PREPARING FOR FINALS WEEK!

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©GIPHY Want to learn how to avoid looking like this during finals week? Then keep reading!

With the start of finals week being just 2 weeks away, it is time to start studying and preparing for any final projects or assignments due. Students stress levels spike during this time of year and while the idea of having a week full of deadlines and exams can seem terrifying, if you start attacking the projects and studying now, finals week can become much less stressful.

This post is to help relieve some of the stress that comes with finals! Below is an action plan on how to attack projects and start studying early, as well as how to stay on top of deadlines before they come.

Step 1: Start early!

While this may be easier said than done, especially with Thanksgiving being this Thursday, starting on projects and studying early will help to relieve most tension and stress that is felt during finals week. Here is a simple way to get started early:

1. Start off my marking down the due dates of any final projects/assignments and dates of final exams. By putting the dates into a calendar you will be able to better visualize what needs to be completed and by when.

2. Write down each day leading up the final project/assignment/exam. Next to each day write down something to accomplish. Typically putting a little bit of time into each objective/goal daily is better than spending one whole day on one item. For example, if you have a final exam that includes a study guide attack 1 portion of the study guide (such as 1 chapter) daily, or every few days depending on how much is on the exam. Likewise, if you have a final paper try to work on a paragraph or portion each day or every few days depending on how much time you have.

This may seem like a lot at first but dividing each assignment or exam studying across multiple days will be much more efficient than waiting till the day before to write a whole paper or study for an entire exam.

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© kissclipart

 

Step 2: Prioritize!

Make the choice on what assignments/projects/exams are most important to you and put more of a focus on those. If there is a class you are struggling in or a class that has deadlines coming up sooner than others, you would want to put in more time preparing for the items due in that class.

 

Step 3: Talk to the Professor or classmates!

When you start studying and preparing early it gives you optimal time to ask for clarification from the Professor or from classmates. This will help to relieve any anxiety with topics or assignments that may stump you during your studying/prepping for the end of the semester.

Step 4: Relax, Breathe, and take time for yourself

Make sure that during all of your prepping for finals week you take time for yourself. Whether it be meditating, exercising, shopping, or petting the campus cat or visiting dogs, make sure to take some much needed breaks and step away from the assignments, projects and studying. Not only will this allow you to clear your mind and come back with more ideas and a fresh head space, it is also extremely beneficial in increasing your moral and reducing the stress and anxiety that comes with finals.

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© Zedge; Remember Hakuna Matata and when in doubt spend some time watching Disney+

This action plan may not work for everyone and is in no way exhaustive in terms of preparing for finals week. However, if you start early you will find that finals week is not as bad at it seems and you will be able to get through each exam, project, or assignment with much less stress than if you wait till the day or few days before.

While finals are fast approaching, there is more than enough time to get started and get ahead, and know that you can do it!

Good luck with your finals preparation and have a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

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Get Connected!

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AN INTERVIEW WITH RECENT GRADUATE NOELLE WARFFORD ’19

© Roanoke College
In an interview with a student assistant, recent graduate Noelle Warfford ’19 describes life after graduation, recalls on her favorite memories from Roanoke College, and shares about being Salutatorian for the class of 2019.

No photo description available.

To start off, can you tell me a little about yourself? 

I’m Noelle, currently a graduate student at The University of Toledo studying Clinical Psychology. I would say I am a pretty friendly, hard-working person. I live with my cat Joshua, who is adorable, and I love to sing and watch movies whenever I get free time. Just not at the same time, to be clear. 😜 

Congratulations on being a Salutatorian! What was it like when you found this out?

When I found out I was Salutatorian, I was so excited that I just wanted to tell everybody I knew. I found out while I was with Dr. Nichols, who was my advisor, which made it even more exciting!

Noelle and her friend Phillip

What was graduating like? 

I remember graduation as being simultaneously incredibly fun and pretty stressful. There were so many events to go to that week and people to hang out with and talk to. The evening at President Maxey and Mrs. Maxey’s house was awesome, but nothing beats the feeling of hearing your name and walking across that stage!

How did it feel to finally step on the seal? 

Stepping on the seal felt like one of my biggest accomplishments at Roanoke. We all spend four years avoiding it because we’re all at least a teeny bit superstitious. So when you finally get to do it, it’s such a relief! You really know you made it.

