Students@UM-Flint

Wow it is crazy how time flies!!!! I can’t believe classes begin in the next couple of days and I am happy to finish the last phase of my college career. Its been a long journey with so many experiences and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the Fall semester because of the weather, and the opportunity to meet new people. I am really excited to see what it has in store because a lot has changed on campus over the past four months.

I spent my summer working at the Genesee County Health Department implementing and evaluating programs. One of the projects we have coming up is the “Get Out & Move Health Fair.” This saturday at the Atwood Stadium, if you have nothing doing you are welcome to join us at 10:30am- 3pm. I also had a lot of meetings on campus and I had the opportunity to be involved in a search committee which opened me up to a lot of experiences.

Overall this summer was very productive. I look forward to this semester filled with great opportunities. My advice to incoming freshmen is that you should make the best of every opportunity that you have. The university has a lot to offer and those who benefit from it are those who take advantage of it. I hope you enjoyed the Michigan game on Saturday and you have a wonderful first week of classes. Looking forward to seeing you all on campus.

Go Blue!

Tolani

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things.”

And indeed, the time has come. As a fresh graduate of the University of Michigan-Flint, the time has come for me to submit my final entry as a member of Students@UM-Flint. It’s been a fun year being one of the initial passengers of this pilot program, documenting my life as a student in my final year of college and all of the positives and negatives that go along with that.

I started classes at UM-Flint in fall 2008. I initially chose this school because I wanted to stay at home to reduce expenses, the tuition was more affordable and I had heard pretty good things about it. I had originally planned to wrap up my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication–Media Studies in four years, but I realized that five years would end up costing me about the same in expenses and would keep me saner in my course load, so I opted for that track instead.

I didn’t get as much out of my time at the university as I may want to when I look back in the future, but it’s really my own fault. I didn’t join any fraternities, I had participation in little extracurricular activity, and there are even some classes where I remember very little. But in the end, I have a diploma that says I have done something that a lot of people have not done in their lives. I am proud of it and, being the first college graduate from my family, they are proud of it as well.

I still got a lot out of my experiences. I got to interact with some really cool professors that taught me more than just the material we covered in the textbook. I made some friends that I hope to have lasting bonds with for longer than the time it takes to graduate. And I got the chance to represent the university in a realistic setting, using the tools I love in social media as a member of Students@UM-Flint. In retrospect, I think I will be able to couple the lasting good with some of the fleeting bad and combine it to be an experience I will remember fondly as I continue on in life.

Life’s not a free ride after this now, either. I am looking for a job in the immediate area with not a lot of promise looming currently. I’d like to move into my own place but as of right now, my financial condition does not allow that to happen. But I know it will get better. The last five years of my life have been spent putting lots of effort into obtaining this degree and, while it is not likely to happen immediately, sooner or later it will help improve my life more than not embarking on this journey would have.

I thank everyone who I’ve interacted with in the last five years for shaping my university experience. I thank my fellow Students@UM-Flint for participating with me and making this a fun experience. But most of all, for this experience, I thank our adviser Alaina Wiens for giving me the opportunity to represent my school and add a really cool line to my résumé. If you’re able to, I highly recommend joining in as it’s a good time with fun people.

It’s been a great journey and I hope to continue to make my mark in the rest of the world. Thanks to everyone who has been following my posts and I hope you will be able to follow me in the rest of my life!

A month and a week from today, the semester would be over. I like the weeks after spring break because you are much more energized, motivated, inspired, and the knowledge you gain from the environment you are in makes it so much better.

Living in Flint for a while now,  I have found a couple of places I spend time on campus that re-energize me when I get tired of school or studying or just doing anything. I normally go and sit in the park where the Gandhi Statue is or I take a walk downtown. Often times as human beings we are known to get discouraged pretty quickly especially when things are not really going our way. But there are always things we can do to fix that and that is finding a way to clear your mind, revisiting the goal list you made at the beginning of the semester, your support system, your campus activities or just the environment you are in.

I always tell people that there should be always one thing they should try and change about themselves monthly and take on a new challenge. My new challenge this week to keep me energized is to make sure I workout for at least 45 minutes a day, and seven days a week for the rest of the year while combining a hectic schedule. If I can and will do it, that gives me the confidence and tells me that I can do anything I set my mind to. Exercising refreshes my brain and makes it very sharp. Just thought I’d share a few tips I use to clear my mind when things start to get difficult! One thing I would say is that WE SHOULD EMBRACE THE STRUGGLE BECAUSE IT IS OUR GREATEST TEACHER!

