Kylie Kenedy: This Week's Star Student!

This week, the UNK Admissions Office Star Student of the Week is Kylie Kenedy! Kylie is new to our team this semester, and has been such a wonderful addition to our office! Although she is new this semester, she has already stepped up as a great leader on her team. She is a hard worker, very self-motivated, and has phenomenal confidence. We get to see this every day in her excellent interactions with prospective students and their families. Thank you for all you do, Kylie! Go (Aqua)Lopers!

9/21-9/25 Star Student: Kylie Kenedy

• High School: Omaha Burke -- Omaha, NE
• Year & Major: Sophomore, Exercise Science and Special Education Major -- Pre-Occupational Therapy
• Dream Job: "Occupational Therapist for adults with special needs!"
• UNK Activities and Organizations: Varsity swim team, SAAC, Alpha Omicron Pi
• Favorite Kearney Hangout: "My favorite place is Baristas! I'm a little addicted to their peach tea. :)"

Stefani Perez-Zamarripa: This Week's Star Student!

This week, the UNK Admissions Office Star Student of the Week is Stefani Perez! Fun fact about Stefani: She has worked in our office as a student diplomat more semesters than any one else! Stefani is a fantastic leader not only in our office, but also on campus. Recently, Stefani demonstrated her leadership by stepping up during UNK's Multicultural Scholars and Leaders Day by aiding with campus visits, and also going above and beyond by giving a last-minute visit to a baseball recruit. Thank you for all you do for our office and for UNK, Stefani!

9/21-9/25 Star Student: Stefani Perez-Zamarripa

• High School: Lexington High School -- Lexington, NE
• Year & Major: Senior, Political Science and Spanish Translation/Interpretation
• Dream Job: Immigration lawyer or Supreme Court Justice
• Why UNK? Kearney Bound Scholarship and close to home
• Favorite Kearney Hangout: Yanney Park!

McKenzie Cuba: This Week's Star Student!

This week, the UNK Admissions Office Star Student of the Week is McKenzie Cuba! McKenzie is one of our new Student Diplomats this semester and has already shown great confidence and leadership in her position. McKenzie has gone above and beyond, and we are so excited to see all of the great things that she will do in our office!

9/14-9/18 Star Student: McKenzie Cuba

• High School: Twin River High School - Genoa, NE
• Year & Major: Sophomore, Business Administration - Management
• Dream Job: Own my own photography studio with multiple locations while earning enough to travel the world and make a difference.
• Why UNK? UNK offers me numerous opportunities to get involved and also provides the experience of knowing multiple people on campus while still meeting others!
• Favorite place to hang out on campus: The lounges in Men's Hall

First Year Program Guest Blog: Tips and Tricks From Your Favorite Professors

In order to help make your first semester as successful as possible, we reached out to some of UNK’s professors and asked them to provide some tips, tricks and advice for the First Year student. 

Some of the suggestions may surprise you, and some may not, but all of them can help make your transition to the college life and the college classroom a little bit easier.  The professors at UNK want their students to have a holistic experience in college.  College is not just about the in class experience, but the out of class experience as well.  Here are Dr. Carlson’s, Dr. Forrest’s, and Dr. Fleig-Palmer’s suggestions for a successful first year in & out of the classroom!

In Class…

1. Go to class. This may seem like a no-brainer, but I promise you, sometimes this is the biggest hurdle to jump.  Just do it, roll out of bed, and make the effort—I promise it will pay off.
2. Don’t assume college exams will be like high school exams or even assume that exams in some college classes will be the same as in other college classes. College is different from high school and college professors test differently. Exams are not reprints of study guides. Questions are not always multiple choice (unless your professor says so) and you will probably not do well if you give your study materials a quick glance the night before. If studying for a college exam seems harder than what you’re used to, that’s normal.
3. Introduce yourself to your professors – they’re not as scary as they appear, and building relationships can really pay off.
4. Study with others. Some of your best studying can be done in the presence of others, regardless of whether they are better or worse students than you. If they are better, they can learn from you. If they are worse, you can teach them thereby increasing your own knowledge of the material. This is a win-win situation as long as everyone in the study group has the same goals (i.e., understanding the material and doing well on the exam). If you want a date with the cute guy or gal in your class, save it for the weekend. Focus, focus, focus. Work together to develop examples, compare and contrast perspectives, and understand the big picture.
5. Stake out a spot in the library that is your study space and do it now, don’t wait until finals week. Maybe even checkout the learning commons.
6. Leave your cell phone in your res hall, or at least your backpack, when going to class.
7. Invest in a book bag and three working pens with ink. Seems simple, but you would be surprised how many people show up to class without a) a book or b) a writing utensil.
8. Read the text assignments before coming to class and keep up with the smaller amounts of reading before each class period so you are not reading a lot of information the night before. Take notes or outline chapter material and compare what you thought was important to what your professor chose to cover in class. If it’s the same then you are on the same page. If not then what you think is important and what the professor thinks is important is different and you may need to sit down with him or her and talk about getting the most from your reading.
9. Reread the text assignment (or the notes) after class. Now you have your professor’s examples or explanations to help you through those parts of the text that seemed fuzzy before. If you are still unclear on a concept after reading the material twice and looking at your notes see if your professor has provided activities, worksheets, quizzes, to help you learn. You look like a more conscientious student if you have taken advantage of all of the available activities before asking for help.
10. ASK FOR HELP! What can it hurt?  You might feel silly, or it might make you uncomfortable, but isn’t knowing the answer worth the pain?  We think so! We are here to help and WANT to help.  We can’t do our jobs if students never ask questions. 