What do you miss about Roanoke College? What is your favorite thing about having graduated? 

I miss so many things about Roanoke…but Commons honestly might be the thing I miss most. Especially all the kind staff, and the delicious desserts. I miss Olin Hall and of course the 5th floor of Life Science too, because I spent so much of my time in those places, usually with my closest friends. The best thing about graduating, though, is not having to worry about parking on campus anymore! And I mean, having a degree is great too. 🙂
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© The University of Toledo

What are you doing now after graduating? 

Since I graduated I moved up to Ohio to go to UToledo. The PhD program I’m in is 5 years long, including one year of internship. As a first year student, I have a few different jobs as a graduate assistant, I have classes on psychological assessment, clinical practice, psychotherapy, and research methods. I’m also already starting research and get to sit in on a clinical practicum where advanced students discuss the clients they’re treating at the University Psychology Clinic.

What does a typical day consist of in Graduate school? 

For me, a typical day in graduate school can range from a day where I only have meetings to attend throughout the day but no classes, to a full day where I have an hour-long lab at 8:15 (which I always grab a coffee on the way to campus for), a 2hr 40min class at 10:30, a brief time to grab lunch, and then another long class at 2pm. Since my classes only meet once a week, I usually have a lot of time to work on readings and assignments during the day and then have time to chill in the evening.

Noelle and Joshua

What has been your favorite part of graduate school so far? How about least favorite? 

My favorite part of graduate school is getting to study topics I’m interested in in a lot of depth. For example, I’ve already gotten to practice administering two major cognitive tests, the WAIS-IV and the WIAT-III, on a volunteer. I’m always surrounded by students and faculty who are very passionate about what they do, so it’s an encouraging environment to be in. My least favorite part is the sheer amount of reading I have to do. I’m so thankful I got practice reading empirical articles while I was at Roanoke, because I feel like that’s all I do now!

Where do you hope this opportunity takes you in the future?

My hope is that during my time in this program, I’ll be able to make contributions to research on psychosis assessment, especially assessing thought disorder, and that I’ll be able to gain significant experience working with populations with psychotic disorders. From there, I hope I can find a job where I get to do assessments all the time and help train others to become experts in assessment as well.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

Hmm…I guess the only other thing I’d like to share is, look out for a chapter on psychosis that I’ll be co-authoring with my advisor in the 2nd edition of The Oxford Handbook of Personality and Psychopathology Assessment. I am psyched about getting to work with her on this project! We’re starting a lot of exciting work on assessing early symptoms of psychosis, and I’m focusing in on signs of thought disorder, like you often see in schizophrenia.

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments Noelle! We will be continuing to cheer you on from Roanoke College!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology

MAINSTREAM MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES INTERNSHIP/JOB OPPORTUNITIES!

On Tuesday, November 19 from 12:00-1:00 PM Mainstream Mental Health Services will be in LS 502. They will be discussing internships (which can start this coming spring or summer) and job opportunities that their organization offers, as well as careers in mental health in general.

According to their website, Mainstream Mental Health Services, INC. believes in providing goal directed training to individuals in need to achieve and maintain independence in the most appropriate and least restrictive environment. It is our mission to enable eligible older adolescents and adults to acquire life skills and develop stronger family and community relationships that will enhance their quality of life in the mainstream community.

If mental health interests you then stop by on Tuesday and check out the opportunities that Mainstream Mental Health Services has to offer!

P.S. There will be pizza!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology

NEW MAJORS ORIENTATION AND “SIGNING IN”

On November 6 the psychology department welcomed newly declared majors at the New Majors Orientation event! The students that attended the event learned more about what the psychology department has to offer and officially “signed into” the department by signing the psychology major poster!

If you are a newly declared major and missed this session no worries! Another session will be held on Monday, November 25 at 4:30 PM in Life Science 502. If you will be attending then be sure to sign up on  SONA .

You can email Dr. Powell (DPowell@Roanoke.edu) with any further questions!

Congrats to all who signed into the department already! We are so happy to have you as part of the psychology department!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology

UPCOMING ONLINE OPEN HOUSE FOR SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY

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Next Monday, November 18 at 2:00 PM St. Joseph’s University is hosting a virtual open house! This open house is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about their MS in experimental psychology program. This is a full-time program designed to provide students with a solid grounding in the scientific study of psychology.   All students in their program are assigned to a mentor and conduct an empirically based research thesis under their direction.