Go Blue

Tolani

While many people utilize the week of spring break as a chance to flee Michigan’s cold weather and soak up the sun somewhere else, a group of more than 70 students stayed in town to give back locally through University Outreach’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) March 4-8, volunteering more than 175 individual service days.

Each day during ASB is jam-packed full of awesome activities. In the morning, we started out with some energizers to get people pumped up and excited for getting out into the community. You can see some of our races below, and there’s some video here (which is pretty funny, and some serious competition).

Team one getting ready to race across the room attached by a saran wrap belt.

Team two getting ready to race!

Some of the team leaders getting ready to play Welded Ankle. We were champs, if I do say so myself. 🙂

After that, students had the chance to hear from an educational speaker before having lunch and going out into the community. Some of this year’s guests included Patrick McNeal from My Brother’s Keeper, Sergeant Bundy from UM-Flint’s Department of Public Safety, and Dr. Rosynsky and staff from the Ellen Bommarito LGBT Center and the Women’s Educational Center. It was great hearing from different campus and community representatives because the topics are so different. We learned about why our service is important, the importance of not drinking and driving (with a little fun mixed in to lighten the mood), and domestic and sexual assault and what resources we have available on campus. These speakers sparked great discussion among participants, which I thought was really cool.

After lunch, we all split up and headed to our organizations.  This year’s sites included:
Alternative Veterans Solutions
Flint River Farm
King Karate
Boys & Girls Club
Genesee County Land Bank
Salem Housing
Adopt-a-Pet
North End Soup Kitchen
Habitat for Humanity

This year, I was the team leader for the North End Soup Kitchen (NESK) and I had a spectacular group of students each day helping prepare and serve food. Being at NESK for the week, we got to meet the amazing staff who work and volunteer at the soup kitchen and talk with some residents of Flint. I enjoyed this site because we got to interact with the people we were serving; it was really hands-on and an opportunity to meet with some great new people.

On the last day of ASB, we celebrated our service and headed to Detroit. We got to go to a handful of places, which you can see below in our photos. We went to the Freedom House, had lunch at Evie’s, visited the Detroit Institute of Arts, stopped by the Detroit Hostel, had a super awesome tour of Comerica Park, and had dinner at Pub Rub.

This was my third time participating in ASB and my first time as a member of the planning board, and I really feel like each time is more rewarding. I think that this is a great opportunity for students to get out into our community and see what kind of a difference we can make here in our own backyard. It’s a great way to get involved, to meet people who are interested in giving back just like you, and to experience Flint in an entirely different way. We get to hear from these different organizations on the needs that they meet for the city of Flint and just what it means to them that we get involved, which is truly rewarding. I have had a blast participating in this experience each year and I definitely encourage students to check it out for next year!

PS. Check out our ASB experience last week and schools all over the country by searching #ASB2013 on Twitter.  There is all kinds of service going on this month!

Over the years, I have always had role models around me to give me an image of what a leader looks like from my dad to uncles, brothers and cousins. Having that opportunity that most people do not have also rings to my ears not to take that blessing for granted, and I continue to make sure I surround myself with people who are leaders. I seek advice from them and soak up every knowledge, and challenge myself to be a better person every day.

Having said all of that, I always make sure I never miss the opportunity to broaden my horizon, meet new people, and continue to make myself better even if it means missing my spring break week or getting some much needed rest. I was fortunate this week to facilitate the Intercultural Leadership Seminar, a seminar developed by the International Students Center here at the university. Myself and Jonathan De la Fuente, an International Development Counselor at the IC office, facilitated the seminar with the supervision of Malin Clark, Director of the IC Dan Adams and our Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Mary Jo Sekelsky on site with us for the whole week.

The cool part of this seminar was meeting 25 beautiful people from different parts of the world who were leaders in their own different ways and willing to give up their spring break to make themselves better. I was inspired by seeing our 2013 participants tackle the challenges being given to them from excellent speakers like our very own Dr. Sekelsky, Dr. Altomirano from University of Pennsylvania, and motivational and inspirational speaker Nehrwr Abdul- Wahid from Minnesota. They got out of their comfort zones developed a strong bond, and were able to learn from all the activities we had planned for them. They never gave up and even after a long day’s work of seminars and activities they were always willing to hang around for more to enjoy themselves and get to know about one another and their different cultures and countries. I’m glad that I, Dr. Sekelsky, Malin, Dan, John, Dr. Altomirano, and Nehrwr were blessed to witness an awesome group. I could have never been prouder to facilitate or be a part of a wonderful seminar like this one.

