FSU Honors Program Newsletter, Issue #23- March 2020

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

HONORS

ISSUE #23 March 2020

contents

3 MONTHLY WELCOMEÂ 4 THE PETS OF HSA STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: 7 STEPHANIE HAMILTON 8

HOW TO SUCCEED IN ONLINE CLASSES

9 PAINTING EXPRESS 8 WAYS OF STAYING 10 PRODUCTIVE AT HOME 12 QUARAN-CLEAN 13 STUDENT SUBMISSIONS STUDENTS SPEAK: SPRING 16 BREAK

MONTHLY WELCOME Dear Honors Students, These are challenging times for us all, and I hope you and your families are safe and healthy. I would like to share some valuable resources available to you that might be helpful.

While the libraries on campus are no longer open, they are continuing to provide instructional, research, and delivery services remotely (https://www.lib.fsu.edu/news/covid-19). The Ask a Librarian service is a great way to get help with research papers and projects, and late-night tutoring for various subjects will now be available via Zoom. The Career Center will also be hosting many online services (https://www.career.fsu.edu/info). This includes virtual Drop-In Career advising, Career Liaison advising, the ProfessioNole Mentors program, and workshops designed for graduating seniors. In addition, the Honors Program is offering advising through email, phone, and video appointments (https://honors.fsu.edu).

If possible, I encourage you to attend virtual office hours with your professors and teaching assistants. Even though we aren’t on campus, you still have the opportunity to learn from and interact with your instructors in a meaningful way. For example, if you need a letter of recommendation or help with an assignment, don’t hesitate to reach out. Although this is an unusual situation, now just might be the perfect time to make new connections. If you would like to earn a few more service hours before the end of the semester, make sure to take a look at our monthly service email from our Director of Community Service. Also, The Big Event Tallahassee has launched a social media campaign called #ThankfulTLH to encourage meaningful and safe service to the Tallahassee community. Check their social media pages for new service challenges every Tuesday and Thursday.

Most importantly, be sure to take care of yourself. The end of the semester is filled with exams, papers, and presentations, and can be a very stressful time for many of us and even more so now. Your physical, emotional, and mental well-being all contribute to your academic success, so it is important to eat balanced meals, get enough sleep, and devote time to self-care.

Remember that we are Seminole strong and we can do this!

Warm regards,

LAUREN MARIOTTI PRESIDENT HONORS STUDENT ASSOCIATION FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

THE PETS OF HSA

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

STEPHANIE HAMILTON

I am a Senior Honors student from Clearwater, FL. Right now, I am majoring in Music and Creative Writing with a minor in Italian. Starting this year, I will be a part of Teach for America's 2020 Corps!

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO ATTEND FLORIDA STATE? I am a legacy of FSU and have had the pleasure of visiting the campus for the past 15 years with my family. In addition to my personal connection with the school, FSU's College of Music has an incredible reputation and so many opportunities that are not offered at other schools. Once I received my acceptance as a voice major, I knew this was exactly where I was meant to be.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR CURRENT HONORS STUDENTS?

I think the most important thing to remember is that it is okay to not have your life figured out yet. You are going to be in classes with incredible students, but you're one of them too! Striving to do your best and to improve yourself (whether that be in academics or other areas of your life) is way more worthwhile than comparing your unique path to others'.Â

HOW HAS BEING AN HONORS STUDENT IMPACTED YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE? Being an Honors student has shaped every year of my college experience. My freshman year I lived in the honors dorm with some of my best friends from high school and it helped me feel more at home. My sophomore year I took honors music theory classes and made friendships that I have been able to lean on the last 3 years and that have changed my life for the best. My junior year I was able to teach college freshmen as an Honors Colloquium Leader and that made me realize my passion for teaching, which lead me to be an HCL the following year as well. And finally my senior year, Honors has provided me with a sense of security and encouragement that is unmatched.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY AT FLORIDA STATE? My favorite memory at FSU is throwing a birthday party for my dog, Dooley. He was turning 13 years old so I invited a bunch of my friends over to my apartment to celebrate his birthday and I had dog themed decorations and food, even a dog-friendly birthday cake for him.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN ONLINE CLASSES Follow your usual routine. Have you been waking up at 8am since August? Keep that schedule. Following a routine will help you adjust to your new environment and feeling like you're still at college.