Information on how to attend the open house can be found at this link!

For more information of their program check out this link as well as the brochure below!

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Get connected!
Instagram & Twitter:  #PsychRC @RC_Psychology
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Blog:  https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Linked In:  https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website:  http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology

SALEM VA MEDICAL CENTER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY!

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The Salem VA Medical Center

Roanoke College offers an amazing opportunity to do research with the Salem VA Medical Center. If you are looking to do research and think this could be something for you then continue reading to learn more about the program!

The Salem VA Medical Center offers the chance for Roanoke College undergraduates to gain experience working in research with a seasoned Principal Investigator (PI) on current medical research.  Available research projects have included topics such as “Predictors of Treatment Response Among Veterans with PTSD”, “Mental Health in Rural Veterans with and without Traumatic Brain Injury”, and “Effect of Exercise Training on Inflammation and Function in HIV Infected Veterans”.

Students participate in research, analyze data, and present their work.  Internship or Independent Study course credit is available through various departments at Roanoke College based on the particular project and student major. 

Students interested should meet with the Director of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Chris Lassiter, in the fall semester or early in spring semester to discuss the program.  An overall GPA of 3.4 or higher is preferred.  An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher will be considered.  To apply, submit a cover letter (with research interests), a CV, unofficial transcript, and two letters of recommendation to the Director of Undergraduate Research by February 28 for research in the summer or the next academic year (fall and spring semester).

For more information and other documents about this program you can follow this link.

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
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Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
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CALLING ALL ACTORS!

Do you enjoy acting?

Then this is the study for you!  Even if you  have no experience acting, everyone is welcome to participant so long as you are comfortable being recorded while acting out different scenes.

Dr. Dane Hilton is conducting a study in which you will be acting out different scenes and then evaluating your performance. These videos will be used in future research studies. but don’t stress if you have no experience acting, you can still come and participate!

Participants will be getting a $15 gift card for participating. This study is not being run through SONA, so if you are interested in signing up or have further questions then email Dr. Dane Hilton at hilton@roanoke.edu.

Hope to see some of you there!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology

ATTENTION RECENTLY DECLARED PSYCHOLOGY MAJORS!

Have you recently declared psychology as your major? If so then come out to the new majors orientation! It is required of all recently declared majors and there are two dates that you can come:

This Wednesday, November 6 at 5:30 PM or Monday, November 25 at 4:30 PM

Both of these orientations will be held in Life Science 502 but be sure to select the date you are attending on  SONA .

You can email Dr. Powell (DPowell@Roanoke.edu) with any further questions!

Congrats to all who have declared psychology! We are so happy to have you become part of the psychology department!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology

AN INTERVIEW WITH RECENT GRADUATE CODY DILLON-OWENS ’19

© Roanoke College

In an interview with a student assistant, recent graduate Cody Dillon-Owens ’19 describes life after graduation, recalls on his favorite memories from Roanoke College, and shares about being Valedictorian for the class of 2019.

To start off, can you tell me a little about yourself? 

Well, I am of course a graduate of Roanoke College and this past August I started the first year of my PhD at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for Health Psychology with a Clinical Concentration. I was born and raised in Roanoke, VA so this is my first time permanently leaving the area. I have a love for mountains and the outdoors and enjoy playing bass and guitar in my spare time. 

© Roanoke College

Congratulations on being a Valedictorian! What was it like when you found this out?

This was actually interestingso, Ellen and a few professors, along with the registrar during my Senior check-out in the Fall, told and reminded me that I was in the running. I knew I had a 4.0, but I guess the question was: how many other people did, and could we all keep it up? When it was official, knowing I had achieved it was cool (I had certainly worked for it), but I think my main feelings centered around the privilege of addressing our graduating class. There are a lot of fiercely intelligent, insightful, caring, and hard-working people I had the honor of attending Roanoke with and, in some ways, I feel like the cards just lined up for me to keep that magic number. A lot of people had very transformative journeys through college, but just the lack of one A puts them out of the running. I wanted my speech to focus on the triumphs we achieved as people, not students. 

 

© Cody Dillon-Owens

What was graduating like? 

