This is a continuation of my post from April 18th called Quick Nutrition Tips for Success. I decided to add a few more tips and expand on some more key vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy body and therefore, healthy mind. Eating right will help you succeed no matter what you are doing as a student- whether it's using SmartBook quizzes before an exam, while running a local 5K, at work or during a long exam. If your diet is clean, you will feel more energized and your immune system will be boosted- there is science to back all of this! Enjoy these tips and try to implement some into your daily routine. As last time, the information is coming from my MHE Nutrition textbook, Wardlaw's Perspectives in Nutrition. 4. Snack on almonds and sunflower seedsWhat do peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, sunflower seeds and avocado all have in common? They are all high in vitamin E! Vitamin E is a very important in antioxidant function (prevents free radical damage) and helps prevent the breakdown of red blood cell membranes. On average, adults only consume 2/3 of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin E, so it is recommended to eat more of the vitamin E containing foods, breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin E or taking a daily vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E is even used for disease of the brain and nervous system, so clearly there must be a correlation between your health and vitamin E intake. 5. Throw extra kale in your smoothieDid you know that 1/2 cup of kale offers over 664% of your daily value of vitamin K? Other foods rich in vitamin K include broccoli, brussels sprouts, turnip greens and spinach. So it's time to make a salad! I always recommend that students get in at least one big, green salad once a day. Blood clot formation, bone health and preventing heart disease. These are all important factors in being an active student (who doesn't want to deal with broken bones and uncontrolled bleeding!) and that's why I always make sure to eat a lot of kale on a regular basis. Kale comes in so many different forms- raw kale, shredded, steamed with lemon and garlic, dehydrated into kale chips, and even tossed in a smoothie or juiced. YUM! 6. Start your day with oatmealIf you were to start your day with 3/4 of a cup of oatmeal, you will have already reached 160% of your daily value of vitamin B-6! Pistachios, pinto beans, bananas, potatoes and some fortified cereals are also good source of B6. This vitamin is awesome. It is involved in many metabolic reactions, supports normal immune function and the regulation of gene expression. Not to mention, it could even help prevent colon cancer and reduce the risk of many disease like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and arthritis. For these reasons, I like to start my day with some oatmeal, berries and nuts to make sure I am getting the right amount of vitamin B6. You should too!
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Be sure to follow McGraw-Hill Higher Education (@mhhighered) on Instagram this week to catch my takeover on Wednesday, April 19th! Several student ambassadors have taken over in the past weeks and have done amazing job. I wanted to share with you some stuff behind the scenes so you can see where the content for the takeover came from and how I used my resources on campus to encompass my personal brand in the takeover. Enjoy! Note: almost all of these photos were not used for the takeover- be sure to follow @mhhighered to see brand new content from my day. Meet the photographer: Carlos CruzCarlos and I attended College of DuPage together and I knew he had a talent for photography and film, so I asked him to help me with this project! Together, we spent the day exploring my campus and taking photos/short clips to encapsulate what the "day in my life" really looked like as a student. It was great experience and I am always happy to share a friends talents with others. Make sure to give Carlos a follow on Instagram @napethegreat. Part 1: Daily Routine, the Quad and ConnectThe first part of the day included starting my day with tea at my apartment and then walking through the Main Quad to my nutrition class. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, our quad is full of hundreds of students when the weather is nice and on this day, the weather was incredible! I definitely pick up energy from other people and for that reason, I love crowds. I feel energized and excited when I see so many people- thank goodness I go to a school of 44,000! Next, I went to my Organic Chemistry class. What a terrible way spend this beautiful day, right?! Well at least I have Connect to help me out with making O'Chem a little less impossible. I use Connect and SmartBook throughout the semester, even though it was not required or even suggested by my professor. SmartBook's reports and practice quizzes really help make this class more bearable, so thank you MHE! Part 2: Favorite Campus Spots and a Concert!On this day I stopped by my sorority house for lunch and to hang out with some friends. I also went to a local cafe to get some studying