Treat class like it's in person. Suddenly having online classes may make you feel prone to slacking off and not treating it as seriously as before. Therefore, stay engaged in the classroom and don't give into the temptation to browse social media.

Create a good workspace. Your desk should be uncluttered, with space for you to write notes, charge your computer, and be focused.

Turn off the phone. Hold yourself accountable and eliminate distractions to the best of your ability. Try keeping your phone in another room while on Zoom to prevent the urge to disengage.

Don't stay sedentary. The urge to lie in bed may be strong, but a quick jog around your house or 20 jumping jacks will wake you up and give you an energetic start to the day.

Create goals for your learning. Having small goals, like asking one question per week in your lecture, or completing your homework two days before it's due will keep you on track and aiming for that 4.0.

If you're struggling, tell your professor. If you do not have access to necessary items for class, like a computer, stable Wi-Fi, or the textbook, you need to tell your professor so that they can accommodate your unique situation.

PAINTING EXPRESS

THANKS TO OUR HARDWORKING COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM AND OUR ATTENDEES, WE RAISED $124.20 FOR RELAY FOR LIFE!

8 WAYS TO STAY PRODUCTIVE AT HOME Greetings! My name is Beth Skinner, and I am the current Director of Student Success for the Honors Student Association. A big part of my position is helping create events that foster academic and professional growth, as well as events that promote and encourage mental and physical wellness. With so much confusion and uncertainty right now, it is important to take time to still be productive and take care of yourself. Therefore, I have created a list of activities that can be done from home that can help promote overall well-being!

Establish a Morning Routine

Get up in the morning and prepare for your day as you normally would. Make sure to go to bed early so you have time to wake up, get dressed for the day, take a shower, and eat breakfast!

Keep Active!

If possible, get some sunlight and go for a swim, run, walk, or any other exercise that gets your muscles moving. Or try some at-home workouts! YouTube is a great resource for finding follow-along videos.

Try Out a New Hobby

Write letters, stories, poems, have a go at painting or drawing, read a new book series, try out a new recipe, or find other ways for you to express yourself!

Declutter

Reorganize your physical and electronic papers, folders, and old assignments. This is the perfect time to try out new organizational methods, like Marie Kondo's!

Plan Out Your Day

Plan out daily activities to maximize productivity.

Create a calendar of due dates and set aside a certain amount of time each day to do schoolwork and finish your other projects.

Update Your Resume/Profiles

Create or update your resume or Handshake and LinkedIn profiles. Work on online certifications i.e Adobe, AutoCAD, etc. Or look into potential career paths and stay up to date with things going on in your field of study.

Take Time to Relax

Drink water throughout the day. Take time to relax, whether that is through creativity, meditation, taking a bath, etc. Take a deep breath and remain optimistic!

Reach Out to Those Who Can Help

Check-up on friends and family, isolation can take its toll on people. Reach out to people from your career field to ask questions and get advice and explore the online resources offered by the Career Center.

How to spring clean this flu season!

QUARAN-CLEAN DISINFECT SURFACES DAILY Keyboards, phone, pencils, desks, doorknobs, and light switches get filthy on a daily basis. Use disinfecting wipes or scrub them down with anti-bacterial soap and water to prevent the spread of germs.Â

GET THRIFTY With more free time, now is the best time to find clothing that doesn't fit, rarely worn, or no longer wanted. You can donate your old, gently used clothes to Goodwill and other nonprofit thrift stores, or utilize the fabric to up-cycle other clothes. Old graphic tees can be made into a quilt, or into reusable rags.

REFRESH YOUR ROOM Your room could use a glow up! A redesigned room can do wonders for making it feel brand new. Try rearranging furniture, repainting the walls, or adding new decor after you finally tackle the stack of laundry on the chair.

GLOVE UP Certain cleaners can be abrasive to the skin, so avoid hurting yourself by wearing gloves whenever you're cleaning with strong chemicals. Opening a window or doorway to let in fresh air will also prevent breathing in fumes.

