Graduation

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Definition

This whole time we have been talking about leading up to graduation and how to get ready for it. But never have we put a definition onto the term. I thought this post could be some meanings and synonyms of the word graduation. 

Definitions: 

“the receiving or conferring of an academic degree or diploma.” 

“the action of dividing into degrees or other proportionate divisions on a graduated scale.” 

“Graduation is the award of a diploma or academic degree, or the ceremony that is sometimes associated with it, in which students become graduates. The date of graduation is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony itself is also sometimes called: commencement, convocation or invocation.” 

“the formal event at which a person who has successfully completed a course of study at a school, college, or university gets a document stating this fact, or the successful completion of a course of study:” 

“the fact of finishing a degree or other course of study at a university or school, or the ceremony at which you are officially said to have finished:” 

“Graduation is the successful completion of a course of study at a university, college, or school, for which you receive a degree or diploma.” 

Synonyms: 

commencement. admission. alpha. birth. bow. celebration. convocation. countdown. curtain-raiser. 

https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/graduation

Memories last a life time

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Graduation is very stressful because all these days and years we are going through school, we are leading up to one day in our life. Have you ever thought about that? We are all going through so much time and stress to each graduation. It took me a while to realize this, but we won’t be able to get college back. Never again will we be this young and not have to worry about big payments until after we get a real big job.  

I am here to remind you that we need to cherish all of the memories. There are so many stressful times, but we also need to remember they don’t have to be. Going out with your friends is something that you will remember for a lifetime. Hanging out with your roomies, or even going to a football game. You need to take the time to have some fun for yourself. 

I struggled with this for a while last year at Whitewater. Since I transferred, I didn’t know anyone. It was very hard to get out of my comfort zone to talk to people. This year I am a different person. Since its senior year it’s time to make some friends and enjoy myself. Most likely I won’t ever be around so many people again that I am able to connect with.  

Take advantage of being in college to do fun things with people. College only happens once in your life and you will regret it if you don’t spend time on yourself. Not saying that you shouldn’t do homework or study, but to learn how to have a balance with friends and family. 

Weekly Schedule

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Today’s post is going to be talking about my weekly routine at school. On Monday and Wednesday, I have class from 12:30 -1:45 and 2:00-3:15. My first class is social media optimization and we learn lots of information on how social media works and influences others. My second class of the day is my persuasion class. It sounds easy, but it’s a lot harder than you would think. On Tuesday and Thursday, I have three classes. The times are 9:30-10:45, 12:30 -1:45, and 2:00-3:15. Those classes are sociological theory, event planning, and adverting media planning and buying. Below I am going to list everything that I do throughout the day. I stick with the same routine the whole week. It would be crazy if I did something out of the ordinary by not sticking to my time schedule.  

Monday: 

 10:30 am- I drive from Waukesha to Whitewater for the week 

11:10am – Arrive at school and eat lunch 

12:30-1:45 pm -social media optimization class 

2:00-3:15pm – Persuasion class 

3:00-6:00pm — doing homework in the library  

6:00-6:30pm – Eat dinner 

6:30-10:00pm –Free time 

10pm- Bedtime  

Tuesday :  

9:30-10:45am- Sociological Theory class 

10:45- 12:30 – relax / lunch 

12:30-1:45 pm – Event Planning class 

2:00-3:15pm – Adverting Media Planning and Buying 

3:00-6:00pm — doing homework in the library  

6:00-6:30pm – Eat dinner 

6:30-10:00pm –Free time 

10pm- Bedtime 

Wednesday: 

12:00pm – Arrive at school and eat lunch 

12:30-1:45 pm -social media optimization class 

2:00-3:15pm – Persuasion class 

3:00-6:00pm — doing homework in the library  

6:00-6:30 pm- Eat dinner 

6:30-10:00pm –Free time 

10pm- Bedtime 

Thursday: 

9:30-10:45am- Sociological Theory class 

10:45- 12:30 – relax / lunch 

12:30-1:45 pm – Event Planning class 

2:00-3:15pm – Adverting Media Planning and Buying 

3:15- Drive home to Waukesha for the weekend 

Emailing Skills

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Having good emailing skills is a type priority to be successful. Professors aren’t going to take you seriously If the email has multiple spelling and grammar errors. errors are not for people in college. When emailing someone who is higher up, you want to make sure what you’re saying makes sense. If your email is full of nonsense most likely they won’t even pay attention to it because they have more better things to do.  

