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EWU Students learn health at the health hut

04/24/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

College students don’t usually get the sleep they need. Staying up late, pulling all-nighters to study or having an inconsistent bedtime all contribute to a lack of good sleep. It’s even possible you aren’t getting enough sleep because you eat in bed!

What can a lack of sleep do to you?

A lack of good sleep messes with your ability to complete complex tasks or remember things. When you don’t have enough sleep, your productivity decreases. Your lack of sleep will show in your work, conversations, and even free time.

A lack of sleep also increases the effects of anxiety. When I don’t get enough sleep, assignments that I could do in a day appear to be much more difficult.

One of the school related consequences of not getting enough sleep could be a decreased GPA. According to The College Student Journal, students who sleep for 6 hours get a lower GPA than students who sleep for 9 hours.

How do I get more sleep?

Remember when I talked about eating in bed? Your body is great at associating different places with actions, such as eating in the kitchen or using the restroom in the restroom. When you read or eat in bed, your body doesn’t associate it with a sleeping place and it’s more difficult to sleep at night. On the other hand, when you use your bed for only sleep and you climb into bed, your body says “hey, let’s get some sleep now”.

You can also make a bedtime ritual. I like to turn off my computer and brush my teeth before I go to sleep. Now whenever I brush my teeth and floss at night, I get a little sleepy. I also go to sleep an hour or so before I’d get eight hours of sleep. I wake up fully rested before my alarm goes off.

One thing I try to avoid is taking naps. I used to love taking naps in the middle of the day for half an hour to even an hour. Now that I get back home late, I don’t have the opportunity for an early afternoon nap. Even when I am sleepy throughout the day, I do my best to keep awake and go to sleep early instead.

It’s good to avoid caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and heavy meals before bed. Tobacco and caffeine stimulate your body and prevent sleep even if you’re tired. While alcohol might put you asleep, your sleep will end up very inefficient and you’ll wake up tired and possibly hungover. Finally, big meals before bed will keep you up as your body slowly digests the food. You’ll often end up with a stomach ache when you wake up, which is not fun.

Dos and Don’ts for getting good sleep (hopefully forever):

Do:

Make a bedtime ritual that prepares your body for sleep.

Get to sleep earlier than you think you need to so you’ll wake up before your alarm.

Don’t:

Eat heavy meals or consume tobacco, caffeine, or alcohol before bed.

Read, play video games, check your phone in your bed. Definitely don’t eat in bed because that’s gross.

Take long naps in the late afternoon or evening.

 

That’s it! If you’re practicing good sleep habits and find you can’t sleep well, you may need to see a doctor or medical professional.

Filed Under: EWU

LinkedIn: Why EWU's Career Services wants you on social media

04/20/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

I've attended a few presentations about getting internships in the STEM field and how to write absolutely horrible resumes (and then good ones). This time I wanted to learn a little about how to get into professional networking through LinkedIn.

Side note: the career advisers here at EWU are fantastic, including the person I talked to most, Stan Pichinevskiy. He’s extremely cool and professional, and he can help you with LinkedIn. Getting smart, professional advice is one of the best parts of Career Services!

So first of all, what is LinkedIn? It’s a huge social media site designed to help you connect with professionals, find a job, and learn job related skills. It’s the largest professional networking site in the world.

Okay so that sounds super cool. So what are the rules, according to Career Services? Let’s first start with some basic do’s and don’ts.

Do …

  • Write your profile as someone ready for that job, especially if you’re going for an entry level job. Instead of writing “I am studying ___”, write “I studied ___”.
  • Update your profile regularly! Employers will look at your profile, and if they see an outdated profile from years ago they won’t bother looking any further.

Don’t …

  • Don’t link your other social media accounts. Just … don’t.
  • Don’t use the default connection request. Always attach a brief note to requests to keep it from being stale and awful.
  • Don’t downplay your skills and experiences.
  • Don’t use unprofessional photos. It shouldn’t look like a selfie.

Time to get started

Before you start building your profile, type it up offline. This will help you check for grammar and spelling errors, and you can edit your content without worrying too much about whether or not someone will see what you’ve written.

Once that’s done, LinkedIn will help you set up the basics: name, occupation, and other generic information.

The next thing you’ll write is your summary. This is the “Elevator pitch” you may have heard of before: you’re in an elevator with a business executive and you have thirty seconds to impress them. You’ll want to be quick, to the point, and clear about what you do.

As a college student, you’ll want to write your degree. If you’re still in college, there’s a place for when you expect to get it. List the courses that were most applicable to your career and write a little about them!

Use your privacy settings and filters. Even though your content isn’t public, operate under the assumption  it is. Don’t post your address and social security number on your profile!

Once you’ve added what you want, it’s time to mess around with your title at the top. Be specific about what you do: instead of “designer”, I’d probably go with “photo restorer” or “guy with Photoshop” (actually, that’s exactly what I went with!).

Wait! Who should I add to my network?

Add people you know, new people you meet, and people who are introduced to you. Beware of fraudulent users. If you aren’t sure if you know someone, you don’t need to add them.

