Uncategorized

Tina Francisco always knew that she wanted to help people.

It seemed like a natural fit to begin her studies at UP with a major in biology with the intention of one day becoming a doctor.  

Although Tina really enjoyed her biology classes, she began to discover two new passion: German Studies and sociology. She had grown up on Guam, the daughter of a Chamorro father and a German mother and beginning college and taking advantage of the depth and the breadth of the liberal arts allowed Tina the chance to explore her biracial identity. During her first year, Tina declared a major in German Studies. As she learned more about her identity through German studies, she was simultaneously beginning her journey with sociology, opening her eyes to new ways of seeing the world and putting words to things she had been thinking about like racism and inequality. She was beginning to make sense of her experiences as a biracial person. 

Tina’s blended cultural and ethnic identity made her eager to learn more about the experiences of marginalized people in Germany, motivating her to apply for an internship in the summer after her junior year with an organization called the Allerweltshaus in Cologne, Germany. As the only US-American volunteer on site, she worked with the staff to help aid a very diverse population of refugees and immigrants to Germany. She helped people new to Germany find practical solutions to everyday problems, like filling out a school application, as well as connecting them to resources such as courses in German as a second language and job listings. For Tina, this internship confirmed that she wants to continue to work with marginalized populations.  

After graduation in 2019, Tina was awarded a Fulbright grant to serve as an English teaching assistant at a school near Bonn in Germany. She was the only Pacific Islander among 140 English teaching assistants in Germany and spent a lot of time teaching her students and her colleagues about Guam. Though her year in Germany was cut short because of the Covid crisis, Tina had begun to bond especially well with the fifth-grade Turkish-German girls, who looked up to Tina with admiration, seeing in Tina, a German-speaking woman of color, something of themselves. 

Tina Francisco’s eagerness to learn more about who she is as a person and about her biracial identity ultimately led to an important detour during her studies. Through intellectually engaging coursework and hands-on, experiential learning, Tina has found her calling, and now, with a deeper understanding of her own unique identity and place in the world, she will pursue her passion working for marginalized and disenfranchised people. Tina plans to pursue a PhD in Sociology or will go to law school to advocate for the rights of indigenous people, especially those from the U.S. territories like herself. As Tina says: “It’s almost as if I’ve come full circle!” 

Katie Norris: “Everything I learned at UP … helped me find a path in life.”

After graduating from UP with a degree in biology and a double minor in neuroscience and chemistry, Katie was offered a job to work at OHSU as a clinical research assistant in the neurology department. The opportunity for this job was initially presented to her when she was working on her Honors thesis, with Dr. Van Hoomissen, about the neurological disease ALS.

When she was a first-year student at UP, Katie never would have dreamed of working in the medical field because she entered college as a mechanical engineering major. However, by having an open mind and taking every opportunity that came her way, she ended up in biology on the pre-med track.

She states that the support and opportunities she received from her professors in the College of Arts and Science helped her tremendously to achieve her goals throughout college. She is currently studying for the MCAT and states, “I strongly feel that all of the classes I have taken at UP have more than prepared me for this exam. I am planning on applying to medical school in May. I am so grateful for everything I learned at UP because it has helped me find a path in life that I am truly excited about.”

Half of the challenge in keeping up with college courses is staying organized. With classes having a multitude of information on various platforms it can be difficult to keep it all straight. This post contains a list of some tried and true techniques for note taking and organizing papers and information in college.

 

1. Choose the best note taking format for you.

There are a lot of different ways to take notes.

Handwritten Notes

There are some professors that will require handwritten notes. In college one scientific study you will hear cited over and over again by profs is the study that shows that student retention of material increases with handwritten notes, and screens in class – even when the student is on task and taking notes – are a distraction to other students. Seriously, I’ve heard this cited at least six times in different classes in my two years at university. So even if you generally type or write digitally, know what hand written note organizational techniques work best for you. Taking notes in class that are difficult to look back on or confusing to re-read are largely a waste of your time. Think of lecture as a built in time to review and study for the upcoming test, and create notes that you can study from a reference later. Try to keep all of the notes for each class in one place, be that in a notebook or a binder. Some students take notes on loose paper and keep those papers in a 3-ring binder. Others have notebooks for each class. These are both good options. Add some color to break up your notes into sections, this helps your eyes skim to important sections later and allows you to find information without rereading everything.