Overtime I really tried to perfect my skills of emailing a professor and making sure I know how to write a correct email that’s proper and formal.  

Here are some tips on how to write a good email that will be successful. 

– Proofreading 

This needs to be done after the whole email is done. I would read it out loud to yourself because it’s easier to find mistakes. I would also recommend having someone else read it since it’s easier to have someone else to find things. 

-Check the Tone 

Having a certain tone in the email can set the outcome. If you are upset or confused, try not to be rude or concerning about it. Talking online is different compared to in person so someone might take your tone the wrong way. I would try to make it as calm as you could make it.  

-Good Use of Subject Lines 

This Is the hint to tell the person reading the email what it’s about. You need to make sure it’s short but able to show the main message of thought. If it seems to not be important, some may ignore it.  

– Use standard fonts. 

Even though bright colors and crazy fonts look cool, it’s not formal for a professor. They need to have something easy to read for them to understand.  

Associate’s vs Bachelor’s Degree

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The purpose of this blog post is to talk about my personal experience of how to get ready for an Associates degree compared to a Bachelor’s degree.  

Associate’s:

Getting an Associate’s degree is easy because there is a whole outline of classes you need to take. You don’t have to decide because it’s already chosen for you. It wasn’t stressful because I didn’t have to worry about what I wanted to do. All I had to do was make sure I didn’t fail the class. When it was time to graduate there was only about 60 people. Not a lot of people get an Associate’s degree because it’s not very helpful when getting a good paying job. Once I graduated with my degree, I felt accomplished because I knew I was 2 years done and I only had 2 more to go to get my Bachelors. 

Bachelor’s:

When you choose a major and minor there is a certain amount of credits that they contain. To be able to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree you have to have a total of 120 credits at UW -Whitewater. Once you get into your senior year you really start to stress and struggle with your classes. It’s much more of anxiety one knowing you must pass these classes in a certain amount of time to graduate. Mostly it takes people on average for years to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. I would say a Bachelor’s degree is different because there is a lot more pressure. When getting a Bachelor’s degree you can choose if you want to settle down or go for your Master’s degree. 

Motivation

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Why should we have it in college?

I’m not always motivated all the time but I try hard to be! Motivation to me is everything because it’s what helps me get things done. What gets me motivated is thinking about the big outcome in the future of what is going to benefit me. For example: My biggest motivation I have right now is graduation, and that is what I’m working up to.  

Where are some reasons why I see being motivated is good for you; 

1.High quality work

Having good grades is what allows us to graduate. We need a certain GPA to pass successfully. Students can’t fail classes and still be allowed to graduate. If you want to get a good grade you are going to put in a lot of time and work into it to do good.  

2.You get along with people better. 

By being motivated I’m more social with people. I think it’s because I’m trying my best to get my work done correctly. So, either asking someone for help, or studying with someone is a good way to be social. You also get to know your professors better by doing one on one with them if you need help.  

3.Less stress 

By being on top of your work to get things done, most likely you are ahead of your work. By getting work done ahead of time, it gives you more time to do other things. The process of staying ahead is very helpful since you don’t have to worry about deadlines at the last minute.  

CommConnect

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Today is my Communication Department’s group advising event which is held every semester. The purpose of this is for everybody to be on the right track to graduate. As I talked about before, scheduling can be very tricky as to why this is held to help us. I am very excited to go because this is my last one since I graduate in the spring!  

What to bring :  

-Academic Advising Report (AAR) 

This what tells us everything we have completed and still need up to our 120 credits to graduate. It’s an easy way to keep track of all of our classes. 

-Advising Worksheet 

This needs to be completed by us before we go. The sheet is what we need to take for next semester. It gives us a lay out of what’s need with the course number, course name, credit amount, and day/time it’s on.  Having this sheet is super helpful when it’s time to register for classes.  