LinkedIn is not like other social media. If you aren’t professional contacts with someone, you shouldn’t feel the need to add them, especially if you think they’ll expect an endorsement!

Only endorse people you know have the skills. If you haven’t worked with someone else and they endorse you, or if they endorse you in every skill you have, that won’t look good to employers. You’ll want your skills to be as authentic as possible. Endorsements from people who actually know your skills will be far more useful than endorsements from people who don’t.

That should be enough to get you started! Remember to keep your profile clean with as few grammar and spelling mistakes as possible. As a student at EWU, you can even have someone at Career Services take a look at it for you!

Filed Under: EWU

A little from the cast of Heathers

04/17/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Woman falling over, Holly and Scott in back

I loved Heathers so much that I decided to sit down and chat with the cast and crew to see what it was all about. I spoke with the director Jeff Sanders, the male and female leads Scott Worley and Holly Kirkman, and the stage manager Sierra Peck.

So why Heathers and not another musical? There are two followings of Heathers out there: the people who saw the movie when it came out, and a generation of younger people who know about the play. Jeff picked this play out because of the musical numbers from an off-Broadway production.

Most of the actors were theatre students, but some weren’t. Eastern students will definitely get a little priority when selecting cast members, but cast and crew can be picked out from anyone. In fact, a non-theatre student had a major role in Heathers. One great thing about EWU is that the theatre program is a little smaller than the largest universities; anyone can get the opportunity to play a lead role!

Heathers was incredibly well-received. It outsold Avenue Q by 200 tickets and may have even outsold Romeo and Juliet which had 97% capacity. That’s a lot of people!

A little about the actors

Holly and Scott ended up learning a lot about acting.

Playing as Veronica gave Holly a much better understanding on where her limits were, and what limits she thought she had that she was able to surpass. Scott wasn’t able to connect with the troubled JD on an emotional level, so he mastered a technique from Theatre 1 called the Chekhov technique.

Most everyone in the play knew each other beforehand but there were definitely some new people. Scott said “with every new actor, you learn something from. I want to work with as many new actors as I can.”

Holly added that “we really are a family. In theatre we grow really close. We do these kickbacks where we run scenes, run monologues, and give critiques and feedback.”

What if I don’t want to be on stage?

Sierra was the stage manager, which means she helped manage the crew who helped put on the production. These are people who move the sets, put on costumes, and make sure the lighting and sound work properly.

A good crew is vital to getting a play to work. According to Sierra: “a good run crew and good crew overall is integral to having a good show. So many working, moving parts happen backstage that are super important to making the show good.”

Stage crew really is important. After a few weeks to get the lines down, the crew showed up and started putting up and taking down the set an hour before and after the cast. That shows a lot of dedication.

How can you join the crew? There are addition sheets during auditions for students who audition for cast parts. You can also get in touch with the theatre department and email them. Sierra says that she picks out people based on interest, so if you really want to get in, make sure to send out emails.

How do I get started?

If you want to get into the plays, start off by going to the plays. The Fall play typically has a call for auditions and you’ll be able to learn how to apply.

Filed Under: Academics, College Fit, Community, EWU, Student Life

I went to a musical: a little about Heathers

04/13/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Veronica (Holly) stage dives, actors cheer her on

One of the coolest things about writing a blog is that I’m able to do things that I normally wouldn’t do and call it work. I’m actually pretty sure that I have the best job on campus (don’t tell anyone). One of the cool events I went to that I normally wouldn’t have seen was the musical Heathers, put on by the Theatre Department.

Speaking of parents and kids, I noticed a lot of students brought in their family and friends. I should have done the same! I sat next to people I didn’t know, which was fine, but I’ll definitely invite friends next time.

One thing I learned: reservations are extremely important for EWU plays. I showed up an hour and a half early to the play and there was already a line waiting. Next time I’ll be sure to reserve a few days beforehand.

Jeff Sanders, one of EWU’s theatre teachers, directed the play. I took a Theatre in the Humanities course that he taught ages ago so I was happy to see that he still taught at EWU. Before the play began, he talked a little bit about auditions for the plays this year (The Tempest and Clybourne Park) and who can apply. Any student can apply as part of cast or crew, not just Theatre students.

I haven’t been to a musical in years and I really wasn’t expecting what would happen. For those of you who don’t know, Heathers is a dark comedy and I walked into the musical thinking it would be disgusting. And ya know what? I was glad to know it wasn’t. If I were a parent I might even bring in a high school aged kid to see it.

A little about Heathers

The acting and singing was fantastic.

I could tell that the actors were putting a lot of effort into their characters and singing. I’m surprised at how well the acting and singing turned out and I’m actually a little jealous at how talented the actors were.

One of my favorite moments of the play was when the characters were all having a confession song. Everyone pointed flashlights at the guy just to my right and one of the characters screamed at him. I may have broken down laughing at this point, especially since the guy next to me was so genuinely confused about what was happening to him.

I was astounded at the speed of the transitions and the work that the crew put into the piece. Setup between each scene was faster than any play I’d ever seen. Lighting and sound effects were on point throughout.

Overall I’m very glad I got to see the play, though a little sad that I didn’t bring along friends. Next time around I’ll put some effort into getting friends to come to the play with me.