done and to my surprise, there was a free concert on campus with tons of giveaways! The nice thing about going to a school with so many students is that there is never a dull moment- there is always something fun to do when you have free time. I realized that I am most successful when I balance studying/school/internships with other activities- like hanging out with friends, attending events on campus or running! By using SmartBook to study, I find myself saving even more time by being able to study more effectively and efficiently so I have more time for some relaxation. Part 3: Dinner and SA PlanningThe final part of this day included going to The Red Herring, my favorite vegan restaurant on campus. Every Wednesday night, they serve a vegan take on different cultural dinners and this week was Bulgarian. The biggest tip I have for students is to stay healthy! A healthy body = a healthy mind :)
I got dinner with another student ambassador on campus, Thomas, and discuss what our plans are for the SA program for the rest of the semester. We talking about the next project we are working on- a student interview project with includes using the Video Recording Studio on campus to interview students on their experiences using Connect and SmartBook and their experiences as students. Stay tuned to see what we come up with! I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse into a random day in my life as a student at the University of Illinois. I hope this inspires you to get involved, use your resources, balance your time and most importantly, enjoy your time as a student! As a Biology major with a Nutrition minor, I have had a quite bit of exposure to scientific information about the human body and how we metabolize, use and store energy from the foods we consume. I have also learned about things ranging from the complexity of cells to the impact of diet on our overall health. Although I am nowhere near being an expert on health, I do believe that sharing my personal health tips and tricks can be beneficial to other students wanting similar results (feeling energized, happy and getting sick less often). Therefore, I would like to share some of my top tips for staying healthy as a student. Remember that each person is different and although not every tip may apply to you and your health needs, it's never a bad idea to improve some habits here and there! Note: a lot of the reasoning behind my tips is coming from my textbook- Wardlaw's Perspectives in Nutrition, McGraw-Hill Education. 1. Carry around a reusable water bottleOur bodies contain more water than any other component- water is the most important ingredient for life (after oxygen). So it's no wonder that staying hydrated is going to help you feel alive and energized for that upcoming test! Think about this- each cell in the body contains and is surrounded by water and it makes up 50-75% of our total body weight. Although an individual's intake varies with functions like body size, physical activity, dietary intake and more, the Adequate Intake recommended per day is 15 cups for adult men and 11 cups for women. This can come from drinking water or from the foods we eat- remember that foods like potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, apples and oranges are over 75% water by weight! Drink/eat up! 2. Walk and bike instead of drivingThere are so many benefits of regular exercise- enhanced heart functions, better sleep habits, stress reduction and positive affects on blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels and immune function. To summarize- keep moving and you'll feel healthy and ready to take on the world! It is recommended that adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity for substantial health benefits. This can be as simple as going for a run twice a week, lifting weights once a week and biking and walking to all of your classes. Keep moving and you'll see those test scores rise in no time! 3. Eat more sweet potatoes!This one might seem silly, but I swear I live by it. I try to eat sweet potatoes at least 4-5 times a week- I like to bake them in oven or steam them over the stove, nothing too fancy! Besides sweet potatoes, other foods high in vitamin A are carrots, kale, broccoli, spinach, acorn squash, peaches, mangoes and apricots. Why am I focusing on vitamin A? In North America, 70% of vitamin A intake comes from animal sources instead of plan sources. This is a topic for a later discussion, but the biggest takeaway is that people are not eating enough fruits or vegetables and are not getting all of the benefits that come with eating more plants. North Americans are overeating foods like margarine, cheddar cheese, and fat-free milk, which contain barely any vitamin A (0-20% of the recommended daily value of vitamin A per serving) and have a lot of potentially bad side effects. On the other hand, we are not eating enough plants, like sweet potatoes (over 200% of daily value of vitamin A in one serving- only half a cup!!). What is vitamin A good for? Just to name a few- vitamin A aids in growth and development, cell differentiation, vision, immune function and can even decrease the risk of certain eye cancers and diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Doesn't a nice side of sweet potatoes sound nice for dinner now? :)
