Despite today's hot temperature that felt like was somewhere in the 100's, representatives from Carolina's nearly 300 student organizations came out on Greene Street in front of the Russell House today to show the student body what they all had to offer.  I was actually at one of the booths representing Carolina Service Council.  It was a pretty amazing turnout for a Student Organization Fair seeing as it was in the middle of the day with the sun just beating down our backs.  It was H-O-T!  It was a lot of fun, however, as I got to share with my fellow students what CSC is all about!

I think I've blogged a couple of times about CSC but only in reference to the application and interview process I went through to become a part of the Executive Board.  Let me take this time now to give y'all the inside scoop on what really CSC is all about!

Basically, Gamecocks have hearts of gold, and boy, do we love to serve others!  From Service Saturdays to MLK Service Day to University 101 service hours, most students get involved in one way or another in volunteering.  With such eager Carolinians and so many ways to get involved both on and off campus, it can get pretty overwhelming, and basically it is Carolina Service Council's main objective to make sure that volunteer opportunities are easily accessible and that everyone finds a project that they can join. 

There are several ways to get involved with CSC.  Firstly, one can apply towards the end of the spring semester to be a part of the Executive Board.  Officers and directors are carefully selected before the summer begins, and then they take office in the following academic year.  As part of the executive board, their main role is to be committee chairs of the several projects that the group is responsible in creating.  Secondly, one can become a part of the actual service council and work in the committees with the directors.  People who love to not only put in hours of actual service but would also enjoy getting involved in planning the service events usually become members of the council.  Students can share their ideas and really get into the great details of planning events like the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, wherein hundreds and hundreds of students gave up their Saturday and were sent to several volunteer sites.  Lastly, anyone can basically join...we love everyone!  Hehe!  Those who just love to volunteer but are not necessarily interested or have the time to join a committee can just come out to join us during the events and volunteer!

Well, I hope y'all are out there getting involved!  Volunteering is just amazing.  You don't even know it, but you get so much more out of the experience than you even actually really put in!  Get involved and catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

P.S.  I got tickets to the LA-Lafayette game, and boy, I can't wait!

Posted by Kriska at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I've made it through the first-day-of-classes-routine.  All the syllabi are out.  The grading scales have been set.  Calendar schedules of projects, exams, and all other works have been discussed.  Oh, the academic year is definitely in the air!

As far as first impressions go, let me rate my classes with the 5-star rating system*:

Survey of Personality: ****  The professor seems very enthusiastic and knowledgeable in her area of study.  She is very open to class discussion and opinion.  She uses powerpoint with her lectures and is not dull at all.  The only reason for not receiving a 5-star rating is because the class has a lot of requirements as far as readings, assessments, and exams.  Overall, the class seems do-able.

Psychology of Human Sexuality:  ****  The professor makes the early class very manageable to stay awake through.  She is very interested in the study of human sexuality, which makes her class not awkward at all as I expected.  The class is in an auditorium, and there are probably over a hundred students in the class.  Again, this course does not get a 5-star rating in my book due to the amount of work to be done and because of the class size.

Anatomy and Physiology: ***  The professor is very interested in getting the students the help they need and seem very easy to talk to.  I only give this a class a 3-star rating, however, because the class size is huge compared to most classes I've taken.  Also, there is definitely a TON of work for this class that will need to be done if I expect to keep my GPA.

Organic Chemistry:  ***  I feel pretty much the same way with this class as I do with Anatomy.  The professor seems easygoing, and he really stressed his office hours and other ways to reach him for help.  I'm just not really looking forward to this class.  I'm not sure anyone really looks forward to Organic Chemistry, anyways!  This and Anatomy are probably the courses I'm really dreading for this and the next semester!!!

Abnormal Pscyhology:  ****  The professor is very nice.  Out of all the professors, she was the one who made the most effort on first day to really get to know students personally.  It does help though that it's my smallest class.  There are 60 students and that's still pretty big, but it's definitely smaller than the other four classes.  There will be lots of reading and such to be done as in the other pscyhology courses, but it doesn't look too daunting.

I guess, the trend is just that the two science classes I'm taking are just really hard and that the three psych classes will be a lot of reading and analysis.  With this and all of my extracurricular and SI Leader position, I'm sure there will be lots to blog about.  Be sure to be on the lookout this semester, and definitely stick around to find out more about USC life for busy, overachiever, Honors kids like me!

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, GAMECOCKS!

*5-star rating system based on course's first impression.  Things I considered were the professor's attitude towards the class, their availability and interest in really helping the students, the amount of work required, the environment as far as classroom and other students, and the overall vibe I got simply based on first impressions.  Obviously, this will probably change as the semester goes.  I just hope it will be for the best and not a downhill progress.  I do not look forward to giving an end of the semester rating of a poor 1/2-stars on Ratemyprofessor.com.  Hehe!

Posted by Kriska at 05:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In about T-minus 7 hours and 43 minutes, when one of the three Psychology classes I signed up for begins at 8AM tomorrow morning, summer will officially end!  Where did the three months that I thought would be so long go?  It all just kind of flew by so fast, but then again, it is already the beginning of my second year of college!  WoW!  It seems all too crazy.