Filed Under: College Fit, Community, EWU, Student Life

VCD and Mechanical Engineering Expo

04/10/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

Twice a year STEM holds an expo for engineering students to show off what they've built over the year. This year, the engineering students invited the Visual Communication and Design students to show off their work as well.

By the way, the expo was packed with people and there was free food. Is there a better place to be? Probably not.

A little about the VCD groups.

VCD capstones don’t just teach students how to build logos and a brand, students go out and build projects for actual companies. Imagine getting through college with some work experience and professional projects in your portfolio!

One thing that I noticed with the VCD projects is that they’ve only gotten better every year. I spoke with Colin, the capstone professor, and he said that one recent development at EWU is a growing emphasis on human-centered design. These student’s aren’t just designing logos and branding, they’re designing for people. When I see these posters I can definitely see the effort these students are putting into designing for humans.

This project was for a non-profit called Free Rein Therapeutic Riding. Free Rein uses horses to help treat physical and emotional injury or disability, so it’s already a pretty cool company. VCD students took that idea and helped build a professional looking brand off of it. I went ahead and grouped some of my favorite images by project so you all could get a good look at the work the students put in.

part of a farm door with collection of designs5 business cards in a row, photograph of a horse
small wooden gate with 4 business cards and trifold
poster woth logos and horse imagestrifold, cowboy hat
poster with font choice and web design6 business cards, trifold
poster with logos and branding

What about mechanical engineers?

Engineering students had a huge variety of projects that they could work on. Students had crazy projects ranging from geothermal heat pumps to mechanical chess!

First up was the team of Helping Hand, a forklift addon that allows people to operate a lifter independent from the forklift and remove some of the human heavy lifting that has to be done. It reminded me of a claw grabber, but this one won’t drop the stuffed bear as the design is rated to lift up to 700 pounds.

Small toy version of the helping hand forklift

The second mechanical engineering project shown was the Chess, Anyone? Chess board. This chess board can automatically move pieces and even play a physical game of chess! Computers have been able to play a strong game of chess for years but engineering students have made it so that a game with chess can now be physical instead of on the computer.

two students showing off robotic chess player

Students also tested the heat transfer of a geothermal heat pump. It’s a bit like how people pump water out of the ground, but this time it’s pumping out heat. Geothermal energy can save a alot of money on heating and cooling.

geothermal pump piping

Another group developed five mechanical Prusik brakes for climbers. I can see where they made some huge improvements! Most Prusik brakes will damage the rope if the climber falls. The brake that these students developed can keep the rope safe for up to 100 falls.

five Prusik test models

Larger cars are definitely more difficult to change tires. Unlike a typical compact car, large wheels can be a real pain to lift and move around. Engineering students built a bumper tire carrier that can help carry and re-install large spare tires easily.

tire carrier with large Jeep tire

Filed Under: Academics, Community, EWU, STEM, Student Life

Coffee, Dogs, and Bikes: EWU’s Police Force for Students

03/23/2018 by afuller Leave a Comment

The first thing you should know about EWU's campus police: they're real police, but they're not like the police you see on TV.

I worked in the residence halls for a couple of years as an office worker and I can't count the times the EWU police helped me out. Sitting at the office for five hours at night could be tough at times, but having the police stop by for a few minutes helped me get through some of the heavy homework nights.

So how would you get to meet them? Students in the residence halls will get a few opportunities to speak with the police when they visit the halls for rounds and when they put on events, but there are actually a few things the police do that you wouldn’t know about right away.

Like free coffee.

Police at EWU run Coffee with a Cop. The idea is simple: you sit with a police officer, have a coffee, and chat about whatever you want to talk about. It’s a way for you to speak with a police officer and get to know them. Coffee with a Cop is usually held once a month from 8 a.m.-11 a.m., perfect for students heading to class or who have an hour free in the mornings.

What else do they do?

Instead of riding around in cars, a few of our police officers ride around on bikes. Bikes help our officers in numerous ways:

First of all, police on bikes can get around the campus pathways and buildings quickly. That means they can cover more ground on campus overall, and they’ll get across campus in half the time it would take an officer in a car to cross campus.

Bikes reduce the carbon footprint and wear on police cars. Let’s face it, police cars are far more expensive than bikes and aren’t as environmentally friendly. Even if a hundred bikes have to be replaced for every one car that gets replaced (I did the math), it ends up less expensive.

That last one is probably what you’ll notice when you leave the library late at night after studying. Knowing the police are nearby looking out for you makes walking to the residence halls after dark much more comfortable.

Especially if you’re still kind of afraid of the dark like me.

What everyone’s really here for

Dog kissing EWU mascot SwoopThe last thing I’ll talk about with EWU police today is Hilani the facility dog. Hilani is a Golden Retriever and Labrador mix that helps out the police station. I’ve never seen Hilani but I hear she’s very friendly and relaxed. Remember to ask before you pet her!

That’s not all, there are many more programs out there with the EWU police. I’ve spoken to them on numerous occasions going to and from class, and when I worked in the halls. Say hi next time you meet one of our fantastic officers!

Filed Under: Community, EWU, Student Life

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