 

Typed Notes

Typed notes can also be a good option (despite the aversion of many teaching professionals to this format) as it allows for faster writing which can be particularly helpful for slow writers or in classes where a lot of information is covered very quickly. Additionally, some courses rely heavily on slides, and using a computer to take notes directly on slides or to copy and paste images onto notes can create a solid test prep resource.  The best computer note taking format I have found is OneNote, which is free to download on Mac, PC, and iOS and has great organization, search ability, and customization.

Note: Learning, much to everyone’s chagrin, does not happen via passive osmosis, so don’t waste your own time and watch YouTube during class. Honestly, the amount of money you waste each class that you don’t actually listen should be enough to at least guilt you, if nothing else, into paying attention.

 

Digitally Written Notes

This is a great in between of the above two formats! For those that have access to something like an iPad with Apple Pencil or a Surface, this note taking style allows for the benefits of hand written notes along with the search ability and organization of online notebooks. This is the generally more expensive option as most good note taking apps have an associated cost. The apps I recommend are GoodNotes (Mac/iOS $7.99), Notability (Mac/iOS $9.99), and OneNote (Mac/iOS/PC/android FREE).

 

2. Online resources build up.

I am sure that I do not need to tell you this, but a lot of your work and information will be online! Surprise. Welcome to the 21st century. Although many of you were probably born in the 21st century. Welcome to UP in the 21st century! There are many different places to store and find information online. UP runs on Moodle, the location of online grades, assignments, and readings/syllabi. Things that you download from and turn in via Moodle will be very numerous. It will make your life easier if you organize these things on your computer. Take it from someone who had 16 (?) downloads of her History class’s syllabus on her computer, it’s easier just to have folders or use a Dropbox or Google Drive or any of numerous online file organizing methods.

 

3. Keep papers organized.

Despite the movement towards having materials available online, you will still receive paper handouts for many of your classes. Please, for the sake of your own sanity, do not just throw these in your back back to be crumpled and lost. You will be given homework, readings, slide printouts, syllabi, test grades, graded essays, and more. Keep these at least until you have received your final grade for the course. Homework provides good practice for tests, syllabi are always handy to know dates, and graded documents are good to have on hand for any potential disputed scores. There are many options for paper storage. Colored folders are an solid options, as long as you can find everything you’re looking for relatively easily – for some they become very messy very fast. If that is the case for you, get something like a 3-ring binder or accordion folder. With a binder you can either invest in a portable three-hole punch (very handy-dandy, but be prepared to have tiny paper circles on and in everything you own) of fill the binder with folders and/or clear paper sleeves and organize papers by course that way. Just keep your papers.

 

4.  Keep track of your assignments and schedule.

A planner! A planner. Seriously. Do not try to keep track of everything in your head. You do not have to buy a really nice personal calendar to make this a reality (although if you want to do that, rock on). There are cost friendly hand-written planner options, or if you are digitally minded there are online calendar/planner apps and sites. I can 100% recommend Google Calendar. They have a task feature that is perfect for putting homework and assignments into your calendar. Keep track of classes, appointments, office hours, and to-dos online accessible anywhere! This is beginning to sound like an ad (#notsponsored), but I can assure you it is simply my zeal for all things Google Calendar. You should also be able to access the Outlook Calendar via your student email and Outlook account that can be used similarly for another solid, free online calendar option.

 

 

Your life will be so much easier if you maintain even a basic level of organization in college. Have a rough idea of where those papers are! Know where the syllabus can be found! Have that graded essay so when your professor accidentally plugs in a B- in the grade book you can show them your B+! There are enough stressors in college without having to stress about losing papers of assignments or information from lecture. Wow them with your color-coordinated notes. [Read more…] about Organization & Note Taking

What you’ll need to be sure to bring:

 

1. Photos

Photos, although seemingly simple, are a great way to not only decorate your dorm room, but to bring a piece of home with you to school. My closet and walls on my side of the room were covered with photos that I had developed of me with friends and family. It’s a good reminder of all of your support systems (as well as good memories) as you enter the new and exciting, yet daunting phase of your life.