If we don’t bring the AAR and advising worksheet to the event, we won’t be ahold in.  

Reason to go: 

IT’S A MUST. There will be a hold on our account If we don’t go which means we can’t register for classes. 

-To know what’s going on 

It’s so helpful to understand what’s going on with our schedule so we know how to graduate on time.  

It’s going to be held in the Hamilton room Nov 4 and 5th.  The event has been “revamped” for this fall and is now called CommConnect.   

12:30-5:30 pm on Nov 4th and from 2:00-5:00 pm on Nov 5th. 

Midterm Week

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How to get through it efficiently

I can’t believe we are having midterms already which means we are halfway through the semester! Midterms is a big time during the year because this is what shows how much knowledge we have learned from our classes. Multiple exams at once is super stressful and time consuming. I came up with some tips on how to make midterm week easier! 

Tip 1. Be confident  

I used to be so down on myself because I thought I didn’t study good enough, so I talked myself into failing. It’s so easy to get in your head, but it’s not worth it. I personally am trying to be more confident when I’m preparing for an exam. I tell myself it’s okay and I am going to do great. It allows myself to not only feel about it, but it calms me down to not worry.  

Tip 2. Get enough sleep 

Studying for exams takes up a big majority of time which isn’t good for your brain. Our brain needs rest at times, and it crashes if we aren’t getting good sleep. Make sure to fit in a well number of hours of sleep and naps while studying. It’s okay to breaks because we need it.  

Tip 3. Manage your time 

When having exams at the same time it’s tricky on which one to study for and when. I came up with a chart in my planner that marks which day I should study for which exam.  

MONDAY: EXAM A AND B 

TUESDAY: EXAM C 

WEDNESDAY: EXAM A AND B 

THURSDAY: EXAM C 

FRIDAY: nothing 

This method is helpful to me because it helps me sort out my time. Not only does it help my time it’s a way for me to learn my information better. Studying for multiple exams in a day tricks me by getting terms mixed up. 

Good luck on your exams. You will do amazing. Stay positive.  

UPDATE: Applying for graduation

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I’m accepted!

I am approved to graduate in May 2020 with my Bachelors degree! I made a blog post few weeks ago explaining how I was applying for graduation, and I told you guys I would update you when I got my results. 

I got the letter in the mail from UW-Whitewater which is stamped mailed from Madison, Wisconsin. It started off saying that I applied to graduate next year. I am going to be cleared for graduation after this semester of classes. They will check my grades to make sure I’m on the right track and won’t be behind in credits.  

The letter listed the requirements of classes that I still need to take to complete my AAR. The AAR stands for Academic Advising Report which shows every college course you have taken since you started college. It shows you your grade, credit amount, and if you have completed certain requirements for major and minor. I have 3 classes left to take for next semester which is 12 credits. They all must be taken for my major advertising.  

The end of the letter listed lots of resources of who I could talk to if I’m having problems with my schedule or if something has changed to switch my graduation date.  

Overall, this took about a month to get my letter in the mail for this process. I haven’t received an email so I’m not sure if I will. My goal now is to just make sure I can pass my classes and do the best I can to graduate on time. 

Focus on yourself

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Through experience I have realized that I’m an emotional and invested girl that takes a lot of things to heart. If something is going on, I get distracted easily, because it impacts me too deeply. To a point that’s not good because it affects me as a person. Once it affects me, it will effect my schoolwork because I can’t focus. For the past month I’ve been going through something which has affected my grades. At one point we will have this happen to us, but we need to overcome it. As a college student we only get so much leeway with our professors.  

The point I’m getting at even though things get hard at times we need to try to focus on our grades because that is going to be the outcome to our future. It’s not always easy to be able to make up for a bad exam grade depending on how much everything in the class is weighted. Most likely the situation we are going through now, isn’t going to matter much in a couple months from now.  

Since I’m graduating this year, I need to do my very best to make sure I pass all my classes with good grades. My goal at this moment is to try to not have things impact me as much as they have in the past. I encourage you to focus on yourself! It’s the best for all of us, because we need to care about what’s going on with us personally. It’s able to boost confidence and increase happiness in all areas in life!