One of my biggest tips for SA's and all students in general, is to explore and use your campus resources. Right when I got onto UIUC's campus in the fall, the first thing I did was explore. I wanted to see everything the campus had to offer- from the libraries, study spots, cafes, places to eat and more. One thing that I stumbled upon was my university's video recording studio. I then had a brilliant idea- I should use this free and technologically advanced resource for MHE videos and more! Read more about how I used this resource and watch the video Thomas and I created in the studio at the bottom of this post. Here are the steps in creating the perfect video (check your campus and libraries to see if you have access to a studio and if similar rules apply): 1. The very first thing you should do is have a script ready and rehearsed. Make sure to print extra copies, highlight the main points or your lines and rehearse in front of the mirror or a friend. If you want to make the best use of your time in the studio, you need to have your script written, rehearsed and good to go. The more mistakes you make on camera, the more time you will need to take to edit those mistakes out. 2. Check the calendar of availability online. Make sure that there is a day that the video recording studio is available that works with your schedule. You should always schedule at least 2-5 days in advance to allow the staff enough time to prepare and get the studio ready. Once you have found a date, fill out the online application for a reservation. 3. Arrive early and get excited to film! Although the whole process might seem like a lot of work, remember that you are given the chance to use a really cool studio that would be very expensive to use outside of college. The best way to capture your audience's attention on camera is to be natural, happy and confident. If you're having fun on camera, the audience will be able to tell and will be more likely to listen to what you have to say. Don't be nervous and remember to talk slower than what seems right- we all tend to speak faster when we get a little nervous. Also, make sure to be concise and try not to babble on for too long about a certain topic or question. 4. Watch some videos about editing. If your video will require some editing, make sure you have some experience or training in using softwares like Premiere Pro. You don't want to waste the high quality sound and video you just produced with lousy editing softwares or tacky elements. Watch some videos on YouTube about basic editing techniques and then use your university's free softwares to edit the video. Again, this might be your only chance to use software that is usually hundreds of dollars for free. 5. Share the final video and be proud of your results. Great job, you completed your video. Now share it with your sales team, your student leader and post it on the Facebook group. Your video can be used in presentations or for MHE marketing material, depending on the topic! Using your campus resources is fun, exciting and a great way to make your message heard. Since you're probably already paying for these campus resources, you might as well take full advantage of them. Can't wait to see your videos! It is crazy to think that I have been a student ambassador for McGraw-Hill Education since my freshman year of college and now I am finishing my junior year. Being a student ambassador has been a central part of my time as a college student. Heck, I have been a student ambassador for almost as long as I have been in college! I have learned so much from this experience and I went from being nervous to speak in front of large audiences, to completely confident to give a presentation in front of +300 complete strangers in a lecture hall. I went from being less active in the program freshman year to being a student leader junior year that helps show new SA's how to get started! I want to share a key memory from each of my years as a student ambassador so far so you can see my growth and hopefully relate. Remember that the program is all about what you make of it and your opportunities are endless if you allow them to be. That is just one of the many life lessons I have learned from being a SA that I have applied to all aspects of my educational career and everyday life. Enjoy! Freshman Year (2014-2015)Oh freshman year... what a time! Fresh out of high school, I remember being worried about college. Especially since I knew I would have to attend community college for two years before transferring to a four-year institution. My community college, however, College of DuPage, was awesome! I went there on an academic scholarship, was in the honors program and ran cross country for the schools team. I made the most out of my situation and was sure to get as involved as possible. One of my involvements included applying to be a McGraw-Hill Education Student Ambassador after seeing a pop-up advertisement on my Connect assignment homepage for my speech class. "This seems like a really great opportunity!" I thought to myself, and in August of 2014, I applied to be a SA. By October/November, I landed an interview and sent my application video. I was so excited to start as a SA in the spring! Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to do any presentations that semester. I was brand new to the program and still unsure of how exactly to get involved. I was determined though! I reached out to my sales team regularly and let them know that I was ready to help them out. They did not have many things for me to do on my campus, so I patiently waited for the next opportunities to come. In the meantime, I made sure to fill out surveys (like the info in the above photo for my SA profile) and do any smaller tasks I was asked to do. Sophomore Year (2015-2016)Sophomore year was quite busy and exciting! A new sales representative started working in my area and was very excited to get started with using a student ambassador. He emailed at the end of the summer and we set up a time to meet on campus for lunch in the very beginning of sophomore year. We then discussed all of the ways that I could help out on campus. I couldn't wait to get started! After all my training was complete, I was on my way to doing several FDOC presentations on my own, helping with Lunch and Learns, and even traveling to the Chicago office to attend a meeting with the Chicago MHE team. It was amazing! I was tracking all of my activities, giving my input as a student, doing preventions, meeting new people and starting to build confidence in public speaking. To top it all of, I was named Student Ambassador of the Month in January 2016 for all of my hard work. Next, I was asked to attend a MHE Biology Majors conference in Austin, Texas to speak at a student panel in front of over a hundred professors from all over the country. One of the most memorable experiences was eating dinner with the president and CEO of McGraw-Hill, David Levin (see the selfie above!). It was an amazing opportunity to talk to him about how he has been helping transform MHE from a tradition textbook published to a learning science company that unlocks the potential of each learner. He was such an inspiration and it turns out that he has family in Lithuania and had just recently visited there (I was born in Lithuania!). It was great to hear him speak and to get to share my perspective of how MHE digital learning tools have helped me as a student. He gave me his business card and we added each other on LinkedIn- I would say that's pretty cool :) My sophomore year was a busy and exciting year that got me ready to transfer from community college and begin my journey as a SA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Junior Year (2016-2017)Junior year, and my first year at the University of Illinois, was also my first year as a student leader for the ambassador program. With new responsibilities a student leader and with having to live on my own for the very first time in a brand new place- I was in for a lot of exciting change! Being student leader meant that I would not only have the responsibilities of a regular SA- presentations, trainings, communicating with my sales team, but I would also have to lead a team of 10-13 student ambassadors in their journey in the program. Talk about a lot of responsibility! After applying and getting the position as a student leader, I was also given the opportunity to travel to NYC to the MHE headquarters to meet Lindsay Ivy, the other student leaders and more MHE employees. This was my first time in New York and I loved it! It was an oddly warm weekend in November, which called for a lot of exploring after work in the office. It was such a great experience to meet other SA's in person and the rest of the team that makes the SA program possible. You guys are awesome and I am so grateful for what you do everyday. Above, you can see a picture of me and two other student leaders in Times Square, having a blast! I have stayed busy this year with new responsibilities as a student and as a student lead. I have had two different teams (one first semester and one second semester) and led over 10 orientations for new SA's. I have also lead a few live Study Smarter Sessions to help students get the most of SmartBook and Connect. Being at a larger university has also given me the opportunity to give presentations in front of +300 student lecture halls, which has really helped me get over any fear I might have had of public speaking. I am really excited for all the upcoming projects and final contests of the semester and I can't wait to see what senior year has in store!
Although my Principles of Nutrition Class does not require SmartBook or Connect, I decided to get SmartBook and use it on my own. I am currently a Molecular and Cellular Biology Major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and just recently I decided to pursue a Nutrition minor as well. My passion for learning about nutrition and the science of food propelled my dedication to learning the material and wanting to use SmartBook as a supplemental learning tool. The result? The highest grade in the class on the first exam- 106%!
