Math Emporium

Students at the Math Emporium

The Math Emporium. Nearly all students at Virginia Tech have at least one class that involves trekking over to the Empo to take quizzes and tests. There's nothing worse than having to make time in your schedule to go over to the Empo, take your time on your test, and end up with a grade much lower than what you expected. However, as I have found, there are many valuable resources that can help make your experiences with the Empo a success.
Although I have already taken several tests at the Empo, I had another last week, and was carving time out of each day in order to take practice tests in preparation to take the test. Try as I may, there was always one problem on the test that I could not figure out how in the world to solve. Even with my notes spread all around me, I could find no assistance with this problem, and I had one try left to get a better score on the exam. Even though my professor had mentioned it several times during class, I had no intentions of going into the tutoring lab at the Empo. I hated the Empo, and I only wanted to be there long enough to take my test and get out. I was finally at my wit's end with this one particular problem, and I swallowed my pride, and pushed away my hatred of the Empo, and headed to the tutoring lab. In a matter of 10 minutes, I had the problem explained to me (a property I was simply unaware of), and I was able to check in and take the test with no problem. If I had only went sooner, I would have been able to do better on the test much earlier in the week, and I would not have had to make so many trips to the Empo.
Lessons learned:

1. You're not a dork if you go to get tutoring; there are lots of kids there, and it will save you lots of time in the long run.
2. Use the resources that are available to you. They're called resources for a reason; they're suprisingly helpful and make your life a lot easier.
3. The Math Empo really isn't that bad.  : )

National FFA Convention

A couple of weeks ago I recieved an email stating that any undergraduate students that were able and willing to volunteer as representatives at the Virginia Tech booth were welcome to go to the National FFA Convention with the Agriculture department. The idea sounded great, but I needed to know what costs were involved, and I would of course have to check with my professors. I replied to the email, stating that I was interested, and requesting more information. Turns out that the trip was entirely paid for, hotel and travel, and I would only need to provide money for meals. Luckily enough, all of my tests fell the week before Convention, so it worked out and I was able to go. I had a great time while I was there, as I got to speak with high school students considering Virginia Tech, and I got the opportunity to meet graduate students and ask them questions I had about graduate school. I remember going to the Virginia Tech booth last year, as a high school senior trying to narrow down the list of colleges, and speaking with a representative. It's exciting to think that I got to be that person for someone else!
So what have I learned from this experience? Take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. There are so many things that you can experience while you're here, so make the most of your time here. Get to know your professors. They are willing to help you and want you to succeed, as well as have fun. They will work with you so that you can take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Go to class...if you're in class regularly, when you miss a day or two it won't make as big of a difference. In addition, get to know the people in class, so that you can ask someone for the notes that you miss.

Spring Course Request

As October is speeding by, we come upon the week of Spring Course Requests. This is an exciting time for many students, as they begin to sign up for classes that are more specific to their major, but many students have not yet experienced signing up for classes and may be confused as to how this process works. There are many things that you can to to make sure that you are able to sign up for the classes that you need and want. With a little preparation, you can ensure that this process is quick and painless.
First, know what classes you are required to take for your major. The Graduation Requirements and Checksheets are very helpful in determining this. Take  few minutes and map out what required classes you plan to take each semester according to how quickly you plan on graduating. This way you will know what classes you need to take to stay on track and how many "fun" classes you can slip in along the way. Speaking of "fun" classes, it is a good idea to schedule at least one class a semester that you are taking purely for your own enjoyment. This will help you to de-stress and also should help boost your GPA.
After you know what classes are required and what areas you can choose from, do some exploring. Utilize the Undergraduate Course Catalog to find out what classes there are and what you want to take, as well as what each one encompasses. Write down the course number for each of the classes you plan on taking, as well as a couple of alternates in case the classes you want are full.
Now, you should do a little looking into the Course Request Process. See what day Course Request opens, and learn about the Course Request process in general. You want to make sure that you request your classes early in this process, or the classes you wish to take may be full. A good reference is the Registration Overview, but here's the quick run-down:

1. Log into Hokie Spa, and click on the tab entitled "Registration and Schedule."
2. You should see a section entitled "Registration Links," and when Course Request opens, an "Add Courses" link will be listed to the right of the "Spring" term. Click on this tab, as it will allow you to enter the course request numbers for the classes you wish to take.
3. Open the Timetable of Classes in a separate window.
4. Using the list of classes and course numbers you created, enter the course numbers into the Timetable of Classes to search for available courses. Each of these will have a Course Request Number. Type this number into a box on the "Add Courses" page. Pay close attention to class times, to make sure that they do not overlap.
5. Once you have looked up all the classes you wish to take, submit your course request by clicking the appropriate button.
6. You will be able to monitor your scheduling through Hokie Spa by using either the "Detail Schedule for Spring Semester 2011" link, or the "Schedule by Day and Time" link on the "Registration and Schedule" page. The link entitled "Course Request Results" lists which, if any, classes were not scheduled.

One final thing to remember during Course Request is to schedule a meeting with your advisor. This should be done during Course Request, so that you can talk with your advisor about what classes you should be taking, and you can make changes to your schedule if needed. Your advisor can also point you in the direction you need to go according to your specific career plans.
Perhaps this was a lengthy explanation, but if you follow these tips, I feel that you will certainly have a successful effort to sign up for your classes. See, I told you it was quick and painless!

Midterms

As the school year progresses, midterm exams begin to ensue... Luckily enough, I find myself facing only one of these monsters, though it alone seems quite daunting. How will I tackle it? First, starting from the day that is one week away from the exam, I have been studying each night for the exam. I have found that the practice midterm questions that my professor posted online are quite helpful in determining what to study. Also, I plan to continue my normal sleeping habits, so that I don't get too stressed and worn out. Part of the most stressful part of midterm exams is the weight that they carry in the course. If you familiarize yourself with the syllabus of each of your classes on scholar, you can calculate how your midterm score will affect your final grade. After beginning studying for my midterm, I realized exactly how much I have been hurting myself by not reading the textbook thoroughly. In order to improve over the second half of the semester, I am setting aside time each day to read my textbook so that I don't fall behind on the reading and don't have to cram it all in before the test.

Marine Band Concert

 Marine Band Profile Picture from Facebook

October 3 was my father's birthday. I really wanted to be able to see him, but since I'm going home next weekend for fall break, I wanted to determine if there was anything that we could do as a family here at Tech. I wasn't very sure where to look, but one of my professors mentioned that the Marine Band would be performing on the third. Upon returning to my dorm room, I searched the Virginia Tech website, and discovered that not only were they playing, but all that was necessary to get tickets was to go and request them from Squires. So my family came up from home and we all attended the concert, then went out to supper for my dad's birthday. We had a great time, and Dad really enjoyed it.
So what is there to learn from this situation?
Know what's going on. Check the website fairly frequently so that you don't miss out on any chances. There is always something going on, so you should never feel like there is nothing to do but sit in your dorm room all day. There are opportunities waiting, and you don't want to let them slip by simply because you didn't look.