The seminar was also dedicated to a dear friend we lost last month and student leader of our campus Felipe Andrez. Felipe facilitated the program for the last two years and did an excellent job. He and Riddhi encouraged me to participate in the program last year. Definitely no one can fill his shoes, but he impacted the lives of many and was always a friend to have in your corner. I miss you man, continue to rest in perfect peace.

Knowing me, I always have a camera with me everywhere I go and I captured beautiful memories this week; memories and friendships that would last a lifetime. Here are some images captured from the week. To all my Michigan fans out there, sorry for our loss tonight. I hope they make it up to us by winning the big 10 tournament. 

Go Blue!!

Tolani

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog post. I feel so bad because I have been slacking on this end of blogging weekly. That’s what college does to you. You get really busy, and you don’t even have time to breathe. Sometimes you even forget to eat. I have been doing so much this semester with volunteering, taking a lot of credits, and trying to study for the MCAT. I really thought my freshman year was hard, but man it was nothing compared to my senior year. It makes me appreciate my freshman, sophomore, and junior days because I could take 18-20 credits and still be able to have a life.

I recently got selected to facilitate a spring break leadership program called Intercultural Leadership Seminar. I was a participant last year and the experience I had was invaluable. We were out of town for the whole week, we got to eat the best food three times a day, and we were just in a place where we did not really have to think about anything. The seminar was founded by the International Student Center and this is its third year. It has been very successful so far. I am really honored to be a facilitator this year and look forward to what this opportunity brings.

I hope all your classes are going well and you’re following some of the tips we gave you in the fall semester. I promise to try and update this blog every week so we can keep up with what we are both doing. I hope you all enjoy your spring break and GO BLUE!!!

Tolani

For those of you first-year students, I’m hoping that you remember hearing about this book during your orientation session. If you haven’t heard yet, this year’s Common Read book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Before I give you a quick run-down of the book, I do want to encourage everyone to check out each year’s Common Read book because it’s a great opportunity to engage the entire campus. Each year, there are discussions and events centered around the text, and some instructors incorporate it into their curriculum.   Now, back to this year’s book!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a book about a woman who had cervical cancer in the 1950s and received treatment at Johns Hopkins University. Her doctors at the time took some of her cancerous cells without her consent. While she received treatment for some time, it was unsuccessful and Henrietta passed away. However, what arose from her unfortunate passing was that the cells that had been removed her body continued to live; this was the first time anyone had encountered human cells continuing to reproduce beyond the body.

As the book progresses, Skloot tells the story of Henrietta, as for many years the media simply identified her as HeLa, for Henrietta Lacks. We get the story of the cells, and how they created a multibillion dollar industry throughout the world and revolutionized medicine; her cells contributed to the development of the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, and more. Some of you first-year students might remember Grace mentioning that nothing that goes in your mouth at the dentist’s office today hasn’t been touched by these cells. We also learn about her family and the toll that her passing took, and how they were affected by the taking of their mother’s cells; her family didn’t know that they were taking the cells either, and they still struggle today to live as the medical community has gone on to profit from Henrietta.

I think that this story is one that has appealed to a lot of readers. There is the scientific component that explores her cancerous cells and what contributions have been made to science over the years, in addition to discussions about informed consent and the changes laws have seen in the last several decades. We also have the opportunity for a more personal investment as we learn about Skloot’s journey writing the story and her interactions with the family. This is a great read and I definitely recommend it!

If you’d like to learn more about the book, you actually have the chance to meet the author Rebecca Skloot THIS MONDAY, February 25 at 11AM in the UM-Flint Theatre.  The event is free and open to the public and will include a lecture about the book and a book signing. If you’ve got some time that day, you should definitely check it out!

For more information about Rebecca Skloot and the book, check out her website.  You can also head to the UM-Flint website to learn more about the Common Read program and other events that have been hosted on campus already.

Last month, I began my winter semester at UM-Flint. I’ve done it a few times before, but this time is the most bittersweet. Assuming nothing drastic happens, this will be the last course of my college quest before attaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication – Media Studies. It’s kind of a strange feeling signing up for courses, knowing these will be the last memories, the last actions, and the last pieces of your work that you will involve yourself with a university.