How exactly did I use SmartBook to study efficiently and effectively? Well to start off, I truly believe that having an interest for the topic at hand really helps you in your success of mastering it. I came in with the right mindset- I was interested in the material and ready to apply it to my daily life. If that sounds like you, awesome! If not, that's okay. SmartBook can still help you learn the material and who knows, maybe even help you start enjoying the topic! Here are the steps I took in learning the material using SmartBook:
Whatever class you may be taking, and whether SmartBook is required or not, I hope that this list gave you an idea how how to study more efficiently. I really enjoyed studying this way and never felt like I was cramming. Once I got to taking the exam, I felt confident. Yes, even though the average on this exam was quite high (90%), I still want to thank SmartBook for helping me get 16% above the average and helping me really learn and remember the material in a stress free way! SmartBook- it's not a textbook. It's not an ebook. It's a SmartBook! As Student Ambassadors, we are constantly talking about how helpful and effective SmartBook is in our learning process. The best part, however, is taking the time to truly think about how innovative SmartBook really is and that we are at the forefront of technological advancements in learning. SmartBook is not an ebook- it's adaptive digital learning tool that is catered to you as a unique learner and individual. You're guided to read what matters most, practice what you have learned and recharge your memory- all on your laptop or on the go. Here, I take a look at the Reports section found in SmartBook to remind you of one of the great features of this innovative learning tool. 3. Tree of KnowledgeWatch your knowledge grow into a fully blossomed tree. With a strong foundation, and daily practice/care, with SmartBook you can visualize your progress and success with this clever metaphoric tree. This artistic and natural representation of learning reminds us that the classes we take (and ace!) expand our understanding of the world when we stay committed and dedicated to a given task. Tip: Check back on your tree every once in a while and if you ever feel discouraged, just click on the "In One Month" tab to see what happens to your tree and ultimately your success if you stop learning!! 2. Self Assessment (Metacognition)Do you know what you know? Do you know that you don't know what you know?? Although this might sound confusing at first, learning about how you are learning (metacognition) is a useful and exciting part of your educational process. This feature of SmartBook tells us students that McGraw-Hill Education actually cares about you as a learner. It's not just about getting assignments done for points. It's about critically analyzing how you learn, checking up on yourself regularly and ultimately crafting the ideal learning environment. Tip: Keep the green section highest, the blue section medium to low, and the yellow and red sections as low as possible! Confidence and understanding is key. 1. Practice QuizAlong with practice questions, your assignments and Recharge, you can also create your own quizzes to test yourself before an exam. Having the ability to choose any number of questions from any sections that you may struggle with, makes this Report my ultimate favorite. What other ebook or digital learning tool lets you create such a customized and useful assessment for yourself?! None that I have used before. This is my personal favorite way to test myself before an exam and pinpoint areas I need to review. Tip: Before taking your practice quiz, go to a quiet area and choose a number of questions that would typically be on your actual exam. Setting up a real-life test environment is the best way to prepare for the actual exam.
The role of a SAHey guys! This video focuses on the role of a SA and is tailored for SA's that feel LOST in the program.
Are you feeling demotivated? Are you too busy? Did your sales reps not respond to you? Are you interested in still making this program work? WATCH THE VIDEO! Hopefully this video clears things up for any of you SA's that are confused about the program. For those of you not confused, this is a great refresher! Also, please include your tips and ways you beat confusion in the comments :) I want you to be successful in this program. The SA program has given me so many great opportunities and I really want the same for you!! Talk to you guys soon, Kotryna Here's a list of activities that can also be found on NING: Hey Central Team!
Please watch this short video that will tell you a little bit more about me and introduce you to this website. I am planning on creating these short videos bimonthly and sending you a link through email. Comments and feedback are always appreciated. Originally, I said these videos will be 1 minute long (1 minute with Kotryna :) ) BUT as you can see... one minute is quite short. I will extend the length of the next videos to 3 minutes- so THREE minutes with Kotryna is what we will call it! Underneath each video, you will find text with detailed information. This may include an outline of what was said, links to direct you to sites with more information, documents with further instructions or pictures to further illustrate what was discussed. The purpose of these videos will be two-fold: they will cover topics that are of interest to most SA's in the program, such as...
What are the main points of this video? EXPLORE THE WEBSITE!! HAVE FUN! LEAVE COMMENTS! :) Talk to you guys soon, Kotryna Here are some images representing just some of my activities as a SA for McGraw-Hill. I hope these images motivate you to get as involved as you can with the program and I hope this serves as a reminder to take photos of what you do! It's a great way to remember what you did and it's awesome to share with other SA's. If you have any questions or comments- please leave them below!
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KotrynaKotryna has been a SA for MHE since January 2015. She is the Central Team Lead and loves helping other SA's make the most their experience with the program. Archives
April 2017
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