2. Rain Gear

Coming from the Seattle area, I was pretty prepared for the rain that awaited me in Portland. I was ready to go with my rain jackets and rain boots. However, if you aren’t from an area that typically gets a lot of rain, make sure to check that you pack those things! You will not survive the fall, spring…or the winter…….or even the summer, without your rain gear here in Portland.

3. Sweats – and lots of comfy clothes

Your favorite pair of sweats will be a staple item in your wardrobe in college. As soon as I was done with my obligations for the day, such as classes, work, and other activities, I would change into my pair of over-sized Nike sweatpants and be cozy! You won’t want to forget these — they will probably be your most worn clothing item while at college!

4. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks!

You will want to load up on snacks for your dorm room before you start school (especially if you’re someone who likes to constantly eat throughout the day, like me). Luckily, if you have a meal plan, you’ll have Mac’s Market to buy snacks from, but it’s always good to stock up on your favorite bulk snacks before school begins. I brought my favorite crackers from Costco, some trail mix, and some protein bars to start me off. It’s useful to have these snacks because you never know when you’re going to need a study snack, get the midnight munchies, or just be too lazy to walk over to the market.

5. Slippers! (And fuzzy socks)

Slippers — another staple of the college wardrobe! I don’t think I would’ve survived freshman year without my slippers. They would come on as soon as I stepped foot into my dorm room. You don’t need to go buy the newest, most expensive pair of slippers, but get yourself something cozy to be able to slip on when your hanging out in your room! These are also nice to walk around your dorm in — whether you need to go pick up a package at the front desk, walk up to your friends room on the 4th floor, or go switch out your laundry — slippers are the comfiest and easiest shoe to wear!

6. Blankets

If you can’t already tell, I am a fan of comfort and coziness 😊 I think at one point I had four blankets at school with me at once. There’s never enough blankets in my opinion! Not only do I use these for extra insulation when the cold, winter months arrive, but I also like to use them when watching Netflix, or even doing homework. I have this one blanket that I brought from home that now is my favorite blanket — I can’t imagine not having it at school with me now! It also is a little piece of home that I got to bring with me.

7. Any type of poster/messages from friends and family at home

This is obviously optional, as many of these items mentioned are, but I personally enjoyed having these pieces of home. Like the photos, these posters and messages reminded me of special experiences and people in my life. Right above my bed, I hung a poster that I had received after giving a talk on a retreat my senior year of high school. It had the name of the talk on it, as well as messages from peers and teachers who were also present on the retreat surrounding it. I also had little memos and notes from my friends and family hung up above my bed and my desk as well. These may seem simple, but these are the items that you can look at when you’re having a bad day, are sad, or just down in the dumps, and make you feel a lot better.

 

Things you could probably go without:

 

1. Your whole closet

I know I’m not the only one who literally brought almost every article of clothing with me to school. I’m going to tell you right now — that is not necessary! Definitely bring what you think you’ll wear, but you’ll have the opportunity during Christmas break (and fall and Thanksgiving break, if you go home for those) to switch out clothes for the different seasons. You don’t need to bring all of your summer and winter clothes at one time. Plus, it’ll save you some space in your closet.

2. Excess of anything, really

When I was packing for school, I was worried about potentially running out of certain things (such as toothpaste, shampoo, etc.). However, it is super easy to restock on this type of stuff. Fred Meyer’s is just slightly over a mile away, so you could walk there to pick up these essential items. You can also restock on these items during breaks (depending on how far away you live). It really isn’t necessary to bring 3 of everything right at the beginning of the year.

3. Any type of large storage 

Coming from the girl that brought her entire wardrobe with her to school, I can still say that I did not need any extra storage (other than a small bin for shoes). I had my bed lofted to the first level, so just a bit higher than what your bed at home is probably at. My rule of thumb was that if the storage container can’t fit under my bed, it shouldn’t be in my room. You are sharing a single room with at least one other person (maybe even 2 or 3), so you should try to conserve as much space as possible.