Part of me almost wants to stay in college forever. School is a comfortable sort of thing. While it may be challenging, one usually knows what to expect. It comes with a sense of familiarity and pattern that doesn’t occur often in other aspects of life. But come April, that security blanket gets ripped away as those of us who finish are thrust into the daunting “real world,” where no such security or comfort exists in great quantities. It is the great unknown where we must apply the things we have learned in our over 18 years of education.

I am two parts anxiously awaiting the chance to tackle the unknown and one part scared to death. There are some fears I hoped to conquer before I finished my final semester, some personal goals I hoped to achieve. Many I have worked on and met or mastered. Some I have not and really need to. But much of it goes hand-in-hand with the pending meeting with the real world.

I guess I have three months to get it done and get over this whole “scared to death” fraction.

Well, friends, it’s that time of year again – time to submit your UM-Flint scholarship application! With less than a month until the deadline (which is February 15th if you haven’t heard yet), we want to be sure that you’re taking the time to take advantage of some of the FREE money being offered by the university and generous donors around the area. The great thing about this application is that by simply completing this one app, you’re automatically applying for more than 100 scholarships!

When you log on to SIS and click on the ‘Financial Aid’ tab, you’ll see the link for the 2013-2014 Scholarship Application. As you can see here, there are just five quick steps to completing your application.

While you’re working through it, take advantage of the services we have on campus to help you out, especially when writing your mini-biography and personal statement.  You can read Financial Aid’s “Writing a Scholarship Essay/Personal Statement” for some tips and samples of what you should include in your personal statement and there are some prompt questions there, as well. Once you’re finished writing it, leave yourself enough time to head over to the Marian E. Wright Writing Center and have one of their highly trained staff look over it for you for FREE.  You can set up an appointment online or you can walk in any time they’re open. Taking this steps means your work is flawless.

Guys, there are no excuses for why you shouldn’t apply! I’ve heard from plenty of friends that they won’t get anything because they “don’t have the grades” or their “parents make too much money.” What you have to realize is that there are individuals looking to support the education of people just like you; you who happens to be really active in a campus club or in the community, you who spends a lot of your time working on campus to make UM-Flint the awesome place that it is. They’re trying to help the future nurses, the future lawyers, the future ANYTHING. All you have to do is fill out an application and write about how awesome you are (without bragging, of course).

Take the time to go through the application and definitely look through the last section that asks for supplemental material (due to Financial Aid by February 22).  I’m my own example of one of those people who didn’t think they should apply for whatever silly reason. However, I’ve been awarded scholarships each year for my community service involvement and all I had to do was write about my experiences, which have been awesome to reflect on each year. There a lot of different scholarships out there, sometimes based on your major, your community involvement, if you work on campus, etc. Take the time to find the ones that fit you.

Make sure you leave adequate time if you need to request recommendation letters, as well. Faculty and staff in particular are being bombarded all of the time for those letters, so if you give them the proper time and the right materials (like what you’re applying for, a copy of your resume, etc.) there’s a better chance that they’ll generously take the time to do the aforementioned bragging for you. 😉

Be sure to fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), too. That became available January 1 if you haven’t already begun yours, and the priority filing date is March 1 (The school code for UM-Flint is 002327).  To be considered for need-based scholarships, you need to file your FAFSA by February 22. They also use the FAFSA to determine your spring/summer aid if you ever take classes during those semesters, so turn it in and don’t miss that Spring/Summer Aid deadline of February 15 either (there’s a separate application on SIS).

So, folks, your take-home message is to APPLY FOR THIS FREE MONEY! We all know that college isn’t cheap and there are plenty of resources out there to help offset some of those costs.

PS. While you’re working on the school’s scholarship application, think about poking around on some of these websites for other scholarships, or even doing some Google searches. There are people and organizations out there who believe in the things you’re doing and want you to succeed just as badly as you do. All you have to do is take the time to look!
Fastweb
Scholarships.com
Cappex
Zinch

Good luck, guys, and don’t miss those deadlines!

2013-2014 Scholarship Application – Friday, February 15
Spring/Summer Aid Deadline – Friday, February 15
Supplemental Material – Friday, February 22
FAFSA (for need-based scholarships) – Friday, February 22
Priority filing for FAFSA – Friday, March 1