Out of Class…

1. Experience serendipity! Go to something you’ve never tried before – a lecture on a topic that intrigues you, a theater production…it doesn’t matter what it is as long as you meet new people and open yourself to discovery.
2. Don’t go home every weekend.  It is on the weekends that you truly get to know the campus, community and the people in them.  Stay the weekend and try something new.  Go to the community theatre for a production, check out one of Kearney’s amazing parks, or just stay in and get to know your hall-mates, you will be glad you did.
3. Get involved. You will hear it over and over again, but college is not just about what you learn in the classroom. It is important to learn about yourself as well, and you can do that by joining different organizations around campus.  Take on at least one leadership role.  These opportunities will be just as valuable when looking for a career as the knowledge you gain in the classroom.
4. ASK FOR HELP! See Above. :) 

Brette Ensz is the Assistant Director of the First Year Program office at UNK. The First Year Program engages and supports new students as they transition to UNK life through a network of resources, including social and academic programs. You can find the First Year Program office in the Memorial Student Affairs Building.

enszba@unk.edu
(308) 865-8291

How to Make Your Classmates Like You

Congratulations! You've almost made it to Labor Day. Which means that you survived your first couple of weeks in the classroom and have more than likely already experienced the struggles of trying to run with a backpack on (we all knew you'd regret 8:00 am class).

So now that you're all settled in and your dorm room walls reflect your attendance at the campus poster fair, we move to the next item on the "important things" list that I made up just now. How to Make Your Classmates Like You.

Sadly, this can be easier said than done (just me? k.). Your classmates are your lifeline and making friends with the students you share class with can save you. Whether it's a take-home quiz you forgot about until the morning of, or an extra reminder of what reading was due for tomorrow, you shouldn't try to tackle your classes completely alone.

So if you want to be the first person your classmates grab for the call-your-partner group projects or want to be included on the group messages calling for midterm study parties, follow the few simple tips below.

1. Be the person who always has gum.
There's always a cost of doing business. But this one has a great ROI. Whether they seek it out or you offer it up, we all know that no one can dislike the person who always has an extra stick of gum.

2. Keep your syllabus at your fingertips.
Before class begins and the students await the arrival of the always-two-minutes-late professor, a flood of panic may often infect the classroom. "WAIT-- OUR TEST IS TODAY ISN'T IT? OR IS IT THURSDAY? OR IT'S TODAY." But you have your syllabus handy. And you diffuse the situation by informing your colleagues that the test, indeed, is Thursday.

3. Tangent off of #2: Don't be the person that creates panic.
Maybe the whole "Today vs. Thursday" test debate started in your head. Don't vocalize this concern until you can confirm it with your handy syllabus. Quarantine the panic contagion and keep those deadly thoughts to yourself.

4. Carry school supplies.
I'm not telling you to keep a three-hole punch in your bookbag. That's weird. But I can guarantee you that you will encounter a good number of students who take nothing with them to class but a pen. This is your opportunity to be their hero. So throw on your cape (metaphorically-- again, that's weird) and be the one with extra notebook paper, an actual block eraser because math is hard, and save the day.

5. Don't ask questions in the last three minutes of class.
There are of course exceptions to every rule. Is it a simple yes/no question? Then maybe it's okay. Is there a possibility that your question could spark a discussion or, God forbid, more questions? Then save it for after class. If you are responsible for keeping class late and, henceforth, cutting into anyone's nap time, this is not something that you will be able to easily bounce back from.

If you have any other tips that you've learned, then share them below. We can all learn to be a little more well-liked.

Alexis Page: Star Student of the Week!

This week, the UNK Admissions Office Star Student of the Week is Alexis Page! Alexis is one of our fabulous returning Student Diplomats this fall. She demonstrated so much leadership last week by stepping up during Student Diplomat training and volunteering to give special weekend visits. Thank you for all you do, Alexis!

8/31-9/4 Star Student: Alexis Page

• High School: Crete High School - Crete, NE
• Year & Major: Junior, Molecular Biology, Pre-Med
• Dream Job: Biomedical researcher or trauma surgeon
• Why UNK? The size of the classes and personal relationships with professors -- And the science department is pretty rad!
• Favorite UNK Tradition/Event: The Mantor Hall Donut Hole Eating Contest!