Dear Students,
Congratulations to our graduates who who walked across the stage on Saturday!
For the rest of you, as you finish up course projects and final exams, I thought I’d pass along some words of wisdom from my mentors and some things I’ve learned over the years.
- Routine is a valuable tool to optimize brain performance. Eat at the regular times, get ample sleep, and strategize your time studying.
- When concentrating, the brain consumes lots of nutrients. To help active transport of those nutrients into the brain, it is best to stand up and walk around or stretch every 20-25 minutes.
- This short 25 minute intense study session with a 2 minute break is great for setting smaller goals (a single concept or a single type of problem), while 1/2 day or full day goals can be set around a certain class or set of chapters in a class.
- Give yourself rewards for your smaller as well as your bigger goals. (I tend to use a drink or walk/stretch for my shorter goals and a meal for bigger goals.)
- Intentionally build up your confidence. Coach yourself by telling yourself “good job” when you do a practice problem correctly; also, tell yourself, “I can do it” when faced with a difficult concept or a problem with which you are struggling.You can do this! Your professors and I are immensely proud of your hard work, learning and creativity. These exams are a great opportunity to show off what you have learned this semester.Happy studying!Lastly, please drive carefully home for the holidays (and enjoy some R&R).
Dean Adrienne Minerick