GET GREEN Spring cleaning isn't limited to the indoors. Try getting some Vitamin D by going outside and weeding the garden, planting some native flora and fauna, and making the outside look just as fresh as the inside.

Student Submission #1

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

By Meredith Freedman

I often thought of myself as an invincible problem solver, that is, until I was confounded by a four-month-old.

Standing in the dim guest room, I looked helplessly at the inconsolable little boy. Changing Jonah’s diaper didn’t work; feeding him a bottle didn’t work; rocking him didn’t work; singing to him didn’t work; nothing was working to make him fall asleep. I pride myself on my “people skills,” but evidently, they don’t apply to infants whose parents have entrusted them with a babysitter for the first time.

Jonah remained completely oblivious to the fact that over an hour had passed since his bedtime. He would quiet down for a few moments and start crying again, sometimes at the very moment I finished singing “Good, Good Father” to comfort him. As I surveyed the area around his crib, strewn with the wet wipes that his young sister so “helpfully” pulled out for us and the pajamas that he was supposed to be wearing, I felt like such a failure. I couldn’t make his distress go away; I couldn’t fix it.

The scenario follows a similar theme to my life: if you give me a problem, I want to fix it. From playground predicaments to wandering freshmen and marching band logistics, I have always been determined to find a solution and remedy the conflict.

I have been blessed with the mentors and experiences to carry me a long way in this endeavor, but sometimes I get stumped. It’s tempting in those moments to claim failure and berate myself in exasperation. But I have learned a valuable lesson through life’s many “Jonah moments”: it’s not up to me to fix everything. My pastor once reminded our church that “life doesn’t always follow the ‘up and to the right’ model.” I will not be able to resolve every conflict or fix every problem; I will experience losses and trials and setbacks. What counts in all of these circumstances is my response. So, as I stared into Jonah’s sweet eyes and pleaded with him to stop crying, I also made a decision. I will work as hard as I can to make a positive change in every situation, but I will make love my priority. I will love every person I encounter, unconditionally and intentionally, regardless of my ability or their willingness to fix their problems. I will approach leadership opportunities with the goal of leading people, not projects. I will stand firmly in my beliefs, but I won’t be afraid to “agree to disagree” if it means protecting a relationship. I will never take for granted the inherent value of each individual I meet, nor will I ever stop striving to help them recognize it.

Student Submission #2

MUSIC ICONS BY THE DECADE

By Caitlin Diamond

^"This is a collage of 7 different pieces I created. I wanted to portray a different musical icon from each decade starting with the 1950's. From left to right, top to bottom, the artists are: Elvis Presley (1950's), The Beatles (1960's), Elton John (1970's), Michael Jackson (1980's), Madonna (1990's), P!nk (2000's), and Billie Eilish (2010's). This piece was drawn in Adobe Illustrator."

WANT TO BE FEATURED?

Submit your original research, photography, poetry, short stories, or visual art to be featured in the HSA Newsletter! Examples of acceptable genres are poetry, short stories, research, visual art, or photography, but any student work is welcome. Current Honors students should send creative writing, research, photography, or art submissions to HSAeboard19@gmail.com

STUDENTS SPEAK:

IS IT SAFE TO GO ON SPRING BREAK? Did you have plans to travel this spring break?

45% NO

55% YES

In an Instagram poll posted to the FSU Honors Instagram page, students were asked whether or not they had planned to travel for spring break before the COVID-19 outbreak affected international and domestic travel within the United States. The results of this poll are shown to the left, with a close to 50-50 split between students who initially chose to stay home versus travel.

Did you go through with these travel plans?

After this first poll, a second was posted asking students whether or not they continued with these travel plans. The results, depicted by the right graph, showed that 84% of respondents did not travel for spring break, as they had previously planned.

16% YES

84% NO

Why or why not?

When asked why, 45% of the students who responded stated that they did not feel it was safe to travel amid the COVID-19 outbreak. 30% stated that the University's cancellation of international travel or independent business closures, such as Disney and Universal, prompted them to cancel their trips. For those who continued to uphold their travel plans, every response stated that their plans included family members or close friends and that extra safety precautions had been put into place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Editor-in-Chief: Lillie Brody Content: Karyna Bugos Jennifer Lamont Photos: Alexa Scalchunes