Tag Archives: college life

Study Locations

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You need a place to study in between classes and meetings. Sometimes the main floor of the Student Union is a bit noisy or there are just no seats left or you really really need a change of scenery. Here are some of my favorite spots on campus and a bit about them!

  • NR3 Study Room: The New Residence Hall 3 building has a great study room in the lobby. It can get busy in evenings during exam weeks, but other than that it is fairly quiet. The tables are whiteboards, and there are rolling whiteboard in there too. It is a really great place to meet a study group for exam cram sessions. I do recommend bringing your own markers though; they go missing around there.
  • Honors Center: If you are an honors student, the honors center in the first floor of NR3 has a library with tables & beanbags, computer lab, and some other study rooms further back in the hallways.
  • College Lobbies: A super underrated place to go study in place is the lobby of many class buildings. COAS has a little nook with a couch by the back door. COAS also has a very nice study area on the 5th floor which overlooks the runway and Micaplex with a quiet environment, nearby restrooms, and tons of room in general. On COAS 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors there are some couches by the windows right next to the elevators which are also wonderful study spaces if you can claim a spot! Lehman has many seating choices including booths and comfy chairs by the 1st floor elevators; there are also nooks with booth and chair seating and tables by the vending machines on the 2nd and 3rd floors. If you like outdoor spots, there are some tables outside by the labs on the 3rd floor of Lehman. The M Building in back of Lehman also has a little sitting area with vending machines right when you walk in, but there are outlets only on one wall. The lobbies of IC, COB, and COA are also very nice with various seating choices.
  • Student Union Balcony: When the weather gets nice, the balcony by Starbucks is a PRIME seating choice for studying. You can even watch the planes take off and grab a coffee!
  • Physics Lounge: If you are a Physics student, we now have our own study space/lounge in COAS 315 with computers, whiteboards, whiteboard tables, markers, comfy couches, and more! Great place to do homework and talk to classmates.

Organization is Key

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As a student, you need to keep track of a lot of things. These things can include (but are definitely not limited to) classes, work, research, clubs, projects, and just general life things. There are many ways in which you can do this such as planner books, bullet journals, notes apps, and checklists. I am going to share how I personally keep track of well….life!

I have experimented with quite a few methods, definitely everything listed above plus a handful of productivity apps. They all have their pros and cons. Planner books are very fun to use, useful, satisfying to write things in, and pretty, but if you have many last-minute meetings come up or just numerous things back-to-back in one day, your space per day in that book can be fairly limited. There is also an app out there called Notion which many people swear by; I have a few friends who use this, and it looks great! However, its device compatibility is limited and the full list of features I want requires a paid subscription. Over the years, I have solidly settled on using two main methods: Google Calendar & Todoist.

I am a HUGE advocate of Todoist. I find the platform super simple, easy to navigate/use, and free! Honestly, my friends have remarked probably three times per month that they really need to put me on their payroll with how much I talk about the application hahaha. You can use the website on your computer and/or app version on your phone. In the free version, you can make five “projects” like mine is set up:

Within each project, you can create different sections like how my Homework project looks:

From what I can tell, the sections per project is unlimited. I use one for each class and then put tasks under them. Each task allows you to add due dates, priority rankings, labels, descriptions, comments, subtasks, and even assignees! Yes, you can make collaborative boards too!! With the free version, you can put up to five people on one project. This is really useful for clubs or even just class projects. The mobile app has all of the capabilities of the website, so if you need to rely on that during the day while you are running around you definitely can. Even better, you can sync your Google Calendar and Todoist.

To more easily view exactly what I need to do and where I need to be, I have a Google Calendar widget on the home screen of my phone. Then, my synced Todoist shows all of my tasks as differently-colored events for that day. On top of that, I highly recommend color-coding your Google Calendar. I include locations of my meetings/classes, and then I color code for each thing to make quick glances way easier. For example, classes are dark green, gym trips are light green, SI sessions are red, fun things are yellow, club meetings are light blue, and the list continues. I also enjoy having everything on Google Calendar because then I can enter other people’s Gmails as guests to my “event” which syncs the event on all of our calendars.

ANYWAYS, that was a big rant on my organizational system for day-to-day life, and I do really enjoy perfecting this stuff so maybe it will change again as I go through life. But for now, this system has helped me for almost my entire time at college to be organized, less overwhelmed, and have an all-around feeling that I am managing my time efficiently.

