure you still have time. Even if some assignments have far off due dates, you need to organize your time. you may believe you still have time, but the semester goes by so quickly. And nothing is worse than preparing for a presentation or writing an essay the night before. By staying on top of your assignments you will be able to complete them in a timely manner and still have time for other activities or social events.

2. Take notes from your readings
This is a great habit to start. I know that there have been many times that I have read for core and by the end of it I have no idea what I just read. By taking notes you can write down some main ideas and at least have some kind of information to go off of in class and discussion.

3. Leave yourself some Me time
This may be the hardest thing you can do. If you become extremely overwhelmed with schooling or clubs, leaving time for yourself can be difficult. Find something you like to do and make sure you participate in that activity at least once week or maybe even daily. One of my favorite things to do is just surf the web. Some may say that I do not have a great hobby. But for me it is really relaxing to just sit in front of the computer screen and basically have the world at my fingertips. Other things I do for myself include hanging with friends, and be in a play or musical. All of these are great stress relievers.

Welcome back Pumas!!!!!! I hope your holiday season was fantastic. And you all had a much needed break filled with friends, family, and of course great food. Now I am back at the Joe and its the first week of classes. So far they are going very well. But that is not what I am going to talk about. Over break I had the opportunity of going to London with some fellow pumas. We went to London for 7 days on an educational tour. It was a BLAST! London is a city that I really wanted to visit and I am so happy I did. It was everything that I was expecting. The other nice thing is that we got to see all the main attractions so nothing was left out. I will add some pics of my travels at the end of this blog. Going to London also reminds me of the study abroad opportunities Saint Joseph's offers. We do have study abroad programs that are offered through other schools. A student is more than welcome to study abroad in another country for a semester and experience that culture and take classes. It is fairly simple to do and a great investment. If you need any more information please contact me or go to this SJC Study Abroad

Well after what has seemed like months of running elections the results came in last Wednesday, and I am sad to say I lost the election. I am no longer a member of the executive board and student senate starting January 1st. Its kind of a bittersweet moment. You would expect me to be sad or upset about losing but I am actually content with the results. I am pleased with who won and I will know they will do a terrific job. I am relieved because being vice president was very stressful, and just imagining all the responsibility the president has is ridiculous. So in a way I am happy that I will have a lot more free time to focus on other aspects in my life and try to relax some more. School work is almost done, all I have left is to type a paper that deals with my research I have been doing all semester. Other than that I am completely free from school work. Now begins the process of studying for all my finals, which should not be too bad hopefully. Well I am going to go write this paper. See you soon...

Only one more week of classes left. I am so ready for this semester to be done and over with. This semester felt like it was dragging by some days. But now there are only five days of school left then the dreaded finals!!! Finals are easy if you learn how to prepare before hand. Earlier this year I wrote a blog about study tips that you can refer to in order to help your study habits. Finals week is Monday-Thursday with the beginning of your Christmas break starting after your last final. My finals are all on the first three days so I will be able to leave and go back home Wednesday afternoon. My Christmas break is looking pretty eventful. In the beginning of January I am going to London, England for 8 days. I am so excited about this trip because London is the one city I really want to visit/live. I can not wait. And I will be sure to take a lot of pictures and put them on here.

This weekend is winter formal. Which is probably one of the third biggest events on campus next to Homecoming and Little 500. Winter formal is our end of the semester dance. It is where a majority of the campus dresses up and has a blast. Also this weekend two of my friends have their 21st birthdays so that is going to be kind of ridiculous. The dance is hosted by Justin and Halas hall each year and like I said before it is a dressy dance and its a lot of fun. They have refreshments and awesome decorations that really bring the place together. Also this weekend is the Gallagher Charitable Societies Christmas party. This party is for the underprivileged families in Rensselaer. This year over 450 families have been invited. This party gives the families a free meal as well as providing toys, books, and coats to the children. This event has been around for a few decades and is extremely exciting to be a part of it. The baseball team helps out and dresses up as reindeer to lead Santa in. It is so cute and very special for the holiday season.

I am currently back home on Thanksgiving Break. I love SJC and one reason is that we get a whole week off for Thanksgiving. Which is wonderful and then when we get back its only two more weeks then school is over. So I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season!! But if you think this break is going to be relaxing it might not be. I have over four papers to write...yikes. So hopefully those will all be done by the time I go back to school. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the time with your family.

Hey everyone, since Thanksgiving Break is here I thought I could give you a few tips on what to bring back home during the break.

Summer Clothes: The weather is not getting any warmer. All those shorts can be packed up and sent back home where you can keep them in your closest till you dig them out in April or May.

Food- This is essential. Most people will leave their left over food in their rooms. But food laying around can attract many different kinds of pests so its always easier to bring home your food box for the week then just bring it back.

Any gaming systems: You may have brought some gaming systems you thought you would play. Wrong!!! I guess you found out you may not be able to play as much as you would like so the easiest thing is to just bring them home and focus on your school work.

And last but not least..

