Shelsy Contreras

I attended today's transfer fair during the 12pm-1pm slot and went up to schools I have been interested in learning more about. I went up to the UMSON table and learned about all the credits I need to be able to transfer, as that is one of the top nursing schools I'd like to go to. I passed by other tables such as GW and Trinity, as well. I'd hope to see more schools present at any other fairs throughout the semester.

I went to the very first STRIVE event. It was very engaging. We met other students who were attending the meeting, and talked to each other about what makes a successful student and why it's important to be successful. We learned techniques that can help you be successful, such as the Pomodoro technique, following your learning style, and active recall. We talked about tips we could incorporate into our academic lives, like using any downtime you have to do work, making study groups with other people who are in your same class, and using the resources provided by the college.

We were introduced to the STRIVE staff during the meeting and what they all specialize in. Former and current STRIVE students also talked to us about their experiences in STRIVE and told us more about the program. I learned about the core components of STRIVE, including the 360 workshops, power circles, and STRIVE academy. It's helpful to know that the workshops are focused on academics, advocacy, wellness, and leadership. I also learned that STRIVE Academy is a 6/8 week program for leadership development.

During this meeting, we went over the requirements that we need to be able to keep our scholarship. We also went over new requirements such as having your cameras on and submitting your impacts within a certain amount of time. We also played a Kahoot that tested us to see how well we knew the scholarship requirements.

At this meeting, we went over reminders for the upcoming summer and fall semesters and learned some new information as well. I learned about old & new scholarship requirements. Hours now need to be from PGCC-related events, and that impacts have to be submitted within seven business days. I learned that book purchases are happening between May 5th to June 7th. We went over the 7 steps to stay in good standing with the scholarship and went over academic recovery and appeal as well. We also received information regarding scholarship money for the summer and fall.

This event taught me about the different types of financial aid we can receive, such as grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans. I also learned about specific scholarships for PGCC, like the foundation scholarships, the Southern Management Leadership Program, the Board of Trustees Legacy Scholarship, and the local impact grant. I now know the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans. I learned helpful tips about loans if I ever need one, such as only borrowing what I need, knowing how to keep track of them, and understanding how loan repayment works.

I learned about the personal growth cycle, which consists of defining, aligning, flowing, growing, and evolving. We went through the differences between formal and informal education. Formal education consists of a structured and systematic process, takes place within an institution, has a planned curriculum, and leads to certifications, while informal education happens outside the traditional school setting, isn't structured, and can be spontaneous or occur in everyday situations. I also learned about how personal enrichment can happen in both formal and informal settings, and its purpose is for self-improvement and interest, and is meant to enhance life and joy. At the end of the presentation, we were shown resources/places where we could experience enrichment, such as libraries, museums, social media, clubs, volunteer opportunities, etc.

I learned about building a resume during this session. Resumes should be kept to one to two pages, and they consist mainly of three sections: header, education, work experience, and other relevant sections such as volunteering experience, organizations, etc. We were shown example resumes that included important details such as a professional email and phone number, and other details, such as using bold lettering to indicate a header. We were also shown a resume website provided by PGCC to help us build our resumes. On the website, there are different formats for us to choose from depending on the purpose of our resume, such as chronological, functional, a combination of both, and federal. There are also sections for different types of career fields to help people know what careers are offered, or what kind of skills are needed, etc. Overall, this was very helpful for not only updating my resume but also seeing what other careers are offered in my field of interest besides what I already know.

I attended the meeting on Positive Psychology and how to use it. I learned how positive psychology can teach perspective and gratitude by helping you focus on your strengths and relationships, how it can also help you set goals, and how to use positive psychology to overcome negative emotions. We learned about the happiness pie, which consists of three things: environment, genes, and life skills, and the three dimensions of happiness, which consists of meaningful life, engaged life, and pleasant life. The pleasant life is where we have learned to appreciate the basics, such as the natural environment and companionship. The good life is when we have discovered our own strengths and what makes us unique, and the meaningful life is where we find a sense of fulfilment by using our strengths for a greater purpose. We learned ways to be happy, such as expressing ourselves, practicing acts of kindness, exercising, taking care of ourselves, and more.

In this presentation, we learned about what it means to have a healthy relationship. We talked about emotional wellness and how it impacts productivity and talked about how a lack of emotional wellness can lead to various negative effects. The presenter showed us different example scenarios where we had to choose what negative effect they were experiencing. We learned about unhealthy relationships and how they can also impact emotional wellness by causing increased stress and anxiety, low self esteem and confidence, emotional exhaustion and burn out, etc. Overall I learned that emotional wellness impact productivity by improving your focus, reducing stress, boosting motivation, bettering workplace relationships, and promoting work-life balance.