Finals & Graduation Season

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Happy almost Finals week everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida, the Spring 2022 semester is coming to a close, and we’re so close to finishing up! My life lately has mostly consisted of homework, projects, class, studying, working out, and ROTC. With only one week of school left, two weeks until my commissioning PT test, and three weeks until graduation and commissioning… life is moving so fast! Towards the end of the semester I’ve found I am usually the busiest, most stressed, and running on the most caffeine (with less and less sleep). However, I am looking forward to graduation and catching up on rest and relaxation so soon!

Final push until the end of the semester! Post-workout at the ERAU Fitness Center!

I’ve been reminiscing on the past years a lot lately. Will I miss college life? What does the real world look like? Am I prepared for what comes next? My time at ERAU has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve taken part in thus far. Looking back at myself from freshman year to now, I’m a completely different person! I’ve grown so much, become so much more confident, and have learned so much not only academically, but about myself as a person too.

College gives you the freedom to make your own schedule, study, eat, and sleep whenever you want! College also gives you the opportunity to learn the importance of balance, time management, and self care – especially during particularly stressful or busy portions of the semester (shoutout Finals Week). Nonetheless, I am so grateful for everything I’ve had the chance to experience in my time as a Resident Advisor, Orientation Team Ambassador, on SGA Student Court, as a University 101 Peer Mentor, working on campus as a Undergraduate Student Researcher at the Eagle Flight Research Center, and in Air Force ROTC.

One of the (many) early mornings before sunrise on the way to ROTC training!

Advice I was given as a freshman was – try everything! Then cut back as you figure out what you like the most and prioritize what you can make time for. Going into my final semester, I’ve cut back the most on almost all extracurricular involvement to focus primarily on academics and ROTC – aka graduation and commissioning. I’ve learned there will never be enough time in the day to accomplish everything, but it’s extremely important to learn yourself well enough to know when you need sleep over staying up to finish a homework assignment. My ERAU experience has been academically rigorous, stressful, busy, and at the same time fun, I’ve made some life long friends and memories I will never forget, and I am a stronger and better person than I was when I started. I look forward to concluding finals in the beginning of May and will be signing out with one more blog post to follow! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!

Goodbye, Freshman Year

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Classes are winding down, boxes are being packed, the temperature is heating up, and thunderstorms are becoming an everyday occurrence. You know what that means, spring semester is coming to a close! Between studying for finals and packing up all of my belongings, I’m taking time to reflect on my first year of college.

During my first week here in Daytona Beach, I had no idea what to expect once classes started at ERAU. Would I have homework everyday, will the professors know my name, where can I eat after class, and more, were all questions I asked myself. I am the oldest child in my family, so I did not have any stories about college from older siblings to rely on. I was going into my first day of classes with a completely blank slate.

Now, after a full year of classes at ERAU, I can say that college is not what I expected it to be during that first week. However, that is a good thing. I learned that in college…

1. You have the freedom to do what you want to do, however the choices you make about how you spend your time will catch up with you. Whether the choices be good or bad, you decide.

2. Everyone is here to succeed. Back in high school, there were people who just went to class because they had to. In college, you go to class because you genuinely want to learn and succeed in your field. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here.

3. There are so many resources to help you. Going in to my first day of class, I thought I was alone. I did not think anyone cared if I succeeded or not. Now I know I was completely wrong. ERAU provides amazing resources to help you with internships, tutoring, medical needs, and anything else you could possibly think of. I never feel like I am alone because now I know I have a huge web of resources who will be there for me if I ever need anything.

After looking back on my freshman year, I’ve realized that I made some mistakes, but I also grew tremendously. I’ve grown academically because of classes which have pushed me to think outside of the box. I’ve grown socially because of clubs and organizations that challenge me to get out of my comfort zone, volunteer, and be a part of something bigger. I’ve grown emotionally because I’ve lived 3,000+ miles away from everything I ever knew before. Lastly, I’ve grown mentally because I am continuously surrounded by people who think different than I do, who may live on the other side of the world from me, and who are pursuing amazing careers in a different field than I am. All of the experiences I have had in my first year of college have been an integral part in my learning process. It’s not just the classes you attend which prepare you for life after college, but also the experiences you have along the way.

As a freshman in my last week of classes, I have some advice for incoming freshmen in the Fall 2015 semester…

College will be the most rewarding time of your life, if you let it challenge you. Go into your freshman year with an open mind about everything, because I promise you, college is not what you expect it to be. Meet new people, travel around the area, study hard, join clubs, get a job, and have fun! Don’t constrain yourself by letting your preconceptions conceal the endless opportunities available right outside of your comfort zone.

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“By letting go of your fears and opening your wings, you can soar to new heights”

 

Although this is my last blog entry of the semester, keep checking back during the summer! I will be writing about my experiences, wherever life takes me.

Until next time,

Lindsey