For me, it was kind of weird to suddenly just be done. Four years of the same people, working towards the same goal, and now you’ve done it. I felt proud for doing it, happy I’d have a break from homework, but mostly curious about the future. I made a lot of great friendships, including with my professors. It was sad to have to leave and watch everyone start doing their own thing. But it was also a joyous occasion having my whole family there and seeing all the people who supported me to get me to this point. 

How did it feel to finally step on the seal? 

Don’t tell Maxey, but I had probably accidentally stepped on it long ago haha. It does remind me of some of the fun and quirky traditions we had at ‘Noke. I am glad I got to attend a college with some character and live out some of its traditions. 

© Cody Dillon-Owens

What do you miss about Roanoke College? What is your favorite thing about having graduated? 

I definitely miss the people. Ellen and all the psych faculty are the bee’s knees. And having all my friends in the same place. All you can eat chicken tender and mac day is kind of noteworthy as well. My favorite thing about having graduated is that I’ve completed another milestone in life that’s gotten me closer to where I want to be. I get to take specialized courses in what I want to be doing and pursuing ideas that are uniquely mine. This is also the first time for me being totally on my own which I’ve enjoyed. 

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Photo of the UNCC Campus © Cody Dillon-Owens

What are you doing now after graduating? 

Currently, I am attending UNCC getting my PhD. Technically, the PhD is in health psychology which is a very interdisciplinary field. It looks at health as a unitary concept involving both brain and body, which are deeply interconnected. We apply psychological models, like the biopsychosocial model and the ecological model, to examine health (prevention, maintenance, outcomes) – it’s very broad. My concentration is in clinical psychology, although being APA accredited, I’m also technically getting the same required training as any accredited clinical degree. So, within that realm I’m also learning the components of assessment and treatment. I think the two fields complement one another very well. 

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Cody Dillon-Owens office setup for his first intellectual assessment

What does a typical day consist of in Graduate school? 

Haha, usually quite a bit depending on the day. Currently, I am in course overload, so I never run out of things to do. I have classes at 8am most days, and after class there will be a mixture of activities. I read many articles and chapters of textbooks for my classes basically every day. I may also have to work on writing 2-page application papers or contributing to a pre-class discussion board. I now have a couple of course papers I have somehow make time to start working on too. I also have two applied clinical courses, so I am conducting an interview or an intellectual assessment about once a week. I’m also a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator on a HRSA GPE grant so I have meetings and various tasks I carry out for that. And then I’ll be reading and generating research ideas for my own research projects as well. Of course, it’s some mixture of these each day, not all at once thankfully. It’s still quite busy though, so it’s essentially class and then work until the evening where I’ll leave myself about an hour and half or so for myself to do whatever. My cohort has also instituted tea-time on Thursdays where we’ll take a break from work, and every other week or so we’ll have a big outing like yoga at a brewery or bingo or hiking or something. It’s mostly work but not entirely ;). 

First program social

What has been your favorite part of graduate school so far? How about least favorite? 

The learning environment is so enriching. Getting to discuss concepts with students and professors of various backgrounds has really broadened my perspectives. I’ve learned so much in such a short time. It’s also really cool to start being trained with skills for the clinical profession. My least favorite part is 1000% the lack of time haha. 

Where do you hope this opportunity takes you in the future? 

That’s a good question. I’ve tried giving some more thought to it, but it may take me a few more classes and clinical experiences to know for sure. I’ve considered a professorship at a small college, or at least teaching some health psych courses. My main career path I’ve told people is working as a clinician in a healthcare center but doing a mix between practice, intervention research, and maybe program eval. Recently after working on this grant, it also popped in my mind to pursue a position as a director of integrated care and push and work for developing true integrated behavioral health care and a patient-centered approach. 

Is there anything else you would like to tell us? 

This app/site called Trello saved my life for that extra level of self-management I needed, especially when working with other people so check that out if you’re interested. My new email is cdillono@uncc.edu, if anyone has more questions or would like student-level advice about graduate school or what the transition is like or anything, feel free to contact me! And remember that self-care is important, and no goal is worth sacrificing your happiness and well-being. 

Congratulations on all of your accomplishments Cody! We will be continuing to cheer you on from Roanoke College!

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Get Connected!

Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
Twitter: @RC_Psychology
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/RC-Psychology-8140491/about
Website: http://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
Instagram: rcpsychology