This semester is looking like it's going to be the most hectic.  I'm taking Anatomy (BIOL 243) and Organic Chemistry (CHEM 333) to meet the last couple of my pre-pharmacy requisites.  I also have to take a lab to go with the Organic Chemistry class.  To round off my full load, I am taking three different psychology classes.  One is a 300-level course, while the other two are 400-level courses.  These three courses should be bringing me closer to getting a minor in the discipline of Psychology.  By the end of the semester, I should only be one more class away from fulfilling all of the required hours.

Besides all of my classes, I've decided that I would like to be a part of the Student Success Initiative Program here at USC, and for one of the CHEM 111 classes, I will be a Supplemental Instruction Leader.  SI Leaders are assigned to classes that have been identified through historical and statistical studies as high-risk courses with the most number of students getting a D or F or having to withdraw before the semester ends.  I've actually been spending the past day and a half at training learning basically how to be like a "mini teacher" or a "big study group leader."   The SI Program is only one of the many different programs that the Student Success Center here at Carolina offers so that students can get help not only to get on track but to stay on track.  Y'all should visit this website: www.sa.sc.edu/ssc.  You can learn about all the programs that are being offered that are specifically geared to different groups, like out-of-state students, transfer students, sophomores, etc.  Whether you actually anticipate needing help due to anxiety or fear of struggling through your classes or you just want to check out different resources that are available to you, that website will be very handy!

So in actuality, I'll be going to 6 classes total, a lab, and 3 one-hour study sessions.  Of course, I still have the Executive Board position in the Carolina Service Council along with the vice president position in the Filipino-American Student Association.  Yes, I'm a true busy-body!

Well, let me not keep you guys much longer, as also I need to get going and get myself ready for tomorrow.  Well, that and also enjoy the last few hours that is left of my summer.  I might try to round up the gang for something or just end up bumming in the room.  Either way, the last hours will be savored!

Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, guys.  This is the post about the past weekend RE: "Moving back in to Carolina."

Excuse the lateness of this blog, but it has definitely been a hectic past couple of days here for me, as I'm sure y'all are probably having some of the busiest days of your life, too.  What with school coming back full circle and having to get back into the swing of things, I'm sure y'all are having some pretty stellar times yourselves.

Pretty much, I've been here in Columbia since Sunday.  My parents and my younger brother made the hour and a half drive with me to Cola in our trusty mini-van packed full of suitcases and boxes and just random junk out the "wazoo!"  It was a pretty exhausting day trying to get everything brought into Preston as it was a rather toasty day, but hey!  Lately, these days, I'm not sure there really is ever much of a part of the day that's not hot and steamy!

Moving in was actually fairly smooth, as well as getting acquainted with fellow Prestonites.  The apartment that my roomie and I got this year is a definite upgrade in size from the small one we had at Maxcy (although I do miss our pink Maxcy Pad!)  This year, my roommate and I decided that we're both sick of pink, as we lived in a big PeptoBismol box last year.  We decided that we would both just go for our own styles. So she has this very royal, silky, and elegant, peacock-inspired theme with her loft.  While I have a true-to-my-Gamecock-blood theme going--the Red, Black, and White!

So far things have been fairly good, like I said.  I'd make this a longer entry and talk about the past days and the things I've been doing besides moving in (i.e. emergency runs to Wal-Mart, hall meetings, an SI training, and a bunch of Scholar gatherings)...but I do have to eat dinner before the Russell House closes.  :)

I hope everyone had a great summer and that y'all are getting on the right foot with this upcoming...err starting school year.  :(

Here's to the fall semester of '07!  Catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!

Posted by Kriska at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last day?!?  Last day of what, you say.  Summer isn't over yet.  Well, today was my last day working at the pharmacy.  Well, last day for the summer that is.

It was funny how much working today felt so alike to that feeling you get when it's the last day of school, and you're just sitting there on your seat anxiously awaiting for that clock to tick the end of the day.  It almost felt like I was starting summer all over again, but unfortunately...I'm really not.  Can y'all believe that in about 8 days I will be back in Columbia again?!?  I've been honestly excited about going back for some time now, but the idea of working on homework and projects have gotten me wanting my summer back all over again!  But there's so much more to look forward to in Columbia than simply the school work, so it will be really worth it to go back.  There'll be late nights with friends and my much-missed roommate!  There'll be fun trips and such to take.  Oh and yea...FOOTBALL SEASON!!!  Boy, I can't wait to get back to Cola!

Well, y'all.. There is still a week left for most of us, so it's time to really get enjoying and getting those last minute dip in the water for the summer.  I was actually thinking of going out to the pool tomorrow, but it's expected to reach a heat index of 112F over the weekend here in my area!!!  I don't think I can handle that heat even in the water so I'll probably just stay inside and keep cool.

Well, I'm all out of time for now because dinner is calling me.  Catch y'all later on the flipside, GAMECOCKS!

Posted by Kriska at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)