Just any stuff you don't use: If you realize you have something in your room that has never been used bring it home. All the extra space can be a blessing especially if you have a roommate. That extra space can you leave you to do a whole assortment of activities.

Well its the time of year that Student Association Elections happen for the executive board. I currently sit on the executive board as the Vice President. But this year I am running for Student Association President. These past few weeks have been campaign weeks. Where my running mate and I put up over a 100 election flyers all over campus for students to vote for us. This year there are three pairs running for President and Vice President, and two people running for both Secretary and Treasurer. This is the most participation these elections have seen in a while. This week we also had the first ever debate amongst the candidates and it went fairly well. There was some attacks on certain people but it went fairly smoothly. This week is election week so we will see what happens. Till next time....

So this week was registration week. That means that everyone was registering for classes for next semester. How that works out is that you have to meet with your academic adviser and they give you a PIN number that allows you to register. On registration week the Seniors are able to register on Monday followed by Juniors the next day and so on. The tricks to registering is to get up really early. registration starts at 730 am, and it is all online. So you should at least get up at 715 to start your computer and log on. Another tip is to always have a backup class. Core classes are usually the first ones to fill up so if your core class you wanted is full, have a backup to chose from just in case. These simple tips can help you ease through registration week for years to come.

There are a lot more options for men when it comes to living places then females. Here is a quick run through of the different all male dorms.

Gallagher- Is the sister dorm of Halas. Gallagher hall is a three story building that has suite style rooms for upperclassmen. Which is typically sophomores and up. That is if you have two people in a room you get a two room suite and can set that up however you want. You can do two separate bedrooms or a living room and a bedroom. Also they have four man suites which are three rooms for four people. Another nice thing about Gallagher hall is that it has new rec equipment in the first floor lounge that was moved there from the rec center.

Bennett- Bennett hall is separated by most dorms since it is located in close proximity to the baseball fields. Bennett typically houses freshmen but it does have upperclassmen. Bennett has a great sense of dorm community and has an annual volleyball and bags tournament that they host ever year.

Merlini- Merlini hall is one of the oldest built dorms on campus and has a rich history. The guys here have developed a strong fraternity type bond with each other. Merlini has a large basement that hosts many parties throughout the year. Also Merlini throws the Merlini bowl which is the weekend before finals. They have a touch football game and softball game in the afternoon, and then they grill out and invite the whole campus. It is the last hurrah before finals.

Noll- Noll hall has suite style rooms also. They have three man rooms, where three people get two rooms. Most guys tend to set it up with a bedroom then a living room. Also Noll is the only dorm that has an oven and stove on campus. I do not know why because a lot of girls want to bake. But the guys of Noll are usually ok with it, as long as they are given something the girls baked.

Housing options are numerous for students here at SJC. We have many dorm options and they each have their advantages. In this blog I will give you a break down of each dorm.

Female Dorms:

Halas- Halas hall is a three story building that has suite style rooms for upperclassmen. Which is typically sophomores and up. That is if you have two people in a room you get a two room suite and can set that up however you want. You can do two separate bedrooms or a living room and a bedroom. Also they have four man suites which is three rooms for four people. Another nice thing about Halas hall is that it has new rec equipment in the first floor lounge that was moved there from the rec center. So Halas has its own rec center in its lounge.

Siefert- Is split into two wings East and West, but the girls are able to cross in between them. Siefert is typically the smallest dorm on campus room size and community wise. Siefert tends to be where some freshmen girls stay. The dorm community is extremely high in Siefert. Everyone tends to be very close and close friends.

Co-ed Dorms

Justin- Justin is also split in to two wings but you can not go from one side to the other. This is one of the co-ed dorms on campus where the first floor is all male and the upper two floors are female. Justin has the standard double occupancy rooms as well as single private rooms for students

Schiewtermann- This hall is a 24 hour quiet dorm. The rooms in this hall are substantially larger and they each have their own bathroom but is an extra fee on top of the room and board fee. The rooms can have two or three people living in them.

Residential Apartments- These apartment style dorms house five people and separated by gender. Everyone gets their own room and there is a living room, kitchen area, and two restrooms in each apartment. They do not have a stove or oven but have a full size refrigerator and microwave. The one thing that makes the apartments so attractive to upperclassmen is that if everyone is over 21 years old they can have alcohol in there apartment.

I love Halloween. Its the one night of the year you can be whoever you want to be. Everyone on campus gets into it. Some people do a new costume every might of the weekend. Which seems to be a little overboard. I went as a hippie this year and you may be asking "put Halloween isn't over." Well for me it is. Since I am on duty tonight and tomorrow I can not celebrate Halloween. So yesterday was when i donned my costume. There was a Halloween dance that was going on yesterday and I went to that. It was a lot of fun. But Halloween is a great time on campus due to the amount of people that get involved. The teachers even get involved. Some classes they pass out candy and toys. In my Marriage and Family class my professor handed out candy and slingshot type toys to students that answered the right questions. Also one of my chemistry professors has labs that are Halloween labs. They have Halloween themes and are a ton of fun. So Halloween is a pretty big deal here on campus, so if you come here you better be ready for it!